Reported from Jerusalem
1. ISRAEL’S REMEMBRANCE DAY MARRED BY KILLING… Israel’s solemn Remembrance Day was marred by a shooting that left one border policeman dead and three injured on Sunday evening. Yassir Arafat’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades took credit for the attack. Four gunmen opened fire on a Border Police vehicle west of Hebron. In another incident on Sunday night, a Bedouin working as a security guard at an Israeli community near the post-1967 Gush Etzion bloc was shot and seriously injured. Al-Aq’sa Martyrs Brigades also took responsibility for that attack, although security officials say they are investigating other possibilities. Security alerts throughout the country have been at the highest level in anticipation of Remembrance Day and Independence Day attacks.
2. ISRAEL OBSERVES REMEMBRANCE AND INDEPENDENCE DAYS BACK-TO-BACK… In what citizens call a uniquely Israeli form of celebration, independence is celebrated only after a day set aside to remember those who died in defense of the nation is observed. Remembrance Day began Sunday evening with the wail of a siren and a ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Normal television programming is suspended today, viewers watching vignettes of the lives of soldiers who have died in the course of duty. The siren sounds again at 11:00 a.m., the entire country coming to an eerie halt: motion in the streets suspended as motorists stand next to their vehicles and pedestrians come to a standstill. On Sunday evening, the mood of the nation turns joyous with ceremonies, dancing in the streets and tomorrow, the traditional barbeques.
3. NEW HAMAS LEADERSHIP REVEALED… Following the killing of Hamas leader ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz A-Rantisi, the part of the organization based in the Gaza Strip was ordered to quickly fill the void, but fearing A-Rantisi’s replacement would also be a target for Israel, to keep the name secret. Media reports have now revealed the new hierarchy. Dr. Mahmoud A-Zahhar has replaced A-Rantisi, with Isma’il Haniyya serving as his deputy, and Sa’id A-‘Siam the third in line. A-Zahhar is one of the founders of Hamas, along with Sheikh Yasin, who was also killed by Israeli security forces. He has been the point man in talks with the Palestinian Authority.
4. ISRAELI HIGH COURT OVERTURNS BAN ON PRESS CREDENTIALS FOR PALESTINIAN JOURNALISTS… Israel’s High Court of Justice has overturned the Government Press Office’s policy of denying press cards to Palestinian journalists who have passed security checks and who hold entry and work permits. The GPO had previously ruled that during the present conflict all Palestinians are security threats and had refused to renew cards to Palestinians who had held them for many years. The suit was brought by Reuters, and the Arabic television station Al-Jazeera.
5. MORE LEGAL SUSPICION CAST AT SHARON… Officers of the Israeli Police’s National Fraud Squad told a Magistrate’s Court on Sunday that they believe Ariel Sharon’s family is involved in still more financial wrongdoing. The pattern is the same: illegal financial dealings and money funneled through the prime minister’s son Gil’ad, this time via straw companies in the Caribbean. The revelations came in the course of a second investigation, not the one for which the nation is awaiting the decision of the Attorney General on whether to indict. Prime Minister Sharon’s legal woes are so significant that a considerable portion of the nation believes he will be forced to resign.
6. PARLIAMENTARIAN WANTS KNESSET MEMBERS TO FLY FLAGS ON INDEPENDENCE DAY: ARAB AND HAREDI, TOO… A member of Knesset (Parliament) from the fervently secular Shinui has asked the Speaker to order all MKs to fly Israeli flags on Independence Day – including Arab MKs and members of the Haredi (rabbinic driven) parties. The issue of loyalty on the part of Arab members of the legislative body is a long-standing sore spot in national politics. Many have participated in distinctly anti-Israel events while serving in Knesset to the anger of the nation’s Jewish majority. On the other hand, some Haredi sects are religious but not Zionist, also infuriating a large part of the population. In particular, the refusal by Haredi men to serve in the armed forces while accepting the nation’s benefits is one of the most significant sore points in domestic politics. As if to prove the point of MK Ilan Shalgi’s request of the Speaker, Arab MK Wasil Taha said, “On Independence Day, I observe the [Palestinian] Day of Disaster. Your Independence Day is a day of tragedy for the Palestinian people.”