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THE MEDIA LINE DAILY NEWS FOCUS 1. U.S. TO GIVE ISRAEL $3 BILLION LOAN GUARANTEE TO COVER GAZA PULLOUT… The Bush administration will provide Israel with $3 billion in loan guarantees through 2008 as an indirect way of funding its unilateral pullout from the Gaza Strip. Israel Radio reported on Wednesday that talks between American and Israeli diplomats began in Washington on the subject of U.S. aid for developing the southern Negev and northern Galilee regions of Israel. While the U.S. is unwilling to appear to be providing funding that directly benefits residents of post-1967 territories, a fiction is created whereby the money Israel generates ostensibly for Negev and Galilee development through the loan guarantees effectively frees-up an amount offsetting Israel’s cost of relocating as many as 8,500 residents and Gaza-based industries. Israel is also asking the U.S. to pay for relocating its military bases that are presently located in the Gaza Strip. The American administration has also extended present loan guarantees by two years. 2. ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN THE HAGUE ARRESTED UPON RETURN HOME… Israel’s Consul General to The Hague was arrested by Israeli police upon his arrival home on Tuesday. Uriel Yitzhaki was charged with “accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust.” It is alleged that he accepted cash and favors in return for issuing Israeli passports. According to newspaper reports, the investigation began in 2004 when a woman working in the consulate accused Yitzhaki of using his position to demand sexual favors. Yitzhaki allegedly issued hundreds of passports to people not qualified to receive them. Among his take: hundreds of thousands of dollars and vacations at luxury hotels. 3. PALESTINIANS, ISRAELIS TO BEGIN DISCUSSIONS ON COORDINATING PULLOUT… Initial talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on issues relating to this summer’s Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four Samarian communities in the West Bank are beginning on Wednesday when Sharon confidante Dov Weisglass meets with Palestinian chief negotiator 'Saib ‘Ariqat and Muhammad Dahlan. On Thursday, Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres will meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas. ‘Abbas told Israeli reporters on Tuesday that he is ready to begin coordination on a broad range of pullout-related issues including the fate of the communities that are to be evacuated; the future of the Philadelphi strip; and air and sea ports. ‘Abbas complained that the Israeli government is not giving his administration a chance to prove itself. He said, “Day and night, they are inciting against me in the Israeli media. I am not the complaining type, but, despite the instructions we have issued to halt incitement on our side, Israeli officials have not stopped inciting for a moment.” 4. ORGANIZERS OF GLORIA GAYNOR DUBAI CONCERT FEARED BACKLASH FROM PRO-ISRAEL PERFORMANCE… Impresarrios behind Gloria Gaynor’s concert scheduled for Tuesday in Dubai are relieved that the performance by the pop music star of the ‘80s in a pro-Israel concert held in France over the weekend has not harmed ticket sales. 28,000 fans attended the “Israel Je T’aime” (Israel, I Love You) concert in Paris on Sunday. The Dubai-based Gulf Times reported that Gaynor’s management had confirmed that she accepted the Paris booking as “just another concert and it did not reflect a political statement.” While organizers of the Dubai concert insist that ticket sales are going well and no one has cancelled, only 2,000 of 6,000 seats have been sold less than one week before the event. By The Media Line Staff on Wednesday, April 20, 2005