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Nasser al-Kidwa:
Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa declared on Saturday that the PA has no intention to disarm armed Palestinian groups as demanded by the road map peace plan. Kidwa, a nephew of Yasser Arafat, said the Palestinian groups had the right to keep their weapons as long as the occupation continued. "Using arms under occupation is legal," he explained. Kidwa's statements stand in sharp contrast to promises made by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to confiscate illegal weapons from Palestinian groups and individuals, in line with the road map. Dismantling armed groups does not come into consideration since "holding arms is a strategic issue as long as the occupation exists," Kidwa said. "Although the Palestinian leadership is committed to stopping attacks on Israeli citizens and ending all kinds of mutual violence between the two sides, yet it is our people's right to defend itself under occupation," he added. However, the foreign minister called for "organizing" the issue of weapons so as to prevent them for being used for local crime. "Holding and using arms must be organized, and it should not be used for personal purposes or to violate law and order," he said. A senior official in the Prime Minister's Office dismissed Kidwa's comments as "internal Palestinian politicking." He said PA officials were feeling the pressure from Hamas's gains in recent municipal elections, and were concerned about increasing support for the organization before the upcoming elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council. "The question is not what they say, but what they do," the official said. The official reiterated Israel's standing position, that if the PA didn't dismantle the terrorist organizations as spelled out in the first phase of the road map, there would be no progression along the road map after disengagement.
Official Palestinian Authority
Media Report that Israel has Agreed that "Badr Division" of
Palestinian forces will enter Judea and Samaria June 11, 2005 Voice of Palestine radio reported late Saturday that Israel had reached agreement with Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to allow the "Badr Division" of Palestinian forces to enter the West Bank after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. V.O.P. cited Israeli sources, saying Israel refused to allow the forces into Gaza. PA Interior Minister General Nasser Youssef announced the appointment of Colonel Jamal Abu-Zeid as a security coordinator, and a spokesman for Youssef [Tawfiq Abu-Khousa] warned about internal "strife" [Arabic: fitna] that would benefit Israel. His remarks came after several shooting incidents near headquarters in Gaza. PLO Political Department Director Farouk Qaddoumi said Ariel Sharon was pushing a Gaza withdrawal in order to seize 95percent of the West Bank. "Four armed men from the Iraqi resistance were killed in an American air raid near the Syrian border," V.O.P. announced, adding that Syria had repudiated American insinuations that it had left secret police in Lebanon. PBC Television Reports similar to V.O.P. along with airing of shots showing first auto race in years near Ramallah. Cartoon on subject also appeared in Al-Ayyam [see http://www.al-ayyam.com/znews/site/template/caricature.aspx?Date=6/11/2005] From Palestinian Newspapers: Al-Quds (lead item)DAHLAN AND MOFAZ DISCUSS IMPLEMENTATION OF ISRAELI WITHDRAWAL AND SAFE PASSAGE ROUTES. Second Item: Abbas Cancels Tour of Gulf Countries Due to Schedule Pressure; Third Item: Former Israeli 'Shabak" Director Avi Dichter Says No Choice But Palestinian and Israeli States. Other Item: Hamas and Hizballah Leader Nasser-allah Held Meeting in Beirut to Coordinate e Policy Top of page picture: Israeli forces blocking large crowds outside Jerusalem's Old City during Friday prayers, which had been blocked off for those under 40 years old. Al-Ayyam: Similar top of page picture in this newspaper, with major headline:ABU MAZEN INITIATES ELECTORAL AMENDAMENT FOR PRESDIENT AND LEGISLATURE, AND WILL ASK LEGISLATURE TO APPOINT HIM A DEPUTY [VICE PRESIDENT] NOW Side Report-2Islamists Killed in Fighting near Damascus with Syrian Police Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda: (lead item) THE HEROIC MARTYRING OF THE COMMANDER OF THE AL-AQSA BRIGADES IN GAZA
Report compiled by Michael Widlanski Associates.
PA Official Media:
"Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rebuked the Palestinian Authority for refusing to seize the weapons of the Palestinian resistance," asserted Palestinian television Sunday [PBC 3-PM] in remarks that were re-stated in other media controlled by the regime of Dr. Abbas. Foreign Minister Dr. Nasser Al-Qudwa had asserted yesterday that the Palestinian people was in a situation of defending itself, and the disarming of Palestinian organizations was not in the offing," declared the PBC anchorwoman, restating Al-Qudwa's original television interview. Israeli reporters and Israeli politicians reacted with surprise and anger Sunday after Dr. Al-Qudwa, the nephew of the late Arafat, told Palestinian state television Friday night that the PA would not try to disarm Hamas, Jihad or Fatah gunmen until Israel leaves "all Palestinian lands," using a formula regularly employed by PA officials. Voice of Palestine radio reiterated Al-Qudwa's message again late Sunday afternoon in response to Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's angry and surprised response that Al-Qudwa's position was "a ticking bomb" which Israel could not accept. Olmert said Israel would have to disarm the Palestinians, if not the PA. "Dr. Al-Qudwa asserted that our people have the right to bear arms in resistance for as long the occupation continues," V.O.P. reported in its 4 p.m. broadcast Sunday (June 12), but this was hardly the first time that senior PA officials have made similar remarks that were generally ignored by the Israeli media and the Western press. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has told Arab newspapers, Palestinian television and radio several times, since his selection to succeed Arafat, that he was against disarming Palestinian militia members. There have been numerous similar comments from top aides of Dr. Abbas-Cabinet Secretary Ahmad Abdel-Rahman, Presidential Secretary Taeb Abdel-Rahim and even Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Shaath, who made clear that they favored disarming Palestinians using weapons against other Palestinians but not against Israel. "There is no such thing as a Palestinian-Palestinian conflict, but it is important to enforce the law against anyone who has violated the law and broken the cooling off period (tahdiyya)." "It is not acceptable to play with the law and to threaten national unity and national security." Asked about the sovereignty of law, Dr. Sha'ath supported it, but he added, "we distinguish between the rifle of the soldier and the rifle the killer, and we distinguish between the rifle of the resister and the rifle of the one who threatens people's rights….We want the cooling-off to succeed. We do not want to give Israel excuses, and as you know they love excuses. (PBC Television May 2, 2005-7:15 a.m.) What prompted the angry and surprised response of Minister Olmert was the fact that Al-Qudwa's comments [which came on PBC television Friday night June 10 and were repeated on V.O.P. radio and in at least one of the Palestinian newspapers on Saturday June 11] were cited by Voice of Israel on June 12, embarrassing Israeli officials who have contended that Abbas wants to disarm terrorists. But the tone and content of Al-Qudwa's remarks and Abbas policies are hardly a secret, as any one who glances at Palestinian newspapers knows.
"HAMAS APPRECIATES THE STAND OF THE PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP IN REFUSING THE ISRAELI DEMAND TO SEIZE WEAPONS OF THE RESISTANCE," declared a page-one headline in the Jerusalem Arabic daily Al-Quds on May 12, 2005. "We will not slide down the path to civil war," Al-Quds quoted Abbas in its lead front page story on May 14, where Abbas explained that he would not seize or even try to seize Hamas weapons. There was almost identical coverage in Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, a Fatah-run newspaper that is loyal to Abbas, head of the Fatah Party.
Report compiled by Michael Widlanski Associates.
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