 | | Terrorist Bombing Strikes Hadera Market
A terrorist bombing in a Hadera open-air market killed five people and wounded more than 30 Wednesday afternoon.
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More Details |  | | Wednesday, October 26, 2005
23 Tishrei 5766
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| 1. Terrorist Bombing Strikes Hadera Market
|  | | By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz & Hillel Fendel
A terrorist bombing in a Hadera open-air market killed five people and wounded more than 30 Wednesday afternoon.
| Shortly before 4:00pm, an Arab suicide bomber made his way into the market in the northern city and detonated explosives he carried on his person. The initial police investigation points to a white vehicle that may have transported the terrorist to the Hadera market. Reports that the terrorist was a woman were later denied.
Four people were pronounced dead at the site of the attack, while the fifth victim died on the operating table at Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera. The many wounded, five of whom are listed in very serious condition, were evacuated to local hospitals.
Hillel Yaffe Hospital, located a few blocks from the market, has established an emergency phone number for information at 1255166.
The Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for the murderous attack. Though the organization has said it would avenge last week's killing of top terrorist Luis Saadi, it is doubtful whether such an attack could have been arranged on such short notice. It is therefore assumed that this attack against Israel was in planning long before Saadi's death.
This was at least the 4th murderous terror attack in Hadera since the Palestinian Authority instigated the Oslo War five years ago. Previous attacks in the city:
* In Nov. 2000, two people were killed by a car-bomb in the city.
* In Oct. 2001, four women were killed by PA policemen from Jenin who opened random fire on a crowded street from inside a car.
* In Jan. 2002, a terrorist entered a Bat Mitzvah celebration and opened random fire, killing six.
Several bombs were detonated in the city during this period, but without murderous results. In May 2001, for instance, a car bomb exploded on a crowded Hadera street, but the only person killed was the driver of the car bomb himself.
In other terrorism incidents over the holiday, two 20-kilogram (44-lb.) explosives were found and neutralized near the fence surrounding northern Gaza... An IDF position was fired at from southern Gaza... For the third time in several weeks, terrorists fired at an IDF position near N'vei Tzuf, in the Binyamin region; an Arab was hurt by the army's return fire... Two firebombs were hurled at an Israeli car near the Tapuach junction; no one was hurt... In a clash with terrorists in Jenin, an IDF vehicle was damaged.
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| | 2. Kassam Rockets on Sderot During and After the Holiday
|  | | By Hillel Fendel
Arab terrorists fired several Kassams at Sderot just prior to the Simchat Torah holiday, and another round late last night. No one was hurt. The IDF responded with massive fire at open areas.
| The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, making good on its threat to avenge the killing of #1 wanted terrorist Luis Saadi by the IDF earlier this week, fired between three and five Kassam rockets at southern Sderot late Monday afternoon. Top Israeli security sources said the order came from the Jihad's Syrian headquarters. Just a month ago, terrorists fired a barrage of 40 Kassam rockets at Negev areas, wounding some five Israelis.
One Sderot resident, whose house faces Beit Hanoun, said he could see the Kassams as they were fired on Monday. The IDF quickly retaliated with artillery fire towards the Gaza city of Beit Hanoun, from where the rockets were shot.
Despite Israel's response, which also included the closing of the Erez and Karni crossings out of Gaza, another Kassam was fired last night (Tuesday) - leading to more intensive artillery and aircraft fire on Gaza. The terrorists fired yet another Kassam rocket towards Netiv HaAsarah, north of Gaza, this afternoon.
Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal said yesterday that the IDF's weak reaction "encourages [the terrorists] to continue to fire Kassams." He noted that the army's orders were "to shoot with the purpose of not hitting civilians, to make frightening ultra-sonic booms and to fire at open areas... This is not encouraging for the residents of Sderot."
"I don't want to kill children," Mayor Moyal told Army Radio this morning, "but if children have to be killed on one of the sides, I prefer that it be on the other side."
Schools in Sderot, which continue to be closed today for the just-ended Sukkot holiday, are considering whether or not to open tomorrow. At least one school has already announced that it will remain closed "in protest against the Kassam rockets." The city has reinforced some kindergarten roofs, and is continuing to carry out this work on other educational institutions.
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| 3. "Youth for Land of Israel" Building New Neighborhoods
|  | | By Hillel Fendel
An initiative by hundreds of youths from around the country begins today for construction of new neighborhoods in Efrat, Kedumim, Elon Moreh, Kiryat Arba and Maon.
| [photos from Efrat by Sharon Katz]
"Expansion in Place of Destruction" - har'havah bimkom hah'ravah - is the motto of the new initiative. The group released an announcement stating:
"Wednesday, the day following Sukkot, we will ascend en-masse, unashamedly and by the light of day, as proud owners of the Land, to establish new neighborhoods in several areas around our Land...
"In the past months we were witness to the terrible crime of the ripping out of parts of our holy and beloved Land, the expulsion of Jews from their homes, the uprooting of graves and the abandonment of synagogues to Arab murderers. We saw with our own eyes that which is called the 'leadership of the state' abandoning our inheritance.
"As youth that grew up on love of the Land, and who realize that without the Land of Israel there is no blessing and the Divine Presence has no place to rest, we ask: What's next? Our answer is that specifically now, we will replace destruction with expansion; we will replace retreat with going out and holding on to our land."
Many of the youths involved in the program were among those who snuck into Gush Katif or the Shomron during the days and weeks preceding the expulsion, giving up their summer vacation to fight the uprooting.
The Land of Israel Youth organization was founded in recent weeks in Kiryat Arba, and just a few days ago conducted a march of some 700 youths in the Shomron.
Rachel, one of the leaders of the organization and in today's Kiryat Arba initiative, told Arutz-7 that the location that was chosen for rebuilding in her area is known as Heroes Hill, between Hevron and Kiryat Arba. An outpost was originally built there three years ago after a terrorist ambush nearby in which 12 civilians and soldiers were killed. The army tore the site down, and residents built it up, in a cycle that repeated itself several times since then.
This morning, some 60 Land of Israel Youths brought a new aluminum shack to the place, and hope to rebuild the neighborhood for the last time. "We believe in building up new neighborhoods in the Land of Israel," Rachel said. "We can't merely settle for sneaking in another caravan here and another one there. We have to build openly and proudly."
One former Gush Katif resident, Raz from N'vei Dekalim, was not so sure that the initiative is worthwhile. "Forget your illusions!" he wrote. "In the year before the expulsion, Gush Katif grew significantly - but it didn't help at all. Physical growth will not stop the decree to uproot us, as we have seen. In my opinion, we should invest all these energies in disseminating the Torah's truth to every Jew and Jewess. I saw many soldiers [involved in the expulsion] who were not at all aware of the severity of what they did."
Rachel said in response, "He's right, we do have to work on Torah, but we also have to work on the physical plane. We saw in the last year or two that only a few new outposts were built; these are just expansions of old locations. We have to build many more new neighborhoods."
At the Elon Moreh site, Yirat S. told Arutz-7 what was going on:
"We are about 50 girls and 70 boys, in two different areas of the same location; this was one of our clear decisions, that there would be total separation... At present, both groups have completed about a meter of height on new stone-and-cement buildings... We have lots of water and much food, and soon we'll be holding a groundbreaking ceremony, with the participation of Rabbi Elyakim Levanon and others."
Asked about the plans for the immediate future, Yirat said, "The plan was for the boys to sleep here tonight, but the army - which is watching our every move from a hilltop overlooking us - has just informed us that though we may remain here today, they will forcibly remove us if we try to stay the night. So we will have a meeting and decide what to do."
Voices from the religious-Zionist public calling of late for less emphasis on Land of Israel issues do not faze the new group. "Our rabbis have taught us," Yirat said, "based on works such as Kol HaTor [by Rabbi Hillel of Shklov, a top disciple of the Gaon of Vilna] that in the period of the Ingathering of the Exiles and the like, we have to concentrate on the Land of Israel." To this end, the organization is calling for more classes on this topic in high schools all over the country.
In Efrat, the activities began this morning with a prayer service adjacent to the IDF checkpoint on the Efrat-Tekoa road, then continued with building, planting, singing and classes. There are no plans at present to actually move to the site, but rather to hold various activities and stabilize the Jewish presence there. "We know that wherever Jews are not present," said Tamar K., aged 17.5, one of the leaders of the some 100 youths at the site, "the Arabs take over. Jews are now afraid to go to lots of places and we're in danger of losing them. As youth who are truly concerned over what has happened in Israel lately, we simply cannot merely sit at home and read Arutz-7 and complain. We have to get out and do something. This is merely our opening shot."
Asked if the army had arrived to interfere with their attempts to build the site, Tamar said, "So far, about seven soldiers have come to protect us. Why should they interfere with us? Doesn't everyone realize that it's only natural for the Jews to settle and build up their Land?"
The new location is being built on a hilltop precisely where the government's separation fence is scheduled to be built. "We don't want to be closed in and ghettoized by fences," Tamar said "Youth all around the country realize that we can't just let it happen, but must get out and do something to stop it. Expansion instead of destruction!"
The Kedumim site appears to be the largest of all. Merav, coordinator of the activities there, updated Arutz-7: "About 100 are already here, and several dozen more are on their way. We are two groups - boys and girls. This [separation] was one of the first decisions we made."
The chosen site for the new Jewish presence near Kedumim is known as Beit HaDegalim [House of Flags], which currently features a couple of long-abandoned structures between Kedumim and the Arab village of El-Funduk. "We will paint them," Merav said, "and clear out the weeds, and possibly build another temporary structure or two. Our purpose, of course, is to express and manifest our bonds with our Land. This is our response to terrorism and to the expulsion."
Asked about the calls to tone down Land of Israel efforts in favor of other causes, Merav said, "We certainly must work on several fronts at once. I, for instance, also belong to a group that works to increase Jewish identity... Now is certainly not the time to abandon the cause of the Land of Israel."
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| | 4. Israeli Town to be Cut off From its Fabric of Life
|  | | By Hillel Fendel
Tzofim, a community of some 250 communities in the western Shomron, is about to be cut off from many of its life-lines - the result of the anti-terrorism partition fence.
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Most of the residents of Tzofim either work, study or receive health and welfare services from communities in the Shomron. The IDF, however, plans to close the checkpoint that currently exists between Tzofim - some call it Tzufin - and the rest of the Shomron. The residents will therefore be able to travel freely only westwards, in the direction of Kibbutz Eyal and Kokhav Yair.
Many of the families in Tzofim - a mixed religious-secular town - send their children to study in Karnei Shomron, and others to Alfei Menashe. Medical services, children's extra-curricular education, and other services are also provided in these towns. The journeys to both towns will now become much more difficult, involving a very long detour.
Ze'ev Slonim, a resident of Tzofim, said the closure of the checkpoint would add a full 25-30 kilometers (15-18 miles) to their travels. "Alfei Menashe is currently 7-8 kilometers (5 miles) from us," he said, "and Karnei Shomron is about 15 (9 miles). Closing down the Tzofim checkpoint and allowing us to leave our town only to the west will increase both trips tremendously."
At present, the checkpoint to Tzofim serves only the town itself. Guests and service providers must be approved in advance, or greeted personally by a resident.
The checkpoint is manned by two soldiers, which, Slonim explained, "was the original excuse given for wanting to shut down the checkpoint. The authorities said they wanted to save on manpower."
Later, however, another excuse was added: The terrorist who perpetrated the murderous terrorist attack in Netanya three months ago was able to trick the guards at the Tzofim checkpoint into letting him through. "But this is a ridiculous justification for causing us to suffer," Slonim said. "By that logic, every entrance to Jerusalem through which a terrorist ever came should be closed."
Slonim admitted that a small minority of the community - roughly 20% - does not oppose the idea, and in fact welcomes the prospect of building ties with 'mainland' Israel. "But we are confident," he said, "given the large majority that is against the move, that our leadership is working behind the scenes to try to ward off this problem." He said he is far from confident that this quiet diplomacy will work, however.
Other residents said that turning to the Supreme Court has not been ruled out, but they are pessimistic that this will help. The Court has ruled more than once that the security considerations governing the placement of the partition must be balanced by the needs of the local Arab population. One resident told Haggai Huberman, "The Supreme Court, which is so sensitive to every Palestinian olive tree, has delivered a terrific blow to the fabric of life here in Tzofim."
Construction on the fence was begun in 2002 as a measure to prevent PA-based terrorists from reaching major Israeli population centers. Government leaders have repeatedly said that the fence is not mean to determine future borders - but many observers feel that the facts on the ground will be stronger than these declarations, and that the partition fence is effectively cutting off Judea and Samaria from the rest of the Jewish State.
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Click Here! | | 5. Bill Gates Praises Israel´s Hi-Tech
|  | | By Hillel Fendel
Microsoft founder and CEO Bill Gates, in Israel for a short visit, met with hi-tech leaders, high school students and government leaders, and lavished praise on Israel's hi-tech industry.
| Israel is a "science and hi-tech superpower," said Gates, known as the world's richest man. "Considering the density of start-ups in Israel and local successes, Israel is like a part of Silicon Valley.”
Gates began his visit to Israel by meeting with upper management of several leading Israeli hi-tech companies, and afterwards with some 400 Microsoft Israel employees. The Haifa-based Microsoft Israel was the 13th foreign-based subsidiary company founded by Microsoft, and Gates had warm words of praise for its performance. Though Microsoft Israel was born in 1988, this was Gates' first visit to Israel.
Gates also praised Israel's hi-tech community for its achievements in information security and the high rate of computer literacy among Israelis.
"Israel is a major player in the hi-tech world," Gates told Maariv. "Hi-tech people are very aware that Israel, compared to its small size, has some amazing technological achievements. There is a greater concentration of talented hi-tech manpower here in comparison to other countries - almost to the extent of Silicon Valley... The level of technological integration in the country is evident. The use of fast speed internet, lap tops and cell phones is advanced here and puts Israel at cutting edge of world technology."
Asked how it feels to be the world’s richest man, Gates said it is both an honor and a responsibility. “Everything I do involves a lot of responsibility," he said, Israeli21c reported. "My work at Microsoft and for charity involves a lot of responsibility, but I also enjoy what I do. My wealth enables me to do things, and I must confess that I make the right choices on how the wealth is distributed for treating diseases... My wealth is now mainly divided between Microsoft shares and the money I donate to charity.”
Today, the Microsoft wizard met with 40 "outstanding" high school students, conducting a workshop for them on technological development.
Gates then met with Acting Finance Minister Ehud Olmert - who congratulated Gates on his upcoming 50th birthday - and was scheduled to meet afterwards with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon before departing for Jordan. His tight scheduled also included delivering the keynote address to some 2,500 businessmen at a Microsoft Israel seminar entitled, "The New World of Work."
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| | 6. Government Sources Admit Failure Re US Stance on Hamas
|  | | By Hillel Fendel
An Israeli government official acknowledges failure in the attempts to persuade the United States to prevent Hamas from participating in the upcoming PA election.
| U.S. President George Bush did not even raise the issue in his joint press conference last week with PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, often known as Abu Mazen.
"From Israel's standpoint," the official told Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman, "this is a negative result of the Bush-Abbas meeting."
Abbas apparently managed to convince Bush that a clash with Hamas at present would not be desirable, and that it is preferable to integrate Hamas into the democratic process. This, despite Hamas' categorization by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, and Abbas' own fears that Hamas will score major achievements in the election. The election is scheduled for late January 2006.
Prime Minister Sharon threatened in the past to do "everything [he] could" to undermine the election if Hamas is allowed to participate. Israel has since downgraded its threats, and has even resorted to mere name-calling. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said last week that Hamas' participation in the election would be a "stroke of insanity."
Huberman notes that the PA newspaper Al-Quds quoted Abu Mazen yesterday as saying that he sees "great importance in the fact that the Palestinian side convinced the Americans of its position regarding" this matter.
Hamas has carried out most of the murderous terrorist attacks against Israel of the past five years, and recognizes neither Israel's right to exist nor the Oslo Accords.
Hamas leader Mahmoud A-Zahar has emphasized many times in the past that while his terror organization may take a break from terrorism to join the political arena for a period of time, it will never abandon its platform of a Palestinian state in all of Israel.
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