| A draft copy of Arafat's speech given to The Associated Press by his office said the world was waiting for a clear signal that the Palestinians saw peaceful negotiations as the way to resolve their dispute with Israel. "The Palestinian people is standing against all types of terrorism, whether it is state terror or individual terror," the text said. "The Palestinian Legislative Council has to protect Palestinian national interests through final recognition of the state of Israel and the right of its people to live in peace and security." It argued that Palestinian bomb attacks gave Israel justification for harsh retaliation. "Suicide attacks against Israeli civilians in buses, restaurants, cafes and universities give the Israeli government the ability to hide its crimes," the draft said. Palestinian lawmakers from the Gaza Strip will boycott the West Bank parliamentary meeting in protest at an Israeli travel ban on several of their colleagues, a senior legislator said. Deputy speaker Ibrahim Abu Najr said that most of the 34 Gaza members of the Palestinian parliament will participate in the session through a video conferencing system from Gaza, as an act of solidarity with 12 members who were denied permission to leave the fenced-off Gaza Strip by Israeli authorities, who said the 12 were a security risk. Correcting an earlier statement in which he said they would all be absent, Abu Najr said that a handful had been ordered by Arafat to attend the meeting in Ramallah. The 88-seat assembly will discuss Palestinian elections demanded by Israel and the U.S. as part of a shakeup of the Palestinian Authority. "First of all the government program will be submitted in a speech given by President Arafat," Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat told Israeli TV on Sunday. "Then there will be on the agenda also the Palestinian election law and programs of reform." Israeli officials say they are looking for concrete deeds that go beyond statements. "We expect actions to end the violence," said Yoram Dori, an adviser to Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. Palestinians need Israeli permission to leave Gaza and to travel through the West Bank. Israeli authorities decide according to a person's security background whether to grant the permit. Israel denied permission for 13 lawmakers to travel from Gaza to the West Bank to attend the session. One of those banned, however, is no longer alive, Palestinian officials said. West Bank and Gaza delegates have repeatedly conferred by telephone or video links but the two groups have been prevented from sitting down together by Israeli closures imposed since the September 2000 outbreak of violence. In Monday's session, members will discuss procedures for holding presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections due by January 2003. The voting is seen as integral to promised Palestinian reforms to inject checks and balances into a regime which has so far been Arafat's sole fiefdom. Palestinian officials said some lawmakers want to raise the idea of electing a prime minister who would actively head the government, while Arafat, as president, became titular head of state with little or no executive power. That idea has been suggested by the U.S. and Israel but the Palestinians have not endorsed it. A Western diplomat close to the Palestinian Authority said the issue might not be on Monday's agenda, as those who back the idea prefer to pursue it behind the scenes rather than be seen as mounting an open challenge to Arafat's authority. Erekat said legislators on Monday would also ratify the appointments of five new Palestinian Cabinet members.
Palestinians Officials: Israelis Shelled Vehicle, 2 Killed
Late Sunday, Palestinian security officials said, an Israeli tank shelled a Palestinian vehicle near the southern Gaza town of Rafah, killing two of the occupants.
Israeli military sources said troops identified two men on foot moving under cover of darkness toward the fence between Israeli and Palestinian territory and opened fire. The sources said the extent of Palestinian casualties were not immediately known. The security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said about 40 Israeli tanks advanced from Gaza City southward on the main road, taking control of the highway to the entrance of Khan Younis in the central part of the territory. Earlier, the Israeli army arrested five men in the West Bank village of Yatta, near Hebron, said by Palestinians to be members of Arafat's Fatah movement. The army said the five were wanted terror suspects. About a dozen others were also detained as Israeli forces searched the village, witnesses said. |