Rocket Hits Synagogue, Mortar Shell Lands Near Kindergarten
Between two to five mortar shells landed this afternoon in Gush Katif, one exploding near a kindergarten, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. No one was wounded but several buildings were lightly damaged. Several hours earlier, two antitank rockets had been fired at Netzarim, in the northern Gaza Strip, directly hitting the town's synagogue. There were no casualties in the attack despite the fact that at the time of the attack, worshipers were conducting morning prayers. The building suffered extensive damage.
Also today, two mortar shells were fired at an IDF base south of the Karni crossing in northern Gaza.
According to Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, two Qassam rockets landed in the western Negev this afternoon, causing no casualties. Several mortar shells were fired at Jewish towns in the Gaza Strip on Monday night. Meanwhile, troops enter El Bireh, next to Ramallah, on Monday night to rescue an Israeli gas company employee who was being attacked by a crowd of Palestinians. The man had entered El Bireh by mistake and called the police on his mobile phone to ask for help. He was safely escorted back into Israel.
Hezbollah Agent Arrested in the West Bank
The Israel Security Agency revealed today that it recently arrested a Hezbollah agent sent to establish a terror cell in the West Bank, HA'ARETZ reported. The agent, Mohammed Abu Gweid, a Syrian-born Palestinian, allegedly planned to bomb train tracks and kidnap soldiers to exchange them for Palestinian prisoners.
Abu Gweid entered the Palestinian territories in 1998 and then worked in the Galilee up until the start of Palestinian violence in 2000. According to the probe, Abu Gweid underwent training by Palestinian terror group Abu Musa - a Fatah splinter group - in 2002. A year later he volunteered for the Iraqi army with which he fought against American forces. After the war, he traveled to Jordan where he was contacted by Hezbollah agents. Abu Gweid joined Hezbollah and was sent to Syria for training. He returned to Jordan and was ordered to establish several cells in the West Bank, including an Israeli Arab cell. In June 2004, he returned to the West Bank and was arrested in late August before he could establish any terror cells.
Troops Training for Pullout Mission to Begin in March
Hours after the settlers' representative body issued a call to resist the pull out plan, the head of Israel's Police, Chief Commissioner Moshe Karadi, said Monday that the training of troops for the implementation of the disengagement would begin in March, MA'ARIV reported. Karadi indicated that 5,000 officers would be assigned to the task, and that their instruction would include psychological preparation and evacuation drills.
Forces responsible for the enforcement of the plan will be divided in different units with various assignments: While some troops are in charge of preventing possible Palestinian gunfire, others will oversee the actual evacuation.
Karadi stressed that the police, whose personnel includes a total of 26,000 officers, would also attend to demonstrations and events which would intensify as the disengagement nears. Officers who will carry out the actual evacuation would not be armed with guns, but might be equipped with clubs.
ADL, Yad Vashem Blast Gush Katif Campaign Against Disengagement
In yet another attempt to draw public attention to their battle against the disengagement plan, residents of the Gush Katif bloc intend to wear orange Star of David badges, CHANNEL 10 NEWS reported. The badges are meant to be similar to the yellow stars Jews were forced to wear for identification and humiliation purposes during the Holocaust. Orange is the color used by Gush Katif as a sign of identity and a representation of its ideology.
According to THE JERUSALEM POST, the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement today against the use of orange Star of David badges to protest the disengagement plan. ADL National Director Abraham Foxman said that the residents of Gush Katif were "sending an appalling and misguided message to the people of Israel and the world." He also said that by likening the Holocaust to a political process, the horror of the Holocaust was being delegitimized and fuel was being provided for Holocaust denial. Using Holocaust imagery is an offense to survivors, the Jewish people, and taints the memory of Holocaust victims, Foxman said.
Yad Vashem also criticized the new campaign and warned strongly against using Holocaust terminology to advance political struggles. It is irresponsible and disrespectful to the memories, the Yad Vashem spokesperson said. "It is important that the memory of the Shoah remain a unifying factor in Israeli society - not the opposite."
Other News in Brief
* PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas returned to Ramallah after a two-week tour of eight Arab states, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. He was accompanied by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei on his tour of Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. Speaking in Muscat before his return, Abbas criticized Prime Minister Sharon's remarks reiterating the Israeli position that no Palestinian refugee would be allowed inside Israel as part of a peace deal.
Economic & Hi-Tech Briefs
* Inflation in Israel is slowing, GLOBES reported. Trend figures indicate that the annualized inflation rate was 1.2 percent in August-November 2004, down from 1.5 percent in April-July. Figures also indicate that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), excluding housing, rose by an annualized 3 percent in August-November, 2.5 times the general CPI.
* MA Industries a manufacturer of generic crop protection products, announced that it won a tender from a U.S. company that maintains railroad tracks in the western United States, GLOBES reported. MA Industries will supply herbicides for use along rail lines. MA Industries CEO Shlomo Yanai said, "This is the first tender we participated in with an integrated and broad offer that exploits our wide range of products following a recent acquisition of companies in the United States. Winning the tender is another achievement in our efforts to expand our non-crop business."
[Today's Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]