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Newsletter : 9fax0201.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN Feb. 1, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 21
Health Officials Deny Yediot Report
By IsraelWire
Officials in the Ministry of Health denied reports appearing in
Yediot Achronot that it was storing the small pox virus in a
facility located in a major city. Health officials called upon
Yediot to print a retraction, explaining the storage of the virus
was a violation of international law.
Arafat to Clinton: Why No Wye?
By Ross Dunn (VOA-Jerusalem)
Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat is flying to Washington this week
for talks with President Clinton. The meeting will focus on
Israel's failure to implement the US-brokered Wye River Peace
Accord.
Arafat will meet Clinton Thursday in an attempt to breathe new life
into the peace process, which has been effectively frozen because
of the campaigning for Israel's May elections.
The deadline to complete the implementation of the Wye River Accord
passed Sunday with Israel still refusing to honor its commitments
to transfer an additional 13 percent of the West Bank to
Palestinian self-rule and also set free a total of 750 Palestinian
prisoners. So far Israel has only handed over 2 percent of the
territory and released just 250 Palestinian prisoners.
In addition, there was to have been a land passage established to
connect the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a new seaport in Gaza and
closer economic ties between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu maintains no further
progress has been possible because of the Palestinian Authority's
failure to halt incitement to violence by Palestinian activists
against Israeli citizens.
His claim was given a certain credulity Saturday when the PA
allowed the militant islamic group, Hamas, to mark the 12th
anniversary of the founding of the movement by publicly re-enacting
suicide bombings and the kidnapping and killing of Israeli
soldiers.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat insisted his side has done
what was demanded -- including canceling those articles in the
PLO's founding charter which called for Israel's destruction, and
devising a strategy to combat violence by Palestinian militants.
He said the Israeli elections do not justify any further delays
in the handover of more territory to the Palestinians. Erekat says
that Arafat will ask Clinton to find some mechanism that would
force Israel to complete the implementation of the accord.
Abdullah Assures Israel He Supports Peace Treaty
By David Gollust (VOA Jerusalem)
Israel says Jordan's new Crown Prince Abdullah has assured Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that he supports the peace deal his
ailing father, King Hussein, reached with the Jewish state in 1994.
The stability of Jordan is a major concern of Israel's.
A spokesman for Netanyahu said the Israeli leader phoned Prince
Abdullah to congratulate him on his appointment as crown prince,
and was told that he intends to continue his father's policies of
maintaining peace and good relations with Israel.
Netanyahu, the spokesman said, told Prince Abdullah that Israel
considers peace with Jordan a vital national interest and also
wished King Hussein a speedy recovery.
Israeli officials consider King Hussein Israel's best friend in
the Arab world, and his sudden relapse of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and
return to the United States for treatment are being followed with
alarm.
King Hussein concluded a peace treaty with Israel in 1994
and before that had conducted secret contacts with Israeli leaders
dating back to the 1950s. He has been personally involved in the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process and left his sickbed to help
President Clinton negotiate the Wye River agreement in October.
Israeli officials had cultivated close ties with former Crown
Prince Hassan but are confident that Prince Abdullah would be able
to maintain stability in Jordan, in the event of the king's early
death.
Nonetheless, Israeli commentators have spoken of worst-case
scenarios in which bilateral relations deteriorate because of
problems in Israeli-Palestinian talks, or unrest among Jordan's
Palestinian majority spread to the West Bank -- which Jordan
controlled until 1967.
Crown Prince Abdullah Saturday received Palestinian leader Yasir
Arafat. They discussed developments in the Middle East peace
process.
Insurance Against Suspension of Drivers License
By IsraelWire
The Ardit Insurance Company has announced their most innovative new
policy aimed at persons who livelihood stems from their ability to
drive.
The new policy is aimed at taxi drivers, truck drivers and other
who earn their living behind the wheel. If an insured client were
to lose his/her license as a result of motor vehicle violations,
then he/she would be entitled to monthly payments not in excess of
75 percent of a regular monthly income. The insurance benefits
would not exceed a period of over one-year. A rider on the policy
would also provide up to NIS 20,000 for fees incurred in the hiring
of a lawyer in court proceedings related to the license suspension.
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