From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
To: "Arutz-7 List"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 01:08:29 +0000
Subject: Israel News: Tuesday, December 2, 1997
From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il>
To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, December 2, 1997
Arutz Sheva News Service
Tuesday, December 2, 1997 / Kislev 3, 5758
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. SHARON MAP INCLUDES ALL YESHA COMMUNITIES
2. NETANYAHU IN SUPPORT OF YESHA
3. CHAMISH CALLS IT QUITS
* * *SPECIAL INSERT:
Myths and Facts About Jewish Settlements
1. SHARON MAP INCLUDES ALL YESHA COMMUNITIES
"Every one of the Jewish communities is included in the security areas that
will remain under our control," said Minister Ariel Sharon last night on
national television. He was referring to the map he prepared which
outlines areas vital to Israel's interest. Sharon will present the map
this week to his ministerial colleagues on a committee formed to formulate
principles for the permanent-status arrangement. Leading members of the
Yesha Council are concerned, however, about other aspects of the map, and
are making efforts to have it changed. Sharon said, "A normal person in
another country in a similar situation would attempt to have his country
keep as much as possible for itself. Yet, here there seems to be a general
wail crying out, 'Why do you give away so little? Give more!' What we have
to do, and what we can do, is to ensure that every area that is vital to
our security and existence, remains in our hands." The studio audience
responded to these remarks with applause.
2. NETANYAHU IN SUPPORT OF YESHA
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu denied last night that he plans to
isolate Jewish communities, as is the case with Netzarim and Kfar Darom in
Gush Katif, or to uproot them. In a meeting with regional council leader
of Judea and Samaria communities, Mr. Netanyahu said, "The more building -
with the necessary approvals - and the less talking, the better." The
ministerial staff responsible for preparing a permanent-status plan, headed
by the Prime Minister, will begin work tomorrow, and now hopes to finish
within a month.
MK Modi Zandberg (Tzomet) told Arutz-7 today that Prime Minister Netanyahu
told him that if Arafat unilaterally declares an independent state, Israel
will annex the Jordan Valley and other areas. Zandberg said that his party
plans to propose legislation to annex the Jordan Valley, something which
Netanyahu said he could not do at this time because "it would be in
violation of the Oslo agreement." Defense Minister Mordechai also related
today to the possibility of Arafat declaring a state, and said, "I hope he
will not violate the agreement in this way, but if he does, we have the
ability to take a series of one-time and one-way measures in response,
which I would not like to enumerate."
3. CHAMISH CALLS IT QUITS
Journalist Barry Chamish, who has been investigating the Rabin
assassination for almost two years, has announced that he will cease his
investigation of the topic. He said that he has received threats on his
life, and does not feel that he is receiving the necessary protection or
backing from those elements who should provide them. In a written
statement, Chamish stated, "I have exposed the truth about the Rabin
assassination. I have presented the police, medical and court documents
for public perusal and they prove to most reasonable people that Yigal Amir
just could not have fired the fatal shots... And now my job is done. In a
few months my book on the subject will be published in America... I will
contribute no more original research.... I will turn down offers of new
evidence for the conspiracy case. More than enough evidence has been
collected to justify the opening of an impartial commission of inquiry to
get to the bottom of the assassination. If the desire isn't there, new
evidence will not make an iota of a difference. The conspirators thus have
no reason to fear that I will reach the end of the trail which leads to
their door... I tried." Theories of a conspiracy behind the Rabin
assassination have been rejected by politicians on both left and right.
SPECIAL INSERT
Myths and Facts About Jewish Settlements
(communicated by the Israel Government Press Office)
1) Myth: The Oslo Accords prohibit the expansion of Jewish settlements in
Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
Fact: Neither the Declaration of Principles (DOP) of September 13, 1993
nor the Interim Agreement ("Oslo 2") of September 28, 1995 contains any
provisions prohibiting or restricting the establishment or expansion of
Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
When he presented the Oslo 2 accords before the Knesset on October 5,
1995, the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin stated, "I wish to remind you,
we made a commitment, meaning we reached an agreement, we made a commitment
to the Knesset not to uproot any settlement in the framework of the Interim
Agreement, nor to freeze construction and natural growth."
Under Article XXXI(5) of Oslo 2, the issue of Jewish settlements is to be
addressed in the final status negotiations. According to an internal Israel
Foreign Ministry legal analysis prepared on March 18, 1996 by Joel Singer,
the Foreign Ministry Legal Advisor under the Labor Government, Israel
rejected Palestinian attempts to bar new Jewish settlements in the context
of the Oslo process. According to Singer, "In the course of the
negotiations on the DOP, the representatives of the PLO tried to obtain a
clause prohibiting Israel from establishing new settlements. Israel
rejected this demand." Thus, Yasser Arafat agreed to the Oslo Accords
despite the fact that he failed to achieve a halt in settlement activity in
the interim period.
2) Myth: The expansion of Jewish settlements is an obstacle to peace.
Fact: Under the previous Labor government, the Jewish population of the
West Bank and Gaza grew by approximately 50%, from 96,158 in June 1992 to
145,000 in June 1996. This rapid growth occurred concurrently with the
signing of the September 1993 Oslo Accords and the September 1995 Oslo 2
Accords and did not forestall progress in the peace process.
As the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said, "I am not ready for there
to be a law in Israel to forbid building houses in existing settlements, or
a kindergarten or a cultural center in a place where people live today."
(AP, January 10, 1995) Former Prime Minister Shimon Peres also stated,
"Building which is necessary for normal life, like schools, private
apartments, we are not going to stop." (Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January
25, 1995)
3) Myth: Israel confiscates land to build settlements.
Fact: As a matter of policy, Israel does not requisition private land for
the establishment of Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Housing
construction is allowed only on public land after an exhaustive
investigation has confirmed that no private rights exist regarding the land
in question.
**********************************************************************
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 PA Blasts Israel Proposals
** 2 Netanyahu: "Historic Opportunity"
** 3 A Meager Offer
** 4 US: We're Waiting for the Maps
-*-
** 1. PA BLASTS ISRAEL PROPOSALS
In Ramallah last night, Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat
said the Cabinet's redeployment plan is an attempt to avoid
implementing signed agreements. Yasser Abed Rabbo called it a
"surrender" to the Israeli "extreme right." Hanan Ashrawi called it a
very transparent maneuver that could strike to the legitimacy of the
peace process.
Arafat's aide Marawan Kanafani was more positive about the plan, but
said, "it's encouraging to see the Israeli government finally deciding
that it will abide and respect the agreements signed between us and
the Israelis concerning the redeployment, however, there are some
wording ...that makes us a little worried." {KOL ISRAEL 12/1 H}
** 2. NETANYAHU: "HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY"
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has called on PA Chairman Yasser
Arafat "to respond positively to the government's suggestion and not
to miss an historic opportunity to advance the peace.
Sixteen ministers supported the Prime Minister's proposal for a
second-phase redeployment from the West Bank and only two abstained.
As of now, the ministers have only approved the principle of a
withdrawal and a separate committee, headed by the Prime Minister will
decide on its scope. {YEDIOT AHARONOT 12/1 H}
** 3. A MEAGER OFFER
The following opinion of the latest peace initiative from Israel was
published in Palestinian newspaper "Al-Quds":
"The most convincing proof of the Israeli government's lack of
seriousness in its last meager offer, full of tough conditions and has
left open how much to transfer and when, is the ongoing feverish
settlement campaign launched by the Netanyahu government to annex as
much as possible more Arab lands despite US Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright's call for a 'time-out' or even a slowdown in
settlement construction."
"The approval of plans to build 900 houses in Alfei Menashe
settlement, 26 houses in Nisamit settlement north of Jabaliya refugee
camp in the Gaza Strip, and 39 houses in Katzrin in the Golan Heights,
is clear cut proof to its lack of seriousness. Although the Israeli
peace initiative was vague in terms of specifying locations due to be
surrendered or to timing, the settlement plans were however more
specific, mentioning in detail the number of houses to be built and
all relevant details."
"In conclusion, the Netanyahu government is preoccupied with stepping
up settlement activities and has no interest whatsoever in advancing
the peace process which will impede the realization of such plans. The
Israeli offer remains just another tactical ploy to prolong occupation
and give the Israeli rulers the opportunity to capture more
Palestinian land" the editorial remarked. {AL-QUDS 2/12 H}
** 4. US: WE'RE WAITING FOR THE MAPS
The US is angry with the Netanyahu government's decision reached on
Sunday in connection to the second phase withdrawal. In closed
discussions, officials at the State Department have characterized
Netanyahu's initiative as "confused and vague."
An official State Department message released yesterday stated:
"Netanyahu's announcement is a step in the right direction, but now we
have to see how much substance is in it."
The State Department spokesman, James Rubin, emphasized that the
United States expects that the next phase will be "defined and
reliable."
He also stressed that the Americans have assured the Palestinians that
the three phases will be carried out "according to the agreements, no
later than the middle of 1998." {YEDIOT AHARONOT 2/12 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.
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in the Rich Hebraic Heritage of our Faith.
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