1. SENIOR ISRAELI PARLIAMENTARIAN CHARGES RAFAH CROSSING DEAL WAS NEVER SIGNED… The chairman of Israel’s parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee says the deal negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to reopen the Rafah crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was never signed. Yuval Steinitz accused Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz of misleading the committee by presenting it with false information. He told reporters on Wednesday that his committee had tried for six weeks to obtain a copy of the signed agreement and now has received information indicating that the deal — heralded as a major achievement of Secretary Rice – was never signed. Steinitz said that earlier demands by the committee for the document were answered by the Defense Ministry saying that it was so classified that even governmental bodies with the highest security clearances could not see it.
2. PALESTINIAN ROCKET INJURES FIVE ISRAELI SOLDIERS… Five Israeli soldiers were lightly injured on Thursday when a Palestinian Qassam rocket landed in a military base near the coastal city of Ashqelon. A second missile landed in an open area near Ashqelon’s industrial zone a short time earlier. Israel’s military has responded with artillery aimed at the areas from which the rockets were launched. Earlier in the week, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ruled out a ground offensive to silence the missiles.
3. TIT-FOR-TAT: PALESTINIANS ERECT AN ‘ILLEGAL OUTPOST’ OF THEIR OWN… Palestinian activists may have succeeded with a peaceful ploy where often violent protests have failed. An “illegal outpost” has been erected at the village of Bi’lin – the scene of daily protests against Israel’s controversial security buffer, which separates village residents from their land. The single caravan (trailer) on a piece of Palestinian-owned land that is sitting there with approval from the Bi’lin village council has apparently trumped the Israeli army. While troops prepared to remove the structure, it became apparent that any action against it would stand in stark contrast to the lack of action against 750 housing units some 300 feet away that were erected without permits. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s frequent but unfulfilled promises to remove illegal Israeli outposts have been a main sore point between Sharon and the Bush administration.
4. POSSIBILITY OF DELAY IN PALESTINIAN ELECTION LOOMS AS HAMAS PICKS UP STRENGTH… Speculation is increasing over whether Palestinian legislative elections now scheduled for January will be postponed as all indicators continue to show a rise in support for Hamas. A poll released by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research on Thursday indicated that 40 percent of Palestinians planned to vote for Hamas while only 20% said they would vote for Fatah, the party of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas. Perhaps prompted by the continued rise of Hamas, the Fatah faction headed by jailed leader Marwan Barghouthi that broke away from the party has reached an agreement to return. The reported agreement places Barghouthi and his allies on the main Fatah list of candidates. According to some observers, the move will boost Fatah’s chances at the polls. But others believe that unless the trend is turned, it becomes increasingly possible that ‘Abbas will use Israel’s refusal to allow voting in east Jerusalem as the pretext for postponing the election.