1. EGYPT WILLING TO TAKE ROLE IN POST-PULLOUT GAZA… Egypt is willing to play a significant role in securing the Gaza Strip after Israel unilaterally withdraws its forces and evacuates its civilian communities there. Egyptian intelligence chief ‘Umar Suleiman met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders – including Yassir Arafat on Monday. Palestinian sources reported that Egypt’s plan is to create a committee on which it is joined by Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the United States to oversee the withdrawal and coordinate a security hand-off to the Palestinians. Suleiman discussed the Philadelphi strip with the Israelis and reportedly indicated that Egypt was willing to become involved in patrolling the sensitive area where the Gaza side of tunnels used to smuggle arms and terrorists is located. Ariel Sharon will seek cabinet approval for his plan for a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on Sunday.
2. AS VOTE NEARS, LIKUD MINISTERS LOOK FOR A NEW FICTION… Amid intense pressure from the prime minister and the fear of losing their cabinet posts, Likud government ministers are fashioning a spin that will allow them to support the Sharon pullout plan while insisting that they are not violating the party mandate of opposition to the evacuation of the Gaza Strip. Deputy premier Ehud Olmert, who is the de-facto spokesman for Sharon on government policy matters, told media that a majority of 12 ministers will support the plan. At least three Likud ministers are insisting that they will only support a phased plan because a single withdrawal would be the same as the proposal rejected in the referendum. Overlooked is the fact that the end result is identical to that of the rejected proposal.
3. ISRAEL ENDS RAFAH, GAZA OPERATION… The Israeli army ended its weeklong ‘Operation Rainbow’ on Monday night and Tuesday morning, bringing to an end a search-and-destroy mission that found and destroyed several tunnels that connect the Gaza Strip to Egypt and are used to smuggle arms and terrorists. It also left 41 Palestinians dead, 56 homes in ruins and international condemnation raining down on the Israelis. The army has come under criticism inside of Israel for mounting such a damaging campaign and achieving minimal results. Even the discrepancies in figures between the chief of staff and Gaza division commander elicited recrimination. The army made clear that it reserved the right to reenter and continue its search for tunnels.
4. PALESTINIAN NEWSPAPER: ISRAEL PREVENTING BUILDING MATERIALS FROM REACHING TEMPLE MOUNT… The matter of the Muslim trust’s (waqf) destruction of Jewish patrimony and unauthorized building on the Temple Mount resurfaced last week when a Palestinian newspaper reported that Israeli authorities have prevented the delivery of building materials to the A-Aq’sa mosque compound on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. The report in The Jerusalem Times quoted the head of the waqf as saying that, “Israel is playing with fire by preventing the entry of the material necessary for maintaining the mosque’s foundations and walls.” Also, a Muslim religious leader was quoted as saying during Friday’s sermon that “Israel is planning on taking over the affairs of the mosque by gradually intervening in its daily affairs.”
5. ISRAELIS REVEAL DETAILS OF THWARTED SUICIDE ATTACK PLANNED FOR JERUSALEM… Israeli security authorities have revealed details of a would-be suicide bombing that was to have occurred in Jerusalem. According to the report, Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorists working together had already brought the explosive device to Jerusalem. It was taken to the home of an Israeli Arab – who had been recruited by his cousin, a Hamas-member from Nablus — from where it was to be picked up by a would-be suicide bomber, also from Nablus. The explosion was to take place in the religious neighborhood of Meah She’arim. A cellular telephone was to have been attached to the bomb to allow the terrorists to detonate it if the bomber himself could not. Israeli security forces learned about the plot from an intelligence tip.