Communicated by the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel, September 9, 1998

— The Agreement —

Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is
prohibited from operating in Jerusalem.

The Interim Agreement (“Oslo 2″), which was signed on September 28, 1995,
sets limits on the PA’s jurisdiction, stating that it does not include
“issues that will be negotiated in the permanent status negotiations:
Jerusalem, settlements, specified military locations, Palestinian refugees,
borders, foreign relations and Israelis” (Article XVII (1a)). Thus, the PA
is barred from exercising any authority or conducting any activity in
Jerusalem.

In the Note for the Record which accompanied the Hebron Protocol of January
15, 1997, the PA reaffirmed that, “Exercise of Palestinian governmental
activity, and location of Palestinian governmental offices, will be as
specified in the Interim Agreement.”

— The Violations —

The PA continues to intensify its activities in Jerusalem in violation of
the Oslo Accords. Following is a list of the 20 PA institutions operating
illegally in the city:

– Palestinian “Ministries” –

1. Ministry for Jerusalem Affairs – located in the Orient House and run by
   PA Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Faisal Husseini, it functions as a base
   for Palestinian activities in the city, including organizing protests and
   press conferences, raising funds and purchasing Jerusalem real estate on
   behalf of the PA.
2. Ministry for Religious Affairs – located on Shalshelet Street, at the
   entrance to the Temple Mount in the Old City, it oversees Muslim religious
   matters. PA Minister for Religious Affairs Hassan Tahboub recently passed
   away and Yasser Arafat is expected to nominate a replacement shortly.Ministry official Ibrahim Kandelaft acts as PA representative to the
   Christian communities. He regularly participates in church conferences and
   ceremonies in Jerusalem.
3. Ministry of Education – the Ministry has taken control of the private
   educational system in eastern Jerusalem which serves nearly half of the
   city’s Arab students. Schools run by the Muslim Wakf, Christian churches
   and UNRWA operate with special permits issued by the Ministry, and they
   utilize curriculums, books and tests prepared by it. The Palestinian
   Legislative Council recently approved the “First Palestinian Curriculum”,
   which will likely be introduced into schools run by the PA Education
   Ministry.
4. Ministry of Health – the Ministry has intensified its activities in
   Jerusalem, seeking to extend its control over health institutions in the
   Arab sector (see #17 below). The Ministry issues licenses to doctors
   operating in Jerusalem, and the PA Health Minister recently declared that
   health institutions in Jerusalem were an integral part of the Palestinian
   health system and incorporated them into the PA’s five-year development plan.
5. Ministry of Finance – the Ministry has pressured Palestinian merchants
   in eastern Jerusalem to register their businesses as Palestinian firms
   under PA supervision and to report regularly on their commercial activities
   for tax purposes. Merchants refusing to do so have been threatened with
   having their products boycotted in PA areas.
6. Ministry of Transportation – the Ministry issues licenses to Palestinian
   taxis and transportation services operating in Jerusalem, and the
   Ministry’s Director-General is involved in establishing public
   transportation lines between Sur Baher and central Jerusalem as well as
   Bethlehem.
7. Ministry of Housing / Palestinian Housing Council – the Housing Council,
   part of the PA Housing Ministry, oversees planning for building projects in
   the PA areas and Jerusalem, and engages in fundraising on their behalf. The
   Council provides loans and aid to Palestinians in eastern Jerusalem.Members of its board of directors include the PA’s Minister of Justice and
   Minister of Housing. The Housing Council’s leadership has held working
   meetings with PA Chairman Arafat.
8. Ministry of Trade and Industry/ Palestinian Small Business Project -
   located in the Wadi Joz neighborhood, the Small Business Project is an arm
   of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Its stated purpose is to assist and
   encourage Palestinian small businesses. The PA uses it as a cover for
   disbursing funds to various Palestinian projects in Jerusalem. Headed by
   Butina Shahana.
9. Ministry of Youth and Sports – operating out of an office in A-Ram, the
   Ministry runs various youth clubs and sports activities in Arab-populated
   sections of Jerusalem. Under the ministry’s guidance, Jerusalem sporting
   groups serve as active members of PA-supervised sports associations.
10. Ministry of Tourism / Higher Council for Arab Tourism – the Higher
    Council is an arm of the Ministry of Tourism and it works in conjunction
    with the Orient House, the Jerusalem District Governor and members of the
    Palestinian Legislative Council to promote Palestinian tourism projects in
    Jerusalem. Headed by Hani Abu Dayah.
11. Ministry of Information / WAFA – WAFA, the official Palestinian news
    agency, is subordinate to the Palestinian Ministry of Information. It
    opened a branch on Ibn Abu Taleb Street in the Friteh building in eastern
    Jerusalem.** Other PA institutions **
12. Office of the Mufti of Jerusalem and the Holy Land – located on the
    Temple Mount, it is the main office of PA Mufti Ikrama Sabri. Sabri issues
    religious edicts, including a prohibition on the sale of land to Jews and
    on applying for an Israeli passport. He gives sermons at Al-Aksa Mosque in
    which he regularly denies Israel’s right to exist, glorifies suicide
    bombing attacks and denies any Jewish connection to the Western Wall. Sabri
    also travels to areas within pre-1967 Israel for working meetings with
    Israeli Arabs.
13. Palestinian Security Forces – Palestinian security agents conduct a
    range of activities in Jerusalem which include detentions,
    intelligence-gathering, criminal investigations and enforcing orders and
    instructions issued by PA Chairman Arafat.In an effort to silence
    opponents of the PA, agents belonging to Jibril Rajoub’s Preventive
    Security Service have threatened and intimidated Palestinian journalists
    and editors as well as critics of PA Chairman Arafat. Rajoub’s men
    intervene in business and other disputes, and have sought to prevent
    Palestinians from filing complaints with the Israel Police. They have also
    punished perpetrators of “moral crimes”. PA agents serve as bodyguards for
    various Palestinian personalities in Jerusalem, such as PA Mufti Ikrama
    Sabri, and provide security for Palestinian institutions in the city.

    Palestinian security agents are also active on the Temple Mount, where they
    occasionally provide security during prayers. During Ramadan prayers, their
    presence on the Mount increases. They frequently conduct patrols on major
    thoroughfares in the eastern part of the city, both on foot and by car.

14. Jerusalem District Governor – The PA appointed Jamil Othman Nasser to
    serve as Governor of the Jerusalem District. His office is located in Abu
    Dis, outside Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, but Nasser conducts
    activities within the city, providing its residents with a range of
    services and involving himself in various matters. For example, on October
    23, 1996, he joined a Force 17 in an attempt to wrest control over the
    Muslim religious establishment on the Temple Mount from the Jordanians. He
    also involves himself in resolving disputes among Palestinians in Jerusalem.
15. Palestinian Legislative Council – many of the seven Jerusalem
    representatives on the Palestinian Legislative Council operate out of
    offices located in Jerusalem, among them Hatam Abdel Kader.
16. Arab Studies Society – operates out of the Orient House under the
    leadership of Faisal Husseini. Under the cover of a research institute, it
    serves the interests of the PA by carrying out surveys and obtaining
    information on its behalf.
17. Al-Mokassad Hospital – The PA recently seized control over the hospital
    after the personal intervention of Yasser Arafat. The PA fired the
    hospital’s administration and appointed its own people to replace it. The
    hospital and much of its staff operate without the requisite licenses
    required by Israeli law.
18. Office of Mapping and Geography – operated in the Wadi Joz neighborhood
    until Israel demanded its closure in August 1996. The PA promised to
    relocate the office to Abu Dis, outside Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries.
    Despite this commitment, the PA reopened the office in Orient House, where
    it continues to operate under the direction of Khalil Toufakji.
19. Palestinian Energy Center – located in Beit Hanina, it develops
    Palestinian energy strategy and programming. Established by a “presidential
    decree” of Yasser Arafat on December 20, 1993, its main office opened on
    September 26, 1994. On its internet site on the World Wide Web, the PEC
    states, “In July 1996, the center became part of the President’s Office,
    and subject to the decisions made by the President himself.”
20. Palestinian Prisoners’ Club – working under the authority of the
    Palestinian Ministry of Welfare, it provides loans, aid and professional
    training to former Palestinian security prisoners. Though Israel ordered it
    to close, it continues to operate in Jerusalem.

– Recent examples of illegal PA activity in Jerusalem –

• On July 1, 1998, the Palestinian Ministry of Culture sought to hold a
  folklore festival at the al-Hakawati theater in eastern Jerusalem. Israeli
  police canceled the event.
• On May 26, 1998, approximately 40 members of the PA’s Legislative Council
  (PLC), including six PA “Ministers”, gathered in the Old City of Jerusalem
  to protest Jewish construction. Abu Alaa, speaker of the PLC, declared it
  to be an “historic event” and announced that it was the first official PLC
  meeting convened in Jerusalem. Israeli police dispersed the meeting.
• In March 1998, 16 surveyors working on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of
  Transportation were detained in Jerusalem by the PA and taken to Ramallah
  and Abu Dis for interrogation.
• In February 1998, the PA attempted to set up a security company in the
  city to be used as cover for the operations of its security forces.
• In February 1998, the PA Ministry of Youth and Sports attempted to
  convene four conferences in Jerusalem.
• In December 1997, the PA attempted to conduct a population census in
  eastern Jerusalem.