Turkey likes Israel

Ankara's ANATOLIA 10/7/99: "Eli Shaked, the Israeli Consul General in Istanbul, said on Thursday that the relations between Turkey and Israel were now at the best level in the history, requesting Turkey to be the mediator in Israel`s relations with the Turkish Republics.

Addressing the same day`s afternoon session of the Second Eurasia Economy Summit, Shaked recalled that Turkey and Israel had recognized the Turkish Republics who gained their independence in 1990s, and said the diplomatic wealth in those countries went in front of other countries.

Stressing that Israel brought most advanced technology in the fields of agriculture, medicine and telecommunication to the Turkish Republics, Shaked said they also gave the consultative service to those countries in the fields of medicine, agriculture and foreign affairs.

Noting the economic relations between Israel and the Turkish Republics were developed, Eli Shaked said the current trade volume was 25 million U.S. dollars and it showed a 30 percent annual increase. Stressing the importance of the Turkish Republics markets, Shaked said they planned to purchase energy from those countries..."

     

South Africa also likes Israel

Johannesburg's SAPA 10/7/99: "Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa, guest speaker at the 24th South African Israel Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday, said he was thankful for the trade between South Africa and Israel as it had contributed to the trade balance of both countries. "We must translate the president's vision of a nation at work for better life," said Shilowa. Each and every South African, Shilowa said, had the responsibility to improve the living and working conditions of the majority of South Africans..."

     

Jordanian businessmen contact Israel

AL QUDS in JERUALEM 10/9/99: "Israeli sources said yesterday that initial secret contacts are currently taking place between Jordanian businessmen and senior officials in the Israeli prime minister's office to establish a free trade zone near Jericho, on the border between Jordan and the West Bank.

The Jordanian businessmen's plan includes the construction of a commercial center on 800 donums of land, which they own. It has been learned that Tel Aviv Attorney Yosi Nenman, an expert on property in the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv areas, is representing the Jordanian businessmen in these contacts. The land on which the project will be built is under total Israeli sovereignty. The Civil Administration administers this property. However, the land is Jordanian property by law. The sources said that Attorney Nenman had refused to comment on this report.

It has been learned from the Israeli prime minister's office that contacts are indeed taking place with the representative of the Jordanian businessmen. However, this does not necessarily mean that agreement has been reached on the establishment of the commercial zone. It is worth mentioning that the Israeli Industry and Trade Ministry has been trying, in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, to establish different projects in free trade zones in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Government is reviving an old initiative to establish a free trade zone in the Negev to vitalize the area economically. Israeli newspapers had published reports about Attorney Nenman, who is representing the Jordanian businessmen. They said that he represented Israeli businessmen seeking to build a luxury hotel on the eastern (Jordanian) shores of the Dead Sea..."

     

No "refugee" resettlement in Jordan?

Amman's JORDAN TIMES 10/9/99: "Prime Minister Abdur-Ra'uf S. Rawabdeh dismissed reports carried by the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv on Wednesday about Jordanian plans to settle Palestinian refugees in Jordan.

In a telephone call to Hanan Ashrawi, the secretary general of the Palestinian Initiative to Strengthen International Dialogue and Democracy (Muftah), Rawabdeh said the Israeli reports are baseless, adding that Jordan's position towards the Palestinian refugees has remained unchanged. The prime minister said Jordan's position is legitimate, based on international resolutions which clearly provide for the right to repatriation and compensation.

Jordan's Ambassador to Israel, Omar Rifai, denied the Israeli newspaper reports, saying that he was surprised at the publication of such news. He stressed that no Jordanian official had discussed issues pertaining to the settlement of Palestinian refugees in Jordan with any Israeli official in any meeting. Rawabdeh stressed that the Jordanian-Palestinian coordination in all issues is ongoing and is increasingly enhanced. He warned of any attempts to harm that coordination or Palestinian-Jordanian relations..."

     

Jordan, Palestinian Arabs and Lebanon

Beirut's AL NAHAR 10/12/99: "Political circles in Beirut have recently received information that a number of Palestinians holding temporary passports entered Lebanon after obtaining visas from the Lebanese Embassy in Jordan. According to the information, a large number of Palestinians holding ordinary Jordanian passports have also arrived in Lebanon lately after a circular instructing the Lebanese Embassy in Jordan to facilitate issuing visas for them was issued by the Lebanese Foreign Ministry.

The Embassy used to grant visas to holders of Jordanian passports, including Jordanians of Palestinian origin, without any restrictions. But it was strict in issuing visas to the Palestinians who came to Lebanon illegally during the war, participated in the fighting, and left the country in 1982 with the departure of the PLO. It also used to firmly refuse to grant visas to holders of temporary passports.

It is known that Jordan grants Jordanian passports bearing the so called national number to Jordanian citizens and to the Palestinian refugees who came to the country from Palestine in 1948. But those [Palestinians] who came to Jordan from outside the West Bank are granted temporary passports valid only for two years.

In a statement to Al-Nahar on 16 September 1999, Jordanian Interior Minister Nayif al-Qadi spoke of "a veto and reservations that Jordan used to have with regard to Lebanon." But, he explained, those problems were solved and "the ground is now prepared to grant the Lebanese brothers or the Jordanians who wish to travel to Lebanon open visas."

The new information raised questions among the political circles that received it. They ask about the implications of the Foreign Ministry's circular and the arrival of new groups of Palestinians, whether those holding temporary passports or, specifically, those holding ordinary Jordanian passports. The questions focus on the latter group, which includes families with members who were born in Lebanon during the war, families that bought apartments or land plots and returned to settle in Lebanon after emigrating to Yemen, Jordan, or Tunisia.

Al-Nahar asked Lebanese Ambassador to Jordan Adib 'Alam-al-Din about this information. He said that "the Lebanese Embassy in Amman was strict, without an excuse, in granting a number of Palestinians holding Jordanian passports visas to enter Lebanon. I found out after I assumed my post that the Embassy refused to issue about 3,560 visas. I informed the Foreign Ministry."

He added: "We received instructions from Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dr. Salim al-Huss to issue a visa to every applicant holding a Jordanian passport without inquiring about his origin, where he was born, or where he lived. Based on this, we took measures to grant visas to holders of Jordanian passports, especially that there are investors and businessmen among them. This serves Lebanon's interests. It is also done for humanitarian reasons and it reflects respect for Jordanian-Lebanese relations."

     

Iraq & Syria

Beirut's AL NAHAR 10/12/99: "Syrian Assistant Foreign Minister Sulayman Haddad has said that the Syrian authorities have decided to open an Iraqi interests office in Damascus.

After a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Nabil Najm, Haddad said that "Syria is interested in establishing some kind of communication with Iraq. It earlier decided to open an Iraqi interests office in Damascus. This is what we discussed in the meeting." Haddad, however, did not mention a date for the opening of the office.

Damascus and Baghdad broke off their diplomatic relations and closed the border between them after exchanged accusations in the early eighties. The border was reopened in mid-1997 for "commercial and humanitarian" reasons, as it was said at the time...

Najm refused to comment on reports about a plan to settle Palestinian refugees in Iraq in return for Iraq's return to the international family. He said: "I do not want to comment" on this subject, especially since "Baghdad has a clear position on the issue of granting nationality to Palestinians." It believes that "the land of Palestine is their natural place."

Najm said that Syria's share in the oil-for-food formula will increase in the future. He noted "in-depth discussions between the two sides to increase Iraq's imports from Syria, which are still less than desired." Baghdad and Damascus opened commercial offices in each other at the end of 1998 to encourage and promote trade between them."

     

Palestinian arab buildings

ARUTZ7 10/11/99: "The Barak government has not demolished even a single illegal Palestinian structure in Judea and Samaria, by explicit order of the Prime Minister. Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that some 1,000 illegal structures whose razing had been previously ordered are thus still standing. They are all in Area C, under total Israeli control. The government is scheduled to discuss the matter of illegal Palestinian construction within the near future."

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