 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
||
The Week in Review
March 8 - 12, 2004
- SECURITY
- IDF Targets Terrorist Infrastructure in Gaza
- Triple Suicide Bombing Foiled
- Hezbollah Ring Smashed in Gaza
- Disengagement Schedule Draft Handed over to Prime Minister
- Search Underway in Southern Israel for Sinai Arms Smugglers
- DIPLOMACY
- Sharon and Qurei to Meet Next Week
- Egypt to Improve Police Presence on Gaza Border - Rules out Sending Troops Within Gaza
- Knesset to Honor Madrid Victims on Monday
- ECONOMY & HI-TECH
- Israel and Jordan Lay Ground for Unprecedented Science Project
- Encouraging Signs for Israeli Economy
- SOCIETY
- Police Crack Down on Israeli Mafia
- Knesset Defeats Bill for Civil Weddings
- Education Minister Backs Proposal for Teaching Spoken Arabic in Jewish Schools
SECURITY IDF Targets Terrorist Infrastructure in Gaza
Monday, March 8, 2004The Israel Defense Forces began late Saturday night a raid on the El-Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip aimed at nabbing the terrorists behind the launch of Kassam rockets and the staging of multiple bombing attacks, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Thirteen armed Palestinians were killed during the operations. Two children were also among the victims, and more than 80 Palestinians were wounded.
Lt.-Col. Ofir Winter of the Givati Brigade explained that the soldiers shot "without a doubt" at armed men only. "They received instructions prior to the operation not to shoot at children," he said. "However, many of the gunmen hid behind hundreds of children and youths, who were called to participate in clashes with soldiers as we prepared to pull out."
Winter said the gunmen threw grenades and shot at soldiers from behind rows of children.
"We also saw two explosions within the crowd - possibly bombs that terrorists planned to use against us and that blew up prematurely," he said. "I believe that a number of the casualties stemmed from [those explosions]."
Triple Suicide Bombing Foiled
Tuesday, March 9, 2004Israel's security services have recently foiled a triple suicide bombing planned by the Fatah movement, MA'ARIV reported. The plot featured a female suicide bomber who was to dress up as a volunteer for Magen David Adom (Israel's emergency medical service) and wait for the arrival of Israeli rescue forces before setting off her explosive belt. The plan was thwarted after the would-be female bomber gave herself up to security forces. She revealed that two other members of her cell in Nablus were planning to board a bus in central Israel and blow themselves up. The other cell members were detained following her arrest. The female terrorist was indicted this week and is expected to face trial soon.
In other security related news, undercover Border Policemen arrested today the head of the Islamic Jihad in Jenin, Anas Ansawi, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Three other wanted fugitives were also nabbed during the operation. A 23-year-old Palestinian woman was killed today during clashes with the Border Policemen in Jenin.
Hezbollah Ring Smashed in Gaza
Wednesday, March 10, 2004A Hezbollah-controlled group planning an unprecedented attack against Israel was uncovered in Gaza last December, MA'ARIV reported. The plot consisted of launching a glider loaded with explosives at an Israeli Jewish community. The group's leader, Shahdi el-Hussein, reportedly contacted Hezbollah through a relative living in Lebanon, and received both instructions and funds from the organization. He recruited a number of young men, whom he tried to send to Lebanon for training. Some of them left the Strip through Egypt, but were arrested upon their return.
In a separate incident, Hezbollah fired today anti-aircraft mortar over northern Israel.
Border Guard policemen killed four terrorists in Jenin this afternoon after the four had emerged from their cars armed with Kalashnikov and M-16 rifles ready to fire at the Israeli security forces. The terrorists were planning to carry out a shooting attack later, according to Israel Defense Forces officials.
Overnight, an IDF force arrested two wanted Palestinian terror suspects south of Jenin. The soldiers also uncovered two pipe bombs during the operation. Meanwhile, seven terror suspects were apprehended in the Nablus area while two more were detained north of Ramallah.
Disengagement Schedule Draft Handed over to Prime Minister
Thursday, March 11, 2004The head of Israel's National Security Council, Maj. Gen. (Res) Giora Eiland, has handed the initial draft of the planned disengagement schedule to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, MA'ARIV reported. According to the draft, every Jewish town in the Gaza Strip will be evacuated, except for Nisanit, Dugit and Elei Sinai - all located on the northern edge of the strip, close to the green line. There are no Arab towns between them and the border with Israel.
The document recommends that Israel retain control of the 'Philadelphi Corridor' near Rafiah on the Gaza-Israel-Egyptian border. It also recommends not to adopt a scorched earth policy, but to leave the entire infrastructure intact.
Regarding the West Bank, the draft lists three possibilities: no withdrawal, a minor withdrawal limited to northern Samaria, and a large-scale disengagement. The document favors the last option, which would entail a two-staged withdrawal. Stage one would see an evacuation of Ganim, Kadim and two other settlements near Jenin. The second stage would include a withdrawal from an additional 15 to 20 settlements.
Search Underway in Southern Israel for Sinai Arms Smugglers
Friday, March 12, 2004Israel Defense Forces troops and border policemen are conducting an extensive search near the Egyptian border for four suspected weapons smugglers who managed to infiltrate into Israel overnight, MA'ARIV reported. Last night, Border Police spotted seven people crossing the border near Mount Horsha in the southern Negev. The Border Police succeeded in apprehending three of the infiltrators and seized 12 AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifles.
According to intelligence reports, hundreds and perhaps as many as thousands of rifles make their way every year from Sinai to Palestinians terrorist groups via this smuggling route. Smuggled weapons are then hidden around Mount Harif or under cliffs at the Ramon Crater. Several hours or days later, the weapons are picked up by the smugglers' counterparts on the Israeli side, who deliver them to terror groups across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
DIPLOMACY Sharon and Qurei to Meet Next Week
Wednesday, March 10, 2004Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has scheduled his first meeting with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei for next Tuesday, HA'ARETZ reported. The heads of the prime ministers' bureaus will meet on Sunday to work out the specific items on the agenda, including Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and dismantle some Jewish neighborhoods in the West Bank. Sharon and Qurei have met several times in the past, but not since the latter became the PA's prime minister in October 2003.
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom will meet with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak to ascertain the role of Egypt when Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip.
Egypt to Improve Police Presence on Gaza Border - Rules out Sending Troops Within Gaza
Thursday, March 11, 2004Following his meeting with Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom in Cairo today, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that Egypt would not send forces to the Gaza Strip following an Israeli withdrawal, HA'ARETZ reported. However, Mubarak said that he would improve police border presence when Israel withdraws to prevent weapons smuggling into Gaza. Shalom said that Egypt should play a greater role in policing the border with Gaza irrespective of a withdrawal. It was agreed upon that any withdrawal from Gaza would be coordinated with both U.S. and Egypt.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet with Deputy U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, National Security Council's Elliott Abrams, and Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, to continue talks about the planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The envoys will ask for clarifications about the plan while Sharon will ask what the U.S. would give Israel in exchange for the planned disengagement.
Knesset to Honor Madrid Victims on Monday
Friday, March 12, 2004The Knesset will open its Monday session with a moment of silence in honor of the victims of Thursday's bombing in Madrid, in which at least 198 people were killed and about 1,430 were wounded, HA'ARETZ reported. At the beginning of Monday's session, Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom will condemn the attack and express Israel's identification with the Spanish nation. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Moshe Katsav sent letters of condolence to Spanish King Juan Carlos on the day of the attacks.
Meanwhile, Spain informed Israel midday today that, at least for the moment, it did not need the help of Israeli forensic experts in helping identify the bombing victims. "They thanked us for our offer, but in the meantime they do not need our help," said Foreign Ministry spokesman, David Saranga.
Yehuda Hiss, director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, said earlier in the day that Spanish authorities had contacted him for assistance in identifying the victims, and that the Israeli team was waiting to get the final go-ahead before leaving for Spain. "The medical examiner's office in Madrid asked our embassy in Spain for our help, and we will of course provide all possible assistance," Hiss said.
ECONOMY & HI-TECH Israel and Jordan Lay Ground for Unprecedented Science Project
Monday, March 8, 2004Israel and Jordan are breaking ground today on a major scientific research center that aims to create a comprehensive computer databank of genetic information on humans, animals and plants, HA'ARETZ reported. The facility will be located on 150 acres straddling both sides of the Israeli-Jordanian border, 80 kilometers south of the Dead Sea. Two major U.S. universities - Cornell and Stanford - will develop the center with a private New York-based organization called Bridging the Rift. Doctoral degrees will be offered that include course work at those schools and fieldwork at the center, which will also be known as Bridging the Rift.
The goal is for scientists from Israel, Jordan and those universities - and eventually others, including scientists from other Arab countries - to create a comprehensive computer databank of all living systems, called the "Library of Life." The Library of Life will both record genetic codes and analyze how genes interact with and adapt to their environments, which has not yet been done on a large scale.
"This is a huge upgrading of relations between Israel and Jordan and, potentially, between Israel and the Arab world," Ra'anan Gissin, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said.
"Scientifically, this has the potential to be one of the biggest science projects of all time," said Ron Elber, an Israeli professor of computer science at Cornell who will serve as the center's director.
Encouraging Signs for Israeli Economy
Friday, March 12, 2004Economic figures for December 2003-February 2004 are encouraging, showing accelerating economic activity and growth, GLOBES reported. The Central Bureau of Statistics reported that exports of goods, excluding diamonds, had risen an impressive annualized 19 percent in this period, while high-tech exports, which account for about half of all industrial exports, jumped by an annualized 21 percent. Exports of electronic components and computers jumped by an annualized 49 percent and exports of telecommunications, control, medical, and scientific equipment surged 18 percent. Exports in other industrial sectors rose by 14.9-16.3 percent.
SOCIETY Police Crack Down on Israeli Mafia
Tuesday, March 9, 2004Police revealed this morning that they had thwarted one of the most elaborate assassinations ever attempted in the Israeli underworld, MA'ARIV reported. The target of the assassination attempt was apparently Ezra "Shoni" Gavrieli, father of Knesset member Inbal Gavrieli. Police arrested a total of 16 people - including four Belarussian nationals - in relation to the assassination plot last February.
The four foreign "hit men" are believed to have entered Israel with forged passports. Two Israeli citizens, 36-year old Shalom Sheetrit of Kfar Saba and 32-year-old Yitzhak Geffen of Netanya were also arrested in connection with attempted assassinations of Israeli mafia figures. The six are accused of attempted murder, involvement in conspiracy to commit murder, illegal possession of a firearm, forgery and illegal use of a vehicle. Among the other Israeli detainees are several women.
Minister of Internal Security Tzahi Hanegbi congratulated the police on their "impressive achievement, which prevented unprecedented harm to innocents and constitutes an important milestone in the ongoing war against crime gangs in Israel". Mafia warfare caused a series of fatalities among innocent bystanders last year.
Knesset Defeats Bill for Civil Weddings
Wednesday, March 10, 2004The Knesset defeated a bill proposing the enactment of civil marriages today, with a vote of 58 to 29 and 9 abstentions, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The bill would have affected over 300,000 people who cannot marry in Israel for reasons of religious law. In accordance with an agreement reached with coalition chairman Gideon Sa'ar, Shinui MKs voted in favor of the bill, while its ministers - including Minister of Justice Yosef Lapid - abstained.
Members of the Forum for Freedom in Marriage entered the plenum and were present for the vote. They urged Lapid to keep his pre-election promises and vote for the bill, while hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside the Knesset in favor of the bill, which was submitted by Labor MK Ophir Pines-Paz and Meretz MK Roman Bronfman.
"Lapid could have easily have voted for the bill or even convinced the cabinet to vote for it," Bronfman said in an interview with Army Radio. "More and more people are opting for civil marriages, and this in no way threatens religious elements. Every fourth family in Israel gets married now in a civil ceremony and 72 percent of the public supports this."
Lapid responded that the bill's intention had been to embarrass his party. He said that Shinui was preparing a compromise bill with the National Religious Party, which he expected would be passed by the Knesset.
Education Minister Backs Proposal for Teaching Spoken Arabic in Jewish Schools
Friday, March 12, 2004Minister of Education Limor Livnat welcomed a proposal by Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav according to which spoken Arabic and Arab culture would become a compulsory subject in Jewish schools, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Yahav announced the idea at a "Salute to Coexistence" ceremony with the Abraham Fund Initiatives in Haifa on Wednesday night. The fund has pledged to help finance a pilot project in 12-15 elementary schools in Haifa.
"One of the barriers that exacerbates the Jewish-Arab conflict is the language barrier," Yahav said. "The time has come for this barrier to fall. I am happy to announce that in Haifa Jewish children will study Arabic language and culture from an early age. Together with the AFI, we are preparing for the introduction of this as a compulsory subject in elementary schools in the city," he added.
During a conversation with Yahav, Livnat explained that the ministry would participate in formulating an appropriate curriculum.
