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Newsletter : 1fax0216.txt
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>JN Feb. 16, 2001, Vol. 9, No. 29
West Bank and Gaza Remain Sealed
By Sonja Pace (VOA-Jerusalem)
The West Bank and Gaza remained sealed off Thursday, one day after a Palestinian bus driver staged a deadly hit-and-run attack near Tel Aviv, killing eight Israelis and injuring close to 20 others. Early Thursday a Palestinian was killed by Israeli soldiers near a Jewish settlement.
Israel Set for National Unity Government
By VOA News
Israel's Labor party has agreed in principle to form a government of national unity with Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon. The decision was announced after the Labor party's outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Barak met for several hours with Sharon.
The Labor party says the agreement still depends on completing joint policy guidelines with Sharon's right-wing Likud party. The Labor party is expected to receive the portfolios of defense and foreign affairs.
Palestinians Accuse Israel of Using Toxic Gas
By VOA News
Palestinian officials are accusing Israel of using toxic gas against Palestinian protesters. Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and other officials say Israel used the gas Monday during a battle against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis. They say several dozen Palestinians fell sick after the confrontation.
Israel has flatly denied the accusation. Dr. Eran Dolev, former chief medical officer of the Israeli army, said pictures shown on Palestinian television of people allegedly affected by the gas are fabricated. He said the symptoms shown by the alleged victims do not fit those caused by any gas in military use, either mustard gas or nerve gas.
Barak, Sharon Condemn Deadly Bus Attack
By Sonja Pace (VOA-Jerusalem)
A hit and run attack Wednesday by a Palestinian driver has further escalated tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Eight Israelis were killed and about 20 others injured in the attack near Tel Aviv. It was the deadliest attack against Israelis since the Palestinian uprising began more than four months ago. During the morning rush hour 35-year-old Khalil Abu Elba slammed his bus into a crowd of Israeli soldiers and commuters waiting at a bus stop near Holon, about 12 miles from Tel Aviv. The intersection was strewn with bodies, pieces of clothing and personal belongings.
The bus driver was caught after leading police on a 12 mile chase, during which he was seriously injured. The driver, Khalil Abu Elba from Gaza, had an Israeli permit to drive Palestinian workers to their jobs in Israel and had dropped off his passengers before the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon condemned the attack and vowed to make security a top priority when he takes office. Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Barak called the attack an abominable crime and vowed revenge. "Nothing will break our determination to pursue security and peace for our people," Barak said. "We will make sure whoever is responsible for this event, by planning it, launching it or executing it will be brought to his real penalty or punishment."
Palestinian officials blamed Israel for creating a climate of anger and hopelessness that they said was responsible for the escalating violence. Since the unrest began last September, nearly to 400 people have been killed, most of them Palestinians.
Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat at first blamed Israel for the escalating violence. But he later said the bus incident could have been an accident. He added that he opposes violence, no matter what the circumstances.
Palestinian Refugees's Right of Return
By Ed Warner (VOA-Washington)
One of the toughest issues facing Middle East peace talks will be the so-called right of return for Palestinian refugees who fled or were evicted from their homes when Israel became a nation. Israel said an influx of Palestinian refugees and their descendants into the country would change the character of the Jewish state, and could eventually leave them in the minority.
If Palestinians are ever going to return to the homeland they lost, some basics must be accepted said former top State Department official Richard Murphy. "My own assumption is that Israel will be able not today, and I do not know who will be first to come out with it publicly but they will be able to find a way to acknowledge the Palestinians' right to return as long as it is understood that Israel will retain the sovereign right to determine who returns."
Former Assistant Secretary of State Phyllis Oakley said she believes it its possible to reach a compromise on the issue as part of a comprehensive settlement: "Have Israel accept the principle of right of return, but leave the numbers out. With modalities to stretch out perhaps over 10 years, you would start first with some family reunification, bringing people back. This really does mean small numbers, if you said the modalities will be worked out later."
Citing the need for information about the more than three million Palestinian refugees, Oakley said a census should be taken and other questions should be asked. "We do not know really a thing about a lot of the Palestinians' attitudes. Have these changed over the years? What do they really want, and what do they expect, and what would be their trade-offs going into a settlement?"
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