1. ISRAEL KILLS FIVE PALESTINIANS TRYING TO ENTER EGYPT… Israeli forces have killed five Palestinians attempting to enter Egypt near the Rafah crossing point in the northern Gaza Strip. In two separate incidents, soldiers spotted groups of men crawling toward the border and opened fire. Anyone seen in such areas is presumed by the Israeli military to be either an arms smuggler or a terrorist and is fired upon. An Israeli source confirmed the incidents, while the death toll was provided by witnesses and medics on site. The incidents are unusual in that the perpetrators were shot as they moved toward Egypt rather than into Israeli territory.
2. PALESTINIAN POLL: MAJORITY NOW OPPOSE VIOLENCE AGAINST ISRAELIS… A majority of Palestinians oppose the use of violent attacks against Israeli targets according to a new poll released by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center, a Palestinian organization. The survey indicates a dramatic reversal in public opinion during the past six months and is the first such indicator since the onset of Palestinian violence in September 2000 in which a majority eschews bloodshed. 52% of those surveyed said they oppose violence against Israeli targets, compared to only 27% in the previous poll taken last June.
3. SHARON AWAITS PARTY APPROVAL TO BRING LABOR INTO GOVERNMENT… Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will soon find out whether his Likud party is willing to overturn its opposition to having the Labor Party as a coalition partner. Sharon sees the move as a necessary step toward his planned evacuation of the Gaza Strip. The Likud party is due to vote on Thursday, pending a petition filed in the High Court of Justice by party members who are asking that the vote be placed on hold. Sharon has fired ten cabinet ministers so far for failing to support his Gaza pullout plan, leaving him with a minority government and the need to restructure his cabinet.
4. PALESTINIAN CANDIDATE CLAIMS HE WAS ABUSED AT ISRAELI CHECKPOINT… Mu’stafa Barghouthi, a candidate for leadership of the Palestinian Authority, claims he was detained and beaten by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near the town of Jenin on Wednesday. Barghouthi had earlier charged that Israel was not allowing unimpeded travel access to candidates in an attempt to hinder the Palestinian electoral process. Israeli sources said that Barghouthi failed to observe standard procedures for transiting the checkpoints including providing notice that he would be coming through. According to the Israelis, he also refused to submit to a routine security check.
5. AMERICAN-ISRAELIS WIN $156 MILLION VERDICT AGAINST ISLAMIC CHARITIES… A Federal District Court has awarded American-Israelis Stanley and Joyce Boim $156 million in damages against Islamic charities in the United States in a case relating to the death of their son in 1996. 17-year-old David Boim was shot and killed by Hamas terrorists while waiting for a bus. The Boims brought suit under a 1992 U.S. law that permits victims of terrorism to seek civil damages against groups deemed responsible for such acts. The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation, the Islamic Association for Palestine, located in the Chicago area, and an Illinois man, Muhammad Salah, have been ordered to pay the award. Assets of the Holy Land Foundation were frozen by the United States government after declaring Holy Land to be a terrorist organization. Nevertheless, experts say that while the decision sends a message about supporting terrorism, whether the Boims collect the judgment is another story.