Saudi prince's international sojourns
Cairo's AL AHRAM 6/8/99--Article by Dr. 'Umar al-Hasan, Chairman of al-Khalij Center
for Strategic Studies:
"The international tour taken recently by the Saudi crown prince has had a great
deal of significance and bearing on the Kingdom's foreign policies on both the Arab and
international arenas. It was Prince 'Abdallah's second tour in less than seven months and
it took him to three continents. The tour included visits to such important countries as
the United States, Britain, France, China, and South Korea. He was also keen on completing
the circle by visiting South Africa, which is a politically important country that
supports Arab causes and Third World issues in general.
South Africa also has strong economic and military ties with Saudi Arabia. Moreover,
Prince 'Abdallah visited Italy, which he had not visited during his first tour, and his
trip to the Vatican emphasized the spiritual and human dimensions of the Saudi foreign
policies. Prince 'Abdallah's two tours reflected an essential truth that the Saudi crown
prince had been trying to entrench in the minds of the outside world: Saudi Arabia is no
longer a country whose policies center around and stem from the oil situation.
It is a country that plays an important role and has its own vision of world events
that stems from its fixed internal policies and its Arab, Islamic, and Gulf
responsibilities toward international and regional issues. He also tried to confirm an
important principle in his country's international relations: "partnership,
cooperation, and mutual interests," which replaced the principle of "assistance
and one-sided benefits" that had prevailed during the oil boom era.
This clearly reflected on the nature of his talks in the countries he visited during
his two recent tours. Several partnership and cooperation agreements were signed with the
countries he visited.
The Arab part of Prince 'Abdallah's last tour started with a visit to Morocco, followed
by trips to Libya, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. The selection of these countries and the
order of his visits was no coincidence. They aimed at achieving specific political
objectives. When Prince 'Abdallah started his tour with a visit to Rabat, he ended a
considerably long period of aloofness from the Arab Maghreb region which was rife with
disputes among its member states.
The Lockerbie crisis had also cast negative shadows on the coordination among the Arab
Maghreb countries, however, it has been resolved with the assistance of clear Arab and
Saudi contributions. Furthermore, a new era has begun in Algeria, and the positive
atmosphere in the region as a whole has needed Arab support and backing. Within the same
context, Prince 'Abdallah's visit to Libya reflected the Kingdom's support for the Libyan
position during the trial of the two Libyan suspects in the Lockerbie case, in the Dutch
city of The Hague.
It was very significant in this connection that while Qadhdhafi was stressing the
difficulty of Arab unity, the Saudi crown prince was pointing to the necessity of Arab
economic integration as the proper way of achieving Arab solidarity, after all the
political formulas of Arab unity had failed to produce any positive results.
He wanted to confirm to Qadhdhafi that the call for Arab integration was not a stroke
of imagination, but a pressing necessity whose perspectives and mechanisms should be
carefully selected.
Prince 'Abdallah's visits to Jordan and Syria served to express his country's support
for the positions of the two countries at the present time, especially vis-a-vis the peace
process after Baraq has become Prime Minister of Israel. He concluded his Arab tour with a
visit to Egypt to brief Egyptian leaders on the outcome of his talks and to coordinate
Saudi and Egyptian stances regarding the positions of the countries he had visited, with
connection to the peace process and other Arab and Islamic issues.
The Egyptian-Saudi coordination was one of the most important reasons for reaching a
solution on the Lockerbie crisis. Its impact is also quite evident on numerous issues,
foremost among which is the peace process. The Saudi crown prince chose Cairo to be his
final destination to crystallize the final positions on these issues, particularly in view
of current Egyptian contacts to organize a five-way summit conference for the front-line
states (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine), which requires more consultations
among the momentous Arab triangle of Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.
Prince 'Abdallah's Arab tour was quite important not only because of the number of
countries it included, but because of its timing as well. It came at a time when debates
about the peace process are increasing and an atmosphere of openness is prevailing in the
Arab world. The Saudi visions expressed by Prince 'Abdallah with regard to inter-Arab
relations and Arab ties with the rest of the world, as well as his tour's positive impact
on Arab interests in general, also added to the importance of this tour."
Palestinians continue push for PA state
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE 6/10/99: "Palestinians remain determined to unilaterally
proclaim an independent state this year despite improved prospects for peace negotiations
with the new Israeli government, a senior Palestinian official said Thursday.
"We will establish sovereignty over the land and declare the creation of a state
before the end of this year," said Tayeb Abdel Rahim, secretary to Palestinian
Authority president Yasser Arafat. "The new government must also enter into final
status negotiations which, given serious intent, can be finished before the end of the
year," Abdel Rahim told AFP.
Arafat had repeatedly threatened to declare a Palestinian state on the limited parts of
the West Bank and Gaza Strip which he controls when the five-year interim period of the
Oslo peace accords came to an end on May 4. But under sustained pressure from the
international community, Arafat agreed to a delay in order not to play into the hands of
defeated Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party ahead of the May
elections eventually won in a landslide by Labour Party leader Ehud Barak.
For his part Barak has said that he will not tolerate the unilateral declaration of a
state by the Palestinians. Abdel Rahim called on Barak not to renege on Israeli
commitments under the interim Wye River land-for-security accord signed in October under
US auspices which the prime minister-elect has been rumoured to be reconsidering,
preferring instead to go straight to final status talks. "The new Israeli government
must implement the Wye River accord," Abdel Rahim said. "This is not up for
discussion."...
Germans issue arrest warrant for Abu Daoud re 72 Olympics
ARUTZ7 6/13/99: "The German decision to issue a warrant for the arrest of Abu
Daoud has caused a bit of consternation within Israel. Daoud wrote in a recently-published
book that it was he who masterminded the slaughter of the Israeli athletes in the 1972
Munich Olympics. Germany issued the warrant on Thursday, and submitted it to Interpol.
Daoud - who carries a VIP card issued by Israel - is presently in Jordan and plans to
cross the Allenby Bridge today or tomorrow into Israel on his way to the Palestinian
autonomous areas. Israeli police said today that ignoring the German request could lead to
the Germans ignoring Israeli extradition requests in the future.
After emergency talks involving Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister
Ariel Sharon Justice Minister Tzachi Hanegbi and Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein,
Netanyahu instructed Israeli security forces not to allow Abu Daoud to enter Israel. Abu
Daoud reportedly intends to appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court against the decision,
claiming that the decision to issue him a VIP pass three years ago stated explicitly that
his terrorist actions from before the Oslo accords would be "erased."
Meanwhile, the Terror Victims' Association insists that Netanyahu retract the decision
in order that Abu Daoud enter Israel from where Israel could then extradite him to
Germany. Abbas Zaki and Amin al-Hindi - two other terrorists involved in the Munich
slaughter - presently reside within the Palestinian autonomy. Israel issued VIP passes to
both of them some time ago."
Quiet emigration for Jews from Ethiopia
HA'ARETZ 6/14/99: "Ariel Kerem, Israel's ambassador to Ethiopia, has warned
organizations involved in the immigration of Jews from Kuwara, Ethiopia, that an airlift
of Jews from Kuwara could lead to a political fight with the Ethiopian government. The
Ethiopian government regards these Jews as Ethiopian citizens, and a highly publicized
airlift to "rescue" them will not be viewed favorably, he said.
A low-profile, discreet operation may, on the other hand, be ignored by the Ethiopians.
Kerem recommended that the number of flights to Israel be increased to three a week, which
would enable some 500 immigrants to arrive in Israel each week after having their
eligibility checked in Gundar. All the 2,500 to 3,000 Jews from Kuwara could be brought to
Israel over a couple of months.
Outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu is to hold an urgent meeting this morning to
consider the problem of the Kuwara Jews together with Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon and
others. Sharon supports the idea of an airlift, which seems to be the main issue under
discussion. Also taking part will be Interior Minister Eli Suissa, who has suggested
setting up a subcommittee headed by the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption to investigate
ways of integrating the new immigrants.
Suissa's suggestion followed doubts expressed by senior figures in the Absorption
Ministry concerning their ability to deal with 500 new immigrants a week from Kuwara.
Suissa emphasized that the Interior Ministry would not do anything to hinder the immediate
immigration of Kuwara Jews, and that he has ordered the ministry to be ready to deal with
the immigration of 1,000 Jews a month."
Drills find natural gas!
HA'ARETZ 6/14/99: "The Avner limited partnership and its partners issued an
immediate announcement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange yesterday that one of its drills
found natural gas. Industry sources say the find is probably the most important in
Israel's admittedly short history of exploration. Avner and its partners announced
yesterday that the production tests it conducted on its No 1 drill ended successfully with
a flow of natural gas from the drill.
The tests were conducted, the partnership said, under four different flow regimes. The
gas flowed at a pace of 11 million cubic feet per 24-hour day under the first flow regime,
and up to 30 million cubic feet a day on the last flow regime. Avner added that the gas
produced from the drill was free of water and burned on emission for sixteen cumulative
hours.
This was Avner and its partners' abstruse way of saying, in the jargon of announcements
to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (where it trades securities), that they had made the most
important find of natural gas since explorations began in Israel in the 1950s. Or so most
people think. Avner's announcement was necessarily reserved in tone, as it targeted
investors and the government. Also, the actual magnitude of the find is still unclear.
About 400 drills have been sunk locally since Israel's birth. The country is riddled
with drills that produced, at most, a suspicious smell; here and there small shallow
fields were found, mainly in the Dead Sea area. The Heletz and Zohar fields, found in the
fifties, were the exception until yesterday. How much gas is there? A lot. The tests were
reminiscent of what foreign firms found in offshore drills near Egypt.
Is the find commercial? No, sources say: A flow of 30 million cubic feet a day,
equivalent to 5,000 barrels of oil, at a price of $2.5 per million BTU, or $90,000 a day,
is not worth the price of developing a field. And worse yet, production test flows are
usually greater than the supply in practice.For all that, the potential is promising. But
one drill is not enough to shriek "Eureka!" For one thing, nobody knows how big
the field is yet. Avner and partners will be convening in the coming days to discuss their
findings, the interpretation, and their next steps..."
Indyk protests "foot-dragging" comments
THE JERUSALEM POST 6/14/99: "The US government has objected to an accusation by
David Bar-Illan, adviser to outgoing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, that it is
"foot-dragging" in investigating Palestinian terrorist attacks against American
citizens.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Martin Indyk telephoned Israeli
Ambassador Zalman Shoval on Thursday, an embassy source said, to "register a
protest" against the remarks, which were published in that day's The Jerusalem Post.
"What Indyk told us was that it's not true, that the administration is not dragging
its feet, that a lot is being done," the source said. "From his point of view,
they are taking it very seriously."
Three FBI teams have recently visited Israel and Palestinian Authority areas in
connection with attacks on US citizens, Indyk reportedly told Shoval. In testimony before
a House of Representatives panel on Tuesday, Indyk made several statements on the US's
commitment to apprehending Palestinian killers of Americans that Israeli and congressional
officials called encouraging. The source indicated yesterday that the Foreign Ministry is
upset about the potential for Bar-Illan's remarks to affect US-Israeli relations, even
when made by someone representing a caretaker government."
Original "foot-dragging" article
ZINC EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the JP article that upset Martin Indyk, which was also in
last Thursday's ZINC:
THE JERUSALEM POST 6/10/99: "A government official and a mother whose son was
killed in a terror attack have accused the US of footdragging in its investigations of
terror attacks in which American citizens were among the victims. The investigations seek
to determine the whereabouts of terrorists who murdered US citizens and examine the
possibilities of extraditing them to the US to stand trial. Officials from the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department concluded a third visit in the region in
April.
They met with Palestinian Authority officials and spoke with eyewitnesses to the murder
of David Boim, near Beit El, on May 13, 1996. According to excerpts of documents summing
up their visit given to The Jerusalem Post, the FBI team asserted that certain
difficulties arose in the Boim case and suggested that the confession of the terrorist
Amjad Hinawi, who was sentenced to 10 years by a Palestinian court for his involvement in
the murder, was insufficient and that more objective evidence linking him to Boim's murder
is required.
According to the documents, none of the witnesses was shown photos of suspects for
identification. David Bar-Illan, communications director in the Prime Minister's Office,
said that "the American footdragging in investigating attacks in which Palestinian
terrorists killed American citizens must be politically motivated. It is impossible to
explain such indifference to the murder of Americans in any other way."
US Embassy spokesman Larry Schwartz strongly objected to such claims. "There are
ongoing criminal investigations associated with terrorist murder of Americans in this
region," he said. "These criminal investigations will be pursued by law
enforcement officials according to US law and regulations, and these investigations will
be conducted consistent with practices required by American court."
Boim's mother, Joyce, said it is inconceivable that Hinawi's confession is
insufficient. "What's the point, did they question him? If his confession isn't good
enough and won't stand up to a US court, then it shows how worthless the PA judicial
system is. Why isn't it good enough?" she said.
Boim said she expected US officials to have teams working here on a permanent basis,
checking evidence, questioning witnesses, and ensuring that terrorists are caught and
remain behind bars instead of roaming freely in PA-controlled areas. "I can't rest
until he [Hinawi] is extradited to the US and stands trial there," said Boim, adding
that she has received no word from US officials regarding their findings. Schwartz
declined to comment on the charges."
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