18
D i v i s i o n f o r P a l e s t i n i a n R i g h t s
Chronological Review of Events Relating to the
Question of Palestine
Monthly media monitoring review
January 2001
1
EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, visiting the Middle East, said that Europe supported the parameters for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal presented by President Clinton and urged both sides to accept them. Mr. Solana held meetings with Prime Minister Barak in Jerusalem and Chairman Arafat in Gaza City. (AFP)
By a vote of 56 in favour to 12 against, the Knesset passed a bill put forward by the right-wing opposition, according to which an absolute majority of 61 Knesset votes would be needed to authorize the return of Palestinian refugees to Israeli territory in the event of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. The new law stipulated that the Israeli Government could not sign a deal that contravened the law, but allowed the Defence Minister to authorize the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel only for humanitarian reasons. (AFP, XINHUA)
Following a bomb attack in Netanya, which left tens of people injured, Prime Minister Barak ordered the closing of the Gaza International Airport, the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and the Allenby bridge between the West Bank and Jordan, as well as the stepping up of the closure imposed on the Palestinian-controlled areas. (AFP, DPA, XINHUA)
2
Chairman Arafat met President Clinton in Washington. White House spokesman Jake Siewert said President Clinton had described the meeting as useful and intended to talk to Prime Minister Barak and “other leaders in the region” before getting back to Chairman Arafat. He said Mr. Arafat had “specifically agreed to intensify efforts to end or stop – reduce what they can – the acts of violence, particularly shootings, to arrest those responsible for the acts of violence, and to resume immediately security cooperation [with Israel] to combat terrorism”. (AFP, Reuters, XINHUA)
3
White House spokesman Jake Siewert announced that Chairman Arafat had told President Clinton that he accepted the US “parameters” for further negotiations, while at the same time he had expressed some reservations. Mr. Siewert said that the fact that both sides had now accepted President Clinton’s ideas, “with some reservations”, represented “a step forward”. (AFP, DPA)
Israeli public television reported that, following Chairman Arafat’s conditional acceptance of the US peace proposals, the “peace cabinet” of Prime Minister Barak decided to send an envoy to Washington for talks. According to the television report, Mr. Barak’s chief of staff Gilead Sher had been chosen to lead the negotiations. (AFP)
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said in a statement that Palestinian GDP fell to US$3.99 billion for 2000, US$580 million short of the target of US$4.57 billion, due to the Israeli closure imposed on the Occupied Palestinian Territory since late September 2000. The Bureau estimated the daily losses to the Palestinian economy, which is highly dependent on jobs and trade with Israel, at US$8.4 million. (Reuters)
The renewed closure imposed by the Israeli Government on the Occupied Palestinian Territory made itself felt, particularly in the Gaza Strip and around the cities of Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem, Ha’aretz reported. The Gaza Strip was essentially divided into three disconnected parts, forcing educational and medical institutions to shut down as a result. It was virtually impossible for Palestinians to leave villages around Ramallah, while in Bethlehem the IDF would not even let pedestrians cross roadblocks separating the city from nearby villages. (Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition)
Members of 10 Palestinian families said IDF had demolished their houses near the settlement of “Dugit” in the northern Gaza Strip. The homes, which housed at least 100 people, were flattened and 75 acres of grapes and strawberries were also bulldozed. IDF said it had carried out “several engineering jobs in the north of the Gaza Strip in order to prevent terrorist activities against soldiers and Israeli civilians” but maintained these jobs were conducted in an agricultural area and no residential building had been destroyed. (Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition)
4
Chairman Arafat briefed in Cairo a nine-member Arab League committee of foreign ministers on his talks with President Clinton on 2 January. Speaking after the meeting, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Moussa said the committee unanimously supported the Palestinian position on Jerusalem and the right of refugees to return. The dialogue should continue, Mr. Moussa said, in the hope that a settlement would be reached on the basis of UN resolutions 242, on the “land for peace” principle, and 194, on the refugees. Mr. Moussa mentioned that Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud had voiced his country’s rejection of any deal that called for settling Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. (AFP, Reuters)
Responding to questions by reporters upon his return from Cairo to Gaza, Chairman Arafat said he hoped an agreement with the Israelis would be reached before 20 January. PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said the Palestinians were prepared to sign a document ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This, however, could not take place within a declaration of principles but only in the framework of a final peace treaty and once all agreements between the two sides have been implemented. (AFP, Reuters)
Addressing Israel’s chief rabbis, Prime Minister Barak reiterated his position that he would not sign any peace agreement that would entail transferring sovereignty over the Al-Haram al-Sharif to the Palestinians. President Clinton, the Palestinian Authority and all those involved in the negotiations were aware of this position, a statement from Mr. Barak’s Office said. (AFP)
5
Prime Minister Barak’s chief of staff Gilead Sher, who had arrived in Washington the previous day, continued his talks with US officials, led by special Middle East envoy Dennis Ross, on how to calm the violence in the Middle East and on the Palestinian reservations regarding the US peace “parametres”. (AFP, DPA)
Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian near the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Israel, allegedly as he was trying to cross a security fence to attack an army post. At least 20 Palestinians were injured by rubber-coated metal bullets at the northern entrance of Ramallah, in clashes that broke out there after some 3,000 Palestinians marched through the town denouncing the recent US compromise proposals. Confrontations also took place in Tulkarm, Hebron and Nablus. (AFP, Reuters)
7
Speaking to the Israeli Policy Forum in New York, President Clinton outlined the “parametres” he had put forward to the two sides as “a guide toward a comprehensive agreement”, and which had been accepted, albeit with reservations, by Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat as the basis for further peace efforts. These five paremetres included (emphasis added):
1. The establishment of a “sovereign, viable Palestinian State that would accommodate Israel’s security requirements and the demographic realities”. It would include the Gaza Strip and “the vast majority of the West Bank”, while settlement blocks would be incorporated into Israel “with the goal of maximizing the number of settlers in Israel while minimizing the land annex, for Palestine to be viable must be a geographically contiguous State”; some territorial swaps and other arrangements would be needed to make the agreement “durable”.
2. A solution for the Palestinian refugees that would allow them to return to a Palestinian State, those who so wished, or find new homes in their current locations or in third countries, including Israel, “consistent with those countries’ sovereign decisions”. All refugees should receive compensation from the international community for their losses and assistance in building their new lives; the US would take a lead in raising the money necessary to relocate them in the most appropriate manner. One should not expect Israel to acknowledge an unlimited right of return to present-day Israel, as that “would undermine the very foundations of the Israeli State or the whole reason for creating the Palestinian State”.
3. An “international presence in Palestine to provide border security along the Jordan Valley and to monitor implementation of the final agreement” as well as “a non-militarized Palestine, a phased Israeli withdrawal, to address Israeli security needs in the Jordan Valley, and other essential arrangements to ensure Israel’s ability to defend itself”.
4. Four “fair and logical propositions” regarding Jerusalem: (a) It should be an open and undivided city, with assured freedom of access and worship for all, encompassing the internationally recognized capitals of two States, Israel and Palestine. (b) “[W]hat is Arab should be Palestinian” and (c) “what is Jewish should be Israeli”, while (d) “what is holy to both requires a special care to meet the needs of all”, with “mutual respect for the religious beliefs and holy shrines of Jews, Muslims and Christians”.
5. “[A]ny agreement would have to mark the decision to end the conflict, for neither side can afford to make these painful compromises, only to be subjected to further demands”.
President Clinton said he was using his remaining time in office “to narrow the differences between the parties to the greatest degree possible”. (Reuters, The Jerusalem Post – Internet Edition)
In separate West Bank incidents, a 20-year-old Palestinian woman was killed and a 10-year-old Palestinian boy was critically injured. (AFP)
8
PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo stated in Ramallah that “the most dangerous” aspect of President Clinton’s proposals was that they were nothing more than “general principles lacking guarantees on their application, and every point of which will require further negotiations”. “We have learned our lesson from the first Declaration of Principles [Oslo, 1993], after seeing that Israel immediately got everything we had signed on, while we have to negotiate for years to receive what we are supposed to get according to the agreement”. (AFP)
The Mufti of Jerusalem Ikrima Sabri issued an official fatwa (Islamic decree), according to which “The whole area of Al-Aqsa mosque, including the western wall and all the walls is a Muslim area according to Islamic interpretations and none other is allowed to control it or even practice religious rituals on it, or any part of it”. “The fact that the Jews are occupying Palestine, its mosques and Al-Aqsa mosque does not give them a right to the mosque and they cannot bargain on Muslim rights”, the fatwa continued. (AFP)
A meeting of high-level Israeli, Palestinian, US and Egyptian security officials, which had started in Cairo the previous day, broke up without result. The meeting was attended, on the Israeli side, by Tourism and Transport Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak and Shin Bet Head Avi Dichter; on the Palestinian side by the General Intelligence Service Head Amin al-Hindi, the Preventive Security Service Head in Gaza Mohammed Dahlan and his counterpart in the West Bank Jibril Rajoub; on the US and Egyprian sides by CIA Director George Tenet and his Egyptian counterpart General Omar Saliman respectively. The Palestinians had demanded that, in exchange for a resumption of security cooperation, Israel should lift its blockade of Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, something rejected by Israel according to Palestinian sources. (AFP, AP, Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition)
Ha’aretz reported that bypass roads, checkpoints moving eastward, blocked Palestinian roads and other similar measures implemented by the IDF in the West Bank, were all preparations for the eventuality of a unilateral separation, if it was so decided by the Israeli political leadership. (Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition)
Forty Palestinians returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca were stranded at the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip, at the Rafah crossing, closed by Israel since 31 December. Contacts by different international organizations to allow the Palestinians’ return to Gaza had not borne fruit, with Israel refusing to yield ground, an Egyptian official said. (AFP)
34-year-old Palestinian nurse Abdel Hamid el-Hurati was killed in an exchange of fire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians near the settlement of “Netzarim”, south of Gaza City, while 27-year-old Mohamed Ahmed Suf was killed by settlers after he had thrown rocks at them in the village of Hares near Nablus. The latest deaths brought to 373 the number of people killed since 28 September 2000, most of them Palestinians. (AFP, AP)
9
A meeting was held in Gaza City between Israeli Tourism and Transport Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak and Chairman Arafat. (Reuters)
The family of Fatah leader and PA official Thabet Thabet, killed on 31 December by IDF, filed a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court against the Israeli military’s policy of assassinating Palestinian activists. Lawyer Naila Atiah said she had collected evidence of 31 similar killings by the IDF since 28 September 2000, adding that the case was based upon Israeli law, which forbids any execution without a trial, and the Geneva Convention. Didi Remez of Peace Now said they hoped the Supreme Court, expected to announce whether it would hear the case by the end of the week, would accept the petition and would order the military to suspend its practice while it ruled on the case. The tactic of assassinating Palestinians deemed to be security threats was confirmed by Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh and by Knesset members. (AFP, DPA, Reuters, The Jerusalem Post – Internet Edition)
Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami criticized the Israeli Government's policy of imposing economic sanctions on the Palestinians as a pressure to reduce violence in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In an interview with Israel Radio, he said that one of the reasons for the continuous violence was the collapse of certain structures inside the PA, which was connected in part to the very tough “economic stranglehold” that Israel was imposing, adding that this was one of the reasons for the deep ferment within the PA. (XINHUA)
28-year-old Abdel Hamid Khanfar was shot in the head while standing with a group of stone-throwing Palestinians near Silat al-Dahar, near Nablus. 70-year-old Ibrahim Abu Maratif was shot in the stomach by Israeli soldiers, who fired from the “Kfar Darom” settlement as he was tending his field in nearby Deir Ballah in the Gaza Strip, according to sources at the hospital where he later died. Also in the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers shot two Palestinians after an explosion near the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing. A gunfight broke out near the crossing point and the Israeli army later entered the area with armoured bulldozers and razed a Palestinian house and water well. IDF also razed Palestinian agricultural land near the “Dugit” and “Netzarim” settlements in the Gaza Strip. (AFP, AP)
10
Following the previous days’s meeting between Israeli Tourism and Transport Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak and Chairman Arafat, Israeli and Palestinian political and security officials met at the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli delegation was headed by Minister Lipkin-Shahak and included Shin Beth Head Avraham Dichter and military commanders for the southern and central districts generals Dror Almong and Yitahak Eitan. The Palestinian delegation was headed by chief negotiator Saeb Erakat and included security service chiefs Amin el-Hindi, Mohammed Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub, as well as generals Abdelrazzak Majaideh and Ismail Jaber. Speaking after the meeting, Mr. Lipkin-Shahak described it as “the most positive in several months” and said that it had been decided to take steps to reduce the violence in order to permit the resumption of political negotiations. (AFP, XINHUA))
PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo told reporters in Ramallah that Israeli assassinations of suspected Palestinian activists amounted to “war crimes” and “Mr. Barak and the members of his Government are war criminals, who should be prosecuted” by the “International Court of Justice”. Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi added that the Palestinians, working alongside other Arab and human rights groups, were collecting evidence of the crimes in order to have the Israeli Government prosecuted. The Palestine Media Centre said in a “red paper” that “[s]o far over 19 cases of deliberate murders against known Palestinian activists have been documented”, adding that in recent days the Israeli army command had adopted a new “lax open fire policy”, which “allows Israeli soldiers to open fire with live ammunition almost indiscriminately for the mere suspicion of feeling a threat”. (AFP)
The Jordan Times reported that, due to the Israeli closure, between 7,000 and 15,000 Palestinians had been stranded in Jordan after spending Eid al-Fitr there. The closure of the border crossing at King Hussein Bridge was a “preventive measure” taken by Israel after recent attacks on Israeli targets, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Amman said. The Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Amman believed that at least 6,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip were waiting in Jordan for the lifting of the closure, and some 2,000 of them were staying in hotels in Amman but were unable to pay the bills. (XINHUA)
11
Following the previous day’s meeting between Israeli and Palestinian political and security officials, IDF eased restrictions on the Palestinians, by reopening the main north-south road in the Gaza Strip, the Karni (mainly commercial) crossing into Israel, the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and the Allenby Bridge leading to Jordan. The reopening of Gaza International Airport would be delayed to 12 January due to technical problems, according to the airport’s Director-General Salman Abu Halib. IDF also ended a round-the-clock curfew in Hebron but it was not clear whether the move was a result of the Beit Hanoun (Erez) meeting. Israeli Foreign Minister Ben-Ami announced that travel restrictions imposed on Palestinian VIPs had been lifted. (AFP, Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition, XINHUA)
Chairman Arafat’s senior aide Ahmed Abdel-Rahman said the PA rejected a Canadian offer to take in an unspecified number of Palestinian refugees under a possible future peace deal. “The home of the Palestinian refugees is Palestine and there is not one single refugee willing to accept an alternative to his homeland”, Mr. Abdel-Rahman said, and added that “[t]he Palestinian people will accept neither resettlement nor compensation”. Canadian Foreign Minister John Manley had been quoted on 10 January as saying that his country, chairing the multilateral Refugee Working Group set up by the 1991 Middle East Peace Conference, would be ready to accept Palestinian refugees and to contribute to an international fund to assist with resettlement in support of a peace agreement. (Reuters)
At the end of their two-day meeting in Tunis, the Arab League “follow-up committee” of nine foreign ministers (Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and Palestine), issued a statement pledging support for the Middle East peace process and the Palestinians but warning against “attempts to get around international resolutions and create new references for the peace process”. (AFP, Reuters)
Israel army radio said IDF had arrested four Palestinians wanted for what was described as “terrorist activities”, including two policemen, from a refugee camp near Bethlehem. (Reuters)
12
Another meeting of senior Israeli and Palestinians officials at the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing point ended with no breakthrough but with an agreement to continue the talks despite wide remaining differences. (AFP)
In an interview with Reuters aboard Air Force One, President Clinton said that, although progress had been made between Israelis and Palestinians, he was not sure if a deal could be reached before the end of his term in office. In any case, he said, one should hope that the peace process would keep going, but that would be the responsibility of the next US Administration and the winner of the Israeli elections. President Clinton emphasized that the Bush Administration was in no way bound by his peace proposals, unless there was some kind of agreement between the parties. (Reuters)
IDF allowed Gaza International Airport to reopen for only six hours, prompting protests by its Director-General Salman Abu Halib, who called this “a dangerous violation” of the agreement governing the airport’s operation stipulating that it should remain open around the clock. (AFP)
IDF shot dead a 22-year-old Palestinian, Shaker Hassouni, in Hebron. An AFP photographer who witnessed the incident said that, in response to the sound of an explosion, Israeli soldiers entered a Hebron restaurant and shot a man inside. The photographer added that the soldiers then took the man’s body, leaving a wide trail of blood behind. IDF said its soldiers shot and killed the man, who was carrying a pistol, after people standing behind him threw a bomb and shot at the soldiers. Five other Palestinians were wounded in Hebron by Israeli rubber-coated metal bullets, Palestinian witnesses said. According to AFP, the Hebron clashes were relatively minor and followed a march by some 2,000 Palestinians denouncing security coordination with Israel and the return to peace negotiations. A similar march of some 3,000 Palestinians in Ramallah also ended in clashes with Israeli troops. (AFP, Reuters)
Speaking at a news conference in Stockholm after meeting Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, whose country held the rotating EU Presidency for the first semester of 2001, PA Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nabil Shaath urged the EU to exploit a window of opportunity during the US presidential transition in order to raise its profile in the Middle East peace process and help avoid “the bloodshed and the potential risks of war that are still there”. (Reuters)
13
Senior Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Gaza City to continue discussions on security issues and efforts to forge a peace deal. The Israeli delegation comprised Foreign Minister Ben-Ami, Tourism and Transport Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, and Prime Minister Barak’s chief of staff Gilead Sher. The Palestinian delegation included Palestinian Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei, chief negotiator Saeb Erakat, Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo, and Gaza Preventive Security Head Mohammed Dahlan. The officials were joined by Chairman Arafat and Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Shimon Peres, who also held a one-on-one meeting. No breakthrough was reported but the parties decided to continue their talks in the coming days. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)
In his annual “state of the world” address to diplomats accredited to the Vatican, Pope John Paul II said the Middle East crisis risked getting out of control unless Israelis and Palestinians thought of their future together and respected the rights and traditions of each other. Saying it was “time to return to the principles of international legality”, the Pope listed these as the banning of the acquisition of territory by force, the right of people to self-determination, respect for UN resolutions and the Geneva conventions. He added that “otherwise, anything can happen, from unilateral rash alternatives to an extension of violence, which will be difficult to control”. (AFP, Reuters)
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Terje Rød-Larsen told Reuters that, despite the serious difficulties, he believed it was “possible in practical terms to reach a package [agreement] quickly, and it’s more a question of making painful decisions than negotiating skills at this stage”. He added that if issues related to the size, composition and contiguity of the Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Jerusalem were resolved, “this [would] pave the way for satisfactory solutions on other key issues related to the holy places, refugees and security”. (Reuters)
15
The Israeli Supreme Court decided to hear a case aimed at halting the Israeli policy of killing Palestinian leaders suspected of attacks against Israel. Lawyer Naila Atiah said the Court had ordered Prime Minister Barak’s Office to submit a brief explaining the policy by 30 January. “The very fact that the Supreme Court has accepted the case is huge”, said Didi Remez of Peace Now. (AFP)
Israel cancelled a negotiating meeting with the Palestinians and reimposed a total blockade on the Gaza Strip, including the airport and crossing points, following the abduction and killing of a settler from the “Kfar Yam” settlement, near Khan Yunis. Settlers in the southern Gaza Strip retaliated by clashing with Palestinians and setting fire to Palestinian homes, fields and greenhouses. (AFP, AP, Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition, Reuters)
On the basis of data from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics and the Construction and Housing Ministry, Knesset Member Mussi Raz (Meretz) said that the Israeli Government had granted building permits for 1,184 housing units in the Occupied Palestinian Territory during the first 10 months of 2000, with 529 of these units in the greater Jerusalem area. According to Mr. Raz, during the first 11 months of 2000 the Construction and Housing Ministry had begun building 1,626 units in the Territoty, up from 1,367 in all of 1999. This did not include private construction, which amounted to some 13 per cent of all building. The Israel Lands Administration had sold 2,804 lots for building in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in 2000, or 12.5 per cent of the total number of lots it had sold that year. Mr. Raz said that such data was incompatible with the Israeli Government’s stated efforts to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians and demanded that the Government put an immediate halt to all construction in the settlements. (Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition)
16
Jewish settlers continued their retribution against Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip, laying siege to the Al-Mawassi community. In the presence of Israeli soldiers, settlers bulldozed seven hectares of fruit orchards, which they had already burnt on 15 January, and beat women and old people who tried to stop them. The settlers also destroyed two greenhouses, sabotaged the motorized pump of a well and tried to set fire to a mosque. Witnesses said the settlers had parked four mobile homes in the Palestinian area. On 15 January, 100 settlers from “Gush Katif” had descended upon neighbouring Al-Muwassi to avenge the 14 January abduction and killing of a settler, blamed on Palestinians. The settlers had burnt seven empty houses, 15 plastic-covered greenhouses, 20 beach houses, farms, fruit trees and two cars. The Israeli military arrested two settlers for ransacking Palestinian property. Israeli police spokesman Yossi Koppel said that he was unaware of a rampage on 16 January, but that settlers involved in attacks on Palestinian property on 15 January would be prosecuted. Israeli President Moshe Katzav and the country's two chief rabbis called on the public not to take the law into their own hands, despite what they termed “Palestinian violence''. (AFP, DPA)
Another meeting of senior Israeli and Palestinian negotiators took place near Jerusalem. The Israeli delegation reportedly comprised Foreign Minister Ben-Ami, Tourism and Transport Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, and Prime Minister Barak’s chief of staff Gilead Sher. The Palestinian delegation included Palestinian Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei, chief negotiator Saeb Erakat, Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo, and Gaza Preventive Security Head Mohammed Dahlan. Before the talks, Mr. Qurei had said that the Palestinian side expected to receive the Israeli responses to the Palestinians’ reservations and questions about President Clinton’s proposals, while all other issues would also be discussed. After the meeting, Mr. Erakat said the discussions had been very in-depth and serious but the gaps remained and the negotiators would meet again soon. He added that the Palestinians had raised the issue of settlers’ violence and terrorism. (AFP, AP)
Amnesty International believed the number of Palestinians captured by the Israelis during the intifadah was about 500 and that many had been badly beaten immediately after arrest or had been subjected to lengthy interrogation while in detention, during which they were not allowed to sleep. The non-governmental Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) said that most of the detainees were under the age of 16; many were being held without charge in squalid, crowded detention camps; and there were reports that some had been killed. A PPS report quoted detainees and their relatives to the effect that Israeli troops had stormed Palestinian homes using dogs and batons to drag out youths and batter their relatives. PPS added that arrested Palestinians, who had been wounded by Israeli fire, had been denied medical treatment, while some detainees had been placed in vats of freezing water for hours to have information extracted from them. (Reuters)
A committee managing two Arab League funds, set up in support of the Palestinians following the Cairo Arab Summit in October 2000, decided to allocate US$37.5 million through the Islamic Development Bank for rehabilitation of hospitals and clinics, rebuilding damaged houses and supporting small industrial and agricultural projects in Palestinian areas. Last December, the committee had approved five projects worth US$7.5 million. (Reuters)
Prime Minister Barak concluded a meeting of his “peace cabinet” with a decision to continue talks with the Palestinian Authority at a slow pace, synchronized with an Israeli-Palestinian effort to reduce violence. Mr. Barak also decided to prepare for unilateral separation in the event that a peace accord did not materialize. The Prime Minister rejected a proposal from Shimon Peres that Israel and the PA would draft a document outlining points of agreement and contention between them but supported Mr. Peres’ continued contacts with the Palestinians. Mr. Barak accepted Foreign Minister Ben-Ami’s argument that there was no reason to halt talks with the Palestinians when President Clinton’s term in office ended on 20 January, since the current negotiations were conducted directly by the parties without relying on US mediation. (Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition)
Walid Khalil Al-Awadei, missing since 13 January, when he went to visit his sister in an area near the “Netzarim” settlement south of Gaza City, was found dead. According to hospital officials, Al-Awadei had been shot in the head and bled to death. Witnesses said the Palestinian ambulance sent to retrieve Al-Awadei’s body was shot at by Israeli soldiers. (AFP)
17
At an overnight meeting on security, the Palestinians demanded from the Israelis to lift the closure imposed on the Gaza Strip on 15 January. The Israeli side responded by partially opening roads and crossing points. (AFP, Reuters)
The European Commission approved 14.6 million euros (about US$13.7 million) in emergency aid to victims of the “humanitarian crisis” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The aid was to be channelled through the EU Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) and its main objective would be to tackle the growing risk of food insecurity and to prevent malnutrition among the most marginalized groups affected by the conflict. This aid programme was in response to a United Nations appeal for assistance to the Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The EU also provided funds for trauma counselling in 18 centres for Palestinian women and children suffering from psychological damage caused by the violence. (AFP, DPA)
A meeting between Chairman Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Ben-Ami, hosted by President Mubarak in Cairo, ended without a breakthrough. The proposal for marathon negotiations made by Mr. Ben-Ami was later agreed to by Chairman Arafat, who proposed that the negotiations should take place in the Egyptian resort of Taba. Prime Minister Barak was expected to examine the idea of intensive negotiations in the coming days. (AFP, DPA)
18
Talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators resumed in the Tel Aviv area. Present at the meeting were senior negotiator Saeb Erakat, Palestinian Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei, Palestinian Authority Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo and Gaza Preventive Security Chief Mohammed Dahlan for the Palestinians. The Israeli team included Foreign Minister Ben-Ami, Israeli Tourism and Transport Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, Prime Minister Barak's chief of staff Gilead Sher and Avraham Dichter, head of Shin Beth. (AFP, DPA, BBC)
Prime Minister Barak unveiled his peace proposals to Israeli voters in a televized address. He suggested that a “special authority” could be set up for Jerusalem’s Old City, with Israel keeping sovereignty over the Jewish area and the Wailing Wall. He stressed once again that he would never sign a peace deal that would place Al-Haram al-Sharif under Palestinian sovereignty and he repeated his opposition to any recognition of the right of return of Palestinian refugees. Mr. Barak reaffirmed an agreement for a “withdrawal from more than 90 per cent of the West Bank in return for keeping in that territory 80 per cent of the settlements” in settlement blocks. He added that these concessions would be very painful and should only be made in return for “a definitive and final peace deal” that would guarantee Israel’s security. (AFP)
19
In separate open letters published in Israeli and Palestinian newspapers, President Clinton praised both sides for striving for peace and urged them to make compromises and not give up their efforts, as they had never been closer to ending their conflict. In his letter to the Israelis, President Clinton acknowledged that violence had undermined confidence in the peace process and raised questions about whether Israelis and Palestinians could ever coexist peacefully. However, he added, “the violence … does not demonstrate that the quest for peace has gone too far – only that it has not gone far enough”. In his letter to the Palestinians, President Clinton said that they had never been closer to achieving their goals, namely “regaining [their] land, establishing a State, building a prosperous future for [their] children” and added that they should not “heed the voices of revenge and desperation” but should try to get results through peace and negotiations. (DPA, Reuters).
UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said in Damascus the Agency’s situation was “very serious”, facing a cumulative budget deficit of some US$70 million. He confirmed, however, that donors had responded promptly to UNRWA’s request for US$40 million in emergency aid to help Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Asked about whether the Agency had an estimate on how many Palestinian refugees would like to return to their homes, he said that, in the absence of a real choice, it should be expected that very few people would give up what rights they had in accordance with international law. (AFP, DPA)
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher announced a US contribution of US$80 million to UNRWA and said Washington wanted the money to be used mainly to support those affected by the current violence in the region. Mr. Boucher encouraged UNRWA to reform its accounting practices and renewed the US request for other donors to demonstrate their support to the Palestinians by increasing their own contributions. (AFP)
20
Prime Minister Barak’s “peace cabinet” approved a Palestinian proposal for 10 days of marathon peace talks in Taba, Egypt. (AFP, DPA)
21
Senior Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held their first round of talks at Taba, Egypt. The two sides agreed to form two working groups, one dealing with borders, Jerusalem and security and the other with refugees. Israeli Foreign Minister Ben-Ami, Tourism and Transport Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak and Prime Minister Barak’s chief of staff Gilead Sher would join Palestinian Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei, senior negotiator Saeb Erakat, Gaza Security chief Mohammed Dahlan and PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo in the first working group, while Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin would be with PA Planning and Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath in the second working group. (Reuters, XINHUA)
A 15-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli soldiers near the Karni crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian security officers said that there had been no clashes but the victim was protesting, along with 15 other Palestinian boys, against an Israeli army bulldozer clearing fields backed by two army jeeps. An Israeli army spokesperson said the circumstances of the incident would be examined by the army but claimed that the soldiers had been attacked by stone throwers and fired “warning shots”. (AFP)
An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said that there had been a meeting between the Ministry’s Director-General Alon Liel and the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee’s technical team, during which it was made clear to the team that “continuation of its activities, relating to contacts with Israeli authorities, can be discussed only after contacts at the senior political level between Israel and the new US Administration”. An Israeli source said the team had committed “a breach of trust” by failing to inform Israel of its visit to Al-Haram al-Sharif on 13 January and, as a result, Israel now wanted President Bush’s Administration to review the modalities of the Committee’s work. Israel had been informed by the Committee that it had delayed a visit to the region, initially scheduled for 22 January, until 16 February, the source said. The Committee later released a statement saying it relied on the full cooperation of the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to carry out its work and regretted the Israeli Government’s decision to temporarily suspend cooperation with it. (AFP, Reuters)
Prime Minister Barak told Israeli army radio that he had ordered the Ministry of Interior and the police to deny access to Al-Haram al-Sharif to equipment, such as tractors, which could be used to carry out “unauthorized works”. The Prime Minister’s announcement came after he was informed that the Waqf had dug a tunnel under the Dome of the Rock and had removed 1,500 tonnes of earth over the past few weeks, allegedly damaging the archaelogical remains of the Jewish Temple. Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat defended the Waqf’s right to undertake maintenance works and said Mr. Barak’s decision was a “blatant case of interference in the Waqf’s affairs”. (AFP)
22
PA Planning and International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath told Voice of Palestine Radio that the first round of talks at Taba the previous day was mainly an overview of Palestinian and Israeli positions. Mr. Shaath said the differences between the two sides remained large but the talks would continue as long as Israel was “serious” about them. He added that the talks were based on UN resolutions relevant to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and not on President Clinton’s bridging proposals, which were merely ideas. (DPA)
A five-page memorandum issued by the Palestinian negotiating team in Taba, said the US mediation efforts since the 1993 Oslo accord had been tainted by a clear pro-Israeli bias. The memorandum stated that the US had not concentrated on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and had been interested primarily in “helping Israel normalise its relations with the Arab and Muslim world at large”. Palestinian officials said the memorandum was intended to notify US President Bush of Palestinian dissatisfaction at the way President Clinton had mediated the peace talks and to urge him to “avoid making the same errors”. (Reuters, AP, AFP)
In remarks published in Al-Hayat, former US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross said the Clinton Administration’s position had been that the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) calling for Israeli withdrawal from occupied Arab lands was negotiable, while General Assembly resolution 194 (III) on Palestine refugees “was not viewed as a reference and it was not mentioned in the [1991] Madrid conference”. (Reuters)
The security chief of the West Bank Jewish settlement of “Hadar Beitar”, Nahum Kurman, who had been charged with beating 10-year-old Palestinian boy Hilmi Shousha to death in 1996, was sentenced to six months of community service and a fine of 70,000 shekels (US$17,000) by a Jerusalem District Court judge under a plea bargain deal. Israeli legal commentator Moshe Negbi told Maariv that the sentence “made a mockery of the law and the sanctity of human life”, while B’Tselem said in a statement that this was just another example of the different standards of punishment for Jews who kill Arabs and Arabs who kill Jews; it added that the court’s decision passed the message that “Palestinian life is cheap and Israeli civilians in the [occupied] territories can continue to treat Palestinians as if they were human punching bags”. (Reuters)
Israel announced it had opened its border to some 16,000 Palestinian labourers from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The list included men who had undergone extensive security checks, were above 35 years of age, married and with families and was submitted to the Palestinian Authority late on 21 January, so only a couple of thousand actually crossed to Israel from the Gaza Strip on 22 January. PA Labour Ministry Director-General Said Mdalal said Israel had issued permits for 9,445 workers in the Gaza Strip and 4,500 from the West Bank only for construction, farming, industry, cleaning and menial jobs. (AFP)
Israeli police said that no unauthorized work was underway at Al-Haram al-Sharif, dismissing earlier reports that Palestinians had dug a tunnel under the compound. The police found that the only work carried out was a replacement of water pipes and installations of electric lines. (AFP, Jerusalem Post Internet Edition)
23
The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem said in a report that Israeli security forces had killed at least 15 known Palestinian activists since late September. “The assassinations Israel has conducted in the past few months, like other assassinations in the past, violate both Israeli and international law and constitute extra-judicial execution,'' according to B'Tselem. (Reuters)
Senior Israeli and Palestinian negotiators resumed peace talks at Taba, Egypt, with the two delegations divided into four committees. The first committee, co-chaired by senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and Prime Minister Barak’s chief of staff Gilead Sher, was to discuss the status of Jerusalem. Israeli Foreign Minister Ben-Ami and PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo meanwhile were to examine maps for an Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The third committee was to concentrate on details such as the time-scale of a withdrawal, how long it would take to dismantle Jewish settlements and the role of an international force that would be deployed along the River Jordan on the border between a future Palestinian State and Jordan. That committee was being co-chaired by Gaza Security Chief Mohammed Dahlan and an Israeli security expert. PA Planning and Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath and Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin meanwhile were heading a committee dealing with the question of Palestinian refugees. Talks were later suspended for the parties to inform their respective Governments. (DPA, XINHUA, AFP)
Later in the day, Prime Minister Barak recalled his top negotiators from peace talks with the Palestinians in Taba, after the bodies of two murdered Israelis were discovered in the West Bank. A spokesman for Prime Minister Barak said that the talks had been "suspended until further notice" and that the ministers heading the Israeli delegation had returned to Jerusalem for consultations. Palestinian Council Speaker and negotiator Ahmed Qurei, who condemned the killings, said the talks would be delayed by at least a day. (Reuters, BBC, AFP, Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition, The Jerusalem – Post Internet Edition)
US Secretary of State Colin Powell decided not to appoint a new Middle East peace envoy to replace Dennis Ross. A State Department spokesman was quoted as saying that the US still had a vested interest in the peace process but would not be taking part in the negotiations. (Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition)
24
A Palestinian woman in critical condition, en route to the Ramallah hospital from a nearby village, died overnight, while being held up at an Israeli military checkpoint, Palestinian medical officials said. (AFP, Reuters)
The European Commission approved a new loan of 30 million euros (about US$28 million) to the Palestinian Authority to help it meet urgent expenses, including salary payments for public sector employees and running costs in the health and education sectors. Commission external relations spokesman Gunnar Wiegand said the PA needed the funds because of Israel’s “economic embargo” on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and its documented failure to transfer “large amounts” in tax receipts and customs revenue under a 1994 agreement monitored by the IMF. The loan was expected to be repaid into a special EU cash facility set up to provide emergency funding for the PA. (DPA, Reuters)
25
Talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators resumed at Taba. The talks began shortly after the arrival of chief Israeli negotiator and Foreign Minister Ben-Ami and Meretz party leader Yossi Sarid. Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and Prime Minister Barak’s chief of staff Gilead Sher had arrived earlier. PA Planning and International Cooperation Minister and negotiator Nabil Shaath was quoted by Israeli army radio as saying that the two sides were nearly in agreement on the borders of the future Palestinian State, leaving only four per cent of currently occupied land under Israeli control. Mr. Shaath was also quoted as saying that the remaining problems, such as the future status of Jerusalem and the return of Palestinian refugees could be resolved, “if we continue to negotiate with the same energy and seriousness”. The radio said the sides had agreed that over the next 20 years Israel would admit a total of 100,000 Palestinian refugees. (AP, AFP, DPA, XINHUA)
EU special Middle East envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos said the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had made progress in their talks and there was a feeling that a final agreement could be reached. He said the EU remained totally committed to contributing to the peace process and his presence at Taba since 23 January aimed at bolstering the talks. He added that the EU has been the main donor to the PA and would continue to provide the help necessary for the Palestinians to face up to challenges, especially in the economic area. (AFP, XINHUA)
Two Palestinians were killed overnight by Israeli troops near the “Gush Katif” Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. IDF said in a statement that its soldiers had opened fire at three Palestinians they had spotted trying to infiltrate the settlement. The Palestinian who survived denied this and said they were just sitting on a sandy hill talking when they came under fire from the settlement. (AFP, Reuters, XINHUA)
26
Talks between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators resumed at Taba, after a brief break late on 25 January over major differences regarding Israeli security demands and following the killing of an Israeli north of East Jerusalem. The Israeli demands, which Palestinians said would undermine the sovereignty of their future State, reportedly concerned open skies for Israeli military aircraft and installation of three early warning stations in the Jordan Valley, as well as arms dumps and bases for a rapid reaction force in case of an attack from the east. PA Planning and International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath was quoted as saying that Israel no longer insisted on controlling Palestinian borders with Egypt and Jordan and retaining a provisional presence in the Jordan Valley, but there was no confirmation from the Israeli side. Mr. Shaath also said there had been progress on the issue of compensation payments to Palestinian refugees but there was still no agreement on the key issues of the refugees’ right to return to Israel, the whole Jerusalem question, and border demarcation issues. (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition)
27
The Israeli-Palestinian negotiations at Taba concluded with the following joint statement issued by the senior negotiators of the two sides:
(Israeli Foreign Ministry website, PLO Negotiations Affairs Department website; Reuters, XINHUA)
28
Speaking at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, Chairman Arafat said Israel was waging “a savage and barbaric war” and “economic strangulation” against Palestinians and called on the international community to protect the Palestinian people from the “collective punishment” meted out by Israel. Nevertheless, he reiterated his commitment to “a comprehensive permanent peace, a peace of the brave”, as he did after talks there with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, where Chairman Arafat also stated he did not rule out meeting Mr. Barak before the Israeli election, if necessary. (AFP, Reuters)
Prime Minister Barak announced a halt to peace talks with the Palestinians until after the 6 February elections. Mr. Barak’s security advisor Danny Yatom said the Prime Minister had been left with little choice after Chairman Arafat’s “aggressive and incomprehensible” speech at Davos. A statement issued by Mr. Barak’s Office said that “talks on problems of security, termination of violence and terrorism” would nevertheless continue. Efforts to arrange a meeting between the Prime Minister and Chairman Arafat in Stockholm during the week were thus halted and the Swedish Government and the United Nations were informed accordingly. (AFP, Itar-Tass)
29
Palestinian Council Speaker and negotiator Ahmed Qurei told Al-Ayyam that any future talks with the Israelis should continue from where the ones at Taba had broken off, even under a Sharon Government. He warned that, if Mr. Sharon came to talk on the basis of his election campaign programme offering a Palestinian State 42 per cent of the Occupied Territory, there would be Palestinian resistance. In a separate interview with Voice of Palestine radio, Mr. Qurei said that negotiations at Taba had not reached any understanding or declarations of principle and had just achieved “one in a thousand of the results we hoped for”. He added that there were still large gaps, although there had been some progress on a land swap, with Israel offering 96 per cent of the West Bank. (AFP)
During clashes between the IDF and stone-throwing protesters near the “Neve Dekalim” settlement in the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops shot dead 21-year-old Mohammad Abu Moussa. In a separate incident, Palestinian security officials said Israeli troops had detained four or five Palestinian civilians, probably people working in the media, after stopping their minibus near the “Netzarim” settlement. Nine Palestinians had been wounded by Israeli gunfire in the Gaza Strip on 28 January. Among the wounded was a 12-year-old boy, who had a serious head injury. (AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)
In a report entitled “Overkill” the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group said the Israeli army had shelled Palestinian civilian areas indiscriminately with mortars, tank shells, grenade launchers and missiles since the start of the intifadah. A total of 25 people had been killed by the end of December as a result of Israeli shelling of Palestinian homes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the report added, with another 729 wounded and 3,882 made homeless. (AFP)
In an interview with Israeli television, President Mubarak said Israel was to blame for the four-month wave of violence and had to give Arabs their rights if it really wanted peace. He added that it was impossible to give up “total Palestinian sovereignty” over Jerusalem and the holy sites, and the Palestinian refugees’ right of return. (AFP)
30
Speaking in Stockholm, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was “very encouraged” by progress made between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators at Taba and expressed hope that negotiations would resume as soon as the Israeli election was over. The Secretary-General added that, according to the reports he had received, both parties had worked very seriously, constructively, and they were very close on almost all issues. The Middle East peace process came up in the talks the Secretary-General held with Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson and Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, whose country is holding the rotating EU presidency. (AFP, Reuters)
Israeli and Palestinian officials raised the possibility of a meeting between Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat in the coming days. Mr. Barak’s chief of staff Gilead Sher told Israeli army radio that international figures were continuing their efforts at organizing such a meeting and the Israeli side thought “something this important and crucial” should not be rejected out of hand. Yediot Aharonot reported that Mr. Barak had a change of heart about meeting Chairman Arafat following the latter’s “conciliatory” comments in an interview with Israeli Channel Two television broadcast on 29 January. PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo told Voice of Palestine radio that the Palestinians did not in principle reject such a meeting. Israeli media reports said a summit could take place in Egypt, under the auspices of President Mubarak, while a Palestinian official said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was trying to organize an Arafat-Barak summit. (AFP, Reuters, XINHUA)
PA Finance Minister Mohammad Al-Nashashibi said Israel continued to withhold customs duties and tax revenues owed to the PA, thus violating all economic agreements between the two sides. The Israelis had transferred only US$9 million of the US$400 million owed since the start of the intifadah, a Finance Ministry official said. (AFP)
Human Rights Watch wrote to Prime Minister Barak urging him to halt a policy of “liquidation” of Palestinians suspected of attacks on Israeli security forces and civilians. The organization said at least nine Palestinian suspects and six bystanders had been killed in questionable circumstances since early November 2000. “This is, in essence, a policy of killing without public accountability”, wrote Human Rights Watch Executive Director of the Middle East and North Africa Division Hanny Megally in a statement received in Nicosia by AFP. (AFP)
IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Shaul Mofaz, speaking to Israeli troops, said a serious escalation of violence was expected in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in the near future. He said there had already been a sharp rise in the number of incidents in the Gaza Strip and this was expected to spread to the West Bank too. “There are now no diplomatic negotiations, so the Palestinians have no incentives to foil terrorist attacks”, Mr. Mofaz said, and added that “[t]his is a recipe for escalation, though it could take two or three weeks”. Should the conflict worsen, Mr. Mofaz predicted there would be Palestinian attempts to attack settlements. (AFP, Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition)
Prime Minister Barak told an election meeting that he wanted to pull Israeli troops out of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as he had done from southern Lebanon. Mr. Barak was quoted as saying: “We are not going to stay indefinitely in Netzarim and Itamar”, referring to settlements in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank respectively. Speaking to members of the Foreign Press Association, Mr. Barak said he would contemplate seriously any suggestion from respected international figures for a meeting with Chairman Arafat before next week’s election. He outlined how Israel might unilaterally separate from the Palestinians, if peace talks failed to lead to an agreement. Mr. Barak said Israel would annex blocks of settlements, pull isolated settlements into these blocks and establish a security zone in the Jordan Valley. (AFP, DPA, Reuters, The Jerusalem Post – Internet Edition, XINHUA)
31
Maariv reported that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had overcome most of their key differences during the marathon round of talks at Taba, despite breaking up without an accord. Citing a “very senior Israeli official”, Maariv said the Palestinians had practically renounced their demands for a return of 3.7 million refugees into Israel, thus limiting the right of return to a future Palestinian State and to land that Israel would transfer to the Palestinians in the southern Negev desert, in return for annexing territories in the West Bank. In this respect, Israel would agree to a withdrawal from 94 to 95 per cent of the West Bank, allowing some 80 per cent of Jewish settlers to remain in the territory. Maariv also said the two sides had agreed that the Jewish quarters of East Jerusalem would remain under Israeli sovereignty, while the Arab areas would be transferred to Palestinian sovereignty. The two sides considered delaying for five years a decision on the holy sites, with joint control based on the status quo in the meantime. (AFP)
PA Minister of Local Government and senior negotiator Saeb Erakat and Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Liel signed in Jerusalem a six-month extension of the mandate of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. (AFP)
EU Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten told the European Parliament that the EU had “demanded that the remaining closures on the Palestinian Authority be lifted and [had] asked that Israel end immediately its withholding of revenue payments due to the Palestinian Authority”, noting that such policies were having “a devastating effect on the Palestinian economy and, as night follows day, on political stability”. (Reuters)
Israeli soldiers shot dead 50-year-old Ismail Ahmed Al-Telbani, while he was travelling in a car near the “Netzarim” settlement in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian security sources said. According to AFP, this death brought to 389 the number of people killed since the Palestinian uprising broke out in late September, including 326 Palestinians, 13 Israeli Arabs, 49 other Israelis and one German. (AFP, Reuters)
The Palestinian Authority said in a statement that it was ready to resume talks with the Israelis at any time, on condition that the Israeli delegation had the mandate to conclude an agreement. Israeli Foreign Minister Ben-Ami said, however, that the objective of such a meeting could not be the conclusion of an accord but rather “to ensure the future by specifying the basis of the negotiations and stabilizing the security situation”. (AFP)
* * *
Document Type: Chronology
Document Sources: Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR)
Subject: Intifadah II, Palestine question
Publication Date: 31/01/2001