admin1 (30. Jul 2004, 09:36)
JERUSALEM POST
Jul. 29, 2004 19:36
Peres: Foreign office leaking confidential talks
By HERB KEINON
Once and (possibly) future foreign minister Shimon Peres said he would think twice about letting Foreign Ministry officials in on his meetings with visiting dignitaries following leaked notes of a meeting in which he called Yasser Arafat "crazy."
According to a rough transcript of a meeting Peres had with visiting EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana last Friday, Peres said "Arafat is crazy," and as an example said Arafat had suggested a "cease fire" during the Olympics, as if he were the chief of all international terror organizations.
This leak is one of several to emerge as the battle between Peres and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom for the Foreign Ministry in a possible national unity government heats up.
In another leak, Peres reportedly criticized Shalom for ending the tenure of Israel's consul-general in New York, Alon Pinkas. Peres has, until now, been reticent to criticize the job Shalom has done as foreign minister.
According to the notes leaked from the Peres-Solana meeting, Peres – who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 with Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin for the Oslo accords – said that while he does not feel Arafat is giving the order to carry out terror attacks, he is not calling for an end to them or letting others work to stop the terror. Peres was quoted as calling Arafat a "stumbling block."
Peres, according to the notes, said the EU needs to give Arafat an "either, or" ultimatum. The notes quote Peres as saying that Arafat will only change if genuine pressure – and not only declarations – is leveled against him.
Peres, in an Israel Radio interview Thursday, blamed the Foreign Ministry for the leak. It was done in an "orderly manner," and "could not have come from anywhere else," he said.
"Generally people from the Foreign Ministry take part in these meetings, and I will consider whether or not they will participate in these meetings in the future," he said.
Neither spokesmen for the ministry or for Shalom would comment on the matter.
Peres denied that he called Arafat "crazy."
"I don't use that type of language," Peres said. "I said that he is making mistakes, going in the wrong direction."
Asked if he thinks Arafat has gone crazy, Peres responded, "no." But, he added, "I have criticism of him, and I say it publicly."
Regarding Pinkas, Peres was quoted as saying in a private meeting that Shalom has decided to send "Israel's best and most talented public relations man in the world" back home.
According to some reports, Peres – if he becomes foreign minister – would likely appoint Pinkas director-general of the ministry, replacing Ilan Biran, whose tenure expires in a few weeks time.
Meanwhile, Civil Service Commission spokesman Arie Grinblatt denied reports that Shalom's candidate to replace Pinkas, Bank Hapoalim spokeswoman Ofra Preuss, was rejected by the Commission as unsuitable. Pinkas quit last month when he failed to get assurances from Shalom that his contract would be renewed.
Grinblatt said the committee held one meeting on the appointment on Wednesday, will hold others in the coming days, and has not yet made a decision
The four-man committee, headed by commission head Shmuel Hollander, must approve each of the 11 political appointments the Foreign Minister is entitled to make to embassies and consulates abroad.
admin1 (30. Jul 2004, 09:29)
JERUSALEM POST
Jul. 29, 2004 20:11 | Updated Jul. 30, 2004 1:29
Arafat: This land belongs to the Palestinians
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on Thursday told dozens of Fatah activists that "this land belongs to the Palestinian people" and said the Palestinians will bow only to God.
"Those who are near and far should know that this land is the land of the Palestinian people, whether they like it or not," a defiant Arafat said.
He added that the Palestinians would continue their struggle until the liberation of Jerusalem, when "one of our roses and children raise the Palestinian flag on the walls, minarets and churches of Jerusalem."
Scores of Fatah activists converged on Arafat's compound in Ramallah to express their solidarity with him in the aftermath of the recent political and security crisis in the PA. The rally was organized by the local Fatah faction in coordination with the PA leadership.
It was the biggest show of solidarity with Arafat since the crisis erupted two weeks ago with a spate of kidnappings and protests against his decision to appoint his cousin, Musa Arafat, as overall commander of the National Security Forces in the Gaza Strip and rampant corruption.
Sakher Habash, a top Fatah leader in Ramallah, said Arafat was now stronger than ever. "Although he has been under siege for three years, Arafat remains a powerful leader and symbol," he said. "He has proven that the siege is the source of his strength, and not his weakness."
Habash claimed that the corruption in the PA was due to the ongoing siege imposed on Arafat. He said some corrupt Palestinians had taken advantage of the confinement of Arafat to advance their personal interests.
The PA on attacked the US for questioning the credibility of the deal reached earlier this week between Arafat and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed scepticism on Tuesday over the Arafat-Qurei deal, saying Arafat seemed to retain control over the PA security forces.
PA Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath urged Washington to focus instead on Israel's failure to fulfil its promises to the US.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack and no suspects have been arrested. Arafat aid last week that he had ordered a thorough investigation into the shooting.
However, Reuters quoted PA security sources as saying Arafat has called off the investigation into the attack, blaming Israel for shooting Amr.
"Before Mr. Powell questions our credibility regarding the reform steps that we are taking, he should guarantee the implementation of the empty promises given to his administration by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon," Sha'ath said.
Sharon has "implemented nothing" of his promises to the US, he told the daily PA's official daily Al-Ayyam.
"What is the credibility of talking about an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip while Israel is expanding settlements at the same time," Sha'ath added.
"What credibility is there when Israel talks about the implementation of the roadmap while pursuing its policy of assassinations, invasions, demolitions and the construction of the wall?"
In another development, German surgeons have amputated the leg of Palestinian legislator Nabil Amr, who was shot by unidentified gunmen at his home in Ramallah last week.
Amr's right leg was amputated from the knee down due to severe nerve and muscle damage from two bullets fired at him while he was sitting on his balcony. The shooting took place shortly after Amr, 57, criticized Arafat's performance during a television interview.
admin1 (30. Jul 2004, 09:24)
JERUSALEM POST
Jul. 29, 2004 22:41 | Updated Jul. 30, 2004 1:24
MOD: New fence route will approach Green Line
By HERB KEINON
Nezah Mashiah, the coordinator of the security fence project in the Defense Ministry, confirmed recent leaks that the security fence -- in accordance with the recent High Court of Justice decision -- will move closer to the Green Line, though he was adamant it will not be on the Green Line.
"This is not in any way, shape or form a fence on the Green Line," Mashiah said in an Israel Radio interview. But, he added, it will come close to the communities of Mevaseret Zion, Har Adar, Betar Elit and Hashmonaim.
A blue-ribbon government panel met Wednesday to review the revised security fence route drawn up by the Defense Ministry and slated for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's approval in a matter of days.
The new route was made necessary by the High Court of Justice's ruling that the government must make changes in the security barrier that takes into account Palestinian humanitarian needs
Mashiah said that the fence will incorporate Gush Etzion, but that a decision has not yet been made concerning Ma'aleh Adumim. Mashiah said that the cabinet never approved the fence around Ma'aleh Adumim which, with some 30,000 residents, is the largest settlement in the West Bank.
Regarding Ariel, Mashiah said that a security fence will be built around the settlement, but that no decision has yet been made yet on whether to link this fence with the main security barrier.
"Within the framework of changes following the Supreme Court decision, there is certainly movement in the direction of the Green Line," Mashiah said.
admin1 (28. Jul 2004, 10:29)
JERUSALEM POST
Jul. 27, 2004 22:50 | Updated Jul. 28, 2004 10:54
[b]State: Yigal Amir continues to preach violence[/b]By DAN IZENBERG
Larisa Trimbobler
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski
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PM assassin Yigal Amir continues to preach physical violence against leading officials, according to the state's response to a Supreme Court petition Amir has submitted against the decision not to allow him conjugal visits with his proposed wife Dr. Larisa Trimbobler.
Deputy State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan said in his response that the Shin Bet has documented Amir's "radical and destructive ideology, whose arrows are aimed at specific human targets, including government officials."
Amir first asked permission from the Prisons Service to marry Trimbobler. When his request was rejected, he appealed to the Tel Aviv District Court. Judge David Bar-Ophir rejected the request.
Before Bar-Ophir handed down his decision, Amir's lawyer, David Kaspar appealed to the Supreme Court to disqualify Bar-Ophir from presiding over the case.
Kaspar charged that Bar-Ophir had met privately with a Shin Bet agent before a court session without his knowledge.
Before the Supreme Court could hear the appeal against Bar-Ophir, the judge handed down his ruling rejecting Amir's request.
Amir and Kaspar then appealed against the ruling as well.
In its response to the appeal, Attorney Shai Nitzan, the assistant to the State Attorney for special affairs, wrote that since Amir was classified as a security prisoner, he was governed by special prison conditions that did not apply to regular prisoners.
For example, in order to be allowed to be alone and unsupervised with someone from outside the prison, he had to receive an opinion from the Shin Bet stating that such circumstances would not threaten state security.
But the Shin Bet, on the contrary, had stated that he would pose a threat if allowed to be alone with Trimbobler.
According to the Shin Bet, Amir has never expressed regret for assassinating prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and continues to call for violent resistance to the government.
Nitzan also wrote that the state has specific information regarding Trimbobler according to which "she cooperated with Amir in committing illegal acts and helped him smuggle letters and documents out of prison.
"There is also information that she has made independent contact with outside and extremist elements. These circumstances certainly justify preventing the two from being together alone," Nitzan wrote.
Nitzan said very few of the 3,300 security prisoners are allowed to be alone with their wives or girlfriends.
Furthermore, the fact that Amir had killed a prime minister was also a factor in denying him permission to be alone with Trimbobler.
admin1 (28. Jul 2004, 10:27)
jerusalem post
Jul. 27, 2004 21:05 | Updated Jul. 28, 2004 10:32
Powell: don't trust Arafat
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Qurei and Arafat, friends again.
Photo: AP
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Announcements by PA Chairman Yasser Arafat are not to be trusted, according to US Secretary of State Colin Powell at a press briefing on his way to Cairo. Arafat, Powell said, is an expert at "yoyo proposals or vague announcements.
Powell told reporters he would discuss Palestinian prospects for establishing feasible political and security institutions to manage the Gaza Strip after Israeli disengagement.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei on Tuesday retracted his resignation, ending a two-week standoff with the PA chairman.
The move is seen as a major victory for Arafat, who in the last two weeks has been facing one of the most serious challenges to his autocratic rule.
The two met for the first time in five days in Arafat's office in yet another attempt to patch up their differences. Qurei had refused to leave his home in Abu Dis since last Thursday.
The meeting was attended by legislator Hanan Ashrawi, who earlier this week called for an end to Arafat's one-man show, and Abbas Zaki, a senior Fatah official and close aide to Arafat.
Ashrawi told reporters that Arafat authorized Qurei to take measures against officials implicated in corruption and agreed to surrender control over some of the security forces.
Arafat and Qurei later walked out of the closed-door meeting, exchanging kisses on the cheeks, smiling and holding up their hands together.
Qurei, who resigned earlier this month to protest against the growing state of chaos lawlessness in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said he had no desire to challenge Arafat and pledged to work in coordination with him.
I'm not going to bargain with President Arafat about authority (over the security services), he said. We have enough powers and we are working together to save the homeland.
Qurei thanked Arafat for his insistence on rejecting the resignation and reaffirming his confidence in him.
Qurei said Arafat promised to start tackling all issues related to corruption and abuse of power and had ordered the PA attorney general to launch an investigation against those responsible.
Arafat, for his part, praised my beloved and longtime companion Qurei for withdrawing his resignation and called on the Palestinians to close ranks in the face of the Israeli oppressors.
In an implicit reference to allegations of financial corruption in the PA, Arafat complained that Israel was continuing to hold large sums of money from tax revenues levied from Palestinians.
He accused Israel of pursuing its aggression against our women, children, infrastructure and institutions.
Addressing the journalists, Arafat said jokingly: There are more important things than Abu Ala (Quei) and me. Jerusalem is burning and there is a conspiracy against the city. You must not ignore this.
The details of the agreement reached between Arafat and Qurei remained unclear. Sources close to Qurei said Interior Minister Hakam Balawi, an Arafat appointee, would be fired and his portfolio would go to the prime minister.
The new Interior Ministry would have limited responsibility over security, the sources added.
Some PA officials claimed that Arafat had agreed to cede control over some of the security forces in favor of Qurei, while others stressed that the PA chairman would in any case remain the commander-in-chief of all the services.
Abu Ala had authorities (over security) in accordance with the Palestinian Basic Law and this will be the case in the future, said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Arafat's spokesman. He has the full right to make a cabinet reshuffle or to take any measure he sees fit on the basis of the Basic Law.
PA Minister of State Kadoura Fares said the agreement calls for placing only three security forces under Qurei's control -- the Civilian Police, Civil Defense and Preventative Security.
He said the remaining services, including the General Intelligence, Military Intelligence, and National Security Forces, would be subordinate to the National Security Council, which is headed by Arafat.
However, a number of Palestinian legislators in Ramallah expressed doubt that Arafat would relinquish control over any of the security forces. This is not the first time that he makes such a pledge, commented one legislator. Qurei won't be able to do anything without Arafat's permission.
Another legislator lashed out at Quei, saying he has proved that all he wants is to remain in his job at all costs. We're back to square one, he added. What we saw today in Ramallah was the best show in town. Arafat remains in control of the largest and most important security forces.
The agreement was achieved with the help of Palestinian parliamentary committee whose members mediated between Arafat and Qurei. On Monday night, the 14-member delegation held a lengthy meeting with Arafat, who promised to transfer the authorities over some of the security forces to Quei.
Hatem Abdel Kader, a member of the team, told The Jerusalem Post that Arafat also pledged a series of measures to fight corruption, but did not elaborate.
admin1 (28. Jul 2004, 10:14)
JERUSALEM POST
Jul. 27, 2004 20:31 | Updated Jul. 28, 2004 9:00
Mofaz: New fence route solves humanitarian problems
By MATTHEW GUTMAN
The IDF's top brass was quick to decry the new route of the security fence, presented to Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz Tuesday, describing it as "an avalanche about to smash into us."
Following the High Court of Justice June 30th ruling that Israel must alter segments of the barrier taking into account Palestinian humanitarian needs, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon instructed the Defense Ministry to redraw the fence and present him with a new plan within two weeks.
"This is an avalanche about to smash into us. The new security danger posed by the new route is a useless one and no one should scream and shout when a terrorist attack hits the city or its suburbs," one senior security source, part of the team tasked with drafting the original fence route told The Jerusalem Post Tuesday evening.
The new route, which brings the fence to within 300 meters of several Jerusalem neighborhoods, makes it useless, he added. Construction at A-Ram, north of the city, Shuafat and other areas, has come to a complete standstill.
Murmurs of the new route's security shortcomings emerged late last week after Defense Ministry planners presented the new route to Defense Ministry Director-General Amos Yaron on Thursday. The presentation included new plans for the areas around northern Jerusalem only, according to Mofaz's office. Mofaz and the barrier's planners are to present the new route to Prime Minister Sharon for approval early next week.
Mofaz said the alternative route north of Jerusalem abides by the High Court's ruling and totally resolves the humanitarian problems of the Palestinian population.
In several areas west of Jerusalem, planners have extended the barrier outwards to within 150 meters of the Green Line in certain areas. Notably, the new route skirts the upscale Jerusalem suburb of Mevaseret Zion.
The exact shape of the barrier's new route, a few details of which have been leaked, remains one of the Defense Ministry's most closely guarded secrets. Israel has zealously covered the new route, hoping to avert additional Palestinian petitions to the High Court. According to the Defense Ministry, the Jerusalem section of the fence and the 200 km southern section are still under discussion and will be brought before the Defense Minister at a later date.
Maj. Gen. (res.)Uzi Dayan, Chairman of the pro-barrier lobby, Security Fence for Israel, lamented, "we've suffered every possible slight and recrimination from this fence, but the fact is only two thirds are built." Only 196 km of the 700 km fence were completed as of July 6, 2004, according to the Defense Ministry's Planning Division. Critics note that even attaching an accurate length to the now world-famous barrier is impossible because large chunks remain in the planning stages.
His group, like other pro-fence supporters, never argued that the fence be built along a specific route, only that it be built and built right.
Marc Luria, a member of the Security Fence for Israel who tours the Jerusalem area fence several times a week, put it this way: "So far I've seen more Chinese workers repairing the Knesset's parking lot than laborers working on the fence."
Indeed, huge gaps in Israel's security fence remain, and much of the 200 km southern section of the fence from Jerusalem southward, are not yet plotted out. The areas parallel to the Ben Gurion Airport, where the Defense Ministry hoped to install a double fence, remains unclear, as does much of the Jerusalem area.
The Defense Ministry's map of the route on its website depicts the original plan from the Jordan river in the north of the West Bank to the settlement of Carmel near the Dead Sea, including several fingers thrusting into the West Bank settlements of Ariel and Kedumim. The map denotes no delineation between parts of the barrier already built, those under construction, those planned and approved and those planned but not approved.
Dayan, who urged Sharon to build a fence and begin unilaterally separating from the Palestinians back in 2001 in his capacity as National Security Advisor, lambasted the Sharon administration for a lack of transparency, secrecy and, above all, a failure to build this fence properly from the start, which might have saved hundreds of lives.
Jul. 15, 2004 15:00 | Updated Jul. 15, 2004 15:25
$11.1 million to make changes to fence
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Israel will spend US$11.1 million to change completed portions of its West Bank barrier, building new roads, underpasses and tunnels in an effort to ease Palestinian conditions, Defense Ministry officials said Thursday.
The planned alterations comes after the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands, declared the barrier to be illegal and recommended that it be dismantled.
A week earlier, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the army to change the route of the barrier in a 30-kilometer (20-mile) stretch near Jerusalem, saying it was causing too much hardship on the local Palestinian population.
Israeli officials said this week that they would be rerouting the planned 680-kilometer (425-mile) barrier to adhere to the Supreme Court ruling. The changes announced by the Defense Ministry Wednesday are part of that effort.
Defense Ministry officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there are no plans to remove existing portions of the barrier. Instead, it will build new roads, tunnels and underpasses to facilitate Palestinian travel. The officials did not say when the changes would be completed.
Near the West Bank town of Tulkarem, Palestinians have to travel through a large, tedious checkpoint that can hold people up for hours. A new road that will run under the barrier will lead to the elimination of the checkpoint, the officials said.
In addition, the ministry plans to invest more money in buses for children who have been cut off from their schools by the barrier and rely on Israeli-funded transportation to get to and from school, the officials said.
As new portions are built, the Defense Ministry is making sure that Palestinians are not cut off from lands, fields and nearby towns, the officials said.
Cartographers are currently remapping the unbuilt portion of the barrier to bring it closer to the so-called "Green Line," the unofficial frontier that existed between Israel and the West Bank before the 1967 Mideast war.
Mar. 30, 2004 22:41 | Updated Mar. 31, 2004 0:14
Generals: 'Fence route is dangerous'
By TOVAH LAZAROFF
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The route of the security fence will endanger rather than save lives, said a group of 100 senior IDF reservists who on Tuesday sent a letter to the government asking that the barrier be built along a different path.
"It is against the security interests of the state and its residents on either side of the fence," said the Council for Peace and Security, which also sent letters to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
"It's like someone closed their eyes and said here will be a fence without thinking what it will be like one meter forward," said Maj.-Gen. (res.) Natan Sharoni.
The council members argued that because the fence puts Palestinian agricultural lands on the Israeli side, it has too many gates and is too close to Palestinian homes. Keeping as much of the agricultural lands as possible on the Palestinian side would cut down on the number of gates, said the council. It supports the construction of a fence, it said, but one that does a better job of assessing security needs.
Outside the homes of Deir Khaddis, a short distance into a large grove of olive trees, is the start of a dirt road where bulldozers had begun clearing the path for a section of the security fence.
The work was halted, pending the a decision by the High Court of Justice regarding the route in that area. A hearing on the petition by the Association of Civil Rights in Israel will be heard tomorrow.
In the area, scores of Palestinians and a number of Israelis have been wounded protesting the fence, which according to the Defense Ministry and the government is designed to save lives by stopping suicide bombers. Clashes occurred Tuesday outside Ramallah between Palestinians and soldiers during a protest against the fence.
Outside of Bethlehem, Palestinians tried to take down a portion of a security fence.
In their petition to the court, residents of Deir Khaddis, Nilin, and el-Midyan contend that the fence, is designed to separate them from their land. In its construction, they argue, thousands of olive trees will be destroyed.
Supporting their claim are reservists officers who on Tuesday brought a group of reporters out to Nilin, Deir Khaddis, and the neighboring Kiryat Sefer for a first-hand view on how the fence would best service the area.
Standing behind the existing fence of Kiryat Sefer, officers pointed out how the new security fence would hug the buildings of Deir Khaddis, putting its olive groves on the side of Kiryat Sefer.
The fence could be built closer to Kiryat Sefer, in such a way that most of the olive grove would remain on the side of Deir Khaddis thereby eliminating the need for passage gates to the lands, said Sharoni.
The less gates, the better, because each breach in the fence is a security risk, said Sharoni. It is also safer to keep the fence further away from the Palestinian homes, from which snipers could shoot at soldiers patrolling the fence, said Sharoni.
It isn't true that a large buffer zone provides the best security, said Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yehuda Golan. Once the terrorist has found a way over the fence, he moves in less than a minute over 14 meters or 30 meters. Security is provided by the type of fence, because that is where the terrorist can be caught.
As much as possible, it is also best to build it along existing fence routes which have already been accepted by Palestinians in the area, said Golan.
Additionally, if one looks at the entire route of the fence, 388,000 Palestinians will be added into Israel, said the council in its letter.
Outside of Beitunya near Ramallah as part of the Land Day protests, Palestinians, Israelis, and international activists walked to where soldiers were guarding construction equipment. According to one activist, "we sat down chanting and waving flags."
But violence erupted as the group was leaving, said the activist, with soldiers firing rubber bullets and tear gas at the protesters.
Aug. 13, 2003 0:53
Analysis: Where's the fence?
By MATTHEW GUTMAN
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As the number of wounded and dead piled up Tuesday morning, so did the disturbing coincidences. That both attacks occurred just south of the recently completed first section of the security fence; that the two bombings occurred almost simultaneously; that both bombers came from Nablus; and that Tuesday was the halfway point of the hudna (cease-fire).
But it did not take a professional to understand that the attacks might have been prevented had the state-of-the-art, and highly criticized security fence continued south past Rosh Ha'ayin and toward Israel's center. Residents of both Ariel and Rosh Ha'ayin lashed out at the government for "dragging their feet" in building the central section of the fence and the 100km. spur around Ariel and Kedumim.
"As a professional, I think the fence could prevent [terrorists] from attacking Israel," said Sharon area police chief Dep.-Cmdr. Amichai Shai. The bottom line, which he reached after some rhetorical zigzagging, was that "a fence south of here would have helped today." Criticism of the fence in Europe and the US has begun to blaze, fanned by Palestinian charges that Israel is carving out Bantustans while unilaterally declaring the borders of a future Palestinian state.
According to Dan Schueftan, director of the National Security Research Center at Haifa University, this is exactly the point. "The Palestinians will try to harm Jews wherever they can. The motivation will always be there," therefore Israel has only one option unilateral disengagement.
Israel's failure to erect the full 450 kilometers of the fence which retains huge support among Israelis borders on criminal negligence, he adds. Terrorists will continue to slip through the seams of any Israeli barrier.
And in some ways, Tuesday's twin attacks might have been an attempt to prove just that. The attackers slipped out of Nablus, drove south and then west toward Rosh Ha'ayin and Ariel, skirting the entire length of the existing fence.
It is a curious coincidence that an attack that showed Israel's vulnerability along the fence's route also came a few days before the PA organized "day of rage" against the fence on Friday.
While the IDF said the two attacks are unrelated, sources in the PA related that the two 17-year-old bombers lived in the same narrow alleyway in the Askar refugee camp, where Israel killed two Hamas terrorists on Friday.
Israel's continuing operations in cities like Jenin and Nablus, its killing and incarceration of dozens of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades leaders have effectively blurred the lines of political affiliation. Neighborhood gangs operate as local cells almost totally independent of outside influence.
It is naive to declare no connection between the two bombings. Both bombers were directly affected by Israel's raid into Nablus. Both bombers sought to avenge what Palestinian terrorist organizations call Israel's "breach of the hudna." The bombings might not have been planned to occur at the halfway point of the hudna intentionally, but their timing certainly served as an exclamation and a reminder as to who controls the Middle East Peace process.
The bombings come after a weekend in which Hamas hurled threats at Israel. Following the blasts, a PA security source said that PA Minister for Security Affairs Muhammad Dahlan would work to clamp down on terrorism. But the bombings, which Israel says might have been planned weeks ago, were a demonstration that Hamas and the other groups are still salient, and still very powerful, said Col. (res.) Yoni Fighel of the International Policy Institute on Counter-Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
It was also a demonstration of the PA's inability to prevent such attacks and possibly a well-aimed jab at PA Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas's legitimacy.
Still, the attacks were well-planned, with the Rosh Ha'ayin bombing requiring no little amount of intelligence work. "This attack was not on the strategic level. They did not intend to hit Israeli landmarks like [Tel Aviv's] Azrieli Towers or Dizengoff shopping center," said Fighel.
Hamas is trying to show that it can both take the hits and dish them out, he added.
The ultimate question is who the PA fears more, Israel and the US administration or al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades and Hamas, Fighel observed. "Obviously, the prospects of a civil war are more daunting to Abu Mazen [Abbas]," he said.
Ultimately, Israel will have its fence, concludes Schueftan. "The costs are irrelevant. The lack of a physical barrier between Israel and the Palestinians costs us billions of dollars a year in terms of loss of life, the collapse of the economy, and increased crime. Even if the price were double or quadruple the cost of the fence today, it is still the best possible investment Israel can make."
23. Israelischer Rückzug aus G a z a ....
admin1 (27. Jul 2004, 13:26)
Permier Ariel Sharon kündigte einen israelischen Rückzug aus GAZA an. Vor allem in der israelischen Rechten stiessen diese Pläne nicht auf eitel Freude. Auf der palästinensischen Seite scheinen sich auch entsprechende Bewegungen abzuzeichnen.
Es stellt sich die Frage, wer auf der palästinensischen Seite nach dem vollständigen Abzug der israelischen Armee und der Liquidierung der israelischen Siedlungen die Macht übernehmen wird? (D. Sch.)
HAARETZ, July 27, 2004
Scorched earth in Gaza
The item was just another routine report: an update from the war of attrition Israel and the Palestinians are conducting in the occupied territories. Haaretz correspondent Nir Hason reported on Sunday that the IDF demolished a packing house in Beit Hanun in northern Gaza. Worse things have happened during the four year war: last week, as happens almost every week, Palestinians, including children, were killed in IDF operations. On Sunday night, Border Police killed six Palestinians in Tul Karm. Apparently, only three of them were armed. In Beit Hanun, at least, nobody was killed.
But some harsh details emerge from the Beit Hanun report. The packing plant served about 1,000 farmers in Gaza. Their vegetables and fruit were packed for export to Europe, and helped provide a livelihood for thousands of residents of Gaza. Just two weeks ago, the Peres Center for Peace transferred funds to the packing plant for the purchase of new sorting machinery. That machinery was also destroyed in the IDF action, a half million shekel loss. The packing house is now expected to go bankrupt, and the farmers won't have any way to market their produce.
The IDF has been in Beit Hanun for several weeks, in the wake of Qassam rocket fire on Sderot that killed an adult and child. In effect, the army created a kind of "security zone," meant to prevent Qassam cells from reaching an area from which it is possible to shell Sderot. Asked, the Southern Command says that last week rockets were fired from the area of the packing plant. The officers on the ground decided to uproot the vegetation around the area, but no order was given to demolish the plant. Apparently, the army unit deviated from the orders it was given.
But the bulldozer driver who destroyed the building was not operating in a vacuum. With local, tactical rationales - like removing theats to Israeli settlements and roads - the IDF has for years been justifying collective punishment in the Gaza Strip. That's how hundreds of houses were demolished along the Philadelphi route in Rafah, and in February that's how some 100 Palestinian shops on the Palestinian side of Erez were destroyed after two terrorists tunneled into the Israeli side and managed to kill a soldier.
While in Jerusalem, in a decision about the route of the separation fence, the High Court of Justice is emphasizing the importance of proportionality of the harm done to Palestinian human rights as a basic principle for consideration of military actions, the IDF repeatedly violates the principle over and over in Gaza. There is no proportion between the limited military purpose of demolitions to the damage done to the farmers, who had nothing to do with the rocket launches. By destroying the packing plant, the IDF also violated another, far more ancient principle. Apparently, the army commanders forgot the Biblical principle from Deuteronomy 20, verse 19: "When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it, thou shalt not destroy the trees ... for the tree of the field is man's life."
A few months before the beginning of the implementation of the disengagement plan, it is difficult to shake the impression that the IDF has undertaken a "scorched earth" policy in the Strip. The army is supposed to defend Israeli citizenry under difficult circumstances and in light of a growing threat. But when it is swept into actions such as these, the danger is not merely the loss of trees, homes or livelihood. The IDF is also uprooting the last shreds of hope that the withdrawal will also be the beginning of repairing relations between the two peoples.
22. (Israels) gezielte T ö t u n g e n
admin1 (27. Jul 2004, 09:32)
Die Diskussion um die israelischen "gezielten Tötungen" von Terroristenführern wird vor allem ausserhalb Israels immer wieder diskutiert. Ist es gerechtfertigt, ist es überhaupt völkerrechtlich legal, auch die schlimmsten Verbrecher auf der Gegnerseite ins Jenseits zu befördern? (D. Sch.)
Hier nachfolgend eine Stellungsnahme des Jüdischen Medienforums zu dieser Thematik:
Medienmitteilung des Jüdischen Medienforums Schweiz und
des Schweizerischen Israelitischen Gemeindebundes
Gezielte Tötungen und Terrorismus - ein paar notwendige Klarstellungen
Die sogenannten gezielten Tötungen von Führern der auch in Europa als terroristische Organisation eingestuften Hamas werden vielfältig kritisiert. Man bezeichnet sie als "unrechtmässig", als "extralegale Hinrichtungen" oder ähnlich. Das Eidgenössische Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten (EDA) hat Pressemitteilungen nach die gezielte Tötung des Hamasführers Rantisi als ebenso "unrechtmässig" wie palästinensische Terrorakte bezeichnet. Die Massaker an wahllos ausgesuchten israelischen Zivilisten durch palästinensische Terroristen (nicht zuletzt der Hamas) sind jedoch nicht mit den gezielten Tötungen der Terroristenführer vergleichbar, weder völkerrechtlich, noch moralisch oder politisch. Vielmehr müssen klare Unterscheidungen angebracht werden.
Hamas-Terroristen sprengen mit Vorsatz und Vorliebe Zivilisten, Kinder, Frauen und Greise in die Luft, also eindeutig solche Personen, die im Kriegsfall (völkerrechtlich gesehen) sogenannte Nichtkombattanten und damit zu schützende Personen sind. Diese Attentate sind nicht "gezieltes Töten" zu nennen. Ihre Opfer sind auch keine "Kollateralschäden". Hier wird heimtückisch, grausam und wahllos gemordet. Der Grund, dass diese Zivilisten als Opfer ausgewählt werden, ist allein der, dass es israelische Bürger und Bürgerinnen, und zwar jüdische Israelis sind. Es gibt keinerlei Legitimation für diese Mordaktionen, weder eine völkerrechtliche noch eine moralische, auch keine politische. Denn hier geht es nach allen zivilisierten Regeln nicht, auch wenn das behauptet wird, um militärische Operationen gegen einen bewaffneten Feind, nicht, auch wenn das behauptet wird, um Widerstand oder den Freiheitskampf eines unterdrückten Volkes, sondern erklärtermassen um die Ermordung von Zivilisten mit dem Ziel der Vernichtung des Staates Israel.
Israels Tötungen dagegen zielen auf Terroristenchefs, also auf die logistisch, operativ und propagandistisch Verantwortlichen. Sie sind also nach dem Kriegsrecht beurteilt auf Kombattanten gerichtet und nicht wahllos auf Zivilisten. Es ist zuzugeben, dass mitunter auch tragischerweise Zivilisten oder Nichtkombattanten getroffen werden. Das liegt jedoch vor allem daran, dass die Terroristenchefs sich im Gazastreifen unter Zivilisten verstecken. Israel übt seine Aktionen auch nicht, wie oft behauptet wird, als aussergerichtliche Hinrichtungen, sondern als präventive Massnahmen zum Schutz seiner Bürger und in Anwendung des völkerrechtlich erlaubten Selbstverteidigungsrechts aus. Dies ist laut Artikel 51 der UNO-Charta erlaubt in dem Fall, wenn ein Staatsgebiet angegriffen wird. Selbst wenn man völkerrechtlich streitet, spricht doch einiges dafür, dass die Hamas und andere Terrororganisationen als bewaffnete Gruppen das Staatsgebiet Israels mit ihren Anschlägen auf die Zivilbevölkerung angreifen. Dass die UNO legitimiert hat, sich gegen den Angriff bewaffneter Gruppen militärisch zu verteidigen, hat die Resolution zum Afghanistan-Krieg gezeigt. Man kann nicht, wie Hamas, Israel den Krieg erklären und Mörder losschicken, aber Schonung für die Anführer einfordern. Israel handelt präventiv zum Schutz seiner Bürger (was die Pflicht jeder Regierung ist) auch deswegen, weil die Palästinensische Autonomiebehörde nicht handelt, obwohl sie die Pflicht hätte und auch akzeptiert hat, gegen Terrororganisationen vorzugehen. Die "Road Map"l fordert von der Palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde, "to undertake visible efforts ..... to arrest, disrupt, and restrain individuals and groups conducting and planning attacks on Israelis"1. Die palästinensischen Sicherheitskräfte, die also eigentlich gegen Terroristen vorgehen müssten, sind jedoch sogar teilweise selbst in Terrorattentate verstrickt. Die Verhältnismässigkeit eines präventiven Handelns ist freilich immer im Einzelfall zu prüfen. Aber die oft geäusserte Vorstellung, wonach Israel sich solcher Personen durch Gefangennahme bemächtigen und vor Gericht stellen müsste, ist im Blick auf Gaza illusionär. Terroristenführer von Hamas könnten allenfalls unter Anrichtung eines Blutbads, das vermutlich viele Zivilisten mit einbeziehen würde, verhaftet werden.
1 "sichtbare Anstrengungen zu unternehmen, um Individuen und Gruppen, die Angriffe auf Israelis unternehmen oder planen, zu verhaften, zu isolieren und zurückzuhalten"
Zürich, 20. April 2004
Ansprechpartner:
Jüdisches Medienforum Schweiz (JMS):
Prof. Dr. Ekkehard W. Stegemann, Handy 079 757 81 13
Schweizerischer Israelitischer Gemeindebund (SIG):
Prof. Dr. Alfred Donath, Präsident, Handy 076 382 71 39
admin1 (27. Jul 2004, 09:22)
In diesem Zusammenhang sei auf ein Standardwerk von Bernard Lewis hingewiesen:
"Die Juden in der islamischen Welt. Vom frühen Mittelalter bis ins 20. Jahrhundert." –
Erschienen ist es im Verlag C.H. Beck, München 2004.
admin1 (27. Jul 2004, 08:39)
HAARETZ
jULY 27, 2004
Yes, yes, yes, yes - but no
By Danny Rubinstein
Can Yasser Arafat survive the current crisis? The turmoil surrounding him comes entirely from within the upper ranks of the Fatah movement. This is the Palestinian ruling party, and all the people involved in this turmoil are members of Fatah's leadership - both Mohammed Dahlan, who is leading a quasi-rebellion in Gaza, and his rivals in the Strip, Mousa Arafat, Ghazi Jibali and others.
Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala), his predecessor, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), and former minister Nabil Amr, who was seriously wounded in an attempt on his life, are all from Fatah. The other Palestinian factions, Hamas and the leftist organizations, are not involved in the severe crisis.
What is being asked of Arafat is seemingly not much - no one is asking him to resign and give up his seat to a different chairman. What they are asking of him is to implement reforms in the Fatah movement and give more governing powers to his comrades in the movement. For instance, cabinet member Jamal Shubaki (from Fatah, of course) proposed over the weekend that all the problems be resolved by convening a general assembly of the Fatah movement and holding new internal elections for the movement's institutions. There has not been a Fatah general assembly in 16 years, and the discontent among movement activists is great. In addition, Shubaki argues that the government should simply adhere to Palestinian law, which precisely defines the division of authority within its top echelons.
Thus Yasser Arafat could resolve the problem relatively easily by transferring powers to the prime minister and the other ministers, and ordering the necessary changes in the security services. He could also approve new elections within Fatah and call a general assembly to elect new people to its institutions.
But based on past experience, there is no chance at all that he will do this. He might pretend that he is transferring governmental powers and implementing reforms in the Fatah movement, but in practice, nothing will change.
All of Arafat's acquaintances would presumably agree with this statement. The reason is his unique character as head of the Palestinian movement, which is expressed in the fact that Arafat essentially has no private life. In other words, his entire existence revolves solely around political activity. He has never had a family life. It is also possible to say that he has never had a home. Family, home, social life, earning a living, entertainment, culture - all are connected to his political work and take place within the confines of his office, 24 hours a day. This is not only true now, when he is under siege in the Muqata, but has been true virtually ever since he decided to become active in Palestinian politics.
For Arafat, giving up his authority does not merely mean giving up political power; it means giving up his life. Without exaggerating greatly, it is possible to state that he would prefer physical death to political death. In other words, he would rather die than implement any reforms that would mean giving up his powers.
The few powers that have been taken away from him recently have not really hurt him. Responsibility for some of the Palestinian Authority's financial affairs was indeed taken from him and transferred to his finance minister, Salam Fayyad, and the diplomatic sphere is also being handled primarily by others: Abu Ala, Nabil Shaath, Saeb Erekat and Jibril Rajoub. But when one examines the matter closely, one sees that he still controls all of these areas. He still personally signs checks in every sphere that is not subject to external supervision by donor nations. He decides who will travel abroad and when, and who will meet with foreign diplomats. He continues to manipulate all the people around him. He allows them to run around, to make decisions, to set up committees - but in the end, he continues to rule, just as he did in the past.
admin1 (27. Jul 2004, 08:32)
jerusalem post
Jul. 26, 2004 23:26
Iran threatens to wipe Israel off map, again
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Iran on Monday repeated its threat to "wipe Israel off the map" if Israel attacked the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites.
"The United States is showing off by threatening to use its wild dog, Israel," Revolutionary Guards Commander Seyed Masood Jazayeri was quoted as saying by the Iranian student news agency ISNA.
"They will not hesitate to strike Iran if they are capable of it. However, their threats to attack Iran's nuclear facilities cannot be realized. They are aware Tehran's reaction will be so harsh that Israel will be wiped off the face of the earth and US interests will be easily damaged," he warned.
The commander asserted that Iran would not initiate a conflict, but in retaliation to any attack has proved itself to be "harsh, assertive, hard-hitting and destructive," according to ISNA.
Israel and the US accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is meant for energy purposes.
admin1 (27. Jul 2004, 08:26)
JERUSALEM POST
Jul. 26, 2004 23:48 | Updated Jul. 27, 2004 8:16
Palestinian writer urges Arafat to pack his bags and leave
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
The Palestinian Authority cabinet is scheduled to convene in Ramallah on Tuesday amid reports that PA Chairman Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei have reached an agreement over the controversial Interior Ministry portfolio.
The meeting comes as a Palestinian writer called on Arafat to pack his bags and move to another country. Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi has also called on Arafat to quit, saying it is time to end the "one-man show" in Ramallah.
PA officials told The Jerusalem Post that the latest compromise calls for dismissing Interior Minister Hakam Balawi and giving his post to Qurei.
Abbas Zaki, a member of a PA parliamentary committee set up to mediate between Arafat and Qurei, said the two were planning to meet prior to the cabinet session to conclude the agreement.
Arafat and Qurei have not met since last Thursday. Sources close to Qurei said he has since refused to leave his home in Abu Dis under the pretext that he was ill.
They added that Qurei was worried that he would be held responsible for the ongoing state of anarchy and lawlessness in the Gaza Strip.
On Saturday, Zaki and Communications Minister Azam al-Ahmed met with Qurei in Abu Dis for seven hours in an attempt to persuade him to withdraw his threat to resign.
The two conveyed to Qurei Arafat's agreement to replace Balawi, and said the PA chairman had no objection to placing the Interior Ministry under the prime minister's direct control.
"The crisis between Arafat and Qurei is about to end," said one official in Ramallah.
"Arafat has apparently agreed to sack Balawi and hand over the Interior Ministry to Qurei, who will have limited control over the security forces."
Another official said Arafat has "categorically rejected" demands by Fatah and PA security commanders to remove his cousin, Musa Arafat, from his post as overall commander of the National Security Forces in the Gaza Strip.
"Gen. Musa Arafat will remain in his job despite the pressure," the official added. "For President Arafat, this is a matter of principle and no one is going to tell him what to do."
Meanwhile, editors, writers, and political commentators throughout the Arab world have stepped up their calls on Arafat to step aside, holding him responsible for widespread corruption and disasters that have plagued the Palestinians over the past three decades.
Dr. Ibrahim Hamami, a Palestinian writer living in London, has joined the chorus of Arafat critics in one of the most scathing attacks yet on the PA chairman.
Hamami, in an open letter to Arafat published on the Palestinian Web site Falasteen, urged Arafat to pack his bags and leave together with all his "corrupt cronies."
"For more than three decades you have treated us as if we were a flock of sheep," he wrote. "You think that you are able to deal with the Palestinian people in the same way as you do with your corrupt cronies – whom you treat as shoes that you can wear or take off whenever you wish."
Hamami said Arafat's "disastrous" policies have led the Palestinians from one catastrophe to another. "Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Lebanon and Jordan and now in Palestine because of your systematic corruption ever since you came to power in 1968," he added, addressing Arafat.
He also pointed out that Arafat was responsible for the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Arab countries because of his "idiotic" policies – a reference to Arafat's support for Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
"The solution is simple and face-saving for all," the Palestinian writer concluded. "You must release the people from your grip and corrupt authority. The solution is that you pack your bags and leave together with all the corrupt officials. Go anywhere you choose – Egypt, Tunis, or Tel Aviv, anywhere. Just go, go, go!"
admin1 (26. Jul 2004, 13:35)
JERUSALEM POST
Jul. 25, 2004 8:59 | Updated Jul. 25, 2004 20:54
Vanunu: Israel behind JFK assassination
By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN
Comments by freed nuclear spy Mordechai Vanunu that Israel was behind the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy failed to bring smiles to government officials Sunday.
One would expect that such claims would portray Vanunu as a man with a credibility problem, but as far as the defense establishment is concern, the former nuclear technician still has secrets to reveal and a declared goal of ending Israel's nuclear program. He shouldn't be talking to the media and is actually barred from meeting with foreigners.
Nevertheless, the London-base al-Hayat published Sunday an interview is claims it had with Vanunu. According to the interview which appeared in its Arabic supplement Al-Wassat, Vanunu said that according to "near-certain indications", Kennedy was assassinated due to "pressure he exerted on then head of government, David Ben-Gurion, to shed light on Dimona's nuclear reactor."
"We do not know which irresponsible Israeli prime minister will take office and decide to use nuclear weapons in the struggle against neighboring Arab countries," Vanunu was quoted as saying. "What has already been exposed about the weapons Israel is holding can destroy the region and kill millions."
Vanunu also said that the reactor in Dimona, where he worked, could become a second "Chernobyl." He said that an earthquake could cause fissures to the core and that would cause a massive radiation leak threatening millions.
Vanunu warned that Jordan should test the residents along the border with Israel for exposure to radiation and give them pills just like Israel decided to do for its citizens.
Vanunu also criticized the visit to Israel early this month by the head of the Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed el-Baradei.
"He (Baradei) should have refused to have visited Israel (because) he was not allowed to inspect the nuclear reactor," Vanunu said.
According to al-Hayat, Vanunu now lives "with his Palestinian friends" in east Jerusalem.
It was not clear how al-Hayat did the interview, which the publication claimed with the first Vanunu has granted to a newspaper since his release from Ashkelon prison last April.
Vanunu has been barred from granting interviews to foreign media.
But until now, no steps were being planned against Vanunu.
"The statements that Vanunu made will be examined and if it is determined that he violated the law or his restrictions, then steps against him will be considered," a Justice Ministry statement said.
Defense officials Sunday refused to discuss Vanunu's latest interview. But they have in the past expressed concern that Vanunu's comments, as nonsensical as they may be, would be dangerous since it would be taken as credible.
"It's a question of time until he incriminates himself. This was not the objective. If he's arrested it won't be over nonsense. If he's detained then it'll be for real," a security official said. "Vanunu is still obligated to state secrecy."
"If he gives an interview and talks about prison conditions, that's OK. But if he moves on to the Dimona reactor, then that's off limits. Don't worry, we'll known," the official said.
21. S i c h e r h e i t s z a u n
admin1 (26. Jul 2004, 13:30)
Der sog. "Security Wall", der Sicherheitszaun, der das israelische Staatsgebiet vor ungebetenen Gästen, vor allem den mörderischen Selbstmordattentats-Terroristen aus den palästinensischen Gebieten schützen will, macht weiterhin international Schlagzeilen.
Diese spezielle Site soll ab sofort für diese Thematik reserviert sein. Alle News der vergangenen Wochen und Monate bezüglich des Sicherheitswalls finden Sie - wenn Sie sich rückwirkend informieren wollen - unter den Tagesnachrichten! Dany Schürch
Jul. 25, 2004 14:09 |
JERUSALEM POST
Updated Jul. 25, 2004 17:19
New fence route 'not security wise'
By MATTHEW GUTMAN
Not "security-wise?"
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski
Advertisement
A new, and more stream-lined, route of Israel's security barrier is to be presented to Prime Minsiter Ariel Sharon and Defense Minsiter Shaul Mofaz Sunday afternoon.
Three weeks ago the Supreme Court ordered the Defense Ministry to redraw part of the barrier in the Jerusalem area and stipulated that the future route must do the least possible harm to local Palestinians.
The Defense Ministry was to present the redrawn map to Sharon and Mofaz within two weeks of the ruling.
The new route will run much closer to the de facto Green Line border demarcating the territory Israel conquered in the 1967 Six Day War. "This is not a security wise fence," warned a senior security source Sunday.
The new route will bring the barrier closer to Israeli cities hugging the Green Line. According to the security source the fence will run just 100 meters from Mevaseret Zion, a suburb west of Jerusalem.
The Defense Ministry has kept mum on the fences new route, hoping to forestall legal obstacles and lengthy Supreme Court cases that will inevitably arise even from the new route.
The 200 km southern section of the fence is to run either on or parallel to the Green Line in the Hebron area, after looping eastward to encompass the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, home to some 45,000 settlers.
admin1 (26. Jul 2004, 10:08)
HAARETZ
JULY 26, 2004
Four compensation schemes on offer to evacuated settlers
By Aluf Benn
The government will offer four alternative compensation plans to settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the northern West Bank, pursuant to the disengagement plan, according to the government's so-called compensation committee.
The committee, headed by Justice Ministry director-general Aharon Abramovich, is responsible for drafting legislation to enable the payment of compensation to the settlers. According to the Justice Ministry, the draft legislation will probably be submitted to the cabinet in October or November; meanwhile, committee members will hold talks with the settlers in an effort to involve them in the drafting process.
The legislation will cover some 1,600 families - about 1,500 in Gaza and another 100 in the four West Bank settlements. The families will be compensated for the loss of their homes, loss of income (for salaried employees) and loss of businesses in Gaza.
The housing compensation will depend on how long the family has lived in the settlement, where it chooses to relocate and its own negotiations with the state. The committee has not yet decided whether to pay the compensation as a lump sum or in several payments over the course of a few years. A separate task force will determine how the compensation will be taxed.
The four options for housing compensation are as follows:
l Replacement house: This option will be available to people who have lived in their settlement for at least four years and consider it the center of their life. They will be entitled to a replacement house of similar quality in areas in Israel that have been chosen as references for determing the amount of compensation. The payment will be based on the cost of land in that area plus the cost of building the new house, with the amount rising to a certain ceiling, depending on the length of time the family lived in the settlement. People not entitled to the maximum compensation will be granted a loan on easy terms to cover the difference.
l Payment for a typical evacuated house: This option is for those who have lived in their settlement less than four years, or who own a house in the settlement but live elsewhere. Their compensation will be based on a government assessor's estimate of the value of a typical house of that kind in the settlement, rather than the value of an equivalent house inside Israel.
*Communal resettlement: This is the government's preferred option. It calls for the settlers, as individuals or as groups, to be resettled in communities located in priority areas inside Israel, to be chosen by the government. Residents of the northern West Bank, for instance, will be encouraged to move to the Gilboa and Galilee regions, which may be near their current work places. This option would enable the settlers to maintain their current communal framework, and it would also allow the government to increase the population of less populated areas in Israel. Those who choose this option will essentially be given land for free, via a loan that turns into a grant after five years of residence. The choice of communities and of specific plots of land within those communities will be on a first come, first serve basis.
*Personal compensation: Every evacuated settler can ask for a government assessor to estimate the value of his house, instead of using standard compensation tables. In this way, the government hopes to ensure that every person at least receives the full value of his house.
The compensation committee, which began work even before the cabinet approved the disengagement plan on June 6, includes four subcommittees: on legislation, taxation, cooperative associations, and the Erez industrial zone, from which some 100 Israeli businesses are slated to be evacuated. Evacuating the latter is politically much easier than evacuating settlements, but the assessment of businesses' values is far more complex.
The committee has tried to learn the lessons of the 1982 evacuation of the Sinai settlements, the main one being the need for dialogue with the settlers before the evacuation. Many Sinai evacuees felt that the state had imposed an arrangement on them and was inattentive to their needs.