Ras Al Amoud: Settlers still in. talk of militant confrontation growing
Palestine, Local, 9/16/1997

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to take a decision on whether to leave the Jewish settlers in the houses they took over in the Ras Al Amoud neighbourhood in Jeruslem or to evict them. But his media advisor, Shai Bazak, has apparently succeeded in moving one lone settler out of the house: his mother. Eshter Baza had left her house in the Gush Katif settlement compound in the Gaza Strip and came to settle in Jerusalem. Hours after she arrived in the newly-seized houses, her son Shai called and convinced her to leave.

But apart from this side story, the Israeli settlers' takeover of the two Arab houses in East Jerusalem contiues to fuel a new explosion that might be very similar to last September's clashes between Palestinians and Israelis, in which more than 80 Palestinians and at least 16 Israeli soldiers were killed, and hundreds of Palestinians were wounded.

By Tuesday night, there was no decision taken and Israeli Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstien and state attorney Edna Arbel visited the new settlement and conferred with the settlers. They were said to be looking for a compromise that would bring to an end the fiasco of the takeover, which is sincerely seen in Israel as the straw that might break the camel's back.

It is against this background that Palestinian warnings have continued to be aired amid a self restraint that the Palestinian National Authority has chosen in the hope of leaving the options open for political measures that would send these settlers out of the Arab houses. Palestinian sources said if the settlers aren¹t evacuated soon, there will be no choice but to call upon the public to respond with protests. A senior Palestinian official said the US pointed out to them that Israel is opposed to the takeover of the houses in Ras Al Amoud and that the problem will be solved.

PNA spokesmen expressed fear yesterday that Palestinian anger and frustration over the settlement in Ras Al Amoud would likely turn into a sea of violence that will flood the whole of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. PNA President Yasser Arafat held special consultations after his return from Cairo and later said that the settlement is an "open infringement of the agreements we signed with the Israelis. I call upon the government of Israel to stand by its promises and evacuate the settlers immediately. This thing is likely to cause grave damage to the peace process.²

Faisal Husseini, the PNA cabinet member in charge of the Jerusalem portfolio who has been visiting the site every day since the settlers broke into the Arab houses, reiterated his calls on the Israeli government "to act wisely and evacuate the settlers. The purchase of the house in Ras Al Amoud is not a legal or political issue. Now the situation is so bad, so sensitive and we must check all the agreements.² Fatah's secretary-general in the West Bank, Marwan Barghouti, said there has been an Israeli decision made to bury the peace process. "I think the public still doesn¹t understand what happened.²

The Isreali Prime Minister¹s office said it would continue to hold consultations in an effort to find a solution to the situation at Ras Al Amoud. Those consultations include ministerial-level talks that were slated for late at night to see what can be done. Key members of the government, including Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordachai, had distanced themselves from the move. Mordachai said he totally oppose the takeover by the settlers and said it was counterproductive to Israel's interests and security.

Diplomatic sources said that Netanyahu hopes that by means of a political compromise with the settlers, they will leave on their own and that he will not have to evict them by force. Though such a move has not been contemplated by the prime minsiter's office, a decision to this effect will bring the Israeli government in a face-to-face showdown with the Jewish settlers and their backers from within the government.

Members of leading right wing coalition parties said they can never support a government that takes a decision to evict settlers by force from Jerusalem. The threats had apparently made life more difficult for Netanyahu, who does not seem keen on keeping this case open. Sources close to Netanyahu said that he viewed the takeover as a new weapon the PNA will try to use against his government and that it would be an appropriate tool to provoke the whole Palestinian community to revolt against Israel. Besides, there is a growing sentiment within the Israeli government that the settlement will cause political and security damage to Israel. The most outspoken minister to this effect was Foreign Minister David Levy.

Other sources in Israel suggested that the Arab countries might try to intitiate a condemnation by the UN of the latest Israeli measures and noted that with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's announcement in her latest trip to the region that unilateral steps are deterimental to the peace process and harm the mutual trust between the two sides, the US might abstain in the upcoming vote at the UN, and thus relations between Israel and the US might suffer a setback.

Secretary Albright had said the crisis of confidence between the Palestinians and Israel is deeper than she anticipated and she will return to the Middle East only if the situation changes. In her opinion, the settlement of Jews in the house in Ras Al Amoud is not a helpful step. The US Congress too issued a condemnation of the settlement.

Meanwhile, Israeli army analysts noted that relations between the PNA and Israel have reached the stage of a serious crisis, which could lead to destructive results in terms of the future of the peace process and the region. A single new event, in this military view, could possibly lead to a violent conflagration. In the current situation, Israeli military sources said, the probability of a drift toward violence in the Palestinian territories has risen mainly because of the mounting crisis of confidence and clear conflict of interests between the PNA and Israel. The scenario being anticipated by Israeli army officers applies to conflict which takes on the character of guerrilla warfare, in which Palestinians would fight Israeli troops with all the means at their disposal.

Previous Stories:
  Jerusalem: Jewish extremists put the last nail in the peace coffin   (9/15/1997)
  US millionaire in East Jerusalem means confrontation   (7/29/1997)

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