5 September 1999, Jerusalem In most parts of the world, the switch away from
Daylight Savings Time proceeds smoothly. But the time change raised havoc with
Palestinian terrorists this year.
Israel insisted on a premature switch from Daylight Savings Time to Standard
Time to accommodate a week of pre-sunrise prayers. Palestinians refused to live
on “Zionist Time.” Two weeks of scheduling havoc ensued. Nobody knew the
“correct” time.
At precisely 5:30pm on Sunday, two coordinated car bombs exploded in different
cities, killing three terrorists who were transporting the bombs. It was
initially believed that the devices had been detonated prematurely by klutzy
amateurs. A closer look revealed the truth behind the explosions.
The bombs had been prepared in a Palestine-controlled area, and set to detonate
on Daylight Savings Time. But the confused drivers had already switched to
Standard Time. When they picked up the bombs, they neglected to ask whose watch
was used to set the timing mechanism. As a result, the cars were still en-route
when the explosives detonated, delivering the terrorists to their untimely
demises.
