Encouraged by their success in breaking through the Egyptian border with Gaza last week, a Hamas spokesman has threatened to gather 500,000 Palestinian Authority residents of the region for a similar assault on the perimeter fence dividing southern Israel from PA-controlled Gaza.
Ahmad Yousef... called the fall of the barrier between Egyptian Sinai and Gaza... a sign of the start of “a third Intifada.”

Ahmad Yousef, political advisor to the Gaza-based PA leader Ismail Haniyeh, called the fall of the barrier between Egyptian Sinai and Gaza last week a sign of the start of “a third Intifada.” Speaking with the PA's Bethlehem-based Maan news agency, Yousef said the next stage in such a campaign could involve thousands of Gazan Arabs swarming the IDF-controlled Erez Crossing between Israel and and the PA in an effort to attract international support.

Meanwhile, Hamas militia forces cooperated with Egyptian soldiers on Monday in closing one of three gaps in the security barrier in the city of Rafiah, which straddles the Egyptian-Gaza border. Barbed wire was strung across a section of the separation wall known as the Brazil Gate; however, the main gate in the area remained open, allowing Gaza Arabs to continue to enter Egyptian towns unimpeded. Last week, when Egyptian forces attempted to close the border on their own, a PA bulldozer knocked a new opening in the separation wall.

The partial border control collaboration comes after Egyptian security forces ordered all stores in El-Arish, bordering the Gaza region, to close as of Sunday. Trucks loaded with goods and supplies were prevented from leaving El-Arish towards Rafiah. The move deprived PA Arabs who had charged into the Sinai from Gaza during the past week of a central economic incentive for their having done so.

Since the border breach on Wednesday of last week, representatives of Fatah, headed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, have met with Egyptian officials to discuss the situation in Gaza. Both Fatah and Hamas are asking to take control of the Egypt-Gaza crossings. On Monday, Egypt sent 6,000 soldiers to reinforce troops and police stationed in Rafiah, with several Hamas terrorists reportedly taking part in the new deployment.

Gaza Terrorists Launch An Attack
Since last week, Egyptian forces in the Sinai Peninsula have arrested dozens of armed PA Arabs who crossed the breached Gaza frontier. Security forces in southern Israel remain on high alert due to concerns that PA terrorists from Gaza are attempting to infiltrate Israel by way of Egypt.

Terrorists in the Gaza region managed to launch one lone attack on an Israeli target on Monday. PA militia forces fired a mortar shell at the Kissufim Crossing on Monday evening. The shell landed near the Eshkol region crossing, but caused no significant damage. No injuries were reported in the attack.

Just a day after the Shas party announced that it would quit the government if Israel begins negotiating the future of Jerusalem, the party's spiritual leader phoned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to encourage him before the release of the possibly incriminating Winograd Report.

"Be strong and of good courage, and do not fear," Rabbi Yosef told Olmert Tuesday morning, promising his party's continued support.  The rabbi's about-face was enabled by Olmert's announcement yesterday that talks on Jerusalem are not expected to begin in the near future.  Other analysts see it differently, surmising that this is Shas' way of saying goodbye to the government.

Rabbi Yosef heads the Shas Council of Torah Sages, which decided on Sunday evening that the party would quit the government the moment talks begin with the Palestinian Authority about the future of Jerusalem.  The decision was made just a week and a half after Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party quit the government - in protest of the start of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority over so-called "core issues."

Violation of Promise to US
Olmert's announcement that he does not plan to discuss Jerusalem right away negates his recent promises to both U.S. President George Bush and PA leader Mahmoud Abbas to immediately begin negotiations on all the core outstanding issues between Israel and the PA - including Jerusalem.

At present, the Olmert government still represents a majority of the Israeli Parliament's 120 members.  If and when Shas and its 11 MKs quit, however, Olmert will head a minority government vulnerable to a simple no-confidence motion in the Knesset.  In such a case, left-wing Meretz and possibly the Arab parties are likely to prop him up for at least a certain period, in the hope that he will advance negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

Looming only 30 hours away is the release on Wednesday at 6 PM of the Winograd Report on the government's handling of the Second Lebanon War. The report will not directly call for Olmert to quit, but it is likely that its expected strong criticism of him - as appeared in a preliminary report several months ago - will lead to a wave of public pressure for his resignation.

The War's Last 60 Hours
Media analyses of the Winograd Report concentrate on the final 60 hours of the Second Lebanon War, during which Olmert ordered a ground offensive that cost 35 soldiers' lives - despite, or because of, the fact that a UN-brokered ceasefire was about to go into effect.  The report's determination regarding Olmert's decisions and performance during this period will be critical regarding Israel's political future.

Investigative reporter Yoav Yitzchak, editor of the NFC Hebrew news site, says Olmert is working on several fronts to prevent his coalition from crumbling and the subsequent calling of new elections.  The Prime Minister continues to sustain ties with Lieberman, so that he won't work actively to topple the government, and is also maintaining contacts with Labor - Olmert's largest coalition partner, with 19 MKs - to head off voices there calling to quit the government.

Labor Party leader Ehud Barak, who promised several months ago to quit the government after the release of the Winograd Report, has backtracked somewhat.  He now says that he will wait to read the report's conclusions before making a decision. 

The head of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group in Bethlehem was arrested Monday evening.

Muhammad Isa Halil Abeda was apprehended in a joint IDF, Yamam Elite Border Police and Shabak (General Security Service) operation in the PA-assigned city, just south of Jerusalem.

Abeda oversaw and commanded several Islamic Jihad terror cells and was involved in the planning and funding of attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers.

The security forces arrested Abeda after a standoff that lasted several hours. Troops surrounding his home came under repeated attack from local mobs.
 
“After a violent riot erupted, IDF forces responded using means of riot dispersal at dozens of Palestinians that hurled Molotov cocktails, building blocks and rocks at the forces,” the IDF Spokesman reported. “After a number of rioters opened fire at the soldiers, the forces returned fire at their lower bodies.”

One teenage attacker, who threw a firebomb at soldiers, was killed when they returned fire.

US President George W. Bush delivered his State of the Union address Monday evening, praising the 2005 election of Mahmoud Abbas and once again calling for a Palestinian state.

Bush lauded the election of Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas in 2005 as PA chairman as proof of a rejection of terrorism among PA Arabs. “We are also standing against the forces of extremism in the Holy Land, where we have new cause for hope. Palestinians have elected a president who recognizes that confronting terror is essential to achieving a state where his people can live in dignity and at peace with Israel,” Bush said.

Abbas in fact garnered less than 63 percent of the vote, with only half of those eligible casting ballots and Hamas and Islamic Jihad boycotting the elections. When Hamas ran on a platform of continued terror attacks in 2006, it garnered 56 percent of the legislative seats, while Fatah received only 34 percent.

Bush began his words regarding the Middle East with an emotional description of global Islamic terrorism that noticeably omitted attacks targeting Israelis. “In the past seven years, we have also seen images that have sobered us,” he said. “We have watched throngs of mourners in Lebanon and Pakistan carrying the caskets of beloved leaders taken by the assassin’s hand. We have seen wedding guests in blood-soaked finery staggering from a hotel in Jordan, Afghans and Iraqis blown up in mosques and markets, and trains in London and Madrid ripped apart by bombs. And on a clear September day, we saw thousands of our fellow citizens taken from us in an instant. These horrific images serve as a grim reminder: The advance of liberty is opposed by terrorists and extremists — evil men who despise freedom, despise America, and aim to subject millions to their violent rule.”

The only mention of PA Arab terrorism was in the repeated assertions that the residents of the Palestinian Authority reject terrorism and will do so even more if freedom is increased there. “In the long run, men and women who are free to determine their own destinies will reject terror and refuse to live in tyranny,” Bush said. “That is why the terrorists are fighting to deny this choice to people in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Palestinian Territories.”

Bush seemed to scale back his insistence on the establishment of a Palestinian state within this year regardless of any action against terrorism, seeking rather to “define” such a state by then. “This month in Ramallah and Jerusalem, I assured leaders from both sides that America will do, and I will do, everything we can to help them achieve a peace agreement that defines a Palestinian state by the end of this year. The time has come for a Holy Land where a democratic Israel and a democratic Palestine live side-by-side in peace.”

The US President reiterated America’s opposition to Iran’s nuclear program and support of Hamas. “We are also standing against the forces of extremism embodied by the regime in Tehran,” he said. “…wherever freedom advances in the Middle East, it seems the Iranian regime is there to oppose it. Iran is funding and training militia groups in Iraq, supporting Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon, and backing Hamas’ efforts to undermine peace in the Holy Land. Tehran is also developing ballistic missiles of increasing range and continues to develop its capability to enrich uranium, which could be used to create a nuclear weapon…

“Our message to the leaders of Iran is also clear: Verifiably suspend your nuclear enrichment, so negotiations can begin. And to rejoin the community of nations, come clean about your nuclear intentions and past actions, stop your oppression at home, and cease your support for terror abroad. But above all, know this: America will confront those who threaten our troops, we will stand by our allies, and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf.”

Jewish lawmakers harshly condemned two Israeli Arab lawmakers who traveled to Jordan Monday to attend the funeral of George Habash, founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization. Habash, 83, died Saturday at his home in Amman following an angioplasty earlier in the week.

Referred to by TIME magazine as the “Christian Terrorist Godfather, was a Greek Orthodox Christian, Habash’s PFLP carried out a murderous attack at Ben Gurion Airport in 1972 with Japanese Red Army terrorists, leaving 24 people dead.

The PFLP was also responsible for the 1976 hijacking of an Air France plane that was forced to land in Entebbe, Uganda. Israeli commandos rescued 100 passengers being held hostage by terrorists in a daring raid that inspired a movie and stories of heroism recounted in the generations that followed..

United Arab List-Ta’al Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi and Balad party Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka traveled to Amman with other members of Zahalka’s party for the ceremony.

A number of Jewish Knesset Members slammed the two Arab Knesset Members for going to honor Habash, a vicious terrorist who devoted his entire career to murdering Jewish men, women and children.

National Union Knesset Member Tzvi Hendel congratulated Tibi and Zahalka for attending Habash’s funeral – on condition they do not return to Israel. “Knesset Members who openly mourn and support one of the worst terrorists of our generation” need to be thrown out of the Knesset,” he said.

Yisrael Beiteinu Knesset Member Esterina Tartman also slammed the two Arab lawmakers. The “Israeli Arab MKs show contempt for the State of Israel; they believe in murder, in the destruction of the State of Israel and the obliteration of the Jewish People,” she charged.

Tibi and his party members first traveled to Ramallah Sunday to offer their condolences to Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas.

“He was one of the most prominent leaders of the PLO and always fought for independence,” Tibi said, adding that although Habash often disagreed with PLO founder Yasser Arafat, the two men deeply respected each other.
Arafat co-founded the Fatah terrorist organization with Abbas in 1969, heading the group, and its parent organization, the PLO until his death in 2004, when Abbas inherited the position.

Zahalka has often declared his support for the position of enemy nations claiming that Israel has no right to be in Jerusalem, referring to the Old City as “occupied” and to its Jewish residents as “right-wing settlers.” Zahalka also told Syrian government radio in Damascus last year, “We don’t see Syria as an enemy state.”

Speaking last year at an event to honor the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the PFLP terror group, Zahalka told participants that Israeli Arabs “refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish country.”

He added that “[Israel] demands this (recognition as a Jewish state) in order to gain legitimacy to expel our people and to steal the rights of the Palestinian people ‘on the inside’... The various factions must work together.  We must protect national Palestinian unity, because it is the most important thing we have.”

The appeal of Omri Sharon, the former one-term MK and son of former PM Ariel Sharon, has been rejected - and he will begin his seven-month jail term a month from now.  Sharon the son was convicted of violations of political campaign laws, including receiving unlawful campaign donations and filing false affidavits, and could have faced up to five years in prison.

The violations occurred during the 1999 Likud Party primaries, in which Ariel Sharon won the title of Likud party leader and its candidate for prime minister.  Sharon the father always denied any knowledge of how his campaign was financed, saying it was run exclusively by his son.  Many viewed Omri Sharon favorably for his apparent willingness to be his father's "fall guy."

Ariel Sharon suffered a massive brain hemorrhage in January 2006, lapsing into a coma that is now two years old.  The beginning of Omri's sentence was postponed in the past because of his father's illness.

In his one three-year term in the Knesset, which began exactly five years ago to the day, Omri Sharon was a member of several Knesset committees - but is best known for his behind-the-scenes Knesset work in pushing and promoting the Disengagement, in which 25 Jewish towns in Gaza and Shomron were destroyed and 9,000 Jews were made homeless. He was also heavily involved in doling out official appointments to governmental and official bodies.

Call for Pardon
Within hours after the Supreme Court's rejection of the appeal was announced, at least one call was heard for a Presidential pardon for Omri Sharon.  Public relations man Rani Rahav asked President Shimon Peres to show compassion and grant clemency. 

"In these days," Rahav wrote to Peres, "when former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon lies unconscious in Tel HaShomer Hospital, with his two sons tending him day and night, we citizens of Israel are praying for his health.  It cannot be ignored that his son, former MK Omri Sharon, is tending his father 24 hours a day with endless dedication.  I believe that this case should be treated with the trait of compassion, and not increase Omri Sharon's suffering.  There is no doubt that Omri has already received his punishment and pays for it every day and every hour.  Please, honored President, pardon former MK Omri Sharon."

Once again, religious Knesset Members are trying to get Israel Railways to abide by the Sabbath rest laws.

On Monday, MK Uri Ariel (National Union) submitted a Knesset query to Transportation Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, regarding the ongoing Sabbath-desecrating construction work.  Ariel explained that an alternative had been found that would help obviate Sabbath desecration, yet it was not being used.

Israel Railways announced at the end of last week, as it does from time to time, that train service would be suspended over the weekend, including before and after the Sabbath. (Trains do not operate on the Sabbath.) Behind this innocent-sounding statement lies the fact that Israel Railways construction work would be taking place over the Sabbath.

National Union MKs have asked in the past that such Sabbath desecration be stopped.  They were told by Transportation Ministry officials, however, that pouring the concrete for the new overpass pillars requires more than 24 hours of drying out time, during which trains cannot travel in the area. The officials said such a long break cannot be taken during weekdays, and that the 25-hour train-free Sabbath must be utilized for this purpose.  However, they did not relate to all the construction and supervisory work on the overpasses that must be done by contractors and many others during the Sabbath.

To solve the problem, it was found that metal or pre-fab concrete pillars that do not require the 24-hour hiatus could do the job just as well, and the proper permits and approvals were secured.  "Despite this," MK Ariel wrote to Minister Mofaz, "Israel Railways, under the auspices of the Transportation Ministry, continues to work with the old-fashioned concrete pillars - leading to Sabbath desecration for no purpose."
 
Rash of Accidents
Just a year ago, National Union MKs made a similar complaint.  The train company had begun building overpasses at problematic road-track intersections, following a rash of car-train accidents, including one in which five people were killed.  In another near-fatal incident a few days later, a school bus filled with children became stuck on the tracks; the driver was able to extricate his passengers, and then the bus itself, just before a train came hurtling by.

Three weeks later, another crash was averted at the last moment when the conductor slammed on the brakes at the sight of a truck on the tracks. The truck reportedly tried to cross even though the barriers were down. During the five-day period preceding that incident, the police had given out no fewer than 169 tickets to drivers who did not stop at train tracks when the light was red.   
 
Last year's complaint ended with a no-confidence motion against the government filed by the National Union, which did not pass.   MK Ariel and colleagues are waiting to see what will be of their complaint this time.

The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel's largest reservoir, has begun to rise - but just barely.  It has climbed this rainy season only 12 centimeters in height since reaching its lowest level two months ago, and now stands at just under 212.5 meters below sea level - only 49 centimeters (19.3 inches) above what was once the "red line" minimum level. 

This "red line," 213 meters below sea level, was once thought to be the limit below which Kinneret water becomes problematic for drinking. However, in 2001, the "red line" was lowered another 2.5 meters, to -215.5, based on the depth of the water-drawing pipes, which do not reach below this level.

The current level is the lowest it has been in years at this time of year.  Last year, for instance, the Kinneret was nearly a half-meter higher at this time.  Average rainfall so far this winter has only been 65% of the multi-year average - and only 60% in the area of Lake Kinneret and the central mountain region.

The Kinneret was originally used only for recreational purposes, but in recent decades has become Israel's largest source of fresh water.  In 1991, it reached its maximum height, forcing the opening of the dams so that its beach city Tiberias would not be flooded.  Ten years later, it reached its lowest level in many years - some 214.8 meters below sea level.

The Cabinet discussed the looming water crisis at its latest weekly meeting on Sunday, and Mekorot Water Authority Director Uri Shani warned that Israel faces a severe water crisis this summer unless rainfall increases significantly.  He said that if the rest of the winter sees only average rainfall, this would lead to a water deficit in Israel of 300 million cubic meters - about 1.75 meters of Kinneret height, or the rough equivalent of what 2.6 million Israelis consume in a year (not including industrial and agricultural use).

Ben-Eliezer's Plan
Minister of National Infrastructures Binyamin Ben-Eliezer presented the Cabinet with a plan of action to address the water shortage.  The plan calls for increased desalination, restrictions on public and private watering, another cut in fresh water quotas for agriculture in exchange for monetary compensation for the farmers, and an intensive public relations campaign to encourage the public to save water.
 
Desalination
The cabinet discussed the option of increasing water production at desalination plants in Ashkelon and Palmachim, which currently produce a total of 140 million cubic meters of water each year. Last year, the government ordered the building of two new desalination plants, in Rishon LeTzion and Ashdod, in addition to one currently being built in Hadera.  The government's goal is to produce 500 million cubic meters annually.

Israeli school children are banking on having a day off from classes and parents are wondering what to do if they did. Bus companies have readied special travel schedules – and are prepared to stop running lines on roads that might become impassable.

Immigrants who wistfully recall childhoods filled with snowball fights, igloos and snow forts, meanwhile, say they are hoping this time it might be “the real thing.”

And municipal officials throughout the country are gearing up for the biggest storm of the season.

Although snow is not that unusual in Israel, Tuesday’s storm is expected to dump more of the white stuff than normal, with some forecasts predicting snowfalls of up to 25 inches in the northern part of the country.
 
Jerusalem is likely to see up to 10 inches by the end of the storm and even the southern regions could see two inches or so.
I can already see the hot chocolate steaming from my mug.

One forecast has predicted snow in the northern Negev city of Arad, located slightly to the west of the southern tip of the Dead Sea. There is a possibility that the Red Sea resort city of Eilat might even see a few flakes.

Warnings have been posted for near-gale force winds of up to 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) in much of the country and even higher along the coastal areas. 

Officials in the capital are especially concerned about the homeless; several people died in the past couple of weeks around the country due to the unusually severe cold weather. Jerusalem welfare officials have said they will house the homeless in hotels if need be.

Jerusalem Municipality Issues Instructions
The Jerusalem municipality is prepared for all possibilities and issued a media alert by midday Monday detailing the elaborate preparations put into place.

“Mayor Uri Lupolianski has ordered municipal teams to keep over 500 kilometers of emergency routes clear to allow emergency and rescue vehicles to move freely when needed,” said the statement, and main roads will be salted as necessary.

Extra staff will be on hand to answer the municipal 106 hotline and the city’s welfare department is “preparing in advance to assist the residents of Jerusalem, especially the elderly and people with special needs,” the statement adds.

Instructions on how to prevent water from freezing and pipes from bursting are included in the alert and a plethora of instructions are added in a list that would make any Jewish mother proud:
• Check the heating systems, especially those which require ventilation
• Make sure roofs and other openings, such as doors and windows are properly sealed and that the drains are open
• Please cut down tree branches in private gardens that are near power cables
• Check the safety of the electrical system
• Have emergency lighting handy
• Fasten antennas, water tanks and other roof-top objects
• Please remove objects that aren’t fastened and might fall from a high place or get blown over, such as flower pots, patio furniture and signs.
• Please avoid staying under pavilions, pergolas, shacks or temporary structures for fear they might collapse

“The public is advised to avoid actions that might endanger them, keep alert and drive safely,” the statement concluded.

Organizations Deploy to Assist the Snow-Bound
Volunteer organizations are also preparing for the possibility of a major storm. The “Ichud Hatzalah” organization announced Sunday that it would provide transportation under special circumstances. The group plans to prepare special vehicles to convey brides and grooms to their weddings and bring sick and elderly patients to hospitals for inhalation treatments if necessary.

The Yad Sarah medical equipment loan organization has also made contingency plans to assist people who need to reach dialysis or cancer treatment centers. Those who need such help are asked to call *6444.

The organization also said it would be on standby with approximately 25 “Nechonit” vans and other vehicles capable of transporting patients in wheelchairs. Medical equipment loan centers and emergency beeper centers will also function on an emergency basis with extra volunteers.

While Jerusalem's high school students will be sent on vacation when the expected heavy snows start to accumulate, youth at the Lech Lecha High School on jeeps will be reporting to school for extra hours. Rabbi David Samson, dean of Lech Lecha, is making available his fleet of Land Rover jeeps and students to rescue cars and people from the expected Jerusalem area snow.

The students will arrive equipped with chains and ropes to pull cars, and shovels to clear paths and driveways. In urgent cases, they will transport persons to destinations in the capital. Contact: Yuval 054-567-6723.

The Lech Lecha High School is for youth at risk who have difficulty coping with the convential classroom environment and go on jeep expeditions twice per week to study Tanach [bible], history, and nature, alongside regular studies.

Immigrants Excited
First-year North American immigrants are growing excited by the hubbub surrounding the impending storm, especially those who were afraid they might never see a real snowstorm again.

“Wow – a real reason to buy boots this year!” said a Chicago native who asked not to be identified. “My kids will finally have a real winter,” he chuckled. His wife ran down the list of culinary preparations dictated by family tradition: “Sahlab --after all, we are in the Middle East – mushroom barley soup, crusty garlic bread toasted in the oven… wish we had a wood stove. Marshmallows!” she said.

“I can already see the hot chocolate steaming from my mug,” said one hopeful tourist from New York. “Will there really be a snowstorm?” asked Brooklyn native Ruthie Woonteiler, eyes glowing with anticipation. “It’s a bonus I never expected. Glad I brought my camera!”