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The Media Line Daily News Focus

Reported from Jerusalem

1. SHARON CRITICIZED BY ALL SIDES FOR INTRA-PARTY REFERENDUM ON PULLOUT PLAN… Stinging criticism from both the political right and left has greeted Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s decision to bring his Gaza pullout plan to a referendum within his Likud party. In what analysts for The Media Line say is a clear attempt to bypass both the Knesset (Parliament) and cabinet where support for the plan is dubious, Sharon will ask the 200,000 members of his party to participate in a plebiscite after he returns from his April 14th Washington trip and before presenting the plan to the legislative bodies. Delegates to last night’s party convention agreed that the result will be binding on all Likud members. Sharon’s strategy was borne out by a poll taken by a leading polling organization immediately after the party convention that showed 51% of Likud members supporting the plan and only 36% opposed. Sharon’s cabinet appears to be evenly divided on the issue, while the Likud Central Committee is believed to be strongly opposed. On the right, the organization representing Jewish residents of the post-1967 territories – whose communities’ fates lie in the balance – said it would mount a strong anti-proposal campaign. On the left, the Labor Party’s whip demanded that the entire nation be included in the referendum. The right-wing National Union also criticized Sharon for going outside of the structure of the nation’s parliamentary democracy, saying that “policy decisions are made by the ministers of the government and not in referenda of this or that party.” Tourism Minister Benny Elon of the National Union also demanded that Sharon not travel to Washington until the Attorney General decides whether or not to indict him on bribery charges.

2. PALESTINIAN POLL SHOWS INCREASE IN SUPPORT FOR TERROR AGAINST ISRAELIS… A new poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research indicates a rise since last December from 48% to 53% of Palestinians who support terror attacks against Israeli civilians. Eighty-seven percent support attacks against Israeli soldiers and 86% support attacks against Jewish civilians living in post-1967 territories. Prof. Khalil Shikaki, who heads the Center, told the newspaper Haaretz that, “There is a continuing trend of increasing support for Hamas, and the weakening of Fatah and the collapse of the Palestinian Authority.”

3. ISRAEL SCORES BASKETBALL VICTORY, BUT NOT ON THE COURT… Israel has scored an important public relations victory with the announcement by the Euroleague (a European international basketball league) that the Final Four stage of Europe’s top basketball tournament can go ahead as scheduled in Tel Aviv. Israel’s top team Maccabi Tel Aviv sent a delegation to meet Euroleague bosses in Barcelona in Spain on Tuesday. There was a bid to move the competition away from Israel after last week’s killing of Hamas leader Ahmad Yasin. The league feared it would be too dangerous to visit the Middle East at this time. Last week the Spanish side Valencia refused to travel to Israel, giving Maccabi an automatic victory. The Israeli representatives at Tuesday’s meeting argued that Spain is no safer than Israel, after 200 people lost their lives there in a terrorist bombing two weeks ago. The 13-member panel voted unanimously to allow Maccabi to host the Final Four. The CEO of Euroleague said in a statement that, “The board has evaluated the security measures ready in Tel Aviv, from the arrival of fans, teams and media, to their departure from the city, and these measures are sufficient and comfortable enough to let everyone enjoy the Final Four.” Israeli Minister of Education, Culture and Sports Limor Livnat called the decision, “good news for the whole fight against terrorism.”

4. TWO PALESTINIANS KILLED IN GAZA ON WEDNESDAY MORNING… Israeli troops shot and killed two Palestinians seen crawling toward an army outpost located inside an Israeli community in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning. The incident took place before daybreak and the bodies were discovered when soldiers searched after dawn. A search was on for a possible third Palestinian.

5. “‘INTIFADA’ COST TO ISRAEL MORE THAN 6% OF GDP”—BANK OF ISRAEL… The wave of unbridled Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians that began in September 2000 cost Israel between $6.9 and 8.8 billion through 2003, according to a report issued by the Bank of Israel. The figures do not include defense costs and the cost of construction of the controversial security buffer. The amount represents between 6.2 and 8 per cent of the entire Gross Domestic Product. According to the report, the ancillary effect of the violence has been as devastating as the primary impact. Investments (foreign investments in particular), and consumption were severely hurt. Disputes with major markets arose (e.g. products from post-1967 territories objected to in the European Union), and the overall economy of those areas was harmed. One source estimated that if comparable figures were applied to the United States it would represent a loss of $750 billion.