Confrontations continue between Israel, the Palestinians
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 2/1/2001

Activities of the Palestinian Intifada continued on Wednesday. Arab youths detonated two explosives in an Israeli patrol in southern Gaza.

But Israeli sources said that the explosions resulted in no casualties.

In a statement the organization of the Palestinian resistance forces claimed responsibility for the two explosions and stressed they resulted in damaging one Israeli tank.

The organization stressed that its operations aim at challenging the Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people and that such operations will not stop before liberating the land from the Israeli occupation.

In " Natsareim " the Palestinian Ahmad al-Tilbani ( 50 year old) was killed by the Israeli bullet when the Israeli soldiers opened fire against him while he was driving his car.

In Ramullah strong confrontations took place between the Arab and the settlers who are protected by the Israeli forces. The confrontation resulted in wounding one Israeli settlers.

The Israeli forces closed all roads leading to Salwan village, Ramullah and broke into al-Khudr village, Bethlehem and arrested two youngmen there at the charges of attacking Israeli patrols.

Palestinian medical sources said the Israeli army opened fire against a Palestinian farmer while working in his land at al-Shuhadaa crossroad, to the south of Gaza near Natsareim settlement.

An official Palestinian source said the Israeli army closed on Wednesday morning Rafah border crossing with Egypt and the airspace of Gaza international airport and considered it as a sealed military zone for more than 6 hours and then re-opened it under the pretext that there is " a suspected body " near the crossing Worthy mentioning that before the recent bulldozing acts, human rights organizations estimated the areas leveled by Israel since the beginning of the Intifada on September 28, 2000 at 6300 dunnums besides demolishing more 90 houses in Gaza.

The Palestinian ministry of agriculture has estimated the agricultural losses at more than US $ 150 million during the four past months.

On the other hand, the Israeli daily Maareve said that an agreement was reached at Taba's negotiations stated to delay discussions conditions of the holy sites for five years and according to this agreement, Israel accepts to return back some of the Palestinian refugees to the state of Palestine in case it is established. The agreement also stated keeping the control of the Palestinian army on certain areas in the West bank and Gaza.

The Israeli paper quoted an Israeli official as saying that the Palestinian authorities had given up the right of return and accepted only part of this very right to be practiced within the framework of a palestinian independent state and in territories that Israel will give to the palestinian authority in al-Negev desert for territories Israel will annex in the West bank.

Meantime, the Israeli foreign minister Shloumo bin Ami said that Taba's negotiations were the last phase of a structural settlement reached between Israel and the Palestinian Authority PA and that the next Israeli government should deal with this situation.

Jlaad Sheir, the chairman of Barak's office said that that Israeli's firm position towards refusing the return back of the refugees made the PA accepting a middle solution to this issue. Sheir noted that the idea of the return of certain refugees to a city to be built in al-Negev was one of the ideas debated during the negotiations.

Meantime, the Palestinian official in charge of the media in the PA Yasser Abd Rabbu denied news on the PA acceptance of what the Israeli sources had indicated. He said that " the Palestinians are not ready to resume negotiations only from the point they broke off in Taba."

Previous Stories:
  Palestinian Intifada escalated   (1/31/2001)
  Annan mediates for a meeting between Arafat and Barak   (1/31/2001)
  Barak is expected to meet Arafat in Cairo very soon   (1/31/2001)

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