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Newsletter : 2fax0628.txt
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Saudi Says No to Star of David
By IsraelNationalNews.com
Despite recent announced peace overtures by Saudi Arabia, the country is not yet ready for products bearing a six-pointed Star of David. According to the Riyadh Daily, commerce officials launched an investigation into reports that products were seen in the country with a Star of David on the packaging, a violation of the law. Government commerce inspectors were dispatched to areas to confiscate the items in question to ensure they are no longer displayed on store shelves.
Israel: No Deportation for Families of Suicide Bombers
By VOA News
Israel's attorney general said that Israel cannot deport families of Palestinian suicide bombers from Palestinian territories to other countries.
However, according to Reuters, Elyakim Rubinstein has not yet determined whether such families can be transferred from the West Bank, where most suicide attacks against Israel originate, to the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip is fenced off from the Jewish state, making cross-border infiltration difficult.
Israeli cabinet officials first publicly proposed such deportations last week, in response to a recent spate of suicide bombings that have killed dozens of Israeli civilians. The cabinet asked for a full legal review before taking any action. No explanation for Thursday's legal opinion has been made public.
The Jerusalem Post said activists from the outlawed Jewish extremist group Kach protested the attorney general's decision Thursday, attaching a sign to the door of his home labeling him a traitor.
Critics of the deportation proposal, including Palestinians, human rights groups and some Israeli officials, have said family deportations would violate international laws forbidding the transfer of civilians from an occupied territory to another country.
Bush Pleased With Response to Middle East Peace Plan
By Paula Wolfson (VOA-Calgary, Canada)
President Bush has been talking about his Middle East peace plan
with European leaders at the G8 summit in Canada and said he is
pleased with the response. But most of their public statements have
been lukewarm at best. The president said there must be change at
the top of the Palestinian leadership before there can be peace in
the region.
He said the European response has been positive. "The reason why is
most European leaders understand something has to change in order
for there to be peace. And that starts with free elections, a new
constitution, transparency, rule of law amongst the Palestinians."
But while everyone agreed on the need to move the peace process
forward, most of the European leaders attending the G8 have
stressed publicly that it is up to the Palestinians and the
Palestinians alone to choose their representatives.
The strongest words of support for the president's position came from British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who noted in order to make progress, there must be a Palestinian leadership serious about negotiating security issues and implementing political reforms.
Palestinian Authority Building in Hebron Under Siege by Israelis
By Larry James (VOA-Jerusalem)
Israeli forces are maintaining the siege of a Palestinian Authority building in the West Bank city of Hebron. Israel said it is trying to capture 15 Palestinians militants. Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships pounded the building, a former British police station, in an attempt to take the men holed up inside. The Israelis have fired thousands of rounds into building in a standoff that has been going on for three days.
Four Palestinians were killed the first day of the standoff. More than 130 Palestinians have left the building and at least 20 have been taken into custody as terror suspects. The Israeli military said more than 100 explosive devices had been found in the area.
The standoff in Hebron is one of the few instances of violent resistance to Israel's new major military operations in the West Bank. Seven of the eight major Palestinian population centers are under almost round-the-clock curfew as part of an Israeli campaign to curb suicide bombings.
There was violence elsewhere in the West Bank, however. A six-year-old Palestinian boy was killed when an Israeli soldier opened fire on a group of youths throwing stones at tanks that were enforcing the curfew. Palestinian officials said a 12-year-old boy was also shot in the legs in the same incident.
Meanwhile, in Jericho, the only West Bank city without a major Israeli military presence, Palestinian officials released a plan for reform and elections. Just three days ago, President Bush demanded a new Palestinian leadership. He did not mention Yasir Arafat by name, but his statement left no doubt that the Palestinian leader must go.
The Palestinian plan called for presidential elections in January as well as an overhaul of the Palestinian Authority's courts and finances and a restructuring of security forces under a single command.
In announcing the plan, Saeb Erekat, a cabinet minister and the chief Palestinian negotiator, said Israel could make or break the election. He said it would not be possible to conduct the vote while Palestinian Authority areas were under Israeli control. "Elections cannot be carried out with tanks in every street," he said.
There were also conflicting reports about whether Arafat would be a candidate in January. Nabil Shaath, the authority's planning minister, said that Arafat would absolutely run again. But other officials, said it was too early to speculate on Mr. Arafat's plans.
Quote Of The Day
By Israel Faxx News
The IDF Spokesman's Office brings the following quote from senior PA official and Arafat-deputy Abu Mazen, speaking last week with the Kuwaiti daily Al-Zaman:
"I oppose that little children go to die. It is a horrible thing. At least 40 children in Rafiah became cripples after their hands were blown off by pipe bombs. They received five shekels to throw them. Who would want such a thing to happen to their son or his family?"
