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
May 1998
1
US Vice President Gore's final round of talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended without yielding any tangible progress in efforts to break the deadlock in the stalled Middle East peace process. (DPA)
At its a regular meeting in Ramallah, the Palestinian cabinet, chaired by PA President Arafat, accepted the US proposal to move the Middle East peace process. The proposal calls on Israel to turn over 13.1 per cent of the West Bank to Palestinian civil control while maintaining full military control. Another 14 per cent will move from such joint administration to total Palestinian control, said Nabil Shaath, PA Minister of Planning and International Cooperation. Currently, only 2.6 per cent of the West Bank and is under full Palestinian civil and military control. “We are committed to the American proposal,” said Mr. Shaath, “not one inch less.” (DPA)
2
US Vice President Gore met PA President Arafat in Ramallah. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)
PA President Arafat called on the Russian Federation and the United States, as co-sponsors of the Middle East peace talks, as well as on the European Union member countries to save the peace process. In his address to the Palestinian people on the occasion of 1 May holiday, Mr. Arafat urged the world community to strengthen efforts in order to make Israel fulfil all the agreements reached earlier with the Palestinian Authority, as well as the UN resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978). (Itar-Tass)
3
Pope John Paul II said he was praying for progress at Middle East peace talks in London. “Tomorrow, May 4, there will be important meetings that aim to overcome the serious difficulties that the peace process between the state of Israel and the Palestinians is experiencing,'' the Pontiff said in a regular weekly address. “I join in the feelings of those who have proposed and accepted this initiative in the profound hope that the two sides, and those who are involved in helping them, may foster a strong will to embark again on the path of dialogue and peace.” (AP, Reuters)
4
Prime Minister Netanyahu and PA President Arafat began separate talks in London with the British Prime Minister and the US Secretary of State. (AFP)
5
Secretary of State Albright announced that President Clinton was ready to invite the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to Washington, on 11 May, for another round of negotiations if Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to a US proposal for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank. Mrs. Albright told a press conference at the end of the negotiations that new round depended on the parties taking up the US proposal. PA President Arafat accepted the invitation, while Prime Minister Netanyahu said only that a Washington meeting was "a possibility." (AFP, CNN, Itar-Tass)
6
Prime Minister Netanyahu said he would reject an invitation to attend the next round of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in Washington, D.C. if the US tried to dictate the scope of an Israeli troop withdrawal from the West Bank. At a meeting with his inner Cabinet he said: "I am ready to travel but if they say I should go according to their conditions, we are a sovereign State and cannot accept dictates." A meeting of Israel’s full Cabinet was expected to decide on the US proposal on 10 May. (AP, DPA)
Switzerland signed an agreement to give the Palestinian Authority US$5 million to help rehabilitate former prisoners held by Israel, Intisar Al-Wazir, PA Social Affairs Minister, said. (AFP)
7
The Yediot Aharonot reported that a week-long delay in the proposed Washington summit was likely in light of Israeli requests for more time to decide on the issue in the cabinet. The paper said the US would agree to the delay if Prime Minister Netanyahu made sincere efforts to convince his Government to accept the plan. (DPA)
The European Union Presidency called on the Government of Israel to accept proposals presented by the US at the London talks. The statement said that the acceptance of the American proposals, which included an early withdrawal of Israeli troops from 13 per cent of the West Bank, would help to revive the peace process. It would also improve the climate for talks on the final status of the occupied territories, said the statement. (DPA)
8
US special Middle East envoy Dennis Ross arrived in Israel and met Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss US proposals for a troop withdrawal from 13 per cent of the West Bank. (AFP, Reuters)
9
The Middle East peace talks scheduled in Washington, D.C. for 11 May, were cancelled because of "differences" between Israel, the PA and the United States, the White House said in a statement. "The President's invitation to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat to initiate final status negotiations in Washington on Monday was conditioned on an understanding on all the issues," the White House said in a statement read to AFP after US envoy Dennis Ross had met with Prime Minister Netanyahu. "Based on Ambassador Ross's discussions today, differences remain. Ambassador Ross is returning to Washington on Sunday and will report to the President and to the Secretary of State," the statement said. (AFP, Reuters)
11
France said it “deplored” the “intransigence” shown by Prime Minister Netanyahu when he had refused to attend a Middle East peace summit in Washington with PA President Arafat and President Clinton. “We regret that the meeting offered by the Americans in Washington did not take place and we deplore Israel's intransigence,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne Gazeau-Secret told reporters. “French authorities will continue to support with determination American proposals which are, for the time being, the only realistic basis on which to resume negotiations to carry forward accords which have already been concluded,” she said. (AFP, Reuters)
12
Saeb Erakat, chief Palestinian negotiator, said the Palestinian side would insist on an immediate Israeli troop withdrawal from 13 per cent of the West Bank, as proposed by the US, and would not accept a new Israeli plan to hand over the land in two instalments. He said he had been assured repeatedly by US officials, most recently on 11 May, that their proposal would not be watered down. (AP)
Israeli army officers presented a plan for total separation between Israel and Palestinian areas of the West Bank. The plan, based on an array of high-tech electronic fences and minefields, would cost over NIS1 billion (US$270 million), officers told the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Knesset. (DPA)
13
The European Commission called for the EU not to allow imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories to benefit from trade privileges granted to Israel. The EU executive, meeting in Strasbourg, adopted a policy paper which said there was evidence that exports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and from East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights were wrongly being granted preferential access to the huge EU market. The document said there was also evidence that many Palestinian products produced or processed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were being exported to the EU as if they originated in Israel. The EU would check the allegations. If confirmed, it said, the violations “should be brought to an end.” (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Prime Minster Netanyahu arrived in the US for a five-day visit, including talks with Secretary of State Albright on reviving the stalled peace talks. (AFP, Reuters)
14
Nine Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip in confrontations with Israeli troops during marches organized by the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to commemorate fifty years of Palestinian displacement and dispossession. The protests turned violent in the southern Gaza Strip and at the Israel-Gaza border. Demonstrations were also held in Palestinian-ruled cities in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. In Hebron, sharp clashes erupted on the dividing line between Israeli- and Palestinian-ruled sectors of the town. (AFP, AP, Reuters)
During the daily press briefing, the US Department of State spokesman James Rubin expressed the US position regarding the killing of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. He said: “Let me start by saying that we deplore the outbreak of violence in the West Bank and Gaza today, which resulted in the deaths of eight Palestinians, apparently including two children, and involved hundreds of people wounded. We deeply regret the deaths that have occurred, and extend our sympathies to the families of those killed and the many who have been wounded. Clearly, this outbreak reflects a deterioration in relations between Israelis and Palestinians, and underscores for all to see the need to break the impasse in the peace negotiations. For the sake of Israelis and Palestinians alike, it is essential that this process get back on track and an agreement be reached. In this regard, it is critical that the decisions required to do so be taken as quickly as possible. We urge both sides to exercise maximum restraint and do everything possible to diffuse the situation and to restore calm. (US Department of State Web Site)
Israel's internal security agency Shin Beth tortures 85 per cent of the Palestinians it interrogates in violation of the UN convention on torture, an Israeli human rights group said. "Shin Beth interrogates between 1,000 and 1,500 Palestinians every year, and in 85 per cent of cases they use torture," said the B’Tselem group in a statement. (AFP)
Prime Minister Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Albright met for the second time in two days on how to bridge the gap over an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank. (Reuters)
15
Palestinian protesters hurled stones at the Israeli troops near Al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem and in several areas of the West Bank, including Hebron, where four Palestinians were injured by the Israeli troops, and in the refugee camp of Jalazoun. A group of around 200 Palestinian youths also clashed with soldiers at a checkpoint outside the Jewish settlement of Alon Moreh, near Nablus. (AFP, AP, Reuters, XINHUA)
The Russian Foreign Ministry voiced concern at the shooting and killing of nine Palestinian protesters and called on both sides to show restraint. Recent "developments have exacerbated the atmosphere of mutual distrust between the sides and create new difficulties to implicating the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement quoted by Interfax. "If no urgent and firm steps are taken (that) could result in dangerous repercussions for the entire Middle East peace process," it said. (AFP)
16
Eighteen Palestinians were arrested during protests in East Jerusalem in continuing unrest following the killing of Palestinian protesters in Gaza on 14 May. Clashes of Palestinian youths with the Israeli soldiers were also reported in Hebron. (AFP, AP, DPA, Reuters)
18
Israel Radio reported that Israel had agreed to US demands for a staged withdrawal from another 13 per cent of the West Bank on condition the Palestinians give up a further pullback scheduled for later this year. However, Marwan Kanafani, an aide to the PA President, said the Palestinians would reject Israel's reported proposal. (AFP, AP)
Israeli troops lightly wounded six Palestinians in clashes in Hebron. Some 30 Palestinians threw stones and petrol bombs at the Israeli soldiers near a Jewish enclave in the city. The soldiers fired percussion grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets, one of which struck a 13-year-old boy in the stomach. Other protesters wounded were all in their teens. The Israeli army also forced closed all Palestinian-owned shops in the areas near the Jewish enclaves in the city. (AFP, AP, DPA, Reuters)
Norway’s Labour party leader and former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland opened a two-day meeting of the Council of the Socialists International with a call for the creation of a Palestinian State. "There will be no peace in the Middle East before the Palestinians have their own State," Mr. Jagland said. (AFP)
According to The Jerusalem Post, a new US-Israeli document, designed to guide negotiations with the PA, is being finalized for review by Prime Minister Netanyahu. The final version of the document will also have to be approved by the PA. (The Jerusalem Post)
US Secretary of State Albright began talks in London with PA President Arafat. (Reuters)
19
The 120-nation Socialist International, meeting in Oslo, called for the creation of an independent Palestinian State and urged Israel and Palestinians to break their deadlock over the Middle East peace settlement. The unanimously adopted statement said Israel must “withdraw from the Palestinian and other occupied Arab territories, allowing the Palestinians to practice their inalienable right to self-determination and the setting up of an independent Palestinian State.” The statement also urged the Israeli Government “to desist from unilateral practices, particularly those of collective punishment, which undermine mutual confidence, and to bring the settlement policies aimed at establishing a de facto situation in the occupied territories, to an immediate close.” (AFP, AP)
Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers for a sixth straight day in Hebron. About 20 Palestinian demonstrators hurled stones at the Israeli soldiers who guard the Jewish enclave in Hebron. The troops responded by firing rubber bullets but no casualties were reported. (AFP)
PA President Yasser Arafat, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and the World Bank President James Wolfensohn signed a document in Bethlehem establishing a US$50 million Peace Technology Fund for high-tech investment in the Palestinian territories. The fund organizers hope to increase it to a total US$100 million. (AFP)
20
In an Israeli Supreme Court case on the permissibility of torture, the State's attorney said that Israel was “at war” with Palestinian militants and had no choice but to use force in interrogations. A special nine-judge panel had been asked by four Palestinian detainees and two human rights groups to outlaw violent interrogations by the Shin Bet security service. (AP)
21
According to David Bar-Illan, an aide to Prime Minister Netanyahu, the latter wants to resume direct negotiations with the Palestinian side and hold a summit with PA President Arafat to break an impasse in negotiations. (AP)
22
Israel said that plans by France and Egypt to hold an international conference to save the Middle East peace process were designed to blame it for the negotiating deadlock. "This kind of a conference is an attempt to brand us as responsible for the stalemate in the peace process," said Eytan Bentzur, Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Egyptian President Mubarak and French President Chirac made the conference proposal on 18 May after meeting in Paris. No details were given on the date or venue of such a conference. French officials indicated that the proposed conference would initially be attended by surrounding countries not at war with Israel and by outside interested parties such as the major powers. The four central parties would join in the next stages. (AFP, AP)
24
Israel held its first military parade to commemorate the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967. Palestinian protests erupted in parts of the West Bank. In Bethlehem, scuffles broke out, between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian workers barred from entering Jerusalem. Some ten Palestinian youths were injured by rubber bullets in the stone-throwing clashes. (AP, AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)
Israeli army radio reported that Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai had warned fellow cabinet members that a failure to end the deadlock in peace talks with the Palestinians would lead to bloodshed. "If we do not quickly reach an agreement there will be bloodshed. … We must ensure that the peace process continues while making adjustments required for the security needs of Israel," he said. (AFP)
The PA said it had urged the US to set a one-week deadline for Israel to accept the transfer of another 13 per cent of West Bank land to Palestinian self-rule. (Reuters)
25
Jewish militants were caught illegally laying the foundations for eight new homes in East Jerusalem's Old City. The militants, members of the Israeli far-right Ateret Cohanim movement, damaged the 400-year-old wall surrounding the Old City by digging sewer lines and pouring cement into some openings in the wall. Ateret Cohanim activists also evicted a Palestinian woman from her home in the same area, claiming they had bought the building for Jewish residents. Israel’s antiquities department said that the construction had begun without any permit. (AFP, DPA)
The Israeli army removed a strip of roadside stands owned by Palestinian stone-workers outside a Jewish settlement of Elqana. An army bulldozer, accompanied by some 50 soldiers, demolished 15 roadside shacks owned by Palestinians to carve and sell decorative stone building materials near the village of Masha, south of Nablus. The soldiers also confiscated some carving equipment, saying that the stands were illegal. (AFP)
26
Israeli police beat Palestinian legislators when they tried to tear down illegal makeshift houses erected by Jewish settlers from Ateret Cohanim movement in East Jerusalem's Old City. Around 40 members of the Palestinian Council came to the site and tried to tear down the houses erected overnight by the settlers. Israeli police and border guards intervened and beat the council members with batons and threw the senior Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erakat, and the top PLO official in Jerusalem, Faisal Husseini, to the ground. (AFP)
European Commission Vice President Manuel Marin told Ha’aretz that Prime Minister Netanyahu's handling of the peace process was undermining all attempts at Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. He said in the interview that "political dialogue with Israel, de facto, is non-existent." (AFP)
27
The Israeli soldiers tore down 15 tents, home to around 170 Palestinians, and destroyed some 30 animal pens and barns in the village of Jiftlik in the northern Jordan valley. The soldiers destroyed some of the tents without allowing their owners to get their belongings out. They also dragged a partially paralysed Palestinian man over the ground when he refused to evacuate his home and beat him. (AFP)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Moussa said in Cairo that Arab leaders were consulting on the impasse in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and that a proposed Arab summit was in the works. (AFP, Reuters)
28
Jerusalem city workers demolished the last of seven sheds set up by Jewish settlers from the right-wing Ateret Cohanim trying to establish a new enclave in East Jerusalem. However, in a compromise negotiated by Israeli Cabinet ministers, the settler group was authorized to maintain a presence on the disputed plot, just inside the Old City's Herod's Gate. As part of the deal, the Israel Antiquities Authority will conduct a salvage dig on the land, a necessary step in winning a construction permit. Ateret Cohanim has said it hopes to build a large Jewish seminary at the site. Palestinian officials expressed concern over the forthcoming excavation. Palestinian Council member Khatem Abdel Khader said on Israel Radio that the Palestinians were outraged over the agreement reached between the Israeli authorities and the Ateret Cohanim settlers and demanded that the settlers leave the site. "As long as Israeli authorities try to find a legal cover for the presence of extremists, they are pouring oil on the fire and will create the ground for an explosive situation," said Hanan Ashrawi, member of the Palestinian Council from east Jerusalem. (AFP, AP, The Jerusalem Post)
Ha’aretz reported that PA President Arafat had endorsed a proposal by US Secretary of State Albright to prolong American negotiations with the Israeli Government by ten days. (DPA)
29
A group of ten Israeli soldiers intercepted a Palestinian fishing boat and beat four fishermen from their boat off the coast of Gaza City and detained them in the Israeli port of Ashdod. One of the fishermen said the soldiers had beaten him with a club with a nail embedded in it. (AFP)
30
The PA called on the international community to "impose economic and political sanctions on Israel" for its antagonistic attitude towards Arab countries. According to a statement issued on the results of the Palestinian government session, the efforts taken by the United States, Europe and Arab countries fail because Israel refuses to comply with the resolutions and demands of the international community, to respect and observe the Israeli-Palestinian agreements. (Itar-Tass)
Speaking in Abu Dhabi, UAE, PA President Arafat said that the US had promised to announce its proposal on Israeli withdrawal from West Bank. The US Secretary of State Albright had made the promise in a recent telephone call to the PA President, but without saying when the proposal would be made public. (XINHUA)
31
Ultra-Orthodox Jews scuffled with Palestinians outside Jerusalem's Old City at the close of morning prayers for the Jewish holiday Shavuot. The clashes broke out at Damascus Gate, one of the entrances to Jerusalem's Old City. Eight people were hurt: two ultra-Orthodox Jews, four Palestinians and two Israeli policemen. In Hebron, about two dozen young Palestinians threw stones at Israeli soldiers. Two Palestinians were slightly wounded when the soldiers fired rubber bullets. (AFP, AP, Reuters)
PA President Arafat said in Gaza City that most Arab States had endorsed a Palestinian proposal to hold an Arab summit to coordinate positions on the Middle East peacemaking. (Reuters, XINHUA)
* * *
Document Type: Chronology, Report
Document Sources: Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR)
Subject: Palestine question
Publication Date: 31/05/1998