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Violence Could Erupt if Summit Fails: Israeli Military
Violence could erupt throughout the territories if the three-way Camp David summit fails, said a senior Israeli military intelligence officer Tuesday.
The Palestinians could take to the streets again and militant groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip could storm the Jewish settlements and conduct other anti-Israel activists, Military Intelligence Chief Amos Malka told the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee of the Knesset (parliament).
The information gathered by the military intelligence showed that the Palestinians are watching closely the development at Camp David and if no agreement is reached during the summit, the situation in the territories could again spin out of control, he said.
The military intelligence is of the view that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will unilaterally declare an independent Palestinian state in the territories if the summit achieves no results, he added.
The Palestinian leadership does not want violence to erupt again, but they are also worried of the situation if the summit fails to resolve the emotive issues that have fueled the Israeli- Palestinian bloody conflict for decades, he pointed out.
Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas (Islamic Militant Resistance Movement) and Islamic Jihad (holy war fighters) are ready to sabotage the summit by launching attacks, and in the long run their aim could be directed at Jewish settlements, he said.
Anyway, he said, the Israeli military was instructed to be well prepared and Israeli and Palestinian security forces had been put on high alert to prevent the sort of bombings and shootings that have derailed peacemaking in the past, he said.
Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak are at Camp David near Washington and have started their summit Tuesday to try to resolve the key issues such as the fate of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, borders and Jewish settlements, under the watchful eyes of United States President Bill Clinton.
The summit will last for over a week.
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