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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Sunday, December 10, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Sunday, Dec. 10, 2000 / Kislev 13, 5761
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. A NATION CONFUSED
   2. NO LET-UP IN SHOOTING ATTACKS; CHIEF RABBI SAVED "BY MIRACLE"
   3. THE MILITARY RESPONSE
   4. THE YESHA COUNCIL RESPONSE
   5. P.A. ANNOUNCES VIOLENCE

1. A NATION CONFUSED
Israel is slowly coming out of the shock into which it was thrown last night when Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced his resignation.  Barak made the declaration in a surprise press conference in his Jerusalem office, announcing that he would "again seek the trust of the electorate" in special elections only for Prime Minister that are mandated to be held within 60 days.  Barak's immediate short-term gain was achieved this afternoon, when he was chosen almost unanimously as the Labor party's choice for Prime Ministerial candidate; potential challengers Avraham Burg and others did not even have enough time to organize their candidacy for the post.

Barak submitted his resignation to President Moshe Katzav this afternoon, after informing the government of his decision to do so, as required by law.  The resignation will take effect Tuesday afternoon; Barak will head a transition government until the special election.

Three scenarios are possible:
a.  A no-confidence motion, submitted last week by MK Michael Kleiner, is passed tomorrow, before Barak's resignation takes effect.  This will lead to elections for both the Knesset and Prime Minister, 90 days from now.

b.  All other legislation to dissolve the Knesset or topple the government is halted, and Barak's resignation takes effect on Tuesday.  This will lead to elections only for Prime Minister, 60 days from now.

c.  A no-confidence motion is not passed tomorrow, but legislation to dissolve the Knesset continues and passes:  this will lead to elections for Prime Minister in 60 days, and elections for Knesset either then or at an agreed-upon date afterwards.  Knesset Legal Counsel Tzvi Inbar determined this afternoon that this is in fact a possibility and that the Knesset cannot be prevented from deciding to dissolve itself.  He noted that the date of Knesset elections would have to be the same as that for the Prime Minister, but added that this issue has not yet been totally resolved.

MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) feels that the last scenario is the most likely, as "the no-confidence motion has no chance of passing...  and I think that the Knesset will resume where it left off in the process of dissolving the Knesset."  He also predicted that both elections would be held on the same date.

Another important matter of interest is whether a non-Member of Knesset, such as Binyamin Netanyahu, will be able to run against Barak.  Polls released two days ago show Netanyahu leading Barak in the polls by 46 to 27%; the same poll shows Ariel Sharon leading Barak by a much slimmer margin of 3%.  If in fact a Prime Ministerial election is held in 60 days,
Netanyahu - who resigned his Knesset seat upon losing the election last year - will not be able to run, unless special legislation is passed.  The Likud decided this afternoon that it will work to advance legislation to this end.

Netanyahu returned from the U.S. this afternoon.  He said nothing to reporters, and will announce his plans at a press conference at 8:15 PM tonight.

The Arab parties announced this morning that they would field their own candidate for Prime Minister, and that he would not withdraw from the race "unless Barak wakes up and reaches an agreement with Arafat."

2. NO LET-UP IN SHOOTING ATTACKS; CHIEF RABBI SAVED "BY MIRACLE"
Of the several attempted terrorist attacks on Judea and Samaria highways today, the most notable was the shooting on a bus near Ateret, northwest of Ramallah.  One of the two passengers in the bus was Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, who recounted shortly afterwards, "We left our car at a checkpoint, and traveled by bus to a new-Torah scroll ceremony at Yeshivat Kinor David.  On the way there, I sat in the front seat, and on the way back, I decided for some reason to sit in the second seat...  The shots hit the window of the first seat, which they smashed to smithereens.  It is a miracle that I am alive."

In other attacks, shots were fired this morning at workers on a new road connecting Beit El and Psagot.  No one was hurt...  Near Har Gilo, on the Tunnels Highway to Gush Etzion, IDF forces shot a Tanzim terrorist engaged in preparing an explosive; another one escaped...  A roadside bomb was discovered near Elon Moreh, not far from where shots were fired on an Israeli vehicle...  A man was injured by shots near N'vei Tzuf last night...  Shots were also fired last night at Camp Ofer near Ramallah, at an IDF force near the Bir Zeit bridge a bit further north, and at an IDF post at the northern entrance to Jericho; IDF soldiers returned fire...  In Gaza, shots were fired at IDF posts near N'vei Dekalim and Kfar Darom, and at other locations...  Shots were fired on the Cross-Samaria Highway from the Arab village of Shamein...

Eliyahu Ben-Ami, 41, of Otniel, who was killed in the same attack that killed Rina Didovsky on Friday morning outside Kiryat Arba, was buried in Rehovot last night.  Sgt. Tal Gordon, 19, who was killed Friday night in a shooting attack on the Jericho by-pass road, was buried in Jerusalem this afternoon; he immigrated from the C.I.S. nine years ago.  One participant at the funeral of Rina Didovsky on Friday said that for an accurate picture of the dangers in which citizens are living in Judea and Samaria, he would advise Ehud Barak not to count the number of casualties in the shooting attacks, but rather the number of bullets shot by Palestinian terrorists.  Rabbi Moshe Rabinovitch, spiritual leader of Rina Didovsky's community Beit Haggai, made an emotional appeal to Prime Minister Barak: "Can you look at these children in the eye?  Can you say that you did everything possible to prevent this from happening?  Can you look them in
the eye?  The orphans want an answer!  The People of Israel want an answer!"

3. THE MILITARY RESPONSE
The army announced that it would institute a series of measures designed to curb the wave of shooting attacks on Yesha roads.  Private Palestinian cars in which only men are riding will be removed from the roads; Area A (Palestinian-controlled) has been placed under closure, and the villages are cut off from the cities; proactive army activity will be increased in the night-time hours.  The PA city of Kalkilye, which had not been closed off by the army in recognition of the relative quiet that had reigned there of late, was encircled today, following the increase in attacks in the region.  O.C. Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yitzchak Eitan informed Yesha Council leader Shlomo Filber of these decisions today, and asked him to recommend to Yesha residents to travel only in pairs of cars in order to lessen the dangers.  Eitan also asked that Yesha residents report to him on dangerous areas along the roads, such as groves of trees in which
terrorists can hide.

4. THE YESHA COUNCIL RESPONSE
The Yesha Council said in response that if the measures are not implemented by tomorrow afternoon, it itself will ensure that Arabs do not travel the roads.  Palestinians were reported travelling freely out of Ramallah today, and in Gush Etzion, residents blocked a main intersection to Arab traffic.  Sha'ul Goldstein, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, explaining the action, said today, "It's not that we don't trust the army, on the contrary - we simply wanted to show what a good idea it was, and how easy it is to implement.  We had the full cooperation of the local police...  The fact is that we have no interest in taking matters into our own hands.  The Palestinians want nothing more than to turn this clash into a private war with the Yesha settlers.  We, however, have an army - the Israel Defense Forces - and we will not be dragged into this.  All of our efforts here are first of all, to cry out to G-d for help, and secondly, to
cry out to the army and police that they should do their job."

Goldstein called on his fellow Yesha residents to "try to lead our lives as normally as possible, and travel the roads as usual - my family and I for instance travelled the roads late last night for a family visit - but on the other hand I do not judge others who feel that they are receiving less security than before, and who are therefore more afraid to take to the roads."  He predicted a chilling scenario to which the above could lead:

"I think the army must take note of this situation and realize that it can be understood as a significant drop in the army's deterrence...  If we cut back on travelling the roads, this will cause the Palestinians to feel that they have won, and their next step will be to step up attacks on the Yesha communities and cause people to leave, and their next step will be to attack army outposts - all this leading, in their eyes, to the same thing as happened when we withdrew from Lebanon.  This is not what will happen, but they think that it will.  They will then set their eyes on Jaffa,
Haifa, and Nazareth.  The government must therefore realize that whatever happens here, will happen on a larger scale in other areas of Israel, and if the army and government don't want to lose their deterrence capabilities, they had better start dealing with this today."

Jordan Valley parents have announced that they will not send their children to school until bulletproof buses are provided for their transportation.

5.  P.A. ANNOUNCES VIOLENCE
Palestinian Media Watch reported today that the Palestinian Authority attached to its official daily paper today a special four-page insert supporting the continued violence.  The insert included the daily schedule for this week's violence, and features Fatah (Arafat's PLO faction) as well as Hamas events.  Tomorrow is noted as the founding day of George Habash's PFLP terrorist organization, and Thursday, Dec. 14, is noted as the founding day of Hamas. This coming Friday is scheduled to be "General escalation day," featuring "expanded resistance activity and confrontation in the villages, and breaking the siege on Al Aksa [on the Temple Mount] and the Holy City."  The day is introduced with the words, "The intifada leadership reiterates its promise to strengthen national unity and continue along the common course: blood of the martyrs until success."  PMW further reported a quote by Fatah Secretary-General Kadura Mussa, who said, "The Israelis must expect fedayeen-type attacks [terror against civilians] as retaliation."

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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Monday, December 11, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Monday, Dec. 11, 2000 / Kislev 14, 5761
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. NETANYAHU FIGHTS HIS WAY IN
   2. BROAD SUPPORT FOR ISOLATED YESHA COMMUNITIES

1. NETANYAHU FIGHTS HIS WAY IN
Binyamin Netanyahu has been working nonstop to get Israel's parliament to dissolve itself so that he can have a chance to become prime minister once again.  He announced on Israeli television last night that he's in the race, but he can't legally run right now.  Following Ehud Barak's resignation, only a member of the Knesset has the right to run for prime minister--and Netanyahu is not a member.  He resigned his seat after he lost to Ehud Barak a year and a half ago.  One way Netanyahu could run is if the Knesset voted to disband.  That would mean elections not only for prime minister but also for parliament. Right-wing parties would benefit, since polls show them trouncing parties on the left.

Late this morning, Shinui Party leader Yosef Tommy Lapid, whose party holds 6 Knesset seats, promised Netanyahu his faction's support for the bill to the dissolve the Knesset, as did Yisrael B'Aliya Party leader Natan Sharansky (4 seats).  MK Shaul Yahalom of the National Religious Party (5 seats) told Arutz Sheva's Haggai Segal that his party will also support the bill.  Netanyahu is focusing his efforts on convincing the Shas Party (17 seats), whose support would guarantee a majority for the bill.  Observers have noted that since the focus of this campaign will be on security and Shas' security positions are ambiguous, Shas is concerned that it may lose seats in a Knesset race now.

Thus, Shas is supporting a special bill which will enable any party head to run for prime minister.  (Many observers expect Netanyahu to become head of the biggest opposition party, the Likud.)  The new "Netanyahu Law" may come up for a first reading by Wednesday.  Shas announced today that if the "Netanyahu Law" fails, the party will support dissolution of the Knesset.  Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef called Ehud Barak today a "blinded fox."  When reminded that he once had applied a similar term to Netanyahu (a blinded goat), the Rabbi commented, "At least a goat is a ritually clean animal."

2. BROAD SUPPORT FOR ISOLATED YESHA COMMUNITIES
A poll conducted by the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research at Tel Aviv University during the last two days of November indicates that 75% of the Israeli public, including the Israeli Arab sector, oppose unilateral evacuation of isolated Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza "such as Netzarim, Kfar Darom, Tapuach, or Ganim."  Amongst the Jewish sector, 80% opposed unilateral evacuation of the isolated Yesha communities.

Regarding the elections, the Yesha Council released a statement saying that it would support any candidate who will commit himself to fight for Israel's security without limitations, and preserve the unity of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Jordan Valley.

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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, December 12, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2000 / Kislev 15, 5761
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. NETANYAHU, THE LIKUD, AND THE ELECTIONS
   2. YESHA RESIDENTS BLOCK ROADS
   3. BARAK'S TRICK: DARKNESS UNTO THE NATIONS
   4. ARCHAEOLOGIST: BARAK ALLOWS WAQF TO BUILD ON TEMPLE MOUNT

1. NETANYAHU, THE LIKUD, AND THE ELECTIONS
Former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu continued his efforts today to be allowed to run for Prime Minister.  His problem is that if only Prime Ministerial elections are held - as Prime Minister Barak's resignation demands - he is not legally permitted to run; only incumbent Knesset Members may run in such an election.  Netanyahu thus has two choices:  either a special "Netanyahu bill" allowing him to run - a choice that does not appeal to him - or to work for the dissolution of the Knesset, paving the way for Knesset elections in which he may participate as party head and Prime Ministerial candidate.  Netanyahu has threatened not to run at all if the Knesset is not dissolved.

Shas supports Netanyahu's candidacy, but announced that it is against dissolving the entire Knesset - even at the expense of causing Netanyahu not to be able to run.  Shas insiders say that they know for a fact that Netanyahu will run, if he is legally allowed to, even if the election is only for Prime Minister.

Other political-legal developments:

Likud MK Limor Livnat petitioned the Supreme Court to force the Knesset to speed up its processing of the bill to dissolve the Knesset.  Law Committee Chairman Amnon Rubenstein is holding up the bill, and Livnat claims that it is both disruptive to the Knesset and unfair to Netanyahu to delay it any longer...  The Knesset House Committee agreed to expedite the legislation of a special "Netanyahu bill" (see above)...  The Knesset Law Committee approved the proposal to void the Direct Election of the Prime Minister; the bill's next station is its first reading in the Knesset...  Several Knesset Members are attempting to advance legislation that will set the date for Prime Ministerial elections 90 days from now, and not 60, whether Knesset elections are held or not.

Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon, the two contenders for the Likud's top spot, will address the Likud Central Committee tonight; the convention promises to be a stormy affair.

2. YESHA RESIDENTS BLOCK ROADS
Judea and Samaria residents have begun to take action, in light of the army's apparent failure to enforce its new regulations concerning Palestinian traffic on the roads.  Fearing that the wave of drive-by and ambush shooting attacks on their cars will continue, the local Israelis have begun blocking Palestinian traffic in several locations, including the southern exit of Jericho, Ma'aleh Hever south of Kiryat Arba/Hevron, near Givat Harsina of Kiryat Arba, and near N'vei Tzuf.  The Yesha Council has organized mass road-blockings for tomorrow morning at 6 AM; every community is asked to block the intersection nearest it to Palestinian vehicles.

Selected quotes from participants in road-blockings:

"We went down this morning to the intersection on Highway 60 leading north to Kiryat Arba.  It is dangerous, as you never know where and when the Palestinians passing by will open fire.  Only two kilometers away from here, Rina Didovsky was killed...  It cannot be that we have to drive with bulletproof cars and vests and with convoys, while the Arabs drive by as if nothing is happening - when really something could very well happen...  We demand that the Yesha Council's recommendations be implemented, and not the way it is now, where the soldiers have received unclear instructions:  the Arabs must drive only in IDF-escorted convoys; no individual vehicles, no taxis, and no exemptions for cars with women.  The terrorists can tomorrow morning dress up as women and drive in taxis and shoot us..." - Yisrael Ze'ira of Ma'aleh Chever

"We hear about the closure and the army's new regulations, but directly under our windows we see lines of Palestinian cars driving by - yesterday there were even PA policemen directing traffic.  This is downright scary, and despite our many attempts to have something done about it, nothing changed.  We saw that we simply had to do it ourselves.  Yesterday, we blocked the road, and then soldiers came and promised us that they would take care of it.  This morning we came again, and we saw that the soldiers were in fact there, blocking the road, so we settled for a peaceful Shacharit prayer service, and we hope that as of now, the road will be blocked." - Moshe Eyal of Mitzpeh Jericho

"If we can't drive safely, then neither will the Arabs." - residents of N'vei Tzuf

The Education Ministry has announced new school-hour guidelines for Yesha, in light of the security situation there:  Nurseries and kindergartens will open at 6:45 in the morning, to enable parents to leave early for work.  Every community will have its own 1st-to-3rd grades, instead of children and teachers having to travel to other towns.  Teachers are called upon to ride to work in the bullet-proof buses.  The Yesha Council praised Education Ministry Director-General Shlomit Amichai today for her activities on behalf of education in Judea and Samaria; the Council noted that other government offices are not making efforts to help Yesha residents out of their security-related problems.

Amichai, who was appointed by former Education Minister Yossi Sarid of Meretz, paid a condolence visit to the family of Rina Didovsky - murdered by terrorists on her way to teach on Friday morning - in Beit Haggai today.  The widower Chaim Didovsky, father of six children, said yesterday that he feels like he is the "7th orphan."  An account has been opened for the family - #576712 in Bank HaMizrachi branch #401, Ben Yehuda St., Jerusalem.

3. BARAK'S TRICK: DARKNESS UNTO THE NATIONS
Prime Minister Ehud Barak faced unprecedented criticism in the world media for his recent electoral trick.  His sudden resignation this past Saturday night was widely regarded as an attempt to head off challengers from both within his own party and from Binyamin Netanyahu - none of whom, it was felt, would have enough time to organize for elections within 60 days, as required by law following a Prime Ministerial resignation.  An op-ed in yesterday's New York Times, entitled, "Shortchanging Democracy in Israel," writes that the surprise resignation was

 "a regrettable tactical ploy designed to improve his chances for re-election early next year...  Mr. Barak [requires] maximum public support in an open election, not an election designed to hobble the opposition...  if Mr. Arafat chooses not to make peace with Mr. Barak now, Israeli voters deserve a clear choice of who will lead them - and in what direction - through the difficulties ahead."

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal editorial declared that Barak has championed a strategy of pre-emptive surrender:

"Look at the record. The prime minister thought that he could throw Syria off balance and score political points with the West by surrendering Israel's position in southern Lebanon ahead of schedule. He thought he could do the same at Camp David by surrendering Israel's most valuable negotiating chits -- the division of Jerusalem, possession of the Jordan River Valley -- when neither Bill Clinton nor probably even Yasser Arafat expected him to do so.  He avoided a vote of no confidence last month by surrendering to calls for early national elections. Now he has again taken everyone by surprise by surrendering his own seat (something he pledged not to do only two weeks ago), though he will remain in office at least until elections are held in 60 days.

"The outcome of all this is well-known. Israel's northern flank lies exposed to guerrilla attacks. It faces a Palestinian uprising on a scale not seen since the 1930s. It faces unanimous hostility in the wider Arab world and near-unanimous hostility from the West, especially in Europe. And now it faces a grave domestic political crisis.

"...There can, of course, be little doubt that Israel will ride out the current tempest, especially once Mr. Barak departs from the scene. Like his Washington mentors, the Israeli Prime Minister has proved not a statesman but a consummate political tactician, always hoping that through clever maneuvering he can evade the responsibilities of campaign promises and "red lines," of principles and consistency. Like his Washington mentors, too, he has shown a remarkable willingness to put his own political needs and ideas ahead of those of his country, thus giving the lie to the very name of his party, "One Israel."

"...[W]e're likely to see the ascendancy of either Mr. Sharon or Mr. Netanyahu. These men come from different generations and have very different political styles. But they share an important premise: that in the Middle East today, as elsewhere in the past, 'Never Surrender' is a better motto than 'Peace Now.'"

An editorial in The London Daily Telegraph yesterday called the resignation

"an act of desperation by a soldier-politician who seems more attached to power than to democracy...  He hopes thereby to thwart his Labour rivals and to exclude his most dangerous opponent on the Right, Mr Netanyahu, from the running.  Mr Barak's bombshell may have taken the opposition by surprise, but voters are unlikely to reward him if he seeks to deny them the choice they want...  The real significance of the forthcoming election is to bring Israeli policy back into line with public opinion. The al-Aksa Intifada has brought about a seismic shift in attitudes, comparable to that which first brought Likud, under Menachem Begin, to power in 1977. The Oslo peace process is dead.  Its essence was the idea that Palestinians and Israelis had a common interest in peace with security. It was killed [Arutz-7 note: by Arafat and] by Mr Barak's ideological pursuit of peace at any price - unlike his Labour predecessors, from Ben Gurion to Yitzhak Rabin..."

In Israel, HaTzofeh editorialized that,

"The Prime Minister has miserably failed in an unprecedented fashion: Since the founding of the state, no prime minister has been toppled so soon after being elected.  And if this is not enough, he is finishing his time in office with a 'stinking trick,' a cynical manipulation of the law, in an effort to prevent the leading candidate in the polls from participating in the elections.  Shameful...  Young people now understand that democracy is a tool to be used on behalf of one's interests and can be exploited in order to trample the will of the people."

4. ARCHAEOLOGIST: BARAK ALLOWS WAQF TO BUILD ON TEMPLE MOUNT
The Moslem Waqf, engaged in intensive earthmoving and excavation works on the Temple Mount, continues to violate Israeli law there.  The police have not intervened, and archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar says that this is with the Prime Minister's say-so.  Mazar, who is a member of a committee to prevent the destruction of ruins of Temple Mount artifacts, told Arutz-7 today that the Waqf's work has continued there non-stop for a long time, but "over the last week and a half, the works have really taken a more intensive turn.  Trucks are coming out loaded with pieces of the ruins - and all with Prime Minister Barak's approval.  The other ministers know that it is Barak and Barak alone who makes the decisions.  We have tried to meet with Barak for months,
but he simply ignores us.  A while ago, there was a plan to build a grandiose mosque on the Temple Mount - the biggest one in the Middle East...  Now, with work going on a full 200 meters north of Solomon's Stables [where work was permitted in the past] and next to the Gate of Mercy, it makes us suspect that these plans have been revived...  This must be stopped."
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