Shorts: Mideast

Alleged serial killer nabbed in Haifa

jerusalem (jta) | An Israeli is suspected of serial murder.

The 32-year-old man was arrested this week on suspicion of killing at least four people in Haifa and burning their bodies, police said this week.

The suspect, an immigrant from the former Soviet republic of Moldova, confessed to the killings but may not be mentally competent to stand trial, Israeli media said. The alleged victims all were residents of a low-income neighborhood in Haifa and their disappearances largely escaped the public eye.




U.S. Orthodox rabbi speaks in Syria

jerusalem (jta) | An American Orthodox rabbi took part in a televised, interfaith conversation in Syria.

On a panel with Muslim and Christian leaders, Rabbi Marc Gopin spoke on May 25 about Judaism and peace at the Arab Authors Union in Damascus, the Jerusalem Post reported. It was the rabbi's second bridge-building trip to Syria this year.

"There has never been a meeting like this before, not only of the three religions but also with a group that can ask questions," Gopin told the Post, referring to the dozens of people in the audience. "My experience here and in other countries is that before there is even a thought of democracy, there needs to be a culture of debate.'




Killing seen as attack on Geneva Accords

jerusalem (jta) | A former Palestinian ministerial aide was assassinated in the West Bank.

Samir al- Rantisi was killed this week in Ramallah. The assassination was seen as an attack on the Geneva peace initiative, since al-Rantisi had served as a spokesman for Yasser Abed Rabbo, one of the authors of the joint Israeli-Palestinian plan.

While many Israelis felt the plan was far too generous to the Palestinians, some Palestinians also objected to it because it didn't explicitly confirm the Palestinian demand for a refugee "right of return" to Israel.




New IDF chief to tackle withdrawal

jerusalem (jta) | Dan Halutz, a former air force commander, replaced Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon as chief of the Israel Defense Forces' General Staff at a blue-ribbon ceremony this week.

Considered a confidant of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Halutz's immediate challenge is implementing the Israeli withdrawals from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank.

"The decision of the government and the Knesset on the matter of 'disengagement' will be carried out with the proper sensitivity and the required determination," Halutz said in his inaugural speech.

Halutz, 56, is Israel's 18th chief of staff but the first to come from the air force.




Departing IDF head issues warning

jerusalem (jta) | Israel can expect Palestinian terrorism to flare up after it withdraws from the Gaza Strip, the retiring chief of staff said.

In an interview with Ha'aretz , Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon said that unless Israel continued ceding land to the Palestinians after the withdrawal planned for this summer, they would inevitably return to terrorism.

"If there is an Israeli commitment to another move, we will gain another period of quiet," he said. "If not, there will be an eruption," adding, "There is a high probability of a second war of terror."




Tunnel of trouble unearthed

jerusalem (jta) | The Palestinian Authority uncovered a terrorist tunnel intended for attacks on Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip.

The discovery of the 150-foot-long secret passage running from the Palestinian city of Khan Younis to the Gush Katif settlement bloc was reported this week to Israeli police, security sources said.

Terrorists have used tunnels in Gaza to smuggle arms and plant explosives under Israeli targets. The Palestinian Authority has been under heavy pressure to curb terrorism in Gaza before Israel withdraws from the territory in mid-August.




Egyptians block artist from Israel

jerusalem (jta) | Egyptian authorities prevented an acclaimed Egyptian playwright from coming to Israel this week.

Ali Salem was to receive an honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Salem has been blacklisted by the Egyptian intelligentsia for writing a book in 1994 about his experiences traveling through Israel.

He was expelled from the Union of Egyptian Writers in 2001 for his ongoing support of normalization between Israel and the Arab world, but was reinstated by Egypt's Supreme Court. He is the author of more than 25 plays, including many that have become classics of the Egyptian theater.




Israel in with NATO group

jerusalem (jta) | Israel was voted in as a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

This week's vote allows Israel full status in the group, the interparliamentary organization of legislators of 14 NATO member countries. Israel had previously enjoyed only monitor status in the group.




Record levels of Palestinian joblessness

jerusalem (jta) | The number of unemployed Palestinians hit a record high last year, a U.N. labor agency said.

According to a report released last week by the International Labor Organization, 224,000 Palestinians were jobless in 2004 — up from 203,000 the previous year —The Associated Press reported.

Fewer than half of Palestinian men in the Gaza Strip and West Bank were actively employed, the report found, and fewer than one in 10 women had jobs. The group "observed a prevailing feeling that the economic situation of Palestinians must improve in order for them to continue to support the policy of dialogue and negotiation with Israel"— though it also noted that Palestinians' economic security is contingent on Israelis' physical security.