1. LITTLE DOUBT OF ISRAEL’S ROLE IN DAMASCUS OPERATION… Although local media presents a uniform belief that Israel was behind the killing of Hamas leader ‘Izz A-Din ‘Subhi A-Sheikh Khalil in Damascus on Sunday, government officials are stopping short of an acknowledgment. The government is, however, placing all Israeli institutions worldwide on maximum alert for retaliation by the terrorist organization. It also believes that Syria will not permit its proxy, the Lebanese-based Hizbullah terrorist organization, to respond on its behalf. In fact, in addition to condemning Israel for what it called “a cowardly attack,” the Syrian government distanced itself from Khalil. The information minister pointed out that Khalil had been banned from the Palestinian territories and said that, “It needs to be made clear that Damascus is not open to these criminals.” The Israelis, by contrast, were hard line in their response. Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim accused Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad of direct involvement in terrorism and said that accordingly, “Syria is not immune from our operations to prevent terrorism.”
2. ISRAELI ARMY BEGINS OPERATION IN JENIN, BELIEVED AIMED AT AL-AQ’SA MARTYRS BRIGADES… Israeli troops were reported to be mounting a major operation in the area of Jenin early Monday morning. An infantry battalion supported by a column of about 70 armored vehicles began a sweep in the area, viewed as a major stronghold of the Al-Aq’sa Martyrs Brigades – the terrorist organization that answers to Yassir Arafat and has claimed responsibility for numerous recent attacks on Israeli civilians. The Israeli forces met armed resistance from Palestinians holed up inside of buildings surrounded by the soldiers. In the Gaza Strip on Monday, soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians seen placing a large explosive device on a fence separating Palestinian and Israeli areas. The army, meanwhile, still appears not to be making any progress in preventing the launch of Qassam rockets and mortars into Israeli communities. On Monday morning, five people were treated for shock when three rockets landed in the Israeli town of Sderot, located at the north of the Negev desert.
3. ISRAEL WILL LIMIT RAMADAN TEMPLE MOUNT ATTENDANCE FEARING COLLAPSE… Israeli authorities say they will limit the number of people that can worship at any one time on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount during the holy month of Ramadan for fear the area will collapse. It is not unusual for worshipers to number in the tens of thousands, particularly on Friday mornings, during Ramadan, which begins in three weeks. Archaeologists from Israel’s Antiquities Authority have been complaining for several years that unauthorized Muslim excavations in the area known as Solomon’s Stables have weakened the infrastructure. This, according to experts, has been exacerbated by recent earthquakes in the region. The Muslim trust – the Waqf – that oversees the area denies there is any reason for concern and joins with Palestinian leaders in accusing Israel of concocting the issue as a premise to control the Temple Mount.
4. ISRAELI ECONOMY VIS-À-VIS DEVELOPED WORLD: LEAST PRODUCTIVE AND HIGHEST TAXES… Low productivity and high taxation describes Israel among the world’s developed nations. According to the OECD, only Greece, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and the Republic of Korea have lower productivity (a lower per capita GDP). Yet, Israel ranks number one in taxation among OECD nations. Israelis pay nearly $1000 more in taxes, equaling 38.5% of GDP. The average for OECD members is 32.8%.