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Newsletter : 1fax0222.txt
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>JN Feb. 22, 2001, Vol. 9, No. 33
Christians To Ask Arafat For Peace
By Arutz-7 News
Christian residents in Beit Jala and the Bethlehem region plan to turn to the Vatican and other Christian bodies, in an effort to have them pressure Arafat to stop the attacks on Israel from their neighborhoods. "The shooting is designed to escalate the violence," a local Christian source told Itim News Agency, "and to cause deaths among the Christian population."
Sharon Still Seeks Coalition With Labor
By VOA News
Rightist Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon says he is still confident he can form a national unity coalition government with the left-of-center Labor party. His prediction comes as political maneuvering escalates in Israel after outgoing Labor party Prime Minister Ehud Barak pulled back from an opportunity to join the proposed Likud-led coalition, and quit politics. A spokesman for Sharon's Likud party says Barak's decision may actually help the two parties forge a union.
Israeli reports say the post of defense minister that Barak turned down is now being offered to another former prime minister from the Labor party, Shimon Peres. But Israeli reports say many Labor party members worry about Sharon's plans to include members of the far-right in his government. It is the second time since losing by a landslide to Sharon in Israel's February 6 election that Barak has said he is retiring from politics.
The Labor Party has agreed in principle to join a national unity government, but there were disputes within the party over whether Barak should take part. The Labor party's central committee is due to meet Monday to make a final decision on whether to join a Sharon-led government.
Sharon says he wants a broad-based government to help end the ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians. More than 400 people have been killed in the fighting since September.
U.S. Urges Israel to Release Money Owed Palestinians
By VOA News
The United States is calling on Israel to release more than $50 million in tax revenue owed to the Palestinians. A State Department spokesman issued the appeal after Secretary of State Colin Powell met with Palestinian envoy Nabil Shaath in Washington ahead of Powell's visit to the Middle East this week. Powell is expected to make the demand during his trip to the region.
Israel has imposed a blockade on Palestinian territories since the Israeli-Palestinian violence began in September. The blockade includes withholding tax revenues and custom duties owed by Israel to the Palestinians. The Palestinian economy is estimated to have been reduced by 50 percent during the violence.
After his meeting, Shaath called on the new Bush administration to help peace talks with Israel get back on track, following the election of hardliner Ariel Sharon as Israel's new prime minister.
Meanwhile, Palestinian officials attending a U.N. conference in Vienna appealed for international aid, saying their economic situation has severely deteriorated since the violence began.
In Ramallah, Palestinian Economy and Trade Minister Taher Masri told reporters the Palestinian economy is in trouble, but not yet on the verge of collapse.
Palestinian press reports Wednesday quoted Palestinian officials saying they will appeal the legality of Israel's membership in the United Nations unless the Jewish state resumes peace talks and implements peace treaties already signed.
Amnesty International Criticizes Israel
By Laurie Kassman (VOA-London)
The international human rights group Amnesty International is sharply criticizing Israel for killing suspected Palestinian terrorists. The group is calling on both Israel and the Palestinians to respect the rule of law.
Amnesty International researcher Elizabeth Hodgkin says an Amnesty team sent to the region in January examined several cases of extra-judicial execution. She says they found that some of the Palestinian suspects who were killed by Israel could have been arrested instead.
"In at least three cases of the seven we looked at, the people whom they liquidated could have been arrested. In three cases also, others were killed at the same time with a total disregard for human life."
Hodgkin says Amnesty investigators also examined the case of Palestinian activist Thabet Thabet, who was assassinated in January. "Thabet Thabet went to a mosque on Friday. He could have been arrested at any time. They chose to kill him instead."
Israel has defended its policy of targeting suspected Palestinian
terrorists as a protective measure in a war situation. Amnesty
International says the suspects should be prosecuted in court, not
targeted for assassination.
Amnesty International also complains of an excessive or random use
of force by Israeli soldiers against young Palestinian rock
throwers. "First of all, if you're tormented by youth, you don't
kill the youth. There are other ways of dealing with it. Secondly,
there is no doubt that Palestinian armed groups are also showing
the same disregard for human life," said Hodgkin. "But human rights
abuses by opposition groups or individuals should not justify
governments abandoning human rights principles."
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