ZINC-9/30/99-Israeli Arab weapons ========================================= Z . I . N . C . THE ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA'S ISRAEL NEWS CONNECTION ========================================= Thursday, September 30, 1999 5:00 AM EDT (0900 UTC) Editor: Michael C. Hoffman O&F: 301-681-0858 Email: michaelh@clark.net ========================================= To go direct to ZINC's website, Click here: http://www.geocities.com/zincisrael ========================================= TODAY'S NEWS: 1. Israeli Arab weapons 2. Syrian negotiations 3. Abu Marzuk interview 4. PA building 5. Malei Hazetim OK 6. Levy's UN remarks 7. Britain/Iran/Israel 8. Syrian happenings 9. Safe passage agreement 10. Tax reform? 11. Peres investigation? 12. Lebanon deadline? 1. Israeli Arab weapons MAARIV 9/27/99: "Sixty percent of the thousands of weapons possessed by Israel's Arab residents are unlicensed and held illegally." This transpires from a letter sent by local council heads to Police Commissioner Yehuda Wilk last week. A probe conducted by the union of local authorities and the association of Arab local councils indicates that 60 percent of the thousands of weapons of all kinds held by Israeli Arabs are unlicensed and illegal. 'Adi Eldar, the chairman of the union of local authorities, and Muhammad Zaydan, the chairman of the association of Arab local councils, wrote: "This is the cause of various problems in maintaining normal civic life in local councils and could also lead to fatalities, God forbid." The letter adds: "The large quantity of illegal weapons in the Israeli Arab sector proves that the Israel Police is incapable of acting effectively to end this phenomenon; otherwise, the Israel Police would have already located and confiscated the weapons." Eldar and Zaydan added that they have decided to act in conjunction with Arab local council heads and the Israel Police in order to try to stop the illegal possession of weapons. Israel Police spokesman, Deputy Commander 'Uzi Sandori, preferred not to comment on the claims made in the letter. He said that the police would respond "but not through the media." 2. Syrian negotiations IDF RADIO 9/27/99--Talk in the studio between anchorman Golan Yokhpaz and political correspondent Raviv Drucker: [Yokhpaz] A new Israeli formula for the resumption of the negotiations with Syria was recently relayed to the Americans. What does this new formula say, Raviv? [Drucker] There has been very intense activity aimed at restarting the negotiations between Israel and Syria. Today we learn about a new formula relayed by Prime Minister Baraq to the US Administration, whereby the prime minister would publicly announce that he accepts Rabin's heritage, undertakes to do what Rabin did, and will actually follow in Rabin's steps. Baraq is thus seeking to meet the Syrian demand that the negotiations resume from the point they were left off, and at the same time, maintain the necessary vagueness regarding a withdrawal to the 4 June 1967 lines since there is a big dispute over the issue. The Syrians say Rabin promised them to withdraw to those lines, and therefore, all they want from Baraq is to declare, just like Rabin did, that he undertakes to do the same. Baraq is saying now: All that Rabin did -- which is what Israel has been saying in the last few years -- was to pose an hypothetical question to the US secretary of state as to what would be the Syrian president's response in terms of security arrangements and the nature of the peace he would be prepared to offer Israel in the event that we were willing to effect such a withdrawal. After he was disappointed by the answer, Rabin turned to the Palestinian track. By the way, sources in his bureau say that Prime Minister Baraq adheres to Rabin's formula whereby the depth of the withdrawal would be tantamount to the depth of peace. However, Baraq has added to it the quality of the security arrangements. In other words, the quality of the security arrangements would ultimately determine the depth of the Israeli withdrawal. [Yokhpaz] To what extent are we talking here about sophistry, about an attempt to focus on formulations, rather than a proposal likely to lead to a significant breakthrough in the negotiations? [Drucker] The truth is that this is what the dispute precluding the resumption of the negotiations is all about. Israel thinks it is a matter of sophistry, a game of words, and that as soon as the right formula is found everything will be settled. Many formulas are being floated. For example, in their meeting with Baraq the French proposed to precede the negotiations with a detailed document summing up all the understandings reached in the talks between the two sides to date. The Americans proposed to send a letter to the sides, and now we have the Israel approach. The Syrian stance, on the other hand, says that the opening of the negotiations is also a substantive issue. The Syrians want an Israeli declaration a priori that this and that point, such as the withdrawal and other issues, have been finalized and that the negotiations will only be on the matters left outstanding when the talks were halted in early 1996. [Asked to comment on the aforementioned report, Justice Minister Yosi Beilin says in a live telephone interview later on in the program: "This is the first time I hear about such a formula. In principle, however, I think it is a fairly simple formula. In other words, we are committed to our previous commitments. A commitment to return to the June 4th borders was never given by any one of us, and therefore, there is no problem with such a formula." Beilin adds that "any statement to the effect that we will pursue the negotiations in the same spirit in which they were conducted by Yitzhaq Rabin, and later by Shim'on Peres, is right. We returned to power in the same spirit, and we are trying to make peace." 3. Abu Marzuk London's AL SHARQ AL AWSAT 9/27/99--Telephone interview with Dr. Musa Abu-Marzuq, member of the Islamic Resistance Movement's Political Bureau, in Damascus: [Al-Salih][the reporter] Can you explain to us the scenarios for a solution to the existing crisis? [Abu-Marzuq] I have nothing to say about this matter at the moment. But, God willing, signs of a solution are coming. [Al-Salih] When you say the signs are coming, are your remarks based on facts or mere optimism? [Abu-Marzuq] This is happening at present. There are extensive contacts with the Jordanian authorities. There is a massive political move by various sectors in Jordan in this direction. There is also a message from the [Islamic Resistance] Movement [Hamas] that the Jordanian authorities are studying. [Al-Salih] There is talk about a compromise that could be reached within one week, such as a gentleman's agreement similar to the first that you personally concluded when you were chairman of the Movement's Political Bureau with the Jordanian Prime Minister at the time Zayd Bin-Shakir. That was concluded in the presence of the Director of Intelligence and his Deputy Samih al-Battikhi (the present Director). The new agreement would reduce the Movement's media activities, restrict its presence to a single representation office, and move its leaders to another country. [Abu-Marzuq] First of all, the right of Khalid Mish'al and Ibrahim Ghawshah to remain in Jordan is guaranteed, regardless of whether there is an agreement or not, because they carry Jordanian passports. As to the solutions, we cannot say that solutions have been reached. If we receive any new proposals, then we will study them. But we have not received any proposals of any kind so far. [Al-Salih] Do you expect Mish'al and Ghawshah to be released soon? [Abu-Marzuq] We hope so. We hope that the arrests will not continue and there will be no repercussions because the situation is not in the interest of either the Jordanian or Palestinian peoples or any other party for that matter. The arrests were wrong. It is not a judicial case, even if they are kept in prison until the investigation is finished, but a political one. It is wrong to deal with it in any other way. [Al-Salih] In your view, why was this timing chosen for the measures against Hamas, its leaders, members, and offices when you were outside Jordan, specifically in Tehran? Was it to avoid the repercussions of these measures and their impact, in addition to keeping you outside Jordan without clamor or problems? [Abu-Marzuq] I believe that the measures were taken while we were outside Jordan so that the decision not to let us return would come from outside the country. [Al-Salih] It is for this reason that your decision to return to Amman and your actual return were a challenge to the Jordanian authorities and a way to embarrass it. [Abu-Marzuq] It definitely was not our aim to challenge or embarrass the authorities in Jordan by returning. First of all, no one can avoid the charges leveled against him. If there are charges against the Movement's leaders, does this mean that they should turn their back on them or should they face and deal with them? If there was a summons for them, then they responded to it. Therefore it was not a case of challenging anyone because we have never in our lives targeted any of our brothers or Arab and Islamic peoples. [Al-Salih] Some circles are saying that the arrests of Mish'al and Ghawshah strengthen Abu-Marzuq's leading position in Hamas. This implies a power struggle in the Movement's leadership ranks. What is your comment? [Abu-Marzuq] These remarks are harmful to Abu-Marzuq before being harmful to Hamas or any person in it. There are no power struggles in the Movement. We are all one entity. [Al-Salih] Some are saying that orders from the Movement's leadership abroad to the leadership inside to take military action and the confessions made by the detainees in Israel in the cases of the two failed suicide attempts in Tiberias and Haifa, in which they mentioned contact with a Hamas leader in Jordan, prompted Jordan to take the measures against Hamas, its leaders, and its offices. How true is this information? [Abu-Marzuq] In addition to this, press circles have said that Hamas's Arab and foreign relations led to the Jordanian measures. Is it reasonable for Hamas not to have Arab, Palestinian, and international relations? The rumors and stories are many and varied. A new rumor is spread when one is found to be false and so on. [Al-Salih] Mystery surrounds your deportation from Jordan after the arrest of Mish'al and Ghawshah. To which country was Abu-Marzuq deported? [Abu-Marzuq] There was no mystery in my deportation. I did not make this decision and therefore make it mysterious. [Al-Salih] We are asking where Abu-Marzuq is. Some said that he was in Tehran, then the United Arab Emirates [UAE]. Others said he ended up in Qatar and then Yemen. Where has Abu-Marzuq landed? [Abu-Marzuq] When they asked the Jordanian Government where it deported me to, it said that it deported me to Tehran aboard the plane that brought me to Amman. Tehran denied that I arrived there and this created the mystery about my deportation. [Al-Salih] What did really happen? [Abu-Marzuq] I was deported on the Emirates Airlines plane on which I had arrived from the UAE. I stayed for a few hours there and then went to Damascus. That is all there is to the matter. [Al-Salih] Does this mean that you did not go somewhere else like Yemen? [Abu-Marzuq] No. I did not go anywhere else..." 4. PA building ARUTZ7 9/29/99: "The two Palestinian farms in Gush Etzion are merely the tip of the iceberg, it was learned yesterday. Gush Etzion Regional Council head Sha'ul Goldstein was informed yesterday, during his meeting with Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, that the Civil Administration had not only approved the two farms near Efrat, but also twelve others throughout Gush Etzion. All except one are in territory under total Israeli control - Area C. The left-wing Gush Shalom organization announced its intentions this afternoon to support Palestinian efforts to construct the farms. Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that a well-known senior officer in the Civil Administration, "known for his great sympathy with Palestinian interests, simply circumvented the IDF Central Command in granting the approvals to the farms. In addition, he simply ignored the withdrawal maps, in allowing the farms to be constructed smack in the middle of Israeli-controlled territory." Many of the officer's colleagues objected to the decision. The 13 Area C farms take up a total of 2998 dunams (almost 750 acres). Deputy Minister Sneh promised Goldstein that the works would be stopped for two weeks in order to carefully check who owns the lands. Huberman reports, "A certain amount of the territory is in the early stages of being declared state land, but even the farms on private Arab-owned lands are only allowed to be run privately and not by the PA, as is the case. The PA has signs on the properties, attesting to the fact that it is behind the works. In addition, no structures are allowed to be built there." Goldstein said today that if government representatives were involved in the approvals - which is not certain - "this means that the entire policy of 'Jewish settlement blocs' in Yesha has collapsed."... 5. Malei Hazeitim OK ARUTZ7 9/29/99: "A police report concludes that the Jewish construction in Ma'aleh HaZeitim (Ras el-Amoud) does not present a security risk. The report, authorized by Police Commissioner Yehuda Wilk, comes at an inconvenient time for the Prime Minister's Office. Prime Minister Barak is anxious to stop the construction in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood, and Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein ruled several weeks ago that the only acceptable excuse to do so would be that of security." 6. Levy's UN remarks THE JERUSALEM POST 9/30/99: "As Foreign Minister David Levy yesterday assailed the "contradictory realities" in which Israel's negotiating partners are "conducting a strident political war against Israel in different international forums," the Palestinian observer to the UN walked out of the General Assembly hall. Levy, speaking on the eve of the opening of the Israel exhibit at Disney's EPCOT Center, also called for the end of economic boycotts against Israel. Levy's speech was "dangerously flawed," the Palestinian UN observer, Nasser Kidwa, said in a statement. He criticized Levy for failing to mention the Palestinian people, Security Council Resolution 242, and the principle of land for peace. The Syrian and the Lebanese delegations did not leave the assembly. In his speech, Levy criticized the boycott threat against Disney "due to the fact that the company dared to allow Jerusalem to be portrayed in an exhibition celebrating the millennium. We condemn these threats and the use by the Arab states of this anachronistic device," Levy said, addressing the assembly in Hebrew. At a meeting Friday in New York, Arab foreign ministers backed away from a boycott threat against Disney, when they accepted the entertainment conglomerate's assurances that the Israeli exhibit would not refer to Jerusalem as Israel's capital. After meeting on Tuesday with Levy, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he would use his influence to work against the adoption of anti-Israeli UN resolutions while the peace process is continuing. Those anti-Israel resolutions are "anti-peace resolutions" and part of the "contradicting realities," Levy said yesterday, repeating a theme he has stressed in the last week at the UN. "Engaging in a peace process, on the one hand, and maintaining anti-Israel declarations and resolutions, on the other, raises some serious concerns about our negotiating partners and their concept of peace," he said. "We hoped for, and expected, a different atmosphere, which would complement the impetus initiated by the new government in Israel." He also called for Syria to hold talks with Israel. "Meetings and discussions are not political sacrifices," he said. "They are basic necessities."... 7. Britain/Iran/Israel HA'ARETZ 9/29/99: "In talks conducted last week in Jerusalem, Britain presented Israel with confidence-building measures proposed by Iran concerning nuclear weapons and pressured Israel to respond favorably to them. The British delegation, which included managers of the British Foreign Office, met with senior Israeli representatives as part of the strategic dialogue Israel and Britain hold every six months. The talks focused on disarmament and arms control and the British presented proposals which they said came from official Iranian sources. At meetings held in recent months, the Iranians presented the British with general ideas for the disarmament of the Middle East. The Iranians did not mention Israel's name, but the British had no doubt that the Iranians had Israel in mind. They also had no objection that Israel be informed of their proposals. The British presented Israel with three main proposals: * A regional agreement not to strike first with missiles. The Iranians propose that the countries of the region commit not to use missiles in their possession for a first strike in war. * An agreement not to arm ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. Iran agrees to commit not to arm its missiles with nuclear warheads. * Restrictions on the purpose of long-range missiles. The Iranians are willing to commit that missiles with a range greater than 1,300 kilometers (780 miles) will be developed exclusively for the launching of satellites. The technical-professional implication of this commitment is that the Iranians are willing to relinquish precision and missile-guidance capability for these missiles for ground targets... The British insisted that Israel respond to the Iranian proposals, but Israel refused to commit itself at this time. Diplomatic sources say that Israel is in an uncomfortable position because any concrete reaction to the Iranian proposals would be problematic, since Israel has never officially admitted that it has nuclear weapons or ground-to-ground missiles that can be armed with nuclear warheads. Defense sources say that the possibility that the Iranian proposals' purpose is to deceive Israel should not be ruled out. They believe the Iranians want to safeguard their own long-range capability, which would include Israel, and that this reflects aggressive intentions. Israel prepared itself for the possibility that the British might make these proposals following a report in Ha'aretz on the subject about three months ago. Tehran denied that it wanted to form confidence-building measures with the "Zionist Satan," but it has not withdrawn the proposals..." 8. Syrian happenings HA'ARETZ 9/29/99: "The U.S. believes that the stalled Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese peace talks can be kick-started despite remaining obstacles. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who attended the opening session of the U.N. General Assembly, made the comments to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations yesterday morning. "The issue here is whether we can find the way to restart negotiations that will match the will that all sides profess to feel," Albright said. Albright suggested that both Israel and Syria, in particular, "clearly want to find a way forward. Both are treating the other with unusual trust and respect." In Syria, according to Western sources, Bashar Assad's involvement in internal and state affairs has grown significantly of late. The second son and heir apparent of Syrian President Hafez Assad has reportedly ousted several officers which he accused of corruption. According to the sources, the developments follow recent reports of the Syrian president's deteriorating health. Growing tensions were reported last week between Bashar and supporters of his uncle, Rifat Assad, who was fired about 18 months ago from his official position as Syrian vice president and currently resides in France. It was reported that Bashar last week ordered a raid on his uncle's ranch, where about 550 of Rifat's supporters were holed up. Bashar's forces backed down following a shoot-out near the ranch, but, according to the sources, Rifat's supporters, including senior officers, are still in the ranch and were given an ultimatum to surrender by today. Dr. Eyal Zisser, a researcher on Syrian affairs at Tel Aviv University, said yesterday, "This is a signal from [Hafez] Assad and Bashar that Rifat's presence is no longer wanted in Syria. They are showing that Rifat has been unequivocally thrown out, and that now he will be chased down systematically. Bashar wants to make it clear that there is a new boss now and that Rifat is under no circumstances a potential candidate." The Mideast Mirror reported recently that the dispute between Hafez and Bashar Assad and Rifat Assad worsened following Rifat's participation in the funeral of Morocco's King Hassan, and after the visit of Rifat's son Sumar Assad, to Gaza. During the visit, Sumar Assad met with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. An Arab source said yesterday that in recent years, Arafat has met Rifat during his visits to Europe. The two also met during King Hassan's funeral." 9. Safe passage agreement HA'ARETZ 9/29/99: "Israel and the Palestinian Authority completed negotiations yesterday to open up a safe passage between the Gaza strip and the West Bank, and are expected to ratify the agreement on Sunday. If ratified, the accord will take effect immediately. According to the accord, the safe passage connecting Gaza to the West Bank will be open at least 10 hours each day of the week. It will not operate on Israeli public holidays. The opening of the safe passage will implemented in stages. The first phase will be limited to Palestinians who are eligible to enter Israel. They will receive magnetic cards enabling them automatic passage through security checkpoints. As they enter Israel, an electronic sticker will be attached to their cars. The sticker, which will be removed and deactivated when cars reach the other end of their journey through Israeli territory, is timed to set off an alarm within 90 to 120 minutes, by which time cars are expected to have completed the journey and be out of Israel. If the car fails to exit Israel within the given time, and the alarm goes off, it will be treated by the police as a suspicious vehicle. The second stage will include Palestinians who are ineligible to enter Israel. They will receive magnetic cards allowing passage only via special buses that will travel between Gaza and the West Bank. The buses will not be allowed to stop in Israel, and will be escorted by security services. Security sources say that the agreement is important for the Palestinians, and will have only a negligible impact on domestic security. Currently, Palestinians unable to enter Israel and wishing to cross between the two chunks of PA-administered land must travel from Gaza to Egypt and from there to Jordan, where they can enter the West Bank." 10. Tax reform? HA'ARETZ 9/29/99: "Finance Minister Avraham Shochat's announcement, made during the interview he granted to Ha'aretz in Washington yesterday, that income tax reform should be completed by February 2000 badly discombobulated Finance Ministry officials back in Jerusalem. They assume that the moment Shochat lands at Ben-Gurion International Airport, he will convene his top officials and announce the appointment of a panel to handle the reform. The treasury begs to remind everyone, however, that for all of tax reform's importance, progress should be made cautiously. Since the Ben-Shahar panel of 1975, not a single government has managed to push through any significant change in the structure of direct taxation. The teams abound through history: from Shishinsky in the early 1990s, to a program formulated under then Finance Minister Yitzhak Modai (z"l), to the plan to tax stock market gains touted by Shochat during his first term as finance minister to the Brodet Commission and the Ne'eman Committee - and that is far from an exhaustive list of the segments of officialdom who have devoted time to tax reform, and who have failed to achieve results, over the last two decades. The real options: Shochat can choose one of three options: to set up (yet another) panel of experts (like the Ben-Shahar panel); to set up a treasury panel (like the Ne'eman Committee of 1998); or to convene a commission of top treasury people augmented by a few external experts. Shochat's announcement that the unappointed-as-yet panel would finish its work within five or six months indicates that his mind is leaning toward a treasury panel... Prime Minister Ehud Barak promised during his election campaign, and afterward too, to comprehensively reform the tax system, and soon. The One Israel party and Shochat also vowed to reform the tax system. Bank of Israel Governor Jacob Frenkel, business chiefs and leading academics all claim, and claim again, that the government should put tax reform at the top of its list of priorities. This government has an advantage over its predecessor: a huge Knesset majority. The Ne'eman panel finished its work right as the term of the previous government expired; at that point, the majority it enjoyed was on paper only... Meanwhile, two leading foreign investment houses - Salomon Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter - published highly flattering assessments of Israel's economy last week. Both base their rosy forecasts on the peace process and its real fruits..." 11. Peres investigation? HA'ARETZ 9/30/99: "MK Gideon Ezra (Likud) has asked the State Comptroller's Office to launch an investigation into the ties between Minister of Regional Cooperation Shimon Peres and businessman Bruce Rappaport. Although he is a former deputy-director of the Shin Bet security service, Ezra is in this case relying on an investigative report that appeared in the mass-circulation daily Yedioth Ahronoth. Ezra has latched on the report, according to which Peres, while he held senior positions, including his period as prime minister, maintained ties with Rappaport, whose name has been linked with dubious business practices. According to Ezra, the report in the paper suggests that in 1985 Rappaport, who was then a senior consultant to the international construction giant Bechtel, received a promise from then Prime Minister Peres that Israel would never bomb the Basra-Aqaba oil pipeline that Bechtel was then planning to build. Rappaport also persuaded Peres to initiate a seawater desalination project in Gaza, Ezra says, which would be subsidized in part by Israel and from which Rappaport would benefit financially. In return, Ezra alleges, Rappaport in 1988 donated NIS 250,000 to the Labor Party, which Peres then headed, and later also made a donation to the Peres Peace Center. Peres's bureau said in reaction that Ezra's claims were entirely without foundation and that he knows from positions he held in the past - alluding to his period in the Shin Bet security service- that his allegations are baseless. "It's a pity that Ezra is behaving like a petty functionary," the statement said." 12. Lebanon deadline? HA'ARETZ 9/30/99: "Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said yesterday that Israel may have to delay its planned withdrawal from Lebanon. Speaking at a press conference after a tour of the security zone, Sneh said that when Ehud Barak made his promise to withdraw Israeli troops from Lebanon within a year of taking office, he had been working on the assumption that by that time Israel would be engaged in negotiations with Syria regarding an overall peace settlement. "If the current situation does not change, we will have to reconsider", he said. The remarks caught the Premier's bureau by surprise, and caused some consternation. Sneh subsequently backtracked somewhat, saying that Israel would insist that any settlement ensure the complete cessation of hostilities on its northern frontier. He added that he was confident that by July 2000 negotiation with Syria on such a settlement would be at an advanced enough stage to permit IDF forces to withdraw to the international frontier. Sneh clarified that there was no conflict between his remarks and Barak's policy, merely a difference of nuance regarding the date of the planned Israeli withdrawal. When asked if the July date was "carved in stone", he replied that only the security of Israel's northern frontier was carved in stone. Ha'aretz later learned that Sneh's remarks were coordinated with the prime minister, and that there is no disagreement between the two men. At the press conference Sneh accused Hezbollah of deliberately attempting to escalate the fighting, so as to torpedo any possibility of a breakthrough between Jerusalem and Damascus. He also denied reports that he had asked the security coordinators in northern border settlements to draw up lists of requirements following the IDF's withdrawal from Lebanon. SLA commander General Antoine Lahad reaffirmed his confidence in his soldiers, saying there would be no wholesale defections as long as his troops remain sure that Israel will not abandon them, and will take steps to protect them and their families once it commences its planned withdrawal. He disclosed that the SLA's casualty rates had risen due to the fact that it bore the brunt of the fighting in southern Lebanon, and that 80 percent of the outposts were being held by SLA soldiers. One SLA soldier was killed and two wounded yesterday in southern Lebanon when Hezbollah terrorists shelled a SLA outpost. This was confirmed by an IDF spokesman in Jerusalem, who said that the two wounded soldiers were not in serious condition..."