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(c) 1995 Reuter Information Service
Tulkarm wants Palestinian Authority, Israeli links
TULKARM, West Bank (Dec 8, 1995 - 10:11 EST) - When Palestinian police officers arrived in the West Bank town of Tulkarm to prepare to take over from Israel, Nashaat Abu Hableh was waiting in his restaurant to serve them dinner. As they settled in, 40 meals of simple, local delicacies were laid out for them. "They are our people, our family. We can talk to them, they will listen to us," said the 37-year-old restaurant owner. "Their presence here makes us feel free from occupation." Men in uniform were not always welcome in Tulkarm. Palestinians in this forgotten, over-grown village of orange groves along the West Bank's border with Israel, are impatiently waiting to see 28 years of Israeli occupation end. But, like other Palestinians living close to the border with Israel, Tulkarm's 20,000 Arabs are also worried the Jewish state may now close its borders, suffocating their economy. Under the accord signed in Washington in September, Israel agreed to withdraw fully or partially from seven West Bank towns and hand over control to the PLO. Israel turned over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank Jericho area to the PLO in 1994. Israeli troops withdrew from Jenin in November and are due to leave Tulkarm on Sunday. The Israeli army announced on Friday that the Tulkarm district will be closed off to Israelis from Saturday afternoon until further notice. Preparations in Tulkarm for the historic day are in full gear. Israeli army officers who ran the town are clearing their desks and trucks are ferrying out military gear, furniture and important documents. Palestinian workers have swept the streets, residents are putting up welcome posters and activists are collecting donations to buy office equipment for the new administration. "We have six committees preparing for the arrival of the Palestinian Authority. Sunday is a special day for us," said Mueen Shadid, a Palestinian official. Most Palestinians are confident the Palestinian self-rule Authority will bring a security long missing under Israeli rule. Palestinian security forces have already started mediating local disputes, organising traffic and keeping law and order. But Palestinians are also eager for economic development that would reduce their dependence on Israel for jobs and trade. "The challenge here is to bring about... industrialisation that would enhance our economic and political independence," said Saber Aaref, director-general of the Tulkarm district in the Palestinian department of local authorities. Tucked in a rural area of the West Bank, Tulkarm has no industry and it survives on business from Arabs who cross the 1967 border from Israel to buy cheaper consumer goods and locally-grown vegetables and fruits. Thousands of Palestinians also travel across the border every day to work in Israeli fields and construction sites. "Whatever course the Palestinian Authoprity will take, I am sure that things will be better than under Israeli occupation, Abu Hableh said.

Israeli Settlement Works Continue in Tulkarm
Israeli settlers continued their vertical and horizontal expansion of the Israeli settlement of Saleit. So far, Israelis did not annex any new land from the villagers of Kufr Soor on which land the settlement was initially erected. Israeli bulldozers were observed leveling the grounds within the present settlement boundaries- fences and multi story units are under construction.

Israeli Brutish Procedures Hinder A Patient From Reaching Hospital In Tolkarm
The extensive Israeli siege of the West Bank have been hindering medical teams from work. In the city of Tulkarm, the Israeli soldiers at the check post of Fraou prohibited a Palestinian ambulance from entering the city. The ambulance was carrying a patient who needed an emergency treatment. After two hours of 'supplication' to the soldiers by the patient, Israeli soldiers let the ambulance in. Palestinian ambulance drivers reported that the Israeli soldiers deliberately hinder the movement of their medical teams, even in very serious cases. In other news, Jewish settlers have closed a back-country road near the vacant settlement of Avni Chefets. The road that Jews closed is the only path that leads to the Palestinian small village of Chafasi. Palestinian sources said that expanding the settlement has been going on for a while despite the fact that it is vacant.

Al-Ayyam
http://www.al-ayyam.com
Sep. 10, 1997
Translated by: Shabatai Zvi

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