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Israel News Digest
David Dolan, Christian Friends of Israel, Jerusalem
SPRING THAW As welcome winter rains receded and abundant spring flowers appeared all over the land of Israel, the frozen peace process suddenly thawed. Israeli-Palestinian negotiations resumed after a two-month break. The ice broke amid reports that a secret US-brokered peace deal was pending with Syria. However, the spring thaw was accompanied by more signs of trouble ahead. Sharp verbal exchanges took place between Arab and Israeli leaders, sparring erupted between Israeli and Palestinian forces following fresh terrorist activity, and clashes continued in Lebanon. The trumpeted peace deal with Syria turned out to be yet another mirage in the desert. Extra security measures were enacted during an historic visit by Pope John Paul II. All the while, Prime Minister Ehud Barak struggled to keep his increasingly fragile coalition government together.Rumors circulated for weeks that American President Bill Clinton was mediating clandestine talks between Israeli and Syrian officials in an attempt to restart peace talks between the cautious Mideast neighbors. Negotiations were suspended in January after Syrian dictator Hafez Assad demanded that Barak agree to a full withdrawal to the cease-fire lines in place at the start of the June, 1967 Six Day War. Barak scoffed at the brazen demand, which would mean handing over the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee, Israel's only natural aboveground water reservoir. Such a move would give Damascus full legal rights under international law to pump all the water it wishes from the historic lake. Syria never held legal title to the area, but captured the shoreline from Israeli forces in skirmishes before the 1967 war. Israeli officials saw the demand as the height of hutzpa and broke off the official talks. After meeting with Assad in Geneva, Switzerland on March 26, Clinton was forced to concede that peace is not at hand between Israel and Syria. Without calling the talks a complete failure, US officials admitted that they had not succeeded in bridging the gaps between Assad and Barak. The implications for this troubled region are grave, with some analysts warning that the Clinton-Assad summit may have been the last chance to secure a peace accord for some time to come. Although Syria's puppet media tried to blame Israel for the impasse, it appeared that the real culprit was Assad, who would not back down from his outrageous 1967 border demand. While the two leaders met in Europe, thousands of Israelis demonstrated outside of the US embassy in Tel Aviv. Many protesters held signs averring that Clinton was bargaining away Israel's future security in order to secure a Nobel peace prize later this year. Israeli analysts agree that the US leader, with less than one year left in office, is extremely eager to cap his tarnished presidency with an historic peace pact between the Jewish State, Syria and Lebanon, along with a majestic Israeli-Palestinian peace accord. Clinton believes such momentous accomplishments would eclipse his adulterous affair with a White House intern, enhancing his legacy in the eyes of future historians, if not with some Israelis. It appeared that Assad, at least, was not willing to hand the lame duck American leader the gift that he so deeply desires. LAND TRANSFER Israeli-Palestinian peace talks sank into a deep freeze after Yasser Arafat rejected an Israeli land transfer in January. At the time, he maintained that Barak was only offering marginal land to the Palestinian Authority (PA). Arafat was especially incensed that Arab areas around Jerusalem were not included in the pullback. With a right-wing rebellion gaining strength inside his shaky coalition, Barak knew that including such areas in the latest Israeli army pullback could topple his wobbly government.The revised land handover was worked out in a series of summit meetings between Barak and Arafat in March. Brokered by veteran US Mideast envoy Dennis Ross, the meetings succeeded in finding a compromise acceptable to both sides. Barak explained that three of his junior coalition partners had threatened to pull out of his government if any land was transferred near Jerusalem. He then offered instead to withdraw from populated areas that Arafat has long desired on the outskirts of Hebron and Nablus, including the troublesome town of Halhoul. While still insisting that he will continue to demand control over Arab parts of Jerusalem in any Final Status accord, Arafat reluctantly agreed to the compromise deal. The delayed army withdrawal, originally scheduled for January 20, finally took place on March 21. Israeli forces evacuated another 6.1% of territory captured from Jordanian soldiers in the 1967 Six Day War. As Israeli convoys pulled out of the abandoned territory, Palestinian forces celebrated by jubilantly firing their weapons into the air. No Israeli army bases were evacuated in the two-day pullout, since most of the transferred land was inside or surrounding Arab villages. The transfer leaves Arafat's autonomy government in full control over nearly one-fifth of Jordan's former West Bank, and in partial control over another 21.7% of it. Thus, Arafat's administrative rule now extends to nearly half of the hilly region. The PA also controls most of the Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean coast south of Tel Aviv. Yet another Israeli withdrawal is scheduled to take place in June before a Final Status peace accord -- which would undoubtedly include one last major redeployment -- is signed. Arafat is expected to again demand territory around Jerusalem as part of the June pullback. He fears that if he does not secure portions of the holy city in the interim Oslo Accord phase, he may be left with nothing if Final Status negotiators fail to arrive at a permanent accord, as many expect. The March evacuation did not receive unanimous backing from Barak's squabbling coalition partners. Indeed, it passed by a mere one vote in the Security Cabinet (comprised of the leaders of the seven parties in Barak's coalition). Three ministers, from the National Religious Party (NRP), the orthodox Shas party and the immigrant Israel b' Aliya party, voted against the withdrawal. All said they viewed the Palestinians as unworthy to receive more land since Arafat has failed once again to keep his written peace accord commitments, such as paring down his bloated "police" force to agreed upon levels and halting Palestinian incitement against Israel (which blatantly continues on PA television and in Arafat-backed newspapers). Meretz leader Yossi Sarid amazed his colleagues by abstaining in the ministerial vote, saying he was protesting the fact that no land was transferred in areas around Jerusalem. The Education Minister said there would be no lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians unless a compromise is found concerning the contested holy city. Transport Minister and Center party leader Yitzhak Mordechai was absent for the vote after being accused of sexual improprieties by one of his female secretaries, which he denied. The former Defense Minister -- who portrayed himself as a pillar of truth facing down the lying Benjamin Netanyahu in the last election -- took a leave of absence from his party leadership post after police launched an investigation of the allegations. TERRORIST PLOTS The Israeli army withdrawal was preceded and followed by more acts of Palestinian terrorism. Security forces arrested members of an Islamic cell that carried out attacks last year in the town of Netanya. They said the group was planning to emulate terrorists in Moscow by blowing up residential buildings in Netanya and Jerusalem. More attacks were thwarted when police fought a fierce gun battle in early March with seven terrorists in the Israeli-Arab town of Taiba. Four Arab gunmen were killed in the exchange, one was captured and two escaped but were later apprehended.The captured terrorists revealed that they and their holy war brethren, mostly from the Gaza Strip, were planning to carry out a series of suicide attacks in the Tel Aviv region. They said a large cache of explosives had been hidden in a Hamas-run kindergarten in Gaza City in preparation for the attacks. PA police then went to the site and confiscated the explosives. Following renewed pressure from Israeli leaders, Arafat's security forces also raided a Hamas hideout in the PA-ruled town of Tulkarm, arresting one man. Other terrorists succeeded in carrying out attacks around the time of the Israeli army pullback. Two Jewish teenage brothers traveling in a van south of Bethlehem were seriously wounded in a roadside ambush. They were on their way with friends to celebrate the festival of Purim on an army base near Hebron. Israeli army officers said the attackers fled into nearby PA-controlled territory. The escape is the latest illustration of one of the main problems posed by Israeli land transfers -- they create "safe havens" for Palestinian terrorists to flee to after carrying out assaults in Israeli-controlled territory. Israeli and Palestinian armed forces came to blows on March 22 in the Gaza Strip. After an Israeli car was stoned in the area, soldiers chased after the perpetrators. Raising their rifles, nearby PA forces refused to let the pursuit continue. Verbal clashes and fistfights followed, but no shots were fired. Israeli officials say Palestinian forces have been refusing to cooperate with their Israeli counterparts for the most part over the past few months -- boding ill for the dubious suggestion that a Palestinian state can peacefully exist next door to Israel. YEAR OF RECKONING Yasser Arafat won a major concession when Ehud Barak agreed to hold renewed Final Status negotiations in the United States. The first round of talks began March 21 at Bolling Air Force base in Washington, DC. The PA leader has long insisted that the Americans take a more active role in the pivotal negotiations, believing that US officials alone possess the necessary clout to force Israel to give in on various Palestinian Final Status demands. Arafat was extremely jealous when peace talks were conducted near Washington between Syrian and Israeli leaders last December and January, believing the Clinton administration was switching its attention away from the Palestinian track.The renewed peace talks followed Barak's declaration that he would try to work out a framework Final Status agreement with Arafat by May 13. The new target date is exactly three months after an accord was supposed to be signed at the White House between the two leaders. Barak again pledged that an overall peace pact would be arrived at by the original target date, September 13, 2000. Meanwhile Arafat repeated his vow to establish a sovereign Palestinian state this year whether such an accord is signed or not. Speaking before the Palestinian Legislative Council on March 7, he maintained that "there is no turning back on our decision to declare national independence within the time frame that was set by the agreements, and I declare that the year 2000 is the year for the Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital." Arafat failed to note that the various Oslo accords he was referring to also affirm that neither Israel nor the Palestinians will take unilateral actions when the interim phase comes to an end. Israeli officials suggested that if Arafat goes ahead with his unilateral statehood declaration in the absence of a final accord, Barak might join the expected international flood of approval and recognize Palestinian sovereignty in the areas already handed over to the PA. At the same time, Barak would feel free to annex some 25 to 30% of the disputed territories that are deemed vital to Israel's security, including areas where most of the Jewish settlements are situated. He would then offer to negotiate with Arafat over the remaining 30% of Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley that would be left outside of direct PA or Israeli control. There is only one major problem with this scenario. Arafat is vowing to establish a state with "Jerusalem as its capital." Thus, his unilateral declaration of statehood would in effect be a declaration of war, since the Palestinians are unlikely to ever make any part of the holy city their capital in actuality without bloodshed. The fact that Barak is hardly preparing to hand Arafat any control in Israel's capital city was reiterated on March 12. The PM told his cabinet that "Jerusalem will forever remain the undivided capital of Israel," adding that "anyone who suggests that the government will allow a re-division of the city is gravely misleading the public." Analysts said Barak was probably alluding to comments made by Sarid and other left-wing cabinet ministers that a compromise over Jerusalem will be unavoidable in order to secure a Final Status accord. PAPAL BLESSING Arafat's hopes for statehood were undoubtedly bolstered by an official endorsement from the leader of the world's largest church, Pope John Paul II. The pontiff gave his seal of approval during the first full day of his March pilgrimage to the land where the Jewish Messiah was born, crucified, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven (and is set to return to). "The Holy See has always recognized that the Palestinian people have the natural right to a homeland, and the right to be able to live in peace and tranquillity with the other peoples of this area," he said at a welcoming ceremony hosted by Arafat in Bethlehem's Manger Square. Indirectly criticizing Israel, the Pope asserted that "No one can ignore how much the Palestinian people have had to suffer in recent decades. Your torment is before the eyes of the world, and it has gone on too long." He took another swipe by stating that "This is a place that has known the yoke and the rod of oppression. How often has the cry of the innocents been heard in these streets?"Recognizing the reality that very few Palestinians consider themselves Christians, but are mostly practicing Muslims, the Pope also spoke of the "brotherly relations" between Roman Catholics and Muslims. However, Islamic contempt for the Church of Rome was not so subtly demonstrated when the domineering mosque that abuts Manger Square blared out mid-day Muslim prayers as John Paul was delivering a sermon during an open-air Catholic Mass. Palestinian Bishop Michel Sabah tried to put a positive spin on the long obstruction, telling the assembled congregants at the end of the loud interruption that it somehow "symbolizes Muslim and Christian unity in the Holy Land." The absurd remark was met by polite applause, even though local Christians are well aware that they are an increasingly endangered minority in the land where Jesus was born. Local Muslims embarrassed the Pope a second time during an "interfaith dialogue" in Jerusalem. The Islamic participant, Sheik Tatzir Tamimi, totally ignored the "brotherhood of faiths" theme. Instead, the PA religious court official blasted the "iniquitous" Jewish State during his speech, accusing Israel of committing "genocide" against his Palestinian people. He then maintained that only the "establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Yasser Arafat as its president and Jerusalem as its capital, will stop the strife between religions." PROTESTS Many Israelis were unhappy with the Pope's decision to greet Islamic and PA officials on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's walled Old City. They felt his move signified Vatican approval for Muslim claims to exclusive sovereignty over Judaism's holiest site on earth. Indeed, Grand Mufti Ikrema Sabri (who earlier refused to take part in the interfaith dialogue) asked the Pope to recognize exclusive Islamic control over the holy hill. A day earlier, he used the international spotlight created by the pontiff's visit to blast Israel for "using the so-called holocaust to gain worldwide sympathy." Claiming that "nothing like six million Jews" perished under the Nazis, he maintained it was "not a Muslim problem anyway" since "Muslims didn't do anything on this issue." Sabri conveniently forgot that one of his predecessors, Haj Amin Husseini, actively supported Hitler's genocidal campaign to wipe out European Jewry, sending armed forces to fight alongside Nazi soldiers.Palestinian officials were mortified when rioting broke out as the Pope was concluding a visit to the Dehaishe refugee camp on the southern outskirts of Bethlehem. The unrest began when Arafat's security forces, pushing back surging crowds as John Paul was departing the camp, beat three youths with wooden clubs. The atmosphere was earlier heated up when PLO official Abdul Rahman greeted the pontiff by angrily accusing Israel of "confiscating both our rights and our property with the intention of creating an entity closed to all but Jews." Rahman failed to note that it was the Arabs themselves who violently rejected the 1947 UN partition plan -- which would have established both a Jewish and an Arab state in the land -- and declared war on nascent Israel, which resulted in the subsequent Palestinian refugee flight. Several weeks before the Dehaishe unrest, PA authorities were humiliated when student mobs stoned visiting French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, lightly injuring him. The attack occurred as Jospin was leaving a meeting at the Palestinian Bir Zeit university. The stone throwers were angry that the right-wing French Premier earlier referred to Iranian-backed Hizbullah jihad warriors in Lebanon as "terrorists." Not wishing to offend France's many Muslim friends and business partners, President Jacques Chirac reprimanded Jospin in a telephone call soon after his return to Paris. Chirac's office said the President "reaffirmed the constancy of French foreign policy and the balanced approach of our country in the Middle East." FLEE THE NORTH The March 26 Clinton-Assad summit in Geneva was preceded by a momentous Israeli government decision to pull out of southern Lebanon. In a rare unanimous decision, Barak and his 22 cabinet ministers voted on March 5 to withdraw Israeli forces to the international border by July, whether an accord is reached before then with Syria or not. Ironically, many Arab leaders condemned the decision, even though all have been clamoring for such action since the army swept into southern Lebanon in 1982. The Lebanese government spokesman said "resistance fighters" could not be restrained unless the withdrawal took place as part of "a comprehensive, just and lasting peace," adding that Beirut would "give no guarantees of peace until Syrian demands regarding the occupied Golan Heights are satisfied."Fighting continued in Lebanon during the month, with Hizbullah rockets landing in the Galilee several times -- one barely missing an Israeli farmer at work in his field. Shells were also directed almost daily at Israeli and South Lebanese Army (SLA) positions, killing and wounding several SLA soldiers. After one cross border attack, Barak warned of severe reprisals if such assaults continue after the July pullback. "I would not advise anyone to test our response if there are attempts to hit citizens of Israel or its army after our redeployment" he said during a March 16 visit to the border area. Barak also stressed that "the safety and welfare of our SLA allies and their families will be guaranteed, whatever the cost." Why did right-wing ministers in Barak's patchwork cabinet support the July pullout? Many analysts said it was because they understand that an unprecedented military operation will be conducted against Hizbullah if it launches any cross-border salvos after the army withdrawal. This was indirectly confirmed by Armed Forces Chief Shaul Mofaz in a Knesset appearance on March 7. He said military leaders expect Hizbullah attacks to continue after the scheduled July evacuation, and strongly hinted this could lead to a new regional war if the Syrian and Lebanese governments fail to restrain the militant Muslim militia. Arab League foreign ministers held an emergency summit on March 11 in Beirut, where they harshly condemned "Israeli occupation of Lebanon and recent air strikes against it." Saying all Arab relations with Israel should be severed if such strikes reoccur, the ministers also denounced "vicious Israeli threats to destroy Lebanon" -- an apparent reference to Foreign Minister David Levy's late February warning that "Lebanon will burn" if Jewish children are killed by Hizbullah shells. Levy dismissed the latest Arab League censure, noting that he had earlier made clear that his strong words were "not a threat, but a warning before calamity struck." For the first time, a top Israeli military official confirmed numerous press reports that Hizbullah now has rockets that can hit Israel's third largest city, Haifa. Air Force commander Eitan Ben-Eliahu said that future border alerts could "send over half a million Israelis into bomb shelters, instead of the current 200,000." He said Hizbullah's "long-range rockets, supplied by Iran, are gradually being brought into Lebanon." Some military analysts believe that the Muslim militia can now arm some of the rockets with chemical warheads. HAMAN AGAIN? Facing momentous peace process decisions that could dramatically alter the face of Israel, PM Barak spent much of March trying to keep his fragmented coalition together. He was shocked into reality when the Knesset approved 60-53 the first reading of a bill that would mandate a special majority in any Golan withdrawal referendum. Three of his government partners voted for the bill -- the NRP, Shas and Israel b'Aliya, along with David Levy's brother, Maxim. The proposed legislation states that a majority of all eligible voters would be needed to approve a Golan withdrawal, meaning around 60% of all actual voters (some 20% of eligible Israelis, many of them Arab Muslims, normally fail to vote). Although the bill was denounced as a racist attempt to negate minority Arab influence, many Israelis view it as extremely wise legislation. They fear the nation would be torn apart if such a risky and emotional withdrawal was approved solely on the strength of Arab votes.Barak realizes that the same Knesset coalition could easily form to wreck any peace accords that he signs with the Palestinians and Syria. Although he has virtually written off the small NRP and Israel b'Aliya factions, he cannot secure Knesset approval without the Orthodox Shas party, the second largest coalition faction with 17 seats. Therefore he was more than mortified when Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef rattled his coalition by condemning Meretz leader Yossi Sarid as a "Satan" who should be sent to an early grave. In a pre-Purim homily broadcast on Shas radio, the powerful rabbi characterized the Education Minister as a member of "the Dark Side, a Satan; may his memory be erased! How long do we have to suffer this wicked man? God will annihilate him, just as he wiped out Amalek!" Ending his fiery sermon, Yosef exclaimed "Cursed is Haman! Cursed is Yossi Sarid! He must be wiped out from the seed of Israel! Just as revenge was wrought on Haman, so it must be wrought on him!" The Shas leader's malevolent words -- which certainly could provoke a physical attack upon the Meretz chief -- are putting Barak and Israel's justice system to the test. Following the 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, legislation was enacted that outlaws public threats against any Israeli political leader. Giving his full backing to the new law, Barak was among those who strongly condemned former PM Netanyahu for supposedly turning a blind eye to right-wing incitement against Rabin. However, despite threats from Shas that it would quit the coalition if such a probe was launched, Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein announced on March 27 that he had no choice but to order an investigation. . HERE TO STAY Many Israelis were genuinely moved when Pope John Paul visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. Speaking slowly in English, the Polish-born pontiff said he was "deeply saddened by the hatred, acts of persecution and displays of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews by Christians at any time and in any place." Although falling short of an admission that the papacy played any role in that tortured history (most scholars agree it was a major force in stirring up anti-Semitism over the centuries, especially during the Crusades and the prolonged Inquisitions, and did precious little to halt Hitler's madness), his comments were nonetheless welcomed by most Israeli religious and political leaders. However, many criticized him for not directly apologizing for the Vatican's silence as the Nazis openly decimated European Jewry.In his eloquent reply, PM Barak said that the "establishment of the sovereign state of Israel, against all odds, is the definitive and permanent answer to Auschwitz." Recalling that his maternal grandparents perished in the Treblinka death camp, he hailed John Paul as having done "more than anyone else to bring about a historic change in the attitude of the Church toward the Jewish people." In a very real sense, Barak's most moving comment was an off the cuff remark at the beginning of his poignant speech. Glancing at the elderly pontiff, he explained that he would first say a few words in Hebrew, "our ancient language and the language of our reborn state" before continuing in English. Indeed, despite the most heinous genocidal campaign in history -- carried out in the heart of "Christian" Europe where anti-Semitism flourished for many centuries -- the people of Israel are back and thriving in their ancient Promised Land. It is more than time that the Pope, along with all religious and national leaders, recognize, acknowledge, and even celebrate Israel's renaissance, which testifies to the faithfulness of Israel's mighty and merciful God. "Hear the word of the Lord oh nations, and declare in the coastlands far away. Say "'He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.'" (Jeremiah 31:10)
© 2000 Christian Friends of Israel. Used with permission. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
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