INTERNATIONAL PULSE Period: November 2003 6666666 End-Time Church / Pluralism Global Politics Israel

ISRAEL PALESTINIANS TO PRESS 'ROAD MAP' TERMS ASSOCIATED PRESS - November 25, 2003 - By Lara Sukhtan - RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Palestinian officials plan to get militant groups to promise next week to halt all attacks against Israel and then present the pledge to Israel with a demand for full implementation of the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, the top Palestinian negotiator said. Israel welcomed the comments Tuesday by Saeb Erekat and they were seen as the latest sign of progress in efforts by to halt three years of violence and resume full-fledged peace talks. In a separate development, Jewish settlers proposed their own plan - dismantling the Palestinian Authority and incorporating the West Bank into Israel. Also, the moderate opposition Labor Party is working on its own plan, a party official said, including a pullout from most of the West Bank and Gaza. Adding to the pressure on Sharon, the U.S. government is planning to deduct $289.5 million from loan guarantees for Israel, reflecting the amount Israel is spending on parts of a security barrier that cut into the West Bank, as well as other Israeli construction there, U.S. officials in Washington said Tuesday. However, Zalman Shoval, a senior foreign policy adviser to Sharon, called the U.S. decision "reasonable." He said that Israel believed no deduction should be made for the barrier, "because this is a security matter," but "Israel is prepared to give up money when the subject is defending the lives of its people." Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have agreed to attend a conference beginning Dec. 2 in Cairo, Egypt. The groups, which have carried out scores of deadly attacks on Israelis, are expected to commit to a cease-fire at that time, Erekat said. Whether the cease-fire can last will depend on the Israeli response, Erekat added. Stopping "violence against the Palestinians ... is the key," he said. The road map calls for a series of steps leading to an independent Palestinian state by 2005. Israel is required to halt settlement activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which the Palestinians claim for their state, and withdraw from autonomous areas occupied during the fighting. The Palestinians must dismantle the militant groups, but they have avoided such a move, saying that would risk civil war and the enforcing of quiet should be enough. .. Sharon has been under growing public pressure to halt the fighting. Last week, he said he plans a series of "unilateral" steps if peace talks break down. According to media reports, these steps might include dismantling some isolated Jewish settlements and Israel drawing its own border with the Palestinians. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said the Palestinians remain committed to the plan. "Unfortunately, the other side did not agree to the road map," he said. http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-me/2003/nov/25/112500063.html ----- SAUDI ARABIA / REFORM IN THE ARAB AND MUSLIM WORLD - 'WE ARE THE PROBLEM AND NOT AMERICA' - 'WE HAVE BRED MONSTERS'... The Saudi Gazette, November 30, 2003 No. 617 Saudi. Dr. Muhammad Talal Al-Rasheed, columnist for the English language daily The Saudi Gazette, wrote an article titled "Senseless Violence, Senseless Death." The article is in reaction to the murder of Saudi Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rasheed of Hail by 'Islamists' in Algeria. The following are excerpts from the article:(1) "...A few days back Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rasheed of Hail was murdered in Algeria while on a camping trip. He was 40 years old and his son, Nawaf, 13 years old, was with him. At the time of this writing, we only know that the father was killed, while the son's condition is to be verified. "It is easy to get on one's soap box and pontificate; to tell humanity that we suffer from terrorism too. That is too easy though; and perhaps too intellectually cowardly. Talal was a well-known poet in Saudi Arabia. He comes from a family that ruled Arabia long enough to be recorded in history. He was and will always be a beacon of Art, whatever that word means. "Those who killed him are those who want the word silenced. The young man left it open whether he was with this or that, but he was adamant to tell all and sundry that to be is to talk and exchange. I grieve, I must admit, and am beyond reason because of the trauma of it all, but I do maintain a semblance of reason to see where all of this is leading. "We have bred monsters. We alone are responsible for it. I have written as much before my personal tragedy and will continue to do so for as long as it takes. We are the problem and not America or the penguins of the North Pole or those who live in caves in Afghanistan. We are it, and those who cannot see this are the ones to blame. "Castrated as we are, we look to America. Why? Because they went into Iraq and made a difference. Better or worse is another point. Once America has demonstrated its willingness to do something, the moral imperative is that it should not stop at the first station along the road. The majority of us are sick and tired of this carnage and President Bush, wrong on just about everything else, is right on this one. Does he have the (courage) to finish the job? I wonder. "I don't think this will be published in the Arab News, as it should be. If not, I understand their point of view and their perpetual selectiveness. But one thing is sure, we are here to stay even if it takes giving our best to the madness of religion and the wrong of fanaticism. Nothing, but nothing, is worth the life of an innocent... may the Americans add Talal to their list of loved ones lost to the same indiscriminate madness that took 3,000 on a certain day in September." Endnote: (1) The Saudi Gazette, November 30, 2003. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) http://www.memri.org ----- KEY PALESTINIANS CANCEL PARTICIPATION IN SIGNING OF PEACE DOCUMENT RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov 30, SPA (Saudi Press Agency)-- Two key Palestinian officials who negotiated a symbolic Mideast peace agreement have canceled their participation in a signing ceremony in Switzerland this week, Palestinian officials said Sunday. The decision of Qadoura Fares, a Palestinian Cabinet minister, and Mohammed Horani to pull out of the signatory ceremony on Monday _ along with a violent protest in the Gaza Strip _ raised doubts about the Palestinian public's support for the document. The so-called "Geneva Accords," reached by former Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, outline the establishment of a Palestinian state and include unprecedented concessions by both sides. http://www.spa.gov.sa/html/archive_e.asp?srcfile=597274&NDay=30/11/2003&wcatg=0 ----- CABINET COMMUNIQUE IMRA - 30 November. 2003 Communicated by the Cabinet Secretariat Prime Minister Sharon stated that Prime Minister Abu Ala will be assessed based on his actions and not his words. Israel has heard his announcement and conditions for a meeting, and while the Prime Minister does not see the location of a meeting as important, the conditions set by Abu Ala are unacceptable. The Prime Minister said, "I would like to announce that no conditions will be accepted, whether they concern ceasing construction of the separation fence or dismantling it or any other demands." Defense Minister Mofaz noted that there has been an increase in global Islamic terror, which was most obvious in the chain of terror attacks in Istanbul and in this context it is important to note that there has been an increase in attempts by such groups to perpetrate attacks from Jordan. Israel is taking into consideration the possibility that there will be further terror attacks against Israeli/Jewish targets abroad and is preparing for such an eventuality. http://www.imra.org.il ----- TOURISM TO ISRAEL UP Ministry of Tourism Spokesman's Office - November 30, 2003 - Tourism from the United States, 28,500 tourists arrived in October 2003 compared to 16,069 in October 2002, a jump of 78%. During the first ten months of the year, 210,266 tourists came from the United States as against 163,153 in the same period last year, an increase of 29%. Impressive gains were also recorded in tourism from Europe, which in October this year stood at 65,200 arrivals compared to 44,700 a year earlier, a rise of 46%. France registered an upsurge of 80%, with 16,754 tourists visiting Israel in October this year compared to 9,300 the year before. During the first ten months of the year, there were 141,216 tourists from France compared to 97,140 in the corresponding period, a gain of 45%.- http://www.imra.org.il ----- PLAYING WITH FIRE: DEEPENING SUSPICIONS THAT SAUDIS ARE CONSIDERING ATOMIC ARMS Beirut - Daily Star - 29 November 2003 - Western military analysts have long believed that Saudi Arabia was the Arab power most likely to take up the nuclear weapons option and in recent days there has been mounting speculation that Riyadh is moving in that direction. That is a development that would have the most profound impact on the highly volatile Middle East-South Asia region at a time when the Americans are extending their military power. Nuclear proliferation by the Saudis and others and the "war on terrorism" is a dangerous mix. That scenario has been given considerable weight by the hardening evidence that Iran has had a clandestine nuclear arms program for some years and that Israel's newly acquired German-built submarines are being equipped with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, greatly extending Israel's nuclear reach. Israel claims Libya is seeking nuclear know-how. But possibly the most defining element has been the sharp deterioration in Riyadh's relationship with the United States since Sept. 11, 2001. Saudi Arabia's ruling elite understands that it can no longer place any reliance on US protection, even in the face of Iranian intimidation. Riyadh denies it is mulling a nuclear option, but questions remain. On Oct. 8, the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, published in London, added to the conundrum with a report headlined: "Yes, we are afraid of Iranian uranium." The article said: "It would be a mistake to defend our neighbor Iran because of its ignorance and because of the excuse that its actions are meant to deter Israel. "The Iranian nuclear danger threatens us more than the Israeli and Americans ­ our duty is to seek the dismantling of Israel's nuclear weapons but we cannot deceive ourselves that Iran is arming itself with nuclear weapons as a response to Israel. We have used conventional weapons against each other more than against Israel and the situation won't change if we add a nuclear bomb to our arsenal." According to US analysts Kenneth Weisbode of the Atlantic Council and James Goodby of the Brookings Institution: "If Iran joins Israel as a de facto nuclear-weapon state, with three other nuclear-weapon states nearby ­ Russia, India and Pakistan ­ it is very unlikely that other nations in the vicinity will be able to resist launching or accelerating their own nuclear weapons programs. "It is not at all inconceivable," they wrote in an October analysis, "that a Middle East with four, five or six nuclear-weapon states, including Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, will be the reality of the early 21st century." There has been much speculation that Riyadh is seeking either nuclear technology or actual weapons from Pakistan, a nuclear power with whom it has had close ties for many years. Riyadh and Islamabad deny they have a nuclear pact, or are working toward one. The US State Department says that it has "not seen any information to substantiate" reports that the Saudis are trying to acquire nuclear weapons. Yet a State Department study published in August 2002 reported that senior Saudi officials had discussed the prospect of nuclear arms cooperation with Pakistan. And in November 2002, a former US Defense Intelligence Agency official, Thomas Woodrow, said that Riyadh had been financing Islamabad's nuclear and missile purchases from China. Woodrow, a senior China analyst, wrote in a research paper that "Saudi Arabia has been involved in funding Pakistan's missile and nuclear program purchases from China, which has resulted in Pakistan becoming a nuclear weapon-producing and proliferating state." He went on to note that Riyadh was "buying nuclear capability from China through a proxy state, with Pakistan serving as the cut-out." The indications of sharper Saudi interest in nuclear arms has touched raw nerves in Washington, particularly at a time when the US is challenging Iran and North Korea over their nuclear capabilities and their links to terrorism. The last thing the US wants is another nuclear power in the highly volatile Middle East-South Asia region. A Saudi decision to go nuclear would wreck whatever remains of the Saudi-US relationship, and that may be inhibiting Riyadh. President George W. Bush and senior officials in his administration are reported to have confronted Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf about them. It is not known whether he was able to reassure the Americans, who rely heavily on Musharraf's government in the war against the Taleban and Al-Qaeda. Suspicions that the Saudis were funding Pakistan's nuclear arms program have been around for years. Both governments have denied it, but the Saudis have had exceptional access to Pakistan's maximum-security nuclear facilities for years. In 1999, Saudi Arabia's powerful defense minister, Prince Sultan, was admitted to the uranium-enrichment plant and ballistic missile production facilities at Kahuta, near Islamabad shortly after Pakistan conducted nuclear tests. Woodrow said Sultan "may also have been present in Pakistan" during the test-launch that year of the nuclear-capable Ghauri missile. Crown Prince Abdullah visited Pakistan on Oct. 18-19 amid considerable speculation that nuclear arms was high on his agenda. Simon Henderson, a specialist on Saudi Arabia, noted in a recent paper for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, that "given recent revelations about the progress of Iran's nuclear program, Crown Prince Abdullah may well believe that now is the time for Islamabad to repay Riyadh for its support." For either Riyadh or Islamabad to enter into a nuclear arms agreement at this time would seriously antagonize the US and complicate Bush's expanding war against global terrorism. But perhaps the Saudis found it timely to make such an approach since India's rapidly growing military ­ and possibly nuclear ­ ties with Israel are causing considerable unease in Islamabad. Pakistan, outgunned by India in the nuclear field, wants to find what the Americans call "equalizers" to deter India, and having nuclear weapons in Saudi Arabia, outside India's targeting reach, could offer that possibility ñ and might also check Iran. It is ironic that it was Pakistan, which is believed to have helped Iran develop its nuclear program ­ along with China, Russia and possibly North Korea ­ which has given apparent impetus to Riyadh's efforts to counter the threat from Tehran. While the details of Abdullah's discussions in Islamabad during his 26-hour visit have not been disclosed, the British newspaper The Guardian reported on Sept. 18 that the Saudis, alarmed at Iran's accelerating nuclear program and their development of Shehab intermediate-range ballistic missiles, were considering a strategy review at the highest level that contained three options: acquiring a nuclear capability as a deterrent, allying with a nuclear power that would offer protection, or pursuing a regional agreement for a nuclear-free Middle East. The Saudis vehemently denied any effort to acquire nuclear arms. However, according to Henderson, the basis for the Guardian report was a meeting held a few days earlier during a three-day international symposium on Saudi Arabia, Britain and the Wider World at Oxford University. The meeting was organized by the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, whose chairman of the trustees is also the deputy leader of Saudi Arabia's consultative council, a body with no executive powers which advises the monarchy. Among the invitees were three Saudi princes, including Prince Turki al-Faisal, who had headed the kingdom's intelligence service for 25 years until his surprise resignation in July 2001, shortly before the suicide attacks on the United States. He was later appointed ambassador to Britain. A Saudi Cabinet minister and two members of the consultative council were also in attendance. The substance of the Guardian report has been confirmed by senior Saudis, according to Henderson. The Israeli take on these developments was that Riyadh was signaling Washington to act decisively to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power because they fear that if that happens, the region will face a nuclear arms race that in the end can only threaten the Jewish state. Ariel Sharon warned last month that Libya was "diligently attempting to acquire nuclear know-how with help from North Korea and Pakistan ­ not help in buying a bomb, but help in acquiring technology and expertise to build a bomb." Whether that was simply more scare-mongering to justify Israel's hard-line position and its own nuclear armory is not clear, although some US commentators have deduced that Israel had obtained hard intelligence that Libya was pursuing nuclear technology. If the Saudis are moving toward acquiring nuclear weapons, or the technology, they already have some of the required infrastructure ­ 50-60 CSS-2 Dong Feng 3A ballistic missiles secretly bought from China in the mid-1980s. All this, it would seem, is part of the sweeping geopolitical realignment unfolding in the Middle East and its environs, particularly in South and Central Asia, triggered by Sept. 11, and by the US response to that catalytic event, particularly the conquest of Iraq. While the Americans see themselves establishing a new military base from which to dominate the region ­ in effect substituting Iraq for Saudi Arabia ­ they must also face the possibility that, proliferation concerns apart, the regional regimes they have propped up for so long, particularly Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and even Pakistan, could be overthrown by Islamic radicals somewhere down the line. And that gives the prospect of Saudi Arabia acquiring nuclear weapons, however amorphous that may be at this time, a more menacing aspect. Ed Blanche, a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, has covered Middle Eastern affairs for years and is a regular contributor to The Daily Star http://www.dailystar.com.lb/opinion/29_11_03_e.asp ----- ARAFAT'S 'BILLION-DOLLAR STASH' The Sunday Mail 29 November 2003 - By Rodney Dalton - Western backers of the Palestinian Authority want to know Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat is clinging to a vast fortune, despite losing control of almost $US1 billion ($1.38 billion) worth of state funds he had secretly shifted to an account in his name. Arafat is thought to have salted away between $US300 million and $US1.3 billion in bank accounts worldwide by allegedly plundering aid money sent to prop up the battered West Bank and Gaza economy. Hoping to deflect mounting concern over PA corruption, Arafat appointed Salam Fayyad, a chain-smoking US-educated economist, to the post of finance minister last year. Fayyad is winning rave reviews for his swift assault on the culture of corruption, revealing that Arafat had diverted about $US900 million from the crippled PA budget between 1995 and 2000 to a secret Arafat-controlled account managed by his loyal financial adviser, Mohammed Rachid. The once secret portfolio is now controlled by the Palestine Investment Fund. The investments include real estate, Middle East phone companies and a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Ramallah, where the PA chairman's shattered compound is based. An International Monetary Fund report in September, detailing PA financial mismanagement, was followed by more allegations in a US 60 Minutes TV report earlier this month. In an interview on that show, Fayyad said: "There is corruption out there, there is abuse, there's impropriety. That's what had to be fixed." However, Fayyad can only dig where he's allowed to, according to Matthew Levitt, a former FBI analyst who tracks terrorism financing. "Fayyad is really trying very hard in some cases to shame people into action," Levitt told The Weekend Australian. "However, (his) best efforts can only be successful as they pertain to the PA's funds. He has no jurisdiction over PLO funds, Fatah (Arafat's political party) funds or any funds that have been diverted to Yasser Arafat's (or his associates') personal accounts." Arafat still pays the salaries of more security officers than he needs, including Palestinian naval police based in landlocked Hebron. "The fact is Salam Fayyad does not have access to the vast majority of those funds," Levitt said. The renewed interest in Arafat's finances comes at a sensitive time for the Palestinians, who will present their 2004 budget at an international donors conference in Rome on December 12. Fayyad, the former head of the IMF mission in Palestine, will be among the PA delegation, which will attempt to convince donors to put up more money to help the West Bank and Gaza economy. The World Bank estimates that $US1 billion a year is needed to drive the $US5 billion economy. Arafat is under constant pressure from the West, with the US - which still holds out hopes the so-called road map can bring peace to the region - regarding him as a failed leader. And Europe - the PA's main financial backer - wants to know what happened to the $US5.5 billion in international aid that has flowed in Arafat's direction since the PA was established in 1994. The West Bank war horse's image is not helped when publications such as Forbes magazine feature the 74-year-old prominently on its list of most wealthy "King, Queens and Despots". Forbes calculates that Arafat, who comes in sixth behind Queen Elizabeth II, has a net worth of $US300billion. Some Israelis believe Arafat's personal wealth may be as much as $US11 billion, although in testimony to the Knesset last year Israel's chief of military intelligence Aharon Zeevi listed his personal assets at more than $US1.3 billion. Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel, explained to 60 Minutes that during the 1990s, when Arafat was free to travel, he was always asking for handouts, even though under the Oslo accords, the Israelis agreed to collect sales tax paid by Palestinians and return it to Ramallah. "That money is transferred to Yasser Arafat. To, among other places, bank accounts which he maintains off-line in Israel," said Indyk. While Arafat has been effectively confined to his compound, his wife Suha has reportedly lived comfortably in a Paris apartment on a $US100,000-a-month allowance drawn from Palestinian coffers. Reacting to those allegations, US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the "history of financial improprieties in the Palestinian Authority is well known and longstanding and, in fact, has been a major concern of ours". He said all international donors had insisted on more transparency in the Palestinian budget process. "They have expanded their control of donors funds to make sure that money that we or others might give are properly accounted for," Boucher said. Washington's contribution to the PA this year is a relatively modest $US125 million, including $US20 million that, for the first time, was given directly to the PA instead of via contractors and non-government organisations. "I think we have made sure that US money is accounted for properly," Boucher said. According to Fayyad, Arafat was paying his security forces about $US20 million a month in cash. One of Fayyad's early moves was to ensure that all revenues - about $US24 million a month - flowed to a central treasury account, effectively ending the ability of ministers to dispense largesse at their own discretion. He is also the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund, which manages the diverse investments formerly controlled by Arafat. Perhaps his greatest success has been in breaking up the oil monopoly under which the PA bought petrol from Israeli suppliers and mixed it with kerosene before selling it at inflated prices. Fayyad's stand made him "beloved on the street", according to Levitt, who recalls a research trip to the West Bank and Gaza during which he found a senior official billed the PA for $US8000 in heating for a Gazan summer. "What has made it (the corruption) particularly egregious now is that it's not just lining pockets but financing terrorism as well, and we find that Arafat continues to pay the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in particular," Levitt said. "Arabs and Westerners alike are incredibly frustrated with corruption within the PA. Many tax dollars from many states have gone to benefit the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories and to establish a Palestinian authority. "We now find out that much of that money has been diverted to other causes, sometimes lining the pockets of Mr Arafat, Mohammed Rachid or others." Levitt said Fayyad's willingness to point the finger at the Palestinian old guard reflects the support he has from the international community. "If Arafat were to sack him that would be the end," he said. "He's really the only internationally recognised legitimate leader the Palestinians have." http//www.imra.org.il ----- ISRAEL GOVERNMENT DROPS THE PR BALL? CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR WITHDRAWAL OF "PEACE" INITIATIVES Haaretz 28 November 2003 By Akiva Eldar - IMRA: The tactical decision on the part of the Sharon Administration to decline to address the seriously dangerous faults of Geneva Initiative. Draft resolution urges Bush to promote 2 peace plans . A draft resolution was submitted in both houses of Congress on Thursday, urging President George Bush to adopt and promote two initiatives for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement formulated by members of the Israeli opposition and Palestinian interlocutors. The two initiatives are The Peoples' Voice, launched by Ami Ayalon and Sari Nusseibeh, and the Geneva Accords, drafted by former justice minister and Oslo architect Yossi Beilin and former Palestinian cabinet minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. The resolution's sponsors includes two Jewish senators, Frank Lautenberg and Dianne Feinstein, as well as veteran senator Patrick Leahy. All three are Democrats. But an article slated to be published in the upcoming issue of Congressional Quarterly notes that the two opposition initiatives also have key Republican supporters, including Senators John McCain and Lincoln Chafee. McCain and Chafee sit, respectively, on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. Also Thursday, Secretary of State Colin Powell officially informed Beilin and Abed Rabbo of his willingness to meet with them, though a date has not yet been set. President Moshe Katsav said Thursday that Powell should not meet with the architects of the Geneva Accords the same day that he himself met with Beilin and Abed Rabbo. Katsav said that while his meeting with the Geneva backers was an internal Israeli matter, an anticipated meeting between the backers and Powell could be seen as an expression of support for the unofficial plan, Israel Radio reported. "Colin Powell's meeting might be interpreted as support of the ideas [underlying the accord], in contrast to me," said Katsav. "I have said that I don't support [the accord]." Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Thursday that the accord was damaging to Israel. "Only a government can conduct negotiations for a political solution and sign an agreement. These [Geneva Accords] do Israel damage, and it is a mistake," he said in a question-and-answer session with media editors. The Geneva Accords envisage a Palestinian state like the road map but go further to meeting Palestinian demands by mandating the removal of most settlements and splitting Jerusalem into two capitals. Israel's right rejects both steps. Sharon: Israel cannot hold onto all of West Bank, Gaza Sharon said Thursday that Israel cannot hold onto all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but also warned Palestinians that unless they moderate their demands he might take permanent hold of some of the land. "You do not have unlimited time," he told a news conference, addressing the Palestinians. "There is a limit to our patience." The Palestinians responded with a sharp rebuke. "This is an unprecedented, arrogant statement. It is rude and it lacks any vision," said Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath. "He should declare that he is committed to the road map and implement all the Israeli commitments that are in this map." Sharon said he remained committed to the U.S.-backed plan, which both sides accepted in principle in June, although Israel attached more than a dozen reservations. The plan calls for a Palestinian state by 2005. http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/366331.html -----  NEWSLETTERS  NEWS INDEX  MAIN INDEX