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To:            arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Monday, March 13, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
 <www.ArutzSheva.org>
Monday, March 13, 2000 / Adar Bet 6, 5760
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
  1. THE FUTURE OF JERUSALEM
  2. NETANYAHU AND JERUSALEM
  3. CHIEF RABBI LAU: APOLOGY WAS INCOMPLETE
  4. BEILIN: JEWISH AGENCY CAUSES ONLY DAMAGE

1. THE FUTURE OF JERUSALEM
The future of Jerusalem as Israel's capital continues to be the center of
political attention.  Following a cabinet meeting this morning, Prime
Minister Ehud Barak told reporters that his government's position on
Jerusalem remains unchanged, and that the city "will forever remain united
under Israeli sovereignty."  Barak added that right-wing statements
accusing the government of dividing Jerusalem are both "irresponsible and
damaging to Israel's national interests."  In response to a specific
question about the Arab neighborhoods of Abu Dis, A-Ram, and Al-Azariya,
however, Barak was less committal. "I do not plan to conduct the
negotiations in front of the television cameras," he said.

Likud MK Gideon Ezra distinguished between Abu-Dis and A-Ram, which are
classified as Area B [under Palestinian administrative control], and
Jerusalem proper:  "I am not opposed to permitting the Palestinians to live
in Area B and go on running their lives there," he said - but he would not
compromise on security:  "If we give them complete control over Abu Dis
[immediately east of the Old City], Israel's only formal access to Ma'aleh
Adumim would be the Jerusalem-Ma'aleh Adumim road - creating a virtual
bottleneck.  If we give up on the A-Ram junction [in northern Jerusalem],
we forfeit the entrance to the Alon Highway, and thereby put ourselves at
the mercy of the Palestinians at the entrance to this road.  Any move we
agree to with the Palestinians is irreversible, and even if they don't
fulfill their side of the deal, we will have a hard time undoing the damage."

News Editor Haggai Segal asked MK Ezra his opinion of statements by party
colleague MK Michael Eitan expressing "no objection" to complete
Palestinian rule in Abu Dis.  "Mickey Eitan qualified his remarks," Ezra
answered, "and said that he would only agree to this arrangement if the
Palestinians consent to Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem, which of course
won't happen - such that his whole point is purely theoretical.  At any
rate, I regret that Mickey is not adhering to party discipline on this
matter... But I have even heard comments within the coalition about
[northern Jerusalem neighborhood] Shuafat and the like not being 'holy.'
If Mr. Barak is serious about maintaining the unity of Jerusalem, such
comments indicate some cracks in his coalition..."

Speaking with Arutz-7 today, Brig.-Gen.(res.) Oren Shachor distinguished
between Area B and municipal Jerusalem, but said that he would not want to
turn Area B areas into Area A (under full Palestinian control).  He
similarly intimated that full PA control of Abu Dis - just several hundred
meters away from the Temple Mount - threatens Israeli sovereignty over
Jerusalem, which is already in danger:  "There are already many problems in
eastern Jerusalem, such as the underground activity of PA police chief
Jibril Rajoub."

Shachor said he doubted whether a final-status deal between Israel and the
PA could be reached by September:  "I said the same about Barak's February
deadline, which has already passed, and I cannot imagine that it will be
any different in September, despite the impression that the negotiations
are 'back on track' and despite the latest Barak-Arafat-Mubarak summit."
He added that he feared a situation in which Arafat unilaterally declares a
state in the fall, gains support from the UN and the entire world - "except
for Israel itself, which will lead to intensification of Palestinian
violence, maybe on the scale of the 1996 riots [following the opening of
the Old City Tunnels]."

2. NETANYAHU AND JERUSALEM
Government figures continue to use former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
as their "precedent" for their diplomatic moves.  Aides to Barak, as well
as Shimon Peres, said today that Netanyahu had agreed to the establishment
of the Palestinian capital in Abu Dis.  Netanyahu responded that he would
not be surprised if Ehud Barak announces next week that he, Netanyahu, had
agreed to transfer Tel Aviv to the Palestinians.  According to the former
Prime Minister, Barak and his spokesmen are "perverting his positions" in
order to justify their own concessions.

One year ago, on Mar. 17, 1999, Arutz-7 reported the following:
Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly told leaders of the American Jewish
Committee three days ago that he is willing to accept an "Abu Dis-type
solution" for Jerusalem, but that the Palestinians will likely reject it.
So reports Ma'ariv today, referring to an arrangement whereby a Palestinian
parliament would be established in an Arab suburb of Jerusalem, just
outside the city borders.  Such an idea was originally proposed in the
famous Beilin-Abu Mazen plan of several years ago.  The Prime Minister's
office claims that his remarks were not said seriously, and that the
government objects to any division of Jerusalem.

The Council of Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha Council),
together with hareidi and nationalist-camp groups are coordinating plans
for a massive rally, to be held in the near future in Jerusalem's Zion
Square.  At issue: the government's apparent intention to transfer to the
Palestinians Abu Dis, A-Ram and El-Azariya.

3. CHIEF RABBI LAU: APOLOGY WAS INCOMPLETE
The Israeli media today grappled with Pope John Paul II's apology for the
sins of the Catholic Church over the past 2,000 years.  Ma'ariv, for
example, wrote that the historical account between the Jewish people and
the Catholic Church was not settled by yesterday's apology, but added: "It
is impossible to ignore the fact that the Catholic Church is making a kind
of atonement and recognition for historical injustices.  It is possible to
accept a certain satisfaction from the apology, and consider it a step
forward..."

In a formal statement released today, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir
Lau called the Pope's move "a positive change in contrast to previous
Pontiffs."  Rabbi Lau, however, expressed his "deep  disappointment over
the fact that the issue of the Holocaust was not mentioned at all, even
though Pope John Paul II personally experienced the Holocaust in Poland...
To recall the horrors of the Inquisition of 1492 but to omit the Wansee
conference of 1942 [planning the Final Solution] constitutes serious
historical myopia.  Even though the 'Final Solution' was a Nazi invention,
and not created by the Church, the Pontiff who headed the Roman Catholic
Church during the Holocaust period, Pius XII, did nothing to either condemn
it or protest against it; his standing by while blood was being shed
deserves full condemnation...  At Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, there is an
avenue on which every tree is dedicated to the memory of a Righteous
Gentile.  Had Pius XII fulfilled his basic duty, this avenue would be much
longer, and the lives of many more Jews would have been saved during those
horrible days.  I hope that the completion of this request for forgiveness
will be voiced by the Pope in his remarks at Yad Vashem next week," Rabbi
Lau wrote.

Elaborating on his statement while speaking with Arutz-7 today, Rabbi Lau
said that a failure by the Pope to "complete" his comments in this fashion
would lead to "the Holocaust eventually being forgotten. If the Holocaust
is ignored while those who bear numbers on their forearms are still are
among us, what will be 150 years now?"   He added that during the 20-minute
meeting which the Pope requested with Rabbi Lau and Sephardic Chief Rabbi
Bakshi-Doron, the rabbis plan to ask the Pope to halt the process of
granting Pope Pius XII sainthood.  Rabbi Lau rejected criticism leveled by
some against the meeting itself:  "The Pope has asked to speak at Yad
Vashem about the Holocaust, and is extending his hand.  It is improper to
refuse this gesture. In addition, millions of Jews are still dwelling in
the exile, in countries rife with anti-Semitism.  It is unwise to give an
opportunity for those sentiments to be ignited."

4. BEILIN: JEWISH AGENCY CAUSES ONLY DAMAGE
Minister Shimon Peres is apparently not enthralled with last week's Supreme
Court decision prohibiting Jewish communities from preventing Arabs from
purchasing property.  During a Labor party faction meeting in the Knesset -
hosting the Kadan family, whose Supreme Court victory last week earned them
the right to build a house in the lower-Galilee community of Katzir -
Minister Yossi Beilin said that the Jewish Agency had outlived its
usefulness, causes only damage, and serves as a tool by which to
discriminate between Jews and Arabs.  Peres, considered Beilin's political
mentor, disagreed with his protege, and said that the State of Israel must
preserve its Jewish majority.  "We must be cautious of intellectual
anarchy," Peres said.  The Kadan family was invited to the faction meeting
at the behest of MK Salah Tarif.

Earlier in the day, the Likud party hosted members of the Katzir Community
Council.  Katzir Deputy Chief Yaakov Amor told Arutz-7's Haggai Seri that
in light of last week's court decision, many Katzir residents are
considering moving out of the community.  Similarly, Amor said that
contracts with several families who had planned to build their homes in
Katzir have been cancelled.  Amor opined that the Israeli-Arab leadership
aims to undermine the Jewish population along the "Green Line."

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To:            arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, March 14, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.ArutzSheva.org>
Tuesday, March 14, 2000 / Adar Bet 7, 5760
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
  --- See below for subscription instructions ---


TODAY'S HEADLINES:
  1. ANATA TO REMAIN ISRAELI - FOR NOW
  2. THE 6.1% WITHDRAWAL
  3. A LABOR MK's POSITION
  4. REFUGEES LIKELY TO RETURN

1. ANATA TO REMAIN ISRAELI - FOR NOW
The Prime Minister's Office announced shortly after noon today that it
was decided not to include Anata - near Anatot and the Jerusalem
suburbs of Pisgat Ze'ev and N'vei Yaakov - in the upcoming Oslo
withdrawal from Judea and Samaria.  The press had been rife all
morning with reports and reactions to the previous decision to retreat
from Anata.  Many right-wing politicians were visiting in Anata, or
were on their way there, to protest the original decision when the
announcement was made.  Likud MK Danny Naveh declared emphatically
that Barak, in his original decision to give Anata away, had "simply
underestimated the extent of the public's refusal to accept anything
that would endanger the unity of Jerusalem and the security of
Jerusalem neighborhoods." 

MK Rabbi Benny Elon (National Union) had the following reaction:  "As
a citizen, this topsy-turvy behavior is very worrisome to me.  The
security cabinet is supposed to be a serious, high-level body, yet I
see that over the past few weeks the cabinet members allowed Arafat's
objections to change their minds about the withdrawal.  In addition,
the discussions at their meetings are constantly leaked, in blatant
violation of the law. Now, today, they again changed their minds
because of public pressure. Barak appears to be like play-dough - as
pliable as a toy...  Now I hear that Hizme [an Arab village adjacent
to Pisgat Ze'ev] is being discussed as a substitute for Anata.  This
would be even worse!"  Rabbi Elon said that two pro-Jerusalem events
are planned for next Monday:  a giant demonstration with the
participation of the nationalist and hareidi camps, and a
no-confidence motion in the Prime Minister, submitted by the Likud and
the National Union, because of his plans to carry out moves that will
harm Israeli sovereignty in the capital.

Before the announcement of Barak's about-face on Anata, MK Tzvi Hendel
(National Union) said, "The government apparently thinks that the
public is stupid..."  Minister Ran Cohen (Meretz) reacted to this
morning's protests by saying, "We must remember that Anata was not
built adjacent to Pisgat Ze'ev, but rather Pisgat Ze'ev was built
adjacent to Anata." 

Local representatives from Pisgat Ze'ev and N'vei Yaakov conducted a
protest tour of Anata this morning.  Their protest was echoed by Likud
MKs, Ministers Sharansky, Y. Levy, and Yeshai, and Jerusalem Mayor
Ehud Olmert, all of whom also arrived in Anata for the purpose. 

Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami said this morning, before the
Anata-reversal was announced, that "changes may still be made in the
map" - but Palestinian sources said that the location of the
withdrawal was agreed upon in last week's Barak-Arafat meetings, and
will not be changed.

2. THE 6.1% WITHDRAWAL
Prime Minister Barak plans to present the final map of the next
withdrawal from Judea and Samaria to his security cabinet tomorrow,
followed by its ratification on Sunday by the entire government.  The
6.1% retreat includes two Arab villages in the vicinity of Jerusalem:
Bituniya - just west of Ramallah - and Abadiye, near Bethlehem and
Gilo.  Binyamin Regional Council head Pinchas Wallerstein warned this
morning that the transfer of Bituniya to Arafat will leave the
residents of Talmonim and Dolev without a safe road to Jerusalem.

Dozens of Palestinian terrorists are scheduled to be released from
Israeli prisons at the time of the withdrawal.  The borders of the
PA's Jericho area will be expanded, reaching up to the Jewish
communities of Na'amah and Na'aran.  Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai
Huberman reports that the current withdrawal map provides for a
first-of-its-kind double sovereignty over the same piece of land:  The
bridge over the Halhoul road, leading to Hevron, will be Area A -
under total Palestinian control - while the lower level, which is the
Trans-Judea highway leading westwards from Kiryat Arba, will be under
total Israeli control.

The residents of Negohot, in the South Har Hevron region, are
protesting this afternoon outside the Knesset.  The upcoming
withdrawal from Yesha will place the road leading to their community
under full Palestinian control.  Oren Shefer of Negohot told Arutz-7
that the protestors plan to remain at their protest site until the
government finds a solution to their predicament.

Prime Minister Barak also plans, in the upcoming withdrawal, to give
away the village of Za'atra, near the eastern-Gush Etzion community of
Nokdim. MK Avigdor Lieberman, a resident of Nokdim, says that this
move will be most damaging to his town.  Women in Green leader Nadia
Matar says that the new map is a "declaration of war upon Eretz
Yisrael."  She calls upon the Yesha Council not to suffice with a
restrained response.

3. A LABOR MK's POSITION
Arutz-7 today spoke to MK Colette Avital (Labor) about the
government's decision to hand the PA full control of areas close to
Jerusalem.  "Why has the government already provided, so early on in
the negotiations, areas that are so important historically and so
close to Jerusalem?" asked Arutz-7's Haggai Segal.  Avital answered,
"The principle on which we are basing our decision is the need to
preserve a united Jerusalem.  In order for this to be possible, we
have to find a replacement [for the Palestinian demand for Jerusalem
as their capital]...  The idea is that we should give the Palestinians
a chance to establish their capital in a place that for them is
Jerusalem, but for us is not.  Anata, Bituniya, and Abadiye are not
and never were part of municipal Jerusalem...  In the end, another
month or two, there will be a need to reach a compromise with the
Palestinians - and we know that more or less, there is going to be a
Palestinian state, they will have to be in the villages next to
Jerusalem..."

Segal then asked, "If today we give Anata and tomorrow Abu Dis, what
will remain for negotiation in the final status talks?"  Avital's
response:

 "It will still remain to establish the parameters of the final
agreement. Let me remind you that we are still in control of more
than 50% of the territory, and I don't think that such moves will be
dangerous at all to Israel's security.  I think that if a Palestinian
capital is established near Jerusalem, maybe they will paradoxically be
interested in preserving quiet there, in their capital. and maybe this
is the most powerful guarantee for quiet - and not when there are all
sort of undefined issues between us and them..."

4. REFUGEES LIKELY TO RETURN
The Ministerial Committee for Ikrit and Bir'am appears likely to
recommend the return of Arab refugees to these villages.  The
committee is touring the northern border today, and will hear from
local community leaders who object to the refugees' return.  The
residents of the Merom HaGalil Local Council told Itim News Agency
that the composition of the committee - which is headed by Yossi
Beilin (Labor), and includes fellow Ministers Chaim Ramon and Avraham
Beige-Shochat (Labor) and Chaim Oron (Meretz) - leaves no doubt as to
their intentions to allow the Arabs to return.

Merom HaGalil Regional Council head Aharon Ma'atuk was asked by
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal today what he thought of Minister Chaim Ramon's
statement that the return of the refugees is tied to "an exceptional
promise - made by the State of Israel to the residents of the Arab
settlements prior to the 1948 War of Independence - that they would
eventually be allowed to return home."  Ma'atuk answered, "Ramon is
right - but it seems that we are forgetting one issue, perhaps the
most important matter of all: We are, little by little, losing our
grip on the Jewish state..."  He said that in addition to the national
and demographic blow, "allowing these people to return to land
currently worked by Jewish farmers, in kibbutzim and moshavim, would
be very damaging.  The economic situation of our residents is poor...
The government plans to bring here an Arab population that has already
become established in the larger cities, and bringing them here will
create a large gap between the Jewish and Arab residents..."  He said
that the objections in Merom HaGalil transcend political boundaries,
and that both right- and left-wingers are against allowing Arabs to
return to the areas they left 50 years ago.

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To:            arutz-7@arutzsheva.org
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@arutzsheva.org>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, March 15, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.ArutzSheva.org>
Wednesday, March 15, 2000 / Adar Bet 8, 5760
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
  --- See below for subscription instructions ---

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
  1. KATYUSHAS HIT ISRAEL
  2. WITHDRAWAL MAP APPROVED
  3. BARAK'S ABOUT-FACE
  4. "FILLING IN" JERICHO

1. KATYUSHAS HIT ISRAEL
Several Hizbullah katyusha rockets fell this morning in northern
Israel, near Moshav Zar'it.  No one was hurt.  Forty katyushas were
fired towards Israeli forces in the security zone yesterday; several
rockets landed in Israel.  An IDF outpost was damaged in the attack,
and Israel responded by bombing terrorist targets in Zabkin, Lebanon.


Rachel Shviger, a long-time resident of Zar'it, told Arutz-7 what
happened the past two days: 

"This has been going on for a long time already.  Hizbullah continues
to fire at the Kharkom outpost [of the Israeli army], which is
practically in the backyard of some of the houses in Zar'it.
Yesterday, some of the rockets fell within our gates.  Look, we are
not heroes, but on the other hand, we don't go down to the shelters
every time there is an attack like this, because then our lives would
really be impossible."  She said that she is confident that the IDF
will be able to protect her community even after the promised
withdrawal from Lebanon:  "The IDF is a great army, and it will have
to become even better - which I am sure it will be able to do." 

Ms. Shviger took the opportunity to raise another issue:  "Barak said
yesterday in the Knesset that he will provide for the northern
communities from a social and economic standpoint.  This is very
critical, and I hope he does this with a strict timetable, as he did
with the withdrawal from Lebanon.  The Lebanese morass has caused us
great troubles, and it is imperative that he take care of this
immediately - yesterday, if possible. The people in these communities
are getting older, and the younger generation is leaving, and soon
there will be nothing on the Lebanese border except for a
battlefield."

2. WITHDRAWAL MAP APPROVED
The security cabinet ratified the map of the upcoming 6.1% withdrawal
- the last part of the second Oslo withdrawal - from Judea and
Samaria.  Five ministers voted in favor, while Ministers Yeshai
(Shas), Y. Levy (NRP), and Sharansky (Yisrael B'Aliyah) voted against;
Sarid (Meretz) abstained. Sarid feels that the village of Anata, five
minutes from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev, should also
be given to the Palestinians. Sharansky said that he would not object
to transferring Anata to the PA under the final-status agreement. 

The plan that was approved today calls for the transfer to the
Palestinian Authority of areas in the Jordan Valley north of Jericho;
Bituniya, located on the road from Jerusalem to the Talmonim; the road
leading to Negohot and other areas in South Har Hevron; and villages
in the Bethlehem area. Another wave of terrorist-releases, involving
30 terrorists, was also decided upon by the cabinet; only Rabbi Levy
voted against.

Residents of Negohot and the Talmonim protested outside the Prime
Minister's Office this morning.  The latter blocked the road from
Givat Ze'ev to Jerusalem, causing a huge traffic jam.  A woman from
Negohot explained:  "We have only one access road to our community,
and the government wants to give it away to the Palestinians.  It will
simply be dangerous for us to go in or out of our town.  Despite this,
however, we plan to continue using the road - although the women will
have to travel either with guns, or only with men accompanying us; we
have not yet decided." 

Yesha Council leaders have cancelled a scheduled meeting with Deputy
Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, at which they were to have expressed
their reservations about the withdrawal map.  They said that the
meeting will be held when their comments receive the same attention as
do those of Yasser Arafat.

3. BARAK'S ABOUT-FACE
The events of the past day surrounding Jerusalem and Barak's Anata
reversal have raised several question marks, as outlined by editorials
in Israel's major dailies today.  Ma'ariv writes that the public
uproar against the intention to give away Anata was "a kind of
small-scale dress rehearsal, before the major uproar which will ensue
when Jerusalem itself comes up on the agenda."  The paper writes that
statements by government sources downplaying the importance of the
Anata reversal are "not really convincing...  While the Palestinians
are harshly monolithic, Israel stutters with several voices.  [In
addition, the 'Gaza and Jericho first' method is not over.  Only the
names have changed...  Prime Minister Barak indeed repeatedly declares
that, 'Our position was, and remains: Jerusalem is Israel's eternal
capital, period' - but the period has now become a question mark."

Yediot Acharonot's editors call for "an inquiry into the real reason
which caused Prime Minister Barak to backtrack from the intention to
include Anata in the withdrawal map...  If it becomes clear that he
was frightened, a question mark will, from now on, hover over his
ability to deal with the arguments of [Jerusalem Mayor Ehud] Olmert
and [opposition leader Ariel] Sharon [both of the Likud] in the
future."

MK Yuli Edelstein (Yisrael B'Aliyah) told Arutz-7 today his opinion of
Barak's about-face on Anata:  "I think that the public pressure, in
real-time, was very instrumental.  On the other hand, I think there
was an element of a trick here, because at the same time that we are
celebrating our 'victory' in Anata, we are ignoring that which is
happening in other places, such as Nokdim and Tekoa [in eastern Gush
Etzion], which were supposed to be thriving suburbs of Jerusalem and
will now be all but cut off from Jerusalem.  The same in the Talmon
communities.  We must not dwell on short-lived victories, but rather
see how we can save more and more of the Land of Israel."

4. "FILLING IN" JERICHO
The upcoming withdrawal will also involve "filling in" an area in
between the PA city of Jericho and the PA village of Ouja, which are
presently connected only by a narrow strip of Palestinian-controlled
territory. David Levy, head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council,
explained today that the 5.5- kilometer strip of land, running
northwards from Jericho to Ouja, has been widened to an area of three
square kilometers. "Until now," Levy told Arutz-7 today, "this strip
has been insignificant, in that it was not able to be used [by the PA]
for anything.  Now, however, it will become a substantial piece of
property, thus that the Israeli community of Na'ama [with 24
families], which is to the east of this strip, will now become almost
completely closed in:  Ouja to the north, Jericho to the south, the
new area on the west, and the Jordanian border to the east."  [Ed.
note: The Jordan Valley highway, from Jerusalem to Beit She'an, passes
adjacent to Na'ama.]  Levy pointed out that the townlet of Yeitav,
just west of Ouja, is also in danger.

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