NEWS: THE STATE OF ISRAEL - PT I

 

PLO: JERUSALEM OR NO DEAL:

The Palestinian leadership convened in Ram'Allah Monday, and came up with a decision regarding east (Biblical) Jerusalem. No final-status agreement will be reached with Israel, read the decision, until the Jerusalem issue is resolved and until eastern Jerusalem is transferred to Palestinian control. The decision emphasized that the Palestinians negate any form of Israeli sovereignty over eastern Jerusalem. Jordan's King Abdullah II reaffirmed his support for Palestinian sovereignty over east Jerusalem at a meeting Tuesday with Palestinian Authority ("PLO") Chairman Yasser Arafat in Ram'Allah, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said. Egypt has also issued a statement supporting Palestinian sovereignty over east Jerusalem. During a Friday meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjoern Jagland in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Barak stated that no prime minister of Israel would agree to turning over sovereignty of Jerusalem's Temple Mount to a foreign nation.
Meanwhile, two policemen and two Palestinians were injured Tuesday and four protesters arrested as police dispersed several hundred demonstrators in east Jerusalem who called for a new intifada. Witnesses said 200 to 400 Palestinians took to a police-approved route along Sultan Suleiman Street. Some youths wore T-shirts inscribed with the words "Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian state," chanted "We will sacrifice our blood and souls for you, Jerusalem," and waved placards reading, "No peace without Jerusalem." The demonstration was reportedly organized by Orient House, the "unofficial" Palestinian headquarters in Jerusalem. After the protest, police said a firebomb was thrown at an empty bus parked in Pisgat Ze'ev, causing no damage or injuries. Several Palestinians have been arrested in recent days for stoning and torching four Israeli buses that mistakenly entered the Kalandiya refugee camp last month.

BARAK -- 'KEEPER OF THE ISLAMIC SHRINES':

Barak assured Muslims this week that no harm would ever come to the two major mosques in Jerusalem while the city is under Israeli rule. Israel's top negotiator, acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, has placed the importance of the Old City to Muslims on an equal footing with its holiness to Jews.

YESHA CONSTRUCTION UP 81%:

The first quarter of 2000 saw a 81 percent increase in construction in the settlements, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The figures show that in the first three months of this year, work began on 1,000 new buildings, compared to 550 in the last quarter of 1999. The greatest increase came in private construction, which rose by 141 percent (410 units in the first quarter of 2000, compared to 170 the previous quarter). Construction work on public buildings increased by 55 percent (590 new buildings compared to 380 in the previous quarter). The ascending numbers correspond to Ehud Barak's rise to power -- in the months of May and July 1999, construction work began on 720 new buildings in the settlements. Former Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Levy (National Religious Party) seems to have helped protect the interest of the settlers. However, construction fell between the months of August and October 1999, with only 550 new buildings. The upward trend however returned with the onset of the new millennium. In contrast to the 1992 elections when prime minister Yitzhak Rabin altered the national priority zones, Barak has left in place those set by his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu. Under the current maps, most settlements enjoy the status of 'Priority Zone A' and thus are entitled to considerable housing and construction benefits, of which private contractors reap most of the rewards.

ISRAEL'S 'PEACE' PARTNERS THREATEN WAR:

So far, it's only words -- but the war continues. PLO Cabinet Secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman threatened Sunday that the Palestinians "reserve the right to impose a siege on the Jewish settlements" in Judea and Samaria if Israel responds sharply to a unilateral Palestinian declaration of a state. Rahman, speaking on Palestinian Radio, said that the Jewish residents will find themselves in "genuine danger" when the Palestinian army isolates them from each other and from the rest of Israel. "Israel has a presence inside the Palestinian territories and they will become hostages in the hands of the Palestinians," Rahman said. He also said he did not believe Barak was serious about peace, and ruled out any 'bargaining' over Jerusalem and refugees, two of the most intractable issues standing in the way of an agreement. "We are not going to bargain over our land . . . We are not going to bargain over Jerusalem and the refugees right to return," he said. Rahman said that if an agreement is not reached between Israel and the PLO, "we will begin implementing our sovereignty and the conflict will reach a new level."
Palestinian car thieves have set their sights on a new target: ambulances. At least ten emergency vehicles have been stolen over the past several weeks. Police feel that the motive is either to bolster the PLO's ambulance stock, or for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks.

BIN LADEN, ALONG WITH IRAN AND SYRIA, TARGETING ISRAEL:

The Israel Security Agency uncovered a terrorist cell in Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) operated by the Islamic terrorist organization headed by Saudi-born terrorist Osama Bin Laden, Ha'aretz reported. Members of the cell planned to carry out a series of attacks against Israeli targets, including suicide-bomb attacks inside of Israel and the launching of anti-tank missiles at communities in Yesha. A US congressional report published on Monday, "Terrorism: Near Eastern Groups and State Sponsors, 2000," warned that Bin Laden supporters may be planning attacks in Israel in an attempt to thwart the Middle East peace process and noted that Hamas activists who previously had little to do with Bin Laden may be gravitating toward him because Hamas leaders appear resigned to a peace deal between Israel and the PLO. Bin Laden's cell was discovered following the capture of its leader, Nabil Oukal, from the Jebalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip (controlled by the PLO). Oukal was arrested at the Rafiah terminal on the Israel-Egypt border in June. He had undergone training at camps sponsored by Bin Laden in Pakistan and Afghanistan and was instructed to establish a network to perpetrate attacks against Israel. Oukal recruited dozens of activists and was in contact with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas. Working together, Israel and the PLO arrested 11 members of the cell and are searching for explosives believed to have been in cell members' possession. The ISA is concerned regarding a recent increase in the number of Palestinians traveling to Pakistan. Although the official purpose listed for their trips is "religious studies," the ISA fears that while in Pakistan, many students are recruited by Islamic international terrorist organizations.
Meanwhile, Israel announced on Monday that over the past several weeks 23 suspected terrorists have been arrested. Sources in the defense establishment said that warnings by terrorist groups regarding their intentions to perpetrate large-scale attacks in Israel, and particularly in Jerusalem, remain valid, although there is no concrete information about specific cells poised to actually carry such attacks. The defense establishment is particularly concerned over the Syrian connection to the terrorist groups. A senior official said that "Syria is still a center of terrorism. Headquarters of Hamas and Islamic Jihad are located there, and their personnel continue to initiate terrorist attacks, including very recently. This is not underground activity. It is done openly and Damascus turns a blind eye."

GIS [Global Information System] released a report last week concerning the volatility affecting the area of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. The report on coordinated terror strikes is based on information from well regarded intelligence sources who point out that a new terrorist infrastructure is under consolidation in Lebanon, with the areas jointly under the control of the PLO, the governments of Iran and Syria, and by Islamist militant leader Osama bin Laden -- all preparing for a major confrontation with Israel. The sources point out that this terrorist infrastructure joins diverse elements and organizations that have so far refused in the past to cooperate against the common enemy: Israel. Islamist groups stated in mid-August 2000 their readiness for a "fateful Jihad (holy war)" if the Islamic rights in Jerusalem were betrayed in a US imposed Israel-Palestinian peace process. This planned Jihad accelerated in July 2000 and snowballed in August after Tehran and allied Arab Islamist leadership were convinced the US efforts to revive the peace process were futile and the region was heading toward a major catastrophe. Islamist sources within the movements indicated that they were inspired by Hizb'Allah"s success in south Lebanon, and they believe they can seize control of the regional dynamics. Tehran's strategy is that this goal is obtainable through a major Jihad, beginning with terrorism and then involving Arab and Muslim states in the hostilities. [GIS is a major think-tank and research facility used extensively by world leaders as well as US foreign intelligence organizations, i.e. National Security Administration, Defense Department and State Department.]

JERUSALEM TALKS CONTINUE:

Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Shlomo Ben-Ami met on Thursday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa in Alexandria to discuss proposals for narrowing the gap between Israel and the Palestinians on the issue of Jerusalem, Ha'aretz reported. According to Ben-Ami, several "interesting ideas" came out of the discussions and the Egyptians were "very constructive," as they set forth new ways to resolve the sovereignty issue on the Temple Mount. Prior to meeting with Ben-Ami, Murabak also met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjoen Jagland on Thursday Jagland told Murabak that "it is necessary for an agreement to be reached this fall so that the Palestinians do not miss another possible opportunity."

CLERICS STIR RELIGIOUS HATRED AGAINST JEWS:

While negotiations are being held over who should permanently control the Temple Mount and other holy sites in Jerusalem, local Islamic mullahs and Arab Christian clergy continue to fuel popular religious bigotry against Jews. Israeli police scuffled with Palestinians on the Temple Mount on Monday, following a militant Islamic rally to mark the 31st anniversary of the amateur fire-bomb attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque by a deranged Australian tourist.
Meanwhile two weeks ago, local Arab Muslim and Christian clerics met at Orient House to form a committee intended to serve as an official body to oversee holy sites in the Old City and eastern Jerusalem in anticipation it will come under PLO rule. They issued a belligerent document called the "Jerusalem Pledge," also signed by PLO figures Faisal Husseini and Hanan Ashrawi, which condemned both Israeli rule and the Jewish presence in east (Biblical) Jerusalem.

BARAK TAKES AIM AT RELIGIOUS FOES:

There are signs of desperation in the camp of Barak, as he launched a belated bid to finally address neglected domestic concerns by unveiling ambitious plans for a "social revolution" last week. Barak introduced his version of a draft constitution at a Labor/One Israel caucus. The plan features wholesale changes that could force an eruption along the familiar fault line between the secular and religious communities in Israel. It would eliminate the Religious Affairs Ministry, enact a constitution and allow civil marriages, among other items.

ISRAEL'S MILITARY FEELING THE ECONOMIC STRAIN:

Israel's military has warned of an impending collapse as the government prepares to agree on a defense budget. The military is warning that accumulated cuts in the defense budget are threatening procurement, research and development as well as emergency stockpiles required for war. They have raised the prospect of abandoning plans to reduce compulsory service unless they receive 1.5 billion shekels [$375 million] for fiscal 2001. Military commanders and senior defense officials said key research and development as well as procurement plans have been hampered or suspended by insufficient budget and a government refusal to allocate billions of dollars to maintain the modernization program of the Israel Defense Forces.
Meanwhile, Major General Yitzhaq Ben-Yisra'el, head of IDF's Research and Development Department, when asked how good is our intelligence in comparison with our neighbors, responded and said: "I would say we are in a very good state, several grades above them. When compared with the Western world, in terms of technology and intelligence, Israel is in the top 10%. At the same time, in relation to the threat we are facing, this is not good enough. Today, it is mainly a question of money. If we had more money, we could obtain more quality intelligence. There were times, some 20 years back, when we were limited in money, technology, and manpower. Today, we have little limitations in technology. We have a manpower problem, but is not that severe. Money is our true bottleneck."

US "MEDDLES" IN ISRAELI MILITARY AFFAIRS ... AGAIN:

The United States opposes an Israeli sale of the Phalcon airborne warning system to India. The American opposition to the deal stems from concerns that the Phalcon could undermine stability in South Asia, altering the fragile balance of power between India and Pakistan, a US official told Ha'aretz. Last month, Israeli scrapped its planned sale of the Phalcon to China, due to US opposition. Arguing against the China deal, Americans claimed that the sophisticated reconnaissance plane could jeopardize US troops, should there be a US-China military stand-off in the future. The Americans do not consider India's military a threat to their own troops, but they are wary of escalation between India and Pakistan. Israel and India have not yet reached final terms in their talks about a Phalcon sale. Last year, India purchased from Israel a sophisticated land-based radar device that draws upon technology used by the Phalcon airborne system. The United States agreed to Israel's sale of the land-based system to India, on the condition that Israel confer with officials in Washington prior to supplying the radar equipment to India's army. Prime Minister Ehud Barak is leaning toward agreeing to a U.S. request for the establishment of a new apparatus to monitor the export of military technology. Senior officials in Israel's Defense Ministry are known to oppose this. [IMRA Commentary: The American defense industry is keen on putting an end to the Israeli Phalcon as it challenges American control of the market for such technology. Since funding for the development of the next generation of Phalcon was supposed to be via sales of the current generation -- a veto on sales today means permanently decimating the Israeli competition. It is noteworthy that under Prime Minister Barak's leadership Israel now finds itself in the situation that the American veto on Israel weapons sales is rapidly bringing the vital defense industries to a grinding halt. Prime Minister Barak finds himelf in the worst of both worlds -- offering to sacrifice Israel's security to curry favor with a lame duck president who returns the favor by tightening the noose in Israel's defense industry while making massive sales of advanced weapons to the Arabs.]

JEWS KICKED OUT OF ARAB COUNTRIES IN 1948:

Algeria: During the war for Algerian independence from France in the 1950s and early 1960s, Algerian nationalists carried out violent attacks on Algerian Jews. After the French left, the Algerian authorities issued a variety of anti-Jewish decrees, including the imposition of heavy taxes on the Jewish community. Nearly all of Algeria's 130,000 Jews fled the country. All but one of Algeria's synagogues were seized and turned into mosques.
Egypt: The ancient Jewish community of Egypt numbered over 60,000 by the 1940s. Riots by Egyptian nationalists in 1945 claimed many Jewish lives, and synagogues and Jewish buildings were burned down. A new wave of discrimination and violence was unleashed in 1948. Over 250 Jews were killed or injured, Jewish shops were looted, and Jewish assets were frozen. Some 25,000 Jews left Egypt by 1950. Gamal Abdel Nasser, who seized power in 1954, arrested thousands of Jews and confiscated their property. Emigration reduced Egyptian Jewry to just 8,000 by 1957.
Iraq: The Jews of Iraq, with roots dating back to ancient Babylonia, numbered about 150,000 in 1947. When Israel was established, Jewish emigration was forbidden, and hundreds of Jews were jailed. Those convicted of "Zionism" --a criminal offense-- were sentenced to internal exile or fines of up to $40,000 each. Tens of thousands of Jews slipped out of the country. Then, in 1950, the government legalized emigration and pressured the Jews to leave; by 1952, only 6,000 remained. Jewish emigrants were permitted to take with them only $140 per adult; all of their remaining assets and property were confiscated by the Iraqi government.
Libya: The 2,000 year-old Jewish community of Libya, which numbered almost 40,000 by the 1940s, was the target of mass anti-Jewish violence in November 1945. In Tripoli alone, 120 Jews were massacred, over 500 wounded, 2,000 were made homeless, and synagogues were torched. There were more pogroms in January 1946, with 75 Jews massacred in Zanzur, and more than 100 murdered in other towns. By the early 1950s, more than 30,000 Libyan Jews had emigrated.
Morocco: In 1948, there were about 300,000 Jews living in Morocco, a community with ancient roots going back to the time of the destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE). In June 1948, pogromists massacred 39 Jews in the town of Djerada and 4 more in Oujda. Over 30,000 Jews fled Morocco in terror. During the 1950s, there was violence against Jews in Oujda, Rabat, and Casablanca. Most of Moroccan Jewry emigrated during the years to follow.
Syria: There were 15,000 Jews in Syria in 1948, a community dating back to biblical times. Anti-Jewish pogroms erupted in the Syrian town of Aleppo in 1947. All of the local synagogues were destroyed, and 6,000 of the town's 10,000 Jews fled in terror. The government then enacted legislation to freeze Jewish bank accounts and confiscate Jewish property. By the 1950s, just 5,000 Jews remained in Syria, subjected to harsh decrees; they were banned from emigrating, selling their property, or working in government offices, and were compelled to carry special cards identifying them as Jews. [Source: Tzemach News Service 8.27.00]
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CLINTON TO STOP IN EGYPT TO DISCUSS JERUSALEM PROPOSAL
By Herb Keinon

JERUSALEM (August 27) - US President Bill Clinton, presently on a three-day visit to Africa, is to make a hastily arranged stopover in Egypt on Tuesday for talks with President Hosni Mubarak, amid a virtual diplomatic frenzy in the run-up to the September 13 deadline when Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is to declare a Palestinian state.

Although the White House has downplayed the importance of the visit in finding a solution to the Jerusalem issue, diplomatic sources in Jerusalem said that the visit is part of an attempt to flesh out proposals Mubarak has made on Jerusalem, as well as the US attempt to press Arafat to be more flexible.

A senior PA official said Egypt is a central player in finding solutions on Jerusalem, and that Arafat will not sign any agreement that does not have Egyptian backing. A source in the Prime Minister's Office said that Prime Minister Ehud Barak still does not believe Arafat has shown any readiness for greater compromise.

Egypt, which receives some $2 billion in US aid annually, was criticized in the US for not having pressured Arafat to make concessions at Camp David. This triggered a wave of anti-US articles over the last few weeks in the official Egyptian press.

The Clinton-Mubarak talks, Israeli officials believe, will also deal with easing the resulting strain in relations.

The Egyptians presented Acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami with some new ideas on Jerusalem during his visit to Egypt Thursday, and officials in the Foreign Ministry said that these are likely to be the subjects of the Mubarak-Clinton talks. One of these ideas is reportedly to divide sovereignty on the Temple Mount, with the Palestinians getting sovereignty over the mosques there.

One source said the Egyptian proposals would probably focus on Palestinian sovereignty over Al-Aksa mosque and the Christian and Moslem quarters, while granting Israel sovereignty over the Jewish Quarter and its holy sites, including the Western Wall, and the settlements around Jerusalem.

In east Jerusalem, according to this proposal, Israel would grant the Palestinians sovereignty, while there would be an understanding that the overall security will remain with Israel. Palestinian officials have said that they are ready to work out security arrangements with Israel as long as they get sovereignty over east Jerusalem.

One idea that Arafat rejected at Camp David was that the Palestinians receive sovereignty over everything above ground, while Israel retain control over everything underground, which includes what archeologists believe are ruins from the First and Second Temple periods.

In a meeting Thursday with Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjoern Jagland, Barak said that neither he, nor any other Israeli prime minister, would agree to Palestinian sovereignty on the Temple Mount, which he called " the heart of the Jewish experience throughout its generations."

Barak's spokesman said the "prime minister totally rejected Arafat's claims of late, according to which Israel seeks to maintain sovereignty on the Temple Mount to perform archeological excavations.

"For religious reasons, we are prohibited from carrying out excavations on the Temple Mount, and the arrangement on the Temple Mount must guarantee that there will be no archeological excavations by anyone," said the prime minister.

Barak also told Jagland that,"If Arafat does not decide that he is on the way to an agreement which respects the interests of both sides, this will bring about a dangerous stalemate that will affect the entire region. Accordingly, the international community must impress upon Arafat the ramifications of his decision and his responsibility for the results."

Barak spoke over the weekend with Clinton and French President Jacques Chirac, who is slated to host Mubarak early this week. Barak is also slated to travel to Ankara for a few hours tomorrow, to discuss with Turkey's leadership both the peace process, as well as bilateral and defense ties.

Arafat visited Egypt yesterday to discuss the various Egyptian ideas on Jerusalem, ahead of a meeting of the Islamic Jerusalem Committee tomorrow in Morocco.

Ben-Ami spoke over the weekend with his Moroccan counterpart, in an attempt to get the Moroccans to use their influence to fend off any extreme resolutions at that meeting.

Ben-Ami is scheduled to leave tomorrow for a four-day trip to France, Germany, England, and Holland to discuss the European Union's position on a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood, as well as try to get them to pressure Arafat to show some flexibility.

Palestinian Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nabil Amr said the 60 nations represented on the Jerusalem committee will back the Palestinian position for sovereignty in east Jerusalem and the Islamic and Christian holy sites. He said it is too early for them to discuss the Egyptian ideas.

However, one PA official said it is likely that states like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Morocco would also want to become involved in finding a formula for Jerusalem. Analysts say that these countries may have a moderating affect on any final resolution.

Mubarak told reporters yesterday, before his meeting with Arafat, that Jerusalem is the most serious issue and that "there has to be a fair solution."

There have been contacts and studies made in recent days, he said, with many alternatives for a framework agreement, all of which are far from proposals for Israeli sovereignty over the holy shrines in Jerusalem.

He told Egyptian radio that Egypt would not pressure the Palestinians to accept anything they do not want to accept. (News agencies contributed to this report.)
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RELIGIOUS SUMMIT

August 28-, 2000 -- Millennium World Peace Summit

This summit is a gathering of religious and spiritual leaders from all over the world. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will convene the key global spiritual leaders to "investigate ways religious leaders can erase tensions in areas of conflict". This religious summit would fulfill the New Jerusalem Covenant Plan as outlined by Bill Lambert of the House of Theosophy on August 19, 1991 [Read NEWS1052 for full details]

You can get more details about his summit from http://www.millenniumpeacesummit.org/aboutframe.html which is the official website for this event. We all need to take note of the religious leaders taking part in this summit. Anyone attending will be automatically labeled as working for the coming Antichrist; we will then know the truth about anyone attending.

STATE OF THE WORLD FORUM CHAIRED BY MIKHAIL GORBACHEV

September 4-10, 2000 -- This summit is a gathering of economic leaders from all over the world to discuss the economic and societal impact of Globalization. Chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev, this summit would fulfill the New Jerusalem Covenant Plan as noted above. This meeting will be held in New York City.

When I clicked on http://www.worldforum.org/ which is the website explaining this summit, I noted that General Colin Powell is the Chairman of the entire summit! This fact is just one more proof that both Democrat and Republican are equally committed to the New World Order and to its complete implementation. Republicans should stop falling all over themselves trying to get Colin Powell to run for President, on the misguided and mistaken belief that he would reverse this entire process of socialization and globalization and would restore American sovereignty! Nothing could be further from the truth.

MILLENNIUM ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS

September 6-8, 2000 -- Held in the United Nations in New York City, this meeting will essentially confer upon this body the mantle of supreme government in the world, in all aspects [Read NEWS1394 for full details]. We are not sure exactly when the United Nations will begin to act vigorously as the supreme government of the world but are sure it will not occur until Antichrist arises to take control. The Plan calls for Antichrist to appear as the result of a Third World War between Israel and her Arab neighbors, during which all countries now being governed by the consent of the governed will have had their systems of government "temporarily" suspended as a way in which to deal with this planned crisis. Once all systems of government are suspended and control in each country is exercised by a dictatorial figure, then it will be easy for each of these leaders to give his support to the Antichrist, and to his government, the United Nations.

INTERNATIONALIZED JERUSALEM

Thus, it does appear that the concurrent -- nearly simultaneous -- meetings of key global leaders in the realm of Religion, Economics, and Politics that were planned back in 1991 as being necessary to produce the Ecumenical Jerusalem they envisioned, indeed may be taking place between August 28 - September 10. These meetings are supposed to clear the way for agreement to internationalize Jerusalem and create a religious meeting house for all three Monotheistic Religions -- Judaism, Muslim, and Christian.

After describing these three meetings, [it] was said: "At the proper moment in history, the Pope will visit the combined Jewish/Christian/Moslem sector of Jerusalem to announce that all religions should be combined into one. This action will then finally break the Middle East logjam."

Therefore, we can assume that the Pope will be making a visit soon to Jerusalem, after these concurrent meetings are concluded, to make this grand announcement. This announcement will declare that this agreement clears the way for Jerusalem to finally know "Peace and Safety [Security]". Then, according to the Apostle Paul, we know that annihilating war will immediately ensue [1 Thessalonians 5:1-2]! [The Cutting Edge 8.28.2000]

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