H i s t o r y
o f P a l e s t
i n e - 1998
1998
- Peace process up and down
January
1998
4'th of
January , Israel's Foreign Minister David Levy announced his
resignation .
6'th of January , U.S. envoy Dennis Ross held talks with
Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the mission aims mainly for
preparing the ground for meetings in Washington in 20th of this
month .
14'th January , Israel's Cabinet issued a document calling for
Palestinian authority to adhere with numerous conditions in
order to move forward with the peace process .
18'th of January , Israeli Cabinet delays West Bank redeployment
decision until after 20th on January summit in Washington
between Netanyahu and Clinton.
20'th of January , Clinton and Netanyahu met in Washington and
failed to come up with a new strategy to move ahead with the
implementation of limited Palestinian autonomy.
20'th of January , For the second time, Netanyahu met with
Clinton , Clinton made proposals to bridge the gap between
Israeli and Palestinian, included suggestions on the timing and
scope of troop withdrawals from the West Bank.
21'st of January , Palestinian President Yasser Arafat arrived
in Washington. Arafat met Albright and planned to meet President
Bill Clinton for talks Thursday at the White House.
22'nd of
January , Clinton held two long meetings with Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat . Clinton introduced the concept of
parallel processes of implementation of both parties commitments
, Israel to carry out credible and significant withdrawal from
the West Bank and the Palestinian to moves against guerrilla
activity.
-
February
1998
02.02.1998
, Israel and the Palestinian Authority will reportedly send
envoys to the U.S. next week for a new round of talks on the
Mid-East peace process.
06.02.1998 , A young Israeli was stabbed early Friday in
Jerusalem's walled Old City . A number of Palestinian suspects
were arrested.
10.02.1998 , Israel expanding settlements amid Palestinian anger
While the world's attention is focused on the looming crisis
over Iraq .
25.02.1998 , Israeli troops searched refugee camps in the West
Bank Tuesday night and arrested six Palestinians on suspicion of
attacks against Israel, an army spokeswoman said Wednesday.
-
March
1998
11.03.1998
, Israeli soldiers shot and killed three Palestinians at an army
checkpoint near the West Bank town of Hebron .
11.03.1998
, Palestinians threw stones at Israeli soldiers and burned tires
in the West Bank town of Hebron Wednesday to protest the killing
of three Arab laborers by Israeli troops on Tuesday.
12.03.1998 , The Israeli military has release the three soldiers
arrested in connection with the shooting deaths of three
Palestinians in the West Bank Tuesday.
12.03.1998 , Clashes flared on the West Bank Wednesday as
thousands of mourners buried three Palestinian laborers killed
by Israeli troops.
13.03.1998 , Four Palestinians were slightly injured Friday in
Jerusalem when explosives detonated near a market stall on the
Nablus Road in the eastern part of the city.
13.03.1998 , Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat sought to calm the West Bank and vowed
to work toward peace.
14.03.1998 , At least seven Palestinians were wounded in clashes
Friday between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers and settlers in
the West Bank town of Hebron .
17.03.1998 , Israel and Britain agreed Monday that British
Foreign Secretary Robin Cook will visit a controversial Jewish
settlement project in Arab East Jerusalem accompanied by an
Israeli, not Palestinian, delegation.
18.03.1998 , Israeli opposition leaders say Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu made a mistake by turning British Foreign
Secretary Robin Cook's meeting with a Palestinian official at a
disputed housing project into a diplomatic incident.
19.03.1998 , British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook completed his
tour of the Mideast .
19.03.1998 , Israel called a halt Wednesday to a diplomatic
dispute over a hotly contested visit by British Foreign
Secretary of State Robin Cook to the site of a Jewish settlement
project in Jerusalem.
20.03.1998 , Israel said Thursday the United States had offered
ideas for breaking a year-old deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian
peacemaking and an Israeli newspaper said Washington might go
public with them as early as next week.
23.03.1998 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his
cabinet ministers are in unanimous opposition to a reported U.S.
proposal calling for Israel to withdrawal from 13 percent of the
West Bank.
24.03.1998 , A representative of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel could relinquish control
of no more than a further nine percent of the West Bank .
27.03.1998 , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday
rejected a U.S. proposal for Israeli soldiers to withdraw from
13 percent of the West Bank.
27.03.1998 , Israel took a tough line on a troop pull back from
the West Bank on Thursday as U.S. presidential envoy Dennis Ross
headed in on a critical bid to shore up crumbling
Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
28.03.1998 , U.S. presidential envoy Dennis Ross held four hours
of talks Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
in a new bid to break a deadlock on handing more West Bank land
to the Palestinians.
29.03.1998 , The Egyptian government reportedly has urged
Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat not to reject a
U.S. peace initiative, although both the Israeli and Palestinian
Cabinets have voted against it.
30.03.1998 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two
hours of talks with U.S. envoy Dennis Ross Sunday night, stating
that no West Bank troop pull backs will be made without
Palestinian security pledges.
31.03.1998 , A U.S. diplomatic offensive to rescue
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations neared its end on a bleak note
Monday, with presidential envoy Dennis Ross citing diminishing
hopes for Middle East peace.
31.03.1998 , Palestinian youths clashed with Israeli troops
Monday as thousands of Arabs staged protests in Israel and the
West Bank against land confiscation .
-
April
1998
01.04.1998
, Israel made an unexpected offer Tuesday to discuss with the
Palestinians a third pull back on the contested West Bank.
02.04.1998 , A funeral procession for the chief Hamas bomb maker
on Thursday in the West Bank included thousands of enraged
Palestinians chanting "revenge, revenge" and shaking
their fists. Islamic militants say that Mohiyedine Sharif, who
topped Israel's most-wanted list, was assassinated by Israel.
Israel has denied involvement and said Sharif died when a car
bomb exploded prematurely in a Hamas bomb factory.
02.04.1998 , Palestinian police said Wednesday a suspected
master bomber from the Islamic militant group Hamas had been
shot and killed and his body dumped beside a car that blew up in
the West Bank Sunday.
03.04.1998 , Thousands of Palestinians buried a master bomb
maker from the Muslim militant group Hamas Thursday with calls
for attacks on Israel.
04.04.1998 , Shouting for revenge against Israel, thousands of
Palestinian demonstrators in the West Bank and Gaza vented their
rage Friday over the mysterious death of a Muslim militant
master bomber.
06.04.1998 , A Palestinian inquiry has determined that Hamas
master bomb maker Muhyideen al-Sharif was killed in a power
struggle within the militant Muslim group . But Hamas rejected
the findings as lies and renewed promises to launch revenge
attacks against Israel.
06.04.1998 , At least one suspect has been arrested by
Palestinian police in the death of the chief Hamas bomb maker
who died under mysterious circumstances last month .
07.04.1998 , Israel, already on high alert after the death of a
Hamas master bomb maker, beefed up security in Jerusalem Tuesday
for fear of possible violence after police shot dead a
Palestinian man in a late night car chase.
08.04.1998 , Hundreds of Palestinians took part in a march
yesterday in Jerusalem as part of the funeral proceedings for
Bilal al-Salaymeh, a Palestinian who was shot by Israeli police
Monday.
08.04.1998 , The military wing of the Muslim militant group
Hamas urged Muslims and Arabs around the world Wednesday to
attack Jewish targets to avenge the death of a bomb maker whose
killing it has blamed on Israel.
09.04.1998 , The militant Islamic group Hamas yesterday released
a video warning of retaliatory action in Israel for the death of
the group's master bomb maker, Muhyideen al-Sharif.
09.04.1998 , The Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Islamic
militant group Hamas Thursday escalated a war of words over the
mysterious killing of Hamas bomb maker Muhyideen al-Sharif.
10.04.1998 , Palestinian officials announced Thursday they
arrested Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi after the group issued
a leaflet demanding the resignation of officials in Yasser
Arafat's Palestinian Authority.
13.04.1998 , Palestinian police released Monday a senior member
of the Islamic Jihad group who was jailed in Gaza Friday after
he criticized the Palestinian Authority's arrest of other Moslem
militants, relatives said.
15.04.1998 , A Palestinian held without trial in Israel for more
than five years was released from prison Wednesday after making
a pledge of non-violence on Israeli television. Ahmed Katamesh,
suspected but never charged by Israel with membership of a
"terrorist" organization, was the longest-serving of
its "administrative detainees," who are jailed for
renewable six months terms by the military.
18.04.1998 , Palestinian factions Friday called on the Muslim
militant group Hamas to cooperate with the Palestinian
Authority's inquiry into the killing of master bomber Muhyideen
al-Sharif.
20.04.1998 , British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday the
United States would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to peace talks
in London on May 4.
20.04.1998 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
reportedly agreed to attend Mid-East peace talks in London after
meeting this weekend with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
21.04.1998 , British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Tuesday to discuss the agenda
for planned talks in London next month to revive the stalled
Mideast peace process.
22.04.1998 , Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak conferred Wednesday on efforts to save
the Middle East peace process.
24.04.1998 , U.S. Middle East peace envoy Dennis Ross expects to
pin down precisely how much West Bank land Israel will cede to
Palestinians in talks starting this weekend .
24.04.1998 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
threatened Thursday to annex parts of the West Bank if
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat unilaterally declares an
independent Palestinian state.
26.04.1998
, Demonstrators great Ross's motorcade at Netanyahu's residence
Two senior U.S. officials on Saturday made another attempt to
revive Mideast peace talks.
28.04.1998 , Israeli President Ezer Weizman met yesterday with
Palestinian negotiators in Jerusalem to discuss efforts aimed at
re-starting the Mid-East peace process.
29.04.1998 , Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, backed by
Jordan and Egypt, urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu Wednesday to accept a U.S. peacemaking initiative in
key London talks next week.
30.04.1998 , With triumphant blasts from ceremonial rams horns
and explosions of fireworks, Israel officially kicked off its
50th anniversary celebration Wednesday evening and threw a
nationwide party that was still going strong Thursday.
-
May
1998
01.05.98
, Israeli and Palestinian leaders exchanged blame Friday for a
year long impasse over the scope of an Israeli troop withdrawal
from the West Bank, ahead of key talks in London next week.
04.05.98 , Crucial Middle East peace talks went into overtime
Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright staying
in London for a second round of separate meetings with the
Israeli and Palestinian leaders. American and Palestinian
officials said there was no sign of a breakthrough, but the fact
that both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat both arranged to spend
another night in London raised hopes of progress.
05.05.98 , The United States is tightening the screws on
hardline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a
determined effort to revive long-stalled Middle East peace
negotiations. After two days of indirect talks in London,
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright announced that Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat had accepted U.S. proposals for rescuing
the peace process and challenged Israel to do the same.
06.05.98 , Talks between U.S. Sec. of State Madeleine Albright,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat ended in London yesterday with no
progress on Mideast peace talks having been made.
A Jewish seminary student was stabbed to death in Jerusalem and
a Jewish settler in the West Bank shot dead a Palestinian
attacker in separate incidents Wednesday.
07.05.98 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
yesterday that he may turn down an invitation to visit the U.S.
next week if doing so would imply Israel's "bowing to U.S.
dictates" concerning the Mid-East peace process.
08.05.98 , U.S. Middle East envoy Dennis Ross met Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, hoping to arrange a White
House summit for Monday and break a 14-month-old Middle East
peace deadlock. Their meeting at the prime minister's office,
closed to news media, lasted little more than an hour,
Netanyahu's spokesman Shai Bazak said.
11.05.98 , U.S. special envoy Dennis Ross returned to Washington
today after failing to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu to attend a Mid-East peace summit in the U.S. the U.S.
had set the return of control of more of the West Bank to
Palestinians as a condition for the talks, which were to be held
today.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat Monday accused Israel of
trying to humiliate the U.S. administration by refusing
President Clinton's invitation to hold urgent peace talks.
12.05.98 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is
scheduled to meet with U.S. Sec. of State Madeleine Albright in
Washington tomorrow to continue ongoing efforts aimed at
re-starting the Mid-East peace process.
The founder of Hamas has declared that the militant Palestinian
group will continue fighting Israel, Kuwaiti newspapers said
Tuesday. "Certainly we will continue military operations.
13.05.98 , Israeli and Palestinian historians met in Paris
Wednesday to seek common ground between wildly divergent views
of what happened when the first Arab-Israeli war erupted 50
years ago this week. The central question was why up to 800,000
Palestinians left their homes during the fighting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to Washington
Wednesday to lobby against the U.S. Middle East peace plan, as
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright prepared to try to sell it
to him.
14.05.98 , U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met yesterday in
Washington to discuss prospects for restarting the Mid-East
peace process. further meetings are planned for today.
A "million
man march" held by Palestinian leaders Thursday to mourn
the creation of the state of Israel turned into the bloodiest
day of violence on the West Bank and Gaza Strip in almost two
years. Israeli troops killed at least eight Palestinians during
the protests that marked 50 years of Palestinian exile and
dispossession. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to vent
rage and frustration fueled by a 14-month stalemate in the
Middle East peace process.
15.05.98 , Talks between U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in
Washington yesterday ended with no breakthrough concerning
Mid-East peace talks.
18.05.98 , U.S. Sec. of State Madeleine Albright and Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat are scheduled to meet today in London to
discuss possible new advances in the Mid-East peace process.
unconfirmed reports from Israel say Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed his willingness to agree to
turn over control of 13% of the West Bank to Palestinians if
plans for a future third troop redeployment in the area are
nullified.
19.05.98 , Talks between U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat ended
yesterday in London with no progress being made on the
resumption of the Mid-East peace process.
Israel tortures at least 850 Palestinian detainees a year, a
leading Israeli human rights group said Tuesday ahead of a court
hearing on petitions to ban violent interrogations. The B'Tselem
group presented estimates at a news conference that Israel's
General Security Service interrogates between 1,000 and 1,500
Palestinians a year.
21.05.98 , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to resume
direct negotiations with the Palestinians and hold a summit with
Yasser Arafat to break an impasse in negotiations, an Israeli
official said today.
22.05.98 , Israeli officials yesterday rejected a proposal for a
new Mid-East peace conference from Egypt and France.
25.05.98 , Palestinian President Yasser Arafat called Tuesday
for an Arab summit on stalled Middle East peace efforts and said
his people would keep striving to set up their own state. "From
the house of the Arabs, I direct a call to convene an urgent
Arab summit," Arafat said at the Cairo-based Arab League.
He was speaking at a commemoration to mark what Arabs call the
Nakba (Catastrophe) - the creation of Israel 50 years ago and
subsequent expulsion of many Arabs from their homes. Arafat said
he welcomed recent efforts to break the deadlock.
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder of the militant Palestinian
organization Hamas, said Tuesday he expected the elimination of
Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian state during the
first quarter of the next century.
27.05.98 , Ehud Olmert, the mayor of Jerusalem, has reportedly
ordered the demolition of shacks set up recently in a Muslim
quarter the city by the jewish Ateret Cohanim nationalist group.
29.05.98 , The 88-member Palestinian legislature has reportedly
scheduled a no-confidence vote for Saturday concerning
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. recent polls among
Palestinians are reported to have shown less than 40% confidence
in Arafat's leadership.
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was quoted Friday as
saying the United States would continue to press for its own
Middle East peace initiative, but did not reject a
Franco-Egyptian proposal for an international summit.
-
June
1998
01.06.98
, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat says his proposal to hold an
Arab summit to address the Mid-East peace process has been
accepted by most Arab states. A data for the summit has not been
announced.
02.06.98 , Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Defense
Minister Yitzhak Mordechai discussed ways to revive deadlocked
Middle East peace efforts Tuesday.
08.06.98 , Israeli ministers debated Monday whether to allow the
founder of the Muslim militant Hamas movement, Sheikh Ahmed
Yassin, to return to the Gaza Strip.
10.06.98 , An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said yesterday that a public vote on a U.S. proposal for
expanded troop withdrawals from the West Bank is being seriously
considered
11.06.98 , The Palestine Liberation Organization has protested
to the United Nations over Israeli archaeological and settlement
activities in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967
Middle East war.
15.06.98 , Israeli authorities demolished three Palestinian
homes Monday which they said were built without permits in Arab
East Jerusalem.
17.06.98 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
yesterday that Israelis and Palestinians may never reach a final
peace agreement if the Palestinian claim to Jerusalem is not
dropped.
18.06.98
, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday a
program to strengthen Israel's hold on Jerusalem, including
plans to tighten ties between the city and nearby West Bank
Jewish settlements.
24.06.98 , Reports say Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has
accepted the resignation of his cabinet and plans to name new
ministers within two weeks.
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Palestinian Hamas
movement, left a military hospital in Cairo on Wednesday for
Gaza, security sources said. "He left this afternoon by
land," one source said.
-
July
1998
02.07.98
, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said yesterday that
Palestinians would defend Jerusalem against Israeli plans to
expand Jerusalem's municipal boundaries. Arafat was addressing a
special session of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
03.07.98 , Israeli soldiers and Palestinians were locked in a
tense standoff along a main road in the Gaza Strip Thursday over
rights of passage for Palestinian vehicles, witnesses said.
Palestinian officials said Israeli forces early in the day had
closed the coastal road between the southern town of Rafah and
Gaza City to the north in violation of interim peace deals, and
Palestinians then blocked several intersections in protest.
06.07.98 , Branding Benjamin Netanyahu a liar, the head of
Israel's main opposition party told parliament on Monday the
prime minister was leading the country toward war with the
Palestinians.
08.07.98 , The U.N. General Assembly voted yesterday to pass a
resolution upgrading the status of Palestinians in the
international body. changes the status of the Palestinian
observer mission to that of "non-voting member." the
U.S., Israel, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands all voted
against the measure.
10.07.98 , Secretary of State Madeleine Albright pressed
Israelis and Palestinians Friday to negotiate directly on Middle
East peace issues and renewed her warning that the current
impasse cannot continue indefinitely.
13.07.98 , Reports say a bomb exploded this morning outside the
Palestinian Liberation Organization's (PLO) headquarters in
mostly-Arab East Jerusalem.
14.07.98 , Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have reportedly
agreed to resume direct peace talks after Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat returns from China tomorrow, according to the U.S.
State Department.
An Arab-sponsored United Nations resolution that would have
condemned Israel's recently announced plans to expand the
borders of Jerusalem was downgraded to a warning yesterday after
repeated objections to the original resolution by the U.S.
15.07.98 , Israeli leaders have denied that the U.N. has any
jurisdiction concerning the decision to expand the boundaries of
Jerusalem.
16.07.98 , Palestinian President Yasser Arafat says China's
support for the establishment of a Palestinian state was secured
during his recent three-day trip to China.
17.07.98 , Israel said Friday it would hold its first high level
meeting with the Palestinians in months in the hope of breaking
a 16-month-long deadlock in Middle East peacemaking.
20.07.98 , Israel and the Palestinians lowered expectations
Monday of any immediate breakthrough after their first peace
talks in months elicited agreement only to go on negotiating.
22.07.98 , Israeli officials are reportedly seeking to expand
the scope of the current round of peace talks with Palestinians
to include issues other than Israeli withdrawal from the West
Bank.
23.07.98 , Israel is trying to arrange a summit between Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat, officials from both sides said on Thursday. They said
the head of Netanyahu's parliamentary coalition, Meir Sheetrit,
raised the idea in talks with Arafat in Gaza on Thursday.
27.07.98 , Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says talks with
Israeli officials this week will not constitute negotiations on
the handing over of West Bank land to the Palestinians. . Erekat
says the talks will center on ways to revive stalled Middle East
peace negotiations.
30.07.98 , The Israeli parliament voted 60-6 yesterday to
support a preliminary measure aimed at forcing early elections
in the Mid-East nation. analysts say the vote was, in part, a
protest over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the
Mid-East peace process.
-
August
1998
03.08.98
, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on
Palestinians Monday to stop threatening to cut off peace talks
and to keep negotiating over U.S. proposals to salvage Middle
East peacemaking. "I would propose to stop using the
language of ultimatums. The negotiations are progressing with
the good will of Israel, and, I want to believe, also of the
Palestinians," Netanyahu said. The Palestinian Authority
has called present talks a "waste of time" and warned
Sunday it would sever contacts if Israeli negotiators failed to
bring new ideas to the latest round of talks on Monday evening.
04.08.98 , Palestinian official Hassan Asfour said yesterday
that peace talks with Israel could be halted due to what he
characterized as Israel's refusal to present acceptable
proposals for ending a 16-month deadlock in the peace process.
05.08.98 , Gunmen shot dead two Jewish settlers in the West Bank
overnight and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
responded Wednesday with defiant backing for more construction
on occupied land. Tuesday night's ambush at Yitzhar settlement
near Nablus put fresh strain on faltering peace moves between
Israel and the Palestinians, with hardline Israeli politicians
calling for a halt to the negotiations. The two men, aged 18 and
24, were on a security patrol at the settlement when the gunmen
opened fire on their car.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat announced a long-awaited
cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday but stunned legislators by
keeping ministers they had wanted sacked for alleged corruption
and mismanagement. "The old ministries will remain the same,"
Arafat said before naming 10 additional ministers to an expanded
cabinet amid catcalls from members of the 88-seat Legislative
Council. Arafat accepted the resignation of his 18-seat cabinet
in June, when lawmakers agreed to hold off a no-confidence vote
to give him more time to appoint a new team.
12.08.98 , Instability has returned to the Middle East because
of Israel's refusal to implement peace accords and this has
opened the way for the return of war there, Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat said Wednesday. "It (Israel) has challenged
international legitimacy and its resolutions and opened the door
wide for the return of violence, anarchy, war and destruction,"
Arafat told a joint sitting of South Africa's two houses of
parliament. Arafat said Palestinians had fulfilled their
obligations, but that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
government had turned its back on peace deals struck in Oslo and
Madrid.
17.08.98 , Authorities in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank
town of Jericho are reported to be conducting a house-to-house
search for Imad Awadallah, a former leader of the Islamic group
Hamas, who escaped from prison on Saturday.Awadallah was
arrested in April by Palestinian police.
21.08.98 , Israeli troops sealed off the West Bank city of
Hebron Friday while searching for a suspected Palestinian
assailant who stabbed a Jewish settler to death and torched his
home. The army said it was barring Palestinians from entering
and leaving the volatile city following the late-night killing
of Rabbi Shlomo Raanan, 63-year-old grandson of a spiritual
leader of Israel's settler movement. Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu cut short a holiday in northern Israel, announcing he
would return to Jerusalem in the afternoon for consultations in
the face of tensions in Hebron and in Lebanon where Hizbollah
guerrillas killed two Israelis.
24.08.98 , Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said Monday that
Israeli troop withdrawal proposals could be "a beginning"
towards resuscitating the deadlocked 5-year-old peace process.
But Arafat, attending a commemoration of the fifth anniversary
of the Oslo peace accords, also accused Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu of policies in the past two years that had
fostered "despair, hate and violence." Arafat said
Israeli proposals on troop withdrawals from the West Bank in
return for Palestinian moves against anti-Israel guerrillas
would be acceptable if they had full access to all designated
area, something Israel opposes.
25.08.98 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
Tuesday that a deal on a long-elusive Israeli troop redeployment
in the West Bank depended on Palestinian action against "murderers"
of Jews. He spoke as one of his aides said Israel sensed that
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was sounding a "new
tone" on peacemaking, but that it remained to be seen if
Arafat would meet key Israeli demands to seal a U.S.-brokered
withdrawal deal. "Progress is linked to the Palestinian
fight and actions against the kind of murderers who acted here,"
Netanyahu said.
27.08.98 , A bomb exploded in the heart of Tel Aviv Thursday,
injuring 21 people on a busy street near the city's main
synagogue in an attack police said was the work of suspected
Palestinian militants. There was no immediate claim of
responsibility for the attack, the first in Tel Aviv since a
martyr bomber killed three Israeli women in a cafe in March
1997. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, citing the blast and
the recent killings of three Jewish settlers in the West Bank,
said he would not sign any deal to cede more West Bank land to
the Palestinian Authority unless it fought "murderers and
terror."
-
September
1998
08.09.98
, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed hope
yesterday that a visit to the Middle East by U.S. envoy Dennis
Ross would help achieve an agreement between Israel and
Palestinians on the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from
the West Bank.
10.09.98 , Reports from Israel say U.S. envoy Dennis Ross is
expected to stay in Israel this weekend in an attempt to broker
a deal for handing over more of the West Bank to Palestinians.
Ross met with Palestinian leaders yesterday and with Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today.
11.09.98
, The Islamic movement Hamas vowed Friday to send martyr bombers
into Israel to avenge the killing of two leading Hamas militants.
Israel sealed its borders with the West Bank and Gaza Strip and
put its troops on alert to guard against attacks by the group
whose bombers have killed scores of Israelis. Israeli troops
killed the two Palestinian brothers Imad and Adel Awadallah
during a West Bank clash Thursday. Israel long had sought both
of them as leaders of the Hamas military wing.
18.09.98 , U.S. President Bill Clinton's special envoy extended
his Middle East peace mission Friday, saying he was making
headway towards ending a 19-month-old deadlock between Israel
and the Palestinians. While envoy Dennis Ross pursued a
land-and-security deal, Israeli soldiers firing rubber-coated
metal bullets wounded 10 Palestinians during unrest in the West
Bank, witnesses said. "We had a very good discussion and I
think we are making headway," Ross said after meeting
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Gaza. It was Ross's most
optimistic assessment since he arrived in the region.
19.09.98 , Reports say a Palestinian teenager was killed
yesterday in a shooting incident involving Jewish settlers in
the West Bank.
23.09.98 , Secretary of State Madeleine Albright planned to meet
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday in a fresh
attempt to bring peace negotiations with the Palestinians to
closure. Officials said U.S. mediator Dennis Ross had made
"modest" progress on a mission to the Middle East last
week. This has raised hopes that protracted negotiations on a
deal giving Palestinians control over 13% more West Bank land
could be wrapped up in the next five or six days when Netanyahu
and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat are in New York for the
opening of the U.N. General Assembly.
President Yasser Arafat has rejected the resignation of top
Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian
official said Wednesday. Erekat, who has steered Palestinian
negotiations on a further Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank,
asked to be relieved of his post as chief negotiator over
differences with other officials on the handling of talks.
Hassan Asfour, another negotiator and a minister of state in
Arafat's cabinet, said he had attended a meeting between Arafat
and Erekat in Gaza Tuesday at which the Palestinian leader
turned down Erekat's resignation.
25.09.98 , Reports say both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will travel to
Washington next week for Mid-East peace-related talks with
President Clinton.
28.09.98 , Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat addresses the U.N.
General Assembly Monday as he and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu appear close to agreement on key points in
the long-stalled Middle East peace process. His speech is
considered crucial following requests from U.S. officials that
he not repeat his pledge to declare unilaterally a Palestinian
state on May 4. That is the date when the 1993 Oslo peace
accords that provide the framework for a Middle East agreement
expire. Such a declaration in the United Nations, which would
make it official, would enrage Israel and Netanyahu has warned
it could scuttle the peace talks.
29.09.98
, President Clinton met with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat
Tuesday in a bid to narrow differences to reach accord on a
controversial new round of Israeli troop withdrawals from the
West Bank. Clinton met jointly with Arafat and Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and invited them to return
in about two weeks for a summit designed to nail down the
timetable for the troop pullout. White House Press Secretary
Mike McCurry said Clinton was prepared to become directly
involved in the mid-October summit with Arafat and Netanyahu.
Security forces clashed with Arab protesters in northern Israel
Tuesday during a general strike against land confiscation and
alleged police brutality. Witnesses said paramilitary police
fired rubber-coated bullets and tear gas at hundreds of stone
throwers in Umm al-Fahm and Nazareth, the two biggest Arab towns
in Israel. In Umm al-Fahm, the scene of unrest since Sunday,
President Ezer Weizman met local officials to try to calm
tension before the start on Tuesday evening of Yom Kippur, the
holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
30.09.98 , Eleven Palestinians and nine Israeli soldiers were
wounded Wednesday in explosions and shooting in the divided West
Bank city of Hebron, witnesses and security officials said. The
Israeli army announced it had imposed a curfew on the center of
the city and said the incident began with a grenade attack on
one of its patrols by a Palestinian assailant. Palestinian
residents of Hebron, a frequent flashpoint, blamed Jewish
settlers for the violence, which flared in the heart of the city
close to one of their enclaves. Details were unclear.
-
October
1998
01.10.98
, Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated bullets to disperse
around 200 Palestinian demonstrators who lobbed rocks and petrol
bombs in the volatile West Bank town of Hebron Thursday,
witnesses said. They said at least six protesters were wounded
before the troops and Palestinian police pushed demonstrators
back into Palestinian-controlled areas of the city. It was the
second day of violence in Hebron since a Palestinian threw two
hand grenades at a patrol in the Israeli-controlled part of the
city close to a Jewish settler enclave on Wednesday. At least 11
Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers and border police were
wounded in the grenade attack and subsequent shooting.
02.10.98 , Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said Friday no
"substantive" progress had been made in his talks with
U.S. President Bill Clinton in Washington this week on breaking
the impasse in Middle East peacemaking. "No substantive
progress can really be cited, no substantive steps or even
changes in the behavior on the ground can be cited," Arafat
said in a speech delivered in English by a top Palestinian
negotiator.
05.10.98 , U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright left
Washington for the Middle East Monday in the hope of breaking 19
months of deadlock in talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
The trip, her first to the region in more than a year, should
pave the way for a summit between Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and
President Bill Clinton in the United States on Oct. 15. She
plans to spend about two days in the region but two aides,
Assistant Secretary of State Martin Indyk and special Middle
East envoy Dennis Ross, are traveling with her and could stay on
to tie up any loose ends.
07.10.98 , Israeli and Palestinian leaders met with U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright yesterday in Gaza to
discuss the upcoming Mid-East summit in Washington. the summit
is scheduled for later this month.
09.10.98 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has named
Ariel Sharon as the nation's new foreign minister.
14.10.98 , Israel put a positive gloss on prospects for a U.S.
Middle East peace summit Wednesday, predicting success if
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat meets Israeli demands to
crack down on militants. U.S. President Bill Clinton hosts the
summit, which begins Thursday at the Wye Plantation outside
Washington.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said Wednesday he was
optimistic about the prospects for a U.S.-brokered summit with
Israel designed to unblock the stalled Middle East peace process.
"Personally I believe this is a window of opportunity, not
only for us Palestinians, not only for the Israelis, but for the
entire Middle East," he said after meeting with British
Prime Minister Tony Blair.
15.10.98 , A four days summit begins today in the U.S. at which
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said he was optimistic and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will work with U.S.
President Bill Clinton toward reaching a Mid-East peace deal.
19.10.98 , At least 59 civilians and soldiers were wounded this
morning in a bus station in southern Israel when two grenades
exploded at the location. reports say the attack was made by a
Palestinian man. Palestinian authorities engaged in peace talks
in the U.S. have condemned the attack as an attempt to undermine
the peace process.
20.10.98 , The Mid-East peace summit being held in the U.S. has
been extended for another day as negotiations continue between
Israeli and Palestinian authorities over a land-and-security
agreement. the summit was scheduled to have ended Sunday.
21.10.98 , Jordan's King Hussein joined U.S. President Bill
Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in ongoing Mid-East peace talks
in the U.S. yesterday. the summit will continue for its seventh
day today.
Reports say about 50 Jewish settlers took part in protests
yesterday on the West Bank against the Israeli pursuit of a
peace deal with Palestinians.
Crisis struck the Middle East peace summit in Maryland Wednesday
when the Israelis threatened to walk out, accusing the United
States of going back on its word and the Palestinians of evasion.
The U.S., which has already nursed the talks through six days of
roller-coaster negotiations on land and security, said it would
pursue its efforts and submit a new draft agreement to the
Israelis and Palestinians. "We are at a critical moment....
We can't answer the question of which way this will go. The
United States can only do so much," said State Department
spokesman James Rubin.
22.10.98 , Reports say a final draft of an interim peace
agreement is expected to be presented this morning to Israeli
and Palestinian negotiators taking part is talks in the U.S.
today marks the seventh day of the peace summit.
23.10.98
, Reports say Palestinian and Israeli negotiators are close to
reaching a peace-for-land deal and that such a deal is likely to
be finalized and signed later today. some reports, notably one
from Reuters, cites Palestinian sources as saying that a deal
had already been reached and that a final draft of the agreement
was being completed.
26.10.98 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed at peace-for-land
agreement Friday at the conclusion of negotiations in the U.S.
the agreement calls for Israel to relinquish control of portions
of the West Bank in return for active measures to be taken by
Palestinians against terrorism.
27.10.98 , A no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu was defeated yesterday in Israeli parliament. the
legislative body voted 21-8 against the motion, with 15 members
abstaining. the vote came in response to opposition to the
recent peace-for-land agreement between Netanyahu and
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
30.10.98 , Israeli forces have barred Palestinians from leaving
or entering the Gaza Strip following a car bomb attack yesterday
that killed one Israeli man.
Israel's Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon said Friday that real
peace with the Palestinians would "take years" to
achieve, and called violence by Islamic militants a strategic
threat to the Middle East. "Speaking about peace is not
only a matter of signing a document," he said. Sharon,
speaking to reporters at his farm in southern Israel, condemned
an attempted martyr bomb attack on a bus carrying Jewish settler
children in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. He cautiously welcomed a
crackdown by the Palestinian Authority on the militant group
Hamas following the attack but said tougher security steps were
needed if Israel was to honor a land-for-security deal signed
last week at the White House.
November
1998
02.11.98
, Israeli spokesman Aviv Bushinsky says work will begin today to
expand the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba in the West Bank.
the settlement is adjacent to the town of Hebron.
03.11.98 , The Israeli cabinet has postponed its ratification of
the recent Mid-East peace deal pending assurances that 30
suspected Palestinian are jailed for allegedly killing Israeli
citizens.
04.11.98 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed
consideration of the recent Mid-East peace deal by his cabinet,
saying he has not received sufficient assurance from
Palestinians on security issues.
Yasser Arafat said Wednesday the Palestinian Authority had
already arrested 12 of the 30 Palestinians that Israel has named
as being responsible for the deaths of nearly 100 Israelis.
Palestinian leader Arafat told reporters during a visit to Spain
to explain the Middle East peace agreement that the Palestinians
would continue to work "100%" towards detaining the
remaining people. Israel named 30 Palestinians Wednesday,
including 12 it said were members of the security forces, whom
it insisted the Palestinian Authority had to arrest on suspicion
of killing or trying to kill Israelis.
05.11.98 , Israel's cabinet is scheduled to begin consideration
of the recent Mid-East peace agreement with Palestinians today.
Israeli officials say the consideration could last for two days,
but that it is expected that the agreement will be ratified.
06.11.98 , Two men were killed and 21 others injured in an
apparent car bombing near a Jerusalem street market this morning.
the two men killed were the bombers themselves, according to
reports. Israeli authorities say they are attempting to confirm
an anonymous claim of responsibility for the attack in the name
of the Islamic group Hamas. the Israeli cabinet has suspended
consideration of the recent Mid-East peace agreement pending
investigations into the bombing, which has been condemned by
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
10.11.98 , Reports say Israel's cabinet will resume
consideration of the recent Mid-East peace deal tomorrow.
discussion of the agreement was halted last week due to a
bombing attack in Jerusalem.
12.11.98 , Israel's cabinet yesterday approved the recently
reached Mid-August East peace agreement with Palestinians. the
approval included provisions against implementation in the event
of a declaration of an independent Palestinian state and the
requirement that a clause in the Palestinian charter advocating
the destruction of Israel be removed.
16.11.98 , Reuters cites Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon
as saying that Jewish settlers should grab land in the West
Bank. the Israeli government has reportedly indicated that
Sharon's remark reflects official policy.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday Israel's hand over
of West Bank land was on hold until Yasser Arafat publicly
retracted his warning that a Palestinian armed uprising could
flare up again. "I don't intend to carry out any
redeployment under these conditions, not even the first, until
this is rectified publicly and unequivocally," Netanyahu
told parliament in a speech opening a debate on his peace deal
with the Palestinians. Israel was to begin the first phase of a
three stages pull back in the West Bank later this week under
the U.S.-brokered interim.
17.11.98 , Palestinian President Yasser Arafat yesterday
retracted statements alluding to possible armed action against
Israel as a means of resolving problems with the recent
Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
The U.S.-brokered Israeli-Palestinian peace deal appeared to be
back on track Tuesday after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat
met Israel's demand to retract warnings over possible renewed
armed struggle. "I...reiterate that any problems concerning
final-status negotiations will be resolved through amicable and
peaceful ways and through negotiations, but not through any
other means," Arafat told a news conference. Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had put a West Bank land hand
over due later this week on hold in the war of words, called the
statement a positive step.
18.11.98 , The Israeli Parliament voted 75-19, with nine
abstentions, yesterday to ratify the recently-reached Mid-East
peace deal with Palestinians.
Palestinian police said Wednesday they would start confiscating
illegal weapons next week in compliance with a new peace deal
with Israel. The action, required under the land-for-security
accord, will be among issues examined by Israel's cabinet on
Thursday when it meets to decide whether to carry out a first
withdrawal of troops from part of the West Bank. "We will
start next week collecting all illegal weapons in all
Palestinian governorates. We will be implementing the
Palestinian law," said Ghazi al-Jabali, Palestinian police
chief.
19.11.98 , Israel's cabinet has voted to approve a first round
of troop withdrawals from the West Bank, as called for in the
recently reached Mid-East peace agreement. the U.S. will
reportedly pay Israel $1.2 billion to cover the costs of the
withdrawal.
Israel ordered the first withdrawal of troops from the occupied
West Bank in nearly two years Thursday, honoring its new peace
deal with the Palestinians. The cabinet gave its go-ahead after
ministers agreed that the Palestinians had met their initial
security obligations under the three stages accord signed at the
White House on Oct. 23. "The government today decided to
approve the first stage of the further redeployment in the West
Bank," a Cabinet Secretary said after the meeting. An
official said the pull back was expected to take place Friday in
the northern West Bank, along with the long-delayed opening of a
Palestinian airport in Gaza.
20.11.98
, Israel this morning handed over control of 195 square miles of
land in the West Bank to Palestinian control and released 250
Palestinian prisoners. the moves were called for in the
recently-reached Mid-East peace agreement.
24.11.98
, With a broad grin, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat
inaugurated Gaza International Airport Tuesday, hailed by
Palestinians as a commercial lifeline and a symbol of the
sovereignty they seek. Egyptian, Moroccan, Jordanian and Spanish
airliners landed at the $250 million airport, the first on
Palestinian-ruled soil. "God willing, airplanes will fly
from this airport carrying pilgrims to Jerusalem," Arafat
said at the airport near Rafah, on the Egyptian border.
Palestinian police and civilians danced reels of joy to the
music of a brass band as the planes landed on the 3,380-yard
runway, long enough to land a jumbo jet.
30.11.98 , Reports say President Clinton is scheduled to visit
Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank during a Mid-East trip
December 12-15.
-
December
1998
02.12.98
, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat said yesterday
that he reserves the right to declare an independent Palestinian
state next year, even if no final peace agreement is reached
between Israelis and Palestinians.
Two dozen Palestinians ambushed an Israeli soldier in a car
Wednesday, smashing its windshield then dragging him out and
beating him with stones in a brutal assault that was captured by
news cameras. The soldier cowered by the car door, holding his
hands up to fend off blows as several Palestinians struck his
head with rocks. After a minute of relentless attack, the
soldier ran away, bleeding from the head. His assailants stole
his rifle, threw more stones at him, then set his car on fire.
In Jerusalem, a 41-year-old Palestinian street cleaner, Osama
Musa Natche, was stabbed to death Wednesday in what police
believe was an attack by an Israeli extremist blamed for six
other stabbings.
03.12.98 , Israel has asked that President Clinton not land at
the newly opened Palestinian airport, saying this would boost
Palestinian claims to independence, a senior Israeli official
said Thursday. The Clinton administration is considering the
request, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of
anonymity. Clinton is to arrive in Israel on Dec. 12 and is to
fly to the Gaza Strip on Dec. 14 to usher in the second stage of
the Wye River land-for-peace agreement he helped negotiate. A
possible Clinton landing at Gaza International, which opened
last week as part of the agreement, had been considered by the
White House.
04.12.98 , Israel has suspended its troop withdrawal from the
West Bank following an attack by Palestinians on two Israelis.
08.12.98 , New clashes erupted Tuesday in the West Bank as
domestic pressure mounted on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
to abandon the Wye River land-for-security agreement with the
Palestinians. The renewed violence and Israel's political
turmoil came just a days before President Clinton's visit to
Israel and the Palestinian areas next week. The trip was
intended to shore up the Wye agreement and restore calm to the
region, but appeared to be having the opposite effect. In the
West Bank town of Ram just north of Jerusalem, several dozen
Palestinian high school students overturned garbage dumpsters
Tuesday and hurled stones at Israeli soldiers, who responded
with rubber bullets. Four students were injured
09.12.98 , Palestinians held a general stroke yesterday
throughout the West Bank to mark the 11th anniversary of the
Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.
Despite U.S. appeals to stop violence, Palestinians stoned
Wednesday Israeli troops and motorists in the most widespread
West Bank clashes in months. Israeli army gunfire killed one
Palestinian. Troops also fired rubber-coated steel pellets and
tear gas to contain the violent protests on the 11th anniversary
of the start of the Palestinians six-year uprising against
Israel. In all, at least 67 Palestinians were injured by rubber
bullets and three by live rounds. The death came just four days
before the start of President Clinton's visit to Israel and the
Palestinian areas, and was likely to trigger new violence.
10.12.98 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday
announced an Israeli crackdown on Palestinian unrest in
preparation for U.S. President Bill Clinton's upcoming trip to
the Mid-East.
11.12.98 , On the eve of President Clinton's arrival, Israeli
troops opened fire Friday on hundreds of Palestinian stone
throwers, killing two and injuring 27 during a protest against
Israel's refusal to release prisoners. The violence and Israel's
positions concerning the peace agreement Clinton is coming to
promote raised new concerns that the presidential visit will be
plagued by problems. Earlier today, Israel rejected a U.S.
compromise on the release of Palestinian prisoners and also
affirmed it will not withdraw troops in the West Bank unless the
top Palestinian decision-making body holds a vote to annul
clauses of the PLO charter calling for Israel's destruction.
14.12.98
, In a historic day stirring Palestinian passions for statehood,
President Clinton stood witness Monday as hundreds of
Palestinian leaders renounced a call for the destruction of
Israel. Clinton urged "legitimate rights for Palestinians,
real security for Israel." The Palestinian vote -
registered with a show of hands and applause - removed a
contentious issue dating back to 1964 from the crisis-shrouded
Mideast peace process. The action appeared to have cleared the
way for a three ways meeting among Clinton, Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At
stake was the revival of the Wye River land-for-security accord,
nearing collapse with Israelis and the Palestinians accusing
each other of violating the deal .
15.12.98 , President Clinton failed Tuesday to persuade Israel
to resume the West Bank troop withdrawals called for under the
Wye River peace accord, but he held out hope the pull back would
take place soon. "We will have fits and starts but we will
get through this just fine," he said. Speaking to American
reporters after a 90-minute meeting with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at this
border outpost, Clinton called his three-day Mideast trip a
success. In remarks to reporters later, Sandy Berger, the
president's national security adviser, qualified Clinton's
remark about the peace process being back on track. "It's a
bumpy track," he said with a smile .
16.12.98 , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his
cabinet yesterday that Israel would not proceed with a scheduled
hand over of more of the West Bank to Palestinians on Friday.
Netanyahu said that Palestinians have not satisfied the
requirements for such a hand over to take place.
21.12.98 , The Israeli cabinet voted yesterday to suspend
implementation of Israeli troop withdrawals from the West Bank
as called for in the Wye River land-for-security deal.
Palestinian non-compliance with provisions of the accord was
cited as the reason for the suspension. the Israeli parliament
is scheduled to vote today on the suspension.
22.12.98 , The Israeli parliament yesterday approved the first
reading of a bill calling for early general elections. the vote
followed the passing of a resolution of non-support for Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's peace policies.
23.12.98 , The Palestinian Authority freed the spiritual leader
of the Islamic militant group Hamas Wednesday from nearly two
months of house arrest. The release of Sheik Ahmed Yassin is
likely to heighten tensions between the Palestinians and Israel,
coming as the two sides accuse each other of stalling the Wye
River land-for-security accord. Outside Yassin's house in a slum
neighborhood of Gaza City, a crowd of rejoicing followers
surrounded the frail, ailing sheik in his wheelchair, kissing
and greeting him. Word of Yassin's release drew new criticism
from the Israel.
29.12.98 , The Israeli parliament's Constitution and Law
Committee today passed a resolution calling for national
elections to be held May 17, 1999.
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