From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 7, 1997 11:29 PM
To: Arutz-7 List
Subject: Arutz-7 News: October 6-7, 1997
From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il>
To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, October 6, 1997
Arutz Sheva News Service
Monday, October 6, 1997 / Tishrei 5, 5758
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. PRISONER SWAP EXECUTED
2. YASSIN: THE FIGHT CONTINUES
3. ILAN SAADON REMEMBERED
4. PORAT SLAMS HUSSEIN, OPPOSITION
5. NOT THE WAY IT USED TO BE
6. ISRAEL'S POSITION WEAKENED
7. GOV'T TO AGREE TO PARTIAL HALT
8. RESIDENTS WON'T NEED PERMIT TO GO HOME
9. AMERICAN PUBLIC BACKS ISRAEL
10. WEIZMANN IN WASHINGTON
1. PRISONER SWAP EXECUTED
The two Mossad agents imprisoned in Jordan have been freed, and Israel
later today freed a group of 22 terrorists. The deal began with the
granting of Israeli permission for Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin to
depart Jordan for Gaza today. The two Mossad agents were allegedly
involved in the assassination attempt upon Hamas chief Khaled Mish'al. The
22 terrorists freed are apparently not of the Hamas, but of the Popular
Front, and were not involved in murderous crimes.
The Jordanian request to allow a Royal Jordanian Air Force helicopter to
fly Yassin from Amman to Gaza was received in Jerusalem yesterday, only a
short while before Israeli Ambassador to Jordan Oded Eran was to present
his credentials in Amman. The Jordanians hinted that only if the request
was approved would the ambassadorial ceremony be held as scheduled. Israel
rejected a Palestinian request to allow Yassin to return to Gaza as early
as yesterday, thus allowing King Hussein to bask in his success for another
day - at Arafat's expense. Prime Minister Netanyahu will hold a press
conference at 6:30 this evening at which he will discuss the events of the
past days.
2. YASSIN: THE FIGHT CONTINUES
Terrorist chief Sheikh Yassin, on the eve of his departure to Gaza this
afternoon, said that there would not be a cease-fire, and that the violence
would continue, until the Israeli conquest ends. He was greeted in Gaza by
thousands of supporters in a massive welcome ceremony arranged by the
Palestinian Authority. Yassin was accompanied by helicopter to Gaza by
King Hussein.
3. ILAN SAADON REMEMBERED
In Ashkelon, a street was named today in memory of Ilan Saadon, the soldier
whose murder was masterminded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Families of terror
victims called a press conference last night in Jerusalem, at which they
protested the freeing of Yassin. Others also protested the release of
Yassin, demanding the simultaneous release of Jewish prisoners presently in
jail for politically-motivated crimes against Arabs.
4. PORAT SLAMS HUSSEIN, OPPOSITION
MK Chanan Porat, faction leader of the National Religious Party, said today
that we cannot afford to ignore the actions of King Hussein in the
Mish'al-Yassin story. "Hussein gives the royal treatment to Hamas' guiding
force Sheikh Yassin, allows Mish'al to run Hamas without being disturbed,
and then dares to demand the release of additional terrorists. This is not
what is expected of a partner in true peace." Porat expressed criticism of
representatives of the opposition who do not display "minimal restraint in
this complex situation in which we find ourselves. No one will deny them
the right to criticize the Prime Minister or his decisions, but they must
understand that every failure of the security forces is a failure of the
State of Israel and a danger for its citizens. There is therefore no place
for gloating and cynical efforts to reap political profit in this situation."
5. NOT THE WAY IT USED TO BE
Haggai Segal, editor of today's Arutz-7 news hour, pointed out to the
listening audience today that the roles were reversed three years ago:
Binyamin Netanyahu was head of the opposition, while Ehud Barak was IDF
Chief of Staff, during the failed attempt to rescue kidnapped soldier
Nachshon Wachsman. Segal played the following sound clips, beginning with
an excerpt from a commentary by Nachshon's mother Esther (to be aired
tomorrow on Arutz-7), showing in glaring contrast the difference between
then and now:
Clip #1 - Esther Wachsman: "In the final analysis, Binyamin Netanyahu did
exactly what I would have expected him to do - to pursue terror without
stopping, and to fight it and its leaders wherever and whenever necessary.
When our son Nachshon was kidnapped and held ransom by Hamas, the
government under the late Yitzchak Rabin did not enter into negotiations
with them, despite all our pleas on behalf of our son's life. The
Government of Israel announced that it does not give in to terror and
blackmail. Instead, it executed a military action, based on the decision
of one man [Rabin]. That action, too, was impulsive, careless, and not
smart; it failed, and my son was murdered. Did we hear such an outbreak of
criticism on the part of the opposition then against that failure?"
Clip #2 - Question by an Arutz-7 interviewer to then-opposition leader
Netanyahu: "Throughout the entire episode of the kidnapping of Nachshon
Wachsman, the opposition expressed total support for the Prime Minister
[Rabin]. Even after its tragic end, the opposition expressed support for
the government. Mr. Netanyahu, did this support come because you felt that
a time of crisis was not a time for infighting, or did you really think
that all of the actions that were taken were correct?"
Netanyahu: "First of all, the basic decision not to surrender to terror
was correct, and that has always been our position. This is why I gave
full backing to the Prime Minister to implement this policy..."
Clip #3 - then-Chief of Staff Barak: "The unity that has been shown
throughout this time of crisis will hopefully be preserved for the future
tests that will face us."
6. ISRAEL'S POSITION WEAKENED
Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that Israel's opening
position when the negotiations resume tonight with the Palestinians does
not bode well. The Israelis know that one of their chief demands of the PA
- that it fight Hamas to the bitter end - has been weakened. The
Palestinians will be able to claim, "How can you demand that we fight
Hamas, after you yourselves have freed Sheikh Yassin, you did not demand
the extradition of Abu Marzuk, you freed Rantisi from prison, and you even
sent a medicine to Amman to save Khaled Mish'al? Even you have not
succeeded in fighting Hamas!" The Americans, too, will be able to make
similar points, although it is known that they were far from displeased
with the Israeli concession on the Abu Marzuk issue, as his extradition to
Israel would have sparked terror attacks on American targets. Huberman
reports that had the Mish'al assassination succeeded, he would have died of
what would have appeared to be natural causes a day or two after the agents
had left the country.
A short ceremony will precede the opening of the negotiations tonight, at
the Laromme Hotel in Jerusalem, with the participation of Foreign Minister
David Levy, Abu Maazen, and Dennis Ross.
7. GOV'T TO AGREE TO PARTIAL HALT
The Netanyahu government is prepared in principle to agree to a temporary
halt in construction in Judea and Samaria, as preparations are made for the
resumption of the negotiations. Government sources told Arutz-7 that the
government will not agree to a complete halt in Yesha construction, but
rather to a cessation in the building of new neighborhoods that are
somewhat distant from the present communities. The halt would be in force
for a period of six to nine months. Minister of Science Michael Eitan told
Arutz-7 today, "We must never agree to such a condition."
8. RESIDENTS WON'T NEED PERMIT TO GO HOME
A hard week for the Hevron Jewish Community has ended with a minor victory:
The IDF has cancelled an order it issued a week ago declaring Beit
Schneerson a closed military zone. The events developed as follows: For
several weeks, the security personnel had been using the Beit Schneerson
hallway as a "base," causing tremendous filth and bother to the building's
residents and visitors. The residents appealed to a Jerusalem court. In
response, the IDF declared the main hallway of the building, home to 8
families, a closed military zone, making it off-limits to all civilians
unless they received a special permit. The residents again appealed, this
time to the Supreme Court, and the IDF cancelled the order.
Other recent difficulties for the Jewish residents in Hevron included a
decision by Prime Minister Netanyahu to forbid the installation of a new
water piping system between the Avraham
Avinu neighborhood and Beit Hadassah. As a result, the community will be
forced to continue to truck water in from Kiryat Arba. The repaving of
King David (Shuhada) Street, which has so far cost its sponsor - the United
States - twice the million dollars that were budgeted for it, continues to
be a bone in the throat of the Jewish community. In addition to the grave
security danger posed by future Arab traffic there, the Arab construction
workers, overseen by an American foreman, "forgot" to install any type of
sewer system on the two-mile-long road.
9. AMERICAN PUBLIC BACKS ISRAEL
A poll of 1000 registered American voters, commissioned by Middle East
Quarterly magazine, shows that the American public continues to be solidly
behind Israel. By a 47 to 13% majority, Americans feel that Israel is more
serious than the Palestinians about trying to achieve peace in the region.
63% feel that the Palestinians would continue to engage in terror even
after the establishment of a Palestinian state; only 20% disagree. In a
head-to-head comparison between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat,
the Americans deem Netanyahu both more pro-American (27 to 5 %) and more
admirable (17 to 4 %) than Arafat. Eight times more Americans point to
Arafat as "associated with terrorism" than to Netanyahu (40 to 5%). A
resounding 4-1 preference for Israel (48 to 12%) is manifest by the answer
to "To whom are you more
sympathetic, the Palestinians or the Israelis?" Regarding the issue of
Jerusalem, which touches not on questions of American political interests
but rather on religious and emotional chords, American voters endorse
exclusive Israeli control of Jerusalem by an almost 3-to-1 ratio (60 to
22%). Yoram Ettinger, a commentator on Israeli-American relations, told
Arutz-7 today that he fears that the Clinton Administration is politically
and diplomatically mistaken in planning to use the present crisis to
further pressure Israel.
10. WEIZMANN IN WASHINGTON
President Ezer Weizmann will pay a visit to President Bill Clinton in the
White House today. A major topic of discussion will be the problem of
Iran's nuclear arming.
************************************************************************
From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il>
To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, October 7, 1997
Arutz Sheva News Service
Tuesday, October 7, 1997 / Tishrei 6, 5758
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. TALKS RESUME, SIDES FAR APART
2. YESHA CHIEF ON CONSTRUCTION
3. INVESTIGATION BEGINS
4. NETANYAHU MEETS THE PRESS
5. PRESS VS. NETANYAHU
6. MORDECHAI NOT UPSET
7. NEWS MONOPOLY ENDED
8. 50 YEARS OF ALIYAH TO ISRAEL
1. TALKS RESUME, SIDES FAR APART
The talks between Israel and the Palestinians were officially renewed
in Jerusalem last night, and it was agreed that they would continue
next week in Washington. Nine different committees will convene to
discuss the issues of the seaport, airport, and the safe passage, as
well as judicial, economic, and other matters. Prime Minister
Netanyahu met in his home today with American mediator Dennis Ross,
and will meet with him again today or tomorrow.
Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports on the status of the
negotiations as they resume. The Palestinians have rejected Israeli
demands to perform security checks on ships arriving at the Gaza port.
He points out that the Israeli demands are more acute now that the
Palestinians have completed the port in Gaza City, such that Israel
cannot supervise who enters. The airport issue presents similar
problems, although here the Palestinian position is even weaker. The
airport has been completed - without Israeli approval - and is ready
to operate, but the Palestinians refuse to concede Israel's right to
perform checks on incoming flights. This is in opposition to an
agreement they signed a week before the Israeli elections in May 1996
that grants full Israeli security control to the entire airport.
The two sides are also far apart regarding the 'safe passage' issue.
Israel insists on full control over who enters its borders, and
reserves the right to deny passage from Jericho to Gaza, or
vice-versa, to persons considered security risks. The Palestinians
concede Israel's right to perform checks at the border, but demand
that every car be allowed to pass through. They further demand that
if a Palestinian car breaks down within Israel along the safe passage
route, a joint team of Israeli and Palestinian police be called to
deal with it. Huberman also reports that there are fears that the
Palestinian Authority, which has seen its popularity erode as Hamas
rides the wave of the recent events, will demand Israeli concessions
in order to help it regain its strength.
2. YESHA CHIEF ON CONSTRUCTION
Pinchas Wallerstein, Chairman of the Yesha Council - which represents
the Jewish communities of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza - said today that
the residents of Yesha would not agree "under any circumstances" to a
'time-out' in construction in their towns. He is optimistic that even
if Prime Minister Netanyahu is pressured to agree to such a halt, it
will be manifest only in a freeze in granting permits for new
construction plans, but not a cessation of building currently
underway.
3. INVESTIGATION BEGINS
Prime Minister Netanyahu announced yesterday that the failed
assassination attempt upon Hamas leader Khaled Mish'al would be
investigated by an independent team of three: El Al Chairman Yosi
Chakhnover, former Mossad head Nachum Admoni, and former Police
Commissioner Rafi Peled. The committee will convene today to decide
on its agenda.
4. NETANYAHU MEETS THE PRESS
In a press conference last night, the Prime Minister said, "We have
absorbed two heavy terrorist attacks in recent months, in which 21
men, women, and children were killed. As Prime Minister, it is my
responsibility to wage war against terror. This is a fight to the
finish not of words, but of actions." He said that as Prime Minister,
"I take overall responsibility for this war against terror, for both
the successes and the failures. In the end, the responsibility is
mine... I hear fearful and scared voices who tell us why we must sit
and do nothing against the heads of terrorism. But we are determined
to continue to fight against terrorism. Whoever surrenders to terror
and whoever runs away from courageous decisions will be hit even more
sharply by terrorism in the end."
He sharply attacked the press: "You'll say later that I am making an
accounting with the media, but the fact is that I think *you*
[reporters] must make an accounting with yourselves. You published
items in the past few days which many of you knew were out-and-out
lies. You reported an entire web of falsehoods." (See next article)
About the opposition, the Prime Minister said: "There are elements at
home who, instead of standing behind the government at its difficult
moments - as we did [for the previous government] when mishaps
occurred in the war against terror - gather for a full-scale attack
upon it. They do this at the most sensitive moments, when vital
interests, including the physical safety of persons, stood in the
balance." He noted that during the Nachshon Wachsman kidnapping, he
had led the opposition in backing up the Rabin government. Concerning
Jordan, the Prime Minister said: "Relations with Jordan have been
affected, yes, but they can be restored, as everyone understands that
our two countries have common interests. Terrorism cannot benefit
from immunity in any country, including Jordan. We expect every
peace-loving country to fight against terrorism. I believe that
Jordan wants peace, and we foresee their cooperation in the war
against terrorism."
5. PRESS VS. NETANYAHU
Arutz-7 correspondent Hizki Zisman investigated in depth the
accusations of Prime Minister Netanyahu against the press, and came up
with the following findings: a. Mossad head Danny Yatom participated
in a briefing held by the Prime Minister met with editors of leading
newspapers at the end of last week. It was clear from his remarks
there that the idea of assassinating Khaled Mish'al was not forced
upon him. He and Netanyahu asked the editors not to publicize the
false report published in the Sunday Times of London about a lunch
meeting between the two in which Netanyahu allegedly forcefully
requested that Khaled Mish'al be assassinated. Despite this, the
newspapers published the Sunday Times report at length the very next
day. Yatom also denied items that appeared in the press to the effect
that he had offered to resign over the issue. b. The editors rejected
a request by the Prime Minister to play down the story until the two
Mossad agents were released. c. The press falsely reported, over and
over, that Khaled Mish'al was a relatively unimportant figure within
Hamas. "Either the reporters knew that this was untrue, in which case
it appears that knocking Netanyahu was more important to them than the
truth," said Zisman, "or they did not know, in which case their
journalistic-investigative skills are called into question." d. The
press reported that Netanyahu had met with media expert Arthur
Finkelstein in Jerusalem at a cost of $1000 an hour. The Prime
Minister's press agent, Shai Bazak, categorically denied this, saying
that Finkelstein was not even in Israel during recent weeks. e. The
press knew that the government could not respond to the attacks made
against it, because of the sensitivity of the issues and the continued
incarceration of the Mossad agents in Jordan, yet did not refrain from
distortedly presenting only one side of the story.
6. MORDECHAI NOT UPSET
Minister of Defense Yitzchak Mordechai rejects the claims that his
silence of the past few days is an expression of his disapproval with
the Prime Minister's handling of the events of the past few days. He
said that he has been working together with the Prime Minister from
the moment the Mish'al story began, in order to help alleviate the
damage. He expressed satisfaction with the external investigation of
the story that was decided upon yesterday.
7. NEWS MONOPOLY ENDED
Regional radio stations and cable television stations will be allowed
to broadcast national news reports, according to a government decision
taken yesterday. The decision was made following the recommendations
of Communications Minister Limor Livnat and Education Minister Zevulun
Hammer.
Under the present law, the stations are permitted to broadcast only
regional news. National news reports are presently broadcast only by
Voice of Israel Radio, Army Radio, Israel Television, and Channel Two
television.
8. 50 YEARS OF ALIYAH TO ISRAEL
In light of the collapse of the central planning committee for
Israel's jubilee celebrations, at least two government ministries are
planning their own festivities. The Ministry of Absorption is
planning dozens of different events featuring the subject of
immigration to Israel. The Ministry is planning a central event in a
city with an immigrant population of at least 25%, an international
seminar on the topic of aliyah, a song festival for children of olim,
exhibitions, and more. The Education Ministry is also planning
alternative events of its own to commemorate the 50th anniversary of
the founding of the State.
____________________________________________________________
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