Ten Arab States May Open Embassies in Israel after Pullout
According to a Foreign Ministry document, ten Arab countries would open embassies in Israel following the disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank, HA'ARETZ reported. Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom had pointed out on Monday that he expected that at least 10 Arab states would strengthen ties with Jerusalem in the wake of the decision by Jordan and Egypt to return their ambassadors to Israel. Shalom met Monday with the new Jordanian ambassador, Marouf al-Bakhit.
However, the Foreign Ministry report warns that relations between Israel and the Palestinians are liable to "explode" following the disengagement if the Palestinian Authority demands immediate final status talks. Israel prefers holding discussions on an intermediate agreement first.
Terror Groups Still Planning Attacks, in Case Cease-Fire Collapses
Terror organizations are planning strategic attacks in case the cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Authority breaks down, Military Intelligence research chief Brigadier-General Yossi Kuperwasser warned the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today, HA'ARETZ reported. Kuperwasser said that he believed that some attacks had already been planned down to the finest of details, and that the groups were capable of launching them almost immediately.
He also told the Knesset members that the organizations were continuing to build an infrastructure to carry out attacks, particularly in the Gaza Strip, despite the cease-fire and recent lull in violence. Rockets and mortar shells are still being produced.
Kuperwasser did, however, go on to praise the Palestinian Authority's measures against terrorism. He said that there had been a significant increase in the PA's efforts to stop terror attacks, and its security forces are arresting terrorists - which was not seen during Yasser Arafat's tenure as chairman.
Qurei to Present Overhauled Cabinet to Parliament Wednesday
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei promised today a drastic overhaul of his cabinet, one day after the Palestinian parliament expressed outcry at Qurei's original ministerial lineup, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Qurei presented a 24-member cabinet to the parliament Monday, with only four new faces in the team. In a stormy parliament session, 23 of 27 speakers said they would not support the cabinet, demanding the ouster of several corruption-tainted ministers.
When it became increasingly apparent that the cabinet would not be approved, the vote was delayed until Wednesday.
Up until now, Cabinet ministers were largely chosen from a small circle of cronies of the late Yasser Arafat, often regardless of expertise. Qurei told lawmakers he would present a cabinet of technocrats to parliament for approval on Wednesday.
Lebanese in the Streets to Request End of Syrian Presence
As tens of thousands of Lebanese demonstrators took to the streets of Beirut to call for an immediate withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa announced Monday that Syria would "soon" proceed to the pullout, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. "During our meeting, President [Bashar] Assad expressed his firm desire, more than once, to continue implementing the Taif Accord and to withdraw from Lebanon in keeping with this agreement," Moussa said after meeting with the Syrian president in Damascus.
However, one Syrian analyst, who asked not to be named, said that, "The [Syrian and Lebanese] governments have not agreed yet [on a Syrian withdrawal]. They have not even met to discuss the issue. As such, the whole thing, as far the Syrians are concerned, could drag on for years, which is exactly what has been happening so far. This whole statement is, in fact, nothing but a reiteration of the standard line of the Syrian government and it is completely worthless."
Meanwhile, from a podium in Brussels, U.S. President George W. Bush repeated his own call for Syrian withdrawal. "Syria must end its occupation of Lebanon," Bush said in a major speech in Belgium at the start of a European tour.
The 1989 Taif Accord obliged Syria to withdraw its forces at the end of the civil war in 1990. But 14 years have passed and 14,000 Syrian troops remain in Lebanon. Last September, international pressure heightened after the United Nations passed Resolution 1559 calling for Syrian troops to leave.
Economic & Hi-Tech Briefs
* The U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Foundation (USIST), the Chicago Microtechnology & Nanotechnology Community, and Israeli business development firm Trendlines Group have announced a competition to find the most innovative Israeli nanotechnology companies currently commercializing their product or technology, GLOBES reported. The competition will culminate in an award ceremony in Chicago, Illinois, and will include business development services to assist the Israeli companies in the U.S. market and VIP participation at the NanoBusiness Conference in New York in May. Israeli companies that have a product enabled through nanotechnology and are ready for sale to the U.S. market, or are strategic-partnering ready will be considered. Finalists for the award will be chosen by a group of nanotechnology experts.
[Today's Israel Line was prepared by Victor Chemtob at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.]