Israel Rebuffs Palestinian Ceasefire Call

Saeda Hamad      Al-Hayat      2003/09/17

Occupied Jerusalem

While Israel busied the world with its decision to "eliminate" Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, and while it refused the Palestinian offer for a permanent ceasefire, the occupation army pursued its practices that have been turning the lives of Palestinians into an "unbearable hell," as they say. It has been escalating its military operations and attacks against citizens' lands and houses, and pursuing its assassinations operations targeting leaders of the armed resistance, while preparing for a 'wild' operation in Gaza.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat strongly criticized Israel's refusal of the proposal presented by his National Security Affairs advisor Jibril Rajoub. The offer consisted of a mutual ceasefire according to which the Palestinian factions would cease all military operations against Israel, in exchange for Israel ceasing its aggressions against the Palestinians, which means stopping the assassinations, the settlement building, lifting the siege over Palestinian regions and stop building the separation wall.

After meeting with leaders of Palestinian Christian groups, namely Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, Arafat said that Israel has never accepted peace or truce ever since the death of Yitzhak Rabin (Israel's former Prime Minister who signed the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians). Answering the reporters, he added: "Since when did Israel accept the idea of a truce or a cease fire? Only when Rabin was in power, and since that time, Israel has been refusing all propositions to reach peace."

In an interview with Voice of Israel, General Rajoub discussed the details of the "permanent" ceasefire that would lead to a resumption of political negotiations based on the 'two states-two people' solution. He addressed the Israeli people in Hebrew, saying "there can be no military solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

He explained that he suggested to Israel and to all Palestinian armed factions a "new and permanent" truce designed to "put an end to all Palestinian armed operations in exchange for Israel's putting an end to all its military actions in Gaza and the West Bank, including the assassinations, building settlements, putting an end to the closure policy in order to overcome the current cycle of violence."

Replying to the question on how the Authority was going to deal with Hamas and Jihad, which are carrying out martyrdom attacks, Rajoub said: "it will be the Authority's responsibility to impose its commitments over the regions these movements are present in, and I don't think that any faction will refuse if the Israeli party is serious about this proposal."

Adnan Asfour, one of the Hamas leaders in the West Bank, said that Hamas "does not oppose discussing a new truce but within the limits of defined and clear conditions." He added: "if it is guaranteed that the continuous attacks will cease, the movement will consider the proposal and will take a decision in favor of the Palestinian people's interest." While he denied contacts between the Palestinian President and Hamas designed to reach a new truce, he said that Prime Minister Ahmad Qureih had contacted Khaled Mishaal, member of the Hamas politburo abroad. Asfour indicated that his movement refused to take part in the Palestinian government, explaining that Hamas' position is firm "as far as participating in a government that is a result of Oslo. But he added that any government based on imposing law will have the movement's support.

As for Jihad, it refuses to discuss a new truce as long as Israel pursues its aggression against the Palestinians. Nafez Azzam, a leader in Gaza, said this, and said that the movement also refused to take part in the new Palestinian government.

Moreover, Israel's refusal of a ceasefire was quick and decisive, and official Israeli sources said that the Palestinian proposal aims at bringing (President) Arafat back to the political scene and at saving the leaders of the Hamas movement and the leaders of other Palestinian organizations after Israel proved it was capable of killing them."

Ariel Sharon's official spokesman said that the Israeli position announced four days ago is clear and that it will not accept any ceasefire before the dismantling of what he called "the terrorist infrastructure and after clamping down on the terrorists organizations."

While Israel busied the international public opinion with its decision to "eliminate" Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, it escalated its abusive measures against Palestinians, when it killed an Islamic Jihad leader, Ahmad Abou Doush (25 years old), in the Dora city in Hebron (southern West Bank) and destroyed the five-storey building he lives in, displacing the five families who lived there. Israeli police razed three houses in East Jerusalem, under the excuse that they didn't have building permits, thus taking the number of destroyed houses and buildings in the holy city up to 103 buildings since the beginning of the year. While it is pursuing its tight siege around all Palestinian cities, towns and camps, the occupation force carried out arrest campaigns, detaining more than 15 Palestinians in the West Bank. The Israeli press reported that the Israeli army has mobilized around two infantry battalions and armored vehicles in the West Bank in order to carry out a wild large-scale operation in Gaza.