Israel Line 6/7/00
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Wednesday, June 7, 2000
*EARLY ELECTIONS BILL PASSED IN PRELIMINARY VOTE
*UNIFIL TO BEGIN LEBANON PATROLS
*PALESTINIANS PERMIT ISRAEL TO SEE ARCH-TERRORIST DEF
*IDF PLANS MAJOR BUILDING PROJECTS
*ISRAEL CONCERNED OVER RUSSIAN NUCLEAR EXPORT TO IRAN
*INCITEMENT RHETORIC SOUNDED IN MEETING
*ECONOMIC BRIEFS:
EARLY ELECTIONS BILL PASSED IN PRELIMINARY VOTE
The Knesset approved today the first reading of a bill calling for early
elections, HA’ARETZ reported.
The legislation, which passed the preliminary vote by 61-48, faces three
more votes before early elections will actually be called. Members of three
coalition parties—Shas, Yisrael b’Aliya and the National Religious
Party—supported the bill.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Responsible for Jerusalem Affairs
Haim Ramon said he was confident the bill would be rejected during the next
vote.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak responded to the vote, saying that those
ministers who voted against the government "have fired themselves."
According to Israeli law, any minister who votes against the Government is
considered to have resigned as long as the Government announces his or her
resignation to the Knesset within two weeks.
UNIFIL TO BEGIN LEBANON PATROLS
UNIFIL soldiers are slated to begin patrolling southern Lebanon today,
Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported.
According to HA’ARETZ, Prime Minister Ehud Barak accused Syria on Tuesday
of encouraging Palestinian organizations in Lebanon to attack Israeli targets.
Security officials said recently that the Syrians have begun examining the
prospects of assisting Palestinian terror organizations to operate against
Israel. However, during a visit to the northern town of Ma’alot on Tuesday,
Barak said that he was "pleasantly surprised" with the quiet situation along
the border.
PALESTINIANS PERMIT ISRAEL TO SEE ARCH-TERRORIST DEF
Palestinian Authority security officials allowed senior Israeli officials
to visit Muhamad Def, the Hamas arch-terrorist who was recently apprehended
by the Palestinian police and is currently being held in a Palestinian
facility, MA’ARIV reported.
It is unclear whether the Israeli officials interrogated Def. According to
the PA, Def was planning a major terrorist attack on an Israeli target, but
was arrested several days before the operation was supposed to have taken
place. It is also believed that Def was aided and abetted by Hamas and PLO
personnel, who helped him avoid capture by Palestinian police and the
Israeli security establishment for the past several years.
IDF PLANS MAJOR BUILDING PROJECTS
Israel has requested that the United States convert large portions of its
security aid package to Israeli currency to be used to fund major building
projects for the Israel Defense Forces, HA’ARETZ reported.
Among the proposed projects is the construction of several multi-story
buildings in an effort to upgrade Defense Headquarters in Tel Aviv, at an
estimated cost of $130 million. If Washington approves the request, millions
of shekels from the defense budget will be freed for purchases from Israeli
defense industries. Such approval will also revolutionize the structure of
the defense budget, which currently obligates Israel to use the majority of
U.S. aid to purchase U.S.-manufactured equipment.
Other projects include a new military medical center in Haifa, at an
estimated $7 million, essential operating and fueling systems for the
newly-acquired F-16 planes, at an estimated $20 million and a new center for
the Home Front Command near Ramleh, at an estimated $9 million. The list of
projects has been approved by the IDF’s General Command.
ISRAEL CONCERNED OVER RUSSIAN NUCLEAR EXPORT TO IRAN
Israeli officials said recently that Russia’s decision to lift the ban on
selling nuclear components to Iran is a worrisome trend, MA’ARIV reported.
The sources said that the new, more lenient Russian nuclear policy "helps
Iran come nearer to its strategic goal—nuclear capability." Last month,
Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban prohibiting the sale of
nuclear components to any country which does not follow international
regulations and treaties, and permitted sales to all countries that
guaranteed that components would not be used for military purposes. The
Israeli sources said the new policy "completely lifts the last restrictions
the Iranians faced on the way to nuclear capability."
According to HATOZFEH, the main reason behind the new Russian policy is
Russia’s involvement in the nuclear plant in the city of Bush’har, a project
which is slated to yield a profit of billions of dollars for the Russians.
Although the plant is a civilian installation, recent U.S. and Israeli
reports raised fears that the Iranians are simultaneously developing secret
facilities for military purposes.
INCITEMENT RHETORIC SOUNDED IN MEETING
Moshe Feiglin, head of the movement "Zo Artzenu" which opposes the peace
process, said on Monday that those who cooperate with Government peace
policies will face "the same fate collaborators have faced throughout
history," YEDIOT AHARONOT reported.
Feiglin spoke at a meeting of right wing movements held at the Knesset,
attended by representatives of various extreme-right wing organizations. The
participants raised several suggestions for anti-peace treaty action plans,
including blocking routes, amassing weapons and heckling ministers who
support the peace process.
Several public figures and officials denounced the rhetoric, expressing
fear that the incitement may escalate to levels resembling those preceding
the assassination of late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.
ECONOMIC BRIEFS:
* Arel Communications and Software, dealing in interactive distance
learning, is about to acquire U.S.-based W2Com, which operates in a related
field, GLOBES reported. The $40 million deal, which will be transacted on a
share-swap basis, will grant W2Com shareholders a 25 percent stake in Arel
Communications.
* A sharp 6.5 percent increase in the average wage was posted for the first
quarter of 2000, GLOBES reported. This increase is equal to the total wage
increases over the past three years.
Today’s Israel Line was prepared by Liel Leibovitz at the Consulate General
of Israel in New York.
Israel Line is a daily summary of major news items taken directly from the
Israeli media.
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