Sir, According to your coverage in September 5th and 6th, Mr David Levy, the Israeli Foreign Minister, claimed that President Yasser Arafat and the PLO dropped their demands that dignitaries of the European Union should visit Orient House in Jerusalem.
On behalf of the PLO, I would like to confirm that this claim is totally without foundation. Orient House was operating during Mr Yitzhak Shamir's Likud Government when Mr Levy was Foreign Minister and Mr Netanyahu was spokesperson for the Israeli Government. It was also used as the headquarters for the Palestinian negotiating team during the Madrid Middle East peace conference in 1991.
A letter from Mr Shimon Peres, Israeli Foreign Minister, in 1993 assured President Arafat that Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem, including Orient House, would he allowed to operate without interference from Israel. Orient House runs social services for the Palestinians in East Jerusalem, including a project funded by Irish Aid.
Mr Levy claimed that the existence of Orient House in East Jerusalem was in breach of the Oslo accords between Israel and the PLO. Yet confiscating Palestinian lands, demolishing houses (including a disabled children's centre) and building Jewish settlements to a degree that there is now a Jewish majority in East Jerusalem, is not in breach of the agreements?
The European Union Troika visit to Orient House is a demonstration from the EU that East Jerusalem is an occupied territory, and gives moral support to the Palestinian people there. It also demonstrates to the Israelis that Jerusalem is part of the negotiations, and not un-negotiable as they claim. Yours, etc.,
Delegate general for Palestine to Ireland, C/O PO Box IDQ, London WIA, IBQ.