FROM OUR ARCHIVES
15 YEARS AGO
May 1, 2003
Two British Muslims took part in what was to have been a double suicide bombing at Mike’s Place pub in Tel Aviv two days earlier, security officials revealed. Three people were murdered and 60 wounded when one of the bombers detonated after being blocked by a security guard.
While a protest strike paralyzed the country, finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu won another victory in his quest to cut NIS 11.4 billion from the budget in hopes of stemming the country’s growing deficit. Following 10 hours of debate and accusations, the Knesset narrowly approved the plan in its first reading in a 54-46 vote. A number of MKs, upset with the targeting of poor, elderly and disabled, claimed their support of the budget was tactical. They hoped to wage a battle against the cuts when the budget returned to the Knesset within a month for second and third readings. Meanwhile the Histadrut’s general strike which began one day earlier encompassed nearly the entire public sector, shutting down Ben-Gurion Airport, canceling train services, and closing all government ministries as well as their respective bureaus. Trash continued to pile up nationwide after municipal workers walked off the job. Israel’s cities were also without parking attendants, seen as one of the only benefits to many citizens who racked up parking tickets on a daily basis.
US president George W. Bush was set to give a speech later that day from the deck of an aircraft carrier to say that major combat in Iraq had ended. But the president would neither formally declare victory nor declare the war to be over, said White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.
10 YEARS AGO
May 1, 2008
In an effort to stem leaks to the press, the Ministerial Committee on Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Affairs voted unanimously to introduce polygraph tests to all police officers from the rank of commander upward. The initiative had the backing of public security minister Avi Dichter, as well as Israel Police chief Insp.-Gen. David Cohen, who had previously blasted the tendency of some senior officers to leak information to the media. The committee decided to administer the test when police commanders took up new posts and apply them periodically thereafter.
Israel’s expected acceptance of a Cairo-brokered cease-fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip would “significantly” expedite the release of kidnapped Cpl. Gilad Schalit, a top official involved in the negotiations said. According to the official, while Schalit’s release was being negotiated on a second parallel track to the cease-fire talks, Israel’s agreement to a truce in Gaza would “open doors” with Hamas and have an impact on the talks concerning a prisoner swap in exchange for the soldier abducted in June 2006. The Jerusalem Post learned that a clause in the Egyptian-brokered cease-fire, which had already been accepted by Hamas, was the reopening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Sinai according to the terms of the 2005 agreement reached by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Hamas, according to the deal, would not be allowed to maintain a presence at the crossing.