Hanan Ashrawi's Vow that PLO will Never Extradite Terrorists Violates Oslo

August 18, 1997

In another blatant violation of the Oslo accords, Palestinian Authority cabinet minister Hanan Ashrawi has vowed that the PLO/PA will "never" extradite any terrorists to Israel.

In an interview on the PLO's Voice of Palestine Radio, on August 12, 1997, Ashrawi was asked "Is it possible to extradite a Palestinian to Israel?" She replied: "This is simply impossible. It has never happened and will never happen. The Palestinian leadership is determined and has taken very clear decisions on this matter. It is unthinkable and is not even being considered."

The PLO is required by Oslo II to extradite all terrorists whom Israel requests (Annex IV, Article 2, par.7b & par.7f [1]). This requirement was reaffirmed in the Note for the Record attached to the January 1997 Hebron accord.

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is urging Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to publicly denounce Ashrawi's statement and pressure the PLO to fulfill its Oslo obligation by honoring Israel's requests for the transfer 31 terrorists.

Earlier this year, an Israeli Government report revealed that 11 of the 31 wanted terrorists "are either serving in the Palestinian police or are in the process of joining its ranks."

Israeli Justice Minister Tzahi Hanegbi has said that the wanted terrorists who are serving in the PLO-PA police or government are given promotions in accordance with how many Jews they have murdered.

The government report concluded that "The PA's failure to transfer terror suspects to Israel is a flagrant violation of the Oslo Accords. By refusing to turn them over to Israel, the PA has allowed terrorists to go unpunished, thereby encouraging others to carry out attacks in the knowledge that they will not have to answer for their actions."

Four of the terrorists whom Israel wants extradited were involved in the murder of American citizens:

• Nafez Mahmoud Sabih - helped plan several suicide bombings in 1996, including the February 1996 attack on a Jerusalem bus, in which Jewish Theological Seminary students Sara Duker and Matthew Eisenfeld were murdered.

• Muhi a-Din a-Sharif - transported the explosives to the terrorist who carried out the August 1995 attack on a Jerusalem bus, in which Connecticut schoolteacher Joan Davenny was murdered.

• Abd al-Majid Dudin - trained terrorists who carried out several suicide bombings, including the terrorist who carried out the August 1995 attack on a Jerusalem bus, in which Connecticut schoolteacher Joan Davenny was murdered.