1. BLOODY WEEKEND IN POST-1967 TERRITORIES CONFIRMS PULLOUT FEARS… The worst fears of the downside of Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip materialized over the weekend. An Israeli raid against Islamic Jihad that killed three near the village of Tul Karem touched off a Qassam attack on Israeli territory. Late on Friday, an unrelenting barrage of up to forty Qassam rockets showered down on the Israeli community of Sderot after 19 Palestinians – including women and children — died when a carload of the missiles exploded in the middle of a military parade. Attempts to blame Israel for the carnage were cut short when Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas publicly blamed Hamas, which he had previously warned against holding such displays in residential areas. But the ‘Abbas rebuke did nothing to prevent an attempt to seek revenge on the Israelis. Following the rocket attack on Sderot which injured six, Israel retaliated with air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip, killing four and injuring nine. Israel said it was resuming its policy of targeted killings of terrorist leaders. Seizing on its right to retaliate, Israel swept into Palestinian communities in the West Bank looking for wanted terrorists. Between Saturday night and early Sunday, at least 150 members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad had been taken into custody including senior officials. With the Gaza withdrawal recognized among Palestinians as a victory for the armed struggle, Israel fears that the epicenter of terror will now move from Gaza to the West Bank where terrorist leaders have vowed to drive Israel out as they did in Gaza.
2. ISRAEL MOVES TO HIGH ALERT… Israeli police officials announced Sunday morning that the nation’s border police, regular police and Civil Guard volunteers have moved to high alert in the aftermath of the weekend’s violence and threats of retaliation by terrorist organizations. Special attention will be paid to places at which crowds form, including bus stops, hitchhiking points, recreational sites and entertainment venues. Areas along the “seam” between Israel and Palestinian areas where the security barrier has not yet been constructed will receive additional troops. In Sderot, the Negev community that was on the receiving end of the massive Qassam rocket barrage, officials have closed schools and reduced traffic at the city’s main market place because of what was termed “the deteriorating security situation.”
3. SIMON WIESENTHAL BURIED IN ISRAEL AMID CONTROVERSY OF ESTRANGEMENT FROM OFFICIALDOM… Famed Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal was buried in the cemetery of the Mediterranean coastal city of Herzliya on Friday. He died in Vienna at age 96 on Tuesday. Wiesenthal is credited with being involved in the cases of more than 1,000 Nazis, many of whom would not have been brought to justice without Wiesenthal’s legendary perseverance. Yet, in his final years, he was virtually estranged from Israeli officialdom – a controversy that followed him to his grave. Ariel Sharon and his government have come under criticism in Israeli media for failing to attend Wiesenthal’s funeral, designating instead a low-level representative: Michael Melchior, who is a deputy minister. Accentuating the perceived slight, a memorial service had been held in Vienna before Wiesenthal’s body was flown to Israel, where Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel personally attended.
4. JORDAN’S ‘ABDALLAH TO VISIT ISRAEL THIS WEEK… After word that Jordan’s King ‘Abdallah II would travel to Israel two weeks ago was denied by official sources, a visit by the monarch to the Jewish state has now been announced by the Jordanian News Agency, quoting a source in the royal court. ‘Abdallah will meet with Ariel Sharon and with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas. During a recent visit to Washington, the king pressed U.S. President George W. Bush to ensure that Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip will be followed by similar pullouts from other post-1967 territories. Analysts for The Media Line believe that the issue of future withdrawals will be the primary theme of his talks with Sharon.
5. EGYPT’S GOVERNMENTAL NEWSPAPER CLAIMS AMERICAN, EUROPEAN EFFORTS TO CURB IRANIAN NUKES IS FOR ISRAEL’S BENEFIT… An opinion writer in Egypt’s governmental newspaper Al-Ahram said on Saturday that efforts by the United States and the EU-3 [Britain, France and Germany, the three nations negotiating with Iran] to end Iran’s nuclear program are “because they don’t want any country to challenge Israel in this part of the world.” Salama A. Salama also criticized Arab nations for not coming to Iran’s side in the affair. Accusing nations such as Pakistan, Indonesia and Qatar of “bending over backwards to please Israel,” the article argues that “meekness gets you nowhere” and urges the Arab world to follow the example of North Korea and Iran.
6. ISRAELI PUNDITS PREDICTING EFFECT VIOLENCE WILL HAVE ON SHARON-NETANYAHU SHOWDOWN… Israeli pundits are parsing over the effect the weekend’s outbreak of violence will have on Monday’s Likud party showdown between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and political nemesis Binyamin Netanyahu. That is when the party’s Central Committee will decide whether to advance primary elections as Netanyahu and those who contend Sharon has left the ideological parameters of the party are demanding. Sharon, for his part, has been spending great amounts of time soliciting each voting member, reportedly telling them that they can “live with” him or face ostracism from the party if the prime minister wins without their individual support. Sharon’s advisers have left little doubt that if he loses the vote, Sharon will bolt the party and establish a new one from which he will seek to retain his office. Netanyahu and Uzi Landau, the other challenger, have been warning that the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza will unleash a new and more deadly round of terror attacks. The hot topic for media debate is how the weekend’s violence — including barrages of Qassam rockets landing in communities inside of Israel – will affect the vote.
7. FEW SHOW UP AT LEFT-WING DEMONSTRATION URGING FURTHER PULLOUTS… The first major political demonstration to be held since the Gaza pullout was staged outside the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem on Saturday night by Israel’s political left. The theme of the event was that having succeeded in forcing Israeli pullouts from Lebanon and now Gaza, it’s time to get Israel to withdraw from the remaining post-1967 communities. A Media Line correspondent attending the event reported a small crowd in comparison to similar demonstrations held at the same venue, “perhaps fewer than 1,000 people.”
8. ETHIOPIANS END HUNGER STRIKE PROMISING TO DO IT AGAIN… A three-day hunger strike by an estimated 1,500 members of Ethiopia’s Falash Mura population ended on Friday with vows to renew the strike. Police disbursed the demonstrators when their permit expired after the three days allotted for the protest. A spokesman for the Falash Mura community expressed disappointment that no one from Jewish communities around the world contacted them during the hunger strike. Twenty-six strikers required medical attention. The purpose of the strike was to call attention to the slow pace at which the Israeli government is bringing the remaining members of the community to Israel. Falash Mura descend from Jews who converted to Christianity in the 19th century and more recently returned to Jewish tradition. Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has encouraged their immigration to the Jewish state, but is requiring conversion procedures upon arrival.
9. AIPAC REPORTEDLY PAYING LEGAL BILLS OF THE INDICTED OFFICIALS IT FIRED… “America’s lobby for Israel,” AIPAC, is reportedly paying the legal bills for the two officials of the organization that have been indicted for illegally passing classified information to Israel. According to the JTA news agency, the contracts of all AIPAC employees contain indemnification clauses that cover legal expenses through the appellate stage. In the case of Keith Weissman and Steve Rosen, the cost has already topped $1 million in fees. When the scandal broke, AIPAC officials promised to stand by the pair. But the two were nevertheless fired shortly thereafter, some news sources reporting that the firings had been demanded by the Justice Department in order to keep attention focused on the former employees rather than the organization itself.