Sir, - We would like to express our heartfelt sorrow to the Irish Jewish community and the people of Israel at the atrocity perpetrated by the two Palestinian suicide bombers in Jerusalem.
Israel has been getting a very bad press recently and has been accused of breaking the Oslo Accords in building houses at Har Homa in Jerusalem.
In a letter to your paper, published on December 5th last, we highlighted six of the more than 30 specific ways that the Palestinian Authority has broken the Oslo Accords, namely by not changing its Charter (which calls for the destruction of Israel), abusing human rights (through arbitrary arrests, tension and torture), by the PA offices being located in Jerusalem, by its failure to extradite terrorists and by calling for jihad.
In the light of the massacre it is well worth reiterating two of the points we made, namely that Article 2.7 of the Oslo Agreement calls on the PA to turn over to Israel those for whom an arrest warrant has been provided. Israel has requested 18 suspects for murder, none of whom has been handed over.
Articles 2, 3b and 22 of the Oslo Agreement oblige the PLO to "refrain from incitement to terrorism and prevent incitement by others", yet there have been many statements by Yasser Arafat, Faisal Hussein and others calling for jihad and praising those engaged in terrorism, including Hamas. They have also continued to allow inflammatory speeches to be made, especially in mosques.
With all the talk about the Har Homa site, two important facts seem to escape mention, namely that most of the land was compulsorily purchased from Jewish landowners (only about 30 per cent was from Arab landowners). This was a vacant site and is within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. Unlike the above points, this housing development is not a point at issue in the Oslo Accords. The PLO and Palestinian Authority continually say that Israel has acted against the spirit of the Oslo Accords. In the light of the above, it is much more important that they act and be seen to act not only in the spirit, but also to the letter of the accords.
We call on the Irish Government to encourage the European Union to put pressure on the Palestinian Authority to now fulfil its side of the Oslo Agreement. It is our prayer that real peace will come to Jerusalem. - Yours, etc.,
Sheelagh Tier,
Christians Concerned for Ireland, Shankill, Co Dublin.