1. U.S. WEIGHING INDICTMENT OF ABBAS… Although its indictments against Abdul Abbas have expired, the American justice infrastructure is looking at ways through which it can bring the master terrorist to trial in the United States. The mastermind of the 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking and murder of wheelchair-bound American citizen Leon Klinghoffer was apprehended in Iraq earlier in the week. In 1986 he was tried in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment by Italy, whose flag the Achille Lauro flew. The Italians have already said that they will seek extradition. The Klinghoffer family wants Abbas sent to the U.S. Although officials of the Palestinian Authority are demanding release of the terrorist claiming that he cannot be prosecuted under terms of the Oslo Accords, the State Department has already said that this is not the case, citing conditions of the interim agreements.
2. PASSOVER QUIET SO FAR… With the memory of last Passover’s Park Hotel bombing in Netanya that took 29 lives still fresh in the minds of Israelis, this year’s holiday has begun with a cautious quiet throughout the nation. Security forces have clamped a closure on the Palestinian areas and have been enforcing curfews there. They are said to have prevented at least two suicide attacks so far. In Tul Karem, a woman and three others who were helping her to carry out a suicide bombing were thwarted by Israeli army troops on Thursday. The day before, the IDF killed two men near Nablus who were believed to be involved in planning suicide attacks. Special attention is being paid to Jerusalem, which has been the focus of intelligence tips concerning plans for suicide attacks during the Passover holiday.
3. MAHMOUD ABBAS EXPECTED TO BE SWORN IN ON SUNDAY… Following new negotiations with Yassir Arafat, it is believed that Mahmoud Abbas will finally be sworn in as the Palestinian Authority’s first prime minister on Sunday. Most issues are said to have been ironed out. Some analysts are cautioning against the diplomatic euphoria that appears to be building in anticipation of the appointment. The United States and Britain view it as the triggering mechanism for launching the controversial “Road Map for Peace,” and the Israeli government, apparently wanting to appear accommodating and gracious, are planning a list of gestures to welcome Abbas’s ascension to the position. These range from releasing Palestinian prisoners to speeding the flow of money to the PA’s treasury. A public embrace of Abbas by Ariel Sharon is also expected. Critics warn that Abbas himself is no automatic panacea for peace based on his personal history of involvement with terror, and that Yassir Arafat will retain control over negotiations with Israel — albeit through loyalist Yassir Abd Rabboh.