Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Wednesday, August 16, 2000 / Av 15, 5760 TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. PA OFFICIAL THREATENS TO BLOW UP ISRAELI CITIES 2. NOTED ANTI-ISRAEL FIGURE ADDRESSES DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION 3. IDF DISMISSES REPORT ON ABANDONMENT OF BURIAL PLACE 4. LEGISLATION TO RESTRAIN BARAK ON THE AGENDA 5. SARID CITED BY ORLEV FOR FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETY 6. BARAK HOPEFUL, BUT UNCERTAIN 7. RUBENSTEIN TO DECIDE ON NETANYAHU INDICTMENT 8. ISRAELIS ENJOY FLAVORED SODAS 1. PA OFFICIAL THREATENS TO BLOW UP ISRAELI CITIES "We are capable of blowing up Israeli cities." So said Palestinian Authority Communications Minister Imad Faluji today. He added that the Palestinians will not be satisfied with attacking military targets, but would strike at "Israel's heart." Faluji made the comments in a mourner's tent set up in Kfar Surda north of Ramallah, in the wake of the death of village mayor Abu Mansour, who was killed by IDF gunfire last night. Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reports that the Arab man was killed when a contingent of IDF Duvdevan unit soldiers entered the village to carry out a mission. Soon after their entry, the soldiers were fired on from on top of a roof within the village. The soldiers returned fire, fatally wounding the gunman. Although local Arabs claim that Abu Mansour was afraid that someone was trying to break into his home - and Ha'aretz reported this morning that they were attempting to arrest the man's son for suspected terrorist activity - IDF commander Col. Gal Hirsch told Voice of Israel Radio today that the soldiers were not headed in the direction of the house at the time. "I have no idea why he fired on our men," said Col. Hirsch, "but when someone fires on us, we fire back." Knesset member and Arafat confidante Ahmed Tibi, also speaking on Voice of Israel, unequivocally blamed the IDF for the death. He called the incident a "cold-blooded killing and a provocation." 2. NOTED ANTI-ISRAEL FIGURE ADDRESSES DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION A speaker featured yesterday at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles - Maher Hathout - is a known supporter of terrorism and harbors clear anti-Israel views. Hathout is a senior official of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), an organization that has earned the criticism of leading Jewish organizations because of its sympathy for terrorist groups. The Zionist Organization of America notes that the President of the American Jewish Congress wrote on June 30, 1999, that the MPAC "condones terrorist acts;" similarly, the Anti-Defamation League announced in December 1998 that it would not co-sign public statements with the MPAC because of the organization's refusal to issue "a clear-cut denunciation of terror." (Forward, Dec.4 ,1998) At the National Press Club on June 18, 1998, Maher Hathout stated that the Hizbullah terrorist organization "is fighting for freedom...This is legitimate." In response to America's attack on terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan in August 1998, Hathout said: "Our country is committing an act of terrorism. What we did is illegal, immoral, unhuman, unacceptable, stupid and un-American." Specific examples of MPAC's antagonism towards Israel abound. The MPAC Affairs Council co-signed a public statement on September 17, 1993, which called for Israel's dissolution. It noted that "the establishment by force, violence, and terrorism of a Jewish state in Palestine in 1948" was "unjust" and "a crime." MPAC thereupon vowed to "work to overturn the injustice." Hathout is also a member of a six-man editorial board for the organization's paper, "The Minaret," which, in 1998 wrote: "Our pluralistic society has become prisoner to a country that follows racism and apartheid in its policies...The supporters of Israel have created a quiet reign of terror in the U.S. People cannot speak loudly against the apartheid policies of Israel." 3. IDF DISMISSES REPORT ON ABANDONMENT OF BURIAL PLACE An official IDF spokesman has dismissed the Yesha Council's claim that the Tomb of Joseph will be soon transferred to full Palestinian Authority control. In response to a question posed by Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman, the spokesman said that he "does not know of any such initiative." The denial is not being taken seriously by Yesha leaders, who note that a meeting has been scheduled between army officials and the administration of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva located there to discuss the future of the compound. According to information obtained by the Council, Prime Minister Ehud Barak has already instructed the security establishment to prepare for the transfer of the Tomb and the Shalom Al Yisrael Synagogue in Jericho to PA control. The arrangement will allow for the entry of Jews into the tomb compound, but no IDF soldiers will be permitted to remain there. Speaking with Arutz-7 today, Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva director Yehuda Leibman said that army officials have been visiting the site over the past few days to study possibilities for further security reinforcements. "In our view, the recent moves are consistent with reports that the army intends to abandon the site, although nobody in an official capacity has specifically informed us of such a plan. Joseph's burial place holds no significance for Moslems, and handing it over to the Palestinians would essentially spell the end of the yeshiva - since past experience has shown that handing over full control to the Arabs would result in great damage to the site." During the Palestinian-initiated "tunnel riots" of 1996, local Arabs set fire to the compound, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Another attack on the site during Arab riots this May pitted armed Palestinians against IDF guards - and led to further damage to the site. "The sages tell us that there are three places which the Gentile world cannot claim were stolen by the Jewish people: the Temple Mount, the Cave of the Patriarchs, and Joseph's Tomb," Leibman said. "It is horrifying to think that a Jewish government would 'sell Joseph a second time.' The name of our yeshiva, 'Od Yosef Chai' ('Joseph Lives On'), is no mere slogan; Joseph didn't die. He lives on in the heart of every Jew�" IMRA noted in 1996 that, aside from the joint IDF-Palestinian patrols operating at Joseph's Tomb, the Oslo II agreement puts no limit on the number of Israeli guards who can protect the compound, as long as they do not wear uniforms. There is also no limitation on their equipment or their deployment inside the site. 4. LEGISLATION TO RESTRAIN BARAK ON THE AGENDA The Likud is pressing on with its efforts to prevent Prime Minister Ehud Barak from attending another Camp David-like summit with Yasser Arafat. So far, the party has succeeded in signing 61 Knesset members to a bill that would prevent Barak from signing any further diplomatic deals as long as he does not enjoy a Knesset majority. Signatories of the bill include MK Chaim Katz (Am Echad) and MKs David and Maxim Levy (Gesher). Egyptian Ambassador to Israel Muhammad Bassiouny said today that his country is working towards securing a framework agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, under the sponsorship of the United States. According to Bassiouny, the deliberations are already "at an advanced stage." PA official Nabil Sha'ath said today that the U.S. intends to soon host another summit. Diplomatic shorts: Prime Minister Barak will meet this evening in Jordan with King Abdullah, where he plans to explain Israel's position on a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state and suggest why the Camp David summit collapsed. Minister Shimon Peres will hold a similar discussion with Chinese officials today... Acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami officially takes on his new portfolio today; tonight, he meets with Palestinian official Abu Alla...US envoy Dennis Ross will arrive in Israel tomorrow in an effort to pursue a second Israel-PA summit...Yasser Arafat continued his world tour with a trip to Indonesia today... 5. SARID CITED BY ORLEV FOR FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETY Meretz leader MK Yossi Sarid ordered the improper transfer of five million shekels to non-profit associations close to his party. So claims chairman of the Knesset Education committee, MK Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party). According to MK Orlev, Sarid established budgetary guidelines that favor certain associations just days before Meretz left the government. Orlev plans to launch a Supreme Court petition on the matter in the coming days. Sarid does not deny the claims, but explained that he was engaging in "reverse discrimination." Speaking with Arutz-7 today, MK Orlev said that the late leader of the National Religious Party, Zevulun Hammer, had established a Board of Values Education during his tenure as Education Minister. It awarded funds to organizations which conducted values education on matters related to either democracy or Judaism; a total of four million shekels in grants were available yearly to organizations active in the two areas. As Education Minister, Sarid cut both of these budgets in half, and the monies were transferred to new funds that specifically precluded grants to organizations identifying themselves with Orthodox Jewish practice. Instead, secular organizations - especially those closely associated with Sarid's Meretz party - were awarded massive budgetary increases, said Orlev. Former Meretz minister Yair Tzaban was singled out by Orlev as being one of the main beneficiaries of the new arrangement. 6. BARAK HOPEFUL, BUT UNCERTAIN The Barak government today held its first meeting on the budget for the year 2001, despite the fact that it is still unclear how the Prime Minister will garner the support of the majority of the Knesset for his budget. At the opening of the meeting Barak said, "The new budget will especially help pre-school children and science education." Meanwhile, Meretz is getting impatient with Barak, who, Meretz leaders believe, seems to be postponing the party's return to the government. Meretz leader Sarid said today that his party "would not wait much longer for Barak's decision." Party senior MK Ran Cohen says that Barak "is repeating his previous mistake of pursuing Shas." Following a meeting with Sarid yesterday, Barak said that he would come to a decision after one more meeting with Shas leader Eli Yeshai. 7. RUBENSTEIN TO DECIDE ON NETANYAHU INDICTMENT Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein today began three consecutive days of deliberations to decide whether or not to indict former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on charges of bribery. State Prosecutor Edna Arbel and Jerusalem District Attorney Moshe Lador joined the discussion. Lador believes that there is insufficient evidence for an indictment, while Arbel and others feel that Netanyahu should, in fact, be brought to trial. 8. ISRAELIS ENJOY FLAVORED SODAS The average Israeli has been drinking some 600 glasses of carbonated beverages this summer, an increase of 50% from last year. So reports the Manufacturer's Association today. A total of 1.4 billion shekels worth of soft drinks have been sold in Israel since the start of the season. All told, half of the drinks purchased by Israelis are carbonated, 30% are juices and 20% are mineral water. 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