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The Week in Review
January 12 - 16, 2004
- SECURITY
- Sharon Says Knesset Will Be Consulted before Implementation of Unilateral Measures
- Female Bomber Kills Four Israelis at Entrance to Gaza Strip
- Father of Five Murdered by Terrorists near Talmon
- ICJ's Upcoming Deliberation on the Fence for the Prevention of Terrorism Detrimental to Peace Talks
- DIPLOMACY
- Assad Rejects Katsav's Offer to Visit Jerusalem
- Syria, Iran, Hezbollah Split Should Be Exploited
- ECONOMY & HI-TECH
- Israeli Scientists Make Colon Cancer Cell Breakthrough
- Resurgence in Tourism to Israel
- SOCIETY
- Four New Nature Reserves Created
SECURITY Sharon Says Knesset Will Be Consulted before Implementation of Unilateral Measures
Tuesday, January 13, 2004Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised members of the Knesset on Monday evening that he would seek parliament approval before taking unilateral steps in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, HA'ARETZ reported. Sharon reiterated his commitment to the "road map" peace plan that envisions a Palestinian state by 2005. However, Sharon pointed out that if "in a few months, the Palestinians continue to refuse our outstretched hand in peace, we will have to take a series of steps to ensure maximum security for Israel's citizens and minimum friction with the Palestinian population."
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that by June preparations for major unilateral moves would be complete, "including withdrawal from certain settlements." Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland has been appointed to oversee the disengagement plan and he has already ordered government ministries to begin preparations for the pullback.
Female Bomber Kills Four Israelis at Entrance to Gaza Strip
Wednesday, January 14, 2004A Palestinian terrorist blew herself up early today at the Erez crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel, killing four Israelis, and critically wounding 12, HA'ARETZ reported. One of the casualties was a 22-year-old Border Police Staff Sergeant Vladimir Trostinsky, from Rehovot. Hamas and Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement's terror group Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, jointly claimed responsibility for the terror attack. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei declined to condemn the attack.
The explosion ripped through a recently dedicated facility where laborers and foreigners cross over the boundary of Gaza and Israel. Israel Defense Forces Brigadier-General Gad Shamni, commander of the army's Gaza Division, said that when the bomber reached the area where Palestinian workers are inspected prior to entry into Israel, she told security personnel that she had a metal plate in her leg, which could set off an alarm. "Because she was a woman, a female soldier was sent for, to inspect her. While she was waiting for the arrival of the woman soldier, [the bomber] apparently succeeded in penetrating a meter or two into the inspection hall, and blew herself up."
Father of Five Murdered by Terrorists near Talmon
Wednesday, January 14, 2004Roee Arbel, a 29-year-old father of five, was killed and two people were moderately injured when terrorists shot at the vehicle in which they were traveling near Talmon in Samaria, on Tuesday night, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The attack was claimed by Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement's terror group Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Soldiers searched the area for the perpetrators, who are believed to have fled toward Ramallah; they found eight bullet casings from a Kalashnikov assault rifle at the site of the ambush.
Arbel is the first terrorist fatality from Talmon since the outbreak of Palestinian violence in September 2000. He was riding home with fellow Talmon resident Yaron Solomon from work at the Motorola plant in Ramat Gan. Roee and his wife, Hagit, moved to Talmon two years ago and had moved from their mobile home into a permanent home only six months ago. They have five children: two daughters, aged five and three-and-a-half, and three-month-old triplets. Arbel's funeral took place this afternoon.
ICJ's Upcoming Deliberation on the Fence for the Prevention of Terrorism Detrimental to Peace Talks
Thursday, January 15, 2004As the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is set to deliberate in February regarding the legal consequences of Israel's security fence, Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom said that it was an error for the court to debate the issue and explained it would impede future peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL reported. "This subject should be sorted out through political channels and not in the International Court," Shalom said.
In December of 2003, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to send the issue of Israel's security fence to ICJ for an advisory opinion on its legality under international law. "The Palestinian decision to take the issue to the ICJ is a bad decision, a decision which, of course, hurts the possibility of building relations between us and them,' Shalom said. Although the court can give an advisory opinion, it has no legally binding effect.
British international law expert Daniel Bethlehem, who will represent Israel in The Hague, suggested that Israel present in writing to the ICJ its opposition to the hearing, and deny the ICJ's authority to deal with the topic of the security fence. According to Bethlehem's proposal, Israel will state that building the fence was justified for security reasons.
Meanwhile, according to HA'ARETZ, the Supreme Court agreed today to hold a hearing on the legality of the construction of the West Bank security fence in places where it deviates from the green line. Most of the petitions submitted to the Court on the fence deal with the expropriation of Palestinian lands, the deterioration in living conditions of Palestinian farmers who have been separated from their fields, or with the procedures involved in opening the fence gates to allow passage. Supreme Court Justice Yaacov Turkel agreed to have the discussion take place before February 15 - the date of the ICJ's planned discussion of the issue.
DIPLOMACY Assad Rejects Katsav's Offer to Visit Jerusalem
Monday, January 12, 2004Syrian President Bashar Assad rejected an invitation issued by President Moshe Katsav to visit Jerusalem, HA'ARETZ reported. President Moshe Katsav expressed regret at the Syrian leader's decision, saying that, "it seems that Assad is not made of the same material as the former Egyptian president, Sadat" - a reference to Anwar al-Sadat, who became the first Arab leader to visit Israel when he accepted then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin's letter of invitation in 1977.
Syria said Monday that Katsav's invitation was not a serious response to its calls for peace talks made early December last year. However, in extending his invitation, Katsav had stressed that no preconditions were attached to it.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday that Israel would be happy to begin peace talks with Syria, but only if Syria first ended its support for terrorist organizations. Speaking with foreign correspondents in Jerusalem on Sunday, Sharon said: "I believe that Syria should stop the help and support for terrorist agents; if that happens, I believe Israel will be ready." The Prime Minister claimed that most Syrian assistance to terrorist organizations passed through Lebanon, which had been "under Syrian occupation since January 1976."
Syria, Iran, Hezbollah Split Should Be Exploited
Tuesday, January 13, 2004Syrian President Bashar Assad's statements about renewing negotiations with Israel have created a fissure between Syria and Hezbollah, and between Syria and Iran, Military Intelligence Chief Aharon Ze'evi told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Members of Knesset Haim Ramon and Ran Cohen (Labor), who attended the closed meeting, said that according to Ze'evi, Israel should take advantage of the split. Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuval Steinitz said after the meeting that the Syrian moves were tactical and meant to "save the Syrian dictatorship from U.S. pressure."
Ze'evi also noted in the meeting that Bashar Assad - unlike his father - would not demand Israel's withdrawal to the 67' borders before entering into negotiations. "The international criticism of Syria's actions and the pressures the United States put on Damascus have borne fruit; Assad realized that in order to survive, he must change his ways," Ze'evi said.
According to U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (Dem.-Florida), who met with Assad last Saturday, the Syrian leader is ready to resume peace negotiations with Israel without any preconditions and if Israel insists, from the starting point.
ECONOMY & HI-TECH Israeli Scientists Make Colon Cancer Cell Breakthrough
Monday, January 12, 2004Scientists at the Weizmann Institute have succeeded in reversing the ability of colon cancer cells to enter the blood stream and spread to other parts of the body, ISRAEL21C reported.
The findings, published in the Nov. 24 issue of The Journal of Cell Biology, uncover a key process involved in the metastasis of colon cancer cells and raise hopes that specific drugs might be devised to prevent, or reverse, the invasive behavior of metastatic colon cancer cells.
Colon cancer is the second most prevalent type of cancer in men and third in women in the Western world, killing 30,000 people annually. It is lethal largely because tumor cells easily migrate to other parts of the body.
The researchers, headed by Prof. Avri Ben-Ze'ev of the Molecular Cell Biology Department, have confirmed that the invasive behavior of colon cancer cells results from the malfunction of adhesion-related ("cell-gluing") mechanisms including beta-catenin. This can lead to cells breaking loose from tissue and migrating to form another tumor in another part of the colon, and can result in rival e-cadherin molecules being overwhelmed by beta-catenin, activating a cancerous gene known as Slug. The researchers found that by supplementing e-cadherin molecules in parts of the colon they can subsequently reverse the process and make the cells stick together again.
"The fact that the invasive process in colon cancer can be reversed is surprising," Ben-Ze'ev said. "It offers hope of reversing the metastatic process or even preventing it in the future by designing a drug that targets Slug."
Resurgence in Tourism to Israel
Wednesday, January 14, 2004The Central Bureau of Statistics has marked a significant resurgence in the number of tourists visiting Israel in 2003, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Last year saw a 23 percent increase of tourist arrivals in the country with 1.06 million people. Tourism is still 56 percent lower than in 2000, the record year for tourism.
Shlomo Maoz of the company Nessuah Zannex said the rise was a positive sign, but that its impact on the economy was still undetermined. "Tourism is still too low to be a real driving force," Maoz said. "However, it is another positive sign of an economic turnaround. Still, the rebound is from such a low level that it will not be felt immediately."
Maoz also added that tourism was very sensitive to geopolitical developments. After reaching an all-time high in mid-2000, on the eve of the new wave of Palestinian terrorism that has lasted more than three years, tourist arrivals plummeted from a monthly level of 200,000 to a mere 32,500 in March 2003.
A break down of the data on tourist arrival according to countries shows that the largest contributor was the United States with more than a quarter of all arrivals. Next in line was France, which made up 16 percent of total arrivals, followed by Britain with 10 percent and Germany with 5 percent.
SOCIETY Four New Nature Reserves Created
Thursday, January 15, 2004Four new nature reserves will be created and the legal process that has brought them under the protection of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority will be completed, Minister of Interior Avraham Poraz announced this week, HA'ARETZ reported. The new reserves will supplement seventeen other locales declared nature reserves in 2003.
The largest of the four new reserves is Susita, south west of the Golan Heights. Susita covers an area of 5,400 dunams and touts a large variety of flora and fauna, including wolves and deer.
Another large reserve is situated along the Sorek River, close to Moshav Ramat Raziel and near the city of Rehovot in the middle of Israel's coastline. Ramat Raziel and the reserve carried out a limited land exchange, in which the moshav received land from the reserve for residential purposes and, in return, surrendered 70 dunams to the reserve.
The Avuka reserve in the Beit She'an valley is particularly unique as it contains a salt marsh: soil that becomes saline when the water running through it evaporates or permeates into the earth. Salt marsh plants, indigenous to the salty environment, flourish on the reserve. Unfortunately, many of the salt marshes along the Beit She'an valley and the Arava have been damaged over the past few years as a result of construction and agriculture projects.
The last of the four new reserves is the Adulam forest in the Lachish region in Israel's south, close to the communities of Zafririm, Nehusha and Aderet.
