From: Eddie Chumney
To:      heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Israel in the News: October 25 - November 7, 1999


                               Israel in the News
                  October 25 to November 7, 1999


TEMPLE MOUNT

ISLAMIST LEADER: ISRAEL BEGAN COUNTDOWN FOR DESTRUCTION OF AL
AQSA MOSQUE Occupied Jerusalem Hamas News

The leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah,
has cautioned the Muslim world that Israel is seriously
considering plans to destroy the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Speaking during a religious gathering at the Jamal Abdul Naser
Mosque in al Beireh near Ramallah yesterday, Salah pointed that
Israeli groups, in tacit concert with the Israeli government,
were considering executive plans to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque.
Salah pointed out that as many as sixty rabbis issued a religious
edict lately permitting the destruction of the Islamic edifice,
considered among Islam's holiest shrines.

Salah disclosed that the Israeli government proposed to the PA
that the Jews be allowed to rebuild the Temple in return for
Israel agreeing to discuss the subject of Jerusalem in the final
status talks.  He revealed that there was a plan being considered
and studied foreign governments such as Greece and France, in
addition to Israel, whereby the Jews would be given the right
excavate freely beneath the Mosque and the Dome of the Rock while
Muslims will be allowed to continue to worship in the Haram al
Sharif.  Sheikh Salah said he would begin a visit to several Arab
and Muslim countries to convey to the peoples of these countries
the message that the Al Aqsa Mosque was in danger.


JERUSALEM

INTERFAITH PEACE CONFERENCE TO EXPLORE ROLE OF RELIGION IN
PROMOTING PEACE IN MILLENNIUM IsraelWire-10/28 -

The Jubillenium Foundation announced Wednesday that the first
annual Interfaith Conference for World Peace will be held on
November 21-23 in Bet Gavriel, Israel to explore the role of
religion in pursuing conflict resolution and peace.  The
conference will be co-hosted by Jubillenium and the
Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, and participants
will include The Dalai Lama; Imam Wallace Dean Muhammad, leader
of Black Islam in the United States; Bishop Michael Fitzgerald,
the Vatican's official representative; Mr.  Jiulio Andreotti,
former Italian prime minister and others.  The Interfaith
Conference for World Peace will bring together for the first time
renown religious and public figures to discuss the role of
religion as an educational instrument to promote peace in the
coming millennium.  Leaders and participants in the conference
will be individuals who have the power to change the public
atmosphere in their respective countries and among their
co-religionists, and to spread new ideas and hope for the benefit
of all mankind in the future.

Consisting of two parts, a dialogue and a colloquium, the
conference will view mankind as a whole, and its religious
leadership in particular, to determine how to meet the challenge
of solving conflicts worldwide.  Israel was chosen as the
location for the conference; since it was there that a
significant part of the holy books of the three great religions
was created.  The first part of the conference, the dialogue
section, will include the topic of "Religion in Conflict
Situations: Problem and Solution," which will examine how the
world's religions can contribute to a solution for crises,
instead of generating them.  The second part of the conference,
the colloquium, will examine how different religions can work
together with international organizations, such as the United
Nations, its sub-organizations and the World Bank to promote
world peace; how religious and secular leaders can cope with
long-term problems such as environmental quality or human rights;
and how to continue to promote peace in the Middle East.

SABBATH THREAT TO BAN FESTIVE CHRISTMAS TREES
Sam Kiley in Jerusalem - London Times 10/28/99

ISRAEL'S hotels were at odds with Jewish religious authorities
yesterday over celebrations of Christmas and the New Year, which
this year fall on the Sabbath, when Jews are not supposed to
work.  The hotels have been threatened with the loss of their
kosher food certificates if they do not cancel the celebrations
and remove Christmas trees from their lobbies.  The decision of
the kashrut authorities - who rule on whether food outlets are
complying with Jewish dietary laws - was a shock to the hotel
industry, which had been hoping to profit from the influx of
visitors for the millennium celebrations.

RABBIS: WE WISH YOU A MUFFLED CHRISTMAS AND A KOSHER NEW YEAR
November 2, 1999 By Dina Kraft, Associated Press Jerusalem (AP)

A compromise between Israel's rabbis and the tourism industry
will allow Christian revelers to carol for Christmas and to ring
in the millennium   but in muted tones that will preserve the
Jewish character of Holy Land hostelries.  The agreement reached
Monday ended a battle between rabbis who claimed Christmas and
New Year festivities threaten the Jewish foundations of the
state, and tour leaders, who worried that a ban would further
dampen millennium plans already beleaguered by a lack of
organization and sectarian tensions.  "Christian celebrants may
celebrate and run their festivities in closed-off hotel halls,''
the Chief Rabbinate said in a statement, adding that public
places would preserve a Jewish character.

CHURCHES TO SHUT IN HOLY LAND IN TWO-DAY PROTEST
Reuters  November 4, 1999 Jerusalem

Christian leaders in the Holy Land said Thursday they would shut
their churches for two days this month to protest at an Israeli
government go-ahead for a mosque to be built in Nazareth, where
Jesus grew up.  "We trust that we do not need to take any further
steps in the near future,'' the leaders said in a statement
clearly meant as a veiled threat that churches could be closed at
Christmas, wrecking Israel's hopes of a millennium tourist boom.
The statement said "all Sanctuaries of the Holy Land will be
closed on 22 and 23 November 1999'' to express disapproval of the
mosque plan.  It was signed by the patriarchs of the Greek
Orthodox, Latin and Armenian churches and by the Franciscan
"Custos of the Holy Land,'' who is responsible for key sites.

An Israeli ministerial committee has allowed Moslems in Nazareth,
Israel's biggest Arab city, to build a mosque close to the
Basilica of the Annunciation, which stands on a site Christians
revere as the place where the Angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary
she would bear the son of God.  A cornerstone is due to be laid
next Monday, provided Islamic activists remove a protest tent
they have occupied for months in their campaign for the mosque.

POPE'S VISIT TO NAZARETH IN DOUBT OVER MOSQUE DISPUTE
November 5, 1999 By Mark Lavie, Associated Press Jerusalem (AP)

Because of a dispute over a planned mosque, Pope John Paul II may
bypass Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, in a millennium-year
trip to the Holy Land, a Catholic official indicated today.
Wadia Abu Nassar, an adviser to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem,
said plans for the Papal visit to Nazareth on Annunciation Day,
March 25, have been thrown into doubt by the planned mosque next
to the Basilica of the Annunciation.

The pope's visit has not been officially announced.  Abu Nassar
told Israel radio that the Nazareth situation is causing the
delay.  "The continuation of the tension in Nazareth makes the
visit difficult,'' he said.  The conflict has cast a shadow over
preparations in Nazareth for the millennium year.  Millions of
tourists and pilgrims are expected to visit.


ISRAEL

ISRAEL ARRESTS CHRISTIANS, PLANS TO DEPORT THEM
October 25, 1999 By Laurie Copans, Associated Press Jerusalem
(AP)

Israel today detained 21 foreign Christians, mostly Americans,
who have settled in recent years near the Mount of Olives in
anticipation of Christ's return.  Police said the detainees,
followers of the House of Prayer group, were suspected of
planning to harm public safety and would be deported after an
investigation.  Police spokesman Rafi Yaffi said a key concern
was that the group was paving the way for other Christians to
settle in Israel.

Today's sweep marked the third time since January that Israel has
detained Christian groups.  Israeli authorities suspect so-called
Christian "end-timers'' will carry out violent acts to bring
about an apocalypse and hasten the return of Christ.

FBI HELPING ID MILLENNIAL FANATICS
By Nitzan Horowitz, Ha'aretz Correspondent Washington 10/26/99

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is helping Israel identify
extremist Christian groups that may have apocalyptic plans for
pilgrimages to Israel in the coming year's 2,000-year anniversary
of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.  At meetings here yesterday
between Internal Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami and U.S.
Attorney General Janet Reno, the minister asked Reno for more
cooperation between U.S.  law enforcement agencies and the
Israeli police on Christian groups that have declared their
apocalyptic intentions.

The minister briefed Reno on the latest deportation moves against
a Christian cult group in Israel.See story, Page 2But Ben-Ami
emphasized that Israel is not interested in creating "a special
drama" around the issue.  "It's not a good idea to talk too much
about millennial dangers because we'll end up scaring tourists
away," he said.

Meanwhile, the FBI is cooperating with Israeli efforts to
identify Christian cults that may have apocalyptic plans for the
millennium in the Holy Land.   U.S.  federal law prohibits
collecting information about citizens without probable cause, but
the FBI has briefed top Israeli law enforcement officials,
including Hezi Ladar, police attache in Washington, on various
Christian cult groups that have been identified as potential
troublemakers during the events surrounding the turning of the
millennium.  Ladar said other U.S.  law enforcement agencies are
also helping the Israeli effort

MILLENNIUM WELCOME MAT STILL OUT - DESPITE ARRESTS
Intl. Christian Embassy Jerusalem 10/27/99

Contrary to most media reports, Israel still has the "welcome
mat" out for Christian pilgrims coming to observe the Millennium,
despite recent incidents where Christians were deported or turned
back at the border.  On Sunday night, Israel detained 26 foreign
Christians living on or near the Mount of Olives who could not
produce valid passports or visas.  Israeli police were focusing
on the occupants of rental houses maintained by a Pentecostal
layman named simply "Brother David" and another man named
"Brother Solomon," the leader of a small sect of Branch Davidians
- a spin-off of the Seventh Day Adventists.

The late-night dragnet took in anyone who could not produce a
valid visa proving they were legally present in the country, and
dozens of Christian renters were allowed to stay when they
offered proper documents.  Of the 26 originally detained at least
six "Spanish-speakers" have been released after they verbally
committed to renew their recently-expired visas.

The common denominator among most of those still detained and
subject to deportation, as early as Thursday, is they have been
here long-term and have intentionally ignored the requirements
for maintaining a legal presence in Israel - and in some cases
encouraged others to do the same.  The group hails mostly from
America, but there also are 2 Britons, 2 Australians, and a
Jamaican among them.

"Brother David" - real name David Shad - came to Jerusalem about
20 years ago from the Syracuse area of New York state, where he
had operated a mobile home park.  In the early 1990's, his
apartment in west Jerusalem was ransacked by ultra- Orthodox
elements angered by his efforts to proselytize Jews.  When police
came to investigate, they discovered Brother David had no
passport or visa, and he was the one who wound up in jail.
Without an identity document and little proof of his origins,
Israel was unable to deport him to the US.  In a stand-off that
lasted some nine months, Brother David refused to accept a US
passport offered for free by American Embassy officials.  He
remained imprisoned during this time until Israeli officials
decided there was little they could do and released him.

Thereafter, Brother David moved to the inexpensive and quieter
neighborhood, at least for him, of the Mount of Olives and began
leasing Arab houses and renting out rooms cheaply to Christian
visitors.  His "ministry" and rental venture was joined by a
Californian who went by the name of "Sister Sharon," her son,
"Brother Raymond," and one or two others who likewise hid, or
rather lost, their true identity and official documents.  For the
last several years, they have been offering travellers rooms for
the low rate of $5 a night, drawing a steady stream of Christian
boarders.  Most were short term, but a handful have been around a
while with an illegal status, having also lost their passports or
failed to renew their tourist visas.

In the past eighteen months, Brother David and his five-to-six
core followers have assumed a very high profile, interviewing
with more than 150 major media seeking sensational stories about
Christian views on the Millennium.  Israeli police have been
increasingly concerned about the combination of their illegal
status and widely-broadcasted statements about Jesus coming back
to the Mount of Olives in 2000 or 2001.  Most worrisome of all is
the method they have "advertised" to others through the media of
an inexpensive, illegal way to stay in Israel indefinitely - come
rent a cheap room and lose your identity.

Brother Solomon's story has similar elements to Brother David - a
New Yorker of Jamaican decent who oversees a small community of
rented houses on the back side of the Mount of Olives.  There are
conflicting reports on whether he was arrested or is travelling
abroad, but it is clear he has not attempted to lose his identity
or aggressively seek the media limelight like Brother David.  But
he does head a small group of Branch Davidians, a sect with a
troublesome past.  Another splinter group of Branch Davidians was
led by David Koresh, who lived several years in Jerusalem before
returning to the US to lead his followers to their deaths in the
tragic standoff at Waco, Texas in the early '90's.

The looming deportations have highlighted once again Israel's
unique security concerns at the Millennium and the grossly
inaccurate press reporting out of Jerusalem on the issue.  The
inordinate focus on sensational statements by fringe groups about
Christian beliefs concerning the years 2000/2001 have made some
Israelis understandably nervous.  Israeli police have tried to
make individual assessments about whether Christian pilgrims to
the Land of the Bible are a security threat.  Any arrests bring a
media frenzy that immediately brands them as "suicide cults" here
to destroy the mosques on the Temple Mount.

But the clear message out of this latest incident is that
Christians everywhere are welcome in Israel for the Millennium,
just have the courtesy of playing by the normal rules when
visiting any country - keep your passport and visa up-to-date.

PASSENGERS ON 'SAFE-PASSAGE' ROUTE DISAPPEAR
IsraelWire-10/31

Seventeen Arab travelers on the new southern 'safe-passage' route
have evaded Israeli security troops during the first days of the
route being open.  The Hatzofe newspaper reported that on
Tuesday, 12 motorists "disappeared" on the road and never arrived
in Gaza after leaving the Tarkumia area.  Others disappeared on
Friday.

According to rules dictating the operation of the road, a
motorist must arrive at the end of the 44-kilometer (27.34 mile)
road 2 hours after a vehicle was recorded to have set out on the
90-minute trip.  Israel government officials ensured opponents of
the route that this would maximize the safety of residents of
Israel, permitting security forces to monitor traffic to and from
the PLO Authority (PA) autonomous areas in the Southern Hebron
Hills area and Gaza.

Israeli officials have acknowledged the disappearance of the 17,
all of who got off buses during rest stops but failed to return
for the continuation of the trip.  Israeli officials insist that
none of those who disappeared are deemed security risks.

INTELLIGENCE CHIEF: BREAKDOWN IN TALKS WOULD RESULT IN VIOLENCE
IsraelWire-11/3

OC IDF Intelligence Major-General Amos Malka on Tuesday told the
Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee that a breakdown in
negotiations between Israel and the PLO Authority (PA) would most
likely result in Arab violence.  Malka added that while Israel
has expressed satisfaction with the level of anti-terror activity
by the PA, in actuality the effort being exerted is not
indicative of the PA's maximum abilities.  Malka added that
senior PA officials such as Nabil Shaath and Faisal Husseini
continue to issue public statements that may be deemed inciteful.
Malka added that the terrorist infrastructure presently lacks the
means to carry out attacks, explaining the lull in terrorism but
he explained PA officials, based on the mood of the international
community, are certain of their impending statehood.  A breakdown
in the process explained Malka would however result in a return
to violence which has always remained an option among the
residents of the PA autonomous areas.

PERES WANTS RABIN KILLING INVESTIGATED AGAIN
Reuters November 5, 1999 Jerusalem

Israel's former Prime Minister Shimon Peres called Friday for the
reopening of the investigation into the 1995 assassination of
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, echoing demands by the family of
the late leader.  "I am concerned that there are people   Rabin's
family   who believe there is still something to examine, so we
must investigate,'' said Peres, who took over as prime minister
after Yigal Amir, an ultranationalist Jew, gunned down Rabin.
"There are things hanging in the air...and we must investigate
again so that everyone is convinced matters were looked into
properly,'' Peres, now minister of regional cooperation in Ehud
Barak's government, told Israel Radio.

Barak, who has described Rabin as his mentor, said he was
confident "every question raised would be examined and
clarified.'' But he told reporters he had yet to receive a direct
request for a re-examination of the killing.

Rabin's daughter Dalia Rabin-Pelosoff, in a recent magazine
interview in Israel, added fuel to the public debate by saying
she was perturbed by "many unanswered questions.'' Rabin's widow
Leah and son Yuval have also come out in favor of
re-investigating the assassination, which occurred four years ago
this week at a Tel Aviv peace rally.

"My mother heard the shouts ('blanks, blanks') with absolute
certainty,'' Rabin-Pelosoff told Israel's La'isha magazine.  "She
called me at home immediately after the shooting and said, 'They
shot Daddy, but it wasn't real.''' Moreover, Rabin-Pelosoff said,
security men who took her mother to Tel Aviv's Ichilov hospital,
where doctors pronounced Rabin dead, told her the bullets were
not real.  "Why did they tell her it was an exercise? An
exercise? Really! And what about the oh-so-vital instincts of the
security men? Why didn't they shoot the killer immediately? How
come they didn't open fire?'' Rabin-Pelosoff added.

SUNDAY MORNING TERRORIST ATTACK, 3 BOMBS EXPLODE IN NETANYA
IsraelWire-11/7

Police Commander Even-Chen has officially announced that the
bombs that exploded in downtown Netanya on Sunday morning
wounding 27 persons, was a terrorist attack.  At 10:30am local
time, three pipe bombs exploded at the intersection of Herzl and
Shar Haggai Streets in proximity of the central bus station.
Police believe the four pipe bombs, which contained nails, were
placed near a trash receptacle, possibly attached to a bicycle.
The fourth device, which was live but did not explode, was
transported from the scene by bomb demolition experts and later
detonated in an open field.

Deputy Police Commander David Sadeh confirmed reports of four
explosive devices, three of which exploded.  Earlier reports
indicated there were only two devices, one of which exploded but
police have now reported there were four pipe bombs, all
containing explosive substances as well as nails to increase
their deadly impact.

This most recent attack took place in the heart of the coastal
city, with police and other security agencies acknowledging it
was most fortunate that there were no fatalities following the
detonation of three incendiary devices.  The Sunday morning
attack comes five years to the day from the 1994 suicide bombing
attack on a Number 5 bus on Dizengoff and Ester Hamalka Streets
in Tel-Aviv in which 22 persons were killed.  In addition, the
attack comes a day before the scheduled start of the final status
talks between Israel and the PLO Authority (PA), slated to open
in the autonomous city of Ramallah on Monday.


PEACE PROCESS

BARAK WILL OFFER STATEHOOD TO PALESTINIANS IN FEBRUARY ACCORD
PM to demand Palestinian recognition of West J'lem as Israeli
capital By Akiva Eldar, Ha'aretz 11/1/99

The framework agreement to be signed by Israel and the
Palestinians this coming February will include Israeli acceptance
of the establishment of a Palestinian state in part of the
territories, according to the results of informal contacts
between Israel, the United States and the Palestinian Authority.

The actual establishment of the Palestinian state will occur on
the eve of the signing of the detailed final agreement, which is
slated for the end of next year.  Senior diplomatic sources
explain that Israel prefers to sign an agreement with a
recognized state rather than with a temporary authority or the
Palestine Liberation Organization, which has signed agreements
until now.    Prime Minister Ehud Barak would prefer that the
implementation of the framework agreement take place only after
the signing of the fully detailed agreement, but he does not
object to the principle of the Palestinians' establishing their
independent entity in any way they choose - including a sovereign
state - as part of the framework agreement.

LEADERS PAUSE TO HONOR RABIN, RESUME PURSUIT OF ACCORD
November 2, 1999 By Barry Schweid, Associated Press OSLO, Norway
(AP)

Drawing strength from the memory of Yitzhak Rabin, President
Clinton today urged Arab and Israeli leaders to honor the fallen
Israeli prime minister by committing anew to Rabin's vision of
peace in the Middle East..  At a ceremony honoring Rabin, slain
by an assassin four years ago, Clinton said if Rabin were alive
to see the gathering, he would say, "This is all nice, but if you
really want to honor me, finish the job.'' "We have now a chance,
but only a chance, to bring real and lasting peace between Israel
and her neighbors,'' Clinton said.  "If we let it slip away, all
will bear the consequences.''

SUMMIT LAUNCHES LAST, DECISIVE STAGE OF ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN TALKS
November 1, 1999 By Karin Laub, Associated Press OSLO, Norway
(AP)

President Clinton said today he hopes to inject "renewed energy''
into the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and encouraged both
sides to move quickly toward agreement on a final treaty within
10 months.  "This is the hard part, the really hard part, and we
all need to support them,'' Clinton told reporters during a
question-and-answer session with Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell
Magne Bondevik.  Clinton said while it is too soon to predict
results, he believed the Oslo talks could yield steps toward
establishing a timeframe for reaching a peace agreement.  He
noted that the Israelis and Palestinians have demonstrated a
commitment to carry out the 1993 Oslo peace accords and resolve
their most contentious differences.  "I don't think this is a
time for hand-wringing,'' Clinton said.  "What we've got to do is
create a renewed energy to make the process continuous.''

Barak said he believes one outcome of the Oslo talks will be
setting a target date for a Camp David-style summit, possibly in
Washington, early next year.  "I'm convinced that if we are
determined and the two sides are willing to face the problem, it
is possible,'' Barak said.  Clinton said it was "premature'' to
discuss such a meeting, but was open to the idea.  "There is
nothing that I would not do if I thought it would genuinely help
to build a lasting peace in the Middle East,'' he said.

Arafat's aides say his top priority in Oslo is to win assurances
from Clinton that Israel will slow or freeze construction of
Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  The United
States has said settlements are "destructive'' to peace, but it
has not publicly reprimanded Barak for approving new homes at a
faster pace than his hard-line predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Still, Arafat has been careful not to threaten to suspend
negotiations over the construction.  Abbas would only say Sunday
that settlement expansion "would be a major obstacle'' to a
treaty.

Barak, in turn, wants to redefine the goals of a peace agreement.
He says the initial dream of close cooperation between Israelis
and Palestinians aimed too high, and that the best the current
tense climate may yield is peaceful separation enforced by
electric fences.  Such talk has alarmed the Palestinians, who
fear their economy will wither if cut off from Israeli markets.
U.S.  officials have warned the Israelis that a separation will
hurt stability.

There may also be disagreements on the format on the
negotiations.  Arafat is pressing Clinton to play an active role,
feeling he needs U.S.  help to face the Israelis.  Barak opposes
U.S.  intervention, a position that may eventually put him at
odds with Clinton, who is determined to forge a historic treaty
before he leaves office in January 2001.

MIDDLE EAST

HAFEZ AL-ASAD TO TRANSFER POWER TO HIS SON
Sunday, October 24,1999 Islam Online Damascus

Diplomatic sources in Damascus-Syria have reported that
preparations for transferring authority from President Hafez
Al-Asad to his son have escalated due to the deterioration of the
health of the President.  Currently, there is an ongoing process
of removing all obstacles that might impede the process of
transferring authority to Bashar Al-Asad including popular
opposition or security.  Sources have added that one of the steps
taken by Bashar is his visits to the provinces, especially his
visit to Aleppo the largest Syrian city after Damascus, and his
tour and meeting with its people similar to his fathers' visit
approximately 30 years ago.

In addition to intensifying the campaign not only against the
supporters of Rif'at Al-Asad, the brother of the president who
opposes the succession of Bashar, but also all other elements and
groups who have shown any opposition to Bashar so far.  This is
why the campaign has not stopped, but it is proceeding in an
aggressive manner under accusation by opponents of corruption as
well as under other charges.  What distinguishes this latest
campaign is that it has been so far extremely violent.  This has
led to many casualties. Same sources have also indicated that the
same campaign initiated by the security agencies against Rif'at
Al-Aas'd and his supporters, which started two weeks ago, is
still occurring and intensifying.

REAFFIRMING EGYPT'S ROLE
Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct.-3 Nov.1999 via IMRA

A DELEGATION of the US Council on Foreign Relations, headed by
Henry Seigman, was in Egypt this week as part of a regional tour.
Seigman, an old hand in Middle Eastern affairs, discussed with
Foreign Minister Amr Moussa the future of Arab-Israeli peace.

Following the meeting, Seigman told reporters that the aim of the
visit was "basically to reaffirm to senior officials in the
Egyptian government the importance we attach to the Egyptian role
in the success of the peace process as it moves along." Seigman
said despite the good intentions that all concerned parties might
have, the peace process was bound to face many problems along the
road.  "It is simply inconceivable that without Egypt's
leadership these problems would be overcome."

Seigman warned of the unhealthy impact of the Jewish settlement
policy being adopted by the current Israeli government.  "I
believe that settlements are completely inconsistent with the
written agreements, and more important, with the whole spirit of
the peace process.  If that is not clearly understood, then there
is really very little hope for the peace process."

{IMRA: The written agreements prevent Israel from annexing the
West Bank and the Palestinians from declaring a state.  Seigman
is troubled by Jewish activity to 'create facts on the ground'
yet apparently has no qualms over Palestinian 'fact creating' in
Jerusalem and elsewhere.}

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