1. PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESENTED WITH ALL-HAMAS CABINET… Prime Minister-designate Isma’il Hanniya presented Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas with the line-up of cabinet appointees on Sunday. Unable to convince other factions to join the government, all twenty-four ministers-designate are members of Hamas – 14 from the West Bank and 10 from the Gaza Strip. Mahmoud A-Zahhar, who has been the primary Hamas spokesman during the past months was named as foreign minister. The list now goes to the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for approval and then on to the Palestinian Legislative Council for ratification. ‘Abbas has made clear in recent days that he will not act to block the formation of the Hamas-led government. But chief negotiator ‘Saib ‘Ariqat, an ‘Abbas confidant, said on Sunday that if the Hamas-controlled government causes a cessation of international funding, ‘Abbas will fire Hanniya.
2. U.S. BROKERS AGREEMENT TO AVERT GAZA FOOD CRISIS… Under prodding from U.S. Ambassador Richard Jones, the Palestinian Authority has agreed to allow shipments of food staples into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing point while the Karni crossing remains closed due to security alerts. A humanitarian crisis was imminent as food supplies in Gaza dwindled while Karni remained closed. The Israelis had insisted that their offer to use Kerem Shalom instead had been rejected by the Palestinians in order to foment the crisis and lay the blame on Israel. On Sunday evening, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones hosted Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in his home and worked out an agreement that will allow vital foodstuffs and essential goods to reach Gaza residents.
3. ONE MILLION ISRAELI BIRDS TO BE KILLED… Israeli agriculture officials say that by the weekend, at least one million birds will have been killed in order to prevent the spread of bird flu. On Monday morning, it was announced that two more agricultural communities in the south of the country were believed to have infected turkeys, bringing to five the number of southern farms in addition to three in the western Negev. Farmers and veterinarians have criticized the government for acting too slowly, saying the forty-eight hours that lapsed between discovery of the disease and destruction of the poultry is unacceptable. At the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, the government authorized compensation for farmers whose poultry are being destroyed. Egypt has confirmed its second case of bird flu in a human. The 30-year-old male chicken farm worker is from the same province north of Cairo as the woman who died of the disease last week.
4. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES HAS BEEN PROVIDING STIPENDS TO FAMILIES OF PALESTINIAN FIGHTERS…. Records kept by the United Arab Emirates’ Red Crescent Society show that during the past four years, the UAE has been providing financial support for families of Palestinians who have died or have been injured fighting against Israel. Records show that during 2002 and 2003, the Red Crescent made donations to charities run by Hamas. The information was released by the New York Times, which obtained it from an attorney representing families of victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks. The lawyer, Gary Osen, said much of the information was obtained from unclassified documents seized by Israeli military forces from Palestinian organizations in the West Bank. The information released is bad news for President Bush, who argued during the uproar over the Dubai company’s acquisition of the contract to operate American ports that the U.S. and UAE are on the same page in the fight against terror. Yet, the documents show $2,000 stipends made as part of what is identified as a “martyrs’ families sponsorship” program, according to the Times, which quotes the Red Crescent Society as confirming that “martyr” refers to any Palestinian who died in the Israel-Palestinian conflict – including armed gunmen.