April 19-23, 2004

• SECURITY
  • Hamas Leader Rantisi Killed in Gaza
  • Border Policeman Killed Last Saturday near Gaza Border
  • 15 Kassam Rockets Launched at Israeli Towns
  • IDF Raids Gaza's Beit Lahia in Response to Rocket Attacks
  • Terrorist Responsible for Father's Death Killed
  • "Terrorists Grab Children and Run, Using Them as Shield"
  • El Al to Test Anti-Missiles System on Planes
• DIPLOMACY
  • Quartet to Give New Momentum to Road Map in NY on May 4
• POLITICS
  • Sharon Urges Knesset to Support Disengagement Plan
• SOCIETY
• Nation Mourns Six Million Jews Killed in Holocaust
• One Million New Immigrants Settled in Israel since 1989
• Limits on Vanunu Eased Ahead of Release
• Vanunu Released
• IDF to Assist Released Soldiers in Job Search
• For Memorial Day, Every Fallen Soldier Is Remembered on the Web
• ECONOMY
  • Israir Airlines to Start Direct Tel Aviv-NY Charter Flights
  • 40 Percent of Israelis Use Internet Broadband Connection
  • GDP Growth Forecast Up to 3.4 Percent
• SPORTS
  • Israel Allowed to Host International Soccer Games

 

SECURITY

Hamas Leader Rantisi Killed in Gaza
Monday, April 19, 2004

The head of Hamas, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, was killed in a helicopter missile strike on his car Saturday evening, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL reported. The strike occurred near Rantisi's home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City.
Following the twin bombings at the Ashdod port on March 14 in which 10 people were killed, Israel decided to step up its efforts to eliminate the top leadership of Hamas and other terror leaders. Last month, Hamas leader and founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in an Israel Air Force strike.
Rantisi, who co-founded Hamas in 1987 together with Yasin was a staunch enemy of Israel, calling for its destruction and staging hundreds of attacks against Israelis. Since September 2000, Hamas carried out over 80 suicide bombings. Rantisi also favored a firm stance against the Palestinian Authority and attacked it for having chosen the path of the Oslo Accords. Consequently, between 1998-2001, the PA arrested him on several occasions.
Meanwhile, Israel will consider attacking Hamas' compound in Damascus should the organization move its main power base to Syria in the wake of Yassin and Rantisi's deaths. Meetings recently held by Israeli political and security officials concluded that in the event that intelligence information point to Damascus as Hamas' nerve center, the option of targeting the organization in Syria could be considered. Given Hezbollah's increasing support for Palestinian terror, Israel will also consider attacking the organization in Lebanon

 

Border Policeman Killed Last Saturday near Gaza Border
Monday, April 19, 2004

A Border Policeman was killed and three other Israelis were wounded on Saturday afternoon when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at the Erez border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip, HA'ARETZ reported. The victim was identified as Corporal Kfir Ohayun from Eilat. The wounded - one in serious condition and the other two sustaining light injuries - were taken to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva and Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.
Hamas and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement claimed joint responsibility for the attack and identified the bomber as Fadi Al-Amoudi, 22, from Beit Lahiyah in the northern Strip.
The blast apparently took place at the exit point used by thousands of Palestinian laborers who pass through the terminal every day after returning to Gaza from work inside Israel.
This is the fourth suicide attack at the crossing this year. On January 14, a female suicide bomber blew herself up there, killing four Israelis.
According to Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, Palestinians fired a Kassam rocket that landed in a Jewish town in the northern Gaza Strip this morning wounding one person moderately. So far, eight rockets have been fired at Israeli targets on Monday. A rocket landed in a kibbutz field in the Shaar Hanegev region.

 

15 Kassam Rockets Launched at Israeli Towns
Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Following a barrage of 15 Kassam rocket attacks on Israeli communities in the northern Gaza Strip and near Sderot, the Israel Defense Forces have concentrated troops around Beit Lahiya today in what may turn out to be an operation aimed against Kassam rocket and mortar crews operating from the area, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Over two days, 15 Kassam rockets hit Israeli targets, wounding one Israeli and damaging at least five structures. It was one of the most intense rocket barrages in more than three years since the start of Palestinian violence.
This morning, two rockets hit the northern Gaza town of Nissanit, one landed in the Erez industrial zone in northern Gaza and three in the nearby Israeli communities of Sderot and Kibbutz Niram. Terrorists also fired two missiles at the town of Neve Dekalim in the southern Gaza Strip, damaging a house.
Two people from Nissanit were taken to the hospital after they suffered shock from a rocket attack on their home. The house was seriously damaged from the rocket. Officials in the community said it was the fifth house to be hit in the past 48 hours.

 

IDF Raids Gaza's Beit Lahia in Response to Rocket Attacks
Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Israeli tanks and infantry forces backed by helicopters raided the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip from where dozens of Qassam rocket attacks on Jewish communities in Gaza, western Negev towns and kibbutzim were launched in the past few days, HA'ARETZ reported. Four Palestinian gunmen were killed in gunfights with Israel Defense Forces troops.
Earlier in the day, five Palestinians planting an explosive device next to an army patrol vehicle were wounded when an IDF helicopter fired at them. Qassam rocket attacks by Palestinian terrorists have resulted in the wounding of nine Israelis since Sunday.
In other news, Israeli special forces arrested wanted a Tanzim terrorist in El-Khader near Bethlehem this afternoon.

 

Terrorist Responsible for Father's Death Killed
Thursday, April 22, 2004

Three senior members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades were killed early this morning in an Israel Defense Forces raid on Tulkarem, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. Military sources said one of the gunmen killed was the Al Aqsa commander in Tulkarem, who, together with the two others, planned the terrorist attack on the Avnei Hefetz town three weeks ago in which Yaakov Zaga, a father of six, was killed and his daughter wounded.
In the Gaza Strip today, troops were continuing to operate against Palestinians firing rockets at Israeli communities. Ten Palestinians were killed in an IDF operation near Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. There were no casualties among the soldiers. Troops were trying to thwart Kassam rocket and mortar bomb attacks.

 

"Terrorists Grab Children and Run, Using Them as Shield"
Friday, April 23, 2004

Israel Defense Forces soldiers would never kill a Palestinian child trying to harm soldiers, Givati Brigade commander, Colonel Eyal Eisenberg said on Thursday following the death of two Bet-lahiya girls during an army raid against terror bases in Gaza used to launch Kassam rocket, MA'ARIV reported. "The reality is that armed Palestinians grab children by the neck, and run with them. They catch kids, by grabbing their school bags, and then run with them. It's no secret that the armed terrorists use children as a shield," Eisenberg said.
"For us the situation is clear. We will not kill any child trying to harm an IDF soldier", Eisenberg said. "We will not hurt any child, because that would delegitimize our struggle in the area."
In other news, three Palestinian terror suspects were killed in Qalqilyah early today. A fourth Palestinian terrorist was reportedly killed in Taluza, north of Nablus.

 

El Al to Test Anti-Missiles System on Planes
Friday, April 23, 2004

El Al Israel Airlines is to begin testing a system to guard its aircraft against missiles, a government official said Thursday, 19 months after an Israeli civilian jet narrowly escaped being shot down by two shoulder-fired missiles in Kenya, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Transport Ministry spokesman Avner Ovadiah said a new anti-missile system would be installed on one El Al aircraft in June, with tests lasting two to three months. If the tests are successful, he said, the system will be installed on all 30 El Al aircraft.
The Israeli system, called "Flight Guard," was developed by Israel Aircraft Industries. Costing $750,000 per unit, it responds automatically to an approaching heat-seeking missile, firing flares to divert the missile away from the aircraft. "Flight Guard" has been used on Israeli military aircraft for a decade.
El Al has long had one of the most intensive security systems in international aviation, but the Kenya attack - against an Israeli Arkia charter jet - underscored the need to protect its aircraft from missiles.

 

 

DIPLOMACY

Quartet to Give New Momentum to Road Map in NY on May 4
Friday, April 23, 2004

The Quartet - composed of the European Union, the United States, the United Nations and Russia - who drafted the road map to peace between the Israelis and Palestinians will meet in New York on May 4th in an attempt to give the peace plan a new impetus, HA'ARETZ reported. European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana discussed the Quartet meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday and said that the EU was prepared "to get engaged" in Israel's pullout from Gaza. Annan and Solana stressed that Israeli actions had to be part of the road map and ensure that the end result was two independent states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace. Israel's UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman, who met Annan last week, said he made it "very clear" that Israel supported the road map and that "final-status agreements on all issues will be subject to negotiations between the parties."
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry director-general Yoav Biran met with the EU' s special Middle East envoy Marc Otte on Thursday to discuss a role for the EU in the disengagement plan, according to THE JERUSALEM POST. Biran said the EU could help the process by trying to tone down the harsh Arab opposition to it. Sharon's bureau chief Dov Weisglass was in France Wednesday and in Italy on Thursday trying to enlist European support for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan.

 

 

POLITICS

Sharon Urges Knesset to Support Disengagement Plan
Thursday, April 22, 2004

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned Knesset members today that anyone voting against his plan for unilateral disengagement from the Palestinians would be giving up American promises and assurances he had secured during his visit to Washington earlier this month, HA'ARETZ reported. "Whoever is opposed to the plan gives up all our achievements and will carry the responsibility of canceling all the U.S. commitments," Sharon said. "Anyone who wants Israel to initiate and not be dragged, to lead and not be led, must support the disengagement plan," Sharon added.
Speaking after the prime minister, opposition leader Shimon Peres told lawmakers that the Labor Party would provide unconditional support to the plan.
Sharon also told the Knesset that he would ask the plenum to approve his plan. He said he would also seek cabinet approval for it. The disengagement plan will be submitted to both the Knesset and the cabinet even if Sharon loses the May 2nd referendum by Likud voters.
Sharon's Knesset address came in the wake of a HA'ARETZ poll showing that a slim margin of Likud members supported the plan.

 

 

SOCIETY

Nation Mourns Six Million Jews Killed in Holocaust
Monday, April 19, 2004

The nation of Israel stood in silence for two minutes this morning, as sirens wailed marking Holocaust Remembrance Day in memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Traffic came to a standstill nationwide as drivers stopped their cars and stood in attention, while workers exited their stores, and passersby stood motionless in their place. In a day filled with somber ceremonies, the names of the Jews known to have been killed in the Holocaust were read out at Yad Vashem and at the Knesset, as the Israeli flag flew at half-staff nationwide.
Throughout the day, as the various memorials went on, radio stations played mournful music, while television stations broadcast Holocaust-related documentaries and movies. In Poland, thousands of Jewish teens, draped with Israeli flags, marched through the Auschwitz concentration camp for the annual March of the Living. The day's events in Israel were officially closed with a ceremony at the Ghetto Fighters House at Kibbutz Lohamei Haghetaot near Nahariya.

 

One Million New Immigrants Settled in Israel since 1989
Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Roughly 1 million new immigrants have immigrated to Israel since 1989 according to a Ministry of Absorption document released on Monday, HA'ARETZ reported. Ashdod, Haifa and Jerusalem top the list in immigrant absorption, while Kiryat Ono, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, has absorbed the smallest number of immigrants. Ashdod has taken in 71,831 immigrants, representing 34.6 percent of the city's population. Haifa, Israel's 3rd largest city, has increased its immigrant population by 69,998, 23.3 percent of the coastal city's population. Jerusalem acquired 60,080 immigrants, 7.9 percent of the capital's population.
The central village of Bnei Ayish, near Gaderam has the highest proportion of new immigrants: its 4,255 newcomers comprise over half (57.4 percent) of its population; in contrast to Bnei Brak's where 8,154 immigrants comprise just 5.6 percent of the city's population.

 

Limits on Vanunu Eased Ahead of Release
Tuesday, April 20, 2004

The defense establishment decided on Monday to ease some of the planned restrictions on Mordechai Vanunu, who will be released from prison on Wednesday after serving an 18-year sentence for divulging classified information on Israel's nuclear program to a British newspaper, HA'ARETZ reported. The ban imposed on Vanunu regarding discussing the circumstances of his abduction was lifted. Vanunu was also told that he would be allowed to go near Embassies, but could not enter them.
Minister of Interior Avraham Poraz signed an injunction Monday prohibiting Vanunu from leaving Israel for one year. Other restrictions will remain in effect for six months. Defense sources said the main reason for preventing Vanunu from leaving the country and not issuing him a passport was that he still knew state secrets that might jeopardize state security.

 

Vanunu Released
Wednesday, April 21, 2004

After 18 years in prison, Mordechai Vanunu, the man who revealed details of Israel's nuclear program to a Bristish newspaper, is a free man today, MAARIV reported. Security forces will maintain a watchful eye on Vanunu who is prohibited from leaving Israel, being interviewed on the subject of the nuclear reactor, and approaching any foreign embassies, airports or seaports in Israel.
According to CHANNEL ONE, security services operations for Vanunu will cost a million dollars a year. Upon his release Vanunu said he was proud of his actions, but had no more secrets to reveal.

 

IDF to Assist Released Soldiers in Job Search
Thursday, April 22, 2004

The Israel Defense Forces will form an employment agency to help newly released soldiers develop job skills, MAARIV reported. Until recently, Israelis released from their mandatory military service found it difficult to enter the national work force. The agency intends to help released soldiers by creating a database of their talents and skills, which potential employers could access.
The new job agency will operate within the framework of the IDF and will be run by social workers trained by the Ministry of Defense. "Until now soldiers would finish their training but couldn't find jobs afterward", said Hayim Oman, director of the unit for released soldiers. The job agency will initially be established in development towns before spreading throughout the country. Local municipalities have offered office space and manpower to help expand the agency's outreach.

 

For Memorial Day, Every Fallen Soldier Is Remembered on the Web
Friday, April 23, 2004

The Defense Ministry's website now features an intricate system allowing visitors to view biographies and photographs of all fallen soldiers, and determine the exact location of each grave, HA'ARETZ reported. The map system is in the commemoration portion of the website. The site includes two maps: one is a general map showing the best way to locate the military section of the cemetery, and a second map shows the exact location of a specific grave.
According to Aryeh Mualem, head of the Defense Ministry's unit for commemoration of fallen soldiers, the maps will increase efficiency in dealing with complaints from families with regard to the condition of the grave of a loved one.
The website will be up-and-running on Israel's Memorial day which starts at 8 PM next Sunday. A siren will sound and a moment of silence will signal the beginning of commemorations for Israel's fallen soldiers. The central commemoration ceremony will be held Sunday evening at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in the presence of both President Moshe Katzav and IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. General Moshe Ya'alon. Memorial ceremonies will take place at 43 military cemeteries and monuments throughout the country. The siren will be repeated the following day on Monday at 11 A.M.

 

 

ECONOMY

Israir Airlines to Start Direct Tel Aviv-NY Charter Flights
Monday, April 19, 2004

Israir Airlines is to launch direct charter flights between Israel and the United States starting in June, marking the first time a local charter company offers service on the popular Tel Aviv-New York line, HA'ARETZ reported. Israir CEO Sabina Biran announced on Sunday that the company would offer three flights a week to New York's JFK Airport - on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays - at prices ranging from $700-1,100 excluding taxes. This would undercut prices offered by El Al and foreign airlines flights by up to $150 per person in tourist class. Biran said she hoped her company would take five percent of the market - some 20,000-30,000 passengers a year.
El Al congratulated Israir following the announcement. An El Al source added that its true competition came from service offered by Continental Airlines and European airlines. "We will operate 30 weekly flights to New York," the source said, adding that 17 of them would be geared to children, granting discounts of up to 30 percent.
El Al Israel Airlines and Continental Airlines are the only two airlines currently offering direct flights between Israel and New York, and the Israeli carrier recently increased the number of flights on that route to 14 per week.

 

40 Percent of Israelis Use Internet Broadband Connection
Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Forty percent of Israeli households - representing 765,000 subscribers - now connect to the Internet using broadband connection, HA'ARETZ reported. Bezeq has over 500,000 customers for its fast Internet connection, while the cable companies account for about one-third of the total market. Bezeq's figures show that 70 percent of its subscribers are connected via broadband links.
Bezeq expects record revenues of about NIS 600 million from its fast Internet service this year. Bezeq CEO Amnon Dick has identified fast Internet as one of the main growth engines in the telecommunications market.
The cable companies take in about NIS 320 million in revenues from Internet access and infrastructure services this year, while Israel's other ISPs (Internet Service Providers) expect to rake in about NIS 400 million.

 

GDP Growth Forecast Up to 3.4 Percent
Thursday, April 22, 2004

The Central Bank has updated its 2004 prognosis, raising GDP forecast from 2.4 percent to 3.4 percent and business product forecast from 3.7 percent to 5.7 percent, MAARIV reported. The central bank expects the unemployment to fall gradually to an average 10.3 percent. The exports are expected to grow by 8 percent (instead of 5.5 percent), private consumption by 4 percent (not 2.8 percent), and imports by 8.5 percent. On the other hand, public consumption will drop by 2.5 percent, as a result of continuous policy to reduce government spending.
Despite the optimism, the Bank of Israel warned that the recovery would not affect everyone. Dr. Karnit Plug, Director of the Bank of Israel Research Department, maintained that in 2003, the unemployment gaps between the well educated and the poorly educated widened. Unemployment among Israelis with less than 12 years of schooling rose to 14.2 percent, while only 7.3 percent of those with 13 or more years of education were unemployed.

 

 

SPORTS

Israel Allowed to Host International Soccer Games
Wednesday, April 21, 2004

The Union of European Football Associations executive committee announced that it had conditionally lifted a ban on international teams playing in Israel, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Officials told the Israeli delegation that security precautions and reduction of terrorist attacks were sufficient grounds for allowing teams to come. The organization had prohibited teams from playing in Israel in March 2002 after a terrorist attack rocked a restaurant the night before an important match between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Milan.
While international teams may now play in Israel, matches can only be played in the Tel Aviv area. The organization also reserved the right to ban any match to be played in Israel at any time if security conditions have deteriorated.