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Newsletter : 9fax1004.txt
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>JN Oct. 4, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 182
Mossad May be Implicated in Spy Ring
By IsraelWire
Jane's Defense Weekly reports the weekly Focus magazine said that the Mossad Intelligence Agency could be implicated in a spy ring that stole cruise missile data from DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (DASA), a German-US aeronautics firm.
Palestinians Denied Access to Gaza-West Bank Road
By Ross Dunn (VOA-Jerusalem)
Palestinians have been denied access to a long-awaited road between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Sunday's scheduled opening of the land route has been delayed once again because of differences between Israeli and Palestinians negotiators.
Palestinians had been hoping to travel freely for the first time Sunday between their two geographically separated areas - the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
But days of intense negotiations failed to resolve Israeli-Palestinian differences and the land route passing through Israel remains closed.
Israel insists on retaining the right to issue special identity cards to would-be travelers. It also insists on the power to arrest Palestinians during the crossing.
Palestinian officials say the demands are offensive and humiliating. They fear that Israel would use the opportunity to seize those on the most wanted list of Palestinian fugitives.
The delay is the first major setback in the implementation of the agreement signed in September between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat at the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
So far, Israel has been ahead of schedule in releasing 200 Palestinian security prisoners and handing over a further 7 percent of West Bank land to Palestinian administrative control.
The postponement is a blow to the personal credibility of Barak, who had insisted, despite the objections of several Cabinet ministers, that the road would open on schedule.
Palestinians consider free passage between the West Bank and Gaza Strip another symbolic step toward statehood. They say the continued physical separation harms their national aspirations, as well as their ability to boost the local economy.
Under current arrangements, Israel allows only a select group of Palestinians to make the 40-kilometer journey through Israel territory.
Arab Children Burn Toys to Protest Disney Pavilion
By IsraelWire
Reports from the PLO Authority autonomous area in Gaza detail protests which took place Saturday, during which Arab children set toys ablaze to protest the opening of the controversial Israeli exhibit at Walt Disney World's Epcot theme park in Florida.
Witnesses to the demonstration in Gaza report that about 70 children took part in the Rafiah protest in southern Gaza during which young protesters set light to toys on which they had painted the word "Disney" and burned two American flags, the witnesses said.
The $1.8 million display, unveiled on Friday at Epcot's Millennium Village, refers to Jerusalem as "the heart of the Israeli people." The opening took place on schedule despite efforts by the Arab League, the PA, and other international Arab and Islamic bodies, with all insisting the status of Jerusalem was to be determined in the final status talks with Israel and therefore, Jerusalem could not be depicted as the capital of the Jewish people at this time.
Pope Plans Middle East Pilgrimage
By Sabina Castelfranco (VOA-Rome)
Pope John Paul confirmed that he plans to travel to the Middle East next year. The Pope made the announcement as young people from the Middle East presented him with a special peace calendar.
Pope John Paul says he plans to visit the Middle East as part of celebrations to mark the start of the third millennium. "I plan to go to the Holy Land," he said, "on a pilgrimage tracing the history of salvation."
The Pope made the announcement in a written message to young people representing Christians, Muslims and Jews visiting the Vatican. The young people from the Middle East said they were looking forward to the Pope's expected visit to the Holy Land in March 2000.
The pope also urged young people from Israel and Palestine to work for peace. "At the threshold of the third millennium," he said, "you must come to see more clearly that the future of peace and of humanity depends on the fundamental choices your generation will make." The pope added, it is important that young people help construct a new society and civilization based on mutual respect and cooperation.
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