IOF Assassinate 2 Palestinians, Extend Closure Indefinitely
Palestine Media Center, March 19, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) assassinated two Palestinians in the West Bank on Tuesday—a man in the southern city of Bethlehem and another in Nablus in the north—and announced that they will keep the closure imposed on the Palestinian territory for an indefinite period of time.

Activist's memorial service disrupted
The Guardian, March 19, 2003
Israeli forces fired teargas and stun grenades yesterday in an attempt to break up a memorial service for Rachel Corrie, the American peace activist killed by an army bulldozer in Gaza on Sunday.

Arafat forced to give up most powers to new PM
The Guardian, March 19, 2003
Now pressure is on Bush to release 'road map' that will lead to Palestinian statehood -- The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, last night signed into law legislation surrendering most of his powers to a new prime minister, and opening the way for US President George Bush to meet his commitment to release the US-backed "road map" for a Middle East peace settlement.

Abu Mazen has three weeks to form gov't
Haaretz, March 19, 2003 
A brief, 15-minute session of the Palestinian Legislative Council yesterday voted by a sweeping majority to pass a historic law establishing the position of prime minister of the Palestinian Authority - stripping Yasser Arafat of the authority over who serves in that government.

Congress leaders tell Bush: Approve Israel aid
Globes, March 19, 2003
Congressional leaders have called on President George W. Bush to approve the military grant and loan guarantees for Israel.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle wrote a joint letter to Bush that stated that ensuring Israel’s security was consistent with Bush’s vision of building a democratic and stable Middle East.

Fatah leaders give their backing to Nusseibeh and Ayalon's plan for `two states for two peoples'
Haaretz, March 19, 2003 
A plan to have 1 million people, representing the "silent majority" of Israelis and Palestinians ready to compromise on a two-state solution, sign a petition is gaining momentum among West Bank Fatah leaders.

Israeli killed in ambush near W. Bank city of Jenin
Haaretz, March 19, 2003
An Israeli man was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon between the West Bank settlements of Mevo Dotan and Shaked, near the city of Jenin.

Al Aksa Brigades claims responsibility for W. Bank shooting attack
Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2003
The Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the killing of an Israeli citizen in a shooting attack near the West Bank town of Jenin Wednesday afternoon.

Troops round up 9 terror suspects in West Bank
Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2003
Israeli soldiers arrested nine terrorist suspects in a West Bank village today. The arrests were made in Salfit, a village near the Jewish community of Ariel, which is in the Nablus area.

Breaking News: International Press Center
International Press Center, March 19, 2003
07:30- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) broke early Wednesday into the West Bank city of Qalqilia, and imposed a tight curfew over the city. Meanwhile, an Israeli undercover unit disguised in Palestinian civilian clothing entered the city late yesterday evening and arrested a Palestinian citizen Aneis Sameih Al Shanty, 24.

New funds enable UN agency to continue food assistance to Palestine refugees
United Nations News, March 18, 2003
18 March – The United Nations agency assisting Palestine refugees said today that it has received contributions towards its 2003 emergency appeal that will enable it to continue essential emergency assistance activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Tampa, Fla., trial will test antiterrorism law
Ledger-Enquirer, March 19, 2003
MIAMI - (KRT) - When a Tampa professor was indicted last month for financing a murderous Islamic group, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft gave credit to a new antiterrorism law for making it possible...Now, al-Arian's main pretrial strategy will be to challenge whether the wiretap evidence violated his constitutional rights.

Background / A Bush nightmare: Could Israel lash out at Iraq?
Haaretz, March 19, 2003
It is one of George Bush's worst nightmares: a desperate Saddam Hussein attacks Israel, causing the Jewish state to launch a devastating counter-strike on Iraq, in turn rupturing the fragile U.S-led coalition and bringing the Middle East - and the world - to the brink of unimaginable escalation.

Israelis told to seal rooms; IAF on 24-hour high alert
Haaretz, March 19, 2003
The Israel Defense Forces' Home Front Command yesterday instructed Israelis to prepare sealed rooms, as an American attack on Iraq seems likely to begin as early as the wee hours of Thursday morning.

BBC rouses anger with timing of Israel documentary
New Zealnad Herald, March 19, 2003
LONDON - The BBC reportedly received more than 1,000 complaints after it moved a documentary comparing Israel's arms programme to that of Iraq from prime time to a "graveyard" slot and replaced it with a repeated film on windmills.

Palestinians in Area C without gas mask kits
Haaretz, March 19, 2003 
Despite the heightened state of preparedness in the Israeli home front, the defense establishment has yet to begin distributing gas mask kits to Area C of the territories, where the Palestinians were supposed to exercise full control according to the Oslo accords.

Israeli Troops Wound Several Palestinian Civilians and Arrest Others
International Press Center, March 19, 2003
WEST BANK, Palestine, March 19, 2003, (IPC+ Agencies)--More than 11 Palestinian civilians were wounded late Tuesday as Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attacked various neighborhoods in the West Bank city of Hebron.

Israel Shows No Mercy, Even for the Dead
Palestine Media Center, March 19, 2003
IOF Teargas Activists Honoring US Pacifist Buried Alive in Rafah -- March. 19, 2003 - Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) hurled stun grenades and tear gas canisters at a group of Palestinian and international pacifists holding a memorial service for Rachel Corrie, a US peace activist killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Sunday.

After Gaza death, activists resolute
The Christian Science Monitor, March 19, 2003
JERUSALEM – The death of peace activist Rachel Corrie has done little to still violence in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli army raid into a Gaza shantytown early Monday left seven Palestinians dead, including the Islamic Jihad militant the troops were pursuing and a four-year-old girl.

9  Palestinians, including 3 children, killed by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, March 17, 2003
9 Palestinian civilians, including three children, were killed in less than 4 hours this morning when Israeli occupying forces moved into Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip and Beit Lahia in the north. 20 people were injured during the incursions.

Hear Palestine, March 19, 2003
Hear Palestine
NEWS: Hebron: 2 Wounded, Including Child in Ongoing Operation / Ramallah: Israeli Soldiers Invade Al-Quds Open University / Bethlehem: Arrests and Tightened Oppressive Measures / Khan Younis: 5 Palestinian Security Officers Arrested / Nablus: Raids and Arrests in New Askar Refugee Camp / Qalqilya: Israeli Army Invades City, Imposes Curfew   FEATURES: Gaza: "Graveyards of Numbers". Keep the Dead Restless / Rafah: Rachel's Friends Plant Trees and Roses in Her Memory / 137 Palestinians Killed, 844 Homes Demolished in Gaza Strip in 2003 / Suffering for Jerusalemites Continues. No One Cares

Powell Says Creation of Palestinian PM Post ‘Positive Step Forward’
Palestine Media Center, March 19, 2003
US Secretary of State Colin Powell applauded the creation of the Palestinian post of prime minister as a positive move while a spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair expected the “roadmap” to Middle East peace, which envisions a Palestinian state by 2005, to be published soon.

Arafat Names Abbas Palestinian Premier
Bradenton Herald, March 19, 2003
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat appointed his longtime deputy Mahmoud Abbas as prime minister Wednesday, a senior official said, marking the first time that Arafat has been forced to share power.

Arafat signs legislation creating position of prime minister; Report: Israeli president meets senior PA official
Al-Bawaba, March 19, 2003
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed legislation Tuesday creating the position of prime minister hours after it was passed by parliament.

Arafat loses role in naming new cabinet
The Independent, March 19, 2003
The Palestinian parliament created the post of Prime Minister in a final vote yesterday, taking an important step towards reforms sought by the United States and rebuffing Yasser Arafat's attempts to retain a say in forming the next cabinet.

Media must properly cover killing of Rachel Corrie
Palestine Media Watch, March 17, 2003
PMWATCH - March 17, 2003 -- When Americans are killed or wounded in suicide bombings, the American press is very good at poignantly bringing home the human dimension of the tragedy. We are shown their pictures in happier times, we are told why they were in Israel, what their dreams and projects for the future were, what their families feel and how they are coping with their loss. Let us make sure that the killing of the first pro-Palestinian American activist is also covered with the same humanizing sensitivity.

In a Press Conference, Josef Smith Reiterates Solidarity with the Palestinian People Despite Rachel’s Death
International Press Center, March 19, 2003
RAFAH, Gaza Strip, March 18, 2003, (IPC) -- Josef Smith, a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), stressed yesterday that the ISM would keep on expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people despite the killing of their friend Rachel Corrie by the Israeli occupation forces in the Southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.

Report: Hizbullah deploys Katyusha rockets along Israeli-Lebanese border
Al-Bawaba, March 19, 2003
Hizbullah gunners have deployed Katyusha rockets along the Israeli-Lebanese border, eye witnesses told a Lebanese newspaper.

Recruiting for Hamas
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 13 - 19 March 2003
Israel's relentless war on Gaza is aimed at defeating Hamas in its strongest base. It is achieving the opposite, writes Graham Usher, in Jabalia.

Four Palestinians, one Israeli soldier killed near Bethlehem
Arabic News, March 19, 2003
Four Palestinians were killed yesterday by the Israeli forces which continued aggression against the Palestinians and broke into several area in the West Bank and Gaza and arrested more than 10 Palestinians on charge of resisting occupation.

PHRMG Demands Immediate Release of Husam Khader from Arbitrary Arrest
Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, March 17, 2003
PHRMG demands the immediate release of Husam Khader who was illegally detained this morning by the Israeli army. At 4 o'clock in the morning, over 30 Israeli soldiers invaded the home of Mr. Khader in Nablus, forcefully arresting him and taking him to an unknown location while he was still in his pajamas.

FMEP Settlement Report, January-February 2003
FMEP Settlement Report, January-February 2003 - Acrobat version
Foundation For Middle East Peace - FMEP

31% - Iraq war will end in crushing US victory
Globes, March 19, 2003 
Globes-Smith survey: A greater number of respondents predict a less decisive US victory after a long struggle. --  Globes-Smith conducted a lightening survey to assess the Israeli public’s attitude toward the war.

2.2 million Internet surfers in Israel
Globes, March 19, 2003
The vast majority of surfers surf at home. The commonest uses are to seek information or use e-mail. 35% of surfers make purchases.

Down on the valley
Haaretz, March 19, 2003
Young artists are pulling apart the myth of the Jezreel Valley - and with it the Zionist dream.

Goldstein-Purim party spark MKs protests
Haaretz, March 19, 2003  
Several Knesset members yesterday asked the police and Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein to investigate a teenaged boy who was photographed holding a pistol to the head of a friend dressed up as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The photograph was taken on Monday night at a combination Purim celebration/memorial ceremony for Baruch Goldstein, who murdered 29 Muslim worshipers at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron in 1994.

Arab League calls for end to Israel's weapons of mass
Inter Press Service
ABU DHABI, Mar. 19 (IPS) - Director of Disarmament Department at the Arab League called on Arabs to derive benefit from the lessons of this stage and support the Arab joint action for being one of the necessary means to deter impending dangers, which are posing a threat to the Arab countries.

LAW Weekly Roundup, 27 February - 12 March 2003
LAW Society
Nine year old killed in funeral procession, man killed while handcuffed, young woman dies after denied medical treatment, settlers fire upon young boy, more deadly incursions into the Gaza strip with large numbers of casualties, including a pregnant woman killed under the rubble of her home; four Palestinians killed in extra-judicial assassination; at least 68 Palestinians arrested; Over this fortnight, Israeli forces killed 40 Palestinians, including 8 children, two over 75 years and a pregnant woman.

LAW fears more human rights violations during a war on Iraq
MIFTAH/LAW Society, March 18, 2003
In these nervous few hours before a war is announced on Iraq, LAW looks to the Occupied Palestinian Territories and fears more of the same human rights violations will be carried out by Israel as attention turns to Iraq.

Israel Will Use Iraq War to Launch Massive Assault Against Palestinians, Barghouthi Warns
Palestine Media Center, March 19, 2003
Mustafa Barghouthi, HDIP* Director, warned that the coming weeks could be the bloodiest in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as it appeared increasingly likely that Israel will use the distraction of the world’s media in covering the war on Iraq as a cover for massive violations against Palestinians in the Occupied Territory.

Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine, March 19, 2003
Palestine Media Center, March 19, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) assassinated two Palestinians in the West Bank on Tuesday, one Bethlehem and the other in Nablus. IOF also announced they intend to keep the closure on the Palestinian territory for an indefinite period of time.

Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, 06 - 12 March, 2003
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
The International Community Remains Silent While Israeli Human Rights Violations in the OPT Continue: 23 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 4 children a woman and an old man, killed by Israeli forces / Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas, accompanied by indiscriminate shelling / Israeli forces continued to use Palestinian civilians as human shields / The Israeli retaliatory campaign continues against families of wanted Palestinians and those who allegedly have carried out armed attacks against Israeli targets / A number of Palestinians have been detained / The severe siege of the OPT has continued.

PCHR calls for reopening al-Resala Weekly
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, March 18, 2003
PCHR is deeply concerned as the Palestinian police ordered closure of al-Resala Weekly, and calls upon the Palestinian Authority to immediately reopen it and allow it to work without restrictions.  PCHR believes that this action violates the Palestinian Basic Law of 2002, Press Law of 1995 and the rights to free expression and press.

Israeli army kills American woman by bulldozer
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, March 17, 2003
23-year-old Rachel Corrie, an American peace activist and college student from Olympia, Washington, was killed yesterday afternoon by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Rachel Corrie and eight of her colleagues from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), five Americans and three British, were trying to stop the Israeli military from bulldozing a number of houses in the Salaam neighborhood of Rafah.

Foreign workers ask to be deported if war starts
Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2003 
Increasing numbers of foreign workers are asking to be deported from Israel in light of the impending war with Iraq.

Suddenly, the war is very real
The Guardian, March 19, 2003
Suddenly, the war becomes a reality -- After months of waiting and worry the prospect of imminent attack was here, all too suddenly, and horribly real.

Jordan reopens al-Jazira office in Amman
Arabic News, March 19, 2003
The Jordanian minister of information Muhammad al-Edwan announced re-opening Qatar's al-Jazira TV channel office the authorities closed in [2]002.

Arab workers and writers statement on the Iraqi issue
Arabic News, March 19, 2003
Secretariat General of the International Federation of Arab Trade Unions has called the Arab citizens to move quickly and fight for their existence.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretariat underlined the necessity to extend material and moral support to the Iraqi people's steadfastness to defend their destiny, unity, land, and national authority in the face of the US aggression.

Syria: US actions in violations of UN resolutions and charter
Arabic News, March 19, 2003
Syrian official spokesman announced the following: Syria sees that Bush's ultimatum to strike Iraq contradicts United Nation's resolutions, charter, principles, and purposes, adding that any military act against Iraq contradicts the international unanimity that emerged at Security Council's recent meetings, which doesn't give anyone a cart blanche for war.

Syria blocks Iraqi exodus
BBC, March 19, 2003
Syria closes its border to Iraqis anxious to leave as war looms - and many travellers are stranded with insufficient petrol.

Region braces for conflict
BBC, March 19, 2003
As Iraq prepares for war, its neighbours assess the impact which the conflict will inevitably have on their own communities. Here, BBC correspondents look at the mood in the countries around Iraq.

Water shortages 'foster terrorism'
BBC, March 19, 2003
A lack of water is a key factor in encouraging terrorism, the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto has heard. -- Mona El Kody, the chair of the National Water Research Unit in Egypt, told delegates that living without an adequate level of access to water created a "non-human environment" which led to frustration, and from there terrorism.

The Jordanian dilemma: Who to support?
Haaretz, March 19, 2003
There is an ostensible sense of business as usual in Jordan, but prior to the U.S. attack in Iraq, nothing is actually as usual in the country.

Ithaca Catholic Workers Take Drastic Action to Stop War
Palestine Chronicle, March 18, 2003
ITHACA, New York - At 3:30pm, four people from the Ithaca Catholic Worker Community poured blood in and outside the military recruitment center in Cayuga Mall, in Ithaca, NY (near TJ Max), declaring that the slaughter of the innocent of Iraq is wrong.

Arab states to focus on surviving Iraq war fallout
Middle East Online, March 19, 2003
Powerless to oppose US determination to wage war on Iraq, Arab states will focus on maintaining internal security. -- Arab leaders have no cards left to play in the face of US determination to get rid of one of their number, Saddam Hussein, and will now focus on preventing the war from destabilising their regimes.

Jordanians stockpiling food ahead of Iraq war
Middle East Online, March 19, 2003
They are rushing to supermarkets to stack up food, supplies despite 'no panic' assurances from government. -- The day after US President George W. Bush issued a war ultimatum to Iraq, Munzer Salah went to the supermarket in neighbouring Jordan to buy a carton of milk - and walked out with 250 dollars of supplies.

Maronite signals
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 13 - 19 March 2003
Anticipation of a war on Iraq is uniting sectarian Lebanon -- even if only for a moment. -- To a stranger, it might appear that the Lebanese had just ended their civil war and were rejoicing at new-found national unity. More than a decade after guns fell silent here, politicians from across the ideological spectrum are hailing the Maronite Church's "historic message" to Syria and its vocal opposition to a US-led war on Iraq.

Hope fades as the citizens of Baghdad begin to foresee the appalling fate awaiting them
The Independent, March 19, 2003
The darkness is beginning to descend, the fog of anxiety that falls upon all people when they realise that they face unimaginable danger.

U.S. To Enter Iraq Even If Saddam Quits: Fleischer
Islam Online, March 19, 2003
WASHINGTON, March 18 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Exposing its sinister schemes, the White House admitted Tuesday, March 18, that U.S. troops would enter Iraq to even if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons bowed to the 48-hour ultimatum given by U.S. President George Bush and left the country.

Admiral vows most powerful air campaign ever
Bradenton Herald, March 19, 2003
ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK - The commander of the huge Naval armada massed against Iraq promised Wednesday that a U.S.-led air campaign against Iraq would be the fastest and most powerful ever unleashed. "The campaign will be unlike any we have seen in the history of warfare, with breathtaking precision, almost eyewatering speed, persistence, agility and lethality," Vice Adm. Timothy Keating said during a visit to the USS Kitty Hawk in the north Persian Gulf.