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Newsletter : 9fax0827.txt
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>JN Aug. 27, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 159
Internet Strike Tonight
By IsraelWire
At midnight Friday, Aug. 27, thousands of Israelis will go off line in observance of the 24-hour nationwide Internet strike over what organizers are calling the telephone company's taking advantage of consumers due to its monopoly. The one-day strike is aimed at bringing attention to the plight of the growing number of Internet surfers who have no other alternative but to pay the rates of the Bezeq Phone Company.
Peace Now: Settlements are Obstacles
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Itamar, West Bank)
The Israeli activist group Peace Now says at least 37 illegal
settlements have been built on the West Bank since the Wye River
peace accords were signed last October. The activists say such
settlements are a major obstacle to reviving the Middle East peace
process. The group took members of the Israeli Parliament and
journalists to the West Bank settlement of Itamar.
On a limestone and scrub hilltop, surrounded by uninhabited
wilderness, Jewish settlers, mostly Russian immigrants, are
engaging in verbal clashes with activists for Peace Now -- an
Israeli group opposing settlements in the occupied territories.
The settlers live in makeshift homes perched on this windswept
hilltop. They have a breathtaking view of the Jordan Valley below.
The area is connected to the settlement of Itamar by a winding and
dusty road about 6 miles long.
Peace Now activists like Galia Golan say this is the perfect
example of the illegal settlements that have sprung up throughout
the West Bank since the Wye River peace accords were signed last
October.
"I believe that the government should take these illegal
settlements down for no other reason than that they are illegal.
There is also a very, very serious political side to it and that
is the message we are giving here is that Israel is not willing
to compromise -- not willing to leave the occupied territories. If
we don't compromise on the issue of the territories, the
settlements, there will be no peace with anybody in the
Palestinian camp."
Israel estimates there are more than 170,000 settlers in about 120 settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. These settlements are surrounded by about 2 million Palestinians living in the same area.
Israel captured the area during the 1967 Middle East war and many
nations have criticized previous Israeli governments for
encouraging expansion of the settlements. U-S Middle East envoy
Dennis Ross calls settlement activity "very destructive to the
pursuit of peace."
Still, construction of the settlements continues with people drawn
to the land for religious reasons and because of financial
incentives provided by previous Israeli governments.
Jacob Rotman is a leader in Itamar. He says the settlers are
moving to this isolated place because it is the land of their
Jewish ancestors. "This is a holy place, a holy place where his
Jewish grandfathers lived." He says they were here and he wants to
continue the dynasty of his grandfathers.
Yaron Benzvi also lives in Itamar and he says he also became a
settler for religious reasons. "The very deep things in the mystic
of the Torah -- in the secrets of the Torah -- it is like a
picture. There is a pipe with the good from God to the earth - to
all human beings -- it is not just to the Israeli nation. But
this pipe is coming through Israel and Jerusalem and the Israeli
people."
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak says no new settlements will be
built in the near future and no existing settlements will be
removed. He says the status of the settlements will be determined
during negotiations with the Palestinians on a permanent peace plan
for the Middle East.
Sheinbein Plea Bargain Defended
By IsraelWire
Responding to harsh criticism by US judicial officials, State Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein defended the sentence and the Israeli judicial system in the Samuel Sheinbein murder case.
Samuel Sheinbein, 17, agreed to a plea bargain in which he will
enter a guilty plea in the murder of teenager Alfredo Tello in
1997.
The attorney general explained that plea bargains are part of the judicial system, even more so in the US than in Israel. Officials also pointed out that the 24-year sentence represented a most serious punishment against a minor in Israel and in no way should be looked upon as a light hand of the law.
Rubinstein also criticized Montgomery County (Md.) State Attorney
Douglas Gansler for having divulged the details of the planned plea
bargain agreement planned for the Sept. 2 session of the Tel Aviv
District Court. According to Rubinstein, the court may still reject
the plea bargain agreement.
US officials were critical of the plea bargain deal that would make
the 17-year-old eligible for parole in 16 years, after serving
two-thirds of his sentence. In addition, after six years in jail,
he may be granted weekend leaves.
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