Chronological Review of Events/February 1996 – DPR review

CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW OF EVENTS

RELATING TO THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE

February 1996

Monitored from the media by the

Division for Palestinian Rights

 

1 February Israel and the  Palestinian  Authority  reached  a  preliminary agreement on facilitating shipment of Palestinian farm products from the Gaza Strip to Israel and the West Bank. The agreement was reached between Mahmud Abu Samrah, head of the Palestinian Agriculture Department and Israeli Agriculture Minister Yaacov Tzur. The latter agreed to take measures to reduce restrictions and speed up processing of  vegetable shipment through the Sufa crossing point from the southern Gaza Strip into Israel.  (AFP)

The Israeli authorities granted an additional 3,000 work permits to Palestinians living in the West Bank city of Hebron.  Shlomo Dror, spokesman of the coordinating authority for Israeli activities in the self-rule areas, said the permits were granted to Palestinians who were at least 25 years old.  (AFP)

2 February The Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, met with Mr. Lee Yoon-gu, President of World Vision Korea, in the Gaza Strip and appealed for financial aid from the Korean Government.  Mr. Yoon-gu assured Mr. Arafat that he would convey the request to his Government and promised to study it positively.  (Reuter)

3 February The Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, attended the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Addressing more than 1,000 international participants, Mr. Arafat denounced Israeli restrictions on Palestinian trade with Jordan and Egypt and appealed to donor countries to honor pledges of aid to help Palestinians rebuild their shattered territories.  Earlier in the day, Mr. Arafat met with the Prime Minister Shimon Peres.  (AFP)

Palestinian police shot dead two Palestinian activists, believed to be members of the Islamic Jihad Movement in the Gaza Strip.  The incident took place when police entered a private home in the Shatti refugee camp in search of the two men.  After exchanging fire between the sides, the two wanted men were killed.  (Reuter)

4 February Israeli Transport Minister Israel Kessar announced that Israel had approved a construction plan of a railroad linking Israel with the Gaza Strip.  The eight-kilometer (five miles) railroad is aimed at enhancing the import and export from the Gaza Strip through the Israeli port of Ashdod.  The construction was estimated at a cost of $12 million and would be completed within a year.  (AFP)

Israeli soldiers shot and injured a 16-year-old Palestinian boy as he and two other students walked to school in the village of Sawiyeh, near Nablus.  Palestinian and Israeli authorities did not confirm the students account and said they were investigating the incident.  Elsewhere, an Israeli soldier was stabbed and wounded by a Palestinian in Afula in northern Israel.  No immediate confirmation was made. (The Washington Post)

7 February US Secretary of State Warren Christopher met with the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, in Beit Hanun in the Gaza Strip and announced $2.7 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority.  Mr. Christopher said that the US remained committed to efforts to mobilize international support for economic development in the Palestinian self-rule areas.  Mr. Christopher was reported to have secured a renewed commitment from Mr. Arafat to seek amendment of the PLO charter.  (The Washington Post, AFP)

The European Union (EU) representative in Jerusalem, Mr. Thomas Dupla, reported that the EU had approved $3.75 million in aid to help the newly elected Palestinian Council. The EU also decided to give technical assistance to the Council members. (AFP)

PLO officials have finalized a draft of  a Basic Law for the interim self-rule government which lawyers said would serve as a bridging constitution until Israel and the PLO conclude the final peace talks.  Mr. Allam al-Ahmad, a PLO legal adviser, said that the draft was consistent with the PLO-Israel Declaration of Principles signed on September 1993.  (Reuter)    

A survey conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center showed that 49 per cent of those questioned said they agree to amend the PLO Charter in exchange for statehood, while 30 per cent were opposed under any condition.  Only six per cent said the PLO should meet Israels demands, and the remainder expressed no opinion. The survey included 1,255 Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. (AFP)

8 February Amnesty International Secretary-General Pierre Sane  met  with Yasser Arafat  in Gaza and discussed with him human rights issues.  Mr. Sane expressed concern over measures being taken by the Israeli and Palestinian authorities concerning the Palestinian prisoners. Mr. Arafat reassured Mr. Sane that the Palestinian Authority would act in accordance with the law.  (Reuter)

During a five-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian self-rule areas, Swedish Foreign Minister Lena Hjelm-Wallen met with Yasser Arafat in Gaza and announced $26 million in aid.  The amount will be spent over the next 18 months, and would be allocated to human rights work and to children, health, and education projects. (AFP)

9 February The Israeli  authorities imposed restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to Jerusalem until further notice. The restrictions also apply to visits by Palestinian families to their relatives jailed in Israel and prohibit private and commercial vehicles from entering Israel.  (Reuter)

10 February The Palestinian Central Election Commission (CEC) declared the final results of the Palestinian elections which took place on 20 January.  According to the head of the CEC, Mahmoud Abbas, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat took 87.1 per cent of the vote against 9.6 per cent for his challenger, Samiha Khalil.  The breakdown of seats in the Council includes: Fatah Movement, 50 seats; independents (including seven members associated with Islamic groups), 37; and one seat for FIDA, formerly the Democratic Front. (Reuter)

12 February The Israeli army sealed off the West Bank town of Ramallah and the surrounding suburbs and designated it as military zone for security reasons.  (AFP)      

Mr. Yasser Arafat took the oath of office as the first elected Raees of the Executive Authority of the Palestinian Council, pledging to defend his peoples national ambitions.  The ceremony took place in Gaza City in a hall of the future house of the new Palestinian Council.  About 100 officials and politicians attended the ceremony. (The New York Times, AFP)

13 February Israeli Minister of Housing Benjamin Ben-Eliezer revealed plans to build 5,500 housing units, mostly in the Jerusalem area.  Mr. Ben-Eliezer told Israeli radio that he discussed the plans with Yasser Arafat.  But he did not elaborate on the Palestinian leaders reaction.  (AFP)

Speaking at a press conference, the head of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Hassan Abu Libdeh, revealed that unemployment reached 31 per cent in the Gaza Strip and 13 per cent in the West Bank.  Underemployment, as measured by the number of people holding part-time jobs or jobs less than their skill level, was estimated at 20 per cent in both areas.   These figures were part of the first survey done by the Palestinian Authority on employment.   (AFP)

The Israeli Government sealed off the West Bank and the Gaza Strip until further notice, saying that it had intelligence information that attacks were planned against Israel.  The Palestinian Authority condemned the closure and demanded that the Israeli Government stop their policy of collective punishment. (The New York Times, Reuter)

Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority initialed an agreement on the management of scarce water resources in the Middle East after two years of intense negotiations.  The agreement did not deal with the allocation of water.  Rather, it provided a framework of cooperation for the more efficient management of resources, such as upgrading of pipelines, and methods of generating new resources including desalination projects. The agreement was initialed in Oslo, Norway, and expected to be signed next month. (Reuter)

14 February Representatives of Egypt, Israel,  Jordan,  and  the  Palestinian Authority resumed their sixth round of talks  in Cairo to discuss the future of Palestinian refugees.   It was reported that the delegates agreed on the criteria for determining the number and type of Palestinians displaced from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since the 1967 war. The next meeting would be held in the West Bank town of Bethlehem from March 21 to March 23.  (Reuter)

15 February The  head  of  the  Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), George Habash, requested permission from the Palestinian Authority to return to the Palestinian self-rule areas.  The PFLP has submitted a list of all its members in the Palestinian National Council (PNC) who would be allowed to return to the Palestinian areas.  (AFP)

The Israeli authorities eased the closure of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and allowed thousands of Palestinians to enter Jerusalem to pray in the Al-Aqsa mosque during the traditional Muslim Night of the Fate.  (The New York Times)

The United States granted the Palestinian Authority $650,000 worth of water drainage equipment to help Gaza City solve its flooding problems.  The money was handed over to Gaza City Mayor Oun al Shaua by Mr. Martin Indyk, the US Ambassador to Israel. The aid was part of a $40 million assistance package from the US Agency for International Development to the Gaza City municipality for the improvement of city road and sewer systems. (AFP)

17 February The Israeli Government has agreed to permit 154 PNC members to return to the Palestinian self-rule areas to participate in a vote on amending the PLO charter.  (The New York Times, Reuter)

18 February Several hundred Israeli farmers tried to storm into the Gaza Strip to protest the sale of Palestinian products in Israel.  They dumped crates of tomatoes and set them on fire.  Israeli police and soldiers however prevented them from crossing the Nahal Oz checkpoint.  Five Israeli farmers were arrested.  (Reuter)

19 February According to a report published by an aid organization, more than 28,000 children under the age of five in the Gaza Strip were reported to be suffering from malnutrition.  The report, based on a representative study of 1,500 children, said that 15 per cent of less than five-year-old children were affected, notably in the towns and refugee camps.  The report stressed that the problems were caused by a constant reduction in standards of living, poor eating habits, an unbalanced share of resources, as well as poor hygiene and sanitation conditions in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)

20 February Israeli  Prime  Minister  Shimon  Peres rejected proposals to add 4,000 housing units to the Israeli settlement of Kyriat Sefer in the northwest of Jerusalem.  Mr. Peres decision came after the Meretz Party had threatened to quit the Government if new settlement construction was approved.  Instead, the inter- ministerial commission on housing decided to authorize construction of 4,000 homes for ultra-orthodox families inside Israel.  (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres decided to extend the closure of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period.  He was quoted as saying that four terrorist cells, two in the West Bank and two in the Gaza Strip were planning attacks against Israel.  Mr. Yasser Arafat, the Raees of the Palestinian Executive Council, protested the closure, which is costing the Palestinian Authority some six million dollars per day in lost earning for Palestinians employed in Israel.  (AFP)

The main Israeli political parties announced that the election for the new Israeli Parliament would be held on 29 May.   The draft legislation to dissolve the current Knesset, elected in 1992, and formalizing the poll date will be submitted on 21 February. In the election, Israelis would elect the new Knesset and for the first time directly vote for a prime minister, with Labor Party incumbent Shimon Peres and opposition leader of Likud Party Benjamin Netanyahu as candidates. (The New York Times, AFP)

     

21 February The Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority discussed the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Hebron and agreed to set up a team to oversee the final transfer of power.  But differences remained over the date for the withdrawal. The Palestinian Authority said that the handover had been firmly set for 26 March but Israeli officials said the handover would be made only late March or early April.  (AFP)

According to an Israeli television report, talks on the final status of the Palestinian territories, which were scheduled to begin in May, would be postponed until after the Israeli elections.  It was reported that an agreement on the delay was reached between Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Mr. Yasser Arafat.  Palestinian and Israeli officials denied the report.  (AFP)

23 February The Israeli authorities lifted an 11-day closure imposed on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for security reasons, and allowed more than 50,000 Palestinian workers to return to their work in Israel.  (Reuter)

Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire near the crossing point of Nahal Oz in the Gaza Strip.  According to an Israeli army spokeswoman, the Israeli soldiers on patrol apparently wounded one of the gunmen after coming under fire.  (Reuter)

25 February Two suicide-bombers blew themselves up killing 25 Israelis and injuring 77 others.  One explosion took place in a commuter bus in Jerusalem during the morning rush hour and the other at a bus stop in the southern town of Ashkelon.  The two Palestinian men were believed to be members of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas.  According to a statement by the Students of the Engineer, a cell named after Yahya Ayyash, known as the Engineer, claimed responsibility for the two operations. (Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post)

26 February The Israeli army decided to keep the West Bank and the Gaza Strip sealed off for another two weeks in response to the latest suicide bombings in Israel.  But some members of the Israeli Government and the opposition parties called for a permanent ban on the entry of Palestinians to Israel.  (AFP)

  An American of Palestinian origin, Ahmed Hamideh,  drove his car into a crowd at a bus stop in Jerusalem killing one Israeli and injuring 22 others.  Two armed Israeli bystanders shot Hamideh dead on the spot.  Israeli police investigators presumed  that Mr. Hamideh lost control of his rented car. The incident was still under investigation.  (The Washington Post)

  

27 February A paper published by the World Bank urged Middle Eastern and North African States to introduce reforms to attract investors to finance major infrastructure projects. It said power, telecommunication, transport, water and sanitation needs in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip would require an estimated $37 billion in new investments over the next decade.  While governments,  multilateral and bilateral donors can be expected to supply about one-third of the needed investment, the remaining two-thirds would need to be provided by the private sector. (Reuter)

28 February The Palestinian Authority announced 1 March as the deadline for Palestinian civilians to hand in all unlicensed weapons or face prosecution.  The Chief of Palestinian police, Ghazi al-Jabali, issued the order a day after Israel formally submitted demands to Yasser Arafat, the Raees of the Executive Authority of the Palestinian Council, for a crackdown on armed members of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas,  and other Islamic groups.  (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres said that he would break Israels commitment to withdraw from Hebron if the Palestinian Authority fails to act firmly enough against armed members of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas. (Washington Post)

The Israeli authorities decided to deploy 1,400 extra troops in Jerusalem and around the Palestinian self-rule territories to prevent further attacks against Israel.  The troops deployment was one in a series of security measures decided upon at a meeting of an inner-security cabinet with the Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.  (AFP)

The Israeli authorities partially lifted a ban on transferring goods between the Gaza Strip and Israel.  The ban was imposed as part of a closure clamped on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip after 25 Israelis were killed in a double suicide attack by members of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, on 25 February.  (Reuter)

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