Israeli and Palestinian officials will hold talks on Saturday evening which Israel had postponed after two deadly attacks earlier in the week, an Israeli political source said.
The source said Israel's team led by Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and minister Dani Naveh would meet a Palestinian delegation headed by chief negotiator Saeb Erekat to discuss ways to ease security and economic conditions for Palestinians.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned Israel on Friday that destroying Palestinian homes and deporting relatives of suicide bombers amounted to collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
While Annan "has repeatedly condemned suicide bombings and upheld Israel's right to defend itself, the secretary-general wishes to make clear that self defense cannot justify measures that amount to collective punishments," spokeswoman Hua Jiang said.
Israeli security sources said Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein had set terms for the possible deportation of relatives of Palestinian bombers to the Gaza Strip from the West Bank if they were found to have links to plans for attacks.
"The secretary-general is disturbed by reports that the Israeli government has again destroyed the homes of Palestinians in the West Bank and are considering the forcible transfer of relatives of suicide bombers from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip," Jiang said in a statement.
Both the United States and France denounced the Israeli plan. "We believe that these actions will not solve Israel's security problems," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters.
And France warned that Israel would be violating the Geneva Convention. "The 4th Geneva Convention applies in this case," the French foreign ministry said. Article 147 of that convention, which protects civilians during conflicts, states that the "unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person" would constitute a grave breach. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
