At Barak's home, Arafat, Barak meet for the 1st
time since the Camp David summit. After the 3-hr. mtg., during which Clinton
phones Arafat, Israel and the PA announce that their senior negotiators will go
to Washington in the next few days to meet with the U.S. peace team, possibly to
hold 3-way talks. (MM 9/25; MM, NYT, WP, WT 9/26; NYT 9/27)
Israeli chief negotiator Ben-Ami goes to Jordan,
Egypt reportedly to promote the idea of entrusting the UN Security
Council (UNSC) to resolve competing claims on Jerusalem. (JP [Internet], MM
9/25; NYT 9/26; MM 9/27)
A Knesset comm. approves a draft law that would
require an absolute majority of 61 MKs to endorse a decision to turn over land
within the present municipal borders of Jerusalem to "a foreign body."
(NYT 9/26)
In the Galilee, 1,000 Israeli Arab residents of `Ayn
Mahal strike to protest the seizure of 450 acres of their land for the expansion
of Jewish Upper Nazareth. (AFP [Internet] 9/25)
The IDF forcibly moves 16 bedouin fr. Hebron Hills into area A;
opens fire on a Palestinian vehicle nr. Yatta, wounding 4 Palestinians. (AFP,
AP, GS, HA, MM, PMC 9/25; Radio Monte Carlo 9/25 in WNC 9/26; HA, MM, NYT, WP,
WT 9/26; DUS, QA, SAF 9/26 in WNC 9/27; WJW 9/27; SAF 9/27 in WNC 9/28;
al-Quds 9/30, al-Majd 10/8 in WNC 10/9) (see Peace Monitor)
Arafat, en route to Damascus for talks with Syrian pres. Bashar
al-Asad, receives word that the visit has been postponed. Shortly
thereafter, Peres announces that he will meet with Arafat on 9/26.
Although Israeli-Palestinian violence increases today, Sharon does
not cancel the mtg. Acceding to Israeli demands to curb incitement, Arafat
closes a photo and art exhibit on the uprising in Nablus that features a mock-up
of the Jerusalem pizzeria bombed on 8/9.
Palestinians fire 2 mortars in
Gaza, 1 landing inside the Strip, the other inside Israel, neither causing
damage.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in Dura; bulldozes 3
homes and farm land nr. Netzarim settlement in Gaza; fires on stone-throwing
Palestinian youths nr. Bayt Hanun and Kefar Darom, wounding 13; fatally shoots
1 Palestinian in his Jenin home; raids a UNRWA hospital in Qalqilya,
assaulting several staff mbrs. Jewish
settlers announce the completion of 14 permanent housing units in Rehalim
nr. Nablus. (HA, LAW, PCHR 9/25; al-Quds
9/25 in WNC 9/26; CNN, HA, LAW, NYT 9/26; UN press release 10/1; LAW, PCHR 10/2)
Palestinians fire 3 Qassam rockets
into the Negev, lightly injuring 4 Israelis, damaging 1 house; fire on a
settler vehicle nr. Ramallah, injuring 2 Jewish settlers. The PA says it has arrested 11 Palestinian collaborators
who aided Israel in various assassinations.
7 Palestinians killed. 1 Israeli killed.
Overnight, the IDF launches a major raid on Bureij r.c., firing
air-to-surface shells at the home of wanted Hamas mbr. Muhammad Bashir Akel,
assassinating him and demolishing his home; surrounding the home of,
attempting to arrest Bureij Islamic Jihad leader Jawad Shahin (not at
home at the time), sparking a gun battle that kills Islamic Jihad mbr. Nur
Abu Armana and 1 IDF soldier, wounds 7 IDF soldiers; demolishing
Shahin’s home; killing a 3-yr.-old Palestinian girl and wounding
at least 6 bystanders. The IDF also raids Hebron, assassinating wanted
Hebron Islamic Jihad leader Diab Shuwayki (whom Israel has tried to
assassinate twice previously) and Dura Islamic Jihad leader `Abd al-Rahim
Talhami, wounding a 3d Islamic Jihad mbr.; fatally shoots a Palestinian
attempting to plant a pipe bomb nr. Morag settlement; fires on residential areas
of Khan Yunis, wounding 4. In East Jerusalem, a Palestinian woman fr.
Hebron stabs, lightly wounds an IDF soldier, is arrested. In Abu Dis, construction workers digging the
foundations for the separation wall unearth a previously unknown
Byzantine monastery. A Palestinian woman dies of injuries received during
the apparent IDF assassination of Abu Sawarih on 9/18. (AFP, BBC, HA, PCHR, WT
9/25; MENA, VOP 9/25 in WNC 9/27; HA, NYT, WP 9/26; al-Quds 9/26 in WNC
10/4; PR 10/1; PCHR 10/2)
Late in the
evening, Palestinians fire 2 antitank rockets at an IDF post nr.
Gadid settlement and fire on IDF patrols nr. Psagot and Gush Katif settlements;
no damage or injuries are reported.
The IDF continues its assault on Khan Yunis, totally demolishing 49
Palestinian homes, partially demolishing 7 before withdrawing by dawn.
During the day, the IDF fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis
(wounding an elementary school student in her classroom), Rafah; raids the
campus of al-Quds Open University in Hebron, detaining and interrogating 10s of
students; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin, al-Mughraqa,
Ramallah, Wadi al-Silqa; bulldozes a Palestinian home, 6 d. in
al-Mughraqa. (HA, WP, WT 9/26; PCHR 9/30; UNRWA press release 10/1)
2 Palestinians killed.
Overnight, the IDF conducts air strikes on the home of PRC mbr.
`Amr Qarmut in Jabaliya r.c. in what may be an assassination attempt
(causing damage but no injuries), a Hamas-run school in Gaza City
(injuring 23 Palestinians), and a cultural center in Bayt Hanun run by the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), causing damage but no
injuries; arrests 207 Palestinians (mostly Hamas and Islamic Jihad
mbrs., including Hamas political leaders Shaykh Hasan Yusuf and Muhammad
Ghazzal) in the largest raids across the West Bank since 2/05. During the
day, Sharon says that he has given the IDF "free rein" to act against
Palestinians firing rockets. The IDF continues to mass troops on the n.
Gaza border, breaks the sound barrier over Gaza roughly every 2 hrs., fires
artillery shells fr. Nahal Oz into open areas nr. Bayt Hanun as a warning to
Palestinians (marking Israel's 1st shelling of Gaza since 1967); fires missiles
fr. F-16s at a car s. of Gaza City, assassinating senior Islamic Jihad leader
Muhammad Shaykh Khalil, Islamic Jihad mbr. Nassir Barhum, wounding 4
bystanders. Later, an IDF helicopter gunship strikes 3 targets in Khan Yunis,
including the homes of senior AMB mbrs. Ziyad Abu Hayya and Mahir al-Farra
in what may be assassination attempts, causing heavy damage, injuring 17
Palestinians; the IDF says it is targeting AMB arms storage facilities. A
12-yr.-old Palestinian wounded in the 9/23 Jabaliya explosion dies, bringing
that toll to at least 16. (AFP, AP, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, WP, WT, XIN, YA 9/25; CSM,
HA, IMEMC, JP, NYT, WP, WT 9/26; HA 9/27; AFP, DS, MEI, PCHR 9/29)
Today's Independent (9/25) reports that a new book by 2 prominent
Israeli journalists, Ofer Shelah and Raviv Druker, states that "at a
conference of officers as early as May 2001, Shaul Mofaz, now defense
minister and then chief of staff, asked for the tape to be switched off before
telling them that he wanted a 'price' exacted from the Palestinians of 10 killed
a day on each of the army's seven fronts." The book also reports that after 6
IDF soldiers were killed in an ambush in 3/02, "Mofaz personally ordered a
revenge operation in which for the first time [sic—see "Overview of
Israeli Military Operations," Resource File Doc. A, JPS 134] Palestinian
police officers would be shot, whether they posed a threat or not." (Independent
9/25)
In the evening, Hamas agrees to stop rocket attacks
immediately.
Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops into Bayt Lahiya, reoccupies the fmr.
Dugit settlement site, raids and searches homes, interrogates Palestinians
regarding rocket fire fr. the area, withdraws late in the evening without making
arrests. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Nablus, clashing with Palestinian
gunmen, leaving 1 Palestinian gunman wounded; conducts arrest raids, house
searches nr. Hebron, Jenin. An Israeli military court reverses a 9/12 ruling to
free 21 Hamas legislators arrested on 6/28–29, saying they must remain in jail
pending trial. (NYT 9/26; WP 9/27; PCHR 9/28)
Israel’s Bank Hapoalim and Discount Bank announce plans to terminate all dealings
with banks in Gaza, fearing prosecution in light of Israel’s 9/19 declaration
of Gaza as “hostile territory”; at Israel’s request, the suspensions are
delayed until Israel’s Postal Bank can expand operations to assume sole control
of clearing international financial transactions with Gaza. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids,
house searches in al-Bireh (raiding the
home of Palestinian Council [PC] mbr. Miriam Salih [Change and Reform], confiscating a computer and documents, arresting
her son), Nablus and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah. Jewish settlers and right-wing activists announce plans to set up 5
new
unauthorized outposts in the West Bank; 1,000s of activists are expected to
take part in the effort during the upcoming week-long Sukkoth holiday 9/27–10/2.
(NYT 9/26; OCHA 9/26; PCHR 9/27)
Israeli forces seized a Palestinian teenager at the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem and detained two young men and a minor in Bi'lin, west of Ramallah. (Ma'an News Agency)
Israeli forces beat and detained an 18-year-old Palestinian at a checkpoint south of Tulkarm. (Ma'an News Agency)
PA President Abbas met with US President Bush in Washington. President Bush said, "We are working hard with you on security matters. We're working hard with you on helping the international community help you get the economy going in the West Bank. And I welcome you back. As you know, I've got four more months left in office and I'm hopeful that the vision that you and I have worked on can come to pass. And my only pledge to you is that I'll continue to work hard to see that it can come to pass." (AFP, Reuters, www.whitehouse.gov)
Israel's Ramon Committee, which was negotiating the release of soldier Gilad Shalit, submitted to the Israeli Prime Minister the names of 450 Palestinian prisoners Israel would free in exchange for the soldier. The list included half of the prisoners Hamas wanted released. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told members of the Israeli press, "We insist that all the veteran prisoners and all those sentenced to life terms be freed as part of the exchange deal," adding that the list of names was "non-negotiable." (Ma'an News Agency, Ynetnews)
Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem opened an office in Washington to inform US policy-makers and the American Jewish community about the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. (Haaretz)
Top EU officials met with PA Foreign Minister Riyad Malki in an effort to promote a greater role for the EU in moving the peace talks forward. "This meeting, which took place at crucial time in the peace process, and on the eve of the meeting of the Quartet, provided an opportunity to discuss the European Union's enhanced role in the peace process deepening relations between the European Union and the Palestinian Authority," the EU said in a statement. (AP)
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said in an address to the General Assembly that Japan was helping to bring lasting peace to the Middle East. He cited the reconciliation initiative pairing up Israeli and Palestinian high school students, sharing the tragedy of having lost at least one relative to violence. In another scheme, Japan was providing assistance in introducing Israeli irrigation technology to Palestinians in the West Bank. "Here, Japan desires to act as a catalyst, serving as a mediator between the two sides," he said, adding that his country hoped to boost trust, the "scarcest resource of all in the Middle East." (UN News Centre)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, after a meeting with Arab Foreign Ministers, told reporters at the UN: "There will be an Arab request for a Security Council meeting to discuss the issue of settlement as soon as possible, hopefully this week ... even though there is an objection from one country." Farhan Haq, associate spokesperson for the Secretary-General, later confirmed: "The meeting will take place tomorrow at the ministerial level." (AFP, Haaretz, Reuters, Xinhua)
A survey conducted by the Nablus-based An-Najah University Centre for Opinion Polls and Survey Studies showed that 66.8 per cent of the Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip rejected any kind of union with Jordan, the so-called "Jordan option". The Centre's Director, Hussein Ahmad, said, "There is a sense that discussions of the 'Jordan option' may threaten current negotiations and prevent Palestinians from receiving their full rights." (The Jordan Times)