From: Eddie Chumney
To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: Israel in the News: 6/15 - 6/28/98
ISRAEL
IN THE NEWS
JUNE
15 TO JUNE 28, 1998
JERUSALEM - A TREMBLING CUP AND BURDENSOME STONE TO ALL NATIONS
STATE DEPARTMENT CRITICIZES NETANYAHU ON JERUSALEM PLAN
June 19, 1998 By Barry Schweid, Associated Press Washington (AP)
The Clinton administration assailed Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu of Israel on Friday for considering a development plan
for Jerusalem designed to attract more Jews to the city.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright conveyed her displeasure to
Netanyahu in a telephone call, then contacted about a dozen
American Jewish community leaders through a telephone
"conference'' call to tell them she was disturbed by the plan.
In that conference call, Albright said Netanyahu had dismissed as
"Palestinian propaganda'' the idea that the plan would expand
Jerusalem, but she still urged him to have the Cabinet
reconsider, according to a participant, who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Meanwhile, State Department spokesman James P. Rubin publicly
issued a scathing condemnation. Calling the plan provocative and
insensitive, he said, "It's difficult to understand'' why
Netanyahu was considering it.
ISRAEL APPROVES JERUSALEM EXPANSION PLAN
June 21, 1998 Jerusalem
The Israeli cabinet, rebuffing criticism from Washington and the
Palestinians, adopted on Sunday a plan to extend the boundaries
of Jerusalem and deepen the city's ties with West Bank Jewish
settlements. Under the plan, the city will formally annex land
to the west, in Israel proper, and an expanded "umbrella
municipality'' will adopt administrative powers over other nearby
Jewish towns, including some in the occupied West Bank. The
umbrella municipality will have authority over construction and
city planning in nearby West Bank Jewish settlements.
PM NETANYAHU RAPS ALBRIGHT
By Jay Bushinsky Post Jerusalem (June 22)
Rejecting foreign criticism of his government's plan to transform
Jerusalem into "a 21st-century metropolis," Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu yesterday singled out US Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright. Netanyahu accused Albright of jumping to
hasty conclusions instead of "checking with me first." He told a
news conference, held shortly after the administrative expansion
won the cabinet's unanimous approval, that "this is not a change
of status from the political standpoint." He said he was
"astounded" by the negative foreign reactions, describing them as
"empty balloons." Referring to the American reaction, Netanyahu
said he hopes his discussion with Albright succeeded in
clarifying Israel's position.
US FAILS TO HEAD OFF SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING ON JERUSALEM
June 26, 1998 By Robert H. Reid, Associated Press United Nations
(AP)
Despite U.S. efforts for a delay, the Security Council decided
Friday to meet next week to hear Arab demands that Israel reverse
its decision to extend municipal services from Jerusalem to
Jewish settlements on the West Bank. Council President Antonio
Monteiro of Portugal said the meeting would be held Tuesday at
the request of Arab envoys to the United Nations.
JORDAN CALLS FOR EMERGENCY ARAB SUMMIT OVER JERUSALEM ISSUE
(IsraelWire-6/25)
According to the Jordan Times, the Jordanian government has
called for the convening of an emergency Arab summit, following
Israel's decision to expand the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem
to include satellite communities located in the western corridor
of the capital. Deputy Jordanian Prime Minister Jawad Anan
called the greater Jerusalem plan "a groundless political
decision." Other senior Jordanian officials rejected
explanations offered by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who
told the media the reason for the expansion plans were purely
economic and not political. The Jordanian foreign minister added
that the international community must join together to condemn
Israel and apply pressure to reverse the decision. The minister
stated that red lines were crossed that never should have been
crossed.
ISRAEL ADOPTS PLAN TO MONITOR EAST JERUSALEM WITH CAMERAS
Weekend News TodaySource: Jordan Times Wed Jun 24, 1998
On Tuesday Israel adopted another plan for monitoring the streets
of Arab Jerusalem's Old City using video cameras and other
electronic devices, the internal security ministry said. The
plan envisions installing video cameras in the narrow streets of
the Old City, notably in the Muslim quarter, where two Israeli
settlers living in the neighbourhood have been killed in six
months, the ministry said. The dozens of pivoting cameras,
linked to a central monitoring system, would also be able to
conduct surveillance at night. "This is about avoiding any
attack on our sovereignty in the eastern part of Jerusalem and to
reinforce in an immediate way the presence and efficiency of the
police," said Internal Security Minister Avigdor Kahalani.
ISRAELIS TO FORTIFY WESTERN WALL AGAINST ATTACKERS
By Ohad Gozani in Tel Aviv - London Electronic Telegraph 6/25/98
THE Western Wall in east Jerusalem will become a virtual fortress
under an Israeli security plan designed to counter rising
tensions between Jews and Palestinians in the annexed Arab half
of the holy city. The =9C10 million security plan aims to thwart
terrorist strikes against worshippers and visitors, both at the
Jewish shrine and throughout the narrow alleys of Jerusalem's old
walled city. Access to the wall is already restricted and it
will be further reduced by security devices that are designed to
locate concealed weapons and sniff out explosives.
PEACE PROCESS
ISRAEL SEEKING US ASSURANCE OF NO UNILATERAL DECLARATION OF
PALESTINIAN STATE
(IsraelWire-6/16)
Prior to implementing the planned withdrawal from 13 percent of
areas throughout Judea and Samaria, Israel is seeking a US
guarantee that the PLO Authority (PA) will not unilaterally
declare a Palestinian state on May 5, 1999, as announced by
Yassir Arafat. Israel wants the Clinton administration to agree
to oppose any unilateral PA move to declare statehood while the
peace process is ongoing. Israel, in turn, is willing to agree
to freeze the establishment of any communities throughout Judea
and Samaria, as a goodwill gesture.
ISRAEL SLAMS ARAB EFFORTS TO UPGRADE PLO'S UN STATUS
Int'l Christian Embassy Jerusalem, 6/19/98
Efforts by the Palestinian Authority to upgrade the PLO's
observer status at the UN to that of a near-state were a clear
violation of the Oslo accords, PM Binyamin Netanyahu charged
yesterday. "There is an agreement that final status issues are
not going to be determined unilaterally but will be determined in
negotiations," he told reporters, saying the PA moves, if
successful, "would be a complete subversion of any possibility of
achieving an agreement ... a tremendous blow to peace ...
likely to cause the collapse of the process."
PALESTINIANS URGE UNITED STATES TO PUBLISH PEACE INITIATIVE
June 23, 1998 By Karin Laub, Associated Press Jerusalem (AP)
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat urged the Clinton administration
to step up pressure on Israel and go public with its plan for an
Israeli troop withdrawal in the West Bank, the chief Palestinian
negotiator said today. The appeal was contained in a letter by
Arafat to U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, said
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Arafat reminded Albright that in a phone call last month, she
assured him that her negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu on a withdrawal would be completed within two
weeks, Erekat said. "He (Arafat) said that he went all the way
with her ideas in meetings here and there, and now it is time for
the American administration to introduce its ideas and proposals
publicly and officially, and it is time to tell Netanyahu that
enough is enough,'' Erekat said.
NETANYAHU SEES WEST BANK DEAL BY END OF JULY
June 28, 1998 Jerusalem AP
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday Israel would
probably reach an elusive agreement to hand over more West Bank
land to the Palestinians by next month. Netanyahu, asked if a
deal would be clinched by the time parliament breaks for its
summer recess on July 29, told Israel Radio: "I estimate the
process will be completed by then. I can't say this for certain
because I can't dictate what the Palestinians do on their side.''
He blamed the Palestinian side for the absence of an agreement
after months of U.S. mediation. "The thing that is holding up
progress in the political process is the Palestinian refusal to
honor its commitments on a practical level,'' he said. Netanyahu
added that the two sides were still at odds over the scope of an
Israeli withdrawal mandated under an interim peace deal.
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
ARAFAT TO STEP DOWN SOON FOR HEALTH REASONS
- Kahl's I&G News 6/15/98 Paris AFP (North European Service) in
English 11 Jun 98 Cairo
Yasser Arafat plans to step down soon as president of the
Palestinian Authority for health reasons, the Egyptian government
newspaper Al-Jumhuriya reported Thursday.
The report drew a swift and sharp denial from Ahmed Abdel Rahman,
general secretary of the Palestinian Authority cabinet."It is a
lie, a fabricated piece of news," Rahman told AFP. "I do not
understand how such news could be published in such a quality
newspaper like al- Jumhuriya. "Israel launches such rumors, like
the one on Arafat's heath, with the aim of undermining the
international trust in the Palestinian leadership and to escape
the implementation of peace agreements," he added.
Al-Jumhuriya quoted unidentified "Palestinian sources" as saying
Arafat would be replaced until new presidential elections by the
speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Ahmed Qorei, or
by Selim al-Zaanun, the speaker of the Palestinian National
Council, the highest PLO body. "According to these sources, Mr.
Arafat will step down following the conclusion of an accord on an
Israeli pullback from the West Bank," the paper said.
ARAFAT TO NAME NEW CABINET MINISTERS IN WEEKS
June 24, 1998 Ramallah, West Bank
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has accepted the resignation
of his cabinet and will name new ministers within the next two
weeks, a senior Palestinian official said Wednesday. The
official, Saeb Erekat, said Arafat made the announcement in a
letter read out to the Palestinian Legislative Council, which had
pressed for months for political reform and threatened a
no-confidence vote. Erekat said the Council had granted Arafat
his extension. For nearly a year, the 88-member legislature and
many ordinary Palestinians have been demanding reforms since an
official auditor's report and a scathing parliamentary probe
alleged waste was rampant in Arafat's government.
HAMAS, ISLAMIC JIHAD WOULD NOT JOIN NEW CABINET BEING SET UP BY
ARAFAT
Weekend News Today Source: Ha'aretz Sun Jun 14 , 1998
In Gaza, the radical Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad
said they would not join a new cabinet being set up by Arafat.
But Ismail Abu Shanab of Hamas said the Muslim movement had
accepted an invitation to meet Arafat on Tuesday when he is
scheduled to hold talks with various political factions on
forming a new Palestinian Authority administration. Hamas has
rejected previous offers to join Arafat's administration. It
boycotted Palestinian elections in 1996.
YASSIN REFUSES OFFER TO JOIN PA CABINET; PLEDGES TO CONTINUE
JIHAD
By Steve Rodan Gaza (June 26)
Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, returning from a four-month
Middle East tour in which he raised more than $50 million,
yesterday rejected an offer for his movement to join the
Palestinian Authority and pledged to continue what he termed the
"holy war" against Israel.
But Yassin said he'd agree to a cease-fire with Israel if it
withdrew from all lands it captured in the 1967 war "and there
won't be a trace of the occupation, not a settlement or
anything.""We are insistent on continuing our holy struggle until
our people are victorious and are able toreturn their land,"
Yassin said. "The state of Israel will no longer exist in 30 or
40 years," he added.
Yassin said he would not respond to an appeal from PA chief
Yasser Arafat to join the Palestinian government. Hamas,Yassin
said, would boycott the PA until Arafat renounces the Oslo
agreements and renew the "armed struggle." Yassin said he would
not support a Palestinian state that would include only parts of
the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which Arafat has announced he will
declare next year.
MIDDLE EAST
U.S. OFFERS IRAN NEW CONFIDENCE-BUILDING STEPS
June 18, 1998 Washington
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright offered Wednesday to
explore new confidence- building measures with Iran with the
ultimate aim of creating normal relations with the Islamic
republic. But Albright, in a speech prepared for delivery in
New York, said Tehran continued to pursue policies to which the
United States objected, and that current U.S. economic sanctions
against Iran would remain in force. U.S. officials said
Albright's speech to the Asia Society was intended to develop a
slight thaw that has started in long-frigid U.S.-Iranian
relations since reformist Iranian President Mohammad Khatami came
to power last August
SENIOR IRANIAN SAYS ISLAM HOLDS KEY TO U.S. TIES
June 26, 1998 Tehran
A senior conservative leader said on Friday the United States
must respect Iran's Islamic principles before there could be any
talk of reconciliationbetween the two countries. Speaking to a
gathering at Tehran's Friday prayers, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati
repeated Iran's long-standing list of complaints concerning U.S.
policy but hintedthat grounds for compromise may nonetheless
exist. "The problem between America and us is only Islam. We
do not have any other problem,'' said Jannati, secretary of the
authoritative Guardian Council and a leading conservative. "In
the future, either we step back from our stance...or they abandon
their anti-Islamic attitude, leave us alone and let us preserve
our religion. In that case we could talk to each other.
"Otherwise, there could be no possibility of compromise.''
EGYPTIAN DEFENCE MINISTER WANTS ARAB MILITARY COALITION
Int'l Christian Embassy Jerusalem 6/24/98
Egypt's defence minister, Hussein Tantawi, has called on Arab
nations to imitate countries elsewhere in the world by
establishing a military coalition to defend Arab interests.
"Egypt is calling for an Arab military bloc to take up the
challenges confronting the Arab world and make advances in
technology,'" Tantawi told the daily AL-AHRAM last weekend. "The
big powers join military coalitions like NATO because no country
can survive alone and the prosperity of nations can only be
ensured if they have armed forces capable of defending it."
"Current events require that we, along with brother and friendly
nations, must make modernisation our goal, so we shall not fall
behind in technological progress and be unable to keep pace with
changes going on around us."
U.S. SAYS SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAQ MUST STAY
United Nations (Reuters) - 6/23/98
Russia, France and China, all permanent U.N. Security Council
members, have been more sympathetic to Iraq and want sanctions
lifted as soon as possible. But President Clinton immediately
said that, if true, the new tests [showing VX residue on
warheads] showed Iraq had been deceiving U.N. inspectors and the
council again. Clinton and the State Department said the
discovery moved back the prospect of lifting eight-year old
sanctions. "If this report is true, it will just show that our
insistence over these last many years on the U.N. inspections
system is the right thing to do for the safety of America and the
safety of the rest of the world," Clinton told reporters. "We'll
stay with the position we've always had -- let the inspections go
forward and don't lift the sanctions till the (UN) resolutions
are complied with," he added.
Bacon at the Pentagon said, "it does appear to be a case where
the Iraqis were not telling the truth about their capability. VX
is an extremely dangerous substance. And they have maintained
for a long while that they were unable to produce VX in large or
stable quantities, and therefore, had been unable to weaponize
it." State Department spokesman James Rubin said: "I would be
stunned if any country, in the light of these new apparent
deceptions on the part of the Iraqis, even suggested that now is
the time to be suspending or lifting the sanctions regime."
PREPARATION FOR WAR AND TERRORISM
GEN. DAYAN -- PA PREPARING FOR VIOLENT STRUGGLE WITH ISRAEL
Kahl's I&G News Israel Television Channel 1 Network in Hebrew 10
Jun 98
Major General 'Uzi Dayan, the outgoing commander of the Central
Command, stated today that the Palestinian Authority [PA] is
getting ready for a violent struggle with Israel. Correspondent
Yoram Kohen reports that Maj. Gen. Dayan told journalists The
Palestinians, through guidance from above, are getting ready for
a long-term struggle with Israel in which they will use force.
Maj. Gen. Dayan stressed that although their preparations are
primarily aimed at a defensive struggle, they also pose a threat
to the Jewish settlements in the territories.
NEW JETS ENABLE ISRAELIS TO HIT IRAN
>From Christopher Walker in Jerusalem - London Times 6/25/98
ISRAEL'S potential for launching "over-the-horizon" attacks
against missile or nuclear sites in Iran, Libya and Iraq
increased substantially yesterday with the surprise announcement
that the first of its new F15I long-range strike aircraft are
operational. The first two of the $84 million (=9C51 million)
warplanes were delivered from the US in January, and Israeli
security sources said two more had arrived each month since. The
$2.5 billion order for 25 of the world's most advanced fighters,
plus spare parts, is due to be completed by the end of this year.
Although secrecy surrounds much of the new squadron's activities,
Tel Aviv-based Western security sources believe that it is being
prepared to spearhead an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities,
similar to that launched against Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in
June 1981.
The London-based Jane's Information Group predicted in its annual
conflict analysis that Israel would launch a limited pre-emptive
strike on Iran's nuclear research and development infrastructure
before it could produce missiles with nuclear warheads.
U.S. SAYS SYRIA HAS NERVE GAS ABOARD MISSILES, ARTILLERY,
AIRPLANES
June 24, 1998 By Barry Schweid, Associated Press Washington (AP)
Syria has an active chemical weapons program and has armed
missiles, warplanes and artillery shells with the nerve gas
sarin, the Clinton administration said Wednesday. The Mideast
country had outside help in developing its arsenal, from Indian
companies and possibly from a retired Russian general, a
knowledgeable official told The Associated Press. But "we do not
believe the Russian government was involved,'' the official said
on condition of anonymity.
SYRIA NEARING COMPLETION OF NERVE GAS PRODUCTION
(IsraelWire- 6/25)
According to a report given by a senior officer in the IDF
intelligence community to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee on Tuesday, Syria is moving ahead with manufacturing of
Scud "C" missiles. The IDF assessment of the Syrian situation
has not changed, and the consensus remains that Syria is not
making preparations for a military offensive against Israel, but
nevertheless the Syrians continue to develop military options.
The senior intelligence officer explained that the Syrians are
also nearing completion of research that will enable them to
produce VX nerve gas, which may be then placed in the warheads of
the Scud missiles.
VX - ONE DROP IS LETHAL MIDDLE EAST
(BBC) - 6/24/98
The BBC's Fergus Nicoll explains what VX is: VX is a nerve agent
involving organic phosphorous compounds and sulphur. It is
cheap, relatively easy to make and very nasty - far more toxic
than the sarin gas that killed 12 people on a Tokyo subway in
1995. VX works essentially by penetrating the skin and
disrupting the transmission of nerve impulses. At a high
concentration, symptoms progress through coughing, increased
perspiration, vomiting and death by suffocation. The agent
attacks both the muscles around the lungs and the respiratory
part of the central nervous system. In liquid form, a drop the
size of a pinhead is lethal.
**********************************************************************
>From Pam Staley (daystar@i1.net)
To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: PRIME MINISTER'S REPOPT
---------------------------------------------------
The Prime Minister's Report
Volume 2,
Number 19
June
30, 1998
---------------------------------------------------
Arafat Calls Israel "Satan"
PA Chairman: Jerusalem is not Jewish
(communicated by the Israel Government Press Office)
-- THE OBLIGATION --
Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is
obligated to refrain from incitement against Israel.
The Interim Agreement (Oslo 2) of September 28, 1995 (Article XXII)
states that Israel and the PA "shall seek to foster mutual
understanding and tolerance and shall accordingly abstain from
incitement, including hostile propaganda, against each other and,
without derogating from the principle of freedom of expression, shall
take legal measures to prevent such incitement by any organizations,
groups or individuals within their jurisdiction."
In the Note for the Record which accompanied the Hebron Protocol of
January 15, 1997, the Palestinians reaffirmed their commitment
regarding, "Preventing incitement and hostile propaganda, as specified
in Article XXII of the Interim Agreement."
-- THE VIOLATION --
Following are excerpts from an interview given by PA Chairman Yasser
Arafat to Al-Jezira television on June 28, 1998.
"Question: What will you do, or what have you done, to prevent him
[Prime Minister Netanyahu] from implementing the Jerusalem plan?
-Arafat-: Let me tell you something. The issue of Jerusalem is not
just a Palestinian issue. It is a Palestinian, Arab, Islamic and
Christian issue.
Q: Can one also say that it is Jewish?
-Arafat-: No. Allow me to be precise - they consider Hebron to be
holier than Jerusalem.
Q: More than the Western Wall?
-Arafat-: More than the Western Wall... until now, all the excavations
that have been carried out have failed to prove the location of the
Temple. It is 30 years since they [the Israelis] captured the city and
they have not succeeded in even giving one proof as to the location of
the Temple.
..Q: For the sake of Jerusalem and the problem...
-Arafat-: For the sake of Jerusalem, we have received very, very
little [funding]. We are tightening our belts to save money for the
struggle against this Satan, the Satan of money, the Satan of
influence, the Satan of discord, the Satan of the robbery which the
Government of Israel is attempting to commit."
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