Israel warily resumes negotiations with no solid advances
Friday, July 12, 2002 | byNAOMI SEGAL
JERUSALEM—Talks held this week between Israeli and Palestinian officials were noteworthy more for their symbolism than for any concrete agreements reached by the two sides.
In fact, the only thing the officials did agree on was that it would be a good idea to hold more talks.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed to a limited resumption of contacts with the Palestinians.
However, Sharon wanted such contacts to focus only on the "immediate interests" of the two sides—security for Israel and the easing of sanctions for the Palestinians.
After he and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met Sunday to discuss the issue, Peres met the next day with the Palestinian Authority's newly appointed finance minister, Salam Fayed.
It was the highest-level session between the two sides in months.
During the meeting, Fayed called on Israel to turn over Palestinian tax revenues it has frozen.
On Tuesday, Peres met with the new Palestinian interior minister, Abdel Razak Yehiyeh. The two discussed how Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat plans to implement reforms in the Palestinian security services, according to the Israeli daily Ha'aretz.
A Peres spokesman later said the two agreed on the need for continued dialogue.
It was no coincidence that Peres limited his meeting to two newly appointed Palestinian Cabinet ministers. According to Ha'aretz, Sharon was opposed to holding contacts with any Palestinian officials "tainted" by terrorism.
The talks came as violence and tensions continued between the two sides.
On Wednesday, an Israeli army officer was killed in a Palestinian ambush in the southern Gaza Strip.
Capt. Haggai Lev, 24, of Jerusalem, was mortally wounded as his unit was searching for tunnels used to smuggle weapons into Gaza from Egypt, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The deputy commander of a reconnaissance unit, Lev was flown to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, where he died of his wounds.
The ambush occurred as Israel's army continued to maintain its tight hold on Palestinian population centers across the West Bank. The army has not embarked on a similar campaign in Gaza.
The West Bank military operation began last month following a series of Palestinian terror attacks that killed 31 Israelis. Since then, there have been no additional Israeli fatalities.
A feeling of improved security for Israelis enabled Sharon to agree to the meetings.
In a related development this week, Sharon authorized the creation of a committee to discuss ways to improve the living conditions of Palestinian civilians.
The committee will include Peres, Cabinet minister Dan Naveh and the director general of the Finance Ministry, Ohad Marani, Ha'aretz reported.
Last week, Israel's Security Cabinet approved a number of measures aimed at easing restrictions on the Palestinians.
The measures include enforcing curfews only at night and permitting 5,000 Palestinians to work in Israel. Other steps include granting members of international organizations and Palestinian civilian institutions freedom of movement.
The gradual easing of restrictions will be implemented at the discretion of security officials, the Security Cabinet decided, adding that any resumption of Palestinian terror attacks on Israelis would lead to a reimposition of the restrictions.
Meanwhile, the army's anti-terror operations continued to bear fruit.
As part of those efforts, Israeli soldiers foiled an attempt Sunday by armed Palestinians to infiltrate from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
The soldiers captured two gunmen who were wearing Palestinian police uniforms near the settlement of Alei Sinai in northern Gaza.
During questioning, the two revealed that they had been on their way to carry out a suicide bombing in Israel, according to Israel Radio.
Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said Sunday that during Israel's anti-terror campaign, some 150 wanted Palestinians have been detained, including 10 potential suicide bombers.
On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian gunman who was trying to sneak over the border from the West Bank into Israel. The man bled to death before he could make it to a hospital.
Islamic Jihad said it had dispatched the man to carry out an attack on Israelis.
In another incident Tuesday, an Arab passer-by was killed when a Palestinian gunman opened fire outside Jerusalem's Old City.
According to police, the gunman began shooting when a policeman tried to stop him near the Nablus Gate. The Palestinian then drew a gun and shot the policeman, who was wounded and taken to a nearby hospital.
Other police shot at the Palestinian, who returned their fire, killing the passer-by before fleeing. Police later arrested a suspect in the shooting who was identified only as a Palestinian man from the Hebron area.