(Communicated by
the Cabinet Secretariat)
At the weekly cabinet meeting today (Sunday, 15 October 2006):
1. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that he will be going to Russia this Tuesday,
17.10.06, for diplomatic meetings with President Boris Putin and Prime Minister Yevgeny
Primakov, and will also meet with Jewish community leaders. Prime Minister Olmert said
that in his meetings with the Russian president he would discuss the Iranian threat (http://tinyurl.com/yzpsyn) and developments in the
nuclear situation with North Korea.
2. Defense Minister Amir Peretz, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, the director of research at
the IDF Intelligence Corps,
and the deputy director of the ISA briefed ministers on current security and diplomatic issues, including security
establishment activity in the Gaza Strip, the violent clashes between Fatah and Hamas, the
increased smuggling of war materiel from Sinai, UN
Security Council Resolution #1718 (http://tinyurl.com/ylqh8n) on sanctions against North
Korea following the latter's nuclear test (http://tinyurl.com/ygmrvv),
and the involvement of Iran and Syria in the upsurge of terrorism in the region.
Defense Minister Peretz said that the IDF had significantly expanded its activity recently
in both the northern and southern sectors of the Gaza Strip and noted that there have been
significant strikes against Hamas and other militants who clashed with the IDF. The IDF is
stepping up its assaults against suspected tunneling activity.
Regarding his Lebanese counterpart's recent remarks to the effect that the Lebanese
military would direct anti-aircraft fire at Israeli overflights of Lebanese territory,
Defense Minister Peretz emphasized that, while the IDF is prepared for any eventuality in
this regard, it is important to stress that as long as UN Security Council Resolution
#1701 (http://tinyurl.com/eedu8) is neither
implemented nor fulfilled, including the return of the abductees and regarding the embargo
on the transfer of war materiel, Israel has no intention of changing anything.
Regarding events in Judea and Samaria, Defense Minister Peretz stressed that the security
establishment would continue to carry out arrests and added that such activity prevents
terrorist attacks. He also discussed the evacuation of illegal outposts and the demolition
of illegal structures.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni made it clear that UN
Security Council Resolution #1718 had been reached by consensus
between the Anglo-American approach and the more compromising Sino-Russian approach. She
said that it is too early to determine the implications of the resolution on the Iranian
issue. The foreign minister also discussed this week's European foreign ministers'
meeting, at which they are expected to announce the end of negotiations with Iran and
their support for the imposition of sanctions; a subsequent decision by the UN Security
Council is expected.
Foreign Minister Livni referred to the failure of the Qatari initiative on the Palestinian issue, the
status of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution #1701, and the election of
a new UN secretary-general.
3. The cabinet authorized Minister Ya'akov Edery, who is responsible for liaison between the government and the Knesset and for
Jerusalem affairs, to oversee and supervise ministries' preparations regarding the
implementation of the "Jerusalem Envelope"
(http://tinyurl.com/y9gfqt & http://tinyurl.com/yhgtu3) and care for the population
of greater Jerusalem as a result of the construction of the security fence. |
