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: Sunday, August 16, 1998
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Sunday, August 16, 1998 / Av 24, 5758
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. MORDECHAI'S GOLAN STANCE DRAWS FIRE
2. HAMAS TERRORIST ESCAPES FROM PALESTINIAN PRISON
3. PALESTINIAN BOYCOTT OF JERUSALEM ELECTIONS
1. MORDECHAI'S GOLAN STANCE DRAWS FIRE
Defense Minister Yitzchak Mordechai's support of a withdrawal from the
Golan Heights has aroused waves of objections. The German weekly Focus
reports in its latest issue that Mordechai said, "The more territory from
which Israel withdraws in the Golan, the more security it will have." He
called upon Syrian President Assad to resume the talks with Israel without
preconditions. Mordechai's press secretary said today that his words had
been distorted, and that he had merely said that the extent of a withdrawal
from the Golan does not interest him, but only the level of security that
will result. At today's Cabinet meeting, Mordechai reiterated, "The extent
of the withdrawal will determine the extent of [our] security."
Education Minister Yitzchak Levy (NRP) told Arutz-7 today that Mordechai's
statement in today's Cabinet meeting was not that different than the famous
Rabin quote, "The extent of the peace will determine the extent of our
withdrawal." He said that it does not reflect the approach of the
government, and in fact violates its guiding principles. Katzrin Mayor
Sammy Bar Lev, responding today to the Defense Minister's comments, said
that they were "shocking and irresponsible," and that if this is the way
Mr. Mordechai thinks, "he has no place in the Likud, and should find
himself another political home". Bar Lev stated that Mordechai's comments
were especially damaging in light of the Golan residents' efforts to
convince Likud Central Committee members over the past several months to
firmly support Israel's sovereignty over the Golan. Bar Lev said that
Mordechai's views do not reflect those of the Prime Minister, who has
worked alongside the Golan residents on behalf of the Golan's expansion and
development. He noted that Mordechai did not participate in the recent
vote on the Golan bill in the Knesset.
Arutz-7 archivist Yosef Mantinband points out that after joining the Likud
before the 1996 elections, Mordechai publicly said that the Golan Heights
area constitutes the essential strategic asset of the State of Israel,
providing early warning of any danger threatening the area. Mordechai
noted at the time that "possession of the Golan also protects and ensures
the main water sources of the State of Israel. Do we want the Syrians to
plant themselves along the length of the Jordan and the coast of the
Kinneret?"
2. HAMAS TERRORIST ESCAPES FROM PALESTINIAN PRISON
The Palestinian Police claim that Imad Awadallah, a senior Hamas terrorist,
has escaped from his prison cell in Jericho. Awadallah was arrested on
charges of murdering the terrorist Mohi A-din Sharif several months ago
outside Ramallah. Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that the
escape could not have occurred without help from Hamas supporters within
the Palestinian Police. He said that the Palestinian Authority was
interested in the continued incarceration of Awadallah, as he presents a
threat not only to Israel, but also to the PA.
3. PALESTINIAN BOYCOTT OF JERUSALEM ELECTIONS
The Palestinian Authority has called upon Jerusalem's Arabs to boycott the
upcoming mayoral elections in the capital. Its explanation is that
participation in the elections signifies recognition of Israeli sovereignty
over Jerusalem. The Meretz party had requested that the PA instruct the
Arabs to vote for its candidate for mayor, MK Naomi Hazan.
***********************************************************************
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: Monday, August 17, 1998
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Monday, August 17, 1998 / Av 25, 58
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. SHECHEM "SIEGE" CONTINUES
2. MORE ON MORDECHAI'S GOLAN REMARKS
3. THE GREEN LINE FENCE
1. SHECHEM "SIEGE" CONTINUES
No movement in the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva at Joseph's Tomb in Shechem.
The Palestinian Authority has refused, since last Thursday, to allow
regular entries and exits into and from the yeshiva, "causing the
compound to be essentially under siege," according to Eli Rosenfeld,
administrator of the Yeshiva. Rosenfeld explained to Arutz-7 today
that "this blatant PA provocation and Oslo-violation is ostensibly in
protest of the IDF permission granted the students to spend the nights
there - something over which Israel has full control, according to
Oslo." He said that the PA has barely allowed any food and supplies
into the yeshiva compound. "Yesterday, an army jeep that had prior PA
approval to enter was held up for five hours. Today, the Palestinians
said they would allow the entry of only one jeep with food and
supplies." He said that the morale of the more than 30 students in
the yeshiva is high. MK Chanan Porat (NRP) called upon the army to
act to end the blockade. Rosenfeld said that he expects the Prime
Minister and Defense Minister to instruct the army to do what has to
be done in order to restore the regular routine to the yeshiva in
Joseph's tomb. He hinted that talks are being held between Israeli
and Palestinian elements.
2. MORE ON MORDECHAI'S GOLAN REMARKS
Ministers Rafael Eitan and Ariel Sharon have joined the sharp attacks
on Defense Minister Yitzchak Mordechai for his recent remarks to a
German magazine regarding the Golan Heights. Sharon said that we must
be careful not to take steps that would place Israel in a difficult
position as far as our security and water are concerned. Eitan said,
"According to the transcript of his interview, he said that the more
we retreat from the Golan, the more security we will attain."
Mordechai again denied that he said this, explaining that he said that
the retreat from the Golan would only be in accordance with our
security needs. Minister Avigdor Kahalani of the Third Way, the party
which chiefly championed the cause of the Golan Heights in the last
election, said that he was not concerned over Mordechai's remarks.
MK Yehuda Harel, also of the Third Way, proffered scathing criticism
of Mordechai. Speaking with Arutz-7 today, Harel said, "He has proved
over the past few days that his government seat is more important to
him than territory vital to Israel's security." Mordechai's position
on the Golan has been known for some time, Harel said, noting that
during the vote on the Golan Law in the Knesset, "Ehud Barak and Chaim
Ramon of Labor voted for the law, while Yitzchak Mordechai, who was
in the Knesset building, did not even attend the vote."
Mr. Harel demands that Prime Minister Netanyahu announce unambiguously
that the government will not withdraw from the Golan, even in exchange
for a peace agreement with Syria. He noted that the Prime Minister
gave his party specific assurances that plans for expansion in the
Golan would be implemented immediately, but that nothing has been
done. The government's inaction on this issue, combined with the
Defense Minister's words, "are a worrisome sign of things to come,"
Harel declared. He added that he is equally concerned with the
government's talk of retreating from any part of the Judean Desert.
When Arutz-7's Haggai Segal asked Harel to explain the difference
between the Golan (which Mordechai says is expendable for security
reasons) and large sections of Judea and Samaria (which Harel's party
says is expendable for demographic reasons), he replied, "It would
obviously be easier to take an extreme view either way - to either
return to the 1967 borders altogether, or to refuse to surrender any
land at all. Our party has a slightly more complex view, because the
reality is more complex."
3. THE GREEN LINE FENCE
Deputy Minister Michael Eitan and Chairman of the Knesset Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee Uzi Landau have expressed disappointment
and condemnation at yesterday's decision to construct a crime-stopping
fence along parts of the Green Line. The Green Line marks the border
between pre-1967 Israel and Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. The security
mini-cabinet approved Public Security Minister Avigdor Kahalani's plan
to attempt to halt car thefts and other illegal passage into the
autonomy by building artificial barriers, including trenches and
fences. Arutz-7 correspondent Kobi Sela reports that the Green Line
is some 320 kilometers long; the barriers will not form a contiguous
border, but will be concentrated near Netanyah (not far from Kalkilyeh
and Tulkarm), Hevron, the Gilboa area (near Jenin), and Jerusalem.
Critics of the plan fear that car thieves will be able to get around
the barriers easily. In addition, Minister Eitan, a resident of the
Green Line-straddling community of Kochav Ya'ir, said today, "Fencing
ourselves in and making ghettos out of our communities is not the way
to fight crime, but is rather a surrender." Tzvi Mah-Yafit, however,
head of the Oranit local council, is satisfied with the proposed plan:
"Any technical solution to fight car thefts is good... It will help
maintain our quality of life... No, I don't feel that this will make
us into a ghetto because we already have a fence and patrol route
around our town."
**********************************************************************
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, August 18, 1998
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Tuesday, August 18, 1998 / Av 26, 5758
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
--- See below for subscription instructions ---
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. CELEBRATING OSLO
2. EFFORTS TO TOPPLE NETANYAHU CONTINUE
3. CLINTON AND THE KING
4. THE RUSSIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS AND THE JEWS
1. CELEBRATING OSLO
A festive celebration will be held in Norway this week to commemorate
the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords. Shimon
Peres and Yasser Arafat will participate, and American mediator Dennis
Ross has also announced his plans to be there. The Norwegian Foreign
Ministry has announced that a representative of Prime Minister
Netanyahu will also attend. Speaking with an Arutz-7 correspondent, a
staffer in the Prime Minister's Office said that either diplomatic
advisor Uzi Arad or Israel's Ambassador in Norway will represent the
government. He said that it could "possibly be someone more senior,
if it appears that progress may be made in contacts with the
Palestinians there."
2. EFFORTS TO TOPPLE NETANYAHU CONTINUE
The Knesset Law Committee will convene at the beginning of next month
for a special recess session, at the request of nine of the committee
members. They will discuss the Knesset Dispersal Law, the preliminary
version of which was accepted in a Knesset vote last month on the last
day of the session, and which will lead to the downfall of the
government if passed by 61 Knesset Members. Chairman MK Chanan Porat
refused to convene the committee as early as next week, as originally
requested, because he wishes to guarantee maximum attendance at what
he called "such a fateful meeting."
MK Benny Elon (Moledet), one of the signatories for an early
committee
session, said that he did not go so far as to agree to sign a call for
a special Knesset session on the matter, but that he deems it
important for committee deliberations on the matter to begin quickly.
3. CLINTON AND THE KING
In response to U.S. President Clinton's pastor, who was quoted
yesterday as saying that King David committed similar transgressions
to those of the U.S. President, Rabbi Yossi Sarid of Mevaseret Zion
drew certain key distinctions between the two situations. Speaking on
Arutz-7 today, Rabbi Sarid noted that whereas Clinton was reproved
publicly, and still did not admit his sins until forced to, King David
was reproved privately by the prophet Natan, and still chose to
confess his sin publicly, and even wrote about it in his Psalms.
President Clinton lied and resisted pressure over a period of months
until he was brought before a grand jury, noted Rabbi Sarid, and only
then did he finally admit his misdeeds; King David wholeheartedly
repented in direct response to Natan's first reproof. "The true test
of a person's greatness," said Rabbi Sarid, "is the extent to which he
grows from the crisis that has befallen him."
4. THE RUSSIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS AND THE JEWS
Immigration Minister Yuli Edelstein said today that Israel should
prepare for another new wave of immigration from Russia, as a result
of the sharp financial crisis there. Edelstein feels that if the
crisis continues and worsens, many middle- and upper-class Russian
Jews will leave for Israel. The Jewish Agency directorate will hold an
emergency meeting tomorrow, on the ramifications of the Russian
financial crisis upon the Jews there. Minister Edelstein told Arutz-7
today that over 10,000 Russians have arrived in Israel over the past
year, in addition to 30,000 from the other countries of the former
Soviet Union.
**********************************************************************
Tuesday, August 18, 1998 26 Av 5758
Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition
Albright
calls Arafat to discuss reviving peace process
By
MOHAMMED NAJIB
GAZA
CITY (August 18) - Palestinian Authority
Chairman
Yasser Arafat received a telephone call
yesterday
from US Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright,
PA sources said. The call focused on
efforts
to revive the peace process and the Israeli
government's
failure to implement the signed accords
with
the PA, added the sources.
Arafat
leaves today for an official visit to Egypt to
meet
with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss
the
most recent developments in the peace process.
Their
talks will focus on possible methods to move
forward
the peace process, in the wake of the failure
of
the attempts to persuade Israel to accept the US
proposals,
the sources added.
Israel
Radio reported last night that there were
tentative
plans for Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu's
adviser Yitzhak Molcho to meet with
deputy
PA head Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the
negotiations.
Defense
Minister Yitzhak Mordechai said yesterday,
while
visiting the settlement of Psagot, that he
doesn't
believe Palestinian claims that the talks are
stuck.
"Indeed
we are looking for ways to advance and we
will
find them. We are in various stages of dialogue
with
the [PA]... to the best my understanding, the
Palestinians
have an interest in advancing the peace
process
and reaching agreement... I presume in the
end
we'll find the way to overcome the obstacles and
succeed
in negotiations."
***********************************************************************
Wednesday, August 19, 1998 27 Av 5758
The Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition
Mordechai
ready to resume peace talks with Syria
By
DAVID RUDGE and news agencies
JERUSALEM
(August 19) - Defense Minister Yitzhak
Mordechai
yesterday called on Syria to resume peace
talks,
but denied he has softened his position on an
IDF
withdrawal from the Golan Heights.
Earlier
this week, Mordechai created confusion when
he
told the German news magazine Focus that he had
"invented"
a formula concerning a Golan pullback that
was
used by the government of the late Yitzhak Rabin.
The
phrase said that the depth of withdrawal from the
Golan
depended on the depth of peace offered by
Syria.
It was widely interpreted as meaning that for
full
peace, Syria would get back all of the Golan.
But
during a visit to an IDF stronghold in the
eastern
sector of the security zone yesterday,
Mordechai
said he had not been quoted accurately by
the
magazine.
Mordechai
said he had made his views known in press
interviews
in the past two years and there was
nothing
new regarding policy towards the region.
"I
have reiterated that the Golan Heights is vital to
the
defense of the North. I have also reiterated that
we
are prepared any day to resume negotiations with
the
Syrians.
"We
will come to the negotiating table with our
proposals,
recommendations and demands and the
Syrians
will do the same. The most important thing
from
our point of view is security... I'm sure the
other
side has its own demands which it would bring
[to
the negotiating table]," he said.
Mordechai
said he was going from south Lebanon to
observe
IDF exercises on the Golan Heights, adding
that
the army was strong.
"Peace
talks are held with those who are today
classed
as the enemy and as long as that situation
remains
the same, we have to prepare our forces for
any
eventuality," he said.
"At
the same time, we have no interest in reaching
any
confrontation with the Syrians. We do, however,
have
a great interest in changing the situation and
in
holding talks with the Syrians to change the
years-old
conflict between us and ultimately reach an
agreement
that will lead to peace."
Mordechai
declined to be drawn into discussing the
price
of a peace accord in terms of a complete
withdrawal
from the Golan Heights.
"I'm
talking about a different price, and formulas
that
would enable us to resume the negotiations," he
said.
Mordechai
said there were no signs at this stage that
the
Syrians were prepared to resume negotiations.
He
visited the area following the inquiry into what
has
become known as the "Soujud fiasco."
Soldiers
serving in the security zone have now been
given
instructions to carry their rifles with a round
in
the chamber ready for instant firing.
***********************************************************************
Wednesday, August 19, 1998 27 Av 5758
Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition
Fatah
'constitution' stirs outcry from MKs
By
LIAT COLLINS and news agencies
JERUSALEM
(August 19) - MKs from both Left and Right
are
calling on the Palestinian Authority to cancel
the
clauses calling for Israel's destruction as they
appear
in the Fatah constitution.
The
matter was raised yesterday at a meeting of the
Knesset
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee by
committee
chairman Uzi Landau (Likud).
The
document, from 1965 and known by Palestinians as
the
founding charter of Fatah, has been published on
the
Fatah website as part of an information package
on
its history, said Jamal Shoubaki of the Fatah
Central
Committee.
The
group has since changed its priorities, but has
never
updated its charter, Shoubaki said, adding that
Fatah
supports the peace talks.
Landau
said the document should be seen as another
sign
of the Palestinian feeling following the reports
on
children in Palestinian Authority summer camps
being
encouraged to support a jihad against Israel.
Moledet
leader Rehavam Ze'evi said the Fatah
constitution
is the same as the Palestinian Covenant,
which
has not yet been abolished, only worse.
MK
Haim Ramon (Labor) said the constitution is "very
serious,
and obliges all of us - no matter what our
outlook
- to demand that Arafat, who controls Fatah,
distance
himself from it and state he had no part in
it...
and to cancel it immediately." The constitution
appears
on the Fatah's Internet site
(http://www.fateh.org)
Among
the most noteworthy clauses is Article 12 under
the
headline "Goals" which reads: "Complete
liberation
of Palestine and eradication of Zionist
economic,
political, military and cultural
existence."
Under
the headline "Method," are articles which
state:
"Armed public revolution is the inevitable
method
to liberating Palestine," (Article 17) and
"Armed
struggle is a strategy and not a tactic and
the
Palestinian Arab People's armed revolution is a
decisive
factor in the liberation fight and in
uprooting
the Zionist existence and this struggle
will
not cease unless the Zionist state is demolished
and
Palestine is completely liberated." (Article 19).
There
is also a clause (Article 22) "Opposing any
political
solution offered as an alternative to
demolishing
the Zionist occupation in Palestine..."
and
one (Article 25) about "Convincing concerned
countries
in the world to prevent Jewish immigration
to
Palestine as a method of solving the problem."
Under
the headline "The Movement's Essential
Principles,"
the constitution describes Zionism as
"racist"
and "colonist" and says, "The Palestinian
struggle
is part and parcel of the worldwide struggle
against
Zionism, colonialism and international
imperialism."
Also
at yesterday's committee meeting, Ramon accused
the
head of military intelligence, Major General Amos
Malka,
of not giving the committee full information
on
the Palestinians and possible scenarios if the
peace
process does not progress.
He
said the prime minister had instructed Malka not
to
give this information to the MKs.
The
IDF Spokesman later stated in response, "The only
limit
placed on the head of military intelligence is
the
need to preserve secrecy. There is no political
restraint
placed on him."
**********************************************************************