From: Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2000 / Av 21, 5760 TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. ARAFAT DIGS IN 2. TWO MORE BLOWS TO BARAK 3. BARAK'S MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR GIFT TO ARAFAT 4. POLICE, AMERICANS "CONVINCE" AMERICAN OFFICER TO LEAVE ISRAEL 5. GSS BLOCKS BIN-LADEN 6. ABDULLAH IN TEL AVIV 7. IF WE CAN ONLY MAKE IT THROUGH THE SUMMER... 8. BLOCKING THE ROAD TO KIDMAT ZION 9. CRACKING DOWN ON CONTRACTORS 10. ISRAELIS TAKE A WALK 1. ARAFAT DIGS IN Meretz party leader Yossi Sarid, who met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak yesterday, says that Egypt is not willing to take steps to moderate Palestinian demands on Jerusalem. "I saw no signs of Egyptian flexibility," Sarid said. "Mubarak told me that the Palestinians should insist on full sovereignty over all of eastern Jerusalem, except for the Jewish quarter and the Western Wall." Palestinian Television, in its Hebrew broadcasts last night, announced that Arafat will not agree to give up even the Jewish quarter and the Western Wall. 2. TWO MORE BLOWS TO BARAK The prestige and leadership of Prime Minister Barak suffered yet additional blows over the past 24 hours. Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein ordered him yesterday not to assign any further diplomatic missions to businessman Yossi Ginosar until the potential "conflict of interests" problem is conclusively examined. The decision follows a petition to the Supreme Court by MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu), who asserted that Ginosar's business ties with leading Palestinian figures disqualified him from acting as an Israeli diplomatic representative. In addition, Barak-aide Tzvi Shtauber resigned from his position as diplomatic advisor yesterday - the third close aide to leave Barak's team within a week. Barak announced that he will not name a successor to Shtauber for the time being. Editorials in both Ma'ariv and Ha'aretz have strong criticism of Prime Minister Barak today, in light of the recent resignations. Ma'ariv claims that loyalty seems to be the sole qualification for senior officials at the Prime Minister's Bureau: "Forget ability, capability, qualifications for the post... If the person is loyal this is enough to get him the job... Regrettably, loyalty is also the sole yardstick for dealing with those who are leaving… Instead of listening to what [those who resigned are] complaining about, most of the rage and fury being directed at them is over their reneging on the debt of loyalty…" From Ha'aretz: "The Prime Minister's Bureau is falling apart... From numerous reports, one receives the impression that Barak is unable to control his team, and also that he is the cause of their frustration and confusion... The officials who are leaving… lack an independent political agenda, [and] their criticism is, therefore, worthy of attention... The failures in his office are... testimony to [Barak's] amateurish management... The breakdown in his office is strengthening the impression that the end [of the present government] is near... [He should] set up an office which runs harmoniously... Otherwise, the people will increasingly demand to know how he can possibly manage complex affairs of state if he cannot even achieve peace in his own bureau." 3. BARAK'S MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR GIFT TO ARAFAT Three oil companies demand that Israel actualize its legal rights and allow them to drill for oil off the Gaza coast. Their Supreme Court suit of yesterday maintains that the government is refusing to take advantage of its Oslo-mandated oil rights there, in areas that contain billions of dollars worth of gas and oil. The three companies requested a permit to drill there as early as a year ago, and attached a legal opinion stating that according to international law, Israel - not the Palestinian Authority - is sovereign over the area and is authorized to grant drilling permits. Then-Infrastructures Minister Eli Suissa (Shas) agreed that Israel is sovereign, but in light of the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue, transferred the final decision to Prime Minister Barak. Suissa told Arutz-7 this morning, "I proposed to the Prime Minister, in writing, that we explore the waters jointly with the Palestinian Authority… I received no answer from him, despite further queries on the issue, and only later found out that Barak had given in and granted exclusive drilling rights to the PA. This was a clear surrender for no reason, and with nothing in exchange, of something that belongs to us - not to mention the loss of billions of dollars for the State. Barak simply made a decision by himself, without consulting me, or anyone else, exactly as he usually does..." Arafat wasted no time after receiving such a nice gift, and a British company immediately paid the PA millions of dollars for the privilege of preparing a seismological mapping of the area. The mapping has recently been concluded, and with the British company preparing to begin initial drilling, the companies could take it no longer, and turned to the courts. They demand that the government fulfill the Oslo agreement and jointly develop the potential oil fields, and prevent the PA-commissioned British company from drilling. 4. POLICE, AMERICANS "CONVINCE" AMERICAN OFFICER TO LEAVE ISRAEL American Col. Jeremiah Mathis is on his way back to the United States, after police and American Embassy officials succeeded in convincing him to do so. He was found by police in the Negev town of Mitzpeh Ramon yesterday, and was interrogated for several hours. Contrary to police claims that they then released him, Mathis' lawyer Yoram Sheftel told Arutz-7 today that the police actually continued to hold him in a secret place. "At the end of the questioning," Sheftel recounted, "the police rushed him into a van filled with policemen, and with sirens wailing, sped off through red lights, to an undisclosed location. They are illegally holding him, in that they have not officially arrested him, but he is not a free man - even though no one claims that he committed any crime in Israel. He was forced to be subjected to pressure from the American Embassy to return to the U.S." Sheftel explained he was asked to represent Mathis by "certain people who are close to him," but added that he (Sheftel) did not want to turn to the courts until after he met Mathis. Sheftel said that the police did not allow the two to meet. "He is not even suspected by the U.S. of spying," said Sheftel, "and even if he was, this is no reason for Israel to arrest him, since no official request has come from the U.S. This is therefore a brazen and illegal attempt to appease the Washington bully, trampling its own laws in the process. " Mathis, a senior Military Intelligence officer, is now on his way back to the U.S., where he faces trial for "conduct unbecoming an American Army officer" and desertion. 5. GSS BLOCKS BIN-LADEN International arch-terrorist Osama Bin-Laden has set his sights on Israel, but the General Security Service has apparently nipped his attempts in the bud for now. Three Palestinian terrorists who trained in Bin-Laden's camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan have been arrested of late, as well as ten Arabs who were enlisted in the terrorist efforts by one of the three. They were in the midst of planning various mass attacks on Israeli targets, as the many explosives and weapons found with them attested. Palestinians in the Shomron have been asked by PA security personnel to refrain from shooting in the air at wedding celebrations. Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that the request was rooted not in the disturbance and fear caused to the neighboring Jewish residents, but rather - according to the Palestinians - in the "waste of precious ammunition, which will be needed in the future." IDF and police forces arrested ten Arabs from the Calandia refugee camp in northern Jerusalem several days ago. They were allegedly responsible for the burning of four Israeli buses that were on their way to the Yesha Council's large demonstration in Tel Aviv several weeks ago. The drivers had made a wrong turn, and were attacked by dozens of stone-throwing rioters. The drivers abandoned three of the buses, and escaped in the fourth - although it, too, was half-burnt. An Israeli was injured by rocks thrown at his car near Ariel last night. He was taken to the hospital for treatment. 6. ABDULLAH IN TEL AVIV Jordan's King Abdullah arrived for a quick two-and-a-half hour visit in Tel Aviv today. He landed first in Ramallah, then flew to Tel Aviv, where he placed a wreath at Rabin Square, took a stroll on the coastal Boardwalk, and met with Prime Minister Barak and acting-Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami. The Likud says that Barak's willingness to host the King in Tel Aviv proves that his commitment to Jerusalem is nothing more than "the parroting of slogans written for him by his public relations advisors." President Moshe Katzav also expressed regret over the fact that King Abdullah did not see fit to respect Israel by visiting its capital. Katzav refused to meet with the King outside Jerusalem. 7. IF WE CAN ONLY MAKE IT THROUGH THE SUMMER... Shmuel Tal, Israel's new Water Commissioner, is already warning of tough times ahead. Even if this coming winter's rainfalls are average, farmers' water quotas will still have to be cut by 50%, he said yesterday. Tens of thousands of dunams of orchards will have to be abandoned in case of a dry winter. Tal said that under no circumstances will he agree to a further lowering of the Kinneret's "red line," such that water will not be drawn from the sea if it reaches a low of 214 meters below sea level. It currently stands at -213.20, and is dropping an average of a centimeter each day. 8. BLOCKING THE ROAD TO KIDMAT ZION A new Jewish neighborhood called Kidmat Zion is under construction in eastern Jerusalem, adjacent to the village of Abu Dis. Aryeh King, who is active in the building efforts, told Arutz-7 today that although the new area is planned to house some 250 Jewish families, and although it has all the municipal approvals, Jews can no longer access the area by road. "The only approach road to our site is through a road that passes 100 meters into Abu Dis, which is presently classified as 'Area B' (Palestinian civil control). Oslo allows the Palestinian Authority to place roadblocks on roads in Area B. When we cleared away an Arab-set blockade last Friday, PA workers responded by constructing an even larger one. A situation has therefore been created whereby, even before the PA receives full control over Abu Dis, we cannot get to our lands, which are located within sovereign Jerusalem." King added that there is an additional approach into Kidmat Zion that does not entail entering Abu Dis, but that it is only accessible by four-wheel drive vehicles. He noted that he does not attribute the placing of the barrier to Palestinian schemes to block Kidmat Zion, but because of the proximity of the planned Palestinian parliament building. According to King, neighborhood planners are in touch with a top aide of Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, and are keeping the city posted on the latest developments. "Whatever happens with the Abu Dis entrance," King concluded, "we are certain that Kidmat Zion will become a reality - since the city is behind our efforts, and is likely to pave other roads from the western part of Jerusalem to Kidmat Zion." King said that planners are hoping that yet another Jewish neighborhood will be constructed nearby, directly linking Kidmat Zion to the southeastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Talpiot. 9. CRACKING DOWN ON CONTRACTORS The Housing Ministry has recommended the indicting of some 300 building contractors. They are suspected of illegal engineering works, falsifying building permits and contracts, and more. Housing Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said that the decision is an expression of his intention to tighten supervision over construction quality in Israel. 10. ISRAELIS TAKE A WALK New surveys show that more Israelis are walking more often. Some 58% of Israelis walk at least 20 minutes at least twice a week, and close to 60% of them say that walking is their main form of exercise. Maccabi Health Services has launched a new project, entitled "More Walking, More Health," in the framework of which a Family Walking Day will be held at various sites throughout the country during Chol HaMoed Sukkot (late October). Chaya Steryal of Maccabi told Arutz-7, "We have an interest, of course, in people remaining healthy. We would therefore like to encourage more people to walk, and to walk in the most effective manner. Our doctors say that walking at least 20 minutes twice a week, even if not strenuously, is healthful from many standpoints... We also provide tips as to how to walk most effectively, such as with a regular breathing rhythm that enables the walker to carry on a conversation..." 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