YESTERDAY assault by an Israeli army conscript on Palestinians in the West Bank town of Hebron reinforced to both the Palestinian Authority and to Israel that security had to be provided for the 120,000 Palestinian citizens of the town as well as for the 400 settlers, writes Michael Jansen.
So far the negotiators have focused on the security of settlers, rather than Palestinians, who repeatedly have been the target of militant settlers, notably Baruch Goldstein, from the Kiryat Arba suburb, who slaughtered 29 Palestinians in the Ibrahimi Mosque in February 1994.
Just such an incident as yesterday's was anticipated by Mr Nabil Abu Znaid, a spokesman for Hebron's Islamic University, who said several days ago that Hebronites insisted "all Israeli settlers and troops" should leave the city. "We want to live in peace . . . and freedom."
Neither was clearly possible while the Palestinians remained under the constant threat of violence from other armed settlers or Israeli soldiers.
The fact that the shooter was an army conscript in uniform making use of his army issue MI6 rifle gave rise to the question: "Who will guard the guardians?"
The fears of Palestinians living in the town were heightened by yesterday's random shooting.
The Israelis added insult to injury when they imposed a curfew on the Palestinian inhabitants of the town, who see themselves as the victims of both Israeli violence and Israeli measures to prevent violence while Israel settlers circulate freely in the streets.
Hebronites are expected to exert pressure on the Palestinian Authority to secure enhanced security guarantees in the nearly concluded final agreement on partial Israeli redeployment within the town or to press for the introduction of an international buffer force to reduce the Israeli army presence.
Since such measures would delay the conclusion of the already long delayed accord and its implementation, they would be resisted by both the Palestinians and Israelis who now seem to be more determined than ever to push ahead towards early agreement.
Dr Saeb Erekat, a leading Palestinian negotiator in the talks, said, "We have always argued with the Israeli government . . . that the real threat to peace is not the Palestinians" who live in Hebron. "It's these settlers, these Israeli settlers."
He said: "We have told the Israelis they must choose between peace and settlers, peace and settlements. They cannot have both."
The Palestinian Minister of Higher Education, Dr Hanan Ashrawi, said the way to respond to such extremist attacks was "a very quick agreement to implement the arrangements in Hebron and, at the same time, to resume permanent status negotiations in order to find a real solution to the settlements issue and to create the conditions that are conducive to genuine peace and coexistence."