Israel resolute on cutting power
Defense officials said this week that Israel would soon begin cutting off electricity to the Gaza Strip despite Attorney General Menachem Mazuz’s order to review the sanctions.
Mazuz ordered the defense establishment to research the issue and to ensure that the measure was defendable in court. On Oct. 28, the IDF began cutting back on its supply of fuel to the Gaza Strip in line with the cabinet’s recent decision to define Gaza as a hostile entity.
“In the end, the sanction will be implemented,” a defense official said. “There might, however, be some changes to the dose and to the amount of time it is done for.”
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that a large-scale operation in Gaza was drawing near. “Every day that passes brings us closer to a broad operation in Gaza,” Barak said. — jps
Third intifada seen as unlikely
Palestinians are unlikely to launch another coordinated terror wave if the upcoming U.S.-sponsored peace conference with Israel fails, the Shin Bet security chief said.
Yuval Diskin said while disappointment at the Annapolis conference may stoke Palestinian terrorism, the elements necessary for another intifada are absent.
“It is my belief that the Palestinians are exhausted,” Diskin said. — jta
Gas masks may be reissued
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna’i said last week the Home Front Command will soon distribute gas masks collected after the 2003 Persian Gulf War.
Vilna’i denied that the measure came in response to a specific threat of nonconventional war with Israel’s enemies.
“Any country in the world has to be ready for emergencies. A big part of that is training the population. We determined that now is the right time to start this process, given all of the tensions that dog us constantly.” — jta
Google Earth claimed to aid terrorists
The al Aksa Martyrs Brigade told the British newspaper the Guardian that the Google Earth Internet mapping program helps the group find its targets for Kassam rocket attacks.
“We obtain the details from Google Earth and check them against our maps of the city center and sensitive areas,” Khaled Jaabari, the group’s commander in Gaza who is known as Abu Walid, told the Guardian in an article published last week. — jta
Hamas devising West Bank attack?
Hamas is planning to overthrow the Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank with the help of external forces, P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas said this week.
Although Abbas did not name the international parties, his aides said he was referring to Iran, Syria and Qatar. — jps
Law of Return under scrutiny
Jews should not be granted automatic citizenship under the Law of Return, an Israeli Cabinet member said this week.
Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit made the comments at the Jewish Agency Board of Governors meeting in Jerusalem.
“I’d like to see that (the immigrant) is not a criminal, that he’s learning Hebrew, that he’s here for five years before getting citizenship,” he said.
Sheetrit also said he would not let in potential immigrants who say they are descendants of Jews.
“Don’t go finding me any lost tribes because I won’t let them in anymore,” he said. “We have enough problems in Israel. Let them go to America.” — jta
Report: Half Israeli youth to dodge IDF
A forum of reservists and parents with children serving in the Israel Defense Forces released statistics last week claiming that by 2015 a mere 53 percent of Israeli youth will enlist in the IDF.
And according to the report, which is based on demographic data provided by the Central Bureau of Statistics, by 2025 more than half of Israeli youth will not serve in the IDF.
The IDF rejected the report and in a statement said it predicted that in 2025, 29 percent of male youth will not enlist in the military, only a 4 percent increase from 2007. — jps
Israelis uninformed about smoking ban?
Although a public smoking ban goes into effect Nov. 7, only a minority of the population knows about it — and the Health Ministry says it has no money for a media campaign to explain it to the public.
Under the law, owners of public places will have to enforce no-smoking laws on their property, and municipalities will be required to establish a round-the-clock hotline to accept complaints. — ap/jps
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California