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Israeli commanders accuse Palestinians of violating truce

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November 7, 2000 

JERUSALEM (UNB/AP) - Ahead of planned peace talks in Washington, top Israeli military commanders accused the Palestinians of violating the latest truce meant to end more than five weeks of bloodshed.

"When you have hundreds of shooting events in a week and dozens in one day, it's not a situation of a cease-fire," army chief of staff Shaul Mofaz said late Sunday. "The Israeli army has done everything that it was demanded to do, but in the field, the cease-fire is not implemented by the Palestinian side."

On Sunday night, amid numerous firefights, Israeli tanks fired shells in response to Palestinian shooting attacks in Jericho and Tulkarem in the West Bank, the military command said.

Two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old boy, were killed in the Gaza Strip, and at least 17 were wounded in the Palestinian areas. In the West Bank, two Jewish settlers, a man and a woman, were wounded when Palestinian assailants opened fire on their car in an ambush.

The pattern was familiar by now - scattered stone-throwing clashes giving way to shooting attacks and bombings after dark.

In a plea for peace, tens of thousands of Israelis filled a Tel Aviv square Saturday night to pay tribute to former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated at the site five years ago by an ultranationalist Israeli opposed to trading land for peace with the Palestinians.

The current violence has hardened attitudes on both sides and put seven years of peace negotiations on hold. But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday told his Cabinet that the large turnout was "an impressive and emotional demonstration" of the Israeli commitment to peace.

"It's unfortunate that on the other side such a demonstration of the peace process could not occur," he said in a reference to the Palestinians.

In a speech at the Saturday rally, Barak made an impassioned plea to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to end the violence and return to the negotiating table, but also warned that Israel "will not surrender to violence and we will defend our civilians and Israeli soldiers everywhere."

Arafat and his aides did not appear ready to tone down their militant rhetoric. The Palestinian leader met with families of the dead Sunday and his top aide, Tayeb Abdel Rahim, told the families: "The uprising will continue until we have an independent Palestinian state."

Still, senior Israeli security officials estimated at the Cabinet meeting that Arafat has ordered Palestinian rioters and gunmen to show some restraint. They said Arafat could stop the violence completely but was interested in maintaining it at a "certain level" so as to gain political achievements, Israel radio reported.

"We see the Palestinian police and security attempting to prevent (rioters) from reaching friction points" said Brig. Gen. Yair Naveh, the commander of Israeli forces in Gaza. "In other areas, which are more serious from our point of view, such as terrorist activity and shootings, we're still far from the goal we want to reach."

The Israeli-Palestinian violence broke out more than five weeks ago, claiming 170 lives - the vast majority Palestinian - in the worst bloodshed since peace talks began in 1993.

The Palestinians say the visit by hawkish Israeli politician Ariel Sharon to a disputed Jerusalem site holy to both Jews and Arabs was the spark that ignited the bloodshed.

Arafat told the U.S. TV network CBS that he had appealed beforehand to U.S. President Bill Clinton, the European Union, the Vatican and Barak himself not to allow Sharon's visit. No comment on the claim was immediately available.

"I told Barak himself. I told him in his house ... He sent Sharon with a big number of soldiers and policemen and it was a certain mistake," Arafat said in an interview broadcast Sunday evening on the CBS program, "60 Minutes."

Arafat has also accused Israel of not abiding by the truce reached last Thursday and said he wanted the United States to pressure Israel to comply.

Clinton has invited Arafat and Barak to Washington for separate meetings. Arafat planned to meet with the American president Thursday morning, Arafat's spokesman Nabil Aburdeneh told The Associated Press.

"This visit is very important, it comes at a difficult time in the Palestinian territories and the Middle East peace process," Aburdeneh said.

The White House confirmed Clinton's plans to meet with Arafat on Thursday and with Barak three days later, on Nov. 12.

"The meetings are to assess the situation on the ground and begin to find a way back to negotiations," said White House spokesman Jake Siewert.