Division for Palestinian Rights
Chronological Review of Events Relating to the
Question of Palestine
MONTHLY MEDIA MONITORING REVIEW
February 2005
1
Palestinian militants fired three more mortal shells at settlements in the Gaza Strip after threatening to resume anti-Israeli attacks, Israeli military sources said. Two persons were slightly injured. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Islamic Jihad also claimed to have fired five mortars at the settlement of “Netzarim.” A Hamas spokesman had said his faction and seven others “will resume their attacks against Israel if the Israeli aggression does not immediately stop.” (AFP, Deutsche Press-Agentur (DPA))
Two Palestinians were arrested by Israeli forces in the Qalqilya town of Azzoun, witnesses said. Israeli troops, stationed at a military checkpoint in the town’s eastern entrance arrested Mahmoud Haroun and Mohammed Yousef, both aged 25, while going through the checkpoint. In Bethlehem, troops detained a number of workers in the town of Al-Khader. In Hebron, troops destroyed hundreds of dunums of land in different areas of the town of Yatta. Witnesses said the troops razed vast areas of arable land, more than 1,000 dunums, and barred the Palestinians access to their land. (WAFA)
The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which had been shut since 12 December 2004, was reopened. The crossing had reopened on 21 January only to travellers coming in but not out of the Gaza Strip. Despite the reopening, Palestinian males between 16 and 35 years of age remained banned from crossing on security grounds. Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said the Al-Muntar (Karni) crossing would remain closed until the Palestinians improved security measures there. The Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip also would remain closed, security officials said. (AP, BBC, Reuters)
Israeli Maj.-Gen. Aharon Ze’evi told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee that the quiet in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank depended on the will of Hamas leaders, who form part of a regional “axis of evil” that opposed regional calm. Gen. Ze’evi also said PA President Mahmoud Abbas had agreed to let Hamas hold onto their weapons during ceasefire talks, adding that Hamas and Hezbollah were working together to dash any such halt of attacks. “The axis of evil – which includes the Hezbollah, Hamas and Al-Qaida organizations supported by Iran – adamantly opposes calm, and Hamas and Hezbollah are working together to destroy the ceasefire,” he said. (Ha’aretz)
PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Saeb Erakat said another security meeting was scheduled for 3 February. “The in-depth dialogue is continuing. We hope for mutual and parallel (steps) by both sides but it is still too early for agreement.” On the same day, Mr. Erakat would also meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Special Advisor Dov Weissglas, for a final session ahead of the planned meeting between Prime Minister Sharon and PA President Abbas scheduled for 8 February. (AP, Reuters)
In an interview published in the Russian daily Kommersant, PA President Abbas pledged that he would reform political and security structures. “Our main principle is the supremacy of law. Our parliament is now passing laws on the reform of the security system and financial and administrative reform,” he said. Meanwhile, Mr. Abbas arrived in Turkey, where he would discuss bilateral cooperation with Turkish leaders. Accompanied by PA Foreign Affairs Minister Nabil Sha’ath, Mr. Abbas would meet with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and business leaders. He would also meet with Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinç the following day. (AFP)
Thirty-eight families from two settlements in the Gaza Strip signed an agreement in principle under which the families would move to a farming community near Ashkelon, several kilometres north of the Gaza Strip. Representatives from the Disengagement Administration, which deals with the plan to dismantle all the settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank, agreed to give US$30,000 and a two-acre plot of land at Moshav Bat Hadar to each of the families who signed the deal. (AP, Ha’aretz)
Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders met with Egypt’s Chief of Intelligence Omar Suleiman in Cairo for talks on a possible ceasefire with Israel, according to Hamas spokesman Nafez Azzam. “There is no agreement yet on a truce with Israel,” according to Mr. Azzam but talks were “taking place in a positive atmosphere.” Mr. Suleiman proceeded to Israel the following day for talks with Prime Minister Sharon. (AP)
2
IDF troops, backed by four military jeeps, moved into the city of Al-Marja and stormed the house of Yazeed Al-Kawa, 18, and arrested him. In a village near Qalqilya, soldiers handed landowners military warrants to seize 130 dunums of arable land to be annexed to the outpost “Amwael.” Near Tulkarm, military incursions in the town of Seida continued. Troops seized two houses owned by Mufeed Raddad and Hafzy Abdel Ghani, to be used as military checkpoints. A curfew had also been imposed. Meanwhile, a military court sentenced Umar Al-Najjar, 30, from the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, to 14 years in prison. (WAFA)
Palestinian security forces destroyed a weapons smuggling tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border, according to Israeli security officials. The forces destroyed the tunnel by filling it with water and sand. (Ha’aretz)
Israel and the PA have agreed to form a joint committee to deal with cases of wanted Palestinians after a ceasefire was formally announced. The committee was to meet for the first time in a week's time. Israeli Defence Minister Mofaz and Mr. Mohammed Dahlan, on behalf of President Abbas, agreed on the formation of the joint committee at their meeting in Herzliya on 31 January. A Shin Bet official would chair the Israeli team, which would include representatives from the IDF and the Justice Ministry. PA security officials would make up the Palestinian team. According to emerging arrangements, Israel would not harm wanted Palestinians who handed in their weapons to the PA, signed a commitment to refrain from act of terror, remained in their home towns and agreed to be monitored by the PA security. Senior Israeli Defence Ministry official Amos Gilad said, “We have to include all the fugitives who stop being active … We are not talking about pardoning. If they return to terror and if the attacks and the murders continue, then in the end we will return to a different type of vigorous activity.” The Shin Bet recommended the exclusion of Palestinians “with blood on their hands.” (AP, Ha’aretz)
The Palestinian National Information Centre (PNIC) said 963 Palestinians were killed in 2004 in violence related to the conflict with Israel. Some 709 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip and 254 in the West Bank. Of those killed, 172 were under the age of 18. The most violent month was October, during which 153 Palestinians were killed. During that month, Israel launched a 17-day offensive in the northern Gaza Strip aimed at ending rocket attacks into southern Israel. More than 3,500 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis had been killed since the confrontations erupted in late 2000. (DPA)
In its annual report on settlements, Peace Now said settlement and settlement outpost construction continued in 2004, despite the Israeli Government’s pledge to dismantle illegal outposts. According to its figures, there were 99 settlement outposts in the West Bank. The report also stated there were currently 3,500 housing units under construction in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In 2004, tenders were issued for 992 housing units, with most of the construction occurring in the larger settlements of “Ma’aleh Adumim,” “Beitar Ilit,” “Modi’in Ilit,” “Alfei Menasheh,” “Adam,” and the area south of Jerusalem. The organization’s Secretary-General, Yariv Oppenheimer, called for the formation of an official investigative panel to probe and prosecute all those who lent a hand to the construction of the outposts and thus broke the law, including ministers. (Ha’aretz, www.peacenow.org.il)
The IDF’s “Civil Administration” confirmed settlers were proceeding with construction in various outposts in the West Bank, including those earmarked for evacuation. The settlers had built new structures in four outposts awaiting evacuation, according to the IDF. To the “Givat Haroeh” outpost, near the “Eli” settlement, between Ramallah and Nablus, three new trailers had been added and groundwork had been carried out for two additional mobile homes. (Ha’aretz)
US President George W. Bush asked, in his State of the Union address, Congress to increase help for the Palestinians, including a financial aid package of US$350 million to bolster political, economic, and security reforms. He said, “To promote peace and stability in the broader Middle East, the United States will work with our friends in the region to fight the common threat of terror, while we encourage a higher standard of freedom.” US officials said the aid was expected to be tied to Palestinian efforts to stop violence and carry out reforms. They said the $350 million would be used in part to finance projects in Palestinian areas, from building homes and improving the infrastructure, to providing social services. Included in that total would be $41 million in existing funds for “short-term, high-impact projects” in Palestinian areas. To be included also was $50 million for new high-tech crossing points along Israel's [separation] barrier with Palestinian areas “to help improve the flow of goods and people.” Israel initially wanted $180 million from Washington for that project, an official added. Mr. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), Chairman of the House of Representatives subcommittee overseeing foreign aid, predicted the request for Palestinian funds would pass Congress. (www.whitehouse.gov , Reuters)
At a press encounter at UN Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General Kofi Annan gave the following response to a question as to whether the United Nations was going to participate in the forthcoming Sharm el-Sheikh summit and his assessment of the situation regarding the peace process, “No, we’ve not been invited to participate. But I did meet with President [Hosni] Mubarak two days ago in Abuja, and he did indicate to me that he was making an effort to bring the two leaders together, and I encouraged it because I thought it was a positive development. I think we do have an atmosphere and an opportunity in the region to try and move the peace process forward. Apart from President Mubarak’s meeting, there will be one in London on 1 March, and there will be other initiatives. And the Quartet may meet around the same time at the principals’ level to try and press on with the process”. (Office for the Spokesman for the Secretary-General)
Israel’s Defence Minister Mofaz told army officers while visiting troops in Gaza, “We do not see any active work in which they [Palestinians] arrest terrorists … I had hoped it would start to happen sooner.” A senior official told Reuters of Israel's expectations at the coming Sharm el-Sheikh summit, “They [Palestinians] want to move fast on political issues but we will accept no leapfrogging over security commitments written into the first phase of the Road Map.” (Reuters)
Forty-three PA security services officers arrived in Egypt via Rafah, en route to Cairo for training at the Mubarak Academy for Security, MENA reported. The officers are members of the Palestinian police force, as well as the national security and the intelligence service, sources said. (AFP)
3
Palestinian militants shot and wounded two IDF soldiers guarding the settlement of “Eshkolot” near the West Bank city of Hebron, according to the IDF. (AP)
Two IDF soldiers were injured when a militant opened fire and hurled a hand grenade at an IDF jeep near a checkpoint in central Gaza Strip, IDF sources said. The militant was killed by return gunfire. (UPI)
A 16-year-old Palestinian teenager was caught with an explosives belt at the Hawara checkpoint near Nablus carrying it in a bag. The bag also contained an improvised gun and 20 bullets. Security forces believed that the bomb belt was to be used in a suicide attack. Meanwhile, the IDF went on high alert in Jerusalem after receiving concrete intelligence warnings that a terrorist had infiltrated the city. (Ha’aretz)
PA President Abbas said he wanted Palestinian prisoners who have served long terms to be released in the first round of prisoners Israel was intending to release in a week's time. “We don't know the real figures and what kind of prisoners they are going to release, but what we are interested in is that the first round be a big one and include a lot of prisoners, particularly those who have served long prison terms,” Mr. Abbas told reporters. (AP)
Israel’s Cabinet Ministers approved the release of 900 Palestinian prisoners and a military pullout from [the West Bank town of] Jericho within days. The ministers also approved an earlier decision by the army chief to halt the targeted killings of wanted Palestinians and agreed to form a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee to decide what to do about them. The ministers approved the release of 500 prisoners immediately after the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, the additional 400 prisoners to be freed within three months. At the meeting, Prime Minister Sharon was quoted as saying, “We are not talking about peace now, and not about the Road Map, but rather about phases that come before implementation of the Road Map.” Defence Minister Mofaz told the ministers that Bethlehem, Qalqilya and Tulkarm would be handed over next, and Ramallah would be last. Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Israel Army Radio “I hope that a ceasefire will be declared, a halt to all violent acts.” PA President Abbas, returning to the West Bank after a five-country trip, said he had already won an agreement from militants to halt attacks and expects Israel to respond positively. “We have announced a ceasefire, and the Israelis should announce one also,” Mr. Abbas said. (AP)
Prime Minister Sharon’s Special Advisor Weissglas and PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat were to meet to finalize the Sharm el-Sheikh summit's agenda. Mr. Erakat said in addition to the terms of a ceasefire, the two sides would discuss the prisoner release, the IDF’s redeployment in the West Bank, a provisional amnesty for Palestinian fugitives and Israeli settlement activities. (AP)
After talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo, exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said, “It seems there is some change in the Israeli position but we need real precision. The matter requires to be pursued further and to be examined more closely.” Mr. Meshaal had met Egypt’s Chief of Intelligence Omar Suleiman after the latter’s meeting with Prime Minister Sharon. Mr. Meshaal reaffirmed two of Hamas' basic conditions: Israel’s release of Palestinian detainees and a halt of attacks on Hamas and its leadership. (Reuters)
Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser condemned the decision of Israel's High Court of Justice to reject an appeal by the municipalities of Bethlehem and Beit Jala and 18 Palestinians living in the area against a planned new road that would be enclosed by a wall along the way to the shrine of Rachel's Tomb. The petitioners had contended that its route would restrict freedom of movement of local Palestinians and ruin their livelihoods while allowing Jewish worshippers to reach the shrine in Bethlehem more safely from Jerusalem. The High Court ruled that the road, to be integrated into the separation barrier, would not curb Palestinian movements “significantly” while allowing Jews to reach the shrine safely. (AP, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
A report by the PA Ministry of Health revealed that 73 Palestinians had been killed and 249 wounded by the IDF in the Occupied Palestinian Territory during the month of January 2005, among them 24 children killed and 100 wounded. The report also said that two disabled and six senior citizens had been killed in the past month. The report concluded that despite Palestinian attempts to achieve calm, the IDF continued its attacks on Palestinian hospitals and medicals centres. (WAFA)
Israel’s Cabinet Ministers decided that in exchange for not pursuing Palestinians wanted by Israel, they would have to turn in their weapons to the PA, sign a pledge to refrain from violence, and remain in their respective cities, under PA supervision. Israel would allow the PA to continue to build a seaport in Gaza, reopen the Al-Muntar (Karni) crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and lift closures and other movement restrictions. However, it would not allow the Gaza International Airport to reopen. Hamas exiled leader Khaled Meshaal said Hamas members would not sign any pledges. (AP, Ha’aretz)
UNRWA informed in a press release that it had handed over 122 new homes to 135 families from the Rafah refugee camp whose shelters had been destroyed by the Israeli military during the past four years. (UNRWA press release HQ/G/02/2005)
4
The IDF killed two Palestinians as they approached a security fence of the “Neer Am” Kibbutz near the town of Beit Hanoun, Palestinian medical sources said. Israel Army Radio said one of the deceased belonged to Saraya Al-Quds (armed wing of Islamic Jihad), and the other to the Al-Nasser Salah Al-Din Brigades. (UPI, Xinhua)
The PA informed Egypt and Jordan that the meeting between Prime Minister Sharon’s Special Advisor Weissglas and PA Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat on 3 February had failed to resolve the prisoners’ issue, Palestinian sources said. Mr. Erakat said Palestinians wanted Israel to release prisoners who had spent more than 20 years in jail. “This is an insulting proposal,” a Palestinian involved in the negotiations said. “You need to release all 237 prisoners jailed before the Oslo Accords. That's what's important to us – not the 900 you are proposing. You aren't coordinating the names with us.” But Israel maintained that no additional prisoners would be freed, and none with “blood on their hands.” (AP, Ha’aretz)
Prime Minister Sharon said Palestinian terror attacks must stop before Israel would begin to implement the Road Map . In a telephone conversation with Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Bondevik, Mr. Sharon said Israel would enter the Road Map process “only after” the Palestinians stopped terrorist activities, dismantled its infrastructure and implemented governmental reform, a spokesman for Mr. Sharon reported. (UPI)
US Secretary of State Rice said in London, “I will be returning to London next month to participate in a meeting hosted by Prime Minister Blair, at which we hope to make significant strides towards securing a lasting peace for the people of the Palestinian territories and for the Israeli people.” She said she did not plan to attend the upcoming Sharm el-Sheikh summit. On the issue of the PA security forces, she said they needed to be unified, “There will need to be some international effort, and the United States is prepared to play a major role in that, to help in the training of the Palestinian security forces and in making sure that they are security forces that are part of the solution, not part of the problem,” she added. (AFP, Ha’aretz)
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said she hoped the Sharm el-Sheikh summit would produce a truce and steps towards peace which the EU could help implement. “I will be discussing [during a forthcoming visit to the region] the conditions under which the Commission can provide support for Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza, and how, through financial assistance and other means, we can continue to promote the reforms so essential to building a Palestinian State,” Ms. Ferrero-Waldner said. (AP)
Foreign Minister Michel Barnier of France said he was hopeful Israel and the Palestinians could set aside their differences and make peace. “I entertain the hope that [a reconciliation] is possible … and the sooner it happens, the better,” Mr. Barnier told Ma’ariv, just ahead of a two-day visit to the region. (AFP)
5
Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Minister Erakat and former security chief Mohammed Dahlan met with Prime Minister Sharon’s advisers Dov Weissglas and Amos Gilad to discuss the Palestinian prisoner issue and the proposed West Bank withdrawal. The talks were expected to continue on 6 February. The PA proposed the creation of a joint committee that would deal with the issue of the release of prisoners. Three categories of prisoners were delineated for the committee to discuss: those jailed prior to the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993; those jailed between 1993 and the outbreak of the intifada in September 2000; and female prisoners. PA President Abbas had asked Israel to authorize the release of six Palestinian prisoners who were jailed prior to the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. In addition, Mr. Abbas asked for the release of Qassem Barghouti, the son of Marwan Barghouti. During the talks today the Palestinians made it clear that the inclusion of prisoners, members of Palestinian factions, was an essential component of the ceasefire agreement President Abbas reached with Hamas and Islamic Jihad last week. (AP, Ha’aretz)
Palestinian security forces briefly arrested, in the southern Gaza refugee camp of Khan Yunis, Issam Abu Daqqa, Talal abu Zarifa and Ziyad Jarjhoun, three members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) who claimed responsibility for a recent attack that lightly wounded two Israeli soldiers. Zalman Shoval, an adviser to Prime Minister Sharon, said the arrests could be meant to give the impression the Palestinians were “taking the fight against terrorists and terrorism seriously” in advance of US Secretary of State Rice's visit to the region on 6 February and the Sharm el-Sheikh summit on 8 February. Saleh Zeidan, a DFLP official, accused PA officials of caving in to Israeli pressure when they arrested the three members of the group’s central committee. (AP)
In Gaza, the 126-member Fatah Revolutionary Council met to give its support to the Sharm el-Sheikh summit as an important step in pushing the peace process forward, said Tayeb Abdel Rahim, a Fatah official. The Council also discussed internal reform and preparations for Fatah elections set to take place in August as well as the upcoming parliamentary elections. PA President Abbas attended the meeting and held talks with the members to work towards the ceasefire to be declared between the Palestinians and Israel at the summit. (AFP, AP)
US Secretary of State Rice said Washington was ready to help Middle East peacemaking but the best outcome would be for Israelis and Palestinians to go on making progress on their own. “I hope we would all get into a mind-set that says if the parties are able to continue to move on their own that's the very best outcome,” she told reporters en route to Ankara. Ms. Rice said Washington would play a more active role if peace efforts stuttered or US backing could clinch deals. (Reuters)
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said an Egyptian delegation would meet with representatives of Palestinian factions to prepare for an agreement on truce. Saleh Zeidan, a member of the DFLP Political Bureau, told the Voice of Palestine the meeting would also discuss how to improve municipal elections. “We hope that the coming dialogue would be the last one that will lead us to a national unity by February.” (Xinhua)
Palestinian sources close to Hamas and Islamic Jihad said the movements were seeking a US guarantee for a mutual ceasefire with Israel. The sources said meetings were ongoing between Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal, Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ramadan Shalah and Egyptian officials in Cairo in a bid to reach an agreement on ending violence in the Palestinian territories. (Xinhua)
The Jordanian Government’s spokeswoman Asma Khader said King Abdullah had suggested to PA President Abbas during his visit to Jordan the previous week the Amman-based Palestinian Badr Brigade be deployed in the West Bank. The Badr Brigade is part of the Palestine Liberation Army, composed of Palestinian refugees from Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Yemen. “The brigade was trained and rehabilitated in Jordan and its members are qualified to deploy in areas in the West Bank, which would be evacuated by Israel,” Mrs. Khader said. Israeli daily Maariv had reported that the Israeli Government was hesitant about accepting the Jordanian suggestion. (UPI)
US Secretary of State Rice arrived for a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank. In Jerusalem, Ms. Rice met with Prime Minister Sharon on the first day of her visit. (AFP, AP, Reuters)
7
The IDF arrested two Palestinians at the entrance of Tubas town in the West Bank, and forced them to leave their vehicles. In Jenin, the IDF arrested 20-year-old Aysha Sbehat in the village of Rummana, Palestinian security sources said. (WAFA)
US Secretary of State Rice met with PA President Abbas in Ramallah. Ms. Rice had met the previous day with Prime Minister Sharon. During the meetings she relayed President Bush’s invitation to both leaders for separate meetings in the United States. Ms. Rice said each side had accepted the invitation, and the United States' partners in promoting Middle East peace would soon hold a meeting to give new life to the peace hopes. At a news conference in Ramallah with PA President Abbas, Ms. Rice also said Lt. Gen. William E. Ward was named as the new “security coordinator” in the Middle East and would make his first trip to the region in the next two weeks. The United States would provide more than US$40 million in aid to the Palestinians during the next three months. Ms. Rice called the aid a “quick action programme” that would help create jobs and improve infrastructure. “This is a time of hope, a time we can hope for a better day for the Palestinian and Israeli people both,” she said. President Abbas thanked Ms. Rice for the US assistance and for helping last year when Israel announced plans to seize some property owned by Palestinians in Israel. Mr. Abbas also told Ms. Rice the Road Map was the only way to realize the goal of Palestinian independence alongside a secure Israel. “We hope that the Israeli side also will meet its obligations because this is the only path”. From his part, Prime Minister Sharon said at a meeting with Ms. Rice, “Her visit, I believe, will contribute to the peace process that we so much want to advance,” (AFP, AP, Reuters)
NATO Chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the military alliance could play a role in implementing an eventual peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians. He said NATO could, for example, monitor a peace agreement, adding there were at least two “big ifs: if a peace was struck, and if both sides agree to ask NATO to play a role." (AFP)
Israel reopened the Al-Muntar (Karni) Crossing, the main cargo crossing for goods, which was closed following the attack on 13 January. Maj. Sharon Feingold, an Israeli army spokeswoman, said the crossing was opened after Israeli and Palestinian officials coordinated security measures to prevent future attacks. (AP)
Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza to urge PA President Abbas to link any revival of peacemaking with Israel to the release of nearly 8,000 Palestinians from Israeli jails. Faction leaders who participated in the rally said no calm could prevail after four years of conflict without agreement on a timetable for the release of all prisoners, with priority given to long-serving inmates. At the rally, mothers of prisoners held their sons’ pictures aloft as they marched under heavy rain chanting, “Abu Mazen, you can negotiate but do not sell us out”. (Reuters)
Palestinian official sources said a visiting Egyptian delegation headed by Brig. Mustafa Al-Beheiri would hold a meeting in the evening with factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and the meeting would focus on final preparations for a Palestinian truce with Israel, as well as Palestinian internal issues. The consideration of the admission of Hamas and Islamic Jihad to the Palestine Liberation Organization would also be on the agenda, the sources added. (Xinhua)
Israeli and Palestinian security officials have expressed concern that radical militant groups would attempt to assassinate PA President Abbas to undermine the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, Israel Army Radio reported. (Xinhua)
On the first stop of a Middle East tour in Cairo, EU External Relations Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner said the European Union would seek Israeli guarantees that it would not destroy Palestinian infrastructure built with new EU aid. “We do not want our investment to be destroyed. The EU would consider financing reconstruction of a seaport and an airport in Gaza. There are huge challenges that are there, but for that also we need some guarantees from the Israeli side,” she told reporters. Ms. Ferrero-Waldner said she would travel to Israel and the Palestinian territory for meetings with Mr. Sharon and Mr. Abbas. She said the European Union was willing to increase its aid to the Palestinians to build on the recent calm and the revival of peace talks. But for major EU aid to the Palestinians, conditions must be right, including the free movement of goods between Israel and the Palestinian territories. “Mahmoud Abbas has shown leadership in a very few moments already but he has to go on, he has to consolidate,” she added. (Reuters)
At its 284th meeting, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People opened its 2005 session. Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened and addressed the meeting. The Committee elected its new bureau and approved the programme of work for the year. The bureau consisted of the Chairman of the Committee, two Vice-Chairmen and the Rapporteur. Ambassador Paul Badji (Senegal) was elected Chairman of the Committee. (UN press release GA/PAL/975)
At the Fatah Revolutionary Council meeting in Gaza, the Council stressed the right of the Palestinian people to resist the Israeli occupation, the wall and colonization. It also stated that Israeli civilians should not be targetted. The Council confirmed its readiness for a comprehensive and mutual ceasefire between Israelis and Palestinians, and stressed the importance of reaching an agreement with all Palestinian factions to abide by such a decision. (WAFA)
At a press conference with visiting French Foreign Minister Barnier, Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Sylvan Shalom said a ceasefire by Palestinian militant groups was not enough and demanded that the PA move decisively to disarm them once and for all. “We must be clear, a ceasefire is not enough. It is an optical illusion which will only explode sooner or later in our faces.” He added, “The forthcoming summit in Sharm el-Sheikh offers an opportunity to address these issues directly but the real test is the test of actions, not of declarations, the test of outcomes and not of ceremonies.” Mr. Barnier said, “The resumption of dialogue between Ariel Sharon and new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is generating hope.” He also said, “I firmly believe that Mahmoud Abbas is the peace partner Israel is looking for.” (AFP)
At a forum in Tel Aviv, a representative of the PA Ministry of Prisoners Affairs reported that Palestinian women prisoners suffered miserable conditions under the Israeli Prisons Service (IPS), based on a report of the Women for Political Women Prisoners Society (WPWPS). In the Hasharon prison, 120 Palestinian women lived without electricity for more than ten consecutive days and their families were prevented from visiting them. The report also said jailers used spray gas inside the prison and cold water in winter against women prisoners. Strip searches were widely practiced, the report said. (WAFA)
8
At a summit between PA President Abbas and Prime Minister Sharon held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, both leaders announced to cease all military or violent activity against each other, and pledged to break the four-year cycle of violence and get peace talks back on track. “We have agreed on halting all violent actions against Palestinians and Israelis wherever they are,” said Mr. Abbas. Mr. Sharon said, “Today, in my meeting with Chairman Abbas, we agreed that all Palestinians will stop all acts of violence against all Israelis everywhere, and, at the same time, Israel will cease all military activity against all Palestinians everywhere.” Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, speaking on behalf of himself and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, said, “The challenges today are large and deep, but the mission is not impossible. If the road is long, we today took the first step.” He added, “The Palestinian and Israeli peoples equally deserve a secure life for the coming generations to enjoy, based on justice, international principles and good neighbourliness.” The two sides did not sign a formal ceasefire agreement and Israel emphasized that it was dealing only with the PA and not the militants behind attacks. During the meeting, Mr. Sharon invited Mr. Abbas to his ranch in Israel, an offer Mr. Abbas accepted. At the summit, Mr. Sharon also extended invitations to President Mubarak and King Abdullah. (AP, Ha’aretz, www.sis.gov.eg)
Israeli troops arrested two Hamas members near Jenin, the army said, adding that the arrests, like others in the past 10 days, had been carried out with the specific approval of IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon. Troops also sealed off Nablus, preventing Palestinians from leaving. In Bethlehem, troops entered a school and searched classes and caused panic among students. Mr. Adnan Salah, the headmaster, said soldiers broke into classes while pupils began their first class. No arrests were reported. (The Guardian, WAFA, www.ipc.gov.ps)
Palestinians opened fire on an IDF vehicle moving along the security fence surrounding the “Gush Katif” settlement block in the southern Gaza Strip. No casualties or damages were reported. (The Guardian, Ha’aretz)
Speaking in Rome, US Secretary of State Rice called on “regional actors” to follow the lead of Egypt and Jordan in supporting the peace process, as well as Gulf States, to provide the funding that has been pledged to underwrite the effort. She said if they all lent their support “then we really would have a chance this time for not just a peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but a comprehensive peace for all the people of the Middle East.” Earlier she said she was optimistic about chances for Israel and the Palestinians to reach accommodation, in particular because of a new thirst for peace through the Middle East. She also said “there is still a long road ahead” but “there seems to be a will in the Middle East because people want to live in a different kind of Middle East.” (AFP, AP)
EU External Relations Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner said, “Today’s ceasefire declaration is a message of hope that brings closer the prospect of peace bas ed on a two-State solution. She added the EU was ready to support the next Israeli-Palestinian steps towards peace with financial help worth €250 million. (DPA)
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw hailed the Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire declaration as British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw hailed the Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire declaration as a sign that the Road Map was “back on track.” He told BBC radio, “I know that there have been plenty of dawns, which have turned out to be false in the very tortured relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but I think this is a new beginning.” (BBC, DPA)
Hamas said it expected the Palestinian leadership to confer with factions before declaring a ceasefire with Israel. Mr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, a senior leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, told reporters after meeting an Egyptian security delegation that PA President Abbas was expected to deliberate with the Palestinian factions before declaring any possible ceasefire. “Our position is that this declaration must not be made before returning to the Palestinian factions and talking with them, so it won’t look like a partial agreement. We must deliberate and dialogue before declaring our position,” Mr. Al-Zahhar said. Islamic Jihad reportedly also said the ceasefire would not obligate them if President Abbas did not demonstrate gains from the summit. (DPA, Ha’aretz, IMRA, The Times)
Amnesty International called on Israelis and Palestinians to turn the renewed hopes for peace in the Middle East into a “durable reality” where rights of Palestinians and Israelis alike were respected and protected. It called on the leaders to ensure that the protection of human rights lay at the heart of the measures now taken. “Palestinian armed groups and Israeli soldiers and settlers must be left in no doubt that they will be held accountable for violations they commit or participate in. To that end the judicial authorities on both sides must undertake to carry out prompt, impartial and thorough investigations into human rights abuses and to bring those responsible to justice in fair trials,” it said. (DPA)
The Knesset's Finance Committee approved a bill to allow Prime Minister Sharon to carry out the planned pullout from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank in the summer. The evacuation and compensation bill passed the Committee by a 10-9 vote, with an Israeli Arab lawmaker providing the margin. Mr. Sharon planned to bring the bill to the floor of the Knesset for a final vote in coming days. (AP, Ha’aretz)
The Israeli High Court of Justice ruled that the Government could partially resume construction on a segment of the separation wall between Jerusalem and “Modi’in” settlement. The court had earlier issued an interim injunction freezing the construction until it reached a decision on a petition submitted by residents of Biddu and Beit Surik, villages near the planned route. The justices said the petitioners may still be able to contest sections of the fence that are particularly close to the villages. The petitioners had written that the “seizure orders confiscate a large swath of agricultural land, some covered in trees. The construction of the fence will obligate the uprooting of many trees and orchards and will separate the petitioners from their extensive agricultural land.” (Ha’aretz)
Envoy-level Quartet officials gathered in London to prepare for an international conference in March which would aim to help the PA build democratic institutions. Officials including EU Middle East Envoy Marc Otte, US Assistant Secretary of State William Burns and Under-Secretary-General Kieran Prendergast were scheduled to take part in closed-door talks with PA Finance Minister Salam Fayyad. A British official said the talks would build towards the 1 March conference, which intended to help the Palestinians build an economic infrastructure, civic and security administration. (Ha’aretz, Saudi Press Agency)
The PA Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs reported that more than 17 prisoners had served more than 20 years in Israeli prisons, with five serving more than 25 years. The Ministry report also stated that more than 430 prisoners had served more than 10 years, while 144 had been jailed more than 15 years. (WAFA)
Palestinian militants fired on a car near a West Bank settlement, and threw firebombs and shot at a patrol that came to investigate, the IDF said. No one was hurt. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility. (AP)
The following statement on the Sharm el-Sheikh summit is attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:
(UN press release SG/SM/9713)
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A Palestinian militant died when the roadside bomb he was preparing in the Gaza Strip near the “Gush Katif” settlement block malfunctioned, Palestinian sources said. (DPA)
Prime Minister Sharon rejected demands for a referendum over his disengagement plan. “There will not be a referendum,” Mr. Sharon told reporters. “The pressure to carry out a referendum is due to threats of civil war. Whoever thinks one can run a country under threat is simply wrong.” (Reuters)
Israel opened the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, allowing Palestinian workers to get to jobs in Israel, the head of the IDF Gaza Liaison and Coordination unit said. Col. Yova Mordechai told Israel Radio that 1,000 Palestinian workers would initially be allowed to use the crossing. In addition, 500 Palestinian merchants would also be granted entry permits into Israel. (DPA)
“The talk about what the leader of the Palestinian Authority called a cessation of acts of violence is not binding on the resistance because this is a unilateral stand and was not the outcome of an intra-Palestinian dialogue, as has been agreed previously,” Mr. Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, said. Mr. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, said about the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, “It did not achieve anything. From our people's interests, the Israeli position did not change. We are going to listen to Mr. Abbas when he returns. We are going to sit down with him, and then we are going to declare our position.” (Ha’aretz)
White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters, “The cessation of violence and terrorism is an important step on the path to ending terrorism in the region and dismantling the terrorist infrastructure, which is called for under the Road Map.” State Department Spokesman Adam Ereli praised the “bold leadership” of Prime Minister Sharon and PA President Abbas and said ending attacks were a step towards dismantling Palestinian militant groups. “We are very heartened by what has transpired in Sharm el-Sheikh and we will continue to help the parties as they move forward,” he added. (AP, www.state.gov)
EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana said in a statement, “The meeting proves that there is indeed an opportunity for peace and that the parties are determined to seize it in a spirit of understanding and cooperation. This opportunity must not be missed.” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said , “I strongly welcome the truce declared yesterday by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas … It is my sincerest hope that this will lead to a definitive end to years of violence in the Middle East and put us back on the path towards a lasting peace between the two States – Israel and a viable, democratic Palestinian State – living side by side in peace and security in the framework of a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East, as laid out in the Road Map”. (AFP, www.eu.int)
“Russia welcomes the results of the summit held in Egypt. They establish the conditions for a full-fledged restoration of the peace process and advance towards a just Palestinian-Israeli settlement, as provided by the Road Map, drawn up by the Quartet of international mediators and approved by UN Security Council resolution 1515,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said in a statement. (www.mid.ru )
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said China hoped the Middle East peace process could restart at an early date. China “supports and welcomes the agreement and hopes the agreement could be earnestly implemented,” he said. Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told reporters “The decision for a truce gives a new hope for Palestinians and Israelis to savour the much-awaited peace. I hope the decision to end the four-year violence will be a lasting one”. “When the ceasefire and reform for peace in the Middle East are realized, Japan can make substantial contributions,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said at a press conference. (Kyodo, Xinhua, www.fmprc.gov.cn)
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said he hoped the ceasefire marked the “definite” end to terrorism and violence, and a return to the negotiating table. Australia’s Prime Minister Howard told reporters, “We have to be cautious, but given the bloodshed, the violence, the ill will, the lack of trust that has characterized this terrible conflict for so long, this very significant movement has to be very warmly welcomed.” New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Phil Goff called the ceasefire “a significant step toward a peaceful future in the Middle East.” (AP, Reuters, www.auswaertiges-amt.de, www.foreignminister.gov.au )
Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa said in a statement, “The Sharm el-Sheikh summit provided a great opportunity for both the Israeli and Palestinian sides to prove that they are equally serious about implementing the Road Map for peace in the Middle East.” (Xinhua)
A second summit between Prime Minister Sharon and PA President Abbas could take place within a week, Ra’anan Gissin, an adviser to Mr. Sharon, said. (AP)
The Bush administration was considering naming an official to help coordinate Palestinian economic and political reforms, but who would stop short of being an overall peace envoy, US officials and diplomatic sources said. (Reuters)
Egypt’s Cabinet spokesman Magdi Radi told Reuters that an ambassador would be sent back to Israel “in a week or 10 days.” Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al-Mulki presented Israel’s Foreign Minister Shalom an official request to approve the appointment of a new ambassador to Israel. (Ha’aretz)
A 20-year-old Palestinian from the Rafah refugee camp was hit by gunfire from the “Atzmona” settlement in the southern Gaza Strip and later died of his wounds. Israeli troops fired warning shots, suspecting an infiltration attempt, when four Palestinians came within 50 metres of a security fence near the settlement, a military source said. The settlement, according to Palestinian witnesses, has an IDF garrison and many of its residents are armed. (Ha’aretz, Reuters)
Prime Minister Sharon told Ha’aretz he had promised PA President Abbas during the Sharm el-Sheikh summit he would increase the number of Palestinian prisoners with “blood on their hands” to be released if the disengagement plan proceeded smoothly. (Ha’aretz)
PA President Abbas had despatched his top aide, Abdelfatah Hamayel, to Lebanon for talks with Hezbollah leaders to urge them to stop funding Palestinian militants’ attacks against Israelis, Palestinian political and security sources said. A senior Fatah member, Abbas Zaki, was also due to travel to Lebanon the following week to hold talks with Lebanese leaders and possibly Hezbollah representatives, according to the sources. “Hezbollah are trying to increase the attacks through all the factions … including Al-Aqsa [Martyrs Brigades] and the PFLP [Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine],” a senior security source said. (AFP)
EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Solana spoke to PA President Abbas over the telephone to congratulate him on the “positive outcome” of the previous day’s Sharm el-Sheikh summit, and assured “the European Union’s full support for his efforts to re-engage in dialogue with Israel,” Mr. Solana’s spokesperson Cristina Gallach said. (AFP, http://ue.eu.int)
The Italian Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini had received from Syria’s Foreign Minister Farouk Sharaa assurances of Syria’s commitment to peace in the Middle East. “ Sharaa wished to offer assurances of Damascus’ renewed commitment to efforts toward a stable and lasting peace in the Middle East. The Syrian Government, Sharaa asserted, considers it a priority in this initial stage to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas and for this reason intends to exert its influence on extremist formations such as the Hezbollah with the aim of convincing them to respect the ceasefire agreed to yesterday at Sharm el-Sheikh between Tel Aviv and the PNA,” the Ministry said. (http://www.esteri.it )
EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner announced that the European Commission would make around €250 million available in 2005 to support further steps towards the creation of a viable Palestinian State. “We will continue to be a major provider of political and financial support to the peace process. It is essential that the Palestinian people see a concrete dividend of moves towards peace, and we will make funds available to help President Abbas deliver tangible improvements in his people’s living conditions,” Mr. Ferrero-Waldner said. (http://europa.eu.int )
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A Palestinian driving an allegedly stolen car in Jerusalem and speeding towards a roadblock near the “Ofra” settlement in the northern West Bank was killed when Israeli troops shot at his car. A military spokesman said the victim had failed to observe warning shots fired by the troops manning a roadblock near the settlement. The Palestinian was hit by the gunfire and the vehicle then rolled over. It was not immediately known if he had died from the bullets or the impact of the crash. (AFP, AP, Ha’aretz, Reuters, Xinhua)
The IDF said at least 30 mortar shells and rockets had been fired at settlements in the Gaza Strip, with most of them exploding near “Neve Dekalim” in the “Gush Katif” settlement block in the southern Gaza Strip. Hamas militants said they had fired 46 mortar shells and rockets at the “Neve Dekalim” and “Gedid” settlements, in retaliation for the previous day’s killing of a Palestinian by Israeli troops stationed at the “Atzmona” settlement. No injuries were immediately reported but one house sustained damage. (AFP, AP, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
Following Palestinian attacks on settlements in the Gaza Strip, PA President Abbas’ office said in a statement that he had issued very “strict instructions” to his security forces to prevent any breaches to the ceasefire declared during the Sharm el-Sheikh summit. Palestinian security officials said Mr. Abbas had dismissed top security commanders in the Gaza Strip, including Chief of Public Security General Abdel Razeq Al-Majaideh, Police Chief Saeb Al-Ajed and three other senior commanders. PA Cabinet Secretary Hassan Abu Libdeh said Mr. Abbas had taken “punitive measures” against officers who had not undertaken their responsibilities. Also, Israel called off security coordination talks with Palestinians scheduled to take place today to follow up the outcomes of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit. (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Israeli defence officials said military planners had frozen a plan to build a water channel along the Salah al-Din (“Philadelphi route") area between the Gaza Strip and Egypt to give the new Palestinian leadership a chance to secure the area. The channel was to have helped prevent the digging of weapons smuggling tunnels across the border and protect Israeli troops along the route. Military planners had requested in the previous month permission from Israel’s Attorney General to destroy as many as 3,000 Palestinian homes to build the trench. (AP, Ha’aretz)
Canada’s Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew, on a visit to the Middle East, met with PA President Abbas and Prime Minister Qureia in Ramallah. Mr. Pettigrew welcomed the Israeli-Palestinian agreement on ceasefire and affirmed his country’s support to the Palestinian people. He announced Canada would provide US$100,000 to support legal sector education and good governance in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The funding would be provided by the Canadian International Development Agency and would come under the auspices of Canada Corps. “The project is intended to advance a model of judicial education, a sector in which Canada has a particular expertise and reputation, appropriate to the West Bank and Gaza,” Mr. Pettigrew said. (www.fac-aec.gc.ca, WAFA)
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Hani Mulki said preparations were under way for a five-way meeting of Israel’s neighbours in Damascus to revive an Arab peace plan. Mr. Mulki, in statements to Al-Rai and Al-Dustour dailies, said the meeting would bring together Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and the Palestinians in a bid to revive the Arab initiative for peace with Israel that had been launched at a summit in Lebanon in 2002. (AFP)
The IDF said it had arrested a 21-year-old Palestinian in Nablus suspected of attempting to carry out a suicide attack in Jerusalem. He was armed with a pistol and two grenades when he was arrested. (www.idf.il)
Prime Minster Sharon announced the names of the Israeli members of the recently agreed-upon joint Israeli-Palestinian committee on prisoner releases: Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra, Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, and Health Minister Dan Naveh. The committee was to set criteria for releasing Palestinian prisoners and discuss the PA request that Israel free Palestinians convicted of murder before the Oslo accords. (Ha’aretz)
The US House of Representatives voted to approve a bill on certain aspects related to immigration law and border security, such as the issuance of personal identification documents, construction of a border fence and prevention of abuse of asylum laws, which considers PLO officials as being engaged in terrorist activities. The bill, which passed 261 to 161, and would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, states, “An alien who is an officer, official, representative, or spokesman of the Palestine Liberation Organization is considered, for purposes of this Act, to be engaged in a terrorist activity.” (The New York Times, http://thomas.loc.gov)
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Palestinian militants opened fire on Israeli construction workers on the “Kissufim” road in the southern Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported. (Ha’aretz)
The Israeli army arrested a wanted PFLP member in Birzeit north of Ramallah. (Ha’aretz)
Israeli police arrested six settlers in the southern Gaza Strip who had rioted and tried to block the “Gush Katif” junction to Palestinian traffic during a protest against Palestinian mortar attacks. The settlers threw stones at Palestinians and tried to pull Palestinian drivers out of their vehicles to commandeer them, according to army sources. (Ha’aretz)
In response to the previous day’s mortar and rocket attac In response to the previous day’s mortar and rocket attacks by Palestinian militants on settlements in the Gaza Strip, PA President Abbas convened an emergency meeting of the Fatah Central Committee to discuss the attacks. The Committee later announced a general alert and state of emergency among Palestinian security services and the Fatah movement to deal with the security situation. “The PA will confront these provocations, these attempts to give Israel an excuse to evade its commitments at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit and to gamble dangerously with the future of the Palestinian people,” the statement said. Mr. Abbas also travelled to the Gaza Strip to demand militant leaders respect the ceasefire. (AP, Ha’aretz)
At a joint press conference with Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud in Beirut, Canada’s Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew urged Hezbollah to support the ceasefire announced during the Sharm el-Sheikh summit. “We think that President Abbas should be given the opportunity and all possible chances to succeed in the mission he (is) committed to,” he said. Mr. Pettigrew was scheduled to meet with other Lebanese officials later in the day, including Prime Minister Omar Karami. (AFP, AP)
EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Solana spoke to Prime Minister Sharon on the telephone to congratulate him on the outcome of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit and encouraged him to work together with PA President Abbas and implement the respective commitments made during the summit, Mr. Solana’s spokesperson said. (www.ue.eu.int)
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PA President Abbas said in an interview that the war with Israel was effectively over and that Prime Minister Sharon was speaking “a different language” to the Palestinians. Mr. Sharon's commitment to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and dismantle all Israeli settlements there and four in the West Bank, despite “how much pressure is on him from the Israeli Likud rightists,” Mr. Abbas said, “is a good sign to start with” on the road to real peace. He also said that Hamas had made a commitment to him to run in the PLC elections. He was prepared to fire more police and security officials if they did not get “the first message” that they were to enforce his ceasefire. He set the release of Palestinian prisoners as his first priority. He rejected the idea of a Palestinian State in temporary borders before a final settlement. (The New York Times)
Following the meeting in Gaza between PA President Abbas and Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders, the Islamic Jihad said that it would maintain an undeclared truce with Israel, but had not yet decided whether to accept the official ceasefire PA President Abbas had declared in Sharm el-Sheikh. Hamas issued a similar statement. (AP)
Security in the Middle East would not be achieved without the release of all the Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, Mr. Zakariya al-Zubeidi, Jenin commander of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, told reporters. (Xinhua)
Israel had agreed to repatriate the 55 Palestinians it had expelled from the West Bank during the intifada, Mr. Ra’anan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Sharon, told reporters, but he gave no timetable for their return. Mr. Gissin said, “We are freezing all proceedings against them as long as they refrain from terror activities.” (AP)
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The Israeli Cabinet approved at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sharon the release of some 500 Palestinian prisoners. (Reuters)
Palestinian security sources said approximately 500 Palestinian workers had been allowed entry into Israel to work after receiving permits. Palestinian officials accused Israel of tightening security instead of easing it at the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip. (AP, UPI)
The Executive Committee of the PLO reiterated the significance of heading towards a peaceful and comprehensive solution for all the final status issues. In its meeting in Gaza, headed by PA President Abbas and attended by Prime Minister Qureia and PLC Speaker Rawhi Fattouh, the Executive Committee voiced its hope that the coming Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip would be a part of such a solution reached through negotiations under the auspices of the Quartet. It also restated its commitment to the outcomes of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit. (WAFA)
After holding talks with PA President Abbas, visiting Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said, “It's so important to get enough economic resources to the Palestinian areas, so that the Palestinians can really feel in their daily life that there is an improvement of economical, social living conditions, so they will also be convinced that the road of peace is the future also for the Palestinian … I will urge Prime Minister Sharon to do his utmost to ease the daily life of the Palestinians, because I am convinced that Mr. Abbas is doing his utmost for security also for the Israelis.” (AFP)
PA West Bank security chief Brig. Hajj Ismail and IDF Gen. Gadi Eisenkut met to finalize details of Israel’s withdrawal from Jericho and the handover of security responsibilities to PA police, Palestinian sources said. (DPA, UPI)
A Palestinian was shot dead by IDF troops in the southern West Bank town of Hebron after trying to attack a soldier with a knife, the IDF said. Palestinian witnesses said that the 16-year old was first shot by the driver of an IDF bulldozer and then by another two soldiers. (AP, IPC, WAFA)
A mortar was fired at an IDF post in the southern Gaza Strip. No damage or injuries were reported. (Ha’aretz)
In Qalqilya, the IDF arrested three Palestinians at a checkpoint, according to witnesses. (WAFA)
Israel handed over to the PA the remains of 15 militants shot dead by the IDF during attempted attacks in the Gaza Strip as part of a series of goodwill gestures towards the Palestinians. (AFP)
Prime Minister Sharon, at a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee in Jerusalem, said the evacuation of settlements in the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank would be carried out over a 12-week period starting in July . (Ha’aretz)
The IDF was planning to put an electronic fence in the northern West Bank after the planned evacuation of four settlements there this summer, an IDF publication reported. The electronic fence was to extend across a section of the West Bank between Jenin and Nablus, and was meant to help prevent Palestinians from crossing unchecked from the evacuated part of the West Bank to the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. (AP)
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Palestinians opened fire on Israeli soldiers examining a suspicious package in the northern West Bank, according to Israel Radio. No injuries were reported. (Ha’aretz)
A Palestinian taxi driver told Israeli soldiers at a roadblock south of Nablus that passengers of an Israeli vehicle had fired at his taxi near the roadblock. The taxi had several bullet marks but the driver was unhurt. (Ha’aretz)
Talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials on the handover of security control of Jericho to the PA, which had been scheduled to take place on 15 February, ended without an agreement, due to disputes over the size of the territory to be handed over, the placement of roadblocks around the city and the security responsibility over the village of Al-Auja, north of the city. (Ha’aretz, UPI)
An estimated 15,000 activists opposing the disengagement plan rallied in “Gush Katif” in the southern Gaza Strip, calling for a national referendum on the pullout. Four settlers who had set tires on fire were arrested. The “Yesha Council of Settlements,” which organized the demonstrations, said 92,000 people had so far signed a declaration that they would come to “Gush Katif” and the northern West Bank on the day of evacuation to disrupt it. (Ha’aretz)
The Israeli Interior Ministry Building and Planning Committee for the Southern Region approved the establishment of a new community in Negev to house about half of the settlers to be evacuated from the Gaza Strip. (Ha’aretz)
At least eight Palestinians were arrested by Israeli troops in predawn raids in several West Bank cities, according to Palestinian security sources. The sources said Israeli troops backed by about 15 army vehicles had entered the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, and had arrested a Palestinian named Mahmoud Abu Zuhra. Israeli troops also arrested seven other Palestinians in Ramallah and nearby towns. (UPI, Xinhua)
PA President Mahmoud Abbas said a new government led by the current Prime Minister, Ahmed Qureia, would be announced shortly. “The government will be ready in the next 24 hours. … The Legislative Council will meet in two days' time to approve the government,” Mr. Abbas said. (AFP)
The Bureau of Housing and Construction Minister Isaac Herzog denied in a statement media reports that he was initiating the establishment of a new settlement in the “Gush Etzion” settlement block, south of Jerusalem, to accommodate settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip under the disengagement plan. (IMRA)
Addressing a press conference at the launch of a joint campaign on the separation barrier’s impact on health, Médecins du Monde, the Palestine Red Crescent Society and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel said the barrier was preventing some 10,000 chronically ill Palestinians from accessing essential healthcare. They also said more than 100,000 pregnant women could face difficulties in child birth and 130,000 children would no longer be immunized once the 650-kilometre barrier was completed. (AFP)
15
The IDF shot and fatally wounded two armed Palestinians near Nablus where they were spotted approaching the settlement of “Har Bracha”, south of the city, an army spokeswoman said. She said the two Palestinians, who were carrying Kalashnikov rifles, later died of their wounds. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said the two men were activists of the group, identifying them as Issam Hamza Mansour, 27, and Mahyub Al-Qenna, 24. Al-Aqsa Brigades members said the two armed men were guarding an abandoned Palestinian house near the settlement and were killed by Israeli troops without provocation. (AFP, AP, Ha’aretz, WAFA)
A Palestinian boy, Ala Hani, 15, was killed and another boy was injured near the town of Beitunia, south of Ramallah, after a group of boys came from the town to the construction site of the separation fence to throw stones at the IDF soldiers who were guarding the site. The soldiers fired tear gas grenades to disperse the group, and subsequently left the scene. Then, according to the injured boy, 14-year-old Osama Bassem, after an Israeli van was hit by a stone, two security guards emerged from the vehicle and opened fire at the boys, killing Hani and injuring Bassem. The IDF said there was apparently no soldiers present at the time of the shooting. (Ha’aretz)
Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said at a news conference hosted by the Foreign Press Association he had already begun coordinating a Gaza withdrawal with the Palestinians and warned Israeli hardliners that he would not be deterred by increasingly violent opposition to the pullout plan, including threats against him and his Cabinet ministers. Mr. Sharon also said he did not fear for his life and would push ahead with the Gaza plan and confirmed, “We already started to coordinate, I instructed to start coordination of our withdrawal … from Gaza.” Mr. Sharon said that if PA President Abbas failed to ensure calm during the pullout, Israel's reaction would be “very, very harsh and hard.” He said his plan would solidify Israel's grip on main settlement blocks in the West Bank, which “will be part of the Jewish State in the future.” Mr. Sharon said he was holding President Bush to the concessions he had secured from him last April. Those included the redrawing of the 1967 borders to include the biggest settlement blocks. PA Negotiation Minister Erakat reacted by saying, “Israel must choose between settlements or peace. It cannot have both.” Mr. Erakat hop ed the two sides were on the way to resuming talks on the Road Map. (AFP, AP)
Israel planned to develop high-tech checkpoints within its West Bank separation barrier in order to ease Palestinian movement. Palestinians, however, said that move would define the borders of a future Palestinian State on Israeli terms. An Israeli Defence Ministry official said Israel would develop 24 to 28 crossing points that year along the separation barrier, including a major terminal entrance to Ramallah. He added that the plan would allow Israel to remove other crossings that hinder Palestinian movement in the West Bank interior and thereby help build mutual trust. (Reuters)
Before meeting with US Secretary of State Rice in Washington, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said his Government was offering 750 border guards to seal Gaza from smuggled weapons and was urging Syria to restrain Hamas and other militant groups from attacking Israel. Mr. Aboul Gheit said besides deploying border guards, Egypt would send a few security officials to Gaza to assess the needs of Palestinian security forces, bring senior Palestinians to Egypt for training and ask Israel to approve stationing two Egyptian battalions along its border to guard against two-way smuggling. (AP)
A Palestinian woman residing in Jerusalem went into labour and delivered a baby at the Qalandia checkpoint near Jerusalem, witnesses said. Israeli soldiers denied the pregnant woman access on her way to a Palestinian hospital. A medical crew belonging to the Palestine Red Crescent Society assisted the woman in delivering a baby boy. It was reported that both the mother and the baby were in good health and were transferred to Al-Muhtadi hospital in Kufr Aqab near Ramallah. (WAFA)
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The Fatah Central Committee approved the line-up of a new Palestinian Cabinet led by Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, Abbas Zaki, a Committee member, said. “We have reached agreement on the composition of the new government, which should be submitted to the Legislative Council for approval next Tuesday,” Mr. Zaki said after the meeting in Ramallah. Mr. Qureia confirmed the new government was expected to be presented to parliament on 22 February. (AFX, DPA, Ha’aretz)
An Italian peace activist suffered a broken jaw and concussion after being attacked by a group of settlers in Yatta, south of Hebron. The incident occurred in the presence of a group of international peace activists accompanying Palestinian shepherds grazing their flocks near the “Havat Maon” settlement at the southernmost tip of the West Bank. Also in Hebron, the family of Walid Abu Aisha, a four-year-old boy, said their son had been wounded by rocks thrown at him by settlers. (AFP, www.ipc.gov.ps )
Palestinian militants fired a mortar shell at an IDF outpost in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Five mortar rounds were also fired at the settlement of “Morag” throughout the day. There were no injuries or damage incurred by any of the attacks. (Ha’aretz)
Lt.-Gen. William Ward, newly-appointed “security coordinator” for the Middle East, arrived in Israel on his first visit to the region, a US embassy spokesman said. “Gen. Ward arrived this afternoon … he will be spending approximately a week here, getting to know the lay of the land.” There was no formal schedule for Gen. Ward’s visit, but he was expected to meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials to monitor compliance with security commitments made by both sides. (AFP)
In a press release, the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department announced an allocation of €34 million for humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in 2005. Almost €30 million would be given in the first half of the year, and approximately one-third of that assistance would be allocated for the Gaza Strip. (WAFA)
The Knessset gave its final approval for Prime Minister Sharon's withdrawal plan from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank during the summer. The members of the Knesset overwhelmingly passed a bill authorizing NIS4.3 billion (US$1 billion) in compensation for the 7,500 settlers for relocation. The bill was approved by a vote of 59 to 40, with five abstentions. Vice Premier Shimon Peres called the vote “a clear decision for peace,” while the Settlers' Council said it marked “a black day for democracy.” The vote took hours, as legislators voted on nearly 200 proposed amendments, soundly defeating one requiring a national referendum on the plan. Some settlers and Israeli extremists threatened violence against ministers and lawmakers who supported the withdrawal. (Ha’aretz)
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades accused Israel of violating the ceasefire declared by PA President Abbas and Prime Minister Sharon last week. “We will not consult with anyone or ask permission to respond,” said Abu Mohammed, the spokesman for the Brigades in the Gaza Strip. “Israeli blood is not holier than Palestinian blood,” he said, referring to the killing of two Al-Aqsa members outside the settlement of “Har Bracha” on 15 February. Mr. Abu Mohammed called for the formation of a joint “operations room” of all Palestinian groups to coordinate a response to alleged Israeli violations of the truce. Hamas spokesman Musher Al-Masri told reporters in Gaza that his movement was committed to the ceasefire, yet Palestinians had the “legal right” to respond to Israeli violations. (AP, DPA)
During a meeting with Spain’s Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, Jordan’s King Abdullah II called on the international community to help achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, Petranews agency reported. He said European countries should play an active role in the peace process. King Abdullah also called on the Palestinians and Israelis to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible. Mr. Moratinos said his visit to Jordan aimed to revive the peace process in the region. He was on a regional tour aimed at seeking regional support for Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's proposal to help remove cultural and religious differences between the West and the Muslim world. (Xinhua)
Israel's Supreme Court approved the uprooting of a Palestinian woman's citrus grove, ruling that it impeded security for Defence Minister Mofaz's house. Mr. Mofaz lived in Kochav Yair, just on the Israeli side of the “Green Line”, 25 meters away from the grove in the West Bank. (AP)
Israel published the names of 500 Palestinian prisoners slated for release as part of a series of goodwill gestures to PA President Abbas to bolster peace efforts. None of the 500 prisoners listed had been found guilty of killing or injuring Israelis. The Israeli Prison Service said most of them had already served at least two-thirds of their sentences. Israel approved the list on 13 February and said about half the prisoners to be freed were from the Fatah movement; the rest were from Islamic militant groups. The Prison Service published the names of Palestinians scheduled for release to allow others to appeal against any individual cases. Appeals must be made within 48 hours. (Reuters)
The President of the UN Security Council issued a statement in which he welcomed the recent summit in Sharm el-Sheikh; the initiative of the United Kingdom of convening an international meeting in London on 1 March to support Palestinian efforts for a viable Palestinian State; and the upcoming Quartet meeting at the ministerial level which would be convened in the margins of the London meeting. The Council looked forward to further engagement of the Quartet with the two parties to ensure continued progress in the peace process and the full implementation of the Road Map. (S/PRST/2005/6)
US Secretary of State Rice said most of the US$350 million President Bush had requested for the Palestinians would be directed at specific projects and channelled through the Palestinian Authority. At a meeting with the US House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, she said, “The Palestinian people need help and this is the quickest way to do it. We have no intention of having this money disappear into the night. I know we have concern about corruption.” She added, “This is not the Palestinian Finance Ministry of four or five years ago.” She also said PA President Abbas was rooting out corruption. (AP)
PA President Abbas met with US Middle East Security Coordinator Lt. General William Ward. Mr. Abbas discussed steps taken by the Palestinians following the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, according to PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh. General Ward would return to meet with the PA in a few weeks. General Ward also met with PA Prime Minister Qureia. (www.ipc.gov.ps )
A press release on a report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said about half of the Palestinian households lost more than 50 per cent of their income because of various Israeli measures. The data was based on a survey on the impact of Israeli measures on the economic conditions of Palestinian households. (WAFA)
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Palestinians fired overnight a Qassam rocket at a southern Gaza Strip settlement, but did not cause injuries or damages. Also overnight, Palestinians opened fire on IDF troops at the Hawara checkpoint near Nablus. There were no casualties. (Ha’aretz)
Hundreds of settlers took first steps to eventually leave their homes in the Gaza Strip after the Knesset approved approximately US$871 compensation for those vacating parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in a vote of 59 to 40. About 200 families had prepared to file compensation claims, according to Mr. Yosef Tamir, a lawyer representing those families. “Now that the legislation is complete, the rights of the settlers need to be implemented. The timetable is short and we can’t have a situation where they are left without homes but having not yet received their rightful dues,” he told Israel Radio. Many other settlers, however, have refused to accept the Government’s compensation scheme. Settlers and their allies had plastered city walls and highway overpasses with signs condemning the planned pullout. In an effort to counter the settlers’ campaign, former Jerusalem police chief Arieh Amit and a coalition of business leaders had begun a campaign of their own under the slogan, “We are behind you, Sharon.” (AP)
An Israeli army committee recommended ending the policy of destroying the homes of Palestinian suicide bombers as it had failed to be a deterrent. The panel reported to Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon that the demolitions had caused more damage than benefit, resulting in greater hatred and hostility among Palestinians towards Israel. Over the past four years, Israeli soldiers demolished some 666 homes belonging to the families of Palestinian attackers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, according to B’Tselem. (AP, DPA, Ha’aretz)
Hamas criticized the list published by Israel of 500 prisoners up for release. It complained in a leaflet sent to reporters that the list did not contain the names of long-term prisoners, ill detainees, or women and minors. (DPA)
PA Prime Minister Qureia said the list of names for the new Palestinian Cabinet would be presented to the PLC for approval on 22 February. PA President Abbas had reportedly approved the names. (Ha’aretz, www.ipc.gov.ps )
Israeli security officials said the first of some 55 Palestinians Israel had expelled to the Gaza Strip from the West Bank over the previous four years would be allowed to return home. Sixteen men would be repatriated in that first round, as part of a package of bridge-building measures agreed upon by Israel. Israeli Defence Minister Mofaz also decided that 20 of 39 Palestinian expelled to Europe after the 2002 siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem would be allowed back. The 20 had not been involved in deadly attacks on Israelis and would be readmitted to the West Bank after Israel transferred control over Bethlehem to the Palestinians. Mr. Mofaz also decided to ease other restrictions, allowing Palestinians aged 16 to 25 through the Gaza-Egypt border crossing at Rafah, and raising to 1,500, from 1,000, the number of Palestinian labourers from Gaza allowed into Israel. (AP, BBC, Ha’aretz)
Mohammed al-Abar, Chairman of a large real estate company in Dubai, had offered to buy real estate assets of settlements in the Gaza Strip that were slated for evacuation under the disengagement plan. Vice Premier Peres, who was scheduled to meet with Mr. al-Abar, had recently urged Prime Minister Sharon to reconsider his position on the matter and leave the houses in the settlements untouched after the evacuation. (Ha’aretz)
Cees Wittebrood, head of the Middle East and Mediterranean Countries Humanitarian Aid Department at the European Commission warned of the impact of the latest political developments on the humanitarian conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Mr. Wittebrood, who was on a visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, called on Israel to suspend work on its wall in the West Bank in light of the improving situation with the Palestinians. “If the barrier is about security and there is now a ceasefire, Israel should suspend its construction as a show of goodwill to the Palestinians,” he said. He added, “What we are witnessing here is a crisis of access. There is no lack of food, education, health or agricultural land but a problem of access to all of the above.” (AFP)
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A settler had been arrested for allegedly attacking a Palestinian in the Hebron hills with a club. (Ha’aretz)
A Palestinian youth with light injuries and his parents approached Israeli soldiers at an outpost near Nablus and reported their car had been hit by stones thrown by settlers. (Ha’aretz)
The Israeli High Court of Justice had been scheduled to hear a second petition on 20 February against the impending release of some of the 500 Palestinian prisoners Israel had slated to free, Israel Radio reported. The High Court had rejected a similar request filed by the family members of terror victims. It had been announced earlier that the 500 prisoners to be released by Israel in the coming days would include 44 Fatah members who had been convicted of involvement in shootings and bombings. Meanwhile, MK Issam Makhoud (Hadash) said 70 per cent of the prisoners on the list were due to be released in a month or two anyway. Such a release was not a gesture, but a slap in the face to the Palestinian public, he said. (Ha’aretz)
The Israeli Cabinet was set to endorse a change in the route of the southern section of the wall in the West Bank. The new route would swallow up to seven per cent of West Bank land. The revised route would annex the settlement blocks of “Gush Etzion” and “Ma’aleh Adumim” into Israel, cutting off some 10,000 Palestinians from the rest of the West Bank. (AFP, DPA)
The first 26 Israeli families had been scheduled to be evacuated sometime between 30 April and 2 May from the “Peat Sadeh” settlement in the southern Gaza Strip, according to Shimon Cohen, head of the Hof Ashkelon regional council. The settlement would move to a farming community near the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, he added. (AP)
Mohammed Dahlan, security adviser to PA President Abbas, said the Gaza pullout would not take place under Palestinian fire. But he said that if the Israeli military did not leave the Salah al-Din (“Philadelphi corridor”) area on the Egypt-Gaza border, then the patrol road there risked turning into a volatile swathe, provoking a new round of terror attacks. Vice Premier Peres responded that leaving the area remained a possibility. “We’re looking for a solution that will give the Palestinians freedom of movement. Otherwise, they will be closed in from all sides,” Mr. Peres said. (AP, Ha’aretz)
The Japanese Government announced it would provide US$30 million in aid to the Palestinian people through UNRWA and the UNDP Trust Fund for the Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People, as part of $60 million in support of the Middle East peace process. (www.mofa.go.jp, UNRWA press release HQ/G/03/2005)
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A 16-year-old Palestinian, Jafar Abud, shot in the head by Israeli troops during stone-throwing clashes in Nablus in November 2004, died of his wounds, according to Palestinian medical sources. (AFP, Xinhua)
An outpost near the “Neve Dekalim” settlement in the southern Gaza Strip and another outpost near the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border came under fire. No one was hurt in the attacks. (Ha’aretz)
The Israeli army said it had discovered two explosive devices near the central route in the Gaza Strip. The army discovered another two devices near the Al-Muntar (Karni) crossing between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip: an anti-tank explosive device and a 70-kg explosive device. (www.idf.il)
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Israeli soldiers posted at the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt shot and wounded two Palestinians. One, 29-year-old Hamed Abbas, was shot in the head and back and was in a critical condition, according to Palestinian hospital officials. The other Palestinian was shot in the hand. An IDF source said troops had opened fire on a group of suspected Palestinian militants in a closed military zone on the Rafah border. “They were suspected to be involved in some form of coordinated weapons smuggling activity … Two were hit and the rest managed to escape,” the source said. (AFP, DPA)
A 16-year-old Palestinian was shot in the back in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip by Israeli troops protecting nearby Israeli settlements, according to Palestinian medical sources. (AFP, International Press Centre)
Israeli troops opened fire at the Tal al-Zurob neighbourhood in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and killed a Palestinian, according to Palestinian medical sources. (International Press Centre, Xinhua)
A Palestinian policeman was killed in Rafah while demolishing a tunnel. (AFP, Ha’aretz)
Palestinian security sources reported that Israeli troops, backed by several tanks and armoured vehicles, stormed a house in the town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, and arrested 20-year-old Mustafa Ayyad. (Xinhua)
Jordan’s new ambassador to Israel, Maarouf al-Bakhit, had arrived in Tel Aviv. An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Egypt had sent Israel its official request for approval of Mohammed Assem as its new ambassador. Egypt and Jordan had withdrawn their ambassadors shortly after the start of the intifada in September 2000. The two countries had announced the return of ambassadors after the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit on 8 February. (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Israel allowed 16 Palestinians it had transferred from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip in late 2003 to return home in a goodwill gesture to PA President Abbas. An Israeli army statement said, “[I]n light of the ongoing cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, the IDF will continue to ease restrictions for the Palestinian population, including the cancellation of assigned residence orders to 16 Palestinians who were involved in terrorist activity against Israeli targets.” (AFP, Ha’aretz, Reuters, Xinhua)
The Israeli Cabinet approved the disengagement plan by 17 to 5 votes. Within hours of the approval, Prime Minister Sharon and Defence Minister Mofaz signed an order for evacuations to begin on 20 July 2005, giving settlers five months’ notice to leave. The Cabinet also approved by 20 votes to 1 an amended route for the construction of the separation barrier. The revised route would be closer to the Green Line than the original plan but would still incorporate some seven per cent of the West Bank land, including the “Ma’aleh Adumim” settlement and the “Gush Etzion” settlement block near Jerusalem. (AFP, AP, Reuters, www.mfa.gov.il)
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Israel released 500 Palestinian prisoners in a goodwill gesture to the Palestinian Authority. Addressing a crowd welcoming the released prisoners, Hamas West Bank leader Hassan Yousef said, “There will be no peace as long as there is a single prisoner in Israeli jails.” (AP)
Ten Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Israeli troops during a demonstration against the separation barrier in the West Bank. Several hundred Palestinian, Israeli and foreign protesters demonstrated against the construction of the barrier in the village of Bilin, west of Ramallah, and Israeli soldiers used tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters. (Ha’aretz)
The Israeli army said it had arrested a 22-year-old Hamas member from Tulkarm, Said Ahras, who had planned and carried out several attacks against Israelis. ( www.idf.il)
The Palestinian Legislative Council postponed the approval of a new cabinet that had been endorsed by Fatah’s Central Committee earlier in the day. Some Council members complained that the proposed cabinet contained few new faces. PA Secretary-General Tayeb Abdelrahim told reporters, “The Fatah coalition will meet this evening and will decide whether they will introduce changes or vote for this formation.” (AFP, AP, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
Settler leader Pinhas Wallerstein said the “Yesha Council of Settlements” was planning to deploy 100,000 demonstrators in the Gaza S Settler leader Pinhas Wallerstein said the “Yesha Council of Settlements” was planning to deploy 100,000 demonstrators in the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank to prevent the implementation of the disengagement plan. (Ha’aretz)
At the conclusion of a meeting with President Katsav, Prime Minister Sharon said, “ Jerusalem will remain united as the eternal capital of the Jewish people. It will not be divided.” (The Jerusalem Post)
The Council of the European Union adopted a statement at the conclusion of the General Affairs and External Relations Council expressing “its profound satisfaction with the outcome of the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit on 8 February 2005.” The statement also said, “The Council undertakes to support the parties in their efforts to continue to work towards progress in the peace process. The goal remains the coexistence of the two States through the creation of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian State living alongside Israel and its other neighbours in peace and security. It reaffirms its attachment to the Road Map. … The role of the Quartet in the success of this process remains central. … The Council continues to support Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and from certain parts of the northern West Bank as an initial stage in this overall process.” (http://ue.eu.int)
US President Bush said in a speech delivered in Brussels on his four-day trip to Europe: “… So Israel must freeze settlement activity, help Palestinians build a thriving economy, and ensure that a new Palestinian State is truly viable, with contiguous territory on the West Bank. A state of scattered territories will not work.” (Reuters, www.whitehouse.gov)
The World Council of Churches recommended to its 347 member churches that they seriously consider divesting from companies that aid Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. (The New York Times, Ha’aretz, www2.wcc-coe.org)
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The Israeli army said Palestinians had opened fire at troops patrolling an army outpost near the “Ganei Tal” settlement in the southern Gaza Strip. No injuries or damages were reported. (www.idf.il)
Israeli Cabinet Secretary-General Yisrael Maimon told Israel Army Radio that Israel would reconsider its decision to demolish homes in settlements in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to be evacuated under the disengagement plan. (Ha’aretz)
At a At a joint press conference with President Bush after their meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said, “The hopes for progress in the Israeli-Palestinian question were discussed, and I think it’s important that, by outreaching into the region, NATO follow this process, although it does not play a primary role.” (www.whitehouse.gov)
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher at his daily briefing reiterated the US policy that the barrier "is a problem to the extent that it prejudges final borders, it confiscates Palestinian property or imposes further hardship on the Palestinian people," and said, "We are looking at the details of the proposed route [of the separation wall]." (www.state.gov)
Israel's police said that they would disarm Israeli militants who threatened violence ahead of the Gaza Strip pullout and would assign nearly all field officers to evacuate settlers and control protests. (AP)
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast briefed the Security Council on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.” (UN press release SC/8318)
A second summit between Prime Minister Sharon and PA President Abbas could take place within a week at Mr. Sharon’s Sycamore Ranch, Raanan Gissin, a Government Spokesman and senior advisor said. He announced that there would be a series of meetings between officials in the next few days to finalize the details of the meeting. (The Financial Times)
The Russian Foreign Ministry's press department in a press release said it was pleased by the recent positive shift in relations between the Palestinians and Israel. “It is important for direct contacts to take the form of stable and constructive interaction and lead to the realization of the Road Map,” the Ministry said. (Interfax)
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Palestinian militants opened fire at an IDF post guarding the “Ganei Tal” settlement in the southern Gaza Strip. No injuries or damages were reported. (www.idf.il)
A Jewish settler ran over two Palestinian children at the northern entrance to the village of Azzun, east of Qalqilya. Palestinian sources said the children, Mohammed Saleh Allam, 13, and Salah Wisam Bakir, 12, were rushed for treatment after the settler hit them with his car and ran away. They said the IDF did not allow them to cross the Green Line for treatment, which forced their families to take them to the Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus, almost an hour away. (Palestinian Information Centre)
In the village of Awarta, south of Nablus, IDF troops opened fire and critically wounded a Palestinian. (WAFA)
Egypt insisted on Israeli withdrawal from the corridor between the Gaza Strip and Egyptian territory before Egyptian troops could move into positions along the border, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters. (Reuters)
Germany’s Chancellor Gerhard Schröder welcomed President George Bush's "strong commitment" to the Middle East peace process, after their meeting in Mainz. "I find that the path being followed by Mr. Bush for the Middle East process is the best for peace,” he said. (AFP)
Vice Premier Shimon Peres told the Knesset that the Government should sell businesses in the settlements in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians, rather than destroy valuable sources of employment and income. (AP)
Jordan’s ambassador to Israel, Maarouf al-Bakhit, said that recognizing the Palestinian refugees' right of return was important. "We differentiate between recognizing the right of return and implementing the right of return," he added. (Xinhua)
Israel’s State Prosecution said, in the first official response to the International Court of Justice ruling on the separation barrier, that the ruling was based on erroneous and outdated information. The State's view was contained in a 170-page document submitted to the High Court of Justice, which had requested the State's response. The prosecution described the “factual infrastructure” on which the ICJ opinion was based as “superficial and wanting”, saying the Court almost totally ignored the terror attacks that made it imperative to set up the fence, the considerations that led to planning its route, and the State's duty to protect its citizens. The document, formulated by attorneys Avi Licht and Osnat Mandel of the Justice Ministry, noted that the ICJ's ruling took the form of an advisory opinion and was not legally binding. Altogether, the response noted, Israel would leave 8 per cent of the West Bank on the "Israeli" side of the fence. The Israeli calculation did not include the East Jerusalem municipal area. (AP, Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post)
The Gaza Strip settlements slated for evacuation under the disengagement plan were in the midst of a construction boom, aerial photos taken on behalf of Peace Now showed. (Ynetnews.com, www.peacenow.org.il)
Israel agreed to remove major roadblocks as part of its withdrawal from five West Bank towns in the coming weeks (Bethlehem, Jericho, Qalqilya, Ramallah and Tulkarm.). “The Israelis will withdraw from the cities and the adjacent areas and they will leave checkpoints, and Palestinian security forces will replace them at these checkpoints," PA President Abbas said. (The Financial Times)
In an interview broadcast from Cairo, Khaled Mashaal, the Damascus-based Hamas leader, told Arab TV station Al-Jazeera that Hamas was committed to an initial period of “calm” with Israel, but it did not represent a truce. He said a truce would be agreed on once Israel accepted Palestinian rights and demands. (AP)
At a press conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Syria might play an important role in supporting PA President Abbas' peace efforts. “Taking into account the fact that there are representatives of Palestinian groups in Damascus, Syria is playing an important part in the support of Abbas' efforts to make progress towards peace, consolidation of all Palestinian groups and the creation of a Palestinian State,” Mr. Lavrov said At a press conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Syria might play an important role in supporting PA President Abbas' peace efforts. “Taking into account the fact that there are representatives of Palestinian groups in Damascus, Syria is playing an important part in the support of Abbas' efforts to make progress towards peace, consolidation of all Palestinian groups and the creation of a Palestinian State,” Mr. Lavrov said, adding that a global settlement of the Middle East conflict could not be achieved without Syria. (Interfax)
During a meeting in Madrid, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Jordan's King Abdullah expressed support for the founding of an independent Palestinian State. The two leaders said they believed that with international support PA President Abbas would be able to complete negotiations with Israel on the founding of a Palestinian State that could coexist peacefully with Israel. Mr. Zapatero said Spain would cooperate with Jordan in supporting Mr. Abbas at the upcoming London international conference on the Middle East peace process scheduled for 1 March. (Xinhua)
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A Palestinian woman was arrested in the settlement of “Har Bracha” in the West Bank after attempting to stab a resident, Israel Army Radio reported. The woman said she was trying to avenge the death of her brother, who was killed in clashes with IDF troops a week earlier. (Ha’aretz)
In a vote of 54 to 10 with four abstentions, the Palestinian Legislative Council approved a 24-member list of a new Palestinian Cabinet. The Cabinet was sworn in at the headquarters of PA President Abbas. (AFP, AP, BBC, Reuters, WAFA)
In an interview with Ha'aretz, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said NATO would consider deploying peacekeeping troops to facilitate the peace process only if an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty was signed, both sides requested a NATO presence, and the UN Security Council endorsed the request. (AP, Ha’aretz, Xinhua)
Israel Radio said Israeli internal security forces, the Shin Bet, had arrested a West Bank Palestinian youth, Salem Buaqna, suspected of being the commander of a cell belonging to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and of carrying out military operations against Israel financed by Hezbollah. It said Mr. Buaqna was accused of planning an attack against a synagogue. In another incident, Israel Radio said two Palestinians fired at an Israeli army position near the settlement of “Neve Dekalim” in southern Gaza, without causing casualties or damages. (AP, UPI)
Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev denounced as “one-sided” and “anti-Israel” the World Council of Churches' recommendation that members consider selling interests in companies that benefited from Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories. “We find it troubling, at a time when the situation in the region is looking up … [when] we and the Palestinians are talking, there's hope that we're moving forward, that Israel in the summer will be pulling out of Gaza and part of the West Bank,” Mr. Regev said. He added it was troubling “that at this time, they have passed a one-sided, anti-Israel resolution”. (AP)
Israel’s Deputy Public Security Minister, Yaakov Edri, told Israel’s Deputy Public Security Minister, Yaakov Edri, told Israel Radio that Israel had stepped up security around Jerusalem shrines, fearing Jewish extremists might attack Muslim worshippers in an effort to stop an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The police had sent dozens of reinforcements to guard the Muslim site of Al-Haram Al-Sharif. “Even the smallest thing at this place, which is holy to Jews and Muslims, could spark a very complicated blaze,” Mr. Edri said. In addition to reinforcing its contingent at the shrine, the police had also installed more electronic monitoring equipment. (Reuters)
Israeli Defence Minister Mofaz ordered Ministry officials to drastically cut the timetable for withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank during the summer in an effort to pre-empt Jewish extremists bent on disrupting the pullout, security officials said. Mr. Mofaz said the planned eight-week evacuation would give the plan’s opponents too much time to disrupt it and recruit reinforcements. The Government originally had planned a 12-week pullout but had shortened it to eight weeks recently. The timetable would be cut to four weeks, according to security officials. A shorter period of time would also fit into Israel’s plans to try to sell settlement structures and assets, such as greenhouses, to international investors, rather than demolish them, sources said. (AP, The Jerusalem Post, Reuters)
Israeli Air Force Commander Eliezer Shkedi said jets, helicopters and drones would patrol the skies of the Gaza Strip after Israel withdrew during the summer, in order to monitor military activity. Major-General Shkedi outlined his vision of a military “umbrella” for the coastal area, with aircraft stopping any cross-border attacks, a deployment resembling that on the Israel-Lebanon border since the IDF withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. He said, “In Lebanon, around 95 per cent of our operations were from the air. I think something like this will happen in the Gaza Strip but I really hope that we won’t have to hit targets [there].” (Ha’aretz, Reuters)
UNRWA issued a press release on donations to its programme in 2004 and its plans for the current year. (UNRWA press release HQ/G/04/2005)
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Israeli troops must withdraw from the Salah al-Din border road (“Philadelphi route”) area in Rafah before Egyptian forces deployed on the border. Mr. Aboul Gheit said talks on the issue and other legal and political arrangements were continuing. He added that Cairo was willing to deploy 750 border police along the border in order to stop the smuggling of weapons from Egypt into the Gaza Strip. Egypt was due to sign an agreement with Israel that would allow Egyptian border guards along the Gaza Strip to carry weapons for the first time since the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries. (Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA))
Construction of several stand-alone segments known as “fingernails” in the separation barrier was to begin that week, according to a senior Israeli Defence Ministry source. The “fingernails”, or free-standing segments of the wall nearly identical in composition and technology to the actual 650-km. wall, were to go up around the settlements of “Karnei Shomron” and “Immanuel” in the heart of the West Bank. The “fingernails” would only be linked up to the existing wall, which broadly paralleled the Green Line, at a later date, according to the source. Meanwhile, in and around Jerusalem, large sections of the barrier were coming together. Mr. Marc Luria, a spokesperson for the Security Fence for Israel lobby group said, “Finally, we see the fence coming together and things are beginning to happen … This, after we put an immense amount of pressure on various ministries and on the Government to finish the fence.” (The Jerusalem Post)
B'Tselem said the new route for the wall approved by the Israeli Cabinet on 20 February did not eliminate the “fingers”, which reached deep into the West Bank to surround “Ariel” and the “Kedumim” settlements near it. It concluded that given the central location of those settlements, constructing the wall around them would have widespread ramifications on the freedom of movement of the Palestinians in the West Bank. (WAFA)
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IDF troops shot and wounded a Palestinian man who attempted to break through the Gaza Strip security fence at the “Sufa” checkpoint before dawn, Israel Radio reported. The man died of his wounds after being evacuated to Soroka Medical Centre in Beer Sheva. Two other Palestinians, who also had attempted to break through the fence, had been detained for questioning. Also, Palestinian militants fired two mortar shells at the settlements of “Neve Dekalim” and “Netzarim” in the Gaza Strip. There were no injuries. In Nablus, IDF troops arrested one Hamas and five Fatah members. Palestinians opened fired at troops, but there were no injuries. (Ha’aretz)
The PA security services recently located and sealed 12 arms-smuggling tunnels along the “Philadelphi route” on the Gaza-Egyptian border, according to security sources. (Ha’aretz)
At a large Hamas rally in the Gaza Strip, a senior member of the organization, Fathi Hammad, said Hamas was set to kidnap Israeli soldiers if Israel failed to release all Palestinian prisoners. (Ynetnews)
Five Israelis were killed and at least 50 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up while queuing outside a nightclub in Tel Aviv. Police Chief David Tsour said the attack took place at the entrance of “The Stage” nightclub, located near the seafront. (AFP, Ha’aretz)
Yediot Ahronot reported that Israel planned to build 6,391 new homes in settlements in the West Bank. The report said the expansion would coincide with Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. A third of the homes would be built in “Ma’aleh Adumim,” according to the report. It also said the Government planned to “legitimize” 120 outposts. Responding to the report, Israeli Defence Minister Mofaz’ office said in a statement he had approved building permits for “a limited number of housing units” in settlement blocks. The Israel Lands Administration (ILA) denied that it was planning a “building boom.” “This is a draft plan that was submitted in 2003, [but] it was never approved,” according to Mr. Adam Avidan, spokesman for the ILA. PA chief negotiator Saeb Erakat said, “We urge personal and direct intervention by President Bush to make sure such a plan will not be implemented.” (BBC, Reuters)
PA President Abbas was considering the use of death sentences in a bid to keep law and order in the Gaza Strip. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, said Mr. Abbas had asked him for an Islamic legal ruling on the death penalty. Sheikh Sabri said, “The issue is that in Gaza there is security chaos. The crime of murder is spreading there.” He said he could issue a religious opinion on the issue “within weeks”. B’Tselem had written a formal letter to Mr. Abbas urging him to abolish the death penalty. The PA last carried out a death sentence in 2002. (BBC, Reuters)
The following is a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the attack in Tel Aviv:
(UN press release SG/SM/9736)
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PA President Abbas summoned his security officials to an emergency meeting at his headquarters, making clear he wanted no stone left unturned in the hunt for those behind in the Tel Aviv attack. “The Palestinian Authority will not keep silent, will pursue whoever was responsible for what has happened and will punish them. Mr. Abbas told his security heads to “bring me results or you will have to resign, as it was in the Gaza Strip (referring to the forced retirement of senior officers in the Gaza Strip after armed men broke into Gaza’s central prison). “I want results, not efforts,” he reportedly said. Mr. Abbas also accused “third parties” of “trying to sabotage the ceasefire and the political process and to harm the national goals of the Palestinian people." (AFP, Ha’aretz)
Palestinian security forces said Israeli troops had arrested the two brothers of Abdullah Badran, 22, whom they identified as the bomber, in the village of Deir Al-Ghusun, near Tulkarm. Palestinian police also arrested five residents of villages north of Tulkarm, including associates of Mr. Badran. Top officials of Hamas, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and Islamic Jihad had earlier denied any involvement in the bombing. A leader of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah had asked it to issue a false claim of responsibility but it had refused. Hezbollah categorically denied it had anything to do with the Tel Aviv bombing. (AFP, Ha’aretz, Reuters)
In a telephone call from Lebanon, an Islamic Jihad leader who identified himself as Abu Tareq claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Abu Tareq said the one-month period of calm agreed on with the PA “has ended.” “Israel has not abided by the calm. This is the main reason that led to this operation. As long as there are violations on the other side (Israel), there will be violations on our part,” he said. Israel Radio reported that in a video cassette released the same day, Islamic Jihad criticized the PA, saying the PA’s fate would be the same as that of the South Lebanon Army (an Israeli-backed militia which fell apart when Israel ended its occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000). However, the Islamic Jihad faction in the Gaza Strip denied any knowledge of the bombing and said it remained committed to maintaining calm. (DPA, Reuters)
The White House urged “immediate and credible” action by Palestinians to find those responsible for the bomb attack in Israel. “The President condemns in the strongest possible terms the vicious act of terrorism in Tel Aviv, Israel, last night. The President extends his deepest condolences, and those of the American people, to the victims, their families and the people of Israel,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in a press statement. “We have been in touch with the Palestinian leadership, to urge immediate and credible action by Palestinian security authorities, in cooperation with the Government of Israel, to determine who is behind this terrorist act and to bring them to justice.” (AFP)
The EU Presidency issued a statement condemning unreservedly the suicide attack which had caused the death of at least four persons and numerous wounded. It said the attack aimed to “undermine the bases laid out by the Summit at Sharm el-Sheikh for a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict …” It also said a “determined fight against terrorism is crucial for the search for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.” (www.eu2005.lu)
EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Solana warned that the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv could undermine the Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire agreed at Sharm el-Sheikh earlier in the month. He called on the PA to arrest and try those responsible for the attack. He said such bombings “are destined to sabotage the hope generated at the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting on February 8 and the positive and concrete steps taken by the Israelis and Palestinians with a view to re-establishing confidence between the two parties.” He added, “I urge the Palestinian Authority to arrest and judge those responsible for this attack and to unconditionally cooperate with Israel to assure security.” (AFP)
Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit condemned the Tel Aviv bombing and hailed the tough response of the Palestinian leadership. “Actions like this complicate the situation and provide extremist elements with an opportunity to undermine efforts to maintain calm and break the current deadlock in the peace process,” he said. He hailed the “rapid efforts made by the Palestinian Authority to track down those who ordered the attack and to control the security situation.” He called on both Israel and the Palestinians to exercise “restraint and to refrain from any steps that might stoke tension.” (AFP)
Japan’s Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima said in a statement, “The Government of Japan firmly condemns the suicide bombing. Terrorism cannot be justified for any reason.” He said the attack “constitutes a serious challenge” to efforts to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. “The Government of Japan requests the Palestinian Authority to make its utmost efforts to control extremists according to the Road Map so that this terrorist incident will not ruin the achievements of peace efforts,” he said. (AFP)
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Prime Minister Sharon said Israel would freeze peace efforts unless the Palestinians dismantled Palestinian extremist groups. After a Cabinet meeting, the Government announced that it would discontinue talks on the release of Palestinian prisoners in reaction to the Tel Aviv bombing. It was also decided to suspend a plan to turn control of five West Bank towns over to the Palestinians and free 400 more prisoners. Deputy Defence Minister Ze’ev Boim said Israel would resume targeted killings of wanted Palestinians if the PA failed to crack down on terrorists. (DPA, Ha’aretz)
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The Israeli army said Palestinians had fired at Israeli troops near an army post guarding the “Neve Dakalim” settlement in the southern Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported. The army also said it had arrested three Hamas members in Ramallah. (www.idf.il)
Palestinian gunmen fired at a security vehicle patrolling the West Bank settlement of “Menora,” west of Ramallah, injuring two guards in the car. One of the victims suffered moderate wounds, while the other sustained light wounds. (Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post, Reuters)
The Israeli army discovered a vehicle rigged with 500 kg of explosives in the area between Jenin and Tulkarm. The army said it was the largest explosive device used by Palestinian militants in four years. The vehicle was destroyed in a controlled explosion. (AP, BBC, Ha’aretz)
PA President Abbas said the Palestinians were ready to “reach a true and lasting peace” with Israel. In an interview with the Independent, a British newspaper, Mr. Abbas blamed an unnamed party for sabotaging peace efforts. “We believe peace is possible now and we are ready to negotiate with Israel to reach a true and lasting peace based on justice and international legitimacy.” He confirmed that Israel had shared information with the PA in the hunt for the organizers of the Tel Aviv attack. (Ha’aretz)
PA Chief Negotiator Saeb Erakat warned Israel against resuming military operations targeting Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Speaking to the Voice of Palestine radio, he said the entire peace process would collapse “if Israel really resumes assassinations against Palestinians … ” Instead of issuing threats, Mr. Erakat said, “Israel should withdraw from the Palestinian territories to enable the Palestinian security forces to do their job fully and without any disturbances.” (DPA)
The IDF recently began to distribute “resident” stickers to settlers in the West Bank to be affixed to their car windshields. The stickers would allow settlers to drive quickly through army checkpoints along the Green Line. It had been reported that the suicide bomber was driven to the site of the attack in Tel Aviv by an Arab Israeli driver. The army came up with the sticker idea in order to avoid legal problems it expected if it tried to mark cars driven by Israeli Arabs for further inspection. The army had begun to distribute the stickers a month earlier, on an experimental basis, to security coordinators of settlements in the Qalqilya-Tulkarm area. (Ha’aretz)
Israel was setting up a special unit to investigate those who call for violent resistance to the planned pullout from the Gaza Strip later that year. The Justice Ministry’s unit would be in charge of combating extremists who aim to derail the government’s plan. Unit leader Shai Nitzan pledged “zero tolerance” for crimes of violence. The Israeli Cabinet approved the proposal . (BBC)
Israel could leave buildings in settlements intact after a Gaza Strip withdrawal, rather than demolishing them, as initially planned, according to senior Israeli officials. Demolition would force Israeli troops to spend more time in the Gaza Strip, exposing them to possible attack by Palestinian militants for a longer period, and would drive up the price of withdrawal by about US$18.4 million, according to Giora Eiland, head of Israel’s National Security Council. PA Chief Negotiator Erakat said he expected Israel and the Palestinians to discuss the issue, one of many to be resolved ahead of the withdrawal that was set for summer. (AFP, AP)
The US Administration pressed wealthy Arab nations to dig deeper to help the new Palestinian Government succeed, and to follow through on past financial pledges that had gone unmet. Arab States, including Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, owed millions in pledges to support the PA, and other Middle Eastern nations with fewer resources were also in arrears. Saudi Arabia had fully met its pledges. The US Administration maintained that Arab financial help and political support was crucial to solidify PA President Abbas’ control and increase the chances of peace. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would make a direct request for greater Arab participation in the conference scheduled in London on 1 March. (AP)
Palestinian leaders decided to postpone until 15 March a planned meeting in Egypt with other Palestinian factions to discuss a ceasefire. (Ha’aretz)
In a statement , the Security Council condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the suicide attack in Tel Aviv on 25 February that killed five Israelis. (UN press release SC/8325)
UNRWA issued a press release in which it presented a Medium Term Plan, or “blueprint for a better future for four million Palestine refugees to the international donor community in Geneva.” The Agency requested an additional US$1.1 billion over the next five years to allow it to improve the life chances of the refugees and enhance their ability to support themselves. Peter Hansen, UNRWA Commissioner-General said, “This is not a prescriptive plan, it is an outline meant to accommodate changing realities and needs on the ground. It is a testimony to the commitment of UNRWA and its donor partners to help the Palestine refugees live in dignity and achieve their ambitions for self-reliance and development.” (UNRWA press release HQ/G/05/2005)
In a press release , UNRWA announced a donation of US$20 million from Saudi Arabia’s Fund for Development in response to the Agency’s Emergency Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The contribution would fund a major re-housing project in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. (UNRWA press release HQ/G/06/2005)
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Document Type: Chronology, Publication
Document Sources: Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR)
Subject: Palestine question
Publication Date: 28/02/2005