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Honey is Sweet

News, news - 2007-12-12

I'm grateful for: some time alone in the house; getting clearer in the head; saying 'no' when I wanted to say 'yes.'

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Light Injuries in Additional Kassam Attack

Arab terrorists fired another Kassam rocket on the Sderot area in the past hour, causing shrapnel wounds in one victim's leg. Two others also suffered light injuries.

The latest attack brings to 17 the number of Kassams that exploded in the area Wednesday morning, one day after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he will put a stop to the attacks, which have been plaguing the western Negev for more than seven years.

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Gaza Terrorist Killed in �Work Accident�

According to a YeshaNews report based on local Arab sources, a terrorist was killed on Wednesday as he prepared to fire mortar shells at Israeli towns. The incident took place near Kissufim crossing. The terrorist has been identified as Samah Aidi.

Aidi was killed in an explosion that was apparently caused when an explosives charge he was working with detonated prematurely. The incident does not appear to be connected to IDF activities in Gaza.

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NII to Give Early Payments to Christians, Muslims

Welfare Minister Yitzchak Herzog has asked the National Insurance Institute (NII) to give early payments to Christians and Muslims in December. The payments will be given out early so that the recipients can use the money to celebrate Christmas or Eid ul-Adha (Sacrifice Day).

Security officials have made accommodations for the celebrants as well, and thousands of Israeli Muslims have been allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage to Mecca known to Muslims as the Hajj. Security forces are expected to relax restrictions for Christians as well, and to allow visits to Bethlehem and other Christian sites as they have done in the past.

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Another Rocky Day in Judea

Arabs threw rocks at Israeli vehicles on the Gush Etzion � Hevron road, near Beit Umar, Wednesday.

In addition, Israeli vehicles were hit by rocks between Efrat and Tekoa. Some damage was caused but there were no reports of injuries.

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'Peace Now' to Egged: Stop Serving Outposts

The pro-appeasement organization "Peace Now" appealed to the Egged bus company to stop providing bus service to the "illegal" outposts in Judea and Samaria, and to take down all of the bus stations it has put up in the area.

Egged's responded by saying that "the company acts upon instructions it receives from the Ministries of Transportation and Defense."

"If civilians live in outposts and the IDF does not dismantle them," Egged said, "then as far as we are concerned there is normal life there and we have to take care of these people's well-being."

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Terrorist: Moyal Resignation a Great Victory

The resignation of Sderot mayor Eli Moyal was "a great victory for Palestinian resistance" and "a victory both politically and in terms of morale, which joins the humiliation we are dealing the Zionist army on the ground," according to a spokesman for a Gaza terror organization.

The spokesman said: "The man who threatened to erase Beit Hanoun was erased himself from Israeli public life today." He warned the residents of Sderot and Ashkelon that they would be targeted if the IDF mounted an operation in Gaza.

The boasts and threats were quoted by Arab journalist Ali Waked, who reports on the terror organizations for Ynet.

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Karnei Shomron Junction Temporarily Closed

The Karnei Shomron junction in Samaria was closed to traffic from all directions Wednesday evening because of a suspicious object.

Until the problem is solved, travelers will have to leave Karnei Shomron through Ma'aleh Shomron in the west or through Neveh Menachem in the east.

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IDF Rabbi Opposes Women in Combat Units

Brig.-Gen. Avichai Rontzki, the IDF's Chief Rabbi, said Wednesday that women serving in the IDF should not be put in combat roles. "The idea of girls going into tanks or into paratrooper battalions is an impractical one in my opinion and could hurt the combat array," he told Voice of Israel government radio.

Rontzki said the subject of women's service in combat was currently under debate and that the Military Rabbinate's position on the subject was certainly negative. He added that practically speaking, "there will be very few girls who want to serve three years as fighters in the paratroops or tanks, it seems a little imaginary to me."

He revealed that for the first time ever, a female Religion Officer will join the ranks of the Military Rabbinate. One out of three girls from the religious Zionist stream joins the army, he said: "This is quite a lot and we have never dealt with this matter in the Rabbinate."

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As Barak Talks About Kassams, a Kassam is Fired

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a speech Wednesday evening that the situation in Sderot and the Gaza Perimeter was complex and difficult. "The best people in the country are working on this subject day and night," he explained at a conference in Tel Aviv University.

"We know that the mission of stopping the Kassams has not been accomplished yet and the road is still a long one," he added.

As Barak spoke, a Kassam rocket hit an open area near Sderot, causing no casualties or damage.

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Report: Progress Made in Teacher Negotiations

According to �a senior source� quoted in Yediot Acharonot, there has been significant progress made in an ongoing meeting between Finance Ministry officials and representatives from the Secondary School Teachers Association. The meeting is being held in the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem late on Wednesday night. Dozens of teachers are protesting outside, telling SSTA head Ran Erez not to give in on the teachers� core demands.

The source said that the negotiations could lead to an agreement later on Wednesday night. The teachers have been ordered to return to work on Thursday, ending a strike that lasted for well over 40 days. However, many teachers have said that they will not return despite the order.

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Like many Israelis, I am something of a news junkie. I can't keep my radio on loudly 24/7 because it's almost all in Hebrew that I can't follow, so I am constantly checking the online new briefs, and a relatively large variety of news sites.

As I am often just trying to record my day or days, it simply wouldn't be right to ignore the stream of news which is as near-constant as I can make it.

This is a relatively normal news day. I think the final total of Kassams fired at Sderot for the day is 21, which is rather higher than usual, but far from unheard of. I've left out international news, 'settlements,' the supposed negotiations, and so on. I'm not trying to be political here, or convince anyone of anything.

The only other thing of particular interest is that the community Karnei Shomron which had it's main entrance closed is where I used to live before I moved here. I've had not further word on the suspicious object yet, I just trust it was taken care of quickly and safely and life resumes it's normal pace.

I'll try to write another entry with more personal news, time and my fingers permitting.

I'm listening to the fan on my computer -- how do you like that? the music just cut out as I was typing this.

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