Palestinians in Jordan to get
five-year passports
Amman's JORDAN TIMES 7/21/99: "The government is considering issuing Gazan
refugees in Jordan five-year passports instead of the two-year documents they are being
issued currently, a senior official said on Monday. "We are studying the matter to
solve the problem," he added. Gazans, who are mainly refugees from the 1948
Arab-Israeli war, now carry a two-year Jordanian passport. "It has to be clear that
giving a passport does not mean giving them nationality," said the official.
"Therefore, their legitimate right [of return to Palestinian territories]
according to U.N. Resolution 191, which enables them to return, will not be affected at
all." Another source told the Jordan Times on Tuesday that during a meeting that was
held last month with Prime Minister Abdur-Ra'uf S. Rawabdeh, the premier was receptive to
the idea of the five-year temporary passport scheme, but he also hinted that [issuing such
a regulation] might have political ramifications.
"It is very easy to solve your problem," the prime minister was quoted as
saying during his meeting with representatives of the Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan.
"But we are afraid that others would say that we are trying to settle you in
Jordan." Jordan is home to 1.5 million Palestinian refugees and displaced from
successive wars with Israel.
The Gazans, although they may retain two-year passports, are not considered Jordanian
citizens since they were citizens of Egypt before the war. They were given the right to a
two-year passport about a decade ago, since they did not carry any travel or residency
documents at all. News reports have said that around 70,000 Gazans are now living in
Jordan.
The Palestinians displaced during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war now living in Jordan are
entitled to a five-year passport and full citizenship rights since they were citizens of
Jordan prior to that war. U.N. resolutions that emanated from the Arab-Israeli conflict
require the unconditional right of return to Palestinian territories. "The Gazans'
problem is with Egypt, not Jordan," said one Gazan who lives in the Jerash refugee
camp.
"Jordan is trying to facilitate our life and work whether inside or outside the
Kingdom." "Most Gazans carry Egyptian travel documents, but at the same time, it
refuses to let us in unless we have official business [in Egypt]," added the Gazan.
Asked about the effect on the possible government decision to issue a five-year
passport, the Gazan expressed dissatisfaction, and said, "We've been here for ages,
and according to nationality law, we have the right to Jordanian nationality," he
added..."
Withdrawal workings
YEDIOT AHARONOT 7/22/99: "In light of the momentum in the political process, the
right-wing camp is beginning to organize to struggle against a possible Israeli withdrawal
in Judaea, Samaria, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights. This comes against the
background of assessments that the chances of success in their struggle are not very high.
Next week, Knesset Member [MK] Hanan Porat (National Union) will convene the right-wing
parties and extra-parliamentary bodies, such as the Council of Jewish Settlements in
Judaea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip, in order to formulate their path in the struggle
against Prime Minister Ehud Baraq's peace moves. The settler leaders are also interested
in forging cooperation with the Golan Settlements Committee, which will also be invited to
attend the conference.
Prior to the meeting, MK Hanan Porat and Aharon Domb, the director-general of the
Jewish settlements council, have drawn up a joint document with two key recommendations.
The first of these: To submit a draft bill to the Knesset stipulating that a national
referendum will be held on all peace agreements and that the agreements' approval will be
conditional on their winning a majority of at least 60 percent of the public.
This is meant to neutralize the impact of the Arab vote. MK Porat asserted that many
countries require special majorities in their referendums. "It is inconceivable that
the Arab vote will be the decisive factor in a national referendum on such vital issues,
issues that will determine the future of the Land of Israel for generations," Porat
said.
Porat's second recommendation is to conduct a countrywide census of right-wing
supporters and those opposed to a withdrawal in Judaea, Samaria, the Gaza Strip, and the
Golan Heights. The preparations for the census will be accompanied by a propaganda
campaign against the government's withdrawal plans.
Right-wing figures are nevertheless aware that their struggle has only a small chance
of succeeding. The document prepared by Porat and Domb makes no secret of this fact:
"Reality will make it very difficult for the general public, including many who are
opposed to the agreements, to vote against them, for fear of a political crisis within
Israel and pressure from abroad.
This could sway the public to abandon their original positions." The document
further states: "The government is able to make use of the media and its propaganda
tools. The opponents of the agreements, on the other hand, are not necessarily linked to
factions and parties, or organized like the government. The prime minister therefore has a
large advantage in the sphere of propaganda and organization."
The right-wing is also hobbled by a deep rift between National Union MK's Mikha'el
Kleiner and Rehav'am Ze'evi, who are battling for the leadership of the Land of Israel
Front in the Knesset. The two men have exchanged caustic letters full of personal insults.
On 20 July, MK Kleiner wrote Ze'evi: "Your decision to try to sabotage the Land of
Israel Front is a direct continuation of your attempts to undermine this body in the
previous Knesset. The only reason for this is that the Land of Israel Front is associated
with me. Your real intentions are transparent and clear to everyone. Your jealously is
evident, your hatred is obvious, and apparently you are motivated solely by these two
emotions."
Yesterday, Ze'evi replied: "The rules you are attempting to dictate to us, by
crowning yourself head of the Land of Israel Front, are unacceptable. You might as well
declare yourself president of the Zionist Congress or even the US Congress."
The Golan Heights settlers are also preparing to struggle against the withdrawal. The
Golan Settlements Committee are planning to hold their first big event in approximately
two months. This will be a huge rally, with the participation of thousands of people, in
the large amphitheater in Qatzrin. The Golan committee members are also putting together a
video cassette warning about the dangers of a withdrawal there. They will launch a large
nationwide information campaign in the coming weeks."
Turkey & Israel, warplanes and
missles
Istanbul's HURRIYET 7/21/99: "Work is under way to modernize 54 [Turkish]
warplanes, 26 of which will be modernized by Israeli Airspace Industries (IAI), and the
rest by Eskisehir No. 1 Air Reinforcement and Maintenance Center. After the delivery of
the first F-4 warplane to Turkey in December, the rest of the warplanes will begin to be
delivered to Turkey at the rate of one warplane a month beginning from February 2000.
Israel will also transfer technology to Turkey within the framework of the project. The
Turkish F-4 warplanes modernized by IAI are presently undergoing test flights in Israel.
The F-4 warplanes, which will be tested uninterruptedly for six months by a specially
chosen group of Turkish pilots, will be equipped at the end of the project with the latest
fire control radar system (SAR), which can draw up a land map from a distance of 80
kilometers.
The warplanes, which will be equipped with advanced avionics and radar, will become the
most advanced warplanes of their kind at the end of the project...
Meanwhile, Israel will deliver, in the coming few months, 70 air-to-ground "Popeye
1" assault missiles known as "smart missiles." These missiles, which are
manufactured in Israel, are being tested by Turkish warplane pilots. In the second stage
of the project, Turkey and Israel will jointly produce "Popeye 2"
missiles..."
Hamas threatens new wave of attacks
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE 7/22/99: "The radical Palestinian Islamic group Hamas
threatened Thursday to launch a new wave of attacks against Israel, just as Israeli and
Palestinian leaders seek to revive their long-stalled peace negotiations. In a statement
faxed to news organizations, Hamas acknowledged that combined Israeli, Palestinian and US
security actions had limited the movement's actions in recent months.
"We will break this clampdown and you will hear good news about our Jihad
operations very soon," it said, using the Arabic word for holy war -- a term meaning
guerrilla operations. "The path of struggle and resistance will never stop,"
said the statement, signed by the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. The
statement accused Israel and the United States of plotting to assassinate senior Hamas
leaders and said it would attack US and Israeli targets worldwide if the plan is carried
out.
It was the first threat issued for several months by Hamas, which has killed scores of
Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks aimed at undermining interim peace
agreements signed between Israel and the secular Palestine Liberation Organization headed
by Yasser Arafat. The statement coincided with an announcement that Israel's new prime
minister, Ehud Barak, would meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for talks on
reviving peace efforts after three years of tense relations under the previous Israeli
government.
Barak, a former army chief of staff and security hardliner, has warned that a renewal
of terrorism by Hamas or other groups opposed to peace with Israel could torpedo the peace
talks. The threat also came after Israel's secret service revealed that Hamas militants
have begun receiving weapons training at a base in Iran run by the Islamic republic's
elite Revolutionary Guards..."
Less blood and on whose hands?
YEDIOT AHARONOT 7/22/99: "Israel may change the criteria for defining people with
"blood on their hands" in order to enable the release of Palestinian security
prisoners, as stipulated by the Wye Agreement. Yesterday, it was reported that that among
the goodwill gestures that Prime Minister Ehud Baraq intends to propose to Palestinian
Authority [PA] Chairman Yasir 'Arafat in preparation for the implementation of the Wye
Agreement is a promise to act for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
According to the Wye Agreement, Israel pledged to release 750 security prisoners, all
Fatah members, who were sentenced to prison for offenses committed prior to the Oslo
Agreement. This can only become possible if the definition of prisoners "with blood
on their hands" is changed. According to the new criteria proposed by the defense
establishment, people who assisted Palestinian murder squads, or even squad members who
did not directly participate in a murder, will not fall under the definition of terrorists
with "blood on their hands."
This recommendation was rejected in the past by former Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu. The criteria employed by the Netanyahu government stated that all members of a
squad that murdered or wounded Jews are considered to have "blood on their
hands." In effect, this definition did not permit the implementation of the clause in
the Wye Agreement promising the release of the security prisoners. Since the signing of
the Wye Agreement in October 1998, not a single security prisoner was freed.
Knesset Member Dani Nave, the head of the Likud reaction team, said yesterday that
"any deviation by Baraq's from the agreement is tantamount to rewarding violence and
terrorism." Hisham 'Abd-al-Raziq, the Palestinian minister for prisoner affairs,
recently said: "According to our lists, no more than 200 out of the 1,200 Fatah
prisoners harmed or killed Israelis." Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-'Ami said
yesterday that he had received the criteria formulated by the defense establishment and
that Public Security Ministry officials had discussed the issue in the past few
days."
Iran 13 ransom set at billions
YEDIOT AHARONOT 7/21/99--Article by Shimon Schiffer: "Israel has turned down a
clandestine Iranian proposal for a deal under which the 13 Jewish detainees were to be
released. This has been learned from reliable Washington sources. The proposal had been
conveyed to Israel by middlemen who claimed to be acting on behalf of the Iranian
spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khamene'i.
Prime Minister Ehud Baraq was also informed of the proposal. Israel rejected it out of
hand because of its unreasonable conditions. After the shah's downfall, the Iranians
claimed Israel owed them approximately $1 billion. The debt has since grown, reaching --
according to the Iranians -- several billion dollars.
The opinion that prevailed in the Israeli entourage was that Israel must not accept any
demand linking the Jews' release with issues disputed by the two states, since that may
give rise to extortion: All the remaining Iranian Jews may become hostages.
Several leaders of US Jewish organizations continue to hold contacts with elements who
have access to the Iranian regime in an effort to arrange a visit to the imprisoned Jews
by relatives and to obtain permission to provide them with kosher food. It has been
learned, meanwhile, that the passports of several Iranian Jews had been confiscated.
Western Jewish organizations are trying to persuade the Iranians to restore these
passports to their owners. The Iranian authorities are demanding an immediate end to the
international pressure on the detainees issue. The Jewish organizations have so far
rejected the demand."
Barak optimism in Morocco
AP via NANDO TIMES 7/26/99: "It was a golden opportunity for Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Barak a little after two weeks in office. The funeral of Morocco's King
Hassan II provided the stage for impromptu meetings between Barak and leaders of Arab
countries with whom Israel hopes to forge closer ties once there is progress in Mideast
peace talks.
The outpouring of warmth toward Barak and the Israeli delegation was closely
scrutinized back home for signs that hostility toward Israel is receding. Barak mingled
easily with Arab leaders and was able to hold groundbreaking meetings with Algeria's
president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and Kuwait's crown prince.
Public support for Barak's future peace moves is critical since he has pledged to
present future land-for-peace agreements with the Syrians and the Palestinians to a
national referendum. Israelis will be more inclined to approve future peace accords if
they feel the Arab world no longer considers them outcasts in the region.
Israel's elder statesman, Shimon Peres, said his long-held vision of a "New Middle
East," often laughed off as wishful thinking, was slowly coming true. "The new
king approached me and hugged and kissed me," Peres, speaking on Israel radio Monday,
said of Hassan's successor, Mohamed VI. "Many people approached me that I don't even
know." Peres said he felt Mideast leaders no longer considered war an option...
The absence of Hafez Assad made Israelis wonder, however, whether the Syrian president
was really serious about negotiating a peace agreement. The recent exchange of messages
between Israel and Syria about resuming peace talks suspended in 1996 had been widely seen
in Israel as a sign that Assad had a change of heart and was now determined to move ahead
after years of stalling.
President Clinton told a group of Israeli journalists covering Hassan's funeral in
Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday that he didn't know why the Syrian leader was a no-show. "I
am slightly concerned and don't quite understand why he didn't come," The Jerusalem
Post and the Haaretz daily quoted Clinton as saying.
"I have been in ongoing contact with him and was hoping to see him here and
perhaps have him and Prime Minister Barak see each other." Clinton told the Israelis
that he thought that perhaps Assad was sick. Nonetheless, the U.S. president was quoted as
saying he was "very optimistic" about Mideast peace making."
Levy returns to Morroco for 1st time
in 42 years
HA'ARETZ 7/26/99: "Foreign Minister David Levy returned to his native Morocco
yesterday for the first time in 42 years, as part of the Israeli delegation to King Hassan
II's funeral. Levy left Morocco with his family when he was 17 years old, during the reign
of Mohammed V, the father of Hassan and grandfather of the new King Mohammed VI.
"I'm not sure if excitement is the right word to describe my feelings," Levy
said. "It's a complete whirlwind." Along the route of the funeral procession,
Levy recognized sights from his childhood. He learned to swim by the river and fished
there with his father. Levy recalled how the Jews used to picnic on Saturdays near the
site of the royal tomb, bringing food from their homes in the Jewish quarter, where the
procession also passed yesterday.
"When I think how I left illegally and now I'm returning to Morocco as the foreign
minister of the state of Israel - it's a difficult feeling to define. It's an interesting
time tunnel - backward and forward," he said. Levy remembers his parents telling
stories about how King Mohammed V always protected his Jewish subjects and that the king
believed in true reconciliation between religions.
He explained the fact that he waited so long to Morocco by saying "the political
conditions did not allow it and I didn't want to travel anonymously."
In response to a question of what he retained from his childhood, Levy said:
"Everything. I am continuing the way of life, the beautiful heritage and all the
traditions of my father's house...observing the holidays and Shabbat according to the
Jewish law, together with unparalleled tolerance...living without preaching to
others."...
Israel & Syria eager to renew
talks?
VOICE OF AMERICA 7/25/99: "Israel says it hopes to re-start peace talks with Syria
within weeks...A senior policy advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak says he
expects negotiations with Syria to resume within weeks following the latest contacts with
Damascus.
The advisor, Zvi Stauber, confirmed that Mr Barak has relayed a message to the Syrian
President Hafez al-Assad about the willingness of Israel to renew peace talks. Mr Stauber
says that Israel has offered to meet Syria's demand to re-open the discussions at the
point where they broke off in 1996. Damascus says that point is where Israel offered to
return the whole of the strategic Golan Heights, captured from Syria, during the 1967 war.
Israel says that it does not agree with this interpretation but does not want the issue
to become an obstacle preventing the resumption of peace talks. Mr Barak says a 15 month
timetable should be enough to determine whether breakthroughs can be made in negotiations
with both Syria and the Palestinians.
But officials in his office have stressed that the Prime Minister did not mean the
talks would necessarily be completed within this period. Meanwhile, both Spain and Jordan
are playing a leading role in helping to bring Syria and Israel together. The Spanish
Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, fresh from a Middle East tour, contacted President Assad
by telephone Saturday and reaffirmed Israel's eagerness to make peace with Damascus. Two
senior Jordanian officials sent a similar message to Mr Assad, when they arrived Saturday
in the Syrian capital to help revive the Middle East peace process."
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