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** Five Soldiers Killed in Gaza Attack
** IAF Hits Terror Targets in Gaza
** 10,000 Reservists to Assist in Pullout
** Barghouti Withdraws from Race to Succeed Arafat
** Other News in Brief
** Economic & Hi-Tech Briefs
Five Soldiers Killed in Gaza Tunnel Blast
Five Israel Defense Forces soldiers from the Bedouin Desert Reconnaissance Battalion
were killed and six were wounded when a tunnel filled with explosives blew up
underneath an IDF post near the Rafah terminal in the southern Gaza Strip early
Sunday evening, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The soldiers who lost their life
in the attack are: Sgt. Araf al-Zabarga, 20, from Kuseifa; Tarek al-Zidaina,
20, from Rahat; Sgt. Sayid Jaja, 19, from Arara; Pvt. Adham Samir Shehada, 19,
from Turan; Hussein Abu Lile, 23, from Ein Mahil. One of the wounded soldiers
is still in critical condition.
Hamas and Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack, in honor of "the martyr Yasser Arafat,” and claimed that it took four months to dig an 800 meter-long tunnel from Rafah to the crossing and that one and a half tons of explosives had been placed in barrels inside the tunnel to create the blast.
After the initial explosion, two gunmen throwing grenades and firing rifles infiltrated the post, while other Palestinians fired mortar shells and directed light weapons fire at the position. Soldiers at the post who had not been wounded in the explosion opened fire, killing one of the assailants. The second fled the area, apparently toward Rafah. The gunman who escaped later said he tried to kidnap a wounded soldier, but killed him because the soldier resisted.
The IDF post, a security checkpoint for Palestinians entering the border crossing, was manned only by the 11 soldiers from the Bedouin reconnaissance unit.
Shortly after Hamas and Fatah claimed responsibility, crowds of Palestinians rejoiced in the streets of Gaza City.
IAF Hits Terror Targets in Gaza
A day after five Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed in a joint Hamas-Fatah
attack in the Gaza Strip, Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz approved today a series
of operational incursions to combat the terrorism caused by the tunnel system
in Gaza, HA’ARETZ reported. In an apparent initial response to the bombing,
Israel Air Force helicopters fired around six missiles at targets in Gaza City
early today. One of the missiles hit a metal foundry believed to be used by
terror groups to produce ammunitions. There were no apparent casualties in the
strike.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today he did not see any change in the Palestinian Authority's efforts to fight terrorism. Progress in peace efforts, Sharon said, depends on whether the Palestinians act against terror.
”By now, we don't see any change,” Sharon said. “My government and I would like to move forward towards peace, but it depends on one thing, that it should be quiet and I'm really sorry to say that by now we don't see any changes."
In other news, in the West Bank, a wanted Hamas terrorist was killed and three IDF soldiers were injured, none of them seriously, in an overnight gun battle in Nablus. The Hamas man was identified as Ihsam Shuhana, who was linked to a number of suicide bombings.
10,000 Reservists to Assist in
Pullout
The Israel Defense Forces plans a massive call-up of reservists, possibly up
to 10,000, to help with the disengagement from the Gaza Strip and northern West
Bank, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The army has allocated 12 weeks for implementing
the disengagement starting in early July. But the massive call up of reservists
will begin in May to relieve troops who will undergo disengagement training.
The boosted reserve force will also give the IDF more flexibility in reshuffling
its regular troops, including those who will be redeploying outside of the Gaza
Strip and northern West Bank. In general, reservists will not be used to carry
out the disengagement or evacuation of Jewish settlers in the plan dubbed Shevet
Ahim, or Tribe of Brothers.
Meanwhile, Israel may consider giving the Palestinian Authority security responsibility for the areas planned for withdrawal before the actual redeployment from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank, Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz said today. "I am prepared to transfer responsibility in the Gaza Strip even before implementation of the pullout plan,” Mofaz said at the Herzliya Conference today. “More so, on the day the Palestinians are ready to take responsibility over cities in the West Bank, I am convinced we must transfer authority in these places before, or during the pullout, but only if they stop the terror that is coming out of Jenin and Nablus." Mofaz added.
Mofaz also said that IDF troops would be pulled out of Palestinian cities ahead of the January 9th elections in the PA. "We will leave the Palestinian cities for a period of about 72 hours, that is the day before, the day of and the day after the election," Mofaz said. "We will do our best not to interfere with orderly procedure of the election," he added.
Barghouti Withdraws from Race
to Succeed Arafat
Marwan Barghouti – the Fatah leader imprisoned in Israel for the killing
of several Israelis – has dropped out of the contest for the Palestinian
Authority presidency, MA’ARIV reported. Barghouti’s move makes PLO
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas a clear favorite to succeed Yasser Arafat. In a letter
written in his prison cell and read out at his campaign's Ramallah offices Sunday
night, Barghouti harshly criticized the Fatah leadership, threw his weight behind
his "dear brother" Abbas, and made a series of policy demands from
the PLO chairman. Among the conditions laid out by Barghouti is the necessity
for the Palestinian leadership not to make concessions on major issues such
as Jerusalem, the refugees' ‘right of return’ and the release of
all Palestinian prisoners. The announcement of Barghouti's withdrawal marks
the apparent end of his on-again, off-again campaign. His original decision
to run for the presidency was widely criticized by many Palestinian officials
and by the Egyptian leadership, eager to promote Israeli-Palestinian dialogue
in the wake of Arafat’s death.
PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas has apologized to Kuwait for the Palestinian support of Saddam Hussein after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. Abbas made the remarks upon his arrival in Kuwait City on Sunday. The Kuwaiti government said in a reconciliation gesture to the new Palestinian leadership that Abbas was welcome and that apologies were unnecessary. This is the first visit of a Palestinian leader to Kuwait since ties were frozen 14 years ago when Yasser Arafat backed the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein.
The Likud negotiating team headed by Yoram Rabed met this morning with the negotiators from the United Torah Judaism party in Jerusalem to discuss arrangements for the latter to join the coalition, HA’ARETZ reported. The meeting focused mainly on UTJ demands for ministerial posts. Also Monday, Shas Chairman Eli Yishai indicated that his ultra-Orthodox party could join a unity government despite spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's opposition to the disengagement plan.
Industrial output rose 1.3 percent in the third quarter, compared with a 1 percent rise in the second quarter, GLOBES reported. Output by low-tech industries fell 0.9 percent in real terms, while output by high-tech industries jumped 4.7 percent, compared with the second quarter. The Manufacturers Association attributed the gap between industries to the strike in July and August. High-tech industries, which mostly use air cargo transportation, managed to grow during the strike, in contrast to low-tech industries, which are more dependent on marine transportation.
Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu called a deal signed with the Histadrut labor federation "a great achievement" because the pact ensures that the government will not exceed its budget in 2005, THE MARKER.COM reported. Reached after three months of behind-the-scenes talks, the agreement between the Finance Ministry and the unions reinstates pay cuts in the public sector and cancels the treasury's plan to tax severance pay and employees' professional training funds.
[Today's Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** Abbas: Resorting to Violence Against Israel Was a Mistake
** Israel and Egypt Sign Landmark Trade Agreement
** IDF Shuts Down Rafah Crossing Following Death of 5 Soldiers
** 24-hour TV Takes Ulpan to Next Level
** France Orders Hezbollah’s TV Station Off the Air
** Other News in Brief
** Economic & Hi-Tech Briefs
Abbas: Resorting to Violence
Against Israel Was a Mistake
The use of weapons by Palestinians to fight Israel was a mistake and should
end, PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas has declared, HA’ARETZ reported. In an interview
to the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat published today, Abbas
said that Palestinians should resist the Israeli ‘occupation’ of
the West Bank and Gaza without resorting to violence. "Using the weapons
was harmful and has got to stop," Abbas said, referring to shootings and
bombings by Palestinian terrorists that have killed hundreds of Israelis since
the outbreak of fighting in September 2000. Abbas is the front-runner to replace
Yasser Arafat in January 9th elections for Palestinian Authority chairman.
However, according to THE JERUSALEM POST, PA and Fatah officials have refused to condemn Sunday's tunnel attack near Rafah in which five soldiers were killed, saying it was a "legitimate operation" against a military target. Some officials in Ramallah admitted that the attack was a serious blow to Abbas's efforts to achieve calm. The PA-controlled media hailed on Monday the perpetrators as "martyrs" and described the attack as a "martyrdom operation against Israeli occupation forces."
Israel
and Egypt Sign Landmark Trade Agreement
Israel and Egypt signed an historic trade accord today in Cairo, in yet another
indication of the warming relations between the two countries, MA’ARIV
reported. The deal states that goods jointly manufactured by Israeli and Egyptian
companies, in three Qualified Industrial Zones in greater Cairo, Alexandria
and the Suez Canal, could gain tariff-free entry to the United States, as long
as 35 percent of the exports are jointly produced by Egypt and Israel, and that
the Israeli component constitutes at least 12 percent. The agreement, which
represents the first strategic partnership accord in trade and industry since
the 1979 peace treaty, was signed by Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Ehud
Olmert, his Egyptian counterpart Rashid Mohamed Rashid and U.S. Trade Representative
Robert Zoellick.
Cairo had resisted the deal for several years, but its hand was forced by new U.S. textile import regulations which come into effect on January 1st and could have a dealt a knock-out blow to Egypt's key sector.
Scores of Egyptians protested across the country against the signing of the deal, arguing it was a form of colonialism. In Cairo, dozens of protesters, mainly anti-globalization activists and members of associations campaigning for the boycott of Israeli products, gathered at the headquarters of the journalists' union to denounce the agreement.
IDF Shuts Down Rafah Crossing Following Death of 5 Soldiers
The Rafah Terminal Crossing in the southern Gaza Strip will be closed until
further notice following the Hamas tunnel attack on the adjacent Israel Defense
Forces post that killed five soldiers and wounded six others, THE JERUSALEM
POST reported. The IDF will allow traffic between Israel, Egypt and Gaza, for
humanitarian needs, at the nearby Nitzana Crossing. Meanwhile, reconstruction
work has begun on the site of the IDF post destroyed in the bomb attack on Sunday
night. The Bedouin Desert Patrol Battalion resumed today full operational duties
in the Rafah area after burying five of its soldiers on Monday.
Meanwhile, the army is reassessing its operational doctrines in the southern Gaza Strip, as well as the necessity of some of the IDF outposts in the area. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon approved a number of "localized" actions in response to Sunday's attack. The army will launch a series of "rolling operations" not only in the Rafah area but elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, against weapons smuggling tunnels as well as the Qassam rocket and mortar launching infrastructure.
According to HA’ARETZ, early today, IDF troops moved into a Palestinian refugee camp, demolishing at least seven homes in an area that has been used to stage attacks on nearby Jewish towns in recent days. Military officials said the army was operating against the terrorist infrastructure in the area. Terrorists have fired 25 mortar shells, rockets and anti-tank weapons at nearby Israeli targets in the past week, including a mortar barrage that wounded a child last Friday in Neve Dekalim.
24-hour
TV Takes Ulpan to Next Level
The Immigration Absorption Ministry will launch a TV station this spring featuring
round-the-clock Hebrew lessons with an aim to help new immigrants learn one
of Israel’s official languages, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. "Every
new immigrant has a television, so instead of having them come to us, all they
will have to do is push a button and learn Hebrew," ministry director-general
Mirla Gal said. "It's like having a teacher in front of you."
Gal added that the idea of a 24-hour station devoted to teaching a country's language was revolutionary: "From what I understand, it's the first time in history, and certainly the first time in Israel" that it is being done.
The programs and content – even the station's name and number – are still being worked out. But Gal said there would be a mix of shows to appeal to both children and adults of different Hebrew levels, and that the station would definitely feature a regular news show. Altogether, the ministry is spending NIS 8 million this year and the next on programs to boost Hebrew-language comprehension among new immigrants.
France Orders Hezbollah’s
TV Station Off the Air
France's highest administrative body ordered today the removal of Hezbollah’s
TV station from French airwaves within 48 hours for broadcasting hateful content
in some shows and posing risks to public order, THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
The Council of State ordered Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat to stop
broadcasting Al-Manar within two days. France's High Audiovisual Council, or
CSA, said in November that Al-Manar had violated its contractual agreement as
well as the French law banning media from inciting hatred or violence for reasons
of religion or nationality. Weeks before, the CSA had reached an agreement with
Al-Manar that allowed the channel to broadcast in France despite appeals from
Jewish groups that it was putting out anti-Semitic content.
Following difficult coalition talks with Labor and Shas on Monday, a Likud team noted positive results after meeting with United Torah Judaism on today, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. The Likud offered UTJ a deputy ministerial position in the Prime Minister's Office that would be in charge of religious affairs. UTJ said, however, it wanted another a deputy position in another ministry, as well as the chairmanship of the Knesset Finance Committee. The Labor Party team stormed out of a meeting with the Likud team Monday night, after a bitter argument broke out over economic and social issues.
Israel and the European Union signed a treaty making it easier for Israel to participate in European projects in education, research, energy and trade, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. The participating countries will also strengthen cooperation in fighting global terrorism. Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom, speaking in Brussels on Monday, urged the EU to promote a better relationship between Israel and the Arab countries.
Teva Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted tentative approval for the sale of metformin hydrochloride extended release tablets, THE MARKER.COM reported. The tablets are the generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb's Glucophage tablets for treatment of type 2 diabetes. The brand product has annual sales of approximately $27 million.
Exports of flowers for the Christmas season are 17 percent higher than during the same period last year, HA’ARETZ reported. The most popular exports for the season are roses, carnations, gerbera and lilies. Haim Hadar of the Flower Growers Association said that the recent drop in temperature could delay blooming.
[Today's Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** Thai Worker
Killed in Palestinian Mortar Attack
** Israel Proposes Refugee Plan
** FM Shalom Calls for International Mideast Summit, Syria Talks
** Peres Expresses Support for Pullout, Opposition to Early Elections
** Other News in Brief
** Economic & Hi-Tech Briefs
Thai Worker Killed in Palestinian Mortar Attack
A Palestinian mortar attack on the Gush Katif town of Ganei Tal killed a 20-year-old
female foreign worker from Thailand and wounded two other workers early this
evening, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The worker from Thailand was killed after
a mortar shell exploded inside a storeroom by which she was standing; two other
workers inside the building were lightly wounded by shrapnel.
In total, six mortar shells were fired at Israeli towns in Gush Katif, and two were fired at Israel Defense Forces posts and Jewish towns in the northern Gaza Strip, during the day. The Palestinian mortar attacks continued despite the presence of IDF troops on the outskirts of the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip since Friday. The troops took up positions on the outskirts of the camp in an effort to halt the attacks on Gush Katif and nearby IDF posts. Since the beginning of November, more than 80 mortar shells and Qassam rockets have been fired at Gush Katif communities in the western Negev, including more than 25 this past week.
Israel
Proposes Refugee Plan
The Foreign Ministry is putting together a new diplomatic initiative aimed at
finding a permanent solution to the Palestinian refugees problem in the West
Bank and Gaza and in neighboring Arab countries, THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
Israel intends to ask countries that support the Palestinian Authority financially
to invest capital in finding a permanent housing solution for Palestinians living
in the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Syria and Lebanon.
Minister of Foreign Silvan
Shalom has reportedly spoken with leaders of countries that financially back
the PA, as well as representatives of the World Bank, and asked them to assist
with the new plan. The plan also includes a request by some of these nations
to absorb some of the refugees in their own countries.
Earlier this month, 18 donor countries pledged approximately $90 million for
the 2005 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian
Refugees (UNRWA) during a meeting at the UN. The agency's $339 million budget
for 2005 was some 2.7 percent higher than the previous year, according to the
UN.
One-third of the registered Palestine refugees, about 1.3 million people, live in 59 recognized refugee camps in the area of UNRWA operations in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Israel has long charged that rather than working to permanently solve the refugee problem, the UNRWA-run camps only perpetuate the issue.
FM
Shalom Calls for International Mideast Summit, Syria Talks
Addressing the Herzliya Conference today, Minister of Foreign Silvan Shalom
called for an international conference on the Middle East, in order to give
a boost to the new Palestinian Authority leadership, HA’ARETZ reported.
"Israel has to do its part, to remove the unauthorized outposts and withdraw
to the positions held before September 29, 2000," Shalom said. "This
is the only way we can work to really achieve what is necessary for the long
process that can lead us to peace."
Shalom also said that Israel should not ignore Syrian peace overtures, and called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to prove his peaceful intentions. The Foreign Minister’s direct appeal to Assad appears to be the most positive Israeli response yet to Syria’s apparent willingness to enter dialogue with Israel. "I say to Assad: work to close the terror headquarters in Damascus and you will find in us a real partner in peace,'" Shalom said. "The moment Syria ends it support for terror we must go immediately to the negotiating table," Shalom added.
Peres
Expresses Support for Pullout, Opposition to Early Elections
Despite recent difficulties in Labor-Likud coalition talks, Labor Chairman Shimon
Peres said he was in favor of the disengagement plan and strongly opposed the
idea of early elections, MA’ARIV reported. In his address at the “Herzliya
Conference”, Peres said, “The question is how we want 2005 to shape
up: Disengagement or elections. I think it would be wrong to make the coming
year an election year. It is a crucial year and we should not miss the opportunity”.
Peres predicted that 2005 would constitute a turning point in the peace process. “It is the best year to make it so”, he said. “In 2005, neither the Americans nor the European would pressure us. However, we must assume the responsibility ourselves and remember that we are running out of time: The world is changing, the economy is changing”.
Meanwhile, according to HA’ARETZ, the head of the Labor Party coalition negotiating team, MK Dalia Itzik, has cancelled a meeting with Likud representative, attorney Yoram Rabad. Whereas the Likud has proposed to give Labor the interior and communications portfolios, Labor is also demanding the education ministry and either the transportation or internal security ministry.
Jewish immigration to Israel from France has reached its highest level in more than three decades, immigration officials said Tuesday, HA’ARETZ reported. The Jewish Agency said 2,236 French Jews immigrated between January and the end of October 2004, up from 1,860 during the same period in 2003 and higher than the full-year figure for any year since 1972 when 2,356 French immigrants arrived. France has experienced a recent wave of anti-Semitic incidents with French Interior Ministry figures showing 510 anti-Jewish acts or threats in the first six months of 2004 - compared to 593 for all of 2003.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Tuesday his country's security forces would take action to halt the arms smuggling from the Sinai into the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. Meanwhile, Israel has approved a list of several dozen Palestinian police officers who will be trained in Egypt in advance of Israel's planned disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the government is nearing completion of a bill that would completely exempt foreign companies that relocate their centers to Israel from paying taxes, HA’ARETZ reported. Netanyahu called for creating an investor-friendly environment not only to attract foreign investors but also to discourage domestic ones from fleeing. Lowering tax brackets forms the base of this friendlier environment, which the government is in the final stages of preparing, he said.
Netanya-based Saifun Semiconductors was chosen by a HA’ARETZ-THE MARKER survey as Israel's most promising startup for 2005, HA’ARETZ reported. The survey polled 2,000 readers of TheMarker's Internet site, VC fund managers, and a panel of judges from HA’ARETZ-THE MARKER ‘s economic editorial board. Saifun, which was founded in 1997, has developed solutions that quadruple memory storage capacity in serial flash memory devices for products like digital cameras. The company is planning an IPO on Nasdaq next year based on a market value of $400 to $500 million. Five other companies were recognized for excellence, including Yokneam-based OPLUS Technologies (semiconductor chips), Tel Aviv-based BigBand Networks (communications), Cyota (software and software security), Herzliya-based Disc-o-Tech Medical Technologies (life sciences) and Dotomi Israel (Internet).
[Today's Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** Shas Won’t Join Coalition for Now, Opposes Pullout Plan
** Abbas Rejects Israel’s Plan to Solve Palestinian Refugees’
Issue
** Leading French Politician Sarkozy Expresses Solidarity with
Israel
** 5000 Mortar Shells Landed in Israel in Four Years
** Murderer of 10-Month-Old Shalhevet Pas Sentenced to Three Life
Terms
** Other News in Brief
** Economic & Hi-Tech Briefs
Shas
Won’t Join Coalition for Now, Opposes Pullout Plan
Shas Chairman Eli Yishai said today that the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party would
not join the coalition for now because it opposed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's
disengagement plan, HA’ARETZ reported. However, a joint statement issued
by both Shas and the Likud read that the talks between the two parties would
continue and that if the political climate changed, Shas would reevaluate its
stance regarding the pullout plan.
One possible solution is for Shas to join the government after the January 9th Palestinian Authority elections, which are likely to be followed by meetings between Sharon and the anticipated winner, PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas. A successful meeting would allow Shas' spiritual patron, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who is vehemently opposed to a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, to change his position as the disengagement would then be the outcome of dialogue with the Palestinians.
Talks with the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party were also due to continue today, following progress in negotiations the day before.
Meanwhile, Sharon has offered Labor the Interior Ministry, as well as five other ministries and a special deputy prime ministerial slot for Labor Chairman Shimon Peres.
Abbas Rejects Israel’s
Plan to Solve Palestinian Refugees’ Issue
PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas rejected Wednesday a new Israeli initiative to resettle
Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and neighboring Arab countries,
THE JERUSALEM POST reported. "Any proposal regarding the resettlement of
the refugees is completely rejected," Abbas told reporters in Saudi Arabia.
Abbas was referring to the Foreign Ministry's diplomatic initiative aimed at finding a permanent solution to the Palestinian refugees in the PA-controlled areas and in neighboring Arab countries. The initiative calls for asking countries that support the PA financially to invest capital in finding a permanent housing solution for Palestinians living in the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Syria and Lebanon. Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom has reportedly spoken with leaders of countries that financially back the PA, as well as representatives of the World Bank, and asked them to assist with the new plan. The plan also includes a request by some of these nations to absorb some of the refugees in their own countries.
Leading French Politician Sarkozy
Expresses Solidarity with Israel
While on a three-day visit to Israel, Nicolas Sarkozy, the head of France’s
leading political party, expressed solidarity with Israeli victims of terror
and praised Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his courageous policies, THE JERUSALEM
POST reported. "I came here to express solidarity with the suffering of
the victims [of terror]. Your children are our children; France has also suffered
from terror," Sarkozy said. In his address at the last day of the Herzliya
Conference, Sarkozy stressed his friendship for Israel on numerous occasions.
He pointed out that 27 French nationals had been killed in Israel in terror
attacks. Sarkozy added that he admired Israel's ability to build a vibrant state,
faced with daily dangers.
The French politician also paid tribute to Prime Minister Sharon for the political and physical courage that led him to take the historic decision of disengaging from the Gaza Strip and some parts of the West Bank. Sarkozy was one of the few world leaders to express any feeling of empathy for 8,000 settlers in Gaza, who will be forced to leave their homes. "For them it will be a trauma," he said. Alluding to France's experience in Algeria in the 1960s, he said that his country could appreciate the extent of that trauma.
Sarkozy, 49, a former French finance minister and Interior minister, was recently elected as the president of the ruling Popular Movement Union. He is considered President Jacques Chirac's chief rival within the party, and is likely to be a candidate in the 2007 presidential elections.
5000 Mortar Shells Landed in
Israel in Four Years
Nearly 5,000 mortar shells have landed in Gush Katif since the start of Palestinian
violence four years ago, killing four people and injuring over a hundred, MA’ARIV
reported. A former senior Israel Defense Forces officer noted that, “the
numbers are reminiscent of the fighting in southern Lebanon and maybe even surpass
them. In Lebanon we simply fired back. In Gaza it is impossible since they fire
from civilian territory. There are solutions to this problem, but they are not
being carried out”.
In other security-related news, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL reported that five Israelis had been wounded, two of them moderately, in two shooting incidents on the Kissufim-Gush Katif road. IDF soldiers killed two of the terrorists who carried out the shooting attack.
IDF troops in the Gaza Strip shot dead a member of the Islamic Jihad this morning as he was attempting to plant an explosive device near an Israeli town.
Murderer of 10-Month-Old Shalhevet
Pas Sentenced to Three Life Terms
The Beit-El Military Court has sentenced Fatah-Tanzim operative Mahmoud Amro
to three life terms in prison for the murder of 10-month-old infant Shalhevet
Pas in March 2001, MA’ARIV reported. Amro, 26, was handed a fourth life
term for his involvement in the suicide bombing at the Jerusalem Mahane Yehuda
Market two years ago. Six people were murdered in the attack. The Tanzim terrorist
has been detained since the beginning of the month. During his interrogation,
he admitted to murdering Pas. Amro was detained by the Palestinian Authority
shortly after the attack, only to be released several hours later.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak unveiled today a new diplomatic plan for the Israel-Palestinian conflict, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Addressing the Herzliya Conference, Barak presented a plan in which construction of the West Bank security fence would be completed in six months, and all settlements on the eastern side of the fence would be immediately evacuated. Barak called on the international community to "take a mandate" over the Palestinian Authority for a period of three years and lead it towards a final status agreement with Israel.
ALON USA is installing Retalix point-of-sale systems at all of ALON’S 7-Eleven locations run by the company’s Southwest Convenience Stores retail marketing division, THE MARKER.COM reported. With 168 stores in West Texas and New Mexico, ALON is the largest 7-Eleven licensee in North America.
Sony is licensing memory technology designed by Saifun Technologies, THE MARKER.COM reported. The agreement entails granting Sony a user license for its NROM technology, which permits storage of two to four bits in a single flash memory cell. NROM technology enables the manufacture of cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and other mobile devices with much more memory capacity.
[Today's Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** Soldier Lightly Wounded as IDF Launches Operation Against Mortar
Launching Infrastructure
** 5 Palestinians Die in Gaza Tunnel Collapse
** PM Sharon to Palestinians: Do Not Miss Unique Opportunity for
Peace
** UN Might Hold Special Session in Remembrance of Holocaust
** Other News in Brief
** Economic & Hi-Tech Briefs
Soldier
Lightly Wounded as IDF Launches Operation Against Mortar Launching Infrastructure
One soldier taking part in Israel Defense Forces counter-terror operations in
the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip was lightly wounded this afternoon
when Palestinian gunmen fired an anti-tank rocket towards an armored bulldozer,
THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The IDF launched "Operation Orange Iron"
Thursday night in an effort to eliminate mortar fire directed at Israeli communities
in Gush Katif and originating from the Khan Yunis refugee camp. The operation
was initiated as part of a series of expected IDF activities that were approved
by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon following the attack on the IDF outpost near
Rafah last Sunday night in which five soldiers were killed.
In the past week, at least 30 mortars shells have been fired at Israeli towns and IDF targets in the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday one of these shells killed a young woman and wounded two men in Ganei Tal. On Thursday evening, mortar fire on Gush Katif wounded 11 soldiers.
Six Palestinians were reportedly killed and 24 were wounded during the Khan Yunis raid.
5 Palestinians Die in Gaza Tunnel
Collapse
Israeli and Palestinian rescue forces were cooperating today in a search for
three Palestinians declared missing following the collapse of a weapons-smuggling
tunnel on the Gaza-Egypt border overnight which has already killed at least
five Palestinians, HA’ARETZ reported. The Israel Defense Forces allowed
Palestinian ambulances and rescue workers to get to the scene of the tunnel
collapse, which is usually off-limits to Palestinians. Rescue forces extricated
the bodies of the dead Palestinians from the tunnel.
The tunnel, which is located between an IDF base and the south Gaza area of Rafah, collapsed late Thursday.
PM Sharon to Palestinians: Do
Not Miss Unique Opportunity for Peace
Speaking at the closing session of the Herzliya Conference on Thursday night
, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared 2005 a year of "great opportunity,"
and called on the Palestinians and neighboring Arab countries not to miss a
historic chance to reach an agreement with Israel, THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
"We stand today before a unique window of opportunity," Sharon said.
"Who knows when we might have another chance like this in the future?"
Sharon said that in light of these new opportunities, made possible primarily by Yasser Arafat's death, "Israel will be prepared to coordinate various elements relating to our disengagement plan with the future Palestinian government – a government which is ready and able to take responsibility for the areas which we leave."
Sharon said the vision of a two-state solution requires major concessions from both sides. He said that Israel made the "historic decision that we are prepared for such concessions" because the alternative of one nation ruling over another "would be a horrible disaster for both peoples."
Then, addressing the Palestinians, he said: "When faced with tranquility and a hand extended in peace, we will know how to react in tranquility and extend an honest and brave hand in return... We have no desire to rule over you, we have no desire to run your affairs."
The Palestinian Authority reacted angrily Thursday night to Sharon's comments, saying Israel would not find a partner on the Palestinian side to implement Sharon’s vision. PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas, who is on a visit to Qatar, said the Palestinians completely rejected Sharon's statements. Abbas stressed that the Palestinians would never surrender the right of the refugees to return to Israel.
UN Might Hold Special Session
in Remembrance of Holocaust
Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom thanked United Nations Secretary General
Kofi Annan early today for his efforts to hold a special commemorative session
at the General Assembly – possibly this coming January - to mark the 60th
anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, HA’ARETZ reported.
A majority of the 191-member assembly will have to approve the session, requested
by the United States and supported by Russia, France, Hungary, Canada and the
Netherlands (representing the 25-member European Union as well as other nations).
Annan has begun polling General Assembly members in an effort to convene the session, UN officials said this week. The UN chief told Shalom during their phone conversation that he was personally committed to the issue and viewed it as important. In response to an invitation by Shalom to visit Israel, Annan said he would be happy to make the trip this coming year.
U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos, a California Democrat and the only Holocaust survivor to ever serve in the U.S. Congress, told Annan on Monday that Arab nations had raised objections to the idea of the special session. "I am appalled by what I understand is the opposition of some [Arab] countries to this session, which reflects a degree of a historical and mindless venom which is difficult to justify in the international arena," Lantos said.
Israel supports a Middle East peace conference planned by British Prime Minister Tony Blair for February, but will not participate in it, senior political sources in Israel said today, HA’ARETZ reported. The sources indicated that Israel saw the conference as a forum for encouraging reforms in the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian, European and American representatives will be attending the conference. Blair is slated to visit Israel and the PA in a trip starting next Tuesday.
Professor Yehudit Naot who stepped down as environment minister earlier this year due to throat cancer, died Thursday evening in her Haifa home at the age of 60, MA’ARIV reported. Elected to the Knesset in 1999 on the Shinui list, Naot served as environment minister from February 2003 until September this year. She stepped down from her position to battle the disease. Mourning her passing, Shinui leader Yossef Lapid said: "She was an exemplary figure. With her total integrity, she always said exactly what she thought and did not make the compromises that most politicians make."
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said: “Since this government first started working, I was privileged to witness her unique personality. I found in her a combination of honesty, adhering to principles, professionalism and dedication”.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation is completing its interim report on the Israeli economy, and will submit it to Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu and Governor of the Bank of Israel David Klein next week, GLOBES reported. The report is expected to stress the great improvement over the past year in the basic economic situation, and in economic policy and structural reform. In view of the improved geopolitical situation, optimistic growth estimates for 2004 and 2005 are expected from the IMF delegation, similar to those of the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Israel.
Israel has attained a major achievement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) by maintaining its right to demand 30 percent reciprocal procurement in contracts involving international companies, GLOBES reported. Israel’s reciprocal procurement was due to fall to 20 percent in early 2005. Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor Ehud Olmert said that the extension of Israel’s right to demand 30 percent had created a potential of $75 million for Israeli companies in reciprocal procurement deals from foreign companies. Thirty-six countries are parties to the WTO government procurement agreement, including the European Union, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Switzerland. The agreement arranges access to government agency tenders in the signatory countries.
[Today's Israel
Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New
York.]