Jerusalem - Israel and the Palestinian Authority achieved a rare agreement and settled a bitter dispute today when they resolved to allow Palestinians to travel in and out of the Gaza Strip with relative freedom. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced the deal after mediating negotiations that lasted through the night.

The agreement represents a major breakthrough on issues that had caused mounting friction between Israel and the Palestinians following the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers and settlers from Gaza last August and September.

"It is a major step forward for the Palestinian people," said Ms. Rice, who postponed a trip to South Korea to personally handle the details of the agreement. "This agreement is intended to give Palestinian people the freedom to move, to trade, to live ordinary lives."

Before the deal, Palestinians complained that it had become even more difficult for Gaza's 1.3 million residents to leave or return to the small coastal territory since Israel's highly publicized departure, and that travel restrictions on people and goods were inflicting additional economic hardship. The Israelis, meanwhile, said they would not lift the restrictions until measures were established to prevent weapons smuggling into Gaza from neighboring Egypt.

"We found solutions both sides can live with," said Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry. "The challenge was to find a successful balance between the very real security threats faced by Israel, while providing maximum movement in and out of Gaza for the Palestinians. I think it's a win-win agreement."

The six-point agreement touches on travel by land, sea and air from Gaza. For many Palestinians, the most important development, and the one with the most immediate impact, is the proposed opening on Nov. 25 of the Rafah crossing on Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

Palestinians have never previously controlled a border crossing, but now they will be able to come and go from Gaza to Egypt without have to pass through Israeli security controls.

Israel took control of the area after capturing Gaza from Egypt in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and manned the border crossing until Israeli troops left Gaza on Sept. 12.

After the Israeli military completed that withdrawal, chaos reigned at the border for several days, with thousands of Palestinians and Egyptians going back and forth. This alarmed Israeli security officials who said large quantities of weapons were brought into Gaza during this period. Since then, the crossing has been opened for just brief periods.

Israel insisted on retaining some supervision over the border, saying it wanted to set up cameras to track travelers - though Israeli security officials will not be present at the crossing.

The Palestinians balked at the cameras. But under a compromise formula, European Union monitors will help run the Rafah crossing, and will receive the video feed from the Palestinians, which they will pass on to the Israelis.

Israel also wanted to create a list of Palestinians who would be barred from coming and going from Gaza. The Palestinians resisted, and the compromise says that on a case by case basis, the Palestinian Authority "will consider information on persons of concern provided by the government of Israel."

In such instances, it says that the two sides will hold consultations, "which will not take more than six hours." The agreement says the Palestinian Authority will decide "to prohibit travel or not."

At the Rafah crossing today, the Palestinian director of security, Osama al-Assar, said, "We will do our best to maintain order here because Rafah is our main vein to the outside."

In a highly unusual personal effort in the Middle East that the Bush administration has not attempted in five years, Ms. Rice and her aides led the arduous all-night negotiations, closeted in her ninth-floor suite in the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem, just outside the walled Old City.

She conferred with top aides to Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority. She was also joined by James Wolfensohn, the former World Bank president and special Middle East peace envoy.

Ms. Rice said she managed two hours of sleep, adding that she fared better than several members of her staff.

A five-page document was released at the announcement made by Ms. Rice, Mr. Wolfensohn and Javier Solana, the external affairs envoy for the European Union, which will supply personnel to help operate Rafah.

The agreement says that "on an urgent basis" Israel will permit the export of agriculture products from Gaza that are currently being harvested. American officials say the export of these products was considered vital to the territory's economic viability.

In recent days, Mr. Wolfensohn has been openly critical of the refusal of both sides to make concessions. On Monday, his frustrations burst forth in a talk at a conference in Jerusalem, saying he would leave his post if the two sides "want to blow each other up."

Mr. Wolfensohn said he "found it difficult to understand why on six issues in 20 weeks of negotiations it has been impossible to bring about more progress."

People close to the talks said that Ms. Rice effectively took over as the lead negotiator and was directly involved in drafting the document.

The agreement focused on highly technical and perhaps obscure matters but ones seen as crucial to paving the way for progress between Israel and the Palestinians in the future.

The accord also calls for the establishment of Palestinian convoys that will travel between the West Bank and Gaza, which will be escorted by Israeli security. Bus convoys are to begin by Dec. 15, and truck convoys are to start by Jan. 15.

In addition, the Palestinians may begin construction on a seaport on the Gaza coast, though Palestinians have said it could take two to three years to complete.

Israel pledged to start work with the United States on identifying checkpoints and roadblocks to be lifted in the West Bank. The Israelis have dozens of such obstacles, saying they are necessary to prevent, or at least limit, Palestinian attacks. The document sets a Dec. 31 deadline for taking action, but does not say how many obstacles will be withdrawn.

No agreement was reached on reopening the Palestinian airport in southern Gaza, but the sides agreed to continue talking. Israel closed the airport and tore up the runway after the Palestinian uprising began five years ago.

Express Hopes that it will "Jumpstart Palestinian Economic Recovery"

Ramallah - This morning, November 15, 2005, Palestinian negotiators reached an agreement with their Israeli counterparts on the principles for the reopening of the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on November 25, 2005. The agreement also stipulated the lifting of restrictions on Palestinian movement in and between the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) and ensures that Israel will not obstruct the building of a seaport on the Gaza Strip coastline.

Minister of Civil Affairs, Mohammed Dahlan, described the agreement as "an important step not only in opening up the Gaza Strip to the wider world, but in improving movement for Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory generally, including between the West Bank and Gaza Strip."

At a press conference held in Gaza City this afternoon, Minister Dahlan criticized Israel for having previously frustrated and stalled discussions on the issues agreed upon today, noting that, prior to this agreement, Israel had hoped to continue what he termed, "occupation by remote control."

Today's agreement followed months of intensive preparations and discussions and a marathon of talks brokered by US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and Quartet Special Envoy, James Wolfensohn. Intense negotiations began yesterday afternoon and continued through the early hours of this morning.

The Palestinian delegation was comprised of Minister Dahlan, Minister of Planning, Ghassan Khatib, Minister of Finance, Dr. Salam Fayyad and Chief of Staff of the President's Office, Dr. Rafiq Husseini.

Minister Khatib welcomed the agreement, saying, "If implemented in good faith, this agreement will provide conditions to help jumpstart Palestinian economic recovery. Our economy has been devastated by nearly four decades of continuing occupation, so easing restrictions on the movement of Palestinian people and goods is an absolute priority."

The agreement reached with the Government of Israel represents a package deal on a number of key issues relating to movement and access. With regards to the Rafah crossing, a more detailed agreement of principles was reached between the two sides, the implementation of which will be worked out during further discussions over the next 48 hours.

Mr. James Wolfensohn and his team will be leading a series of implementation meetings with the Palestinian and Israeli negotiating teams beginning in the next 24 hours. Minister Fayyad clarified that these meetings were intended "to ensure that the agreement on paper and the principles it details are realized in practice as soon as possible."

According to the agreement, the Rafah crossing will be reopened by Palestinians on November 25, 2005 for the movement of all Palestinian ID-holders as well as for exports from Gaza. Imports to the Gaza Strip will come through Kerem Shalom and will be cleared by Palestinian Authority (PA) customs officials pending the completion of Rafah crossing's preparations for the processing of imports.

The agreement stipulates that the European Union (EU) will support the PA's management of the Rafah crossing within an active monitoring capacity. The EU will also provide consultancy to the PA on capacity-building and will not have law enforcement powers.

Minister Dahlan emphasized that "There will be no live transmission of images from the Rafah crossing to the Government of Israel," noting that the EU will receive and view real-time images in a Liason Office at which Palestinian and Israeli representatives will also be present.

Dr. Rafiq Husseini also spoke of the agreement in positive terms, highlighting that "[Under this agreement] Israel has no power to restrict any Palestinian ID holders from using the Rafah crossing." According to the agreement, the PA is the only party that may prevent the movement of any Palestinian goods or people through Rafah on the basis of security considerations.

In the agreement, Israel committed to allow immediately the export of agricultural products from the Gaza Strip in addition to allowing 150 trucks per day to leave the Gaza Strip through El-Mintar (Karni) crossing point no later than December 15, 2005. It was further agreed that at least 400 trucks per day will leave the Gaza Strip by the end of 2006.

Moreover, the two sides agreed to partially reinstitute the safe passage arrangements between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank through the establishment of bus convoys no later than December 15, 2005, and truck convoys no later than January 15, 2006.

During negotiations, the PA provided details to the US Administration on all the movement restrictions currently faced by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Following this, and in line with its Road Map commitments to return to the status quo ante of September 2000, the Government of Israel agreed with the US Administration to reduce its internal closures to the maximum extent possible (including the illegal road blocks and checkpoints) in the West Bank no later than December 31, 2005.

The parties also agreed that the construction of the seaport will commence immediately and to begin detailed discussions on the reopening of the Yasser Arafat International Airport in Gaza.

Summing up the agreement as "a step on the way to greater freedom for Palestinians," Minister Khatib thanked Secretary Rice and Mr. Wolfensohn for what he called, "the exceptional efforts they demonstrated in mediating between the two sides over the last several months, and especially over the last few hours."

"We also thank the EU for agreeing to serve as the third party at the Rafah crossing and look forward to the continued active involvement of Secretary Rice, Mr. Wolfensohn and the EU," he said

To be supplemented prior to opening by agreements on security, customs and 3rd party implementation procedures

General

• Rafah will be operated by the Palestinian Authority on its side, and Egypt on its side, according to international standards, in accordance with Palestinian law and subject to the terms of this agreement.
• Rafah will be opened as soon as it is ready to operate at an international standard in accordance with the specifications of this agreement and as soon as the 3rd party is on site, with a target date of November 25.
• Use of the Rafah crossing will be restricted to Palestinian ID card holders and others by exception in agreed categories with prior notification to the GoI and approval of senior PA leadership.
  • The PA will notify the GoI 48 hours in advance of the crossing of a person in the excepted categories—diplomats, foreign investors, foreign representatives of recognized international organizations and humanitarian cases.
  • The GoI will respond within 24 hours with any objections and will include the reasons for the objections;
  • The PA will notify the GoI of their decision within 24 hours and will include the reasons for their decision;
  • The 3rd party will ensure the proper procedures are followed and will advise both sides of any information in its possession pertaining to the people applying to cross under these exceptions.
  • These procedures will remain in place for a period of 12 months, unless the 3rd party delivers a negative evaluation of the PA running the Rafah crossing. This evaluation will be done in close coordination with both sides and will give due consideration to the opinion of both sides.

• Rafah will also be used for export of goods to Egypt.
• Objective criteria for the inspection of cars will be established by consensus.
  The criteria are as follows:
  • Search equipment will be installed, including:
    • Black lights
    • Power tools and a compressor for the tools
    • Technology to be agreed, possibly including sonic imagery, gamma detection (full vehicle or hand held), and/or millimetre wave imagery
    • Mirrors and bore scope equipment to search hard to reach places

  • Personnel will be trained to search vehicles and on the use of this equipment by the 3rd party to international standards
  • Cameras will be installed to monitor the search process

• The 3rd party will evaluate the capacity of the PA to inspect cars according to these criteria and to international standards. Once the PA develops the capacity to inspect cars to the satisfaction of the 3rd party, cars will be allowed to pass through Rafah. Until that time, cars will pass through on an exceptional basis, subject to specifications agreed in the security protocol.
• Rafah will be the only crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Egypt (with the exception of Kerem Shalom for the agreed period).
• The PA will establish clear operating procedures.
• Until Rafah is operational, the PA will open Rafah crossing on an ad hoc basis for religious pilgrims, medical patients, and others, in coordination with General Gilad's office on the Israeli side.
• Israel will provide the PA with all information needed to update the Palestinian population registry, including all information on Palestinian ID card holders who are currently outside the country.
• A liaison office, led by the 3rd party, will receive real-time video and data feed of the activities at Rafah and will meet regularly to review implementation of this agreement, resolve any disputes arising from this agreement, and perform other tasks specified in this agreement.

Security

• The PA will act to prevent the movement of weapons and explosives at the Rafah crossing.
• The PA will establish baggage limits for each passenger as part of the procedures. Limits will be the same as currently applied by the GoI; very frequent travellers (suitcase policy) to be agreed.
  o Travellers, including returning residents, may use the crossing point to bring in personal effects as defined in Rule 1(e) to Heading 7 of the Annex to the prevailing Customs Tariff. Any other personal belongings or other goods shall be cleared at the Kerem Shalom crossing point.
  
• The PA will provide the 3rd party a list of names of the workers at Rafah crossing which will be shared with the Israelis. The PA will take the Israelis concerns into account.
• Security services from Israel, PA, the U.S., and Egypt will continue to coordinate on security issues and will participate in the security working group.
• On a case by case basis, the PA will consider information on persons of concern provided by the GoI. The PA will consult with the GoI and the 3rd party prior to the PA making a decision to prohibit travel or not. During this consultation, which will not take more than six hours, the person in question will not be permitted to cross.

Customs

• GoI and PA will continue to apply the Paris Protocol of 29 April 1994.
• Rafah will be operated according to international standards and rules and the Paris Protocol.
• GoI and PA agree on widest possible co-operation and information sharing.
• GoI and PA will co-operate on training issues.
• GoI and PA customs will hold regular meetings to which the GoE will be invited as appropriate.

Kerem Shalom

• PA customs officials will clear incoming cargo at Kerem Shalom under the supervision of Israeli customs agents.
• Both sides will discuss operating procedures at a later stage.
• Operations at Kerem Shalom will provide training and capacity building to PA customs staff.
• The 3rd party will review the PA's customs capacity in 12 months and make a recommendation to both sides for a joint decision regarding future arrangements. In the event of a disagreement, the U.S., in consultation with the GoI, the PA, and the 3rd party, will resolve the issue expeditiously.

Third party

• The 3rd party will have the authority to ensure that the PA complies with all applicable rules and regulations concerning the Rafah crossing point and the terms of this agreement. In case of non-compliance the 3rd party has the authority to order the re-examination and reassessment of any passenger, luggage, vehicle or goods. While the request is being processed, the person, luggage, vehicle or cargo in question will not be allowed to leave the premises of the Rafah crossing point.
• The 3rd party will assist the PA to build capacity -- training, equipment and technical assistance -- on border management and customs.
• Details of the 3rd party's role are specified in the attached memorandum of understanding.
• The 3rd party will be the European Union.

Last week, Israel barred a UNESCO fact-finding mission from entering the country, charging that the Palestinians had ‘politicized’ the mission before it had even arrived. The mission was tasked with looking into conditions of historical sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, something Israel apparently found to be very threatening.

Looking at the state of Jerusalem’s eastern sector today, it is understandable why Israel would not want UNESCO or anyone else walking around the Old City, especially the Palestinian-populated parts of it. Because anyone who does, will see the devastation that Israel and its settlers have wreaked on one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in the world.

Excavation works are being conducted in and around the Aqsa Mosque to make way for more Jewish construction at the place where Waqf authorities say Ottoman and Abbasid artifacts have long been tucked away. A Muslim graveyard is being dug up just outside the Old City’s Jaffa Gate, to build – ironically – a museum of tolerance. Today, two stores were forcefully taken over by Jewish settlers in Al Hakari, one of the neighborhoods in the Muslim quarter and every day, it seems that more and more homes are either being demolished by Israeli municipality authorities or being taken over by Jewish settlers.

The “Judiazation” of Jerusalem is a term many Palestinians and Arabs use for what Israel is doing in the city. In a nutshell, it is the long-term plan Israel is gradually carrying out to change the Arab Palestinian character of Jerusalem. This means demolishing old and historical structures, displacing Palestinians, handing over their homes to settlers and trying to erase the Palestinian or Arab history of the city.

The sad truth is that, on the surface, Israel has succeeded in this to a large extent. Pockets of Jewish settlers now live in the heart of Muslim quarters and aim to take over more and more. Sheikh Jarrah, one of the more affluent Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem, is now pierced with Jewish flags waving from homes that have been wrestled from their Palestinian owners, and Israel’s light rail train cuts right down through Palestinian neighborhoods outside of the city center. The train, of course, is not meant to service the Palestinian population but rather to connect Jewish neighborhoods and settlements in the city, but the area confiscated from Shufat and Beit Hanina for its construction simply fell into the plan.

What the UNESCO mission would not have seen even if they made it into the Old City is the overall humiliation that the Palestinian population of Jerusalem must endure on a daily basis because of Israel’s military occupation. Trips to the Israeli ministry of interior must be made just to prove that one lives in the city for fear that their residency rights may be revoked; young Palestinian men are stopped randomly by Israeli soldiers to check their ID cards or just to harass them, and settlers are always given the luxury of maximum security whenever they walk the streets. If settlers want to march through the city, the Palestinians are told to close their shops, are barred for hours from reaching their homes if they run along the path of the march and are always the ones blamed if any kind of confrontation between the two sides breaks out.

Jerusalem is being squeezed by these measures more and more each day. But there is always that glimmer of hope, that strength that shines through proving that all is not lost. On Shavuot, Israeli settlers and extremists poured into the Old City, singing loudly, banging on the shop doors and waving huge Israeli flags. The sight was disconcerting to say the least. However, the afternoon of that same day, at Damascus Gate, passersby were met with a completely different scene. Palestinian flags waved in determined Palestinian hands under the threatening eye of heavily armed Israeli police and soldiers. The youths were fearless, demanding freedom, with strong, unrelenting voices.

The sight of the Palestinian flag waving at the entrance to Damascus Gate was a breath of fresh air. All is not lost and never will be because hope is eternal and determination and strength come from a never-ending spring.

That day at Damascus Gate is what all Palestinians must keep in their minds’ eye in spite of the daily oppression of the occupation. No matter how many missions Israel bars from entering or how many houses it takes over, there will always be those brave souls who, despite the risks, will always raise Palestine’s flag.

Joharah Baker is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.org.

There is no point falling into the pit of countering the claims being made about the death of Mohammed Al Durra, the 12-year old boy from Gaza whose videotaped killing was seen around the world. The boy, crouching in fear behind is equally afraid father as bullets whizzed around them, was killed admittedly by the Israeli army. Later, the army recanted after investigating the tape, saying Durra was killed by Palestinian fire instead. Well now, Israel is changing its story altogether, saying he was not killed at all. In fact, he was probably not even wounded and the French channel that broadcast the footage and brought some pretty bad rap to Israel, had most likely filmed a charade.

The reason why I will not waste my time countering this claim is that even with the great lengths the Israeli government went to to prove that the boy was never killed, it could not provide any irrefutable proof that Mohammed Al Durra – who would be 25 now – is still alive. No pictures, no testimonies, no hospital or morgue officials giving statements to refute his death, have been provided. Only sketchy information about ‘poor quality footage’ and the fact that it seems as though the boy moved his arm after he had slumped over his father following the explosion.

My point is this: indeed, Mohammed Durra’s death was at least one of the catalysts that fueled the second Intifada, and thus, was an important event in the history of the Palestinians. However, more importantly – most importantly to me –is the fact that this is about a boy who died in sheer terror, with his distraught father futilely trying to shelter him from the barrage of bullets coming their way.

Mohammed Al Durra was a boy, with a life, a family and friends. He died a horrible death and now he is being made to die a second one. I did not know Mohammed or his family, but I can only imagine how awful it must be for them to read these claims now and feel the pain of losing their child all over again. If nothing else, this is disrespect for human life of the worst kind.

Some may postulate that the rehashing of the Durra case is a personal jab at the French cameraman who shot the footage, Charles Enderlin. Perhaps. But as a Palestinian who has seen the pain endured by numerous families who receive the horrible news that their sons or daughters have been killed by the Israeli army, my concern is for his family and for his memory. He should be left to rest in peace. If Israel has axes to grind with French journalists or with the international community for holding it accountable for its actions, then so be it. Israel is not lacking in the public relations department.

That being said, there is just one decent thing left to do. Leave Mohammed Al Durra and his memory alone.

Joharah Baker is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.org.

This week Palestinians will commemorate Al Nakba, the catastrophe that befell the Palestinian people when Israel was founded. Every year, Palestinians hang placards pointing to the right of return, they carry keys symbolizing the homes they were forced to leave and could not return to and remember the Palestine that was lost to them 65 years ago.

This year will be no different. Every May 15, Palestinian recall their catastrophe and demand justice. They demand that they are granted the right of return for those who were made refugees virtually overnight and were then relegate to a life they did not choose. But more than anything, they demand recognition of the tragedy that befell them rather than a denial that it ever happened, or worse, that it was of their own making.

It has been 65 years since Israel was established in 1948, which means those who were cast into exile are either very old or have long passed. Those who experienced the Nakba are now few and far between, clinging to those few precious memories of a small garden in front of their house in Jaffa or of the salty smell of the sea in their neighborhood in Haifa. The rest of us are either descendants of these refugees or ordinary Palestinians who feel their cause is our cause because we are one people.

But the Palestinians have made one thing clear. The refugee issue will not die with the last refugee. It is felt nationwide, the loss, the injustice and the fact that those who were forced from their homes have mostly passed, longing for their beloved homes.

We cannot turn back time. What was lost has been altered, destroyed, changed or taken over by Israel’s newcomers. What we can do is hold on to the right to be recognized, for the injustice to be rectified in word and deed and for Palestine to never be lost in our minds or hearts.

Joharah Baker is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.org.