D i v i s i o n f o r P a l e s t i n i a n R i g h t s
Chronological Review of Events Relating to the
Question of Palestine
MONTHLY MEDIA MONITORING REVIEW
May 2002
1
Palestinian sources said a two-year-old girl and a man had been killed by Israeli tank fire overnight in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, and another two men had died in a separate gun battle with Israeli troops there. The Israeli army said a tank had fired a shell at three militants who had set off a roadside bomb. If a child had been killed it was the fault of “the terrorists who are using women and children as human shields”, a military source was quoted as saying. (AFP, Reuters)
Israeli government spokesman Mark Sofer said his country was unfazed by the introduction of a UN Security Council resolution by Arab members, led by Syria and Tunisia. “I think this is part and parcel of the hypocrisy, the singling-out we face in some of these international bodies”, Mr. Sofer noted. Israeli Permanent Representative to the UN Yehuda Lancry was quoted by Army Radio as saying that, under pressure from the Arab countries, it should be expected that the Security Council would be called upon to decide on a commission of inquiry, but Israel “trust[ed] in the United States and its commitments vis-a-vis Israel to oppose such an initiative”. Commenting on the possibility, which made headlines in the Israeli media, of the UN establishing a commission of inquiry with wider authority than the UN fact-finding team currently being set up, Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit told Israel Radio it was “out of the question” that it would be accepted by Israel, but said Israel was “ready to accept the arrival of a mission if the conditions that we presented to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan are accepted”. Maariv reported that IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-General Shaul Mofaz had threatened at the Security Cabinet meeting the previous day to quit if soldiers were questioned by the UN team. (AFP, Reuters)
Chairman Arafat’s aide Mohammed Rashid said an agreement had been reached with US and British officials that would pave the way for Mr. Arafat’s release from his besieged Ramallah compound. However, Mr. Rashid added, the deal could not be finalized until Israel carried out a full withdrawal of its forces from around the compound and pulled out of the city. According to the deal, the Palestinians had agreed to transfer six men wanted by Israel from the compound to a Jericho jail, where they would be held under US and British supervision. Israeli Government spokesman Avi Pazner told AFP the transfer of the six to the prison could take place in the evening, thus allowing for the withdrawal of the Israeli troops. Later in the day, the transfer of the six wanted Palestinian militants took place under US and British supervision, and Israel lifted the siege on Chairman Arafat’s compound in Ramallah. (AFP, Reuters, XINHUA)
The US and Saudi Arabia would share mediating roles in the Middle East crisis, the former working with Israel and the latter with the Palestinians, The New York Times reported. This “division of labour” had been agreed on by President Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah during their talks last week, US and Saudi officials told the daily. Pressure would be applied by US officials on Prime Minister Sharon during his visit to Washington next week, whereas Arab leaders were expected to do the same at a meeting with Chairman Arafat, perhaps in Cairo. Negotiations for a settlement could eventually take place at a peace conference convened by the Russian Federation, United States, EU and the UN, plus Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Morocco, the report added. A senior US official was quoted as saying that a final decision on such a conference and its format remained under intense discussion. (AFP, Reuters)
The IDF wounded a Palestinian man at the besieged Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The man suffered a shoulder wound from bullet fragments, according to IDF sources, and later he and another man surrendered. Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser, one of the negotiators seeking to resolve the standoff around the Church, confirmed that a wounded man had left with another man, whom he described as ill. Mr. Nasser told Reuters that talks had been hamstrung by demands for food for those inside the Church and that the Palestinian negotiating team would wait for an answer from the Israelis before resuming meetings. AFP reported that, of the 26 Palestinians that had left the Church the previous day, 24 had been freed after having been interrogated at a nearby Israeli military base. Two injured Palestinians were under treatment in a hospital. Following a new outburst of shooting around the Church, parts of the compound caught fire. The two sides blamed each other for causing the fire. (AFP, Reuters)
In a letter to the UN Security Council (UN document S/2002/504 of 1 May 2002), Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced his intention to disband the Jenin fact-finding team (FFT) the following day. Outlining some of Israel’s objections and mentioning that Israeli officials had continued to raise new ones, Mr. Annan said he regretted that aborting the mission meant “the long shadow cast by recent events in the Jenin refugee camp will remain”. He also noted that “With the situation in the Jenin refugee camp changing by the day, it will become more and more difficult to establish with any confidence or accuracy the ‘recent events’ that took place there”. The Security Council members proceeded to discuss draft resolutions presented by the Arab States and the US, respectively, in closed consultations. The Arab draft would reportedly demand that Israel accept the FFT and threaten “adequate measures” if it failed to do so. The US draft would regret Israel’s decision not to cooperate with the team and support the Secretary-General’s decision to disband it. It would also ask the Secretary-General to keep the Council informed as “accurate information regarding recent events in Jenin” becomes available. (AFP, Reuters, UN News Centre)
US National Security Council spokesman Scan McCormack said that the US and other UN Security Council members had “worked to facilitate an agreement concerning Secretary-General Annan’s initiative” to send an FFT to Jenin and “regret[ed] that it did not work out”. The Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, Yehuda Lancry said the fact-finding mission had originally been conceived as a small one, reporting to Secretary-General Annan and without Security Council involvement. In view of reports of a massacre, Mr. Lancry said Israel had wanted to set the record straight. “We were sure there was no massacre. We were sure of the facts. We were there,” he said in an interview. The Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN, Nasser Al-Kidwa, said Israel was trying to hide its crimes in Jenin “and beyond”. According to Mr. Al-Kidwa, it was known that “war crimes” had been committed in Jenin and other places and what was left to be known was “the scope of the willful killing of civilians and whether this would constitute a massacre or not”. He noted that only Israel could rebuff the Secretary-General and the Security Council without heavy censure, because of its protection by the US. (Reuters)
Speaking on ABC’s “Nightline” TV programme, Prime Minister Sharon said Israel was not giving any guarantees Mr. Arafat would be able to return if he left the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “We’re not asked to give any guarantees, we’re not going to give any guarantees, because usually in the past when he left, it was always a sign for a wave of terror”, he said, adding that “if there will be a wave of terror, and if [Chairman Arafat will] be going around the world inciting … then we have to consider and discuss what to do.” Mr. Sharon also said that during his forthcoming official visit to the US he would present a new peace plan and a security proposal that would envision a physical buffer between Israel and the West Bank. He acknowledged his plan would be costly and said he would seek help from the US. (Reuters)
2
Israeli troops raided overnight the Arroub refugee camp, near Hebron, and arrested 112 Palestinians on suspicion of “terrorist activity”; 30 of them were sought by Israeli security services, an IDF spokesman said. The army also moved briefly into Tulkarm and partially reoccupied it, imposing a curfew. Witnesses reported heavy fighting but there were no immediate reports of casualties; five Palestinians “suspected of terrorist activity” were arrested. Six Islamic Jihad members were arrested in the village of Anza, near Nablus. (AFP, Reuters)
A PA security forces member seeking refuge in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem had been shot dead by Israeli troops when he went out of the Church into an adjacent courtyard to fetch water, Palestinian sources said. A Palestinian civilian accompanying him had been wounded. The dead and the wounded Palestinian had later been evacuated from the compound, following talks between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators, the source said. An 18-year-old Palestinian, who had been among those holed up inside the church and who was unable to handle the strain any longer, had also been evacuated. Eleven peace activists defied the Israeli blockade and slipped into the Church with food for those besieged there. The activists vowed to stay, in solidarity with the besieged Palestinians. (AFP, Reuters)
At a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister and European Council President José Maria Aznar and European Commission President Romano Prodi, President Bush said that, in recent days, some signs of progress were beginning to be seen in the Middle East, mentioning specifically the non-violent resolution of the situation in Ramallah. He said the US and the EU shared a common vision of two States, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and security. A Palestinian State must be achieved by negotiating an end to occupation, but such a State could not be based on a foundation of terror or corruption, he noted. Rather, it should be based on the principles that are critical to freedom and prosperity: democracy and open markets, the rule of law, transparent and accountable administration, and respect for individual liberties and civil society. “We want to work with the Palestinian people, our regional partners and the international community to build a Palestinian State that both lives at peace with Israel and lives up to the best hopes of its people”, Mr, Bush added. (FDCH)
An Israeli army reserve battalion commander was being investigated on suspicion of having severely abused a young Palestinian during Israel’s recent offensive in the West Bank, Yediot Ahronot reported. The alleged incident had taken place two weeks ago, the daily wrote. The battalion, whose commander was named only as Lieutenant-Colonel G., had been given the task of searching for suspects in Bethlehem and nearby el-Khader. In the course of the operation, when the troops had forced entry into the home of a Palestinian activist, Lt. Col. G. had allegedly proceeded to abuse one of the man’s sons, claiming that he had been “only following the orders of the Shin Bet internal security coordinator who worked with the battalion”. The Shin Bet coordinator, however, had denied this and had decided to report the incident to his superiors. A Shin Bet inquiry recommended that the army’s Investigative Military Police unit launch an investigation. (DPA)
In a statement released in Geneva, UNRWA warned of a “humanitarian crisis” in the Gaza Strip if Israel continued to block Palestinian access to food and medicines. The agency said that unless Israel eased its military blockade, it would be unable to distribute food this month to the approximately 600,000 refugees, nearly 60 per cent of Gaza’s population, who depend on its help. In April, Israel had allowed only 26 containers of food to enter the Palestinian areas, out of the 364 delivered to Israeli ports for distribution to Palestinians during the month, the statement said. (Reuters)
The following statement was issued by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
(UN Press release SG/SM/8220 of 2 May 2002)
Following the adjournment of another round of inconclusive consultations at the Security Council, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, Nasser Al-Kidwa, said the debate could be moved to the General Assembly. (AFP)
A meeting of the Quartet took place in Washington with the participation of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Secretary of State Powell, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique and EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana. Speaking to the press after the meeting, Secretary Powell said “The United States with our partners … will spend the weeks ahead to begin to not only talk among ourselves but with the parties and with other interested members of the international community to come up a set of principles that can be the basis for a meeting in the early summer”. He added that the meeting would tackle security, economic reform, humanitarian issues and “the political way forward” towards realizing the vision of a Palestinian State. Details on the date, venue and list of participants had yet to be decided but Mr. Powell noted that “This is a time for prompt action to take advantage of this new window of opportunity that has been presented to us, and we intend to do just that”. (AFP, Reuters)
In non-binding resolutions, the US Congress expressed its solidarity with Israel in the “common struggle against terrorism”, the Senate by a vote of 94 to 2, and the House of Representatives, by 352 to 21, with 29 abstentions. (AFP, Reuters)
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters that Chairman Arafat “is now free to travel, and that includes to return to Ramallah or to the Gaza Strip”. (AFP)
3
Chairman Arafat’s adviser Nabil Abu Rudeineh urged the international community to press on with efforts to investigate “the Israeli crimes” in the Jenin refugee camp. (AFP, DPA)
“The Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership are completely ready for full talks on resolving all issues with our neighbours, the Israelis, under the auspices of the Americans, Europeans, and Arabs”, Chairman Arafat said in a statement carried by WAFA. (AFP, XINHUA)
In view of Prime Minister Sharon’s forthcoming trip to Washington, spokesman Arie Mekel said Mr. Sharon was lobbying for “the convening of a regional peace conference bringing together the countries of the ‘peace coalition’, such as Egypt and Jordan”. On the Quartet announcement he said “we prefer not to react for the moment” and added that the Prime Minister would discuss the matter in Washington. “As far as we are concerned, these proposals to convene conferences are based on the fundamental condition that the Palestinians renounce terrorism once and for all so Israelis can live a normal, secure life … Without that, nothing will come out of them”, Mr. Mekel noted. (AFP)
Fifty Israeli tanks and elite infantry entered Nablus in a brief pre-dawn raid that left two Palestinians dead, including a PA policeman and a Hamas militant, and one wounded. An IDF spokesman said one of their officers had been killed and another seriously wounded before the tanks and troops withdrew by mid-morning. Israeli public radio said eleven Palestinians had been arrested and a car containing explosives destroyed. The IDF also raided villages across the West Bank, arresting “terrorist suspects”. (AFP, Reuters)
Human Rights Watch said in a report it had found no evidence that a massacre had taken place at the Jenin refugee camp during the recent Israeli offensive, but said that “war crimes” and other serious violations of international human rights law had apparently been committed by the IDF there. It identified 52 Palestinians killed, of whom 22 were civilians. “Many of the civilians were killed willfully or unlawfully”, it said, adding that it found the army had used Palestinian civilians as human shields. HRW also accused Israel of demolishing civilian homes after the military phase of the battle had been completed. IDF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Olivier Rafowicz said “It [appeared] that the report completely ignore[d] the root cause of the Israeli army operation in Jenin” and “did not study the intricate terrorist infrastructure in the Jenin camp, and the placement of such infrastructure in a densely populated civilian area”. He rejected allegations the army had used Palestinians as human shields, and for the house demolitions, he said only 130 had been razed, “amounting to less than 10 per cent of the houses in the camp”. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, referring to Jenin, told a press briefing that “There [were] indeed unanswered questions that still need to be resolved, like timely access for humanitarian staff and services, search and rescue efforts, treatment of the wounded in the wake of fighting”. He said the US was now concerned about the humanitarian situation throughout the West Bank, adding that “the international community needed to continue to address these Palestinian needs”. (Reuters)
4
Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian security officer during what Palestinian witnesses said was an incursion into the village of Al-Qarara and the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. The IDF denied any incursion, but said soldiers shot dead an armed Palestinian near the “Katif” block of Israeli settlements. The IDF also entered Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip with armoured vehicles and bulldozers and opened fire, leaving six people wounded, Palestinian security sources said. An Israeli sniper killed a Palestinian member of Force 17 at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity. Another Palestinian was wounded by tank fire in an IDF incursion near Nablus. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)
The US is committed to a Palestinian State with Chairman Arafat as its likely leader, Condoleezza Rice, President Bush’s national security adviser, said in anticipation of Prime Minister Sharon’s visit to Washington. “I think it’s clear both in the previous administration and in this administration that something has to be done with the problem of settlements,” Secretary of State Powell also said on NEC television. Israeli Radio, quoting a US official, reported that the US intended to launch a three-phase peace plan, with the first phase to be discussed upon Prime Minister Sharon’s arrival in Washington, the second being the return of Gen. Zinni to the region, and the third being a trip by Secretary Powell to the region to put the finishing touches on the plan and open the way to a regional conference. The US reportedly intended to give substantial financial support to the peace plan and was demanding important structural reforms of the PA. (AFP, AP, DPA, Reuters)
5
Israeli troops and tanks sealed off Tulkarm and entered the Tulkarm refugee camp arresting several Palestinians. An eight-year-old boy was killed and a 16-year-old seriously wounded when Israeli tanks opened heavy machine-gun fire. Three other Palestinians were arrested in Nablus during an Israeli incursion into the city’s northern neighborhood of Massakin Shakbya, Palestinian security sources said. (AFP, Reuters)
Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian woman and her two children, three and four years old, near the village of Az-Zababida and an IDF base, southeast of Jenin. The IDF expressed regret over the incident, with military sources saying an explosive device had just been detonated near an armoured vehicle nearby, and that the soldiers shot at “suspicious silhouettes, which were trying to flee the area.” (AFP)
6
Israeli soldiers killed two members of the Islamic Jihad at the “Karni” border crossing point in the northern Gaza Strip and two Hamas members at the “Kissufim” crossing point in the central Gaza Strip, who reportedly were trying to infiltrate Israel. The IDF also arrested nine Palestinians after conducting house-to-house searches overnight in the Dheishe refugee camp on the western outskirts of Bethlehem, before withdrawing from the area, and three more Palestinians during security sweeps in the village of Burqa and the Kalandia refugee camp between Ramallah and Jerusalem. Palestinian witnesses also said four Israeli tanks and eight APCs entered the Nemera Sha’abeh section of Hebron, searched a house and arrested three Palestinians there. (AFP, Reuters)
The Palestinian stock exchange, based in Nablus, reopened after a one-month closure and registered sharp declines in two of the three shares traded. (Reuters)
UNDP’s special representative Timothy Rothermel told Reuters in Jerusalem that he estimated it would take more than a year and some US$350 million to rebuild Palestinian public services destroyed by the Israeli offensive across the West Bank last month. “The extent of destruction compared to the objective was pretty excessive”, Mr. Rothermel was quoted as saying. The international community was close to a complete assessment of how much damage had been inflicted on West Bank schools, roads, water facilities, electrical grids and other public services run by the PA, he said, and would soon come up with a fairly detailed compilation and a funding request. One of the difficulties he anticipated would be reassuring international donors that the Israelis would allow UNDP sufficient access and that money spent to rebuild public works would not be wasted in another large-scale offensive. He said UNDP was responsible for assessing damage in Qalqilya and Nablus; a Norwegian mission was looking at Jenin and the Americans at Hebron. Damage in the Gaza Strip would eventually be included. Mr. Rothermel said the PA had asked for the return of some irreplaceable items that had gone missing such as civil registers, school transcripts and court and bank documents. (Reuters)
Speaking to reporters outside the State Department after meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan, Secretary of State Powell said the ministerial meeting on the Middle East proposed for the summer was likely not to produce a final Israeli-Palestinian settlement, but would be “yet another step on the way forward”. He acknowledged that there were “different points of view” among the parties as to what the meeting should attempt, ranging from a “comprehensive settlement” to “way stations on the route” to a lasting peace. “We have not made a judgment on this, and that is why we are consulting with our friends”, Mr. Powell noted. The Secretary of State had met separately earlier in the day with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and Prime Minister Sharon. (DPA)
Addressing the Anti-Defamation League, Prime Minister Sharon said Israel would be able to implement a peace plan, which he did not disclose, only if the PA was revamped and Palestinian “violence, terrorism and incitement” ceased. He called for “major institutional, structural reforms in the Palestinian Authority … with full transparency and accountability” and a unification of its various security forces. “A responsible Palestinian Authority that can advance the cause of peace should not be dependent on the will of one man”, he said, in an apparent reference to Chairman Arafat. Mr. Sharon repeated his calls for a regional conference, which he said could “establish the necessary atmosphere to advance the peace process”. (AFP, Reuters)
King Abdullah said in a CNN interview that he was concerned “a step-by-step Oslo approach” to the situation in the Middle East would get nowhere. “Peace talks need speeding up so that moderate Arab States can tackle the issue of terrorism with their nationals once a Palestinian State and a Middle East peace is in view”, he noted. “We need more peace as opposed to process”, King Abdullah said, adding that Arab States wanted “to go beyond” the issue of maps and borders, to get an agreement for “peace for Israelis with their Arab neighbours and the Arab region as a whole, [and] that there will be a viable Palestinian State within an acceptable timeframe”. (AFP, Reuters)
7
Israeli Chief of General Staff Lieutenant-General Shaul Mofaz warned of what he referred to as a “creeping internationalisation” of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Speaking to high school seniors in Jerusalem and later at the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, he gave as examples of such creeping internationalization the agreement taking shape over the Church of the Nativity siege, as well as the deal to move wanted men from Chairman Arafat’s Ramallah HQ to a Jericho prison under US and British supervision. He said “a historic error could have been made had the Government not prevented the arrival of the UN inspection team”. Gen. Mofaz noted that the IDF would continue to carry out operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory any time information suggested terror attacks were being planned. He emphasized that if the Palestinians continued their attacks, the IDF would begin a “more thorough and comprehensive” operation than Operation Defensive Shield. (Ha’aretz)
Israeli tanks and troops, backed by helicopter gunships, moved into Tulkarm and began conducting house-to-house searches, allegedly in order to prevent terrorist attacks under preparation against Israel. Some 40 Palestinians, 20 of which were reportedly wanted militants, were arrested by Israel; moreover the IDF had blown up an “explosives laboratory”, an IDF spokeswoman said. The IDF pulled its forces out of Tulkarm late in the day and redeployed around the edge of town. Israeli forces also launched a raid into the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. Witnesses said troops had shot dead a 17-year-old youth and had seriously wounded his brother. The IDF said they had been searching for arms and tunnels used for smuggling and had shot at Palestinians who had fired at them first. (AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)
A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a billiard hall in Rishon Letzion, south of Tel Aviv. The bomber killed himself and 16 other people and wounded 55. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. Immediately after the bombing, the PA issued a statement condemning the attack and declared to act against those found to be responsible. The suicide bomb attack took place as President Bush was meeting in the White House with Prime Minister Sharon. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, President Bush said he had informed Mr. Sharon of his plan to send CIA Director George Tenet back to the region to help the Palestinians “design the construction of a unified security force,” while adding that at the same time they needed to work for other institutions, such as the “framework for development of a State” that could “help bring security and hope to the Palestinian people and the Israelis.” Mr. Sharon for his part said any talk of a Palestinian State was premature until the PA had undertaken “real reform”. (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post, Reuters, XINHUA)
The General Assembly, at its resumed tenth emergency special session, adopted a resolution on illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory (A/ES-10/L.9/Rev.l ) with 74 votes in favour to 4 against, and 54 abstentions. (UN press release GA/10015 of 7 May 2002)
The following statement was issued by the Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
(UN Press Release SG/SM/8227 of 7 May 2002)
EU Middle East Envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos met with Chairman Arafat in Ramallah to discuss the stand off at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Meanwhile, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Secretary Powell had called Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi twice in an effort to overcome Italy’s objections to accepting into exile 13 Palestinian militants besieged in the Church. (AFP, Ha‘aretz)
Gaza Preventive Security Chief Mohammad Dahlan recommended a major restructuring of the PA, saying Chairman Arafat had to be responsible for an “internal reform process”. Mr. Dahlan recommended reducing the number of PA ministers from 30 to 18 and merging the PA’s 10 security agencies into one or two bodies. He emphasized that a reform programme would be aimed at helping the Palestinian people. “We want to develop a programme that corresponds to the stage that we are crossing and will permit the Authority to face any crisis,” he said. (AFP)
8
Chairman Arafat in a statement said that he had “given orders to Palestinian security forces to confront and prevent any terrorist operations against Israeli civilians by any Palestinian party, parallel to confronting any aggression on Palestinian civilians from the Israeli Army and Jewish settlers, which we all condemn”. Mr. Arafat also urged the US to provide support for the Palestinian security forces to enable them to carry out their duties and to ensure that Israeli forces did not target them. “As head of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, I reiterate my commitment and participation with the United States and the international community in their war on terrorism”, Chairman Arafat said. He also repeated his call for an international force to help stop the violence and bring peace to the region. (AFP, Reuters)
A suspected Palestinian suicide bomber was badly wounded when part of the explosives he was carrying blew up, Israeli security sources said. No one else was hurt in the explosion at a bus stop 20 km from Haifa in northern Israel. (AFP, EFE)
The United Arab Emirates said a suicide bombing in Israel was counterproductive. “These people are not doing this for a Palestinian State or for the sake of peace but for their own radical image,” UAE Information Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zaid al-Nahayan said in a statement received by Reuters. “The attack does not only benefit the extremist wing within Israel and serves its interests, but also deals a blow to efforts by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan to defuse escalating violence in our region,” the Minister said. (Reuters)
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Franfois Rivasseau condemned the latest suicide bomb attack in Israel, as did Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko, who urged the two sides to resume a dialogue. Mr. Yakovenko also said that “those who suffer[ed] the most [were] innocent people, both Palestinians and Israelis. (AFP, DPA)
Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar and his Canadian counterpart Jean Chretien, at a joint press conference during an EU-Canada summit in Toledo, condemned the suicide bombing in Rishon Letzion and called on the PA to pursue those responsible for the attack. Mr. Aznar, the current holder of the EU Presidency stressed that it was not enough for the Palestinians to condemn the attack. Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique urged Israel to show maximum restraint in responding to the attack and stressed that military reprisals could be “very dangerous” for the region’s stability. In a joint declaration issued by the summit, the EU and Canada called for the immediate application of relevant United Nations resolutions and deplored Israel’s reluctance to receive the UN Fact-Finding Team. The declaration also said they were concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation and added that there was no military solution to the conflict. (DPA)
The European Commission condemned the latest Palestinian suicide attacks in Israel and said both sides must not abandon efforts to secure permanent Israeli-Palestinian peace. The European Commission decided that it would more than double its emergency relief to Palestinian victims of the Israeli offensive in Jenin and Ramallah. Relief worth US$3.2 million would be channelled to the Occupied Palestinian Territory through seven agencies, including the ICRC. The Commission said it had increased its original commitment in response to fresh information on the extent of the humanitarian crisis in the areas. The funds would be used to provide food, medicines, medical supplies, hygiene kits, cooking fuel and other essentials. Restoration of clean water supplies and improved medical care were also being targeted. The ICRC had airlifted six ambulances from Brussels as part of the EU initiative. (DPA)
Reacting to reports that Israel planned to expel Chairman Arafat, the Government of Germany called on Israeli leaders to instead negotiate with him. “Given that Yasser Arafat is the political leader of the Palestinian side we can only recommend that [Israel] work with him,” said German Foreign Ministry spokesman Andreas Michaelis. Both the EU and Germany viewed Mr. Arafat as the “elected and legitimate leader” of the Palestinian people, Mr. Michaelis stressed at a government news briefing. “We attach considerable value that a political process is maintained,” he added. Israel Radio had earlier quoted Government officials as saying that Prime Minister Sharon was “seriously considering” exiling Chairman Arafat from the Occupied Palestinian Territory. (DPA)
President Mubarak warned Prime Minister Sharon against further attempts at sidelining Chairman Arafat, saying such efforts would not bring about peace to the region. He said that if the Government of Israel was “serious about peace, then they should deal with the elected leadership”, the President told reporters in Cairo, adding that Mr. Sharon’s claims that Mr. Arafat was no longer a viable leader were “unacceptable”. President Mubarak downplayed the significance of the proposed Middle East peace conference, saying that he was still not sure on what basis such a conference would be held. He stressed that what was needed was not another conference, but implementation of decisions reached during previous conferences. (AFP, DPA)
A dawn raid was launched by the IDF on the village of Al-Uja near the West Bank city of Jericho, and rounded up some 300 men in the village school, Palestinian security officials said. Also, a Palestinian had been killed by the IDF during a brief army incursion into the village of Araka, near Jenin, Palestinian hospital and security sources told AFP. (AFP, EFE)
At a joint appearance with King Abdullah II at the White House, President Bush urged Prime Minister Sharon to keep “his vision of peace in mind”, as he weighed his response to the 7 May suicide bombing. Mr. Bush welcomed Chairman Arafat’s Arabic-language denunciation of the bombing as “an incredibly positive sign”, noting that he hoped “that his actions now match his words”. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher separately said that Washington’s consistent advice to Israel was, “You do have a right to safeguard your citizens, but you have to think about the consequences of the actions you take.” (AFP, DPA, Reuters)
Talking to reporter, Secretary of State Powell concurred with the opinion previously expressed by Prime Minister Sharon that serious reform of the PA apparatus was “essential”, and noted that at the same time one had to consider “the humanitarian part of it, the economic part of it and a political dialogue”. Mr. Powell said PA reform had been a major topic of conversation between Messrs Bush and Sharon at the White House on 7 May, but added that “we didn’t get into any detailed discussion of what might be a pre-condition for something else”. Mr. Powell also said CIA Director George Tenet would go to the Middle East as early as the following week, to work on building a new Palestinian security force. (AFP, Reuters)
Some 58 per cent of the 802 respondents to the Washington-based Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) survey said that Palestinians and Israelis were equally to blame for the failure to achieve peace. Seven per cent placed the onus primarily on the Israelis and 29 per cent on the Palestinians. While 36 per cent expressed greater sympathy with Israel, versus 11 per cent for the Palestinians, 53 per cent said they sympathized with the parties equally. Sixty-seven per cent of the respondents said the US should not take sides in the conflict, while some 22 per cent said the US should side with Israel and 3 per cent favoured siding with the Palestinians. Seventy per cent approved of President Bush’s involvement and 78 per cent expressed approval for Secretary Powel’s meeting with Chairman Arafat last month. Some 62 per cent of those polled said the recent Israeli military operation in the West Bank had increased the likelihood of terror attacks, while 15 per cent said it had decreased the likelihood. Fifty-five percent favoured exerting greater pressure on Israel, in a bid to encourage it to make compromises. That figure rose to 64 per cent when presented in conjunction with a hypothetical Palestinian shift away from suicide bombings, towards non-violent measures such as demonstrations and boycotts. While 17 per cent saw the Middle East conflict as part of the US-led war on terrorism launched in the wake of the 11 September attacks, 45 per cent viewed it as a dispute over land. Unveiling the 1-5 May poll at the National Press Club in Washington, PIPA Director Steven Kull said the survey showed the US public was on “quite a different wavelength” and took a “more even-handed approach” to the conflict than the US Congress did. The margin of error of the survey was plus or minus 3.5-4%. (AFP, http://www.pipa.org)
The results of a telephone poll of 504 Israelis, commissioned by the Peace Coalition, an umbrella group comprising several Israeli peace organizations, and conducted by the Dahaf Institute, showed that 59 per cent of those questioned said they believed a unilateral withdrawal of troops and settlers from the West Bank and Gaza Strip would lead to the renewal of the peace process, while 72 per cent felt it would improve the country’s international standing. Only 42 per cent of respondents said the continuous presence of the Israeli army in Palestinian cities gave them hope for the future. 63 per cent of Israelis felt peace negotiations were necessary to resolving terrorism. 56 per cent supported a US-led international force for the Palestinian territories. The poll was conducted before the 7 May suicide attack and had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points. (Ha’aretz)
Addressing the 27th Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly, on Children, and referring to the recent Israeli military offensive in the West Bank, Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of President Mubarak and head of the Egyptian delegation to the Special Session, said “All international agreements and charters pertaining to human rights were absent, at the forefront of which were those on the rights of the child”. She added that what had taken place in the West Bank “sows the seeds of fear and hatred in the hearts of the innocent children on both sides”. Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Misnad, President of Qatar’s Supreme Council for Family Affairs, also referred to “this tragic reality unfolding on the land of Palestine” and asked “What sin have infants and children committed to be deprived of food, medicine, education and even life?” (Reuters)
In the wake of the Rishon Letzion terrorist attack on 7 May, and following the return of Prime Minister Sharon from the United States, the Israeli Security Cabinet issued a statement authorizing Mr. Sharon and Defence Minister Ben-Eliezer to decide on actions against terrorist targets. (AFP, Israeli Prime Minister’s Office website http://www.pmo.gov.il, Reuters, XINHUA
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Palestinian security forces had arrested 14 Hamas members in the Gaza Strip, following Chairman Arafat’s orders to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians, a PA security official said. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahar told Reuters the arrests were “totally rejected, especially at this particular time when Israel is preparing to attack Gaza”. (EFE, Reuters)
An Israeli military court had started court-martial proceedings against at least six IDF soldiers suspected of stealing from Palestinians during the recent Israeli military offensive in the West Bank, The Jerusalem Post reported. According to charge sheets obtained by the daily, five of them had been accused of stealing cash, jewelry, a gilded sword, pipes, mobile phones and computer parts during IDF incursions into various West Bank cities and at roadblocks. All of the soldiers had also been charged with “behaviour unbecoming to their rank”. (DPA, The Jerusalem Post)
A dozen tanks and two bulldozers rolled 150-200 metres into Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. One house was burned and another damaged by tank shells, while bulldozers flattened the ground. In a raid on the village of Yassid, north of Nablus, the IDF had detained 15 Palestinians, including a Hamas activist, witnesses said. Around 15 jeeps had moved into the village, with troops imposing a curfew and then carrying out searches. In the Tulkarm refugee camp, Israeli forces had surrounded the house of a wanted Hamas militant, opening fire on the area around from helicopter gunships and asking him to surrender, witnesses said. (AFP, DPA)
Following his meeting with Secretary of State Powell in Washington, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen said he had suggested that, if the parties agreed, Norway was prepared to provide monitors for a ceasefire, as part of a broader Israeli-Palestinian settlement. (AFP)
UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen told a donors’ meeting in Amman that “After 18 months of closure and hardship the recent Israeli invasion has led to large-scale destruction of shelters, watersupplies, electricity lines and sewage lines … There has been a wholesale destruction of civic infrastructure with the result that a large portion of the refugee population finds itself without the basic services and means of support for the minimum standards of life. The refugees urgently need the support of the international community.” UNRWA faced extreme difficulties in carrying out humanitarian work because of the access restrictions imposed by Israel’s military authorities. Meanwhile, the Agency was forced to draw on existing, overstretched, resources to tend to the wounded and supply food, medicine and water to areas affected by the violence. Extra funds were now needed to replenish its food and medicines stocks and to cater to the longer-term needs of the Palestine refugees. An additional US$70 million would be required, on top of the US$117 million the Agency had requested in January for its emergency programmes for this year. So far, only $46 million had been pledged for that earlier appeal. (UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/News)
The Palestinian economy had suffered US$8.5 billion in losses since the beginning of the intifada, Al-Quds reported. Citing figures provided by Arab Labour Organization Director-General Ibrahim Queider, the daily said that 450,000 Palestinian workers had lost their jobs due to the unrest. Two million of the 3.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza were now living in poverty, the daily added. The Israeli policy of collective punishment against the Palestinians and Israeli economic blockades had also damaged the economy, according to Mr. Queider’s report, which was to be presented the following month to the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva; the ILO would be asked to appoint an international committee to monitor the situation of the Palestinians. (EFE)
King Abdullah II in a speech at Rice University in Houston said the “incremental negotiating model, in which parties gradually build confidence and slowly move towards an undefined outcome” had ran its course for the Middle East conflict, urging instead the US to broker a Middle East peace agreement that would resolve core issues. (AFP, Reuters)
The US House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations approved a new US$200 million aid budget for Israel. The Committee also unblocked US$50 million in humanitarian aid for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. (Reuters)
10
With Israeli tanks massed near the Gaza Strip, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said that “Israel [was] a sovereign nation,” adding that “at all times, America’s messages to Israel is, we are all in this together, and Israel has to be very mindful of its responsibilities to protect peace in the region and work toward a vision of peace.” (DPA)
As part of the agreement to end the 39-day standoff at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, 13 Palestinians wanted by Israel were flown to Cyprus. Cyprus agreed temporarily to host the 13 until the EU found countries prepared to accept them. Diplomatic sources said possible host countries for the men were Austria, Canada, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. Another 26 Palestinian militants from the Church were transferred to the Gaza Strip. However, Chief of the Palestinian Authority Liaison office, Colonel Salem Dardouna said the men were “free in their homeland” and would neither be tried nor imprisoned under international guard, as previously anticipated by reports. Ten foreign peace activists from the Church would be deported for entering a closed military zone, an Israeli police spokesman said. (AFP, BBC, DPA, Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post, Reuters, XINHUA)
Following an order from the office of Defence Minister Ben-Eliezer, the IDF began withdrawing its troops from Bethlehem. An Israeli military source said the IDF was pulling out its infantry and tanks, which would be redeployed on the outskirts of Bethlehem and Beit Jala. (AFP)
A first follow-up meeting on the Saudi peace initiative took place in Cairo. The meeting was attended by the Saudi, Jordanian, Bahraini and Yemeni Foreign Ministers, as well as by representatives from Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Morocco. Following the meeting, Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa said the Arab countries were prepared to offer Israel a “total ceasefire” in exchange for its withdrawal from the Occupied Palestinian Territory. (AFP, Reuters)
The Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement said the end to the standoff at the Church of the Nativity was a model for a “non-violent solution” of the Middle East crisis. “The fact that the problem was resolved through dialogue with international assistance once again confirms the advantages of using diplomacy to resolve conflicts,” the statement said, adding that “the use of force, on the other hand, risk[ed] further tightening the Middle Eastern knot.” (AFP)
Two suspected Palestinian militants activated an explosive device in the southern Israeli town of Beersheba, injuring three people lightly, police and first aid officials said. Eight more people were treated in hospital for shock. Both suspects were arrested. No group claimed responsibility for the incident. (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
The IDF entered Hebron with tanks and other armoured vehicles and arrested a local Hamas leader. In Tulkarm, the IDF blew up the four-story building of a Hamas suicide bomber responsible for the death of 29 people in Netanya on 27 March. Witnesses said the IDF had ordered some 70 family members and other relatives of the suicide bomber to evacuate the building before the explosion. The force of the explosion totally or partially destroyed eight other apartments in two adjacent buildings and shattered windows of scores of other houses. About 100 people were left homeless, residents said. The IDF said it had also uncovered a large arms cache and had blown up a bomb-making laboratory in Tulkarm earlier in the day. (EFE, Ha’aretz)
A 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot by Israeli soldiers near the Kami crossing point in the Gaza Strip bled to death as medical help was prevented from reaching him, hospital and security sources said the next day, adding that two other teenagers wounded in the same incident further from Israeli positions were able to get medical assistance. (AFP)
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Israeli troops withdrew from Tulkarm ending a 24-hour incursion. (AFP)
At Sharm el-Sheikh, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz affirmed a commitment to pursue a peace deal between the Arab world and Israel in exchange for an Israeli pullout from all land captured in the 1967 Middle East war and called for an end to “all forms of violence.” Arab ministers, meeting on the fringes of the mini-summit, said they had not ruled out supporting a Middle East peace conference proposed by Washington, but saw it as lacking clear goals. Egyptian FM Ahmed Maher said the conference could not be held without Chairman Arafat and should be based on accords already reached with Israel, on UN resolutions and on the Arab peace proposal made in March in Beirut. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)
At least 60,000 Israeli Jews and Arabs rallied for peace and the end of occupation in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, the largest such demonstration since the start of intifada. “It’s clear to me that the Labour Party working with the extreme right, that we can do nothing together,” Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg, one of at least six Labour officials attending the meeting, told AFP at the rally, adding “I am in a minority now but very soon I will be in a majority.” (AFP, Reuters)
Deputy Public Security Minister of Israel Gideon Ezra told Israeli Public Radio that Israeli police suspected the existence of a network of Jewish extremists out to attack Palestinians, following the arrest of four men, one from the “Ma’on” settlement, south of Hebron, and the others from “ Bat Ayin” settlement, south-west of Bethlehem, believed to have planned at least one such attack. The four had been arrested two weeks ago on suspicion of planning an attack on a girl’s school in East Jerusalem, but details had been suppressed until 10 May by court order. (AFP, Arutz 7, Ha‘aretz)
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The Likud Central Committee voted against Prime Minister Sharon’s request to postpone any decision on a binding resolution against a Palestinian State and then in a show-of-hands vote, passed a resolution saying, “no Palestinian State will be established west of the Jordan River.” Only three people were seen voting against. (Ha’aretz)
The IDF sent reservists home after its planned Gaza Strip offensive had been called off “for the time being.” (Reuters)
The Israeli Government retroactively approved Interior Minister Eli Yishai’s freeze on new applications for family reunifications between Israeli Arabs and Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Interior Minister took this decision on 1 April after it had been established that a suicide bomber from Jenin had obtained Israeli citizenship through family reunification. According to the Cabinet decision, a new, more stringent, policy on family reunification would have to be formulated, and until then no new requests would be accepted, the submitted requests would not be approved, and non-Israeli spouses would have to remain outside Israel. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice against the decision, saying the Government was arbitrarily punishing people who innocently married Israeli citizens, on the grounds that they married in order to use the citizenship process as a way to harm the State. 22,414 such reunifications have been approved since the Oslo agreements with an average application involving four people. (Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post, WAFA)
A Jewish settler from “Pe’at-Sadeh” in the “Katif” settlement block in the Gaza Strip was picking up a group of Palestinians workers from the checkpoint leading to “Rafiah Yam” settlement, when a Palestinian pulled a gun and shot him in his car, an IDF spokesman said. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades later claimed responsibility for the attack. Palestinian security said the man’s five brothers had been arrested by the IDF and the rest of the family was given 24 hours to leave their house in Al-Mawasi before army bulldozers destroyed it. Palestinian security officials said that, following the shooting, the IDF had imposed a curfew on the Al-Mawasi area, home to some 5,000 Palestinians. (AFP)
13
Chairman Arafat said the decision by Likud against a Palestinian State amounted to a “destruction” of the Oslo agreements. Defence Minister and Labour Party Chairman Ben-Eliezer called the decision a “no to peace,” but noted that the Labour Party was a partner in the national unity Government based on the Government’s guidelines and not on Likud Party decisions. “If it becomes apparent that from now on the Government operates based on opposition to a Palestinian State, when the [Labor Party] favours such a State, then the party would have to resign from the Government,” he said. Foreign Minister Peres told Israel Army Radio that the decision was “tragic, tragic to the State of Israel.” Later Prime Minister Sharon in a meeting of the Likud’s Knesset faction, said that his policies would not be affected by the Likud Central Committee’s adoption of a resolution rejecting a Palestinian State. He said what would influence his decisions were Israel’s security and peace. The EU expressed regret over the decision, with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, arriving for a meeting in Brussels, said it could complicate efforts to restart the Middle East peace process. “It is very sad when the internal politics of a political party can interfere in the search for peace,” Solana told reporters. “There is widespread recognition across the Middle East, including in Israel, that the only viable and safe solution to the terrible conflict in the Middle East is a two-state solution, a secure State of Israel alongside a viable and democratic State of Palestine,” UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said. (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post, Reuters)
The Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Jean-Louis Tauran said the rejection of a Palestinian State by the Likud Central Committee was “very worrying because the peace process in the Middle East, as everyone [knew], [had] as its objective two independent States with secure borders.” (AFP)
EU spokeswoman Anna Rodriguez said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels that six European countries (Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain) were ready to take in the thirteen Palestinian gunmen evacuated to Cyprus from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, with nine more countries indicating they would take in the Palestinians “if necessary.” The final decision on the issue was not expected for another week. A group of EU experts would discuss the conditions and status of the Palestinians, including the possibility of giving them political refugee status and the freedom of movement within the Union. (BBC, DPA, Reuters)
B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, released a report entitled “Land Grab: Israel’s Settlement Policy in the West Bank,” which revealed the built-up areas of the settlements constitute 1.7 per cent of the land in the West Bank, the “municipal boundaries” cover 6.8 per cent, and settlers’ regional councils have “legal jurisdiction” over an additional 35.1 per cent. As a result, a total of 41.9 per cent of the area in the West Bank is controlled by the settlements. (AP, B‘Tselem text athttp://www.btselem.org/Download/Land_Grab_Eng.doc, DPA, Ha‘aretz)
A Palestinian opened fire at Checkpoint 300 between Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank, lightly wounding one Israeli soldier before being killed by Israeli troops, Palestinian witnesses and an Israeli military spokesman said. Israeli troops in the West Bank killed another Palestinian who reportedly opened fire and threw a grenade at a soldier on guard at the entrance to the IDF’s Golani Brigade base in the northern Jordan Valley, without injuring him. He then managed to break into a training ground where he hid before being tracked down and killed. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack in an anonymous telephone call to the AP news agency. (AFP, Arutz 7, DPA)
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In a special address to the Knesset plenum, Prime Minister Sharon told lawmakers that, “Israel will enter negotiations immediately after the fulfillment of two conditions, the total cessation of terror, incitement and violence, and reforms in the Palestinian Authority.” (AFP, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
The IDF entered the town of Halhul north of Hebron and shot dead the head of the Palestinian intelligence service in Halhul, and his deputy, Palestinian witnesses and medical sources said. Israel Radio reported that the two Palestinian security officers were killed in a gunbattle with the IDF who raided the town to search for wanted Palestinian militants. Meanwhile, Palestinians said that the IDF overnight had arrested about 12 Palestinians in the village of Deir al-Ghusun near Tulkarm. Israeli soldiers also arrested three Palestinians in the village of Aaneen near Jenin during an incursion into the village. A Palestinian arrested during an operation in Jaljul was a member of Force 17, and another Palestinian who belonged to the PA’s Preventative Security Service was detained in the town of Dura. Israeli military sources said the arrests were the result of the questioning of the hundreds of Palestinians detained during the IDF’s recent incursions into West Bank cities and refugee camps. (AFP, EFE, Ha’aretz, Reuters, XINHUA)
In a poll published by Yediot Aharanot, 68 per cent of Israelis and 64 per cent of Likud supporters considered that the resolution passed by the Likud Central Committee on 12 May, saying that no Palestinian State were to be established, should have been postponed as requested by Prime Minister Sharon, with those supporting the sponsor of the resolution, Mr. Netanyahu, standing at 26 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively. Asked whom they would like to see as Likud’s candidate for prime minister in the next elections in 18 months, 55 per cent of Israelis choose Mr. Sharon and 23 per cent Mr. Netanyahu, a proportion reflected almost exactly by Likud members. 63 per cent of Israelis supported the establishment of a Palestinian State as part of a peace agreement and 34 per cent were against establishing such a state, compared to 43 per cent and 51 per cent among Likud voters. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)
“During the latest Israeli incursions into Palestinian refugee camps and other residential areas, thousands of Palestinians have been arrested, held in prolonged incommunicado detention and subjected to cruel and degrading treatment”, Amnesty International said in a briefing submitted to the UN Committee against Torture, due to discuss the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory on 15 May. AI also said it considered “the nature and severity of the suffering inflicted by the systematic practice of house demolitions without absolute military necessity, closures and the use of human shields … so grave that they may amount to torture as defined in Article 1 of the Convention against Torture”. It condemned “the rising number” of prison sentences imposed in Israel on soldiers and reservists for refusing to perform military service in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, saying this rise was “the result of a growing concern of conscripts, soldiers and reservists about some of the actions taken by the Israeli Defence Forces”. (AFP)
Russian Middle East envoy Andrei Vdovin met Foreign Minister Peres to discuss ways to resume the Middle East peace process. Convening an international conference on the Middle East crisis “would be an important step in that direction”, Mr. Vdovin was quoted as saying. According to him, the Quartet had also met to discuss “how to use the current lull in the crisis to resume talks”. The Quartet had voiced the hope that a compromise could be found now that Israeli troops have withdrawn from several Palestinian towns and critical situations like the siege of Chairman Arafat’s HQ and Bethlehem’s Nativity Church had been resolved, Mr. Vdovin added. (AFP)
Chairman Arafat ordered the establishment of a committee tasked with rebuilding the destroyed Palestinian houses in the Jenin refugee camp. A statement issued after the weekly meeting of the PA Cabinet held in Ramallah said Mr. Arafat had nominated Public Works Minister Azzam Al-Ahmad to chair the committee, which “would study also the needs of the residents who gave big sacrifices for the sake of freedom and national independence”, the statement carried by WAFA said. The PA Cabinet also approved a bill on the immediate implementation of a judicial independence law, which had been discussed and presented by the Palestinian Council. (AFP, DPA, XINHUA)
Two Israeli settlers arrested on suspicion of trying to plant a bomb on the main street of a neighbourhood in Arab East Jerusalem, close to a school, had confessed to the charge, their lawyer said. Israeli-Arab legislator Ahmed Tibi called the case “a dangerous development” and accused the police of not doing enough to catch the killers of eight Palestinians, who he said had been shot dead by Jewish militants in the West Bank during the intifada. (Reuters)
15
In a speech before the Palestinian Council, Chairman Arafat said he would “present a new formula for the administration of the Palestinian Authority and its ministries and security apparatus in order to rebuild it on a firmer basis”. He called on the Council to “rapidly prepare for elections”, without specifying a date. Chairman Arafat assumed responsibility for any errors that might have been made and said “We are now badly in need of re-evaluation of our policies and our plans, in order to repair our errors, to correct our march toward independence.” He reiterated his commitment to peace as a strategic option, despite Israeli efforts “to abolish the peace deals” with “the military option of their occupation forces”. He stressed that the Palestinian “dream is real freedom and complete independence in the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as the capital. Whoever likes it or not, it is our aim to have that.” He also denounced attacks by militants on Israeli civilians as not serving Palestinian interests. (AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)
Responding to Chairman Arafat’s speech, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters “Yasser Arafat’s words are positive. What is important, and what the President will await to see, is whether there is any action … action that will lead to a better life for the Palestinian people and will enhance the prospects for an enduring peace”. (AFP, Reuters, XINHUA)
Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana said Chairman Arafat had informed him that he intended to organize legislative and municipal elections “as soon as possible, either at the end of the summer or the start of the fall”. The legislative elections, for a new Palestinian Council, would be held before the municipal polls, Mr. Solana said. He added that Palestinian elections, if held in the coming months, would give a welcome fillip to internationally-sponsored efforts to restart the Middle East peace process and would also give “a fillip to democratic life in the Palestinian structures”. European Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten noted that “The Palestinian administration that rises from the ashes of the old must be more democratic, more transparent,” adding that the EU stood ready to provide financial support to rebuild the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Messrs Solana and Patten both reiterated the EU’s commitment to a two-State solution to the Middle East conflict, with a full-fledged Palestinian State coexisting peacefully with an Israel secure within internationally recognized borders. (AFP, Reuters)
In a statement at the end of their extraordinary meeting in Jeddah, Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council upheld the recent Arab offer of peace with Israel, rejected “violence in all its forms”, castigated the Likud Party’s rejection of the establishment of a Palestinian State, and urged the United States and the international community to put pressure on Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian lands it had reoccupied and to respond to the Arab peace initiative. (AFP, Reuters)
Israeli Labour Party Chairman and Defence Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told the party central committee meeting in kibbutz Shefayim near Tel Aviv that separation from the Palestinians was a “strategic necessity”. He stressed that current conditions for talks were “very difficult”, noting that there was “a complete loss of confidence between the parties”. Outlining his view of a settlement, Mr. Ben-Eliezer said regarding Jerusalem that an “enlarged western sector would be the capital of Israel”, including west Jerusalem and Jewish neighbourhoods of east Jerusalem. It would be separated from purely Arab districts of the eastern part of the city. He also called for a “special regime” for the holy sites in east Jerusalem, saying he would be ready to forego Israeli sovereignty of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. Mr. Ben-Eliezer said he favoured a Palestinian State to cover “a large majority” of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. As part of an accord, Israel would evacuate the settlements in Gaza and “ isolated colonies” in the West Bank. “Most of the settlers [would] be able to remain and gather in the main settlement blocks which [would] be annexed to Israel”, with the area of these settlement blocks to be fixed in negotiations. Israel would be ready to exchange territories, as part of a settlement. (AFP) International donors assessed that Israel’s military campaign in the West Bank last month had caused US$361 million in property damage alone, which would take more than a year to repair. Nablus was the hardest hit, with repair costs estimated at US$114 million. Repair costs in the Jenin area would reach US$83 million, while in Ramallah US $51 million. The private sector, including shops and offices, had suffered most, with repair costs estimated at US$97 million. Significant damage had also occurred to roads, estimated at US$64 million, private housing at US$66 million, as well as electricity and water networks, schools and clinics. Senior World Bank representative in the West Bank Nigel Roberts stressed t hat the broader economic impact on the Palestinian economy might be significantly larger, if lost income and other damages were taken into account. He estimated that the donor community would be able to come up with about US$175 million to assist in the rehabilitation of the West Bank, while Arab States would help fill the Palestinian Authority’s empty budget coffers. At the same time Mr. Roberts stressed that international donors were “seeking assurances” from the Israeli Government that the IDF would avoid targeting assets restored with donor help, should a new West Bank offensive ever be launched. He added that he was not aware of any offer from Israel to help finance the West Bank’s repairs. (AFP, Reuters)
In a speech at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Terje Rød-Larsen said that “If there is a further erosion of policing functions … and the civilian functions of the Palestinian Authority crumble, then that void has to be filled”, adding that “Probably it’s only the United Nations who have the capabilities of filling it”. (Reuters)
Flying back to Washington from a NATO ministerial meeting in Iceland, Secretary of State Powell told reporters that he was “pleased” that Chairman Arafat was speaking about reform and expressed US readiness to help in this process. “Ultimately reform has to be done by the Palestinians. We can help, we can encourage, we can press them, we can contribute to it … but it is something that has to come from within if it is going to be real and if it is going to stick”, Mr. Powell noted. (AFP, Reuters)
An unarmed Palestinian civilian had been killed by Israeli tank fire in the town of Deir el-Balah, near the “Kfar Darom” settlement in the central Gaza Strip, a Palestinian security source said. An IDF spokesman said soldiers had opened fire after a mortar round fired by Palestinians had struck near the settlement without causing any damage. In another incident in the Gaza Strip, the IDF said it had destroyed a 250-metres-long tunnel in Rafah that was connected with the Egyptian side of the border and allegedly used to smuggle weapons and people between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. (AFP, Reuters)
US House of Representatives lawmakers unveiled a bipartisan bill calling for sanctions to be imposed on Chairman Arafat and the PLO for their “recent acts of terrorism” against Israel. The bill’s sponsor, Representative Bill Blunt said in a statement that what he referred to as the “Arafat Accountability Act” would send “a strong message that the US will neither tolerate nor ignore Arafat’s blatant refusal to work for the peace he says he seeks”. “It’s time to trade in our all-carrot and no-stick policy. It doesn’t work,” agreed Representative Gary Ackerman at a press conference held to introduce the bill. The bill, which has yet to reach the House floor, would deny visas to any PLO member, downgrade the Palestinian representation in the US and impose travel restrictions on senior Palestinian representatives at the United Nations. It would also freeze any personal assets Mr. Arafat may have in the US as well as those of the PLO. President Bush, however, would be able to waive the restrictions under national security considerations. The lawmakers said they hoped the bill would pass. A similar bill had been introduced in the Senate but had not yet come up for a vote. (AFP)
In an interview with Channel Two TV, Prime Minister Sharon said that he expected a Palestinian State would “ very possibly” be established, but only after lengthy negotiations. He added that the time was not ripe to discuss the issue and it would only be put forward once terror ceased and the Palestinian Authority underwent sweeping changes. (Reuters)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) demanded the release of five Palestinian journalists arrested during the recent Israeli military offensive in the West Bank. “Some of them have been detained for nearly a month without being charged with any offence and one is held in an unknown place, which is unacceptable”, the Paris-based RSF said in a statement. (Reuters)
Speaking after talks in Cape Town with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, President Thabo Mbeki said he was keen to work with Arab countries in promoting their peace initiative for a solution to the Middle East conflict and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State. (South African Press Association/All Africa Global Media)
16
In its first Ramallah incursion since lifting the siege on Chairman Arafat’s HQ, the IDF shot dead a member of the Palestinian security services and arrested two Islamic Jihad activists, who were allegedly planning a suicide bombing in Jerusalem during a Jewish religious holiday starting later in the day. Three Force 17 members were also arrested. Separately, Israeli forces staged a dawn raid on the village of Taluza, near Nablus, where they imposed a curfew and arrested at least 20 people in house searches. The IDF had made incursions into the towns of Tulkarm and El-Bireh, bordering Ramallah, Palestinian security officials said. About 15 Israeli tanks entered Tulkarm from two directions and sparked gun battles, but no casualties were reported, the officials said. Several tanks, as well as armoured vehicles, reached the centre of El-Bireh, the security officials said. No injuries were reported. In Gaza City, a Palestinian woman who had been wounded last month by an Israeli hand grenade died of her injuries, according to hospital sources. (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
A Dahaf poll, which surveyed 501 Israelis with a 4.5 per cent margin of error, confirmed Prime Minister Sharon’s high popularity rating and showed that 72 per cent of respondents believed a Palestinian State would eventually be established, against 23 per cent who disagreed. (Reuters)
A Palestinian Council committee recommended naming a new PA cabinet within 45 days and holding presidential, general and local elections within a year. The recommendations, drafted in response to Chairman Arafat’s call for reforms and new elections made before the Council the previous day, needed the approval of the Council before they were sent to Mr. Arafat. The recommendations urged the adoption of a constitution and implementation of the judicial independence law recently approved. They stressed the importance of separation of powers and guarantees of human rights, as one way to create a democratic civil society. The recommendations also suggested unification of the security forces under one command referred to as the Higher Security Council, to be chaired by the PA President. As for the cabinet, the recommendations suggested that its membership should be reduced to no more than nineteen. (DPA)
Speaker of the Palestinian Council, Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) said that Chairman Arafat had welcomed a proposal by Palestinian lawmakers for municipal elections be held later this year, and legislative elections in early 2003. (AFP)
17
Chairman Arafat said there could be no free Palestinian elections until Israeli military occupation ended in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. PA Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nabil Shaath later told Reuters that Mr. Arafat “meant [no elections] until Israel pulls out its occupation forces to where they had been before September 29, 2000”. “It is not possible to carry out elections while [Palestinian] cities are disconnected and [Israeli] checkpoints are crippling movement,” Mr. Shaath added. (AFP, Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post, Reuters, XTNHUA)
The founder of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin told Reuters in an interview that the movement would pursue suicide attacks against Israel as long as the IDF continued its attacks on the Palestinian areas. (Ha’aretz, Reuters)
The BBC reported that the IDF, early in the day, moved back into the city and refugee camp of Jenin, with dozens of tanks backed by helicopter gunships. Two Palestinians were wounded by tank shells in the operation, according to Palestinian hospital and security sources. The IDF had withdrawn from Jenin city by late afternoon, Palestinian witnesses said, after pulling out of the camp in the morning. Some 40 Palestinians were arrested during the operation, among them a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the security sources told AFP. In the refugee camp, the IDF destroyed the house of a Hamas official. In a separate incidents, a Palestinian teenager was killed and two others wounded, one seriously, by a mine explosion in the camp. In the northern Gaza Strip, an armed Palestinian was killed overnight by soldiers guarding the settlement of Dugit, according to IDF sources. A seven-year-old Palestinian boy was killed by IDF gunfire in the Askar refugee camp, near Nablus when the IDF opened fire from their tanks in the direction of his father’s shop. The father was among nine Palestinians wounded in the incident, three of them seriously. An Israeli Arab woman was shot in the back and critically wounded in her car while visiting the Palestinian village of Shuweika, north of Tulkarm. Israeli police said they believed the woman had been shot by Palestinian gunmen who saw her driving an Israeli-marked c ar, while local Palestinians said they believed she was wounded by the IDF. (AFP, BBC, Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post)
“Any [Middle East] conference will be out of the question without the participation of the lawfully elected Palestinian leader [Chairman Arafat],” Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said during a trip to Moscow prior to a meeting with Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov. Mr. Maher also said Israel should withdraw from areas it had occupied after 28 September 2001 and in March 2002, prior to the peace conference. (DPA, Ha’aretz)
During the night, a Palestinian armed with a knife attempted to infiltrate the “Beit El” settlement, north of Ramallah, and was shot and killed by a security officer who was wounded in the incident. (Ha’aretz)
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A 47-year-old female Palestinian motorist, an Israeli citizen from the “ triangle region” in Israel was killed by IDF gunfire in the Shuweika village, north of Tulkarm, when the Israeli soldiers in an armoured car reportedly thought they were being attacked by the woman driver. Another Palestinian, a resident of Jabal Mukkaber in East Jerusalem who had Israeli citizenship and worked as a nurse at Sha’are Tsedeq Medical Center in Jerusalem, was killed near Beit Omar, north of Hebron, when IDF fired at his car, which then overturned. (AP, DPA, Ha’aretz, WAFA)
Foreign Minister Peres called for urgent international diplomacy to consolidate the Palestinian security forces and promptly form a Palestinian State on the territory already controlled by the PA. The two sides would then begin talks on a final agreement. (The New York Times)
19
A suicide bomber dressed in IDF uniform killed three people and wounded at least 56 in Netanya’s open-air market. At least six of the wounded were said to be in serious condition. PFLP claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV station. The PA immediately condemned the suicide bombing (full text of the statement at http://www.wafa.pna.net/EngText/20-05-2002/page002.htm) while the IDF was preparing for military action in the West Bank after the attack. Jihad Jibril, the son of the PFLP-General Command commander died in a car explosion in Beirut the next day, with the group blaming Israel. “ Israel had no connection to [the car bomb],” Defence Minister Ben-Eliezer’s aide, Yarden Vatikay, said, adding that the Defence Minister had also denied any link. (AP, Ha’aretz, The New York Times, WAFA)
The Israeli Government published tenders for the construction of 957 houses in five established settlements around East Jerusalem to accommodate what the Government termed the “natural growth” of the existing population (“Efrat” – 339 units, “Betar” – 244 units, “Ma’ aleh Adumim” – 224 units, “Geva Binyamin” – 76 units, and “ Har Adar” – 74 units). More than half will be built in the “Greater Jerusalem” region. MP Mossi Raz (Meretz), who revealed the figures, said the number of tenders announced this week by the Housing Ministry was more than the total for all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip last year, which amounted to 810. Peace Now said Defence Minister Ben-Eliezer was “directly responsible for this latest wave of settlement expansion.” (AFP, Peace Now, WAFA)
The PA needed six months to prepare for elections and polls could not be held while the IDF encircled West Bank towns, PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said. “The [Palestinian Central Election] committee is preparing for elections, and it started a few days ago, for we need six months of preparations, … but it will be impossible to have an election campaign if you have checkpoints between every village and if the candidates and the voters cannot move from one place to another,” he said. (Reuters)
20
A Palestinian suicide bomber, reportedly from the Jenin area, killed himself at the Ta’anachim junction near the city of Afula in northern Israel after Israeli troops approached him. There were no other casualties. (The New York Times)
The following statement was issued by the Secretary-General: “Regarding the suicide bombings in Israel of yesterday and today, the Secretary-General reiterates his unequivocal and long-standing condemnation of all terrorist acts from whatever quarter; attacks on innocent civilians are morally repugnant and contrary to international law.” (UN News Service)
Defence Minister Ben-Eliezer, meeting with leaders of towns along Israel’s border with the West Bank, ordered that a 364 km fence along the Green Line be completed within half a year. (Ha‘aretz)
A Palestinian was arrested by Israeli security services after attacking an Israeli settler woman at a crossroads near the “Gush Etzion” settlement block, south of Bethlehem, Israel Public Radio said. All of us are in agreement on the fact that this conference [the Middle East peace conference planned this summer] must not be held as long as Israel occupies Palestinian towns and villages. They must withdraw to the lines before September 2000 in order for this meeting to become possible,” the Secretary-General of the League of Arab League Amre Moussa told the London-based Al-Hayat daily. (AFP)
Prime Minister Sharon, despite the crisis with the Palestinians, had given preliminary approval to purchase gas discovered off the shore of the Gaza Strip in 1999 by Britain’s BG and its partner, the Athens-based Arab-owned Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), in a concession awarded by the PA, according to a specialized publication The International Oil Daily (IOD). The field’s total reserves are estimated at around 40 billion m3 (1.4 trillion ft3). IOD said Israel had turned to Gaza gas, as talks with the Egyptian-Israeli consortium EMG were frozen because of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. (AFP)
Israeli tanks backed by helicopter gunships staged brief incursions into Tulkarm, fired shells and carried out searches. Some injuries were reported and the IDF was said to have arrested a young Palestinian woman, accusing her of preparing a suicide bombing. (AFP, XINHUA)
21
The World Food Programme (WFP) launched a US$18 million appeal, in conjunction with a plan to provide 70,000 tons of emergency food aid to about half a million Palestinians who could no longer afford to buy basic daily provisions. WFP estimated that 50 per cent of the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory lived below the poverty line, surviving on less than $2 per day. As many as 180,000 people had lost their jobs during the intifada and others, such as farmers and fishermen, had been unable to work regularly and supply markets due to border closures and complex Israeli security procedures. “The latest Israeli incursion has dealt a blow to an already vulnerable economy pushing many Palestinians into destitution”, WFP regional director Khaled Adly said in a statement. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)
Following an agreement among the EU countries, twelve of the thirteen Palestinian militants temporarily transferred to Cyprus would be placed as follows: Spain and Italy would take three each, Greece and Ireland two each, while Portugal and Belgium would take one each. A Spanish military plane was expected to fly the Palestinians to their respective destinations on 22 May. The thirteenth Palestinian was expected to remain in Cyprus for some additional days, as negotiations continued on which country would accept him. An official statement by Spain over the weekend had said the exiled Palestinians would have a status of “temporary refugee” for six to 12 months, and would be entitled to reunite with their families at a later date. “Each country will apply its own laws should the Palestinians request asylum”, the statement had said, adding that if Israel asked for the extradition of any of them, all EU Governments would adopt a common position on the matter. The men would remain under police surveillance and protection and would not be able to travel outside their host country. (AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)
A poll conducted last week by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research found that support among Palestinians for bombings inside Israel had fallen to 52 per cent, from 58 per cent in December. Of the 1,317 adults polled in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 67 per cent, up from 61 per cent in December, believed that armed action was more effective than negotiations. Nevertheless, the poll showed 70 per cent Palestinian support for reconciliation with the Israeli people after a peace agreement based on the establishment of a Palestinian State recognized by Israel. Two-thirds of those questioned backed the Saudi proposal endorsed at the Beirut Arab summit in March, while 54 per cent believed that Palestinians should take part in a peace conference proposed by the US. The poll showed 91 per cent supporting “fundamental changes” in the Palestinian Authority, with 85 per cent backing unification of the various security services and 83 per cent favouring early elections. (Reuters)
A bomb had exploded in the path of an Israeli convoy in the Gaza Strip, between the “Netzarim” settlement and the Kami crossing point, but had caused no injuries or damage, the IDF said. A short time later, Israeli tanks and bulldozers raided an area under Palestinian control near the scene of the attack and destroyed a PA security post and a local house, according to Palestinian security sources. In separate incidents, it was reported that the IDF had arrested a wanted Palestinian militant in Bethlehem and another one in Jenin. The IDF had shot and wounded four Palestinian teenagers on the border between Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, Palestinian medical sources reported. One later died from serious head injury. (AFP, EFE, XINHUA)
Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Piqué told a press conference that officials from the 11 countries of the Mediterranean Forum meeting in the Greek island of Mykonos had agreed that a conference to relaunch the Middle East peace process should be held “as soon as possible … [b]ut only when the necessary conditions are in place” and should include all parties concerned. (AFP)
“The big threat today to the peace of the world that is stoking all this terrorism is this continuous violence in the Middle East”, former US President Bill Clinton said in a speech at the United Nations University in Tokyo. An independent Palestinian State was the only solution to the bloodletting, he noted, adding “There has to be funds for relocation and for the compensation of refugees, there has to be a guarantee of Israel’s acceptance in the neighbourhood as well as its security”, and “there is going to have to be some sort of multinational force there and the United States has got to be involved though we are a main target for those terrorist groups”. “We can’t make either side do something they don’t want to do, but the United Nations and the United States, we need to be all dressed up and ready to go”, Mr. Clinton said. (AFP)
Following a meeting in Washington with Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary of State Powell said the US would soon intensify contacts with leaders in the Middle East to ease humanitarian and economic hardships faced by the Palestinians. Mr. Powell also said that the postponed visit to the region by CIA Director George Tenet to look into reconstructing the Palestinian security infrastructure would happen in “the not-too-distant future.” (AFP)
22
Chairman Arafat met with envoys from the Quartet and asked for support in reforms he had promised to implement, according to officials. Senior Palestinian negotiator and PA Minister Saeb Erakat told reporters that Mr. Arafat had asked the envoys to provide “technical support” his reforms, which he said would affect the Palestinian Cabinet and security structures. UN Special Coordinator Terje Rød-Larsen said after the meeting that the international community had offered its full support to the reform programme. Mr. Rød-Larsen added that he hoped Israel would “ help foster a climate conducive to reforms”, in particular by lifting travel restrictions affecting the Palestinian Occupied Territory. (AFP)
Israel sent about 30 tanks and armoured vehicles into the village of Salfit in the northern West Bank and arrested 13 Palestinians, 9 security force members and 6 intelligence officers. Palestinian officials said one member of the security forces was wounded in the raid. Military sources said the raids were part of a “limited operation aimed at destroying terrorist infrastructures in Salfit.” Meanwhile, the IDF announced it had blocked off a main intersection in Gaza, cutting off the movement of Palestinians between the northern and southern parts of the Strip in response to mortar attacks on settlements. In a separate incident near Bethlehem, Israeli border guards shot dead a local man who reportedly failed to raise his hands when ordered to do so and made a “suspicious gesture,” military sources said. Palestinian spokesmen said he was a 35-year-old father of nine who had merely been on his way to work. A Palestinian man blew himself up near an Israeli checkpoint near Jenin, no one else was hurt in the incident, according to Israeli media. (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post, Reuters)
Following the agreement among EU countries the previous day, the 12 Palestinian militants from the Church of Nativity left Cyprus for various European destinations. Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Piqué said that Israel had assured the EU that it would not request the extradition of any of the exiled Palestinian militants. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)
Two Palestinian lawmakers, Hanan Ashrawi and her fellow deputy in the Palestinian Council, Mohammed Horani launched a campaign to free their colleague, Mr. Marwan Barghouti, who had been arrested by the IDF on 15 April. The campaign aimed at pressuring parliaments in the Arab world and beyond to demand the release of Mr. Barghouti from prison. Two Palestinian human rights groups said after visiting him in jail that he was being tortured and ill-treated by the Israeli security services. “Barghouti’s hands and legs are shackled to a small chair, angled to slant forward so that he cannot sit in a stable position,” said the head of the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), Khader Shkirat, and Hassan Jabareen, head of the group called Adalah. “Due to nails sticking out on the chair, his back is bleeding, they said, adding that he had been treated at the prison clinic on 20 May. (AFP)
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Overnight Israeli tanks entered the Palestinian-controlled areas of Hebron and the Al-Jalama area near Jenin and arrested some 20 Palestinians, some of them reportedly on Israel’s “wanted” list. A Palestinian man had been killed by Israeli tank fire during an IDF operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian medical officials said the man was hit in the chest when the tanks opened fire on houses in the Salah ed-Din Gate area of Rafah. (AFP, Reuters, XINHUA)
Chairman Arafat said in an interview with Reuters that there would be Palestinian Council and Presidential elections “in the winter”. He added that regional and municipal polls would also take place by the end of the year. Mr. Arafat noted that the polls were not conditional on an Israeli military withdrawal, but expressed the hope that there would be such a withdrawal, so that elections could be held freely. He strongly condemned the previous day’s suicide bombing in Rishon Letzion, calling it a “terror attack” that endangered the Palestinian people. Asked whether he could halt suicide bombings, he said: “I am doing my best. I can make a 100 per cent effort but nobody can give 100 per cent results except God.” He called on Palestinians to renounce all those who supported violence against civilians and expressed strong support for reforms as the way forward in the PA. Mr. Arafat called for US pressure on Israel to withdraw from areas hitherto under Palestinian control. Asked whether there could be any progress towards peace in the current conditions, he said: “There must be a quick [diplomatic] push.” (Reuters)
At a press conference in Berlin with Chancellor Schröder, President Bush said peace in the Middle East hinged on Israel and a Palestinian State living side by side. He also said he was very encouraged by the fact that Saudi Arabia was now engaged in the peace process. (AFP, DPA)
The Israeli peace coalition Gush Shalom in a statement said that there was no way of stopping Palestinian attacks in Israel without ending the occupation of the Palestinian Territory. With reference to the IDF’s operation “ Defensive Shield,” the organisation said the closure and the siege of Palestinian towns and villages alongside the “unprecedented killing and destruction” had only served to increase the anger, frustration and the willingness of Palestinians to carry out attacks. The statement also said the Israeli Government was not showing “the smallest sign of willingness to end the occupation.” (AFP)
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A Palestinian suicide bomber died and five people were slightly injured when the car the bomber was driving towards the entrance of a nightclub in Tel Aviv, blew up after a guard opened fire. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
Israeli troops moved into Gaza City destroying three factories before they pulled out, Palestinian security sources and witnesses told AFP. In a separate incident, one Israeli soldier was shot dead and two others wounded, one seriously, and nine Palestinians were wounded, including an 11-year-old boy, and up to 100 detained during an Israeli incursion into Tulkarm, Israeli military and Palestinian sources said. Palestinian officials said the Palestinians had been wounded by an Israeli tank shell fired at a building in the refugee camp on the edge of town. Four were said to be from the same family and one was in critical condition. (AFP, Ha‘aretz, Reuters, XINHUA)
The IDF arrested a Palestinian photographer working for Reuters in the Gaza Strip, the second journalist from that news agency to be held without charges, a Reuters official said. The photographer was released on 27 May. The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of media organizations, accused Israel of trying to restrict the free flow of information by detaining six journalists without charging them. Dozens of Palestinian human rights activists and reporters protested at the Gaza HQ of the ICRC on 28 May, urging ICRC and the UN to press Israel to free the journalists. (AFP, Reuters)
25
The IDF withdrew to the fringes of Tulkarm, imposing a curfew on the town. (AFP)
A Palestinian woman and her 12-year-old niece were fatally wounded in Gaza by Israeli fire when an IDF unit, backed by tanks, entered the Al-Boureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Palestinian officials said the two were hit by a round from an Israeli tank as they were working in a field near a farm at the edge of the camp. The army reportedly blocked Palestinian ambulances from entering the area and the two died from their injuries. An Israeli military spokesman was reported to have said the army regretted the killing, which he said took place near a barrier between Gaza and Israel in an area off-limits to non-military personnel. (AFP, DPA)
A pregnant Palestinian woman trying to reach hospital gave birth at the al-Khader roadblock near Bethlehem after soldiers denied her passage. The baby died later, doctors said. In a separate incident, IDF jeeps followed by tanks and APCs entered Bethlehem and fanned out through the city and around Beit Jala, witnesses said, blowing up the home of the local head of Islamic Jihad. Palestinian police said Israeli troops were searching houses within 200m of Manger Square. (Reuters)
“Divine Intervention,” a movie by Palestinian director Elia Suleiman about Palestinians trying to live their lives under Israeli military restrictions, was awarded a prize on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival and the third-place Special Jury Prize the next day. (AFP)
26
A 50-year-old Palestinian was killed in his house when Israeli tanks and troops returned to Tulkarm, just two hours after completing a withdrawal, Palestinian security sources and residents said. Separately, the IDF pulled out of Bethlehem, only to return before dawn the next day, taking up positions in different parts of the town, including outside the Church of the Nativity, declaring the whole area a “closed military zone” off limits to the press and imposing a curfew on the town. The IDF and the General Security Service personnel entered Dheisheh refugee camp on southern outskirts of Bethlehem, arresting the Bethlehem leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades along with two other members of the movement. Dozens of Palestinians were arrested in other parts of Bethlehem. (AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)
The IDF entered Qalqilya, conducting house-to-house searches for suspected militants and imposing a curfew. The army used rockets and helicopters to destroy several houses. Palestinian witnesses said troops had detained one man, who was not a known militant, and were shooting occasionally to keep residents indoors and away from their windows. (DPA, Reuters)
“It’s possible that the army will be forced to launch deeper operations if those we are currently carrying out are not effective,” IDF Chief of Staff, General Shaul Mofaz said, quoted by the Israeli Public Radio.
Israel kept the Kami commercial crossing between Gaza and Israel closed for a fifth straight day, demanding to keep all taxes charged on goods, Palestinian officials said, instead of the agreed division of 60 per cent to Israel and 40 per cent to the PA. Israel has refused for more than a year to transfer any of the value added tax (VAT) charged on goods, charging that PA revenues were being used to finance the intifada. (AFP)
Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Jeddah renounced the use of all forms of violence and called for peace in the Middle East based on the Saudi-proposed peace plan. (AFP)
Prime Minister Sharon told a group of foreign guests that Israel accepts the Saudi peace initiative as an overall vision, The Jerusalem Post reported the next day. However, according to the report, Mr. Sharon said that at the same time Israel rejects calls in the Saudi initiative for return of Palestinian refugees, the return to the 1967 boundaries, and demand that Jerusalem be the capital of a Palestinian State. (XINHUA)
27
Speaking to reporters after meeting Canadian Foreign Minister William Graham, Chairman Arafat urged the United Nations to “act to end the Israeli siege” of the Occupied Palestinian Territory to enable Palestinians to conduct elections, and expressed hope that the international monitors would return to supervise the coming election similar to the first elections on the Palestinian lands. The PA cabinet said in a statement released the same day after its weekly meeting that “democracy could be only achieved by holding elections,” and that “there was a national consensus to hold the legislative and presidential and municipal elections after six months by December 2002.” The PA called upon the international community “to help the Palestinian people practice their democratic life in a free way, far from the apartheid imposed by the Israeli government on the Palestinian people.” (DPA, Reuters, WAFA)
Israel’s state prosecutor reportedly indicted a member of a Jewish settler group from Hebron, who was also one of the leaders of the banned Kach movement, for supplying explosives to an underground cell of Jewish extremists planning an attack on Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Three other settlers were charged the next day with attempted murder and illegal possession of arms. Investigators suspect the militants intended to blow up Mukassed hospital, or a girl’s school, in the At-Tur neighbourhood. (AFP, DPA)
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued an emergency appeal for 44 million Swiss francs (US$27.6 million) of fresh aid to battle the “ socio-economic collapse of Palestinian society,” which would more than double its emergency aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The ICRC said that it planned to triple to 30,000 the number of families in West Bank villages receiving food, while assistance would be stepped up to another 20,000 families already receiving some help in the towns there. It would also increase assistance to the medical services of both the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Israeli Magen David Adom. (AFP, Reuters)
Five Israeli soldiers had been sentenced to up to five months imprisonment for having engaged in “looting” and “violence” against Palestinian civilians during the Israeli invasion of the West Bank in March and April, an IDF statement said, with twenty other cases being under investigation by the military police. (AFP)
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A study into the use of rubber bullets during clashes between Israeli police and Arab-Israeli protestors in October 2000, published last week by British medical journal The Lancet, found that such weapons were inaccurate and often being misused, resulting in death and critical injuries. Israeli police said they were unable to comment directly on The Lancet report, but police spokesman Superintendent Gil Kleiman said rubber bullets were still in use. The weapons in question fall into two categories: one is a rubber-coated metal cylinder with a high muzzle velocity and the other, found to be less dangerous, is a low-velocity round which comprises 15 metal-cored rubber balls that fan out. Although the bullet manufacturers say the rounds can be used safely when fired at the legs at a range of at least 40m, more than half of the injuries examined were above the midriff, and one in six were in the head, neck and face. Prof. Michael Krausz, one of the authors of the report and professor of surgery at the Rambam Medical Centre in Haifa said the use of rubber bullets should be banned because they were notoriously inaccurate and could cause severe injuries and death. (AFP)
A Palestinian suicide bomber detonated explosives at the entrance to a shopping mall in Petah Tikvah in central Israel, killing two Israelis, including a two-year-old girl, and injuring at least 27 others. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to the Al-Manar TV channel. Later, the Brigades issued a statement, saying the attack was in the name of three of its members killed by Israeli tankfire near Nablus on 22 May. “The Palestinian leadership, which together with the Palestinian people is under continued Israeli aggression, condemns the terrorist attack that targeted Israeli civilians in Petah Tikva … It considers this attack harmful to our cause and struggle, and to the image of the Palestinian people before international public opinion,” the PA said in a statement. (AFP, Reuters)
IDF tanks backed by helicopters entered Jenin, leading to clashes with armed Palestinians. A 55-year-old Palestinian was killed in his home by Israeli fire, while two others were wounded. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the incursion and said six wanted Palestinians had been arrested in Jenin, which he declared a “closed military zone.” The spokesman also announced the arrest of eight other Palestinians in the West Bank, including two in Hebron, two in Beit Jala near Bethlehem, two at Azzun near Qalqilya and two in the village of Beit Anan north of Jerusalem. The Army Radio reported that troops arrested the local leader of Hamas and destroyed a large building. The IDF withdrew after several hours, with 14 Palestinians arrested. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)
Amnesty International (AI) criticized both Israel and the Palestinians in its annual report, singling out Israel for using “excessive lethal force.” At the same time, on the Palestinian side, “armed groups and individuals arbitrarily killed 65 Israeli civilians in the occupied territories and 89 Israeli civilians within Israel.” In a section entitled “unlawful killings,” the report charged the “Israeli security forces killed more than 460 Palestinians, including 79 children. The vast majority was killed unlawfully, when the lives of others were not in imminent danger.” AI also called for a commission of inquiry into mass arbitrary detention of Palestinians. (AFP, WAFA, full text of the report at http://web.amnesty. ore/web/ar2002. nsf)
US Administration officials were engaged in intense discussions on whether publicly to outline terms for a permanent Middle East peace settlement as well as a schedule for negotiating and reaching an agreement, The Washington Post reported. Secretary of State Powell, speaking at a news conference in Italy following a NATO-Russia summit south of Rome, said the US was not ready to put forward a peace plan for the Middle East. President Bush, speaking during a summit of NATO leaders and President Putin said the US would send two senior officials to the Middle East this week, William Burns, head of the Middle East bureau at the State Department, and CIA Director George Tenet. “When we get reports back from Mr. Tenet and from Ambassador Burns … we will start to integrate all this information and see what next steps should be taken,” Mr. Powell said. (AFP, DPA, Reuters, The Washington Post)
The Palestinian Governor of East Jerusalem Jamil Nasser, who is not living in the city and was visiting the offices of the PLO political commissioner for Jerusalem affairs, Sari Nusseibeh, was arrested and questioned by Israeli secret services. An Israeli police spokesman said Mr. Nasser was detained for questioning for illegally entering the city, which is closed to Palestinians who do not live there or do not have permission to enter. The PA called on the Israeli Government to release the official as soon as possible and give him free access of movement in Jerusalem since he was appointed by the PA as a governor for East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority reacted to the arrest by urging the US, UN, EU and Russia to intervene “immediately” to secure the Governor’s release. (AFP, XINHUA)
An international conference for peace in the Middle East could be held as early as July, US Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), a member of the House Committee on International Relations, said in Cairo following talks with President Mubarak. “Later this year, actually in July or August, I think maybe August but perhaps sooner, there will be a dialogue of all the nations again,” Mr. Issa told reporters. (AFP)
An Israeli was killed and his brother lightly wounded as their car came under Palestinian gunfire near the “Ofra” settlement, north of Ramallah, settler sources said. The Israelis were identified as Jerusalem residents who worked in the West Bank. (AFP)
Three Palestinians were shot and wounded during an IDF incursion in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip, medical sources and witnesses said. They said the soldiers advanced about 100m into the Palestinian self-rule area near the Egyptian border. (AFP)
Three Jewish settlers and a Palestinian attacker were killed in the West Bank settlement of “Itamar” near Nablus. The Palestinian was shot dead by an Israeli security guard after infiltrating and attacking the settlement. In a separate incident earlier in the day, a Palestinian killed an Israeli driver and wounded his cousin in a shooting attack on their car on a West Bank road. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed responsibility for the attacks. After the attacks, Israeli troops raided West Bank villages near Bethlehem overnight and re-entered the city of Qalqilya. The Army said it had detained eight people. (AFP, DPA, Ha‘aretz, The Jerusalem Post, Reuters, XINHUA)
The former UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ms. Sadako Ogata, who had been appointed to the UN Fact-Finding Team for Jenin, told Reuters in an interview from Atlanta, that the collapse of the Jenin mission was “an enormous missed opportunity, not only for the Team but for Israel.” (Reuters)
King Mohammed VI of Morocco and King Abdullah II of Jordan, meeting in Amman stressed that an international conference on peace in the Middle East should be conducted on the basis of the Arab peace initiative adopted at the Beirut Summit last March, the withdrawal of Israeli forces to their positions before the start of the intifada, the Madrid peace conference terms of reference, including the land-for-peace principle, international resolutions and a timetable for negotiations on all aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The two Heads of State called on all parties, particularly the US, Russia, the EU and the UN, to intensify efforts to support the Arab peace initiative and encourage the peace dynamic called for by the Beirut Summit, with a view to guaranteeing security and stability for all peoples of the region. (Maghreb Arabe Presse at www.map.co.ma)
29
Israel’s security cabinet had met to discuss the response to the killings of four Israelis the previous day, and the meeting had ended without having made any operative decisions, Israel’s Army Radio reported. Prime Minister Sharon was quoted as saying that the discussion over Israel’s response would continue next week, and until then, the current military posture of directed raids and brief incursions would continue. “ In any event, there [are] no limitation on Israeli army operations on the Palestinian territories,” Mr. Sharon added. Israel Radio reported that at least seven Palestinians were arrested in the Bethlehem area, and an eighth Palestinian was arrested in the northern West Bank. (AFP, DPA, EFE, Ha’aretz, XINHUA)
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, in a speech to his consultative Shura Council, said “the Saudi peace initiative has placed Sharon’s Government at a crossroads: The Saudi initiative which has become an Arab initiative spells out the desire of the Arab Nation in realizing peace,” he said. “This peace initiative, welcomed by the international community, has provided the Israeli Government two options: the first option of justice and peace, or the second option of injustice, intransigence and tyranny” said Prince Abdullah and added that the second option would lead to more destruction and blood shedding for all parties. “I would like to make it clear that the initiative is the beginning and not the end of the road, and we still face obstacles and difficulties, and the Arabs and Muslims should shoulder their responsibility to overcome all difficulties and obstacles so as to reach a just and durable peace which enables them to regain their legitimate rights”. (Reuters, Saudi Press Agency)
Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller criticised Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners and said he would push for an EU initiative to inquire into the conditions of their detention, parliamentary sources said. Mr. Moller, whose country takes over the EU Presidency on 1 July, singled out Israel’ s treatment of Marwan Barghouti, saying he was “not being treated in a humane manner.” Mr. Moller said that his view was based on information from the International Committee of the Red Cross. The criticism came in a written response to a question from Mr. Moller’s predecessor and opposition Social Democrat spokesman Mogens Lykketoft. Mr. Moller also said in his response the Danish position was clear and that “Israel must respect its international engagements concerning the rights of detainees.” He added that “Denmark would take an initiative within the group of EU countries on the possibility of a European request to the Israeli authorities concerning the detention conditions of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.” (AFP)
The 130-member Fatah Revolutionary Council (FRC) said in a document “ military attacks inside the Green Line [Israel] must stop because they reflect negatively on the image of our national struggle.” The document also noted that “resistance to the occupation should be limited within Palestinian land occupied in 1967.” A Fatah official said the document would be distributed to the 11 factions of the PLO for further discussion. “Once it is ratified by all, it will become a national document. It will then be addressed to all other Islamic and national factions outside the PLO,” the official said. (Reuters)
Khader Shkirat, a lawyer for Marwan Barghouti, said that the detained West Bank Fatah leader and Palestinian Council member had been transferred from a central Jerusalem jail to a detention centre in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv. According to the lawyer, Mr. Barghouti had been previously held in a cell that measured less than two square metres, had been subjected to sleep deprivation, and his hands and legs had been bound to a chair leaning slightly forward to make balance difficult. The lawyer said he had refused to cooperate with Israeli investigators and has demanded political prisoner status. (AFP, WAFA)
Israeli troops had shot dead a Palestinian near Nablus “by mistake”, Israeli radio reported, adding that the man had thrown a “suspect” object from the terrace of his house as an army patrol was passing. The soldiers opened fire and killed him, only later to realize that the object was a watering can. (AFP, DPA)
A PA statement said Chairman Arafat had signed into effect the “Basic Law”, which would heretofore serve as “the constitutional reference for the laws that the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) had approved and it would be a reference for all the institutions of the Palestinian Authority”. Mr. Arafat’s senior aide Nabil Abu Rudeineh told Reuters the Basic Law stipulated the separation of powers between government bodies and constituted “a turning point on the path to the empowerment of the rule of law”. The Law, passed by the Palestinian Council in October 1997, was intended to form the “nucleus” of a future constitution, Mr. Rudeineh added. (AFP, Reuters)
Prime Minister Sharon had reprimanded the IDF’s Chief of General Staff Lt.-General Shaul Mofaz during the Security Cabinet meeting for suggesting that Chairman Arafat should be expelled from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, telling him to “concentrate on military problems”, the second channel of Israeli TV reported. General Mofaz, supported by Shin Beth Head Avi Dichter, had also reportedly called for the IDF to remain in Areas A as long as necessary. Defence Minister Ben-Eliezer had rejected the request, saying it could give the impression Israel wanted to reconquer the Palestinian areas, something that would not endear Israel to its backers, particularly the US. (AFP)
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Chairman Arafat’s adviser Nabil Abu Rudeineh told WAFA that Mr. Arafat had met separately overnight with leaders of four Palestinian factions to discuss reform efforts. Leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) later said they had been offered slots in a new PA cabinet but had turned the offer down, asking for deeper changes. (AFP, Reuters)
EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana met with President Mubarak in Cairo, in the presence of Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher and EU Middle East envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos. “It’s very important that President Arafat prepares himself, his political structure, to what will be the Palestinian State”, Mr. Solana said after the meeting. He reiterated that the EU viewed Mr. Arafat as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and expressed the EU’s readiness to provide political and economic support to help the Palestinians rebuild and reorganize their institutions. At the same time, Mr. Solana stressed that the EU would not try to impose its ideas on the Palestinian side and conceded that the Israeli military presence in the Occupied Territory was hampering efforts to rebuild the PA and was in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. (AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs William Burns met President Mubarak in Cairo and stated afterwards that “there has been too much suffering and too much death for both Israelis and Palestinians”. Mr. Burns added that “the humanitarian problem, the daily humiliations that ordinary Palestinians suffer under occupation are getting worse every day” . He said it was time for all concerned to try very hard to restore “a sense of hope”, without having illusions about the severe difficulties involved. Later Mr. Burns went to Ramallah, where he met Chairman Arafat. After the meeting he said he had presented President Bush’s view that for Palestinians to achieve statehood in peaceful coexistence with Israel they had to reform their institutions and stop “acts of terror” against Israelis. Talking to reporters before his meetings, Mr. Burns had spoken of the US commitment to “a comprehensive strategy for dealing with the crisis … which involved movement on three tracks”, namely to “renew a serious political process aimed at the two-States solution”, “support Palestinian efforts to build strong institutions in preparation for statehood”, and “ensure effective Palestinian performance on Security”. (AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer met Chairman Arafat in Ramallah. He had earlier held a meeting with Prime Minister Sharon and was planning to meet with US Assistant Secretary Burns. (DPA)
Some 30 to 40 Israeli tanks and APCs made a brief incursion into Hebron. The army conducted house-to-house searches, reportedly seizing four Palestinian militants, including senior Islamic Jihad militant Mohammed Sider as well as a Hamas militant. The IDF said it had detained another six Palestinians in the village of Faroun, south of Tulkarm, in a separate move. Israeli authorities had imposed a state of siege on the Shu’fat refugee camp and the village of Anata, north of East Jerusalem, with troops searching for terrorist suspects. In Ramallah, all but one checkpoint had been closed by the army amid fears of suicide bombers heading south on the road to Jerusalem. Hospital officials said seven people, including a child, had been shot and wounded, three of them seriously, as they were trying to make their way around the obstacles placed on the road. Israeli tanks and jeeps had moved into Jenin, with troops checking vehicles and searching houses, Palestinian security officials said. Two men had been arrested after a car chase between a checkpoint and the town centre. A young Palestinian woman had been arrested in Bethlehem, while reportedly going to blow herself up in Israel. Also, a 16-year-old girl had been arrested after trying to stab a border guard near the town. It was later reported that Israeli tanks and troops had pulled out of Bethlehem, three days after having reoccupied parts of the town. Troops had also quit the nearby towns of Beit Jala and Al-Khader, witnesses said. An IDF spokeswoman confirmed the withdrawal had been completed. (AFP, EFE, Ha‘aretz, Reuters)
B’Tselem said a 17-year-old Palestinian had been shot dead after having being detained with other Palestinians in an apartment building on 31 March, at the start of the recent Israeli military offensive on the West Bank. In an 18-page report, the human rights group said it was “impossible to assert with certainty who shot him and what were the exact circumstances of his death”, but “the fact that he was killed while in detention is sufficient grounds to place the responsibility for his death squarely on Israel”. The report quoted other detainees as saying the youth had been taken from the room where they were being held. Gunfire had been heard in and around the building 20 minutes later. The soldiers later informed the detainees that the 17-year-old was dead. He had one bullet near his heart and another in his knee, B’Tselem said. Soldiers had beaten the other detainees with clubs and rifle butts. Nylon bags had been placed over the heads of some detainees and had been removed only when they showed signs of breathing problems. The detainees said they had been given no food or water in the 12 hours they had been held until their release. The IDF said the chief military advocate had reviewed the case and intended to open a criminal investigation about the death of the Palestinian detainee. It made no further comment. (DPA, Reuters)
Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa, speaking after talks in Cairo with EU High Representative Solana, said he opposed a Middle East peace conference unless Israel withdrew to its positions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory before the outbreak of the intifada 20 months ago and lifted the blockade imposed on the Palestinian people. “ Without the fulfillment of these conditions and without good preparation for this conference, it would be absurd to gather together Arabs and Israelis” , Mr. Moussa stressed. (AFP)
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The IDF backed by helicopter gunships, dozens of armoured troop carriers and several tanks entered Nablus under the cover of darkness and troops also entered the Balata refugee camp. Witnesses said troops ordered about 1,000 Balata residents out of their homes and detained 100 men. They searched homes and destroyed interior walls in at least six dwellings. In Nablus, troops ringed the houses of men suspected of being members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades or Hamas. The IDF said troops had imposed a curfew on Nablus and Balata while they searched houses. Military sources said hundreds of Palestinians were being investigated. The local Nablus chief of Fatah, Issam Abubakr, was arrested, according to Palestinian security sources. An Israeli missile destroyed a generator in Nablus, cutting off power and water in part of the city, local officials said. In a separate incident, an armed Palestinian infiltrated the “Shavey Shomeron” settlement north of Nablus and was shot dead by a settler, military sources said. (AFP, DPA, Ha‘aretz, The Jerusalem Post, Reuters)
US officials in Washington said the proposed international conference to revive Middle East peace talks was not likely to be held during the summer months due to extensive groundwork, which first needed to be in place. Meanwhile, visiting German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told German radio in Jerusalem that delays could kill the project. “Unless this conference takes place soon, it will suffer the fate of the proposal of former US Senator Mitchell, meaning that it turns from a living idea to a mantra,” he said. “We must see to it that we get this going before the summer break [in August], as the closer we come to the US Congressional elections, the more American domestic politics comes into play,” Mr. Fischer added. EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, after meeting Mr. Fischer at Tel Aviv airport, said conditions in the region needed to be “right” for the conference but expressed hope it could be held by the end of July. After meeting with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud in Beirut, Mr. Solana, said that all parties concerned should be included in the international conference on peace in the Middle East. (AFP, XINHUA)
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns met with Prime Minister Sharon in Jerusalem. The Prime Minister’s office, in a statement after the meeting, reaffirmed Israel’s preconditions for any peace negotiations with the Palestinians: the complete “cessation of terror, violence and incitement”, and “the carrying out of comprehensive reforms” of the PA. Mr. Sharon reportedly refused to present a clear-cut diplomatic timetable for the establishment of a Palestinian State and for Israel’s lifting of the sieges on many Palestinian towns and cities, as reportedly demanded by Mr. Burns. Mr. Sharon also said that necessary reforms of the PA could not be carried out as long as Chairman Arafat was in power. (AFP, Ha‘aretz, XINHUA)
Israel’s Foreign Ministry denied accusations that detained West Bank Fatah leader and Palestinian Council member Marwan Barghouti was being tortured or ill-treated while in custody. “Barghuti is being interrogated under the rules of law, without excess and under judicial supervision,” the Ministry said in a statement. (AFP)
The Guardian reported that Israeli and Palestinian delegates met in Britain for their highest-level talks since the Taba meetings in January 2001 and were given advice by key figures in Northern Ireland’s peace process, which hosted the talks. The secret talks, chaired by Jonathan Freedland, were held at Weston House, a country house near Stafford where Northern Ireland related negotiations were held last year. Israel was represented by Knesset speaker Avraham Burg, former army Chief of Staff General Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, former justice minister Yossi Beilin and deputy-speaker Naomi Chazan. The Palestinian side included minister without portfolio Nabeel Kassis and former peace negotiators Salim Taamari and Yezid Sayigh. Northern Ireland’s “quartet” comprised former IRA commander, now Northern Ireland Education Minister, Martin McGuinness, Progressive Unionist Party leader David Ervine, Social Democratic Labour Party Chief Mark Durkan and Ulster Unionist’s Reg Empey. Initiatives to emerge from the talks included: creation of a shadow Israeli-Palestinian Government as an alternative to Mr. Sharon’s Government; drafting of a peace plan that would flesh out the proposals at Taba, including setting out for the first time an exact figure of how many of the 3.5 million Palestinians would be given the right to return; and a draft document setting out two or three points about how to secure peace, to be signed by key Israeli and Palestinian figures and published. (AFP, The Guardian, Reuters)
IDF troops, supported by tanks and APCs, entered Tulkarm from three directions after midnight and took up positions in an eastern neighbourhood and the town’s centre. (AFP)
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Document Type: Chronology
Document Sources: Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR)
Subject: Casualties, Incidents, Palestine question
Publication Date: 30/05/2002