Israel and U.S. Say UN Support for ICJ Ruling on Fence Detrimental
Responding to a non-binding UN resolution supporting the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice asking Israel to tear down the fence in areas beyond the Green Line, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that, "the world would still rather see Israel suffer harm than see the Palestinian citizens inconvenienced," MA'ARIV reported.
U.S. Deputy UN Ambassador James Cunningham warned that the resolution was unbalanced and could further undermine the goal of a Middle East in which Israeli and Palestinian states live side by side in peace. Cunningham stressed that the international community should focus on the Gaza withdrawal plan as a way to restart the progress towards this region.
According to HA'ARETZ, the UN General Assembly vote had initially been set for last Friday but was postponed until Tuesday evening, to give Arab and European Union diplomats more time to try to reach a deal. European states were divided over whether the text should express concern about a section of the court's opinion stating that a state had the right to defend itself only against an attack from another state, and not from a suicide bomber. In the end, the EU supported the resolution. In a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement, Israel expressed its disappointment with the EU and called into question their ability to play a "constructive role" in the diplomatic process.
Israeli-Arab Stabs IDF Soldier at Golani Junction
A 17 year-old Israeli-Arab stabbed a 20 year-old Israeli soldier twice in the abdomen at the Golani Junction this afternoon, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The attacker fled the scene and was chased and caught by nearby soldiers and additional border policemen. The wounded soldier was treated with first aid by Magen David Adom Paramedics on the scene and then rushed to Poliyah Hospital in Zefat where he was reported to be in moderate condition.
The teenage attacker told Israeli Police that he had stabbed the soldier to avenge his brother shot to death in a gunfight by defending border policemen near the Beit Rimon junction last month. In that incident, police said they came under fire from a short-barreled M-16 rifle that had belonged to corporal Oleg Shaikhet of upper Nazareth, who had been abducted in the same area one year ago. The kidnappers later killed Shaikhet, with the soldier's rifle.
Qassam Rockets Lands in House in Negev
A Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip fell inside a house located in a western Negev kibbutz this morning, miraculously injuring no one, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Damage was caused to the house. "A great miracle has happened to us today, it could have ended in a tragedy," said the house's owner Mordechai Asif. Asif's wife and two children, including a month-old baby, were in a room of the house when the Qassam rocket fell on one of the beds in an adjoining bedroom. Last month, a 4-year-old boy and a 49-year-old man were killed when a Qassam rocket fell in the town of Sderot.
According to MA'ARIV, the Palestinian cabinet has called on terror groups to stop the launching of Qassam rockets towards Israel. Since the beginning of Operation Forward Shield in the northern Gaza Strip that was designed to prevent rocket attacks towards Sderot, 40 Qassams have been fired, two of which fell in Sderot and close to twenty in the western Negev.
Iran Identified as Israel's Main Threat
The annual intelligence report presented to the security cabinet today identifies the development of unconventional weapons in the Middle East as the most important existential threat to Israel, MA'ARIV reported. The report focuses on Iran, both as the country most likely to acquire WMD capabilities, and as the biggest backer of terrorism. The Israel Defense Forces is extremely concerned by Iran's ongoing pursuit of nuclear capabilities and launching systems, such as the Shihab missile.
Syria's development of chemical and biological warheads is also a matter of grave concern, since such weapons could end up in the hands of Hezbollah. The other main concern is the formation of an operational alliance between global and regional terrorism, specifically between al Qaeda, Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorist groups.
Nanotechnology Research Receives $11.3m Worth of Funding
The government and the country's universities plan to invest $11.3 million in nanotechnology research in 2004-05, HA'ARETZ reported. Most of this sum will be used to purchase the necessary equipment for the universities. The investment, to be made through the National Research Infrastructure Forum, is the first stage of a five-year plan drawn up by the National Committee on Nanotechnology. The plan calls for investing $25-30 million in nanotechnology infrastructure over the next five years. The universities will also be required to make all of their equipment available to researchers from other academic institutions and industrial concerns. The committee is giving priority to projects in the fields of electronics, materials science and biology.
Economic & Hi-Tech Briefs
* About 20 Israeli companies have won tenders and carried out projects worth $220 million for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, GLOBES reported. The Israeli companies provided support systems for the Athens police, Greek coast guard, and rescue services, perimeter defenses, border control systems, security training, and anti-terrorism measures. The Israel Export Institute and International Cooperation director Yechiel Assia expects that Israeli companies will win tenders worth up to $500 million for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
* Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva Pharmaceuticals announced that it had received final FDA approval for its Terbutaline Sulfate injection, and that its launch would follow immediately, THEMARKER.COM reported. Terbutaline Sulfate is administered via injection, and treats asthma sufferers as well as emphysema sufferers, by opening bronchial passageways.
[Today's Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob, David Nekrutman and Gabriel Sasson at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]