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Jan. 18, 2005 23:10 | Updated Jan. 18, 2005 23:13 Mofaz: IDF will enter Gaza if Kassams don't stop By JPOST.COM STAFF Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Tuesdsay night that if Kassam attacks on Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and southern Negev towns continue, there will be no choice but to embark on a widespread operation in the region. Mofaz spoke to Channel 2 TV shortly after a suicide bomb attack Tuesday night at a roadblock near Gush Katif, which wounded seven people. "Terror organizations are making every effort to harm us, especially as disengagement approaches," Mofaz said. "The...

Jan. 18, 2005 0:49 | Updated Jan. 18, 2005 20:50 Sharon: Kassam attacks can't continue By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH AND NINA GILBERT Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, PM Ariel Sharon, and Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon visit an army base at the Erez border crossing between Gaza Strip and Israel. Photo: AP During a visit to the IDF Gaza Division on Tuesday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon discussed strategies to bring an end to the incessant Kassam rocket attacks and mortar shell fire towards Israeli towns and settlements originating from Palestinian villages in the area. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, IDF Chief of Staff...

Mofaz sets his sights high By Akiva Eldar It is possible that the next government, the disengagement government, which people mistakenly insist on calling a "unity government," will be the last government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. On the assumption that the new government is intact when it reaches the elections in November 2006, when the next Knesset completes its term, Sharon will be 82 years old. The prime minister himself generally says that he has taken it upon himself to disengage Israel from the Gaza Strip, and that he is leaving the challenge of the final status agreement to...

Israel striving for bilateral disengagement Defense minister tells Herzliya Conference that it is in Israel’s interest to try and coordinate the disengagement from Gaza with a new and hopefully more pragmatic Palestinian leadershipHaim Iserowitz Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said earlier today that Israel would rather implement the disengagement within the framework of a renewed peace process with the Palestinians, then as a unilateral step. He was speaking to the annual Herzliya Conference, the country’s major annual strategic political and economic conference, held by the Inter-disciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel’s “ivy league” university. He said that Arafat’s death opens a window...

Dec. 12, 2004 17:49 | Updated Dec. 13, 2004 16:42 Mofaz approves operational steps against 'terror tunnels' By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH AND HERB KEINON Hamas video shows Palestinians sneaking a ton of explosives through a tunnel near the Gaza-Egypt crossing The Israel Defense Forces is set to launch a series of operations in the Rafah area against tunnels used by Palestinians to smuggle weapons and attack Israeli targets. The series of operations, which are set to begin in the near future, was approved Monday afternoon by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz after an emergency meeting of security heads at his Tel Aviv...

Last Update: 02/08/2004 23:02 U.S., U.K. officials slam clearance to expand Ma'aleh Adumim By Haaretz Service and News Agencies American and British government officials criticized Monday the Defense Ministry's approval of plans to expand Ma'aleh Adumim, the largest settlement in the West Bank, in apparent violation of the U.S.-backed road map peace plan. The Defense Ministry confirmed Monday that it had granted permission to build 600 new housing units in Ma'aleh Adumim, a few kilometers east of Jerusalem. Political sources said clearance for the housing was given two months ago by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz....

Summary of Editorials from the Hebrew Press 2 Aug 2004 (Government Press Office) Haaretz - http://www.haaretzdaily.com Ma'ariv - http://www.maariv.co.il Yediot Aharonot - http://www.ynet.co.il Globes - http://www.globes.co.il Jerusalem Post - http://www.jpost.com Hazofe - http://www.hazofe.co.il Haaretz comments: "The gods of history placed Ariel Sharon at the head of a government that has decided, for the first time, to evacuate settlements from Gaza and the northern West Bank - and Sharon has run into opposition from his party and members of his government... Sharon needs therefore to expand his political basis now, so he can make decisions on the evacuation - and no...

Left Wing Protest to Remove Outposts 22:48 Dec 08, '03 / 13 Kislev 5764 (IsraelNN.com) "Peace Now" activists tonight took to the streets of Tel Aviv in a demonstration calling upon the government to remove all Yesha (Judea, Samaria & Gaza) outposts. The participants in the protest called on the government to bring an end to the Jewish presence in Yesha (Judea, Samaria & Gaza). In a related story, from the Ha'aretz Ticker:Mofaz tells settler heads 3 outposts will be removed next week, including Mitzpeh Yitzhar (Israel Radio)

Elon Demands Talks with the PA be Frozen 20:49 Nov 03, '03 / 8 Cheshvan 5764 (IsraelNN.com) Minister of Tourism (National Union) Benny Elon called on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to immediately halt all diplomatic efforts with the PA following this morning’s attempted suicide bombing attack. Elon was referring to the bomber detected near Kedumim on his way into Green Line Israel, who was killed when his bomb exploded. Elon added that it is unacceptable that while Israel relaxes security restrictions on the PA and works to advance on the diplomatic level, the terrorism continues.

Oct. 30, 2003 Jerusalem Police boost presence for Ramadan prayers By JPOST.COM STAFF Jerusalem Police have bolstered their numbers and finalized their contingency plans ahead of the first Friday of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered the security services to allow the entrance of about 4,000 Muslim worshippers into the Temple Mount complex for prayers. Meanwhile, Palestinians threw a grenade at an IDF outpost along the Egyptian border Thursday night near the town of Rafiah. No injuries were reported. Earlier in the day, troops spotted a suspicious boat carrying a number of Palestinians off the Gaza...

Oct. 28, 2003 Restrictions on Palestinians to ease up Wednesday By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN Shaul Mofaz Photo: AP The defense establishment is set to ease up restrictions on the Palestinians, allowing merchants, humanitarian workers and even a number of olive pickers into the country on Wednesday. The exact number was not yet decided but the decision came following a visit by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to the Gaza Strip Tuesday and recommendations from the IDF. The General Security Service opposes a lifting of restraints, arguing that attacks are being planned on both sides of the Green Line, especially as the Moslems...

Oct. 27, 2003 Mofaz to announce easing of restrictions By JPOST.COM STAFF</P Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz is expected to announce Tuesday the easing of restrictions in the West Bank and Gaza, allowing several thousand Palestinian workers to enter Israel. Industrial activity and transport of goods between the PA and Israel will be partially resumed and some PA city barricades may be lifted where the threat of terrorism is low. Mofaz is attempting to walk a middle line between the IDF's proposals to grant even wider concessions and the Security Service's opposition to any lifting of restraints, arguing that attacks are...

Oct. 15, 2003 Mofaz: Gaza attack was deliberately directed at Americans By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN The bombed US vehicle Photo: AP Israel's Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz telephoned National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and told her that the attack was deliberately directed at the Americans. "I promise to do all that is necessary and possible to help apprehend the terrorist cell that perpetrated the attack," Mofaz told Rice. He also told her he instructed that all intelligence information Israel can gather on the attack be handed over to the Americans and he personally instructed that Israeli security forces fully cooperate with the...

Israeli, Baby Girl Murdered in Rosh Shana Terror Attack Israel News Agency Palestinian Terrorism - targeting babies and children File photo of recent Jerusalem bus terror attack Jerusalem----September 27......A Palestinian terrorist broke into a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on Friday and opened fire in a home where a family was marking the Jewish New Year, murdering a man and a toddler and shattering Israel's peace and security efforts to maintain calm over the holiday. The Palestinian terrorist was shot and killed by soldiers guarding the settlement, said Capt. Jacob Dallal, an Israeli army spokesman. Two other Israelis also...

Editorial: Happy birthday, Shimon Shimon Peres "Opposition," said William Blake, "is true friendship." We think of that line in the afterglow of Shimon Peres's 80th birthday party, which brought together, among other celebrity mismatches, Moshe Katsav, Bill Clinton, Terje Roed-Larson, and Ariel Sharon for what turned out to be a moving event. If little else, these men share an admiration for Peres in which we join. Outside the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv, where the day's formal festivities were held, protesters called for bringing the "Oslo criminals" to justice. No Israeli newspaper has been more steadfast in its opposition to...

Our Newspapers Fail Us Editorial - Israel News Agency There is no public relations or public affairs without a carrier. The most established carrier is called a newspaper. And in Israel the only newspapers which enjoy abundant readership and wealth are the Hebrew dailies – Yediot, Maariv and Haaertz. As for the English newspapers here in Israel – one is a mere translation of the Hebrew edition and the other is fifty percent wire service copy. Yes – there are some brilliant writers on these papers but their voices become deluded when you have a lack of proper leadership integrated...

May. 20, 2003 Mofaz: Abu Mazen can stop terror By THE JERUSALEM POST INTERNET STAFF Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen has the ability to put an end to the terror attacks against Israeli civilians, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Tuesday. "The weights which are holding down the diplomatic process and not allowing it to take off are first of all [Yasser] Arafat who is making every effort possible to sabotage peace efforts," Mofaz said in a speech at Tel Aviv University. Mofaz said that he believes that Abu Mazen has the ability to stop the terror attacks against Israel "and...

Defense chiefs agree NIS 2.25b cut in 2003 budget The cut amounts to 40% of the amount originally planned. A top-level meeting will discuss the cut tomorrow. Zeev Klein and Zvi Lavi 11 Mar 03 16:35The Ministry of Defense has consented to a NIS 2.25 billion budget cut, 40% of the NIS 5.5 billion cut passed by the cabinet and the Knesset two months ago. Following sharp disputes between the parties, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon summoned Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz to another discussion tomorrow in Sharon’s office. The Ministry of Finance is demanding...

Mar. 11, 2003 Intelligence official: Iraqis believe Saddam can survive war By NINA GILBERT The Iraqis believe that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and his regime can survive a war waged on Iraq by the US, a senior IDF Intelligence Branch official said in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday. Chief of General Staff Lt. Moshe Ya'alon told the committee that the likelihood of an Iraqi attack on Israel is considered to be "extremely low." Ya'alon said this is the conclusion drawn from the assessment that Hussein would only try to attack Israel and bring it into the war...

“Decisive” meeting on defense cuts to continue Finance Ministry insists on NIS 5.5 billion in defense budget cuts. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz is opposed. Zeev Klein 10 Mar 03 16:57Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened a meeting to discuss the Ministry of Finance’s demand for a deep cut in the defense budget. The meeting, attended by Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz, ended without results. It was agreed that Minister without portfolio Meir Sheetrit would meet Ministry of Defense director general Amos Yaron and other defense establishment officials tonight to try to resolve matters. It was...