In the wake of a terrible homicide bombing on Sunday that
murdered 23 and injured more than 100, Israel took a number
of nonviolent steps against Palestinian institutions, barring
Palestinians from attending a conference in London organized
by Britain.
Israel also decided to prevent Fatah's main council from
meeting to ratify a Palestinian constitution and discuss a PA
prime ministerial appointment; and also ordered the closure
of three Palestinian colleges in the West Bank, and the
imposition of movement restrictions on Palestinians,
including top PA officials.
U.S. President George W. Bush condemned the terror attack,
saying that he would not allow this to bring recent peace
moves to a halt. The Palestinian Authority also put out a
press release condemning the bombings as a "terrorist" attack
and said it would act against those behind it. Two days later
there was no evidence of any action. On Tuesday, Hamas
criticized the PA for its statement.
Britain has unofficially suspended preparations for a
conference on Palestinian Authority reforms that it had
scheduled for January 13 and 14 in London. Sources indicated
that the British intend to reschedule the conference to as
early a date as possible.
The State Department issued an announcement after the Israeli
ban saying that the "United States welcomes the British
[London conference] initiative, concurs on the importance of
reform in the Palestinian Authority, and regrets that events
have brought us to this point."
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw denounced Sunday's
terror attack in Tel Aviv, but also criticized Israel's
decision not to allow the departure of Palestinian officials.
It is essential that these people come to Britain, Straw
argued, so that they can advance the Palestinian Authority
reform process.
Straw deplored Sunday's double suicide bombing that left 22
dead in Tel Aviv, but he appeared to suggest that such
violence was understandable even justifiable in the absence
of movement toward a political settlement.
Israeli Foreign Minister Netanyahu, who also discussed
Israel's decision with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell,
said the entire premise of the conference was flawed.
"Legitimizing the sham reform efforts of Arafat's regime
will, in effect, legitimize a Palestinian leadership
compromised by terror," Netanyahu said in a statement. "Not
only has the PA failed to fight terrorism, Arafat's own Fatah
and Tanzim forces proudly took credit for Sunday's savage
attack, and for many other atrocities over the last two
years.
"The Palestinian leadership does not need to meet abroad to
close down suicide kindergarten camps, to stop incitement to
murder and to fight terrorism. This they can do in Ramallah
and Gaza -- right here, right now. Until the Palestinian
leadership does so, it must be given no quarter and no
legitimacy in the free world."
The conference was to be held under British auspices, with
the participation of officials from the international Quartet
(the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United
Nations) and from the governments of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and
Egypt. Palestinian Authority officials invited to the
conference include Finance Minister Salam Fayyad and Culture
and Public Relations Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo.
Netanyahu told Straw during a telephone conversation about
the conference that the Palestinians need to implement the
reforms at home, not engage in a "public relations exercise."
Netanyahu said Israel's action is not directed against
Britain. But, he said, "it is impossible to continue with
business as usual after this kind of horrible massacre."
Britain has taken a number of moves recently that have
irritated Israel, for obvious reasons. The conference was
first announced by British Prime Minister Tony Blair during
an official visit to London by Syrian President Bashar Assad
in December. That visit, which included an audience with
Queen Elizabeth, upset many since Syria is a state which
supports terror, and also Syria's president took the
opportunity of an earlier British visit to Syria to condemn
Israel using traditional antisemitic slurs.
Just a week after Assad's visit, Blair refused to meet Israel
Foreign Minister Netanyahu when he visited London. Netanyahu
instead met with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. There were
reports that the Straw-Netanyahu meeting did not go well and
there was no joint news conference after their meeting. Straw
has been a consistent supporter of the Palestinian cause,
much more vociferously than Prime Minister Blair.
Furthermore, again in contrast, Blair has announced that he
will meet the leader of Israel's opposition Labor Party,
Amram Mitzna, in London this week.
Another fact that emerged last week is that a British refusal
to sell it certain spare parts may force Israel to ground
part of its air force. A British company is among very few in
the world still making a critical part used in the ejector
seats of F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers. The Israeli Air Force
has 140 Phantoms, but they are not frontline fighters any
more.
An unnamed British official said the Foreign Office had
approved the export of 128 military-related items to Israel
in 2002 and refused 77.
This partial embargo, sources added, was being enforced with
the tacit consent of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who
has privately voiced his dissatisfaction with policies
implemented by Ariel Sharon's government, though he has given
consistent public support to Israel.
Meanwhile Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Monday that there
is "no chance" for a resumption of peace talks between Israel
and the Palestinians as long as Yasser Arafat is leader of
the Palestinian Authority. Mofaz said Arafat is continuing to
fuel "terror consciousness" in the PA.
Mofaz also said the international community is becoming more
convinced that there is no chance for the Palestinians to
abandon terrorism as long as Arafat is their leader, and
therefore the day that there will be a change in the PA
leadership is getting closer. "Israel is winning this long,
hard struggle despite the terror," said Mofaz.
According to Mofaz, motivation to continue to carry out
attacks is on the rise among all of the terrorist groups. He
attributed this rise to external influences, including al-
Qaida, Iraq, Iran, and the Syrian-based Hamas and Islamic
Jihad headquarters. He also said there are increased warnings
of terror attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets
abroad.
According to Mofaz, some 40 to 60 planned attacks were
averted in the past week. In the past two months, 1,500
Palestinians have been arrested for terror activities, he
said.
Israeli officials noted that the apparent quiet that Israel
has enjoyed for over a month until this latest attack is due
to the fact that the security forces stopped numerous
attempts which continue unabated.
