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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001 / Kislev 19, 5762 ------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. IT'S OFFICIAL: P.A. SUPPORTS TERRORISM 2. "QUITTING" TALK IN LABOR NOT EXPECTED TO AMOUNT TO MUCH 3. WHAT THE DECISION MEANS 4. LABOR MEMBERS DON'T LIKE THEIR PARTY 5. SHARON'S SPEECH
1. IT'S OFFICIAL: P.A. SUPPORTS TERRORISM Following a marathon five-hour meeting last night, the government declared the Palestinian Authority a "terrorist supporting entity." The security cabinet - Sharon, Peres, and Ben-Eliezer - will decide on the specific steps to take in light of this decision; Minister Tzippy Livni told Arutz-7 today that this will happen "in the next few days." She said that the government has now returned the ball to the court of the Palestinian Authority: "Until now, we said that the PA has to take action against terrorism, or we would declare it a terror-supporting entity. Now we have said that we do consider it a terror-supporting entity - unless it in fact takes action. The burden of proof is upon them."
The government also declared the Tanzim, Arafat's personal Force 17, and Fatah as terrorist entities, and will take action against them and their leaders accordingly. It was further decided to prevent Arafat from leaving the autonomous areas.
While Labor MKs want to quit the government in protest of the strong measures, MK Yuval Shteinitz says that the government's decisions were not enough: "So far, it seems like just a little bit more of the same thing. I picture Arafat laughing to himself and saying, 'Again I've managed to overcome another hurdle.' . I would have hoped that the nation's instincts would have penetrated the Cabinet a little bit more."
President Moshe Katzav, speaking with journalists in his home today, said that the Palestinian Authority has long given backing to terrorist acts, despite Arafat's many promises to stop them. "Terrorism has reached such dimensions that the government can simply no longer show restraint... The government of Israel showed more restraint than any other nation would have in the face of terror attacks against its citizens." The President opined that Arafat should not be personally harmed in Israel's attacks.
2. "QUITTING" TALK IN LABOR NOT EXPECTED TO AMOUNT TO MUCH The Cabinet meeting last night had internal political implications, as well. The Labor Party ministers refused to vote, after their proposal to delay the decision by a week was rejected. They also claimed that the decision was against the coalition guidelines. They clarified afterwards, however, that they are not resigning from the unity government - at least not now. The final tally in the Cabinet vote was 18-1, with Minister Dan Meridor (formerly of the Likud, now of the Center Party) voting against and Minister Meir Shetreet (Likud) abstaining.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres will convene his party's ministers and MKs tomorrow for a possible attempt to lead his party out of the government. Many of the party MKs are in favor of such a move, but ministers such as Sneh, Cohen, Itzik and others are against. Political analyst Yaron Dekel said he does not expect the party to quit the government in the very near future.
Health Minister Nissim Dahan (Shas) was embarrassed by the Labor ministers' behavior. "We were witness to a shameful scene last night," he said, "when a significant part of the government, including some who were among those who established the State, found it difficult to say that Arafat is leading a terrorist entity." Dahan said that the government decision should have been made several months ago, following the Dolphinarium or Sbarro massacres.
Though the dissenting Labor ministers are unhappy with the decision to dub the PA "terrorist-supporting," they have no problems with the military operations decided upon. Peres told CNN last night, "The attacks were a warning, our way of telling Arafat that he must take matters under control and struggle with the real problems. He doesn't have to decide if he is our partner or our enemy, but rather if he is a leader or not." Former Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami also said that he is in favor of strong attacks against Hamas, Tanzim, and the like, but is against actions that may lead to full-scale war.
"I hope that the national-unity government will not break apart," President Katzav said, "because at this time there should be no quarrels between us."
Meretz leader Yossi Sarid and former Labor Minister Yossi Beilin called on Labor to quit the government; Sarid said that the only alternative left for Prime Minister Sharon is to meet personally with Arafat.
Minister Eli Yeshai (Shas) called on Labor ministers to remain in the coalition, for "nothing would please Arafat more than the dissolution of the unity government."
3. WHAT THE DECISION MEANS Tourism Minister Benny Elon said that calling the Palestinian Authority a "terrorist-supporting entity" has practical ramifications: "It means, for instance, that the PA television and radio stations can be bombed. I'm not saying when or how this will happen - but before we take any of a number of military, political, economic, or propaganda measures, we have to first make this declaration... I'm not here to praise us now, we simply were going from one funeral to another... I think that Peres, by walking out last night and fighting this decision, understood correctly that there is no more Tenet, Mitchell, or Oslo. There is no other explanation [of last night's decision]."
Minister Elon said that the decision was not a result of an ultimatum by his party to quit the government: "First of all, we did not issue an ultimatum. Secondly, I have no interest in presenting Sharon as a weak leader in front of the world; that's what Peres does. Sharon is not weak. He led a difficult decision last night, even when the Labor ministers got up from the table - not once but a few times. He was strong and leader-like. During this time of crisis, my job is to show that he is a strong leader, and not just to garner a few political points for my own party. If people want to criticize me for 'sticking to my government chair' and not wanting to quit, that's fine - that's their right, and it's their job to make sure that I don't fall asleep at the post..."
Minister Elon said that he supports the call of the students of Yeshivat Od Yosef Chai to restore Israeli control to Joseph's Tomb in Shechem: "This would be a manifestation of 'returning to the status quo' as it was 14 months ago [when, at the beginning of the current Oslo War, Israeli forces retreated in mid-battle and abandoned Joseph's Tomb]. However, that is not enough: The holy site cannot remain an enclave in Shechem, where we have to rely on the 'good offices' of Jibril Rajoub to allow us in; we saw how he helped Madhat Yusuf [the soldier who was killed in the above battle; Israel had counted on Rajoub to safely evacuate him]. We must have territorial contiguity with the site, and with the Shalom al Yisrael synagogue in Jericho as well."
Former MK Uriel Linn, who once headed the Knesset Law Committee, explained to Arutz-7 today how he saw the Cabinet declaration:
"The true significance of the decision is not the declaring of Tanzim a terror organization, but rather the designation of the PA as a terrorist-supporting entity. This does not have a specific legal meaning, but should rather be understood according to common sense. It doesn't mean that we declare war on them tomorrow, just as we don't do so against other such entities such as Iraq or Syria. Instead, it means that there are certain steps that we must take - or else we ourselves turn into a terrorist-supporting entity. For instance, we cannot transfer any monies to them [even those called for by the Oslo Agreements]. Next, we must freeze and confiscate all the monies in our banks that belong to Arafat personally, or other PA leaders, or the PA itself. This seems an obvious step. Third, we can cut off their supply lines, so that they will not be able to transport weapons or other unmonitored materials. If we want to go further, we must disarm the PA of all its weapons. These are logical steps that are indicated by the decision last night."
4. LABOR MEMBERS DON'T LIKE THEIR PARTY A team of Labor Party strategists convened last week in Secretary-General Raanan Cohen's, and discussed the bad news: The party's voters don't like them. A Ben Gurion University political-media researcher named Udi Lebel had been asked to conduct a study among some 300 Labor Party Central Committee members, asking them what they thought about the party - and the results were enough to disappoint even the most pessimistic Labor leaders.
As reported in Ha'aretz today, Lebel said that the party members sense "shame and de-legitimization when taking part in public discourse" in light of the failures of Oslo and Camp David. Neither are they happy with the "hollow" plans being floated by party leaders such as Chaim Ramon, Shlomo Ben-Ami, and Shimon Peres. Lebel says that the members long to "re-connect to 'Israeli-ism' and to distance themselves from what is considered the 'extreme left' and to be identified once again with patriotism and Zionism."
Possibly most surprising of all is that the Labor members are quite satisfied with Ariel Sharon, and even feel that he is more worthy than Burg or Ben-Eliezer of serving as head of their own party. Sharon is perceived as responsible, security-oriented, and an old-style Mapai-nik [Ben-Gurion's party]. Lebel said that the Laborites are "stunned and disappointed" when they see their leaders engaged in in-fighting over the past three months. Peres, too, has dropped in stature, and his speech in the United Nations, where he noted "wide Israeli support" for a Palestinian state, symbolized everything they wished to shake off - "not Israeli, detached from the security situation, and consistent with the positions that lost the party the public's trust."
5. SHARON'S SPEECH
In his televised address to the nation last night, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said,
"Citizens of Israel: Firstly, on my behalf and on behalf of the government of Israel, I wish to send my condolences to the families of those murdered and wish a speedy recovery to the many wounded who remain hospitalized around the country.
"I returned today from the United States after a conversation with President George Bush. The President asked me to convey to the people of Israel his deep sorrow and sincere condolences.
"The president told me that the United States is a true friend and partner of the State of Israel. In times of peace, just as today in our fight against terror, the United States and Israel stand together!
"Citizens of Israel, we have fought many wars -- and we've won them all. We have defeated our enemies -- and we have made peace. We have held the sword -- and made the wilderness and desert bloom. We have built cities, developed industry and cultivated agriculture -- we have transformed the State of Israel into an example and symbol for many other countries in the world. We continue this enterprise every day, we will not cease -- never!
"A war has been forced upon us. A war of terror. A war that claims innocent victims every day. A war of terror being conducted systematically, in an organized fashion and with methodical direction.
"If you ask what the aim of this war is, I will tell you: The aim of this war of terror, the aim of the terrorists, their aides and dispatchers, the aim of those who enable them to perpetrate their acts quietly without disturbance, is to expel us from here. Their aim is to bring us to total despair, a loss of hope and the loss of the national vision which leads us: A free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.
"Citizens of Israel -- this will not happen!
"There is no nation in the world that would have demonstrated such maturity and stamina. I am proud to be part of this nation. I am aware of the fact we also face difficulties in other spheres of our lives. Here too, we demonstrate our integrity and strength.
"They have already understood that they will not succeed. They have already understood that our nation is stronger and that our spirit of resistance is firmer than they ever could have imagined. Therefore, they continue to slaughter children, youth, men and women, citizens of Israel and other nations -- human beings --just for the sake of killing, just to murder.
"I tell you from here, from Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the State of Israel -- united Jerusalem -- I tell you this, you and all those listening today around the whole world: The blood of those who will rise up to kill us will be on their hands.
"Just as the United States is conducting its war against international terror, using all its might against terror, so will we too. With all the strength, determination and resources we have used until today and with resources at our disposal.
"Do not believe false prophecies and do not be misled by promises of immediate results. This struggle is not an easy one, this struggle will not be short. But we will be victorious.
"Israel does not start wars. This war of terror, as in the past, has been forced upon us. We know who has forced it upon us. We know who is guilty. We know who is responsible.
"Arafat is guilty of everything that is happening here. Arafat has made his strategic choices: a strategy of terrorism. In choosing to try and win political accomplishments through murder and in choosing to allow the ruthless killing of innocent civilians, Arafat has chosen the path of terrorism.
"For a long time the world has not seen Arafat for what he is, but recently there has been a significant shift. There are signs of greater understanding for our position -- everyone is discovering the real Arafat.
"Arafat is the greatest obstacle to peace and stability in the Middle East. We have seen this in the past, are seeing it in the present and will unfortunately probably continue to see this in the future. But Arafat will not fool this government, under my leadership. This time, Arafat will not succeed in fooling us.
"The Palestinian people must know: You are the primary victims of the current situation brought about by Arafat.
"I tell you now: We will pursue those responsible, the perpetrators of terrorism and the supporters. We will pursue them until we catch them and they will pay the price.
"Today, immediately upon my return, I convened an emergency meeting with all the heads of security establishment. In a few minutes, the government will assemble for a special meeting and will make decisions on the expansion of the treatment of terrorism. This is not the place to discuss these avenues. I am certain that the decisions we must take today require a special assemblage of the entire government.
"The government I head is a national unity government. We are now in a time of emergency and in such times a national unity government, a government that represents the entire public in Israel, is of supreme importance. United we will face all the challenges before us."
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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2001 / Kislev 20, 5762 ------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. ARAFAT GIVEN ANOTHER 12 HOURS 2. FINANCE MINISTER: EXPEL ARAFAT, USE P.A. FUNDS 3. HIGH PRICE FOR AMERICAN SUPPORT 4. CANADA, ITALY JOIN U.S. IN FREEZING HAMAS FUNDS 5. LABOR MINI-CRISIS IS OVER
1. ARAFAT GIVEN ANOTHER 12 HOURS Despite the official designation of Yasser Arafat as the head of a "terrorism-supporting entity," Foreign Minister Shimon Peres spoke with him today - twice. "He called me," Peres told reporters today, "and said that he can't make arrests because Israel is stopping him from moving his forces. I told him that it's now up to him: 'In the next 12 hours, you can determine our attitude to the Palestinian Authority. You have received a list of 36 names [of leading wanted terrorists]. I strongly recommend that you arrest them.'" Peres said that the Prime Minister later approved Arafat's moving of forces for this purpose, and Peres told Arafat as much.
Public Security Minister Uzi Landau said that the Peres-Arafat talks were out of place: "I cannot imagine anyone in the American government talking with Taliban or Bin-Laden after they were declared terrorist-supporting organizations. After the Dolphinarium, Sbarro, and the recent Jerusalem and Haifa massacres, and the assassination of Minister Ze'evi, it's about time to adopt another method - not that of talks with Arafat, but that of an Israeli fight against the terrorist infrastructures."
Earlier this morning, Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane asked correspondent Haggai Huberman, "What happened to the war?" The question was asked in light of the lack of follow-up to Monday night's dramatic Cabinet decision declaring the Palestinian Authority a "terrorist-supporting entity." Huberman responded,
"The IDF is sitting in Shechem for the first time in six years, as well as in Ramallah and in other PA-controlled cities. True, this happened yesterday, but the army is still there. The air attacks [of Monday night and Tuesday morning] have stopped in the meantime, and I heard two reasons for this from army officers: One is the heavy rain, and the other is Arafat's complaint that he can't fight terror because his forces are being attacked... It's true that there is a bit of a lull, in order to see what happens. The fact is that there has definitely been a drop - not a total stop - in Palestinian violence, especially in Gaza, because of the shock of the Israeli attacks on Monday night in Gaza and elsewhere."
Yesterday morning, the PA arrested four Hamas terrorists - and they were the last ones. Furthermore, the PA released an unknown number of terrorists from its prisons in Shechem, Tul Karem, and Jenin. Palestinian sources explained that they fear that Israel will bomb the prisons housing the terrorists. Israeli military figures responded that they had given the PA guarantees that they would not do so, "and in any event, the arrests were of the lowest-level operatives." The bottom line for the lack of arrests, Israeli officials feel, is that the PA forces don't want to clash with Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
2. FINANCE MINISTER: EXPEL ARAFAT, USE P.A. FUNDS Finance Minister Silvan Shalom continues to insist that Israel must expel Yasser Arafat from the region. "The decisions taken by the Cabinet on Monday night were good," Shalom told Arutz-7 today, "but as I said then, we must define the true cause of the terrorism: Yasser Arafat. It can all be traced back to him, and therefore he must be expelled from the region - and if not, the problem will never be solved." Shalom, a member of the security cabinet, said that he voted in favor of the military strikes, "but they are not enough. Arafat is a terrorist disguised as a statesman, and at present, he receives a red carpet in many places in the world - largely because of us, of course - and as such, it is hard to take real action against the entity that he heads. But if he is removed from the scene, then our options to act against the PA terrorism increase."
Shalom also has a new idea for solving some of the economic problems caused by the Oslo War: "On Jan. 1 of this year," he said, "we stopped transferring to the PA monies that we collected for it, such as certain taxes. This was a wise decision, for there is no reason for us to give money to the PA so that it can pay terrorists to act against us. But at the same time, we have been experiencing major negative effects on our economy - our security expenses have climbed tremendously, tourism is down drastically, as are foreign exports and business in general. In Jerusalem, there was a slump for a few months, and business was just getting back to normal when this latest attack happened.
"Because this war that has been forced upon us is costing us tremendous amounts of money, in terms of compensation for damaged property and much more, I intend to propose to the Cabinet at the next weekly meeting a bill that would enable us to use these frozen funds. The total is 1.6 billion shekels [$378 million]. This will not solve all our problems, but it will help prevent us from nearing an economic crisis-point. It's not our job to run a savings plan for Yasser Arafat, in which we hold the money for him and then give it to him later with interest. We are supposed to give them money according to [agreements we signed with him], but since Arafat has abrogated all the agreements, this means that the agreements don't exist, and we must act accordingly."
3. HIGH PRICE FOR AMERICAN SUPPORT Eli Sechbach, Arutz-7's Los Angeles correspondent, says that popular American support and understanding for Israel is on the rise. "I work as a producer for a television station, and the people who usually argue with me about Israel and Yesha and the like have come up to me in the last few days and said, 'You know, you guys have been right all these years. Arafat is nothing more than a terrorist gang leader, and Israel should smash him.' These are people who were supporters of the Palestinians up until these recent attacks. Not only that, but I was at a Los Angeles Lakers [basketball] game last night, and Shaquille O'Neal, the best player in the world, comes up to me and says he has something very important to tell me. While I'm wondering what Shaquille O'Neal could possibly have to tell me, he says, 'Please write in your newspaper that I convey to all the wounded in the attack in Jerusalem my wishes for a speedy recovery, and my condolences to the families who lost their sons.'
"The Americans were very moved by the attacks, and especially the car bomb that exploded when the rescue workers arrived on the scene - it reminds them of the World Trade Center attack, and it has hit a sore nerve, and they greatly identify with us. It is too bad that the price for this unprecedented pro-Israel feeling had to be the murder of 26 people in one day, but that's the situation. It seems that some Knesset Members are the only people in the world who are not advising us to do what we have to do against Arafat.
"It's a new ballgame here. They keep bringing up this idea that Ehud Barak offered the Palestinians 98% of Judea and Samaria, but that Arafat rejected it. For the first time, it seems, you see the interviewers asking the Palestinian representatives very tough questions, such as, 'You could have fought against terrorism for the last four years, and now you say you need four more days?!' There is a program called the O'Reilly Factor, and the show host really gave the Arab a tough time yesterday. In short, the situation has changed."
4. CANADA, ITALY JOIN U.S. IN FREEZING HAMAS FUNDS Canada has joined the United States in freezing the bank accounts of organizations connected with Hamas. These include the Holy Land Fund, the Al Aqsa Bank and Beit El-Mal Holdings Co. Italy has also agreed to take similar steps. U.S. President George Bush announced yesterday, "The message is this: Those who do business with terror will do no business with the United States, or anywhere else the United States can reach. Hamas is one of the deadliest terror organizations in the world today." The money raised by the Holy Land Foundation, which is the largest Muslim charity in the United States, "is used by Hamas to support schools and indoctrinate children to grow up into suicide bombers," Bush said, "and also to recruit suicide bombers and support their families." Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said, "This organization exists to raise money in the United States to promote terror."
5. LABOR MINI-CRISIS IS OVER The Labor Party threat to quit the government in protest of the Monday night Cabinet meeting has passed. Industry and Trade Minister Dalia Itzik said, "There are plenty of reasons to quit the government, and we will bring these up to the Prime Minister, but designating the PA a terrorist-supporting entity is not one of them."
It could also be that the party's decision-makers are under the influence of a study showing that the Labor rank-and-file are not happy with their representatives' shift to the extreme left of the Israeli spectrum. As reported yesterday, the party members sense "shame and de-legitimization when taking part in public discourse" in light of the failures of Oslo and Camp David, want to "re-connect to 'Israeli-ism' and to be identified once again with patriotism and Zionism," and are pleased with Ariel Sharon's leadership.
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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, Dec. 6, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Thursday, Dec. 6, 2001 / Kislev 21, 5762 ------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINE:
HOLDING PATTERN CONTINUES
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said today that the Palestinian Authority has arrested "no more than 2-3 significant terrorists - and even they are being held in hotel-like conditions... The PA stands behind and creates this terrorism, and we are trying to get it to leave that path and to bring it back to the only way there is, and that is the path of diplomacy."
Prime Minister Sharon enumerated yesterday five steps that the PA must take before it can be considered to be effectively fighting terrorism: The arrests of terrorists and those who send them - "as opposed to the fake arrests of low-level activists that we have seen so far;" the dismantling of the terrorist organizations; the collection of illegal weapons, which will be given to the Americans for destruction; genuine military activities to thwart attacks; and the cessation of anti-Israel hatred and incitement.
Speaking to Likud Knesset Members yesterday, the Prime Minister added that the government's operative decisions are: attacking any terrorist organization target; no diplomatic contacts with the PA; restricting movement of Palestinian leaders; attacking symbols and targets within the autonomous areas; tightening closures around PA-controlled cities; the entry of army forces into Area A (under PA control); initiated actions against impending terrorist attacks; and more.
The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee held a special session today on the significance of the government's decision to declare the PA a "terrorist-supporting entity." Committee chairman MK David Magen (Center Party) said that the military actions being taken must be reviewed by a Knesset body. He told Arutz-7 beforehand that Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer would attend the meeting. "I assume that some members will ask him what he meant by saying that which was attributed to him, that the Cabinet decision was a 'joke.'"
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