At a glance it may seem that the situation in Israel is much improved, and recent events have given many casual observers reason to hope that peace between Israel and the Palestinians is in fact a possibility. Israel has begun to make some concessions and the Palestinians finally have a leader who appears committed to reforming the chaotic and corrupt bureaucracy that is the Palestinian Authority. However, in spite of the optimistic political rhetoric, there are still many hurdles to overcome. The peace process, which came to a screeching halt under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, has resumed at a slow and deliberate pace. Following is a brief summary of some of the key developments that have taken place over the last few weeks:
- Amidst growing dissension and opposition from many of its citizens, the Israeli government continues to prepare for the withdrawal from Gaza. The Israeli cabinet has voted to approve Sharon's plan to evacuate 21 settlements in Gaza and 4 settlements in the West Bank. The cabinet has also approved the new route of the controversial West Bank barrier wall. Several cabinet ministers acknowledged that while the barrier was ostensibly built as a security shield, its route would help determine Israel's final borders with a Palestinian state, a fact which has angered many Palestinians.
- Ariel Sharon has signed an order saying Israeli civilians would have to leave the areas slated for evacuation by July 20. Those remaining would be removed by force over a period of two months. Settler leaders have pledged not to leave voluntarily, and security officials are bracing for violent confrontations.
- Last week Israel freed 500 of the estimated 8,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and has promised to release 400 more prisoners within the next three months.
- Israel's Defense Minister has ordered a halt to the controversial policy of demolishing the homes of Palestinian suicide bombers and gunmen. Since the 1967 Middle East War, Israel has torn down more than 2,400 Palestinian homes, including 675 houses in the past four years of fighting.
- While Israel is withdrawing from Gaza, it has plans to expand its settlements in the West Bank. Israel has unveiled plans to build 6,000 new homes in the West Bank this year, even though such expansion is prohibited under the road map peace plan.
- Israel has announced that it may not destroy the homes of settlers after withdrawing from Gaza, instead it would hand the estimated 2,000 residences over to Palestinian authorities.
- A suicide bomber killed four bystanders and wounded more than 50 others in Tel Aviv on Friday, disrupting the fragile truce. Israel security forces have thwarted several other attacks, including an attempted car bombing.
- Hamas, which says it is not bound by the ceasefire agreement, warned Israel that it will resume its attacks if Israel does not make more concessions.
- Israel's Defense Minister ordered security officials to speed up the timetable for withdrawing from the Gaza Strip from 12 weeks to 8 weeks. Death threats against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon have risen dramatically as the withdrawal approaches.
We monitor the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on our website and will continue to keep you updated on any new developments. For more information on the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict see our briefing pack The Betrayal of the Chosen.