-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! =================================================== Tzemach News Service Week Ending: 18 December 1999 / 9 Tevet 5760 "A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the Temple, the voice of the L-rd who is rendering recompense to His enemies." (Isaiah 66.6) WAQF CONTINUES DESTRUCTION OF TEMPLE MOUNT: A resident of Ma'aleh Zeitim -- the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras el- Amoud -- noticed suspicious midnight activity Sunday night not far from his house, and promptly called MK (Member of Knesset) Rabbi Benny Elon (National Union) and an official of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). But it was too late: at least 100 trucks, hired by the Moslem Waqf, had already begun a sudden midnight mission to transport tons of dirt filled with unsifted and unexamined artifacts and dump it in the Kidron Valley. The dirt was the by-product of the ongoing illegal Waqf construction activity at Solomon's Stables under the Temple Mount. The trucks sped out of the Lions' Gate, on the eastern wall of the Old City, towards the adjacent Kidron Valley, in order to complete the dumping as fast as possible. The Jerusalem police had knowledge of the Waqf's actions, but did not say anything in an effort to "keep the peace". A senior archaeologist told television reporter Benny Liss, "There has been no bigger blow to the Temple Mount since the destruction of the Temple itself." On Wednesday morning, Yehuda Etzion, leader of the Chai Vekaiyam movement which is fighting for the right of Jewish freedom of worship on the Mount, accompanied by several persons including an archaeologist, began sifting through the mountain of dirt. Police arrived on the scene, accusing Etzion and his contingent of stealing archaeological artifacts. Only during the afternoon was an agreement reached, permitting Etzion and his colleagues to continue to sift through the mountain of dirt left behind by the Waqf. Etzion reports that pottery and other artifacts were found dating back to the First and Second Temples. The Temple Mount Faithful organization on Wednesday petitioned the High Court of Justice, calling for an order to ensure Israeli officials observe the handling of the mountain of dirt taken from the Temple Mount illegally by the Waqf. The petition calls for supervision of the dirt by officials of the IAA, pointing out that archaeologists have stated with certainty that the dirt contains artifacts dating back from the First and Second Temples. The IAA was given until 2:30 pm on Thursday to respond to the petition. [The final outcome was not available at press time. ed]. Details of the Chanukkah march led by the Temple Mount Faithful to the Mount can be found at their website: http://www.templemountfaithful.org/Hanukkah99.htm BARAK: PEACE POSSIBLE SOON: Some form of preliminary peace agreement could be reached with the Syrians in a matter of months, although its full implementation might take years, Prime Minister Ehud Barak estimated Saturday. Talks are expected to resume on 3 January 2000. In an interview on Channel 2's MEET THE PRESS, Barak repeatedly stressed that he had not made any promises to the Syrians regarding a withdrawal from all of the Golan Heights in advance of the talks, but that, at the same time, he is not planning to ignore the agreements reached by previous governments. Barak added that the Syrians had proved over time, in their contacts with Israel, a "high degree of integrity." In another development, the United States, on the eve of renewed peace negotiations between Damascus and Jerusalem, refused to confirm reports that Syria is testing chemical weapons. The reports stemmed from US intelligence sources and were published in the WASHINGTON TIMES earlier this month. "I haven't seen that story so I can't really comment on it," State Department Middle East mediator Dennis Ross told a briefing on 10 December. Syria is currently on the State Department's list of terrorist States. HOW GOOD IS ASSAD'S WORD? Daniel Pipes, the Director of the Middle East Forum and the author of three books about Syria, discussed Syrian President Hafez Assad's trustworthiness in a recent article in COMMENTARY magazine entitled, "The Word of Hafez al- Assad," Pipes, through painstaking presentation, demonstrates that if anything, Assad can be relied upon not to keep his word. While US President Clinton, former Israeli PM Shimon Peres, Barak and THE NEW YORK TIMES hail Assad as a "man of his word," history reveals otherwise. Syrian troops were first stationed in Lebanon in 1976. As part of the 1976 Riyadh-Cairo accords, Damascus agreed to withdraw its troops. In 1982 Syria signed the Fez declaration committing itself to negotiating with Lebanon for the withdrawal of Syrian troops. In 1989 Syria once again committed to a major redeployment. As Pipes says: "None of these promises was [sic] kept. To this day, some 30,000 uniformed Syrian soldiers remain in Lebanon." In 1987 and 1992, Damascus signed security protocols with Turkey to shut installations on Syrian soil used by the Kurdish terrorist group, the PKK, which is fighting the government of Turkey. Pipes cites a report that the Turkish prime minister's office concluded 18 agreements with Assad on the issue, "each one of them subsequently broken by the Syrian side." And there is more, much more, including Pipes' accounts of how Assad simply ignored promises he made to then Secretary of State Warren Christopher which Israel had relied upon in making certain concessions. Indeed, in one instance, even then Prime Minster Rabin was moved to observe, "If the Syrians do not keep to what they agreed to with the Americans, who will guarantee that they will stick to the assurances they make to Israel?" MEETING WITH PA/PLO CANCELED: Barak has said he will not be meeting PA/PLO leader Yasser Arafat on Sunday for talks on the peace negotiations. Tayeb Abdel-Rahim, a senior aide to Arafat, had said earlier on Saturday that the meeting would take place in Jericho. "The summit meeting planned for tomorrow has been postponed," Barak said Saturday on Israeli TV. He refused to explain why, saying "the meeting has been postponed, period". Meanwhile, calls intensified Thursday for action to prevent the resumption of talks between Israel and Syria eclipsing the faltering Palestinian track. The talks stalled after the PA/PLO balked at a plan submitted by Israel to withdraw from 5% of Judea and Samaria (Yesha) as required by the agreements. The PA/PLO wants a say in the location of the Israel withdrawals; however, the agreements clearly stipulate that Israel is the sole arbitrator of such withdrawals. "I now believe that it will be easier to reach a deal on the [Syrian] problem than on the other, and we will have to be vigilant to make sure the Palestinian problem is not sacrificed in the deal," French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said in Paris. The European Union's Middle East envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos delivered a similar message during a visit to Cairo on Wednesday. Ross is expected in the region on 15 January to help kick-start the process with the PA/PLO. PROTESTS AGAINST GOLAN WITHDRAWAL: Golan residents and activists from Gamla Shall Not Fall Again (http://www.gamla.org.il/english) Thursday formed slogans out of lit torches at various intersections in the Golan and the north. Friday morning, right-wing activists stationed themselves at dozens of intersections throughout the country, holding signs in favor of continued Israeli sovereignty in the Golan. Labor party activists are also continuing their pro-withdrawal campaign. Uri Heitner, a leader of the Golan settlers, said their nonviolent nighttime torch protest symbolized "the settlements are light and eviction is darkness." The Golan Settlements Committee Wednesday distanced itself from statements made Tuesday by a member of its executive board, who threatened a violent struggle that would include "blowing up bridges and IDF [Israel Defense Force] camps" if a majority in the referendum supports a withdrawal from the Golan Heights. Executive board member Avi Za'ira claimed in interviews Wednesday that he had been talking in jest. The Golan Settlements Committee Wednesday issued a statement stating "unequivocally" that "the struggle for the Golan will by no means be violent. All the activities will be conducted legally and democratically. This is the position of all the leaders of the struggle, without exception." NEW NEIGHBORHOOD IN GOLAN: A new neighborhood in the Golan city of Katzrin was dedicated Sunday, in the presence of hundreds of residents. The ceremony was to have been held some time from now, but was moved up in light of the diplomatic developments with Syria. The new neighborhood has 320 housing units. Another new neighborhood, however, in the southern Golan town of Bnei Yehuda, has apparently been blocked. Yossi Kucik, head of the Prime Minister's Office, recently informed the Golan Regional Council that he had ordered the relevant authorities not to sign the necessary permits for the 52-unit complex. Housing Minister Rabbi Yitzchak Levy (National Religious Party) took part in the groundbreaking ceremony there only three months ago. FINALLY . . . RAIN: The rains of Monday and Tuesday showered some 35 millimeters (1.4 inches) on Jerusalem, 40 (1.6) in Tel Aviv, 45 (1.8) in the Golan, and 58 (2.32) in the area of Tsfat. The Kineret has risen by three centimeters (1.2 inches). The rain let-up on Wednesday. The rain caused a few accidents on Monday. One woman apparently drowned after rains flooded a church in Jerusalem, and five people were rescued there by a team of firefighters and divers. Mekorot National Water Company reports that the level of the Kineret is 213.28 meters (703 feet) below sea level, or 28 centimeters (11.2 inches) below the red line. HAMAS ON THE MOVE: The Islamic terrorist group Hamas put on a show of strength in Gaza on Friday, putting Israel and the United States on notice it would fight what it termed "a savage, US-backed Israeli war" against Palestinians. Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin also said the group would continue its struggle even if US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the PA/PLO produced a peace treaty. Hamas terrorists, dressed in distinctive martyr's clothing, surrounded the wheelchair-bound Yassin as he told some 20,000 supporters at a rally marking the group's 1987 founding: "It is a savage war against the Palestinian people led by America." Meanwhile, a source close to Hamas said that the chairman of the movement's political bureau, Khaled Masha'al, left Qatar on Thursday for Damascus for a private visit to Syria. In a statement he made earlier to the Qatari al-Jazira satellite television, Masha'al said, "We have some visits to pay to several Arab countries in order to make consultations connecting to the situation in the Middle East." SHOOTOUT KILLS TWO TERRORISTS: In Beit Awa, a small village southwest of Hebron, Israeli forces killed two and captured three of the most-wanted members of Hamas' military wing, Izzadin Kassim, in a shootout Monday evening. One of the dead men had two pipe bombs strapped to his body. The terrorists were planning bombings against Israeli targets in the territories, say military sources. They also were planning to kidnap an IDF soldier to coincide with the anniversary of the founding of the terrorist organization on Tuesday. In a related report, following up on intelligence data provided by Israeli security officials, the PA/PLO security force last weekend uncovered a Hamas bomb factory in Hebron, the second such find in a period of six months. It was reported that three hundred kilograms (660 pounds) of chemicals used in the building of explosives were uncovered. POLICE HARASSMENT IN HEBRON: A few weeks ago Shalom and Yifat Alkobi's house, Beit Kastel, was attacked by Arab hoodlums, who hurled rocks at their front door. The Alkobi home is a constant target, being the closest Jewish house to the fence separating Jewish Hebron from the Arab side, next to Beit Hadassah. Fed up, Shalom ran outside, chased the Arab attackers, caught one of them, and brought him back to Israeli soldiers guarding in the area. The police were called and Shalom was arrested for attacking the Arab. While this was taking place, as the scene developed, another Arab began arguing with the police. The Arab was so upset that he threw his own cell phone at the police. It landed in front of the Alkobi house. A child playing in the area picked up the phone. As a result of this, Yifat Alkobi, Shalom's wife and mother of two babies, was arrested for causing damage to the cell phone. When the couple was later ordered to appear for further interrogation at police headquarters in Kiryat Arba they refused to appear on principal -- they were being charged as offenders after they had been attacked. A few days ago the police arrived at the Alkobi home and arrested Shalom. A couple of hours later they arrested Yifat, who took her two babies with her. After being held for a couple of hours, Yifat was released by the police as a "humanitarian gesture." Shalom spent the night in jail, refusing to cooperate with the police. When taken before a Jerusalem court judge the next morning, Shalom was asked why he refused to cooperate. He answered, "one of the conditions of my release is that I not speak with anyone involved in this whole episode and I cannot abide by that." When the judge asked him why, he responded, "because one of the people involved is my wife." The judge ordered him released. On Tuesday the police again arrested Yifat Alkobi, who was caring for her son Yehuda, who is less than 6 months old. The two were taken into custody. Hebron community leaders issued a harshly-worded statement to Hebron Police Commander Effie Arditi, demanding Yifat's immediate release. The statement said: "The police continue to harass and arrest the Alkobi family, whose house is constantly under attack, but you do nothing to prevent further attacks." A short time later the police unconditionally released Yifat and her baby. 'OPERATION MERMAID': Israeli, Turkish, and US warships successfully played out a search-and-rescue drill in the eastern Mediterranean this past week. The two-day exercise, dubbed Reliant Mermaid '99, began Wednesday and is designed to improve the coordination and interoperability among the navies. While all the eastern Mediterranean countries were invited to join the joint exercise, only Jordan sent its naval commander to observe the maneuvers. ACCEPTANCE FOR ISRAEL AT THE UN? On Sunday night, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the American Jewish Committee that he supports permanent status privileges in the UN for Israel. Annan soberly acknowledged the misguided isolationism of Israel at the UN. "I know that to some of you in this audience, and to the Jewish community at large, it sometimes seems that the United Nations served all the world's peoples but one: the Jews," said Annan. One key issue is "full and active participation" by Israel in a regional group, US State Department spokesman James Foley added at a briefing on Monday. That would assure Israel a seat in the UN Security Council on a rotating basis and the ability to hold senior committee positions. Currently, Israel remains the only UN member not allowed to sit on the Security Council. Two weeks ago, the General Assembly adopted a series of resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause and calling Israel's policies in the Golan Heights and Jerusalem "illegal." THIS WEEK IN JEWISH HISTORY: 13 December 1943: As the Nazi SS began its extermination of the local population of Vladimir-Volynski, Poland, they were attacked by 30 armed Jews. A number of the SS officers were killed as well as half of the attacking force. The remainder fled to the forests to join the partisans. 16 December 1991: The United Nations cancels the "Zionism is Racism" resolution (UNGA Res 3379; 10 November 1975). 17 December 1862: General Grant, in issuing his infamous Order 11, ordered all "Jews as a class" expelled from his lines. In New York City 7,000 Jews marched in protest against his decision. Lincoln rescinded his order. 18 December 1744: In Prague, Empress Maria Theresa banished the Jews. A few weeks earlier, Frederick the Great took Prague in the Wars of Succession and the populace ransacked the ghetto. He soon left and the Croats returned. They accused the Jews of treason and again their quarters were sacked. At this point and then again 7 January, Empress Maria Theresa banished all the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia. Due to the protests of the Jews and the governments of England and Holland, the decree was dropped everywhere but in Prague. (Sources: ARUTZ-7, ISRAELWIRE, TMF, JERUSALEM POST, JEWISH PRESS, BBC, AFP, HA'ARETZ, ICEJ, ARABICNEWS, HEBRON PRESS OFFICE, WZO) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tzemach News Service "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest" Isaiah 62:1 'TNS.' may be reproduced & distributed in any form. Please give proper credit. Send comments to Lee Underwood **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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