ZOA: Are the Palestinian Arabs Fulfilling President Bush's Conditions for
Statehood? A Survey of Week #5: July 23 - July 29, 2002

July 29, 2002

THE BUSH PLAN:
On June 24, 2002, President Bush set forth the conditions that the
Palestinian Arabs must fulfill in order to merit U.S. support for the
creation of a Palestinian Arab state. Among the major obligations are that
the Palestinian Arabs must "dismantle the terrorist infrastructure," "end
incitement," "elect new leaders not compromised by terror," and
unequivocally embrace democracy and free market economics.
This report analyzes Palestinian Arab actions during the fifth week
following President Bush's speech, July 23-July 29, 2002.

I. "Dismantle the Terrorist Infrastructure"
What They Must Do: President Bush said that the Palestinian Arabs must
"engage in a sustained fight against the terrorists and dismantle their
infrastructure." Those terms were previously defined in the Oslo and Wye
accords as including arresting and imprisoning terrorists; shutting down
bomb factories; seizing terrorists' weapons; extraditing terrorists to
Israel; punishing factions of the PLO that engage in terrorism; and
outlawing terrorist groups.
What They Did During Week #5:
A. No Terrorists Arrested: There were no reports of terrorists being
arrested or imprisoned.
B. No Terrorists Extradited: The PA continued to ignore Israel's 45
requests for the extradition of terrorists.
C. No Terror Groups Outlawed: The PA did not outlaw Hamas, Islamic Jihad,
Fatah, or any other terrorist groups.
D. No Terrorists' Weapons Seized: There were no reports of the PA seizing
terrorists' weapons.
E. No Closing of Bomb Factories: There were no reports of the PA shutting
down any bomb factories. By contrast, Israeli forces discovered and
destroyed three rocket-producing factories in Gaza on July 25.
F. No Punishing of PLO Terror Factions: There were no reports of the PLO
leadership punishing PLO factions that are engaged in terrorism, such as the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic
Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).
G. New Terrorist Attacks: Throughout Week #5, Israeli forces were engaged
in "Operation Determined Stand," resulting in a sharp decrease in terrorist
attacks. Nevertheless, there were at least 35 terrorist attacks or
attempted attacks, in which 5 people were murdered and 8 wounded:
July 22-23: Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers near the Kissufim
junction...Shooting and firebomb attack on Israeli soldiers in
Tulkarm...Eight mortar attacks on Jewish neighborhoods in Gaza...Shooting
attack on Israeli Army position at the Tarmit Outpost in Rafiah...Bomb
discovered and dismantled in Tel Aviv...Grenade attack on the Tarmit
Outpost...Kassam rockets fired at Sderot...Shooting attack on an Israeli
motorist near Ma'aleh Levonah; two Israelis wounded. July 24: Shooting
attack on Israeli soldiers near Ganim; two wounded...Fatah shooting attack
near Paduel; one murdered, one wounded. July 25: Two Kassam rockets fired
at a Jewish neighborhood in Gaza...Mortars fired at Israeli soldiers in
Gaza. July 26: Fatah shooting attack on motorists south of Hebron; four
murdered, two wounded...Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers searching for
bomb factories in Gaza. July 27: Mortars fired at the town of Netzer Hazani
and another Jewish neighborhood in Gaza...Attack on Israeli soldiers south
of Jenin; one wounded...Shooting attack on Israeli soldiers patrolling near
Kibbutz Sasa... July 28: Attack on the funeral procession of the four
Israelis murdered on July 26...Woman terrorist intercepted west of Jenin on
her way to carry out a suicide attack... Attack on motorists traveling near
Karmei Tzur...An Israeli bus near Netzarim was hit and heavily damaged by
Hamas's new "Al Bana" anti-tank missile. July 29: Mortars fired at Jewish
neighborhoods in central and northern Gaza Strip...Shooting attack on
Israeli motorists passing Halhoul, near Hebron...A terrorist was intercepted
on his way to carry out a suicide attack near Kfar Saba...A suicide bomber
and three accomplices were captured in Burkin, east of Tel Aviv, as they
were preparing to carry out an attack...Mortars fired at Neve
Dekalim...Shooting and grenade attack on Israeli soldiers near Rafiah.

II. "End Incitement"
What They Must Do: President Bush stated that the Palestinian Arabs must
"end incitement to violence in official media and publicly denounce homicide
bombings."
What They Did During Week #5:
The PA's official newspapers, television, and radio continued to broadcast a
steady stream of anti-Israel, anti-American, and pro-violence incitement,
and PA officials continues to make inciting statements.
For example, on July 26, the PA permitted a mass Hamas rally in Gaza, at
which Hamas leaders called for violence "like an earthquake" against
Israel.1

III. "Elect New Leaders Not Compromised by Terror"
What They Must Do: President Bush stated that the Palestinian Arabs must
hold "fair multiparty elections by the end of the year, with national
elections to follow," in which they "elect new leaders, leaders not
compromised by terror."
What They Did During Week #5: Shortly after President Bush's speech, the PA
announced that it will hold elections for chairman of the PA and members of
the Palestinian Legislative Council in January 2003, if Israel withdraws
from various parts of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.2 It remains to be seen
whether those elections, if held, will be free and fair, as President Bush
has urged, or will be marred by ballot-stuffing and intimidation of voters
and potential non-PLO candidates, as were the last PA elections, in 1996.
On July 23, the United Nations issued a study, "Human Development Report
2002: Deepening Democracy in a Fragmented World," which warned that some
authoritarian countries have held elections which appeared to be democratic
but in fact did not succeed in democratizing those nations. "One multiparty
election does not a democracy make," said Mark Malloch Brown, administrator
of the U.N. program which published the report. "The international
cheerleaders for democracy have underestimated what it takes to build a
functioning, properly rooted democracy."3

IV. "Build Democracy Based on Tolerance and Liberty"
What They Must Do: President Bush said that the Palestinian Arabs must
"build a practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty," with "a new
constitution" and "a truly independent judiciary. He said they must
"confront corruption," and "the Palestinian parliament should have the full
authority of a legislative body." They must implement "market economics,"
and create "a vibrant economy where honest enterprise is encouraged by
honest government." In addition, there must be "an externally supervised
effort to rebuild and reform the Palestinian security services" with "clear
lines of authority and accountability and a unified chain of command."

What They Did During Week #5:
The PA continues to claim that it is in the process of implementing what it
describes as a "100-day reform plan," but experts doubt that the reforms
will be genuine. Robert Satloff of the Washington Institute for Near East
Policy said of the plan: "While it offers promising elements of change, the
plan is only likely to strengthen the unacceptable status quo."4

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The Zionist Organization of America, founded in 1897, is the oldest
pro-Israel organization in the United States. The ZOA works to strengthen
U.S.-Israel relations, educates the American public and Congress about the
dangers that Israel faces, and combats anti-Israel bias in the media and on
college campuses. Its past presidents have included Supreme Court Justice
Louis Brandeis and Rabbi Dr. Abba Hillel Silver.