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7 Adar I 5765 - February 16, 2005 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Israelis and Palestinians Travel a Rocky Road

by M Plaut and Yated Ne'eman Staff

First Israel was supposed to hand over four cities to Palestinian security control. Then it was reduced to Jericho first, to be handed over on Tuesday, since there was relatively little violence there in recent years. However Israeli and PA officials failed to agree on a number of issues on Monday, so there was no transfer on Tuesday.

On Tuesday the sides disagreed over whether they had agreed. The Palestinians, in particular Saeb Erekat the main negotiator, insisted that all the outstanding issues had been worked out. The Prime Minister's Office said in response to Erekat's statement that negotiations were still underway and that no new agreement with the Palestinians had been reached.

Things may be settled by the time our readers see this story or they may not. In either case it calls to mind what Maran HaRav Shach said after the Wye Agreement in 5759. He declared that a right-wing government will give up parts of Eretz Yisroel when the time comes, no less than the Left. In the end, the real decision is made by the President of the United States who can ultimately force the Israeli government to do whatever he wants. The difference between the Right and the Left is in the price they will exact. The Left will give up parts of Eretz Yisroel almost unconditionally, while the Right will negotiate stubbornly to get as much as possible in return.

Some security officials did not rule out the possibility that the transfer of Jericho could be delayed until some time next week. Others said it might take place before the end of the week.

The main issue is that the PA demanded security control of the nearby village of Uja, which is located on the main road that passes through the Jordan Valley. This road is used by dozens of Israeli vehicles every day on their way to and from the north of Israel.

The Palestinians also demanded that IDF checkpoints on the route between Jericho and Nablus be removed. The army is unlikely to agree to this because of the threats stemming from the Nablus area.

"Once the PA receives control of one of the cities, the situation will be monitored closely to ensure it is upholding the understandings reached," one Israeli official said, explaining that only after the results were deemed satisfactory would Israel hand over the next city.

Initially the plan was to hand over Jericho, then move on to Tulkarm, Kalkilya, Bethlehem and Ramallah, leaving Nablus, Jenin and Hebron, still terror nests, until last.

The Shin Bet said that they would have preferred to delay the transfer until after the disengagement from Gaza. "It would have been easier to start with Gaza, as the entire area is surrounded by a security fence, making it difficult for terrorists to cross into Israel. We would have had more time to monitor the situation before moving onto the cities in the West Bank," one official said.

At a Sunday night meeting Israeli and Palestinian security officials agreed on the principles which will be the basis for the transfer of all the West Bank cities.

The PA security forces must combat terror, which includes arresting suspects, putting them on trial and imprisoning them, destroying the terror infrastructure in the city, confiscating weapons and ending incitement against Israel.

Israel also retains the right to enter PA-controlled areas in the event of intelligence about a planned attack which the PA security forces have failed to act upon. Such entries would be coordinated with the PA.

Security officials said there were no plans to resume joint Israeli-Palestinian patrols but stressed that ongoing security coordination and cooperation must be established.

The PA will also be required to set up a situation room comprised of representatives from all PA security units so that any problems can be resolved quickly.

*

The Cabinet is currently scheduled slated to approve two decisions on the coming Sunday meeting: the evacuation of settlements in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan, and the route of the separation fence around Gush Etzion and the South Hebron Hills. Observers say the two issues are being brought together to try to neutralize international criticism of the second by coupling it with the first.

The fence route will encompass the Gush Etzion settlements, but will follow the Green Line around the South Hebron Hills. The route around Gush Etzion will enclose four Palestinian villages with some 18,000 residents, plus a sizable amount of Palestinian land in addition to the Israeli settlements.

The Knesset is expected approval of the disengagement law on Wednesday. The proposed Cabinet resolution stipulates that the Cabinet must reconvene before each stage of the disengagement to approve the evacuation of each new group of settlements, as mandated by last June's decision on the disengagement which calls for the evacuation to take place in four stages.

Also on Sunday, the U.S. security coordinator Lieutenant General William Ward will arrive for a "get-acquainted" visit to Israel and the PA. He will begin his permanent mission here following the March 1 London conference on aid to the PA.

*

Just 48 hours after the summit at Sharm e-Sheikh, Palestinian terrorist groups fired more than 50 mortar shells at Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Abbas fired high-ranking PA security commanders for failing to enforce the cease-fire. Later Hamas, which at the time claimed responsibility for the mortar attacks, says it accepted the cease-fire announced at the summit.

Sharon is emphasizing two major achievements from his perspective at the summit: All the key players, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan's King Abdullah and Abbas, now recognize that terrorism must stop before peacemaking can begin. They also all accept Israel's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank as the basis for a new dynamic leading to peace talks based on the road map. Previously they argued that talks should take place even while terror continues.

The acid test, Israeli officials say, will be whether the new Palestinian leadership can stop the terror. Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner maintains that this will be possible only if Abbas confronts and disarms Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

"Otherwise, even if he gets them to agree to a cease-fire, it won't last. In a few days or weeks from now they will start firing mortars or Kassam rockets again, we will react, and we'll all be back to Square One, embroiled in a new intifadah," Pazner said. "The militias will either have to disarm voluntarily, or Abbas will have to take them on. There is no other way."

 

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