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Cabinet Communique |
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| 24/03/2002 |
At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday), 24.3.2002:
1. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that during his talks with US Vice
President Cheney, he told him that when the future of Israel is being
discussed, the most important thing is to hear - first and foremost -
its position and plans. To this end, Prime Minister Sharon told US VP
Cheney that it would be proper to enable him to appear before the summit
in Beirut and detail Israel's position and its plans since without
Israel, it would be impossible to promote any plan whatsoever.
2. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer briefed ministers on current
security events from the past week and mentioned the American effort to
bring about a cease-fire. The Defense Minister detailed the terrorist
attacks which took place last week and discussed both the volume of
attacks and the number of wounded. He noted that our forces
successfully foiled - inter alia - suicide-attacks in the center of the
country.
Prime Minister Sharon added to Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer's remarks
and said that up until now, Arafat has given no order to halt the
terror. He noted that while the goal was to bring about a relaxation
and a cease-fire and reach the implementation of the Tenet document, the
Palestinians were playing for time so that they could say they did not
have enough time to take the necessary steps.
3. The Cabinet unanimously decided to appoint, in accordance with Basic
Law: The Israel Defense Forces and Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer's
recommendation, Major-General Moshe Ya'alon to the position of Chief of
Staff of the Israel Defense Forces as of 9.7.2002.
Lieutenant-General Shaul Mofaz will conclude his tenure as IDF Chief of
Staff upon Major-General Moshe Ya'alon's commencement of duties.
Prime Minister Sharon, on behalf of the government, wished Major-General
Moshe Ya'alon success in his new position.
4. The Cabinet decided to appropriate NIS23 million from the budgets of
government ministries to continue funding plans for improvements to the
Western Wall Plaza, and for the Youth and Soldier visitation plan for
the Western Wall and its environs.
5. The Cabinet was briefed by Minister Dan Naveh on the report detailing
the economic damages caused by the PA, and its direct and indirect
influences on the Israeli economy.
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