[imra] Daily digest - Volume: 2 Issue: 1374 (15 messages)

imra Thu Apr 20 00:23:51 2006 Volume 2 : Issue 1374

In this issue of the imra daily Digest:

Tel Aviv bombing part of self-defense: Hamas
Statement by FM Tzipi Livni on Tel Aviv terrorist attack
PROTEST AT PLO MISSION NYC TUESDAY 12:30PM
AJCongress Finds Iran's appointment to UN
Disarmament Commission a rude slap in the face
Weapons manufacturing Infrastructure
Targeted in the Gaza Strip
Retreat advocate Yoel Marcus concedes
bad effect of disengagement
Egyptian paper praises Tel Aviv bombing
PA FM: Agree Israel withdraws to '67 borders,
refugees return - but don't agree end conflict
Japanese statement on Tel Aviv bombing:
PA should act, Israel should exercise self-restraint
Question & Answer Session 20 April
with Esther Pollard in Jerusalem
Excerpts: "Moderate Islam".
Immoral to employ women.18 April 2006
PCPO Poll No. 153 The impacts of suspending
the European and American financial and economical
aid on the Palestinian government
Further Deterioration of Security Chaos in the
Gaza Strip: 3 Kidnappings Reported and a Member
of the Preventive Security Service Injured
Why is Muhammad Abu al-Hawa dead?
[suspected of selling property to Jews]
Text: US conditions Israel right to self defence
on "effect on prospects for peace"?

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Tel Aviv bombing part of self-defense: Hamas

www.chinaview.cn 2006-04-17 20:11:17

Tel Aviv bombing part of self-defense: Hamas
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-04/17/content_4437149.htm

GAZA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for the
Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), said on Monday that the Tel
Aviv attack was part of the Palestinians' right of self-defense.

"Resisting Israeli aggression was rightful as long as it continues," Abu
Zuhri said.

"The occupation seized money of the Palestinian people and urged the
world not to assist the Palestinians, so this attack took place before those
who agree with this aggressive attitude," he said.

At least six Israelis were killed and 30 others wounded, with some in
serious condition, as a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up near an
old bus station in the center of Tel Aviv.

Abu Zuhri was echoed by Wasfi Kabha, minister of Prisoners' Affairs in
the Hamas-led cabinet.

Kabha told reporters that the attack came "in the framework of
legitimate right for resistance against Israeli violations and crimes."

Coincidently, Monday was Palestinian prisoners' day. Palestinian
officials said there were more than 8,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli
jails, detention camps and prisons.

The Islamic Jihad (Holy War) and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, linked to
the Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing attack.

A spokesman for Saraya al-Quds, the Islamic Jihad armed wing, told
reporters on telephone that his group is responsible for the bombing attack
in Tel Aviv.

The spokesman said that the attack was "natural response to daily crimes
carried out by the Zionists against our people."

The identity of the bomber was not known. Israel Radio said that
security sources did not rule out the possibility that the bomber is a
female and she came from the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who is currently in Jordan, condemned
the attack as "an act of terrorism," the Voice of Palestine reported.

Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said that about 80
Israeli tanks and armored vehicles moved toward Nablus Monday afternoon,
adding that at least eight Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire.
Enditem

Editor: Zhu J

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Statement by FM Tzipi Livni on Tel Aviv terrorist attack

Statement by FM Tzipi Livni on Tel Aviv terrorist attack
(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)
17 April 2006

Today's terrorist attack in Tel Aviv was carried out with the express
purpose of killing Israeli citizens in midst of their Passover holiday. The
Foreign Minister calls upon the world's leaders to take a clear and
uncompromising stand against Palestinian terrorism - for terrorism is
terrorism.

Only a clear and unequivocal voice and a determined stance on the part of
the international community can bring about a future in which the
Palestinian leadership will renounce and confront terrorism, and will
recognize the right of the State of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, and
the right of its citizens to life. Only thus will the path to a solution be
found.

Link:

www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/MFA+Spokesman/2006/Statement+by
+FM+Livni+on+Tel+Aviv+terrorist+attack+17-Apr-2006.htm

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: PROTEST AT PLO MISSION NYC TUESDAY 12:30PM

PRAYER VIGIL & PROTEST AT THE PLO MISSION
Tuesday, April 18, 12:30PM
PLO Mission to the UN:
115 East 65th Street New York

As an immediate response to today's Palestinian terror suicide bombing in
Tel Aviv which killed 7 and wounded 49, Rabbi Avi Weiss will lead a memorial
protest at the PLO UN Mission, 65th Street and Park Avenue, tomorrow at
12:30PM.
"It is time to remove the PLO Mission UN Mission from New York," Rabbi Weiss
declared. "America wouldn't let Osama Bin Ladin have a diplomatic mission
in New York. We cannot understand why the terror group Hamas, which now
runs the Palestinian Authority, should have a diplomatic presence as well."

Amcha-CJC
3700 Henry Hudson Pkwy, Riverdale NY 10463
Phone: (718) 884-8499
Fax: (718) 884-9866
Email: amchacjc@amchacjc.org
www.amchacjc.org

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: AJCongress Finds Iran's appointment to UN
Disarmament Commission a rude slap in the face

For Immediate Release
April 17, 2006
American Jewish Congress:
Iran's Leadership at Disarmament Commission Undercuts Efforts to Rein in Its
Nuclear Weapons program

April 17, 2006/New York City - The American Jewish Congress today called
the selection of Iran to a leadership position on the United Nations
Disarmament Commission "a rude slap in the face."
The decision was taken at the April 10 Commission meeting.

"The UN Disarmament Commission was the last international body where we
thought we'd see Iran as a member," said Chairman Jack Rosen. "This is more
than the equivalent of letting the fox into the hen house; it amounts to
pretending that a fox is a hen."

"The vote by acclamation no less to name an Iranian diplomat as one of three
vice chairpersons, amounts to a rude slap in the face of the International
Atomic Energy Agency and the UN Security Council, both of which have been
reviewing the grave situation with regard to Iran's nuclear enrichment and
nuclear weapons programs."

"By pursuing a nuclear weapons program is defying the international
community. Does the UN propose that Iran now sit in judgment on itself?"

###

merican Jewish Congress ** 825 Third Avenue, Suite 1800 ** New York, NY,
10022
212-879-4500 Fax 212-758-1633 **
web site: www.ajcongress.org

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Weapons manufacturing Infrastructure
Targeted in the Gaza Strip

April 18th 2006
IDF SPOKESPERSON ANNOUNCEMENT

Weapons manufacturing infrastructure targeted in the Gaza Strip

Following the continuous Palestinian terror activity directed at Israeli
citizens and civilian infrastructure, including the firing of projectile
rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israeli communities, the IDF carried out an
aerial attack a short while ago, April 18th 2006, against a structure used
by terror organizations as part of the weapons manufacturing industry in the
Gaza Strip.

The structure had been used by the "Popular Resistance Committees"
organization as a weapon manufacturing facility of Qassam rockets in Gaza
city.

The IDF will continue to act with determination and to employ all means at
its disposal to combat terrorists and their infrastructure, in order to
defend the citizens of Israel.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Retreat advocate Yoel Marcus concedes
bad effect of disengagement

Retreat advocate Yoel Marcus concedes bad effect of disengagement

Aaron Lerner Date: 18 April 2006

Buried in the middle of a column titled "5 observations on the situation"
appearing only in the Hebrew edition of today's Haaretz, Yoel Marcus, who
devoted the past years encouraging Ariel Sharon to retreat from the Gaza
Strip, made the following observation:

"In light of the fact that the evacuation of Gush Katif put Hamas in office,
increased the Qassams, and Israel is still in Gaza via cannons, and maybe
soon with tanks, I suddenly doubt if the Ehud Olmert government will be able
to evacuate 60 thousand settlers."

http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=707049&contrassID=2&subContrassID=3&sbSubContrassID=0

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Egyptian paper praises Tel Aviv bombing

Egyptian paper praises Tel Aviv bombing

State-controlled Al Gomhuria calls Monday's suicide bombing 'sacrificial,
martyrdom attack,' warns more attacks to follow
YNET - Associated Press 18 Aprill 2006
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3241041,00.html

An Egyptian state-controlled newspaper praised Monday's suicide attack in
Tel Aviv, which killed nine people and wounded dozens, calling it an act of
sacrifice and martyrdom.

Egypt has always taken pains to condemn the violence by both sides in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is exceptional for one of the country's
three biggest newspapers, whose editor is effectively appointed by President
Hosni Mubarak, to endorse a Palestinian attack on Israeli civilians.

"It is not required of the Palestinian people that they raise their hands in
surrender, accept the daily Israeli attacks and watch waves of settlers
occupy their land and build settlements," Wrote Al Gomhuria in an editorial
of its Tuesday edition.

"It is not required of the Palestinian people that they clap Israel and its
allies while they mobilize the whole world to besiege the

heroic (Palestinian) people ... Because they have chosen Hamas," The
editorial said, referring to the United States and European Union's cutting
off funds to the Palestinian Authority because its Hamas government refuses
to renounce violence. "For all that, the sacrificial and martyrdom attack
occurred in the heart of Tel Aviv, and there will be more later," The daily
warned. In the Islamic faith, a martyr goes to heaven.

A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Cairo declined to comment on the
editorial because he had not yet read it. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas
condemned the attack. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and numerous Western
governments denounced the attack, but the Hamas government defended it as a
legitimate response to Israeli "aggression."

The Islamic Jihad terror group, a rival of Hamas, claimed responsibility for
the bombing. Its members celebrated the attack by handing out pastries in
the streets of Gaza.

Israel said it held Hamas responsible for the attack - even though Islamic
Jihad had claimed responsibility

(04.18.06, 07:51)

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: PA FM: Agree Israel withdraws to '67 borders,
refugees return - but don't agree end conflict

President Abbas Meets Jordanian FM, Zahar Discusses Reorganization of PLO
with Qaddoumi
www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=15372

GAZA, April 17, 2006 (IPC + Agencies) -[Official PA website] - President
Mahmoud Abbas met with the Jordanian Foreign Minister and discussed the
latest political developments in the Palestinian territories in light of the
Israeli siege, while Foreign Minister Dr. Mahmoud Al Zahar discussed the
reorganization of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Egypt.

President Abbas has received on Sunday, at his residence in the Jordanian
capital city Amman, the Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Elah Al Khatib,
where they discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian territories.

Meanwhile, Al Manar newspaper reported that the US government and the
Palestinian presidency are holding contacts to prepare for a prospected
visit for President Abbas to Washington, where he will meet with the US
President George W. Bush. The visit is expected to be conducted in mid-May,
and will end with a visit to London on his way back to Ramallah.

On the other hand, Foreign Minister Dr. Mahmoud Al Zahar met with the head
of PLO's Political Department, Farouq Al Qaddoumi, in Cairo on Sunday to
discuss the latest Israeli siege and aggression against the Palestinian
people.

Palestinian sources added the Dr. Zahar also discussed the reorganization of
the PLO with Qaddoumi, following the victory of Hamas movement in the most
recent legislative elections, as well as ways of cooperation in order to
overcome any obstacles that are standing in the way of the current
government.

The meeting also tackled the means to re-activate the national dialogue in
order to maintain national unity and face the escalated Israeli aggression.

FM Zahar said that during his visit to Egypt, he met with the Secretary
General of the League of Arab States, Amre Mousa, and chief of Egyptian
intelligence Omar Suleiman, as part of a tour in several Arab countries
including Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, then back to
Egypt to meet with his Egyptian counterpart.

Zahar also added that he is planning a visit to Southeast Asia next May in
order to attend the Non-Aligned Countries Conference, as well as the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, as well as preparing for visits to
Morocco, Africa and Latin America, as part of the efforts to muster Arab and
international support for the Palestinian people and the government.

"We will relay what we have heard to the Palestinian decision-makers inside
and outside the government, in order to create a clear image of this
initiative [the Arab peace initiative] while asserting that we are part of
this nation and that our strategy is not to reach for the West or East, but
for our Arab and Islamic brothers," Zahar told reporters in Cairo.

The Foreign Minister declared that the Palestinian government is ready to
accept the Arab initiative, with reservations on the article relating to the
recognition of Israel and normalizing relations with it.

"We are ready to accept the Arab initiative and a Palestinian state on the
borders of 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital, but we will not sign on the
end of the conflict or recognizing and normalizing relations with Israel,
but we are ready to give Israel a long-term ceasefire," FM Zahar confirmed.

With regards to the efforts of the government to find a way out of the
current economic crisis, the Foreign Minister expressed his confidence in
the efforts of the government, pointing out that the Arab nations will not
let the Palestinians down, and that Secretary General Mousa has raised more
than two million Egyptian pounds (about $348,000) in just one fundraiser,
which is a small example of the Arab efforts in supporting the Palestinian
National Authority.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Japanese statement on Tel Aviv bombing:
PA should act, Israel should exercise self-restraint

Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public
Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Suicide Bombing in Southern
Tel Aviv in Israel

April 18, 2006
www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2006/4/0418.html

1. The Government of Japan emphatically condemns the suicide bombing by a
Palestinian extremist which occurred on April 17 in Southern Tel Aviv in
Israel. Terrorism cannot be justified for any reason. Japan expresses its
condolences to the bereaved families as well as deepest sympathy for the
many who were injured.

2. The Government of Japan strongly urges the Palestinian Authority to take
all the necessary measures to prevent suicide bombings from recurring and to
control the extremists. Japan also calls on the Israeli Government to
exercise its utmost self-restraint in dealing with this incident.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Question & Answer Session 20 April
with Esther Pollard in Jerusalem

Question & Answer Session 20 April with Esther Pollard
At An Evening for Jonathan Pollard Event

Justice4JP Release - April 18, 2006

The public is invited to attend an evening for Jonathan Pollard and a
question and answer session with Esther Pollard on Thursday evening, 20
April 2006 (Isru Chag) at Hechal Shlomo, Jerusalem. The program is
sponsored by the Bnei Akiva Youth Movement.

The program begins at 7:00 PM and features:

* The Play: "Wounded in The Field" (A Play About Jonathan Pollard)
Dress rehearsal by the Aspecklaria Theatre Group

* Divrei Torah by HaRav Elisha Vishitski on the issue of Freedom

* An Update by The Committee to Bring Jonathan Pollard Home and information
on the Banner Campaign and how you can participate.

* A Question and Answer Session with Esther Pollard following the Play

The public is welcome to attend. Bnai Akiva requests a 15 shekel donation to
cover the costs of the evening.

Here are the detaiils again:

WHAT: Question & Answer Session 20 April with Esther Pollard
At An Evening for Jonathan Pollard Event

WHEN: Thursday April 20, 2006

TIME: 7 PM (19:00 HRS)

WHERE: Hechal Shlomo, on King George Street (right next to the Great
Synagogue) Jerusalem

DONATION: (To Bnei Akiva to cover costs): 15 NIS

NB: The evening will be conducted in Hebrew. Esther Pollard will take
questions in Hebrew or English.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Excerpts: "Moderate Islam".
Immoral to employ women.18 April 2006

Excerpts: "Moderate Islam".Immoral to employ women.18 April 2006

JORDAN TIMES 18 April '06"Conference on moderate Islam to unite int'l
scholars"
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"Muslm thinkers and religious leaders ... hopes to establish an
international assembly promoting moderate Islam
"practical mechanisms to clarify the tainted image of Islam"
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN - A meeting of Muslim thinkers and religious leaders next week hopes
to establish an international assembly promoting moderate Islam, according
to a conference spokesperson.
The Moderation Assembly for Thought and Culture expects the event to yield
practical mechanisms to clarify the tainted image of Islam," according to a
statement issued by the Jordanian group.
. . .The international forum and its partners would carry the banner of
moderation in Islam and promote tolerance and democratic pluralism, in
addition to establishing distinctions between legitimate resistance and
terrorism.
Participants ...to endorse a plan to establish an international satellite
channel that promotes moderate Islam ... ... to "dry up the springs of
extremism and defend the name of Islam against unjust campaigns."
The three-day event, ... will bring together scholars of Islamic thought
and political Islam from Muslim countries, as well as from Muslim
communities in Europe and the rest of the world. . . .

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 18 April '06:
"Eatery Owner Flees to Escape Lashing"Huda Al-Shayeb, Arab News -

QUOTE FROM TEXT:
"left the Kingdom in a bid to fight his sentence of 90 lashes for
employing two women in his restaurant"

"not allowed to take a lawyer with him when he was called to ... court"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL TEXT:
QATIF, 18 April 2006 - Nabel Al-Ramadan, owner of "Ranoosh" restaurant here,
told Arab News in a phone interview that he has left the Kingdom in a bid to
fight his sentence of 90 lashes for employing two women in his restaurant
one and a half years ago. He left the Kingdom more than a week ago.
Al-Ramadan was accused of violating morality by employing women in his
restaurant on Aug. 10, 2004. He was sentenced only last month after about a
19-month court battle after he was reported for his breach.
"I appeal against the judgment because it is an insult to me as a human
being. In order to avoid this situation I preferred to travel before the
application of the sentence," said Al-Ramadan.
The two girls were wearing hijab while working, Al-Ramadan said, adding both
himself and the girls respected Islam and Saudi traditions, and didn't do
anything that contradicted Shariah.
The girls worked for four hours only on a single day before authorities
closed down the restaurant the same day.
But that still caused problems for Al-Ramadan, which started with him being
jailed briefly before being released. The case was reopened recently.
Al-Ramadan was not allowed to take a lawyer with him when he was called to
the Qatif court.
"I was informed that the court wanted me to attend the trial to investigate
the employment of two girls and was told that the hearing was to be on March
25," said the restaurant owner.
"I went to the court on March 22 just to receive the papers but the judge on
hearing that I was there asked to see me. He didn't give me a chance to hire
a lawyer and sentenced me to 90 lashes - spread over 30 lashes a time. The
judgment was announced after only a quarter of an hour."
Al-Ramadan preferred to leave the country quickly because he feared that the
swift decision against him could mean that it would be meted out quickly.
He did not ask for help from the National Society for Human Rights although
he had thought about it. However, he felt leaving the country was a better
option.
Al-Ramadan was initially jailed for a night for employing the two women and
his restaurant was closed for three days, but at that time he was only
accused of employing women who don't have medical records.
The restaurant owner said he was unapologetic about hiring the young ladies.
He said that he supports women's right to work, and that there is nothing
forbidden under Islam in this regard.
"I'm not the only man that thinks that women should be able to work," he
said. "Other people also think that this is the right situation. Some have
even tried to do it just as I did."
A similar incident happened in Qatif a couple of months ago when a woman who
worked in an optical shop to help women customers was stopped from working
as the news of her job spread.

Sue Lerner, Associate - IMRA

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: PCPO Poll No. 153 The impacts of suspending
the European and American financial and economical
aid on the Palestinian government

Poll No.153 Date:
19 April 2006

Dear Madame,
Dear Sir,

I would like at the beginning to welcome you to the results of our study
no. (153) and to thank you for your interest in our polling activities,
which reflect hopes, fears and concerns of the Palestinian people.

Please feel quite free to contact us immediately if you have any questions
or inquiry on any issue of this study.

With our good wishes and best regards,

Dr. Nabil Kukali
Director of PCPO

In a survey prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali about the impacts of suspending the
European and American financial and economical aid on the Palestinian
government:

* An overwhelming majority (79.8%) are concerned about the subsistence of
their family due to the suspension of the financial and
economical aid.

* A clear majority (59.8%) believe that the suspension of the financial and
economical aid will increase the rate of violence in the
region.

* An overwhelming majority (73.9%) call on the US-Americans and the European
countries to reconsider their decision halting the
financial and economical aid to the Palestinian government.

* A substantial majority (57.8%) oppose to various degrees the decisions of
the EU and the US governments halting the financial
and economical aid to the Palestinian government.

* More than one third (38.2%) call to various degrees for the continuation
of the financial and economical aid through the
Palestinian cabinet.

* A plurality (46.7%) call for forming a government of national unity in the
light of the Israeli and international escalation by
suspending the financial and economical aid.

* A clear majority (62.5%) believe that the UN-resolution imposing
restrictions on dealing with the Palestinian government
contradicts the international regulations.

* A clear majority (58.7%) believe that the Arab countries are incapable of
replacing the financial and economical aid suspended by
the donor countries.

Introduction:

In the most recent survey prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali, Director of the
Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO), and conducted during the
period from April 14 - 17, 2006, a random sample of (675) Palestinian adults
over 18 years old representing the various demographic specimens of the
people living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip,
has been interviewed. The most significant result of the survey is that the
majority of the Palestinians, specifically (79.8%), (81.2%) in Gaza Strip
and (79.0%) in the West Bank, are concerned about the subsistence of their
family due to the halt of the financial and economical aid by the European
Union and the United States of America to the Palestinian government and the
suspension of dues transfer by the Israeli government.

Dr. Kukali said the poll results have pointed out that the restrictions
imposed by the UN on its dealing with the Palestinian government contradict
the international regulations as believed by (62.5%) of the Palestinian
people, (54.3%) are living in the West Bank and (76.7%) in Gaza Strip, and
added that this resolution will leave negative effects on the progress of
the already stumbling and impeded peace process. "The study findings have
shown that the halt of the financial and economical aid provided by the EU
and the USA will increase the suffering of the Palestinian people, who
already are going through bad economic conditions",

Dr. Kukali said. He pointed out that Israel should abide by the economic
agreement concluded with the Palestinian Authority in Paris on taxes,
customs and other relevant issues, because starving the ordinary Palestinian
citizen will not dissuade him from continuing his struggle. On the contrary,
it will increase the rate of violence and the conflict in the region. "The
results of the field survey have briefly established that a considerable
rate of the respondents, namely (59.8%), (52.0%) are living in the West Bank
and (73.1%) in Gaza Strip, believe that the suspension of the financial and
economical aid will increase the rate of violence in the region", Dr. Kukali
added.

Dr. Kukali laid in his comments stress on the importance of granting the
Palestinian Authority, in which the Palestinian government is only a part of
its executive apparatus, the chance to show a positive position towards the
peace process. Even Mr. Ehud Olmert, leader of Kadima and the acting Israeli
Prime Minister, said in a statement published in the "The Wall Street
Journal"(online) dated April 12th, 2006 that he is "watching closely to see
if Hamas moderates its view toward Israel." And now one automatically asks:
How could Hamas be able to moderate its view toward Israel in the shadow of
the international and Israeli political, economical, and media siege imposed
on it? "Why shouldn't Hamas be given a chance, since it has already given
more than a positive hint through its cabinet statement and through the
declaration of some of its senior officials expressing its readiness to go
ahead with the peace process?", Dr. Kukali said.

Dr. Kukali further commented the results saying that all the Palestinian
factions of the whole political and social spectrum should now form a
government of a national unity as to encounter the enormous pressure laid on
the Palestinian government, because the majority of the Palestinians, namely
(46.7%), support that, (64.9%) in Gaza Strip and (36.3%) in the West Bank),
as the poll results revealed. "The Palestinian government must reconsider
its position towards the Palestinian Liberation Organization in view of the
interests of the Palestinian people and should act in accordance with the
presidential letter of assignment,"

Dr. Kukali said. He further pointed out that the approval of the letter of
assignment and the formation of a government of national unity will
embarrass the UN and those countries, which are in alignment with the
Israeli policy imposing a financial, moral and political siege on the new
promising Palestinian government." Dr. Kukali is of the opinion that the
Israeli government, in particular the winner Kadima Party, should perceive
that the suffering of the people no way means their defeat. "The opposite is
rather the case", he said. "Suffering of the people strengthens their will
and determination to struggle as to live in dignity and freedom. Israel
should know that the Palestinian people is still under its occupation and
Israel will be therefore held responsible for providing humanitarian
assistance to these people," Dr. Kukali added. He wondered that the
decision-makers in Washington and in the capitals of the European countries
are supposed to be aware that the consequences of such policies will only
prolong the period of struggle, bloodshed and hardship, will feed the mutual
violence and will henceforth lead to further deterioration of security,
which will surely be reflected in the Israeli society.

Dr. Kukali emphasized that the suspension of the financial and economical
aid to the Palestinian people will extremely increase poverty, hardship and
the feeling of being unjustly treated. Kindergartens and schools will shut
down, the general hygienic condition will be degenerated due to the lack of
medical and health services and the spread of deceases. The educational
sector will collapse and the rate of crime will rapidly rise. Milk bottles
for children will become a rarity and malnutrition will be a serious
problem, particularly among children. The survey has shown that most of the
respondents believe that a sharp fall of job opportunities will be the first
direct harm of the aid suspension, followed by the family income. Detriment
due to the lack of food will be in the third position, and the education
sector will be effected in the fourth position. Health would come in the 5th
position and raising children would be ranking in the last position,

Dr. Kukali said. He concluded his comments saying that the Palestinian
people call on the US and EU to reconsider their decision as to sow seeds of
love and hope rather than laying thorns of hostility and hatred, and
well-being and good health rather than spread of deceases, and education
rather than ignorance, and tolerance rather than hatred, and peace rather
than violence.

The Objective of the Study:

The target of this study is to examine the negative effects accruing from
the suspension of the financial and economical aid of the United States and
the European countries to the Palestinian government and the harms the
Palestinian society will sustain on all aspects of life, showing the
significance of the aid for the Palestinian people and the necessity of
reversing the US- and the EU-decisions. The study casts furthermore light on
possible alternatives how to bring the aid directly to the Palestinian
people, probes the UN-decision imposing restrictions on dealing with the
Palestinian government and makes the attempt to reflect the feelings of the
Palestinians towards their future in the shadow of such international
measures.

The Findings:

Concern about one's subsistence:

Responding to the question: "To which degree are you at present concerned
about the subsistence of your family?", (41.7%) replied "very much
concerned", (38.1%) are "concerned", (11.0%) are "not so much concerned",
(7.9%) are "not concerned at all" and (1.3%) replied "I don't know".

The UN-resolution:

A great majority (62.5%) of the Palestinian people believe that the
UN-resolution imposing restrictions on dealing with the Palestinian
government contradicts the international regulations, whilst (33.2%) see the
opposite, and (4.3%) didn't respond to the question.

Attitude of the Israeli government:

A majority (50.2%) of the respondents believe that the attitude of the
Israeli government in regard to the suspension of all contacts with the
Palestinian government will strengthen Hamas position, while (47.7%) said it
weakens Hamas position, and (2.1%) didn't express their opinion.

Statement of the US-Secretary of State Department:

Responding to the question: Do you agree or disagree to the following
statement of the US-Secretary of State Department, Condoleezza Rice,
published in the State Department Briefing on Friday, April 7: "Because the
new Hamas-led Palestinian government has failed to accept the Quartet
principles of nonviolence, recognition of Israel and respect for previous
agreements between the parties, the United States is suspending assistance
to the Palestinian government's cabinet and ministries", (13.1%) said
"strongly agree", (28.6%) "somewhat agree", (22.8%) "somewhat disagree",
(35.0%) "strongly disagree" and (0.5%) answered "don't know".

Aid and Violence:

A clear majority (59.8%) of the Palestinian people believe that the halt of
the foreign financial and economical aid to the Palestinian government will
increase the rate of violence in the region, whilst (20.8%) said "it will
decrease it" and (19.1%) think "it will have no effect at all", and only
(0.3%) didn't respond.

Harm of suspending foreign aid to the Palestinian citizen:

With respect to the following statement: "The suspension of the foreign
financial and economical aid to the Palestinian government will harm the
Palestinian society on various fields. Please put the fields, where you
personally think will be harmed, in the order of their detrimental
significance using the figures (1) to (6), where (1) stands for the utmost
degree of harm, followed by (2) as the lesser degree of harm, and ending
with (6) as the field of the least degree of harm.", the result was as
follows:

(weighted average)
1. Family income 3.0
2. Availability of food 3.0
3. Education 3.9
4. Health services 4.0
5.Raising-up children 4.3
6. Job opportunities 2.9

Significance of the US-American and European Aid:

Regarding the question: "Up to which extent the US-American and European
financial and economical aid contribute in general to the well-being of the
Palestinian people ?", (37.3%) said "to a high degree", (44.0%) "to a
mediocre degree", (12.8%) "to an unimportant degree", (5.2%) said "nil",
and (0.7%) "don't know".

Reconsidering the decision:

Around one- third (36.9%) of the respondents said "their view to the US and
to the EU would be high positive if these countries would reconsider their
decision of halting their financial and economical aid to the Palestinian
government, while (32.6%) "would have a moderate positive view", (30.4%)
said "their view would remain unchanged", and (0.1%) declined to respond to
the question.

What donor countries should do:

An overwhelming majority (73.9%) of the respondents called on the
governments of the US and the EU to continue their financial and economical
aid to the Palestinian government, while (24.3%) called for halting the aid
to the government, and (1.8%) hesitated to answer the question.

Furthermore, (31.6%) of the respondents called on the US and EU to grant
nowadays their aid to the Palestinians through the office of the
PA-president, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, (38.2%) said "through the Palestinian
cabinet, Mr. Ismael Haniyyeh as Prime Minister, (22.5%) said "through the
UN-organizations like UNRWA, (7.3%) suggested "through the NGO's" and
(0.4%) are for "otherwise".

What Palestinians should do:

Responding to the question:" In the light of the grave Israeli escalation
against the Palestinian people and the corresponding declaration of the
Israeli government about the suspension of its relations with the
Palestinian Authority, and the resolutions of the governments of the US and
EU to the effect of halting the financial and economical aid to the
Palestinian people, what should - according to your opinion - the
Palestinians do at present ?", (17.9%) suggested "to finally dissolve the
Palestinian Authority", (17.9%) proposed "the PA-President, Mr. Abbas, to
resign and new presidential elections to be held", (46.7%) said "to form a
government of national unity", (16.7%) suggested "the present Palestinian
government should resign and to run new legislative elections", whilst
(0.8%) " have no opinion".

Financial and economical aid of the Arab countries:

A clear majority (58.7%) of the respondents said "the Arab countries are
capable of replacing the financial and economical aid suspended by the
Europeans and US-Americans to the Palestinian government, whilst (40.1%)
said "they are incapable of doing that", and (1.2%) declined to respond to
the question.

Optimism and Pessimism:

Responding to the question: " After the formation of the present Palestinian
government under Mr. Ismael Haniyyeh as Prime Minister, are you - upon
viewing a possible improvement of the economical conditions - more
optimistic or more pessimistic than in the past ?", (24.3%) said " more
optimistic", (31.3%) said "they remained optimistic as in the past",
(20.0%) said "they remained pessimistic as in the past", whilst (23.1%) said
"they are more pessimistic than in the past", and (1.3%) "Don't know".

Methodology of the Survey Study:

"All interviews took place on the basis of random choices of respondents'
homes, i.e. face-to-face during different working hours, at least 5 hours a
day, including the evening time, in order to ensure proper representation of
those sub-groups of the population, which would otherwise be difficult to
reach and selecting one individual in each household using Last Birthday
Method. ", Mr. Elias Kukali, a staff member of the Research & Studies
Section at the PCPO, said. The choices were taken from a total of (125)
election sites, from which (90) sites are located in West Bank and (35)
sites in Gaza Strip according to the distribution of the Central Election
committee. These election sites were randomly chosen by using the method of
the simple random sample. These in turn were the beginning of the random
sample choice made from those regions in accordance with PCPO's long
experienced methodology. The margin of error was (�3.77%) at a significance
and confidence levels of (5%) and (95%) respectively.

Elias Kukali added "the percentage of female respondents was (49.0%) whereas
that of the male respondents reached (51.0%). He said the composition of the
sample according to the residential area was as follows: (63.7%) West Bank,
including East Jerusalem, and (36.3%) Gaza Strip. He further pointed out
that the allocation of the sample in respect of the type of residence was as
follows: (51.9%) city, (31.7%) village and (16.4%) refugee camp.

Contact Persons: Dr. Nabil Kukali & Elias Kukali
Tel: 00970 2 277 4846, Fax: 00970 2 277 4892
Mobile: 00972 547 216 643 / 00970 599 726 878
P.O. Box 15, Beit Sahour - Palestine
Email: kukali@p-ol.com
Website: www.pcpo.ps

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Further Deterioration of Security Chaos in the
Gaza Strip: 3 Kidnappings Reported and a Member
of the Preventive Security Service Injured

PCHR
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

Security Chaos and Proliferation of Small Arms
Attacks on Public Institutions and Officials

Field Update
19 April 2006

Further Deterioration of Security Chaos in the Gaza Strip:
3 Kidnappings Reported and a Member of the Preventive Security Service
Injured

The past 24 hours have witnessed a series of attacks on members of the
Palestinian National Security Services. Two police officers, an official's
son and an officer in the military liaison were kidnapped during separate
incidents in the central Gaza Strip, and a member of the Preventive Security
Service was shot in the northern Gaza Strip. These incidents are part of
the ongoing state of security chaos in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
(OPT).

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 09:00 on
Tuesday, 18 April 2006, 4 masked gunmen traveling in a civilian car (a
silver Subaru) intercepted another car (a white Subaru) that was traveling
on al-Salam Street, in the center of Deir al-Balah. Mohammed Jamal Hammad,
30, and Kamal Kamel al-Fallit, 30, police officers from Deir al-Balah, were
traveling in the second car on their way to their work in Gaza City. The
gunmen forced the two police officers out of the car. They handcuffed and
blindfolded them, and then took them to an unknown location. Approximately
40 minutes later, the gunmen released the two officers and confiscated their
car.

At approximately 09:30 on the same day, a number of gunmen traveling in two
civilian cars fired at Hassan Zaki Abu Mansour, 25, a member of the
Preventive Security Service from Jabalya refugee camp, near Martyr Anwar
'Aziz Mosque in Jabalya refugee camp. He was wounded by 4 live bullets to
the legs.

At approximately 12:00, 4 masked gunmen traveling in a civilian car (a white
Subaru) kidnapped Mohammed Nasser Yousef Deeb, 18, the son of the Director
General of Agriculture in the central Gaza Strip. They handcuffed and
blindfolded him and then took him to an unknown location. The gunmen
violently beat Deeb. They released him in Rafah after one hour and a half.
It is worth noting that the father was previously kidnapped by gunmen on 27
March 2006.

At approximately 20:00, at least 10 gunmen intercepted a jeep near al-Farouq
Mosque in Nusiarat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip. Brigadier Daoud
al-Atrash, 57, from the Military Liaison, was traveling in the jeep. The
gunmen asked him to get out of the jeep but he refused. They violently beat
him and put him in the back seat of the jeep. They then took him to an
unknown location. The kidnapper released al-Atrash in Deit al-Balah 3 hours
later.

PCHR strongly condemns these attacks and expresses grave concern over the
escalating number of attacks against public institutions and officials.
These attacks are a continuation of the current state of security chaos in
the OPT. PCHR calls upon the Palestinian National Authority, represented by
the Attorney-General, to investigate these attacks and to bring the
perpetrators to justice.

Public Document
**************************************
For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8
2824776 - 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip.
E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
-----------------------------------
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and write "subscribe" in the subject line.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Why is Muhammad Abu al-Hawa dead?
[suspected of selling property to Jews]

Our World: Why is Muhammad Abu al-Hawa dead?
Caroline Glick, THE JERUSALEM POST Apr. 18, 2006
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1143498874080&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Muhammad Abu al-Hawa was a 42-year-old father of eight when he died last
Wednesday night. As Israeli Jews were beginning our Pessah Seders and
retelling the story of our exodus from Egypt and our rebirth as a free
nation, Abu al-Hawa was being tortured by Fatah terrorists. As we ate our
Seder meal, he was shot seven times. As we called out "Next year in
Jerusalem," Abu al-Hawa's body and car were torched.

Abu al-Hawa was tortured and murdered because he stood accused of committing
what the Palestinians consider a capital crime. Eight young children were
orphaned last Wednesday night because their father allegedly sold an
apartment building in Israel's capital city to Jews. The building in
question is located in Jerusalem's A-Tur neighborhood, just above the Temple
Mount on the Mount of Olives.

Muhammad Abu al-Hawa was buried in a makeshift cemetery on the road between
Jerusalem where he lived, and Jericho where he was murdered. His body was
buried there because the Palestinian Authority's mufti in Jerusalem, Ikremah
Sabri, has barred all Muslims accused of selling land to Jews from being
buried in a Muslim cemetery.

When the PA was established in 1994, the first legal step its chairman
Yasser Arafat and its justice minister Freih Abu Medein took was to declare
null and void all laws that had been in force until that date. After
plunging Palestinian society into legal chaos, Arafat and Medein reinstated
one law. That law was a Jordanian law which Israel had revoked in 1967. It
made selling land to Jews a capital offense.

SINCE 1994, dozens of Arab Israelis and PA residents have been murdered on
suspicion of selling land to Jews. Abu al-Hawa's murder - like those that
preceded it - tells us several important things about Palestinian society.
It tells us that like the PA today, any successor Palestinian state will be
a racist, apartheid state where laws will be promulgated based solely on
race and religious origin. Jews will be denied all basic human rights and
Arabs who peacefully coexist with Jews will be accused of treason and made
targets for murder.

On Saturday night Sheikh Raed Salah, the former mayor of Umm el-Fahm and the
head of the northern branch of the Israeli Islamic Movement, spoke to an
audience of some 30,000 Israeli Arabs in Kafr Kana. There he placed Abu
al-Hawa's murder in the context of the Arab-Islamic strategy for conquering
Jerusalem. His address, which was broadcast live by al-Jazeera, was devoted
to calling for the expulsion of all Jews from Jerusalem. He called on his
Arab brethren to "save Jerusalem from the hands of the Jews," promising that
"Jerusalem will soon be the capital of the world Islamic nation, and it will
be governed by a caliphate."

Salah's speech placed him in the company of Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, the
Qatar-based Sunni cleric who acts as a religious authority for both Hamas
and al-Qaida. Speaking in Sanaa, Yemen, last December, Qaradawi, who chairs
the Al-Quds Foundation, referred to the goal of Islamizing Jerusalem by
ending coexistence with Israel as "a civilian jihad that should go side by
side with armed resistance."

Today, there is no figure of authority in the Arab and Islamic world in
general and in the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority particularly who would
have stood up for Abu al-Hawa. For today's Arab and Islamic leaders, murders
like Abu al-Hawa's serve an "educational" goal of terrorizing Palestinians
into ending any ongoing relationships they may have with Israelis.

Neither Abu al-Hawa nor countless other victims before him had an
opportunity to answer the charges leveled against them. According to
Palestinians and to Jews involved in purchasing lands from Palestinians, in
the majority of cases, the Arabs murdered for the "crime" of selling land to
Jews never sold land to Jews. At most they were "guilty" of having ties of
friendship or commerce with Israelis. The fact that merely having relations
with Jews can expose an Arab to allegations of collaboration is enough to
convince most Palestinians that they shouldn't have anything to do with
Israel or Israelis. So by murdering people like Abu al-Hawa, the Palestinian
leadership ensures that Palestinians will be too afraid of being killed to
risk peaceful coexistence with Israel.

YET WHILE once marked as a land seller Abu al-Hawa could expect no
protection from the Palestinian leadership, as a resident of Jerusalem he
had a legal right to expect Israeli authorities to protect him.

Indeed, it was the responsibility of the Israel Police to protect him.
Disturbingly, not only did the police not
protect him, they may well have made it impossible for him to escape death.

Last month the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court ordered the police to evict
squatters from the building formerly owned by Abu al-Hawa who had moved in
during the previous weeks. Sources intimately involved with the story allege
that rather than carry out the eviction order as quietly as possible in
order to minimize local Arab attention to what was already shaping up to be
a difficult and dangerous situation for Abu al-Hawa, the police leaked the
court-ordered operation to Israel's TV Channel 10.
Last Sunday and Monday nights, Channel 10 led its primetime news broadcasts
with footage from the police operation at A-Tur. The footage showed riot
police ejecting the squatters and their personal effects from the apartment
building. Reporter Assaf Zohar portrayed the Arab squatters as innocent
victims and the Jews who bought the building legally, guarded the building
legally and moved into the building legally as arrogant bullies and greedy,
wealthy fanatics.

Abu al-Hawa described Jews approaching him with a suitcase filled with cash
offering to buy his apartment. He vociferously claimed that he refused their
pushy offers because he would never sell to Jews. Zohar made no mention of
the fact that the PA conducts extrajudicial murders of those accused of
selling land to Jews.

IT WAS hard to imagine Al-Jazeera portraying Jews in a worse light than
Israel's Channel 10. The fact that the building in question is located in
Israel's capital city across the street from the Temple Mount apparently
made absolutely no impression on Zohar.

After the Channel 10 "expose," the level of incitement against Abu al-Hawa
went up several decibels in A-Tur and in the PA. Sources in the neighborhood
argue that if he had been harassed by the PA before the Channel 10
broadcast, Abu al-Hawa's life was immediately imperiled in the broadcast's
aftermath.

The fact that the police allowed and allegedly facilitated Channel 10's
coverage of the evictions together with the decidedly anti-Israel slant of
the Channel 10 story says two very disturbing things about the state of
Israel's elites today. In the case of the police, it says that the one body
responsible for safeguarding Abu al-Hawa's life operated in contradiction to
its basic mission.

If the police had wished, they could have made it clear to neighborhood
residents and PA interlopers that it was in their best interests to leave
Abu al-Hawa and his family alone. Yet rather than do so, they apparently
facilitated the Channel 10 coverage which made killing Abu al-Hawa a matter
of honor for his murderers eager to prove their mettle as defenders of
Palestinian pride and Islamic solidarity against the Jews.

For its part, Channel 10's unsettlingly biased story was noteworthy not
merely because it made Abu al-Hawa an irresistible target. It was noteworthy
for what it said about how Israel's elites view official Palestinian
anti-Semitism. By leading their primetime news broadcast night after night
with a sevenminute segment that portrayed Jews moving into a building in
Jerusalem as wealthy, exploitative trespassers, Channel 10 showed that its
editors, producers and reporters accept the anti-Semitic basis of
Palestinian claims against Israel.

That is, these representatives of the Israeli elite classes believe that the
goal of establishing a Palestinian state justifies nullifying the right of
Jews to own land in areas that the Palestinians claim are theirs.

There is little doubt that the combined capabilities of the police, the IDF
and the Shin Bet could easily render it all but impossible for Palestinians
to carry out their "law" dictating the murder of those who sell land to
Jews. They could also make it clear to the Palestinians and the Israeli Arab
leadership that they have no choice other than to abide by Israeli law in
Israel's capital. That is, Israel has the physical and intelligence capacity
to win this war for the maintenance of survival of the Jewish state against
its domestic foes rather handily.

Unfortunately, for Israel to win this war, it first needs to accept that it
has a right to fight it. And when our elites adopt the racist Palestinian
narrative of the war and present it to the Israeli public as an objective
truth, accepting that Israel has a right to fight this war becomes a
Herculean effort.

Abu al-Hawa's torture and murder is the result not only of the barbarism
that reigns supreme in Palestinian society. It is also result of the fact
that supporters of that barbarism reign supreme in Israeli society.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Text: US conditions Israel right to self defence
on "effect on prospects for peace"?

State Department Daily Press Briefing
Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
April 18, 2006
www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2006/64696.htm
...

QUESTION: Sean, yesterday, you touched briefly on the aftermath of the
bombing in Tel Aviv. And I wondered if you could -- if we could draw you
back to it. Has the U.S. subtly or directly urged Israel to hold its -- to
be restrained and not retaliate and who would they rightfully retaliate
against if they did?

MR. MCCORMACK: Barry, you know our position on this. And our position is
that the Israeli Government has the right to defend the Israeli people. We,
as always, ask them to consider the effect of their actions upon the
prospects, future prospects for peace. That position is longstanding and
unchanged. I would note that Secretary Rice did, yesterday, speak with
Foreign Minister Livni to express our condolences for those who lost loved
ones in that bombing, as well as to wish a speedy recovery to those injured
and she also condemned that bombing. And it's something that Hamas, I would
point out, failed to do yesterday.

------------------------------

From: imra-owner@imra.org.il
Subject: IMRA Subscription Info

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End of [imra] Daily digest - Volume: 2 Issue: 1374 (15 messages)
**********