[IMRA (Independent Media Review and Analysis) review] of the B’Tselem Human Rights Report Raises Questions about credibility.

1. Reading this press release it would appear that B’Tselem considers the throwing of rocks, steel rods and fire bombs to fall within the category of “civilian” activity.

2. They raise no objection to killing settlers with stones or firebombs (a number of settlers have been killed by stones that crashed through their windshields and firebombs have taken their victims).

3. B’Tselem sanctions the Palestinians to shoot settlers who have the gaul to defend themselves against stones and firebombs.

4. B’Tselem makes no mention of restrictions on the use of ambulances to transport forces and weapons – something that has made it difficult for Israel to allow for the free flow of ambulance traffic.

5. B’Tselem fails to recognize that the Palestinian leadership, through Fatah and the other movements as well as the PA has essentially declared war. A war in which many of their forces operate in civilian dress. To suggest that under these circumstances that Israel should ignore this an act as if carte blanche should be afforded to anyone not wearing a uniform is to ignore reality.]

Oct. 9, 2000 PRESS RELEASE
“Even in Time of War Not All Is Permitted”

There have been reports of several violent incidents during this past week in the Occupied Territories. In some cases both sides acted as against international humanitarian law. The provisions of this law place constraints on permissible acts during wartime, in order to minimize injury to those who take no active part in the hostilities: prisoners of war, wounded persons and civilians. Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak, said on Saturday: “Up to now I have ordered restraint. Not to act, only to react. But if we don’t see a change within the next two days…we will instruct the IDF and the security forces to take any means at their disposal to stop the violence”.

In view of this, B’Tselem would like to inform all parties of the rules which bind them, according to international law, in these cases:

Protection of civilians: Shooting at civilians is permissible only in cases of real and immediate danger to life. Shooting is permitted only against those who pose a threat to life, and such shooting must be proportional to the threat and intended to put it at a distance. Even in the case of real and immediate danger to life indiscriminate shooting at civilians is prohibited.

Distinction between armed and unarmed persons: Persons armed with firearms are forbidden to congregate with unarmed persons, even if these be stone throwers. Interfusion of these two groups puts unarmed persons at risk. Nevertheless, the fact that one side to the conflict does not hearken to these prohibitions does not permit the other side to ignore the above rules concerning injury to civilians. In view of this: Shooting by the Israeli security forces at a crowd, from which they are being shot at and their lives put at risk, must be directed, as far as is possible, to the source of danger. Injury to unarmed civilians nearby must be curtailed even if they be throwing stones. Such shooting must be proportional to the danger and it is impermissible, for example, to react to gun-shooting with anti-tank missiles. Furthermore, rubber-covered metal bullets are lethal. Therefore, they must be used only in life-threatening situations and not for crowd dispersal. The Palestinian Authority must ensure that people armed with firearms be placed separately from civilians, even if these be stone throwers. This rule applies until such time as this population must be defended against exaggerated use of force by Israeli security forces which threatens civilian lives.

Shooting directed at settlements by Palestinians, when there is no danger to life, is prohibited.

Protection of wounded persons, medical personnel, and ambulances: It is absolutely prohibited to intentionally attack medical personnel and ambulances, and they are to be permitted free movement for evacuation of the wounded. In any case of casualties, shooting must be stopped at the earliest possible circumstances to enable their evacuation.

Violence perpetrated by Israeli civilians: Israeli security forces are obliged to protect Palestinians from violence perpetrated by Israeli civilians.

Freedom of movement: Passage of food and medical supplies to the territories must be ensured, as well as freedom of movement, including into Israel, in cases of humanitarian emergencies. Curfew will be administered only in extreme circumstances and as a last resort. In no case will curfew be administered as a punitive measure. In cases where curfew is administered, the population must be permitted to exit their homes for provisions of food and medical supplies. In view of this: the curfew administered since Oct. 2nd on H2 areas in Hebron must be called off, Dahania Airport in Gaza must be reopened, and Palestinians must be permitted to travel abroad.

Journalists: As far as is possible, under the circumstances, journalists must be given freedom of operation to report. In no case may journalists, or their equipment, be intentionally attacked.

Damage to Holy Places: Both sides must protect the holy sites and refrain from their defilement.

Collective punishment: Collective punishment of civilian population – such as harm to water or electricity, bombing of civilian infrastructure, or limitation of freedom of movement is absolutely prohibited.

Prisoners: Harm to prisoners by either side is absolutely prohibited. They must, in no case, be tortured or killed in interrogation. They must be permitted to send mail and visitation by the Red Cross.

B’Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories is a Israeli organization that monitors human rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip B’Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories is a Israeli organization that monitors human rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

Her Excellency Mrs. Madelaine Allbright Secretary of State The State Dept. Washington DC.

Monday October 2, 20000

Dear Secretarv Allbright:

I deeply regret, and I find it totally unacceptable that your spokesman was quick to make a false statement that my visit to The Temple Mount “may have caused tension,” insinuating that it ignited the riots and disturbances in Jerusalem that spread to Judea, Samaria and Gaza and later, to Israel itself.

I find it most regrettable and disturbing that your spokesman has been swayed by slanderous propaganda on the part of the Palestinian leaders and media, intended to put pressure on Israel and the US to make additional concessions in the negotiations, under threat of violence if their demands are not met.

I have expressed my concern and regret at the widespread violence and the senseless loss of lives and injuries on both sides. But it must be clearly understood that it wasn’t my visit to The Temple Mount the holiest site for Jews and under full Israeli sovereignty – that ignited the current outbreak of violence.

Israel’s Security Establishment has publicly presented its conclusions that the violent riots and armed confrontations, are part of a premeditated and organized campaign initiated by the Palestinian Authority (P.A.). This campaign began over ten days ago in the Netzarim area in Gaza, starting with stone throwing and escalating to the use of firearms and explosives against Israeli soldiers and civilians travelling there,

These riots have spread out through the deliberate incitement (prior to the visit) by the ‘Tanzim’ (the armed militia of Chairman Arafat’s Fatah organization). Last Friday Arafat instructed the ‘Tanzim’ to escalate the riots. Moreover, Palestinian Security Chiefs have been directly involved in inciting the violence and in ordering Palestinian Police to open fire on Israeli soldiers, Police and civilians.

Arab Members of the Knesset (MKs) have contributed to and joined this violent campaign by repeated incitement calling Arab Israelis as well as Palestinians to resort to violence prior, during and after my visit to The Temple Mount.

This is not the first time I’m visiting The Temple Mount. The Inspector General of the Police has explained that the large Forces which the Police deployed to safeguard the visit, were required due to Palestinian threats prior to the visit to resort to large scale violence in order to take control of the Western Wall area below The Temple Mount.

I wish to emphasize, Mrs. Secretary, that Prime Minister Barak has already stated very clearly that every Israeli citizen, be it Arab or Jew, has a right to visit any place which is under Israeli sovereignty.

The united city of Jerusalem, which you are all very familiar with, as well as The Temple Mount, are under full Israeli sovereignty. Neither I, nor any Israeli citizen need to seek permission from the PA or from any foreign entity to visit there or any other site which is sovereign territory of the State of Israel.

As for myself, I wish to assure you that despite the recent violent events I remain fully committed to achieving peace with all our Arab neighbors including the Palestinians.

I believe we can reach peace, but it must be durable and real peace based first and foremost on complete negation of violence. Furthermore, it requires Arab Palestinian recognition and acceptance of the historical inherent rights that Jews have on their land in their undivided Capital Jerusalem and particularly sovereign rights and free access to our most sacred site on The Temple Mount. This right is granted and has only been safeguarded to every Israeli citizen as well as visitors, regardless of race, creed or religion since Israel united the city in 1967.

Sincerely Yours. Ariel Sharon, Chairman Likud Party

38 King George St. Tel Aviv 63298 ISRAEL Tel. 972-3-5252925 Fax 972-3-5252932 E-MAIL: LIKUD@LIKUD.ORG.IL

Major General Yaakov Or, the coordinator of government activities in the territories, has invested the last three-and-a-half years in slowly and carefully building up a broad network of contacts with the Palestinian Authority. Or has met with everyone – often with Arafat himself, with senior officials in the PA chair’s office and his Fatah faction, merchants and businessmen, the heads of the Palestinian security services and ministers in the Palestinian cabinet.

These ties have helped Or to nurture an atmosphere of virtual normalization in the relationship between the two sides. They have helped him solve problems and remove bureaucratic obstacles. But first and foremost, these ties were designed to help him “put out the fires” should Israelis and Palestinians start shooting at each other.

Since the end of last week, Or has been watching his handiwork go down the drain. This time, unlike during the Western Wall tunnel riots in 1996, the cellular phones have at least remained open: Senior PA officials have returned their Israeli colleagues’ phone calls, yet verbal agreements were never implemented.

Again and again, the Palestinians promised to stop the shooting, but failed to honor their commitments. Or and other senior security officials gradually began to suspect that Arafat is simply not interested in stopping the violence just yet. On the one hand, he sends the heads of his security services for talks with Israel; while on the other, he urges the Tanzim leaders to continue the rioting.

The theory that Or marketed to several prime ministers and defense ministers was that economic development would prevent violence. Joint projects, industrial and commercial parks along the border between Israel and the PA, even high-tech ventures would increase the cost of violence for the PA and would cause many Palestinians to think twice before supporting a confrontation with Israel.

At the same time, Or warned Barak several times that without real progress in the talks with the Palestinians, an explosion could be expected. Barak did offer concessions at Camp David. But this weekend, the explosion took place anyway.

The IDF believes the events are a clever ploy devised by Arafat, exploiting the opportunity presented to him by the visit of Likud Chairman Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount to focus the struggle of the Palestinians on the issue of Jerusalem.

Security sources, noting the presence of one of the heads of the PA security services, Tawfiq Dirawi, on the Temple Mount on Friday, believe that Arafat lit the fire, even if he is now having trouble controling the intensity of the flames.

The Palestinians reject this theory. They say that Arafat has no control over what is happening, that he is simply being dragged along by the events in the street and that the confrontation was brought on by a sense of profound frustration and injustice over issues such as land, water, Israel’s use of military force and, more than anything else, Jerusalem.

Israeli security officials are having trouble deciphering the behavior of the Palestinian street. Army officers, and intelligence experts in particular, tend to see the events in an organized fashion: Someone is issuing the orders and others are executing them.

Analysis of the Palestinian mood has been lacking, especially since most Palestinians no longer live in territory controlled by Israel. On the other hand, there is evidence to support Israel’s assessment: the conversation Arafat had with the heads of the Tanzim on Friday, in which he urged them to escalate their demonstrations, the organized transport to demonstration sites and the conspicuous involvement of Tanzim leaders and PA security forces in some of the confrontations.

The heads of the PA security services, said Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Moshe Ya’alon on Sunday, are caught between a rock and a hard place. The IDF charges that Arafat is sending unclear instructions to Mohammed Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub. And if the PA is truly going to war, Ya’alon said, Dahlan and Rajoub have no interest in trying to calm the situation and thereby appearing as collaborators with Israel.

On Saturday afternoon, Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz believed that he had succeeded in extinguishing the fire. At a press conference in Beit El, the military headquarters in the West Bank, Mofaz said he had spoken with Dahlan and Rajoub and the three had agreed to make an effort to stop the fighting at 4 P.M. A minute after Mofaz left the room, professional army officers expressed grave doubts about the validity of the ceasefire agreement.

“Ten more funerals are still to come,” said one. “There is no chance that things will calm down.”

In the end, the latter viewpoint turned out to be true. Dahlan was infuriated by Mofaz’s statement, which, in his opinion, painted Dahlan as a “collaborator.” He quickly issued a public statement declaring the chief of staff a war criminal, in light of the firing of missiles at the Netzarim Junction in Gaza, and said he would refuse to meet with Mofaz.

Early Sunday morning, Avi Dichter, head of the Shin Bet security services, and Major General Yitzhak Eitan, GOC Central Command, met with Dahlan and Rajoub in Ramallah. Arafat declined to attend. The Israelis were given the impression that the Palestinians understood that the time had come to stop the shooting. But their promises again came to naught. The Israelis feel that Palestinian compliance with their requests is still minimal.

Last weekend forced a rude awakening from many illusions. The harsh statements made by the commander of the northern police district, Alik Ron, about Israeli Arabs suddenly took on a different character against the background of the blockades of the Golani Junction and Wadi Ara, roads that are intended to serve the IDF in the event of a war.

The open scorn displayed by ministers for the dangers of arming the Palestinians also appears in a different light now: If this much damage can be done with a few hundred firearms, how much damage could 40,000 rifles in the hands of the PA cause? It is also difficult to see how the trust between the security services of the two sides can be rebuilt or when Border Policemen will again agree to participate in joint Israeli-Palestinian patrols.

A new picture has emerged both in the territories and inside the pre-1967 borders and it will be some time before we are able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.