1. FIRST ISRAELI VICTIM OF PALESTINIAN SHOOTING TO BE BURIED… 17-year-old Avichai Levy will be buried on Sunday, while a second Israeli youth died of his injuries on Sunday morning, following two drive-by shootings at a junction south of Hebron on Friday. Israeli military sources say the shooters’ vehicle came from an area under Palestinian control and opened fire on teens waiting at a bus stop, killing Levy and wounding three others. The same car returned to the junction a short time later and opened fire on an Israeli car parked nearby. The killers escaped, presumably into the Al-Fawar refugee camp, near Hebron. On Saturday night, both legs of the second victim, 15-year-old Aviad Mansour, were amputated, but he lost the fight for his life on Sunday morning. On Saturday, the Israeli army abandoned three positions it had used as observation points in Hebron for the past four years, saying the move was made in order to ‘ease restrictions on Arab residents’ of Hebron. Other positions had been evacuated on Friday.
2. ISRAEL TO RENEGE ON CHINA CONTRACT TO END ROW WITH U.S.… For the second time in five years, Israel will renege on a signed contract with China to satisfy the American government. In order to put an end to the increasing friction between the U.S. and Israeli governments on matters concerning sales of military goods, the newspaper Haaretz is reporting that an Israeli delegation in en route to Washington to capitulate on all American demands. In doing so, it will breach its contract for upgrading China’s Israeli-made Harpy unmanned aerial vehicles and refuse to return parts belonging to China that it is holding. The revised military trade protocols that are expected to be drawn effectively place the Americans in the position of signing off on all deals that involve the sale of military equipment by Israeli companies, even in cases that involve no American technology. The U.S. government’s tactic of placing sanctions on Israel about 18 months ago has proven to have been most effective, and will even result in Israeli Defense Ministry Director General Amos Yaron’s removal – albeit presented as retirement. It was Yaron to whom most American angst was directed. As was the case when Israel abrogated its obligations to China in the Phalcon early warning system deal, Israel will have to pay compensation and even more significantly, face the loss of a major customer in one of Israel’s most important industries. No one expects China to trust Israel with any more significant deals.
3. ISRAEL FINDS NO HOPE IN IRANIAN ELECTION RESULTS… Not surprisingly, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry believes that the overwhelming victory by hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad in Friday’s presidential runoff election closes the door on any possible change for the better. Mark Regev told reporters that now “the international community must continue to act with determination to prevent the emergence of an Iranian nuclear threat.” Leaders in the West had hoped a victory by cleric ‘Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani would have presented a pragmatic Iranian leader with whom to negotiate.
4. ANGLICAN CHURCH RESOLVES TO PRESSURE FIRMS ‘SUPPORTING ISRAEL’S OCCUPATION’… The Anglican Consultative Council, a top arm of the Anglican Church, has passed a resolution calling on its members to “put pressure on firms supporting Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.” In an apparent effort to avoid being one-sided, it also called for action against firms supporting violence against “innocent Israelis” without mentioning any possible parties. It called for “investment strategies that support the infrastructure of a future Palestinian state.” The Council extended its reach across the Atlantic when it commended “the resolve of the Episcopal Church (USA) to take appropriate action where it finds that its corporate investments support the occupation of Palestinian lands or violence against innocent Israelis.” The resolutions evoked angry responses from British Jewry’s official representatives.
5. QUARTET TO ISRAEL: FACILITATE MOVEMENT IN PALESTINIAN AREAS… The Quartet has issued a strong statement calling on Israel to “take immediate steps, without endangering Israel’s security, to facilitate rehabilitation and reconstruction by easing the flow of goods and people in and out of Gaza and the West Bank and between them.” The group of sponsors of the Road Map peace plan that includes the U.S., United Nations, Russia and European Union, also called for intensifying contacts between Israelis and Palestinians at all levels. An Israeli spokesman replied that Israel would do whatever it could to facilitate the situation, but said it remained dependent upon the Palestinians’ willingness and ability to curb terror. A senior Palestinian official criticized Israel for failing to coordinate its planned pullout from the Gaza Strip, now set for August 15th.
6. ISRAEL TO MOVE GAZA GRAVES IN SEPTEMBER… Israel will move bodies buried in graves in the Gaza Strip to new locations inside of pre-1967 territory during the first two weeks of September. Word of the plans came from state prosecutors during a hearing before the High Court of Justice. Families of those buried in Gaza had petitioned the court, demanding that the state be forced to meet with families of the deceased before the pullout begins in August to discuss the transfer to new locations.
7. POLICE REVEAL PULLOUT’S RULES OF ENGAGEMENT… Israel’s police have released the rules of engagement that will apply to the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four additional communities. Under the rules, that have been reviewed and authorized by top officials, the use of live fire is permitted only after issuing a verbal order and if necessary, firing into the air. If those measures fail, the first shot at a subject must be aimed at his or her legs or upper body. In any case, live fire may be used only in self-defense or life-threatening situations.