Israel is reportedly due to receive a powerful radar system from the United States that will boost its air defense against ballistic missiles fired by Iran or any other enemy country.
According to media reports, US President George W. Bush is expected to discuss the issue during his upcoming visit to Israel later in the week of May 12. Illinois Republican Representative Mark Kirk told reporters that the radar is the second most important issue Bush intends to raise during his visit, aside from the peace process.
A 70-year-old woman was killed in a deadly Kassam rocket attack in Moshav Yesha in the western Negev on the evening of May 12, becoming the second civilian to be killed in a rocket attack in the past 72 hours. Shuli Katz was visiting the moshav with her son, who entered a nearby home to inquire if they had arrived at the correct address, when the early warning system sounded an alert and the rocket fell just meters from her killing her outright.
A first Israeli aid crew arrived in Myanmar on the morning of May 10 in order to assist the victims hit by the Nargis cyclone. Talking to Ynet, Josh Krieger of the Latet organization reported on the difficult sights and the great damage caused by the storm, as well as of the difficulties posed by the authorities.
“If Israel rejects the agreement it will carry the burden of compromising its citizens’ security,” said a senior Hamas official to Ynet, referring to the message relayed to the Egyptian Chief of Intelligence Omar Suleiman in Israel. Gaza is threatening that if Israel rejects the agreement presented by the factions for a calm, an escalation in the clashes will be unavoidable.
The Italian president, Giorgio Napolitano, has officially opened the prestigious Turin Book Fair amid protests over the choice of Israel as the event's guest of honor. "No dialogue is possible if there is a refusal to recognize Israel," Napolitano said at Israel's special stand at the fair. There can be no "rejection of the reasons for its birth or of its right to exist in peace and security," the Italian head of state added. Israel's stand was swamped by hundreds of people, many draped in the Israeli flag, with one group holding a banner that read: "I feel Jewish today."
