Two
Palestinians killed, more than 20 injured as Israel blows up bridges
in Gaza Strip
Al-Bawaba, January 25, 2003
Israeli forces early Saturday destroyed bridges in the northern
Gaza Strip.
Israeli
Army Dynamites Overpasses Isolating Beit Hanun
Islam Online, January 25, 2003
GAZA CITY, January 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The
armed wing of the Palestinian Resistance Group Hamas, the Ezzedin
al-Qassam Brigades, announced Saturday, January 25, it had successfully
fired a new home-made anti-tank missile at an Israeli tank, as
the army dynamited four overpasses Isolating the Gaza town of
Beit Hanun.
Palestinian
Teen Dies in Gaza Firefight
ABC News, January 25, 2003
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Jan. 25 — A Palestinian teenager was
killed overnight in a fierce firefight that erupted between Israeli
troops and Palestinian gunmen during an army raid on a northern
Gaza Strip town.
Palestinian
University Students Detained and Taken to Illegal Jewish Settlement
Palestine Chronicle, January 25, 2003
"It is unknown why they were taken to the illegal Jewish Settlement,
nor is it known how long they will be detained, or the conditions
of their detention .." -- NABLUS, West Bank (PalestineChronicle.com)
- a group of students trying to leave the city of Nablus were
detained by Israeli forces, Friday morning, at Zawata army check
point near Nablus.
Water
crisis threatens Gaza Strip
Jerusalem TImes, January 23, 2003
A Palestinian expert in water policies has warned of the Israeli
policy regarding subterranean water sources in Palestine, which,
along with other factors, could deplete fresh water supplies in
the Gaza Strip in about 14 years.
Egypt
Sponsors One-year Halt of Operations Inside Israel
Islam Online, January 25, 2003
CAIRO, January 25 (IslamOnline) – Opening the new round
of the Cairo-hosted inter-Palestinian dialogue on Friday, January
24, Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman asserted the importance
of putting forward a Palestinian initiative suggesting a one-year
halt of resistance operations inside Israel.
Tightening
the noose
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 23 - 29 January 2003
Residents of the villages near Qalqilya fear that Israel's wall
around the West Bank will force them to abandon their homes --
As the sun touches the sea just beyond the hazy skyline of the
Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, the residents of a handful of
villages near the West Bank city of Qalqilya brace for another
cold winter night and the uncertainty of days to come.
IDF
ends bridge demolition operation in northern Gaza Strip
Ha'aretz, January 25, 2003
IDF troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip withdrew Saturday
morning after demolishing four bridges in the town of Beit Hanoun.
The troops entered the area Friday night after Kassam rockets
were fired across the border with Israel at the southern town
of Sderot, wounding one woman.
Palestinian
factions weighing conditional cease-fire
Ha'aretz, January 25, 2003
Palestinian factions meeting in Egypt were Saturday considering
a proposal for a conditional end to violence with Israel as an
Egyptian idea for a unilateral cease-fire appeared doomed.
Palestinian
minister unveils financial reform plans
Ha'aretz, January 25, 2003
DAVOS, Switzerland - Palestinian Authority Finance Minister Salam
Fayyad disclosed Friday that the new Palestine Investment Fund
(PIF) will report the full size of its assets and investments
on February 22.
Palestinians
paid after Israel releases revenues`
Jerusalem TImes, January 23, 2003
More than 135,000 Palestinian civil servants started January 19
receiving their pay checks for December after Israel released
part of the money it owes the Palestinian Authority (PA), according
to Minister of Finance Salam Fayyad.
Jibril:
"Arafat is a prisoner of Israel"
Jerusalem Post, January 25, 2003
"Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat can’t continue
to represent the Palestinian people while he’s bottled up
in two rooms in Ramallah," the leader of a Palestinian faction
participating in inter-Palestinian talks in Cairo said Saturday.
Palestinians
in Egypt Mull Ideas to End Violence
Bradenton Herald, January 25, 2003
CAIRO - Palestinian factions meeting in Egypt were on Saturday
considering a proposal for a conditional end to violence with
Israel as an Egyptian idea for a unilateral cease-fire appeared
doomed.
Syria
sponsors conference on reviving Arab boycot of Israel
Jerusalem Post, January 25, 2003
A three-day conference opened here Saturday with the goal of reactivating
a 50-year-old Arab boycott of Israeli and American products.
IOF
Kill More Palestinians, Strike Gaza Hospital with Missiles
Palestine Media Center, January 25, 2003
Hebron’s Settlers Call for ‘Sending Arabs to Gas Chambers’
-- At least four Palestinian civilians were killed in the past
twenty-four hours in a renewed wave of Israeli military aggression
against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
President
Arafat Urges Delegates to Make Cairo Talks a Success
Palestine Media Center, January 25, 2003
End of Attacks Depends on How Israel Acts: Mahmoud Abbas -- The
inter-Palestinian national dialogue opened Friday at a secret
location in the Egyptian capital, Cairo with an agreement that
resistance against Israeli occupation must continue until the
Jewish state’s occupation of Palestinian land ends.
New
PNA Financial System to Ensure Transparency
Palestine Media Center, January 25, 2003
PNA Minister of Finance, Salam Fayyad, announced late Friday that
the newly-established Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) would report
for the first time the full size of its investments and assets,
which are to be audited internationally and published in a financial
statement on February 22.
Anti-Israel/
US protest near mosque in Nazareth
Jerusalem Post, January 25, 2003
About 1500 protesters gathered near the Shiha Badin Mosque in
Nazareth to protest what they called "war and terror organized
by the Governments of Sharon and Bush against the nation of Palestine
and the nation of Iraq".
The
new Palestinian Constitution
Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre
The draft proposal of the Palestinian Constitution stipulates
that the term of the President of the State be for five years
and to be renewable for one time, and that it is prohibited to
combine between the presidency of the state and any other position.
LAW
Weekly Roundup 16 - 22 January 2003
LAW Society, January 24, 2003
Israelis kill Gazan while he was fixing his water tank; 4 children
beaten by Israeli border police on their way to school, one forced
to sit in a trash can; mass property destruction this week, at
least 62 commercial stores destroyed in Nazlat Issa; wide-spread
arrests take place. Four Palestinians killed this week: ‘Abd
al-Fattah Mansour (35), Mahmoud Turkman (20), Amar Alayan (26)
and Ahmad Saqir (15).
Middle
East a “meeting point” of escalating environmental
threats
EuropaWorld, January 25, 2003
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.
'A
real crisis'
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 23 - 29 January 2003
Is Israel violating international laws and causing a potential
health crisis with its dumping of untreated sewage in the Mediterranean?
Israel
strikes hard at Gaza
BBC, January 24, 2003
Israel is literally cutting off Beit Hanoun -- Israeli tanks and
bulldozers have moved into the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun
in the northern Gaza Strip in an extensive military operation
just before Israel's general election.
PNA
Official Spokesman Denies IOF Claims, Confirms Civilian Killed
in Cold Blood
Palestine Media Center, January 25, 2003
A Palestine National Authority (PNA) spokesman has confirmed that
Palestinian citizens Suad Jude Allah and Ayman Al-Hinnawi, both
civilians from the West Bank city of Nablus, were shot dead in
cold blood by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) when a number
of citizens and motorists were on the bypass road of Beit Eiba-Deir
Sahraf in the Nablus Governorate.
Occupation
Chronicle Events in Palestine, January 25, 2003
Palestine Media Center, January 25, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed five Palestinian civilians
over the past twenty-four hours, launching a massive military
assault in the Gaza Strip. IOF also demolished at least ten houses
in Rafah town, south of the Gaza Strip. / IOF Invade Beit Hanoun,
Kill 16 year-old Boy / Mentally Ill Man Killed in al-Maghazi /
Israeli Apaches Target Palestinian Hospital / IOF Kill Two Civilians
Near Nablus / IOF Bulldozers Demolish Houses in Rafah
Young
Israeli Voters Shun Dovish Parties
Miami Herald, January 25, 2003
JERUSALEM - Israel's young voters are shunning parties that promise
a quick end to the conflict with the Palestinians - even though
Israelis in their late teens and early 20s are thrown into the
front lines of the confrontation during their compulsory military
service.
Labour
to pay the price for turning its back on Arab voters
The Independent, January 25, 2003
Three days before elections, Amram Mitzna's opposition Labour
Party has failed to mobilise some of its most important potential
supporters: Israel's Arab voters. Campaigning on a promise to
resume peace negotiations with Yasser Arafat, Mr Mitzna is trailing
badly in the polls. Part of the explanation may lie in cities
such as Nazareth.
Labor's
long `nyet' of the soul
Ha'aretz, January 25, 2003
Amram Mitzna's election campaign among immigrants from the former
Soviet Union is being waged in uncharted and decidedly hostile
territory.
Between
the Lines: The countdown begins
Ha'aretz, January 25, 2003
Amram Mitzna raised his hands a week ago and waved a white flag.
His attempt to force the heads of the Labor Party to express opposition
to serving in another national unity government under Ariel Sharon
had the effect of sparking attempts at open rebellion on their
part.
Ignored
Arafat casts a long shadow as the bogeyman everyone still loves
to hate
The Independent, January 25, 2003
As Israelis prepare to go to the polls on Tuesday, the Palestinian
leader, Yasser Arafat, continues to cast a dark shadow. Professor
Yaron Ezrahi, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute,
said: "Arafat is very relevant, if only for the fact that the
argument over whether he is relevant or not relevant is a campaign
issue."
Can't
forget, won't forgive
Ha'aretz, January 25, 2003
In the capital of the south, anger at the Labor Party still lives
on in the hearts of voters who declare they'll vote Likud, in
spite of everything.
Israeli
polls show Labour facing worst defeat ever
The Independent, January 24, 2003
Israel's Labour Party, the architect of the peace process with
the Palestinians, is heading for the worst defeat in its history
in elections next week, according to polls published yesterday.
If they are right – there are thousands of undecided voters
– then Labour is staring into the abyss.
Discontent
simmers among Russian immigrants
The Independent, January 24, 2003
With four days left until Israel goes to the polls, one of the
country's most important communities is turning against the two
main parties.
Safieh:
London Parley, a catalyst for the Quartet
Jerusalem TImes, January 23, 2003
In the wake of the London Parley held last week Afif Safieh, the
Palestinian General Delegate to the UK, stressed that the London
Conference has proven to be a catalyst for the reinvigoration
of the Quartet.
Center
for Deaf Mutes in Nablus continues to operate
Jerusalem TImes, January 23, 2003
Visitors to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society branch in Nablus
can clearly see the continuous efforts of its staff to continue
operating in spite of the grim conditions introduced by Israeli
measures.
Catholic
Summit in solidarity with the church in the Holy Land
Jerusalem TImes, January 23, 2003
The Catholic Summit held recently in Jerusalem ended by sending
a message of solidarity and support to the Christians of the Holy
Land.
Media
watchdog rebukes Jordan for crackdown on newspaper
Jerusalem Post, January 25, 2003
An international media watchdog group rebuked Jordan on Saturday
for arresting three journalists and shutting down a newspaper
because of an article that discussed the sex life of Islam's prophet
Muhammad.
Elbit
Systems bidding for $778m British Army UAV contract
Globes, January 23, 2003
Elbit Systems (Nasdaq: ESLTF) is currently competing in a major
$778 million tender to supply unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
to the British Army.
A
tattered cloak and a rusty dagger
Ha'aretz, January 25, 2003
In the old days, Nativ secretly brought Jews to Israel and formed
ties with leaders around the world. Today, the former espionage
organization is fighting for its life. -- The Nativ organization,
which used to be an integral part of Israel's intelligence community,
is now facing one of the most crucial decisions in its history:
To be or not to be, and if to be - how?
Egypt
to try 43 Islamists for plotting to attack Israeli interests
UmmahNews, January 23, 2003
Forty-three Islamists are to go on trial in an Egyptian military
court for an alleged plot to attack the US and Israeli embassies
in Cairo, a lawyer said on Thursday.
video
"Any
attack would be swift, massive and designed to catch Baghdad by
surprise"
BBC, January 25, 2003
video
Human
Shields Leave For Iraq
BBC, January 25, 2003
