1. SHARON PRESENTS TIMELINE FOR GAZA PULLOUT… Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has presented his timetable for the impending unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. In an address to his party’s parliamentary faction that was broadcast live on state radio Tuesday morning, Sharon said that his security cabinet will approve the total plan on September 14; that on October 24 the full cabinet will approve a bill outlining the plan’s principles; and that the measure will reach the Knesset (parliament) for its first of three readings on November 3. Experts believe it will take two months from that time to become law. Simultaneous to the legislative process, the army will draw up operational plans for the evacuation and to defend against Palestinian attacks during the withdrawal. Responding to a disagreement between ministers over whether the pullout will be done at once or in four stages, Sharon is reported to have blurted out: “I decided and that’s how it will be.” It will be done in four stages.
2. SUICIDE BOMBING PREVENTED AT GAZA CROSSING POINT… Israeli troops on Tuesday prevented a suicide bombing at the Erez Crossing, a point of entry to the Gaza Strip. A man was held at gunpoint when officers became aware that his identification was false. The terminal was evacuated and the man searched. He was found to be wearing an explosive device never seen before: an underpants bomb. The Erez Crossing is where a Palestinian woman blew herself up and killed four Israelis last January. An attack was also prevented on Monday night when Israeli troops ambushed and killed a Palestinian seen crawling to a greenhouse at an Israeli community in the Gaza Strip. They were acting on an intelligence tip that the perpetrator had previously stashed an explosive device in the greenhouse. On Tuesday morning, Israeli troops began an operation in the Rafah refugee camp aimed at removing structures that had been used as shelter for gunmen firing on Israeli troops. A 14-year old Palestinian boy was reportedly killed during the operation.
3. ISRAELI COURT ALLOWS DRUZE CITIZENS TO VISIT SYRIA… For the first time in its history, Israeli citizens will be allowed to visit Syria, with which it is still in a state of war. Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled favorably on a petition by Druze religious leaders that they be allowed to pay a 72-hour visit to Syria in order to attend a religious meeting. The decision does not open the door to future visits, which will be decided only after the court assesses the first trip. Israel is home to 80,000 Druze, a religion that began as an offshoot to Islam in the 11th Century. Unlike Israeli Arabs, Druze citizens serve in the armed forces.
4. SHARON SQUARES OFF AGAINST ATTORNEY-GENERAL OVER ANTI-QASSAM POLICIES… Tense exchanges between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Attorney General marked a cabinet session called to formulate a plan to protect Israelis from Palestinian Qassam rockets. Israel’s army has been unable to find a way to prevent them from being fired at its citizens, hundreds having been launched during the past four years. A man and young boy were recently killed during one such attack. According to the Hebrew daily Haaretz, at one point in the meeting Sharon said that Israel should be able to shell those who shell it. Attorney General Mazuz heatedly retorted that it “would be a war crime, on the part of both the state and you personally.” According to the paper, Sharon then shot back: “It’s only when Jews are killed that it’s not a crime, and the whole world is silent? Killing Jews is permissible?” By the meeting’s end, a plan had been approved but Sharon called it “inadequate” and demanded further suggestions from the army.