>From ArabicNews.CoM
Netanyahu: Jordan valley settlements will be expanded
Israel, Politics, 3/16/99
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon
on Monday asserted Israel's ambitions in the Jordan valley and pledged to
expand it and keep it under the Israeli control under the pretext of
security.
During a tour he held in the Jordan al-Gore (valley) district accompanied
by Sharon, Netanyahu added that his government will continue giving backing
to the standing settlements in al-Gore district and work for expanding
these settlements.
Netanyahu, in this respect, indicated that Israel will expand Maret Aphreim
settlement to make it a main city of the al-Gore (Jordan valley) district,
where a faculty of the media will be established.
Israel Radio said that Netanyahu and Sharon inaugurated during their tour a
bridge near Meihoula settlement near the al-Gore region.
Iran condemns Israeli acts against Jerusalem
Regional, Politics, 3/16/99
Iran condemned yesterday Israel's assertion of its domination over
Jerusalem and its opposition to any settlement regarding occupied East
Jerusalem since 1967.
Hamid Reza Asefi, the spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said his
country denounced merging Jerusalem into the "Zionist entity."
He expressed "the anxiety of the Organization of the Islamic Conference,
currently headed by Iran, of the Israeli decision and the Zionist expanding
greed in Jerusalem."
He urged international organizations and Islamic states to strongly object
to the Israeli procedures.
Israeli intransigence jeopardizes Mideast stability says Maghreban leaders
Morocco, Politics, 3/16/99
King Hassan II on Monday said that the Israeli intransigence in
implementing peace accords, puts in jeopardy the security and stability in
the Middle-East.
"Security and stability in the Middle-East region are at stake because of
the Israeli intransigence in implementing the accords concluded with the
Palestinian authority," King Hassan II said at an exchange of speeches
during a dinner banquet hosted in Marrakesh in honor of Tunisian President,
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who is on an official visit to Morocco.
The hardline policy adopted by Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,
has driven the Middle-East into a standstill. All efforts to revive the
ailing peace process are now frozen pending the Israeli general elections
next May. In his speech, King Hassan II expressed conviction that "without
a just, global and fair peace --recognizing the Palestinian people's
rights-- the peoples of the region will not be able to focus efforts on
global economic development."
Echoing the king, President Ben Ali said Israel shoulders responsibility
for the current deadlock in the peace process.
He renewed Tunisia's backing to the Palestinian people's struggle for the
creation of an independent state with Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as capital.
Ben Ali hailed in this connection, the "continuous efforts" that King
Hassan II exerts, as chairman of the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee, for the
safeguard of the holy city.
The Tunisian President urged the co-sponsors of the Middle-East peace
process (USA and Russia), the European Union and the international
community as a whole "to act rapidly and vigorously" to compel Israel to
subscribe to the peace option, respect the concluded accords and abide by
the land-for-peace principle.
Israeli - Jordanian water crisis
Jordan, Economics, 3/16/99
Jordanian Minister of Water and Irrigation Kamal Mahadin has asserted
Jordan's commitment to its full water rights, rejecting any reduction in
its share of the water pumped by Israel due to the shortage of rainfall for
the current season, as Israeli sources announced on Sunday.
In a statement to the Jordanian daily al-Arab al-Youm issued on Monday, the
Jordanian minister stressed that Jordan is committed to its water rights.
He indicated that the Jordanian side in the technical negotiations with the
Israelis refused on Sunday the Israeli proposal to reduce Jordan's share of
water as a result of the drought and the lack of the rain for the current
season.
He said that contacts are still underway with the Israeli side to deliver
Jordan's total share of water, noting that these contacts have not
finished.
Israel arrests Egyptians who crossed borders in Rafah
Egypt, Local, 3/16/99
The Israeli occupation forces have arrested more than 600 Egyptians on
Monday morning under the pretext that they entered Rafah district from
Sinai. Israel then closed its borders with Egypt.
Israel Radio said later that contacts are being made between Egyptian and
Israeli military officials in order to facilitate the process of returning
these Egyptians to their homes, SANA reported.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A<>E<>R
The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking
new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved
the absolute rejection of authority. -Thomas Huxley
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without charge or profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
