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Subject: Arutz-7 News: March 11-15, 1999
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 14:38:55 -0800
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From: arutz-7@a7.org
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, March 11, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Thursday, March 11, 1999 / Adar 23, 5759
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. ISRAEL REJECTS EU STAND ON JERUSALEM
2. GAZA VIOLENCE CONTINUES
3. DOMB THREATENS
4. MORDECHAI ATTACKS BARAK, NETANYAHU
5. COHEN IN ISRAEL
1. ISRAEL REJECTS EU STAND ON JERUSALEM
Israel does not intend to accept the European Union's stand regarding
Jerusalem. Israel received a message from the EU saying that it does not
recognize Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem. Rejecting an Israeli demand
that EU representatives refrain from visiting the Orient House in eastern
Jerusalem, a letter written by the German Ambassador states that Jerusalem
is a "corpus separatum [separate body];" the letter does not differentiate
between eastern and western Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded that Jerusalem is "not a
separate body, but rather the heart and soul of the Nation of Israel.
Jerusalem will remain united and under Israeli sovereignty forever."
Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon said that negotiations are underway with the
European Union over this issue. "Our government has no intention of making
any concessions whatsoever regarding the status of Jerusalem," Sharon said
today. "Under my direction, and in complete coordination with Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, an urgent letter has been sent to all the
foreign embassies in Israel, in which I explained that this statement
contradicts all of the agreements, and is in complete opposition with the
stance of the government. Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish
nation for 3000 years now, the capital of the State of Israel for 50 years,
and will remain so for eternity."
2. GAZA VIOLENCE CONTINUES
The anti-Arafat riots in Gaza continued today. Hundreds of Palestinians
demonstrated and grappled with PA security agents this afternoon outside
the homes of the two victims of yesterday's violence. Seventeen
para-military policemen and eleven demonstrators have been injured today.
The angry Palestinians, who yesterday protested the death sentence
pronounced upon a Palestinian who killed a PA policeman, now demand that
the PA policemen who shot the two teenagers yesterday be made to stand
trial. Palestinian police arrested three Reuters photographers and
confiscated their footage of this afternoon's violence.
3. DOMB THREATENS
Still no breakthrough on the negotiations to unite the nationalist-camp
parties. Although the order of only the first three candidates on the list
- Begin, Ze'evi, Porat - was set this morning, the next four places were
apparently agreed upon as the day progressed, but certain details still
remain unresolved. Yesha Council Secretary-General Aharon Domb is playing
the role of mediator, though he has reportedly threatened to quit if an
agreement is not reached by the end of the day. Rehavam Ze'evi said that
the remaining unresolved issues are only "pitchefkis [little things]."
4. MORDECHAI ATTACKS BARAK, NETANYAHU
The centrist party - still without a name, list of candidates, and platform
- held its founding convention last night in the Cinerama Hall in Tel Aviv.
Party leader Yitzchak Mordechai sharply attacked both Binyamin Netanyahu
and Ehud Barak, both of whom are ahead of him in the first-round polls for
the Prime Ministerial race. "Bibi Netanyahu is not fit to lead this
nation," cried out Mordechai, who served under Netanyahu as Defense
Minister for 2-1/2 years. "Instead of uniting, he divides... He has harmed
the weaker classes... The peace process is stalled and collapsing. There
is no vision, there is no hope, there is no trust in this man. His own
ministers don't believe him. World leaders do not want to negotiate with
him. We will replace this man!" Turning his attention to the Labor party
leader, Mordechai said, "Ehud Barak will not be able to understand Israeli
society as I can. He will not be able to unite right and left. He cannot
speak to the religious sector of the society. He cannot understand the
mentality of the east and the mindset of the Arab world. Ehud Barak cannot
unite the nation!"
Likud MK Yisrael Katz, speaking with Arutz-7 today, denied that Netanyahu
has no support amongst the "common folk." He said that he was recently at
a campaign gathering in Moshav Perazon with the Prime Minister, "and the
welcome he received there was unusually warm - and I have seen many other
such gatherings." Arutz-7 News Editor Haggai Segal asked the centrist
party's #4 candidate, former Tel Aviv mayor Roni Milo, whether Mordechai's
attacks on Barak and Netanyahu were not the result of Mordechai's less than
impressive showing in early polls. Milo responded, "As you well know, the
elections will be determined in the second round, not the first. And the
question is who will reach the second round. The Israeli people are
sufficiently intelligent to know that Barak cannot beat Netanyahu in the
second round. This is simply because the Israeli right has more supporters
than the left. We know this from 1992, when the right received more votes
than the left; Rabin was elected only as a result of the splintering of the
right-wing parties. So it is clear that Netanyahu would beat Barak in a
second round. But if Mordechai reaches the second round, he will beat
Netanyahu. This is so because Yitzchak Mordechai has broad support among
Likud supporters. In fact, our information indicates that 60% of those
present last night were former Likud supporters."
5. COHEN IN ISRAEL
American Defense Secretary William Cohen arrived in Israel from Egypt
today. It was reported today that Egypt and the U.S. had concluded a $3.2
billion arms deal, under which Egypt will receive modern Patriot missiles,
advanced F-16 jet planes, and 200 tanks. Cohen had originally stated that
he would not meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, "in order not to affect
the election campaign in Israel," but later changed his mind and met with
him this afternoon. U.S. Undersecretary of State Martin Indyk used the
same explanation when he refrained from meeting with Israeli leaders
earlier this week.
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From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, March 12, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Friday, Mar. 12, 1999 / Adar 25, 5759
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. NATIONALIST CAMP UNIFIES!
2. SENATE AGAINST UNILATERAL ARAFAT DECLARATION
3. COHEN AND ARENS DISCUSS IRAN DANGERS
4. REQUEST TO RE-EXAMINE RABIN ASSASSINATION
1. NATIONALIST CAMP UNIFIES!
Representatives of three nationalist-camp parties - Moledet, Tekumah,
and Herut - initialized a unity agreement early this morning, and
expressed the hope that their joint efforts will be able to have an
influence on the next government. The list of the candidates on the
new list will be as follows:
Benny Begin - Herut;
Rehavam Ze'evi - Moledet;
Chanan Porat - Tekumah;
Michael Kleiner - Herut;
Rabbi Benny Elon - Moledet;
Tzvi Hendel - Tekumah;
Uri Ariel - Tekumah;
Moshe Peled - Moledet;
Yossi Ben-Aharon, representing Herut, will apparently be allocated the
ninth place, and Benny Katzover will likely represent the Tekumah
faction in the tenth spot. The name of the new party will be decided
at a later date.
The list was approved by Tekumah's advisory rabbis - Rabbi Zalman
Melamed, Rabbi Dov Lior, and Rabbi Chaim Shteiner, three of the most
senior students of former Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira. Prime Minister
Netanyahu congratulated the new group on its formation, which he said
will prevent the splintering of the right-wing. Expressions of
support for the new list were heard from various right-wing
grass-roots organizations, such as Women in Green and Gamla Shall Not
Fall Again. "Congratulations!", wrote Women in Green. "Now we can
start working - together - and with the help of G-d, together we will
win at least 15 Knesset seats!"
2. SENATE AGAINST UNILATERAL ARAFAT DECLARATION
The American Senate voted almost unanimously last night to oppose a
unilateral declaration of independence by Yasser Arafat and the PLO.
"The president should unequivocally assert United States opposition to
the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state... and that a
declared state would not be recognized by the United States," read the
resolution. Only one Senator - Robert Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia
- voted against, while 98 voted in favor. The House of
Representatives is scheduled to pass a similar proposition next week.
Arafat announced yesterday in London that despite international
objections, he intends to declare a Palestinian state next May. The
Senate resolution stated that "a declaration of statehood by the
Palestinians outside the framework of negotiations would... constitute
a most fundamental violation of the Oslo process."
3. COHEN AND ARENS DISCUSS IRAN DANGERS
U.S Secretary of Defense William Cohen was received in a military
ceremony today in the Defense Ministry. After meeting with his
Israeli counterpart Defense Minister Moshe Arens and with Chief of
Staff Sha'ul Mofaz, Cohen told reporters that the topic of Iran's
chemical and biological weapons were the main topic of discussion.
Arens said that the U.S. and Israel are in touch with Russia regarding
the latter's aid to Iran. "It is hard to say that there has been
success at this point," Arens said. "Things in Russia are
complicated, and it is not always easy to know exactly which elements
are providing the aid. But we continue to work on it." Cohen said
that the U.S. is committed to Israel's defense. He also confirmed
that the $1.2 billion in American aid promised to Israel in wake of
the Wye Agreement will arrive only after the agreement's
implementation. Secretary Cohen is scheduled to meet with opposition
leader Ehud Barak this afternoon.
4. REQUEST TO RE-EXAMINE RABIN ASSASSINATION
A request for a re-investigation of the Rabin assassination was filed
this week in the Tel Aviv central police station. Twenty Israelis,
led by Barry Chamish, author of "Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin?",
requested that the police investigate State Pathologist Dr. Yehuda
Hiss on suspicion of altering Rabin's wounds and submitting false
evidence to the Shamgar Commission. In addition, they demanded an
investigation to determine why the Israel Police Crime Laboratory
found that Rabin was shot at point- blank range, while the Shamgar
Commission declared that he was shot from no closer than 30
centimeters. Chamish presented Dr. Hiss' Pathological Report, which
stated that Rabin suffered no damage to his spinal cord, nor was
wounded by a frontal chest wound. On the other hand, the complainants
also submitted Dr. Mordechai Gutman's Surgical Procedures Report, as
well as taped testimony by Ichilov Hospital Director Dr. Gabi Barabash
and former Health Minister Ephraim Sneh, to the effect that Rabin's
backbone was shattered and that there was a frontal chest wound.
Chamish said that the police will not be able to claim that there is a
"lack of public interest" if many people sign and witness the
complaint.
********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, March 14, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Sunday, March 14, 1999 / Adar 26, 5759
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
--- See below for subscription instructions ---
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. TERRORISTS TO BE RELEASED
2. JUST ANOTHER GOV'T DECLARATION: JERUSALEM UNITED FOREVER
3. PORAT: NEW PARTY MAY JOIN NETANYAHU GOV'T
4. POLL: PRESS BIASED AGAINST NETANYAHU
1. TERRORISTS TO BE RELEASED
The Netanyahu government will free 100 Palestinian Arab terrorists -
among them those who have maimed but not murdered - by the end of the
month. So reports Israel's Yediot Acharonot newspaper today,
prompting a public debate over the meaning of the term "blood on their
hands." The Prime Minister has repeatedly denied over the past
several months that he would release terrorists with "blood on their
hands." The deal to release the 100 was concluded following recent
secret contacts between Public Security Minister Avigdor Kahalani and
Arafat-aide Abu Mazen. The Israeli concession stems from its Wye
Agreement promise to free 750 Palestinian terrorists.
The Foreign Ministry today publicized a series of Palestinian
violations of the Wye Agreement - including the Palestinian demand for
the release of terrorists with "blood on their hands." The Foreign
Ministry team terms this "a demand with absolutely no basis in the
agreements, as the Americans themselves have confirmed."
In response to a question on the matter by Transportation Minister
Sha'ul Yahalom, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that the possibility of
releasing terrorists in honor of the upcoming Moslem holiday is being
investigated, but that terrorists "with blood on their hands" would
not be released. He said that no decision has yet been made on the
release of terrorists who wounded Israelis.
2. JUST ANOTHER GOV'T DECLARATION: JERUSALEM UNITED FOREVER
The government resolved today that Israel will under no circumstances
agree to the division of Jerusalem or to its internationalization.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon plan to
mobilize Israeli embassies and Jewish communities around the world for
an information campaign emphasizing the unity of Jerusalem under
Israeli sovereignty. The Labor party has condemned Netanyahu for
using the issue to promote his Prime Ministerial election campaign.
Arutz-7's Yehoshua Mor-Yosef spoke today with Ha'aretz reporter Nadav
Shragai, an expert on Jerusalem affairs and the author of a book on
the topic. Shragai said that the government's activities on behalf of
the unity of Jerusalem are primarily "declarative, and not operative."
He said, "This entire debate between the political parties about who
will divide Jerusalem is really quite foolish. The question should
really be, 'Who will be able to succeed in uniting these two cities
that have sprouted up here?' How, for instance, will the activities
of the Palestinian security services be stopped? In the meantime,
they, and not the Israeli police, have become the address for the
concerns of the Palestinian residents there. Netanyahu originally
promised to put a halt to these activities, but he has since adopted
the view of the General Security Services that it is better to turn a
blind eye. By the way, this approach was also backed by the Centrist
party leaders, Yitzchak Mordechai and Amnon-Lipkin Shachak, when they
were Defense Minister and Chief of Staff, respectively."
Shragai continued, "Neither is Jerusalem united in terms of the
enforcement of building regulations. Thousands of illegal Palestinian
structures have been built, connecting Arab neighborhoods and
separating Jewish neighborhoods. Political construction on the
Israeli side also exists, such as in Har Homa, but in the meantime
this is only on paper. The government has placed a condition upon the
contractors that makes it very difficult for them to want to build
there - namely, that the government reserves the right to halt the
construction at any time... There is a wide gap between what the
present government promises in terms of the unity of Jerusalem and
what it actually does. The little that it did - the opening of the
Hasmonean Tunnel in the Old City - was forced upon it by Mayor Olmert,
the late Deputy Mayor Shmuel Meir, the Third Way, and others. It
might be appropriate to tell the story here of a PLO flag waving atop
the Orient House. When MK Benny Elon submitted a Knesset query about
it, the Prime Minister sent a government representative to say that
there was no such flag. Even after Elon brought a photograph of the
flag atop the building, the government continued to deny that there
was such a flag. The flag is still there now, thus that we are
deceiving ourselves if we think that the city is unified."
Asked about the Palestinian plans to build a Parliament building in
Abu Dis, an Arab suburb right outside Jerusalem's municipal borders,
Shragai said, "This is a plan that to which Mordechai objected before
he entered the government in 1996, but since then I have not heard
anything from him, or from Netanyahu, on this issue. The plan
involves an Arab corridor from Abu Dis to the Temple Mount."
Mor-Yosef pointed out that the planned corridor passes through Ras
el-Amoud, which is the location of the new Jewish neighborhood of
Ma'aleh Zeitim. Shragai confirmed that four Jewish families are now
living there, "most of whom received permission to do so only a few
weeks ago."
3. PORAT: NEW PARTY MAY JOIN NETANYAHU GOV'T
The newly-united nationalist-camp party will hold a press conference
this evening, at which it will present its Knesset list and party
platform. Heads of the Herut, Tekumah and Moledet parties will meet
this afternoon in an effort to reach a consensus on the party's name
and other final details.
Some leading religious-Zionist rabbis are signed on a call in
Friday's papers to support the National Religious Party in the coming
elections. The signatories include Rabbi Chaim Druckman, Rabbi Aharon
Lichtenstein, and Rabbi Shabtai Sabato. Rabbi Zalman Melamed, who,
together with Rabbis Dov Lior and Chaim Shteiner, supports the new
list, told an Arutz-7 reporter, "In the end, we hope that both parties
will enter the Knesset."
MK Chanan Porat, head of Tekumah and number three on the new list,
told Arutz-7 today that the party expects 8-10 seats, based on recent
polls. "There may even be a greater percentage of the public that
objects to Oslo, and to Wye, and are in favor of Eretz Yisrael, and
desires strong Jewish roots," Porat said. He denied that the new
party is destined to be a 'sterile' party that will be in the
opposition under all circumstances. "It's true that we would probably
not sit in a government formed by Ehud Barak, but if Prime Minister
Netanyahu wins, then it is very possible that after he learned his
lesson the hard way, when his government fell following his attempt to
withdraw from the Land of Israel, there could well be fruitful
cooperation between us... In such a government, we would have a
crucial and determinant role."
Porat said that the name of the new united party has yet to be
decided: "We will decide the name today, and what is important is that
we find a name that represents the goals of each of the three member
parties. If you or the listeners have any suggestions, we are of
course open to hearing them, but I am sure that by the time our press
conference begins tonight, we will have come to an agreement... Our
party will not deal only with Eretz Yisrael. We have learned already
that without true Jewish roots and tradition - in short, faith - we
will not succeed. About half of the members on the new list are true
Torah-observant religious Zionists, and others who are very close to
Jewish values, and we will do all we can to strengthen Jewish
education and the yeshivot..."
When asked if it was a mistake to topple the present government, Porat
said, "First of all, the government fell for several reasons,
including Netanyahu's own desire to advance the elections when he saw
that the Likud was falling apart - David Levy and Gesher, Meridor,
Begin had all left, and Limor Livnat was shaky... But secondly, the
toppling of the government accomplished something very critical: it
stopped the withdrawal from the heartland of Israel. If we had not
stood so strongly, we would be facing today - not tomorrow, today - an
established fact of a Palestinian state controlling 70% of the
mountain ridge area in Judea and Samaria. Everyone would then be
yelling at us, 'Where were you? Why didn't you do what you could to
stop this Palestinian state?' But the truth will find its way, and
history will show that we stopped the withdrawal... The danger has
not passed, of course. But now we still have a real chance to prevent
the turning of the Yesha communities into precarious ghettos, in
danger of pogroms and evacuation, and stop a Palestinian state."
4. POLL: PRESS BIASED AGAINST NETANYAHU
Israel's media are overwhelmingly biased against Prime Minister
Netanyahu, according to a recent survey conducted by Ya'akov Katz of
Bar Ilan University. According to the poll, 45% of those surveyed
feel that in the context of its election reportage, the press gives
preference to Centrist party leader Yitzchak Mordechai, while 33%
claim that Labor party leader Ehud Barak receives top treatment. Only
9% of citizens polled sense that the media prefer Prime Minister
Netanyahu.
*********************************************************************
From: Arutz-7 Editor <hfendel@inter.net.il>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, March 15, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Monday, March 15, 1999 / Adar 27, 5759
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
--- See below for subscription instructions ---
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. PALESTINIANS DEMAND WESTERN JERUSALEM, TOO
2. YAHALOM-HENDEL DEBATE
3. ELECTION CLIPS
1. PALESTINIANS DEMAND WESTERN JERUSALEM, TOO
The Palestinians have demands not only on eastern Jerusalem, but on
the western part as well. Palestinian Authority senior Abu Allah
declared three days ago that the PA will insist on discussing western
Jerusalem in the final-status negotiations. Arutz-7 correspondent
Haggai Huberman reports that Abu Allah, who appeared before a
gathering of the Fatah Youth movement, said he was speaking in the
name of Yasser Arafat. Abu Allah also cited the recent European Union
letter implying that Israel has no sovereignty over any part of
Jerusalem.
2. YAHALOM-HENDEL DEBATE
The NRP's Transportation Minister Sha'ul Yahalom reacted today on
Arutz-7 to the press conference held last night by leaders of the new
united Moledet-Tekumah-Herut list: "These were the exact same people
who joined forces to prematurely topple Netanyahu. I begged and
pleaded with them at the time, 'let's not unseat a year early the only
right-wing government that we have a chance of forming. This is a
terrible mistake... The [members of the new list] are right-wing, but
they are not a smart right-wing." Yahalom explained that it is likely
that the elections will result in a national-unity government, or a
government headed by Barak, "in which case the Wye Agreement will be
child's play compared to what Labor and Meretz will bring upon us."
Yahalom lambasted MKs Chanan Porat and Tzvi Hendel for leaving the NRP
[and joining Tekumah] after the party's internal elections: "If they
disagreed with the party's approach, they should have left before the
elections, not afterwards. To take funds and air time that were set
aside for the party is simply unethical," he said.
MK Tzvi Hendel responded: "First of all, the right-wing that [Yahalom
claimed] is 'smart' is really nothing more than a 'dragged-along,
despairing' right-wing. We have not yet despaired, and we have faith
that there is much for us to do in this country." Hendel explained
that they left the party only after the elections because "only then
did it become clear that the party had changed direction. How were we
to know this before the elections?" Reacting to the charges that he
and Porat had taken money from the NRP, Hendel said, "Minister Yahalom
well knows that because we became a separate faction ninety days
before the election, our share of the government campaign funding is
automatically subtracted from the NRP's share and given to us. Even
if we were to concede the money, it would not return to the NRP, but
would rather go to the state coffers... In addition, it is clear that
the two of us were worth more than just our two seats, electorally;
because of us, additional Knesset Members were elected from the NRP
list." Finally, Hendel related to the toppling of the government:
"Much of the responsibility for this must lie with Minister Yahalom.
He went and whispered in Netanyahu's ear that the NRP would support
him no matter what agreement he signed with the Palestinians, which
led to the signing of Wye, which in turn led to the toppling of the
government."
3. ELECTION CLIPS
Centrist party leaders continue to prepare their final Knesset list,
and plan to publicize it tomorrow. Ramat Gan Mayor Tzvi Bar has denied
widespread rumors that he intends to leave the Likud in favor of the
centrist party. For its part, the Likud is deliberating today on the
high rate of its activists deserting to the centrist party, as well as
the lackadaisical involvement of its ministers in the Likud election
campaign. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met again yesterday with
Tzomet leader Rafael Eitan to discuss the possibility of Eitan joining
the Likud. The Likud is willing to reserve one seat for Tzomet on
its Knesset list, but not two, as Eitan would like.
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