HAARETZ 1. ESCALATION IN TERRITORIES AND CRITICISM AROUND THE WORLD FOLLOWING ISRAEL S ATTEMPTED ELIMINATION OF RANTISI. BUSH: ATTACKS WILL NOT HELP ISRAELI SECURITY.
RANTISI, IN HOSPITAL: WE WILL CONTINUE ATTACKS. IDF helicopters fired six rockets at jeep in which Rantisi was traveling. Rantisi lightly wounded; two Palestinians killed and 25 wounded. Six Kassam rockets fired at Sderot; Hamas takes responsibility. Helicopters fired towards people suspected in Kassam firing three killed. Two Fatah terrorists killed by IDF fire in Gaza Strip and Jenin. Israel sends US intelligence material on Rantisi. 2. RABBIS CALL ON OFFICERS TO REFUSE TO EVACUATE OUTPOSTS. Evacuation of five inhabited outposts delayed due to appeals to High Court of Justice; discussion this morning. 3. TERROR NETWORK DISCOVERED IN THAILAND PLANNED TO ATTACK ISRAELIS. HATZOFEH 1. Restraining orders against demolition of Shavei Shomron West and Givat Yitzhar; legal struggle over Gilad Farm. DEMOLITION OF INHABITED OUTPOSTS BEGINS; YESHA LEADERS: WE WILL RESETTLE THEM. IDF forces deployed opposite Gilad Farm, Tel Haim B, Mitzpeh Yitzhar, Nofei Nechemya and Mitzpeh Rechavam. Several outposts were resettled yesterday. Committee of Yesha rabbis and Yesha leaders: Uprooting Jews is criminal act from Jewish, national and moral points-of-view. Rabbi Melamed to OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Kaplinsky: Refuse to evacuate outposts. 2. FAILED ATTEMPT TO HIT SENIOR GAZA HAMAS OFFICIAL RANTISI. President Bush condemns by IDF helicopters. MAARIV 1. You tried to eliminate Rantisi and you eliminated Abu Mazen. WHY NOW? He portrayed himself as Hamas spokesman, but was actually a machine for ticking bombs thus IDF justified failed attempt to eliminate Rantisi. But US was outraged over timing: Stop eliminations immediately. Palestinians also livid: You have killed roadmap with eliminations. Hamas responds with rockets at Sderot and promises: This is only the beginning. YEDIOT AHRONOT 1. Failed elimination attempt Sharon: Bush knows that I will not give in to terror. US TO SHARON: STOP ELIMINATIONS. Condoleeza Rice phoned PMs Bureau following attempt to eliminate Hamas #2 official. Bush outraged: Sharon broke promise he gave me. Israel: Rantisi is like Bin Laden. Hamas fires Kassam rockets at Sderot and threatens: Major revenge coming. Due to elimination attempt, retired major-generals cancelled advertisement in support of Sharon. ______________________________ SUMMARY OF EDITORIALS FROM THE HEBREW PRESS Yediot Ahronot describes Hamas spokesman Abdul Aziz Rantisi as deserving death, but claims that The attempt on Rantisis life in Gaza, against the of the summit and messages of peace, was an error in judgment at best, and an attempt to wreck the first step in the thousand mile journey to peace, at worst. Hatzofeh criticizes Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his change in policy and says The left, like the right, should be concerned about a man who leads an ideological line with practical ramifications for a generation and then changes his mind from day to day. Yediot Ahronot, in its second editorial, discusses the death of retired Egyptian Gen. Mohamed Abdel Ghani al-Gamasy, who was the mastermind behind the Yom Kippur War, and Meir Wilner, the last survivor signatory of Israels Declaration of Independence. Yediot Ahronot, in its third editorial, mourns the large number of people who have died on Israels roads, and says that even when there is a reduction in the overall number, statistics are irrelevant when people suffer personal losses.
