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Israel Government Press Office

MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT FURTHER REDEPLOYMENTS

Following is a clarification of four common misunderstandings concerning the Further Redeployment (FRD) of Israeli forces in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank):

MYTH
Israel is obligated to withdraw from 90% of Judea and Samaria during the three Further Redeployments.
FACT
The Oslo 2 Accords make no mention of percentages or the size of territory from which Israel is to withdraw. There is no basis in the accord for the Palestinian claim that Israel must pull back from all or most of Judea and Samaria.
MYTH
Israel is obligated to negotiate the extent of each withdrawal with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
FACT
Nowhere in the Oslo Accords does it state that the extent of each withdrawal is to be a subject of negotiations between the two sides. Israel has the sole authority to decide the extent of the withdrawals. This position is supported by the United States. A statement issued by the State Department spokesman on January 15, 1997, at the time of the signing of the Hevron Accord, said, "The Note for the Record, prepared by the United States at the request of the parties, makes clear that further redeployment phases are issues for implementation by Israel rather than issues for negotiation with the Palestinians."
MYTH
Just as the PA has fulfilled its obligations under the accords, so too Israel must now carry out the FRDs.
FACT
Under the January 15, 1997 Hevron accord, both Israel and the PA undertook a series of obligations listed in the accord and in the Note for the Record accompanying it. Israel has fulfilled all of its obligations:
- withdrawal of Israeli forces from most of Hevron;
- delineation of areas to be evacuated in the first FRD;
- release of Palestinian prisoners;
- resumption of negotiations on outstanding issues; and
- agreement on the resumption of permanent status talks.
The PA has not fulfilled any of its obligations:
- to complete the revision of the PLO covenant which calls for Israel's destruction;
- to fight terror and prevent violence, including uprooting the infrastructure of terror groups, the confiscation of illegal firearms, the apprehension and punishment of terrorists, the transfer of terror suspects to Israel, the prevention of incitement to violence and the strengthening of security cooperation with Israel;
- to reduce the size of the Palestinian police to the number permitted by Oslo 2 (the Palestinian police currently consist of at least 35,500 men, or nearly 50% more than the 24,000 allowed); and
- to refrain from governmental activity in areas not under PA jurisdiction, such as Jerusalem.
Israel has complied with all of its commitments. The PA has violated all of its obligations.
MYTH
Israel is responsible for the delay in the implementation of the first FRD.
FACT
Under the Note for the Record accompanying the January 15, 1997 Hevron accord, Israel was obligated to carry out the first phase of the further redeployment in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) during the first week of March 1997.
On March 6, 1997, the Israeli Cabinet voted to approve the first phase of the redeployment, consisting of 9.1% of the territory. This figure includes 7% of territory that is currently Area B (Israeli security control, Palestinian civilian control) and 2.1% of Area C (exclusive Israeli control). The redeployment would have tripled the amount of territory under exclusive Palestinian control in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). The Palestinians rejected the Israeli Cabinet decision, thus causing the delay of its implementation on the ground.

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