From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
Sent: Thursday, November 27, 1997 6:09 PM
To: Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup
Subject: Israel News: November 25-26, 1997
From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il>
To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, November 25, 1997
Arutz Sheva News Service
Tuesday, November 25, 1997 / Cheshvan 25, 5758
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. ATTEMPTS TO PREVENT GOV'T FROM AGREEING TO WITHDRAWAL
2. NRP AGAINST WITHDRAWAL
3. PM: CALL ME, I WON'T CALL YOU
1. ATTEMPTS TO PREVENT GOV'T FROM AGREEING TO WITHDRAWAL
Yesha Council heads are making frenzied efforts to convince government
ministers and Knesset Members to object to the proposed withdrawal from
Judea and Samaria. Prime Minister Netanyahu is planning to offer to
withdraw from 6-8% of Judea and Samaria. He has apparently also agreed to
stop construction in some Yesha communities and allow the Palestinians to
open the Gaza seaport and airport. The Palestinians have already begun
initial preparations for 300 housing units along the Beit El-Dolev route.
Yesha leader Pinchas Wallerstein told Arutz-7 today that the planned
withdrawal, which is designed to connect Arab towns and villages, will in
turn strangle Jewish communities. "Everyone understands that the mirror
image of connecting Arab villages is the cutting off of Jewish
communities," said Wallerstein. "This will in turn make it very difficult
to travel to work in the big cities, to attract new families, and to grow."
Aharon Domb, chairman of the Yesha Council, later told Arutz-7 that the
'areas of refuge' for Arab terrorists will increase, and the terrorists
will be closer to the homes and roads of many more Jewish Yesha residents.
Wallerstein fears that the 6-8% that Netanyahu is offering is less than
what he will eventually agree to.
The Yesha Council released a statement today calling upon the United States
to uphold their own Oslo commitments. The statement noted that U.S.
Secretary of State Christopher wrote, in a letter to Netanyahu earlier this
year, that "The implementation of Arafat's commitments is crucial for
completing the agreement." It also noted that Dennis Ross signed the
agreement in which Arafat promised to complete the process of emending the
Palestinian National Covenant, to fight terror and prevent violence, to
reduce the size of the Palestinian police force, and to close the
Palestinian Authority offices in Jerusalem. The statement said that the
American Government must insist on compliance from the Palestinian Authority.
Seven members of the Knesset Land of Israel front signed a document
affirming that they will work towards the toppling of the government if a
further interim withdrawal is carried out. The seven are MKs Kleiner
(Gesher), Hendel (NRP), Elon and Ze'evi (Moledet), Begin (Likud), Dayan and
Peled (Tzomet).
2. NRP AGAINST WITHDRAWAL
The National Religious Party faction in the Knesset convened this morning
for an urgent session on the same topic. The members decided to use
tomorrow's special government meeting to propose that negotiations on the
permanent status begin immediately, and that no further withdrawal be
carried out in the interim. The NRP Knesset faction will meet with the
Prime Minister after meeting. Most of the MKs support bringing down the
government in case of a withdrawal, but Ministers Hammer and Rabbi Levy are
hesitant. MK Chanan Porat said, "Obviously from a national point of view,
to withdraw from parts of the Land of Israel is untenable. But even from a
political standpoint it is total foolishness. For we are standing before
tremendously fateful questions, such as the status of Jerusalem, the
question of the return of Arabs from 1948, the status of the Yesha
communities, and others, which I do not think we will be able to solve. So
why should we give over more territories just like that, to throw them to
the wind? This is utter foolishness."
MK Nisan Slomiansky said, "On certain questions, a politician takes into
account the alternatives, and the gains and losses, and sometimes he has to
swallow hard and accept certain things that he would rather not. But
everyone, every politician and every party, has to have red lines, which
means issues on which you no longer take everything else into account, but
on which you simply say that you cannot continue to support a government
that makes such a move. For me, and I think for many of my colleagues,
this issue is such a red line. I am confident that we will have no problem
mustering the 61 MKs needed to topple the government if it carries out this
withdrawal, and I would like Netanyahu to know this in advance."
3. PM: CALL ME, I WON'T CALL YOU
Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed his aides not to make further efforts
to facilitate a meeting between himself and U.S. President Clinton.
Sources close to Netanyahu said that this order was given a few days ago,
and is not related to the recent announcement by the White House that the
December meeting between the two is off unless Netanyahu offers a sizable
withdrawal. Netanyahu aides emphasize that a meeting between the leaders
of Israel and the U.S. is in the interests of both countries, and is not
merely a "prize" that the U.S. grants Israel. Yoram Ettinger, a former
diplomat in the Israeli Embassy in Washington, told Arutz-7 today that the
Prime Minister is acting wisely in this regard, and that the Clinton/State
Department view has never been particularly friendly towards Israel. He
recommended that the Prime Minister could visit Washington and meet with
Congressional leaders, the "oasis" of American friendly ties with Israel.
**************************************************************************
From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il>
To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, November 26, 1997
Arutz Sheva News Service
Wednesday, November 26, 1997 / Cheshvan 26, 5758
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. NO CABINET DECISION ON WITHDRAWAL
2. IDF POSITION
3. ON ARIEL SHARON
4. NRP TO DECIDE WHETHER TO TOPPLE OR MERELY TO FIGHT
5. YESHA COUNCIL HAS DEMANDS ON U.S.
1. NO CABINET DECISION ON WITHDRAWAL
The government ministers held a six-hour meeting today on the Prime
Minister's plans to carry out a sizeable withdrawal from Judea and
Samaria. Mr. Netanyahu's plan calls for a significant withdrawal in the
vicinity of many Jewish communities, including turning all of Area B
(under Israeli security control and Palestinian civilian control) into Area A
(exclusive Palestinian control). It is apparently contingent upon
Palestinian consent to begin permanent-status talks right away. The
line-up among the government ministers appears to be as follows:
In favor of the withdrawal - 8: Mordechai, D. Levy, Sharon, Katzav,
M. Eitan, Suissa, Yeshai, Kahalani.
Against the withdrawal - 4: Y. Levy, Hammer, Hanegbi, R. Eitan.
Undecided or unknown - 4: Livnat, Matza, Edelstein, Sharansky.
At the beginning of the meeting, Defense Minister Mordechai unfurled
maps of the proposed withdrawal, but he was forced to remove them
when Transportation Minister Y. Levy protested. Levy said that the
government had not yet decided to carry out a withdrawal, and that
therefore a map portraying it was not in place. Mordechai said to
Rabbi Levy, "Come, let's not close our eyes to what's going on," but
the latter did not give in. Mordechai and Foreign Minister David Levy
said that they were in favor of carrying out a withdrawal with no
pre-conditions.
Netanyahu surprised the participants at the meeting when he
announced his intention to put the issue to a vote today. He later backtracked,
however, because of strong opposition from several ministers, chiefly
of the NRP. Communications Minister Livnat said that this withdrawal -
the second of three, according to the Oslo agreement - must be
contingent upon a Palestinian agreement to cancel the third
withdrawal. Justice Minister Hanegbi said that the withdrawal must be
contingent upon the extradition of terrorists from the autonomy to
Israel. Six ministers did not speak at the meeting, which will
continue on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Yasser Arafat has hinted that a withdrawal of less than
"tens of percent" will not be acceptable. Political commentators feel
that he is banking on the fall of the present government within the
near future, and the ascent to power of a more amenable government
headed by Ehud Barak. As if to enforce this feeling, the coalition
showed signs of its weakness today when it failed to muster a majority
yet again on an important Knesset vote. The Prime Minister was to
have met with the leaders of the coalition parties this afternoon.
2. IDF POSITION
Leading military figures - from the Central Command up to the Defense
Minister himself - object to the plan to turn all of Area B (under
Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control) into Area C
(under total Palestinian control). They would rather that the
upcoming withdrawal planned by Netanyahu be carried out by turning
Area C lands into Area B. Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman
reports that this represents a turnabout in the IDF position, and is
based on lessons learned from the activities of the Kfar Tsurif
terrorist gang and others. Security sources told him that every area
that is transferred to Palestinian security control immediately
becomes a base of operations for Hamas terrorists.
Head of IDF Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon said yesterday, in the
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, that Hamas is
continually planning attacks against Israelis. He said that Hamas has
specific plans to attempt to kidnap soldiers within the coming days.
3. ON ARIEL SHARON
Ariel Sharon's position on the withdrawal has become an item of
interest. He has come out in favor of the plan, and is attempting to
garner support for it. Despite this, Prime Minister Netanyahu sharply
criticized Sharon's recent remarks to the effect that a Palestinian
state all but exists. Political commentator Atty. Elyakim Haetzni said
today, "Sharon's position now is reminiscent of his actions in 1982
when he gave Begin the green light to go ahead with the transfer of
Sinai to Egypt, and when he dismantled the Sinai settlements. He has
since regretted his actions, and in fact he made a tremendous
contribution to the Yesha settlement map as it is today. But this is
Ariel Sharon: he builds, and then he destroys. He is very likely
again to regret the position that he is taking today, but by then it
will be too late."
MK Chanan Porat, speaking on Arutz-7 today, was asked if he is angry
at Sharon. His response: "I am not angry at Arik - I know that he
regretted publicly his actions in Sinai in 1982 - but I do feel bad
for him. Because with all of his love for Eretz Yisrael, he sees
things only from a pragmatic point of view, from the here and now.
People like that can never lead a nation. The 'despairers' amongst us
will not be able to unfurl the flag of Eretz Yisrael, nor even the
flag of peace that they desire, because peace can only come through
strength of convictions."
4. NRP TO DECIDE WHETHER TO TOPPLE OR MERELY TO FIGHT
National Religious Party leader Minister Zevulun Hammer said today
that in his opinion, although the issue of the withdrawal is crucial,
it is not worthy of toppling the government.. He said that the party
will decide its position in the coming days. MK Chanan Porat said
that he feels there will be a majority among the party MKs that will
support the proposal he intends to submit at today's party faction
meeting. The Porat proposal states, "The NRP cannot be a party to a
government that transfers territories to the Palestinian Authority."
5. YESHA COUNCIL HAS DEMANDS ON U.S.
The Yesha Council has requested an urgent meeting with Acting U.S.
Ambassador to Israel Richard Roth. A telegram sent by the Council to
Roth explaining the reason for the meeting was entitled "The
Americans, too, Must Keep their Agreements." It mentions that former
U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher promised, on the eve of the
signing of the Hevron agreement, that the U.S. would not pressure
Israel to continue with the Oslo process if Arafat does not fulfill
all of his commitments.
*************************************************************************
From: newsdesk@iipub.com (MED News Desk)
To: headline@iipub.com (Mid-East Dispatch)
Subject: MED Daily Headline News
Reply-to: newsdesk@iipub.com
THE MID-EAST DISPATCH
DAILY HEADLINES NEWS REPORT
** 1 UN Calls Israel a Major Sea Polluter
** 2 Hamas Warns Against Netanyahu Policies
** 3 IDF Head Calls Shelling "Insane"
** 4 PM Proposal for Second Stage Pull-Back
-*-
** 1. UN CALLS ISRAEL A MAJOR SEA POLLUTER
Israel is one of the heaviest polluters of the Mediterranean Sea, a UN
report says, and has been required to invest $129 million to clean up
its 180 kilometers of coastline. By comparison, Greece, with its far
longer coastline, has been asked to invest $207 million.
The environmental organization of the UN, the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP), has demanded that Israel invest the money
in order to halt the contamination of the sea from land-sourced
pollution.
A document prepared by UNEP, an all-inclusive proposal to clean up the
Mediterranean, was approved by the committee of 20 Mediterranean
countries that convened contamination of each of the relevant
countries, and sets the magnitude of the investment demanded to halt
the contamination.
It also states that each of the countries must submit a program to
stop the pollution, to be approved by the UN. The UN has also allotted
$6 million to consolidate an international action plan to halt
pollution of the seas. UNEP believes that contamination of the sea can
be halved by the year 2010.
The Director General of the Environment Ministry, Nechama Ronen, said
that Israel would comply fully with the proposal recommendations and
added that new sewage treatment plants would be operative within a few
years.
One of Israel's worst polluters is the greater Dan area sewage
treatment plant. The plant's license to discharge waste into the
Mediterranean was recently revoked upon discovery that the waste
contained high concentrations of extremely toxic heavy metals. The
license will not be renewed until a solution is found. The most
heavily polluted streams emptying into the sea are the Alexander,
Kishon, Poleg and Ga'aton rivers, which all carry sewage and
industrial waste. {HAARETZ 11/24 H}
** 2. HAMAS WARNS AGAINST NETANYAHU POLICIES
Hamas said they would continue violent attacks in Israel until it
withdrew from the West Bank and Gaza. Moussa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas
leader extradited to Jordan after spending 21 months in a US jail told
the Sunday Telegraph that if there is no peaceful end in sight, "Who
could blame people who choose other means to resist?"
He added that if Prime Minister Netanyahu "continues his present
policies" he sees no hope and more bloodshed. {KOL ISRAEL 11/24 H}
** 3. IDF HEAD CALLS SHELLING "INSANE"
The head of the IDF Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Amiram Levine said
there will be no let up in military action against the Syrian backed
Amal and Hizbullah. He warned that the IDF will continue to take
action against them even when they seek shelter in civilian villages.
He said, however, the IDF would continue to uphold the Grapes of Wrath
accords while finding ways to strike at the terrorists. He said that
the Amal and Hizbullah rocket attack yesterday on the village of Beit
Lif was an "act of insanity." {KOL ISRAEL 11/24 H}
** 4. PM PROPOSAL FOR SECOND STAGE PULL-BACK
Prime Minister Netanyahu is considering a proposal for the
implementation of the second stage of redeployment in the West Bank
and Gaza. This would require Palestinian agreement to "speeding up"
the discussions concerning a final settlement.
According to the proposal, Israel would withdraw from 6-8% of the
territory under its control. The first and second stages would be
combined and the third stage would be implemented only as part of the
final settlement.
The Prime Minister would make the first and second stages conditional
on the Palestinians "continuing to combat terrorism." {KOL ISRAEL
11/24 H}
************************************************************************
From: newsdesk@iipub.com (MED News Desk)
To: headline@iipub.com (Mid-East Dispatch)
Subject: MED Daily Headline News
Reply-to: newsdesk@iipub.com
THE MID-EAST DISPATCH
DAILY HEADLINES NEWS REPORT
** 1 PM Proposal Sparks Criticism
** 2 Sharon: The World Will Recognize Palestine
** 3 Herod Water Carrier Discovered
** 4 Iraq Could Destroy the World
** 5 Hamas Planning to Kidnap Israeli
-*-
** 1. PM PROPOSAL SPARKS CRITICISM
Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has presented his plan to carry out
his second stage of the IDF redeployment his Inner Cabinet. Foreign
Minister David Levy, Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai and
Infrastructure Minister Sharon gave the Prime Minister their support
in principle.
The Israeli offer will be conditional on a Palestinian agreement to
fight terrorism and enter permanent status negotiations.
Previously Moshe Katzav and Michael Eitan expressed their support for
the Netanyahu initiative, but Cabinet ministers have strongly
criticized the Prime Minister's redeployment proposals because the
plan was presented to the Palestinians before the government could
discuss it.
The Land of Israel Front has threatened to bring a no-confidence
motion against the government.
Meanwhile, US President Bill Clinton is demanding Israel make a
"serious and credible offer" in the second withdrawal from Judea and
Samaria. According to a senior American officials, while Clinton is
frustrated at Prime Minister Netanyahu's offer, the US Administration
has yet to threaten Israel over the issue of the peace process.
The source added that the US has not told Netanyahu how large the
redeployment should be. Trade and Industry Minister Natan Sharansky
said that while US interests are at stake when the Americans pressure
Israel, Washington has to understand Israel must look out for its own
interest.
"No doubt the US wants to see things moving, but with all our very
...friendly relations with the United States of America, we have to
take into account the interests of reciprocity and the interests of
our security" he said.
Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat has rejected Prime
Minister Netanyahu's redeployment offer. Palestinian officials say
Arafat heard the proposal from Netanyahu's advisor Yitzhak Molcho.
They said Molcho offered a 6% withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. The
sides met last night for over two hours.
Arafat's deputy Abu Allah said that unless Israel withdraws from 90%
of the territories, the Palestinians would not participate in final
status negotiations. {KOL ISRAEL 11/25 H|P}
** 2. SHARON: THE WORLD WILL RECOGNIZE PALESTINE
Infrastructure Minister Ariel Sharon said that to his regret, the
defining of a Palestinian state is a fact. He warned that in the near
future, the Palestinians will declare an independent state and that
the world will recognize it. {MA'ARIV 11/25 H}
** 3. HEROD WATER CARRIER DISCOVERED
A recent archaeological excavation in southern Jerusalem has uncovered
the remnants of the upper water carrier from the period of King Herod
(over 1900 years ago). The ancient water carrier connected Solomon's
Pool and the Mamila Pool, and was an important source of water for
Jerusalem.
The section that was uncovered is 200 meters long, 50 centimeters
wide, and as deep as one meter in some places. Jerusalem District
Chief Archaeologist John Zeligman said that the discovery represents
another step towards understanding how Jerusalem's water problems were
solved. The site will remain an open public site. {ARUTZ 7 11/25 H}
** 4. IRAQ COULD DESTROY THE WORLD
US Defense Secretary William Cohen says Iraq is continuing to "evade
and deceive" UN weapons inspectors seeking to destroy its weapons of
mass destruction. Cohen said Baghdad may have produced enough of the
deadly chemical VX to kill everyone on earth.
"Originally they indicated they had just a small quantity of VX. One
drop on your finger would produce death in a few moments. Now the UN
believes that Saddam may have produced as much as 200 tons of VX. This
would theoretically be enough to kill every man, woman and child on
the face of the earth." said Cohen.
* MED is receiving reports that General Anthony Zinney, O/C US forces
in the Gulf, has just made a statement at the Pentagon saying that if
action is needed against Iraq, there will be "no more pinprick
surgery". Commentators are surprised at the belligerent tone of the
remarks - a BBC reporter said "you might think the US had already
decided to go to war."
"[Saddam] doesn't much care if you strike a missile site. What matters
to him are the...elite units which keep him in power. We need to go
after those things which keep him in power and enable him to inflict
such pain upon his people" said the General. Zinney also implied that
Arab and European allies were lining up behind US policy, which
appeared to contradict recent statements from US Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright. {KOL ISRAEL, MED 11/26 H}
** 5. HAMAS PLANNING TO KIDNAP ISRAELI
Hamas is planning to kidnap an Israeli soldier or citizen in order to
have a bargaining chip it can use to arrange the release of
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, according to IDF intelligence
chief General Moshe Ya'alon.
General Ya'alon, addressing a meeting of the Knesset Security and
Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, said that on Oct. 31 Hamas had
published a statement threatening to continue attacking Israel for as
long as Palestinian prisoners were held in Israeli jails.
"Hamas leaders determine the organization's policy on attacks and give
orders to the military wing. They are motivated by Hamas interests and
their appraisal of the Palestinian Authority's reaction to their
attacks," he told the committee.
Since previous Hamas policy was aimed at stopping the political peace
process, there was a danger of a wave of attacks if the political
process was renewed. He said that Hamas activists had the will and the
ability to carry out such attacks.
Ya'alon added that IDF and Palestinian Authority (PA) efforts to
destroy the Hamas terrorist infrastructure had not succeeded. The
person responsible for the attacks in the Mahane Yehuda market and the
Ben-Yehuda pedestrian mall in Jerusalem last summer was still at large
despite efforts by the PA.
The PA has asked Hamas leaders to refrain from attacks against
Israelis in order not to embarrass the PA, but they have made it clear
that the attacks would continue for as long as the occupation did.
Ya'alon added that Islamic Jihad wants to carry out attacks in the
territories in order to compete with Hamas. The PA's struggle against
terror had turned into a bargaining chip in its relations with Israel.
"The PA acts against Hamas terror when it has specific information,
but doesn't act firmly against the terrorist infrastructure," he said.
{HAARETZ 11/26 H}
****
Copyright (c) The MidEast Dispatch, 1997. The MidEast Dispatch is an
independent news service, and is not affiliated with any political
party or government agency.
***********************************************************************
From: imra@netvision.net.il
Subject: Israel: Myths and Facts About Further Redeployments
To: imra@netvision.net.il
Israel: Myths and Facts About Further Redeployments
(communicated by the Israel Government Press Office)
Jerusalem, November 26, 1997
Following is a clarification of four common misunderstandings
concerning the Further Redeployment (FRD) of Israeli forces in Judea
and Samaria (the West Bank):
1) Myth: Israel is obligated to withdraw from 90% of Judea and
Samaria during the three Further Redeployments.
Fact: The Oslo 2 Accords make no mention of percentages or the size of
territory from which Israel is to withdraw. There is no basis in the
accord for the Palestinian claim that Israel must pull back from all
or most of Judea and Samaria.
2) Myth: Israel is obligated to negotiate the extent of each
withdrawal with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Fact: Nowhere in the Oslo Accords does it state that the extent of
each withdrawal is to be a subject of negotiations between the two
sides. Israel has the sole authority to decide the extent of the
withdrawals. This position is supported by the United States. A
statement issued by the State Department spokesman on January 15,
1997, at the time of the signing of the Hebron Accord, said, "The Note
for the Record, prepared by the United States at the request of the
parties, makes clear that further redeployment phases are issues for
implementation by Israel rather than issues for negotiation with the
Palestinians."
3) Myth: Just as the PA has fulfilled its obligations under the
accords, so too Israel must now carry out the FRDs.
Fact: Under the January 15, 1997 Hebron accord, both Israel
and the PA undertook a series of obligations listed in the accord and
in the Note for the Record accompanying it. Israel has fulfilled all
of its obligations: 1) withdrawal of Israeli forces from most of
Hebron; 2) delineation of areas to be evacuated in the first FRD; 3)
release of Palestinian prisoners; 4) resumption of negotiations on
outstanding issues; and 5) agreement on the resumption of permanent
status talks.
The PA has not fulfilled any of its obligations: 1) to complete the
revision of the PLO covenant which calls for Israel's destruction; 2)
to fight terror and prevent violence, including uprooting the
infrastructure of terror groups, the confiscation of illegal firearms,
the apprehension and punishment of terrorists, the transfer of terror
suspects to Israel, the prevention of incitement to violence and the
strengthening of security cooperation with Israel; 3) to reduce the
size of the Palestinian police to the number permitted by Oslo 2 (the
Palestinian police currently consist of at least 35,500 men, or nearly
50% more than the 24,000 allowed); and 4) to refrain from governmental
activity in areas not under PA jurisdiction, such as Jerusalem.
Israel has complied with all of its commitments. The PA has
violated all of its obligations.
4) Myth: Israel is responsible for the delay in the
implementation of the first FRD.
Fact: Under the Note for the Record accompanying the January
15, 1997 Hebron accord, Israel was obligated to carry out the first
phase of the further redeployment in the West Bank during the first
week of March 1997.
On March 6, 1997, the Israeli Cabinet voted to approve the first
phase of the redeployment, consisting of 9.1% of the territory.
This figure includes 7% of territory that is currently Area B
(Israeli security control, Palestinian civilian control) and 2.1% of
Area C (exclusive Israeli control). The redeployment would have
tripled the amount of territory under exclusive Palestinian control in
the West Bank. The Palestinians rejected the Israeli Cabinet decision,
thus causing the delay of its implementation on the ground.
**********************************************************************
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