--On March 18, a meeting of Palestinian figures with the international diplomatic corps was held at the Orient House in Jerusalem at the joint invitation of the Orient House and Miftah. A briefing for the press was held following the meeting for the purpose of presenting a Palestinian perspective on recent developments related to the status of Jerusalem and Palestinian statehood.

--Palestinian participants included Faisal al-Husseini, the PLO Executive Committee member responsible for Jerusalem; Hanan Ashrawi, PLC member representing Jerusalem and Secretary General of Miftah; and Ziad Abu Zayyad, PLC member for Jerusalem and minister of state.

--The subjects discussed included the European Union position on Jerusalem as based on international legality and U.N. Resolution 181, thereby denying any Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem. The meeting particularly addressed the American Congress resolution pertaining to Palestinian statehood and Jerusalem, with the Palestinian participants expressing their serious concern over such a blatant violation of international law, viewing it as a unilateral step by Congress to determine the fate of permanent status issues. It was also described as a negative and dangerous interference in the peace process, while taking sides in the Israeli elections in support of extremist right wing elements.

--A review of the continuing illegal and repressive measures in the city also addressed the issue of land confiscation and stepped-up settlement activities, house demolitions, ID expropriations, and the ongoing siege of Jerusalem.

--The Netanyahu government’s response to this meeting is an added proof that Jerusalem is an occupied Palestinian city subject to all the repressive measures and attempts at intimidation carried out by an occupying power.

--It also demonstrates the political bankruptcy of this extremist government and its right wing election campaign. It seems to be suffering from the delusion that in declaring an open war on fictitious VIP cards or “privileges” held by Palestinian Jerusalemites it can win the votes of fundamentalist and settler elements or even seal the fate of Jerusalem.

--Neither Faisal Husseini nor Hanan Ashrawi has ever held an Israeli or a joint VIP card. If by “privileges” Netanyahu means the constant Israeli attempts at harassment, provocation, and curtailment of freedom of movement (which, to various degrees, all Palestinians “enjoy”) then we welcome their withdrawal. The Report of the Special UN Committee on Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights contains an adequate description of these “privileges.”

--Abu Zayyad’s VIP card was issued him as part of the agreement to facilitate the work of Palestinian officials. It is neither a unilateral gift from Israel to be withdrawn by an arbitrary decision, nor is it a “privilege” granted by the occupier to the occupied. It is a right agreed to by both sides; hence its withdrawal is not only a violation of Abu Zayyad’s rights as a public official, but also another Israeli violation of the signed agreements.

--Netanyahu’s “reprisals” constitute not only a violation of international law, but also a direct violation of signed agreements. Hanan Ashrawi and Ziad Abu Zayyad are elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council representing the constituency of Jerusalem. These elections were held in accordance with the interim phase agreements that stipulated the formation of the PLC, the number of its membership, and its constituencies. As PLC Jerusalem representatives, Ashrawi and Zayyad have the full right to meet with their electorate and to conduct any activities relevant to their responsibilities in Jerusalem.

--Furthermore, by targeting the Orient House as a center of Palestinian activities, Netanyahu is violating the then foreign minister’s, Shimon Peres’s, letter to the then Norwegian Foreign Minister, Johan Jorgen Holst, assuring the Palestinian side of the continuity and importance of existing Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem. This was an important guarantee that Israel will not exploit the postponement of the Jerusalem issue to permanent status negotiations in order to create prejudicial facts or to target Palestinian institutions in the city. Netanyahu needs to be reminded that the Orient House operated as the headquarters of the Palestinian Peace Team even during the days of the then prime minister Yitzhak Shamir, and that all preparatory and negotiating steps and meetings were held there prior to the Madrid talks.

--Apparently, the Israeli government is losing its political and legal equilibrium in its scramble to appease its extremist constituency. Such irresponsible and shortsighted reactions can only backfire. They are the real proof that Israel is an occupying power in Palestinian Jerusalem, and that it is reneging on its legal commitments and undertakings as signed in the course of the peace process for the sake of narrow political and electoral gains.

--Clearly the only real loser in such maneuvers is the peace process and people on both sides who yearn for and deserve a genuine and just peace.

Adventurism and floundering may attract immediate and short-lived attention, but they have never succeeded in replacing the courage and vision necessary for achieving a legitimate and lasting peace.