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October
7 - 10, 2003
- 20
Dead, 60 Wounded in Haifa Restaurant Bombing
20 people were
killed and more than 60 were wounded when a woman suicide
bomber blew herself up in a popular Haifa restaurant Saturday,
one day before the Yom Kippur observances. The blast devastated
Maxim restaurant, which is party owned by Israeli Arabs on
Hahaganah Boulevard at the southern end of the coastal city.
It was packed mostly with regular Saturday customers. Broadcast
media reported that among the dead were three children, including
an infant, plus four Israeli Arabs. Ten of the dead were members
of two families. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for
the attack and identified the bomber as Hanadi Jaradat, 29,
a trainee lawyer from the West Bank city of Jenin. (From Ha'aretz)
more
-
Suicide
Bomber Wounds Two Soldiers at Army Base
A suicide bomber blew
himself up, possibly accidentally, at an IDF roadblock Thursday
near Tulkarm wounding two soldiers. A Palestinian also was
injured. Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade claimed responsibility.
One soldier received serious injuries. (From Jerusalem Post)
more
- Army
Launches Operation to Stop Weapons-Smuggling in Gaza
Army forces trying to demolish Palestinian
weapons-smuggling tunnels fought Palestinian gunmen for hours
Friday in the largest army raid in half a year in the Rafah
"refugee camp", a frequent battlefield. The Rafah
raid was aimed at uncovering weapons-smuggling tunnels. Armored
vehicles and attack helicopters swept into the camp on Gaza's
border with Egypt, joined by special forces, including engineering
units with dogs trained to find tunnels. Two tunnels were
discovered in private homes near the Egyptian border. Military
officials said Israel had intelligence warnings that Palestinians
were planning to use tunnels to smuggle in anti-aircraft missiles
and Katyusha rockets. So far this year, the military said
it has destroyed 33 smuggling tunnels in the area. The tunnels
have been used to bring in munitions and rifles, as well as
drugs. (From Jerusalem Post) more
- Month
After Bombing, Cafe Hillel Reopens
Exactly one month after Jerusalem's
Cafe Hillel was destroyed by a Palestinian suicide bomber,
the popular eaterie in the city's trendy German Colony reopened
its doors to the public on Thursday, with patrons pledging
their unequivocal support. Many of the patrons in the half-full
eaterie on its reopening day said that they had come to this
particular Cafe Hillel on purpose, as an act of defiance and
repudiation of the terrorism. "There is no way that I
would not come here on the day of its reopening," said
Rich Brownstein. (From Jerusalem Post) more
- Israel
Strikes Terrorist Camp in Syria
Israel launched a surprise airstrike
deep in Syrian territory on Sunday, bombing what it called
a Palestinian terrorist training camp to retaliate for a suicide
bombing in northern Israel the day before. The airstrike,
a predawn raid at a site outside Damascus, was an abrupt change
of military tactics for Israel and was the first Israeli attack
inside Syria in 30 years. Israel said the airstrike target,
which it identified as the Ain Saheb camp, is about 10 miles
northwest of Damascus, and had served as a training ground
for several Palestinian factions, including Islamic Jihad
and Hamas, the groups behind most of the suicide bombings
in Israel. (From NY Times) more
- American-Born
Israeli Soldier Shot Dead on Lebanese Border
 St.-Sgt.
David Solomonov, 21, was shot and killed by a Lebanese sniper
while his unit was on patrol near the northern Israeli town
of Metulla Saturday afternoon. IDF troops returned fire. In
one week's time, Solomonov, who was born in the United States
and moved to Israel at the age of thirteen, was due to complete
his army service. He had already made plans to return to his
Kfar Saba home and begin studies to improve his high school
matriculation scores.
Overnight, Hizbullah forces fired five mortar shells from
Lebanon into Israel. It was the first mortar attack on northern
Israel since April 2002, Haaretz reported. (From Israel Insider)
more
International Relations
- Israel,
India, Russia Sign $1b PHALCON Arms Deal
India, Israel and Russia on Friday
signed an agreement for the US$1 billion sale of PHALCON airborne
early warning systems to India, a defense official told The
Associated Press. The advanced Israeli-made PHALCON radar
systems are to be fitted on converted Russian-made Ilyushin
transport plane that India will purchase from Moscow. India
has been seeking to strengthen its defenses by acquiring the
airborne warning and control systems that can detect aerial
threats and serve as a platform to direct Indian combat jets
to targets. (From Jerusalem Post) more
- Gillerman
Addresses UN Security Council
On Sunday, October 5, Ambassador
Dan Gillerman addressed the Emergency Session of the United
Nations Security Council regarding Syria's involvement in
terrorism and Israel's attack on the terrorist training camp
near Damascus. "Today, on the very eve of the Day of
Atonement and the thirteenth anniversary of the Egyptian-Syrian
aggression that initiated the Yom Kippur War, we call on members
of the Council to come to the aid of the victims of terrorism,
not their sponsors. Syria deserves no support for its complicity
in murder and the Council would commit an unforgivable act
of moral blindness were it to act otherwise. The time has
come for the Council ... which has been at the forefront of
the global counter-terrorism campaign, to hold to account
a brutal dictatorship that is world-renowned for adopting
terrorism as its primary tool. The world is watching. And
today, more than on any other day, God is watching too!"
(For complete speech, click
here)
Palestinian Leadership
- PA
Officials Working to Convince Qureia to Stay on as PM
Senior Palestinian officials said Thursday evening that efforts
were under way to try to persuade Palestinian Prime Minister
Ahmed Qureia to change his mind about quitting his post. Earlier
in the day, Palestinian officials said that Queia had informed
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat of his desire
to quit the job; However, Arafat's spokesman denied Qureia
had resigned.
Qureia said Wednesday that the top item on his agenda was
regaining control of the Palestinian street. He reiterated,
however, that he had no intention of entering into a frontal
conflict with opposition groups such as Hamas.
(From Ha'aretz) more
-
Doctors Deny Reports that Arafat is Seriously Ill
Earlier this week, Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat appeared pale and haggard and seemed disoriented.
This set off speculation that he might be seriously ill. His
doctors denied it, however -- saying he suffered from stomach
problems but was recovering. According to a report reaching
Jerusalem Thursday, after a visit by Egyptian and Jordanian
doctors to the ailing Arafat on Wednesday, the PA Chairman
had a severe gastroenterological infection. He was treated
with antibiotics and is improving. The mortality rate from
this illness for people in their mid-70s, like Arafat, is
40-60 percent, in a matter of "weeks to months."
(From Ha'aretz) more
Israeli Captives
- Arad
Alive, Jailed Near Tehran
Missing Air Force navigator Ron Arad
is alive and held by the Iranian intelligence in a small,
secret jail near Tehran, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported
Friday, quoting three Iranian exiles. One of the sources is
a diplomat and the two others former intelligence officials,
all whom are currently in Europe. Arad has been missing since
his plane was downed over Lebanon in 1986. (From Ha'aretz)
more
- Kidnapped
Tourists are Well, say Colombian Guerrillas
The seven foreign tourists, including
four Israelis, who are being held by the Colombian guerrilla
organization, ELN, are all in good health, an ELN official
said yesterday in an interview with Colombian journalists.
This is the first time since the tourists were kidnapped almost
a month ago that ELN has said anything about their well-being.
(From Ha'aretz) more
Economics
- Union
Agrees to Freeze Port Strike for 100 Days; Treasury to Halt
Privatization
Finance Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and Histadrut labor federtion chairman,
MK Amir Peretz, met Friday for talks aimed at finding a solution
to the stand off the crippled the country's ports last week.
The sides have formulated a document whereby the union has
undertaken to refrain from strike action for 100 days, and
the government will freeze legislation aimed at paving the
way to the privatization of the ports. (From Ha'aretz) more
- Trendlines
Launches $25M Fund for Israeli Start-ups
Trendlines Group, an American-Israeli
marketing and financial consultancy, is setting up a $25 million
investment fund to be called Trendlines Israel Fund. The fund
plans to raise money from supporters of Israel. The fund will
invest mainly in young Israeli start-ups engaged in data security,
information technology and life sciences that have the potential
to undergo IPOs, or be acquired. The fund's purpose is to
generate economic growth and create jobs in Israel. "With
unemployment there exceeding 10 percent, combined with government
cutbacks and a general economic decline, the need for capital
for young businesses that can create jobs in Israel is greatly
felt," says Alan Weinkrantz, the company's spokesman.
(From Ha'aretz) more
Health
- Israel
is First to Develop Alzheimer's Guide Dogs
Polly is the first dog in the world to be trained specifically
to improve the quality of life for Alzheimer's patients. Yehuda,
62, depends on Polly as a safety net for when his memory fails
him. Polly accompanies Yehuda wherever he goes, as she has
done for the past year. She knows his routine and his habits.
Part of the job of the dog is to calm and reassure the patient
when he is upset. But the main task of the service dog for
an Alzheimer's patient is to bring him home when the order
"HOME" is given. If the patient forgets to say the
order, or is so lost that he strays too far from the house,
the worried family can activate an electronic device that
is installed on the dog's collar, and works with a GPS navigation
system. In this way can find the pair if they are lost. In
addition, a special tone that can be heard by the dog can
be sounded to signal the dog to lead his patient home. The
dog remains responsible for the patient in the home: there
is an alarm button in which the dog is trained to press, when
his owner falls to the floor and doesn't get up after a number
of minutes, or if he hears choking sounds. This alerts the
primary caregiver if they are in another room or asleep. (From
Israel21c) more
- Putting
a Wrap on Patient Health
 At
Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petah Tikva, surgeons
will not begin a 10-hour liver operation until the patient
has been wrapped in a ThermoWrap. The disposable wrap, which
was designed by Israeli company MTRE Advanced Technologies,
helps stabilize and control the temperature of a patient through
surgery. It ensures that, despite the cool temperature of
the operating room, and the introduction of anaesthesia into
the body, the patient remains at a normally warm temperature
throughout the procedure. Staying warm is extremely important.
MTRE's technology, is a one-piece garment that looks a bit
like a large bandage, filled with water. It is modular in
design so that it can be adapted for every type of operation.
The wrap, which can be used for heating or cooling between
30-40 degrees centigrade, is then attached to a control unit
with a microprocessor, which modulates the temperature of
the water in the suit according to the patient's temperature.
The wrap has been clinically proven, and - according to the
company - has been shown to significantly reduce morbidity,
immunosuppression, coagulopathy, and shivering. At the same
time, this helps reduce healthcare costs by reducing hospital
stays, and post-surgery medications. (From Israel21c) more
This Week in Review was
prepared by Joy Powers at The Consulate General of Israel in San
Francisco.
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