Palestine worried over continued unrest, European initiative in making
Palestine-Israel, Local, 3/12/1998

The deteriorating situation in Palestinian areas with continued demonstrations shows that a real countdown has started and something must be done to help stop the whole region from being swept by an avalanche of violence, said a western diplomat in Jerusalem Thursday. He expressed hopes that the present wave of demonstrations and clashes that spread through a number of West Bank cities in reaction to the killings in the Hebron area last Tuesday will come to an end soon "so that reason and logic prevail in this part of the world."

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the European Community is trying to work out a number of ideas to push the peace process forward and said those ideas will be brought to the attention of both Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within the coming fortnight during visits to the region by the British foreign secretary and the Austrian Chancellor.

No details were officially announced on what the European initiative will include but, according to the diplomat who serves in East Jerusalem, it will call for "a considerable scope" of Israeli troop redeployment in the West Bank and for the revival of tight security cooperation between the Palestine and Israel, based on the joint security protocol signed between the two sides several months ago but not yet ratified by Netanyahu.

Asked what a considerable scope in European terms means, he said that Israel should pull out of at least 15 percent of the area C, which is today under its full security and civil control, and from a similar percentage in area B, which is currently under Israeli security control. "Without this kind of a redeployment, it will remain almost impossible to move a single step forward."

"We understand the PNA is in a difficult position, but we also appreciate the fact that President Arafat, despite the Hebron shooting, expressed his willingness to continue the peace talks with Israel," he said. The diplomat, whose country maintains close ties with both the Palestine and Israel, said he believes pressure should be exerted on Israel but the European countries cannot deviate from the US strategy in the region and therefore, "officially speaking, we think pressure might end up being counterproductive."

The conversation took place while the radio in the background was airing updates on demonstrations and clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli troops in Hebron and elsewhere. "I am worried because, this time, it is not Hamas that took up the leading role in organizing this wave of protest but Arafat's own Fatah movement," he said.

Leaflets by Fatah had called for a general strike in the Hebron district to protest the shooting and it was Fatah that organized last month a campaign of demonstrations in support for Iraq during its latest showdown with the US Administration. Fatah, the diplomat said, has always been considered the closest base for Arafat's pragmatic approach to a peaceful settlement "but today it seems the movement does not act with full harmony with the PNA."

Fatah activists feel somehow disappointed by the fact that nothing is moving and that time is eating up public support for the Palestinian government. For them, the dream of Palestinian independence and statehood is being shoved back at the hands of the present Israeli government. Their criticism of certain Palestinian policies, therefore, bears heavier importance than any criticism voiced by other opposition groups, whether those traditionally on the left like the Marxist fronts of George Habash or Nayef Hawatmeh or the Islamic groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The Palestinian government is reportedly unhappy with the freedom of action assumed by the grass-roots leaders of the Fatah, who are organizing demonstrations and confrontations amid fears that other cities in the West Bank will join the Hebron mini-intifada.

The threat of a total collapse of the peace process is hovering over the whole region. And if large-scale clashes erupt between the Palestinians and Israeli troops, they may not be easy to contain. In September 1996 after Israel opened the tunnel underneath the Al Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, Palestinian police did their best to prevent further escalation, though many of them were involved in shooting at Israeli soldiers. If a similar scenario occurs, warned one observer, it will be very difficult for those policemen to control the angry crowds. "They might even join forces and become engaged in open cross fire with the Israeli troops," the observer said. He noted that recent warnings aired by the Palestinians that a new wave of uprising with fire weapons might become inevitable is based on the assumption that the Palestinian security forces will no longer remain neutral and might be dragged into the fighting.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with visiting prime minister of Albania, Fato Nano, President Arafat told reporters in Gaza that peace talks with Israel will continue despite the shooting in Hebron. Other officials in the Palestinian government said they are making every effort to prevent an overall burst of violence with the Israeli soldiers.

As Jewish settlers in the heart of Hebron paraded through their enclave to celebrate Purim, Jewish carnival, Palestinian police on the surrounding points tried to prevent Palestinian youths from throwing stones at those settlers. Israeli army officers, including the commander of the Hebron battalion, praised the role of the Palestinian police and told Israel radio that quiet is expected to return to the area in a few days. He stressed that all skirmishes that took place with his soldiers were isolated incidents and that there is no way to consider the present unrest in Hebron as indicating wider problems.

Contrary to fears in Israel, the killing of the three workers at the Tarkumya checkpoint did not lead to upheaval all over the West Bank or Gaza Strip. Hebron was nearly the only arena of conflict although there were three or four other focuses of action. The Palestinian government is worried that an escalation might lead to losing control of the people, giving a chance to Hamas and other groups to gain strength. Secondly, an escalation today might torpedo European moves to come forward with a new initiative to push the peace process forward.

Israeli military sources said that although the Palestinian government is making a major effort to keep things under control, the Israeli army has decided to continue reinforcement of its troops in "troublesome" areas such as Hebron and Nablus. The main fear is that violent demonstrations might break out after today's Friday prayers in those cities and in others.

The joint patrols of Palestinian and Israeli soldiers were ceased in Nablus and Jewish visitors to Joseph's Tomb in the city were barred entry until further notice. In the September 1996 clashes, Israeli soldiers were trapped inside the tomb and lost a fierce battle against Palestinian gunmen, mostly civilians. Since then, the Israelis have been taking very careful measures not to be trapped again in this site, which they say is holy for Jews, yet falls within a heavily populated area in Nablus city.

Previous Stories:
  Hebron killings beget violence in PNA areas   (3/11/1998)
  Women from Jerusalem and Gaza demonstrate   (3/10/1998)
  Arafat blames Netanyahu, bans pro-Iraq demos   (2/12/1998)

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