Many Iowa State students, professors and Ames residents had a vested interest in the Israeli-PLO peace accord signed Sept. 28 in Washington. The agreement will extend autonomy to about 1 million Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israel has controlled the area since 1967 when Israeli troops captured it from Jordan in the Arab-Israeli War. The controversial plan calls for the gradual redeployment of Israeli troops from the area. But protests from both sides have been violent and numerous.

Rebecca Miller, adviser to the General Union of Palestine Students at ISU, said she is disappointed that the accord allows 450 Jewish settlers to stay in the city of Hebron, an area where one settler massacred 29 Palestinians in 1994.

“It’s not a long-range solution to leave the settlers in a predominately Arab town,” Miller said. “[The Israelis] deliberately went to someone else’s land and said ‘God gave this to us.’ These are political people, not refugees as many people in America think. The Muslims are an invaded people.”

Wassef Masri, whose family is Palestinian, returned to ISU from the West Bank in August. He said he is hopeful because of the accord but believes there is “skepticism in the future.”

“Israelis came in and confiscated houses and kicked Palestinians out of their homes,” Masri said. “This creates problems as you can understand … Because people are so emotionally involved in this, it will take time for people to think we can coexist.”

Masri said he hopes the accord will “build trust and that as a result [Palestinians and Israelis] will be willing to compromise on tough issues in the future.”

Ron Jackson, adviser to Hillel, a Jewish support system on campus, said he is also hopeful about the accord. “It’s unfortunate that it is “difficult for some [people] to get along.” Jackson said.

In the past he said Israel used “violent and oppressive means [to control Arab terrorism], which is totally against the Jewish tradition,” Jackson said.

There is fear, Jackson said, that Arab militants will continue their acts of terrorism and that Yasir Arafat, leader of the PLO, will be unable to control them.

“The biggest concern that the Israelis have is their security,” said Harvey Lapan, a professor of Economics and a member of the Ames synagogue. The proposed boundaries are “unusual,” Lapan said. Tel Aviv, the industrial center of Israel, is eight miles from the Jordan River, which marks the border to the West Bank.