- Title: VARIOUS: ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS GIVE MIXED REACTION TO THE END OF TALKS
- Date: 3rd October 1996
- Summary: EFRAT, BETHLEHEM AND HEBRON, WEST BANK/ GAZA CITY, GAZA (OCTOBER 3, 1996) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK 1. SLV ISRAELI ARMY SOLDIERS AT ROADBLOCK AT THE ENTRANCE TO BETHLEHEM 0.12 2. SLV ISRAELI ARMOURED VEHICLES AT ROADBLOCK/ ISRAELI SOLDIERS CHECKING CARS 0.19 EFRAT JEWISH SETTLEMENT, WEST BANK
- Embargoed: 18th October 1996 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: EFRAT, HEBRON AND BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK/ GAZA CITY, GAZA
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Reuters ID: LVA17XTCZGXMKR4QO3L6GJM1KG4Y
- Story Text: INTRO: Israeli troops throughout the West Bank and Gaza remain on high alert, a day after a Washington peace summit which Israel hailed as a victory but the PLO called a failure.
The West Bank and Gaza Strip were quiet on Thursday (October 3) morning, with Jewish settlers praising Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his tough stand during the summit.
Jewish settlers in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his tough stand during the summit.
Settler Eliezer Alderstein said he was very happy that Netanyahu decided he would not let murder and terror dictate Israeli policies.
Another settler said although the future did not seem very optimistic to her, she was happy that Israel now had a Prime Minister who was standing up for his people.
In Hebron, the only West Bank city yet to be handed to the PLO under a self-rule deal signed last year, Palestinians expressed their deep disappointment with the summit results.
"The mad ideas of Netanyahu will damage the whole peace process," one Palestinian said.
Israeli officials said on Wednesday the Palestinians were making unacceptable demands for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank town of Hebron and Israel insisted on better security concessions.
Settlers in Hebron said they did not believe the Israeli government would abandon the Jewish community by placing security in Palestinian hands.
Hebron settlers spokesperson, Noam Arnon, said the only solution for Hebron was for security to remain under Israeli control.
Israel imposed a curfew on Hebron during last week's fierce clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops. Fifty-eight Palestinians and 15 Israelis were killed in the fighting.
During a few hours break in the military curfew on Thursday, Palestinians threw stones at Israeli soldiers but no major clashes were reported.
Hebron Mayor Mustafa Natshe said he thought the Washington summit had failed and blamed Netanyahu for the high tension in Hebron.
"If redeployment is delayed again .... this will lead to a bad situation in the city," he said.
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