Chronological Review of Events/August 1995 – DPR review

CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW OF EVENTS

RELATING TO THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE

August 1995

Monitored from the media by the

Division for Palestinian Rights

1 August Hundreds of Israeli settlers took over two hills near the settlements of Beit El and Kedumim near Ramallah in a third day of protest against the anticipated expansion of the Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.  Israeli police evacuated dozens of them.  (The New York Times, Reuter)

Ezzedin al-Qassam, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, issued a leaflet claiming responsibility for the suicide bombing of an Israeli bus in the Tel-Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan on 24 July.  In Beirut, an anonymous caller from a Lebanon-based group called Hezbollah-Palestine also claimed responsibility.  He named the bomber as Jamal Fayez al-Yussef.  (Reuter, AFP)

The World Bank Board of Directors recommended that $90 million in surplus funds be used for further assistance to Palestinians in the  West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  The money would be deposited to the existing Trust Fund for Gaza administered by the International Development Association (IDA).  The proposal needs to be approved by the World Banks governors.  (Reuter)

3 August Dr. Nabil Shaath, in charge of the Planning and International Cooperation Department, announced that the Palestinian Authority has received $520 million from donor countries since the Palestinian self-rule began in May 1994.   He added that needed funds were still short of  $720 million for the first year alone.  (AFP)

The Israeli Council of Jewish Settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip called for a three-day truce in their physical struggle aimed at preventing the expansion of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.  The decision came after President Ezer Weizman appealed to the Council to stop the confrontation between settlers and Israeli troops, who had evicted hundreds of settlers from three West Bank hills.  (AFP)

PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat urged the United States to expel Mr. Mussa Abu-Marzuk to an Arab country and not to Israel.  Mr. Abu- Marzuk, who is believed to be a key leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, was arrested by  United States immigration authorities on 27 July.  (AFP)

The United States House of Representatives has adopted a bill waiving restrictions on U.S. dialogue with the PLO and allowing aid to the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.  The bill was sent to the Senate for adoption.  (Reuter)

5 August The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has called on the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Conference to put pressure on the United States to release Mr. Mussa Abu-Marzuk who was accused of being a leader of Hamas. (Reuter)

6 August Israeli security forces sealed off  the shrine of al-Aqsa (Al-Haram al-Sharif) in  East Jerusalem after dozens of Israeli Jews tried to force their way into the compound.  A PLO spokesman condemned the closure and described the act as a real  injustice. (AFP)

8 August The United States Government formally arrested Mr. Mussa Abu-Marzuk, believed to be a key leader of Hamas.  It was also reported that the extradition process to Israel to face charges of terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder has begun. (AFP)

9 August The Israeli authorities decided to seal off the Gaza Strip after receiving security reports about an attempt by the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, to blow up a car in Tel-Aviv.  The closure would take effect at 1.00 a.m. on 10 August, barring Palestinians in Gaza from entering Israel.  (Reuter)

10 August Libya has begun to expel to the Palestinian self-rule areas Palestinians who were placed by the Libyan Government in temporary camps near its border with Egypt.  Security officials at the Egyptian border checkpoint of Al Saloum reported that around 400 Palestinians have already crossed Egypt from Libya. PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat dispatched a representative to Cairo to discuss the issue with the Egyptian authorities in an effort to change the Libyan decision of expelling the more than 30,000 Palestinians living in Libya.  (AFP, The Washington Post)

Hundreds of Israeli settlers, including men, women and children, camped out on Hadagan Hill, near the settlement of Efrat, to protest the expansion of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.   A small group of settlers also took over a hill near Beit El settlement outside Ramallah.  (AFP)

 

12 August The Israeli authorities extended the closure of the Gaza Strip until 13 August. (AFP)

13 August Following several extensive meetings held between 7 and 11 August in Taba, Egypt, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres initialed an interim agreement on expanding Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.  In a joint statement, both leaders announced that several issues had been resolved, including control of rural zones in the West Bank, military redeployment, Palestinian prisoners release, taxation, economic development and amending the Palestinian national charter.  Water sharing and the issue of Hebron were among the  intractable issues that were yet to be solved. The agreement was ratified by the Israeli cabinet.  (The Washington Post, Reuter)

An Israeli border policeman was lightly wounded when a bomb exploded near a joint Israel-PLO patrol jeep.  The Islamic Salvation Front claimed responsibility for the attack.  (Reuter)

An Israeli settler shot dead Khairy Mohammed Abdel-Hafeez, a Palestinian from Dura al-Qara village north of Jerusalem.  The killing took place when about 100 Palestinians demolished a makeshift hilltop camp set up by settlers on the village land as part of their campaign to prevent the expansion of the Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.  (The New York Times, Reuter)

14 August The Israeli authorities decided to keep the Gaza Strip sealed off from Israel until 16 August, extending the security measures for a seventh consecutive day.  The closure was already extended three times. (AFP)

A group of 170 Palestinian police officers arrived in Gaza City from Algeria to take part in a joint patrol with the Israeli army.   They were part of a total of 2,000 Palestinians who were made available to join the Palestinian police from outside the Palestinian self-rule areas.  (AFP)

15 August PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat held a two-day meeting with the PLO Executive Committee in Tunis which approved the interim agreement on the expansion of the Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.  The interim agreement was approved by ten members out of 18.  The other eight members boycotted the meeting and called it illegitimate.  Among the eight members was Farouk Kaddoumi, the head of the PLO Political Department.  The PLO Executive Committee meeting was followed by a meeting of the Central Committee of Fatah where the agreement was also discussed.  (The Financial Times, AFP)

16 August According to an Israeli military historian, Aryeh Yitzhaki, about 900 Egyptian and Palestinian men were killed by the Israeli forces during the 1967 war after they had surrendered.   The biggest massacre took place in the El-Arish area where 300 Egyptian soldiers and Palestinians from the Palestinian Liberation Army were shot dead by the Shaked Commando Unit. According to Mr. Yitzhaki, there were six massacres of prisoners in 1967, including those at the Mitla Pass and  Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip.  In an interview Mr. Aryeh Biro, an Israeli former colonel admitted  that he personally shot dead 40 to 49 Egyptians captured by his unit at Mitla Pass in 1956, during the Israeli invasion of the Sinai.  Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Mussa urged Israel to investigate the killing.  (The Washington Post, AFP)

17 August The Egyptian-Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli Technical Committee met  in the Gaza Strip and discussed the return of Palestinians displaced in the 1967 war. During the two-day meeting, the delegates made efforts to define four points, including who is a refugee; the number of displaced persons; a time table for their return; and international aid to absorb the displaced.  According to United Nations estimates there were about 700,000 displaced Palestinians from the 1967 war.  Israeli  estimates accounted for only  200,000 people.  The committee ended the two-day meeting without an agreement on a definition of a displaced person and decided to meet in Amman in September 1995.  (Reuter)

19 August The Israeli authorities  closed the Ibrahimi mosque (Tomb of the Patriarchs) in the West Bank city of Hebron from 19 to 24 August. According to an Israeli army statement, the decision was taken for organizational  needs.  It gave no other details.  (Reuter)

A member of the Ezzedin al-Qasam, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, surrendered to Palestinian police in Gaza City.   Wail Nassar, a 23-year-old Palestinian militant was accused of planing a suicide attack against Israel.  He and two other Hamas members were arrested after the three opened fire on Palestinian police for six hours. (AFP)

20 August Israeli authorities lifted the closure imposed on the Gaza Strip on 9 August. Colonel Redwan Abu al-Qumsan, head of Palestinian security at the Erez crossing, reported that only 6,000 out of the 16,000 Palestinians with permits left Gaza to work in Israel.  The remainder stayed home assuming  they needed new permits to enter Israel.  (Reuter)

The Israeli cabinet unanimously endorsed an agreement on the transfer of civilian powers in eight spheres to the Palestinian Authority as part of the agreement on Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.  Mr. Oren Shahor, Chief Major General of the Israeli army administration in the West Bank, said that responsibilities for agriculture, insurance, labor, municipal affairs, postal services, petrol and gas, statistics, trade and industry would be transferred to the Palestinian Authority during the coming week.  (AFP)

Several Israeli cabinet ministers urged Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to solve a water crisis and to come up with immediate solutions to provide water to Palestinians in the West Bank.   The cabinet discussed the matter at its weekly meeting after Israeli television reported that the city of Hebron had largely been without running water for the past four months. Mr. Rabin ordered authorized officials to seek a solution to the problem.  Two Israeli army water tankers were sent into Hebron. (Reuter)

Israeli police arrested a Palestinian security official and peace negotiator, Mr. Ahmad Guneim, over his alleged role in the closure by the Palestinian Authority of an Arab newspaper in Jerusalem.  (Reuter)

21 August A Palestinian suicide  bomber  blew  himself  up  and  killed  five Israelis and injured more than 100 others in a bus attack in Jerusalem.  Israeli radio reported that a caller from the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack.   Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin temporally suspended the peace talks with the Palestinians until the victims were buried.  The West Bank and Gaza Strip were sealed off  by the Israeli authorities until further notice.  (The New York Times, Reuter)

The Government of South Africa opened a representative office in the Gaza Strip.  Mr. Uys Viljoen would represent the South African Government to the Palestinian Authority.  (AFP).

23 August The Israeli authorities allowed more than 10,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to return to work in Israel.  But the West Bank would remain sealed off until 25 August.  (Reuter)

United States envoy Mr. Dennis Ross held talks with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in the Red Sea resort of Eilat on expanding Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.  Mr. Ross expressed the United States interest in speeding up the process of reaching an agreement and planned to host the signing ceremony of the interim agreement  in Washington in September.  (Reuter)

Germanys Development Minister Carl Dieter Spranger met with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in Gaza City and pledged a contribution of $21 million to the Palestinian Authority to be allocated for infrastructure projects.  Minister Spranger also visited Bethlehem and with its mayor and head of the Palestinian tourism department, Mr. Elias Freij, toured a sewage project financed by the European Union.   A day earlier the German Minister met with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in Jerusalem.  (AFP)  

Israeli Police Minister Moshe Shahal, and Justice Minister David Lebai warned that offices carrying out political activity for the PLO or the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem would be closed.  The Orient House, the PLO headquarters in East Jerusalem,  was  one  of  the PLO offices that the two ministers aimed to close.  Mr. Faisal Husseini, head of the office, warned that the peace process would be damaged if Israel carried out the threats.  (AFP)

24 August At a briefing for Israeli military reporters, the head of Israels Shin Bet (General Security Services), revealed the arrest of two Palestinians, believed to be top organizers of  the recent bombings in Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, and claimed to have broken a network of about 30 bomb builders, suppliers and couriers.  The cell allegedly represented the infrastructure of the military wing of Hamas in the West Bank.  The head of the Shin Bet said that Yahya Ayyash, the man who trained and commanded the ringleaders,  was still at large in the Gaza Strip.  PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat ordered senior security officials Muhammad Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub to search for and arrest Mr. Ayyash.  (Reuter)

The PLO agreed to delay the discussion on the issue of water sharing with Israel until final negotiations next year. In return, Israel recognized Palestinian rights to water resources in the West Bank. (AFP)

German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Carl Dieter Spranger told a news conference in Amman that from 1996, the German Government would reallocate its $100 million aid to Israel to benefit the parties involved in the Middle East peace process, mainly, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Israel.  (UPI)

25 August A group of former members of the Islamic Jihad Movement in the Gaza Strip launched a new Palestinian political party which favored preserving stability in the self-rule areas.   The Palestinian Islamic Front (PIF) was the second Islamic group to be set up in the Gaza Strip in two weeks with the recognition of the Palestinian Authority.  Earlier this month, another group of former activists of Hamas had  also set up a political party.   (Reuter)

Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians, members of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, from Hebron in the West Bank after an exchange of gunfire.  A bulldozer then demolished the building where the two had been staying, reportedly to ensure soldiers would not be ambushed when they searched the premises. (UPI)

27 August A closure imposed on the West Bank, following a suicide bomb attack on 21 August on an Israeli bus in Jerusalem, was lifted except for the city of Jericho.  Israel state radio reported that the closure of Jericho would continue until the Palestinian Authority handed over to Israel two Palestinians believed to be involved in the recent suicide bomb attack in Jerusalem. (AFP)

 

Israel and the PLO signed an agreement transferring eight civilian powers to the Palestinian Authority as a first stage of expanding Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank. The agreement was signed at Cairos Diplomatic Club, in Egypt, by Palestinian negotiator Jamil Tarifi and his Israeli counterpart Oren Shahor.  The signing ceremony was attended by ambassadors of Russia, United States, Norway, Israel as well as Palestinian representatives and Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Badr Hamam.  (Reuter)

28 August Israeli Police Minister Moshe Shahal ordered  three Palestinian organizations in East Jerusalem to close their offices within four days.  The three offices included the Palestinian Center of Statistics, the Palestinian Health Council and the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation.   Israeli officials again warned that they would take action against the Orient House, the PLO Headquarters in East Jerusalem, if the Palestinian Authority did not halt political activity there.  PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat condemned the Israeli Police Ministers decision and said that it violated the 1993 PLO-Israeli Declaration of Principles.  (Reuter)

Israeli police arrested dozens of  activists of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, who reportedly planned  to carry out more suicide attacks in Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv.   A police communiqué said Israeli security forces had uncovered a large Hamas cell in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  (Reuter)

29 August United States envoy Mr. Dennis Ross  met PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in Gaza City and discussed obstacles blocking the negotiations on expanding Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.  Later on in the day, Mr. Ross met with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and proposed collecting $100 million from international donors to help the Palestinian Authority cover its budget deficit for the year 1995.  (Reuter)

Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert warned that East Jerusalem would come under Palestinian rule if Israel agreed to allow residents there to take part in forthcoming elections for the Palestinian Council.  But he said that he would not prevent Palestinians from voting if Israels parliament approved their participation.  (Reuter)

PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat urged Israel to release Palestinian prisoners before the forthcoming elections for the Palestinian Council, and asked non-governmental organizations to help speed up the peace process.  (Reuter)

A three-day conference of the United Nations Childrens Fund on the impact of armed conflict on children in the Arab world was held in Cairo.  The conference concluded that Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and Djibouti all had children under great risk of war or armed conflict. (AFP)

30 August Israeli authorities lifted the closure imposed on Jericho on 23 August.  (Reuter)

PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat granted a group of businessmen permission to establish the first lottery in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.   Under the license, 60 per cent of the revenue would be devoted to funding charitable activities, and 30 per cent would go to winnings.  The remaining 10 per cent would go to the organizers.  (AFP)

 

31 August A survey on  Jerusalem  conducted in Cairo and published by the London-based Arab daily newspaper of Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat, showed that  62.8 per cent of 489 Palestinian interviewees living in East Jerusalem and holding a Jerusalem residency card said that they would prefer war than live in Jerusalem under Israeli control.  Only 16 per cent chose Israeli control.  On the final status of Jerusalem, 41.5 per cent said East Jerusalem should be made the capital of a Palestinian State, while 23.3 per cent  preferred the city to come under international control.  Only 15.3 per cent said it should become a shared capital. (AFP)

The Israeli police ministry rescinded from its plan to close three Palestinian offices after a compromise agreement was reached.   Under the agreement the three Palestinian offices pledged not to work under the guidance of the Palestinian Authority and not to receive any funding from it.   (AFP)