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ANALYSIS: PALESTINIANS GROWING ACCUSTOMED TO THE PERIOD OF RELATIVE CALM BROUGHT ON BY THE CURRENT CEASE-FIRE
Morning Edition: July 14, 2003
Sharon to Urge Europe to Sever Ties with Arafat
BOB EDWARDS, host:
Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is in London, where he's expected to press the case for the international isolation of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Israel accuses Arafat of trying to sabotage peace efforts and of blocking moves by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to consolidate power. In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians already are growing accustomed to the period of relative calm brought on by the current cease-fire. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.
PETER KENYON reporting:
The eastern side of the Khan Yunis refugee camp is one of the front lines in the conflict where Palestinian attacks against Jewish settlements and the Israeli army's retaliatory strikes were, until recently, all too common.
Unidentified Man #1: (Foreign language spoken)
Unidentified Man #2: (Foreign language spoken)
SOUNDBITE OF WATER AND SEWER LINES BEING REPAIRED
KENYON: This family is working to repair water and sewer lines that were broken when the Israeli army demolished their neighbors' houses shortly before the cease-fire was announced. Nerves are still frayed here, and this man doesn't want to give his name to a reporter, but even as he looks out across the piles of rubble extending right up to his doorstep, he gives Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas some credit for trying to make a difference.
Unidentified Man #3: (Through Translator) Actually, yes, we are really feeling something different here, especially in this area, where shooting at night was all the night, even before 7:00. Now it is much, much more calm, very, very rare the shooting. The children are until the evening--they stay in the streets as if they were in jail and they were released.
SOUNDBITE OF TRAFFIC
KENYON: In downtown Khan Yunis, the afternoon heat rises from the dusty streets, along with diesel fumes and the drone of generators needed to run the lights, refrigerators and occasional air conditioners in the shops and restaurants that have reopened here. Standing by an empty vending cart, three unemployed Palestinian men ignore the stench and the noise and consider the question: Has the launching of the `road map' produced any change in their lives?
Unidentified Man #4: (Through Translator) Actually, yes, we feel that things became like a bit better since the duration of the cease-fire, like the road is now facilitated, the price of many things became cheaper, like the gasoline, the diesel, some kind of foods. But we feel it is only temporary, this calmness.
KENYON: As for what needs to be done next, the answer is the same one that echoes across Gaza and the West Bank: release Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, many of whom are held without charge, without access to family or lawyers in harsh conditions.
Unidentified Man #5: (Through Translator) Of course, the first condition is the most important for us because there are many people in jail. They are in need to be in freedom here, to be among us, among their families and their kids. Of course, it is a problem.
KENYON: Israel has released about 300 prisoners so far and is considering another release of a similar size, over the objections of the families of victims of Palestinian bombing and shooting attacks. But for Palestinians, the release of a few hundred of the more than 6,000 Palestinian prisoners would be seen as a critical failure on the part of Abbas and his new government.
Mr. MOHAMMED DAHLAN (Palestinian Security Chief): (Foreign language spoken)
KENYON: Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan told reporters in Gaza City last week that the prisoners won't be forgotten.
Mr. DAHLAN: (Foreign language spoken)
KENYON: `Our demand,' said Dahlan, `is the release of all Palestinian prisoners, especially those older prisoners who have spent many years in jail and there's no longer any reason to keep them.' Over the weekend, Dahlan security forces set up checkpoints and seized some illegal weapons from Hamas and Islamic Jihad men, prompting the groups to issue statements that they would abandon the cease-fire if such moves continued. Tallal Okal(ph), a Palestinian newspaper columnist and lecturer, says internal Palestinian disputes and a halt to easing the Israeli restrictions in the territories are very real obstacles. But he says pushing against those forces is a growing desire among ordinary Palestinians to keep this fragile period of calm alive.
Mr. TALLAL OKAL (Palestinian Newspaper Columnist; Lecturer): (Through Translator) I think until the end of this year, at least we will not go back to the point of that explosion. Of course, I'm banking on the American administration to leave steps with all sides to implement the road map, but until now, nothing showing that we will go up to the point of the explosion, at least until the end of this year.
KENYON: Analysts say six months of calm is a far cry from the demands for progress contained in the road map, but it might remind people on both sides that there are alternatives to armed conflict. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Gaza.
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