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Eye on Israel

June 23, 2001

Violence continued in Israel during the past two weeks, in spite of a U.S. brokered ceasefire last month. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, during a visit to the Middle East last week, announced that a seven-day period free of violence would be the first test of the truce. The two sides agreed to a cease-fire arranged by CIA Director George Tenet on June 13, but violence continues with casualties almost every day.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell agreed to the seven-day quiet period as a prerequisite to further implementation of the Mitchell peace plan on June 29. The seven-day period would be followed by a cooling off period of six weeks and the introduction of measures to re-build trust between the two sides. Appearing at a joint news conference, Sharon and Powell said there must be a seven-day period of complete calm, followed by a cooling-off period.

Sharon said he and Powell are completely in accord with the principle that the violence must stop before political progress can begin. "As the secretary just said now, it should be completely quiet, and then we'll start with those seven days, where we have to check whether that really works and, of course, we will continue for six weeks," Sharon said. Powell made it clear that before negotiations can re-start, there must be a halt to the Palestinian violence that began last September and has left nearly 600 people dead. "This is a package," he said. "It is a plan. It will work, if we can get the violence ended. So, let that be our strongest wish. Let that also be the object of all our efforts in the days and weeks ahead." Arafat pledged his commitment to halting all such attacks during his talks with Powell on June 28th in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Powell opened his Middle East mission with a meeting in Alexandria on June 27th with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak before going on to a series of meetings with leaders of the two parties, including Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. In Amman on June 29th, he briefed Jordan's King Abdullah on the results of those talks and had a similar meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah on June 30th in Paris before his return to Washington.

Powell's visit to the Middle East followed a meeting earlier in the week between President George W. Bush and Sharon. Bush said after the June 26th meeting that enough progress was being made in the Middle East to move beyond the fragile Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire. But Sharon said his country would not negotiate until the violence completely stops. Both men said their White House talks Tuesday were cordial, but there is no doubt differences remain. Bush said he knows the cease-fire has not brought violence in the area to a total halt, but he said he is convinced the situation has improved somewhat and it may be time to move forward. "Progress is being made and it is essential that we continue the process and continue the progress that is being made," he said. "We are gaining by inches, I recognize. The progress is in inches, not in miles. But nevertheless, an inch is better than nothing."

But Sharon remained unconvinced. He emerged from the meeting to say that he wanted to see a ten-day total cessation of violence. "It should be completely quiet," he said, "a full cessation of terror violations and incitement. And once that will happen, we will have to wait several days to see that that works. I think we have to wait ten days. And we want it to be completely quiet. Then we start the cooling off period." That so-called "cooling off period" is one of the steps to peace recently recommended by a commission on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell. Powell later talked Sharon into accepting a seven-day period free of violence, but Arafat has yet to deliver even one day in which there were no Palestinian attacks.

White House Plays Down Powell Remarks on Mideast Peacekeepers

During his Mideast visit, Powell ignited a firestorm by calling for international observers in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Powell later backpedaled from his remarks, and the White House tried to play down the Secretary's misstep.

Powell's comments after his meeting with Yasser Arafat in Israel appeared to endorse Palestinian calls for international monitors, a move that Israel opposes. But White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says there is nothing new in what Colin Powell had to say. He denies Powell was endorsing the kind of monitoring force envisioned by the Palestinian leader. "He [Arafat] has proposed a very specific international force, but that is not what the secretary said," Fleischer said. The White House spokesman added that the idea of international monitors is mentioned in existing agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. During a session with reporters, the Fleischer stressed the United States believes observers should only be deployed with the prior consent of all parties involved. "What the Secretary said goes back to the Wye Accords. There has been no change in the United States' position," Fleischer said. But Powell's words raised concerns in Israel. The Bush administration has twice helped Israel block Palestinian efforts to win U.N. Security Council approval of an observer force. And a meeting Tuesday at the White House between President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon highlighted differences between the two countries.

Powell made the comments on June 28th at a news conference in the West Bank town of Ramallah, where he met with Arafat. Powell said the United States supports an international force to oversee efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "I think that as we get into the confidence-building phase, there will be a need for monitors and observers to see what is happening on the ground to serve interlocutors, and to go to points of friction and make an independent observation of what has happened," the secretary said.

Palestinians Challenge Powell's Call for End to Violence

Palestinians continued to attack Israelis, undermining efforts by Powell to end the violence. After meeting with Powell, Arafat declared that he was "totally committed to the peace process" and he would do everything possible to stop the violence. But several hours after that statement, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Israeli motorists in the West Bank, killing Katya Weintraub, 27, who was returning home from the doctor with her four-year-old son.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed June 22, when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a jeep near the Jewish community of Dugit in the Gaza Strip. The army said a patrol was passing by an abandoned house and heard Palestinians calling for help, one from inside a jeep with Israeli license plates stuck in sand near the building. Two soldiers got out of their vehicle to investigate. When they were about 20 yards from the jeep, it exploded, killing the two soldiers, Aviv Iszak, 19, and Sgt. Ofir Kit, 19.

Two car bombs went off Monday in a town near Tel Aviv, but there were no serious injuries. The car bombs exploded in the central Israeli town of Yehud, a few kilometers from Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv. The blasts destroyed a number of cars, and some residents were taken to the hospital and treated for shock. The radial Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the bombings.

Yair Har-Sinai, a 51-year-old shepherd, married and father of nine children, was discovered murdered on Tuesday near his home in the Hebron area.

Israel to Continue Targeting Suspected Terrorists

In spite of the continued violence, Israel has decided to continue supporting a cease-fire with the Palestinians. But Israel will continue its controversial policy of targeted attacks on Palestinian terrorists who are suspected of planning attacks on Israel. Israel's 13-member security cabinet on Wednesday agreed to sustain the attacks against Palestinians suspected of planning attacks against Israel. Palestinians have denounced what they describe as a policy of "assassination." Israel defends its action as self-defense. Palestinians say Israel has killed about 40 terrorists since last September, when the uprising against Israel began.

On Sunday, an Israeli helicopter gunship killed three members of the militant Islamic Jihad in a pinpoint attack in the West Bank. In a separate incident, two other Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli soldiers during a gun-battle, after they attempted to plant a road-side bomb. The Israeli helicopter fired missiles at a car traveling in the northern part of the West Bank, killing the three occupants. Palestinian officials say all three were members of the Islamic Jihad, a group that has continued to wage a campaign of suicide bombings against Israel. One of the three, Mohammed Beshaet was on Israel's most-wanted list. A spokesman for the group vowed to carry out attacks in order to avenge "the blood of the martyrs." Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat also condemned the attack. Arafat's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeinah, accused Israel of carrying out what he called a policy of assassinations against the Palestinians, which could lead to the collapse of the June 13 cease-fire brokered by CIA Director George Tenet.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli soldiers killed two militants from the Islamic group Hamas, another group which has carried out a number of large scale suicide bombings. The clash also took place in the northern West Bank. An Israeli army spokesman says that the two Hamas members were killed during a gun-battle, after they were spotted attempting to plant bombs by a roadside.

The Sunday events followed the death of a Palestinian terrorist on June 24th who was blown up in a phone booth. Osama Jawabreh, an activist for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, died when the public phone exploded in his hands in the heart of the West Bank town of Nablus. He and the public telephone booth were hurled across the adjacent square. Jawabreh was suspected of being involved in a series of terrorist attacks against Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers in the Nablus area. A spokesman for the Israeli army refused to comment on Palestinian allegations that he was assassinated by Israeli special forces.

Sharon Visits Europe

Sharon embarked on a visit to several key European countries this week in an effort to further isolate Arafat. The Europeans are the principal financers of the Palestinian Authority and are therefore in a strong position to pressure the Palestinian leader to end the violence. However, French President Jacques Chirac warned Sharon not to weaken the position of Arafat saying it would be counter-productive to the peace process. The two leaders met in Paris Thursday. Chirac also said it is unrealistic for Israel to demand seven days of complete calm before resuming peacemaking steps.

Sharon met earlier on Thursday with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Berlin. Schroeder assured Sharon of Germany's friendship, but urged him to curb settlement activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Sharon responded that Israel is ready to make concessions for peace but that there first must be an end to Palestinian terror and violence.

While in Berlin, Sharon also met with Louis Michel, the foreign minister of Belgium, which holds the European Union's presidency. Sharon had cancelled a planned stop in Belgium, where a judge is investigating whether the Israeli leader should be indicted for war crimes. The case stems from the 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees in Beirut by Israeli-allied Lebanese Christian militiamen while Sharon was Israel's defense minister. Survivors of the massacre filed a complaint against Sharon in Brussels. Since 1993, Belgian courts have been empowered by national legislation to prosecute foreign officials for violations of human rights committed outside Belgium. A BBC program broadcast in June 17 has fueled interest in the Lebanon massacre. Entitled "The Accused," the program examined Sharon's involvement with the militia and raised the question of whether he should be put on trial. One day after the program was aired, a Lebanese lawyer filed a complaint in Belgium on behalf of 23 Palestinian and Lebanese men and women.

Israel Bombs Syrian Radar Station in Lebanon

Israeli warplanes bombed a Syrian radar station in Lebanon on Sunday, wounding two Syrian soldiers. The raid was in retaliation for attack against Israel by members of the militant Islamic group, Hezbollah. Eyewitnesses in Lebanon say the Israeli planes targeted a Syrian radar station south of Baalbek, in the strategic Bekaa Valley. Syria, which has some 30,000 troops stationed in the whole of Lebanon, has a large concentration of soldiers in the area.

An Israeli Cabinet statement says the attack was in response to Hezbollah's cross-border raid against Israel last Friday, which left two Israeli soldiers injured, one of them seriously. In the Friday attack, members of Hezbollah fired anti-tank artillery and mortar rounds. Israel responded by shelling suspected Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon. In April, Israeli warplanes destroyed a Syrian radar station, killing three Syrian soldiers, following a cross-border attack by Hezbollah that left one Israeli soldier dead.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres says Syria, which is the main power in Lebanon, must be held accountable for the actions of the Hezbollah. Peres says that as long Syria has a large military force deployed inside Lebanon it is responsible for allowing the attacks against Israel to continue. Israel pulled its troops out of southern Lebanon more than a year ago, in a move verified by the United Nations. But Hezbollah refuses to recognize the withdrawal as complete and says Israel is continuing to occupy some land that the Islamic group claims belongs to Lebanon. Hezbollah terrorists on Friday fired mortars at Israeli soldiers on patrol in the disputed Shebaa Farms region, injuring two Israeli soldiers, one critically. It was the first shooting in that area in more than a month. The Shebaa Farms area is located at the junction of Israeli, Lebanese, and Syrian borders. Israel captured the area during the 1967 Middle East war. The area is claimed by both Lebanon and Syria.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara'a accused Israel of leading the region to war. "What Israel is doing, what it has already done, is a step forward to reach the brink of war, which nobody likes," he said on Thursday. "But if we are to face that, we will defend ourselves with all the means that we have. And, we hope the Israelis will be wiser than to bring the region to the brink of war." Shara'a made the remarks in London where he opened a two-day business conference aimed at promoting British investment in Syria.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad in a visit to France last week also accused Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of pushing the region toward war. But Assad's remarks were overshadowed by demonstrations and criticism by French politicians and anti-racist activists against anti-Semitic remarks the Syrian dictator made recently in Damascus, which alluded to Jews being the killers of Jesus and trying to kill the prophet Mohammed. Assad claimed that his comments were directed at Israel, not Jews. That did not stop thousands from demonstrating in Paris and Marseilles.

Both Syria and Israel reportedly conducted missile tests during the past week. The Israeli Defense Forces announced that Syria test fired a Scud missile on Sunday. And Israel successfully carried out a test launch of the Jericho II medium-range ballistic missile on June 27, according to reports in both the Jerusalem Post and Ha'aretz. Both papers quoted a London-based Arab newspaper as their source.

Clinton Criticizes Arafat

Former President Bill Clinton is lashing out against Arafat for failing to show enough flexibility to achieve a Middle East peace agreement. Newsweek magazine reported that Clinton told guests at a party last week at the New York apartment of former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, that Arafat called him to bid farewell three days before he left office. According to the magazine, Arafat said to Clinton, "You are a great man." Clinton said he responded saying, "The hell I am. I'm a colossal failure, and you made me one." Clinton told Arafat that by turning down the best peace deal he was ever going to get, the Palestinian leader was only guaranteeing the election of Ariel Sharon, Israel's current prime minister.

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