Chronological Review of Events/July 2000 – DPR review

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

July 2000

 1

After a meeting with President Chirac on the very day that France took over the rotating EU Presidency, Chairman Arafat called upon the EU to play an effective role in helping relaunch the Middle East peace process, which he said is at a dangerous and difficult turning point. President Chirac reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to the basic principles of the peace process, including UN Security Council resolution 242.  (Reuters, XINHUA)

3

The PLO Central Council, meeting for a second day in Gaza, expressed determination to declare a Palestinian State on 13 September, even if it led to clashes with Israel.  (AFP, Reuters)

5

A report prepared by the office of the UN Special Coordinator Terje Rød-Larsen said that the overall performance of the Palestinian economy had improved significantly in 1999, although there had been a decline in the value of approved investment projects and exports to Israel – the main export market for Palestinian goods – had dropped in real terms.  The report said there had been few Israeli border closures of Palestinian areas in 1999 compared to previous years and that Palestinian labour flows to Israel had risen by 15 per cent.  (Reuters)

President Clinton announced the holding of a three-way summit with Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat on 11 July at Camp David, Maryland.  (AFP, Reuters, EFE, XINHUA)

 6

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the move by President Clinton to convene a three-way summit with Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat, expressed his full support, and called for a “peace of the brave” as a successful outcome would require decisions and compromises which would be painful for both sides.  (AFP)

10

Dozens of Palestinians protested outside the “Kfar Darom” settlement in the Gaza Strip against the killing of a Palestinian woman, mother of eight, by Israeli soldiers.  Five more Palestinians were wounded when Israeli military opened fire at a vehicle passing near the settlement in the night of 8 July.  The Israeli army issued a formal apology and attributed the incident to contradictory messages regarding another car, from which shots had been fired against an Israeli outpost in the area, and to the overall tension prevailing in Gaza in expectation of potential future clashes.  A statement by the Palestinian Authority on 9 July said Israel was responsible for the attack and demanded that the soldiers involved be put on trial.  According to the Palestinians, the incident showed that the presence of settlers in proximity to Palestinian populations caused trouble and that all settlements had to go in order to have peace in the region.  (Ha’aretz, Reuters)

11

President Clinton opened the three-way summit at Camp David and urged Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat to seek a "principled compromise" to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  (AFP, Reuters)

15

Three Palestinian journalists suffered serious injuries while covering clashes between Palestinians and Jewish settlers in Hebron.  The Israeli soldiers did nothing to stop the settlers and even joined them in attacking photographers and cameramen, the Photographers Committee of the Palestinian Journalists Union claimed in a statement.  (AFP)

20

Despite an initial announcement late on 19 July that the summit had ended without an agreement, Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat remained at Camp David and continued the peace talks, with Secretary of State Albright at the helm of the US team. President Clinton was expected to “assess the status of the talks” upon his return from the G-8 summit in Okinawa, Japan.  The future of Jerusalem had reportedly been the major sticking point in the negotiations.  (AFP, DPA, Reuters)

The European Commission approved an 8.5 million euro (US$ 7.9 million) humanitarian aid package for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the Occupied Territory.  The aid, to be channelled through the EU’s Humanitarian Office (ECHO), was meant to help refugees and other conflict victims rebuild shelters and improve health care and water supplies.  (AFP, DPA)

25

Having concluded that the two sides were unable to reach an agreement, President Clinton left Camp David bringing the 15-day peace talks to a close. Jerusalem reportedly remained the most intractable problem throughout the talks, followed by the fate of Palestine refugees.  A statement released by the White House indicated that Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat had agreed to a number of principles, which would guide their future negotiations, including a continuing commitment to efforts at concluding an agreement on all permanent status issues as soon as possible in order to put an end to the conflict and achieve a just and lasting peace; negotiations free from pressure, intimidation and threats of violence on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338; avoidance of unilateral actions that would prejudge the outcome of negotiations; and close consultation with the US Government, which remained a vital partner in the search for peace. In his statement to the press, President Clinton said that, despite the lack of a final agreement, substantial advances had been made by the parties on the core issues and an agreement could still be reached by 13 September.  (AFP, BBC, EFE, Federal News Service, Reuters, US Newswire)

26

Senior Israeli and Palestinian officials, including Palestinian Authority Presidency Secretary-General Tayeb Abdel Rahim and Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh, agreed to limit tension and avoid confrontation in the sensitive period following the breakdown of the Camp David talks.  (AFP, Reuters, XINHUA)

28

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed concern over declining development aid provided to the Palestinian territory by international donors in recent years.  In a report on aid to the Palestinian people, the Secretary-General said that, while the Palestinian territory remained one of the largest recipients of development aid, there had been a general trend of decline over the three-year period from 1997 to 1999, with disbursements falling from US$513 million in 1997 to US$417.1 million in 1999.  (Reuters)

In an Israeli TV interview, President Clinton said he was considering moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and warned Palestinians of the consequences of unilaterally declaring a State.  (AFP, DPA, Federal News Service, Reuters)

30

Top-level Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held two separate meetings, one in Jericho and another one in Gaza. An immediate result was the signing of an agreement on extending the mandate for international monitors in Hebron by another six months. Israeli-Palestinian talks on interim issues, such as the release of prisoners and further West Bank land transfers, as well as on broader final status issues were expected to continue in the following days. Meanwhile, the post-Camp David intensive diplomatic activity in the region and beyond continued, with Chairman Arafat visiting Arab capitals after his trip to Paris, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Edward Walker visiting Egypt and other countries in the region, and US Secretary of State Albright heading to a meeting with her Vatican counterpart in Rome.  (AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)

*   *   *