Israel instructs AIPAC to pummel the Bush administration on “road map”
Palestinian Information Center, March 29, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - The Israeli regime of Ariel Sharon has instructed the powerful American-Jewish Lobby to exert pressure on the Bush Administration to reconsider the “road-map” plan for solving the Palestinian question. According to Israeli state-run radio, the Sharon government has dispatched urgent messages to the American Israeli Public Action committee (AIPAC) urging the powerful pressure group to pressurize President Bush and his aides to accept Israeli objections to the road map.

Breaking News: Children Injured in Attack on Demonstration
International Press Center, March 29, 2003
18:00-- Several Palestinian children were injured and some suffered suffocation when they were assaulted by Israeli occupation forces today afternoon in the city of Bethlehem. The Israeli soldiers used truncheons, gas canisters and rubber bullets to disperse a demonstration held by the children today afternoon in the vicinity of the Church of Nativity, the children were protesting against the Israeli continuous aggression.

Fugitive shielded by foreign activists
Jerusalem Post, March 28, 2003
Soldiers of the Golani Brigade's counterguerrilla unit Egoz raided the West Bank offices of the International Solidarity Movement on Thursday and seized a senior Islamic Jihad fugitive. The army said Shadi Sukia, 20, was being sheltered in the Jenin offices of the Palestinian-backed peace group whose members often act as human shields, placing themselves between soldiers and Palestinians. The group said it did not know Sukia was wanted for planning a number of suicide bombings and shootings.

Israeli Army Invades al-Maghazi at Dawn; Demolishes Home 
Islamic Association for Palestine, March 29, 2003
The Israeli occupation army at dawn today demolished a home and arrested its owner during an invasion of the al-Maghazi refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip. Several armored vehicles besieged the home of Murad Abu Rukab, arrested him and demolished his 2-story home after forcing members of his family out without their belongings. The Israeli army claims that Abu Rukab was a wanted man.

Israel bars Muslims from accessing mosques in Hebron, Jerusalem
Palestinian Information Center, March 29, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - Israeli occupation soldiers on Friday barred Muslim worshipers from accessing the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, forcing many Muslims to pray in the streets.

Sharon draws Palestinian borders on 50% of West Bank areas
Palestinian Information Center, March 29, 2003
Ramallah - Well-informed Palestinian sources have warned that Zionist premier Ariel Sharon had tabled a new scheme at a special cabinet session on Thursday stipulating the confiscation and isolation of 50% of West Bank areas.

NRP suspends coalition activity
Jerusalem Post, March 28, 2003 
The National Religious Party Thursday suspended its participation in the government, claiming that the coalition agreement had been violated, according to Israel Radio. Party leader Effi Eitam said he took the step in anger over a decision by Industry and Trade Minister Ehud Olmert to stop inspectors from investigating businesses that are open on Shabbat.

New Palestinian prime minister Abu Mazen visits Gaza
Haaretz, March 29, 2003
In his first visit to the Gaza Strip since being appointed Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) met with Palestinian leaders Saturday as he worked to form his new Cabinet.

Nablus: Wide-Scale Israeli Military Operations and Curfew
Islamic Association for Palestine, March 29, 2003
The Israeli occupation army, at noon today, spread out intensively in Ashour fields in Nablus City. Dozens of armored vehicles were in the area. The home of the al-Shakhshir family was confiscated and transferred into a military base and observation point. A curfew was imposed on the residents of the area and Israeli soldiers reportedly open fire at anything the moved.

FM Shalom rejects any attempt to link Iraq war and Israel-Palestinian conflict
Haaretz, March 29, 2003
Shalom says Israel ready to open talks with PA immediately after PM Abu Mazen demonstrates control on ground and prevents terror activities.

Despite Bush’s Promises, ‘Roadmap’ Release Still a Mystery
Palestine Media Center, March 29, 2003
Despite promises by US President George W. Bush that the Mideast “roadmap” will be published “soon,” and similar pledges from London, the day the international peace proposal will be published remains a mystery.

PNA Official Scorns the Policy of Double Standards, Warns of Israeli Extortion of the “Road Map”
International Press Center, March 29, 2003
RAMALLAH, March 29, 2003, (IPC+ Agencies) -- Secretary General of the PNA Cabinet, Mr. Ahmed Abdul-Rahman, asserted Saturday that the West follows a double-standards policy regarding the implementation of the International resolutions in the Middle East.

Survey: Zionist entity plans demolition of 50,000 Arab houses
Palestinian Information Center, March 29, 2003
Nazareth - The Arab planning center in occupied Palestine 1948 areas has conducted a survey revealing that the Zionist entity was planning the demolition of 50,000 Arab houses in the Negev, Galilee and Triangle areas. Dr. Hanna Suweid, chairman of the center, told a seminar in Nazareth yesterday that it was the first time that such houses were counted.

“Peace bloc” warns of Sharon scheme
Palestinian Information Center, March 29, 2003
Nazareth- The “Israeli” leftist peace bloc has opined that the government of Ariel Sharon might exploit the current American-led war on Iraq to escalate military measures against the Palestinian people.

Zionist occupation forces turn Jerusalem into army barracks
Palestinian Information Center, March 29, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - The Zionist government has turned occupied Jerusalem into any army barracks yesterday deploying large numbers of policemen and border guards in the old quarters of the holy city and at the gates of the Aqsa Mosque.

Palestinian Killed, Boy Severely Wounded by IOF
Palestine Media Center, March 29, 2003
Segregation Wall ‘Illegal’, Represents ‘De Facto Annexation’: UN Official  -- March. 29, 2003 - Palestinian security sources said Friday that Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed one Palestinian citizen and wounded another after raiding the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem.

Palestinian Prime Minister Visits Gaza
The Guardian, March 29, 2003
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - The new Palestinian prime minister visited the Gaza Strip on Saturday for the first time since his appointment, meeting leaders of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement as he works for form a Cabinet.

Shalom: Israel will resume negotiations with Palestinians in two to three weeks
Jerusalem Post, March 29, 2003 
Israel will resume peace negotiations with the Palestinians in two to three weeks, when the PA's newly-appointed prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) forms a government, Foreign Minsiter Silvan Shalom told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Israelis "used secret weapons in Gaza"
Gulf News, March 22, 2003
Israel's arsenal of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is for the first time fully revealed in a chilling documentary which shows how Israeli forces used one of these weapons against Palestinians in February 2001, and how U.S. administrations have been covering up for Israel since the assassination of John F. Kennedy in the 1960s.

Arab Israelis to Protest Occupation, War on Iraq on ‘Land Day’ Sunday
Palestine Media Center, March 29, 2003
March. 29, 2003 - A committee representing the large Arab minority in Israel is to hold a general strike in solidarity with Iraq on Sunday and to mark “Land Day”; an annual commemoration of the death of six people killed by Israeli police while protesting the confiscation of Palestinian land after the creation of Israel in 1948.

Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine March 29, 2003
Palestine Media Center, March 29, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed one citizen and wounded another after raiding the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem. IOF also raided Khan Younis and Rafah in the Gaza Strip, demolishing a house and wounding five citizens. Citizen Killed, Another Wounded in Gaza Raid / IOF Seriously Wound a Boy in Qalandia / IOF Demolish House, Wound Two Citizens in Khan Younis / Three Citizens Wounded in Rafah

50,000 Palestinian-Owned Houses in Negev to be Demolished Under Israel’s Apartheid’s Plans
International Press Center, March 29, 2003
Negev, 29 March, 2003, (IPC +AGENCIES)-- As Arab and world warnings against the apartheid  segregation fence-off  wall  around  the West Bank and Jerusalem have been increasingly heightened, particularly given the fact that such wall exceed in its size the well-known  Berlin wall. There have been a lot of reports revealing that Israel plans to demolish 50,000 houses inside the Palestinian territories in the so-called Arab-Israeli community in Israel known as 1948 lands.

Bush will stand firm on Middle East road map
The Guardian, March 29, 2003
But Israelis secretly draft a watered-down alternative -- George Bush will throw his full political weight behind the long-expected road map for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, according to sources close to Tony Blair.

Al Monaataf: Palestinian ambassador pessimistic over future of Palestinian issue if war in Iraq fulfills objectives
Arabic News, March 29, 2003
Palestinian ambassador in Rabat, Abu Marwane, said he is pessimistic over the future of the Palestinian issue if the US-British led war against Iraq fulfills its objectives...Of promises to publish "the road-map" made by US president George W. Bush, he called this "low-priced kickbacks."

Palestinians seek immediate 'Roadmap'
UPI, March 29, 2003
GAZA, March 29 (UPI) -- Palestinian Cabinet Minster Saeb Erekat Saturday said that U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair's statements concerning the presentation of the U.S. Roadmap peace plan are just "pain relieving."

Mid-East peace talks 'possible'
Courier Mail, March 29, 2003
ISRAEL'S new foreign minister said Israel was trying to find out whether there was a possibility of resuming negotiations with the Palestinians after a lapse of more than two years. Silvan Shalom said yesterday he had made known Israel's desires in a talk with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a major player in the search for a Middle East peace along with Russia, the European Union and the United States.

Palestinians fire on IDF position near Netzarim in Gaza Strip
Jerusalem Post, March 29, 2003   
Palestinians fired shots at an IDF position overlooking the Jewish community of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip. There were no injuries.

Health Min. closes TA-area beaches due to sewage flow into sea
Haaretz, March 29, 2003 
The Health Ministry on Saturday closed beaches in Herzliya, Tel Aviv and Jaffa due the flow of sewage into the Mediterranean Sea, Israel Radio reported.

Israel 'could send aid to Iraq'
BBC, March 29, 2003
Israel has offered to send humanitarian aid to Iraq if a request is made by the United Nations. The country's new Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom, made the offer after talks with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York.

Hear Palestine, March 29, 2003
Hear Palestine
NEWS: Nablus: Residents of 3 Villages Demonstrate Against Confiscation of their Land / Bethlehem: Israeli Soldiers Attack Children, Wound 3 Moderately / Tulkarem: Military Roadblock Set Up at Nour Shams Entrance / Ramallah: Military Escalations at Qalandya Roadblock / Rafah: 3 Residents Wounded in Israeli Machinegun Fire / Khan Younis: Home Demolition, Arrests and Military Attacks   FEATURES: When Images of Aggression in Iraq Resemble Those in Palestine

US Muslims step up security at home
Sify, March 29, 2003 
When Eric Nix threw a brick into an Arab furniture store in suburban Chicago two days after the September 11 attacks, he served 30 days in jail.
Eighteen months on, with American Muslims on edge against the backdrop of the war in Iraq, the 24-year-old was at it again, allegedly bombing a van owned by a Palestinian family.

Iraq War News

U.S. Raid Kills 55 Iraqis Near Karbala
Islam Online, March 29, 2003
KARBALA, Iraq March 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A U.S. air strike on a crack unit of Iraq's elite Republican Guards killed at least 55 soldiers and destroyed 25 vehicles near the Shiite Muslim holy city of Karbala, U.S. military officials said Saturday, March 29.

Baghdad under renewed attack
BBC, March 29, 2003
Iraqi civilians fear they are being targeted -- Western warplanes have been repeatedly attacking southern Baghdad, a day after dozens of people were reported killed in a blast at a crowded marketplace in the city. The attacks - believed to be by B-52 bombers - are targeting units of the Republican Guard defending the Iraqi capital.

Baghdad Strikes Left 62 Killed, 107 Wounded: Iraq
Islam Online, March 29, 2003
BAGHDAD, March 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Few hours after the Iraqi Information Ministry came under missile attacks by invading Anglo-American warplanes, loud explosions were heard Saturday, March 29, from Baghdad's outskirts as the attacking aircrafts roared overhead.

Iraqi warning on suicide bombings
The Guardian, March 29, 2003
Iraq's vice-president today threatened more suicide bombings against coalition troops, following the death of four US soldiers from a suicide bomb earlier today.

Shi'ite resistance foils advance, so hungry troops wait for supplies
Sydney Morning Herald, March 30 2003
After a rapid advance of more than 500kilometres from Kuwait to within 80kilometres of Baghdad, it's been reported that coalition land forces are exhausted, some are surviving on one meal ration a day and fuel supplies are low.

U.S. Strikes 200 Iraqis Inside Basra Building
Islam Online, March 29, 2003
AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar, March 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Claiming Iraqi paramilitaries were holding a meeting inside, U.S. warplanes bombarded late Friday, March 28, a two-story building in the besieged Iraqi city of Basra with 200 Iraqis, all believed to be civilians, inside.

War in Iraq - preparing for battle UPDATE
Iraqwar.ru, March 28, 2003
March 27, 2003, 2321hrs MSK (GMT +3), Moscow (UPDATE) - Intercepted radio communications indicate that tomorrow we should expect a powerful attack by the coalition. During all day today the coalition troops were being reinforced and fully resupplied with fuel and ammunition. Additional units reserved for maintaining security along the Kuwaiti border were moved today to the front lines. The total number of additional [coalition] forces to enter Iraq numbers up to five battalions and around 800 combat vehicles.

War in Iraq - a week of war
Iraqwar.ru, March 28, 2003
March 28, 2003, 1448hrs MSK (GMT +3), Moscow - According to the latest intercepted radio communications, the command of the coalition group of forces near Karabela requested at least 12 more hours to get ready to storm the town. This delay is due to the much heavier losses sustained by the coalition troops during the sand storms then was originally believed.

U.S. Halts Tomahawks Over Saudi Arabia
The Guardian, March 29, 2003
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar (AP) - The United States halted Tomahawk cruise missile launches over parts of Saudi Arabia after the kingdom complained some of the weapons landed in the vast desert country, the Central Command said Saturday.

Iraqi Missile Damages Kuwait City Mall
The Guardian, March 29, 2003
KUWAIT CITY (AP) - A low-flying Iraqi missile screamed across the Persian Gulf early Saturday, avoiding the detection of U.S. defense systems and landing just off the coast of Kuwait City, shattering windows at a popular seaside shopping mall.

Did Errant U.S. Missile Hit Kuwait City?
CBS News, March 28, 2003
(CBS) Nerves were shattered early Saturday in Kuwait City by a missile that exploded near a popular shopping mall, shattering windows and causing other property damage before falling into the sea without killing or injuring anyone.

Commanders admit unexpected resistance has put paid to 'quick war' plan
The Guardian, March 29, 2003
Senior American and British military commanders were last night accepting the unwelcome reality that the strategy of a quick war leading to an early collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime has failed.

US Lacks Force for Street Fight: UK Defense Source
Arab News, March 29, 2003
LONDON, 29 March 2003 — US-led forces in Iraq can encircle the capital in days but lack the “overwhelming force” needed to wage warfare in the streets of Baghdad, a British defense source said yesterday.

Suicide bomber kills American soldiers
The Independent, March 29, 2003
Day 10: Another British soldier killed by 'friendly fire'; Allies attack Ba'ath party in Basra; US halts cruise missile launches over Saudi Arabia -- A suicide bomber killed up to five Americans at a US checkpoint on the main road north of Najaf, in southern Iraq.

US army's desert filling stations add fuel to fire
The Guardian, March 29, 2003
In a war where public perceptions are arguably as important as the military strategy, the US army appears to have handed a huge public relations victory to those who believe the conflict in Iraq is all about oil. The 101st Airborne Division has chosen to name two of its main outposts in the desert Forward Operating Base Exxon and Forward Operating Base Shell.

ICRC works to restore water supply in Iraq
Jordan Times, March 29, 2003
AMMAN — Whilst still working on fully restoring the water supply to Basra, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is now engaged in similar efforts in the south of Baghdad where damage to electric cables has hindered operations of water treatment units.

No let up in anti-war protests
BBC, March 29, 2003
Demonstrations are underway in many parts of the world -- Another wave of anti-war protests are being held in many parts of the world this weekend. Police in Kuala Lumpur used teargas to disperse 1,000 people who gathered in the city centre.

Protesters continue march against war
The Guardian, March 29, 2003
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators across the world have today once again taken to the streets to protest against the war in Iraq.

Iraq's female health crisis
BBC, March 29, 2003
A UN agency preparing to help Iraqi women is warning that their health needs are being overlooked. The Head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr Thoraya Obaid, a Saudi citizen born in Baghdad, told BBC News Online: "All too often the needs of women are neglected in the rush to provide relief.

First Anti-War Chinese Demo, World Rallies For Peace
Islam Online, March 29, 2003
BEIJING, March 28 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Police have given the go ahead for China's first domestic protests against the war on Iraq, but greatly limited the numbers allowed to demonstrate, organizers said Saturday, March 29.

7-truck convoy laden with medical supplies heads to Iraq
Jordan Times, March 29, 2003
AMMAN (Petra) — A seven- truck convoy of medicines and medical supplies donated by the government to the Iraqi Red Crescent left Amman Friday evening.

Arab volunteers join Iraq battle
UPI, March 29, 2003
SIDON, Lebanon, March 29 (UPI) -- Dozens of Palestinians from refugee camps in south Lebanon have headed to Iraq to battle coalition forces, a Palestinian source said Saturday.

With Quiet Aplomb, Nun Aids Antiwar Protesters 
Common Dreams/Boston Globe, March 29, 2003
CHICAGO - Some of the marchers caught a quick glimpse of her on their way out of the police station. Others only heard about her generosity and hoped to say thank you. No one, though, seemed to know her name.

Women's Organizations Worldwide Urge General Assembly to "Unite for Peace"
Common Dreams, March 29, 2003  
NEW YORK - March 28 - International women's organizations, including MADRE, Women of Color Resource Center, Center for Women's Global Leadership, and the International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic, today joined other women's organizations worldwide as they called on the member states of the United Nations General Assembly to enact an emergency application of UN Resolution 377 ("Uniting for Peace") to stop the US-led bombing of Iraq and protect Iraqi civilians.

Slowly, friends slip away from a city in fear
The Guardian, March 29, 2003
Then the bombing came. A few hours before its start, Lena rang up, on the edge of tears, and asked: "Will you come around and see what has become of us when it is all over?"

Man threatens to blow up bank
Courier Mail, March 29, 2003
"British interests should be struck in defence of the people of Iraq and the people of Palestine. The Iraqi people are being killed and the Palestinian people too," the unidentified man said before police whisked him away. -- A MAN who entered a British bank in Beirut early today with explosives strapped to himself surrendered to police after threatening to blow the branch up because of the US-British-led attacks on Iraq.

Notwithstanding Bush Speech, Veterans' Groups Not Monolith on Iraq
Common Dreams, March 29, 2003
Many Vets, Retired Officers Question Iraq War; Media Availabilities -- WASHINGTON - March 28 - President Bush's speech to veterans garnered applause at the White House today as he praised coalition forces in Iraq. But despite claiming support from what the President termed "the veterans' groups" for the war and a supplemental appropriation of $75 billion to fund it, individual veterans and organized veterans' groups are also on record strongly questioning the wisdom of the Iraq invasion and voicing concerns over the potential for massive casualties. 

Pentagon Expels U.S. correspondent From Iraq
Islam Online, March 29, 2003
"..it does not appear to us that he disclosed anything that wasn't already widely available in maps and in U.S. and British radio, newspaper, and television reports in that same news cycle.” -- WASHINGTON, March 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - In the first such incident in Iraq invasion war, the Pentagon expelled a U.S. journalist with the Christian Science Monitor from Iraq claiming he revealed sensitive information in broadcast interviews, the Boston-based newspaper said Friday, March 28.

Takoma the dolphin is Awol
The Times, March 29, 2003
THE US Marines have suffered an embarrassment with reports last night that one of their most prized investigators may have defected. Takoma, the Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphin, had been in Iraq for 48 hours when he went missing on his first operation to snoop out mines.

IRAQ: EUROPEAN BISHOPS "EUROPE UNITED TO PROMOTE PEACE"
AGI Italy, March 29, 2003
(AGI) - Vatican City, Mar. 29 - The EU bishops have asked "Europe to unite to promote peace" in a declaration concerning the war in Iraq which was disclosed today during a COMECE (EU Commission of the Episcopates) in Brussels. In the document the European bishops expressed their "worry for a people which has suffered for a long time due to injustice and war". "It is not a conflict of religions and God's name should never be used to justify war or violence"....They also encourage the EU and the international community "to double their efforts in finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict".

The unpredictable war
BBC, March 29, 2003
Wars never go as predicted, and the problems encountered by American and British forces in Iraq serve to underline that reality. The commander of United States army forces in Iraq, Lieutenant-General William Wallace, has told American newspapers that unexpected resistance by Iraqi paramilitary forces means the war will probably last longer than forecast.

Reporters Without Borders makes urgent appeal to all sides in the war to help find nine missing journalists
Reporters Without Borders. March 28, 2003
On the eighth day of the war, Reporters Without Borders said it was "very worried" about the fate of nine journalists who are missing, some of them for nearly a week. It called on US and British forces as well as the Iraqi government to make every effort to help find them urgently.

Combat Veterans Speak Out In Opposition
TomPaine.com
Four Short, Moving Speeches --  Editor's note: In San Francisco on Saturday, March 23, Veterans Against The Iraq War held a rally outside the Veterans Building -- where the United Nations charter was signed -- to allow veterans to speak about their experiences in war and their opposition to the war in Iraq. TomPaine.com's Steven Rosenfeld was there and recorded these remarks.