Palestinians warn: we won't implement Wye unilaterally
Palestine, Politics, 12/16/1998

It is expected that an announced within hours by Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu, who is, his aides hinted, expected to call for early elections.

Netanyahu's position is getting very difficult. He lost his finance minister Yaacov Ne'man who was the most loyal to him. Ne'man, Hebrew for loyal, sent his resignation to Netanyahu from his ski resort in Switzerland. He wanted to resign more than a week ago but Netanyahu asked him to wait until after President Clinton's visit. After Ne'man, or perhaps even before him, Netanyahu lost his defense minister who himself is very much worried about his future career and is looking for ways to jump out of the sinking ship of Netanyahu.

Mordechai is due to hold a press conference on Thursday to announce his support for early elections. Netanyahu's decision to attend a meeting for the Likud faction in Tel Aviv and time it with the main TV news bulleting at 2000 hrs. local time was an indication that Netanyahu wanted to preempt his ministers, coalition partners and even the opposition. You will never enjoy the pleasure of toppling my government, I will call for early elections, is the message that Netanyahu wants every Israeli politician to understand, said one insider.

The Palestine National Authority warned that it would not implement any further the Wye Accords if the Israeli government does honor its part of the agreement. Palestinian officials condemned statements made by Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu in which he said that his government does not intend to carry out the second part of its troop withdrawal from the West Bank, scheduled for this Friday.

PNA state minister Hassan Asfour denounced the Israeli decision to delay the withdrawal from the West Bank and said that Israel should understand that the implementation of agreements can never be a duty of one party alone but that both sides to any agreement are bound to respect it. Asfour, a member of the Palestinian negotiating team, said that the PNA would continue contacts with a number of countries and with the US in order to move the peace process forward through pressuring Israel to honor its part of the commitments.

PLO Executive Committee member Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, voiced similar threats. He expressed hope that among the results of the US President visit to Israel and the PNA would be the accurate and sincere implementation of the Wye Accords. "Otherwise we cannot continue to honor our part of the deal while Israel continues to violate every single agreement we signed with her." Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, praised President Clinton's visit to the PNA territories saying it was "a significant historical event that characterized the successful Palestinian diplomatic offensive which brought the USA closer to the Palestinian cause after decades of US anti-Palestinian stands."

Asked of his assessment of the latest political developments within Israel and the series of calls for early elections, Abu Mazen said that the Israeli government only worries of its survival and does not show any sincere approach towards the peace process. He praised, however, the stands of defense minister Yitzhak Mordechai who implied that he is on the verge of evaluating his future political steps. Mordechai is due to hold a press conference on Thursday in which he is expected to announce officially his support for early elections in Israel. Mordechai, his aides said, is very much disappointed at the fact that the prime minister has no intention to go any further with the implementation of the Wye Accords. Mordechai, the aides said, believes that it is Israel's duty to continue the implementation of the agreements and to honor its commitment. Israeli observers said Mordechai was very careful in his latest moves because he very much wanted to avoid further escalation of the security situation in the West Bank in light of the Palestinian demonstrations that wrecked the area over the past few weeks. Mordechai, being in charge of the defense ministry, does not want to be blamed for any explosion in the territories in times when he does not fully agree with the prime minister. Mordechai has every reason to go ahead with his threat to leave the government because he wants to assure his political future, sources close to Mordechai said. They added that for Mordechai, to remain on board the sinking ship of Netanyahu inevitably means a political suicide, a step that Mordechai would not afford.

The PNA, meanwhile, continued contacts with Jordan and Egypt in preparation for the final status talks once they start with Israel. Abu Mazen praised the Egyptian call for a closer cooperation and coordination between Egypt, Jordan and the PNA before the final status stalks. "Even if the talks on the interim period are stalled, we still have to be prepared for the final status negotiations," said Abu Mazen. "The problem is that Israel does not honor the interim agreements so how can we expect her to respect the final status agreements.

The chief Palestinian negotiator, Dr. Saeb had officially called on Israel to start the upcoming stage of withdrawal on Friday as scheduled. In his meeting Tuesday night with the Israeli cabinet secretary Danny Naveh, Erekat demanded of Israel to start the withdrawal on Friday, to open immediately the safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza Strip and to release Palestinian prisoners. He noted that it is the PNA's right to review every single name of Palestinian prisoners whose names are to be presented by Israel for discussion prior to their release. He denied reports that suggested that the PNA had accepted Israeli needs to confiscate more Arab lands for opening new bypass roads in the West Bank.

Previous Stories:
  Deep differences US leave Netanyahu with one option: early elections   (12/15/1998)
  Netanyahu's government may fall on Monday   (12/15/1998)
  Three way summit falls through -- for today   (12/14/1998)

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