Ras Al Amoud compromise rejected, showdown goes on
Palestine, Politics, 9/17/1997

Editor's Note: Please read the linked reference at the bottom of the page if you are unfamiliar with this ongoing development.

The Palestinian self restraint, reflected since Isreali settlers took over houses in the Ras Al Amoud neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, seemed to have diminished as signs increased that the settlers have entered the houses to stay there. With the impotence shown by the Israeli government with regard to possible eviction by force of the settlers, dozens of Palestinians took to the streets surroundings the siezed houses and pelted Israeli troops with stones. Palestinian official sources said the march was not meant to become violent but some of the demonstrators "were provoked by the Israeli police." Six demonstrators were arrested, Israeli police reported.

Faisal Husseini, the PNA cabinet member in charge of the Jerusalem portfolio, said the PNA would not accept the compromise that was reported earlier in the day by which settlers were to leave the houses and be replaced by some ten students of Jewish religious schools, yeshivas, who would be taking care of the houses until further notice. "The only solution we see to end this crisis is to get all the settlers and every Jewish presence in those houses out. The Arab families should be allowed back to their homes," said Husseini.

He reiterated demands he aired a day earlier when he said the Israeli government should address the crisis in Ras Al Amoud in a political way and should not handle it from the legal perstpective. "Even if we assume that those houses were legally purchased by Jews, I do not see any reason why the houses should be taken over. If so, what about our own property in West Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in Israel," he asked. Husseini spoke shortly before he headed to Gaza to brief PNA President Yasser Arafat on the situation. Also Dr Ahmed Tibi, Arafat¹s advisor on Israeli affairs, said the only solution for the complicated situation that has evolved in Ras Al Amoud is the immediate and complete eviction of all the settlers. He said that the talk about having guards remain on the site or Jewish renovators is a trick that will be accepted neither by the Palestinians nor by the international community.


But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not seem to be ready to take such a step. Political sources said Netanyahu is worried over the outcome of video pictures showing Israeli police pulling by force Jewish settlers and forcing them out of the houses. Those pictures, the sources said, would certainly be used in any upcoming general election campaign in Israel by whoever is competing for the premiership, including Ehud Olmert, the West Jerusalem mayor who strongly supports the Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

Previous Stories:
  Palestinian officials condemn Ras Al Amoud compromise   (9/17/1997)

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