More Palestinian Blood Spilled on the 13th Anniversary of the Independence that Never Was

14/05/2001| IslamWeb

JERUSALEM (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said Thursday he remains committed to peace with Israel but that the Jewish state must withdraw from the entire West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.Arafat's speech, during a somber national holiday marking 13 years since a never-implemented declaration of Palestinian independence, comes amid U.S. efforts to re-establish a peace process - and continued violence on the ground.
Israeli occupation troops raided the Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza early Thursday, triggering a firefight that left a 23-year-old Palestinian dead and 13 wounded. Occupation troops also raided the village of Shawawreh near the West Bank town of Bethlehem, arresting eight suspected militants; ocupation troops withdrew after several hours.
The incursions came despite repeated U.S. demands that Israel stay out of Palestinian-controlled territory. The Israeli occupation authorities claimed the raids were in response to persistent Palestinian shooting attacks on Israelis.
In Gaza, Palestinian authorities released two men said to be members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the group that claimed responsibility for the Oct. 17 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in revenge of the assassination of the group's leader, Abu Ali Mustafa.
Lawyer Yunis al-Jarru said he and labor union leader Rabah Muhanna were freed following a campaign by human rights groups and a ruling last week by the Palestinian Supreme Court, which said there was insufficient evidence on which to hold them.
In a speech broadcast on radio and television, Arafat said peace with Israel remained his strategic choice - and spelled out the price.
``We reiterate our readiness for a just peace on the basis of a full withdrawal from the Palestinian and Arab territories to the June 4, 1967, borders,'' he said. ``We also reiterate our commitment to peace ... between the two states, Palestine and Israel.''
President Bush last week told the U.N. General Assembly he was seeking a peace deal that would set up a Palestinian state. He did not define the borders of the new state or adopt the Palestinian position that its capital must be Jerusalem, but his explicit naming of ``Palestine'' was seen as a step forward by the Palestinians.
Secretary of State Colin Powell was expected to flesh out the U.S. ideas in a speech on Monday. Unconfirmed reports say Powell or a lower-ranking envoy might be headed toward the region.