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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 killed in Gaza invasion Al-Jazeera 1/8/2004 Israeli soldiers have shot dead a Palestinian in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, hours after another three Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank. Ibrahim al-Kurd, 46, was killed when occupation troops opened fire after briefly raiding the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood near the border with Egypt early on Thursday, according to a Palestinian security official....Also on Wednesday morning, Israeli forces, backed by more than 20 military vehicles, launched a new invasion of Jenin's refugee camp, Aljazeera's correspondent reported. The forces sealed off the camp and launched search operations into many houses there, witnesses told Aljazeera. One Palestinian Civilian Killed and Two Houses Demolished by IOF in Rafah International Press Center 1/8/2004 RAFAH, Palestine, January 8, 2004 (IPC + WAFA)--Israeli occupying forces (IOF) shot dead early on Thursday a Palestinian civilian and demolished two houses in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Mahmoud Ibrahim Alkurd 43, was shot dead with a live bullet in his head after his house had come under Israeli heavy fire, local hospital sources said....In the meantime, IOF demolished on Thursday two Palestinian houses situated at the Palestinian-Egyptian borders, just south of Rafah city, by using explosive devices, the sources added. Palestinian arrested and executed by Israeli troops Palestine Monitor 1/7/2004 One of the two Palestinians killed by Israeli troops during another invasion of Nablus early this morning was arrested and summarily executed, according to a witness, suggesting yet another war crime by Israeli occupying forces....Al Khasass is the man believed to have been executed, while Atari was shot trying to escape capture. 37 year-old Qadri Alassi, who lives near the garden in which the two men’s bodies were found, claims to have heard an exchange of fire, during which it is believed Atari was killed. He then heard Israeli soldiers interrogating Al Khasass, who was heard shouting, “I don’t know! I don’t know!” before a heavy burst of shooting from his Israeli captors. Israeli Killing Spree Raises Palestinian Death Toll to 12 in Week Palestine Media Center 1/8/2004 Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Wednesday shot dead four Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip -- two of them at close range and one after his leg was badly bitten by a police dog, raising the Palestinian death toll in the past week to twelve -- while detaining at least 24 activists in the last twenty-four hours, including the correspondent of the Lebanese satellite TV station Almanar....Since mid-December, IOF have stepped up their aggression throughout the northern West Bank, focusing heavily on the city of Nablus and its adjacent Balata refugee camp. IOF soldiers have killed fourteen Palestinians in the city over the past three weeks. Israel Kills Three Palestinians In West Bank Islam Online 1/7/2004 NABLUS, West Bank, January 7 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinians in the West Bank late Tuesday, January 6, as a new report revealed that none of the Israeli soldiers indicted for killing innocent Palestinians has been jailed since the beginning of Intifada. In Tulkarem, some ten Israeli jeeps thrust into the refugee camp drawing clashes with resistance fighters, Palestinian security officials told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Amid international silence, Israel keeps up the killing of Palestinian civilians Palestinian Information Center 1/8/2004 Occupied Jerusalem - Amid international silence and American acquiescence, the Israeli occupation army continued to murder innocent Palestinian civilians on a daily basis under the rubric of fighting “terror and violence.” Palestinian medical sources as well as human rights groups operating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have complained that the killing of innocent civilians by trigger happy Israeli soldiers are assuming a stunning frequency. Number killed in terror attacks down 50% in 2003 Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 The number of terror attacks in 2003 dropped by 50 percent and the number of people killed in attacks dropped by 30 percent compared with the previous year, according to statistics published Thursday by the defense establishment. In 2003, 213 Israelis were killed in terror attacks, 50 of them members of the security forces, compared with 451 Israelis who were killed in 2002. Zionist forces withdraw from Shoka village leaving behind vast destruction Palestinian Information Center 1/7/2004 Rafah - Zionist terrorist forces yesterday withdrew from the village of Shoka to the east of Rafah city in the southern tip of the Gaza Strip after two days of wreaking havoc in the peaceful town. The occupation troops demolished four houses and partially destroyed two others while inflicting damage on three other houses rendering 30 individuals homeless. PA document: Hamas, Islamic Jihad timed bombings to derail peace process Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 "The suicide bombings are a key element in the arena of the struggle between the Israelis and Palestinians," says a report by a Palestinian security service on the suicide bombings, "and an analysis of the circumstances of the timing and execution of the vast majority of the bombings, particularly the major ones conducted by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad, makes clear the timing was much more a purely political matter than a practical military one." The authors of the report assume that the Hamas and Islamic Jihad are well-connected inside the Palestinian Authority with agents and elements who provide information based on knowledge of political developments.... Occupation forces damage farmlands Palestinian Information Center 1/8/2004 Gaza - Zionist occupation troops last night advanced into north of Al-Matahin (flour mills) company to the south of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip and damaged Palestinian farmlands. The terrorist forces destroyed the lands of Abu Holi and other areas cultivated with palm trees and Guava. Arrest campaign in Ramallah district Palestinian Information Center 1/8/2004 Ramallah - The Zionist army launched at dawn yesterday a large-scale arrest campaign in the West Bank twin cities of Ramallah and El-Bireh. A Zionist army force stormed the Balu suburb to the north of El-Bireh and forced all inhabitants out of their houses in the cold weather including women and children, inhabitants reported. IOF Kills Three Palestinians, Kidnaps Three Children and Arrests Scores in oPt International Press Center 1/7/2004 NABLUS, Palestine, January 7, 2004 (IPC + WAFA) - - After giving the Palestinian people a false feeling of redeployment, the Israeli occupying forces re-invaded the city of Nablus again and killed two citizens there, and a third in Tulkarem, a thing that came coincident with a large scale arrest campaign all over the Palestinian territories and kidnapping of three children by the occupying forces north of Gaza....The witnesses added that both citizens were executed inside a house in Rafidia neighborhood in the city, after a large force of Israeli soldiers stormed the house, and that the citizens were unarmed....As well, the Israeli soldiers launched a massive arrest campaign around the city of Nablus, Balata and Al Ein refugee camps, according to WAFA news agency. Three Palestinians killed in West Bank Middle East Online 1/7/2004 NABLUS, West Bank - Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinians overnight in the West Bank including a member of the radical Islamic movement Hamas, Palestinian security officials said Wednesday. Hisham Khrewesh, 20, was killed during a shootout in the Tulkarem refugee camp between Israeli troops and armed militants that broke out when around 10 Israeli jeeps moved into the area, they said. Daily Situation Report in the OPT - Acrobat format Palestine Media Center 1/8/2004 Daily Situation Report by Palestinian Monitoring Group - 08:00 06 January 2004 – 08:00 07 January 2004 - detailed accounting of closures, curfews, demolitions and other daily operations conducted by the IDF in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Diplomacy..

Netanyahu supports resuming peace talks with Syria Middle East Online 1/8/2004 JERUSALEM - Hardline Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged his government Thursday to resume peace negotiations with Syria, arguing that the Jewish state was in a strong position to obtain concessions. "Bearing in mind Syria's very precarious position, it's in our interest to exploit recent overtures for contacts" with Syria, the influential former premier told public radio. He explained that US pressure on Damascus in the aftermath of the war in Iraq provided an unprecedented opportunity to reach an agreement "without withdrawing from the Golan" Heights, occupied by Israel in 1967 and annexed 14 years later. Ya'alon: we may have to attack Syria again Jerusalem Post 1/7/2004 Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon warned that recent Syrian overtures towards Israel, Turkey and the US – made under duress – mean nothing, and that the IDF may have to strike at Syria again if it does not curtail assistance, finding and refuge to terrorist organizations. IDF presses Sharon for talks with Syria Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 The Israel Defense Forces is pressing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz not to ignore the proposal by Syrian President Bashar Assad to resume peace negotiations. The top echelon of the army believes Israel should not appear to be saying no to a peace proposal and should respond positively, putting Assad to the test even if it appears that the Syrian proposal is for tactical reasons, as Damascus tries to mitigate heavy U.S. pressure on Syria. Rumsfeld May Send U.S. Commandos to Hunt Down Bekaa 'Terrorists' An Nahar 1/8/2004 U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is reportedly contemplating the dispatch of special U.S. troops to east Lebanon's Bekaa valley to "track down and arrest terrorists there." But Lebanon said Thursday the Bush administration aught not act on deliberately fabricated reports. "Those who plant such fantasies in the mind of the U.S. administration are actually scheming to sabotage any chance of a positive dialogue between the United States and Lebanon," Lebanon's Information Minister Michel Samaha said in an interview published by the London-based Asharq Al Awsat newspaper. U.S. human rights report set to slam separation fence Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 The U.S. State Department is expected to strongly criticize the West Bank separation fence in its annual human rights report, due for publication in March. The U.S. administration has already informed Israel that the issue of the fence will take up a significant part of the chapter on Israel and the territories. U.S. questions on the barrier have focused on the discrepancies between Israeli promises that the fence will not burden the lives of the Palestinians living near it and the facts on the ground. The Americans believe that the function of the fence is problematic and infringes on the freedom of movement of residents of nearby villages. Al-Qaddafi son: Israel is not a threat Al-Jazeera 1/8/2004 Saif al-Islam, the son of Libya's leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, has denied recent news reports about his meeting a member of the Israeli Knesset on the sidelines of an international parliamentary conference in Athens. He has said, however, that Libya no longer considers Israel a security threat nor is his country in a confrontation with Israel. In an exclusive interview with Aljazeera.net on Thursday, Saif al-Islam described the recent news reports as malicious rumours being spread by "some Arab countries" to spite Libya because of his country's latest political successes (in breaking its international isolation). Jerusalem and Tripoli play down reports of contacts Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 Both Israel and Libya played down reports yesterday of contacts between the two countries. "There is no need to rush into diplomatic relations with Libya," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday to reporters at the Knesset. "After all," Sharon continued, "we know the personality of [Libyan President Muammar] Gadhafi. Where are we running to? I heard that President [George] Bush is not lifting the sanctions on Libya until [concrete] measure are taken." Palestinian PM says two-state solution in danger Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said on Thursday Palestinians would seek a bi-national state and demand the same rights as Israelis if Israel carried out its threat to absorb chunks of the West Bank. Qureia's comments, in an interview with Reuters, underscored the Palestinians' sense of desperation in the face of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral plan to impose a boundary stripping them of some land they want for a state if peacemaking stays frozen. Israel Fears Isolation, Sanctions Over Fence Forward 1/9/2004 Slam the Court, Advisers Urge -- WASHINGTON — Bracing for a ruling against its separation fence by the World Court — which could pave the way for South Africa-style international sanctions — Israel and its allies here are considering a campaign to discredit the court as a biased organ of the United Nations. The proposed campaign is highly controversial even among Israel's top strategists, who acknowledge that it could alienate moderates and liberals who view the court with respect. Nonetheless, the move is seen by some senior advisers as an inevitable last step if the court rejects Israel's arguments and rules the fence a violation of international law, something most observers consider all but certain. Libyan-Israeli contacts to forge ties Middle East Online 1/7/2004 Israel surveys safer neighbourhood as diplomatic ties open with Libya whose deputy FM denies reports. -- Israel is reaping the benefits of the diplomatic fall-out of the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in Baghdad, with Libya the latest Arab country apparently keen to open a new chapter in relations. Diplomatic sources said Wednesday that talks took place last month in Paris between Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom's chief political advisor and a senior Libyan foreign ministry official with a view to forging diplomatic ties. Libya denies reports about secret talks with Israel Al-Bawaba 1/7/2004 A senior Libyan official denied reports out of Israel that high-level, secret talks had recently been held over the prospect of forging diplomatic ties. "Libyan authorities have looked into these reports and found nothing to them," Deputy Foreign Minister Hassuna Shawsh told the state news agency JANA. Shawsh added "whoever is circulating these reports should provide proof by stating the date and place of these meetings, as well as the people involved. In possible breakthrough, Israelis and Libyans reportedly hold secret meetings San Francisco Chronicle 1/7/2004 In a sign of a possible thaw between longtime Mideast enemies, Israeli and Libyan officials reportedly held secret contacts in Europe last month, and an Israeli legislator said he met several months ago with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son. The reports come as Gadhafi tries to remake his image after years as an international pariah. Both countries played down the reports. Report: Top Hamas leaders hold talks with Jewish-American following Egyptian mediation Al-Bawaba 1/7/2004 A reliable Egyptian source has disclosed that American Jews have recently held contacts with the Hamas movement's leadership in the Gaza Strip, the London-based A Sharq al Awsat reported Wednesday. According to the source, "US Professor Steve Cohen had met with Dr. Mahmoud a Zahar and Ismail Haniyyeh - two prominent leaders of Hamas in the Gaza Strip." Prof. Cohen is a representative of a well-known Jewish institute in the United States. Jordan will tell ICJ Israeli security barrier must come down: Moasher ReliefWeb 1/8/2004 AMMAN, Jan 8 (AFP) - Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher said Thursday that Amman will submit to the world court legal arguments against the security barrier Israel is building across the West Bank, at the end of the month. "We will submit the International Court of Justice (ICJ) a legal dossier by the end of January against the separation wall," Moasher told a group of foreign reporters in Amman, including AFP. Shaath Urges EU to Spearhead ‘Two Initiatives’ Palestine Media Center 1/8/2004 De Villepin Accepts Invitation to Visit Palestinian Territory, Meet Arafat -- Ahead of an upcoming visit to the region by a top US Middle East envoy, and following the Palestinian PM’s announcement Monday that contacts with Israel have stopped, Saudi Arabia announced possible European-Arab action to revive the “roadmap” peace plan while the Palestine National Authority (PNA) urged the EU to spearhead “two initiatives” in the Palestinian –Israeli conflict during the preoccupation of the US Administration with the elections campaign. Steinitz: No pulling out of the Golan Jerusalem Post 1/8/2004 There is no possibility of pulling out of the Golan Heights, and anyone who talks of returning that strategic area to the Syrians is endangering the security of the State of Israel, MK Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee said Thursday. Speaking on Israel Radio, Steinitz said that even former Labor Prime Minster Yitzhak Rabin held the view that the Golan Heights was crucial to the security of the nation. Yesha chief calls Kurtzer a `Jewboy' Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 The director general of the Yesha Council, Adi Mintz, has told the Shas party organ that "in the American Embassy there is a Jewboy - and I'm not ashamed of using that word - who gets lists from Peace Now and runs with them to the State Department."Yesha is the Hebrew acronym for Judea, Samaria and Gaza...."(U.S. Ambassador Daniel) Kurtzer doesn't deny that he is a Peace Now person. He's a galut (Diaspora) Jew who came to us and he participates in leftist conferences where he makes speeches rejecting the legitimacy of the settlements in Yesha and he intervenes bluntly in domestic politics. This is not the behavior of a diplomat. He is harming the independence and strength of the state of Israel." Yassin says ready for temporary peace Jerusalem Post 1/8/2004 Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin is prepared to accept a temporary peace with Israel and a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza with Jerusalem as its capital, reports Israel Radio. He told a Gaza-based German journalist that he is ready to leave the rest of his territorial demands to posterity. Palestinians Lack a Strategy to Foil Sharon’s Designs Arab News 1/8/2004 RAMALLAH, 8 January 2004 — Israel’s unilateral plan to absorb chunks of the occupied West Bank if peacemaking stays frozen leaves Palestinians little chance of salvaging their dream of a viable state. They look stymied by Israel’s building of a barrier that takes in West Bank settlements and their own failure to get a truce from Palestinian militants — key to a US-backed peace plan. “We have no real options because the US is totally behind Israel. All we can do is wait until Americans and Israelis elect new leaders,” a senior Palestinian official said resignedly. Pentagon Presses for U.S. Operation in Lebanon Middle East Newsline 1/8/2004 WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The U.S. Defense Department is said to be mulling a proposal to expand special operations forces and send them to destroy insurgency strongholds along the Lebanese-Syrian border. U.S. defense sources said the proposal is being examined by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. They said the plan calls for a multi-pronged attack on insurgency strongholds in such countries as Lebanon and Somalia. Turkish PM to Israel: Assad serious about renewing talks Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 Syrian President Bashar Assad is serious about renewing peace talks with Israel, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told Israel's ambassador to Ankara, Pini Avivi, in a lengthy meeting Thursday to discuss the Syrian leader's visit this week to Turkey."Syrian President Bashar Assad said he is serious in his intention to renew peace talks with Israel, and intends taking all the necessary steps to reach a peace agreement in the Middle East," Erdogan told Avivi. Erdogan, who also offered to mediate between Israel and Syria, said he believed Assad's statements were serious and were not being issued for public relations purposes. Background / A new Mideast? Is Israel missing its chance? Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 Until recently, Israeli officials routinely spoke of the "bad neighborhood," local shorthand for a Middle East implacably hostile to the very presence of a Jewish state in its midst. The term, with its uniquely Israeli air of bitter humor, its posture of fatalistic comfort on the brink of apocalypse, encompassed such realities as the Eastern Front - Saddam Hussein's Iraq and the Iran of Ayatollah Khomeni and his heirs....As an Israel wary of trusting its traditional blood enemies, faces a new, post-Saddam Middle East, could the real risk be that of squandering unfamiliar opportunities for peace? Sha’th Holds a European Trip to Break the Peace Process Impasse International Press Center 1/8/2004 GAZA, Palestine, January 8 , 2004 (IPC+ Agencies)-- Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Nabil Sha’th held Wednesday talks with his German counterpart, Youshka Fischer in Bonn, focused on ways to push forward the stalled peace process. The talks shed the lighton the latest developments in the situation of the Middle East in the shadow of the unleashing Israeli military offensive against the Palestinian people and discussed deliberated possibilitiesto break the impasse shrouded the peace process.

Human Rights..

Swedish activist released, Budrus village declared 'closed military zone International Solidarity Movement 1/7/2004 1. Frederick Batzler Released: Frederick Batzler, a Swedish activist volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement, was released today after seven days incarceration. / Budrus Update - Village Now Declared Closed Military Zone: The Israeli army has declared the entire village of Budrus (West Ramallah) to be a closed military zone. West Bank villagers believe they can win battle against the "wall" ReliefWeb 1/7/2004 BUDRUS, West Bank Jan 7 (AFP) - Armed with little more than loudhailers, residents of this West Bank village are braving curfews, rubber bullets and teargas on a daily basis in a battle to save their farmland from being swallowed up by Israel's separation barrier. Mohammad Mussa and his neighbour Shukri Awad have been spearheading the protests since New Year's Eve at the site on the edge of their village where bulldozers have begun levelling the ground ahead of construction work on a new segment of the barrier. It's because they fear us, say teenage refuseniks jailed by Israeli army The Guardian 1/7/2004 Haggai Matar never expected that his sentence would be so harsh. But as the teenage refusenik reports to a military prison today, he says he will draw comfort from the judges' description of him as a threat to the survival of Israel. Mr Matar is one of five young men starting one-year sentences at No 6 military prison near Haifa. They all refused to serve because they object to the occupation. MKs to intervene at roadblocks Jerusalem Post 1/8/2004 Meretz MK Roman Bronfman said Wednesday he has established an "MK intervention force" to monitor IDF activities at roadblocks in the territories, with the aim of "preventing human rights violations." He said he initiated the move following an incident this week in which a road from Kalkilya to Mas'ha was blocked for an "entire day," keeping hundreds of people waiting until he arrived on the scene after receiving complaints. Ben Artzi allowed to face conscientious objection committee Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 The JAG command decided Thursday to accept a military court recommendation that pacifist Yonatan Ben Artzi be allowed to appear once again before the IDF conscientious objection committee. Ben Artzi, the nephew by marriage of Finance Minster Benjamin Netanyahu, spent nearly two years battling to convince the army he is a pacifist, and was finally recognized as such by a Jaffa military court in November. Nevertheless, his conscientious objector status couldn't stop the court convicting him for refusing to obey the order to enlist as a conscript. Urgent Alert: Nablus in Agony Palestine Monitor /Palestinian Medical Relief Society 1/6/2004 It is now the twelfth day since the Israeli armed forces launched a massive military operation against the Palestinian town of Nablus, home to more than 200,000 people. So far, Israeli troops have killed fourteen civilians and injured approximately 100. Residents are being prohibited from leaving or entering Nablus, thus imprisoning 200,000 people. Medical rescue teams are being denied access to provide basic emergency and humanitarian care, causing a shortage of food and medical supplies. Waiting to See the Sun: The Third Part International Press Center 1/8/2004 The Palestinian female political prisoners' portfolio continues with its third part, still talking about the prisoners of Nablus governorate, who were subjected to arbitrary and oppressive sentences and were thrown behind bars and dark walls, unable to see the sun. Samar Bader, a high school student, and one of the female Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails. She was born on August 22, 1984 and was arrested on June 16, 2003 from her house in Al Quds Street in Nablus City. On September 2, 2003 the Israeli court sentenced her to 17 months in actual prison. B'Tselem lists rules for IDF at checkpoints Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 The human rights group B'Tselem this week began handing out a "personal card" to Israel Defense Forces soldiers stationed at checkpoints with an appeal by popular singer Yuval Banai calling on them to respect the human rights of the Palestinians. The card includes a list of rules of behavior, which the group says is based on IDF standing orders. The soldiers are told not to try to "educate" the Palestinians with various punishments, like delaying them at the checkpoints unnecessarily. PCHR Condemns Attack Against Al-Arabiya Gaza Correspondent Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 1/8/2004 PCHR strongly condemns the attack this afternoon on Seif al-Din Shahin, Gaza correspondent for the al-Arabiya satellite channel.A group of unidentified individuals attacked Shahin apparently because of their opposition to recent press reports made by Shahin.PCHR considers this violent action an attack on the freedom of the press, of opinion, of expression and the freedom to impart and receive information.PCHR calls upon the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Attorney General to conduct a full and fair investigation into the incident and to bring those found responsible to justice in accordance with the rule of law. Israel violates the rights of Palestinian women prisoners Arabic News 1/8/2004 Palestinian women prisoners in the Israeli al-Ramla prison are being exposed to tough repressive acts, and live under very difficult humanitarian conditions, as they called on the Palestinian government and the Palestinian prisoner's rights group to help them bring their plight to the international community. In two separate messages addressed to the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, and the Palestinian prisoner group in al-Khalil, the women prisoners said that they were exposed to torture, repression, isolation and other maltreatment. IDF refuseniks begin their jail sentences Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 The five conscientious objectors sentenced to 12-month jail terms by the Jaffa Military Court on Sunday began their sentences at the Prison 6 military facility in Atlit yesterday. The five - Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Shimri Zameret, Adam Maor and Noam Bahat - arrived at the prison gates accompanied by family and friends. Shechla: Israel is Committing War Crimes Against Palestinian People International Press Center 1/8/2004 GAZA, Palestine, January 8, 2004 (IPC Exclusive)-- The coordinator of the Habitat International Coalition (HIC) and the Housing & Land Rights Network in the Middle East, Mr. Joseph Shechla, said that the Israeli government is committing war crimes against the Palestinian people....The coordinator of the HIC, which includes 400 international organizations and individuals as members, pointed out that Israel regularly discriminates between the Palestinians behind the "Green Line", explaining that the idea of establishing Israel on a "Jewish state" basis and its connection with the international Zionist Agency asserts the danger of this discrimination. Budrus Resident Arrested for Giving a Speech Arabic Media Internet Network/International Solidarity Movement 1/5/2004 On Thursday, January 1, 2004, Nasir Ahmed Hussein Murar gave a speech at a protest against the Israeli bulldozing of Budrus farmlands for the separation wall. He spoke of the iron will of resistance in the face of unstoppable Israeli destruction. He spoke of the love his people have for their land, for their agricultural connection to the trees. Nasir told those present that "you must be strong in order to destroy a wall! If they cut one tree we shall plant ten more!" He told those present to struggle against the wall until it falls. Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories 01-07 January 2004 Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 1/8/2004 10 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 4 children, killed by Israeli forces / 2 of the victims were killed in an extra-judicial assassination / 1 of the victims was run over by an Israeli settler vehicle / Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip / Houses were raided and a number of Palestinians were arrested / 28 houses in Rafah, Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah were destroyed / More than 150 donums[1] of agricultural land were razed in the Gaza Strip / 120 donums of agricultural land were confiscated in Deir al-Balah for Israeli settlement activities / Construction of the “separation wall” in the West Bank continued / Indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas continued and a number of Palestinian civilians were injured / Israeli occupying forces have continued to impose a total siege on the OPTs

Economy..

Foreign worker numbers down 37% in two years Globes 1/8/2004 The number of legal foreign construction workers has been cut 70% to only 13,300. -- The number of legal foreign workers in Israel fell from 89,300 in January 2003 to 64,400 in November 2003, a 28% decrease. The number of legal foreign workers has dropped by 37%, amounting to 32,000 workers, in less than two years, according to Central Bureau of Statistics figures compiled from employers’ reports to the National Insurance Institute. Average wage drops by NIS 253 Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 The average post-tax monthly salary in October 2003 fell by NIS 253 on the previous month's figure, to NIS 6,822....Figures published yesterday by the Central Bureau of Statistics show that there were 2.3 million salaried workers in Israel in October, almost exactly the same figure as in the previous three months. IMI, Rafael drop out of US civilian aircraft protection tender Globes 1/8/2004 Contracts worth $7-10 billion are at stake in the tender. -- Rafael (Israel Armament Development Company) will present a prototype of anti ground-to-air missile system for passenger aircraft by the end of the year, even though the US administration has barred Israeli companies from this estimated $7-10 billion market. The US Department of Homeland Security yesterday chose three US companies for the final stage of the tender for systems to protect commercial airliners against missile attacks....Rafael regard the selection as only a temporary setback. Israeli 'water for arms' deal with Turkey The Guardian 1/6/2004 Israel and Turkey have agreed an extraordinary "water for arms" deal which will see millions of gallons of fresh water shipped in giant tankers across the eastern Mediterranean and into Israeli ports. In a series of linked agreements expected to have long-term strategic implications throughout the Middle East, the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and Turkey's former energy minister Zeki Cakan reached the water deal at a meeting in Jerusalem yesterday. An official in Mr Sharon's office, said Turkey tied the arms deal to the water agreement. Taro buys $18m New Jersey distribution center Globes 1/8/2004 In conjunction with buying the 29,000-sq.m. facility, Taro Pharmaceutical Industries expects to receive financial incentives from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. -- Taro Pharmaceutical Industries (Nasdaq: TARO) announced today that its US affiliate had expanded its distribution capacity with the purchase of a distribution center in South Brunswick, New Jersey, for $18 million.

People..

What Will Ahmad Do? Peaceful Soap Opera Gripped Palestinians Miftah/Christian Science Monitor 1/8/2004 JERUSALEM - Ahmad is fighting the tidal pull of violence, but the Palestinian high school student is slipping. He skips classes, breaks up with his girlfriend, and nurses the angry belief that the only way to end Israel's presence in the Palestinian territories is to fight. At the cafe where Ahmad works part-time, the regulars fret about him, especially after he fails his exams. Will Ahmad resist the conflict's call? Or is there another way? For 13 weeks last summer, thousands of young Palestinians hung on these questions, scrolling through radio static twice a week to find stations playing "Home Is Our Home," the soap opera about Ahmad and his friends and family. New reality TV dazzles Arab youth Al-Jazeera 1/8/2004 A new reality TV programme, "Star Academy," in which female and male Arab teenagers live together for a talent contest is proving a big hit among the young in the Middle East, despite sharp criticism from conservative circles. The show, a copy of a French programme of the same name and launched last month by the private Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI), groups 16 young people selected from around the Arab world. 50,000 disappointed Russian immigrants to Israel return home Palestinian Information Center 1/8/2004 Occupied Jerusalem - More than 50,000 Russian immigrants to Israel have returned home to Russia, having been disappointed by the quality of life in Israel, the Israeli Hebrew newspaper Yedeot Ahranot reported Thursday. The paper indicated that the collective exodus to motherland Russia was part of a trend stemming from the immigrants’ inability to integrate into the Israeli society. Omar El Sherif refuses to sell his life’s secrets for millions of dollars Al-Bawaba 1/8/2004 Internationally well-known Egyptian actor Omar El Sherif has turned down an offer by one of the satellite television channels to hold a personal interview with in him to talk about his life’s journey from the beginning up until today....The latest remarks made by El Sherif during an interview to Times magazine has caused for the rise of a storm of anger among Arab Muslims....According to the London based Elaph, the remarks that caused the storm of anger were Omar's revealing that he has two grandchildren, one Jewish and the other a Muslim....Omar's comments came with his new movie, which is about love between an old Muslim and a young Jew. Editor of Haaretz Hanoch Marmari steps down Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Hanoch Marmari has informed publisher Amos Schocken of his decision to resign. The move comes after disagreements that arose between Marmari and Schocken. Marmari is expected to leave the position in the coming months. The resignation of Marmari, who has been editor of the newspaper for the last 13 years, comes in the wake of Schocken's decision to move the business department of the newspaper to the building that houses the Schocken-owned Web site for economic affairs, TheMarker, which is across the street from the newspaper's offices on Schocken Street in Tel Aviv. 100,000 Palestinians sign 'new' peace plan Jerusalem Post 1/8/2004 A Palestinian peace group has collected 100,000 signatures endorsed a plan which would create a democracy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and form an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. The People's Campaign for Peace and Democracy (HASHD) "Destination Map" has been signed by 150,000 Israelis. [The "Destination Map" is the 'peace plan' developed by Sari Nusseibeh and Ami Ayalon. See People's Campaign for Peace And Democracy http://www.hashd.org/english - Ed.]

International..

US credits Tunisia for role in Libya's WMD Middle East Online 1/8/2004 WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Tuesday said Tunisia had played a significant role in convincing Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi to abandon the development of weapons of mass destruction. In addition, he said the United States and Britain were now in the process of putting together teams, in consultation with the UN's atomic and chemical weapons watchdogs, to verify Libya's pledge. US delegation seeks Israeli homeland security technology Globes 1/8/2004 Aish HaTorah is sponsoring a visit to Israel by a delegation of US businesspeople, administration officials, and Congressional leaders. -- Next week, Israeli companies will have an excellent opportunity to encounter big bucks in homeland security. Aish HaTorah is sponsoring a visit to Israel by a delegation of 50 US businesspeople, administration officials, and Congressional leaders. Aish HaTorah is a voluntary organization of American Jews for promoting religious education that also promotes business ties between Israeli companies and US government concerns. Assad given weapons ultimatum The Telegraph 1/7/2004 America and Britain rebuffed President Bashar Assad of Syria yesterday, telling him bluntly that Damascus must give up its weapons of mass destruction or face ostracism - even if neighbouring Israel keeps its nuclear arms. "Israel is in a unique position as the only state whose very existence is threatened," said a senior British Government source yesterday. "There is no point in asking for a WMD-free Middle East while there are countries parading missiles with a sign up the side saying Death to Israel." Detained, Bludgeoned and Electrocuted into a Coma Information Clearing House 1/7/2004 7 January 2003: (ICH) Sadiq Zoman Abrahim, 55 years old, was detained this past August in Kirkuk by US Soldiers during a home raid which produced no weapons. He was taken to the police office in Kirkuk, questioned by the Americans there, then transferred to Kirkuk Airport Detention Center....It is documented by both the hospital and Iraqi Red Crescent in Tikrit (who took the photos of Mr. Abrahim), that the Americans dropped the comatose man off with the aforementioned information....The doctors at the hospital in Tikrit, after performing diagnostic tests, informed the family that Mr. Abrahim had suffered massive head trauma, electrocution, and other beatings on his arms. America's Christian Zionists take Israel by storm Austin American-Statesman 1/4/2004 U.S. evangelical Christians have become influential supporters of the Jewish state -- HERZLIYA, Israel -- Christian evangelist Pat Robertson had them in the palm of his hand. No matter that his audience wasn't predominantly Christian. When the founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network culminated his give-no-ground speech to the elite of Israel's political and military establishment with the ringing declaration, "Be strong! Be strong!" many of his listeners jumped to their feet to give him a boisterous round of applause. Syrian VP: Israel tries to undermine Iraq's national unity Al-Bawaba 1/7/2004 "[T]he most dangerous thing for Iraq is the goal of some foreign powers, particularly Israel, to undermine the national unity which constitutes the passage for the realization of Iraqi aspirations."-- Syrian Vice-President Abdul Halim Khaddam on Wednesday met a delegation of the Iraqi al-Jabbour tribe. Khaddam reviewed with the delegation the latest developments in Iraq, SANA reported. The Vice-President told reporters after the meeting that "Iraqi brothers talk with one logic and direction…this is an indicator to the depth of their national feelings." Assad's Turkey visit yields benefits Middle East Online 1/7/2004 ANKARA - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's historic visit to Turkey has crowned a spectacular rapprochement between the two former foes and might lead to important international gains for the two neighbours in a troubled region, observers said on Wednesday. There was obvious pleasure on both sides of the Turkish-Syrian border over the outcome of the talks between Assad, the first Syrian president to come to Turkey, and his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Necdet Sezer. EU anti-Semitism conference back on Jerusalem Post 1/8/2004 The on-again, off again European Union seminar on anti-Semitism is on again, after European Commission President Romano Prodi received assurances from Diaspora Jewish leaders that they don't deem the commission anti-Semitic. At a European Commission meeting Wednesday in Brussels, Prodi repeated that he was "surprised and shocked" by a letter to Monday's Financial Times signed by World Jewish Congress President Edgar Bronfman and the President of the European Jewish Congress, Cobi Benatoff. Jordan hails air marshals Al-Jazeera 1/8/2004 Amid global fretting over whether armed air marshals should be placed on commercial aircraft, the top executive at an airline which has done so for decades - Royal Jordanian (RJ) - has come out with high praise for the practice. "We have had armed agents aboard our aircraft since 1970 and the experience has been extremely positive, despite the budget constraints it places on us," its president and chief executive officer, Samir Majali, told AFP. Jordan says to train Iraqi diplomats Ha'aretz 1/8/2004 AMMAN - Jordan said on Thursday it would start training dozens of junior Iraqi diplomats as soon as the United States prepares to hand over power in Baghdad. U.S. ally Jordan is already training hundreds of Iraqi army officers and police recruits as the U.S. occupation forces try to build up neighboring Iraq's institutions ahead of transferring power before an end of June deadline. Syria's state banking monopoly comes to end Middle East Online 1/7/2004 DAMASCUS - Two private banks opened for business this week in Damascus, marking the end of more than 40 years of state monopoly of the Syrian banking sector. The Syria and Overseas Bank (BSOM) was officially inaugurated Wednesday by Syrian Finance Minister Mohammad al-Hussein and bank board chairman Rateb Shallah. The European Bank of the Middle East-Saudi-Fransi opened its doors to clients Sunday, a branch official said. Mubarak, De Villepin discuss the Iraqi, Palestinian files Arabic News 1/8/2004 Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak will discuss today with the French Foreign minister Dominique de Villepin latest developments in the Iraqi and Palestinian files, and the Egyptian efforts in this regard. De Villepin arrived yesterday in Sharm Esh Sheikh, Egypt, which overlooks the Red Sea, accompanying families of the French victims who were killed in the plane crash off the coast of the city, in order to take part in the eulogy ceremony of the victims. De Villepin will represent his government in two masses that will be held for the victims. The French ambassador to Egypt, Jan Claude Koseryan, said that one of the two masses will be held on land, and the second at sea near the crash. Saudis Fire Charity Head Over Terrorism The Guardian 1/8/2004 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - The chief of a Saudi charity that has been accused of terror links has been fired, Saudi officials said. The officials said that Akeel al-Akeel of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation was sacked and replaced by his deputy, Dabbas al-Dabbasy. The officials, speaking Wednesday on condition of anonymity, said Minister of Islamic Affairs Saleh al-Sheik issued the decision to dismiss al-Akeel, but they did not say when he was sacked or why. Lebanese chafe under Syria's quiet occupation Christian Science Monitor 1/8/2004 BEIRUT, LEBANON – In a small boarding house in the west end of town, Waleed, a tourist from Damascus, returns in high spirits after a day of sightseeing. He got into two museums free of charge by just flashing his Syrian license. "They always let me in because they like Syrians here," he says. "Lebanese and Syrians have a special relationship: We're like brothers." But privately, many Lebanese speak of Syria's continued military presence here not as brotherly but as a relationship marked by Syrian dominance and geopolitical strategy. And while Damascus expressed hopes for better ties with Washington upon the arrival of the new US ambassador Monday, the occupation of Lebanon remains a sticking point. AL chief: Middle East states have right to take defensive measures against Israeli nuclear arsenal Al-Bawaba 1/7/2004 Syria possesses no weapons of mass destruction but it and other Middle East states have the right to take defensive measures against Israel's nuclear arsenal, Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League stated Wednesday. Speaking to the Dubai-based Al Arabiya television, Moussa attacked the US, noting Washington was making a big mistake by accusing Damascus of WMD development without proof. U.S. to Host Conference on USS Liberty Miftah 1/8/2004 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department will cast a spotlight next week on the 1967 Israeli attack on the U.S. spy ship Liberty where 34 American servicemen were killed. Israeli, Arab, British and Canadian diplomats have been invited to attend a conference Monday and Tuesday at the department's Henderson auditorium. A. Jay Cristol, a former U.S. bankruptcy court judge who has written about the incident, will be a featured speaker....David Saterfield, a deputy assistant secretary of state, will deliver the keynote address. US 'endangering world economy' The Guardian 1/8/2004 The International Monetary Fund last night warned that the gaping US budget deficit, ballooning trade imbalance and falling dollar were posing a serious threat to the health of the global economy. It sounded the alarm in a critical report on US fiscal policy, which rounds on the Bush administration's crowd-pleasing tax cuts last year. The US is facing a record-breaking budget deficit, expected to exceed $400bn (£222bn) this year and the IMF urged Washington to get its house in order by raising taxes and cutting spending.

ISM News

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