[imra] Daily digest - Volume: 2 Issue: 1396 (15 messages)

imra Sun May 21 00:29:20 2006 Volume 2 : Issue 1396

In this issue of the imra daily Digest:

VPM Peres on panel with PA Pres.
Abu Mazen -Sharm El Sheikh Sunday May 21
FM LIVNI INSTRUCTS ISRAELI AMB.
TO POLAND TO MEET WITH POLISH LEADERS
'US won't support convergence'
Israel and U.S. at odds
over nuclear treaty proposal
Text: PM Olmert New York Times interview
Washington Post Obituaries-
Joseph Lerner Energy Economist
Islamic Jihad Terrorist Responsible
For Rockets Fire Targeted
President Abbas Instructs a Probe
Panel in Assassination Attempt of Intelligence Chief
President Abbas Orders a Probe in
Illegal Entry of EUR639,000 into the Strip
Interior Minister Agrees with Security Chiefs
not to Deploy "Support Force" Near Security Buildings
Islamic Jihad Terrorist Targeted
Identified as Muhamad Dahduh
PM Olmert Speaks With
Egyptian President Mubarak
President Abbas: integrate all armed resistance
groups members into the regular security services
Another Tack: Lifers here and there
Rafi Eitan reveals Mossad knew Arafat's
goal was to destroy Israel after Oslo

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: VPM Peres on panel with PA Pres.
Abu Mazen -Sharm El Sheikh Sunday May 21

Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres to World Economic Forum in Sharm El Sheikh
Sunday May 21: To Participate in Panel with Palestinian President Abu Mazen,
Director of the Office of His Majesty King of Jordan His Excellency Dr.
Bassem Awadallah Phd

Jill Marie Reinach - Vice Prime Minister's Office 19 May 2006

VICE PRIME MINISTER PERES:
"The best way to help the Palestinian people is to help them build a modern
economy that will provide jobs, not through the granting of financial aid to
the Hamas Government mechanism."

Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres will attend the World Economic Forum in
Sharm El Sheikh Sunday May 21. There he will participate on a special panel
that will address the issues of regional economic development and the
Palestinian economy. The President of the Palestinian Authority Abu Mazen
and Director of the Office of His Majesty King of Jordan His Excellency Dr.
Bassem Awadallah Phd, and Alvaro De Soto - UN Special Coordinator for the
Middle East Peace Process will also participate on this panel. The panel
will take place at 13:15-14:45.

The Vice Prime Minister will present his ideas about regional economic
development as well as a series of important economic projects between
Israel and the Jordanians, the Egyptians and the PA. The Vice Prime
Minister noted "Such regional development projects will generate employment
for 1000s of Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians." Peres added, "The best
way to help the Palestinan people is to help them build a modern economy
that will provide jobs, not through the granting of financial aid to the
Hamas Government mechanism."

Vice Prime Minister Peres will also address the issue of advancing the
development of alternative energy sources. In this context he told a
European delegation yesterday , "Israel has made is a priority that energy
should not only come from oil, coal, gas. In this context, we are advancing
the development of solar energy. It is perhaps preferable to depend upon the
sun as a source of energy as the sun shines for all the nations of the world
and will be around forever."

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: FM LIVNI INSTRUCTS ISRAELI AMB.
TO POLAND TO MEET WITH POLISH LEADERS

FM LIVNI INSTRUCTS ISRAELI AMB. TO POLAND TO MEET WITH POLISH LEADERS

(Communicated by the Foreign Ministry Spokesman)

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni instructed Israeli Ambassador to Poland David
Peleg to express Israel's concern to Polish President Lech Kaczyski
following the inclusion of a party that has an anti-Semitic ideology in
Poland's governing coalition. Polish President Kaczy?ski reiterated his
country's commitment to foster the memory of the Holocaust and fight
anti-Semitism alongside Israel. Ambassador Peleg also met with Polish Prime
Minister Kazimierz Marciniewicz and Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga on
this matter; he emphasized both the centrality of the Holocaust for Israel
and Jewish communities around the world and the danger involved in bringing
anti-Semitic movements into government.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: 'US won't support convergence'

'US won't support convergence'

Senior US government sources, speaking ahead of Olmert's Washington visit,
say that the US won't support, or object to the convergence plan. Washington
prefers to wait to see if Hamas will change path or lose power
Yitzhak Ben Horin YNET 19 May 2006
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3252707,00.html

The U.S. government is not a hurry to support the unilateral convergence
problem, a senior US government aid has said, due the belief that Hamas
could change its path or lose power as a result of international pressure,
and the severe economic crisis in the Palestinian Authority.

Ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Washington, sources in
the US government expressed reservations over the schedule for unilateral
action. "No one is presenting a schedule. There is time for everyone. Olmert
too is talking about 2007. Until then, changes can take place in Palestinian
politics," the sources said, adding: "The pressure on Hamas is only at the
beginning, and we could see a change."

While the US prefers to wait, Europe has made an unequivocal declaration
that unilateral steps are unacceptable in its view. French Foreign Minister
Philippe Douste-Blazy said at the end of a meeting Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni that "the stance of the European Union and France is a correct
decision which can be kept, and won't be obtained in any way other than
negotiations between the sides. It is unacceptable that an international
border be drawn up unilaterally."

The Americans will tell Olmert that the US is interested in Israel renewing
contacts with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, especially over the issues of
cooperation on border crossings and humanitarian aid.

'I'll meet with Abbas if he fights terror'

Olmert has expressed willingness to meet with Abbas during a meeting with
the French foreign minister. With that, Olmert conditioned the meeting on
Abbas fighting terrorism.

"Mahmoud Abbas must start to keep the obligations the Palestinians took on
themselves in the context of the Road Map," said Olmert.

In Washington, the US expects to hear about Olmert's plan, but won't express
support or objection to the plan, which has still not been formulated to the
point of details. Bush and Olmert will meet on Tuesday, and American
National Security Council has prepared a list of ten questions, lined to the
question, that will be presented to Olmert during his visit.

Olmert will also be asked if the IDF will remain on both sides of the
security fence after the withdrawal, as well as the timing of discussions
with Jordan on its involvement in the plan. Other questions will probe the
security fence's legal standing, and whether Israeli views the fence as a
base for an international border.

The US will tell Olmert that it has not changed its stance supporting a
solution obtained through negotiations between the sides for the
establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, and
President Bush will seek to know how Olmert's plan fits into that principle.

(05.19.06, 09:40)

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Israel and U.S. at odds
over nuclear treaty proposal

Israel and U.S. at odds over nuclear treaty proposal
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent 19 May 2006
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/717636.html

The United States on Thursday published a draft of a new international
treaty that would forbid the production of fissionable materials for use in
nuclear weapons, overriding Israel's objections to the proposed document.

The draft, which was presented to the UN Disarmament Commission in Geneva,
aims to "freeze" existing stocks of fissionable materials worldwide in order
to keep them from expanding.

Although Washington sent messages to Israel assuring it that it has nothing
to fear from the treaty, Jerusalem is worried by any move that might erode
its policy of nuclear ambiguity and generate future pressures on it over its
nuclear program. As a result, Israel made a last-minute effort to persuade
the U.S. not to submit the draft for discussion: The chairman and deputy
chairman of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission, Gideon Frank and Eli Levita,
were in Washington last week, where they are believed to have raised this
issue with their American counterparts.

Washington has also rejected Israel's request for an upgrade in its civilian
nuclear status. Israel's ability to purchase civilian nuclear technology,
including spare parts, is currently very limited, because in order to
preserve ambiguity over whether it has nuclear weapons, it has refused to
sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). Some 10 months ago, however,
the U.S. signed an agreement to sell civilian nuclear technology to India,
which has also not signed the NPT; and while that agreement has not yet been
ratified by Congress, Israel was hoping that it could cut a similar deal.

However, the U.S. said that it is too soon to discuss Israel's request on
this issue, since it requires thorough study by administration professionals
first. The administration therefore asked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert not to
raise this issue during his visit to Washington next week.

The proposed "nuclear-freeze" treaty first came up for discussion in the UN
Disarmament Commission eight years ago, and aroused serious concerns in
Israel. Then prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a forceful letter to
then president Bill Clinton saying that for security reasons, Israel would
never sign such a treaty, and Ehud Barak, then head of the opposition, also
signed the letter, to show that there was unanimity on this issue among
Israel's two major parties.

In response, Clinton sent Netanyahu a letter pledging that the U.S. would
consult with Israel over any arms-control initiative liable to affect it,
and he reiterated this pledge in a letter to Barak when Barak was elected
prime minister.

The new draft of the treaty proposed by the U.S. on Thursday is less strict
than previous drafts. It would require signatories to pledge not to produce
plutonium or enriched uranium for nuclear weapons, but would establish no
control and verification mechanism. It would also not apply to preexisting
stocks of fissionable materials.

Egypt, which has been waging an international campaign against Israel's
nuclear program, immediately responded by demanding that the treaty cover
preexisting stocks as well, and that it include a control and verification
mechanism.

Other countries also have reservations about the draft, so it appears
unlikely that it will be approved anytime soon.

Even if approved, however, the treaty would do nothing to halt Iran's
suspected nuclear weapons program, since Iran insists that it is enriching
uranium strictly for civilian use.

Washington decided to move forward with the treaty as part of its effort to
obtain ratification for its deal with India. The deal requires ratification
by two bodies - the U.S. Congress and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), an
umbrella organization of 45 countries that export nuclear fuel and
technology.

The administration has encountered strong opposition from both bodies, and
the new treaty is aimed at softening this opposition.

Alongside its talks with Washington, Israel has been negotiating with the
NSG in an effort to obtain associate status, or at least formal recognition
that it complies with the NSG's export guidelines, which have been enacted
into Israeli law.

Two weeks ago, NSG Chairman Roald Naess visited Jerusalem to discuss this
issue.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Text: PM Olmert New York Times interview

Israel Will Buy Supplies for Gaza Hospitals, Premier Says
By STEVEN ERLANGER and GREG MYRE The New York Times
Published: May 19, 2006
www.nytimes.com/2006/05/19/world/middleeast/19mideast.html

JERUSALEM, May 18 - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said Thursday that
Israel would buy drugs and medical equipment urgently needed by Palestinian
hospitals in Gaza out of funds Israel is withholding from tax and customs
receipts collected for the Palestinian Authority.

In an hourlong interview in his Jerusalem office, Mr. Olmert vehemently
denied that there was any Palestinian "humanitarian crisis," calling it "for
the time being total propaganda" based on what he was told by the Israeli
military and intelligence officials he met with on Wednesday.

But as he prepared to leave Sunday for his first meeting as prime minister
with President Bush, Mr. Olmert was also eager to short-circuit criticism of
Israeli restrictions on the Palestinians since the militant group Hamas took
control of the Palestinian government and to show that Israel was not
prepared to see Palestinians suffer. His plan to pull thousands of Israelis
out of West Bank settlements is a prime topic on the agenda for his American
visit.

"We will pay if necessary out of our own pockets," he said, and get what is
needed directly to the hospitals "as soon as possible," circumventing the
Hamas government. "We wouldn't allow one baby to suffer one night because of
a lack of dialysis," he said.

Mr. Olmert said he had agreed to take "the calculated risk" of opening the
Karni crossing between Israel and Gaza in both directions despite security
threats. On Thursday, however, Karni was open only for exports to Gaza
because of "security reasons," the Israeli Army said.

The Palestinians, Mr. Olmert insisted in his excellent English, "are the
victims of their own extremist, fundamentalist, religious, inflexible and
unyielding leadership, and we will do everything in our power to help these
innocent people."

After the victory of Hamas in late January, Israel decided to withhold $50
million a month in customs and tax receipts, though it continues to pay
Israeli companies about $5.5 million a month from those receipts for the
water and electricity used by the Palestinians.

Mr. Olmert said he was "ready tomorrow" to end the customs agreement and
allow the Palestinians to collect the receipts directly. "Let them collect
the money and see what happens," he said. "This money would disappear into
the private pockets of the corrupt administration of the Palestinian
Authority."

The Hamas government has been unable to pay salaries for more than two
months.

Israel, the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United
Nations - as well as the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas - have
demanded that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist, forswear violence and
respect previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements, or lose nonemergency aid.
Hamas has said it cannot recognize Israel, and though it has largely held to
a truce with the Israelis, it has supported the right of other militants to
continue their "resistance against Israeli occupation."

Mr. Olmert, 60, was elected as head of the new Kadima Party on an explicit
promise to try to set Israel's "permanent borders," unilaterally if
necessary. An estimated 70,000 Jewish settlers live beyond the West Bank
separation barrier, which would form the basis for the border. He has called
his ambitious project "hitkansut," which best translates as consolidation.
If he is to succeed, he will need financial support from the United States.
His West Bank plans are estimated to cost at least $10 billion.

This first trip to Washington is for discussion, Mr. Olmert said, calling
consolidation "a dynamic concept" requiring preparation. "What I can talk
about at this point is the basic desire to set borders for Israel, to
separate from the Palestinians, and to create a contiguous territory that
will allow the Palestinians to fulfill their national dreams and establish
their own independent state alongside the state of Israel."

The plan, he said, "needs to be coordinated with a lot of sensitivity with
our different partners, particularly the United States
government and the president, and of course, the United Nations, the
Europeans, the Russians."

What about the Palestinians?

He stopped and said, "I don't believe that at any time in the future we will
change things without talking to the Palestinians."
But the decision, he made clear, would be Israel's.

Mr. Bush is the crucial figure, Mr. Olmert said. "I feel that I come to my
senior partner, and I hope that he is ready to accept me as his partner."

His predecessor and ally, Ariel Sharon, believed that the United States was
Israel's only real ally. Mr. Olmert, almost 20 years younger, is a
professional politician who did not come out of the election with as strong
a mandate as he and Washington might have hoped. Some American officials are
concerned that Mr. Olmert may have bitten off more than he - or, perhaps, a
politically weakened Mr. Bush - can chew.

Mr. Olmert refused to specify his timetable, but Washington and the European
Union want him to try to negotiate first with Mr. Abbas. Mr. Olmert does not
want to get trapped into talks whose failure could start another round of
violence.

Asked if it was possible to negotiate seriously with Mr. Abbas about a final
settlement while Hamas is in power, Mr. Olmert said, "This is the main
question." Mr. Abbas must first dismantle Hamas as an armed terrorist group,
Mr. Olmert said. "He must rise to the opportunity and to the challenge and
take vigorous action against the terrorist organizations, including Hamas."

Isn't that a call for Mr. Abbas to start a civil war?

"It's not a call automatically for a civil confrontation," Mr. Olmert said.
"At the same time, I have to say, how can any political entity tolerate the
existence of many armed groups fighting against each other in the streets?"

Mr. Abbas, Mr. Olmert said, "has to force Hamas to change, has to impose on
Hamas the acceptance of Israel and the recognition of all the agreements
signed with Israel and the disarming of its militant groups, because if not,
then the damage threatening the Palestinian Authority is devastating."

Mr. Olmert called the Palestinians natural partners of Israelis but the
historical victims of "irresponsible, reckless, corrupt leadership and a
total lack of democratic traditions that always drew them away from the
mainstream and into the sidelines, and into tragedies and pain."

The Palestinians, unlike Iran, were no existential threat to Israel now, he
said, "But the challenge of the Palestinians raises fundamental issues of
identity for the state of Israel." He compared the issue, and implicitly the
occupation, to a suppurating wound. "When you have an open wound, and you're
bleeding in your belly, even when this doesn't jeopardize your life, it
occupies all of your attention most of the time and it deprives you of the
joy of life."

An Israel without final borders "is a significant absence, which I think
stretches far beyond the political aspect into almost all aspects of life,"
he said. "We have to set borders, and to define strict lines of what is
right and what is wrong. It's not just a political issue, it's a social
issue, it's a cultural issue."

Mr. Olmert knows that given the often short shelf life of Israeli
governments, he cannot wait too long, despite world pressure to negotiate,
before beginning his unilateral pullback from the West Bank.

"Like all the prime ministers that were elected, my desire is to last in
power for enough time in order to be able to carry out my dreams," he said,
then added a little wistfully, "Yet I know that if I wait too much, then
maybe the dreams will remain dreams, and they will never become reality."

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Washington Post Obituaries-
Joseph Lerner Energy Economist

Washington Post Obituaries
Joseph Lerner Energy Economist
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/17/AR2006051702146_2.html

Joseph Lerner, 84, an economist who specialized in energy issues for a
variety of federal agencies, died May 14 at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.
He had a cerebral hemorrhage.

Dr. Lerner began his career at the Bureau of Mines in the early 1950s and
later held positions with Resources for the Future, an economic research and
policy organization; the Office of Emergency Preparedness; and the Treasury
Department.

Starting in 1976, he spent a decade at the Federal Trade Commission and did
significant analytic work on investigations into price-fixing among oil
companies as well as larger competition issues affecting energy policy.

Dr. Lerner, the son of a Russian immigrant grocer, was a Baltimore native
and 1943 graduate of Johns Hopkins University. He received a doctorate in
economics from Harvard University.

After retiring in 1986, he moved from Takoma Park to Jerusalem and helped
start a family business, Independent Media Review and Analysis, which
provides summaries of Israeli politics and larger Middle East affairs with a
viewpoint aligned with Israel.

Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Sue Lerner, and three children,
Aaron Lerner, Berel Lerner and Tessa Auman, all of Israel; 14 grandchildren;
and a great-grandchild.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Islamic Jihad Terrorist Responsible
For Rockets Fire Targeted

May 20th 2006
IDF SPOKESPERSON ANNOUNCEMENT

Islamic Jihad terrorist responsible for rockets fire targeted in Gaza city

In a security forces operation a short while ago in Gaza city, the IDF
carried out an aerial attack against a vehicle carrying a senior Islamic
Jihad terrorist involved in the launching of Projectile Rockets (including
the Ketyusha missiles) at Israel and other terror activities.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: President Abbas Instructs a Probe
Panel in Assassination Attempt of Intelligence Chief

President Abbas Instructs a Probe Panel in Assassination Attempt of
Intelligence Chief
www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=16098

GAZA, Palestine, May20,2006 (IPC+ Agencies) -[Official PA website] -The
President Mahmoud Abbas gave today his instructions to launch an
investigation to unfathomed the circumstances of the assassination attempt
against the intelligence service chief Gen. Tareq Abu Rajab and stressed on
the need to speed the investigations to know the perpetrators and hold them
accountable.

Abu Rajab has survived aborted assassination attempt today when an explosion
occurred in his office's elevator in the Palestinian intelligence service
head office in Al Sudanyia area, North West of the city, yielded one of his
bodyguards killed, abu Rajab badly injured and 11 others wounded.

On the other hand, the Palestinian government in a statement deplored the
incident and send good wishes of very recovery for Abu Rajab and the
wounded.

Ghazi Hamad, Cabinet spokesperson said that the Prime Minister Ismael
Haneyah fob watched the development of the incident with the interior
minister Said Seyam and the dedicated parties to probe the incident as the
interior minister ordered to form an investigation committee on the
incident.

The government also emphasized its concern to open investigation in the
incident and called for self-restrain and bush away pre-accusations as it
will inflame further tension.

To this point, the director General of emergency award at the health
ministry Mauwia Abu Hussnein reported that 12 of Abu Rajab's bodyguards were
differently wounded, among were four critically. He also added Abu Rajab
case is stable.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: President Abbas Orders a Probe in
Illegal Entry of EUR639,000 into the Strip

President Abbas Orders a Probe in Illegal Entry of EUR639,000 into the Strip
www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=16086

GAZA, Palestine, May 20,2006 (IPC+ Agencies) -[Official PA website] -The
President Mahmoud Abbas ordered yesterday the Attorney General to probe
smuggling of EUR 639,000 by Hamas's spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri into Gaza
Strip.

Director of Rafah's border terminal Sameer Abu Nahla asserted that the
Palestinian customs officers and EU monitors discovered the money hidden by
Abu Zuhri who was returning back from Egypt.

Abu Nahla, pointed out that the management of the crossing followed the
legal procedures in this regard and Abu Zuhri was inquired about accredited
papers proved the source of the money and to whom the money will be handed
out in the Strip but after it is turned out Abu Zhri has no documentations,
the cash was handed to Palestinian customs officers under the authority of
the President Abbas.

Abu Nahala told Al Ayam daily that Abu Zuhri refused to leave the crossing
without Money, signaling out that tens of the armed men from Ezz Al Din Al
Qassam , military wing of Hamas rushed to the crossing, and stood at its
main gate tensions overwhelmed, prompted the European monitoring team to
threat withdrawal if the militants do not leave the crossing.

On its part, reliable sources said that intensive contacts were made Abu
Zuhri followed by the arrival of delegations from the government, headed by
the cabinet's spokesperson Ghazi Hamad who discussed the issue with the
Crossing's officers, finally, Abu Zuhi was set free and the cash transferred
to the interior ministry for investigation.

About the reports of a deal between the cabinet delegation and the
management of the crossing Abu Nahla denied the Crossing Management is a
part of such a deal underlining that the management handled the issue in
compliance to the followed legal formalities.

Mr. Zuhari, who was returning from Qatar, told the reporters after leaving
the crossing the cash came from donations made by Arab countries to help
Palestinian prisoners.

Julio De La Guardia, a spokesman for a European Union monitering at the
Rafah border crossing told DPA News Agency that Abu Zuhri was returning back
to Gaza Strip with cash money hidden in a belt worn by Sami Abu Zuhari

He also made clear that travelers crossing through Rafah must declare all
sums over $2,000 and explain its origin.

"He [Abu Zuhri] did not declare that money, he tried to smuggle it," De La
Guardia said.

In this connection, Nabil Abu Rudenh, President Abbas's key aide said that
the implementation of legal procedures at Rafah border crossing is to keep
intact the Palestinian interests and provide no pretenses to lock down the
crossing.

Abu Rudenh, told WAFA News Agency "no one has the right to behave
irresponsibly and brings catastrophes to the Palestinian people."

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Interior Minister Agrees with Security Chiefs
not to Deploy "Support Force" Near Security Buildings

Interior Minister Agrees with Security Chiefs not to Deploy "Support Force"
Near Security Buildings

GAZA, Palestine, May 20, 2006 (IPC + Agencies) -[Official PA website] -
Security sources confirmed that the meeting held yesterday between the
Interior Minister Said Siyam and a number of security chiefs, has ended with
an agreement not to deploy the newly-formed "support force" near the
gatherings of regular security forces or their buildings, in order to
prevent the friction that has been happening for the past two days.

The sources, which spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that the
meeting was a positive one and included Minister Siyam, the chief of
national security in Gaza Strip and the director-general of the Interior
Ministry Rashid Abu Shbak, where several issues related to the security
situation were discussed, including the integration of resistance activists
from different factions into the regular security services, after receiving
proper training and financial endorsement from the Finance Ministry.

These sources further noted that the presidency establishment is still
against the formation of the support force, asserting that the presidency is
not against integrating resistance activists in the security services that
were formed under the Basic Law, but rather against integrating them in
newly-formed forces based on factional considerations, according to the
source.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has confirmed that the Palestinian government
will not take any steps backwards regarding the support force, stressing
that this force will remain to support the role of police, and will perform
its duties in the framework of the police.

"If need be we will increase the number of this force," PM Haniya said,
adding that internal security is a priority for the government, and
explaining that the members of this force will wear police uniforms, as
2,000 uniforms have been prepared for them.

Haniya reiterated the legality of this force, saying that it was formed by
the law and according to the authorities given to the government, and in
agreement with President Mahmoud Abbas, but noted that some officers in
security services and police have unfortunately refused to respond to the
clear instructions of the Interior Minister.

On his part, the Secretary General of the Presidency, Al Tayyeb Abdel Rahim,
expressed astonishment over the "stressful" attitude of Prime Minister
Haniya during the Friday sermon he gave in Gaza, which was related to the
legitimacy of the support force that was formed by the Interior Ministry and
his desire to increase its members.

"This position by the Prime Minister contradicts legitimacy, and we wanted
him to refrain from these nervous and illegal position while heading a
government the presidency have asserted is a government that represents the
entire Palestinian people, and have made all its efforts to help it and
refuse any attempts to isolate it or thwart its efforts," Abdel Rahim said.

He mentioned that President Abbas has informed the Prime Minister and
Interior Minister he does not object to integrating all the members of the
armed resistance groups into the regular security services, after training
them properly to be law officers, and after receiving the approval of the
Finance Minister to include them on the payroll of security services - as
members and not as an independent or alternative security apparatus.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Islamic Jihad Terrorist Targeted
Identified as Muhamad Dahduh

May 20th 2006
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Attributed to "security sources"
[PROVIDED BY IDF SPOKESPERSON]

Islamic Jihad terrorist targeted identified as Muhamad Dahduh

In a security forces operation a short while ago in Gaza city, the IDF
carried out an aerial attack against a vehicle carrying Muhamad Dahduh, a
wanted senior Islamic Jihad terrorist involved in the launching of
projectile rockets, including Ketyusha rockets, at Israel and other terror
activities.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: PM Olmert Speaks With
Egyptian President Mubarak

PM Olmert Speaks With Egyptian President Mubarak

(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert spoke this evening (Saturday), 20.5.06, with
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who telephoned to wish him well ahead of
his trip to the US. The Egyptian President updated the Prime Minister on
the economic conference at Sharm e-Sheikh and on his meetings tomorrow with
Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen, Vice Premier Shimon Peres and
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Egyptian President Mubarak invited Prime
Minister Olmert to visit Egypt following his return from the US. The Prime
Minister thanked the Egyptian President for his good wishes and said that he
would be pleased to visit him and continue working together to advance peace
in the region.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: President Abbas: integrate all armed resistance
groups members into the regular security services

Interior Minister Agrees with Security Chiefs not to Deploy "Support Force"
Near Security Buildings
www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=16085

GAZA, Palestine, May 20, 2006 (IPC + Agencies) -[Official PA website] -
Security sources confirmed that the meeting held yesterday between the
Interior Minister Said Siyam and a number of security chiefs, has ended with
an agreement not to deploy the newly-formed "support force" near the
gatherings of regular security forces or their buildings, in order to
prevent the friction that has been happening for the past two days.

The sources, which spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that the
meeting was a positive one and included Minister Siyam, the chief of
national security in Gaza Strip and the director-general of the Interior
Ministry Rashid Abu Shbak, where several issues related to the security
situation were discussed, including the integration of resistance activists
from different factions into the regular security services, after receiving
proper training and financial endorsement from the Finance Ministry.

These sources further noted that the presidency establishment is still
against the formation of the support force, asserting that the presidency is
not against integrating resistance activists in the security services that
were formed under the Basic Law, but rather against integrating them in
newly-formed forces based on factional considerations, according to the
source.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has confirmed that the Palestinian government
will not take any steps backwards regarding the support force, stressing
that this force will remain to support the role of police, and will perform
its duties in the framework of the police.

"If need be we will increase the number of this force," PM Haniya said,
adding that internal security is a priority for the government, and
explaining that the members of this force will wear police uniforms, as
2,000 uniforms have been prepared for them.

Haniya reiterated the legality of this force, saying that it was formed by
the law and according to the authorities given to the government, and in
agreement with President Mahmoud Abbas, but noted that some officers in
security services and police have unfortunately refused to respond to the
clear instructions of the Interior Minister.

On his part, the Secretary General of the Presidency, Al Tayyeb Abdel Rahim,
expressed astonishment over the "stressful" attitude of Prime Minister
Haniya during the Friday sermon he gave in Gaza, which was related to the
legitimacy of the support force that was formed by the Interior Ministry and
his desire to increase its members.

"This position by the Prime Minister contradicts legitimacy, and we wanted
him to refrain from these nervous and illegal position while heading a
government the presidency have asserted is a government that represents the
entire Palestinian people, and have made all its efforts to help it and
refuse any attempts to isolate it or thwart its efforts," Abdel Rahim said.

He mentioned that President Abbas has informed the Prime Minister and
Interior Minister he does not object to integrating all the members of the
armed resistance groups into the regular security services, after training
them properly to be law officers, and after receiving the approval of the
Finance Minister to include them on the payroll of security services - as
members and not as an independent or alternative security apparatus.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Another Tack: Lifers here and there

Another Tack: Lifers here and there
by Sarah Honig,

THE JERUSALEM POST May. 18, 2006
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961370854&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

You bet your bottom dollar convicted 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was
right when he crowed (after having just escaped the death sentence):
"America you lost, I won." He may seem nuts to forward-thinking Americans
but his horse-sense - barbaric though it be - is the sort by which al-Qaida,
Hamas, et al. devise their rules of war - the very war they impose on
broadminded sorts like us.

Our choice is either to confront them on their battlefield or perish while
deluding ourselves that genteel persuasion can moderate the world's
Moussaouis. Their savage rationale - like it or not - is what the liberal
West must contend with. Moussaoui was jubilant because the jury that spared
his life demonstrated the failure to recognize the new conventions of
combat.

From his vantage point the jurors were suckers when they regarded him as a
common criminal rather than a warrior enemy and when they factored personal
extenuating circumstances into their sentencing logic. Nothing here was
personal, not the degree of culpability, nor the indiscriminate targeting of
victims. Treating war as felony is a potentially fatal denial of reality.

THIS IS just one more presentation in the decent democracies' theater of the
absurd. Consider this - Moussaoui was sentenced to as long a term as
Jonathan Pollard, who has already served 21 years of his life sentence in a
maximum-security US penal facility.

It's inculcated into us that the punishment must fit the crime. So how is it
that Moussaoui, who could have prevented the massacre of 3,000 innocents, is
to do the same time as Pollard, who according to available information
leaked classified material to America's ally (Israel) about an enemy's
(Iraq's) genocidal preparations against it?

American counter-espionage incontrovertibly apprehended bigger and more
ferocious fish than Pollard - ones who had done their country real damage,
unlike Pollard. Yet by comparison the truly dangerous agents weren't treated
anywhere as harshly as the one who was on the same side as America and
sought to expose the very Iraqi WMDs that the current Washington
administration was purportedly after.

Pollard and Moussaoui essentially participated in the same conflict -
Pollard on the Free World's side and Moussaoui on the side of Islamic
Jihadism. The American legal system failed to identify Moussaoui as the
combatant he is, just as it refused to admit that Pollard wasn't inimical to
American security. With such underlying cognitive malfunction, no wonder
there's no differentiation in penalty.

The preposterousness of it all, moreover, has bred a situation in which no
leniency was shown Pollard but lots was extended to Moussaoui. Remember the
ancient Jewish adage? "He who is merciful to the cruel is bound to be cruel
to the merciful."

Mind you, this is no cause for Israelis to deride American judicial
foolishness. At least, as the injustice to Pollard evinces, the American
penalty phase can be inflexibly stern. Moussaoui may end up rotting in
Colorado's federal "Supermax," where he'll be kept in solitary, deprived of
any contact other than with guards and officials. There will be no
visitors - no family, friends or spiritual mentors. Nobody. The plan is to
cut Moussaoui off from the world and make him a nonentity.

NO WAY would he have been treated as severely in an Israeli Supermax. Just
see how Fatah-Tanzim terror kingpin Marwan Barghouti actively conducts
business via his very comfortable Israeli prison quarters, where he
formulates - in concert with Hamas inmates - terms of surrender dictated
jointly to Israel.

Just the other day the convicted murderer, serving five life terms plus 40
years, granted yet another interview from behind bars, this time telling the
Lebanese al-Shiraa weekly that the PA's Hamas overlords must continue
fighting Israel until it submits to their "sacred Right of Return" - code
terminology for overrunning Israel with millions of hostile Arabs, thereby
terminating its existence as a Jewish state.

Like Moussaoui, Barghouti was tried as a criminal and given all the breaks
of ordinary due process. Like Moussaoui, he exploited the courtroom for
propaganda antics. As in America, the press here hung on his every utterance
and amplified it. But it's highly unlikely that Moussaoui will be able to
run Barghouti-like for elected office from his American cell, issue
operative commands and become a political headliner.

Israeli prisons are indeed unique. Not only do the most dangerous terrorists
therein get hold of phones, but recently Hamas overtly conducted a mass
rally in a southern Israeli maximum-security penitentiary, where scores of
convicts congregated in the courtyard, which they festooned with Hamas
Islamic-green banners and Palestinian flags.

A stage and speakers' rostrum were erected. The backdrop decor was a giant
collage, displaying the Hamas emblem, portraits of Hamas leaders, slogans
calling for Jihad against Israel and pictures of RPGs underscored by the
motto "we'll continue." White plastic chairs were neatly arranged for the
"audience," who cheered the invective hurled at the Zionist state and freely
photographed the occasion - all under the disinterested eyes of passive
Israeli wardens. The snapshots are available for viewing on the Web.

Terrorist lifers in Israel don't expect to end their existence in captivity.

They bank on Israel's gullibility and its revolving-door wrongheadedness,
which has already released some of the world's worst villains regardless of
what Israeli judges meted out.

Indeed word is that, among its recent harebrained inanities, Israel is doing
its darndest to rid itself of the voluble Barghouti and has already twice
(unsuccessfully thus far) badgered the Americans that he be exchanged
for.Pollard! Pollard is deeply offended by Israel's insulting equation.
Barghouti swaggers on insolently.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Rafi Eitan reveals Mossad knew Arafat's
goal was to destroy Israel after Oslo

IMRA: One would have expected the following revellation to lead to calls for
an inquiry into why the Government of Israel ignored such a clear message:

"During one of the Palestinian conferences I was able to infiltrate, Yasser
Arafat reiterated what he had said his entire life: 'We will build a
Palestinian system of many separate military units; only in this way will we
be able to defeat the Jews and expel them to the sea'," ]

Minister Eitan: Israel in no position to attack Iran

Pensioners' Affairs minister says, 'Iran will produce operational nuclear
bomb within 3-10 years; Israel cannot attack without Washington's consent.'
Adds: No chance of reaching agreement with Palestinians in near future
Moran Zelikovich YNET 20 May 2006
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3252826,00.html

Pensioners' Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan said Friday, "according to
intelligence information Iran will produce an operational nuclear bomb
within 3-10 years," adding that Israel has been left to deal with the
situation on its own as the US under the Bush Administration will not attack
Iran.

Speaking before members of the Trade and Industry Club in Tel Aviv, Eitan
said, "I believe that there is no power in the world that can prevent Iran
from producing a nuclear bomb. Currently Israel does not have the
military-political option of attacking Iran, as the US controls the Persian
Gulf, Iran and Iraq area," he said.

"We cannot attack without Washington's consent," Eitan said. "Bush is weak
within the US, and the chance that he'll launch an attack against Iran is
slim. I don't think sanctions will affect Iran in its quest for a bomb. The
threat is not only directed toward Israel, but also at Arab and other
countries."

Turning his attention to Israeli-Palestinian relations, Eitan said, "there
is no chance of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians in the near
future."

'Arafat realized his vision'

Eitan, who served as Mossad's director of operations for many years, said
"such agreements can be reached, but they wouldn't be worth anything at this
stage of our lives."

"During one of the Palestinian conferences I was able to infiltrate, Yasser
Arafat reiterated what he had said his entire life: 'We will build a
Palestinian system of many separate military units; only in this way will we
be able to defeat the Jews and expel them to the sea'," he said.

"Arafat realized his vision and built separate units that were added to the
PLO's military wings. This structure still exists in today's Palestinian
Authority; Hamas won't change it, and neither will Fatah. I don't see anyone
who can change it."

As to Prime Minster Ehud Olmert's plan to unilaterally evacuate settlements
in the West Bank Eitan said, "Israel must remain in the security zones,
meaning all those zones we do not plan on annexing."

(05.19.06, 18:03)

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

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

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End of [imra] Daily digest - Volume: 2 Issue: 1396 (15 messages)
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