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Israel News Digest
David Dolan, Christian Friends of Israel, Jerusalem
ARMED CLASHES ERUPT Fierce gun battles broke out in mid-May between Israeli and Palestinian security forces in what many saw as a probable foretaste of things to come. The violence -- the worst since the tunnel riots of September 1996 -- came just a few weeks after Palestinian leaders warned of a new uprising if they do not gain full sovereignty over eastern Jerusalem in a final peace accord with Israel. With attacks also escalating in Lebanon -- leading to the virtual collapse of the South Lebanese Army and the stepped-up Israeli Army withdrawal -- Prime Minister Ehud Barak was forced to cancel a trip to America where he was scheduled to meet with President Bill Clinton. Ironically, the armed clashes began on the very day that the Israeli Knesset approved a cabinet decision to hand over the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem to complete Palestinian control. That controversial move led to the further crumbling of Barak’s shaky coalition government as one party resigned and two others threatened to do so in the near future. Ironically, the armed clashes began on the very day that the Israeli Knesset approved a cabinet decision to hand over the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem to complete Palestinian control. That controversial move led to the further crumbling of Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s shaky coalition government as one party resigned and two others threatened to do so in the near future. Israeli army commanders said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was behind the violent unrest, having encouraged his people to take to the streets on May 15 in a massive show of force. Indeed, a front-page notice appeared that morning in Arafat’s official newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, stating, "The fury of the masses must erupt like a volcano in the face of the Israelis, and the land must explode under their feet." However, the "moderate violence" that Arafat was said to have desired quickly escalated out of control as some of his security men and armed Fatah activists began firing live ammunition at Israeli soldiers, provoking an armed response. The shooting only died down after Israeli commanders threatened to unleash attack helicopters on Palestinian police headquarters in the town of Ramallah, just north of Jerusalem. The worst armed clashes took place only a few blocks from where the ailing PLO chief sat in his Ramallah office. Three Palestinians were shot dead during the fighting, including one policeman, and another 200 or so were wounded. Five Israeli soldiers were injured by bullets, one seriously, and nine others were hurt by firebombs, rocks, and concrete blocks hurled from buildings. Clashes later in the week led to another Palestinian death and more wounded Israeli soldiers. The slain Arabs were hailed as "martyrs" by Palestinian officials even though the intense violence was hardly initiated by Israel. More proof that Arafat promoted the armed attacks came soon after the riots began to die down. His PLO Executive Committee issued a statement saying the Palestinian Authority (PA) "takes great pride in the great and popular awakening that swept all areas of our nation and refugee camps." Israeli officials said the PA provocation constitutes a grave violation of the 1993 Oslo peace accord that was sealed with Arafat’s written commitment to halt all Palestinian violence against Israeli soldiers and civilians. The unrest actually began a few days earlier when PA leaders encouraged Arab protesters to take to the streets to demand the release of all remaining Arab prisoners held in Israeli jails. The PA move came after Israeli negotiators made it clear it would be difficult to set free any more of the estimated 1,500 convicts -- mostly jailed for murdering Jewish civilians or soldiers. Although most prisoners are members of Islamic terrorist groups, nearly 300 belong to Arafat’s PLO Fatah faction. The PA is especially demanding that these inmates be immediately released. Their freedom would provoke an outcry from families of terrorist victims, and violate Barak’s campaign promise that no prisoners with Israeli blood on their hands would be sent home by his government. The fierce clashes, which took place all over Judea, Samaria and parts of the Gaza Strip, began as Palestinians marked Al-Nakba Day. A major protest event in recent years, it increasingly features violent confrontations with Israeli forces. The day marks the May 15, 1948 re-birth of sovereign Israel in part of her ancient boundaries, which the Arabs regard as a nakba, Arabic for catastrophe. Of course, the real disaster was the widespread, adamant Arab refusal to accept the 1947 United Nations partition plan, and the subsequent war and refugee flight that directly flowed from that decision. GET REAL The PA-sanctioned rioting, and especially the participation of Arafat’s armed forces, shocked many left-wing Israelis. They had generally dismissed the 1996 tunnel clashes as the result of "understandable" Arab frustration with Binyamin Netanyahu’s election earlier that year, and his subsequent "intransigent" statements and actions. Therefore, they had expected no recurrence of Palestinian/Israeli firefights under the "pro-peace" government of Ehud Barak. This view has now been exposed as naive wishful thinking, as was the expectation that Syrian dictator Hafez Assad was eagerly waiting to sign on the dotted line with the new Labor Premier. Adhering to the Hebrew lunar calendar, Israelis celebrated Independence Day on May 10 this year. On that day, thousands of Arab citizens of the predominantly Jewish State hoisted Palestinian flags and ripped or burned Israeli ones to protest Israel’s miraculous re-appearance on the world stage 52 years ago. The main demonstration took place in a Galilee Arab village abandoned during the 1948 war. Several Arab Knesset members took part in the anti-Israel action. One of them, Taleb al-Sana, declared that there will be no Mideast peace until "the last grain of the soil of Al-Quds (Jerusalem), the historical capital of the Palestinian people, is returned to its ancient owners." Of course, he was referring to Arabs, who have over 20 capital cities in this region; not to the modern descendants of the ancient Israelis who made Jerusalem their capital over 3,000 years ago. The Galilee demonstration followed months of escalating Arab student unrest at Israeli universities, resulting in violence on several occasions. On top of this, recent opinion polls reveal increasing identification among Israel’s million-plus Arab citizens with their Palestinian cousins in the disputed territories. Analysts say the growing influence of extremist Islamic groups working in Arab towns and villages, plus the apparent imminent emergence of a neighboring Palestinian state, is combining to produce a far more militant attitude among many Arab citizens, especially youthful ones. They warn that Muslim and nationalistic groups plan to demand that many of Israel’s Arab towns and villages be annexed to Arafat’s new state, slicing away even more land from the tiny Jewish country. GATES OF JERUSALEM Arafat and comrades had been demanding for months that Barak immediately hand over portions of eastern Jerusalem to full Palestinian control. The areas, home to some 30,000 Arabs, include the Eizariya neighborhood on the southeastern slopes of the Mount of Olives not far from the Temple Mount, Abu Dis just east of the holy site, and the town of Suwahra near the Jewish neighborhood of East Talpiot in southeastern Jerusalem. (A Palestinian terrorist entered an East Talpiot apartment building in the middle of the day in early May and stabbed two young Jewish brothers, moderately injuring them before fleeing to a nearby Arab village). Arafat plans to make Abu Dis his temporary capital later this year, and then add other sections of eastern Jerusalem to it when he can. His builders are currently completing construction of a large "parliament" building in Abu Dis. The domed building features a commanding view of Jerusalem’s sacred walled Old City and its Temple Mount, which is Arafat’s ultimate goal of conquest. The embattled Premier indicated that he was willing to pacify Arafat even though many in his six-party coalition opposed the handover. The National Religious Party (NRP) -- always a reluctant coalition partner -- threatened to leave the government if such a transfer was approved. Two other parties, the immigrant Israel b’Aliya party and the 17-man Orthodox Shas party (the second largest in the coalition) said they saw no reason to award part of the Mount of Olives to Arafat before a final peace accord is signed, thus throwing away an important negotiating card and further whetting his appetite for more of Israel’s capital city. Some also noted that parts of Abu Dis legally belong to Jews who purchased around 200 acres of land in the village in the 1920s. Even Foreign Minister David Levy, close to Barak, questioned the wisdom of handing over the Arab suburbs while the Palestinians were digging in their heels at the negotiating table. The cabinet voted 15-6 early on May 15 in favor of Barak’s proposal (David Levy was out of the country for the vote). The naysayers included the four Shas ministers, NRP Housing Minister Yitzhak Levy and Interior Minister Natan Sharansky. Yitzhak Levy then announced that his five-man NRP party was quitting the government, bringing it down to a mere 63-seat majority in the Knesset. Saying the vote signaled the beginning of the end for united Jerusalem and threatened Jewish settlements around the city, the Housing Minister called upon Shas and Yisrael b’Aliya to likewise jump off of the struggling coalition train. When Sharansky and Shas did not immediately follow suit, and while Israeli soldiers were ducking and returning PA fire in nearby Ramallah, the PM decided to rush his proposal through a quick Knesset vote. In a clever tactical move, he declared the ballot a confidence vote in his government, meaning that Yisrael b’Aliya and Shas ministers and deputy ministers would have to immediately resign if they voted no. After a stormy debate, the Knesset voted 56-48 to approve the land transfer, with all Shas and Yisrael b’Aliya representatives except the 10 officials voting against. Opponents of the handover noted with anger that Barak’s proposal would have failed if the 10 had not absented themselves from the crucial vote, with some predicting that the "cowardly abstentions" will hurt both parties in the next general election. There remains a strong possibility that either Shas or its bitter rival, the dovish Meretz party, will quit the coalition over another issue -- the Shas demand that the treasury rescue its financially strapped private school system. Meretz has threatened to leave the government if Barak fulfills the demand, while Shas says it will go if the public money is not forthcoming. Meanwhile several parties, including Shas, say they will vie for Yitzhak Levy’s vacated housing portfolio, giving the Premier another coalition headache when he least needs it. SEPARATION Speaking from the Knesset podium, the Prime Minister termed the Jerusalem area land transfer "a goodwill gesture" that will lead Israel toward "greater security and separation from the Palestinians." In his response, Likud party leader Ariel Sharon noted that Israeli soldiers were under rifle fire as the emotional debate was taking place. "When you give them Abu Dis, the Palestinians can also shoot from rooftops at Jerusalem neighborhoods," he said. Turning to face the former Armed Forces Chief, Sharon then asked Barak, "Is this is what you consider separation?" Later that same evening, a large anti-government rally was held in the center of Jerusalem. Police estimated 70,000 people showed up to call for Israeli retention of east Jerusalem suburbs and other parts of the disputed territories. Speakers also demanded a halt to negotiations with the Palestinians until the escalating violence came to an end. Yitzhak Levy received enthusiastic applause when he explained why his party had quit the government. He said a new struggle for Jerusalem had begun, albeit one "with respect and love" for opposition voices. Soon after Levy spoke, Peace Now activists hiding in a nearby hotel room projected a laser image of the late Yitzhak Rabin and the slogan, "Never Forget" onto a building behind the speakers platform. This angered some in the crowd who saw it as another left-wing attempt to blame the entire right for the late Premier’s 1995 assassination at the hands of a young Orthodox zealot. The unscheduled laser show came as Natan Sharansky began delivering his speech at the rally, despite Barak’s earlier pleas that he refrain from attending. The Interior Minister promised to vote against further land transfers unless Arafat truly fulfills his Oslo accord commitments. Two days after the crucial transfer vote, the Likud party put forth a bill that would ban the ceding of any land inside Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries unless an absolute majority of 61 Knesset members approved. Barak initially opposed the legislation, arguing it would tie his hands at the negotiating table. But when it became clear that four coalition parties intended to support the bill, the Premier backed down and the legislation passed its initial reading by a whopping 68-21 majority. Another bill forbidding the settlement of Palestinian refugees inside Israel was approved 66-22. The PA condemned both bills, saying they could trigger more street violence. TENSE TALKS The mid-May riots came as Final Status peace negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel reached a new deadlock, and as the latest Barak-imposed deadline for signing a framework accord -- May 13 -- passed without an agreement. Arafat’s men stormed out of the talks in the resort town of Eilat on May 5 after Israeli negotiators presented a map that would leave the Palestinians in full control over 66% of the former West Bank and Gaza Strip for now, with another 14% being transferred later. This would leave around 20% in Israeli hands, including most of the 144 Jewish communities located in the disputed areas. The Palestinians complained that the map carved out Arab "cantons" surrounded by Jewish areas of control. American officials quickly brought the two sides back to the table. Still, Palestinian chief negotiator Yasser Abed Rabbo later maintained that "nothing whatsoever" had been accomplished during the week-long discussions due to "Israeli rigidity." Israeli diplomats replied that it was the Palestinian’s "all or nothing" attitude that was behind the stalemate -- the same position taken by intransigent Syrian officials. At the insistent urging of the lameduck Clinton administration, Arafat and Barak met on May 7 in an attempt to patch the negotiations back together. The Israeli leader calmed his counterpart by promising to push through the Jerusalem land handover, and by revealing that the proffered map was not Israel’s final offer. Arafat reportedly replied that he would "never relinquish one centimeter of occupied Arab land" to Israel, including east Jerusalem, but might be prepared to take possession of territory inside Israel’s 1967 borders in exchange for some of the settlements (political analysts say such a land swap would probably be rejected by the Knesset). The PA leader also brought up the emotional prisoner issue and demanded that Israel take formal responsibility (and thus financial obligation) for the 1948 Arab refugee flight. As he has done many times before, Barak rejected this demand. He noted that the Palestinian retreat would not have taken place if neighboring Arab forces had refrained from attacking the nascent Jewish state 52 years ago, as David Ben Gurion and other Jewish and world leaders certainly urged them to do. With formal peace talks faltering, official confirmation finally came in mid-May of press reports that secret parallel negotiations have been taking place somewhere in Europe. It turned out that the venue this time was not Norway, but neighboring Sweden. The clandestine Palestinian team is headed by PA Legislative Council Speaker, Ahmed Qurie. Gilad Sher, an attorney and close Barak confidant, is conducting the "back channel" talks on the Prime Minister’s behalf. He has been assisted as needed by Internal Security Minister Shlomo Ben Ami, a Sephardic Jew who is fluent in Arabic. The negotiations are aimed at ironing out details of a Final Status framework accord, which Bill Clinton apparently wants signed in his presence later this summer. Press reports said Israel has offered to evacuate up to 90% of the disputed territories at the talks, including most of the strategic Jordan Valley. The back-channel revelation came as opinion polls showed that the charismatic Ben Ami is now the most popular politician in Barak’s cabinet, with an approval rating significantly higher than the Premier’s. The polls have added to speculation that Ben Ami may replace Barak -- whose approval ratings continue to drop -- as Labor party leader if the current government collapses and new elections are held. When news of the clandestine talks was officially released, Abed Rabbo resigned as chief Palestinian negotiator. He charged that the exposed Scandinavian negotiations are "an Israeli ploy to create loopholes in the Palestinian position, particularly after we rejected the Israeli canton maps." CHAOS IN SOUTH LEBANON Sparks and missiles flew along Israel’s other warfront during May -- the tormented northern border with Lebanon. As we go to print, remaining Israeli Army units have been ordered to swiftly leave the troubled country. The rapid retreat began after large sections of the South Lebanese Army--Israel’s long time Arab ally--surrendered, defected or were captured by the Shiite Hizbullah militia, which quickly occupied border areas abandoned by the Israeli Army and the SLA. Many SLA weapons fell into Hizbullah’s jublilant hands, including tanks and rocket launchers. Hundreds of humiliated SLA fighters and their families sought refuge in northern Israel. The chaotic Israeli Army retreat and rapid Hizbullah advance has been hailed as a tremendous victory in much of the world. Arab television reports have highlighted the thousands of frightened Israeli civilians fleeing their homes along the border. Many Israelis--who vividly remember that cross-border terror attacks were endemic before the Security Zone was established in 1978--expressed shock that militant Hizbullah fighters, and not the expected United Nations Peacekeeping Forces, are now their next door neighbors. Oppostion politicians have condemned the stepped-up army evacuation as a sellout of Israel’s Lebanese allies, and another failure of the Barak government. Senior military leaders had quietly warned that, in their professional opinions, the pullback is a serious mistake that will only shift the casualty burden from Israeli soldiers to civilians -- and possibly provoke a wider Mideast conflict. In a candid Jerusalem Post interview, Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz said it is "no secret that the Israeli Defense Force is strongly against a unilateral withdrawal, and that the army chief (Mofaz) has warned that leaving won’t be like a nature walk." But he added that military leaders would obediently carry out the government’s decision. Mofaz also warned that Syria’s armed forces "have become stronger, not weaker" in recent years, having acquired "new surface to surface missiles that can reach densely-populated sections of Israel." He also noted that Damascus has upgraded a large part of its tank corps, purchased more anti-tank rockets and increased the fighting capability of its commando units. The deteriorating situation in Lebanon began with the massive Hizbullah rocket barrage into the upper and western Galilee regions early in the month. It left one Israeli soldier dead and over two dozen civilians wounded. Smaller attacks followed later in the month. The soldier was killed when a rocket hit his army jeep as he was patrolling inside Israel near the international border. Most of the wounded were from the town of Kiryat Shmona -- the frequent target of Lebanese-launched rocket assaults over the past three decades. Several buildings and cars in the town of 15,000 were destroyed in the May 4 barrage. Shells also crashed into the western Galilee later in May, wounding two civilians helping to construct a new army outpost on the Israeli side of the border. More Israeli soldiers were wounded by intense artillery shelling later in the month, while Hizbullah lost a tank -- one of the heavy weapons it has recently deployed -- in an air force strike. The Israeli cabinet met in emergency session to discuss the early May assault, with many ministers calling for a sharp response to Hizbullah’s missile blitz. However, others urged a more moderate reaction, noting that the violence began when an Israeli jet accidentally dropped a bomb near a Lebanese village on May 3, wounding 14 people. In light of the scheduled army withdrawal from south Lebanon, a majority felt it was imperative to send a strong signal to Beirut, Damascus and Tehran that cross-border assaults by their militia proxy will not be tolerated as the troops retreat. The cabinet approved an air strike on acivilian power station north of Beirut, and on the main Beirut-Damascus highway often used by Syrian forces. Lebanese and Syrian officials condemned the raids, as did Iran. ANXIETY As with May’s armed Palestinian outburst, many Israelis fear that the latest rocket attacks are only a foretaste of what lies ahead when retreating army forces are entirely out of the crumbling Security Zone -- leaving militant Hizbullah fighters in their stead. Fiery protest rallies were held in Kiryat Shmona after the May 4 barrage, with tire-burning demonstrators calling upon the government to reconsider its withdrawal decision and do more to protect the areas from attack. A general strike was later held in the border town of Metulla. Protest organizer and reserve army officer Dubi Amitai said Metulla residents feel extremely vulnerable as they watch the new border fence rise just meters from their homes. "We are calling upon Barak to make a public commitment that any attacks on northern communities will be met with the kind of response that will deter any future breaches of the peace -- even if this means wiping out the village from which the attacks originate," he told reporters. Pro-Israeli SLA soldiers and their extended families are feeling even more nervous than the nearly 200,000 Israelis who live along the border. With casualties and defections continuing to mount, many remaining SLA members fear an all-out massacre after the last Israeli soldier crosses the border. Their anxiety is hardly misplaced given continuing threats from Hizbullah and Lebanese leaders against the "Zionist collaborators," and uncertainty about the shattered SLA force’s future. Lebanese officials -- who have done precious little to protect their south Lebanese citizens ever since thousands of rogue PLO gunmen flooded into the area in 1970 -- ruled out any mercy for frightened SLA fighters. "There will be no amnesty for those who collaborated with the enemy" said President Lahoud in response to a plea for mercy from SLA commander Antoine Lahad on May 11. Hizbullah leaders said they would pardon any SLA fighter who "kills their Israeli or Lebanese commanders and defects." Hailing the new wave of Palestinian violence, the Islamic fundamentalist force vowed to continue its war after Israeli troops leave Lebanon until "all of Palestine is liberated." PM Barak said he expects intensified attacks as the evacuation progresses since "Hizbullah wants to show that it has driven Israeli forces out of Lebanon" -- which, of course, is essentially the case. Debate about Israel’s moral obligation to its longtime Lebanese ally intensified as the withdrawal gathered speed. General Mofaz was among many voices noting that the SLA has "fought shoulder to shoulder with us since 1978 and lost hundreds of fighters." He added, "Every citizen of Israel has a moral obligation to the SLA." Newspaper editorials warned that Jerusalem’s treatment of its longtime Arab ally would be closely watched by friend and foe alike. PROTECTION Israeli officials say they are hoping the United Nations will step in and protect past and present SLA soldiers and their families (some 17,000 people). UN officials have pledged to beef up armed peacekeeping forces in south Lebanon to around 7,000 men after the pullout is completed. However, they have made no explicit commitment to protect the tens of thousands of Lebanese Christians and Muslims who have had regular contacts over the years with Israelis. In fact, the UN is demanding that the SLA be completely disbanded and its heavy weapons confiscated by Israel (Israeli officials were still debating how to respond to this difficult demand as we went to print, with many arguing that Jews of all people could not disarm their threatened friends and thus expose them to potential mass slaughter). Opposition politicians say it is ridiculous to expect the UN to protect Israel’s allies when it has been unable or unwilling to stop daily Hizbullah attacks until now. The coming weeks and months are clearly going to be among the most crucial ones for the embattled Jewish State in its short, modern history. Government decisions are pending that will affect the lives and well being of all Israelis, Palestinians and many others in this troubled portion of God’s earth. The battle for Jerusalem is clearly gaining momentum. Decisions will be made in the face of continuing violence and even threats of war. May the Lord’s gracious and merciful hands guide those making such weighty decisions as we, His loyal subjects, continue to intercede before the heavenly throne! "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you...For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good." (Psalm 122:6,9)
© 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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