Turkey
& Israel: Peace good for region
Ankara's ANATOLIA 9/29/99: "Mose Kamhi, the Charge D`Affaires
of the Israeli Embassy in Ankara said on Wednesday that Israel`s
being in peace with her neighbours would further strengthen
Turkish-Israeli relations.
Evaluating Turkish-Israeli relations in a meeting in Ankara
today, Kamhi said that the earthquake disaster in Turkey showed
that the cooperation between the two countries was not only
at the level of states, but also at the level of nations.
Noting that Israeli people felt as if the quake happened in
their country and they helped Turkish people, Kamhi pointed
out that these showed that the bilateral relations are rooted.
Stressing that the existing cooperation with Turkey is very
important for Israel, Kamhi added that the two countries are
the only democracies in the region and they carry importance
for regional stability and peace. Reminding that the two countries
cooperate in many fields like tourism, environment, agriculture,
communication and transportation, Kamhi emphasized that this
cooperation is not directed towards third countries.
Kamhi said that he is hopeful about signing an agreement
about final status of Palestine within one year, adding signing
a peace agreement by Syria and Israel is not that difficult.
Kamhi stressed that an agreement with Syria and giving Palestine
a new status will create a new Middle East.
Pointing out that Turkey and Israel take attitude against
massive destruction weapons and terrorism together, Kamhi
added that they wish creation of a peaceful and stable Middle
East."
Greece
& Israel: upgrading relations
Athens TO VIMA TIS KIRIAKIS 9/26/99: "Greece's strategic opening
in the Southeastern Mediterranean by substantively upgrading
its relations with Israel was one of the basic issues National
Defense Minister Akis Tsokhatzopoulos discussed during his visit
to the United States. To Vima has been informed that the National
Defense Minister, US Government officials, and leading members
of the US Jewish community discussed extensively the issue of
Greek-Israeli relations and the role Greece can play in the
Middle East peace process.
They also discussed the prospects that open up for broader
issues such as security and economic development in the Eastern
Mediterranean based on the new policy that Athens is determined
to follow. According to all indications, the Greek Government
is determined to promote an upgraded defense and economic
agreement with Israel, which, according to reliable sources
in the US capital, is expected to be more powerful than the
one between Ankara and Tel Aviv.
Washington supports the Greek intentions completely. This
became clear during Tsokhatzopoulos' meetings with his US
counterpart, William Cohen, and US President Bill Clinton's
National Security Adviser, Sandy Berger. The Clinton administration
fully supports the National Defense Minister's intentions
in this sector, which are expected to materialize during his
visit to Palestine and Israel on 13-15 October.
The National Defense Minister has clarified to his US interlocutors
that the Greek Government believes the Middle East peace process
must conclude as soon as possible, with Israel acknowledging
the existence of a Palestinian state. The Greek Government
has information that the Israeli Prime Minister is determined
to make this move soon, thus paving the way for an overall
regional peace.
The Greek role in this issue--and this is fully supported
by Washington--is to promote a regional dynamic through its
good relations with Syria and Iran. Tsokhatzopoulos is expected
to visit Lebanon and Jordan in the future.
Through an upgraded defense and economic cooperation with
Israel, the Greek Government wants to operate as a bridge
between Israel and Europe. The first stop of this bridge are
the Balkans, where Athens, with the National Defense Minister
in a key role, will attempt to use Israel's significant capabilities
in the defense industry to reinforce the Balkan countries'
defense sector. The Greek National Defense Ministry has clarified
that Greece will ask for special Israeli treatment for the
Balkan countries on the armament acquisitions.
The next step will be for Greece to operate as an agent
to open the Israeli door to Europe and later promote European
funds to contribute in consolidating regional peace.
The US Jewish lobby has warmly received Greece's strategic
opening toward Israel and the broader plan it is willing to
promote for peace and economic development in the Southeastern
Mediterranean. To Vima has been informed that, in his meetings
in Washington with leading Jewish community members, Tsokhatzopoulos
received messages of substantive support for this initiative.
During a dinner between Tsokhatzopoulos and members of the
Jewish lobby, California Democratic Deputy Brand Sherman said:
"It is natural for the oldest democracy in the world, Greece,
to cooperate closely with the other great democracy in the
region, Israel, to secure peace and prosperity in the broader
region."
US officials told the National Defense Minister that Washington
is "happy that Greece opened the way to Iran." According to
information, Athens was asked to mediate on the issue of the
13 Jews being detained in Tehran.
Within the framework of these initiatives, Tsokhatzopoulos
noted to his US interlocutors that a Cyprus solution and,
at the same time, a Turkish adjustment to new rules of behavior
are key issues. He clarified: If this happens, Greece must
promote Turkey's status as an EU candidate member. This is
why, he stressed, Washington must realize that it is time
to pressure Turkey to put pressure on [Turkish Cypriot leader
Rauf] Denktas to participate in the negotiations.
According to all indications, Greece, with Washington's
warm support, will take an initiative to consolidate its role
as a leading factor of peace and development in the Southeastern
Mediterranean. The new Athens-Tel Aviv axis, with Washington's
blessings, will be the key in this effort."
PFLP statement:
Join ranks
Amman's JORDAN TIMES 9/29/99: "The PLO's mainstream faction
Fateh and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP) on Tuesday urged all Palestinian factions to join ranks
as they enter the final status talks with Israel and insisted
on the right of return for all refugees.
"We call on all Palestinian factions to take part in the
upcoming Palestine Central Council's meeting to face up to
the coming political challenges and address organisational
matters," said a joint statement issued by the two parties
following a day-long meeting. It was the second round of talks
between Fateh, the main pillar of the Palestine National Authority
led by President Yasser Arafat and the Damascus-based PFLP
led by George Habash, since the two PLO groups launched a
reconciliation dialogue in Cairo on Aug. 1.
The two parties called for "setting up a preparatory committee
to forge a mechanism for the formation of a (new) Palestine
National Council (PNC)," an invalid parliament in exile. They
also called for reactivating the cadres and institutions pertaining
to the PLO.
The statement reiterated "the invariable right of the Palestinian
people to declare their independent state with Jerusalem as
its capital." It also underlined the two factions' commitment
to the "right of return and self-determination" and voiced
their rejection of "plots aiming at settling Palestinian refugees"
in host countries.
Nearly 3.5 million Palestinian refugees are scattered mainly
in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West bank and Gaza. The joint
statement, which was released late on Tuesday following an
extended meeting, reflected a minimum consensus on "a broad
spectrum of national principled stands."
Palestinian sources said, however, that the PFLP and Fateh
-- which pledged to resume the dialogue inside the Palestinian
territories -- did not see eye to eye with regards to the
final status talks and the Wye River accord. While the PFLP
underlined its keenness to reconcile with Arafat's Fateh,
it maintained a hardline stand on the final status negotiations
with Israel.
"We have been against Oslo for a very long time and we will
remain against Oslo until it dies," said Abu Ali Mustafa,
the group's deputy leader, who is scheduled to return to the
Palestinian territories on Thursday. "Our long-standing position
is that we will not take part in the so-called final status
talks with the Israelis," Mustafa said at the outset of the
dialogue. For Mustafa, the Amman talks with Fateh is designed
to "reorganise and activate the PLO's institutions in order
to assume joint responsibility in confronting the dangers
facing the Palestinians."
He expected challenges to arise from the ongoing final status
talks on the fate of the refugees and displaced in the wake
of the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars. Mustafa also painted
a gloomy picture regarding the fate of Arab east Jerusalem
and the final shape and sovereignty of the potential Palestinian
state.
Mustafa urged democratic reforms in the PLO to allow for
"national consensus on such fateful issues." The Palestinian
Ambassador in Amman Omar Khatib said the PNA and the PFLP
were to resume their dialogue inside the self-rule areas.
Mustafa is scheduled to enter on Thursday into the Palestinian
territories after Israel lifted a veto on his return..."
Israeli
satellites
Moscow's ITAR TASS NEWS AGENCY 9/29/99: "A series of Israeli
and Swedish satellites will blast off from the Russian cosmodrome
Svobodny-18, Amur Region, over the next few months. "The Svobodny-18
nearest plans provide for launching a series of Israeli earth-scanning
satellites which are part of the EROS system," the cosmodrome
chief, Major-General Alexander Vinidiktov, said in an interview
with Itar-Tass on Wednesday. According to the general, the putting
into orbit of the Swedish Odin satellite is to be made in the
first quarter of 2000. "The liftoff was planned this year. However,
the Swedish firm cannot fulfill the entire range of operations.
Therefore, the launch was delayed," Vinidiktov explained..."
DFLP OK
to US goverrment?
THE JERUSALEM POST 10/4/99: "The United States has agreed to
drop Nayef Hawatmeh's Democratic Front for the Liberation of
Palestine from its terrorist list now that it no longer opposes
the peace process with Israel, a senior Palestinian official
said yesterday. US Embassy sources in Tel Aviv would not confirm
or deny the report that the DFLP, a radical Palestinian Marxist
group that has carried out attacks against Israel, had been
removed from the State Department list.
The senior Palestinian official told The Associated Press
that the US agreed to a request from Palestinian Authority
Chairman Yasser Arafat to remove the PLO splinter-group from
the list, during Arafat's visit to Washington last week. The
US approval reportedly came after Hawatmeh dropped the group's
policy of armed struggle and its opposition to the Israel-Palestinian
peace process.
The group also agreed to join negotiations on final-status
talks. Hawatmeh has also reportedly been seeking Israeli permission
to enter the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The DFLP is one of
several Palestinian groups appearing on the State Department's
terrorist list...
The Palestinian Authority has also submitted a request that
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, another
radical group based in Syria, be dropped from the list. The
official said the US is studying the request. Last week, Israel
allowed Mustafa Zibri, the No. 2 man in the PFLP, to return
to the Palestinian-controlled areas.
The PFLP continues to oppose the peace process. Prime Minister
Ehud Barak's spokesman, David Ziso, said the prime minister
would not react to the report unless or until it is officially
confirmed. Defense officials said last night that the American
decision would have no bearing on Israel's view of the DFLP.
They said that a group's status would only be changed at the
recommendation of intelligence and security bodies after considering
their actions.
Meanwhile, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh yesterday
told a delegation of the families of 22 children killed by
DFLP terrorists in Ma'alot in 1974 that Israel has to turn
over a new leaf and indicated that the government may allow
Hawatmeh's return. The families are steadfastly against allowing
Hawatmeh to return and met with Sneh at the Defense Ministry
in Tel Aviv to demand he be kept out...
Meir Amrusi, the head of the Committee for the Victims of
the Ma'alot Attack, said he is reminded of his daughter's
death every time there is an attack.
"We relive the pain all over again each time as if the Ma'alot
attack happened only yesterday," Amrusi said.
Sneh told them that the government would allow back into
the territories anyone who joined the supporters of the Oslo
peace accords, dismisses and condemns terror and cuts themselves
off from terror..."
Water
woes
THE JERUSALEM POST 10/4/99: "Water Commissioner Meir Ben-Meir
is to allow closely supervised pumping from Lake Kinneret even
after the water level drops below the red line. He stressed,
however, that this would be a contingency measure to meet demand
for water in the coming weeks before the onset of winter and
would not constitute a change in management policy.
The water level in the Kinneret yesterday stood at 212.96
meters below sea level, just four centimeters above the minimum
mark of 213 meters below sea level. The red line was set as
a statutory mark below which the level should not be allowed
to fall for fear that this would cause irreparable damage
to the lake's ecosystem and the quality of water.
The level has never reached this mark in recent history,
although the remains of an ancient village which have been
exposed on the western shores of the Kinneret have provided
evidence that it has been that low in antiquity..."
Raviv
pleads not guilty
THE JERUSALEM POST 10/4/99: "Former General Security Service
agent Avishai Raviv's lawyer pleaded not guilty on his behalf
yesterday, as Raviv's trial began in Jerusalem Magistrate's
Court on charges of failing to inform his superiors that Yigal
Amir planned to murder former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Despite the pronouncement by defense attorney Eyal Shomroni-Hacohen,
the three-judge bench ruled that Raviv will have to answer each
count of the indictment personally in mid-December.
Yesterday's hearing by court President Amnon Cohen and Judges
Arye Romanov and Yitzhak Inbar focused mainly on procedural
matters. After undertaking to preserve secrecy, the defense
will now be able to study classified material from the investigation
before the trial reconvenes in December. A Supreme Court appeal
is still pending on the release of other evidence which the
state is refusing to provide. Other rulings on evidence are
expected over the next two months.
Raviv, 32, is charged with failing to prevent Rabin's murder
and conspiring to commit a crime. According to the indictment,
he knew Amir was plotting to murder Rabin, but failed to prevent
it by informing his GSS superiors. In addition, Raviv is charged
with supporting a terrorist organization - Eyal -which allegedly
encouraged attacks on civilians.
Prosecutor Moshe Shilo opposed a defense request to have
a different judge hear the charge of aiding a terrorist organization,
and the matter is to be decided at a later hearing...Raviv
refused to speak to reporters at yesterday's hearing and maintained
his silence throughout the session, not even conversing with
his attorney.
If found guilty, Raviv faces up to three years in prison
for supporting terrorism and up to two years each for the
other charges against him - conspiracy and failing to prevent
Rabin's murder."
Aryeh
Deri quits politics
THE JERUSALEM POST 10/04/99: "Former Shas chairman Aryeh Deri
has no intention of returning to political life, he said yesterday,
during an interview with Israel Radio. "I have resigned from
politics - period," Deri said, adding that he had only agreed
to be interviewed in order to defend the good name of Shas spiritual
guide Ovadia Yosef. "I was drawn into this today, for the sake
of the rabbi," he said.
"I have no criticisms nor grievances in my heart, God forbid,
against Rabbi Ovadia Yosef," he said. Deri agreed to the interview
from his bed in Jerusalem's Bikur Holim Hospital after reports
suggesting he was visiting other rabbis in order to work against
Yosef and was even considering establishing a rival party
to Shas. Deri, who was hospitalized over the weekend, is undergoing
tests, having told doctors he feels unwell.
The differences between Yosef and Deri came to the fore
after Deri was found guilty of accepting bribes and committing
fraud. Yosef, wanting Shas to remain in the coalition, agreed
to Prime Minister Ehud Barak's demand that Deri quit the party
leadership and any senior role in it. Shortly after the election,
Deri left with his family for an extended break in the US,
during which Yosef appointed Labor and Social Affairs Minister
Eli Yishai as Deri's replacement.
When Deri returned two weeks ago he cut himself off from
the public and let it be known that he intends studying in
a yeshiva in the North, at least until the start of his appeal
in January against his conviction. Deri used the interview
to deny that he was behind any of the reports suggesting he
is working against Yosef.
He said he has no idea who "the sources" are quoted in newspapers
items in which the allegations are made. Yosef, accompanied
by Infrastructure Minister Eli Suissa, visited Deri in the
hospital yesterday. Following the meeting, Suissa told reporters
that Yosef blessed Deri, at which point the patient cried.
"There's nothing greater than that," said Suissa."
Islamic
Jihad escapes from PA custody?
THE JERUSALEM POST 10/04/99: "Palestinian security forces are
searching for the three Islamic Jihad terrorists who escaped
from custody Saturday while being taken from the Juneid Prison
in Nablus to a local clinic. The prison is guarded and run by
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Force 17. The
three were identified as Iyad Hardan, Ahmed Mihdawi, and Assad
Daka.
Hardan was arrested by Palestinian security forces last December,
but Israeli security officials said yesterday that despite
his incarceration he still managed to relay orders to movement
members. He was involved in several bloody attacks, including
the killing of policeman Meir Alouche in 1996 and the shooting
at Romanian workers in Baka a-Sharkiya, also in the same year.
He is also suspected of recruiting the two suicide bombers
who carried out the car bombing in Jerusalem's Mahaneh Yehuda
on November 6, injuring 21 people.
Israeli security sources said the Palestinians informed
their Israeli counterparts of the escape. The sources added
that the three would find it difficult to enter areas controlled
by Israeli security forces in Judea and Samaria, but did not
rule out the possibility.
West Bank Preventive Security Chief Jibril Rajoub told the
Jerusalem Post that the Palestinian security forces are searching
for the three, and would probably exchange information with
their Israeli security counterparts. One Palestinian security
force official declared that if Israel catches the three first,
they must hand them over to the PA, but expressed doubts that
this would happen.
According to Palestinian reports, Palestinian security forces
have arrested dozens of Islamic Jihad activists in the Nablus
and Bethlehem area, including one of Hardan's brothers and
one of the movement's leader in Nablus, Yusef Aref. The arrests
began on Saturday night and continued yesterday.
Ali Yusif, son of Yusif Aref, a prominent Islamic Jihad figure
in Nablus, told Reuters: "Palestinian security officials came
to our door last night and showed us search and arrest orders.
Then they arrested my father and my brother Malik." Several
students at An-Najah University in Nablus, including two Islamic
Jihad representatives on the student council, were also detained,
the sources said."
Syria
arrests challengers of Assad's rule
HA'ARETZ 10/4/99: "...In a related development in Syria, scores
of supporters of President Hafez Assad's disgraced brother,
Rifat, have been arrested by security forces in the last two
weeks, members of the Assad family abroad told Reuters yesterday.
They said the arrests, which have not been reported by the
country's official media, included civilians, military officers,
doctors and members of the family itself. They took place
mainly in the port city of Latakia, a stronghold of Assad's
Alawite religious minority. Rifat has lived in exile in France
since 1986, when his "defense brigades" militia was disbanded
after an apparent challenge to Assad's rule.
He was stripped of the title of vice president last year
and most Syria watchers do not consider him a serious political
force anymore. The sources said that the motive appeared to
be to intimidate Rifat's branch of the family and strengthen
Assad's son Bashar, 35, as the heir apparent to the ailing
president."
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