 |
 |
|
|
||
Newsletter : 8fax1208.txt
Directory | Previous file | Next file
>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN Dec. 8, 1998, Vol. 6, No. 221
Peace Flight is Canceled
Israel Faxx Staff Report
The Defense Ministry has canceled am Arkia charter "peace flight"
which was supposed to take off from Ben-Gurion International
Airport and fly to Gaza where it would have been greeted by
Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat. About 30 "peace activists"
arranged the flight for dozens of Knesset members, themselves and
a large number of journalists. The Defense Ministry decided that
only a limited number of the press and peace activists who arranged
the flight may attend.
Arabs Continue Protests Over Prisoner Release
By David Gollust (VOA-Jerusalem)
There were clashes throughout the West Bank Monday as Palestinians continued protesting Israel's handling of prisoner releases. The unrest comes less than five days before President Clinton is to visit the West Bank, Gaza and Israel.
Demonstrations spread to every major West Bank town Monday and
dozens of Palestinians were injured in clashes with both Israeli
and Palestinian security forces. Palestinians accuse Israel of
violating the Wye River agreement by releasing mainly criminal
detainees rather than political and military prisoners, in the
first phase of implementation last month.
Several thousand protestors marched in Nablus, the biggest West
Bank town controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian
police opened fire on demonstrators trying to storm their
headquarters and at least seven in the crowd were wounded.
At several other locations in the West Bank, Israeli security
forces used rubber-coated bullets against stone-throwing protestors
with injuries on both sides. Near Jerusalem, an Israeli civilian,
whose car had been stoned, shot and seriously wounded a young
palestinian.
The violence cast a shadow over planning for Clinton's visit to
Israel and the Palestinian areas, which begins late Saturday and
has already been marked by controversy.
Israeli officials fear the high-profile visit to the West Bank and Gaza will boost Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat's drive for Palestinian statehood, and some Cabinet members have openly suggested that Clinton be dis-invited.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, however, told Israel Radio
Monday the president would be a welcome guest, though he also
insisted that the idea for the visit was Clinton's and not his.
Clinton will divide his time almost equally between Israel and the
Palestinians during his three day stay -- a fact that in itself
troubles some Israelis. Officials say the parties have decided in
principle to add a three-way meeting involving the president,
Netanyahu and Arafat on Monday after Clinton visits Gaza.
Observant Jews want Clinton to change his travel plans so they can
prevent the desecration of the Sabbath. Currently, the president is
scheduled to land on Saturday evening which will cause persons here
to violate the Sabbath in preparation for Air Force One.
The prime minister's media advisor, Aviv Bushinsky, acknowledged
that he has received requests from the orthodox members of the
Knesset to call on US officials to reschedule the president's
arrival time. "He is landing on Saturday night after Shabbat ends
and people will have to work. There's nothing else to do,"
Bushinsky told Reuters.
Thousands of Resuscitation Machines May Fail in 2000
By IsraelWire
The Israeli medical community is not taking any chances -- at least
in its dealings with resuscitation equipment and reports of
potential millennium bugs that may shut down many computer-driven
machines when the New Year arrives on Jan. 1, 2000.
Many medical facilities are ordering new units necessary for the
resuscitation of patients in cardiac arrest. In addition, protocols
are being written to require medical staff be at the side of
persons on life support systems at the strike of midnight New
Year's Eve 2000.
Many senior officials in the medical community explain that this is
a formidable foe -- one that may not be treated with an antibiotic
or a prescription for a medication -- "It is a virtual threat" they
explained.
Dr. Boaz Lev, the director-general of the Ministry of Health issued a statement of calm to the public, insisting there are already adequate supplies of resuscitators which are modern enough to continue working and are not threatened by the millennium bug.
Employee Apprehended with Stolen Table in Hand
By IsraelWire
A foreign worker at an Eilat hotel was apprehended for stealing a
table from the hotel. The worker from Russia, who was employed at
the Neptune Howard Johnson, took the weighted table with great
difficulty, and was on his way with it to the airport, dragging the
steel legs on the ground.
The hotel's manager spotted the thief, with the table in hand,
phoned police and the arrest was made. The employee told police he
saw the table discarded outside the hotel and denied stealing it.
| Home My Account Search Contact Us |
by Electronic World Communications, Inc.)
