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Israeline —
Monday, October 27
** IDF NABS 2 TOP TERRORISTS
** ISRAEL TO EASE CLOSURES ON WEST BANK AND GAZA
** SHARON ADDRESSES EU PARLIAMENT MEMBERS VISITING
ISRAEL
** ISRAELI RESEARCHER DISCOVERS GENE MUTATION THAT COULD
EXPLAIN LONGEVITY
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
IDF NABS 2 TOP TERRORISTS
Two senior terrorist
commanders were captured in raids carried out by Israel Defense Forces special
forces on two hospitals in Nablus early Saturday, THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
Hamas commander Khaled Abu Hmeid, 25, was arrested at the Anglican Hospital.
He was seriously wounded last week after a bomb he was building exploded prematurely.
According to IDF officials, Hmeid was involved in two attacks in Ariel in August
2003 and October 2002 in which five Israelis were murdered. He was planning
suicide bombings at the time of blast. Hmeid was transferred by IDF soldiers
to a hospital in Israel.
The second raid took place
at the Raffidiyah Hospital and targeted Tanzim commander Jawal Shatiyeh, 27,
who had sought refuge in the hospital to evade capture. He was found by troops
hiding in the cellar armed with a gun. IDF officials indicated Shatiyeh was
responsible for numerous attacks against Israelis.
ISRAEL TO EASE CLOSURES ON WEST BANK AND GAZA
Minister
of Defense Shaul Mofaz is expected to announce on Tuesday that an easing of
the closure on the West Bank and Gaza, HA’ARETZ reported. The announcement will
signal the first letup in the counter-terror policy of closures and encirclement
in over a month. Several thousands of Palestinian workers will be allowed to
enter Israel, some of the activities in the industrial zones along the Green
Line will be renewed, and restrictions on the transport of goods between Israel
and the West Bank and Gaza will be eased. In addition, the siege of the Palestinian
cities where the threat of terrorism is considered low may be lifted. The Israel
Defense Forces general staff explained that the easing of restrictions on the
Palestinian population were necessary in light of the Palestinians’ frustration
over the lack of a "political horizon", and the growing pressure resulting
from the IDF preventive measures. The Israel Security Agency remains strongly
opposed to the easing any of the restrictions currently in place, arguing that
the local terror networks are regrouping and planning attacks against Israeli
targets on both sides of the Green Line.
SHARON
ADDRESSES EU PARLIAMENT MEMBERS VISITING ISRAEL
Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon said today that Israel would agree to recognize a Palestinian state and,
at the third stage of the road map, would discuss settlements, borders and security
zones, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. Addressing a group of some 200 European
parliamentarians visiting Jerusalem, Sharon said that he wanted to implement
good-will measures toward the Palestinians, but that easing restrictions could
lead to more terror attacks. According to HA’ARETZ, Sharon said for the first
time in public that Israel had no plans to kill Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat. "I don’t see any plans to kill him although the man is responsible
for the deaths of hundreds, of thousands of mostly civilians because his strategy
is a strategy of terror."
Sharon also referred to the security fence, saying that if terror ceased, the need for a fence would disappear. During his speech, the Prime Minister accused Iran of developing a strategic nuclear program with the express intent of destroying Israel.
The 150 members of the European
Parliament are on a four-day Mideast mission ("A Moment for Peace")
that began Saturday with a quick visit to Amman, where they met with King Abdullah,
Queen Rania and the speaker of Jordan’s senate, Zaid Rifai. They were to meet
today with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, but the meeting was canceled
at the last moment.
ISRAELI
RESEARCHER DISCOVERS GENE MUTATION THAT COULD EXPLAIN LONGEVITY
An Israeli researcher
has identified a genetic mutation that may explain why some people become centenarians
and are able to pass their genes on to successive generations, ISRAEL21C reported.
"Genetic mutations are usually thought to cause health problems – but this
time, it appears that they could delay disease and premature deaths," Barzilai,
who heads the Institute for Aging Research at Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein
College of Medicine in New York, said.
The mutation alters the Cholestryl Ester Transfer Protein (CETP), an enzyme involved in regulating lipoproteins and their particle size. Compared with a control group representative of the general population, centenarians were three times as likely to have the mutation (24.8 percent of centenarians had it vs. 8.6 percent of controls) and the centenarians’ offspring were twice as likely to have it. "This is the first gene that was associated with longevity," says Barzilai. "I think there will be more."
Barzilai notes that many studies have looked at the risk factors associated with developing age-related diseases. "But to date," he noted, "little effort has been made to identify the reasons for longevity in exceptionally old people or, more specifically, their absence of disease. In studying these centenarians and their offspring, we hoped to learn what factors diminish their risk for diseases that affect the general population at a much younger age. We don’t have all the answers for why some people live healthily into their tenth and eleventh decades, but our findings bring us a step closer to understanding the role that genes play in longevity."
The next step for the researchers
is to try to develop drugs that mimic the effects of the CETP gene mutation
and, ultimately, to test them on people who lack the mutation. "In this
way, we can focus on preventing or delaying the onset of age-related diseases,
which can help give people a better quality of life as they get older,"
Barzilai noted.
OTHER
NEWS IN BRIEF
Hizbullah forces launched
missiles against two army outposts in Har Dov this afternoon, HA’ARETZ reported.
No damage or casualties were reported. The army responded with air strikes and
artillery fire. Two warplanes fired eight missiles on valleys and mountainous
areas on the outskirts of the villages of Kfar Chouba, Hilta and Rashaya al-Foukhar.
Responding to Palestinian
Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia’s request to meet with Hamas leaders,
Hamas official Abdel Aziz Rantisi said today that the Hamas was not interested
in a new Hudna (cease fire), THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Rantisi said that
the Hamas would support and cooperate with the PA but not on any discussions
regarding a permanent solution to the "struggle" with Israel.
ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
The Bank of Israel
announced today that it was reducing its key interest rate for November by 0.5
percent to 5.6 percent, a month after cutting lending rates by 0.4 percent,
GLOBES reported. This latest move brings Israeli lending rates to their lowest
level since May 2002, when a sharp depreciation in the shekel forced the central
bank to reverse a 2 percent rate cut made in December 2001. Since the end of
2002, the Bank of Israel has cut its key interest rate by 3.5 percent in several
small increments not exceeding 0.5 percent.
Fujistu subsidiary – Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe – a leading supplier to British Telecommunications has selected Israeli company Wintegra to perform network processor functions in its multi-service platform, GLOBES reported. Industry sources believe that Wintegra will earn $1-2 million from the deal over the next two years. Wintegra develops communications infrastructure processors.
Minister of Finance Benjamin
Netanyahu and Histadrut leader Amir Perez met today in an attempt to avert a
general strike, but failed to reach an agreement, THE MARKER reported. This
was their third fruitless meeting in five days.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General
of Israel in New York.]
** HIZBULLAH PLANNING ‘SIGNIFICANT’ ATTACK IN THE
NORTH
** QUREI ACCEPTS TO CONTINUE AS HEAD OF PA GOVERNMENT
** ISRAEL, U.S. SKEPTICAL ABOUT PACT ENDING IRAN
NUCLEAR PROGRAM
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
HIZBULLAH PLANNING
‘SIGNIFICANT’ ATTACK IN THE NORTH
Minister of Defense
Shaul Mofaz announced today that the defense establishment had intelligence
that the Lebanese-based terror group, Hizbullah, was planning a large-scale
attack in northern Israel, HA’ARETZ reported. "We have a very, very
deep understanding that on the northern border they [Hizbullah] are planning
a more significant attack than artillery and anti-tank fire at Israeli soldiers,"
Mofaz said, adding that the Israel Defense Forces was prepared for that eventuality.
Hizbullah fired scores of anti-tank missiles and mortars at the Gladiola, Adass,
and Dahlia positions in the Mount Dov and Ghajar regions on Monday. Minister
of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom blasted Syria and Lebanon today for their continued
assistance of Hizbullah.
Meanwhile, Israel took an
important step toward completing a prisoner swap with Hizbullah on Monday when
it handed over to Lebanon a Lebanese crewmember of the weapons ship Santorini
intercepted in May 2001 off the coast of northern Israel, THE JERUSALEM POST
reported. Diab Dib Mahmud Waiza, 22, was tried in a military court in December
2002. He was exculpated of any involvement in the ship’s clandestine mission
to smuggle weapons to Palestinian Authority-controlled areas. It is believed
that in exchange for Waiza, Israel is to receive DNA samples of the remains
of Adi Avitan, Benny Avraham, and Omar Sawayid, three IDF soldiers kidnapped
along the Lebanese border in 2001.
QUREI
ACCEPTS TO CONTINUE AS HEAD OF PA GOVERNMENT
In anticipation of
the end of his one-month term as head of the Palestinian Authority’s emergency
cabinet, PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said he would continue to serve as the
head of the Palestinian government, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The United
States and other international mediators have been closely watching Palestinian
efforts to form a government, saying a stable Palestinian leadership was needed
to push the road map peace plan forward. However, the issue of who would oversee
Palestinian security forces is still pending. Qurei’s decision paves the
way for the appointment of Abdel Razak al Yahiya as Palestinian Interior Minister
in charge of supervising security. However, Yahiya will not be able to implement
security-related decision without the cooperation of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat
and the national security council.
Yahiya, a Haifa born veteran
PLO Liberation Army General and Syrian army officer in his seventies, has been
leading PA security negotiations with Israel since 1994. Considered a moderate
and supporter of the peace process, he headed the Fatah in Jordan, but was also
among the first Palestinians to start talking to Israeli officials. In 2002,
Yahiya served for a short time as Minister of Interior but he faced opposition
from Arafat.
ISRAEL,
U.S. SKEPTICAL ABOUT PACT ENDING IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Both Israel and the
United States expressed skepticism regarding an agreement on Iran’s nuclear
program that Tehran concluded last week with three European foreign ministers,
HA’ARETZ reported. Under the deal, Iran would freeze its uranium enrichment
program and increase international supervision of its nuclear facilities by
signing the additional protocol to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which
permits surprise inspections. It also promised to give the International Atomic
Energy Agency full details of its nuclear program by October 31.
A senior Israeli intelligence official said that, "the Iranians are sending utterly contradictory messages to the Europeans and to their domestic arena," adding that, "for domestic consumption, the Tehran leadership is already explaining that this is only a temporary halt." "Domestically, they describe their commitment to the Europeans as a temporary halt," the official said. "They are not giving up their capabilities, but freezing them for a limited period. What [the IAEA] demanded of the Iranians was cancellation of their enrichment program."
President George W. Bush’s
advisers are reportedly skeptical about the deal as well. The U.S. administration
believes that an extreme faction within the Iranian regime comprised of clerics
and intelligence officials has engaged in various extremist activities on the
sly, including massive support for terrorist organizations. The U.S. administration
is therefore not convinced that President Mohammed Khatami s government could
enforce a nuclear freeze even if it sincerely wanted to.
OTHER
NEWS IN BRIEF
The Colombian ELN
has announced that it will begin releasing its seven foreign hostages – four
of them Israelis – in return for church-sponsored inspections of the impoverished
mountain villages in the Sierra Nevada region of Columbia, THE JERUSALEM POST
reported. Israel’s ambassador to Columbia, Yair Rekanati, called the announcement
a dramatic development and hoped that further demands would not be made to impede
the release.
Roughly 25 percent of eligible voters had exercised their right to vote for most of the country’s local authorities by 2:00 P.M. today, with relatively high voting rates recorded in the Arab sector, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. For the first time, 17-year-olds were allowed to vote. There are over 5,700 polling stations for 3.7 million eligible voters. Municipal elections are not being held in Jerusalem, Haifa and Or Akiva as they already took place in June.
Israel Defense Forces troops killed today a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is linked to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, outside a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Tul Karm, HA’ARETZ reported. A military court in the West Bank sentenced a Hamas terrorist to nine consecutive life sentences and a further 50 years in jail for planning a suicide bombing on a bus at Meron Junction in August 2002, in which nine people were killed and 46 others were wounded.
The Foreign Ministry summoned
on Monday the Swiss charge d’affaires for a meeting at which Israel expressed
its displeasure over Switzerland’s activities on behalf of the Geneva Understandings
– a draft Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement negotiated by opposition figures
without the government’s knowledge or consent, HA’ARETZ reported. The
Foreign Ministry Director-General Yoav Biran told the Swiss official that "the
government of Israel did not authorize anyone to deal with this issue, and the
Geneva Understandings have no legal validity." The Palestinian negotiators,
he said, were also not authorized by their government to conclude a binding
agreement. "Israel supports the road map and President Bush’s vision. That
is the only plan that has gained international legitimacy and that is acceptable
to the parties," Biran said.
ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
ClickSoftware, a company
with joint headquarters in Boston and Israel, announced on Monday third-quarter
revenues of $5.9 million, up 17 percent from the previous quarter and up 28
percent from the same quarter in 2002, HA’ARETZ reported. ClickSoftware
develops software solutions for management and for optimizing service fleets
in large organizations, such as telephone and gas companies. This area has grown
over the last few quarters, and ClickSoftware says it has a major share of that
market.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob, David Dorfman and David
Nekrutman at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** ISRAELI
COUPLE WOUNDED IN SHOOTING AMBUSH
** PALESTINIANS HOLD CEASE-FIRE TALKS; BUSH CALLS FOR ADDITIONAL
EFFORTS TO HALT ATTACKS ON
ISRAEL
** U.S. TO FUND LASER DESIGNED TO INTERCEPT ROCKETS
** LOCAL ELECTIONS: LOW TURN OUT; MOST INCUMBENTS
RE-ELECTED
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
ISRAELI COUPLE WOUNDED IN SHOOTING AMBUSH
An Israeli man and his wife were wounded today by Palestinian gunmen while driving
in the northern West Bank, HAARETZ reported. The man was seriously injured and
is undergoing surgery at Haifa’s Rambam Hospital to remove a bullet that punctured
his kidney. His wife sustained light wounds. The husband and wife are both doctors
at Afula’s Ha’emek Hospital.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a terrorist group linked to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the attack. Police spokesman Doron Ben-Amo said the shooting took place near the Jewish community of Kadim, where the injured couple lives.
In other news, an Islamic Jihad man was shot dead by Israel Defense Forces troops and a second man was wounded this morning as the two were planting a 20-kilogram (44 pound) explosive device near the fence surrounding Kibbutz Nahal Oz, which borders the Gaza Strip. A map of the area and a cellular phone were also found in the Palestinians’ possession. Security forces estimated that the two had also been scouting the area, where dozens of explosive devices have been placed in the past.
Military sources said IDF
soldiers opened fire on the two Palestinians after they entered an off-limits
area in north Gaza used in the past by gunmen to attack troops or infiltrate
into Israel.
PALESTINIANS
HOLD CEASE-FIRE TALKS; BUSH CALLS FOR ADDITIONAL EFFORTS TO HALT ATTACKS ON
ISRAEL
Palestinian
Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said today that ongoing truce talks with Hamas were
"constructive" and that he hoped to reach a cease-fire agreement with
Hamas and Islamic Jihad soon, HAARETZ reported. Qurei added that he wished the
cease-fire accord to be accepted by Israel as well. "I don’t have American
and Israeli assurances," Qurei said. "I want Palestinian assurances,
and if I get these Plestinian assurances, then there will be no problem."
Speaking from Ramallah, Qurei indicated that his interlocutors had "welcomed" his efforts to "strengthen Palestinian unity." He added that he would travel to the Gaza Strip soon as a part of his truce endeavor.
The attempt to halt Palestinian
attacks against Israel is reportedly mediated by Egypt, according to Israel
Radio, KOL YISRAEL. Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush, speaking at a
news conference Tuesday, said the Palestinian old guard was not committed to
fighting terror and was hindering American peacemaking efforts in the Middle
East. The president said the Palestinian people needed a leadership willing
to do the necessary to enable the creation of a Palestinian state. "There
are terrorists in the Middle East willing to kill to make sure that a Palestinian
state doesn’t emerge," Bush said. "It’s essential that there be a
focused effort to fight off terror."
ISRAEL,
U.S. TO FUND LASER DESIGNED TO INTERCEPT ROCKETS
Israel and
the United States will spend at least $57 million on the development of a laser
cannon capable of shooting down short-range missiles, THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
A recent Israeli delegation successfully lobbied Congress to approve the funding
for the joint U.S.-Israeli Nautilus laser weapon project. Israel will also contribute
an undisclosed amount of funds to the project.
Israel wants to use the Nautilus for protecting its northern border towns from Katyusha rockets fired by the terrorist group Hizbullah. Israel assesses that Hizbullah currently has 11,000 rockets aimed at Israel.
The laser beam system was
successfully tested in February 1996 at the U.S. White Sands Missile Range in
New Mexico. Further development of the project had been held up by skeptics
in Congress, an Israeli security official said, and new funding is now needed
to transform the technology into a practical weapon. Israeli security officials
said that the potential to use this technology in the war on terror was a major
factor in convincing Congress to renew support for the project. "Now we
have to make it an efficient, compact weapon that can be used in the battlefield
and in the war on terrorism," Yuval Steinitz said. Steinitz is the chairman
of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and was part of the Israeli
delegation that lobbied Congress.
LOCAL
ELECTIONS: LOW TURN OUT; MOST INCUMBENTS RE-ELECTED
Only 41 percent
of the 3,787,760 eligible voters cast their ballots in Tuesday’s municipal races,
making it the lowest turnout for a local election in Israel’s history, Israel
Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. Tel Aviv registered the lowest turnout, with only
27 percent of its voters casting their ballots. The highest turnouts were recorded
in the Arab sector; 93 percent of Abu Ghosh’s voters participated in the elections.
The turnout for the last municipal elections in November 1998 was 57.4 percent.
Most of the incumbent mayors were reelected. Among those are: Zvi Bar in Ramat Gan; Zeev Biyelski in Raanana; Yitzhak Ohayon in Petach Tikva; Ron Huldai in Tel Aviv; Miriam Feinberg in Netanya; Yael German in Herzliya; Zvi Gov Ari in Yavne; Daniel Vaknin in Beit Shemesh; Meir Nitzan in Rishon leZion; Zvi Tzilker in Ashdod; Yaakov Turner in Beersheva; Benny Regev in Lod; Efi Shtenzlerin Givatayiim; Adi Eldar in Carmiel; Menachem Ariav in Nazereth Ilit; Shmuel Abuav in Kiryat Tivon; David Amar in Nesher; Shimon Lankri in Acco, and Sami Bar Lev in Katzrin.
New mayors were elected in a number of local councils: Yaakov Katz in Metulla; former Israeli consul general in New York Shmuel Siso in Kiryat Yam; Romemiya Halevi in Savyon; Shlomo Lachiyani in Bat Yam, Gabi Neeman in Shlomi and Carmi Gillon in Meveseret Zion.
In Dimona, long-time mayor Gabi Lalush was defeated by Meir Cohen, the principal of the local high school. In Beit She’an, Jacky Levy, son of former government minister David Levy, defeated Pini Kabalo. In Rosh Ha’ayin, mayor Yigal Yosef was defeated by Sinai Moshe.
A second round in towns where no candidate won at least 40 percent of the votes will be held in Kfar Saba, Eilat, Modiin, Macabiim-Reut, Shoham, Ashkelon, Sderot, Kiryat Shemona, Gedera, Ramat Hasharon, Arad and Yesod Hamala.
Municipal elections were
not held in Jerusalem, Haifa and Or Akiva as they already took place in June
2003.
OTHER
NEWS IN BRIEF
The Israel
Defense Forces began easing the tight closure on the West Bank and Gaza imposed
four weeks ago after the suicide bombing at Haifa’a Maxim restaurant, Israel
Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. The army authorized the entry of 4,000 Palestinian
merchants into Israel, and another 1,500 workers to the Atarot industrial zone.
Security sources said the easing of restrictions on Palestinians had been recommended
by Chief-of-General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya’alon and the IDF’s top brass.
ECONOMIC
AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
In an effort
to boost Zim Israel Navigation’s attraction to buyers, the Privatization Cabinet
headed by Minister of Finance Binyamin Netanyahu approved the division of the
company into two entities, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The cabinet decision
gives Netanyahu and Minister of Transportation Avigdor Lieberman the power to
split Zim operations – for acquisition purposes only – into two separate realms,
one dealing with maritime shipping to and from Israel, and the other focusing
on the corporation’s international operations. Founded in 1945 by the Jewish
Agency and Israel Maritime League, Zim started operations as the main transporter
of immigrants to pre-state Israel.
The Israel Venture Capital
Association (IVA) is formulating a code of ethics for venture capital companies,
GLOBES reported. The IVA ethics committee, headed by Apax Partner (Israel) and
assisted by Veritas Venture Partners and Pitango Venture Capital managing partner
and IVA chairman Necehmia (Chemi) Peres, is responsible for formulating the
code of ethics. "In the past three years, all kinds of problems have arisen,
due to conflicts at various levels: relations between funds and investors; between
funds and entrepreneurs; and between the funds themselves," Peres, explaining
the necessity of a code of ethics, said.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by Arielle Bernstein and Victor Chemtob
at the Consulate-General of Israel in New York.]
** 7 SUICIDE ATTACKS FOILED IN 10 DAYS
** MESSAGE FROM IRAN SAYS TEHRAN SEEKS TALKS WITH
ISRAEL
** MUHAMMAD ALI ON PEACE MISSION TO ISRAEL THIS WINTER
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
Palestinian terror organizations have the ability to carry out a chemical attack
in Israel, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. This assessment was reached by Israel’s
security establishment. "It is not a problem for terror organizations to
attain chemical materials, and they are aware of the advantages of such an attack,
but on the other hand [they know] it would be considered breaking all the rules
of the game," one official said at a security briefing this week.
Traces of pesticides, rat poisoning, and other toxic chemicals have been found
at the sites of more than five Palestinian bombings since the late 1990s, police
spokesman Gil Kleiman said. One such incident was uncovered at the site of the
double suicide bombing in downtown Jerusalem in December 2001, in which 11 people
were killed, and 175 others wounded. Nails and bolts packed into explosives
used in the car bombing had been dipped in rat poison. The chemical, however,
affected no one since the small amount of toxicity inside the bomb broke down
as a result of the explosion.
Next Tuesday, at Ramat Gan stadium, police will conduct an emergency drill for
a scenario that will illustrate how security officials cope with a chemical
attack on a school.
7 SUICIDE ATTACKS FOILED IN 10 DAYS
Security forces have thwarted seven potential suicide bomb attacks in Israel
– including a double suicide bombing that was to have taken place in Beit She’an
– in the past ten days, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. On October 19, security
forces arrested two senior terrorist commanders affiliated with the Islamic
Jihad and Tanzim who were described by officials as ‘ticking bombs’. The two,
Said Zid and Yakub Jawadra, were planning to perpetrate an imminent suicide
bomb attack in Beit She’an and later disclosed to security officials the whereabouts
of the two explosive belts, each weighing ten kilos. In addition, Sami Jeradat,
an Islamic Jihad commander, was arrested in Silat A Hartiyah. He was involved
in the plotting of the suicide bomb attack at the Maxim restaurant earlier this
month in which 22 Israelis were killed and scores wounded. Officials said Jeradat
was also involved in the planning of additional attacks against Israelis.
During the last three years of Palestinian violence, there have been more than
100 suicide bombings across the country, which have killed almost five hundred
people.
MESSAGE FROM IRAN SAYS TEHRAN SEEKS TALKS WITH
ISRAEL
Government sources are looking into a message from Iran claiming that Tehran
wishes to open talks with Israel, HA’ARETZ reported. Israel has asked a third
party to make inquiries in Tehran and establish whether the message is serious.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom have
been advised of the message, which was not delivered directly. Israel is deliberating
whether the message is a sign of real change in Tehran.
Iran agreed last week to freeze its uranium enrichment efforts and allow surprise
inspections of its nuclear facilities. But Israeli sources say the Iranian activity
is problematic and that the road to change still seems very long.
Sharon sees no signs of moderation in Iran, or modification in its hostility
toward Israel and its support for terror groups. Sharon suspects it is convenient
for the Iranians to hint at possible flexibility because of other problems they
are facing, and that their statements regarding the nuclear issue should be
put to the test.
MUHAMMAD
ALI ON PEACE MISSION TO ISRAEL THIS WINTER
Muhammad Ali hopes to visit Israel this winter on a mission of peace, THE JERUSALEM
POST reported. The heavyweight boxing legend intends to journey to Israel to
strengthen One Voice – a grassroots peace initiative that seeks to find common
ground between the "silent majority" of Israelis and Palestinians.
"We are very honored to have him," Muhammad Darawshe, regional director
of One Voice, said. Daniel Lubetzsky, president of the America-based PeaceWorks
Foundation that launched the initiative, described visiting celebrities as "magnets
to attract people to learn about the issues."
Ali is one of the world’s most recognizable people and a champion boxer turned
humanitarian crusader. He became a UN ambassador for peace in 2000 and founded
the Muhammad Ali Parkinson’s Research Center after coming down with the disease
himself. Additionally, a Muhammad Ali Center is currently being built in Louisville,
Kentucky, to promote peacemaking and cross-cultural education. The center sent
a conflict resolution expert to help drafters of the One Voice plan.
ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
Ministry of Finance budget
director Uri Yogev said the government’s 2.5 percent GDP growth target for 2004
is reasonable and achievable, GLOBES reported. Yogev added that there has been
economic improvement and recovery in the past four months. Growth will be 1.1
percent this year, in line with the ministry’s forecasts. Yogev said that the
2004 budget would be smaller than 2003, reflecting cuts in the public sector.
"We’ll begin seeing the fruits of the economic policy already in 2004,"
he said. He attributed great importance to the reforms and structural changes
included in the budget.
The Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs’ report on poverty in Israel for the year 2002 was published
today, MA’ARIV reported. According to the document, 1.321 million people – approximately
21 percent of the population in Israel – live below the poverty line (marked
at one quarter of the median income level in Israel). The report also shows
that per-capita income for the entire population has decreased by 6 percent,
and that the difference or gap between the poor and the rich has widened.
The poorest city in Israel is Bnei-Brak, with 31 percent of the population and
50.6 percent of children living below the poverty line. Jerusalem follows as
the second poorest city, with 22.2 percent of families and close to 40 percent
of children living below the poverty level. According to a different report,
published two days ago by the Bank of Israel, the number of families living
in poverty in Israel has increased threefold between 1998-2001.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by David Nekrutman, Tallie Lieberman, Ehud Tal and Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** SHARON:
ISRAEL READY TO NEGOTIATE PEACE WITH NEW PALESTINIAN PM
** FIRST FRIDAY PRAYERS OF RAMADAN END PEACEFULLY
** ISRAELI LAWMAKERS EXPRESS OUTRAGE OVER RABIN MEMORIAL
DESECRATION
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
SHARON: ISRAEL READY TO NEGOTIATE PEACE WITH
NEW PALESTINIAN PM
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Thursday that Israel was prepared to negotiate
peace with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei as soon as he was ready, and
that Israel was on the brink of a new opportunity to find the way to peace,
HA’ARETZ reported. Sharon, speaking at an economic forum in Tel Aviv,
said that the absence of senior level negotiations between the two sides was
due to Palestinian reluctance. "We are maintaining dialogue with the Palestinians,
although not on the level of Prime minister," Sharon said. He added that
the reason talks were not on a prime ministerial level was due to a Palestinian
request to allow Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei to gain strength. "We are ready
to start negotiations at any time,” Sharon said.
Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz plans to meet with a top Palestinian figure next week prior to his visit to the United States on November 9. The meeting will be aimed at paving the way toward rapprochement between Israel and Qurei’s new government.
A senior security official said that Mofaz planned to gather information from the previous rounds of contacts held with the short-lived Palestinian government headed by Mahmoud Abbas, especially in regard to the Israeli demand for "Palestinian action against the terror infrastructure." Major General (Ret.) Amos Gilad, formerly the Israel Defense Forces coordinator in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and now a top defense ministry official, has held a number of meetings with senior Palestinian officials in recent days to lay the groundwork for this process.
The American administration has made it clear to the Palestinians that "the ball in now in their court" – that progress in the peace process depends on unifying the Palestinian security forces under the authority of the Prime Minister Qurei and taking steps against terror. But it has also made clear to Israel it must improve humanitarian conditions for Palestinians.
FIRST FRIDAY PRAYERS OF RAMADAN END PEACEFULLY
The first Friday prayers of the fast month of Ramadan passed peacefully as some
150,000 Muslims gathered to mark the occasion by worshipping on the Temple Mount
compound, which houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque, HA’ARETZ reported. Large numbers
of police patrolled in the Old City of Jerusalem ahead of the start of prayers,
with reinforcements from police forces across the country arriving at the capital
to boost numbers.
Israel Police commander Shlomo Aharonishki told Israel Radio that the fact that the prayers had passed peacefully was due to the continuous security routine at the site over the past few months, as well as the outcome of the shared interests of Israel and the Waqf, the Muslim religious trust.
Entry for West Bank and Gaza Strip residents to the Temple Mount was limited to 5,000 married men of at least 45 years old and women aged 35 or older, in order to prevent violent mass protests from erupting after the prayers. No age restrictions were imposed on Palestinian residents of Jerusalem.
ISRAELI LAWMAKERS EXPRESS OUTRAGE OVER RABIN MEMORIAL
DESECRATION
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon expressed outrage today over the vandalism of a
Tel Aviv monument to the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, HA’ARETZ reported.
Sharon spoke to Rabin’s daughter, MK Dalia Rabin-Pelossof, and said that the
act of vandalism was shocking and terrible. "Everything should be done
to find those responsible for the act of vandalism, and to uproot such phenomena,"
Sharon told Rabin-Pelossof. Vandals painted swastikas early this morning on
the memorial at the site of Rabin’s 1995 murder, the day before the rally to
commemorate the eighth anniversary of his killing. Police have opened an investigation
into the incident in Rabin Square, which was named for the late prime minister
after his assassination. President Moshe Katsav called today for those behind
the vandalism to be brought to justice, and urged the public to attend the memorial
service Saturday to mark his memorial.
One of the security guards
at the adjacent city hall reported the incident to the police early today. Some
of the black stones surrounding the monument had swastikas painted on them with
silver spray paint. The banner on the stage erected ahead of Saturday’s event
was also vandalized, with the words "Kahane was right" painted on
it – a reference to the extreme-right Kach movement leader Rabbi Meir
Kahane.
Israeli lawmakers from across the political spectrum expressed outrage at the
vandalism. Rabin-Pelossof was quoted today by Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, as
saying that it was time to hold a public debate on the issue of incitement and
violence, before it was too late. National Religious Party MK Shaul Yahalom
also slammed the vandalism, saying that, "every attack on Rabin’s memorial
was an attack on democracy."
* Israel is barring foreign airliners without bulletproof cockpit doors from landing at its international airport and will use onboard inspections to enforce the measure, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The Transport Ministry said the new regulation, meant to tighten security at Ben Gurion International Airport, would go into effect on Saturday. It follows a similar decision by U.S. civil aviation officials following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
* Local economists are confident that the burgeoning U.S. economy will help Israel out of its two-year recession, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. "Israel will only benefit from surge in U.S. GDP,” Shlomo Maoz, chief economist at Nessuah Zannex Securities, said. “While we will not see the affects immediately , the news from the U.S. is very optimistic and points to a good recovery for the Israeli economy as well."
* Investments in Israeli real estate by foreigners have risen 50 percent this year, GLOBES reported. Bank of Israel figures show that foreigners invested $285 million in Israeli real estate in January-September 2003, 50 percent more than in all of 2002. At the current pace, real estate investments in Israel by foreigners will amount to $400 million in 2003, the highest figure since foreign currency was deregulated and barriers to and from Israel removed in the mid 1970s.
* Another meeting between
Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu and Histadrut labor federation chairman
Amir Peretz in an effort to avert a general strike ended without result today,
Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. The sides are scheduled to meet again on
Saturday at 9
P.M., the radio said. The two held a 10-hour meeting Thursday night, in which
some progress was made, according to sources close to Peretz and Netanayhu.
The sources said that both sides were making serious efforts to avert a general
strike, as both were aware of the damage to the country that such a move would
cause.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by Jonathan Schienberg at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
