Palestinian Children in the Night
By Sam Bahour, The Electronic Intifada, November 29, 2002
It happened last night. Ramallah was pitch dark and the breeze was cool and brisk. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I was out during the night with my wife and two daughters, Areen, 8 and Nadine, 2. We were taking advantage of the lull in nightly curfews imposed by the Israeli military over the past year. We found ourselves in the midst of a crowd of over 300 cheering Palestinians. Between us and another group of a few dozen Palestinian youth were two United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) representatives. The two representatives were clearly American, in looks and accent. A few of the Palestinians standing behind the UNDP representatives slowly walked up behind them and one pulled from a bag what looked like a one meter wooden bat. Our hearts beating, and before we could clearly make out what was happening, the Palestinian boy holding this object unraveled a most beautiful and colorful Palestinian embroidery piece. The embroidery was attached to a wooden rod and the Palestinian teenager proudly held it up and presented it to the two UNDP representatives as a gift for their support. This was the final few minutes in what was a moving and fabulous one-hour début of the Palestinian Folk Vista, by Bara’em El-Funoun, a new generation of the El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe.

For Israelis - and Jews everywhere - fear is now international
By Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian, November 29, 2002
The sick fact is that, by Israeli standards, this was not a particularly big one. Suicide bombings inside the country regularly claim a dozen Israeli lives or more, while the terrorists who attacked the Paradise hotel outside Mombasa yesterday killed as many of themselves as they did Israelis (three each). If terror were a crude matter of numbers, the African murders would have less significance than, say, yesterday's raid on a Likud party office in Beit Shean, which killed five. But numbers are not always decisive. Location matters too. Which is why yesterday's double assault from Kenya will strike so hard. First, it will deepen yet further Israelis' state of fear. For more than two years Israelis have lived with the daily possibility of violent and random death within their own borders. Every parent worries that the bus carrying their child could blow to pieces; a trip to the mall could be a deathtrap; a pizzeria could be a minefield. That constant fear has seeped into the marrow of the society. Nothing is normal.

A new opportunity for peace in Mideast
By Nizar Abdel-Kader, Arab News, November 30, 2002
The Arab peace initiative, which was adopted by the Beirut Arab Summit on March 28, 2002, expressed for the first time a unanimous Arab will to achieve peace with security for all the states in the Middle East. It was intended to generate a new atmosphere by shifting the focus from military confrontation back to the political stage. However, it was misunderstood by the Israeli government and the Israeli public, and the new political dynamics expected by the Arab leaders did not appear. Now, all parties must work to regain the momentum that was lost.

Death and Lies in Palestine
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, November 26, 2002
I did not know Mr. Iain Hook, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the Palestine Refugees' (UNRWA) official who was killed on November 22 by Israeli occupation forces in Jenin Refugee Camp. But I do know many people -- Palestinians and internationals -- who have worked for the agency. They are, to a person, amongst the most dedicated and compassionate professionals I have the privilege to know. Through a sense of humanitarian commitment they have helped Palestinian refugees to meet their basic needs for more than fifty years, often in the most dire and dangerous conditions. The vast majority of UNRWA's staff are themselves Palestinian refugees, meaning that the agency has not been a source of charity, but of empowerment and work for those who through ethnic cleansing and war lost everything.

The Impact of Closure and Other Mobility Restrictions on Palestinian Productive Activities 1 January 2002 - 30 June 2002 - Acrobat format
United Nations Special Coordinator in the Occupied Territories, October, 2002
This most recent in a series of UNSCO reports on the socio-economic impact of the current crisis on Palestinians reveals some alarming findings. It covers 1 January to 30 June 2002, one of the most violent and unstable periods since Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967. In response to waves of bombings by Palestinian groups, Israel imposed tough new measures in the West Bank, including severe mobility restrictions and round-the-clock curfews, deepening an already dire economic situation. The report is divided into several sections that address various aspects of the Palestinian economy and how closure and curfew affect them. The first section looks at poverty levels and the decline in both consumption and income. The second examines the worsening employment situation, particularly in the West Bank. The third explains how trade, both internal and external, is being stifled. Subsequent shorter sections explore investment, donor funding and the Palestinian Authority budget. Numerous tables, charts and figures lay out micro and macro trends, while boxes provide explanations, testimonials and case studies. Overall, this report shows that the Palestinian economy was in severe depression, with only international aid stemming a possible total breakdown.

Give us stability
By Sammy Shimon, Globes, November 27, 2002
I write this with mixed feelings a certain degree of ambivalence. On the one hand, I’m a Zionist Jew, a British resident, who decided to invest in Israel over a decade ago. On the other hand, I’m an international businessman, who, like any investor, wants some reward for my efforts.
Quite a few overseas friends and international businessmen ask me whether it wouldn’t be right to come to Israel’s aid at a time like this. With all my Zionism and good will, I don’t know what to tell them. I don’t know whether to recommend investing in Israel, as I did, or to cite my bitter experiences in fighting ruinous bureaucracy, and tell my friends to go on contributing to whatever causes in Israel they find worthy, but under no circumstances to invest there.

What does the Likud leader propose?
Editorial, Ha'aretz, November 29, 2002
Ten days after the Labor Party chose its leader for the 16th Knesset, the Likud rank and file chose its standard bearer to seek the public's vote for the party. In the coming 60 days, both parties must present the voters with an orderly, clear doctrine for how they plan to proceed and deal with the critical issues on the agenda, topped by the conflict with the Palestinians. Given the clear worldview and focused working plan presented by Labor Party Chairman Amram Mitzna, the Likud candidate can no longer make do with vague, ambiguous statements.

UN Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
BADIL Resource Center, November 29, 2002
Racism, Refugees, and Apartheid - WHAT FUTURE for the Palestinian People? WHAT FUTURE for International Solidarity? - Fifty- five years ago, the United Nations General Assembly voted for a proposal to partition Palestine into a "Jewish" and an "Arab State" (UNGA Resolution 181/1947) in violation of international law and against the express wish of the majority of Palestine's inhabitants - thereby violating the right