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Change Your Life! |
Dear Mr. Clinton, ... ... ... |
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News
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August 29, 2000
JERUSALEM (AP) - A Palestinian seeking a referendum among fellow Arab Jerusalemites over whether their neighborhoods should come under Palestinian control delivered a letter to the U.S. consulate on Monday urging President Clinton to support his plan. Suhair Hamdan, who lives in an Arab village on the outskirts of Jerusalem, says many Palestinian residents of Jerusalem are concerned negotiators are deciding their fate without properly consulting them. Many Jerusalem Arabs, while resenting years of what Israeli administrators now acknowledge is systematic discrimination, nonetheless dread losing Israeli benefits - including health insurance and pensions - should their neighborhoods come under Palestinian control. The Palestinian authority has yet to introduce such "safety net" features. In addition, some Jerusalem Arabs appreciate the relative freedom of speech they enjoy under Israeli rule, and note human rights reports criticizing Yasser Arafat's government for squelching dissent. In the letter, Hamdan appeals to Clinton to support a referendum "which will enable us to exercise our natural democratic rights to determine out future." Hamdan, who has applied for an Israeli passport, says he does not want traditionally Arab east Jerusalem to remain under Israel's control - but he seeks a solution that preserves the rights Arab residents have accrued under Israeli rule. He says he has presented a similar petition with 3,000 signatures to Prime Minister Ehud Barak's office. Palestinian officials say Hamdan represents a tiny minority among east Jerusalem Arabs, who number about 200,000. Jerusalem Arabs who have applied for Israeli citizenship are often described as traitors by Palestinian leaders. At last month's U.S.-sponsored Camp David Summit, Barak broke a long-standing taboo by offering to extend limited Palestinian sovereignty in parts of Jerusalem. Israel annexed traditionally Arab east Jerusalem soon after capturing it in 1967, and extended most rights civil rights enjoyed by Israelis to its Arab residents. |