Israelis Seal Gaza Strip, Kill Three
The Guardian, May 12, 2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel sealed the Gaza Strip on Monday, imposing the most sweeping restrictions in years, and its troops killed three Palestinians in clashes there, as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell wound up a Mideast peace mission.

3 Palestinians killed and 5 Houses Demolished by IOF in Gaza Strip
International Press Center, May 12, 2003
RAFAH, Palestine, May 12, 2003, IPC+WAFA-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed Monday morning three Palestinian civilians in two separated incidents in Gaza Strip and demolished at least five houses in Rafah.

Israeli man shot dead near Ofra; Fatah, PFLP claim responsibility
Haaretz, May 12, 2003 
An Israeli man, 53, was killed in a shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Ofra early yesterday morning. Zion David, a resident of Givat Ze'ev and father of six, was apparently driving to work when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle about 500 meters north of Ofra. He was hit in the head and lost control of the vehicle, which then flipped over.

Israel rules out freezing settlement activity
Middle East Online, May 12, 2003
Sharon tells Powell Israel's finest youth live in settlements, they have right build house, have children. -- JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ruled out a freeze of settlement activity during a meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sharon's office said Monday.

Powell Rebuffs Egyptian-Palestinian Peace Proposals
Islam Online, May 12, 2003
CAIRO, May 12 (IslamOnline.net) - As U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell met here Monday, May 12, with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak over peace efforts, well-informed Palestinian sources told IslamOnline.net Sunday, May 11, that Powell rebuffed Egyptian-Palestinian peace proposals put forth by Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath.

Analysis / Powell meeting disappoints PA
Haaretz, May 12, 2003
The feeling among Abu Mazen and his colleagues was that Powell's meeting with the Palestinians was a public relations move -- The Palestinian delegation, led by Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), was deeply disappointed by a meeting yesterday with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. "A waste of time," said one Palestinian who took part in the Jericho talks.

US unveils plan to change ME: Free trade, leadership training, judicial reforms on agenda
The Dawn, May 11, 2003
WASHINGTON, May 10: The United States on Saturday announced a comprehensive plan of action for the Middle East which aims at bringing about major social , economic and political changes in the region. A major part of the plan details the proposed free trade area that President George Bush intends to establish in the Middle East.

Israel Releases Detainees Already Due Out in Few Days!
Palestine Media Center, May 12, 2003
Palestinians: Israeli Easing of Restrictions PR Ploy, those released “would all have been freed within the next few days and the longest any of them had been in jail was 12 days.”  -- Israel’s claim of easing restrictions turned out to be a mirage as sources revealed that the Palestinian detainees released yesterday were in fact due out in several days.

Israeli Heavy Fire on Palestinian Houses, One Wounded
International Press Center, May 12, 2003
KHAN YUNIS, Palestine, May 11, 03, (IPC+WAFA)-- One Palestinian civilian was moderately wounded Sunday dawn by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in the western camp of Khan-Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

Breaking News: Elderly Palestinian Dies of IOF-Inflicted Wounds
International Press Center, May 12, 2003 
12:40— Palestinian old man, Malik Yassein, 63, died of wounds he sustained after being shot by IOF in Tulkarem two years ago, (WAFA).

Four Palestinians Escape From Palestine “Guantanamo”
Islam Online, May 12, 2003
Gaza, May 12 (Islamonline.net)- Four Palestinian prisoners managed to escape from military prison “Ofer”, southern Ramallah city, Monday, May 11, after digging land tunnel, leading to Betonia city in the West Bank.

Israel Blows Up Gaza Home of Hamas Activist
Arab News, May 12, 2003
GAZA CITY, 11 May 2003 — Israeli forces entered a Palestinian town in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday morning and blew up the home of a member of the armed wing of the Hamas resistance group, sources on both sides said.

Peretz, Netanyahu to meet again under threat of general strike
Haaretz, May 12, 2003 
Histadrut Chairman MK Amir Peretz and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are scheduled to resume talks at 10 P.M. Monday evening in a bid to avert a general strike in the public sector that could begin Tuesday, Army Radio reported.

Poll: 79.5% of Palestinian students in Gaza reject Road-map plan
Palestinian Information Center, May 12, 2003
Gaza - The economy and political science college students in the Islamic University in the Gaza Strip have recently conducted an opinion poll revealing that 79.5% of students were against the American settlement plan called the Road-map.

Laura Gordon, US-Jew against Israeli occupation
Middle East Online, May 12, 2003
Portrait of US-Jewish pro-Palestinian peace activist determined to stop Israeli bulldozers from wrecking Palestinian homes. -- For the past six weeks Jewish-American Laura Gordon has joined a small army of pro-Palestinian peace activists determined to stop Israeli bulldozers from levelling Palestinian homes here.

Murr Bares Plan to Strip Palestinians of Citizenship
Arab News, May 12, 2003
BEIRUT, 11 May 2003 — Lebanese Interior Minister Elias Murr has announced plans to strip thousands of mainly Palestinians of the Lebanese citizenship which he said they obtained fraudulently, media reports said yesterday....By common accord, 10 anti-Israeli Palestinian groups who have been based in Damascus for many years “agreed to freeze their activities because of the circumstances facing Syria,” a Palestinian source told AFP.

ISM updates May 11, 2003
International Solidarity Movement, May 11, 2003
1) Israeli Forces Snatch, Beat and Arrest ISM Volunteers, Tulkaram -- "Suddenly, the back doors of the jeep opened and soldiers jumped out grabbing  Osama and the journalists and shoving Charlotte to the side...Osama reported being grabbed by the commander, who beat him in the head, after which the other soldiers threw him on the floor and forced him to cover his face with his T-shirt. " 2) Update from Jenin -- "At approximately 4.30pm today two apache helicopters circled above the Yahiya Aiyash area and shot repeatedly at unspecified targets." 3) Tulkarm Curfew: Day 7 -- Tullkarem  is  its seventh day under the curfew -- "The solders were using a family like as human shields  in an area where kids had burned a hummer jeep by throwing a molotov cocktail at it."

Urgent Appeal And Update on Internationals Taken Into IDF Custody
International Solidarity Movement, May 11, 2003
Appeal for supporters to attend hearing and contact government officials -- Sunday, May 11, 2003
Radhika, a US citizen and Charlotte, a UK citizen were apprehended by Israeli forces near Tulkarm last night and are being held in Ariel police station, according to the police. They are scheduled for a hearing at 2:00 in Rishon Lezion, Israel Galili St #5, 3rd floor. We are asking that everyone who can attend please do so. Osama, a Palestinian coordinator working with the ISM who was detained with them suffered an epileptic seizure upon his arrest and was taken by ambulance to a Palestinian hospital.

Eyewitness: Israel Intensifies Attack on West Bank Observers
AlterNet, May 9, 2003
JENIN — At 12:30 this afternoon, more than 20 Israeli military vehicles drew up outside the offices of the International Solidarity Movement in Beit Sahour in the West Bank. Dozens of border guards, soldiers, and intelligence officers poured out of these vehicles and raided those offices. They took computers, discs, papers, every piece of data they could lay their hands on.

IDF kills 2 Palestinians as they place bomb
Haaretz, May 12, 2003
Troops also shot dead a Palestinian farmworker as he tilled a field near an army lookout post in nearby Khan Yunis, also in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources reported. -- Israel Defense Forces troops killed two armed Palestinians before dawn Monday as they placed an explosive device near a tunnel used for smuggling weapons in Rafah, the IDF said. Palestinian sources said the dead men were activists in the Fatah military wing.

Israel reimposes Gaza travel restrictions
The Guardian, May 12, 2003
Israel today sealed off the Gaza Strip as it reimposed travel restrictions lifted yesterday during a visit by the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, to ease the daily life of the Palestinians...It barred Palestinians and all foreigners, with the exception of diplomats, from leaving and entering the coastal territory.

Israel reimposes Gaza closure
BBC, May 12, 2003
Israel released 61 prisoners during Powell's visit -- Israel has reimposed a total closure of the Gaza Strip, less than 24 hours after relaxing restrictions on the movement of Palestinians. Israeli Army Radio said the decision was taken following warnings of possible suicide attacks inside Israel.

Israel Seals Off Gaza Strip One Day After Powell’s Visit
Palestine Media Center, May 12, 2003
IOF Kill 3 Palestinians in Rafah, Khan Younis  -- May 12, 2003 - A day after US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, the Israeli government re-imposed a tight closure on the Gaza Strip at a time when three Palestinians were killed by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the past twenty-four hours.

Powell Ends Visit without Progress, Israel Aborts His Mission
Palestine Media Center, May 12, 2003
The Palestine National Authority (PNA) accused Israel of aborting the peace mission of US Secretary of State Colin Powell and expressed alarm over double standards in the implementation of the internationally-adopted “roadmap” for peace, although Powell had said Israel had taken positive steps in this direction.

Palestinians Ready to Start Peace Plan
Yahoo! News, May 12, 2003
(AP) - Palestinian leaders have put aside reservations to parts of the U.S.-developed plan for peace with Israel and are ready to get started on it, Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday, heeding an appeal by Secretary of State Colin Powell. "We have accepted the road map," Abbas said at a joint news conference with Powell after their first meeting since Abbas was sworn in on April 30. "For the sake of opening the road, we have dropped our reservations," Abbas said.

Prisoner’s club: Zionist release of 60 detainees deceptive
Palestinian Information Center, May 12, 2003
Bethlehem - The Palestinian prisoner’s club has charged the Zionist entity of deception for declaring intention to set free 60 Palestinian prisoners who were held under administrative detention orders. The club, in a statement on the occasion, said that the Zionist announcement was an attempt to deceive the world public opinion because the presence of administrative detainee behind bars was in itself illegal.

Abu Mazen: "Roadmap Not to be Dealt With on Selective Basis"
International Press Center, May 12, 2003
JERICHO, Palestine, May 11, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) asserted that the Palestinians have accepted the "Roadmap" peace plan as a whole, and it must not be dealt with by the Israeli side on a selective basis.

Sharon Ruled Out Freezing Settlement Activity
Islam Online, May 12, 2003
"Jewish communities" should be allowed to "grow naturally", Sharon -- OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, May 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ruled out a freeze of settlement activity during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sharon's office said Monday, May 12. Israeli settlement are illegal under international law and U.N. resolutions.

We won't take on Hamas, say Palestinian security forces
The Independent, May 11, 2003
Under the hot sun in the West Bank's forgotten city, hundreds of armed Palestinian men are in training. Not the militants who have carried out scores of suicide bombings, but the Palestinian security forces who are being asked to crack down on militants under the new "roadmap" peace plan.

Powell plays down Israel's balking at roadmap
Middle East Online, May 12, 2003
CAIRO - US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday urged Palestinians and Israelis "to get started quickly" on smaller steps to revive peace talks after playing down Israel's balking at the internationally-backed roadmap.

Powell Consults With 2 Premiers on Mideast Peace
New York Times, May 12, 2003
JERUSALEM, May 11 — Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, seeking to restart peace negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians with a mixture of praise, exhortations and American promises to remain engaged in the process, held back-to-back meetings today with the two prime ministers.

Powell, on Middle East Trip, Gets Cool Reception in Cairo
New York Times, May 12, 2003
CAIRO, May 12 — Secretary of State Colin L. Powell began an intensive effort today to line up Arab support for the new Palestinian leadership's pledge to crack down on terrorist attacks. Immediately, however, he ran into Egyptian skepticism that Israel had done enough to ease the hardship of Palestinians living under Israeli siege in the West Bank and Gaza.

Rightists planning campaign to push road map off course
Haaretz, May 12, 2003 
The lobby against the U.S.-backed road map for Middle East peace, spearheaded by lawmakers from right-wing parties and by the Yesha council of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, is stepping up its activities aimed at stymieing the initiative. Representatives of the lobby will meet today with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom for discussions on the road map, and a briefing on the minister's talks with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

No Discussion Of Settlements, Diplomats Say
The Forward, May 9, 2003
WASHINGTON — Despite the road map's requirement of Israeli steps toward a settlement construction freeze, Israel and the United States have not held any detailed discussions of the steps that would be involved in such a move, senior Israeli diplomatic sources said. American administration sources confirmed the Israeli account.

Analysis / Americans want peace - now
Haaretz, May 12, 2003 
While Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was meeting in Jerusalem with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, a group of Israeli government spokesmen met with Frank Luntz, a well-known Republican pollster and political consultant who sometimes assists Israel's public relations campaign in the United States. Luntz warned that, following America's victory over Saddam Hussein, Israel's standing in American public opinion has become very vulnerable.

Poraz: IDF should stop guarding illegal settlements
Haaretz, May 12, 2003 
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz (Shinui) said Monday the IDF should stop guarding illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank, Army Radio reported. According to Poraz, Israel must cease providing protection for illegally-established outposts and see if settlers are able to get along on their own.

Israel releases busload of Palestinian prisoners
Haaretz, May 12, 2003 
A bus full of Palestinian prisoners and detainees that Israel released as part of the confidence-building measures toward an internationally brokered peace arrived Monday afternoon at the Salam roadblock near Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

West Bank violence mars Powell mediation trip
The Times, May 12, 2003
ISRAELI tanks and armoured personnel carriers surged into the West Bank in pursuit of Palestinian militants yesterday as Colin Powell attempted to mediate in the latest Middle East peace effort. The Israeli manoeuvre, given cover by helicopters armed with machineguns, came in Jenin after a fresh outbreak of violence in the occupied territories, in which a Jewish settler was killed.

Sharon set to frustrate US
The Observer, May 11, 2003
Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, is expected to be told that Israel is willing to dismantle up to 12 illegal outposts and ease some travel restrictions on Palestinians when he meets Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today.

Powell detours from tough issues in road map talks
The Guardian, May 12, 2003
Colin Powell sidestepped obstacles to the formal launch of the long awaited "road map" for the creation of a Palestinian state and settled for minor confidence-building measures in meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders yesterday.

Powell, Egyptians Disagree on Arafat
The Guardian, May 12, 2003
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Egypt offered Monday to help the United States on peacemaking between Israel and the Palestinians, but declined to go along with the Washington's attempt to sidestep Yasser Arafat.

We’re Ready to Push for Peace, Says Abbas
Arab News, May 12, 2003
JERICHO, West Bank, 12 May 2003 — Palestinian leaders have put aside reservations to parts of the US-developed plan for peace with Israel and are ready to get started on it, Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday, heeding an appeal by US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Sharon bows to US pressure on talks with Palestinians
The Independent, May 12, 2003
Urged by Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, to "get started now", the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, was seeking a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, within the next week, Israeli officials said yesterday.

Powell visit highlights problems
BBC, May 12, 2003
US Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit threw up problems not solutions. -- The "roadmap" for peace in the Middle East has been unrolled and Mr Powell has met both Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers. But the parties have yet to start the journey they are supposed to be making together to reach the goal of a settlement and a Palestinian state by 2005.

Stern test for US initiative
BBC, May 10, 2003
Until last week, Mustafa Abu Sway, a Professor of Islamic Studies at Al Quds University, clambered over a concrete wall on the Mount of Olives to get to work. Powell's talks will be watched by many Palestinians through the barbed wire It was not very comfortable, but he, and thousands of other Palestinians in East Jerusalem, got used to it.

IDF claims `Muqata planned' shooting attack near Ofra
Haaretz, May 12, 2003 
Yesterday's shooting attack near the settlement of Ofra that claimed the life of Zion David "was planned and directed" from the Muqata, the headquarters of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in Ramallah, military sources said last night.

Ranteesi: Inter-Palestinian fighting is a red line
Palestinian Information Center, May 12, 2003
Gaza - Dr. Abdul Aziz Ranteesi, political bureau member of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has said that Palestinians were wise enough not to get involved in a civil war despite American and Zionist pressures to induce one.

1st border crossing to West Bank now in planning
Haaretz, May 12, 2003
The Israel Airports Authority has quietly begun planning the first of five crossings for the seam line between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The Ephraim Gate, in the area of Taibe, is to serve as the central border post with the Palestinians along the seam line.

India favours alliance with US, Israel
The Dawn, May 11, 2003
NEW DELHI, May 10: India's National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, currently on an official visit to the United States, has proposed an "anti-terror alliance" between the US, Israel and India. "Such an alliance would have the political will and moral authority to take bold decisions in extreme cases of terrorist provocation," Mr Mishra said in an address to the American Jewish Community in Washington on Friday.

House demolitions hit 12,700 in West Bank and Gaza Strip
Palestinian Information Center, May 12, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - The total number of Palestinians made homeless by Israeli's military demolition campaign climbed above 12,000 this month following a rapid acceleration of the policy in Gaza during the first quarter of this year.

“This is the last day of your life”: Message at checkpoint
Palestine Monitor, May 10, 2003
Nablus - When Zaher Al Shoule (40 years old) left his house last Thursday morning (1st of May), he was unaware that a death threat was waiting for him. The endemic joblessness in Palestinian Occupied lands has reduced Zaher, a father of three to earning a living by transporting goods for Palestinians on his donkey's cart, back and forth across the army barricaded “17 force” checkpoint.

Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine May 12, 2003
Palestine Media Center, May 12, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) sealed off the Gaza Strip completely and imposed a curfew on the areas controlled by them. IOF also killed three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip towns of Rafah and Khan Younis while another Palestinian from the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem died of wounds. Curfew Imposed on Qalqilia. IOF Detain 2 Brothers in Beit Jala. IOF Impose Curfew on Beitonia.

Khatami In Beirut, Hizbullah High On The Agenda
Islam Online, May 12, 2003
BEIRUT, May 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Iran's President Mohammad Khatami arrived in the Lebanese capital Beirut Monday, May 12, to a tumultuous welcome by Lebanon's Shiites for a landmark three-day visit, the first by an Iranian head of state since Tehran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

Hizbollah may face pressure to reduce activities
Financial Times, May 12, 2003
Hizbollah, the Lebanese Shia Muslim party, could face pressure during a visit to Lebanon by Mohammad Khatami, the Iranian president, to tone down its activities.

Hizbollah confident, despite US pressure
Financial Times, May 12, 2003
Even under the current pressures, Mohammed Raad, the leader of Hizbollah's parliamentary group, appears calm, confident and affable, with the countenance of a friendly bear.

Hezbollah Seen Making Subtle Changes After War in Iraq
New York Times, May 12, 2003
Nasrallah....also said that after the attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, the United States sent "messages" offering to remove the group from its terrorist list and provide economic aid. --  BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 10 — With President Saddam Hussein's government a thing of the past, the United States has turned to putting pressure on one of its most persistent foes, Hezbollah, the militant group entrenched in Lebanon. But the organization insists that nothing has changed in its implacable opposition to Israel and its ally, the United States.

Lebanon denies bomb thrown at Israeli town; Hezbollah ready to confront attack
Haaretz, May 12, 2003 
BEIRUT - Lebanon yesterday denied reports that an explosive charge was thrown at an Israeli settlement from its territory, while a high ranking Hezbollah official said the guerrilla group was ready to confront any possible Israeli attack on Lebanon.

‘We Don’t Call It Terrorism’
Newsweek, May 12/19, 2003
Syrian President Bashar Assad talks about Iraq, Israel and weapons of mass destruction  -- May 19 issue —  Syria’s young president, Bashar Assad, faces some tough choices. Recently, Secretary of State Colin Powell informed Assad that the U.S. wants Syria to stop Palestinian groups that support terrorist activities from functioning freely in Damascus, as they have for years.

Assad: Our priority is to restore our territory
Middle East Online, May 12, 2003 
WASHINGTON - Syria and the United States failed to agree on US demands for the closure of the Damascus offices of Palestinian radical groups in talks earlier this month, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview published here.

Winds of change in Damascus
BBC, May 11, 2003
The US Secretary of State Colin Powell is in the Middle East continuing a new phase of shuttle diplomacy. Now that Saddam Hussein's regime has been toppled in Iraq, the United States and its allies are turning their focus to the long stagnant Israel Palestinian peace process and a wider Arab Israeli peace.

Marathon Netanyahu-Perez talks to prevent general strike
Financial Times, May 12, 2003
The Ministry of Finance and Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) are continuing their marathon negotiations to reach an agreement on the economic plan and avoid a general public sector strike tomorrow.

Israeli workers resume strike
BBC, May 12, 2003
Flights out of Ben-Gurion Airport were delayed again -- Israeli workers in government offices are back on strike after unsuccessful talks between the unions and the finance ministry. The workers returned to a full strike after scaling back their action last week during talks between the two sides.

Report: Arabs use half the water Jews use
Haaretz, May 12, 2003
The average Jewish citizen of Israel consumes almost 50 percent more water than the average Arab citizen, according to a new study published yesterday by Mossawa, the Arab Israeli advocacy center.

AG plans to prosecute Kern whistleblower
Haaretz, May 12, 2003 
Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein decided yesterday to prosecute Tel Aviv district attorney Liora Glatt-Berkovich for leaking a document to Haaretz about an Israeli request to the South African authorities to question Cyril Kern about his $1.5 million loan to Ariel Sharon's sons.

A-G: Move not to lift Blumenthal's immunity is political  
Haaretz, May 12, 2003 
Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein on Monday said that the decision by a Knesset panel not to lift the parliamentary immunity of Likud MK Naomi Blumenthal "urgently and sharply raises the question of a political forum making decisions in matters of applying the law." By a razor-thin margin of 8-7, the Knesset panel voted not to lift Blumenthal's immunity - a step that would likely have led to her standing trial for alleged vote-buying during the Likud primaries last December.

Income Tax Commissioner: Tax receipts have not fallen
Globes, May 12, 2003
Income Tax Commissioner Tali Yaron Eldar denied the conclusions of a Bank of Israel report. -- Income Tax Commissioner Tali Yaron Eldar said at the Globes Initiative conference on insurance and pension reform today that she had not seen any change in tax receipts to date.

US chain Bed, Bath & Beyond mulls regular purchase of Israeli textiles
Financial Times, May 12, 2003
The chain has hundreds of stores across the US with an annual turnover of $3 billion. Representatives of major Israeli textile firms will meet the company’s buyers soon.

The Continued Plunder of the Land of Palestine
Al-Awda News/Beit Sahour Municipality, May 12, 2003
As you are all well aware, the political situation in Palestine is deteriorating rapidly and the strict siege imposed upon all of Palestine by the Israeli authority continues to cripple our lives. Whilst the international community is focusing on the recently released "Road Map", Beit Sahour is faced with the reality of further land confiscation. A much larger area in Beit Sahour is now under threat of being forcibly taken from the legal owners who have received an order of land confiscation. The area measures about 300 dunams (1 dunam is 1000m2).

Other Middle East News

Iraq in danger of starvation, says UN
The Observer, May 11, 2003
Iraqi agriculture is on the brink of collapse, with fears that many of its 24.5 million people will go hungry this summer, according to a confidential report being studied by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Ahead of Harvest, Farm Fears Grow
New York Times, May 12, 2003
With no government in Baghdad, the wheat and barley harvest in northern Iraq could face serious difficulties.  -- MOSUL, Iraq, May 11 — The sound of clicking prayer beads made a worried tick in the landowners' hands. Just nine days remained before the barley harvest here in northern Iraq. The farmers and landowners — some of this region's biggest — had gathered to talk crops.

Disorder deepens in liberated Baghdad
Christian Science Monitor, May 12, 2003
The US administrator for central Iraq left the post Sunday after just three weeks in office. -- BAGHDAD – Fearful of going out after dark, waiting up to 10 hours to fill their cars with gas, spreading rumors in the absence of reliable media, watching landmark buildings set on fire and wondering who is in charge, the residents of this capital are growing increasingly impatient with the deepening disorder that is plaguing their lives more than a month after US troops took over the city.

US weapons team ends its search with no discovery
The Independent, May 12, 2003
The team searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is ending its operation without having found proof that Saddam Hussein had stocks of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. It investigated numerous sites identified by US intelligence as those likely to harbour weapons of mass destruction (WMD) but has now all but accepted that it is unlikely to find any weapons.

Weapons taskforce leaves in failure
The Guardian, May 12, 2003
The US military task force hunting for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in Iraq is to leave within a month, having found no trace of any illegal weapons, according to a report yesterday.

Reward for Iraqis over weapons information
The Times, May 12, 2003
AMERICAN authorities have broadcast a nationwide radio appeal to the Iraqi people offering substantial rewards for information leading to the discovery of weapons of mass destruction.

'Secret train' the Americans don't seem to be asking questions about
The Independent, May 11, 2003
Every day for the last fortnight Salam Salom, a top Iraqi railwayman, has sat down with the Americans. They discussed the bomb-damaged track, the wrecked communications network, and the looters who descended on the rolling stock like a plague of locusts. But one subject has not come up. There has never been any mention, he says, of chemical or biological weapons.

In the wreckage of Saddam's nuclear research centre, villagers take their pick of lethal spoils
The Independent, May 10, 2003
The labels were clearly visible when the caretaker of the al-Wrdiya village school pulled from a storeroom at the back of the building two looted plastic drums and a translucent off-white crate. No, he said rather sheepishly, he hadn't shown them to the Iraqi and US experts who visited earlier in the day.

Shia leader calls for US to get out
The Guardian, May 12, 2003
The leader of one of the main Iraqi Shia groups, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, is scheduled to arrive today in the holy city of Najaf after receiving a fervent welcome from about 2,000 supporters when he returned to Iraq on Saturday from 20 years' exile in Iran.

A wary US watches an exile's return
Christian Science Monitor, May 12, 2003
After 23 years' exile in Iran, Ayatollah Mohammed Bakr al-Hakim, head of Iraq's largest Shiite opposition group, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), crossed into Iraq this weekend and began positioning himself for a new role in this changed country.

Exiled cleric returns home to call for free Islamic state
The Independent, May 11, 2003
The most prominent leader among Iraq's majority Shia Muslims yesterday crossed into the country for the first time after 23 years of exile and told an ecstatic rally of up to 100,000 supporters that Iraq must have a "totally independent" government.

Ba'athist minister forced out as doctors rebel
The Guardian, May 12, 2003
Iraq's newly appointed health minister resigned suddenly yesterday amid mounting criticism over his career as a senior Ba'ath party official. His departure represents a significant embarrassment for the American authorities who chose him as the first minister in the post-Saddam government. It also brings another costly delay in the already slow reconstruction process.

US Says Saddam’s Baath Party Dissolved
Arab News, May 12, 2003
BAGHDAD, 12 May 2003 — The American general who commanded the Iraq war issued a statement yesterday saying Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party “is dissolved,” ordering the political organization that ruled the country for 35 years to cease existence immediately.

CARE Official Faults Bush for Corporate Contracts
CommonDreams/San Francisco Chronicle, May 10, 2003 
A top official with the humanitarian organization CARE criticized the Bush administration Friday, saying the U.S. government's rebuilding efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan have favored private corporations over established nonprofits that have long-standing ties to the countries. Kevin Henry, CARE USA's advocacy director, said the Bush administration is the first in recent U.S. history to rely more on for-profit corporations than nongovernmental organizations to rebuild crucial areas of a devastated foreign country.

US forces arrest Iraq's 'Dr Germ'
The Guardian, May 12, 2003 
The Iraqi scientist known as 'Dr Germ' for her work on biological weapons has been arrested by US forces, it was announced today. Dr Rihab Rashid Taha, who had been negotiating her surrender for days, turned herself over to the US during the last 48 hours, according to Major Brad Lowell, of US central command.

US rivals turn on each other as weapons search draws a blank
The Observer, May 11, 2003
One key argument for war was the peril from weapons of mass destruction. Now top officials are worried by repeated failures to find the proof - and US intelligence agencies are engaged in a struggle to avoid the blame -- The Iraqi military base at Taji does not look like a place of global importance. It is a desolate expanse of bunkers and hangars surrounded by barbed wire and battered look-out posts. It is deserted apart from American sentries at the gate.

New US chief arrives in Iraq
BBC, May 12, 2003
The new US administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, has arrived in the country after a major shake-up in the American post-war team. The former terrorism expert, who will be the top civilian official in the country, arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad after a brief visit to Basra with General Richard Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

US reshuffles Iraq team
BBC, May 11, 2003 
Barbara Bodine, a senior American official in charge of running Baghdad, is on her way out. Iraqis are becoming sceptical of American promises to restore order Her departure comes amid growing criticism of the coalition's chaotic and ill-prepared attempts to reconstruct Iraq, especially noticeable in Baghdad.

New U.S. Administrator Arrives in Iraq
The Guardian, May 12, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The new American civilian administrator of Iraq arrived Monday to take over the task of piecing this country back together amid a change in key posts responsible for guiding Iraq toward democracy.

US sacks its woman in Baghdad
The Guardian, May 12, 2003
Washington replaces its team for the anarchy-hit capital after failures -- The US yesterday sacked one of its most senior envoys to Iraq after only three weeks, in an admission that the task of running the country is proving tougher than expected.

A minister quits, buildings burn, rubbish rots. So much for the 'reconstruction'
The Independent, May 12, 2003
It was just another day in the process of "getting Baghdad back to normal". Well, on this most normal of days when news was supposed to be slow, the US-appointed Health Minister finally resigned at the time of a steadily mounting public health crisis after a week of relentless pressure from doctors disgusted at his prominent past in the Saddam Hussein regime.

Fury rises in Baghdad as drugs return to the alleys
The Independent, May 11, 2003
The killing of two US soldiers in Baghdad within 24 hours last week shows how far the US and Britain still have to go to end the chaos gripping the Iraqi capital a month after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Troubling but helpful: US-Iraqi dialogue
Middle East Online, May 12, 2003 
While a number of the Iraqi participants expressed their relief that the regime had been toppled, when they were asked whether they viewed the US action as a war of liberation or occupation, almost 90 percent indicated that they saw the US as an occupier, says James Zogby.

Energy Pinch Could Last Into Summer, Iraqis Say
New York Times, May 12, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 11 — Shortages of gasoline and electricity that are throttling much of Iraq, particularly Baghdad, could last well into midsummer, top Iraqi energy officials said today at a news conference that was itself hit by a blackout.

Radioactive Material Found at a Test Site Near Baghdad
New York Times, May 12, 2003
".. as far as he knew, neither his team nor the United States Central Command had a specific policy for handling radioactive material." -- BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 11 — An American team searching for unconventional weapons has uncovered what is thought to be the strongest source of radiation found so far in Iraq, at a long-abandoned test range near Amiriya, just west of the capital, nuclear experts and military officers said today.

For Family That Lost 10 to Bomb, Only Memories and Grief Remain
New York Times, May 12, 2003
The family patriarch, Abed Hassan Hamoodi, 72, has still received no condolence call from American or British officials.  -- BASRA, Iraq, May 10 — All that is left for the Hamoodi family are the photographs. A father's hand reaching for the shoulder of his daughter. A boy at his grandfather's knee. A toddler all dressed up in a gray suit, red tie and pink Mickey Mouse hat. All are dead now.

Clare Short quits post over Iraq
BBC, May 12, 2003
International Development Secretary Clare Short has quit her cabinet job, accusing Tony Blair of breaking promises over Iraq's future. She will be replaced in the cabinet by Baroness Amos, the Foreign Office minister who has been the government's spokeswoman on international development in the House of Lords.

video
Clare Short
BBC, May 12, 2003
Former Int. Development Secretary Clare Short: "I think there were very serious mistakes in the run-up to conflict"

Number 10 was 'going for' Short
BBC, May 12, 2003 
Dr Jones thinks Ms Short 'jumped before she was pushed' -- Clare Short's fellow Birmingham MP Dr Lynne Jones has said "the Downing Street club" was "going for" the international development secretary. Ms Short announced her decision to resign from the cabinet shortly after 1000 BST on Monday.

video
Clare Short interview
BBC, May 12, 2003

Short resignation letter in full
BBC, May 12, 2003 
International Development Secretary Clare Short has resigned from the cabinet. Here is the full text of her letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair announcing the news.

Al-Rai al-Am: Arab fund to monitor coalition forces spending in Iraq
Arabic News, May 12, 2003
The Kuwaiti daily al-Rai al-Am yesterday quoted diplomatic sources that the draft resolution proposed by the US to the UN Security Council on Friday gives authorities to the Arab Fund for Economic Development which takes Kuwait as a headquarters to monitor the spending of the coalition forces in Iraq, including oil sales.

Saddam in Country Under Special Protection: Chalabi
Arab News, May 12, 2003
BAGHDAD, 12 May 2003 — Ahmad Chalabi, president of the Iraqi National Congress, has said Saddam Hussein is moving around in the country under special protection.

Kingdom Asks for Reasons Behind US Expulsion
Arab News, May 12, 2003
WASHINGTON, 12 May 2003 — A Saudi diplomat expelled from the United States last week said in remarks published yesterday that he was not detained or interrogated before being deported.

Iraqi Spies Infiltrated Al-Jazeera TV: Report
Arab News, May 12, 2003
LONDON, 12 May 2003 — Iraqi intelligence agents infiltrated the Arabic satellite news channel Al-Jazeera in an effort to influence its coverage, the Sunday Times reported, quoting documents allegedly obtained in Baghdad.

French Minister: U.S. Iraq Plan a Start
The Guardian, May 12, 2003
PARIS (AP) - France's foreign minister was quoted as saying Monday that a U.S. proposal for governing postwar Iraq is a ``starting point,'' but he urged a stronger role for the United Nations.

Official: U.S., Iran, Held Secret Talks
The Guardian, May 12, 2003
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The United States and Iran held several meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, in an effort to ease friction between the two countries, a senior U.S. official said Monday.

11 Charged With Murder of US Diplomat
Arab News, May 12, 2003
AMMAN, 12 May 2003 — Jordan’s military prosecutor charged yesterday 11 people, including Libyans and Syrians, with the murder of US diplomat Laurence Foley in October, judicial sources said.

Differences besieging the Arab League, news on sacrificing Amr Mousa for AL survival
Arabic News, May 12, 2003
Moussa said that the AL has been exposed to what he called "a greater conspiracy to destroy it in order to establish a Middle East entity replacing it, and that includes in its membership Israel as a basic member..." -- Inter- Arab differences have increased in secret to the extent that observers predicted the possibility of changing the secretary general of the Arab League AL, Amr Moussa.

Iraq's fall makes Iran rethink ties with US
Middle East Online, May 12, 2003
Report reveals secret talks between US and Iranian diplomats in Geneva in bid to re-establish ties. --The presence in neighbouring Iraq of US forces is making Iran think twice over its opposition to resuming ties with the United States, reviled as the "Great Satan" and considered an arch foe of the Islamic state.

In Baghdad's Anarchy, the Insane Went Free
New York Times, May 12, 2003
Iraq's only hospital providing long-term care for serious mental disorders was all but destroyed in the war. -- BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 11 — The only mental patient left behind at the high security ward of Al Rashad state hospital is a killer named Ali Sabah, a former math and science teacher with jet black hair and dark, searching eyes.

In One Major City, Power Goes to an Iraqi With a Past
New York Times, May 12, 2003
MOSUL, Iraq, May 10 — Mishan al-Jaburi is a very busy man. His living room — a lofty space where boys skitter with trays of tea — is full of sheiks, tribal leaders and armed guards in fatigues. They come to him for answers. "So many guests," he said on a recent afternoon. "I tell them we have a new governor, but they are still all coming to me."

Iran steps up net censorship
BBC, May 12, 2003 
About two million Iranians have access to the internet -- Iran has tightened controls on the internet, ordering thousands of political and pornographic websites to be blocked. The Iranian press said a list of 15,000 sites had been drawn up by the government and sent to internet service providers.

Iraqi Mujahideen rebels 'disarm'
BBC, May 10, 2003 
United States military officials in Iraq have reportedly reached a disarmament deal with a heavily armed Iranian opposition group based in camps north-east of Baghdad. The group, known as the People's Mujahideen of Iran, was backed by the former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, and it is considered a terrorist organisation by Washington.

Former Iraqi soldiers demonstrate in Baghdad
Middle East Online, May 12, 2003 
BAGHDAD - More than 200 members of Saddam Hussein's defunct army took to the streets of Baghdad on Monday demanding their back pay as well as a role in post-war Iraq.

Saudi Shiites hopeful of equal rights
Middle East Online, May 12, 2003 
The Shiite Muslim minority in conservative Saudi Arabia feels the kingdom's leadership is serious about ending all forms of discrimination against the community, Shiite activists said Sunday.

France ups payment for its Djibouti base
Middle East Online, May 12, 2003 
DJIBOUTI - France and Djibouti have agreed to significantly increase the annual contribution Paris pays to its former colony for hosting the main French military base in Africa, French ambassador Patrick Roussel said Sunday.

Shia welcome Khatami to Lebanon
BBC, May 12, 2003
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is in Lebanon for the first visit by an Iranian head of state since the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979. Large crowds of Shia Muslims lined the streets from the airport in Beirut to welcome President Khatami.

Iran Talks on Political Deal Fail at First Hurdle
Reuters, May 12, 2003
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Efforts to strike a compromise deal between Iran's reformist and conservative camps over two key reform bills have failed before even getting off the ground, a reformist deputy was quoted on Monday as saying.

Iraqi Foreign Ministry Getting Back to Work
Tehran Times, May 12, 2003
BAGHDAD -- Iraq's Foreign Ministry, badly looted after the fall of Saddam Hussein, was trying to get back on track on Sunday under new management put in place by the U.S.-led coalition. "Our first priority is to get this building rehabilitated and to show that there's an authority in the ministry again," said David Dunford, the ministry's senior U.S. advisor. "We have to start from somewhere."

Syrian-Iranian building, construction cooperation
Arabic News, May 12, 2003
Syria's Minister of Industry Issam al-Zaeem and Iranian Minister of Housing and City Building Ali Abdullah Ali Zada discussed in Damascus yesterday the possibility of embarking on Syrian- Iranian joint industrial ventures.

Ankara cuts Russian gas, courts Iran
Asia Times, May 1, 2003
BOSTON - Turkey has stopped buying Russian gas from the recently opened Blue Stream pipeline across the Black Sea, raising doubts about Ankara's policies and whether the US$3.2 billion project was ever needed at all.