Israeli Wounded in Largest Ever Mortar Attack
Twenty-six mortar shells were fired this morning at Israeli towns in Gush Katif in the largest mortar barrage ever fired at Gaza communities since Palestinian violence erupted over four years ago, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. A 54-year-old man was lightly injured in the attack, and property was damaged in Netzarim. Palestinian terrorists have recently stepped up their efforts to target Jewish town in Gaza, despite the Israel Defense Forces' repeated attempts to clamp down on the mortar firing squads.
Meanwhile, as part of operation "Orange Iron 2" aimed at targeting the mortar and rocket launching infrastructure, IDF contingents left Khan Yunis overnight Wednesday and redeployed around the camp. Over 5,000 shells have been fired at Gush Katif in the past four years. Meanwhile, an anti-tank missile was fired at the Erez industrial zone causing severe damage to a local factory.
Palestinians Hold First Local Elections in 28 Years
For the first time in 28 years, Palestinians went to the ballot today to vote for candidates running in local elections in the West Bank, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Elections were being held in 26 municipalities - the largest of which are those of Jericho and Salfit. Voting in an additional 600 towns and villages was expected to be held next year.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, who cast his ballot in the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis, praised the holding of the vote as, "the first step toward the establishment of the Palestinian state." Long lines formed at polling stations in the West Bank town of Jericho, with some voters complaining of having to wait for more than four hours and still being unable to cast their ballots. Still, many Palestinians said they were eager to vote in their first local election since 1976.
Over the past three decades, Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza have been run by appointed mayors. Hamas, which is participating in the election, is poised to win in some of the councils. "These elections are different from previous elections because all Palestinian factions are participating in them," said Firas Yaghi of the Palestinian Central Election Committee. Hamas and other groups have decided to boycott the election for the chairmanship of the PA, scheduled for January 9th.
Israel and Jordan Sign New Trade Agreement
Israel and Jordan signed a free trade agreement today that would allow the two countries to jointly export tax-exempt goods to the European Union, HA'ARETZ reported. The deal compels Jordan to abolish many customs duties on Israeli products by 2010. Minister of Industry and Trade Ehud Olmert and his Jordanian counterpart Ahmed al-Hindawi, who signed the agreement in Amman, praised the trade cooperation between their two countries.
Hindawi said the cooperation with Israel had already allowed Jordan to sharply increase its trade with the United States in recent years and that he hoped, "the same results will occur in exporting to Europe."
Olmert expressed the hope that the agreement would strengthen the links not only between the two countries, which in 1994 signed a peace agreement, but also with other Arab states. "Trade agreements will permit improving our relations with Arab states, including the Palestinians," Olmert said during his meeting with King Abdullah that followed the signing of the trade accord. Olmert also told Abdullah Israel was ready to invite and fund the studies of some 100 Jordanian students in different hi-tech fields in Israel. "King Abdullah's reaction [to Israel's offer] was fantastic," Olmert said, "and my feeling is that relations with Jordan are tightening not only on the economical front."
Dovrat Commission Publishes Conclusions on Reform in the Education System
The Dovrat Commission published today the complete draft of its conclusions on reform in the education system, which include an unprecedented recommendation to set basic requirements for schools' eligibility for state funding, HA'ARETZ reported. According to the commission's proposal, funding of high schools of less than 400 students, and elementary schools of less than 200 students, would be completely abolished. The measure would imply the closing of a large part of the country's ultra-Orthodox, democratic and experimental schools.
The Dovrat report also recommends to end the funding of schools which select their students on the basis of ethnical origin, schools whose objective is profit-making, and schools that do not conform to Education Ministry basic license criteria and curriculum.
Other recommendations in the report include the institution of a five-day school week, instead of the existing six-day week, and the setting of a maximum ceiling of 35 students in classrooms.
Other News in Brief
* In an unprecedented move, Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz has approved a request by Druse farmers in the Golan Heights to sell 15,000 tons of apples to Syria, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. This is the first time ever that Israeli products have been exported to what is considered an enemy country. Officials in the Defense Ministry said that Druse farmers had submitted a request asking for permission to sell their produce to Syria, fearing that the apples would go bad.
* PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas intends to attend Christmas midnight mass Friday night at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Israel Radio, KOL YSRAEL, reported. Abbas and other Palestinian leaders held talks in Ramallah on Wednesday afternoon with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Palestinian officials welcomed the British idea of an international conference, but want a gathering that would go beyond the issues of reforms and deal with advancing the road map plan that calls for a Palestinian state.
Economic & Hi-Tech Briefs
* The Nasdaq and global stock market boom is likely to boost growth in Israel to 4.5-5 percent in 2004, an excellent jumping off point for 2005, GLOBES reported. Previous growth estimates for 2004 were just over 4 percent. The Central Bureau of Statistics will publish revised estimates for 2004 growth this week. Senior economic officials expect business product to rise 6.2 percent in 2004, compared with 1.7 percent growth in 2003. According to previous estimates, GDP will grow 3.2 times more in 2004 than in 2003. GDP fell by 3.4 percent between September 2000 and December 2002.
* American venture capital fund Greylock Management is looking to open an office in Israel, THE MARKER.COM reported. Previously, Greylock invested in Israeli companies from its American headquarters. Its recipients have been ClearForest, HyperRoll and AtHoc. Greylock, established in 1965, is one of the oldest venture capital funds in Silicon Valley. It currently manages $2.2.billion in 11 funds.
[Today's Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]