Section A · Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, March 2, 2000
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Bill threatens Israel-Syria peace deal
The Associated Press
JERUSALEM — Israel's parliament gave preliminary approval yesterday to a bill that could doom an Israel-Syria peace accord or even bring down Prime Minister Ehud Barak's coalition government.
The measure, which raises the percentage of votes needed to win approval of any peace deal in a national referendum to a nearly unattainable amount, could limit Barak's bargaining ability or lead Syria to conclude there is no point in negotiating further.
In a 60-53 vote, lawmakers gave preliminary approval to the Likud opposition bill, which would require an absolute majority of eligible voters in a referendum to approve a peace deal with Syria.
Even with Israel's traditionally high turnout rate of nearly 80 percent, about 65 percent of those actually voting would have to approve the treaty — a highly unlikely result.
Parliament's move came as Deputy Defense Minister
Ephraim Sneh, returning from talks in Washington, said he had a gut feeling that negotiations would resume in a month.
Israel and Syria held two rounds
of peace talks in the United States in December and January after a nearly four-year break. Syria called off the third round in January, and the talks have not restarted.
The parliament vote showed that a
majority would rather keep the strategic Golan Heights, captured in the 1967 Middle East war, than trade most or all of it for peace with Syria, as of Barak proposes.
Barak: bill threatens his negotiations for peace
Cabinet ministers pledged to bury the bill in committee, but the message was clear — Barak's coalition, designed to ensure approval of peace deals, failed its first real test.
Stitching together a motley coalition with widely divergent views and constituencies, Barak took office last July declaring that his governing team represented a wall-to-wall desire for peace.
Instead, Orthodox Jewish elements and a party of immigrants from the former Soviet Union voted for the Likud attempt to scuttle a peace accord with Syria along Barak's lines.
barak dismissed the importance of his stinging defeat, saying that no parliamentary maneuver would change the fact that the people had elected him to change the reality in the Middle East.
According to a law passed last year, peace accords altering Israel's borders require approval in a referendum. Barak's party said a simple majority of those voting should decide.
Explaining support by his Orthodox Jewish Shas party for the Liked bill, Religious Affairs Minister Yitzhak Cohen said that Syrian President Hafez Assad apparently did not want peace.
Syria is not making their task any easier. While predicting the peace talks would resume, Sneh said that success was not a guarantee.
Sneh complained about frequent Syrian media comparisons of Israel to the German Nazis who murdered 6 million Jews during World War II.
At the same time, Syria encouraged Hezbollah guerrillas to attack Israel soldiers in South Lebanon, he said.
"They want to bring us bleeding to the negotiations," Sneh said in an interview.
Internal Security Minister,
Shlomo Ben Ami, agreed.
"I am more worried about the kind of messages Assad sends to us," he said. "We shouldn't persuade him about the problems of Israeli democracy."
Silvan Shalom, the Likud lawmaker behind the referendum threshold bill, beamed after winning the vote. He said if Barak intended to offer Syria all of the Golan Heights, he would not bring peace, he would not bring security and would not get approval for the agreement.
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Participating KU Card Merchants
Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream Shop • The Bike Shop • Brown Bear Brewery • The Casabal • Children's Book Shop • Classic Gourmet Coco Loco Mexican Cafe • Domino's Pizza • Duds N Suds • Francis Sporting Goods • Gibson Pharmacy • Jayhawk Bookstore Johnny's Service Center • Johnny's Tavern • Lawrence Family Care • Lawrence Memorial Hospital Business Office & Gift Shop Lawrence OB-GYN *Mail Boxes Etc.* Mal Salon, Mr. Gatti's Pizza *Orchard Drug* *Randall's Formal Wear* *Sportcenter University Bookshop* *Yellow Sub* *KU Academic Computing* *Burge Union Bookstore* *Burge Union Technology Center KU Cashier/Comptroller's Office* *Jaybowl (Kansas Union)* *Kansas Union Bookstore* *KU Lied Center* *KU Parking Prairie Room (Kansas Union)* *KU Recreation Services* *KU Registrar's Office* *KU School of Business-Study Abroad (Italy)* KU Student Housing • SUA • Student Union Business Office • KWatkins Health Center For a complete list of participation stops, stop by Commerce on Campus located in the Kansas University.
For a complete list of participating merchants, stop by Commerce on Campus located in the Kansas Union.