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Newsletter : 0fax0411.txt
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>PD
>Israel Faxx
>April 11, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 67
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Israel Faxx Staff Report
Persons wishing to file a claim or search for additional information from The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims may do so at http://www.icheic.org/
Barak Stops Off in Cairo Before Proceeding to U.S.
By the VOA's Lisa Bryant (Cairo) & Meredith Buel (Jerusalem)
Israeli and Egyptian leaders met briefly in Cairo Monday on the lagging Middle East peace process. The talks took place during a stopover by Prime Minister Ehud Barak on his way to meet President Clinton in Washington.
The two leaders did not speak to reporters following talks at President Hosni Mubarak's Cairo palace. But Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa reiterated his government's position that the Middle East peace talks are at a crisis stage.
"The difference is we are now at the 11th hour.The talks before that on the Palestinian track and also on the other tracks dealt with interim arrangements, or preparatory arrangements, or arrangements of a preparatory nature for talks on the Syrian and on the Lebanese tracks. Now we are talking about final settlement."
Palestinian and Israel negotiators are racing toward a May deadline for the framework for final status talks, which should deal with difficult issues like the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
Moussa's remarks come just a day after Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat harshly criticized Barak and his policies. Arafat also said that Palestinian and Israeli negotiators meeting in Washington have made no progress toward resolving their differences.
There has also been no progress in resolving differences between Syria and Israel. Damascus suspended peace talks with the Israelis in January, after Israel refused to guarantee a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights.
In the last few days, Mubarak, who often plays a mediating role in the peace negotiations, has met with Arafat and with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al Sharaa. Now, his foreign minister says, Egypt will wait for the results of separate meetings between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders and Clinton.
Barak says he hopes his discussions with Clinton will keep peace negotiations with the Palestinians focused on successfully meeting next month's deadline for a framework accord, leading to a permanent peace treaty.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are meeting at a military base near Washington, but no significant progress has been reported. Barak says Israel and the Palestinians face what he calls "a very intense agenda" in the coming months, which needs to be worked out with the help of the United States.
The prime minister says the Syrian peace track will also be on the agenda, but he does not expect progress soon. "I am not optimistic about the chances to resume negotiations with Syria, but we left the door still open, and I do not think it will be appropriate to close it at this time."
The Israeli prime minister is also expected to discuss American concerns over Israeli arms sales to China. The United States has asked Barak to stop the sale of planes equipped with sophisticated radar systems to China because of concerns it could upset the military balance in Asia.
Barak will return from Washington on Wednesday for meetings with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who is scheduled to arrive in Israel later this week.
Syrian Foreign Minister to Discuss Water Rights
By IsraelWire
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa indicated his country was willing to negotiate the issues pertaining to water rights with Israel. Al-Shara quickly added however that there would be no negotiating concerning land. Syria remains firm in its demand for a total and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which was liberated during the June 1967 Six Day War.
The foreign minister indicated that President Hafez al-Assad may be willing to compromise on its demands over the Kinneret, Israel's primary aquifer. The Golan Heights is the home of some 18,000 Jewish residents living in over 30 communities.
Syrian Government Seizes Jewish Properties
By IsraelWire
The Syrian government has, according to a HaModia report, seized properties belonging to Jews valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. The properties which belong to the Jews who fled Syria between 1948-1992 were turned over to the Committee on Palestinian refugees.
Syrian Jews are hopeful to reclaim their homes should a peace treaty be signed between Jerusalem and Damascus. According to Rabbi Avraham Hamra, the former chief rabbi of Syria, anyone who owned a home in Syria will find the property registered there still today.
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