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Newsletter : 2fax1203.txt
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Israeli Unwilling to Clean or Do Dishes
By IsraelNationalNews.com
The restaurant association reports Israelis are unwilling to accept employment that involves cleaning or dishwashing, adding that in the Tel Aviv region alone, eating establishments are short 1,000 laborers. Association officials report that the salary offered is up to 4,500 shekels a month, but there are no takers, resulting in owners hiring illegal foreigners and then paying steep fines to immigration police.
Investigation Continuing into Bombing Attack in Kenya
By Katy Salmon (VOA-Nairobi) & Ha'aretz
The investigation is continuing into the attacks on Israelis in Kenya last week. Israeli bomb experts are planning to take some fragments from Kenya's bombed out Paradise Hotel back to Israel for forensic examination. Meanwhile, Kenyan investigators are trying to work out how the suicide bombers acquired the car they used in the attack.
The head of Kenya's investigation team said Kenyan, Israeli and U.S. bomb experts are sifting through the debris of the Paradise Hotel looking for clues.
There have been reports that a dispute has broken out between the Kenyan and Israeli teams over who should control evidence from the blast. The United States has voiced concern about Kenya's ability to carry out a comprehensive investigation. The Israelis now want to take some fragments home to Israel, where they have more sophisticated analysis equipment.
But the lead Kenyan investigator, William Langat, said relations among the investigating teams are amicable and Kenya has agreed to Israel's request. "Nothing. That is just imaginary tension by other people. Nothing at all. I have been with these officers on the ground. There are no complaints. Whatever small pieces they want to go and examine, they examine on their own. We also examine on our own, other pieces. They can have whatever they want to go for forensic examination," he said.
Investigators have found parts of the four-wheel drive vehicle and the bomb it carried Thursday to destroy the Paradise Hotel in Kikambala, 18 miles from the Kenyan coastal city of Mombassa.
Israel plans to take home two pieces of metal from a gas cylinder used in the bomb. One of the pieces had four digits on it that experts believe are part of a serial number that might identify the source of the cylinder. Israel also wants to carry out further analysis on two shoulder-held missile launchers, which were used in a simultaneous attack on an Israeli-charter plane leaving Mombassa. The missiles missed their target.
Langat said Kenyan authorities are trying to find out how the suicide bombers acquired the four-wheel drive vehicle used in the attack. "The last known owner of the car was a foreigner. Whoever was having it is not immediately around. He left the country and we do not know to whom he left it with. It is only a matter of time. You know, it does not come as a flash," he said.
Israel and the United States believe the terrorist attacks were the work of the Somali Al-Itihad Islamic group, which they say has links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. Langat said there was no evidence to confirm those suspicions.
Meanwhile, a DNA test is being carried out on an unidentified body found on the bombsite. The body could be that of one of the Paradise Hotel's managers who has been missing since the attack.
An alleged al Qaida statement posted on the Internet Monday claimed that the Islamic group had carried out last Thursday's attacks. Internet analysts said that the statement includes phrases, terms and nicknames that have characterized other remarks made by the group. The statement surfaced on www.arabforum.net, and was signed by the "Political Office of Qaida al-Jihad."
The statement said that that purpose of the attacks in Mombassa was to "destroy the dreams of the Judeo-Crusader alliance, which wants to preserve their strategic interests in the region. This operation was intended to strike another blow against the Israeli establishment, like the one in the past at the synagogue at Jerba." The statement went on to say that another goal of the attack was to destroy the myth that that Mossad can reach anyone anywhere.
The statement said that the attacks came as a response to, "the conquering of our holy places," and the Israeli killing and destruction in the territories. "We will kill your children for the killing of ours, your women for our women, your elderly for our elderly, your castles for our houses," it said.
Two Palestinians Killed by Israeli Troops in Separate Incidents
By Larry James (VOA-Jerusalem)
A 16-year-old Palestinian was killed and at least 16 others were wounded by Israeli troops Monday in the West Bank City of Jenin. In another incident just south of Gaza City, a Palestinian gunman was killed trying to infiltrate the Jewish settlement of Netzarim.
Palestinian witnesses said Israeli troops fired on a group of teenage boys who were on their way to school Monday morning. Reports say the teenagers started throwing stones at the Israeli troops and that the accompanying Israeli tanks retaliated with machine-gun fire. Two of the injured were said to have suffered serious wounds.
In a separate incident in Jenin's Old City, the army arrested two suspected members of the militant group Islamic Jihad. Reports from the city said a fierce gun battle erupted as Israeli troops approached the house where Murad Hassanein and Mohammed Abu Aqel were apprehended. About a dozen Palestinians were reported wounded in the shooting. The troops then withdrew from the town.
Earlier Monday, an armed Palestinian was killed after he tried to infiltrate the Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim. Israeli media said the gunman was wearing an Israeli army uniform and was armed with an automatic rifle and three hand grenades. One Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in the incident.
