Israel Line 6/21/00
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Wednesday, June 21, 2000
*BARAK, ANNAN MEET TO DISCUSS ISRAEL-LEBANON BORDER
*LEVY EXPRESSES HOPE FOR BETTER RELATIONS WITH SYRIA
*COALITION CRISIS NEARING THURSDAY DEADLINE
*PM'S OFFICE TO COORDINATE SEPARATION PLAN FOR PALESTINIAN TRACK
*NSC DEVELOPING WATER CRISIS SOLUTIONS
*ECONOMIC BRIEFS
BARAK, ANNAN MEET TO DISCUSS ISRAEL-LEBANON BORDER
Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy met
separately today with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in Jerusalem to
discuss Israel's border with Lebanon, HA'ARETZ reported. At a press
conference following the meetings, Annan said Lebanon is deploying
approximately 1,000 troops to its southern region and additional United
Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) will be also be deployed.
Annan also praised the Israeli Government's cooperation with the United
Nations and spoke of his hopes for peace in the Middle East.
Barak thanked Annan saying, "I believe the Secretary General's commitment
and devotion to the cause of making peace helped a great deal to translate
our pullout from Lebanon into the implementation of UN Security Council
Resolution 425 in a way that will contribute to the future
stability . . . and well-being of the region of South Lebanon."
Meanwhile, according to Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, Levy set up a meeting
scheduled to take place later today between UN Under-Secretary-General for
Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast and representatives of the families of
Israeli POWs and MIAs. Levy also arranged for Prendergast to meet with a
delegation of residents from Rajar village who had contacted the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs with an appeal that their village not be divided by the UN
marking of the border.
LEVY EXPRESSES HOPE FOR BETTER RELATIONS WITH SYRIA
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy said on Tuesday that he hopes that
Syrian heir- apparent Bashar al-Assad will pursue a new and constructive
approach to peacemaking that will lead to stability in the region, YEDIOT
AHARONOT reported.
Officials in Israeli security and intelligence establishments assess that
upon assuming the presidency, al-Assad will appoint new leaders in Syria
that will exemplify a willingness to advance towards peace.
Meanwhile, according to Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, Member of Knesset Danny
Naveh (Likud) drafted a letter to al-Assad on Tuesday. The letter, signed by
65 MKs asks Assad to undertake trust-building measures with Israel and to
return MIAs to Israel.
COALITION CRISIS NEARING THURSDAY DEADLINE
At a press conference on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Ehud Barak called
on Shas and Meretz to do some "soul searching" in an attempt to preserve the
coalition in its present format, HA'ARETZ reported.
Barak would like to see Shas stay in the Government despite letters of
resignation submitted on Tuesday by the party's four ministers. The
resignations will take effect Thursday afternoon, 48 hours after they were
officially received. Meanwhile, all parties are conducting efforts to
resolve the remaining disputed issues, including the scope of power to be
granted to Deputy Minister of Education MK Meshulam Nahari (Shas).
According to Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, Meretz ministers are considering
resigning from the Government if Barak meets all of Shas' demands. Education
Minister Yossi Sarid said that for the time being the decision to resign has
not been made as there is currently no agreement.
PM'S OFFICE TO COORDINATE SEPARATION PLAN FOR PALESTINIAN TRACK
Prime Minister Ehud Barak instructed the Peace Directorate in his office to
coordinate the preparation of a "separation plan" between Israel and any
Palestinian entity established as part of the permanent settlement, HA'ARETZ
reported. The plan is being formulated jointly by the Israel Defense Forces,
the police, the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the
Territories, and the ministries of Finance, Transport and Regional Cooperation.
Head of the Peace Directorate Shaul Arieli said that pursuant to
guidelines issued by Barak, the concept underlying the plan should be
"separation between the two entities together with possibilities
of cooperation." At a meeting on June 7, the Peace Directorate set up four
committees to address the issue of separation. The IDF is slated to draft a
proposal to build a fence between Israel and the PA. A joint team of the
Transport Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority will present a proposal
for a number of passages between the two entities. The Ministry of Regional
Cooperation and the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in
the Territories will propose ideas for economic and other forms of
cooperation between the two sides, such as the establishment of industrial
zones which will provide employment opportunities for Palestinians. Finally,
a security committee will examine the deployment of police units along the
line and coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security forces.
Meanwhile, in response to Yediot Aharonot's report on Tuesday stating that
a three-way summit between U.S. President Bill Clinton, Barak and PA
Chairman Yasser Arafat would be held in Washington, DC on July, 6, the Prime
Minister's Office said, "it hasn't yet been agreed that the summit will take
place, but if there is agreement, this is a reasonable date." Barak had
proposed the three-way summit as he believes that additional talks at lower
levels will not yield the results that leaders coming together could produce.
NSC DEVELOPING WATER CRISIS SOLUTIONS
The National Security Council, charged by Prime Minister Ehud Barak to
examine the national water crisis, will meet on Thursday to discuss possible
long- and short-term solutions, THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
Central to water-saving plans is the building of a desalination plant in
Ashkelon to eliminate salt in sea water for public use. According to
Minister of Finance Avraham Shohat, tenders for a plant would be issued in
September to 10 international companies, including one Israeli company,
competing for the contract.
According to HA'ARETZ, plans are also being developed to import water from
Turkey, although Mekorot water Utility Chief Amos Epstein predicts that the
process will need an additional 11 months of planning. An Israeli delegation
in Turkey reported on Tuesday that Turkey's water is of a high quality.
Currently, the Israeli port south of Ashkelon is only equipped to receive
approximately 45 million cubic meters of water, but Epstein predicts that
100 million cubic meters could be brought in after renovations. Ultimately,
Epstein calls the Turkey plan an emergency measure, and says that long-term
solutions lay in the construction of water desalination plants.
ECONOMIC BRIEFS
* Silicon Valley-based Vyyo, a developer and provider of systems enabling
fast Internet connections, is looking to invest $100 million in Israel and
expand its R&D facility in Jerusalem, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Vyyo also
plans to expand its Israeli operations by hiring engineers to design the
next generation of "fixed wireless" modems and products.
* U.S. contract pharmaceutical company Oread is seeking to establish
laboratories in Israel to advance the research capabilities of young
biotechnology companies in their clinical trial stages, HA'ARTEZ reported.
The establishment of such a facility in Israel would not only bring
additional clinical trial activity to the country, but also would help
local companies network with leading pharmaceutical companies in the United
States.
Today's Israel Line was prepared by Aylon Slater, Batsheva Genut and Michael
Radine 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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