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Newsletter : 9fax1014.txt
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>JN Oct. 14, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 190
Mosque Will Be Built Next to Nazareth Basilica
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Jerusalem)
The Israeli Government has announced it will allow Muslim groups to build a mosque next to a major Christian holy site in Nazareth next to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth where Christian tradition says the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to Jesus. However the plan, which is strongly opposed by many Christian leaders in the Holy Land, immediately drew criticism from Muslim officials as well.
Israeli Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami released details of the plan shortly after meeting with Christian and Muslim groups from Nazareth. Ben-Ami says the mosque must be limited to 700- square meters (approx. 7,500 square feet). He says a large barrier will be built between the mosque and the church, a Muslim protest tent currently on the site will be removed next month, and there will be an increase in the number of police in the area.
"A police station will be established in the location in order to secure tourism, in order to secure people who come to pray either in the mosque or in the church. This is the basis of our resolution and we expect the two parties to accept them. If they do not accept them, we will have to take unilateral steps."
Ben-Ami says construction of the mosque would begin after planned millennium celebrations that include an expected visit to Nazareth by Pope John Paul.
While Muslim leaders generally supported the proposed size of the mosque, they immediately voiced their opposition to other details of the plan and warned there could be violence in Nazareth if it is implemented.
Aziz Shehadeh, a Muslim leader from Nazareth, had this warning. "There will be bloodshed. There will be something which people will remember for the coming 50-years. There will be tension in the city and there will be tension with Israeli authorities and this will create tension in the city among all the citizens."
Some leaders have threatened to close Christian holy sites during millennium celebrations and others have suggested the pope may reconsider his planned visit to the region during the year 2000.
Achille Lauro Petition Rejected by High Court
By IsraelWire
A petition calling upon Israel to attempt to try Mohammed Abbas for his part in the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro luxury liner and the murder of passenger Leon Klinghoffer was rejected by the High Court of Justice.
"The late Leon Klinghoffer was murdered by despicable people and his blood cries out, but (Abbas) cannot be brought to trial -- in any event, not in Israel," the court said in rejecting the claims of three petitioners, one a New York state assemblyman. Dov Hikind.
The court explained in its ruling that the Oslo Agreement signed between Israel and the PLO Authority in 1993 stated that persons involved in crimes committed prior to the signing date were exempt from prosecution in Israeli courts providing they entered into the autonomous areas of the PA after September 1995.
"This decision seals the door shut, assuring that now no one will be able to avenge the blood of Leon Klinghoffer," said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, lawyer for the petitioners. "In one stroke of a peace agreement, Israel has erased from its books dastardly crimes against the Jewish people."
A US arrest warrant for Abbas was dropped several years ago. Italy sentenced him in absentia to a life term for the hijacking, but has not actively sought to enforce the sentence.
The petitioners, New York State legislator Dov Hikind, Rabbi Avi Weiss, also of New York, and Israeli Ron Torossian a right-wing activist, asked the court to order that "`all needed steps" be taken to arrest Abbas and try him for murder.
Soldiers Sue IDF in Alleged Sexual Harassment Case
By IsraelWire
Two female IDF soldiers are suing the IDF for NIS 50,000 in compensation each because, they claim, officers, soldiers, and civilian IDF employees on the base where they served continually sexually harassed them.
The soldiers further claim that when they attempted to put a stop to the harassment, the base commander tried to convince them not to make a complaint with the military police. After making their complaint, the soldiers say they were shunned socially in their unit, and were insulted by the soldiers. The suit against the IDF was made in accordance with new IDF regulations for preventing sexual harassment, and which could allow financial compensation to victims of sexual harassment.
One of the two soldiers is still serving in the IDF; the other was recently discharged. The two claim that the sexual harassment caused them degradation, embarrassment, and trampled their honor. According to the soldiers, the harassment began a year ago. They stated that, except for one major who encouraged them to issue a complaint, all the officers ignored their claims.
On the same base, an officer was recently convicted of sexually abusing a female officer. Thirteen fellow officers gave testimony supporting the officer, including the commander of the base.
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