Ofer Shelah
By Ofer Shelah
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Culture Damascus Whodunnit
TEL AVIV — In his lifetime, Iz a-Din al-Sheikh Khalil’s name was known only to the top Hamas experts within the Israeli and Western intelligence communities. Though he was a senior political-military operative, he wasn’t one of the recognized faces of the Palestinian movement, like Sheik Ahmed Yassin, Abd al-Aziz Rantisi or Khaled Mashal. That…
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News Syrian Offer of Talks Throws A Wrench Into Sharon’s Plans
TEL AVIV — As if he didn’t have enough problems, what with mounting right-wing opposition to his disengagement plan, Palestinian terrorism stirring anew and his governing coalition in turmoil, Prime Minister Sharon now has trouble on his northern front. Syria, Israel’s most intractable foe, is offering to make peace. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made the…
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News Suicide Bombings Compound Problems for Gaza Withdrawal
TEL AVIV — In the wake of Tuesday’s twin bus bombings in Beersheva, senior Israeli military and government sources were quick to dismiss any talk of a connection between the attack and the prime minister’s efforts to press his Gaza disengagement plan. Despite the official claims that Hamas terrorists aim to strike at Israel regardless…
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Culture Old Soldiers Who Never Fade: Peres Runs as Laborites Rebel
TEL AVIV — As the latest power struggle in Israel’s Labor Party unfolds, it is hard to tell without a peek at the calendar whether the year is 2004, 1994 or even 1984. There is Shimon Peres, 81, hardly changed in his looks from the energetic prime minister of two decades ago, hotly debating with…
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News True to Character, Olympic Mettle Eludes Israelis
TEL AVIV — Once every four years, Israelis gather around their televisions to watch their representatives in the summer Olympic games, hoping for victory but expecting defeat. It’s partly a matter of experience — it took Israel 44 years to win its first Olympic medal, and it has yet to take a gold — but…
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News Netanyahu’s Budget Riles Left, Threatens Unity Talks
TEL AVIV — Benjamin Netanyahu, the spoiler of Ariel Sharon’s Cabinet, managed this week to throw Israeli politics into turmoil by pulling one of his most unexpected stunts ever: bringing in a 2005 state budget framework on time. Netanyahu’s draft budget, a Thatcherite mix of privatization and spending cuts, is winning plaudits from economists and…
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News Israeli Mob War Hits the Streets of Central Prague
TEL AVIV — Minutes into his tenure as Israel’s national police chief last Sunday, Commander Moshe Karadi was welcomed with a blast that sounded all the way from the Czech Republic. An unidentified man threw a hand grenade toward a jeep in the center of Prague. Eighteen people were injured in the August 1 blast….
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News Israel Open To Rethinking Nuclear Policy
TEL AVIV — In the turmoil of a busy political week, the visit here by Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, largely escaped public notice. Most Israelis consider their country’s nuclear policies to be way over their heads; in a country where almost everything is subject to debate, “the last taboo” (as…
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