CAFI Newsletter #99

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* CHRISTIAN ACTION FOR ISRAEL NEWSLETTER  #99 *
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"ON YOUR WALLS, O JERUSALEM, I HAVE APPOINTED WATCHMEN"
Isaiah 62:6
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               Friday, August 30, 2002

IN THIS ISSUE:

  1.    OSLO REDUX
  2.    PALESTINIANS CONSIDER OSLO 'TROJAN HORSE'
  3.    TEMPLE MOUNT BULGE AN EXPLOSIVE PROBLEM
  4.    QUOTES TO NOTE
  5.    HIGHLIGHT ARTICLES

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   1.    OSLO REDUX

Jerusalem Post  -  Aug. 30, 2002

Shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Palestinian terrorists
in Gaza fired mortar shells at the Jewish community of
Neveh Dekalim, one of which struck the home of the
Greenberg family, scoring a direct hit. Miraculously,
no one was hurt, but three children had to be
treated for shock after the incident.

While incidents such as these have become all too
common in the past two years, it is worth reminding
ourselves just how grave they truly are, particularly
for the families involved. As Oshrit Greenberg later
described it in a radio interview, she and her
children endured a terrifying experience:

"We heard a tremendous boom, and the whole house shook.
Two seconds later, all the electricity went out, and
there was total darkness. I immediately went to check
on the kids, and brought them into our 'safe room.'"
Her children, she said, "understand what happened, as
this is not the first time that shells have fallen here."

Indeed, it most assuredly is not. Since the start of
the Palestinian terror campaign, over 1,500 mortar
shells have been fired at Jewish communities in Gush
Katif. This latest attack, though, comes in the wake
of the "Gaza-Bethlehem first" plan, under which
Israel agreed to pull back its forces as a test of
Palestinian intentions. If the events of the past
few days are any indication, then it is clear that
the Palestinians are not worthy of a passing grade.

For, in addition to the attack on the Greenberg home,
five shells were fired in Gaza on Wednesday night,
with one landing near an IDF position and another
near Neveh Dekalim's Industrial Park. Palestinian
terrorists also carried out a bomb attack against IDF
soldiers in the Tel Katifa outpost, opened fire on
Israeli troops near Gadid, and launched grenades
against the Tarmit outpost near Rafah. If this is
the Palestinian idea of peace and quiet, then one
wonders what would qualify as war?

Particularly worrisome, however, has been the
government's response to this fresh outburst of
terrorist violence. Though Defense Minister Binyamin
Ben-Eliezer did postpone a meeting with Palestinian
Interior Minister Abdel Razak al-Yahya that had
been scheduled to take place on Wednesday night
and which had been slated to discuss the
implementation of the "Gaza-Bethlehem first" deal,
it is difficult to comprehend why the government
feels it necessary to continue with the current
charade in the first place.

If, as senior officials repeatedly stated from
the outset, the litmus test of "Gaza-Bethlehem
first" would be Palestinian success in combating
terror, then that experiment has already proven to
be a failure. Nevertheless, Ben-Eliezer is determined
to meet again with al-Yahya, and according to
reports in the Israeli media, they will discuss
the modalities for an Israeli pullback from Hebron,
as if nothing at all had occurred in Gaza over
the past week.

If this is all starting to sound familiar, that
is because it is. What the government is essentially
doing is repeating the mistake of Oslo demanding
Palestinian commitments only to ignore their
systematic violation, and then proceeding with
further withdrawals despite ongoing Palestinian
terror. Such an approach, of course, only sends a
message of weakness to the other side, for why
should they respect their commitments if Israel
will in any event overlook their non-compliance?

It was precisely this misguided mindset that led
Israel to the perilous state in which it now finds
itself. Criticizing the Palestinians and demanding
that they fulfill their commitments has little
meaning if they are not later held accountable
for their performance.

The fact that nearly a decade has passed since the
Oslo Accords were signed, and the government has
yet to learn this most elementary of lessons,
hardly bodes well for the future. If anything, it
means that the Greenberg family's home is unlikely
to be the last to come under Palestinian attack.
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   2.   PALESTINIANS CONSIDER OSLO 'TROJAN HORSE'

Leaders consistently speak of process as
means to destroy Israel

Claims by a top Israeli official that the Palestinian
Authority plans to destroy Israel in stages
through the Oslo Accords are supported by
numerous statements in Arabic by Palestinian
leaders, according to a regional press monitor.

Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Moshe
Ya'alon's assessment in an interview published
this week in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz has
caused a political stir, notes Palestinian Media
Watch. But Palestinian leaders such as Faisal
Husseini, PA representative for Jerusalem affairs,
have explicitly stated that the Oslo process,
which began in 1993, is a Trojan horse designed
to wipe Israel off the map.

"Had the U.S. and Israel realized, before Oslo,
that all that was left of the Palestinian National
movement and the Pan-Arab movement was a
wooden horse called Arafat or the PLO, they
would never have opened their fortified gates
and let it inside their walls," Husseini said in an
interview with the Egyptian publication
Al-Arabi', June 24, 2001.

Husseini said that the Intifada "could have been
much better, broader, and more significant had
we made it clearer to ourselves that the Oslo
agreement, or any other agreement, is just a
temporary procedure, or just a step towards
something bigger. . . ."

"We distinguish the strategic, long-term goals
from the political-phased goals, which we are
compelled to temporarily accept due to
international pressure," Husseini said.

"[Palestine], according to the higher strategy, [is]
'from the river to the sea,'" he said referring to a
common description of Israel. 'Palestine in its
entirety is an Arab land, the land of the Arab
nation."

In the Ha'aretz interview, Ya'alon was asked to
clarify whether he believed the goal of Arafat is
to liquidate Israel by stages.

"Of course," the Israel defense chief responded.
"Not to reach an agreement and not to arrive at
the end of their claims, in order to preserve the
conflict and to let time run its course according to
the phased theory."

United worldview

Palestinian Media Watch says its research
demonstrates a clear and united worldview
within the Palestinian leadership that defines
Israel as a colony that stole the land of
"Palestine" and thus has no right to exist.

In speeches, sermons, educational programs and
school textbooks published by the PA, the Oslo
process is called a "stage," a temporary
agreement that is necessary "because of the
current balance of power" in which Israel has a
huge military advantage.

The "permanent status agreement" with Israel is
viewed as "Hudna," an Islamic term meaning
cease-fire.

In an interview on Palestinian television, Sept. 1,
2000, Israeli Arab Knesset Member Abd-Al
Malek Dahamshe responded to a telephone call
from a viewer who said: "Our problem with
Israel is not a border problem, but one of
existence."

Dahamshe responded: "We exaggerate when we
say 'peace' . . . what we are [really] speaking
about is 'Hudna.'"

In an interview with the official PA daily
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 14, 2000, Abdullah
Al-Hourani, chairman of the Palestinian National
Council Political Committee, responded to the
question, "How do you read the future of the
peace process?"

Al-Hourani said:

 "Whether they return to negotiations
 or not, and whether they fulfill the
 agreements or not, the political plan
 is a temporary agreement, and the
 conflict remains eternal, will not be
 locked, and the agreements being
 talked about are regarding the
 current balance of power. As to the
 struggle, it will continue. It may
 pause at times, but in the final
 analysis, Palestine is ours from the
 [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan]
 River."

Oslo is just the first step in the destruction of
Israel, Abd El Aziz Shahian, Palestinian
Authority Minister of Supplies, said in an
interview May 20, 2000, with Al Ayyam, an
Arabic daily in the Palestinian territories.

"The Palestinian people accepted the Oslo
agreements as a first step and not as a
permanent settlement, based on the premise that
the war and struggle in the land is more efficient
than a struggle from a distant land," he said,
referring to the Palestinian Liberation
Organization's base in Tunisia prior to the Oslo
process.

The Palestinian minister said his "people will
continue the revolution until they achieve the
goals of the '65 revolution," referring to the
founding of the PLO and publication of the
Palestinian charter that calls for the destruction
of Israel through an armed struggle.

Salim Alo'adia Abu Salam, supervisor of political
affairs for the PA, told Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan.
20, 2000, that "when we picked up the gun in '65
and the modern Palestinian revolution began, it
had a goal. This goal has not changed and it is
the liberation of Palestine."

Palestinian state not end of the road

Yasser Arafat's deputy, Othman Abu Arbiah, has
stated that the establishment of a Palestinian
state with Jerusalem as its capital is a means
toward eliminating Israel.

"At this stage we'll prevail in our struggle
[toward] the goals of the stages [plan]," he said
in an interview with Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov.
25, 1999. "The goal of this stage is the
establishment of the independent Palestinian
state, with its capital in Jerusalem. When we
achieve this, it will be a positive [step] and it will
advance us to the next stage via other ways and
means."

Abu Arbiah said "every Palestinian must know
clearly and unequivocally that the independent
Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital is
not the end of the road. The [rise of] the
Palestinian state is a stage after which there will
be another stage and that is the democratic state
in all of Palestine [in place of Israel]."

Palestinian Media Watch notes that Abu Arbiah
is Arafat's aide for political guidance and
national affairs and the director-general for
national affairs, a senior position in the
Palestinian national educational structure.

Imad Alfalugi, the PA minister of communication,
told Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 18, 1999, "Our
people have hope for the future, that the
occupation state [Israel] ceases to exist, and that
it makes no difference [how great] its power and
arrogance. . . ."

Claim rooted in Isalm

The preacher of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh
Yousuf Abu Sneina, declared, in a distinct
religious context, the belief that all of Israel is
"Palestine" forever.

"The Islamic land of Palestine is one and can not
be divided. There is no difference between Haifa
and Nablus, between Lod and Ramallah,
between Jerusalem and Nazareth, between Gaza
and Ashkelon," he said on Palestinian television,
Sept. 8, 2000, referring to cities in Israel and PA
territory. "The land of Palestine is Waqf land that
belongs to Muslims throughout the world and
no one has the right to act freely or the right to
make concessions or to abandon her. Whoever
does this betrays a [trust] and is nothing more
than a loathsome criminal whose abode is in
Hell!"

Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, PA-appointed mufti of
Jerusalem and Palestine, said in a Jan. 11, 2001,
television broadcast that emphasis on gaining
Jerusalem should not be viewed as conceding
other parts of Israel.

"We are discussing the current problems and
when we speak about Jerusalem it doesn't mean
that we have forgotten about Hebron or about
Jaffa or about Acre," the sheikh said. "We are
speaking about the current problems that have
priority at a certain time. It doesn't mean that we
have given up. . . . We have announced a
number of times that from a religious point of
view Palestine from the sea to the river is
Islamic."

All agreements are temporary, said Dr. Ahmed
Yousuf Abu Halbiah, a member of Palestinian
Sharianic (Islamic law) Rulings Council and
rector of advanced studies at the Islamic
University, evoking Islam's founder in a July 28,
2000, message on Palestinian television.

"We the nation of Palestine, our fate from Allah is
to be the vanguard in the war against the Jews
until the resurrection of the dead, as the Prophet
Muhammad said: The resurrection of the dead
will not come until you do battle with the Jews
and kill them. We the Palestinians, are the
vanguard in this issue, in this battle, whether we
want to or whether we refuse. All the
agreements being made are temporary."

Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Madi, a PA religious
leader, said on Palestinian television, April 12,
2002:

 "We are positive that Allah will help
 us triumph. Our belief is firm that one
 day we will enter Jerusalem as
 conquerors, enter Jaffa as
 conquerors, Ramle and Lod. and all
 of Palestine, as conquerors. "If [Allah]
 asks [Arab leaders], on Judgment
 Day: 'The majority of Palestine was
 lost in '48, and what did you do? And
 the remainder was lost in '67, and
 now it is being vanquished again.'
 How shall we respond to our Lord?"

Madi said "Palestine shall be the burial grounds
of the invaders just as it was for the Tartars, and
the Crusaders and for modern colonialism. The
Tradition relates to us that Allah's cherished one
[Muhammad] said: 'The Jews will battle against
you but you shall emerge masters over them.'"

Madi said on Palestinian television, Aug. 3, 2001:

 "We will blow them up in Hadera, we
 will blow them up in Tel-Aviv and in
 Netanya. . . . We will fight against
 them and rule over them until the Jew
 will hide behind the trees and stones
 and the tree and stone will say:
 'Muslim! Servant of Allah, there is a
 Jew behind me, kill him.' We will
 enter Jerusalem as conquerors, and
 Jaffa as conquerors, and Haifa as
 conquerors and Ashkelon as
 conquerors. . . ."

On June 8, 2001, Madi said:

 "Who is responsible for the loss of
 Palestine, the good land that the
 passages of the dear Koran bless
 many times, and [for] deceitfully
 labeling it Israel? Who is responsible
 for the loss of Jerusalem. . . . The
 Prophet [Muhammad] soothes us
 with many Hadiths that Palestine
 shall return to its former days. . . . We
 must prepare a foothold, for the
 coming army of Allah, by divine
 predetermination. May it be Allah's
 will, this oppressing state shall pass,
 Israel shall pass. . . ."

© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
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   3.   TEMPLE MOUNT BULGE AN EXPLOSIVE PROBLEM

By Abraham Rabinovich -  THE WASHINGTON TIMES

     JERUSALEM — A bulge in the wall of Jerusalem's
Temple Mount, a site holy to both Jews and Muslims,
has introduced a new and potentially explosive
element into the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation.

     Jerusalem's mayor and Israeli conservationists
warn that some of the massive stone blocks lining
the southern wall of the Al Aqsa Mosque compound,
known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as
Haram al Sharif, are shifting and in danger of
crashing down on worshippers unless the affected
section is dismantled and rebuilt.

  "In my view we have reached the moment of truth,"
Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert said. "There are serious
grounds for fearing that it could collapse."

  Muslim religious authorities deny that there is any
danger of collapse and reject the Israeli warnings as a
politically motivated attempt to establish Israel's
authority over the Mount.

  "I can't say when, but it is certain that the wall will
fall if nothing is done about it," said Israeli
conservationist Giora Solar, who has been a senior
adviser on conservation to U.N. organizations. He
said the problem can be solved if the affected area is
dismantled and rebuilt.

  However, Adnan Husseini, director-general of the
Wakf, the Muslim religious trust that administers
Islamic sites in Jerusalem, rejected such a procedure
and said no outside interference will be acceptable.

  Mr. Husseini said the bulge in the wall has not
grown or shifted for about 30 years and poses no
immediate threat.

  "This bulge is under our monitoring since the '70s,"
he told the Associated Press. "It is stable. We don't
feel that there is any dangerous situation."

  Mr. Husseini warned of dire consequences
throughout the region if Israel attempted to undermine
Islamic authority on the Temple Mount.

  "The Israeli side is trying to make from this
problem a very dangerous political issue," he said.
"They want to gain a foothold."

  Israeli radio reported that UNESCO, the U.N.
educational and cultural agency, has offered to
examine the bulge. Thus far, neither the Wakf nor
Israel has reacted to this offer.

  While Israel claims sovereignty over the Mount
since capturing it in the 1967 Mideast war, it has left
de facto control to the Wakf. Any attempt by Israel to
assert its authority there is bound to draw strong
reaction throughout the Arab and Muslim world.

  The Temple Mount is a large esplanade originally
built by King Solomon on a hilltop 3,000 years ago to
house the first Jewish temple. King Herod expanded
the esplanade 1,000 years later and rebuilt the
temple.

  It was this temple and esplanade that Jesus
visited. Within a century, the temple was destroyed by
the Romans. Six centuries later, the Arabs conquered
Jerusalem and built on the Mount the Al Aqsa
Mosque, which became the third-holiest site in Islam
after Mecca and Medina. Muslims believe the
Prophet Muhammad rose to heaven from the Dome
of the Rock on the Mount.

  The Western Wall, a retaining wall of the temple
compound, is just around the corner but is not
affected by the bulge. With Jews kept off the hilltop by
Muslim restrictions and rabbinical bans, the Western
Wall, believed to be the last remnant of the Second
Temple destroyed by Roman conquerors, is the
holiest place where Jews can pray.

  The head of Israel's Antiquities Authority, Shuka
Dorfman, said this week that the bulge in the southern
wall appears in photographs taken in the early part of
the 20th century. However, it has become increasingly
prominent in recent years, with a protuberance of up
to 30 inches on a 2,000-square-foot section covered
by scaffolding near the top of the wall.

  The antiquities authority has written to Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon about the bulge, and the Israeli
government is expected to convene within the next
few days to discuss the situation.

  What makes the situation particularly volatile is that
the inner part of the wall — an underground area
known since the Crusades as Solomon's Stables —
has been cleared by the Wakf in recent years of
debris and turned into a prayer area.

  Israeli archaeologists complained that in doing so
the Muslim authorities destroyed antiquities belonging
to the Jewish past, a charge denied by the Wakf.

  If the Israeli authorities declare the area to be
unsafe, they could close the underground area to the
public, a move that would almost certainly be met by
charges that it is restricting religious freedom.

  Non-Muslims, including tourists, have been barred
from the Temple Mount for security reasons since the
Palestinian uprising broke out in September 2000
after a visit to the site by Mr. Sharon when he was
opposition leader.

  In the past, Israeli authorities and the Wakf had
good, if discreet, working relations that enabled the
solution of such problems, but these relations have
been severed since the outbreak of the intifada.
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 4.   QUOTES TO NOTE

“The ‘Gaza-Bethlehem First’ plan does not oblige
 the P.A. to collect illegal weapons or arrest
 gunmen. The P.A. and Fatah would never accept
 being the police officers protecting the
 Israelis. We would never detain those who
 resisted the Israeli military occupation.”

—Hani al-Hassan, a member of the Fatah central
council and close confidant of P.A. Chairman
Yasser Arafat (Jer. Post, Aug. 26)
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   5.    HIGHLIGHT ARTICLES ON OUR SITE

A "MUST READ"

The Enemy Within: An Interview with IDF Chief of
Staff Lieutenant General Moshe Ya'alon

http://christianactionforisrael.org/isreport/aug02/yaalon.html
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great things our Lord is doing for Israel and what great
things He will continue to do for her, His firstborn.
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