PA Holds Diplomatic Event In Jerusalem

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Written by Samuel Sokol

Wednesday, 27 January 2010 19:00

Last Monday, Norwegian foreign minister Jonas Gahr Store held official diplomatic talks with Ahmed a-Rawidi, the Palestinian Authority minister for Jerusalem, and Rafik Husseini, the chief of staff to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The meeting was the first that the Palestinian Authority has held in Israel's capital for almost a decade.

In 2001, then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon closed down the PA's Jerusalem headquarters, located in the Orient House, as a response to the Second Intifada. It is Israeli policy to prevent PA events and institutions from operating in the eastern half of the city.

Recently the European Union and the Russian Federation have requested that Israel reopen the Orient house.

During a joint press conference with Store last Sunday, when asked by Israel's Channel 10 regarding the reopening of the Orient House, Foreign Minister Lieberman stated, "There will be no more gestures. There is simply no room to talk about opening Orient House, freezing the construction in Jerusalem, or any additional gestures. Now is the time for a gesture from the Palestinians."

Dr. Aaron Lerner, the director of IMRA (Independent Media Review and Analysis), told the 5TJT that the Palestine Liberation Organization and the PLO-run Palestinian Authority are banned by Israeli law from engaging in official activities within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem.

The Knesset passed the Law Implementing the Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area (Restriction of Activity) in 1995, which states that the Palestinian Authority "shall not hold a meeting in the area of the State of Israel unless written permission for this has been given by the State of Israel or by someone authorized by it to do so." The Palestinian Authority is defined as "any person acting on its behalf or under its auspices or using its name" for the purposes of this ban.

According to the agreement referred to in the Israeli legislation, the Palestinian Authority's jurisdiction does not apply outside of the Jericho area territory and the Gaza Strip. "Israel [did not] enter into any written understanding with the PLO as a result of Oslo that abrogated that law," Lerner said.

Norwegians Deny Meeting With Senior Officials

When asked if Norway was aware that official meetings with Palestinian Authority figures are forbidden within Jerusalem, the Norwegian Embassy misleadingly stated that the country's ambassador was not present at the Augusta Victoria hospital and referred to a press release from the foreign ministry stating that the minister visited East Jerusalem, without any mention of Rafik Husseini-effectively denying that the meeting took place.

Further queries only resulted in Annika Evensen, the embassy's first secretary, saying that she had "nothing to add to what is in the press release."

According to Norwegian journalist Vidar Norberg, Store was welcomed to the hospital by Husseini, who compared Israeli policies to those of apartheid South Africa and called for an international boycott of Israel goods.

Store held a press conference with the PA dignitary, complete with a podium and Norwegian and Palestinian Authority flags. Speaking to reporters, with the Gush Etzion city of Maaleh Adumim behind him, the foreign minister announced that Mahmoud Abbas's goal is a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the Middle East conflict.

However, Abbas stands accused of inciting terrorism by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Palestinian Authority president was quoted in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on January 17 defending his government's decision to name a square in Ramallah after Dalal Mughrabi, a terrorist guilty of 37 counts of murder.

"Norway considers the Israeli presence in East Jerusalem to be in violation of international law, as does the entire international community," Store told reporters.

The minister has come under intense criticism from Israeli politicians due to his endorsement of the book Eyes In Gaza, which describes Israel's Cast Lead operation as a "monstrous, systematically implemented, and comprehensive massacre."

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon described the book as "outrageous" and said that it "borders on incitement made up of fabrication and lies."

A spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Five Towns Jewish Times that the Norwegian government did not coordinate the meeting with Israeli authorities and that "senior level officials in the MFA expressed regret and discontent to Norway."