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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 July 2000 Issue No. 489 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 July 2000 Issue No. 489
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region Focus International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters State stall
ISRAEL's Prime Minister Ehud Barak held talks yesterday with his British counterpart Tony Blair on the Middle East peace process and how to break the deadlock in the negotiations with the Palestinians.Israeli diplomats said Barak will press Britain to discourage Palestinian President Yasser Arafat from unilaterally declaring an independent state in September, whether or not a settlement is reached.
Barak then flies to France to meet President Jacques Chirac on the next leg of a journey aimed at rallying European support before crucial talks on a final Middle East settlement.
Spy strike
PROTESTING against what they claimed was a "complete lack of backing" by the government, agents of the Mossad, Israel's secret intelligence agency, said they were planning to refuse further missions in protest of the trial in Switzerland of a self-confessed agent.The agent was sent to stand trial in Switzerland for a bungled wire-tap attempt on a naturalised, Lebanese-born car dealer suspected of being linked to the Hizbullah guerrilla movement in Lebanon.
Apart from wiretapping, the agent, who was travelling under the alias "David Bental", was charged with entering the country using genuine papers with false names, political espionage and carrying out illegal acts for a foreign state.
Israel's radio reported that the Mossad agents were also frustrated over what they said was the rejection of many planned missions by Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Reuters reported.
Long battle
IRAN'S Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urged the Lebanese Shi'ite Hizbullah group to remain vigilant in its long battle against Israel. The comment came Tuesday during talks with Hizbullah head Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.This is the Hizbullah leader's first visit to Iran since the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Khamenei assured Nasrallah of Iran's steadfast support but noted that the "movement is well established to make its own decisions in complete independence, coupled with wisdom." AFP reported.
