Division for Palestinian Rights
Chronological Review of Events Relating to the
Question of Palestine
MONTHLY MEDIA MONITORING REVIEW
December 2004
1
Israeli forces demolished the house of Mahmoud Moussa in the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem. Mr. Moussa, a member of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was alleged to have recruited and sent a suicide bomber to carry out an attack in Jerusalem on 30 July 2002. (imra.org.il)
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Intelligence Services Chief Omar Suleiman met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom and Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz in Jerusalem. Regarding Israel’s planned pullout from Gaza, Foreign Minister Shalom said after talks with his Egyptian counterpart, “We reached an agreement that allows for the deployment of additional Egyptian forces on the Egyptian side of the border, despite the fact that the peace agreements don’t allow this.” Defence Minister Mofaz later announced that Israel and Egypt had reached an agreement in principle on the deployment of 750 Egyptian border troops along the Gaza-Egypt border. (AP, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya announced his group would boycott the presidential election because the exercise did not include legislative and municipal elections. “We are not calling on the Palestinian people to boycott the election, but Hamas members will follow the decision to boycott the election,” Mr. Haniya said. (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Associates of West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said he had decided to run for PA President, reversing his earlier decision. A senior official in Fatah said a decision would be made later by Fatah officials close to Mr. Barghouti on how to deal with his apparent wish to run in the election. (AP, Ha’aretz)
President Bush told reporters during his visit to Canada: “Achieving peace in the Holy Land is not just a matter of pressuring one side or the other on the shape of a border or the site of a settlement. This approach has been tried before, without success. As we negotiate the details of peace, we must look to the heart of the matter, which is the need for a Palestinian democracy. The Palestinian people deserve a peaceful government that truly serves their interests, and the Israeli people need a true partner in peace. Our destination is clear: two States, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security. And that destination can be reached by only one path, the path of democracy and reform and the rule of law. If all parties will apply effort, if all nations who are concerned about this issue will apply goodwill, this conflict can end and peace can be achieved. And the time for that effort and the time for that goodwill is now”. (www.whitehouse.gov )
Addressing a news conference, the authors of the Geneva Accords initiative said the search for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could no longer be left to the United States. They called for greater involvement of the European Union and other powers. (Reuters)
The President of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Fathi Arafat, died in Cairo. (NYT)
2
The IDF arrested 13 Palestinians in the West Bank city of Tulkarm and raided the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem, Palestinian security sources said. (Xinhua)
PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Saeb Erakat urged the Quartet to ensure Israeli settlement expansion did not undermine Palestinian elections. He also said the construction of the separation barrier “will continue to impose severe hardships on Palestinians by separating them from their land and destroying their livelihoods. Moreover, so long as the wall is routed inside Occupied Palestinian Territory, rather than on the only acceptable route along the Green Line, it remains in violation of international law and a clear impediment to the emergence of a viable Palestinian state.” (Xinhua)
Prime Minister Sharon told journalists in Tel Aviv that Israel would not launch attacks or raids against Palestinians if the situation remained calm and if it was not provoked. However, Israel would act if it had information that militants were planning imminent attacks on Israel and would respond if Palestinians fired rockets at Israel, he said. Meanwhile, PLO Executive Committee Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said at a press conference in Gaza, “We want to tell the international community that if Israel doesn't stop actions against the Palestinians, we will never say Israel is seeking for peace. Israel should stop these actions in order to be able to resume the peace talks.” (AP, Ha’aretz, Xinhua)
A World Bank report entitled “Stagnation or Revival? Israeli Disengagement and Palestinian Economic Prospects” called on Israel to roll back its closure measures, which have strangled the Palestinian economy. The report also urged the PA to carry out further economic reforms and make a much stronger commitment to preventing militant attacks on Israelis. It recommended that donors monitor the efforts by both sides in the coming months, and convene a pledging conference if significant progress was made. Without progress, it said, a major donor initiative would be counterproductive. (www.worldbank.org)
The Islamic Jihad urged its followers not to participate in the upcoming Palestinian presidential elections. Mr. Mohammed al Hindi, the Gaza leader of Islamic Jihad, said the group had decided not to field any candidate in the 9 January 2005 election and not to support any independent candidate either. (AP)
Mr. Rami Al-Hamadallah, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Elections Commission, announced at a press conference in Ramallah after the expiration of the deadline for nominations for the 9 January elections that the following candidates had been registered to run: Mr. Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah), Mr. Taysir Khaled (DFLP), Mr. Bassam al-Salhi (People's Party), Mr. Marwan Barghouti, Mr. Hassan Khreisheh, Mr. Mustafa Barghouti, Mr. Abdelsattar Qassem, Mr. Abdelhaleem Ashqar, Mr. Abdelkarim Shubeir and Mr. Hussein Barakah (independents). (AP, Reuters)
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak told reporters in Port Said, “I think if they [the Palestinians] cannot achieve progress in the time of the current [Israeli] Prime Minister, it will be very difficult to make any progress in peace. He is capable of pursuing peace, and he is capable of reaching solutions, if he wants to.” (AP)
A Hamas leader in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar, said ceasefire negotiations could begin next week. “If the Israelis stop their aggression against our people, I think through the negotiations…we can reach a final agreement,” he said. “Hamas wants to join the Palestinian political leadership and there are meetings over this issue … Hamas being a part of the political equation means Hamas will deal with the other party [Israel],” he added. (AP, Reuters)
Israeli Minister without Portfolio Tzavi Hanegbi on public radio said the jailed presidential candidate Marwan Barghouti would not be released from prison during his lifetime. (AFP)
3
Israeli soldiers killed Mr. Mahmoud Dobie, a member of Islamic Jihad, in the village of Rabba near Jenin. He was shot dead by troops who raided the house where he was hiding. (AFP, Xinhua)
Germany's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer would hold talks this weekend with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur)
Israeli Labour Party Chairman Shimon Peres said 2005 must be devoted to advancing the political process with the Palestinians, instead of elections and internal party squabbles, Ha’aretz reported. “The argument that there is no one [on the Palestinian side] to talk to has collapsed,” Mr. Peres said. (Xinhua)
In a statement, the Fatah movement condemned Marwan Barghouti’s decision to run against the movement’s candidate, Mahmoud Abbas, in the presidential election on 9 January 2005. (Ha’aretz)
The top Hamas leader in the West Bank, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, said the group would accept the establishment of a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as a long-time truce with Israel. “Hamas has announced that it accepts a Palestinian independent State within the 1967 borders with a long-time truce”, he said. Mr. Yousef added the Hamas position was new and called it a “stage”. “For us a truce means that two warring parties live side by side in peace and security for a certain period and this period is eligible for renewal … That means Hamas accepts that the other party will live in security and peace,” he added. (AP)
Israeli navy soldiers arrested two Palestinians paddling on a surfboard towards a forbidden offshore zone opposite the “Gush Katif” settlement in the Gaza Strip. (Ha’aretz)
Israeli tanks fired at least five shells at residential houses in the Al-Muntar area of eastern Gaza City, Palestinian security sources reported. Also, Israeli forces stationed near the “Neve Dekalim” settlement shelled Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, causing severe damage when Israeli tanks fired at least five tank shells at residential houses in the Al-Muntar area of eastern Gaza City, Palestinian security sources reported. Also, Israeli forces stationed near the “Neve Dekalim” settlement shelled Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, causing severe damage to some houses. Medical sources said a 52-year-old Palestinian woman had been wounded by Israeli fire when Israeli forces opened intensive fire on the area of Areeba near the “Morag” settlement. (Xinhua)
After meeting with PA Foreign Minister Nabil Sha’ath in Ramallah, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos announced his country would support the Palestinian presidential election. “This support would be by sending Spanish observers and by offering financial and economical aid,” Mr. Moratinos said. (Xinhua)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden announced that the Government had decided to send election observers to the Occupied Palestinian Territory for the January presidential election. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) would recruit and train a maximum of 11 observers, who would be part of the joint EU election observation mission. (www.sweden.gov.se)
4
Twelve wanted Palestinian activists were arrested by the Israeli army during overnight raids in the West Bank. A 26-year-old Hamas member, Rami Abdelatif Mohammad Tayah, was arrested in the northern town of Tulkarm, along with six other activists. Mr. Tayah is accused of links to a suicide attack in March 2002 at a hotel in Netanya, which killed 30 people. (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Mohamed Al-Hindi, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad, told reporters in Gaza: “In light of the numerous statements on ceasefire or truce, the Islamic Jihad rejects even discussing this issue and talking about either short- or long-term truces … This is the clear position as long as the attacks are continued against our people and the Palestinian territories.” Mr. Al-Hindi’s statement came following a meeting between the movement and Egyptian diplomats in Gaza. He said the meeting had discussed the current political situation, as well as the presidential, legislative and municipal elections. He also said his group had not yet decided on its participation in legislative and municipal elections. (DPA, Xinhua)
5
Two Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. A 15-year-old boy was wounded in the leg when the Israeli army opened intensive fire on residential houses, and a 20-year-old man was moderately injured when the army raided the Al-Salam neighbourhood. In response, Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, shelled homemade rockets at the “Nahal Oz” settlement in the Strip. The group also claimed responsibility for attacks on the “Atsmona” settlement, west of Rafah, and the “Nitser Hazani” settlement, west of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. No casualties were reported. (Xinhua)
Hamas leader in Gaza Mahmoud Al-Zahar told reporters, “There is no talk about a truce now at all. … Our strategy is to liberate all Palestinian soil.” West Bank Hamas leader Hassan Yousef had said a few days earlier that Hamas could accept the establishment of a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza and a long-term truce. (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, said a Palestinian State was a right “stipulated by all international accords” but was not a reason for Hamas to stop its resistance. He accused Fatah of “trying to grab power” through the elections and said, “We think this is not an appropriate behaviour for the upcoming stage. That’s why we will boycott the elections.” (AP, DPA)
Head of Fatah Farouk Kaddoumi, referring to Marwan Barghouti's participation in the presidential race, said, “As the presidential election draws closer, any Fatah member who goes against decisions of the movement’s central committee should resign and his membership would be cancelled.” (AP, Reuters)
In a statement, the Palestinian Authority asked Palestinians in East Jerusalem, occupied and expanded by Israel in June 1967, to participate in the 9 January presidential election. (Xinhua)
Israel’s Defence Minister Mofaz said during a cabinet meeting that 4,000 Palestinian construction workers from the West Bank and 800 agricultural workers from the Gaza Strip would be granted entry permits into Israel. According to Ha’aretz , since the death of Chairman Arafat, the number of entry permits granted to Palestinians had reached 10,000. Israel had recently approved the entry of 2,000 merchants from the West Bank into Israel, and 100 merchants from Gaza. Mr. Mofaz said Israel was also taking steps to facilitate the operations of international aid organizations. He emphasized that the steps were designed to make it easier for the Palestinian leadership to create a new reality after Mr. Arafat’s death. (Xinhua)
Spain’s Foreign Minister Moratinos visited Cairo for talks with Egypt's President Mubarak on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Mr. Moratinos said the Road Map’s 2005 deadline for establishing a Palestinian State should be respected. “We hope to arrive at a final solution as quickly as possible in which two states live side by side in peace and security: a State of Israel within internationally recognized borders and a viable, democratic Palestinian State,” he said. (AFP)
Germany’s Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer met with PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas and PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia in Ramallah. Mr. Fischer promised approximately US$5 million and technical help for the Palestinian election, according to members of the German delegation. Mr. Fischer emphasized that Israel needed to give the Palestinian candidates freedom of movement between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and expressed hope that a smooth vote could be a good symbol. Later in the day, Mr. Fischer met with Prime Minister Sharon and Foreign Minister Shalom. (AFP, AP, www.mfa.gov.il)
6
Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the firing of two mortar shells at the “Rafiakh Yam” settlement. The Popular Resistance Committees said in a leaflet that its militants had fired a Qassam rocket at the southern Israeli town of Sderot, which had caused no injuries. (Xinhua)
The Israeli army razed some 2.8 hectares of cultivated lands in the Al-Qarara area in southern Gaza, according to Palestinian security sources. Israeli troops, backed by bulldozers and tanks, stormed the area before dawn, and hundreds of olive and palm trees were destroyed, sources added. The Israeli army also continued its attack in the southern Gaza Strip towns of Rafah and Khan Yunis, injuring six Palestinians. (Xinhua)
Ha’aretz reported that Israel intended to release dozens of Palestinian prisoners within the next few weeks as a confidence-building gesture towards the PA. Among those expected to be released are Husam Khader, a PLC member, Nablus Fatah leader Sheikh Jamal al-Tawil, a senior West Bank member of Hamas, and Abdel Rahim Maluah, a senior political leader of PFLP. (Ha’aretz)
PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas, PA Prime Minister Qureia and Foreign Minister Sha’ath held talks with Syria’s President Bashar Assad, Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa and other officials in Damascus. Mr. Abbas told reporters following the talks that the Palestinian leadership was working on security in the “internal Palestinian arena” in the run-up to the upcoming elections. Mr. Abbas said the talks had also focused on various aspects of the post-Arafat era and the Middle East peace process. Mr. Sha’ath said Mr. Abbas wanted to meet with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and other Palestinian faction leaders in Damascus, but no date had been set. (AP, DPA, Reuters)
Israel's Defence Minister Mofaz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee that Israel and Egypt were to launch a strategic process that would include deploying Egyptian forces at the “Philadelphi corridor” along the Egypt-Gaza border, as well as security cooperation against terrorism. Egypt would also be training Palestinian security officers in the West Bank. (Xinhua)
The Daily Telegraph reported that Britain had won US agreement for an international peace conference on the Middle East to be held in London early the following year. The newspaper, quoting unidentified senior diplomatic sources, said Prime Minister Tony Blair would discuss details with Israeli and Palestinian leaders during a visit to the Middle East during the month. The conference, planned for late January or early February 2005, was likely to be attended by foreign ministers, but it was not yet clear that Israel would send a delegation at that level, the report said. According to Ha’aretz, a senior Israeli official said, responding to the report, that if the United States in fact supported such a conference, Israel would take part. (AFP, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
An Israeli official said Israel was ready to accept an observer team from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for the Palestinian presidential election in January 2005. “We will facilitate the delegation whenever the OSCE decides to send one,” the official said. Five Arab countries and Israel had called for a monitoring mission at a meeting of the Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation, made up of Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the OSCE, the organization’s spokesman told AFP. (AFP)
Donor countries that promote assistance to the Palestinians are expected to hold their annual meeting in Oslo on 8 December. The Palestinian Authority will request about US$4 billion over three years to stave off an economic crisis, according to Palestinian officials. (AP, Reuters)
Opinions polls on the January 2005 presidential election were published by three Palestinian institutions. A poll conducted among 997 respondents by the Palestinian Centre for Public Opinion showed that 40 per cent of Palestinians supported Mahmoud Abbas and 22 per cent supported Marwan Barghouti. In a poll conducted among 1,198 respondents by Birzeit University in the West Bank, 35 per cent said they supported Mr. Barghouti, compared with 34 per cent who supported Mr. Abbas. A poll among 1,320 respondents by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research showed that 40 per cent supported Mr. Abbas, compared with 38 per cent who supported Mr. Barghouti. All three surveys had an error margin of three percentage points. (AFP, AP, Reuters)
PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas met with President Al-Assad and called for cooperation between Syria and the Palestinians. Palestinian leaders agreed with President Assad on coordinating future peace talks with Israel. The Syrian official news agency SANA said today talks between Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Al-Otari and Messrs. Abbas and Qureia centred on the situation in the Arab region and the stalled Mideast peace process. (AP)
The Israeli human rights group “B'Tselem” charged, according to Palestinian witnesses, that Islamic Jihad militant Mahmoud Kamil Dobie, 25, was conscious and unarmed when troops shot him to death in the West Bank village of Raba the previous Friday. B'Tselem also said more than 1,600 of the 3,000 Palestinians killed by army fire were civilians. According to the Israeli army, however, the army has opened only 92 investigations into soldiers' actions. Twenty-seven soldiers had been indicted and four convicted of wrongful shootings. Lt.Gen. Moshe Yaalon said he had spoken with the army's top officers in recent weeks to re-emphasize battlefield ethics, and he had toured bases to hear how commanders and soldiers understood and carried out orders. (AP)
Voice of Palestine said PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat met separately in Jericho with US Senator Jim Kant and Kishura Vokashima, head of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Japanese Parliament. During the meetings, Mr. Erakat stressed the need to implement the Road Map fully, lift the siege imposed on the Palestinian people and allow freedom of movement in order to hold the forthcoming presidential, legislative and municipal elections. (BBC Monitoring International Reports)
7
Hamas militants killed an Israeli soldier and wounded four by an explosion in a booby-trapped chicken cooperative east of Gaza City, which triggered a gun battle between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants. Four Palestinian gunmen were killed and seven Palestinians, including two teenagers, were wounded, Palestinian sources said. Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas spokesman, said the attack was a “natural response to the continuous Israeli crimes against our people and against our fighters.” He said two members involved in the ambush were killed. During the fighting, Israeli aircraft fired two missiles at separate groups of armed men. Islamic Jihad said two gunmen were killed in the air strikes. (AP)
The IDF arrested at least 21 Palestinians in Ramallah, Qalqilya, Nablus and Bethlehem, Palestinian security sources said. The IDF, backed by tanks and armoured vehicles, entered into Qalqilya before dawn storming Kfar Saba and Nazzal neighbourhoods in the city. They searched several houses, including that of Ibrahim Al-Fayed, a Hamas member who was killed by the Israeli army a month earlier. (Xinhua)
The European Commission said it had earmarked €7 million (US$9.4 million) in humanitarian aid for Palestinian victims of the continuing Middle East violence. The aid would help provide access to food, clean water and sanitation for the poorest Palestinians living on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. Funds were also being set aside to help rehabilitate shelters for thousands of Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The aid would be channelled through ECHO, the Commission's humanitarian aid department. “As the political process in the Middle East may well enter a new phase, it is important not to forget the humanitarian consequences of the crisis and to continue assisting and protecting those who grow more vulnerable every day,” said Louis Michel, the new EU chief for development and humanitarian aid. “Palestinian refugees who have been in neighbouring countries for over 50 years are often forgotten by aid agencies and donors. We must ensure they live in decent conditions,” Mr. Michel said. (DPA, europa.eu.int)
Egypt had called for convening a Middle East peace conference in Washington in July 2005, the official Egyptian news agency MENA reported. According to MENA, Egypt had made concrete proposals for a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians, including the already planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, whose borders Egypt wanted to secure with 800 Egyptian soldiers. In addition, Egypt had called for Israel to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip and West Bank to the Palestinians. Egypt was also considering resending an ambassador to Israel. (DPA)
During the General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary Contributions meeting, 18 donor countries pledged approximately US$90 million for the 2005 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Opening the meeting, John Dauth (Australia), speaking on behalf of General Assembly President Jean Ping, said it was tragic that UNRWA was still desperately needed some 55 years after the international community had attempted to find a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian situation. The Palestinian refugee population had increased 500 per cent since UNRWA's inception. The Agency, however, remained considerably cash-strapped, and its staff worked under extremely difficult circumstances, with 12 losing their lives to violence in the occupied territories in the last four years. Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said that while the amount pledged during the meeting was a far cry from the agency's more than $300 million budget, the conference was the best ever in relative terms. The Agency's $339 million budget for 2005 was nominally 2.7 per cent higher over the previous year, yet lower in real terms, with 66 per cent allocated for education programmes, 22 per cent for health care and the remaining 12 per cent for relief and social services. (UN press release GA/10312/Rev.1-PAL/2018/Rev.1)
Palestinian hospital sources said a Palestinian teenager, Ghaleb Abu Sneinah, 16, had been hospitalized with a bullet injury to the hand after being shot by a settler in Hebron’s Old City area. Israeli military sources said the youth had been injured while trying to throw an explosive device. (AFP)
A Palestinian delegation visiting Damascus met with senior leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ramadan Sallah and PFLP-GC leader Ahmad Jibril were among those meeting with the delegation, which was led by PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas. Accompanying Mr. Abbas were PA Prime Minister Qureia and Foreign Affairs Minister Sha’ath. (AFP,www.ipc.gov.ps)
Japan decided to extend emergency assistance of approximately US$1 million for the PA presidential election scheduled for 9 January 2005. It would allocate $690,000 for voter education activities of the Palestinian Central Elections Committee, and about $370,000 to support UN liaison and assistance activities for electoral observers through UNDP/PAPP. (www.mofa.go.jp)
8
A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the eastern outskirts of Gaza city. The victim, described on Israel radio as a “Palestinian youngster,” was found in the Al-Sejaiya neighbourhood and thought to have been shot overnight. (AFP, BBC News)
Palestinians detonated a roadside bomb near IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip, near the Egyptian border. Two anti-tank missiles were fired at a settlement in the northern Gaza Strip, and a mortal shell hit an enclave in the southern Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported. Meanwhile, members of an Israeli naval commando unit confirmed they had forced a Palestinian to act as a human shield for soldiers in Jenin. IDF troops revealed a tunnel dug by Hamas members from the outskirts of a neighbourhood in the Gaza Strip, close to the Israeli security fence. (Ha’aretz)
In Beirut, the above-mentioned Palestinian delegation, previously visiting Syria, was greeted by Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud. After a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, PA Prime Minister Qureia said, “We are interested … to have an embassy here … so that it can carry out its duty in developing our relations and relay the viewpoints of the Palestinian leadership to the Lebanese leadership.” During a meeting with President Emile Lahoud, the delegation asked for Lebanon’s backing in helping maintain unity among Palestinians. Mr. Abbas also said he had heard good news about improved living conditions in Palestinian refugee camps. About 400,000 Palestine refugees were registered in Lebanon, living in 12 refugee camps. Sultan Abul Aynan, Commander of Fatah in Lebanon, said the Palestinian delegation stressed the right of return of Palestine refugees . (AFP, DPA)
Israel and the Palestinians agreed on the logistics of the upcoming PA presidential elections, but denied reports the two sides had worked out a broader deal to end the conflict. PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat said it was still premature to talk about a new peace plan for the Middle East. He said Egypt was working to support a Palestinian truce, help train the Palestinian security forces and revive peace talks, but the report on an agreement on broad principles for ending the conflict was premature. In Oslo, Foreign Affairs Minister Sha’ath said there would be no breakthrough in peace negotiations until after the Palestinian presidential elections. “We received assurances that the elections of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip will take place as they did in 1996. I am satisfied with that. I am happy,” he said. Mr. Sha’ath said the two sides agreed to hold the elections using the same procedures that had been in place for the previous Palestinian elections in 1996, which was confirmed by a senior Israeli official. “That would be the model. There would be adjustments and changes, but that would be the model,” the official said. (AFP, Albawaba.com, AP, DPA, Ha’aretz)
Acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council Hassan Khreisheh announced he was withdrawing from the presidential elections. He said his decision was based on Israeli restrictions on campaigning in the Gaza Strip. (AFP, Reuters)
Speaking at the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) meeting in Oslo, PA Foreign Affairs Minister Sha’ath said Palestinians urgently needed cash to fund the presidential elections in January 2005 and US$4.5 billion in the next three years to revive the Palestinian economy. The PA also said it needed money to finance infrastructure projects, including air and sea ports, to help with the 2005 budget and to create jobs. UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Terje Rød-Larsen had earlier said about $4 billion in aid to the Palestinians in three years was “a very fair estimate.” (Reuters)
The IDF released figures broadcast on a radio show indicating that since the beginning of 2004, 148 unarmed Palestinian civilians had been killed by IDF fire in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, West Bank and the Gaza Strip, at least 29 of them innocent bystanders. In addition, 119 “armed militants” had been killed by IDF forces. The number of checkpoints had been reduced from 400 to 70. A senior IDF officer released the figures at a press briefing held at the army headquarters near Ramallah. The IDF continued to investigate an incident in which its troops, while on a hike in the Gaza Strip, killed Khaled Mahdi, 15, while working the fields with his father. (Ha’aretz)
Amnesty International reported Palestinian women received less education and jobs during the ongoing intifada. (Ha’aretz, www.amnesty.org)
According to a new survey by researchers at Tel Aviv University, a large majority of Israelis said they were more optimistic about the prospects of peace with the Palestinians. A total of 70 per cent of Israelis said they were “more optimistic,” 9 per cent said they were “more pessimistic” and 20 per cent said there was no change. The same survey found Prime Minister Sharon was the most popular Israeli politician among 35 per cent of respondents. The poll questioned 581 people and had a 4.5 per cent margin of error. (AFP)
Israeli soldiers killed five Palestinians along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Two were reportedly spotted crawling toward the border fence with Egypt, Israel Army Radio reported. Earlier, troops had killed three Palestinians who had also been spotted crawling toward the border fence. The troops had opened fire, killing three while a fourth escaped. (DPA, Ha’aretz)
Four Palestinians were wounded when an Israeli Air Force aircraft fired a missile at a car in the Gaza Strip. The attack wounded Mr. Jamal Abu Samhadana, leader of the Popular Resistance Committees. The attack took place between Rafah and Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Mr. Samhadana, as well as two of his bodyguards, who all had escaped, were slightly wounded. A passer-by was also wounded. PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat said the “continuation of assassination attempts” undermined efforts to revive peace talks. (AFP, AP, Ha’aretz)
Israeli troops detained and beat up Mr. Mustafa Barghouti, a candidate for the Palestinian presidential elections. The incident happened during a campaign trip in the West Bank. Mr. Barghouti was taken into custody at an IDF checkpoint as he was returning from a meeting with supporters in Jenin to his home in Ramallah. His aide, Mr. Nasir Faleh, said, “One of the people with Barghouti phoned me to say they were taken out of the car by the soldiers, beaten and detained.” The Israeli army had no immediate comment. (Reuters)
Israeli bulldozers demolished a residential building in the East Jerusalem area. Israeli forces guarding several bulldozers surrounded the house of Mr. Zahran Al Lozi and gave the residents five minutes to evacuate, before levelling the house to the ground. Meanwhile, Israeli forces searched the house of Mr. Yaquob Al-Khatib in the town of Beit Reema, northwest of Ramallah. Mr. Al-Khatib, a high school student, was arrested and led to the nearby settlement of “Holmish.” (www.ipc.gov.ps)
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and North African Affairs William Burns called on participants of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting in Oslo not to let slip “a rare moment of opportunity” to assist with funding “the brighter future that Israelis and Palestinians so richly deserve.” He announced continued US assistance for Palestinians, noting US$20 million was earmarked in direct budgetary support to the PA, plus $2.5 million worth of technical assistance for the Palestinian presidential elections and another $1 million to fund international observers for those elections. He added the amount for the PA reflected “our confidence in the direction of the PA’s reform programme, its fulfilment of the mid-2004 World Bank Reform Trust Fund benchmarks for financial management, and our expectation that reform will continue to be implemented energetically.” Assistance in 2004 totalled about US$200 million. (BBC News, The Washington Post, http://usinfo.state.gov/mena)
PA representatives and international donors discussed the need for future aid at the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee for assistance to the Palestinian Authority meeting in Oslo but did not agree on any concrete funding. Hosting the meeting, Norway said the international donors would assist the Palestinians with the presidential elections next year and try to boost the Palestinian economy. Among those present were the UN, EU, US, Canada, Japan and Russia. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen said concrete promises of funds were likely after the presidential elections in January. (DPA)
9
IDF troops arrested a Fatah member in Tulkarm. In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians fired six mortar shells at settlements and IDF positions. No casualties or damage were reported. (Ha’aretz)
According to witnesses, Israeli bulldozers had commenced preparing land in the Ezbat Salman and Eezbat Ja’loud villages, south of Qalqilya, which would accommodate at least 40 housing units in a new settlement called “Nof Hasharoun.” (www.ipc.gov.ps)
Settlers uprooted 117 olive trees with bulldozers in the Palestinian village of Jayyus, adjacent to the “Zufin” settlement near Qalqilya. Villagers said the settlers, some armed, had entered the olive grove owned by Mohammed Salim in the morning, and police and troops, who had been called for help, had arrived only in the afternoon, after the settlers have destroyed the trees. (Ha’aretz)
Several thousand Palestinian refugees greeted PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas and PA Prime Minister Qureia as they visited the Rashidiyeh camp in southern Lebanon, home to some 24,000 refugees. After a welcome from the head of Fatah in Lebanon, Sultan Abul Aynan, Messrs. Abbas and Qureia joined the crowd in reciting a verse from the Koran in memory of the late PA President Arafat. (AFP)
The EU would send observers to monitor the January elections and would provide US$3 million to help finance the elections. (Ha’aretz)
A poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre indicated a decline in Palestinian support for acts of violence targeting Israelis. According to the poll, 52 per cent of Palestinians opposed attacks on Israeli targets and believed that they were counterproductive to Palestinian national interest. A previous poll taken in June had indicated 27 per cent opposed attacks on Israeli targets. The rate of support for bombing attacks in Israel had dipped from 65 to 41 per cent. (Ha’aretz)
An Israeli unmanned drone fired a missile at the house of Mr. Mahmoud Madhoon, a commander of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, east of Beit Lahia, a village in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian witnesses said Mr. Madhoon escaped the missile attack, but the house was completely destroyed. (AP, Xinhua)
UN electoral personnel would be opening two offices, one in Ramallah and one in Gaza, as part of the UN’s involvement in the Palestinian presidential elections, the spokesman for the Secretary-General said. The UN had been asked by the PA to coordinate international observers, who would be expected to visit the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem. The UN would certify and accredit organizations that wanted to observe the elections and would draft a code of conduct for them. (UN News Centre)
10
A six-year-old Palestinian girl had been killed by IDF fire in the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, as she played outside her home, Palestinian medical sources said. (AFP)
Palestinian militants fired three mortars at the “Neve Dekalim” settlement in the Gaza Strip, wounding three Israelis, one of them a child, the IDF said. A fourth Israeli was lightly injured. (AP)
Palestinian gunmen open fire on IDF troops near Tulkarm in the West Bank and two explosive devices detonated in the vicinity of the troops; no casualties were reported. IDF troops discovered and defused a 15 kg explosive device north of Ramallah. (Ha’aretz)
IDF troops uncovered and safely detonated a bomb on the Gaza-Egypt border near Rafah. Palestinians fired a Qassam rocket at the Gaza Strip border fence near the “Sufa” crossing. No casualties were reported. (Ha’aretz)
A candidate in the Palestinian presidential election, Mr. Bassam al-Salhi, running for the People's Party, was arrested by the Israeli security forces after allegedly assaulting a border policeman at a checkpoint north of Jerusalem, where he was scheduled to meet with supporters. A statement from his party said Mr. al-Salhi had been “attacked and beaten”. He was later released on bail following the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Courts order. (AP)
The IDF had arrested four candidates standing for election in Palestinian municipal elections, Palestinian security sources said. The four, all relatives, were apprehended near Hebron. An IDF source confirmed the arrests, saying the group were members of Hamas. (AFP)
Israel was prepared to turn over security responsibilities in the northern Gaza Strip to Palestinian forces well ahead of a planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in mid-2005, Israeli security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. (AFP)
“We hope the formation of a new Israeli Government will lead to the reviving of a meaningful peace process,” PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat said, following the beginning of coalition talks between Likud and Labour. (AFP)
The EU electoral observation mission for the Palestinian presidential elections was deploying more than 260 observers. That included the EU Election Observation Mission with a core team of 13 staff, which had arrived in the West Bank and Gaza that week, some 40 long-term observers, arriving around 15 December 2004, and more than 130 short-term observers, arriving in early January 2005. The total also comprised an observation delegation from the European Parliament made up of 30 members of Parliament and 16 assistants. (ReliefWeb,www.eu.int)
Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Booim said Palestinians in the neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem would be able to vote in the upcoming PA elections. “We will allow all the post offices in the neighbourhoods to be used as polling stations,” he said. He also said that special security measures, including closure of all the territories, would be imposed to ensure the vote would not be hindered in any way and no attacks would be carried out against Israel. International observers and certified election personnel would be given free and unhampered access throughout the territories. ( Ma’ariv)
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Two Qassam rockets were fired by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, landing in southern Israel. No injuries were reported. One rocket crashed in a kibbutz in the western Negev, the second landed near an Israeli village just north of the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
Dr. Nasser Al-Kidwa, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN, turned over to the PA medical records of the late PA President Yasser Arafat. He told journalists that the 557-page report did not put the matter of Mr. Arafat’s cause of death to rest. He said, “That means there is no final result. I don’t expect that we have the medical ability or political ability to find something new, but the file must remain open.” Acting PA President Rawhi Fattouh said the records would be examined by Egyptian, Jordanian and Tunisian doctors before an official report would be published on the cause of death. (AFP)
12
Five Israeli soldiers and two Palestinians were killed in an attack on a checkpoint on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. At least ten soldiers were reportedly injured. Reports said explosives went off in a tunnel under the checkpoint in Rafah and a second blast followed shortly afterwards. Hamas said it carried out the attack together with a group called the Fatah Hawks. Immediately following the explosion, two Palestinians stormed into the IDF post and were killed. Hours later, Israeli helicopter gunships fired rockets at targets in Gaza City. There were no reports of casualties, but an electricity generator was struck, plunging the city into darkness. The military said the crossing would be closed until further notice. (AP, BBC News, DPA, Ha’aretz)
Six Palestinian youngsters were wounded by Israeli army tank shell shrapnel at their primary school in the southern Gaza Strip. The group of boys, including four seven-year-olds and two nine-year-olds, were inside the Tariq Benziad School in southwestern Khan Yunis when they were hit by shrapnel, sources said. The army denied firing shells, saying it used only light weapons to target militants attempting to launch a mortar shell. (AFP, AP)
PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas arrived in Kuwait and, shortly after his arrival, apologized to Kuwait for his organization’s stance during Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. He said, “We apologize to Kuwait and the Kuwaiti people for what we did.” A day earlier, Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah had said he welcomed the visit of the Palestinian delegation headed by Mr. Abbas a.k.a. Abu Mazen. “We welcome the visit of our brother Abu Mazen,” he said. In a statement to the KUNA news agency, Sheikh Sabah said Kuwait would continue to provide financial aid to the Palestinians to help them cope with the Israeli occupation. (AFP, Reuters, DPA)
Imprisoned PLC Member Marwan Barghouti said he was dropping out of the 9 January presidential elections for PA President. Mr. Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, called a news conference in Ramallah to read a letter from her husband. (AFP, AP)
The Israeli Cabinet agreed to release a number of Palestinian prisoners as a gesture to Egypt and the Palestinian leadership, according to Israeli officials. The release would involve 100 to 200 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including those who had served most of their sentences. Palestinian officials said Israel should coordinate prisoner releases with them. “Usually, the unilateral releases have never been satisfactory,” according to PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat. (AP)
Saudi Arabia would fund construction of 600 housing units for Palestinian families whose homes were destroyed by the Israeli army in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The total cost, according to the Palestinian representative to Saudi Arabia Mustafa Ash-Sheikh Dheeb, was estimated at US$6.4 million. The Saudi Development Fund would disburse the money for the construction, to be implemented by UNRWA starting January 2005. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz would also fund the construction of another 950 homes in the Rafah region of the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
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In the West Bank, a Hamas member was killed and three Israeli soliders were injured in clashes in the town of Nablus. The Hamas member was identified as Mr. Ahssan Shawahmeh, 27. (AFP)
Palestinians fired at an IDF post on the “Kissufim” route in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Palestinians fired five mortal shells at the “Gush Katif” settlement in the Gaza Strip, directly hitting one house. No casualties were reported. (Ha’aretz)
Israeli Defence Minister Mofaz said Israel might consider giving the PA certain security responsibility in the Occupied Palestinian Territory before its planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank. He also said IDF troops would be temporarily pulled out of Palestinian cities ahead of the 9 January elections. “We will leave the Palestinian cities for a period of about 72 hours, that is the day before, the day of and the day after the elections,” he added. PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat said IDF troops should withdraw from Palestinian towns immediately to enable candidates to campaign. Israel should also lift travel bans on Palestinians and removed checkpoints, he added. (AP, Ha’aretz)
UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi opined that the United States disregarded the human rights of Palestinians while, at the same time, urging the rest of the world to respect individuals’ freedoms. Speaking at the Arab Strategy Forum in Dubai, Mr. Brahimi also called on Arab leaders to stand up to Washington over the Palestinian issue, which he said was key to regional security. “They who support Israel so much must talk to Israel about these rights. There is a lot of Arab blame directed at the United States because of this,” he said. At the Forum, former US President Bill Clinton called on the world to help the Palestinian leaders who would be chosen in the January elections to make peace with Israel, build their economy and fight crime and terrorism. “There are many extraordinary leaders among the Palestinians. But they are beginning a long journey and they need our support,” Mr. Clinton said. (Ha’aretz, Reuters)
The IDF continued to investigate the attack on a checkpoint in Rafah, on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on 12 December, in which a tunnel was discovered under an outpost. Explosives went off from under the tunnel, which was some 500 meters long – twice the length that Hamas had claimed on Sunday. IDF experts estimated some 1.3 tons of explosives were used in the blast, with the explosives being divided into three separate bombs to maximize the impact. (Ha’aretz)
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Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement that its fighters attacked the settlements of “Neve Dekalim” and “Dugit” with six mortars and two Qassam rockets. Fatah's military wing, the Brigades of Martyr Ahmed Abulreesh, said they also fired rockets at “Neve Dekalim”. (UPI)
Backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, the IDF entered Al-Jadid refugee camp, west of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, destroying at least seven houses, security sources said. Israeli sources said the houses were used by militants to fire rockets at Jewish settlements. A similar incursion took place in Shujaiyah, east of Gaza. No casualties were reported. (UPI)
Asharq Al-Awsat published an interview with PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas in which he told the newspaper the use of arms in the Palestinian uprising was “causing damage” to the Palestinian cause and should cease. Hinting at possible further action in that regard, Mr. Abbas, said “an opinion is not worth anything if it remains an opinion. We have to enforce this opinion and one element of that says that the intifada should move away from weapons”. Mr. Abbas also said the intifada was “a legitimate right for the people to express their rejection of the occupation through popular and social means.” (AP, DPA, Ha’aretz, UPI)
Palestinian residents said Israeli bulldozers, guarded by jeeps and armoured vehicles, razed large areas of Palestinian farming lands near the village of Bal'ein in the West Bank, in preparation to resume the separation wall construction. Dozens of residents of the village clashed with Israeli soldiers in an attempt to stop the razing, but the soldiers opened fire at them, witnesses said. Medical sources at Ramallah Hospital said that five Palestinians were wounded in the clash and were receiving treatment at the hospital. Ha’aretz also reported that four Palestinians were injured in clashes with the IDF while protesting against the separation barrier near the village. Seven protestors, five of them Israeli, were arrested. Dozens of Palestinian residents of the village and activists of the Israeli-Arab “Anarchists Against the Fence” organization had gathered in the area to protest the construction of the fence near the village. (Ha’aretz, Xinhua)
Israel's Foreign Ministry has put forward proposals for the rehabilitation of Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Arab countries, to be financed by a special international fund. “A plan for the rehabilitation of refugees is in the interests of Israel, the Palestinians and the international community,” Foreign Ministry Director General Ron Prosor told Israel Army Radio. “It is imperative that Israel find a solution to the refugee question in order to avoid demands for their return to Israel,” he added. (AFP)
Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for a Qassam rocket attack on the settlement of “Nahal Oz”, east of Gaza City. The Brigades said its militants also managed to fire shells at an Israeli tank in the neighbourhood of Al-Sheja'eya in the area during an Israeli incursion into the neighbourhood. (Xinhua)
Two Israeli soldiers were wounded after armed Palestinians launched anti-tank missiles at their outpost near the Carney crossing east of Gaza City, Israeli sources reported. (Xinhua)
The Al-Aqsa Institute, renovating Islamic sites, warned of Israeli intentions to remove or demolish the wall leading to the Al-Magharba gate, next to the western wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Chairman of the foundation, Ali Abu Shikkha, expressed to reporters his complete rejection of the Israeli plans aimed at destroying Islamic landmarks. The foundation said in a statement, “neither the occupied Jerusalem municipality nor the Israeli regime has the right to remove even one stone or a single part of the wall or the path leading to Al-Maghareba (Dung Gate), because they are considered part and parcel of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.” The statement cautioned that destruction of that gate might cause gaps in the wall of the holy site, which in turn might lead to its collapse. (Xinhua)
Addressing an academic conference, Defense Minister Mofaz said Israel was prepared to withdraw troops from Palestinian areas well ahead of its planned pullout from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank next summer. He added that he favoured coordinating the Gaza pullout with the Palestinians. In an initial test, he said Israel would withdraw from Palestinian areas for 72 hours during next month's Palestinian presidential elections. Mr. Mofaz said that if the Palestinians cracked down on militants, Israel would be ready to coordinate the Gaza pullout and make even broader concessions. “Implementation of a programme of agreed disengagement could certainly be a platform for a future interim agreement,” he said, adding that he believed conditions were not yet ripe for a permanent settlement. (AP)
Syria’s Information Minister, Mehdi Dakhlallah, said the 13 December bombing of a car belonging to a member of the Palestinian movement Hamas in Damascus showed Israel continued to reject peace. The blast “is part of the Israeli terrorist war led against Palestinian civilians wherever they be,” the Minister told AFP. Three passers-bys were lightly wounded in the explosion that ripped through the Mazzeh residential neighbourhood shortly after the vehicle's Palestinian owner and his family got out, a Syrian official was quoted by state media. (AFP)
Hamas vowed on the 17th anniversary of its founding to keep up armed resistance against Israel. A statement faxed to UPI in Beirut said: “The resistance adopted by Hamas is a strategic choice for defeating occupation and has become a prevailing culture and norm among Palestinians inside and outside the territories.” It said armed resistance to end the occupation of Palestinian land will persist “and any attempt to stop the resistance under any pretext will not work and will not be accepted by our people who are continuing to suffer from occupation”. It also called for reforming the Palestinian political system and restructuring the PA, denouncing efforts to hold Palestinian presidential elections before legislative polls. (UPI)
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw criticized Hamas for its plans to boycott presidential elections, saying Hamas could “disrupt the electoral process and damage democratic Palestinian causes” by not participating in the January 2005 election. (AP)
The IDF had announced that the Rafah crossing would remain closed until January, Israel Army Radio reported. An army spokesman was quoted as saying that the move would help repair buildings damaged by a booby-trapped tunnel operation on 12 December. The spokesman said that only for humanitarian purposes would Palestinians be allowed to go through the Netsana crossing in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. (Xinhua)
Israeli and Palestinian officials had reached a preliminary agreement to coordinate the preparations for the 9 January 2005 elections, Palestinian security sources said. The preliminary agreement was reached at a meeting last week, which was attended by PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat, Prime Minister's Office Chief of Staff Hassan Abu Libdeh on the Palestinian side, the Israeli Premier's political advisor Shalom Tudjman and the Premier Office Chief of Staff Dove Weisglass on the Israeli side. Sources said that Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad and Mr. Weisglass would be in charge of coordinating all security and technical arrangements before and during the elections. (Xinhua)
An Israeli soldier was lightly wounded when a mortar shell launched from the northern Gaza Strip exploded outside an IDF post near the security fence on the Israel-Gaza Strip border. The armed wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement. (AFP)
A Thai agricultural worker was killed when mortar shells struck a hothouse in “Ganei Tal” in the “Gush Katif” settlement in the southern Gaza Strip where she was working. Two other Thai workers sustained light wounds in the shelling. Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack and warned that attacks against foreign workers at settlements in Gaza would continue. (AFP, AP, Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post)
IDF special forces arrested Salah Ali, the military commander of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Ramallah. Mr. Ali was lightly wounded by gunfire when he tried to flee. (Ha’aretz, Xinhua)
Palestinian sources said a 27-year-old Palestinian policeman, Samir Khafaja, had been killed and two other policemen seriously wounded by Israeli troops in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. According to medical officials, Mr. Khafaja was walking on the street when Israeli soldiers on the border with Egypt shot him in the head and chest. The IDF said troops near the border had opened fire when they had spotted suspicious figures crawling towards them. (AFP, AP, Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post, Xinhua)
A commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank, Kamel Ghannam, was shot dead in Ramallah by an Israeli army unit. According to witnesses, the army unit exploded a fake explosive device in order to attract the attention of Mr. Ghannam and shot him dead the moment he stepped out of his house. (Xinhua)
15
Oaher Hamada, a candidate of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) for the upcoming municipal election in Jericho, was detained at his home in the town’s refugee camp during a pre-dawn operation by Israeli troops. An Israeli military source confirmed that Mr. Hamada was one of two PFLP activists arrested in the Jericho region, but gave no details of the allegations against him. (AFP)
A 33-year-old Palestinian civilian, Mustafa al-Sawarka, was killed by Israeli gunfire near the “Netzarim” settlement south of Gaza City. Mr. Sawarka suffered fatal chest wounds when an Israeli tank opened fire at the taxi he and his sister were riding, which, according to Palestinian sources, was trying to cross a road closed off by the IDF near the settlement. A Palestinian man was seriously wounded in another shooting incident at the same spot soon afterwards. An IDF source said soldiers had fired warning shots at Palestinian cars speeding into a closed military zone along the road but had not targeted them directly. (AFP, DPA, Xinhua)
Israeli troops destroyed the house of Iyad Abu Shakhidas in Hebron, a Hamas member alleged to have supplied explosives to suicide bombers who carried out two simultaneous bombings in the city of Beersheva in August 2004 killing 16 people. (Ha’aretz, Xinhua)
Three Palestinian militants were killed in the southern Gaza Strip after attacking an IDF position and an army convoy near the “Kissufim” junction, according to a revised toll from medical sources. Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. Five Israelis – four soldiers and a civilian – were wounded, the IDF said. (AP, AFP, IPC, WAFA)
PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas said the reorganization of the Palestinian security apparatus was under way. “The merging of many Palestinian security services is in progress (to reduce them) to three services: intelligence, preventive security and national security,” Mr. Abbas told AFP before leaving Riyadh after a three-day visit. He also said the process was being overseen by a Palestinian national security council. (AFP)
Hamas and Islamic Jihad rejected the statement of PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas that the use of weapons since the September 2000 outbreak of the intifada had been a mistake. (AFP)
PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas rejected the Israeli initiative to resettle Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and neighbouring Arab countries. “Any proposal regarding the resettlement of the refugees is completely rejected,” Mr. Abbas told reporters in Saudi Arabia. (The Jerusalem Post)
Italy’s Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini would visit Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory from 20 December, Ministry spokesman Pasquale Terracciano told reporters. Mr. Fini would travel on 20 December to Tel Aviv, and was scheduled to meet his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom and Prime Minister Sharon the following day. On 21 December, Mr. Fini would go to Ramallah for meetings with PA Foreign Minister Sha’ath and Prime Minister Qureia. He was scheduled to meet with PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas and PA Interim President Fattouh on 22 December. Talks were expected to focus on Italy’s support for the January presidential election. (AP)
Israel’s Foreign Minister Shalom called for reconvening the Aqaba summit. Mr. Shalom also said the initial requirements of the Road Map must be implemented simultaneously. “They must do their part – stopping terrorism, violence, and incitement – and in parallel we must do our part,” he said. “Israel must do its part by removing unauthorized outposts and withdraw to the lines before 29 September 2000,” he added. Officials in Prime Minister Sharon's office said they disagreed with Mr. Shalom and rejected the idea of reconvening the Aqaba summit. (AP)
Israeli authorities issued a military order to confiscate 600 dunums of land in the villages of Surif and Al-Jab’a, north of Hebron, to continue building the separation barrier. (Al-Ayyam)
16
IDF soldiers shot dead a member of Islamic Jihad who was trying to attack soldiers near the “Kissufim” junction, Palestinian sources said. (DPA)
Palestinian gunmen opened fire on IDF troops southeast of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank. No casualties or damages were caused. (Ha’aretz)
Three Palestinian teenagers were arrested by Israeli soldiers at the Hawara checkpoint at the southern Nablus exit. The three, aged 14 to 17, were armed with knives and a full magazine of M-16 bullets. They were the second group of armed teenagers arrested at the checkpoint. (The Jerusalem Post,www.idf.il)
Eleven Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded when Palestinians fired four mortar shells at an outpost near the “Atzmona” settlement in the southern Gaza Strip. Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. (Ha’aretz, Xinhua)
An Israeli helicopter fired a missile at a carpentry shop in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, destroying it but causing no casualties. The Israeli military said the target was a workshop used by Hamas to manufacture weapons. (AP, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
Ha’aretz reported that 11 families had recently moved into the “Nissanit” settlement in the northern Gaza Strip with the assistance of the settlers’ movement, Amana. (Ha’aretz)
Hamas issued leaflets saying its militants intensified attacks on Israeli settlements “to prove the Palestinian resistance against the occupation continues.” The leaflets said the settlements of “Kfar Darom” in the central Gaza Strip, “Morag”, and “Neve Dekalim” in the southern Gaza Strip were hit. An IDF spokesman said there were no casualties or damages. (Xinhua)
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades rejected the statement of PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas that the use of weapons since the September 2000 outbreak of the intifada had been a mistake. “As long as the intifada continues, no one has the right to bring up the question of arms” in the struggle against Israeli occupation, Mr. Zakaria Zubeidi, the group's leader in Jenin, told AFP. On 15 December, Hamas and Islamic Jihad had similarly rejected Mr. Abbas’ statement. (AFP)
PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat told reporters the PA hoped the dialogue with the Palestinian factions, mainly Hamas, would lead to an agreement with all factions to consider the highest national interests of the Palestinian people. He said: “Ending violence between Israel and the Palestinians should be mutual according to the Road Map peace plan.” (Xinhua)
PA Cabinet Chief of Staff Hassan Abu Libdeh said Prime Minister Blair would visit the Occupied Palestinian Territory on 22 December. “Besides the possibility to hold an international conference aimed at re-launching the peace process in the region, the two sides will also discuss mechanisms of cooperation between Britain and the Palestinian National Authority, which will help the PNA perform its duties in the future with different challenges,” he said. (AP)
Jordanian Government spokeswoman Asma Khoder reiterated her Government’s strong opposition to the resettlement of the Palestinian refugees living in the country. Saying that Jordan had not received any official Israeli proposals to that effect, she reaffirmed Jordan's commitment to General Assembly resolution 194 (III). (UPI)
Israel agreed to attend a Middle East conference in London, a senior Israeli official said on condition of anonymity. The official said Prime Minister Sharon had sent a letter to Prime Minister Blair saying Israel was ready to attend the conference, tentatively scheduled for February. (AP)
Commissioner-General of UNRWA Peter Hansen was joined by Mr. Khalifa Nasser Alswaidi, Chairman of the United Arab Emirates Red Crescent Society, during a ceremony in which keys were given to 435 Jenin families whose homes were destroyed during the 2002 Israeli incursion. The rebuilding of the Jenin refugee camp had been made possible following a US$27 million donation to UNRWA by the UAE Red Crescent. (www.unrwa.org)
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast briefed the Security Council on “the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.” (UN press release SC/8270)
The following is an excerpt from Prime Minister Sharon’s speech delivered at the Hertzliya Conference, an annual academic conference organized by the Interdisciplinary Centre:
In response to Prime Minister Sharon’s remarks at the Hertzliya Conference regarding Israel’s Gaza disengagement plan, PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas said, “The terms mentioned by Sharon were not new. They prejudge the final status negotiations and are unacceptable.” He added, “The Palestinians will coordinate with Israel on the Gaza withdrawal only if it is part of the Road Map.” (Reuters)
Speaking at the Herzliya Conference, the leader of Israel's National Union Party, Avigdor Lieberman, said he supported the transfer of some Arab neighbourhoods in Jerusalem and Israeli Arab communities in the Wadi Ara region to Palestinian control in conjunction with the establishment of a Palestinian State. Mr. Lieberman said Israel’s main problem was not the Palestinians but rather the country’s Arab citizens and that problem had to be taken care of before the conflict could be resolved. (Ha’aretz)
17
Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved into the Khan Yunis refugee camp backed by attack helicopters. At least five Palestinians were killed and 22 others wounded, and more than 30 houses were destroyed, according to Palestinian sources. About 600 Palestinians, many of them carrying small children, fled their homes for fear that the army would demolish them. An Israeli soldier suffered light to moderate wounds from an anti-tank missile during the operation. The IDF said the operation was intended to reduce the number of mortar and rocket attacks from the camp at nearby settlements, and the military commander said the army would stay in the camp indefinitely. The IDF continued the incursion into the Khan Yunis refugee camp for the second day with a total of 11 Palestinians dead, 47 wounded, including 12 children, and the destruction of 40 houses. The IDF said the raid came in response to Palestinian mortar and rocket attacks that had killed one Israeli and wounded 17. (AP, Ha’aretz, IPC, Reuters, Xinhua)
A tunnel being dug by Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt collapsed, killing at least five people. The Israeli army allowed Palestinian ambulances and rescue workers to the scene and they extricated the dead bodies. (Ha’aretz, Reuters)
Israeli military sources revealed that Palestinian militants had fired 300 mortar shells at settlements in the Gaza Strip since November 2004. Eighty shells hit their targets, leaving two Israelis dead and dozens injured, according to the sources. (Xinhua)
Senior Israeli political sources said Israel supported a Middle East peace conference planned by Britain for February 2005, but would not participate in it. Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Prime Minister Sharon, told Reuters, “We dropped our objections (to the conference) when we heard what the substance would be – to aid the new Palestinian leadership. Israel is not a partner to this conference. We will not participate. … (But) we can help from the outside.” (Ha’aretz, Reuters)
American and Palestinian officials said the United States, Europe and Arab countries were considering greatly increasing, probably doubling, aid to the Palestinians, The New York Times reported. According to the officials, a four-year package of US$6 to $8 billion would be forthcoming if the Palestinian election set for 9 January occurred successfully, the new Government cracked down on militant groups and Israel lifted scores of roadblocks and checkpoints to ease the transit of goods and people in Palestinian areas. (www.nytimes.com)
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President Bush predicted that he would bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians during his second term in office. “I want you to know that I am going to invest a lot of time and a lot of creative thinking so that there will finally be peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” Mr. Bush told Yediot Ahronot. “I am convinced that, during this term, I will manage to bring peace,” he added. (AP)
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Hamas said it had fired a Qassam rocket at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. The group said the attack was “to revenge the daily Israeli army offensives against the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.” Two people were injured in the attack and 10 others were suffering from shock, the Israeli media reported. The IDF later said its aircraft had struck two unmanned rocket launchers in the northern Gaza Strip. It also reported new mortar fire on settlements in the southern Gaza Strip. (DPA, UPI)
PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat announced that it had been agreed during an Israeli-Palestinian meeting that Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem would take part in the elections in accordance with the same arrangements as those adopted for the last Palestinian elections in 1996. (Xinhua)
Egyptian President Mubarak said in an interview with Der Spiegel that he believed a Palestinian State would be established by 2008. “I think it's likely to occur in 2008, at the end of US President George W. Bush's second term,” he was quoted as saying. (www.spiegel.de)
UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said that after consultations with Secretary-General Kofi Annan it had been agreed to send back to the Gaza Strip the 39 international UNRWA staff that had been relocated to Jerusalem and Amman because of the deteriorating security situation. (AFP)
Israel was to release 170 Palestinian prisoners within days to show goodwill, Prime Minister Sharon's office said. “We consider this step a cosmetic one. We have not been consulted about this release,” said Mr. Radi Jaraie, Deputy PA Minister of Prisoner Affairs. (AP, AFP)
Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced that it had set up an ad-hoc task force to assist in carrying out free and democratic elections in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by facilitating the entry of foreign observers into the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. (www.mfa.gov.il)
20
Three mortar shells were fired in the northern Gaza Strip and shots were fired at an IDF force in southern Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported. A Palestinian with a knife was arrested at the “Kalandia” checkpoint near Ramallah, and confessed to planning to stab Israeli soldiers or policemen. (Ha’aretz)
The IDF destroyed the homes of two Palestinian militants near the northern West Bank town of Jenin, Israeli and Palestinian sources said. The two houses belonged to the families of Mohammed Dib Ayyuch and Bassam Mustapha Ubeid, two jailed militants from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. (AFP)
Israel would not participate in an international Middle East conference Britain is considering to host early in 2005, Prime Minister Sharon said. (AP)
PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas told a press conference in Amman: “If Israel pulls out from Gaza, we must accept the withdrawal in any form or kind … and bid them farewell … We will assume responsibility for every parcel of land the Israelis will evacuate … but the withdrawal must be part of the Road Map.” (AFP)
Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Al-Zahar threatened to avenge the IDF raid on Khan Yunis. “Aggression from Israel will be reacted by self-defence … whether within the occupied territories or outside the Green Line,” Mr. Al-Zahar told AFP. (AFP)
The Government of Japan would contribute US$60 million from its fiscal year 2004 supplementary budget to promote the Middle East peace process through supporting economic and social development in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. (www.mofa.go.jp)
OCHA released a report entitled, “Costs of Conflict: The Changing Face of Bethlehem.” (www.reliefweb.net)
Referring to the Middle East conference proposed by the UK, Prime Minister Blair’s spokesman said: “ This meeting is about Palestine and practical reforms within Palestine.” “This has never been conceived of as a major peace conference,” said a Foreign Office spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity. (AP)
EU and Russian Middle East envoys and a US former envoy to the region met in the Gaza Strip. EU Envoy Marc Otte said regarding Israel’s disengagement plan: “We are supporting disengagement on the condition that it is consistent with the Road Map, that it leads to the Road Map, that it is compatible to the two-State solution, that it is negotiated and coordinated with the Palestinian Authority and that Israel helps with reconstruction.” The Russian Envoy Alexander Kalugin said, “From the outset we have emphasized that withdrawal does not constitute a replacement for the Road Map … The steps taken by Israel must come within the context of the Road Map.” He also said the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip must “only be an initial step towards a comprehensive settlement for the establishment of a Palestinian State,” and added, “After the withdrawal from Gaza, there should be withdrawals from the West Bank as well.” The US former envoy Dennis Ross, said “This is not Gaza last, it’s Gaza first. The challenge is to make the right kind of connection with the West Bank and demonstrate that what works in Gaza can work in the West Bank as well.” A UN official was unable to attend the meeting due to circumstances beyond his control. (AFP)
At a press conference, President Bush said, “ I’m hopeful right now because the Palestinians will begin to have elections … And we look forward to working with Israel to uphold her obligations to enable a Palestinian State to emerge.” Mr. Bush also said, “I appreciate the fact that Prime Minister Tony Blair is willing to help that process by holding a conference with Palestinians that will help develop the State.” At a State Department daily press briefing, Spokesman Richard Boucher said, in response to a question about US participation in the conference proposed by the UK, “I expect that we will be associated with this, but how, exactly, it’s going to materialize and what it’s going to be, I really think you have to let the British answer.” (www.whitehouse.gov, www.state.gov)
Following a two-day offensive by Israeli forces into the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA opened one of its schools to provide temporary accommodation to 600 families displaced by the fighting. UNRWA immediately served the families hot meals and water in addition to providing mattresses, blankets and mats. (www.un.org/news)
Leaders of the “Yesha Council,” a group representing settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, endorsed a call made a day earlier by settler leader Pinchas Wallerstein to resist the Government's withdrawal plan, even at the cost of imprisonment. Council Head Bentsi Lieberman said at a news conference, “The Yesha council stands behind Pinchas Wallerstein … The proposal to expel Jews from their homes is an immoral decision and a breach of human rights.” Mr. Lieberman said the settlers opposed violence and would not use force against soldiers involved in the evacuation. (AFP, AP, Ma’ariv)
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The Israeli military announced it had arrested two wanted members of Fatah and one Islamic Jihad member in Jenin, and two wanted Palestinians in Hebron. (www.idf.il)
Two anti-tank missiles hit a synagogue at the “Netzarim” settlement in the northern Gaza Strip during morning prayers, causing extensive damage to the building. Eight worshippers were treated for shock but suffered no injuries. A number of mortar shells were fired at the “Gush Katif” settlement in the Gaza Strip causing damages but no injuries. (AP, Ha’aretz, Xinhua, www.idf.il)
Several bulldozers from the “Netzarim” settlement south of Gaza City razed parts of the coastal road of Al-Sheikh Ejlein, linking the city with the southern Gaza Strip, forming hills of sand, according to Palestinian security sources. Meanwhile, Israeli troops opened fire on residents who had attempted to pass through the coastal road, wounding one Palestinian. (Xinhua)
After meeting with Israel’s Foreign Minister Shalom in Jerusalem, Italy’s Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said at a news conference that Italian paramilitary police would begin training Palestinian security forces in the coming weeks as part of an accelerating EU effort to support the Palestinian leadership ahead of the presidential elections on 9 January 2005. Mr. Fini was due to meet PA Foreign Minister Sha’ath in Ramallah later in the day. (AP)
At the conclusion of a two-day summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Manama, Council Secretary General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiya said in a final communiqué, “We hope the new Palestinian leadership take the opportunity to keep the Palestinian national unity and revive the peace negotiations in order to establish an independent Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as the capital.” The communiqué also urged President Bush to give attention to the Middle East peace process and fulfil his promise to help the Palestinians achieve independent statehood. (Xinhua)
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem said in his annual Christmas message at the Patriarchate in the Old City, “The (separation) wall makes Bethlehem a giant prison … It will only increase hatred, ignorance of the other, and therefore, hostility toward the other, and, as a further consequence, violence and insecurity.” He added, “The Palestinians are ready to talk. Israelis must end the incursions.” (AFP)
According to the results of a poll conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Public Opinion, 56.8 per cent of Palestinians supported a call by PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas to put an end to the militarization of the intifada, while 38.6 per cent opposed it and 4.6 per cent were reluctant to respond to that question. The poll was conducted from 17 to 19 December 2004 among 1,010 Palestinians and had an error margin of 3.08 per cent. ( www.imra.org.il)
World Bank President James Wolfensohn praised the Palestinian Authority's drive for economic reform as he held out the prospect of a US$500 million boost in donor funding. After talks with Palestinians and Israelis Mr. Wolfensohn said he had detected a real desire on both sides “to break the cycle of violence.” If measures to ensure security and growth were put in place, Mr. Wolfensohn said the World Bank's current $930 million annual donations could rise by up to $500 million. “Both sides need to have an operational plan that needs to be implemented before those funds are made available,” he added. Mr. Wolfensohn stressed that extra funds were contingent on “a transparent budget.” (AFP)
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The IDF renewed operations in the Khan Yunis refugee camp killing three Palestinians, according to Palestinian sources. The IDF said its troops had fired at two militants and either wounded or killed them, including an armed Palestinian, 22-year-old Mohammed Al-Majdali, who was shot and killed while trying to scale a border fence between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. During the camp operation, an Israel Air Force helicopter attacked and destroyed an anti-tank missiles launcher, Israel Radio said. Palestinians had earlier fired two anti-tank missiles, three mortar shells and two Qassam rockets at a Gaza settlement and opened fire on an IDF post near the south Gaza settlement of “Gadid”, causing no injuries. Palestinian witnesses said IDF bulldozers had demolished several homes close to the “Neve Dekalim” settlement, which is situated west of the camp. The Israeli military said more than 15 mortars and rockets had been fired from the camp at nearby settlements in the past few days. (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz)
The IDF denied a claim by Physicians for Human Rights accusing troops of firing at a Khan Yunis hospital, Israel Radio reported. The IDF said it had warned the hospital that Palestinian militants were firing in the area and said a bomb set by Palestinians had exploded near the hospital. (Ha’aretz)
In Israel, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair met with Prime Minister Sharon for two hours and afterwards said in a statement that ending terrorism was a precondition for the diplomatic process to move ahead. “What is necessary for people to understand is that if there are proper security measures taken, then Israel does stand ready to implement the Road Map. The important thing is to make sure the absence of terrorism then can create the situation where a proper negotiated settlement can take place,” Mr. Blair said. During the joint press conference, Mr. Sharon said he intended to carry out the disengagement plan according to schedule, and that if the Palestinians acted against the terrorist infrastructure, it would be possible to move through to the Road Map. Mr. Sharon welcomed Mr. Blair's intention to convene an international conference in London the following year in order to further Palestinian reform, but said that it was agreed with the British that Israel need not take part. Mr. Blair said that he did not see the meeting as an international peace conference but rather as a step towards preparing the Palestinians for disengagement. He said the meeting was intended to help the Palestinians achieve adequate democratic, security and economic reform so that after disengagement there would be a viable Palestinian partner and it would be possible to move on to the Road Map. (AFP, Jerusalem Post, Reuters)
Prime Minister Blair travelled to Ramallah to meet with PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas. In a joint press conference following the meeting, Mr. Blair emphasized the role that Britain would like to fulfill on the road to Middle East peace, explaining that the London conference scheduled for early the following year was a preparatory step towards getting back to the Road Map. Mr. Blair said he did not want to replace the Road Map peace plan, but rather help bridge a way back to the plan, by aiding the PA in eliminating terrorism and establishing a stable democracy. He outlined what he viewed as the steps necessary towards establishing an Israeli-Palestinian peace. “The first step is our commitment to a two-State solution: an independently viable Palestinian State and an Israel that is confident in its security. The second step is the election of a Palestinian President. Third, we must construct a plan to help the Palestinian people develop in the political and economic arenas. Fourth is disengagement, and the final step is a return to negotiations and a return to the Road Map.” Mr. Abbas welcomed the Mideast conference saying it would be a first step toward reviving the stalled peace talks. Mr. Abbas also said the Palestinians were committed to democracy and to negotiating a peace deal with Israel. Prior to the meeting, Mr. Blair arrived at the late PA President Yasser Arafat's compound at the muqataa and a moment of silence was observed. (AFP, AP, The Jerusalem Post, Reuters)
Israel's Prison Service Spokesman Yaffa Zeinish said the Service had published the names of 165 Palestinian prisoners who were expected to be released within the next few days. One hundred thirteen of the detainees were militants linked to Fatah, while 52 were jailed for illegally entering Israel, Mr. Zeinish said. (AFP)
PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas said he expected a resumption of negotiations with Israel after next month's PA presidential elections. “There have been no contacts with Israel but it is natural that negotiations would take place after the elections,” Mr. Abbas told reporters. (AFP)
Unknown gunmen, believed to be Palestinian militants, shot and fatally wounded an Israeli civilian security guard near Hebron, the IDF said. The gunmen opened fire as the civilian was guarding parked bulldozers near a section of the separation barrier. Paramedics rushing to the scene failed to revive him, the army said. Israel Radio reported that Palestinians threw two firebombs at IDF troops searching the area for militants, causing no injuries. (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz)
Palestinian sources said the head of the Egyptian Intelligence Service, Omer Suleiman, met Palestinian officials on prospects for the renewal of an inter-Palestinian dialogue in Cairo. The sources said the discussion, between Mr. Suleiman and PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas, focused on whether to renew the dialogue before or after the Palestinian elections due on 9 January 2005. The sources said the talks in Ramallah came as the Palestinians marked the 40th day after the death of the late PA President Yasser Arafat. Mr. Suleiman's visit came one day after meeting with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv, where he discussed ways of helping the Palestinians hold the elections by reaching a ceasefire and ending the imposed sieges and closures. (Xinhua)
Israel’s Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz approved the deployment of 1,000 armed Palestinian policemen to be dispatched to 26 local Palestinian councils to safeguard the municipal election, which is due to start on 23 December. A senior IDF Central Command officer said the Palestinian policemen will be transported from Ramallah tonight to the towns and villages where polling booths will be set up in local schools. The officer said senior IDF commanders will be deployed at the main IDF checkpoints in order to deal with any problems that may arise as well as to monitor the situation. PA police will be permitted to carry arms until 24 December, when the election results are announced. In the Bethlehem area, PA police will be permitted to bear arms during the city's Christmas celebrations, which continue until 19 January. (Ha’aretz)
A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli gunfire in the Beit Hanoun region in the northern Gaza Strip while trying to scale a border fence with Israel, according to medical sources. Palestinian medics were prevented by the army from treating the man, bleeding for several hours before dying of his wounds. (AFP, Reuters)
Israeli police said a 39-year-old Israeli woman, Ariella Fahima, who had been stabbed to death a day earlier in a cooperative farm close to Jerusalem, had been the victim of a Palestinian attack. (AFP)
In a statement, Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, welcomed Prime Minister Blair’s initiative to convene an international conference in support of the Palestinian people in London in 2005. (www.europa.eu.int)
Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew of Canada said 20 Canadian observers would join an observer mission from the European Union to monitor the PA presidential elections to be held on 9 January 2005. “Canada supports a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement between Palestinians and Israelis, and we are committed to lending further resources and expertise to achieving this vital goal,” Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew said. Canada also offered US$1.4 million in assistance for voter registration and technical matters and to encourage women and young voters to participate. (AFP, Reuters)
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Two Hamas members were killed and nine other Palestinians wounded when a device the two were handling exploded in a house in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis. Rami Abu Akr, 22, and Abed Abu Namus, 24, had “achieved martyrdom while preparing for a jihad mission,” Hamas said in a statement. (AFP, Xinhua)
Hours after the Israeli army wound up its second operation in a week in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinians fired 14 mortar shells at the nearby “Nitser Hazani” settlement, wounding one man and damaging a house. In the return fire, one Palestinian was seriously wounded. (AP, Ha’aretz)
In the “Erez Industrial Zone” an anti-armour missile hit a carpentry workshop, heavily damaging the building. No injuries were reported. (Ha’aretz)
Israeli forces entered the village of Um Al Nasser in the northern Gaza Strip, cutting it off from the rest of the territory and taking over the municipal building. The army said troops were searching for weapons caches. (AP, Ha’aretz, Xinhua)
The first municipal and local elections since 1976 were held in 26 towns and villages in the West Bank. About 100 of 887 registered candidates had withdrawn their candidacy in the final 24 hours prior to the elections. The voter turnout was reported to have been close to 90 per cent. According to a tally later released by the Palestinian Authority’s Supreme Council for Local Elections, Fatah won in 16 councils, against nine for Hamas, while the two tied for control of one municipality. (Ha’aretz, Reuters)
In an interview with France Inter radio, France’s Foreign Minister Michel Barnier spoke on the British-sponsored conference in support of the Palestinian people, “The London initiative is a good initiative, and we support it. It is a useful and important stage at a sensitive moment. The Palestinian Authority must organize itself and reform. We must help the Palestinians.” Mr. Barnier said the longer-term goal should be to hold a full-scale international conference bringing together Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the Quartet. “We are not at that point yet. The first step is the presidential elections in Palestine … reform of the future State, reform of the Palestinian Authority, democracy, reform of the security services. We must accompany that process,” Mr. Barnier said. “And then in March there will be a second stage, the [London] conference which will bring together the Palestinians and those who want to help the Authority succeed in its new organization and prepare for the withdrawal from Gaza,” he added. (AFP, DPA)
An UNRWA spokesman in Amman, Matar Saker, said: “[UNRWA] decided to return the international employees to its headquarters in Gaza after the reasons that necessitated their provisional transfer to Amman ceased to exist.” More than 26 international workers were moved to Amman in August 2004. (UPI)
PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas met with visiting EU Middle East Envoy Marc Otte. Mr. Abbas reportedly informed the Envoy of Israel’s continuous attacks against the Palestinians and requested that the EU offer more support to push forward the peace process and stop the Israeli offensives. (Xinhua)
In a speech to the Upper House of the Belgian Parliament, UN advisor Lakhdar Brahimi said, “European States and public opinion in general do not speak out loudly enough to condemn the serious abuses of even the most basic human rights in Palestine. … The silence is nowhere near as total as on the other side of the Atlantic, fortunately, but the hardship, despair and isolation of the Palestinians calls for much firmer support.” He also said the Arab world had “for the most part abandoned Palestinians to their fate in recent years.” As an example of alleged human rights abuses, he cited the many Palestinian olive and citrus trees uprooted by Israelis to make way for the separation barrier and the disruption that had been caused to the olive harvest. He said in some cases aged olive trees were being sold for up to US$20,000 a piece for replanting in Israel. (Reuters)
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Three members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades were killed in a shoot-out with Israeli soldiers at the Tulkarm refugee camp in the northern West Bank, according to a Palestinian security source. The three were Iyad Ranen, 20, Kamel Sabarini, 19, and Jamal Azzam, 20. (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
Some 11 mortar shells hit settlements and an Israeli army post in the Gaza Strip: three hit the “Kfar Darom” settlement, one of which seriously damaged a caravan, three hit the “Neve Dekalim” settlement, one of which landed near a school, two hit the “Erez” crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and three hit an IDF post and unidentified settlements. (Ha’aretz)
Several dozen Israeli settlers blocked the main road near the “Gush Katif” settlement block in the southern Gaza Strip, in protest against the firing of mortar shells into their settlements from nearby Palestinian refugee camps. The settlers set tyres on fire, cutting off Palestinian traffic. Six mortar shells had been fired into the block earlier in the day, damaging a mobile home but causing no injuries, according to an Israeli army source. (AFP)
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country would deploy observers to monitor the PA presidential elections in January 2005. Chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee Mikhail Margelov said the Russian observers would be four Duma deputies and three members of the Federation Council. (Interfax)
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A senior member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was killed in Jenin in the northern West Bank when the house he was hiding in was demolished by Israeli troops. An Israeli military source said, “The troops called for everyone to come out of the house but the wanted operative remained inside. As it was feared that he might be armed, the house was then bulldozed.” Palestinian medical and security sources identified the dead man as Thaer Abu Kamal, 26, the chief lieutenant of Zakaria Zubeidi, the leader of the Brigades in its Jenin stronghold. (AFP, AP, DPA)
Israeli security forces arrested a Fatah member in the village of Dura near Hebron. (Ha’aretz)
In his first speech for the PA presidential election campaign that started today, PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas told some 2,000 supporters in Ramallah, “What we want to achieve is an end to the whole occupation. … We want a state on the lands of 1967, and that means we will not concede Jerusalem.” On Israel’s disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip, he said, “The withdrawal from Gaza must only be a part of other withdrawals which should follow.” Mr. Abbas said the release of all the estimated 8,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons was essential. “If Israel wants peace, then the prisoner issue must be settled. … Today we have two former prisoners with us. … But we want everyone to be a former prisoner, above all else Marwan Barghouti.” Referring to General Assembly resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948, Mr. Abbas said, “We will continue holding to this resolution as a basis of the solution to the refugee problem.” (AFP, AP)
The Israeli authorities allowed Tayseer Khaled, a candidate of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the PA presidential elections, to launch his campaign in East Jerusalem, as all campaigning there, in limited private areas. (Ha’aretz)
In his Christmas message, Pope John Paul II expressed his concern about the situation on the Middle East. (www.vatican.va)
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Two Hamas members, Mohammed Abu Arus, 24, and Mohamed Abu Javer, 22, were killed by Israeli tank fire near the Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, while crawling towards an Israeli army post near a border fence with Israel. Hamas said in a statement the two had been killed while approaching an Israeli army post to plant an explosive. (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz, Reuters, Xinhua)
A six-year-old Palestinian girl, Tasaheel Hasanat, died of her wounds sustained two months before in southern Gaza City, according to Palestinian medical sources. The girl was wounded when Israeli troops stormed Meghraqa town near the “Netzarim” settlement south of Gaza City and opened intensive fire on residential houses. (Xinhua)
In response to the previous day’s killing of his aide by Israeli troops, Zakaria Zubeidi, commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said, “We will respond to Israel and it will be a very painful response in the right time and the right place.” He also said, “There is no doubt that it is our right to respond and we will respond to this crime with all our power,” adding, “The answer will be inside Israel.” (Xinhua)
The Israeli Cabinet approved a range of measures to ensure a smooth Palestinian presidential election on 9 January 2005. According to the bill unanimously approved by the Cabinet, the army would ease military restrictions throughout the West Bank and Gaza in the run-up to the vote. Immediately ahead of the election, the military would pull out of all Palestinian population centres. The Cabinet also approved rules allowing limited campaigning in East Jerusalem, according to a senior Israeli official. The measures included allowing candidates to campaign in private areas, hang posters and distribute campaign literature. Rallies in public places that could be seen as threatening Israel’s “sovereignty” in the disputed part of the city would not be permitted, according to the official. The Palestinians would also be permitted to conduct a survey of East Jerusalem residents to determine who was eligible to vote. (AP, Ha’aretz)
The director of the Israeli Government’s disengagement administration, Yonatan Bassi, announced that all residents of the “Pa’at Sadeh” settlement in the “Gush Katif” block in the southern Gaza Strip had agreed to move collectively to a farm community south of Ashkelon, inside Israel. “All of the residents of “Pa’at Sadeh”, 20 families in all, as well as 5 additional families from other settlements, would move together to Moshav Mavki’im. The deal would make “Pa’at Sadeh” the first settlement to be dismantled under the Government’s Gaza Strip disengagement plan. The relocation process would begin between March and May 2005, according to the planned timetable. (AP, Ha’aretz)
Fourteen Egyptian diplomats left for the Occupied Palestinian Territory to join hundreds of international observers to monitor the PA presidential elections. Ambassador Rida Hassan told reporters a total of 17 Egyptian observers would monitor voting in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Three other diplomats would join the delegation on 2 January 2005. (AP)
In a front-page advertisement in Palestinian newspapers, some 560 prominent Palestinians, including senior PLO figures, cabinet ministers, lawmakers, intellectuals and poets, urged an end to militant attacks and a push for democratic reform to advance the quest for a state. “We reaffirm our legitimate right to confront occupation, but call for restoring the popular character of our intifada and ceasing actions that reduce the range of (international) support for our cause and harm the credibility of our struggle,” the statement said. (Reuters)
27
Wael al-Riyahi, a local leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades wanted for arms trafficking, was killed when he was shot in the head and chest by Israeli forces in the Balata refugee camp on the outskirts of Nablus. An Israeli military source said a special unit had opened fire on the victim as he tried to flee by car. Troops first shot at the wheels of the vehicle and then at the driver when he tried to reverse towards them. The man was armed with a pistol, according to the source. (AFP, AP, DPA)
Israel released 159 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were serving the final months of their sentences, as part of an intended gesture towards Egypt, which released in early December 2004 an Israeli who had served eight years in an Egyptian jail on spying charges. One hundred thirteen of the prisoners were classified as security prisoners, but none had taken part in deadly attacks. The remainder had been detained for illegally entering Israel. (AFP, AP, Ha’aretz)
Israeli police arrested Mustafa Barghouti, an independent candidate in the PA presidential elections, while campaigning in East Jerusalem. According to Mr. Barghouti’s aides, he was taken into custody while meeting Palestinians in the Old City. Police said Mr. Barghouti was suspected of violating his Israeli-issued entry permit. “Barghouti was allowed to enter Jerusalem in order to travel through it to another destination. He is being questioned as we believe he planned to stay for an extended period in the city without authorization,” said a police spokesman. Another candidate, Bassam As-Salhi (People’s Party of Palestine), was briefly detained after trying to enter Jerusalem without a permit. (AFP, AP, Reuters)
General Gadi Shmani, head of the operations department in the IDF, said the army could move back into the Gaza Strip at any time after Israel’s planned pullout from the territory if attacks by Palestinian militants continued. “The army has a wide range of potential responses at its disposal, including a reoccupation of the Gaza Strip,” General Shmani told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. (AFP)
A senior Israeli official quoted Prime Minister Sharon as saying Israel’s Cabinet would vote as early as January 2005 to authorize the start of a pullout from the Gaza Strip in the middle of the year. (Reuters)
After meeting with PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas, senior Chinese Envoy Tang Jiaxuan called for the holding of a special conference on the Middle East under the Security Council. “We are appealing for a new conference to be held on the Palestinian problem under the aegis of the Security Council. … China believes that the Road Map, which aims to create a Palestinian State, must be implemented as soon as possible,” Mr. Tang told reporters. (AFP)
At a meeting with US Senator Joseph Lieberman, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced that he intended to meet whoever the Palestinians elect to head the Palestinian Authority to coordinate with him on security issues pertaining to the disengagement plan. Mr. Sharon stressed that Israel would carry out the disengagement under all conditions and would subsequently strive to return to the Road Map. The main demand to the Palestinians was to stop the terror, Mr. Sharon said, adding that it would be possible to stop the attacks if the Palestinians deployed their forces in those areas in Gaza where Qassam rockets were fired. Senator Lieberman had earlier met PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas, who told him that he would demand Israel to stop building the fence, halt its fire, release prisoners and allow the return of refugees. (BBC)
Prime Minister Sharon told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee that armed organizations in Gaza now had shoulder-mounted missiles, and there were mounting concerns that they would shoot down crop dusters flying over agricultural zones next to the Gaza Strip. (Ha’aretz)
PA Local Government Minister Jamal Shobaki, Head of the Higher Committee for Local Elections, announced the official results of the first phase of local elections that took place in 26 towns and villages in the West Bank districts. He said the rate of participation had exceeded all expectations and that the elections had been honest and free. He said the announcement of the names of those who won in the local councils’ elections was in line with the law, which stipulated announcing the results within 48 hours after sorting the ballots. Hamas published in Al-Ayyam newspaper a notice extending congratulations to their members in the West Bank on the major victory they achieved in 13 municipalities where they got the majority vote. The results of the first planned Palestinian municipal and local elections held in the West Bank and East Jerusalem on 23 December were Fatah, as the winner, with 136 seats (44.4 per cent); Hamas, 109 seats (35.6 per cent); Independents: 40 seats (13.07 per cent); tribes and other factions: 21 seats (6.86 per cent). Palestinian women won 51 seats, 32 of them winning their place outright without having to claim a seat reserved for women by Palestinian law. (AP, www.arabs48.com, AIC)
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The IDF fired a missile at a car traveling near Khan Yunis carrying two Palestinian militants who had fired 40 mortar shells at Jewish settlements since the beginning of the week. The two, identified as members of Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, escaped as they managed to jump from the car shortly before the missiles were fired, Palestinian witnesses said. (AP, Xinhua)
PA Minister for Prisoners’ Affairs Hisham Abdel Razeq said the release of 159 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails was not enough to help boost the peace process. “The release of the small number of prisoners and detaining others shows that Israel doesn't have any good intentions towards releasing the prisoners and achieving peace,” he said, adding that Israel was still keeping 8,000 Palestinians in its jails, with hundreds of them not having taken part in any violent action or in any other accusation. (Xinhua)
The PA police chief in the Gaza Strip, Saeb Al-Ajez, issued an order barring Palestinian gunmen from wearing PA police uniforms. “This is one of many steps the Palestinian police is taking to enforce the rule of law and bring security and organization to the streets,”' Mr. Al-Ajez said in a statement. (AP)
PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas spoke at a mass rally in Jericho, where more than a thousand supporters filed into Jericho's football stadium amid a backdrop of banners with his picture next to that of the late PA President Arafat. “Today we are nearing the 40th anniversary of the revolution that was led by Yasser Arafat who dedicated his whole life for the cause of our people and who passed away before realizing his dream. … We will not stop our revolution until objectives are realized. … Abu Ammar remains in our hearts. We will continue in his footsteps and we swear that all his beliefs will serve as a testimony that every Palestinian has to observe.” Many in the crowd wore white T-shirts showing the two men together set against an image of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque. “Our common enemy and our common foe is the occupation, the restrictions, the apartheid wall, the oppression, the killings, the assassinations, and we have to be united to put an end to this ugly occupation,” Mr. Abbas said. The rally marked Mr. Abbas' first appearance outside his base in Ramallah since he began his campaign on 25 December. Campaign spokesman Ahmed Abdulrahman said Mr. Abbas would also head to the northern West Bank towns of Tulkarm, Qalqilya and Jenin later in the week before spending the weekend in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
PA Interim President Rawhi Fattouh announced legislative elections would be held in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on 17 May 2005. He told a commemorative meeting in Gaza in honor of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat that Palestinians needed a powerful lawmaking body to ensure the success of reforms and anti-corruption efforts. ( Al-Ayyam)
The IDF wounded 6 Palestinians and arrested 3 others in the West Bank, medical sources and witnesses said. Israeli soldiers opened fire at a car in Kherbet Al-Shwekeh, north of Hebron, seriously wounding 30-year-old Yasser Al-Jabarin. Five Palestinians were wounded in Nablus when Israeli soldiers opened fire at a group of people, according to medics at Rafidya Hospital in Nablus. In Al-Am'ary Refugee Camp in Ramallah, the IDF arrested three brothers, Ameen, Kareem, and Rajab Abu Arab, after storming the camp and breaking into the family’s house. (WAFA)
In a press release, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it would despatch a delegation to the international observation mission for the election of the President of the Palestinian Authority from 7 to 11 January 2005. The delegation, headed by Mr. Katsuyuki Kawai, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, would be composed of 23 staff members. Besides the officials of the Ministry, the Japanese Embassies in Israel, and other countries, the delegation would include personnel from the Cabinet Office, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and a specialist from a university to provide expertise on international election observation. The local branch office of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) would also cooperate with the delegation. (www.mofa.go.jp)
At least 10 Palestinians, including a 12-year-old girl, were wounded when Israeli tanks fired shells into a populated area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip in response to continued mortar attacks on the nearby “Neve Dekalim” settlement. One of the injured, 21-year-old Zaid Abu Akar, later died of his wounds. (AFP, IPC, Xinhua)
The Israeli army said it had discovered an explosive device weighing 70 kilograms during a patrol along a security fence surrounding the “Gush Katif” settlement block in the southern Gaza Strip. The device was detonated in a controlled manner. (www.idf.il)
The Israeli army said it had arrested a total of seven wanted Palestinians: an Islamic Jihad member was arrested in Jenin, a Fatah member near Nablus, a Hamas member in Kubiya west of Ramallah, a Fatah member and two other wanted Palestinians in Ramallah, and one Palestinian in Bet-Umar north of Hebron. (www.idf.il)
The chief of the EU observer mission for the January presidential election, Former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard, arrived in the Gaza Strip. Mr. Rocard held talks with Palestinian Police Chief in the Gaza Strip, Saeb Al-Ajez, on arrangements to ensure a smooth election. His visit focused on inspecting the situation in the Gaza Strip, especially Israeli troops’ incursions and checkpoints blocking Palestinians’ free movement. (Xinhua)
In an interview with the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa said there was not “a glimmer of hope” for the creation of a true Palestinian State. “I do not see any change in the positions of Israel, the United States and their allies or that the situation is going to calm down. I don’t see a glimmer of hope. … I fear that all that is going to be proposed to the Palestinians is the creation of a rump state of a provisional nature, which is just ridiculous because by consolidating the status quo a time-bomb is being laid,” Mr. Moussa said. “If there is a true desire to establish a Palestinian State in line with the Road Map, then Israel must give the Palestinians 90 per cent of the occupied territories, as well as East Jerusalem, and it must stop settlements,” he added. (www.middle-east-online.com)
The US Government transferred US$20 million in cash aid to the Palestinian Authority, as announced by the State Department earlier in the month. A statement issued by the US Embassy in Tel Aviv said the funds would be used for projects earmarked as priorities by the PA Finance Ministry, including for electricity, water and sewage in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. “The cash transfer will not only provide urgently needed budgetary support to the Palestinian Authority, but will give a financial boost to the new government as it pushes its reform agenda and prepares for elections,” the statement said. (www.usaid.gov, AFP)
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Two Israeli soldiers escorting a group of settlers towards Israel were lightly wounded when their vehicle was ambushed by Palestinian gunmen near the village of Baka Ash-Sharqiya, north of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. (AFP, Ha’aretz)
The armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, Saraya Al-Quds, announced that it had successfully test-fired a homemade rocket with a range of 18 kilometres. “The engineering unit developed a new rocket called Quds 2, with a length of 2.2 metres and a capacity of carrying 6 kilograms of explosives, and it can hit targets 18 kilometres away,” the group said in a leaflet. (Xinhua)
Adviser to Jerusalem Police Commissioner Rubin Barco said the majority of Palestinians in East Jerusalem would have to cast their votes outside the city in the January presidential election. Only 5,376 residents would be allowed to vote in the polling stations set up at the post offices inside the city, whereas the vast majority of residents would have to go to stations outside the city, Mr. Barco said. Meanwhile, Al-Quds reported the Israeli police had banned any marches, gatherings or posters in public places in East Jerusalem during the election campaigns. The newspaper’s report said the voter registration in East Jerusalem was very slow and did not cover all areas of the city, and there was not enough time to register all the Palestinians. (Xinhua)
The Palestinian Central Elections Commission said two independent presidential candidates from the Gaza Strip, Sayyed Barakah and Abdelkarim Shubeir, were still awaiting Israeli permission to leave the Gaza Strip and campaign in the West Bank. Four West Bank-based candidates had received permits to travel throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Commission said, and a seventh candidate, Abdelhalim Al-Ashqar, was currently under house arrest in the United States and facing trial for illegally collecting funds for Hamas. (AFP)
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) called on its supporters to vote for independent candidate Mustafa Barghouti in the presidential election. “We are appealing to our members, cadres and supporters to support the candidacy of Mustafa Barghouti and vote for him,” Rabah Muhanna, a member of the group’s politburo, told reporters. The PFLP, which boycotted the previous presidential election in 1996, had announced earlier that it would participate this time round but would not be presenting a candidate. (AFP, Reuters)
After a meeting with Foreign Minister Shalom, Chinese State Councillor and former Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan told reporters it was imperative to put an end to violence, especially military actions against civilians, ensure a free and smooth Palestinian election, respect the status and role of a new Palestinian Government, and improve the humanitarian situation in the region. Mr. Tang also said the Road Map was a practical and feasible solution to the current Middle East issue. “An independent State of Palestine should be established at an early date,” he said. He added Syria-Israel and Lebanon-Israel peace negotiations should also be resumed as early as possible in order to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace in the region. Mr. Tang had met with Prime Minister Sharon a day earlier and with PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas on 27 December 2004 during his three-day visit to the region. (Xinhua)
Ma’ariv reported Prime Minister Sharon had said Europe would not take part in any political process with the Palestinians, complaining about a lack of a “balanced approach.” Europe “can assist in investment to the Palestinian Authority, building power plants, water distillation plants, highways, roads and residential buildings for refugees,” Mr. Sharon said at a meeting with Israeli ambassadors to European countries on 28 December, but added, “They should not be directly involved in the political process and security aspects.” Mr. Sharon also said Israel would not accept the presence of international forces in the region and Europe’s tendency to move directly to the second or third stage of the Road Map needed to be blocked. (DPA)
Three mortar shells hit the “Kfar Darom” settlement in the central Gaza Strip, lightly wounding a 25-year-old foreign worker. (Ha’aretz)
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At least five Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces operating in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis, which used tanks, armoured vehicles, bulldozers and drones against militants responsible for firing mortar shells and rockets at nearby settlements. An Israeli drone fired missiles into the city, killing three Hamas members alleged to have been part of a squad firing at nearby settlements. Medics and witnesses said a 17-year-old and a mentally-handicapped man had been killed by Israeli fire during the clashes. The army said it had fired at men suspected of laying explosives. At least nine Palestinians were wounded. (AFP, AP, DPA, Ha’aretz, Reuters, Xinhua, www.idf.il)
A mortar shell hit the “Tel Katif” settlement in the central Gaza Strip, wounding an Israeli woman. (Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post)
Israeli troops arrested at least 32 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Palestinian security sources. Israeli troops stormed several villages north of Ramallah and arrested 13 Palestinians. Also, 10 Palestinians were arrested in the village of Karawet, 1 in Tulkarm, and 6 in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. Mahmoud Barghouti, a senior Hamas leader and a candidate in the municipal elections, was also arrested along with another Palestinian in the village of Deir Ghassana. (Xinhua)
PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas visited the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank as part of his presidential campaign tour, where he was welcomed by Zakaria Zubeidi, the Jenin leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. “The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades will support the political decision and the leadership and it will protect it if anyone tries to mess with it,” Mr. Zubeidi told a crowd of thousands at the gathering. (AFP, AP, Reuters)
The revised route of the separation fence along the “Gush Etzion” settlement block south of Jerusalem would penetrate deeply into the West Bank encompassing 10 settlements with some 50,000 residents and 4 Palestinian villages with some 18,000 residents, Ha’aretz reported. A sizable amount of Palestinian land in the Bethlehem area would also end up on the Israeli side. Prime Minister Sharon was expected to bring the revised plan to the Cabinet for approval in January 2005 after the Palestinian presidential election. (AP, Ha’aretz)
The brother of Zakaria Zubeidi, the Jenin leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was arrested by Israeli troops near Jenin. Jibril Zubeidi was picked up by soldiers as he tried to evade arrest at a checkpoint near Jenin, according to an Israeli security source. (AFP)
In an interview with Al-Jazeera, former French Prime Minister Rocard, head of the EU team monitoring the Palestinian elections, said presidential candidates did not have equal chances, citing that only one candidate received government assistance, such as cars and other facilities, and noted that he had drawn the attention of both Israeli and Palestinian officials to the issue. (BBC)
Prime Minister Sharon’s Office released a statement rejecting remarks made a day earlier by Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in an interview with The Jerusalem Post, in which he said Israel would need to carry out a large-scale withdrawal from the West Bank after disengagement from the Gaza Strip planned for 2005. “There is no option of sitting and doing nothing. Israel’s interest requires a disengagement on a wider scale than what will happen as part of the current disengagement plan,” Mr. Olmert said. He declined to describe the extent of a possible second disengagement. The statement from the Prime Minister’s office said there was no plan for further disengagement after the Gaza pullout. “The only diplomatic plan Israel will accept to be a part of is the Road Map. The Palestinians have to carry out their obligations under the Road Map, and these are putting an end to terror and incitement and disarming radical groups,” Israel Radio quoted the Prime Minister as saying. (The Jerusalem Post, Reuters)
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The United States expressed its readiness to work with the new Palestinian leadership in a letter from Secretary of State Colin Powell to Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, WAFA reported. The letter expressed that the United States was looking forward to working with the Palestinian Authority to revive efforts to bring about a permanent peace with Israel. (www.english.wafa.ps)
The IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon appointed a committee to examine the IDF’s policy on home demolitions in the West Bank. The committee would examine the policy’s effectiveness and tactical purposes. The IDF was conducting a separate investigation of the recent demolitions of 25 houses in Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip, which putatively took place without authorization. (Ha’aretz)
Jailed West Bank Fatah leader and member of the Legislative Council Marwan Barghouti said he doubted the current front-runner in the Palestinian presidential election, PLO Executive Committee Chairman Abbas, would be able to end violence. In comments dictated to one of his lawyers, Mr. Barghouti said he was confident he would be freed soon and he complained about his prison‘s conditions. He also said he supported Mr. Abbas. “He is a man of credibility and he is the appropriate successor for late President Yasser Arafat,” he added. (AP)
Israel intended to build an express railway to pass through tunnels from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, via two West Bank sections, an Israeli official said. The Attorney General, Meni Mazuz, had studied the legal implications of constructing the railway line, including tunnels in the West Bank, Transport Ministry spokesperson Jonathan Beker said. Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erakat argued the Israeli move. “This rail route is part of an Israeli policy of creating facts on the ground and this policy will undermine any possibilities of reaching a peace agreement”. (AP, Ha’aretz)
Israel military officials said Israeli soldiers had shot two Palestinians in Nablus, killing at least one and wounding another in a gun battle. Army sources said the clash broke out after Palestinians opened fire on an Israel patrol and soldiers returned fire. (DPA, UPI)
Two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli helicopter missile strike on Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. A Palestinian teenager was shot dead by the Israeli troops in Rafah on the border with Egypt. A third Palestinian also died from wounds he suffered a day earlier because of Israeli Army fire in the camp of Khan Yunis. In all, 12 Palestinians had been killed in two days of raids, hospital officials said. (AFP, UPI, AP, Reuters)
Israeli troops fired at three Palestinians carrying an anti-tank rocket and a rocket launcher near the “Kfar Darom” settlement in the central Gaza Strip, according to Israel Radio. At least two of them were hit by the gunfire. (Ha’aretz)
The head of an EU team monitoring the Palestinian elections, France’s former Prime Minister Michael Rocard, said in an interview with The Associated Press, “There is in Palestine an astonishing demand for democracy,” citing as evidence the high rate of voter registration. Referring to the municipal elections held earlier on 23 December, Mr. Rocard said, “The turnout was considerable … greater than in many old and respectable democracies such as Germany, Belgium, Britain or France.” (AP)
Document Type: Chronology
Document Sources: Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR)
Subject: Palestine question
Publication Date: 31/12/2004