Chronological Review of Events/September 2000 – DPR review

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Chronological Review of Events Relating to the

Question of Palestine

Monthly media monitoring review

September 2000

 4

Foreign Ministers of the League of Arab States, at the end of their two-day meeting in Cairo, called for the Middle East peace talks to proceed according to UN resolutions and the land-for-peace principle, expressed their support for the Palestinians in their final status negotiations with Israel, called on the international community to recognize a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital, and stressed that Palestinian refugees had the right to return to their homeland and to receive compensation.  (DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)

 6

No breakthrough was reported after the separate meetings that President Clinton held with Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat in New York.  Nevertheless, the White House spokesman, Joe Lockhart, stated that “the process has not broken down” and diplomatic efforts would continue.  President Clinton cautioned that the opportunity for a peace agreement “is fleeting and about to pass”, a concern shared by Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat, both of whom, however, stated at the UN Millennium Summit that they could not yield any further ground, especially on Jerusalem.  (AP, Chicago Tribune)

Three Palestinians complained that Israeli policemen had stopped them at a road block outside East Jerusalem, forced them to lie on the ground, stepped on their necks, pointed their guns at them and beat them with their fists and rocks until one of them needed hospitalization.  The three policemen involved were brought before a Jerusalem District Court judge.  Israeli Internal Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami called the incident “a very serious matter” and ordered all Israeli border police to pass a behaviour refresher course, according to Israeli media.  (AFP, DPA)

10

The Palestinian Central Council (PCC), meeting in Gaza City over the weekend, decided to delay a statehood declaration, in order to give the peace process another chance.  In his speech to the Council on 9 September, Chairman Arafat said that negotiations with Israel would shift into high gear and last for five weeks.  The Council decided to meet again before 15 November to examine the statehood issue and to review preparations by the PLO Executive Committee and the PNC and PLC heads for establishing an independent State with Jerusalem as its capital.  Such preparation would include the framing of a constitution; drawing up laws on organizing local, legislative and presidential elections; and submitting an offical request for Palestinian membership in the United Nations.  The PCC’s decision was deemed “a positive step” by Prime Minister Barak’s spokesman, Gadi Baltiansky and was welcomed by, among others, the US, Russian, British, Japanese and Turkish Governments.  (AFP, AP, Kyodo, Reuters, XINHUA)

PA Minister and negotiator Nabil Shaath confirmed that, in a meeting with President Clinton the previous week, Chairman Arafat raised his own compromise proposal concerning Al-Haram al-Sharif.  The proposal provided for Islamic sovereignty over the site by the countries of the Jerusalem Committee, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, with the Palestinians receiving actual jurisdiction.  “The first reaction of President Clinton was not encouraging”, Mr. Shaath noted.  (AP)

Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh, touring Hebron, said that some Jewish settlers were more responsible than the Palestinians for recent violent incidents there and noted that the settler behaviour placed the continuation of Jewish presence in the city in jeopardy.  The Israel Defence Forces spoke of an atmosphere of growing extremism in Hebron which, to a large extent, had been created by settlers in the Jewish enclave.  (AP, XINHUA)

11

Construction in Jewish settlements increased by 96 per cent in the first half of the year, according to figures from the Israeli Housing and Construction Ministry released by Knesset Member Mussi Raz (Meretz).  The figures showed that work began on 1,067 residential units in the first six months of 2000, compared to 545 during the same period in 1999.  Of these units, 860 were located in settlements in the Jerusalem district and 207 in other areas.  Mr. Raz reportedly believed that building in all settlements should be frozen and attacked the new tender issued for 80 living units in “Har Adar”.  (Ha’aretz)

12

Upon his return from New York, Prime Minister Barak told Israeli Army Radio that he estimated the prospects of peace as 50-50 or less and dismissed as speculation a Ha’aretz report that Israel would be open to placing sovereignty over Al-Haram al-Sharif in the hands of an international body consisting of the permanent members of the UN Security Council and the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.  Meanwhile, PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo, speaking to journalists in Ramallah, warned that Israel was “playing with fire” if it interfered with the Al-Aqsa compound and said it could end up “replac[ing] attempts to reach peace and reconciliation with hatred and religious war which would last for generations”.  (AFP, DPA, Ha’aretz, Reuters, The Jerusalem Post-internet edition, XINHUA)

Palestinian Council Speaker Ahmed Qorei stated that the Palestinian Authority, in the process of preparing for a Palestinian State, planned to discuss demarcation of its borders with Jordan and Egypt, without Israeli involvement.  As part of the same preparations, the PA would start discussions with European countries, Canada and Japan to transform PLO representative offices into embassies, Mr. Qorei said, and indicated that some countries had already agreed on the change.  He also said that a committee appointed by the Palestinian Central Council would discuss a deadline for electing a “President of the Palestinian State” and a parliament.  (Reuters)

Jewish settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory were collecting millions of dollars in donations from Israel and abroad to purchase military and rescue equipment in preparation for a possible outbreak of violence if the peace talks failed, their spokeswoman, Yehudit Tayar, said.  She stressed that the equipment was purchased in full coordination with the Israel Defence Forces and noted that, even if agreement was reached, 90 per cent of the settler communities would be isolated or surrounded by Palestinian-administered areas.  The West Bank coordinator for Peace Now, Gilad Bin-Nun, said he was concerned over not only the noticeable increase in the number of settlers with IDF-issued weapons but also the physical defence preparations carried out, especially in the areas of Hebron and Nablus.  (The Jerusalem Post-internet edition)

Speaking on Israel’s Channel 1 TV station, Prime Minister Barak said that he was not sure whether there would be an agreement with the Palestinians, but noted that if there were one it would include “an end to the conflict, 80 per cent of the settlers in settlement blocks under [Israeli] sovereignty, security arrangements along the eastern border, permanent borders for Israel, and a Jerusalem that will be bigger than at any time since King David, with a Jewish majority for generations, and which will be recognized by the world as Israel’s capital.”  (The Jerusalem Post-internet edition)

13

The US Government invited Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to separate talks in New York to seek a basis for a peace agreement.  According to reports, both sides had accepted a US proposal to concentrate on putting the final touches to a document on the understandings reached at Camp David in July 2000.  The UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, welcomed the resumption of peace talks as “excellent news”.  (AFP, AP, EFE, Reuters, The Jerusalem Post-internet edition)

14

US Secretary of State Albreight and special Middle East envoy, Dennis Ross, held separate meetings in New York with Palestinian negotiators Saeb Erakat and Mohammed Dahlan and with acting Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami.  US officials declined to comment on any details of the talks.  At a press conference at the United Nations, Secretary Albright said that she and her aides were prepared “to keep talking for as long as necessary in New York, Washington or the Middle East”. Commenting on the peace process, PA Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nabil Shaath, also in New York, said that another summit would be “absolutely necessary”, but he did not think it would be desirable “until the parties, at a little lower level, bring the gaps closer”.  According to Minister Ben-Ami, the peace process had entered a period of “10 decisive days”.  More meetings were scheduled to take place in New York on the following day, while Minister Shaath was to meet US National Security Adviser Samuel Berger, in Washington on the same day. (AFP, AP, EFE, Los Angeles Times, Reuters)

Palestinian Council Speaker, Ahmed Qorei, told the Al-Ayyam newspaper that Palestinians could only go as far as accepting sovereignty over Al-Haram al-Sharif by the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).  PA Minister Nabil Shaath also reportedly stated in New York that Chairman Arafat’s proposal that sovereignty over the Moslem holy sites be vested in the OIC Al-Quds Committee, with functional control in the hands of the Government of a Palestinian State, was still on the table.  (AFP, EFE, Reuters)

A declaration, issued at the close of an Arab-African parliamentary conference in Tunis, asked “all States and especially the United States not to transfer their embassies to Al-Quds… which would constitute a violation of UN resolutions … as well as a flagrant infringement of the rights of the Palestinian people”  The conference, which brought together representatives of 32 parliaments and five regional organizations, also condemned  “Israeli measures, which violate the geographical and legal status” of Jerusalem and called on the United Nations “to put an end to the violations”.  The head of the Palestinian delegation, PNC Speaker, Salim Al-Zanoun, announced that an Arab-African summit on the question of Jerusalem would take place in Amman in the first week of November.  (AFP)

15

The US Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, said in Jerusalem there was “no other solution but to share the Holy City”, so that a historic agreement putting an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all could be reached.  (AFP)

17

Following their recent separate meetings with US Government officials in New York and Washington, Palestinian and Israeli negotiators resumed their direct contacts in the region.  Saeb Erakat and Mohammad Dahlan, on the Palestinian side, met with Israeli negotiator Gilad Sher in Jerusalem.  “We will start negotiations on all issues, not just Jerusalem”, Mr. Erakat said before the meeting.  Diplomatic sources said that Mssrs Erakat and Sher had been working on a document summing up what was agreed upon at Camp David, which would help the parties balance their respective compromises.  (DPA, Reuters, The Jerusalem Post – Internet)

At least four Palestinian youth and one Israeli soldier were injured in Gaza, near the “Netzarim” settlement, when clashes erupted between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli army guards.  Hundreds of young Palestinians, who were demonstrating to mark the 18th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp massacre, reportedly threw stones at the Israeli soldiers and tried to break into the settlement, to be repelled with tear gas and rubber-coated bullets.  In retaliation, the Israeli army closed to Palestinian trucks two crossing points from Gaza into Israel.  (AP, XINHUA)

18

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Barak ruled out Islamic sovereignty over Al-Haram al-Sharif and expressed doubt about the willingness of the Palestinian side to make moves conducive to an agreement.  (AP, The Jerusalem Post – Internet edition)

19

According to Ha’aretz, France had indicated its readiness to participate in a US initiative to transfer sovereignty over Al-Haram al-Sharif to the supervision of the five permanent Members of the UN Security Council.  This had been the result of contacts between Paris and Washington, in which the US Government solicited French support in advancing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations over the thorny Jerusalem question.  (Ha’aretz – English Internet Edition)

“The unique religious character of Jerusalem must be ensured by a special status, guaranteed at international level”, Pope John Paul II was quoted as saying, while accepting the credentials of a new Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See.  (Itar-Tass)

Israeli police had, for the past five days, blocked restoration work at the Al-Haram al-Sharif compound by not allowing the Waqf to bring in building materials.  The matter was being discussed through diplomatic channels.  (AFP, The Jerusalem Post – Internet Edition)

Danny Yatom, a senior advisor, announced Prime Minister Barak’s decision on a temporary suspension of the negotiations with the Palestinians, “a brief time out to summarise positions so far and to make our own assessment”.  (AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)

20

Talks resumed between Israeli negotiator Gilad Sher and Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat.  (AFP, XINHUA)

Israeli negotiator Oded Eran told Israel Radio that the two sides had already agreed in principle to the creation of a Free Trade Area (FTA), a provision to be included in a final status agreement to be signed by the Israelis and the Palestinians.  Palestinian negotiator on economic issues, Mohammed Shtayyeh, confirmed that the FTA idea had been discussed but said it was premature to say that an agreement was already there, as political conditions had to be satisfied first, such as clear borders, customs stations, Jerusalem as part of the Palestinian State, complete Palestinian control over their borders with Jordan and Egypt, and no presence of Jewish settlements.  (Reuters)

The Jerusalem Municipality served notices to East Jerusalem families regarding the expropriation of land for the construction of the Eastern ring road.  (The Jerusalem Post – Internet Edition)

Israel dropped its objections to the building of a sea port in Gaza.  Chief Israeli negotiator, Oded Eran, and his Palestinian counterpart, Saeb Erakat, signed the relevant agreement, paving the way for completion of the project in 18 months.  (AFP, The Jerusalem Post – Internet Edition)

21

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, Nawaf Masalha, told Al Hayat daily that, at Camp David, Prime Minister Barak had offered Chairman Arafat the return of 90 per cent of the West Bank territory, which could be raised in the negotiations to 92 per cent; the repatriation of 70,000 Palestinians to Israel, a number that could be increased to 150,000; and the return of half a million Palestinians to the West Bank and Gaza.  (DPA)

Israeli plans to confiscate more than 250 acres of land and to demolish at least 20 Palestinian homes in order to complete the ring road around Jerusalem were aimed at isolating the city from the rest of the West Bank, according to Khalil Al-Tufakji, head of the mapping department at Orient House.  The PLO official in Jerusalem, Feissal Husseini, said the issuing of eviction notices by the Israeli authorities took the sides further away from peace and that the Palestinians were preparing for a tough struggle.  (DPA)

Palestinians launched a US$110 million water project funded by the US Agency for International Development. The project included a waste treatment plant for part of the West Bank and water piping to about 40,000 Palestinians.  Palestinian Water Authority Chairman, Nabil Sharif, warned that any peace deal with Israel would evaporate in a few years, unless Palestinians had equal access to scarce water resources.  Mr. Sharif said that the Israelis refused to address a Palestinian shortfall of 483 million cubic metres and that Palestinians consumed one third as much water per capita as Israelis, who also used six times more water for irrigation.  The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem said that 215,000 Palestinians in more than 150 villages were not connected to running water and that Israel had discriminatory allocation.  (Reuters)

US National Security Adviser, Sandy Berger, said there had been no decision to go ahead with a US proposal, which would be put forward to the Israelis and the Palestinians as a suggested compromise.  He added that a lot of options were being discussed for closing the gaps between the two sides, including a new summit in the US or a trip of State Secretary Albright to the region for more consultations.  Mr. Berger acknowledged that any such decision would have to be made soon, as the following three to four weeks were critical.  (The Washington Post)

A statement issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation indicated that it had begun to transform itself into the Foreign Ministry of the future Palestinian State.  Starting in October, the Ministry would reportedly be recruiting university graduates for diplomat training courses, while all Palestinian missions would be upgraded to embassies, as part of the preparations recently mandated by the Palestinian Central Council towards putting statehood into practice.  In this framework,  the Palestinian Authority had drawn up drafts of Palestinian passports and currency, with the help of the German Government, and was working on citizenship laws, which would allow Palestinians to hold dual nationality.  (The Jerusalem Post – Internet Edition)

22

The Palestinian security forces accused Israel of operating five illegal military positions near settlements in the Gaza Strip, in areas under full Palestinian control according to the peace accords, saying that this had provoked clashes, in which dozens of people had been killed.  (AFP)

24

Speaking to his cabinet, Prime Minister Barak reiterated Israel’s opposition to vesting sovereignty over Al-Haram al-Sharif with the Palestinians or with a Muslim body and suggested that a partial deal could be signed, if a comprehensive accord could not be reached.  The suggestion was rejected by Palestinian officials, including Palestinian Council Speaker Ahmed Qorei, negotiator Hassan Asfour and Chairman Arafat’s adviser Nabil Abu Rudeineh, specifically warning that there could be no peace agreement without Jerusalem.  (AFP, AP, DPA)

Israeli Deputy Defence Minister, Ephraim Sheh, told Israel radio that, should the Palestinians unilaterally declare an independent State, Israel would try to avoid an outbreak of conflict and instead continue to cooperate with them.  In such an eventuality, Israel’s main concern would be to ensure the safety of the Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and other security interests, and to make sure that Israel’s bargaining position would not be harmed in future negotiations over a permanent settlement, Mr. Sneh said.  (AP)

25

Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat held their first meeting after Camp David at the former’s private home in Kochav Yair, north-east of Tel Aviv.  No breakthrough was reported but, according to statements from both sides, the meeting achieved its primary goal of creating a positive atmosphere and reinforcing trust.  Both leaders reportedly promised President Clinton, who called them during the meeting, that they would make every effort, and explore every opportunity, to reach an agreement.  (AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)

The Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset approved a bill for a basic law that would bar “the transfer of control over [Israeli] sovereign territory in Jerusalem to a foreign Power”.  The bill would require two more readings before becoming law.  (AFP) 

26

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, led by acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami and attorney Gilad Sher, on the Israeli side, and chief negotiator Saeb Erakat and Gaza security chief Mohammed Dahlan, on the Palestinian side, held a first round of separate talks with US officials headed by special Middle East envoy Dennis Ross at an undisclosed location in the Washington area.  Speaking to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the same day, Secretary of State Albright said that the peace process was “clearly in the end stretch” and that Washington was “giving it the full-court press”, without trying to impose any proposal on the parties, who had to make their own decisions.  (AFP, AP)

27

During a meeting of donor countries in Amman, the US Government announced plans to contribute another nine million dollars to UNRWA.  The additional US$6.6 million for UNRWA’s general fund and US$2.4 million for special projects would bring to US$89 million the total US contribution for the year 2000.  At a meeting with UNRWA Commissioner Peter Hansen on the previous day (26 September), King Abdullah of Jordan called on the international community to pay the money it had pledged to the agency, so that it could continue to provide its services to the Palestine refugees.  (AFP, XINHUA)

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, during a visit to Stockholm, said that Israel was waiting for a response from the Palestinians on a proposal to exclude the issue of sovereignty over Jerusalem from current peace talks and concentrate on reaching agreement on all other issues.  (AFP)

28

In excerpts from an interview with The Jerusalem Post, which was to be published in full on 29 September, Prime Minister Barak was quoted as saying that a peace agreement with the Palestinians, if reached, would include Jerusalem, as the Israeli capital, and Al-Quds, as the Palestinian capital, one next to the other.  He did not specify the area to be covered by Al-Quds and declined to comment on a possible transfer of sovereignty over Al-Haram al-Sharif to the United Nations or a combination of the UN and some Muslim countries.  Referring to the possibility of a partial agreement, he said that it was not inconceivable, it had been raised at Camp David “more than once”, and could provide for the the postponement of a decision on Jerusalem for a couple of years or on Al-Haram al-Sharif for ten years, with the status quo remaining in place and US-assisted negotiations continuing in the meantime.  (The Jerusalem Post – Internet Edition)

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators ended two days of consultations with US mediators in the Washington area.  No new ideas for a peace agreement were reportedly presented by the US, but the contacts between the parties and the US efforts towards advancing the negotiations were expected to continue.  (Reuters)

A visit to the Al-Haram al-Sharif compound by Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon and other Likud MKs escorted by hundreds of Israeli police sparked clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces, which resulted in dozens of injuries.  Mr. Sharon’s visit was condemned by the Palestinian leadership as a provocation.  (AFP, Reuters, XINHUA)

29

Claiming that they were responding to stone-throwing by Palestinians, Israeli police entered the Al-Haram al-Sharif compound and fired at the assembled Palestinians, killing seven of them and wounding more than 200.  Palestinian officials condemned these actions as a “premeditated crime”.  (AFP)

30

Clashes between Israelis and Palestinians spread across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, resulting in 16 Palestinian dead and more than 500 injured.  Chairman Arafat accused Israelis of shooting to kill, while Prime Minister Barak said that his forces were exercising maximum restraint.  The Palestinian Authority called on the United Nations to set up a commission to look into the causes of violence.  (AFP, Reuters)

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