Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0i9o0
Yasser Arafat must be held accountable for the wave of violence still sweeping through the territories. This so-called "uprising" is no more than a calculated, cynical effort by Arafat to achieve through violence the maximalist political aims which he failed to attain through negotiations. To that end, he has:
Let there be no doubt: the visit of Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount in late September did not trigger the "uprising." It was just a pretext for a premeditated campaign of violence. Indeed, the present wave of disturbances dates back to mid-September, when firebombs and stones were thrown at Israeli positions at the Netzarim junction in Gaza. This was followed shortly afterwards by the killing of an Israeli soldier by a roadside bomb, at the very same place, on September 27. Two days later, an Israeli police officer was murdered by a Palestinian policeman who had served with him on a joint patrol.
At the Camp David summit, less than three months earlier, Arafat had already demonstrated his preference for violence over balanced compromise by rejecting all proposals advanced by the U.S. government. Israeli Prime Minister Barak, for his part, was willing to consider these proposals. Consequently, President Clinton placed the blame for failure of the talks squarely at Arafat's feet.
Israel has no interest in escalating the violence. To the contrary, Israel believes it is imperative that the Palestinians stop this violence so that both parties can return to the negotiating table. Israel maintains that a just and sustainable solution can be found only through dialogue, not armed conflict. At the same time, the IDF has a clear responsibility to protect Israeli citizens and security personnel.
The Israeli government regrets the loss of any life, whether Jewish or Arab. In the end, however, responsibility for these deaths lies with the Palestinian Authority, which initiated the violence and stubbornly refuses to implement a cease-fire. For example, Arafat would not sign an agreement which could have brought an end to the violence, after committing to do so, to American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in his meeting with her in Paris on October 4, 2000. Nor did he live up to his commitments under the Sharm el-Sheikh understandings of October 17, 2000 including his promise to publicly call for an end to the violence, to restore security cooperation and to resume the peace talks. Indeed, to this day, Arafat has yet to issue a serious public call for an end to the violence.
Israel, on the other hand, has done what it agreed to do at Sharm el-Sheikh, including redeployment of IDF forces.
The main reason there are fewer Israeli casualties is that fewer Israelis are involved in the violence. Most violent incidents in the territories have involved hundreds of Palestinian rioters attacking a small handful of Israeli soldiers.
Moreover, Israel rejects the notion that justice can be determined by the relative number of casualties on either side. By way of comparison, casualty totals among the allied forces in the Desert Storm campaign in Iraq, and of the NATO forces in Yugoslavia, were much lower than the Iraqi and Serbian casualty totals - which also included innocent civilians tragically caught in the cross-fire of the conflicts.
The calculated use of children as pawns in the conflict begins in the Palestinian education system. Palestinian textbooks (many of which have been recently published by the Palestinian Authority itself) openly teach hatred against Israel and Israelis. Palestinian children's television glorifies martyrdom in the struggle against Israel. Palestinian children are trained in the use of firearms in summer camps and in youth groups. These tactics, which have been extensively documented by the international media, are gross violations of all existing agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.
The use of children in armed conflict is immoral and against international and even Islamic law.
In fact, only when the holy sites of Islam, Christianity and Judaism have been under Israeli control has freedom of worship and the sanctity of the sites been guaranteed. Even during the present wave of violence, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem has remained open for Muslim services, despite the fact that prayers there have become a platform for incitement and rioting. Muslims have even used the Temple Mount plaza as a base to hurl stones down on Jewish worshippers at the Wailing Wall below. Moreover, since Israeli security personnel do not enter the Temple Mount compound out of respect for the sanctity of the area, it has frequently been used by Palestinian rioters seeking to evade capture.
The Palestinians have the option of pursuing their national aspirations through peace negotiations aimed at finding a stable, mutually-acceptable solution which will guarantee the security of Palestinians and Israelis alike. The one-sided establishment of a state that is not achieved through negotiations and mutual agreement, cannot be considered legitimate.
The establishment of a Palestinian state is acceptable, in Israeli public opinion and by most components of the Israeli political map. We would like this state to be established through agreement and peaceful means, to ensure, as far as this will be possible, that it will not be a hostile state. The step that Arafat intends to take is one that we must oppose, because it is intended to establish a Palestinian state through conflict and not through good neighborly relations. Such a proclamation would undermine regional stability.
In the course of the peace process, there have been many ups and downs. Whatever the political environment, the Israeli economy has continued to grow and developdevelop. Throughout, Israel has also fulfilled its financial commitments promptly and to the full. Israel has never asked for debt rescheduling or forgiveness, no matter what the prevailing political conditions in the country.
Israel, in collaboration with the Palestinian Authority, has taken a broad range of actions since 1994 in order to promote and improve the free movement of goods and labor from the Palestinian Authority into Israel. Industrial parks have also been set up in the Palestinian Authority, involving substantial Israeli investment and economic incentives. These measures have had a significant, positive impact on the Palestinian economy.
Unfortunately, the recent events have led to a sharp decline in economic activity in the area, with economic repercussions for both the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Measures taken to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens in Palestinian-controlled areas - protecting them from atrocities like the lynching in Ramallah - have had an adverse economic impact. At the same time, to prevent the spillover of violence from the territories into Israel, and to minimize the possibility of terrorist attacks, security forces are restricting entry of Palestinians from the territories. Exceptions are made for the movement of commercial goods, food, medicine, ambulances and medical crews, which continue to circulate freely. Moreover, procedures have been simplified to enable speedy delivery to the Palestinian Authority of humanitarian goods, such as medical supplies.
It must be stressed that the purpose of the closure policy is not punitive, but has become necessary to ensure the security of Israeli citizens in these trying times.
Israel calls on the governments of countries where the plague of anti-Semitism is spreading to take all measures necessary to ensure the security of Jewish communities - and to bring the perpetrators of these cowardly attacks to justice.