In the Oslo Accords the West Bank and Gaza Strip were divided between Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Israeli control. The West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and C. In Area A the PNA has full control. In Area B Israel continues to control security while the PNA has jurisdiction over civil affairs. In Area C the Israeli authorities retained complete control. The majority of the Gaza Strip was returned to full Palestinian control while the Jewish settlement areas and military/security zones remained in full Israeli control. In an area called the Yellow zone, Israel retained security control and the PNA managed civil affairs, similar to Area B in the West Bank. These divisions were to be temporary and transitional, the ultimate goal being the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 that call for the full return of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinians. Negotiations concerning the borders of the future Palestinian state, along with other ''final status issues,'' were to be concluded at the end of a five-year interim period.
It is clear that the implementation of the Oslo Accords is hopelessly beyond schedule. Furthermore, the repeated violations of the accords, in particular by Israeli colonial activity, have led many to declare them dead. Recently, during the Aqsa Intifada, Israel has initiated one of its most blatant violations yet, that is the complete disregard of Palestinian sovereignty by entering Area A in military strikes. When Israel launched an attack in Beit Hanoon in the Gaza Strip on April 16, the move sparked strong condemnation of Israel around the world, including rebuke from its strongest ally, the United States.
Since the incursion in mid-April the Israelis have invaded Palestinians controlled areas several times. One such attack came in the morning of May 6 in Beit Jala, which is located 3 kilometers to the southwest of the Palestinian city of Bethlehem; see map 1. The Israeli military forces removed a roadblock on a road entering Beit Jala from the west and proceeded 500 meters into Area A of the town; see photo 1. Paratroop units in armored personnel carriers, backed by tank fire, occupied several houses on the top of the ridge in Area A and bombarded several others. After about 5 hours the Israeli army withdrew, leaving one Palestinian killed and 20 injured including a girl who was blinded in one eye, a boy who lost his arm, and a 60-year-old woman; see photo 2 and photo 3.. The Israeli military forces removed a roadblock on a road entering Beit Jala from the west and proceeded 500 meters into Area A of the town; . Paratroop units in armored personnel carriers, backed by tank fire, occupied several houses on the top of the ridge in Area A and bombarded several others. After about 5 hours the Israeli army withdrew, leaving one Palestinian killed and 20 injured including a girl who was blinded in one eye, a boy who lost his arm, and a 60-year-old woman;
The Israeli military had briefly entered Beit Jala several weeks before, but this was the first military invasion of its kind anywhere in the West Bank. The attack sets a dangerous precedent and shows a flagrant disregard to the integrity of the Palestinian claim to the land.
After Israel's first invasions of Palestinian controlled areas of the Gaza Strip in April criticism came upon Israel from around the world. With each subsequent invasion the objections have gotten quieter, threatening to allow this violation, like so many others, to become a ''normal'' part of the occupation and siege on Palestinian communities. Efforts must be made to counter the false Israeli claim that it is simply trying to restore peace to the land and fight terrorism. The truth is that the Israeli military serves the role that it does in every colonial power- to defend colonization from the legitimate resistance of the indigenous people of the land. Israel's ability to re-cast itself as the perpetual victim must not be allowed to obscure the fact that it is Israel that is engaged in the systematic destruction of Palestinian society.
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
