(Jerusalem Post) Khaled Abu Toameh - While Israelis distinguish between such settlements as Ma'aleh Adumim and Gush Etzion, which they regard as within the national consensus, the Palestinians make no such distinction. The issue of the illegal outposts does not seem these days to be at the top of the Palestinian agenda. Many Palestinians admit that they do not even know where most of these outposts are located because they do not distinguish between one settlement and another. According to Hatem Abdel Kader, a Fatah lawmaker from Jerusalem, settlements include the Jewish neighborhoods built in Jerusalem after the Six-Day War, such as French Hill, Ramot, Gilo, Pisgat Ze'ev, and Armon Hanatziv. "We believe there will be a rise in the number of attacks against settlers once the fence is completed," says another Fatah legislator from Ramallah. "These settlers will become easy targets because the fence will make it very difficult to carry out an attack inside Israel."
2004-01-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive