White
House Bends to Israeli 'Road Map' Demands
Washington Post, May 23, 2003
Administration Opens Door to Revising Mideast Peace Plan -- CRAWFORD, Texas ––
The Bush administration pledged Friday that it will consider "fully and seriously"
Israel's concerns about what steps it would have to take under a new Mideast peace
plan. "The United States shares the view of the government of Israel that these
are real concerns," said a statement issued jointly by Secretary of State Colin
Powell and Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's national security adviser.
Sharon:
Israel is ready to accept the Mideast road map
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
Hours after the United States said it would address Jerusalem's "significant concerns"
about the internationally-brokered road map to Middle East peace, Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon said Friday that Israel is ready to accept the plan, and that it
will be submitted for approval by his cabinet Sunday.
Palestinian
officials say they will not accept changes to peace plan
Billings Gazette, May 23, 2003
"We are ready to implement the road map as one package ... and without any changes,"
Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr said Friday. -- JERUSALEM (AP) - The
Islamic militant group Hamas attacked an Israeli bus in the Gaza Strip with explosives
Friday - an apparent challenge to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas a day
after he asked the group to stop targeting Israelis.
NRP
chair says party will vote against 'roadmap'
Jerusalem Post, May 23, 2003
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's announcement Friday that he is ready to accept the
US-backed 'roadmap' plan to Mideast peace, and that he will present it to the
government for approval next week, raised mixed responses among Israeli politicians.
8
Israelis lightly hurt in Hamas bomb attack on bus in Gaza
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
An explosion Friday near a bus carrying Israelis in the Gaza Strip wounded eight
people, two of them moderately. The wounded were taken to Soroka Hospital in Be'er
Sheva. The militant group Hamas accepted responsibility for the attack later Friday.
7
Palestinian pupils injured in Beit Hanoon
Palestinian Information Center, May 22, 2003
Beit Hanoon - In a new criminal act by Zionist occuaption forces towards the innocent
people in Beit Hanoon, 7 Palestinian pupils were injured after occupation forces
opened fire towards them from the seafront of the town this morning.
'Bomb
expert' seized on fishing boat off Israel
The Independent, May 23, 2003
The Israeli navy arrested an alleged Hizbollah bomb-making expert on a fishing
boat sailing down the coast from Lebanon to Gaza, a military spokesman said yesterday.
Two
Palestinian journalists beaten up by Israeli soldiers
Palestinian Information Center, May 22, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - An international press freedom organization has voiced outrage
over the violent beating which two clearly identified Palestinian journalists
received from Israeli soldiers in Bethlehem. The incident took place during the
night of 19 to 20 May. One of the journalists sustained an injury to his right
hand that will prevent him from working for some time.
Israel
to expel five militants from West Bank to Gaza Strip
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
Israel is to expel five Palestinian militants from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip,
Major General Moshe Kaplinksy, GOC Central Command decided Thursday. The expulsion
of the five - four Hamas activists and one member of Fatah - will take effect
within one month, pending an appeal.
Israeli
occupation army demolish home of Hiba Daraghmeh
Palestinian Information Center, May 23, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - Israeli occupation troops have demolished, in the town of
Tubas, the home of Hiba Daraghmeh, the young Palestinian woman who carried out
the attack in Affula.
Palestinian
Prime Minister Abbas Meets With Hamas
Washington Post, May 22, 2003
JERUSALEM -- The Palestinian prime minister, who is under growing international
pressure to rein in militants, summoned leaders of the Islamic group Hamas to
his office Thursday and asked them to halt attacks on Israelis. However, Hamas
said that at best, it is willing to consider a partial truce, and only on condition
that Israel stop hunting militants. Israel has rejected such a proposal in the
past and said again Thursday it was unacceptable.
Hamas
Sets Terms for Halt to Attacks on Civilians
Arab News, May 23, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 23 May 2003 — Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas
asked Hamas leaders yesterday to halt bombings against Israel, as Israel announced
it had foiled a plan to set up a “bomb school” for attackers.
Treasury,
Histadrut sign NIS 4 billion wage-cut accord
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
The Histadrut and the Finance Ministry yesterday signed an agreement on wage cuts
and dismissals in the public sector, following the oral understandings reached
on Sunday that ended the public-sector strike.
EU
backs down on own role in Mid East
EU Observer, May 23, 2003
It seems the EU has now backed down from calls that the configuration of the committees
be such that the Quartet as a whole is responsible for monitoring key issues.
A deal diplomats had previously called "unacceptable". -- EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS
– Ahead of a key Israeli cabinet meeting and a statement by the US, representatives
of the Madrid Quartet – Russia, the EU, US and UN are meeting in Paris today
and are set to agree the terms for monitoring the so-called ‘road map’
to peace.
Tenders
issued for housing in territories
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
The Ministry of Housing issued tenders yesterday for the construction of 502 housing
units in Ma'aleh Adumim, the largest settlement in the territories with 30,000
residents. The apartments are part of the neighborhood of Nofei Sela, where 3,500
units are already in the process of being built or planned.
UPMRC
Clinic Trashed by Israeli Army - Appeal for Help to Bring Tom Hurndall Home
International Solidarity Movement, May 22, 2003
This morning, around 02.30, the UPMRC (Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees)
field clinic in Nablus was raided by the IOF. This is not the first time the UPMRC
has been raided by the Israeli army, according to UPMRC officials it happens almost
every second month. / This weekend Tom Hurndall's parents will try to fly Tom
home to England to be closer to his friends and family. The likely cost of this
will be in the region of £20,000.
12-year-old
said killed by the IDF near Jenin
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
A 12-year-old Palestinian boy was killed by Israel Defense Forces fire yesterday
morning in the village of Yamun, near Jenin, Palestinian sources said. The boy
was shot during clashes between youths and IDF troops, the sources said. The IDF
said it is looking into the report.
Israel
Arrests Canadian Peace Activist Pending Deportation
Palestine Chronicle, May 23, 2003
"'Back in August, Greg jumped in front of two soldiers after a Palestinian woman
tried to attack them with a big kitchen knife, putting his body in front of them,'
he added .." -- OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - The Israeli occupation authorities
are to deport a Canadian peace activist arrested in the West Bank city of Hebron
as part of a wide-scale crackdown on internationals working in the occupied Palestinian
territory.
Despite
U.S., Israeli ban, French FM says will meet with Arafat
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
PARIS - Despite American and Israeli efforts to sideline Palestinian Authority
Chairman Yasser Arafat, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said Friday
that he would meet with the Palestinian leader during a trip to the Middle East
on Sunday and Monday. He said that he would also meet with Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon if possible.
Sharon
to boycott French FM, who will meet Arafat
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will not meet French Foreign Minister Dominique de
Villepin, who is arriving on Sunday, because of de Villepin's intention to meet
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
U.S.,
Palestinians welcome Israel's acceptance of road map
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
The Bush administration on Friday welcomed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's acceptance
of the internationally-brokered road map to Middle East peace, and said approval
by the Israeli cabinet would allow implementation of the plan to start.
Israel
to Accept Mideast Peace Road Map
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced Friday that he
is ``prepared to accept'' the U.S.-backed road map peace plan and will present
it to his Cabinet for approval.
Sharon
acceptance of 'roadmap' draws mixed responses
Jerusalem Post, May 23, 2003
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's announcement Friday that he is ready to accept the
US-backed 'roadmap' plan to Mideast peace, and that he will present it to the
government for approval next week, raised mixed responses among Israeli politicians.
Israel
Seizes Boat With Explosive Gear
Washington Post, May 23, 2003
Officials Allege Hezbollah Militants Among Those on Board -- TEL AVIV, May 22
-- Israel said today that it had seized a boat off its Mediterranean coast carrying
equipment for "terror attacks," and security sources said two alleged Lebanese
Hezbollah guerrillas were among the eight arms smugglers arrested.
Israel
arrests Hezbollah man aboard boat headed for Gaza
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a Palestinian Authority spokesman, denied the authority or Arafat
had anything to do with a fishing boat, carrying a Hezbollah activist, weaponry,
and weapon-making equipment believed to be heading for the Gaza Strip, that was
seized by Israel's navy on Tuesday.
Israel
nabs Hezbollah man en route to Gaza
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
Navy commandos seized a fishing boat off the Lebanese coast Wednesday night. The
boat was carrying a Hezbollah activist believed to be heading for the Gaza Strip.
IDF sources yesterday accused supporters of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat of being
behind the affair.
Contacts
between Israelis, Palestinians key to mutual understanding - UN official
Inited Nations News, May 23, 2003
23 May – Stressing the importance of contacts between Israeli and Palestinian
civil societies, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) has pledged that the agency would do all it can to help
promote mutual understanding between the two parties.
Sharon
may seek cabinet vote on road map Sunday
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
But only if Washington agrees to take Israeli reservations on plan into account
-- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will soon bring the U.S.-backed road map for an
Israeli-Palestinian settlement to the cabinet for approval, using the draft that
was submitted to both Israel and the Palestinians on April 30.
Israel's
Concerns May Alter Road Map
Washington Post, May 23, 2003
U.S. Appears to Relent on Changes -- In an effort to avoid a deadlock in the Middle
East peace process, the Bush administration has acceded to Israel's demands that
a U.S.-backed peace plan be subjected to significant revisions, U.S. officials
said yesterday. They said they expected that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
would respond by publicly accepting the plan's broad outlines.
Hawks
Gearing Up for Road Map Fight
Forward, May 23, 2003
Liberals Back Peace Plan in Letters to Bush, Democratic Candidates -- WASHINGTON
— Angered by a wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel, pro-Israel
hawks here are stepping up their criticisms of President Bush's "road map" to
peace, claiming that the violent surge proves the plan's dangers to Israel.
Hamas
offers conditional truce
Palestinian Information Center, May 23, 2003
Gaza - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas held Thursday talks with Hamas
leaders in the Gaza strip. After the 3 hour long session attended both sides came
out to say the outcome was positive and they are planning to have further meetings.
Sharp
rise in Israeli unemployment
BBC, May 21, 2003
There has been a sharp rise in unemployment in Israel, with 20,000 more people
losing their jobs in the first three months of the year. Nearly 11% of the active
population is now out of work in Israel, which is struggling with its worst recession
since the state was created 1948.
Finance
Committee approves cuts in child allowances
Haaretz, May 23, 2003
A marathon meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee ended early Friday, after
lawmakers sat for over 20 hours to debate, revise and ultimately approve the government's
economic austerity plan.
Israel’s
economic crisis causes suicide rate to soar
Al-Bawaba, May 22, 2003
Israel has witnessed a sharp increase in suicide cases over the past year and
experts agree that the reason behind the rise is the nation’s deep economic
recession. The fourth suicide this week took place Tuesday night when a 67 year-old
former restaurant owner took his life. This brings Israel’s suicide casualty
number to ten over the past two months.
Finance
Ministry, Histadrut reach agreement
Globes, May 22, 2003
The NIS 4 billion wage cut will be divided: NIS 2 billion in 2003 and NIS 2 billion
in 2004. -- The Ministry of Finance and Histadrut (General Federation of Labor
in Israel) teams have settled all their disputes regarding the public sector wage
cuts.
Victims
of the peace decide Americans are worse than Saddam
The Times, May 23, 2003
THE small dank cells with cold stone floors, tiny windows and iron bars for a
door used to house criminals and the victims of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Now Khan Bani Saad prison, overlooked by watchtowers and surrounded by razorwire,
is filled with families who are victims, not of the war, but of the peace.
Bush
'is on brink of catastrophe'
The Times, May 23, 2003
THE most senior Republican authority on foreign relations in Congress has warned
President Bush that the United States is on the brink of catastrophe in Iraq.
Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Washington
was in danger of creating “an incubator for terrorist cells and activity”
unless it increased the scope and cost of its reconstruction efforts.
U.S.
Troops Kill 2 Iraqis After Ambush
Washington Post, May 23, 2003
Baath Loyalists Hinder Efforts In Fallujah -- FALLUJAH, Iraq, May 22 -- U.S. soldiers
who fell into an ambush here killed two Iraqis in a long gun battle that ended
early this morning, offering a violent reminder that there are still moments of
war for U.S. troops in Iraq even as their main mission evolves into peacekeeping.
Pentagon
Defends Iraq Reconstruction Effort
Washington Post, May 23, 2003
Facing lawmakers critical of the Pentagon strategy for a postwar Iraq, Deputy
Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz said yesterday that U.S. plans cannot be judged
"against a standard of unachievable perfection."
Blix
casts doubt on WMDs
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
The chief UN weapons inspector, Hans Blix, said he was starting to suspect Iraq
had no weapons of mass destruction in advance of the war on Iraq, a German newspaper
reported today.
National
museum begins to count the losses
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
US troops are maintaining a round-the-clock watch on the Iraqi Museum, where a
serious effort to catalogue how much of its priceless collection of Mesopotamian
art was left behind by the postwar looters has begun.
Vanquished
Iraqi Military Disbanded
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The military that failed to protect Saddam Hussein's regime
took its final fall Friday, as the American occupation force ordered the dismantling
of the Iraqi army and the Republican Guard, to be replaced by a ``New Iraqi Corps.''
US
Lawmakers Criticize Washington's Management of Postwar Iraq
CommonDreams, May 23, 2003
US lawmakers expressed displeasure with the way the George W. Bush administration
has managed postwar Iraq, saying that the goal of stabilizing and democratizing
the country has been put at risk by inadequate US planning.
Poland
Secures Iraq Peacekeeping Force
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Warsaw has received enough pledges of troops, equipment
and money to deploy a peacekeeping force in postwar Iraq, a defense ministry spokesman
said Friday.
U.S.
to Clamp Down on Iraqi Weapons
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A new U.S. policy aimed at drastically reducing the number
of weapons in Iraq will allow people to keep guns for self defense at home but
outlaw them almost everywhere else, the commander of American ground forces in
Iraq said Friday.
U.N.
Names Special Representative to Iraq
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - U.N. human rights chief Sergio Vieira de Mello has been
chosen as the United Nations' special representative to Iraq, diplomats said Friday.
His appointment will be for a four-month period.
Ethnic
tensions mar Kirkuk poll
BBC, May 23, 2003
It used to be an office complex used by Saddam Hussein's feared intelligence agents,
now it's a makeshift home for Kurdish refugees. Abandoned rooms that once reportedly
witnessed scenes of torture have been turned into cramped living quarters, their
dusky interiors barely visible from the rubbish strewn courtyard.
Iraq
Mustn’t Wither Under Control of US and UK: Pachachi
Arab News, May 23, 2003
BAGHDAD, 23 May 2003 — Iraqi political leader Adnan Pachachi said yesterday
the Iraqi state “should not wither away” while the United States and
Britain runs the country under powers granted by a UN Security Council resolution.
Troops
Test Cooperation With Clerics
Washington Post, May 23, 2003
BAGHDAD, May 22 -- It was payday in Baghdad's largest slum and, as is their custom,
the Americans arrived in force. Four Humvees parked outside a building housing
an Islamic charity chosen by the U.S. Agency for International Development to
administer its first grass-roots project in the Iraqi capital.
'De
Facto' Police Chief Hits Streets of Baghdad
Washington Post, May 23, 2003
U.S. Military Encourages Iraqi Patrols in Capital -- BAGHDAD, May 22 -- Col. Ted
Spain may have the toughest mission in the U.S. military right now: restoring
order to the lawless streets of this huge and troubled city. "We're the main effort,"
said Spain, who commands 4,000 U.S. military police in the Iraqi capital. "I am
the de facto police chief of Baghdad right now."
Basra
Police Struggle to Tame Wild City Streets
Arab News, May 23, 2003
BASRA, Iraq, 22 May 2003 — Finding criminals is not a problem for the joint
British and Iraqi police patrols trying to keep order in the Basra slum district
of Hayaniya — the problem is that there are more lawbreakers than they can
cope with.
UN
lifts sanctions and backs role of allies in Iraq
The Independent, May 23, 2003
The military occupation of Iraq by the United States and Britain finally won a
strong measure of international acceptance yesterday when the United Nations Security
Council overwhelmingly adopted a resolution endorsing the joint control of the
country for an undetermined period of time.
Fatal
legacy of harsh measures designed to crush Saddam
The Independent, May 23, 2003
When the UN imposed economic sanctions on Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait in
1990, the purpose was clear: to create the necessary leverage to force Saddam
Hussein to disarm. But the policy failed, bringing with it severe civilian collateral
damage, a side-effect commonly associated with war.
British
firms fight for piece of the action
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
Depending on which camp you are sitting in, the two conferences on opportunities
in the rebuilding of Iraq in west London being held today represent either a grotesque
division of the spoils or a rare opportunity for British business to steal a march
on its European rivals and secure a piece of the biggest reconstruction effort
since the second world war.
US
contracts come under scrutiny
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
Reconstruction offers rich pickings, but must you be a Bush supporter to benefit?
-- Two official watchdogs are to review every contract awarded by the US government
agency for international development, USAid, for reconstruction work in Iraq,
the Guardian has learned.
UN
mandate oils wheels for reconstruction of Iraq
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
The oil from postwar Iraq was expected to start flowing to the world's markets
after the UN security council yesterday gave America the legal cover to occupy
the country and control its resources.
US
building giant warns of Iraq chaos
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
Violence and lawlessness, the threat of disease, and political uncertainty could
make business ventures in Iraq less attractive then expected, Bechtel, the controversial
US construction giant, warned today.
Warning
to Bush from contrite cold war veteran
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
Robert McNamara, the US defence secretary during the Cuban missile crisis and
the first phases of the Vietnam war, has warned of the folly of American involvement
in Iraq. Mr McNamara, a hate figure to the anti-war movement in the 1960s who
rarely airs his views in public, delivered the shot across the bows of the Bush
administration in the documentary The Fog of War, which has been premiered at
the Cannes film festival.
US
punishes firms in Iran and China
BBC, May 23, 2003
The US has provided no evidence -- The US has imposed sanctions against a Chinese
company for allegedly supplying Iran with ballistic missile technology, without
providing details of the deal. The penalties will deprive one of China's largest
conglomerates, North China Industries (Norinco), of annual sales in the US worth
more than $100m for the next two years.
Iraq
dominates G8 talks
BBC, May 23, 2003
Foreign ministers from the world's leading industrialised countries are meeting
in France, in the wake of deep divisions over the war in Iraq. US Secretary of
State Colin Powell met his French counterpart, Dominique de Villepin, early on
Friday for one-to-one talks in the highest level meeting between the two governments
since the fallout over Iraq erupted.
European
Commissioner Warns of Growing Islamophobia in Europe
Palestine Chronicle, May 23, 2003
BRUSSELS - At a conference on "Youth and Gender, Trans-national Identities and
Islamophobia", organized by the European Commission in Brussels, researchers,
policymakers and social workers will discuss the situation of young Muslim immigrants
in several European countries.
Franks
to Leave Central Command and Retire
Washington Post, May 23, 2003
Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, a plain-spoken artilleryman from Texas who led American
troops to victory in Afghanistan and Iraq, will step down as head of the U.S.
Central Command within weeks and retire from active military service by the end
of the summer, senior defense officials said yesterday.
Russia
'Sold' UN Iraq Vote For Oil and Debt: Press
Palestine Chronicle, May 23, 2003
"In a clear gesture towards Moscow, Powell said that the future Iraqi administration
would 'take fully into account' its eight billion dollar debt obligations to Russia
.." -- MOSCOW - Russia dropped its opposition to a UN resolution lifting
sanctions on Iraq once it believed its Soviet-era debt and massive oil contracts
in the country would be respected, the Russian press said Friday, May 23.
Iraqi-Jordanian
Trade Booms, No Customs Duties
Islam Online, May 23, 2003
AMMAN, May 23 (IslamOnline.net) - Trade exchange between Iraq and Jordan boomed
40 days into the U.S. forces capture of Baghdad and the fall of the Saddam regime.
Marked with chaos and lawlessness, the border between the two countries are held
wide open with no customs duties paid on goods entering Iraq where there is no
central government.
Powell:
U.S. Still Disappointed in France
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
PARIS (AP) - The United States does not intend to punish France for its opposition
to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, but would review joint cooperation ``in the light
of changed circumstances,'' Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday.
Algerian
Earthquake Death Toll Tops 1,600
The Guardian, May 23, 2003
BOUMERDES, Algeria (AP) - Bodies wrapped in blankets and plastic bags piled up
in morgues Friday as the death toll from Algeria's earthquake topped 1,600, with
more than 7,000 injured.
Kingdom
Arrests Four More
Arab News, May 23, 2003
Mohammed Alkhereiji, Arab News Staff JEDDAH, 23 May 2003 — Saudi security
forces continue to sweep suspected Al-Qaeda hide-outs across the Kingdom, but
especially in Riyadh, following the deadly suicide attacks in the capital on May
12 in which at least 25 people were killed, as well as nine suicide bombers.
DeLay
Details Role in DPS' Hunt for Democrats
CommonDreams/Dallas Morning News, May 23, 2003
He says his staff asked FAA officials to find Laney's plane -- Under pressure
from Democrats to detail his role in the hunt for Texas lawmakers, U.S. House
Majority Leader Tom DeLay said Thursday that his staff had asked the FAA to find
former House Speaker Pete Laney's plane. Meanwhile, a state judge ordered the
Texas Department of Public Safety not to destroy any more records about the search.
