1. FAULTY FUEL PUTS BEN GURION AIRPORT ON HOLD… Israeli officials want to know why all of the fuel available to planes at Israel’s primary gateway was found on Monday night to be substandard. Flights in and out of Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport were delayed into the early hours of Tuesday morning when a check of fuel being provided to planes at the airport showed it failed to meet international standards. Tests showed the fuel – including that provided by all of the oil companies that service the airport – contained dirt and may have been watered down, according to Israel Radio. Incoming flights were diverted to other airports to refuel before arriving in Israel and departing flights were stopping for fuel in Cyprus or Turkey. No airplanes will be fueled at Ben Gurion until the supply is replaced. There was no word of the cause of the faulty fuel being present at Ben Gurion.
2. ISRAEL IS EXPECTED TO DELAY GAZA PULLOUT FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS… Israel’s cabinet is expected to approve a short delay in the Gaza Strip pullout in order not to violate a religious tradition. It is customary that religiously observant Jews do not move into new homes during the three-week period of national mourning for the loss of the holy temples. This year, the period begins on July 24 and culminates with the observance of Tisha B’Av, a 24-hour fast that falls on August 14 his year. The evacuation of Israeli communities in the Gaza Strip was scheduled to begin on July 20 and overlap the start of the three-week mourning period. The issue had been raised before, but had been dismissed because of other considerations.
3. OUTGOING ISRAELI ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF REITERATES WARNING THAT PULLOUT WILL BE FOLLOWED BY INCREASE IN TERROR… Speaking at a conference on Monday, Israel’s outgoing army chief of staff warned not to “expect the Messiah to come with” Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya’alon warned that terror will increase significantly after the pullout, particularly in the Samaria area of the West Bank where four Israeli communities are being evacuated. Ya’alon said that the number of shooting incidents and the use of explosives is already on the rise. He demanded that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas act to dismantle terrorist organizations immediately. Security officials are also warning that because of the suspension of construction of the security fence in the vicinity of Ariel, the area is “wide open” to infiltration by terrorists. Israel’s High Court of Justice has issued injunctions against building around Ariel as it considers petitions on the issue.
4. U.S. IN NEW REBUKE OF ISRAELI BUILDING PLANS… As part of the Sharon government’s pre-summit spin, it tried to downplay plans to build more than 3,500 new housing units in a post-1967 suburb of Jerusalem by saying it was an old plan and that “no tenders had been issued” for the project. On Monday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan referred to 50 new tenders issued for construction in the post-1967 community of Elqanah, saying that, “Israel should not expand settlements. We will be seeking clarification from the government of Israel.” During the summit meeting in Crawford, Texas, last week, the issue of Israeli building in post-1967 areas emerged as the most significant point of contention between Bush and Sharon. The American President insisted that the Road Map peace plan “clearly says no expansion of settlements.” Shortly after leaving the President’s ranch, Sharon reiterated that building in those communities will continue. The Sharon position appears to be that Israel’s commitments to the Road Map do not begin until the Palestinian side has ended terror, while the U.S. insists that Israel’s commitments begin even before that happens.