| September 2000 - Return to Monthly Index MiddleEast.Org 9/29/00 |
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DEAL LOOMS AS BLOOD FLOWS
"If
there is an agreement it will include an end
to the conflict, permanent borders for Israel
recognized by the world, 80 percent of the
settlers in Judea and Samaria under Israeli
sovereignty in settlement blocs, security
arrangements, principally along the eastern
border, and Jerusalem bigger than ever since
King David - with a solid Jewish majority for
generations, united under our sovereignty, and
recognized by the world as the capital of Israel...
Now I don't want to go into details. There will
also be a Palestinian capital that will be
called Al-Quds... It will be Jerusalem and
Al-Quds, one next to the other, as two capitals."
Ehud Barak - 9/28/00
MID-EAST REALITIES - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 9/29/00:
They are desperately trying to find the formulations that
will bring forth another White House ceremony allowing Clinton this time
to put his arms around Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat and "end the conflict"
with another historic photo.
There is much short-term political gain to be had for
all. There's much glory for Clinton, at least temporary salvation for Barak,
and bundles of money for Arafat.
The Israelis will give the Palestinians words and gestures,
but in the end they will remain in control. There is a long history of
such duplicitous and disingenuous agreements going way back to Ben-Gurion,
who kept promising the Arabs in the 30s that the Jews had no intention
to establish a Jewish State.
The Palestinians will give what the Israelis want the
most -- what will be said to be complete recognition and legitimacy with
all of historic Palestine west of the Jordan in reality under their control,
the East Bank more firmly than ever in the hands of the Hashemite clan
that has worked on behalf of the West ever since the days of Lawrence.
Barak has sent Yossi Beilin to Italy to coordinate
European support for what they are trying to make happen in the weeks ahead.
Not only do they expect the Europeans to applaud loudly, they are being
pressed to come up with a huge multi-billion package to "resettle" the
Palestinian refugees. Beilin meets today with the Pope to further
coordinate the looming deal. Meanwhile the Acting Israeli Foreign
Minister has been rushing to meetings with Mubarak and Abdullah making
sure they are on board and will do their part in this historic drama.
It's an extraordinarily complicated world political
play that is underway, one fragile in bringing about, one even more fragile
in keeping together once the deal is done. But even so, with Barak
facing the return of the Knesset in 30 days, Arafat facing his own people
who have been assured they will have "a State" this year, and Clinton just
about out of time to burnish his legacy, they are all desperately trying
to do a deal now. Meanwhile, today in Palestine:
CNN calls it "more violent riots". This eyewitness
report from a Palestinian Muslim reader of MER who
was present at the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem today
and was himself grazed by an Israeli bullet. "I
did the best I can to describe what happened today.
One bullet grazed me. I saw a bullet kill a man.
It split his head open and blood was everywhere."
Also unconfirmed reports this morning
are that
Israel's Chief of Police was hit in the head by
a rock and is hospitalized.
CARNAGE IN THE AQSA MOSQUE
Four dead and fifty to sixty civilians injured at the Aqsa mosque after
clashes between Isreali forces and Palestinian demonstrators, today.
Children protected by trees and large stones at close range to
Isreali
forces threw rocks in demonstration of yesterdays visit of Ariel Sharon
to
the Aqsa mosque.
Retaliating with live ammunition and rubber bullets, Isreali soldiers
fired
indiscriminantly at women, children and men. After reinforcements arrived,
the soldiers initiated a massive assault on the demonstrators firing
freely
at anyone in sight.
Many demonstrators were covered in blood; they were either injured or
lay
dead as a result of the attack. Those who were killed were carried
on the
shoulders of the demonstrators chanting "Allahu Akbar", and those who
were
injured exited the mosque to seek medical help.
Many people hid in the mosques and others tried to exit. Those who tried
to
exit were fired upon as they retreated. Nobody was spared, and unfortunatly
their were no Journalists in sight. Ambulances were even denied entry.
Tensions are running high in the old city while Arafat visits Barak
at his
home and Clinton at his oval office. The children of the intifada are
the
only ones left to stand and defend the honor of the Aqsa and Palestine.
This is the result of the Camp David accords.
AN ISRAELI NEWS AGENCY REPORTS TODAY:
Another Israeli - a Border Guard policeman - has been killed...the second
in the past two days. Close to 8 AM this morning, a Palestinian
para-
military policeman walked up to a jeep in which were sitting Israeli
troops
with whom he was serving in a joint patrol. The killer, screaming
"Allah
is Great!," shot into the jeep, killing one of the Israeli policemen.
A
second Israeli Border Guard policeman is in light-to-moderate condition.
A
closure has been instated on the Palestinian Authority city of Kalkilye...
and the joint patrols - an Oslo Accord mechanism under which Israeli
and PA
jeeps patrol together - have been suspended...
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Herzl Gedz, who formerly headed the autonomy liaison
administration, said today, "The Palestinian Authority's entire right
to
exist is based on its willingness to cooperate with Israel - not only
in
terms of security, but in every area."
[Note: To put the looming deal in perspective,
see the MER article
earlier this week titled "Israel's 'State'
of Palestine" and the maps at:
http://www.MiddleEast.Org/maps.htm
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