HHMI Newsgroup Archives

To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, April 30, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Monday, Apr. 30, 2001 / Iyar 7, 5761
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. SARID TO ARAFAT: YOU MAY CONTINUE VIOLENCE UNTIL ISRAEL STOPS SETTLEMENTS
2. BEILIN ACCUSED OF LOBBYING FOR ARAFAT; JERICHO RESTRICTIONS RELAXED
3. TOUGH BUSH TALK TO ARAFAT

1. SARID TO ARAFAT: YOU MAY CONTINUE VIOLENCE UNTIL ISRAEL STOPS SETTLEMENTS

While Israel is objecting to the settlement-freeze clause in the Egyptian-Jordanian peace initiative, and refusing to conduct negotiations with the PA until the violence stops, opposition head MK Yossi Sarid (Meretz) is suggesting that Arafat combine both of them into one big "no." Sarid met with Arafat yesterday, and suggested that he condition the cessation of violence on a settlement freeze. MK Michael Kleiner (Herut) sharply attacked Sarid for this proposal, and asked, "Does Sarid mean that as long as we are building settlements the Palestinians are justified when they murder Jews?" Kleiner suggests that Sarid focus on his role as chairman of the opposition and leave the role of Arafat-advisor to Ahmed Tibi.

2. BEILIN ACCUSED OF LOBBYING FOR ARAFAT; JERICHO RESTRICTIONS RELAXED
The Prime Minister's Office accuses former Justice Minister and longtime Oslo proponent Yossi Beilin of aiding Yasser Arafat's quest for an invitation to the White House. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon himself said, during yesterday's Cabinet meeting, that "a former minister" had "turned into a lobbyist for the Palestinian Authority in Washington." Beilin's office denied the accusation, calling the report a lie. Sharon's aides charged Beilin with causing harm to government policy, according to which an Arafat visit to Washington would "encourage terrorism."

Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer has announced the relaxation of restrictions on the PA city of Jericho. Israeli-Arabs with relatives in the city may now enter, as well as eastern Jerusalem medical personnel and others. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres declared again yesterday that Israel plans to make life easier for the PA population at large, without any demands in return. Opponents of the Jericho decision suggest that the city was chosen in order to pave the way for the re-opening of PA's casino there. At present, Israeli Jews are not allowed into the city, rendering the re-opening of the casino a moot point.

3. TOUGH BUSH TALK TO ARAFAT
The Bush Administration has sent a sharp letter to Yasser Arafat, demanding that he stop the violence against Israel. "We can no longer pressure Ariel Sharon and prevent him from responding with force to the Palestinian attacks," read the letter. "The Palestinian Authority must therefore invest maximum efforts in stopping the violence [and] the attacks against Israel." Unnamed Israeli officials told Israel Radio that U.S. Ambassador Martin Indyk gave the letter to Arafat, and then visited Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in his Negev farm to report on its contents.

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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, May 1, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Tuesday, May 1, 2001 / Iyar 8, 5761
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. CAN ARAFAT CONTROL VIOLENCE?
2. MEETINGS WITH KOFI ANAN
3. STATE DEPARTMENT TERRORISM REPORT
4. EXCERPTS FROM AN EDITORIAL

1. CAN ARAFAT CONTROL VIOLENCE?
Did Peres mislead Mubarak into thinking that a "ceasefire" was imminent, as the latter accuses, or did Mubarak simply misunderstand? It turns out it was probably Arafat's fault. PA Speaker Abu Ala apparently promised Foreign Minister Peres last week that the violence would stop, but Yasser Arafat was unsuccessful in imposing his will. Itim News Agency reports that when Arafat began instituting measures to stop the mortar fire and the dismantling of local militias, it turned out that his men did not follow his orders - and instead continued their mortar and shooting attacks. Other commentators, however, say that Arafat was simply not willing to enforce a cessation of violence against Israel.

2. MEETINGS WITH KOFI ANAN
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met with UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan last night and told him that Syria was preventing the Lebanese government from deploying its forces along its southern border. Peres explained that this was a violation of the UN resolutions calling for just such a deployment to safeguard against Hizbullah attacks against Israel.

The family members of the abducted Israelis in Lebanon will meet with Anan today. Anan's office made the strange announcement that it would not allow media coverage of the meeting. The Betar movement in New York held a rally of solidarity with the kidnapped Israelis this afternoon outside the Lebanese Consulate. Speakers included the fathers of the three abducted soldiers - Adi Avitan, Benny Avraham, and Omar Souad.

3. STATE DEPARTMENT TERRORISM REPORT
The State Department has released its annual terrorism report, which has received mixed reviews in Israel. On the one hand, it confirms the Congressional call for a reassessment of the U.S.-PLO relationship. Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI) spokesperson Helen Freedman told Arutz-7's Ron Meir that the fact that the State Department named Arafat's Fatah and Tanzim youth militia as perpetrators of terrorist activities means "the U.S. is one step closer to declaring these groups foreign terrorist organizations."  Such a declaration, she said, would oblige the U.S. to sever ties with the PLO. It was also noted that the report marks the first time that mainstream elements of the PLO are cited by the State Department in its influential terrorism report.

On the other hand, Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA notes that key sentences in the report merely quote Israel's accusations against the PA, leaving it up to the reader to decide if the accusations are correct. Examples of this refusal to point a direct finger at the PA include the following selections:

"Israeli authorities accused Palestinian Authority security officials of facilitating the attack... Israeli officials publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with PA counter-terrorism efforts during the crisis. The Israelis also accused PA security officials and Fatah members of facilitating and taking part in shooting and bombing attacks against Israeli targets, including the bus bombing in Tel Aviv on 28 December. The Israelis charged that the release of several prisoners during the crisis had facilitated terrorist planning by the groups and that Palestinian security officials had not been responsive to their calls for more decisive measures against the violence."

Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson notes that the State Department's annual human rights report, which was released in late February, took a similarly lukewarm tone. It ignored the role of Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority leadership in organizing violence against Israel, played down the constant Palestinian Arab attacks on Jewish holy sites, and equated between aggressive Arab violence and Israeli self-defense. An analysis of the State Department report can be seen at "http://www.zoa.org/pressrel/20010227a.htm". 

4. EXCERPTS FROM AN EDITORIAL
Yesterday's main editorial in the Jerusalem Post read, in part, as follows:

"...the Palestinian attempt to tack on conditions to the cease-fire should be soundly rejected. It should be obvious that Israel cannot agree to any conditions to a cease-fire, because to do so would be rewarding the Palestinian resort to violence even before the resumption of negotiations. The whole point of the last election was the complete rejection of negotiating under fire, which is one way of rewarding violence. If there is something worse than negotiating under fire, it is making concessions under fire...

"It is not clear why there should be any disagreement on this from those claiming to be a 'peace camp'' outside the government. It is not particularly helpful that Yossi Sarid, Yossi Beilin, and others have met with Arafat while the government has been correctly urging the White House to boycott him. But even if such meetings are by some stretch of the imagination acceptable, does Sarid really have to support Arafat's conditions for a cease-fire? Instead of backing Arafat's calls for a settlement freeze, why can't Sarid differentiate between his own support for a settlement freeze and the need not to reward Arafat's offensive? The peace camp's inability to learn from its own mistakes is stunning.

"The previous government, following the advice and using the services of Sarid and Beilin, decided to ignore the principle of not rewarding violence. The result was more violence, a hardening of Palestinian positions, and the landslide rejection of this path by the people of Israel. Given his camp's resounding defeat and the fact that Israelis are still being gunned down in their cars and bombarded with mortars, it should not be too much to expect a modicum of humility and responsibility from opposition leader Sarid. "...Sarid cannot claim that his way was not tried - it was. The alternative approach is to recognize that an unlimited Israeli willingness to compromise its principles does not lead to peace, but to unending conflict.

"...The tragedy of the peace camp is that years of believing that Israeli intransigence was the obstacle to peace has made its leaders blind to the need to confront Palestinian intransigence. The only way to cut the vicious cycle of increasing Israeli flexibility leading to greater Palestinian intransigence is to be less flexible. There are no guarantees that being more resolute will work quickly, but the sooner the rest of the peace camp joins this new path to peace, the sooner it will bear fruit..."

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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, May 2, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Wednesday, May 2, 2001 / Iyar 9, 5761
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. PERES WILLING TO COMPROMISE IN YESHA
2. MORE P.A. SMUGGLING OF COMBAT MEANS FROM EGYPT
3. HA'ARETZ TURNS RIGHT

1. PERES WILLING TO COMPROMISE IN YESHA
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, visiting in Washington, gave a different message than his cabinet colleagues. He said last night that Israel would be prepared to make "painful compromises" regarding the Yesha settlements when the negotiations are resumed. "We cannot solve everything with force," he told reporters upon his arrival in Washington. He further said that Arafat remains Israel's peace partner.

Prime Minister Sharon was asked today whether he would agree to stop building in Yesha in exchange for the cessation of violence. His response was strong: "We will not pay for a cessation of violence, we will not pay for them to stop killing us. We will solve it [in other ways], and it will require some patience, but there will be no payment!"

2. MORE P.A. SMUGGLING OF COMBAT MEANS FROM EGYPT
Sources in Israel's security establishment confirmed to journalist Yoav Yitzchak today that the PA continues to smuggle in weapons and ammunition. A series of underground tunnels is the channel for massive Palestinian smuggling from Egypt into the Rafiach area. It is not clear whether the Egyptian authorities are actively or only passively involved in the operations. The intense battles initiated by the Palestinians over the past few days in the Rafiach area are assumed to be their way of safeguarding the smuggling routes.

3. HA'ARETZ TURNS RIGHT
The excerpts published here yesterday from a Jerusalem Post editorial, may not have been surprising. The paper wrote as follows:

"...the Palestinian attempt to tack on conditions to the cease-fire should be soundly rejected [because otherwise it] would be rewarding the Palestinian resort to violence. It is not clear why there should be any disagreement on this from those claiming to be a 'peace camp'' outside the government. [D]oes Sarid really have to support Arafat's conditions for a cease-fire? Instead of backing Arafat's calls for a settlement freeze, why can't Sarid differentiate between his own support for a settlement freeze and the need not to reward Arafat's offensive? The peace camp's inability to learn from its own mistakes is stunning. The only way to cut the vicious cycle of increasing Israeli flexibility leading to greater Palestinian intransigence is to be less flexible."

However, today's excerpts - from a Ha'aretz editorial - may raise some eyebrows, in light of some of the paper's previously-expressed positions. Excerpts from today's Ha'aretz editorial:

"The government of Israel cannot and must not agree to any concessions that it already rejected before the Palestinians turned to violence...

"The Palestinian attitude toward cease-fires does not give rise to a great deal of confidence. Inherent in this attitude is the Palestinian threat to resume shooting if they believe their position is not being advanced in the negotiations. The support given to the Oslo process by the Israeli public stemmed, in great part, from the assumption that in return for gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territories conquered in 1967 and the establishment of a Palestinian state there, the Palestinians would relinquish the use of violence.

"Clearly, in the wake of the current confrontation, there can be no process that is partly diplomatic and partly military, a mixture of dialogue and terrorist attacks. The cease-fire must be safeguarded by a definite Palestinian commitment to end the incitement, to return to prison those it released during the Intifada, and to destroy the arms it holds in violation of the agreements, such as the mortars and the anti-tank weapons.

"...The key to a cease-fire, which in itself is the key to the resumption of the diplomatic negotiations, is still in the hands of the Palestinians, primarily Chairman Yasser Arafat. Their violence and
terrorism are leading nowhere."

Yediot Acharonot's editorial, however, states, "[Although] yesterday's murder in Ofrah - the second to hit the same family within a short period - sets the blood aboil and cries out for a response and revenge, [which] today or tomorrow, the IDF apparently will do... we, at least in our hearts, even if we want revenge, know that this is no solution to terrorism."

Ma'ariv writes today, "One need not support the settlers in order to feel outrage over the double [terrorist] murder [within the Hershkovitz family]," and adds, "While it is possible to support the evacuation of settlements like Ofrah, Beit El and Psagot in order to achieve an honorable, concession-based settlement with the Palestinians, one cannot be silent in the face of acts of despicable terrorism because this only invites additional attacks... Murder is murder, and those who shoot at you must receive redoubled blows until they understand that this isn't the way."

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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, May 3, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Thursday, May 3, 2001 / Iyar 10, 5761
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. LANDAU: "THIS WAR REQUIRES ENDURANCE, MOTIVATION, AND WISDOM"
2. LIEBERMAN: "THIS WAR REQUIRES A NEW CONCEPTION"
3. SHARON VS. PERES

1. LANDAU: "THIS WAR REQUIRES ENDURANCE, MOTIVATION, AND WISDOM"
In a moment of candor yesterday during his condolence call to the grieving Hershkovitz families in Ofrah, Prime Minister Sharon said, "I thought that we'd be able to overcome the terrorism faster. This confrontation requires a new way of thinking, a new approach."  Arutz-7's Haggai Segal and Yosef Zalmanson spoke with former GSS-senior Menachem Landau today, and asked him what has occurred to cause Sharon to make such a statement. Landau:

"Undoubtedly the Prime Minister is anxious to keep his promises and squelch the terrorism - but there are several reasons why it has not been so easy: We are fighting an enemy that has no restraints, while we do have restraints - some that are self-imposed as the army of a normal country, and a Jewish army at that, and others that stem from our international standing. Sharon is trying, of course, and I think that his general approach is the correct one, but more can be done.  For instance, if we have intelligence on a training ground, or a terrorist cell, or weapons storehouses, we should go in and destroy them. I hope that we are doing this; it is hard to know... Another important area is to hit the leaders of the terrorism; I'm not talking about Arafat - he's not the one organizing the violence on a day-to-day level. I'm talking about the ones who organize terrorist cells and decide how, where, and when they will hit..."

Zalmanson asked if it wouldn't be effective to destroy ten Arab houses wherever such buildings are used for Palestinians to shoot onto Israeli targets. Landau:

"No, it would not be effective. The terrorists terrorize the local Palestinian population as well, and they can always find other places from which to shoot... Of course sometimes it is important to destroy buildings, but this cannot be our overall strategy. We have to define for ourselves exactly what our goals are. The Palestinians know precisely what they want: a state on the entire Land of Israel, and international intervention - whereas with us it's not so simple. The proof is what happened in Beit Hanoun in Gaza a few weeks ago, when we went in, and then we were forced to leave, apparently under some sort of pressure... We have not even formulated the exact final borders that we wish to have..."

Landau continued, "I doubt whether Sharon will be able to put an absolute stop to all terrorism, especially when it can be activated by just one guy with a rifle. But it can be significantly lessened. The PA's terrorism is different than other terrorism in that it's not exactly underground - it is being organized and financed by a known entity that has an army of sorts; if we take care of all those who sponsor and organize the attacks, then we can reduce it to an absolute minimum... Don't be mistaken: The Palestinians are suffering. Their unemployment is closing in on 50% [38%, according to latest reports]. If they were at all smart, they would topple their leadership and replace it with those who realize that violence is leading them nowhere. This is a struggle that requires endurance, motivation, and wisdom - and little by little, by applying more and more pressure, we can win."

2. LIEBERMAN: "THIS WAR REQUIRES A NEW CONCEPTION"
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal spoke today with Shomron Regional Council head Bentzy Lieberman, and asked him: "You were at the meeting yesterday in Ofrah between Yesha Council leaders and Prime Minister Sharon. What happened there?"

Lieberman: "It was a very difficult meeting. We told him of the great hopes the public had for him when he came to power, yet we know that major changes have not yet been made, nor has the process been started. The PA must be defined as an enemy and must be defeated on the battlefield; negotiations can only be held on the basis of our victory over the terrorist murderers... Sharon did not disagree with this concept, and in fact said very severe things about the PA and its leaders - "Liars, they can never be believed, I have never trusted them and will never trust them" - and he made no distinction between the terrorist activities of Hamas, Tanzim, and Fatah. The words we heard were definitely good, but as you know, we have often heard good things, and we're now waiting for actions. We understood from him that he had met Tuesday night with Chief of Staff Mofaz to decide on a new conceptual strategy to fight terrorism not only in Yesha but all around the country."

Haggai Segal: "Did he imply that it may be partly the army's fault?"

Lieberman: "'Lulei d'mistifina' [If I weren't hesitant or afraid], I would say categorically yes. The army is something very precious to me, and we don't want to harm it in any way, yet there was something about Sharon's body language that indicated a certain frustration...  It looked like he had hoped the army would present more creative and significant ideas. I had the impression that Arik is looking for an Arik, as Ben Gurion and other Prime Ministers had Arik Sharon [as a great military commander]. Just like in Gaza last month when he snapped, 'Under my command, there would have been less talk and more action,' yesterday too he said something similar."

HS: "In your opinion, is the army in fact working the best it can with the free hand it has been given?"

BL: "Since Oslo, the army has been working with a different mindset than it did in the decades before Oslo. Of late they have not been taught the same daring, the same chutzpah, and the like that they had before... I work with the army on many planes, and I have no doubt that in practical terms, the officers and soldiers are being stretched beyond their normal capacities. They are working very hard, and they deserve a lot of credit. But I am talking about something else: a switch in conception, a new manner of thinking. I am sure this will come, because we have very talented people there, and it will have to come..."

3. SHARON VS. PERES
Following Shimon Peres' appearance in Washington, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Bureau issued the following statement today: "The current attacks are the result of a strategic decision by Arafat. The organizations subject to Arafat - including Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizbullah - understand that they have a
'green light' to continue attacks against Israel."

This statement is in stark contrast to yesterday's remarks by Foreign Minister Peres, who said that Arafat is "still Israel's peace partner." Peres was also quoted as saying that Arafat is not responsible for the violence in the territories, but that "some dissident groups and some forces under Arafat participated in the killings without his knowledge.'' Officials in the Prime Minister's Office expressed displeasure at Peres' comments, Israel Radio reported, quoting them as saying that Peres' actions in the U.S. must be closely watched to ensure that he does not deviate from the understandings he reached previously with Sharon.

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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, May 4, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Friday, May 4, 2001 / Iyar 11, 5761
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINE:

LIEBERMAN: TAKE OVER SOME P.A. AREAS FOR TWO DAYS
In contradistinction to the above, Infrastructures Minister Avigdor Lieberman expressed his intense disappointment today with the government's military stance. Lieberman said that Israelis feel that Sharon's political landslide has so far accomplished nothing, and that the situation now is even more dangerous than it was under Barak.  Minister Lieberman called upon the government to send the IDF into PA-controlled Area A for two days and destroy the Palestinian military infrastructure. Prime Minister Sharon's office and some Likud Knesset Members disassociated themselves from Lieberman's comments.

Former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, however, appeared to side with Lieberman - a former top aide of his - and called on the government to seize control of the Area A sections from which the Arab terrorists are shooting on Jews. He specifically cited the Abu Sneineh hills overlooking the Hevron Jewish community, as well as Beit Jalla, the Arab village from which terrorist shooting has long rained down on the southern Jerusalem Gilo neighborhood.

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