PNA to Israel: Fight Jewish Terror
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 9/22/1997

The Palestinian National Authority decided to launch a new media counter-offensive against Israel with the distribution of a document outlining demands the Palestinians have put forward from Israel in the field of combatting Israeli terror against Palestinians. The document, drafted by senior Palestinian officials, including Dr. Ahmad Tibi, special advisor on Israeli affairs to PNA President Yasser Arafat, calls on Israel to take serious action against Jewish terror groups and Jewish terrorists who never ceased their provocation and attacks against the Palestinians.

The document, titled: ³Israel -- terror and incitement, organizations and individuals,² was prepared to be submitted with the resumption of talks on Monday between the PNA and Israel in Washington. It calls on Israel to immediately and entirely stop all activities of the Israeli army undercover units, better known to the Palestinians as death squads whose members, disguised as Arabs, were responsible for murder of a number of Palestinian activists not only in the days of the uprising against the Israeli occupation but also after the PNA was proclaimed in 1994.

It also called for the immeidate cessation of all meetings between Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and extremist settler groups, including Pinhas Valerstine, head of the Jewish settlements council in the West Bank and Gaza Strip whom the document refers to as the "murderer" in light of his role in killing a Palestinian shepherd during the intifada (uprising). Velerstine was found guilty of causing death through negligence when he shot the shepherd a few years ago.

The document calls on the Israeli government to stop all signs and moves of identification with Baruch Goldstein, the lone Jewish extremist settler who in 1994 opened fire indiscriminately at Muslim worshippers inside the Ibrahim Mosque in Hebron, killing 27 and injuring dozens of others. He was killed during that attack and since then his grave near the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba in Hebron has become a site for pilgrimage where extreme right wing activists pay tribute to him. The Palestinian document demanded of Israel to cease all sorts of identification with Goldstein, otherwise his actions are liable to be repeated by some of his fans.

The rest of the document of demands the Isreali government address activities of the Jewish settlers in the occupied territories and calls for disarming them and demands the closure of their radio station (Channel Seven) which broadcasts from its pirate station in the Mediterranean, the arrest of their extreme rabbis, the cessation of all inciteful declarations by Israeli ministers against the Palestinian people, and the removal of Tzahi Hanegbi from the Justice Ministry.

In return for Israeli allegations that the PNA adopts a "revolving door policy" with Hamas detainees, who enter the prison from one end and are allegedly released from the other one, the Palestinian document used the same term ³revolving door policy² of Israel toward right-wing detainees giving examples of right wing activists who had been released either by Israeli courts or by the government itself. With regard to settlers and other extreme right wing activists who had been acquitted by Israeli courts of "crimes they committed against the Palestinians" the document calls for their retrial.

The Israeli list of demands, to which the Palestinian document was prepared called for full unconditional security cooperation between the PNA and Israel, deterrence and punishment of "terrorists," removal of "terrorists" from the Palestinian police force, fulfilling security obligations in Hebron, confiscation of illegal weapons, ceasing incitement to violence, limiting the amount of weapons in Palestinian police force, limiting the number of Palestinian police to the agreed upon number, extradition of suspects of "terrorist activities" and dismantling the "terror infrastructure."

Meanwhile, at least 50 Palestinians were arrested in a massive manhunt in the Nablus area in villages located in area B, which is under Isael's security control. The campaign was carried out as an Israeli attempts to locate those responsible for the last two bombing attacks in West Jerusalem in July and September. Israeli Prime Minsiter Benyamin Netanyahu had said in Austria that he was 100 percent sure that the perpetrators of the two suicide attacks had come from the West Bank and not from abroad, as the PNA had earlier maintained. But Netanyahu failed to say whether those had come from areas still under Israeli security responsiblity or under that of the PNA.

The arrest campaign, mainly in areas still under Israeli control, had strengthened Palestinian arguments that the PNA had nothing to do with the two suicide bombings in West Jerusalem since the perpetrators have not come from within areas under its control.

A senior Palestinian security source said there was no coordination on security between the PNA and Israel during the massive manhunt and noted that the campaign took place in Area B, which is under Israeli security control, near the city of Nablus.

Previous Stories:
  Ras Al Amoud showdown: the other side of the conflict   (9/19/1997)
  Palestinians file complaint against Israel with ITO   (9/13/1997)
  PNA ready for final status talks but wants Israel to pull out first   (9/11/1997)

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