From: Eddie Chumney
To:      heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Israel in the News: Sept 13 - 20, 1999


TEMPLE MOUNT

ZIONIST GROUP CIRCULATES DRAWING OF TEMPLE ERECTED ON MOSQUE'S
SITE Hamas News 9/11/99 Occupied Jerusalem

Jewish organizations in Palestine have stepped up their efforts
to expedite the destruction of the Masjidul Aksa and building of
a Jewish temple in its place.  According to Israeli sources,
several Messianic groups, including the "Temple Mount Faithful"
began of late circulating impressionistic drawings showing a huge
Jewish Temple erected in place of the Aksa Mosque in the heart of
East Jerusalem.  The disappearance of the Mosque and the nearby
Dome of the Rock from the Panorama of the town signifies Zionist
efforts to destroy Islamic holy places in Jerusalem.  The Israeli
sources quoted above said several engineers were composing models
of the Temple so that its "rebuilding will begin immediately when
the opportunity arises." According to Rabbi Yosef Abaum of the
Temple Mount Faithful, preparation for rebuilding the temple
included training a priestly class of the Kuhanim tribe, offering
sacrificial animals (cows), and lighting candles.

JERUSALEM

ARAFAT AND ISRAEL AGREED TO EXCLUDE JERUSALEM, REFUGEES FROM
FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT
Occupied Jerusalem Hamas News 9/18/99

A leftist Palestinian intellectual said today he received
confidential information that Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat had agreed in principle to exclude the Issues of
Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees in return for an Israeli
consent to a Palestinian state on parts of the West Bank.
Mustafa al Barghouthi, a leader of the Palestine People's Party
(formerly the Communist Party) said Israeli premier Ehud Barak
and Arafat had secretly reached an agreement whereby a
Palestinian state would be established on around 60% of the West
Bank in return for deferring the two intractable issues of
Jerusalem and the Palestinian refugees.  Barghouthi described the
current final status talks between the two sides, which started
last week, as only " a shadow of the real secret talks."  Last
week, Muhammad Dahlan, Chief of the Gaza version of the
Preventive Security Force, refused to join the PA team to the
final talks, apparently in protest against the reported holding
of secret negotiations between Israel and the PA.  The PA has
denied that there were secret negotiations with Israel.

ISRAEL

ISRAEL'S BARAK VOWS TO SEEK PEACE, SECURITY
Reuters September 19, 1999 JERUSALEM

Prime Minister Ehud Barak pledged Sunday to pursue peace with
Israel's Arab neighbors "with the olive branch and the sword'' to
ensure a secure future for the Jewish state.  In tones that
echoed his peacemaking predecessors Yitzhak Rabin and Menachem
Begin, Barak renewed a commitment to forge peace with Syria,
Lebanon and the Palestinians in a national address before the
start of the Jewish people's highest holy day, Yom Kippur or the
Day of Atonement.  "In these days, we are extending our hand
toward the peace of the brave with all our neighbors,'' Barak, a
former army chief of staff and Israel's most decorated soldier,
said in a message to bereaved families from the 1973 war.  "In
one hand we hold an olive branch, in the other we hold a sword so
that we shall (not make) war no more,'' he said.  His words were
borrowed from an exhortation in the bible to turn swords into
plowshares that Begin also quoted at the White House in 1979 when
he signed a peace treaty with Egypt, Israel's first with an Arab
state.

ISRAELI PREMIER SEES NEW VIOLENCE IF PEACE TALKS FAIL
September 19, 1999 BERLIN (AP)

Middle East violence could flare if peace talks between Israel
and the Palestinians fail, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was
quoted Sunday as saying.  The alternative to peacemaking would be
"a situation like Kosovo, or a march into a dead end with
unilateral steps on each side,'' Barak told Der Spiegel magazine.
"That would start the countdown to a new round of violence.''

PEACE PROCESS

DESPITE TOUGH OPENING GAMBITS, ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS EXPRESS
OPTIMISM
September 14, 1999 By Ron Kampeas, Associated Press Erez
Crossing, Gaza Strip (AP)

They shook hands, they staked out unbridgeable positions, they
hugged.  Launching talks on a final peace accord Monday with a
pledge to meet an ambitious one-year deadline, the top
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators each set demands that could
torpedo the talks from the outset   were it not for their
declared determination for a breakthrough after years of
stagnation.

"No return to 1967 lines,'' Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy
said, referring to Israel's borders before it captured Arab lands
in the 1967 Mideast war.  "A united Jerusalem, under Israeli
sovereignty, will remain Israel's capital.''

Mahmoud Abbas, the top deputy to Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat, countered: "We aspire to live within the borders of an
independent Palestinian state on the June 4th, 1967 boundaries,
with holy Jerusalem as its capital.''

LEADING RABBIS BEGINNING TO OPPOSE ISRAEL'S GIVING AWAY LAND
Weekend News Today By Andra Brack Source: IsraelWire Sep 14, 1999

According to the "Kol Hazman" weekly newspaper, a secret assembly
took place last week and was attended by leading rabbinical
figures aligned with the national religious camp.  At the
assembly, the rabbis decided to begin the battle to oppose
government plans to give away portions of the Land of Israel to
the PLO Authority (PA). The rabbis decided to launch
demonstrations opposing the government's plans to give away land
to the PA and to 'reactivate' rulings prohibiting the giving away
of portions of land to foreign nations and banning IDF soldiers
from participating in such actions as contrary to the teachings
of the Torah and Jewish law.  The rabbis decided to operate under
the banner to be known as "The Forum of the Chief Rabbi."

ARAFAT IN JORDAN ON FINAL STATUS NEGOTIATIONS WITH ISRAEL
September 16, 1999 By Jamal Halaby, Associated Press AMMAN,
Jordan (AP)

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Jordan's King Abdullah II
today discussed the status of refugees, Jerusalem and other
thorny issues remaining to be resolved in peace talks between
Palestinians and Israelis.  Abdullah said in a magazine interview
that traditionally Arab east Jerusalem is occupied land that
should be returned to the Palestinians.  "(Jerusalem) is regarded
as the same as any other occupied Palestinian land and we are
backing our Palestinian brothers to enable them to regain their
complete rights concerning this issue,'' Abdullah told the
London- based, Lebanese al-Hawadeth weekly magazine.

Omar Khatib, Arafat's representative in Jordan, said talks
between Arafat and Abdullah focused on refugees, Jerusalem, and
"all issues related to the final status talks and coordinating
positions in that regard.'' He declined to elaborate.  Abdullah
said he wanted to "protect Jordan's interests'' in the final
negotiations that tackle sensitive issues, including the shape of
a future Palestinian entity, its borders and the fate of
Palestinian refugees.  He said besides the individual rights of
refugees, "we have rights as a country hosting'' them.  He did
not elaborate, but officials said Jordan will claim compensation
for money it spent on the refugees.  No estimate was immediately
available, but it is known that the state spends $300 million
annually on 13 Palestinian refugee camps in the kingdom.  Jordan
is the largest Arab host to Palestinians who were displaced in
the 1948 and 1967 Middle East wars.  Roughly two-thirds of its
3.8 million people are Palestinian.

ISRAELI ARMY CHIEF: FINAL DEAL WITH PALESTINIANS DOUBTFUL IN A
YEAR September 16, 1999 JERUSALEM (AP)

It is doubtful Israel and the Palestinians will be able to
negotiate a permanent peace accord within a year, their
self-imposed deadline, Israel's army chief said in comments
published Thursday.  "The issue of time is the central
question,'' Lt.  Gen.  Shaul Mofaz told the Haaretz daily.  "I
don't think a conflict of 30 or 50 years can be resolved in a
month or two, nor in a year or two.'' The army will play an
important advisory role in the negotiations since most of the
issues on the table will affect Israel's security.  Mofaz noted
that in previous negotiations, most deadlines were missed and
that the two sides haven't yet begun to address the most
difficult disputes.

BARAK, ARAFAT MEET ON PEACE DEAL TALKS
Reuters September 17, 1999 JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat met in secret in the dead of night to discuss
negotiations on a final peace deal, Palestinian officials said
Friday.  "There was a positive discussion in a good atmosphere in
preparation for the final settlement negotiations,'' Yasser Abed
Rabbo, the lead negotiator for the Palestinian final-status team,
told Reuters.  Unidentified Israeli sources quoted on Israel
Radio called the talks very successful and said the two leaders
would meet periodically.  It was their first meeting since Arafat
and Barak signed an interim land-for-security deal in Egypt on
September 5 and set Israel and the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) back on the path to a lasting peace
settlement.

JORDAN'S KING ABDULLAH, POPE DISCUSS MIDDLE EAST
Reuters September 18, 1999 CASTELGANDOLFO, Italy

Pope John Paul held cordial talks Saturday with King Abdullah of
Jordan at his summer residence south of Rome, the Vatican said.
Chief Vatican Spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement
they discussed "the new positive climate for the peace process''
and the Pope's desire to visit biblical sites.  He is planning a
major Holy Land pilgrimage next year.  Jordanian Foreign Minister
Abdulilah al-Khatib told La Stampa newspaper the King believed
the Pontiff had an important role to play in stimulating Middle
East peace.  "It is a very important meeting because of the
Pope's great moral stature,'' he told the paper.  "The Middle
East peace process needs the religious support of the Pontiff.
We believe in peace as the only thing to do and the Pope can
really help,'' he said.

MIDDLE EAST

US STATE DEPARTMENT WHITEWASHES ARAFAT'S PERSECUTION OF
CHRISTIANS
IsraelWire-9/14

Despite overwhelming evidence that Yasser Arafat's PLO Authority
(PA) persecutes Arab Christians, the State Department's new
report on religious freedom around the world falsely claims that
the PA does not mistreat Christians.  The report falsely claims:
"The PA does not restrict freedom of religion... There was no
pattern of PA discrimination against and harassment of
Christians...The PA makes an effort to maintain good relations
with the Christian community."

In a letter to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Morton A.
Klein, National President of the Zionist Organization of America
(ZOA), wrote: "There seems to be a mindset at the State
Department that Arafat should never be criticized.  The authors
of this report simply ignored the massive evidence of
anti-Christian persecution by Arafat.  Every Christian and every
fair-minded American should be outraged by this State Department
whitewash."

Among the evidence ignored by the State Department:

1.  The Israeli government has reported that "on the social and
religious level, the few Christians remaining in PA-controlled
areas are subjected to brutal and relentless persecution."
(Jerusalem Post, Oct.  24, 1997)

2.  Two American courts--one in Illinois, the other in North
Carolina, recently granted asylum to Palestinian Christian Arabs
on the grounds that they would be persecuted for their religious
beliefs if they return to PA-controlled territory.  (Jerusalem
Report, April 2, 1998)

3.  US Senator Connie Mack of Florida recently visited Israel and
investigated this subject first-hand.  In a speech he delivered
on the floor of the US Senate on March 3, 1999, Senator Mack
reported: "I had another profound meeting during this week.  I
met one evening privately-- secretly--with Arabs who were being
persecuted for their Christian faith.  I met with about 10
Palestinian Christians.  I will tell you just one of their
stories, but I will change some of the details to protect the
person I am describing.

"I remember an energetic man, in his early 40s...He had many
children and very little money.  He converted to Christianity in
1993.  He clearly loved God, and he loved to tell people about
his conversion.  He described to me how in 1997, the Palestinian
Authority asked him to come to the police station for
questioning.  When he arrived, he was immediately arrested and
detained on charges of selling land to Jews.  He denied this
charge, since he was very poor and owned no land.  He was beaten.
He was hung from the ceiling by his hands for many hours.  He
showed me what I just said.  He showed me how his hands were tied
behind his back and then raised from the floor and hung that way
for many, many hours.

"After 2 weeks, he was transferred to a larger prison where he
was held for 8 months without trial.  He was released in February
1998, after his family borrowed thousands of dollars to pay off
the local authorities.  And even though he is free, they are
keeping his father in prison.  They believe it is for his son's
beliefs.  He feels his father is being held hostage to prevent
him from talking with people about his faith.  Needless to say,
these Christians met with me at considerable risk.  They conveyed
to me a message of fear and desperation.  But their mere presence
in the room with me demonstrated their hope, and it also caused
me to ask, how can the people of Israel find peace with the
Palestinian Authority while the Palestinian Authority engages in
coercion and torture based upon religious beliefs?"

ASSAD REPORTEDLY UNFOCUSED IN TALKS
By Jerusalem Post Staff JERUSALEM September 15

Syrian President Hafez Assad has often been unfocused in recent
talks with foreign visitors, to the point that his thoughts drift
off in the middle of key meetings, a European diplomat and other
Western visitors say.  Two sources note that, in meetings which
included Arabic-speaking Westerners, Assad's veteran and trusted
interpreter Buthena Shaban was "translating" points from Arabic
to English that the leader of Syria never made.  At the same
time, some of Assad's off-topic ramblings were not translated,
perhaps due to Shaban's embarrassment.  "She is not always
translating what he is saying, and sometimes translating things
he did not say," one source noted.  A European diplomat said,
"What we are picking up is that it is not like the old Assad.
Sometime his comments are disconnected.  In some meetings, he
does not keep the same train of thought."

It should be clear that the sources are emphatically not accusing
the 68-year-old Assad of senility or a hint of mental illness.
Yet, the unfocused picture of Assad is at variance than the usual
depiction of someone who is known for his acerbic wit during
marathon diplomatic encounters.  He is a man President Bill
Clinton once referred to privately as someone who has the highest
IQ of anyone he had ever met in the Middle East.

SAUDI ARABIA LOOKS TO IRAN
STRATFOR.COM Global Intelligence Update September 15, 1999
Summary:

A message from a high-level Saudi envoy to Iranian President
Mohammed Khatami reportedly called for increased Saudi-Iranian
cooperation.  The call likely fell on eager ears; Iran has wanted
for years to increase cooperation with Saudi Arabia in order to
supplant the U.S.  presence in the region.  And after eight years
of a low-grade, U.S.-led war against Iraq, Saudi Arabia is now
being forced to reconsider both its strategy and the balance of
power in the Persian Gulf.  Recent evidence indicates the Saudis
may be looking to Iran to tip that balance.

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