1. CLASSIFIED ISRAELI REPORT CALLS FOR CONTINUED NUCLEAR AMBIGUITY… A committee established during the Ariel Sharon government to study Israel’s strategic issues through the next decade believes the nation is best served by extending its policy of nuclear ambiguity. According to Ze’ev Schiff, the premier defense analyst writing for the newspaper Haaretz, the committee’s report, which was submitted to the defense minister on Sunday, warns that other Middle Eastern nations might follow Iran’s lead and build nuclear weapons. It also singles out Jordan, calling for Israel to support its stability because of its strategic importance to the Jewish state. According to Schiff, the report was critical of the government’s lack of adequate planning on defense matters and recommends the National Security Council become the “central planning authority” for the government.
2. OLMERT AND PERETZ CUT A DEAL THAT INFURIATES THEIR PARTIES… Now that Interim Premier Ehud Olmert and Labor Party chief ‘Amir Peretz have reached an agreement on Labor’s entry into the new government, the next order of business for both men is damage control. Those whose promised portfolios will not materialize are said to be fuming. Olmert’s Qadima party has seen its first defection with Professor Uriel Reichman quitting the Knesset and returning to the position he held before being lured into Ariel Sharon’s new party with the promise of becoming education minister – a promise reiterated by Olmert, who subsequently gave the coveted spot to Labor’s Yuli Tamir. Other Qadima members believe Olmert gave away far too much even though he created the largest government in the nation’s history at 27 ministers [with the possibility of rising to 29]. Top Labor officials are angry that while Peretz emerged with a large number of portfolios for his party, he apparently accepted second-tier positions for his co-party members while using the party’s clout to secure himself the top-level office of defense minister. A move is underway to force Peretz to relinquish the assigning of portfolios to the party’s central committee.
3. ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER REVEALS KATYUSHA FIRED AT ISRAEL ON FRIDAY… Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the cabinet on Sunday that a Katyusha rocket was fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Friday. It’s only the second time the use of a Katyusha has been reported, the first time in March. But it is viewed as an ominous development because the range and accuracy of the Katyusha (also called “Grad”) are greater than the homemade Qassams which are fired daily into Israel, and unlike the Qassam which carries no payload, Katyushas carry 44-pound warheads. On Monday, the Al-Aq’sa Martyrs Brigades said they launched a Katyusha at Israel near the city of Ashqelon, but Israeli sources denied any knowledge of such an attack.
4. ‘ABBAS, ON FIVE-COUNTRY TOUR, LOBBYING FOR RENEWED AID TO THE P.A… Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas began a five-nation tour in Amman, Jordan, where he met with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moritanos and used the opportunity to ask European nations to resume their support for the P.A. The European Union was the largest donor to the Palestinians, but suspended aid when Hamas took over the Palestinian government and refused to renounce terror and recognize Israel. Re-starting the flow of international aid dollars will top his agenda as ‘Abbas visits Turkey, Norway, Finland and France. On Saturday, a top ‘Abbas aide told reporters that even money donated to the P.A. such as $50 million from Qatar is stuck in banks because of American pressure on financial institutions.