Four
Palestinians dead in Israeli 'arrest operation'
The Guardian, June 27, 2003
The Israeli military killed three Palestinian militants and a civilian bystander
today, just as Palestinian negotiators reported "remarkable progress" on the issue
of Israeli troop withdrawal from parts of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Sheikh
Yassin: Hamas has reached decision to call a truce
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
The Palestinian militant group Hamas said Friday that after studying "all the
developments," it had reached a decision to suspend attacks on Israel. "Hamas
has studied all the developments and has reached a decision to call a truce, or
a suspension of fighting activities," Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin told Reuters.
But a senior Israeli government source responded coolly to the announcement, saying
any truce signed by the militant group "is not worth the paper it's written on."
Israel
wants U.S. to guarantee terror groups will disarm
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
Israel is asking the United States for guarantees that the Palestinian Authority
will dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in areas where it assumes security
authority - as it is obligated to do under the road map peace plan - rather than
settling for an agreement with the terrorist organizations on a cessation of attacks.
Israel
Promises 'Harsh Reaction' If a Palestinian Cease-Fire Fails
Forward, June 27, 2003
JERUSALEM — Israel is threatening a "harsh reaction" — including the
"elimination" of the current Hamas leadership in Gaza and the possible expulsion
of Yasser Arafat from Ramallah — if and when the emerging Israeli-Palestinian
cease-fire falls apart.
3
Palestinians injured in Balata
Palestinian Information Center, June 27, 2003
Nablus - 3 Palestinians were inured last night in the Balata refugee camp east
of Nablus when a Zionist tank opened fire towards the main entrance to the camp.
4
prisoners transferred to hospital
Palestinian Information Center, June 27, 2003
Bethlehem - The prisoners Ahmed Al-Bargouthi and Musa Dudeen were transferred
to the prison hospital in the Ramleh prison after their condition deteriorated.
The two prisoners went on hunger strike for the past 25 days in protest at their
treatment and stopped taking water lately.
Brother
and sisters injured and 7 Palestinians arrested
Palestinian Information Center, June 27, 2003
Gaza - Israeli occupation forces arrested 6 Palestinians at the Abu Hooly checkpoint
north of Khan Yunis. Palestinian sources stated that occupation forces arrested
the 6 Palestinians after stopping the rented Mercedes at the Abu Hooly military
checkpoint north of Khan Yunis....In addition, occupation forces on Friday morning
attacked the West Khan Yunis Refugee Camp with heavy machine-gun fire and tank
bombs that damaged a number of houses.
Israel
Demolishes House of Gaza Police Chief
Arab News, June 27, 2003
GAZA CITY, 27 June 2003 — The Israeli Army bulldozed a house in Beit Hanun
belonging to the northern Gaza Strip police chief, a Palestinian security source
said. The army “destroyed the house of Col. Majed Al-Kafarneh, the head
of Palestinian police in the northern Gaza Strip,” a spokesman for the national
security services said.
Zionists
arrest Qassam commander, invade Jenin
Palestinian Information Center, June 27, 2003
Jenin – Zionist special forces arrested last night the commander of Qassam
Brigades in the Jenin area Wael Ejjawi (21 years). The arrest took place around
1:00 am at the village of Barqeen (3Km from Jenin). Zionist occupation forces
accuse him of being behind many attacks that took place inside occupied Palestine.
Occupation
forces impose curfew on Bethlehem villages
Palestinian Information Center, June 27, 2003
Bethlehem - Israeli occupation forces imposed a curfew on a number of villages
west of Bethlehem including Hosaan, Nahaleen and Bateer after a Zionist car was
targeted on one of the settlement roads in the area and shot at.
Report:
A sharp increase in torture, ill treatment and violence in GSS interrogations
Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, June 26, 2003
On the occasion of the UN International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture
today, June 26, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) published
some of its finding on torture in Israel. These findings are part of a report
that will be published by PCATI in the coming weeks.
Separation
in the making
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
Within a few days, the Defense Ministry will begin construction of a second separation
fence in Baka al-Garbiyeh in the Triangle. The fence will deprive some residents
of their land, and completely block passage to the adjacent village of Baka al-Sharqiyeh....However,
contractors are ready to begin preparing land for building a second fence on the
Green Line, west of the first fence. The Defense Ministry has announced it will
seize dozens of dunams of land on both sides of the fence for this purpose, and
intends to demolish houses on the Palestinian side.
When
Palestinian aid workers become victims
Electronic Intifada/IFRC, June 26, 2003
Mohammad F. Awad knows the face of death. A six-year-old girl has died in his
arms; he has recovered dead militia fighters and carried their bodies four floors
down to the basement. Once, a bullet penetrated the ambulance window, whizzing
past his head.
Dummy
outposts
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 26 June - 2 July 2003
Settlers quietly re-establish outposts after Israeli army dismantles them. --
More than 1,000 Israeli police officers and soldiers struggled all day last week
to remove an "illegal" outpost -- home to 10 settlers -- on a hilltop south of
the Palestinian city of Nablus. Hundreds of other settlers, mainly Jewish religious
extremists, came to defend Mitzpe Yitzhar after a court order preventing the dismantling
of the site was finally lifted on Thursday. It was the first inhabited settlement
to be taken down.
Four
Palestinians, One Israeli soldier killed in Gaza clash
Al-Bawaba, June 27, 2003
Israeli troops early Friday killed near Gaza City four Palestinians, including
two Hamas activists, Palestinians said. According to press reports, Israeli soldiers
entered the village of Mujarkha, apparently looking for Adnan al-Ghul, who is
in charge of developing Qassam rockets and anti-tank missiles.
IOF
Kills Four Palestinians and Blows up Two Houses in Gaza
International Press Center, June 27, 2003
GAZA, Palestine, June 27, 2003, (IPC)--Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed
early Friday four Palestinian citizens and destroyed two house in the village
of Al-Mughraqa, south of Gaza. More than fifteen Israeli tank, armored vehicles
and bulldozers swept the village of Mughraqa killing four citizens and destroyed
two house[s].
IDF
soldier, four Palestinians killed in Gaza roundup
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
IDF Staff Sergeant Erez Ashkenazi, from Kibbutz Reshafim in the Beit She'an Valley,
was killed early Friday in a Gaza Strip operation to root out Palestinian militants
suspected of planning a terror attack. Three Palestinian gunmen and one Palestinian
civilian were also killed, and 15 Palestinians and one soldier were wounded in
the operation, which began early Friday morning in Gaza City. The IDF arrested
an additional three Palestinian suspects in the course of the operation.
PA
official: Deal reached on IDF pullback in Gaza, Bethelehem
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
Israel and the Palestinian Authority have reached an agreement for an IDF pullback
in the Gaza Strip and West Bank city of Bethlehem, a Palestinian official said
Friday. Officers from both sides will meet Sunday to finalize details and the
pullout from Gaza is estimated to begin as soon as Monday.
Islamic
Militants in Gaza Accept Truce
The Guardian, June 27, 2003
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - The Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups have agreed to
a three-month suspension of attacks on Israelis, a senior militia official said
Friday, providing the first confirmation by the militants that such a deal has
been reached.
Hamas
Okays Truce, Delays Announcement
Islam Online, June 27, 2003
Declining to say when it would be declared, Sheikh Yassin said the ceasefire would
carry conditions and timeframe. -- GAZA, June 27 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies)
– The Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas has reportedly agreed
to suspend attacks against Israeli targets, but its senior leaders said an announcement
was yet to be made as talks are still under way with other Palestinian factions
for a joint formula.
Israel,
Palestinians close to security deal
Middle East Online, June 27, 2003
Negotiations continue amid escalating violence -- Israel and the Palestinians
appeared on the verge of a deal Friday for Israel to pull out of part of the occupied
territories and hand over policing to the Palestinian Authority, sources on both
sides said.
Hamas,
Jihad Trash Bush’s Double Standards
Arab News, June 27, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 27 June 2003 — Palestinian resistance groups yesterday
took strong exception to US President George W. Bush’s appeal to governments
around the world to work to dismantle them.
Mid-East
press sceptical of Rice visit
BBC, June 25, 2003
With US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice due in the Middle East later
this week, most Arab newspapers view her visit as another way of putting pressure
on the Palestinians. Israeli papers, on the other hand, are alarmed by the prospect
of a ceasefire, seeing the US-backed roadmap peace plan as a threat to Israel's
security.
Israel
calls Corrie death 'accident'
BBC, June 27, 2003
The Israeli army has closed an investigation into the death of a US peace activist
crushed by one of its bulldozers, saying it was an accident and that no action
would be taken against the soldiers involved....Eyewitnesses, including fellow
protesters from the International Solidarity Movement for whom Corrie was a volunteer,
said that the 23-year-old was clearly visible to the bulldozer operator and was
deliberately killed.
Hamas
leader signals truce
BBC, June 27, 2003
Sheikh Yassin's remarks are very significant -- The spiritual leader of
the Palestinian militant group Hamas says it has decided to suspend "fighting
operations" against Israelis. In a television interview in Gaza City, Sheikh Ahmed
Yassin said this was not yet a formal ceasefire, and that Hamas was working with
other Palestinian factions on a joint statement.
Hamas,
Islamic Jihad, Fatah near deal on 3-month cease-fire
Daily Star, June 27, 2003
Announcement expected ahead of Rice’s weekend visit -- A formal cease-fire
announcement is expected before the arrival of a senior US envoy this weekend,
Palestinian officials said Thursday, after they secured a commitment from Islamic
militants to halt attacks on Israelis for three months.
Don't
trust Dahlan, outgoing Southern Command chief warns
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
Major General Doron Almog does not have great faith in Mohammed Dahlan. The head
of the Israel Defense Forces' Southern Command and the Palestinian Minister for
Security are old acquaintances: In 1994, Almog, then a brigadier general, oversaw
the IDF's redeployment in the Gaza Strip under the "Gaza and Jericho First" agreement.
Fateh
warns of Israeli attempts to shatter unity
Jerusalem Times, June 26, 2003
The mainstream group Fateh movement decried Hamas official, Abdul Aziz el Rantissi's
remarks where he said that Israel targeted him hours after a joint Palestinian
–Israeli security meeting. Rantissi in a published article at an Islamic
site on the internet connected the Israeli failed attempt to kill him and the
security meeting hinting there was a Palestinian green light.
In
West Bank, for each unauthorised outpost taken down another seems to go up
Palestine Monitor, June 25, 2003
On a rocky West Bank hilltop overlooking the Jordan River Valley, a teenager with
dust-matted hair digs a well to supply five mobile homes put up a week ago in
violation of a US-backed peace plan. Jewish settlers appear to be establishing
unauthorised outposts faster than the Israeli military tears them down.
Evacuations
proceed amid clashes
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
The outpost known as Hill 66 near Kiryat Arba was evacuated yesterday by the Israel
Defense Forces for the fourth time in 48 hours. Members of the outlawed Kach movement,
who are behind the repeated attempts to settle the hilltop, announced that a fifth
attempt would be made in the near future.
IDF
told villagers they'd be home in two weeks
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
The residents of the Upper Galilee villages of Ikrit and Biram have been trying
to return home since they were first evicted by the Israel Defense Forces in 1948,
during fighting on the Lebanese border. One week after the IDF conquered Ikrit,
the village's 600 Catholic residents were ordered out of their homes, with the
military telling them they would be allowed to return "when the security situation
permitted."
Related story: High
Court rejects the right of Ikrit refugees to return home
EU
Needs no Lessons from Bush on Terrorism
Alternative Information Center, June 27, 2003
BRUSSELS (AFP) — The European Union needs no lessons from US President George
W. Bush on tackling terrorism, Brussels said Thursday after Bush urged the EU
to starve Hamas resistance group of money and support. “We bow to no one
in our rejection of terrorism,” said a spokeswoman for EU External Relations
Commissioner Chris Patten following an EU-US summit in Washington.
Stop
funds for Hamas, says Rice
The Guardian, June 27, 2003
The US national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, yesterday urged the European
Union and Arab countries to block all funds to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other
Palestinian militant groups. In London en route to the Middle East, Ms Rice, who
has been asked by President Bush to take charge of trying to broker an Israel-Palestinian
peace process, described Hamas and Islamic Jihad as "rejectionists" because they
were, until now, unwilling to accept the existence of Israel.
Qassam
Brigades hold Americans responsible for assassinations
Palestinian Information Center, June 27, 2003
Gaza - Two Qassam Brigades engineers (Hamas), a member of Aqsa Brigades (Fatah)
and a member of Quds Brigades (Islamic Jihad) have been killed in clashes with
Israeli occupation forces in Gaza early this morning.
Campaign
of arrests intensifies
Palestine Monitor, June 26, 2003
The Israeli army’s campaign of arrests and detentions continued yesterday
morning when Israeli troops invaded the West Bank town of Jalboun, near Jenin.
Witnesses say soldiers entered the town at 3am, imposed a curfew, and held approximately
300 Palestinians in the grounds of the local school. They were held there through
out the day, not permitted to eat or drink.
PM
takes issue with Poraz on citizenship, conversion
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz was on the hot seat yesterday at a tense meeting
in the Prime Minister's Office devoted to issues related to citizenship and conversion
to Judaism. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made clear his opposition to Poraz's proposed
changes to current citizenship laws that grant automatic Israeli citizenship to
anyone who has converted to Judaism in Israel under Orthodox auspices.
Netanyahu:
Times will be tough before they start to get better
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said things will get worse in the economy
before they get better. "There will be an initial difficult period, but afterward
there will be quick and strong growth," he told a forum of CFOs from Israel's
leading companies.
Netanyahu
pushing for additional NIS 1B. cut
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the Knesset Finance Committee for approval
of a further cut of nearly NIS 1 billion in the state budget for 2003, after the
cabinet approved the request during a meeting some two weeks ago.
Gay
Pride Parade in Tel Aviv; Lapid calls for equal rights
Haaretz, June 27, 2003
The Gay Pride Parade - the central annual event of the Israeli gay community -
kicked off Friday afternoon in Tel Aviv with a gathering in Rabin Square. In a
speech marking the start of the parade, Justice Minister Yosef Lapid called for
equal rights for homosexuals, Army Radio reported.
Netanyahu:
Money is beginning to arrive
Globes, June 26, 2003
"The improved global economy, improved security situation, and construction of
the separation fence, will lead to growth." -- “We’re going through
a difficult year, after which I believe we’ll see growth. When growth begins,
it will be faster and stronger. The important thing to know to move in the right
direction,” said Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu today.
Israel's
June 25th incursion into Rafah's Hay Salaam district
Electronic Intifada, June 26, 2003
As days were slipping into summer days on June 25th, Israel invaded the Hay Salaam
area on the border of Rafah -- with 20 tanks, 4 bulldozers, and 2 Apache combat
helicopters -- demolishing four houses, 3 farms, and a garden. The damage in the
Hay Salaam area is as follows: Husein Qeshta, 30 olive trees / from the al-Shaer
family, 30 olive trees / Owad al-Shaer, 100 olive trees / Muhammed Abu Salah,
a garden with mango, lemon, guava trees / Husein Abd il-Aal, one floor, 160 square
meter house (8 people) / Mohammed Abd il-Aal, two floors (10 people)
One
thousand days, more than 3000 people killed
Electronic Intifada/International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,
June 26, 2003
One thousand days of violence have killed just over 3,000 people (2,398 Palestinians
and 704 Israelis) and left 28,000 injured (23,150 Palestinians and 4,849 Israelis)
in Israel and the Palestinian Autonomous and Occupied Territories. This is the
human toll since the second Intifada started on September 29, 2000, according
to figures from the Palestine Red Crescent (PRCS) and Magen David Adom (MDA),
Israel's equivalent of a Red Cross or Red Crescent Society.
Creative
UNDP design shelters environment and children
Jerusalem Times, June 26, 2003
Wrecked cars; tires, tires and more tires! This is the disconcerting image that
one sees whilst entering some West Bank towns, where people live in an unstable
political climate, under the regular imposition of closures. Most villages and
towns are grappling with how to deal with the problem of solid waste in such difficult
circumstances.
Respect
for court rulings demanded
Jerusalem Times, June 26, 2003
Politicians and scholars participating in a recent workshop about Palestinian
institutions called for activating the independence of the judiciary and respecting
court rulings as a means to achieving a just and democratic civil community.
Islamic
Jihad website attacked by Zionist hackers
Palestinian Information Center, June 27, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - A statement issued by the Islamic Jihad movement that reached
the Palestinian Information Center said that Zionist hackers attacked the Islamic
Jihad website www.abrarway.com that defends
the Palestinian cause against Zionist occupation.
Hamas
beats Fatah to pay compensation for clashes
Daily Star, June 27, 2003
Group earns political capital from skirmishes -- Hamas has paid damages to the
inhabitants of Ain al-Hilweh [refugee camp in Lebanon] following last month’s
clashes between Fatah, the biggest of the PLO’s factions, and the Islamists’
Al-Ansar and Al-Nour factions. The battles, which lasted for 14 hours on May 20,
resulted in the death of seven people and more than 50 wounded. The Al-Ansar
and Al-Nour groups, which had scored breakthroughs against Fatah, maintained their
positions in defiance of Fatah.
Syria
demands explanation after US fails to return injured border guards
Jordan Times, June 27, 2003
DAMASCUS (AFP) — Syria says it is still awaiting an explanation from the
United States a week after five of its border guards were detained in a US special
forces raid on the frontier with Iraq. The foreign ministry has yet to receive
any response to a formal protest it lodged with US Ambassador Theodore Kattouf
on June 19, the same day the raid took place, the official SANA news agency said
late Wednesday.
