Palestinians: heavy exchanges of fire between IDF and Palestinians in Jenin
Jerusalem Post, March 15, 2003 
Palestinian sources in the West Bank town of Jenin report heavy exchanges of fire between IDF troops and armed Palestinians in Jenin's refugee camp for the past few hours.

IPS News Update, March 15, 2003
International Press Centre, March 15, 2003
20:30--  Israeli occupation forces began this evening to launch a new and large campaign of aggression including incursions followed with random intensive shelling of the city of Jenin, refugee camp and nearby villages...

Contrary to recent claims, since September 2000 more than 75% of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops are innocent civilians
MIFTAH, March 15, 2003
A report released by IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) included faulty and inaccurate numbers as far as the percentage of civilian deaths on the hands of the Israeli army.

Peace plan may not yet be finalised
The Indpendent, March 15, 2003
President George Bush's statement on the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians yesterday left many involved in trying to push the process forward more fearful than optimistic.

Hoping for the best
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 13 - 19 March 2003
Arafat's approval of a Palestinian prime minister marks one small step on the road to independence, writes Graham Usher in Jerusalem -- Yasser Arafat has again said yes to the new regional order ordained for him by the world and the majority stream within his Fatah movement. Meetings this week in Ramallah saw the PLO Central Council and Palestinian Authority parliament approve his nominee, Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen), as Palestine's prime minister.

Standoff at Nativity church ends
MSNBC, March 15, 2003
BETHLEHEM, West Bank, March 15 — An Israeli man and his wife who threatened to blow themselves up in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity on Saturday over a personal grievance surrendered after a short stand-off, military sources said.

YMCA Demands Release of 2 Employees Detained by Israel
Palestine Chronicle, March 15, 2003
The East Jerusalem YMCA, a partner organization of “Christian Aid”, called upon Israel this week to free two of its employees, Nabeel Hamad Hamadna and Adnan Naim Abdullah.

Saadat observes food strike
Arabic News, March 15, 2003
In a statement, the People's Front For the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said that its secretary general Ahmad Saadat detained in Areiha prison started a food strike over what he has been exposed to of "strong measures" by the British and American guards.

354 Palestinian Children Martyred by Israel
Tehran Times, March 15, 2003
TEHRAN -- Zionist forces have martyred at least 354 Palestinian children since the start of the second Intifada (uprising) in September 2000 while 7,652 children sustained wounds and 850 schools were closed.

US and Israel's 'common cause'
BBC, March 15, 2003
These are days of war talk, and the same sort of talk is coming out of Israel and the United States.
From Israel's Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon: "Israel will not surrender to blackmail. He who rises up to kill us, we will pre-empt it and kill him first. As we have proven there is no and there will never be any shelter for evil."

New Palestinian PM may meet with Bush
USA Today, March 15, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) — Once he is sworn in, the new Palestinian prime minister may be invited to the White House to meet with President Bush as the administration accelerates its drive for a Middle East settlement and a Palestinian state.

Israel considers protesting BBC show on `secret weapons'
Haaretz, March 14, 2003
The program allegedly claims the army used some form of unidentified chemical weapons against Palestinians in February 2001. -- LONDON - Israel is considering lodging a vehement protest after the BBC airs a national program Sunday about the country's nuclear program, dubbed "Israel's secret weapon."

Hamas leader accuses PA of spreading rumors that he is an Israeli spy
Jerusalem Post, March 15, 2003  
A pamphlet accusing prominent Hamas official Abdel Aziz Rantisi of collaborating with Israel is threatening to spark off an armed and bloody confrontation between the radical Islamic movement and the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip.

Mofaz: Israel should have retaliated in Gulf War
Jerusalem Post, March 15, 2003
Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz, said in an interview Saturday evening on Channel 2 that Israel erred in not responding to Iraq's launching of scud missiles at the country in the Gulf War.

US politician who accused American Jews of goading US into war with Iraq resigns
Jerusalem Post, March 15, 2003 
US House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi asked Rep. Jim Moran Friday to step down from his elected post after comments he made last week suggesting Jewish American groups were goading the US into a war against Iraq.

Hezbollah missile lands in main street of Kiryat Shmona
Haaretz, March 15, 2003
An anti-aircraft missile launched by the militant Hezbollah organization landed in the main street of the northern city of Kiryat Shmona on Saturday morning. The missile did not explode, however, and a police sapper safely detonated it.

PA: New 'roadmap' will not veer from last year's draft
Haaretz, March 15, 2003
The U.S.-backed "road map" to Palestinian statehood that President George W. Bush plans to present will not stray from last year's draft even if parties lobby for changes, senior Palestinian officials said Saturday.

Israel Hails Bush Peace Vow, Palestinians Want Results
Islam Online, March 15, 2003
Israel sees "eye to eye" with Bush -- JERUSALEM, March 15 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Israel Saturday, March 15, welcomed U.S. President George W. Bush's vow to revive the Middle East peace process when the Palestinians appoint a premier to curb Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's powers, but the Palestinians were skeptical of the U.S. leader's initiative.

PLO Welcomes Bush Statement, PNA Officials Reserved 
Palestine Media Center, March 15, 2003
March. 15, 2003 - The Executive Committee (EC) of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) welcomed US President George Bush’s statement Friday and considered the US “commitment” to the formula of the “roadmap,” which was approved by the Quartet of the international peace mediators, “without any amendment thereto”, “a step in the right direction.”

World Bank Report Highlights 60 Percent Poverty Level In Palestinian Territories
Palestine Chronicle, March 15, 2003
Twenty-seven months after the outbreak of the intifada, 60 percent of the population of the West Bank and Gaza live under a poverty line of US$2 per day. The numbers of the poor have tripled from 637,000 in September 2000 to nearly 2 million today.

European leaders hail Bush ''road map'' statement; One Palestinian shot dead
Al-Bawaba, March 15, 2003
A Palestinian was killed Friday evening in the West Bank village of Azun, next to Qalqilyah. Two other Palestinians were lightly wounded in the incident and arrested.

Bush to publish road map to peace
The Guardian, March 15, 2003
George Bush reluctantly put his Middle East peace plan back on the agenda yesterday by promising to release his "road map" to a Palestinian state, apparently in an attempt to ease the political pressure the Iraq crisis is putting on Tony Blair.

Mideast Palestinian 'Collaborators' Gunned Down in West Bank
VOA News, March 15, 2003
Members of a Palestinian militant group have gunned down two Palestinian men accused of collaborating with Israel. The men, residents of the West Bank, were killed by members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - an offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

Al-Aqsa Brigades shoot dead two 'collaborators' in Nablus
Haaretz, March 15, 2003
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said on Saturday it had killed two West Bank men for collaborating with Israeli security forces.

Nixing the ethnics
Haaretz, March 15, 2003
Israel's ethnic Russians want autonomy, an NPO of their own and eventually, a Russian village, complete with a church. But the state perceives them as a threat to the country's Jewish character.

Israeli troops raid Jenin camp
BBC, March 14, 2003
At least five Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Jenin.
Witnesses said about 10 Israeli tanks - backed by armoured vehicles and jeeps and two combat helicopters - surrounded a house used by Islamic Jihad militants during the raid.

Ehud Barak: Salaries taking larger proportion of defense budget
Globes, March 13, 2003
Barak: Change defense budget to focus on sophisticated weapons. -- Barak thinks the impending war in Iraq will again prove the importance of sophisticated weapons, which have altered the balance of forces on the battlefield by giving the US the capacity to destroy the enemy without him being able to respond. Barak said the IDF must develop along similar lines.

Analysis / Aerial hunt for fleeing suspect cannot be justified
Haaretz, March 15, 2003
Could Thursday's incident, in which two Israeli security guards were killed by IDF fire from the air and the ground, have been avoided? Yes, if troops and their commanding officers been made aware of the fact that two armed guards were present in the area.

Australia advises her citizens to leave Israel
Jerusalem Post, March 15, 2003
The latest travel advisory of the Australian Government suggests that Australians resident in Israel should depart unless they have a compelling reason to stay.

IDF uncovers two large explosives in Rafah near Egypt border
Jerusalem Post, March 15, 2003 
IDF forces uncovered two large bombs weighing 30 kilograms each near the Dahaniya airport in Rafah on the Israel-Egypt border.

Documentary on Jenin Achieves Enormous Attendance in Seattle
Palestine Chronicle, March 15, 2003
On Sunday February 23rd, the Seattle-based group Voices of Palestine, along with the student group Hayaat, presented the award-winning film "Jenin Jenin" at the University of Washington. The auditorium’s seating capacity of 244 resulted in almost 150 people being turned away.

Palestinian Youth Group Seeking to Attend United World Youth Council
Palestine Chronicle, March 13, 2003
Peace in Palestine/Israel will come when grassroots Israelis and Palestinians begin to talk publicly about their common future. Grassroots discussion is needed, because the official leaders often carry too much baggage from years of cutting deals, struggling for power and demonizing their counterparts.

Israelis, Palestinians prepare for aftermath of Iraq crisis
Jordan Times, March 15, 2003   
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AP) — Many Israelis and Palestinians finally agree on something: Both anticipate that the United States, after ousting Saddam Hussein, will finally focus on ending 30 months of bloodshed here and renewing peace talks...Others dismiss such hopes as wishful thinking, arguing that the main reasons for the impasse will remain even after Saddam.

Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine, March 15, 2003
Palestine Media Center, March 15, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed ten Palestinians after raiding Jenin refugee camp and Tamoun village in northern West Bank. Meanwhile, two Palestinians died of severe wounds they received earlier by IOF gunfire in Gaza and Ramallah.

Occupation Chronicle Roundup, February 1 - March 3, 2003
A monthly report on Palestinian casualties prepared by PMC journalists -- Dear Reader, February has been one of the bloodiest of months throughout the ongoing Intifada for independence. The poverty-stricken Gaza Strip has been tormented almost daily by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) under the pretext of fighting “terrorists”.

How the media is helping Israel make a 180 degree turn
Palestine Media Watch, March 15, 2003
PMWATCH - March 15, 2003 -- For an edifying example of just how diffident and cagey the US media can get when the issue of Israel's role in this war comes up, take a look at CNN's NewsNight's March 14 coverage of the new rising concerns by the US Jewish community and Israel over the increasing perception here in the United States that this war is being pushed by powerful pro-Israel groups beholden to the right wing Likud and their fascist partners in the Israeli coalition government.

World Rallies Over U.S.-Iraq Conflict
The Guardian, March 15, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - The antiwar drumbeat sounded urgently in Washington and around the world Saturday in a round of protests energized by the approach of conflict with Iraq.

Could U.N. use military force on U.S.?
World Net Daily, March 15, 2003
Americans urge invoking obscure convention to halt 'aggression' --  Could the U.N. use military force to prevent the United States and Britain from waging war on Iraq without a Security Council mandate? Some anti-war groups are urging the world body to invoke a little-known convention that allows the General Assembly to step in when the Security Council is at an impasse in the face of a "threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression."

CCR Partners with Greenpeace and Calls on the World to Unite for Peace
Center for Constitutional Rights, March 14, 2003
Greenpeace has joined CCR in calling for the UN General Assembly to prevent a possible war in Iraq by using UN resolution 377, "Uniting for Peace", a little known resolution that can be used when the Security Council is split on the issue of how to maintain international peace and security.

UNICEF racing to bolster the strength of 400,000 malnourished children in Iraq
Arabic News, March 15, 2003
The report continued that Iraq has one of the highest rates of children under- five mortality in the world, with more than one in eight children dying before they reach their fifth birthday. Although it has improved in recent years, malnutrition also remains high, affecting one in four Iraqi children under the age of five- almost 1 million youngsters in total. Half of Iraq's 24.5 million people are children.