Four dead and 45 hurt in Tel Aviv suicide bombing
The Independent, April 30, 2003
A suicide bomber set off a huge explosion outside a seafront bar in Israel's largest city this morning, leaving at least four people dead and up to 45 injured. The blast came hours after the Palestinian parliament approved a new cabinet and followed a pledge by its Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, to rein in militants blamed for previous attacks on Israel.

Israeli Occupation Forces Kill Two Palestinians, Including an Old Woman
International Press Center, April 30, 2003
RAFAH, Palestine, April 30,2003, IPC—Israeli Occupation Forces killed Wednesday a Palestinian women in the middle of the Gaza Strip while an other civilian shot dead afterwards in the city of Rafah. Subhyya Abu Itiwi, 55 years old, shot dead with three live bullets in the chest, and died of her injuries at hospital, Dr. Abu Hassanain, director of emergency services at Al-Shifa hospital said.

Palestinian killed in Jordan River Valley  
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
An Israeli security guard shot and killed a Palestinian laborer who aroused his suspicion Wednesday afternoon near the moshav of Petza'el in the Jordan River Valley.

Road map plan presented to Israel and Palestinians
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
United States Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer presented Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with the 'road map' to Middle East peace, drafted by a quartet of international mediators, at 3:30 P.M. on Wednesday, and United Nations envoy to the Middle East Terje Roed-Larsen presented the plan to to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) at 5 P.M.

Report: Israel angry about 'Road Map' presentation to Arafat
Jerusalem Post, April 30, 2003
Israeli officials expressed anger at plans by European Union representatives to present the Road Map peace plan separately to Yasser Arafat, although he is ostensibly supposed to have no formal part in negotiations, Israel Radio reports.

Nationwide strike begins; nearly all public services shut
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
Some 700,000 public sector workers, including more than 200,000 teachers and tens of thousands of private sector workers paid through collective wage agreements, began a nationwide strike at 6 A.M. Wednesday that will effectively shut down almost all the public services offered by the state.

Powell, Mideast Leaders Talk Peace Plan
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell conferred by telephone Wednesday with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian prime minister, as the Bush administration geared up to seek a Palestinian state by 2005.

Sharon violated State Comptroller directive not to deal in farmland
Globes, April 30, 2003
"..the prime minister directly promoted a an agricultural land resolution that would directly benefit himself and a member of his family.” -- The State Comptroller’s report confirms a “Globes” investigation that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asked the Israel Land Administration to ease regulations. 

Tel Aviv suicide bomber was British citizen
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
The man who carried out the suicide bombing late Tuesday night at a Tel Aviv beachfront pub was a British citizen, as was an additional terrorist who managed to flee when his explosive device did not detonate.

Military closure forces Palestinian couple to hold engagement party at army checkpoint
Palestine Monitor, April 26, 2003
Hawara checkpoint, West Bank (AP) _ Palestinians traveling in the West Bank spend much of their time held up at Israeli checkpoints. Shukri Odeh got engaged at one. But with Israeli troops barring the Jerusalem lawyer from his bride-to-be's hometown, Odeh and his bride-to-be were forced to toast their fledgling union at a military barrier.

Ranteesi warns of dividing Palestinian national line
Palestinian Information Center, April 30, 2003
Gaza - Dr. Abdul Aziz Ranteesi, prominent leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, has urged for Palestinian national unity over Jihad and resistance.

Aqsa Martyrs turn down Abu Mazen’s call
Palestinian Information Center, April 30, 2003
Ramallah - The Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, military wing of the Fatah Movement, has turned down the Palestinian Authority premier Mahmoud Abbas’ call on Palestinian factions to lay down their arms and end the intifada.

Awda Brigades reject appointment of Abu Mazen
Palestinian Information Center, April 30, 2003
“We reject those who reject us and put hurdles in our path”, the statement said, adding, “We will not allow anyone to bypass the right of return, Al-Quds and sovereignty”. -- Gaza - The popular army – Awda Brigades, affiliated with the Fatah Movement, has affirmed that peace and stability could never be reached in the presence of Zionist occupation.

80 Palestinians arrested in Bethlehem and Al-Khalil in one month
Palestinian Information Center, April 30, 2003
Bethlehem - Zionist occupation forces were daily storming areas in Bethlehem and Al-Khalil districts arresting scores of Palestinian citizens in the process, according to Issa Qaraqa the head of the Palestinian prisoner’s club.

Border Police evicts 1,300 Palestinians lacking entry permits
Jerusalem Post, April 30, 2003 
The Border Police arrested some 1300 Palestinians who were within Israel without permits. Most have been returned to Palestinian Authority areas. Israel Radio reports. They also arrested 35 Israelis who assisted, employed and provided accommodation for Palestinians without permits.

`It's a terrible thing, living with the knowledge that you crushed our daughter'
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
WASHINGTON - Craig Corrie sent just one e-mail to his daughter during the seven weeks she spent in Rafah. She addressed most of her letters to her mother, Cindy, and Craig read them with concern.

Security guard kills unarmed Palestinian in Jordan Valley
Jerusalem Post, April 30, 2003 
A security guard for Moshav Feza'el, in the Jordan Valley, killed an unarmed Palestinian man when he would not comply with demands to stop Wednesday afternoon.

EU to support reform of Palestinian Authority with new forms of aid
International Press Center, April 30, 2003
The European Commission is announcing new forms of assistance to support the reform process in the Palestinian Authority. These will be available to the new government formed by Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and will also help address the reform agenda outlined in the Road Map on the Middle East Peace Process.

EU to redirect Palestinian aid to private sector
Jerusalem Post, April 30, 2003 
The European Union said Wednesday it will redirect part of its aid to the Palestinians toward the private sector and the social services instead of direct payments for the Palestinian Authority's general expenditures.

UN launches health partnership plan for European, Israeli and Palestinian cities
United Nations News, April 30, 2003
30 April – The United Nations health agency co-launched a new partnership programme today aimed at improving the public health of European, Palestinian and Israeli cities through information exchange, study tours, training initiatives and workshops, leading eventually to direct Israeli-Palestinian cooperation.

Defense Minister announces establishment of new security diplomatic department
Jerusalem Post, April 30, 2003 
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz announced on Wednesday plans to establish a new security diplomatic department in the ministry to be headed by Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad. Gilad will retire from both his current position as coordinater of government activities in the territories and his IDF position in the near future.

Gilad to head new diplomatic-security dept. in Defense Min.
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
Major General Amos Gilad will soon head a new diplomatic-security department in the Defense Ministry, decided upon by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz....As head of the department, Gilad will coordinate the security aspects of negotiations with the Palestinians, as well as the defense establishment's foreign relations.

Army intelligence: Abu Mazen unable to halt terror 
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
Military Intelligence told the political echelon at the beginning of the week that the new Palestinian government headed by Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has no intention of uprooting the terrorist infrastructure.

Tel Aviv Suicide Bomber Kills Three, Wounds Dozens
Palestine Chronicle, April 30, 2003
"A White House spokesman condemned the bombing, calling it a 'cowardly act of terrorism' and an attempt to 'kill Palestinian aspirations for a free, democratic homeland.'.."  -- TEL AVIV (VOA) - At least three people are dead and as many as 35 other wounded in Israel, in a suicide bombing on a beachfront in Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv Blast Kills 3 Israelis and Injures Several Others
International Press Center, April 30, 2003
Palestine, April 30, 2003, IPC+ Agencies-- A bomb blast occurred Wednesday dawn in Tel Aviv killed 3 Israelis and wounded 60 others, 9 of which in a critical case. The blast was caused when a Palestinian blew him self in a café in an attack described as retaliation to the Israeli daily killing of scores of Palestinian civilians.

Four Palestinian militants killed by IDF in West Bank and Gaza
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
Two militants from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) were killed by the Israel Defense Forces yesterday in Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip. Several hours earlier, two members of the Tanzim, a militia linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, were killed in a shootout with Israeli troops near Bethlehem in the West Bank.

Attorney General asks State Comptroller for Sharon file
Globes, April 30, 2003
The approach follows the State Comptroller’s criticism of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s involvement in land rezoning policy decisions. -- Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein has asked the Ste Comptroller’s office for all the material relating to conflict of interest in Prime minister Ariel Sharon’s involvement in the process of changing Israel Land Administration (ILA) Resolution 755.

Comptroller: PM violated conflict of interest rules
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
Ignoring repeated warnings by the State Comptroller over conflicts of interest, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon brought pressure to bear to change a decision regarding leasing of state lands, in a move from which the prime minister and his sons stood to realize personal financial gain, according to the 2003 State Comptrollers report, released on Wednesday.

Quartet releases Road Map to Middle East peace; Annan urges sides to embrace plan
United Nations News, April 30, 2003
30 April – The diplomatic Quartet - comprising the United Nations, United States, Russian Federation and European Union - released its Road Map for a permanent solution to the Middle East conflict today, a move immediately welcomed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who urged the two sides to embrace the plan.

Israel begins general strike
BBC, April 30, 2003
The strike is set to paralyse Israel -- About 700,000 public sector workers in Israel have begun an open-ended strike in protest at government plans to cut jobs and wages. The action has almost paralysed the country, with the closure of ports, airports, schools and universities, banks, the stock exchange and government offices.

General strike launched
Globes, April 30, 2003      
No negotiations are taking place between the Ministry of Finance and Histadrut. The Histadrut exempted workers helping the wounded in last night’s terrorist attack.

150 would-be bombers nabbed during intifada
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
The security forces have arrested 150 would-be suicide bombers since the start of the intifada in September 2000, a senior officer in the operations wing of the General Staff told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday.

PLC Confirms First Ever Palestinian PM, New Cabinet
Palestine Media Center, April 30, 2003
Arafat Stresses National Unity, Abbas Implementation of ‘Roadmap’  -- April 30, 2003 - The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) on Tuesday approved the prime minister-designate Mahmud Abbas’ cabinet by 51 votes in favor, 18 against and three abstentions, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in Middle East peace efforts, amid Palestinian calls for the immediate release and implementation of the internationally-adopted “roadmap”.

Hamas rejects 'road map' for Middle East peace
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
The Islamist militant group Hamas today rejected a new US-backed "road map" for peace in the Middle East and vowed to continue its armed struggle against Israel.

Israel paralysed by national strike
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
Israel has effectively shut down today after the Histadrut trade union federation launched an open-ended general strike to protest the government's planned budget cuts.

Palestinian cabinet approval clears way for peace plan
The Independent, April 30, 2003
In a move that was expected finally to clear the way for the long-awaited release of the "road-map" for a Middle East peace plan, the Palestinian parliament voted a new government into power yesterday. After a fractious debate, the parliament voted by 51 votes to 18, with three abstentions, to approve the government headed by the Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.

Acting Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky to run for mayor  
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
Lupoliansky was the first ultra-Orthodox person (Haredi) to assume the post of mayor. -- Acting Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky said Tuesday that he will run for the post of mayor as a representative for the Agudat Yisrael party, after receiving the approval of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv.

Interior Minister wants to empower courts to close papers
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz has ordered his ministry to work with the Justice Ministry to cancel the mandate-era emergency regulation giving him the power to close newspapers. He wants to draft a law putting the decision in the hands of the courts, if the government wants to shut down a publication.

Analysis: Challenge of the suicide bombers
BBC, April 30, 2003
With a new Palestinian leadership in place and another peace initiative in the wings, can the suicide bombers of Hamas and Islamic Jihad be stopped? -- On 29 April, Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, was sworn in as Palestinian prime minister. This was a key condition for the resumption of the Middle East peace process.

Analysis: Israel finds fault with US 'roadmap'
HiPakistan, April 30, 2003
WASHINGTON: Playing off its swift victory in Iraq, the Bush administration is preparing to launch a new "roadmap" for Israeli-Palestinian peace that calls for a provisional Palestinian state this year before a final settlement in 2005.

US: Aid to Israel linked to economic plan
Globes, April 30, 2003       
The US embassy in Israel refrained from clearly spelling out a link between the loan guarantees and approval of the economic plan. -- The US embassy in Israel prefers not to comment clearly and explicitly on the US administration’s expectations, conditions, and demands regarding Israel’s economic plan, as a condition for granting loan guarantees.

IDF won’t permit Bluetooth services
Globes, April 30, 2003
Bluetooth frequencies interfere with military communications. The IDF is demanding tens of millions of shekels to release the frequencies now, rather than in early 2005.

Analysis /A tentative exercise in democracy
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
The session of the Palestinian Legislative Council yesterday, which gave the government of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) an impressive 51-to-18 vote of confidence, was marked by flowery and excited oratory.

Police nab Bnei Brak arson suspect 
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
A 30-year-old married man who turned religious and joined a Sephardi synagogue in Bnei Brak was captured yesterday morning as the suspected serial arsonist who torched three Ashkenazi synagogues as well as a number of shops that sell wigs to Ashkenazi women.

IDF fears violence as outposts removed
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
The IDF is expecting violence from militant settlers when it attempts to dismantle illegal outposts in the West Bank. A senior military source told Haaretz that "the events at Havat Gilad could be repeated in many places," referring to fisticuffs and other forms of violence initiated by settlers against the removal of the illegal outpost.

OPEN LETTER by Palestinian Community Organizations and Refugee Rights Initiatives
BADIL, April 29, 2003
Re: Our Feedback on RIIA/CLS Consultation Workshops 2002-3 on the Palestinian Refugee Issue

Human Rights Watch Policy on the Right of Return
BADIL/HRW, April 29, 2003
Human Rights Watch has long defended the right of refugees and exiles to return to their homes. We have upheld this right both when international borders were settled - Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Malawi, Burma, Mauritania - and when they were in dispute - Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, East Timor, Ethiopia/Eritrea. Human Rights Watch similarly urges that this right be recognized for all displaced people in the Middle East, regardless of religion or nationality.

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION: In Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights
BADIL/Al-Awda, April 24, 2003
Affirm The Palestinian Refugees' Right to Return to their homes and lands / Resist Plans to Normalize Occupation and Legalize Ethnic Cleansing / Resist Israeli Apartheid and Racism -- Attend the International Convention Organized by the Palestine Right To Return Coalition: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (http://al-awda.org) calls on its members and supporters to participate in the organization's first annual convention scheduled for 20-22 June 2003 in Toronto, Canada.

Other Middle East News

'Saddam letter' calls for Iraqi resistance
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
A hand-written letter supposedly signed by Saddam Hussein and urging the Iraqi people to resist coalition forces has been received by an Arabic newspaper based in London, it emerged today.

US troops 'shoot dead two more Iraqis'
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
US troops today opened fire on Iraqi civilians for the second time this week as an angry crowd in Falluja protested over an earlier shooting. A local hospital official said two men had been killed in the incident, both in their late 20s and early 30s. At least eight people were being treated for wounds.

US troops open fire again on Fallujah crowd
The Independent, April 30, 2003
US troops opened fire today on anti-American demonstrators for the second time this week, during a march to protest about the previous shootings. At least one person was reported to have been killed and 16 wounded.

At least 10 dead as US soldiers fire on school protest
The Independent, April 30, 2003
The scene was of a messy kind the Pentagon's publicists had dearly hoped to avoid. Large patches of congealed blood. Discarded shoes scattered in terror. Discarded shoes scattered in terror. Angry Iraqi neighbours and wailing relatives, recounting a tale of the random killing of young men whose only crime was to demand that their new, heavily armed masters leave the neighbourhood.

US Tells Iraq Oil Ministers Not to Act Without Its OK 
CommonDreams/New York Times, April 30, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq — An American official met today with Iraq's two most senior deputy oil ministers for the first time and warned them not to make any changes in their hierarchy without the approval of the allied forces in control of the country.

Experts Vow to Rescue Iraq’s Cultural Heritage
Arab News, April 30, 2003
LONDON, 30 April 2003 — Archaeologists from around the world vowed to help Iraq rebuild its shattered national heritage at a meeting in London yesterday.

Troops 'are letting looters smuggle Iraqi antiquities'
The Independent, April 30, 2003
The American military was accused yesterday of doing nothing to prevent the mass smuggling of Iraq's antiquities – three weeks after the country's museums were ransacked.

We are not with you and we don't believe you
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
Tony Blair's first public attempt to heal the diplomatic wounds of the Iraq war suffered a humiliating rebuff yesterday when Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, refused to lift UN sanctions and mocked the possibility that weapons of mass destruction existed in Iraq.

MKO will not be tolerated in Iraq, Shiite group says
Salaam, April 30, 2003
TEHRAN, April 29 (AFP) - The continued presence in Iraq of the armed Iranian People's Mujahedeen opposition (MKO)will not be tolerated, an official from an Iran-based Iraqi Shiite group warned Tuesday amid concerns over the contents of a US ceasefire deal with the group.

Iran Criticizes Cease-Fire With Exiles
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's top leader said Wednesday that by striking a cease-fire with an Iranian opposition group, the United States was demonstrating it believed the only bad terrorists were those who were not its ``servants.''

Vilified weapons inspectors may have got it right
Sydney Morning Herald, May 1, 2003
Condoleezza Rice has talked her way into a U-turn, writes Marian Wilkinson. -- President George Bush's National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, is now acknowledging that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program is less clear-cut, and probably more difficult to establish, than the White House portrayed before the war.

MSNBC's Banfield Slams War Coverage
AlterNer, April 29, 2003
Editor's Note: The following is the text of MSNBC correspondent Ashleigh Banfield's Landon Lecture given at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, on April 24. Her comments sparked a media controversy which reportedly prompted her NBC employers to severely reprimand Banfield. While she has not commented on the issue, an NBC spokeswoman told reporters Monday, "She and we both agreed that she didn't intend to demean the work of her colleagues, and she will choose her words more carefully in the future."

Powell urges suspending anti-terror laws on Iraq
Haaretz, April 30, 2003
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has recommended the United States determine that U.S. laws against "state sponsors of terrorism" no longer apply to Iraq, a step that would make it easier to trade with and provide aid to Baghdad, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

Seven countries branded sponsors of terror
Globe and Mail, April 30, 2003
Washington — International terrorist attacks declined sharply in 2002, and the number of anti-U.S. attacks dropped as well, the U.S. State Department reported Wednesday. The United States again branded seven countries — Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria and Sudan — as sponsors of terrorism.

Finding Iraq’s WMD Could Take “Months”: U.S. Official
Islam Online, April 30, 2003
WASHINGTON, April 30 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Following Britain's Foreign Secretary statement that Iraq may not have weapons of mass destruction, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State said that finding such weapons could take “months”.

Iraqis Lament U.S. Version Of "Freedom"
Islam Online, April 30, 2003
BAGHDAD, April 30 (IslamOnline.net) - "America got us freedom, but with destructive missiles, looting and lawlessness," complained Rasheed Mosuli of the U.S. forces aggression against his country in the name of "freedom".

Mubarak Warns Of Provoking "Ethnic Imbalance" In Iraq
Islam Online, April 30, 2003
"We are for democracy but against imposing democracy by force" -- CAIRO, April 30 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned Wednesday, April 30, the United States against provoking religious or ethnic imbalance in Iraq or imposing democracy by force on the region, calling on Israelis and Palestinians to implement the international roadmap for peace.

Global Campaign Against U.S. Aggression Launched
Islam Online, April 30, 2003
CAIRO, April 30 (IslamOnline.net) - Some 225 religious and political figures over the Islamic world signed the Declaration of the Global Anti-aggression Campaign on Wednesday, April 30, as a framework to unite efforts "in alerting the community concerning its right to self-defense and resistance to the aggression of enemies in all possible legitimate and effective means."

Rumsfeld: Iraq belongs to Iraqis
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
Speaking on his first visit to Baghdad since the fall off the Iraqi regime, American defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld today assured Iraqis that "Iraq belongs to them" and promised that US troops would not stay "one day longer" than was needed to establish a democratic government.

Bush to Declare End of Major Iraq Combat
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush will address the nation Thursday evening from the deck of an aircraft carrier to say that major combat in Iraq has ended, his spokesman said Wednesday.

U.S. Seeks Handover of Iraqi Fugitives
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the conquered Iraqi capital, told American troops Wednesday the Bush administration is using diplomacy to encourage countries to turn over Iraqi fugitives.

Libya offers cash to quit 'axis of evil'
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
Libya will ask to be removed from Washington's "axis of evil" list after it has paid the families of the 270 victims of the Lockerbie bombing $10m (£6.3m) each, its foreign minister, Abdel Rahman Shalgham, told the Agence France Press news agency yesterday.

Iranian MP to face court over prison claims
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
Reformist MP faces threat of arrest after judicial authorities accuse him of undermining Iran's national interests by informing UN human rights monitors about alleged abuses of political prisoners.

Torture victim sues Saudis
The Guardian, April 30, 2003
A British man arrested and tortured in Saudi Arabia is suing the Saudi royal family for £2m in the British courts.