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** ABU ALA ACCEPTS PM NOMINATION WITH RESERVATIONS
** EU BLACKLISTS HAMAS
** PM VISITS INDIA
** SHARON TO HAMAS: YOU ARE MARKED FOR DEATH
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC & HI-TECH BRIEFS
Palestinian Legislative
Council Speaker Abu Ala, agreed in principle to become the next Prime Minister
for the Palestinian Authority, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL reported. Over the
weekend, Mahmoud Abbas submitted his resignation as prime minister complaining
of a "lack of support" and "harsh and dangerous domestic incitement
against the government." U.S. Secretary for Homeland Security Tom Ridge
said the resignation would not deter efforts to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace
negotiations, but "unfortunately, tragically, it will delay it." He
added that "there was great promise and hope, but he [Abbas] was consistently
being undermined by elements within the Palestinian Authority." American
officials blame PA Chairman Yasser Arafat for Abbas’ resignation. "Yasser
Arafat has been part of the problem for a long time," U.S. National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice said.
Meanwhile, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat nominated Abu Ala on Sunday to become the new prime minister. Although Abu Ala agreed to accept the post, he laid out some conditions before committing himself to the position. "I’m looking from the Americans, Europeans for a real support to change the situation on the ground for the Palestinian people." Abu Ala said. He added that Israel must change its ways in dealing with Arafat.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom told US Secretary of State Colin Powell in a phone call that the appointment of Abu Ala would not lead to progress on the peace plan as long as Arafat pulls the strings.
EU
BLACKLISTS HAMAS
European Union (EU) foreign ministers announced that they would declare the
political wing of Hamas a terrorist organization and would work to freeze the
group’s assets, HA’ARETZ reported. France led the EU objection last year for
putting Hamas military wing, the Izz a-Din al-Kassam Brigades, on its terrorist
blacklist, saying that the political leaders of Hamas have a potential role
to play in peace efforts and that the organization also provides Palestinians
with humanitarian relief aid.
"There was complete agreement that, given the outrage perpetrated by Hamas… on the 19th of August which killed so many innocent people and for which there was no conceivable justification, we’ve taken a political decision to freeze the assets of Hamas and other actions," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said. Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom called the European decision a "major achievement." He added that "the branding of the Hamas as a terrorist organization, its exclusion from the realm of legitimate interlocutors and the blocking of its sources of funding all constitute an important contribution to the war against terrorism, not only in our own region, but throughout the world."
PM
VISITS INDIA
In an effort to enhance
the defense, trade and cultural ties between the State of Israel and India,
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is traveling to India today, THE JERUSALEM POST
reported. The three-day visit will be the first ever by an Israeli prime minister.
Non-military trade between India and Israel has grown from some $200 million
when full diplomatic ties were established in 1992 to an estimated $1.6 billion
this year. The two countries also share intelligence and have a counter-terrorism
working group and Indian Special Forces are also being trained in Israel. "Terror
is a major issue and challenge for both countries," said Yaron Mayer, a
spokesperson to Israel’s Embassy in India.
Sharon will be accompanied Minister of Justice Yosef Lapid, Minister of Education Limor Livnat, Minister of Agriculture Yisrael Katz, Minister of Defense Director General Amos Yaron and thirty of the country’s leading businessmen.
SHARON
TO HAMAS: YOU ARE MARKED FOR DEATH
During a secret meeting
of the top Hamas leaders in Gaza, which included its spiritual leader Sheikh
Ahmed Yassin, Israel dropped a 550-pound bomb in attempt to take out the leadership,
YEDIOT AHARONOT reported. However, Yasin survived the attack with a light injury
to his right arm.
Information about the Hamas meeting was relayed by the Israel Security Agency. A series of consultations, headed by Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz and including briefings to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, led to the green light for the Israeli Air Force attempt. It appears, however, that intelligence placed the Hamas meeting on the third floor of the building, while the organization’s leadership was actually meeting on the first-floor of the apartment. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned Hamas leaders on Sunday that they are "marked for death," and added that, "we will continue to hunt them because they have only one objective: the destruction of Israel."
Israeli soldiers shot and killed an armed Palestinian near the Erez Crossing in northern Gaza this morning, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL reported. According to media reports, the Palestinian was armed with a Kalashnikov rifle and grenades and on his way to perpetrate a terror attack.
Two media experts from Israel will arrive in Addis Ababa to lead a training program for Ethiopian journalists as part of the bilateral cooperation program between Ethiopa and Israel, ISRAEL21C reported. Planned and coordinated by the Israel Embassy in Addis, the program was organized with MASHAV, the International Cooperation Center within the Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The new train line between Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh will be operational on Saturday night, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Construction of the new line, including an upgrade in track work and the building of two new train stations, one at Ramle and the other at Beit Shemesh, cost $29 million. Twenty-seven trains will run daily between Beit Shemesh and Arlozorov, Tel Aviv Central Station. Travel time is expected to be thirty-five minutes.
A survey of 19,000 tourists last year by the Ministry of Tourism showed that 92 percent of those visiting Israel had encouraged their friends to visit Israel, GLOBES reported. The main reasons for choosing Israel as a travel destination were religion, education and training, business and conferences and visiting holy sites.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by David Nekrutman at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** NETANYAHU
UNVEILS ECONOMIC PLAN
** IDF CHIEF: SAUDI ARABIAN PILOTS BEING RECRUITED
FOR ATTACK ON ISRAEL
** DOCUMENTARY ON HADASSAH ER EARNS EMMY
** MOFAZ TO KNESSET: ISRAEL WILL NOT DEAL WITH ARAFAT
COPY
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC & HI-TECH BRIEFS
NETANYAHU
UNVEILS ECONOMIC PLAN
Minister of Finance
Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled the Treasury’s proposed $60 billion budget draft
for 2004 on Monday, detailing a wide range of multi-year structural reforms
and new economic dictates, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. For the first time in
the country’s fiscal history, the Treasury has recommended the adoption of a
four-year economic plan: previously, policies have been designed for one year
at a time. According to Netanyahu, these policies include a better standard
of living for all citizens through encouragement of growth, assisting the economically
disadvantaged, streamlining the civil service, and defending consumers by breaking
up large monopolies such as Mekorot and Tnuva. "Israelis do not know that
the milk they buy is the most expensive in the world. We plan to change this,"
Netanyahu said at a press conference in Jerusalem.
To bolster some of these reforms next year, the Treasury will seek a $2.2 billion cut in government spending, with the largest single reduction, some $700 million, coming from the Ministry of Defense budget. "There is growing public understanding, and understanding in the defense establishment, that such a cut is possible. The regime of Saddam Hussein has been dismantled by the US, and thus the threat of an invasion from the east has been eradicated, allowing us to make these cuts," Netanyahu said. He added that he "will be the first minister, before Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, to provide the army with resources when they are needed."
Netanyahu has further targeted the public sector as a means of cutting government spending and as the core area for reform. Some 1,500 civil servants will be laid off as government units are shut down. Not only will Ministry of Interior districts be consolidated, but organizations such as the Public Works Department are set to be dissolved as well. To "free up the economy," the Postal Authority will be transformed into a state-owned company, and competition in the mail delivery market will begin. Other reforms include the selling of Wolfson Hospital in Rehovot to Maccabi Health Services.
The Treasury further announced a planned increase in taxes on the income of foreign workers, paid by their employers. Already at 8 percent, the tax will rise to 20 percent as of January 1, and gradually to 40 percent. "It is absurd that there are 300,000 foreign workers in Israel. We have already successfully deported some 60,000," Netanyahu said.
IDF
CHIEF: SAUDI ARABIAN PILOTS BEING RECRUITED FOR ATTACK ON ISRAEL
Speaking at a conference at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel
Defense Forces Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon said today that the Al-Qaida terrorist
network tried to recruit Saudi Arabian Air Force pilots to carry out a suicide
attack in Israel, HA’ARETZ reported. The information was disclosed during interrogations
of Al-Qaida operatives arrested in the West Bank, who related that Al-Qaida
tried to recruit pilots for an attack using either F-15 jets or civilian aircraft.
Ya’alon also stated that since the U.S.-led war in Iraq, the Saudi Arabian Air Force has stationed F-15 fighter jets at the Tabuk base in northern Saudi Arabia, not far from Israel’s southern border.
DOCUMENTARY
ON HADASSAH ER EARNS EMMY
An NBC documentary on the trauma unit at Hadassah University Hospital in Ein
Kerem was awarded an Emmy at the News & Documentary Awards Ceremony in New
York last week, ISRAEL21C reported. The documentary, entitled "Jerusalem
ER," focused on Prof. Avi Rivkind, the director of the hospital’s Surgery
and Trauma Unit.
The prize, awarded for outstanding coverage of a continuing news story in a regularly scheduled newscast, was accepted on behalf of NBC’s Israeli bureau by reporter Martin Fletcher. The documentary was broadcast on the CNBC network, on the Brian Williams news program. Fletcher and his colleagues discovered Prof. Rivkind during their coverage of terror attacks in Jerusalem, when Fletcher spotted Rivkind at the entrance to the hospital as victims were being brought to the hospital for treatment.
MOFAZ
TO KNESSET: ISRAEL WILL NOT DEAL WITH ARAFAT COPY
Speaking before the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Minister
of Defense Shaul Mofaz said today that Israel "will not cooperate with
anyone taking orders directly from Arafat," THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
"We expect an independent Palestinian government, one which will renounce
terrorism, conduct political reform and stop the encouragement of violence,"
Mofaz said.
Also speaking before the committee, a senior security official said that Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala), the appointed Palestinian prime minister, is no more than Arafat’s right hand. "Qurei and Arafat are one. The appointed prime minister has no intention of acting without the approval of the chairman," the official said. He went on to state that Mahmoud Abbas, former Palestinian prime minister, resigned due to death threats received from Arafat supporters.
Meanwhile, Israel continued its offensive against Hamas today when security forces surrounded a multi-story building in Hebron in an attempt to arrest Hamas operatives holed up inside. One wounded Palestinian left the building and was taken to an Israeli hospital for medical care. Heavy gunfire exchanges took place, but no casualties among Israeli troops have been reported.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Israel has notified the families of three Israeli men who drowned when their boat capsized in a hurricane off the coast of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Monday morning, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL reported.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer will reflect on the events of September 11, 2001 with the Israel Fire and Rescue Services in Israel. The event, Israeli Firefighters Salute and Honor the Memory of the New York Firefighters, will include a memorial candle ceremony and presentations by Fire Rescue Commissioner Simon Romach, Minister of Interior Avraham Poraz and Kurtzer. During the event, Israel’s Police Orchestra will perform "America the Beautiful."
After a 20-year dry spell, Israel’s national basketball team has returned to the quarterfinals of the European Basketball championships with a dramatic 78-76 victory over Slovenia in Sweden, HA’ARETZ reported. A jumper by Tal Burstein with 2.6 seconds left to the game secured the team’s spot among Europe’s top eight finalists.
Rehovot-based start-up BioView has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared its automated scanning microscope and image analysis system, the Duet System, for in-vitro diagnosis use, GLOBES reported. The system assists caregivers to diagnose and monitor patients with hematological pathologies. According to BioView, the utilization of its system generates increased information that is not provided by any other commercial technology while providing fast, accurate and highly sensitive results.
Jacada, which makes solutions that integrate "legacy and up-to-date" computer systems, announced a research and development agreement with Oracle Corporation, GLOBES reported. "This alliance with Oracle further extends Jacada’s reach within the enterprise software community and provides Jacada with significant opportunity for new revenue based on Oracle Application Server’s installed base," said Jacada executive vice president David Holmes. "Together, Jacada and Oracle offer our joint customers a robust, real-time legacy integration solution that provides significant benefits in terms of bridging the gap between the mission-critical data and business logic locked in legacy systems."
[Today’s Israel Line
was prepared by David Nekrutman at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** TWIN
BOMBINGS KILL 15, INJURE 60
** ISRAEL REMEMBERS
** ISRAEL’S ARAB COMMITTEE PRAISES OR COMMISSION REPORT
** ABU ALA ACCEPTS PM POSITION
** ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN MAYORS TO MEET IN
ITALY TO WORK ON TOURIST ROUTE
** ECONOMIC & HI-TECH BRIEFS
TWIN
BOMBINGS KILL 15, INJURE 60
Twin Palestinian homicide
bombings-one at a bus stop crowded with soldiers near Tel Aviv, the second
five hours later at a popular Jerusalem nightspot—killed 15 and injured
over sixty people, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL reported. In the first bombing,
a Hamas operative exploded himself at a bus stop outside the Tzrifin army base,
killing eight Israeli soldiers and injuring 14 others. The base is located in
Rishon Letzion, south of Tel Aviv. According to witnesses, the bomber, wearing
civilian clothes, walked up to the bus stop with a leather bag containing the
10-pound bomb. As military guards approached him, he detonated the charge.
Five hours later, another Hamas operative rushed into Jerusalem’s Caf? Hillel in the German Colony neighborhood and detonated a bomb, killing seven and injuring more than fifty people. The bomber first tried to enter the Pizza Meter restaurant next door, but when the security guard there questioned him, he ran towards Cafe Hillel instead. He pushed past the security guard at the entrance, who tried to stop him, and exploded as he entered the cafe.
Mark Sofer, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Israel would not waver in its fight to protect its citizens. "For the second time in one evening, Israelis have been butchered by barbaric terrorists," he said. "If the Palestinian leadership thinks for one instant that it can carry on ignoring the order to dismantle the terrorism from their own midst they could not be more mistaken." White House spokesman Scott McClellan said U.S. President George Bush remained committed to the peace plan, but that the bombings "underscore the need to fight terrorism and the need to dismantle terrorist organizations and groups like Hamas."
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to cut short his state visit to India, while Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz met with security chiefs overnight and decided to intensify targeted killings of Hamas leaders. Today, Israel Air Force bombed the home of senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, wounding him and killing his son and a bodyguard.
ISRAEL
REMEMBERS
Tzrifin Attack
Chief Warrant Officer Haim Alfasi, 40, of Haifa is described by his wife as "a family man, a loving son who always thought of his kids, wife and family." His brother in law Ronen said that Alfasi was a patriotic person with a deep love of the land. He is survived by his three children.
Sergeant Yonatan Peleg, 21, of Moshav Yanuv is described by his father as "a kid that smiled the whole time; who loved life and took care of everyone." Peleg was born in Israel, moved to France with his family at the age of two, and returned to Israel at the age of thirteen. He joined the army a year and a half ago.
Sergeant Efrat Schwartzman, 19, of Moshav Ganei Yehuda was the girlfriend of Sgt. Yonatan Peleg and was on the way to buy a present for her mother. The young couple had been together for about a year. "This is the terrible present her mother got for her birthday," cousin Avi Menker said. Friends and family describe her as an outgoing person. She is survived by her parents and a younger brother.
Corporal Felix Nikolaichkov, 20, of Bat Yam is described by his father Sergei as "a dear son who always dreamed of joining the army immediately after [they] arrived to Israel from the Ukraine, seven years ago." Nikolaichkov was three weeks shy of his 20th birthday.
Captain Yael Kfir, 21, of Ashkelon was enrolled in her hometown’s drama school and was described by the head of the institution as "a girl with a beautiful soul." Kfir was also aspiring to be an astronaut and recently submitted a letter to NASA. Her father said that Kfir wanted to be on the first mission to Mars.
Corporal Mazi Grego, 19, from Holon.
Sergeant Major Yaakov Ben Shabbat, 39, from Pardes Hannah.
Corporal Prosper Tuwito, 20, from Nazareth.
Cafe Hillel Attack
David Appelbaum, 50, of Jerusalem was born in Detroit, raised and educated in Cleveland, and was head of the emergency department in Shaarei Zedek Hospital and founder of the Terem 24-hour emergency clinic in Jerusalem. His collague Shaarei Tzedek Hospital Director Yonatan Halevy said, "thousands of residents of Jerusalem owe their lives to Dr. Applebaum . This is a terrible loss." His son Natan described his father was one of the "36 righteous people who uphold the world. He dedicated his life to saving lives."
Nava Appelbaum, 20, of Jerusalem, a volunteer with children suffering from cancer as part of her national youth service, was to be married Wednesday evening. She and her father were celebrating their last night together before the wedding.
Gila Moshe, 40, of Jerusalem, a mother of two, is remembered by relatives as "devoted mother and full of life. She played with her kids like she was a kid herself."
Alon Mizrachi, 22, of Jerusalem was the guard on duty at Hillel Cafe who attempted to prevent the terrorist from entering. His brother-in-law, Avi Levi, said he "had a soul of a hero. Alon always had a smile on his face, even when things were hard. He was everybody’s friend."
David Daniel Abistris, 51, of Mevasseret Zion was the eldest of seven and took over the role of father figure when his father passed away. His brother Eli said "at the moment of the explosion he was standing between the terrorist and his wife, and she was miraculously saved." Abistris leaves behind three children.
Yechiel Emil Tubol, 52, of Jerusalem is described by his co-worker Alona Angle as "a man of wisdom and honesty…everybody trusted him." She added that he worked with Arabs all the time. Tubol leaves behind a wife and three children.
The last two names were not released before publication.
ISRAEL’S
ARAB COMMITTEE PRAISES OR COMMISSION REPORT
In a reversal of its initial response, Israel’s Higher Arab Monitoring Committee
today praised the report issued by the Or Commission which investigated the
cause for the clashes between Israeli Arabs and police in towns in northern
Israel in October of 2000 that resulted in the killing 13 Arab citizens, HA’ARETZ
reported. "This is an important historical turnaround in the relations
between the state and its Arab citizens and between the Arab and Jewish citizens
of the country," the Committee’s statement said. The committee also called
on the government to follow the commission’s recommendations for greater equality
between Jews and Arabs.
However, the group did not accept the Report’s claims about the role of Arab leaders in inciting the violence. The commission found that three Arab public figures—MKs Azmi Bishara and Abdulmalik Dehamshe, and Sheikh Ra’ad Salah, leader of the Northern Islamic Movement—were responsible for inflaming the violence.
The Or Commission findings were based upon 16,000 pages of testimonies, 100 hearings, and the questioning of 435 witnesses.
ABU
ALA ACCEPTS PM POSITION
Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Abu Ala said today that he will take
the post of Palestinian prime minister offered to him by the PLO Executive Committee,
THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Ala said he would begin assembling his new government
soon, but called for greater coordination with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, whom
the U.S. and Israel have been trying to marginalize for more than a year.
In regard to twin homicide bombings on Tuesday by Hamas, Ala said, "we condemn this strongly." He added that he would work toward a real ceasefire. United States National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday evening that the new Palestinian prime minister must act to dismantle terror organizations and must be granted the authority to command all the various Palestinian Authority security services in order to do so.
ISRAELI
AND PALESTINIAN MAYORS TO MEET IN ITALY TO WORK ON TOURIST ROUTE
Mayors from Israel and the Palestinian Authority will gather today in Florence,
Italy to approve plans for a joint tourism venture based on a historical route
known as the Via Maris (Sea Route), HA’ARETZ reported. The project envisions
a continuous tourist route beginning in northern Israel and reaching the northern
PA, with each city featuring another tourist attraction. The ‘Via Maris’
is based on the ancient route linking Turkey to Egypt, via the Israeli coast.
The Via Maris plan includes the restoration of several rest points along the trade route, the creation of a complex in the German Colony in Haifa, and the rebuilding of the historical heart of the city of Taibeh. Each city will have a tourist center with developed cultural and tourist enterprises, focusing on the preservation the local cultural heritage.
The project, which started in 2000 at the initiative of the European Union, was frozen until this year due to the conflict, but was resumed in January of this year. Since then, several conferences were held in Florence, Jerusalem and Haifa, and a joint plan was prepared for all parties involved. In October, the complete plan will be presented to the EU in Brussels for approval.
ECONOMIC
BRIEFS
The Banker has rated United Mizrahi Bank as the best bank in Israel in 2003,
THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The leading monthly journal for the international
banking industry awarded UMB the title because it was the only local bank to
increase its profits in 2002. Last year, Mizrahi posted 10.5 percent growth
in earnings, while its competitors lost an average of 63 percent. Mizrahi also
kept its provisions for debt from growing more than 0.6 percent, while the others
posted an average of 63 percent more debt than in 2001. Mizrahi CEO Victor Medina
attributed the award to the bank’s wise and balanced business policy.
Palm Beach County police
returned this week from a training trip to Israel with ideas for improving security,
thwarting terrorists and responding to terrorism, ISRAEL21C reported. The eight-day
trip included lessons in counter-terrorism from the Israeli National Police
and the Israeli Defense Force. The trip was a follow-up to a 2001 visit from
the Israeli National Police, who trained in Palm Beach County for two days.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by David Nekrutman at the Consulate General
of Israel in New York.]
** PM PREPARES RESPONSE TO TERROR ATTACKS
** ISRAEL ON ‘RED ALERT’
** DATING OF KING HEZEKIAH’S TUNNEL VERIFIED BY SCIENTIST
** EMERGENCY VOLUNTEER GROUP WILL RECEIVE OFFICIAL
RECOGNITION
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
** ECONOMIC & HI-TECH BRIEFS
PM
PREPARES RESPONSE TO TERROR ATTACKS
Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon will convene his security cabinet today to discuss Israel’s options in
the wake of the two homicide bombings on Tuesday, KOL ISRAEL reported. The cabinet
is set to debate on how to continue the war currently being waged against Hamas,
including the proposal that Israel launch a large-scale ground operation in
the Gaza Strip along the lines of last year’s Operation Defensive Shield in
the West Bank.
Security officials declared that the army remain ready to act and will continue to target terrorist leaders in the areas administered by the Palestinian Authority. "We’re in the middle of an all-out war with Hamas, and this is no time to slow down," said a security official.
Meanwhile, a majority of cabinet ministers seem to be in favor of deporting Yasser Arafat, and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz will raise the issue at today’s meeting. According to a senior defense official, "Arafat is the one who is encouraging terror and is responsible for the Palestinian policy of violence. He made Abu Mazen fail and has a great influence over the Palestinian street. If he isn’t here, he will find it hard to heat up things." In other news, IDF soldiers took up defensive positions in the West Bank city of Ramallah today.
ISRAEL
ON ‘RED ALERT’
Israel remained on
the highest state of alert for additional terror attacks today, after twin Palestinian
homicide bombings killed fifteen people on Tuesday, THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
Police announced a ‘red alert’ is in effect after receiving scores of intelligence
reports about the possibility of two terrorists one from Ramallah and the other
from Tulkarem trying to enter Israeli cities. Roadblocks have been erected in
various points in the country and Police helicopters are monitoring the situation
from the air. Jerusalem Police are out patrolling the streets and heavily populated
areas.
DATING
OF KING HEZEKIAH’S TUNNEL VERIFIED BY SCIENTIST
Modern radiometric
dating has confirmed that the Siloam Tunnel in Jerusalem was excavated 700 years
before the common era, thus safely attributing its construction to the Judean
King Hezekiah, ISRAEL 21C reported today. The tunnel is the first structure
mentioned in the Bible (Kings II 20:20; Chronicles II 32:3,4) to be radiometrically
dated; until now, the presumption that King Hezekiah constructed the Siloam
tunnel was based upon the Biblical text itself and the characteristics of the
Siloam inscription (housed in a museum in Istanbul), which does not name the
tunnel’s builder.
The study, conducted by Dr. Amos Frumkin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Geography Department, Dr. Aryeh Shimron of the Israel Geological Survey, and Dr. Jeff Rosenbaum of Reading University in England, was published in the scientific journal Nature. The complicated half-kilometer long tunneling project, which was constructed without using intermediate shafts, was an engineering innovation for its time. It brought water into the city of Jerusalem during its siege in 701 BCE by the Assyrians, under their King Sancherib. The new findings refute a recent claim suggesting a much later date for the tunnel.
EMERGENCY
VOLUNTEER GROUP WILL RECEIVE OFFICIAL RECOGNITION
The motorcycle unit
of Zaka, a group that helps identify bomb disaster victims and collects human
remains for burial, will soon obtain official recognition as a rescue organization,
HA’ARETZ reported. These units would be permitted to use sirens and flashing
police lights in emergencies. However, members of the unit will have to pass
a special motorcycle-driving test , receive police clearance, and undergo a
160-hour professional medical training course. ZAKA, which was founded in 1995,
is an acronym for Zihui Korbanot Ason, Hebrew for Identification of Disaster
Victims.
The police identified Shafik
Karam, 22, of Jerusalem as one of the victims of the Jerusalem terrorist bombing
at Cafe Hillel on Tuesday, WALLA reported. Karam, Christian-Arab, was one of
the waiters at the caf? and recently took job because his father’s business
went bankrupt. His father described Karam as a ‘gentle soul and a good friend.’
ECONOMIC AND HI-TECH BRIEFS
The Manufacturers Association of Israel and the Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII) have signed an economic and manufacturing cooperation agreement, GLOBES
reported. The aim is to strengthen relations between small and medium-sized
Israeli and Indian companies, especially in the high-tech sectors. Under the
agreement both parties will encourage reciprocal delegations and exchange information
through databases and the Internet. Israeli exports to India, excluding diamonds,
fell by 5 percent to $105.5 million in January-July 2003, while imports from
India rose by 25 percent to $162.6 million.
A team of Israeli and U.S. researchers has designed a watermelon-picking
robot with artificial vision to do the job of harvesting, GLOBES reported. The
robot is the result of a collaboration of Ben-Gurion University, the Weizmann
Institute of Science, the Agricultural Research Organization and Purdue University.
The machine consists of a mobile platform on which are mounted an image-processing
system, air blowers and a mechanical arm with a gripper attached. Tractor power
pulls the platform through the field while cameras take pictures that the system
analyzes. The air blowers ruffle the foliage to expose the fruit. When the harvester
sights a melon bigger than a certain size — and therefore presumed to be ripe
— it extends the gripper to grab the fruit and lift it off the ground. In field
tests, the harvester correctly identified melons ripe for picking 85 percent
of the time.
Israel Line would like to express its deepest sympathies to the United States
of America on the second anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001. Our
thoughts and prayers are with you.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by David Nekrutman, Matthew Miller and Arielle Bernstein at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]
** ISRAEL
DECIDES TO EXPEL ARAFAT
** DISABLED ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS BIKE NY TO DC FOR 9/11
** STRIKING OIL
** EGYPT RECOMMITS TO SUPPLYING GAS TO ISRAEL
** RESEARCHERS CREATE WATERMELON PICKING ROBOT
** OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
Israel’s cabinet
decided on Thursday night that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat
was "a complete obstacle to any process of reconciliation between Israel
and the Palestinians" and that the Government would work to remove this
obstacle "in a manner, and at a time, of its choosing," Israel Radio,
KOL YISRAEL reported. The cabinet also said that Israel would only negotiate
with a Palestinian prime minister who immediately acted to dismantle and remove
the terrorist organizations. In addition, the cabinet decided to expedite to
construction of the security fence.
Meanwhile, according to YEDIOT AHARONOT, a poll conducted Thursday shows that sixty percent of Israelis would like to see Arafat killed or expelled. The telephone survey was conducted by the Dahaf Institute which asked 503 respondents what should be done with Arafat. Thirty-seven percent favored assassination, 23 percent said Israel should expel him and 21 percent said he should continue to be isolated at his West Bank headquarters. Fifteen percent said Israel should release him from isolation and resume negotiations with the leader. The Dahaf survey has an error margin of 4.4 percent.
DISABLED
ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS BIKE NY TO DC FOR 9/11
A group of twenty-two
disabled Israelis and Palestinians participated today in the World TEAM Sports
Face of America, an annual bike ride from Ground Zero to the Pentagon dedicated
to the memory of the victims of September 11, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. "We
are here to identify with the terror victims here in the States," Yoel
Sharon, a 54-year-old Israeli paralyzed from the waist down, said. Wounded as
a 24-year old student in the Yom Kippur War, Sharon, an award-winning filmmaker,
went on to found Etgarim, the Israel Outdoor Sports and Recreation Association
for the Disabled, which provides programming for both Jews and Arabs.
"I want to participate in Face of America to show that handicapped can do something, to show that my condition is not helpless," Mustafa Hirbawi, a 22-year-old Palestinian from Jerusalem, said. On January 27, 2002, Hirbawi was wounded in a homicide bombing on Jerusalem’s Jaffa Road. Hirbawi bears the permanent scars of the attack: a singed lung, the loss of several fingers, shrapnel scars, and recurrent nightmares. World TEAM Sports is a non-profit organization that unites able-bodied and disabled athletes.
STRIKING
OIL
Oil exploration company
Givot Olam announced on Thursday that there could be reservoirs of 100 million
barrels of oil at the Meged-4 well east of Kfar Sava, HA’ARETZ reported. The
company said geographical analysis indicated reservoirs of oil at depths of
4,800 meters in rocks dating to the Lower Cretaceous Period (50 million years
ago), and the oil-bearing layer could be 20 meters thick. However, the company
is looking onto the how to produce economically viable amounts of oil from the
site that could have a market potential of $1.4 billion. Givot Olam jumped 18
percent in trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
EGYPT
RECOMMITS TO SUPPLYING GAS TO ISRAEL
A few days after Egyptian
Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi said Egypt would not supply natural gas to
Israel, General Petroleum Company of Egypt Chairman Ibrahim Saleh told the Israel
Electric Corporation (IEC) that Egypt was standing behind its commitment to
sign an agreement to supply gas to Israel, GLOBES reported. Egypt has been issuing
contradictory declarations on its willingness to supply gas to Israel for a
number of years. Three weeks ago, a special envoy from Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak said that Egypt was committed to selling gas to Israel. Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon thereupon decided to negotiate with Egypt, giving it preference
over British Gas’s offer of gas from fields off the Gaza coast. However, Fahmi
upset the applecart by denying any intention on Egypt’s part to supply gas to
Israel. The proposed contract with the IEC is worth $1.5-2 billion over the
next 10-15 years.
RESEARCHERS
CREATE WATERMELON PICKING ROBOT
A team of
Israeli and US researchers have designed a watermelon-picking robot endowed
with artificial vision to do the job of harvesting, GLOBES reported. The robot
is the result of a partnership of three Israeli Institutes of higher learning
including Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Weizmann Institute of Science,
the Agricultural Research Organization and U.S. collaborator Purdue University.
The machine consists of a mobile platform on which are mounted an image-processing system, air blowers and a mechanical arm with a gripper attached. Tractor power pulls the platform through the field while cameras take pictures that the system analyzes. The air blowers ruffle the foliage to expose the fruit. When the harvester sights a melon bigger than a certain size — and therefore presumed to be ripe — it extends the gripper to grab the fruit and lift it off the ground. Onboard software evaluates the image’s shape, brightness, and texture to locate the melons. Knives connected to the gripper slash the stalk, and the gripper places the melon on a conveyor belt.
The harvester, named VIP ROMPER, guides itself down rows of maturing melon plants with only occasional human steering corrections. In field tests, VIP ROMPER correctly identified melons ripe for picking 85% of the time. Prof. Yael Edan of Ben Gurion University said that she estimates a two-armed version could attain a picking rate of one and a half seconds per melon. Watermelon is grown in 90 countries with worldwide production exceeding 50 billion pounds per year.
OTHER
NEWS IN BRIEF
Tova Lev, 37, of Bnei Brak, died today from her wounds sustained during August’s
homicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus, bringing the attack’s total number of fatalities
to 23, THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
[Today’s Israel Line was prepared by David Nekrutman at the Consulate General
of Israel in New York.]
