Palestinians side enters "final" talks at a serious disadvantage

ON THE eve of negotiations with Israel on the "final status" of the West Bank and Gaza, Dr Haidar Abdel Shafi, a leading critic of the PLO handling of the peace process, claims the political and economic promises of the 1993 Oslo accord have not been kept.

Palestinians, he claims, are politically and economically worse off now than they were when the accord was signed on the south lawn of the White House.

The Palestinian team that will sit down tomorrow with Israeli negotiators at the Egyptian resort of Taba on the Red Sea is aware that nothing can be decided before the elections in Israel on May 29th. Before then the coalition government of Mr Shimon Peres is in no position to make commitments on the key issues of Jerusalem, refugees, borders, settlements and the sharing of natural resources.

Instead of beginning these talks "as soon as possible" after the signing of the Oslo accord Israel chose to postpone them until the very last moment, leaving the Palestinians in the midst of negotiations which may be suspended or frozen by a successor government.

Israel has not faithfully implemented the accord, which calls for the establishment of "interim self rule" in the occupied territories. Palestinian self rule has not been extended to the point where it has become irreversible; nor do the Palestinian self rule areas amount to a viable entity. Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release in 1993 remain in Israeli jails.

Obliged by the accord to redeploy outside Palestinian areas, Israeli troops retain control of 40 per cent of Gaza and 96 per cent of the West Bank, as well as the town of Hebron. Israel also continues to expropriate Palestinian owned land and expand Jewish settlements.

In addition, Israel's imposition of prolonged closures on, the Palestinian areas and the denial of freedom of movement has rendered "null and void" the April 1994 economic protocol, according to the Palestinian Minister of Finance, Mr Muhammad Zuhdf Nashashibi.

"The Palestinian people have adopted the peace option and met their obligations to the best of their ability", Dr Shafi says. "They have shown themselves to be worthy. Israel, in return, has taken advantage of the new situation to maintain the occupation and exert even greater pressure on the Palestinian territories."

Mr Nashashibi is sharply critical of the international community for failing to make good its financial pledges to the Palestinian Authority. As a result, he said, its budget deficit had already reached $183 million, with its limited funds being used for salaries and administrative expenses instead of infrastructural projects.