IDF kills Palestinian teenager in Nablus
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
The Israel Defense Forces yesterday killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in Balata refugee camp in Nablus, injuring six other Palestinians in the same incident.

Three Palestinian civilians including a child wounded during IOF bombardment of Khan Younis
International Press Center, May 4, 2003 
Khan Younis, Palestine, 4 May, 2003, (IPC+WAFA)- - Three Palestinian civilians have wounded today morning, including a pupil as attending his class when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) shelled the western partition of khan Younis refugee camp and Al Nimssawe neighborhood, west of Khan Younis city in Gaza Strip, IPC correspondent reported.

Israeli Labour leader resigns
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
Amram Mitzna, the dovish leader of the Israeli Labour party, resigned last night, amid accelerated diplomatic activity to capitalise on the release last week of the "road map" to peace. Mr Mitzna, who angered party colleagues by refusing to join prime minister Ariel Sharon's coalition, said he could not live with backstabbing from rivals in his party.

Israeli security wall 'threatens to damage Palestinian economy'
Financial Times, May 5, 2003
The controversial wall that will eventually divide the West Bank from Israel threatens to damage the already shattered Palestinian economy and force some families to move eastwards, according to a report by international aid donors. The report says that when the wall, which Israel prefers to call a security fence, is completed, 95,000 Palestinians and some of the richest agricultural land in the West Bank will end up on the western, "Israeli" side of the barrier.

Public Dispute between Israeli FM, US Envoy over Palestinian Refugees
Palestine Chronicle, May 5, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Ahead of a Monday meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has definitely ruled out waiving the Palestinian right of return as a precondition for Israel’s approval of the internationally adopted “roadmap” to peace in the Middle East.

IOF Demolish Three Houses in Rafah, Storm an Elementary School in Tulkarem
International Press Center, May 4, 2003 
TULKAREM, Palestine, May 4, 2003, (IPC+WAFA) -- ...Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed early Sunday an elementary school near Tulkarem City of the West Bank, wounding a pupil critically, IPC’s correspondent reported...Palestinian medical sources stated that a 10 -year -old- Ahmed Malaky, was wounded with a live bullet in his head during the unwarranted attack.

IOF Storms a Medical Center in Nablus City
International Press Center, May 5, 2003
NABLUS, Palestine, 5 May, 2003,(IPC)- - Israeli occupation forces (IOF)  advanced deep into Khalat Al Amoud area, east of the West Bank city of Nablus and broke into the  Medical Relief Center (MRC)  headquarter in the area.

Israel urged to ease clampdown
BBC, May 4, 2003
Israeli PM Ariel Sharon favours a tough response to militant attacks -- The US Middle East envoy, William Burns, has called on Israel to ease its military clampdown on Palestinians, to encourage them to reject violence. Israeli forces maintain a stranglehold on Palestinian cities and towns across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in an attempt to prevent attacks by militants.

6-year-old girl and two Israelis seriously wounded in terrorist shooting
Jerusalem Post, May 5, 2003
Hours after US Special Envoy to the Middle East William Burns called on the Palestinians to crack down on terror and for Israel to stop settlement acitivity and ease up on restrictions imposed on the Palestinians, three Israelis—including a six-year-old girl and her father—suffered serious-to-critical gunshot wounds when shots were fired at the vehicle they were traveling in near Shvut Rahel in the Binyamin district northeast of Ramallah on Monday night.

One Israeli seriously wounded in shooting attack near Rimonim
Jerusalem Post, May 5, 2003 
An Israeli has been seriously wounded in a shooting attack around 10pm while driving between Rimonim and Kohav Shahar, according to initial reports.

Killing prompts new war crime call
BBC, May 4, 2003
The killing of reporters in war zones should be made a new war crime after the death of a British cameraman in Gaza, campaigners say. James Miller, 34, from Devon, was shot in the southern troublespot of Rafah.

Gaza First' To Suppress Palestinian Resistance
Palestine Chronicle, May 5, 2003
GAZA CITY - Israeli and Palestinian officials are working on a plan called “Gaza First”, envisaging full stoppage of all anti-Israeli resistance operations inside the Gaza strip, as a first step towards demilitarizing the 31-month old Palestinian Intifada.

Israel made no commitment to US on 2003 deficit target
Globes, May 5, 2003
The only commitment was to restrain spending, but US loan guarantees are conditional on a falling deficit in future years. -- Israel did not promise the US administration to meet a specific budget deficit target in 2003, as a condition for the granting of the loan guarantees. 

Palestinian Prisoners Declare a Hunger Strike at Beit Eil Detention Camp
International Press Center, May 5, 2003
AL-BEIREH, Palestine, May 05, 2003, WAFA+ IPC---For the third consecutive day, Palestinian juvenile prisoners detained at ‘Beit Eil’ Israeli detention camp established on the Palestinian lands of Ramallah and Al-Beireh, continue their hunger strike protesting their tragic conditions, and the Israeli rejection to their demands of not transferring them to the central jails.

Report: Sharon orders Mossad to intensify spy operations against Islamic organizations in the UK
Al-Bawaba, May 4, 2003
Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had ordered the Mossad to intensify spy operations against Islamic organizations in the UK following last week's suicide bombing attack in Tel Aviv, the Sunday Times reported.

Sources: Hamas, Islamic Jihad not invited to new round of Palestinian talks
Al-Bawaba, May 4, 2003
Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have not yet been invited to participate in a new round of Palestinian internal dialogue. The meeting, whose goal is to try to reach a unified consensus on the way the conflict with Israel is to be handled, is scheduled to take place next week, sources told Al Bawaba.

Bedouin protest being Israel's `Indians'
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
About 250 Jewish and Bedouin protesters held a rally outside the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem yesterday, calling on the government to halt its development plan for the Bedouin community in the Negev that the cabinet recently approved.

Media Watchdog Slams Israel, U.S. For Targeting Press
Palestine Chronicle, May 4, 2003
"Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) condemned..the shooting of a British journalist by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip and called on Israel to bring those responsible to justice .." -- NICOSIA - When journalists assemble to celebrate World Press Freedom Day Sunday, May 4, they should by now be fully aware of who the enemy is from the latest series of killing journalists in Iraq and Israel for nothing but exposing the true face of occupation.

ISM: Mas'ha Peace rally, Rafah home demolition
International Solidarity Movement , May 4, 2003
In Rafah, ISM activists and Palestinians shot at by tank nearby -- Four hundred  Israelis, Palestinians & International peace activists participated in a rally  yesterday in the village of Mas’ha to fortify the existence of the Mas’ha peace camp located in the West Bank, Occupied Palestine. / The IOF has been systematically demolishing houses in Rafah to clear a 100-meter "no-man's land" between the city and the Occupation Wall being built along the Egypt border. Thus far over 700 homes have been demolished in Rafah.

ISM statement to the press
- alternate address -
International Solidarity Movement, May 5, 2003
Attached is the press statement from the International Solidarity Movement press conference held today, 05/05/03, in Jerusalem.

50 Britons ‘Ready’ To Stage Bomb Attacks In Israel
Palestine Chronicle, May 4, 2003
LONDON - As British security agencies are facing a nightmarish new threat in the wake of last week's self-bombing in Israel by two Britons in Israel, a leading Islamic leader said on Sunday, May 4, there are still other 50 ready to stage similar attacks

PM to meet Abbas only after Powell visit
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) only after the visit to Israel next week of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. Sharon told his cabinet yesterday that Israel had made it perfectly clear that it would not conduct negotiations with the Palestinians on a cease-fire in terror activities, and would only discuss a real war against the terror organizations on the part of the PA.

Mofaz plans to meet Abu Mazen, Dahlan next week
Jerusalem Post, May 5, 2003 
Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz, plans to meet Abu Mazen and Mohammad Dahlan next week. Mofaz revealed his intentions to meet with the new Palestinian Prime Minister and Dahlan, Minister of State for Security Affairs, in a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, William Burns, last night in Tel Aviv, reports Israel Radio.

Multiple life sentences for Palestinian militia founder Nasser Awais
News & Observer, May 5, 2003
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - An Israeli court on Monday sentenced a Palestinian militia leader to 14 terms of life in prison, plus 50 years, for orchestrating several shooting and bombing attacks on Israelis in the past 31 months of fighting.

Abu Mazen: “we are committed to the road map in parallel to Israeli commitment”
International Press Center, May 5, 2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, May 5, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies)- - Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) called Sunday the Israeli government to approve the Road Map peace plan, asserting the need to start implementing it immediately. Abu Mazen emphasized the Palestinian leadership commitment to the Road Map provided that the Israeli governments abide by such peace blueprint.

Israeli Arab arrested for driving bomber to Jerusalem
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
Police and the Shin Bet security service recently arrested east Jerusalem resident Ahmed Sa'ade on suspicion of transporting a suicide bomber into Jerusalem last year, security services revealed Monday. Israeli troops also captured a senior Fatah officer in the southern Gaza Strip Monday and demolished a terrorist's home in Hebron.

Histadrut agrees not to take more severe strike action for now
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
Representatives of the Finance Ministry and the Histadrut labor federation decided in a Monday meeting that the Histadrut would not take more severe strike action for now, Israel Radio reported.

Palestinians Promise to Subdue Militants
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - The new Palestinian government will first try persuasion rather than force to subdue militant groups, a senior Palestinian official on Monday told a U.S. envoy preparing the ground for a new Mideast peace plan.

Resistance Won’t Stop For Free: Hamas
Islam Online, May 5, 2003
CAIRO, May 5 (IslamOnline.net) – Two prominent officials of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, have underlined that Cairo dialogue of the Palestinian factions, currently under preparation, should aim to protect resistance and Intifada choice.

International report examines affect of West Bank ‘wall’ on Palestinians
United Nations News, May 5, 2003
5 May – A new report by international donors, which includes the United Nations, has found that a separation barrier Israel is building in the West Bank could cut off 12,000 Palestinians from their land, work and essential social services.

The Impact of Isreal's Separation Barrier on Affected West Bank Communities - Acrobat format
United Nations News, May 4, 2003
Report of the Mission to the Humanitarian and Emergency Policy Group of the Local Aid and Coordination Committee

Israeli Labor Future In Disarray After Mitzna's Exit
Palestine Chronicle, May 5, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Israel's centre-left Labor party was in tailspin Monday, May 5, after its embittered leader Amram Mitzna abruptly quit, warning the country's founding party it was no longer governable, and another senior member said his step-down could spell the end of the party.

Despondent Mitzna quits as Labor leader
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
Labor Party Chairman Amram Mitzna yesterday made the surprise announcement that he is stepping down as party leader after only nine months. At a special press conference convened at Labor's Tel Aviv headquarters, Mitzna leveled harsh criticism at his party colleagues.

Arafat outmaneuvers Abbas on road map
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
Five different Palestinian Authority security organizations, including Force 17 and the General Intelligence, remain under the direct command of Arafat - and this can be seen as the first substantial breach of one of the important security clauses of the U.S. road map for a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Sharon To Head ‘Peace Talks’ With Abu Mazen Personally
Palestine Chronicle, May 4, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will head negotiations with the Palestinians himself and may resume contacts with newly-appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas shortly, Israeli media said Sunday, May 4.

IOF Kill Stone-Pelting Palestinian Child
Palestine Media Center, May 5, 2003
It has barely been a week since the launching of the “roadmap” to peace in the region and already at least 19 Palestinians, including a 2-year-old toddler and three youths have lost their lives. Only days after a fierce Israeli military onslaught on a residential Gaza Strip neighborhood, which rendered two teenage boys and a baby dead, another 14-year-old boy was killed by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the northern West Bank on Sunday.

Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine May 4, 2003
Palestine Media Center, May 5, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) shot and wounded a Palestinian teenager in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah and a 10-year-old boy in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem . IOF also demolished four Palestinians houses in the Rafah and Ramallah areas. Tulkarem Villages Raided. IOF Raid Beit Fouriq.

IPC: Breaking News
International Press Center, May 5, 2003
12:00-- Israeli occupation forces arrest a Palestinian civilian in the West Bank village of Khrebtha, west of Ramallah city, WAFA reported. 11:30— Israeli occupation forces arrest a number of  Palestinain civilians  in the West Bank city of Nablus, WAFA reported.

US Envoy to Meet Abu Mazen Prior to Powell's Upcoming Visit
International Press Center, May 5, 2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, May 5, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)- - The US envoy for the Middle East, Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, is to meet with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) to prepare for the visit of US Secretary of State Colin Powell, and to discuss the "Roadmap" peace plan with the concerned parties.

Israeli Peace Block: “killing in Gaza is Sharon’s Response to the Road Map” 
International Press Center, May 4, 2003 
Nazareth, 4 May,2003 (WAFA+IPC)- - Israeli Peace Block described the atrocious attack on Al Shejai neighborhood of Gaza City by the Israeli occupation forces on 1May 2003, claimed the lives of 13 Palestinian civilians including 3 children as the Israeli response on the Road Map peace plan and the designation of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) as prime minister.

Japan Condemns Israeli Massacre in Gaza, Stresses on Implementing the Roadmap plan
International Press Center, May 4, 2003 
TOKYO, Japan, May 4, 2003 (IPC)- - The government of Japan condemned the massacre that the Israeli occupying forces committed in Al Sheja'eya neighborhood in Gaza City, and asserted that Israel must “create a suitable environment” for the newly formed Palestinian cabinet to hold its undertakings.

British bombers 'smuggled explosive inside the Koran'
The Independent, May 5, 2003
The two British Muslims who attacked a Tel Aviv bar last Tuesday, killing three Israelis, smuggled sophisticated explosive material from abroad inside a copy of the Koran, the Israeli Defence Minister said yesterday.

Dead cameraman 'carried white flag'
The Independent, May 4, 2003
Israeli soldiers who killed a British television cameraman, James Miller, in southern Gaza could have been in no doubt about his identity as a journalist, according to witnesses. They said yesterday that he was shot at close range while in a group carrying a large white flag and shouting repeatedly that they were journalists.

Palestinian Activists Deny Prior Bomb Info
Doylestown Intelligencer, May 5, 2003
JERUSALEM - Foreign activists in a pro-Palestinian group acknowledged Monday they had tea with two Britons involved in last week's suicide bombing, but said they saw no hint of their guests' violent plans.

Evicted Palestinians live in tents in Iraq
Jordan Times, May 5, 2003       
BAGHDAD — Hundreds of Palestinian families who have lived in Iraq for more than half a century are finding themselves on the streets after being evicted from their homes following the fall of President Saddam Hussein. More than 35,000 Palestinians who lived in Iraq since they were displaced from their homeland upon Israel's founding on their land in 1948 have enjoyed Saddam's protection, often being housed in the homes of Iraqis evicted by authorities for opposing the government, or in government property.

Lecturers' union to debate boycott of Israel
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
A university lecturers' union will debate a call for an academic boycott of Israel at its annual conference in Scarborough this week. The executive of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) is opposing a motion to be put before delegates on Friday by Sue Blackwell, a pro- Palestine campaigner from Birmingham University.

Report: Bashar brother held contacts with former Israeli official in Jordan
Al-Bawaba, May 5, 2003
Responding to reports that Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had quashed a detailed appeal by Syrian President Bashar Assad to resume peace talks immediately and without preconditions, aides to the Israeli leader confirmed Monday that there had been an initiative from Damascus prior to the Iraq war, but that on inspection "there was great doubt cast on its seriousness and on the nature of Syria's motives," Israel Radio said.

US urges Israel to ease up on Palestinians; Sharon, Abu Mazen to meet after Powell visit
Al-Bawaba, May 4, 2003
A senior U.S. official, launching talks on a peace "road map," said on Sunday Israel should ease a harsh military clampdown on Palestinians to encourage them to reject violence.

Palestinian groups say closure of Damascus offices not to affect resistance
Al-Bawaba, May 4, 2003
Secretary of State Colin Powell on Saturday outlined for Syria's president the policy changes the United States believes he must make to survive. ..For their part, Palestinian groups said Powell's comments will not affect the resistance against Israel.

Israeli Labor leader quits
Al-Bawaba, May 4, 2003
Israel's Labor Party Chairman Amram Mitzna announced his resignation Sunday evening as leader of the party, blaming senior party members for his decision to quit. "Today, I am returning the mandate I received from members of the Labor Party and I will resign as head of the Labor Party," he said.

Mitzna quits; Likud sources say now less chance of unity gov't  
Haaretz, May 5, 2003
Labor Party Chairman Amram Mitzna announced his resignation Sunday evening as leader of the party, blaming senior party members for his decision to quit...Senior sources in the Likud estimated Sunday that Mitzna’s resignation weakened the chances for establishing a national unity government. 

MKs express regret as Mitzna resigns  
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
Knesset members from across the political spectrum expressed regret last night over Amram Mitzna's announcement that he is resigning as chairman of the Labor Party.

Analysis / The leader who stuck in their throats
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
From the moment the chose him, they suspected him and were disgusted by him. It is not clear what caused Labor Party members to so estrange themselves from their new leader, but from the outset they related to him as to a bone stuck in their throats.

Burns meets Abu Mazen in Ramallah
Al-Bawaba, May 5, 2003 
U.S. Middle East envoy William Burns met Monday with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Histadrut-Finance Ministry negotiations to continue till end of week
Globes, May 5, 2003
The Histadrut is considering easing the labor sanctions at the ports. -- The negotiations between the Ministry of Finance and Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) over the economic plan will continue until the end of the week, i.e. after Independence Day on Wednesday. 

Histadrut, treasury beam with optimism  
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
There was progress yesterday in talks between the treasury and the Histadrut labor federation. Both sides emerged from the Jerusalem meeting saying that if the other side were to show goodwill and a desire to end the negotiations, a positive outcome would be attainable this week.

Israel sceptical at Powell pledge Syria closing down Palestinian hardliners
Yahoo! News, May 4, 2003
Israel expressed doubts about Syria's intention to close down the offices of Palestinian hardline groups based in Damascus, after US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Damascus had started cracking down.

Israeli envoy heads for US to lobby against 'road map'
Yahoo! News, May 4, 2003
A high-level Israeli government envoy begins a visit to the United States in hopes of persuading the US government to drop its support for a Palestinian state and the latest plan to achieve it known as the "road map" to peace.

Quartet envoys meet to plan next steps in implementation of Road Map
United Nations News, May 5, 2003
5 May – The diplomatic Quartet for the Middle East - comprising the United Nations, United States, Russian Federation and European Union - is meeting at the envoys level today to discuss how to move ahead with the implementation of the Road Map peace plan.

U.S. wants Egypt to promote Middle East 'road map'
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
CAIRO - Washington is looking to long-time ally Egypt to push its new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan by helping with security and providing a "political umbrella" in the Arab world, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.

Evangelicals targetted as opposition to Middle East peace
Ekklesia, April 24, 2003
Evangelical Christians in the United States are the National Union Party's natural partners for halting US President George W. Bush's "road map" for Middle East peace, senior National Union MK Benny Elon said.

MI5 knew of bombers' ties to Islam
Sydney Morning Herald, May 5 2003
Britain's MI5 knew that the two Britons who carried out a suicide bombing in Israel last week had links to Islamic extremists, but they decided the pair were not potential terrorists, officers of the security service say.

Why Israel Lobby Refrains From Challenging Bush's 'Road Map'
Los Angeles Times, May 4, 2003  
WASHINGTON — Israel may have never had a better friend in the White House than George W. Bush. But suddenly, that friendship is becoming uncomfortable for the lawmakers and lobbyists who push for Israel's interests in Washington.

Israel Stops Dismantling Settlement Outposts
Arab News, May 5, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 5 May 2003— Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has decided to suspend the dismantling of a dozen rogue settlement outposts, Israeli public radio said yesterday.

Israel ‘Trying to Thwart Peace’
Arab News, May 5, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 4 May 2003 — A senior Palestinian official accused Israel yesterday of escalating violence in the Palestinian areas in order to block implementation of an international peace plan officially unveiled this week.

All Extremists in the world unite for a cause
Come and See, May 2, 2003
The settlers in the occuiped territories prepare for the coming struggle as the "Road Map for Peace" was published. The Racist Minister Benny Elon who comes from a party that supports "transferring" all Palestinains to Jordan speaks about the help he will get from Evangalicals who support Israel. "These are people who are wild about Israel. Compared to them, I am considered a dove."

Int'l Solidarity Movement members met British terrorists  
Haaretz, May 5, 2003
The two British terrorists involved in last week's suicide bombing of a Tel Aviv bar met at the end of April with activists from the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement in the Gaza Strip town of Rafah, a member of the movement said Monday.

Interior Minister Poraz grants citizenship to ten non-Jewish soldiers  
Haaretz, May 5, 2003
Poraz also alluded to his intention to grant citizenship to the children born here whose parents are illegal foreign workers. -- Interior Minister Avraham Poraz has begun to implement his promise to grant Israeli citizenship to the non-Jewish soldiers who have served for in the Israel Defense Forces at least 12 months.

Palestinians may have shot UK journalist  
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
A British journalist shot dead while filming Israeli army operations in a strife-ridden area of the Gaza Strip was hit from behind, raising the possibility that he was killed by Palestinian fire and not by Israeli troops, the IDF said yesterday.

Business as usual for Damascus-based terror groups  
Haaretz, May 5, 2003
Several radical Palestinian factions, including Islamic Jihad and Hamas, said yesterday that it was business as usual in Damascus, despite U.S. demands that Syria close down terror organizations' offices in the capital.

British MP charges `Jewish cabal' is guiding Tony Blair
Haaretz, May 5, 2003
Veteran leftist British Labor MP Tam Dalyell has charged that Prime Minister Tony Blair was "being unduly influenced by a cabal of Jewish advisers," the Telegraph newspaper reported yesterday. The comment echoed remarks by U.S. Republican Patrick Buchanan, who was accused of anti-Semitism when in an article last March, he described a predominantely Jewish group of advisers to President Bush as "a cabal of polemicists and public officials [who] seek to ensnare our country in a series of wars that are not in America's interests."

Bush 'set on Palestinian state'
BBC, May 5, 2003
US President George W Bush is determined to "move aggressively and energetically" towards a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, his envoy said on Monday. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns was speaking after talks in the West Bank town of Ramallah with the new Palestinian prime minister.

Analysis: Washington's demands on Syria
BBC, May 3, 2003
US Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks of a new dynamic in the Middle East. It is not surprising that Damascus was his first stop in the region since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Ever since American forces went into Iraq, Arabs have been asking, "Who's next on Washington's list?"

Syria cool towards Powell
BBC, May 5, 2003
Syria says Powell talks were constructive -- Syria has responded coolly to US demands for bringing peace to the region, saying the onus is on Israel. In the first official statement on US Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to Damascus, Syria said Arabs had given their all for peace and Washington must put pressure on Israel.

Burns: Palestinians must fight terror, Israel halt settlements
Haaretz, May 5, 2003 
Palestinians must carry out a decisive fight against terrorism and Israelis must halt settlement activity, U.S. Middle East envoy William Burns said Monday in a meeting with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Channel One television reported.

Hizbullah defiant at US warning
The Daily Star, May 5, 2003
Resistance says it will not abandon key aims -- Hizbullah remained defiant Sunday vowing continued resistance, despite US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s warning to top officials that there is no longer room for militancy given the “new strategic situation” in the Middle East resulting from the war in Iraq.

Knesset meets on peace map
Australian Financial Review, May 6, 2003
Israel's parliament, the Knesset, had interrupted its holiday to hold a special session yesterday on the international "road map" for the Middle East, public radio said, but the peace plan is already under strain by ongoing violence in the region. The session was requested by parties in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's ruling coalition and opposition parties.

Trial of Palestinian Leader Focuses Attention on Israeli Courts
New York Times, May 5, 2003
TEL AVIV, May 4 — Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian leader charged with orchestrating 26 killings in the current violence between Israel and the Palestinians, was ushered into District Court today in his brown prison uniform and unleashed what has become his familiar objections. "You don't have the right to try me," Mr. Barghouti, the West Bank chief of Yasir Arafat's Fatah movement, told the three-judge panel. "This is a violation of international law and the Geneva Convention."

Dalyell may face race hatred inquiry
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
Tam Dalyell, the veteran Labour MP and opponent of countless wars, faces an investigation for inciting racial hatred after he accused Tony Blair of being unduly influenced by Jewish ministers and officials.

LAW Weekly Roundup 24 April - 30 April 2003
LAW Society, May 4, 2003
Israeli troops killed 10 Palestinians, including 2 schoolchildren during the week covered by this roundup. Another Palestinian was shot and killed by a Jewish settler.

Fateh chief challenges right of Israeli court to try him
Jordan Times, May 5, 2003   
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Marwan Barghouthi, the West Bank Fateh leader facing trial in Israel on charges of "terrorism" for his anti-occupation activities, once again challenged the competence of a Tel Aviv court to try him at a hearing Sunday, judicial sources said. 

Israeli troops kill 13 Palestinians, including 3 children, in Gaza
LAW Society, May 3, 2003
On Thursday, May 1, 2003, Israeli troops raided al-Shujaiya quarter in Gaza city and killed 13 Palestinians including 3 children, three brothers, a handicapped, and an elderly man and wounded 37; five of them are in critical condition.

On 'Nakba' day, Palestinians to focus on right of return
Jerusalem Post, May 5, 2003 
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are planning a series of events on Independence Day, which they refer to as their Nakba ("catastrophe"). Since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo agreements, Palestinians have marked this day with anti-Israeli rallies and demonstrations. They have also used the occasion to educate children on the need to stick to the the right of all refugees to return to their former villages and towns.

Israel's population stands at 6.7 million
Jerusalem Post, May 5, 2003 
On the eve of Independence Day 2003, Israel's population stands at 6.7 million. The country's Jewish population stands at approximately 5.4 million (counting for 38% of the world's Jews). The non-Jewish population is approximately 1.3 million (82% of these are Muslims, 9% are Christians and 9% are Druze).

Bush: For 55 years Israel proved its determination to the world
Jerusalem Post, May 5, 2003 
Israel's President, Moshe Katsav, received congratulations for Israel's 55th Independence Day from American President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Spain's Monarch Juan Carlos II. In his letter to President Katsav, Bush wrote: "Over the last 55 years Israel proved to the world its determination and the achievements that a free people can accomplish".

Other Middle East News

Iraqi rage grows after Fallujah massacre
The Independent, May 4, 2003
Nearly a week after troops from the 82nd Airborne Division randomly opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators here, prompting the US military to announce an inquiry, commanders have yet to speak to the doctors who counted the bodies.

Dangerous patients roam streets as Shia gunmen hold asylum
The Times, May 5, 2003 
MORE than 100 criminally psychotic patients are roaming Baghdad after looters ransacked the city’s only mental hospital, stealing even the metal doors from patients’ barred cells in the high- security unit.

In Baghdad slum, religious Shiites take hospitals under their wing
Jordan Times, May 5, 2003   
BAGHDAD (AFP) — At Ibn Al Baladi Hospital in Baghdad's teeming Shiite Muslim slum of Sadr City, about 30 devout young men carrying Kalashnikov rifles patrol the compound and scan for trouble. Inside, like at other hospitals in the slum of two million people formerly known as Saddam City, religious Shiites have stepped into the power vacuum in the wake of the collapse of President Saddam Hussein's regime.

Occupation Forces Deny Thousands Of Iraqis Home Return
Islam Online, May 5, 2003
DUBAI, UAE, May 5 (IslamOnline.net) – Several thousand Iraqis, who left Iraq to neighboring Gulf States just before the U.S.-British invasion, have been denied their right to return home due to non-existence of a civil administration.

Iraqis Insist On Resuming Education
Islam Online, May 5, 2003
BAGHDAD, May 5 (IslamOnline.net) - Many officials in the Iraqi universities insist on resuming education despite total paralysis due to occupation and looting of educational institutions. With the absence of security and the occupation’s attempts to mess with curricula, precautious measures have been taken.

Truce is wounding diplomatic efforts, US officials say
Salaam UK/The Boston Globe, May 4, 2003
''By making a deal with a group fighting Iran, we are sending a message that the US prefers threats and aggression over dialogue,'' a State Department official said on condition of anonymity. -- WASHINGTON - A cease-fire between American military forces in Iraq and an Iranian opposition group that is on the US ''terrorist'' list has torpedoed a recent overture by Iran's clerics for improved relations with Washington, according to Iran specialists and State Department officials.

Looters Reappear in Baghdad
Arab News, May 5, 2003
BAGHDAD, 5 May 2003 — Hundreds of unarmed Iraqi police returned to Baghdad streets yesterday under the supervision of US forces trying to restore order in the chaotic capital. But in a reminder of the mammoth task facing police, looters also made a comeback, making forays into a presidential palace to scavenge whatever was left from earlier bouts of looting.

US: 'Saddam Had No Weapons of Mass Destruction' 
Common Dreams/Sunday Herald (Scotland), May 4, 2003
The Bush administration has admitted that Saddam Hussein probably had no weapons of mass destruction. Senior officials in the Bush administration have admitted that they would be 'amazed' if weapons of mass destruction (WMD) were found in Iraq. According to administration sources, Saddam shut down and destroyed large parts of his WMD programs before the invasion of Iraq.

U.S. Fails to Fulfill Obligation to Support Health System in Iraq Posing Threat to Health of Iraqi People, Says Doctors without Borders
Common Dreams/Doctors Without Borders, May 4, 2003   
WASHINGTON - May 2 - The United States-led coalition has failed to meet its responsibility under international humanitarian law to ensure that the health and well being of the Iraqi people is being provided for, stated the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) today.

Urgent Steps Needed to Protect US Troops, Iraqis from the Effects of Depleted Uranium
Common Dreams/Green Party of the United States, May 3, 2003      
WASHINGTON - May 2 - Green Party members are calling for the Bush Administration to take immediate steps to prevent radioactive depleted uranium used in U.S. weapons from harming U.S. troops and the people of Iraq.

U.S. Overseer Blames Sanctions by U.N. for Iraqi Gas Shortages
New York Times, May 5, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 4 — Jay Garner, the former lieutenant general who has been in Iraq for nearly a month with a mandate to get the country running again, blamed United Nations sanctions today for the gasoline shortages that have prompted Iraqi anger at the American occupation forces here.

US Coalition Failing to Support Iraq's Health System: MSF
Palestine Chronicle, May 4, 2003
"'Despite three weeks of the US occupation and many months of planning for this war, Baghdad, a city the size of Houston and Chicago combined, still does not have any fully functioning hospitals ..'" -- LONDON - Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has accused the US-led coalition occupying Iraq of failing to meet its responsibility under international humanitarian law to ensure that the health and well-being of the Iraqi people are being provided for.

ICRC calls for complete access to Iraqi POWs
DW World, May 5, 2003  
The International Committee of the Red Cross has again called on U.S. military forces in Iraq to allow its staff complete access to Iraqi prisioners of war. An ICRC spokeswoman in Baghdad said so far, the humanitarian organisation's staff had not been given sufficient access to Iraqi POWs.

Khoei’s Murder Cost CIA Millions in Aid: Report
Arab News, May 5, 2003
WASHINGTON, 4 May 2003 — The United States suffered a major blow in its campaign to recruit friendly Shia clerics inside Iraq last month when it lost an influential religious ally to an angry mob — and as much as $13 million the CIA had given him to cultivate supporters.

Mosul holds landmark vote
BBC, May 5, 2003
Full elections could be held in about two years, the US says -- Delegates from different ethnic groups in Iraq's third largest city, Mosul, have elected an interim authority to run the area until full elections can be held. Some 200 representatives cast their votes for a 24-member council at a meeting organised by the United States military.

'Looting' at Iraq nuclear sites
BBC, May 5, 2003 
The UN nuclear inspections agency has urged Washington to allow it to investigate nuclear sites in Iraq that have reportedly been looted, the agency said on Monday. Mohamed ElBaradei - head of the International Atomic Energy Agency - wrote to Washington last Wednesday to request that an investigative team be allowed into Iraq, but has not yet received a response, according to a spokeswoman.

Britain and US accused over cluster bombs
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
The lives of Iraqi civilians are being endangered because Britain and the United States are failing to provide adequate information about their forces' use of cluster bombs, says the New York-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch.

More false leads, but no smoking gun
The Independent, May 4, 2003
Last weekend several American investigation teams rushed to a spot near the northern Iraqi town of Baiji. In an open area guarded by anti-aircraft missiles and dotted with mounds hiding more missiles and missile parts, US special forces had found barrels full of chemicals.

Allies to Rule Iraqi Sectors
Arab News, May 5, 2003
BAGHDAD, 4 May 2003 — A multinational force plans to deploy in Iraq this month to try to stabilize a country rocked by lawlessness since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, Poland’s foreign minister said yesterday. The United States, Britain and Poland are to lead the 10-nation force, which Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said would arrive by the end of May.

The real 'Saving Pte. Lynch'
Toronto Star, May 5, 2003
Iraqi medical staff tell a different story than U.S. military -- 'We all became friends with her, we liked her so much' -- NASIRIYA, Iraq—The fog of war comes sometimes with a certain odour, and cutting through its layers, like cutting through an onion, can bring tears to the eyes. Such is the case with what is far and away the most oft-told story of the Persian Gulf War II — the saga of Saving Private Lynch.

Garner: Group of 9 Will Likely Lead Iraq
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The core of the new Iraqi government will start to be selected by mid-May and a council of up to nine Iraqis will probably lead an interim government, the American civil administrator said Monday. The U.S. military announced the arrest of a former Iraqi intelligence chief.

Iraqi weapons scientist captured
The Guardian, May 5, 2003   
US forces have captured one of Iraq's top biological weapons scientists, officials said this afternoon. Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash was taken into custody yesterday, a US defence department official said. On the Pentagon's list of the 55 most wanted, she is number 53 and referred to as the party's youth and trade bureau chairman.

Nucleus of Iraqi Leadership Almost Set
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
BASRA, Iraq (AP) - The nucleus of Iraq's interim government could be in place in a matter of days, and one of Saddam Hussein's top biological weapons scientists - known as ``Mrs. Anthrax'' - has been captured, U.S. officials said Monday.

Iraqi leaders expected mid-May
BBC, May 5, 2003
The United States administrator in Iraq, Jay Garner, has said the core of an interim Iraqi government should be in place by mid-May. "By the middle of the month, you'll really see a beginning of a nucleus of an Iraqi government with an Iraqi face on it that is dealing with the coalition," the retired general said.

Firm in Florida election fiasco earns millions from files on foreigners
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
A data-gathering company that was embroiled in the Florida 2000 election fiasco is being paid millions of dollars by the Bush administration to collect detailed personal information on the populations of foreign countries, enraging several governments who say the records may have been illegally obtained.

How US paid for secret files on foreign citizens
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
Latin Americans furious in row over selling personal data -- Governments across Latin America have launched investigations after revelations that a US company is obtaining extensive personal data about millions of citizens in the region and selling it to the Bush administration.

Questions raised in Latin American citizen data sale
Daily Camera, April 14, 2003
During the past 18 months, the U.S. government has bought access to data on hundreds of millions of residents of 10 Latin American countries — apparently without their consent or knowledge — allowing myriad federal agencies to track foreigners entering and living in the United States. The company is prohibited from buying data troves in Europe and other regions with strict privacy laws, or where governments refuse to sell citizen data...Another obstacle is primitive record-keeping by governments, like those in the Middle East that still use paper, or where records are kept in non-Roman script like Arabic or Japanese, Lee said.

UN humanitarian staff sets up permanent base in Basra
DW World, May 4, 2003  
The United Nations on Saturday established a permanent humanitarian operations base in the southeastern Iraqi city of Basra.

Boy, 14, killed in Basra army incident
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
The army is investigating the shooting dead of a 14-year-old Iraqi boy in Basra yesterday, reportedly by a British soldier. The boy was playing and laughing with a soldier near a school used by troops from the Queen's Dragoon Guards, according to BBC correspondent Jane Peel.

Iraqi Women Wary of New Upheavals
New York Times, May 5, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 2 — It was Friday afternoon and the women in the Nimo Beauty Salon were talking politics. While thousands of people flocked to mosques for prayer services, the women here debated the difficulties of democracy while getting cuts and colors. What, for instance, if the people elect a religious leader? Would the Americans allow that to happen even if the Iraqis wanted it? And where would that leave Iraqi women?

IAEA Wants to Send Team to Iraq to Probe Looting of Nuclear Facilities
Palestine Chronicle, May 5, 2003
UNITED NATIONS - Voicing concern over reports that there had been looting at Iraq's nuclear facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has asked the United States to confirm the situation and allow an IAEA team to investigate.

European troops to police post-war Iraq
EU Observer, May 5, 2003
Five European countries - Italy, Spain, Denmark, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Ukraine -have all agreed to provide troops to help the United States, Britain and Poland police post-war Iraq. But a clear mandate of what their precise role would be, has yet to emerge.

Chalabi says he holds embarrassing documents about King Abdullah relations with Saddam
Al-Bawaba, May 5, 2003 
Iraqi National Congress (INC) leader Ahmad Chalabi has taken possession of 25 tons of documents from Saddam Hussein's secret police, some of them onerous for the Jordanian royal family, Newsweek reported in its latest edition.

Powell warns Syria as Lebanon rejects US demand to deploy army in southern border
Al-Bawaba, May 4, 2003
Syrian President Bashar Assad now knows just what he must do to bring his country in line with U.S. plans for the Middle East, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday.

Democracy blooms but US keeps a grip
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
Islamists and secularists look for support  -- There has been an explosion of democracy in Baghdad since the fall of Saddam. Headquarters have been set up and banners strung out as new parties have been formed and old ones have come out of hiding.

Shias recover bones from mass graves
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
Families begin search for slaughtered hundreds  -- Scores of Iraqi families went to Babylon yesterday to examine 35 neat piles of skulls and bones and shreds of shirts and blankets at one of the biggest mass graves uncovered in Iraq.

Fresh US efforts to persuade Russia to rethink nuclear cooperation with Iran
Al-Bawaba, May 5, 2003 
The United States on Monday held high-level talks with Russia on Iran, aimed at persuading Moscow to rethink its nuclear cooperation with the Islamic republic which Washington says is trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Powell tells Syria, play ball or pay the price
The Times, May 5, 2003 
COLIN POWELL, the American Secretary of State, issued a veiled threat to Syria yesterday when he said that Damascus could expect consequences if it did not co-operate with the United States and help to rebuild Iraq. 

Unknown ‘martyrs’ laid to rest in car park
The Times, May 5, 2003 
THE GRAVEDIGGER cursed the blazing midday sun, the dust and the flies as he began the task of reburying Saddam Hussein’s victims, whose skeletal remains had waited 12 years to find a final resting place.

Bush the pilot performs ace publicity stunt
The Times, May 3, 2003
Officials had explained that Mr Bush would have to fly by Navy jet because the carrier was too far out to sea for his helicopter to make the journey. But it emerged that the Abraham Lincoln was so close to the coast that it had to slow its pace lest views of the shoreline spoilt pictures of Mr Bush at sea. His helicopter landed discreetly on the flight deck a few hours later, waiting to carry him back to land.

U.S. Said to Free Some Guantanamo Captives
The Guardian, May 5, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. government is preparing to free some two dozen terrorist suspects from its high-security prison in Cuba, defense officials said Monday.

Campaigners hail Gulf War syndrome victory
The Times, May 5, 2003
A British soldier has won a landmark ruling identifying a link between Gulf War syndrome and the vaccinations given to the Armed Forces before the 1991 conflict. Alex Izett, 33, a former Lance Corporal with the Royal Engineers, who has suffered from osteoporosis for the last eight years, will receive a war pension after a tribunal ruled that the physical harm he suffered was a result of his service.

Pax Americana's cheerleaders
Toronto Star, May 4, 2003
Canadian chorus urging Bush onward  -- David Frum recalls that on his last day as a Bush administration speechwriter in 2002, he felt sad about leaving the White House. But "I could not deny it any longer," he wrote in his memoir, The Right Man. "My work here was done." That went down in Frum's hometown of Toronto as one of the more self-important career assessments of a native son.

Supporters Rally for Arrested Oregon Arab-American
Yahoo! News, April 29, 2003
PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - More than 100 friends and supporters of an Arab-American computer programmer on Tuesday protested against the U.S. government for holding him in solitary confinement for a month before finally charging him with conspiring to help al Qaeda and Taliban forces.

Accomplice in Mosque Bomb Plot Sentenced
Yahoo! News, May 1, 2003
TAMPA, Fla. - A dentist who admitted being an accomplice in a plot to bomb an Islamic center last year was sentenced to almost 3 1/2 years in prison Thursday....Hardee was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Federal sentencing guidelines had called for more than five years, but prosecutors asked for leniency because Hardee helped build cases against Goldstein and his estranged wife, Kristi Goldstein.

Ore. Man Pleads Innocent to Terror Charge
Atlanta Journal Constitution, May 5, 2003
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)--An Arab-American pleaded innocent Monday to charges he tried to join up with Taliban and al-Qaida forces fighting U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Maher ``Mike'' Hawash, 39, a U.S. citizen of Palestinian descent, is charged with conspiracy to levy war and conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida, along with conspiracy to contribute services to both al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Kuwaiti MPs hurl insults at Lebanese PM, protesting scheduled visit   
Jordan Times, May 5, 2003   
KUWAIT CITY (AFP) — Kuwaiti opposition MPs on Sunday angrily protested against a scheduled visit here by Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, describing it as an “insult” to the Kuwaiti people and equating him with a “rotten egg.” 

Colin Powell in secret meeting with Bin Laden Friend
Global Free Press, May 5, 2003
GFP just obtained the information, that Colin Powell today had a secret meeting in Hotel Pameba in Golem, south of Durres - Albania with Bin Laden Friend Hashim Thaci, together with a leader of a party of mazedonian Mister Arben Yhafferi.