From: Eddie Chumney
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Israel in the News
Israel
in the News
June
1 to June 20, 1999
TEMPLE MOUNT
KOFI ANNAN IS ALREADY THE 'LEGAL' HEAD OF JERUSALEM
by Geoffrey R. Neilson AC/UK 1964-70
On 29th November 1947, the United Nations passed a resolution,
stating that Jerusalem would be "corpus separatum", a separate
entity under special international control handled by the United
Nations. This resolution is being brought to light again in the
tussle for Jerusalem between Israelis, the PLO, and the Catholic
Church. Since Kofi Annan is the head of the United Nations, he
is -- according to this resolution -- technically the head of
Jerusalem. This author has long pointed out that Annan has
various characteristics which suggest he could be the Nimrod-like
First Beast over the resurrected Babylonian system described in
Revelation 17 and 19. If so, he will attempt to assert his claim
to Jerusalem militarily--as per Daniel 11:40-45--once he is
empowered to do so. Watch Kofi Annan.
JERUSALEM
RABBI: POPE TO VISIT IN MARCH
Ha'aretz 6/2/99
Despite the absence of an official announcement, a leading rabbi
says Pope John Paul II is planning to visit Israel next March.
Rabbi David Rosen, director of the Israel office of the Anti-
Defamation League and president of the International Council of
Christians and Jews, said yesterday that the visit can be
expected to encourage millions of Christians to participate in
Millennium celebrations in Israel. Rosen added that the Pope's
visit "is not contingent on progress in the peace process, as the
Vatican is trying to claim." Rabbi Rosen expressed optimism that
millions of Christian pilgrims will be encouraged to visit Israel
next year after the Pope's visit, despite skepticism in the
tourist industry. Rosen also praised the recent efforts by the
Catholic Church to combat anti-Semitism and criticized the
government of Israel for not taking full advantage of the accord
signed with the Catholic Church to jointly fight anti-Semitism.
PA WARNS THAT MAALE ADUMIM PLAN WOULD "END" OSLO PROCESS
IsraelWire - 5/30
The announced plans of the government to enlarge the city of
Maale Adumim by ten square kilometers has brought condemnation by
the PLO Authority (PA) and the government of the United States.
Despite the strong US opposition to the annexation plans, Prime
Minister-elect Ehud Barak has not issued an official policy
statement over the weekend.
In line with long term plans for Maale Adumim, Israel announced
it would be extending the municipal boundaries to border on
Jerusalem, eliminating any question regarding the areas between
Israel and Maale Adumim vis-...-vis the 'final status' talks
between Israel and the PA. Maale Adumim's mayor, Benny Casriel,
said the land was assigned to his town in 1993, and Arens' move
was just a procedural matter to allow for works there. "Most of
(the land) is (designated for a) forested area, green areas, and
some of it is designated for tourist attractions and hotels that
will provide jobs for all the residents, both Jews and
Palestinians,'' he said.
According to Barak spokesman David Ziso, the prime minister-elect
is not addressing diplomatic issues at this time, while coalition
negotiations are underway. Defense Minister Moshe Arens affixed
his signature to the annexation order, sparking a sharp and
immediate PA reaction, with Yassir Arafat demanding that
President Clinton stop the planned expansion of the city.
Faisal Husseini, who holds the PA's Jerusalem portfolio, and
other senior PA officials, insisted the planned Israeli move is a
gross violation of the Oslo accords and would result in an
immediate end to the Oslo process. US officials have expressed
criticism of what was labeled a most provocative plan, calling
upon Israel to reverse its decision. PA senior negotiator Saeb
Erekat commended the US response and stated Israel's failure to
back down would have disastrous results. The Hamas terrorist
organization called upon Arabs to confront all settlement
building and take practical steps to "respond to Zionist crimes."
Senior One Israel MK Dr. Yossi Beilin stated, "I can't imagine
we shall have to live with last minute provocation by an
irresponsible government.''
The outgoing government reminded critics that the original plan
for the annexation was proposed by the late prime minister
Yitzhak Rabin, in 1993.
ISRAEL
RUSSIAN IMMIGRATION TO ISRAEL UP SHARPLY IN 1999
Jerusalem, May 30 (Reuters)
Immigration by Russian Jews to Israel is significantly up in
1999, fueled in part by the economic crisis and rising
anti-Semitism in Russia, the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency
said on Sunday. The Jewish Agency said 7,933 Russian Jews had
immigrated to Israel in the first quarter of 1999, a 116 percent
increase on the same period a year earlier. It said 16,389
immigrants from the former Soviet Union had arrived in the first
four months of the year, up from 13,336 in that period of 1998.
"Anti-Semitism has become one of the major reasons for
immigration to Israel from Russia since the economic and
political crisis began in August 1998," the organisation said in
a statement. A Jewish Agency survey of Russian immigrants showed
that 31 percent of the new arrivals cited anti-Semitism as one of
the two main factors for leaving Russia, up from nine percent
before the political crisis.
Israel enjoyed six years of population growth in the early 1990s
as Jews from Russia and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union
streamed into the Jewish state. Some 750,000 Russian Jews have
entered Israel since 1989. The Jewish Agency said it estimated
60,000 Jewish immigrants would arrive in Israel from the former
Soviet Union in 1999.
KINNERET FISH IN DANGER DUE TO DROUGHT
IsraelWire - 6/11
According to experts studying the effect of the drought on
aspects of our day-to-day life, the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret)
fish population is in dander due to the drought existing as a
result of the winter's poor rainfall. Northern area streams and
other water bodies are in danger as well as the different types
of plant and vegetative life. The current of the Jordan River in the
area of the Bnot Yaakov Bridge is about 40 percent weaker than it
should be and other water falls and northern area water bodies are
also in danger of drying up.
CLINTON DELAYS EMBASSY MOVE TO HELP MIDEAST PEACE
Reuters June 18, 1999 Washington
President Clinton, anxious not to wreck the chances of progress
in Middle East peace talks, Friday delayed moving the U.S.
Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for at least six months. A
law passed by Congress in 1995 decreed that the embassy should
move by the end of 1999 but also gave the president the power to
postpone the transfer in the national interest. A statement
issued in Cologne, where Clinton is attending a Group of Eight
summit, said he invoked his waiver power "to protect our critical
national security interests, most crucially in preserving the
prospects for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.''
The White House noted that both Israel and the Palestinians have
agreed to discuss the future of Jerusalem in "final status''
talks expected to resume once Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ehud
Barak forms a coalition government. Talks between Israel and the
Palestinians had made little progress under outgoing Israeli leader
Benjamin Netanyahu. The White House said: "At a time when there is
real potential for movement in the peace process, and as we look
forward to the start of those crucial negotiations, the United States
should not be taking steps of its own that prejudge those negotiations
and make them more difficult. The differences that remain between
Israelis and the Palestinians can only be resolved through direct
negotiations and the United States should do everything it possibly
can to facilitate their success,' it added.
PEACE PROCESS
BARAK MAY SKIP TO FINAL STATUS TALKS
By David Makovsky, Ha'aretz 6/1/99
Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak is considering whether to consult
with the U.S. and the Palestinians about not implementing the
Wye agreement and instead jumping directly to final status talks,
Labor Party sources say. According to aides, Barak is planning
to omit the implementation of the Wye agreement from the
coalition guidelines, although they will mention the Oslo
accords. Until now, the Palestinians and the U.S. have been
assuming that Barak would immediately implement the last two
stages of the Wye accord when he becomes prime minister.
In 1995, after he joined the Rabin government, Barak was the only
member of the inner circle dealing with peace negotiations who
opposed the interim pullbacks put forward in the Oslo II
agreement, preferring that everything be left for the final
accord. Should Barak hold consultations, they will be based on
the premise that his government will have the political clout -
which the Netanyahu government lacked - to deliver a final status
deal, and hence there is no need for interim steps.
According to a Labor Party source, "Barak is considering talking
to the U.S. and the Palestinians about not implementing Wye and
going straight to final status. He has not made a final
decision. "However, even if he does so, he would not
unilaterally jump to final status against the wishes of the U.S.
and the Palestinians, since [Wye] is an international agreement
signed by the government of Israel."
HUNDREDS OF PALESTINIANS PROTEST AGAINST SETTLEMENT EXPANSION
June 3, 1999 By Dana Budeiri, Associated Press Bethlehem, West
Bank (AP)
Palestinians protesting Jewish settlement expansion clashed today
with Israeli soldiers throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In a separate attack, an Israeli soldier fatally shot a
Palestinian motorist at an army roadblock after he allegedly
tried to hit the soldier with his car. The marches, organized by
the Palestinian Authority on what it designated a "day of rage,''
were intended to exert pressure on Israel's moderate prime
minister-elect, Ehud Barak.
"It's a message from our people to Mr. Barak that peace with
settlements is not possible,'' said Palestinian spokesman Khaled
Khatib. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat fears Barak will try to
reach a peace agreement with Syria before focusing on the
conflict with the Palestinians. Arafat also worries Barak will
harden his position on settlements in an effort to lure
pro-settlement parties into his government coalition.
ARAFAT: STOP OCCUPATION OF PALESTINIANS, JUST AS IN KOSOVO
By Ben Lynfield Ramallah (June 13) Jerusalem Post
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat said the
international community must end the Israeli occupation of
Palestinian land just as it ended the persecution of the
Albanians in Kosovo "The president said... that just as the
international community managed to put an end to the oppression
in Kosovo and reach a peace agreement, the international
community is called upon to revitalize the peace process in the
Middle East and put an end to the Israeli occupation of
Palestinian land," the WAFA statement said.
PA negotiator Saeb Erekat said last night that the cabinet
statement did not intend to make an analogy between Kosovo and
the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He explained that US mediators had
stayed away from the Middle East in recent months because of the
Israeli election campaign and the Kosovo crisis. Now it's time to get
back to work, he added. "The only thing intended is that we hope the
international community will be able once again to focus on the peace
process, to revive it and to push it to a satisfactory conclusion,"
said Erekat.
CLINTON ADMINISTRATION WANTS WYE IMPLEMENTATION
IsraelWire - 6/15
The Clinton administration is unwilling to bypass the
implementation of the Wye Memorandum land withdrawals and move
immediately to the 'final status' talks as is the preference of
Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak. Senior advisors to President
Bill Clinton have already told emissaries of the incoming
government that Mr. Clinton personally was involved in Wye and
expects the government of Israel to implement it as promised.
Clinton rejects any attempt to forgo the land withdrawals to move
straight to the negotiating table to deal with the final status talks
as prescribed in the Oslo Accord.
CLINTON EXPECTS MIDEAST PEACE PROCESS TO BE 'VIGOROUS'
Copyright 1999 Nando Media Associated Press By Sandra Sobieraj
Paris June 17, 1999
President Clinton gave a vote of confidence Thursday to Israeli
Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak, saying the United States counted on
his new government to revive a "vigorous pursuit" of the Middle East
peace process. "I don't believe that I will have to take any steps to
revive the peace process," Clinton said in response to a reporter's
question about the stalled peace process. "I believe when the new
government takes office, if what we see in the press reports is right
about the composition of this broad-based coalition government, I
believe that there will be a vigorous pursuit of all channels of the
peace process," Clinton said Thursday. Clinton pledged that, once
Barak gets the peace process back on track, the United States would
"provide whatever security and other economic and other incentives we
can to bring it to a successful conclusion."
MIDDLE EAST
SOURCES: ARAFAT'S HEALTH IS DETERIORATING
Hamas News 5/31/99
Occupied Jerusalem- Palestinian Authority chairman Yaser Arafat
has reportedly developed early signs of senility as well as a set
of health problems, Palestinian sources said Wednesday.
According to the sources, Arafat is increasingly showing signs of
memory loss, speech interruptions, as well spasmodic reactions.
The sources which spoke on condition of anonymity intimated that
the 70-years old Palestinian leader didn't attend a conference on
confronting Jewish settlement in the West Bank, which was held in
Ramallah on Sunday, due to "ill health and dwindling mental
concentration." The sources pointed out that Arafat could no
longer speak extemporaneously for more than five minutes, which
the sources said, explained his failure to attend several
important meetings recently. The same sources added that Arafat
was recently advised by his physician to reduce his working
hours.
ARAFAT ATTACKS SYRIA, JORDAN
Weekend News Today By Andra Brack Source: Arabic News Tue Jun
15,1999
Arafat has strongly attacked the Syrian and Jordanian leaders and
accused the two sides of coordinating behind his back at his expense
and the expense of the Palestinian track in the peace process. Arafat
said in a special and lengthy meeting held with the leadership of the
Fatah movement held the week before last that the new Jordanian
leadership has politically turned to Syria and actually turned its
back to the PA despite the fact that the Jordanian leadership's formal
contacts have not ceased with the Palestinians.
Arafat added that the Jordanian leadership is concerned about
reviving the Syrian-Lebanese track much more than the Palestinian
track. He added that the Jordanian leadership is busy promoting the
Syrians in Washington and London much more than backing the
Palestinian Authority and supporting it at Western capitals.
He also said that "Syria is jealous" of his remarkable relations
with Egypt, adding that Syria has succeeded in undermining his
firm relations with Jordan and that it has on its lands the
"Palestinian opposition" and has received Sheikh Ahmad Yassin "as a
conqueror" not for the "sake of his eyes" but to "tease me and to show
me before the world as not a representative for all my people and not
as trustworthy for the cause of his homeland."
HAMAS DILEMMA: COMPETE AGAINST ARAFAT OR STAY OUT OF THE GAME
June 18, 1999 By Karin Laub, Associated Press Gaza City, Gaza
Strip (AP)
Hamas is having a bad month. The Islamic militant group lost a
key election and saw its popular support slip while its leader
once revered as a saint endured criticism for allegedly
spilling military secrets to look good on TV. It's not just a
momentary malaise, but a sign of a bigger dilemma posed by the
election of a moderate, Ehud Barak, as Israel's prime minister.
Barak has pledged to revive peace talks with the Palestinians
that will likely lead to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Hamas must now decide whether to compete with Yasser Arafat for a
piece of a growing pie statehood in most of the West Bank and Gaza
Strip or cling to its staunch rejection of peace with Israel. If
Hamas transforms itself into a political party, it would have to
implicitly recognize Arafat's Palestinian Authority and the rules set
by peace agreements with Israel. If it stays on the sidelines for the
sake of ideological purity, it would be unable to prevent Arafat from
further consolidating power.
Hamas' alternative social services network of clinics and
kindergartens has already been largely dismantled by Arafat, who
has also replaced Hamas mosque preachers with clergymen loyal to
him. The Palestinian leader, with the help of the United States, also
managed to restrict the flow of millions of dollars in donations that
Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin raised during a recent swing through the
Arab world. This leaves Hamas with little to offer, while more and
more Palestinians conclude that Arafat is their only ticket for
improving their lives. The Palestinian Authority is the largest
employer, giving it powerful leverage in an economy with 20 percent
unemployment.
US PLANNING SYRIA TRACK INITIATIVE - REPORT
By Douglas Davis London (June 17)
The United States is planning to welcome Prime Minister-elect
Ehud Barak into office with a fresh initiative aimed at reviving
peace talks with Syria. The initiative involves a working paper
for restarting negotiations and includes a framework for talks
and a timetable for implementation. According to the weekly
newsletter Foreign Report, to be published in London today, as
soon as he forms a government Barak will be invited to Washington and
presented with two questions:
* Will you agree to resume implementation of the Wye accords
[frozen by outgoing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu]?
* Are you ready to withdraw entirely from the Golan Heights in
return for Syria's acceptance of a comprehensive peace pact?
At the same time, Syria will be asked whether it is willing to
accept a comprehensive peace pact with Israel, including the
opening of an Israeli embassy in Damascus, in return for the full
withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Golan Heights. If the two sides
respond positively, direct talks will resume, possibly at the level of
foreign minister and with the "vigorous sponsorship" of US President
Bill Clinton.
The working paper also states:
* The target for an Israel-Syria pact will be three years,
including Israeli withdrawal from the Golan.
* There will be a six-month cease-fire on the Israel-Lebanon
border between Israel and Hizbullah, during which Israel will
gradually withdraw from the security zone.
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