Thursday, October 9, 1997
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 7
First meeting in eight months between Netanyahu, Arafat
The Associated Press
JERUSALEM — In the hard-tofigure world of Mideast peacemaking, Israel's attempt on the life of a Hamas leader may actually move the cause of peace forward.
By strengthening the Islamic militant group Hamas, the bungled attack has pushed Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat toward their own unlikely cooperation.
Yesterday, the two held their first meeting in eight crisis-ridden months — something even U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was unable to bring about when she visited the region last month.
Arafat had adamantly refused for months to meet with Netanyahu, saying he did not want to be in a U.S.-engineered photo opportunity in which Netanyahu could claim commitment to peace while making no concessions to the Palestinians.
However, as a byproduct of the botched Sept. 25 assassination attempt in Jordan, Netanyahu was forced to free from jail Arafat's biggest political rival, Sheik
Ahmed Yassin, who founded Hamas in 1988 and assumed legendary proportions while in Israeli custody.
Back home in Gaza, the charismatic Yassin — a 61-year-old quadriplegic who is nearly blind and cannot speak above a whisper — is expected to consolidate Hamas and increase its political power.
For Arafat, this means that he has to contend with a serious challenger for the first time since he returned from exile in 1994 to run the Palestinian Authority. The only way Arafat can ensure continued majority support is to make progress in the peace talks with Israel — something on which he has staked his political future.
That's why after months of refusal he was suddenly willing to meet with Netanyahu — albeit like thieves in the night, before dawn and with TV cameras kept far away so there would be no handshake pictures.
Netanyahu also emerged weakened from the scandal triggered by his decision to have agents of the famed Mossad spy agency kill
Khalid Mashaal, a Hammas political leader in Amman, Jordan.
Critics of the attempt and there are many - said Netanyahu displayed terrible judgment by ordering an operation he should have known would embarrass Jordan's King Hussein, his only friend in the Arab world.
The prime minister has survived a string of scandals during his 16-month rule and the Mashaal affair probably won't bring him down, either. But with each scandal, questions about his ability to govern grow, and his approval rate keeps dropping — down to about one-third now.
And with the annual budget vote, the only time his coalition can be toppled by a simple majority in Parliament, approaching in December, he is more vulnerable than ever.
Netanyahu knows that the vast majority of Israelis favor peace talks with the Palestinians, so his best bet to win back popular support, and please the increasingly exasperated Americans, is to make progress in the negotiations.
Yeltsin battles Russian Parliament
The Associated Press
MOSCOW — Russia's unruly lower house of Parliament moved toward a showdown with President Boris Yeltsin yesterday, pushing closer to a no-confidence vote despite an appeal for calm from his premier.
Prime Minister Viktor Chermyrdin tried to cajole the lawmakers in a conciliatory address opening Parliament's 1998 budget debate and asked them to give reform a chance.
"The country doesn't need no confidence votes," he declared. "We need to work together with the Parliament."
Most lawmakers were unimpressed; they unanimously passed a motion denouncing the government's performance in the previous year as "unsatisfactory."
A no-confidence vote, which could come as soon as next week, has no practical effect under Russian law unless it is followed by a second such vote within three months.
Even then, Yeltsin would be faced with two choices: He could either dismiss his Cabinet or disband the Parliament.
All the same, the move suggests that Yeltsin's relations with the hard-line Duma are likely to remain combative as the administration pushes for tax reform, expanded property rights and an austere 1998 budget.
The pro-reform president and anti-reform Parliament have clashed repeatedly in the past, and for several weeks have been moving toward a new confrontation on the budget.
Yeltsin insists on making deep
cuts, curbing state subsidies and expanding private ownership. Communists and the other hardliners who control Parliament want to restore state subsidies, especially to the tattered military.
The Russian constitution gives the president the upper hand in most confrontations with legislators, and Yeltsin has talked tough, threatening to dissolve the Duma. But Yeltsin can't pass the budget without lawmakers' support.
Communist Party leader Gennich Zuyuganov accused Yeltsin of destroying the country and its economy.
"We express no confidence in the economic course of Yeltsin and his government." Zyuganov said.
Communists and their allies have more than the 226 votes needed to pass a no-confidence measure in the 450-seat house.
DARES TO SCARE YOU AT A SPECIAL FREE SCREENING
mandalay ENTERTAINMENT R COLUMBIA PICTURES
$$$ LET US $$ $ SHOW YOU THE MONEY
Turn your time into dollars by day or by night.
Norrell Services has partnered with Sprint TELECENTERs Inc. to staff their telemarketing center located conveniently at the Riverfront Mall. 400 Immediate Openings Up to $8.00 per Hour
For confident customer service oriented people who are willing to work in a fast-paced production driven environment. Norrell offers:
- Day/Evening/Weekend Shifts
- Part-Time and Full-Time
- Short-term and long-term assignments
- Attendance and Quality bonuses
Norrell also offers $50.00 referral bonuses to employees who refer qualified employees in these positions.
Help us help you earn extra money for the holiday season.
Call Norrell now for an immediate interview.
913/838-7832