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Israeline —
Monday, October 20
** THREE SOLDIERS KILLED, ONE INJURED IN WEST
BANK TERROR AMBUSH
** IAF STRIKES IN GAZA TARGET HAMAS’S WEAPON
FACTORIES
** SHARON OPENS KNESSET’S WINTER SESSION
** NEW ISRAELI ELECTRO-OPTIC SUPER-FAST PROCESSOR
BOUND TO REVOLUTIONIZE MILITARY INDUSTRY
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
THREE
SOLDIERS KILLED, ONE INJURED IN WEST BANK TERROR AMBUSH
Three Israeli Defence
Force soldiers were killed and a fourth was moderately wounded on Sunday when
Palestinian gunmen ambushed them in Ein Yabrud village northeast of Ramallah,
Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. The victims were identified as St.-Sgt.
Erez Idan, 19, of Rishon Lezion, Sgt. Elad Pollack, 19, of Kiryat Motzkin, and
Sgt. Roi Ya’acov Solomon, 21, of Tel Aviv. Idan and Pollack were to be buried
today, at the Holon Military Cemetery and the Tsur Shalom Cemetery in Kiryat
Bialik, respectively. The injured soldier was evacuated to Hadassah Hospital
in Jerusalem.
The ambush attack occurred at 7 p.m. as the four soldiers were on foot patrol near the Palestinian village of Ein Yabrud. Security sources said the Palestinian terrorists caught the soldiers by surprise before they had time to use their weapons. The soldiers were on routine patrol, trying to foil terrorist activity in the area.
The IDF imposed a curfew
on Ein Yabrud and security forces searched the area in an attempt to arrest
the perpetrators of the attack. The head of central command, General Moshe Kaplinsky,
said the army had indications as to where the gunmen were hiding. Al Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, who are affiliated with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah organization – claimed
responsibility for the ambush.
IAF
STRIKES IN GAZA TARGET HAMAS WEAPON FACTORIES
In an effort to diminish
Hamas’s ability to produce weapons, Israel Air Force helicopters and warplanes
launched three air strikes this morning, killing two senior Hamas terrorists
and demolishing a weapons factory and warehouse in Gaza city, THE JERUSALEM
POST reported. In the third attack, Apache helicopters launched two missiles
at a building used by Hamas for storing parts of Qassam rockets and mortars
on the outskirts of Gaza City. Israeli security officials said the magnitude
of the explosion proved the existence of a large quantity of explosives inside
the building. A few hours earlier, IAF warplanes fired two missiles at a pickup
truck in Gaza’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, killing two senior Hamas terrorists.
There were conflicting reports of a third Palestinian being killed in the strikes,
in which 23 Palestinians were wounded.
In the first IAF offensive, F-16 warplanes targeted a weapon factory in the Sadjaya neighborhood of Gaza. The IDF said many Hamas attacks on Israelis were perpetrated using Qassam rockets, mortars and other explosives made in the targeted building. Ra’anan Gissin, an advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the strikes were part of Israel’s war on terrorism. "We will chase the terrorists everywhere," he said. "They will have no sanctuary."
On Sunday morning, Palestinian terrorists fired eight Kassam rockets at the western Negev. Three of them hit Sderot, causing no injuries or damage. Since the beginning of October, 17 Kassam rockets have been fired at Israel as well as at Jewish towns in the Strip.
In other security-related
news, the IDF operation to uncover tunnels used to smuggle weapons into the
Gaza Strip is still ongoing. Early Sunday, Border Police and IDF units operating
in the town of Rafah clashed with Palestinian gunmen, shooting one dead. Palestinians
reported that another was killed in the town by troops late Saturday night.
In Jenin, troops arrested two Islamic Jihad fugitives who were planning to dispatch
suicide bombers to perpetrate attacks.
SHARON
OPENS KNESSET’S WINTER SESSION
Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon opened the winter session of the Knesset today, saying the road map stood
as the only chance for peace in the Middle East, HA’ARETZ reported. "Our
plan represents the only hope of achieving a real breakthrough on the way to
peace with the Palestinians," the prime minister said. "Only a complete
renouncement of terror can lead to a new age of peace for the peoples of the
region."
Sharon strongly criticized Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in his speech, qualifying him as the "greatest obstacle to peace." Sharon said Arafat had sabotaged all peace efforts and was to blame for the latest upswing of attacks on Israelis. He also said that Israel would accelerate construction of the separation fence between Israel and the West Bank, and promised to complete it within a year. He denied that the fence was a political border, saying that its sole purpose was for security.
The prime minister’s speech
was followed by words from the leader of the opposition, Labor MK and party
chairman, Shimon Peres.
NEW
ISRAELI ELECTRO-OPTIC SUPER-FAST PROCESSOR BOUND TO REVOLUTIONIZE MILITARY INDUSTRY
A small Israeli company
called Lenslet has developed a revolutionary electro-optic processor which operates
at the unprecedented speed of 8 tera (8,000 billion) calculation operations
per second – one thousand times faster than any known Digital Signal Processor,
ISRAEL21C reported. The new processor, called the EnLight, will be used for
the analysis of intelligence, weather forecasting, airport security, and for
multimedia, cellular and video compression purposes. Experts predict that its
capabilities have the potential to change the face of the military, intelligence
and homeland security industries.
According to Major-General (Ret.) Isaac Ben-Israel, former head of the R&D Directorate of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, this new development would "revolutionize the nature of warfare with an effect similar to those caused by the appearance of the tank or the airplane." Despite its amazing processing speed, the EnLight is no larger than a regular electronic card, but its capability is equal to a network of large and powerful super-computers.
The processor was developed
over three years by the company’s R&D team in Israel, with the support of
a group of well-known professors in the optics, physics and signal processing
fields and was unveiled last week at the MILCOM military technology exhibit
in Boston. The product, EnLight256 can be used for voice analysis, face recognition,
image processing and other applications, and will allow reliable automated screening
of massive amount of data for identifying potential threats. "The breakthrough
became possible as a result of adventurous, original and different thinking,"
said Shlomo Eisenbach, deputy director general of development in the company.
"Today is a historical occasion, a breakthrough in optical designs and
the beginning of a new era – of which we at Lenslet, are all very proud."
OTHER
NEWS IN BRIEF
U.S. President George W. Bush personally condemned on Monday Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s statement that Jews ruled the world, pulling him
aside at an international economic meeting to tell him the remarks were "wrong
and divisive," THE JERUSALEM POST reported. White House press secretary
Scott McClellan quoted Bush as telling the Malaysian leader, "it stands
squarely against what I believe in."
ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said it had received tentative U.S. Food
and Drug Administration approval for its seizure treatment, Gabapentin tablets,
600 mg and 800 mg, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The tentative approval follows
another the company received in August for 100 mg, 300 mg, and 400 mg capsules
of the same drug, a generic equivalent of Pfizer’s Neurontin Tablets. Teva noted
that it was currently in litigation with Pfizer over patent rights for this
product.
The technology incubators
committee approved the establishment of four new incubator companies and awarded
them an aggregate $1.5 million in grants, GLOBES reported. Two projects will
be in the pharmaceuticals industry: a project to develop a hypertension drug
at the Ofakim Hi-tech Ventures and a project to develop a treatment for irregular
heartbeat at the Technion – Israel institute of Technology incubator.
A third project is to develop an innovative permanent hair-removal device at
Maayan – the Initiative Center of the Negev Beer Sheva. s to develop a
device to treat irregular heartbeat at the Yozmot-Granot Initiative Center in
Hadera.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob and Dina Wosner at the
Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** ISRAEL
ON HIGH ALERT AS TERROR GROUPS VOW TO CARRY OUT MORE ATTACKS
** PUBLIC OPINION POLL REVEALS OPPOSING TRENDS
WITHIN PALESTINIAN PUBLIC
** STUDY INDICATES DECLINE IN JERUSALEM’S POPULATION
** ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS, AND JORDANIANS WORK TOGETHER
TO PRODUCE SESAME STREET EPISODES
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
ISRAEL ON HIGH ALERT AS TERROR GROUPS VOW TO CARRY
OUT MORE ATTACKS
Israeli security forces
remained on high alert today following threats of terror attacks by Hamas and
Islamic Jihad which vowed retaliation for five Israeli Air Force raids on terrorist
targets in Gaza on Monday, HA’ARETZ reported. The Israel Defense Forces said
that its offensive against the groups’ infrastructure was carried out due to
the large number of Qassam rockets fired recently from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
Asked today about the civilian casualties in IAF raids, Deputy Defense Minister Ze’ev Boim said that "the murderous Hamas and Jihad terrorism nests deep within the civilian population," and that "some of this population – and I emphasize, some – collaborates and aids these murderous organizations." Army spokeswoman, Brig. Gen. Ruth Yaron, told Army Radio that, "the primary responsibility of the IDF was to defend Israeli citizens," and that "the blood of the victims in Gaza is on the hands of the terrorists."
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
addressing the Knesset on Monday, said there would be no let-up in the campaign
against Palestinian terror groups. "The Israeli military will continue
to act to foil terror attacks, capture murderers and liquidate terror organizations,"
Sharon declared.
PUBLIC
OPINION POLL REVEALS OPPOSING TRENDS WITHIN PALESTINIAN PUBLIC
A public opinion poll
conducted by Prof. Halil Shkaki of the Palestine Center for Policy and Survey
Research in Ramallah found that some 85 percent of those questioned supported
a mutual halt to the violence between Israelis and Palestinians and that 59
percent backed measures by the Palestinian security services against those who
would break a cease-fire, HA’ARETZ reported. On the other hand, the poll revealed
opposing trends among the Palestinian public, with 75 percent of the 1,318 people
polled responding that under the present circumstances, they supported the suicide
bombing at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa, and two-thirds saying that they believed
that the road map was "dead."
The poll also found that
61 percent were in favor of the appointment of Ahmed Qureia as Palestinian prime
minister. However, only 48 percent said that they would give the new government
their vote of confidence, with 37 percent saying that they would not do so.
Only 46 percent believe that the government of Qureia is more capable than that
of his predecessor, Mahmoud Abbas. Support for the Fatah movement registered
a slight increase, from 26 percent in June to 28 percent in October, with support
for Hamas remaining the same, at 21 percent.
STUDY
INDICATES DECLINE IN JERUSALEM’S POPULATION
Data published in
the latest edition of the Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem indicates that 164,400
people have left Jerusalem over the last decade, while only 97,300 new residents
have moved to the capital HA’ARETZ reported. Dr. Maya Choshen, the editor of
the yearbook, explained that a relatively high proportion of those who have
left were secular, while a relatively high proportion of those moving into the
city were religious. Nevertheless, she said, ultra-Orthodox Jews accounted for
some 20 to 25 percent of all those who left the city from 1993 to 2002. For
2002 itself, the figures were almost identical to the average for the decade:
Some 16,400 people left the city, compared to an annual average of 16,440, and
9,700 moved in, compared to an average of 9,730.
In 2002, Jews constituted
67 percent of the city’s population of 680,400 and Arabs constituted 33 percent
– a proportional decline in the city’s Jewish population. Furthermore, the Arab
population is far younger than the Jewish population: While 31 percent of the
Jews are aged 14 or younger, 42 percent of the Arabs are in this age range.
While the Arab growth rate continues to drastically outpace the Jewish rate,
it is slowly declining: The Jewish population has grown by about 1 percent a
year for the last four years (the rate was 0.9 percent in 2002), but the Arab
growth rate has declined from 4 percent in 1999 to 3 percent in 2002.
ISRAELIS,
PALESTINIANS, AND JORDANIANS WORK TOGETHER TO PRODUCE SESAME STREET EPISODES
The Palestinian, Israeli,
and Jordanian architects of the Sesame Street Project have produced seventy-eight
"Sesame Stories" to air on Israel’s Hop! TV, Jordanian JRTV, and the
Palestinian Ma’an Network, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Sesame Stories aims
to promote long-term respect and understanding among Israeli, Palestinian, and
Jordanian children, based on the belief that ignorance fuels the ongoing conflict
in the region. The makers of Sesame Stories worked with educational advisors
and child psychologists to present themes such as acceptance, empathy, and appreciating
similarities and differences in the series.
The Sesame Street project
was started in October 2001 and is funded by the MEDA EU Partnership for Peace
Program with an annual budget of 71.4 million dollars. "Working with children
today will help build peace tomorrow," Michael Leigh, Deputy Director-General
for the Middle East in the European Commission External Relations Directorate
General, said.
OTHER
NEWS IN BRIEF
Israel’s men’s chess
team finished second out of 36 teams on Monday at the European Championship
in Bulgaria, and claimed the silver medal, HA’ARETZ reported. The performance
is the finest ever achieved by an Israeli chess team. Israel’s previous best
achievement was a fourth place at the 1993 European Championship and a fourth
place at the 2000 Chess Olympics.
The Government survived two motions of no confidence on Monday by the Meretz and Shas parties in the Knesset’s opening session, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. Shas requested a no-confidence vote on the break-up of the religious affairs ministry. Forty-five voted against the motion, 21 for it, while 19 abstained. The Meretz Party vote of no confidence concerned the Government’s political and economic policies and it was defeated by 53 to 30 votes.
Arutz Sheva – a pirate
radio station – ended its broadcasts Monday afternoon, hours after its senior
managers were convicted in Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court for transmitting illegally,
Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. Ten managers, directors, and employees
were found guilty of transmitting from a boat within Israeli territorial waters
and from locations in the West Bank without the required government permits
from 1995-1998. Arutz Sheva, which was established 15 years ago as a voice of
the ideological right, will continue to run its Internet site.
ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH
BRIEFS
Tecnomatix is poised
to sign the biggest deal in its history, THE MARKER reported. Ford Motor Co.
is expected to sign a contract by year-end to buy more than $10 million worth
of production line software from Tecnomatix. The product has been jointly developed
by Tecnomatix and Electronic Data Systems. Market sources report that Tecnomatix
is also preparing to sign major deals with other leading carmakers, including
General Motors.
Teva’s Rasagline drug, which
was recently submitted to U.S. and European regulators for marketing approval
as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease, has been shown in a study to cut the
amount of hours per day in which the disease cannot be adequately controlled,
GLOBES reported. Teva said that Rasagiline, taken once a day in combination
with levodopa therapy, significantly reduced the "off" time in a placebo-controlled
trial. In Parkinson’s disease, "off" time refers to periods of poor
overall function, when the effects of levodopa wear off and symptoms return.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob, Tallie Lieberman and David
Dorfman at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** IAF RELEASES VIDEO FOOTAGE OF MONDAY’S STRIKE –
PROVES TERRORISTS WERE THE ONLY TARGET
** ISRAEL TO UN: SECURITY FENCE A NECESSITY TO THE
COUNTRY’S SECURITY
** IDF INTELLIGENCE CHIEF WARNS AGAINST NUCLEAR THREATS
IN THE REGION
** SUPREME COURT LIFTS GAG ORDER IN TANNENBAUM’S CASE
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
IAF RELEASES VIDEO
FOOTAGE OF MONDAY’S STRIKE – PROVES TERRORISTS WERE THE ONLY TARGET
A senior Israel Air
Force officer indicated today that seven terrorists had been killed in Monday’s
raids in the Gaza Strip – including suicide bombers on their way to carry out
their deadly missions, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. He added that from
one up to three civilians had also been killed in the strikes. Twenty-four hours
after the raids, the Israel Defense Forces released video pictures of the missile
strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The footage – shot from an IDF drone flying
over the area – clearly shows that there were no Palestinian civilians in the
street when two rockets hit a car carrying a suicide bomber who had earlier
been spotted trying to infiltrate Israel. The video refutes claims made by the
Palestinians that the IAF missile had hit a crowd of people.
To watch the video, go to: http://www.idf.il/newsite/movies/20_10_03_Strike_ENG.asf
In other news, THE JERUSALEM POST reported that Palestinian gunman wounded two Israelis in an attack today in Hebron. The gunman opened fire at a group of Israelis in the city’s Jewish neighborhood before being killed by members of Hebron’s alert squad, assisted by a nearby group of soldiers. Two members of the alert squad were wounded – one critically and one lightly – and transferred to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital for treatment. Troops are currently searching the area for another gunman suspected of taking part in the incident and fleeing the scene.
Meanwhile, the IDF shot
and killed two Palestinian terrorists in pre dawn arrest raids today in the
West Bank. In both cases the men were shot after trying to escape the arrests.
Troops also arrested 18 other fugitives in the raids, 13 of them members of
Hamas.
ISRAEL
TO UN: SECURITY FENCE A NECESSITY TO THE COUNTRY’S SECURITY
Israeli officials
explained today that the contrusction of the security fence in the West Bank
would continue in order to guarantee the safety of the country’s citizens, HA’ARETZ
reported. A resolution condemning the project as a violation of international
law was adopted late Tuesday by the UN General Assembly. "The fence will
continue being built and we will go on taking care of the security of Israel’s
citizens," Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, stressing that fence
was a necessary measure to block the entry of Palestinian suicide bombers inside
Israel. The U.N. General Assembly passed the resolution in 144 – 4 vote. The
United States, Micronesia and the Marchall Islands voted against the measure.
Following the vote, Israeli
Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman called the proceeding "a
humiliating farce" and excoriated EU governments for concluding that "Israel’s
security measures are far more serious than the murder perpetrated by Palestinian
terrorist groups." "As long as the majority in this assembly will
pander and tolerate these rituals, no one should wonder why the victims of terrorism
and those who hope for peace look elsewhere for guidance, protection and inspiration,"
Gillerman said.
IDF
INTELLIGENCE CHIEF WARNS AGAINST NUCLEAR THREATS IN THE REGION
OC Intelligence Maj.-Gen.
Aharon Ze’evi (Farkash) addressed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
on Tuesday and commented on the growing nuclear threats in the Middle East,
THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Ze’evi explained that Iran stood as a significant
threat and that, if left unchecked, its nuclear program could reach the "point
of no return" by next summer. Ze’evi warned that within 10 months Iran
would no longer need outside help to produce nuclear weapons and that no diplomatic
initiative could then halt its nuclear program.
Ze’evi also revealed that
Saudi Arabia was seeking nuclear warheads from Pakistan for its land-based missiles.
Committee chairman Yuval Steinitz said that, "there is an assumption that
Saudi Arabia financed the Pakistan nuclear plant and that there is a tacit understanding
between the two countries that, if Iran becomes nuclear, Saudi Arabia will be
provided with some nuclear warheads from Pakistan." The precedent of one
country giving nuclear bombs to another country in the region would be very
dangerous, he added.
SUPREME
COURT LIFTS GAG ORDER IN TANNENBAUM’S CASE
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that details of Elhanan Tannenbaum’s
October 2000 kidnapping might be released, as long as they did not violate his
privacy or went into the details of his career in the Israel Defense Forces,
in which he is a reserve colonel, HA’ARETZ reported. Tannenbaum’s children,
whose appeal to keep a gag order in place was rejected by the Court, said that
the release of details surrounding their father’s abduction proved they had
nothing to hide from the Israeli public, but warned that the move would put
his life in further danger.
An Israeli Arab and a known
Lebanese drug dealer are believed to have assisted Hizbullah in Tannenbaum’s
abduction. The two men are Kais Obeid, a member of the well-established Obeid
family of the village of Taibeh in the north of the country, and Qayd Byro,
the youngest son of Mohammed Byro, one of the biggest drug dealers in the Middle
East. An investigation by HA’ARETZ has found that in early October 2000, Obeid
convinced Tannenbaum to travel to Brussels to meet with some business contacts.
Tannenbaum told friends before he left that he also planned to visit an "Arab
country," hinting that he would be gone some time as he was expecting to
close an especially lucrative deal. Tannenbaum flew to Brussels on October 3,
2000. From there he flew to Abu Dhabi, apparently using a forged passport, before
arriving in Beirut. It is still unclear whether Tannenbaum traveled to Lebanon
of his own free will.
OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
While on a one-day official visit to Germany, Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan
Shalom laid a wreath this morning at the site of the former Nazi concentration
camp of Sachsenhausen near Berlin, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL reported. Shalom
was to later meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Ernst Orlau, the
German mediator dealing with the Hizbullah prisoner swap, was to also attend
the meeting. Shalom is bringing a message for the two of them from Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon.
The "first Arab university
in Israel" officially opened today in the Ibilin village in the Western
Galilee, HA’ARETZ reported. Under the terms of an operating license received
this year from Israel’s Council of Higher Education, the university, part of
the Mar Elias Education Institutions, will also operate as an overseas branch
of the University of Indianapolis. Initially, the institution will have three
departments: computer studies, environmental studies and communications. It
is authorized to confer B.A. degrees in professional studies that are recognized
in Israel and the United States. The university plans to establish other departments,
including one in Holy Land Studies and Theology. This year, 80 students are
enrolled. Jewish instructors make up about a quarter of the faculty.
ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
Generic drug giant
Teva Pharmaceuticals is negotiating the purchase of Sicor, based in Irvine,
California, HA’ARETZ reported. The company specializes in generic finished dosage
injectable pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). Sicor
was ranked 25th in an August 2002 ranking of the 100 fastest growing companies
conducted by Fortune magazine. Dow Jones magazine Smart Money in April 2002
called Sicor one of the 10 long-term growth prospects to ride the trends of
the coming decade, while Business Week ranked it 15 in a list of the 100 hottest
growth companies.
The export of goods and
services totaled $2.23 billion in September 2003, up 12 percent from August
of this year, THE MARKER reported. From the beginning of 2003, $20.3 billion
worth of goods and services have been exported, compared with $19 billion for
the same nine-month period in 2002. In annualized terms, the increase amounts
to 6.6 percent.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob and Arielle Bernstein
at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** SHALOM CONDEMNS GROWING ANTI-SEMITISM
IN MUSLIM WORLD
** AL AQSA BRIGADE AND ISLAMIC JIHAD MURDER
TWO PALESTINIANS ACCUSED OF AIDING ISRAEL
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
An Israeli security source revealed on Wednesday that Iranian intelligence services
assisted Hizbullah with the October 2000 abduction of Israeli businessman Elhanan
Tannenbaum, HA’ARETZ reported. According to the source, Iran supplied
Hizbullah with a jet that carried Tannenbaum from Abu Dhabi to Lebanon, via
Iran. Hizbullah also provided the safe house in Abu Dhabi where Tannenbaum was
held immediately after his abduction.
According to police, Tannenbaum traveled to southern Lebanon several times for business purposes. CHANNEL 2 reported that Tannenbaum allegedly sold expired pharmaceuticals he obtained in Israel to Lebanese business partners, after forging new expiration dates on the packages. Police suspect Tannenbaum was planning a large drug deal along with an Israeli Arab partner, Kais Obeid. Obeid disappeared shortly after Tannenbaum’s kidnapping, and Israeli intelligence believes he is now working for Hizbullah.
Details of the kidnapping were revealed after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Tannenbaum’s family to keep gag order on the case. However, the Court also decided that the media would not be allowed to publicize any details that violate Tannenbaum’s privacy, or reveal his military record.
Minister of
Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom said Wednesday that Israel had been aware of the
details of Tannenbaum’s disappearance for a long time but declined to elaborate
further. Responding to reports that Tannenbaum had traveled to Beirut on his
own, in order to carry out "shady, unsavory deals," Shalom told Army
Radio that "he did not reach Beirut under his own power – this must be
made clear."
SHALOM
CONDEMNS GROWING ANTI-SEMITISM IN MUSLIM WORLD
Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom denounced growing anti-Semitism in
the Muslim world during a visit to the Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen
on Wednesday, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. He made the comment after Malaysia’s
prime minister told a summit of Islamic countries last Thursday that Jews rusled
the world. "Today we are dealing with a new phenomenon that is spreading
ever more widely in the Arab and Muslim world," Shalom said. His remarks
come just a week after Malaysian PM Mahathir said, "Jews rule the world
by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them." These comments were
condemned by Israel, Germany, the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia.
Visiting an exhibit on the Jewish prisoners held at the former concentration
camp north of Berlin, Shalom said that the camp demonstrated the consequences
of failing to stand up to anti-Semitism. Some 200,000 people – political prisoners,
Poles, Soviet POWs and Jews – were imprisoned at Sachsenhausen and tens of thousands
died there.
Shalom also
met with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer
in order to address Iran’s nuclear program and a hoped-for prisoner exchange
with Hizbullah.
AL AQSA BRIGADE AND ISLAMIC JIHAD MURDER
TWO PALESTINIANS ACCUSED OF AIDING ISRAEL
Members of the Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade and Islamic Jihad murdered today two
Palestinians in the Tul Karm refugee camp that the terror groups suspect were
collaborating with Israeli security forces, HA’ARETZ reportred. The two men,
both in their twenties, were shot in front of a crowd of people. Their bodies
were then put on display in the camp’s central square. The men were taken two
weeks ago in a kidnapping planned by the two terror organizations, which worked
in concert in order to "share the honor."
Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces troops killed on Wednesday two of the most senior Palestinian terrorists on their most-wanted lists in separate incidents in Hebron in Qalqilyah. One was the regional commander of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s military wing and the other was an operative of the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade. Both were shot while evading arrest.
A female Hamas activist was sentenced by a military tribunal today to 16 consecutive life terms for assisting the terrorist who blew up the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem two years ago, killing 15 people.Hamas’s Ahlam Tamimi drove the suicide bomber to the site of the attack on August 9, 2001.
Meanwhile,
troops demolished in Hebron the home of Hamas terrorist Rafiq Mohammed Kanibi,
who carried out a shooting attack on Wednesday. Jewish residents of Hebron were
targeted by Kanibi who fired at them from the direction of the city’s ancient
Jewish cemetery. After wounding two bystanders, the gunman was overpowered and
killed.
OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
More than 150 European Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum are expected to visit Israel, Jordan and the West Bank and Gaza next week, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The group, comprising all current and new EU members representing 25 states, is set to participate in an operation called "A Moment for Peace." The parliamentarians are set to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei.
Attorney-General
Elyakim Rubinstein decided to close most of the criminal investigation into
Ehud Barak’s campaign funding during the 1999 prime ministerial elections, Israel
Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. However, charges will be brought against a senior
Barak campaign adviser. The attorney general’s decision follows a police assessment
that although party workers violated campaign-funding laws, there was no evidence
of any direct involvement by Barak himself. Rubinstein also decided that charges
would not be brought against Labor Party Knesset Member Yitzhak Herzog, or former
Labor Party Knesset Member Weizman Shiri.
ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
Shares of surgical laser company Lumenis soared 31 percent to $2.3 after the company announced that its strategic partner in Germany received U.S. regulatory approval for an eye laser, GLOBES reported. The laser treats myopia (nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness). Lumenis is the exclusive sales agent in the U.S. responsible for all sales, marketing and field service efforts required to support the Allegretto Wave Excimer Laser in the U.S. market.
Rada Electronic Industries and Smiths Aerospace announced the signing of a joint agreement between the two companies, GLOBES reported. The agreement includes joint development, production and marketing of data management equipment and ground based training systems, the companies said. Commenting on the new relationship, RADA CEO Adar Azancot said, “ This agreement solidifies the foundation for the future growth of our company and has the potential to generate $90 million in revenues for RADA over the next ten years.” The joint venture includes Smiths Aerospace businesses located in Michigan and Maryland and Rada’s businesses in Netanya and Beit She’an. Histadrut labor union leader Amir Peretz announced today that a general strike would be called on November 3, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The Histadrut is protesting plans to unify government agencies and reform pensions. Coalition chairman Gideon Sa’ar said that the Histadrut’s strike is "a threat to the citizens of the state, not to the government," and that the government should use the full force of the law to handle the situation, including new legislation. It was only after a law to privatize the ports authority passed the first round of voting in the Knesset that an end to the recent crippling port strike was negotiated. Peretz and Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met inconclusively on this morning and agreed to meet again Friday to continue negotiations.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by Tallie Lieberman, Matthew Miller, David Nekrutman and Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** 3 SOLDIERS KILLED IN INFILTRATION AT NETZARIM
** KNESSET MEMBER COMES UNDER ATTACK
** IRAN COULD BECOME EXISTENTIAL THREAT IF IT OBTAINS
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
** FORMER SHIN BET HEAD AND AMBASSADOR TO DENMARK
TO RUN IN JERUSALEM LOCAL COUNCIL RACE
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
3
SOLDIERS KILLED IN INFILTRATION AT NETZARIM
Three Israel Defense Forces soldiers – two women and one man – were killed and
two other soldiers wounded when Palestinian terrorists infiltrated an army base
in Netzarim, a Jewish community in the Gaza Strip at around 4:20 AM today, HA’ARETZ
reported. The dead soldiers have been identified as Staff Sgt. Alon Avrahami,
20, from Or Yehuda; Sgt. Adi Osman, 19, from Kfar Sava; and Sgt. Sarit Shneor,
19, from Shoham. Osman will be buried at 1:30 P.M. today in Kfar Sava. The wounded
troops, a woman in serious condition and a man with moderate injuries, were
airlifted to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for treatment. The head of
the IDF’s southern command, Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, said that the army would
launch a full investigation into the attack whose responsibility was claimed
by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
According to Harel, one terrorist entered the IDF camp and began shooting at the barracks, while a second gunman remained outside the perimeter. The gunman inside the camp killed three soldiers before being shot and killed. The IDF is searching the area for the second attacker, who managed to flee.
Harel said that terror groups
were increasing the intensity of their attacks in Gaza because of the heavy
fog that closes in on the Strip during this time of year. In other news, three
Israelis were lightly wounded when shots were fired at their vehicle on the
Kissufim road in the Gaza Strip on Thursday night. The terrorist was shot and
killed by soldiers.
KNESSET MEMBER
COMES UNDER ATTACK
A small incendiary device exploded today underneath a car which belongs to the
wife of MK Issam Makhoul (Hadash-Ta’al) and was parked outside their home on
Haifa’s Hanesi Boulevard, HA’ARETZ reported. According to Makhoul, he
and his wife, Su’ad, were on their way out of the house when the device exploded.
"My wife was sitting in the car, a Honda, which is the car I usually drive,
and was planning to collect our 10-year-old twins from their school,”
he said. “The Honda was parked next to the Ford vehicle I was sitting
in. Suddenly I heard a blast, I looked over and saw the car engulfed in flames.
My wife managed to get out of the car unscathed."
Police said an explosive device weighing less than a kilogram placed underneath the car caused the blast.
Makhoul believes he, rather than his wife, was the target of the attack. He added that he had not received any unusual threats in recent days or weeks, and described the attack as "a worrying escalation in violence toward Knesset members, which should be urgently dealt with." He added that the device was probably planted for nationalistic motives. Makhoul said he did not know who might have been behind the blast, but called it an attack on democracy. "It’s hard for me to say who did it," he said. "I don’t have any personal enemies. I see it as part of a threat to democracy." Makhoul is one of 10 Arab lawmakers in Israel’s 120-member parliament.
Knesset Speaker MK Reuven
Rivlin (Likud) called MK Makhoul to express his shock at the incident.
IRAN COULD BECOME
EXISTENTIAL THREAT IF IT OBTAINS NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Interviewed by THE JERUSALEM POST, Chief of General Staff Moshe Ya’alon said
that terrorism and the spread of nuclear arms in the Middle East represented
existential threats to the State of Israel. Ya’alon explained that Israel
currently enjoys a certain level of deterrence from both conventional and non-conventional
attacks and that the country’s enemies had instead chosen to resort to
terrorism. "I see a potential existential threat to the state from a combination
of demographics and terrorism on the Palestinian front," Ya’alon said.
"The conflict we are engaged in right now represents the non-recognition
of the present Palestinian leadership of our right to live in a Jewish state."
Ya’alon warned against
the “grave existential threat” of Iran becoming a nuclear power.
"Iran is an extremist regime, which even today parades Shihab-3 rockets
with slogans written on them saying: ‘This missile can bring about the destruction
of the State of Israel,’" he said. On the subject of arms smuggling through
tunnels from Sinai into the Gaza Strip, Ya’alon indicated that Egypt could do
“a lot more" to prevent these criminal activities.
FORMER SHIN BET HEAD AND AMBASSADOR TO DENMARK
TO RUN IN JERUSALEM LOCAL COUNCIL RACE
Just months after completing a two-year stint as Israel’s Ambassador to Copenhagen,
Carmi Gillon is now running in a race to head a local council in the Jerusalem
suburb of Mevaseret Zion, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Gillon, a 53-year-old
father of three who served as the head of the Israel Security Agency from 1994
to 1996, has lived in Mevaseret – a Jerusalem bedroom community – for the last
26 year.
Gillon explained that it was during the last year of his tenure in Copenhagen that he formulated the idea of running for the head of local council. "I recognized in Denmark how the local community [council] was in essence the very basis of life, and not the national government," he said. "Aside from the issues of foreign affairs and defense, it is the local government that impacts most on the day-to-day life of the citizen, dealing with everything from health to education to culture and sport – issues which are no less important than foreign affairs and defense," he added. In the race to be held Tuesday, Gillon is competing against the incumbent council head Danny Azriel, who was elected four years ago, and a third, lesser-known candidate, Eli Moyal.
Gillon obtained the support
of the Likud, Labor, Shinui and Meretz. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, former
Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert, Labor Party leader Shimon Peres, and Minister of
Interior Avraham Poraz have all thrown their support behind him.
OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
An El Al flight from Israel en route to Los Angeles Thursday with a scheduled layover in Toronto was diverted twice after a specific security threat was received against the plane, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Flight LY 105 was diverted first to Montreal and then to Hamilton, Ontario to Mirabel airport. The plane later landed safely at its final destination of Los Angeles.
In another incident Thursday night, Israeli authorities prevented a Croatian Adriatic Air flight from landing at Ben Gurion Airport because it had taken took off from an airport in Croatia that does not have Israeli security clearance. Security officials from Israel’s transport ministry ordered the flight diverted to Cyprus, where El Al security agents inspected the passengers. Once the security inspection was complete the plane was allowed to land in Israel.
The U.S. Federal Bureau
of Investigations team that is probing a roadside bombing that killed three
American security guards in Gaza last week is unhappy with the level of cooperation
it has received from the Palestinian security services, HA’ARETZ reported.
"The PA assisted in the investigation, but it could have done more,"
said one U.S. official, explaining that while some of the Palestinian security
services were helpful, others were less so. The FBI team returned
to the United States on Thursday.
Beth Hatefutsoth – the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora in Tel Aviv – will receive emergency aid of $2 million to prevent its closure, HA’ARETZ reported. Both the Government of Israel and the Claims Conference will inject $1 million into the museum. The Claims Conference works to secure compensation and restitution for survivors of the Holocaust and heirs of victims. The aid is intended to allow Beth Hatefutsoth to cover its debts and prevent the firing of the museum’s 62 employees.
Kevin Magee, a former favorite
with Israel’s basketball powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, was killed in a traffic
accident on Interstate 55, south of Amite, Louisiana, early Thursday morning
while returning home from his night shift as a warehouse supervisor, HA’ARETZ
reported. Magee, who was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the second round of
the 1982 NBA draft, played professionally for 12 years in Italy, France, Spain,
and at Israel’s Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
ECONOMIC
AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
GlobalSecure Holdings, Ltd., a subsidiary of Sky Capital Holding’s venture capital
firm, set up shop in Tel Aviv for two days this week to meet with potential
partners, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. " Israel is definitely at the forefront
of homeland security technology, and we are blown away by the level of enterprise
and platforms here," Ross Mandel, Sky’s president & CEO, and chairman
of GlobalSecure, said. Mandel and GlobalSecure’s CEO Thomas McMillen
presented their company’s structure and philosophy to a number of Israeli security-related
and eco-protection firms, in order to seek out potential products that could
fit its acquisition strategy.
Elbit Systems has bought an 8 percent stake in AeroAstro, a manufacturer of small satellites, based in Virginia, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Elbit’s decision to make the purchase follows a joint agreement signed between the two companies. "Combining our small, low cost spacecraft with Elbit’s unique capabilities in high performance, low cost and rapidly developed payloads, especially optical systems, enables us to provide complete mission solutions for remote sensing, space control and other proven and emerging space applications." Dr. Rick Fleeter, AeroAstro’s CEO, said.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob, Jonathan Schienberg and Arielle Bernstein at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
