Last update - 00:00 22/02/2008
PA: Israel extends ban on Jerusalem institutions despite road map obligations
By The Associated Press
Israel has extended its ban on Palestinian institutions operating in disputed Jerusalem, Palestinian officials charged, despite a requirement in a peace blueprint to allow them to reopen, just the latest snag in recently renewed negotiations.
This month, the officials said Thursday, Israel renewed its order against a Palestinian center known as Orient House, the city's Arab Chamber of Commerce and other symbolic buildings that are rallying points for the Palestinian claims to Jerusalem's eastern sector.
The institutions are the latest area of dispute in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, re-launched in November after seven years of violence. The sides have set a December 2008 target for completing a peace agreement, but Israeli construction in disputed areas and Palestinian rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip have clouded prospects.
Alongside the talks between Israel and the moderate Palestinian government based in the West Bank, daily violence has continued in the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamic militants of Hamas. Early Friday, an Israel Air Force strike in central Gaza killed two Islamic Jihad gunmen posted near the Israel-Gaza border to observe army movements, the organization said.
The Israeli military confirmed that an aircraft had fired on a group of armed men in the area.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ruled out a large-scale military operation in Gaza to stop daily rocket barrages fired by militants at Israeli communities, Army Radio reported late Thursday. The report quoted Olmert as saying that anyone who thinks Gaza can be cleared up in a few days is living the wars of 40 years ago, a reference to Israel's quick victory in the 1967 conflict.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he and Olmert are still committed to the 2008 goal.
"We are going to exert every possible effort to make these negotiations succeed within that time frame," Abbas said after meeting Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Cioroianu at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
However, Olmert and Abbas' premier, Salam Fayyad, this week cast doubt on whether a full treaty is possible this year.
The fate of east Jerusalem is the most explosive issue facing negotiators.
During peace talks in the 1990s, Israel permitted the Palestinians to operate institutions like Orient House, an elegant mansion that served as the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Israel police shut down the institutions in 2001 after Palestinian violence erupted. It has issued new closure orders every six months since then.
With peace talks restarted, Palestinians want their institutions restored. The U.S.-backed road map peace plan, the basis for negotiations, calls on Israel to reopen the Palestinian Chamber of Commerce and other Palestinian institutions in east Jerusalem.
Chamber of Commerce director Azzam Abu Saoud said the closure order on his offices was extended on February 7.
"Despite all the expectations, the closure order was renewed for another six months," Abu Saoud told The Associated Press. "U.S. consular officials asked for copies of the order, which he provided," he said.
Officials at the U.S. Consulate declined comment.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said officers periodically visit
Orient House to ensure that it is not being used. He cited a law prohibiting Palestinian political activity in the city.
The road map also states that the Palestinians must dismantle militant groups and that Israel must stop settlement construction in the West Bank. Neither side has met its obligations.
In an effort to upgrade his West Bank security forces, Abbas is sending about 800 officers to Jordan for training, Palestinian officials said. Military officials in Jordan said the Palestinians are being trained in groups in riot control, anti-terror measures and other aspects of law enforcement in a U.S.-funded program that began last month. Israeli officials said Israel approved the training.
Israeli forces in the West Bank raided the village of Beta Thursday. The military said 20 suspects were arrested in the operation, aimed at stopping attacks on Israeli vehicles on the main north-south highway.