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Newsletter : 8fax0722.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN July 22, 1998, Vol. 6 No. 129
Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Continue
By Al Pessin (VOA-Jerusalem)
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have agreed to continue meeting
in an Israeli town near Jerusalem, but Palestinian officials are
offering a pessimistic assessment of how things are going so far.
The negotiators are not making formal statements on their talks,
but Israeli news reports say Israel has offered two new ideas, and
Palestinian officials apparently do not like them.
According to the news reports, Israel is offering to withdraw from
10 percent of the West Bank and to declare another 3 percent "green
areas," in which there would be no building by either side. That
would enable Israel to match the 13 percent US mediators have
suggested as the core of the compromise plan, which the negotiators
are now discussing.
In addition, Israel is reported to be willing to accept a process
for amending the Palestinian Charter, to remove its anti-Israel
clauses, which might be politically easier for the Palestinians
than what Israel had been demanding.
Palestinian officials say they expect to hear more from Israel in
additional meetings. But one Palestinian negotiator describes the
Israeli ideas as not serious, and another says the Palestinians
still want Israel to accept the US plan as written. The Palestinian
leader, Yasir Arafat, says there has been no progress so far.
Fairly senior negotiators from the two sides are meeting in an
town west of Jerusalem. The negotiators -- Israeli Defense
Minister Yitzhak Mordechai and senior Palestinian official Mahmoud
Abbas, who launched the process Sunday -- may meet Wednesday to
review the situation.
Meanwhile, Israeli political maneuvering is continuing. Leading
right-wing Cabinet member ariel sharon is reported to have
phoned-in a threat to bring the government down all the way
from China, where he is on an official visit. Sharon is the
leader of a group in the ruling coalition which does not want to
give up any more than 9 percent of the West Bank. But others in the
coalition are willing to give more, and say they will bring the
government down if there is no agreement within the next two weeks.
And there is a new, religious, element in the process. Friday
begins an annual nine-day period of mourning in Judaism for the
destruction of its two Holy Temples thousands of years ago. A
senior rabbi, who leads a political party which might support a
substantial West Bank withdrawal has called on the government not
to negotiate during the mourning period, in keeping with Jewish
tradition. The implication is that his party would oppose any
accord reached during the nine days. If the government waits, it
would extend the process into the Israeli parliament's summer
recess -- meaning nothing could really happen until an agreement is
possibly ratified in September -- which the Palestinians say is
not acceptable.
Luxury Housing in Autonomous Areas
By IsraelWire
Forty villas and luxury apartments are taking shape as the village
of Tell Al Safa, under the rule of the PLO Authority. The planners
of the luxury development said the complex will be completed by
year's end.
Zahed Khouri said Investors have spent $7 million for the
development, which will include tennis courts, nurseries, a
swimming pool, and green areas over an area of about 4.5 acres.
Khouri adds that the show of wealth is deliberate and is meant to
send a message that rich Arabs, who have made money abroad, are
prepared to invest in their land.
PA Will Demand Return of Abandoned West Jerusalem Properties
By IsraelWire
The PLO Authority, working out of the Orient House in eastern
Jerusalem, is preparing a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court
against Israel, asking to have properties returned that were
abandoned by Arab owners in 1948.
In preparation for presenting the Supreme Court claim, Faisal
Husseini, who holds the Jerusalem portfolio in the PA, traveled to
Turkey, met with the Turkish foreign minister, and requested all
Ottoman Empire documents pertaining to land-ownership filings.
The PA plans to base their claim on the fact that Israel lets Jews
claim rights on properties that were purchased in East Jerusalem.
In their fact gathering on Arab properties in West Jerusalem, the
PA used the services of Israeli Arabs, who, armed with cameras and
maps, were sent to many West Jerusalem neighborhoods, among them
Talbia, Baka, and Ein Kerem.
Attorney Hadad Shkirat, who heads the Palestinian Association for
Civil Rights, stated that his people have gathered information on
tens of thousands of Arab houses and properties in West Jerusalem.
"Ninety-five percent of the real estate in West Jerusalem belongs
to Arabs, including the land used to build the Knesset and the
Mall."
He also said the information would be used in discussions on the
future of Jerusalem. Shkirat claimed that he personally opposes
turning to the Israeli Supreme Court on the matter of Arab
properties. He stated that the matter is political, not judicial,
and is doomed from the start.
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