Israel to hold early elections
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Labor party leader Amir Peretz met in Tel Aviv this morning and agreed to bring general elections forward - possibly as early as February, YNET reported. Later, Sharon met with opposition leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid and told him he will decide on his next moves within days, alluding to the uncertainty over the PM's future within the Likud. During the meeting, Sharon told Lapid any date after March 1st would be good for holding the elections. The PM also said he will hold a meeting with Likud members soon and explain his diplomatic plan, based on the Road Map.
During his meeting with Peretz, Sharon congratulated the new Labor leader on his primaries win but told him he was making a mistake by insisting on pulling out of the government, thereby forcing early elections.The people don't want elections," Sharon said. "It's irresponsible to bring down the government and push elections forward." Peretz, however, replied that "elections were scheduled to be held in (November) 2006 in any case, and therefore it's not that irresponsible to hold them earlier." The two figures agreed that elections would be likely held at some point between late February to late March.
The prime minister's associates also claim that Sharon has not yet decided on his future political path. "Sharon has not yet decided whether to quit the Likud or run for party leadership. This contemplation is difficult, but the time to decide draws near. The prime minister will have to choose between one of two options: the first s to stay in the Likud, the second to leave and form a new party," a source close to the PM explained.
President Katsav makes landmark visit to Vatican
President Moshe Katsav traveled to the Vatican on Thursday for talks with Pope Benedict XVI, marking the first official visit to the Vatican by an Israeli head of state, HAARETZ reported. At the end of their 25-minute private meeting in the Pope's library, Katsav presented Benedict with framed photos of recently discovered mosaics that are believed to be from the Holy Land's oldest church.
Benedict, for his part, gave the president a framed and signed copy of the Vatican's landmark 1965 document "Nostra Aetate," which revolutionized the Catholic Church's relations with Jews."It is a real pleasure to meet you," Katsav told the Pope as he arrived for the meeting, shaking both of Benedict's hands. Katsav said he invited the Pope to visit Israel - an invitation first extended by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in a letter to the Pope in July. The president said he hoped the visit would occur in 2006.
Israeli officials have said the dispute over issues including the tax obligation for Roman Catholic holdings and methods to resolve property disputes, is the main obstacle to wider cooperation between Vatican and Israel. The Vatican is seeking ways to lessen its tax burden as one of the significant land owners in the Holy Land and wants access to Israeli courts to handle any quarrels over ownership.
Shalom, in Tunis, pushes for resumed diplomatic relations
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom used his address to a UN technology summit in Tunis yesterday to urge Tunisia to resume diplomatic ties with Israel, HAARETZ reported. Shalom, who is originally from Tunisia, spoke in Tunisian-accented Arabic in honor of his host country. Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali hosted all the heads of state attending the World Summit on the Information Society for dinner last night, and Shalom was also invited, even though he is not a head of state.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas also attended the Shalom-Vall meeting, and Israel requested his aid in forging ties with other Arab and Muslim countries. Abbas used his speech at the summit to urge Israel to halt the operations of Israeli cell phone companies in Palestinian territory, which he termed an "invasion." He also charged that Israel's control of radio frequencies, as well as the fact that Israel serves as the PA's communications gateway to the rest of the world, has prevented the Palestinian communications industry from developing.
Communications Minister Dalia Itzik, who also attended the summit, was able to chat with her Iraqi counterpart, Jwan Fouad Maasoum, since the delegations were arranged in alphabetic order, which meant that the Israelis and Iraqis were sitting side by side. The two discused the potential for Israeli-Iraqi cooperation in developing a fiber optic link between Europe and the Middle East. Israel already has a fiber optic link to Europe, so Iraq could theoretically hook into the Israeli network via Jordan, and the Gulf States could then link up via Iraq.
Settlers call for united right-wing party
Settler leaders called on all political parties faithful to the land of Israel to unite into a single right wing bloc. With talk of new elections in the air, the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip sent a document to all regional council heads in the territories in which they are calling for such a union. One of the lessons the council learned from its failed battle against the Gaza pullout was the importance of political power in the Knesset, said council spokeswoman Emily Amrusi. While the document did not list any parties in particular, Amrusi said, the hope is that the National Union and the National Religious Party would run together as a single party. In the last election, the National Union won seven Knesset seats and the National Religious Party had six seats. NRP has since lost two of them to the National Union. A poll commissioned earlier this month showed that such a joint bloc could obtain anywhere from 21 to 26 seats.
With those numbers, said Amrusi, the party could be very powerful in the Knesset. There are even thoughts that some of the less nationalistic religious parties such as Shas or UTJ could join the bloc. The National Union and the NRP have been talking about such a move but have yet to come to any agreement on the matter.
Israeli innovation: Airport lie detectors
New voice analysis system developed by Israeli company Nemesysco and used to detect suspicious passengers, drug smugglers, and terrorists has been recently installed at the Moscow airport, YNET reported. The system, nicknamed "the hidden magician," has already enabled Russian airport security staff to identify and arrest attempted contraband smugglers, and Russia is now considering the option of installing the technology at all of its border stations and points of entry. The system operates on the basis of a specialized program that can detect the presence of stress, fear, and anxiety in a person's voice, along with other factors. The system can quickly perform mass analyses, and can be used on buses and trains, where passengers would only be required to say their names. In airports, passengers are required to answer a number of questions, but checks do not last longer than a minute. According to Nemesysco's CEO, Amir Lieberman, the system would not err when dealing with people who are naturally under pressure as they board their flights and would not mistake them for terrorists or drug dealers. The system has also been installed at banks and insurance companies in Britain, in order to detect fraud attempts.
[Today's Israel Line was prepared by Hili Sharon at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]