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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 November 1999 Issue No. 454 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 November 1999 Issue No. 454
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters New and illegal
By Mohamed Sobeih*
The Oslo meeting, which opened on Tuesday, was conceived as an opportunity to assess the situation, particularly after the signing of the most recent Sharm Al-Sheikh agreement, and is of paramount importance to the Palestinians, whose fears are increasing. New settlements are being built more rapidly than before. For the first time, the Palestinians have received an official letter from Barak's office confirming the construction of 1,798 new units.
The construction of new settlements, of course, violates the 1995 agreement in which the Israeli government pledged to refrain from building or expanding settlements, to abstain from financing new settlements with public funds and to set boundaries 50 metres from the farthest house in any settlement. Barak has therefore defaulted on his promises to Chirac, Clinton and Arafat to pull down all the settlements built after the Wye River Memorandum was signed.
Barak has already agreed with the settlers that only 10 settlements will be evacuated, and is now attempting to sort out which of the settlements are "legal".
Introducing the concept of legality here has aggravated Palestinian fears. President Clinton cannot fail to notice this.
While the Oslo meeting may be ceremonial in form, it will bring home a message to the Israelis that they have other commitments to honour: the other safe passage, work on the Gaza seaport, finalising the Hebron agreement, settling the status of the marketplace, finalising work on the committee for persons displaced in 1967, and confirming the issues to be discussed in the final status talks.
*This week's Soapbox speaker is the Palestinian Authority's permanent representative to the Arab League.
