To:            arutz-7@arutzsheva.org
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Thursday, July 27, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Thursday, July 27, 2000 / Tammuz 24, 5760
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

  1. JERUSALEM
  2."SOLACE OF FOOLS"
  3. BARAK AND SHARON MEET TONIGHT
  4. AMERICANS AGAINST UNILATERAL DECLARATION
  5. INCREASE IN YESHA JEWISH POPULATION

1. JERUSALEM
Army Radio reported today on another concession made by Prime Minister
Barak in Camp David: allowing Yasser Arafat to have an office in the Old
City of Jerusalem, conditional upon Arafat's recognition of Israeli
sovereignty over the Old City.  As is well-known, Arafat refused to agree.
Government Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shachak, who took part in the Camp David
talks, told Arutz-7 today that the reference is not to Arafat's main office
- "which will be wherever the seat of government is" - but rather "just a
place where Arafat can come and sit..." 

Likud MKs fear that all of Barak's concessions - despite his declaration
that they are now "null and void" - will be the starting point for the next
round of negotiations with the Palestinians.  Shachak did not refute this
point, but said, "Whoever thinks that all these issues will not come up for
debate, is lying to himself.  They will all come up for debate...  The next
round will not start from zero.  It will start from a certain point from
which it will be possible to try to bridge the gaps."

Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane asked Shachak about Jerusalem:  "It turns out that
all of the statements by Israeli leaders about the eternal indivisibility
of Jerusalem are worth nothing, isn't that so?  Basically, everyone is
ready to divide the capital city, under the right circumstances...?"
Shachak responded, "Look, as long as there were no negotiations about
Jerusalem, the luxury of making such statements could be allowed us.  But
now an important debate has been opened, namely, the question of what
exactly is Jerusalem?  I am not willing to say that the refugee camp of
Calandia [in northern Jerusalem] or the A-Ram neighborhood is part of
historic Jerusalem to the extent that it should endanger our chances for an
end to this historic conflict."

Yesha Council spokesman Yehoshua Mor-Yosef, speaking on Arutz-7 after
Shachak, responded sharply:  "When Shachak says that he does not know what
Jerusalem is, then this means that whatever Arafat declares is Jerusalem,
that's what Shachak and the others will accept.  He [Shachak] is playing
games by talking about Calandia, but the fact is that he and Barak are also
willing to give over the Old City, or parts thereof..."      

Mor-Yosef  warned that the results of the summit should not "mislead us...
It's good that this summit failed, but the chances are great that there
will be another meeting within a month or two.  This is simply a break.
Arafat is threatening violence before the 13th of September.  We in the
Yesha Council,  and other organizations fighting for Eretz Yisrael, are not
resting for a minute..."

2. "SOLACE OF FOOLS"
MK Dan Meridor, who left the Likud to join the Center party last year, and
who participated in the Camp David talks, said this morning that the
Palestinians at Camp David had recognized the settlement blocs for the
first time.  "This was the major victory of the settlement enterprise," he
said.  Abu Rodeina of the Palestinian Authority later denied that the PA
had recognized the settlements.

Yesha Council spokesman Yehoshua Mor-Yosef said that Meridor's words
represented "solace of fools."  He explained:  "Everyone always knew that
Givat Ze'ev and Ma'aleh Adumim would be retained under Israeli sovereignty
in the final-status agreement - simply because there is no physical way to
evict so many people.  The question is whether Arafat recognizes that all
of the settlements must stay - and we are far from that point."

3. BARAK AND SHARON MEET TONIGHT
Prime Minister Barak and opposition leader Ariel Sharon are scheduled to
meet tonight in what is expected to be a "fateful" meeting for the
possibility of a national-unity government. Sharon continues to express his
objections to such an idea.  The official Likud position favors new
elections.  A party spokesman said today, "The Likud's position is clear,
and we have no intention to join the failed Barak government."  The Likud
is calling for a new government to be elected "that will deal seriously
with social and economic issues, and one that will show national
responsibility in diplomatic matters."

4. AMERICANS AGAINST UNILATERAL DECLARATION
Bipartisan legislation has been proposed in the U.S. Congress that will
forbid the transfer of monetary aid to the Palestinian Authority if it
declares a state unilaterally. Calls are increasingly being heard in the
U.S. against recognizing such a state. Even Hilary Clinton, who was one of
the first to declare support for a Palestinian state, said last night that
aid should be denied Arafat if he unilaterally declares a state.

5. INCREASE IN YESHA JEWISH POPULATION
The number of Jews living in Judea and Samaria increased over the past year
by 7.5%, and is now close to 200,000.  Sample Interior Ministry numbers, as
of June 30:

Ma'aleh Adumim - 25,422 people;
Ariel - 16,134,
Modiin Illit - 14,264,
Beitar Illit - 14,115,
Givat Ze'ev - 10,332,
Gush Katif, including N'vei Dekalim - 6,755.
Kiryat Arba is 5,779,
Hevron - 460,
Karnei Shomron - 5,995,
Efrat - 5,446. 
Beit El - 4,035.

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To:            arutz-7@arutzsheva.org
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News Brief:  Friday, July 28, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
 <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Friday, July 28, 2000 / Tammuz 25,  5760
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
  1. FM LEVY ON HIS WAY OUT
  2. YESHA COUNCIL DECIDES: TOPPLE BARAK
  3. EGYPT FORGES UNITED ARAB STANCE
  4. POLLS

1. FM LEVY ON HIS WAY OUT 
Foreign Minister David Levy appears to be on his way out of the Barak
government. Levy was interviewed on both television channels after
meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the Defense Ministry in Tel
Aviv last night.  He told viewers that, in his opinion, Barak's
concessions in Camp David were too far-reaching, and that, despite
Barak's statements that all offers are now null and void, they are
understood to be the opening positions for the next round of talks.
Prime Minister Barak and Foreign Minister Levy are to meet again today
or Sunday.

Likud leader MK Ariel Sharon met with both Levy and Barak last night.
Sharon said he was very concerned with what he heard from Barak, and
emphatically declared that there is no chance for a national unity
government.  Sharon and Levy met again this morning, and political
pundits suspect that they are planning a joint move in which Levy will
resign his ministerial post; thereafter, he and his brother MK Maxim
Levy (Gesher) will support Monday's no-confidence motion to topple
Barak.  Journalist Yehoshua Meiri reports that Center-party MK Dan
Meridor, who was part of the Barak negotiating team in Camp David, met
with Ariel Sharon in mid-week, and expressed his dismay with the
sweeping concessions offered by Barak.  Meiri predicts that the threat
presented by an opposition front of 60-62 Knesset members will force
upon Barak a national unity government by next week.

2. YESHA COUNCIL DECIDES: TOPPLE BARAK
After much internal debate, the Council of Jewish Communities in
Judea, Samaria, and Gaza (Yesha) has decided to work towards the
immediate toppling of the Barak government.  The decision was prompted
by information that despite the collapse of the Camp David summit,
Prime Minister Barak is still fervently working towards a final-status
deal with the Palestinians. Yesha Council officials are now
coordinating efforts with other extra-parliamentary groups to convince
Knesset members from both the Shas and United Torah Judaism parties to
support Monday's no-confidence motion against Barak.

3. EGYPT FORGES UNITED ARAB STANCE
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is orchestrating a Pan-Arab summit in
Gaza for Sept. 13, the day on which Arafat has threatened to declare a
Palestinian state.  Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa announced
yesterday that Egypt would immediately recognize a
unilaterally-declared Palestinian state. Asked whether such a position
does not constitute a violation of the peace agreement between Israel
and Egypt, Moussa said that Israel itself has already violated the
pact by its "unilateral establishment of settlements."  Meanwhile, US
President Clinton is dispatching Assistant Secretary of State Edward
Walker to Arab capitals to press leaders there to convince Yasser
Arafat to relax his stances on Jerusalem and Arab refugees.

Israel's Channel One news has agreed to interview US President Clinton
this week - at the behest of Prime Minister Barak.  In the course of
the interview, Clinton is expected to express support for Barak's
positions at Camp David.  Ha'aretz reports today that Clinton
nevertheless rejected a Barak request to announce, during the
interview, the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,
in the event that Arafat unilaterally declares a state on September
13. 

Earlier this month, Voice of Israel Radio Director Amnon Nadav
complained of direct intervention by the Prime Minister's Office in
news programming. According to the July 11th Ha'aretz newspaper,
"Barak and his office attempt to influence the content of programming
in every manner possible, from determining camera angles, through
gathering information on [upcoming] talk-shows, thrusting interviewees
supportive to his policies onto TV and radio spots, and lodging
endless complaints against reports and analyses [by television and
radio reporters]."

4. POLLS
A Gallup poll published in today's edition of Ma'ariv shows that if
Prime Ministerial elections were to be held this week, Ehud Barak
would secure 43% of the vote, while Netanyahu would receive only 38%;
some 20% of respondents were undecided.  In contrast, a Bar Ilan
University poll conducted in mid-week found Netanyahu ahead by three
percentage points, with a 4.5% margin of error.  The latter poll is
consistent with results over the past month that show a decline in
popularity for Barak relative to Netanyahu.  The Jerusalem Post
reported today on a Smith Institute survey according to which 41% of
Israelis support new elections and 32% support the formation of a
national unity government.

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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Sunday, July 30, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Sunday, July 30, 2000 / Tammuz 27, 5760
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. ONE FOOT OUT THE DOOR
   2. GOVERNMENT WILL NOT FALL TOMORROW
   3. ALBRIGHT TO MEET POPE

1. ONE FOOT OUT THE DOOR
Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced this afternoon from the Knesset
podium that he must "make peace or at least an interim agreement with
the opposition." The declaration comes after Foreign Minister David
Levy announced today that he is on the verge of resigning his
ministerial post. Levy met with Prime Minister Barak this morning, who
attempted to convince him to stay in the government. In one of the
many interviews he granted over the past few days, Levy said that he
joined the government "on the basis of a completely different set of
guidelines," and that his tensions with Ehud Barak are "not merely
ideological, but also personal." Public Security Minister Shlomo
Ben-Ami - who is known for his strong left-wing political views - was
responsible for the secret Stockholm talks that served as the basis
for Israel's far-reaching concessions to the PA at the Camp David
summit. Levy implied that he feels that, as Foreign Minister, he was
unjustly excluded from the negotiations.

After meeting with Ehud Barak this morning, David Levy met for an hour
with Yisrael B'Aliyah leader and former Interior Minister Natan
Sharansky. Sharansky has been outspoken in his support for a national
unity government, and even set up a protest tent during the Camp David
talks to promote the move. Levy then met again with Prime Minister
Barak for an hour. At the conclusion of the final meeting, Levy
stated: "If efforts are not made in the coming days to form a national
unity government, I will resign as Foreign Minister and will vote to
disperse the Knesset on Wednesday." Political commentators quickly
noted the ambiguous language in the announcement, which leaves open
the possibility that Levy will remain Foreign Minister even if no such
government is formed: To date, Likud leader MK Ariel Sharon has
publicly dismissed any option of a national unity government. Levy
said this afternoon that a symbolic call by Barak to a defiant Sharon
will not suffice as a "real effort."

Labor party Secretary-General Ra'anan Cohen today demanded that David
Levy's Gesher party immediately pay monies it owes the One Israel
umbrella party, of which Gesher is a part. Coalition whip Ophir
Pines-Paz is upset with Cohen, noting that timing the monetary demand
with the current crisis is not coincidental, and is "tantamount to
pouring lighter fluid" on the already tense relations between Barak
and Levy.

2. GOVERNMENT WILL NOT FALL TOMORROW
The no-confidence vote in the government, slated for tomorrow, is
bound to fail as Foreign Minister Levy's threat to vote to disperse
the Knesset on Wednesday, implies his support for the government in
tomorrow's no-confidence vote. The move has significant political
implications: If the opposition were to win its no-confidence motion -
which requires the votes of Levy and his brother MK Maxim Levy - the
government would fall instantly, and the law would then require new
elections within 90 days. However, a passing of the bill to disperse
the Knesset on Wednesday must survive several more readings in the
Knesset Law Committee and the Knesset. Since the Knesset is about to
take its mid-summer recess, a final reading of the bill would only
take place some time in October. Voice of Israel commentator Yaron
Dekel said late this afternoon that this stretch of time "provides
Ehud Barak with more time to sign an agreement with the Palestinians."

Speaking from Likud party headquarters this afternoon, Likud leader MK
Ariel Sharon was apparently disturbed by the political developments.
He said that after having met with Prime Minister Barak last week, he
became convinced that the Camp David summit failure was orchestrated
by Barak and US President Clinton. Sharon claims that as the talks
collapsed, Barak and Clinton agreed that negotiations would continue
into the fall, and would conclude in October "just in time for the US
elections."

3. ALBRIGHT TO MEET POPE
US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright plans to meet with the Pope
on the issue of Jerusalem. Albright, who is presently in Japan, will
soon depart for Rome. She told reporters that she hopes the
Palestinians, the Israelis and Arab leaders will reconsider their
respective positions following the Camp David summit's collapse, and
will prepare for a new round of talks. In Albright's words, the United
States "will help with a new round of talks, and will even do it with
greater determination than before."

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To:            arutz-7@arutzsheva.org
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Monday, July 31, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
 <www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Monday, July 31, 2000 / Tammuz 28, 5760
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
  --- See below for subscription instructions ---

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
  1. KATZAV OVERCOMES ODDS TO BECOME ISRAEL'S 8TH PRESIDENT
  2. FINAL-STATUS DEAL BREWING

1. KATZAV OVERCOMES ODDS TO BECOME ISRAEL'S 8TH PRESIDENT
Israel's new President is Moshe Katzav of the Likud.  After receiving
60 votes in the first round of today's Knesset vote - one short of the
61 required - he received 63 votes in the second round. Jubilation is
the order of the day in the nationalist, Sephardic, and other sectors
of Israel.  Spontaneous celebrations broke out in Jerusalem, Katzav's
hometown of Kiryat Malachi, and elsewhere. 

The first official act of President Moshe Katzav, upon being informed
of his election by Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg, was to don a yarmulke
and publicly recite aloud the Shehecheyanu blessing.  He later visited
the Western Wall, where he recited a prayer of thanksgiving, verses
from King Solomon's dedication prayer for the Holy Temple, and Psalm
122:  "Seek the welfare of Jerusalem, may those who love it prosper."
He said there that the height of his excitement is not the
announcement of his victory, but his visit to the Wall.

In his acceptance speech, Katzav said that he would "surprise
favorably" even those who voted for Peres.  He said that his victory
is a call for a new, calmer style in the Presidency.  The support of
Shas, plus the apparent "desertion" of several One Israel MKs, gave
Katzav the victory. Katzav was the first Presidential candidate in
Israeli history to be fielded by the nationalist camp and win. 

The Likud, which the new President represented as a Knesset Member
until today, rejoiced in Katzav's victory, and MKs of Shas, United
Torah Judaism, and others also took part in the party's informal
celebrations.  MK Avraham Ravitz (UTJ) said that the vote proves that
the nation wants a "more Jewish country."  The celebrants seemed to
also feel that a victory was won over the media, which almost
unanimously predicted that Peres would win.  Ze'ev Boim will become a
Likud MK in place of Katzav, who will be sworn in tomorrow. 

2. FINAL-STATUS DEAL BREWING
Yet another hint has been dropped, this time by U.S. Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright, that a final-status Israeli-Palestinian
agreement is expected soon.  The negotiations will continue after a
period of "recovery," she told a Japanese television station today.  A
similar prediction was made today by a top security-aide of Prime
Minister Barak, Danny Yatom.  Hamas head Ahmed Yassin said if another
partial agreement is reached, it will be "nothing more than a
cease-fire."

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