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Friday April 13, 2007

Shorts: Mideast

Report names Israel’s most polluted rivers

An Israeli environmental protection group released a list of the country’s most polluted rivers. According to Zalul’s list, issued in advance of Earth Day on April 22, the Lachish River, which runs between Ashdod and Ashkelon and flows into the Mediterranean Sea, is the most polluted.

Though most of the river is dry, what remains is primarily sewage and runoff from nearby factories and municipal waste management plants that have left bacteria and chemical levels in the river well above legal levels, the report said.

The Hadera River, near Caesarea, has been affected by wastewater treatment plant sewage, industrial pollution and contamination from the Palestinian territories, the group claims. Others on the list included the Ayalon River near Tel Aviv, the Bsor River in the Beersheba region and the Yarkon River, which runs along Ramat Gan, B’nei Brak and Tel Aviv. Sixteen major rivers flow to the Mediterranean and 24 to the Jordan River, Lake Kinneret and the Dead Sea, and most are polluted, Zalul said. — jta

Israeli elephant flap ends in death

One elephant trampled another to death at an Israeli nature park.

Yossi, a 33-year-old, seven-ton bull elephant, charged and killed his herd’s matriarch, Atar, a 46-year-old female. Visitors at the Safari Park near Tel Aviv watched in horror on April 2, according to Ha’aretz.

“What happened to Yossi, who grew up all his life with Atari, and they always got along?” Yigal Horowitz, a veterinarian at the park, asked rhetorically in an interview with Israel Radio. “Here and there were small fights, but they never had a fight like this one.” — jta

Israeli team qualifies for Davis Cup finals

For the first time in nine years, Israel has qualified for a place in Davis Cup finals. Doubles players Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich defeated Italy in one of Israel’s biggest wins Saturday, April 7, securing a chance at the Davis Cup in the world group division.

Ram and Erlich beat Italy’s team at Ramat Hasharon’s Canada Stadium, marking the pair’s fifth consecutive win. Pairings for the playoffs were scheduled to be released Wednesday, April 11. Israel’s playoff match is scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 21 to 23. — jps

Olmert’s alleged misdeeds to be aired by comptroller

Israel’s state comptroller is expected to release reports soon on alleged financial improprieties by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The improprieties, labeled ‘grave’ by comptroller officials, concern the Trade Ministry’s Investment Center and the purchase of Olmert’s home in Jerusalem, Ha’aretz reported.

The Investment Center affair concerns an alleged conflict of interest that occurred when Olmert was minister of industry, trade and labor. Olmert is suspected of fraud and a breach of trust for giving preference in an offer to a factory represented by his longtime partner, attorney Uri Messer.

The comptroller’s office has also been investigating allegations that Olmert purchased his Jerusalem home in 2003 for $320,000 less than the market value in exchange for influencing officials at the Jerusalem municipality to grant irregular construction permits for the property. Olmert had just completed a 10-year stint as mayor of Jerusalem in 2003. — jta

Jewish state objects to Saudi arms sale

Israel’s protests reportedly have delayed a U.S. arms sale to Saudi Arabia. The New York Times reported last week that the State Department and Pentagon want to beef up the arsenal of Persian Gulf allies against Iran, but Israel is concerned that the weapons would upset the regional power balance and could fall into the hands of Islamist extremists.

Several Israeli officials, including former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, have come to Washington in recent months to voice these concerns. Notifying Congress of the arms sale has been delayed until later this month; Congress then would have 30 days to approve or deny the deal.

“Israel has expressed concern that this proposal could affect” its qualitative military edge over its antagonists, a Defense Department official was quoted as saying. “We don’t want to go to Congress until we’ve got everybody on board.” Sales to Saudi Arabia — including tanks, warships and advanced air-defense systems — could range from $5 billion to $10 billion. The next biggest recipient of U.S. weapons is reported to be the United Arab Emirates, which in 2000 bought 80 F-16 fighters for $18 billion. — jta

Heck no, she won’t go: Women shunning IDF

Nearly half of Jewish women in Israel do not do mandatory military service, new data found.

According to a report issued this week by a ministerial committee on the military service, 43 percent of female draft candidates in Israel receive exemptions. Of these, 76 percent claim religious reasons, 7 percent claim poor health, 7 percent are overseas, 8 percent have criminal records and 2 percent are married.

Among Jewish men in Israel, the number of eligible candidates who are not drafted is 24 percent. — jta

Prisoner exchange list ‘disappointing’

According to a statement released by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office this week, top officials met to discuss the list of 450 prisoners presented to Israel by an Egyptian group handling the negotiations. The statement said there has been some progress in negotiations, but “the road to completion is still long.”

Officials in Jerusalem had said that Israel might refuse to release some of the prisoners on the list. The list represented roughly a third of the prisoners the Palestinians want freed as part of a prisoner swap deal.

Schalit’s status has been in the news this week when it was first reported in the Arab press that he received a pair of glasses sent by his parents. Schalit has been held captive since June 25. — jps

19 Palestinians arrested in Passover bomb plot

Israeli authorities arrested 19 Palestinian militants who planned to set off a huge car bomb in Tel Aviv during Passover.

The suspects are all Hamas members from the West Bank town of Qalqiliya, the Shin Bet security agency said in a statement.

The agency said the arrests took place in late March, but details were only cleared for publication Tuesday, April 10, the day after the weeklong holiday ended.

Shin Bet said a Palestinian man who apparently intended to blow himself up drove a car packed with 220 pounds of explosives into the Tel Aviv area, then, for reasons not yet clear, returned to Qalqiliya where the car later exploded through a technical malfunction. No one was hurt. — jps

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