Wye later and its terms
ARUTZ 7 7/25/99: "Prime Minister Barak continues his efforts to postpone the last
stage of the Wye withdrawals, and will present his plan to Yasser Arafat when the two meet
on Tuesday. After the entire first stage of Oslo withdrawals was executed from 1994-97,
under the Rabin, Peres, and Netanyahu governments, the second withdrawal was re-arranged
in the Wye Accords, which divided it into three stages.
Israel completed the first stage last November, when it shifted:
*7% of Judea and Samaria from the status of "Area B" (Palestinian civilian
and Israeli military control) to "Area A" (complete Palestinian military and
civilian control), and
*2% of Yesha from "Area C" (complete Israeli control) to the status of
"Area B."
The second stage of Wye is now up for implementation, including further Israeli
withdrawals and terrorist-releases, as well as Palestinian reduction of its para-military
police force, collection of illegal weapons, and more.
In his Tuesday meeting with Arafat, Barak will reportedly:
* pledge to immediately continue the second stage of Wye withdrawals by transferring
another 5% of Area C to Palestinian civilian control;
* propose that the third and final Wye withdrawal - changing another 5% from C to B, 1%
from C to A, and 7% from B to A - be delayed until a joint draft of principles for the
final-status arrangements is prepared.
Barak sees this process as lasting 3-6 months. He will apparently promise that if such
an agreement fails to materialize by that deadline, Israel will still carry out the third
stage of Wye. In total, the Wye agreement calls for the transfer of 15% of Yesha to full
Palestinian control.
At the same meeting, Barak will demand that the Palestinian Authority:
* finally arrest and incarcerate the terrorists according to its commitments at Wye
Plantation,
* submit a complete list of PA para-military policemen, since it is clear that the
current numbers greatly exceed the number permitted by Oslo,
*collect the illegal ammunition that has been distributed within its autonomous areas,
and
*cooperate in the resumption of the joint anti-incitement committee aimed at monitoring
anti-Israel propaganda in the Palestinian media and educational system.
Prime Minister Barak will reportedly tell Arafat that Israel cannot presently construct
the special route from Gaza to Judea and Samaria, "because of the accompanying
security problems, "but that Israel is prepared to consider the issue." He will
also advise the PA Chairman that the 3rd Oslo withdrawal - which Binyamin Netanyahu had
promised Israelis would not exceed 1% - is not being considered at this point in
time."
Lower interest rate
THE JERUSALEM POST 7/26/99: "The Bank of Israel yesterday announced it is reducing
its key lending rate for August by 0.5 percent to 11.5%, the first rate reduction in three
months, after a 50 basis-points cut at the end of April. The rate is now at its lowest
point since November 1998.
The lending rate announcement was moved up to yesterday from today so that Frenkel
could participate in the Knesset Finance Committee meeting this morning, at which World
Bank President James Wolfensohn is expected to participate. Following the announcement the
major banks said they would also be reducing their prime lending rates by 50 basis points,
to 13%. Central bank officials said the rate cut was made possible by reduced inflation so
far this year, coupled with low inflation expectations - approximately 4% - which are
expected to be maintained for the next 12 months."
Unsettlement by Ehud's orders
THE JERUSALEM POST 7/26/99: "The order issued by Prime Minister Ehud Barak over
the weekend to dismantle five caravans placed illegally on a hilltop two kilometers from
the settlement of Shvut Rahel in Samaria was the first time such action has been taken by
the government.
It served as a warning to the settlers that illegal construction activity will be dealt
with swiftly. Of some 30 encampments set up on hilltops since 1996, four are considered
illegal by civil administration officials, one of them Shvut Rahel. The fate of the others
- Jabel Harasha near Talmonim, Hirbat Hashuna near Eli, and Har Kabir near Alon Moreh -
has yet to be determined.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office said the actions violated an
agreement reached between Barak and the leaders of the Council of Jewish Communities in
Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, who promised to refrain from carrying out any one-sided
activities and to coordinate all their moves with the government.
Newly appointed council chairman Benny Kashriel cabled Barak yesterday deploring the
settlers' actions. He stated that no one had been consulted about the decision to move
caravans and said these actions do not represent the council's stand..."
Filibustering cabinet expansion
THE JERUSALEM POST 7/26/99: "Opposition MKs were expected to continue to
filibuster in the Knesset Law Committee against the government legislation to expand the
cabinet from 18 to 24 ministers and add another two deputy ministers at least until early
this morning.
Michael Eitan (Likud) has arranged a schedule of speakers against the bill through
tonight, although committee chairman Amnon Rubinstein (Meretz) pledged to use his power to
limit the discussion and hold the vote as scheduled on the bill, an amendment to the Basic
Law: The Government, this morning. Tzippi Livni (Likud) said the opposition would exploit
every minute possible under the House Rules to speak on the hundreds of amendments to the
bill and delay the vote.
The committee is scheduled to submit the bill for its second and third readings by the
end of today, and the Knesset debate is due to begin tomorrow and culminate with a vote on
Wednesday. The Knesset goes on summer recess Sunday, but the government is planning to ask
for a special session to swear in the new ministers on Monday...
Meanwhile, Limor Livnat (Likud) yesterday got Rubinstein to obtain the accompanying
letter from Treasury budget director David Milgrom to which Minister Haim Ramon referred
in the Knesset two weeks ago. Last week, Livnat revealed to the committee a two-page,
unsigned document from the Finance Ministry on the costs of the cabinet expansion, but had
been unable to obtain Milgrom's letter.
According to Milgrom's letter, the direct cost of the extra ministers is some NIS 10m.,
not including the establishment of new ministries or realms of responsibilities, which
could be expected to result in "additional, significant budgetary expenditures."
Milgrom, who is to appear before the committee this morning, said that even ministers
without portfolio had previously been given areas of responsibility, which require
staffing and budgets. Livnat said the revelation of Milgrom's letter proved that Ramon had
"lied to the Knesset" when he said the cost would be only NIS 9m. for the extra
ministers and deputy ministers, including everything, without revealing the Treasury
warnings of extra indirect costs..."
Cohen's freeze on investments in
Judea, Samaria and Gaza
THE JERUSALEM POST 7/20/99 Op-ed by Evelyn Gordon: "Ran Cohen's first move as the
new minister of industry and trade was to freeze all government investment subsidies in
Judea, Samaria and Gaza. He also demanded a list of all subsidies that had been approved
but not yet disbursed, with an eye to canceling these as well.
Cohen argued that a freeze was necessary until the new government had drawn up its own
national priority map, which determines which communities are eligible for the grants.
Under this new map, some of the settlements will certainly lose their benefits. But if
Cohen's goal was truly to prepare for future change, he should have frozen investment
grants throughout Israel - since some of the communities within the Green Line will
probably also lose their special status, while some of the settlements, particularly those
in the greater Jerusalem area, may well keep theirs.
By implementing such a blatantly discriminatory measure, Cohen was undoubtedly being
faithful to the goals of the Meretz Party, which sent him to the Knesset. However, he also
unconscionably undermined the government in which Meretz has chosen to sit - and raised
disturbing questions about the kind of behavior that can be expected from the party in the
future. To start with, as Interior Minister Natan Sharansky pointed out, Cohen's decision
was in violation of the official coalition guidelines.
Section 4.3 of these guidelines states: "The government will work to ensure the
security of the Jewish residents in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and to provide regular
government and municipal services - equal to those offered to residents of all other
communities in Israel. The government will offer a response to the ongoing development
needs of existing communities. Socio-economic standards will be equally applied to all
communities everywhere."
Since politicians break promises all the time, this might seem a trivial issue. But it
may not prove trivial for Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who has been trying hard to establish
a reputation for good faith and honest dealing to counteract the legacy of distrust, both
in Israel and abroad, left by his predecessor. Cohen has confronted Barak with the devil's
dilemma.
If the prime minister moves to override Cohen's decision, he will find himself in open
conflict with an important member of his coalition. But if, as he has so far chosen to do,
he lets the decision stand, he opens himself to questions about just how much his other
promises are worth - and about his ability to get his coalition to abide by any future
commitments he might make.
Such doubts are unlikely to make Barak's political life easier, either domestically or
in diplomatic negotiations with Israel's neighbors.
An even more serious problem, however, is that Cohen's decision undercuts the messages
Barak has been trying to send with respect to a permanent settlement with the
Palestinians. Throughout his campaign, Barak made it clear that he saw Israel retaining
significant settlement blocs under any final-status agreement. He reiterated this stance
last week in Washington.
Cohen's decision, however, sends the opposite message: that none of the settlements
are, or ever will be, part of Israel, and that, therefore, there is no point in wasting
good money on them. What Cohen is in effect telling the Palestinians is "We in Meretz
will take your side, even against the government of which we are a part. We will work from
within to undermine the government's negotiating positions and to ensure that Israel ends
up with less than you might otherwise agree to."
This will make it much harder for Barak when he finally starts negotiating a
final-status agreement. Confronted with a firm stance, the Palestinians might decide that
part of Judea and Samaria was better than nothing at all. But facing a divided government
- part of which has openly declared its allegiance to the Palestinian position - Yasser
Arafat will have every reason to make maximal demands and refuse to budge from them,
hoping that internal opposition will force Israel to fold first.
Thus even Finance Minister Avraham Shohat - who, faced with an urgent need to cut the
budget without antagonizing Labor's core constituencies, would dearly love to see less
money spent on investment grants in the territories - nevertheless protested that Cohen
should not have made such a decision without consulting a wider forum, including himself
and Barak.
Cohen is, of course, perfectly entitled to believe that Israel should give up all of
the settlements, and he is perfectly entitled to try to quietly persuade the rest of the
government to his side. But as long as he is part of the government, he has no right to
publicly undermine that government's official negotiating positions. If he wishes to take
the Palestinians' side against the government, then the proper place to do so is from the
opposition benches."
Histadrut's deficit
HA'ARETZ 7/26/99: "An audit of the Histadrut, released yesterday, disclosed that
the labor federation's net assets deficit stood at year-end 1998 at NIS 1.585 billion. The
Histadrut also had an NIS 35 million gap between its budget and spending in its regular
activities, and an NIS 452 million hole in its working capital.
These figures invite doubt about the labor federation's ability to meet its
commitments, summed up the accounting firm of Cohen, Eyal, Yehoshua & Co. in its
opening statement to the Histadrut's balance for 1998. This is the second consecutive
annual report in which the federation's CPAs have noted their doubts as to the Histadrut's
ability to meet its commitments.
But despite the depressing data in the report, Histadrut treasurer Shmuel Avital
yesterday stated that "the fourth quarter indicates a dramatic reversal. For the
first time in years, an operating balance is in sight." He predicted a cash surplus
by the end of the year, partly because the federation's collection procedures have
improved.
"We are at the peak of a very hard period," Avital admitted, "which is
reflected, among other things, in an unbearable cash flow that is causing salaries of
Histadrut workers ... to be delayed. But the basis has been created to cure the
organization." He predicted that the cash-starved federation would be back on its
feet within months."
Iraq's at head with Arab League
AP 7/25/99: "Iraq, the Arab world's most alienated country, will lead the next
meeting of Arab foreign ministers, Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported Sunday. The
Cairo-based Arab League has issued invitations to its 22 members to attend the Sept. 4-5
meeting under Iraq's chairmanship, MENA quoted the league's spokesman, Talaat Hamad, as
saying.
The league members meet twice a year to coordinate foreign policies and iron out their
disagreements. The chairmanship rotates, and Iraq's turn is bound to worry its bitter
rivals, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The two Persian Gulf heavyweights have blocked moves in
the Arab League to give greater support to Iraq in its campaign to have the nearly nine
years of U.N. economic sanctions lifted. They also prevented an Arab League condemnation
of U.S.-British airstrikes on Iraq in December 1998...."
Eskine & the GSS
HATZOFE 7/16/99: "With the revelation this week that extremist right-wing activist
Avigdor Eskine was also a GSS [General Security Service] agent, a variety of people have
asserted that he had not served in this capacity for only a short period of time, as
security officials claimed this week, but rather, for an extended period of time. Avishay
Raviv, they say, was not alone.
Eskine is currently on trial. He has been accused of having planned to hurl a pig's
head onto the Temple Mount area, an action that was meant to create an outrage among the
Muslims. This week, in the course of his testimony, Eskine revealed that he had been
employed by the GSS some ten years ago in order to help thwart a wave of apartment arsons.
The unknown arsonists tried at the time to torch the apartments of leftists and
journalists, and signed their work: "The Siqariqim" [in reference to a cult of
Jewish zealots who assassinated those of their countrymen who were willing to compromise
with Rome in the first century AD]
According to a Hatzofe investigation, Eskine used the Ultra-Orthodox weekly 'Erev
Shabbat' in the course of his activities in the GSS' ranks. The weekly's employees were
not party to this affair. Eskine wanted to interview one of the members of
"Siqariqim" group. The interview that Eskine conducted with the group member was
eventually published without revealing the man's name, while the statements he made during
the course of the interview were very similar, almost completely identical, to the
statements that Eskine himself has made over the years.
There is good reason to believe that Eskine wanted to have the interview published so
as to draw other people who have radical right-wing views towards him, either so as to
have the GSS file a report about them or in order to protest the fact that someone else
had taken the "glory" for those acts carried out by the "Saqiriqim."
The impression left by a first reading of the interview is that the journalist was
interviewing himself. In other words, this story is quite reminiscent of the infamous
report filed by Eytan Oren for Israel Television that presented a swearing-in ceremony
starring Avishai Raviv. The Shamgar Committee determined that the report had been a sham.
At a certain stage, Eskine was appointed deputy editor of 'Erev Shabbat, which competed
against Yom Hashishi. The editor was Yisra'el Galim, whose views were known to be
diametrically opposed to Eskine's, and he was not involved in Eskine's scandal in any way.
By the way, Eskine's ties with the media did not end with 'Erev Shabbat: he wrote
extensively for the Russian language press, and was even considered to be popular; he
wrote for the Jewish Press and for Bamahane Haharedi.
Eskine claimed in the course of his testimony this week that "I never provided the
police or the GSS with incriminating evidence about any Jew who was involved in nationally
motivated activities." He went on to say that Karmi Gilon, a former GSS Chief and
before that Director of the GSS' Jewish Division, "knows full well that I played a
role in thwarting the phenomenon (of arsons)." Karmi Gilon refused to respond to
these claims. Other security officials, however, confirmed them. Past allegations have
Karmi Gilon having being directly in touch with Avishai Raviv...
After the assassination of Yitzhaq Rabin, while the national camp was deep in shock and
undertook a process of soul-searching, Eskine demonstrated in favor of Yig'al 'Amir. In
one such demonstration he bore a placard reading "Yig'al 'Amir is not a
murderer." At the time he said in an interview that Shim'on Peres was in danger of
being assassinated. He told journalists that he planned on forming a list that would run
for the Knesset; two members of this list were to be Yigal 'Amir and 'Ami Popper.
Despite all these acts, he was almost never arrested. Just like Avishay Raviv. And here
is another connection with the Rabin assassination: Eskine declared in the course of the
"Pulsa Denura" affair that he was willing to admit to everything, provided he
was allowed to sit in the same cell together with Yig'al 'Amir. In one case Eskine
allegedly performed a "Pulsa Denura" rite against Shim'on Peres as well.
Eskine was arrested, and during the course of his arraignment he claimed that his
actions were perfectly legitimate. In the end, he was sentenced to four months in
prison...
By the way, immediately following Rabin's assassination, a report was issued that the
GSS was planning to arrest right-wing extremists. Two names were mentioned: Avishay Raviv
(no one knew at that point in time that he was a GSS agent, but journalists were told that
he headed the Eyal [Jewish Fighting Organization] movement, which Yig'al 'Amir had been a
member of), and Avigdor Eskine.
Eskine did not receive much support among the religious public. Thus, for example,
after the "Pulsa Denura" affair was made public, worshipers in synagogue on the
Sabbath called on him to "get out." He never returned a second time to pray. As
in the case of Avishay Raviv, Eskine always enjoyed oddly special treatment. After his
statements in praise of Yitzhaq Rabin's assassin were broadcast, he flew to Moscow. It is
hard to believe that any other right-wing activist would have been allowed to leave the
country.
After returning from abroad, Eskine was not arrested at the airport and the police also
refused to tell journalists whether they intended to arrest him. This was not the only
case in which the failure to arrest Eskine raised a few eyebrows. Rabin was in Russia and
spoke in Moscow shortly before his assassination. Eskine secured a seat for himself in the
front row and when Rabin began his speech, Eskine made his way towards the microphone and
yelled out in a number of languages "traitor." He was arrested immediately, but
quickly released and never prosecuted.
In August 1995, three months before the assassination, he interrupted a speech being
given by Rabin at the Laromme hotel in Jerusalem by yelling out. A month later, he was
involved in another incident close to Rabin. Once again, no arrests were made. Immediately
after Rabin's assassination, despite the fact that he gave interviews left, right and
center about the "Pulsa Denura," no one stopped him from leaving Israel.
He was arrested in July 1996 while demonstrating opposite Yitzhaq Rabin's grave. The
reason for his arrest was "unconscionable behavior in public." The maximal
sentence for this offence is six months in prison. But Eskine was released, and was never
indicted. Incidents of this sort recur in Eskine's biography time and again, and yet he
always somehow managed to come out in unharmed...
The incomprehensibly lax treatment given Eskine was inexplicable for years. A number of
journalists asked questions on that issue, and received dubious answers. Two years ago,
Inspector Sha'ul Na'im said, "there was not enough evidence." Eskine's lawyer,
Naftali Wertzberger, said already then that he was dumbfounded by Eskine's luck, and even
said that he could not rule out the possibility that Eskine was working in the service of
the GSS, hence his immunity.
"These rumors have been accompanying me massively for the past two years," he
said. This week it became evident that they were not only rumors. Eskine admitted to
having already worked for the GSS at least ten years ago."
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