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Newsletter : 9fax0510.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN May 10, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 87
Palestinians Threaten Israelis Over Orient House
By David Gollust (VOA-Jerusalem) & IsraelWire
Israeli and Palestinian officials held late night talks Sunday
aimed at avoiding a confrontation over the Israeli-ordered closure
of offices at the "Palestine Liberation Organization's"
headquarters in east Jerusalem, Orient House. Hundreds of
Palestinian activists -- serenaded by a brass band -- kept a vigil
here as an evening Israeli deadline for the closing of the three
offices passed without incident.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wants to shut down the offices,
claiming they are being used by Yasir Arafat's Palestinian
Authority in violation of interim peace agreements. Palestinians
have vowed to resist any Israeli attempt to enter the walled
compound and enforce the closure order. Officials of the two sides
were reported working on a compromise amid US diplomatic pressure
to avoid violence.
Palestinians link the closure order to Israel's election next
week and say they want to avoid any incident that could boost
Netanyahu's re-election chances.
According to Yediot Ahronot, the PLO Authority has decided to
prevent Israeli security forces from entering Orient House at any
cost. This includes the spilling of blood. Members of Arafat's
Fatah faction have been assigned to reinforce the security presence
at Orient House. The atmosphere at Orient House is described as one
of "waiting," with the main gate closed down and the children's
choir singing songs of the violent Arab uprising known as the
Intifada.
Those organizing the standoff at Orient House are carrying out the
orders of Arafat, who said, "An insult to Orient House is an
insult against the PA." Fatah activists throughout the West Bank
are heeding Arafat's call and Yediot says they are preparing for
widespread violence if the PA sovereignty in east Jerusalem is
challenged.
All factions agreed to unite for the planned Israeli shutting down
of the illegal offices in Orient House and they indicate their
willingness to engage in an armed struggle if need be.
Blind Woman Suing for Millions in Medical Lawsuit
By IsraelWire
A 37-year-old woman from central Israel is suing the Tel HaShomer Hospital and eye surgeon Dr. Michael Blumenthal for NIS millions. According to the woman, she became blind through medical negligence.
Documents in the Tel-Aviv District Court say the woman was
hospitalized in Tel HaShomer Hospital because the lens of her right
eye had shifted out of place. The woman said she was examined by
Blumenthal, who decided that the lens needed to be moved by laser.
The laser treatment failed, and Blumenthal decided to operate to
remove the woman's lens and to transplant a synthetic lens.
The woman claims that Blumenthal did not measure the diameter of
her cornea, and therefore, prepared a lens that was too big. The
woman also complained that the operation was done under local
anesthesia, despite the risk of complications.
The woman claims that Blumenthal told her, after the operation did
not succeed, that it would take a few days to see what went wrong.
One year later a new cornea was transplanted into the woman's eye,
but the damage to the iris and the lens remained, and her vision
from that eye stayed weak.
Three years later, the woman was recommended to have a similar
operation in her left eye for the same problem. During the
operation, pieces of the lens fell into the woman's eye, her eye
became infected, and all attempts to save the eye failed. The woman
lost her eyesight.
The woman accuses Tel HaShomer Hospital and Blumenthal of medical
negligence. She also claims that the hospital and the doctor
violated her rights as a patient, by not explaining to her the
medical procedure she was about to undergo. The woman claims that
becoming blind has made her a cripple and causes depression.
Western Wall Follows Eiffel Tower in Tourist Popularity
By IsraelWire
Israelis are more familiar with sites abroad than sites in Israel. For example, 79% of participants in a survey taken among thousands of people, knew that the Arch of Triumph is on the Champs Elysee Boulevard in Paris, while only 26% knew that Ben-Gurion's home is found on the street bearing his name in Tel-Aviv.
The survey was conducted by the ISTA travel agency in 34 of its
branches over a several day period. The survey participants were
asked to mark off the tourist sites they had visited in the past
decade. The most popular tourist site noted was the Eiffel Tower,
visited by 29%. Big Ben in London was visited by 26% , and the same
number had been to the Statue of Liberty in New York, and the Arch
of Triumph in Paris. The tower of Pisa had been visited by 25%,
the White House in Washington by 24%, and EuroDisney by 20%.
The most popular tourist sites in Israel according to the survey
are: the Western Wall - 52%, Yad Vashem - 26%, the roaring lion in
Tel Hai - 20%, Solomon's Pillars in Timna - 14%, the Air Force
Museum in Hatzrim - 11%, Ben-Gurion's grave - 8%, and the Cave of
the Patriarchs - 2%.
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