the Yesha News Service

The following announcement was received from the YESHA Council of Jewish Communities concerning their internet News Service. We thought that you would find it to be of interest.

IRIS Staff

The YESHA News Service is back! Providing you with up-to-date news on the latest developments regarding Israel, the YESHA News Service appears twice a week, so your mailbox won't get overstuffed with unwanted mail. It is published by the YESHA Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, the elected representative body of the Jewish residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The YESHA News Service is distributed via fax and electronic mail across the United States, Canada and Europe.

To subscribe to the YESHA News Service, send a message to:

listproc@jer1.co.il

with NO subject and the following text:

subscribe yesha <Your Name>

substituting your real name for <Your Name>.

The following is the latest issue of the YESHA News Service. We welcome your comments and feedback.

YESHA Council Foreign Desk

YESHA NEWS SERVICE

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1995

PERES AND ARAFAT CLOSE TO AGREEMENT; ISRAEL MAKES MAJOR SECURITY CONCESSION

As we go to press, Israel's Channel Two Television reports that Foreign Minister Peres and PLO Chairman Arafat may have reached a 'package deal' on the next stage of the Oslo Accords. Meeting for the third day in a row in the resort town of Taba, Peres and Arafat appear to have hammered out the disagreements that have delayed a deal thus far. Few details are available at this time, but it is known that Israel made a major security-related concession in agreeing to a timetable for Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. The withdrawal will take place in three six-month intervals after Palestinian elections are held, and Israel will pull out of the major cities in Judea and Samaria prior to the balloting. Previously, Israel had refused to commit to a timetable and had insisted that the stages of withdrawal be linked to a halt in terrorism. Now, there is no such linkage. More details will be made available in the next YESHA News Service.

ISRAEL POLICE LIED ABOUT CLOSING TEMPLE MOUNT

After closing the Temple Mount this past Sunday on the Jewish fast day of Tisha B'Av to prevent Palestinian Arab attacks against Jewish worshippers at the site, Israeli police declared that they were shutting the Mount to both Jews and Arabs as a compromise. It now turns out that the police lied, as they only prevented Jews from praying there, but went ahead and allowed Arabs to pray regularly. Islamic Wakf director Adnan Husseini said, 'Molems were inside throughout the day. Hundreds of worshippers attended the prayer services in the afternoon and evening.' Jerusalem Police Spokesman Shmuel Ruby admitted to the Jerusalem Post that 'we allowed about 100 Moslems to pray there in the afternoon, and another 100 in the evening.' The police action was in violation of a ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court, which had ordered that the Jewish worshippers be allowed to ascend the Mount on Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples that stood on the site.(Jerusalem Post, August 8)

YESHA LEADERS MEET WITH RABIN

For the second time in five days, YESHA Council leaders met with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to discuss the security situation and the Government's policies. They emerged disappointed from the meeting, as the Prime Minister rejected virtually every demand raised by the YESHA leadership. YESHA leaders had asked the Prime Minister to hold new elections or a referendum before proceeding with the next stage of the Oslo Accords. They also insisted that Palestinian police not be allowed to carry automatic weapons and that state land in Judea and Samaria not be turned over to the PLO, but Rabin refused to agree. The only positive development to emerge from the meetings was the agreement to establish a committee, headed by Rabin's settlement advisor, to deal with development needs in the Jewish communities of YESHA. YESHA head Uri Ariel told reporters after the second meeting, 'Judging by what the Prime Minister said, we have no choice but to continue our protest efforts.' (Jerusalem Post, August 9)

MASS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE ACROSS COUNTRY

The opposition group Zu Artzenu (This is Our Land) succeeded in organizing a mass civil disobedience campaign across the country this week. During the Monday evening rush hour, the group managed to block some 80 major roads and highways from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat. The Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway was shut for nearly an hour, the Tel Aviv-Haifa road was blocked, and traffic snarled to a halt. Thousands of Israelis, secular and religious, joined the campaign, in which protesters physically blocked the roads, staging sit-ins in scenes reminiscent of 1960's America. At the same time, members of Zu Artzenu set up 15 new outposts on hills throughout Judea and Samaria. Police arrested over 100 participants, and Israel Television showed footage of policemen dragging away protesters, beating them, pulling them by the neck and twisting their arms. Organizer Shmuel Sackett said, 'This campaign shows tthat the fight is not only in the settlements, but also in the cities. It shows that the average Israeli in places like Tel Aviv, Zichron Yaakov and Beersheba support the settlements and are willing to get arrested and protest now on a much more intense level.' Zu Artzenu is an independent group that is unaffiliated with the Yesha Council. (Jerusalem Post, August 9)

NEW BUMPER STICKER: 'KILL SETTLERS'

New bumper stickers were distributed by leftist activitists across the country calling for the murder of settlers. One of the bumper stickers read, 'Don't Evacuate the Settlers - Shoot Them in the Head,' while another said, 'The Only Good Settler is a Dead Settler.' The stickers were distributed by a previously unknown group called 'The Anarchistic Brigade of the Upper Galilee.' (Yediot Aharonot and Jerusalem Post, August 9)

CHANNEL 7 RADIO REOPENS

After being forcibly shut down by the Government last week, Channel 7 radio resumed broadcasting this week from its ship located outside of Israel's territorial waters. The radio station, popularly known as the voice of the opposition, was targeted by Communications Minister Shulamit Aloni, who objected to the station's political stance against the Rabin government. Last week, when the station's ship was docked at Ashdod port for maintenance, police and Communications Ministry officials stormed the ship. They confiscated much of the station's broadcasting equipment and damaged the rest, causing at least $50,000 in damage. The step led to an unprecedented outpouring of support for the station, which was quickly able to purchase new equipment and resume its programming. (Jerusalem Post, August 8)

48 TERROR ATTACKS FOILED

Israeli security officials revealed this week that they had foiled some 48 terrorist attacks since October 1994. In a report presented to the Interministerial Committee on General Security Service (GSS) Affairs, the GSS said that it had thwarted six suicide bombings, five car bombings, ten attempts to kidnap Israelis, three bus hijackings, seven gunfire attacks and various other planned terrorist assaults. (Yediot Aharonot and Jerusalem Post, August 8)

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