HHMI Newsgroup Archives

To:            arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:          neteditor@ArutzSheva.org
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Sunday, March 19, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
 <<www.ArutzSheva.org>

Sunday, March 19, 2000 / Adar Bet 12, 5760
------------------------------------------------
 
TODAY'S HEADLINES:

  1. CABINET APPROVES 6.1% WITHDRAWAL
  2. THE SECURITY RAMIFICATIONS
  3. RABBI YOSEF STRIKES RAW NERVE
  4. PA-POPE TEMPLE MOUNT RENDEZVOUS


1. CABINET APPROVES 6.1% WITHDRAWAL

In its weekly cabinet meeting this morning, the government ratified the
upcoming 6.1% withdrawal from Judea and Samaria by a vote of 16-6, with
one abstention.  The relevant maps will be displayed in the Knesset
tomorrow with the actual retreat to be carried out on Tuesday, the Jewish
holiday of Purim.  In response to the situation, residents of Judea and
Samaria
demonstrated today at the Halhoul junction against the transfer of the
Trans-Judea bridge to the Palestinian Authority.  Protests were held as
well at the Gush Etzion, Negohot, Herodian, Betuniya, Trans-Shomron,
Hermesh, Beit El, and Givat Ze'ev junctions.  The community to be most
seriously affected by the retreat is the 13-family community of Negohot
in South Mt. Hevron, whose residents will now only be able to reach their
homes by way of a road under PA military control.

A spokesman for the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and
Gaza stressed the government's failure to pave the required by-pass roads
to townships slated to be surrounded, after the withdrawal, by
PA-controlled territory.

2. THE SECURITY RAMIFICATIONS

The scheduled March 21st withdrawal has serious security ramifications
for nearby Jewish residents.  Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reported today
that the community of Negohot, in the South Mt. Hevron region, will be
impacted most severely - its residents will be forced to travel on a road
controlled by the PA paramilitary police.  "The isolation of the this Jewish
community
represents an attempt by the Prime Minister to prepare Israelis for a
final-status situation, which would territorially detach certain Jewish
settlement blocs from the State of Israel.  Barak views Negohot as a test
case for other key areas in Judea and Samaria in a final-status deal.
That is, if Arafat accepts his maps at the time...."

Negohot resident Yeshai Mertzbach said that he and his neighbors feel
abandoned by the government:  "We are in great need of G-d's mercy.  As
of Tuesday, men, women and children will be travelling on a road
supervised by armed Palestinians," he told Arutz-7 today.  "As far as
we're concerned, though, we plan to continue to grow.  A new family
arrived just last week.  We are a young and dynamic community, and the
serious security situation will not break us!"  Mertzbach added that
Negohot representatives are working with IDF officials on ways to
alleviate the effects of the withdrawal.

David Wilder, spokesman for the Hevron Jewish community, struck an
ominous note today in an article he wrote on the plight of Negohot:
"Negohot is just the beginning.  The road to Negohot leads not to 12
families.  The road to Negohot leads to Tel Aviv, Eilat and Haifa."

Correspondent Huberman also said that the transfer of the Halhoul
overpass (south of Jerusalem) to Palestinian control is a threat to
Israeli motorists.  "Terrorists will practically be able to drop
rocks on cars driven by Israelis on the road below - and then flee
on their PA-run overpass."

In Betuniya, north of Jerusalem, the PA is to assume full control over
the village's by-pass road, used regularly by Israeli drivers.  Huberman
explained: "There will be no buffer zone between the village and the
road, such that if a terrorist wishes to fire on passing Israeli
vehicles, he could easily position himself meters from the road, and not
even have to 'flee' to PA territory."

In the northern Shomron, further transfers to the PA will take place
adjacent to Ganim and Kadim.  He added that some 1% of land will be
reclassified from Area C (full Israeli control) to Area A (full PA
control), as the Oueja region north of Jericho expands.  "This is a very
helpful development for Arafat, who has an interest in solidifying his
hold on Jericho and its environs," Huberman said.

3. RABBI YOSEF STRIKES RAW NERVE

Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein met with State Prosecutor Edna Arbel
this afternoon to discuss the possible opening of a criminal
investigation against Shas spiritual leader and former Sephardic Chief
Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef.  In a talk delivered in Jerusalem's Bucharian
neighborhood last night - and broadcast on a Shas radio station - Rabbi
Yosef equated Education Minister Yossi Sarid (Meretz) with Haman, the
Amalekite villain of the Purim story. Rabbi Yosef  directed his stinging
criticism at Sarid's "antagonism towards the Torah," as well as the
Education Minister's recent decision to include the poetry of PLO-aligned
Mahmoud Darwish in the high school literature curriculum of Israelis.
Justice Ministry officials who attended Att.-Gen. Elyakim Rubenstein's
meeting reportedly support the opening of an investigation of Rabbi
Yosef, citing the rabbi's declaration that Sarid "should be uprooted in
the same manner as was Haman."  

Sarid has not yet directly reacted to the widely-publicized verbal
assault.  He did, however, tell reporters that the Shas party's private
religious school system refuses to fulfill its obligations in the
framework of the rehabilitation program signed several months ago.

At the opening of today's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Barak expressed
"regret" over Rabbi Yosef's comments and called for a retraction. "We
must find the way to maintain a public dialogue with mutual respect,
fraternal love and courtesy," said Barak.

Meretz party officials reacted sharply to Rabbi Yosef's words, but Shas
spokesmen said that the comments reflect the anger and frustration within
the party over how it has been treated by Sarid since the elections. MK
David Azulai (Shas), speaking with Arutz-7 today, opined that it would be
preferable for a figure more acceptable to Israelis as a whole, "and not
a left-wing extremist," to serve as Education Minister. MK Tzvi Hendel
(National Union) advised Att.-Gen. Rubenstein not to open a criminal
investigation against the rabbi, "since if the trial of [former Shas
leader] Arye Deri brought the party 17 Knesset seats, a court case
against Rabbi Yosef is bound to land Shas 40 MKs in the next
elections!"


4. PA-POPE TEMPLE MOUNT RENDEZVOUS

The Pope's upcoming visit continues to be the focus of public attention.
Jewish activists on behalf of Israeli control over the Temple Mount -
headed by Moshe Feiglin's Zo Artzeinu organization - are warning of what
they understand to be the threat to Israel's sovereignty posed by the
Papal visit.

"Much of the public is unaware that the Pope plans to be greeted on the
Mount by Palestinian paramilitary police and senior PA officials, and the
complex will be decked out with PLO flags," Prof. Hillel Weiss told
Arutz-7 today. "Let nobody be fooled, political support for the
Palestinians - and not religious reasons - is the main purpose of the
Pope's trip to Israel. It is a clear follow-up of last month's PLO-Papal
Jerusalem declaration.  Our job is to prevent this event from taking
place."  The first step of those concerned with what they expect to be a
Church-approved statement of Palestinian sovereignty in Jerusalem is a
massive prayer vigil tomorrow afternoon at the Western Wall.  "We must
cry out to G-d tomorrow, on the Fast of Esther, to beseech Him to cancel
this evil decree, as he did in the days of Haman," Prof. Weiss said. He
stressed that if the prayer does not succeed in preventing the PA-Pope
Temple Mount ceremony, "those concerned with the future of Jerusalem will
join us for a huge protest during the ceremony itself."  Tomorrow's
Western Wall prayers have been given the approval of many prominent
rabbis, led by former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu.

It was learned today that the Pope has refused to meet with the families
of Israeli soldiers missing since the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yaqub due to
his "tight schedule."   Family members had issued their request by way of
Minister Chaim Ramon (Labor), who met with officials in the Vatican last
week. An alternate meeting has now been set, however, between the
families and the Vatican's Foreign Minister.

***********************************************************************

To:            arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:          neteditor@ArutzSheva.org
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Monday, March 20, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
 <www.ArutzSheva.org>
Monday, March 20, 2000 / Adar Bet 13, 5760
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
  1. WITHDRAWAL FROM YESHA TOMORROW
  2. SYRIAN TALKS MAY SOON BE ON AGAIN
  3. MORE OPPOSITION
  4. POPE ARRIVES TOMORROW

***SPECIAL INSERT: Chief Rabbis Greet Pope

1. WITHDRAWAL FROM YESHA TOMORROW
The Israel Defense Forces plans to withdraw tomorrow from 6.1% of
Judea and Samaria, in the framework of the last stage of the second
Oslo withdrawal. Arutz-7's Haggai Seri reports that maps of the
withdrawal were put on display for the Knesset Members today, although
most of the MKs were not there, because, as one of them complained,
"the maps have already been published in the newspapers."  MK Rehavam
Ze'evi (Gandi) of the National Union party was upset by the tangle of
different regions caused by the withdrawal: "Area A goes into B, which
goes out of C and leads back into A - it's a total mess that simply
cannot exist!  There's no place in the world that people live this
way.  It will only lead to war."  Labor MK Ophir Pines, when asked how
the residents of Negohot can continue to live in their homes when
their several-kilometer long access road will be patrolled exclusively
by the PA police, answered:  "A place like Negohot has no real right
to exist in an area with such a large Palestinian population, and I
therefore estimate that if and when we reach the final-status
agreement, this community will have to be evacuated."  Haggai Huberman
reports that none of the 12 bypass roads promised by the Netanyahu
government have been completed, leaving several Jewish communities
without "critical life-giving arteries." 

Israeli and Palestinian delegations are on their way to Washington for
tomorrow's resumption of the negotiations on the final-status
agreement. They hope to agree on a set of final-status principles by
May, and sign the actual agreement by September.  Israel freed another
five Palestinian terrorists from prison this morning, and six more are
expected to be freed later today.  The released terrorists include two
who killed two Arabs; one who has 16 years left of a 25-year sentence
for killing an Arab and attempting to kill and Israeli; one who has
served half of his 16-year sentence for attempting to kill an IDF
soldier; and another with 14 years remaining of a 20-year sentence for
murdering an Arab.

2. SYRIAN TALKS MAY SOON BE ON AGAIN
U.S. President Bill Clinton will meet in Geneva early next week with
Syrian President Assad.  Aides accompanying the President during his
visit to Bangladesh today said that Clinton's agreement to meet with
his Syrian counterpart can only signal that Assad has already promised
to renew the talks with Israel. 

The Prime Minister's Office expressed satisfaction with the upcoming
meeting, and said it hopes that this is a harbinger of a resumption of
talks with Syria - "but only if the proper conditions exist, from
Israel's standpoint."  The Likud called upon the Prime Minister not to
gamble with the security of Israel.  "In present-day Syria," says a
Likud statement, "given the state of Assad's health, no one knows what
will be tomorrow or the next day, and as such, we must not give up the
Golan and return to the banks of the Kinneret."

Eli Malka, head of the Golan Residents Committee, told Arutz-7 today
that he was not exactly surprised by the new development, "because we
know that behind-the-scenes contacts have been going on for a while.
[Assad's apparent agreement to resume the talks could have been
expected also because] Barak has given up on everything that can
possibly be given up on in the Golan, such as the early warning
stations, the entire Golan practically up to the Kinneret and Hammat
Gader - what else is left?" Malka said that the coming month will be
critical in determining the future of the Golan, and "although it's
true that we here in the Golan are leading the struggle to save this
area, it's not only for us - but for the entire nation.  Everyone must
help out, and see what he can do - whether it be through calling
parlor meetings to explain the importance of the Golan, distributing
bumper stickers, donations, phone calls, whatever.  If everyone chips
in, we have no doubt that we'll win [the referendum], because giving
away the Golan and its water sources and the security that it provides
is simply too terrible of a decree.  It would represent the
destruction of Zionism." 

The struggle to retain the Golan is also being waged on the artistic
front. A large statue of Syrian President Assad sitting and fishing on the
banks of the Kinneret Sea has been erected north of Ein Gev, along the
eastern shore of the Kinneret.  In back of the fisherman is a black
flag.  The person responsible for placing the statue:  Brig.-Gen.
(res.) Uzi Keren of Ein Gev, a prominent activist on behalf of the
Golan Heights.

3. MORE OPPOSITION; NOTABLE RABIN QUOTE
"Barak Supporters with the Golan!"  That was the theme of a gathering
yesterday of some 300 left-wing activists who protested against the
plans to withdraw from the Golan.  Avi Kaddish, a prominent activist
on behalf of Barak during the election campaign, said, "Let Barak know
that hundreds of thousands of his voters are not a rubber stamp for
his mistaken policy and dangerous illusions, and that if he brings
phony security arrangements for public approval in a referendum,
together with the uprooting of Golan Heights settlements, we will not
support him...  I call on supporters of Barak to come out of the
closet, and announce in a clear voice that the agreement he is
bringing is an empty one, and is in no way similar to the real peace
for which we long.  Barak is not even demanding the minimum, that
Syria agree to full peace.  He is willing to give up the Golan and its
settlements, without even realizing that he has no partner for peace.
Is our desire for peace so intense that we don't even realize that
we're playing chess with ourselves?" 

Other speakers at the gathering included Meretz secretariat member
Gil'ad Natan, who told of the various threats and warnings he had
received over the week from Meretz members not to appear there, and
Four Mothers member Danny Reshef, a former senior intelligence
officer.  Reshef emotionally recalled how the late Prime Minister
Rabin said, in 1994, that there is no security value to Israel's
presence in Lebanon, "but we will continue to remain there to provide
Syria with cards in future negotiations with us."

U.S. Senator Jesse Helms, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, is against both an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan and
U.S. aid to Assad's Syria.  In a recent letter on the topic, Helms
wrote, "I do not believe the U.S. should be in a position of bribing
the two sides [Israel and Syria] with large aid packages in order to
secure an agreement.

In addition, Israel must not be forced to compromise its security by
giving up the Golan Heights...  Until we see fundamental changes in
the nature of the Syrian regime and its activities, I will oppose any
form of U.S. support for Syria."

4. POPE ARRIVES TOMORROW
Pope John Paul II will arrive today in Jordan, from where he will
depart for Israel tomorrow.  His visit has already stirred up
Palestinian-Israeli tensions in Jerusalem.  Local Arabs removed
Israeli flags that had been placed in eastern Jerusalem in honor of
the visit, and replaced them with Palestinian flags.  Similarly, a
Palestinian flag was unfurled over Orient House today.  Orient House
officials removed the flag, at the behest of Israeli police.

Israel's Chief Rabbis issued an official greeting to the Pope today,
beginning with a verse from Psalms, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem;
They will prosper who love you."  The full text of the Rabbis'
greeting can be read following this report.

The Anti-Defamation League sponsored newspaper ads today, "in honor of
the historic visit of the Pope in the State of Israel," a compendium
of quotes from Pope John Paul II regarding his approach to Jews and
Judaism.  A sampling of the quotes:

"The Jewish People is the People of G-d of the Ancient Covenant that
was never negated by G-d." (Nov. '80)

"We have relations with Judaism unlike those that we have with any
other religion.  You are our dear and beloved brothers, and to a
certain extent it can be said that your are elder brother." (April
'86)

"For Christians, the heavy yoke of guilt of the murder of Jews must be
a constant call to repent; in this way we will be able to overcome
every form of anti-Semitism and conduct new relations with the People
that is close to us [via] the ancient covenant."  (Nov. '90)

On the other hand, the ADL itself "expressed great concern" over the
agreement signed between the Vatican and the PLO last month.  The
agreement dealt with the peace process and Jerusalem, and the ADL said
that "the Vatican was engaged in unhelpful interference in the
bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians."  The ADL
statement criticized the document for not mentioning Israel, security,
or the need for normalized relations between Israel and the
Palestinians.  The ADL was also critical of the document's call for
"international guarantees" on Jerusalem in disregard of the
final-status negotiations. 

The Vatican-PLO agreement was also the subject of "great displeasure"
expressed by the Government of Israel at the time.  The government
announced that the apostolic nuncio, the representative of the
Catholic Church in Israel, was called to an urgent meeting at the
Foreign Ministry. Israeli World Jewish Communities Minister Rabbi
Michael Melchior expressed his "deep regret that the Vatican is
continuing its 2,000-year-old monologue with Judaism at a time when we
are striving to begin a new era of dialogue, attentiveness and mutual
respect with it." 

SPECIAL INSERT:

Following are Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau's and Sephardi
Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron's greetings to Pope John Paul II, as
communicated by the Chief Rabbinate Spokesman:  

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, They will prosper who love you
(Psalms 122:6)

The people of Israel who dwell in Zion and the Chief Rabbis of Israel
welcome Pope John Paul II with the traditional greeting: Blessed be
your coming to Israel.

From the holy city of Jerusalem, about which the prophet Zechariah
said: "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion.And many nations shall join
themselves to the Lord in that day and shall be My people, and I will
dwell in the midst of you."  (Zechariah 2:14-15)  We welcome one who
saw fit to express remorse in the name of the Catholic Church for the
terrible deeds committed against the Jewish People during the course
of the past 2,000 years and even appointed a commission for requesting
forgiveness from the Jewish nation with regard to the Holocaust.

We remember and mention to his credit the decisive assistance he gave
in the matter of moving the Carmelite Convent out of the area of the
Auschwitz concentration camp, a place where millions of our brothers
and sisters were murdered for the Sanctification of the Name,
sacrificed for the sole reason that they were "called by the Name of
the Lord." (Deuteronomy 25:10).

We appreciate as well his recognition of our right to return to, and
live in, the Holy Land in peace and brotherhood within safe borders
recognized by the nations of the world and especially by our
neighbors. All these things were given expression in the prayer he
offered at Auschwitz (11.6.99) for the success of the Israeli people's
efforts for peace.

We, the Chief Rabbis of Israel, representing the Jewish People
dwelling in the Holy Land, express our hope and faith that the
prophesies will be fulfilled, of Malachi: "Behold, I will send you
Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of
the Lord," (Malachi 3:22), and of Zechariah: "Thus says the Lord: I
return unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and
Jerusalem shall be called The City of Truth and the Mountain of the
Lord of Hosts, the Holy Mountain.There shall yet sit old men and
women in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his
hand for very age.  And the broad places of the city shall be full of
boys and girls playing in the streets thereof."  (Zechariah, 8:3-5)

From Jerusalem, capital of the State of Israel, and from Zion, the
holy city, we pray that we may be granted a good and long life, a life
of peace and security, health and peace of mind, a life of human
brotherhood.  May it be His will that the words of the prophet be
fulfilled: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:4)

May He who makes peace in His heavens bring peace to us and to all of
Israel.

***********************************************************************

To:            arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:          Arutz-7 <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, March 22, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.ArutzSheva.org>
Wednesday, March 22, 2000 / Adar Bet 15, 5760
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
  1. TERRORIST VICTIM IN SERIOUS CONDITION
  2. PA REFUSES TO TURN OVER TERRORIST
  3. BATTLE FOR "RIGHT OF RETURN" TAKING SHAPE
  4. POPE IN BETHLEHEM AND DEHAISHE
  5. SYRIA AND ISRAEL SEEN CLOSE

1. TERRORIST VICTIM IN SERIOUS CONDITION
The condition of Shmuel Ofan, one of the three Jews wounded in Monday
night's terrorist shooting attack, continues to be serious - although
he can now communicate by writing.  Arab terrorists overtook and shot
at an Israeli car carrying seven passengers near the Tarkumiya
checkpoint outside Kiryat Arba.  The driver of the Israeli car said
that the shots were fired from a vehicle that had been parked on the
side of the road, and "which overtook us soon after we passed."  The
road is part of the "free passage" route for Palestinians from Gaza to
Judea.

Ofan gave President Weizman, who came to visit him today, a note
asking how it is that the area in which he and his brother were shot
is being given over to the Palestinians.  Weizman did not respond.

2. PA REFUSES TO TURN OVER TERRORIST
Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service,
refuses to return to Israel a Hamas terrorist that Israeli security
forces "lent" it temporarily.  The terrorist, a member of the Taibe
cell, was dispatched to the PA to help locate a house, south of
Shechem, in which two other members of the cell were known to be
hiding.  Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that once the
house was located, Rajoub promised the two terrorists inside, "Your
honor will not be harmed," and they therefore agreed to give
themselves up.  Rajoub then refused to return the first terrorist to
Israel, claiming  that this is his response to an incident in November
1997, in which Israel arrested two Kfar Tzurif terrorists who were
being smuggled from Shechem to Ramallah in Rajoub's vehicle. 

Israeli and Palestinian delegations began another round of talks in an
army base outside Washington, D.C. last night.  The talks will
concentrate on the extent of the third Oslo withdrawal - which former
Prime Minister Netanyahu had promised would not exceed 1% of Judea and
Samaria - as well as final-status principles.  Huberman reports that
not only will the extent and location of the next withdrawal be
determined by the Palestinians together with the Israelis, but
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat claims that this procedure has
already been implemented.  "Erekat said that the map of yesterday's
withdrawal from 6.1% of Yesha was drawn up after three days of
intensive talks between him and Israeli negotiator Oded Eran in
Jericho," Huberman said.  "This explains why Arafat didn't even make a
show of protesting the map this time, as he did on previous
occasions."

3. BATTLE FOR "RIGHT OF RETURN" TAKING SHAPE
The Arabs are continuing their fight for the refugees' of 1948 "right
to return."  Salman Abu Sitta, writing last week in Egypt's Al Ahram,
explains that "contrary to the myths and misinformation campaigns
propagated by the Israelis... the right of return is physically
possible."  Abu Sitta explains that 85% of Israel is occupied by only
22% of Israel's population, of which almost 9/10 live in cities:
"This leaves 3% of Jews, the rural residents of the Kibbutzim and
Moshavim, in control of the vast Palestinian land...  Thus we have
here a tiny minority of 200,000 Jews obstructing the return of five
million refugees..."

On March 4, a declaration of the "Right of Return" was announced in
Jerusalem, Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Cairo, and elsewhere.  Abu Sitta
wrote that a recent poll conducted by the PA showed that 90.8 % of
respondents would refuse to accept a Palestinian state at the cost of
forfeiting the "right of return."

Michel Sabbah, the Catholic Church's Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and
Bethlehem, together with the Palestinian Authority, has organized
buses to transport thousands of Arab refugees to participate in a
rally in Dehaishe today, in the presence of Pope John Paul II, calling
for the "right of return."  The PA's first act of legislation in 1994
was that refugee camp residents must be absorbed in the pre-1967
boundaries of the state of Israel, and that the PA would therefore
deny any assistance to the UN refugee camps. 

4. POPE IN BETHLEHEM AND DEHAISHE
Pope John Paul II, who arrived in Israel yesterday, conducted a prayer
service in Bethlehem this morning.  Afterwards, he will visit the
Dehaishe refugee camp.  During the prayer service - which was
interrupted for a few minutes by the loudspeaker of a nearby Moslem
mosque - the Pope said that the Vatican has always recognized the
Palestinians' national rights to a homeland.  He had previously
announced that his visit to the Holy Land was "not political, but only
religious." 

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Dean of Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim, said today that
the Pope's goal is simply to obtain a foothold in Jerusalem for the
Church, and that this is the way the Pope feels will help him reach
this goal.  Shimon Peres is reported, in 1994, to have promised the
Vatican official status in Jerusalem.  "In general, Catholics are not
happy with the existence of the State of Israel, but they know that
they can't fight us head-on, so they do it in this way," Rabbi Aviner
said.  "If they would at least stop supporting the establishment of a
Palestinian state in our land, and stop supporting the other Arab
nations around us - then this could be considered a significant step."

5. SYRIA AND ISRAEL SEEN CLOSE
"I wouldn't waste Assad's time if there was nothing to talk about."
So said U.S. President Clinton yesterday, confirming Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak's prediction that Israel and Syria are close
to signing an agreement.  Mubarak said that secret talks between
Israel and Syria have continued uninterrupted ever since the last
round of talks in Shepherdstown, and that only technical details need
to be ironed out.

Military Intelligence Commander Maj. Gen. Amos Malka, who visited the
United States last week, was not impressed with the early-warning
systems being offered Israel by the  U.S. as a replacement for the
early-warning station on Mount Hermon.  A senior defense source told
Ha'aretz that it will take five years and a billion dollars to develop
and introduce into active service an alternative early-warning system
to serve as a satisfactory replacement for the Mt. Hermon station
currently in use. 

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