From: Eddie Chumney
To : heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Israel in the News
Israel
in the News
July
26 to August 1, 1999
MUSLIMS CLAIM NAZARETH SITE IN MILLENNIUM ROW
By Tom Gross in Nazareth London Telegraph 8/1/99
Christian plans to celebrate the Millennium in Jesus's home town of
Nazareth are being threatened by Muslim extremists determined to
build a huge mosque on the plot of holy land earmar ked to welcome
pilgrims. The row comes in the wake of recent outbreaks of
Muslim-Christian violence at the Church of the Annunciation on the
site where, according to tradition, the Archangel Gabriel told Mary
she was pregnant with Jesus. Local people fear that the Millennium
celebrations and the proposed papal pilgrimage next year could lead
to even bloodier clashes. One teen age girl said:
"Even in the street, I am afraid. I hide my cross around my neck."
The bitter rift between the two communities - young Christians are now
talking of forming vigilante self-protection groups - is casting a
shadow over Pope John Paul II's plans to make a long-awaited visit to
one of the holiest shrines in Christendom next March. Islamic
radicals have already pitched an enormous prayer tent on the disputed
territory which they are occupying around the clock. They claim the
land does not belong to the local authorities because, historically,
it is Muslim and home to the grave of Shhab El-Din, an anti-Crusader
warrior and cousin of the Islamic fighter Saladdin.
Nazareth's secular Christian mayor, Ramez Jeraisi, backed by the
Israeli ministry of tourism, wants to erect a Venetian-style
pedestrian plaza for pilgrims on the empty half-acre plot by the
church. The idea was to improve access to the church, the largest in
the Middle East, for the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected
next year. But a Muslim group wants to bui ld the largest mosque in
the city there, at a cost of $20 million donated by the Gulf states. It would
have four turrets and a central 300ft minaret. At its centre would be
a lase r image in the shape of a half crescent, which Christian groups
believe might overshadow the Basilica of the Annunciation.
COTTON CROPS DESTROYED DUE TO WATER SHORTAGE
IsraelWire-7/26
250 dunams (62.5 acres) of cotton crops in the Jezriel Valley were
destroyed since far mers cannot supply the crops with the necessary
amounts of water. The area farmers explained that with the
new recycling policies, which were implemented in Haifa, providing
less water for area farmers and reducing the flow of water from Nahal
Kishon. Agricultural officials in the valle y estimate damages to
crops in the area due to insufficient water supplies have reached NIS
30 mi llion. (about $10 million).
KIBBUTZ MENARA RUNS DRY - Israel's drought
IsraelWire-8/2
On Friday afternoon, several hours before the start of the Sabbath,
residents of the northern community of Kibbutz Menara found
themselves without water. Kibbutz leaders immediately called upon
the army to bring water trucks to provide the necessary water for the
day as well as for the upcoming Sabbath. Kibbutz officials have
reported problems over the past days , as has been the case in other
area communities. The lack of water and pressure is attributed
to the low level of area springs resulting form the year's
significantly less than normal rainfall.
MEKOROT STRIKERS THREATEN WATER SUPPLY; 'Store water,' warns local
authority By Haim Bior, Ha'aretz 8/2/99
Mekorot Water Company workers will step up a strike they launched
about one month ago "to the extent of disrupting the water supply," a
workers' meeting in the Tel Aviv Cineram a decided yesterday. In
light of the decision, Union of Local Authorities Chair Adi Eldar
called on people living in big cities to store water in case of a
shortage which might be felt, in his estimation, as early as tonight
or tomorrow morning. National Mekorot Union Chair Meir Eliezra said
at the meeting, "We gave enough warning to the treasury, including the
government companies a nd the Mekorot management. Despite the fact
that the strike has already been going on for a month with no
solution, we have refrained until now from disrupting the regular
water supply. The striking workers don't have money to pay their
mortgage or to buy food, and nobody cares what's going
on in Mekorot."
PEACE PROCESS
ARAFAT AIDE WARNS BARAK OVER WYE PLAN
Reuters July 30, 1999 Gaza
A top aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat warned Friday that
Palestinian-ruled areas could ''explode'' if Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Barak refuses to fully implement the Wye River land-for-security
accord. Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, general secretary of Arafat's cabinet,
said Barak's proposal to delay a West Bank land transfer under the
U.S.-brokered deal raised suspicions Barak would be little different
from his right-wing predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu.
"If the Palestinians felt for a moment that they have been rewarded
for their commitment to peace with Israeli non-compliance, they would
hit the peace process with the first stone they pick up,''
Abdel-Rahman told Reuters. "Things will immediately explode. Neither
Barak nor anybody else would be able to stop it. If the Palestinians
recognize that Israel is still neglecting their commitment to peace,
they would have the right to liberate themselves,'' he said. "We have heard
the same speech from Benjamin Netanyahu. What we needed from Barak
was immediate implementation,'' Abdel-Rahman said.
ARAFAT HOLDS RECONCILIATION TALKS WITH RADICAL PALESTINIANS
August 1, 1999 By Salah Nasrawi, Associated Press Cairo, Egypt (AP)
Trying to unite Palestinian ranks before a new round of peace talks,
Yasser Arafat met with an extremist group Sunday that has opposed
peace deals with Israel. His meeting with representatives of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in an Egyptian
government guesthouse here was his first with the group since the
first Israeli-Palestinian peace accord was signed in 1993. The two
sides broke for lunch after three hours, with the head of the PFLP
delegation, Abu Ali Moustafa, who is also the party's deputy leader,
telling reporters "we are now on the right path.'' Nabil Shaath, the
Palestinian planning minister and member of Arafat's delegation,
agreed the session had been a success. "Today we have laid the
cornerstone for a successful national dialogue,'' Shaath said. He
told reporters that Arafat's Fatah party, the only major PLO faction
to support Oslo, and the PFLP had agreed to "extend the dialogue to
include other Palestinian groups and make it comprehensive.'' Fatah
hopes that its renewed links with the PFLP will encourage other
anti-Oslo factions to return to the Palestinian mainstream.
Its eyes are now on Hamas, a radical group whose spate of bombings in
Israel in 1996 killed more th an 60 people and heavily set back the peace
process.
ISRAEL'S BARAK AIMS FOR OCTOBER START ON WYE
Reuters August 1, 1999 Jerusalem
Israel aims to begin implementation of outstanding pledges under the
Wye River land-for-security peace accord with the Palestinians on
October 1, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday.
The spokesman, David Ziso, said the target date was to begin carrying
out initial parts of the U.S.-brokered interim accord, and had no
bearing on Barak's request for the Palestinians to agree to delay the
final stages of the Wye deal.
"Implementation will apparently begin on October 1,'' Ziso said,
adding that Barak informed his cabinet of the date earlier Sunday.
He declined to say whether Israel would begin handing over more West
Bank land to the Palestinians on that date, or whether Barak expected
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to meet several of his security
commitments at that time. "Everything that has not yet been
implemented will begin to be carried out,'' Ziso said. He did not
elaborate.
BARAK: PALESTINIANS NOT FLEXIBLE IN PEACE NEGOTIATIONS
August 1, 1999 By Jack Katzenell, Associated Press Jerusalem (AP)
Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday the Palestinians have not been
flexible in peace negotiations, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
summoned his top negotiators to Cairo for urgent consultations. A
statement from Barak's office hinted that the peace process might be
encountering its first crisis since he took office. "The office of
the prime minister feels that while Israel seeks real progress, the
Palestinians respond without flexibility, probably because of
internal considerations,'' a statement from Barak's office said.
A Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a
meeting to discuss implementation of the U.S.-brokered Wye accord
Sunday between Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and his Israeli
counterpart, Gilead Sher, ended in "real crisis.'' According to
the source, Erekat left late Sunday to consult on the brewing
breakdown with Arafat in Cairo. More delays would likely anger the
Palestinians, who have called for immediate implementation of the
agreement. In a statement released by the Palestinian news agency
WAFA, Palestinian Ieader Yasser Arafat reiterated his stance against
any delays in carrying out Wye.
MIDDLE EAST
HEZBOLLAH VOWS TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT
STRATFOR.COM Global Intelligence Update July 28, 1999
As a proposed peace agreement between Israel and Syria gains momentum,
most of the mil itant Palestinian factions seem prepared to support
the process. Even Hamas has taken a cautious wait-and-see approach
to the talks. The Lebanese Hezbollah, however, is vowing to continue
the fight. Yet judging by comments to the Lebanese press by Hezbollah
leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, even Hezbollah has agreed not to
launch attacks that could fundamentally disrupt the peace process.
What brought Hezbollah in line? In all likelihood a promise from Syria
that, if Hezbollah behaved itself, it could continue business as usual in
southern Lebanon after the Israelis were gone. And in the Middle
East, all rhetoric aside, business is business.
ARAFAT EXCLUDED FROM PLANS FOR ARAB SUMMIT
Middle East Newsline Friday, July 30, 1999 Amman [MENL]
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is being left out of
plans for an Arab summit to prepare for upcoming peace talks with
Israel, diplomatic sources said. The sources said the summit being
discussed will be limited to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak,
Jordan's King Abdullah and Syrian President Hafez Assad. The sources
said Arafat's exclusion was a condition placed by Assad for any
summit.
On Wednesday, the pro-government Jordanian daily Al Dustour said the
leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Syria will meet within the week. They
said the leaders have agreed that the summit would take place in
Cairo. The sources said Egypt will press the Palestinian case in the
summit while Jordan would be aligned with Syria. They said Syria
does not want the Palestinian negotiation with Israel disrupt the
efforts by Damascus to renew talks for the return of the Golan
Heights, captured by the Jewish state in 1967.
A senior Palestinian source acknowledged that Arafat has been shut
out of Arab plans to coordinate positions on the peace process. The
sources said Prime Minister Ehud Barak is seeking to delay any
agreement with the PA so he can focus on concluding a peace treaty
with Syria.
PEACE WITH ISRAEL IS MAIN GOAL, SAYS ASSAD
By Ohad Gozani in Tel Aviv London Telegraph 8/2/99
President Assad told his army yesterday that peace with Israel was
Syria's "sublime target" and that his country would do nothing to
hinder it. But in a message on Army Day, Mr Assad said that Israel
must give up the Golan Heights, which it has occupied since 1967, in
return for a "just and comprehensive" peace deal. He added that
peace was a "pressing need" for all of the Middle East. Mr Assad
said: "We are not the ones hampering or delaying the achievement of
this aim and the realisation of this need." Israeli officials said the
latest message was significa nt in that it was specifically directed
to the Syrian military, the main power behind Mr Assad's regime.
ANTI-SEMITISM
EXPLOSIVE FOUND IN MOSCOW SYNAGOGUE
July 25, 1999 Moscow (AP)
A bomb was found in a Moscow synagogue on Sunday in what appeared to
be part of a recent wave of attacks and attempted assaults against
Jewish sites in the Russian capital. A rabbi's child
found the device in a Lubavitch synagogue near Moscow's central
Pushkin Square, and members of the congregation brought it outside,
Russian news agencies reported. After a sniffer dog confirmed that
the package contained explosives, a special robot exploded it. No one
was injured, but several windows in a neighboring building were
shattered, Interfax news a gency said.
TESTIMONY FROM THE UKRAINE: JEWISH GRAVES BEING OPENED IN SEARCH
FOR GOLD TEETH
IsraelWire-7/28
58 years following the slaughter of about 21,000 Jews by the Germans,
local area residents are opening Jewish graves in search of gold
teeth and jewelry. Yitzhak Kleiner, a retired resident of
Tel Aviv, born in the Ukraine area, visited his past a week ago,
meeting with old friends. He was horrified when taken to the area
where the local Jewish children were interred, seeing the fence
was removed and the graves had been opened and bones of Jewish
children were scattered about.
"After we recovered from the sight, we began to collect skulls and
bones and return th em to the graves. We only did part of the job
because of the large amount of remains scattered about and because
they warned us about local area residents," explained Kleiner.
Kleiner stated local Jewish leaders were unsympathetic and only
intervention by Israel on a diplomatic level might bring an
end to the despicable actions.
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