Chronological Review of Events/December 1998 – DPR review

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Chronological Review of Events Relating to the

Question of Palestine

Monthly media monitoring review

December 1998

 1

Israel authorized the construction of 480 homes in the settlement of “Kochav Yaacov”, east of Ramallah, which will lead to more than tripling its size. (AFP)

Prime Minister Netanyahu reaffirmed his refusal to release Palestinian prisoners accused of attacks on Israelis as part of Isdrael’s obligation under the Wye River Memorandum to free 750 Palestinian detainees. (AFP, DPA)

Israel's army was planning to set up a new military college to prepare soldiers for combat in the Palestinian territories.  Maariv, quoting military officials, said the school was being set up in southern Israel and would focus on training soldiers to fight in built-up areas in preparation for possible combat in Palestinian villages and towns. (AFP)

PA President Arafat and US Secretary of State Albright opened the first meeting of a joint US-Palestinian Commission similar to those often set up for state-to-state contacts.  The Commission discussed trade development, assistance projects, cultural and scientific exchanges, and programmes to develop good governance.  Ms. Albright told the Commission the US and the Palestinian areas should expand trade through a plan to allow duty-free access for Palestinian goods.  Delegates agreed to meet again some time next January but did not fix the venue or date. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)

 2

Participants attending the first Palestinian Banking Conference in Gaza called on the banking and financial sectors to increase investment, reconstruction and development projects throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. (DPA)

Violent clashes broke out between stone-throwing Palestinian students and Israeli soldiers near Ramallah.  At least 15 students were injured, some by live ammunition and others by rubber-coated metal bullets.  None of the injuries were reported to be serious.  The clashes began after hundreds of students from Bir Zeit University had gathered in Ramallah to demand that Israel release Palestinians held in Israeli jails. (AFP, DPA)

A Palestinian man was stabbed to death in East Jerusalem and initial police investigations indicate that it was a politically motivated murder.  The 41-year old father of six, was stabbed to death on his way to work by an Israeli Jew.  The police said the attacker’s aim was to create political problem in the city. (Reuters, XINHUA)

Two bulldozers accompanied by three Israeli police and army vehicles destroyed five Palestinian houses and a number of huts and animal pens in an agricultural region near Jiftlik in the east of the West Bank. (AFP)

The Israeli Cabinet posed three conditions for the PA to fulfill before Israel will proceed with two additional redeployments in the West Bank scheduled to take place within the next two months.  The Palestinians must officially renounce plans to unilaterally declare an independent State on 4 May next year.  Israel is also demanding that the PA no longer call for the release of Palestinian prisoners "with blood on their hands" or those who are members of HAMAS.  It is also calling for the immediate halt of "incitements to violence" by the Palestinian side.  The PA rejected the three conditions.  The United States dismissed the Israeli conditions and said the Wye River agreements "should be implemented as signed." (AFP, DPA, Reuters)

 3

Dozens of Palestinian youths threw stones and bottles at Israeli vehicles and police in East Jerusalem protesting the murder of a Palestinian man by a suspected Jewish militant.  Israeli police opened fire with rubber-coated bullets at the protesters. (AFP, Reuters)

The Israeli-Palestinian permanent status negotiations, scheduled for 2 or 3 December, were delayed again. (AFP)

The Palestinian police barred Israeli trucks from carrying building materials to a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.  The settlers responded by blocking the main road used by Palestinians to ship cargo through the Karni crossing point into Israel, provoking a tense standoff between Palestinian police and the IDF. (AFP)

Israel requested that President Clinton not land at the Gaza International Airport when he arrives in the region, saying this would boost Palestinian claims to independence.  President Clinton was to arrive in Israel on 12 December and was to fly to the Gaza Strip on 14 December. (AP)

 4

The Government of Sweden confirmed that it had been conducting secret Middle East peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians since 1994.  Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh told the Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyra that the talks had been held with “some regularity”, with the former Minister for Foreign Affairs Sten Andersson acting as a go-between.  The two sides focused their talks on issues such as the Jewish settlement, the repatriation of refugees and the status of Jerusalem.  Ms. Lindh added that the talks had gone beyond the purview of the talks in Oslo in 1993, which led to the Oslo agreement, but she gave no more details. (DPA)

Prime Minister Netanyahu told US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that he had made no new demands on the Palestinians while suspending West Bank redeployment. (AP)

 7

President Arafat addressed the Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament during his visit on 5 and 6 December.  The visit marked the 10th anniversary of his declaration acknowledging the existence of the State of Israel and renouncing armed struggle by the PLO.  At the meeting, Mr. Arafat stated that the Palestinian side would not seek to enter into any military struggle or any arms race with Israel or any other party in the area. (AFP, XINHUA)

The US suggested to hold a three-way summit bringing together President Clinton, Prime Minister Netanyahu and PA President Arafat.  The meeting is tentatively scheduled to take place at Erez crossing on 14 December, before President Clinton addresses the PNC. (The Jerusalem Post)

At least 680 Palestinian prisoners launched a hunger strike over the weekend to protest Israel’s refusal to free political prisoners under the Wye River Memorandum.  Clashes between Palestinian protestors and Israeli troops broke out throughout the West Bank on 7 December as protestors demanded the release of some 2,500 prisoners.   Israel had agreed to free another 500 prisoners. (Financial News Ltd.)

 8

Prime Minister Netanyahu told US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross that further Israeli redeployment from the West Bank was unlikely despite the upcoming visit by President Clinton.  Mr. Netanyahu accused the PA President Arafat of "organizing violent demonstrations against Israelis" to press for the release of Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails and of vowing to proclaim an independent State "in violation of the agreement." (AFP)

Several people were injured in the West Bank as Palestinian youths again clashed with Israeli security forces.  Palestinian youths demonstrating against Israeli soldiers north of Jerusalem pelted officers with stones and set rubbish containers alight.  Security officers responded by shooting rubber bullets and tear gas grenades.  Several Palestinian youths were injured.  Nasser Erakat, 17, a Palestinian, who sustained serious head injures in clashes in the Abu Dis, east of East Jerusalem, on 7 December, remained on life-supporting equipment.  He was identified as a nephew of chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat. (AP, DPA, The Jerusalem Post)

 9

Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian teenager during violent protests outside Ramallah.  Jihad Ayyad, 16, was killed by a live bullet to the chest and a second youth was seriously wounded during a stone-throwing protest by several hundred youths who clashed with troops near the village of Selwad, north of the city.  More than 90 Palestinians were also wounded by rubber-coated bullets fired by the Israeli troops against protestors in more than a dozen places around the West Bank.  The protests, called to press for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, coincided with the 11th anniversary of the start of the intifadah.  Along with the protests, held in solidarity with some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth day of a hunger strike to press for their release, Palestinians also observed a general strike in most towns and villages. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)

US Secretary of State Albright urged the Israeli Government not to go back on its promise to make further troop redeployment from the West Bank.  Mrs. Albright, speaking in Brussels, said the Israelis could not add conditions to what was agreed with the Palestinians and President Clinton last October. (BBC)

Finland announced it would open a contact office next year in Ramallah to coordinate its aid to the Palestinian Authority.  The Finnish office will administer financial aid to development projects, which are either already in operation or planned for the future. (AFP)

10

The Palestinian Central Council voted overwhelmingly to accept changes to the Palestinian Charter.  In the vote, the 105 members present were asked whether they approved a letter from Chairman Arafat to President Clinton, in which the charter clauses offensive to Israel are declared revoked.  According to Salim Zaanoun, Chairman of the Palestine National Council, of those present, 81 voted in favour, seven voted against and seven abstained.  “After the Council looked at the letter that President Arafat sent to President Clinton in relation to the articles, which were deleted and amended in the national Charter, 81 members voted for, seven against and seven abstained,” Mr. Zaanoun told reporters.  The Palestinian National Council (PNC) is now scheduled to reaffirm the revisions at its meeting to be attended by President Clinton on 14 December in Gaza City.  But Prime Minister Netanyahu insisted again that the PNC meeting include a formal vote on the Charter.  "If the Palestinians don't hold the vote and respect their other obligations, Israel will not honor its end of the bargain," he said. (AFP, AP, BBC, DPA, Reuters)

11

Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank town of Qalqilya.  About 50 protestors were wounded, two seriously, in the clashes near Qalqilya during clashes over Israel's handling of the release of Palestinian prisoners. (AFP, AP, BBC, DPA, Reuters)

On the eve of President Clinton's arrival in the region, Secretary of State Albright said the US was expecting the second Israeli redeployment from the West Bank in line with the Wye River agreement. (AFP)

Israel affirmed today that it would not withdraw troops from the West Bank unless the PNC holds a vote to annul clauses of the PLO charter calling for Israel's destruction.  Israel also rejected a US compromise on the release of Palestinian prisoners. (AP)

14

The PNC overwhelmingly approved the cancellation of clauses in the 1964 Palestinian National Charter that were hostile to Israel.  PNC members rose from their seats and raised their hands in a vote approving the amendment of the Charter.  The delegates approved a letter PA President Arafat had sent to President Clinton last January, in which he had listed the charter clauses considered revoked.  The vote came after a speech by PA President Arafat.  Israel said the PNC meeting had met the Israeli Government's demands for annulling the provisions in the Charter. (AFP, AP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)

Palestinians officially opened the first Gaza Industrial Estate.  The 31,500-sq. metre (350,000 sq. ft) complex is expected to provide 20,000 jobs for Palestinians. (Reuters)

15

A trilateral summit meeting of President Clinton, PA President Arafat and Prime Minister Netanyahu broke up after 90 minutes with no joint statement by the three leaders.  Mr. Netanyahu refused to commit to a date for further troop redeployment and reiterated demands including Mr. Arafat’s publicly renouncing plans to unilaterally declare a Palestinian State. (AFP)

16

Prime Minister Netanyahu told his Cabinet that Israel would not carry out a further redeployment from the West Bank on 18 December since the Palestinians had not carried out their part. (AFP, AP, DPA, Reuters)

Israeli bulldozers tore down three Palestinian houses in various stages of construction in East Jerusalem.  The bulldozers escorted by police demolished a house whose roof had already been built and two others, which consisted only of walls in the Jabal Mukabber neighbourhood. (AFP)

Senior officials at the Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Office said that the further implementation of the Wye Memorandum would be put on hold until Israeli elections are held. (The Jerusalem Post)

17

Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian youth during clashes with demonstrators protesting the military strikes on Iraq.  Mohammad Ahmed Daoud, 19, died in Ramallah hospital after being shot in the heart with a live bullet by Israeli soldiers. (AFP, Reuters)

18

The European Union (EU) "continues to oppose Israeli settlement activity in the Occupied Territories as illegal and an obstacle to peace," according to an EU Settlement Watch Report on Middle East issued in Brussels.  The EU said the activity contravenes Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that "the Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."  The Settlement Watch Report is produced by the EU Consuls General in Jerusalem, the heads of the Representative Offices in the Palestinian Territories, and the EU heads of mission in Tel Aviv. (XINHUA)

19

At least 100 Palestinian protestors were wounded by Israeli troops when thousands took to the streets demanding an end to air strikes against Iraq.  Doctors at a field hospital set-up near the site of heavy clashes in Hebron said they had treated at least 100 wounded protestors including 15 people who were seriously injured. (Reuters)

20

Israeli Foreign Minister Sharon proposed a draft law to annex parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip if the Palestinians unilaterally declare a State.  If the Palestinians will declare sovereignty over territories in violation of the Wye and Oslo agreements, then we will have to protect our people and apply Israeli laws in zone "C", said Raanan Gissin, Mr. Sharon's spokesman. (AFP)

The Israeli Cabinet issued a decision containing the following five conditions Prime Minister Netanyahu views as essential for implementing further West Bank redeployment:

– Israel is seeking peace with the Palestinians and seeking to advance the final status talks.  Israel is committed to continuing the peace process in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.  Israel will fulfill its commitments in the process when the Palestinians fulfil their commitments.

– The Palestinian Authority should renounce its intention to unilaterally declare an independent State with Jerusalem as its capital.

– The Palestinian Authority should halt violence and incitement to violence.

– Israel will not release murderers and prisoners with blood on their hands.

– The Palestinian Authority should collect and destroy illegal weapons in hands of Palestinian Authority officials and civilians, detain murderers in areas under Palestinian control and fully cooperate with Israel in combating terror, as well as honour all other obligations under the Wye agreement.” (AFP)

The United States said it wanted implementation of the Wye agreement despite the Israeli cabinet decision. (Reuters)

21

Palestinian Council Speaker Ahmed Qorei said that while the question of early elections in Israel was an internal Israeli affair, using the peace process “to make personal gains was very, very dangerous.”  He said the PA had rejected the Israeli conditions in their entirety, calling them an “attempt to avoid implementation of the agreements.” (DPA)

22

Russia expressed concern about conditions the Israeli Cabinet had placed on its implementation of the Wye agreements.  “The decision of the Israeli Government cannot but give rise to our serious concern,'' Foreign Ministry Spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told reporters at a briefing.  “The Russian co-sponsor urges the sides to strictly abide by their assumed obligations, to display a sense of responsibility, restraint and good will in the interest of the prompt and constructive resumption of the process of implementation of Wye,” he said. (Reuters)

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah called in his Christmas message for Israel to unblock the peace process and for Christians and Muslims to work together. (AFP)

A Palestinian Airlines plane landed in Cairo on the first regularly scheduled flight from the new Gaza Strip airport to Cairo. (AFP)

23

The EU "deeply regrets" Israel's decision to suspend implementation of the Wye peace accord, the Austrian EU Presidency said in a statement.  "This decision goes against both the spirit and the letter" of the Wye Memorandum.  The EU said it "regrets particularly the Israeli Government's refusal to implement the second phase of West Bank withdrawal."  "The EU expects both sides to apply the Wye Plantation accord in full, without setting new conditions and within the agreed timetable," the statement read. (AFP)

26

PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said the PA was seeking a high-level meeting in Washington in January 1999 to persuade the United States to pressure Israel over the peace process. (AFP)

27

PA President Arafat called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to respect the Wye River accord, which has been blocked since Israel froze implementation this month.  Mr. Arafat, speaking to journalists in Gaza City after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, said Israel was obliged to fulfil its part of the agreement since it has been approved by both the Israeli Government and the Knesset. (AFP)

28

The Israeli army demolished two houses in the village of Kafal Al-Hareth north of Jerusalem.  One house was the residence of construction worker Hussam Abu Yakub, his wife and three children, while the second belonged to Awdeh Abdul Kader and seven members of his family.  The soldiers were reported to have used tear gas as they demolished Abu Yakoub's entire house and an extension added onto Abdul Kader's home. (AFP)

29

In clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli army in Hebron, the Israeli soldiers firing rubber-coated bullets wounded five Palestinians. (DPA)

30

Israel has threatened to close the recently opened Palestinian airport in Gaza because of a dispute over security.  Israel Radio said Israeli security personnel were prevented from checking an Egyptian plane bringing the PA President Arafat, back to Gaza from Cairo on 27 December.  The head of the Israeli Civil Aviation Authority said that if there was another similar incident, the airport would be shut down at once. (BBC)

31

The Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing issued tenders for the construction of 1,051 housing units for Jewish settlers in the West Bank.  Tenders for 651 housing units were issued for “Betar Elit”, south of Jerusalem, where some 10,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews reside.  The remaining 400 units are to be constructed in the settlement of “Ofarim”, north of Ramallah where some 400 settlers live. (AFP)

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