Jerusalem, 21 November 1999
Cabinet Communique
(Communicated by Cabinet Secretariat)
At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday), 21.11.99:
1. In the absence of Prime Minister Ehud Barak, today's cabinet
meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
David Levy.
2. The Foreign Minister briefed the cabinet on the OSCE
conference in Istanbul and the diplomatic meetings held there.
The head of the Israeli negotiating team with the Palestinians
also briefed the Cabinet on the Palestinian positions regarding
the second stage redeployment maps agreed to at Sharm el-Shiekh.
3. The Cabinet decided to recommend that the Knesset declare a
State of Emergency, in accordance with Basic Law: Government,
until 28.7.2000. On 1.2.99, the Knesset declared a State of
Emergency for a period of one year, ending on 26.1.2000. In
accordance with a previous Cabinet decision on this matter, work
has begun on examining the legal arrangements affected by the
existence of a State of Emergency and a number of laws of this
type have already been abrogated. The procedures to prepare for
the termination of the State of Emergency have been accelerated
in recent months, with the objective of soon being able to avoid
the necessity of having to request an additional extension of the
State of Emergency.
4. The Cabinet approved - for immediately placement on the
Knesset agenda - the draft bill on protection of intellectual
property in respect of integrated circuits. The bill is intended
to provide for the protection of intellectual property rights in
accordance with the WTO Agreement of Trade Related Aspects of
International Property Rights Including Trade in Counterfeit
Goods (TRIPS) which Israel signed in 1995. [The bill will provide
for the protection of intellectual property rights regarding the
commercial research and development of integrated circuits while
balancing the need to guarantee free competition and maximum
distribution of knowledge in this field.]
5. The Cabinet approved the establishment of a National
Environmental Council whose job will be to place environmental
issues on the public agenda and before decision-makers at all
levels. The Council will be comprised of representatives from a
wide range of environmental, economic and social sectors in
Israel.