|
With no Hebron agreement, tensions escalate
PLO official predicts renewed clashes
November 24, 1996
Web posted at: 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT)In this story:
From Correspondent Jerrold Kessel
HEBRON, West Bank (CNN) -- A PLO official said Sunday new clashes between Palestinians and Israelis will erupt if Israel continues with its plan to expand settlement of the West Bank.
The Palestinian public works minister, Azzam Ahmad, said the Israeli government is "asking for confrontations" by building new Jewish settlements.
Meanwhile, the issue of Israeli troop redeployment from the town of Hebron continues to cause problems.
On the ground, preparations are in place for Israeli troops to hand over 80 percent of this troubled city to Yasser Arafat's Palestinian police. New Israeli army positions around the settler enclaves have been fully sandbagged.
But at the negotiating table, there has been no movement at all on putting the long-delayed Israeli redeployment into effect.
'We've lost our belief in peace'
Palestinians view the stalemate with new despair. "We really thought there was a chance for peace," said one Palestinian man. "But since it hasn't happened, we've lost our belief in peace."
Jewish settlers, on the other hand, have found new hope. "I don't know what God has in mind, but I hope and I pray that he will intervene and the state of Hebron will remain as it is," said one.
Many are beginning to think that Benjamin Netanyahu might get away with doing nothing. Only a short while ago, such a lack of action was considered diplomatically unimaginable.
"Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Arafat are at cross-purposes here. Mr. Netanyahu wants to tell his people that he has achieved a better agreement, with much better safeguards for Israelis," said Chemi Shalev, an Israeli political analyst.
"But the more he brags about his own achievement, the less desirable this agreement becomes for Mr. Arafat. Unless the two sides can indeed make the political decision to reach an agreement despite their own internal political achievements, we won't have an agreement."
Recipe for disaster?
Now each side is multiplying the other's fear by throwing its own wish list onto the negotiating table. Arafat talks of unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state. The Israelis talk about vastly increasing their settler population in the West Bank.
"The stalemate in the negotiations. the non-implementation of the agreements, the policy of settlement expansion -- all joined together spells disaster," said Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erakat.
The perils of delay were underlined in a tense standoff in the Gaza Strip Sunday, as hundreds of Palestinian motorists blocked a road near a Jewish settlement that had been closed to them. Israeli officers blocked their way, and warned that they would open fire if the cars pressed on towards the settlement.
It has been almost two months since U.S. President Bill Clinton said Israelis and Palestinians need time to work out their differences on this thorny issue. The underlying dangers remain, but the parties seem to have lost all sense of urgency about concluding an agreement.
However, without a Hebron agreement, mutual trust is virtually gone, and the attendant dangers of head-on clashes again become very real.
Special section:
Related stories:
- Hebron talks stall as Palestinians celebrate independence - November 14, 1996
- Christopher says Palestinian, Israeli agreement close - November 12, 1996
- Phone call fails to clinch Israel-PLO deal - November 11, 1996
- Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian at protest - November 10, 1996
- Israeli police clash with demonstrators in Hebron, arrest 12 - November 9, 1996
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowRelated newsgroups:
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Some newsgroups may not be supported by your service provider.
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.