August 2 - 6, 2004

• DIPLOMACY
  • Egyptian Generals Visit Israel to Discuss Security Issues
  • No Immediate Plans to Link Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem
• SECURITY
  • Terror Alert Emanates from Bethlehem - Qassam Hits Sderot Apartment
  • Palestinian Tries to Stab Soldier - Hamas Video Threatens 'Rain of Rockets' on Sderot
  • IDF Steps Up Fight Against Qassam Launching Infrastructure
  • Israeli Arab Aided Attempted Hamas Suicide Bombing
  • 5 Qassams Land in Western Negev
  • Israel Reopens Rafah Border Crossing
• PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS
  • Dahlan Warns Arafat of Mass Protests against PA
  • Israel Allows PA Policemen to Carry Arms in Effort to Restore Quiet
• DISENGAGEMENT PLAN
  • Disengagement To Be Completed 3 Months Early
• SOCIETY
  • Statistics Show Increase in Percentage of Single Israelis
  • Majority of Israelis Optimistic About the Future
  • Jaffa Children Receive Help from Their American Friends
• ECONOMY & HI-TECH
  • EU, Israel Resolve Trade Dispute

 

DIPLOMACY

Egyptian Generals Visit Israel to Discuss Security Issues
Friday, August 6, 2004

A delegation of senior military officials from Egypt, including several generals, visited Israel this week and discussed ways to prevent arms smuggling from Egypt to Gaza and facilitate the implementation of the disengagement plan, HA'ARETZ reported. Discussions with Israel on the smuggling issue are progressing, but Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is ignoring vigorous Egyptian demands to conduct genuine reforms in the Palestinian security forces.
The meetings between both Egypt and Israel are aimed at coordinating their security efforts so the disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank does not slide into chaos and more fighting. Heading the Israeli side was Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, now the civilian head of the Defense Ministry's Political-Security Department. Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman, who has been handling the Palestinian issue for the Egyptian government, headed the Egyptian side.
Israel has agreed to allow 130 Border Patrol inside the border between Egypt and Gaza for the first time since Egypt and Israel signed the Camp David Accords in 1978. Egypt, however, has not taken steps to do so. A partial success of the cooperation between Egypt and Israel has been an improvement in Egyptian actions against arms smugglers.

 

No Immediate Plans to Link Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem
Friday, August 6, 2004

Israel has no immediate plans to expand Ma'aleh Adumim or build a new neighborhood that would link it to Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told U.S. National Security Council's Senior Director for Near East Affairs Elliott Abrams on Thursday, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said Sharon told Abrams that the plan to build a neighborhood between Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem, called E-1, was approved about a decade ago when Yitzhak Rabin was prime minister. Although infrastructure work has taken place over the past few months, Sharon said there were no immediate plans to build the project, which he said was not a residential neighborhood rather a tourist area that would include hotels.
The Defense Ministry approval of another 600 housing units in a different section of Ma'aleh Adumim came up briefly in the 75-minute discussion, with Sharon telling Abrams that this was also nothing new.
Israel and the United States are still in the midst of defining what is meant by a "settlement freeze" and where construction in the settlements will be permitted.
Abrams also discussed with Sharon Israel's commitment to remove the unauthorized settlement outposts. Sharon told Abrams that a Justice Ministry official, Talya Sasson, had been appointed to deal with the various legal aspects involved in dismantling the outposts.

 

SECURITY

Terror Alert Emanates from Bethlehem - Qassam Hits Sderot Apartment
Monday, August 2, 2004

Israel Defense Forces troops sealed off Bethlehem in response to intelligence warnings that terrorists intended to depart from the West Bank city to carry out an attack inside Israel, HA'ARETZ reported. Meanwhile, a Qassam rocket hit an apartment block in the Negev town of Sderot this morning, causing no physical injuries, but some damage to the building. Four people were treated for anxiety after the incident.
Meanwhile, three armed Palestinians were killed before dawn today while trying to infiltrate the Jewish town of Alei Sinai in the northern Gaza Strip. The Palestinians apparently planned to carry out an attack involving explosives and automatic weapons.
In other news, IDF troops operating against the terrorist infrastructure in Khan Yunis in the southern Strip clashed with terrorists on Sunday. A 60-year-old woman was killed during exchanges of fire. Palestinian terrorists regularly fire mortar bombs at Israel from Khan Yunis.

 

Palestinian Tries to Stab Soldier - Hamas Video Threatens 'Rain of Rockets' on Sderot
Tuesday, August 3, 2004
A Palestinian attempted to stab an Israel Defense Forces soldier this afternoon in the West Bank city of Hebron near Beit Romano, HA'ARETZ reported. The soldier was not wounded and the assailant was apprehended and taken in for questioning.
Meanwhile, Hamas issued a video today threatening daily rocket attacks on the southern town of Sderot in the Negev. The video, which aired on the pan-Arab television station Al-Arabiya, featured three masked men surrounded by weapons and standing before a green Islamic flag. One of the men read a statement threatening to rain rockets on the town of Sderot. The video resembled those produced by the al-Qaida terror network and by groups fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. In June, a Hamas rocket killed two Israelis, including a four-year-old boy. In response, the Israeli army has launched a broad operation in the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, which sits on the border with Israel.

 

IDF Steps Up Fight Against Qassam Launching Infrastructure
Wednesday, August 4, 2004
The Israel Defense Forces expanded operations in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday night and took up positions on the eastern outskirts of Jabalya refugee camp to try to prevent Qassam rockets from being launched at Sderot, HA'ARETZ reported. Close to midnight, IDF forces crossed Salah al-Din road ("the Tencher route") that connects Gaza City and the Erez crossing and continued several hundred meters westward. This is the first time in the IDF's month-long operations around the town of Beit Hanun that Operation Front Shield has advanced so far west.
Qassam-2 rockets have an estimated range of around 10 kilometers - in practice, the maximum launch range identified has been 9.5 km. The distance between the Tencher route and houses on Sderot's western flank is about 8.3 km.
By advancing its line of forward positions, the army hopes to push the Palestinians back to more distant launch sites, making it more difficult for them to fire accurately at Sderot. Up to now even Qassams launched at Sderot from a distance of 8 km have had an accuracy rate of only 30 percent in striking within city limits.

 

Israeli Arab Aided Attempted Hamas Suicide Bombing
Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Zaher Ali, a 31 year-old Israeli-Arab student at Hebrew University, was a member of the Hamas terrorist cell that dispatched a suicide bomber to attack the Caffit café located in the German Colony neighborhood of Jerusalem last month, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Details describing the cell's plans were released today. The cell planned to launch a triple suicide bomb attack at the café; two bombs were to be detonated inside Caffit, and a third was to explode as emergency crews and security forces arrived at the scene. Ali was arrested by security forces between July 14 and 15.
Ali compiled intelligence on possible targets for the attack and assisted in infiltrating the would-be suicide bomber into Jerusalem. Ali along with a fellow cell member, Wassim Salim Mustafa Jalad, 27 of Issawiya, another holder of an Israeli Identity card, visited a number of potential targets (which included a coffee house near the Hebrew University at Mount Scopus, Egged bus 4A that runs through Rehov Bar-Ilan, a crowded bus stop in Rehov Bar-Ilan, and a wedding hall at Beit Safafa) before deciding to attack Caffit.

 

5 Qassams Land in Western Negev
Thursday, August 5, 2004
Palestinian terrorists fired five Qassam rockets into the western Negev today, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The attack occurred after the Israel Defense Forces deployed its troops in the northern Gaza Strip on the distant outskirts of the Jaballiyah refugee camp and Beit Hanun.
In addition to attempting to thwart Palestinian terrorists' rocket attacks from the ground, Israel has established constant air surveillance to support the troops. On Wednesday, a helicopter fired toward a Qassam launching crew as it prepared to fire its rocket. Three people were wounded in the incident and the launcher exploded. The Israeli Army also distributed leaflets, titled "Terror Kills," depicting two Palestinian terrorists firing a Qassam rocket that hits a Palestinian home. IDF officials said they hoped the redeployment of troops would assist in preventing further rocket attacks on Sderot.
Meanwhile, a U.S. company has been deployed to track down a tunnel Israeli security officials believe is being built underneath the Rafah international border crossing in Gaza.

 

Israel Reopens Rafah Border Crossing
Friday, August 6, 2004
Israel reopened this morning the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip allowing some 1,500 Palestinians to head home after being stranded for three weeks, HA'ARETZ reported. Israel closed the international border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on July 19, due to intelligence reports suggesting Palestinian factions were tunneling under the crossing and planning to blow it up. During the closure period, troops conducted thorough searches in the region but no tunnel was uncovered. Hundreds of Palestinians who were trying to get home through Egypt were stranded in the desert facing severe hardships. Israel opened another crossing nearby, but Palestinians refused to use it because they would have been required to pass through Israel to get home.
The Rafah crossing will be open for extra hours today and Saturday to allow the hundreds of people to return home as quickly as possible. The decision to reopen the crossing was one of a series of steps Israel is undertaking in a bid to ease local and regional tensions in Gaza and the West Bank.

 

PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS

Dahlan Warns Arafat of Mass Protests against PA
Monday, August 2, 2004

Former Gaza security chief Mohammed Dahlan gave Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat an ultimatum on Sunday to carry out the reforms in the PA by August 10 or face a protest of 30,000 people in Gaza's streets, HA'ARETZ reported. Speaking to newspaper editors in Jordan, Dahlan, one of Arafat's most prominent critics, said, "Arafat is sitting on the bodies and destruction of the Palestinians at a time when they desperately need a new approach. The Palestinian situation cannot tolerate any more corruption, and there is no escape from implementing reforms that Arafat himself has authorized."
Dahlan's demands include firing Arafat's nephew Musa Arafat as head of PA security forces in the Strip and naming three new PA ministers to take overall responsibility for security issues. Dahlan is also demanding that Arafat sign laws enacted by the parliament and approve the parliament's supervisory role.
Meanwhile, some 20 masked Arafat loyalists opened fire during a meeting of Fatah members discussing necessary reforms Sunday. The gunmen identified themselves as members of the Al-Awda Brigades.

 

Israel Allows PA Policemen to Carry Arms in Effort to Restore Quiet
Friday, August 6, 2004

Israel authorized today Palestinian Authority policemen to carry arms in order to control the anarchy raging in a number of cities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. It is the first time since violence erupted nearly four years ago that Israel has agreed to allow Palestinian police in the West Bank to have weapons. Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz approved the decision Thursday, saying he had decided "to take the advice of security personnel that chaos in certain Palestinian areas may become uncontrollable."
Mofaz's decision stirred outrage and fury among Israel's right wing. MK Ehud Yatom of the Likud party said that the arms authorization should be carried out on a smaller scale and time span, in light of "bitter past experience". On the other hand, Likud MK Gideon Ezra, who has opposed the distribution of arms to Palestinian forces under the Oslo agreements, expressed support for Mofaz's decision this morning. "They want to combat, or try to combat, the anarchy. When they approach us, and their request serves the population and doesn't cause any harm, there is no reason not to grant permission," he said. Mofaz refuted claims that his decision to allow certain PA policemen to carry arms will endanger the lives both of soldiers deployed in the West Bank and Israeli settlers, saying that it was intended to strengthen "positive elements" in the Palestinian security forces who are keen on restoring law and order.

 

DISENGAGEMENT PLAN

Disengagement To Be Completed 3 Months Early
Wednesday, August 4, 2004

The evacuation of Gaza Strip and West Bank settlements will take place 3 months earlier than anticipated, according to disengagement committee head Giora Eiland, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The objective of the planning team is to have whole families resettled before the start of the school year in September 2005. When asked if the entire process could be brought forward, Eiland said this would not be possible, because of the tight schedule. Eiland said that no settlers would remain in the Gaza Strip after September 1st 2005, but that military forces would remain as part of a transition process until the end of that year.
Eiland indicated that down payments could be given to settlers who want to evacuate early, provided that the government lay the groundwork for the procedure, in line with a directive by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz.

 

SOCIETY

Statistics Show Increase in Percentage of Single Israelis
Monday, August 2, 2004

The Israel Bureau of Statistics released figures Sunday showing a dramatic increase in the percentage of single Israelis, MA'ARIV reported. In 2002, for example, 90 percent of Israel's 20 to 24-year-old men were single, a considerable increase since the early 1970s, when 77 percent of the men in that age group were unmarried. This and other data were released just before Tu B'Av, otherwise known as the 'Holiday of Love', which began Sunday evening.
The percentage of single 25 to 29-year old men has also grown from 28 percent in the 70s to 58 percent in 2002, and data for Israeli women show the same trend. In the 70s, 46 percent of 20 to 24-year-old women were single, as opposed to 75 percent in 2002. For 25 to 29-year-old women, the figures for those years rose from 15 percent to 37 percent.
The average age at which Israelis marry, however, is lower than that of other Western countries. The average marrying age in Sweden and Germany, for example, was over 30 in 2001, as opposed to 27 in Israel.

 

Majority of Israelis Optimistic About the Future
Tuesday, August 3, 2004

Israelis are generally satisfied with their lives, or are at least optimistic about their near future, according to the annual Demographic Survey of the Israeli population, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. According to the 2004 statistical survey, 52 percent of Israelis expect their lives to improve in the next few years, 33 percent do not expect their lives to change, and only 15 percent think their lives will worsen. Eighty eight percent of people between the ages of 20-24 feel a sense of fulfillment from their lives, while 79 percent of people between the ages of 45-65 feel fulfilled.
Levels of fulfillment rise proportional to levels of education, and higher income levels contribute to fulfillment as well. Nearly 90 percent of households in which monthly income is NIS 4000 or higher, reported feeling fulfilled, while in contrast, 73 percent of households earning a monthly income of around NIS 2000 reported a low level of fulfillment from their lives.
Close to half of the adult population is satisfied with their financial situation. Thirty nine percent of Israelis foresee improvement in their financial situation in the next few years, while 24 percent foresee a turn for the worse.

 

Jaffa Children Receive Help from Their American Friends
Tuesday, August 3, 2004

The Jaffa Institute, which takes care of 4,000 Jewish, Muslim, and Christian underprivileged children from Jaffa's slum community all year-round, has received a gift of NIS 600,000 from the American Friends of the Jaffa Institute, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The donation has enabled the Institute to offer summer camp activities for July and August to 1,000 children at the subsidized rate of NIS 150 per child per month. The program includes meals, parties, and outings to swimming pools and Luna Park
However, the demand has been far greater than the number of children the Jaffa Institute can accommodate. "This is the first time in our history that we've had to say no to kids," Jaffa Institute director, New York-born, Brandeis University graduate Dr. David Portowicz said. "There's just so much that you can subsidize," he said.
This year, the institute's summer camp activities take place at five sites, with hopes that next year Bat Yam will be included.
The Jaffa Institute, which runs numerous educational, sports, and social welfare projects for the children of Jaffa, also provides scholarships for promising youngsters to go to university and thus rise out of their underprivileged situations. This year the Jaffa Institute provided 140 scholarships.

 

ECONOMY & HI-TECH

EU, Israel Resolve Trade Dispute
Thursday, August 5, 2004

Goods produced in Jewish towns in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will no longer be allowed to enter the European Union tariff-free under an agreement signed today, HA'ARETZ reported. Israel and the European Commission inked a deal designed to end a long running and politically charged dispute over the "rules of origin" for products from the settlements which were labeled "made in Israel".
Brussels contended this was a breach of Israel's free trade agreement with the 25-nation bloc and warned importers in 2002 that they should collect deposits on the goods which could be liable to duty.
The goods involved, produced in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, include palm oil, citrus fruit, tomato juice, plastics and low-tech industrial products worth less than $200 million a year.
Under the accord, goods exported by Israel to the EU will be labeled with a town of origin as well as the nationality, an Israeli official said.
Customs authorities in EU member states will then be able to charge duty on products labeled, say, "made in Ariel, Israel" but not on those marked "made in Tel Aviv, Israel".
The deal was negotiated when Minister of Industry and Trade and Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited Brussels for talks last November.

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