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Newsletter : 0fax0522.txt
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>JN May 22, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 92
Travel Bans on Israelis Result From Arab Violence
By IsraelWire
Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced Sunday that in light of the continued Arab violence aimed at Israeli motorists and civilians and military personnel, tourists and Israelis are, until further notice, banned from entering into areas, under total PLO Authority (PA) control.
Israeli Girl, 2, Severely Injured in PA Firebombing
By Susan Sappir (VOA-Jerusalem) & IsraelWire
Prime Minister Ehud Barak has canceled a trip to the United States and a meeting with President Clinton because of a flare up of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
A two-year-old Israeli girl was severely burned when Palestinians threw a firebomb at her family's car in the West Bank town, Jericho. Her mother was also injured. It was the worst attack on Israeli civilians in a week of clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Following the firebombing early Sunday morning, the Israeli Army announced Israelis and tourists were being barred from entering Jericho until further notice.
The car, which was traveling on the Jericho bypass route, was targeted by terrorists, who hurled a firebomb which quickly resulted in the flames which seriously injured the 2-year-old, who was strapped into a child car seat. The incendiary device entered the car through the front right window, which was half open. Instantaneously, the car was an inferno. The driver managed to come to a halt and two adults, who were not wearing seatbelts, jumped, extinguishing themselves while frantically trying to save two children.
Israeli officials reported Sunday evening that it appears the firebomb was hurled by a PA paramilitary policeman, the same group responsible for maintaining law and order and ensuring the safe passage of Israeli motorists entering Jericho as they pass through or visit the PA's Oasis casino.
The cabinet held an emergency meeting to discuss the violence and decided to delay the hand over of villages in the Jerusalem areas that are to be transferred to Palestinian control shortly. Barak issued a warning to Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat to control the street protests that have turned into clashes with Israeli forces.
Six Palestinians were killed and hundreds of others were wounded in a week of demonstrations for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. It was the worst violence in two years. Most worrisome to Israel is that members of Arafat's Fatah youth movement have used firearms against Israeli troops. Several soldiers were injured but none were killed.
The clashes spread throughout the West Bank and Gaza. Although Palestinians control most of the Palestinian-populated locations, Israeli troops are stationed on the outskirts of their towns and villages, controlling roads and guarding Jewish settlements.
NSA Adviser Warns Israel and Palestinians
By Ross Dunn (VOA-Tel Aviv)
National Security Adviser Sandy Berger has warned Israel and the Palestinians to strike a peaceful compromise or risk plunging the region into even greater violence. Berger is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Berger met with both Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat. He urged them to seize an historical opportunity to make peace.
He says the recent wave of clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has underlined the need for genuine reconciliation. In an address at Tel Aviv University, where he received an honorary doctorate, Berger warned there could be an even greater explosion of violence if the sides fail to reach a peace agreement.
"The alternative to a peaceful compromise is not the status quo - it is something very different, and I am convinced, far worse. For the condition that produced hostility in the past remains current to this day, as we see in the violence of the past week. It is the consequence of proximity, the physical interconnection between Israelis and Palestinians that, in the absence of a fundamental resolution of their conflict, is bound to create further friction and further violence. If nothing else, the events of this past week were the most tragic reminder of this reality."
Berger says a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is a necessity. He says it must define in words and deeds how the conflict will end. Reaching such an accord will take courage and vision, and he says he has no illusions about how difficult the process will be.
Berger says solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the key to achieving a comprehensive regional peace in the Middle East. He says that in the past six-months there have been intensive efforts to convince Syria and Lebanon to strike peace accords with Israel.
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