By Adam Hanieh
PLO President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu signed a deal on January 15 that agreed on the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank town of Hebron.
The original sticking point around withdrawal from Hebron was the Israeli government demand for "right of pursuit" of suspected "terrorists" into Palestinian territory. This point was quietly dropped early in December, when it was pointed out to Netanyahu that the original Oslo Accords already allow for such a right.
The Israeli government then demanded that the dates for the withdrawal from the rest of the West Bank be moved to mid-1999 (they were originally supposed to begin in 1996 and finish in September 1997). The current agreement sets the deadline for sometime mid-1998.
Palestinian residents of Hebron are undoubtedly happy at the withdrawal of Israeli troops from their city, but some analysts have claimed that the agreement reflects the continuing implementation of the Israeli version of "peace" at the expense of genuine Palestinian national rights.
The agreement leaves 400 settlers in the centre of Hebron among 160,000 Palestinians. These settlers will be guaranteed control of 20% of the town (an area where 15,000 Palestinians live) while heavily armed Israeli troops will surround the outskirts of the city.
Four hundred Palestinian police have arrived in Hebron to ensure law and order; these police will be armed with hand guns, while their rifles remain in police stations. Only two groups of 16 "special" Palestinian police are permitted to use rifles after they obtain permission from the Israeli military.
Criticisms have been raised on the Palestinian side over the way in which negotiations were handled by the Palestinian Authority (PA). The January 17 edition of the Jerusalem Post reports that several members of the Palestinian Legislative Council walked out of a meeting to discuss the agreement because of lack of consultation.
Saeb Erekat, the chief PA negotiator and a member of the council, hurried over to give them copies of the protocol in English, but there was no official Arabic translation for those who did not understand English.
This complaint highlights why many Palestinians see their elected council as increasingly ineffectual. The Oslo Accords stipulate that the 88-member council has no jurisdiction to approve or disapprove agreements between Israel and the PA, but some of the councillors said that, since they are the elected representatives of the people, they should be treated with the respect the people deserve.
"It is more than lack of communication. The council should have been informed, but it was not. The council ought to know what takes place", said Ziad Abu Amr, a Gaza independent who walked out first, followed by a frequent critic of Arafat, Dr Haidar Abdel-Shafi, and others.
The Oslo Accords provided for a series of interim steps before final status negotiations on the status of Jerusalem and Israeli-defined "military areas", the right of return of 1948 refugees, the settlements and final borders.
Two key interim issues remain outstanding. First, Israel was to have withdrawn from all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, excluding Jerusalem and the military areas.
Second, Israel was to provide a safe passageway between the West Bank and Gaza strip. The latter is an extremely important factor for the daily lives of Palestinians who commute from Gaza to work and study in the West Bank and must confront regular Israeli closures.
There is a fear on the Palestinian side that Israel will not complete these interim phase steps before beginning negotiations on the final status issues.
The January 17 issue of Palestine Report commented: "Netanyahu is trying as hard as he can, supported by the US peace coordinator Dennis Ross, to separate the negotiations on Hebron from negotiations on further redeployment in the rural areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Instead, he is trying to link further redeployment issues with final status negotiations."
The threat of not withdrawing from the rest of the occupied territories will present the Israelis with an even greater advantage during final status negotiations.