PHOTO BYAPEMBAMSAVSKY

Bulldozers are brought to clear land for homes on Har Homa hill.

merits made by the previous La-
bor government under the in-
terim agreement — so long as
the Palestinians resume full-
blooded cooperation in the war
on terror.
Among the issues being con-
sidered are Palestinian air and
sea ports in the Gaza Strip; a
safe-passage road link between
Palestinian-controlled areas of
the West Bank and Gaza; and
access for Palestinian workers
to jobs in Israel, from which they
are frequently barred by securi-
ty closures.
The Palestinians remain
skeptical, however, about
whether Netanyahu can or will
deliver. The Bar-On fiasco over
the dubious appointment of an
underqualified lawyer to the
post of attorney general has left
him both weaker and more de-
pendent on hardliners in his
right-wing and religious coali-
tion.

Palestinians and
Israelis both
recognize that only
the Americans can
help.

He can no longer hold the
threat of a national-unity gov-
ernment with Labor over his dis-
affected ministers. As former
Washington correspondent
Akiva Eldar put it in a wry
Ha'aretz column, "The Bar-On
scandal has removed only Shi-
mon Peres from the govern-
ment."
The Interior Ministry, a fief-
dom of the Sephardi Shas par-
ty, is resisting the prime
minister's attempt to stop it con-
fiscating Jerusalem identity
cards from Arabs who have
moved either abroad or to the
West Bank suburbs. And Ne-
tanyahu himself is defying in-
ternational pressure to stop
building 6,500 Jewish homes on
Har Homa.
Palestinian leader Yassir
Arafat complains that the Israeli

government is not interested in
salvaging the peaCe process.
Speaking to reporters on his re-
turn from recent talks in Cairo
with President Hosni Mubarak
of Egypt, he accused Mr.
Netanyahu of "continuing to vi-
olate signed agreements." He
recognized the "good intentions"
of Ezer Weizman, with whom he
met on the edge of the Gaza
Strip, but also that the figure-
head president could offer no
more than a gentle warming of
the atmosphere.
In the longer term, Israelis
and Palestinians both reluc-
tantly acknowledge that their
best hopes lie with the United
States. Dennis Ross, President
Bill Clinton's Middle East trou-
ble shooter, has returned to the
region. Under Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright, Washing-
ton seems to have resigned itself
to a more active role.
It has been pressing Mr.
Netanyahu to come up with
confidence-building measures,
and American officials are now
expected to take part in all
negotiating sessions. Previous-
ly, the Clinton administration
preferred to let the two sides
solve their own problems,
reserving its intervention for the
final, critical stages, as it did
over the Hebron redeployment
in January.
This is clearly no longer
enough. David Afek, the sober
head of the Israeli Foreign Min-
istry research department, went
so far as to pronounce the peace
process dead. It will take all Un-
cle Sam's skill and leverage to
resurrect it.
In an internal briefing that
was leaked to the local media
within hours, Mr. Afek report-
ed that most foreign govern-
ments blamed Israel for t
he stalemate. He urged minis-
ters to take the, initiative and
prove them wrong. Otherwise,
he said, things could only get
worse.
Aides to Foreign Minister
David Levy denounced his as-
sessment as a "provocation," but
it begins to look as if someone is
paying attention. ❑

Oorts

Created specifically for youth ages 6-14
interested in learning specific sports, working
on their skills and having fun, Maccabi Camp
focuses on the basics of individual sports,
specific drills, games and scrimmages.

Choose from:

• Touch Football
Baseball
• Planet Rock-Rock Climbing • Basketball Unlimited
• US Blades Rollerhockey
• Detroit Rockers Soccer
• Karate
• Oakland Gymnastics
• Detroit Archery
1997 Session Dates, Times & Locations

Session I: June 23-July 17
Session II: July 21-August 14

ig7 j
S ommer

For more information or a detailed
brochure, please call the Maple/Drake
Building at (810) 661-1010
or the JPM Building at
(810) 967-4030.

•

*Some restrictions may apply.

PARENTS!

What are your teens doing
in the summer of '98?

!NULL*

summer 1998

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