Chronological Review of Events/September 1996 – DPR review

CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW OF EVENTS

RELATING TO THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE

September 1996

Monitored from the media by the

Division for Palestinian Rights

2 September The President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat said that he would seek international arbitration if Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts faltered.  He raised the option while Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were searching  a formula for resuming full peace talks and holding the first summit between Mr. Arafat and Mr. Netanyahu. (Reuter)

3 September Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitzky met with Mr. Yasser Arafat in Gaza City and announced a $30 million aid package for the Palestinian Authority.  At a joint press conference, Mr. Vranitzky said the funds would be provided over the next two years to help finance housing construction, education, water irrigation and restoration of historic buildings. (AFP)  

 4 September Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Mr. Yasser Arafat for the first time at Erez crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The meeting had been preceded by intensive contacts and mediation to finalize a framework agreement on the future of negotiations. It was reported that the two leaders agreed that outstanding issues like the redeployment in Hebron, the closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian airport would be discussed in joint steering committees. (Los Angeles Times)

5 September Senior officials from 15 donor countries met at the U.S. State Department and reviewed an international aid programme for the Palestinian self-rule areas.  State Department spokesman Glyn Davis said the meeting focused on implementation of projects, budgetary issues and donor coordination.  The participants agreed on steps  and  ways to address Palestinian economic problems, but no further details were reported.  (Reuter)

6 September The Israeli authorities decided to increase the number of Palestinian workers permitted to enter  Israel from 37,000 to 50,000.   The Israeli decision was announced during the donors' meeting  at the U.S. State Department in Washington. (AFP)

 

7 September The People's Committee for Aid to the Palestine Mujahedeen in Saudi Arabia donated $1.02 million to the PLO National Fund.  The funds were deducted from the salaries of around 200,000 Palestinians working in Saudi Arabia, and raised from voluntary contributions from Saudis and foreign residents. (AFP)

 

8 September Several members of the Israeli parliamentary (Knesset) Interior Committee visited Orient House, the Headquarters of the PLO in East Jerusalem in an effort to understand the problems facing Palestinians in the city.  The visit came a day after Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring, whose country heads the current European Union (EU) troika, vowed to visit Orient House despite his Israeli counterpart David Levy's  pressure to boycott it. (AFP)

10 September Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls by the Clinton administration to pull Israeli troops out of the West Bank town of Hebron.  According to Israeli officials, Netanyahu argued that such a step could create an "explosive" situation in Hebron that could damage the entire Middle East peace process.  Netanyahu's comments came at the end of a day of talks with senior administration officials in Washington, including President Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher.  U.S. officials used the occasion to urge Israel to build on the "psychological breakthrough" represented by the first meeting between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Arafat. (The Washington Post)

Israel placed three mobile homes at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Akiva Ovitz, the deputy head of the Beitar Illit local council south of Jerusalem, said a total of 50 mobile homes would be brought to the settlement by next week to be used as classrooms for children and religious seminary students. (Reuter)

The Israeli army announced that it would open a third crossing point in Sufah, south of Gaza, for Palestinian workers to enter Israel from the Gaza Strip.  (AFP)

   

11 September Israel and the Palestinian Authority signed an agree- ment extending by one month the mandate of the Temporary International Presence in  Hebron (TIPH). The agreement was signed by Eytan Ben Tsur, the Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the head of the Palestinian negotiating team Saeb Erakat. (AFP)

12 September Mr. Arafat visited Japan and met with Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda, and business leaders.  Mr. Hashimoto pledged to extend $3 million in emergency aid to improve services in the Gaza Strip.  The aid would be disbursed through the United Nations Development Programme. (Reuter)

15 September Fifteen Arab foreign ministers held a two-day meeting in Cairo and discussed Middle East peace talks.  Resolutions adopted at the meeting stated that Israel  had violated peace talks agreements in the Middle East, and that Arab States would have to reconsider concessions made towards normal relations if the Israeli Government did not meet commitments made by its previous government. (AFP)

16 September Israel agreed to expand the list of merchandise which the Palestinian Authority can import from other Arab countries.  The agreement would be signed in the first meeting of the Israel-Palestinian Joint Economic Committee.  Israel and the Palestinian Authority also agreed to set up committees to address a number of economic issues, including the increasing number of permits for Palestinian businessmen seeking to enter Israel and taxes collected by Israel that must be transferred to the PA. (Reuter)

The Palestinian Authority, with the support of the World Bank and foreign investors, established the first Arab-Palestinian Investment Bank (APIB), with a capital of $51 million. The APIB aims to fill the need and strengthen means for financing  infrastructure projects and commercial industry in the West Bank and Gaza. It would focus on long-term credit for financial projects to Palestinian enterprises.  The Arabs owned a 55 per cent share , followed by the World Bank with 25 per cent, the German Bank for Investment and Development with 15 per cent.  A private company and Enterprise International holds the rest of the shares. (AFP)

17 September The Israeli authorities demolished the second floor of a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem which reportedly had been built illegally.  The demolition was carried out by Jerusalem municipal employees under police guard. (Reuter)

 

Some 200 Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers in Hebron.  The clash came after Palestinians were kept from reopening a vegetable market, which was sealed in 1994 when a Jewish settler killed 29 Palestinians at the Ibrahimi Mosque.  It was reported that Israeli settlers seized Palestinian shops and started renovating them for use as entrances to a Jewish synagogue. (Christian Science Monitor)

The Israeli defence ministry  approved plans to build 1,800 more homes in the Matityahu settlement in the West Bank. According to a statement issued by Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai's office, the plan had received all the permits and was approved  by the previous government but still needs approval from the Defence Minister.  The decision was condemned by Mr. Arafat who called it "another breaching of what has been agreed on and what has been signed".  (Financial Times, The New York Times)

19 September Mr. Yasser Arafat and Mr. Yitzhak Mordecai, Israeli Defence Minister,  met at Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip. The two  decided to meet again after the steering committee of the peace negotiation convenes and reaches a conclusion.  Palestinian negotiator Hasan Asfour, who attended the meeting, said that the Palestinians had not agreed to reopen negotiations on the Hebron agreement and the steering committee would discuss implementing the existing agreement. (AFP)

20 September Mr. Arafat visited Germany for two days and met with German President Roman Herzog and Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel.  Mr. Kinkel praised what he termed Arafat's "courage" and his "level-headed composure" during the past months.   He also said that agreements that had been reached between Israel and the PLO had to be carried out.  Addressing German businessmen, Mr. Arafat pleaded for German economic investment in the Palestinian territories. (DPA)

 

24 September Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip protested against Israel's decision to open a new entrance to an archaeological tunnel along the western wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Israeli officials said the project involved extending an existing tunnel next to the Wailing Wall by about 400  meters, uncovering archaeological remains dating back 2,500 years.  The Israeli move triggered strong protests by Arab as well as Islamic countries. (The Washington Post, AFP)

The Palestinian Islamic Higher Council (IHC), called on Palestinians in Jerusalem to go on strike and gather in the  Al-Aqsa Mosque  compound to protest the Israeli move to open a tunnel along the western wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque  compound.  IHC stated that the tunnel threatens the security of Al-Aqsa Mosque and its foundations and has caused cracks in the walls of a neighboring buildings, calling the opening "a severe aggression against our people's rights in Jerusalem." (AFP)

Donor countries met in Amman, Jordan, and discussed the financial crisis of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).   UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said that  despite the donors' pledges of an extra $14.5 million towards UNRWA's  services, its finances remained precarious.    He added that the aid would only address the most immediate threat facing health, educational and relief programmes which the agency offers to its 3.3 million registered refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  But he urged the world community, especially rich Arab States, to take greater responsibility for the welfare of the Palestinian refugees. (Reuter)

   

 25 September The United States implicitly criticized Israel for ar- chaeological excavations  near Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying they "complicate" relations between Israelis and Palestinians.  US State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said that "the parties to the peace process should avoid creating new issues that would further complicate the negotiation and complicate the situation on the ground". (AFP)

   

  Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and in East Jerusalem  against Israel's decision to open a tunnel near the Al-Aqsa Mosque, site of Islam's third holiest shrine. Five Palestinians were shot dead in heavy fighting with Israeli soldiers in  the town of Ramallah and about 240 others were injured.  Mr. Arafat accused Israel of being responsible for the violence in the West Bank and confirmed that negotiations scheduled for 26 September had been canceled. (The New York Times)

   

26 September Israeli Prime Minister Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, who cut short his trip to Europe, called Mr. Arafat from his plane and requested an immediate meeting to discuss escalating clashes between Israelis and Palestinians.  It was reported that Mr. Arafat told Mr. Netanyahu to implement the signed peace agreements in order to save the peace process.  (Reuter)

At least 35 Palestinians  and 11 Israelis were killed and hundreds of  others were injured in the bloodiest second day of clashes between the Palestinian protesters and Israeli army  in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since 1994.  (Financial Times)

  

In a statement issued by his spokesman,  the United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali,  deplored the violence in the West Bank and Gaza, urging both sides to bring an immediate end to the violence and to resume negotiations that would lead to full implementation of the agreements already reached.  (Reuter)

27 September The League of Arab States held an emergency meeting in Cairo and called on the United Nations Security Council to halt Israel's "aggression" against the Palestinian people.  (Financial Times)

Three Palestinian men were shot dead by Israeli police following clashes between the latter and worshipers as they emerged from Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque. Nine more Palestinians died in street battles with Israeli forces bringing the death toll to 52 Palestinians and 14 Israelis. (The Washington Post)

Israel declared a state of emergency and sent tanks and helicopter gunships in to the West Bank after 52 Palestinian, including several policemen, and 14 Israelis were killed in clashes in the self-rule areas.  It was reported that this was the first time Israel had used tanks in the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. (Financial Times)

The Israeli army imposed a total curfew on Hebron reportedly to prevent further clashes following the Moslem Friday prayers. (AFP)

28 September President Bill Clinton invited Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Arafat, as well as to King Hussein of Jordan and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak,  to meet in the White House and discuss the latest development in the region. (The New York Times)

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution (S/RES/1073) on the situation in Jerusalem and the Palestinian self-rule areas by a vote of 14 in favour, with the United States abstaining.  The resolution expressed deep concern about the tragic events in Jerusalem and the areas of Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem and the Gaza Strip which resulted in a high number of death and injuries among Palestinian civilians.  The resolution also called for the safety and protection of Palestinian civilians and for the immediate cessation of all acts which have resulted in the aggravation of the situation.

  

29 September After intensive  diplomatic  efforts  by  the United States, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Arafat agreed to attend a summit in the White House to seek ways to prevent further confrontation and to advance the peace process.  President Clinton announced that he would act as host to the meetings, scheduled to begin on 1 October, with American officials conferring separately with Israelis and Palestinians.  It was reported that King Hussein of Jordan would attend, while President Hosni Mubarak confirmed that he would not attend the summit, making clear that in this view the talks should have been better prepared. (Financial Times)

30 September Israel deployed tanks and troops and imposed a strict ban on Palestinian travel between cities and towns.  It was reported that Israel planned to send more troops into Palestinian self-rule areas to disarm about 30,000 Palestinian police.  The Palestinian Authority replied that such a move would mean the final collapse of a three-year effort of peace negotiations. (The Washington Post)

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