Subject: Israel in the News - June 29-30, 1998 (Jerusalem Post) Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 00:54:20 +0000 To: "Arutz-7 List"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
Monday, June 29, 1998 5 Tammuz 5758 Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition PM: Pullout deal by July 29 By HERB KEINON and news agencies JERUSALEM (June 29) - Negotiations with the Palestinians over the second withdrawal will be concluded by July 29, when the Knesset recesses for the summer, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said yesterday. "I think this issue will be concluded by then," he told Israel Radio, adding, "I can't say for sure, because I can't tell the Palestinians what to do. If they don't give suitable answers, they will determine the fate of the process." Netanyahu said it is the issue of reciprocity, and not the depth of the next withdrawal, that is holding up the peace process. "There are still gaps in negotiations over the second withdrawal," Netanyahu said. " But we are not dealing with that. Now we are trying to arrive at solution on issues of reciprocity. We are not willing to accept an agreement that is not an agreement." Meanwhile, at a ceremony in Jerusalem marking the arrival of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, Netanyahu said that once the negotiations with the Palestinians are concluded, he would like to see an international conference convened to deal with wider, regional issues. In raising this controversial issue in the presence of Aznar, Netanyahu stressed that such a conference would not be a substitute for direct, bilateral talks with the Palestinians. "After we finish [the negotiations]," Netanyahu said, "I would be happy if an additional international conference for regional issues would convene. This is not a substitute, and does not replace bilateral negotiations that must be held directly between the sides." Netanyahu added that he would be very happy if such a conference were held in Madrid, as was a 1991 Mideast peace conference. "I am very fond of that city," he said as he welcomed Aznar. Aznar was receptive to the idea. "If, at a certain time, there is a need for Madrid to serve as the venue for a peace conference, rest assured that we will be willing to make this possible," Aznar said. Netanyahu also urged Spain to help break the deadlock in negotiations with the Palestinians. "Spain has excellent relations with the Palestinians and the Arab world," Netanyahu said, "and if Spain uses its influence, if you, sir, use your influence, I hope one more push will get the wagon out of the mud in which it is stuck and lead us toward a peace with security and reciprocity." Netanyahu's clarification of his proposal for another regional conference came after a day of searing criticism of the idea from everyone from Labor Party leader Ehud Barak to MK Yossi Beilin and Education Minister Yitzhak Levy. "It's another hot-air balloon intended to divert public opinion from the crucial issues, the failure to advance the peace process and implement the pullout," Barak said. Meretz Party leader Yossi Sarid said that "there'll be snow in Jerusalem in July before we'll see a Madrid 2 conference. It's another manipulation by Netanyahu, who gets up every morning throwing unfounded things into the air. There isn't a country in the world which would come to Madrid or any other place, when the negotiations with the Palestinians are in a deep crisis." Beilin told Israel Radio that the proposal for an international conference, like the referendum idea of last week that has currently been put on hold, is just an attempt to stall. "I think that the prime minister is willing to do everything to do nothing," he said. According to Beilin, the proposal is a way of diverting the public's attention away from the central issue - "implementing of the diplomatic process." And even Levy said it was not clear to him what the purpose of an international conference would be. Netanyahu deflected the criticism, saying it stems from a basic misunderstanding that such a conference is only intended to deal with regional issues, such as water, transportation, environment, and trade, and not with bilateral territorial and security issues. In an Army Radio interview, Netanyahu took Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to task for criticizing before clarifying what was being proposed. "It would be better if Egypt... would exercise caution and check matters before commenting," he said. Netanyahu added that if Egypt really wants to help move the process forward, it would use its considerable influence in the Arab world and on the Palestinians to get them to live up to the Oslo Accords and the Hebron Agreement. (Michal Yudelman contributed to this report.) ************************************************************************ Monday, June 29, 1998 5 Tammuz 5758 Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition PA dismisses plan for international parley By STEVE RODAN and news agencies GAZA CITY (June 29) - The Palestinian Authority yesterday dismissed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's proposal to hold an international conference to discuss Middle East peace as an Israeli attempt to avoid implementing the redeployment. "First of all, he has to respect what has been done since [the 1991] Madrid [peace conference]," PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, returning from a trip to Qatar and Bahrain, told reporters in Gaza. He defined the main principle of that conference as trading land for peace. The Israeli proposal for another Madrid-type conference, Arafat added, is meant to torpedo the principles set in Madrid to stall the implementation of the interim accords. Other Palestinian officials called the proposal a delaying tactic. "It is futile for the Palestinians to respond to every new idea he comes up with, because he does not mean it and does not take it seriously," negotiator Hassan Asfour said. "The only thing he takes seriously is killing the peace process." "If Netanyahu wants an agreement, he can have it today by saying yes to the American proposal," Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said. Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei agreed. "We don't see any need for this conference," he said. "This is merely another element for delay." Qurei, in an interview with PA radio, said the Oslo Accords are the only agreements between the Palestinians and Israel. He said the principles of the 1991 Madrid conference, echoed in Oslo, are staged Israeli withdrawal and exchanging Israeli-held land for Arab peace. Qurei warned that the Oslo Accords will not last forever. He said in May 1999 the interim period will expire. At that point, he said, the Palestinians will act on their own. He said the Palestinians will not withdraw their effort to obtain a UN condemnation of Israel for its plan for expanding Jerusalem's municipal jurisdiction. He said the US must support the Palestinian effort, as President Bill Clinton signed an agreement that Jerusalem is a final-status issue that cannot be the subject of changes during the interim agreement. "The issue for us is one of life and death," Qurei said. "It is about the change of geography and demography in Jerusalem." Meanwhile, Palestinian sources reported that Arafat continues to face difficulties in persuading opposition movements to join the PA. The latest refusal came from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, regarded as the closest of the opposition groups to the PA. DFLP representatives said although they don't oppose Palestinian negotiations with Israel, they cannot support the current US-mediated process. They criticized the US bridging proposals as being inadequate and a reflection of Israeli positions. *********************************************************************** Tuesday, June 30, 1998 6 Tammuz 5758 Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition PM urges US to veto UN resolution By MARILYN HENRY and news agencies NEW YORK (June 30) - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said yesterday that the US should "do the right thing," implying it should thwart a UN Security Council resolution that would condemn Israel's plan to expand Jerusalem's boundaries. However, there was increasing speculation that the US would support a softened version of the council resolution when the UN Security Council begins its debate today. If the Security Council votes to condemn Israel, it would be the first time in four years, since Baruch Goldstein murdered 29 Palestinian worshipers on February 25, 1994. The council voted on March 18, 1994, to "strongly condemn the massacre in Hebron and its aftermath which took the lives of more than 50 Palestinian civilians and injured several hundred others." The Jerusalem expansion plan has drawn sharp American, European and Arab criticism. The US State Department has described it as "provocative." The US, which has veto power on the 15-member council, previously had been reluctant to condemn Israel in the UN, arguing that disputes between Israel and the Palestinian Authority must be resolved in talks between the parties. At the Israeli Mission to the UN, a spokesman said Israel and the PA should engage in bilateral talks. "Instead, we repeatedly witness Palestinian political exercises that abuse the UN by forcing it to intervene in the bilateral negotiating progress." The Security Council debate is expected to last for several days. A separate measure - to upgrade the PLO's observer status at the UN - is scheduled for a vote next week in the General Assembly. Last spring, the US twice vetoed a resolution in which the Security Council would have opposed the Israeli plan to build 6,500 housing units at Har Homa. In non-binding votes, the General Assembly condemned Har Homa and subsequently convened a series of extraordinary emergency sessions that both denounced Israeli expansion plans and assailed the "paralysis" of the Security Council. Washington cannot afford to veto a condemnation of Israel, observers suggested. The previous American vetoes have cost the US some of its political capital and left it unable to muster support when it tried last week to delay a council session on the Jerusalem expansion. In the Security Council, a draft resolution which began circulating last week would condemn the Jerusalem expansion plan and demand it be rescinded. It also calls on Israel "to refrain from all actions of measures, including settlement activities, which are illegal" and could interfere with future talks on the status of Jerusalem. The draft also calls on the parties to fulfill their obligations and commitments under their existing agreements. At a news conference in Jerusalem with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, Netanyahu said: "I didn't ask the United States to impose a veto. I expect the United States to do the right thing, and it knows what the right thing is." Observers suggested that even if the US ultimately vetoes the resolution, the Palestinians will have won a significant propaganda victory. More than 60 nations are expected to take part in the debate, and virtually all are expected to be critical - some mildly, others emphatically - of Israel. *********************************************************************** Tuesday, June 30, 1998 6 Tammuz 5758 Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition Weizman calls for early elections By MICHAL YUDELMAN JERUSALEM (June 30) - In a planned, unprecedented and highly contentious move, President Ezer Weizman yesterday called for early elections, citing the state of the peace process and the failure of the initiative to hold a referendum on a new pullback from the West Bank. In media interviews yesterday, Weizman voiced thinly-veiled criticism of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, thus bringing the rivalry between the two to new peaks. "The peace process is limping," Weizman said yesterday morning. "It's not progressing. There are no contacts with the Palestinians or the Americans. If the prime minister isn't going for a referendum, he must hold early elections - the sooner the better," he said. Netanyahu immediately rejected the call, saying the elections will be held as scheduled, in two years' time. on time, and Weizman, speaking later on Channel 1's Mabat, responded in a dismissive manner: "So he [Netanyahu] said! He also said there would be a referendum." In a interview later to Channel 1's Mabat news, Weizman said Netanyahu had told him again and again the pullout was a matter of a week or two. He then stated he would not help Netanyahu any more. "[If he didn't mean to implement the pullout] why did he ask me to talk to US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, to special envoy Dennis Ross, to influence King Hussein, to try to talk to [Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser] Arafat, to go twice to [Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak and once to call Mubarak to ask him to receive him [Netanyahu] nicely - which I didn't do - and to talk to MKs Dan Meridor and David Levy?" Weizman asked. He stressed that his call for early elections was not a slip of the tongue. "Understand, once and for all, there are no slips of the tongue. I've been planning it for some time and waited for the appropriate opportunity," Weizman said. He said it was the prime minister's right to raise the referendum idea and drop it, but if he really wants to know what the people think, he must hold elections. The confrontation continued on Channel 1's news last night, when Weizman was asked to comment on Netanyahu's reaction regarding the elections. Weizman said "so he said. He also said there'd be a referendum."Weizman estimated the elections would take place before the year 2000. Asked whether he trusted believed Netanyahu, Weizman responded, "...that's not a nice question. What's between myself and the prime minister is my business." He then said there are "personal problems" between himself and Netanyahu, noting that for the past four weeks they had not talked to each other, even by telephone. He denied bearing a grudge against Netanyahu because the latter had campaigned against him for presidency, saying, "He made a mistake. The proof of that is, he lost. "It wasn't pleasant for me to contend against the prime minister, but I don't bear a grudge. I remember it, though." Weizman said he now expects the parties to pick up the baton and act to advance the elections. As for the confrontation with Netanyahu, he said, "I'm a veteran warrior. A few shots have been fired. When the dust settles down, we'll see what's happening. If I decide I have do something more, I will." On Channel 2, Weizman was asked what would happen now that he had "thrown this bombshell." Weizman replied: "What bomb? I threw a hand grenade." Beit Hanassi director-general Arye Shumer said the president is worried about the peace process and his statements express and reflect the prevalent feelings among the public. Netanyahu did not mention the president's name in his response. After consulting with his advisers, he decided not to comment directly on Weizman's statements. He called his advisers and they decided not to comment on Weizman's statement and Netanyahu did not mention the president's name in his response. Netanyahu stressed he is acting day and night to formulate a good agreement with the Palestinians, one that would ensure the security of Israel's citizens. No person or pressure would would divert him from this goal, he said. "It's possible to reach an agreement, even soon. But only when both sides fulfill their commitments," he said. "But the Palestinians aren't ready at this stage to do their part. Actually they're not ready to give real peace to the State of Israel....This is what's holding up the process," Netanyahu said. ************************************************************************ Tuesday, June 30, 1998 6 Tammuz 5758 Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition Settlers' council fails to agree on whether to topple government By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH JERUSALEM (June 30) - An emergency board meeting held by the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza yesterday, called to decide whether to try and topple the government, failed to produce any results except to highlight members' frustration over the current situation. The meeting was held at the protest tent city set up by settlers outside the Prime Minister's Office. Some council members straying from the agenda voiced their outrage over President Ezer Weizman's remarks calling for new elections and demanded he resign. Others demanded to do away with the presidency altogether. While making no decisions on how to proceed, the majority agreed that any council-sponsored measures must be non-violent. Prior to the meeting, National Religious Party MKs met with council members at the site, which they visited to show support for the families there. Council members had expected the MKs to express staunch support for the current campaign calling on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to demand Palestinian compliance before agreeing to any withdrawal. But instead, they were greeted with an array of reactions that only accentuated the party's confusion, with some calling to topple the government and others took a "wait and see" stance. Meanwhile, the recently established organization Tekumah, set up by Beit El Mayor Uri Ariel, Rabbi Menahem Felix and Ya'akov Katz declared its intentions to run in the next Knesset elections if any redeployment takes place. Their declaration was aimed at the NRP, which, they said, should threaten to leave the government instead of dallying, and also directed at the council, which, they said, should take a harsher stand against the government and call to topple it. "It is regrettable that among us are extremists threatening to establish an alternative party," said NRP MK Shmaryahu Ben-Tzur. MK Avner Shaki, however, declared that the members came to the tent site to declare their staunch support and strengthen the settlers. "The NRP will stand firmly behind you [the settlers] in your struggle; there is no other party who played such an important role in getting Netanyahu elected," he said. He warned that if the government decides to go ahead with a second withdrawal the NRP will not remain in the government. **********************************************************************