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IOF
Kills Two Palestinians in Hebron
International Press Center, June 9, 2003
HEBRON, Palestine, June 9, 2003, IPC+ WAFA-- Two Palestinians were killed Sunday
by Israeli occupation soldiers in the historic Old Town of Hebron, IPC. Palestinian
sources affirmed Israeli occupation forces (IOF) circled a civilian house in the
said area. As well, about 12 Palestinian civilians were arrested by Israeli occupation
forces in Hebron, Agencies.
IDF
kills two terrorists who approached Gaza Strip settlement
Jerusalem Post, June 9, 2003
IDF troops killed two armed terrorists Monday night near the Jewish settlement
of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip. The troops spotted the two terrorists as they were
approaching the settlement from the west, and opened fire on them, Israel Radio
reported.
IDF
begins dismantling outposts; army sources: 94 to go
Haaretz, June 10, 2003
Israel Defense Forces troops on Monday began dismantling unpopulated illegal settlement
outposts in the West Bank, marking the initial stages of fulfilling Israel's commitments
to the U.S.-backed road map peace plan. Troops removed several empty trailers
from the South Neveh Erez outpost, east of Ramallah, and from Shaharit, which
is located next to the Ariel settlement.
Palestinian
Groups Attack Israel
The Independent, June 9, 2003
GAZA, 9 June 2003 — Three Palestinian groups banded together for a rare
joint attack that killed four Israeli soldiers yesterday in a direct challenge
to the peace process. Three activists from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades disguised themselves as Israeli soldiers before attacking an
army post near the Erez crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, the military
said. All three Palestinians were shot dead in the gunbattle. Four other soldiers
were wounded, including one seriously.
Two
Palestinians Wounded in Jenin, Israel Seizes Arable Land in Gaza
International Press Center, June 8, 2003
JENIN, Palestine, June 8, 2003, (IPC + WAFA)-- Two Palestinian civilians were
wounded Sunday, one critically, by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in the West
Bank town of Selat Harithya, near Jenin....Israeli soldiers opened fire at a vehicle
carrying Palestinian civilians on the main street leading to Selat Harithya and
wounded two passengers, peasants were working near the scene told IPC’s.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli bulldozers, backed by tanks, razed Sunday vast areas
of arable land and destroyed greenhouses.
Abbas
postpones Gaza visit to meet Hamas, talks to go on
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has postponed a planned visit to Gaza
for meetings with Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders after yesterday morning's attack
on an Israel Defense forces post at the Erez checkpoint in Gaza, in which four
soldiers were killed.
Palestinian
Refugees Will Never Enter ‘Israel’: Sharon
Islam Online, June 9, 2003
"I will never let any Palestinian refugees enter Israel -- never," Sharon -- OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, June 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - In a further move of
defiance to Palestinians’ right of return to their homeland, Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon vowed Sunday, June 8, not one Palestinian refugee will ever
enter Israel, during a speech to his right-wing Likud party's convention in Occupied
Jerusalem.
Minister
Amr:” PM Abbas and President Arafat in harmony to formulate leadership decisions”
International Press Center, June 8, 2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, June 8, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- In the aftermath of the Palestinian
cabinet's weekly meeting, Mr. Nabil Amr, Minister of Information, asserted the
cabinet's adherence to the Palestinian national rights, which comes in harmony
with those of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian
people of all spectrums.
Abbas:
Only Alternative to Dialogue [with Opposition] is Dialogue
Palestine Media Center, June 9, 2003
Palestinian PM Says Only Solution With Israel is Diplomatic One -- June
9, 2003 - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas re-iterated the importance
of continuing inter-Palestinian dialogue, saying he would continue efforts with
Palestinian factions until an agreement is reached.
Jewish
settlers break into Palestinian houses
Palestinian Information Center, June 9, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - A group of fanatic Jewish settlers last night broke into
two Palestinian houses in Sheikh Jarrah suburb in occupied eastern Jerusalem under
protection of large numbers of Zionist policemen and border guards.
Justice
Ministry expanding claims registry for Jewish property in Arab countries
Globes, June 9, 2003
The US Congress held its first hearing on the comparative rights of Jews from
Arab countries and Palestinians right of return. -- The Ministry of Justice is
expanding its registry of property claims by Jews from Arab countries. After decades
of deliberate government neglect, the ministry will shortly launch a PR campaign
to register claims and hire staff to handle the matter.
Demonstrations
as Islamic Movement heads remanded
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
Some 200 supporters of the Islamic Movement's Northern Branch demonstrating outside
the Tel Aviv District Court yesterday morning during a remand hearing for five
senior members of the movement. The five - who include Islamic Movement head Sheikh
Ra'ad Salah and Dr. Sulieman Agbariya, mayor of the Israeli Arab town of Umm al-Fahm
and a senior member of the movement - were remanded for a further 12 days.
Knesset
rules settlers' human rights to be respected during removal
Jerusalem Post, June 9, 2003
The Knesset Law Committee on Monday adopted a resolution calling on the government
to respect the human rights of the settlers when it comes to evacuating the outposts
and to give the settlers the chance to go through all the legal procedures open
to them to prevent the evacuation.
Settlers:
"This is the last battle for the State of Israel"
Jerusalem Post, June 9, 2003
Israeli troops on Monday began dismantling uninhabited West Bank settlement outposts,
taking down a few of the dozens of outposts Israel has to remove under a US-backed
peace plan....Sitting under the sign "It's forbidden to give them a state," in
a small crowded room in Jerusalem, leaders of the Council of Jewish Communities
in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip (Yesha Council) promised to wage a democratic
war against Sharon's implementation of the road map.
Poll:
Rising majority backs removing settlements
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
A new opinion poll shows that a rising majority of Israelis favors removing large
numbers of settlements in the context of a future peace accord with the Palestinians,
and that Israelis feel more secure and open to compromise than they did in 2002,
Israel Radio reported Monday....Asked if they would support a unilateral withdrawal
from the territories in the context of a peace accord, even if that meant ceding
all settlements, 56 percent said that they would, versus 48 percent last year.
Yesha
Council says IDF troops removing West Bank outpost
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
IDF troops began removing several empty trailers from the South Neveh Erez outpost
near the Palestinian town of Ramallah on Monday afternoon, Yesha Council spokesman
Yehoshua Mor-Yosef reported. There were no reports of confrontations with settlers.
Settlers
ready to give up homes
The Observer, June 8, 2003
In the shadow of Jenin, some Jews are defying Israel's militant mood and asking
to be evacuated -- A trip to the shop is a 37-mile round journey and part of it
in an army convoy. Every excursion carries the risk of ambush by Palestinian militants.
Two residents of the settlement of Ganim have been killed in ambushes and several
have been wounded. Twenty families have already left the community, which is next
to the Palestinian city of Jenin, and last week the remaining 35 sent a letter
to Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, requesting negotiations on evacuation.
Abbas
names new W. Bank security chief
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas yesterday appointed a new chief of the
Preventive Security forces in the West Bank. The new chief is Ziad Habrich, of
Jenin, and he replaces Zuhair Manasra, the current head of the security organization.
Balata
Refugee Camp & Nablus City Opened...but for how long
International Solidarity Movement, June 7, 2003
On June 4th 2003, the Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas, the Israeli PM Ariel Sharon
and the US president George Bush met at Beit al Baha Palace in the Jordanian Red
Sea resort of Aqaba....The same day in Balata Refugee Camp, Nablus it seemed that
nobody informed the Israeli Occupation Forces about this "great and hopeful change".
They were busily imprisoning the camp with 6 roadblocks blocking the 2 main streets
and other streets of the camp, severely hindering vehicular movement in and around
the camp, including emergency medical services (see report, "Balata Refugee Camp
Imprisoned By Army and Roadblock", 3rd June 03).
IDF
plans to slash personnel by 20 percent
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
Israel Defense Forces officials will this morning present the cabinet with a new
work plan that includes an intention to cut 20 percent of the army's personnel.
"This is the most significant cut in the army in the past 15 years," military
sources said.
Militants
order joint gun attack
The Guardian, June 9, 2003
Three Palestinian militant groups joined forces yesterday to launch a gun attack
in which seven people died, in a move designed to send a clear message to the
Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, that no peace deal could be made with
Israel without them. Three gunmen - one each from Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigade - infiltrated an Israeli army outpost at Erez, the main crossing
point between Israel and Gaza, and shot dead three reservists and a career soldier
before being killed in a 20-minute gun battle.
5
soldiers killed in 2 attacks; IDF to respond, sources say
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
Five Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed in two separate incidents yesterday
in the first major attacks since last week's Aqaba summit. Four soldiers were
killed and four others were wounded yesterday morning when three Palestinians
dressed in IDF uniforms infiltrated an army position overlooking the industrial
zone at the Erez junction. The three Palestinians were killed by other soldiers
at the fortification.
Palestinians
are driven from homes by armed Iraqis
The Telegraph, June 9, 2003
The gardens of Baghdad's Haifa Club have been turned into Middle East's newest
refugee camp as hundreds of Palestinians are driven out of their homes at gunpoint
by their Iraqi neighbours. The Haifa Club, where Palestinians came to meet, drink
coffee and play table tennis, is now packed with more than 250 tents, housing
2,000 people forced to flee.
Missing
students' families attack Foreign Office
The Guardian, June 9, 2003
The families of two British medical students who went missing after being arrested
and then released by Israel have accused the Foreign Office of letting them down.
Ayaz Ghani and Tahseen Chaudhry, both 23, who had been working in South Africa
as part of their course, were detained on May 24 as they tried to enter Israeli-controlled
land.
Israeli
execution squad kills two and terrorizes West Bank villagers
Palestine Monitor, June 7, 2003
Israeli Special Forces killed two Palestinians and seriously injured a third in
an attack on the village of At-Teel, Thursday evening, 5 June, 2003...“I
think they acted this way because the Palestinians did not resist, as I saw no
weapons,” said Ghasan, “they came to kill them.” Hosniya and
other inhabitants of the building reported that money and gold jewelry went missing
from the houses that the Israeli soldiers had entered during the attack.
Hear
Palestine, June 9, 2003
Hear Palestine
NEWS: Beit Hanoun: Israeli Army Demolishes 13 Homes / Hebron: Home Demolished;
Conclusive Curfew Imposed / Tulkarem: Israeli Army Invades City and Deir Ghasyoun
Village / Nablus: Ongoing Israeli Raids and Arrests / Bethlehem: Al-Ubeidiya Invaded
at Dawn; 14 Arrested / Doura: 54 Dunums Confiscated for Settlement Purposes /
Jerusalem: Settlers Confiscate Home in Sheikh Jarrah FEATURES:
Children in Search for Living on the Streets of Ramallah / Qalandya Military Roadblock…
Racism in its ugliest form / Dozens of Fruitful Trees Uprooted in the Gaza Strip
Yesterday / Deir al-Balah: New Settlement Road under Construction
Occupation
Chronicle Events in Palestine June 9, 20003
Palestine Media Center, June 9, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed two Palestinians in the southern West Bank
city of Hebron. IOF also dynamited 13 Palestinian houses in the northern Gaza
Strip town of Beit Hanoun and detained at least a dozen Palestinians in Nablus
and Bethlehem cities. IOF Raid al-Eibediyah.
Occupation
Chronicle Events in Palestine June 8, 2003
Palestine Media Center, June 8, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed three Palestinians near the “Erez”
crossing in the Gaza Strip. IOF also wounded a 16-year-old boy in Beit Hanoun
town and uprooted dozens of olive and palm trees near Khan Younis. IOF Shell Khan
Younis. IOF Impose Curfew on Hebron.
On
the Road to Nowhere
Washington Post, June 8, 2003
Palestinian Truck Driver Finds Routes Blocked By Israeli Checkpoints -- KALANDIA
CHECKPOINT, West Bank -- Ibrahim Hassouni sat on a concrete block in the baking
sun outside this Israeli military roadblock on Tuesday afternoon and contemplated
his next move, his spirits melting even faster than the Popsicle he was sucking
on. The 34-year-old Palestinian truck driver had started out before dawn on Monday
from his home in the West Bank city of Ramallah for his routine daily commute
to an ironworks in nearby Jericho.
Israeli
Settlements Main Obstacle To “Roadmap”: Expert
Islam Online, June 9, 2003
WEST BANK, June 9 (IslamOnline.net) – The Jewish settlements on Palestinian
land represents a main obstacle to implementing the “roadmap” plan
to peace and establishing a geographically-contiguous Palestinian state by 2005,
a prominent Palestinian expert on settlements said on Sunday, June 8.
Hezbollah
cites glitches in prisoners deal
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
Hezbollah's general secretary Hassan Nasrallah yesterday said the possibility
of a prisoner exchange with Israel had "run into some complications." The leader
of the radical Lebanese Shi'ite organization was commenting on contacts for the
exchange of prisoners, mediated by Germany, and said that there have been no results
because Israel is refusing to release an appropriate number of prisoners, and
is insisting on deciding which prisoners will be released.
Sudan
says Hamas must stay within limits
Jordan Times, June 9, 2003
CAIRO (R) — Sudan has responded to US complaints about its playing host
to Hamas by saying it would review the Palestinian resistance group's status in
Sudan if it went beyond the limits of purely political activity.
Refusing
To Be Part of the Occupation Mechanism
MIFTAH, May 31, 2003
Dr. Dani Filc, faculty member in the Department of Politics and Government at
Ben-Gurion University and a member of Physicians for Human Rights, Israel's, board,
has been sentenced to 14 days in prison for his refusal to serve in the Occupied
Territories.
Palestinian
press castigates Abu Mazen
Palestinian Information Center, June 8, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - Columnists and writers in the main Palestinian newspapers
in the West Bank continued to castigate Palestinian Authority premier Mahmoud
Abbas for “compromising Palestinian rights” and “acting sycophantically
to appease Zionists and the Americans.”
Abbas
says his Aqaba speech was misunderstood, will present clarifications
Palestinian Information Center, June 8, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday
his speech in the Jordanian city of Aqaba last week was “misunderstood”
by the Palestinian public, especially by Hamas. Speaking to reporters in Ramallah,
Abbas indicated that his remarks in no way amounted to a denunciation of the Palestinian
struggle against the Israeli occupation.
Arafat
warned not to derail peace plan
The Telegraph, June 9, 2003
America warned Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, that he would be "held to
account" if he undermined US-backed peace efforts and failed to help his new prime
minister, Mahmoud Abbas, end 32 months of violence. The warning is the most serious
indication that Washington feels Mr Arafat may be actively trying to derail the
peace plan adopted at the Red Sea summit last week.
Palestinian
PM: “We are Committed to Aqabba Summit”
International Press Center, June 9, 2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, June 9, 2003, IPC-- In a press conference held Monday at
the Palestinian Media Center in Ramallah, the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmoud
Abbas (Abu Mazen), asserted his endeavor to ending the Palestinian people’s
suffering by establishing a Palestinian state and finding just solutions to both
Jerusalem and refugees problems.
Officials:
PM to go on with Aqaba process despite attacks
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon intends to continue the "Aqaba Process" despite the
Sunday terror attacks that killed five IDF soldiers, Israeli officials said overnight.
Senior Likud cabinet minister Ehud Olmert, a close deputy to Sharon, said Monday
that verbal assaults on Sharon within the party - members of whose Central Committee
hooted, booed and whistled throughout a Sharon speech Sunday night - would not
deter the prime minister.
Hamas
reiterates opposition to cease-fire talks
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
Hamas reiterated its opposition to cease-fire talks with Palestinian Prime Minister
Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, dealing a new blow to his hopes of persuading it to halt
attacks against Israelis. Abbas made a new appeal for dialogue on Monday after
Hamas pulled out of cease-fire talks on Friday, accusing him of being too conciliatory
to Israel at a peace summit last week in Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba.
Palestinian
PM seeks truce talks
BBC, June 9, 2003
The Palestinian prime minister has pledged to resume talks with militant groups
to persuade them to stop attacks on Israel. Mahmoud Abbas - better known as Abu
Mazen - also insisted there was no alternative to continuing dialogue with Israel
to reach the goal of a Palestinian state.
Sharon
Defends Peace Vow to Heckling Likud Faithful
Reuters, June 9, 2003
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon withstood jeering rightists
at a meeting of his Likud party on Sunday, defending his recognition of the need
for a Palestinian state made at a U.S.-led peace summit last week.
Abbas:
No Force Against Arab Militants
The Guardian, June 9, 2003
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - The Palestinian prime minister said Monday he will
not use force against militant groups under any circumstances, despite their stated
determination to derail a U.S.-backed peace plan with attacks on Israelis, including
two weekend shootings that killed five soldiers.
Analysis:
Abu Mazen's quandary
BBC, June 8, 2003
Three Palestinian armed groups say they were involved in Sunday's attack on the
main border between Israel and Gaza: Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the al-Aqsa Brigades.
The al-Aqsa Brigades are linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. Palestinian
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas - commonly known as Abu Mazen - is himself a long
standing Fatah member. This illustrates the scale of the problem Abu Mazen faces
as he tries to curb the activities of Palestinian militants.
PNA,
Opposition Groups Rule out In-fighting, Stress Dialogue
Palestine Media Center, June 8, 2003
The Palestine National Authority (PNA) and the opposition groups have both confirmed
that “dialogue” is a national decision and ruled out inter-Palestinian
fighting to resolve a dispute that erupted over Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas’
commitments at the Palestinian-Israeli-US summit meeting in Aqaba last Wednesday.
Bush:
"Palestinians must understand that their lives will improve under Abbas"
Jerusalem Post, June 9, 2003
US President George W. Bush on Monday continued to sound hopeful about the road
map's chances of success and expressed confidence that Palestinian Prime Minister
Mahmoud Abbas would crack down on terrorists, despite Abbas's public pledge to
use only "dialogue" to persuade militants to stop attacking Israelis.
U.S.
condemns attacks, insists peace process must continue
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
WASHINGTON - The United States stands firmly behind Palestinian Prime Minister
Mahmoud Abbas, and believes that despite renewed attacks on Israelis, the time
is still right for peace, President George W. Bush's top foreign affairs advisers
said yesterday. "What we have to do now is make sure we don't let this tragic
incident derail" the summit's gains, Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday.
Egyptian
intelligence chief to interfere again
Palestinian Information Center, June 9, 2003
Ramallah - Sources in the Palestinian Authority government have expected Omar
Suleiman, director of Egyptian intelligence, to arrive soon in Ramallah to contain
differences arising in the Palestinian arena. The sources said that Suleiman would
arrive in Ramallah on Tuesday to meet PA chief Yasser Arafat and premier Mahmoud
Abbas probably to contain the differences that arose after Abbas’ address
at the Aqaba summit in which he described Palestinian resistance as “terrorism”.
PNA
Aims to Lift Palestinians' Suffering and End Occupation
International Press Center, June 9, 2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, June 9, 2003, IPC-- The Palestinian Ministry of Information
asserted that the Palestinian government's main concern, since it gained the Legislative
Council's trust, is to lift the suffering of the Palestinian people, return to
the negotiations table and ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Lahoud
warns that narrow peace will be no peace at all
Daily Star, June 9, 2003
Exluding lebanon, syria ‘will not ensure stability’ -- President Emile
Lahoud said Sunday that any Arab-Israeli peace deal that excludes Lebanon and
Syria would not guarantee regional stability.
Press
Release: The Palestinian American Congress
Palestinian American Congress (PAC), June 8, 2003
In light of the recent developments regarding the Road Map and the Al-Aqaba Summit,
the Palestinian American Congress would like to express its position regarding
the Road Map and any future peace plans for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
A
lease of life for Fatah's inside man
The Guardian, June 9, 2003
Unrepentant Palestinian bomber Ahmed Jubarah gives his first interview after 28
years in Israeli jails -- He is the latest Palestinian celebrity: a 67-year-old
man with flowing grey hair who has swapped an Israeli prison for the Park Hotel,
the closest Ramallah has to the Ritz.
Prosecutor
who leaked report to Haaretz to face trial
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein decided last night to indict Tel Aviv Prosecutor
Liora Glatt-Berkowitz for leaking a document to Haaretz reporter Baruch Kra about
a police probe into a foreign loan given to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his
sons.
Italian
PM in Israel, amid storm over Arafat boycott
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi arrived in Israel on Monday, at the start
of a Middle East swing clouded by controversy over his boycott of Yasser Arafat,
and contentions by domestic critics that he sought to divert attention from a
corruption scandal at home.
Israel's
arms industry can help Europe close the gap
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
Acrimony between the U.S. and Europe is an opportunity for arms exporters -- A
few weeks ago, Ministry of Defense (MOD) director-general Amos Yaron received
a position paper that analyzed the future relationship between Israel's defense
establishment and Europe. The document forecasts that one aspect of the dispute
between the U.S. and the EU (European Union), which grew rancorous on the eve
of the war in Iraq, would be a rivalry over domination of the global arms market.
This would provide a golden opportunity for Israel, which could exploit the intercontinental
rivalry to expand its arms exports to Europe.
HBO:
Persona Non Grata
HBO
Without abandoning hope for a peaceful solution, the timely America Undercover
documentary special PERSONA NON GRATA offers a thought-provoking, first-hand look
at this complex conflict.
Oliver
Stone’s “Persona Non Grata” Arouses Israelis Worries
International Press Center, June 8, 2003
USA, June 8, 2003, (IPC + Agencies)-- A new documentary film “Persona Non
Grata”, directed by the well known director Oliver Stone, probes the personal
features of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian- Israeli struggle,
was screened Thursday in the United States of America among a series of
documentary films presented by the HBO US cable channel....The film aroused worry
among the Israeli public and official opinion, as they think that the film distorts
the image of Israel in the world and portrays Arafat as a historical hero, Israeli
daily “Yediot Ahronot” said on its website.
Peres
fighting to keep hold of his state-funded Tel Aviv office
Haaretz, June 9, 2003
The Knesset Finance Committee will today discuss a request by former prime minister
MK Shimon Peres (Labor) for the state to continue financing his special Tel Aviv
office allocated to him as a former premier. Peres also has an office in
the Knesset in Jerusalem since he still serves as an MK.
25%
of rubber, plastics enterprises renew trade with PA
Globes, June 9, 2003
Israel currently has 200 rubber and plastics enterprises. -- One quarter of Israel’s
rubber and plastics enterprises have recently renewed their commercial ties with
the Palestinians, according to a survey of the sector.
“The
Economist” predicts $5b foreign investment in Israel in 2003
Globes, June 9, 2003
Compared with $3.8 billion in 2002, and $11.5 billion in the peak year in 2000.
-- “The Economist” predicts in its latest edition that foreign investment
in Israel will rise in 2003, as part of the recovery in 25 emerging markets. “The
Economist” cites the Institute of International Finance (IIF) as predicting
$139.1 billion in foreign investment in emerging markets in 2003, 25% more than
in 2002, but still far below the $200 billion invested in 2000, and the $330 billion
invested in the peak year of 1996.
Wages
plunged 4-10% in Q1
Globes, June 9, 2003
Wages in all economic sectors were sharply lower in the first quarter of 2003,
compared with the corresponding quarter in 2002, except for the electricity and
water sectors, according to Central Bureau of Statistics data.
Defense
sales up 55% to record $4b in 2002
Globes, June 9, 2003
The sales include deliveries to the IDF and other security forces. Israel has
200 defense industry companies. -- Sales by Israel’s defense industry totaled
$4.01 billion in 2002, 55% more than the $2.58 billion in 2001, reports SIBAT
- Foreign Defense Assistance and Defense Export Organization. SIBAT monitors and
approves all defense exports.
Child
sickness 'soars' in Iraq
BBC, June 8, 2003
The number of children in Iraq suffering from diarrhoea and related diseases appears
to have risen dramatically in the past year, the United Nations Children's Fund
(Unicef) said on Sunday. The incidence of diseases such as cholera, dysentery
and typhoid was 2.5 times higher this May than for the same month last year, said
Unicef spokesman Geoffrey Keele, quoting from a limited survey.
UNICEF
Worried by Health Risks to Iraqi Children
Arab News, June 9, 2003
BAGHDAD, 9 June 2003 — Iraqi children are suffering alarmingly high rates
of diarrhea and related diseases, a spokesman for the UN children’s agency
UNICEF said yesterday. Geoffrey Keele told a news briefing that the incidence
of such diseases, which include cholera, dysentery and typhoid, was two and a
half times higher than at the same time in 2002.
US
soldier shot dead in west Iraq
BBC, June 9, 2003
Gunmen have shot and killed another US soldier in Iraq - reportedly after approaching
a checkpoint he was manning and asking for medical help. A statement from US Central
Command said the attack happened in the western town of al-Qaim, near the Syrian
border, on Sunday night.
Iraqis
seeking water ingested nuclear waste
International Herald Tribune, June 9, 2003
TUWAITHA, Iraq For Iptisam Nuri, a mother of five who was sick with typhoid, the
arrival of barrels in her home in April at first seemed a godsend...."We had to
find something to bring water," said Idris Saddoun, 23....The barrels, Iraqi and
foreign experts say, had held uranium ores, low-enriched uranium "yellowcake,"
nuclear sludge and other dirty by-products of Saddam's nuclear research.
Seven
men on mission improbable
The Independent, June 8, 2003
UN inspectors are assessing Iraq's largest nuclear plant. But the US will not
let them aid its own vain search for Saddam's arsenal -- UN experts are this weekend
back inside Iraq for the first time since the war against the regime began, but
they are operating under more restrictions than they were when Saddam Hussein
was in power.
UN
N-Experts Check Iraq Research Site
Arab News, June 9, 2003
BAGHDAD, 9 June 2003 — United Nations experts surveyed a looted storage
facility at Iraq’s main nuclear site yesterday under the watchful eyes of
the US military, which has placed tight limits on their activities in Iraq. The
seven experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), wearing white
protective suits, worked at a storage centre known as Site C, a three-building
complex in the vast Tuwaitha compound, 20 km south of Baghdad.
U.S.
Sidelines Exiles Who Were To Govern Iraq
Washington Post, June 8, 2003
Ex-Opposition Groups Called Disorganized -- BAGHDAD, June 7 -- Former Iraqi opposition
leaders, many of whom were brought back from exile by the U.S. government with
the expectation that they would run the country, have been largely sidelined by
the U.S.-led occupation authority here, which views them as insufficiently representative
and too disorganized to take charge.
Iraqis
Protest Oil Jobs For Asians, U.S. Soldier Killed
Islam Online, June 9, 2003
Millions of Iraqi workers, laborers, soldiers and employees have suddenly found
themselves unemployed -- BASRA, June 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) –
As hundreds of unemployed Iraqis demonstrated in the southern capital of Basra
against the employment of Asian oil workers by U.S. companies, an American soldier
was killed in a fresh attack on the occupation forces in the war-torn country.
Iraqi
health minister arrested; ICRC visits Iraqi war prisoners including former regime
officials
Arabic News, June 9, 2003
The former Iraqi health minister Omed Mubarak Medhat was arrested by the coalition
forces following a decision issued by the US administrator of Iraq Paul
Bremer in which he banned leading figures of the former regime to occupy senior
posts in the new Iraqi administrations, while the retired American gen. Jay Garner
permitted Medhat to practice his mission until his arrest on May 2nd.
Iran
sways Iraqis with food, aid
Christian Science Monitor, June 9, 2003
Tehran's support of Iraqi opposition groups like SCIRI wins hearts and minds.
-- BAGHDAD – Two months after the fall of Baghdad, it is easy to find corners
of Iraq that resemble the neighboring Islamic Republic of Iran. Some schools are
now regularly visited by religious guidance officials; mosques and universities
are enforcing a stricter form of hejab, or Muslim covering for women; and poor
areas devastated by war are receiving assistance from Iranian-funded organizations.
War
Revives Debate About DU Health Risks
Arab News/St. Petersburg Times, June 9, 2003
BASRA, Iraq, 9 June 2003 — There is no question 12-month-old Mohammed is
very sick. His skin has a ghostly pallor. His left eye is sealed shut by the huge
tumor ballooning from his cheek. Mohammed is dying of Hodgkin’s disease,
and Dr. Mohammed Al-Dorky has little doubt about the cause. “DU,”
he says.
Basra
protest against British presence
BBC, June 7, 2003
A group of around 2,000 Shi'ite Muslims have staged a demonstration against the
presence of British forces in Basra, according to reports. The protesters marched
through the southern Iraqi city demanding the withdrawal of British occupation
forces.
Iraqi
Imams Challenge Ban On Anti-Occupation Rhetoric
Islam Online, June 9, 2003
BAGHDAD, June 8 (IslamOnline.net) - Imams of Iraq’s mosques on Sunday, June
8, rebuffed U.S. military warnings to avoid “political issues” and
to halt “inciting” speeches against its forces as long as occupation
keeps presence on their land, expressing their anger that large numbers of tanks
and troops carriers are surrounding most Iraqi mosques.
All
Along, Most Iraqi Relics Were 'Safe and Sound'
Washington Post, June 9, 2003
Even if the initial numbers were overblown, the museum still suffered serious
losses. -- BAGHDAD, June 8 -- The world was appalled. One archaeologist described
the looting of Iraq's National Museum of Antiquities as "a rape of civilization."
Iraqi scholars standing in the sacked galleries of the exhibit halls in April
wept on camera as they stood on shards of cuneiform tablets dating back thousands
of years....The museum was indeed heavily looted, but its Iraqi directors confirmed
today that the losses at the institute did not number 170,000 artifacts as originally
reported in news accounts. Actually, about 33 priceless vases, statues and jewels
were missing.
Just
What Does America Want to Do With Iraq's Oil?
New York Times, June 9, 2003
Attention shoppers: Iraqi oil is for sale. On Thursday, exactly two weeks after
the United Nations Security Council lifted 13 years of economic sanctions against
Iraq and gave the United States a firm grip on one of the world's most bounteous
oil spigots, Baghdad put 10 million barrels of crude up for bid....As Vice President
Dick Cheney once observed in warning of Saddam Hussein's oil aspirations, whoever
sits atop the Middle Eastern oil market has a ``stranglehold'' on the global economy.
U.S.
troops intercept 3rd 'gold truck' fleeing Iraq
Orlando Sentinel, June 8, 2003
KIRKUK, Iraq -- Another battered truck hauling what appears to be a dazzling fortune
in gold bars was stopped at a routine U.S. Army checkpoint in Iraq on Wednesday,
the third such cache of bullion seized in two weeks.
Blair
misled us all, says widow of commando
The Independent, June 8, 2003
The widow of a British commando killed in the Iraq war has accused Tony Blair
of "deceiving" her husband with misleading claims about Saddam Hussein's weapons
of mass destruction.
No
10 ordered Reid to go on the offensive against media
The Independent, June 8, 2003
Cabinet bruiser John Reid was instructed by Downing Street to make his now famous
attack last week on "rogue elements" within the security services. His comments
have angered seniors figures in the intelligence community, who see them as an
attack on their profession. They are hoping that the Prime Minister will disown
his minister, compelling Dr Reid to apologise.
Spies
threaten Blair with 'smoking gun' over Iraq
The Independent, June 8, 2003
Senior intelligence officers kept secret records of meetings after pressure from
No 10 -- Intelligence officers are holding a "smoking gun" which proves that they
were subjected to a series of demands by Tony Blair's staff in the run-up to the
Iraq war. The officers are furious about the accusation levelled by the Leader
of the Commons, John Reid, that "rogue elements" are at work in the security services.
Blair
'duped' over out-of-date dossier
Scotland on Sunday, June 8, 2003
TONY Blair’s first dossier on the justification for war against Iraq was
almost entirely put together from information freely available on the internet,
Scotland on Sunday can reveal. The crucial document purported to contain 55 pages
of high-grade intelligence on the threat posed by Saddam, but was in fact largely
based on unclassified CIA documents, Pentagon press releases and the published
reports of American think-tanks.
'Dodgy'
Iraq dossier was error, says Blunkett
The Telegraph, June 9, 2003
Downing Street should not have published the so-called "dodgy dossier" on Iraq's
attempt to conceal its deadly weapons, David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said
yesterday. He revealed the depth of embarrassment within the Government over the
dossier, which included work lifted from a 12-year-old thesis on the internet,
and claimed Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's director of communications, had been
responsible for it.
Wheels
fall off the 'mobile labs' as doubts grow over evidence
The Independent, June 8, 2003
This paper has, from the outset, consistently questioned the legality, morality
and necessity of war with Iraq and has repeatedly called for firm evidence of
Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. In this special report we examine the growing
doubts over their existence.
Iran:
Failure to tell IAEA of 1991 uranium imports did not 'violate' treaty
MSNBC, June 9, 2003
TEHRAN, Iran, June 8 — Iran admitted Sunday it failed to inform U.N. authorities
that it imported a small quantity of uranium 12 years ago but said that failure
did not violate the international Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Gholamreza
Aghazadeh, Iran's nuclear energy chief, also urged the International Atomic Energy
Agency to widely publish the report it released to member nations last week on
Iran's nuclear program.
Iran
Reinforces Naval Presence in N. Gulf
Middle East Newsline, June 5, 2003
NICOSIA [MENL] -- Iran has reinforced its naval presence in the northern Gulf
to ensure that U.S. and other coalition vessels stay out of Teheran's coastal
waters. Gulf defense sources said Iran bolstered navy patrols in the northern
Gulf in April. But Teheran began reinforcing security measures meant to keep intruders
outside of Iranian territorial waters only over the last week.
Islam
forbids use of WMDs, says Kharazi
Jang Group, June 9, 2003
TEHRAN: The use of nuclear, chemical or biological arms is "haram," or strictly
forbidden by Islam, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said on Sunday in Iran's strongest
rejection yet of allegations that it is seeking to develop atomic weapons. But
Kharazi said exerting pressure on the Islamic republic over its nuclear energy
programme -- being developed with Russian assistance -- was counter-productive.
No
Giving Up Nuke Technology, Says Iran
Arab News, June 9, 2003
TEHRAN, 9 June 2003 — Iran said yesterday its nuclear capabilities, branded
a threat to peace by Washington, were a source of power and pride which the Islamic
Republic would not be pressured into giving up.
Opec
meets to plug oil prices
The Guardian, June 9, 2003
Opec ministers will this week call for help from non-members such as Russia to
prevent prices plunging when Iraqi oil floods back on to the market.
Arab
League discusses new situation in Iraq
Arabic News, June 9, 2003
Well-informed sources in the Arab League reported yesterday that the Arab follow
up committee of the Sharm Esh Sheikh summit will discuss in Manama, Bahrain, today
the new situation in Iraq after incidents have over-lapsed the decision of the
Arab summit to this effect.
Dubai
to host IMF and World Bank meeting
Daily Star, June 9, 2003
BEIRUT: Few countries get the privilege of hosting the annual meeting of the World
Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. These meetings, which attract
senior officials and journalists from more than 180 countries, require enormous
preparation and massive resources....Ibrahim Belselah, the general coordinator
of Dubai 2003, the organization which is hosting the conference in September of
this year, has been making final preparations to ensure that this event does not
go unnoticed. “This is the biggest financial meeting in the world and the
UAE is going to host it,” Belselah said.
Saudis
identify suicide bombers
BBC, June 7, 2003
Saudi Arabia has identified 12 bombers who were behind last month's attacks in
Riyadh, the interior ministry has said. The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA)
published the names of the men but did not specify their nationalities.
Palestinians
are driven from homes by armed Iraqis
The Telegraph, June 9, 2003
The gardens of Baghdad's Haifa Club have been turned into Middle East's newest
refugee camp as hundreds of Palestinians are driven out of their homes at gunpoint
by their Iraqi neighbours. The Haifa Club, where Palestinians came to meet, drink
coffee and play table tennis, is now packed with more than 250 tents, housing
2,000 people forced to flee.
The
ever-growing US military footprint
Asia Times, June 9, 2003
The war in Iraq is over, so that means that the troops are coming home and the
United States is reducing its presence - what military planners like to call its
"footprint" in the region, right? Well, wrong, actually. Contrary to much of the
recent news coverage about Pentagon pronouncements on the US seeking to reduce
its presence in Saudi Arabia, the fact of the matter is that when one looks at
the big picture, the US has a huge military presence in the region. And it is
not going anywhere.
Many
Americans Unaware WMD Have Not Been Found
Program on International Policy Attitudes, June 4, 2003
Four in Ten Overall -- Majority of Those Who Favored the War and Republicans Who
Follow International Affairs Very Closely -- "...this level of misinformation
suggests that some Americans may be avoiding having an experience of cognitive
dissonance." -- A striking finding in the new PIPA/Knowledge Networks poll is
that many Americans are unaware that weapons of mass destruction have not been
found in Iraq. While 59% of those polled correctly said the US has not found Iraqi
weapons of mass destruction, 41% said they believed that the US has found such
weapons (34%) or were unsure (7%).
Expanding
role of Defense Department spurs concerns
Boston Globe, June 8, 2003
Some say officials overstep bounds, limit other agencies -- WASHINGTON -- The
Department of Defense's responsibilities have grown beyond anything that military
commanders had imagined at the end of the Cold War, according to national security
specialists; some have voiced worry that the department's expanding roles could
tax the Pentagon's resources or compromise some civilian authorities.
ISM
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