PA state declaration anyway

ARUTZ7 9/5/99: "...Yasser Arafat plans to declare an independent Palestinian state in the course of the year 2000, whether or not he reaches an agreement with Israel on this point.

He said that the Americans promised to support this step. He made the remarks in Rome today, following the signing last night of the agreement on the implementation of the Wye Accords.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak said at the signing ceremony last night, "The nations of the Middle East are awaiting the rise of a new dawn, that will bring with it a new era. I believe in a vision of peace and security that will guarantee the needs of all the nations in the region."

Reactions to the Sharm a-Sheikh agreement:

MK Rabbi Chaim Druckman (NRP): "This is a sad day. The Palestinians are progressing steadily towards their goal of an independent state with its capital in Jerusalem, as Arafat himself announced last night, and we continue to retreat and give in. It seems that we've forgotten that we are talking about our own homeland, and yet despite this, we keep giving it away without getting anything in return.

The absurdity is simply outrageous: the Palestinians today expressed disappointment with the agreement, while our government professes to be happy. This is simply Chelm - to give up on land, while the other side isn't keeping promises that it made long ago!"

"Catastrophic, terrible." - MK Moshe Katzav (Likud), adding that this is the sixth time Arafat has promised a total of four Israeli Prime Ministers the same things...

"This is an important agreement. It's for things like this that we are part of the government." - Minister Yossi Sarid (Meretz)

A list of 200 terrorist-prisoners to be released as early as next week has already begun to be prepared. For the first time, representatives of the Palestinian Authority will be members of the committee that will determine the prisoners to be freed.

A second group, of 150 terrorists, will be released on October 8 - Palestinian "Prisoner Day." Hamas and Islamic Jihad members will not be freed, nor will be those who committed their crimes after the signing of the original Oslo agreement in September 1993.

Dov Kalmanovitch, the first Jew injured in the intifada - he still bears the scars of the burns over 75% of his body - has been active against the freeing of Palestinian terrorists. With bitterness in his voice, he told Arutz-7's Haggai Seri today, "The red lines have been crossed, and I can promise you one thing: Not one Arab terrorist, not even the most cruel murderer of Jews, will remain in Israeli prison after the final status agreement. There is a minister in the government who is working very strongly in order that this will happen, the precedents have already been set, and the Palestinian Authority will simply not give in until every prisoner is out."

     

Land transfer analysis

ARUTZ7 9/5/99: "In addition to the percentages, the location of the land to be transferred to the PA represents another problem for Israel, noted Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman:

"Barak has totally eliminated Netanyahu's idea of 'nature reserves' in the Judean desert - in which the Palestinians would have civil jurisdiction, but no rights to build - which in effect would have limited the true scope of the withdrawal to merely 10% and not 13%.

In the 'new Wye,' Arafat will be handed the entire 13% (2% under Netanyahu, 11% under the new agreement) with full building rights. What's worse, the land will be derived completely from the Samarian mountain plateau. The additional 3% represents no less than 150 square kilometers, a concession that will necessarily have a serious impact on access by road to the Yesha communities, especially on Route #60."

     

Terrorist bombings

THE JERUSALEM POST 9/6/99: "Police and security forces went on high alert last night following two car-bomb explosions within minutes of each other in Tiberias and Haifa.

The blasts, which occurred around 5:30 p.m., killed three terrorist bombers and seriously wounded a 73-year-old woman. Israel Police spokesman Uzi Sandori said police would beef up their presence in densely populated areas such as bus stations and shopping malls.

The apparently abortive car-bomb attacks occurred less than 24 hours after the signing of the Sharm e-Sheikh Memorandum. "A serious attack was prevented and the perpetrators were apparently killed," Prime Minister Ehud Barak said last night in response to the bombings. "Israel will not tolerate any type of violence or terrorism against innocent civilians."

Police Inspector-General Yehuda Wilk said that, while police had not received information on specific threats, they had stated over the past several weeks that terror organizations intended to carry out attacks to hamper the peace process. Wilk said the initial findings pointed to terror attacks, but the police had not ruled out other motives.

The police called on the public to remain alert and report suspicious objects. In addition, police will step up inspections of cars and their occupants at roadblocks throughout the country, particularly toward the end of the week with the special deployment for Rosh Hashana.

The General Security Service and other security forces believe that both car bombs were planned by the same terror organization and coordinated to go off at the same time, but due to technical failure or human error they exploded prematurely, killing the terrorists. It was not clear whether the Islamic Jihad or Hamas was responsible.

According to Channel 1, security sources had stated recently that an internal dispute existed within Hamas over the kind of attacks to carry out. Bomb explosions timed to go off simultaneously suited Hamas's strategy, they said. Palestinian Authority officials condemned the attacks, and negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Channel 1 that he hopes they do not damage the peace process.

The first blast occurred as the booby-trapped car drove down Rehov Elhadef in downtown Tiberias. The explosion killed both its occupants and seriously injured a pedestrian, 73-year-old Hannah Waknin. Two other pedestrians suffered light wounds and were treated and released from Poriya Hospital. Waknin underwent surgery at Poriya, where she is in intensive care....

Haifa police believe the terrorist killed there was preparing a car bomb when his vehicle exploded prematurely in a parking lot near the Central Bus Station. The blast killed the bomber and set alight four cars parked nearby. No one else was hurt. Last night security forces were still combing the scenes of the two blasts searching for clues to the identity of the terrorists and the owners of the vehicles...

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Ehud Barak decided in a telephone conversation last night to work together to trace the source of yesterday's car bomb explosions in Tiberias and Haifa, a senior Palestinian security official said. But though he sought cooperation this time, Barak will stop the final-status negotiations if Israel is hit by a wave of terror, a senior government official said yesterday. "I know Barak, and I know he will not agree to move forward under such circumstances," said the official..."

     

Budget votes

THE JERUSALEM POST 9/6/99: "Minister Haim Ramon, who may be the decisive cabinet vote for the 2000 budget, indicated yesterday before a marathon debate of the proposal that he is undecided about supporting it.

The budget debate was postponed from yesterday morning until the evening because of Saturday night's signing of the Sharm e-Sheikh Memorandum. It was then delayed further after the car-bomb explosions in the North and began only in the early evening. The deliberations continued into the night.

A spokesman for Ramon said he would certainly vote against some of the clauses in the budget proposal - like the cut in child allowances, for example - and that it is unclear whether he will support the critical overall budget vote. If Ramon does vote in favor of the budget, as many expect him to, Prime Minister Ehud Barak is assured of at least a 12-11 advantage.

The budget proposal calls for specific cuts to help the government in meeting its goal of cutting NIS 5.8 billion. The highest-profile cuts include:

* Defense - NIS 1.2b.;

* Child allowances - NIS 600 million;

* Education - NIS 400m. (including NIS 100m. from the higher education budget, which does not come from the Education Ministry);

* Unemployment benefits - NIS 250m...

Meanwhile, Bank of Israel Governor Jacob Frenkel called on the government to approve the budget proposal in its current format, saying it is central to the process of creating an environment of sustainable growth. Frenkel added that any internal changes made in the budget should not come at the expense of areas conducive to growth and that raising taxes should not be an option."

     

UTJ votes to leave coalition

THE JERUSALEM POST 9/6/99: "United Torah Judaism's departure from the coalition over the transport of the turbine superheater on Shabbat may have a domino effect on the two other religious parties in the coalition - Shas with 17 seats and the National Religious Party with five.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Michael Melchior has announced he will continue to convene the ministerial committee trying to solve the issue. In the meantime, the first indication of how UTJ is likely to behave in the opposition is expected Wednesday, when the Sharm e-Sheikh agreement is presented to the Knesset for approval.

United Torah Judaism leader Meir Porush told The Jerusalem Post yesterday he could not yet say how his party would vote Wednesday. He noted the signing of the agreement on Saturday night had involved a great deal of Shabbat desecration and said it could have been signed yesterday instead.

However, he added that "how we vote on the Sharm agreement will not be related to the Shabbat issue. We don't need to mix issues. We shall decide on the agreement closer to the time." Concerning the superheater he said, "What pains me is that the government could have made preparations for the turbine to be transported midweek and didn't. This government on the one hand is doing everything to bring the Palestinians closer, while on the other hand pushing the religious further away, and that's a great pity."

Porush said he does not expect Shas or the NRP to last long in the government if it continues to act this way. Raphael Pinhasi, secretary of the Shas Council of Torah Sages, said his party "is making every effort to find a halachicly acceptable solution under which the superheater will be transported on weekdays or on Shabbat by non-Jews which [Shas spiritual leader] Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has ruled is permissible. As long as such a solution is found, we will be able to remain in the government; otherwise there is a distinct possibility that we will quit too."

NRP spokesman Gil Sheffer said, "The NRP is against Shabbat desecration and therefore proposed that a ministerial committee be established to try to find a solution, which was done. I don't see the party quitting over the superheater. There is no need to climb too high on a tree over this issue when there are so many more serious problems today which need to be dealt with."...

     

Hikers' attacker found

THE JERUSALEM POST 9/3/99: "Police and the General Security Service have arrested an Israeli Arab on suspicion of murdering Haifa couple Sharon Steinmetz and Yehiel Finfeter while they were hiking in the Megiddo Forest earlier this week.

The suspect, Abdullah Salah Agbariya, of Musheirifa village near Umm el-Fahm in the Wadi Ara region, admitted killing the couple and reenacted the crime for police. He had been arrested within 24 hours of the discovery of the bodies on Monday afternoon.

But details were only revealed last night at a press conference at the Amakim district headquarters in Nazareth, following the lifting of a publicity ban that had been imposed by the Tiberias Magistrate's Court. Supt. Eli Litman, head of the special inquiry team set up by the Amakim district, said there was no doubt that the suspect had killed the couple simply because they were Jews.

Agbariya told police he had acted alone, although investigators said they were not convinced that this was the case and there was the possibility of further arrests. Furthermore, the suspect maintained that he did not belong to Hamas or any other terrorist organization, although it was later revealed that he was a member of the fundamentalist Israeli Arab Islamic Movement.

Residents of Musheirifa expressed disbelief yesterday that Agbariya, whom they described as a quiet young man who was primarily involved in building his own home, could have been involved in the murders.

Nevertheless, residents of the same village were convicted in 1992 for the cold-blooded murders at the IDF's Galed tent camp of three trainee soldiers in what became known as "the night of the pitchforks." It also transpired that they had connections with the radical wing of the Islamic Movement..."

     

Hareidi battalion by next August

THE JERUSALEM POST 9/3/99: "There is to be a haredi battalion in the IDF by next August, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yehuda Duvdevani, said yesterday, the day a second group was inducted into the army to serve in the haredi Nahal program. Duvdevani, head of the Defense Ministry's Youth and Nahal Department, said Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz has agreed to this.

Duvdevani said that for the present, those involved in plans for the battalion were speaking of volunteers, but that later on soldiers could come from a draft. In yesterday's group of some 50 soldiers, he said, there was one soldier from Brooklyn, and he expressed the hope that many more volunteers would join from abroad.

The induction took place the same day as the first meeting of a special committee headed by retired Supreme Court justice Zvi Tal, which was appointed by Prime Minister Ehud Barak to consider the possibility of drafting yeshiva students...

Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said yesterday's inductees would, like the first haredi Nahal unit, serve in outposts along the border. The induction of these groups proved, he said, that it would be possible to draft haredi yeshiva students.

"Their induction proves that it is feasible for haredim to serve in active service and maintain an ultra-Orthodox life style. It is important that they have a precedent, an example," he said.

Sneh added that the army had made every effort to enable the haredi soldiers to study Torah, to have glatt kosher food, and to avoid contact with female soldiers, an issue which was an especially sensitive one for them.

But Rabbi Yoel Schwartz, of Yeshivat Dvar Yerushalayim in Jerusalem, who had been active in organizing the two groups, said that army service was not suitable for haredi young men who were studying in yeshivot, though it could be a boon to those who were without a framework.

"I believe that the lack of a framework is the worst thing in life," Schwartz said. While full-time yeshiva study is an ideal, such study demands talents that not everyone has, he said. He said that most of the inductees had come to join the unit through word of mouth..."

     

Municipal workers' strike

THE JERUSALEM POST 9/6/99: "The sanctions by the Union of Local Authorities in Israel (ULAI) continue with no end in sight, ushering in the High Holy Days with garbage littering the streets.

"We won't accept the Treasury's offer and the strike will go on," said ULAI spokesman Hilik Goldstein. "They offered us NIS 15 million and we're asking for NIS 300m. That's a very, very large gap."

The week-long strike of 100,000 municipal workers has left more than 40,000 tons of garbage on the streets, creating a foul odor, clogged, grimy sidewalks, and a potential health threat. Health Ministry Director-General Yehoshua Shemer warned that rats, flies, and other pests could easily transmit diseases...

Talks broke down between the union and the Finance Ministry for the second time last night. "The heads of the local authorities are required by the [March] agreement to maintain real salary increases," according to a statement released yesterday by the Treasury. "The fact that they are unwilling to fund the [4.8 percent] wage increase means they are using the funds for other purposes."

The Finance Ministry will appeal to the Attorney-General's Office to arbitrate between the two parties, who have different interpretations of the agreement, which emerged from a general Histadrut strike in March. The Justice Ministry has yet to receive an official request and declined to comment..."

     

No funds for Shas schools?

HA'ARETZ 9/6/99: "Education Minister Yossi Sarid is refusing to release funds for the Shas-run El HaMa'ayan school system, especially after a ministry audit of the Shas school system's financing shows that some of the NIS 100 million deficit faced by the system may have been caused by criminal activities.

In recent weeks, two ultra-Orthodox newspapers, Kol Ha'Ir Bnei Brak and Hashavua BeYerushalayim, have reported extensively on police inquiries into alleged criminal activities by leading Shas activists, including Gadi Suissa, brother of Infrastructure Minister Eli Suissa.

Police sources have told the two weeklies that Suissa is suspected of conducting illicit business dealings using monies from Shas schools in Netivot. Furthermore, the ongoing investigation into the activities of El HaMa'ayan director general Ya'acov Hemed and his wife continues.

According to the reports, hundreds of thousands of shekels made their way from El HaMa'ayan accounts into Hemed's personal bank accounts. The couple, who reside in Dimona, were arrested in early August after a year-long undercover investigation. Suspected of fraud and falsifying documents, the two were released on bail while the police inquiry continues, but Hemed remains active as the director-general of the school system.

Police are trying to find millions of shekels Hemed received from the government after saying the money would be used to repair school buildings that were never fixed. The Education Ministry says that funds that were earmarked for Shas schools have been frozen because of Shas's refusal to close some of its unlicensed schools.

As for Hemed's continuing employment as director-general of the school system, the ministry says that until the state attorney's office decides whether to indict Hemed, there is no legal way that he can be fired."

     

Court rules against Shin Bet

VOICE OF AMERICA 9/6/99: "In a significant ruling, the Israeli Supreme Court says interrogators for the country's Shin Bet security service have no right to shake prisoners, deprive them of sleep, or force them into uncomfortable positions.

The court says there is no legal basis for these practices, which routinely have been used against thousands of Palestinians, detained by Israel. The court says, "violence directed at a suspect's body or spirit does not constitute a reasonable investigative practice."

The ruling comes 12-years after a government-appointed commission allowed these practices - which at the time were described as "moderate physical pressure" - to help Israel fight terrorism. Israeli human rights groups hailed the decision, calling the landmark ruling their most significant victory in decades..."

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