Israelis, Palestinians Accuse Each Other Of Trying To Reopen West Bank Agreement

An Israeli official accused Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Sunday of making new demands that would set back two months of talks over security arrangements in the West Bank town of Hebron.

Arafat’s office, however, blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for holding up a Hebron deal by trying to change the Israel-Palestinian agreement signed by the previous Israeli government.

David Bar-Illan, a Netanyahu aide, said Arafat sent a message that “contained many demands, most of which meant the reopening of all the agreements that have been reached by the negotiating teams of both sides.”

Bar-Illan would not disclose the specific demands, other than to confirm that one concerned issues not connected with Israel’s eight-month overdue troop withdrawal from most of Hebron. Netanyahu has insisted on improving security arrangements for the 500 Jewish settlers who live amid 130,000 Palestinians in Hebron before going ahead with the withdrawal.

A statement from Arafat’s office Sunday said: “There is still no agreement on Hebron. The negotiators still have not agreed on some issues. The Palestinian leadership insists that there be no changes in the agreement. Israel still wants changes.”

Israel has withdrawn from all the Palestinian cities in the West Bank except Hebron. According to the existing agreement, it is also to withdraw from rural areas in three stages. The first stage was to have taken place on Sept. 7, followed by withdrawals after six months and a year.

The Palestinians say they do not trust Netanyahu to carry out the rural withdrawals, and want a timetable.

Also Sunday, Israel partially reopened a major street in Hebron that has been closed to Palestinian traffic since the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinians by a Jewish settler. Opening the street fully is a key Palestinian demand.