Chronological Review of Events/October 1998 – DPR review

Chronological Review

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

October 1998

 1

The Israeli army sealed off the Palestinian-administered part of Hebron after a grenade attack, on 30 September, by a Palestinian injured 14 Israelis and 11 Palestinians.  The IDF also imposed a curfew on Palestinian residents of the Israeli-controlled part of the town. (DPA)

Clashes occurred between Palestinian protesters and the Israeli army in Hebron and Bethlehem.  In Hebron, Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated bullets to disperse around 200 Palestinian demonstrators who threw rocks and petrol bombs.  Some six protesters were wounded before the IDF and Palestinian police pushed demonstrators back into Palestinian-controlled areas of the city.  Disturbances also broke out at the Gilo checkpoint near Bethlehem when Palestinian labourers were prevented from entering Israel to work and started throwing stones at the Israeli troops.  The soldiers responded by firing tear gas and rubber-coated bullets. (AFP, Reuters)

The first annual conference "Palestine and the European Union:  A Partnership for Peace and Economic Development in the Middle East" began in Ramallah. (Reuters)

 2

New clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli troops erupted in Hebron.  The demonstrators pelted soldiers with fire bombs and stones.  The IDF used rubber-covered bullets and teargas to fight back.  There were no reports of casualties. (AFP, DPA)

Israel completely closed the West Bank and Gaza Strip for the duration of the Jewish holiday of Sukkoth, following warnings by the Israeli Defence Minister that HAMAS had plotted an attack in Israel. (AFP, AP, DPA, Reuters)

 3

Israeli troops shot and seriously wounded two Palestinian demonstrators during clashes in Hebron Israeli army radio reported.  The incident happened as Israel lifted its curfew on the Israeli controlled sector of Hebron for a few hours to allow the 30,000 people living there to buy food. (AP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)

 4

Some 150 Palestinians held a demonstration to protest the expansion of the settlement of "Ma’ale Hever" near their village of Bani Naim.  Landowners and residents of the village, close to Hebron, protested outside the entrance to the settlement, which in the past few days moved its fences to enclose an additional 30 dunums (seven acres) of land belonging to the village. (AFP)

The steering committee for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations met for the first time in several months to pave the way for talks later in the week with US Secretary of State Albright.  Delegations led by chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and Israeli cabinet secretary Danny Naveh held talks in a Jerusalem hotel.  The negotiators discussed safe passage for Palestinians between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the opening of a Palestinian airport at Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, and an industrial zone on the border of the Gaza Strip. (AFP, DPA)

 5

Hundreds of Palestinians held demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. (XINHUA)

 6

Two dozen Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers at the entrance to Hebron.  Palestinian teenagers threw rocks and bottles at Israeli soldiers at a roadblock.  The IDF fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at the demonstrators.  No injuries were reported. (AP)

In East Jerusalem, Israeli police sealed off streets outside the Old City, and banned all vehicles from entering except those used for public transportation or belonging to residents.  Israel police said the measures around Jerusalem were meant to control traffic because of the Jewish holiday of Sukkoth. (AP)

 7

US Secretary of State Albright said "substantial progress'' on key elements of a US peace proposal had been made in a meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders at Erez Crossing.  Progress was reported on the scope of a further Israeli redeployment from the West Bank, the opening of a Palestinian airport in the Gaza Strip and the creation of a joint industrial zone on the Gaza-Israel border.  The two sides also neared agreement on questions of security cooperation. (AFP, AP, DPA, Reuters)

Israeli militants laid the cornerstone for a new neighbourhood in the settlement of "Tel Rumeida" in Hebron, where the Israeli Government had agreed to build permanent houses to replace trailer homes. (AFP)

Prime Minister Netanyahu attended a ceremony to mark the official redesignation of the West Bank settler community of "Ariel" into a "city". (AFP)

 8

Israeli soldiers firing rubber-coated metal bullets killed a Palestinian man and seriously wounded an AFP photographer during clashes in Hebron.  Some 20 other Palestinians were less seriously wounded.  Amjad Jamal al-Natshe, 21, was shot in the head during clashes between stone-throwing protestors and Israeli troops guarding the settler enclave located in the city. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)

 9

Sixteen Palestinian demonstrators in Hebron were lightly injured by rubber-coated metal bullets in clashes with Israeli soldiers, which followed the funeral of Amjad al-Natashe. (AFP, AP, DPA, Reuters)

12

The Italian oil group ENI announced it had signed a series of agreements with the PA, the main one of which concerns the supply of gas to the Gaza Strip.  The agreement calls for a joint company to be formed by the PA and ENI's Egyptian subsidiary, SNAM, which will set up the necessary infrastructure. (AFP)

13

The IDF lifted a two-week-old curfew on Palestinians living in the Israeli-controlled sector of Hebron and eased travel restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)

PA President Arafat and former Israeli Prime Minister Peres inaugurated a cultural centre in Gaza City named after Jorgen Holst, a former Norwegian mediator of the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements.  The centre was funded by the Government of Norway. (AFP)

The Israeli Government unanimously confirmed the appointment of Ariel Sharon as Minister for Foreign Affairs. (AFP, Reuters)

15

President Clinton, Prime Minister Netanyahu and PA President Arafat met at the White House for initial summit discussions on the Middle East peace process.  Later in the day, President Clinton formally opened the negotiations at the Wye River Conference Center in Maryland. (AFP, DPA)

16

The Israeli and Palestinian delegations meeting at the Wye Conference Center, Maryland, began their discussions of specific issues in the working groups on security, economic issues, the Palestinian airport in the Gaza Strip and the setting up of a safe passage for Palestinians between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)

Some 82 per cent of the 1,000 Israelis questioned said they wanted to see an accord resulting from the Wye Plantation summit, according to the Gallup poll published by Maariv.  Only 13 per cent said they were not in favour of an accord and five per cent had no opinion.  But only 36 per cent said they believed the summit would result in an accord, and 52 per cent predicted that differences would remain between Prime Minister Netanyahu and PA President Arafat.  In addition, only 57 per cent were in favour of a US-proposed Israeli withdrawal from 13 per cent more of the West Bank, while 30 per cent were against and 13 per cent had no opinion.  The poll had a margin of error of 3.2 per cent. (AFP)

18

Three Palestinians were wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on their car after it tried to avoid a roadblock at Dahariya near Hebron.  Israeli border guards in a jeep chased the vehicle and opened fire after the driver took a turnoff to avoid an Israeli army checkpoint at the entrance to Dahariya.  The three wounded Palestinians were hospitalized in Hebron. (AFP, DPA, Reuters)

19

More than 1,000 Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza called on Palestinian and Israeli peace negotiators to arrange the release of more than 3,000 Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli jails.  A similar demonstration took place in East Jerusalem, where 50 members of families of Palestinian prisoners gathered outside the Orient House to demand that the Israeli authorities release their detained sons. (DPA)

Israel suspended all negotiations at Wye Mills, Maryland, except those on Palestinian anti-terrorism actions in light of an attack by a HAMAS militant on a bus station in Beersheba, in which 64 persons had been wounded. (AFP, DPA)

21

Jewish settlers protested in the West Bank against a possible Israeli-Palestinian accord at the Middle East Peace Talks.  Several dozen settlers blocked traffic on a road near "Beit-El" settlement, outside Ramallah.  Other protesters  blocked  roads  near "Dolev", "Talmon" and "Karne Tsur" settlements, while similar demonstrations took place in the "Gush Etzion" block of settlements south of Bethlehem. (AFP)

23

The Wye River Memorandum was signed at the White House by Prime Minister Netanyahu, PA President Arafat and President Clinton, with King Hussein of Jordan witnessing the ceremony.  The document contains the following elements:  further Israeli troop redeployment (FRD) from 13 per cent of West Bank land; 14.2 per cent transfer of West Bank land from joint Israeli-Palestinian control (Area B) to Palestinian control (Area A); Israeli commitment for the third phase of the FRD; Palestinian actions to combat terrorism; security cooperation between the two sides; nullification of the provisions in the Palestinian National Charter that are inconsistent with the letters exchanged between the PLO and the Government of Israel in September 1993; renewal of negotiations on safe passage between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank; "Protocol Regarding the Establishment and Operation of the International Airport in the Gaza Strip During the Interim Period"; commitment to conclude an agreement concerning the Port of Gaza; immediate resumption of the permanent status negotiations; and commitment not to initiate or take any unilateral actions that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. (CNN)

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the PLO, initialled a free trade agreement due to come into force on 1 July 1999.  The agreement will establish free trade in industrial goods, fish and other marine products, as well as processed agricultural goods between EFTA and the PA, according to an EFTA statement issued in Geneva after the initialling.  EFTA groups Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. (AFP)

26

The European Investment Bank said it would lend 62 million ECU to Palestinian projects in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including 12 million ECU for a hotel in Bethlehem.  The 250-room hotel would be the first Palestinian privately owned and managed hotel serving Holy Land destinations, the EIB said in a statement.  The other 50 million ECU was for water distribution and road improvement projects in the West Bank. (Reuters)

27

Nine Palestinian youths were injured in clashes with Israeli troops in Nablus following the murder of an elderly Palestinian man.  Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber coated bullets at up to 200 Palestinian youths that were pelting them with stones outside the Balata refugee camp on the eastern edge of the city. (AFP)

Israeli police said they stopped excavation work by Jewish extremists hoping to establish a settlement in East Jerusalem.  Settlers from the Ateret Cohanim group were prevented from using a mechanical digger on a site they occupy in the Palestinian residential district of Ras al-Amud, on the western slope of the Mount of Olives. (AFP)

The Holy See reiterated its call for a "special international status" for Jerusalem's holy places.  It asked Israel and the Palestinians to accept the help of the international community to work out "a final status for the Holy City that would take into account the concerns and hopes of the faithful."  The statement came following a two-day symposium organized by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem that brought together three cardinals, 30 bishops, Jerusalem Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, Coptic Christians and Protestants. (AFP)

28

The IDF lifted the closure and curfew of Hebron, imposed earlier in the week after the murder of a Jewish settler there.  The soldiers removed the roadblocks they had set up around Hebron, allowing Palestinians to enter or leave the city.  About 30,000 Palestinians living in the Israeli-controlled sector of the city were also allowed to leave their homes. (AFP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)

29

A Palestinian suicide bomber killed an Israeli soldier and himself and wounded six others when he detonated a car bomb as a convoyed Israeli school bus with Jewish settler children passed by an intersection of the settlement of "Gush Katif" in the central Gaza Strip.  The PA denounced the bombing. (AFP, AP, DPA, Reuters, XINHUA)

The US intends to organize an international conference to raise funds for Palestinian economic development projects that it hopes will demonstrate tangible support for The Wye River Memorandum. (The Jerusalem Post)

30

Prime Minister Netanyahu allocated US$60 million to build roads for settlers in the West Bank ahead of the further Israeli redeployment.  Construction of the roads is aimed at permitting settlers to reach their enclaves without travelling through Palestinian-controlled towns and villages.  It is to begin on 1 November 1998. (AFP)

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