Chronological Review of Events/August 1996 – DPR review

CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW OF EVENTS

RELATING TO THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE

August 1996

Monitored from the media by the

Division for Palestinian Rights

2 August The Israeli Cabinet voted unanimously to ease a four-year freeze on expansion and construction of settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  An Israeli Government spokesman said that although the Cabinet gave a green-light for gradual growth in the 144 settlements, no sign of the scale of construction it contemplated was given.  The Palestinian Authority denounced the Israeli decision.  (Washington Post, Los Angeles Times)

4 August The Israeli authorities gave a member of the Palestinian Council, Mr. Hatem Abdel-Qader,  24 hours warning to explain the function of an office he was operating in East Jerusalem.  Israel police spokesman Eric Bar-Cohen said that the notice was a warning that the office would be closed by police within 24 hours if Mr. Abdel-Qader did not close it himself.  (Reuter)

5 August Mr. Arafat sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu protesting Israel's decision to ease restrictions on Israeli settlement in the Palestinian territories.  In the letter, Mr. Arafat called upon Mr. Netanyahu to retract the decision and warned that such a decision would jeopardize the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.  A copy of the letter was made available to the United States, Russia, and some European and Arab countries.  (AFP)

6 August Mr. Stuart Eizenstat, Undersecretary for Interna- tional Trade at the US Commerce Department  met with Mr. Arafat in the West Bank city of Ramallah and discussed the economic situation in the Palestinian territories. After the meeting, Mr. Eizenstat told reporters, that the United States would pass a provision which would allow all Palestinian goods to be exported to the US on a duty free basis with no quotas, and no limitation of any kind. (Reuter)

7 August Mr. Arafat held talks with King Hussein of Jordan, at the Red Sea resort of Aqaba, on the latest development in the peace process and means to resolve obstacles facing it.  (AFP)

The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, Btselem called for international action against an agent of the Israeli Security Service Shin Beth Ehud Yatom, for the killing of two Palestinian hostage-takers in 1984.   In its statement, Btselem asked each of the 96 nations who signed the international convention against torture to arrest and try Yatom if they find him in their country.  (Reuter)

8 August Hundreds of Palestinians began an open-ended sit- down protest against an Israeli attempt to confiscate land for the building of a new road to Moraj settlement near Rafah in the Gaza Strip.  The confiscation order concerns more than 17 hectares (42 acres) of land.  Mr. Arafat warned that any expansion of the settlements would deal a severe blow to Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. (AFP)

10 August Mr. Arafat met with the Egyptian President Mr. Mubarak in Cairo.  The two leaders expressed their deep concern at Israel's decision to ease restrictions on settlements in the Palestinian territories and pledged future meetings and cooperation to revive the peace talks. (AFP)

11 August Mr. Arafat chaired a two-day meeting of the Central Committee of the Fatah movement in Cairo to discuss efforts to counter Israel's decision concerning the settlements issue.   The participants decided to ask the United Nations to take  concrete measures in dealing  with the Israeli policy on settlements. (AFP)   

A survey carried out by the Tel-Aviv University Center for Peace Research showed that 48 per cent of Israelis favor expanding settlements while 45 per cent oppose it.  Seven per cent of those questioned had no opinion. (AFP)

Mr. Arafat announced that he would seek international arbitration if  Israel refuses to accept the creation of an independent Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as its capital.  Mr. Arafat's announcement came as a response to Mr. Netanyahu's interview with the Palestinian daily newspaper Al-Quds during which he ruled out any prospect of an independent Palestinian State. (Reuter, Financial Times)  

  

12 August According to a report issued by the Palestinian Health Ministry on the situation  in the Palestinian territories, 16 Palestinians have died since last February because they were prevented by the Israeli authorities from receiving adequate medical treatment from Israeli hospitals.  (AFP)

13 August Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Murdechai announced that the Israeli Government had approved 300 mobile homes to be placed at educational and public institutions in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.  Mr. Murdechai also stated that he had approved a new procedure aimed at progressing the stages of approval for building in the Palestinian territories.  Mr. Arafat condemned Murdechai's announcement and called it  a new breach of the Middle East peace process.  (Reuter, Financial Times)

14 August The Palestinian-Israeli Civilian Committee convened in Jerusalem for the first time in six months.  The meeting focused on how Israeli and Palestinian authorities would share responsibility for security checks on passengers and cargo at the Palestinian airport in the Gaza Strip. Both sides agreed to create two working groups to draft  agreements on technical and security matters concerning the  airport. The two working committees would meet again the following week. (The Washington Post, Reuter)

Mr. Arafat sent a letter to President Bill Clinton seeking United States help in restoring Middle East peace negotiations and in pressuring Israel to honor Israeli-Palestinian agreements signed by the previous Israeli Government.  Israel called Arafat's plea  a public relations stunt.  (Reuter)

  

19 August Israeli and Palestinian authorities agreed on security measures for the export of flagstones made in Gaza to Israel.  The agreement would allow the Palestinians to send five truckloads of flagstones into Israel on a daily basis. (Reuter)

20 August The Israeli housing ministry drafted a plan for  the construction of 20,000 housing units, 5,000 of which would be in the West Bank. Housing Ministry spokesman Amir Dobkin said the new homes would be built by the private sector but that government funds could be used for infrastructures.  The plan would be presented to the government for approval later this year.  (Reuter)

21 August Mr. Jamil Tarifi, in charge of the civilian affairs for the Palestinian Authority and Mr. Oren Shahor, the coordinator of Israeli activities in the Palestinian territories, met in Jerusalem and agreed to help Palestinian officials overcome delays in crossing army checkpoints.  The two officials agreed to travel to the Allenby Bridge on the Jordan River to see first hand the delay in crossing for Palestinian travelers and goods. (AFP)

22 August The Israeli authorities prevented Mr. Arafat from flying by helicopter to the West Bank town of Ramallah for a meeting with former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. The spokesman of the Palestinian Council called the ban  a flagrant violation of an agreement allowing Mr. Arafat to fly between the self-rule areas.  Later on in the evening Mr. Arafat met with Mr. Peres in the Gaza Strip for the first time since the Israeli election in May.  Both leaders pledged to protect the peace process. Mr. Netanyahu condemned the meeting before it was held, charging that Mr. Peres was undermining the negotiations. (The New York Times,  Reuter)

President Hosni Mubarak was quoted by the Egyptian Information Minister Safwat al-Sharif as saying that he would cancel a Middle East economic conference scheduled to be held in Cairo on 12 to 14 November, unless the Israel authorities implemented agreements reached between them and the Palestinians.  In his criticism, Mr. Mubarak stressed  the delay of the Israeli army redeployment in the West Bank town of Hebron. (Financial Times, AFP)

President Clinton sent a letter to Mr. Arafat assuring him of continued US support for the Middle East peace process.  Mr. Clinton also welcomed the goodwill displayed by Mr. Arafat in his efforts to achieve peace in the region. (AFP)

    

25 August The Palestinian Authority closed two offices in East Jerusalem after Israel charged that their activities were in violation of the peace agreements.   (Reuter)

Israeli President Ezer Weizman announced at a news conference with Mr. Netanyahu that he would meet Mr. Arafat if  Mr. Netanyahu did not.  The two leaders would meet within two weeks but set no date.  Mr. Weizman's announcement came in response to Mr. Arafat's letter sent to him a week earlier, in which he appealed to Mr. Weizman to save the  peace process. (The New York Times, Reuter)

The Palestinian Authority cabinet and PLO Executive Committee decided, at a joint meeting held in Gaza City, to support popular resistance to settlement activity and to Israeli confiscations of Palestinian lands. (AFP)

Israel moved the first 11 of 300 mobile homes into the West Bank in a first expansion of Israeli settlements under the new government.  According to Israeli radio, the mobile homes would be used as classrooms and not as living quarters.  Palestinian Minister of Higher Education Hanan Ashrawi condemned the move and called it as a direct affront on the peace process.  (Reuter)

Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda met with Mr. Arafat in Gaza City and announced $11.6 million  in aid to the Palestinian Authority.  Mr. Ikeda also announced that Mr. Arafat would visit Japan from 10 to 13 September. The aid would be devoted to municipal elections as well as to agricultural and computer projects. (AFP)

26 August The authorities of Jerusalem municipality seized the house furniture of  Hatem Abdel-Qader, a member of the Palestinian Council, from East Jerusalem, who was accused of opening a Palestinian Authority office in his home. It was reported that the raid was carried out upon orders from Mayor Ehud Olmert.  According to the Israeli authority Mr. Abdel-Qader owed the city property taxes but Abdel-Qader said that the move came despite an agreement with the municipality to pay the tax by installments. (Reuter)

 

27 August Israeli Finance Minister Dan Meridor and Palestinian Trade and Economy Minister Maher Masri met in Jerusalem and  agreed to establish a joint  economic committee aimed at easing the plight of the Palestinian territories.  It was reported that the first task of the committee would be to formulate a joint programme to be presented at the international meeting of donor countries scheduled for 6 September in Paris. (AFP)

Israeli police demolished a 120 square-meter (1,290 sq.ft.) structure in East Jerusalem, which, according to the Jerusalem Municipality, was funded by the Palestinian Authority and built without Israeli authorization.  A spokesman at the Orient House said that the building housed the Burj al-Laqlaq Society which provided services to handicapped persons and the elderly and was also used as a kindergarten and youth club. (Reuter)

The Israeli Defense Minister approved plans to build an immediate 900 new homes in the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Sefer in the West Bank.  It was reported that according to the Israeli newspaper, Maariv,  Israel would add 700 housing units to Kiryat Sefer settlement, 1,050 to Hashmonaim, 900 to a nearby Jewish seminary, 200 to Matityahu and 700 to Betar Ilit, all in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority protested the decision and warned that it would resist Netanyahu's policies on the ground. (The Washington Post, AFP)

28 August Israeli Infrastructure Minister Ariel Sharon  approved plans to establish a new railroad link between the Israeli port of Ashdod and the Gaza Strip.  Israeli officials said that the railroad  would initially carry both passengers and freight from Ashdod to the Erez crossing into the northern Gaza Strip and would allow increased trade between Israel and the Palestinian territories. (AFP)

Mr. Arafat chaired an emergency meeting in Ramallah of top Palestinian leaders of the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian Council, the PLO Executive Committee, and senior members of the Palestine National Council.  The meeting convened  to draw up plans to counter Israeli  moves to expand Israeli settlements and the closure of Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem.  (AFP)

Mr. Arafat called for a general strike in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip  protesting Israeli actions in Jerusalem, which he described as a declaration of war against the Palestinian people.  Mr. Arafat also urged all Palestinian Muslims to gather in East Jerusalem for prayers on Friday despite Israeli travel bans.  Mr. Netanyahu warned that Israel would react with severity against any move which will lead to an escalation and endanger the peace process. (AFP, Reuter)

Palestinian and Israeli activists demonstrated against Israel's planned eviction of Palestinian  families of the Jahalin bedouin tribe who were ordered to move out from their camps in the West Bank to a new location. Peter Lerner, spokesman for Israels civil administration in the West Bank, said that the land had been earmarked for the expansion of the Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim. (Reuter)

The United States of America and the Russian Federation, in their roles as co-sponsors of the Middle East peace process,  announced that the Agreement for the Bank for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Middle East and North Africa was deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and would be open for signatures by prospective members. (Press Release)

29 August Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators held their first meeting in Jerusalem. The meeting was attended by Dan Shomron, a former Israeli army chief of staff who was recently named to head the Israeli steering committee for talks with the Palestinians, and his counterpart Saeb Erakat. Both negotiators met without any accompanying delegation and no statement was made available to the public. ((AFP)

Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti met with Mr. Arafat in Ramallah and discussed Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank.  Mr. al-Kabariti criticized Israel's action and informed Mr. Arafat that Jordan does not accept any analysis that calls for continuing settlement expansion in the Palestinian territories.  (Reuter)

30 August Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, the Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee, met in Tel-Aviv with Mr. Dore Gold, Netanyahu's adviser, in efforts to defuse tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.  It was reported that the meeting made no progress on any issue. (Reuter)

 

31 August Mr. Arafat warned the Israeli Government of a Palestinian national uprising against the Israeli occupation if peace moves failed.  Addressing high school students in the West Bank town of Nablus on the first day of the new school year, Mr. Arafat said that one of our options is to return to the intifada.  He also called on Palestinian Christians to stage a mass prayer on Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in East Jerusalem, to protest against Israel's plans to expand settlements in the Palestinian territories.   (Reuter)

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