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The Media Line Daily News Focus

Reported from Jerusalem

1. MORTAR BARRAGE AIMED AT ISRAELI COMMUNITIES OVERNIGHT… At least 13 mortar rounds were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israeli communities and army outposts on Wednesday night, according to Israel Radio. There were no injuries reported. Explosive devices found near Jewish communities were neutralized. Israeli troops arrested 13 wanted Palestinians throughout the Palestinian areas, in Qalqilya, Hebron, Nablus and Jenin. Army radio reported the arrests of four Bedouins and a Palestinian Hamas member whom they claim were preparing to carry out an attack on Israelis.

2. JONATHAN POLLARD DUE IN COURT AFTER 16 YEARS… Jonathan Pollard, who was sent to jail for life with no parole 18 years ago, will appear in public for the first time in 16 years when he attends a hearing on procedural matters in a Federal Court next week. Pollard claims that Federal prosecutors double-crossed him by reneging on a plea agreement. He was charged with passing classified information to a friendly nation – Israel. Pollard’s supporters have long argued that his sentence was based on misleading information improperly supplied to the trial judge by the government and that the sentence is vastly inconsistent with those received by others charged with similar crimes. Pollard, a former civilian analyst for the U.S. Navy, provided Israel with information concerning the forces of Arab nations in the early 1980s. Israel has asked successive U.S. presidents for his release, but none have been inclined to do so.

3. ARAFAT TO NEWS AGENCY: I’LL CRACK DOWN IF… In an interview with the Reuters news agency, Yassir Arafat said that he will “implement the law on condition that Israel stops its attacks.” The agency explained the comment to mean that Arafat would order the arrest of Palestinians responsible for attacks on Israeli targets. It did, however, report that Arafat declined to elaborate on exactly what he would do. In the meantime, pressure has been stepped up on Mahmoud ‘Abbas, the embattled prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. Following a number of steps taken by Arafat to neutralize ‘Abbas’s authority, public demonstrations demanding his resignation have begun to appear. There are reports that Arafat plans to fire ‘Abbas and replace him with Ahmad Qurei’, the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, who is an Arafat loyalist. Many analysts believe that it is just a matter of time until ‘Abbas is forced from office.

4. BRITAIN FREEZES PALESTINIAN CHARITY’S ACCOUNTS… British authorities have frozen the assets of a Palestinian charity they claim used their funds to support the Hamas terrorist organization. The U.K. claims that the Palestinian Relief and Development Fund is “linked to Hamas political-military activities.” The move comes as U.S. President George W. Bush renewed his plea for governments to help in cutting off the flow of money to terrorist organizations. Bush froze the American assets of six individual Hamas members and five organizations in the United States.

5. SHARON LEGAL WOES WORSEN… The investigation into Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s alleged crimes originating with illegal campaign contributions heated up after the newspaper Haaretz reported details of the case against Sharon. He is believed to be directly and indirectly involved in acts that according to Israeli law constitute the crime of bribery even though he has told investigators that the matter was handled entirely by his sons. His elder son has refused to answer questions posed by legal authorities. The money trail has so far led to Austria, South Africa and the United States.

6. EUROPEAN ENVOY WILL AVOID ARAFAT ON VISIT… American pressure on the European Union has apparently led to its conforming to the U.S.-Israel policy of isolating Yassir Arafat. Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy coordinator, previously angered Israeli officials by meeting with Arafat after Prime Minister Sharon initiated a policy of not meeting with diplomats who visit the Palestinian leader. Friction between Sharon and the EU has remained high since that time, and Solana’s trip to Israel on Thursday is being viewed as a gesture of reconciliation with the Israeli government and an attempt to restore the European role in the peace process.