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Palestine Diaries

courtesy The Electronic Intifada

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Map of Israel's planned "security fence", adapted for clarity from Gush Shalom map. Gush Shalom notes: The Israeli government did not publish full, official maps of the wall. The path of the Eastern wall was compiled by the Land Research Center and the Palestinian Hydrology Group, based on expropriation orders issued to Palestinian land owners.

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Video Archives
Audio Archives

VIDEO
BBC:
Gap Between CIA
And Bush Stories
posted 10/9/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Region As
Unsettled As It's
Ever Been
10/9/02

VIDEO
BBC:
"No compromise
here"
posted 10/8/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Another Gaza
Attack
posted 10/6/02

VIDEO
BBC:
PA's Erekat: We
Need International
Protection Now
posted 10/6/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Khalil Shikaki, CPR:
'Chances slim for
negotiation'
posted 9/28/02

PHOTOS
Islam Online:
Arafat HQ
Destroyed
posted 9/25/02

PHOTOS
Islam Online:
Nine Palestinians Killed In Gaza
posted 9/24/02

VIDEO
Konscious:
Metal of Dishonor
The Face of US
War on Iraq
posted 9/18/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Sabra & Shatila
Is Sharon A
War Criminal?
posted 9/13/02

VIDEO
CBC:
Israeli
Army Was
Embarrassed
By Release
of Video
released 3/18/02
posted 9/6/02

Video Archives

Conflict..

15 people injured in protest against W. Bank security fence Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 A member of Sweden's parliament, arrested as he took part in a protest against the construction of the West Bank security barrier, is to be freed Thursday evening and fly home, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry said. Green Party lawmaker Gustav Fridolin, 20, was one of four foreigners arrested Wednesday during a scuffle with troops at Budrus, a West Bank village near the line with Israel southeast of Tel Aviv, where bulldozers are clearing ground for a section of a 750-kilometer (450-mile) barrier around the West Bank. All four were slated for deportation. Israel continues assassination policy Al-Jazeera 1/1/2004 In what appears to be a continuation of the Israeli policy of extra-judicial killings, Israeli helicopter gunships fired two missiles at a car carrying Hamas activist Jamal al-Jarah in Gaza city. Ten Palestinian bystanders were injured. The attack on Tuesday marked the first such attempt to assassinate a senior figure from Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, in over two months. Israeli security officials had recently indicated they would refrain from targeting Hamas activists after the Israeli army Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said the group appeared to have halted attacks inside Israel. Palestinian boy succumbs to wounds Palestinian Information Center 1/1/2004 Nablus - The 16 years old Palestinian boy Mohammed Jabr Sa’eed has passed away at dawn today in the Rafidiya hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus after suffering serious gunshot wounds in confrontations with the Zionist occupation forces. Confrontations had taken place yesterday between the occupation soldiers and Palestinian citizens in the main road leading to the town of Osrin, near to Nablus city, resulting in the injury of a number of citizens. Hamas denies that Daif was targeted in failed assassination attempt Palestinian Information Center 1/1/2004 Gaza - Sources close to the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, have denied that the Zionist failed assassination attempt on Tuesday night was targeting the renowned Qassam commander Mohammed Daif. The sources said that the Zionist Apache missiles fired at a civilian car in Gaza did not target Daif, who is the general commander of the Qassam Brigades, military wing of the Hamas Movement. They also affirmed that Daif was not in the car at time of the bombing. They said that the Zionist attempt targeted the Qassam commander Jamal Al-Jarrah, who is one of the Qassam commanders in northern Gaza. Violent explosions rock Qaryon suburb in Nablus Palestinian Information Center 1/1/2004 Nablus - A series of violent explosions rocked the Qaryon suburb in Nablus shortly before midnight yesterday breaking the windows of all houses in the old city’s suburb. Eyewitnesses said that they heard the sound of powerful explosions around 11.30 pm yesterday that smashed all windows in the suburb....The explosions targeted the houses of five families in the Qaryon suburb, which were completely razed to the ground while nearby houses were greatly damaged. The eyewitnesses said that Zionist soldiers blocked the entry of Palestinian Red Crescent, medical care and relief committees’ ambulance cars into the suburb to evacuate the wounded and inhabitants of the devastated houses. Occupation authorities to demolish house of wanted activist Palestinian Information Center 1/1/2004 Nablus - Zionist occupation authorities have notified family members of the wanted Palestinian activist Yamen Faraj, 25, in Madma village near Nablus city that their house would be demolished if he did not turn himself in. Family members said that occupation forces stormed their two-story house at the early hours yesterday and handed them a notification written in Arabic and Hebrew stipulating that they had 48 hours to evacuate the house. IDF lifts Jenin blockade; Palestinians: youth killed in Nablus Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 The Israel Defense Forces decided Thursday to lift the blockade of the West Bank city of Jenin for the first time since the hudna cease-fire collapsed in August 2003. The decision was made due to a decline in the number of terror warning in the area. The IDF will remove some of the roadblocks surrounding the city and will enable Palestinian cars to travel through other IDF roadblocks. Jenin has been under an almost continuous blockade since September 2000, except for a month during the hudna. At the moment, Nablus is the only West Bank city under blockade. Swedish MP among eight internationals arrested in Budrus Palestine Monitor 12/30/2003 Swedish MP Gustav Fridolin was among eight protestors arrested by Israeli troops this morning in another day of protests in the village of Budrus. About 50 Palestinians were also injured by soldiers who turned on the protestors, beating them with sticks and shooting rubber bullets and throwing tear gas on them. Now aged 20, Fridolin is the youngest member ever to be elected to the Swedish parliament (was 19 when elected), and is a very high-profile figure. At the time of writing he remains in custody along with six other peace activists – another Swede, four Israeli and two Americans. Qassam Brigades fire missile at Zionist settlement Palestinian Information Center 1/1/2004 Gaza - The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas Movement, today declared responsibility for firing a missile at a Zionist settlement to the north of the Gaza Strip. Local sources said that Qassam fighters fired Qassam-1 missile at the Nahal Uz settlement and shot at Zionist soldiers in Kfar Darum. Jewish settlers to organize provocative march in eastern Jerusalem Palestinian Information Center 1/1/2004 Occupied Jerusalem - A Jewish fanatic party led by Tsefi Handal, deputy to the education minister, is to organize a provocative march round the walls of eastern Jerusalem occupied in 1967 on Sunday. The party, joining the parliament within an alliance called national unionist bloc, published a statement on the website of the seventh channel calling on Jewish educational and religious institutions to take part in the march that would include songs, dances and trumpeting. Terror alert causes massive police operation in TA Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 Security forces called a high alert in the Dan region yesterday that paralyzed traffic in Tel Aviv almost completely, following numerous warnings of an impending attack, possibly timed to coincide with New Year's Eve. The alert, which in retrospect appeared to have been a false alarm, was called off yesterday evening. News Briefs: Palestinian expelled to Gaza, Three arrested in Tulkarem International Middle East Media Center 1/1/2004 Soldiers expel a Palestinian to Gaza:Yesterday night, the military expelled Mustafa Abed from the West Bank to Gaza, this act comes in conjunction with previous acts of expelling activists of the Palestinian resistance from the West Bank to Gaza Strip, the Israeli government approximately two years ago initiated such policy against resistance activists. / Undercover forces arrest 3 Palestinians in Tul Karm: Earlier this dawn, a group of Special Forces in the army arrested three Palestinians from Tul Karm and took them to an unknown location. Background / A new arena of military refusal jolts Israel Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 It is the curse - and perhaps the saving grace - of the Gaza settlement of Netzarim to function as a crucial test case of Israeli military policy and a barometer of the conflicting moods of the war-battered population of the Jewish state. The powder keg settlement, a symbol for hard-liners both Israeli and Palestinian, has become the focus of a new arena of military refusal in Israel: a campaign by a decidedly non-pacifist father, a battle-seasoned major in the IDF's combat reserves, to keep his recently drafted daughter from obeying an order to report for service in Netzarim. Israel Says Settlement Population Has Doubled Since '93 New York Times 12/31/2003 GUSH KATIF, Gaza Strip, Dec. 30 — The Israeli Interior Ministry released figures on Tuesday showing that the number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip had increased by 16 percent in the last three years, to 236,381 — about double the number that existed when Israel signed the Oslo Accords in 1993. The figures were released on a day of violence in Gaza, when an Israeli helicopter fired missiles at a car carrying senior members of the militant Palestinian group Hamas, according to the Israeli military. 2003 Retrospective: July - Rafah demolished; Video & Photos Electronic Intifada 7/1/2003 EI's Arjan El Fassed visited Rafah, which is located on the southern border of the Gaza Strip. Repeatedly, Israeli occupying forces have demolished hundreds of homes in this area. This has been the scene of large destruction and razing of lands and the place where Israeli forces killed American peace activist Rachel Corrie and journalist James Miller. Before October 2002, Israeli forces demolished over 350 homes and damaged 500 in the Rafah neighborhoods. This was done to make room for a steel wall along the Egyptian border.

Diplomacy..

Golan settlement plan under fire BBC 1/1/2004 There has been international condemnation of Israel's announcement that it plans to increase the number of settlements in the Golan Heights. Israel says it will build 900 new homes on the plateau that it seized from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war. France urged Israel to drop the plan, saying it flouted international law and compromised the peace process....There has been no reaction yet from the United States - which is struggling to revive the wider Middle East peace process. Egypt optmistic on truce after Mubarak aide meets Arafat Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 Osama el-Baz, top aide to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, held talks Thursday in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat and other senior Palestinian officials, as part of Egyptian efforts to forge a cease-fire. With Egyptian help, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) has been trying for weeks to forge a truce agreement among Palestinian factions, but without success. Sharon says Golan plan has no diplomatic significance Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is giving his backing to the plan to develop sources of employment on the Golan Heights, approved by a ministerial committee on the development of rural areas two days ago. However, Sharon has reservations about presenting the plan as having diplomatic significance, as if it were intended to expand settlement so as to make it more difficult to return the area to Syria....senior source in the Prime Minister's Office: "Identical plans have been adopted in the past and have been approved for the Negev and Galilee." Saudi Arabia promises more aid to Palestinians Jerusalem Times 1/1/2004 The Palestinian delegation visiting Saudi Arabia received promises to increase the Saudi aid to the Palestinians and use the Saudi political leverage to encourage the Quartet increase its role in implementing the roadmap peace plan. Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei, along with Nabil Shaath, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Abdul Rahman el Hamad, Minister of Public Works and Housing, metwith King Fahed, and his Royal Highness, Crown Prince Abdullah and other Saudi officials on Tuesday in Riyadh to discuss the different aspects of the current situation in the Palestinian areas. [If unable to access this page, go to: http://www.jerusalem-times.net- then enter or paste this address: http://www.jerusalem-times.net/article/news/details/detail.asp?id=4584 - Ed.] U.S. signals displeasure over Golan expansion Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 The Bush adminstration has signalled displeasure over reports that Israel plans to double the Israeli population of the Golan Heights and establish nine new towns there, but Justice Minister Tommy Lapid said Thursday that the proposal was nothing more than the invention of its vocal proponent, Likud Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz. The United States said on Wednesday that it will seek clarifications from Israel on its decision to build new settlements on the Golan Heights, but noted that it currently has no credible information on the reported building plan....Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is giving his backing to the plan to develop sources of employment on the Golan Heights, approved by a ministerial committee on the development of rural areas on Tuesday. However, Sharon has reservations about presenting the plan as having diplomatic significance, as if it were intended to expand settlement so as to make it more difficult to return the area to Syria. Israel snubs Syria with Golan plan The Guardian 1/1/2004 Israel plans to double the number of settlers on the Golan Heights, as Syria renews its pressure for talks on returning the territory, taken during the 1967 six-day war. The cabinet committee on settlements has approved a plan by the agriculture minister, Yisrael Katz, to spend about £40m on housing more than 10,000 settlers, who will be encouraged by land grants and tax breaks. Mr Katz told the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that the plan was conceived because Syria was seeking the revival of talks on the future of the Golan, which collapsed four years ago after the Palestinian intifada began. Egypt Urges Palestinians to Move on Peace The Guardian 1/1/2004 RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - An Egyptian envoy on Thursday urged the Palestinians to lead the way toward ending more than three years of violence with Israel, saying he is hopeful that Israel will respond favorably to such moves. Egypt has been trying for weeks to get Palestinian militants to halt attacks against Israel to help restart peace talks. Osama el-Baz, a top aide to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, traveled to the Palestinian areas on Thursday as part of those efforts. New Golan Heights settlement plan derails peace talks The Independent 1/1/2004 In another blow to the prospects of peace in the Middle East, the Israeli government has approved plans to double the number of Jewish settlers living in the occupied Golan Heights within three years. The details of the $56m (£31.4m) project to expand settlements on the Golan Heights emerged yesterday, just weeks after Syria's President, Bashar Assad, called for new peace talks with Israel. The settlement project could now put any talks in jeopardy. "The goal is for Assad to see from the windows of his home the Israeli Golan thriving and flourishing," the Israeli Agriculture Minister, Yisrael Katz, who is responsible for the new scheme, said yesterday. Zionist entity incitement against Saudi Arabia Palestinian Information Center 12/31/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Zionist security apparatuses have expressed fears over a big commando operation in the southern coastal resort of Eilat using a Saudi plane, according to Hebrew daily ‘Yediot Ahronot’ today. The paper noted that Zionist war minister Shaul Mofaz yesterday explained in a lecture at Tel Aviv University that his army was prepared for such a possibility but would not go into details. Is Syria Flirting with Israel Behind Lebanon's Back? An Nahar 1/1/2004 A Parliament member from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud Party has been invited to Syria to discuss a recent proposal by Syrian President Bashar Assad to renew peace negotiations between the two rival countries Israel Radio reported Tuesday.The lawmaker, who was not identified, will visit Egypt to discuss the Syrian invitation with officials there, the radio said. It did not give further details on whether he would meet Syrian officials there or if he would travel on to Syria. Likud MK gets invitation to visit Syria Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 WASHINGTON - Likud MK Majali Wahabi is expected to meet in Damascus with members of Syria's leadership, American media outlets reported Wednesday. Interviewed in Cairo, Wahabi confirmed that he has been invited to Syria by its president, Bashar Assad, and that he intends to make the trip. However, he refused to relay details about the date of the trip, or its purpose. Lebanon's Al-Bilad, which interviewed Wahabi in Egypt, reported that the Druze MK intends to head for Damascus straight from Cairo, and to meet there with Walid Mualem, former Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, who was involved in peace negotiations with Israel. War of words over Golan BBC 1/1/2004 The government of Ariel Sharon has again been accused of trying to pre-empt any future peace negotiations by strengthening Israel's hold over territory it occupied during the 1967 Middle East war. Already condemned by the United Nations for building a controversial barrier through the West Bank which cuts into Palestinian land, Israel now faces more international criticism over its plan to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in 1967. The Israeli Government announced the plan after Syria's President Bashar al-Assad offered to re-open negotiations. Palestinian State Remains Bush's Unfulfilled Goal Washington Post 12/31/2003 If all had gone as President Bush planned, the Middle East would today witness the birth of the provisional state of Palestine. But in a stark symbol of moribund U.S. diplomacy, today's deadline for the new state will pass largely unnoticed -- with little progress in the ambitious "road map" for peace heralded dramatically at two presidential summits in the Middle East this year. Top Mubarak aide el-Baz meets Arafat in new truce bid Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 Osama el-Baz, top aide to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, held talks Thursday in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat and other senior Palestinian officials, as part of Egyptian efforts to forge a cease-fire. With Egyptian help, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia has been trying for weeks to forge a truce agreement among Palestinian factions, but without success. El-Baz voiced some optimism after meeting with Arafat. Documents shed light on row over Queen's Israel forest Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 LONDON - A plan to dedicate a forest in Israel to Britain's Queen Elizabeth sparked a diplomatic spat and threatened to sour Anglo-Arabic relations during the early 1970s, documents released on Thursday showed....The Jewish National Fund wanted to dedicate a forest near Nazareth to the British Queen "as a tribute from British Jewry on the occasion of her silver wedding anniversary" in 1973. It urged Britons to donate money to plant trees in the forest....But when news reached Arab diplomats and newspapers, they were incensed, suspecting the British of funding an expansion of Israel beyond its pre-1967 borders.

Human Rights..

Israeli troops ensure the Qasem family have a journey that they will never forget Palestine Monitor 12/29/2003 After one day, Lamis went back to her village, but was accompanied by mourning cloths, not two baby girls. -- On the 22nd of December 2003, the Qasim family lost their new born twins, after Israeli soldiers delayed their mother during her journey to hospital. Lamis Qasim (26), from the village of Der Balout in the Nablus district, was leaving the village to get to hospital. In spite of severe birthing pains, Lamis and her husband were very excited, as Doctors had told them that Lamis was expecting twins. The Qasim’s car was stopped by Israeli soldiers, at the checkpoint to the entrance of the village. The soldiers started shouting at Lamis, her husband and the other two female passengers, who were relatives of Lamis and there to help her. Deportation orders issued against 4 peace activist, including Swedish MP International Solidarity Movement 1/1/2004 Israeli interior ministry issued a deportation order against 4 peace activists. The two Swedes, members of ISM, MP Gustav Fridolin and Freidrek are currently held in Ariel settlement police station. IWPS activists Kate and Kim are held in an interior ministry detention center in Khadera. Back ground information: villagers from Budrus, and their Israeli and International supporters, made a peaceful march onto Budrus lands that are set to be destroyed for the construction of the Israeli Apartheid Wall. Uupdates on detained peace activists and the village of Budrus International Solidarity Movement 1/1/2004 For the forth day in row, villagers, joined by international and Israeli peace activists demonstrated against the Construction of the separation Wall on Palestinian land in the village of Budrus. Army violently interrupted the peaceful demonstration, showering protesters with tear gas and firing at them rounds of rubber coated metal bullets. As a result 15 villagers and two international ISM peace activists were wounded. The wounded international peace activists are Henrick from Sweden and Saga from Iceland. Israeli soldier arrested over 'sniper' shooting of unarmed British peace protester The Independent 1/1/2004 An Israeli soldier has been arrested in connection with shooting the unarmed British peace protester Thomas Hurndall in the head, the Israeli army said yesterday. The incident in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, last April, left Mr Hurndall clinically dead. The 22-year-old, who is being kept alive in a London hospital, was trying to help Palestinian children who were trapped under fire to safety when he was shot, witnesses said. This is the first success for Mr Hurndall's parents' campaign for those responsible to be brought to justice. Separation wall to leave serious impact on normal life, says new survey Jerusalem Times 12/31/2003 A new survey conducted by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on the impact of the separation wall Israel is building around the West Bank on the social and economic conditions in 2003 of the Palestinian households in areas where the wall passes through found out that the wall left a negative impact on social activities of 91% of the households and on cultural activities of 83.3% of the households caught between the wall and the ‘green line’ separating Israeli from the West Bank according to the June 4, 1967 borders. It also said 50.4% of the households reported that the wall became an obstacle for marriage between someone living on one side of the wall to another on the other side. [If unable to access this page, go to: http://www.jerusalem-times.net- then enter or paste this address: http://www.jerusalem-times.net/article/news/details/detail.asp?id=4569 - Ed.] Urgent Action To Stop Deportation International Solidarity Movement 12/31/2003 Four international activists and four Israeli activists were arrested today while trying to stop bulldozers from uprooting trees in the West Bank village of Budrus. Budrus, together with the villages of Midya, N'ilin, and Kibiya, is about to be imprisoned by the wall from all directions. The four Israelis were released after they agreed not to enter the occupied territories for 14 days. The international activists, however, were transferred to Giv'at Zeev police station where some have already had their hearings with a representative from the Ministry of Interior regarding their deportation. 2003 Israel attacks the Press Electronic Intifada 12/30/2003 "To be a journalist and cameraman in a city of lost hope like Hebron requires great sacrifices," Palestinian cameraman Mazen Dana said as he accepted an International Press Freedom Award two years ago for his efforts to report the news. "Gunfire, humiliation, beatings, prison, rocks and the destruction of journalists' equipment are just some of the hardships." On August 17, Dana was killed by American occupation troops in Iraq. He was filming the Abou Ghraib prison in a suburb of Baghdad. US officials said the soldier mistook his camera for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher....Looking back at journalists in danger in 2003, the words of Dana are unfortunately still true. Two journalists, a Palestinian cameraman and a British documentary filmmaker were killed by the Israeli army. Ireland and UNDP assist communities affected by Apartheid Wall Electronic Intifada 12/29/2003 While a great deal has been said and written about the separation barrier constructed by the Government of Israel, and its horrendous effects on the lives of many Palestinians, the Government of Ireland has formed a partnership with UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) to do something about it. The Government of Israel began construction of the barrier a year ago, composed of a complex series of concrete walls, trenches, and fences within the western border of the occupied West Bank. The barrier has encircled and isolated many Palestinian cities and villages. The day after the shooting of peace activists: A lot of fury, a lot of attention Electronic Intifada/Gush Shalom 12/27/2003 International release, Tel-Aviv, 27 December 2003 -- We just come back from a fiery demonstration -- in protest at yesterday's shooting at peace activists. Especially, the story of the seriously-wounded Gil Na'amati continues to make headlines. The 22-year-old kibbutznik had to be raced to hospital after he lost consciousness because of his heavy bleeding. Both his legs were operated on to remove bullets -- in one leg the knee was involved. The nonviolent though militant protest at the Separation Fence was his first demonstration after he only two weeks ago finished his three years of military service. His father reported on TV that Gil had become so rebellious exactly because of what he had seen and had to participate in at the roadblocks in the West Bank. Israel to deport Swedish MP Al-Jazeera 1/1/2004 Israel has decided to deport a member of the Swedish parliament and three other internationals following a demonstration against the apartheid wall in the West Bank. Forty Palestinians and an Israeli were wounded as occupation troops fired teargas and rubber bullets to break up a protest close to the controversial barrier. Israeli police said four Israelis were also arrested at the protest near the Palestinian village of Budrus, near Jenin in the northern West Bank. Occupation authorities claim foiling prisoners escape attempt Palestinian Information Center 1/1/2004 Ramallah - Zionist military sources claimed today that an escape attempt of three Palestinian prisoners in the Beer Sheba prison in south of occupied Palestine was foiled. The sources alleged that the Zionist prison authorities yesterday detected a tunnel dug under the grounds of the prison walls to facilitate the escape of the three prisoners.

Economy..

Economy in brief Jerusalem Times 1/1/2004 The Palestinian population has plunged desperately in dire poverty and food insecurity. -- "Two-third of the Palestinians, nearly 60% of the Palestinian population are under the poverty line," [UN Middle East Envoy,Mr. Terje Roed] Larsen said. "I would like to update you on some of the key indicators. Between 2000-2002, Palestinian economic losses amounted to an estimated $5.4 billion - one year's worth of total income for the Palestinian economy. The Real GDP declined some 33 percent between 1999 and 2002. Total investment fell from $1.45 billion to $150 million in the same period", Larson said. [See also: Mr. Larsen: 40% of the Palestinians Suffer Food Insecurity PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs - http://www.mopic.gov.ps/news_letter/details.asp?subject_id=1059] [If unable to access this page, go to: http://www.jerusalem-times.net- then enter or paste this address: http://www.jerusalem-times.net/article/news/details/detail.asp?id=4570 - Ed.] Economic growth makes a comeback Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 Economic growth resumed in 2003 after two years of contraction, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday, based on preliminary data. Gross domestic product expanded by 1.2 percent in 2003, the bureau said, after contracting 0.8 percent in 2002 and 0.9 percent in 2001. However, since Israel's population grew by 1.7 percent in 2003, GDP per capita fell once again - by 0.6 percent - after dropping 2.8 percent in 2002. Foreign currency reserves reach all-time high Globes 1/1/2004 Foreign currency reserves jumped $1.34 billion to $25.78 billion in December. -- Israel’s foreign currency reserves jumped $1.34 billion in December, reaching an all-time high of $25.78 billion, a 5.5% increase in a single month. The Bank of Israel said today that there were two main reason for the steep rise in foreign currency reserves. The first was the rise in the government’s deposits at the Bank of Israel, after receiving money raised with the US loan guarantees, and the second was the revaluing of the Bank of Israel’s investment portfolio, resulting from exchange rate changes. 2003 high-tech exports total $10.68b Globes 1/1/2004 High-tech sales totaled $12.98 billion. Medical equipment exports grew 11%. -- After a 20% [decline?] in two years, Israel’s electronics and software industries are showing signs of recovery, Israel Association of Electronics and Information Industries director general Uri Har said. He added that sales and exports for 2003 remained at 2002 levels, while sales have grown in recent months. Har cited these figures yesterday, ahead of his organization’s annual conference. Court annuls huge tender HP won to make smart ID cards Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 HP Israel took a body blow Thursday morning, after the court annulled a tender it won to produce computerized smart identity cards (teudot zehut). Estimated to be worth between NIS 100 million to NIS 200 million, the Interior ministry tender was one of the biggest computer-related projects to be contemplated in Israel. Yam Thetis completes temporary take-over of gas pipeline Globes 1/1/2004 Ministry of National Infrastructures: Baker Hughes Inc. of the US will replace Nederlandse Gasunie NV. -- Ministry of National Infrastructures has decided that Baker Hughes Inc. of the US, which is responsible for producing the natural gas at Yam Thetis's concessions offshore from Ashkelon, will be temporarily responsible for operating the natural gas pipeline. Baker Hughes replaces Nederlandse Gasunie NV, which withdrew from the project two weeks ago, because the pipeline was built according to US, rather than the Dutch standards stipulated. Settlers: Clinic closure leaves us without vital medical care Ha'aretz 1/1/2004 The Leumit health maintenance organization is planning to close clinics in the West Bank and the Jordan Rift valley, leaving residents of the West Bank settlement of Shavei Shomron complaining that the cost-cutting move will leave them without vital medical services, Israel Radio reported. Leumit, founded by and closely linked to the political predecessors of the Likud, is a leading supplier of health services in the territories.

People..

Survey on the Perception of Palestinian Population Towards the Socioeconomic Conditions Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics December 2003 “The overall well-being of 39% of Palestinian households deteriorated in December 2003, and closure was an obstacle faced 48% of the Palestinian households during past six months” -- PCBS conducted the first round of the survey on the perception of the Palestinian people about the socioeconomic conditions. Data collection took place during the period 1/12/2003 - 10/12/2003 on a sample composed of 1,303 households, (919 in West Bank and 384 in Gaza Strip). Israelis urge nuclear disarmament Al-Jazeera 1/1/2004 One in four Israelis believe their country should give up its nuclear arsenal to rid the Middle East of weapons of mass-destruction. A poll published on Thursday found that 77.4% of Israelis believe Tel Aviv has nuclear weapons, and 25.2% think these should be eliminated as part of any regional disarmament campaign. The poll of 504 Israelis, which was commissioned by the state broadcaster, also found that 56.1% of those surveyed were opposed to nuclear disarmament, while 18.7% did not express an opinion. Paving roads for infrastructure and equality Jerusalem Times 1/1/2004 Each day the 29-year-old Palestinian civil engineer laces up steel-toed boots, puts on a hardhat, and dons an orange vest before visiting the work sites in 10 different Palestinian cities. While this may seem like a typical day, Maha Abu-Laban is not a typical Palestinian engineer. As both a woman and an engineer on a vital infrastructure-rebuilding project in the West Bank and Gaza, she shatters the traditional images that many people have of Palestinian women, including the images that Palestinian women often hold about themselves. The children's story Jerusalem Times 1/1/2004 Muhammad, 13, who lives in the Jalazoun refugee camp, heads for the Surda checkpoint every morning to work until the evening, bringing back what little he earns to help fend for his family. The young boy, who refused to disclose his last name, stands on the side of the road, advertising the service he provides — a cart to carry groceries across the checkpoint. Muhammad faces strong competition in his field of work, but he does not care. Muhammad comes from a family originally from the village of Beit Nabala, destroyed by occupation forces in 1948....The story of Muhammad is a common example of the lives of children in refugee camps. [If unable to access this page, go to: http://www.jerusalem-times.net- then enter or paste this address: http://www.jerusalem-times.net/article/news/details/detail.asp?id=4575 - Ed.] Archaeologists unearth 4,000-year-old tomb The Guardian 1/1/2004 Polish and Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed a necropolis containing the 4,000-year-old stone tomb of a royal official, Egypt's supreme council of antiquities announced yesterday. The culture minister, Farouk Hosni, said that the necropolis, near the pyramids of Saqqara, 15 miles south of Cairo, held the tomb of a man called Ny-Ankh-Nefetem, identified in hieroglyphic writing as the god's servant of the pyramids of the kings Unas and Teti, who ruled successively from 2375BC to 2291BC.

International..

Saudi thinkers debate 'extremism' Al-Jazeera 1/1/2004 Saudi Muslim clerics and intellectuals have adopted a series of recommendations on combating extremism, following a second round of "national dialogue" in the holy city of Mecca. The recommendations will be delivered to Crown Prince Abd Allah bin Abd al-Aziz, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, on Saturday. A statement from the dialogue participants, did not say what the recommendations were. Mubarak: My son will not take over presidency Middle East Online 1/1/2004 CAIRO - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said his son Gamal will not take over the presidency after him, the official MENA news agency reported Thursday. "This is nonsense... the regime in Egypt is republican, there is no hereditary transfer of power. This happened in a certain country, it will not happen in Egypt," Mubarak said in a television interview the transcript of which was carried by MENA. Mubarak was referring to fellow Arab state Syria, where Bashar al-Assad took over power from his father Hafez after his death in 2000. Jordan’s trade deficit widens by 16 percent in 2003 MENA Report 12/31/2003 Jordan’s trade deficit rose to 1.54 billion Jordanian dinars in the first ten months of 2003, a 16.1 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. On the contrary, trade surplus with the US rose from JD 20.3 million during the first ten months of 2002 to JD 154.3 million in the corresponding period this year. The increase was attributed to the activation of the Jordan-US free trade agreement (FTA). US telecom company acquires Lebanon’s MIDNET MENA Report 1/1/2004 US-based Amitelo Communications has completed the acquisition of 100 percent interest in Lebanon’s Middle East Telecommunication Network (MIDNET). MIDNET is an Internet and telecommunications service provider offering broadband services to corporate customers in the Middle East. The company is also involved in some specific telecommunications projects in Iraq. The Arab World in 2004: GDP forecasted to grow by 3.4 percent MENA Report 1/1/2004 The Middle East and North African (MENA) region will record a 3.4 percent real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2004, according to an economic forecast by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The unit predicts that Bahrain will be a regional leader next year forecasting a 5.7 percent GDP growth for the small island. Predictions target Qatar’s GDP growth at five percent for 2004 and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s GDP growth at 4.1 percent. Al-Arian case likely to test Patriot Act St Petersburg Times 12/31/2003 TAMPA - For nearly a decade, FBI intelligence agents had been tapping the telephones and intercepting the faxes of Sami Al-Arian, and keeping secret what they knew about the professor's suspected ties to Palestinian terrorists. They didn't even tell colleagues working a criminal case against the same man. The full breadth of what the bureau knew about Al-Arian and others connected to the professor's charity, Muslim school and think tank finally was revealed in the spring of 2002. FBI Agent Joe Navarro walked into a briefing at the Tampa office and stunned his colleagues with the information. US eases Iran sanctions Al-Jazeera 1/1/2004 US President George Bush has ordered an easing of some sanctions on Iran to speed up the flow of aid for victims of the massive Bam earthquake. Under a special 90-day measure, non-profit groups and US citizens can donate money directly to non-governmental organisations working in Iran on reconstruction and relief efforts after the quake that killed up to 50,000 people. The administration also moved to make it easier for relief groups to bring donated equipment such as satellite telephones and computers into the country. US ready to invade Middle East in 1973 Al-Jazeera 1/1/2004 The US considered invading Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, newly revealed documents have claimed. Files released to the British National Archives on Thursday show that British spy chiefs believed the US would be prepared to invade the countries to seize their oilfields. The papers, made public under the 30-year rule for classified documents, reveal UK intelligence agencies estimated the US would take military action to prevent further disruption to oil supplies. Heath infuriated by Nixon's secret nuclear stand-off The Scotsman 1/1/2004 THE full fury of the Tory prime minister Edward Heath when the United States staged a nuclear face-off with the Soviet Union without informing Britain or other NATO allies is disclosed in the secret files made public today. The decision by Richard Nixon, the then US president, to put his forces on worldwide nuclear alert after the Soviets threatened to intervene in the Arab-Israeli war of October 1973 marked one of the gravest moments of the Cold War....The files suggest that Mr Kissinger apparently misled the British ambassador in Washington, Lord Cromer, over the US alert, even though it covered American troops stationed in Britain.

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