ZINC-9/13/99-Shin Bet questions ========================================= Z . I . N . C . THE ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA'S ISRAEL NEWS CONNECTION ========================================= Tuesday, September 13, 1999 7:00 AM EDT (1100 UTC) Editor: Michael C. Hoffman O&F: 301-681-0858 Email: michaelh@clark.net Subscribe: zincisrael@usa.net ========================================= To go direct to ZINC's website, Click here: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/3132 OR use our easy-to-remember but redirected address and Click here: http://over.to/zinc ========================================= TODAY'S NEWS: 1. Shin Bet questions 2. Indyk vs. Barak 3. Habash resigns? 4. Israel/Jordan tourism 5. Arab League Fantasyland 6. Negotiations resume 7. Interim accord? 8. Life saving clock change 9. Prisoners 10. More agreements 11. Iranian Jews 12. Shas compromise? 13. Jordan threatens Hamas 1. Shin Bet questions YEDIOT AHARONOT 9/9/99: "Shin Bet head 'Ami Ayalon said yesterday after the Israeli identities of the three terrorists killed in the terrorist attacks in Tiberias and Haifa on 5 September were disclosed that the Shin Bet must now ask itself serious questions. Ayalon said that the Shin Bet knew there was a plan to carry out an attack, but did not have information on the attacks and the squad that planned and carried them out. Therefore, Ayalon said, "we must ask what the Shin Bet was doing, and why we did not have information." However, he stressed that we must differentiate between the Islamic Movement and Israeli Arabs in general. Ayalon's remarks were made at a gathering of Shin Bet veterans and were reported by Qol Yisra'el correspondent Karmela Menashe. The Shin Bet is now carrying out a debriefing aimed at finding out why no early warning was provided about the terrorist activities among the Israeli Islamic Movement members. The question of why a surveillance of the movement's extremists did not come up with anything is being investigated. Even before lessons have been learned from this debriefing, it has been decided "to thicken out" some of the Shin Bet units dealing with Israel's Arab sector. In the meantime, it has been learned that one of the two terrorists killed in Tiberias on Sunday, Amir Musulihah, was detained by the Shin Bet five years ago on suspicion of having connections with activists in Hamas's [Islamic Resistance Movement] military arm. He was released for lack of evidence. The suspicion is that in the past two years he had ties with senior Hamas activist 'Umar Sirtawi, who is detained in Israel. Musulihah recently visited Jordan several times, but this did not light any "red lights" among Shin Bet investigators and Musulihah was not detained again. Cabinet ministers yesterday received a detained survey from security elements on the terrorist attacks. The elements said in the deliberation that while we should avoid generalizations about Israeli Arabs and the Islamic Movement, this is a grave incident which constitutes a "crossing of the line." Prime Minister Ehud Baraq warned against any attempt to blame an entire community." 2. Indyk vs. Barak MA'ARIV 9/8/99: "Martin Indyk, former US ambassador to Israel, and currently Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's assistant and chairman of the US team for strategic dialogue with Israel, has recently harshly criticized Prime Minister Ehud Baraq's policy regarding the proceedings that led to the signing of the Sharm al-Shaykh agreement. Ma'ariv has learned that the affair started with a sharp exchange of words between Baraq and Indyk in the course of the nocturnal meeting between Albright and Baraq last week. As the sides were trying to find a formula that will enable Israel and the Palestinians to sign the emerging agreement, Indyk leveled criticism against the way Israel was conducting the negotiations. According to him, Israel should have proposed an amended agreement only after starting to implement the Wye accord. "As far as 'Arafat is concerned, this is a credibility test," Indyk told Baraq. The latter replied: "I don't have a credibility problem. You could have told him that we are serious." Indyk then replied: "In retrospect, it would have been better for you to do it." And then, the prime minister lost his cool and said furiously: "I would prefer you to speak in a different style here." Elements in the prime minister's entourage yesterday confirmed the harsh conversation. US diplomatic elements in Washington are also aware of it, but after the event, both sides made an effort to improve the atmosphere, and the two men seemed to have reconciled at the reception held following the signing ceremony." 3. Habash resigns? Amman's AL RA'Y 9/8/99: "After more than three decades as head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine [PFLP], Dr. George Habash announced a few days ago that he has decided to step down. Dr. Habash, nicknamed Al-Hakim [the wise man], did not participate in the recent intra-Palestinian talks; rather, he frankly announced that he rejects the peace accords from Oslo until the Wye Plantation accord. In view of the current developments about Dr. Habash's stand and the interactions in the Palestinian national movement in particular, and in the region and the Palestinian cause in general, PLO Member Dr. As'ad 'Abd-al-Rahman, who met with Habash a few days ago, said that almost everyone wants Habash to remain in his post, but he, 'Abd-al-Rahman, noticed that Habash was determined to step down. [Al-Ra'y] Given the fact that you know Dr. Habash very well, is it true that he will pay his post as a price for his stand which is in disagreement with the stand of the majority of the PFLP leadership members? ['Abd-al-Rahman] Dr. George Habash is occupying several positions in the PFLP, most prominent of which are his moral position as a historical leader of the PFLP and the Arab Nationalists Movement before that, and then his important position as PFLP secretary general which he assumed after being elected by the PFLP authorized conferences. I do not think that the reports you heard are right because Dr. Habash a long time ago had decided to discontinue with this post and has repeatedly asked to be relieved of his post. The fact that Dr. Habash is adopting the stand of the minority is not new in the PFLP modern history. It also did not affect the positions he occupies in the PFLP. However, I think that he has been determined to step down as PFLP secretary general, a post which, I think, will be occupied by PFLP Assistant Secretary General Abu-'Ali Mustafa. [Al-Ra'y] Why does Dr. Habash want to leave his position? ['Abd-al-Rahman] I think that the "wise man" is eager to set an example of how the first person abdicates upon his own free will, not because of force majeure such as death, to allow another generation to take over. Besides, Habash is aspiring to use his experiences to benefit the present and future generations. Therefore, he has devoted his time to establish a research center that will most probably be named Arab Struggle Issues Research Center. Moreover, the objective reality of Dr. Habash makes him aware that this new situation is more convenient to his health conditions." 4. Israel/Jordan tourism Amman's PETRA-JNA 9/8/99: "Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Akil Beltaji on Wednesday stressed the essential role of security to promote tourism in the region. "Tourism and security are interrelated and no tourism without security which creates tourism and strengthens it," Beltaji said at a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart Amnon Shahak following their talks at the Dead Sea Hotel and Spa. The talks focused on joint marketing of tourist attractions and coordination of measures at the common borders to facilitate the flow of tourists in both directions. Tourist trips to Petra in Southern Jordan will not be limited to one day but will last at least for days and contacts are underway with the Israeli side on this issue, Beltaji said. The two sides have agreed to enhance joint cooperation in tourism industry and marketing through launching tour festivals and activities across the world, he added. The Palestinian side is a partner to all tourist functions to promote the tourist sector in the region, Beltaji told reporters noting that Shahak will meet his Palestinian counterpart next week for talks on tourist cooperation. He said positive interaction prevails during his talks with Shahak as tourism is "a bridge for peace". The two sides agreed on a number of procedures to facilitate the flow of tourists in both directions, he added. To that end Jordan and Israel will launch a joint marketing program during international meetings on tourism expected to be held later this year in France and Britain, Beltaji said. For his part, Israeli tourism Minister underlined the importance of joint cooperation and coordination to develop tourism industry. All the standing issues have been discussed and settled by the joint Jordanian - Israeli committee on tourism and instructions have been forwarded to the Israeli Embassy in Amman to ensure smooth movement of tourists from Amman to Israel, he said." 5. Arab League Fantasyland AP 9/13/99: "Arab countries will not accept the depiction of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in a Disney theme park in the United States, Egypt's foreign minister says. The Arab League is expected to approve today a resolution that warns Disney it will take ``appropriate actions'' if a millennium exhibition due to open at Epcot Center in Orlando, Fla., shows the holy city as Israel's capital. The resolution also mandates the league to send a delegation to Epcot to ensure that the representation of Jerusalem has not been ``manipulated by Israel,'' an Arab diplomat said on condition of anonymity. Disney has already refused access to such a delegation from the United Arab Emirates, which threatened last week to launch a boycott of Disney products. Disney World spokesman Bill Warren has declined to say if Jerusalem is depicted as Israel's capital but says the exhibit is not political. Israel's Foreign Ministry contributed $1.8 million to the exhibition, which opens Oct. 1. Speaking at the end of Sunday's session of the league's two-day meeting, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are supposed to settle the status of east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and which the Palestinians regard as their future capital. `We cannot accept anything that would predetermine something that has to be determined through negotiations,'' Moussa said. Earlier, the league meeting heard Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat stress the importance of east Jerusalem. ``There can be no peace without Jerusalem, free (of Israeli occupation) and as the capital of a Palestinian state,'' Arafat said. Arafat dismissed recent suggestions that the 3 million Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan would become permanent residents. All refugees had the right to return to the Palestinian territories, he emphasized. The meeting was the first to be chaired by Iraq since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The chair is rotated among the league's 21 member states and the Palestinian territories. Delegates fell unusually quiet as Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf walked round the conference chamber to take the chair on the podium. He had stormed out of the league's last meeting in January after ministers declined to condemn U.N. sanctions and the U.S.-British airstrikes on Iraq. In his opening remarks, al-Sahhaf said the ``great threat'' to Arab security stemmed from ``the United States of America's pressure to impose its hegemony on the region.'' He proposed a summit or a lower-level meeting of Arab states to tackle that challenge. However, he was not expected to find much support for the idea..." 6. Negotiations resume VOA 9/13/99: "Six-years to the day after the historic Oslo Accord was signed on the White House lawn, Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams are beginning so-called final-status talks in an attempt to reach a permanent peace agreement in the Middle East. Such difficult issues as the borders of a Palestinian state, Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the status of refugees, and the future of Jerusalem will all be on the table. The two sides have agreed to try to reach the outlines of an agreement by next February and a full accord by next September. Foreign Minister David Levy will head the Israeli team nd President Yasser Arafat's top aid, Abu Mazen, will lead the Palestinian team. The opening positions of both sides are far apart, and analysts are skeptical these controversial issues can be solved in one year." 7. Interim accord? ARUTZ7 9/10/99: "In holiday interviews with various news media today, Prime Minister Ehud Barak says that if he does not succeed in reaching a permanent-status arrangement with the Palestinians within a few months, he will settle for a long-term interim arrangement. Similar statements were made this morning by Communications Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer." 8. Life saving clock change ARUTZ7 9/10/99: "Several major terrorist attacks were thwarted by the security services over the past several days. Jerusalem Police Chief Ya'ir Yitzchaki said that one of them was to have taken place in a major Israeli city; he would not name the city. It was reported this week that the miraculous failure of two separate car-bombs - this past Sunday, in Haifa and Tiberias - to kill anyone other than the terrorists themselves has a very simple "earthly" explanation: Israel's return to winter time two days earlier, which the Palestinian Authority - in principle - refuses to follow. The PA bomb-setters didn't switch their clocks back, while the watches of the Israeli-Arab car-bomb drivers were set to Israeli time - such that when the drivers were told that the bombs would go off at 6:30 PM, they assumed they still had another hour. Prime Minister Barak, while not relating to the above story, did confirm today that the Israeli-Arab terrorist cells received their orders from within the autonomous areas, and cooperated with Hamas in Jordan as well." 9. Prisoners HA'ARETZ 9/10/99: "Nearly 70 percent of the 199 Palestinian security prisoners who were released yesterday by Israel were convicted of crimes in which death was involved, and 130 of the freed prisoners were serving life terms. Nineteen of the prisoners were convicted of murder, 89 were jailed for intentionally causing death, 24 served manslaughter sentences and 5 caused death. The other 62 prisoners were serving prison terms after being convicted of a variety of offenses, including planting bombs, producing explosives, attempted murder, assault, kidnapping, possession of a weapon, throwing a grenade, undergoing military training and others. The majority of the released prisoners, 130, belong to the Fatah organization, and the other 69 are members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The Organization of Victims of Terrorism yesterday asked the Justice Ministry for a list of the prisoners who were released and the details of the offenses of which they were convicted, including the names of their victims. A spokesman for the group said that the ministry's refusal to convey the list "convinces us that this stems from political motives, which are aimed at hiding from the public the relevant information and thus prevent a public scandal." 10. More agreements HA'ARETZ 9/10/99--Commentary by Nadav Shragai: "For the sixth time since the Oslo agreement, Yasser Arafat is selling the same merchandise to an Israeli prime minister, the fourth since Yitzhak Rabin. Just as he did in Oslo 1 and 2 and in the Cairo, Hebron and Wye agreements, Arafat is committing to "full implementation of the agreements reached with Israel since September 1993," yet once again the anti-Israel incitement in the Palestinian Authority (PA) media continues unabated: expressions of hate, delegitimization and traditional anti-Semitic blood libels, as well as denials - in terminology, maps and official educational materials - of the very existence of the state of Israel. The latest innovation of this hate campaign involves specifically calling on Israeli Arabs, "the Palestinians on the inside," to renounce their Israeli nationality and replace it with an independent Palestinian identity. In other words, a foreign authority is encouraging approximately 20 percent of the country's citizens to transfer their loyalty to it.This on-going incitement is not the only thing that has not changed. The buffer zones which the Palestinians committed to establishing in Hebron, a key part of the agreement there, never materialized. Nevertheless, Israel agreed in the Sharm el Sheikh agreement to open Hebron's Shuhada Street and wholesale market. The PA has never extradited terrorists responsible for killings even though it promised to on three occasions. Although Israel did agree in the Wye accord to waive this demand, the Sharm agreements add insult to injury. Not only will murderers of Jews not be extradited - and many of them were not even jailed in PA territory, as they should have been under the Wye agreement - but now Israel has agreed to release more terrorists with blood on their hands, of the kind who tried to murder Jews, but only managed to injure them, as well as murderers of Arabs. There are numerous examples of released terrorists returning to terrorism, be it terrorists Israel released under the Jibril deal or terrorists the PA released from its jails after refusing to extradite them to Israel. Halil Toufik Sharif, for example, who murdered David Boim near Beit El and who the PA refused to extradite to Israel, detonated a bomb attached to his body on the Ben-Yehuda pedestrian mall in Jerusalem. Subhi Issa, who took part in the killing of three IDF soldiers in 1993, is suspected of involvement in the attack on Yoel Moshe Salomon street in Jerusalem, in which an Israeli woman soldier and an Israeli Arab were killed. The possibility is now being considered of releasing one of the six murderers who "only" assisted in the killing of Efrat and Yaron Unger three years ago. One member of this group whom Israel did not manage to apprehend, blew himself up in March 1997 inside Cafe Apropo in Tel Aviv, an attack which killed three women. The latest agreement is a terrible deal. Barak so wanted to link the third redeployment to the permanent settlement that he offered Arafat an array of temptations and benefits to achieve that goal. Arafat, as usual, took the benefits without giving anything in return. The Sharm agreement contains nothing to make the Palestinians link the third redeployment to the permanent agreement. Moreover, the letter of guarantees which U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright gave Arafat stresses the absence of any such link. On the other hand, Arafat received a bundle of gifts: an additional 2 percent of Area B from the first redeployment, the release of terrorists "with blood on their hands," a more "qualitative" withdrawal, "candies" in Hebron and dates for the start of construction of a port in Gaza and the opening of the first "safe passage." Once again, the Palestinians are promising to collect illegal weapons, reduce the size of the Palestinian police force that has ballooned to the size of an army and arrest wanted suspects. Well, so what? The worst thing about the Sharm agreement is that the PA's interest in thwarting terrorist attacks against us - coming out of the additional territories we are now handing over to them - is always conditional on the continued handing over of territories. Their final line, at least for now, is the 1947 Partition Plan line. This is PA-style reciprocity: a self-destruction mechanism built into a process that is supposed to be one of conciliation." 11. Iranian Jews HA'ARETZ 9/13/99: "Iran is sure that 13 Jews accused of espionage are guilty, and has documents to prove it, a senior judge said in comments published in Tehran yesterday. "It is certain that these individuals were spies. There is no doubt about this. The court has enough strong evidence and documents proving this," Gholamhossein Rahbarpour, the head of Tehran's Revolutionary Courts, told the hard-line Jomhuri-ye Eslami daily. He said the trial is expected to begin shortly in the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz. The Jews being held include at least one rabbi who were arrested in March on charges of spying for Israel and the United States. They could face the death penalty if convicted. Seven other Iranian citizens were also arrested. Both Israel and the United States have dismissed the spy charges as unfounded, and along with France, Germany and Amnesty International, have lodged protests... A Jewish member of Iran's Parliament, Manouchehr Eliyasi, said yesterday that Iran's Jewish community fears the worst, but is hoping for a "just outcome" in the trial. "By inflating the facts, the foreign media are trying to harm national unity," Eliyasi said. "I hope the judicial authorities will examine the issue as quickly as possible, while respecting the legal rights of the accused, and submit a just verdict in order to dispel the fears of my constituents." Senior Iranian sources have recently been quoted as saying that Israel is involved in the case and that those arrested merely "carried out the instructions of the mastermind of the spy ring," who has not been apprehended. Last month the conservative Tehran Times said those arrested passed information to Israel using "advanced communication tools."... 12. Shas compromise? HA'ARETZ 9/13/99: "The Shas party has decided to give Prime Minister Ehud Barak more time to resolve the crisis over covering the deficit in the party's educational system. The decision was a reversal of declarations made by party members before Rosh Hashanah, according to which Shas would bolt the coalition if the sums to pay the overdue salaries of the school employees were not immediately delivered. The party's Council of Torah Sages, which had been scheduled to meet today in order to decide on the departure from the coalition, are now not planning to convene, although Shas has refrained from officially declaring the time-extension so that Barak doesn't get the idea that he can drag out the crisis. According to sources in Shas, party leaders had accepted the agreement of Finance Minister Avraham Shochat and Minister Without Portfolio Haim Ramon to transfer NIS 6 million for the payment of the employees' salaries, and this after the Shas school system agreed several weeks before to the government's ratification of only minimum commitments. But the agreement was sabotaged by Education Minister Yossi Sarid, who had not been party to it. Likewise, Shas personnel were also demanding the sum of NIS 14-16 million for the payment of their salaries, and were also not prepared to sign the agreement. Shas members are still demanding of Barak that he carry out his promise to strip Sarid of his authority in the matter and to take it upon himself to transfer the money for the salaries separate from the discussions on the long-term rehabilitation program for Shas's educational network..." 13. Jordan threatens Hamas HA'ARETZ 9/13/99: "Jordan said yesterday it would arrest three Hamas leaders if they return to Jordan. "The judiciary have issued arrest warrants and the security agencies will enforce them once they [Hamas leaders] arrive at Jordanian borders," Prime Minister Abdul Raouf al-Rawabdeh told a meeting of Amman-based foreign media reporters. Nearly two weeks ago Jordanian authorities arrested about 15 Hamas activists and shut down offices of the three leaders: Khalid Mashal, the chief political strategist for Hamas, Musa Abu Marzook and Mohammed Nazal. Three of the six senior political bureau members of Hamas living in Jordan were in Tehran when the authorities sealed their offices. The wanted Hamas leaders were quoted by their supporters in Amman as saying the three were determined to return even at the risk of imprisonment, but were undecided on the timing of their return. Rawabdeh said the leaders would stand trial. "The matter is being dealt with by the judicial authorities ... the judiciary will handle their matter and the orders to interrogate them ... It's not a decision by the government. Once they are arrested, you will find they will go to court," he added..."