In this issue:

Powell Says U.S. Opposes Israeli Expulsion of Arafat; But Nobody Believes Washington

UN Warns Israel Not To Expel Yasser Arafat

Jerusalem Post Demands Arafat Assassination

Israel Will Hunt Terrorists in Syria, Lebanon

Israeli Chief of Staff Repeats Threats Against Saudis

Syrian Cabinet Resigns

Army Extends Reservist Tours in Iraq to 12 Months

UN Resolution Threatens Iran

Israeli Officials Threaten Iran

Sharon Crony David Appel Indicted For Bribery

From Volume 2, Issue Number 37 of Electronic Intelligence Weekly, Published Sept. 16, 2003
Mideast News Digest

Powell Says U.S. Opposes Israeli Expulsion of Arafat; But Nobody Believes Washington

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, on Sept. 12, again telephoned Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, to reiterate that the U.S. is opposed to the expulsion of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. Powell also gave the same message to Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath when they spoke. Powell's calls came 24 hours after the Israeli security cabinet gave the military carte blanche authorization to expel Arafat at a moment of their choosing.

Despite the Powell statements, the Administration is being widely condemned for failing to live up to the President's promise to put in a maximum personal effort to make the Road Map work. And there is widespread belief, as well, that President Bush has given a de facto green light to Sharon to expel or kill the Palestinian President. Days before the Israeli security cabinet vote, Prime Minister Sharon's personal representative, Dov Weisglass, was in Washington, meeting with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, pressing for Washington's approval of the move to oust Arafat. While both the U.S. and Israeli governments deny it, sources report that there were also private talks between Weisglass and Vice President Dick Cheney, whose personal hawkish views on the Middle East are nearly identical to those of Sharon. Sources reported that Weisglass went back to Israel from his meeting with Rice, convinced that the U.S. would not act harshly if Israel eliminated Arafat.

On Sept. 11, just before the Israeli decision to expel Arafat, EIR's White House correspondent William Jones asked State Department spokesman Richard Boucher to clarify the Administration's position on Arafat, citing the Jerusalem Post's editorial that day, calling for Arafat's deportation or assassination. While stating that the U.S. Administration's position had not changed, Boucher refused to be more specific, and did, in fact, reiterate that the Administration sees Arafat as an impediment to peace.

UN Warns Israel Not To Expel Yasser Arafat

On Friday, Sept. 12, following a closed-door special session, the UN Security Council issued a stern warning to the Israeli government not to deport Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. The UNSC President, British Ambassador Emyr Jones-Parry, read out the statement after the meeting: "Council Members expressed the view that the removal of Mr. Arafat would be unhelpful and must not be implemented."

The statement was drafted at the request of the 116 members of the Non-Aligned Movement at the UN. The UNSC will also hold a public meeting on Sept. 15, on the issue.

The emergency action took place after the Israeli security cabinet voted on Sept. 11 that Arafat would be expelled from the Palestinian territories, at a time of Israel's choosing. The same day, the Jerusalem Post issued an editorial that said that Arafat must be killed by the Israelis before Israel can accept a peace pact.

At the UN, Palestinian Envoy Nasser al-Kidwa, a relative of Arafat's, submitted a resolution which says that "Israel, the occupying power, desist from any act of deportation and to cease any threat to the safety of the elected President of the Palestinian Authority," and expressed "grave concern at the tragic and violent events." However, the UNSC drafted an alternative statement warning Israel not to attempt to expel Arafat, because of fear that the United States would veto the al-Kidwa resolution, reported the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz.

Jerusalem Post Demands Arafat Assassination

A bloodcurdling editorial in the Conrad Black-owned Jerusalem Post of Sept. 11 demands the mass killing of Palestinian leaders, particularly Yasser Arafat. The editorial came on the morning of the security cabinet meeting called to decide the fate of Arafat. Excerpts:

"The world will not help us; we must help ourselves. We must kill as many of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders as possible, as quickly possible, while minimizing collateral damage, but not letting that damage stop us. And we must kill Yasser Arafat, because the world leaves us no alternative.

"No one seriously argues with the fact that Arafat was preventing Mahmoud Abbas, the Prime Minister he appointed, from combatting terrorism, to the extent that he was willing to do so. Almost no one seriously disputes that Abbas on whom Israel, the U.S., and Europe had placed all their bets failed primarily because Arafat retained control of much of the security apparatus, and that Arafat wanted him to fail.

"The new Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei, clearly will fare no better, since he, if anything, has been trying to garner more power for Arafat, not less.

"Under these circumstances, the idea of exiling Arafat is gaining currency, but the standard objection is that he will be as much or more of a problem when free to travel the world than he is locked up in Ramallah.

"If only three countries, Britain, France, and Germany, joined the U.S. in a total boycott of Arafat this would not be the case. If these countries did not speak with Arafat, it would not matter much who did, and however much a local Palestinian leader would claim to consult with Arafat, his power would be gone. But such a boycott will not happen....

"Therefore, we are at another point in our history at which the diplomatic risks of defending ourselves are exceeded by the risks of not doing so. Such was the case in the Six Day War, when Israel was forced to launch a preemptive attack or accept destruction. And when Menachem Begin decided to bomb the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981. And when Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield in Palestinian cities after the Passover Massacre of 2002.... When the breaking point arrives, there is no point in taking half-measures. If we are going to be condemned in any case, we might as well do it right.

"Arafat's death at Israel's hands would not radicalize Arab opposition to Israel; just the opposite. The current jihad against us is being fueled by the perception that Israel is blocked from taking decisive action to defend itself.... Killing Arafat, more than any other act, would demonstrate that the tool of terror is unacceptable, even against Israel, even in the name of a Palestinian state....

"So long as the Palestinians choose such a leadership, it should be held no more immune to counterattack by Israel than the Taliban and Saddam Hussein were by the United States...."

Israel Will Hunt Terrorists in Syria, Lebanon

Speaking at a security conference at the Hezliya Interdisciplinary Center, Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Ya'alon said Israel would continue attacks on senior Hamas officials. He said they would hunt down terrorists wherever they are, "in the organization's offices in Damascus, with members of Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon, or among the Palestinian terrorist cells in the territories."

At the same conference held on Sept. 8, Ya'alon had indirectly threatened Saudia Arabia, claiming that an al-Qaeda terror organization had attempted to recruit a Saudi military pilot to conduct a suicide attack on Israel. He claimed the attack would come from the Saudi Tabuk air force base, which is 150 km from Israel. He expressed concern that the Saudis have F-15 jet fighters based there that pose a threat to Israel.

Israeli Chief of Staff Repeats Threats Against Saudis

Israel military Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon repeated the threat against Saudi Arabia which was made last week. Speaking at a security conference, Ya'alon claimed that the al-Qaeda terrorist organization had attempted to recruit Saudi pilots to conduct a suicide mission against Israel. The terrorists were to use either a civilian aircraft or an F-15 jet fighter. He claimed this information came from interrogations by Western intelligence sources, but did not give details.

Ya'alon then repeated the threat made last week concerning the basing of F-15 jets by Saudi Arabia at the Tabuk base.

"We are concerned by the deployment of Saudi planes at Tabuk, and by the information on al-Qaeda, and demand that the matter be investigated."

Syrian Cabinet Resigns

The Syrian cabinet resigned, Sept. 10, with Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa handing in his resignation. Syrian President Bashar Assad accepted the resignations, and called on the Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammed Naji al-Otari, to select a new cabinet. According to press reports, the resignations were expected and are not related to foreign policy.

Army Extends Reservist Tours in Iraq to 12 Months

Army Reserve and National Guardsmen who expected to serve a total of 12 months, with only part of that time in Iraq, will now spend 12 months in Iraq, and a total of 13 to 18 months on active duty. Army officials revealed the order on Monday according to an account in the Washington Post. The order affects 8,000 reservists and National Guard troops in Iraq and another 12,000 in Kuwait. A total of 128,919 Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers are currently on active duty, many filling in positions in the U.S. left vacant by deployed regular Army soldiers. The order allegedly does not apply to the two National Guard brigades that will join the unit rotation into Iraq next year. They will be in the country for approximately six months.

The order comes at a time when concerns about overstretch of the Army are heightening. Retired Army Maj. Gen. William Nash, now a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that the new policy is "a manifestation of the challenges the Army is facing meeting its troops obligations throughout the world and particularly in Iraq." The order is likely to have a detrimental effect on morale, as well, given that many reservists and guardsmen left behind families and higher-paying jobs when they were activated.

The new policy is having its political impact, as well. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, indicated that he thought that extending tours of reservists, and the stated need for international troops in Iraq, showed that the U.S. needs additional troops on the ground in Iraq, including certain specialties. The Army itself responded to all the hoopla stirred up by the Post story by issuing a statement saying it has "consistently stated a tour of duty for all units, both active and reserve components, participating in Iraqi Freedom would be up to 12 months in their areas of operation."

UN Resolution Threatens Iran

The U.S. has pulled France, Germany, and Japan into co-sponsoring a threat to Iran to meet the International Atomic Energy Agency's additional protocols by the end of October—or else. A resolution drafted by the U.S. demands that Iran prove it has no weapons programs and agree to the intrusive inspections of the "additional protocols" (which are not required under the NPT), by the end of October, or be declared in non-compliance and taken to the UN Security Council for action. The U.S. rep to the IAEA, Kenneth Brill, said on Sept. 9 that "The U.S. believes the facts already established would fully justify an immediate finding of noncompliance by Iran." Lack of support for that stand forced the U.S. to put forward this resolution, which has been passed unanimously.

Malaysia's Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Dato Hussein Haniff, spoke for the Non-Aligned Movement's 15 members on the IAEA Board in rejecting the resolution or any deadline.

Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said: "If the hawks gain ground and ignore our legitimate rights for peaceful nuclear activities, we will be forced to review the state of play and the current level of cooperation with the agency."

Israeli Officials Threaten Iran

Israeli officials reportedly are threatening a military strike against Iran, if the U.S. "last chance" resolution threat fails, according to the Washington Times of Sept. 10. The Times reports that Zalman Shoval, an aide to Sharon, said that Iran knows "Israel has the capability" to take out their nuclear program, and that "hopefully, a military threat can be avoided, nipped in the bud..., and this is where the U.S. comes in."

Sharon Crony David Appel Indicted For Bribery

David Apel, an Israeli businessman who arranged for millions of dollars for the sons of Ariel Sharon family, has been indicted for bribing a member of the Knesset (Parliament). The case involves Appel, his construction company, Higdal Hazohar Construction, and another crony, Benjamin Tavin, who owns the company Quality of Life and Aviv Gardens.

They are accused of bribing former Likud Knesset member Nehama Ronen; Israel Lands Administration official Oded Tal; the Mayor of the city of Lod, Benny Regev, and Gavit Shmuel, and City Council head Zamir Ben Ari. The Justice Ministry is reportedly also considering charges against those who were bribed. As EIW reported, Appel is also being investigated for bribing Sharon while he was the Israeli Foreign Minister.

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