Palestinians wail over agreement, C.I.A. monitoring of Israeli-Palestinian security relations
Under an agreement brokered a few days ago by US special envoy Dennis Ross, Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs were holding regular meetings in the presence of CIA station chiefs to discuss actions needed to prevent terrorism. But after a week of revived security coordination, there were no signs of any arrests by Palestinian security forces of the some 200 militants fingered by Israel as being involved in organizing terrorist violence.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said he had information that the extremists he blames for the recent suicide bombing in Jerusalem were preparing more attacks, and he insisted that unless the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat joins Israel in its efforts to prevent suicide attacks, he will not lift the economic sanctions imposed on Palestinians following the suicide bombing or resume peace negotiations, which Palestinians hope will lead one day to the creation of their own state.
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright sided with Israel, saying she wanted to see a real crackdown by Arafat against terrorism before deciding whether she will launch her own initiative to revive the Middle East peace negotiations. "We think it is necessary for violence to be stopped and that the Palestinian leader should do everything to make sure the infrastructure of the terrorist groups is dismantled," she said.
The United States had initially said Albright could come to the region as early as August 30, if Ross succeeded in reviving Israeli-Palestinian security coordination.
But the fragility of the situation led the American Administration to hint that Madeleine could postpone her visit to the region until later to better judge the results of the new security mechanism put in place by Dennis.
The mechanism, involving C.I.A monitoring of Israeli-Palestinian security relations, effectively gives the United States the role of referee in the dispute about whether Arafat is doing enough to fight terror or not.
American officials close to Ross said he would probably return to the region in two weeks to prepare for an eventual Albright visit.
Albright stated that if she comes to the region, this will be to address such core Palestinian complaints as Jewish settlements and Israeli policy in Jerusalem and to launch accelerated negotiations on a permanent peace agreement. This accord must resolve the thorniest issues of settlements, the future of Jerusalem, the return of Palestinian refugees and the status and borders of the future Palestinian entity.
In an apparent gesture to the Palestinians and Americans following US envoy mission, Israel slightly eased some of its sanctions, lifting a military blockade which had prevented Palestinians from entering or leaving the self-rule areas of Ramallah and Hebron on the West Bank.
Yet blockades remained in place around Bethlehem, and the borders between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza Strip remained sealed, preventing some 100,000 Palestinians from reaching their jobs.