ISRAEL’S POSITION REGARDING TERRORIST ATTACK IN JERUSALEM

ISRAEL’S POSITION REGARDING TERRORIST ATTACK IN JERUSALEM

Foreign Minister Levy’s Remarks Following Jerusalem Bomb Attack, July 30, 1997

The terrorist bombing of the Mahane Yehuda market yesterday was a
barbarous attempt by fanatics to undermine the peace process.

There can be no excuse, or rationalization, for the cold-blooded
murder of innocent men and women whose sole “crime” was simply
shopping for fresh vegetables at an open-air market.

While the actual perpetrators of this outrage are indeed extremists
bent upon ending the peace process, it must be emphasized that a
major share of the responsibility for this attack rests upon the
shoulders of the Palestinian Authority.

For many months Israel has, continuously and through a variety of
channels, sought to impress upon PA Chairman Yasser Arafat the
gravity of the security situation. This issue was raised at every
meeting between Israel and the Palestinians, including the last
meeting between Foreign Minister Levy and Chairman Arafat, as well as
in the latest meetings between the Foreign Minister and senior
Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath. Instead of full security
cooperation, as set forth in the various agreements between Israel
and the Palestinians, we have witnessed a breakoff in security
contacts on the part of the PA.

It should be noted that not only did the PA refuse to cooperate with
Israel on security matters; in fact, Palestinian policemen were
recently arrested by Israeli forces as they were actively engaged in
terrorist activity. This, in itself, was a grave occurrence which
should have alerted the Palestinians to the dangerous level of the
current situation.

Moreover, the PA actively encouraged incitement against Israel, inter
alia:

• The official Palestinian radio station broadcast, over the past
  months, increasingly venomous statements – including ad hominem
  attacks upon Prime Minister Netanyahu.
• Preachers in mosques, who are appointed and paid by the PA,
  delivered “sermons” which could only be compared to the worst
  antisemitic rhetoric (ie. “the Jews are descended from monkeys and
  pigs”, etc.).
• The Palestinian representative at the United Nations in Geneva
  absurdly accused Israel of infecting Palestinians with the AIDS
  virus.

It was this atmosphere of willful negligence and overt incitement on
the part of the PA which contributed to setting the stage for this
latest atrocity.

It is not only obvious that violence and peace, mayhem and
coexistence, are mutually contradictory, but it is equally obvious
that one cannot be an honest partner for peace while countenancing
terrorism and engendering an environment which is hospitable to
it.

Words, however heartfelt, are not enough. We expect the PA to take
the following measures in order to restore our confidence in its role
in the peace process:

A) An end to incitement against Israel and the taking of effective

steps to prevent incitement to violence.

B) Apprehension, trial and punishment of the heads of terrorist
organizations.

C) An intense effort aimed at disrupting the terrorist infrastructure
and networks, including the confiscation of illegal weapons and
explosives.

D) The transfer to Israel of terrorist suspects.

In conclusion, Israel calls upon those who are truly interested in
peace to condemn, forthrightly and in no uncertain terms, this
barbarous attack.