GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- The Palestinians took the next step toward carrying out the Wye River land-for-security agreement on Friday, even though Israel has suspended its implementation for now.

The PLO Executive Committee began preparing for a mid-December gathering in Gaza City under the auspices of President Clinton that is intended to reaffirm pledges that the Palestinians no longer seek Israel's destruction.A related crisis with Israel, however, already was shaping up.

Under the Wye agreement, the Palestine National Council, the Palestinians' parliament-in-exile, and various Palestinian groups are to meet Dec. 14. The council and the others are to "reaffirm" a letter to Clinton in which Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declares clauses of the PLO founding charter calling for Israel's destruction null and void.

Israel maintains the PNC is required to take a vote by a show of hands. The Palestinians say the Wye agreement does not call for a vote.

"There will be no vote in this meeting," Zakaria Agha, a PLO Executive Committee member, said after the Friday evening meeting.

After the PNC session, 5 percent of the West Bank is to be transferred from sole Israeli control to joint Israeli-Palestinian jurisdiction.

However, David Bar-Illan, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggested Friday that there would be no handover of land without a PNC vote.

"It has been made clear that Israel will not withdraw troops if the Palestinians do not adhere to their commitments under the Wye agreement," Bar-Illan said. "We will bring it up with the Americans."

As part of the agreement, the Arafat letter listing the PLO charter clauses considered revoked undergoes a three-stage process of approval.

View Comments

Last month, the 18-member PLO Executive Committee reaffirmed the letter. On Thursday, Agha said the 120-member Palestinian Central Council, which is comprised of senior Palestinian officials and legislators, will approve the letter by a vote.

The final step is the PNC session four days later at Shawa Cultural Center in Gaza City. About 1,500 people were expected to hear speeches by Clinton and Arafat. The PNC has more than 500 members, including many who live abroad. Members of various Palestinian groups also were to attend.

The PLO Executive Committee asked the PNC chairman, Salim Zanoun, on Friday to begin sending invitations for the gatherings Thursday and Dec. 14, Agha said.

Meanwhile, 2,500 Palestinians jailed by Israel for anti-Israeli activities also prepared for Clinton's Dec. 12-15 visit to the region, planning a hunger strike to press for their early release.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.