Soldier Lightly Wounded as IDF Launches Operation Against Mortar Launching Infrastructure
One soldier taking part in Israel Defense Forces counter-terror operations in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip was lightly wounded this afternoon when Palestinian gunmen fired an anti-tank rocket towards an armored bulldozer, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The IDF launched "Operation Orange Iron" Thursday night in an effort to eliminate mortar fire directed at Israeli communities in Gush Katif and originating from the Khan Yunis refugee camp. The operation was initiated as part of a series of expected IDF activities that were approved by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon following the attack on the IDF outpost near Rafah last Sunday night in which five soldiers were killed.
In the past week, at least 30 mortars shells have been fired at Israeli towns and IDF targets in the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday one of these shells killed a young woman and wounded two men in Ganei Tal. On Thursday evening, mortar fire on Gush Katif wounded 11 soldiers.
Six Palestinians were reportedly killed and 24 were wounded during the Khan Yunis raid.
5 Palestinians Die in Gaza Tunnel Collapse
Israeli and Palestinian rescue forces were cooperating today in a search for three Palestinians declared missing following the collapse of a weapons-smuggling tunnel on the Gaza-Egypt border overnight which has already killed at least five Palestinians, HA'ARETZ reported. The Israel Defense Forces allowed Palestinian ambulances and rescue workers to get to the scene of the tunnel collapse, which is usually off-limits to Palestinians. Rescue forces extricated the bodies of the dead Palestinians from the tunnel.
The tunnel, which is located between an IDF base and the south Gaza area of Rafah, collapsed late Thursday.
PM Sharon to Palestinians: Do Not Miss Unique Opportunity for Peace
Speaking at the closing session of the Herzliya Conference on Thursday night , Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared 2005 a year of "great opportunity," and called on the Palestinians and neighboring Arab countries not to miss a historic chance to reach an agreement with Israel, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. "We stand today before a unique window of opportunity," Sharon said. "Who knows when we might have another chance like this in the future?"
Sharon said that in light of these new opportunities, made possible primarily by Yasser Arafat's death, "Israel will be prepared to coordinate various elements relating to our disengagement plan with the future Palestinian government - a government which is ready and able to take responsibility for the areas which we leave."
Sharon said the vision of a two-state solution requires major concessions from both sides. He said that Israel made the "historic decision that we are prepared for such concessions" because the alternative of one nation ruling over another "would be a horrible disaster for both peoples."
Then, addressing the Palestinians, he said: "When faced with tranquility and a hand extended in peace, we will know how to react in tranquility and extend an honest and brave hand in return... We have no desire to rule over you, we have no desire to run your affairs."
The Palestinian Authority reacted angrily Thursday night to Sharon's comments, saying Israel would not find a partner on the Palestinian side to implement Sharon's vision. PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas, who is on a visit to Qatar, said the Palestinians completely rejected Sharon's statements. Abbas stressed that the Palestinians would never surrender the right of the refugees to return to Israel.
UN Might Hold Special Session in Remembrance of Holocaust
Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom thanked United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan early today for his efforts to hold a special commemorative session at the General Assembly - possibly this coming January - to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, HA'ARETZ reported. A majority of the 191-member assembly will have to approve the session, requested by the United States and supported by Russia, France, Hungary, Canada and the Netherlands (representing the 25-member European Union as well as other nations).
Annan has begun polling General Assembly members in an effort to convene the session, UN officials said this week. The UN chief told Shalom during their phone conversation that he was personally committed to the issue and viewed it as important. In response to an invitation by Shalom to visit Israel, Annan said he would be happy to make the trip this coming year.
U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos, a California Democrat and the only Holocaust survivor to ever serve in the U.S. Congress, told Annan on Monday that Arab nations had raised objections to the idea of the special session. "I am appalled by what I understand is the opposition of some [Arab] countries to this session, which reflects a degree of a historical and mindless venom which is difficult to justify in the international arena," Lantos said.
Other News in Brief
* Israel supports a Middle East peace conference planned by British Prime Minister Tony Blair for February, but will not participate in it, senior political sources in Israel said today, HA'ARETZ reported. The sources indicated that Israel saw the conference as a forum for encouraging reforms in the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian, European and American representatives will be attending the conference. Blair is slated to visit Israel and the PA in a trip starting next Tuesday.
* Professor Yehudit Naot who stepped down as environment minister earlier this year due to throat cancer, died Thursday evening in her Haifa home at the age of 60, MA'ARIV reported. Elected to the Knesset in 1999 on the Shinui list, Naot served as environment minister from February 2003 until September this year. She stepped down from her position to battle the disease. Mourning her passing, Shinui leader Yossef Lapid said: "She was an exemplary figure. With her total integrity, she always said exactly what she thought and did not make the compromises that most politicians make."
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said: "Since this government first started working, I was privileged to witness her unique personality. I found in her a combination of honesty, adhering to principles, professionalism and dedication".
Economic & Hi-Tech Briefs
* The International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation is completing its interim report on the Israeli economy, and will submit it to Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu and Governor of the Bank of Israel David Klein next week, GLOBES reported. The report is expected to stress the great improvement over the past year in the basic economic situation, and in economic policy and structural reform. In view of the improved geopolitical situation, optimistic growth estimates for 2004 and 2005 are expected from the IMF delegation, similar to those of the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Israel.
* Israel has attained a major achievement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) by maintaining its right to demand 30 percent reciprocal procurement in contracts involving international companies, GLOBES reported. Israel's reciprocal procurement was due to fall to 20 percent in early 2005. Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor Ehud Olmert said that the extension of Israel's right to demand 30 percent had created a potential of $75 million for Israeli companies in reciprocal procurement deals from foreign companies. Thirty-six countries are parties to the WTO government procurement agreement, including the European Union, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Switzerland. The agreement arranges access to government agency tenders in the signatory countries.
[Today's Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]