Uncertainty about next step as Ross leaves
Palestine-Israel-USA, Politics, 3/30/1998

US special envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross said he would not judge his current mission in the region before his Monday night meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But informed sources In Ramallah noted that the current mission seems to have failed, leaving room for a more influential intervention by US President Bill Clinton himself. The sources noted that it is not clear yet whether Netanyahu failed to respond positively to the US ideas because he simply disagrees with them or because of strong opposition within his government.

At least nine ministers in the Israeli Cabinet have voiced their opposition to any Israeli troop redeployment in the West Bank that covers more than nine percent of the territories. The minister of national infrastructure, Ariel Sharon, meanwhile, is even opposed to handing over to the Palestinians more than six percent of the territories. Sharon believes that any larger scope of redeployment is detrimental to Israel's security. He reportedly presented his arguments to the US envoy during their Sunday meeting.

Some of the ministers have criticized Netanyahu for failing to present them with details on his meetings with Ross. One of the ministers was quoted as saying that every attempt by the prime minister not to present the real picture would cause him serious problems later on. Other ministers predict that Netanyahu will meet strong opposition in his Cabinet when he brings the details of the agreement with the Palestinians before them.

The Palestinian government, in the meantime, has avoided any direct response to the US ideas, and Palestinian officials said they have no reason to comment as long as Washington does not officially present the initiative. Palestinian Cabinet secretary Ahmad Abdul Rahman told the Voice of Palestine on Monday that the US Administration has failed to present the Palestinian government with a crystal-clear commitment to bring Israel into implementing the interim agreements. He said the Palestinian government would only respond to US ideas once they are presented in the official initiative format.

At the end of his meeting with President Yasser Arafat, Ross said that he would return to Washington and report in detail to President Clinton and Secretary of State Albright. He avoided giving answers to the specific issues raised with the Palestinian leader. Palestinian sources, however, said there were still questions left open and that much of Ross' success depends on the outcome of his Monday night meeting with Netanyahu.

At the Sunday cabinet session, Netanyahu denied that he had discussed the extent of the second redeployment with Dennis Ross. Israel, he said, reserves the right to determine the scope of the redeployment according to its security needs. Both Palestinian and Israeli sources, however, spoke of a new proposal that Ross has raised with the hope of getting through the question of the second phase redeployment. The proposal calls for a compromise by which Israel would pull its troops out of 11 percent of the West Bank territories plus two percent that was supposed to have been vacated by the Israeli troops in the first phase redeployment. Other points of the compromise as reported by Maariv Hebrew daily on Monday are as follows:

1. The third phase redeployment: A committee will be formed to "examine the implementation of the third redeployment."

2. Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank: Netanyahu proposes to restrict, de facto, construction in parts of the West Bank without saying anything regarding building on large tracts of land in the territories with particular reference to the Jerusalem area. This formula allows Israel to build the new settlement of Har Homa on Jabal Abu Ghaneim without this being interpreted as a violation of the agreement.

But even if a compromise on these issues is reached, Ross still has another set of issues to tackle before he can claim a victory in his mission, Palestinian sources said. They added that great differences still exist between the Palestinian government and Israel with regard to the formation of the committee that examines the implementation of the third phase redeployment. Israel, they said, insists that the committee comprises only of Palestinian and Israeli officials while the Palestinian government and the US administration insist that American representatives should be added to the committee.

A similar dispute between the two sides involves the identity of the arbiter in security matters. Israel wants to retain the authority to judge the Palestinian government's commitment to security agreements and is not eager to accept the US administration as a party that would be able to say whether the Palestinians are fulfilling their part in the security protocols.

Other issues of dispute include the status of the security protocol that was signed by Palestinian and Israeli officers with US participation but was later annulled by Netanyahu and the issue of Palestinian prisoners. The Palestinian government demands that Israel release hundreds of Palestinian inmates held in Israeli jails while Israel is demanding that the Palestinian government amend the remaining clauses of the National Charter and extradite Palestinians wanted by Israel for alleged security offenses.

Despite the lack of progress, Jewish settlers in the West Bank seem to be worried about a possible compromise. For the first time since the Likud took office less than two years ago, the Settlers' Council and other right-wing movements decided to take to the streets and demonstrate against the government. On Wednesday, dozens of right-wing activists will demonstrate at some 40 intersections throughout Israel to protest the government's plan to hand over land to Palestine.

"This is our first public act in a series of scheduled activities which have been initiated in light of the current state of crisis. According to all the indications, Netanyahu intends to hand over lands to the Palestinians and we cannot ignore this," said Aharon Domb, the director-general of the council.

Prior to the signing of the Oslo Accords, the Settlers' Council and other groups initiated joint demonstrations with the participation of thousands of right wing Israelis.

Previous Stories:
  Ross told: Significant withdrawal is expected, Israeli attitude poll   (3/27/1998)
  Ross delayed, Israeli initiative to bypass U.S. pressure   (3/26/1998)
  Ross arrives with no initiative as right wing threatens walkout   (3/25/1998)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search