News and Media - Israeli Consulate, SF - Week in Review - February 23

SECURITY

Eight Killed, 72 Hurt in Jerusalem Bus Bombing
Monday, February 23, 2004

Eight people were killed and 72 injured in a suicide bomb attack on bus No. 14 in Jerusalem on Sunday, HA'ARETZ reported. The eight victims were identified as Benayahu Yehonatan Zuckerman, 18, of Jerusalem, Lior Azulai, 18, of Jerusalem, St.-Sgt. Netanel Havshush, 20, of Jerusalem, Yuval Ozana, 32, of Jerusalem, Rahamim Duga, 38, of Mevasseret Zion, Ilan Avisidris, 41, of Jerusalem, Yehuda Haim, 48, of Givat Ze'ev and Yaffa Ben-Shimol, 57, of Jerusalem. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack. Defense establishment sources assessed that the terror cell that carried out the suicide attack on bus No. 19 in the capital about a month ago was also behind Sunday's bombing.
IDF soldiers demolished on Sunday night the house of the suicide bomber who carried out the attack, in the village of Hussan near the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Security forces were on high alert throughout Israel today, for fear of terror attacks timed to coincide with the opening of an International Court of Justice hearing in the Hague over the legality of the West Bank counter-terror fence.
Government sources in Jerusalem said Sunday that Israel would not launch a harsh military response to the suicide bombing.

No Terrorism in Areas where Fence Is Built
Tuesday, February 24, 2004

An absolute halt in terrorist activities has been noticed in the West Bank areas where the fence has been constructed, Avi Dichter, Director of the Israel Security Agency, said today, HA'ARETZ reported. Dichter said that infiltrations into Israeli territory had emanated from areas where the fence had not yet been completed, such as Kafr Qasem and Jerusalem. He added that Israeli cities that had been the target of a large number of terrorist attacks in the past - such as Kfar Sava, Netanya and Hadera - were quiet since the fence had been erected.
Meanwhile, construction has started on the section of the West Bank security fence that will run from the community of Elkana near Rosh Haayin to the Israel Defense Forces base of Ofer near Ramallah, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. The 42-kilometer section of the fence is due to be completed by the end of 2004. Brigadier-General Eran Ofir, head of IDF logistics, estimated that another 200 kilometers of the fence would be built by the end of 2004, including the part around Jerusalem. The IDF spokesman and the police said they were aware of the difficulties the fence created for the residents of the east Jerusalem village of Sheik Saad. Israeli authorities are now working on making it easier for the villagers to reach the nearby village of Sawahra.

Israel Dismantles Financial Infrastructure of Hamas
Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Security forces raided at least three Palestinian banks in Ramallah today, dismantling the financial infrastructure of Hamas, MA'ARIV reported. Over $2 million was confiscated from fictitious accounts used to funnel funding to Hamas directly from Arab countries. In addition documents proving Hezbollah and the governments of Iran, Syria and Libya sent the monies were also seized.
On Tuesday night a senior official from the Arab Bank was arrested, on suspicion of involvement in terrorist money laundering.

Security Fence Shortened by 50 Miles
Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Israel Defense Forces Brigadier General Eran Ophir said today that the security fence planned route would be shortened by 50 miles, HA'ARETZ reported. Ophir who heads IDF's Technology and Logistics division, also mentioned that construction of the Jerusalem envelope fence is being held up because of court hearings regarding various parcels of land on the planned route of the fence. "It is preferable to wait for court rulings before going ahead with construction that might need to be dismantled in the future as a result of those rulings," Ophir said.
The shortening of the fence route is taking place in a number of areas. Some 12 miles of the fence building will be cancel fom Mt. Avner to Khirbat Tisair, a half-mile stretch of the fence east of Qalqilyah will be dismantled to make passage easier for residents into other areas of the West Bank.
Concrete walls are being used as the barrier in the Bat Hefer, Tul Karm, Qalqilyah and Matan areas. The walls are equipped with cameras.

IDF Reservist Killed in Shooting Attack in North Gaza Strip
Thursday, February 26, 2004

Israeli Defense Forces reserve soldier, Sergeant Major Amir Zimmerman, 25, of Kfar Monash, was shot dead this morning by Palestinian gunmen who opened fire near the Erez crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel, HA'ARETZ reported. The gunmen were killed by IDF forces.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack. The two gunmen approached a group of soldiers near an IDF outpost at around 7 A.M., and proceeded to open fire and throw grenades.
The defense establishment is investigating how the gunmen reached the Erez crossing. The IDF is checking into the possibility that the terrorists managed to climb over the Gaza fence.
In January, a female suicide bomber killed three IDF soldiers and a security guard when she blew herself up in the Erez terminal.

Terror Money Seized in Ramallah to Serve for Palestinian Humanitarian Purposes
Thursday, February 26, 2004

The millions of shekels impounded in the raid on banks in Ramallah on Wednesday, will be transferred to Palestinian humanitarian agencies, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz instructed the civil administration liaison to carry out the transaction as soon as possible. Mofaz said the funds would be used to improve the infrastructure at checkpoints and crossings, increase health and social services, provide student transportation, and enable food supplies purchases. The Defense Minister will present the issue to the government for its approval shortly.
Some 400 accounts linked to terror organizations were uncovered during the raid carried out by Israel Defense Forces and police forces.

Rocket Destroys House in Neve Dekalim
Friday, February 27, 2004

Palestinian gunmen fired this morning an anti-tank rocket at a house in Neve Dekalim, in the Jewish community bloc of Gush Katif in the southern Gaza Strip, causing extensive damage, MA'ARIV reported. The house took a direct hit, but miraculously none of the inhabitants were hurt. Chani Tsadok was in the house at the time of the attack: "My husband and I were cooking a Shabbat meal for soldiers, when suddenly we heard a huge explosion and the kitchen filled with smoke. The pipes exploded and stones flew in all directions. A miracle happened. My house is completely destroyed but, thank God, we are safe and our children have a mother and father." Earlier today two mortar rounds were fired at Neve Dekalim, also damaging a house but injuring no one. In the last three years, 75 houses in Gush Katif suffered direct hits by Palestinian missiles and a further 200 were damaged when missiles and mortar rounds landed near them.

DIPLOMACY

Anti-Terror Fence Debate Starts at the Hague
Monday, February 23, 2004

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague began discussing the legality of Israel's counter-terrorism fence this morning, MA'ARIV reported. Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu called the debate at the ICJ a farce, warning that the court's decision could determine that Israel does not have the right to protect its citizens. Commenting on the fence's effects on the Israeli and Palestinian populations, Netanyahu underscored that while improving the Palestinians' quality of life could be done, bringing back Israeli lives taken by Palestinian terrorism was impossible.
As the ICJ hearing started, hundreds of supporters of Israel from all over the world protested carrying photographs of victims of Palestinian terror. They stopped in front of the charred skeleton of bus no. 19, which was shipped to The Hague from Jerusalem, weeks after a Palestinian police officer blew himself up killing and wounding scores of passengers.
Palestinians and their supporters also conducted their demonstration in The Hague's downtown area. Palestinian UN representative, Nasser al-Kidwa was the first the address the court. In a scathing attack against Israel, al-Kidwa said, "the wall will render the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict impossible."
Israel has decided to submit only a written brief and is not sending representatives to appear before the court. Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom questioned the fairness of the court: "We are aware that most of the judges there represent regimes that don't have any connection to democracy. They will get instructions from their leaders," Shalom said. Many of the Palestinians' Arab allies, such as Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria, are also staying away from the court.
Find out more about the counter-terrorism fence @ http://antiterroristfence.mfa.gov.il

ECONOMY & HI-TECH

U.S. and Israeli Nanotech Researchers Set Sights on Clean Water
Monday, February 23, 2004

Israel's nanotechnology program got a significant boost recently, with the first meeting of stakeholders in the Nanotechnology Clean Water Initiative, ISRAEL21C reported. The Initiative - the result of combined efforts by Dr. Uri Sagman, Prof. Samuel Pohoryles and former Prime Minister Shimon Peres - has, for the first time, brought together major Israeli university researchers and global industry principals to work on nanotech-based solutions to the water shortage in the Middle East.
The one-day forum took place at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, and included researchers from Weizmann, the Technion, Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University and the Hebrew University, executives from Luna Innovations of Virginia, from the Canadian NanoBusiness Alliance and European consulting firm Cientifica, as well as from the Andreas Agricultural Development Trust, an arm of the Peres Center for Peace.
It is hoped that the Water Initiative will result in practical new knowledge that can reduce the cost of water desalination and purification. To begin, the current participants have focused on research projects that can improve existing processes (for example, conventional reverse osmosis), but also intend to strike out in search of new processes.

Israel's Sonol will Supply Fuel for U.S. Troops in Iraq
Wednesday, February 25, 2004

The Israeli Sonol Fuel Company, together with its foreign partner Morgantown International, have won a $70-80 million tender to supply fuel to U.S. troops in Iraq, MA'ARIV reported. Sonol is expected to supply US forces with some 7 million gallons of fuel per month.
The tender was issued by the US-based KDR Company, a subsidiary of Halliburton, who has been entrusted with the majority of contracts for the US troops in Iraq. Among Sonol's competitors was the Israeli Delek Company. Imported fuel will pass through the terminal operated by the TASHAN (Oil and Energy Infrastructure Company) north of Beer Sheva and then will be shipped to Iraq overland via Jordan. Sources in the fuel industry said that the Shavit Company is planning to establish a fuel processing facility in the Arava, which would accelerate delivery and prevent fraud by tanker drivers.

Israel and Jordan to Build Environmental Studies Center
Thursday, February 26, 2004

Israel and Jordan have agreed to build an environmental studies center on their shared desert border, GLOBES reported. The countries will donate a total of 150 acres of parched land along the frontier, about 30 miles south of the Dead Sea. A private group, Bridging the Rift, will develop the center with two American universities, Cornell and Stanford.
Supporters describe it as a serious scientific effort to focus on biological sciences in the desert environment, as well as the kind of bridge-building that was envisioned when Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty a decade ago. "This is going to be a full-blown operating research center," Cornell's president, Jeffrey S. Lehman said. "We would not be doing this if we did not believe it was a good science project."

SOCIETY

Homosexual Couples Receive Property Tax Benefits
Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Homosexual couples will receive same property tax exemptions as heterosexual couples, HA'ARETZ reported. The decision by the Supreme Court opens a new stage in the recognition of equality before the law for same-sex couples in Israel. The decision was was issued at the Supreme Court hearing on the appeal of two Tel Aviv residents, Adir Steiner and Tzach Granit, who shared an apartment since 1996. In May 2000, Steiner requested the exemption after he transferred to Granit half of the rights to his apartment. This exemption is extended to married couples or common-law spouses living together for over a year. The application for the exemption was rejected by the supervisor of property taxes, who said that the law designates it be awarded only to "a man and a woman living as a family." The head of the property tax betterment department also rejected the request on this basis. The property tax appeals committee, which has judicial powers parallel to those of the District Court, upheld the rejection, leading Steiner and Granit to appeal to the Supreme Court in June 2003.

Elhanan Tannenbaum, State Prosecution Sign Plea Bargain
Friday, February 27, 2004

Elhanan Tannenbaum, who spent more than three years as a Hezbollah captive, signed a deal with the State Prosecutor's Office late Thursday night, effectively granting him immunity from prosecution, HA'ARETZ reported. The deal is based on the understanding that Tannenbaum will reveal to security services the circumstances of his capture by the Lebanese organization, and the information he relayed to his captors However, justice officials stressed Thursday that at this stage the agreement was not a plea bargain, but rather principles that will be applied in stages. Under the conditions of the deal, Tannenbaum is required to put in writing all of the events that led him to become a captive of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Tannenbaum will undergo a lie-detector test so as to check the veracity of his account. Should it turn out that Tennenbaum operated as a spy, or extensively coordinated his activity with Hezbollah, state prosecutors will have the right under the agreement to demand jail sentences commensurate with such offenses.

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