 | | Ambulance With Israeli Markings Spotted in the PA
An ambulance bearing Israeli markings has reportedly been sold to elements in the Palestinian Authority. Concerned the vehicle may be used as cover in a terrorist bombing, police are investigating.
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More Details |  | | Friday, October 21, 2005
18 Tishrei 5766
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| | Arutz Sheva wishes its readers a happy Sukkot holiday.
| 1. Ambulance With Israeli Markings Spotted in the PA
|  | | By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
An ambulance bearing Israeli markings has reportedly been sold to elements in the Palestinian Authority. Concerned the vehicle may be used as cover in a terrorist bombing, police are investigating.
| The vehicle, belonging to the HaGalil Ambulance company - a private Galilee area ambulance service - was spotted by Samaria District police officers on Wednesday. Subsequently, Afif Zaied, affiliated with HaGalil Ambulance, was picked up by police for questioning in connection with the transfer of the ambulance to Arabs from the PA. Zaied told investigators that the ambulance was sent for service to a garage in the PA-controlled city of Tulkarem, east of Netanya. Zaied was released by police on Friday, while the investigation into the sale continues.
Authorities are concerned that the HaGalil emergency medical services vehicle, previously owned by the national Magen David Adom (Red Star of David), could serve terrorists as cover for a bombing at an Israeli hospital or at the scene of another mass casualty incident. While the former MDA markings were removed from the vehicle prior to its sale to the private Galilee company, the ambulance is still equipped with Israeli license plates and Hebrew markings, which would facilitate bringing it into sensitive areas.
Security services have repeatedly warned that Arab terrorists are making efforts to obtain an Israeli ambulance for purposes of a car-bomb attack. Special security measures have thus far been implemented to keep Israeli ambulances out of the hands of PA elements and to protect hospital emergency rooms. One scenario for which the hospitals are taking precautions is a suicide bomber in one location followed by an ambulance-bomb at the hospital to which the wounded are evacuated. For this reason, even in the wake of a terrorist attack, ambulances arriving at any hospital must be cleared by security before they can approach the emergency room.
Just last month, police chased down a Palestinian Authority car thief driving a stolen ambulance on a major Tel Aviv highway. The arrested driver stole the vehicle from outside the home of a medic who was on call for the emergency medical services. A paramedic from the Tel Aviv area spotted and identified the stolen vehicle, and called the police.
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| | 2. Peres, Shteinitz Agree: Assad Must Go
|  | | By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Labor and Likud party ministers said Bashar Assad cannot remain as Syrian president following a U.N. report implicating Assad's regime in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
| Vice Premier Shimon Peres, leader of the Labor party, and Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said the Assad regime must change. Peres said that Israel should stay on the sidelines and let the United States and France take the lead in changing the Assad regime.
Arab MK Talab el-Sana accused the United States of planning the report as an excuse to involve itself in Syrian affairs. El-Sana is calling upon the Arab League to help Assad (pictured above) and oppose the findings of the U.N. report.
The report did not blame Assad for the murder but pointed out that the assassination was a result of cooperation by Assad's security officials. His brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat, forced one person to tape an announcement taking responsibility for the murder 15 days before the assassination, according to the United Nations report issued Thursday night.
Shteinitz said it is in Israel's interest that Assad be ousted. "I have a dispute with some of the people in the security establishment. It is not just an American interest but a clear Israeli interest to end the Assad dynasty and replace Bashar Assad," he said. Several security officials are concerned that Israel might suffer attacks from Hezbollah terrorists if it takes an active role in opposing Assad.
Former intelligence director Ephraim Halevy told Israel Radio he is sure that the assassination was an "extensive and coordinated operation that was planned for many months [and] many people from the Syrian elite were involved."
Terrorists killed Hariri and 20 others on February 14 in an explosive attack in Beirut. Syrian-backed Lebanese officials and Syria rejected the 53-page U.N. report, which Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said was a part of campaign directed against him. Two anti-Syrian members of the Lebanese parliament demanded Lahoud's resignation.
Hariri was a leader against Syrian domination of Lebanon. The report concluded that the plot to kill him took months of preparation. It presented evidence against four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals arrested and charged earlier in connection with Hariri's killing.
One witness told investigators that one of the four, Gen. Mustapha Hamdan, commander of the Republican Guard Brigade, accused Hariri of being pro-Israeli. "We are going to send him on a trip -- bye, bye Hariri," according to the U.N. report.
"The report is far from the truth. It was not professional and will not arrive at the truth but will be part of a deception and a great tension in this region," Syria's information minister, Mahdi Dakhl-Allah told Al Jazeera television.
American Ambassador John Bolton said that the Bush administration will decide in a few days how to react but already has "various contingencies." Sanctions are expected when the UN Security Council discusses the report on Tuesday.
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| |
| 3. PA Roadmap for Hamas to Run in Elections
|  | | By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
PA negotiator Saeb Erekat told Israeli television that Hamas' running in elections is tantamount to giving up weapons. Bush referred to terrorists as "armed street gangs" but did not note Hamas.
| At Thursday's press conference with American President George W. Bush, Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) stated that all Arab groups would be allowed to participate in the upcoming PA elections. The vote for PA legislators originally was scheduled for this past summer but was postponed to January because of fears in the PA that Hamas would win a significant portion of seats. Recent polls show its popularity remains stable, with about one-third support.
Erekat told Channel 2 television, "No one can use guns and no one can incite verbally and no one can use mosques. So the election law provides that those persons and those factions who run for elections must understand that only through peaceful means can they make changes."
Bush said he opposed armed terrorists from running, but added that the matter is an internal PA affair. According to American law, foreign aid cannot be funneled to outlawed terrorist organizations. A coalition PA-Hamas government would place in question the American aid to the PA.
Vice Premier Shimon Peres, leader of the Labor party, said that Hamas must not be allowed to run without first disarming. Yossi Beilin, leader of the Meretz/Yahad party, told the Middle East Institute in Washington this week that the PA and Israel have no choice but to deal with Hamas as a reality, despite the United States' designation of the group as an outlawed terrorist organization.
Hamas leaders accused Bush of trying to incite a civil war between its organization and the PA. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Bush's demand for a crackdown on terrorists was a "serious American interference in our internal affairs aimed to create an internal conflict."
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| | 4. Bush to Abbas: Do More to Fight Terror
|  | | By Hana Levi Julian
U.S. President George W. Bush told Palestinian Authority Chairman on Thursday that he must do more to fight terrorism.
| At a press conference following the meeting, Bush emphasized the importance of seizing the moment of opportunity presented by the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
For the first time, however, Bush noted that a Palestinian state might not be possible until after he has left office, three years away. Bush set a goal last year for the creation of a Palestinian state before the end of his term in 2008.
Bush noted that the Palestinian Authority would have to reject and fight terrorism in order to "earn the confidence of its neighbors," a clear reference to Israel's skepticism about Abbas' ability to control terrorist factions.
"The way forward must begin by confronting the threat that armed gangs pose to a genuinely democratic Palestine," said Bush.
Abbas said he was doing his best to end the violence that left three young Israelis dead and four others wounded in two terrorists attacks in Israel on Sunday. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a terrorist organization affiliated with Abbas' ruling Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the murders.
The PA chairman said he has taken "active steps" to impose the rule of law and public order," but added that Israel needs to "do more" to foster an atmosphere of peace by returning to the Roadmap peace plan promoted by Bush.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had equally critical words on Wednesday for Israel prior to her meeting with Abbas. Rice warned at a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Israeli construction between East Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim was in direct contradiction to the Bush administration policy in the Middle East.
Abbas was scheduled to meet with Senate and House leaders later in the day, followed by a final meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney before returning to the Middle East.
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Click Here! | | 5. Jordan, Israel to Fight Avian Flu Together
|  | | By Hana Levi Julian
Veterinarians from Jordan met with their Israeli counterparts at the Allenby Bridge border Thursday morning to coordinate their efforts to combat the avian flu.
| Jordanian officials requested the meeting to explore Israeli preparations for a possible outbreak of the virus. Israeli and Jordanian veterinary service officials agreed to collaborate at an Israeli laboratory in Beit Dagan, said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
Representatives from the two countries will meet again in three weeks to compare notes and evaluate their findings.
Although Israel will not be working directly with other Arab nations, Israeli officials said there would be indirect coordination of efforts through Jordan with most other Middle Eastern countries, including Syria and Iraq.
The deadly H5N1 strain has resulted in 67 deaths thus far, all in Asia. An international health alert was raised when the virus spread from Asia to Russia, Turkey, Romania and Kazakhistan.
Israeli health officials say that even though they do not expect the bird flu to pose a significant risk for most of the population, they have nonetheless made preparations to combat the virus. Inoculations of high-risk people have already begun, poultry farms and processing facilities are being closely monitored and plans are on the table to destroy fowl within a three-kilometer radius of any bird found infected with the flu.
Although watchful, many Israeli health practitioners say chances of a serious outbreak are low. Dr. Yuval Rabinovitch, medical director of Leumit's network of clinics in the Arad region, said in an interview on Thursday that "people are starting to lose their heads over this."
Rabinovitch explained, "First, Israel does not import chicken meat, because the local supply meets local demand. Second, risk is when people eat rare chicken meat, a conduct that is practically unheard of in Israel. Third, bird flu does not spread from one human to another. This can change, but so can the virulence of the virus."
Rabinovitch maintained that the media's interest in ratings accounts for much of the current panic. Nonetheless, he said, media spin is not necessarily a bad thing since it pushes people into the clinics to get the flu shot.
"The flu is the worst epidemic ever. It killed more people than plague and smallpox. In the 1918 epidemic the death toll was estimated as high as 50 million victims. It is a dangerous disease, period. It can kill and it has new forms every year. This year bird flu is much less contagious, but people should get vaccinated regardless of the spin."
Ultimately, he said, the decision on whether to inoculate should be up to a medical professional. "In the Israeli health system we have reached a very desirable situation. The system's goals are identical to the patient's, because a healthy patient pays his medical insurance for a long time. That is why you should listen to your physician rather than the journalist."
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| | 6. On A7 Radio: Do the Audio Succah Hop!
|
Stutz and Fleisher talk with Rav Kook expert Rabbi David Samson about Succot and with Likkud candidate Uzi Landau about his political future Click here to listen
The Temple was rockin’ on Succot! Find out what went on with Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute. Click here to listen
The OU’s Phil Chernofsky is a Succah fanatic and does his show from within! Click here to listen
Malkah Fleisher talks about the four kinds of Jews and about the heart of the Lulav on the Eyshet Chayil Show. Click here to listen
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In the shadow of the ladder - Introductions to Kabbalah by Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag
Click Here! | | 7. Police Dismisses Officers Recruited for Disengagement Duty
|  | | By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Young people who were recruited into the Border Guards ahead of the implementation of the Gaza-Samaria Disengagement Plan are finding themselves "disengaged" from their new jobs.
| The officers in question, who have received letters of termination in recent days, say they were promised at the time of their recruitment that their employment was to be long-term, not just for the period of the Disengagement. Nevertheless, 280 of the new Border Guard officers received the letters of termination, according to the Yediot Acharonot newspaper. The reason for their termination is given as severe financial constraints in the police department, under whose auspices the Border Guards fall.
Members of the force who received the termination notices describe feelings of uncertainty that they have had for months, despite repeated promises that they were an integral part of the police force. The fired Border Guard officers say that they are being treated like slaves who have outlived their usefulness.
A massive recruitment drive preceded the Disengagement and was needed in order to carry it out. Spokesmen for the Border Guards say that the pre-Disengagement recruitment was a short-term one, with "an option for an extension," something that could not possibly have been promised to any recruit at the time.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was personally involved in trying to preserve the jobs of the Border Guard recruits. Mr. Sharon requested of the Ministry for Public Security that a solution be found that would preserve the employment of the officers, but such a solution was apparently not found.
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| | 8. Pollard Calls for United Front With Arad Family
|  | | By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
The wife of jailed Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard wrote to the family of missing IAF navigator Ron Arad, calling for a united effort over the government's apparent abandonment of their loved ones.
| In her letter to the Arad family, Esther Pollard made reference to the 2004 deal that freed Elchanan Tennenbaum, as well as gained the return of the bodies of three Israeli soldiers, from the Hizbullah in exchange for the release of hundreds of imprisoned terrorists. As part of the deal, Hizbullah also apparently promised to provide information on the fate of Ron Arad, shot down over Lebanon in 1982.
Esther Pollard wrote that the deal over Ron Arad was "a pack of lies," and that the disappointment on the part of the Arad and Pollard families can lead to collaboration between them in their efforts to shake the government from its apathy.
"The prime minister so much wanted to free his family friend Tennenbaum that he called the scandal 'the commandment of redeeming of captives' - an expression that he never used in the past for Ron Arad, an IDF pilot, or for Jonathan, an Israeli agent. Sharon claimed that there would be a 'second round' in which Ron's freedom would be obtained. Time has proven to all of us how much of an unsubstantiated pack of lies that was," Pollard wrote.
"Our loved ones were both taken captive as a result of their actions on behalf of the security of Israel," Mrs. Pollard continued, "Ron as an IDF pilot and Jonathan, who was acting under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense. Both of them carried out their missions with dedication and believed that whoever sent them would also know how to take care of them in times of trouble. Unfortunately, the past two decades have proven to us all how wrong and removed from reality that simple assumption was."
In a similar, open letter published in the mass-circulation Ma'ariv newspaper, Esther Pollard wrote: "The time has come for the entire people to speak with one voice and demand from the government of Israel that it end its policy of abandonment and treason, and do all that is necessary to bring our [nation's] sons, Ron and Jonathan, home."
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| | | 9. Giving Up Rank in the IDF Over Disengagement
|  | | By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
An officer in the IDF's information technology branch has refused a promotion in rank due to his opposition to the Disengagement Plan, which he called "the crime of ethnic cleansing."
| In a letter addressed to Major General Ehud Shani, head of the C4I Branch and a member of the General Staff, Dr. Yair Weisman, a reserve officer in a C4I communications battalion, wrote, "I feel ashamed that the corps that I serve in participated in this crime. Please revoke my promotion in rank."
Dr. Weisman opened his letter to Maj.Gen. Shani with a description of the North Vietnamese conquest and expulsion of the population of Saigon, in South Vietnam, in 1975. That expulsion, Weisman wrote, "is considered until today as one of the most shameful war crimes in human history."
The letter continues:
"I find it hard to distinguish between the war crime carried out in Vietnam in 1975 and the crime of ethnic cleansing carried out by the IDF in the summer of 2005. In both cases there was an order from the legally constituted government, and in both cases, the expellers and the expellees were from the same people. Even the arguments put forth by the IDF are incredibly similar. 'The IDF does not choose its missions' is a variation on the argument made by the North Vietnamese soldiers involved in that crime. A moral person, on the other hand, is not a robot and understands that there are limits to any order."
...
"I was not in reserve duty during the Disengagement period, but just as I would not be interested in medals, ranks or decorations of the North Vietnamese army, I am not interested in the rank that the IDF wants to award me," Dr. Weisman wrote.
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| | Today on IsraelNN.com: |  |  | Israeli Salad with Yoni Kempinski
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When you hear absolute, unqualified guarantees by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres or Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz about Jewish land not - I repeat, not - to be transferred to Arab Muslims, be assured that transferring it is exactly what they are planning.
|  | | | Remembering Kineret
She came to us for the third meal on Shabbos. It would prove to be the last Shabbos meal of her life. Less than twenty-four hours later, Kineret Mandel's life was torn from her by a terrorist's bullet.
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