Israeli-Palestinian clashes diminish, with neither sides reporting any
major incidents. The PA reportedly has not arrested of the top 34
Palestinians wanted by Israel or collected any mortars or illegal weapons,
though officials have held mtgs. with Hamas in an effort to keep them fr.
staging attacks. (HA 6/15; NYT 6/16; WT 6/17)
The trilateral security comm. convenes its 1st weekly mtg. to assess
the initial cease-fire steps. Sides agree to move into stage 2 of the Tenet
plan, lasting 5 days, during which further steps would be taken to lift the
siege on PA areas and halt violence. Today, Israel opens the Jordan
border crossings; increases number of goods allowed into Gaza through the Qarni
crossing; resumes delivery of fuel, gas to the PA; allows goods embargoed at
ports into PA areas; allows VIP movement into Israel and btwn. the West Bank and
Gaza, subject to authorization. (IDF Radio, HA 6/15; NYT 6/16)
1 Palestinian killed. 2 Israelis killed.
The IDF makes arrest raids into Jenin, shelling residential
areas, destroying 3 workshops; fires in the air, directs tear gas at some 200
Palestinian women, children attempting to cross a closed checkpoint nr. Hebron.
Jewish settlers fr. Brakha and Yitzhar set fire to 700 dunams of
Palestinian crops, 2 Palestinian homes nr. Nablus. (HA, NYT, WP, WT 6/16;
LAW, PCHR 6/19)
Hamas gunmen clash with IDF troops nr. Dugit settlement in Gaza,
killing 2 IDF soldiers, wounding 4; at least 1 Hamas mbr. is
killed. The soldiers were searching for Hamas mbrs. who had planted a car packed
with mortars, launchers, 330 lb. of explosives nr. Dugit in a plot to ambush an
IDF unit.
3 Palestinians killed.
The IDF raids Bayt Hanun, killing an AMB mbr., wounding 7
Palestinians; reimposes a curfew on Palestinian areas of Hebron after lifting it
for 3 hrs.; bulldozes 39 dunams of land in Bayt Hanun, 12 dunams in Dayr
al-Balah; fires on residential areas of Brazil r.c.; conducts arrest raids in
Araba, Bethlehem, Hebron. A 7-yr.-old Palestinian dies of injuries
received in Israel’s attempted assassination of Rantisi on 6/10, bringing that
toll to 3; a 2d Palestinian dies of injuries received on 6/8.
The IDF dismantles 1 uninhabited settlement
outpost (possibly the same one dismantled on 6/9, reoccupied on 6/10). Peace
Now says that Jewish settlers have set up 5 new unauthorized
settlement outposts in the past wk. (WT 6/15; HA, HP, MM, NYT, WP 6/16; PR
6/18; LAW, PCHR 6/19)
Palestinians fire Qassam rockets fr. Rafah for the 1st time, causing
no damage or injuries.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF raids Balata r.c., takes up sniper positions atop a number of
houses, fires on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, fatally shooting
1 Palestinian inside his home; conducts house searches in the Old City of
Nablus, blowing the doors off 8 houses and 53 shops, detonating explosives to
clear an alley blocked by barrels they fear could be booby trapped, damaging a
church and a mosque; demolishes 15 Palestinian homes s. of Ramallah for
construction of the separation wall; conducts arrest raids in Anabta,
Nablus, al-Ram and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin, Ramallah. (VOI, VOP 6/15 in WNC 6/17; NYT 6/16; VOI, VOP 6/16 in WNC 6/18; PCHR 6/17)
Palestinians fire an
antitank round at an IDF patrol in Gaza, lightly injuring 2 soldiers.
The IDF demolishes a 3-story building, a 2-story building in
Jerusalem; temporarily occupies a flour mill in al-Qarara as an observation
tower to protect Jewish settlers traveling btwn. Gush Katif and Israel
(it had occupied the same mill on 6/2); conducts arrest raids, house searches in
Mughraqa and nr. Hebron, Khan Yunis, Ramallah. IDF undercover units
arrest 3 wanted Islamic Jihad mbrs. in an operation nr. Ramallah.
Jewish settlers fr. Keddumim set fire to 100 Palestinian olive trees. (REU 6/15; JAZ. PCHR 6/16;
OCHA, PR 6/22; PCHR 6/23)
Some 40 armed Palestinians open fire in Jenin's city center, stage a sit-in in
front of PA PM Ahmad Qurai`'s Jericho home to protest the PA's failure to
honor commitments to integrate them into the PA.
3 Palestinians killed.
The IDF kills 3 Palestinian militants allegedly planting explosives nr. the
border fence in central Gaza; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus.
(MM 6/15; NYT, WP, WT 6/16;
OCHA 6/21; PCHR 6/22)
After suspending its unilateral cease-fire on 6/9, Hamas says it will halt
all fire for 7 days; if Israel stops targeting Palestinian civilians during that
period, it will extend the cease-fire and lobby other factions to do the same. Islamic Jihad fires at least 5 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, wounding 3
Israelis, damaging a factory building in Sederot.
Israel temporarily opens the Erez crossing to allow
Fatah officials to escape Gaza for Ramallah. Meanwhile, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches, patrols
in villages around Jenin, firing on residential areas, causing no injuries. In
Gaza, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dayr al-Balah;
fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at
Palestinian, Israeli, international activists attending weekly nonviolent
demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil`in, injuring 2. (AP,
HA, WP, QA 6/15; NYT, WP, WT 6/16; Interfax 6/16 in WNC 6/17; PCHR 6/21; NYT 7/9)
Firmly in control of Gaza, Hamas declares amnesty for Fatah leaders, except National
Security Advisor
(NSA) Dahlan, with the aim of quelling violence, releasing several of
the 10 senior Fatah political security officials captured earlier in the day;
orders all mbrs. of the PA security forces in Gaza to continue to report for
duty to provide law and order, albeit under Hamas cmdrs. Hamas also
calls for the immediate release of kidnapped BBC correspondent Johnston.
With fighting suspended, Palestinian crowds loot abandoned Fatah
buildings, targeting in particular Dahlan’s home and Abbas’s
presidential compound; Hamas mbrs. surround and prevent looting at Abbas’s Gaza residence. Some violence persists, with
a Fatah mbr. thrown to his death from a
high building by the family of a man he killed earlier; a Fatah security official
committing suicide after learning that he was on a Hamas wanted list.
Meanwhile, Egypt reinforces its forces on the border with Gaza with riot police, APCs, and water cannons, fearing
that Palestinians will attempt to
flee Gaza for Egypt en masse at the first opportunity. In the West Bank, Abbas names Finance M Salam al-
Fayyad as
his new PM, charging him with forming a government; issues a presidential
decree suspending articles of the Basic Law (the interim Palestinian
constitution) requiring the new government to receive a vote of confidence from
the PC (currently controlled by the Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform
party). Fatah-Hamas tensions remain high in the West Bank, where heavily
armed Fatah mbrs. patrol in Ramallah in a show of force; Fatah mbrs.
ransack Change and Reform offices, Hamas-run charity organizations
in several cities; kidnap at least 9 Hamas mbrs. AMB mbrs.
fatally shoot a Hamas mbr. in Nablus. Inside Israel, the Israel
Prisons Service separates Fatah, Hamas detainees to prevent
rioting.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in her remarks with PA President Abbas in Ramallah: "I did speak with the
President, as I spoke earlier this morning with Foreign Minister Livni, with Defense Minister Barak, and will with
Prime Minister Olmert later, about the issue of settlement. As I said before, it's important to have an atmosphere of
confidence and trust. And unfortunately, I do believe, and the United States believes, that the actions and the
announcements that are taking place are indeed having a negative effect on the atmosphere for negotiation. And that is
not what we want. We should be in a position of encouraging confidence, not undermining it. No party should be taking
steps at this point that could prejudice the outcome of a negotiation. And I want to make very clear that the United
States will not consider these activities to affect any final status negotiations, including final borders. These are
to be negotiated between the parties in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). And
this is a point that I have made to my Israeli colleagues earlier, and Mr. President, I wanted to reiterate that with
you." Ms. Rice also met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert told
Secretary Rice in Jerusalem: "We are not confiscating additional Palestinian lands but building in Jewish
neighbourhoods in Jerusalem, which are expected to remain in Israeli hands." Regarding building endeavours in the
settlements, Mr. Olmert stressed that Israel's policy had not changed, saying, "It remains as it was - and it was
clarified to our counterparts, both American and Palestinian, long before the Annapolis conference and then again after
it." (AP, www.state.gov, Ynetnews)
A Palestinian man was severely beaten by Israeli soldiers at the entrance to the West Bank village of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron. The unidentified man was subsequently hospitalized in Hebron. It was also reported that a Palestinian youth was shot and injured by the Israeli army while driving his motorcycle in the same village. Witnesses stated that soldiers also beat up both of his parents after they had shot him. (IMEMC, Ma’an News Agency)
In an interview from Jerusalem with NBC’s Today show, Prime Minister Netanyahu repeated his statement saying he would accept a Palestinian State, but at the same time it would have to be a demilitarized State. On the issue of further Jewish settlements, Mr. Netanyahu said that he would not build new settlements. He said that he and President Barack Obama were trying to reach a common understanding on this issue. (Haaretz)
Israeli authorities partially opened the Kerem Shalom and Nahal Oz crossing points between Israel and the Gaza Strip, while the Karni crossing remain closed, said Raed Fattouh, a Palestinian border crossing official. Mr. Fattouh said that 110 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, commercial goods and agricultural requirements would pass through Kerem Shalom. A limited quantity of cooking gas and industrial diesel fuel for Gaza’s only power plant was to be shipped through the Nahal Oz, he said. (Ma’an News Agency)
Former US President Jimmy Carter stated, after meeting with settler leaders, that he did not believe Israel would withdraw from the “Gush Etzion” settlement block. Mr. Carter said that as the West Bank settlement block was situated close to the 1967 borders, he imagined that it would stay under Israeli control forever. Mr. Carter said that his visit to the settlements had given him a fresh perspective on the issue. “Gush Etzion” Council leader Shaul Goldstein, who hosted Mr. Carter at his home, called the visit significant and said that he believed it indeed contributed to a change in the former president’s views. (Haaretz)
A Russian Federation Foreign Ministry source was quoted as saying that Mr. Netanyahu's conditional backing for a Palestinian State did not open the way to solving the Middle East conflict. "This certainly shows a readiness for dialogue but it does not open the way for solving the Israeli-Palestinian problem," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted the source as saying. (AP)
Hamas dismissed Mr. Netanyahu's demand that Palestinians "recognize Palestine [Israel] as pure Jewish land, denying the Palestinian people any rights on their land." In a statement, Hamas said all that Mr. Netanyahu had offered in his speech was a Palestinian State without identity and sovereignty, without [East] Jerusalem as its capital , and without the right of return for the Palestinian refugees, insisting on keeping settlements and offering the Arab world only economic peace in return for normalization and recognition of Israel. (Ma’an News Agency)
Among the conclusions adopted by the Council of the European Union in Luxemburg, the Council called on Israel to commit unequivocally to the two-State solution and welcomed the initial step, following the Israeli policy review, announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of commitment to a peace that would include a Palestinian State. It urged both parties to take immediate steps to resume peace negotiations and called on both parties to implement their obligations under the Road Map. The Council, however, remained deeply concerned by settlement activities, house demolitions and evictions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including in East Jerusalem. (www.consilium.europa.eu)
The European Union Foreign Ministers welcomed Mr. Netanyahu's conditional endorsement of a future Palestinian State, but said it was not enough to raise EU-Israel ties to a higher level. The Ministers, who were due to meet Israel's Foreign Minister later in the day, questioned Mr. Netanyahu’s conditions for statehood and his defence of the settlements. "That's good but it's only a first step," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, said before the talks in Luxembourg. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also said it was "not sufficient, " adding "Nothing was said on the settlements ... but this stopping of the settlements is essential" said Kouchner, who in an earlier statement had rejected any preconditions to peace negotiations. (AP)
Commenting on Mr. Netanyahu’s speech, Yasser Abed Rabbo, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the PLO said, "The international community should confront this policy, through which Netanyahu wants to kill off any chance for peace… and exert pressure on him so that he adheres to international legitimacy and the Road Map". (Reuters)
Former US President Jimmy Carter, commenting on Mr. Netanyahu’s speech, said that it created new obstacles to peace. "In my opinion, Netanyahu brought up several obstacles to peace in his speech that others before him have not placed," Carter told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, adding, "He insists on settlement expansion, demands that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish State even though 20 per cent of Israel's citizens are not Jews". (Haaretz)
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday warned that demands for recognition of Israel as a Jewish State risked "aborting" the peace process, in the wake of Mr. Netanyahu's speech. Mubarak warned that the Middle East would remain mired in "chaos and instability" without "a just peace" between Israelis and Palestinians, MENA news agency reported. (DPA)
The German Government called Mr. Netanyahu’s speech “a step in the right direction," at a press conference on Monday. "It is a positive move that the Israeli Prime Minister agreed in principle to a two-State solution," said Government spokesman Thomas Steg, adding that it was crucial for talks to resume. "Further advances in this key region of the Mideast conflict can only be achieved if both sides are prepared to speak intensively with each other," Mr. Steg added. (DPA)
Syrian state media such as Al-Watan, Al-Baath and Ath-Thawra criticized Mr. Netanyahu for "torpedoing peace" in a speech accepting a Palestinian State but shackled by unacceptable conditions. (AFP)
Quartet Representative Tony Blair arrived in the Gaza Strip for a second visit since Hamas had taken control of Gaza. Mr. Blair’s office said that he planned to hold talks with local NGOs, businessmen and UNRWA. In a statement, Mr. Blair said: "I have returned to Gaza today to hear directly from local Palestinians about the tough situation they continue to face here. It is vitally important to maintain our focus on the genuine humanitarian concerns that still exist here in Gaza.” Mr. Blair’s visit came a day before a visit by former US President Carter, who was expected to meet with Hamas leaders. (Ma’an News Agency)
During a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged Israel to cooperate with the Independent fact-finding mission investigating war crimes during its recent assault on Gaza. She also called on Israel to end its economic blockade of Gaza, saying this was driving the people of the Strip deeper into extreme poverty. (AP, Reuters)
Islamic Jihad said in a statement that Israeli soldiers seized two of the group’s members from their homes in Jenin. (Ma’an News Agency)
A joint group of Palestinian fighters affiliated to three militant wings claimed responsibility for detonating an explosive device near an Israeli military jeep in northern Gaza. The groups, Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Martyrs Brigades said they worked together on the operation east of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. (Ma’an News Agency)
A Palestinian military court jailed a woman for 20 years for giving Israel information about militants in the occupied West Bank. Taghrid Abu Taybeh, 22, from Balata refugee camp near Nablus, pleaded guilty to charges of treason and contact with the “enemy”, a court statement said. (Reuters)
A delegation representing the Organization of the Islamic Conference and headed by Fuad Al-Muzma’i, Director of Humanitarian Affairs, was scheduled to arrive in the Gaza Strip on 17 June to inaugurate a new ophthalmologic hospital, which the Organization had funded. The delegation would also assess the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, hoping to complete a comprehensive plan for humanitarian support. (Ma’an News Agency)
Hamas and Fatah agreed to free political prisoners after Reconciliation Committees held meetings in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Senior Fatah leader in Gaza Ibrahim Abu An-Naja announced that both movements agreed to trade prisoner lists in preparation for release. (Ma’an News Agency)