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Teenagers Death Affecting Peace Talks And Israeli Elections
CAIRO (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak failed to tighten the electoral gap between himself and extremist Likud leader Ariel Sharon, known among his supporters as "Mr. Security", as a wave of frustration has shaken Israeli public opinion after the killing of an Israeli teenager.
Israeli security forces arrested a young Palestinian woman in connection with the slaying of an Israeli teenager lured into a trap through the internet, public radio said Saturday.
The young woman, Amana Jawad, 25, was arrested in the West Bank village of Bir Nabalah, which is under Israeli army control, the radio said.
The military confirmed the arrest.
The young woman is suspected of having led Ofir Rahum, 16, into a trap through the Internet, baiting the love struck teenager with the promise of a date.
Jawad, an Israeli Arab, was arrested at 3:30 am (0130 GMT) at her home by more than 60 Israeli army and police officers, a Palestinian security officer said.
She has a BA degree in sociology from Beir Zeit University in Ramallah and works as an administrator at the monthly magazine Snawbar, which specializes in local news, fashion and entertainment, the officer said.
Her brother, Tariq Jawad, proclaimed his sister's innocence and said the family did not even own a computer.
He also said the Israeli army had torn up the family house when it arrested Jawad.
Rahum's death prompted the Israeli government to delay by one day discussions on a Palestinian proposal for 10 days of intensive talks.
Shlomi Abergil, one of Rahum's friends, earlier told Israeli public radio Rahum had been tricked and led to his death by a woman whom he had met in an Internet chatroom.
After their online encounter, the couple met in person for the first time a month and a half ago, Abergil told the radio.
"He did not know that she was an Arab, because she presented herself as a tourist and she spoke English," he said.
Abergil said Rahum had told him she was planning to pick him up by car near Jerusalem's central bus stop. He guessed she drove Rahum to nearby Ramallah without him knowing it because he was not very familiar with Jerusalem.
Israeli media described the incident as an Internet trap in which the teenager believed he was chatting with a Palestinian girl. Moreover, Israeli media pointed out that the Internet has become a new weapon for the Intifada.
After their son's death, Shula and Shalom Rahum told the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot that children "should not use the internet because the Internet kills. The killers attracted him and took him to where they wanted to kill him."
After Rahum initially went missing, Palestinian authorities found his body near the West Bank town of Ramallah. They had found it difficult to identify the body due to extreme trauma caused by multiple bullet wounds.
Israeli Television reported that the Israel's military has information stating that Rahum was kidnapped by two Palestinian men, and that the Palestinian Authority arrested three suspects who might have been involved in the killing.
Palestinian investigators did not indicate whether Rahum's killing was a homicide or a new strategy of the Palestinian Intifada.
Eyewitnesses to Rahum's abduction asserted that they saw an Israeli boy accompanied by a Palestinian woman, then, after entering an area under Palestinian control, three masked man shot him to death.
In a bid to ease Israeli public tension, Barak briefly postponed accepting a Palestinian proposal for peace talks at Egypt's Taba resort on the Sinai Peninsula before Israeli elections on February 6th. His cabinet has, however, now accepted a Barak proposal to continue talks with Palestinians scheduled to begin Sunday and possibly last up to ten days.
Despite weak hopes that the proposed talks might offer any further progress towards peace, observers believe that any such talks could provide a basis for future deals that might boost Barak's campaign and improve his candidacy chances before the Israeli election.
Recent opinion polls show Barak trailing by 18 to 20 points as the local Israeli daily reported.
Barak was supposed to negotiate proposed peace talks with senior campaigners and advisors. He, however, decided to postpone the issue, fearing that any decisions might conflict with Rahum's funeral.
A recent poll conducted by the Jerusalem Post indicates that if the elections were held today, Sharon would defeat Barak. According to a Gallup poll, Sharon 's lead over Barak increased to 20% from 19% last week.
Israel's Channel 2 previewed Sharon's possible plan if he were to assume power. The plan was also published in the Jerusalem Post two weeks ago. The establishment of a non-aggressive accord with Palestinians without fixing deadlines would be the basis for initiating peace talks. Sharon claims the plan is aimed at establishing a Palestinian "entity".
The plan would keep all current Jewish settlements and provide for an undivided Jerusalem in which Israel would maintain absolute control over Jerusalem's Western and Eastern security zones.
Only after Palestinian acceptance of these conditions, would Israel gradually consider concessions and the easing of tensions.
Barak, in his plan, however, proposed that more than 90% of the West Bank would be returned to the Palestinians, while more than 80% of Jewish settlers would remain in Israeli-controlled settlements.
As for Jerusalem's Old City, Barak said a "special arrangement" would be considered.
"This is the price that every Israeli Prime Minister will have to pay in order to end the conflict, not just me," Barak addressed voters.
"Anyone who tells you anything different is not telling the truth and insulting the intelligence of everyone in Israel," Barak said, affirming that he prefers the price of peace to the price of war.
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