DOCSLIB.ORG

Remarks Following a Meeting with President Ezer Weizman of Israel in Jerusalem November 6, 1995

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Remarks Following a Meeting with President Ezer Weizman of Israel in Jerusalem November 6, 1995 Nov. 6 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1995 Surely we must learn from his martyrdom that This week, Jews all around the world are if people cannot let go of the hatred of their studying the Torah portion in which God tests enemies, they risk sowing the seeds of hatred the faith of Abraham, patriarch of the Jews and among themselves. I ask you, the people of the Arabs. He commands Abraham to sacrifice Israel, on behalf of my Nation that knows its Yitzhak. ``Take your son, the one you love, own long litany of loss, from Abraham Lincoln Yitzhak.'' As we all know, as Abraham in loyalty to President Kennedy to Martin Luther King, to God was about to kill his son, God spared do not let that happen to you. Yitzhak. Now, God tests our faith even more In the Knesset, in your homes, in your places terribly, for he has taken our Yitzhak. of worship, stay the righteous course. As Moses But Israel's covenant with God, for freedom, said to the children of Israel when he knew for tolerance, for security, for peace, that cov- he would not cross over into the Promised Land, enant must hold. That covenant was Prime Min- ``Be strong and of good courage, fear not for ister Rabin's life's work. Now we must make God will go with you. He will not fail you. it his lasting legacy. His spirit must live on in He will not forsake you.'' President Weizman, us. Acting Prime Minister Peres, to all the people The Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for mourning, of Israel, as you stay the course of peace, I never speaks of death but often speaks of peace. make this pledge: Neither will America forsake In its closing words, may our hearts find a meas- you. ure of comfort and our souls the eternal touch Legend has it that in every generation of Jews of hope: Oseh shalom bimromov hu ya'aseh sha- from time immemorial, a just leader emerged lom aleinu ve'al kol Yisrael, ve'imru amen. And to protect his people and show them the way shalom, chaver. to safety. Prime Minister Rabin was such a lead- er. He knew as he declared to the world on the White House lawn 2 years ago that the NOTE: The President spoke at 2:24 p.m. at Har time had come, in his words, ``to begin a new Herzl Cemetery. In his remarks, he referred to reckoning in the relations between people, be- President Ezer Weizman and Acting Prime Min- tween parents tired of war, between children ister Shimon Peres of Israel; King Hussein I of who will not know war.'' Here in Jerusalem, Jordan; President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt; and I believe with perfect faiths that he was leading Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Author- his people to that promised land. ity Remarks Following a Meeting With President Ezer Weizman of Israel in Jerusalem November 6, 1995 First, let me just say how pleased I am to over the death of Prime Minister Rabin and have had the opportunity to come here for a our support for the process of peace. second time to visit with President Weizman But for me, this is not a day to discuss the on this very, very sad day for Israel and for future or policies beyond what I have already the United States. I want to emphasize today said. I think you can see, by the kind of delega- the support of the American people for the peo- tion that came from the United States, how ple of Israel. It is evidenced by our delegation strongly we feel about our support for Israel here. We have three American Presidents, three and how strongly we feel about our support American Secretaries of State, almost 40 Mem- for peace. bers of our Congress, including the leadership Thank you. of both parties in both Houses of our Congress, and a very distinguished group of American reli- gious and business leaders, all coming here to NOTE: The President spoke at approximately 5:20 express our support and our solidarity, our grief p.m. outside President Weizman's residence. A 1724 Administration of William J. Clinton, 1995 / Nov. 9 tape was not available for verification of the con- tent of these remarks. Message to the Congress on the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction November 8, 1995 To the Congress of the United States: tion. Additional information on nuclear, missile, On November 14, 1994, in light of the dan- and/or chemical and biological weapons (CBW) gers of the proliferation of nuclear, biological, nonproliferation efforts is contained in the an- and chemical weapons (``weapons of mass de- nual Report on the Proliferation of Missiles and struction'') and of the means of delivering such Essential Components of Nuclear, Biological and weapons, I issued Executive Order No. 12938, Chemical Weapons, provided to the Congress and declared a national emergency under the pursuant to section 1097 of the National De- International Emergency Economic Powers Act fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). Under section 202(d) and 1993 (Public Law 102±190), also known as of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. the ``Nonproliferation Report,'' and the annual 1622(d)), the national emergency terminates on report provided to the Congress pursuant to sec- the anniversary date of its declaration, unless tion 308 of the Chemical and Biological Weap- I publish in the Federal Register and transmit ons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of to the Congress a notice of its continuation. 1991 (Public Law 102±182). The proliferation of weapons of mass destruc- The three export control regulations issued tion continues to pose an unusual and extraor- under the Enhanced Proliferation Control Initia- dinary threat to the national security, foreign tive (EPCI) are fully in force and continue to policy, and economy of the United States. be used to control the export of items with Therefore, I am hereby advising the Congress potential use in chemical or biological weapons that the national emergency declared on No- or unmanned delivery systems for weapons of vember 14, 1994, must continue in effect be- mass destruction. yond November 14, 1995. Accordingly, I have In the 12 months since I issued Executive extended the national emergency declared in Order No. 12938, 26 additional countries ratified Executive Order No. 12938 and have sent the the Convention on the Prohibition of the Devel- attached notice of extension to the Federal Reg- opment, Production, Stockpiling and Use of ister for publication. Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction As I described in the report transmitting Ex- (CWC) for a total of 42 of the 159 signatories; ecutive Order No. 12938, the Executive order the CWC must be ratified by 65 signatories consolidated the functions of and revoked Exec- to enter into force. I must report my disappoint- utive Order No. 12735 of November 16, 1990, ment that the United States is not yet among which declared a national emergency with re- those who have ratified. The CWC is a critical spect to the proliferation of chemical and bio- element of U.S. nonproliferation policy and an logical weapons, and Executive Order No. 12930 urgent next step in our effort to end the devel- of September 29, 1994, which declared a na- opment, production, stockpiling, transfer, and tional emergency with respect to nuclear, bio- use of chemical weapons. As we have seen this logical, and chemical weapons, and their means year in Japan, chemical weapons can threaten of delivery. our security and that of our allies, whether as The following report is made pursuant to sec- a instrument of war or of terrorism. The CWC tion 204 of the International Emergency Eco- will make every American safer, and we need nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1703) and section it now. 401(c) of the National Emergencies Act (50 The international community is watching. It U.S.C. 1641(c)), regarding activities taken and is vitally important that the United States con- money spent pursuant to the emergency declara- tinue to lead the fight against weapons of mass 1725.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • AMERICAN VETERANS of ISRAEL VOLUNTEERS in ISRAEL’S WAR of INDEPENDENCE UNITED STATES & CANADA VOLUNTEERS 136 East 39Th Street, New York, NY 10016
    SPRING 2005 AMERICAN VETERANS OF ISRAEL VOLUNTEERS IN ISRAEL’S WAR OF INDEPENDENCE UNITED STATES & CANADA VOLUNTEERS 136 East 39th Street, New York, NY 10016 THE MIGHTY MA’OZ Sharon Recalls Machal before American Part I From Pleasure Ship to Flagship. Jewish Leaders in New York, May 22 By J. Wandres Following is an excerpt from Sharon’s address: By October 948, the Israeli I am honored to stand here and feel the strong bond between Israel Defence Force had pushed back Arab and the rest of the Jewish world. We share a history, and we share a future as forces to the north and east. Egyptian well. forces had been halted in the Negev. In 948, the new State of Israel was forced to stand its ground against Only Israel’s Mediterranean coastline the armies of the combined Arab world. The survival of Israel was not at all remained vulnerable. An Egyptian certain. We had no choice but to fight for our lives. It seemed as if we stood squadron, chased from Tel Aviv, was alone. about to be dealt with at Gaza. Kvar- But we were not all alone. I had the merit to participate in the War of nit (Commander) Paul Shulman, on the Independence, and I still remember how I felt when I learned that volunteers bridge of the 690-ton, 20-foot-long K- from Jewish communities around the world were coming to help us. They 24 Ma’oz that day in mid-October, was risked, and sometimes lost, their lives in our War of Independence.
    [Show full text]
  • Command and Control | the Washington Institute
    MENU Policy Analysis / Articles & Op-Eds Command and Control by David Makovsky, Olivia Holt-Ivry May 23, 2012 ABOUT THE AUTHORS David Makovsky David Makovsky is the Ziegler distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations. Olivia Holt-Ivry Articles & Testimony his week, the world's major powers resumed negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. Should they fail, T the specter of a possible Israeli strike looms large, seeming to grow more likely as Tehran's nuclear program advances. In recent weeks, however, the conventional wisdom has shifted to favor the view that Israel is not on the cusp of a strike against Iran. This has been driven in part by public comments from former Israeli security officials -- notably former Mossad head Meir Dagan and former Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin -- questioning the wisdom of such an attack. An Israeli strike is not feasible, the thinking goes, so long as its security community remains divided -- and the thinly veiled threats of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are therefore mere bluster. Don't be so sure. Dagan and Diskin's views aren't likely to tell us much about the likelihood of a strike on Iran one way or the other. For starters, they're former officials -- given the sensitivity of this issue, and the recent media misinterpretation of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Benny Gantz's remarks earlier this month, no other current members of the security establishment are likely to go public with their views.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel-Pakistan Relations Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies (JCSS)
    P. R. Kumaraswamy Beyond the Veil: Israel-Pakistan Relations Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies (JCSS) The purpose of the Jaffee Center is, first, to conduct basic research that meets the highest academic standards on matters related to Israel's national security as well as Middle East regional and international secu- rity affairs. The Center also aims to contribute to the public debate and governmental deliberation of issues that are - or should be - at the top of Israel's national security agenda. The Jaffee Center seeks to address the strategic community in Israel and abroad, Israeli policymakers and opinion-makers and the general public. The Center relates to the concept of strategy in its broadest meaning, namely the complex of processes involved in the identification, mobili- zation and application of resources in peace and war, in order to solidify and strengthen national and international security. To Jasjit Singh with affection and gratitude P. R. Kumaraswamy Beyond the Veil: Israel-Pakistan Relations Memorandum no. 55, March 2000 Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies 6 P. R. Kumaraswamy Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel Tel. 972 3 640-9926 Fax 972 3 642-2404 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/ ISBN: 965-459-041-7 © 2000 All rights reserved Graphic Design: Michal Semo Printed by: Kedem Ltd., Tel Aviv Beyond the Veil: Israel-Pakistan Relations 7 Contents Introduction .......................................................................................9
    [Show full text]
  • Israel and Turkey: from Covert to Overt Relations
    Israel and Turkey: From Covert to Overt Relations by Jacob Abadi INTRODUCTION Diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey have existed since the Jewish state came into being in 1948, however, they have remained covert until recently. Contacts between the two countries have continued despite Turkey's condemnation of Israel in the UN and other official bodies. Frequent statements made by Turkish officials regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian dilemma give the impression that Turco-Israeli relations have been far more hostile than is actually the case. Such an image is quite misleading, for throughout the years political, commercial, cultural and even military contacts have been maintained between the two countries. The purpose of this article is to show the extent of cooperation between the two countries and to demonstrate how domestic as well as external constraints have affected the diplomatic ties between them. It will be argued that during the first forty years of Israel's existence relations between the two countries remained cordial. Both sides kept a low profile and did not reveal the nature of these ties. It was only toward the end of the 1980s, when the international political climate underwent a major upheaval, that the ties between the two countries became official and overt. Whereas relations with Israel constituted a major problem in Turkish diplomacy, Israeli foreign policy was relatively free from hesitations and constraints. For Israeli foreign policy makers it was always desirable to establish normal relations with Turkey, whose location on the periphery of the Middle East gave it great strategic importance.
    [Show full text]
  • 1948 Arab‒Israeli
    1948 Arab–Israeli War 1 1948 Arab–Israeli War מלחמת or מלחמת העצמאות :The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence (Hebrew ,מלחמת השחרור :, Milkhemet Ha'atzma'ut or Milkhemet HA'sikhror) or War of Liberation (Hebrewהשחרור Milkhemet Hashikhrur) – was the first in a series of wars fought between the State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict. The war commenced upon the termination of the British Mandate of Palestine and the Israeli declaration of independence on 15 May 1948, following a period of civil war in 1947–1948. The fighting took place mostly on the former territory of the British Mandate and for a short time also in the Sinai Peninsula and southern Lebanon.[1] ., al-Nakba) occurred amidst this warﺍﻟﻨﻜﺒﺔ :Much of what Arabs refer to as The Catastrophe (Arabic The war concluded with the 1949 Armistice Agreements. Background Following World War II, on May 14, 1948, the British Mandate of Palestine came to an end. The surrounding Arab nations were also emerging from colonial rule. Transjordan, under the Hashemite ruler Abdullah I, gained independence from Britain in 1946 and was called Jordan, but it remained under heavy British influence. Egypt, while nominally independent, signed the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 that included provisions by which Britain would maintain a garrison of troops on the Suez Canal. From 1945 on, Egypt attempted to renegotiate the terms of this treaty, which was viewed as a humiliating vestige of colonialism. Lebanon became an independent state in 1943, but French troops would not withdraw until 1946, the same year that Syria won its independence from France.
    [Show full text]
  • Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty
    Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty Purpose 1. The purpose of this Basic Law is to protect human dignity and liberty, in order to establish in a Basic Law the values of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Preservation of life, 2. There shall be no violation of the life, body or dignity of any body and dignity person as such. Protection of 3. There shall be no violation of the property of a person. property Protection of life, 4. All persons are entitled to protection of their life, body and body and dignity dignity. Personal liberty 5. There shall be no deprivation or restriction of the liberty of a person by imprisonment, arrest, extradition or otherwise. Leaving and entering 6. (a) All persons are free to leave Israel. Israel (b) Every Israel national has the right of entry into Israel from abroad. Privacy 7. (a) All persons have the right to privacy and to intimacy. (b) There shall be no entry into the private premises of a person who has not consented thereto. (c) No search shall be conducted on the private premises of a person, nor in the body or personal effects. (d) There shall be no violation of the confidentiality of conversation, or of the writings or records of a person. Violation of rights 8. There shall be no violation of rights under this Basic Law except by a law befitting the values of the State of Israel, enacted for a proper purpose, and to an extent no greater than is required. Reservation 9.
    [Show full text]
  • Shimon Peres the Leadership Series
    Center for Israel Education Shimon Peres The Leadership Series 1. Childhood and Early Years “In Israel, a land lacking in natural resources, we learned to appreciate our greatest natonal advantage: our minds. Through creatvity and innovaton, we transformed barren deserts into fourishing felds and pioneered new fronters in science and technology.” -Shimon Peres Shimon Peres was born on August 2, 1923, in Wiszniew, Poland (now Vishnyeva, Belarus). His parents were Yitzhak and Sara Perski. Shimon’s family spoke Hebrew, Yiddish, and Russian at home. Shimon also learned Polish at school. His father was a wealthy Cover Photo Credit: Mark Neyman, Natonal Photo Collecton tmber merchant, and his mother was a librarian. Peres had a younger brother named Gershon. Leadership Series: Shimon Peres Copyright © 2019 by Center for Israel Educaton His grandfather, Rabbi Zvi Meltzer, impacted his All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or life greatly. Peres discussed his memories with his transmited in any form or by any means without writen permission from the author. grandfather: Published by Center for Israel Educaton, P.O. Box 15129, Atlanta, GA 30333. “As a child, I grew up in my grandfather's home. www.israeled.org … I was educated by him.… My grandfather [email protected] taught me Talmud.” In 1932, when Peres was 9 years old, his father immigrated to Tel Aviv, in the Land of Israel. In 1934, Shimon and his family followed their father. 1 www.israeled.org. ©Center for Israel Education, 2020 All Rights Reserved Peres at age 13 Kibbutz Geva (1944) Source: Wikimedia Commons.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel's Attack on Osiraq
    NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS ISRAEL’S ATTACK ON OSIRAQ: A MODEL FOR FUTURE PREVENTIVE STRIKES? by Peter Scott Ford September 2004 Thesis Advisor: Peter R. Lavoy Second Reader: James J. Wirtz Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED September 2004 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: Israel’s Attack on Osiraq: A Model for Future 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Preventive Strikes? 6. AUTHOR Peter S. Ford 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION REPORT Monterey, CA 93943-5000 NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • September 7, 1978
    THE DALY DZARY OF PRESIDEbiT JlMM'f CARTEi Day. Yr.r -NOT CONFIRMED- XMP DAVID, ;;I URYLAND TlME r4CT:Vfl-Y From t To 7:37 7:38 P The President talked with his Personal Assistant and Secretary Susan S. Clough. The President went to Holly cabin. 8:30 I lo:25 The President met with: I Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of the State of I I Israel Ezer Weizman, Minister of Defense, State of Israel Moshe Dayan , Minister of Foreign Affairs, State of I Israel Cyrus R. Vance, Secretary of State Zbigniew Brzezinski, Assistant for National Security Affairs g:% The President was telephoned by Representative Walter Flowers (D-Alabama). The call was not completed. lo:25 The President and Prime Minister Begin went to the President's I study in Aspen Lodge. I 10~25 Ii The President was telephoned by his Assistant for Congres- sional Liaison, Frank B. Moore. The call was not completed, The President met with: 1:45 Prime Minister Begin 1:45 Anwar al Sadat, President of the Arab Republic of EGYPT R The President was telephoned by Vice President Walter F. Mondale. The call was not completed. 1:45 R The President talked with Secretary Vance. 2:55 The President met with Mr. Brzezinski. ! 3:oo j 3:08 P The President talked with Mr. Moore. 3:15 1 3:35 The President met with Vice President Mondale. i 4:27 i 4:30 R The President talked with Secretary of Defense Harold Brown. i 5~02 ! 6~55 The President met with: I President Sadat Prime Minister Begin LOCAT’rON CAMP DAVID, -NOT CONFIRMED- ;;T"""",,'; 1978 / MARYLAND From 1 To 7:30 8~05 The President met with Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • A War to Start All Wars Will Israel Ever Seal the Victory of 1948? by Shlomo Ben-Ami
    A War to Start All Wars Will Israel Ever Seal the Victory of 1948? By Shlomo Ben-Ami From Foreign Affairs , September/October 2008 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War . Benny Morris . Yale University Press , 2008 , 544 $32.50 Summary: Israel should pull back settlements and give up its '67 gains in order to secure its '48 victory. Shlomo Ben-Ami was Israel's Foreign Minister in 2000-2001. He is Vice President of the Toledo International Center for Peace, in Spain, and the author of Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy. For 60 years, both the Israelis and the Palestinians have used the past to illuminate the present and confer legitimacy on their nations' respective founding myths. Of course, Zionists and Palestinian nationalists were not the first to embellish the stories of their nations' births or make excuses for their tragedies. Throughout history, nations have been born in blood and frequently in sin. This is why, as the French philosopher Ernest Renan wrote, they tend to lie about their pasts. The birth of the state of Israel in 1948 has long been the subject of self-congratulatory historiography by the victorious side and grievance-filled accounts by disinherited Palestinians. To the Israelis, the 1948 war was a desperate fight for survival that was settled by an almost miraculous victory. In the Arab world, accounts of the war tend to advance conspiracy theories and attempt to shift the blame for the Arabs' defeat. In both cases, the writing of history has been part of an uncritical nationalist quest for legitimacy.
    [Show full text]
  • The U.S.-Turkey-Israel Triangle
    ANALYSIS PAPER Number 34, October 2014 THE U.S.-TURKEY-ISRAEL TRIANGLE Dan Arbell The Brookings Institution is a private non-profit organization. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers and the public. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. Brookings recognizes that the value it provides to any supporter is in its absolute commitment to quality, independence and impact. Activities supported by its donors reflect this commitment and the analysis and recommendations are not determined by any donation. Copyright © 2014 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 www.brookings.edu Acknowledgements I would like to thank Haim and Cheryl Saban for their support of this re- search. I also wish to thank Tamara Cofman Wittes for her encouragement and interest in this subject, Dan Byman for shepherding this process and for his continuous sound advice and feedback, and Stephanie Dahle for her ef- forts to move this manuscript through the publication process. Thank you to Martin Indyk for his guidance, Dan Granot and Clara Schein- mann for their assistance, and a special thanks to Michael Oren, a mentor and friend, for his strong support. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my wife Sarit; without her love and support, this project would not have been possible. The U.S.-Turkey-Israel Triangle The Center for Middle East Policy at BROOKINGS ii About the Author Dan Arbell is a nonresident senior fellow with Israel’s negotiating team with Syria (1993-1996), the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, and later as deputy chief of mission at the Israeli and a scholar-in-residence with the department of Embassy in Tokyo, Japan (2001-2005).
    [Show full text]
  • Points for Meeting Vith Mr. Ezer Weizman President of Israel
    Points for meeting Vith Mr. Ezer Weizman President of Israel Congratulate the Hebron protocol and the resumption of the peace process. Enquire about the resumption of the direct negotiations with Syria. Underline that Mr. Gharekhan will continue to focus his efforts on economic and social development in the West Bank and Gaza. Express concern about the plans to build or expand settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Express appreciation for Israel's readiness to participate in a full range of UN activities. \\ews OB. \StaeV S attempt Xo seek membership m \Yie Group. Reassure your personal attention to seek information on the four missing Israeli soldiers, in particular, Captain Ron Arad, BRIEFING NOTE FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MEETING WITH EZER WE1ZMAN. PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL The peace process appears to be back on track. Israel released thirty-one female Arab prisoners as a confidence-building measure. Talks have been held on the release of other Palestinian political prisoners, the establishment of a safe passage route between Gaza and the West Bank and the opening of an airport in Gaza. The permanent status of negotiations (on refugees, settlements, Jerusalem, etc.) are expected to start two months after the implementation of the Hebron protocol. Although both Governments have expressed their desire for the resumption of talks, it seems unlikely that they will go back to the negotiating table hi the near future. The main obstacle appeared to be Israel's reluctance to accept former understandings negotiated by the previous Government. The Labour Government had made a tacit commitment to return the Golan Heights to Syria.
    [Show full text]