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Newsletter : 8fax0817.txt
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>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN Aug. 17, 1998, Vol. 6, No. 146
Arafat Cancels Israel Peace Meeting
By Mark Lavie (VOA-Tel Aviv)
Israel Radio reports Palestinian Chairman Yasir Arafat as saying he
has cut off contacts with Israel, because there has not been any
progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks for more than one year.
Arafat canceled a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian
negotiators set for Saturday. Israel Radio reports he told three
members of the moderate parliamentary opposition he has halted
contacts with Israel's hardline government.
The Palestinian leader said if there is no progress toward peace,
and if Israel does not carry out its commitment to turn over
additional territory in the West Bank, he will declare
establishment of an independent Palestinian state in May.
That is the target date written in the Israeli-Palestinian
agreements for reaching a permanent peace treaty. The interim
steps were to have been completed more than a year ago, and
permanent-status talks should have been well under way, but the
peace treaty negotiations have yet to begin.
The two sides are stuck over terms of implementing interim steps,
like Israel's long-overdue handover of territory in the West Bank.
A year-long effort by the United States to mediate an accord was
not enough to get them together. Now, the United States says it is
up to the Israelis and Palestinians to solve the problems
themselves.
Before the United States suspended its mediation efforts, the
Palestinians reluctantly accepted a set of US compromise proposals
to finish the interim negotiations. Now the Palestinians say the
Israelis must accept them, as well.
Both the Israelis and the Palestinians would like the United States
to resume its active involvement in the talks. Each side assumes
US negotiators would pressure the other for concessions. That was
the case before, and it appears to be the situation the State
Department prefers to avoid now.
Report: Israeli-Arabs are Potential Threat
Israel Faxx Staff Report
Israeli-Arabs are liable to become a strategic threat to Israel,
according to a special report prepared by the Prime Minister's
Office. Ma'ariv reports the official evaluation is that the Arab
citizens could demand political and cultural autonomy, and that the
Islamic movement amongst them has "serious and threatening
potential."
Knesset member Abdul Wahab Darawshe (United Arab List) told Arutz-7
that he regrets the fact that after 50 years, the establishment
still sees the Arab sector in Israel as a hostile, separatist
element. He says that the Arabs would like to integrate totally
within Israel as a "state for all its citizens," and not just as a
Jewish state.
Indictments in Cocaine Smuggling Operation
By IsraelWire
The state handed down indictments against 12 Israelis for their alleged involvement in delivering one ton of cocaine from Peru to Europe. The indictments are for dealing in illegal drugs and conspiring to commit a crime.
The parties involved purchased used agricultural equipment or used
machines for the inspection of brakes on cars and motorcycles in
Israel. Police explain the machines are very heavy, so the addition
of tens of kilograms went undetected.
The machines were prepared for the cocaine in such away that the
drug-sniffing dogs at the border did not detect the cocaine. In
addition, lead plates were placed surrounding the drugs, to prevent
detection by X-ray machines.
The machines purchased in Israel were also sent to South America via European countries, so their final destination was not traceable from Israel. The indictments allege the suspects profited by sums in the NIS tens of millions.
Among the names of persons tied into the case, according to police, is Rabbi Dov Kook of Tiberias. The state reports it has a tape of a phone conversation, during which the prominent rabbi tells the suspect how to get his "package" back, referring to a shipment of 91 kilograms of cocaine, valued at NIS 45 million, according to police.
Kook is the husband of Rabbanit Kook of Tiberias, known for her work in returning persons to a path of observance, from their former secular lives.
According to the eight-month-old police tape, one of the suspects
phones the rabbi after a shipment from Venezuela was intercepted by
authorities. The rabbi, who was questioned in the case by Northern
District Police, admitted to knowing some of the suspects but
denied knowing others, including the one who was taped by police
speaking with him about the "package."
Israeli Cancer Breakthrough
By Arutz-7 News Service
New cancer treatment technology was recently introduced at Ichilov
Hospital in Tel Aviv. The new technology freezes cancerous cells,
eliminating the need to operate and reducing the risk of harm to
blood vessels and nerves. Dr. Yitzchak Meler, head of the
Orthopedic Oncology Department, said, "The new treatment allows us
control and supervision over the extent of freezing." Meler claims
the treatment halts the spread of cancerous cells in nearly
100 percent of patients.
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