Palestinians dismiss Israeli truce as a PR stunt

Palestinians today dismissed Israel’s announcement of a unilateral truce as a public relations ploy, and said calm cannot be restored until Israel halts construction in Jewish settlements and lifts its sweeping travel restrictions.

Overnight, Palestinian gunmen fired on Israeli army outposts in eight locations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and troops returned fire in every case.

Israel’s defence minister announced yesterday that Israeli troops were ordered to stop firing except in life-threatening situations and would no longer initiate military action.

It was not immediately clear how the new guidelines would affect the army’s actions. Army officials and aides to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon refused to elaborate.

In recent weeks, Israeli troops entered Palestinian territory dozens of times, razing police stations and homes, usually in response to Palestinian mortar fire on Israeli settlements.

Sharon adviser Raanan Gissin would not say whether such incursions would be halted completely under the new policy. The army spokesman, Brigadier General Ron Kitrey, said he assumed the forays would now need government approval, rather than being initiated by field commanders, but added he still needed to study the new orders.

Israel’s announcement came a day after an international commission, headed by former US Senator George Mitchell, published its recommendations for ending eight months of fighting and restarting peace talks.

Mitchell called for an immediate halt to all violence and asked Israel to freeze all construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urged the Palestinians to agree to an immediate ceasefire, but did not say at the time that Israel would unilaterally implement a truce.

The truce announcement came only later in the day in a statement by the Defence Ministry. Sharon adviser Raanan Gissin said the prime minister did not declare the truce at the news conference because he wanted to give the Defence Ministry time to prepare for the partial ceasefire.

However, the Yediot Ahronot newspaper, citing sources in Sharon’s office, said the prime minister refrained from making the announcement himself, on camera, because he was concerned it would be interpreted as an admission that Israel was the aggressor.

Palestinian officials today dismissed the announcement as an Israeli ploy and called for an international summit that would decide how to implement the Mitchell recommendations.

Ahmed Abdel Rahman, a senior aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, said the Israeli decision was deceptive. "It’s very important to recognise that this is not a war between two equal parties," he said.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Ziad Abu Zayyad said the only way to end the fighting was for Israel to accept the Mitchell Commission recommendations in full, including a settlement freeze. "Instead of playing games and engaging in manoeuvres ... Sharon has to decide unequivocally that he stops all activity in the settlements."

Sharon has said he will not freeze settlement construction. He said last night that his government had agreed not to build new settlements, but allowed construction to meet the needs of the Israelis already living in the West Bank and Gaza.

Sharon critics say there are already thousands of empty apartments in the settlements. By rejecting the construction freeze, Sharon is playing games with the commission report, said opposition leader Yossi Sarid.

"This is just a pose of accepting the Mitchell report while removing all its content."