Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Wednesday convened his security cabinet to discuss a current rise in Palestinian attacks and ways to battle them.
A main focus of the session was a proposal to expel relatives of suicide bombers to the Gaza Strip, Army Radio reported after the meeting. The proposal sparked wide international criticism when it was first put forward several weeks ago, and the cabinet had relegated it to the back burner until the Wednesday session.
Israel's Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein told the ministers that it would only be possible to deport family members proven to have had links to the bomber's action, the radio added.
Meanwhile, Israel transferred US$15 million in tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday in a move meant to ease economic conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
According to AP, Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayad said he had received the money and denied Israeli claims that it had set conditions on the transfer of the funds. "The Palestinian Authority refuses any conditions to get any of our frozen money from Israel. This money is the Palestinian right, which is not subject to any concessions or conditions, or any kind of external control," he said in a statement.
Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Fayad had initially refused to accept the money because of Israel's insistence that it be used only for humanitarian purposes. "We don't want the money to go to any of the Palestinian institutions where the money either goes into their pockets ... or to finance organizations that carry out terrorist attacks against us," Gissin said.
This sum represents a third of the PA tax revenues that Israel froze soon after the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000.
On the ground, Israeli police said they arrested over 100 Palestinians illegally working in Israel, the radio reported. Also, according to the report, police arrested two Israelis who were employing the Palestinians.
Elsewhere, Palestinians opened fire on two army outposts in the Gaza Strip overnight. Additionally, Palestinians threw a grenade at an army outpost on the Israel-Egypt border, the radio said. No one was injured in any of those incidents, it added.
In the West Bank, soldiers arrested one Palestinian in the city of Qalqilya Tuesday night. Two other wanted activists were arrested near Hebron and in Nablus, the radio said.
Israeli security forces believe that the Palestinian arrested near Nablus was connected to Tuesday's shooting attack that killed two Israeli settlers, Israel Radio reported. Fatah military wing, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed that attack that killed the two in a village, near Nablus. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
