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, July 16, 1998
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Thursday, July 16, 1998 / Tammuz 22, 5758
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. NETANYAHU: TIME TO STOP CYCLE OF HATE
2. AMERICANS AGREE TO AREA D
3. SCHOOLS TO BE COMPUTERIZED
1. NETANYAHU: TIME TO STOP CYCLE OF HATE
An impassioned response by Prime Minister Netanyahu to the short-lived
Strashnov affair, following the sentencing of Nachum Manbar. Referring to
accusations made by Labor MK Nissim Zvilli, and others, that Netanyahu had
spoken to Justice Strashnov about the case, the Prime Minister made the
following remarks this afternoon:
"There were elements in the opposition that were led astray with lies, and
raised these lies to the headlines of the newspapers. They took advantage
of this ugly opportunity to bash me, and they were willing to do this even
on the back of the reputation of a judge in Israel, and also at the cost of
a weakening of the public trust in Israel's judicial system. If I ever
thought that there was a limit to how low my opponents were willing to go
in order to besmirch me, I now know that I was mistaken. For the past two
years, I have been the butt of lies, slander, malicious besmirching, and
the like, every day - I, my wife, my children, my colleagues, have all been
the subject of lies and slander that were totally not true. In one word,
this is character assassination... My family, colleagues, and I have paid
a very heavy personal price, and it hurts. Some people's lives are being
ruined, their reputations are being damaged - as if everything is justified.
"But even beyond the personal price, I would like to say something about
the national price: This is the way hatred is taught. There is a certain
sector of the public that absorbs these slanders, incorporates them, and
the hatred begins to spread like wildfire. And afterwards, there is
another sector, a sizable portion of the nation, that cannot accept this
hatred and reacts to it. And thus is created a cycle of hatred, a machine
that tramples and chomps the delicate fabric of our society, and brings it
down. I would like to take this opportunity to say that it is time to stop
it. There are many things around which we can unite..."
2. AMERICANS AGREE TO AREA D
The United States has agreed to Netanyahu's request that 3 of the 13% that
will be given over to the Palestinians in the second withdrawal will be
assigned a special status, known as Area D, in which Israel will also have
a measure of security control. The Americans, however, did not succeed in
obtaining Arafat's consent to the idea. So reports Arutz-7 correspondent
Haggai Huberman. A senior military source told him that it was this
failure of the Americans that brought Secretary of State Albright to
announce that Israel and the Palestinians must engage in direct talks.
3. SCHOOLS TO BE COMPUTERIZED
An agreement was signed in the Prime Minister's Office this afternoon to
computerize Israel's schools. 60,000 computers will be purchased over the
next five years, at a cost of 900 million shekels. The cost will be borne
equally by the Mifal HaPayis (National Lottery), the Education Ministry,
and the Center for Local Government. Education Minister Rabbi Yitzchak
Levy said at the signing ceremony today that the goal is to have one
computer for every ten students. Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke of the
importance of the initiative, and said that he personally would follow its
progress.
*******************************************************************
Thursday, July 16, 1998 22 Tammuz 5758
Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition
PA
might give Israel two or three meetings
By
STEVE RODAN and news agencies
JERUSALEM
(July 16) - The Palestinian Authority is
considering
a US suggestion to hold one week of
direct
talks with Israel, but Chairman Yasser Arafat
will
not participate, PA officials said yesterday.
Instead,
the talks will be headed by Mahmoud Abbas,
secretary
of the PLO Executive Committee, and Defense
Minister
Yitzhak Mordechai.
Officials
said a date and location of the talks will
be
decided after Arafat returns from China today.
Asked
in Beijing if he would resume talks with
Israel,
Arafat told reporters: "We are not against
opening
talks, but we are in need of results and not
talks.
"It
is clear and obvious [Israel is] trying to escape
from
implementing accurately and honestly what had
been
signed between both of us," Arafat said. "I am
not
asking for the moon."
Arafat
declined to comment on any possible
negotiations,
saying: "I have no direct invitation to
continue
the peace process."
The
head of the PA negotiating team, Saeb Erekat,
said
the US proposal for direct talks was raised by
US
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during her
meeting
last week with Erekat and PA International
Cooperation
Minister Nabil Shaath.
"She
said, 'The Israelis have something to say to
you,'"
Erekat said.
Erekat,
who stressed that Arafat has not yet
consented,
said the US plan is to conduct one week of
talks,
which will include two or three meetings.
After
the meetings, he said, the Clinton
administration
will decide whether to release its
bridging
proposal for the implementation of the
interim
accords.
Erekat
placed little hope that direct talks with the
Israelis
would produce an agreement. He said Prime
Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu has no intention of
continuing
the Oslo process and is simply submitting
new
proposals to gain time.
A
senior PA official agreed. He said that so far
Arafat
has not given his negotiators any authority to
make
changes in the US plan. He said the PA chief
would
prefer to make concessions to Washington rather
than
to Israel.
For
his part, Erekat said the PA has been reassured
that
direct talks will not lead to US pressure to
amend
Washington's proposal for the handover of 13.1
percent
of the West Bank to full Palestinian control.
It
would also not mean US pressure on Arafat to
reconvene
the Palestinian National Council to amend
the
Palestinian National Covenant, he said.
"The
US says that the position on 13.1% won't change
and
the position on the covenant won't change," he
said.
Erekat
said the PA will refuse to discuss any changes
in
the US plan. Instead, PA negotiators will raise
their
original proposal for an IDF pullout from 40%
of
the West Bank as the second further redeployment.
This
would include the first redeployment, which was
never
carried out by Israel because of PA opposition
to
the size of the proposed Israeli withdrawal.
PA
officials said their willingness to hold direct
talks
with Israel is part of their effort to show the
US
that Israel is responsible for the breakdown in
the
peace process.
They
said that until this week the PA had conditioned
a
return to direct talks with Israel on an
announcement
by the Netanyahu government that it
accepts
the US plan.
Arafat,
meanwhile, said Beijing had pledged financial
support
to the PA.
After
three days of meetings with Chinese leaders,
including
President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu
Rongji,
Arafat said Beijing's support was "very
important
for the Palestinian cause and struggle."
"We
signed agreements between Palestine and China for
Chinese
financial backing for the Palestinian
Authority,"
Arafat said, without elaborating.
*********************************************************************
Thursday, July 16, 1998 22 Tammuz 5758
Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition
Sharon
warns government will fall
By
JAY BUSHINSKY
JERUSALEM
(July 16) - If the cabinet recommends
withdrawing
the IDF from 13 percent of the West Bank
in
a second redeployment and an additional one
percent
in the third, "this government will fall,"
National
Infrastructure Minister Ariel Sharon warned
yesterday.
According
to an associate, Sharon took this stand
during
a turbulent three-hour session of the inner
cabinet,
attended by Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu,
Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai and
Industry
and Trade Minister Natan Sharansky.
He
predicted that the coalition will be brought down
by
a Knesset vote of no confidence - not on the
withdrawal
issue, since it can expect support from
the
Labor Party on that score - "but on any other
issue
that may come up."
The
tension reportedly occurred after Mordechai
declared
that he intends to raise any subject he
wishes
during future talks with Palestinian
representatives.
Netanyahu
cut in, saying Mordechai is only authorized
to
discuss the nature of the newly-designated Area D,
which
is to be handed over to Palestinian
administrative
control.
According
to plans, the IDF, after withdrawing from
Area
D, would retain the right to re-enter it for
security
reasons. The Palestinians would also be
barred
from building in the area, currently comprised
of
empty land.
Sharon
cautioned his colleagues against making any
new
decisions about the projected troop redeployment
during
his absence. He is scheduled to leave today on
a
12-day trip to China and Mongolia.
"If
you decide on anything while I'm away my position
should
be known to you in advance," he said. "I
oppose
any pullback that exceeds nine percent."
When
Sharon described the agreements reached between
Netanyahu
and U.S. officials as "too foggy,"
Netanyahu
tried to mollify him by explaining that the
Americans
do not want the Palestinians to lose face.
But
this did not change Sharon's opinion, according
to
the associate.
"Here
we are dealing with the problem of how to avoid
an
insult," Sharon reportedly said.
"But
in reality our discussions are about the state's
actual
survival."
Sharon
criticized the way in which Israeli officials
sought
a meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser
Arafat or one of his deputies.
"We,
Israel, are the ones who are giving something to
the
Palestinians," he said. "Instead of Arafat asking
for
a meeting with us, we are begging him to meet us
so
that he can receive 14 percent of the West Bank."
He
termed this "a strange situation.'
Mordechai's
bureau called the PA to request a meeting
between
him and Arafat, but the Palestinians
suggested
that he see Arafat's deputy, Mahmoud Abbas.
However,
neither a date nor a venue has been set for
a
Mordechai-Abbas meeting.
A
senior government source said there is a "certain
agreement"
between Israel and the US about the third
redeployment
and an American "bridging proposal"
about
the second redeployment. He noted that there is
disagreement
about the extent of the PA's
administrative
control over Area D.
"We
did not accept the bridging proposal about a 13
to
15 percent withdrawal," continued.
He
contended that the Americans are "aware" of the
differences
that exist about "how to implement" the
projected
pullback .
Meanwhile,
the government is insisting on the formal
deletion
by the Palestinian National Council of the
Palestinian
Covenant's articles that call for
Israel's
destruction.
While
stressing that this is an essential condition
for
the IDF redeployments to be implemented, the