Olmert said that in the name of the entire government he sent "a hug to Omri and Gilad, Arik's (Sharon's) beloved sons, and prays with them for his recovery. Arik is not only a prime minister and leader, but a close friend of us all."

Olmert ended his brief comments, his first public remarks since assuming full prime ministerial powers at about 11.30 pm on January 4, when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was rushed into surgery to stop cerebral hemorrhaging, saying that "this is a difficult hour, and we will all stand together."

PM’S ADVISOR: PERES TO QUIT LABOR (11/29)
Shimon Peres has decided to leave the Labor Party and join Ariel Sharon's next government, YNET reported. Peres adviser, Lior Horev said, "He will leave the Labor Party and will join the Sharon government and deal with the development of Galilee and the Negev." Peres was in Barcelona on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. His spokesman, Yoram Dori, declined comment when asked whether Peres has made a decision. "I'm not prepared to discuss it," Dori said. Earlier Tuesday, Labor MK Dalia Itzik, announced she is joining Sharon's new party.

SHINUI FOUNDER JOINS SHARON’S PARTY (11/29)
Professor Uriel Reichman, founder of the Shinui movement and president of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, announced today that he will join Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new party Kadima, YNET reported. Reichman received an offer to join the party as its candidate for education minister. He is expected to be involved in efforts to change Israel's governance system, according to the party's platform. Due to Reichman's educational experience and rich academic experience, Kadima officials decided that he would be the party's candidate for education minister. Reichman was one of the main supporters of changing Israel's election system to direct elections, which totally failed in Israel and were changed back to the old system a few years later. He now supports a presidential rule. Reichman has been negotiating with Sharon for a long time. His aides told YNET that "he is not interested in a Knesset seat. He wants to contribute on the national level." Reichman founded the Shinui movement, and was the person who recruited former journalist Yosef Lapid to head the movement in 1999. He still serves as president of Shinui. Political sources estimated that Reichman's move to Sharon's party will constitute a heavy blow to Shinui's public status.

ISRAEL TO HOLD EARLY ELECTIONS (11/17)
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Labor party leader Amir Peretz met in Tel Aviv this morning and agreed to bring general elections forward - possibly as early as February, YNET reported. Later, Sharon met with opposition leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid and told him he will decide on his next moves within days, alluding to the uncertainty over the PM's future within the Likud. During the meeting, Sharon told Lapid any date after March 1st would be good for holding the elections. The PM also said he would hold a meeting with Likud members soon and explain his diplomatic plan, based on the Road Map. During his meeting with Peretz, Sharon congratulated the new Labor leader on his primaries win but told him he was making a mistake by insisting on pulling out of the government, thereby forcing early elections. The people don't want elections," Sharon said. "It's irresponsible to bring down the government and push elections forward." Peretz, however, replied that "elections were scheduled to be held in (November) 2006 in any case, and therefore it's not that irresponsible to hold them earlier." The two figures agreed that elections would be likely held at some point between late February to late March. The Prime Minister's associates also claim that Sharon has not yet decided on his future political path. "Sharon has not yet decided whether to quit the Likud or run for party leadership. This contemplation is difficult, but the time to decide draws near. The Prime Minister will have to choose between one of two options: the first s to stay in the Likud, the second to leave and form a new party," a source close to the PM explained.

ISRAELI PRESIDENT TO MEET POPE BENEDICT IN NOVEMBER (10/4)
ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL has reported that Israel’s President Moshe Katsav will become the first Israeli head of state to meet the Pope during an official visit to the Vatican in November that will highlight reconciliation efforts between the Roman Catholic Church and the Jewish people after centuries of hostility. "The visit is of great symbolic value," said Mark Regev, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson. "We have every reason to believe that the new pope is building on the foundation that the previous pope already built."

NEW LAW: WOMEN MUST
BE PRESENT AT STATE POLICY NEGOTIATIONS (7/22)
The Knesset amended a law today requiring the presence of women for all future state policymaking, YNET reported. Amendment 4 to Women's Equal Rights Law ensures that women will have a voice in the shaping of diplomatic and security policies. This is the first time women have won such a legislative victory.

Knesset Member Yuli Tamir (Labor) praised the law as a step for women and good governance. "In all my years of politics and extra-parliamentary activity," Tamir said, "I've noticed one clear trend - women are the ones who come up with revolutionary politico-security ideas and men in established positions adopt and implement them."

MELCHIOR TO RUN DIASPORA AFFAIRS (6/15)
Deputy Education Minister Michael Melchior will be given former minister Natan Sharansky's responsibilities for Diaspora affairs, society and the fight against anti-Semitism at next Sunday's cabinet meeting, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Sources close to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday that Melchior would not be promoted to the rank of minister but that he would be in control over the same issues as Sharansky was.

Sharansky resigned from the government on May 2 to protest Sharon's failure to demand Palestinian democratization in return for withdrawing from the Gaza Strip. Sharansky welcomed Melchior's appointment. "Melchior knows these matters well, like myself," Sharansky said.

SHARANSKY RESIGNS FROM GOVERNMENT IN PROTEST (5/2)
Diaspora Affairs Minister Natan Sharansky resigned from the government this morning, due to his opposition to the disengagement plan, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. In a long letter of resignation, Sharansky cited the need for democratization of the Palestinian government in Gaza as a pre-requisite for an Israeli pullout.

He pointed out he had notified Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of his intentions to quit before the Pessah holiday.

ISRAEL PAYS LAST RESPECTS TO PRESIDENT EZER WEIZMAN (4/26)
Ezer Weizman, the seventh president of the State of Israel who died on Sunday night at age 80, was laid to rest this afternoon at the Or Akiva Cemetery alongside his son, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Today, almost all of Israel's political and military leadership was present at the memorial ceremony his honor during which President Moshe Katsav, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, current head of the Israel Air Force, Maj.-Gen. Eliezer Shkedi, and Weizman's daughter Michal delivered eulogies.

Before becoming the country's popular seventh president, Weizman distinguished himself as a legendary Air Force pilot, a skillful diplomat, and a turbulent politician.

Sharon said Weizman always believed in Israel's ability and in the courage of its citizens. "You stood up against any show of weakness", Sharon said, adding, "Ezer, we are accompanying you in your final path but your legacy will never be forgotten. A sense of hope and resilience is following you, not that of despair and grief."

In his eulogy, President Katsav described Weizman as one of the nation's most influential leaders, saying he "contributed greatly to the change of the Arab world's attitude towards Israel. Due to his resolve and faith, he was among those who lead Israel to signing the peace treaty with Egypt."

An aerial demonstration will fly over Or Akiva at the end of the funeral. The formation will include several F-16s from the 101st squadron, the first combat squadron to be under Weizman's command.

KNESSET APPROVES NEW GOVERNMENT (1/11/05)
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new government was narrowly approved by the Knesset on Monday, HA'ARETZ reported. The coalition agreement passed thanks to the support of the left-wing Yahad faction, and despite the opposition of 13 members of the Likud. The new government, which is comprised of the Likud, Labor and United Torah Judaism, was approved by a vote of 58-56, with six abstentions.

Meanwhile, Sharon must pass the 2005 budget by March 31, or new elections will automatically be called.

GAZA PULLOUT PLAN WINS RESOUNDING MAJORITY (10/27)
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won a historic victory Tuesday night as the Knesset approved the disengagement plan in a 67-45 vote with seven abstentions, HA'ARETZ reported. Traditional Knesset party lines shattered as Labor, Meretz and two Arab MKs joined about half of the Likud faction and all of Shinui to deliver Sharon a victory vote. The prime minister's plan includes the withdrawal of all the settlements and armed forces from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank.

Meanwhile, the High Court of Justice rejected today four petitions to halt the work of the Disengagement Administration until the completion of the process to legislate for the disengagement compensation bill.

KNESSET EXPANSION PROMOTED (8/25)
President Moshe Katzav is promoting the idea of creating an additional parliamentary house to the Knesset that will represent Jews in Israel and in the Diaspora, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Katzav has lately been calling upon Jewish organizations to create what he calls a "lower house" that will advise the Knesset's plenum and the government on Jewish affairs, including anti-Semitism, Jewish education, conversion and other demographic issues. Katzav originally proposed the idea at the opening session of the 15th Knesset.

The Yahad Knesset faction met this morning and called on Labor to stop negotiations with the Likud, even if the prime minister decided to defy the convention decision and go ahead with talks. Yahad chairman Yossi Beilin said that if Sharon continued to defy the Likud institutions, he was liable to cause serious damage to the Israeli democratic party structure.

ISRAELI-ARAB SWORN IN AS LABOR MEMBER OF KNESSET (7/5)
Ghaleb Majadle (Labor) was sworn in on Monday as a Member of Knesset and pledged to put the social problems of Israeli Arabs on the agenda, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Majadle is the only Israeli Arab in the Knesset who is a representative of a non-Arab party. He replaces Avraham Burg who resigned last month.

Meanwhile, according to HA'ARETZ, the government approved the following appointments of new cabinet ministers: Minister without Portfolio Meir Sheetrit as acting Minister of Transportation; Gideon Ezra as acting Minister of Tourism, and Tzipi Livni as acting Minister of Housing and Construction.

ERITERA TO OPEN EMBASSY IN ISRAEL (6/21)
During the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom announced that Eritrea would be opening an embassy in Israel, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL reported. This development comes in the wake of intensive efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to both improve and establish relations with Arab and Muslim countries. Israel opened an embassy in Eritrea in 1993, two years after it achieved independence from Ethiopia. Eritrea, whose population is 50 percent Muslim, is an observer in the Arab League and is located strategically in the Middle East region, bordering Ethiopia and Sudan with the Red Sea to its north.

KNESSET TO RAISE ITS ADMISSION THRESHOLD (2/19/04)
The Knesset is expected to approve next week raising the threshold necessary for parties to enter the parliament from 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent of the votes, MA'ARIV reported. According to the new law, parties that fail to get at least three Knesset seats, will not enter the Knesset.

The Knesset's Constitution Committee is slated to approve the bill next week, following an agreement reached by the coalition parties.

ISRAEL TO SUBMIT FIRST UN RESOLUTION (11/4)
Israel circulated its first resolution ever to the General Assembly as part of a new effort to engage the United Nations and to test whether the organization is capable of taking a balanced approach to the Mideast, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The Israeli resolution calls for the protection of Israeli children victimized by Palestinian terrorism and closely mirrors a similar draft submitted by Egypt last week highlighting the plight of Palestinian children affected by the conflict in the region. Israeli diplomats said they would be happy if the General Assembly decided to drop the two drafts or adopt them both.

While Israeli diplomats lobby world capitals for support for Israel's first resolution, Meckel will send a letter later this week requesting similar backing from 155 ambassadors at the United Nations.

ISRAEL’S 30^TH GOVERNMENT SWORN IN (2/28)
The Knesset approved the 30th Government of the State of Israel by a vote of 68-48 in a plenum session held on Thursday night, HA'ARETZ reported. Nineteen of the 23 ministers in the Government were sworn in. The two National Religious Party ministers will be sworn in on Monday, after the party has approved the appointments of Effi Eitam and Zevulun Orlev. Dan Meridor and Natan Sharansky - both serving as Ministers without Portfolio - will also be sworn in on Monday.

Meanwhile, Minister without Portfolio Meir Sheetrit will serve as a second minister at the treasury, under new Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu. Sheetrit served as Minister of Justice in the previous Government.

SHLOMO ARGOV, AMBASSADOR TO BRITAIN
WHO SURVIVED 1982 ASSASINATION ATTEMPT, DIES AT 74 (2/24)
Shlomo Argov, the former Ambassador to Britain paralyzed 21 years ago in an assassination attempt, died on Sunday at the age of 74, the JERUSALEM POST reported. Argov was shot in the head as he was entering his car on June 3, 1982, after he left a banquet at London's Dorchester Hotel. The assassination attempt came as the Palestinian Liberation Organization was carrying out a wave of terror against Israel, systematically firing Katyushas at Kiryat Shmona and the North. Operation Peace for Galilee began three days later. Argov had been hospitalized since 1982 in the rehabilitation center of Hadassah-University Hospital on Jerusalem's Mount Scopus. Minister of Foreign Affairs Binyamin Netanyahu described Argov as a "symbol and example" of the Israeli diplomat manning his post and facing the world on the diplomatic front. "Shlomo Argov was shot on his watch at one of Israel's most difficult hours, at the peak of a wave of PLO terror" Netanyahu said.

Shlomo Argov was born in Jerusalem in 1929, the descendant of family which has lived in Jerusalem for seven generations. As a young man and a member of the Palmach, he was wounded in the 1948 War of Independence in the battle for Safed. He received a B.A. in political science from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. in 1952 and an M.A. in international relations from the London School of Economics in 1955. After spending several years in the Prime Minister's Office under David Ben-Gurion, he joined the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1959. His first postings were to the Israeli embassies in Ghana and Nigeria. He then served in New York and Washington, before becoming Deputy Director-General for Information at the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. He was Ambassador to Mexico between 1971 and 1974 and to the Netherlands between 1977 and 1979. In September 1979, he assumed his final post as Ambassador to Britain. During his three years there, Argov forcefully and articulately put forward the Israeli case to a generally hostile Foreign Office and media. On the night of June 3, 1982, Argov was shot and critically wounded by Palestinian terrorists from the Abu Nidal group of the PLO after attending a private dinner along with 80 other diplomats. Hospitalized in Jerusalem for 21 years, he remained permanently incapacitated until his death.

PRESIDENT KATSAV TO ASK SHARON TO FORM GOVERNMENT (2/7)
President Moshe Katsav has invited Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the President's residence this coming Sunday to formally hand him the mandate to form a coalition government, HA'ARETZ reported. Katsav completed his round of consultations with all the factions in the newly elected Knesset on Thursday, February 6, 2003. Eight factions, representing 87 Knesset members, recommended that he assign the task to Sharon. Five factions did not make any recommendation to the president about who should form the coalition. According to the Basic Law on the Government, Sharon will have 28 days to form a government. If this period is not sufficient, the President can decide extend it by a maximum of 14 days.

With all polling stations counted aside from the votes of soldiers and diplomats abroad, official results showed the National Union with 7, the National Religious Party with 5, United Torah Judaism with 5, Hadash with 4, Balad with 3, One Nation with 4, Yisrael b'Aliyah with 2 and the United Arab List with 2 seats.

SHARON WILL NOT APPOINT
CABINET MINISTERS OPPOSED TO PALESTINIAN STATE (12/23)
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told Likud cabinet ministers on Sunday that when forming the next government, he would not appoint cabinet members who oppose his political vision of the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state, HA'ARETZ reported. Sharon also announced that he is considering modifying the internal party primaries by abolishing the central committee votes for the party list - and allow all Likud members to vote.

Meanwhile, Shinui Chairman Yosef Lapid has challenged Labor leader Amram Mitzna and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to a televised debate on the future of the peace process and negotiations with the Palestinians. Shinui's campaign will focus on the secular campaign, the middle class and political integrity. Recent opinion polls predict that the party will double its strength in the next Knesset, gaining 12 seats, up from six.

SHARON BEATS NETANYAHU
IN RACE FOR LIKUD PARTY LEADERSHIP (11/29)
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won the Likud party leadership race on Thursday, with a 15 percent lead over Minister of Foreign Affairs Benjamin Netanyahu, HA'ARETZ reported. The final results of the primary race showed Sharon with over 55 percent of the votes, Netanyahu at 40 percent and Moshe Feiglin at 3.4 percent. Voter turnout was 46 percent. Now Sharon will face Labor Party Chairman Haifa mayor Amram Mitzna in the January 28 general elections.

He reiterated a statement he had made earlier in the day, that the terror attacks were an attempt "to influence the elections in Israel." He added that "Israel will hunt down those who have spilled the blood its citizens. No one has immunity. It is the duty of all countries not only to offer condolences when we bury our dead, but also to support us when we fight terror." Earlier, at his campaign headquarters in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu congratulated Sharon on his victory and called on Likud members to unite around their leader to ensure that the party "wins a huge victory in the forthcoming elections." Netanyahu also vowed to help the Prime Minister and the Likud win a decisive victory in January.

ABBA EBAN, "THE NOBLE VOICE OF ISRAEL," DIES AT 87 (11/18)
In learning of the death of Abba Eban on Sunday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon issued the following statement: "We lost a statesmen from the founders' generation that left his mark and Israel's mark on the international consciousness more than any other statesman in our era, YEDIOT AHARONOT reported. Sharon added, "he will be missed, now more than ever." Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres said Eban, "was Israel's noble voice in its difficult hours and was one of the world's greatest statesmen of the twentieth century."

Eban was buried in Kfar Shmaryahu. He is survived by his wife, Suzy, a son, Eli, and a daughter, Gila.

SHARON ANNOUNCES EARLY ELECTIONS (11/5)
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced today that President Moshe Katsav had acquiesced to his request to dissolve the Knesset and call elections for early elections within three months, HA'ARETZ reported. He did not set an exact date for the new elections, but said they should be held in the first days of February. Earlier, Katsav told a press conference at the President's Residence in Jerusalem that, "The prime minister told me that he is unable to form a stable coalition, and I was persuaded by the prime minister and was convinced that the conditions demand early elections."

Israel's last general election was in 1999. Under a system that has since been scrapped, Sharon was elected in a separate prime ministerial ballot in February 2000. Once parliament is dissolved, Sharon's administration becomes a caretaker government that no member can quit until after election day.

FIRST ARAB DEPUTY MINISTER APPOINTED (10/18)
Muwaffak Khouri, an Israeli Arab, was appointed Deputy Minister for Arab culture in the Ministry of Culture, Science and Sport on Wednesday, YEDIOT AHARONOT reported. This marks the first time in Israel's history that an Israeli Arab has held the position of a deputy minister. Khouri, a long-time educator, has written 22 books, including children's books, poetry, articles and educational materials. He also participated in the Israeli delegation to Jordan to sign a cultural agreement between the two countries. In the last few years, Khouri has been in charge of Arab culture in the Ministry of Education.

In his acceptance speech, Khouri said, "it feels good to become a deputy minister in an office that deals with the nice aspects of life, such as the Ministry of Culture, Science and Sport." He added that he sees the appointment as a challenge and a window of opportunity for the intellectuals and the academics in the Arab sector. "I believe in equality and hope it will encourage others," Khouri said. He also conveyed his wish to increase the number of libraries in Arab cities and villages and to institutionalize the archives of the Israeli Arab communities.

CABINET APPROVES BUDGET TO COMBAT WEST NILE VIRUS (6/27)
The Cabinet has approved a NIS 10.5 million (approximately $2 million) budget earlier this week in order to fight West Nile Virus, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The budget, to be financed jointly by the Ministries of Environment, Agriculture, Health, Interior, and Defense, comes in response to a call by Minister of Environment Tzachi Hanegbi to take preemptive measures against the disease. Local municipalities will use the money to spray against mosquitoes, for early detection tests, and to support efforts.

Mosquitoes infected with West Nile Fever have already been found this year in the Negev. In May, a routine check by inspectors from the Environment Ministry's division for pest surveillance and control found infected mosquitoes in Wadi Shikma, near Kibbutz Or Haner. A special team was dispatched to spray the wadi with pesticide, and the ministry says that since then, no infected mosquitoes have been found in the area. Also, municipalities have been instructed to locate and dry out pools, in order to limit mosquito numbers. The fever, which is not communicable, can be fatal to those with a weakened immune system.