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.
On September 6, 2003, Abbas resigned; the next day, Arafat named his replacement Ahmed Qurei, speaker of the PA’s Legislative Council and number three man in the PLO. On October 6, 2003, Qurei was officially named prime minister of the PA.
The Road Map requires the Palestinian Arabs 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 46th week following the unveiling of the Road Map plan, March 9 – March 15, 2004.
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.
What They Did During Week #46: During week #46, March 9 – March 15, 2004, there were at least 14 terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, in which 10 people were murdered and 21 wounded.
(During the first 46 weeks since the Road Map was issued, there have been a total of at least 1,047 Palestinian Arab terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, in which 174 people were murdered and 893 wounded.)
The PA’s official “Palestine Media Center” reported on January 15, 2004 that PA Foreign Minister Nabil Sha’ath (see www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=1&id=1177) said the PA “is capable to stop all anti-Israeli attacks provided the Israelis reciprocate in kind.” In fact, the Road Map requires the PA to stop all attacks regardless of Israeli “reciprocation.” Despite that requirement, attacks continued:
March 9: Mortar rockets fired at Kfar Aza … Mortar rockets fired at Netzarim … Shooting attack on Moshav Netzer Hazani … Mortar rockets fired at Moshav Gadid.
March 10: Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
March 11: Stabbing attack on a Beersheba taxi driver; one wounded.
March 12: Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
March 13: Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
March 14: Terrorists intercepted on their way to attack the Negev town of Nahal Oz … Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers near Kadim … Bomb planted on the Netzarim-Karni route.
March 15: Suicide bombing in the Ashdod port; ten murdered, 20 wounded … Missile fired at a bus from Netzarim … Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers on the Karni-Netzarim route.
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 #46: No such statement was issued.
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 #46: No such steps were taken.
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 #46: No such steps were taken.
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 #46: 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 #46: 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.
For example, according to the U.S. government’s Foreign Broadcast Information Services (FBIS), PA Television on March 13, 2004, carried a sermon by Sheikh Ibrahim Mudayris, from the Zayid Bin-Sultan Mosque in Gaza, in which he said that “the Jews” are “the sons of apes and pigs” and are “extremists and terrorists who deserve death, while we deserve life, since we have a just cause.”
The official PA newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida marked International Women’s Day (March 9, 2004) by publishing a cartoon portraying Israel as mistreating Arab women. The cartoon showed Palestinian Arab women trapped by chains made of the Star of David.
The PA media also continue to portray Israeli as terrorists, blaming Israel for bombings undertaken by Arabs. For example, after a Palestinian Arab suicide bomber exploded prematurely on March 6, 2004, accidentally killing two PA policemen, PA Television reported: “Yesterday two members of the Palestinian National Security were killed during a bombing by the occupying forces near the Bet Hanoun crossing.” (Translation courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch)
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 #46: 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 #46: Five different PA security organizations, including Force 17 and the General Intelligence, remain under Arafat’s direct command. 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.
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 #46: No such steps were taken.