Annapolis Watch

Monitoring Hamas, Olmert, and the PLC

March 14: PA President Abbas accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” at the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in the Senegalese capital of Dakar. Abbas pointed to the ongoing displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Olmert’s spokesman Mark Regev responded by saying, “The peace process faces many obstacles and leadership should not be contributing to those obstacles through inflammatory statements.”

March 13: The IDF committed five extra-judicial assassinations against members of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank with one killed in Tulkarem and another four killed in Bethlehem. The move completely torpedoed the cease-fire deal which many had hoped Israel and Hamas were moving towards the day prior with discussions of PA management of five Gaza crossings. The PA declared a general strike in response to the killings, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel will continue to “hunt and target every killer who has Jewish blood on his hands.”

March 12: Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei sent a letter to Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni expressing his “shock and dismay” at the announcement of 750 new tenders issued for houses in the settlement of Givat Ze’ev, which was personally approved by PM Olmert. “All such illegal activity continues to undermine our efforts to reach our common goal of a comprehensive peace treaty before the end of 2008,” said Mr. Qurei’s written statement. Officials in Washinton also criticized the move to expand the settlement.

March 11: A Qassem rocket attack in Ashkelon ended a four-day lull in violence in and around Gaza.

March 8: Haaretz reported that the March 6 attack had been carried out with the help of Hamas and Hezbollah, although a new organisation calling itself the Galilee Freedom Battalions-the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh had claimed responsibility for the attack. Eight East Jerusalem residents had been arrested over the weekend in connection with the attack.

March 7: Olmert said the previous night's attack "shows the extent to which the Palestinian Authority is insufficiently fighting terror. We will not make our peace with such events." Olmert came under harsh criticism in the Knesset for not taking appropriate measures against terrorist activity. Representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad met with Egyptian officials in Cairo to discuss management of the Rafah crossing. Israel has stated that missile strikes from Gaza must cease before the blockade is lifted. Hamas spokesperson Ayman Taha stated Hamas would be open to a ceasefire on condition that it be bilateral.

March 6: Speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Olmert announced that negotiations with Syria would be in Israel's interest. "If this would bring an end to its involvement in terrorism and extricate it from the axis of evil." Haaretz reported that Syrian President Bashar Assad would be willing to negotiate on condition that Israel restore Yitzhak Rabin's 1994 proposal that Israel would relinquish the Golan Heights in return for peace. Assad conditioned the meeting on Israel restoring the proposal made by prime minister Yitzhak Rabin to the Americans in 1994, that Israel would withdraw to the 1967 lines in the Golan Heights, in return for peace. A report released by a number of British human rights organisations stated that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is at its worst point since the occupation began in 1967. Eight Israeli students were killed in an attack on a Jerusalem yeshiva. Sources later identified the lone attacker as Ala Abu Dhaim, a resident of East Jerusalem.

March 5: Mahmoud Abbas publicly announced that peace talks would remain on hold until Israel negotiates a cease-fire with Gaza. Hours later, after his meeting with Ms. Rice, Abbas backtracked on his statements and said that talks would resume, but still emphasized the need for a cease-fire in Gaza. Rice reiterated that she believes a final status settlement is possible by the end of 2008. National Union-National Religious Party leader Effie Eitam called for the expulsion of Arab-Israeli MKs who had taken part in demonstrations against the Gaza offensive earlier in the week. “When you promise Gaza’s 'martyrs' that you will help complete their work against us, I tell you – one day we will expel you from this house, and from the national home of the Jewish people,” he said.

March 4: Condoleezza Rice accused Hamas of trying to sabotage negotiations between Israel and the PA after a meeting with Egypt's Foreign Minister and President Hosni Mubarak. "Hamas is doing what might be expected, which is using rocket attacks on Israel to arrest a peace process in which they have nothing to gain," she said. Rice went on to visit PM Abbas in Ramallah, and later dined with PM Olmert in Jerusalem. EU foreign policy cheif Jabier Solana stated that dialogue with Gaza should not be conducted such a way that it would not be seen as "an achievement for Hamas." Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni responded to European calls to end the blockade on Gaza by stating that the people of Sderot and Ashkelon were also suffering collective punishment. UN secretary-general Ban-Ki Moon presented an Israeli intelligence report to the Security Council, which stated that Hezbollah has continued to stockpile arms in southern Lebanon and now holds an arsenal of 20,000 short-range rockets and 10,000 long-range missiles. Ban also stated that "Israeli air violations continue unabated without any regard for the levels of tension and anger that these actions trigger on the ground." President Bush said he's optimistic that a final status settlement can be reached by the end of 2008.

March 3: After a five-day ground offensive in Gaza, during which 106 Gazans were killed, the IDF withdrew and Hamas claimed "victory". B'Tselem reported that 54 of those killed were unarmed civilians. Olmert promised the Knesset that Israel would continue to fight Hamas and that the negotiations would continue, in spite of the fact that the previous day Mahmoud Abbas declared a suspension on peace talks in protest of Israel's actions in Gaza. Abbas also offered to moderate negotiations between Israel and Hamas, though neither group responded to his suggestion. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Egypt. The UN Security Council levelled tougher sanctions and inspections of imports against Iran in an effort to pressure the country into abandoning its nuclear weapons program. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni stated that the new measures would not go far enough to placate the theocratic Persian state.

February 29: Israel's deputy minister of defense, Matan Vilnai, stated that if Hamas continues to launch rockets into Israel, they will bring a "bigger holocaust" on the people of Gaza. Fighting intensifies in Gaza, with at least 18 Palestinians killed by Israeli aerial strikes. According to Israel's former Foreign Ministry director-general, Alon Liel, Syrian President Bashir Assad would like to restart peace talks with Israel. Liol had recently met with Syria's ambassador to the United States in Washington.

February 28: In response to the previous day's civilian death, Olmert promised to continue attacks on Hamas in Gaza. "No one in Hamas, neither among the low ranks nor among the senior ranks, will be immune to that war," he said. 12 Palestinians killed in fighting, including a baby which died when an Israeli aircraft bombed an administrative building.

February 27: Qassem rocket attacks result in the death of a 43-year old Israeli near Sderot.
A poll conducted by Haaretz revealed that sixty-four percent of Israelis say the government must negotiate with the Hamas government in Gaza "toward a cease-fire and the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit".

February 26: Olmert expressed doubts that a settlement would be reached by the end of 2008. "I am not sure we will make it, but we are determined to make a giant step forward to end this dispute once and for all," he said.

February 22: The New York Times reported that Arab leaders were discussing the option of rescinding the peace initiative issued by the Arab League in 2002, which stipulated that all members of the league would commit to a long-term peace with Israel if it were to withdraw from the territories occupied in 1967 and create a viable Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Muhammed Sobeih, who is the assistant secretary general in charge of the Palestinian issue, said, “They will withdraw the initiative and look for other options. It makes no sense to insist on something that Israel is rejecting.” An Egyptian official also expressed contempt for Israel’s suggestion that Egypt reappropriate the Gaza Strip.

February 19: Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas met with each other to continue the peace negotiations for the fourth time since the Annapolis conference. Negotiating teams from both sides had met with each other in the days prior, but Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad said that not enough has happened to suggest that both teams would reach an agreement by the end of 2008.

February 15: 50,000 Hezbollah militants and "activists" are reported to be moving into southern Lebanon.

February 14: Mugniyeh's funeral in Beirut coincides with the third anniversary of the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah calls for "open war" against Israel.

February 12: Hezbollah leader Imad Mugniyeh is killed by car bomb in Damascus

February 5: A suicide bombing in the Israeli town of Dimona killed one Israeli woman. Both Hamas’s Ezzedeen al Qasem Brigades and the armed wing of the PFLP claim responsibility.

January 30: The Winograd Commission released its report on the conduct of the Olmert government and the Israeli military during the 2006 war in Lebanon. Although the commission made reference to “grave failings” during the conflict, it was less critical of Olmert than had been anticipated. The commission described the war with Hezbollah as “a serious missed opportunity.”

January 16: Avigdor Lieberman, hard-line leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, withdrew his party from Olmert’s coalition. Lieberman had previously threatened to join the opposition if borders, refugees, and the status of Jerusalem were to be negotiated with the Palestinians. The withdrawal of Yisrael Beiteinu leaves Olmert’s coalition with 67 of the Knesset’s 120 seats.

January 15: Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei met for two hours in a Jerusalem hotel. Livni had previously stated that the negotiations were to be “conducted quietly.” “Faced with a choice between headlines and daily drama as opposed to results, I choose results,” she said. No results were announced following the meeting with Qurei. Olmert said he has little hope for a peace agreement in the near future. “I’m not sure we can reach an agreement, and I’m not sure we can reach its implementation,” he said. A few days earlier, Olmert had called Israel’s failure to remove illegal outposts in the West Bank “a disgrace”.

January 10: After arriving in Jerusalem the day prior, Bush makes clear his intention to see a Palestinian state created by the end of his term in office. Bush called for an end to the occupation that began in 1967, and also indicated that Israel should dismantle its settlements in the West Bank, saying, “Swiss cheese isn’t going to work when it comes to the outline of a state.”

January 2: The IDF invade the West Bank city of Nablus, The reoccupation of the city lasts three days, during which the military arrested 93 Palestinians and imposed a curfew. When residents demonstrated, the IDF fired rubber bullets at the crowd, wounding 38. Dr. Anan Masri, deputy minister of health, said that one of the wounded was subsequently brain-dead. Nimr Hamad, an advisor to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, said the operation was “totally unjustified,” while Palestinian PM Salam Fayyed said that “Israeli aggressions have a very negative influence on the efforts to revive the peace process.”

December 28: Abbas and Olmert met for first time following Annapolis. Negotiating teams had twice met fruitlessly in the interim. “The period before this meeting was dominated by Palestinian accusations that Israel was violating its commitments to freeze the growth of settlements on occupied land. In recent days, Israel announced a tender for 307 new apartments in Har Homa. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice publicly criticized the Har Homa announcement. In the meeting, Mr. Olmert reconfirmed the Israeli position that there would be no new settlements, no new expropriation of land and no new settlement activity outside the built-up areas of existing settlements that Israel intends to keep in any final deal. He made no promises on Har Homa, his aides said, but he reassured Mr. Abbas about Israel’s “good will.” Under the first stage of the road map, the Palestinians are supposed to begin to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism by working to disband terrorist and militant groups outside the official security forces. Israel says the Palestinians have done little to meet their commitments, while Israel has not yet disbanded the illegal outposts it had promised Mr. Bush would be gone before the previous Israeli elections.

December 17: Eighty-seven countries and international organizations pledged $7.4 billion to Palestinians, to cover three-year period. World Bank report claims Palestinians among the most aid-dependent populations in the world. Abbas calls upon Israel to freeze settlement construction, dismantle “wildcat” settlements, abort wall con strucion, release more Palestinian prisoners. Nicolas Sarkozy supports settlement freeze, allowing for greater mobility of goods and people throughout territories.

December 13: Palestinians and Israelis Meet, But Agree Only to Meet Again. Negotiations marred by escalation of violence in and around Gaza: IDF had conducted military operation in south Gaza two days prior, leaving six militants dead; Gazan militants subsequently fired a barrage of 17 rockets towards Sderot. Sderot Both sides agreed to meet the following week. 465,000 Israeli settlers live east of the Green Line, 65,000 of whom are beyond the security barrier. Olmert has repeatedly said that he will not freeze the growth of settlements that IsraelIsrael to halt all settlement activity, including “natural growth” of settlements. But Mr. Olmert has said that the Palestinians have not met their obligations to fight terrorism and dismantle militant groups, so Israel does not have to meet its obligations, either.” intends to retain in a final status agreement. “The road map calls for

November 26: Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the Arab League pledged to endorse, and participate in the Annapolis negotiations. Syria was promised by Washington that negotiations over the Golan Heights would be on the agenda. Gilad Erdan of Likud said Syria’s participation “proved that all we are talking about is a masked ball in which even a terror-supporting state like Syria can participate.” Of the negotiations, he said, “in the end it will all come at Israel’s expense.”

November 15: The Knesset gave preliminary backing to bill that would cement Jerusalem as non-negotiable territory. Haaretz reports previous day that Israel set to announce settlement freeze. Eisin, Olmert spokeswoman, claims that “Israel and the Palestinians have reiterated their commitment” to implementation of the first stage of the Road Map, which calls for a freeze on all settlement construction and the immediate removal of all settlement outposts erected since March 2001, of which there are over 20. Official: settlement freeze would aid in bringing Saudis into the Annapolis fold.

Sources: The Guardian, Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, New York Times, Washinton Post.