Subject: Arutz-7 News: Jan 29 - Feb 4, 1998 Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 23:51:54 +0000 To: "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il> To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, January 29, 1998 Arutz Sheva News Service Thursday, January 29, 1998 / Shevat 2, 5758 ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday ---> See below for subscription instructions <--- ***SPECIAL INSERT: Arafat's Letters to Clinton and Blair Fail to Amend the PLO Covenant (communicated by the Israel Government Press Office) Following is a clarification of 4 myths concerning the PLO Covenant: 1) Myth: The PLO fulfilled its obligation to amend the Covenant when the Palestinian National Council (PNC) voted in April 1996 to alter the document. Fact: On September 9, 1993, in his exchange of letters with the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat committed himself to amending the articles in the PLO Covenant which deny Israel's right to exist or run counter to the PLO's other commitments, such as the renunciation of violence and terror. On April 24, 1996, the Palestinian National Council (PNC) convened in Gaza and adopted a resolution concerning the Covenant by a vote of 504 to 54 with 14 abstentions. Translated from the Arabic, the text of the resolution read as follows: "It has been decided upon: 1. Amending the National Charter by canceling the articles that are contrary to the letters exchanged between the PLO and the Government of Israel, on September 9 and 10, 1993. 2. The empowerment of a legal committee with the task of redrafting the National Charter. The Charter will be presented to the first meeting of the Central Council." The pivotal problem with the PNC resolution is that it did not change the Covenant. While the PNC declared its readiness in principle to change the document, the only practical step taken was the empowerment of a legal committee to draft a new Covenant for presentation at a future date. Since the Covenant is a legally binding document, declaring a willingness to alter it does not amount to amending it. No changes were adopted and implemented by the PNC, nor was there any specific mention of articles to be amended. In the Note for the Record which accompanied the January 15, 1997 Hevron Protocol, the PLO reaffirmed its commitment to "Complete the process of revising the Palestinian National Charter." In agreeing to this, the PLO was admitting that it had failed to change the Covenant in the April 1996 PNC vote, otherwise there would be no need to "complete the process" of revising it. 2) Myth: Chairman Arafat's recent letters to President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair set the record straight regarding which articles in the Covenant were changed. Fact: There are three problems with Chairman Arafat's recent letters concerning the PNC's April 1996 decision. First, the PNC resolution made no mention of specific articles which were being changed in the Covenant. Now, some 21 months after the PNC vote, Arafat is attempting to retroactively define the articles which the PNC members had in mind when they cast their votes. Second, Chairman Arafat's letters to President Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair contradict each other. In his letter to President Clinton, Arafat listed 12 articles which had been entirely nullified (Articles 6 to 10, 15, 19 to 23, and 30) and 16 others partially nullified (Articles 1 to 5, 11 to 14, 16 to 18, 25 to 27, and 29). In his letter to Blair, Arafat listed 9 articles which had been entirely nullified (Articles 6, 10, 15, 19 to 23 and 30) and 14 others which were partially nullified (Articles 1 to 5, 13, 14, 16 to 18, 25 to 27 and 29). Thus, Arafat asserted in his letter to Clinton that 28 articles in the Covenant had been altered, whereas in his letter to Blair he said that 23 had been changed. Third, Arafat's letters contradict statements made shortly after the PNC vote and repeated recently by a wide variety of senior Palestinian officials. Less than a month after the PNC vote, PNC Chairman Selim Zaanoun asserted that the Covenant had been amended but said that "no specific articles" were cancelled. (An-Nahar, May 16, 1996) In an interview on January 22, 1998, Faisal Hamdi Husseini, head of the PNC's legal committee, said "The change has not yet been carried out". The day after the PNC vote, Sufian Abu Zaidah, head of the PA's Israel desk, claimed that all 33 of the Covenant's articles had been "cancelled" and that it had been replaced by the PNC's 1988 Algiers declaration. (interview with Israel Radio, April 25, 1996) PA Planning Minister Nabil Shaath said after the vote that 16 articles had been altered while other PNC members claimed that 4, 7 or 10 articles had been changed (Jerusalem Post, May 1, 1996). Faisal Hamdi Husseini, head of the PNC's legal committee, said on May 5, 1996 that he would submit a new Covenant for approval at a later date in which 21 articles would be changed, thereby implying that none had been amended. (Jerusalem Post, May 6, 1996) At the time of the vote, other PLO officials acknowledged the Covenant had not been changed. PLO Executive Committee member Sakhr Habash said, "the text of the charter remains as it is since it has not been amended yet. Therefore, it is frozen, not cancelled." (An-Nahar, May 5, 1996) An internal report published shortly after the PNC vote by the Research and Thought Department of Arafat's Fatah faction of the PLO contained a similar determination. The report stated, "The text of the Palestinian National Covenant remains as it was and no changes whatsoever were made to it. This has caused it to be frozen, but not annulled." The PNC itself failed to make any mention of changing the Covenant in its closing statement. At the close of its session, on April 25, 1996, the PNC published a concluding document summarizing its activity. The statement included 19 specific resolutions and decisions on subjects ranging from Jerusalem to Israeli settlements, but contained no reference to any decision to amend the Covenant. (Al-Quds, April 26, 1996; Voice of Palestine, April 26, 1996) 3)Myth: Chairman Arafat's letters effectively complete the process of revising the Covenant. Fact: Article 33 of the Covenant states that the only body empowered to change the document is the Palestinian National Council (PNC) and that such changes must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the PNC in a special session. Thus, Chairman Arafat's letters are insufficient. Under the procedure outlined by the Covenant itself, Arafat's letters have no legal bearing on the text of the document. The PLO's obligation to convene the PNC in order to amend the Covenant remains unfulfilled. 4)Myth: The PLO Covenant is an outdated document of no significance. Fact: The Palestinian National Covenant is the founding charter of the PLO, delineating the organization's stated aims and goals. Its tenets are echoed daily in the rhetoric of Palestinian leaders and media. Almost all of the articles in the Covenant explicitly or implicitly deny Israel's right to exist and reject any peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. For example, Article 19 states, "the establishment of Israel is fundamentally null and void, whatever time has elapsed..." Article 22 asserts that, "the liberation of Palestine will destroy the Zionist and imperialist presence and will contribute to the establishment of peace in the Middle East...." The Covenant also denies the existence of the Jewish people as a nation and any ties that it might have to the Land of Israel (Article 20). It declares that "armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine and is therefore a strategy and not tactics" (Article 9). A document Israel submitted to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in mid-January 1998 details the necessary steps to amend the Covenant: "Stage One a. issuance of a statement by the legal committee specifying the articles of the Covenant which were amended or annulled in accordance with the April 1996 Palestinian National Council (PNC) decision (i.e. the articles in the Covenant which are inconsistent with the Palestinian obligations in the framework of the peace process). Stage Two b. reconvening of the PNC to pass a new resolution which affirms the statement issued by the legal committee concerning which specific articles in the Covenant were amended or annulled. At the same time, the Palestinian Authority must refrain from replacing the articles with other articles which contradict the agreements and/or the peace process, for such a step would be considered a failure to fulfill their obligation to amend the requisite articles in the Covenant." To comply with their obligation, the Palestinians must amend 26 of the 33 articles in the Covenant which deny Israel's right to exist or advocate violence and terror. The articles which must be changed are: 1-15, 18-23, 25-27 29 and 30. The Covenant's continued relevance to Palestinians was underlined by a recent article in the official PA newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, which said, "many in the Palestinian public still believe in the Covenant and see it as our nations' only source of authority in the current and upcoming stages of the conflict... The Covenant from 'A' to 'Z' is a Palestinian document which battles the Zionists..." (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, October 19, 1997) As the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said in a speech to the Knesset on October 5, 1995, "the Palestinian Authority has not up until now honored its commitment to change the Palestinian Covenant... I view these changes as a supreme test of the Palestinian Authority's willingness and ability, and the changes required will be an important and serious touchstone vis-a-vis the continued implementation of the agreement as a whole." *********************************************************************** From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il> To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, January 30, 1998 Arutz Sheva News Service Friday, January 30, 1998 / Shevat 3, 5758 ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday ---> See below for subscription instructions <--- TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. AMERICAN-ISRAELI CONTACTS 2. ALBRIGHT MEETINGS 1. AMERICAN-ISRAELI CONTACTS Intense contacts between Israel and the United States continued today in light of the increasing tensions in the Persian Gulf. After Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met yesterday with American Ambassador Walker, the latter met with Minister Ariel Sharon. The hot line between the Pentagon and the Israeli Defense Ministry was activated last night to allow Defense Minister Yitzchak Mordechai and American Defense Secretary William Cohen to discuss the issues. 2. ALBRIGHT MEETINGS U.S. Secretary of State Albright will dine with Prime Minister Netanyahu in his home on Saturday night. At the same time, a demonstration has been called by the Yesha Council and other organizations outside the Prime Minister's home under the theme, "Don't pressure Netanyahu, and don't strengthen Saddam's brother Arafat." Albright will apparently push Clinton's proposal for a staged withdrawal, which Arafat has already rejected. Top Netanyahu aide David Bar Illan said that this points up the "basic problem of the Oslo agreements, namely, that the Palestinians have absolutely no intention of ever fulfilling their commitments." Albright will meet with Defense Minister Mordechai on Sunday morning, and then with President Weizmann. She is scheduled to depart from Israel early Sunday afternoon. ********************************************************************** From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il> To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, February 1, 1998 Arutz Sheva News Service Sunday, February 1, 1998 / Shevat 5, 5758 ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday ---> See below for subscription instructions <--- TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. AMERICAN ATTACK ON IRAQ STILL A POSSIBILITY 2. PLO CHARTER: UNCHANGED 3. JERUSALEM ENVIRONS BEING TAKEN OVER 4. ALBRIGHT COMES AND GOES 5. KING IN ILL HEALTH 1. AMERICAN ATTACK ON IRAQ STILL A POSSIBILITY Defense Minister Yitzchak Mordechai confirmed this morning that Israel had requested the U.S. to supply it with hundreds of thousands of biological-attack inoculations. The American administration acceded to the request. Mordechai said that the request was made before the present American-Iraqi crisis broke out. The government's mini-security cabinet - including Ministers Mordechai, Sharon, Rafael Eitan, and Matza - met today after the regular weekly government meeting to discuss the preparations of the Home Front Command against chemical and biological attacks. One Israeli television reporter explained the increasing rush by citizens on Home Front Command gas mask supply stations by saying, "The more the officials say that there is nothing to worry about, the more the public starts to worry." 2. PLO CHARTER: UNCHANGED The PLO's governing board convened last night in Ramallah, for the stated purpose of changing the PLO charter calling for Israel's destruction. Defense Minister Yitzchak Mordechai said that this was the "first small step towards the voiding of the PLO covenant calling for Israel's destruction, but not sufficient." Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh agreed, adding that the only way to change the PLO charter is for the entire Palestinian National Council to convene and cancel the anti-Israel passages. Director of Policy Planning and Communications in the Prime Minister's Office David Bar-Illan, speaking with Arutz-7 today, said, "I don't want to tell the Palestinians how to change their charter, but the charter itself says that it can only be changed by a 2/3 majority of the Palestinian National Council, and not by any other body, and certainly not by a letter written by Arafat or anyone else." Bar-Illan said that PLO governing board did not even convene for the purpose of changing the charter, but rather to discuss Arafat's letter to U.S. President Clinton on the issue. 3. JERUSALEM ENVIRONS BEING TAKEN OVER A report submitted this week by top security personnel to the Prime Minister claims that the areas adjacent to Jerusalem have become a "vacuum that has drawn in the Palestinian security services." Nadav Haetzni of Haaretz, who saw a copy of the report, told Arutz-7 today that its main thrust is that despite the fact that the security control of the areas surrounding Jerusalem is officially Israeli, this is hardly felt. "The areas east, south, and north of the city have, practically speaking, become Palestinian Authority-controlled areas," he said. The report notes that both Palestinian security personnel and criminals have taken advantage of the fact that the Israeli police are not there, and these areas have become havens for violent Palestinian arrests and beatings, on the one hand, and car thieves and drug dealers, on the other. The report concludes, "All of the Palestinian intelligence services are active in Jerusalem to one extent or another." Haetzni said that the report emphasizes the widespread Palestinian efforts to create as many demographic facts on the ground as possible. Some 60,000 Israeli-Arabs live in 37 villages in these areas, and the report notes Arafat's intentions to give "top preference" to these areas. The Jerusalem municipal border has been blurred [with Arab construction] in some areas, many Arab roads and construction projects have been built, and many lands have been prepared for agricultural use. Other PA measures include: the nixing of a $12 million deal involving the sale of 600 dunams (approx. 150 acres) to Jews, the relocation of PA offices to the area, the planning of a new city northwest of the Ramot neighborhood, and others. 4. ALBRIGHT COMES AND GOES U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright announced today that the Israelis and Palestinians will send emissaries to Washington to continue discussions on the diplomatic process. She met with Prime Minister Netanyahu last night for four and an half hours, and with Yasser Arafat for two hours today. In a speech to reporters at the Laromme Hotel in Jerusalem today, before departing for Saudi Arabia, she said that there had been a measure of progress, but not as much as she had hoped for. Netanyahu apparently told her that Israel could not execute a withdrawal from 10% of Judea and Samaria, but implied that 9% would be possible. Our correspondent notes that it was Mr. Netanyahu who first raised the possibility of a withdrawal as large as 6-8% over two months ago, on Nov. 22, 1997. 5. KING IN ILL HEALTH In a letter shown last night on Jordanian television, King Hussein of Jordan wrote to his brother Crown Prince Hassan that he is losing weight, tired, and ill. The 62-year old king is presently in a hospital in England, where he is being treated for an infection in his lymph nodes. Four years ago a cancerous growth was removed from his kidney. ************************************************************************ From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il> To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, February 2, 1998 Arutz Sheva News Service Monday, February 2, 1998 / Shevat 6, 5758 ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday ---> See below for subscription instructions <--- TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. PA PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 2. REV JOHN HAGEE DONATES A MILLION 1. PA PREPARATIONS FOR WAR While Israeli were enjoying a day off during the recent snowstorm, the Palestinian Authority was taking advantage of the opportunity to hold a special war exercise, using bulldozers posing as snow removal equipment. The PA has a plan to use the bulldozers to dig tunnels and erect obstacles in order to hold up the advancement of IDF forces during time of war. This is but one of the many preparations being made by the PA for a war with Israel, Time magazine reports in its current issue. Time reports that the Palestinians are equipped with katyusha rockets whose range is 20 kilometers, the distance between Ramallah and downtown Jerusalem, and between Gaza and Ashkelon. Yesha Council Deputy Chief Shlomo Filber confirmed the information in a talk with Arutz-7 today, and said that these preparations have been going on for the past four years, parallel with their negotiations with Israel. He adds that they have been engaged in smuggling and storing all sorts of explosives and weapons, using Mediterranean and Dead Sea routes, tunnels in Gaza, and even Arafat's helicopter. The storehouses include mines, Kalachnikov rifles, artillery, and much more. "The Prime Minister's Office is worried about these developments," Filber said, "and it is for this reason that it is insisting so strongly on the confiscation of illegal weapons and the reduction of the Palestinian police force to the levels designated by the Oslo agreement." When asked about the dangers to the Jewish communities in Yesha of an armed clash, Filber said that protecting the communities is one of the main objectives of the IDF defense plans for such an eventuality, and that he doesn't think the towns will be directly threatened. He reminded the listeners that one of the first objections of the Yesha Council to the Oslo process was, "Don't give them guns," and that the Council foresaw the explosively dangerous situation that has been developing since then. 2. REVEREND DONATES A MILLION Rev. John Hagee, pastor of the 16,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, will donate $1 million to the United Jewish Appeal to underwrite the cost of immigration from the former Soviet Union to Israel. JTA reports that The Evangelical Christian leader is scheduled to present the donation today to Eliyahu Ben-Elissar, Israel's ambassador to the United States, at the National Religious Broadcasters' conference in Washington. Rev. Hagee and his family will be singing tonight in one of the conference events. *********************************************************************** From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il> To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, February 3, 1998 Arutz Sheva News Service Tuesday, February 3, 1998 / Shevat 7, 5758 ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday ---> See below for subscription instructions <--- TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. EITAN MOST SCARED OF MEDIA THREAT 2. ISRAEL GOES WARM TURKEY 3. LABOR MK: WRONG MOVE FOR ARAFAT 4. 19TH PRISONER KILLED IN PALESTINIAN PRISON 1. EITAN MOST SCARED OF MEDIA THREAT Despite foreign news agency reports, the Israeli populace remains calm, by and large, in the face of a threat from Iraq. More people are arriving at Home Front Command stations to receive their gas masks - 22,000 yesterday - but the mood is upbeat. The IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Amnon-Lipkin Shachak, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today that there is a "very very low chance that Israel will be attacked by Iraq." At a press conference, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz said that Saddam Hussein still has some non-conventional weaponry left, but the amounts are very small and the launchers are few. General Staff officer Brig.-Gen. Amos Gilad said, "Saddam has to reach a state of desperation before he launches a missile attack on us." The press conference was part of a new policy to explain the issue publicly. Science Minister Michael Eitan blamed the media for exacerbating the public jitters; when asked which he thought was more dangerous, the threat of Anthrax from Iraq or the katyushas from the Palestinians, responded, "The Anthrax of the media." On the other hand, the Knesset Finance Committee approved today an added budget outlay of 250 million shekels for Home Front Command preparations for an Iraqi attack. The German newspaper Die Welt reports that Germany and Russia are transferring military equipment to Iraq via Jordan. The paper also says that Saddam still has advanced-technology mass-slaughter weaponry. 2. ISRAEL GOES WARM TURKEY Relations between Israel and Turkey continue to thrive. Turkey's Ground Forces Commander will arrive today in Israel as a guest of the IDF, while a delegation of Knesset Members is presently visiting in Turkey. The MKs, headed by Knesset Speaker Dan Tichon (Likud), met with Turkey's President Suleiman Demirel, who expressed strong support for the continued warm relations with Israel. 3. LABOR MK: WRONG MOVE FOR ARAFAT MK Nissim Zvilli (Labor) said yesterday that if Yasser Arafat in fact sent a letter of support to Saddam Hussein, as was reported yesterday, "he is repeating his mistake from six years ago, and endangering his people." Zvilli, one of the leaders of the Labor party, said that Arafat will find a solid and united Israeli front against him on this issue, one which will cross party lines. A delegation of Labor MKs is visiting Ramallah today, as guests of the Palestinian Authority. 4. 19TH PRISONER KILLED IN PALESTINIAN PRISON A Palestinian prisoner died in the Palestinian police station in Dura, near Hevron. 20-year old Nasser al-Hurub died after being severely beaten by Palestinian officers. He is the 19th prisoner to have died in Palestinian prison since the inception of the Palestinian autonomy. *********************************************************************** From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il> To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, February 4, 1998 Arutz Sheva News Service Wednesday, February 4, 1998 / Shevat 8, 5758 ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday ---> See below for subscription instructions <--- TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. ARAB RIGHT OF RETURN RAISED 2. IRAQI AMBASSADOR SAYS NOT TO WORRY 3. ARAFAT ORDERS TWO TERRORISTS RELEASED 1. ARAB RIGHT OF RETURN RAISED Yasser Arafat's deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, said that the Palestinian Authority is planning to demand the right of return for all Arab refugees from 1948. In an interview with an Abu Dhabi television station, a transcript of which appears in today's edition of the Jerusalem paper Al Kuds, Abu Mazen mentions specifically the Arabs of Haifa and Jaffa in this connection. He said that the total Palestinian population here and abroad numbers seven million. 2. IRAQI AMBASSADOR SAYS NOT TO WORRY The Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations said that Iraq does not have the wherewithal to attack Israel. In response to a question from Israel broadcast over CNN, Ambassador Nizar Hamdoun said that Iraq no longer has long-range missiles or mass-slaughter ammunition. He also said that Iraq has not threatened Israel since the onset of the present crisis. Russian President Boris Yeltsin told ministers in his government that U.S. President Clinton is liable to start a world war if he attacks Iraq. 3. ARAFAT ORDERS TWO TERRORISTS RELEASED AP reports that Yasser Arafat has ordered the early release of two Palestinian terrorists jailed for planning a January 1995 bombing that killed 21 Israelis. Aziz Shami and Omar Shalah were convicted in a Palestinian military court in April 1995 for their involvement in a suicide bombing at the Beit Lid junction near Netanyah. The two are on a list of 31 prisoners that Arafat has granted pardons or early releases in honor of the Ramadan. Shami will be released next year after serving four years of his 15-year sentence, and Shalah will be released in four months, after serving three years of his 25-year sentence. Both are members of the militant terrorist group Islamic Jihad. ***********************************************************************