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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 boy killed, two hurt by IDF fire near Gaza fence Ha'aretz 1/22/2004 An 11-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead and two other youths were wounded by gunfire from Israel Defense Forces troops in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Palestinian sources said. Mohsan Daur was one of a group of youths from the Jabalya refugee camp who came under fire, sources said, close to the border fence into Israel. The 12-year-old and the 16-year-old wounded in the incident were taken to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for treatment. Palestinian shot dead in Gaza Strip as clashes reported in Nablus Al-Bawaba 1/22/2004 A Palestinian on Thursday was shot dead and two others wounded as Israeli occupying forces, stationed to the east of the northern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Jabalia opened fire near a local grave yard, Palestinian medical sources said. The Israeli Army reported that in another incident on Thursday two Palestinian boys were shot by troops, as they approached the "security fence" that surrounds the Gaza Strip. Israeli bulldozers flatten 30 houses in Gaza refugee camp Khilafah.com 1/22/2004 Israeli bulldozers flattened 30 houses and a mosque in Rafah Refugee Camp on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, accusing Israel of systematically razing homes to widen a military buffer zone. However, Israeli military said it only targeted buildings from which shots were fired overnight at Israeli forces, but did not know how many structures were demolished. With the demolitions under way in the Rafah camp, frantic residents threw mattresses and blankets from second-floor windows as ceilings and walls come crashing down around them. Zionist army drops camouflaged explosive materials that blast in children Palestinian Information Center 1/22/2004 Rafah - Zionist terrorist forces in its declared war of annihilation against the Palestinian people were trying to inflict the biggest possible number of casualties and disabilities in their lines. The Zionist invading forces in Rafah recently withdrew from the southern Gaza Strip city and left behind a number of camouflaged explosive objects designed to harm unsuspecting, innocent children. Three children were seriously wounded yesterday when one such device exploded. Settlers seize 2000 Dunams of Palestinian Land Scoop 1/22/2004 Hebron: Two Thousand Dunams of Palestinian Land Around Harsina Settlement Suddenly Seized. - January 21, 2004 -- HEBRON-Israeli settlers from the two large settlements of Harsina and Kiryat Arba, situated along Hebron's eastern edge, have escalated their continuing campaign of annexing fertile Palestinian farmland lying between the two settlements. Harsina, like most Israeli West Bank settlements, sits on top of a hill. The new fence is being laid out about four hundred meters (about one quarter of a mile) downhill from the settlement's current fence line. Guarded by Israeli soldiers and armed settlement security guards, other settlers operating bulldozers, backhoes, posthole diggers, and dump trucks have been speedily tearing up, leveling, and graveling fifteen-meter wide swaths of prime Palestinian farmland over which they are then laying down several thousand meters of new high so-called "security fences" equipped with electronic sensors. Israeli Operation Destroys 36 Buildings In Gaza Scoop 1/22/2004 Israeli armoured vehicles and bulldozers destroyed 36 buildings in a Gaza refugee camp during an operation that began in the early hours of this morning, according to the main United Nations agency helping Palestine refugees. The buildings housed some 81 families, or approximately 400 people, the UN Refugee Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported. Israeli army withdraws from Rafah ReliefWeb 1/22/2004 GAZA, Jan 22, 2004 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Israeli army pulled back from the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah and its refugee camp on Thursday after a 48-hour military raid, Palestinian sources said. The Israeli army had caused "widespread destruction" in the town, where more than 30 Palestinian-owned houses were demolished and vast areas of agricultural lands were razed, said the sources. Israel continues to raze houses The Star (South Africa) 1/22/2004 Jerusalem - Israeli forces have demolished houses in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Continuing an operation to clamp down on militant activity, about 400 people have been left homeless in recent days. A Palestinian woman was fatally shot in the head during the military operation yesterday, hospital officials said. Also yesterday, Israeli soldiers tried to take down a building at a West Bank outpost for the second time in less than 24 hours. Security forces demolished the unauthorised synagogue on Tuesday, but settlers rebuilt the structure overnight. Rafah woman shot dead in backyard Jerusalem Post 1/22/2004 A Palestinian woman was reportedly killed and five other Palestinians wounded on Wednesday in Rafah, where IDF troops operated for the second day in search of tunnels used to smuggle weapons from Egypt. Palestinians claim that Mona Ismail, 31, was shot dead as she hung washing and baked bread in her backyard. The reports claim her sister was also in the yard and was seriously wounded. Palestinian woman killed by IDF fire in Rafah Ha'aretz 1/22/2004 A Palestinian woman was killed yesterday in the Rafah area as Israel Defense Forces troops continued to search for tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip with Egypt. The woman was identified as Muna Ismail, 31, a mother of two. According to Palestinian sources, she was hit by fire while hanging washing outside her home. Five other Palestinians, including her cousin and some youths, were injured by IDF fire. Behind Smokescreen Another 400 Made Homeless Scoop/Gush Shalom 1/22/2004 Gush Shalom sent out today a press release pointing out the cynical approach, typical for the Sharon governemt: "While the spotlight is on the theatrical removal of the improvised "Kahane synagogue" in a recently founded illegal hilltop settlement, 30 houses are being demolished in Rafah's Refugee Camp, in the Gaza Strip, without allowing the 400 inhabitants to take out their few belongings." Here follows the report on the Ha'aretz website... IDF: Hezbollah attack in north not coordinated with Syria Ha'aretz 1/22/2004 The Israel Defense Forces believes the anti-tank missile fired this week on the northern border, resulting in the death of a soldier, was not a preplanned Hezbollah attack coordinated with Syria. A high-ranking IDF General Staff source Wednesday night told Haaretz Hezbollah activists in the area apparently fired the missile when they noticed the IDF bulldozer passing through the perimeter fence to clear explosive charges placed along the border. Hizbollah rules out escalation Jordan Times 1/22/2004 BEIRUT (AFP) — A day after Israeli raids on south Lebanon, the Shiite Muslim Hizbollah on Wednesday appeared to rule out a military escalation, but warned it would react to any new Israeli violation of Lebanese sovereignty. On the ground, Hizbollah fighters who are deployed along the volatile Lebanese-Israeli border kept a low profile as UN peacekeepers stepped up their patrols, correspondents in the region said. Three Palestinians wounded in Nablus so far Palestinian Information Center 1/22/2004 Nablus - Zionist invading forces’ indiscriminate shooting in the West Bank city of Nablus today wounded three Palestinian civilians including a woman in the ongoing military campaign in the city. Medical sources in the city said that the wounds were all the result of live bullets and were medium to serious. News Briefs: Curfew in Hebron camp, child killed in Gaza, IOF attacks Nablus, no Rafah tunnels found after devastation International Middle East Media Center 1/22/2004 Soldiers impose curfew over a refugee camp near Hebron: The military today imposed curfew over Al-Arroub refugee camp north Hebron. Sources in the camp mentioned that the army entered it around 8 in the morning, sieged it and banned the residents from entering or leaving it. / Army kills a child and wounds two others in Gaza: Palestinian sources mentioned that the soldiers open fire towards some children who were playing in an area near Kibbutz Mifflasim in the Gaza Strip; two children were wounded and a third child, 11 years old, was seriously wounded and died later on at the hospital. / Army attacks several neighborhoods in Nablus, as military assaults continue: Approximately at 1am, more than 15 military Jeeps and a number of armored vehicles invaded several neighborhoods in Nablus. The invading troops besieged a mosque and banned the people who were inside it from leaving and is still holding them there. / Army fails to uncover the alleged tunnels in Rafah: After severe and heaving attacks conducted against Rafah, military sources announced that they ended their military assaults against Rafah refugee camp southern Gaza, the army claimed that the raid was conducted to uncover tunnels allegedly used by the Palestinians top smuggle weapons from Egypt, today, according to Israeli sources, troops ended the raid and admitted that they failed to uncover the tunnels. Occupation forces close Nablus before the media Palestinian Information Center 1/22/2004 Nablus - The Zionist army launched at dawn today a large-scale storming operation in a number of suburbs in the West Bank city of Nablus after closing the entire city before journalists and cameramen. Eyewitnesses said that large numbers of Zionist soldiers besieged the targeted suburbs and started a house-to-house search. They said that the soldiers ordered citizens to get out of their houses in the rainy weather and crammed them in one of the open stores. Detention of UHCC’s Ambulances & other ambulances for more than three hours at Howara Checkpoint Jerusalemites/UHCC 1/22/2004 While heading to Azoun & Asira Al-Qblya clinic this morning Sunday corresponding to 10/1/2004, the Israeli soldiers put in detention for more than three hours UHCC’s ambulances along other ambulances from different medical & health institutions at Howara Checkpoint. The destruction of Rafah by Israel SFIndyMedia 1/21/2004 Israel continues its destruction of Rafah, Palestine: in two days conducting 30 demolitions and injuring many. - 20 January 04, by Mohammed, in Rafah, Palestine -- During the past few days, it was full of attacks, incursions and crimes, from western Rafah to Eastern Rafah there is no house that has not somehow been affected by the Israeli crimes, from the north of Rafah and the south of it would be hard for you to understand what is happening.. it was like an earthquake, damaged houses here and there. Three days ago the Israeli Army demolished a part of Al Tawhid mosque, and today they demolished the rest of it. Daily Situation Report in the OPT - Acrobat format Palestine Media Center 1/22/2004 Daily Situation Report by Palestinian Monitoring Group - 08:00 20 January 2004 – 08:00 21 January 2004 - detailed accounting of closures, curfews, demolitions and other daily operations conducted by the IDF in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Israelis kill Palestinian child in Gaza Al-Jazeera 1/22/2004 A Palestinian child has been shot dead by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip near the border fence with Israel, Palestinian medics have said. The boy, named Muhsin al-Daur, 12, was killed on Thursday when soldiers opened fire at a group of youths hunting birds near the border, Palestinian security sources said. An Israeli military spokesman said earlier two Palestinian teenagers had been shot and wounded as they tried to infiltrate Israel. IDF: Real test to come on outpost demolitions Jerusalem Post 1/22/2004 Despite returning to Tapuah West Wednesday to level a makeshift synagogue erected on the remains of the one demolished Tuesday, the IDF glowed with pride over Tuesday's operation. A small number of civilians and soldiers were injured in the evacuation of the Kahane-inspired synagogue, and the entire process lasted less than four hours. By comparison the evacuation of the Mitzpe Yitzhar outpost last June took three times as long; it was also a far bloodier and more grueling event.

Diplomacy..

Palestinians fear US will scale down peace efforts Daily Star 1/22/2004 Bush’s speech didn’t mention ‘road map -- Palestinians worried Wednesday that US President George W. Bush’s failure to mention their conflict with Israel in his State of the Union address means he intends to scale down US involvement in the matter. In his annual address to Congress Tuesday evening, Bush made absolutely no mention of the “road map” for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement, nor did he use the words “Israel,” “Palestinian” or “Palestine” in the nearly hour-long speech. UK Minister to Meet Arafat on Mideast Peace Push ABC News 1/22/2004 Jan. 21 — LONDON (Reuters) - A senior British official began a three-day visit to the Middle East Wednesday and will meet Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to discuss the region's stalled peace process. "Achieving a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians is a priority for the British government," Foreign Office minister Baroness Symons said in a statement. Deputies condemn construction of separation barrier, call for Yassin's protection Jordan Times 1/22/2004 AMMAN — Deputies on Wednesday condemned Israel's plans to continue building its separation barrier and called for immediate protection for Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin against repeated threats of assassination by Israel. During their twice-weekly session, the Lower House adopted a petition, initiated by MP Abdul Munim Abu Zant (Amman, 2nd District) and signed by 37 representatives, urging strong condemnation of Israel's actions in the West Bank and Gaza. Wolf and Satterfield to visit Middle East Jerusalem Post 1/22/2004 US Special Envoy to the Middle East John Wolf and State Department envoy David Satterfield are scheduled to arrive in the area in order to re-ignite the stalled US Road Map, reported Army Radio. Both the US administration and the UN have expressed concern over escalation of violence between Israel and the Hizbullah, and State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told a press conference overnight Wednesday that the Israeli northern border must be placated. Despite Dispute Over Art, Israel Will Attend Swedish Event New York Times 1/22/2004 STOCKHOLM, Jan. 21 — Israel will send a representative to Sweden to attend an international conference against genocide despite a diplomatic dispute between the two countries over an art exhibition featuring the image of a Palestinian suicide bomber, officials said Wednesday. Israel earlier threatened to withdraw from the conference because of the exhibition, which its ambassador, Zvi Mazel, damaged when he saw it last week, claiming it glorified suicide bombers. Musharraf warms to Jewish State Khilafah.com 1/22/2004 Israel voiced optimism about a possible rapprochement with Pakistan after allegedly receiving an invitation for an Israeli minister to visit the Muslim state for the first time. Agriculture Minister Israel Katz told military radio he had been invited to visit Pakistan -- a Muslim country with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations -- as part of a United Nations delegation. But the Pakistani foreign ministry swiftly denied issuing any such invitation. "The government of Pakistan has not invited the Israeli agriculture minister," spokesman Masood Khan told AFP. Pak, Israeli leaders had planned 'secret' meet Indian Express 1/22/2004 Jerusalem, January 22: A planned secret meeting between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in Davos may now be cancelled due to premature media leak, a local newspaper reported on Thursday. The two leaders were slated to meet in Davos secretly over the weekend where they are participating in the global economic conference. But Tuesday's media leak, immediately denied by Shalom's media advisor and quickly backed by a similar denial from Islamabad has clouded the possibility, according to the Hebrew daily Maariv. Beirut blast great powers bias towards Israel Middle East Online 1/22/2004 BEIRUT - President Emile Lahoud vowed Thursday that Lebanon would react to any new Israeli violation of Lebanese sovereignty, and denounced certain unspecified "great powers" for failing to take a stand against such breaches. A flare-up on the border with Israel started Monday after violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli warplanes prompted anti-aircraft fire from forces of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Maher: US still committed to roadmap Middle East Online 1/22/2004 CAIRO - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Thursday he had US assurances that Washington was still working for Arab-Israeli peace despite the conflict's omission from US President George W. Bush's speech. "Many were astonished that President Bush's speech on the State of the Union did not raise the Palestinian question, but there are assurances from the Americans that they are still committed to the roadmap and its implementation," Maher told journalists. Arafat, Baroness Symons Reconfirm Commitment to ‘Roadmap' Palestine Media Center 1/22/2004 President Yaser Arafat on Wednesday reiterated to the visiting British Foreign Office minister Baroness Symons Palestinian commitment to the peace process and the UN Security Council – adopted “roadmap” plan, which has been deadlocked by the Israeli continuing reoccupation and aggressions against the Palestinian people. President Arafat met late Wednesday with Baroness Symons at his besieged and battered headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Palestinian struggle for freedom central at World Social Forum Palestine Monitor 1/20/2004 The World Social Forum opened in Mumbai, India on Friday with the Palestinian issue at its center. Nearly 100,000 people from around the world descended on the suburb of Ghatkopar for the Forum that is one of the largest gatherings of social activists and nongovernmental organizations at which Palestinian speakers, including Dr Mustafa Barghouthi, Ayman Rabi, Jihad Mushal and Hanna Rishmawi, had the chance to convey the plight of the Palestinians to an audience of thousands.

Human Rights..

Mass Demonstration Against The Wall In Budrus Scoop/International Womens Peace Service 1/22/2004 Thursday 22 January, 2004 - Tomorrow, in Budrus village, West Ramallah, Occupied Palestine, there will be a mass demonstration against the Wall at 12 noon. The demonstration is supported by many Israeli organisations such as Rabbis for Human Rights and Anarchists against the Wall, and international activists from Denmark, England, France, South Africa, America, Canada and Jews against the Occupation New York. Palestinians Protest Gaza Crossing Checks The Guardian 1/22/2004 EREZ CROSSING, Gaza Strip (AP) - Palestinian workers staged a protest Thursday against stringent new security measures imposed by Israel at a Gaza crossing where a suicide bomber killed four Israelis last week. About 10 Palestinians were lightly wounded in the scuffle with troops, who fired rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters at the crowd of angry laborers in the third such incident at the Erez Crossing in four days. Israel Bans Palestinians Aged 15 – 45 from Traveling to Jordan Palestine Media Center 1/22/2004 IOF Shoot Palestinian Mother Dead, Critically Wound Two Boys -- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) early Thursday banned Palestinians aged 15 – 45 from traveling abroad via the Al-Karamah Bridge to Jordan, completely sealed off Jericho, stormed into Nablus imposing a curfew, and persisted with their invasion of Rafah, demolishing more houses, only a day after shooting dead a Palestinian mother and seriously wounding an 11-year-old and 13-year old Palestinian boys in the southern Gaza Strip town. Israeli jailers want to keep Barghuti in solitary Middle East Online 1/22/2004 JERUSALEM - Israel's prison authority has asked that firebrand Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghuti be kept in solitary confinement for another six months. "The Beesheva district court was asked to keep Marwan Barghuti in solitary confinement for another six months," a spokesman for the prison authority, Ofer Lefler, said. Lefler said the request was justified because "Barghuti is still involved in the planning of attacks in Israel," from his prison cell at the Ohalei Keidar jail south of Beersheva, in northern Israel. Offer detainees suffer medical negligence Palestinian Information Center 1/22/2004 Bethlehem - Detainees in the Zionist military detention center of Ofer, in a message to “whoever is concerned with human life”, have described the health conditions in the jail as “catastrophic”. Detainees said that skin diseases were spreading like fire among the internees and that they did not know some of those diseases. They mentioned the case of six prisoners who suffered from red spots on their bodies that secreted blood and pus. Occupation arrests focus on students Palestinian Information Center 1/22/2004 Al-Khalil [Hebron] - Zionist occupation forces recently launched a series of arrest campaigns in lines of Palestinian university students and schoolchildren. The occupation forces were targeting university students in general and supporters of the Islamic blocs in particular in a bid to hurdle their educational march and to influence students’ elections. Students in the Quds University in Abu Dees to the east of occupied Jerusalem said that the occupation forces had so far arrested more than 60 students supporters of the Islamic bloc and sentenced most of them to administrative detention without any charge. UNRWA condemns a week of Israeli house demolitions in Rafah ReliefWeb 1/22/2004 Gaza - A series of Israeli military incursions into the Palestinian-controlled areas of Gaza since 16 January has left 584 people homeless in the town and refugee camp of Rafah in the south of the strip. The fresh demolitions, carried out by Israeli military bulldozers, have added to the severe humanitarian crisis in Rafah, where a total of 9,970 people have now lost their homes since October 2000. In the Gaza Strip as a whole 14,852 people have been made homeless by Israeli actions since the start of the strife. Bethlehem Hasn't Escaped Misery of the Barrier Zenit 1/21/2004 Security Wall Dividing Families and Lives, Says Religious at Hospital -- BETHLEHEM, West Bank, JAN. 21, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Women religious who run the Caritas Baby Hospital here have called attention to the daily ordeal to which the Israeli security barrier exposes the Palestinians. The Franciscan Elizabethan Sisters of Padua described their plight in a statement by Sister Gabriella Mian, published this week in VID, a religious communities Web page. "From the Baby Hospital, situated in a strategic place of Bethlehem, near Rachel's Tomb, at the border between Israel and Palestine," wrote Sister Mian, "from day to day we see the slow changes and the feeling of the strange atmosphere that the city is taking on. Some families are staying trapped on the inside of the wall, being totally isolated, deprived of regular access to normal services without the permission of Israel." Palestinian farmers appeal to Supreme Court as Israel begins construction of wall around Kiryat Arba settlement Palestine Monitor 1/21/2004 26 Palestinian farmers have appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court against the proposed route of a new section of the Separation Wall, around the settlement of Kiryat Arba, near Hebron. Israeli occupying forces began work this morning preparing the ground for the new section of Apartheid Wall. Bulldozers have carved out a 10-meter wide path around the settlement, currently home to some 6,500 settlers. Sliced in two by Israel's barrier, Abu Dis fears a slow death Palestine Monitor 1/19/2004 ABU DIS, West Bank, Jan 19-- Residents of Abu Dis, once tipped to be the capital of a future Palestinian state, are struggling to cope with the imposing wall carving through their village, separating families and friends and making nearby Jerusalem an unattainable dream. "My house is 30 meters (yards) away but it's on the other side of the wall. I have to drive 25 kilometers (15 miles) to go back and forth," said Yakin al-Rajabi, who owns a carpentry workshop in the village on the edge of occupied east Jerusalem. In Pictures: Erez Crossing, Gaza Strip Al-Jazeera Photo essay on the impact of Israeli crossing restrictions Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories 15-21 January 2004 Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 1/22/2004 Palestinian women was killed and 7 civilians, including 5 children, were injured by Israeli shelling in Rafah / Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip / 60 houses in the Gaza Strip were destroyed, including 51 in Rafah refugee camp / More areas of Palestinian agricultural land were razed in the Gaza Strip / 700 donums[1] of Palestinian land in Deir al-Balah to be confiscated / Continued use of Palestinian civilians as human shields in Israeli military operations / Construction of the “separation wall” in the West Bank has continued and more areas of Palestinian land were seized / Indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas continued, injuring a number of civilians / 4 Palestinian houses in the West Bank were destroyed by Israeli forces as part of the continuing campaign of retaliation against the families of Palestinians accused of involvement in attacks against Israeli targets / Israeli occupying forces have continued to impose a total siege on the OPTs; a number of Palestinian civilians were arrested at military checkpoints and border crossings and a curfew was imposed on a number of Palestinian communities in the West Bank

Economy..

Israel's Teva completes $3.4 bln purchase of Sicor Reuters 1/22/2004 TEL AVIV, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA.TA: Quote, Profile, Research) (TEVA.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it completed its $3.4 billion purchase of generic drugmaker Sicor Inc (SCRI.O: Quote, Profile, Research). Sicor, which focuses on generic finished dosage injectable pharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and generic biopharmaceuticals, is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Teva, the world's largest generic drugmaker. Japan provides urgently required $6 million in emergency assistance to Palestinians ReliefWeb 1/22/2004 Jerusalem, 22 January 2004 - As part of its continuing effort to ease the acute humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Government of Japan announced its intention to extend an emergency grant aid of approximately US $6 million to UNDP's Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP). Treasury establishes team to prevent municipalities strike Ha'aretz 1/22/2004 The Finance Ministry announced on Wednesday evening the creation of a special team tasked with attempting to head off the strike by the nation's local authorities expected to begin on February 1. The local authorities had decided earlier Wednesday to begin a strike of their services in protest over the cuts to their budgets. The strike means that basic education services will not be provided, nor will there be anyone to greet the public at municipal buildings, welfare offices and youth and cultural centers. Garbage collection will also be halted. Local authorities to strike, demonstrate during cabinet meeting Globes 1/22/2004 Within a week, a task force, appointed by Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu, will determine the financial framework for solving the crisis and outline a recovery plan for each local authority. -- The battle between the Union of Local Authorities in Israel and the Ministry of Finance is heating up. All local authority heads and deputies will hold a demonstration opposite the Prime Minister's Office during next Sunday's cabinet meeting. Beginning the following Sunday, the local authorities will shut all services to residents. Netanyahu submits watered-down ports reform Ha'aretz 1/22/2004 While the Finance Ministry may be determined to bring about far-reaching change in the ports industry - Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly described the introduction of efficiency and competition in the sector as one of his major objectives - the latest proposal seems a watered-down version of the original plans. The treasury now proposes to proceed gradually, with the first stage separating Haifa and Ashdod ports, to make them compete against each other. Hollinger to examine sale of Black's stake International Herald Tribune 1/22/2004 NEW YORK The board of Hollinger International has stopped short of taking action against its former chairman and chief executive, Conrad Black, instead setting up a review committee consisting of all the company's directors except for Black, his wife and Hollinger's vice chairman, who is seen as an ally of the Blacks. The purpose of the committee, whose formation was announced after a lengthy meeting in New York on Tuesday, is to examine Hollinger International's options in light of Black's deal over the weekend to sell his controlling stake in the company to the Barclay brothers of Britain for $178 million. Low or negative inflation expected in Q1 Globes 1/22/2004 The government bond issue schedule for February implies low inflation. The Ministry of Finance will raise NIS 3.5 billion on the local capital market.-- Inflation in the first quarter of 2004 is expected to be very low or even negative, implies the government bond issue schedule for February. The Ministry of Finance debt management unit today announced that it would raise NIS 3.5 billion on the local capital market in February.

People..

Jordanian Experts Fix Temple Mount Bulge The Jewish Week 1/23/2004 Jordanian experts have completed a year-long renovation project on the southern wall of the Temple Mount compound to fix a controversial bulge caused by centuries of erosion, the Jordanian minister of Religious Affairs said Monday. Ahmad Helayel told the official Petra news agency that the restoration cost 100,000 Jordanian dinars, or $140,000, according to the Associated Press. ATHICA explores a 'PIECE' of the Middle East Athens (GA) Banner-Herald 1/22/2004 In an era when war, terrorism and political corruption run rampant through so many corners of the globe, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict emerges as a touchstone for violence and protest around the world....''Piece Process,'' the current exhibit at ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art, opens the door for understanding, creating a forum for visual expression and dialogue for seventeen artists from across the United States. The exhibit first took place during the Fall of 2003 at Chicago's ARC Gallery and the artists - of Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Arab and Muslim heritage - have succeeded where some of the world's most shrewd political leaders have failed. Ramallah mall provides much-needed social hangout for Palestinians Jordan Times 1/22/2004 RAMALLAH, West Bank — Residents in the West Bank town of Ramallah have embraced with glee the first ever Palestinian mall as a much-needed chance to forget the everyday woes of life during the Intifada. “I come here often with my girlfriends and the children, for a cup of coffee, a chat and to forget what goes on outside,” said Rima, 26....The mall's general manager, Sam Bahour, said the $10.2 million venture was deliberately designed “to attract children”. Suicide bombers’ families criticise Islamic groups Navhind Times 1/22/2004 Reuters West Bank Jan 21: A suicide bombing by a Palestinian mother of two in Gaza last week has brought to the surface criticism within the Palestinian society of what one commentator describes as a culture of death. The people from all walks of life in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip expressed shock that the militant Islamic group, Hamas sent Reem Al-Reyashi to her death, leaving two toddlers behind. There have been female suicide bombers before, but Reyashi was the first to be used by Hamas and the first mother to carry out such an attack. No Exit Harpers Magazine 1/2/2004 From an interview with Israeli soldiers (who are identified by pseudonyms) conducted by Israeli journalist Uri Blau and printed in Kol Ha'Ir, a Jerusalem weekly, in September 2001. Translated from the Hebrew by Tal Haran. Originally from April, 2002. -- Uri Blau: What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "territories"? Roi [nineteen, paratrooper, serving in Hebron for the past six months]: The first thing that comes to my mind is children throwing Molotov cocktails. Basically, you should shoot them in the legs and you don't. Bon Jour, Mrs. Arafat… Al-Bawaba 1/22/2004 From time to time, the name Suha Arafat resurfaces in various media reports – usually as part of some controversial story, aimed at discrediting Palestinian leader Arafat. Obviously, such reports largely emanate from either Israelis or Israel supporters, but at times, also from sources in the Arab world who don't see eye to eye with Yasser Arafat's policies on different issues. Jean-Claude Gaudin, Mayor of the French city of Marseilles recently disclosed that Palestinian First Lady Suha Arafat received French citizenship. According to CBS 270,000 Israelis emigrated between 1990-2001 to their nations of origin Jerusalemites 1/22/2004 According to a report released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) a total of 270,000 Israelis emigrated between the years 1990 and 2001, among them 68,000 new immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The report that was prepared by the CBS found that between 1990 and 2001, 906,000 people immigrated to Israel from Russia. Sixty-eight thousand of them (7.5 percent) subsequently left the country. Most of the new immigrants who left Israel were not registered as Jews.

International..

Israel Helps US In Iraq, Aides Say Khilafah.com 1/20/2004 WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A key U.S. ally behind-the-scenes in the war in Iraq, Israel has been contributing intelligence, tactics and technology mostly in secret to avert an Arab backlash, congressional aides and analysts said Thursday. The commander of the Israel Defense Forces' Golani Brigade briefed U.S. Marines in mid-June on the lessons the IDF has learned from its conflict with the Palestinians. The Israelis have supplied the American military with aerial surveillance equipment, decoy drones and D-9 armored bulldozers, sources close to the Israeli government said. Lahoud, Greek president sign accord for stronger relations Daily Star 1/22/2004 Tourism, trade top agenda for Stephanopolous’ visit-- President Emile Lahoud said he was determined to develop relations between Lebanon and Greece and described the accords he signed with Greek President Constantinos Stephanopoulos on Wednesday as proof of that determination. Lahoud was speaking in the Presidential Palace in Baabda after meeting with the Greek president, on the first of a three-day official visit to Lebanon. Lahoud and Stephanopoulos signed three accords to improve bilateral cooperation, one on tourism, one on agriculture and one on passenger and goods transportation. Mustapha certain peace will prevail in Mideast Daily Star 1/22/2004 Syrian envoy says Washington cannot ignore syrian peace offensive indefinitely - Former United States ambassador in Damascus attributes American reticence to the Bush administration’s discomfort with Syrian behavior -- WASHINGTON: “The more the United States realizes that the Syrian peace offensive is a serious one,” said Syria’s acting ambassador here, Imad Mustapha, “the more it will be difficult for Washington to just ignore it.” Second phase of inter-regional gas pipeline to be launched next week Jordan Times 1/22/2004 AMMAN — Jordanian, Egyptian and Syrian prime ministers are due to meet here next week to launch the second phase of an inter-regional gas pipeline linking the three countries and Lebanon before reaching Europe. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Azmi Khreisat told The Jordan Times that the Lebanese prime minister is also expected to attend the agreement-signing ceremony. The second phase extends over 370 kilometres from the southern port city of Aqaba to the Rehab Power Plant in the northern part of the Kingdom, he said. Egypt, Libya lift travel hurdles on border Middle East Online 1/22/2004 SALLUM, Egypt - Egypt and Libya lifted restrictions Thursday on travelers crossing their common desert border imposed two weeks ago during a diplomatic row, the border authorities said. A border official said "all restrictive measures" affecting Egyptian and Libyan travelers that were imposed January 9 were "lifted from midnight on Wednesday" (2200 GMT), atop an easing of measures in the last week. Mubarak offers step-by-step reform Middle East Online 1/22/2004 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is holding fast to his step-by-step approach to political reform despite pressure to speed up the process since the fall of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Mubarak outlined his program to some 50 Egyptian intellectuals on the sidelines of the Cairo International Book Fair late on Tuesday, saying political reform is the "cornerstone" of reforms underway in Egypt. U.S. Policies Under Heavy Fire In Davos Islam Online 1/22/2004 DAVOS, January 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – With the World Economic Forum entering its second day in the Swiss ski town of Davos onThursday, January 22, the U.S. came under fire for unilateral use of force and economic policies that could set the world for a crash. Canadian Deported to Syria to File Suit The Ledger 1/21/2004 A Canadian who was deported to Syria by American authorities in 2002 will file a lawsuit against U.S. officials, an attorney said Wednesday. Canadian police, meanwhile, searched the home and office of Ottawa Citizen reporter Juliet O'Neill Wednesday to find the source of a government information leak in the case. Maher Arar, a 33-year-old computer engineer who lives in Ottawa, will seek damages from Attorney General John Ashcroft in a suit to be filed Thursday, said Stephen Watt, a lawyer with the American Center for Constitutional Rights in New York. WTO Chief Calls Saudi Arabia's Entry into WTO an "Imminent Reality" US Embassy, Japan 1/22/2004 World Trade Organization Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi said there is a "realistic chance" that Saudi Arabia will join the WTO before the end of 2004. Panitchpakdi made that statement in a speech to the Jeddah Economic Forum in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia January 19. Following is the transcript of his speech... US says "a lot of work to do" on Saudi WTO bid Reuters 1/21/2004 WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. trade officials downplayed chances on Wednesday of reaching a quick deal with Saudi Arabia on its bid to join the World Trade Organization, despite recent optimistic assessments. "We have a lot of work to do," said Richard Mills, a spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office told Reuters. "But we're making progress." The world's largest oil exporter is one of only a handful of major-league countries that are still outside the WTO. Grand jury targets Salah Daily Southtown 1/21/2004 Lawyer: Accused terrorist is subject of federal probe -- A Bridgeview man already designated a terrorist by the federal government — a charge he denies — "is the target of a grand jury investigation," according to his lawyer. Mohammed Salah received a federal grand jury subpoena for documents in November, according to a recently filed affidavit from his longtime attorney, Mary M. Rowland. The affidavit is part of a pending $300 million civil lawsuit filed in May of 2000 by the family of a Jewish teen killed in a terrorist attack on the West Bank in 1996. Frech Muslim Air Staff singled out by US Khilafah.com 1/20/2004 In the latest bout of Franco-American squabbling, hundreds of Air France pilots and cabin crew who have French nationality but were born in Muslim countries are furious at being singled out for stringent security measures when they land in the US. Some of the 324 affected employees complain that they were treated like "terrorist suspects" after being separated from fellow cabin crew and grilled for up to four hours by security agents on arrival at American airports. The treatment, they say, was "discriminatory and insulting". Top U.S. Senator: Iraq WMD May Have Gone to Syria Wired 1/22/2004 BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Pat Roberts said there was some concern Iraqi weapons of mass destruction had gone to Syria, and Washington vowed to carry on searching for such arms in Iraq. Roberts, a leading member of President Bush's Republican Party, said in Washington on Wednesday: "I think that there is some concern that shipments of WMD (weapons of mass destruction) went to Syria." He did not elaborate. Israeli nuke suspect awaits bail Jerusalem Post 1/22/2004 Asher Karni, the Israeli citizen and South African businessman suspected of illegally shipping trigger devices for nuclear weapons to Pakistan, remains in a Denver prison after a decision on whether to release him on bail was postponed for a week. Chief Judge Thomas Hogan of the US District Court in Washington, DC, on Tuesday asked for additional information and review of the transcripts before ruling next Tuesday whether to release Karni on $75,000 bail. Blair concern over Egypt detentions Al-Jazeera 1/22/2004 The British Prime Minister has expressed concern at the plight of three British nationals held in Egypt and accused of belonging to an outlawed Islamist group. Tony Blair was responding to an opposition Conservative politician who asked him if he intended to involve himself personally in the matter. "This is a huge issue of sensitivity for the Egyptian authorities as well as our own," Blair said in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Press Review: Political climate in White House suitable for Sharon to implement right-wing plan Daily Star 1/22/2004 A daily selection of views from the Middle East and North Africa, compiled and translated by The Daily Star Military lawyer slams U.S. terrorism tribunals Radio Free USA 1/22/2004 WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Marine Corps lawyer assigned to defend an Australian terror suspect being held at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba Wednesday criticized the military tribunal process and said it will not allow a fair trial. Maj. Michael Mori, who in November was assigned to be the military attorney for David Hicks -- an Australian held at the U.S. military prison in Cuba -- said the system set up by the Pentagon for trials of non-U.S. citizens captured during what U.S. officials call the war on terror was unfair.

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