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Subject: Arutz-7 Op-Ed:

THE CLINTON STRATEGY
by Yedidya Atlas
Arutz Sheva Israel National Radio
December 15, 1998 / Kislev 26, 5759

In This Article:
1. Clinton Solves Personal Problems Abroad
2. Open-Ended Funding
3. Big Donor Receives Large Loan
4. The Clinton Bias

1. CLINTON SOLVES PERSONAL PROBLEMS ABROAD
A recent op-ed in The Washington Times asked: "Do foreign leaders tremble
when they see President Clinton coming?" Helle Bering, deputy editorial
page editor, then answered: "They should, for the American president has
made a habit of taking his failing policy initiatives on tour whenever the
going gets rough at home."

"In August," Bering pointed out, "Mr. Clinton fled town after his televised
Monica Lewinsky speech, descending on the ailing and incoherent Russian
President Boris Yeltsin. Now, as the House Judiciary Committee moves
towards an impeachment vote later this week, the president is busy packing
his bags again. Mr. Clinton's destination this time is the Gaza Strip,
where he will be landing at the Palestinian Authority's new and highly
controversial airport this weekend after an initial stop in Jerusalem."

One has to wonder what exactly "Slick Willy" had in mind besides attempting
to divert media attention from the U.S. House of Representatives vote to
impeach him. Initially, the White House propaganda machine claimed Mr.
Clinton was coming to Gaza to celebrate the successful implementation of
the Wye Plantation agreement. Today, however, the Wye accord has clearly
broken down - unsurprising, considering it was based on false premises.
Palestinian Authority-promoted violence has brought even Mr. Netanyahu to
hold fast, and has held up - at least temporarily - further territorial
withdrawals.

2. OPEN-ENDED FUNDING
It was no surprise that Mr. AND Mrs. Clinton were received by Mr. Arafat
and his cronies with open arms. After all, President Clinton conveniently
pledged a further $400 million in American aid to the Palestinian Authority
earlier this month. Mr. Clinton's largesse was quite remarkable,
considering that it was given in the face of a London Times report that
millions in aid from the European Union, designated for housing for
refugees living in squalid camps in Gaza, had been diverted to luxury
apartments for Mr. Arafat's friends and aides. "In effect, $20 million has
been spent without any economic controls and is not recoverable," wrote the
EU's own auditors.

Then there is Arafat's personal account in Bank Leumi in Tel Aviv which
receives the tax "rebates" transferred by Israel ostensibly to the PA.
According to the International Monetary Fund, some $150 million is stashed
in said account "not under the control or supervision of the Palestinian
finance ministry." Nonetheless, Arafat has the chutzpah to continue to
blame Israel for Gaza's declining living standards and 48 percent
unemployment, as he did recently at the international donors conference in
Washington two weeks ago.

Moreover, "[C]ould there be more to Mr. Clinton's touching attention to the
PA's financial situation?" asks The Washington Times' Mr. Bering. "For
Palestinians, too, were contributing money to the bottomless Democratic
coffers in the 1996 presidential election."

3. BIG DONOR RECEIVES LARGE LOAN
Let's begin with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a U.S.
government corporation created to facilitate a more favorable economic
climate in the Middle East in the era of a developing peace process. Yet a
closer look at its actual operations produces what critics call a "secret,
risk-free subsidy program" for big donors to Mr. Clinton's 1996
presidential campaign. This same OPIC issued a $60 million credit for
development in the West Bank and Gaza. And who was the recipient? None
other than a Washington-based businessman and close Arafat advisor named
Hani Masri - the same one who donated $50,000 to the Democratic National
Committee between March and May 1996 through his company Capital Investment
Corporation of McLean (CICM). He was also the founder of "Arab-Americans
for Clinton-Gore 96," as well as a trustee of the Democratic National
Committee.

And how was the $60 million delivered to Masri? According to a
well-documented article in the New York weekly The Forward, the OPIC board
approved the establishment in September 1997 of the "West Bank, Gaza and
Jordan Fund." Then, in November 1997, an affiliate of Masri's CICM was
conveniently appointed the Fund's manager - and the borrower of the
OPIC-guaranteed loan of $60 million. The exact selection procedure remains
unclear, given the fact that neither advertisements nor formal requests for
proposals were issued by OPIC.

Nevertheless, beyond the murky financial machinations of the
much-investigated Clinton administration, the pushy Clinton visit to Gaza
and the PA legislature - and not to the Israeli Knesset - augurs a
premeditated and underhanded diplomatic maneuver, aimed at forcing Israel
to accept a previously unacceptable geopolitical fait accompli.

4. THE CLINTON BIAS
One cannot ignore First Lady Hillary Clinton's declaration earlier this
year in support of establishing an independent Palestinian state. Her
husband the president subsequently attempted to assuage Israeli concerns at
this apparently radical change in American policy, and claimed that this
verbal outburst of Lady Hillary was just a personal opinion, and not
administration policy. However, no one seriously believes that Hillary the
lawyer made such a momentous and ill-advised statement on her own.

Further proof of the Clinton administration's deceitful policy towards
Israel was made crystal clear when the White House brazenly ignored Israeli
input and sensitivities in setting up the First Family's schedule during
their diplomatic sojourn in Gaza. This itinerary included a purposeful
visit by Hillary and her daughter Chelsea to a particularly squalid
Palestinian refugee camp, accompanied by numerous foreign TV crews. And
lest anyone still not read the handwriting on the wall, Mr. Clinton's
keynote speech before the Palestinian legislature et al, with its
deliberate moral equivalencies between terrorist and victim, for example,
or his wanton disregard for historical and even constitutional accuracy,
make plain the Clinton bias.

On the other hand, perhaps, given Mr. Clinton's personal political problems
back in the U.S. - from impeachment proceedings to Chinagate, maybe his
open bias on behalf of Arafat and his regime is simply paving the way for
Clinton to request political asylum in the safe haven of the Palestinian
Authority.

* * * * * * *
Yedidya Atlas is a senior correspondent and commentator for Arutz-7 Israel
National Radio.

**********************************************************************

Wednesday, December 16, 1998 27 Kislev 5759
The Jerusalem Post - International Edition

Neeman quits; Mordechai may

By SARAH HONIG and DAVID HARRIS

JERUSALEM (December 16) - Defense Minister Yitzhak
Mordechai may announce at the end of the week that he
is either distancing himself from the government or
even leaving it, while Finance Minister Yaakov Neeman
already tendered his resignation to Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu over the weekend.

Mordechai's restlessness comes against the background
of a militant stance by Netanyahu vis-a-vis the
Palestinians and Americans, and renewed talk that he
might initiate early elections himself.

Adding to the sense that the government is crumbling
were persistent signals from Mordechai in the last
few days that he will have a significant statement to
make about the state of the coalition by the end of
the week. A source very close to him said that he
will have "a very strong statement to make."

According to the Prime Minister's Office, Neeman has
asked Netanyahu to allow him to resign. His
resignation was not accepted immediately and
Netanyahu asked him to wait until after the Clinton
visit. Neeman obliged and went off on a skiing
holiday in Europe. He is expected to step down next
week.

"All we can say is we confirm that Finance Minister
Neeman requested to tender his resignation before he
went on his holiday, and the prime minister said they
will discuss it on his return," Netanyahu's spokesman
Aviv Bushinsky said.

The Treasury refused to deny that Netanyahu has
already accepted Neeman's resignation.

Bank of Israel Governor Jacob Frenkel would not
comment.

Neeman is Netanyahu's personal appointee and is the
single non-politician in the cabinet. He has no
faction or political clout and cannot affect the
coalition balance. His exit might open the way back
to the government for Gesher leader David Levy.

Netanyahu was loath to let Levy have the Finance
portfolio, partly because he did not want to dismiss
Neeman. Netanyahu might now have an easier time
mollifying Levy, and Levy's entry is a move Mordechai
said he would welcome.

But Levy last night announced that he is "not coming
back to this government. This government should be
sent home. The Wye process has been halted.
Economically, everything is falling apart. I will
vote for early elections next week."

However, some sources around Netanyahu, as well as
sources close to Levy, continue to insist that this
need not be considered his last word.

Mordechai is reported to be increasingly displeased
with the rightist positions Netanyahu has been
adopting, and which Mordechai claims constitute a
veering away from Wye.

Other coalition sources said that Netanyahu has
little choice but to adopt the positions he has and
that Mordechai is well aware of the bind in which
Netanyahu is caught. If he chooses to make a dramatic
move, it will be because he has concluded that the
government is beyond saving.

Likud sources reported that Netanyahu may well call
for early elections himself if he concludes by
Monday's votes on the pending early elections bill
and no-confidence motions that he is unable to
stabilize the coalition.

Netanyahu may wish to preempt his coalition's fall or
disintegration by moving for early elections in an
initiative which would leave him in charge of the
election timetable.

By last night, it appeared that the coalition remains
extremely vulnerable, though things could change by
Monday. The far right remains apparently unimpressed
by Netanyahu's adamant refusal to consider further
pullbacks until the Palestinians live up to their
commitments.

MK Michael Kleiner, who heads the Land of Israel
Front, considers it "laughable that this would sway
me. The farce performed in Gaza, when the Palestinian
Covenant was supposedly nullified, only strengthened
my resolve to advance the elections. Not one of the
conditions necessary for nullification was met. Yet
Netanyahu is ostensibly satisfied. His fine speeches
are so much artificial muscle flexing; later, he will
buckle under yet again."

Moledet leader Rehavam Ze'evi wondered "how long
Netanyahu will stay tough. Will it be for a couple of
weeks only?"

But Tsomet MK Moshe Peled says that "Netanyahu's
attitude is encouraging, and, if it is maintained, I
will not allow the government to fall."

Shinui MK Avraham Poraz also said he might stay away
from the early elections vote if the peace process is
not abandoned.

In Labor there was talk that MKs Shimon Peres and
Rafi Edri might adopt a similar position, although
most in the party doubt they will risk departing so
radically from the Labor consensus.

Netanyahu's dilemma, nevertheless, is that if he
seeks to appease the Right, he will risk angering the
Left and even people like Mordechai and factions like
The Third Way inside his own coalition. If he
appeases the Left, he will alienate the far right.

Some in the Likud hope that, now that Clinton has
left, Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon may
reestablishing contact with Levy and bring him and
two other Gesher MKs into the coalition.
Contradictory signals emanated from Gesher yesterday.

Labor MK Dalia Itzik complained that "Netanyahu
lacked the minimal good manners to wait for Clinton's
departure before sacrificing Israel's relations with
the US on the altar of his coalition's survival."

Labor Knesset faction chief Elli Goldschmidt vowed
that Labor would go ahead with its early elections
bill next Monday, "because the government knows full
well that it has no chance for survival."

In an official statement the Likud charged that
"Labor is spreading its safety net only for the
Palestinians. The Palestinians are never criticized
by the Left."

Those close to Science Minister Silvan Shalom said he
thinks of himself as the natural successor to Neeman,
but admitted that the first he knew about it was last
night. Other ministers said they, too, only heard
within the last 12 hours.

Knesset Finance Committee chairman Avraham Ravitz
(United Torah Judaism) said he had a private
conversation with Neeman immediately prior to his
departure on holiday, during which it become clear
that the end was near for him and, in his words, for
the government.

"There is plenty of speculation, but my opinion is
that David Levy should return to the Foreign
Ministry, and it would be very interesting to see
Ariel Sharon in the Treasury," Ravitz said.

During the last few weeks, Neeman has repeatedly
requested the formation of a national unity
government, saying he would be willing to resign to
allow the expansion of the government.

Neeman has also told confidants he feels he is making
little or no progress on the economic front. His tax
reform, scheduled for January 1, has been delayed,
may be abandoned, and has not received Netanyahu's
blessing. With two weeks before the end of the year
deadline, it looks increasingly unlikely that the
budget and budgetary arrangements bill will be
approved.

**********************************************************************

Wednesday, December 16, 1998 27 Kislev 5759
The Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition

Clinton leaves without a pullout deal

By DANNA HARMAN

JERUSALEM (December 16) - President Bill Clinton left
Israel yesterday, after a three day visit during
which he failed to convince the government to commit
to the next West Bank redeployment.

While the stated mission of the journey - encouraging
and overseeing the nullification of the PLO charter
sections calling for Israel's destruction - was
accomplished, Clinton was not able to convince the
government to commit to redeploy on schedule this
Friday. He was also unsuccessful in his attempts to
mediate in the prisoner dispute or to extract any
promises from the Palestinians regarding a cessation
of the violence in the West Bank.

Leaving the three-way summit meeting at Erez junction
yesterday, Clinton tried to paint a more optimistic
picture of the situation, saying: "I achieved what I
came here to achieve. The message of this trip is
that yesterday [Monday] was a historic day. It was a
very important day for both peoples. Now we have to
decide on practical means to go forward, and I think
we are well on the way to doing that."

The president then enumerated what steps had been
agreed upon between the sides. He said it had been
decided to "energize" the permanent-status talks,
"vigorously pursue the security issue through the
appropriate committee," and create an "informal
channel," to deal with the prisoner dispute.

Clinton added that Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright would be returning to the region in several
weeks to help further push the process forward.

These are but small condolences to the peace process
at a time when prisoner demonstrations are heating up
and the government still has a long list of
conditions the Palestinians must fulfill before a
redeployment takes place.

Clinton said it would be "unfortunate" if the
redeployment fell too far behind schedule.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, speaking at a
separate press conference, reiterated his position
that Israel has done its part.

"We withdrew from the land, allowed for the opening
of the Dahaniya airport, released hundreds of
prisoners, and allowed the opening of the Karni
industrial park, where we invested millions. Now it
is important for the Palestinians to carry out their
part," said Netanyahu, who handed Clinton a list of
commitments the government insists the Palestinians
are breaking.

First and foremost, according to the list, the
Palestinians must renounce their intention to
unilaterally declare a state. Clinton, in response,
told reporters that it was "okay to advocate how you
want this to come out. That's okay. Neither side
should try to stop the other from saying what their
vision of the future is. That would be a terrible
mistake."

This is the first time Clinton has publicly expressed
such sentiments, but it is part of a new US take on
this matter. At Sunday's meeting with the cabinet,
Clinton and US Mideast envoy Dennis Ross reportedly
brought up the same argument.

When Industry and Trade Minister Natan Sharansky
talked about the need to stop all such one-sided
declarations, Ross told him, "He is talking about
aspirations. Arafat may aspire and you must respect
those aspirations. You too have dreams."

The perception that Clinton had moved closer to
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's
perspective on matters, even as he distanced himself
from Netanyahu's, was voiced by several senior US,
Israeli, and Palestinian officials over the past
days. A US official said that "contempt for
Netanyahu," is running deep in the administration.

A top government official, meanwhile, said that "the
capping moment was when Clinton made the comparison
between children of terror victims and children of
security prisoners. He was taken in by Arafat and
just went overboard completely." Netanyahu complained
to Clinton directly yesterday about the comparison,
as did Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon.

"This [comparison] caused great shock in Israel,"
said Sharon. "There is no way to make any comparison
between those who have hope of seeing their parents
with those who have no such chance, as their parents
have been killed in the most brutal manner."

"The statement was not to say the situations of the
children were the same," said one US official, "but
rather to point at the suffering on both sides...
Netanyahu's reaction only goes to show how small he
is. Always finding new things to raise a storm about.
Menachem Begin was also a nitpicker, but at least he
was a man of principle."

Netanyahu claimed he was not worried about Israel-US
relations, and refuted the notion that there had been
a breakdown between the sides at yesterday's summit.
The meeting, he said, had been useful in that the
government made it clear that it would continue to
"stand firm" on its positions.

"I think the Americans are wise enough to understand
that no amount of pressure can force Israel to
relinquish its capital Jerusalem or release terrorist
murderers," said Netanyahu.

********************************************************************

Wednesday, December 16, 1998 27 Kislev 5759
The Jerusalem Post - Internet Edition

MKS look to no-confidence vote and early
elections

By LIAT COLLINS

JERUSALEM (December 16) - Talk in the Knesset
yesterday focused on how MKs will behave in Monday's
scheduled no-confidence votes and the vote on the
first reading of the early elections bill.

Likud MKs, including coalition whip Meir Sheetrit,
did not rule out the possibility that Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu will initiate early elections and
fix a date.

One option is for the prime minister to ask United
Torah Judaism to withdraw its no-confidence motion,
filed last week to stall the early elections bill.
The bill could then come up for a first reading
Monday and if passed it would return to the Law
Committee, allowing the coalition time to decide on a
date for elections or how to act to avert them.

Political pundits are also discussing a renewed
government approach to David Levy and Gesher.

It is considered unlikely that the prime minister
will ask the president to agree to the Knesset being
dissolved for early elections. Another even less
likely scenario is that the prime minister will
announce his own resignation so that there will be
elections for the premiership only. He would, if
reelected, remain with the same difficult coalition.

Labor leader Ehud Barak in a Knesset press conference
called on Netanyahu to meet and agree on a date for
new elections. "This is a government which has failed
in all fields," he said. "In the present situation in
which the whole system is collapsing and trust in the
government both in the Knesset and among the public
is collapsing, [early elections] are the only correct
road to take." Barak and Labor MKs yesterday met with
three foreign political strategists.

Sheetrit said he expects a full turn out. "I'm not
sure Labor and the opposition are acting properly and
aren't just pushing the premier into the hands of the
rightwingers who oppose the peace," said Sheetrit.
Asked if Netanyahu will call early elections,
Sheetrit said, "The prime minister does not want to
bring down his own government as far as it depends on
him but in my opinion he won't be able to continue
unless there is progress in the peace process."

MK Ruby Rivlin (Likud), considered close to
Netanyahu, said "Clearly we have reached a crossroads
at which the final status arrangements must be
brought before the public, and in this matter if he
cannot live with this under the prevent coalition he
will have to take the matter to the people."

Much is considered to hinge on the behavior of
members of the Land of Israel Front led by Gesher MK
Michael Kleiner. Yesterday Kleiner and Likud MK Ze'ev
(Benny) Begin both repeated that they would vote
no-confidence in the prime minister Monday. Kleiner
said, "[Netanyahu] has crossed all the red lines."
"This government which is just giving in should be
brought down as soon as possible," Begin said.

Rivlin who is deputy chairman of the National
Elections Committee, yesterday said that despite the
Direct Elections Law which calls for elections to be
held 60 days after a no-confidence motion passes,
other laws prevent this.

***********************************************************************