Communicated by the Israel Government Press Office 21 May 1998 Arafat Again Calls Oslo Accords A Temporary Truce Palestinian Council Brands Israel 'Racist Zionist Colonialist' The Obligation Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is obligated to refrain from incitement against Israel. In his exchange of letters with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on September 9, 1993, Chairman Yasser Arafat wrote, "the PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent violations and discipline violators." The Interim Agreement (Oslo 2) of September 28, 1995 (Article XXII) states that Israel and the PA "shall seek to foster mutual understanding and tolerance and shall accordingly abstain from incitement, including hostile propaganda, against each other and, without derogating from the principle of freedom of expression, shall take legal measures to prevent such incitement by any organizations, groups or individuals within their jurisdiction." In the Note for the Record which accompanied the Hebron Protocol of January 15, 1997, the Palestinians reaffirmed their commitment regarding, "Preventing incitement and hostile propaganda, as specified in Article XXII of the Interim Agreement." The Violations Following are statements of incitement and threats of violence made by senior Palestinian officials in the past week, in violation of the Oslo accords and the Hebron Protocol. - "Question: Do you feel sometimes that you made a mistake in agreeing to Oslo? Arafat: No... no. Allah's messenger Mohammad accepted the al-Khudaibiya peace treaty and Salah a-Din accepted the peace agreement with Richard the Lion-Hearted." [Note: Arafat is referring to the Khudaibiya agreement made by Muhammad with the Arabian tribe of Koreish. The pact, slated to last for ten years, was broken within two years, when the Islamic forces - having used the peace pact to become stronger - conquered the Koreish tribe. His reference to Salah a-Din is to the Muslim leader who, after a cease-fire, declared a jihad against the Crusaders and captured Jerusalem. This marks the second time in a month that Arafat has compared the Oslo Accords with the temporary truces signed by Muhammad and Salah a-Din. Previously, he made the comparison in an interview with Egyptian Orbit TV on April 18, 1998.] --- PA Chairman Yasser Arafat in a newspaper interview (cited in Al-Quds, May 10, 1998) - "The Palestinian people were and remain a victim of the international colonialist Zionist plot which began with the Balfour Declaration of 1917... Israel has not halted its implementation of the racist Zionist colonialist policies which are responsible for the calamities that have befallen our people." --- from an official statement issued by the PA's Legislative Council on May 12, 1998 to mark fifty years since "the 1948 calamity" (the establishment of Israel) (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, May 13, 1998) - "Our choice is the military option. We must put an end to the despicable negotiations. The time has come for jihad [holy war] and martyrdom." --- Shiekh Hamed Bitawi, chairman of the Palestine Religious Scholars Association and head of the PA's Sharia Court of Appeals in Nablus (Al-Jazira television, May 14, 1998) - "We shall uproot the settlement occupation from our souls, we shall disturb their tranquillity and abandon our fears and instill our fear within them. We are not frustrated so long as the intifada renews itself in our veins... hear our cry, for our hands are extended, but if you do not... calamity will come upon the head of the oppressor." --- from the lead editorial in the official PA newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda (May 15, 1998) - "Peace is a strategic choice, but it is not a sacred choice if the occupation and the Judaization continue." --- announcer on the official PA radio station the Voice of Palestine (May 15, 1998) - "Whomever has occupied part of Palestine or Jerusalem faces jihad [holy war] until Judgment Day. Our destiny is jihad..." --- Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, in the weekly Friday prayer sermon at Al-Aksa Mosque broadcast on the official PA radio station (Voice of Palestine, May 15, 1998)