Subject: Arutz-7 News: June 23-24, 1998
Date:    Thu, 25 Jun 1998 00:03:46 +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: Tuesday, June 23, 1998

Arutz Sheva News Service
     <http://www.a7.org> 
Tuesday, June 23, 1998 / Sivan 29, 5758 
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
  --- See below for subscription instructions ---


TODAY'S HEADLINES:
  1. STILL UNDECIDED ON REFERENDUM
  2. ARAB MK CALLS FOR MURDER OF ARAB LAND-SELLERS
  3. ARUTZ-7 QUESTIONING AND SUPPORT CONTINUE
  4. TENT-CITY PROTEST AGAINST WITHDRAWAL

1. STILL UNDECIDED ON REFERENDUM
Government-coalition voices against the holding of a referendum on the
second withdrawal issue are increasing.  Minister Shaul Yahalom of the
National Religious Party said that a plebiscite of this sort is "an attempt
to bypass the democratic-chosen institutions and to distort the voice of
the people who negated the path of the previous government."  Likud MK
Naomi Blumental said that there are many crucial issues on the agenda of
the State of Israel, and "we cannot afford to conduct a plebiscite for each
one."  On the other hand, Moti Karpel of the Jewish Leadership movement is
in favor:  "True, we [the anti-withdrawal forces] will lose, but we will be
a large minority, which will form the basis for a concrete alternative.
When the 'fruits of Oslo' ripen, we will be able to harvest them."  Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is known to be in favor of a binding
referendum, although he said today that he had not yet made a decision on
the matter.

2. ARAB MK CALLS FOR MURDER OF ARAB LAND-SELLERS
Knesset Members of the Knesset Interior Committee toured the archaeological
dig at the Ateret Cohanim property near Flower Gate in the Old City today,
where Arab MK Salah Salim caused an uproar by calling outright for the
continued murder of Arabs who sell land to Jews.  Arutz-7 correspondent
Haggai Huberman reports that Salim cried out, "When I see how the Jews are
taking over these lands in Jerusalem, I am amazed at the Palestinians who
do not continue to kill the land-dealers, and I call upon them to continue
to kill them."  Even after MKs Benny Elon and Nisan Slomiansky protested
his remarks, Salim called again for the murder of the Arab sellers.  The
police have announced that they will begin a criminal investigation into
the matter, and will ask Knesset Speaker Dan Tichon for permission to
question Salim on charges of inciting to violence.

The MKs also toured the Shiloach neighborhood in the ancient City of David.
 Several Jewish families have moved into the neighborhood in the past few
weeks, below Dung Gate, and it is now mostly Jewish.  

3. ARUTZ-7 QUESTIONING AND SUPPORT CONTINUE
The police questioning of Arutz-7 employees continued today.  Chief News
Editor Haggai Segal was questioned this morning, as were several
technicians, members of the ship's crew, and employees of the Arutz-7
advertising department.  Many letters of support for Arutz-7 have been
received at the station (by mail and e-mail) from all around the world.
Rabbi Aaron Soloveitchik, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University in New York,
transmitted a message in which he expressed sorrow that "you, who give over
Torah in the greater Land of Israel, and teach the Land of Israel via the
Torah, must stand against these libels, etc....  Both of these represent
strength, and in their merit, may you be strengthened, continue to
strengthen others, and all of Israel will be strengthened."  

4. TENT-CITY PROTEST AGAINST WITHDRAWAL
A makeshift tent city is scheduled to be inhabited, beginning this evening,
by Yesha families, in protest of the possibility of an upcoming withdrawal.
 Some 50 families from Maaleh Levonah and Elon Moreh are expected to take
up residence for the next several days in a lot outside the Prime
Minister's Office, calling upon the government not to abandon their
communities as lone enclaves within Palestinian Authority territory.  The
tent-city protest method was used four years ago before the Labor
government withdrew from the Arab cities in Judea and Samaria; the Yesha
residents begged the government not to turn over parts of the Land of
Israel which would be used as places of refuge for Arab terrorists.  A
busload of families from Maaleh Levonah left this afternoon for the Western
Wall, where they participated in a large-scale "Children's Prayers"
ceremony with thousands of worshipers, on their way to the protest site.
 
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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, June 24, 1998

Arutz Sheva News Service
     <http://www.a7.org> 
Wednesday, June 24, 1998 / Rosh Chodesh Tammuz 5758 
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
  --- See below for subscription instructions ---


TODAY'S HEADLINES:
  1. YESHA FAMILIES HOLD LIVE-IN STRIKE AGAINST WITHDRAWAL
  2. MK RAMON ATTACKS NETANYAHU
  3. COMMUNICATIONS MINISTRY LEGAL DOCUMENT BACKS UP ARUTZ-7
  4. REFERENDUM ISSUE GAINS MOMENTUM, DESPITE MKs' RESERVATIONS
  5. OSLO ARCHITECT AGAINST PALESTINIAN UPGRADE

1. YESHA FAMILIES HOLD LIVE-IN STRIKE AGAINST WITHDRAWAL
Some thirty families from communities in Judea and Samaria are staging
a live-in strike outside the Prime Minister's Office. They are
protesting the government's intention to withdraw from extensive areas
in Yesha, and to abandon their communities in enclaves surrounded by
Palestinian autonomy. The families are from Maaleh Levonah, Elon
Moreh, and Revavah.  Next week, families from Beit El and other Yesha
communities are to take their turn there; residents of other locations
are also invited.  Rabbi Yair Shachor of Maaleh Levonah told Arutz-7
today, "There are a lot of reasons for being here, but among them is
that it is very important that those making the decisions should
actually see, hear, and meet face-to-face with the people who are
going to be affected by these decisions."   He said that the site of
the tent city is only 200 meters from the government buildings, and
that the "personal effect" was bound to be felt.  Rabbi Shachor said,
"The advantage of being here is that we are engaged in
around-the-clock activity:  Reporters are here, and we can meet with
Knesset Members and ministers, and talk to people in the street, and
more.  Even the students of Michlol Torah-Tech [a technological
yeshiva in Maaleh Levonah] have moved here and are holding their
classes here."

Demonstrations against the withdrawal are scheduled to take place in
dozens of intersections throughout the country tonight. 

2. MK RAMON ATTACKS NETANYAHU
Labor MK Chaim Ramon distributed a document among all the Knesset
Members today, in which he claims to show that Prime Minister
Netanyahu has not achieved any significant gains in the past six
months of negotiations with the PA.  Ramon says that in many
instances, the Israeli position has been worsened.  He revealed a
document that he said he received from American sources, according to
which Netanyahu has agreed to withdraw from 27% of Yesha: 12% to
Palestinian administrative control, and 15% to total Palestinian
control. In addition, Ramon said that the Prime Minister agreed not to
confiscate lands, to cease razing illegal Arab structures, and not to
significantly expand existing settlements, while the Palestinians have
agreed not to allow Arab building in Area C (Israeli area).   All
these were already agreed upon six months ago, according to Ramon, who
concludes that Netanyahu is "leading the nation astray" by making it
appear as if intense negotiations have been going on all this time. 
The Prime Minister's Office has denied Ramon's statement.  

3. COMMUNICATIONS MINISTRY LEGAL DOCUMENT BACKS UP ARUTZ-7 
The investigation of Arutz-7 employees continued today, and still more
employees have been summoned for tomorrow. Yediot Acharonot reports,
based on police sources, that the police will recommend indicting some
30 Arutz-7 employees. The Arutz-7 management claims that this is a
deliberate leak, designed to sow fear amongst Arutz-7 staff and
supporters. Arutz-7's lawyers submitted an affidavit of the legal
counsel of the Communications Ministry to the Supreme Court today,
according to which Arutz-7's broadcasts emanate from outside Israel's
territorial waters. The Court will hear the case in another two
months. 

4. REFERENDUM ISSUE GAINS MOMENTUM, DESPITE MKs' RESERVATIONS
The Knesset House Committee will hold its first withdrawal-referendum
session next week.  "After all, we've never had a referendum in Israel
before," said Committee Chairman Chanan Porat.  He admitted that the
chances that the right-wing will win such a referendum are slim. 
Porat also warned that we must not allow ourselves to become
distracted by the referendum issue and not remember the major issue of
"the tearing to pieces of parts of the Land of Israel."  He said,
however, that under certain circumstances some positive results could
be achieved as a consequence of concentrating on the referendum.  He
said that a special majority (60-70%) must be required, that it must
deal with a fully-formulated agreement without any "issues to be
determined later," such as that of extradition of wanted terrorists,
and that the question of the third withdrawal must be finalized
beforehand.  "It is inconceivable that the Israeli public should be
asked to vote only on the question of a withdrawal, without relating
to the other accompanying burning issues," Porat said.  He said that
after a recent long discussion with the Prime Minister, he has the
impression that Netanyahu is determined to hold a popular vote
regarding the withdrawal.  

Labor MK Shlomo Ben-Ami, speaking with Arutz-7 today, made some
similar points.  "I object to a referendum, because I am against the
Netanyahu method of ruling - a method based on manipulation of the
national agenda. He brings up the idea of a referendum, and now we all
have to start discussing what kind of referendum, and how much it
costs, and how it will work - instead of dealing with the real subject
of the withdrawal itself!" Ben-Ami continued, "I ask you: Can we turn
to the public today and present it with a finished plan, and say,
here's a 13% withdrawal, with the boundary here and here, and here is
a passage from Area A to B, and here from B to C, etc. - does anyone
expect that the public will be able to understand this and give a yes
or no answer?  It's not serious!" 

5. OSLO ARCHITECT AGAINST PALESTINIAN UPGRADE
Excerpts of an interview with Joel Singer, former Legal Adviser of the
Israel Foreign Ministry and the man responsible for drawing up the
Oslo Accords, on Voice of Israel radio today:

Question: This matter of the Palestinian Authority's intention to
change its status, the status at the United Nations, is this a
violation of the accords?

Singer: I have no doubts about it and I wrote this a few years ago,
that it would be a violation of the agreement and not just a minor
violation but a most fundamental violation of the accord. I have
repeatedly said that if the Palestinian side were to declare a
Palestinian state or initiate any process whose intention would be to
bring about the upgrading of the status of the autonomy at the United
Nations to the status of a state, then this would be a flagrant
violation of the agreement, a violation so fundamental that it would
permit Israel to consider the adoption of very harsh steps in
response."


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Sunday, June 21, 1998       27 Sivan 5758 
Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition


                    US REAFFIRMS PULLBACK PLEDGE 

                    By STEVE RODAN and MOHAMMED NAJIB 

                    RAMALLAH (June 21) - Palestinian Authority
                    Chairman Yasser Arafat received a commitment last
                    night from US Secretary of State Madeleine
                    Albright that the Clinton administration will not
                    back down from efforts to obtain an Israeli
                    withdrawal in the West Bank and will work to
                    resume negotiations toward a final-status solution
                    for the territories.

                    Albright's message was delivered to Arafat in a
                    letter by US Consul-General John Herbst during a
                    meeting last night in Ramallah.

                    PA sources said the message came amid increasing
                    doubts among Palestinian leaders regarding
                    Washington's commitment to press Israel to agree
                    to relinquishing 13.1 percent of the West Bank to
                    full Palestinian control.

                    Arafat and Herbst also reviewed the latest
                    development in the peace process and proposals by
                    Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to implement a
                    further redeployment in the territories.

                    PA sources said Netanyahu has offered several
                    proposals that fall short of the 13.1 percent set
                    by the US and that Arafat has rejected all of the
                    Israeli ideas.

                    Arafat is hoping to obtain an Israeli commitment
                    to the US plan for West Bank withdrawal to
                    coincide with his efforts to make changes in the
                    authority, the sources said.

                    During a tour of several West Bank cities, Arafat
                    called for national unity and suggested the
                    cabinet would soon be reshuffled.

                    Arafat said his own Fatah movement and the Islamic
                    and secular opposition needed to join together to
                    battle what he termed "the plans to establish
                    [Jewish] settlements on Palestinian lands that
                    serve to provoke the masses."

                    He also criticized what he called Israeli plans to
                    set up more communities in Jerusalem.

                    PA officials said Arafat has already set a cabinet
                    reshuffle into motion. Education Minister Yasser
                    Amr said five members from the PLO Executive
                    Committee will be appointed ministers in the next
                    cabinet. He did not name those appointed.

                    Islamic opposition figures have already asserted
                    they will not accept an invitation to join a new
                    cabinet. The Islamic Jihad Movement released a
                    statement on Friday that denied reports that it
                    would seek positions in the PA. The movement
                    reiterated its opposition to the Oslo Accords,
                    adding that jihad, or holy war, is the only option
                    for the Palestinians.

                    During his West Bank tour, Arafat attended a
                    ceremony that marked the fourth anniversary of
                    PADICO, the Palestinian Industrial Development
                    Corporation.

                    PA officials said PADICO would seek to raise $1
                    billion for the Palestinian economy from investors
                    and institutions abroad. They said a key element
                    in the Palestinian plan is the Bethlehem 2000
                    celebrations, which they hope will bring hundreds
                    of thousands of pilgrims and tourists to Bethlehem
                    and other PA areas.

                    Arafat commemorated the ground-breaking of a new
                    Intercontinental Hotel in Bethlehem that officials
                    hope will be finished in time for the Bethlehem
                    2000 celebrations.

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Sunday, June 21, 1998       27 Sivan 5758 
Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition


                    US  'misreading' JERUSALEM EXPANSION 


                    By JAY BUSHINSKY, HILLEL KUTTLER, and news
                    agencies 

                    JERUSALEM (June 21) - The Clinton administration
                    is "misreading reports in the news media" about
                    Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's support for an
                    expansion of Jerusalem's municipal services, a
                    senior government official said yesterday.

                    The expansion is to include communities to the
                    west of the capital, including Givat Ze'ev, and
                    Ma'aleh Adumim to the east.

                    The cabinet plans to discuss the measure at its
                    weekly meeting today and will probably approve it,
                    said David Bar-Illan, the prime minister's
                    communications adviser. Netanyahu is determined to
                    bring up the plan at the meeting, despite US
                    objections, Channel 1 reported last night.

                    According to the senior official, the purpose of
                    the plan is merely to create an "umbrella
                    municipality," not to enlarge Jerusalem's urban
                    boundaries or annex additional areas.

                    This reaction came after expressions of
                    displeasure and concern emanating from the US
                    State Department about Netanyahu's intentions.
                    Secretary of State Madeleine Albright spoke Friday
                    with both Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority
                    Chairman Yasser Arafat, raising her concerns with
                    Netanyahu over Jerusalem, and with Arafat over the
                    PLO's attempt to upgrade its status at the UN. She
                    called the latter effort an "unproductive act,"
                    according to a participant.

                    Army Radio said Albright told Netanyahu any
                    attempt to expand Jerusalem would kill the peace
                    process.

                    In his daily briefing, State Department spokesman
                    James Rubin criticized Israel's position as
                    "extremely provocative," "unfathomable," and "the
                    ticket to further instability." It also
                    complicates Washington's effort to conclude an
                    Israeli-Palestinian agreement and initiate
                    final-status negotiations, he said.

                    "Jerusalem is an extremely sensitive and emotional
                    issue for Israelis, Palestinians, and Arabs alike.
                    The unilateral action that this implies only
                    undermines any sense of trust and confidence
                    between the parties that is so essential to
                    creating an environment for serious negotiations.
                    They also create the impression that Israel has
                    determined the status of key permanent-status
                    issues before these negotiations have begun."

                    The PA reacted with a statement saying, "The
                    expansion of Jerusalem's boundaries will allow
                    Israel to swallow 18 percent of West Bank land in
                    order to establish settlements... It is
                    unacceptable to the Palestinian leadership."

                    Bar-Illan insisted that, "Any geographical
                    expansion, if there is any, will be to the west of
                    the city and will be within the Green Line and in
                    no way will it affect the Oslo Accords. The
                    purpose of the Jerusalem plan is to enable the
                    city to enter the 21st century as an efficient and
                    viable metropolis. No change in the city's status
                    is intended."

                    Bar-Illan attributed press reports of the prime
                    minister's alleged announcement of such a change
                    to "a mistaken translation," noting that he
                    referred to "standing" not legal status.

                    Referring to the proposed improvement of the
                    city's transportation infrastructure and
                    encouragement of new industrial enterprises, as
                    well as other initiatives in education and the
                    arts, he said: "The economic tax-base of the city
                    will be expanded to include suburban areas to the
                    west."

                    He denied that the municipal program is related to
                    the peace process, contending that "it is the
                    conclusion of a study which began 16 months ago by
                    various government and municipal offices," and
                    will benefit all Jerusalem residents and
                    substantially improve the standard of living and
                    quality of life in the city.

                    "No municipal expansion into areas outside the
                    Green Line is planned," Bar-Illan said. "The law
                    in Israel has always been enforced and will
                    continue to be enforced, regardless of ethnicity,
                    religion, or nationality. This applies to illegal
                    construction, as well as to other violations of
                    the law.

                    "We are always concerned about what the US
                    thinks... but there are certain things that are
                    nothing more than domestic needs that we must
                    provide and that we must act on when we feel they
                    are necessary."

                    Cabinet secretary Dan Naveh said on Channel 1 that
                    Israel has every right to strengthen and develop
                    Jerusalem. "We are talking about development of
                    infrastructure in Jerusalem... This program is in
                    no way contradictory to any agreements with the
                    Palestinians."

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