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Newsletter : 1fax0102.txt
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>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN Jan. 2, 2001, Vol. 9, No. 2
Israel Orders Forces on Alert
Israel Faxx Staff Report
Warning of the possibility of civil war, Israel said Monday that its security forces - led by the Shin Bet secret service - were in a state of "optimal deployment." The forces have been mobilized in case of a bombing attempt on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, or of massacres of Arabs or other acts of vengeance by Jewish extremists who are furious over the ambush killing Sunday of ultra-nationalist Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, and the government's continuing peace overtures to the Palestinians.
Netanya Car Bomb Injures More Than 35
By Laurie Kassman (VOA-Jerusalem)
A car bomb exploded Monday evening in the Israeli coastal town of Netanya, injuring more than 35 people, one of them seriously. A short time later word came from Gaza that Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat will travel to Washington Tuesday to discuss President Bill Clinton's latest proposals to get peace talks with Israel back on track.
Israeli TV quoted eyewitnesses describing clouds of black smoke enveloping part of Netanya's main-street shopping area where windows were shattered. They said people were hysterical, crying and shouting. The Mediterranean resort town is 18 miles north of Tel Aviv.
Fire officials say there were three explosions, one after the other at 7 p.m., when shoppers would be heading home.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak called a meeting of his security advisors to consider retaliation if Palestinian militants are linked to the blast. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Deputy Prime Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer told reporters the time has come to stand up and say enough.
Israel immediately closed the Palestinian's international airport in Gaza, sealing off the territory. Land borders of the West Bank and Gaza were closed after two bombings Thursday. Barak met with his security cabinet late Monday to discuss further responses to the blast. The meeting concluded without any decision on possible retaliatory operations. Meanwhile, the Israeli parliament has approved a bill prohibiting the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel unless an absolute majority of the Knesset agrees.
The measure also prohibits the Israeli government from signing any peace agreement what would contain a right of return clause. Palestinians demand that Israel recognize the right of return of 3.7 million refugees who fled their homes during the 1948 Israeli-Arab war. An Arafat spokesman said the visit to Washington now would be a decisive one that could determine the future of the peace process. The news of Arafat's imminent departure came after a phone call from Clinton to press the Palestinian leader to say "yes" to his outline for getting peace negotiations back on track.
Last week, Israel's prime minister, Ehud Barak, conditionally accepted the ideas as the basis for negotiations, if the Palestinians do the same. So far, the Palestinians have expressed deep reservations about several key points. Arafat is seeking clarifications before giving a final response.
Efforts to get the peace talks back on track have been overshadowed by recent attacks that have angered both sides. Last week two Israeli soldiers were killed and more than a dozen civilians injured in two separate bombings.
On Sunday a top Palestinian activist was murdered in front of his home. Also on Sunday, a militant Jewish settler and his wife were killed when their car was fired on in the West Bank.
It is not only the violence that has sparked tensions. Israeli politicians are taking steps to block the government from negotiating one of the thorniest issues of the peace process.
Israeli radio says the Knesset (parliament) has approved by a large majority a draft bill severely restricting the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel. The law would give power to the defense minister to approve on a case-by-case basis no more than 100 refugees a year who would be eligible to return for humanitarian reasons -- understood to mean for family reunification.
Palestinians have insisted a final peace agreement deal with the right of return for Palestinian refugees, some of whom were forced to flee when Israel was established in 1948, while other refugees left voluntarily. The other key stumbling block to a final peace accord is control over a site in East Jerusalem, which is considered holy by both Muslims and Jews.
Arafat Makes "Lemonade" Out of Barak
Israel Faxx Staff Report
Palestinian officials have nicknamed Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak "the lemon" because Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasir Arafat has squeezed so many concessions out of him, according to a correspondent for Israel Radio. The report added that Arafat likely will continue negotiating with Barak until the Israeli elections in early February in hopes of getting as many concessions as possible for the record.
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