IDF Commanders of the Central and Southern Regions are meeting today with PA military leaders to discuss the continued implementation of the "Gaza and Bethlehem First" plan. The Israelis plan to present detailed demands for the war against terrorism, while the Arabs insist that Israel further ease restrictions on the PA population in Yesha.
Following its withdrawal from Bethlehem, the army is now also considering a withdrawal from Hevron. This, despite the lack of evidence that the PA is taking steps to fight the terrorist organizations in the City of the Patriarchs. Hevron community leaders decried this development, calling it "unconscionable" and something that is almost certain to lead to more Jewish bloodshed.
At today's mini-Security Cabinet meeting, Ministers Benizri (Shas), Eitam and Yitzchak Levy (NRP), and Sharansky (Yisrael B'Aliyah) expressed objections to the way in which Sharon and Ben-Eliezer decided to implement the "Gaza and Bethlehem First" plan, as well as to the plan itself. (The NRP, in fact, debated quitting the government this afternoon, but decided to settle for a meeting with Prime Minister Sharon on the topic within a few days.)
The Prime Minister told the ministers that he reviewed and approved the plan, which he said was an "understanding" and not an "agreement," and minimized its significance: It's nothing more than "moving some jeeps around from downtown Bethlehem," he said. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said that we should take advantage of the "new wind [that] is blowing among the Palestinians."
Channel 10's PA affairs correspondent Tzvi Yechezkeli denies that there is a "new wind." Speaking with Arutz-7 today, he said,
"There are many in the PA who object to the agreement, saying, 'What have we suffered so many deaths for? So that we can return to what we had before - control of our cities?!' ... [The plan is just] an oral understanding for Israel to unilaterally withdraw from Bethlehem, without promising anything such as the end of targeted killings, closures, or offensive actions, while the Palestinians are to maintain quiet. It doesn't mean that they will physically stop suicide bombers. But it's a way of giving the PA - and Arafat - another chance, and that's why the PA is trying to garner support for it among the [Arab] public."
Yechezkeli said that this "extra chance" is the main reason for Hamas' objections:
"Hamas is against the agreement not only because it wants to continue terrorism, but mainly because it doesn't want the PA to return; it wants an entirely new political order…"
Yechezkeli noted that the agreement is also another chance for Yasser Arafat:
"The fact that Arafat wasn't physically at the meeting doesn't mean he wasn't involved; on the contrary. I asked one of the PA participants at the four-hour meeting how could it be that Ben-Eliezer said that Arafat's name wasn't mentioned even once. He told me, 'That’s because it's so obvious that we're his emissaries; we wouldn't be here without his OK.' This agreement returns Arafat to the arena, regardless of whether Israel says he's irrelevant…"
Following its withdrawal from Bethlehem, the army is now also considering a withdrawal from Hevron. This, despite the lack of evidence that the PA is taking steps to fight the terrorist organizations in the City of the Patriarchs. Hevron community leaders decried this development, calling it "unconscionable" and something that is almost certain to lead to more Jewish bloodshed.
At today's mini-Security Cabinet meeting, Ministers Benizri (Shas), Eitam and Yitzchak Levy (NRP), and Sharansky (Yisrael B'Aliyah) expressed objections to the way in which Sharon and Ben-Eliezer decided to implement the "Gaza and Bethlehem First" plan, as well as to the plan itself. (The NRP, in fact, debated quitting the government this afternoon, but decided to settle for a meeting with Prime Minister Sharon on the topic within a few days.)
The Prime Minister told the ministers that he reviewed and approved the plan, which he said was an "understanding" and not an "agreement," and minimized its significance: It's nothing more than "moving some jeeps around from downtown Bethlehem," he said. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said that we should take advantage of the "new wind [that] is blowing among the Palestinians."
Channel 10's PA affairs correspondent Tzvi Yechezkeli denies that there is a "new wind." Speaking with Arutz-7 today, he said,
"There are many in the PA who object to the agreement, saying, 'What have we suffered so many deaths for? So that we can return to what we had before - control of our cities?!' ... [The plan is just] an oral understanding for Israel to unilaterally withdraw from Bethlehem, without promising anything such as the end of targeted killings, closures, or offensive actions, while the Palestinians are to maintain quiet. It doesn't mean that they will physically stop suicide bombers. But it's a way of giving the PA - and Arafat - another chance, and that's why the PA is trying to garner support for it among the [Arab] public."
Yechezkeli said that this "extra chance" is the main reason for Hamas' objections:
"Hamas is against the agreement not only because it wants to continue terrorism, but mainly because it doesn't want the PA to return; it wants an entirely new political order…"
Yechezkeli noted that the agreement is also another chance for Yasser Arafat:
"The fact that Arafat wasn't physically at the meeting doesn't mean he wasn't involved; on the contrary. I asked one of the PA participants at the four-hour meeting how could it be that Ben-Eliezer said that Arafat's name wasn't mentioned even once. He told me, 'That’s because it's so obvious that we're his emissaries; we wouldn't be here without his OK.' This agreement returns Arafat to the arena, regardless of whether Israel says he's irrelevant…"