Monday,
July 7
Under
Cover of Cease-fire, Hamas Stepping Up Rocket Production
Israeli
officials are concerned over intelligence reports indicating
that Hamas is utilizing the current cease-fire to rearm
and prepare for the next phase of the conflict. Defense
Minister Shaul Mofaz noted the decrease in terror warnings
but said the Palestinians had yet to begin destroying
terrorist infrastructure. Palestinian security forces
said they arrested a Palestinian woman on her way to a
suicide bombing. "Israel's
position is clear-cut: the Palestinian Authority must
take steps to thwart terror in the areas it received security
responsibility. As far as I am concerned thwarting terror
is a must before the next step is taken, that is disbanding
the terrorist infrastructure," Mofaz said. (From
Israel Insider) more
Israel,
PA Vow to Step Up Economic Coordination, Helped by EU
In a move signaling growing
goodwill, Israel and the Palestinian Authority said Monday
they would step up economic coordination in joint efforts
with the European Union to start building new trade ties.The
two sides said securing peace after 33 months of conflict
was their main priority, and doing so included dropping
trade barriers with each other and with the EU. "We
need help in all sectors," said Industry and Trade
Minister Ehud Olmert. "We are at the end of bitter
fighting. There has been a lot of pain for us and for
them... We have to leave politics aside, it's not our
agenda" here. Palestinian Minister of Trade and Industry
Maher al-Masri agreed. "We are ready to do business
and the best way to do that is to restart talks between
Palestinian and Israeli businessmen," al-Masri told
reporters. (From Ha'aretz) more
PM
Abbas Invited to Visit Knesset Next Week as Guest of Shinui
Faction
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud
Abbas and Security Minister Mohammed Dahlan were invited
by the Shinui faction Monday to visit the Knesset at the
beginning of next week. The visit - which would be the
first ever by a Palestinian leader to the Knesset - was
proposed by Palestinian Authority ministers during a meeting
Monday with Shinui Chairman and Justice Minister Yosef
(Tommy) Lapid. The idea of inviting Abbas was raised by
Palestinian Justice Minister Abd al-Karim Abu Salah and
PA Minister for Prisoner Affairs Hisham Abd al-Razeq.
The two met with Lapid on Monday with Lapid to discuss
renewing judicial relations between Israel and the PA,
and efforts to rehabilitate the Palestinian judiciary.
(From Ha'aretz) more
Gaza
City Begins Municipal Beautification Project
A powerful symbol of
defiance that fired the Palestinian uprising for statehood
is being erased amid last week's cease-fire declared by
militants. Municipal workers in Gaza City began whitewashing
over anti-Israeli graffiti Monday in a long-delayed beautification
project that began following the June 29 announcement
of a three-month suspension of attacks on Israelis. Slogans
such as "The blood of the martyrs will not be wasted
- Hamas" and "Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades mourn
their hero-martyrs" were painted over, much to the
delight of many residents and shopkeepers. Palestinian
political analyst Ali Al-Jarbawi said wiping out the slogans
was one thing, but changing Palestinians' attitudes and
perceptions towards Israel as peace efforts progressed
would be far more difficult. (From Ha'aretz) more
Israeli
Andy Ram Plays in Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Final
Andy Ram's dream of lifting
his first Grand Slam trophy was overshadowed yesterday
by tennis legend Martina Navratilova's dream of winning
her 20th Wimbledon title. Navratilova and her partner
Leander Paes of India rolled past Andy Ram and Russia's
Anastassia Rodionova 6-3 6-3 to claim her 58th grand slam
title. Ram, who had a constant smile on his face all the
way through the tournament, kept smiling after the game
despite the loss. "What I've been through in the
last two weeks has been incredible ... The reason I enjoyed
myself so much in the mixed doubles is that you can be
more relaxed and I also had a fun partner. Being on Center
Court on the closing day of Wimbledon is the dream of
any tennis player and I tried to enjoy every minute."
Ram and Erlich flew back to Israel last night to prepare
for Israel's Davis Cup match against Zimbabwe, which begins
on Friday. After their success at Wimbledon, the pair
is expected to grab most of the attention. Ramat Hasharon
may not have the same atmosphere, but Ram said yesterday
that he was as excited about playing in the Davis Cup
as about playing at Wimbledon. "I've never played
in front of the home crowd in Israel and I hope not to
disappoint them." (From Ha'aretz) more
Tuesday,
July 8
Abbas
Resigns from Fatah Post
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas resigned
Tuesday evening from the Fatah Central Committee and threatened
to quit as premier, reflecting an internal split over
negotiations with Israel, a senior Palestinian official
said. Abbas handed his resignation in to Palestinian Authority
Chairman Yasser Arafat, but the Fatah committee unanimously
refused to accept his resignation. A Fatah official, speaking
on condition of anonymity, said Abbas also sent a letter
to Arafat threatening to step down as premier unless he
gets clear instructions from Fatah over how to handle
contacts with Israel. Fatah, headed by Arafat, has been
in turmoil over declaration of a unilateral cease-fire
since last month. Fatah officials said that Abbas' move
might be a
ploy aimed at forcing recalcitrant Fatah members to agree
to the way he is handling talks with Israel, adding that
Abbas was likely to withdraw his resignation. (From Ha'aretz)
more
Islamic
Jihad Claims Monday's Suicide Bombing
The Islamic Jihad Tuesday claimed
responsibility for the suicide attack in a home in Kfar
Yavetz Monday night in which Mazal
Afari was killed and four people were injured. Police
declared earlier in the day that the explosion was caused
by a suicide bomber after initially reporting that the
blast was caused by a gas leak. Monday night's bombing
is the first suicide attack on Israelis since the Palestinian
militant groups pledged a ceasefire. (From Jerusalem
Post)
FM Silvan Shalom: "This demontrates, more than anything,
the need for the Palestinians to fulfil their obligation
that they undertook under the road map, to dismantle the
terrorist infrastructure."
PA
Asks Media Outlets to Tone Down Incitement
The Palestinian Information Ministry sent a letter
last week to the dozens of radio and TV stations in Palestinian
cities recommending that they act appropriately in light
of recent political developments. According to one broadcaster,
the new guidelines call for avoiding interviews with gunmen
from the armed wings of organizations, avoiding shouts
of "Allah akbar" or similar cries during live
broadcasts, not publishing anything without at least getting
the official PA response, and "accepting the rules
of the hudna" - a general recommendation to advance
the principles of the Abu Mazen government. Broadcasters
were also told to replace the images and sounds of the
intifada, such as the praise of martyrs and the scenes
of rioting, with pop music, game shows, and other light
entertainment. (From Ha'aretz) more
Missile
Chief: Arrow Missile Can Defend Israel from Iran's Shihab-3
The arrow missile system will
provide a good line of defense against Iran's Shihab-3
missile, the heads of the Arrow system Aryeh Herzog said
Tuesday. After years of development, Iran announced Monday
that the Shihab-3 ballistic missile, capable of reaching
Israel with a 1,300 km range, has undergone its "final
testing" and is now operational. Defense officials
warned that the Shihab missile has the ability to carry
a nuclear warhead and that Iran will most probably achieve
nuclear capability within two years. Herzog also said
that Israel needs to watch over Syrian surface-to-surface
missiles, which can reach Israeli targets. (From Jerusalem
Post)
Hundreds
Of North American Olim to Arrive in Israel Wednesday
Tomorrow morning, the first of two chartered EL
AL jumbo jets bringing close to 800 North Americans on
aliyah to Israel is scheduled to land at Ben Gurion International
Airport. Bringing these Jews to Israel was made possible
by the Nefesh B'Nefesh organization, in close cooperation
with the Jewish Agency for Israel. Some 500 North Americans
came on aliyah in similar flights last year. Prime
Minister Sharon, Finance Minister Netanyahu, and Absorption
Minister Tzippy Livni will be joining hundreds of family
and friends in welcoming the flight. (From Arutz
Sheva) more
Wednesday,
July 9
Citing
National Security, Bush Sends $20M Directly to PA
The U.S. administration,
citing "national security needs and special circumstances"
to bypass Congressional prohibitions, is sending $20 million
in special aid to the Palestinian Authority to help strengthen
the government of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel was notified of the aid and did not express any
objections. The money, said the administration in a letter
to Congress, would be used to buttress PA control in areas
where it assumes security responsibility from Israel.
(From Ha'aretz) more
European
Commssion Wants Israel in 'Wider Europe' Initiative
The European Commission
announced Wednesday that it intends to incorporate Israel
into its "Wider Europe" initiative, which may
give it a status similar to that of European Union states,
especially on commercial and economic issues. EU representatives
who met with a Foreign Ministry delegation in Brussels
on Wednesday as part of the annual meeting of the Israeli-EU
Association Agreement Committee said that unlike in the
past, EU-Israeli relations will no longer be conditional
on the progress of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
(From Ha'aretz) more
Thursday,
July 10
Palestinians
Work with Israel to Arrest Jihad Militant in Jenin
Palestinian intelligence
services in the West Bank recently worked in coordination
with Israel to arrest an Islamic Jihad militant in Jenin,
and later transferred the individual to a Palestinian
Authority prison in Jericho, Israel Radio reported Thursday
morning. According to a senior security source, even skeptics
in the defense establishment believe that at present the
efforts made by Palestinians to reach an agreement with
Israel are sincere, Israel Radio reported on Thursday.
The arrest of the Islamic Jihad militant in Jenin was
the second such incidence of coordination between the
two sides in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, Palestinian
intelligence services officials worked in coordination
with the Israel Defense Forces to arrest two wanted men
and transferred them to PA prisons. (From Ha'aretz) more
Fatah
Gunman Hid in Arafat's Compound for Over a Year
A senior Fatah activist
believed to be involved in a series of attacks in which
Israelis were killed, reportedly told the Shin Bet he
sheltered in the Ramallah Muqata for a more than a year.
Defense sources told Haaretz Alian had told his Shin Bet
interrogators he stayed in Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat's Muqata compound for close to 18 months.
He told them he used to leave the compound and return
frequently. In some cases he returned to the compound
after carrying out attacks, the sources said. They said
some Palestinian activists on the IDF wanted list are
still in the Muqata compound. (From Ha'aretz) more
IDF
Removes Illegal West Bank Settlement
IDF troops removed an illegal
outpost near the West Bank settlement of Elon Moreh Thursday.
Israel agreed to U.S. President Bush's demand to remove
the illegal outposts as a goodwill gesture toward Palestinian
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Some 15 youths who refused
to vacate the outpost were detained and transferred to
the police for questioning. (From Jerusalem
Post)
Israel
Ranked 22nd for Quality of Life
Having notched the
22nd ranking out of 175 countries in this year's UN Human
Development Report, Israel appears to be doing relatively
well in spite of its economic and security concerns. Kop,
a professor of economics and public policy, said the UN
report could be flawed because it may have combined a
number of indicators without giving them weight according
to importance - that is, they arrived at a "simplified"
average. It measures a host of indicators such as human
rights, labor rights, poverty, disease, demographic trends,
health and education spending, technology, trade, inequality
in income or consumption, and environmental factors. The
"Palestinian Territories" made the 98th spot
- with Egypt (120) and Syria (110) lagging behind; Lebanon
(83) and Jordan (90) complete the ranks of Israel's neighbors.
Behind Luxembourg, Israel has the second-highest cellular
phone usage (907 users out of 1,000). Israel received
high marks in education spending (7.3 percent of its GDP,
second only to Denmark) and health spending (8.1 percent
of its GDP and ranked seventh among developed nations).
(From Jerusalem Post) more
Israelis
Collect Medals in Canoe Competition
The Israeli canoe
racers took home four medals at the Sprint Racing World
Cup competition in Zagreb, Croatia, this week. Israel’s
Michael Kolganov, winner of a 2000 Olympic bronze medal
in the 500m kayak event, took the silver medal in the
kayak 500m event, along with the bronze for 1000m. In
the 1000m race, Kolganov was just behind Ro’i Yellin,
who took home the silver medal. Kolganov and Yellin’s
teammate, Lior Karmi, brought Israel yet another medal
- the silver - when she placed second in the women’s
1000m race. (From Arutz Sheva) more
Friday,
July 11
Sharon,
Abbas To Hold Road Map Meeting Next Week - Arafat Accuses
Abbas of Betrayal
Palestinian Prime
Minister Mahmoud Abbas is expected to meet with Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon next week in order to further advance
the implementation of the road map. The two leaders are
slated to discuss the release of more Palestinian prisoners
as well as the transfer of more cities from Israeli to
Palestinian control. Abbas canceled a meeting with Sharon
earlier this week, in the midst of an internal Palestinian
dispute over the way negotiations have been conducted
with Israel so far, especially on the prisoner release
issue. More criticism of Abbas emanated from Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat himself on Thursday as
the Arafat accused the Palestinian premier of "betraying
the interests of the Palestinian people." Arafat's
comments were made during his meeting with UN envoy Terje
Larsen. "Abu Mazen is behaving like a tyro who doesn't
know what he is doing," Arafat's criticisms follow
a wave of similar attacks launched at his associates during
a Fatah Central Committee meeting Monday night. The verbal
assaults aim to undermine Abbas's authority. Reacting
against attempts to weaken his position, Abbas resigned
from the central committee and offered to quit as prime
minister - both decisions were rejected.
In other news, Palestinian Minister in charge of security
Mohammed Dahlan and Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz held
their second meeting of the week at the Erez checkpoint
Thursday night in order to maintain the momentum of the
road map. (From Ha'aretz) more
Israel
Calling for More Action Against Iranian Nuclear Program
Israel is calling
on the international community to deal with Iran's nuclear
weapons program by bringing enriched uranium production
in Iran to a complete halt. Minister of Foreign Affairs
Silvan Shalom is expected present this position when he
meets with European leaders in the coming days.
Iran is currently under massive international pressure
to increase the transparency of its nuclear program and
accept international supervision, to ensure the project
is being used for peaceful purposes - as the Iranians
say - rather than for the development of nuclear weapons.
Tehran has indicated, under pressure, that it would accept
the Additional Protocol, which was introduced after the
1991 discovery of Iraq's secret atomic weapons program.
The Additional Protocol would give the IAEA access to
more information about Iran's nuclear activities and the
right to carry out more inspections on short notice. Israeli
experts believe that tightening international nuclear
inspection without imposing restrictions on the Iranian
project is dangerous. First, the Iranians can "play
for time" in the talks on joining the Additional
Protocol Treaty and even after signing, the tighter inspections
may not be enacted automatically. Thus the Iranians could
produce a nuclear bomb under cover of the extended talks
with the IAEA.
Officials in Jerusalem, however, expressed satisfaction
with the plan presented about three weeks ago by EU foreign
policy and security chief Javier Solana to halt the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction. Solana's plan, which was
also sent to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, proposes several
ways to enforce the regulations. These include international
agreements, inspection mechanisms, political and economic
sanctions and as a last resort the use of force. (From
Ha'aretz) more
Katsav
Visits Croatia Breaking 12 Year Absence
President Moshe
Katsav arrived in Croatia today for the first visit by
an Israeli head of State since the former Yugoslav republic
achieved its independence in 1991. Katsav told a group
of Croatian lawmakers that Israel was willing to "go
a long way" to achieve peace with the Palestinians,
but said they needed to back up their anti-terrorist proclamations
with concrete actions. "Israel is prepared .. to
go along way toward peace and reconciliation," Katsav
said. Katsav also said that he believed in Palestinian
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas's "sincerity to bring
about the cessation of violence, terror and incitement."
But he cautioned that "declarations against terrorism
are not sufficient." "The Palestinian leadership
must act in order to uproot the plague of terror,"
Katsav added.
Katsav also referred to the "difficult and painful"
memories Jews have of World War II in Croatia, and he
praised the country's anti-fascist movement of the time.
His visit underscored a growing friendship between Israel
and Croatia. "I am very glad to be here ... to find
that here, in Croatia, dramatic improvement happened,"
Katsav said earlier Friday as he began his three-day stay
by meeting with Croatian President Stipe Mesic. The two
leaders complimented each other and called for intensified
ties between their countries in a visit that pointed up
the dramatic change in relations between the two nations.
Israel and Croatia established diplomatic relations in
1997, but only after Tudjman deleted a section from his
1989 book that questioned the number of Jews who died
in the Holocaust. About 30,000 Jews perished in concentration
camps run by Croatia's Nazi puppet state. Katsav is currently
on a week-long tour of four countries - Turkey, Moldova,
Slovakia and Croatia. (From Ha'aretz) more
