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Israeline —
Monday,
MURDERERS WILL NOT BE PART OF HIZBULLAH’S PRISONER SWAP
U.S. CRITICAL OF NEW PALESTINIAN GOVERNMENT
ISRAELI ARAB CHARGED WITH TRANSPORTING HAIFA SUICIDE BOMBER
ABSENCE OF VITAMIN B1 IN BABY FORMULA CAUSES DEATH OF 3 INFANTS
ISRAELI COMPANY DEVELOPS EARLY-STAGE SARS DIAGNOSIS KIT
ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
MURDERERS WILL NOT BE PART OF HIZBULLAH’S PRISONER SWAP
Terrorists with Israeli blood on their hands, such as Lebanese Druse terrorist Samir Kuntar, will not be part of a prisoners’ exchange deal with Hizbullah, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Hizbullah has put the expected exchange into question by demanding that release of Kuntar – the terrorist who headed the four-man Palestine Liberation Front squad on a murderous attack in Nahariya in 1979, in which Danny Hadan, 28, his daughters Einat, four, and Yael, two, and policeman Eliyahu Shahar were killed.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom responded to Hizbullah’s demand saying that Israel had "red lines" it would not cross. "Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that Kuntar’s release is out of the question, " Shalom said. "The murder of a family in Israel is unforgivable. I oppose his release. We have stated in the clearest possible terms throughout the negotiations that Kuntar is not on the list," he added.
Sharon’s special envoy, Ilan Biran, is to go to Germany in the next few days to put what Israel hopes will be the finishing touches to the prisoner swap. The cabinet narrowly approved the swap on Sunday by a vote of 12-11. The Israeli defense establishment has maintained the criteria that only Lebanese prisoners involved in attacks against Israeli installations in Southern Lebanon may be included in the exchange list, and not those who perpetrated attacks within Israel.
U.S. CRITICAL OF NEW PALESTINIAN GOVERNMENT
The United States criticized on Sunday Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei’s
newly appointed government in which security control remains under the responsibility
of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, HA’ARETZ reported. "The prime minister must
have control of all of the security forces and Washington insists that terrorists
and military organizations not under the control of the Palestinian Authority
be disarmed and dismantled," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Amanda Batt
said.
Israel was also critical of the new government. Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom said Sunday that the new Palestinian government "will be judged by its actions," adding that, "leaving security authority in Arafat’s hands is not promising." Qurei will present his cabinet to the Palestinian Legislative Council for approval on Wednesday.
Qurei compromised over his initial call for General Nasser Yousef to head the Interior Ministry, and agreed to the nomination of Hakam Balawi, a loyal supporter of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. The Palestinian premier said Saturday that Arafat had agreed to a security deal that would split power between the Interior Ministry and the National Security Council, which is under Arafat’s auspices but includes General Yousef.
ISRAELI ARAB CHARGED WITH TRANSPORTING HAIFA SUICIDE
BOMBER
An Israeli Arab from the northern town of Umm al-Fahm was charged today with
having driven the female suicide bomber who exploded herself inside the crowded
Maxim restaurant in Haifa last month, killing 21 people, HA’ARETZ reported.
According to the indictment, Jamal Mahnaje, 47, was arrested by police and Israel
Security Agency agents hours after the attack at Maxim. He confessed to investigators
that he had driven the bomber from the border of the West Bank to the restaurant
and even dined with her prior to the bombing.
Detectives quoted him as saying that the terrorist, Hanadi Jawadat, contacted him by telephone the day before the bombing, asking him to drive her to Rambam Hospital in Haifa the following day. During the car ride to the hospital, Jawadat reportedly changed her mind, and asked to be driven to Hillel Yaffe hospital in Hadera. Reaching Hadera, she changed her mind again, and requested to go to Haifa. The two then stopped to eat together at the restaurant located on the southern outskirts of Haifa. Jawadat waited until Mahnaje had exited the restaurant to detonate the bomb that she had secretly carried.
Mahnaje said he had no knowledge of her intentions, but he admitted that her actions had appeared suspicious. The investigation showed that her original intent had been to blow herself up at one of the two hospitals, but that she eventually chose the packed restaurant as her target. Security officials believe she decided against carrying out the attack at the Hadera hospital because of the security arrangements in place there.
ABSENCE OF VITAMIN B1 IN BABY FORMULA CAUSES DEATH
OF 3 INFANTS
The deaths in recent weeks of three infants from neurological and cardiological
disorders were caused by the fact that the newborns had been fed using non-dairy
Remedia baby formula that completely lacked vitamin B1 (thiamine), THE JERUSALEM
POST reported. After lab tests confirmed the absence of the vitamin, the Health
Ministry asked the parents of all babies fed with this line of soy-based formula
during the last two months to see their pediatricians. Only those infants with
clinical signs of beriberi (severe thiamine deficiency) will receive infusions
of the vitamin in the hospitals. The Health Ministry indicated that 20 babies
were suspected so far to have suffered damage to their central nervous systems
during the past half-year. Five thousand children have consumed the product
during the past six months.
Health Ministry Food and Nutrition Service director Dr. Dorit Nitzan-Kalusky said that Remedia – an Israel-based food distributor that imports the special line of parve (non-dairy) formula from Germany due to "kashrut requirements" – had not informed the ministry that the formula had been changed in April. This change resulted in the powder being produced without a trace of the vital vitamin, she said. Since the company did not ask for approval, the ministry did not make a special check of the formula, Nitzan-Kalusky said.
Ministry Director-General Boaz Lev told health reporters on Sunday night that he had asked the State Attorney’s Office to investigate the matter, as Remedia and Humana allegedly committed a crime by claiming on the product’s label that it contained vitamin B1 when it did not. It also marketed a product without ministry approval, Lev said.
Meanwhile, two separate lawsuits were filed today at Tel Aviv District Court against the Remedia company, HA’ARETZ reported. The plaintiffs are demanding that their suits be recognized as class action suits against the company. One of the suits is claiming compensation of some NIS 1 billion and the other is demanding damages of NIS 115 million.
ISRAELI COMPANY DEVELOPS EARLY-STAGE SARS DIAGNOSIS KIT
An Israeli company, BioShaf, is close to completing the first kit that can diagnose
SARS at an early stage, ISRAEL21C reported. This breakthrough will help medical
workers and officials control the spread of the highly contagious disease. The
earlier SARS cases are detected, the faster sufferers can be quarantined and
their environs protected. The diagnosis kit, which is designed to detect early-stage
infection by the corona virus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome,
has undergone Phase I trials at the Control Disease Center in Beijing and was
rated as being 97.6 percent effective.
According to BioShaf founder and president, Dr. Shafrira Shai, the uniqueness of BioShaf’s kit is its use of ELISA technology – standing for "enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay." Since its discovery in 1960, ELISA technology has been utilized in an increasing number of biological and biochemical investigations and is proven to be one of the most powerful diagnosis tools available. The technology is based on the principle of an antibody-antigen reaction. If the SARS virus is present, the patient’s body develops antibodies, which can be detected using the antigen – synthetic segments of proteins deriving from the virus itself.
The company hopes to start marketing the kit in China and Southeast Asia within months, and if FDA approval is granted, to take the product to the American market. BioShaf is also working on establishing a joint venture to develop an immunization against SARS.
Chipmaker Intel plans to invest up to $600 million in upgrading its Kiryat Gat manufacturing facilities, HA’ARETZ reported. Intel will submit an application for $120 million in grants – 20 percent of the planned investment – to the Industry and Trade Ministry’s Investment Promotion Center. Intel currently manufactures two-gigahertz chips at the Kiryat Gat fab for the Pentium 4, as well as other chips, all using 0.18 micron technology. More advanced Pentium 4 chips are manufactured in the U.S. and the demand for the Kiryat Gat-made Intel chips is disappearing. As a result, if the plant is not upgraded, its entire 2,200-person staff and 1,800-person support staff will be dismissed in the coming years as the demand evaporates.
Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu told foreign investors at a Go 4 Europe conference at Tel Aviv’s Hilton Hotel on Sunday that the now was an ideal time to invest in Israel, HA’ARETZ reported. "I promise you that if you don’t invest in Israel, you’ll be losing a lot of money," he said. "Israel is an amazing investment. Anyone who failed to listen to me half a year ago has already lost out on a 50 percent gain on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and will continue to lose out if they do not invest now," Netanyahu stated. Netanyahu added that a major foreign company would soon be announcing a $500 million investment in Israel. Meanwhile, the government is acting to push a law through the Knesset exempting major investors in the Negev and Galilee regions from corporate and dividend taxes for life.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob and Dina Wosner at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** SHARON: NEW PA LEADERSHIP OPPOSING TERROR TO ARISE
SOON
** ISRAEL TO SUBMIT FIRST UN RESOLUTION
** PA FORCES COOPERATE WITH ISRAEL TO PREVENT TERRORISM
** U.S. SEEKS $2 BILLION IN MILITARY AID FOR ISRAEL
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
SHARON: NEW PA LEADERSHIP OPPOSING TERROR TO ARISE
SOON
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared on Monday in Moscow that he "believe[s]
that very soon a new Palestinian leadership will materialize, oppose the policies
of terror, violence and incitement adopted by Yasser Arafat, and be prepared
to work together with us on a genuine, honest implementation of the road map,"
HA’ARETZ reported. Sharon added that such a new Palestinian Authority leadership
would discover that Israel was "a serious partner, and that together we
can bring peace and tranquility to both peoples."
Sharon, who was addressing leaders of Russia’s Jewish community, explained that Israel had "engaged contacts with [incoming Palestinian Authority Prime Minister] Abu Ala, so as to pursue all possibilities of advancing relations with the Palestinians." In his address, Sharon reiterated past vows that he was prepared to accept "painful concessions" on behalf of peace. He said that he would endorse such concessions "even though these relate to [places] that are the birth cradle of the Jewish people." Sharon clarified, however, that Israel would "not accept any concessions that endanger the security of the State of Israel and its citizens."
ISRAEL TO SUBMIT FIRST UN RESOLUTION
Israel circulated
its first resolution ever to the General Assembly as part of a new effort to
engage the United Nations and to test whether the organization is capable of
taking a balanced approach to the Mideast, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The
Israeli resolution calls for the protection of Israeli children victimized by
Palestinian terrorism and closely mirrors a similar draft submitted by Egypt
last week highlighting the plight of Palestinian children affected by the conflict
in the region. Israeli diplomats said they would be happy if the General Assembly
decided to drop the two drafts or adopt them both. "The test will be if
they pass the Palestinian one but not ours," deputy Israeli Ambassador
Arye Meckel said.
Over the years, the General Assembly has passed hundreds of resolutions sponsored by Arab states, which condemned Israel’s actions against the Palestinians while making little, if any, mention of Palestinian attacks against Israel. "It’s time to stop being passive," Meckel said. Both the Israeli and the Egyptian resolutions are expected to come up for a vote in the UN’s human rights committee within the next two weeks. If either resolution passes, it will go to the full General Assembly for a final vote in December.
While Israeli diplomats lobby world capitals for support for Israel’s first resolution, Meckel will send a letter later this week requesting similar backing from 155 ambassadors at the United Nations.
PA FORCES COOPERATE WITH ISRAEL TO PREVENT TERRORISM
Palestinian
security services have been cooperating with Israel’s internal security service
for the last few month, to help prevent terrorism, HA’ARETZ reported. The cooperation,
which took place despite the lack of political stability within the Palestinian
Authority, has apparently led to the elimination of key Islamic Jihad and Hamas
operatives and to the prevention of several suicide bombings. A significant
number of the terror alerts that set off alarms in Israel are the result of
information provided by the Palestinians. The cooperation, which often takes
place at a local, commander level, only targets armed Islamic cells. The cooperation
issue is a sensitive one, as the PA does not want to be labeled an Israeli collaborator,
but is still eager to end the anarchy and violence perpetuated by terrorist
groups. All of the Palestinian security forces have reportedly cooperated with
the Israel Security Agency in recent weeks.
U.S. SEEKS $2 BILLION
IN MILITARY AID FOR ISRAEL
Following the 36th
annual meeting of the U.S.-Israel Joint Political Military Group (JPMG), held
in Israel on October 29-30, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military
Affairs Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr. confirmed the intent of the U.S. administration
to provide Israel with over $2 billion in foreign military assistance for the
year 2005, HA’ARETZ reported. The foreign aid allocation is subject to Congressional
approval.
The increase in aid is aimed at enhancing Israel’s security and maintaining its qualitative edge over any combination of adversaries. The rise is in line with a 1990s agreement which reduces economic assistance to Israel by $120 million a year, while adding $60 million a year to the military component of the package, the largest Washington gives to any country.
In addition to the issue of military aid, the United States and Israel exchanged views on regional security matters and defense cooperation issues.
* Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom is slated to recommend the renewal of trade zones with the Palestinian Authority, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Until the start of Palestinian violence, these zones incorporated trade worth $0.5 billion annually. The Foreign Ministry is preparing a list of additional proposals in order to improve the Palestinian population’s living conditions. They reportedly include: cooperation on tourism, extension of fishing rights and raise in work permit quotas.
* Australia will ban the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, as well as the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba organization, adding them to a list of outlawed "terrorist groups", HA’ARETZ reported. The move by Australia – a close U.S. ally – follows a similar measure taken by the European Union in September. Russian President Vladimir Putin told Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during their meeting on Monday in Moscow that Russia was also considering adding Hamas to its list of outlawed terror groups.
* According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Environment, the waters of the Dead Sea are receding at a rate of 3 feet a year, CHANNEL 2 reported. The adjacent ground water supplies are drying up and the surrounding land is collapsing with an abundance of sinkholes, making it off limits to visitors coming to enjoy the region’s minerals and natural resources. In less than 50 years, the lowest point on earth has dropped even lower – from 1,294 feet below sea level to 1,360 feet.
* High-tech’s fastest growing sector in the past two years has been Information Technology (IT), and the first two places in the "Fast 50" competition were given this week to Israeli IT start-ups, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Schema, with 7,380 percent growth in revenue over the past five years won first place. Ceragon Networks placed second at 4,218 percent. The international Deloitte, Touche, and Tohmatsu accounting and consulting firm has been running the technology "Fast 50" program worldwide for the past decade. The program provides an international stage for high-tech companies to showcase their financial achievements, ranking their revenues in percentage over a period of five years.
* The increase in foreign tourism continued in September, GLOBES reported. Tourist entries rose 19.2 percent in the third quarter of 2003, to a monthly average of 112,000, after rising 35.6 percent in the second quarter, according to a Bank of Israel analysis of Central Bureau of Statistics figures. Tourist entries rose 17.4 percent in January-September 2003, compared with the corresponding period in 2002. The number of tourist hotel overnights rose 16.4 percent in the same period.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by David Nekrutman, David Dorfman, Tallie Lieberman and Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** IDF
LIFTS CLOSURES AROUND MOST WEST BANK CITIES
** KNESSET PASSES BUDGET BILL
** YITZHAK RABIN REMEMBERED
** GOVERNMENT EASES BOYCOTT OF ENVOYS WHO MEET ARAFAT
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
IDF LIFTS CLOSURES
AROUND MOST WEST BANK CITIES
Israel lifted the
closures around all but two West Bank towns today in a gesture towards Palestinian
Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, who is trying to form a new government, THE JERUSALEM
POST reported. Defense officials said additional roadblocks might be removed
as well. Private vehicles will be allowed to travel between the cities and towns
with a permit from the civil administration, and Palestinian bus companies are
all operating between the West Bank cities.
The decision to lift the closures comes in the wake of a new situation assessment by the defense establishment. For the past two months, Israeli forces have encircled the main Palestinian population centers as a reaction to suicide bombing attacks. Jenin and Nablus remain under closure due to the large number of terror attack warnings still emanating from those two cities: the Israel Security Agency registered 45 terror attack warnings Wednesday, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported.
Some Foreign Ministry officials have called for Israel to help Qurei through actions including: Lifting road blocks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, removing unauthorized outposts, and allowing pilgrims into Bethlehem for Christmas. These measures are believed to help Qurei gain the confidence of Palestinians and make it easier to move the peace process forward.
KNESSET PASSES BUDGET BILL
The Knesset passed this afternoon the first part of the budget in a 60-48 vote,
THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The bill passed on the first ballot putting the
legislation on track for passage by December 31. The Arrangements bill and the
pensions amendment also passed on the first ballot. The proposed budget is 3.5
percent lower than in 2003, at NIS 254.7 billion. The biggest cuts are in the
Defense, Health, and Education ministries. The defense budget is to be cut by
NIS 4.1 billion, and education is to be reduced by NIS 1.2b. All other ministry
budgets are to be cut by 4 percent from the 2003 figures.
As a result of pressure on the Government from the Histadrut and the Knesset, a measure that would raise the retirement age for men and women to 67 was removed from the arrangements bill and will be considered as separate legislation. The move will enable the Knesset to hold an in-depth discussion on the measure, and prevent it from being pushed quickly through the Finance Committee with the huge mass of budget legislation. Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu said that the budget would help guide the economy to 2.5 percent growth in 2004.
YITZHAK RABIN REMEMBERED
State events commemorating the eighth anniversary of the assassination of Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin will begin at President Moshe Katzav’s official residence
in Jerusalem this afternoon, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. On Tuesday
night, a commemoration in his memory was held at the Labor Party headquarters
in Tel Aviv. The memorial was attended by members of the Rabin family.
The official ceremony will take place at Rabin’s grave on Mt. Herzl on Thursday, followed by a special Knesset session in his memory. Jerusalem police are maintaining a round-the-clock guard at the grave of Yitzhak Rabin to protect it from vandals. The precaution follows a spate of anti-Rabin graffiti in Tel Aviv and other cities.
Indictments have been filed against three people accused of vandalizing the Tel Aviv memorial at the site of the assassination. Two Tel Aviv residents are accused of spitting on the memorial and a Jerusalem resident was arrested for defacing photographs of the late prime minister. All three were released on bail.
GOVERNMENT EASES BOYCOTT
OF ENVOYS WHO MEET ARAFAT
Foreign Ministry Director-General Yoav Biran is expected to meet European Union
special envoy Marc Otte on Thursday, signifying the beginning of a thaw in the
Government’s policy of shunning diplomats who meet with Palestinian Authority
Chairman Yasser Arafat, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Otte, who was appointed
in July, has been unable to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Minister
of Foreign Silvan Shalom, or top Foreign Ministry staffers, because of a meeting
with Arafat early last month. Only the U.S. representative – Assistant Secretary
of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns – retains his access to top
Israeli officials because of the US policy not to deal with Arafat. Biran and
another senior ministry official are expected to meet Otte Thursday at a luncheon
hosted by the Italian ambassador for the ambassadors of the "Troika"
– Italy, Spain, and Ireland, the present, immediate past, and next presidents
of the EU.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will ask the cabinet on Sunday to approve the details of an emerging prisoner swap deal with Hizbullah, HA’ARETZ reported. The decision signals that months of negotiations mediated by Germany could be coming to an end. The actual deal has not been finalized, and the cabinet will only approve the principles of the Israeli proposal.
David Bar-Illan died at 73 in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. Bar-Illan, who was born in Haifa, served as editor-in-chief of THE JERUSALEM POST from 1992-1996, and wrote a column called "Eye on the Media," which reviewed the performance of media outlets in covering the Middle East conflict. From 1996-1999, he was then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s media adviser, serving as the chief contact between the prime minister’s office and the foreign press. Bar-Illan was also a gifted concert pianist. Binyamin Netanyahu said Tuesday night that, "David Bar-Illan was a Renaissance man; an Israeli Zionist patriot in his whole being, an outstanding artist who sacrificed years of wonderful musical creativity to engage in journalistic and public activity to help his land and his people. He was an amazing writer whose power was in his deep faith in the righteousness of our people."
The economy stabilized on a low and fragile level of activity during April through September of this year according to the Bank of Israel, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The stabilization was achieved after two years of constant contraction, and has occurred against the backdrop of relative calm on the security and political arena, the central bank said. Central bank economists said the improved environment led to the shekel’s appreciation and higher share prices on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In addition, the temporary cease-fire helped to bolster general economic activity.
Zalman Shoval, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., was unanimously elected president of the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce at the organization’s annual general meeting, HA’ARETZ reported. Shoval serves as chairman of the Export Investment Corporation and is a major shareholder of the Bank of Jerusalem. "Israeli economy is directly affected by that of the U.S.; thus, some improvement can be anticipated here in the near future, due to the recent growth in the U.S. economy," Shoval said. "Nevertheless, we have not yet utilized our full potential with the U.S., and have more to do while focusing on promoting mutual business in both directions," he added.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by David Dorfman, Arielle Bernstein and Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** FAMILIES
CAMPAIGN FOR CABINET APPROVAL OF PRISONER SWAP
** HIZBULLAH PLANTS BOMBS IN ISRAELI TERRITORY NEAR
LEBANESE BORDER
** SHARON: POLITICAL VIOLENCE MUST BE EXPOSED
** ARAFAT BLOCKS PALESTINIAN CABINET-BUILDING PROCESS
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
FAMILIES
CAMPAIGN FOR CABINET APPROVAL OF PRISONER SWAP
Three days before the confidential details of the impending prisoner exchange
deal between Israel and Hizbullah are presented for cabinet approval, the families
of Elhanan Tannenbaum, St.-Sgts. Benny Avraham, Adi Avitan, and Omar SawaYid,
are campaigning vigorously for the deal’s approval in a series of meetings with
reluctant ministers, THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
is also scheduled to meet the families of Tannenbaum and the three IDF soldiers,
as well as the family of missing IAF navigator Ron Arad. Information about Arad
is excluded from the impending deal.
The prisoner swap reportedly includes the release of Mustapha Dirani, Sheikh
Abdel Karim Obeid, and approximately 400 Palestinian, Lebanese, and other Arab
prisoners, in exchange for the ailing Tannenbaum and the remains of Avraham,
Avitan, and Sawayid.
The prime minister’s office believes that the deal will win cabinet approval despite the fact that a number of Cabinet members have expressed skepticism regarding the terms of the arrangement. Once approved, Israel’s formal proposal will be passed on to the German mediators.
HIZBULLAH PLANTS BOMBS IN ISRAELI TERRITORY NEAR
LEBANESE BORDER
The Israel Defense Forces uncovered today a series of Hizbullah roadside bombs
along the Lebanese border between Kibbutz Ma’ayan Baruch and Ghajar today,
HA’ARETZ reported. According to the IDF, a UN helicopter patrol confirmed
the presence of the bombs, which were planted in Israeli territory, west of
the border fence.
Military sources estimated that the bombs were placed Wednesday afternoon, after the previous patrol had passed along the road. The IDF Spokesman said that the Hizbullah action was a violation of a UN resolution which states that Israel fulfilled international commitments when it withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.
It was the first time since last December that Hizbullah planted mines in any part of the border area. In December, two soldiers were seriously hurt when a mine exploded in the western sector of the border fence.
SHARON: POLITICAL VIOLENCE MUST BE EXPOSED
On the eighth anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon and other dignitaries gathered for a memorial service at the Mount
Herzl gravesite of the slain Prime Minister, HA’ARETZ reported. Yigal Amir,
a right-wing hardliner who was opposed to the peace process, shot and killed
Rabin after an appearance the Prime Minister made at a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
Sharon called for all manner of political violence to be exposed, while Amnon
Lipkin-Shahak, who served as the IDF Chief of Staff under Rabin, mourned the
death of the Oslo accords which Rabin and Israel had hoped would bring peace
to the country.
Schools across the nation included lessons on the importance of dialogue and understanding, while Minister of Education Limor Livnat attended a memorial service for Israeli youth in Jerusalem in the morning. "There is no one who holds the whole truth in his hands," Livnat said. "We have to learn to listen to our political opponents, to understand their beliefs and how they are different from ourselves. We need patience," she added.
The Knesset will hold its own memorial service at 5 P.M. at which President Moshe Katsav, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin and Sharon will deliver speeches.
ARAFAT BLOCKS PALESTINIAN
CABINET-BUILDING PROCESS
A late Wednesday night meeting of Arafat’s Fatah Central Committee ended in
a deadlock over the question of the appointment of the security chief in Prime
Minister Ahmed Qurei’s new Government, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Arafat
is blocking the nomination of Qurei’s candidate, Brig. Gen. Nasser Yousef. A
similar dispute helped bring down the government of the previous Prime Minister,
Mahmoud Abbas, after just four months.
Israel and the United States are demanding that Arafat relinquish control over his armed forces and hand them over to an interior minister who answers to the premier. Israel and the United States are also demanding a crackdown on terrorist groups – an obligation that Qurei’s has so far refused to commit himself to meeting, saying he preferred to negotiate an end to the violence.
Meanwhile, according to HA’ARETZ, Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayad, who was praised by the United States for instituting reforms, said today that he was boycotting the caretaker cabinet formed two days following Qurei and Arafat’s power struggle. Fayad said he viewed the caretaker cabinet as having no legal status. "The government’s term was over on November 4 and so was mine," he said, referring to an emergency cabinet whose 30-day term expired on Tuesday. "So I will wait until the cabinet is formed."
The Palestinian Authority is establishing its first technology incubator in Ramallah at a cost of $3.2 million, GLOBES reported. The incubator is a joint project of the Palestinian Information Technology Association (PITA), PalTrade (Palestine Trade Center), PalTel (Palestine Telecommunications Co.), another Palestinian financial institution and USAID. The incubator is schedule to open in 2004. Seven projects have already been submitted as candidates to enter the incubator. The plan is to raise money from Palestinian businessmen to establish seed funds to support the projects.
Amdocs announced today that Taiwan’s Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) had selected the Amdocs Enabler product for voice, data, content and commerce billing for its more than 4.3 million prepaid and postpaid subscribers, GLOBES reported. This contract is very advantageous to Amdocs because it deepens the company’s presence in the Asia Pacific region. As far as is known, Amdocs will deploy systems that will replace CSG’s post-paid products and Infinity’s post-paid and resource management systems (which were provided in partnership with integration company Accenture).
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by David Dorfman, Arielle Bernstein and Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** SHARON
MEETS WITH ARAD FAMILY WITH PRISONER DEAL PENDING
** ISRAEL EASES RESTRICTIONS IN WEST BANK
** UN GA ADOPTS YET ANOTHER RESOLUTION AGAINST ISRAEL
** HISTADRUT, TREASURY REACH COMPROMISE –
NO STRIKE UNTIL AT LEAST NEXT THURSDAY
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
SHARON MEETS WITH ARAD
FAMILY WITH PRISONER DEAL PENDING
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met on Thursday night with family members of missing
air force navigator Ron Arad, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. Members of
the Arad family, including his wife, daughter and brothers, expressed concern
that past and present governments had given up efforts to save the pilot captured
in Lebanon in 1986. The Prime Minister promised that Israel would never cease
its attempts to bring Ron Arad home. He said that the decision to exclude Ron
Arad from the impending prisoner deal with Hizbullah had been a very difficult
one. But Sharon stressed the importance of bringing home a living man and providing
relief to the three families whose sons’ bodies will be returned. Sharon told
the Arad family that no connection could be drawn between leaving Hizbullah’s
Mustafa Dirani and Sheikh Obeid in Israeli custody, and obtaining information
on the fate of Ron Arad.
Meanwhile, Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said he was optimistic about the chance of sealing a prisoner exchange with Israel. Qadour Fares, a Fatah official said the Palestinians had asked Hizbullah to demand the release of West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti. But Israeli officials made it clear that Barghouti would not be part of the prisoner exchange.
ISRAEL
EASES RESTRICTIONS IN WEST BANK
As Israel opened today a key checkpoint close to the West Bank city of Ramallah
– one of the first measures taken to ease restrictions imposed on the
Palestinian population in the West Bank – four Palestinians (three gunmen
and one ten-year-old boy) were killed while Israel Defense Forces were carrying
out counter-terror operations in Gaza, THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
According to IDF Radio,
eight mortar shells were fired overnight at the Jewish community of Gush Katif,
damaging a house and lightly injuring a woman. Security forces are on the alert
as 45 warnings of possible terror attacks.
In other news, thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip came to work in
Israel on Thursday, following a government decision to let in 15,000 workers
and merchants.
UN GA ADOPTS YET
ANOTHER RESOLUTION AGAINST ISRAEL
An Egyptian-sponsored resolution demanding that Israel protect Palestinian children
was adopted by a UN General Assembly panel on Thursday, while a corresponding
measure on Israeli children was postponed until next week, HA’ARETZ reported.
Israel, the target of hundreds of critical UN resolutions, introduced on Tuesday
its first assembly draft in more than a quarter century, mirroring the Egyptian
measure. But diplomats said chances were slim that the bill, condemning attacks
on Israeli children by Palestinian suicide bombers, would be approved.
The Egyptian draft resolution was passed by a vote of 88 to 4 with 58 abstentions. The United States, Israel, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands voted against it, while the 15 European Union nations and Canada were among the abstentions. Israel’s deputy UN ambassador, Arye Mekel, told the committee the resolution was one sided because "we believe that all the world’s children are deserving of equal protection, including Israeli and Palestinian children."
HISTADRUT, TREASURY
REACH COMPROMISE – NO STRIKE UNTIL AT LEAST NEXT THURSDAY
The Histadrut labor federation and the Ministry of Finance accepted a compromise
offer drafted by the National Labor Court early today, putting off the threat
of a general strike at least until next Thursday, HA’ARETZ reported. According
to the compromise, the Histadrut will remove threats of a general strike for
a period of 48 hours, beginning Sunday morning, in exchange for the lifting
of a court order forbidding the labor unions to hold strikes for longer than
four hours. During this time, the two sides will formulate their positions on
the treasury’s pension fund reforms.
The Histadrut decided to accept labor court president Steve Adler’s proposal and renew negotiations with the treasury. On Wednesday evening, representatives of the two sides will arrive at the labor court. The treasury will then present its stance regarding the Histadrut’s demands about the pension reforms and structural reforms of government offices.
The Amos B civilian communications satellite will be launched in mid-December, GLOBES reported. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) built the satellite and SpaceCom will market it. Amos B was originally scheduled for launch several months ago. SpaceCom said the launch was delayed due to manufacturing problems at IAI’s Mabat plant and problems at the launch company. This is the second satellite in the Amos series. It will be launched from Uzbekistan by a joint venture between a Russian company and France’s Arianne Space.
Shlomo Ben-Tzvi and Ron Lauder are to invest $20 million in Channel 10 in exchange for 49% of the troubled television network’s shares, THE MARKER reported. For recent months, Channel 10’s main shareholder, Yossi Maiman’s Merhav group, had been financing its operations alone. They already agreed in principle to invest in the television franchise and signed a term sheet for the deal a week ago. The agreement was reached at the end of a marathon meeting on Thursday with the channel’s chairman, Yosef Maiman. Ben-Tzvi and Lauder are partners in the Tchelet group – Ben-Tzvi with 76% and Lauder with 24% – which controls the weekly newspaper Makor Rishon and the religious satellite and cable channel Tchelet.
[Today’s Israel Line
was prepared by Victor Chemtob, Jonathan Schienberg and Arielle Bernstein at
the Consulate General of Israel in New York]
