Killings of dozens once again called "period of calm" by US media
By Michael Brown and Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 20 September 2002
Many US media reports were quick to declare that two suicide bombings in Israel on September 18 and 19, in which eight Israelis were killed, had brought an end to a period of "calm" simply because there had been no similar attacks for six weeks and few Israelis had been victims of Palestinian violence. In fact, the bombings came at the end of a particularly bloody period in which dozens of Palestinians, most of them unarmed civilians, and a large number of them children, had been killed and injured by Israeli occupation forces. In effect, the definition of "calm" or a "lull in violence" inherent in these reports is 'only Palestinians are being killed.'

Nothing doing
By Brian Whitaker, The Guardian, September 24, 2002
A new Palestinian report on UN resolutions exposes the double standards at the heart of Bush's rationale for action against Iraq: In his speech to the United Nations earlier this month, President George Bush emphasised the need for action rather than words. "We created the United Nations security council, so that, unlike the League of Nations, our deliberations would be more than talk, our resolutions would be more than wishes," he said. "All the world now faces a test, and the United Nations a difficult and defining moment," he continued. "Are security council resolutions to be honoured and enforced, or cast aside without consequence? [...] Right now those resolutions are being unilaterally subverted by the Iraqi regime."
The same could be said of various other countries, but most notably Israel. Throughout its history, the security council has never once taken enforcement action over Israel's flouting of UN resolutions or its violations of international law.

Yes, there is a link
The Guardian Editorial, September 25, 2002
Bush must push for Middle East progress: That the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Iraq crisis are inextricably linked becomes more obvious almost by the day. Common sense suggests that a lasting solution to one is unlikely, if not impossible, without a solution to the other. Tony Blair seems to understand this. He noted yesterday that the Arab world's "genuine resentment" at the moribund state of the Middle East peace process may adversely affect western efforts to pressure Saddam Hussein. The prime minister's call for an international conference to jump-start the process should not be seen, despite its suspect timing, as a mere ploy to placate regional feeling and smooth the path to Baghdad. Mr Blair has repeatedly and rightly urged the Bush administration to address the problem with greater urgency. He did so again during his recent Camp David visit. If Saddam has moved beyond containment and is clambering out of his box, as Mr Blair fears, then all the more reason to stop him exploiting Arab-Israeli tensions to bolster his position. To do this, the peace process must be revived and a heads-of-government conference, with everything on the table, is as good a way as any.

An Israeli campaign that can’t work
By Dr. James Zogby, Arab News, September 25, 2002
I got in trouble this week. Some American Jewish leaders became upset with me because I have been widely quoted referring to their pro-Israel advertising campaign as “racist.” Their campaign, the first time that major Jewish organizations have used national television advertising to promote Israel, was prompted by polling data which shows that Israel’s image in the US has been hurt by the behavior of the Sharon government and the continued violence in the West Bank and Gaza. In an effort to rebuild that image, the groups, again relying on polling data have designed ads that project a message claiming that the US and Israel “share common values.”

Artificial Crisis, Artificial Response
By Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, September 24, 2002
If it were to be judged only by its text, Palestinians should be largely satisfied with UN Resolution 1435 passed early on September 24 by 14 votes to 0 with the US abstaining. The resolution demanded that "Israel immediately cease measures in and around Ramallah, including the destruction of Palestinian civilian and security infrastructure," and that the siege of Yasser Arafat's headquarters be brought to an "immediate end." It also demanded the "expeditious withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from Palestinian cities towards the return to the positions held prior to September 2000."

The role of leadership in a democracy
By Hasan Abu-Nimah, The Electronic Intifada, September 25, 2002
History is mostly a process of trial and error. Most people in any sort of activity or trade learn from their mistakes and make sure to avoid them. In politics, though, things may be slightly different. When leaders commit serious mistakes, they step aside and let others take charge. Politicians can only err once. Many factors have been, over the decades, contributing to the ongoing tragedy of the Palestinian people. One in particular is the evident inability of the Palestinian leadership, the PLO and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to conduct a regular review of their disastrous performance and policies. It does indeed require a lot more courage to engage in a serious process of introspection, see and acknowledge with a higher degree of responsibility one's own mistakes, than simply engage in a self-redeeming and often futile effort to rationalise and justify. But that also requires honesty, a great deal of self denial, limitless dedication to the cause and an unquestionable commitment to the trust people placed in their leaders.

Until they take to the streets
By Gideon Samet, Ha'aretz, September 25, 2002
The murder in Hebron, like the murders in Tel Aviv last week, presents the events at the Muqata in a light that is surrealistic, in the full sense of the word. Alongside the continuing terror killings, the military show of hand opposite the shreds of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's headquarters is becoming non-real, detached from life. The more sophisticated the demolition gets and as the control becomes ostensibly absolute, the more they recede from the facts that are relevant to the conflict.

Is the Ball Really in Arafat’s .. Basement?
By Ramzy Baroud, Palestine Chronicle, September 23, 2002
Only someone who relies on the New York Times or CNN, admires the opinion of columnists such as Thomas Friedman, and finds the official statements of Israeli government spokespersons convincing, would find a direct relationship between bombings in Israel and keeping Palestinian President Yasser Arafat “isolated”.  Those who have the will or power to fight off the official, and non-official Israeli propaganda which is bombarding the world, but mostly the United States, must immediately realize the obvious fallacy in the Israeli logic.