Strike in Jerusalem: talks lead nowhere
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 3/3/1998

The total general strike in East Jerusalem sent a clear message that the battle over the Holy City is still going on, said Palestinian Legislative Council member Ziyad Abu Zayyad.

He was referring to the commercial strike that left shops and schools shut in the city in protest against a tour that West Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert planned to hold in the city along with a number of foreign mayors currently on visit to Israel. The mayors were invited to attend a conference marking what Israel calls the Jerusalem 3000 festival.

Abu Zayyad called on all mayors who arrived in West Jerusalem to abide by a decision taken by the European Community back in 1995 in which it called for the preservation of East Jerusalem's status as an occupied city, destiny of which is yet to be decided in the final status talks between the Palestinian government and Israel. "We have to explain to those mayors the political impact of their trip in Jerusalem and if they do not understand how serious this move is, we should talk to their respective governments," said Abu Zayyad who added that Israel's objective of the conference is to impose accomplished facts on the Palestinians and to change the demographic and political identity of Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Palestinian official sources rejected an Israeli offer to accept a Palestinian state over no more than 40 percent of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in return for the cancellation of the Oslo Accords. Israel, said a senior Palestinian official, should understand that we do not accept any alternative to the implementation of the interim agreements. "Any offer that falls short of the three phase redeployment of the Israeli troops in the West Bank before the start of the final status is not acceptable to the Palestinians," the source said.

Dr. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, admitted Tuesday that all meetings held with the Israelis over the past few weeks have led to nothing. "These meetings cannot go on forever and Israel should not be allowed to torpedo every attempt to reach a peaceful settlement in the region," said Erekat who said his meeting with Israeli cabinet secretary Dany Naveh on Tuesday had just reviewed the meetings of various negotiating committees but did not reach any conclusions.

Erekat said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is playing with time and has lost all credibility as a head of state. "All you need to do is listen to what his cabinet ministers say about him and what his party members believe about him to find out how untrustworthy he is," said Erekat.

He blamed Netanyahu for creating the continuous tension with the Palestinian government by means of "constant provocative measures such as uprooting olive trees, taking over Arab land for settlement purposes and trying to change the demographic balance of the city of Jerusalem."

Previous Stories:
  Airport talks still stuck   (2/27/1998)
  Palestinians in Jerusalem denied identity cards   (2/27/1998)
  Arafat to Netanyahu: Stop evading Oslo agreement   (2/25/1998)

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