Inside The Maelstrom
The Editors, The Other Israel, August 10, 2002
In early March, US mediator Zinni had failed for the umpteenth time to achieve a cease-fire. The Palestinians were ready on condition that the Israeli army would stop blocking the entrances to their towns and cities, a condition which Sharon could afford not to meet. The weeks of intensive diplomatic activity followed the end of what seemed then a major operation but in retrospect looks like a dress rehearsal — Israeli forces entering for several days all West Bank cities one after the other, including house to house searches and arrests.

The growing clamor for ethnic cleansing
by Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada, August 28, 2002
An Israeli organization has published detailed plans for the "complete elimination of the Arab demographic threat to Israel" by forcibly expelling all Palestinians, including Palestinians in the occupied territories and Palestinian citizens of Israel from the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea within a 3-5 year period. Gamla, a group founded by former Israeli military officers and settlers, published these recommendations on its website in a nine thousand word manifesto titled "The logistics of transfer," penned by Boris Shusteff last July 3. The mass ethnic cleansing of every Palestinian, the author argues, is "the only possible solution" to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and is "substantiated by the Torah." (www.gamla.org.il/english) Gamla receives tax deductible contributions from a New York-based charity that claims that its goal is greater Arab-Jewish tolerance.

Human shields, and other killings of Palestinians
By Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Palestine Monitor, August 19, 2002
The tragic and unnecessary death of 19-year-old Nidal Muhsin on August the 14th highlights the Israeli illegal practice of using Palestinian civilians as “human shields.” According to army sources Nidal was given an Israeli army flak jacket and made to open the door to his neighbours house. Palestinian witnesses report he was shot dead from IDF fire. The Israeli army claims it was from Palestinian fire.

There's a more important war now - against `the ruler of the planet'
By Zvi Barel, Ha'aretz, August 28, 2002
Has anyone heard anything lately about the Saudi initiative? Has anyone heard of any other Arab initiative involving the Palestinians? When it comes to the Palestinian issue, the only item that seems to be of any interest to the Arab states is whether the Palestinian Authority will succeed in reaching a pact with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The war in Palestine has been usurped by another conflict: the war on Iraq.

Deterrents that haven't deterred
By Amira Hass, Ha'aretz, August 28, 2002 
The IDF and Shin Bet claim that demolishing the homes of terror suspects and expelling their families to Gaza is a deterrence that has already yielded results. Such an opinion relies on the ignorance or willful amnesia of the Israeli public.

Analysis: The new battle for regional control
By Zvi Barel, Ha'aretz, August 28, 2002
An American assumption that what is said behind closed doors is more important than what the public is told has backfired. Arab leaders - including those who in private encouraged President George Bush to get rid of Saddam Hussein - now see how the threat to Saddam has become a direct threat to them.

Palestinian Icon Remains an Inspiration
By Haithem El-Zabri, Palestine Chronicle, August 28, 2002
Mustafa Zabri's assassination on August 27, 2001, was a shock to the Palestinians and a date that became etched into the Palestinian collective memory. It was also a stark reminder of the lengths Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will go to in his effort to crush the Palestinian will. Abu Ali Mustafa, the nom-de-guerre he was more commonly known by, was the most senior Palestinian leader to be assassinated since 1988, when a team led by Ehud Barak assassinated PLO leader Abu Jihad in Tunis.

Gaza-Bethlehem First ...and Last!
By Khalid Amayreh, Palestine Chronicle, August 27, 2002
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his bellicose military establishment have effectively decided to eviscerate the “Gaza-Bethlehem First agreement” with the Palestinian Authority of all substance by stepping up attacks and collective punishment against the Palestinians.

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