Oct. 24, 2000 - Tishrei 25, 5761
Jerry
Tuesday's Report
Oct. 24, 2000 - Tishrei 25, 5761
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1.TRACKING THE WAR OF ATTRITION
2.FORMING A NATIONAL-UNITY
GOVERNMENT
3.RIVLIN CALLS FOR RE-TAKING AREA A
4.RAISING CHILDREN IN THE P.A.
5.P.A. AIRPORT OPENED AGAIN
6.VIOLENCE MAY LAST A YEAR
7.SUPREME COURT KEEPS TWO
ISRAELI-ARABS IN PRISON
8.IN AND AROUND THE MEDIA
9.IN BRIEF
1. TRACKING THE WAR OF ATTRITION
Palestinian violence and attacks continued today with the
usual mix of
firebombs, rocks, and live fire at IDF targets. Shots were
fired this
morning at an army position near Mt. Gerizim south of
Shechem. This
afternoon, a firebomb was thrown by Arabs towards an army
jeep
near Kfar Darom in Gaza; the IDF shot back, and the
Palestinians
then began rioting and throwing rocks and bricks.
Firebombs were
similarly thrown at IDF soldiers in Hevron and Erez
Checkpoint, but
missed their targets; soldiers shot back in the latter
case. The Tunnels
Highway between Jerusalem and Gush Etzion was again closed
late
this afternoon, after Palestinians fired at passing
vehicles.
Palestinians again fired from Beit Jala, near Bethlehem,
towards the
south-Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo last night; damage
was caused
to a Gilo building. IDF tanks retaliated with two mortar
shells and
machine gun fire... Six Border Guard policemen and an IDF
officer
were hurt in stoning and firebombing incidents, including
four
policemen who were struck by a firebomb near the
Rockefeller
Museum in Jerusalem... A roadside bomb exploded at 7:30 PM
near
a convoy of Israeli cars leaving Netzarim last night...
Arab-fired
bullets penetrated houses in the north-Shomron community
of Kadim
and in Hevron; no one was hurt...
Also last night, Palestinians once again rained heavy
gunfire on the
town of Psagot, north of Jerusalem. Bullets penetrated one
house,
although no one was hurt. The IDF fired only one round in
response;
Psagot residents demanded that the IDF retaliate to the
nightly fire
upon their town at least as strongly as in the case of
Gilo. One Psagot
resident told Arutz-7, "The Arabs shot last night from
nearby El
Bireh, only 600 meters away, with a submachine gun,
spraying
rounds all over the place - not like other times when
individual snipers
shot at us... The army's response was very minor - only a
few shots
by one soldier, but no tanks or anything else - even
though the source
of the fire was clearly identified."
2. FORMING A NATIONAL-UNITY
GOVERNMENT
Prime Minister Barak continues his emergency-government
building
measures, and met today with leaders of the Shinui,
National
Religious, and United Torah Judaism parties. The question
of what
authorities will be granted Likud leader Ariel Sharon in
the new
government is the focus of coalition negotiations at
present between
One Israel and the Likud.
Shinui party leader MK Tommy Lapid said that his party
would agree
to join a unity government, "but only if the Likud joins,
and not if it
will be a Meretz-Shas government." Shinui has
traditionally refused to
sit in the same government as the hareidi Shas party.
Lapid also
demands to see the agreement to be signed with Sharon.
Despite the efforts to form a unity government, MK Avigdor
Lieberman (National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu) has submitted
a
proposal to dissolve the Knesset. It will be discussed
next week,
when the Knesset returns from its holiday recess. Likud MK
Yisrael
Katz has withdrawn, for at least a month, his similar
proposal, in
order to give a chance to the unity negotiations.
Lieberman told
Arutz-7 today:
"Anyone [in the opposition] who speaks of partnership
with Barak is fooling himself. Barak failed, and is
simply
not fit to serve as Prime Minister, and no gimmick
can
cover up for this. He is not fit to run the
country... I
cannot tolerate the fact that he doesn't take
responsibility for the deterioration in the
situation; it
didn't happen by itself. He has not succeeded in
anything... He agreed to an international inquiry
regarding the Arab violence, and after the
Israeli-Arabs
rioted, he gave them a prize - a grant of over 4
billion
shekels and an investigation of the riots - instead
of
strengthening the Yesha communities that are in a
state
of siege... He changes his mind so often that the
only
thing he is fit to be is a weather forecaster..."
When
asked if now, during this national emergency, is an
appropriate time for new elections, Lieberman said,
"Yes, exactly because we are facing an emergency
situation, this is why we must replace him. All his
efforts
for a national unity government are not for the
country
or for its security, but only for his personal public
career... We have protestors outside his office,
calling
on him to resign - and the sooner the better."
NRP leader Rabbi Yitzchak Levy also spoke with Arutz-7
today,
after his meeting with the Prime Minister, and said that
his party
demands participation in diplomatic decisions: "We have
received,
and are considering, Barak's invitation to join the
government... We
see this as a time of emergency, and we need a united
front, but it
must be on a basis of mutual cooperation... [Ariel]
Sharon's
conditions must be accepted... We don't want to find
ourselves in a
government that will soon resume the Oslo diplomatic
process, which
undoubtedly will be attempted... We also demanded that
Barak's
'secular revolution,' involving the closure of the
Ministry of Religious
Affairs, civil marriages, public Sabbath desecration,
etc., be stopped"
- a condition that will apparently be fulfilled in any
event.
3. RIVLIN CALLS FOR RE-TAKING AREA A
The Likud Knesset faction convened today to discuss the
question of
joining a unity government. Afterwards, faction head MK
Ruby Rivlin
told Arutz-7 that no final decision has yet been made:
"On the one hand, we recognize the desire of the
majority of the public for national unity, and we
know
that we must act responsibly and not continue to
blindly
insist that the Prime Minister is not worthy to
rule -
instead, when he asks for aid, we should answer his
call.
On the other hand, we will of course not be a rubber
stamp for a government that goes along with the same
old Oslo path. It must be clearly recognized that the
Oslo process is over, because Arafat has violated
it."
Rivlin said that the Likud, too, "must make a
self-reckoning - after all, we also supported the
Oslo
process when we were in power - and come up with a
clear, agreed-upon plan as to how to proceed... My
opinion is that if any further escalation occurs,
such as if
another shot is fired on Hevron or Gilo, we must
re-take
those Palestinian-controlled areas from which the
firing
originates. I have told this to the Prime Minister as
well."
Several Knesset Members of the Likud are working against
the
formation of a unity government with Barak's One Israel
party, seeing
it as an unnecessary political lifesaver for Ehud Barak.
It has also
been suggested that the Netanyahu-supporters among them
fear that
an unlimited-duration national unity government will
impede the
chances of Netanyahu's return as head of the party. Former
Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu himself, who resigned as head
of the
Likud after losing the election last year, said from Paris
today that he
supports an emergency government of a pre-determined
duration, but
not a unity government. He said that he would attend the
Likud
general convention - whenever it may be called by party
leader Ariel
Sharon - to convince the party members of his position.
4. RAISING CHILDREN IN THE P.A.
The army has called upon the Palestinian Authority not to
encourage
school children to take part in clashes with Israeli
soldiers (see "From
the Media" below). Jerusalem resident Ronen Ben-David
recounted
the following to Arutz-7 today:
"We have an Arab maid from Bethlehem, and I called
her a couple of days ago to find out how she was
doing.
She told me that she's having trouble getting food,
and
that one of her main problems is that she has to hide
her
children from people who keep coming around looking
for children to take to the riots. She said that the
men
promise the parents that if anything happens to their
children, food will be brought to the families. She
told
me this without any ulterior motives, and I have no
doubt that she was telling the truth. I didn't want
to ask
any further details, so as not to arouse suspicion,
and I
fear for her safety as well..."
Another testimony of a similar phenomenon: Arutz-7 has
received
several reports of "a rock thrown at one of the Israeli
checkpoints"
being put up for auction on the internet auction site
Ebay. The original
proposal, which is no longer on the Ebay site, stated, "I
am a
schoolteacher here in the West Bank. One of my students, a
15 year
old boy, was shot and killed as he tried to throw a fire
bomb at an
Israeli checkpoint. he was shot in the thigh and bled to
death on the
way to Hospital... I can sell these rocks and use the
money For the
AL-Hayatt medical relief effort... And if I have enough, I
will pay
every boy who stays at school instead of going to throw
rocks... The
boys are desperate to "be men". The boys are encouraged to
throw
rocks to draw out the soldiers, so that the soldiers can
be shot at with
guns..."
A cartoon that appeared in Ma'ariv recently depicts the
above-described situations.
5. P.A. AIRPORT OPENED AGAIN
Israel has once again opened the Palestinian Authority
airport in Gaza
- but no one seems to know for sure who gave the order.
The airport
was closed down at the outset of the Rosh HaShanah Arab
Assault,
was opened immediately following the Sharm a-Sheikh
understandings, and was closed again yesterday after armed
PA
policemen entered the compound. The Israel Aviation
Authority
reports that the re-open order was issued by the army, but
the IDF
denies this. Palestinian sources claim that Barak's
security aide Danny
Yatom signed the order, but this has not been confirmed in
Israel.
Despite Prime Minister Barak's declaration of a time-out
in the talks
with Arafat, many aspects of the Oslo process continue as
usual -
including the monthly transfer of between 30 million and
50 million
shekels to Palestinian Authority coffers. Israeli
negotiator Oded Eran
told the Jerusalem Post yesterday that there has been no
directive to
stop these payments. The money stems from Israeli taxes on
PA-bound goods delivered via Israel, and tax revenue on
the tens of
thousands of Palestinian workers employed in Israel. The
Post also
reports that Israel also transfers millions of cubic
meters of water to
the PA each year, as well as all of its electricity.
6. VIOLENCE MAY LAST A YEAR
The IDF General Staff estimates that the Palestinian
violence against
Israel will last about a year. There will be ups and downs
in the
intensity of the violence; the events are termed "Rise and
Fall,"
because even if there is a drop in intensity - for the
sake of diplomatic
talks - a quick rise is foreseen by the intelligence
reports. Violence is
also expected on the Lebanese border in the near future,
according to
the IDF.
Yesha Council secretary Shlomo Filber, together with other
Council
leaders, met last night with Prime Minister's Office head
Yossi Kucik
to discuss the ongoing problems faced by the Jewish towns
in Judea
and Samaria in light of the ongoing Palestinian attacks.
"In the past,"
Filber told Arutz-7 today, "when Kiryat Shemonah was under
attack,
government officials immediately made their way to the
town to see
what could be done, while in our case, it's been weeks
already, and
practically no one has come to see... To be fair, though,
it could be
that they just don't know what's going on. Kucik, for
instance, was
genuinely surprised when he heard of our problems. There
is a need
for money to pay for basic things such as the
fortification of buildings
and related infrastructural needs... We also need a
shortening of
bureaucratic procedures, and a solution for problems such
as a
broken-down telephone exchange in Elon Moreh; the Bezek
phone
company told us that because they don't have enough
bullet-proof
cars, they can't come before ten days from now. This is a
phone
exchange that services the entire regional council.
Governmental
orders have to be issued in order to solve such
problems... Kucik
formed a small committee to deal with these things... We
have
learned not to rely on promises or committees; the true
test will be
when we see changes on the ground. We are aware that this
situation
could last weeks if not months..."
Kucik and Education Ministry Director-General Shulamit
Amichai -
with whom Yesha leaders met today to discuss difficulties
related to
running the region's schools under the current
circumstances - will
tour Yesha towns this Friday.
The town of Negohot, in the Har Hevron region, has a
typical
problem. It became an Israeli enclave amidst the
Palestinian Authority
several months ago when part of its access road was handed
over to
Palestinian control. Now, however, even that road cannot
be
traversed, as the army will not provide protection to
PA-controlled
roads. Residents must now travel to Kiryat Arba and
Jerusalem,
where most of them work or study, via the Kiryat Gat
road - close to
a two-hour detour.
7. SUPREME COURT KEEPS TWO
ISRAELI-ARABS IN PRISON
The Supreme Court accepted an appeal by the State today,
and
ruled that two Israeli-Arab rioters from Nazareth will
remain in prison
until the end of the proceedings against them. Justice
Hashem Hatib
of the Nazareth District Court had originally ruled that
the two should
be released because, he claimed, calm has been restored to
the
Israeli-Arab sector. The Supreme Court, however, accepted
the
State's contention that tension still exists in the
sector.
8. IN AND AROUND THE MEDIA
Dozens of photographs of Palestinian violence, incitement,
and hatred
can be seen at "http://rotter.net/israel"...
Israeli internet experts have toppled the Hizbullah
internet site. The
site, "http://www.hizballa.org", originally called for the
destruction of
Israel. It now features pro-Israel articles and photos, in
English and
Hebrew. Israeli sites have also been targeted by pro-Arab
hackers;
Likud MK Michael Eitan has called for an "internet
truce"...
Palestinian Media Watch reports on an "intifada timetable"
that
appeared in the PA's official newspaper Al Hayat al-Jadida
yesterday. Excerpts:
"The national and Islamic forces have called for the
continuation of
the blessed intifada activities according to the following
schedule:
Monday, Oct. 23 - Mass marches in all regions,
protesting the
[Arab League decisions]...
Tuesday, Oct. 24 - ...The masses of our people will
be called
upon to take part in many mass marches that will
depart from
the cities and villages in an attempt to break the
Israeli siege
and go towards Jerusalem...
Wed.-Thurs., Oct. 25-26 - Volunteer efforts to
harvest olives,
particularly in areas next to [Jewish] settlements.
Friday, Oct. 27 - General day of escalation, on which
the
masses will go out after the Friday prayers in memory
of the
shahids [holy martyrs].
Saturday, Oct. 28 - Peaceful marches [a term that in
the past
has included throwing firebombs and bricks at IDF
forces] by
schoolchildren...
The Barak Paradox, by Charles Krauthammer, Oct. 23, 2000:
"...How is it... that the most pro-Palestinian, pro-peace
Israeli
government in history is the target of the most virulent,
most frenzied
anti-Israel violence in at least a half-century?
"Call it the Barak paradox. Its answer is as painful as it
is clear. For
30 years there has been an argument between doves and
hawks in
Israel. Said the doves: Assuage the other side's
grievances--end the
occupation; give the Palestinians land, a militia, their
own state--and
then we will have peace. Said the hawks: The grievances
are not
satisfiable. They are existential. They don't just want
their state; they
want our state. After all, they were offered a state in
1947 (and
autonomy in 1979) and turned it down. Why? Because they
claim not
just Ramallah but Tel Aviv as well. If you make
concessions, lower
your guard and show weakness, you invite war.
"Accommodation or deterrence? Open hand or iron fist?
Peace now
or peace through strength? Rarely does history settle such
debates as
decisively and mercilessly as it has this one..."
9. IN BRIEF
The level of the Kinneret Sea was registered this
morning at
213.73 meters below sea level, or 73 centimeters
below the
government-authorized "red line." The level has been
consistent
for the past three days - the first time since last
winter that it
has not dropped...
Amidst all the purposeful violence, the driver of a
military
mini-bus apparently lost control of his vehicle
during today's
rain, and crashed into a Palestinian taxi. The
accident occurred
near Pisgat Ze'ev in northeastern Jerusalem, and 14
soldiers
were injured - two in serious condition - and two
taxi
passengers were lightly hurt...
Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein has decided to
order
the indictment of Arab MK Muhammed Barakeh. The
Knesset Member will be charged not with incitement,
but with
insulting a public servant - Northern Region Police
Chief Alik
Ron...
Israel garnered slightly more than one billion
dollars in venture
capital during 1999, ranking it the tenth in the
world for
investment. Business correspondent Seth Vogelman
reports
that some 80% of the investments in Israel originated
from
outside the country, predominantly from institutional
investors.
Israel ranked sixth in investment growth over the
past five
years, with an increase of 54%. Leading in this
category were
Sweden (201% growth), Switzerland (119%) and Taiwan
(60%)...