On the agenda of today's Cabinet meeting were such topics as the possible expulsion or isolation of Arafat, the national budget for 2004, and the Ohr Commission's findings. Regarding the last issue, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said as he entered the meeting that the Israeli-Arab sector deserves greater equality, and that his government places this matter very high on its list of priorities. The Cabinet in fact decided to adopt the commission's findings in toto, including its personal recommendations against specific police officers - and also to appoint a ministerial committee to review the findings.
Six ministers objected to the decision. Housing Minister Effie Eitam, who is of the opinion that the commission's harsh findings are detrimental to Israel's future deterrence power, said that there is no point in appointing a ministerial committee now that the government has already accepted the Ohr Commission's conclusions.
The ministers also discussed the continued construction of the partition fence and its route. It was reported today, though not verified, that Prime Minister Sharon had decided to leave the Shomron city of Ariel outside the Israeli areas of the partition. Professors for a Strong Israel condemned this idea, stating today,
"If the fence will have any security value at all, it is criminal to deprive a large population of its benefits because of political considerations. In effect, the Prime Minister is proving that (1) he lacks the backbone to stand up to American pressure, (2) the fence is indeed being built as a political, not a military instrument, and (3) he accepts the American position that the fence is the beginning of a partition of the country. We expect that the representatives of the Right in the Knesset will continue to hold up funding for the fence until both its effectiveness and its ultimate purpose are made clear."
Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party) said today that we must "explain to the Americans that just as they do their utmost to protect the welfare and security of their citizens, the same is true with us. They must not interfere in our defense considerations."