Text File

February 9, 1994

The Cairo Agreement

The two sides agreed on the attached text to be included in the Gaza-Jericho Agreement.

The Jericho Area

1. The size of the Jericho Area will be as depicted on the agreed map attached to this Agreement.

2. In addition, while not part of the Jericho Area:

a. Pending the entry into force of the Interim Agreement, the holy site of Nebi Mousa will be under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority for religious purposes.

b. During religious events that take place three times a year and other special occasions that will be coordinated with the Israeli authorities, Palestinians will have the right to religious pilgrimage to the al-Maghtas under the Palestinian flag.

c. Palestinian private projects, as well as joint ventures in accordance with the Declaration of Principles, will be located as agreed on the shore of the Dead Sea.

d. Safe passage will be provided from the Jericho Area to Nebi Mousa, al-Maghtas and the projects and ventures as agreed in paragraph c. above on the shore of the Dead Sea for the above mentioned purposes. Details regarding the safe passage arrangements will be included in the Gaza-Jericho Agreement.

3. Roads within Jericho city will be under Palestinian control. Joint patrols on the main roads will be operated, led by the Palestinian vehicle. The issue of Auja and its roads will be negotiated in the immediate future in Taba.

4. Religious affairs in the "Shalom Al Israel" Synagogue in Jericho will be under the auspices of the Israeli authorities.

The Gaza Strip

1. In accordance with the D.O.P., during the interim period the Gush Katif and Erez settlement areas, as well as the other settlements in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli military installation area along the Egyptian border in the Gaza Strip, as indicated on the attached map, will be under Israeli authority. In the areas delineated in yellow on the attached map and without derogating from Palestinian authority, responsibility will be shared as follows: the Israeli authorities will have the overriding responsibility and powers for security and the Palestinian Authority will have the responsibility and powers for civil affairs, subject to the Gaza-Jericho Agreement. In addition, with regard to those areas delineated in yellow, cooperation and coordination in security matters, including joint patrols, as agreed, will be implemented. Possible changes in the area designated yellow in the Southern Security Zone will be dealt with in Taba.

2. Without derogating from Palestinian authority and in accordance with the D.O.P.:

(a) On the three lateral roads connecting the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip to Israel, namely: the Kissufim-Gush Katif road; the Sufa-Gush Katif road; and the Nahal Oz-Karni- Nezzarim road, including the adjacent sides upon which the security of traffic along these roads is dependent, the Israeli authorities will have all necessary responsibilities and powers in order to conduct independent security activity, including Israeli patrols.

(b) Joint Israeli-Palestinian patrols will operate along these roads and the adjacent sides. Such joint patrols will be led by the Israeli vehicle.

(c) Where the Israeli authorities carry out engagement steps, they will do so with a view to transferring, at the earliest opportunity, the continued handling of the incidents falling within Palestinian responsibility to the Palestinian Police.

(d) Overpasses will be constructed on intersections between the lateral roads and the main north-south road.

(e) These arrangements will be reviewed by the JSCCC after one year from the date of completion of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

3. Zoning questions will be dealt with in Taba.

Other Issues

The early empowerment agreement will be negotiated in Taba, after the completion of the Gaza-Jericho Agreement. The Interim Agreement, including modalities for elections and redeployment of forces in the West Bank, will be negotiated in Washington, D.C.

February 9, 1994 FINAL VERSION

ARTICLE --

Passages

1. General

a. While Israel remains responsible during the interim period for external security, including along the Egyptian border and the Jordanian line, border crossing shall take place according to the arrangements included in this Article. These arrangements aim at creating a mechanism that facilitates the entry and exit of people and goods, reflecting the new reality created by the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles, while providing full security for both sides.

b. The arrangements included in this Article shall apply to the following border crossings:

(1) the Allenby Bridge crossing; and

(2) the Rafah crossing.

c. The same arrangements will be applied by the parties, with the necessary adjustments, to agreed seaports, airports or other international crossings, such as the Abdullah and Damya bridges.

d. The two sides are determined to do their utmost to maintain the dignity of persons passing through the border crossings. To this end, the mechanism created will rely heavily on brief and modern procedures.

e. In each border crossing there will be one terminal, consisting of two wings. The first wing will serve Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip and West Bank and visitors to these areas (hereinafter "the Palestinian Wing"). The second wing will serve Israelis and others (hereinafter "the Israeli Wing"). There will be a closed Israeli checking area and a closed Palestinian checking area, as set out below.

f. Special arrangements will apply to V.I.P.s crossing through the Palestinian Wing. The liaison bureau to be established pursuant to paragraph 5 below (hereinafter "the Liaison Bureau") will define the scope and the nature of these special arrangements.

2. Control and Management of the Passages

a. For the purpose of this Article, "passage" is defined to mean the area from the crossing-barrier at the Egyptian border or the Allenby Bridge, passing through and including the terminal and:

(1) with regard to the Allenby Bridge crossing, from the terminal up to the Jericho Area; and

(2) with regard to the Rafah crossing, from the terminal up to the outer limit of the Israel military location along the Egyptian border.

b. (1) Israel will have the responsibility for security throughout the passage, including for the terminal.

(2) An Israeli director-general will have the responsibility for the management and security of the terminal.

(3) The director-general will have two deputies who will report to him:

(a) an Israeli deputy who will be the manager of the Israeli Wing. Israel will have exclusive responsibility for the management of the Israeli Wing; and

(b) a Palestinian deputy, appointed by the Palestinian Authority, who will be the manager of the Palestinian Wing.

(4) Each deputy will have an assistant for security and an assistant for administration. The assignments of the Palestinian deputies for security and administration will be agreed upon by the two sides in Taba.

(5) There will be maximum coordination between the two sides. Both sides will maintain cooperation and coordination on matters of mutual concern.

(6) The director-general will continue to use Palestinian contractors to provide bus services and other administrative and logistical services.

(7) Palestinian policemen present at the terminal will be armed with handguns. Their deployment will be decided upon in Taba. Other Palestinian officials present at the terminal will be unarmed.

(8) The details of management and security and Liaison Bureau issues will be dealt with in Taba.

(9) The two sides will work together in Taba in order to seek ways for additional arrangements in the Rafah terminal.

(10) Both Parties will review these procedures in a year time.

c. Except for the arrangements included in this Article, the current procedures and arrangements applicable outside the terminal shall continue to apply throughout the passage.

d. (1) Once incoming passengers have crossed the terminal, they will proceed to the Jericho Area or the Gaza Strip, as appropriate, without any interference from Israeli authorities (safe passage).

(2) Outgoing passengers may proceed to the terminal without any interference from Israeli authorities after joint verification that such passengers hold the necessary documentation for exiting the area to Jordan or Egypt, as set out in this Agreement.

3. Arrangements for Entry from Egypt and Jordan through the Palestinian Wing

a. At the entrance to the Palestinian Wing there will be a Palestinian policeman and a raised Palestinian flag.

b. Before entering the Palestinian Wing, passengers will identify their personal luggage and it will be placed on a conveyor belt. Each side will be able to inspect such luggage inside its own checking area, using its own personnel and, if necessary, may open the luggage for inspection in the presence of the owner and a Palestinian policeman.

c. Persons entering the Palestinian Wing will pass through a magnetic gate. An Israeli policeman and a Palestinian policeman will be posted on each side of this gate. In the event of suspicion, each side will be entitled to require a physical inspection to be conducted in inspection booths to be located adjacent to the gate. Passengers will be inspected by a Palestinian policeman in the presence of an Israeli policeman. Accompanying personal belongings may also be inspected at this point.

d. Having completed the above phase, persons entering the Palestinian Wing will pass through one of three lanes for the purpose of identification and document control, as follows:

(1) The first lane will be used by Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area. These passengers will pass via a Palestinian counter, where their documents and identity will be checked. Their documents will be checked by an Israeli officer who will also check their identity indirectly in an invisible manner.

(2) The second lane will serve other Palestinian residents of the West Bank. These passengers will first pass via a Palestinian counter, where their documents and identity will be checked. Then they will continue via an Israeli counter, where their documents and identity will be checked. The two counters will be separated by tinted glass and a revolving door.

(3) The third lane will serve visitors to the Gaza Strip and West Bank. An identical procedure as in paragraph 3.d(2) above will apply to such visitors, except that they will first pass via the Israeli counter, and then continue via the Palestinian counter.

e. In the event of suspicion regarding a passenger in any of the three lanes described in paragraph d. above, each side may question such passenger in its closed checking area. Suspicion justifying questioning in the closed checking area may be one of the following:

(1) the passenger was involved, directly or indirectly, in criminal or planned criminal activity, in terrorist or planned terrorist activity and is not a beneficiary of the amnesty provisions of this Agreement.

(2) the passenger conceals arms, explosives -- or related equipment;

(3) the passenger holds forged or non-valid documentation or the details included in the documentation are inconsistent with those included in the population registry (in case of a resident) or in the data base (in case of a visitor), except that questions relating to such inconsistency will initially be raised at the counter and the passenger will be questioned in the closed checking area only if the suspicion has not been removed; or

(4) the passenger acts in an obviously suspicious behavior during the passage via the terminal.

If, at the conclusion of this questioning, the suspicion has not been removed, such passenger may be apprehended, after the other side has been notified. In case of a Palestinian - suspect being apprehended by the Israeli side, a Palestinian policeman will be asked to meet with the suspect. Following notification to the Liaison Bureau, any further treatment of the apprehended person will be in accordance with Annex III (Protocol Concerning Legal Arrangements in Criminal Matters).

f. In the Palestinian Wing, each side will have the authority to deny the entry of persons who are not residents of the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

For the purpose of this Agreement, "residents of the Gaza Strip and West Bank" shall mean persons who, on the date of entry into force of this Agreement, are registered as residents of these areas in the population registry maintained by the military government of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, as well as persons who have subsequently obtained permanent residency in these areas with the approval of Israel, as set out in this Agreement.

g. Following the above procedure, the passengers will collect their luggage and proceed to the customs area . (The procedures will be agreed upon in Paris.)

h. The Palestinian side will provide passengers whose entry is approved with an entry permit stamped by the Palestinian side and attached to their documents.

At the conclusion of the direct and indirect checking of the documents and identity of passengers passing via the first lane and stamping their entry permits, the Palestinian officer will provide the passenger with a white card issued by the Israeli officer. A Palestinian official posted at the exit of the Palestinian Wing will verify that the passenger holds such a white card and will collect the cards with indirect and invisible Israeli checking.

For passengers going through the second and third lanes, the Israeli officer will provide the passengers with a blue card, after checking their documents and identity, and verifying their entry permits. An Israeli and a Palestinian official posted at the exit of the Palestinian Wing will verify and collect the cards. White and blue cards collected will be checked by Israeli and Palestinian officials.

In cases where either side denies the entry of a non-resident passenger, that passenger will be escorted out of the terminal and sent back to Jordan or Egypt, as appropriate, after notifying the other side.

4. Arrangements for Exit to Egypt and Jordan through the Palestinian Wing

Passengers exiting to Egypt or Jordan through the Palestinian Wing will enter the terminal without their luggage. Thereafter, the same procedures described in paragraph 3 above will apply to them, except that the order of passing via the Israeli and Palestinian counters will be reversed.

5. Liaison Bureau

a. There will be a liaison bureau at each crossing point in order to deal with matters arising regarding passengers passing through the Palestinian Wing, issues requiring coordination, and differences regarding the implementation of these arrangements. Without derogating from Israel's responsibility for security, the bureau will also deal with incidents.

b. This bureau will be comprised of an equal number of representatives from each side and will be located at a specified location inside each terminal.

c. This bureau will be subordinate to the CAC and to the relevant RCCO.

6. Miscellaneous

a. Special arrangements will be agreed upon by the two sides regarding the passage of goods, buses, trucks and privately- owned vehicles. Pending this agreement, the current arrangements will continue to apply.

b. Israel will attempt to complete the structural alterations on the Rafah and Allenby Bridge terminals not later than the date of the completion of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area.

If these structural alterations are not completed by that time, the arrangements described in this Article shall apply, except for those arrangements that cannot be implemented without the structural alterations.

c. In order to cross through the crossing points in and out of the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area, residents of these areas will use documents as detailed in (the Annex developed by the civilian committee). Pending the entry into force of the Interim Agreement, other West Bank residents will continue to use the existing documents issued by the military government and its Civil Administration.

d. Visitors to the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area will be permitted to remain in these areas for a period of up to three months granted by the Palestinian Authority and approved by Israel. The Palestinian Authority may extend this three-month period for an additional period of up to three months and will inform Israel about the extension. Any further extensions require the approval of Israel. The Palestinian request for a a four-month period and an additional four months will be negotiated in Taba in the immediate future.

e. The Palestinian Authority will ensure that visitors referred to in paragraph d. above will not overstay the duration of their entry permit and authorized extensions.

Note - Abbreviations:

JSCCC - Joint Security Coordination and Cooperation Committee

CAC - Civil Affairs Committee

RCCO - Regional Coordination and Cooperation Office .