Reported from Jerusalem
1. TWO WANTED PALESTINIANS KILLED BY ISRAEL; ARMY REFUTES CHARGES RELATING TO CIVILIAN DEATHS… Two Palestinians wanted by Israel for terrorist activities were killed in separate incidents on Tuesday. One was reported to be a leader of the Fatah Tanzim faction, which is controlled by Yassir Arafat, while the other belonged to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Both were shot dead by troops while attempting to flee from Israeli troops. The Israeli army attempted to defray mounting criticism that it has failed to take danger to bystanders into account in the course of its operations in Palestinian areas. On Tuesday, it released film footage of two areas where its actions are under attack, both of which appeared to have no non-combatants present. The films, taken by pilotless drones, showed helicopter missile strikes on vehicles. The army also said that of 14 Palestinians killed in raids on Tuesday, seven were positively identified as Hamas members.
2. ISRAELI COURT LIFTS GAG ORDER IN TENNENBAUM CASE… Following three years of gag orders and with a prisoner-swap nearing in which he is the central player, the Israeli High Court of Justice is allowing information on Elhanan Tennenbaum’s kidnapping to be published. The ruling comes as the result of a lawsuit filed by a newspaper and a television network. The court excepted “private information” concerning Tennenbaum, including his army record. Based on what is now known, Tennenbaum amassed a significant gambling debt, which in some way resulted in his recruitment for activities in Arab countries, several of which have been mentioned in connection to the case. Two key figures in the case, an Israeli Arab and a Lebanese drug dealer, have apparently fled to Lebanon and will not shed additional light on the incident. At the time of this writing, censors are reviewing the material in preparation for its release.
3. PALESTINIANS DROP HAGUE THREAT; U.N. PASSES ANTI-FENCE RESOLUTION… The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution demanding that Israel “stop and reverse the construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” saying it is “in contradiction to relevant provisions of international law.” The final vote was 144-4, with the United States voting against. The European Union, which played the key role in negotiating the language of the final draft, was able to convince the measure’s Arab sponsors to drop its second resolution, which would have sent the matter to the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Israeli government officials immediately rejected the resolution and vowed to press on with construction of the security barrier.
4. BEILIN, ‘ABD RABBOH TO EUROPE TO PROMOTE GENEVA PLAN… Undeterred by criticism from Prime Minister Sharon, government officials and many citizens who oppose private diplomacy, former minister Yossi Beilin will join Yassir ‘Abd Rabboh in France and Belgium in an effort to shore up international support for the alternative peace plan known as the “Geneva Initiative.” ‘Abd Rabboh, a former minister in the Palestinian cabinet, was Beilin’s counterpart in drafting the agreement which calls for massive concessions by Israel including the division and internationalization of Jerusalem. The Geneva plan has already been supported by a number of leading members of the Israeli opposition parties, including former Labor Party chairman Amram Mitzna and former Knesset (Parliament) Speaker Avraham Burg.
5. FRENCH NEWS AGENCY: MALAYSIAN PRES DENIES BUSH REBUKE… The French news agency Agence France-Presse, is reporting that Malaysian President Mahatir Muhammad is denying that U.S. President George W. Bush rebuked him over his anti-Jewish remarks. Muhammad told an Islamic conference in Kuala Lumpur that “The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million. But today the Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.” A Bush Administration official told media that the President took Muhammad aside and told him that his statement was “wrong and derisive.” The outgoing Malaysian president responded in a subsequent interview by denying that Bush made the comment and added that the volley of international criticisms that greeted his comments confirmed Jews were in fact in control of the world. He said that Western media twisted his words because “many newspapers are owned by Jews.”