N. Heartfelt wishes sent with delicious gift baskets from... A TIMMY A TASKET s Thr Off u (810) 661-4789 1 (800) 507-4438 (GIP.° Outside of Michigan Fighting Fire with Fire T with mention o£ ad When So Sorry is not enough. Send a tray of candy, nuts & fruit. INA FRIEDMAN ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT foodstuffs have raised the specter of hunger, especially in Gaza. Shortages of staff, drugs, and supplies, as well as the inability to reach clinics and hospitals in the West Bank and Israel, have played havoc with standard health care. It has been widely publicized that the army's refusal to allow. emergency cases (such as a heart attack victim and a woman in the throes of childbirth) past IDF 1-73;9 s 6 on. 3 1; 3 NIBBLES & NUTS The stringent measures are in place, but Hamas' popularity has not waned. the closure policy. "There's col- lective support for terrorists [in the territories], many are hiding [Izzadin al-Kassem chief - Mo- hammed] Deif, and there are cel- ebrations over the killings," Mr. Peres charged. The prime minister also had sharp words for Palestinian Au- thority President Yassir Arafat. "If I knew that the Palestinian Authority was doing what it should, I would lift the closure," 737-8088 33020 NORTHWESTERN Outside Of Michigan occAsio"s MasterCard 1-800.752-2133 Special Candy & Sugatfree Available DETROIT MONUMENT WORKS 14441 W. 11 Mlle OAK PARK, MI48237 1 - 810 - 399 - 271 1 Hours: 9:30-4 Daily; Sun. 10-4' Local & Nationwide Delivery LASTING MEMORIALS OF DISTINCTION • Free design service • Free delivery in Metro area • Servicing all cemeteries in the Metro area MONUMENTS BY BERG AND URBACH GLATT KOSHER Shiva Dinners & Trays Under the Supervision of the Council of Orthodox Rabbis AP/KHAL ED ZI GHARI here's no question about it: calm has returned to Israel. And it's a direct result of the rigorous closure of the Gaza Strip and Palestinian ar- eas of the West Bank after the re- cent spate of Islamic terrorist bus bombings. "Separation," once shunned by many, is now the preferred goal in relationships by Israelis with their Palestinian neighbors. In fact, the Labor Party is touting the concept as the chief slogan of its election campaign. That's because it's what the public wants. A poll released by Labor showed that some 35 per- cent "hard-core" members of the Likud also support this policy. It's "not for ideological reasons," ex- plained Labor Secretary-Gener- al Nissim Zvili; "but simply because they don't want to lay eyes on Palestinians inside the Green Line any more." Still, once again, the benefit of the closure for Israelis has come at the price of almost unprece- dented hardship inflicted on the Palestinians. And the economic cost of blocking Palestinian work- ers from Israel and Palestinian goods from leaving Gaza is a well- rehearsed theme. Terje Larsen, the U.N. special coordinator for the territories, re- cently estimated that the closure costs the Palestinian public $2.4 million a day lost by some 70,000 workers employed in Israel alone. Add to the sum an additional $1 million a day due to the inability to export produce and manufac- tured goods. These figures do not include income lost by workers inside the territories; they are idled because raw materials have been blocked from reaching them or because they cannot arive at jobs, because of the blockade on cities, villages, and refugee camps in the West Bank. Stunningly, the overall Pales- tinian unemployment rate at- tributed to the present closure is about 75 percent. What's more, over the past month the Pales- tinian Authority itself has lost an estimated $46 million in revenue from sales, import, value-added, and income tax. Beyond the sore economic deprivation, the mea- sures that have sealed Palestini- ans off from both Israel and one another have created hardship on the most basic functional lev- el. As one indicator, about 71,000 students have been kept out of school by the closure. Even worse; shortages of basic 2 Packaged & Delivered 7 Days a Week 25270 Greenfield, Oak Park 967-1161 The home of master bomb maker Yehia Ayyash is blown up by the Israeli army. checkpoints has resulted in the deaths of four Palestinians (in- cluding three infants). After two weeks of such col- lective punishment, the mount- ing outrage and outcry of Palestinians has forced Israel to ease up. Late last week, the IDF lifted the blockade of the Palestinian- controlled parts in the West Bank, enabling their residents to travel within most of the area. The government also permitted the flow of basic foodstuffs and construction materials into Gaza (albeit at a snail's pace due to painstaking security checks); the export of flowers and produce (in small convoys escorted by the army to the Ashdod port); and the entry of 1,000 Gazan workers into the industrial area just over the border at Erez. Nevertheless, at a recent Cab- inet meeting, Prime Minister Shi- mon Peres ensured the supply of food and humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, but the basic clo- sure will continue. It's chief aim, he explained, was not just to protect Israelis, but to fight the psychological war- fare mounted by the terrorists with counter-measures of the same ilk. "Terrorist attacks are collec- tive punishment of Israel," Mr. Peres retorted when Communi- cations Minister Shulamit Aloni objected to the-blanket nature of- he declared. "Arafat's superflu- ous speeches about jihad and Jerusalem; his condolence visit to [Yechi] Ayyash's family ... ar- resting wanted men and releas- ing them once the pressure eases. Mohammed Deif is within reach and has not been arrested." To ease ministerial misgivings over extending the closure for months on end (or at least until the May 29th elections), Mr. Peres also spoke of a special U.N.- coordinated plan to raise $100 million for the purpose of creat- ing jobs in the territories. Yet, by conveying the tit-for- tat message that as long as Is- raelis suffer from the specter of terrorism, Palestinians will be forced to suffer, has the govern- ment dampened popular support for Hamas and the Islamic Ji- had? No, say the results of a com- parative poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Peace and Democracy. During the first week of the closure, Palestinian sup- port for suicide attacks rose from 15 percent to 22 percent, while backing for actions to destroy Hamas's infrastructure fell from 33 percent to 19 percent, it showed. Equally instructive is that 30 percent of those polled at the end of the week described suicide bombers as "heroes" (up from 14 percent at the start of the peri- od). O. - - re w. . - Shiva Trays and Dinners Meat or Dairy SHIRLEE BLOOM WE ONLY USE KOSHER PRODUCTS 32418 Northwestern, Bet. Middlebelt & 14 FINE MONUMENTS SINCE 7910 New Location 14441 W. 11 Mile Rd. Oak Park, Mich. 544-2212 MONUMENT CENTER INC. "Same Location 45 years" • Monuments and Markers • Bronze Markers • Memorial Duplicating • Cemetery lettering & Cleaning CEMETERY INSTALLATION ANYWHERE IN MICHIGAN Call 542-8266 FERNDALE 1V, blocks East of Woodward 661 E. 8 MILE ROAD 855-9463 *STRICTLY GOURMET • STRICTLY KOSHER • STRICTLY Ara 1.4..14 OUTSTANDING SHIVA TRAYS Sweets and Sympathy from Cookies Etc. 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