2
militants killed in north; Israeli shot dead by Palestinian
Haaretz, June 26, 2003
Two Palestinian would-be suicide bombers were shot dead Thursday afternoon by
Israeli security forces near Baka al-Garbiyeh, only hours after a Palestinian
teenager shot dead an Israeli in the northern village, situated close to the Green
Line border.
Israeli
killed near Green Line
Middle East Online, June 26, 2003
Fatah offshoot claims killing of Israeli in village of Baqa al-Gharbiya near Green
Line as assailant nabbed. -- KIRYAT SHMONA, Israel - An Israeli was killed Thursday
in a shooting attack near the village of Baqa al-Gharbiya which straddles the
Green Line between Israel and the West Bank, Israeli medical sources said.
Secondary
school pupil killed by Zionist forces
Palestinian Information Center, June 26, 2003
Ramallah - A Palestinian family from the Kober village west of Ramallah blamed
Zionist occupation forces for the death of their son Feras Hussain Al-Bargouthi
(18), who was a student in secondary school. The Bargouthi family said that occupation
forces are responsible for the death of their son who was pursued by Zionist patrol
yesterday afternoon in the Beir Zeet village in his car when he crashed into another
car dying as a result.
Arafat:
Truce could be announced in few hours
Middle East Online, June 26, 2003
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said Thursday the Palestinian
factions could announce a truce in the coming hours, but the radical Hamas and
Islamic Jihad groups said it was still a matter of days.
US
wants the EU to outlaw Hamas
EU Observer, June 25, 2003
Washington sees Hamas as a terrorist organisation that should also be outlawed
by the EU -- US president George W. Bush wants to see the EU outlaw the political
wing of the Palestinian organisation Hamas, reports Spiegel online. Spiegel online
quotes an anonymous source from the US government saying that the question will
be put on the agenda at the EU-US summit starting in Washington today (25 June).
Washington sees Hamas as a terrorist organisation. The EU, on the other hand,
divides Hamas into the political and the military and believes that Hamas has
an important role to play in the Middle East peace process.
Rice
calls for outlawing of Hamas
Haaretz, June 26, 2003
LONDON - U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, en route to the Middle
East, called for the total outlawing of Hamas on Thursday and urged patience with
Iraq's messy reconstruction. Ahead of weekend talks with Israeli and Palestinian
leaders, Rice urged both Arab and EU nations to help the peace process by breaking
off with Hamas' political wing.
Hamas
condemns Bush’s statements, calls him “ignoramus”
Palestinian Information Center, June 26, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - Hamas, the Palestinian Resistance Group, has denounced statements
made yesterday by US President Bush in which he called for dismantling the movement.
“Nobody can dismantle Hamas or any other Palestinian groups,” said
Hamas leader Abdul Aziz al Rantisi.
Army
decides to close file on death of U.S. peace activist
Haaretz, June 26, 2003
An investigation conducted by the IDF Southern Command determined that the driver
of the bulldozer had not seen Corrie and had not intentionally run over her. --
The Military Advocate General, Major General Menahem Finkelstein, has decided
to close the file on the death of American peace activist Rachel Corrie, who died
after being crushed by an army bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in March.
Occupation
forces raid Nor Shams
Palestinian Information Center, June 26, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - Palestinian eyewitnesses in the south of Tulkarem stated
that large number of occupation forces surrounded the Waha leisure club south
of Tulkarem for several hours last night. Eyewitnesses added that occupation forces
seized all the civilians inside the club, from children to old people for several
hours, the women and children were set free but the men were held for longer before
all the seized civilians were set free.
Postcards
to Jewish Residents of Jerusalem: Report Arab Houses in the City
Alternative Information Center/Y-Net, June 26, 2003
Thousands of postcards calling for the 'Judaisation of Jerusalem' were distributed
in the past few days throughout the city. The postcards, placed in the mail boxes
of West Jerusalem residents, calls on people "to report Arab houses which can
be purchased, broken into or destroyed."
Palestinians
Intend to Privatize the Karni Border Crossing; It Will be Operated by a US Company
Alternative Information Center/Maariv, June 26, 2003
The Palestinian Minister of Finance, Salam Fayyad, is acting to privatize the
Karni border crossing and award its operation to an American company. Fayyad raised
this suggestion with the Israeli Minister of Finance and authorities in the security
establishment in order to obtain Israeli agreement to the move. It was revealed
that contacts on this matter are already being conducted with an American company.
Rabbis:
`Build new outposts instead of fighting for old'
Haaretz, June 26, 2003
The Council of Yesha Rabbis has decided to change its tactics in the struggle
over the settlement outposts: Instead of advocating a stubborn fight for every
outpost, like those that occurred at Mitzpeh Yitzhar and Havat Gilad, it proposes
agreeing to evacuation, but then immediately establishing an alternative outpost.
Hear
Palestine, June 26, 2003
Hear Palestine
NEWS: LATEST NEWS: 2 Killed in Major Israeli Military Escalations in Jenin / Jenin:
Elderly Man Critically Wounded in Israeli Fire / Hebron: Home Demolished; Ongoing
Raids and Arrests / Israeli Army Demolishes Home North of Gaza City / Israeli
Army Opens Fire at Fishermen in Gaza; 2 Wounded / Tulkarem: Land Confiscated by
Military Order / Nablus: New Settlement Outpost South; Ongoing Military Campaign
/ Qalqilya: Military Reinforcements. Confiscation of Land by Settlers / Bethlehem:
Tightened Military Siege; Raids and Arrests / Deir al-Balah: 3 residents Arrested
/ Ramallah: Israeli Army Isolated 20 Villages / 52 Detainees in Asqalan Declare
Open Food and Water Strike FEATURES: Bethlehem residents Expect
Usual Show of Israeli Withdrawal / Al-Nusseirat Refugee Camp Suffers from Economic
and Water Crises / Racist Jewish Group calls for Campaign to Judaise Jerusalem
Palestinian
detainees on new wave of hunger strikes
Palestinian Information Center, June 26, 2003
Jenin - Palestinian detainees in the Zionist Negev prison yesterday went on a
one day hunger strike after prison administration ignored their demands especially
treatment of sick and wounded detainees.
Hamas,
Islamic Jihad slam Bush's comments
Middle East Online, June 26, 2003
Two hardline movements blast Bush's call to cut off its funding, say he endorses
Israel's crimes against Palestinians. -- GAZA CITY - Hamas and the Islamic Jihad
movements on Thursday slammed US President George W. Bush's call for a crackdown
on Palestinian militants groups. US President George W. Bush comments against
Hamas were "offensive towards to the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim peoples," said
a senior leader of the hardline movement Thursday.
Israelis
kill two after Hamas 'agrees to stop suicide attacks'
The Independent, June 26, 2003
Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups have agreed to stop suicide bombings
and other attacks on Israelis in a three-month ceasefire, unconfirmed reports
said yesterday. But senior figures inside Hamas denied it, and shortly after the
ceasefire reports emerged Israeli helicopters fired rockets into two cars in the
southern Gaza Strip in an attack on militants that could wreck any agreement.
Palestinians
enraged at Israel’s raid
MIFTAH, June 25, 2003
Palestinian representatives expressed their anger at Israel for Tuesday’s
raids on West Bank cities. They condemned the Israeli government for detaining
mass numbers of Palestinians from Hebron and Nablus, accusing them of trying to
sabotage efforts to reach a truce with Palestinian factions in order to move forward
with the ‘roadmap’ to peace.
High
Court orders halt to evacuation of Adei Ad outpost
Haaretz, June 26, 2003
The High Court of Justice on Thursday issued a temporary injunction forbidding
police from continuing the evacuation of the unauthorized West Bank outpost of
Adei Ad North, located between Ramallah and Nablus.
Truce
announcement not expected until weekend
Haaretz, June 26, 2003
A formal announcement of an agreement by armed Palestinian groups to cease attacks
on Israelis is only likely to be made on Saturday or Sunday - in Cairo and in
the territories simultaneously - Israel Radio reported Thursday.
Palestinian
militants offer 3-month truce
The Guardian, June 26, 2003
Three Palestinian militant groups yesterday agreed to suspend attacks on all Israeli
targets for three months. However, the agreement between Hamas, Islamic Jihad
and Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction was almost immediately endangered when Israel
attempted to assasinate a Hamas member, injuring him but killing two innocent
people.
Encouraged
by Bush Statements, Israeli Assassination Policy Threatens Imminent Truce
Palestine Media Center, June 26, 2003
June 26, 2003 - Hopes of a breakthrough in efforts to start implementing the US-sponsored
“roadmap” plan have been dispelled by the Israeli government of Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon’s insistence to continue its extra-judicial assassination
policy, encouraged by the US President Bush’s announcement Wednesday that
declaring a Hudna (truce) by Palestinians is not enough.
Endless
Sufferings of Palestinian Students
International Press Center, June 26, 2003
Commenting on the situation of Palestinian students abroad, director of higher
education department in the Ministry of Higher Education, Dr. Mohammed Abu Jarad,
told the IPC in an interview that there're many students studying abroad who haven't
been able to go back to their universities.
PM
Abbas Concerned of Israeli Procrastination , Fate of Truce Talks "unclear"
International Press Center, June 26, 2003
GAZA, Palestine, June 26, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)- -Palestinian Prime Minister
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) voiced concern Wednesday of the Israeli government's
procrastination to implement the "Road Map" peace plan, under the pretext
of Palestinian side inability to stop violence.
Palestinian
Legal Advisor: Israel Hinders Reaching a Truce
International Press Center, June 26, 2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, June 26, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- Michael Tarazi, legal advisor
of the Palestinian negotiation team, was reported saying Thursday that Israeli
military actions against the Palestinian people impede Palestinian National Authority
(PNA) endeavors to reach an agreement with Palestinian factions on a truce with
Israel.
Arafat,
Hamas Differ on Cease-Fire Timing
The Guardian, June 26, 2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said Thursday a formal cease-fire
announcement was imminent after Palestinian negotiators secured a commitment from
Islamic militants to halt attacks on Israelis for three months.
France
stalls push for EU action against Hamas
Jordan Times, June 26, 2003
BRUSSELS (AFP) — Britain wants stepped-up EU action against Palestinian
resistance group Hamas, but France is reluctant to back any such initiative, diplomats
said after the issue was again discussed in Brussels Wednesday. EU countries'
ambassadors therefore put off a decision on cutting off funding for Hamas, which
would require unanimity, the sources said.
Bush
Urges ‘Dismantling’ Hamas, E.U. Reluctant
Islam Online, June 26, 2003
WASHINGTON, June 26 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.S. President
George W. Bush urged the European Union Wednesday, June 25, to take "swift and
decisive" action to starve Islamic resistance movement Hamas of money and support,
but the bloc put off such a decision amid clear opposition from some of its members.
Saladin
highway is key to Israeli-Palestinian deal
Jordan Times, June 26, 2003
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip (AFP) — The Gaza Strip's main north-south axis,
totally impassible in parts and under heavy Israeli guard along its length, is
one of the main sticking points in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the future
security control of the territory.
PFLP
statement on "cease-fire"
Alternative Information Center/Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
June 26/23, 2003
As the talk continues about a so-called truce and cease fire, we in the Popular
Front maintain that any truce that grants the occupation army and its agencies
an exception, allowing them to continue their aggression under what is called
"targeted killing", and with time bombs, such a truce in fact is only giving Sharon
a free hand under international protection to continue his bloody terror, leaving
the fate of our people, our militants, and our patriotic leaders to the mercy
of the occupation army and to the good intentions of the terrorist Sharon.
Intifada
enters into quadruple figures amid renewed peace hopes
Jordan Times, June 26, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — As the Palestinian uprising passed the 1,000-day mark
amid unabated bloodshed, hope was emerging that a truce agreement could herald
the implementation of a peace plan and break the Intifada's daily cycle of violence.
'Jews
expelled from Arab states demand compensation'
Jordan Times, June 26, 2003
TEL AVIV (Agencies) — A group representing Jewish refugees from Arab countries
on Wednesday demanded compensation for property they left behind, while acknowledging
that Palestinian refugees must also be dealt with fairly.
As
Bush seeks Jewish voters, traditional groups feel ignored
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 26, 2003
WASHINGTON, June 23 (JTA) — When President Bush sat down to dinner with
about 120 Jews at the White House recently, many familiar faces in the organized
American Jewish community ate at home. Instead of Jewish organizational leaders,
the guest list for the dinner, which honored the opening of an Anne Frank exhibit
at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, included Jewish friends of the president,
political supporters, rabbis and Jewish White House staffers.
Nesseiba
leads new treacherous campaign
Palestinian Information Center, June 26, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - Dr. Sari Nesseiba, rector of the open Quds University, has
declared a new campaign in cooperation with Amy Eilon, former chief of the Zionist
intelligence apparatus the Shabak, to collect signatures on a doctrine stipulating
a final settlement to the Palestinian-Zionist conflict surrendering basic national
Palestinian rights.
Islamic
Jihad denies leader’s trip to Egypt
Palestinian Information Center, June 26, 2003
Gaza - The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement has denied press reports that its
secretary general, Dr. Ramadan Shallah, had traveled to Cairo to discuss the so-called
truce in resistance operations against Zionist targets.
PA
closes down Islamic radio station
Palestinian Information Center, June 26, 2003
Gaza - Palestinian Authority intelligence agents closed down the “Voice
of Aqsa” radio station on Tuesday at the pretext it did not obtain prior
permit from the concerned authorities. Well informed sources said that a unit
of the PA general intelligence apparatus stormed studios of the radio station
in Gaza city that was on the air only five days ago.
Israel:
Open letter concerning the use of ill-treatment and torture on Palestinian detainees
World Organisation Against Torture, June 25, 2003
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT),
the world’s largest network of NGO’s fighting against torture, has
been informed by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), a member
of the SOS-Torture network of a gravely troubling situation in the Israel and
the Occupied Territories. PCATI has reported the use of ill-treatment and torture
- including the use of various forms of torture that were outlawed by a 1999 Israeli
High Court of Justice ruling - in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
Weekly
Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
19-25 June 2003
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Israeli occupying forces have continued to conduct human rights violations against
Palestinian civilians, including extra-judicial killings, collective punishment,
shelling of and incursions into Palestinian areas, house demolitions and agricultural
land leveling and arbitrary arrest and detention. This week 19-25 June 2003,
5 Palestinians, including 2 women, were killed by Israeli occupying forces.
Israel
expels Choo, the journalist who helped foreigners
Haaretz, June 26, 2003
Choo Xsin, the Chinese journalist who advised foreign workers on how to avoid
deportation, was expelled from Israel last night. Choo was deported despite Interior
Minister Avraham Poraz's efforts to alter the decision and despite an offer by
Haaretz Publisher Amos Schocken to employ her.
The
fading bloom of Israel’s desert
Globes, June 26, 2003
Haifa Technion researchers warn that there will be no plants, clean water, place
to live, or air to breathe. -- “The Ministry of the Environment and the
environmental organizations must fight to prevent waste and inappropriate use
of land, the building of new cities, the suburbanizing of Israel, and the use
of open spaces for construction,” write Prof. Yoram Avnimelech and Dr. Ofira
Ayalon.
Meretz
nominates Haredi MK for prime minister
Jerusalem Post, June 25, 2003
The secularist dovish Meretz Party raised eyebrows in the Knesset on Wednesday
when it agreed to co-sponsor a no-confidence motion from the United Torah Judaism
faction that names UTJ MK Rabbi Meir Porush as an alternative candidate for prime
minister.
ALD
in multi-million dollar Lockheed-Martin tender finals
Globes, June 26, 2003
ALD’s systems in the tender are designed for compatibility with hundreds
of companies and suppliers working with Lockheed-Martin in the Joint Strike Fighter
project. Baran Group subsidiary ALD has reached the finals of a Lockheed-Martin
(NYSE: LMT) tender for the supply of systems for reporting airplane malfunctions.
ALD said the multi-million dollar tender was the largest in which it had competed
since 1984.
Food
manufacturers report NIS 250m in 2003 food sales to PA
Globes, June 26, 2003
Manufacturers Association Food Division chairman Gazi Kaplan: A lull in the conflict
will probably boost sales by 5%, and create 1,500 jobs. -- 80 food enterprises
currently trade with the Palestinian Authority (PA), and have sold products worth
NIS 250 million, about the same as in 2002, Manufacturers Association Food Division
chairman, Osem VP, and Tivall Group chairman Gazi Kaplan said today at a press
conference marking Food Industry Day.
Dubious
PM to get casino plan next week
Haaretz, June 26, 2003
Mifal Hapayis, the state lottery, will present its plan for the establishment
of five casinos to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon next week - despite earlier remarks
by Sharon that it would be a mistake for Israel to have a casino.
Supreme
Court president believes Israel does better human rights job than US
Jerusalem Post, June 26, 2003
Supreme Court president Barak...said the court in Israel tries to strike a better
balance between national security needs and human rights. -- A group of 47 men
and women from English-speaking countries, most of them lawyers, arrived in Israel
earlier this week for a special mission organized by Shurat Hadin, an organization
established to conduct lawsuits against the Palestinian Authority on behalf of
terror victims.
Health
system heads downhill
Haaretz, June 26, 2003
The standard of medical treatment in Israel is about to decline dramatically.
Lines for operations and treatment will soon be longer and the main victims will
be the poor and the residents of outlying districts, say senior Health Ministry
officials and directors of hospitals and Health Maintenance Organizations.
Arab
Business Council born in Dead Sea
Middle East Online, June 26, 2003
Business council is to enhance competitiveness of Arab region, facilitate its
integration into global economy. -- SHUNEH, Jordan - More than 50 top Middle Eastern
business leaders launched an Arab Business Council at the World Economic Forum
here Monday to bolster regional competitiveness and ties with the world community.
French
Editor Jailed For “Questioning” Holocaust
Islam Online, June 26, 2003
PARIS, June 26 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - An appeals court on Wednesday,
June 25, upheld the six-month prison sentence of an editor who published works
that called into question the scope of the Jewish Holocaust.
Two
Palestinians shot dead in Israel
Middle East Online, June 26, 2003
JERUSALEM - Two Palestinians were shot dead Thursday by Israeli security forces
as they were attempting to infiltrate the Jewish state from the West Bank, Israeli
public radio reported.
Arab
League Calls Information Ministers to Promote Reforms
Arab News, June 26, 2003
CAIRO, 26 June 2003 — Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa urged Arab
information ministers yesterday to encourage the news media in their countries
to debate badly needed political, economic and social reforms.
Arab
press review
Financial Times, June 26, 2003
A weekly look at some of the news and views published in the leading Arabic-language
newspapers
Saudi
Student ‘Missing’ After FBI Arrest
Arab News, June 26, 2003
WASHINGTON, 26 June 2003 — A Saudi student who three years ago sued a US
airline for racial profiling after being ordered off a flight in handcuffs has
been taken into custody by the FBI. The FBI arrested Muhammad Al-Qudhaieen, a
student at Arizona State University in Tucson, on June 13. His wife, Mohdi Al-Qudhaieen,
told reporters that despite her many calls, the FBI would not tell her why he
was in custody or where he is being held.
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