Prophecy and Current Events

1/22/2001 -

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have launched a new round of peace talks in a last ditch attempt for a peace agreement before Israeli elections on February 6th. The talks, at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Taba, are expected to last up to ten days and will deal with the thorniest issues of the conflict: Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, Jewish settlements and final borders. The negotiating teams are headed by Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami and Palestinian parliament speaker Ahmed Qureia. While the gaps remain wide, the Palestinians are speaking more positively than they have in months. Our goal is "to reach an agreement as soon as possible," said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Analysts suggest that Arafat may want to reach some kind of framework agreement for future negotiations, fearing that the generous offers now on the table will evaporate if opposition leader Ariel Sharon is elected prime minister.

For Prime Minister Ehud Barak, on the other hand, the negotiations pose a dilemma. His assessment that a peace agreement would help him win re-election boomeranged, when he offered major concessions to the Palestinians as violence continued. This contributed to his poor showing in the polls, where he trails Sharon by about 20 percentage points. Adding to his problems, he’s now under fire from leading members of his own party for agreeing to the talks. "I do not think that holding talks two weeks before the elections is proper," said veteran lawmaker Uzi Baram of Barak's Labor Party. Barak defended his decision, but promised a tougher bargaining position. "I'm telling Israeli society: Our rule over another people must stop. But we are also setting red lines," Barak told Israel Television. Those red lines include no "right of return" for Palestinian refugees, no ceding of the Temple Mount to the Palestinians, and keeping 80 percent of Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria under Israeli sovereignty.

As the peace talks got underway this morning, an Israeli army tracker was moderately wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded by closing the main north-south road, cutting the Strip in half. Yesterday evening, a small bomb went off in an Arab area of Jerusalem's walled Old City, close to a Jewish neighborhood, causing no injuries. Hours later, a young Israeli was stabbed and wounded by a Palestinian in Jerusalem. Despite these incidents, the army says violence in the Palestinian areas has dropped by about 70 percent in recent days. Military officials attribute this to continuing "security talks" between the sides, mediated by the CIA.

Israel's giant Histadrut labor federation began an open-ended partial strike today, after last-minute talks with the government failed to produce a breakthrough on the union's wage demands. The strike is causing major disruptions around the country. Israel's international airport in Tel Aviv was to close for two hours along with rail service. Government offices are open but won't receive the public, and garbage will not be collected in the three largest cities—Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. Overall, 400,000 public-sector workers are taking part in the strike. Ports, telephone and postal services, and hospitals are also effected. The strike could be expanded if the Histadrut’s wage demands aren’t met. The government accuses the Histadrut of trying to exploit a weakened administration before elections. "It's too bad you are causing people suffering. It is too bad you are exploiting the timing," Finance Minister Avraham Baige Shohat told Histadrut leaders. "It is a catastrophe for the citizens of the country."

1/21/2001 -

1/18/2001 -

Opposition leader Ariel Sharon has set out his peace plan, in which Israel would not cede any more land to the Palestinians. Sharon confirmed the details of the plan which were published today in the Hebrew daily "Ha_aretz." Under the plan, Israel would aim for a long-term interim agreement, where the Palestinians would continue to rule the areas they now control in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. In Judea and Samaria, that would total about 42 percent of the territory, a far cry from the 95 percent offered to the Palestinians by Prime Minister Ehud Barak. All the settlements would remain in place, and while Sharon would not build new communities, he would continue to expand them, especially around Jerusalem. Israel would retain control of the strategic Jordan Valley on the border with Jordan, traditionally regarded as vital for preventing an invasion from the East. Sharon would offer the Palestinians economic cooperation and development projects, provided they cooperate with Israel in fighting terrorism. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat described Sharon's proposals as a "recipe for disaster, a recipe for war."

Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami said today that there's still a slight chance for a peace agreement before Israeli elections on February 6th. Speaking after meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Cairo last night, Ben Ami said he had the impression that the Palestinians "really wish to exhaust the possibilities of this process with us." But with his popularity plummeting over concessions to the Palestinians, Prime Minister Barak is sounding less than enthusiastic about the peace talks. "This subject torments me," Barak said in a campaign ad, referring to the fact that negotiations are being conducted as Palestinian violence continues. "The more I think of it, the more I hate it." Barak added that meeting Arafat is "no great joy."

In a mafia-style shooting, three masked men carrying guns equipped with silencers opened fire on the director of Palestinian television as he sat in a restaurant in the Gaza Strip. The victim, 54-year-old Hisham Mikki, was an associate of Yasser Arafat. He was shot ten times. The Palestinian authority quickly blamed collaborators with Israel for the murder, but that charge was proven false when a Palestinian group claimed responsibility for the attack. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which has in the past claimed responsibility for attacks on Israeli targets, issued a statement saying its "anti-corruption" unit had gunned down the TV chief. The group said it had killed Mikki because he misappropriated millions of dollars earmarked for the Palestinian people and sexually harassed female employees. It accused Yasser Arafat of failing to punish corrupt officials. "The failure of the... Authority and its president to punish those filthy people has pushed us to punish them," it said. The attack seems to indicate growing opposition to Arafat_s regime, since it took place just out of his headquarters and criticized his leadership.

The intifada has killed tourism to Israel. According to a new report by the Central Bureau of Statistics, tourism in the fourth quarter of last year dropped off by 54 percent compared to 1999. Nevertheless, the year 2000 was still a record year, with 2.672 million foreigners entering the country. The first three quarters of the year were the best ever (up 25 percent from the previous year) because of the millennium and the visit of the Pope. But with the Palestinian uprising and the threat of terrorism continuing, the outlook for 2001 is grim.

1/17/2001 -

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators say they see no chance of a breakthrough before President Clinton leaves office this weekend. In a sign of the low expectations, US envoy Dennis Ross called off a planned visit to Middle East. However, talks are continuing today, and Palestinian officials indicate they will go on until Israeli elections on February 6th. But with a full agreement out of reach, it is no longer clear what goal the negotiators are setting for themselves. They had been working on a document to guide future negotiations under the Bush administration, but the Palestinians have now ruled out a partial deal or a declaration of principles.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak and opposition leader Ariel Sharon have kicked off radio and TV election ads, putting the campaign into high gear. Barak, well behind in the polls, vowed to correct his government's mistakes, while Sharon sought to reshape his own image from hawk to peacemaker. "Only Sharon can bring peace" said a soft jingle, as pictures showed him hugging his grandchildren on his ranch. "For 52 years, all of us in the state of Israel have been fighting for the same thing, to live here in peace...The only way to do this is through unity," Sharon said, promising to form a broad national unity government after the election. Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert slammed Barak for vowing in 1999 to keep Jerusalem united, and then agreeing to turn half of the city over to the Palestinians. "Barak promised. Barak disappointed. Barak needs to be replaced," an announcer said.

In his ad, the Prime Minister adopted a strategy of repentance. "There were mistakes...and we will correct them, Barak said. "If you give me the chance I will do it better, with a wider team. I will listen more and will do everything in my power to gain your trust." He said it was not a mistake to pursue peace, but added that "peace must not be at any price." Barak rejected the Palestinian demand that all Palestinian refugees and their descendants, nearly 4 million people, be given the right to return to their former homes in Israel. He also vowed not to relinquish Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount, effectively a reversal of a tacit agreement during the latest negotiations. Barak's campaign also went on the offensive against Sharon, attacking his leading role in Israel_s ill-fated invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Immediately after the campaign broadcasts ended, Barak continued his attack on Sharon. "With...Sharon we will have an eternal war with the Palestinians," the Prime Minister told Israel television.

Israel is easing a tight closure clamped on the Gaza Strip after the killing of a Jewish resident two days ago by Palestinian terrorists. Several roads and border crossings, as well as the Gaza airport were reopened. The gradual lifting of the closure was agreed upon at security talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials. The talks, under CIA mediation, have been continuing for about 10 days, with the aim of reducing violence and preventing terrorism.

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