Implementation of the Tenet Plan

(July 2001)

by Isaac Wolf

On June 7, 2001, CIA director George Tenet presented Israel and the Palestinian Authority with a cease-fire plan. Dubbed the Tenet Plan, the truce called on the PA to arrest terrorists, crack down on violence and end incitement through state-run media. The plan called on Israel to remove troops to pre-violence positions, not attack Palestinian targets and reduce fatalities and property damage when responding to Palestinian attacks. The following is a summary of

After several days of tense meetings, arguments and unfulfilled expectations, the Tenet Plan was adopted on June 13 when Arafat "accepted it in principle." Israel, accepting the cease-fire hours earlier, had reservations, doubting Arafat's motives. "Arafat will be tested in his actions," Cabinet Secretary Gideon Saar told Israel radio. "If he stops terrorism and prevents incitement then the program can make progress. If not, we stay in the same situation we have been in for months." Translated, Arafat's implementation of the Tenet plan would serve as a litmus for whether he would continue to use violence when it was advantageous to him, or whether he to truly wanted to make peace.

Below is a summary of both sides' implementation of the Tenet Plan:

 

Both parties will work to stabilize the security environment

Israel

  • Israel refrained from responding to almost all of the more than 150 Palestinian attacks

  • IDF operates under strict rules of engagement and has only responded to PA aggression

Palestinian Authority

  • Palestinians planted four large bombs in major cities- one containing phosphorous, a chemical that causes severe burns

 

Both parties will work to thwart acts of terror

Israel

  • Arms smuggling into PA-controlled thwarted

  • Hamas terrorists caught trying to infiltrate Israel with weapons

Palestinian Authority

  • More than 150 terror attacks against Israelis, an average of 10 per day

  • Seven Israelis lost their lives- four civilians

 

Both parties will prevent aggressive acts under their control

Israel

  • IDF troops entered Israeli civilian homes in Hebron to prevent retaliatory shooting at Palestinians after the Jewish residents came under fire by Palestinian gunmen

  • Israel investigated and arrested settlers involved in aggressive action against Palestinians and holds them accountable for their actions

Palestinian Authority

  • NO illegal weapons have been confiscated

  • NONE of the more than 100 terrorists released from jail by Arafat at the start of the violence have been arrested

  • The terrorists responsible for coordinating the suicide bombing which killed 21 Israelis at a Tel Aviv disco were released by the PA after admitting their guilt

Within one week of the commencement of security committee meetings and the resumption of complete security cooperation IDF forces will redeploy to positions held before September 28

Israel

  • Tanks pulled back in the West Bank where violence stopped - Qalqilia, Nablus, Bethlehem, Hebron, Halhoul and other locations

Palestinian Authority

  • Palestinian attacks involved 70 hand grenades, antitank grenades, 26 mortar shells, roadside bombs and suicide bombings

Both parties will immediately resume security cooperation

Israel

  • Tenet Plan instructions to employ maximum restraint relayed to IDF soldiers

  • Secure movement of PA security permitted

Palestinian Authority

  • Senior officials attend security talks but refuse to cooperate without resumption of political negotiation

Within one week of security meetings the GOI will develop a timeline for lifting internal closures

  • Israel's timeline for lifting closures is dependent upon a cessation of violence in those areas

  • After having been lifted, closures on some PA areas were reinstated after continued firing from within these areas

  • Israel opened border crossings into Jordan and Egypt for the Palestinians

  • Israel reopened the safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza for transport of commercial goods

  • Israel reopened Route 4, the main artery in Gaza, as well as a number of adjacent roads, and removed restrictions on passage to the Mawasi area, along the Gaza coast

Additional unilateral measures taken to foster an environment for peace

Israel

  • The Erez Industrial Zone, between Israel and Gaza and is where 4,000 Palestinians work, reopened

  • Palestinian fisherman permitted to fish on an extended fishing zone

  • Israel permitted food, agricultural goods and gasoline into Gaza and the West Bank

Palestinian Authority

  • PA-controlled media, including the official PA newspaper and television station, continue to incite the Palestinian people to violence

  • Permitted massive flag-burning demonstrations against the US and Israel during the visit of Secretary Powell

 

Sources: Jerusalem Post, AIPAC