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Background Basics

Keeping Track of Commitments

posted on 04/21/08

Progress on Negotiations
Palestinian officials have recently expressed frustrations with the ongoing peace talks, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to call for greater U.S. involvement in an upcoming meeting with President Bush scheduled for April 24. PA Foreign Minister Riad Malki voiced concerns that the talks on core issues have so far yielded “no results.” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel rejected Mr. Malki’s statement, claiming that only a “small circle of people” had full disclosure of the content of the talks. Abbas recently stated that the release of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel is a necessary part of any peace deal. During a visit to Poland, Israeli President Shimon Peres said that Israel is “ready to forgo land in order to reach a genuine peace with the Palestinians.”

Members of the Quartet on the Middle East, including the European Union, Russia, United Nations and United States, met in Amman on April 17 to discuss whether to hold a meeting in Moscow to follow up on the Annapolis summit. A Russian news source stated that a proposal for the meeting has been approved, but has not been confirmed by any member of the Quartet.

Regional Efforts
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to meet the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf Cooperation Council states in Bahrain on April 21. The meetings will focus on Iraq yet U.S. officials reported that, in addition, Rice would encourage the Arab states to support Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and the efforts of the Palestinian negotiators.

Progress on Road Map Implementation
Movement and Access
Israel has imposed a complete closure on the Gaza Strip and West Bank during the Passover holiday, which lasts from April 18 - April 25. Israel usually imposes such restrictions during holidays, which it considers times of sensitive security. Despite the closures Israeli authorities promised on April 17 to continue transferring vital goods through the Gaza crossings. At the time of their statement, however, the Kerem Shalom crossing, a transfer point for food and medicine, and the fuel depot at Nahal Oz remained closed because of recent attacks.

A recent UN report stated that Israel has removed 44 roadblocks in the West Bank; critics say that many of these roadblocks were of little or no significance. The Israeli Defense Forces had previously announced that they had removed 60 roadblocks.

Security
Israel has agreed to the reopening of 20 Palestinian police stations in the West Bank. The opening, the first such move since 2001, is part of the security program aimed at boosting the negotiation process. PA police abandoned these stations during a rise of violence in 2000; 500 Palestinian personnel charged with combating crime in the area will staff the stations.

Unauthorized Outposts
In accordance with the road map peace plan, Israel has agreed to dismantle 26 outposts. It has established a plan by which settlers can build new houses in existing West Bank settlements in return for abandoning unauthorized outposts. On April 14, settlers moved three mobile homes from an outpost into the nearby Mevo Horon settlement. Palestinians have complained that any expansion of the settlements constitutes a violation of the road map terms.

Settlements
On April 18, Israel announced plans to build 100 new homes in the Ariel and Elkana settlements. Israeli housing officials stated that the new construction provides an answer to settlements’ natural growth and is taking place only within settlement blocs. The Israeli government intends to hold on to both Ariel and Elkana in any final status agreement. President Abbas recently stated that settlement expansion represents one of the biggest impediments to successful negotiations.

Gaza
On April 13, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Abbas to discuss the situation in Gaza. Olmert restated his commitment to not allow a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, and Abbas gave full support to Egyptian efforts to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

On April 16, three Israeli soldiers and 18 Palestinians were killed, including a Reuters cameraman, marking the deadliest day of fighting in over a month. Three days later, Hamas detonated two booby-trapped cars at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, wounding 13 Israeli soldiers and killing four Hamas militants. Seven more militants were killed in subsequent air strikes.

Israel plans to further tighten control over the Gaza border crossings. The Kerem Shalom crossing, a vital passage for food and medical shipments, remained closed after the attack. Israeli officials have not indicated whether they would open the Sufa crossing, which also serves as transfer point for food and medical supplies. In light of a recent attack on the Nahal Oz fuel depot, Dor Alon, the company operating the terminal, indicated that it intended to reevaluate its role in transferring fuel to Gaza.

On April 20, Hamas rejected an Egyptian plan for a ceasefire with Israel which had called for an Israeli pledge to stop targeting Palestinians in return for a cessation of rocket attacks from Gaza, a prisoner swap of 400 Palestinians in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, the opening of border crossings into Gaza and Hamas and Fatah putting a peace agreement, if reached this year, to a public vote.

Economic Development Efforts
Under a new U.S.-led plan, a $500 million mortgage company will be established to help build 10 new neighborhoods in the West Bank. The plan would create thousands of Palestinian jobs in construction and real estate and would make mortgages available for 30,000 new apartments. Half of the money for the new company, the Affordable Mortgage and Loan Company, will come from the United States through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, with the rest coming from the World Bank, the Bank of Palestine, Britain and the Palestine Investment Fund.

For previous updates on “Keeping Track of Commitments,” see the editions on April 11, March 26, March 14, February 27, January 30 and January 18.

Background Basics

Keeping Track of Commitments

posted on 04/11/08

Progress on Negotiations
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas met earlier this week for the first time since the escalation of violence in Gaza six weeks ago. Despite concerns about the situation on the ground, the leaders agreed to continue to meet without interruption in the coming weeks.

A U.S.-led meeting has been scheduled for May in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, during President Bush’s visit to the region, which includes a separate visit to Israel. The meeting will focus on core issues confronting the peace process and will be attended by Bush, Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah. Olmert was initially said to be coming, but it is now reported that this will be a U.S.-Arab meeting.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to visit Bahrain to participate in a meeting on April 21 with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). She will head to Kuwait on April 22 to discuss regional efforts to stabilize Iraq. State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack also suggested that the status of Israeli-Palestinian discussions would be on the agenda. In addition, a meeting of the Middle East Quartet has been scheduled for April 17 in Amman, Jordan.

Regional Efforts
Abbas, Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah met early this month in Cairo to discuss the stalled peace process, among other issues. The meeting stressed the importance of gaining the support of the international community for the negotiations, and called on Israel to uphold its road map pledges.

Progress on Road Map Implementation
Movement and Access
The Israeli Army announced the removal of 60 roadblocks and one checkpoint in accordance with promises made during Secretary Rice’s recent visit, where she criticized Israel for continuing to expand settlements and limiting Palestinian mobility. Palestinian authorities said they could see no discernible differences after the announcement and called on the United States to verify the removal. Defense Minister Ehud Barak is considering asking for an increase in the number of Palestinian workers allowed into Israel from the West Bank. The move, which would up the amount of workers allowed in from 14,000 to 20,000, is one of the gestures proposed during Secretary Rice’s talks.

Security
Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed to deploy PA security forces in Jenin upon completion of a U.S.-led training program in Jordan. PA officials previously sought to deploy the 620 soldiers in Hebron to counter Hamas’ strong network, but Israeli officials opposed this option due to the tension between Israelis and Palestinians in the city. The decision to deploy the forces in Jenin was reached after talks between the two sides with the help of U.S. consultation.

The special battalion of the Palestinian National Security force is currently being trained by U.S. military observers in Jordan. It is the first of such a group to be trained under U.S. Army Lieutenant General Keith Dayton’s plan for rebuilding the Palestinian Authority’s security services. The training, under Jordanian, U.S. and Israeli auspices, is hoped to result in a higher quality of security forces.

Unauthorized Outposts
On April 2, Israeli police removed two outposts near Nablus and plan to evacuate five additional West Bank outposts in the near future. Border police, however, allowed settlers to retake an abandoned outpost on Palestinian land last week.

Settlements
Despite warnings from Palestinian officials that further expansion will hurt the peace process, Israel announced plans to build 1,400 new homes in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The announcement came just hours after Secretary Rice completed a trip to the region, in which she criticized settlement expansion, stating that it is “not consistent with road-map obligations.” Eight hundred of these new homes are planned for Betar Illit, and 600 are planned for Pisgat Zeev, two settlements near Jerusalem. The Washington Post reports that Olmert approved the expansion under pressure from the Shas party, which has previously threatened to withdraw from Olmert’s coalition if expansion was frozen. The announcement revealed the intense domestic political pressures faced by Olmert. In addition, the IDF has been collecting weapons from the settlements amid security-related concerns.

Gaza
Defense Minister Barak, who previously opposed opening passages, recently stated that a decline in violence could result in the opening of some Gaza border crossings. Conflict, however, persists in Gaza where military clashes with Israel have continued, and Hamas claimed responsibility for the wounding of an aide to Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter. In addition, two Israelis were killed Wednesday when Palestinian militants attacked a border crossing.

Transparency
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced the creation of a website that seeks to increase transparency for financial operations in the PA. Fayyad hopes the website will dispel doubts about corruption and mismanagement, and foster trust domestically and internationally.

Economic Development Efforts
In the face of trade and travel restrictions, Palestinian businessmen have recently reached out to China for import opportunities in an attempt to bolster their economy. This effort reflects the growing relationship between China and the Palestinians, economically as well as politically.

For previous updates on “Keeping Track of Commitments,” see the editions on March 26, March 14, February 27, January 30 and January 18.