Israel Line 6/28/00
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Wednesday, June 28, 2000
*BARAK, ALBRIGHT DISCUSS POSSIBLE SUMMIT
*CHIEF RABBI CALLS FOR CONTINUED PALESTINIAN ADMINISTRATION OF TEMPLE MOUNT
*PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE AIDS ISRAELI ARABS
*REFORM WOMEN, MEN PRAY TOGETHER AT WESTERN WALL
*ECONOMIC BRIEFS
BARAK, ALBRIGHT DISCUSS POSSIBLE SUMMIT
Prime Minister Ehud Barak met with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright on Tuesday to discuss prospects of a possible three-way summit with
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill
Clinton, HA'ARETZ reported.
During the meeting, Barak conveyed Israel's starting points for a summit
focused on concluding framework agreement on permanent status. According to
Barak's outline, both sides must acknowledge the termination of the
conflict between them, and agree to settle any future claims in a peaceful
manner. Israel would recognize an autonomous Palestinian state, and the
Jordan Valley would remain under Israeli control for 10-12 years, along with
two routes (the cross-Shomron highway and the Modi'in-Ramallah-Jericho
highway) leading from central Israel to the Jordan Valley. At the end of
that period, the valley would be transferred to Palestinian control. Barak
also asserted that any army in a Palestinian state would be restricted from
possessing heavy artillery and that the Israel Defense Force would operate
several early-warning stations in Palestinian territory. In addition, Barak
said that the majority of Israeli settlers, approximately 70-80 percent,
would remain under Israeli control. Palestinian refugees would not be
allowed to return to Israel, but numerous permits would be granted for
family reunification. Also, Barak said Israel would participate in a future
international body to be established to aid refugees. The issue of
Jerusalem, as well as other issues which may not be agreed upon, would be
discussed at a later date.
At a joint press conference with Albright on Wednesday, Minister of
Foreign Affairs David Levy addressed the Palestinian reception of the
Israeli proposal. Levy said there will be no "capitulation" in the
negotiations, and that Palestinian insistence that Israel surrender all of
the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem is not "a process of peace."
Meanwhile, Albright met with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat
on Wednesday. The meeting ended without a decision regarding a summit. Upon
leaving the meeting, Albright said it was clear that at this stage the two
sides must minimize the differences in their positions on the major issues.
CHIEF RABBI CALLS FOR CONTINUED PALESTINIAN ADMINISTRATION OF TEMPLE MOUNT
Israel's Chief Sephardic Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron suppoted continued
Palestinian administration of the Temple Mount even after a permanent
settlement is reached, HA'ARETZ reported.
Bakshi-Doron conveyed his position in a letter to Christian and Muslim
Palestinian clerics stating, "for peace, we shouldn't let the holy sites
become a reason for quarrel and fighting. They must not turn into a weapon
in the hands of those fighting against the peacemakers."
The letter was submitted to the Palestinian clerics by Bakshi-Doron's
representative in a recent interfaith meeting in Milan sponsored by the
European Union. The Israeli delegation to the meeting also proposed the
establishment of an interfaith council in Jerusalem to supervise the holy
sites.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ehud Barak ordered a meeting in his office to
discuss security arrangements on the Temple Mount in the wake of protests
against construction being carried out by the Muslim Waqf (religious trust).
The meeting, scheduled for today or Thursday, will address recommendations
to halt the development and improvements underway and to block the entrance
of construction materials and heavy equipment such as tractors and trucks
until the Waqf agrees to coordinate its activities with the Antiquities
Authority. The Antiquities Authority has been restricted from supervising
the construction along the eastern wall of the Temple Mount. The
recommendations being considered were proposed by the Israel Security Agency
and Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein.
The ISA warned Barak about radical Jews who may try to break into the
Temple Mount area and about extremist Muslims who may attempt to seize the
eastern parts of the Mount as additional prayer areas.
Danny Yatom, Chief-of-Staff of the Prime Minister's Office said on
Wednesday that Israel would maintain the status quo at the Temple Mount and
that the Waqf could continue its works there, under the supervision of
archaeologists. Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert criticized the Government for
complying with the police recommendations to allow the Waqf to continue
construction. He called the decision a grave mistake that would turn the
Mount into a Muslim site, and added it would aid in "effacing the Jewish
heritage." The entrance of trucks to the site, he said, could be easily stopped.
PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE AIDS ISRAELI ARABS
An economic aid plan for the Israeli Arab sector was developed recently in
the Prime Minister's Office and will be submitted for Cabinet approval next
month, YEDIOT AHARONOT reported.
The plan includes a dramatic budget raise of NIS 2 billion (approximately
$500 million) for Government programs to benefit Israeli Arabs. NIS 600
million (approximately $150 million) will be invested in infrastructure for
educational facilities, NIS 513 million (approximately $128 million) for new
highways and NIS 308 million (approximately $77 million) for improvement of
sewage infrastructures. Also, the plan aims to decrease unemployment from 10
to 6 six percent, and raise the percentage of working women from 35 to 50
percent. Officials in the Prime Minister's Office hope that the plan will
assist in narrowing the gaps between the Jewish and Arab populations in
Israel, and will increase Arab involvement in the Israeli socio-economical
factor.
Meanwhile, Minister of Justice Yossi Beilin drafted a legislative proposal
to promote affirmative action in hiring Israeli Arabs for official
government jobs.
REFORM WOMEN, MEN PRAY TOGETHER AT WESTERN WALL
A group consisting of several dozen men and women, members of the Reform
movement from Israel and abroad, held a prayer service on Tuesday at the
Western Wall plaza THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
The morning prayer service was conducted behind police barricades, with no
interaction between members the group, largely members of a Florida
congregation, and Orthodox Jews praying nearby. "The State of Israel is the
inheritance of the entire Jewish people, and the Kotel belongs to all Jews,"
said Philip Meltzer, president of the Reform Movement's Zionist branch in
New York. "Our hope is that all Jews can pray according to their beliefs."
Calling the prayer service both "a most moving experience" and "a sad one"
because of the police presence. Ann Turnoff, a woman cantor who wore a
tallit and kippa, said that the fact that the prayer service passed quietly
bodes well for the future.
ECONOMIC BRIEFS
* Amdocs, a Ra'anana-based provider of customer care, billing, and order
management solutions for communications and Internet services, has been
ranked 12th on Business Week's annual list of the world's best performing
information technology companies, THE JERUSALEM POST reported.
* DePuy, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, has been awarded exclusive rights to
market BioHY, a pain reliever for osteoarthritis of the knee developed by
the Israeli company Bio-Technology General, GLOBES reported.
Today's Israel Line was prepared by Liel Leibovitz at the Consulate General
of Israel in NewYork.
Israel Line is a daily summary of major news items taken directly from the
Israeli media.
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