PA wants Jerusalem properties: West
and East
Gaza's AL HAYAH AL JADIDA 8/9/99: "Deputy Hatim 'Abd-al-Qadir has affirmed that
the Palestinian side will request Israel to return more than 6,000 buildings in West
Jerusalem to their Arab owners and pay compensations estimated at millions of dollars for
other places during the final status negotiations.
'Abd-al-Qadir pointed out in an interview with Al-Hayah Al-Jadidah that these buildings
include mosques, churches, schools, bequeathed Islamic and Christian property, and houses
belonging to Arab citizens, which Israel seized after its proclamation in 1948. The
Jerusalem deputy affirmed that more than 75 percent of properties in West Jerusalem, be it
properties or lands, were bequeathed by Muslims and Christians or belonged to ordinary
citizens.
He said that both the eastern and western sectors of Jerusalem are subject to
negotiations according to UN Resolution 181, which did not recognize West Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel.
'Abd-al-Qadir said: We requested Jordan and Turkey to assist us in presenting the legal
documents pertaining to many sites and properties in Arab Jerusalem. The two countries
have declared their willingness to assist us in that regard. A Palestinian team is
conducting a full survey to determine the size of Arab property in West Jerusalem, he
added.
'Abd-al-Qadir said: Part of Jerusalem was occupied in 1948 and another part was
occupied in 1967. Both parts are subject to negotiations. This is the decision we adopted
in the Jerusalem Commission and the Legislative Council. It is also the decision the
European Union adopted recently, regarding West Jerusalem as a political entity
independent of Israel. That is why European states refrained from moving their embassies
to Jerusalem, he noted.
In the interview, the Jerusalem deputy said that the Legislative Council will request
the executive authority to hold a public referendum on the issues of the final stage,
pointing out that the Israelis are planning to hold such a referendum before signing any
agreement on the final status.
According to Palestinian sources, most Arab property in the western sector of the city
are located in the neighborhoods of al-Baq'ah, al-Qatamun, al-Talibiyah, the German and
Greek quarters, al-Malihah and 'Ayn Karim. Another important Arab property, the Palace
Hotel, is located in Agron Street. The Ministry of Industry and Trade occupies the
building at present.
Before 1948, the building was occupied by Mufti Hajj Amin al-Husayni. The Sansur
building, previously known as Harun al-Rashid Palace, is located on Ben Yehuda Street,
which was the scene of suicide operations. The big villa was close to the Jerusalem
theater. It was later turned into apartments housing Jewish families, he said.
The property includes also the Salamah Villa, which was leased to the Belgian
consulate. It is located in the western yard of Fijit Square, close to the prime
minister's home. It belonged to the Christian family of Constantin, whose members live
mainly in Lebanon and the United States.
According to Israeli press sources, the Belgian consulate requested the Egyptian
Government at the time to intervene to prevent Israel from seizing the building. The
building of the universal Christian embassy [al-safarah al-masihiyah al-'Alamiyah]
currently occupies a house located on Rahel Amnobhi Street, which belonged to the father
of Palestinian Professors Edward Said, 'Abd-al-Qadir said..."
El Al out of Canada?
GLOBES 8/12/99: "The [Israel] Civil Aviation Authority last night rejected, in
talks in Ottawa, the demand of Air Canada to make seven weekly flights between the
countries this winter, similar to its summer flight schedule. In response, Air Canada
threatened to stop El Al flights to Toronto and Montreal. Israel and Canada locked horns
on this matter a year ago, too, and the dispute was resolved through government
intervention.
The CAA determined that Air Canada will make only four weekly flights to Israel this
winter, as it did last year. CAA director Avner Yarqoni proposed that in the winter of
2000-2001, Air Canada add one more flight, making six weekly flights in 2001-2002, and
only in 2002-2003 increase the number of flights to seven a week. The head of the
negotiating team in the Canadian Foreign Ministry, Bill Diamond, rejected the proposal,
demanding that the airline be allowed to make a daily flight to Israel regardless of
season.
He announced that he would advise the Canadian Government of Israel's position. The CAA
maintained that El Al cannot compete with Air Canada, since it does not have code-sharing
agreements with other airlines. Air Canada argued that El Al's failures do not concern Air
Canada's commercial considerations...
A senior source at the Canadian Aviation Authority reported: "We will ask the
Israeli Government to intervene to prevent a needless crisis. If that request is turned
down, the result will be that El Al will be prohibited from continuing to make flights to
Toronto and Montreal." Last year, Canada threatened to forbid El Al to fly over
Canada en route to the United States."
Greece & Israel
Athens TA NEA 8/10/99: "Recently, Athens has been opening up to the avenues of
so-called "military diplomacy." It is expected that two of the journeys to be
made by Defense Minister Akis Tsokhatzopoulos--to Israel and the United States, which
start from mid-September--will signal Athens' attempts to set right the errors and
omissions of the past. Errors and omissions that led the country into "lonely"
roads, in the region of the southeastern Mediterranean and to a corresponding increase in
Ankara's "influence."
Athens considers the election of a prime minister from Israel's Labor Party and the new
opportunities being created for peace in the Middle East to constitute "opportune
circumstances" for Greece to enter, with some hopes for success, into the
"game" of securing conditions of stability in the wider area, a perspective of
course, as the defense minister stresses to his interlocutors, that cannot but include the
solution of the Cyprus problem based on the UN resolutions.
At the same time, the development of better relations with Israel and the resurrection
of an agreement for military cooperation that has remained on paper since its agreement in
1994, constitute in themselves the secondary aims of Tsokhatzopoulos' visit. Of course,
Athens appreciates that the tightening of relations with Israel should not lead to
neglecting the firm and consistently good relations with the Palestinians.
For that purpose, and within the context of a three-day visit (15-17 September),
Tsokhatzopoulos' officers have given specific emphasis to there being meetings with the
Palestinian leadership at the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority. With the balances
and multilateral cooperation that Athens is hoping will develop in the region with the
participation of everyone, Athens is aiming to cancel through deeds the rationale of
"axes and counter-axes" that had developed in the region at Ankara's initiative.
The case of Israel and the promotion of the military, trading and diplomatic relations
that Ankara was trying to and managed to develop with it, constitutes the most
representative instance of this Turkish policy. Despite the constant assurances by Israel
that it is not turning against Greece and Cyprus through these relations, Athens does not
have any choice but to consider this development as negative, since it has acquired the
character of a "military cooperation" between the two countries and has negative
repercussions on Greece, in particular in the defense sector.
It is not only the defense pact that was signed in 1996 and the contracts that
followed: long-range Popeye missiles, modernized F-5 and later F-4E Phantoms, etc. The
Ankara-Tel Aviv cooperation extended to undertaking "the task of" promoting
Turkish interests by the Jewish lobby in the United States and was only recently
"tied" even more tightly by the agreement to sell a large quantity of water to
Israel, which moved ahead with the visit by Turkish President Demirel.
The margins for development of Greek-Israeli links on commercial, diplomatic and
military levels are estimated by Athens to be quite significant. In order to promote
these, already Vaso Papandreou and (recently) Alternate Foreign Minister Kranidhiotis have
visited Israel. Already, Israeli defense industries have signed contracts with the Defense
Ministry, while they are also promoting new ones (self-defense systems, ammunition, fuses,
etc)..."
Gambling
HA'ARETZ 8/16/99: "Less than a year after the doors of Jericho's Oasis casino
swung open for the first time, a new casino is on its way to Ramallah, planned by a
confidante of Palestinian Authority Chair Yasser Arafat. Since the Oasis launched in
September 1998, about 700,000 people have played the gambling tables in the plush hotel
outside Jericho. Roughly 95 percent of the players have been Israelis and the casino
employs 1,200 workers, hundreds of whom are residents of the immediate vicinity.
Although diaspora Palestinians are formally listed as the shareholders in the Oasis,
Arafat confidante Haled Islam, is believed to be a prime mover behind the operation. By
the time the full entertainment complex near Jericho is completed, some $150 million will
have been invested. Oasis draws gamblers from throughout Israel, and has even established
a transportation system for gamblers to reach the Jericho venue. The Palestinian Authority
recently acquired between 25 percent and 65 percent of the Ramallah Grand Park Hotel's
shares, where the new casino is planned..."
Increased trade deficit
GLOBES 8/11/99: "Israel's trade deficit increased in January-July by $1 billion,
amounting to $4.3 billion, compared to $3.3 billion in the corresponding period last year.
This reflects a sharp 29.6% rise, following a 25% reduction of the deficit in each of the
years 1998 and 1997. This emerges from data released today by the Central Bureau of
Statistics. However, half the trade deficit increase derives from the import of civilian
aircraft, while another 36% derives from the import of diamonds.
The increase in the trade deficit since the beginning of the year was due to the rapid
expansion of import at a rate of 7%, an import increment of more than $1.1 billion,
amounting, in the first seven months of the year to $17.1 billion. Export of goods posted
only a slight 1% increase, an export increment of only $131 million. Total exports in
January-July amounted to $ 12.8 billion..."
Abnormal normal: (Al Ahram views of
"history" etc)
Cairo's AL AHRAM 8/12/99: "The issue of normalizing relations with Israel has been
the subject of wide-scale controversy in the last few weeks. Although this controversy
attracts the best and worst of ideas, it is necessary to organize straightforward and open
debates about this important issues in order to explore the proposed ideas...
The fact of the matter is that the Egyptian position on our relations with Israel is at
the core of all issues related to peace and normalization. The ancient Jewish State was
nothing but a quick apparition that lasted less than two hundred years, whether as one
state or two separate ones, whereas Palestine's Kanaanite and then Arab history is more
than four thousand years old. Therefore, it is only logical that the Jews have no historic
rights in Palestine.
Yet, the failure of Arab governments to hold back the Zionist imperialist attacks
launched to capture Palestine has been extremely costly. As a result of the Arab's
historic failure, a huge wave of Jewish emigration from all corners of the earth converged
on Palestine and fought the war with the protection, support and financial assistance of
the imperialist powers in order to seize control of Palestine.
After the war, new generations of Jews were born and now they have no other homeland
but Palestine. Therefore, no solution can be based on removing them or throwing them into
the sea. There are only two solutions to this problem. The first solution is based on the
concept of right, and it calls for the establishment of a democratic, secular Palestinian
state on all the historic lands of Palestine that would absorb both Arabs and Jews on
equal footing.
Only the Palestinians who were expelled or forced to flee their homes under the
pressure of the Barbaric Zionist attacks on Palestine would be allowed to return to their
homes, according to this plan. However, this solution is currently impossible to
implement. The second solution is to establish two states, one Palestinian and the other
Israeli, in accordance with the borders specified by the United Nations in Security
Council resolution 181 for 1947. The Palestinians who were expelled or forced to flee in
1948 should be allowed to return and must be compensated by Israel for their possessions,
which were seized by the Jewish State.
This enormous concession of having the Arab states accept a Jewish State comprising
scattered groups of Jews from scores of different nationalities on a part of Arab
Palestinian territories is the price that the Arabs must pay for their failure to abort
the Zionist imperialist scheme.
In this case, the security arrangements adopted by Egypt and Israel would be balanced.
Moreover, when Tel Aviv relinquishes the nuclear weapons it uses to blackmail other states
in view of internationally-guaranteed just and balanced security arrangements, and when
Egypt regains control and sovereignty over its land, where the port of Eilat is currently
located, and the Strait of Tiran, it should be understood that peace does not mean
succumbing to the enemy or surrendering to its hegemony under the pretext of protecting
human and material resources.
This would be surrender and could not protect the people or the resources or forge a
future for the nation. Peace must be just and based on the restoration of inalienable
rights, otherwise, waging a war to defend the security of the homeland, the resources, the
people, and the national interests becomes a sacred duty.
As for the connection between peace and normalization, many people combine the two --
whether on the basis of good or evil intentions -- but this sort of concoction is baseless
and unacceptable because peace means the end of the state of war on the bases that
guarantee resolving the differences, which led to the eruption of the conflict in the
first place. Peace should be forged on the basis of right, understanding, satisfactory
arrangements and justice.
Moreover, internationally or regionally guaranteed security arrangements must be
adopted to guarantee the two countries' commitment to the concluded peace accords. Another
option would be to adopt bilateral security arrangements. This type of peace can coincide
with the existence of normal official relations between the two countries, or perhaps
peace could be achieved after ending the conflict without setting up normal ties between
the two sides.
Even in the case of establishing normal diplomatic ties between the two countries
within the context of peace, this does not mean that bilateral relations have been
normalized. Normalization is the transition from mere official relations between two
countries to normal popular ties, including economic and cultural cooperation between the
two countries, on the basis of mutual recognition and social acceptance.
If peace is acceptable and efforts are exerted to make its conditions more just and
balanced, normalization in the above-described sense can not be a viable option. In our
case, a river of blood shed by the Egyptian soldiers and civilians who sacrificed their
lives to defend the soil, people, history and future of this country against repeated
Israeli attacks on Egypt bars us from forging such ties with Israel.
Moreover, we have an unfair treaty with Israel signed on 26 March 1979 that stipulated
demilitarizing most of Sinai, while the Israeli army lurks at the Egyptian borders. The
racist nature of Israel as a religious country based on the concept that Jews are God's
chosen people who are superior to everybody else stands between us and the Jewish State.
Another thing that comes between us and the State of Israel is its nuclear arsenal, which
is used to blackmail Egypt and the rest of the Arabs.
The clash between Egyptian and Israeli visions and economic ambitions will prevent any
normalization of economic relations between the two countries, because Israeli racist
illusions and superior technological potentials prompt it to dream of monopolizing highly
technical industries and becoming the all-important financial, commercial and touristic
center in the Middle East.
The Jewish States aims at exploiting the region's potentials and markets to bolster its
own economy and gain negotiating leverage during talks with more advanced economic centers
around the world; namely the United States, the European Union and Japan. Meanwhile, it
intends to leave the labor-intensive industries that pollute the environment to Egypt and
other major Arab countries...
We have already pointed out the reasons behind our rejection of the economic
normalization with Israel, but we can add that such normalization would add nothing
worthwhile to our economic development process, because Egypt can exchange economic
benefits with neighboring Arab countries or European states located in the Mediterranean
Basin area. Consequently, whatever advanced technology that Israel has transferred from
the West can be obtained from their original sources through balanced and just partnership
agreements with the West, without paying dividends to the Israeli brokers..."
[ZINC EDITOR'S NOTE: AL AHRAM is an Egyptian government-owned daily newspaper.]
PA negotiations on Wye
AP 8/16/99: "Israelis and Palestinians negotiating the Wye peace accord have made
some progress on secondary issues, but remained deadlocked today on the key question of
how long an Israeli troop pullback from the West Bank will take. The high stakes were
apparent as security officials from both sides searched for Islamic militants suspected of
planning a bombing attack against Israelis. A bomb exploded, apparently prematurely, in
the West Bank town of Hebron on Sunday. No one was injured.
A spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Israeli and Palestinian
negotiators were no closer to an agreement after a meeting Sunday on a timetable for
Israel to withdraw from parts of the West Bank as mandated under the U.S.-brokered Wye
agreement. However, she said, they had made some progress on other issues. They included
the opening of a so-called "safe passage'' that would allow Palestinians to travel
between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and a go-ahead for construction to begin on a
Palestinian seaport in Gaza.
They also made headway on talks about the possible release of 750 Palestinian
prisoners...Barak told his Cabinet on Sunday that the timetable dispute would be resolved
within 10 days. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Israel had agreed to
provide the Palestinians with a detailed list of prisoners being held and a list of those
released last November by Barak's predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu. Erekat is to meet
Barak's envoy, Gilead Sher, again on Tuesday...
The crux of the dispute, however, remained Barak's reluctance to implement the third of
three West Bank troop pullouts mandated by Wye, which calls for the Palestinians to be
given another 11 percent of the West Bank. Netanyahu pulled troops out of 2 percent of the
territory before freezing compliance with the pact, and Barak has agreed to a further 5
percent withdrawal beginning October 1.
But he has been pushing the Palestinians to postpone the last withdrawal from 6 percent
of the West Bank until February 2000 and to negotiate at the same time the complex ``final
status'' issues, including the borders of any new Palestinian state, the fate of Jewish
settlements and sovereignty over Jerusalem. The Palestinians have vehemently rejected that
plan, and want the pullout wrapped up by mid-November.
The Israeli daily Haaretz said President Clinton sent Barak a letter last week
pressuring him to fully implement Wye without further delay and expressing reservations
over his plan to incorporate the third withdrawal into final status talks. Barak spokesman
David Ziso would not comment on the letter's content.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the message was probably
similar to one relayed to Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin during his trip to
Washington last week. The Clinton administration has publicly urged both sides to
implement the Wye accord in a timely fashion, although it has said it would not object to
minor adjustments to the schedule. A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity
indicated that combining the third withdrawal with final status talks would not be
considered a minor adjustment.
Meanwhile, Palestinian police arrested several dozen activists from the militant
Islamic group Hamas late Sunday night in Hebron, a Palestinian security source said,
speaking on condition of anonymity. Police were looking for two brothers who allegedly
prepared the car bomb that went off Sunday, the source said. Israeli media reports said it
was believed that Hamas activists intended to use the bomb against Jewish settlers in
Hebron...", which has traditionally been a flashpoint for violence in the West
Bank." AP 8/12/99: "Israel may agree to implement some provisions of the
U.S.-brokered Wye agreement early if progress is made in current negotiations with the
Palestinians, a senior Israeli official said today. Danny Yatom, Prime Minister Ehud
Barak's chief political adviser, told Israel radio the government would consider faster
implementation of Wye if talks between the two sides "mark up any achievements.''
Peace negotiators have said they are determined to end the deadlock over implementing
the Wye land-for-security agreement, under which Israel must withdraw from another 11
percent of the West Bank in two stages.
Even if no agreement is reached, Yatom said, Israel will start implementing the Wye
agreement on Sept. 1, and the next phase, during which Israel will withdraw from five
percent of the West Bank, will begin on Oct. 1. The two sides disagree on the schedule for
the withdrawals. The Israelis want to spread them into next year and the Palestinians say
they should be concluded by mid-November...
Following the shooting of a Jewish settler in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers today
continued to blockade a Palestinian town. The Israeli army's chief of staff, Lieut. Gen.
Shaul Mofaz, told Israel radio the settler was attacked by a cell of the Islamic Hamas
group, and the blockade of Arabe, which has 30,000 inhabitants, will continue until the
Palestinian Authority arrests its members. Arabe was sealed off on Tuesday night after the
settler's car was ambushed..."
Clinton gives sentence reductions
but…
ARUTZ7 8/13/99: "The New York Times reported yesterday that, under continued
pressure from minority politicians and human rights activists, President Clinton has
agreed to commute the sentences of 16 members of a Puerto Rican nationalist group - FALN.
The group, dedicated to the independence of Puerto Rico, was involved in more than 100
bombings of political and military installations in the United States some 15 years ago.
The Times quotes White House spokesman Barry Toiv as saying, "The president feels
they deserved to serve serious sentences for these crimes but not sentences that were far
out of proportion to the nature of the crimes they were convicted for. Journalist
Katharine Seelye quotes White House officials who announced that Hillary Clinton,
"who has all but declared her candidacy for the Senate from New York, had nothing to
do with the commutation...However, the decision could accrue to her political benefit by
cementing her relationship with New York's large Puerto Rican community."
Larry Dub, attorney for imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, responded to the news
today: "It seems that everyone is getting pardoned. Peurto Rican terrorists are
getting pardoned, Israelis in Cyprus are getting pardoned - everybody except for Jonathan
Pollard. If Clinton is interested in unfair sentences, he should examine the grossly
disproportionate sentence given to Pollard, who was sentenced to life without parole for a
crime (spying for a friendly country) that normally carries a maximum of 2-4 years."
Pollard sentence reduction in New
York??
THE JERUSALEM POST 8/16/99: "Jonathan Pollard could become an issue in next year's
New York Senate contest, according to New York newspaper accounts indicating that
Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani wants clemency for the convicted spy, while Hillary Rodham
Clinton has yet to take a position. Giuliani, who is expected to run for the New York
Senate seat, said over the weekend that Pollard's life sentence is too long compared to
the sentences meted out to defendants convicted in other espionage cases. The first lady,
running for the Senate spot being vacated by Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan,
has yet to take a public position on Pollard. President Bill Clinton has resisted
releasing Pollard..."
School violence
THE JERUSALEM POST 8/15/99: "The phenomenon of violence exists "in almost
every educational institution" in the country, aided by "a conspiracy of
silence;" but a systemic approach involving the schools, parents, and the local
authorities can help reduce it, Science, Culture, and Sport Minister Matan Vilna'i said
yesterday. In presenting the committee's recommendations to Education Minister Yossi Sarid
at the Education Ministry, Vilna'i said he had first heard about the school violence
problem from "the pupils themselves, who told me: 'There is a serious problem that
people don't like to deal with or talk about.'"
Make no mistake, there is a serious phenomenon [of violence ], but that doesn't mean
our schools are jungles. That's not true...There are many principals and staff members who
have taken the initiative to deal with this matter... Nevertheless, the phenomenon exists
in almost every educational institution as part of the society we live in." Prime
Minister Ehud Barak spoke out about the issue at the weekly cabinet session, where the
outline of the report was approved.
He said the document "reveals a very serious problem. All those who live with
young people know how serious this problem is, especially in a nation such as ours, which
throughout its history has known how to educate toward correct and moral behavior,
wherever it has sojourned in the world."...
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