IDF
places territories under full closure
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
The Israel Defense Forces last night imposed a full closure
on the territories for an indefinite period of time, due to
a particularly high number of alerts about terror organizations
trying to conduct major attacks in the coming period.
Two
Palestinians Die in Separate Clashes
The Guardian, February 11, 2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli troops killed an armed Palestinian
in the Gaza Strip, and Israel imposed a blanket closure Tuesday
on the Palestinian areas during a Muslim holiday because of
warnings of possible attacks by militants.
Israel
Abducts, Tortures Wives Of Palestinian Resistance Fighters
Islam Online, February 11, 2003
"These arrests have been accompanied by aggressive physical
assaults and rape attempts" -- RAMALLAH, February 8 (IslamOnline
& News Agencies) – Israeli occupation forces have
recently started a heavy abduction campaign among the wives
of the Palestinian resistance fighters and the women affiliated
to Islamic groups in Palestinian universities.
UN
warns of Palestinian aid crisis
BBC, February 10, 2003
Aid is running out for impoverished Palestinians -- The United
Nations has warned that its emergency food programme for Palestinian
refugees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is in jeopardy.
Head
of UN agency warns not to let aid for Palestinians suffer
due to focus on Iraq
United Nations News, February 10, 2003
10 February – The head of the United Nations lead agency
for Palestinian refugees, Peter Hansen, today appealed to
the international community not to let the West Bank and Gaza
slide down its list of priorities as the world focuses on
a potential conflict in Iraq.
Sharon
issues stark warning
BBC, February 9, 2003
Ariel Sharon says the new Israeli Government that he has been
asked to form will end "Palestinian terrorism" and remove
its "leader", Yasser Arafat.
Four
Israelis Wounded in Attack
Islam Online, February 11, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, February 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies)
– In a resistance operation, three Palestinian fighters
were killed Sunday, February 9, when their explosives-laden
car pulled up at an Israeli site north of the Gaza Strip city
of Khan Yunis, leaving four Israeli soldiers wounded.
Israeli,
PA officials to resume cease-fire talks
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
High-level talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials
aimed at implementing a cease-fire between the two sides are
to resume Tuesday evening, with a meeting between Palestinian
Authority Interior Minister Hani al-Hassan and the director
general of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office, Dov Weisglass.
Physicians
for Human Rights demands gas masks for Palestinians
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
Israel's Physicians for Human Rights petitioned the High Court
on Tuesday to order authorities to supply gas masks to all
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the event
of a U.S. war on Iraq.
Statement
by the ISM: Prison for 100,000 at the stroke of a Pen
International Solidarity Movement, February 11, 2003
Prison for 100,000 at the stroke of a Pen: Israeli Military
Unmasks New Plan for Wall to Surround Tulkarem -- The town
of Tulkarem has been dealing with the devastating consequences
of the Apartheid Wall since its construction started last
year.
Two
Medics One Bullet
MIFTAH, February 7, 2003
According to information gathered by the Palestinian Center
for Human Rights in Gaza (PCHR), at around 11pm on Wednesday,
Israeli Special Forces attacked the al-Shaath area northeast
Gaza city.
IOF
Completely Seal off Palestinian Territory During Eid al-Adha
Palestine Media Center, February 11, 2003
Minister of Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Shaul Mofaz has
imposed a complete closure on the occupied Palestinian territories
until the end of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday on Friday,
claiming the new Israeli measure of collective punishment
was a "necessary step," as his troops killed three Palestinians,
including one unarmed who was assassinated extra-judicially
in Nablus.
Study
on the Environment of the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Released
United Nations, February 7, 2003
UNEP's Governing Council 3 to 7 February: Environment for
Development -- Nairobi, January 2003 - A report on the environmental
situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories was today
published on the Internet.
Imprisoned
objectors update
Alternative Information Center/New Profile, February 9, 2003
This update contains information on three urgent matters that
require massive and concentrated action: the hunger strike
of objector Hillel Goral, the harsh prison conditions some
of the prisoners are subject to and the general issue of the
repeated imprisonment of objectors. In addition, this update
contains information on all the objectors currently held in
military prisons in Israel.
EU
investigates allegations of Palestinian misuse of budgetary
support
MENA Report, February 10, 2003
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has opened an external
investigation in relation to allegations of the misuse of
funds donated by the European Union (EU) in the context of
budgetary support to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Palestinians
say they are being subjected to punishment 'lottery' by Israeli
soldiers
The Independent, February 11, 2003
Israeli security forces in Hebron have allegedly forced Palestinians
to submit to a macabre "lottery", in which the victim had
to choose their own "punishment" by picking a slip of paper
out of a pile.
'We
won't succumb'
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 6 - 12 February 2003
Talks in the Egyptian capital between Palestinian factions
underscored the political weight of Hamas. Khaled Meshal,
head of the movement's politburo, spoke to Amira Howeidy in
Cairo about current dangers and the need for a 'frame of reference'.
Israeli
army targets medical personnel for death
Palestine Monitor, February 9, 2003
Late Wednesday night, 5 February, an Israeli sniper killed
two nurses, Abed al-Karim Anwar Labad, 21, and Omar Saad al-din
Hussan, 21, while they were working at the al-Wafa Hospital
in Gaza City.
The
bulldozer's mandate
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 6 - 12 February 2003
Israel razed 62 Palestinian shops in Nazlat Issa village,
setting new standards of destructiveness. And this is only
the beginning.
Palestinians
mark somber holiday as Israel bans hundreds from pilgrimage
Jordan Times, February 11, 2003
GAZA CITY — Palestinians marked another sombre Eid Al
Adha holiday Monday, with no end in sight to their 28-month
uprising for freedom and hundreds of pilgrims related to suspected
resistance activists blocked by the Israeli occupation army
from reaching the Muslim Holy City of Mecca.
Funds
to feed Palestinians will run out in March
Jordan Times, February 11, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — The UN agency for Palestinian
refugees warned Monday it will run out of resources to feed
more than one million refugees by the end of March, and said
it feared the looming war in Iraq would overshadow the needs
of the Palestinian territories.
Israel's
central bank slams budget maths
BBC, February 10, 2003
The Palestinian uprising has affected the Israeli economy
more than the global economic slump. Israel's central bank
has criticised the government over its handling of the budget.
State
radio chief: no Israeli disputes aired in wartime
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
Israel Radio chief Amnon Nadav said Tuesday that in the event
of war in Iraq, the state-owned radio network will keep revelations
of Israeli mistakes, miscalculations, and disputes off the
air for the duration of the conflict.
Israeli
army seals borders after 'exceptional' number of terrorist
attack warnings
The Independent, February 11, 2003
The Israeli army closed the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip
yesterday, stopping Palestinians crossing into Israel, even
as talks between the government and Palestinian leaders continued.
2
militants killed in territories; IDF imposes full closure
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
The IDF, citing a spate of warnings of planned terror attacks,
clamped a rare full closure over Palestinians in the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip overnight Monday, effectively cancelling
plans to ease restrictions for a major Muslim holiday beginning
Tuesday.
US
postpones visit by Israeli loan guarantee delegation
Globes, February 11, 2003
The delegation was scheduled to hold the almost final round
of talks on Israel request for military aid grants and loan
guarantees. -- Thursday’s planned Washington trip by
an Israeli delegation to discuss US special aid has been postponed
for several days, for “technical reasons relating to
the coordination of the Americans’ timetable.”
Israel
shuts down Palestinian areas
BBC, February 11, 2003
Violence has continued in the West Bank and Gaza Strip --
The Israeli army has imposed a complete closure of the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, banning all Palestinians from entering
Israel, the Israeli defence ministry has said.
Two
more Palestinians killed
Arab News, February 11, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 11 February 2003 — Israeli forces
killed a Palestinian in the West Bank yesterday during what
the army said was an attempt to capture him and shot dead
another near a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli
forces impose complete closure of occupied territories; Two
Palestinians shot dead
Al-Bawaba, February 11, 2003
Israeli forces have imposed since Monday night a complete
closure of the occupied territories following warnings of
an imminent attack by Palestinian groups. Meanwhile, in two
separate incidents, Israeli troops killed two Palestinians.
Israel
Kills Unarmed Palestinian Activist, Sharon To Oust Arafat
Islam Online, February 11, 2003
NABLUS, West Bank, February 10 (News Agencies) – Israeli
occupation troops killed a member of the Ali Abu Mustapha
brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine (PFLP) in a pre-dawn raid near the West Bank
town of Nablus, a PFLP source said Monday, February 10.
U.S.
starts sending staff out of country
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
The U.S. State Department announced yesterday that it would
start evacuating non-essential personnel and diplomats' families
from Israel later this week, with a U.S.-led war against Iraq
looming.
Sharon
vows to remove present Palestinian leadership
Arab News, February 11, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 10 February 2003 — Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday one of the main tasks
of his new government would be removing Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat, as the revelation of new high-level contacts
was met with an attack on an Israeli Army post in Gaza.
Iraq
War Should not Give Israel Pretext to Deport Palestinians:
EU’s Patten
Palestine Media Center, February 9, 2003
A US-led war against Iraq should not put the prospect of a
Palestinian state on the back burner or give Israel the pretext
to deport Palestinians, European Commissioner for External
Relations Chris Patten said in Beirut Friday.
US-Israel
plan to expel Arafat
Ummahnews/Gulf Daily News, February 10, 2003
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and US President George
W Bush have agreed on a plan to get rid of Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat if he refuses to appoint a prime minister with
executive powers.
Israeli
troops kill Palestinian fugitive
Times of India, February 10, 2003
NABLUS: Israeli troops killed two suspected Palestinian militants,
including an unarmed fugitive, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
on Monday, and caught a would-be suicide bomber who hid an
explosives-laden suitcase in a hotel.
IOF
Raid Palestinian Cities, Demolish More Houses
Palestine Media Center, February 9, 2003
Four Palestinians, including a teenager, were wounded by Israeli-gunfire
in the West Bank city of Tulkarem Saturday, Palestinian medical
and security sources said.
Precedent:
increased tax on Israeli export as Spain sanctions Israel
Alternative Information Center/Yedioth Ahronot, February 9/5,
2003
For the first time since the EU threatened to sanction Israeli
imports, Spanish authorities placed irregular increased taxes
on Israeli goods.
AG
moves cash from Religious Ministry
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
It is doubtful that the government decision to close the Religious
Affairs Ministry will ever be implemented, but in the meantime,
it is losing its role and authority.
Demography,
demagoguery and democracy / By Akiva Eldar
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
If Ehud Olmert becomes a minister, he could determine the
future of Jerusalem.
Analysis
/ Sharon's hopes for Labor are fading
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
...Sharon will wait another week, at least, before making
what will be a painful decision for him - Shas or Shinui.
In the meantime, he'll likely meet with Labor Party leader
Amram Mitzna again and try to lobby various Labor Party officials
in an attempt to crack their resistance to another unity experience
under Sharon's leadership.
Triple
bind
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 6 - 12 February 2003
Sharon has six weeks to form a cabinet. Which way will he
jump, asks Jonathan Cook in Jerusalem -- Israel's President
Moshe Katsav called each of the political parties into his
office in turn on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to ask who
they wanted as the next prime minister. Apart from the demurring
voices of Labour, Meretz and the Arab parties, Ariel Sharon
won resounding support.
UTJ
says it will join coalition; Likud rejects NRP ultimatum
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
The Likud rejected Tuesday an ultimatum by the National Religious
Party, which demanded control of the Education Ministry as
its price for joining a unity coalition led by Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon.
Background
/ For some, Scud threat pales before daily life
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
As many in Israel prepare to revamp their homes or run to
faraway hotels at the threat of non-conventional Iraqi weapons,
some residents of a rain-soaked homeless encampment say a
direct hit by a Scud missile would, if nothing else, put them
out of their misery.
And
if a missile does hit Israel, this is what's supposed to happen
Ha'aretz, February 11, 2003
If Iraq attacks Israel in response to a U.S. assault, Israel's
citizens will not be expected to sit in sealed rooms or shelters
on and off for weeks, as they did in the previous war in the
Gulf in 1991.
3
ISM reports from murder in Tulkarem / Right to Education petition
International Solidarity Movement, February 10, 2003
1) The Man in the Clothes Shop, by Chris Green, 2) Just Like
Christmas, by Drew Penland, 3) From an Ambulance in Palestine,
by Lisa Beth,
4) Right to Education Petition from Bethlehem
US
urges quick end to Hajj so it can prosecute war
Ummahnews, February 8, 2003
The Saudi authorities have decided to cut short the rituals
of this year’s Hajj (pilgrimage) in response to a US
request to clear the peninsula of pilgrims so it can pursue
a war with Iraq as soon as possible after the annual gathering.
Arab
opposition to war against Iraq escalated
Arabic News, February 11, 2003
Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in Rafah to the south
of Gaza in solidarity with Iraq and in rejection of the war
against it, calling on the Arab states to side by it and attack
the American interests.
Israel
assassinates People's Front official
Arabic News, February 11, 2003
The Israeli forces assassinated yesterday at dawn an official
at Abu Ali Mustafa group, the military wing of the People's
Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Famous
comedian Jackie Mason incites genocide of Palestinians
Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace/The Electronic Intifada,
February 6, 2003
World-renowned American stand-up comedian Jackie Mason has
published an astonishing demand that Israel threaten the Palestinian
people with genocide.
Israel
names new ambassadors to Jordan, Egypt and India
Jordan Times, February 11, 2003
TEL AVIV (AFP) — Israel's foreign ministry on Monday
named new ambassadors to Egypt and Jordan, the only two Arab
states it has signed peace treaties with, and named its envoy
to India.
Intifada
costs Israel $2.3b in tourism revenue
Globes, February 11, 2003
The security situation has also reduced spending by Israeli
overseas travelers by 4%.
IAI,
Boeing to cooperate in Australian UAV tender
Globes, February 11, 2003
Boeing Australia and Israel Aircraft Industries have signed
an MOU for the $2 billion tender. -- Israel Aircraft Industries
(IAI) and Boeing Australia will jointly compete in a tender
announced by the Australian armed forces for unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs).
Looming
Gulf War leads 300 American School students to leave Israel
Globes, February 11, 2003
Many of the Walworth Barbour American International School
in Israel teachers with foreign citizenship are also expected
to leave.
There’s
no plan
Globes, February 11, 2003
Genuine spending cuts take more political will than Sharon
can muster.
State
Department Denies Condoning Israeli Harrassment of Arab Americans
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), February
3, 2003
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of State assured the
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) that it
"does not condone the practices of the Government of Israel
toward Arab Americans."
Left
over?
The Guardian, February 11, 2003
The left in America was once a powerful force that fought
for civil rights and helped to end the Vietnam war. But today,
with the US poised to attack Iraq, where are the voices of
dissent? Gary Younge goes in search of the opposition.
Internet
brings together Americans against war
The Guardian, February 11, 2003
This Saturday hundreds of thousands of Americans will be protesting
in the streets against the possibility of war in Iraq and
bombarding politicians with their views. One of the key organisations
coordinating the protests is the brainchild of two Silicon
Valley entrepreneurs who saw the internet as a way of channeling
political protest.
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audio
UN
warns of Palestinian food emergency
BBC, February 11, 2003
