ad info




CNN.com
 MAIN PAGE
 WORLD
   africa
   americas
   asianow
   europe
   middle east
 U.S.
 LOCAL
 POLITICS
 WEATHER
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 TECHNOLOGY
 NATURE
 ENTERTAINMENT
 BOOKS
 TRAVEL
 FOOD
 HEALTH
 STYLE
 IN-DEPTH

 custom news
 Headline News brief
 daily almanac
 CNN networks
 CNN programs
 on-air transcripts
 news quiz

  CNN WEB SITES:
CNN Websites
 TIME INC. SITES:
 MORE SERVICES:
 video on demand
 video archive
 audio on demand
 news email services
 free email accounts
 desktop headlines
 pointcast

 DISCUSSION:
 message boards
 chat
 feedback

 SITE GUIDES:
 help
 contents
 search

 FASTER ACCESS:
 europe
 japan

 WEB SERVICES:

 

World - Middle East

Israeli court defuses controversy over PLO offices

Decision postponed until after elections

May 11, 1999
Web posted at: 8:13 a.m. EDT (1213 GMT)

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Less than a week before the Israeli elections, the nation's highest court defused the potentially explosive issue of closing PLO offices in Jerusalem on Tuesday by ordering the government to show why it failed to reach a compromise agreement.

The high court issued an injunction for one week -- until May 18 -- to allow the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to respond to an action filed by Israeli peace activists.

The decision means the government cannot act on the closure order before next Monday's general balloting. Opponents of Netanyahu charged that his decision to close three of the offices at Orient House was a political ploy to show his toughness in dealing with the Palestinians.

The court's action headed off a potentially violent confrontation for the immediate future. Left undetermined is what effect Netanyahu's actions have had on his flagging numbers in the polls.

After the government responds, the court has two options: It can agree to hear the case that the government failed to bargain adequately, or it can throw out the case, allowing the government to go ahead with the closing order.

Netanyahu had ordered that the three offices be closed Monday, saying they were carrying out political activities on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, something the PLO has denied.

A flurry of negotiations followed Monday between Israeli Internal Security Minister Avigdor Kahalani and the PLO. Kahalani gave the Palestinians until 7 p.m. local time (noon EDT) to accept an Israeli compromise that would have closed two of the three offices.

The Palestinians, after consultations with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, rejected that proposal and made a counter offer, according to Jawad Boulous, a PLO attorney. However, that offer was rejected by the Israelis and the order to close the offices was served on Boulous around 10 p.m. (3 p.m. EDT).

The Palestinians had 24 hours to file an appeal, but that was done for them by a group of Isreali peace activists who asked Israel's High Court of Justice to block the order.

Orient House -- where the offices are located -- has been a symbol for Palestinians who want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state. It has acted as a lightening rod for Netanyahu and Israeli right-wing parties who have vowed the Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel.

The Palestinians have said they will not allow the Israeli police to come in. They also warned there would be rioting if the offices are closed.

Netanyahu's opponents, as well as the Palestinians, have accused Netanyahu of attempting to provoke a potentially violent confrontation in an attempt to galvanize his flagging support among the right-wing parties that have supported him in the past.

In the latest poll, Ehud Barak, the candidate of the One Israel coalition, was leading Netanyahu 45 percent to 37 percent. Barak has been gaining among Israeli voters who came to Israel from Russia, compromise the largest voting block, and favor a peace with the Palestinians. Netanyahu's coalition is made up of conservative, orthodox, and right-wing parties who oppose the declaration of a Palestinian state.

The poll taken for Israel Channel 2 Television, shows that if Center Party candidate Yitzhak Mordechai and Arab candidate Azmi Bishara were to withdraw from the race, Barak would win outright with 52 percent of the vote to 40 for Netanyahu.

In ordering the offices closed, Netanyahu singled off the office of PLO representative Faisal Husseini who he said was welcoming foreign ambassadors, in effect operating as a foreign office for the Palestine Authority.

Under the Oslo According, the Authority has no official standing in Jerusalem.

The United States had also attempted to persuade the Netanyahu and the Israeli government to go slow and not provoke a crisis over Orient House.



SPECIAL SECTION:
Israeli Elections


RELATED STORIES:
Netanyahu orders PLO offices in Jerusalem closed
March 10, 1999
Israeli Cabinet defies EU over Jerusalem
March 14, 1999
Lebanon occupation takes center stage in Israel
March 2, 1999
Israel attacks Hezbollah guerrillas
February 28, 1999
Police prepare for possible violence at Israel rallies
February 14, 1999
U.N. calls on Israel to halt settlement activities
February 9, 1999
Israel threatens severe retaliation for Lebanese guerrilla attacks
January 1, 1999

RELATED SITES:
Israel's Institutions of Government
The Complete Guide to Palistine's Websites
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Home
The Middle East Network Information Center
Office of the Israeli Prime Minister
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Likud party
Welcome to the Knesset - The Israeli Parliament
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

 LATEST HEADLINES:
SEARCH CNN.com
Enter keyword(s)   go    help

Back to the top   © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.