18.03,2004 HAARETZ 1. SECURITY ESTABLISHMENT CONVINCES SHARON: SYMBOLIC WITHDRAWAL IN WEST BANK. Four Palestinians killed in IDF in Rafiah; Border Police: Five attempted attacks in Jerusalem foiled. 2. SUSPICION: TERRORISTS INFILTRATED INTO ASHDOD PORT IN CONTAINER. Container transferred to Ashdod port via Karni crossing. Hidden compartment – with mattresses and war materiel – discovered inside. Assessment: Terrorists exited container before attack. Worker who discovered container: I saw something suspicious. Possible changes in inspection procedures at crossings from Gaza Strip.
3. FIGHTING OPPOSITION – AMONGST ITSELF. Beilin threatens: Yahad will fight Labor more than government; Labor: They shouldnt bother us. HATZOFEH 1. Exclusive: SECRET NEGOTIATIONS ON SHASS JOINING COALITION. Most Shas MKs support move. Sharons aides began move out of assumption that Sharon will be indicted – and Shinui will decide to quit. Secrecy – out of fear of Shinuis reaction. 2. ATTACK AT ASHDOD PORT: SUSPICION THAT TERRORISTS ENTERED VIA CONTAINER. Container discovered in Ashdod port contained weapons, bits of food and clothing – and double wall. IDF deploys for wide-ranging operation in Gaza. Ahmed Yassin: Israel is fleeing Gaza Strip. 3. SECURITY ESTABLISHMENT SAYS NO TO SHARON PLAN. In special discussion held with participation of Chief-of-Staff and ISA Director, security establishment leaders made it clear to PM that plan needed improvement. According to proposals that were discussed, most of Gaza Strip will be evacuated and number of communities in Judea and Samaria will be evacuated. 4. NORTHERN SYRIA ON VERGE OF CIVIL WAR: 100 KILLED IN RECENT DAYS. 5. SUSPICION THAT ELHANAN TENNENBAUM WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN GOLD SMUGGLING. MAARIV 1. TERRORISTS PLANNING TO HIJACK BUS. Thus security officials fear, in wake of intelligence information. Border Police Commander: Five attempted attacks in Jerusalem foiled in last two weeks. Attack in Ashdod: Terrorists hid in container and infiltrated into Israel via Karni crossing. 2. SHARON APPROVES PARTIAL DISENGAGEMENT PLAN. Disengagement to include evacuation of entire Gaza Strip and four settlements on West Bank. One proposal: Evacuation on West Bank first, and then in Gaza Strip. 3. FIGHTING TERROR. Meet the trained pig, which has rabbinical approval. YEDIOT AHRONOT 1. Screw-up at port: Container with terrorists and grenades easily passed through Karni crossing. SUICIDE TERRORISTS SMUGGLED IN CONTAINER FULL OF CHOCOLATE. Hid behind false wall. Hamas leaders in Gaza Strip go underground out of fear that they will be eliminated. Senior military source: Disengagement will take 1.5 years, until September 2005. 2. NOTEBOOKS OF HATE. Palestinian pupils decorating literature and geography notebooks with horrific pictures of attacks and suicide terrorists. ______________________________ SUMMARY OF EDITORIALS FROM THE HEBREW PRESS Hatzofeh compares the IDFs, flight from Lebanon, to Prime Minister Sharon s disengagement plan and says that the former encouraged terrorism. The paper argues that while Prime Minister Sharon believes that a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza can be carried out in a way that will not allow for an increase in terrorist activity, in reality, An IDF withdrawal from Gaza will be unequivocally understood by the Palestinians and by the Islamic world as running away, and as attesting to the success of terror even against General Sharon. The editors declare that operations similar to those carried out this week in Gaza, which endangers soldiers lives, should be abandoned since their message will not have the desired effect. Yediot Ahronot reminds its readers of a recent comment that, Israels patience will soon run out, and eventually it will be decided to put a 1.25 million Gazans under lock and key. The editors believe that the attack in the Ashdod port has brought that day closer and note that while the harsh conditions serve the terrorists interests, they do not serve Israels interests. The paper argues that, Israel must take chances to ensure that the Palestinian economy does not completely collapse. At the same time, there is a limit to the chances that we can take, and thus, the editors suggest that, The time may have come for us to
put full responsibility on the Palestinians and give them security authority over movement in the Gaza Strip. Yediot Ahronot, in its second editorial, says that, With the Labor Party out of the picture, Yossi Beilin is now the leader of the left wing Zionist opposition. BPI.
