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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, exactly a day after Gallant called for a stop to radical [sic] reforms to the judiciary that have divided the country and that the defense minister said posed security risks to Israel.The dramatic move could accelerate a crisis that Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, who has also called for a stop to the legislation, has said could culminate in a bloody civil war. It could also further fray ties with the United States, where Gallant has been steering coordination on defense cooperation with his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin...In a surprise...

JERUSALEM - Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expects to draw Israel’s permanent borders by 2010, and as part of that effort, will build a controversial settlement outside Jerusalem, he said in an interview published on Thursday. Olmert, whose Kadima Party is the clear frontrunner ahead of March 28 elections, told The Jerusalem Post daily that within four years, he intended to “get to Israel’s permanent borders, whereby we will completely separate from the majority of the Palestinian population and preserve a large and stable Jewish majority in Israel.” Olmert’s chief security adviser, Avi Dichter, had disclosed that time frame earlier...

Mar. 6, 2006 20:32 | Updated Mar. 6, 2006 20:36 Analysis: 'Short and tight defensible borders' By YAAKOV KATZIsrael's security fence. Photo: Ariel JerozolimskiAvi Dichter's announcement this week that Israel would unilaterally disengage from large sections of the West Bank if Kadima won the upcoming elections, brought to surface one of the most current crucial arguments within the IDF General Staff over the security importance of settlements in Judea and Samaria. While anticipating a second disengagement under the next government, some in the IDF were taken by surprise with Dichter's announcement that the disengagement would be a strictly "civilian affair"...

Last Update: 10/02/2005 01:01 Yuval Diskin named new Shin Bet chief By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is expected to officially announce on Thursday the appointment of Yuval Diskin as the next Shin Bet security service chief. Diskin will take over the reins from current Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter in May. Security and political sources said Wednesday night that the prime minister's bureau informed Diskin of Sharon's decision by telephone. [...] Diskin is considered an excellent operations man and very charismatic. As deputy Shin Bet chief, he coordinated preparations for the targeted killing of wanted Palestinians...

Last Update: 03/11/2003 23:14 Sharon: PA leadership that objects to terror will soon arise By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ahead of their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on Monday. (AP) MOSCOW - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is on a visit to Russia, said Monday he believes that "very soon a Palestinian leadership that objects to the path of terror, violence and incitement of [PA Chairman] Yasser Arafat will arise, and will be prepared to act with us to honestly implement the road map. When that happens,...

Shin Bet chief canceled trip to Belgium fearing arrest By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter recently canceled a planned trip to Belgium for fear the Belgians would try to arrest him because of his involvement in Israel's counter-terrorism war in the territories, defense establishment officials confirmed Tuesday night after Channel 10 reported it. Dichter was scheduled to deliver a lecture on international terror at a conference. Although the law enabling Belgian courts to prosecute alleged crimes against humanity was in appeal in court, the Shin Bet chief asked for a legal opinion on the possibility he...