Israel Reopens Talks with Palestine Liberation Organisation, Lifting Gaza Strip Closure

Strategic Insights -

A dramatic week of crisis with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has come to an end as Israel announced it would resume talks with the group and lift a closure of the Gaza Strip. The move follows the devastating kidnapping and murder of Israeli Corporal Nachshon Waxman by Islamic militants. The negotiations on Palestinian elections and self-rule in the occupied West Bank will reopen in Cairo on Tuesday, marking a return to diplomatic efforts after a week of heightened tensions. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's office confirmed the decision, citing the failure of a rescue mission and the subsequent closure of the Gaza Strip.

Key Takeaways:

  • Israel announced it would resume talks with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in Cairo on Tuesday.
  • The negotiations will focus on Palestinian elections and widening self-rule in the occupied West Bank.
  • A closure of the Gaza Strip, imposed after the kidnapping and murder of Israeli Corporal Nachshon Waxman, will be lifted on Tuesday.
  • The Israeli Cabinet decided to reopen the talks and the Gaza Strip after a failed rescue mission.
  • Islamic extremists have threatened a civil war if the PLO chief, Yasser Arafat, continues to arrest fundamentalists in the crackdown.
  • About 15,000 Israelis attended Corporal Waxman's midnight funeral, which marked the end of a week of great drama and Middle East diplomacy.
  • The PLO threw itself into a frantic search effort in the Gaza Strip, mounting joint patrols with Israeli troops.
  • Hamas had taken Corporal Waxman to a house in the West Bank, where he was killed in a rescue mission.
  • The commander of the rescue mission, Lieutenant General Ehud Barak, said he believed the Hamas men shot Corporal Waxman in the face and chest from close range.

Statistics:

  • 15,000: Number of Israelis who attended Corpus Waxman's midnight funeral.
  • 2-3: Number of Hamas men who were killed during the rescue mission.
  • 19: The age of Corporal Nachshon Waxman, the Israeli hostage who was killed by Hamas militants.

Sources:

  • Israel said today it would resume talks with the Palestine Liberation Organisation and lift a closure of the Gaza Strip, ending a crisis with its Palestinian peace partner over the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Islamic militants (Associated Press).
  • The negotiations on Palestinian elections and widening self-rule in the occupied West Bank will reopen in Cairo on Tuesday, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's office said (Associated Press).
  • Dozens of soldiers held each other and wept as about 15,000 Israelis attended Corporal Waxman's midnight funeral (Associated Press).
  • General Yitzhak Mordechai told the mourners that commandos were seconds late in saving him (Associated Press).
  • Hamas called a day of mourning for the three "martyrs" killed during the Israeli raid (Associated Press).
  • Mr Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Information Minister in the self-rule Government, suggested that the crackdown would continue (Associated Press).