[imra] Daily digest - Volume: 2 Issue: 1406 (10 messages)

imra Wed May 31 00:34:05 2006 Volume 2 : Issue 1406

In this issue of the imra daily Digest:

IDF Forces Thwart Projectile Rocket Attack In Gaza
Excerpts: Kuwaiti youth politically arroused.
Disappointing outlook for Jordan's Information
and Communications Technology" 30 May 2006
ABBAS AND HIS MEDIA CONDEMN
ISRAEL FOR KILLING PALESTINIAN ROCKETEERS
PM Olmert's Bureau: no intention to
appoint deputy ministers
Israel Denies Rift with US Over JSF Program
Our World: Abbas's newest big lie
Saudis Flout Vow to US to End Israel Boycott
Tourism to Israel Jumps 30 Per
Cent in January-April 2006
Cabinet Communique
Cabinet Communique does not list withdrawal
plan as a main issue on Olmert's US visit

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: IDF Forces Thwart Projectile Rocket Attack In Gaza

May 30th, 2006
IDF SPOKESPERSON ANNOUNCEMENT

IDF forces thwart rocket attack in Gaza

Early this morning, May 30th 2006, an IDF force operating in the Gaza Strip
identified a terror cell in the northern Gaza Strip attempting to launch
rockets at Israel. The force, supported by the IAF helicopters, opened fire
at the cell and an exchange of gunfire ensued.

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

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Excerpts: Kuwaiti youth politically arroused.
Disappointing outlook for Jordan's Information
and Communications Technology" 30 May 2006

Excerpts: Kuwaiti youth politically arroused.Disappointing outlook for
Jordan's Information and Communications Technology" 30 May 2006

+++THE DAILY STAR (Lebanon) 30 May '06:
"The future is Orange: Kuwaiti youth press for change", by Omar Hasan (AFP)
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
" 'They branded us as children. Yes, we are. But children who love their
country and are determined to force positive change' "
" 'In seven days this group of young activists succeeded in bringing down
the government' "
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCERPTS
KUWAIT CITY: They have been cursed by their opponents as spoiled children
and hailed by their supporters as heroes. They call themselves the voice of
Kuwaiti youth, and they have broken their silence. Wearing orange T-shirts
and waving orange banners and Kuwaiti flags, hundreds of "frustrated" young
people launched their campaign for political reform in a rare protest
outside the seat of government on May 5.
Since then, they have been branded the "Orange Movement" or the "Orange
Youth," with some even calling them the "Orange Revolution."
"We are a group of young people, from school, university and young
graduates," one of their leaders, 29-year-old Khaled al-Fadalah, told AFP as
dozens of activists gathered outside the election registration center.
..."Our beginning was spontaneous," Fadalah said. "We were discussing the
political crisis in Kuwait at a restaurant. We said we should act. We
decided to hold a protest at the council of ministers." The orange protest
began with the sending of text messages. Then, through Internet bloggers and
mobile phone calls, they set a date and a time. "... It was very
successful," ... the orange activists then staged an overnight vigil
outside Parliament ahead of the crucial May 15 debate. A number of
pro-reform MPs visited them at what later came to be known as the "Square of
Will."
About 1,000 members of the orange movement and others disrupted the
Parliament session when the government backed a motion to send the
constitutional court its own bill that would trim the number of
constituencies to 10.
They applauded as 29 opposition MPs walked out of the session, and chanted
slogans like "we want it five" and "down with the government" - forcing
ministers and pro-government MPs to leave the chamber before completing the
vote.
Two days later, the protesters held a large public rally at the same spot,
followed on May 19 by another at which opposition MPs pledged to back a
request to question Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
"They branded us as children. Yes, we are. But children who love their
country and who are determined to force positive change," activist Abdullah
Buftain told thousands at the rally.
"We acted out of frustration at widespread corruption in every government
institution and at every level," said Fadalah.
On the day Parliament was dissolved, veteran opposition former MP Ahmad
al-Saadun hailed the orange youth "as leaders of the Kuwaiti people who
brought all political groups under one umbrella."
"In seven days, this group of young activists succeeded in bringing down the
government. This week is historic for Kuwait, when the people exercised
their right of change," Saadun said.
The orange activists and opposition MPs consider that the government has
"failed" at a popular level.
The activists plan to play a key role in the June 29 parliamentary
elections, though no Orange Movement member is standing because they are all
under 30, the legal age for candidates.
Outside the election registration center, activists have managed to speak to
candidates, urging them to support a bill to reduce the number of
constituencies and to fight corruption.
The group is now using the Internet to name candidates it alleges are
corrupt or who oppose reform.
The orange activists have created two lists for candidates.
Their "white list" contains the names of reformists, including the 29
opposition former MPs who have formed a new group called Alliance for
Change, while the "black list" names hopefuls they allege are
pro-government.

+++JORDAN TIMES 30 May '06"
"Editorial:Just do IT"
SUBJECT:

QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"most (progress) would have happened anyway"
"lion's share in results and revenues has been in communications"
"dreamed of ... Jordan becoming a new major hub of outsourcing"
Jordan's IT industry seems to be suffering from early fatigue"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------EXCERPTS:
... Information and Communications Technology Minister (said) the ICT sector
represents 10 per cent of the annual gross domestic product . . .While
indeed progress has been made, most of it ...would have happened anyway,
sooner or later.
.... the lion's share of the results - and revenues - has been achieved in
communications, and not in information technology per se.. . .But if the
doubling - and tripling - of mobile penetration was in the natural order of
things, the development of specific niche IT products that could identify -
"brand" is the in word - Jordan as a regional model was not.
It would be unfair and untrue to say that Jordanian companies are not coming
up with groundbreaking products, highly appreciated abroad.They are, ...But
they are too few, employ too few people, are still quite unknown and
voiceless ... ..
At the time of the first IT Forum ...some dreamed of the sector employing
thousands of young people, in call centres among others, and of Jordan
becoming a new major hub for outsourcing.It didn't happen.
Perhaps it was for the best; do we really want all those low-paid, mainly
temporary jobs?
... The fact remains that, after a couple of golden years, Jordan's IT
industry seems to be suffering from early fatigue.
The e-government plan is still stuttering, far from delivering on its many
promises, and with it is a much-needed sweeping and radical - not cosmetic -
reform of the public administration.
PC penetration is still alarmingly low, and public-private sector
initiatives to help families purchase computers have been timid and yielded
little fruit.
In sum, the sector needs to raise its profile dramatically and gather steam
if it wants to keep up with what is happening around us.

Sue Lerner - Associate - IMRA

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: ABBAS AND HIS MEDIA CONDEMN
ISRAEL FOR KILLING PALESTINIAN ROCKETEERS

ABBAS AND HIS MEDIA CONDEMN ISRAEL
FOR KILLING PALESTINIAN ROCKETEERS

BY MICHAEL WIDLANSKI Tuesday, 30 May, 2006

Palestinian leaders and media roundly condemned Israel today for
killing a group of Palestinian Arab terrorists who were shooting rockets and
mortars into Israel, calling the men "martyrs," "citizens" and
"resisters"-all positive terms in Arabic.

"Planes of the Israeli occupation shot at a group of four resisters in
Beit Lahiya (part of Gaza) killing four of them," declared Voice of
Palestine radio in its noontime (5am NY) broadcast Tuesday, later citing the
names of all the men and calling them martyrs.

"President Mahmoud Abbas strongly condemned the barbarous slaughter"
committed by Israel, declared VOP anchorman Nizar Al-Ghul. He said three
other Palestinians had been killed in other combat.

It was the fourth day in a row that Dr. Abbas and his strongly
controlled media have lionized those shooting at Israel, while calling
Israeli leaders "war criminals."

On the average, there have been three to five rocket attacks into Israel
in recent days, and there have been several attempted suicide bomber
penetrations each week.

Abbas, generally considered a "moderate," has not condemned these
attacks, nor the continued attempts by Palestinian organizations-Hamas,
Islamic Jihad and even his own Fatah movement-to smuggle suicide bombers
into Israeli cities.

Two such men-one strapped with a bomb, and the other his field
guide-were captured on the Number 60 Road from Nablus towards Ramallah and
Jerusalem late Sunday.

In the meantime, the moderate Abbas is continuing his hiwar
watani-national dialogue-with Hamas and Jihad, trying to get them to
recognize Fatah supremacy and tactical leadership, despite the Hamas victory
in the January legislative voting.

� 2006 Michael Widlanski Associates-Material may be cited

Dr. Michael Widlanski is a specialist in Arab politics and communication
whose doctorate dealt with the Palestinian broadcast media. He is a former
reporter, correspondent and editor, respectively, at The New York Times
,The Cox Newspapers-Atlanta Constitution, and The Jerusalem Post.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: PM Olmert's Bureau: no intention to
appoint deputy ministers

Statement From PM Olmert's Bureau Regarding the Appointment of Deputy
Ministers
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Tuesday, 30 May, 2006

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Bureau wishes to make it clear that there is no
intention to appoint deputy ministers and that all reports regarding
promises to this effect are incorrect.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Israel Denies Rift with US Over JSF Program

[IMRA: The following denial declines to address the issues actually raised
by the press reports, namely that the US refuses to permit Israel to
incorporate its own enhancements into the planes it purchases in the project
so that the Israeli planes have an edge over the planes that the US will be
selling to Israel's Arab neighbors.]

JSF Project
(Source: Israeli Ministry of Defense; issued May 22, 2006)
[With thanks to www.defense-aerospace.com]

Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Jacob Toren, defined the press
report attesting to a crisis on the JSF project as totally baseless.

"It is a concoction" he said. "Israel is part of the JSF Project. Project
review meetings are taking place and there is a continuous progress."

He added that discussions on the final configuration of the plane for the
Israeli Air Force have not been finalized yet.

-ends-

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Our World: Abbas's newest big lie

Our World: Abbas's newest big lie
Caroline Glick, THE JERUSALEM POST May. 29, 2006
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1148482068828&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Fresh from her tete-a-tete with PA leader Mahmoud Abbas last week, Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni instructed her press flack to tell her fellow cabinet
ministers to remain mum on Abbas's latest "diplomatic" gambit. In the words
of her communications director Shai Ben Maor, Abbas's decision to turn a
document written by convicted Palestinian murderers and attempted murderers
sitting in Israeli prisons into the centerpiece of his diplomatic policy is
"an internal Palestinian issue" and so Israel should not be weighing in on
it.

What is the context of Abbas's new initiative regarding which Israel is
supposed to have no official position?

After receiving the Bush Administration's full-throated endorsement during
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit to Washington,
DC last week, Abbas sprang into action. Following Bush's characterization of
Abbas as a man who "favors and speaks for peace and negotiations," Abbas -
who has never lifted a finger and indeed pledged never to lift a finger to
fight Hamas, Fatah or any other terrorist organization - announced that he
has a new plan.

Abbas's plan has two central components. First, he wants to get the PA's
Hamas government to accept the document authored by convicted murderers and
attempted murderers. Second, Abbas wants Israel to allow him to raise, arm
and field a new militia with 10,000 soldiers to supplement the 20,000
soldiers Abbas already hired in the lead-up to the Palestinian elections in
January.

Both the Israeli and the international media have referred to the convicted
terrorists' declaration as a "peace plan." London's Daily Telegraph's
summation of what its editors considered the main points of the declaration
represents more or less what all the mass media organs in Israel and abroad
have been saying.

The Telegraph's report claims that the plan has six main components. In its
words, those components are: "A negotiated settlement with Israel if the
Jewish state withdraws from land occupied since the 1967 Middle East war;
continued resistance, focusing on peaceful means, on land occupied since
1967 - the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem; an independent
Palestinian state on all land occupied since 1967, with Jerusalem as its
capital; a unity Palestinian government uniting all factions, including
Hamas and Fatah; guarantee the right of return of Palestinian refugees to
their former homes inside Israel and the release of all Palestinian
prisoners in Israel; speeding up efforts to incorporate Hamas and Islamic
Jihad into the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which has
negotiated past interim peace accords."

IF ONE were to take these terms at face value, perhaps this could be seen as
a step forward. But just the barest scrutiny shows that what the jailed
terrorists announced was nothing more than a new restatement of their
declaration of war against Israel and a recommitment to their goal of
destroying the Jewish State.

It is true that the document speaks specifically of Israel's retreat from
Judea and Samaria as well as Jerusalem. Yet led by convicted mass murderer,
Fatah head and darling of the Israeli Left, Marwan Barghouti, the terrorists
reiterated the "liberation of the land," that is, all of Israel, as their
real objective.

The Telegraph's assertion that the "resistance" to Israel is supposed to be
largely by "peaceful means" leads a reader to assume this means that the
terrorists are calling for an end to terrorism. Nothing could be further
from the truth. In six separate
clauses of the declaration, the terrorists make clear their continued
commitment to carrying out acts of terrorism against Israel as part of their
strategy for destroying the Jewish state. Those acts of terrorism are
supposed to be conducted in conjunction with civil disturbances,
negotiations with Israel run by Abbas (something that Iran and its client
the Palestinian Islamic Jihad does not accept), as well as an international
diplomatic campaign in cooperation with NGO allies intended to delegitimize
and demonize Israel.

Far from calling for an end to terrorism, the terrorists called for the
establishment of a new joint terrorist organization called the "Popular
Resistance Front" that is to be composed of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah
terrorists. As they put it in their declaration, this new group's job will
be "to lead and engage in resistance against the occupation and to unify and
coordinate action and resistance and to form a unified political reference
for the front."

It is unclear what the difference will be between this proposed terrorist
organization and the Popular Resistance Committees that Barghouti and his
Hamas and Islamic Jihad colleagues formed in the months that preceded the
outbreak of their terror war in September 2000.

The Telegraph notes that the imprisoned terrorists insist that Israel accept
the so-called "right of return" of the so-called "refugees," but the
newspaper, like its Israeli media counterparts, fails to recognize the true
significance of this repeated demand. These murderers are demanding that in
exchange for a temporary cessation of terror attacks against its citizens,
Israel agree to its national destruction. The so-called "right of return" is
a demand that Israel accept the unimpeded immigration of millions of
hostile, foreign- born Arabs to its sovereign territory.

THESE MURDERERS devote an inordinate amount of attention in their
declaration to detailing their desire to incorporate
Hamas and Islamic Jihad into the Abbas-led PLO. They repeatedly call for
unity between the "nationalist and Islamic" factions. That is, they call for
unity in their ranks for the purpose of advancing their war for the
destruction of Israel.

Finally, in a decidedly self-serving fashion, the convicted murderers
emphatically call for their own release from Israeli jails and see their
release as "a sacred national duty."

In short, much as one would expect, convicted Palestinian mass murderers
from various terrorist organizations met in an Israeli prison yard to
recommit themselves and their followers to their war for the destruction of
Israel. And, much as one would expect, the international and Israeli press
presented this declaration of war as a peace plan.

ABBAS TOOK the media by storm with his bold declaration last Thursday that
if Hamas does not accept the prisoners' declaration within 10 days he will
bring it before the Palestinian public as a referendum. "What a bold
effort!" the press exclaimed excitedly. Buoyed by his success, Abbas
announced the second half of his plan. In order to ensure Hamas realizes
that he means business, Abbas renewed his demand that Israel allow him to
receive arms and ammunition for his loyal troops. He further announced his
intention to increase the size of his current personal army - Force 17 -
from 2,500-3,000 men to 10,000 men.

There is very little new in the convicted terrorists' declaration or in
Abbas's embrace of their declaration. Abbas has been embracing declarations
of war against Israel since he joined Fatah as Yasser Arafat's deputy in
1959. There is also nothing new about Abbas's demand that Israel either
supply him with arms or enable others to supply him with arms even though
such arms and ammunition have been directly involved in the murder of scores
of Israeli citizens since 1996.

What is new is the response of Israel's government.

Since 2000, the government has refused Palestinian requests for guns and
ammunition. Yet, last week, Olmert's government allowed Abbas to receive
arms and ammunition for Force 17 from Jordan and Egypt. Not only did the
government allow forces committed to Israel's destruction to receive arms
and ammunition, well placed sources claim that Defense Minister Amir
Peretz's office was the source of the misinformation campaign that has
dubbed the prisoners' declaration of war a peace plan.

In misleading Israel's citizenry about the content of the murderers' war
declaration and in enabling the rearmament and quadrupling of the size of
Abbas's personal army, the Israeli government and the Israeli and
international media have also been egged on by the Bush Administration. US
military envoy to the Hamas-led PA, General Keith Dayton has reportedly been
a major supporter of Peretz's desire to arm Abbas's men. The Americans have
been pushing to have this militia deployed in northern Gaza where its
members will purportedly stop Kassam missiles from being fired at Israel
even though Abbas, their commander has adopted a plan that calls for
continued attacks against Israel.

It is hard to find polite words to describe an Israeli government that
embraces enthusiastically a declaration of war against its country and
enables its enemy to arm and field armies that have been trained to kill its
citizens. It is hard not to view US support for the so-called "peace plan"
as a repudiation of the Bush Doctrine.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Saudis Flout Vow to US to End Israel Boycott

Saudis Flout Vow to US to End Israel Boycott
By Michael Freund The Jerusalem Post, May 30, 2006
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1148482069432&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFullDespite renewed assurances given to Washington that it is no longerenforcing a trade boycott against the Jewish state, Saudi Arabia continuesto prohibit Israeli-made goods from entering its territory, The JerusalemPost has learned.And while a senior US trade official sought to assure Congress last weekthat the embargo had in fact been removed, the Post found ample evidence toindicate that it remains in place."If a product is made in Israel, then it is a problem. It is not allowedhere," Muhammad al-Matrafi, a spokesman for the Director's Office of theKing Khalid Airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, said by phone on Monday."That is the law here in Saudi Arabia, and we do not allow those kinds ofthings into the kingdom," he said, adding, "If there is any mention ofIsrael on the container or on the product, then it can not enter SaudiArabia."A Saudi customs official at the Persian Gulf port of Ras
Tanurah was equallyadamant that no Israeli-made goods would be permitted to enter the country."There is still a ban on Israeli products, and anything declared as comingfrom Israel will not be allowed," said the customs official, who gave hisname only as Capt. Hosni. "Some people may try to say that a product wasmade elsewhere, but if there is anything which shows it was made in Israel,then it is a problem," he said.Another Saudi customs official at the Al Durah land crossing on theSaudi-Jordanian border reaffirmed that the ban on Israeli-made goods remainsin place. Asked by phone if products made in Israel could be brought intothe desert kingdom, he angrily replied, "No, no, no. Absolutely not," beforehanging up.The Saudi position appears to contradict assurances given last week by USDeputy Trade Representative Susan Schwab. In written responses to questionsraised by members of the Senate Finance Committee, Schwab said that SaudiArabia had told Washington that it was abiding by its
pledge to end theboycott of the Jewish state.In November 2005, the Saudis promised the Bush administration that theywould remove restrictions on trade with Israel, after Washington conditionedRiyadh's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) on such a move.But, as the Post first reported on March 7, the Saudis went ahead and playedhost to a major international conference aimed at intensifying theanti-Israel boycott, raising concerns in Congress about Riyadh's compliancewith its commitments.In addition, an official Saudi delegation took part in a meeting of the ArabLeague's boycott office in Damascus earlier this month."We have raised this issue directly with senior Saudi officials on severaloccasions, both in Riyadh and in Washington," Schwab told the Senators lastweek. "In all cases, we have received assurances that Saudi Arabia fullyunderstands and remains committed to its WTO obligations, including the WTOobligation to treat all WTO members according to WTO rules."The WTO
bars members from engaging in discriminatory trade practices, suchas embargoes or boycotts.Nonetheless, the Post has also found that a report authored by a former USdiplomat and issued recently by one of the largest banks in Saudi Arabiareaffirms that the country's boycott of Israel remains in place, despiteRiyadh's accession to the WTO.The 44-page document, "Saudi Arabia and the WTO," was prepared by BradBourland, chief economist at the Saudi Samba Financial Group.Bourland previously worked for the US State Department for 18 years,including as first secretary of the American Embassy in Riyadh, where he wasresponsible for analyzing the Saudi economy on behalf of the US government.In a question-and-answer section Bourland's report notes that, "SaudiArabia's trade stance toward Israel does not change due to WTO accession...The primary Arab League boycott of Israel remains in place."

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Tourism to Israel Jumps 30 Per
Cent in January-April 2006

Spokesperson's OfficeMinistry of Tourism
www.tourism.gov.il
Reference: 2006-0005-414
3 Sivan 5766

30 May 2006

Press Release

Tourism to Israel Jumps 30 Per Cent in January-April 2006
695,000 Visitors Enter the Country in First Four Months of the Year

695,000 tourists entered Israel in the period January-April 2006, a 30 per
cent rise over the same period last year. Tourist traffic from North America
surged 34 per cent compared to the first four months of 2005. 174,000
visitors arrived from the United States (up 42 per cent) making that country
the largest source of tourism to Israel.

"30 per cent growth in tourism is encouraging, and only emphasizes the need
for further investment in the industry to realize our goal of bringing three
million visitors to the country this year," says Israeli Minister of Tourism
Isaac Herzog.

Significant increases in tourism were recorded from the following countries:
Russia (+48 per cent), Ukraine (+41 per cent), Italy (+30 per cent), Austria
(+70 per cent) and the United Kingdom (+26 per cent).

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Cabinet Communique

Cabinet Communique
(Communicated by the Cabinet Secretariat)

At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday), 30.10.05:

1. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - on behalf of the Cabinet - took leave of
outgoing National Security Council (NSC) Chairman Giora Eiland and paid
tribute to him as, "an outstanding IDF major-general who, as NSC Chairman
for the past 2,5 years, was involved in central diplomatic issues, including
the disengagement. On behalf of the entire Cabinet, I would like to thank
you for your lengthy service both in the IDF and as NSC Chairman."

2. Defense Minister Amir Peretz, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz and
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni briefed ministers on current security and
diplomatic issues.

Defense Minister Peretz and IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Halutz referred to
last night's special IDF operation in the Gaza Strip against Islamic Jihad
rocket-launching cells. At least four Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed;
nine additional Palestinians were wounded. In this context, artillery fire
at launch areas in the northern Gaza Strip was resumed Sunday. They also
discussed the foiling of attempted infiltrations from the Gaza Strip and
Sinai ( http://tinyurl.com/lj5er ), operational activities in Judea and
Samaria ( http://tinyurl.com/nf5zp ) and the recent escalation in the north
( http://tinyurl.com/qp4al ). Regarding the latter, the manner in which
Hizbullah attempted to stop the firing by appealing to a third party
underscores both the rapid and painful blows that the IDF inflicted on
Hizbullah and the organization's desire to avoid further escalation.
Defense Minister Peretz said that he has instructed the IDF and the security
forces to be on alert, especially in order to thwart possible kidnappings.

Foreign Minister Livni briefed ministers on her recent visit to Turkey
( http://tinyurl.com/q4ghn & http://tinyurl.com/mg4ln ).

3. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert briefed ministers on his recent visit to the
United States ( http://tinyurl.com/fsdyt & http://tinyurl.com/l7c59 ) and
noted that there was a strong degree of agreement on the three main issues
on the visit's agenda - the Iranian issue, policy vis-?-vis the Hamas
government and the diplomatic process. On the Iranian issue, there is a
common bilateral understanding that Iran cannot be allowed to achieve a
non-conventional capability and that Israel cannot be exposed to such a
capability. Regarding the Hamas government, the clear American position
opposes any cooperation, recognition and granting of assistance.

4. The Cabinet approved various amendments to the draft 2006 state budget
and to the draft 2006 Economic Arrangements Law; see
http://tinyurl.com/ndd8t for details.

5. Pursuant to its authority under the 1959 Civil Service Law
(Appointments), the Cabinet decided to appoint Gideon Siterman as
Director-General of the Transportation and Road Safety Ministry.

6. Pursuant to its authority under the 1959 Civil Service Law
(Appointments), the Cabinet decided to appoint Eitan Broshi as
Director-General of the Science, Technology, Culture and Sports Ministry.

7. Pursuant to its authority under the 1965 Broadcasting Authority Law, the
Cabinet decided to appoint Motti Shklar as Director-General of the Israel
Broadcasting Authority, effective 1.6.06.

8. Pursuant to its authority under the 1955 Rabbinical Courts Judges Law,
the Cabinet chose Minister Eli Yishai as a member of the Rabbinical Courts
Judges Appointments Committee, in addition to Justice Minister Haim Ramon.

9. The Cabinet discussed the establishment of a senior civil service
appointments advisory committee; see http://tinyurl.com/ndd8t for details.

10. The Cabinet discussed the issue of temporary housing sites for residents
of the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria (the implementation of changes in the
development and public institution budgets). The Cabinet decided to
authorize Construction and Housing Ministry Director-General Aryeh Bar - in
coordination with the Finance Ministry Budget Director and the SELA
Disengagement Authority - to enact changes in the disengagement budgets
designated for infrastructures development and the establishment of public
institutions at the temporary housing sites for residents of the Gaza Strip
and northern Samaria provided that all projects included in Cabinet
decisions are implemented and that there is no deviation from approved
budgetary frameworks.

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

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Cabinet Communique does not list withdrawal
plan as a main issue on Olmert's US visit

Cabinet Communique
(Communicated by the Cabinet Secretariat)

At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday), 30.10.05:

...
3. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert briefed ministers on his recent visit to the
United States ( http://tinyurl.com/fsdyt & http://tinyurl.com/l7c59 ) and
noted that there was a strong degree of agreement on the three main issues
on the visit's agenda - the Iranian issue, policy vis-a-vis the Hamas
government and the diplomatic process. On the Iranian issue, there is a
common bilateral understanding that Iran cannot be allowed to achieve a
non-conventional capability and that Israel cannot be exposed to such a
capability. Regarding the Hamas government, the clear American position
opposes any cooperation, recognition and granting of assistance.

...

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

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

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

End of [imra] Daily digest - Volume: 2 Issue: 1406 (10 messages)
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