To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <hfendel@inter.net.il>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, September 6, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Monday, Sep. 6, 1999 / Elul 25, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. YESHA LEADERS SEE WITHDRAWAL MAPS
2. GOV'T DEFENDS AGREEMENT
1. YESHA LEADERS SEE WITHDRAWAL MAPS
Yesha Council leaders were shown preliminary maps today depicting the
planned withdrawals from Judea and Samaria. They viewed the maps in the
office of Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh. The precise borders of the
withdrawal will be determined by a newly-appointed Ministerial committee,
to be headed by Tourism Minister and former IDF Chief of Staff Amnon
Lipkin-Shachak. Committee members will be Ministers Ben-Eliezer, Sarid,
Sharansky, Cohen (Shas), and Ben-Ami, as well as former Mossad chief Danny
Yatom.
Shomron Regional Council head Bentzy Lieberman told Arutz-7 today that all
local Yesha municipal leaders, with their aides, have been invited to view
the maps between 6 and 9 PM tonight, and will be able to recommend changes
designed to lessen the isolation of their communities. "The Sharm
agreement is irresponsible, and bad," Lieberman said. "The job of the
government is to protect its citizens, and there is nothing on these
withdrawal maps that will help against the thriving terrorism
infrastructures in the territories abandoned by the IDF." He said that if
the Sharm agreement is implemented as planned, "several communities in
Binyamin and the Hevron area will find themselves in the same isolated
situation as Sanur and Ganim in the Shomron."
2. GOV'T DEFENDS AGREEMENT
The debate on the advantages and disadvantages of the Sharm a-Sheikh
agreement have taken a back seat to the terrorist attacks yesterday, but
opposition leader Ariel Sharon did say today that Prime Minister Barak had
totally forsaken the principle of reciprocity in the agreement. The
achievements of the agreement, according to the government, include: the
beginning of final-status talks, the renewal of trust between the Israelis
and Palestinians, a strengthening of Israel's international status, a
tightening of the PA's security obligations, and the delay of the last
withdrawal until February 2000.
********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <hfendel@inter.net.il>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, September 7, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Tuesday, September 7, 1999 / Elul 26, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINE:
WITHDRAWAL MAPS BEING FINALIZED
The new ministerial committee established to determine the extent of
the upcoming withdrawals convened this morning, and heard the changes
proposed yesterday by the Yesha community heads. As the maps stand
now, no Yesha town will become totally isolated, a-la Netzarim in
Gaza, nor will any central highways be affected. However, the growth
of several Jewish towns will be impeded due to the proximity of
Palestinian-controlled areas. During the first stage of the
withdrawal, to be carried out next week, 7% of Israeli-controlled
Judea and Samaria will come under Palestinian administrative control.
Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reports that a Palestinian industrial zone
will be built in the village of Mukabila, very close to the pre-1967
border. The original withdrawal maps drawn up under the Netanyahu
government left this area as Area C (full Israeli control), but Barak
has agreed to allow Palestinian civil control there. Near Shechem,
land will be handed over in the vicinity of Elon Moreh and Itamar, as
will be areas used by the army between Emanuel and Yitzhar. Nachal
Te'enim, near Kedumim - where Israelis, including the family of
Housing Minister Yitzchak Levy, have purchased land - will be assigned
the status of Area B (PA civil control). A map of the area can be seen
at <http://www.a7.org/English/newspaper/Fnews.htm>
- click on "News:
Facts and Info."
***********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, September 8, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Wednesday, September 8, 1999 / Elul 27, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. ISRAELI-ARAB EXPERT WARNS OF A "STORM ON THE WAY"
2. CABINET AND KNESSET DISCUSS SHARM
3. GOV'T REJECTS THREE YESHA MAP CONCERNS; TERRORISTS TO BE FREED
1. ISRAELI-ARAB EXPERT WARNS OF A "STORM ON THE WAY"
Former MK Atty. Amnon Lin, author of a book on Israeli-Arabs entitled
"Before The Storm," explained today that increased Israeli-Arab
hostility towards Israel could have been easily foreseen, and will
likely get worse. "I am surprised that [GSS head] Ayalon said that he
is surprised," he told Arutz-7 today. "Everyone who knows anything
about this issue could have foreseen it. We are in the beginning of a
major crisis, and it will get worse as the final-status talks go into
high gear."
Lin started from the beginning: "Since the early days of the State,
up until, I would say, Oslo, Israeli-Arabs for the most part were
careful to define themselves as Israeli Arabs. They did not want to
be counted as Palestinians. Since Oslo, however, they more and more
define themselves as 'Palestinians upon whom Israeli citizenship was
forced...' There are still those among them who are more moderate,
mostly the older people... But let there be no misunderstanding: When
the struggle begins for Jerusalem, and for the right of return [for
the Arabs who left in 1948], and for the borders of the Palestinian
state, and over the fate of the Jewish settlements - and then there
will be calls for autonomy for the Arabs of the Galilee, etc. - we
will then see the extremist elements attempt to drag everyone along
with them in a violent wave against Israel."
Lin described the following scenario: "Just picture to yourself how
Arafat, as he has promised to do, calls upon the Arab-Palestinians in
Jordan and Lebanon to 'return to the homeland' - and hundreds of
thousands of people start marching on Israel's borders. And then he
calls upon the Arabs living in Palestine/Israel to 'go out and greet
your returning brethren.' Will any of the moderate elements be able
to stand in their way? We stand now at the beginning of a big
storm..."
2. CABINET AND KNESSET DISCUSS SHARM
The special Knesset session on the Sharm a-Sheikh agreement began this
afternoon. All 120 MKs are being given the opportunity to express
themselves, and a vote is not expected until very late at night. Prime
Minister Barak spoke first, and repeated that it is "difficult for
[him] to part with portions of the Land of Israel." Barak told the
Knesset that the agreement brings Israel closer to a final-status
arrangement with the Palestinians. He said that he understands the
pain of the Jewish settlers in Yesha, "who came there to live
according to the dictates of their conscience and as emissaries of
Israeli governments."
Opposition leader Ariel Sharon (Likud)responded with criticism of the
new Sharm agreement. He said that the new agreement is worse than the
previous Wye Memorandum, in that it forsakes the principle of
reciprocity. Sharon added that Israel is now bound by a tight
time-schedule, while the PA is not.
Earlier today, the government approved the implementation of the first
stage of the Sharm a-Sheikh agreement, including the planned transfer
of 7% of Judea and Samaria to PA-civil control, and the freeing of 200
Palestinian Arab terrorists from Israeli prisons. Seventeen ministers
voted in favor, while NRP leader Rabbi Yitzchak Levy voted against,
Yisrael B'Aliyah leader Natan Sharansky abstained, and the four Shas
ministers boycotted the meeting (see below).
3. GOV'T REJECTS THREE YESHA MAP CONCERNS; TERRORISTS TO BE FREED For
the first time since Israel's withdrawal from the cities of Kalkilye
and Tulkarm in late 1995, Palestinian Authority control will be
extended to areas bordering pre-1967 Israel. This was one of the main
concerns raised by Yesha leaders after they viewed maps of the
upcoming withdrawal. "Yesha leaders raised eleven points at the map
committee meeting yesterday," reported Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman
today. "Of these, eight were accepted by the committee - chaired by
Tourism Minister and former IDF Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shachak -
and three were passed on to the government for a final decision." The
government today rejected them. The changes that were accepted
related to specific problems of water, electricity, and local roads.
The three unaccepted issues have implications not only for the
settlement enterprise, but for the entire country, Huberman explained.
"Next week's withdrawal in the area of the northern Shomron will see
Area B, northwest of Jenin, extend up to the Green Line," he said.
"The area will border the Arab village of Mukabila, an Israeli-Arab
village. Until now, Israel was always careful to leave a buffer
between Palestinian areas and the Green Line." Ecological concerns
were also raised: "Without Israeli supervision, the PA is liable to
bring about real ecological damage to the communities of the northern
Shomron and of the Jezre'el Valley, the Yesha Council fears. Waste
products could be dumped into the Kishon brook and soon threaten towns
as far north as Haifa." As mentioned, however, the government
approved the transfer of this area.
The terrorist-release committee has completed its work, and the list
of 200 terrorists it decided upon will be freed tomorrow. The
government has decided to publish the names of the soon-to-be-free
terrorists only after their release - in defiance of the wishes of
family members of terrorist victims. Among those to go free will be
those who aided and abetted the murder of Israelis, as well as those
who murdered Arab collaborators-with-Israel.
Yesha Council members are gathered today for an emergency session, in
preparation for a massive public campaign against the Sharm a-Sheikh
agreement. Council Deputy Director-General Shlomo Filber told Arutz-7
today that though the upcoming withdrawal will not imminently isolate
any Yesha communities, the next stage of IDF pull-outs will be very
difficult for them.
********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, September 9, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Thursday, Sep. 9, 1999 / Elul 28, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. TERRORISTS RELEASED
2. REACTIONS: TERRORIST VICTIM, COLLABORATOR
3. YESHA DECISIONS
1. TERRORISTS RELEASED
Two hundred Arab terrorists were freed today from various prisons in
Israel today. They include 150 who killed Arab collaborators with
Israel, and another fifty terrorists who attempted to murder Jews but
succeeded only in wounding them. They were taken to different
checkpoints leading to the autonomous areas; most of them were
released at the Erez checkpoint in Gaza. A group of members of the
Terror Victims Association protested the release at the Ofer
checkpoint. A verbal and physical conflict developed between the
Arabs celebrating the return of the prisoners, and the Israelis who
came to protest the injustice.
The list of released prisoners was submitted today, after their
release, to the Terror Victims Association. It includes at least two
murderers of Arab collaborators after the first Oslo accord was signed
- Fatah-member Majed Asfour of Khan Yunis, and Popular Front member
Mar'in Masri Majbalyah. Many of the freed prisoners are from the PFLP,
which has never agreed to recognize Israel or to the diplomatic
process with Israel. Many of the murderers released today served ten
years or less in jail. TVA Chairman Meir Indor told Arutz-7's Yosef
Zalmanson that the information provided was "paltry," and that the
group has demanded that the State Attorney's Office provide
information as to who was murdered or hurt in the various attacks, and
when they occurred. "It is the public's right to know this
information," he said, "so that it may properly judge the scope of the
shame of this phenomenon. If the State Attorney's Office does not
respond, we will turn to the Supreme Court tomorrow."
2. REACTIONS: TERRORIST VICTIM, COLLABORATOR
Dov Kalmanovitch, the first victim of the intifada ten years ago, told
Arutz-7 today:
I stood this morning near the Ofer checkpoint, nor far from where I
was severely injured ten years ago from a Molotov cocktail, and was
treated in the hospital for over a year for burns [all over my body].
I could not sleep all night last night, knowing that terrorists who
injured Israelis will be freed today. It seems that my prize for
remaining alive is to see these terrorists go free. I cannot calm
myself. I could not stay home, and I went out to stand there to
register my personal protest of this outrageous injustice... [In
response to the claim that peace with the PLO obligates the freeing of
terrorists:] We made peace with the German government, yet still
continued to pursue Nazis... This is not a personal vendetta; neither
my human image, nor my fingers that were cut off, will be returned to
me if a terrorist remains or doesn't remain in prison. This is a
moral message: murderers must be punished.
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal spoke today with a former Arab collaborator
with Israel, whose name was not divulged. The latter expressed his
feelings about Israel's release of terrorists who had murdered his
fellow Arabs who cooperated with the State's security services:
"Israel has gone bankrupt by abandoning those who worked with it.
They helped the security of this state, and without them, there would
have been no security. It's not the investigators who provide the
security, but those of us who brought the information. Israel has
thrown them to the dogs... To rely on the PA for security is a big
mistake... I have seen many collaborators who were murdered, and I
know many of the murderers, and I know that they can do it again.
They have 'backing" in the PA. A murderer stays a murderer, it's in
his blood, he doesn't care. Even if he kills again, he knows he'll be
released a year or two later... The GSS has abandoned the
collaborators, and has no program for helping them - whatever they
have is worth nothing. No one is helping them. We all
believed
that Israel would stand by us... We worked days and nights, without
seeing our families, and nothing came from it. For the past few
months, I've barely been able to pay the rent. Some Jews relate to me
OK, if they know what I did, but the Israeli-Arabs relate to me very
negatively... Oslo is a sham. There will never be real peace with
the PLO - look at what they did in Jordan and Lebanon. Wherever they
go, they destroy... The current Arab MKs no longer represent the
Israeli-Arabs, but rather the PLO and the Palestinians. [This is
because] Hamas is stronger than the GSS, and things are dangerous..."
3. YESHA DECISIONS
Chief amongst the several decisions made at yesterday's emergency
Yesha Council session was that any civilian outpost that the
government evacuates will be re-settled. It was also decided to
reactivate the protest groups that were active during the Rabin-Peres
period; they will operate through the duration of the implementation
of the Sharm a-Sheikh agreement. Beit Aryeh local council head Mark
Asiah led those on the Council who demanded very sharp protest
activities, while Shomron Regional Council head Bentzi Lieberman said
that more moderate protests would pay off during the popular
referendum on the permanent-status.
***********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, September
10, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Friday, Sept. 10, 1999 / Elul 29, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. ARAFAT AGREES TO ACCEPT LAND
2. BARAK WILLING TO SETTLE FOR LONG-TERM INTERIM AGREEMENT
1. ARAFAT AGREES TO ACCEPT LAND
Yasser Arafat has rescinded his refusal to sign the withdrawal papers,
and has agreed to accept the land that Israel will transfer to him.
He was originally upset at minor changes that, at the behest of the
Yesha Council, had been instituted in the withdrawal maps. The crisis
ended when O.C. Central Command Maj.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon went to Gaza
and was able to convince Arafat to sign the papers. Seven percent of
Yesha, in the Shomron, will be transferred to Palestinian Authority
administrative control on Monday, following the Rosh HaShanah holiday.
An official Likud statement today was bitterly critical of the
impending transfer: "Prime Minister Barak is giving away land without
the Palestinians having fulfilled even one of their commitments, such
as collecting the illegal weapons and stopping the incitement against
Israel... The Sharm a-Sheikh agreement returns Israel to the
situation where Arafat knows that he is working with an Israeli
government that does not insist on anything, gives in to pressures,
and gives away land for free."
2. BARAK WILLING TO SETTLE FOR LONG-TERM INTERIM AGREEMENT
In holiday interviews with various news media today, Prime Minister
Ehud Barak says that if he does not succeed in reaching a
permanent-status arrangement with the Palestinians within a few
months, he will settle for a long-term interim arrangement. Similar
statements were made this morning by Communications Minister Binyamin
Ben-Eliezer.
*************************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, September 13, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Monday, September 13, 1999 / Tishrei 3, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL OF 7% MORE OF YESHA TRANSFERRED TO P.A.
2. PERMANENT-STATUS TALKS BEGIN
1. ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL OF 7% MORE OF YESHA TRANSFERRED TO P.A.
Seven percent of Judea and Samaria (Yesha) was officially transferred
late this morning to the Palestinian Authority's administrative
control. In an exchange-of-maps ceremony in the offices of the Civil
Administration Authority in Beit El, the PA received jurisdiction over
such matters as transportation, public works, tourism, holy sites, and
others. The Arabs will no longer require Israeli permission to build
in these areas, and based on past experience, Israeli troops will not
enter the territory as freely as before.
Environmental elements in Yesha have warned against the resulting
ecological effects of PA construction. "Already now, it is clear that
the PA will not build according to Israeli standards," warns Ariel
Mayor Ron Nachman, "and the planned PA industrial zone and quarries
will have disastrous effects on the entire region and further away."
Regarding the Palestinians' right to build freely, Nachman asks:
"Where is the reciprocity in this agreement? If they can build in
their Area B (under Palestinian civil control), why can't we build in
our Area C (full Israeli control)?"
2. PERMANENT-STATUS TALKS BEGIN
The permanent-status talks with the PA will begin this evening in a
festive ceremony at the Erez Checkpoint on the border of the Gaza
Strip. PA Chairman Arafat announced last night that the purpose of
the talks is to bring about a Palestinian state and the "return of the
refugees." Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh similarly said today
that it is likely that the final-status talks will not lead to a
permanent-status agreement before the deadline set by Barak - the end
of the year 2000. MK Ahmed Tibi, who formerly served as a top Arafat
advisor opined today that a final-status arrangement would not be
attained during Ehud Barak's term in office.
Arafat said yesterday that there would be no peace without Jerusalem
as capital of a Palestinian state. Arab-affairs expert Dr. Guy
Bechor, of the Inter-disciplinary Center in Herzliya, said that tough
statements of this nature are merely an opening bargaining position.
"I actually think it very likely that a final-status arrangement will
be achieved within the year - largely because of Arafat's age," Bechor
told Arutz-7 today. "I think that we will see very significant steps
towards the formation of a Palestinian state within the coming year -
before the end of the deadline set by Barak. Arafat, who is now over
70 and not in the best of health, will show great flexibility, because
he wants to see a Palestinian state in his lifetime. I think that his
concessions will include an agreement to de-militarize the whole
[Palestinian] state. In addition, he will accept less than the whole
of Judea and Samaria - some entire strips adjacent to [pre-1967]
Israel will come under full Israeli sovereignty, and some settlements
will come under Palestinian sovereignty - just like there are Arab
villages in Israel... they will be afforded full Israeli protection.
Also regarding the refugees [from 1948] - it's understandable that he
is raising this issue now, but he really does not expect millions to
return, and actually he doesn't even want them back, because he knows
that many of them are hostile to him. Instead, he simply wants the
compensation! This money will help him to build his state. In
Jerusalem, too, I think the Palestinians will make significant
concessions, simply in order to get a state... You have no idea how
important [Arafat's] personal factor is in this issue." Bechor
admitted, however, that his opinions were "surprising."
**************************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, September 14, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Tuesday, September 14, 1999 / Tishrei 4, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. FM LEVY - THEN AND NOW - ON ARRANGEMENTS WITH P.A.
2. PALESTINIANS ANTICIPATE RETURN TO ALL OF ISRAEL
1. FM LEVY - THEN AND NOW - ON ARRANGEMENTS WITH P.A.
At last night's festive ceremony to mark the launching of
final-status talks with the Palestinians, held at the Erez Checkpoint
in Gaza, Foreign Minister David Levy reviewed what the government's
four guiding principles: No return to the pre-1967 borders; Jerusalem
united under Israeli sovereignty; settlement blocs in Judea and
Samaria; no foreign army west of the Jordan River. Levy noted that
the ceremony is taking place "eight years after the Madrid Conference,
which marked the start of the peace process in the Middle East. This
is also the sixth anniversary to the day of the signing of the Oslo
agreement of principles between Israel and the PLO. Over the past
eight years, both the Israelis and the Palestinians have made
significant efforts at mutual recognition, for the implementation of
the interim agreements, and for the establishment of frameworks for
reconciliation and cooperation..."
His remarks last night were of a somewhat different nature than his
original reaction to the Oslo Accords. At the first rally after the
signing of the original agreement, Levy - then firmly planted in the
hierarchy of the Likud party - thundered, "A disgrace of this
magnitude is unprecedented! To give away 'Gaza and Jericho First' is
not merely the start of Palestinian autonomy. This is deception! We
originally wanted to secure an agreement with the Arabs in the land of
Israel - for autonomy only. Under no circumstances were we prepared to
create another state!.. Today, the Prime Minister [Rabin] had the
nerve - from the Knesset podium - to invoke the High Holyday liturgy,
'Open a gate for us!' Mr. Prime Minister, you yourself have opened
the gate - for a terrorist organization!
You have opened a gate in Washington for Yasser Arafat! You have
opened a gate in Jericho for the murderers who will come here as warriors,
brandishing their ammunition... No remnant will remain from this
[Oslo] document - because we, the Jewish people, desire life!..."
2. PALESTINIANS ANTICIPATE RETURN TO ALL OF ISRAEL
Itamar Marcus of the Palestinian Media Watch told Arutz-7 today that
the official Palestinian press is quite skeptical of the possibilities
that a final-status deal can be reached in the near future. "A
political cartoon in the Al Quds paper features an Arab climbing a set
of ascending stairs, labeled 'Oslo,' 'Wye,' and 'Sharm,'" Marcus
noted. "The character is able to climb each one of the stairs, but
cannot reach the last step, labeled 'final status.'" Marcus noted
that given the stated "red lines" of the two sides, the cartoon is not
so far-fetched: "Last night, Foreign Minister Levy said that Israel
would not return to the pre-1967 borders, and that it would insist on
the maintenance of settlement blocs. But today's P.A. Al Hayat paper
asserts: 'There will be no peace until the very last blade of grass is
uprooted from the settlements.' Another article states that there is
no hope of peace "unless Jerusalem is the capital of our state, and
unless all Palestinian refugees return to their homeland.'"
Arutz-7 News Editor Haggai Segal suggested that such statements simply
represent the opening, and not final, positions of the Palestinians.
"I don't think so," Marcus responded, "especially if you read their
papers on a daily basis and examine what they are teaching Palestinian
children in their schools and summer camps - namely, to anticipate the
eventual return of refugees to Haifa and Jaffa. While our politicians
and journalists refer to Arafat's goal of a Palestinian 'return' to
Judea and Samaria, the Palestinians themselves are talking about
millions of Arabs returning to modern-day Israel." Marcus noted that
to complement its media campaign and educational messages, the PA has
invested significant resources in liaisons with Israeli-Arab towns and
villages. "Last week, for example, a three-day cultural festival held
in the Israeli-Arab city of Um-el Fahm opened with the Palestinian
national anthem," Marcus noted, "and it was funded by the PA
Department of Cultural Affairs."
**********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, Sept. 16, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Thursday, Sept. 16, 1999 / Tishrei 6, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINE:
TERRORISTS TURNED "POLICEMEN"
The Palestinian Authority has recruited the 199 terrorists released by
Israel last week into its paramilitary police force. In a Sept. 14
article, Middle East Newsline correspondent Mohammed Najib writes,
"All of the 199 released Palestinian prisoners on Thursday were
absorbed in PA security forces and were handed weapons 'in order to
protect themselves,' a PA source said. On Tuesday, PA Radio
confirmed the report." Zionist Organization of America President
Morton Klein notes that the Oslo accords require Arafat to submit
lists of potential police recruits to Israel for approval before
hiring them, so that Israel can screen out any known terrorists, and
that Arafat has repeatedly ignored this obligation.
There is every indication that Israel's security and political
establishment is aware of the situation. On June 6 of this year, GSS
Chief Ami Ayalon told the outgoing Netanyahu cabinet that "many
fugitives had been given posts in the PA police and security forces,"
and that "some of these posts include senior commands." Back in
January 1997, former Justice Minister Tzachi Hanegbi revealed that
"many of the terrorists wanted by Israel are serving in senior
positions in the Palestinian Authority," including the police force.
Hanegbi added, "the rank assigned to the perpetrators and organizers
of a given terrorist crime are in direct proportion to the amount of
victims killed in the attack."
Last night, the Prime Minister's media advisor announced that the PA
transferred to Israel a list of Palestinian police personnel, as
required by the Wye and Sharm agreements, - and that Israel is now
"examining the list."
**********************************************************************