MIDEAST NEWS DIGEST
Israel's Economic Crisis Pushes Sharon to Desperate Measures; Syria May Be Next Target
The Israeli Knesset voted up Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's economic austerity plan, including cuts in social security and family assistance, on May 22. Had the vote failed, as it did one day earlier, Sharon would have had to put together a new coalition, or possibly call new elections. The budget was voted up 65 to 26, with the remaining 29 Knesset members either absent or abstaining. Unlike the May 21 round, the entire Labor Party faction, except for Knesset member Shlomo Ben Ami, voted for the plan. Ben Ami was out of the country at the time, but he has threatened to leave the party if it does not pull out of Sharon's government. On the right wing, all the members of Sharon's Likud party showed up and supported the plan, as did the opposition Shinui Party.
One of the factors contributing to the high winning margin, was that Standard and Poors threatened to lower Israel's credit rating if the plan, which called for 13 billion shekels in budget cuts, was not passed. So desperate is Israel's economic situation, that the American Israel Policy Action Council (AIPAC), the right-wing Israeli lobby in the U.S., has gone into emergency overdrive to get Congress to pass an additional $200 million in appropriations for Israel. However, a growing number of Jewish Americansincluding pro-peace Zionistsoppose the use of their U.S. tax dollars for Sharon's war. Informed sources told EIW that Sharon is actually demanding the U.S.-based Zionist lobby fork over $900 million for the near-term survival of his government.
This week's EIW InDepth reviews the soon-expected fall of the Sharon government, and the drive to destabilize Lebanon and Syria with the assassination of Mohammed Jihad Jibril.
Palestinian Authority, Arafat Denounce Suicide Terrorism as an Aid to Sharon
The Palestinian Authority leadership, following the third alleged suicide bombing to hit Israel last week, issued a statement May 22, condemning the recent suicide bombings as a "terrorist" act. "The Palestinian leadership has learned with rage and indignation of the new terrorist attack, which targeted Israeli civilians in Rishon Letsion," the statement said, adding, "This operation will be used as a pretext by [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon to pursue his savage acts against our people. Palestinian people publicly reject these kinds of operations."
The suicide bombing at Rishon Letzion came just hours after Israeli Defense Forces helicopter gun ships fired several missiles that left five Palestinians dead, including their target, local Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade leader Mahmoud Titi.
Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat also condemned the suicide bombing, and Palestinian chief negotiator Saebe Erekat was quoted as saying on NPR Radio in Washington, that violence begets violence, and adding that the assassination coming from nowhere had triggered this tragic event.
Israel Arrests German Observer; Steps Up Repression
In the weeks since international pressure denounced the "Operation Warsaw Ghetto" annihilation of Palestinians, the Israeli government's institutions have turned to hardcore repression against any critics.
In an outrageous incident against a German official of the Friederich Naumann Stiftung (Foundation), the Israeli police interrogated Dr. Burckhard Blanke, director of the FNS branch in Israel, demanding he explain charges that he had made anti-Semitic statements, "in a manner that encourages racist acts." Blanke had criticized the policy of Sharon. Police also raided Blanke's home, seizing maps and newspaper clippings, assessing these as "information related to military affairs," allegedly destined for Palestine terrorists. The trumped-up affair mirrors events going on in Germany against the Free Democratic Partyunder whose auspices the Naumann Foundation operates. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer got on the phone with his Israeli colleague Shimon Peres, demanding a clarification on the incident. Peres later communicated that the police had been "mistaken," and that none of the charges could be "substantiated."
At the same time, the Sharon government stepped up harassment and threats against Israeli reserve officers and soldiers who signed the Combatants Letter of Refusal to serve in the occupation army in the West Bank and Gaza. Soldiers have been thrown in jail for several weeks' duration of their reserve call-up, and immediately upon release, are served another call-up notice so that they might be arrested again.
On the legal front, a decision by the Israeli High Court was handed down this week in a case brought by 40 Palestinian inhabitants in the Gaza Strip, which decision says that the IDF has the right to demolish any homes it wishes, provided it is "operational reasons," and that advance warning had been given.
U.S. Military Chiefs Say U.S. Not Prepared to Fight Iraq War
According to USA Today, the largest circulating daily newspaper in the United States, the military chiefs of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines are warning Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about U.S. lack of readiness, and lack of manpower and equipment to fight a war in Iraq. EIR carried a detailed story of the uniformed military opposition in its April 26, 2002 edition. But this leak to USA Today, which placed the story on its front page May 23, is the first time that anyone has claimed that the heads of all the services are warning Rumsfeld against the war.
Defense sources told the newspaper that the chiefs "do not oppose" the Iraq war, but are getting into a "clash with the civilian leadership of the Pentagon which believes Saddam's government can be toppled easily." It specifically mentions Undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith as someone who claims the Hussein government will topple easily. Feith is a notorious member of the neo-con, right-wing Zionist cabal in Washington, whose family ties go straight into the Jabotinskyite terrorist tradition of Zionism. Addressing all the concerns that the utopian perpetual warriors ignore, the Joint Chiefs point out that special operations teams are overstretched already; that one cannot fight a war without cooperation from Iraq's Arab neighbors, and how refueling and maintenance would be impossible without regional cooperation.
Also on May 23, an article appeared in the New York Times saying that diplomats among the members of the UN Security Council are "backing" Secretary of State Colin Powell, and attempting to "weaken" Rumsfeld on the question of an Iraq war. UNSC diplomats, wishing to remain anonymous, told the New York Times that the United States is along in wanting a war. Every other member of the UNSC opposes military action, and is doing everything possible to try to make sure that the "Rumsfeld view" is defeated. On May 14, the 15-member UNSC, whose presidency is currently held by Russia, unanimously passed Resolution 1409, which calls for the adoption of a "goods review list" to replace the current oil-for-food regime; the reform is expected to increase the rate of delivery of humanitarian assistance. According to the Times, behind the scenes there are a lot of discussions about weapons inspectors from the UNMOVIC, the UN Commission made up of 40 individuals from 28 countries, reaching an agreement with the Iraqi government to continue their work.
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