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 15th week following the unveiling of the Road Map plan, August 5 – August 11, 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.” They did not do so. On June 29, 2003, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah issued statements saying that they would suspend attacks on Israelis for a period of 90 days if Israel ceases all counter-terror operations and releases all imprisoned terrorists.
What They Did During Week #15: During week #15, August 5 – August 11, 2003, there were at least 10 terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, in which one person was murdered and nine wounded.
(During the first 15 weeks since Abu Mazen became prime minister and the Road Map was published, there have been a total of 389 Palestinian Arab terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, in which 53 people were murdered and 334 wounded.)
August 5: Shooting attack on an Israeli Army positon near Shechem (Nablus).
August 6: Mortar rocketed fired at Neve Dekalim.
August 7: Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
August 8: Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers in Shechem (Nablus); one murdered, three wounded.
August 9: Mortar rocket fired at Morag; six Israelis wounded … Mortar rocket fired at a second Israeli community in Gush Katif … Mortar rockets fired at the Gush Katif perimeter fence.
August 10: Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers near Neve Dekalim.
August 11: Two shooting attacks on Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
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 #15: No such statement was issued. 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 #15: There have been occasional media reports of small numbers of terrorists being arrested by the PA, but then quickly released. The Jerusalem Post reported on July 21, 2003, that a senior Israeli Army official “said sometimes ‘they [the PA police] arrest a militant under the most comfortable conditions possible and release him’ within hours. The longest a militant has been held, he said, is four days.”
The Israeli government revealed (Jerusalem Post, Aug.6, 2003) that on August 1, 2003, Israeli forces arrested a would-be suicide bomber, Amid Touriki of the Fatahh Tanzim, in Shechem (Nablus). The Israeli Army had first given Touriki’s name to the PA, but the PA failed to arrest him.
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 #15: In mid-July, there were media reports that PA security forces had confiscated 20 illegal weapons from individuals in Gaza. Israel Radio reported on July 12 that the individuals were common criminals, not terrorists. On July 14, after media reports claiming that PA policemen were searching cars for weapons, a “senior PA security official” denied the reports, telling the Jerusalem Post: “What you saw on television was not real; it was part of a drill. We carried out an exercise with the participation of 600 policemen. That’s all.” (Jerusalem Post, July 15, 2003)
Meanwhile, Israeli forces operating in Samaria on August 6 seized a weapons cache that included grenades, an M-16 rifle, and ammunition; and Israeli forces operating near Tulkarm discovered a 77-pound bomb that had recently been prepared and would soon be used against Israelis.
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 #15: 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).
Meanwhile, the terrorist infrastructure has been growing steadily. The Jerusalem Post reported (July 21, 2003): “Hamas is utilizing the cease-fire to build more than 1,000 Kassam rockets in an effort to change the balance of power following the three-month cessation in hostilities, a senior IDF officer told reporters in the Gaza Strip … This has sparked a fear among IDF officers that should hostilities resume, ‘the opening of the next phase in the conflict will be much more violent,’ according to a Gaza brigade commander … Negotiation has so far served as the chief PA method for preventing attacks, he said. Sometimes ‘they arrest a militant under the most comfortable conditions possible and release him’ within hours. The longest a militant has been held, he said, is four days.”
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 #15: 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 #15: 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 #15: 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 #15: No such steps were taken.