-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
TZEMACH NEWS SERVICE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A weekly update of news and events regarding the nation and the people of Israel. Week Ending: 5 January 2002/21 Tevet 5762 "Therefore say, 'Thus says the L-rd G-d, "Though I had removed them far away among the nations, and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone."' Therefore say, 'Thus says the L-rd G-d, "I shall gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I shall give you the land of Israel."'" Ezekiel 11.16-17 This Week's Headlines: :: ISRAEL SEIZES WEAPONS SHIP :: ZINNI ARRIVES, RESTRICTIONS EASED :: KATZAV WON'T ADDRESS PLC :: IN HIS OWN WORDS :: SETTLEMENT SITE OF THE WEEK :: POPULATION INCREASES :: TEMPLE MOUNT WALL JEOPARDIZED :: SYRIA TAKES SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT :: MIDDLE EAST HOURGLASS :: ISRAEL SEIZES WEAPONS SHIP: Israel Defense Forces Navy and Air Force units captured a freighter in the Red Sea early Friday morning carrying 50 tons of weaponry and bound for Palestinian Authority [PA/PLO] occupied territory, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The ship originated from a port in Iran and was loaded with weapons purchased there as well, Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz announced at a press conference. The Karin A, a 4,000-ton freighter owned and captained by a PA/PLO naval policeman, was boarded by Israeli naval commandos without any altercations, about 500 nautical miles south of Israel in an operation code-named Noah's Ark. The ship was loaded with long-range Katyusha rockets, LAW anti-tank missiles, Sagger anti-tank missiles, long-range mortars, mines, and many explosives. According to a CHANNEL 1 NEWS report on Saturday night, Omar Akawi, deputy commander of the PA/PLO Naval Police, told Israeli investigators that the Karin A freighter was heading to PA/PLO occupied Gaza with some 50 tons of weapons on board. He explained the ship's route was to avoid Israeli security in the north. Among the crew members aboard the weapons-laden ship were PA/PLO officers and a Hizb'Allah member, Israeli officials revealed. Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said that the weapons-smuggling attempt showed that the PA/PLO is turning towards war, Israel Radio reported. He also said that the capture of the vessel exposes the PA/PLO's cynicism -- investing money to obtain weapons instead of helping the Palestinian people. PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat almost certainly personally approved the attempt to smuggle over 50 tons of arms on the ship that was captured by IDF commandos in the Red Sea on Thursday, Israeli intelligence sources said Saturday. The sources said the arms had cost the Palestinians $15 million, plus another $400,000 for the ship itself, adding that such an expensive deal would almost certainly have been personally approved by Arafat, as he usually was the one to give the green light to exceptional expenditures. The sources said Arafat's personal approval would also have been needed for the contacts with Iran, which Israel believes supplied the weapons, as the operation was considered a sensitive matter because of Iran-U.S. relations. In an effort to minimize damage from the capture of the weapons freighter by Israel, the PA/PLO continues issuing denials, insisting it is not connected to the ship. This despite the fact the boat is owned by the PA/PLO and was being operated by a PA/PLO naval officer. The PA/PLO is now calling for a third party to investigate the details of the case, claiming Israel's tying the boat and weapons to the PA/PLO is not based on fact. The PA/PLO effort is being assisted by the US administration and the NY TIMES. ............................ :: ZINNI ARRIVES, RESTRICTIONS EASED: U.S. Envoy Gen. Anthony Zinni arrived in Israel Thursday on a four-day mission to meet with Israeli and Arab leaders. Zinni says he is optimistic of guiding Israelis and Palestinians towards a truce, after Israel said it would ease its blockade of Palestinian areas and the Palestinian continued clampdown on terrorists. Israeli-Palestinian security talks chaired by Zinni are due to resume for the first time in a month on Sunday. They will coincide with the arrival of European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana who hopes to build on Zinni's efforts. Zinni ends his four-day mission on Monday, and Palestinian officials said he was expected to return to the region on 18 January to evaluate progress. In anticipation of Gen. Zinni's arrival, DM Ben-Eliezer ordered a significant easing of restrictions on the general Arab population throughout Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza). The IDF [Israel Defense Force] retreated from almost all positions it seized after the Emanuel bus bombing on 12 December. Soldiers withdrew from the city of Jenin and the a-Tira neighborhood of Ram'Allah, both under PA/PLO control. Other measures include the lifting of the closures on Kalkilya, Tulkarm, Hebron. Tight closures are being maintained, however, on Shechem and Ram'Allah while allowing for the movement of goods and raw materials. The IDF withdrew tanks from areas adjacent to civilian populations, but Israeli forces do remain several hundred meters away from PLO leader Yasir Arafat's offices in Ram'Allah. ............................ :: KATZAV WON'T ADDRESS PLC: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided against a proposal that Israel's President Moshe Katzav address the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in Ram'Allah. Katzav was approached last week by former Arab MK Abdul Wahab Darawshe with the idea that he speak in front of the Arab legislature and call for a one-year "hudna" (Arab temporary cease-fire) between Israel and the PA/PLO. Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said that the proposal was aimed at improving Arafat's image and that Katzav's appearance there would damage Israel's position. Sharon was able to block Katzav under an informal system that generally keeps the president from taking any major political initiatives on his own. Darawshe later explained in a PA/PLO television interview that, "We don't really mean peace, but hudna." He went on to say that, "One can't make peace with Jews" but rather the policy is to negotiate a temporary cease-fire in order to "liberate Palestine." Arafat has often compared the Oslo accords to the Hudaibiya agreement between Mohammed and the "heretic" tribesmen of Mecca. After several years of "hudna", Mohammed's forces breached the agreement and conquered Mecca wiping out the "heretics" in the process. See also: "PLO Covenant & Palestine Options" on the Freeman Center's Web site: http://freeman.io.com/m_online/jan02/zimmerman.htm ............................ :: IN HIS OWN WORDS: "In order for Israel to remain a Jewish state, Israel needs a Palestinian state and we have to do it right away." (Shimon Peres, JERUSALEM POST, May 19, 1998) "The past of Arafat can be praised even if it is a little bit unpleasant." (Shimon Peres, Speech to the International Jewish Media Conference, January 30, 1996) ............................ :: SETTLEMENT SITE OF THE WEEK: Har Gilo http://www.gush-etzion.org.il/HTMLS_ENG/Har%20Gilo%20-%20Gush%20Etzion.htm Established: December 1968 in the Gush Etzion region. There are currently 84 families, with plans of expansion. ............................ :: POPULATION INCREASES: The Central Bureau of Statistics published new population figures Sunday showing that Israel's population at the dawn of 2002 stands at 6.5 million, an increase of 2.1 percent from last year, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. The Jewish population comprises 81.1 percent of the entire population. Numbers released by the CBS also showed that the number of Christians from 1995 until the present has grown from 120,000 to 137,000. Of the total, 115,000 are Christian Arabs, and the remainder are immigrants from Poland, Romania and the former Soviet Union. During 2001, Israel's population grew by approximately 142,000. Preliminary figures indicate that 44,413 new immigrants came to Israel in 2001: 33,763 from the countries of the former Soviet union, 3,294 from Ethiopia, 1,400 from Argentina, and 5,956 from other countries. In the midst of 2001's steep decline in tourism, Tourism Minister Benny Elon found one statistic that gave him a bit of pleasure: The number of Jews visiting the country rose by 3 percent in comparison to 2000. "It is a myth that Jews are not coming," said Elon, who took over the post in November, succeeding the assassinated Rehavam Ze'evi. It is true, Elon said, that the type of visitor has changed. Instead of individuals or families coming by themselves or with tour groups, there were more missions by Jewish organizations and people coming in groups organized by their congregations. According to ministry estimates, about 1.2 million people altogether will have visited in 2001, a drop of 63% in comparison with the previous year. ............................ :: TEMPLE MOUNT WALL JEOPARDIZED: Six months after engineering tests conducted by the Antiquities Authority on the southern wall of the Temple Mount showed that sections of the wall are in the intermediate stages of collapse, work has not yet begun to correct the situation, the engineer who conducted the tests said Tuesday. "If not treated, the problem is a source of danger in the medium-term (in a range of a number of years), and its collapse may cause irreversible damage to the structure," the Antiquities Authority's July survey states. The Antiquities Authority has maintained a low profile on the issue. Work turning Solomon's Stables into a mosque was most intense in 1996, when the government of then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned a blind eye to the building activity. Asked for comment, a spokesman for Internal Security Minister Uzi Landau said that the issue of the bulge at the southern wall will be part of an imminent cabinet discussion that Landau has asked for on the issue of the Temple Mount. Already, archaeologists and engineers caution that a heavy snow or rain could bring about the collapse of part of the wall, which could cave in on Muslim worshipers at the mosque now at Solomon's Stables. ............................ :: SYRIA TAKES SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT: Syria Tuesday, along with four other countries, started its two-year term as a member of the United Nations Security Council despite its appearing on the US State Department list of terrorist supporting nations. Syria is the headquarters and financial backer for several Palestinian, Lebanese and Armenian terrorist groups. While Israel is the only democratic nation in the Middle East, she has never been allowed by the Arab nations to join the Middle Eastern geographical bloc and therefore has yet to sit on the Security Council. ............................ :: MIDDLE EAST HOURGLASS: December 30: Report: Assad ready for peace negotiations Peace negotiations with Syria only without preconditions Syria blacklists foreign ships for doing business with Israel Intifada leadership demands PA/PLO stop arresting terrorists December 31: Budget crisis continues; Sharon postpones vote Katsav address to Palestinian National Council being considered Sharon, Peres oppose Katsav PNC address Palestinians, foreigners march in Beit Lechem (Bethlehem) 2001 worst economic year since 1953 France keeps Hizb'Allah off EU list of terrorist organizations Arafat: Palestinian state in 2002 Population reaches 65 million on eve of new year January 1: Zinni set to return, demand implementation of Tenet plan Peres pushes for Tenet, Mitchell implementation; only 2 days quiet needed Israel asks US to hit western Iraq PLO political chief urges Arab states to support INTIFADA Sharon, Katsav 'clear the air' concerning nixed address to PNC January 2: Israel: PA/PLO hiding Katyusha's, other illegal weapons Sharon, Ben-Eliezer order IDF to ease restrictions on Palestinians Security forces thwart Hamas missile smuggling attempt Sharon: Next general elections will be in 2003 January 3: Zinni touches down in Israel Sharon, Peres sending mixed message to US January 4: IDF captures PLO-owned ship carrying 50 tons of weaponry bound for PA/PLO occupied territory ............................ [Sources: Jerusalem Post, Arutz-7, Ha'aretz, AP, Reuters, Israel My Beloved, Israel Line] :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::: "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest." Isaiah 62.1 Lee Underwood *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! Write to same address to be off lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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