The year 2000,
Syrian talks frozen, Palestinians talks bogged down and Barak facing scandal,
Germany apoligizes to Israel for Holocaust,
President of the Roman Catholic Church visits Holy Land,
Pope apologizes for church sins,
Pope supports Palestinian state on visit to Holy Land,
Syrian President Hafez Assad dies, his son Bashar takes over,
Jerusalem is holy to three great monotheistic religions,
Jerusalem at the very heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
Negotiators at Camp David try to unite Jerusalem,
Jerusalem solution: God takes charge of holy sites,
Barak issues ultimatum, after 10 days of fighting,
Mideast Erupts, Israeli attacks Palestinians in retaliation of soldiers death, the battle looks like a long one, even in Lebanon,
Israeli Barak will resign, but will run for re-election.

• 2/6/2000 - Many in Israel believe Barak has hidden strategy in talks by Karin Laub, The Associated Press.
      Jerusalem -- For what was supposed to be the year of Mideast peace, with promises of Israeli pacts with Syria and Palestinians and an end to battles in Lebanon, it's been a rocky start.
      Israel's talks with Syria are frozen, negotiations with Palestinians are bogged down and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, has seen his approval rating drop over campaign-financing scandal.
      Still, many in Israel believe Barak is using hidden strategy, mainly to settle with the Syrians first returning land in exchange for security guarantees, then hopefully the rest would follow.    He has sent a negotiator to secret meetings with Syrians in Geneva.
      Arafat walked out of a meeting with Barak, over Israel's refusal to hand over Jerusalem suburbs in a partial troop pullback due next week.    If Israel should hand back all the land it captured to Jordan, Egypt and Syria, Arafat would have to except a lesser deal.
• 2/17/2000 - German chief offers Holocaust apology.
      Jerusalem -- In an address, German President Johannes Rau asked Israel's parliament to forgive his nation for the Holocaust and pledged to fight a resurgence of anti-Semitism and far-right extremism in Europe.    Rau's speech, the first ever delivered to Israel's Knesset in German, was greeted politely by lawmakers, many of who praised his efforts to strengthen the sturdy ties between Israel and Germany and to express public responsibility for his nation's Nazi past.
• 2/20/2000 - Christian sect's history marked by persecution by The Associated Press.
      Cairo, Egypt -- Early Egyptian Christians endured persecution, torture and even death rather than budge on the definition of their faith.    Their contribution to early Christian theology and the part they played in the doctrinal disputes of Christianity's first centuries are seen as the foundation of what Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church is today -- an indigenous and fiercely nationalistic institution.
      Christianity arrived in Egypt with St. Mark, one of Jesus' disciples, around A.D. 43.    Twenty years later, he lost his life in the persecution of Christians as the official policy of the Roman empire.    In 313, Emperor Constantine ordered tolerance toward Christianity, but an estimated 800,000 Christians had died in Egypt.    This set the stage for Coptic ascendancy in Egypt, and in time nationalistic sentiments and doctrinal disputes, led the Copts to break from the rest of the Christian world.
      Eutyches, a priest and followers known as monophysites, were condemned in 451 at the Chalcedon Council, which held that Christ's nature was dual.    Persecution of the Copts as heretics by the Byzantine Greek Christians, the inheritors of the Roman empire, began in the sixth century and climaxed in the 10 years before the Arab conquest of Egypt in 640.
      The arrival of the Arabs ended the persecution of the Copts, but as time went by the Copts were pressured into accepting anti-Christian policies and many Christians began to embrace Islam.
• 2/20/2000 - Egypt's Copts prepare for pope's visit - Recent violence signifies tensions with Muslims - by Donna Bryson, The Associated Press.
      Cairo, Egypt -- In front of the Coptic Orthodox Cathederal, some artist depict the flight of Joseph, Mary and Jesus to Egypt, and native Egyptian Christians whose Coptic church has survived Roman persecution and Arab conquest, but today it faces uneasy relations with the Muslim majority.
      During a three-day visit by Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II, on a pilgrimage to the home of a Christian community that is the largest in the Middle East and one of Christianity's oldest branches.    Although Copts are just 10 percent of Egypt's 64 million people, the pope's visit comes at a time when violence is prevalent.
• 2/27/2000 - Pope fulfills his dream of visiting Holy Land by New York Times News Service.
      Mount Sinai, Egypt -- In the first papal visit to Egypt, the 79-year-old Pope John Paul II prayed at the spot where tradition says Moses once stood, and called himself a pilgrim "in the footsteps of God."
      The pope spoke at a monastery in a sixth century Greek Orthodox Church, and had once hoped to gather there Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders to symbolize reconciliation in the new millennium.    He fell to his knees and prayed when he visited a chapel, which tradition says was built on top of the roots of Moses' burning bush.
      The Greek Orthodox Church does not recognize the authority of the pope, and introduced him as "president of the Roman Catholic Church."    Unity between the two faiths would be a miracle.
• 3/9/2000 - Barak and Arafat meet at Sharm el-Sheik, revive talks and set new deadlines..
• 3/8/2000 - Pope plans historic apology for sins of Catholics - John Paul II's remarks may address Holocaust, Inquisition, Crusades - by Victor L. Simpson, The Associated Press.
      Vatican City -- Pope John Paul II plans to deliver a historic, sweeping apology for the sins of Roman Catholics over the centuries, Vatican officials said.    Releases claim it will at least allude to responsibility by the Catholics over the past twenty centuries in the Holocaust, the Inquisition, the Crusades and acts against other Christians in wars of religions.    Other sins considered were sins against women, the poor and failure to defend against abortion.    Since the church condemns homosexual acts, it was not considered.
      The purpose of this is the pope's call for a "purification of the church.
• 3/13/2000 - Pope issues apology for church sins - Repentance is for Catholic errors of last 2,000 years - by Alessandra Stanley, The New York Times.
      Rome -- "We humbly ask forgiveness," stated by Pope John Paul II, for the sins of the church members and the actions they took, not the church and the actions it took.    The apologies are for any wrongs or sins done by individuals, "the church is a sinless church, all of whose members are sinful."
      Other comments: The apology may even include the suppressions of scientific knowledge - including Galileo's observation that Earth revolves around the sun - and its belated condemnations of slavery and abortion.
      In 1522, Pope Adrian VI acknowledged the greed and excess of the papal court under his predecessor, Leo X, whose extravagances prompted the rebellion and reforms of Martin Luther.
      In 1963, Pope Paul VI expressed regret for the shared role of Catholic leaders in perpetuating the divisions within Christianity.
      Two years ago, Jewish groups expressed disappointment and anger that a long-awaited papal statement on the Holocaust did not address the alleged failure of Pope Pius XII to condemn Adolf Hitler or to protect more victims of his genocide.
      How will this apology change the events in the world?    Some claim that John Paul has struck a blow at the forces of demonization with religion, by beginning with his own religion and his own institutions.    So may be the rest will follow suite.
• 3/23/2000 - Pope affirms support for Palestinian state -1st official papal visit to Holy Land mixes prayer, politics - by The New York Times.
      Bethlehem, West Bank -- Deploring the plight of Palestinians in refugee camps as "degrading" and "barely tolerable," Pope John Paul II blended his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a momentous tour of a refugee camp and a stop in Palestinian-run Bethlehem that was, in everything but name, a state visit.
      "No one can ignore how much the Palestinian people have had to suffer in recent decades," John Paul told Palestinians at the official residence of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat in their 10^th meeting together..    "Your torment is before the eyes of the world.    And it has gone on too long."    "Only with a just and lasting peace -- not imposed but secured through negotiation - will legitimate Palestinian aspirations be fulfilled," he said.    Most see this visit as fraught with emotional political implications.
      The pope prayed at Al Maghtas, a site by the Jordan River where tradition holds that Jesus Christ was baptized.
• 5/20/2000 - Israelis, Palestinian police exchange fire by Adel Hanna, The Associated Press.
      Netzarim Junction, Gaza Strip -- Israeli soldiers in armored trucks and Palestinian policemen crouching behind cement blocks fired live rounds at each other despite efforts to keep a lid on violence as peace talks resumed in Sweden.
• 5/24/2000 - Israel withdraws from Lebanon after a 20-year occupation.
• 6/11/2000 - Syrian President Hafez Assad dies by Zeina Karam, The Associated Press.
      Damascus, Syria -- Hafez Assad, Syria's autocratic president who dreamed of Arab unity but watched his neighbors sign peace deals with Israel, died without winning back the treasured Golan Heights he lost to the Jewish state 33 years ago.    Assad, 69, had been suffering from heart problems.
      The death of the skillful and ruthless leader could deal a blow to Mideast peace prospects by ushering a prolonged period of instability, but it could also mean an opportunity for Syria to forsake at least part of its implacable enmity toward Israel.
      The Syrian parliament lowered the minimum age for presidents to 34, in order for Assad's son, Bashar to take over.    He will be brought into the ruling Baath Party leadership on June 17.
• 6/23/2000 - Refugees place little hope in peace talks by Jamal Halaby, The Associated Press.
      Baqaa Camp, Jordan -- One of the most difficult questions facing Palestinians and Israeli negotiations is the future of Palestinian refugees.    Currently, there is an estimated 1.5 million refugees living in 13 U.N.-run camps scattered across Jordan, part of an estimated 3.5 million Palestinians displaced, or are descendants of those displaced, by the 1948 and 1967 Middle East wars.    Palestinians want insurance of their right to return and compensation.    Israel maintains there is no blanket "right of return."
      At Camp David, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has reportedly offered to allow about 60,000 refugees to return to Israel under a family reunification scheme.
• 7/23/2000 - Talks approach 13-day standard set at first summit by George Gedda, The Associated Press.
      Thurmont, Md. -- When the first Middle East summit at Camp David took place almost 22 years ago, it took 13 days to achieve a breakthrough.    In 1978, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat were joined by President Carter at Camp David, and on the 13^th day they announced a deal under which Egypt recovered the Sinai Peninsula from Israel in exchange for Egyptian recognition of Israel.    This led to a peace treaty.
      The current negotiations involving Arafat and Barak are far more complicated, in that you have the Muslim vs. Jewish divide over Jerusalem.    Neither side seems to be interested in a compromise, there is only learning each others limitations.
• 7/31/2000 - Jerusalem an age-old battleground - Talks faltering over control of city, holy sites - by USA Today.
      Jerusalem -- The Camp David summit outside Washington has stalled and nearly collapsed over the vexing question of "who owns Jerusalem," threatening to dash the hopes of those seeking a lasting peace in the Middle East.
      Arafat is demanding full sovereignty over Arab East Jerusalem: Barak is willing to allow autonomy but not full control.    The international community has never recognized Israel's occupation, and the U.N. has passed resolutions calling on the Jewish state to quit Jerusalem and return to its original boundaries.
• 8/31/2000 - Jerusalem solution: God takes charge of holy sites by Karin Laub, The Associated Press.
      Jerusalem -- Israelis and Palestinians who have spent months wrangling over which side should control Jerusalem's holy sites are turning their attention to an idea first floated at Camp David: Put God in charge.
      The proposal to declare God the sovereign over shrines that are holy to both Muslims and Jews is still tentative, but it has potential to help defuse the most emotional dispute in the Mideast peace talks.    "Divine sovereignty," is something that can be pursued, since neither side wants to give up control over holy shrines.    If God is declared sovereign, both leaders might save face and no longer have to fear being branded a traitor to their religion.    Negotiators could then work on how sovereignty is expressed, such as who would be in charge of security and who would issue permits for renovations.
• 10/8/2000 - Barak issues ultimatum - Arafat has 48 hours to stop fighting, avoid all-out force - by Tennessean News Service.
      Jerusalem -- The Middle East stood on the brink of a full-scale war as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak threatened to unleash his military against Palestinian gunmen and to recover three soldiers seized by Lebanese (Hezbollah) guerillas.    Barak said Arafat could stop the fighting and gave him 48 hours to do so, or the 7-year-old effort to resolve the conflict between Jews and Arabs is over.    After 10 days of gun battles between Palestinians and Israelis, the violence expanded to the Lebanese border.    Barak vowed to win the return of the soldiers', even warning Lebanon and Syria of their responsibility.
      Barak said he was no longer convinced Arafat was ready for a peace agreement, and blamed him for the clashes, in choosing violence.
      Some claim that the trigger for the recent fighting was Israeli right-wing politician Ariel Sharon's visit on Sept. 28 to the Al Aqsa mosque compound and Palestinian frustrations.    Most likely it was Arabs, who deny any sovereignty to the Jews for Jerusalem.
      President Clinton shows concern.
• 10/13/2000 - Mideast Erupts.
      Palestinians gathered around a police station in Ramallah, West Bank, after Israeli attack helicopters hit it with rocket fire.    The police station and other sites were attacked in retaliation for the deaths of some Israeli soldiers.
      Israeli helicopters attack Arafat's compound in Gaza City.    Yasser Arafat flashed the victory sign to residents in the northern Gaza town of Bayt Lahiyah last night.    Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Arafat was never a target, and claims that Israel would hunt down those involved in the Israeli soldiers' death.
      The conflict is caused by a hate-filled Palestinian mob, in Israeli eyes, versus the arrogant Israeli military machine, in Palestinian ones, thus giving a devastating blow to a seven-year-old peace effort.    World leaders tried to get both sides to stop the Palestinian violence and the Israeli bombing.
• 10/17/2000 - Barak and Arafat agree to urge an end to violence at a summit in Egypt, by U.S., but fails to take hold..
• 10/25/2000 - Barak seeks coalition to save his government by The Associated Press.
      Jerusalem -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak stepped up his urgent quest for the political allies needed to save his fragile government,and the army warned it was bracing for extended clashes in Palestinian towns.    With no current prospect for a peace deal, Barak is focused on his own political survival.    In four weeks of fighting, 127 Palestinians have died, and most believe this uprising is different, more violent than the Palestinian intefadeh from 1987-93.
• 10/25/2000 - U.S.-Jordan free-trade deal includes labor, environment by The Associated Press.
      Washington -- The United States and Jordan reached agreement on a free-trade deal that for the first time would protect labor rights and environmental standards.
      The deal, which would remove all trade barriers between the two nations over the next 10 years, is only the fourth such pact the United States has with other countries.    The others are with Canada, Mexico and Israel.    President Clinton sees the pact as a way to bolster a principal U.S. partner in the Middle East, although the economic impact is small.
• 11/17/2000 - Barak warns Israelis to prepare for a long battle with Palestinians - Fatah, hit hard, insists the uprising will only intensify - by The Washington Post.
      Jerusalem --Barak warned Israel to prepare for a long and decisive conflict as they headed into the 50^th day of continuous violence with more clashes and threats of escalation.
      "We are in for a long battle that will really decide our future in this country, and it is a complex battle," Barak said.    Israeli missiles and tanks targeted the offices and headquarters of Fatah, the main Palestinian faction.    Israel has killed more than 220 Palestinians and wounded an estimated 7,000.    But Barak defended his tactics as the course of wisdom and efficiency.
      Fatah, founded by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, stated that the uprising will not only continue, but intensify.
• 11/25/2000 - Putin connects Arafat to Barak by phone for first time in weeks by The Associated Press.
      Moscow -- In his first plunge into Mideast peacemaking, President Vladimir Putin arranged for Arafat and Barak to speak by phone.    Russia is a co-sponsor of the Mideast peace process, it has kept a low profile till now, and is trying to exert some influence.    Arafat was in Moscow, and did promise Barak he would do everything he could to stop the violence.    This may have helped since the U.S. has a pro-Israeli position.
• 11/27/2000 - Israel faces fresh security problems - in Lebanon by The Associated Press.
      Kfar Chouba, Lebanon -- Israel - still engaged in violence with the Palestinians - faced fresh security problems in Lebanon, where it rained missiles and machine-gun fire in retaliation for a Hezbollah bombing that killed one soldier.
      The assault was Israel's first cross-border retaliatory attack since pulling its troops from southern Lebanon in May after an 18-year occupation of a border enclave there.    Lebanese President Emile Lahoud commented that Israel is alone responsible for this.    Palestinian death toll is now at 270 persons.
• 12/10/2000 - Israeli leader says he will resign by Dan Perry, The Associated Press.
      Jerusalem -- His popularity sapped by two months of fighting with Palestinians, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Barak said he would resign and call a special election with two months as "a reference on peace."    Barak made clear he would run for re-election.    Obviously a political move, to return to a peace platform, which got him elected before.    Many people have lost faith in the peace process.
      Fighting has continued for the past 10 weeks, 309 people have been killed.
  
  

Last updated January 24, 2004.