Israel Line 06-06-00
ny...@interport.net
Tuesday, June 6, 2000
* ALBRIGHT MEETS WITH ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS
* UN TO CERTIFY ISRAELI WITHDRAWAL
* U.S. CITIZENS ON ACHILLE LAURO SUE PA OFFICIALS
* MACCABIAH DEFENDANT'S SENTENCED
* BARAK HALTS NEGOTIATIONS WITH SHAS
* ECONOMIC BRIEFS
ALBRIGHT MEETS WITH ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy met with U.S. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright today to discuss the Palestinian track and Lebanon,
Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported. At a press conference after the meeting
in Jerusalem, Levy said that "there is no progress on the Palestinian
track." He added that "the negotiations cannot continue to go around and
around. It is impossible to expect Israel to state over and over again the
point to which it is prepared to compromise, without even a simple assurance
from the Palestinians that they, in fact, desire an agreement."
According to HA'ARETZ, Albright also met with Arafat today in Ramallah. At
a press conference following their meeting she announced that Arafat had
accepted an invitation from U.S. President Bill Clinton to meet with him in
Washington on June 14.
Barak and Albright discussed on Monday strategies for advancing the peace
process on the Palestinian track. Albright proposed a three-way summit
between Clinton, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and Barak for
the end of June or early July. Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem, however,
have expressed doubts whether such a meeting will take place in light of the
serious obstacles facing the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. At the close
of their meeting, Albright commended Barak for his "bold step" in
withdrawing from Lebanon. She added that Barak began a process of creating a
new reality in the Middle East.
Albright is scheduled to depart for Cairo on Wednesday to meet with Syrian
Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara, who is in Egypt attending a meeting of
Arab League ministers. Albright is expected to communicate the U.S. desire
to see the Lebanese government asserting its sovereignty in the south as
Security Council Resolution 425 is being implemented by Israel.
According to YEDIOT AHARONOT, al-Shara conveyed a message from Syrian
President Hafez al-Assad to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak calling on
Israel to resume negotiations with Syria after assuring that it will
withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders.
UN TO CERTIFY ISRAELI WITHDRAWAL
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is expected to present a final report
regarding the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon to the Security
Council later today or on Wednesday, HA'ARETZ reported. Officials in Israel
and Lebanon anticipate that the United Nations will certify
that Israel has completed the withdrawal to the international border in full
compliance with Security Council Resolution 425.
UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process Terje Larsen arrived in
Beirut on Monday and conducted a round of talks with Lebanese President
Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Salim Hoss and other senior Lebanese officials.
The Lebanese continue to demand that Israel pull back from several
disputed sites along the border, including the western edge of Kibbutz
Misgav Am and the village of Halawi Rajr near Har Dov. The United Nations
and Israel concur that Resolution 425 does not mandate additional withdrawals.
Meanwhile, according to Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, a Lebanese military
court on Monday sentenced approximately 100 former South Lebanon Army
soldiers to jail terms ranging from one month to five years. They were
accused of joining the now disbanded SLA as well as providing information to
Israel or entering the Jewish state.
U.S. CITIZENS ON ACHILLE LAURO SUE PA OFFICIALS
Two U.S. citizens who were held by PLO terrorists on the hijacked Italian
cruise liner Achille Lauro in 1985 are suing the PLO, the Palestinian
Authority, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, speaker of the Palestinian parliament
Abu Ala, and Abu Abbas, responsible for planning and organizing the attack,
HA'ARETZ reported.
Sophie Chaser, 84, from Florida, and Anne Schneider, 87, from New York,
filed suit on Monday at the Jerusalem District Court, demanding NIS 20
million (approximately $5 million) in damages.
According to the complaint, the two plaintiffs were separated from the
other passengers by hijackers and were guarded at gunpoint for
three days, exposed to the elements.
Following the hijacking, the United States issued a warrant for the arrest
of Abu Abbas, but the warrant was canceled at the request
of Yasser Arafat during the 1990s. Israel permitted the entry of Abu Abbas
into the Gaza Strip pursuant to the Oslo agreements, and he is still living
there.
The plaintiffs' attorney said on Monday that the U.S. Congress may refuse
to recognize a future Palestinian State or approve aid to the PA so long as
civil suits of U.S. citizens are still pending against the PLO.
MACCABIAH DEFENDANT'S SENTENCED
The Tel Aviv Magistrate Court sentenced on Monday four of the five
individuals convicted of negligence arising from the collapse of the bridge
at the opening ceremony of the 1997 Maccabiah Games, killing four and
injuring 69, HA'ARETZ reported.
Judges Edna Beckenstein, Amiram Binyamini and Mordechai Peled
distinguished between the defendants' levels of complicity and handed down
prison terms of varying lengths. Engineer Micha Bar-Ilan was sentenced to 21
months, subcontractors Yehoshua Ben-Ezra and Baruch
Karagola 15 months, Irgunit company owner Adam Mishori nine months and Yoram
Eyal, chair of the Maccabiah organizing committee was sentenced to
six months, but will do community service work in lieu of incarceration.
In their decison, the judges wrote, "we look in the eyes of these people
who sit on the defendants' bench, knowing that the men
didn't want the horrifying result to occur, though their negligence is
responsible for it. Against them, we have in view the families and friends
of those who perished and who were maimed. These were people who came to the
event with high spirits - young athletes, and some older [participants], who
lost their lives or their ability to operate as normal people because of the
collapse of the bridge."
BARAK HALTS NEGOTIATIONS WITH SHAS
Prime Minister Ehud Barak ordered officials from the Finance and Education
ministries to suspend talks with Shas regarding the recovery plan for its
educational network, Ma'ayan Hahinuch Hatorani, HA'ARETZ reported. Barak was
responding to a Shas threat to vote against the Government on an early
election bill sponsored by Member of Knesset Avigdor Lieberman (National
Union-Yisrael Beitenu) if its demands for allocations to its educational
network are not met. Barak said that he is not prepared to conduct
negotiations accompanied by threats.
Interviewed on Channel Two's "Mishal Cham" program, Barak predicted that
the Lieberman bill would not pass in the Knesset on Wednesday. Barak
affirmed that he is optimistic regarding the resumption of negotiations with
Shas, and the prospect of resolving the Ma'ayan controversy.
Meanwhile, Shas leaders vowed on Monday to vote in favor of the Knesset's
dissolution. A source close to Shas Chairman Eli Yishai said that "Eli is
determined [to vote for Lieberman's bill], and there's no way back. We've
decided, and that's it. We're taking this to the end, and we have nothing to
lose." MK Lieberman said on Monday that he has the support of 61 MKs, but
that he would wait until the last possible moment before deciding whether to
go ahead and push for Knesset approval of his measure.
As of Monday night, the following parties had indicated support for
Lieberman's early election bill: Likud (19), National Union (7), Shinui (6),
NRP (5) and Yisrael B'Aliyah (4), totaling 41 MKs. The following parties are
expected to oppose the Knesset's dissolution: One Israel (26), Meretz (10),
the Arab parties (10), Democratic Choice (2), and the Center Party (5), a
total of 53 MKs. The votes of the following parties and MKs remain
uncertain: Shas (17), United Torah Judaism (5), One Nation (2) and MKs
Michael Kleiner and Yitzhak Mordechai.
ECONOMIC BRIEFS
* The U.S. giant Cisco announced on Monday that it is buying Israeli HyNEX,
an Elbit subsidiary, in a $127 million deal, $9.2 million in cash and the
remainder in Cisco shares, HA'ARETZ reported. HyNEX products integrate
traditional LAN technology with high-speed ATM platforms, preserving the
investment in network infrastructure while taking advantage of high-speed
ATM networking.
* La Compagnie Financiere Edmond de Rothschild Banque has advised all its
portfolio managers to double the ratio of Israeli stocks in their
portfolios, from one to two percent, HA'ARETZ reported. Sam Pinto, in charge
of the bank's activity in Israel, made the announcement on Monday. The bank
recently opened a new subsidiary in Israel and is setting up an
international company to manage mutual funds.
Today's Israel Line was prepared by Riki Drori and Batsheva Genut at the
Consulate General of Israel in New York.
Israel Line is daily summary of major news items taken from the Israeli media.
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