US army will build Golani Brigade
bases
MA'ARIV 8/18/99: "The US Army's Engineering Corps will soon start building new
training bases for the Golani Brigade and paratroopers. The construction will be funded by
the Americans, as part of the special security aid to Israel in the framework of the Wye
accord.
The Golani and paratrooper training bases are located in Samaria: the Golani base in
Bezeq and the paratrooper base in Sanur. Although those areas are not slated for handover
to the Palestinians in the framework of the Wye accord but only as part of the final
arrangement, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] intends to replicate them in new sites in the
coming years.
The paratrooper training base is slated to move to Lehavim in the Negev, while
construction of the Golani training base is planned in the disputed Plot 107 next to Umm
al-Fahm. Construction costs for the two new bases are estimated at more than $150 million.
The IDF will also have to build another base in central Israel, to replace the 'Ofer camp
next to Ramallah, at an estimated cost of nearly $50 million.
In view of the budgetary crunch faced by the IDF, it was decided that construction of
the two training bases and the new camp will be undertaken with the special US aid for the
implementation of the Wye accord. In discussions held between the Israeli Defense Ministry
and the US Department of Defense, it was agreed that the construction will be carried out
by the US Army's Engineering Corps, assisted by American and Israeli contractors."
Israeli security strengthened around
the world
MA'ARIV 8/18/99: "Israel has decided to beef up security at all its institutions,
legations, and embassies throughout the world. A directive in this spirit was issued to
all security officers in Israel's embassies worldwide. Security officials said that
Hizballah -- which accuses Israel of liquidating senior Hizballah official Abu-Hasan
Salamah -- will attempt to carry out a revenge operation in south Lebanon and, apparently,
in other places around the world as well.
Accordingly, it was decided to review and beef up security at all Israeli institutions
abroad. In this context, it was learned yesterday that Salamah lost his son about
half-a-year ago in a clash with IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] soldiers. The son, Husayn
Salamah, was 18 years old when he was killed. In Operation Grapes of Wrath in April 1996,
Salamah lost his sister. She was in a car which was attacked by the IDF based on mistaken
information that Abu-Hasan was in it."
Deputy FM reprimanded
MA'ARIV 8/19/99: "Foreign Minister David Levi yesterday reprimanded his deputy,
Knesset Member Nawaf Musaliha, for his remarks to an Egyptian newspaper that Baraq is
prepared to withdraw from the entire Golan Heights in return for a peace agreement with
Syria.
In an interview published in yesterday's Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, Musaliha is
quoted as saying that Baraq is prepared to pull the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] back to
the 4 June 1967 borders. It should be noted that such a position has not been uttered by
any other Israeli politician.
Minister Levi claimed yesterday after the report was published that this is his
deputy's private opinion. Minister Levi added that from now on, in view of Musaliha's
current position, he will have to take government positions into account when making
statements."
Peres miffed
GLOBES 8/18/99: "Prime Minister Ehud Baraq has decided not to invest the Ministry of
Regional Development with any powers, Israel Defense Force Radio reported today. The
Ministry is headed by Shimon Peres. In recent discussions at the Prime Minister's office,
including a lengthy meeting yesterday between Baraq and Minister for Foreign Affairs David
Levi, it was decided that Peres's ministry would have only the status of an administrative
ministry. The roles accorded this ministry will be confined to participation in regional
economic conferences. In addition, the Ministry of Regional Development will have a
representative in Israeli-Arab bilateral economic committees.
Baraq rejected the proposal that Peres "be in charge of organizing and
leading" regional economic conferences, out of fear that Peres may initiate such
conferences too frequently. Baraq's associates conceded today that the proposal to be made
to Peres is void of any real substance. In recent days, Peres's associates have been
urging him to resign from the cabinet, and put a stop to what they describe as "the
constant humiliation to which Ehud Baraq is subjecting him."
Yasser & Nayef meet in Cairo
BBC 8/22/99: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has begun a two-day meeting in Cairo with
his estranged comrade, Nayef Hawatmeh. Mr. Hawatmeh heads the Syrian-based Democratic
Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) - one of the groups that opposes Mr Arafat's
peace deal with Israel. But the DFLP and another radical opposition group are
participating in talks aimed at reuniting Palestinian factions ahead of final peace
negotiations with Israel.
Yasser Arafat has not met his former colleague since the two fell out over the
Israeli-Palestinian peace accord hammered out in Oslo six years ago. Nayef Hawatmeh has
made it clear that he still thinks the deal was a sell-out. But he says he and other
Palestinian groups that rejected the agreement should now join forces with Mr Arafat in
final talks with Israel. Palestinian officials have welcomed the opportunity to seek the
widest possible consensus to bolster their bargaining position.
But finding a compromise will be tough. Mr Hawatmeh is calling for a new negotiating
strategy. He wants the final peace talks to be based on UN resolutions that call for
Israel to withdraw from the land it occupied in 1967, not on the Oslo peace process which
has set up limited autonomy in the occupied territories. He is also asking for a coalition
leadership that would include those both in and outside of the territories.
Another radical opposition group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
held similar reconciliation talks with the Palestinian leader a few weeks ago. Analysts
say the two factions recognise that they will lose out if they continue to reject a
process that will ultimately decide their fate. They are also aware that their patron
Syria is losing enthusiasm for supporting Palestinian militants as it prepares to resume
peace talks with Israel."
Israeli warplanes attack
AP 8/22/99: "Israeli warplanes attacked suspected guerrilla positions in southern
Lebanon Sunday, just hours after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in an attack, Lebanese
security officials said. Israeli jets fired two missiles at guerrilla positions in a
region that faces Rihan, a village in the Israeli-occupied zone, the officials said on
condition of anonymity. The area is about nine miles north of Israel's border.
Jets returned at night to unleash four more missiles in the area during renewed clashes
between Israeli troops and guerrillas along the front line near Rihan, the officials said.
There was no word on casualties from the airstrike - the second in two days by Israeli
jets...
Arutz-7 law could bring victory
ARUTZ7 8/22/99: "Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak has called a special,
unscheduled session for tomorrow to discuss what has become known as the Arutz-7 law. The
law, passed by a 40-30 Knesset margin in February of this year, granted recognition to any
station that had been in continuous operation for at least the previous five years -
including Arutz-7. The law's legality has been challenged by left-wing Knesset Members,
and a Supreme Court ruling is awaited.
In light of the hesitation that the Court will probably have to invalidate a
duly-legislated Knesset law, the State Attorney's Office - which has objected to the
licensing of Arutz-7 - is expected to explain to Justice Barak why the law may be
"safely" invalidated. The State will claim that the coalition is working on a
new law that will regulate the unlicensed stations in a different, more fundamental
manner.
Coalition MKs Yuli Edelstein and Meir Porush, respective heads of the Yisrael B'Aliyah
and United Torah Judaism factions in the Knesset, told Arutz-7 today that the existing law
is satisfactory, that there is no reason to tamper with it, and that a new law may not
even have a majority within the coalition.
"Our party is against any change in the current law," Edelstein said.
"What is liable to happen is that the current law will be invalidated, and then
they'll drag their feet on a new law for what could be years, and stations such as Arutz-7
will simply lose from both ends...
We support Arutz-7 in principle - not like others who seem to be making their support
contingent upon whether the station backed them during the recent elections. For instance,
I don't recall hearing explicit support for our party on Arutz-7's Russian-language
programming, but what's important is that the broadcasts are of good quality, and they are
therefore important for Israel's new immigrant community at large."
Edelstein also registered a protest against reports that the new proposed bill is
supported by the coalition: "The One Israel people haven't spoken to us, and we are
not in favor. I would advise One Israel to remember that even though their leader is Prime
Minister, the coalition is comprised of several parties."...
General Security Service law
revisions
ARUTZ7 8/22/99: "Justice Minister Yossi Beilin (Labor) and MK Benny Elon (National
Union) appear to agree, surprisingly enough, on the necessity to effect significant
amendments to the proposed General Security Services (GSS) Law. The law, which passed its
first reading last year, gives the GSS powers well beyond its traditional authority, Elon
told Arutz-7 today.
"The goal of the law is to ostensibly establish permitted and forbidden areas of
GSS activity," he explained. "This itself is a worthwhile goal. As it stands
now, the role of the GSS is to investigate threats of potential terrorist attacks,
suspected espionage, and the like. This is a classic function of the agency, and presents
no problems."
"But another clause of the proposed law," Elon continued, "calls for the
GSS to 'guard and promote the national state interests as deemed necessary by the
government,' while another gives the GSS authority in 'preserving the state democratic
regime and its institutions' - a function that should be kept solely in the purview of the
police! If we do not remove this paragraph, the government could conceivably instruct the
GSS to look into anything that it deems to be 'a possible threat to democracy.' It reminds
me of Ceausescu's Romania, and recalls the atmosphere that immediately followed the Rabin
assassination," Elon observed. Minister Beilin has also expressed reservations about
the above clauses, and will submit the proposed bill for government deliberation and
Justice Ministry consultations."
Economic reforms
HA'ARETZ 8/23/99: "The cabinet agreed yesterday to adopt the Finance Ministry's
proposal to include a broad list of structural economic reforms in next year's budget.
Sixteen ministers voted for the proposals, with five against and one abstaining. The votes
against the proposals were cast by Eli Yishai, Shlomo Benizri and Yitzhak Cohen (Shas),
David Levy (Gesher-One Israel) and Meretz leader Yossi Sarid, with Infrastructure Minister
Eliyahu Suissa abstaining.
The treasury's proposal includes 80 planned structural reforms. Seven of these were
postponed for a month, including proposals to reduce R&D grants to high-tech
companies, public housing, reduced classroom crowding, welfare and several other issues.
Finance Minister Avraham (Beiga) Shochat said at the start of the meeting that the budget
stands on three legs: increased competitiveness, weakening the monopolies and an ongoing
dialogue with the workers.
He said that in a modern economy, there is no alternative to regular structural
changes. Such changes, he said, will push the economy out of the doldrums and onto a path
of sustained growth by promoting increased efficiency and reduced costs.
Regarding the planned steps to end the Israel Electric Corporation's monopoly, Shochat
said that the reforms were within the Electricity Law, and warned the workers that Israel
remains a state in which the rule of law is supreme. The most vigorous attack came from
Foreign Minister David Levy, who, unlike most of the other One Israel ministers, does not
hail from Labor, but heads the two man Gesher faction.
Levy lambasted the treasury's proposals, saying, "They bear no worthwhile tidings
for the unemployed, the poor and society's other disadvantaged groups." Levy said
that the proposals amounted to a a series of hard-nosed policies, and that whoever came up
with them must have had his head buried deeply in the sand...
Jacob Frenkel, governor of the Bank of Israel, urged the government to adopt the
proposals. He said the reforms were an integral and central plank of policies designed to
promote competitiveness and efficiency, the major prerequisites for achieving sustained
economic growth. Frenkel also said that reforming the country's tax laws and capital
market was a top priority.
The other major criticism was launched by Labor and Welfare Minister Eli Yishai, who
said that the 2000 budget hurts the unemployed, the elderly, the handicapped, the sick and
single-parent households. He called on the treasury to work with his ministry to work out
a plan to assist these segments of the population within a month. Industry and Trade
Minister Ran Cohen (Meretz) voted for the proposals, but he also criticized the proposal
to levy a tax designed to discourage the use of private cars in the country's crowded
urban centers.
He also said he would strenuously oppose any attempt to water down the public housing
law he initiated, such as the treasury's proposal to not allow children to remain in
publicly-owned apartments occupied by their parents...
The powerful unions of state-owned monopolies yesterday threatened the government with
potentially paralyzing industrial action, if it implements the structural reforms adopted
yesterday by the cabinet. Yoram Oberkovitch, the chairman of the powerful Israel Electric
Corporation (IEC) workers committee, said that the committee is vigorously opposed to the
structural changes proposed by the Finance Ministry to open up the electricity market to
competition. He warned the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister "not to embark on
a collision course with the workers."
He called upon the workers to maintain their unity "in the face of elements
wishing to trample all over the solemn undertakings we have received from various
governments in the past." This includes an undertaking by Yitzkah Rabin's government
not to change the status quo in this regard until 2006."
Israeli earthquake predicted?
HA'ARETZ 8/23/99: "Two years ago, when a group of Israeli geologists toured the area
of the Turkish city of Izmit with local counterparts, a Turkish geologist pointed at the
city and speculated that it would be the site of the country's next strong earthquake. Now
the Israeli geologists are troubled by the fact that they, too, can evaluate what areas of
the country are likely to be hit by quakes but, just as in Turkey, such warnings are not
heeded. Geologists cannot predict the exact time and place of an earthquake epicenter, but
they can estimate where quakes are likely to occur and what are the most dangerous land
infrastructure areas.
Studies conducted in recent years, based on archeological-historical evidence, point
clearly to several likely epicenters in the northern part of the Jordan Valley, close to
Israel's densely populated centers. Many such epicenters were found, especially around the
Kinneret and Hula Lake. An especially important finding was discovered by researchers
digging in the South Arava area for signs of past earthquakes: The researchers found that
a quake measuring 7 on the Richter scale jolted the area some 1,000 years ago. The
estimate is that a quake that strong hits approximately every 700 to 1,000 years, so there
is a high probability that another one will hit the area in the near future."
Bodies switched
HA'ARETZ 8/23/99: "DNA testing has confirmed that body parts belonging to Guy Golan
were inadvertently buried in the grave of his comrade-in-arms Raz Tebi. Both were killed
in the Shayetet naval commando disaster of September 1997. Their remains were returned to
Israel in June 1998 and buried without the knowledge of their families. Following a public
battle by the families, the graves of both soldiers were recently opened and genetic
testing carried out at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir. The tests
confirmed their relatives' fears
When Golan's grave was opened about a month ago, some of the body parts inside were
revealed to be Tebi's. Another test confirmed that Golan's remains had also been interred
in Tebi's grave. The IDF spokesman said yesterday that the army would coordinate with the
family on reburial and testing of the remaining contents of Tebi's grave. These further
tests will probably be carried out in a laboratory in Britain. The IDF apologized again
for the error..."
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