Palestinians urged to be calm as confrontation call by Hamas ignored

THE Palestinian territories remained quiet yesterday in spite of a call issued by the Islamic Hamas movement on Thursday for a "total confrontation" with Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Anticipating trouble, the Israeli army deployed some 3,000 troops in Jerusalem and prevented Palestinian youths from attending prayers at al-Aqsa mosque in the Haram al-Sharif compound where three Palestinians were shot by Israeli soldiers during a protest last Friday after the weekly communal prayer.

Although Hamas issued its appeal in the immediate aftermath of the Washington summit, Palestinians apparently heeded a counter-instruction circulated by the Palestinian Authority asking for time for negotiations, convening tomorrow, to achieve progress.

Imams in mosques throughout the Palestinian territories appealed to congregations to, once again, give peace a chance.

Palestinians did not resume what Hamas called the "Aqsa Intifada" for a variety of reasons. The first of these is that the Islamic resistance has lost much of its credibility since February and March when Islamist suicide bombers killed 59 people in Israel, suspending the peace process and earning the enmity of many Palestinians.

In fact, these bombings were not the work of the political wing of the movement but of certain units of the military wing, the Qassam Brigades, which did not have the sanction of the leadership for these operations. Thereafter, the Ham as and Islamic Jihad leaderships were not able to agree on a strategy.

Instead, they wobbled between conciliating the Palestine Authority and threatening a renewed intifada against Israel. As a result, the movement lost much of its following, particularly younger Palestinians who saw Hamas as the only viable opposition to the corrupt and inefficient Authority.

At the height of its popularity Hamas claimed the support of 35 per cent of Palestinians in Gaza and 15 per cent to 20 per cent in the West Bank, although this was certainly an over-estimation of its strength. A poll conducted at the end of August gave Hamas only 6.5 per cent of popular support in Gaza and the West Bank.

So concerned were the young militants in the Brigades about Hamas's lack of direction that in mid-September they demanded the resignation of the present leadership and its replacement with figures who would chart a clear course. This apparently did not happen.

A second reason for Hamas's failure to stage its day of confrontation was the fact that since March, some 900 of its leading activists have been arrested and imprisoned by the Palestinian security forces while others have been intimidated into quiescence.

Finally, the Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and the PLO executive committee, which he heads, took a decision two months ago that if and when a confrontation loomed between Palestinians and Israelis, the Palestinian leadership would be in the forefront of protest demonstrations.

The Authority went one step further by calling for demonstrations when, on September 24th, the Israelis opened a new entrance in the controversial tunnel near the wall of the mosque compound in Jerusalem.

Having stolen Hamas's thunder, the Authority united the Palestinian populace behind Mr Arafat who, according to sources in Jerusalem, now has a mandate to secure implementation of the agreements signed by the previous government.

Agencies add: The US Secretary of State, Mr Warren Christopher, will go to the Middle East this weekend for the start of talks between Israel and the Palestinians on a variety of issues left unsettled at this week's summit, President Clinton said yesterday.

"We discussed it and I think he probably has finalised his plans by now. I told him I wanted him to go there for the start of the talks," Mr Clinton said outside a New York State hotel where he is preparing for tomorrow's presidential campaign debate with his Republican rival, Mr Bob Dole.

The Norwegian Foreign Minister, Mr Bjorn Tore Godal, also leaves for Israel tomorrow in an effort to help get the peace process back on track, a foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday in Oslo.

The spokesman said Mr Godal would meet Mr Netanyahu and Mr Arafat separately as well as other important figures on both sides. Mr Godal would also visit the West Bank city of Hebron.

Given the role we have in general in the peace process we have a strong interest in getting the peace process on track again," the spokesman said.

Mr Arafat arrived in Paris yesterday for immediate talks with President Jacques Chirac on the Middle East situation. He arrived at nightfall at Orly airport on a special flight from Naples.