Israel
Raids Christian Chapel During Fresh Incursion, Kills 2 Palestinians
Palestine Chronicle, January 24, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Several Palestinians were injured, one seriously,
as an Israeli helicopter raided Gaza City late Thursday, January
23, during a fresh incursion, causing heavy damage to a Christian
chapel, a metal workshop and other buildings.
IDF
demolishes Gaza bridges in bid to stop rocket, mortar fire
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
Israel Defense Forces troops Friday evening were demolishing bridges
between Beit Hanoun, north of Gaza City, and the Gaza Strip, in
a step intended to prevent the firing of Kassam rockets at towns
inside Israel, Israel Radio reported.
Three
soldiers killed near Hebron
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
Three Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed last night when
Palestinian gunmen opened fire on them on the road connecting
the settlements of Kiryat Arba and Beit Hagai, about five kilometers
south of Hebron.
Qassam
Brigades Claim Responsibility for Killing 3 Israelis
Islam Online, January 24, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, January 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies)
– The Ezzedin Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the
Islamic resistance group Hamas, claimed responsibility late Thursday,
January 23, for a shooting ambush near Al-Khalil which left three
Israelis dead.
Israelis
detain hundreds without trial
The Guardian, January 24, 2003
Kafkaesque nightmare awaits arrested Palestinians -- Nima Abu
Alia's neighbours told her from bitter experience not to even
bother looking for her son, Eyad, for at least a week. The 23-year-old
was snatched on Wednesday from the family home in Deheisheh, near
Bethlehem, by an Israeli army squad in the dead of night.
Israeli
demolitions hit Palestinian economy
BBC, January 24, 2003
Another 50 shops are set to be demolished -- The Palestinian economy
will be hit hard if Israel demolishes more West Bank shops and
small businesses, the World Bank has warned.
UN
Envoy Concerned at Repeated Violations of 'Blue Line' in Southern
Lebanon
Palestine Chronicle, January 24, 2003
BEIRUT - Reacting to attacks on Israeli positions across the withdrawal
line in southern Lebanon, the United Nations Special Coordinator
for the Middle East peace process, Terje Roed-Larsen, has voiced
concern at the pattern of repeat violations.
Palestinian
groups talk peace
BBC, January 24, 2003
Palestinian factions including Hamas have begun talks in the Egyptian
capital, Cairo, on an Egyptian plan to end attacks against Israeli
civilians.
Hamas
leader says Palestinian Authority doesn't stop attacks on Israelis
Jerusalem Post, January 24, 2003
The Palestinian Authority has not tried to stop the militant group
Hamas from carrying out attacks - including suicide bombings -
on Israelis, the group's spiritual leader said on Friday in an
interview with Israeli TV.
Natural
resources in Palestinian territories under constant pressure,
UN agency reports
United Nations News, January 23, 2003
23 January – Already stretched thin by the demands of a
dense population coping with decades of conflict, natural resources
in the Palestinian Occupied Territories are under constant pressure
from water pollution, climate change, desertification and land
degradation, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)
says in a new study. Download
the report - PDF (2.42MB)
Vatican
closing Jerusalem institute
Jerusalem Post, January 23, 2003
VATICAN CITY The Vatican said Thursday it is closing its center
for Jewish studies in Jerusalem and moving it to Rome a closure
that has been criticized by some Jewish teachers as sending a
negative signal about relations between Christians and Jews.
Envoy's
Ramallah visit was not secret, UK says
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
LONDON - British Prime Minister Tony Blair's personal envoy to
the Middle East, Lord Michael Levy, paid a lightning visit yesterday
to Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah,
without Israel's knowledge.
Mitzna
to offer Hebron settlers ride to Beersheba
Jerusalem Post, January 24, 2003
Mitzna intends to make the Hebron trip part of a tour of disadvantaged
towns in the Negev. He plans to go from Hebron straight to Beersheba,
and offer Hebron's residents a ride if they are willing to relocate
their families.
Israeli
settlements spending criticised
BBC, January 23, 2003
A disproportionate amount of the Israeli Government's budget has
been spent on Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories, a
report claims.
Israel
bombs Gaza after killing of three soldiers in West Bank ambush
Al-Bawaba, January 23, 2003
A Palestinian was seriously injured as an Israeli helicopter fired
missiles during a raid in Gaza City overnight, causing heavy damage
to a Christian chapel, a metal workshop and other buildings, Palestinian
medical and security sources told AFP.
Retaliating
rockets launched into Israel, IDF bombs bridges in Gaza
Jerusalem Post, January 24, 2003
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz earlier said the government had decided
on a series of maneuvers set to "rock" the area out of which the
rockets were fired. -- A joint crew of the IDF and Border Police
was bombing bridges linking the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun
and the city of Gaza Friday evening, in retaliation for Palestinians'
launching of three Kassem-type rockets into the southern Israeli
town of Sderot earlier Friday.
Two
Palestinian Fighters, Including Woman, Killed by Israel
Islam Online, January 24, 2003
NABLUS, West Bank, January 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies)
- Israeli occupation troops on Friday, January 24, killed two
Palestinian fighters, including a woman, in the West Bank while
another Palestinian woman died of a heart attack as the Israeli
army pounded Gaza.
Israeli
Army Invades Khan Younis, Arrests 13 Palestinians
Palestine Chronicle, January 24, 2003
KHAN YOUNIS - At least 20 Israeli tanks, accompanied by bulldozers,
carried out an incursion into Khan Younis early on Thursday in
the south of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian security sources said.
Israel
kills two Palestinians near Nablus, Hamas rockets hit Israeli
town
Al-Bawaba, January 24, 2003
Israel forces on Friday morning shot and killed two Palestinians,
a man and a woman north of Nablus. A third Palestinian was wounded
and captured, while a fourth escaped, Israel Radio reported.
Israeli
Copters Shell Gaza City Targets
New York Times, January 24, 2003
HEBRON, West Bank (AP) -- Palestinian gunmen killed three Israeli
soldiers on the West Bank Thursday, and Israeli tanks and helicopters
pounded targets in Gaza City hours later, wounding six people,
hospital officials said.
Troops
kill two Palestinians
BBC, January 24, 2003
Gunships fired 11 rockets at Gaza City -- Israeli forces have
shot dead two Palestinians in the West Bank and fired missiles
into the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian
talks start in Cairo amid Israeli threats to strike Gaza strip
Al-Bawaba, January 24, 2003
Talks opened Friday evening in Cairo between Palestinian factions
on an Egyptian proposal to end attacks inside Israel.
Rafah
Incursion: 3 Houses Demolished, 2 Wounded and Electricity Cut
- ISM to Protest Incursion by Dismantling Roadblock
International Solidarity Movement, January 24, 2003
At 10.30 last night Israeli tanks entered the Brazil District
of Rafah without warning to destroy 3 houses using explosives
and bulldozers. Two members of the Palestinian resistance
were wounded resisting this incursion and several houses and shops
damaged by the explosions and machine gun fire. Six families
have been left homeless as a result of the demolitions, their
possessions destroyed with their houses.
International
Activists to Demolish Gaza Roadblock
International Solidarity Movement, January 23, 2003
At 10 am on Saturday International Activists will attempt to dismantle
the roadblock on Saleh ed-Deen Road (the Western Road) between
Rafah and Khan Yunis.
Lord
Levy's visit to PA latest irritant in ties with Britain
Jerusalem Post, January 24, 2003
Israeli-British relations hit another in a series of bumps Thursday
when Lord Michael Levy, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's special
Middle East envoy, arrived in Israel unannounced for meetings
with ranking Palestinian Authority officials.
Will
Shinui change the balance of power?
Jerusalem Post, January 23, 2003
The possibility of Shinui emerging from next week's election as
the second-largest party in the Knesset has touched off a shockwave
in the Labor Party. However, the impact of such a result on the
wider political system is more ambiguous.
Mitzna
denies taking bribe from contractor
Jerusalem Post, January 23, 2003
Labor Party chairman Amram Mitzna on Thursday denied accepting
a bribe from a Haifa building contractor in return for helping
him build an extra story on two new apartment buildings while
serving as mayor of Haifa.
Mitzna
Credo Was Forged on Battlefield
Bradenton Herald, January 24, 2003
JERUSALEM - Amram Mitzna's conviction that Israel must get rid
of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip was forged on the battlefield.
As West Bank commander during the first Palestinian uprising in
the late 1980s, the general and decorated veteran of three Arab-Israeli
wars came to believe the occupation he was trying to enforce was
endangering the long-term survival of Israel.
Peres
Waits for Chance to Resume Peace Quest
New York Times, January 24, 2003
TEL AVIV, Jan. 23 — Israel's last titans, the oldest of
friends and rivals, embody the fears and yearnings — and
with them the political choices — of the country they helped
create.
Israeli
judge strictly enforces election propaganda law in attempt to
force its change
San Francisco Chronicle, January 23, 2003
Back in 1981, Israeli television gave lavish coverage to Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat during a historic summit meeting, but due
to a strict election law, showed only the feet of Israel's then-Prime
Minister, Menachem Begin.
Gaza
settlers fear Sharon more than left
Middle East Times, January 24, 2003
The leader of Israel's Labor party, Amram Mitzna, wants to dismantle
all Jewish illegal settlements in the Gaza Strip within a year,
but paradoxically, the man settlers really fear is outgoing Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon.
Experts
Predict Israeli Election to Result in Another Coalition Government
Palestine Chronicle, January 24, 2003
JERUSALEM - Israeli voters go to the polls next Tuesday to elect
a new parliament. Opinion polls during the past several weeks
have fluctuated, but it appears the Likud party of Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon will win, but not gain enough seats to avoid a coalition
government.
Labor's
drop in polls also worries Likud
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
It is not only the Labor Party that is worried by its steady decline
in the polls: The Likud is also concerned, fearing that Labor's
deteriorating situation will hurt the chances of a unity government
after the elections.
`AG
will indict Kern case leaker'
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein will almost certainly indict
Tel Aviv prosecutor Liora Glatt-Berkovich for leaking a document
relating to a police investigation of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
a senior legal source said yesterday.
Affidavit
hints Kern was loan `conduit'
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
South African-based businessman Cyril Kern refuses to explain
why, in an affidavit to the South African justice minister, he
did not clearly state that he financed a $1.5-million loan to
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's son, Gilad, out of his own pocket.
IDF
clears itself in probe of soldiers' killings
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
Eleven months after the attack against an Israel Defense Forces
position at Ein Arik, near Ramallah, that left six soldiers dead,
an investigation by the army has found no one guilty of negligence,
according to a report presented to the families of the soldiers.
Justice
Ministry dismisses leaker's claim her motives weren't political
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
Tel Aviv prosecutor Liora Glatt-Berkovich leaked a document relating
to a criminal probe of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon because she
"feared that the investigation was dying down," her attorney,
Yehoshua Reznick, told an impromptu press conference yesterday.
Arab candidates: Syria is interfering in election campaign
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
Arab candidates for the 16th Knesset are claiming that Syria and
Lebanon are interfering in the elections and are engaged in a
propaganda drive for National Democratic Alliance (Balad) leader
Azmi Bishara.
Rightist
National Union drops leaflets on Israeli Arab villages
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
In another of its spectacular election tactics, the National Union
yesterday airdropped thousands of leaflets over the Israeli Arab
villages in Wadi Ara.
Ignoring
Mitzna, Sharon warns of return to Barak
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon continues to ignore the existence
of Labor leader Amram Mitzna. In a speech yesterday evening in
Tel Aviv, Sharon focused almost exclusively on the behavior of
a former Labor leader, ex-prime minister Ehud Barak.
Israeli
Arab denies charges at his Turkish trial for trying to hijack
El Al airplane
New Jersey.com, January 24, 2003
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- An Israeli Arab student, on the first
day of his trial, denied Friday he was trying to hijack an El
Al jetliner and force it to slam into skyscrapers in Tel Aviv,
Israel.
French
Jews stunned by claims that rabbi faked own stabbing
Ha'aretz, January 24, 2003
The French Jewish community is in an uproar over allegations that
Reform Rabbi Gabriel Farhi, who was stabbed on January 3, may
in fact have faked the stabbing.
Dreams
of a Nation: Palestinian cinema is showcased in a weekend of films
in New York
Palestine Chronicle, January 24, 2003
(PalestineChronicle.com) - Palestinian cinema didn’t enjoy
the most positive of starts to 2003. Despite two awards at last
year’s Cannes Film Festival, Divine Intervention, Elia Suleiman’s
film about a love affair stifled by checkpoints, roadblocks and
curfews, was barred from Oscar nomination because, in the words
of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts, Palestine was not a recognized
country.
