Israeli strike kills at least eight Palestinians in Gaza Strip
Al-Bawaba, April 8, 2003
An Israeli warplane fired a missile at a car in Gaza City after sundown Tuesday, killing at least eight people and wounding at least 25, reports said. One of the men targeted and killed in the strike was Sa'id al Arbid, one of the heads of the Hamas military wing.

Israeli Army Persists in Hebron Onslaught, Injure 12-year-old Boy
Palestine Chronicle, April 7, 2003
"Palestinian sources said that the man who was killed was a civilian but could not give any details on his identity, as his corpse was still being held by IOF .." -- HEBRON - Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed one Palestinian and wounded a 12 year-old boy in a raid on the southern West Bank city of Hebron, which was completely sealed and placed under a strict curfew, Palestinian security sources said.

Israeli Troops Assassinate a Palestinian Resident, Demolish a House and Storm Palestinian Towns
International Press Center, April 8, 2003
NABLUS, Palestine, April 8, 2003, (IPC+ Agencies)-- Israeli occupation forces killed Monday evening a Palestinian resident of the West Bank city of Nablus as other troops demolished homes in the city. Local Palestinian sources said Abdelraouf Yasin 23, from Salfiet town near Nablus city, was killed yesterday as an Israeli army undercover unit, disguised in Palestinian civil clothes.

Abu Mazen threatens to quit
Middle East Online, April 8, 2003
Facing an imminent deadline to form a new government, Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas is meeting dogged resistance to change from his boss Yasser Arafat and has even threatened to quit in protest at the obstacles being presented, officials here said Tuesday.

Fischer rejects talks venue
The Guardian, April 8, 2003
The German foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, provoked a new row about the status of Jerusalem yesterday when he refused to attend a meeting at the Israeli justice ministry because it is in the occupied east of the city. He asked the justice minister for an alternative venue for today's talks, but Yosef "Tommy" Lapid insisted that the meeting must take place in his east Jerusalem ministry.

Hamas vows swift revenge
News24, April 8, 2003
Gaza City - The Islamic group Hamas vowed late on Tuesday to "quickly" avenge the deaths of seven Palestinians killed in an air strike on Gaza City.

Peretz delays general strike until Thursday to allow more negotiations
Haaretz, April 8, 2003
Netanyahu welcomes decision, calls on sides to act responsibly for the good of the state.

Intelligence Chief: Abu Mazen intends to fight terror
Haaretz, April 8, 2003
Newly appointed Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) intends to bring about a shift from terror and armed resistance to a diplomatic process, Military Intelligence Chief Brigadier General Aharon Ze'evi said Tuesday at a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting.

EU Condemns Israeli Collective Punishment of Palestinians
Palestine Media Center, April 8, 2003
France Urges Israel To Stop Jewish Settlement in Occupied E. Jerusalem  -- April 8, 2003 - The European Union’s Greek presidency on Monday condemned the Israeli raid on Tulkarem and Ein Shams refugee camp last week, where at least 1,000 Palestinians were detained and prevented from going back to their homes, saying Israel could only ensure the safety of its citizens by accepting a political solution.

Child Prisoners Briefing, March, 2003
Defence of Chidren International - Palestine, April 8, 2003
Summary of Detention Conditions for Child Polotical Prisoners, March 2003 -- Among other supposedly "essential security" measures in March 2003, Israeli troops carried out a midnight raid on a home in Nahalin, near Bethlehem, to arrest 14 year-old Bayan Fadhl Najajira, accused of setting fire to telegraph poles.

Israeli-European relations must improve - Fischer
EU Observer, April 8, 2003
Ahead of the much awaited publication of an internationally-backed, peace plan and the rebuilding of Iraq, the German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, during a trip to the Levant, has warned Israel that it must improve its ties with the European Union.

PA says Palestinian State Security Court has been abolished  
Haaretz, April 8, 2003
Palestinian Interior Minister Hani al-Hassan said Tuesday that "the Palestinian State Security Court no longer exists." Al-Hassan made the declaration at a Ramallah conference on human rights that was held to mark the release of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights' (PCHR) eighth annual report on the state of human rights in the territories.

On West Bank, fear of 'dangerous precedent'
Palestine Monitor/Christian Science Monitor, April 8, 2003
Removed from the spotlight, the Middle East's other war has turned crueler. Last week saw the first mass expulsion of Palestinian civilians since fighting with Israel broke out more than two years ago.

Arafat finds ways to trip up incoming PM Abu Mazen
Haaretz, April 8, 2003
Premier-designate may pull out rather than presenting cabinet on Thursday as expected  -- Yasser Arafat continues to control both the most marginal and most important appointments in the Palestinian Authority.

Roadblocks in West Bank Increase the Suffering of Palestinians
International Press Center, April 8, 2003
RAMALLAH, April 7, 2003, (IPC + WAFA) -- "We couldn't believe that we arrived to Jenin in one piece. It's a journey full of difficulties and dangers, caused by occupation soldiers and armed Jewish settlers. Our car might have flipped over and crashed near "Jetit" settlement in the Jordan Valley if it wasn't for Allah's mercy."

Fischer tells MKs that he has no illusions about Arafat
Haaretz, April 8, 2003
The Palestinians must put an end to terror if they want to see progress achieved in the peace process, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Tuesday during a closed-door meeting with the members of the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee.

Fischer tells Israel to improve EU relations
Haaretz, April 8, 2003
German Foreign Minister Joschke Fischer yesterday told Israeli officials he is worried by Israel's deteriorating relationship with Europe.

Israeli army builds "practice separation wall" for reserve duty soldiers
Alternative Information Center/Felix Farish/Y-Net, April 8, 2003 
The Israeli army began building a new "separation fence" at the central command's training base in order to train soldiers for actions around the real fence.

Israeli Troops Gun Down 2 Palestinians
Arab News, April 8, 2003
NABLUS, West Bank, 8 April 2003 — Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops and two Israelis were stabbed, one of them seriously wounded, by two attackers yesterday, police said.

Fayyad promises to deposit PA gas revenues in US supervised bank
Globes, April 8, 2003
The Palestinian Authority has not yet begun selling gas from fields offshore Gaza. -- Outgoing Ministry of National Infrastructures director general Yair Maayan today revealed that Palestinian Authority (PA) Minister of Finance Dr. Salam Fayyad recently promised Israel’s Ministry of Finance in writing that the PA would deposit all natural gas revenues in a stand-alone account supervised by the US administration.

Palestinians Remain Focused on Home
Arab News, April 8, 2003
AMMAN, 8 April 2003 — If you go to the mountains southwest of here and you manage to get there at sunrise or sunset you can catch a glimpse of the golden dome of the Al-Quds Mosque, the sun reflecting off its grand majesty. More than half of Jordan’s population is Palestinian, and for most of them this is as close as they have ever been to one of the holiest Islamic sites, not to mention their mother land.

People and Politics / You can spell out settlement status in electric lights
Haaretz, April 8, 2003
National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky of Shinui doesn't know whether he should be more surprised by the dearth of documentation in the settlements files in his office or by the fact his secretaries haven't been able to find anything in those files from the terms of office of his predecessors from the National Union and the National Religious Party.

Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine April 8, 2003
Palestine Media Center, April 8, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed two Palestinians and wounded several others in the occupied Palestinian territory. IOF also detained several Palestinians and demolished one house in Nablus. IOF Assassinate Citizen in Salfiet / Palestinian Killed in Gaza / Three Citizens Wounded in Nablus / IOF Detain More Citizens / More Houses Demolished

Israel reopens 14 factories in Nablus
Jerusalem Post, April 8, 2003
With the help of Israeli officials, 14 factories have recently resumed operations in the West Bank city of Nablus, says a military statement issued Tuesday.

Iraq War News

Three Journalists Die in Baghdad Attacks
The Guardian, April 8, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. tank shell hit a hotel where hundreds of journalists were staying and a U.S. bomb landed on the office of an Arab television network in the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, killing a total of three journalists and wounding three others.

U.K. Forces Committed Mass Killing In Umm Qasr: Iraqis
Islam Online, April 8, 2003
UMM QASR, Iraq, April 8 (IslamOnlin.net) - The U.K. troops in the Iraqi southern port city of Umm Qasr set up mass graves in the city to cover up hard evidence of committing massacres that claimed the lives of some 200 Iraqis in the first days of the war, unleashed on March 20, eyewitnesses told IslamOnlin.net Tuesday, April 8.

Avoid caveman politics, Solana urges US
EU Observer, April 8, 2003
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - A landmark speech by the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, at Harvard University on Monday is set to spark off the debate on future relations between the US and the EU after the huge damage created by the American-led preventative war against Iraq.

British Get Local Sheik to Run Basra
The Guardian, April 8, 2003
KUWAIT CITY (AP) - British forces began establishing the first post-war administration in Iraq on Tuesday, putting a local sheik into power in the southern city of Basra shortly after their troops took control of the city.

UN Aid Agencies Paint Grim Picture of Massive Relief Tasks in Iraq
Palestine Chronicle, April 7, 2003
UNITED NATIONS - Painting a grim picture of hardship and horror, United Nations relief agencies today underscored the massive humanitarian tasks awaiting them in war-shattered Iraq.

US Launches War on Media in Baghdad
Palestine Media Center, April 8, 2003
April 8, 2003 - A reporter for Al-Jazeera television was killed and a cameraman was injured on Tuesday when the satellite TV’s Baghdad office was hit by at least two US missiles, while four Reuters’ staff were injured when a US air raid targeted a Baghdad hotel used exclusively by foreign and Arab media.

Short fears World Bank and IMF will be frozen out of Iraq role
The Guardian, April 8, 2003
Britain is warning America that a go-it-alone approach to reconstructing post-war Iraq risks spreading the diplomatic paralysis at the United Nations to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund when the international community gathers this weekend for its first significant meeting since the war began.

25 Reporters Besieged By U.S. Tanks Send SOS
Islam Online, April 8, 2003
France 3 TV footage showed U.S. tanks deliberately firing at Baghdad's media hotel killing two foreign reporters. -- BAGHDAD, April 8 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Following the tragic death of three reporters earlier Tuesday, April 8, in a U.S. tank attack on Palestine hotel - the residence of reporters - and bombing of Al-Jazeera office, a correspondent with Abu Dhabi TV issued an SOS to humanitarian organizations to rescue a group of journalists who are "surrounded" by U.S. tanks in the satellite channel's Baghdad offices.

Rice tries to mend ties with Russia on Iraq
Jordan Times, April 8, 2003   
MOSCOW (AP) — US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told President Vladimir Putin and other top officials Monday that the United States was committed to its partnership with Russia despite the two nations' sharp differences over the war in Iraq, a senior US diplomat said.

The rival pole scenario feared by Blair
EU Observer, April 8, 2003
Downing Street regards as "catastrophic" the scenario whereby France and Germany are tempted to seek a rival pole of global power in cooperation with Russia. -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair last night appealed to Americans to combine their need to protect their own security with the wider needs of international justice, reported the Guardian ahead of today's continued US-UK summit in Northern Ireland.

Coalition plans meeting of leaders from all sides on future of Iraq
The Guardian, April 8, 2003
Coalition central command is planning a meeting of Iraqi opposition figures, exiles, and religious and clan leaders that will "brainstorm" the future of the country, the Guardian has learned. The gathering, which could take place in the coalition-controlled port of Umm Qasr as early as next Monday, is being touted as similar to the Bonn conference that convened after the Afghan war.

Syria now top US target for 'regime change'
The Telegraph, April 8, 2003
One of the main subjects on the agenda of the Belfast summit yesterday was Syria, the Pentagon's next likely target for "regime change" amid suspicions it allowed Saddam Hussein to transfer weapons of mass destruction within its borders. Although President George W Bush did not include Syria in his "axis of evil" of Iran, Iraq and North Korea in January 2001, since then American officials say they have seen growing evidence of support for terrorism by Damascus.

Report: US officials make plans for regime change in Syria
Al-Bawaba, April 8, 2003
One of the main topics on the agenda of the Belfast summit meeting ended Tuesday, between U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair is Syria, the Pentagon's next likely target for "regime change", a leading British newspaper reported.

Background / Syria has been Iraq's arms supplier
Haaretz, April 8, 2003
The large arms deal Syria recently made on behalf of the regime in Baghdad (thus provoking rage in Washington) involved the acquisition from Russia of 500 laser-guided anti-tank missiles and their transfer to the Iraqis.

''Smoking gun'' evidence against Iraq turns out to contain pesticide
Al-Bawaba, April 8, 2003
A facility near Baghdad that a US officer had claimed might finally be "smoking gun" evidence of Iraqi chemical weapons production turned out to contain pesticide, not sarin gas as originally thought.

Exiled Shia leader plans to return
The Guardian, April 8, 2003
The leader of Iraq's main Shia opposition group said yesterday that he plans to return to his homeland after 23 years in exile.

Centcom: Journalists had been warned
Middle East Online, April 8, 2003
Arab Journalists' Union accuses US of deliberate attack on media in Baghdad, Brooks blames Iraq for deaths. -- DOHA - The US war command blamed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime after three journalists were killed by US fire on Tuesday and said the media had been warned of the dangers of covering the war in Baghdad.

Paris hits back at London over Iraq sanctions
Middle East Online, April 8, 2003
French foreign ministry say British Trade and Industry Secretary's comments on Iraq sanctions 'unacceptable'. -- PARIS - France on Tuesday demanded answers from Britain over accusations made by its trade minister that French and Russian firms had violated UN economic sanctions on Iraq.

Global security plan aim of peace summit
The Telegraph, April 8, 2003
Amid high security Tony Blair and President George W Bush flew to Northern Ireland last night for "a peace summit" aimed at pushing a threefold plan for global security after the war in Iraq.

Int’l Coalition Formed To Put “Invaders” On Trial
Islam Online, April 8, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, April 8 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The Arab Committee for Human Rights flatly condemned Tuesday, April 8, the U.S. targeting of the offices of Al-Jazeera and Abu Dhabi TV channels in Baghdad, which claimed the life of Al-Jazeera correspondent Tareq Ayyoub.

Speculation mounts over Saddam's fate
The Guardian, April 8, 2003
A warplane has destroyed a house in Baghdad that US officials say they believe was being used by Saddam Hussein and his sons  -- There is new speculation about the fate of Saddam Hussein today after the US destroyed a house in Baghdad in an attempt to assassinate him.

Chretien Defends Staying Out of War
The Guardian, April 8, 2003
TORONTO (AP) - Prime Minister Jean Chretien on Tuesday defended Canada's decision to stay out of the war in Iraq, saying its friendship with the United States would withstand tensions over the issue.

UN postwar role remains uncertain
The Guardian, April 8, 2003
Tony Blair and the US president, George Bush, today insisted that the UN will play a "vital role" in postwar Iraq, but once more failed to clarify its precise role.

Protesting U.S. War With Cakes, Biscuits
Islam Online, April 8, 2003
“I hope such symbolic models would be real ones to help the Iraqis in their uphill struggle against the U.S.-led troops,” said Abdul Bar -- ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, April 8 (IslamOnline.net) - Biscuits and cakes became the brand-new method to protest the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in the Egyptian Mediterranean seaport of Alexandria.

Killing Of Reporters Sparks World Outrage
Islam Online, April 8, 2003
PARIS, April 8 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The killing of three journalists Tuesday, April 8, in two separate attacks by U.S. forces triggered a torrent of criticism from international media watchdogs and officials.

Killed Al-Jazeera journalist's widow curses backers of US-led war on Iraq
Space War, April 8, 2003
The widow of a correspondent for the Arab satellite television Al-Jazeera killed in a US missile attack in Baghdad on Tuesday cursed anyone who supports the US-led war in Iraq. "My prayer for Tareq is that his blood be a curse for those who help the Americans, the Jews and the English to strike our families in Iraq and Palestine," said Dima Tahbub, weeping, shown on the Qatar-based channel.

Tareq Ayyoub…Victim Of Truth Reporting
Islam Online, April 8, 2003
AMMAN, April 8 (IslamOnlin.net) - He was better known for his distinguished manners and remarkable boldness. He was a real journalist in the broad sense of the word, said one of Jordanian journalists who held a sit-in Tuesday, April 8, to mourn the death of their colleague Tareq Ayyoub, 35.

Vajpayee Govt Blasted Over Iraq Stand
Arab News, April 8, 2003
NEW DELHI, 8 April 2003 — The Indian government yesterday felt the heat of the war in Iraq as opposition parties joined forces to target Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for not condemning outright the US-led military action.

Blair tells Bush: take rest of world into account
The Guardian, April 8, 2003
US security must be balanced with justice, says PM at summit -- Tony Blair last night appealed to George Bush to combine America's quest for its own security with the wider needs of international justice when the two leaders of the Iraqi war coalition met on British soil to review their military and diplomatic strategy.