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Newsletter : 9fax1028.txt
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>JN Oct. 28, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 200
40,000 Israeli Youth Between 8-16 Use Drugs
By IsraelWire
Adi Eldar, who heads the Union of Local Authorities, says 40,000 of the nation's youth between eight and 16-years-old are using drugs although authorities only have active files on 1,600 of them. Eldar added that if we include the teenagers between the ages of 16-18, there are about 68,000 youngsters who regularly use drugs.
Day 3 of Bethlehem Unrest
By IsraelWire
IDF officials report that for a third consecutive day, unrest has erupted in the PLO Authority autonomous city of Bethlehem. A short time after noon, several dozen local Arab youth began hurling bottles and stones at IDF troops stationed at Rachel's Tomb.
The unrest began Monday following the shooting death of an Arab man, Mousa Abu Hilail, who attempted to stab an IDF soldier stationed at the Tomb. The soldier sustained light facial injuries and due to his alertness and quick appropriate response, fired two shots at the attacker, killing him.
Following the attack, officials in the PA released their report stating that Abu Hilail was unarmed and gunned down in cold blood. As a result, there has been daily unrest and violent riots in the city, involving firebombs being thrown at Israeli troops.
On Tuesday, the PA reported 16 demonstrators were injured by tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets fired by Israeli forces attempting to restore order.
On Wednesday, reports from Bethlehem indicated the Israeli forces exercised restraint, attempting to avoid day-three of violent clashes with the local population.
Oslo Peace Summit Next Week
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Jerusalem)
U-S Middle East envoy Dennis Ross says he hopes a summit next week in Oslo, Norway will lay the groundwork for Israel and the Palestinians to begin serious negotiations on a permanent peace agreement.
During a visit to Jerusalem, Ross told reporters the meeting next week in Oslo, with President Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian President Yasir Arafat will focus on starting negotiations to reach a permanent peace agreement in the Middle East.
Ross says Clinton hopes to build on the success of the revised Wye River accord signed last month in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, which committed the Israelis and Palestinians to reach the framework of a permanent peace plan by February of next year.
"Well, I think the most important thing is that the president has the chance to meet both leaders separately and then together. It is an opportunity, I think, to focus on how best to get from where we are right now to Feb. 13 when the two sides to the Sharm agreement agreed to try to reach a framework agreement."
Ross is meeting with leaders in the Middle East in preparation for the Oslo summit, which is being held as a memorial to assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Rabin, who negotiated the landmark Oslo accord with Arafat, was murdered four years ago by an extremist Jew opposed to the Middle East peace process. Ross says the memorial ceremony for Rabin and the political meetings should allow all parties to rededicate themselves to the peace process.
"First of all, what he represented was finding a way to overcome an historic conflict. He had the courage to take a difficult step. Both sides as they move toward either a framework agreement or the permanent status agreement by September - which is what they agreed that they would seek to do - both sides obviously will have to make what are difficult decisions. So I think recalling the man who helped to launch this process and honoring who he was, his commitment, his dedication of that cause, is something that I think can inspire all of us to do what we can to try to achieve that cause."
Ross is scheduled to brief top Clinton Administration officials in advance of next week's meetings in Norway. All sides have expressed hope the gathering in Oslo will accelerate the peace process.
Rabbis Prohibit Giving Away Land to Gentiles
By IsraelWire
The Pikuach Nefesh (Saving Lives) organization, comprised of rabbinical authorities from all over Israel, has issued an edict declaring Jews are not permitted to give away lands inside Israel to foreign nations.
The ruling comes at a time when the government and leaders of the Council of Jewish Settlements in Judea, Samaria and Gaza work to persuade residents of illegal encampments to abandon their struggle. The ruling is almost identical to the one issued six years ago by 250 rabbis.
Secular politicians warned that the edict issued on Tuesday was "dangerous," pointing out that six years ago, it also inflamed tensions, which eventually led to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.
The rabbis stressed they were in no way trying to promote violence but wanted to protest the giving away of Jewish lands by the government. The rabbis stressed that they in no way condone violence and their edict was not to be interpreted as a green light to violently oppose government efforts to vacate the encampments.
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