Three soldiers and seven Palestinians were wounded in the bombing. Of the soldiers, one was seriously wounded, while the others suffered only light injuries.

The slain officer was Lieutenant Ori Binamo, 21, of Nesher. Of the slain Palestinians, one was the taxi driver who was carrying the bomber, and army sources said that the other might have been the bomber's guide.

Although the IDF had no specific intelligence about yesterday's attack, it had received information indicating that Islamic Jihad was trying to infiltrate a suicide bomber into Israel. This information, as well as knowing that the many jam-packed Hanukkah events would make an attractive target, moved the army to order stepped-up counterterrorism efforts in the northern West Bank around Tul Karm and Qalqilyah this week, including extra patrols and surprise checkpoints.

"For every suicide bomber that succeeds, we have stopped dozens who did not reach their targets," said Colonel Aharon Haliba, commander of the Ephraim Brigade. "We've hurt them [the Jihad network] badly, but it still has an active infrastructure. There is no decline in the volume of its attacks."

"I don't want to speak of a miracle," he continued, "but with all my sorrow over Ori, I have to tell the truth: He and his soldiers, with their bodies, prevented [a far more serious] attack. That is their job; that is our job."

The statement went on to say that these heinous attacks were carried out on the eve of Diwalli festival in the hopes of disrupting this sacred time for the people of India.

This is a further instance of terrorists’ brutal disregard for innocent lives. It is up to all of us in the international community to fight terrorism in any and all forms.

Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and with and people of India during this difficult time.

Israel is also willing to share its experience in treating such injuries caused by explosives in order to save lives and ease the suffering of those who were hurt in the attacks.

ARAB TERRORIST’S WIFE USED BABY TO HIDE GRENADE (10/23)
Israeli soldiers arrested a terrorist's wife who held her baby to hide a grenade. In the same house, troops found a suitcase of explosives. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also killed four other terrorists who attacked them according to ARUTZ 7, Israel’s national news agency.

Haruv Battalion soldiers searched a house in a village near Shechem early Saturday, after receiving reports that ammunition was hidden there, according to Lt.-Col. Arik Chen. They discovered 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of explosives in a suitcase and arrested five terrorists.

Noticing that Aziza Jawabra, the wife of one of the terrorists, was holding her one-month-old baby in an unusual manner, the troops searched her and found a grenade in a jacket she was wearing.

"To see a woman using her baby to hide a grenade is not typical," Lt.-Col. Chen said. "She didn't have much to say," he added, except to deny knowing that the grenade was in the jacket. After soldiers arrested the terrorists, IDF sappers blew up the explosives, which destroyed the three-story building.

That figure includes 142 suicide bomb attacks, Diskin said in a briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The results of that terrorist onslaught are 1,048 persons murdered and over 5,600 injured and maimed, as well as incalculable mental trauma.

Diskin said some 18,000 Palestinian Authority (PA) residents and another 225 Arab citizens of Israel have participated in perpetrating these attacks. The committee also heard a detailed analysis by former Defense Ministry official Uzi Rubin on the massive Muslim missile threat facing the Jewish state.

Rubin said over 1,000 Iranian, Syrian, Egyptian, and Saudi long-range missiles capable of delivering a combined 500 tons of military-grade warheads were currently pointed at and capable of reaching all points of Israel.

According to THE JERUSALEM POST, Hamas was relocating its headquarters with the consideration that once Gaza is under Palestinian authority, their battlefront would move to Judea and Samaria, Army Radio quoted sources in the security establishment.

Hamas apparently intended to continue orchestrating terror attacks from within the West Bank following disengagement, officials warned.

FRANCE REFUSES TO ADD HEZBOLLAH TO EU TERROR LIST (2/14/05)
French President Jacques Chirac turned down today a request by Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom to add Hezbollah to the European Union's list of terror organizations, HA'ARETZ reported. The EU will soon hold an initial discussion on the Israeli request, which is based on the danger posed by Hezbollah to new Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. France has played the primary role so far in blocking the addition of Hezbollah to the list.

Both Israeli and Palestinian sources have accused Hezbollah of trying to organize attacks in order to torpedo the ceasefire reached between Abbas and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at Sharm el-Sheikh last week.

Also today, two mortar shells were fired at an IDF base south of the Karni crossing in northern Gaza.

According to Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, two Qassam rockets landed in the western Negev this afternoon, causing no casualties. Several mortar shells were fired at Jewish towns in the Gaza Strip on Monday night. Meanwhile, troops enter El Bireh, next to Ramallah, on Monday night to rescue an Israeli gas company employee who was being attacked by a crowd of Palestinians. The man had entered El Bireh by mistake and called the police on his mobile phone to ask for help. He was safely escorted back into Israel.

5000 MORTAR SHELLS
LANDED IN ISRAEL IN PAST FOUR YEARS (12/16)
Nearly 5,000 mortar shells have landed in Gush Katif since the start of Palestinian violence four years ago, killing four people and injuring over a hundred, MA'ARIV reported. A former senior Israel Defense Forces officer noted that, "the numbers are reminiscent of the fighting in southern Lebanon and maybe even surpass them. In Lebanon we simply fired back. In Gaza it is impossible since they fire from civilian territory. There are solutions to this problem, but they are not being carried out".

In other security-related news, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL reported that five Israelis had been wounded, two of them moderately, in two shooting incidents on the Kissufim-Gush Katif road. IDF soldiers killed two of the terrorists who carried out the shooting attack.

Despite the fact that most Israelis were never present at the scene of terrorist attacks, the survey, which questioned nearly 500 Israelis in the last months, reveals that one in every 10 Israelis is exposed directly to terror attacks.

The survey appears as part of a general study performed by the Tel Aviv University Medical School for Natal, a nonprofit organization that deals with victims of terror and war in Israel.

Naomi, a volunteer with the terror-victim support hotline, deals with these issues head-on. "We experience the reality of this data constantly. People who experienced trauma or shock just from being within the vicinity of a terrorist attack turn to us, as do people who were themselves injured physically or emotionally, even if much time has gone by," she told Army Radio.

However, even in this survey a positive note can be found: 82% of Israelis are optimistic about their personal futures, despite the current difficult situation.

Over 1,000 Israelis have been killed and thousands more wounded since the start of Palestinian violence in September 2000.

There have been 22,406 terror attacks against Israeli targets on both sides of the Green Line in the past four years, according to statistics released by the Israel Defense Forces.

EL AL TO FIT FIRST PLANE WITH ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEM (11/24)
Israel's airline, El Al, plans to begin installing its first anti-missile systems in one aircraft in December, Israel Radio, KOL YSRAEL, reported. The installation will begin with one Boeing jet, and if the experiment proves a success, six other aircrafts will be fitted with the system. The anti-missile system Flight Guard, which costs about $1 million per plane, was developed by the Israeli Military Industries together with Elta Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industry.

Children as young as 11 years old are easily persuaded to join the conflict with assurances that they will gain respect in the next life. Terror organizations then distance the young recruits from their families and schools and subject them to religious and nationalistic indoctrination.

Besides being influenced by programs broadcast on Palestinian Authority television encouraging them to support jihad, children are taught in schools and summer camps, under the banner of Islam, to back resistance acts against Israel and identify with martyrs.

TERROR HITS ISRAELIS HARD (10/31)
More than one out of every five Israeli Jews has experienced the loss of a relative or friend through terror or war in the past four years of the Oslo and Road Map Wars, according to Israel’s news service ARUTZ SHEVA. This is the picture that emerges from a phone survey conducted by the University of Haifa's Center for National Security Studies.

The poll shows that 21.8 percent of Israel's Jewish population suffered the terror-related loss of a friend or relative since September 2000, and over a quarter of the Israeli public (28.1 percent) makes sure to stay away from events, persons, or situations that remind them of a terrorist incident. The terrorism of the past four years has, according to the respondents answering the phone poll, deteriorated to the extent that some two-thirds of the public report a drop in their confidence in the government's ability to protect them. Just over half the Israeli public - 51.8 percent - say they feel "less in control" of factors affecting their lives.

Center director Professor Gabriel Ben-Dor and research associate Dr. Daphna Canetti-Nissim, who arranged telephone interviews in late September with 1,613 respondents, conducted the poll. The researchers found that Israel's Arab population is even more despondent - despite the fact that they have been less exposed to terrorism-related suffering than Jews.

Members of the Za'anun family came out of their house holding sticks and rocks, and tried to drive the Al-Aqsa terrorists from their yard, most likely fearing that their house would be demolished if Qassam rockets were fired from it. During the clash, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades members opened fire, killing Hassan Za'anun and wounding three other family members.

A 75 percent decrease in suicide attacks and attempted suicide attacks during the first half of 2004 was registered, in comparison with the corresponding period last year. Since the beginning of the year 2,000 Palestinians have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in terror activities, including 58 potential suicide bombers. During the first half of the year, Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank managed to thwart all attacks associated with 103 terror alerts.

According to the JERUSALEM POST, the survey was conducted in 2002 among 6,196 Israelis between the ages of 11 and 15 from a variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds.

The research was led by Dr. Yossi Harel, director of the International Research Program of Adolescent Well-Being and Health at Bar-Ilan University, in a special supplement to the international World Heath Organization survey of students, conducted every four years.

A third of students indicated they had acquaintances wounded in an attack, and the same number said that in the last year a terrorist attack had occurred in the area in which they live. A fifth said that someone close to them had been in an attack and 14 percent said that person had been wounded. Additionally, 13 percent of students have themselves been at the scene of an attack.

As a result, 46 percent avoid certain types of transportation and 35 percent go out less. Forty percent worry that the state faces the threat of destruction. Female students worry about personal safety more than males, and Jewish students worry more than Arabs.

The findings didn't startle Yitzhak Kadman, director of the National Council for the Child - in fact, he thinks the percentage of students affected and afraid because of the security situation is even greater than those in the report.

He said essentially that every child his center encountered in an 18-month program of visiting schools to speak to students about terrorist attacks had some kind of response to the violence.

He added that most child psychology efforts are focused on students who have been personally involved in an attack or lost a classmate, and that parents of the "second circle" of less-affected students generally shield their children from the topic in a misguided effort to spare them.

He suggested providing opportunities for all students to talk about the situation. Harel advocated "holistic" programs, such as volunteering, preparing students how to handle an attack, and otherwise "empowering" students and bolstering their sense of responsibility.

Both indicated that the long-term effects of the security situation on children aren't yet known but are the subject of further research.

Meanwhile, construction has started on the section of the West Bank security fence that will run from the community of Elkana near Rosh Haayin to the Israel Defense Forces base of Ofer near Ramallah, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. The 42-kilometer section of the fence is due to be completed by the end of 2004. Brigadier-General Eran Ofir, head of IDF logistics, estimated that another 200 kilometers of the fence would be built by the end of 2004, including the part around Jerusalem. The IDF spokesman and the police said they were aware of the difficulties the fence created for the residents of the east Jerusalem village of Sheik Saad. Israeli authorities are now working on making it easier for the villagers to reach the nearby village of Sawahra.

BUSES GET SOME PROTECTION AGAINST HOMICIDE BOMBING (2/23)
As part of the effort to prevent suicide bombers from boarding public buses, five terror-protected buses were to be handed to the Transportation Ministry today, HA'ARETZ reported. The official ceremony was postponed by the Ministry due to the suicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem, which killed 8 people. The new buses are equipped with a special protection system featuring a turnstile near the vehicle's front door allowing passengers to board only after the driver's approval. The driver will be aided by an explosives sensor that can detect bombs a meter away from the bus. The rear door only serves for passengers to exit. The system, developed by the Israel Military Industries, costs between $30,000 to $50,000 per piece.

ISRAELI CAMP FOR CHILDREN
OF TERROR VICTIMS TO HOST AMERICAN TEENS (2/17)
The Koby Mandel Foundation - the organizer of a summer camp for Israeli children who have lost parents or siblings in terrorist attacks - has announced that for the first time this year it will host religious teens from the United States and Canada on its six-week camp program, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The summer camp, which will be located in Kibbutz Negba, (near Ashkelon), will include recreational activities as well as counseling sessions for children whose relatives fell victim to terrorism.

The system, jointly developed by the bus manufacturing company Ha'argaz, the Transportation Ministry and TAAS-Israel Industries, consists of a barrier for the bus's front door, explosives detectors, and a back door to be used only for exiting the bus. The driver monitors passengers boarding his bus, and if anyone arouses suspicions, he presses a button to lock the turnstile, keeping the person off the bus.

Explosive detectors will assist the driver in inspecting passengers before they board the bus. The buses will also have a turnstile at the rear door to allow passengers to exit, while preventing bombers from climbing aboard from the back. Armored glass may also be installed beside the driver's seat and at the front of the bus to reduce the impact of an explosion.

If the pilot project is successful, the system could be installed later this year on the bus lines that are considered most vulnerable, Naid TAAS chairman Arye Mitzrahi. A more sophisticated version of the system includes electronic sensors to detect explosives up to a meter away, setting off an alarm near the driver.

The basic version will be installed in five buses within three weeks. Officials would not say in which city the buses would run. The more complex system would be installed on buses at a later date, Mizrahi said, refusing to give details about how the sensors work.

He said the project is part of the industry's effort to develop terror defense mechanisms. "TAAS sees this system firstly as a means to protect passengers' lives and afterwards as a solution that can be marketed around the world," Mizrahi said.

"One shouldn't get the mistaken impression that the Palestinians have abandoned their campaign of terror against Israel," David Baker, an official in the Prime Minister's Office, said. "Fortunately, the Israeli security services have been able to prevent the overwhelming number of terrorist attempts."

A total of seven Palestinian women have perpetrated suicide bomb attacks since the beginning of Palestinian violence in 2000. Twenty four additional women have planned to perpetrate such attacks but were apprehended by security forces before they could carry out their deadly mission. Of the sixteen Palestinian women who assisted terrorists and were arrested by security forces, ten were captured in 2003. On October 4 last year, Hinadi Malek Jeradat blew up at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa killing 19 Israelis.

It is not the first time terrorists have perpetrated attacks at border crossings into Israel, taking advantage of the easing up of restrictions granted to Palestinians civilians to enable them to work in Israel. Nine Israeli civilians and members of security forces have been killed in attacks at border crossings since September 28, 2000.

ARAFAT'S RADIO BLESSES WOMAN BOMBER (1/14)
In an unprecedented show of support for a human bomb attack, Yasser Arafat's official radio greeted with elation the news of the latest suicide assault in the Gaza Strip.

"Citizen Rim al-Riyashi was heroically martyred when she carried out an explosive operation at the Beit Hanoun Junction, killing four soldiers of the occupation," declared Voice of Palestine Radio in its 4-PM newscast, about an hour after the attack in the Gaza Strip.

The style of the news item, which opened the afternoon news round-up, was more like a birthday greeting than a regular news report, stressing the woman's identity and "heroic martyrdom" repeatedly. There was no mention that she was a member of the Islamic terror group known as Hamas.

The IDF arrested 9 Palestinians in the West Bank overnight Tuesday, including one Islamic Jihad member near Ramallah, a Hamas member in Tulkarm, and two more west of Hebron.

The trial of Palestinian Authority legislator Hossem Hader opened this morning at the Salem Military Court. Hader, a Tanzim leader, is accused of aiding and funding terror attacks carried out by the Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigade.

In other news, the coordinator of government activities in the West Bank and Gaza and the IDF announced on Tuesday the further easing-up of restrictions on the Palestinian population. After a prolonged period, the IDF reopened the Halhoul bridge to Palestinian traffic, thereby allowing passage between Halhoul and Hebron.

Scores of Palestinian stores located in close proximity to the Hebron Jewish community were also permitted to reopen, and roadblocks east of Halhoul and south of Meitzad, south of Bethlehem, were removed.

In recent weeks, the IDF removed roadblocks between Ramallah and Surda and the eastern entrance to Kalkilya. The number of merchants allowed to enter Israel from the West Bank has tripled and now stands at 9,000. Three thousand laborers from the West Bank who work in seasonal fruit picking and 6,000 other laborers were also able to enter.

TWO SUICIDE BOMBINGS –
ONE AGAINST A MIDDLE SCHOOL – FOILED (12/4)
Israeli security forces disrupted two imminent suicide bombings, HA'ARETZ reported. One of the attacks was to take place at a middle school in Yokne'am, near Haifa, while the target of the other was the city of Beit She'an. After interrogation, the pair of Palestinian suicide bombers told investigators that they had chose to infiltrate Israel via the northern Jordan Valley in the West Bank because Israel had not yet extended the security fence to cover that area.

Following the arrest on Tuesday of the Palestinian attempting to bomb Beit She'an, security forces declared a state of high alert in the north and police set up roadblocks and stop-checked vehicles passing through. The effort paid off as on Wednesday afternoon, an elite counter-terror police unit arrested would-be bomber Munir Rabeia, 23, of the Gaza Strip as well as his dispatcher, Murad Abu Zeitoun, of Zabuba, a village in the West Bank near Jenin.

Israeli officials noted that "what may appear to some people to be a lull Palestinian terror activity is actually a smokescreen for the continued efforts by these same terrorists to strike at innocent Israelis wherever and whenever they can."

In other news, a Palestinian woman arrived today at the Tarkomiya checkpoint and complained to soldiers that she had been beaten by 4 Hamas terrorists for refusing to serve as a suicide bomber, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The terrorists, who escaped in the direction of Kiryat Gat, are being chased after.

As part of an international security advisory team training the Greek police, Israeli instructors have been giving lessons in hostage-taking scenarios, security inspections, and shooting and bombing attacks, Ma’ariv reported.

"Israelis are regarded in Greece as experts in the field of terror and security," a senior Israeli police officer said.

Next month, a "Terror Strategy" seminar will take place in Athens for hundreds of local policemen, and Israeli police have taken on responsibility for much of the training process.

"The scourge of the Israeli occupation and continued aggression are the main reason for the suffering inflicted on our region," Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara said.

According to Shara, the Middle East "has been singularly more victimized than any other region," due primarily to Israel's existence and actions. Israel's occupation of the Palestinians, said Faisal, "represents an element of instability in the Middle East, dashing the hopes and ambitions in the Middle East for peace and development."

The ministers advocated for the adoption of new terminology to describe Palestinian terrorists. "When did the victims of occupation, settler colonialism, and population transfer become outlaws and terrorists without a just cause?" Shara asked during his speech.

In other statements to the General Assembly Sunday, Kaddoumi called Israel's current economic crisis "divinely ordained," and Faisal urged a specific Security Council reform: an end to US vetoes of anti-Israel resolutions.

EX-PA SECURITY CHIEF
DAHLAN: ARMED STRUGGLE WAS A MISTAKE (9/29)
Three years after the inception of violence, the outgoing Palestinian security chief said that Palestinians had made a mistake in using arms against Israel and failed to understand that the world had changed after September 11, HA'ARETZ reported. "Resorting to armed violence in certain phases of the Palestinian intifada, the way it was done in the past three years, proved to be detrimental to our national struggle," Mohammed Dahlan said on Sunday.

Dahlan, who served as security chief for four months under the outgoing prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, said the terrorist groups had been misreading the situation. "We had hoped that the various Palestinian factions would understand the new world that emerged after the events of September 11, 2001 and learn from their outcome," Dahlan said. "Each era of national struggle has its own characteristics and means. What is positive at a certain time might be counterproductive in other times," Dahlan added.

Meanwhile, according to THE JERUSALEM POST, a crowd of several thousand Palestinians demonstrated in the streets of Nablus to mark the anniversary of three years of violence against Israel. Leading the crowd were terrorists wearing fake explosive belts and burning a miniature Israeli bus.

Israel eased today a tight closure it had imposed on the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the two-day New Year's holiday that ended Sunday night. However, travel restrictions remained largely in place.

TWO DEAD - INCLUDING
7-MONTH-OLD - IN ROSH HASHANAH ATTACK (9/29)
An Islamic Jihad terrorist murdered a seven-month-old baby and a 26-year-old man in the West Bank community of Negohot in an attack carried out on Friday night against a group of people celebrating Rosh Hashanah, HA'ARETZ reported. The gunman shot dead Shaked Avraham in her rocker, as well as Otniel Yeshiva graduate Eyal Yerberbaum. Married couple Nehemia and Dorit Krakover were lightly wounded in the shooting.

The terrorist - identified as Islamic Jihad's Mahmoud Hamdan, 22 - infiltrated Negohot after the start of the Jewish New Year, around 9:30 PM and was armed with an M-16 rifle and two hand grenades. He repeatedly knocked on the door of a home where several people were holding a Rosh Hashanah dinner but failed to answer the question "who's there?" Eyal Yeverbaum, who was armed with a pistol, went to open the door. As soon as he cracked it open, the terrorist fired two bullets, mortally wounding him. Yeverbaum, however, managed to slam the door shut, thus preventing the terrorist from entering the house. The terrorist then sprayed bullets through the door, hitting the baby girl in the chest. She was killed almost instantly.

The assailant was killed about two minutes after he first opened fire by Israel Defense Forces troops stationed near Negohot.

ISRAELIS KIDNAPPED IN COLUMBIA ASSUMED ALIVE (9/16)
The Foreign Ministry announced this morning that the Israeli trekkers taken hostage last week-end by anti-government rebels in Colombia were still alive, HA'ARETZ reported. Six Israelis, along with four other foreign tourists, were captured while on a six-day hike to the "Lost City" - an ancient ruin on a jungle-covered mountain in the Sierra Nevada range. Two Israelis, Ron Atzmon and Dana Kidon, were separated from the group and managed to escape their captors on Monday. The four Israelis still missing are believed to be held in a remote area and have been identified as Benny Daniel, 26, and Orpaz Ohayon, 22, both from Ma'aleh Adumim; Ido Yosef Guy, 26, from Haifa; and Erez Altawil, 24, from Herzliya.

One of the freed Israelis, Ran Atzmon, told Israeli Channel 2 on Monday night that the captors had split the group into two and that his group had been taken to a house where their hands and legs were bound; they were then warned the door was booby-trapped and that any attempt to leave would trigger an explosion. Half an hour later, however, one of the tour guides opened the door, and he and his girlfriend managed to flee.

Colombia ranks first in the world for kidnapping, with nearly 3,000 people abducted each year. The assailants are believed to be members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has been fighting to overthrow the government for nearly four decades. The FARC is the nation's largest and most brutal rebel group, currently holding dozens of political prisoners, including a former presidential candidate, and three U.S. military contractors whom the group intends to trade for jailed rebels.

According to Meir, the cease-fire may hold for a short while; but, once it disintegrates, Israel will be forced to react to stave off terror attacks and will most likely be blamed for "breaking the cease-fire." "This whole business is an internal Palestinian matter," Meir said. "If after the cease-fire [the PA] takes overall security responsibility in certain areas, that is good. If not, Israel will need to continue to do what the Palestinians aren't willing to do."

A senior official in the Prime Minister's Office said the cease-fire development was "none of Israel's business" and that the government was only concerned about whether PA Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas would fulfill the commitments he took upon himself at the Aqaba summit earlier this month. Referring to Israel's release of some security prisoners and the dismantling of some unauthorized outposts, the official said, "we have done our part, and made good on our commitments, now it is their turn. If there is any move forward, if there is a cessation of violence it won't happen by itself, but only if real steps are taken to stop the terror."

According to diplomatic sources in Jerusalem, Abbas hopes that the three-month cease-fire will buy him enough time to organize the PA's security apparatus and that an expected palpable easing of conditions of the population will help him gain popularity on the Palestinian street. Sources assessed that Abbas believed he would be able to deter Hamas from staging attacks without actually having to dismantle the organization.

In their final analysis, officials said that Hamas would agree to the cease-fire in an attempt to preserve its strength in light of the unrelenting Israeli military attacks that have taken their toll on the terror group's leadership.

Meanwhile, according to Israel Radio, KOL ISRAEL, coordinator of government activities in the territories Maj.-Gen. Amos Gilad and Palestinian Minister of State Security Muhammad Dahlan are expected to meet later today to discuss the final details the transfer of security control in Gaza and Bethlehem to the Palestinians. The two talked until 3am last night at the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Herzliya Pituach and agreed to open the main north-south road in Gaza to unfettered traffic 24 hours a day.

ARAFAT LINKED WITH HIZBULLAH WEAPONS SHIP (5/23)
According to the Israel Defense Forces, two Palestinian officials, Adel Al Mughrabi and Fathi Razam - a naval commander and a military aide to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat respectively - worked with terror group Hizbullah to have weapons shipped to the Gaza Strip, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Mughrabi and Razam - who were involved in the smuggling Karine A episode, where Israel intercepted a boat in the Red Sea with a cargo of 50 tons of weapons destined for the Palestinian Authority in January 2002 - are now linked to another arms smuggling attempt. On Wednesday, Israeli naval commandos seized an Egyptian-registered fishing boat - called the Abu Hassan - and captured an explosives expert from Hizbullah onboard. The ship was transporting dozens of bomb detonators, CD-ROMs on how to prepare explosives, and a radio-controlled activation system that could be used to fire rockets or detonate homicide bombs and remote-controlled explosives. Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom said "this is a new attempt to smuggle weapons and instructions for terror attacks, and there is no doubt Arafat was involved as he was in previous cases."

Israeli security officials said the boat left Egypt on May 16 and made its way to Beirut, Lebanon three days later, avoiding the normal fishing routes. Eight people were onboard the ship - including two Hizbullah operatives. IDF officials confirmed that one of the people arrested was a top Hizbullah explosives expert, Hamad Abu Amra. This was the first time Israel captured a member of south Lebanon-based terror group heading to the Palestinian areas to train terrorists. In the past, Palestinian terrorists have traveled to Lebanon to receive training. The boat was seized off the northern Israeli port town of Haifa. In May 2001, Israel seized another boat, the Santorini, shipping arms to the Palestinian Authority.

SHARON'S SPOKESMAN: TERROR
ORGANIZATIONS DECLARING WAR ON ABU MAZEN (5/20)
Israel's Prime Minister Spokesman Ra'anan Gissin said today that the recent five acts of Palestinian terrorism against Israel - carried out within a 48-hour period - was a clear challenge to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) as a peace negotiator, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. "Terror organizations are declaring war on Mazen's new government," Gissin said. "What complicates matters is that PA Chairman Yasser Arafat is striving to enhance terror, and he is doing everything possible to undermine Abbas' authority and instigate trouble."

According to a senior diplomatic official, Hamas and Islamic Jihad - supported by Iran and Syria - realize that should Abbas succeed in steering the PA onto a different track, their historical role would be terminated. "They are now fighting for their lives with instigation by and support from outside forces," the official said.

The poll also shows that 55.5 percent of the participants believe Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat decided to create the post of prime minister only because of international pressure. 27.3 percent said the decision was the result of Israeli pressure, while 9.5 percent said he made the decision as part of plans to reform the PA.

Meanwhile, according to YEDIOT AHARONOT, Palestinians throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip rallied and rejoiced when hearing the reports of Iraqi resistance to American and British troops and the capture of American POWs. "Everyone here was happy to see pictures of American soldiers in Iraqi custody," said a Palestinian policeman stationed at Arafat's Ramallah headquarters. Another policeman declared that, "this is a big day for the Iraqi people and all the Arabs and Muslims. This is a big blow for [U.S. President George W.] Bush and [British Prime Minister Tony] Blair."

FOREIGN MINISTRY DEVELOPS NEW INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AGAINST HOMICIDE BOMBERS (3/5)
The Foreign Ministry has completed the rough draft of an international convention against suicide bombers and will soon begin distributing it to foreign governments in an effort to obtain enough signatures to make it a recognized as an international treaty, HA'ARETZ reported.

The draft contains three primary clauses:
* Inciting suicide attacks or providing assistance in perpetrating them will be defined as an international crime.
* States and organizations will be forbidden to offer financial support to the families of suicide bombers.
* A new international organization will be established, in coordination with the United Nations, to help states combat the phenomenon of suicide bombings.

The proposed convention is the brainchild of Alan Baker, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' legal adviser, who decided that a treaty was necessary after concluding that existing international agreements fell short of covering suicide attacks.

The ministry is now considering the best way to collect signatures for the treaty and has not yet decided whether Israel should spearhead the campaign, or whether it should let the United States and other countries take the lead. Though no foreign government has yet seen the Israeli draft, Baker has discussed the idea with his counterparts in several other countries. The United States, Russia, Turkey and India have all expressed great interest.

In addition, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held a special discussion this morning on global terror threats to Israel. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior security and intelligence officials attended the meeting to discuss the increasing exposure to attacks by Israelis since September 11, 2001. Among the attacks cited are the Los Angeles airport shooting at an El Al counter, the attempt to hijack an El Al plane over Turkey, and the hotel blast and attempt to down an Arkia plane in Mombasa.

450 ISRAELIS KILLED BY TERRORISM IN 2002 (1/6)
According to the Israel Defense Forces' statistics, 447 Israelis were killed in terror attacks in Israel, and 3 outside the country (Kenya) in the year 2002, YEDIOT AHARONOT reported. In addition, 2,344 Israelis were injured, including 604 members of security forces. The breakdown of the fatalities show that out of 450 Israelis, 295 were civilians and 155 were members of security forces; 302 men, 148 women, 57 children under the age of 18 and 58 senior citizens (over the age of 60) were killed. In addition, 17 foreign workers died. The statistics also show that 265 were killed within the Green Line, 182 in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and 3 abroad.

Furthermore, 2,208 terror attacks occurred in the West Bank during 2002, 3,056 in the Gaza Strip and 177 within Israel's home front. March was the most violent month, during which 109 Israelis were killed and 663 injured.

YASSIN: STOPPING SUICIDE
ATTACKS WOULD SERVE ONLY SHARON (1/3)
THE JERUSALEM TIMES (the independent Palestinian weekly) reports that the spiritual leader of the Islamic movement Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, said on Monday that halting suicide attacks would only serve the interests of right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in next month's general elections. "The end of martyr operations (suicide attacks) would serve the interests of the Zionist right-wing and allow the terrorist Sharon to tell voters he had been able to make the operations stop and to guarantee their security," Yassin told a website close to Hamas. Yassin insisted suicide attacks "will carry on" and Israel "will have no security as long as the Palestinian people are subjected to occupation."

166 SUICIDE BOMBERS DURING INTIFADA (12/17)
A senior Israeli defense official explained to the IDF website, that there have been 166 suicide bombers during the "Intifada Al-Aqsa." Of the 166 suicide bombers, 95 detonated themselves in 84 terrorist attacks.

The official explained that from 1993 until Dec. 16, 2002, there were 227 suicide bombers. From 1993 until Sept. 28, 2000 [the beginning of the current conflict] there were 61 suicide bombers, in which 43 succeeded in exploding themselves in 38 terrorist attacks.

ARAB PSYCHOLOGIST FORESEES "MURDEROUS GENERATION" (11/18)
ARUTZ-7 has pointed out that a movie clip on the Coalition Against Terrorism Website entitled "Seeds of Hate" includes the following segment on its sound track:

Young teacher: "We are teaching the children that suicide bombs are the only thing that makes the Israeli people very frightful. Furthermore we are teaching them that we have the right to do it. Moreover we are teaching them that the man who does it [suicide bombs] goes to the highest step of Paradise."

Narrator: "Palestinian psychologist Dr. [inaudible] Massalha conducted a study last year among Palestinian children aged 6-11. The most astonishing fact presented by Dr. Massalha was that more than 50% of children aged 6-11 dream of becoming suicide bombers who wear explosives belts. Dr. Massalha states that in about ten years, a very murderous generation will come of age, full of hatred and ready to die in suicide missions."

Narrator: "In a society in which the legitimization of child murderers becomes a part of its ideology, then normative human morality no longer exists. Which moral rules shall these children pass onto their children when they in turn become parents?"

[Child yelling, "I will eat the flesh of my conqueror," on the backdrop of Arab men yelling and holding up pieces of human meat.]

Narrator: "All of this has been orchestrated quite methodically by the Palestinian Authority... What kind of government calls upon its citizens to become uncompromising killers, while presenting itself to the world as a victim striving only for its peace? This untenable hypocrisy should not be tolerated by enlightened civilization - yet this is the reality happening here and now."

ISRAEL TO AMNESTY: INTERNATIONAL PALESTINIAN TERRORISM IS CONDUCTED BEHIND CHILDREN (11/4)
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman called a recent report by Amnesty International on the actions of the Israel Defense Forces during Operation Defensive Shield, "a one-sided account that ignores the fact that Israel is in the midst of an armed conflict that was imposed on it," MA'ARIV reported. "Israel is struggling to defend its citizens against Palestinian terrorism that is deliberately conducted from behind the civilian population, including the use of children and ambulances," the spokesman said. He added that "Israel regrets any harm to innocent people, and the Israel Defense Forces continue to make every effort to avoid harm to civilians."

IDF spokesman said they would have no official comment on the Amnesty report until they had fully studied it, however, they released the following statement "in its actions against terrorist infrastructure during Operation Defensive Shield, Israel was implementing its basic right of self-defense. The IDF acted with determination against these infrastructures, but took the required caution while operating among the civilian population."

The London-based Amnesty International's 76-page report detailed what it called "unlawful killings and abusive treatment of detainees" during the Israeli army's operations in Jenin and Nablus in April. But the report clearly states that no "massacre" was committed in Jenin and says the rumors spread when medical workers were not allowed to enter the refugee camp and relied on partial and incomplete testimonies of camp refugees. "Amnesty believes some of the acts by the IDF described are war crimes," the report stated.

The report is based on interviews with local residents, Palestinian officials, members of international humanitarian organizations, physicians, IDF officers, human rights organizations and Amnesty field workers. The report documents cases in which Palestinians were killed or injured under circumstances that suggest the IDF's disproportionate use of force, or the failure by the army to protect those not involved in the fighting.

48 CHILDREN AFFECTED BY
TERROR CELEBRATE BAR MITZVAH TOGETHER (10/22)
Forty-eight children, all directly affected by terrorism in the last 2 years, took part in a special joint bar and bat mitzvah (coming-of-age) ceremony at the Western Wall on Monday, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. "I know that God is looking down on me now," said one boy, who recently lost his brother and father in a terror attack in Ofra. Meanwhile, a young girl who survived the Dolphinarium attack in June 2001, made a plea for peace in Israel.

The celebration was attended by Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Chairman of the Jewish Agency Sallai Meridor, Minister of Tourism Yitzhak Levy, and Minister of Religious Affairs Asher Ohana, who all congratulated the children on their special day. "You have shown strength in the face of adversity. Every Jew in the world stands with you and loves you," Levy said in an address to the children, their families and friends.

The ceremony was organized by the Jewish Agency's Fund for Victims of Terror, which organizes programs and offers financial assistance to victims. The fund is currently launching a new initiative that will see the opening of $5000 bank accounts for each child orphaned by terror.

JESNER FAMILY MOVING TO ISRAEL (9/30)
The family of Yoni Jesner, the Glasgow teenager killed by a suicide bomber in Tel Aviv, have decided to make aliyah to Israel, according to THE HERALD, a United Kingdom newspaper.

Ari Jesner, 26, said the death 11 days ago of Jonathan "Yoni" Jesner, his 19-year-old brother, had strengthened their allegiance to the Jewish state. The brother, currently a trainee solicitor living in London, said that he intends to move to Jerusalem after qualifying and that his mother, Martha, and Jaffray Gladstone, his stepfather, plan to follow.

"Yoni's death has tied us closer to the state. It reinforces the importance of the state of Israel to the Jewish people," said Mr. Jesner. "It's all we've got. We're really fighting for our life. The tragic events have made me realize it's all the more crucial to be here…The Arab side doesn't realize that we don't intend to go anywhere. They're not going be able to get rid of us."

Yoni who died in an Israeli hospital after his parents gave doctors permission to switch off his life-support machine. Yoni's kidneys were donated to save a seven-year-old Palestinian girl.

Yoni's mother, a teacher at Scotland's only Jewish primary school, and his grandmother flew to Israel as soon as they received news of the attack. His father, Joseph, is already living in Israel.

FATHER CHOOSES HOME OVER SON (8/23)
The army's policy of razing houses belonging to terrorists and their families continues to save Jewish lives. A Hebron Arab, yesterday, turned in his son, a Hamas member, to IDF forces. KOL RINA NEWS AGENCY reports that the father told the Israelis that his son was planning a terrorist attack, but "I don't want my house demolished."

IDF forces razed the home of an organizer of the Park Hotel Pesach Seder Massacre in Tul Karem last night. The police, with the strong backing of Public Security Minister Uzi Landau, have also recommended that the homes of the Jerusalem Gang members arrested this past week be destroyed as well. These terrorists, permanent residents of Israel, murdered 35 Jews, including 5 Americans, in three separate attacks; carried out five other attacks, including placing bombs on fuel trucks and train tracks; and were about to carry out another mass attack when they were arrested. No Israeli-Arab terrorist has yet had his home destroyed in the current war.

YEDIOT ACHARONOT military commentator Alex Fishman, writing about the ramifications of the capture of the Israeli-Arab terrorist cell, has this to say:

"...The time has come to open our eyes and admit: Most of the resident of eastern Jerusalem do not identify with the State of Israel, they do not feel part of it, but rather see themselves part of the Palestinian state [sic]. Therefore, so long as we don't take away their Israeli ID cards, there is no security value in building a separation fence around Jerusalem, since a considerable portion of them - some tens of thousands of residents in eastern Jerusalem - live outside the municipal boundaries of the city at all... This home-based terror is so dangerous that we need to create a deterrent immediately, even a brutal one, so that members of this cell will not become a model for other 'Israeli Arabs.'"

EGYPT’S GRAND MUFTI
JUSTIFIES PALESTINIAN SUICIDE ATTACKS (8/16)
THE JERUSALEM POST reports that Egypt’s most prominent Muslim cleric, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Ahmed Al Tayeb, defended the Palestinians’ use of suicide bombings against Israel in a Wednesday interview with Agence France Presse.

Describing suicide attacks as "the sole means of struggle which the Palestinians have in current circumstances," the Mufti said that "We have a strong (Israeli) army and a very weak people, and this people has not found another means of defending itself… thus we should not say that it should not be done."

He added, "Islam bans fighting civilians, women, children, but on condition that there are two armies present." In the case of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Mufti said, this condition was not applicable, hence the Palestinians are free to resort to suicide attacks even if they result in the loss of civilian lives. "If the Palestinian people had an army," he said, "then these attacks would be forbidden."

The Mufti, who teaches philosophy at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, was appointed to his post by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL DENOUNCES
SUICIDE BOMBINGS AS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY (7/11)
A recent report by human rights watchdog Amnesty International has condemned attacks on Israeli civilians by Palestinian armed groups or individuals as crimes against humanity, finding no justification for them under international law, JERUSALEM POST reported.

In a report launched in Gaza, Amnesty International documented 128 attacks by Palestinian groups or individuals, which claimed 350 civilian lives since September 2001, most of them Israeli.

Palestinian officials rejected this report, dismissing it as biased and unbalanced. Palestinian Authority Cabinet Secretary Ahmed Abdul Rahman said, "all that is happening to Israeli citizens is a normal consequence for their occupation."

IDF CASUALTIES REACH 10-YEAR HIGH (7/10)
153 soldiers died in the first six months of 2002, YEDIOT AHARONOT reported. 105 were killed in terror attacks or other violence perpetrated by Palestinians, and thirty died in accidents, either on or off duty. 26 soldiers were severely injured, and 69 were moderately injured, either in combat or in terror attacks. According to figures complied by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, this is the highest number of casualties the IDF has suffered in over ten years.

SOLDIER TO INJURED GIRL: YOU GAVE ME COURAGE TO FIGHT (6/26)
President Moshe Katsav paid his respects on Tuesday to the Shabo family, which lost four of its members last week when a terrorist entered their home in Itamar and opened fire, killing the mother and three children, MA'ARIV reported. During the visit, the President was presented with a letter written by a soldier who was part of the rescue force, to Aviah, 13, one of the siblings of the Shabo family, who was seriously wounded in the attack.

"Aviah, you are a very brave girl. I will never forget your face that day. You've captured my heart forever. We need a lot of courage to get over the bad and keep on going, you have to keep on going. We all have to. I wanted to tell you a secret and I think you are old and mature enough to understand, on that night we were suppose to go into Nablus. Unfortunately, we entered the city after the terrible incident in Itamar. The look that you gave me and the amazing courage that you displayed that night, gave me a lot of courage to go on and continue the difficult mission. I was not afraid of anything and I know it's because of you. Aviah, I hope that you and your brother Asael will feel better soon and get back to your family. Someone told me that you have a great family that will support you and take care of you, and that is the biggest treasure a person can ask for."

FAMILY OF LYNCHED VICTIM TO ESTABLISH
INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM FOR VICTIMS OF TERRORISM (4/25)
The family of Vadim Norzich, the Israel Defense Forces reservist who was lynched by a Palestinian mob in Ramallah last year, will establish an international museum commemorating victims of terrorism worldwide, YEDIOT AHARONOT reported. The museum will be built in Or Akiva, Norzich's hometown.

Vadim's sister, Tatiana Norzich-Brienberg, said that she and several other women whose loved ones were killed in Palestinian terrorist attacks had already begun raising funds for the museum. "We know it's a serious challenge," she said, "but we will succeed. We want to commemorate all those individuals around the world who lost their lives in terror attacks." She added that the museum will feature the names, pictures and biographies of terror victims, and will also research terrorism and the means to combat it.