The chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice last week - and told her that Prime Minister Olmert agrees, finally, to turn eastern Jerusalem into the capital of a future state of Palestine.  So reports the PA newspaper Al Hayat Al Jadeeda, quoting an unnamed "senior Palestinian source."

Abbas reportedly told Rice that Olmert had agreed to the demand in an Olmert-Abbas meeting a couple of days before.  Another Olmert-Abbas meeting is planned for next week, the paper reports.

Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reports on another PA media article.  The Palestinian Press claims that Iran has given the order to Hamas and Islamic Jihad to reduce Kassam rocket attacks against Israel during the month of Ramadan, in order to reduce the suffering of Arab citizens in Gaza during this period.  Hamas chief-in-exile Khaled Mashaal reportedly told Iran that though Hamas agrees to hold fire, Islamic Jihad does not.

Meanwhile, plans continue for U.S. President George Bush's international Middle East summit, scheduled for this November in Washington.  Secretary Rice announced Sunday night that Syria and Lebanon will also be invited to take part, though they will have to commit themselves to help find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is not happy with the summit.  "Without advance preparations and without an objective," he said, "I don't see what can come of it, and I don't see any reason to convene the summit."

High-level meetings of this nature are often accompanied by Arab violence and terrorism, and some fear that such violence this time will only intensify if the summit does not produce results favorable to the Arab side.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz says the investigation files into various actions of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are in their "final stages."  Mazuz adds that decisions whether to open criminal investigations will be made soon.

Mazuz's office supplied this information in response to a query by Labor MK Ophir Pines-Paz.

Justice Ministry officials say that, contrary to some public speculation, no decisions on these matters have yet been made - despite the fact that the State Comptroller made his opinion known on at least two of them several months ago.

The Four Investigations
Among other things, Olmert is under investigation for his role in the privatization of Bank Leumi. Mazuz said that authority for this case has been assigned to State Prosecutor Eran Shendar. Olmert, suspected of using his influence as Finance Minister to help two friends who were interested in purchasing shares in the bank, was to have been questioned regarding this matter last week.  The date was postponed, however, because of the Prime Minister's tight schedule.

A second case is the matter known as the Investment Center case.  State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss recommended five months ago that Olmert be indicted, explaining at the time, "When Olmert served as Minister of Industry and Trade, he did not refrain from dealing with a case in which Uri Messer - his friend, former partner and current lawyer - was involved.  Messer represented an entrepreneur who requested economic benefits from the State via the Trade Ministry's Investment Center." 

Mazuz reported this week that regarding the Investment Center case, five months after the State Comptroller's recommendations, "we are now in the final stages of considering this matter at meetings headed by the Attorney General."

Another investigation concerns Olmert's purchase of an apartment on Cremeiux St. in Jerusalem.  He received a $330,000 discount from the builder of the project in the capital's ritzy German Colony; it is suspected that the discount was actually a bribe from the builder in exchange for Olmert's expedition of municipal construction permits. Here, as well, Comptroller Lindenstrauss has recommended to Attorney General Mazuz that a criminal investigation be opened on the case.  Mazuz says the case is in its "final decision stages following the completion of the check of the matter."

A fourth case involves alleged political appointments made by Olmert as Trade Minister in the Small Business Administration.

"We are aware, of course, of the public aspects of these matters and the need to reach decisions quickly," Mazuz's office said, "but this cannot come at the expense of a careful and precise consideration of the matter.  We are therefore making an effort to rush the treatment of these cases, and we assume that the Attorney General's decisions in the various cases will be made very soon."

The Investigations and the Uprootings
One widespread opinion is that Mazuz will not want to bring about the indictment of a Prime Minister who is about to embark on a diplomatic process that could lead to Israel's withdrawal from Judea and Samaria - and that this is precisely why Olmert is taking this path.  MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union), who accused Ariel Sharon of carrying out the Disengagement in order to avoid being prosecuted for various fiscal crimes, wrote this week as follows:

"Olmert, Sharon's great admirer - Sharon brought him from the lowest levels of politics to the Prime Minister's chair - learned the 'etrog' lesson well.  [Political commentator Amnon Abromovitch said several years ago that the media was treating Sharon as carefully as one treats an etrog fruit on Sukkot, in order that he not be toppled before carrying out the Disengagement - ed.] In his destructive distress, he knows that only by expelling Jews and uprooting them from their land will he be protected from shameful banishment.  This is exactly what Sharon knew when he implemented his cruel expulsion from Gush Katif.  Now, as then, the deeper the investigations, the deeper the uprooting."

The Legal Forum of the Land of Israel calls upon Attorney General Mazuz to call upon the Prime Minister to leave office in light of the three-pronged investigation directed at him.  Forum Director Nachi Eyal released this statement:

"Mr. Olmert must show leadership and suspend himself from office until he cleanses himself from the accumulating suspicions against him.  The country deserves more than a leader who lives in a maze of investigators and lawyers.  The average citizen asks himself, 'When does a serial investigatee have time to run the country?'  Inside, we feel the nagging question as to which issues take up more of his time - national security, or evidence regarding Cremeiux?" 

Wood being sold in Jerusalem for the building of Sukkot (lit. booths; temporary dwellings used for the duration of the festival by the same name)

Cars can be seen with wood sticking out every window and door as residents try to transport it home

A "s'chach" (greenery for the Sukkah's roof) dealer with his merchandise - in this case matured palm fronds

Jerusalem's balconies fill with Sukkahs, which are required to be located in an unobstructed area under the sky

A courtyard in Jerusalem's Meah She'arim neighborhood begins to fill with Sukkot

An electrical store advertises special decorative Sukkah lighting

The main "shuk arba minim" (four species marketplace) in Meah She'arim

Some dealers specialize in a specific one of the four species (palm-lulav, myrtle-hadasim, willow-aravot and citron-etrog)

The middle of the lulav should be straight and not split or cut off

The Sukkot Festival is called "zman simchateinu" ("the time of our joy"), in the prayers

Three myrtle branches are taken as part of the four species

The Hareidi-religious 'Eida Hareidis' has a table set up to check the Kosher status of one's four species

Outside the "shuk" and all over Jerusalem, street venders have been replaced with four-species hawkers

An Etrog boutique in Meah She'arim

The Etrog (citron) - this one is without a pitom (stem)

Sukkot material:

* Secrets of Sukkot - Tzvi Fishman

* The Aravah and the Leviathan - Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

* Rav Kook on Sukkot: The Role of the Lowly Willow - Rabbi Chanan Morrison

* You Know it's Sukkot in Jerusalem When... - Judy Lash Balint

* Sukkot on Israel National Radio's Mikdash Kids Children's program with Judy Simon

* Jacob Richman's Sukkot super site

(Photos: Yehuda Boltshauser - Yehuda@topshot.com )

Hillel Fendel contributed to this report

They are willing to pay any security price merely for the joy they will have in seeing the settlers uprooted.
MKs Tzvi Hendel and Yitzchak Levy, both of the National Union party, call upon the Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) parties to quit the government.  They say that otherwise, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will continue towards uprooting tens of thousands of Jews from Judea and Samaria in order to make way for a Palestinian state.

MK Hendel wrote as follows in the weekly B'Sheva newspaper:

"This week, in the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, we received yet another careful and precise analysis from the head of IDF Intelligence, stating clearly that without IDF control of Judea and Samaria, Hamas would be able to take over the territory within a short time and repeat the success it had in Gaza.  One need not be a great strategist to understand what an IDF retreat means: Hamas moves towards building a full-fledged army, placing an existential threat upon most of the country's citizens, from the Beit She'an Valley to Be'er Sheva.

"The only way to explain this mad rush towards reaching an agreement that will lead to the above scenario is that [Olmert wishes to] placate the extremist left, which still controls the media and judicial elite, in its hatred of the settlers.  They are willing to pay any security price merely for the joy they will have in seeing the settlers uprooted.

"...But amidst this insane post-Zionist reality, I am most amazed at my friends from Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu who continue to define themselves as belonging to the nationalist camp.  They can easily stop this madness by announcing their resignation from the coalition; this will topple the government, lead to early elections, and stop the process of destruction.  But for some reason, these two parties are ignoring their political strength, continuing to stride arm-in-arm with Olmert towards the dangerous horizon."

Hendel added that when he discusses this topic with his friends from these parties, they bring up past history -  when the National Union remained in the Sharon government even after the Disengagement plan was on the table.  Hendel said this is a lie:

"We remained only for as long as we had a majority - including the Likud ministers who promised to vote against the plan if the Likud party popular referendum would turn it down.  But then Sharon betrayed his promise and ignored the Likud membership's vote, and fired two National Union ministers, and one NRP minister quit as well - and only then was Sharon able to obtain his majority... I advise us all not to rely on distorted historical claims, and to unite in calling for Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu to quit and help topple Olmert.  We will thus be able to stop this insane plan of uprooting us from the towns of Judea and Samaria."

MK Levy
MK Yitzchak Levy, speaking with Arutz-7's Yigal Shok on Sunday, said, "Even Olmert, [Foreign Minister] Livni and Ramon [the Cabinet minister who is leading the drive to give eastern Jerusalem away] know that this whole idea of reaching an agreement with Abu Mazen [Abbas] is not realistic.  But they're doing it in order to create an 'atmosphere' of optimism - one fraught with danger for us.  Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu should be out of there; it's their presence that's keeping this government going, when truly they could be helping to form a different, more nationalist government."

Shok said, "They claim that by their presence, they're helping thwart plans to give away land."

Levy: "As members of a government, they are not there to thwart things that everyone knows they cannot thwart. They are a minority!  Rather, they are full partners in all the government's decisions, such as today's decision to release another 90 terrorists... Yes, it could be that their presence has some benefit in terms of the outposts in Judea and Samaria, but this small benefit is not worth the damage being caused by their enabling this government to continue to exist.  This government is trying to give a sense that things are moving, and that things are going well - when in fact we have seen before that these kinds of illusions are dangerous, and that when they blow up, they explode very harmfully."

The Antiquities Authority announced today that it has found the quarry that supplied the giant stones for the building of the Temple Mount.  The quarry is located in what is now one of Jerusalem's newest neighborhoods, Ramat Shlomo (also known as Reches Shuafat), between Ramot and French Hill.  The quarry was found in the course of an archaeological rescue dig prior to the construction of a neighborhood school.

The ancient quarry is spread out over at least five dunams (1.25 acres), with rocks between three and eight meters long - the size of those that can still be seen today at the foundations of the Temple Mount and in the Western Wall - hewn out of the ground. Click here for photos of the quarry on the Israel Matzav blog.

Divine Regards
Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem told Arutz-7 that the discovery of the quarry was both historically dramatic and spiritually exhilarating: "Precisely now, when the Moslems are trying to erase all vestiges of the presence of our Holy Temple, and when even among our own leaders there is a trend towards giving it away and viewing it as an unnecessary burden - precisely now, with this discovery, G-d is sending the Jewish People a kiss, as if to say, 'Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you; there are those who want to give it [the Temple Mount] away or take it away from you, but I still have big plans for both you and for the Holy Temple - and the Temple will yet become the focal point of the world once again."

Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky has ordered a halt to the school-building plans, budgeting 350,000 shekels ($86,500) for the archaeological work. 

Jerusalem archaeologist Yuval Baruch told Arutz-7 that the ancient hewing was done in stages. First, deep and narrow trenches were dug around the four sides of what was to be the rock.  Then, dozens of small specially-shaped picks were used to make holes underneath, at a distance of several centimeters from each other, until the rock was able to be separated from the ground.  Archaeologists found one such pick in the area - a 15-centimeter (6-inch) long metallic object.

Gideon Charlap, a top Jerusalem architect and Temple Mount expert, told Arutz-7 that while rocks for the Temple may not be hewn with iron on the Temple Mount, iron may be used on the rocks before they reach the Mount.  This, as opposed to stones used for the Temple's altar, which are never permitted to be hewn with iron.

The rulers of ancient Jerusalem used top-quality, shining-white stone for their public buildings, of the type they called Malcha (from the word for royalty).  Dozens of quarries have been discovered in and around Jerusalem over the years, Baruch said, "including some from the period of Herod, like this one. However, never before has one been found with such large rocks."

The Shuafat mountain is some 80 meters higher than the Temple Mount.  That, and its proximity to the main road to Jerusalem from the north, made this quarry a prime candidate to provide the rocks to be used in the city's important buildings.  Teams of oxen pulled the giant stones down the moderate incline towards the city. The rocks were then placed upon the bedrock, forming the foundation of the Temple Mount, and keeping it stable and firm without the use of concrete even up until today.

Coins and pottery were also found in the quarry, dating back 1,900 years - further evidence that this quarry was used during the height of construction in ancient Jerusalem.

Ancient Drainage Tunnel and Escape Route Found
Earlier this month, the Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of the City of David's main drainage channel - later used by Jerusalem residents when they tried to flee from the Romans.  The channel is located along the route from the Temple Mount to the Shiloah Pool, and apparently continues on to Nahal Kidron on its way to the Dead Sea.  It drained the rainfall of ancient Jerusalem - the Jewish quarter, the western region of the City of David, and the Temple Mount. The excavations were jointly carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Elad Association.

The excavation directors wrote, “There is evidence in the writings of Josephus Flavius, the historian who described the revolt, the conquest and the destruction of Jerusalem, that numerous people took shelter in the channel and even lived in it for a period until they succeeded to flee the city through its southern end."

A Fatah terrorist found with several bombs Sunday had been granted amnesty by the Olmert government after promising to refrain from returning to terrorist activity.

Fares Natzer Hassin Abu Na'eem, 21, was apprehended in the village of Khalil, south of Shechem, after shooting at IDF forces operating in the area. He is a commander in the Tanzim terrorist group, affiliated with the Fatah faction headed by Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, whom Prime Minister Ehud Olmert calls a "moderate."

During his arrest, Abu Na’eem was found to have 10 pipe bombs, an assault rifle and a handgun in the home in which he was hiding out. The bombs were detonated by Border Police sappers.

In August 2007, Abu Na’eem pledged to cease his terrorist activity in return for being taken off Israel’s list of wanted terrorists. The deal was organized by Fatah chief Abbas and Salem Fayyad, who Abbas appointed Prime Minister of the PA following the routing of Fatah from Gaza. The deal was spun by the government of Prime Minister Olmert as a way to strengthen the unpopular Abbas on the PA street.

The IDF released a statement on the arrest: "The IDF wishes to emphasize that those who signed the August 2007 agreement are valid subjects for intelligence tracking. Moreover, those who do not fulfill their commitments will be arrested…[Abu Na’eem] was involved in shooting attacks against IDF forces in the Shechem area."

The Cabinet approved Prime Minister Olmert’s request to release another 90 terrorists Sunday as a good-will gesture for the Muslim month of Ramadan.

The Almagor group for victims of terrorism issued a statement on Sunday night calling on the government to freeze plans to release terrorist prisoners, saying that many return to terrorism despite their promises, as Abu Na’eem did. At least 179 Israeli citizens have been murdered by freed terrorist prisoners in the past five years, the group says.

Terrorist Hides Under Humanitarian Case
IDF troops conducting counter-terror operations in Shechem entered a home where a terrorist was said to be hiding. A pregnant woman who was laying on a bed claimed she felt ill and could not move. The troops forced the woman to move and found under the bed a secret door which led to an underground chamber where the terrorist was hiding. The video below documents the terrorist's exit from the chamber.

[video:122937]
Click here if you cannot see video screen

The terrorist was Ahmed a-Ez, 36, a senior Hamas terrorist in the city. He had been hiding in the hole beneath the bed since he heard the IDF had begun operating in the area.

Troops Thwart Attack in Hevron
Three Arab terrorists were arrested Sunday after they tried to steal IDF soldiers’ guns from them. The terrorists tried to stun the troops with an electric cattle prod – but the soldiers managed to overpower the terrorists and apprehend them.

Kassam Rockets Disrupt Sukkah-Building
Kassam rockets were fired at the western Negev town of Sderot Sunday afternoon and evening, sending local resident ducking for cover amidst the building of their Sukkahs (temporary dwellings for the upcoming Sukkot Festival, which begins Wednesday night).

Two rockets hit the town. No injuries were reported, but one rocket ignited a blaze in a local field.

Stone-Throwing in Judea and Samaria
PA Arabs threw rocks at an Israeli vehicle traveling through Hevron Sunday evening. Sunday afternoon, Israeli motorists also were targeted by stone-throwers while driving past Ramallah.

In both attacks, the motorists escaped unharmed, but their vehicles were damaged extensively.

Counter-Terror on Both Sides of Green Line

IDF soldiers arrested 22 wanted terrorists Sunday night.  Ten of the arrests were made in the Shechem region, six in the Hevron region, and six near Ramallah. Soldiers were targeted in a bomb attack in Jenin Sunday night, but were not harmed.

Police found a large weapons cache on Sunday next to the Israeli-Arab village of Kfar Faradis, next to Zichron Yaakov.  The cache contained hand grenades, stun grenades, and other weapons. Police said that the operation was carried out with help from canine units. Police hope to arrest suspects in the upcoming days.

A youth from the community of Rechelim emerged unhurt from a drive-by shooting attack at Shiloh Junction in Samaria Sunday.

The youth stood next to a concrete cube that had been placed by the IDF on the shoulder of Route 60, which crosses Samaria from north to south.

The terrorist squad passed by him in a passenger car and fired several shots at him from close range. The youth was not hit by the bullets.

IDF trackers who reached the scene of the attack found three bullet casings and identified a hole in the concrete cube caused by one of the bullets.

David Haivri, a resident of Kfar Tapuach who was among the first to arrive on the scene, told Arutz Sheva that the youth took cover behind the concrete cube and that was how he avoided getting hit.

Large forces under Binyamin Regiment Commander Amir Abulafya began scouring the area after the attack.

The Military Security Coordinator for Shiloh told the Nfc website that he has repeatedly told residents wishing to hitch rides not to do so on Route 60 but only within the Jewish communities.

"We have known for quite a while that the area is heating up and that Route 60 is a serious security weak spot, but we have not had such a serious terror attack here in 18 months," he said.

Nine days ago, terrorists carried out a shooting attack on Route 55 between Karnei Shomron and Kedumim. Two Israeli women in their 30s were lightly wounded and the husband of one of them suffered psychological shock.

The three managed to keep driving until they reached the Zar Ranch nearby.

The IDF Home Front Command has launched a new website instructing Israelis on how to behave during Kassam rocket, missile, chemical, biological and nuclear attacks.

The new site, which is available in Hebrew, English and Arabic, also covers earthquakes, floods and hazardous or nuclear industrial accidents. An emergency page is designated for use during a state of emergency to inform the public of any developments.

The cleanly-designed site is designed to educate the public in advance of such disasters, encouraging parents to talk to their children about the threats. It features interactive graphics such as an aerial view of a home, with the question, “Which is the most protected room in your opinion?”

The site goes into detail about the threats facing the Jewish State, listing five types of rockets - three of them Iranian - in the missile-attack section. “On the eve of the Gulf War, missiles and rockets became a real and present threat,” the site says. “Many countries had to cope with the fact that the war had moved from the front lines to the hinterland because of the launchings of long-range missiles…The directions for the population included in this part of the website do not apply to unconventional missiles. In the event of risk of unconventional missile fire, the Home Front Command will publicize a refresher message regarding protective measures and early preparations (sealing room, receiving protection kits, etc.)”

There is also a detailed rundown of possible chemical and biological agents possessed by Israel’s enemies and instructions on protection and treatment.

The site lists emergency supplies that every Israeli family should have. These include a flashlight, fire extinguisher, battery-powered radio, liter of bottled water per person, emergency medications, a whistle, three-day supply of canned or dried food, matches, candles and a first-aid kit.

“Dangers and emergencies are liable to strike us with no prior warning,” the section on planning for emergencies says. “Human response at such times is automatic, almost instinctive, and is affected to a great extent by thinking, knowledge and prior experience. There is no point in trying to look for new answers to a concrete danger while it’s threatening you. It is well-known that people who have planned on how to cope with emergencies and know what to do, have been able to act correctly, thereby saving themselves, their family members, and those in their surroundings.”