WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Tzemach News Service - http://www.tzemach.org/fyi Tzemach News Service ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A weekly update of news and events regarding the nation and the people of Israel Week Ending: 15 July 2000 / 12 Tammuz 5760 Please feel free to forward to a friend or colleague "For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land." (Psalm 35.20) HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK: > SECRECY SURROUNDS CAMP DAVID TALKS > CONFLICT WILL CONTINUE > MEDIA IGNORES TEMPLE MOUNT DESTRUCTION > IRAN PREPARES NEW ARMS SHIPMENTS TO HIZB'ALLAH AND HAMAS; ALSO TESTS NEW MISSILE > SYRIA'S WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION > HIZB'ALLAH BLOCKS ESCAPE ROUTE > WEIZMAN RESIGNS > ISRAEL YIELDS TO US PRESSURE; PHALCON DEAL IS CANCELED > THIS WEEK IN JEWISH HISTORY SECRECY SURROUNDS CAMP DAVID TALKS: After four days of meetings, official daily American briefings have given scant details of progress on substantive talks, speaking in general terms of a "good atmosphere" and "a certain informality," and reciting the daily schedules and menus. Although the negotiators agreed to a strict media blackout, including pledges of no phone calls and no reading newspapers, the Palestinians have not abided by the rules, as, in one case, a Palestinian spokesman left the compound on Wednesday to brief Palestinian journalists waiting at the press center several miles away. In another case of outside interference, the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran have all sent urgent messages to Arafat in recent days supporting his positions and reminding him that Jerusalem, and especially the Temple Mount, are revered by the entire Arab/Islamic world and are not his to unilaterally discard. If press reports are to be believed, Jerusalem is currently on the table, with Israel proposing to redraw city boundaries to include Jewish suburbs like Ma'ale Adumim and Givat Ze'ev, while granting the PA/PLO ("Palestinian Authority") full control over Arab neighbors on the periphery of town, such as Kalandia and Beit Hanina. Barak is also prepared to grant a "relatively high degree of autonomy" over other Arab areas closer toward the Old City akin to current Area "B" civilian rule while retaining security responsibilities. According to Israeli media accounts, the Old City remains the main sticking point. Arafat favors the idea of creating Vatican-style Palestinian sovereignty over all but the Jewish Quarter, while Israel is reluctant to give up any control. Another proposal calls for Israel to build a tunnel or passageway for the Palestinians between Abu Dis and the Temple Mount. The talks came close to collapse after the Palestinians threatened to walk out in reaction to a document presented by the US which they claimed adopted a pro-Israel stance on the issues of borders, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. CONFLICT WILL CONTINUE: OC Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Malka forecast Tuesday that Arafat will not agree to any peace accord at Camp David requiring that he declare an end to the conflict with Israel. In his monthly briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Malka said that by such a refusal Arafat would hope to show his people he had gained an advantage in the talks. He warned that if Arafat resorts to violence, attacks by Palestinian civilians on settlements are possible. In an effort to put pressure on Barak, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright warned Monday that a failure to make hard decisions at the Camp David summit could lead to an eruption of violence in the region. Meanwhile, while talks got underway at Camp David, Palestinians in Gaza stocked up on food, gasoline, and water. They're anticipating violent clashes with Israel, following a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state in September if the summit fails and no peace deal can be reached by then. All Palestinian positions have been reinforced and protected with sandbags, battle trenches have been constructed and there has also been a build up of weapons. Palestinian neighborhoods have been built next to strategic IDF (Israel Defense Force) strong points in Netzarim and Gush Katif that are inhabited by Palestinian police. The buildings are taller than the Israeli position so that the Palestinian forces would have an advantage in the case of a firefight. Palestinian police have carried out numerous brigade level exercises and have recently integrated small all terrain vehicles with their armored vehicles. The Fatah movement (Arafat's faction of the PLO) in Gaza declared a "state of emergency" over the weekend, calling on the population to be prepared for serious clashes. But Judea-Samaria Fatah leader Marwan Barghouteh said there is no need for that at this point. "We are preparing ourselves in general, but have not yet taken decisions what to do in September," he said. In another story, the PLO has lately been sending top security officers to military training courses in foreign countries so that they can learn how to lead regiments and companies apparently in preparation for the possible failure of the Camp David summit, IDF sources said Tuesday. According to the sources, the training is taking place in Egypt [one of Israel's "peace partners"], Yemen, Algeria and Pakistan. Israeli security sources say that most of the top leadership of the PLO security forces have already been through such courses. "An officer who comes back from a course like that is no longer a policeman, but a regimental commander. He knows how to think operatively," said one source. In the last year, the PLO has conducted six regimental-level exercises in Gaza. PLO forces in the region are loosely organized into divisions. MEDIA IGNORES TEMPLE MOUNT DESTRUCTION: Nothing indicates the power of the media like its ability to push peripheral issues onto center stage and relegate profound stories to oblivion. Thus the NEW YORK TIMES' Deborah Sontag chooses to include gay issues in Israel ("Matan Has Two Mommies, and Israel Is Talking," 4 June) and, along with the LOS ANGELES TIMES' Tracy Wilkinson and others, to cover alleged tree-planting irregularities by the Jewish National Fund. But no American mass media outlet has provided serious coverage of the occurrences now under way on the Temple Mount. The Moslem Waqf, which administers the Mount, has launched far-reaching, unilateral, unauthorized alterations of the most sacred site in Judaism, the place where both the ancient Jewish Temples stood and where the Holy of Holies exists. Israel's press, including English-language media read by American journalists, has been filled with coverage of the activity. The reaction in Israel to this plundering of one of the most important historical, archeological and religious sites in the world was bipartisan shock. The director of the Antiquities Authority, Amir Drori, called it "an archeological crime." Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein denounced it as an assault on Jewish history. Two hundred prominent Israelis from every sector of academic and political life deplored the ravaging by the Waqf. Thus were Meretz Knesset members and Left-leaning authors like Amos Oz and AB Yehoshua joined with Likud MKs, Israel Prize winners and university heads in nearly unprecedented unity. But American journalists, who regularly pick up stories from their Israeli counterparts, were studiously uninterested. How different it was in the fall of 1996, when Israel opened a small exit onto the Via Dolorosa from an existing archeological tunnel that abuts the Western Wall. Although the action touched no Islamic religious site and entailed only minor physical alteration of the area, Israel was excoriated in a fusillade of news reports and editorials that routinely distorted the locale of the tunnel and its exit, the history of the Mount, the motives of the Israelis and the role of the Palestinian Authority. Israel was accused of outrageous provocation, and its officials were subjected to relentless questioning about the affront to Islam allegedly perpetrated. CNN repeatedly recounted the anger and "frustration" of Palestinians. Yet there is a calculated, ongoing Muslim assault against Judaism's holiest site, but for the NEW YORK TIMES, LOS ANGELES TIMES, CNN and the rest of the media, the irreversible desecration is simply not considered news. IRAN PREPARES NEW ARMS SHIPMENTS TO HIZB'ALLAH AND HAMAS; ALSO TESTS NEW MISSILE: Iran is preparing to resume weapons shipments to both Hizb'Allah and the Hamas. Western intelligence sources in London said security officials loyal to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei are taking steps to renew shipments stopped around April as a result of pressure by Turkey and the US. Intelligence sources in Washington said the Khamenei regime has also pledged weapons and aid for the Hamas organization. Teheran is interested in disrupting peace not only near Israel's northern borders but in Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza), they said. The weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, Katyusha rockets, mortars and ammunition, were sent from Damascus to Lebanon in convoys protected by Syria. One source said Khamenei forces are trying to use Iranian passenger jets to deliver Hizb'Allah weaponry, MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE reported. The source said the weapons have already been loaded on to regularly scheduled flights from Teheran to Damascus. In a related story, Tehran television reported Iran test-fired the Shahab-3 missile Saturday, the second trial in two years for the medium-range weapon capable of reaching Israel. In Israel, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh expressed concern Saturday about the missile test "because Iran actively and relentlessly undermines the peace process through various terrorist organizations." Iran says the Shahab-3 is a ballistic missile, with a range of 800 miles, and that it can travel at a speed of 4,320 mph with a 1-ton warhead. Iran is believed to have received missile technology from Russia, China and North Korea, a claim Tehran has denied. The Shahab-3 is believed to be based on North Korea's No Dong ballistic missile. Iran also is working on the long-range Shahab-4 rocket that it says will be used only to carry satellites into space - not for military purposes. SYRIA'S WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION: Syria possesses chemical weapons and has expressed interest in biological warfare, according to a new Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report. Syria has improved its radar and targeting capabilities and has developed a significant long-range air strike capability, all of which pose a significant threat to Israel, Anthony Cordesman, CSIS Burke Chair in Strategy, writes in his report. It can be accessed at http://www.csis.org. "The new missiles have better range payload, reliability, and accuracy than the extended-range Scuds that Saddam Hussein used in the Gulf War. Most experts believe that these missiles are armed with VX nerve gas warheads joining the large number of sheltered Scud missiles with nerve gas warheads that Syria already deploys," Cordesman writes. Cordesman is an adjunct professor of national security studies at Georgetown University and was the national security assistant to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). He has served in senior positions in the Departments of Defense, State, and Energy and in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. CSIS is an independent, nonpartisan public policy research organization. HIZB'ALLAH BLOCKS ESCAPE ROUTE: Hizb'Allah placed observation posts and organized patrols near the border to prevent escapes by former SLA members. Following repeated escapes from some southern villages toward Israel, Hizb'Allah set up 20 observation posts and organized patrols to block any attempt to flee to Israel. A former SLA soldier fled to Israel on Tuesday after being chased by Hizb'Allah, HA'ARETZ reported. The individual, who claimed to be an SLA official, ran to the Weiss gate in Metulla, chased by armed Hizb'Allah activists. A short standoff occurred, during which IDF soldiers and Hizb'Allah activists drew their weapons. Finally, the individual's identity was checked and he was permitted to enter Israel. Meanwhile, the trials of SLA soldiers in Lebanon continue. Fifty-seven people were sentenced Tuesday and another 28 were sentenced on Wednesday. Sentences ranged from three weeks to 15 years. WEIZMAN RESIGNS: After seven years as President, Ezer Weizman left the President's Residence in Jerusalem Thursday morning. While citing health reasons, the 75-year-old Weizman actually is bowing out of the public spotlight after allegations of extensive financial improprieties surfaced last year. Following an official police investigation of Weizman's secret acceptance of large cash gifts from a French millionaire, state prosecutors decided not to file charges due to insufficient evidence and the passing of the statute of limitations, but sternly noted that he had broken the ethical norms of his high office. Israel's new President will be elected by the Knesset towards the end of the month. Shimon Peres and Moshe Katzav are vying for the post -and until then, Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg will serve as Acting President. HA'ARETZ columnist Ari Shavit reflected on the different standards used to deal with Weizman and with former Shas leader Aryeh Deri. "By an incredible coincidence, both public figures yesterday reached their respective 'moment of truth,'" wrote Shavit. "One of these two public figures, the one who had received $440,000 from a business tycoon with a myriad of vested interests and from a well-known car importer, enjoyed an honorable, prestigious departure from the post of president of the State of Israel, after spending a pleasant time, two days before, with the commanders of the very police force that had recommended that no indictment be made. In contrast, the other public figure, who had received a much smaller sum from a group of poverty-stricken students at a yeshiva ... was sent to prison." ISRAEL YIELDS TO US PRESSURE; PHALCON DEAL IS CANCELED: Barak informed China and the US on Wednesday that Israel had decided to cancel its contract with China for the Phalcon System, HA'ARETZ reported. In a letter to Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Barak stated that Israel will continue to look for alternatives to the canceled Phalcon contract should the current circumstances change. ISRAEL RADIO explained that the Barak Administration will need American funding to sell any Israel-Palestinian agreement to the Israeli public and US Congress might not have approved the money because of the Phalcon deal. With the Phalcon deal cancellation and the prospects that the Barak Administration will rely heavily on massive US funding for years to come, Israel's advanced arms industry will have one of two options: close down or become subsidiaries of American companies. In either case, Israel will retain no technological edge over the technology that the US sells to Israel's rivals and enemies throughout the Arab world. Israeli companies also compete against American companies in other areas and it can be expected that pressure will also be brought to bear in these areas also. THIS WEEK IN JEWISH HISTORY: 10 July 1391: As news of the Spanish riots reached Majorca, riots broke out all over the island. In many towns the entire Jewish community was destroyed and its inhabitants either converted or were murdered. 12 July 1555: Pope Paul IV (1555-1559), in his "Bull Cum nimis absurdum", renewed all previous anti-Jewish legislation and installed a ghetto in Rome. Jews were forced to wear a given cap and forbidden to own real estate or practice medicine on Christians. Communities weren't allowed to have more than one synagogue and Jews in all the papal states were forced to lock themselves into the confines of the ghettos each night. 13 July 1933: In Germany, Nazism was declared the sole German party. 15 July 1099: Godfrey de Bouillon (Duke of Lower Lorraine, one of the leaders of the First Crusade) entered Jerusalem, drove all the Jews into the synagogue, and set them afire while he marched around the synagogue singing, "Christ, we adore thee". It is estimated that between 20,000 and 30,000 Jews were massacred or captured and sold as slaves in Italy. 15 July 1834: The Inquisition was finally abolished by the Queen mother, Maria Christina after nearly three and one half centuries. This material has been adapted from "Beyond Time and History" by Eli Birnbaum (Sources: ICEJ, CHANNEL NEWSASIA, JERUSALEM POST, HA'ARETZ, CAMERA, WORLD TRIBUNE, AP, SLEEPING GIANT NEWS, ISRAEL LINE, ARUTZ-7, IMRA) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest." Isaiah 62.1 Tzemach News Service (TNS) is a ministry of Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies (http://www.tzemach.org) TNS may be reproduced & distributed in any form. Please give proper credit. 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? 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