1. ISRAEL FEARS HIZBULLAH HAS ROCKETS TO REACH HEARTLAND… Israel’s army chief of intelligence told the cabinet on Sunday that the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization might have rockets capable of reaching deep into its heartland and into main population centers such as Tel Aviv. Major-General Aharon Ze’evi-Farkash said Hizbullah has a few dozen rockets “apparently” with a range of about 130 miles — enough to reach Tel Aviv and perhaps beyond. He said the army was looking into the possibility that the rockets might also reach as far as Beer Sheva, Israel’s main city of the southern Negev region. Ze’evi-Farkash nevertheless opined that the Iranian/Syrian-backed Hizbullah still prefers a strategy of limited attacks on Israeli positions along the northern border and providing support and assistance to Palestinian terror groups rather than relying on its arsenal of missiles. It fears the latter course would evoke extreme response from the Israelis.
2. NEW ISRAEL SECURITY BARRIER ROUTE READY FOR COURT… Israeli defense ministry officials have completed their revisions of the route that will be followed by the nation’s controversial security barrier and will present the changes to the prime minister and defense minister this week. The alterations are in response to the Israeli High Court of Justice’s rulings on a number of petitions concerning the barrier’s route in the Jerusalem area. The theories underlying those changes will also be applied to sections of the buffer that have not yet been built, primarily south of Jerusalem. Israeli officials stress that the modifications are solely in response to the Israeli court and not to a ruling by the International Court of Justice at The Hague. The ICJ has ruled that the fence is illegal and has ordered its removal and compensation to be paid to Palestinians affected by its construction.
3. IRAQI LEADER: RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL ONLY AFTER OTHER ARAB NATIONS… Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad ‘Alawi told a Beirut news conference on Monday that his nation will not normalize relations with Israel until other Arab nations do so as part of an overall settlement. Speaking alongside Lebanese Premier Rafiq Al-Hariri, ‘Alawi said, “Future relations with Israel are determined by two issues: international resolutions and a just and comprehensive peace that has been adopted by Arab leaderships, including the Palestinian leadership. Iraq will not take any unilateral action on a settlement with Israel outside those two frameworks.” ‘Alawi also called “absolutely false” reports that Israeli agents are operating inside of Iraq.
4. ISRAELI COMPANIES FORMULATING BUILDING EVACUATION STANDARDS FOR WORLDWIDE APPLICATION… Two Israeli companies – one headed by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak – are formulating the first-ever standards for building evacuations that will be incorporated into the world standards being created in America. According to Globes financial newspaper, The Israel Standards Institution and American National Standards Institute have been in touch recently in an attempt at setting a joint U.S.-Israeli standard for homeland security. A spokeswoman for the Israeli counterpart said that, “There are a great many creative ideas on how to cope with terrorism in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, but most are impractical, because U.S. standards and regulations were not designed with terrorism in mind.”
5. ARAFAT, QUREI’ MEET TO END TURMOIL IN PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY… Media reports indicate that a meeting between Yassir Arafat and Ahmad Qurei’ on Tuesday will result in Qurei’ rescinding his resignation as prime minister and Arafat promising some reforms. Qurei’s resignation has been on the table for two weeks. Palestinian legislators are now saying that Arafat agreed to turn over some power to Qurei’ – including control over police and security forces and at least enough to initiate some reforms.