AJC Deplores Palestinian Violence, Appeals for Renewed Talks

American Jewish Committee
Monday, 2 October 2000

The American Jewish Committee today issued the following statement of concern regarding the peace process and the violence in Israel and Palestinian areas in recent days:

"The American Jewish Committee deplores the violence that has erupted in Gaza, the West Bank and within Israel itself in recent days, taking more than 30 lives and injuring hundreds. We support efforts to quiet the streets, restore Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation, and renew the serious negotiations that alone can settle the conflict between Arabs and Jews in that land.

"The tragic events of recent days raise serious questions, once again, about the Palestinian Authority's sincerity in negotiating a permanent end to the conflict with Israel. On too many occasions since the 1993 Oslo accord, when peace negotiations have encountered difficulty, Palestinians have resorted to violence, apparently with encouragement from their leadership. Ariel Sharon's visit to Har HaBayit (Temple Mount) was merely the pretext the Palestinians awaited – and prepared for – to unleash this latest round of violence.

"Lost in the media coverage of the clashes is the fact that armed Palestinian police contribute to the escalation of the violence rather than move quickly to quell it. One glaring example was the Palestinian officer who gunned down an Israeli soldier with whom he was serving together in joint security patrols. If you cannot trust ostensible partners in security cooperation, who can you trust?

"Since Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat spurned Israel's far-reaching offers at Camp David this summer, the Palestinian leadership has intensified its pernicious campaign to negate world history by denying any Jewish claims whatsoever to Judaism's holiest city, Jerusalem. Coupled with the latest violence, the Palestinian leadership has demonstrated its inability to tolerate the rights of other religions in the Holy City.

"The fact is – and every faith group, including Muslims, knows this well – Jerusalem is the most important city in the world to the Jewish people. It is the site of the holiest places in Judaism – the Har HaBayit (Temple Mount) and the Kotel (Western Wall of the ancient Temple). The Israeli-Arab conflict cannot be resolved without the Palestinians – and the rest of the Arab world – recognizing that cornerstone of the Jewish religion.

"Nor can a durable peace be established without the Palestinians, once and for all, desisting from the continuing teaching of hatred through their school curriculum, textbooks and media. In this latest tragedy, it was Palestinian television, controlled by the Palestinian Authority, that encouraged Palestinian violence, first by spreading malicious rumors about Israeli intentions regarding the mosques on Har HaBayit and then by replaying scenes from the Palestinian uprising more than 10 years ago.

"Palestinian leaders today are at a crossroads. They can abide by previously signed commitments to forswear violence and unilateral acts, grasp Israel's outstretched hand, and begin building true peace—a culture of peace—between neighbors.

"Or they can perpetuate conflict. We hope that the Palestinian leadership will act now to rein in the violence that has caused such suffering in recent days, return to the negotiating table with the intention of reaching an end to the bitter conflict with Israel, and work toward building a better future for all the people of the region."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org