Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
in association with the Fairness Project
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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DAILY ALERT

 August 7, 2002
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In-Depth Issue:

Expel Women Terror Supporters to Gaza, Jail the Men
- Deputy Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra

    "I am in favor of continued easings for the population that has nothing to eat and does not want Arafat or terrorism."
    To restrict the movements of homicide bombers, Israel must make the hard decision to prevent Israeli Arabs from driving into Judea and Samaria, Ezra suggested. "Cars with yellow [Israeli] license plates currently drive freely back and forth, and they can easily be carrying terrorists or bombs....This must be stopped....this cannot go on."
    Regarding expulsions, Ezra said, "Family honor is an important thing for the Arabs, and therefore mothers and sisters must be expelled to Gaza - because potential suicide terrorists will assumedly not want to do something that will cause their mothers and sisters to be wandering around in some refugee camp in Gaza. But brothers and fathers should be jailed, not allowed free in Gaza."
    [Gideon Ezra served in the General Security Services for more than 30 years and was its Deputy Head.] (Arutz 7)

Fatah Combat Losses: 60%

    Fatah officials said that since last April the organization has lost about 60 percent of its cadres in the West Bank. At least 200 gunmen, members of the Aksa Martyrs' Brigades, have been killed by the Israeli security forces. Hundreds of other political and military activists have been arrested or wounded. Hamas has suffered similar losses. (Jerusalem Post)

Visit Jerusalem by Internet

    See the Jerusalem Archaeological Park next to the Temple Mount - a unique visual Internet Experience offered by the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Useful Reference:

607 People Murdered by Palestinian Terrorists since September 2000
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Key Links

Media Contact Information

Back Issues

News Resources - USA and Europe:

  • Rumsfeld: In My View, the West Bank is Not "Occupied Territory"
    The Arab states attacked Israel, lost, lost territories, and since then Israel has been trying to withdraw but has faced the refusal of the other side. (Maariv - Headline)
        See also Secretary Rumsfeld at Pentagon Town Hall Meeting
        "If you have a country that's a sliver and you can see three sides of it from a high hotel building, you've got to be careful what you give away and to whom you give it....There is no question but that the Palestinian Authority has been involved with terrorist activities, so that makes it a difficult interlocutor."
        "My feeling about the so-called occupied territories is that there was a war, Israel urged neighboring countries not to get involved in it once it started, they all jumped in, and they lost a lot of real estate to Israel because Israel prevailed in that conflict. In the intervening period, they've made some settlements in various parts of the so-called occupied area, which was the result of a war, which they won." (U.S. Department of Defense)
  • Saudis Blacklist 200 Companies
    Saudi Arabia has blacklisted about 200 foreign companies during the past 10 months - including 72 from Jordan, 70 from Cyprus, 23 from Egypt, and 11 from Turkey - for exporting $150 million of Israeli products into the kingdom, a Saudi trade official said Monday. (AP/Washington Post)
  • Joint Chiefs Back Saddam Ouster
    The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, after months of some members resisting a new war, now fully back using military force to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. All six chiefs have come to a consensus, two administration officials said. (Washington Times)
  • A Creeping Sense of Isolation
    Many Israelis fear that their country is fast becoming an international pariah after a rash of cancellations by foreign artists and sports figures, as well as calls within international academic and business circles for a boycott of Israel. The creeping isolation has added to the psychological and economic pressure on Israelis as they struggle to maintain a semblance of "life as normal" amid the bloodshed. (San Francisco Chronicle)
  • Bethlehem Exile is "Security Headache" for Cyprus
    A Palestinian man exiled to Cyprus under a deal to end the siege of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity is creating "problems" for the authorities, the Cypriot justice minister has said, and he might have to be sent elsewhere. Israel says Abdullah Daoud - head of the Palestinian Authority's intelligence unit in Bethlehem - is the most dangerous of the group sent into exile. (BBC)

    • News Resources - Israel and Mideast:

  • Israeli Arab Prevents Massacre
    On Monday, a homicide bomber exploded prematurely inside a car near the Umm el-Fahm junction. The driver of the car, Issam Dahdal, 30, of Upper Nazareth, was badly wounded in the explosion. Dahdal, a former IDF border policeman, may well have prevented the Palestinian terrorist from blowing himself up in a crowded spot in Afula. He said that as he was leaving the Umm el-Fahm gas station, he saw a man who wanted a lift. "He entered the back door of the car, grabbed me by the shirt, and shouted 'drive out of here.' I tried to talk to him, to understand what he wanted - then suddenly I heard a boom." (Jerusalem Post/Yediot Ahronot)
  • Poll: Oslo Will Not Bring Peace
    The July 2002 survey of Israeli public opinion by the Steinmetz Center for Peace Research at Tel Aviv University yielded the following results: Do you believe the Oslo agreement will bring peace? Yes 11.8%; No 71.5%. Should Israel eliminate top terrorists like Salah Shehada in Gaza even if the civilian population will be hurt? Yes 62.4%; No 33.3% How do you feel when you hear of a terror attack against Jews in Judea and Samaria in contrast to terror attacks against Jews within the State of Israel? The Same 79.4%; Attacks inside Israel effect me more 18.7%. (IMRA)
  • Assyrians Dream of Returning to their Lost Homeland
    Members of the Christian Assyrian community living in Lebanon have been inspired by the Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza to launch their own demands for a homeland based on the ancient boundaries of Assyria in modern-day Iraq. Today's Assyrian community in Lebanon is a sad reflection of the once-powerful dynasty that dominated the Middle East 4,000 years ago. Lebanon is home to an estimated 14,000 Assyrians, 4,000 of whom are Syrian or Iraqi nationals. (Middle East Times - Egypt/AFP)

    • Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):

  • Interview with a Hebrew U. Survivor - Eliad Moreh
    It is again considered a crime to be a Jew, just as it was during the thirties and forties. Nobody gives a damn. Just as in the thirties and forties, the rest of the world stands by while Jews are assassinated every day. Is there anything that can justify the deliberate murdering of as many people as possible? (National Review)
  • The Delusions of Gaddafi, Emperor of Africa - Michael Dynes
    Libya's flamboyant dictator is still convinced that his destiny is "to free oppressed peoples everywhere." Gaddafi is focusing much of his attention on gaining control of the African Union, and has been campaigning for the creation of a United States of Africa in which he would in effect be crowned Emperor of Africa. (Times - UK)

    • Talking Points:

    IDF: Hamas Seeking to Create an Afghanistan in PA Areas
          - Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad (Jerusalem Post)

    Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday:

    • Hamas is aiming to establish a Taliban-style regime that will take over the Palestinian Authority and create an Afghanistan. As a result of the poor state of the PA, Hamas is already creating an "alternative authority."
    • The PA leadership is doing nothing to stop the Hamas terror infrastructure, and it is actually encouraging the expansion of Hamas's welfare activities. Hamas is trying to take over Palestinian society, and support for the organization has risen from 10% to 20% among the population over the past two years.
    • There is "no hunger" in the PA in terms of a shortage of basic necessities. The malnutrition cited by USAID is due to missing nutrients in the food supplied to the needy in the PA by aid organizations. Israel would do everything possible to facilitate the entry of improved food supplies. There is no connection between the reduction of terror and Israel's humanitarian aid.
    • In the past two years the annual per capita income in the PA has been cut in half from $1,900 to less than $1,000. Some 500,000 Palestinians are employed, but 315,000 of them work for the PA. Unemployment is 40% in Gaza and 30% in the West Bank.
    • The European Union is providing 10 million euros a month, and Arab countries another $55 million, with $14 million collected by the PA in taxes.
    • PA officials, led by Mohammed Rashid, are part of the car-theft ring that has stolen 300,000 vehicles from Israel since 1992.
    • Children continue to be taught in PA schools that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians.

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