Issued by: The Department of Foreign Affairs
MEDIA STATEMENT ON VIOLENCE AND DEATHS IN PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
The Department of Foreign Affairs responded with dismay to reports of yesterday's violence in the Palestinian territories which resulted in the deaths of several Palestinian demonstrators, one of them apparently an eight-year-old boy, at the hands of Israeli troops. Given the current serious impasse in the Peace Process, the existence of Israeli settlers with an accompanying military presence in Palestinian areas such as Gaza, Bethlehem and Hebron can only serve to heighten the risk of confrontation.
This in turn emphasises the need for a speedy Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian land as envisaged under the Oslo Accords. In condemning the deaths and injuries suffered, the Department called for all concerned to exercise restraint and for calm to prevail.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS PRETORIA 15 MAY 1998