A communique issued Monday by the so-called Unified Command of the intifada condemns recent death threats made in the administered territories against the Palestinian leaders who met with U.S. Secretary of State James Baker.
But the communique also threatens death to Arabs in East Jerusalem who sell their apartments to Jews and urges Palestinians to attack Jewish settlers in Hebron, to “turn their life into hell.”
Hebron has become the target of firebombings and other violent attacks in recent weeks, since mobile homes were set up for yeshiva students at a former bus station in the heart of the predominantly Arab West Bank town.
Jewish settlement groups have also been active recently in trying to expand the Jewish presence in the Moslem Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. This is often done by purchasing buildings from Arabs who own property there but do not occupy it.
Monday’s communique urged all Arabs from East Jerusalem who moved to other places to return immediately to their homes, lest they be occupied by Jews.
But the statement condemned death threats made last month against Faisal Husseini, Hanan Ashrawi and Zakariya al-Agha, in leaflets issued by the Moslem fundamentalist Islamic Jihad.
According to the communique, despite differences between various Palestinian factions, “only a democratic dialogue will unify the ranks.”
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