Residents Skeptical on Mideast Deal
Saturday, 24 October 1998
R A M A L L A H , W E S T B A N K (AP)
FOR SHAI Shabat, a Jewish settler, the Mideast peace agreement brought
anxiety, especially Israel's decision to hand over another 13 percent of the
West Bank.
With more land under Palestinian control, Shabat, a computer engineer
from the Maaleh Adumim settlement, said he is even more worried about
being ambushed on a West Bank road by Palestinian militants while driving
home from his job in Jerusalem. He did not turn on his TV to watch
Friday's signing ceremony.
For Osama Ghol, a Palestinian businessman, the peace agreement signed
at the White House means he should be able to see his fiancee more often
and get fresh fish for his restaurant.
The accord provides for a land route for Palestinian travel between the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Ghol's restaurant is in the West Bank; his
fiancee and the fish are in Gaza.
While many Israelis and Palestinians tried to come to terms with a new
reality, hard-liners on both sides were vowing to try to torpedo the
agreement.
Reaction to the deal was mixed among newspapers in the Middle East.
In Jordan, the deal was praised today as a cornerstone for lasting peace.
In neighboring Syria, the official media ridiculed it as a Palestinian
surrender and an Israeli trap.
Egypt, a frequent mediator in the Israeli-Arab conflict, was cautious in its
approval.
The U.S.-mediated deal signed Friday can never be called a "peace
agreement." Syria's government newspaper, al-Thawra, said. "It is rather a
liquidation and a total surrender of what has remained of the Palestinian
rights," it said.
Jewish settler leaders warned they will shut down the West Bank with
street protests Sunday and shift their campaign to topple Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu into high gear.
In the Gaza Strip, the leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas, Sheik
Ahmed Yassin, warned Friday that the agreement "cannot erase Hamas."
In an attempt to gag Yassin, Palestinian police detained dozens of
journalists who had assembled near his Gaza City home Friday night
seeking his reaction to the White House signing.
The journalists were forced to hand over their equipment, including mobile
phones, tape recorders and cameras. They were released within about two
hours, and the Palestinian journalists were told to return to police
headquarters this morning.
Just a half hour's drive from Gaza City, in the squalid town of Rafah, 2,000
supporters of the militant Islamic Jihad group chanted: "We will never
accept the Washington solutions." About 20 Islamic Jihad supporters,
swathed in the white shrouds of suicide bombers, burned Israeli and
American flags.
As part of the agreement, the CIA will play a stronger role in the
Palestinian Authority's campaign against Islamic militants.
The leading Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds, which generally reflects the
thinking of Arafat's government, said today the accord indicated the
Netanyahu government was finally accepting the political reality of
Palestinian aspirations, but added that implementation of the pact would be
the big test.
Even among Israelis and Palestinians supporting the new agreement,
skepticism and indifference were more prevalent than joy or optimism.
Scarred by past setbacks and broken promises, many said they feared a
suicide bombing or the instability of Netanyahu's coalition could stop a
troop pullback.
Some people questioned the sincerity of Netanyahu, once a staunch
opponent of the land-for-peace process begun by his dovish predecessors.
"What is an agreement - does it mean the settlement at the top of the
mountain will go away? Or that the checkpoint will go away? I don't think
so," said a 25-year-old worker named Mohammed as he walked down a
street in the West Bank town of Nablus carrying loaves of bread.
But Uri Savir, a key player in negotiations that led to the breakthrough
peace agreements of 1993 and 1995, said a pullback was inevitable. "This
time, the credibility of the president of the United States is involved to
make that happen," he said.
Ghol, the Ramallah restaurant owner, said he hoped the agreement would
not only improve his fish supply, but also his relationship with his fiancee, a
Gaza resident.
Until now, he has made only rare trips to Gaza, whenever the Israelis have
granted him a travel permit. "I only saw her when I picked up the fish," said
Ghol.
Now, he should be able to go almost every day. |
