ISRAEL NEWS DIGEST - MAY 1993 By DAVID DOLAN - Jerusalem "... It was a true report that I heard in my own land ..." (I Kings 10:6) Relative peace returned to the streets of Israel during April following an unprecedented wave of brutal murders by Palestinian terrorists in March. The calm was mostly attributed to the sealing off of the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, which kept most Palestinians out of Israel proper. Still, terrorists managed to kill an Israeli lawyer in Gaza, and almost succeeded in murdering dozens of soldiers and civilians in the Jordan Valley. Iranian backed forces in Lebanon stepped up their anti Zionist attacks, killing several soldiers and firing rockets into northern Israel. At a summit meeting in Egypt-a country facing its own serious challenge from Moslem radicals-Prime Minister Rabin and President Mubarak assured reporters that the Palestinians would attend scheduled peace talks in Washington on April 20. However, in a gesture to hardliners opposed to the talks, Arab delegates delayed their appearance at the negotiations for one week. Back m Israel, the Knesset chose a new national president, while the opposition Likud party elected a new leader. In north Africa, an Arab Leader finally chose to publicly tell the truth about the Arab/Israeli conflict. MURDERS SUBSIDE March was the worst month for terrorism in Israel's modern history. Fifteen Israelis were slaughtered and dozens of others wounded, mostly from stabbings (ironically, the last attack was against a worker from Thailand, stabbed and wounded on a Jordan Valley farm). Actually, several other months have seen greater death tolls- the March, 1978, coastal road massacre alone left 33 people dead. But the previously larger tallies were all from single terror attacks. No other month has been marked with so many different, deadly assaults. The March 30 killings of two Israeli policemen-shot dead in the middle of the night while resting in their patrol car north of the coastal town of Hadera-was the final straw for both the Israeli public and government. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, under fire from opposition politicians for failing to curb the growing violence, knew that he had to put a quick halt to the wave of terror or risk a backlash from his own people. Soon after news came of the policemen's deaths, he convened his inner cabinet. Rabin, who is also Defense Minister, told his coalition government colleagues that he had decided to seal off the disputed territories, barring most Palestinians from entering pre-1967 Israel. INDEFINITE CLOSURE At first, senior cabinet officials told reporters that the closure would "only last for a few days." However, it soon became apparent that these words were only a smoke screen, seemingly designed to keep Palestinian tempers at bay while the war against terror was stepped up. In mid April, Rabin announced that the closure would last "indefinitely," while indicating that it would probably never be completely lifted. Sources in his office said that private Palestinian vehicles would never again be allowed to travel on Israeli roads. The near-total closure was opposed by most Israeli farmers and building contractors, who protested that their businesses were suffering greatly without essential Palestinian laborers. Many right- wing Israeli politicians expressed concern over the political implications of an indefinite closure, especially after a senior aide to Rabin said on April 12 that it "will help Israelis get used to the idea of a permanent separation between the two peoples"- Implying the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the territories. PALESTINIAN REACTION Not surprisingly, the sealing off of the territories, which prevented over 100,000 Arabs from going to their jobs in Israel, also angered Palestinian Ieaders. PLO spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi said closing off the areas was "an unfair form of collective punishment that will add to growing Palestinian poverty." While acknowledging the negative repercussions for many Arabs, Israeli officials said the closure was the only effective way to quickly halt escalating Palestinian terrorism. They also pointed out that while most Palestinian leaders, including peace talk delegates, were quick to condemn the closure, they had failed to speak out against the recent rash of terror attacks. In fact, many Palestinian leaders openly encouraged the terrorist binge. Yasser Arafat urged his followers in March-as he has many times before- to "make the ground burn under the feet of the Zionist invaders." Several weeks later, his Fatah group said it fired rockets into northern Israel for the first time in over two years. The monthly Palestinian uprising leaflet, put out by the PLO and affiliated groups, called once again for stepped up violence against Israelis. And, judging by talk on the streets, most Palestinians seemed to support the terror attacks as a legitimate form of "armed struggle," as called for in the PLO charter, or of "jihad, as it is phrased in the Palestinian Moslem HAMAS charter. CONTRADICTIONS The PLO's reaction to the closure pointed to an interesting contradiction in their political demands. As has been made clear at the Washington peace talks, Arafat and company want the immediate establishment of a PLO-controlled "independent state" in the disputed territories, with east Jerusalem as its capital (the "establishment" of just such a state was declared in 1988, which is why the PLO chief is referred to as "president" by many Palestinians and most Arab media). If the Israelis agreed to meet this demand, Palestinians would have no right to cross the international boundary to work in Israel. The PLO's insistence that the closure be immediately lifted, mainly for economic reasons, demonstrates that the Palestinians are not even close to having the necessary infrastructure to support an "independent state" alongside of Israel. Many Arabs charge that Israel has thwarted the creation of a viable Palestinian economic infrastructure. Past Israeli governments, faced with a combination of Arab terrorism and frequent calls for Israel's complete destruction, have indeed hindered the development of a separate Palestinian economy. But it also seems obvious that Palestinian leaders have spent most of their time dreaming-and avidly working for-the annihilation of Israel, as opposed to promoting the creation of a viable economy The PLO and other Palestinian groups have wasted large amounts of money over the years training terrorists at dozens of bases, and launching armed assaults (which have scared tourists and their money away from Arab, as well as Israeli, hotels restaurants and shops). Comparatively little has been spent trying to create jobs for Palestinian workers. In fact, the violent uprising, with its frequent general strikes called for by the PLO and HAMAS, has done more than anything else to weaken the economy in the territories, thus making Palestinians more dependent, not less, on Israel To try and alleviate immediate suffering and contribute to the long- term well being of the Palestinians, Rabin's cabinet voted in mid- April to add over 200 million shekels this year to money already budgeted for infrastructure development-a move expected to create many new jobs. Around 140 million will fund projects such as road development in Arab towns, with some 60 million going toward sewage, electricity and water projects. The decision means that over 450 million shekels will be spent in 1993 for Palestinian infrastructure development compared to 120 million last year. It is quite remarkable that this action was taken in the wake of the worst period of terrorism against Israelis since the uprising broke out over five years ago. FRUIT AND FLOWERS Most Palestinians either own their homes or are housed by the United Nations. As opposed to Israelis, few must make monthly house payments Low cost or free medical and dental care Is widely available at UN and charitable clinics. Food is somewhat cheaper in the territories-with many people growing their own vegetables and raising poultry-as are household items and car repairs. All of this means that most Palestinians can afford to work for lower wages than their Jewish cousins. This fact has been apparent and appreciated by Israeli employers for over two decades. Only about 40,000 Palestinians had official permission to work in Israel proper before the territories were sealed off. But close to three times that man were regularly employed, often as temporary day laborers in agriculture and construction. IsraelUs thriving fruit and vegetable sectors, along with its large flower-growing industry, were overwhelmingly dependent on Arab workers. The same was true of the construction industry with around 70,000 Palestinian employees, most of them unregistered, to some 50,000 Jews. Complaining that they were losing millions of shekels a day, Israeli employers most affected by the closure demanded that most Palestinians be allowed back to their jobs. Construction companies, falling way behind in their building schedules, threatened to shut down completely if either Palestinian or foreign workers were not immediately allowed into Israel. But Rabin said only around 10,000 Palestinians, most of them designated for agricultural positions, would be licensed to return to their jobs in the immediate future. He told his cabinet on April 18 that "we will never return to the time when Palestinians could work here illegally." Apart from employers directly affected by the closure, most Israelis seemed to support the government's action. Public approval increased when security agents reported that the closure was making it much easier for them to locate and arrest dozens of wanted terrorists. JEWS TO WORK Labor Minister Ora Namir maintained that the closure was a perfect excuse to reshape working habits in Israel. She insisted that many unemployed Israelis-over 150,000 in April-could be trained to do the jobs previously done by Palestinians. Namir noted that immigrants from the former Soviet Union are already working in thousands of jobs previously held by Arab laborers. However, she acknowledged that wages will have to be raised before Israelis will agree to take on strenuous jobs in agriculture and construction. "From now on, the government will strictly enforce minimum wage laws in all sectors of the economy," she told reporters. Enforcing such laws is bound to add to Israel's inflation rate-already among the highest in the developed world. Housing prices began shooting up in April due to the construction slowdown, as did fruit and vegetable prices. Clothing and furniture prices are expected to rise later due to production slowdowns and higher operating costs. But statistics took a sharp downward turn in one other area- nonviolent crimes (as they did in stabbings and shootings!). Police officials said that home thefts dropped 27% in April, while car thievery was down an even sharper 40%. The figures seemed to confirm earlier police reports that a high percentage of non-violent crimes in Israel are committed by Palestinians-most of them day laborers Hundreds of American Jewish volunteers are stepping into the employment gap, flying to Israel to work in important agricultural and industrial jobs. The Americans are responding to an urgent appeal put out in early April by several major Jewish organizations. Mainly from large cities like New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago, the volunteers are scheduled to serve from between two to four weeks before returning to the States. FRIENDS AND FOES Sadly, the sealing off of the territories did not stop a growing flood of tourist cancellations, mainly from nervous American Jewish and Christian groups (some of the latter actually due to the Interior Ministry's campaign to keep Messianic Jews out of Israel). The cancellations are coming in a year which was supposed to see record tourism, thus helping make up for the industry's woes which began with the uprising in late 1987 and continued through the Gulf War and into early 1992. The closure did not put a complete halt to senseless violence against Jews. Ian Feinberg, a 32 year old South African-born lawyer with 3 children, was brutally attacked on April 18 (Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel) by Palestinians wielding knives, a hatchet, and guns. They pummeled their victim in the Gaza City offices of the European Community founded Cooperation for Development, an organization which channels European financial aid to the Gaza Strip. The terrorists-self-declared members of the PLO Popular Front faction (which completely opposes the peace process, along with Moslem groups)-ignored pleas by Palestinians in the room to spare Feinberg's life since "he helps us get loans." They proceeded to stab the Israeli repeatedly in the throat while splitting his head open with a hatchet. After the murder of a man who spent much of his time trying to help Palestinians, the Damascus-based PLO faction put out a statement claiming responsibility for the atrocity. The statement warned that "any Zionist who sets foot in Gaza or the West Bank will be considered an aggressor and will be the target of our weapons." SUICIDE ATTACK Two days before Feinberg's brutal murder, HAMAS members nearly succeeded in carrying out one of the largest terror operations ever against Israelis. A van containing powerful explosives was parked between two buses at a popular rest stop on the Jordan Valley road south of Belt Shean. One bus carried several dozen soldiers, and the other civilian passengers on their way to northern Israel. The van then brew up, killing its driver (the first apparent suicide car bomb in the territories) and setting the two buses on fire Probably because of an intense heat wave then affecting the region, all of the passengers on both parked buses had alighted, and so no one was killed when the vehicles were instantly engulfed in flames. However, shrapnel from the explosion killed a Palestinian man who worked at the nearby snack shop- demonstrating once again that it is often Arabs who suffer most from the violent impulses of their compatriots (over 800 Palestinians have been murdered n the past 5 years by fellow Arabs). Eight soldiers were lightly wounded. The suicide bomber was later identified as the man who ran over and killed 2 Israelis waiting at a bus stop on March 15. PEACE PAUSE Three Israeli soldiers were killed and two others seriously wounded in south Lebanon in mid April when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol. The attack was part of stepped up anti-Israel activity by the Lebanese Moslem Hizbullah group, which included the renewed shooting of rockets into northern Israel. Analysts said the heightened activity was connected to the scheduled April 20 reconvening of long-stalled Arab/Israeli peace talks in Washington. HizbullahUs leader in Beirut said in early April that his Iranian-backed group will continue to attack Israeli targets even if peace agreements are signed as a result of the talks. But Arab/Israeli negotiations did not resume on April 20. Yasser Arafat, who has never been very happy with the talks, ordered his negotiators to postpone their trips to Washington because of the closure of the territories and the continuing deportee stalemate in south Lebanon. He was responding to popular Palestinian opinion which demands that the Arab deportees, all members or supporters of the PLO's main rivals, HAMAS and Islamic Jihad, be allowed to return home before talks resume. Radical PLO and Moslem groups condemned the announcement on April 21 that the talks would resume in Washington on April 27. Illustrating growing Palestinian Moslem opposition to the negotiations, hooded thus broke into the home of one of the peace delegates, Saeb Erakat, and threatened to kill him if he traveled to America. Israeli officials, whose agents now guard the Palestinian delegates, again stated that they will stick to an agreement with President Clinton which permits 101 deportees to return from south Lebanon now, followed by the rest at the end of 1993 (the deportees say none will return until all are allowed back) Israel's Labor-led government is apparently willing to give in to one long-standing Palestinian demand-that a delegate from Jerusalem be included in the peace talks. The delegate will be Faisal Husseini who has long been the real, if informal, head of the Palestinian delegation. The move has been condemned by the opposition Likud party, which says it will give legitimacy to Arab demands that the future of Jerusalem be negotiated at the talks. In fact, Husseini-the son of a prominent Arab fighter during the 1948 war and a cousin of the notorious prewar Palestinian leader, Haj Amin Husseini-has already boasted that the Israeli concession will indeed bring the issue of Jerusalem into the negotiations. GRAVE SITUATION The peace talk postponement was a great embarrassment for Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, who assured Rabin at a summit meeting in Ismailia that the Palestinians would show up m Washington on April 20. On the basis of Mubarak's assurance, the Prime Minister stated publicly that he expected the talks to resume on time after a four month break which followed the deportations to Lebanon. Rabin (who last June said he expected an overall peace agreement within a year!) seemed to forget that Mubarak had assured Israel in mid-1990 that Iraq had no intention of attacking the Jewish state. The apparent fact is that the Egyptian leader is still not trusted, or confided in, by many Arab leaders because of his country's peace treaty with "the Zionist entity" (Arafat particularly seems to enjoy disgracing Mubarak) Indeed, the Egyptian leader is now struggling to hold onto power in the face of a growing Islamic holy war to topple his US-backed government. The increasing prospect of Mubarak's downfall is, to say the least, extremely unsettling to Israeli analysts. They say the Mideast would be plunged into total chaos, and probably war, if Mubarak is toppled, as the pro-West Shah of Iran was in 1979. Like the Shah Mubarak has been armed with some of the most advanced weaponry in the American arsenal. "It is a very serious situation there," a highly-placed intelligence source admitted to the Jerusalem Post. Haifa university professor Yoram Meital, an expert on Egypt, said "the Egyptian government is fighting a holding action, a rear guard retreat." Concern for Mubarak's survival increased after an assassination attempt against his information minister on April 20. The attack came just two days after Mubarak fired his interior minister, who was m charge of the government's crackdown on Islamic militants. The move was seen as an admission that the government is losing its battle with the powerful fundamentalists, who are allied with HAMAS and Hizbullah, and backed by Iran and its ally, Sudan. Moslem terrorists have killed over 150 foreign tourists and Egyptians-including over 30 Coptic Christians-over the past year in their struggle to topple Mubarak's regime. The terror attacks have led to a sharp falloff in tourism, costing Egypt around one billion US dollars in lost revenue (tourism is Egypt's largest foreign currency earner). DEVIOUS PLOTTERS The growing fundamentalist challenge in Egypt once again highlights Iran's role in fomenting Islamic revolution in the Arab world. Algeria cut all ties with Iran in late March, accusing the Islamic state of supporting Algerian Moslems attempting to seize power (the American 'New Republic' magazine reports that Algeria has banished around 9,00 fundamentalists to a camp in its southern desert- making Israel's deportations to Lebanon look mild by comparison!). Mubarak charged that Iran has helped Sudan set up 30 training camps for Islamic militants, and is being urged to accept Iranian- supplied missiles which could strike both Egypt and Israel. Iran also wants to position strategic bomber aircraft in Sudan, according to Arab sources. Israeli leaders expressed concern over US reports in April that Shiite Iran-spending billions of dollars on a huge military buildup-has signed a deal to purchase around 10 advanced missiles from North Korea. Analysts say the missiles are capable of hitting Israel and surrounding Arab countries with either conventional or chemical payloads. A 21-man Iranian military delegation recently visited the Communist nation, which is reportedly developing nuclear weapons, as is Iran. Teheran wants the deadly missiles delivered by July or August of this year. Growing Iranian involvement in the Moslem republics of the former Soviet Union has led to one positive development-a sudden surge in Jewish Immigration from the republics. Over a thousand Jews are expected to arrive here in April, a sharp increase from previous months. The newcomers say that increasing Iranian agitation, coupled with growing military conflicts in the southern republics, prodded them to move to the Jewish homeland. NEW LEADERS The Israeli Knesset has elected former war hero Ezer Weizman to be Israel's next president. The crusty Labor party member, who has served in several governments over the years, including Menachem Begin's first cabinet, is known for his outspoken remarks and left- wing Politics-a distinct contrast to the soft spoken, politically moderate Chaim Herzog. Weizman, who will be sworn into office in mid-May, beat Likud candidate Dov Shilansky, a holocaust survivor, in the late March vote. The Likud party finally has a new leader-the widely popular Benjamin Netanyahu, who at 46 is the same age as Bill Clinton. Despite a much publicized extra-martial affair, he easily won the LikudUs late March nationwide primary contest, capturing 52% of the votes to 2670 or his nearest rival, former Foreign Minister David Levy. Benny Begin failed miserably in his attempt to follow In his father's footsteps, winning only 15% of the votes. Netanyahu is now expected to move swiftly to consolidate his power over Levy, who has hinted he may run as an independent candidate in the next general election. Aging Labor party leaders are said to be more than concerned by the dynamic Netanyahu's landslide victory. TRUTH WILL OUT Israeli analysts were surprised to read the words of Morocco's King Hassan in April, admitting that Israel was justified in taking the first shots in the 1967 Six Day War. The Arab monarch told a French journalist that real Arab threats against Israel's existence, coupled with frequent bombastic rhetoric from Arab leaders, justified Israeli fears for survival. "What did we expect when the Jews kept hearing people like Achmed Shukeiri (the first PLO leader declare that 'We shall throw the Jews into the sea and burst the wombs of pregnant women and crush the babies with our feet? " asked Hassan. The King said he warned the PLO in 1968 that it would never succeed in destroying Israel. Indeed it won't, since "He who keeps Israel" is none other than the mighty God, who "neither slumbers nor sleeps." (Psalm 121:4) "Israel News Digest" is published and distributed by Christian Friends of Israel, Jerusalem Office, P. O. Box 1813, Jerusalem, 91015, Israel. Phone: 972-2-894172, 894187; Fax: 972-2-894955. The entire contents of the Digest may be reproduced and distributed to the Body of Messiah for prayer and intercession to be kept informed regarding current events in Israel today. Those who use portions of the Digest in other publications need only to properly acknowledge the author and the ministry of Christian Friends of Israel.