BACKGROUND:
On June 24, 2002, President Bush set forth the conditions that the Palestinian Arabs must fulfill in order to merit U.S. support for the creation of a Palestinian Arab state. Among the major obligations are that the Palestinian Arabs must “dismantle the terrorist infrastructure,” “end incitement,” “elect new leaders not compromised by terror,” and unequivocally embrace democracy and free market economics. None of those conditions were fulfilled.
In March 2003, Yasir Arafat chose Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), the number two man in the PLO since the 1960s, as the new prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. Mazen took office on April 29, 2003. Less than a day later, the Bush administration unveiled its “Road Map” plan, which set forth conditions that the Palestinian Arabs must fulfill prior to the creation of a Palestinian Arab state.
The Road Map stipulates that the Palestinian Arabs are required to undertake concrete steps to combat terrorist groups and democratize Palestinian Arab society. Those obligations, which are quoted below, were supposed to have been fulfilled during Phase 1 of the Road Map, which concluded at the end of May 2003, but they were not.
This report analyzes Palestinian Arab violations of those obligations during the 8th week following the unveiling of the Road Map plan, June 17 – June 23, 2003.
I. “Cease All Violence”
What They Are Required to Do: The Road Map states: “In Phase 1 [May 2003], the Palestinians immediately undertake an unconditional cessation of violence.”
What They Did During Week #8: During week #8, June 17 – June 23, 2003, there were at least 30 terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, in which 3 people were murdered and 10 wounded.
(During the first eight weeks since Abu Mazen became prime minister and the Road Map was published, there have been a total of 236 Palestinian Arab terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, in which 46 people were murdered and 300 wounded.)
June 17: Six mortar rockets fired at Neve Dekalim; two people wounded … Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers at Ganei Tal … Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers along the Israel-Egypt border … Firebomb attack on an Israeli tank near Shechem (Nablus).
June 18: Shooting attack on an Israeli automobile on the Trans-Israel Highway; a 7 year-old girl was murdered, three other passengers were wounded … Mortar rocket fired at a home in Netiv HaAsarah … Shooting attack on an Israeli auto south of Hebron … Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers near Silwad … Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers near Netzarim … Shooting attack on a Boarder Guard patrol near Kalkilya … Firebomb attack on an Israeli Army jeep in Hebron … Shooting attack on Gan-Or … Bomb planted near Rafiah … Shots fired at convoy of cars from Netazrim.
June 19: Suicide bombing in Moshav Sdei Trumot; one person murdered … Mortar rockets fired at Sderot … Mortar rocket fired at an Israeli Army checkpoint in Gush Katif … Six bombs planted in El-Hader … Shooting attack on workers near Netzarim.
June 20: Suicide bombing at the Karni crossing point … Bomb planted near the Karni crossing point.
June 21: Mortar rocket fired at a house in Netzer Hazani.
June 22: Shooting attack on an Israeli automobile near Silwad; one passenger murdered, three wounded … Terrorist intercepted trying to infiltrate Morag.
June 23: Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers in Khan Yunis; one wounded … Mortar rocket fired at a Jewish neighborhood in northern Gaza … Two mortar rocket attacks on Sderot; one person wounded … Anti-tank missile fired at an Israeli Army outpost on the Israel-Egypt border … Four terrorists killed while preparing bombs in Khan Yunis.
II. “Call for Recognizing Israel and Ending Violence”
What They Are Required to Do: The Road Map obligates the Palestinian Arabs to “issue an unequivocal statement reiterating Israel’s right to exist in peace and security and calling for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire to end armed activity and all acts of violence against Israelis anywhere.”
What They Did During Week #8: On June 4, speaking at the Aqaba summit, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) did say “we repeat our renunciation of terrorism against the Israelis wherever they might be.” But PA Minister of Information Nabil Amr said (Doha Al-Jazira Television, June 14, 2003): “As regards the word ‘terrorism’, I do not know why when the Palestinians denounce the word terrorism, certain people think that this means resistance. There is no text anywhere that says that the Palestinian people’s resistance is terrorism, which we denounce…Yes, we denounce terrorism. Anyone who says that denouncing terrorism means denouncing resistance is doing an injustice to legitimate resistance and is in effect labeling it with terrorism.”
III. “Arrest, Disrupt, and Restrain Terrorists”
What They Are Required to Do: The Road Map obligates the Palestinian Arabs to “undertake visible efforts on the ground to arrest, disrupt and restrain individuals and groups conducting and planning violent attacks on Israelis anywhere.”
What They Did During Week #8: There were no reports of any arrests of terrorists by the Palestinian Authority.
IV. “Confiscate Terrorists’ Weapons”
What They Are Required to Do: The Road Map obligates the Palestinian Arabs to “commence confiscation of illegal weapons.” What They Did During Week #8: There were no reports of the PA seizing any terrorists’ weapons.
By contrast, Israeli forces operating in Tubas, in the northern Jordan Valley, on June 19, seized a cache of 15 sacks of chemicals used to make bombs.
V. “Dismantle the Terrorist Infrastructure”
What They Are Required to Do: The Road Map obligates the Palestinian Arabs to carry out the “dismantlement of terrorist capabilities and infrastructure.”
What They Did During Week #8: The PA did not outlaw Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, or any other terrorist groups; there were no reports of the PA shutting down any bomb factories or terrorists’ training camps; the PA continued to ignore Israel’s 45 requests for the extradition of terrorists; there were no reports of the PLO leadership punishing PLO factions that are engaged in terrorism, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).
VI. “End All Incitement”
What They Are Required to Do: The Road Map requires that “all official Palestinian institutions end incitement against Israel.”
What They Did During Week #8: The PA’s official newspapers, television, and radio continued to broadcast a steady stream of anti-Israel, anti-American, and pro-violence incitement, and PA officials continued to make inciting statements. In addition, there was no change in the PA’s policy of inciting support for terror by publicly praising terrorists, naming streets after them, and paying salaries to imprisoned terrorists and their families.
VII. “End Arab States’ Support for Terror”
What They Are Required to Do: The Road Map states that during May 2003, “Arab states cut off public and private funding and all other forms of support for groups supporting and engaging in violence and terror.”
What They Did During Week #8: There were no reports of any Arab states cutting off their support for Palestinian Arab terrorist groups.
VIII. “Consolidate Security Forces”
What They Are Required to Do: The Road Map obligates the Palestinian Arabs to undertake “consolidation of security authority, free of association with terror and corruption”; and “all Palestinian security organizations are consolidated into three services reporting to an empowered interior minister.”
What They Did During Week #8: The Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported on May 5, 2003, that “five different PA security organizations, including Force 17 and the General Intelligence, remain under the direct command of Chairman Yasir Arafat” and have not been consolidated under the control of the Interior Minister. Military Intelligence, the National Security Forces, and the naval forces are also under Arafat’s control. Only the remaining two security agencies are under the Interior Minister. Arafat’s five are under the control of a newly-created agency, the National Security Council, chaired by Arafat and his close aide Hanni al-Hassan.
IX. “Institute Democratic Reforms”
What They Are Required to Do: The Road Map requires the Palestinian Arabs to undertake a number of steps to transform their brutal, corrupt dictatorial regime into a full-fledged democracy, including “action on a credible process to draft constitution for Palestinian statehood”; the holding of “free, open, and fair elections”; and “steps to achieve genuine separation of powers, including any necessary Palestinian legal reforms for this purpose.”
What They Did During Week #8: No such steps have yet been taken.