1. ISRAELI CABINET APPROVES WITHDRAWAL; COUNTDOWN TO JULY 20TH BEGINS… Israel’s cabinet approved the nation’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on Sunday, setting in motion a five-month countdown. Actual evacuation from 22 Jewish communities in Gaza and four in the Samaria region of the West Bank will begin on July 20 and be completed in six weeks from that date. The final vote was 17 ministers in favor and five opposed. Once the cabinet had voted, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz signed the evacuation orders for the affected communities. Mahmoud ‘Abbas, the Palestinian Authority’s chairman, told reporters on Sunday that he would ensure a peaceful pullout by the Israelis, saying that Palestinians would “throw flowers, not stones.”
2. NEW PALESTINIAN CABINET TO BE PRESENTED ON MONDAY… The Palestinian Legislative Council will meet to approve a new cabinet on Monday. This was made possible when legislators representing the ruling Fatah party gave their approval to the slate in a marathon session that was marked by heated debate into the early morning hours. According to media reports, there was strong opposition to retaining any cabinet member who is believed to have been part of the corruption that marked cabinets led by Yassir Arafat. Bitter disagreements between Mahmoud ‘Abbas, the Palestinian Authority’s chairman and Ahmad Qurei’, its prime minister, over appointments have also been reported. Since Fatah controls two-thirds of the PLC, passage of the new cabinet is expected without further difficulty.
3. RELEASE OF PALESTINIAN PRISONERS BEGINS… Buses began leaving Israeli prisons early on Monday morning, filled with prisoners being released as part of the Israeli government’s goodwill gesture made prior to the Sharm A-Sheikh summit earlier this month. 500 Palestinians are being released at designated drop-off points along the border between Israel and post-1967 territories. Although Palestinian leaders have called the release of 500 “insulting,” Israel has agreed to release another 400 during the next three months. It is estimated that as many as 8,000 security prisoners are being held by Israel. An attempt to get Israel’s High Court of Justice to prevent the prisoner release failed. And in what one pundit termed “a ritual worthy of black comedy” in comments to The Media Line, all prisoners being released were required to sign a pledge forswearing any future involvement in terrorist activity. Some media pointed to government statistics concerning a large prisoner release in 1985 that indicate a return to terrorist activity by 48 percent of those set free.
4. GALLUP POLL SHOWS AMERICANS MORE SYMPATHETIC TO ISRAEL AND PALESTINIANS… The opinion of Americans toward both Israel and the Palestinians is becoming more favorable according to a recent Gallup poll. American attitudes toward Israel presently match the previous high achieved during the 1991 Gulf War. And while the overall feeling toward the Palestinians is negative, Gallup terms the responses “the least negative they have been in the six years in which they have been measured.” American optimism over the chances for Israeli-Palestinian peace are also up according to Gallup.
5. ANTI-CORRUPTION EXPERTS GATHER IN BAHRAIN… 60 representatives from chapters of Transparency International located in Arab nations will meet in Bahrain to begin a three-day conference, the purpose of which is to fight corruption in the Arab world.
According to the Bahraini Gulf Daily News, the conference will include representatives from Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and Yemen.