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Newsletter : 1fax0124.txt
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>JN Jan. 24, 2001, Vol. 9, No. 12
Students Vote for Barak in Mock Election
Israel Faxx Staff Report
Ehud Barak won a mock election for prime minister in Tel Aviv's Blich High School over Ariel Sharon by a significant majority, 57% to 42%. The results have some symbolic significance, as Blich students have been wrong only once before in recent memory - in 1996, when they predicted a Peres victory. Polls of the entire population show that Sharon continues to lead Barak by between 16 and 20%.
Israel Proposes Joint Sovereignty in Old City
By Arutz-7 News
Palestinian sources in Taba have said that Israel has agreed to give up the Western Wall (Kotel) and the Mount of Olives. They claim that Israel has proposed a "special arrangement" for these areas and the entire Old City, involving Israeli-Palestinian sovereignty; the Palestinians have proposed international sovereignty.
It was also reported that the Israelis presented, for the first time, a list of towns that they are willing to uproot. Israel Radio also reported Tuesday, based on a "senior source in the Israeli delegation," that Israel had offered an arrangement whereby a "special authority" would rule eastern Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and all places that are "holy to the three major faiths."
The Israeli delegation would not confirm the above information, and said only that there had been a "significant closing of the gaps" between the two sides. The Prime Minister's Office issued another clarification Tuesday afternoon: "The holy sites will remain under Israeli sovereignty in any agreement...Israel will maintain the affinity of the Jewish nation and the Jewish tradition to the site, giving expression to the special character of the city as a holy site to all the religions."
Besides the Kotel, other sites to come under joint control would include Mt. Zion, the mosques on the Temple Mount and the churches in the Old City.
Israel Recalls Peace Negotiators
By VOA News
Israel has recalled its negotiators from peace talks in Egypt following the murder of two Israelis near the West Bank town of Tulkarem. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak ordered the delegation delegation home immediately for consultations and said that during the consultations Israel will hold no talks with the Palestinians at any level.
The militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the killings. It is not clear how long the suspension in the talks will last. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had been working since Sunday to try reach a peace agreement before Israel elects a new prime minister on Feb. 6. There had been reports of some progress.
The murdered Israelis were accompanied into Tulkarem by an Israeli Arab and ambushed while eating at a restaurant. Israeli police were questioning the Arab man about the attack. The Palestinian Authority has issued a statement condemning the killings.
Russian, Israeli Presidents Say Mideast War is Unlikely
By VOA News
The presidents of Russia and Israel said war in the Middle East is unlikely any time in the near future. The remarks come Tuesday on the first day of a visit to Moscow by Israeli President Moshe Katsav.
Katsav said war was unlikely because Arab countries have won nothing on the battlefield, but have always made gains in negotiations with the Jewish state. The Israeli president says Russia must use its influence in the Middle East to strengthen the ailing peace process.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow, together with the United States, will do everything possible to stop the situation in the Middle East from worsening.
The president says all parties can best carry the process forward once the new U.S. administration is fully in place, and after Israeli parliamentary elections on Feb. 6.
The visit is the second part of Katzav's three-nation tour, that first took him to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Later this week he flies to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
Freeze on Assets of Slain TV Chief
By VOA News
The Palestinian Authority has frozen the assets of slain Palestinian television chief Hisham Mekki and barred his family from leaving the Gaza Strip. Officials are probing corruption allegations against Mekki, who was killed by masked gunmen in Gaza last week.
A Palestinian group calling itself the Brigade of Al Aqsa Martyrs said it shot the television chief because he stole money and was corrupt. The Associated Press quotes a Palestinian official as saying Mekki received a modest salary, but had expensive cars and bank accounts and homes in several countries, including the United States.
Mekki was an associate of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and served as the director of Palestinian television since its founding in 1994. Palestinian police have not made any arrests in connection with the Jan. 17 killing.
