Subject: Arutz-7 News: May 13-14, 1998 Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 02:09:24 +0000 To: "Arutz-7 List"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il> To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il, arutz7-b@ploni.virtual.co.il Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, May 13, 1998 Arutz Sheva News Service Wednesday, May 13, 1998 / Iyar 17, 5758 / 32 days to the Omer ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday --- See below for subscription instructions --- TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. ISRAEL STRIKES BACK 2. NETANYAHU VISIT SHROUDED IN FOG 3. 80% OF ISRAELIS AGAINST WITHDRAWAL NOW 4. ALTERNATIVE TO NRP? 5. EUROPE EXPANDS BOYCOTT ON YESHA GOODS 6. TODAY'S QUOTES 1. ISRAEL STRIKES BACK Israeli security forces dealt a stunning blow to terrorist bases in Lebanon last night. Ten terrorists were killed and over 20 were wounded in the Israel Air Force's attack against the Fatah's Abu Mussa base. Syria has accused Israel of dangerously escalating the tensions in Lebanon. The multi-national Monitoring Committee that was established two years ago following Operation Grapes of Wrath determined today that Lebanon had violated the understandings then reached. 2. NETANYAHU VISIT SHROUDED IN FOG Confusing messages continue to emanate from the Prime Minister, as he makes his way to Washington for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Albright. He said last night that he plans to reach an agreed-upon policy plan with the Americans, and that coalition threats will not deter him. He also emphasized that Israel stands firm in its reciprocity demand of the Palestinians, including the transfer of wanted terrorists to Israel. In the words of Arutz-7's news editor Yehoshua Mor-Yosef, "It remains to be seen what 'creative solution' Netanyahu will employ to turn 9% into 13% without anyone in Israel noticing that he has done so." Minister of Infrastructures Ariel Sharon turned down Netanyahu's invitation to participate in the talks with Albright. Sharon recently criticized the Prime Minister for harming Israel's security with his willingness to carry out a withdrawal from more than 9% of Yesha. Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Yigal Bibi (NRP) told Arutz-7 that he regretted Sharon's decision to turn down Netanyahu's invitation, as "two are better than one. MK Tzvi Hendel (NRP) sent a telegram to Sharon, in which he pleaded with him to take part in the meeting and "help the Prime Minister withstand the American pressure." 3. 80% OF ISRAELIS AGAINST WITHDRAWAL NOW A Gallup poll commissioned by IMRA yesterday shows that practically 80% of the Israeli Jewish public feels that a further withdrawal from Judea and Samaria must not be carried out under the present conditions. 64% feel that the Palestinians must first fulfill all their Oslo obligations, and another 14.3% say that the withdrawal must not be carried out under any conditions. Of those who voted for Shimon Peres in the last election, 66.5% oppose a withdrawal under the present conditions; this includes 6.9% who feel that it should not be carried out at all. 4. ALTERNATIVE TO NRP? Senior leaders in Judea and Samaria have begun to seriously act towards the formation of a new religious party as an alternative to the National Religious Party. Arutz-7 correspondent Kobi Sela reports that they feel that only the threat of a new party will force the NRP to resign from the coalition if the Prime Minister carries out the next withdrawal. One of the organizers of the initiative, Binyamin Region Religious Council head Natan Nathanson, told Arutz-7 that NRP voters have the right to expect that their party would stand more strongly than it has until now for the Land of Israel. 5. EUROPE EXPANDS BOYCOTT ON YESHA GOODS The European Union is acting to expand its boycott on Jewish-manufactured products from Judea and Samaria to include those from eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The EU Commission called on the ten member nations not to include products originating in these areas in the trade agreement between Europe and Israel. The agreement grants benefits to Israeli exporters. The Commission claims that these areas are not an inseparable part of the State of Israel, and that in any event the agreement only covers those areas that were included in Israel before the Six-Day War. 6. TODAY'S QUOTES "Opposition leader Ehud Barak's pledge that Beit El and Ofrah will remain in our hands forever puts to rest the myth that the settlements in Judea and Samaria are an obstacle to peace." - Science Minister Michael Eitan today, in an interview with Arutz-7. "As you know, the view of the United States is that the land to be transferred is to be determined by Israel. And what we are talking about here is what would be enough land in combination with security steps to put the peace process back on track. We are not telling Israel what land it has to return, and that is for it to decide." - U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin, in a briefing yesterday "The marriage rate in Tel Aviv is rising nicely, following a decrease last year." - Rabbi Yehuda Landau, responsible for the Marriages Office in the Tel Aviv Rabbinate. 28 Tel Aviv couples were registered to be married on Lag Ba'Omer - tomorrow - which is the first day since Passover that marriages are halakhically permitted to be held; 23 Tel Aviv weddings were held last year on lag Ba'Omer. ************************************************************************* From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il> To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il,arutz7-b@ploni.virtual.co.il Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday,May 14, 1998 Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.a7.org> Thursday, May 14, 1998 / Iyar 18, 5758 / Lag Ba'Omer ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday --- See below for subscription instructions --- TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. EIGHT ARABS KILLED IN P.A.-RUN RIOTS 2. OFFICIAL PALESTINIAN INCITEMENT PREPARED THE GROUND 3. MINISTER EITAN: SAME P.A. MISTAKES PROVE COSTLY 4. NETANYAHU LEANING TOWARDS CONCESSIONS 5. LABOR MK ATTACKS EU DECISION 6. MOSCOW SYNAGOGUE BOMBED 1. EIGHT ARABS KILLED IN P.A.-RUN RIOTS Violent rioting was the order of the day throughout Yesha, following a call by the Palestinian Authority to its residents to demonstrate and cause disturbances. The occasion: today is known by the PA as Palestinian Catastrophe Day, as the State of Israel was established on this day - May 14 - 50 years ago. In southern Ramallah, hundreds of Arabs stormed an Israel Defense Forces position. There were also disturbances in Hevron, Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, outside Psagot, and other places. Cars driven by Israelis were stoned in several places in Yesha, and two residents of the Yesha township Talmon were lightly injured. In another incident, IDF soldiers stationed nearby did not take action to protect a Jew who was threatened by a mob; he was forced to fire in the air to disperse his attackers. Two Border Guard policemen were injured in Arab riots near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. Disturbances of a more violent nature occurred throughout the Gaza region. Seven Arabs were killed, and an additional Palestinian policeman was killed by errant Palestinian bullets. The Katif, Morag, and Kisufim junctions were closed for many hours, thus isolating several Jewish communities, because of hundreds of Arabs demonstrating there; one resident had to be flown out by helicopter for dialysis treatment. Residents of the periphery of the community of Morag were evacuated to the center of the town, for fear that they would be attacked by the mobs. NRP MK Tzvi Hendel, a resident of Ganei Tal in Gush Katif, said that the timing of the riots and junction-closings was clearly orchestrated by the higher PA echelons. The IDF Commander in Gaza reported that the PA bussed in thousands of rioters to the various demonstration locations. 2. OFFICIAL PALESTINIAN INCITEMENT PREPARED THE GROUND Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that the past few days were marked by heavy incitement to violence against Jews in the official Palestinian press. The Palestinian Television repeatedly screened scenes from the intifada, and played a jingle featuring the refrain, "Netanyahu, Netanyahu, we will burn the ground from under your feet." Moledet MK Benny Elon told Arutz-7 that he sent a fax today to Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, urging him to return home immediately. "'The ground is burning,' I wrote to him. With all due respect to the important talks he is conducting in Washington, he must be here now to take charge of the situation. The last time there were riots of this sort, he was in Germany." NRP Knesset Member Tzvi Hendel said that there is nothing as ridiculous as the negotiation of additional transfer of territory to Arafat who, at the same time, is sponsoring and arranging this violence. Top IDF officials are studying the developing situation in Yesha. Defense Minister Yitzchak Mordechai instructed IDF commanders there to stay in contact with PA representatives, to reinforce positions as needed, and to act to prevent a deterioration of the situation in the field. 3. MINISTER EITAN: SAME P.A. MISTAKES PROVE COSTLY Minister of Science Michael Eitan, reacting to today's violence, declared: "It is too bad that the Palestinian leadership did not learn its lesson from 1948. In 1948, it preferred to wage war against the Jews in place of dialogue and co-existence, and therefore it is responsible for what it calls the 'catastrophe' that happened then. Now again, because of its misguided leadership, Palestinian blood is being shed for no reason. If there is no change in their policy, the Palestinians may find themselves commemorating additional 'catastrophes' that no one in Israel wants." 4. NETANYAHU LEANING TOWARDS CONCESSIONS Prime Minister Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Albright will meet again this afternoon in Washington, to agree on the exact extent and location of the upcoming withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. Senior figures in Netanyahu's entourage continue to deny that the withdrawal will be from more than 9% of Yesha, but most of the press reports emanating from Washington cite figures between 11 and 13%. The Prime Minister is apparently prepared to drop his demands for the extradition of terrorists, the confiscation of illegal weapons, and the down-sizing of the para-military police force to acceptable Oslo-agreement levels; he will insist only on the changing of the Palestinian charter. 5. LABOR MK ATTACKS EU DECISION MK Shalom Simchon (Labor), head of the secretariat of the Israel Agriculture Center, attacked the European Union for its decision to boycott Jewish-made products from Yesha, as well as those on the Israeli left who initiated the boycott. Simchon warned the EU that Israel would not allow Palestinian farmers to bring their produce to Israeli markets or ports if Israeli farmers - "whether they are in central Israel or in Gaza" - are not given equal consideration. Great Britain's Minister of Commerce Clinton Davis attempted to calm Israeli anger over the issue this afternoon. Speaking with reporters after a luncheon at a Tel Aviv hotel with Israeli industrialists, Davis said that the proposal must still be approved by the EU Ministers before it becomes operative. 6. MOSCOW SYNAGOGUE BOMBED Yet another anti-Semitic attack in Moscow occurred last night. Approximately one pound of explosives made a two-meter wide hole last night in an outer wall of the Chabad synagogue Marina Rosha, only minutes after 60 girls left the building. The same synagogue was bombed five years ago, causing its closing for many months. Despite the bombing, the traditional Lag Ba'Omer parade - sponsored by the synagogue - was held today in Moscow, under heavy police protection. ____________________________________________________________ Arutz-Sheva Educational Radio is a project of Bet-El Yeshiva Center Institutions. News and Op-Eds may be reproduced in any form with credit to Arutz Sheva; please include our e-mail address and URL. To subscribe (free) to Arutz-7 News Service: Send email to: listproc@list.virtual.co.il In body of email, type: subscribe arutz-7 <your fullname> If no name is submitted, your request will not be processed. To unsubscribe, type in body: unsubscribe arutz-7 For more information about Arutz-7's on-line services, send email to: info7@virtual.co.il - For an automated email about Arutz-7 editor7@virtual.co.il - to reach the News Desk webmaster7@virtual.co.il - to reach the Web Page editors ad7@virtual.co.il - for advertising information listmgr7@virtual.co.il - for subscription-related requests Visit our Web Site on the Virtual Jerusalem Server <http://www.a7.org> ************************************************************************ >From Pam Staley To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com Subject: Terms of dismemberment by Cal Thomas Jewish World Review / May 8, 1998 / 12 Iyar, 5758 Terms of Dismemberment by Cal Thomas THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION is attempting to pressure Israel into giving more land to the Palestinian Authority than Israel believes prudent to maintain its security needs. During meetings in London with Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told Netanyahu that easing America's insistence on Israel's pull-back from an additional 13 percent of land captured in the 1967 war is "not in the works." Albright hinted that if the Israelis don't cave, the United States might publicly disclose its entire "peace package," which promises additional pressure on Israel. As we have come to expect from the State Department and its chief apologist for the Palestine Liberation Organization, Dennis Ross, the formula for a peace settlement is all wrong. It isn't Israel that is threatening its enemies with extinction. It isn't Israel that has failed to live up to the Oslo accords. Israel asks only that the Palestinian Authority abide by the accords in order for confidence to be built and peaceful coexistence to be established. If only American "pressure cookers" would examine Arafat's words to his Arab colleagues, they would see the folly of believing what he tells them. In an interview on April 18 with Egypt's Orbit Satellite Television Channel, Arafat compared the Oslo accords to the broken truce Muhammad signed with the Koreish tribe 1,300 years ago. All options are open to the Palestinian people, Arafat said, and he likened his orders to cease terrorist attacks against Israel to those of Muhammad, who agreed to a 10-year truce with the Koreish tribe, which was opposed by one of his top aides, Omar Bin Khatif. Khatif called it the "inferior peace." In the interview, Arafat said, "I do not compare myself to the prophet, but I do say that we must learn from his steps and those of Salah al-Din (the Arab leader who drove the Crusaders out of Jerusalem 800 years ago). The peace agreement which we signed is an "inferior peace.'" Arafat suggested "we remain quiet. We respect agreements the way that the prophet Muhammad and Salah al-Din respected the agreements which they signed." A reasonable person might conclude that Arafat has no intention of living up to the Oslo accords and will use the techniques of Muhammad and modern "diplomacy" to extract as many land concessions as he can from Israel and then launch a war, perhaps with the aid of his Arab neighbors, to grab the rest, including all of pre-1967 Israel and all of Jerusalem, which he has declared many times is his ultimate objective. Based on his history of attempting to keep that promise, why should Arafat's pledges not to strike Israel if he gets 13 percent more land be believed? It is an outrage for the U.S. government to impose a peace settlement on a sovereign nation in light of Arafat's clear objectives and his stated unwillingness to honor the Oslo accords. Albright and Dennis Ross should be questioned about why they believe Arafat's nice words to the international community but not his comments to his own people. They should also be asked why Israel should not believe Arafat wants all the land and every Jew out of it, including Jerusalem. The United States can afford to be wrong about Arafat's intentions. Israel can't. ++++++++++++++++++++ Shalom Voices United for Israel Voices United For Israel: http://www.mindspring.com/~voicesunited ************************************************************************ From: Pam Staley To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com Subject: Press Bulletin Jerusalem, May 11, 1998 A Unilateral Declaration of Palestinian Statehood Would Scuttle the Oslo Accords The Agreement Under the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is obligated to negotiate with Israel the permanent status of Judea, Samara and Gaza. The September 28, 1995 Interim Agreement (Oslo 2) states that Neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations=94 (Article XXXI (7)). the intention of this article is to ensure that neither side takes unilateral measures to alter the legal status of the areas (such as annexation or declaration of statehood). The accord also states that the issues to be covered in the final status talks are to include: (Jerrusalem, refugees, settlements, security arrangements, borders, relations and cooperation with other neighbors, and other issues of common interest) (Article XXXI(6)). Thus, the PA is obligated to negotiate these issues with Israel. The Violation PA Chairman Arafat and other senior Palestinian leaders have repeatedly stated their intention to unilaterally declare the establishment of a Palestinian state in May 1999. This would render the Oslo Accords null and void. If Chairman Arafat unilaterally declares the establishment of a Palestinian state without negotiating the matter with Israel, it would scuttle the Oslo Accords and compel Israel to consider taking unilateral measures of its own. ************************************************************************ The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition Thursday, May 14, 1998 18 Iyar 5758 NO PROGRESS IN DC TALKS By JAY BUSHINSKY and news agencies WASHINGTON (May 14) - Talks here yesterday between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright aimed at getting the peace process back on track broke up after 90 minutes. While there was no indication whether headway was made, the State Department announced that Netanyahu and Albright would meet again today "in a continuation of this effort to overcome remaining differences." Albright left the downtown hotel where the talks were held immediately after the session without making any comment. Officials said working groups representing Israel and the US would continue the dialogue in the interim, in an effort to find a formula for an IDF withdrawal in the West Bank that would be acceptable to the Palestinian Authority. Israel Radio last night quoted a senior Israeli source in Washington as saying that the two sides were discussing a previously reported possibility of staging the second redeployment in two phases - the first of 9 percent and the second of unstated size, after the Palestinians fulfill a series of obligations. Netanyahu has denied knowledge of any two-stage plan. Netanyahu went into his meeting with Albright in a feisty mood. The session took place in the prime minister's hotel less than five hours after his Israel Air Force jet landed at Washington Airport. The prime minister expressed regret that National Infrastructure Minister Ariel Sharon had refused at the last minute to join him at the talks and also had declined to confer with him in advance of the crucial meeting with Albright. "It is essential to support the prime minister," he said. Asserting that he is in the midst of a "difficult campaign," Netanyahu told Israeli reporters that it is necessary "to stand shoulder to shoulder opposite the Americans." He denied that he has been keeping the inner cabinet in the dark about his discussions with American intermediaries. Sharon has accused Netanyahu of making commitments to the US peace team without cabinet authorization. Without specifying the exact percentage of West Bank territory from which the IDF could withdraw, Netanyahu expressed pride in having "lowered the Palestinians' expectations" by reducing the area being considered for evacuation "from 90% to 13%." He added that he has no doubt he will be able to get the projected redeployment through the cabinet and the Knesset. Netanyahu said the Palestinian Authority does not merit any territorial flexibility or compromise on Israel's part. "There has been no abrogation of the Palestinian National Covenant by the Palestinian National Council," he said, noting that Arafat had promised to revise the covenant in a letter to President Bill Clinton. "Why is it so difficult to convene the PNC?" he asked. Netanyahu also charged that the PA has not acted effectively or consistently in trying to suppress terrorist activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He termed this an outright violation of the Hebron Agreement, despite the fact that it was concluded under American auspices. Hours before Netanyahu and Albright sat down, Clinton and Albright's spokesman sought to underscore Israel's strong ties with the United States. In Potsdam, Germany, Clinton said the administration is not prescribing all the terms for a settlement, but only trying to guide Israel and the Palestinians "over the hurdle" of a stalemate. Clinton said he is "hoping we can find an agreement based on the ideas we've presented." "We haven't tried to find a formula to resolve all the issues," Clinton told reporters. "We've tried to find a formula to get them over the hurdle." Following his afternoon meeting with Albright, Netanyahu was to go to Capitol Hill, where he already has considerable support for his position on the US withdrawal formula. At the State Department, spokesman James Rubin said, "Our ideas are virtually identical with the essential elements of the desires of the prime minister.... We believe Israel is engaged in an effort with us to put the peace process back on track." However, Clinton cautioned that "far more bad things are likely to happen than good things" with delay. And Rubin cautioned, "This phase of our efforts is rapidly drawing to a close." Meanwhile, Sharon, who is in New York, explained his reasons for not attending the Netanyahu-Albright meeting. "I am not willing to lend my hand to discussions that are held without the approval of the Israeli government," he told Channel 1. Netanyahu would not comment directly on Sharon's statement. Instead he said, "I expected every minister, at this difficult hour, to give me their support. I am doing what is necessary and fighting with all my strength to protect our vital interests for Israel's future." ***********************************************************************