JERUSALEM, 25 November 2004 — Israel will allow international observers for the Jan. 9 election to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s foreign minister said yesterday, another indication of easing of tensions since Arafat’s death.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom made the commitment — which can be seen as a concession — before meeting visiting British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who also offered assistance to the Palestinians.
“If the international community will want to send observers, Israel will allow the entrance of observers,” Shalom told Army Radio.
Since Arafat died on Nov. 11, Israel has scaled back military operations in Palestinian areas, and tensions have abated.
Now the Israelis are walking a self-imposed fine line — hoping that a moderate Palestinian leadership emerges to resume negotiations, but keeping its distance before the election.
Yesterday, Hamas strongly rejected any move to restart peace negotiations.
Negotiations “will never insure the minimum rights or aspirations of the Palestinian people,” Hamas said in a statement.
Israel usually opposes an official international presence in the Palestinian areas, rejecting a frequent Palestinian demand for observers or peacekeepers. Israel assumes that because most of the world opposes its policies, international teams would be hostile to Israel.
There have been exceptions. Israel agreed to a special observer force in the West Bank city of Hebron in 1994 after a Jewish settler massacred 29 Palestinians.
Also, observers watched the other Palestinian election, in 1996. The most prominent international watchdog then was former US President Jimmy Carter.
Shalom said the role of the observers would be “to ensure that these elections are fair and the results will be acceptable, not only to the international community, but first and foremost to the Palestinian people.”
Straw is on a two-day visit to the region as part of a new round of diplomacy meant to restart peace efforts and movement on the internationally backed road map peace plan following Arafat’s death.
At a joint news conference after their meeting, Straw said he was optimistic about the situation, agreeing with US Secretary of State Colin Powell that “there is an entirely new opportunity here and a real determination by the collective Palestinian leadership to work for the implementation of the road map.”
Palestinians have also demanded Israel pull its troops out of Palestinian cities during the campaign and allow residents of East Jerusalem to vote in the poll.
