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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..

Palestinian teenager killed, eight wounded Al-Jazeera 1/5/2004 One Palestinian teenager has been shot dead and eight other Palestinians wounded in clashes with Israeli occupation troops in separate incidents on the West Bank. Eight Israeli border guards were also injured in the second incident. The shooting of the 17-year old came two days after Israeli soldiers killed four Palestinians in Nablus during some of the bloodiest confrontations there for at least two weeks. Jewish Settlers Kill a Palestinian, Wound Two as IOF Continues Rampaging Through West Bank International Press Center 1/5/2004 RAMALLAH, Palestine, January 5, 2004 (IPC + Agencies)-- A Jewish settler ‘s car ran over three Palestinian citizens today near a checkpoint in Ramallah, killing one and wounding the other two, as IOF invaded the city of Tulkarem and wounded 13 Palestinian citizens in Hebron and Budrus Village....Eyewitnesses said that despite being close to a military checkpoint, manned by Israeli soldiers, who saw the whole attack, the Jewish settler passed through the checkpoint unstopped by the Israeli soldiers, a thing that would make them associates in this crime. Meanwhile, IOF invaded today morning the city of Tulkarem, backed by dozens of tanks and armored vehicles, and that they have started blowing up the doors of several Palestinian homes in the city after surrounding them. IOF Kills Palestinian Boy, Wounds and Arrests Several Others in West Bank International Press Center 1/5/2004 NABLUS, Palestine, January 5, 2004 (IPC + WAFA) - - The Israeli occupying forces, as part of its major military offensive on the West Bank cities, particularly the city of Nablus, shot and killed a Palestinian child and wounded several other citizens, in addition to wounding and arresting others in separate incidents, as well as demolishing a house and bulldozing lands in Gaza Strip....Meanwhile in Hebron governorate, the Israeli occupying forces opened fire at Palestinian citizens in the town of Beit Ommar, as well as arresting several citizens, including a female citizen in the town of Doura. IDF said to be operating and carrying out raids in Jenin camp Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 Israel Defense Forces troops early Monday morning were operating in the refugee camp in the West Bank city of Jenin, Israel Radio reported. Palestinian security sources said that soldiers surrounded and stormed several homes in the camp. Last Thursday, the IDF decided to lift the blockade of Jenin for the first time since the hudna (cease-fire) collapsed in August 2003. Occupation authorities to confiscate vast lands in Jerusalem villages Palestinian Information Center 1/5/2004 Ramallah - Zionist occupation authorities have started marking areas to be confiscated to the northwest of occupied Jerusalem for the sake of constructing the separation fence. Villagers in Beit Sorik said that an army unit handed citizens notifications on the lands that would be seized to establish the racist fence. IOF attacks Palestinian antiquities in Nablus International Press Center 1/4/2004 Ramallah, Palestine, January4,2004. (IPC+Wafa)--- The department of antiquities and cultural heritage of the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities fiercely decriedtoday the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) attacks on the Palestinian historical places specially those in Ramallah Palestinian city which has been under Israeli attacks for days....the department of antiquities and cultural heritage called upon the international community, the UNSCO, the World Heritage Committee and the international organizations to condemn Israel for violating the international law and for targeting the historical places in the old town in Nablus Palestinian city. Israeli army to become 'less lethal' The Scotsman 1/5/2004 THE Israeli army is to introduce a string of "less lethal" crowd control techniques for use against protestors in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, after renewed controversy over the number of deaths at the hands of soldiers. The changes are to include a move to rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas, and the army is also weighing up the introduction of a new technology that disperses demonstrators by producing "noise waves" of such intensity protesters cannot remain in place. A state comptroller’s report recently found there was a "distinct shortage" of tear gas, stun grenades and other what it termed "less lethal" weaponry. Security official: Fence to annex 6 percent of W. Bank Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 Six percent of West Bank territory will effectively be annexed into the Green Line with the completion of the separation fence planned for the end of 2005, a security official said on Sunday. The official, speaking to a forum in support of the West Bank fence, said that the first and second phases of construction have already transferred 1.7 percent of West Bank territory to the west side of the fence. In addition, Ministry of Defense data revealed that the fence's deviation eastward from the Green Line in the area between Salem and the settlement of Elkana has resulted in 15,000 Palestinians being located west of the fence. Father of protester wounded by IDF fire says troops lied Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 The father of Israeli protester Gil Na'amati, who was wounded recently by IDF gunfire at a demonstration against the West Bank separation fence, accused the Israel Defense Forces on Monday of lying. "One must be drunk to believe the IDF's version" on the circumstances of the shooting, said Uri Na'amati. Members of Anarchists Against the Fence, the group that organized the protest, presented testimonies and evidence at a press conference Monday that appear to contradict some of the IDF findings released in recent days. Media Blackout Over Israeli Atrocities in Nablus Palestine Media Center 1/4/2004 IOF Kill Palestinian Teen Near Khan Younis -- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have tightened the total siege and curfew imposed on Nablus, the adjacent Balata refugee camp and the nearby village of Beit Foreek for the tenth consecutive day, amidst complete media blackout over the atrocities they are perpetrating, while the death toll rose in the northern West Bank city. IOF shot dead four Palestinians and bulldozed historical sites in the Kasbah (Old City) of Nablus on Friday....“We have a catastrophic situation in Nablus,” Mahmoud el-Aloul, the governor of the city, told Reuters. Palestinians: IDF soldiers shoot dead 17-year-old in Nablus Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 IDF troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager who was throwing stones at them in a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday, Palestinian medics said. An army spokesman later released the following statment: "A terrorist threw a petrol bomb at soldiers, who responded with gunfire and saw that he was hit." Witnesses said troops opened fire on a group of Palestinians throwing stones at them in the El Ayn refugee camp. A 17-year-old teenager was shot dead and a 14-year-old was wounded and taken to a local hospital. Ramle residents blast mayor for blaming attack on clans Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 Shortly after two fragmentation grenades were thrown at his house on Saturday night, Ramle mayor Yoel Lavie was quick to place blame and to point out the motive for the attack. While the police investigation of the incident - which caused some damage to the house but did not injure any members of the family - is shrouded in secrecy, Lavie was far less coy. Speaking to Haaretz, he said, "We only have suspicions at the moment, but they are well-grounded suspicions. I blame the clan whose illegal houses we have demolished, and who have demolition orders against them." Lavie: Demolitions of illegal buildings to go ahead as scheduled Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 "I believe that someone whose illegally-built home was been demolished is behind the attack, or someone whose home is due to be demolished in the future...."I don't scare easily, and I have already told police that the demolitions scheduled for this week will go ahead as planned, so prove that I remain resolute." Eyewitness in Gaza: IOF shelling, demolishing houses, attacking from the air Rafah Today 1/2/2004 Again shelling houses and people in the streets by Israeli Apaches and F16s, while the media says that they are targeting people from the resistance. They killed and injured bystanders and ordinary citizens. This is the daily life for all people here in Palestine. Over the past week, many people were killed, and another large number were injured by F16s and Apaches in Gaza City. In the Khan Younes refugee Camp, the Israeli Army with two bulldozers and three tanks demolished 5 houses. Palestinians can barely move inside Gaza ProLog.net 1/5/2004 GAZA, Israel, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Conflicts with Israeli settlers and troops is making travel within the Gaza Strip nearly impossible for Palestinians, residents say. While Palestinians have long considered traveling outside Gaza nearly impossible, just moving around inside the densely populated area has recently become nearly as tedious. The reason is a nearly air-tight security policy that slows traffic to an almost glacial pace, residents tell United Press International. Eyewitness in Rafah: More killings and home demolitions Rafah Today 1/1/2004 Evening: the Rafah people are appealing to the media just two hours after the attacks on Khan Younes when the tanks and bulldozers moved from Khan Younes into Rafah. They had a map that they were showing to the people in Rafah, near the Jewish settlement of Morag. Israeli soldiers began a step of appropriation of thousands of homes because they want to build a new iron wall which will divide Rafah into two parts. Morning: They demolished the houses and killed a massive number of people; demolished the trees, blocked the roads, shelled the houses while people were sleeping in them, made a news watching towers and checkpoints, targeted journalists, medical and relief workers. Zionist shelling burns two houses in Nablus old city Palestinian Information Center 1/5/2004 Nablus - Zionist shelling at two residential houses in the old quarters of the West Bank city of Nablus yesterday led to starting huge fires that destroyed both buildings. Eyewitnesses said that fire started after Zionist troops shelled and opened heavy machinegun fire at houses in the Qaryon suburb. IDF troops kill five Palestinians Ha'aretz 1/4/2004 Five Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israel Defense Forces troops over the weekend. Four were killed in the West Bank city of Nablus while in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, a young Palestinian man was shot dead by troops, apparently while working on an explosive....Downtown Nablus has been under curfew for at least six days while IDF soldiers search for suspects. Yesterday was the most violent day in Nablus since four militants were killed in clashes on December 18. IDF to deploy more crowd dispersal equipment Ha'aretz 1/4/2004 The Israel Defense Forces will soon be issued with new crowd dispersal equipment. The decision was made before the incident nine days ago when IDF gunfire seriously injured a left-wing demonstrator at the separation fence. A senior IDF General Staff source told Haaretz: "It's clear to us there's a need to develop less lethal means. We intend to use various crowd control measures in field operations." The two main types of crowd dispersal measures the army intends to deploy are rubber coated bullets and tear gas, and will get equipment that allows tear gas canisters to be fired over greater distances. IOF Wounds Nine Palestinians, One Critically, Arrests Five and Bulldozes Lands in OPT International Press Center 1/4/2004 NABLUS, Palestine, January 4, 2004 (IPC + WAFA) - - The ongoing Israeli military campaign on the battered city of Nablus continued, as the Israeli occupying forces shot and wounded four Palestinian citizens during a funeral procession, one clinically died, as well as five others in the Hebron, concurrent with large land-bulldozing operations in Gaza Strip....Earlier in Hebron governorate, WAFA news agency reported that the Israeli occupying forces shot and wounded five Palestinians, in addition to arresting three in the town of Beit Ommar, north of Hebron City....Concurrently, IOF also invaded yesterday evening the area of Al Qarara, north of Khan Younis City, and bulldozed another 15 dunums of arable Palestinian lands, cultivated with olives, and uprooted the olive trees there, according to eyewitness accounts. News Briefs: Teenager killed in Nablus, IOF invades Tul karm, Al-Khader under curfew, tear gas injuries, Nablus siege deepens International Middle East Media Center 1/5/2004 The Military kills a Palestinian in Nablus: The army killed this evening a Palestinian teenager in a refugee camp near Nablus, military sources claims that he was killed during clashes with the troops. / The army resumes the daily assaults: Earlier this morning, the army invaded Tul karm supported by tens of tanks and attacked several houses after exploding their doors. Locals mentioned that the resistance clashed with the invading forces and exchanged gunfire. / Troops Impose curfew over a village near Bethlehem: While shooting intensively towards the people and their homes, earlier this morning the army imposed curfew over Al-Khader village near Bethlehem . Several Palestinians suffocated after the military fired Gas bombs towards the people. / Jan 4 - The military continues its attacks against Nablus for the twentieth day: Today, severe clashes erupted in Nablus between the locals and the invading troops in Nablus, two Palestinian Journalists were injured when the army fired towards the demonstrators in Sheikh Muslim neighborhood in Nablus...

Diplomacy..

Israel to reject the Hague court's authority on fence Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 Israel will inform the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague that it rejects its authority to deliberate on the building of the separation fence, senior political sources in Jerusalem said yesterday. Nevertheless, the sources said, Israel's statement to the ICJ will also present substantial arguments to justify the security need for the fence. These will also help Israel in a future campaign against any negative ruling made by the court....The political leadership thinks the court will rule against Israel and the government's legal advisers have been divided on how to act. Lapid: Fence could lead to SA-style boycott of Israel Ha'aretz 1/4/2004 "The debate on the issue of the construction of the separation fence at the International Court of Justice in The Hague is the first step toward turning Israel into the South Africa of today, and there is a danger that we will be exposed to international boycotts as was the case prior to the fall of the regime in South Africa," Justice Minister Yosef Lapid warned the cabinet yesterday. Lapid, who was commenting on an initiative on the part of the Arab states and the Palestinians to take the issue of the separation fence to the ICJ, added that the flak Israel was coming under because of the fence stemmed from the fact that "we didn't suffice with the original fence, but changed its route, which has become a matter of international dispute." Israeli Aggression Ruining Peace: Qorei Arab News 1/6/2004 GAZA CITY, 6 January 2004 — Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said yesterday that Israel’s continued “aggression” in the occupied territories was blowing the chance of his holding a long-awaited meeting with Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon. “The raids, the aggression and the incursions continue and I do not think that in such a context the meeting (with Sharon) will bring the results that we hope for,” Qorei told reporters in Gaza City after a Cabinet meeting. PM: Israel will have to give up settlements in final peace deal Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday told the Likud Party convention in Tel Aviv that Israel "will have to relinquish some Jewish settlements" as part of any final peace agreement with the Palestinians. But Sharon said that in the absence of negotiations with the Palestinans, he would move "without hesitation" to implement his plan for disengagement from parts of the territories. Sharon also said that his plan to disengage from the Palestinians was the best plan for Israel from a security standpoint, and was booed when he said the government would help establish an "independent Palestinian state" if terror is uprooted. Qorei Laments International Silence over Nablus Killings An Nahar 1/5/2004 RAMALLAH, West Bank, - Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei has condemned the international community's "silence" following the killing of four residents of the West Bank town of Nablus during a major Israeli army operation. "Whenever the Palestinians carry out any attacks or operations against Israel they are condemned by the whole world but when Israel carries out attacks against our people, the international community stays silent," Qorei told Voice of Palestine radio. Critics: Sharon’s disengagement plan full of familiar doublespeak Daily Star 1/5/2004 Premier still intent on building separation barrier - Expert: Construction of fence is nonnegotiable to prime minister -- GAZA CITY: In a much-anticipated policy speech delivered at the annual Herzliya Conference on security a few weeks ago, Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon presented his New Year’s resolution of sorts for dealing with the Palestinians. Through what he dubbed the “disengagement plan,” Sharon vowed to take matters into his own hands if the Palestinian Authority did not fulfil its obligations under the “road map” peace plan. In a few months, Israel would begin to implement a series of unilateral “security steps” to “disengage” from the Palestinians, he said. Jordan says will not be 'substitute homeland' for Palestinians Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 AMMAN, Jordan - Jordan on Monday rejected calls by some hard-line Israeli politicians to make the kingdom a homeland for West Bank Palestinians. Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez told two visiting Members of Knesset that Jordan "rejects any Israeli schemes which seek to expel Palestinians (from the West Bank) or to return to statements that Jordan is a substitute homeland (for Palestinians)," the official Petra news agency said. Israel faces 'barrier boycott' BBC 1/4/2004 The Israeli Justice Minister has warned the government should re-examine the route of its controversial West Bank barrier to avoid international boycott. Tommy Lapid said Israel risked being treated like apartheid-era South Africa over the barrier aimed to separate Israelis from Palestinians. The barrier has been condemned by a number of countries around the world. Meanwhile, an Israeli officer returned his insignia in protest at the army's actions on the occupied territories. Two More West Bank Outposts Ordered Shut Washington Post 1/4/2004 JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon issued an order Sunday to dismantle two West Bank settlement outposts - one of them populated - in an initial step toward fulfilling Israel's commitment under the "road map" peace plan. Under the U.S.-backed plan, Israel must dismantle scores of the unauthorized outposts, but Sharon, a longtime settler ally, has been slow to comply. Nazzal denies Qatari mediation between Hamas and Washington Palestinian Information Center 1/5/2004 Cairo - Mohammed Nazzal, member of Hamas Movement's political bureau, has denied press reports that Qatar was mediating between the USA and his Movement. Nazzal, in an interview published by a number of Arab papers and news agencies, said that Hamas had no specific demands for such a dialogue except that it should discuss the Palestinian people's legitimate rights. The press reports claiming that an understanding was reached on ending Hamas armed attacks in the 1948 areas in return for lifting the Movement from the list of terrorist organizations and unfreezing its assets were not true, Nazzal asserted. In Riyadh, Obeid stresses Palestinians’ right of return Daily Star 1/5/2004 [Lebanon's] Foreign Minister Jean Obeid met Sunday with Saudi King Fahd bin Abdel-Aziz, after meeting with other high-ranking Saudi officials to discuss relations between the countries and various facets of the Palestinian issue. Obeid relayed a message to the Saudi monarch from President Emile Lahoud, but the contents were not revealed to the public. During meetings with the monarch, Obeid emphasized Lebanon’s commitment to the Palestinian refugees’ right of return. Yitzhaki: Egyptian foreign minister said gas deal irrevocable Globes 1/5/2004 Prime Minister's Office director-general Avigdor Yitzhaki: The gas pipeline company would begin receiving Egyptian gas in June 2006. -- "The first words Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during his visit to Israel last week was that the natural gas deal with Egypt would be carried out, no matter what. The gas agreement between the countries is irrevocable," said Prime Minister's Office director-general Avigdor Yitzhaki said today.

Human Rights..

Act immediately to lift the siege off Nablus, Balata and Beit Foreek Electronic Intifada/Nablus Residents 1/3/2004 Greetings from Nablus under siege, Nablus has been under siege for the last 10 days while Balata refugee camp has been under siege for the last 18 consecutive days. We have just heard that every single entrance/exit to Balata has been sealed off completely. No food or medicine is allowed in. Medical relief teams are being obstructed and at times completely prevented from passing through. Activists from ISM (the International Solidarity Movement) were attacked while carrying out their missions to observe and bear witness on what the Israeli occupation authorities are brutalizing the Palestinian population. Beit Foreek has been completely sealed off; its mayor reports that there are signs of starvation. Five conscientious objectors get one-year jail sentences Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 The Jaffa Military Court yesterday imposed prison sentences of one year each on five conscientious objectors who refused to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces. The three military judges differed in their opinions, with one wishing to sentence the five to 22 months in prison, another calling for a 12-month sentence, and the third advising a six-month jail term for each. In handing down their sentence, the judges said that the country was undergoing a period of fighting and terror in which many people had lost their lives. This period, the judges said, called for social unity, which was being undermined by draft-dodgers who were giving the country a bad name around the world. PRCS responds to emergency situation in Nablus ReliefWeb/PRCS 1/4/2004 Since 18 December 2003, Nablus City, Balata Refugee Camp and Al-Qaryon area are under total Israeli Army imposed siege and curfew. In Al-Qaryon area, the Israeli Army continues to deny access to medical teams and ambulances. To date, PRCS has documented 12 deaths and 97 injuries due to Israeli Army gunfire. In response to this humanitarian emergency, the Palestine Red Crescent Society has initiated several relief activities. Nablus report / Budrus update International Solidarity Movement 1/5/2004 1. Nablus: Contrary to how the media is reporting it: January 4, 2004 - Kelly B. - Yesterday 4 boys were killed in nablus, and one more in critical condition in the hospital. All within an hour, Rawhi Shuman (19) Amer Arafat (26) and Amjed al-Masri (15) were shot and killed in the downtown Nablus area./ 2. Update on activists arrested in Budrus: Frederick Batzler (Swedish activist with the ISM) and Katheryn (Kate) Raphael (American activist with the IWPS) are still awaiting a deportation hearing. Frederick is being held in the Ariel Police Station and Kate in the Khadera Police Station. / 3. Update from Budrus: The nonviolent resistance will continue against the Israeli Apartheid Wall. Since January 1, the Israeli army has continued to send jeeps into and out of the village in order to alert Budrus to its presence and try to frighten the villagers into ending their peaceful demonstrations. Israeli colonel resigns over army's 'immoral' actions The Independent 1/5/2004 A reservist colonel in the Israeli army has resigned his commission in protest at his army's "immoral conduct" in the occupied territories. In a searing open letter to the army's chief of staff, Lt-Col Eitan Ronel, a veteran of 1973's Yom Kippur War, the invasion of Lebanon, and the first Palestinian Intifada, returned his officer's commission....In his letter to the chief of staff, Lt-Col Ronel, who was released from active reserve duty two years ago, wrote that for him, the final straw had been when Israeli soldiers opened fire last week on unarmed protestors demonstrating against the "separation fence" Israel is building in the West Bank. Palestinian families threatening hunger strike Palestinian Information Center 1/5/2004 Bethlehem - A number of Palestinian families in the West Bank town of Beit Jala has threatened to turn their sit-in at the village's municipality into an open hunger strike. The families were protesting the Palestinian Authority's negligence of their question after the Zionist occupation forces demolished their houses in the course of the Aqsa intifada and the PA did not move to compensate them. Al-Salam hospital: Palestinian people facing war of annihilation Palestinian Information Center 1/5/2004 Gaza - Al-Salam hospital in the Gaza Strip has warned in a message to the assistant secretary general of the Jeddah-based World Association of Muslim Youths (WAMY) that the unarmed Palestinian people were facing a Zionist ferocious annihilation war. The hospital management underlined in the letter that the Zionist war did not spare children, youths, women or old men and not even trees and stones....The message asked for medicine, medical equipment and financial assistance to allow that charitable hospital continue in shouldering its responsibilities. PPS Report: Israel Continues to Place Palestinians Under "Administrative Detention" International Press Center 1/4/2004 RAMALLAH, Palestine, January 4, 2004 (IPC) - - Israeli occupying authorities placed in 2003 nearly 950 Palestinians under "administrative detention" (detention without charges or trial), compared with 850 in 2002, as detention of 180 others was extended for the third time consecutively, as revealed by a report released yesterday by a local Palestinian organization concerned with prisoners affairs. The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) made clear that the Israeli occupying authorities increased the number of those Palestinian "administrative detainees" to 950 in 2003, compared with 850 in 2002. Anti-fence protesters detained in W. Bank Ha'aretz 1/4/2004 A number of Israeli left-wing activists were detained yesterday by police when security forces prevented them from reaching the West Bank village of Dir Balut to protest construction of the separation fence near the community. Yesterday, five buses with some 300 protesters were making their way to Dir Balut, south of the settlement of Elkana, when they were stopped at a road block on the Trans-Samaria highway, near Elkana, that had been set up by police to intercept them. 7,254 Palestinian prisoners in 15 Zionist jails Palestinian Information Center 1/5/2004 Nablus - A special report prepared by Palestinian prisoners in Zionist jails has revealed that 7,254 Palestinians were currently incarcerated in 15 Zionist jails including five run by the Zionist army. The report noted that the prisoners before the Aqsa intifada numbered 1,381 out of whom 1,000 were still retained behind bars. A big number of them were released then arrested anew during the intifada. Jewish women fight holy war The Guardian 1/5/2004 Feminists demand the right to pray aloud at Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, despite the threat of jail and attacks by Orthodox men -- Peggy Cidor concedes that she is not a radical feminist's idea of a radical feminist. All she seeks, for now at least, is to pray aloud at Judaism's holiest site for a few hours a year. But a campaign by Ms Cidor and dozens of other Jewish women for sexual equality at the Wailing Wall threatens to change the face of the Orthodox religious establishment in Israel. News from Rafah International Solidarity Movement 1/3/2004 1) ISM's Laura Gordon available to speak 2) ISM Rafah's December Zine online 3) A photo exhibit about Rafah 4) Jerusalem Post on the arrest of soldier who shot Tom Hurndal Brigade faulted in protester shooting Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 The inquiry into the shooting of a protester at the separation fence last week finds faults in the brigade's actions, training and supervision, but is not expected to recommend demoting any officers involved. Unarmed peace activist Gil Na'amati was badly wounded when soldiers shot him during a demonstration at the fence. Palestinian Victim Sues Israeli Government for Mistakenly Bombing His Car While Inside International Press Center 1/5/2004 GAZA, Palestine, January 5, 2004 (IPC) - - Aymen Shamia, a civil engineer, filed a suit against the Israeli government, due to injuries his wife sustained during the botched assassination attempt on the life of a commander of the military wing of Hamas last Tuesday where a missile strayed the targeted car and hit his car instead. In an appeal the IPC has received a copy from, Shamia made clear that his car was pounded as he and his wife were inside. Rafah Lives: A Journal of Resistance in Daily Life - Acrobat format Electronic Intifada /ISM December 2003 After the Invasion -- It has been two months since the October invasion and still tents line one side of the street. Water tanks provided by the United Nations are now in place but other than that little has changed. Many of the families affected have moved away, some to live with neighbours and relatives; some have rented new and completely unaffordable places to live. They must live somewhere. Where the rubble once filled the streets it has now been pushed to the side, clearing the way for cars and people trying to go on with their daily lives. Everywhere twisted remnants belie their attempts to continue living normally. CKUT Radio: Palestinian Refugees - Fighting for Dignity in Lebanon Islamic Association for Palestine 1/4/2004 Listen to an interview with Raida Hatoum a Lebanese activist who works with Najdeh, a women's NGO network throughout the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon. Najdeh was established by a group of Palestinian refugee women near the beginning of the Lebanese civil-war. Currently Najdeh organizes various social programs throughout many of the Palestinian refugee camps, focusing on the immediate needs of women and children within the camps....To listen to the interview with Raida Hatoum visit: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=8335 - For more information on Najdeh visit: http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/360/362/najdeh/ Ethiopian activists discuss protesting Falashmura policy Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 Activists in the Ethiopian community in Israel working to speed up the immigration of the Falashmura from Ethiopia met yesterday in Tel Aviv to discuss means of protest against what they deemed as a racist attitude on the part of Absorption Minister Tzipi Livni. The activists have charged Livni with an attempt "not to carry out a government decision to bring the remaining Ethiopian Jews to Israel." Five "Refuseniks" Sentenced to One Year by Israeli Court-Martial International Press Center 1/5/2004 GAZA, Palestine, January 5, 2004 (IPC + Agencies)-- The Israeli martial court in Jaffa has sentenced on Sunday five soldiers who refused to serve in the occupied Palestinian territories, to one year in jail, after having been indicted of insurgence and refusing the service orders in the Israeli occupying forces. The Jaffa court was a quad for political rally of Israelis, chanting anti-occupation phrases. Nearly 100 Israelis of the relatives and proponents of the five soldiers gathered before the doorstep of the court, holding up banners reading “the Israeli army is a terrorist organization … no to the occupation … yes for peace.”

Economy..

Peretz, Netanyahu sign deal to end sanctions Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 Political combatants Histadrut labor federation chairman Amir Peretz and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shook hands Monday as they announced they had reached an agreement that will end the public-sector labor sanctions that lasted more than three months. Government offices were preparing for large numbers of people expected to visit the offices, which will be reopening Tuesday. Palestinians banking on Saudi aid to victims of Israeli demolitions ReliefWeb 1/5/2004 GAZA CITY, Jan 5 (AFP) - The Palestinian Authority is banking on financial aid from Saudi Arabia to build new housing for Gaza Strip residents whose homes were destroyed by the Israeli army, Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei said Monday. Qorei, who recently returned from his first official visit to Saudi Arabia, said he had presented Saudi officials with building projects aimed at providing new homes to scores of Palestinians whose houses were demolished in military raids. Israel OKs Work Permits to Palestinians Washington Post 1/4/2004 JERUSALEM - Israel on Sunday reauthorized work permits for 29,000 Palestinian laborers from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, weeks after revoking the permits following a suicide bombing in Israel, the army said. Israel has frequently clamped suffocating restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza since Israel-Palestinian fighting broke out three years ago. These restrictions have dealt a heavy blow to the Palestinian economy, which is heavily dependent on jobs in Israel. Israel's guaranteed income lowest in West Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 The guaranteed income allocated to poor families in Israel is the lowest among the Western welfare states that pay similar allowances, according to researchers from the Social Work School in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The researchers conducted an international comparison of allowances for basic existence....Israel plunged to the penultimate place in the list, above Spain but below the United States, which is not considered a welfare state at all. 100 days war Globes 1/5/2004 The Histadrut won on the small issues, but the Ministry of Finance won the big ones. -- This was a battle of egoism, machisimo, and personal political interests. Benjamin Netanyahu versus Amir Perez. Netanyahu, who has internalized the American tendency to vote according to economic circumstances, is building a middle class bloc to support him in his bid for the Likud party leadership and for the prime ministership. Perez, is trying to ensure a spot for members One Nation in the Labor Party, and for a personal bid for the Labor Party leadership and for prime minister, using the support of lower population deciles and the civil servants. Gush Dan cities to stop dumping sewage into sea Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 The dumping of sewage into the Mediterranean Sea near the Tel Aviv area, which has become one of the most polluted sea waters along Israel's coast, is to end by 2006, it was announced Monday. According to the joint announcement made by the Association of Gush Dan cities, which is responsible for the flow of waste into the sea, and the environmental group "Tzlul," the waste will be treated on land. Labor Court issues injunction against Bezeq work slowdown Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 The order came after two weeks of sanctions. Bezeq management: Employees were back to work as usual by this evening. -- The Tel Aviv district labor court this evening issued a back-to-work injunction to Bezeq (TASE:BZEQ) workers, ordering them to cease sanctions immediately. Gov't approves Turkish water Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 The government yesterday approved the purchase of one billion cubic meters of water from Turkey. Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and minister in the Finance Ministry Meir Sheetrit voted against the proposal, while 13 cabinet members voted in favor of the transaction.

People..

Photo Essay: Trapped in Someone Else's Dream By Asim Rafiqui, ZoneZero.com A photo exhibit about Rafah - There is a brutal military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza and it is being used to systematically expropriate land from the Palestinians and lock them into ghettos. This is a lived reality for the millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. However, these facts are carefully avoided in the official language of peace. The Environmental concerns in Palestine Al-Jazeera 1/5/2004 “Israel is using the environment as a weapon against the Palestinians,” said Jamal Jumah, director of PENGON, the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network....According to Jumah, about one million trees have been uprooted since the start of the Intifada. -- Visitors to Wadi Gaza, if they are familiar with the natural wetland’s reputation, will notice some amazing changes. The Wadi, once notorious for its noxious sewage fumes, is virtually unrecognisable now. Varieties of rare birds nestle over the Wadi’s serene waters, in the shade of indigenous grass and ferns. Nearby, cleared out hiking trails provide ample room for visitors to take in the scenery under the newly planted palm trees. All this is the result of a recent UNDP project that is converting the Wadi and its vicinity from a sewage dump into a model national park. Babies who threaten to topple Israel The Guardian 1/4/2004 Avraham Burg, former Speaker of the Israeli parliament, has been stirring up trouble. In August, he charged Israel with having failed in its historic mission to be a 'light unto nations' through its belligerence. He was promptly accused of encouraging 'the Jew hatred sweeping all of Europe'. A few weeks ago, Burg was at it again, articulating the nightmare all Israelis fear: 'Between the Jordan [River] and the Mediterranean, somewhere between next year and two years' time, there will be born the first Palestinian ... of the Palestinian majority,' - the generation of Arabs who will outnumber Israelis. Support for Sharon falls Globes 1/5/2004 Still, the financial scandals aren't harming him. A Globes-Smith survey. -- Public support for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is falling. Polls have asked about Sharon's performance as prime minister several times since he took up office. In December 2001, 65% of the respondents said he was doing well or very well, while 34% said he was not doing well or doing badly. Building and re-building a country Daily Star 1/5/2004 New tome illuminates century of architecture in Lebanon -- The first automobile to be imported into Lebanon arrived in 1907. It was a Pahard-Levasseur owned by Alfred Sursock, and its appearance caused a commotion in the streets of Beirut. This is one of the many anecdotes that spice up Gebran Yacoub’s “Dictionnaire de l’architecture au Liban au XXe siecle” by giving us glimpses of life here in the past century. The large dictionary aims to shed light on local architecture and builders by increasing public awareness. Lebanese history by way of Greek tragedy Daily Star 1/5/2004 Adapted from Euripides’ Medea, Jad al-Hage’s play Bint Asl fails to deliver on its initial promise -- There’s nothing subtle about Bint Asl (Girl from a good family) currently playing at the Monnot Theater. For fifty-odd minutes Darina al-Jundy trembles, cries, stomps, crawls and barks orders as memory after memory consumes her on stage. When it’s all over, and every morbid detail exposed, the spot light shines not on Jundy’s crouched figure, but on the bomb she has wrapped as a wedding present for her ex-husband. The message, then, is painfully obvious: the violence will continue.

International..

US prepared to seize Gulf oilfields in 1973 Middle East Online 1/4/2004 LONDON - British spy chiefs secretly warned that the United States would be prepared to invade Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to seize their oilfields following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, it was disclosed Thursday. Files released to the British National Archives under the 30-year rule for classified documents show the intelligence agencies believed the US was ready to take military action to prevent further disruption to oil supplies. It followed the decision in October 1973 by the Arab nations to slash oil production, and send prices rocketing, while imposing a complete embargo on the Americans over their support for Israel. Maher to Iran: Camp David issue ‘in the past’ Middle East Online 1/5/2004 TEHRAN - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher has asserted that his country's Camp David peace accord with Israel was "is merely a thing of the past" and Cairo and Tehran should boost their ties, the official Iranian news agency reported Monday. "I don't think using the issue of Camp David will be useful, because it does not exist anymore and is merely a thing of the past," Maher said of the 1979 peace deal - one of the reasons why Iran broke off ties with Egypt. Change Sadat Assassin Street Name, Tehran Council Told Arab News 1/6/2004 TEHRAN, 6 January 2004 — Iran’s government has formally asked Tehran City Council to remove a major barrier to restoring ties with Egypt by renaming a street dedicated to the assassin of late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, a top council source told AFP yesterday. US begins fingerprinting foreigners Al-Jazeera 1/5/2004 The US government has begun fingerprinting and photographing foreign visitors arriving at 115 airports as part of a widely-criticised effort to track down alleged terrorists. Photos and fingerprints are required of those visitors who must obtain visas to enter the United States - an expected 23 million arrivals in 2004. Citizens from 28 countries, mostly in Europe, are exempt, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which runs the US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, or US-VISIT. Syria Opposed to Kurdish State, Wants Iraq United An Nahar 1/5/2004 ANKARA - Syria is opposed to any attempt to carve up its neighbor and fellow Arab state Iraq, and in particular to the creation of an independent Kurdish state, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a television interview. "We are opposed, not only to a Kurdish state but also to any action against the territorial integrity of Iraq," he told the Turkish-language station of CNN television on the eve of a historic visit to Turkey, the first by a Syrian leader for 58 years. El Al pilots to be fingerprinted in U.S. Ha'aretz 1/5/2004 El Al pilots flying the route to the United States will henceforth be required to leave their fingerprints there, as the U.S. steps up security at their airports in the face of a heightened terror alert. American authorities have also informed El Al that it will have to provide them in advance with the names of non-commercial passengers entering American territory, such as family members of the crew and El Al workers who fly across in Boeing 747-200 cargo planes. Al-Assad meets with Kharazi Arabic News 1/5/2004 Syria's President Bashar al-Assad received on Saturday Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi and an accompanying delegation. Talks during the meeting dealt with the latest developments in the region particularly the situation in Iraq and in the occupied Palestinian territories, and touched upon the Syrian initiative submitted to UN Security Council to make the Middle East an area free of mass destruction weapons. Arab Charter of Human Rights - extraordinary meeting Arabic News 1/5/2004 The Arab Standing Committee of Human Rights (ASCHR) began its 3rd extraordinary meeting at the Cairo-based Arab League ( AL ) Sunday with the participation of delegations from all Arab states and a representative of the UN Higher Commission of Human Rights along with envoys from 18 Arab relevant organizations. The AL Secretary General Amr Moussa said in an opening speech that Arabs and Moslems are under misleading propaganda that relies on baseless allegations, and claims that they do not respect human rights. Arab fixation on ‘terror’ hinders flow of capital Daily Star 1/5/2004 Leaders give low priority to developing financial markets -- BEIRUT: Arab governments’ preoccupation with fighting “terror” is impeding the development of the financial markets and could scare away Arab capital that fled Western markets after the Sept. 11 attack on the United States, a leading financial market analyst has said. “The stock markets are taking a back seat to the political turmoil in the region,” said Beshr Bakheet, managing partner in Riyadh-based Bakheet Financial Advisors....He said the US “war on terror” is unlikely to stop in Iraq and could enflame other Arab countries, increasing investor jitters over pooling cash into the underdeveloped Arab stock exchanges. Tight Security as Pilgrims Start Pouring In Arab News 1/5/2004 JEDDAH, 6 January 2004 — Saudi Arabia has stepped up security for the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who have started arriving in the country for Haj from all over the world and warned anyone trying to undermine Haj security and its peaceful atmosphere. Prodi invites Qathafi to Brussels; Libya: our measure are unappreciated by the USA Arabic News 1/5/2004 Libya yesterday renewed its confirmation that there is no justification for the continued American sanctions against it, and considered that it had taken numerous measures that are worthy of appreciation conducive to improve its relations with the USA. It added that lifting the sanctions "will be in the interest of the American companies." Libya denies opening its lands for American and British forces Arabic News 1/5/2004 Son of the Libyan leader disclosed a Libyan, British and American agreement to training Libyan military personnel, but denied that this agreement means the establishment of military bases on the Libyan territories. Indian PM visits Pakistan for first time in five years Ha'aretz 1/4/2004 ISLAMABAD - Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee began a historic visit to nuclear rival Pakistan on yesterday, saying he was willing to discuss their bitter dispute over Kashmir but not necessarily right away. Vajpayee, in Pakistan for the first time in nearly five years, ruled out formal bilateral talks with Pakistani leaders at a South Asian summit in Islamabad starting today. Missteps Seen in Muslim Chaplain's Spy Case New York Times 1/5/2004 WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 — ...."It certainly seems like they couldn't get him on what they first thought they had," General Fugh said, "so they said, `Let's get the son of a gun on something.' " Saudi Crown Prince urges moderation Middle East Online 1/4/2004 RIYADH - Saudi Arabia intends to push ahead with reforms, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz said, calling for patience as he was handed a list of recommendations drawn up by a "national dialogue" forum. "We should be patient and do things in an unhurried way," he told a gathering of Muslim clerics and intellectuals on Saturday night, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

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