1. Opening Fire on Israeli Forces
In September 1996, Palestinian policemen
opened fire on Israeli soldiers and civilians
during the disturbances in Judea, Samaria and
Gaza, resulting in the deaths of 15 Israelis.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership
actively instigated the rioting and took no
steps to halt the armed attacks by PA police
against Israeli forces. This was the most
grievous violation of the Oslo accords to date
by the Palestinians. As Joel Singer, legal
advisor to Prime Ministers Rabin and Peres
and one of the chief architects of the Oslo
accords, put it, "The Palestinian policemen
committed a very, very serious violation of
one of the basic principles in the agreement
with Israel. Nothing can justify such
behavior" (Near East Report, October 21,
1996). The accords require that the
Palestinian police act to prevent violence and
cooperate with Israeli security forces (see, for
example, Annex I, Article II). The conceptual
foundation of the Oslo Accords is the
rejection of violence and force as tools in the
conduct of bilateral relations. By initiating
violence against Israelis, the PA has violated
a cornerstone of the agreement.
2. Failure to Confiscate Illegal Arms and Disarm
and Disband Militias
The PA is obligated to disarm and disband all
militias operating in the autonomous areas
and to confiscate all unlicensed weapons
(Article XIV; and Annex I, Articles II(1) and
XI). Nevertheless, five militias - Hamas,
Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, the DFLP and Fatah
- continue to remain armed, and the PA has
refused to disarm them. The PA has failed to
undertake a systematic crackdown on illegal
weapons, and has confiscated just a few
hundred of the tens of thousands of weapons
circulating in the autonomous areas. The
PA’s violation of these provisions of the
accord have allowed terror groups to remain
active and well-armed and to carry out deadly
attacks against Israelis.
3. Failure to Extradite Suspected Terrorists to Israel
The PA is required to turn over for trial all
suspects whose extradition is formally
requested by Israel (Annex IV, Article II (7)),
yet they have not extradited any of the 19
terror suspects whom Israel has sought for
crimes such as murder and attempted murder.
By failing to turn over wanted suspects to
Israel, the PA has allowed terrorists to go
unpunished, thereby encouraging others to
carry out attacks in the knowledge that they
will not have to answer for their actions.
4. Incitement to Violence Against Israel
The PA leadership is obligated to refrain from
incitement to violence, as part of their
commitment to foster mutual understanding
and to combat terrorism (Article XXII).
Nonetheless, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has
repeatedly called for jihad (holy war) against
Israel, praised prominent terrorists such as
Yihya Ayyash "the Engineer" and encouraged
acts of violence against Israelis. In December
1996, Chairman Arafat criticized Israel’s
settlements policy, stating that Israel "is not
reading the map correctly… after they count
the dead we will be standing in the same
place." (Voice of Palestine, December 14,
1996) On October 21, 1996, Arafat met with
a delegation of Hebron Arab notables, and in
response to their complaints about the
presence of Jewish settlers in the city, he
rebuked them, saying, "Have you run out of
stones in Hebron? Prepare the stones." (Voice
of Israel, October 22, 1996). That same day,
during a speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp,
Arafat said, "We know only one word: jihad,
jihad, jihad. When we stopped the intifada, we
did not stop the jihad for the establishment of
a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.
And we are now entering the phase of the
great jihad prior to the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state whose capital is
Jerusalem… We are in a conflict with the
Zionist movement and the Balfour
Declaration and all imperialist activities."
(Yediot Aharonot, October 23, 1996)
Previously, on August 6, 1996, Arafat called
Israel a "demon" and urged Arabs to use "all
means" at their disposal to fight Israel (The
New York Times, August 7, 1996). Speaking
before Palestinian forces in Gaza on
September 24, 1996, Arafat said, "They will
fight for Allah, and they will kill and be
killed... Palestine is our land and Jerusalem is
our capital" (Maariv, October 4, 1996).
Incitement by Arafat and other senior PA
officials encourages violence and undermines
attempts to foster peace and mutual
understanding.
5. Failure to Change the PLO Covenant
The PLO was obligated to amend the clauses
in the Palestinian National Covenant which
called for the destruction of Israel no later
than May 7, 1996 (Article XXXII (9)). On
April 24, 1996, the PLO’s Palestinian
National Council (PNC) met and approved
such an amendment in principle, yet "the vote
did not actually change the covenant, but gave
authority to a PNC legal committee to do so
or to draw up a completely new charter
within six months." (The Jerusalem Post,
April 25, 1996) Indeed, immediately after the
PNC vote, in a videotaped interview with
reporters, PLO spokesman Marwan Kanafani
said, "This is not an amendment. This is a
license to start a new charter" (Jerusalem
Post, May 22, 1996) Thus, since the passage
of the May 7 deadline, the PLO has been in
violation of its commitment to amend the
Covenant. To date, no changes have been
made to the document, nor has the PLO
specified which particular articles will be
changed, how they will be changed or when
the changes will go into effect. By leaving the
Covenant intact, the PLO sends a clear
message that it has not renounced violence
nor accepted Israel’s right to exist.
6. Opening PA Offices in Jerusalem
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
In September 1996, Palestinian policemen
opened fire on Israeli soldiers and civilians
during the disturbances in Judea, Samaria and
Gaza, resulting in the deaths of 15 Israelis.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership
actively instigated the rioting and took no
steps to halt the armed attacks by PA police
against Israeli forces. This was the most
grievous violation of the Oslo accords to date
by the Palestinians. As Joel Singer, legal
advisor to Prime Ministers Rabin and Peres
and one of the chief architects of the Oslo
accords, put it, "The Palestinian policemen
committed a very, very serious violation of
one of the basic principles in the agreement
with Israel. Nothing can justify such
behavior" (Near East Report, October 21,
1996). The accords require that the
Palestinian police act to prevent violence and
cooperate with Israeli security forces (see, for
example, Annex I, Article II). The conceptual
foundation of the Oslo Accords is the
rejection of violence and force as tools in the
conduct of bilateral relations. By initiating
violence against Israelis, the PA has violated
a cornerstone of the agreement.
2. Failure to Confiscate Illegal Arms and Disarm
and Disband Militias
The PA is obligated to disarm and disband all
militias operating in the autonomous areas
and to confiscate all unlicensed weapons
(Article XIV; and Annex I, Articles II(1) and
XI). Nevertheless, five militias - Hamas,
Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, the DFLP and Fatah
- continue to remain armed, and the PA has
refused to disarm them. The PA has failed to
undertake a systematic crackdown on illegal
weapons, and has confiscated just a few
hundred of the tens of thousands of weapons
circulating in the autonomous areas. The
PA’s violation of these provisions of the
accord have allowed terror groups to remain
active and well-armed and to carry out deadly
attacks against Israelis.
3. Failure to Extradite Suspected Terrorists to Israel
The PA is required to turn over for trial all
suspects whose extradition is formally
requested by Israel (Annex IV, Article II (7)),
yet they have not extradited any of the 19
terror suspects whom Israel has sought for
crimes such as murder and attempted murder.
By failing to turn over wanted suspects to
Israel, the PA has allowed terrorists to go
unpunished, thereby encouraging others to
carry out attacks in the knowledge that they
will not have to answer for their actions.
4. Incitement to Violence Against Israel
The PA leadership is obligated to refrain from
incitement to violence, as part of their
commitment to foster mutual understanding
and to combat terrorism (Article XXII).
Nonetheless, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has
repeatedly called for jihad (holy war) against
Israel, praised prominent terrorists such as
Yihya Ayyash "the Engineer" and encouraged
acts of violence against Israelis. In December
1996, Chairman Arafat criticized Israel’s
settlements policy, stating that Israel "is not
reading the map correctly… after they count
the dead we will be standing in the same
place." (Voice of Palestine, December 14,
1996) On October 21, 1996, Arafat met with
a delegation of Hebron Arab notables, and in
response to their complaints about the
presence of Jewish settlers in the city, he
rebuked them, saying, "Have you run out of
stones in Hebron? Prepare the stones." (Voice
of Israel, October 22, 1996). That same day,
during a speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp,
Arafat said, "We know only one word: jihad,
jihad, jihad. When we stopped the intifada, we
did not stop the jihad for the establishment of
a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.
And we are now entering the phase of the
great jihad prior to the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state whose capital is
Jerusalem… We are in a conflict with the
Zionist movement and the Balfour
Declaration and all imperialist activities."
(Yediot Aharonot, October 23, 1996)
Previously, on August 6, 1996, Arafat called
Israel a "demon" and urged Arabs to use "all
means" at their disposal to fight Israel (The
New York Times, August 7, 1996). Speaking
before Palestinian forces in Gaza on
September 24, 1996, Arafat said, "They will
fight for Allah, and they will kill and be
killed... Palestine is our land and Jerusalem is
our capital" (Maariv, October 4, 1996).
Incitement by Arafat and other senior PA
officials encourages violence and undermines
attempts to foster peace and mutual
understanding.
5. Failure to Change the PLO Covenant
The PLO was obligated to amend the clauses
in the Palestinian National Covenant which
called for the destruction of Israel no later
than May 7, 1996 (Article XXXII (9)). On
April 24, 1996, the PLO’s Palestinian
National Council (PNC) met and approved
such an amendment in principle, yet "the vote
did not actually change the covenant, but gave
authority to a PNC legal committee to do so
or to draw up a completely new charter
within six months." (The Jerusalem Post,
April 25, 1996) Indeed, immediately after the
PNC vote, in a videotaped interview with
reporters, PLO spokesman Marwan Kanafani
said, "This is not an amendment. This is a
license to start a new charter" (Jerusalem
Post, May 22, 1996) Thus, since the passage
of the May 7 deadline, the PLO has been in
violation of its commitment to amend the
Covenant. To date, no changes have been
made to the document, nor has the PLO
specified which particular articles will be
changed, how they will be changed or when
the changes will go into effect. By leaving the
Covenant intact, the PLO sends a clear
message that it has not renounced violence
nor accepted Israel’s right to exist.
6. Opening PA Offices in Jerusalem
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
2. Failure to Confiscate Illegal Arms and Disarm
and Disband Militias
The PA is obligated to disarm and disband all
militias operating in the autonomous areas
and to confiscate all unlicensed weapons
(Article XIV; and Annex I, Articles II(1) and
XI). Nevertheless, five militias - Hamas,
Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, the DFLP and Fatah
- continue to remain armed, and the PA has
refused to disarm them. The PA has failed to
undertake a systematic crackdown on illegal
weapons, and has confiscated just a few
hundred of the tens of thousands of weapons
circulating in the autonomous areas. The
PA’s violation of these provisions of the
accord have allowed terror groups to remain
active and well-armed and to carry out deadly
attacks against Israelis.
3. Failure to Extradite Suspected Terrorists to Israel
The PA is required to turn over for trial all
suspects whose extradition is formally
requested by Israel (Annex IV, Article II (7)),
yet they have not extradited any of the 19
terror suspects whom Israel has sought for
crimes such as murder and attempted murder.
By failing to turn over wanted suspects to
Israel, the PA has allowed terrorists to go
unpunished, thereby encouraging others to
carry out attacks in the knowledge that they
will not have to answer for their actions.
4. Incitement to Violence Against Israel
The PA leadership is obligated to refrain from
incitement to violence, as part of their
commitment to foster mutual understanding
and to combat terrorism (Article XXII).
Nonetheless, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has
repeatedly called for jihad (holy war) against
Israel, praised prominent terrorists such as
Yihya Ayyash "the Engineer" and encouraged
acts of violence against Israelis. In December
1996, Chairman Arafat criticized Israel’s
settlements policy, stating that Israel "is not
reading the map correctly… after they count
the dead we will be standing in the same
place." (Voice of Palestine, December 14,
1996) On October 21, 1996, Arafat met with
a delegation of Hebron Arab notables, and in
response to their complaints about the
presence of Jewish settlers in the city, he
rebuked them, saying, "Have you run out of
stones in Hebron? Prepare the stones." (Voice
of Israel, October 22, 1996). That same day,
during a speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp,
Arafat said, "We know only one word: jihad,
jihad, jihad. When we stopped the intifada, we
did not stop the jihad for the establishment of
a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.
And we are now entering the phase of the
great jihad prior to the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state whose capital is
Jerusalem… We are in a conflict with the
Zionist movement and the Balfour
Declaration and all imperialist activities."
(Yediot Aharonot, October 23, 1996)
Previously, on August 6, 1996, Arafat called
Israel a "demon" and urged Arabs to use "all
means" at their disposal to fight Israel (The
New York Times, August 7, 1996). Speaking
before Palestinian forces in Gaza on
September 24, 1996, Arafat said, "They will
fight for Allah, and they will kill and be
killed... Palestine is our land and Jerusalem is
our capital" (Maariv, October 4, 1996).
Incitement by Arafat and other senior PA
officials encourages violence and undermines
attempts to foster peace and mutual
understanding.
5. Failure to Change the PLO Covenant
The PLO was obligated to amend the clauses
in the Palestinian National Covenant which
called for the destruction of Israel no later
than May 7, 1996 (Article XXXII (9)). On
April 24, 1996, the PLO’s Palestinian
National Council (PNC) met and approved
such an amendment in principle, yet "the vote
did not actually change the covenant, but gave
authority to a PNC legal committee to do so
or to draw up a completely new charter
within six months." (The Jerusalem Post,
April 25, 1996) Indeed, immediately after the
PNC vote, in a videotaped interview with
reporters, PLO spokesman Marwan Kanafani
said, "This is not an amendment. This is a
license to start a new charter" (Jerusalem
Post, May 22, 1996) Thus, since the passage
of the May 7 deadline, the PLO has been in
violation of its commitment to amend the
Covenant. To date, no changes have been
made to the document, nor has the PLO
specified which particular articles will be
changed, how they will be changed or when
the changes will go into effect. By leaving the
Covenant intact, the PLO sends a clear
message that it has not renounced violence
nor accepted Israel’s right to exist.
6. Opening PA Offices in Jerusalem
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
The PA is obligated to disarm and disband all
militias operating in the autonomous areas
and to confiscate all unlicensed weapons
(Article XIV; and Annex I, Articles II(1) and
XI). Nevertheless, five militias - Hamas,
Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, the DFLP and Fatah
- continue to remain armed, and the PA has
refused to disarm them. The PA has failed to
undertake a systematic crackdown on illegal
weapons, and has confiscated just a few
hundred of the tens of thousands of weapons
circulating in the autonomous areas. The
PA’s violation of these provisions of the
accord have allowed terror groups to remain
active and well-armed and to carry out deadly
attacks against Israelis.
3. Failure to Extradite Suspected Terrorists to Israel
The PA is required to turn over for trial all
suspects whose extradition is formally
requested by Israel (Annex IV, Article II (7)),
yet they have not extradited any of the 19
terror suspects whom Israel has sought for
crimes such as murder and attempted murder.
By failing to turn over wanted suspects to
Israel, the PA has allowed terrorists to go
unpunished, thereby encouraging others to
carry out attacks in the knowledge that they
will not have to answer for their actions.
4. Incitement to Violence Against Israel
The PA leadership is obligated to refrain from
incitement to violence, as part of their
commitment to foster mutual understanding
and to combat terrorism (Article XXII).
Nonetheless, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has
repeatedly called for jihad (holy war) against
Israel, praised prominent terrorists such as
Yihya Ayyash "the Engineer" and encouraged
acts of violence against Israelis. In December
1996, Chairman Arafat criticized Israel’s
settlements policy, stating that Israel "is not
reading the map correctly… after they count
the dead we will be standing in the same
place." (Voice of Palestine, December 14,
1996) On October 21, 1996, Arafat met with
a delegation of Hebron Arab notables, and in
response to their complaints about the
presence of Jewish settlers in the city, he
rebuked them, saying, "Have you run out of
stones in Hebron? Prepare the stones." (Voice
of Israel, October 22, 1996). That same day,
during a speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp,
Arafat said, "We know only one word: jihad,
jihad, jihad. When we stopped the intifada, we
did not stop the jihad for the establishment of
a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.
And we are now entering the phase of the
great jihad prior to the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state whose capital is
Jerusalem… We are in a conflict with the
Zionist movement and the Balfour
Declaration and all imperialist activities."
(Yediot Aharonot, October 23, 1996)
Previously, on August 6, 1996, Arafat called
Israel a "demon" and urged Arabs to use "all
means" at their disposal to fight Israel (The
New York Times, August 7, 1996). Speaking
before Palestinian forces in Gaza on
September 24, 1996, Arafat said, "They will
fight for Allah, and they will kill and be
killed... Palestine is our land and Jerusalem is
our capital" (Maariv, October 4, 1996).
Incitement by Arafat and other senior PA
officials encourages violence and undermines
attempts to foster peace and mutual
understanding.
5. Failure to Change the PLO Covenant
The PLO was obligated to amend the clauses
in the Palestinian National Covenant which
called for the destruction of Israel no later
than May 7, 1996 (Article XXXII (9)). On
April 24, 1996, the PLO’s Palestinian
National Council (PNC) met and approved
such an amendment in principle, yet "the vote
did not actually change the covenant, but gave
authority to a PNC legal committee to do so
or to draw up a completely new charter
within six months." (The Jerusalem Post,
April 25, 1996) Indeed, immediately after the
PNC vote, in a videotaped interview with
reporters, PLO spokesman Marwan Kanafani
said, "This is not an amendment. This is a
license to start a new charter" (Jerusalem
Post, May 22, 1996) Thus, since the passage
of the May 7 deadline, the PLO has been in
violation of its commitment to amend the
Covenant. To date, no changes have been
made to the document, nor has the PLO
specified which particular articles will be
changed, how they will be changed or when
the changes will go into effect. By leaving the
Covenant intact, the PLO sends a clear
message that it has not renounced violence
nor accepted Israel’s right to exist.
6. Opening PA Offices in Jerusalem
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
3. Failure to Extradite Suspected Terrorists to Israel
The PA is required to turn over for trial all
suspects whose extradition is formally
requested by Israel (Annex IV, Article II (7)),
yet they have not extradited any of the 19
terror suspects whom Israel has sought for
crimes such as murder and attempted murder.
By failing to turn over wanted suspects to
Israel, the PA has allowed terrorists to go
unpunished, thereby encouraging others to
carry out attacks in the knowledge that they
will not have to answer for their actions.
4. Incitement to Violence Against Israel
The PA leadership is obligated to refrain from
incitement to violence, as part of their
commitment to foster mutual understanding
and to combat terrorism (Article XXII).
Nonetheless, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has
repeatedly called for jihad (holy war) against
Israel, praised prominent terrorists such as
Yihya Ayyash "the Engineer" and encouraged
acts of violence against Israelis. In December
1996, Chairman Arafat criticized Israel’s
settlements policy, stating that Israel "is not
reading the map correctly… after they count
the dead we will be standing in the same
place." (Voice of Palestine, December 14,
1996) On October 21, 1996, Arafat met with
a delegation of Hebron Arab notables, and in
response to their complaints about the
presence of Jewish settlers in the city, he
rebuked them, saying, "Have you run out of
stones in Hebron? Prepare the stones." (Voice
of Israel, October 22, 1996). That same day,
during a speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp,
Arafat said, "We know only one word: jihad,
jihad, jihad. When we stopped the intifada, we
did not stop the jihad for the establishment of
a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.
And we are now entering the phase of the
great jihad prior to the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state whose capital is
Jerusalem… We are in a conflict with the
Zionist movement and the Balfour
Declaration and all imperialist activities."
(Yediot Aharonot, October 23, 1996)
Previously, on August 6, 1996, Arafat called
Israel a "demon" and urged Arabs to use "all
means" at their disposal to fight Israel (The
New York Times, August 7, 1996). Speaking
before Palestinian forces in Gaza on
September 24, 1996, Arafat said, "They will
fight for Allah, and they will kill and be
killed... Palestine is our land and Jerusalem is
our capital" (Maariv, October 4, 1996).
Incitement by Arafat and other senior PA
officials encourages violence and undermines
attempts to foster peace and mutual
understanding.
5. Failure to Change the PLO Covenant
The PLO was obligated to amend the clauses
in the Palestinian National Covenant which
called for the destruction of Israel no later
than May 7, 1996 (Article XXXII (9)). On
April 24, 1996, the PLO’s Palestinian
National Council (PNC) met and approved
such an amendment in principle, yet "the vote
did not actually change the covenant, but gave
authority to a PNC legal committee to do so
or to draw up a completely new charter
within six months." (The Jerusalem Post,
April 25, 1996) Indeed, immediately after the
PNC vote, in a videotaped interview with
reporters, PLO spokesman Marwan Kanafani
said, "This is not an amendment. This is a
license to start a new charter" (Jerusalem
Post, May 22, 1996) Thus, since the passage
of the May 7 deadline, the PLO has been in
violation of its commitment to amend the
Covenant. To date, no changes have been
made to the document, nor has the PLO
specified which particular articles will be
changed, how they will be changed or when
the changes will go into effect. By leaving the
Covenant intact, the PLO sends a clear
message that it has not renounced violence
nor accepted Israel’s right to exist.
6. Opening PA Offices in Jerusalem
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
The PA is required to turn over for trial all
suspects whose extradition is formally
requested by Israel (Annex IV, Article II (7)),
yet they have not extradited any of the 19
terror suspects whom Israel has sought for
crimes such as murder and attempted murder.
By failing to turn over wanted suspects to
Israel, the PA has allowed terrorists to go
unpunished, thereby encouraging others to
carry out attacks in the knowledge that they
will not have to answer for their actions.
4. Incitement to Violence Against Israel
The PA leadership is obligated to refrain from
incitement to violence, as part of their
commitment to foster mutual understanding
and to combat terrorism (Article XXII).
Nonetheless, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has
repeatedly called for jihad (holy war) against
Israel, praised prominent terrorists such as
Yihya Ayyash "the Engineer" and encouraged
acts of violence against Israelis. In December
1996, Chairman Arafat criticized Israel’s
settlements policy, stating that Israel "is not
reading the map correctly… after they count
the dead we will be standing in the same
place." (Voice of Palestine, December 14,
1996) On October 21, 1996, Arafat met with
a delegation of Hebron Arab notables, and in
response to their complaints about the
presence of Jewish settlers in the city, he
rebuked them, saying, "Have you run out of
stones in Hebron? Prepare the stones." (Voice
of Israel, October 22, 1996). That same day,
during a speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp,
Arafat said, "We know only one word: jihad,
jihad, jihad. When we stopped the intifada, we
did not stop the jihad for the establishment of
a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.
And we are now entering the phase of the
great jihad prior to the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state whose capital is
Jerusalem… We are in a conflict with the
Zionist movement and the Balfour
Declaration and all imperialist activities."
(Yediot Aharonot, October 23, 1996)
Previously, on August 6, 1996, Arafat called
Israel a "demon" and urged Arabs to use "all
means" at their disposal to fight Israel (The
New York Times, August 7, 1996). Speaking
before Palestinian forces in Gaza on
September 24, 1996, Arafat said, "They will
fight for Allah, and they will kill and be
killed... Palestine is our land and Jerusalem is
our capital" (Maariv, October 4, 1996).
Incitement by Arafat and other senior PA
officials encourages violence and undermines
attempts to foster peace and mutual
understanding.
5. Failure to Change the PLO Covenant
The PLO was obligated to amend the clauses
in the Palestinian National Covenant which
called for the destruction of Israel no later
than May 7, 1996 (Article XXXII (9)). On
April 24, 1996, the PLO’s Palestinian
National Council (PNC) met and approved
such an amendment in principle, yet "the vote
did not actually change the covenant, but gave
authority to a PNC legal committee to do so
or to draw up a completely new charter
within six months." (The Jerusalem Post,
April 25, 1996) Indeed, immediately after the
PNC vote, in a videotaped interview with
reporters, PLO spokesman Marwan Kanafani
said, "This is not an amendment. This is a
license to start a new charter" (Jerusalem
Post, May 22, 1996) Thus, since the passage
of the May 7 deadline, the PLO has been in
violation of its commitment to amend the
Covenant. To date, no changes have been
made to the document, nor has the PLO
specified which particular articles will be
changed, how they will be changed or when
the changes will go into effect. By leaving the
Covenant intact, the PLO sends a clear
message that it has not renounced violence
nor accepted Israel’s right to exist.
6. Opening PA Offices in Jerusalem
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
4. Incitement to Violence Against Israel
The PA leadership is obligated to refrain from
incitement to violence, as part of their
commitment to foster mutual understanding
and to combat terrorism (Article XXII).
Nonetheless, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has
repeatedly called for jihad (holy war) against
Israel, praised prominent terrorists such as
Yihya Ayyash "the Engineer" and encouraged
acts of violence against Israelis. In December
1996, Chairman Arafat criticized Israel’s
settlements policy, stating that Israel "is not
reading the map correctly… after they count
the dead we will be standing in the same
place." (Voice of Palestine, December 14,
1996) On October 21, 1996, Arafat met with
a delegation of Hebron Arab notables, and in
response to their complaints about the
presence of Jewish settlers in the city, he
rebuked them, saying, "Have you run out of
stones in Hebron? Prepare the stones." (Voice
of Israel, October 22, 1996). That same day,
during a speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp,
Arafat said, "We know only one word: jihad,
jihad, jihad. When we stopped the intifada, we
did not stop the jihad for the establishment of
a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.
And we are now entering the phase of the
great jihad prior to the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state whose capital is
Jerusalem… We are in a conflict with the
Zionist movement and the Balfour
Declaration and all imperialist activities."
(Yediot Aharonot, October 23, 1996)
Previously, on August 6, 1996, Arafat called
Israel a "demon" and urged Arabs to use "all
means" at their disposal to fight Israel (The
New York Times, August 7, 1996). Speaking
before Palestinian forces in Gaza on
September 24, 1996, Arafat said, "They will
fight for Allah, and they will kill and be
killed... Palestine is our land and Jerusalem is
our capital" (Maariv, October 4, 1996).
Incitement by Arafat and other senior PA
officials encourages violence and undermines
attempts to foster peace and mutual
understanding.
5. Failure to Change the PLO Covenant
The PLO was obligated to amend the clauses
in the Palestinian National Covenant which
called for the destruction of Israel no later
than May 7, 1996 (Article XXXII (9)). On
April 24, 1996, the PLO’s Palestinian
National Council (PNC) met and approved
such an amendment in principle, yet "the vote
did not actually change the covenant, but gave
authority to a PNC legal committee to do so
or to draw up a completely new charter
within six months." (The Jerusalem Post,
April 25, 1996) Indeed, immediately after the
PNC vote, in a videotaped interview with
reporters, PLO spokesman Marwan Kanafani
said, "This is not an amendment. This is a
license to start a new charter" (Jerusalem
Post, May 22, 1996) Thus, since the passage
of the May 7 deadline, the PLO has been in
violation of its commitment to amend the
Covenant. To date, no changes have been
made to the document, nor has the PLO
specified which particular articles will be
changed, how they will be changed or when
the changes will go into effect. By leaving the
Covenant intact, the PLO sends a clear
message that it has not renounced violence
nor accepted Israel’s right to exist.
6. Opening PA Offices in Jerusalem
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
The PA leadership is obligated to refrain from
incitement to violence, as part of their
commitment to foster mutual understanding
and to combat terrorism (Article XXII).
Nonetheless, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has
repeatedly called for jihad (holy war) against
Israel, praised prominent terrorists such as
Yihya Ayyash "the Engineer" and encouraged
acts of violence against Israelis. In December
1996, Chairman Arafat criticized Israel’s
settlements policy, stating that Israel "is not
reading the map correctly… after they count
the dead we will be standing in the same
place." (Voice of Palestine, December 14,
1996) On October 21, 1996, Arafat met with
a delegation of Hebron Arab notables, and in
response to their complaints about the
presence of Jewish settlers in the city, he
rebuked them, saying, "Have you run out of
stones in Hebron? Prepare the stones." (Voice
of Israel, October 22, 1996). That same day,
during a speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp,
Arafat said, "We know only one word: jihad,
jihad, jihad. When we stopped the intifada, we
did not stop the jihad for the establishment of
a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.
And we are now entering the phase of the
great jihad prior to the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state whose capital is
Jerusalem… We are in a conflict with the
Zionist movement and the Balfour
Declaration and all imperialist activities."
(Yediot Aharonot, October 23, 1996)
Previously, on August 6, 1996, Arafat called
Israel a "demon" and urged Arabs to use "all
means" at their disposal to fight Israel (The
New York Times, August 7, 1996). Speaking
before Palestinian forces in Gaza on
September 24, 1996, Arafat said, "They will
fight for Allah, and they will kill and be
killed... Palestine is our land and Jerusalem is
our capital" (Maariv, October 4, 1996).
Incitement by Arafat and other senior PA
officials encourages violence and undermines
attempts to foster peace and mutual
understanding.
5. Failure to Change the PLO Covenant
The PLO was obligated to amend the clauses
in the Palestinian National Covenant which
called for the destruction of Israel no later
than May 7, 1996 (Article XXXII (9)). On
April 24, 1996, the PLO’s Palestinian
National Council (PNC) met and approved
such an amendment in principle, yet "the vote
did not actually change the covenant, but gave
authority to a PNC legal committee to do so
or to draw up a completely new charter
within six months." (The Jerusalem Post,
April 25, 1996) Indeed, immediately after the
PNC vote, in a videotaped interview with
reporters, PLO spokesman Marwan Kanafani
said, "This is not an amendment. This is a
license to start a new charter" (Jerusalem
Post, May 22, 1996) Thus, since the passage
of the May 7 deadline, the PLO has been in
violation of its commitment to amend the
Covenant. To date, no changes have been
made to the document, nor has the PLO
specified which particular articles will be
changed, how they will be changed or when
the changes will go into effect. By leaving the
Covenant intact, the PLO sends a clear
message that it has not renounced violence
nor accepted Israel’s right to exist.
6. Opening PA Offices in Jerusalem
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
5. Failure to Change the PLO Covenant
The PLO was obligated to amend the clauses
in the Palestinian National Covenant which
called for the destruction of Israel no later
than May 7, 1996 (Article XXXII (9)). On
April 24, 1996, the PLO’s Palestinian
National Council (PNC) met and approved
such an amendment in principle, yet "the vote
did not actually change the covenant, but gave
authority to a PNC legal committee to do so
or to draw up a completely new charter
within six months." (The Jerusalem Post,
April 25, 1996) Indeed, immediately after the
PNC vote, in a videotaped interview with
reporters, PLO spokesman Marwan Kanafani
said, "This is not an amendment. This is a
license to start a new charter" (Jerusalem
Post, May 22, 1996) Thus, since the passage
of the May 7 deadline, the PLO has been in
violation of its commitment to amend the
Covenant. To date, no changes have been
made to the document, nor has the PLO
specified which particular articles will be
changed, how they will be changed or when
the changes will go into effect. By leaving the
Covenant intact, the PLO sends a clear
message that it has not renounced violence
nor accepted Israel’s right to exist.
6. Opening PA Offices in Jerusalem
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
The PLO was obligated to amend the clauses
in the Palestinian National Covenant which
called for the destruction of Israel no later
than May 7, 1996 (Article XXXII (9)). On
April 24, 1996, the PLO’s Palestinian
National Council (PNC) met and approved
such an amendment in principle, yet "the vote
did not actually change the covenant, but gave
authority to a PNC legal committee to do so
or to draw up a completely new charter
within six months." (The Jerusalem Post,
April 25, 1996) Indeed, immediately after the
PNC vote, in a videotaped interview with
reporters, PLO spokesman Marwan Kanafani
said, "This is not an amendment. This is a
license to start a new charter" (Jerusalem
Post, May 22, 1996) Thus, since the passage
of the May 7 deadline, the PLO has been in
violation of its commitment to amend the
Covenant. To date, no changes have been
made to the document, nor has the PLO
specified which particular articles will be
changed, how they will be changed or when
the changes will go into effect. By leaving the
Covenant intact, the PLO sends a clear
message that it has not renounced violence
nor accepted Israel’s right to exist.
6. Opening PA Offices in Jerusalem
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
6. Opening PA Offices in Jerusalem
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
The PA is required to locate all of its offices
and ministries exclusively in areas under its
jurisdiction (Article I (7)). Nevertheless, the
PA has violated this provision by maintaining
offices such as the Orient House in
Jerusalem. The PA Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the PA Office of the Mufti are
both located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and
over a dozen other PA offices operate in
other sections of the city. In addition,
Palestinian policemen are active in Jerusalem
in contravention of the agreements. They have
been involved in activities such as
kidnapping, torturing and killing, and have
targeted human-rights activists, journalists
and suspected "collaborators" with Israel.
They have also punished perpetrators of
alleged "morals crimes."
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
7. Recruiting Terrorists to Serve in the Palestinian
Police
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
The PA is required to submit a list of all
potential police recruits to Israel for approval
(Annex I, Article IV(4)) to forestall the
possibility that members of terrorist groups
will join the PA security services. The PA has
consistently failed to provide comprehensive
listings of potential recruits to Israel and has
proceeded to recuit policemen without prior
Israeli consent. At least 10 wanted terrorists
are known to be serving in the Palestinian
security forces or are in the process of joining
its ranks. In August 1996, Israel asked the PA
to arrest and transfer Waleed Fawzi Abu
Daka, who was responsible for the shooting
death of an Israeli guard in Petah Tikva. He
was arrested and then freed by the Palestinian
police and now serves in the Palestinian
Military Intelligence Service. Similarly, Rajah
and Amr Abu-Sita, who murdered Uri
Megidish on March 8, 1993 and whose
transfer was requested by Israel, were drafted
to serve in the PA police in Gaza. (Yediot
Aharonot, June 22, 1994) Such steps by the
PA endanger the prospects for cooperation
between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
and pose a security threat by providing
terrorists with access to weapons and
intelligence information.
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
8. Exceeding the Limit on the Number of
Palestinian Police
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
Under the Gaza-Jericho accord of May 1994,
the PA was permitted to deploy a total of
9,000 policemen (Annex I, Article III (3)), but
in actuality the number of Palestinian
policemen was nearly 20,000. Under Oslo 2,
the PA may deploy up to 24,000 policemen in
Areas A and B, including Gaza, (Annex I,
Article IV (3)), yet they have exceeded this
figure by at least 10,000.
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
9. Abuse of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
The PA is obligated to conduct its affairs
"with due regard to internationally-accepted
norms and principles of human rights and the
rule of law" (Article XIX). As various
international human rights groups, such as
Amnesty and Middle East Watch have pointed
out, the PA security forces have
systematically utilized arbitrary arrests,
detention and torture. Human rights activists,
such as Bassam Eid, have been abducted by
PA security agents, and freedom of the press
has been virtually eliminated, with no
criticism of the regime tolerated in the
Palestinian media.
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
10. Conduct of Foreign Relations
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
The agreements explicitly forbid the PA from
conducting foreign relations, allowing instead
the PLO to conduct relations on the PA’s
behalf for a limited set of purposes, such as
concluding economic and cultural agreements
(Article IX). Nevertheless, the PA has
violated this provision and engaged
repeatedly in diplomacy on the bilateral,
multilateral (i.e. Arab League) and
international (i.e. United Nations) levels.
Provided by the Government Press Office
Provided by the Government Press Office