HEADLINES & EDITORIALS

HEADLINES FROM THE HEBREW PRESS HA’ARETZ 1. SETTLERS CANCEL MEETING WITH SHARON REGARDING NITZANIM: IT WOULD HURT STRUGGLE AGAINST EVACUATION. Attorney-General to enable construction without public tenders for evacuees. 2. Iranian reactor. ISRAELI-US DISAGREEMENT OVER RAISING IRANIAN NUCLEAR ISSUE IN SECURITY COUNCIL. 3. 5TH CENTURY BYZANTINE VILLA UNEARTHED NEAR CAESARIA. HATZOFEH 1. OC Southern Command to Negev residents: Plan for terrorism after uprooting. GOVERNMENT TO GAZA STRIP RESIDENTS: „NITZANIM LAW” IN EXCHANGE FOR AGREEMENT TO EVACUATION. Remarks made at meeting between Prime Minister’s Office Director-General and residents’ representatives last week. Goal: Residents’ agreement to temporary housing until move to Nitzanim. Maj.-Gen. Harel: „Possible that terrorist organizations will try to use booby-trapped drones after disengagement.” Negev residents: „We will return to days of the fedayeen in the 1950’s. 2. ISRAEL RESUMING DIALOGUE WITH PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY. Weisglass to meet with Erekat soon in order to discuss resumption of contacts. Move – in keeping with Sharon-Bush agreement. 3. FATAH WORKING TOWARD POSTPONEMENT OF PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS. 4. PALESTINIANS RETURN TO ISRAEL MALE SOLDIER AND FEMALE CIVILIAN WHO ENTERED THEIR TERRITORY. 5. IDF CHECKING HOW PALESTINIAN TERRORIST SUCCEEDED IN INFILTRATING GOLAN HEIGHTS. Opened fire at position before being captured. Had blanks inside his hunting rifle. 6. US SUSPENDS ISRAEL FROM FUTURE JET FIGHTER PROJECT. 7. MARCH CPI DECLINED BY 0.2%. MA’ARIV 1. Today: Cabinet confrontation over decision to collect weapons. PUBLIC SECURITY MINISTER VS. DEFENSE MINISTER. Ezra attacks Mofaz’s decision to collect settlers’ weapons: „This will cause unnecessary tension.” Weapons at Elei Sinai already returned in protest. 2. CHRISTIAN RIGHT IN US MOBILIZING AGAINST EVACUATION. YEDIOT AHRONOT 1. MAJOR „WARGAME”: DISENGAGEMENT. Discussions over, actions beginning. For first time: Giant security exercise resembling settlements evacuation to be held today. Participants: IDF senior command, ISA, police and Defense Ministry. 2. „We got cancer due to radiation.” REACTOR EMPLOYEES’ SUE FOR MILLIONS. This morning, for first time: Secret state installation employees with cancer to file lawsuit. Demanding NIS 76 million in compensation: „We gave our lives and our health and now they are ignoring us.” ______________________________ SUMMARY OF EDITORIALS FROM THE HEBREW PRESS Yediot Ahronot, in its second editorial, says that, „As far as the national economy is concerned, it would be preferable to move the settlers to [upscale] Herzliya Pituah than to build a community especially for them,” and extols Herzliya Pituah’s many advantages over the Nitzanim area. Hatzofeh accuses Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Industry, Trade and Employment Minister Ehud Olmert of lying when they assert that the US has agreed to Israeli control of major settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria and that no further unilateral disengagements are being planned. Yediot Ahronot says that there is no justification for a strike by bank employees over the implementation of the Bechar committee report on capital market reforms, „Even if the Government’s conduct is infuriating and the banking reforms are bad.” BPI-info