Earthquake hits Israel, Bilad Esh Shaam
Fertile Crescent, Local, 2/12/2004

An earthquake measuring 4.5- 5 degrees on the Richter scale hit yesterday each of Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

News reports in Ramullah said that the quake which hit Israel, the West Bank and Gaza ranged between 4.5 to 5 degrees, took place yesterday but no casualties were reported. Fear overwhelmed the Israeli Knesset where a session for one of its committees was cancelled on the assumption that the matter pertains to a Palestinian resistance operation.

The Israeli radio said that two buildings were greatly damaged one of them is in Tel Aviv. The citizens of Jerusalem and its surroundings in particular felt the quake. Buildings were evacuated in Jerusalem and many of the citizens went out to the streets of fears of another quake. The Israeli radio quoted the Israeli Institute for EarthquakeSciences that the center of the quake is to the north of the Dead Sea.

The Israeli Majin David company for emergency said that no immediate news on casualties were reported.

In Gaza one building collapsed and several buildings were evacuated of fears of more quakes. Witnesses said that that the people went out into the streets in the cities of Nablus and Hebron.

In Amman, the Jordanian TV announced that the quake was 4.9 degrees at Richter scale and the TV stressed that no damages resulted. Journalists said that the buildings were shaken and some telephone land and mobile lines were damaged because of the quake.

For his part the Jordanian minister of energy and mineral resources Azmi Khureisat said that the center of the quake is situated to the southern east of the hotel areas the north of the Dead Sea at a depth 21 Km, noting that a series of light quakes that took place started since yesterday morning before the stronger one.

Moreover, people of Beirut and other Lebanese cities and the citizens of Damascus felt the quake which lasted for several seconds.

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