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 12th week following the unveiling of the Road Map plan, July 15 – July 21, 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 #12: During week #12, July 15 – July 21, 2003, there were at least 17 terrorist attacks, in which one person was wounded.
(During the first 12 weeks since Abu Mazen became prime minister and the Road Map was published, there have been a total of 338 Palestinian Arab terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, in which 51 people were murdered and 318 wounded.)
July 15: Bomb planted in Hebron.
July 16: Two shooting attacks on an Israeli Army outpost in Gaza … Mortar rocket attack on the town of Gadid.
July 17: Shooting attack on an Israeli Army outpost in northern Samaria … Israeli motorists attacked near Azoun … Israeli motorists attacked near Peduel.
July 18: Bomb planted in Tubas.
July 19: Firebomb attack on an Israeli motorist south of Revavah … Shooting attack on Israeli Border Guard officers in the Abu Dis neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem … Bomb attack on Israeli Army vehicles south of Tulkarm.
July 20: Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers in the south Hebron Hills.
July 21: Stabbing attack in the Yemin Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem; one wounded … Bomb planted near Har Bracha … Bomb attacked near Tzofim … Shooting attack on workers near Tulkarm … Attempted attack on Israeli oldiers north of Kadim.
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 #12: No such statement was issued. On June 4, speaking at the Aqaba summit, ahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) did say “we repeat our renunciation of terrorism against the Israelis wherever they ight 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 enouncing 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 nywhere.”
What They Did During Week #12: During the previous week, there were reports of small numbers of terrorists eing arrested by the PA, but then quickly released. During Week #12, there were no reports of additional arrests.
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 #11: 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 Shechem (Nablus) uncovered an explosives laboratory and a cache of suicide-bomber vests.
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 #12: 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).
On July 16, 2003, the Israeli Army’s General Staff Planning Wing submitted a report to U.S. officials revealing that there are 25 active explosives-manufacturing labs operating in Judea, Samaria and Gaza; there are 20 arms- muggling networks functioning; some 50,000 illegal weapons are circulating among Arabs in the territories; the PA is
permitting the terrorists freedom of travel in Gaza, which enables them to train terrorists in firing rockets, prepare explosives, and transfer wanted terrorists from place to place; and the terror groups continue to develop more
advanced Kassam rockets—improving their range from 8 kilometers to 12, which would put the city of Ashkelon, and Prime Minister Sharon’s nearby ranch residence, within striking range.
On July 20, 2003, Prime Minister Sharon said that there had been a temporary decrease in the number of terrorist attacks, but “it is also impossible to ignore the fact that the terror organizations, with which the Palestinian Authority as reached agreements, are strengthening.”
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 #12: 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 errorists, naming streets after them, and paying salaries to imprisoned terrorists and their families.
For example, Palestinian Media Watch reported (July 20, 2003) that according to the PA-sponsored newspaper Al Ayyam (July 18, 2003), a girls summer camp run by the PA Ministry of Youth and Sports, in the city of Kalkilya, s “named after the Shahida [martyr] Wafa Idris … about 100 girls participated [this summer] … [At the closing ceremonies thanks were given including] to UNICEF for its support of the camps.” Idris was the first woman suicide bomber. Her attack in Jerusalem on Jan. 27, 2002, murdered one person and wounded over 150.
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 #12: 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 #12: 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 rafat” and have not been consolidated under the control of the Interior Minister. Military Intelligence, the National ecurity Forces, and the naval forces are also under Arafat’s control. Only the remaining two security agenciesare under the Interior Minister. Arafat’s five are under the control of a newly-created agency, the National SecurityCouncil, 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 #12: No such steps were taken.