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A few days after the attacks, I read an interview on either the jeruslaem post or haaretz daily's websites with an architect who had been one of the lead designers for the WTC towers. He compared the construction of skyscrapers in the US (steel frame) and Israel (reinforced concrete).

Architects know steel is more vulnerable to damage by fire than concrete. So the WTC structure was encased in concrete to provide additional time to evacuate the building. IIRC, he stated that they did not expect the building to survive a fire such as the one following the crashes, but to survive long enough to evacuate following impact of a smaller aircraft (B-707, I believe). Designing a building to be "safe" against all threats is impractical - you have to make a tradeoff at some point.

As to why Israelis use concrete and not steel, it's a matter of cost. Reinforced concrete is far cheaper in Israel than structural steel. In the US, lower costs for steel and resulting faster construction times overall make steel a better choice.

If the celebrations didn't happen, then why were they reported in the Israeli daily Ha'Aretz?

IS reporting that " The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine initially took responsibility, but later an official from the organization denied any involvement. Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat condemned the attacks.

A U.S. official said there had been no advance warning of an attack. "It's clear that this is terrorist-related, we're not sure who is responsible," the official said.

Israel evacuated all its missions around the world. Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer hinted that the attack was carried out by Islamic terrorists, saying that "the threat of radical Islam is the central threat to the free world because its goal is to destroy everything connected to the values of western democracies."

Ben-Eliezer, who cancelled a scheduled trip to the U.S. which was to begin Wednesday, confirmed that an Israeli rescue team was being sent to the U.S. to help with the rescue operation.

Three weeks ago, arch-terrorist Osama Ben Laden warned that he would carry out an unprecedented attack on American interests because of their support for Israel. "

and that palestinians on the west bank are celebrating our tragedy: palestinians celebrate

Palestinians in West Bank celebrate attacks on U.S.

By Amos Harel, Ha'aretz Correspondent and Agencies

Palestinians across the West Bank on Tuesday celebrated the series of aircraft attacks on New York and Washington. There were scenes of celebration in the West Bank cities of Nablus, Tul Karm, Bethlehem and the Balata refugee camp.

While Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat condemned the attacks which levelled the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and struck the Pentagon in Washington, hundreds of Palestinians distributed sweets in Nablus.

"I feel I am in a dream. I never believed that one day the United States would come to pay a price for its support to Israel," said Mustafa, a 24-year-old Palestinian gunman.

Several dozen Palestinian youths gathered in East Jerusalem to celebrate as well, honking out wedding tunes on their car horns. "We are so happy that America was hit. America is against us in supporting Israel," Suleiman, one of the demonstrators, said.

In Nablus, motorists honked their horns and gunmen fired into the air from assault rifles to cheer on the attacks which unfolded in the space of a few hours.

IS reporting that " The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine initially took responsibility, but later an official from the organization denied any involvement. Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat condemned the attacks.

A U.S. official said there had been no advance warning of an attack. "It's clear that this is terrorist-related, we're not sure who is responsible," the official said.

Israel evacuated all its missions around the world. Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer hinted that the attack was carried out by Islamic terrorists, saying that "the threat of radical Islam is the central threat to the free world because its goal is to destroy everything connected to the values of western democracies."

Ben-Eliezer, who cancelled a scheduled trip to the U.S. which was to begin Wednesday, confirmed that an Israeli rescue team was being sent to the U.S. to help with the rescue operation.

Three weeks ago, arch-terrorist Osama Ben Laden warned that he would carry out an unprecedented attack on American interests because of their support for Israel. "

and that palestinians on the west bank are celebrating our tragedy: palestinians celebrate

Palestinians in West Bank celebrate attacks on U.S.

By Amos Harel, Ha'aretz Correspondent and Agencies

Palestinians across the West Bank on Tuesday celebrated the series of aircraft attacks on New York and Washington. There were scenes of celebration in the West Bank cities of Nablus, Tul Karm, Bethlehem and the Balata refugee camp.

While Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat condemned the attacks which levelled the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and struck the Pentagon in Washington, hundreds of Palestinians distributed sweets in Nablus.

"I feel I am in a dream. I never believed that one day the United States would come to pay a price for its support to Israel," said Mustafa, a 24-year-old Palestinian gunman.

Several dozen Palestinian youths gathered in East Jerusalem to celebrate as well, honking out wedding tunes on their car horns. "We are so happy that America was hit. America is against us in supporting Israel," Suleiman, one of the demonstrators, said.

In Nablus, motorists honked their horns and gunmen fired into the air from assault rifles to cheer on the attacks which unfolded in the space of a few hours.