Palestinians Move To End Violence
Palestinian police clamped down on unrest in the Palestinian areas Monday following a week of violence that has interrupted peace talks in Sweden and left behind a bitter aftertaste of distrust.
Police closed a West Bank television station, apparently because it glorified deadly clashes last week in which five Palestinians died and hundreds were injured, and forbade Palestinian newspapers from printing ads encouraging people to come to demonstrations.
Israeli envoys conducting peace talks in Sweden returned to Jerusalem Monday for consultations after Prime Minister Ehud Barak halted the talks to protest the firebombing of a car that severely burned a 2-year-old girl in the West Bank town of Jericho.
Israel also barred its citizens and foreign tourists from entering the Palestinian-controlled areas, a major blow to the West Bank's struggling economy.
A Palestinian teenager shot during last week's clashes was buried Monday by 4,000 mourners near the West Bank town of Hebron.
Saad el-Hawarin, 15, was given a gun salute by Palestinian police, and demonstrators wielding automatic weapons cried, “We will redeem the murdered with our blood!”
Among Israeli officials, even dovish Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, an architect of the 1993 Oslo peace accords and a tireless advocate of the peace process, said talks could not continue in face of the violence, in which demonstrators and Palestinian policemen opened fire on Israeli troops.
“We clarified to (Palestinian leader Yasser) Arafat that we can't accept something like this, Beilin said. Barak reportedly sent army chief Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz to Arafat's office Sunday night to pressure him to restrain demonstrators. A similar message was relayed by visiting U.S. national security adviser Sandy Berger, Palestinian officials said.
Barak spokesman Gadi Baltiansky said there were no plans to cancel peace talks in Sweden but would not say when they would resume.
Palestinian police raided the offices of the Watan TV station in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday night and ordered it closed, said Ibrahim al-Hossary, a manager of the station. He speculated that police targeted the station because it dubbed in Palestinian anthems when airing footage of the clashes.
Ramallah police said they followed orders to close the station but could not comment further.
Police also barred newspapers from publishing ads from Arafat's Fatah movement calling for demonstrations to protest 1,600 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, Fatah leader Marwan al-Barghouty said.
Most of last week's clashes began as demonstrations to free the prisoners, seen as freedom fighters by Palestinians. Palestinian Prisoners Association head Issa Karaka said 1,200 prisoners were on a hunger strike, along with dozens of sympathizers in the Palestinian areas.
Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat sent a letter to his Israeli counterpart, Oded Eran, asking foan overdue response to his request to free 230 Palestinian prisoners jailed for attacks carried out before Israel and the Palestinians signed peace accords in 1993.
Palestinians say release of their prisoners must be part of an agreement to end the armed struggle between Israel and the Palestinians. Interim peace accords call for prisoner releases, but Israel says it has already fulfilled its obligations to free prisoners under those accords.
By SARI BASHI