Cell Planning Attacks in Shoham, Netanya Arrested
Security forces arrested a Hamas cell in the West Bank city of Nablus last month that had been planning to carry out terror attacks in Shoham and Netanya, HA'ARETZ reported.
Four of the arrested cell members were students at A-Najah University in Nablus and were planning a number of shooting attacks in Shoham, near Ben-Gurion International Airport. The cell planned to disguise one of the terrorists as a deaf and mute beggar to gain entry into the city. Cell members also gathered intelligence information ahead of a planned suicide bombing at a banquet hall in Netanya's industrial zone. The cell also planned to kidnap a soldier in the vicinity of the West Bank city of Qalqilyah.
In other news, Israel Defense Forces troops killed two members of a Qassam rocket-launching cell in the Saja'iya neighborhood in Gaza City early today. The IDF is investigating the shooting of 12-year old Sara Mahmoud Zorob who was shot in an outlying neighborhood of the Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis and died on the way to the hospital. Military sources said the soldiers had opened fire due to fears that terrorists were attempting an infiltration of the Gaza Strip town of Netzer Hazani.
Qurei Rescinds Resignation, but Arafat Still Controls Bulk of Security Forces
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei rescinded his resignation today, after Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat granted him limited powers to carry out potential reforms within what many international mediators have described as a corrupt and chaotic Palestinian Authority, HA'ARETZ reported. Today's deal, however, leaves Arafat in charge of the bulk of Palestinian security personnel, which has been the sticking point in the latest Palestinian internal feud. Under their agreement, Qurei's security powers would be limited to the internal security forces, while Arafat will retain control over the Palestinian intelligence service and armed forces, Palestinian officials said. Arafat's move, disclosed by Palestinian legislators, came in the face of rising public unrest over the lack of democratic reforms. Arafat's leadership was challenged this month when gunmen linked to his Fatah faction sparked chaos in Gaza by kidnapping a number of Palestinian officials and foreigners and demanding he reform the PA and security forces. Qurei is frustrated at his lack of power to rid public bodies, above all a muddle of security agencies, of feuding and cronyism and make them more democratic and accountable.
Arab World Figures Call on Arafat to "Pack His Bags"
Editors, writers, and political commentators throughout the Arab world have stepped up their calls on Arafat to step aside, holding him responsible for widespread corruption and disasters that have plagued the Palestinians over the past three decades, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Dr. Ibrahim Hamami, a Palestinian writer living in London, has joined the chorus of Arafat critics in one of the most scathing attacks yet on the PA chairman. Hamami, in an open letter to Arafat published on the Palestinian Web site Falasteen, urged Arafat to pack his bags and leave together with all his "corrupt cronies." Hamami said Arafat's "disastrous" policies have led the Palestinians from one catastrophe to another. "Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Lebanon and Jordan and now in Palestine because of your systematic corruption ever since you came to power in 1968," he added, addressing Arafat.
Veteran Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi called on Arafat to end his "one-man show" in the PA and warned of more unrest in Gaza as weapons flow into the Strip. "As long as he controls the security forces, he is breaking the fundamental law," Ashrawi, a prominent Palestinian Christian, said in an interview in the Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick. "We should put this one-man-show behind us," Ashrawi said. "Instead of talking about (individual) people, we should at last be talking about institutions and laws."
Worshippers Head to Western Wall to Mark Tisha B'Av
Police, border police and volunteers are deployed around the Western Wall and the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday, as part of the security efforts to protect worshippers on Tisha B'Av, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. Thousands of people prayed and read from the Book of Lamentations on Monday night at the Western Wall, and the flow of worshippers to the Wall is expected to continue throughout today.
Jewish communities around the world are observing today the mourning fast of Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the month of Av) marking the day when both the first and second Temples were destroyed.
Meanwhile, Jerusalem police commander Ilan Franco turned down a request to allow worshippers on the Temple Mount for Tisha B'Av prayers. Identical requests have also been denied in past years. Under the existing agreement with the Muslim authorities, non-Muslims may tour the Temple Mount as long as they do not conduct public ceremonies.
Other News in Brief
* Israel and the United States will conduct on Thursday a crucial test on the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. A battery of the missile system was shipped to a U.S. naval base in California for an attempt to shoot down a Scud missile launched from the Pacific Ocean. Israeli officials said the test results would likely determine if deployment of the system would be expanded, or if new funds would be required to continue development. The Arrow is being developed jointly by Israeli Aircraft Industries and Boeing at a cost of more than one billion dollars. The system is already operational, and was deployed during the war in Iraq in 2003.
Economic & Hi-Tech Briefs
* The government put an amendment to the Income Tax Ordinance before the Knesset this week concerning the reduction in the tax rate on capital gains on the sale of foreign securities from 35 percent to the rate imposed on Israeli securities, GLOBES reported. The proposal is to apply the reduction beginning January 1, 2005 instead of from 2007.
* The findings of the MoneyTree Survey conducted by Kesselman & Kesselman PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) show that high-tech companies backed by venture capital funds raised $326 million in the second quarter of 2004, a 28 percent increase over the previous quarter ($255 million), and a 34 percent rise compared to the corresponding quarter in 2003 ($242.6 million), GLOBES reported. This quarter showed a 14.6 percent decrease in the number of companies that raised capital: 70 companies in the second quarter compared to 82 companies in the first quarter.
[Today's Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob, David Prince and David Dorfman at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]