PA intervention for Iranian Jews?
AL QUDS in Jerusalem 7/7/99: "Brigadier General Abu-Khalid al-Lahham has revealed
that unofficial Israeli contacts were held with him to have him intervene in the case of
13 Jews detained in Iran on the charge of spying for Israel. He said that he replied to
these contacts by suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Baraq contact President
'Arafat, adding that the Israeli Government should pledge to release all the prisoners
being held in its jails, including the Arab prisoners, if our efforts to keep the Jewish
detainees alive bear fruit.
Brig. Gen. al-Lahham added that he refuses to intervene in this case unless he receives
a direct assignment from President 'Arafat. He was of the opinion that President 'Arafat
can play a positive role in this case in view of his good historical relations with all
the currents and wings of the Iranian leadership.
Al-Lahham added: The Iranian leadership, however, with all its currents, will not yield
to the international and Israeli pressures because its position on trying these Jews is
serious. Asked if he expected death sentences against these Jews, al-Lahham said:
Regardless of their religion, they are Iranian citizens, and they have representatives in
the Iranian Shura [Consultative] Council. There are also Muslim citizens facing the same
charge. In accordance with the Iranian Constitution, the punishment against acts of
espionage is the death sentence."
Secret talks on Iranian Jews
London's AL SHARQ AL AWSAT 7/8/99: "A security source in the [Palestinian]
self-rule Authority, who asked to remain anonymous, told Al-Sharq al-Awsat yesterday that
an aide to Palestinian President Yasir 'Arafat has been in the Iranian capital for the
past four days as an official envoy on a mission to secure the release of 13 Jews who were
arrested in stages between February and March on suspicion that they were collectively
spying for Israel.
The envoy met with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and presented to him an Israeli
proposal to release Iranians being held in Israeli jails, without revealing their names
and responsibilities, in return for keeping the detained Jews alive. The source confirms
that Brigadier Abu-Khalid al-Lahham, a senior military aide to the Palestinian president,
revealed two days ago contacts that Israeli officials had made with him to ask him
"to work to get President 'Arafat to intervene to secure the release of the detainees
in return for releasing Iranians and Palestinians being held in Israel if the Palestinian
efforts result in the release of 13 Jews being held in Iran on charges of espionage, or at
least in keeping them alive," even though they will appear before a revolutionary
court in Shiraz, south Iran, next month on charges of espionage, the punishment for which
is death under the Iranian law."
The source, whose information is reliable, says that al-Lahham told the Israelis who
contacted him to get Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Baraq to discuss the issue with President
'Arafat and present to him the idea of exchanging the Jewish detainees for the Iranians
being held in Israel, and that Baraq raised the issue when he spoke with the Palestinian
president over the telephone last week, "which prompted 'Arafat to send an envoy to
Tehran where he is still trying to do the job assigned to him.
It seems that the Iranians have displayed flexibility and begun to talk about four
Iranian diplomats who disappeared in Lebanon during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon 17
years ago; they believe they are alive and are being held in Israeli jails." The
source says that the Palestinian envoy is making contacts from Tehran with his aides in
Gaza, who covey the information to the Israelis, to secure the exchange of the Iranians
being held in Israeli jails in return for revoking the charges against the Jews being held
in Shiraz. However, sources in Tehran have cast doubt on this information, stressing that
Iranian officials will refuse to receive the envoy."
PA Parliament building on outskirts
of Jerusalem
London's THE GLOBE AND MAIL 7/9/99: "The first concrete evidence has emerged that
a Palestinian parliament building is under construction on the outskirts of East
Jerusalem. The five-story edifice has been officially described by the Palestinian
Authority as an office building and library. Workers on the site are forbidden to talk
about the building's purpose and the project is shrouded in a veil of secrecy. But Khalil
Tawfakji, director of the office of mapping and geography in Orient House, the PLO
headquarters in East Jerusalem, yesterday gave the first confirmation by any Palestinian
official of the true nature of the project.
"This building is the Palestinian parliament," Mr. Tawfakji said in an
interview. "Abu Dis will be the site of the symbols of Palestinian statehood such as
the parliament building and the office of the president.
"The Israelis have not interfered with the construction, which indicates that a
deal has already been agreed. There will be a safe passage to East Jerusalem from Abu Dis
to enable Muslims to pray at the mosques on the Temple Mount."
A photographer managed to evade strict around-the-clock security to take exclusive
pictures from within the future president's office, now under construction.
The parliament is situated in Abu Dis, a small village on the outskirts of East
Jerusalem on the road to Jericho which, it is believed, will serve as the capital of a
future Palestinian state in an agreement with Israel that is yet to be completed.
The location was first suggested in an exchange of ideas three years ago. Palestinian
deputy leader Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) and then-Israeli deputy foreign
minister Yossi Beilin reportedly agreed that Israel would not give up any territory in
East Jerusalem, but would recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza with a
capital in Abu Dis. It would have jurisdiction over the Palestinian population of East
Jerusalem but not the land.
The Beilin-Abbas understandings were unofficial and never signed, but they appear to
have been the basis of further discussions between Israeli Labour Party officials and
Palestinian leaders before Ehud Barak was elected as Israel's new Prime Minister in May.
Mr. Abbas has recently distanced himself publicly from the plan and denied it ever
existed, but Palestinian officials said this week that such statements should be weighed
against the fact that similar denials about the parliament have been issued regularly for
the past year.
The construction site straddles the border of the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem
municipal boundary, which runs through Abu Dis. Part of the building is in an area under
Palestinian civilian control, which has joint Israeli-Palestinian security supervision.
"The wing housing Yasser Arafat's office is just over the municipal boundary and
is actually within Israeli-controlled Jerusalem," said Mr. Tawfakji.
This careful positioning will allow Mr. Arafat to say that the capital of the
Palestinian state is in Jerusalem, even if it is only a few square metres of the city.
From his fifth-floor office, the future Palestinian president will have a clear view of
the Temple Mount and the distinctive golden Dome of the Rock in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The parliament is 2.8 kilometres east of the Temple Mount, while the Israeli Knesset is
2.8 kilometres west of the same holy site. The imposing stone-clad edifice, which will
cost $14-million (U.S.), has been under construction for 18 months. Palestinian officials
have consistently denied its real purpose for fear of upsetting the delicate diplomatic
negotiations that are expected to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, with
this part of extended Jerusalem as its capital..."
Jerusalem secrets
MA'ARIV 7/9/99: "The status and future of Jerusalem are the heart of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Baraq may not know it yet, but a few senior members of his
party have in the last two years been conducting an interesting and secret track of talks
with senior Palestinian Authority [PA] officials on the question of Jerusalem.
Various options for a solution were raised. In parallel, a second secret track was held
by professionals and experts of both sides to discuss a joint Israeli-Palestinian master
plan for Jerusalem. The plan was dubbed "Jerusalem 2000," on the assumption that
by then there would be an arrangement in effect in the city. The solution which Baraq will
ultimately contemplate is based on the main points of the (complicated) solution included
in the Beilin-Abu-Mazin [Mahmud 'Abbas] agreement. Here are the main points in brief:
Jerusalem will be expanded and huge areas will be annexed to it, such as Giv'at Ze'ev,
Ma'ale Adumim, and many Arab neighborhoods that are not included in the city's municipal
boundaries today. Its population will increase considerably, particularly on the Jewish
side. It will be divided into 18 boroughs: 12 Jewish and 6 Arab. Most of the Arab boroughs
will lie in the peripheral neighborhoods, but one or two will be in the Old City.
Israel's overall municipal control of the city will thus be perpetuated. Municipal
elections will be held according to boroughs, and Israel will forever have a majority. The
mayor will be the one who wins the vote in the highest number of boroughs. On the other
hand, the Palestinians will be allowed to run their municipal affairs within their
boroughs (a sort of municipal autonomy).
Thus, everybody will have his cake and eat it. Sovereignty in the Palestinian boroughs
will be kept open for future generations. Israel's sovereignty will be "de
facto" but not final. The assumption is that no Israeli or Palestinian leader can
survive an agreement forgoing sovereignty in the East Jerusalem. Therefore, the question
will be kept open for 10 to 20 years in the hope that time will do the trick. Israel will
continue to govern the area de facto.
What's left then is the question of the flag. Yosi Beilin keeps saying that he has no
problem with a Palestinian flag flying for symbolical reasons in certain sites in the
Palestinian boroughs (say, in the eastern part of the city). Baraq probably will have a
problem with that.
Apropos the Palestinians, an interesting meeting was held last Thursday in the US
ambassador's residence. Attending it on the Palestinian side were Nabil Sha'th and Sufyan
Abu-Zayidah. The Israeli side was represented by Major General Ya'aqov Or, coordinator of
activities in the territories, Foreign Ministry Assistant Director General Yo'av Biran,
and others.
The Americans included Ambassador Ned Walker and a few senior State Department
officials. The meeting, which has been kept secret so far, was devoted to several urgent
topics, such as Y2K and tourism 2000, which will in coming months become a real nightmare
(Israel and the Palestinian Authority are not ready for the flood of tourists that will
sweep them, nor for the wave of real dangers in its wake).
However, the main purpose of the meeting held at the height of a period of
Israeli-Palestinian coolness, was to somehow calm 'Arafat down. It is not certain that
this purpose was achieved."
New US peace initiative
London's AL SHARQ AL AWSAT 7/8/99: Informed sources in Cairo have said that Washington
is currently preparing a new Middle East peace initiative which is expected to be
announced before the end of July.
The sources said that Washington will hold talks with the Arab parties and Israel
before officially announcing the initiative during the visit that U.S. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright is expected to make to the region later this month to explore the views
of the parties concerned -- that is the Palestinians, the Syrians, and the Lebanese -- as
well as those of the parties helping in the process, foremost among them Egypt and Jordan.
The sources said that the United States does not object to amending the initiative in
order to reach ultimately a formula that would be acceptable to all parties and which they
would be bound to implement according to the timetables set out in this initiative. The
sources said that Washington will also hold consultations with Russia, in its capacity as
the cosponsor of the Middle East peace process, about the draft initiative, and will also
brief the EU about it.
The United States has begun to put in place some ideas which will form the core of its
new initiative in the light of last week's talks between Egyptian President Husni Mubarak
and U.S. President Bill Clinton in Washington, during which Mubarak relayed the Arab view
on the special issues raised by Egypt and which were the result of the talks that Egypt
held with the Arab leaders concerned.
The Egyptian sources said that Washington is waiting to see what ideas Ehud Baraq, the
head of the new Israeli government, will put to Clinton and to officials in the U.S.
Administration with regard to the Israeli measures aimed at achieving peace with the Arabs
in the light of the policies that will be agreed with his broadened coalition government
and his talks with the Knesset members before his visit to the United States.
The sources said that the U.S. Administration has informed the Arab quarters through
the diplomatic channels of its pledge to continue the talks simultaneously on all tracks,
within the framework of its response to a recent statement by Tel Aviv that the talks on
the Syrian and Lebanese tracks might resume first, a statement which raised concerns among
the Palestinians."
Jordon serious on Daoud
Amman's JORDAN TIMES 7/8/99: "The government on Wednesday said it was
contemplating possible legal measures against Muhammad Daoud, a former Palestinian
activist with Jordanian nationality, for what it said were "astonishing" remarks
he made to the press about his involvement in past criminal activities. Foreign Minister
Abdel Ilah Khatib said Daoud's recent remarks to local and international press in which he
declared having committed crimes against civilians are tantamount to "crimes
punishable by law."
"We are considering the possibility of taking legal action in this regard,"
Khatib said. The foreign minister's statement was Jordan's first official reaction to a
series of interviews with local and international media in which Daoud claimed
responsibility for a series of bloody attacks. "We wonder how can anybody brag and
claim heroism when it comes to killing innocent civilians," Khatib told the Jordan
Times.
Jordan "never accepts the killing of innocent people." Daoud, also known as
Abu Daoud, had conceded that he masterminded the 1972 kidnapping of Israeli athletes at
the Munich Olympic Games in his recently published memoirs. At least 11 Israelis and five
Palestinian kidnappers perished when Israeli and German commando units stormed the complex
where the hostages were kept. Germany recently issued an arrest warrant for Daoud
following publication of his book entitled "Palestine from Jerusalem to
Munich."..."
Tibi out -- 'Imad Shaqur in
YEDIOT AHARONOT 7/8/99: "Yasir 'Arafat's new adviser on Israeli affairs, replacing
Dr. Ahmad al-Tibi, is 'Imad Shaqur, who will assume his new job in the coming days. Shaqur
(57), a Christian Israeli citizen, was born in the town of Sakhnin in the Galilee. After
earning a degree in political science from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he worked
on the Arabic edition of Ha'olam Haze [weekly tabloid which stopped appearing in the early
1980s].
In the mid-1960s he left for Europe and then proceeded to Lebanon. Consequently, his
Israeli citizenship was revoked. In 1981 he joined Fatah, and served as one of 'Arafat's
advisers on Israeli affairs. He is a member of the Palestine National Council and the
Fatah Revolutionary Committee.
During the Lebanon war Shaqur arranged for Uri Avneri [Ha'olam Haze's editor] an
interview with 'Arafat in Beirut. He returned to the territories in 1996 and was given
back his Israeli citizenship. On the eve of the last elections there had been plans to run
him for the Knesset as part of HADASH [Democratic Front for Peace and Equality], but these
never materialized. Shaqur speaks fluent Hebrew, is an expert on Israeli domestic
politics, and his colleagues describe him as moderate, genial, and a man of the
world..."
Boeing's proposals
YEDIOT AHARONOT 7/11/99: "The US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has in the past few
weeks proposed that Israel purchase an advanced version of its F-15 fighter jet that was
secretly developed for the US Air Force and is equipped with secret technologies. Boeing
officials say that this surprising offer is the result of the US Administration's decision
to permit the supply of new and secret technologies to Israel following the change of
government here. Boeing has even offered to lobby on Israel's behalf in Washington for
funding to enable the purchase of the secret plane.
Among other things, Boeing officials have offered to use their influence to have the
$1.2 billion grant promised to Israel following the Wye agreement increased to $1.5
billion. Boeing's proposal is a last-minute attempt to reverse Israel's decision regarding
the purchase of the Israel Air Force's [IAF] new fighter jet after the IAF chose the
F-16I, which is produced by Boeing's competitor, Lockheed Martin.
Outgoing Defense Minister Moshe Arens decided at the time to suspend the decision until
after the Israeli elections. Now, the decision on the huge deal, with a scope of $4.5
billion, will be made by Prime Minister Ehud Baraq, who also holds the defense portfolio.
The F-15L, known as the "Lima" [name as transliterated], has been developed for
the past 18 months by a department of Boeing that is in charge of handling secret plans on
behalf of the US Air Force.
The administration's budget for next year provides for the purchase of four such jets
by the US Air Force...When Boeing representatives in Israel were asked why they only made
this offer at such a late stage, when the purchase deal is almost wrapped up, they replied
that the US Administration had only recently decided to grant Israel access to the new,
secret technologies involved in the plane's production.
This change in policy, the Boeing representatives claimed, is a result of the change of
government in Israel. Although no one in Israel has seen the F-15L's secret production
line yet, Boeing promises that Israel will be able to receive the new plane even before
the F-16I models that Israel intends to purchase in the deal. The proposal submitted by
F-16 manufacturer Lockheed Martin states that the first aircraft are slated to reach
Israel only in 2003.
The F-16 is substantially cheaper than the "regular' F-15 models. This fact had a
significant impact on Israel's decision to choose the F-16 model. The attractive price tag
and reduced operating cost of the new F-15 model could change this picture. Senior defense
officials expressed doubt regarding the figures presented by Boeing.
At meetings currently taking place in Israel, nothing is being promised to the
company's representatives. As soon as next week, Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud
Baraq will chair a debate in which he will be shown the details of the IAF aircraft deal
as they were presented to Arens. It is quite possible that a decision on the issue will be
reached this week..."
US-Syrian secret talks and
deportation of Palestinian resistance
Amman's AL RA'Y 7/9/99: "Palestinian sources close to Palestinian opposition
factions in Damascus have exposed secret and extensive US-Syrian contacts that took place
in June to prepare for the resumption of Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations. Sources told
Al-Ra'y that contacts were based on the results of the recent Israeli elections that led
to Ehud Baraq's victory.
As a result, new horizons were opened for signing a Syrian-Israeli peace agreement
based on the Israeli occupation's pull back from the occupied Golan Heights and southern
Lebanon. Palestinian opposition factions said that Washington, within those contacts,
asked Damascus to deport 25 leaders of the Palestinian resistance factions in Damascus.
Washington considers these unwanted elements to pose a threat to the peace process.
Sources said that among those Washington asked to be expelled from Damascus are: Dr.
George Habash, secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
[PFLP], Nayif Hawatimah, secretary general of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of
Palestine [DFLP], Abu-Khalid al-'Imlah and Abu-Musa, leaders of Fatah-the uprising
movement, in addition to Ahmad Jibril, secretary general of the PFLP General Command, as
well as several leaders of Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, and the Popular Struggle
Front.
Sources said that there is deep concern among the ranks of Palestinian opposition
leaders in Damascus in light of the positive messages that have been exchanged between the
Syrian leadership and leaders of the new Israeli Government since the victory of new
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Baraq. Sources told Al-Ra'y that some of the other leaders of
both the PFLP and the DFLP have started to give serious thought to leaving the Syrian
capital and moving to Palestinian territories to settle and work there.
It is to be noted that some of the leaders of the two fronts left Damascus and settled
in the Palestinian lands after the convening of the 21st cycle of the Palestine National
Council in Gaza in April 1996.
Concern was deepened by the political analysis confirming that the Israeli prime
minister has a comprehensive plan that will enable him to sign a comprehensive peace deal
with Syria based on pulling back from the Golan Heights and submitting the al-Himmah issue
to international arbitration, similar to the Taba issue in Sinai.
The deal will also be based on an agreement on some form of Israeli presence in
early-warning stations at Mount Hermon, a security package to be implemented by the United
States, and the deployment of a US military force in the Golan Heights. Political analysts
in Israel stress that Syria has never been more mature in reaching a peace agreement with
Israel. They say that Syria is currently undergoing a process of complete transformation,
like the rest of the states in the region.
Israeli experts in Syrian affairs say that Baraq will not repeat the mistake made by
Shim'on Peres by asking Syrian President Hafiz al-Asad for a warm peace. Instead, he will
be satisfied with new security arrangements, a costly US economic and security package,
closure of the peace file, and the establishment of a modest Israeli embassy in
Damascus."
Iranian contradictions
Tehran's IRNA NEWS AGHENCY 7/10/99: "The Iranian ambassador to Damascus [Hoseyn
Sheykholeslam] on Saturday [10th July] denied a report printed in the Arabic-language
daily 'Al-Hayat'. 'Al-Hayat' newspaper, which is published simultaneously in London and
Beirut, had claimed on Friday that the Islamic Republic of Iran was supporting Syrian
efforts to resume talks with Israel for recovering the Golan [Heights].
Hoseyn Sheykholeslam told IRNA that he had never said such a thing and had only
stressed Iranian efforts to recover the Golan [heights]. He added that in his interview he
had stressed that Israel was being forced to withdraw from the Golan Heights because of
the casualties that it was suffering at the hands of the Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
In his interview with 'Al-Hayat', Sheykholeslam had stressed that Israel would
disappear in the next 50 years and that the conflict between Israel and the Arab states
would not end with the signing of a peace agreement because we want all the territories of
Qods and Palestine.
In his interview with IRNA, Sheykholeslam also denied a report published by SANA, the
official Syrian news agency. Quoting Sheykholeslam's interview with 'Al-Hayat', SANA had
said Sheykholeslam had "hoped" that negotiations between Syria and Israel would
be resumed in the near future and that there would be great achievements by the two sides
before the 2000 American presidential elections.
Sheykholeslam said that in his interview with 'Al-Hayat' he had never used the word
"hope" but had said that he "predicted" that talks between Syria and
Israel would be resumed in the near future."
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the content and articles of this
website, do not necessarily express the opinions of the Zionist Organization of America,
nor the editor and creator of this website.