Palestinian
P.M. Abbas Quits Fatah Post
The Guardian, July 8, 2003
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas resigned from
a top post in the Fatah movement Tuesday, a senior Palestinian source said, reflecting
a split within the main Palestinian political group over negotiations with Israel.
West
Bank House Hit by Apparent Bomb
The Guardian, July 8, 2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - A blast leveled a house in Kfar Yavetz, an Israeli village near
the West Bank, killing the 65-year-old woman who lived there and an unidentified
man. Police said it was apparently a suicide bombing. It would be the first such
attack since Palestinian militants declared a cease-fire on June 29. There was
no immediate claim of responsibility.
Islamic
Jihad Denies Responsibility For Tel Aviv Blast
Islam Online, July 8, 2003
GAZA CITY, July 8 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Pledging its commitment
to a three-month ceasefire with Israel, Islamic Jihad group Tuesday, July 8, denied
its reported responsibility for a powerful explosion that hit northeast of Tel
Aviv a day earlier.
IOF
Wound 4 Palestinians, Detain 9 Others in Occupied Territory
Palestine Media Center, July 8, 2003
286 Children, 76 Women among 8000 Detainees in Israeli Prisons: PNA -- July
8, 2003 - At least four Palestinians were wounded by Israeli Occupation Forces
(IOF) gunfire in the occupied Palestinian territory; Palestinian medical and security
sources said Monday. IOF troops opened fire at residential neighborhoods in the
southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, wounding three Palestinians, including two
teenagers, medics said.
Palestinians:
Scheduled Abbas-Sharon meeting postponed, not canceled
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
Palestinian officials said Tuesday that the next day's scheduled meeting between
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was postponed
rather than canceled, Israel Radio reported. The officials said that the postponement
was related to Israel's decision not to release Palestinian prisoners who were
members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad, the radio said. Palestinian officials said
earlier that the crisis involved opposition within Yasser Arafat's Fatah political
movement, of which Abbas is a senior member, to Abbas's negotiating strategy in
a new U.S.-backed peace process with Israel.
Israeli
army keeps up incursions into Palestinian towns despite truce
Palestinian Information Center, July 8, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - Palestinian officials on Tuesday denounced continued Israeli
incursions into Palestinian population centers in the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank as a “provocation” and “violation” of the cease-fire
between the two sides.
Israeli
Soldiers Used a Palestinian Woman as Human Shield
International Press Center, July 8, 2003
JENIN, Palestine, July 8, 2003, IPC-- Israeli occupation soldiers used Monday
a Palestinian woman as a human shield while they were trying to arrest her son
in the city of Tubas, north of the West Bank. Israeli soldiers used the mother
of Ahmed Daraghmeh as a human shield during their attempt to arrest her son on
Monday.
Mofaz:
Israel to act against Jihad and continue diplomatic talks
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Tuesday that Israel will continue acting against
the Islamic Jihad - which he said had planned the suicide bombing that killed
an Israeli woman north of Tel Aviv on Monday - while simultaneously maintaining
negotiations with the Palestinians, Israel Radio reported.
PA
must crack down on militant groups soon, Kurtzer asserts
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
The Palestinians must subordinate groups such as Hamas under a national governing
body if they want to "get their act together," U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel
Kurtzer said Monday night. "The analytical assumption," Kurtzer said, "is that
it has to happen in the next few months."
PA
`recommends' to media outlets: Tone down incitement
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
Letter issued by Information Ministry calls on broadcasters to advance Abu Mazen
gov't -- The Palestinian Information Ministry sent a letter last week to
the dozens of radio and TV stations in Palestinian cities recommending that they
act appropriately in light of recent political developments.
Kurtzer
says Palestinian PM is a 'relatively weak man'
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
United States Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer has called Palestinian Prime
Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) a "relatively weak man" who tends to "run away
from problems." Speaking Monday evening to some 150 rabbis and Jewish lay leaders
in Jerusalem, Kurtzer said Abbas is "doing a little bit better," in part due to
U.S. pressure.
Palestinian
female prisoners start protest steps
Palestinian Information Center, July 8, 2003
Bethlehem - Palestinian women detainees in the Zionist jail of Tritsa have started
protest steps against their cruel and difficult imprisonment conditions, according
to Palestinian legal sources.
Court
refuses to issue interim order to block assassinations
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
The High Court of Justice refused to issue an interim injunction Tuesday morning
which would prohibit the government from carry out its policy of targeted assassinations
on "ticking bombs" until the court makes a final ruling on a petition on the matter.
Supreme
Court to Hear Human Shields Case Today
Adalah, July 8, 2003
Today at 11:30 a.m., the Supreme Court of Israel will hear a petition challenging
the legality of the Israel army's use of Palestinian civilians as human shields
and/or as hostages during the course of military operations to conduct arrests
in the 1967 Occupied Territories.
High
Court to hear petition to remove Beit Jalla barriers
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
A petition to remove the blockades isolating part of Beit Jalla from the rest
of the town will come before the High Court of Justice today. The petition, filed
by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel on behalf of Lamia al-Arja of the
Talita Kumi quarter in Beit Jalla, seeks an injunction ordering the Israel Defense
Forces to remove the barriers cutting off the quarter from the town and to restore
the roads that link them.
Sharon
targets homegrown Islamists
Daily Star, July 8, 2003
Destruction of mosque foundation signals hardening of policy -- Each of Israel’s
2 main Islamist political groups, the northern and southern Islamic Movements,
have come under recent pressure -- NAZARETH: Israeli Prime minister Ariel
Sharon has been quietly flexing his muscles against Israel’s two Islamist
movements in recent weeks, leading one of the organization’s political leaders
to call the crackdown a “declaration of war on Islam.”
Blast
at Israeli Home Kills 2; Talks Center on Prisoners
New York Times, July 8, 2003
JERUSALEM, Tuesday, July 8 — Israeli and Palestinian ministers sat down
together for meetings here Monday, as the two sides worked to fill in details
of a new peace plan. But on Monday night, a powerful explosion tore apart an Israeli
home near the West Bank, and the police were investigating the incident early
today as a possible suicide bombing. Investigators found two bodies in the rubble,
one of a woman and the other of a young man, the police said.
IDF
wounds two Palestinian youths in separate incidents
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
Israel Defense Forces troops shot and wounded a Palestinian youth in the West
Bank city of Tul Karm on Monday evening. Security sources said he behaved suspiciously
and ignored orders to stop. Earlier Monday IDF soldiers on a foray into the border
town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip came under a barrage of pipebombs and shot back,
wounding a youth, witnesses and Israeli security sources said.
Two
die, 3 hurt in mystery blast in moshav house near Green Line
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
A mysterious explosion inside a house on Moshav Kfar Yavets in the Sharon area
last night killed Mazal Afari, 63, who resided in the home, and an unidentified
youth who was found on the scene when police, firemen and army sappers from the
Home Front command rushed to the area. The dead woman's three grandchildren were
slightly wounded in the blast. They said they did not know of any visitors to
the house last night.
IOF
Wounds Four Palestinian Civilians
International Press Center, July 8, 2003
PALESTINE, July 8, 2003, IPC-- Four Palestinian civilians were wounded, one critically,
Monday by Israeli occupation forces IOF in Rafah City and Tulkarim. In Tulkarim
City, another Palestinian civilian was wounded late Monday as IOF incurred into
the western neighborhood of the city. Amin Al Karoot, 16, was critically wounded
after being shot with two bullets in the leg.
Abbas,
Dahlan invited to visit Knesset next week
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
Wolf returns to region, prepares road map tracking mechanism -- Palestinian
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Security Minister Mohammed Dahlan may visit the
Knesset next week as guests of the Shinui faction, following an invitation issued
by party chairman Justice Minister Yosef Lapid. Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin
approved the unofficial invitation, but Abbas said late last night that he has
no
immediate plans to visit the Knesset.
PM
Abbas Invited to Address Knesset, amid Flurry of Palestinian – Israeli Ministerial
Meetings
Palestine Media Center, July 8, 2003
July 8, 2003 - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) was invited
by the Shinui faction to visit the Israeli Knesset early next week amid a flurry
of Palestinian-Israeli ministerial meetings. The Palestine National Authority
(PNA) Minister of Information Nabil Amre said Tuesday that the invitation to PM
Abbas has yet to be confirmed by both Palestinian and Israeli sides.
Lieberman
blasted for suggesting drowning Palestinian prisoners
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
A storm erupted in the Knesset plenum yesterday, following Transport Minister
Avigdor Lieberman's reported proposal to provide buses to take the Palestinian
prisoners that Israel releases to a place "whence they will not return." According
to another report, Lieberman said the prisoners should be drowned in the Dead
Sea and he would provide the buses to take them there.
Islamic
Jihad claims attack but leaders stand by cease-fire
Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2003
The Islamic Jihad Tuesday claimed responsibility for Monday's suicide attack in
Kfar Yavetz near the coastal city of Netanya, but faction leaders said that they
were not connected to the attack and were committed to the cease-fire.
Islamic
Jihad leader to Post: Attacks will continue
Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2003
An Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin said terror attacks will resume, because he claimed
Israel has not kept its side of the bargain. "Since Israel has not kept the Hudna,
Islamic Jihad and Hamas therefore cannot sit by and maintain the cease-fire, the
attacks will resume," Bessam Sa'adi, Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin, told the Jerusalem
Post in an exclusive telephone interview.
"Truce"
or Dare!
Al-Hayat, July 8, 2003
The Islamic resistance groups warned of reverting on their decision to cease military
operations if the Israeli camp keeps violating its commitments. In this regard,
Dr. Ramadan Shallah, leader of the Islamic Jihad, said the resistance might actually
go to action, meaning that it might not wait to issue a statement on resuming
military operations....Still, I found Abbas very optimistic, and he told me that
U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice understood the Palestinian position
and has promised to help, especially regarding the security wall and the settlements.
A
militant who defies cease-fire
Christian Science Monitor, July 8, 2003
MOUNIR MOQDAH: Based in Lebanon, he leads a splinter branch of the Al Aqsa Martyrs
Brigade. -- AIN AL-HILWEH PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CAMP, LEBANON – At a time
when the major militant Palestinian groups have suspended their attacks on Israel,
a strong voice in this overcrowded refugee camp in Lebanon continues to advocate
the intifada.
PA
minister : We must cease all incitement
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr said yesterday that the Palestinians
must change their tone and stop incitement, irrespective of the steps taken by
Israel. He was speaking during a meeting with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom at
the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem where the joint committee for preventing incitement
convened for the first time.
Gaza
removes inflammatory graffiti in gesture to Israel
The Independent, July 8, 2003
The dense graffiti that lines every street in the Gaza Strip calling for resistance
to Israeli occupation, which has become Gaza's most memorable sight, is to be
removed under the resurgent peace process.
Netanyahu:
Separation fence will be built under any treaty
Globes, July 8, 2003
NIS 1.8 billion has already been budgeted for completion of the fence between
Israel and the West Bank. -- In a meeting this morning with “Globes”,
Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu said the Green Line separation fence would
be part of any political settlement with the Palestinians.
'Incitement'
dominates Mideast talks
Financial Times, July 8, 2003
Israeli and Palestinian ministers yesterday sought to find common ground on the
vexed issue of "incitement" to violence. The two sides are holding a series of
meetings to add momentum to the US-backed road map to peace and a ceasefire announced
by Palestinian militant groups. Silvan Shalom, Israeli foreign minister, told
Nabil Amr, Palestinian information minister, that the last week had seen a change
for the better in the nature of news coverage in the Palestinian official media.
Mideast
peace process in danger of collapse
Financial Times, July 8, 2003
The fragile US-backed peace process between Israel and the Palestinians was in
danger of collapse on Tuesday after a faction of Islamic Jihad, the militant group,
claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on Monday that killed an Israeli
woman. Palestinian groups, who agreed to halt military operations against Israel
on June 29, have been pressing for large scale prisoner releases and warning that
without these the ceasefire will not hold.
Court
to discuss legality of IDF assassinations, `neighbor policy'
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
The High Court of Justice is holding a hearing today on the legality of the IDF's
extra-judicial execution policies and the "advance warning" orders that have replaced
the "neighbor practice," which used civilians as human shields during IDF operations.
The court also will hear a petition by human rights groups charging that the IDF
is in contempt of court because instead of halting the human shield practice -
prohibited by an earlier court order - all it did was rename it to "advance warning."
Zionist
entity grants principled approval to re-operating of Gaza airport
Palestinian Information Center, July 8, 2003
Rafah - The Zionist entity has declared principled approval for the re-operation
of the Gaza airport that was destroyed by the occupation army during the Aqsa
intifada. Palestinian Authority minister of communication and transportation,
Dr. Saady Al-Karanz, has said that Tel Aviv had agreed in principle to the rebuilding
of the devastated airport.
Halevy:
NCC kept out of Palestinian issue
Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2003
Outgoing National Security Council director Ephraim Halevy said Monday that during
his tenure the council was not asked to prepare policy recommendations concerning
the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Halevy, who is a former Mossad
director, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that he decided
to resign from the post, after only 10 months in office, after it became apparent
that he did not have the "conditions necessary to function."
US
urged to involve Syria in peace with Israel
Jordan Times, July 8, 2003
CAIRO (AFP) — Presidents Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Bashar Assad of Syria
on Monday urged the United States and other key diplomatic players to bring Syria
and Lebanon on board the new Arab-Israeli peace process. The two leaders “called
on the international quartet to direct its efforts towards the Syrian and Lebanese
tracks to achieve a comprehensive and just peace,” according to a statement
read by Mubarak's adviser Osama Baz after the talks.
President
Katsav says Syria hampering peace efforts
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
ANKARA, Turkey - President Moshe Katsav said Tuesday Israel was seeking peace
agreements with Lebanon and Syria but accused the Syrian leader of hampering efforts
for peace. "Unfortunately, Syria's president, by taking steps that are different
to those of his father, is increasing the number of problems between us," Katsav
said in reference to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Palestinians
urge Israel to free activists
Jordan Times, July 8, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Palestinian ministers warned their Israeli counterparts
Monday that the peace process would be damaged if members of resistance groups
were not freed from prison, amid further signs of a thaw in relations between
the two sides. Prisoner affairs minister, Hisham Abdul Razeq, told Israeli Justice
Minister Tommy Lapid that the release of such prisoners, which has so far been
ruled out by Israel, would help strengthen the government of Prime Minister Mahmoud
Abbas.
Palestinians
fear damage to ‘road map’
Daily Star, July 8, 2003
Officials warn peace process may stumble if prisoners are not freed -- Palestinian
officials warned their Israeli counterparts Monday that the peace process would
be damaged if members of radical groups were not freed from prison a confidence-building
measure deemed essential for keeping the militants from resuming attacks. But
despite the apparent deadlock over the prisoners, there were signs of a thaw in
relations with Palestinians and Israelis pressing ahead with an ambitious effort
to help ease hatreds between the two sides.
Israel
may release handful of Hamas, Jihad prisoners
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
Israel may include a few prisoners from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the next wave
of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of the cease-fire agreement. Security
sources told Haaretz yesterday that despite the principle not to release
activists of the Palestinian opposition groups, there had been discussions this
week on the possibility of releasing a handful of such prisoners.
Prisoner
Warning for Israel
Arab News, July 8, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 8 July 2003 — Palestinian Authority ministers yesterday
warned their Israeli counterparts that the peace process would be damaged if members
of radical groups were not freed from prison, amid further signs of a thaw in
relations between the two sides.
ISM:
Another protest camp to block the Wall
International Solidarity Movement, July 8, 2003
Camp against the thievery of land - Another tent goes up to block the Wall --
Monday July 7, 2003, another solidarity camp went up in the West Bank in protest
over the thievery of land and in an attempt to stop the apartheid wall being built
by the government of Israel. Citizens from the USA, Sweden, France, the
UK joined Palestinian villagers as they set up a peace camp in the village Arrabony
in the north of the West Bank.
ISM
Updates
International Solidarity Movement, July 8, 2003
Demonstration at Azmut checkpoint July 12 / Roadblock Removal Planned for July
9 / Checkpoint Watch, Qalqilia July, 5 2003
Hear
Palestine July 8, 2003
Hear Palestine
NEWS: Jenin: Israeli Soldiers Open Fire at Residents North of City / Hebron: Occupation
Army Confiscates More Land East of City / Gaza Strip: Ongoing Settlement Road
Activities South Khan Younis FEATURES: Palestinian Detainees Go On
Food Strike
Occupation
Chronicle Events in Palestine July 8, 2003
Palestine Media Center
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) wounded four Palestinians, including three teenagers,
in the northern Gaza Strip town of Rafah and the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem.
Meanwhile, an armed Israeli settler opened fire at Palestinian farmers, south
of Tulkarem.
Advocacy
group calls attention to detainees in Israeli prisons
Daily Star, July 8, 2003
The Follow-up Committee for the Support of Lebanese Detainees in Israeli prisons
called for raising the issue of Lebanese detainees in Israeli jails. In a message
sent to Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the group called for taking advantage of
the current cease-fire between the Israelis and Palestinians to re-open the issue,
and called on Lebanese officials to raise the matter with regional authorities.
“Three years have passed since the Israeli withdrawal from the South. But
nothing is known of the Lebanese detainees,” the group said in its message.
Ranteesi:
Zionist allegations voiced to cover up for violations
Palestinian Information Center, July 8, 2003
Gaza - Dr. Abdul Aziz Ranteesi, political bureau member of the Hamas Movement,
has retorted to Zionist allegations that his Movement was exploiting the truce
to build up a store of Qassam missiles saying that the charge was meant to cover
up for the repeated Zionist violations.
Egyptian
delegation to meet with Hamas leaders
Palestinian Information Center, July 8, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - Egypt is to dispatch a delegation of intelligence officials
to the Gaza Strip Wednesday to meet with Hamas leaders including the group’s
founder and spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yasin.
Egyptian
officials due in Gaza for security meet
Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2003
An Egyptian delegation headed by a high-level security service official, General
Mustafa al-Buheeri, is expected in Gaza City on Wednesday, the website albawaba.com
is reporting. Unnamed Palestinian security sources told the the Jordan-based website
the visit's main goal would be to "strengthen the truce" Palestinian groups have
announced in attacks on Israel, as part of the US-backed "road map" peace plan.
Background
/ A bomb, Abbas, and wars of words
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
In a region where mere words can kill - and kill peace hopes with regularity -
a suicide bombing has come at the worst time for Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud
Abbas, whose brief premiership could become the signal victim of wars of words
breaking out on a number of fronts at once.
Mistrust
reigns despite peace moves
BBC, July 5, 2003
It is hoped that the return of Palestinian policeman will be a step towards peace
-- Under a blazing sun the police commander stood fingering his dark shirt, like
a nervous bridegroom trying out his suit. He and his men had been out of uniform
for almost a year. Now Israel was letting Bethlehem's police get back to work
on their own streets - one more step along US President George W Bush's roadmap
for peace.
Iran
claims it has missile that can reach Israel
The Guardian, July 8, 2003
Iran yesterday claimed to have conducted final tests on a missile capable of reaching
Israel and US forces around the Middle East, and was poised to deploy the weapon
with its armed forces. The claim, confirming an Israeli allegation last week,
is certain to heighten tensions with the US, amid allegations from Washington
that Iran was making rapid progress in a clandestine programme to build nuclear
warheads.
SIS’s
Report: 2616 Killed, 27000 houses destroyed, More than $ 1 Milliard Inflicted
the Agricultural Sector
International Press Center, July 8, 2003
GAZA, Palestine, July 8, 2003, IPC-- In a report prepared by the Palestinian National
Information Centre at the State Information Service (SIS), the number of the Palestinians
killed at the hand of Israeli soldiers amounted to 2616 including 571 children
(below 18 years old) since the outbreak of Al Aqsa Intifada in September
29, 2000 till May 31, 2003.
Give
a Year of Education Fund
Palestine Monitor, July 8, 2003
Anabta, West Bank, 8 July, 2002 -- I and my wife, Elizabeth Price, are writing
to ask whether you would be interested in making a donation to the Give a Year
of Education Fund, a project that we have set up to support the education of grade
school and high school students in Anabta, my village in the northern West Bank.
The ongoing political instability has devastated Anabta’s local economy,
leaving many families unable to pay school fees, which they have always viewed
as the best investment they can make in their children’s future.
Financial
reform sparks heated debate
Jerusalem Times, July 3, 2003
The issue of reform has seen many questions since it was begun by the Palestinian
National Authority. Varying positions regarding reform exist, but that did not
impede the process. Financial reform seems to attract the most attention, especially
after the wide-scale debate that arose with the establishment of the PNA about
its financial performance and the criticism of that performance by internal and
external parties.
World
Bank advises donors to support PNA budget
Jerusalem Times, July 3, 2003
The World Bank advised donor countries to afford the PNA’s current year
budget all the support they can to ensure continuity of basic services. The bank
stressed the importance of Israeli commitment to forward income payable to the
PNA to the Palestinian Treasury.
Kingdom
Donates $1.8m to UNRWA
Arab News, July 8, 2003
RIYADH, 8 July 2003 — Saudi Arabia has donated $1.8 million to the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),
bringing the total Saudi contributions to $60 million to this UN agency. The Kingdom
has also launched a project to renovate and construct more than 2,500 homes in
collaboration with the UNRWA, said Karen Koning Abu Zayed, the UNRWA’s deputy
commissioner general.
Peretz
slams damage to labor relations
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
Labor relations "are collapsing as a result of the damage done to collective wage
agreements by, among other things, the government's economic policy," Histadrut
chairman Amir Peretz said yesterday.
Netanyahu:
We are democratizing the economy
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
"Competition is like democracy – the right to choose between alternatives.
Absence of competition is akin to tyranny." -- "We are going through a process
of major change in the Israeli economy, a shift from a centralized to a competitive
marketplace," Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech at TheMarker
Forum, at the Tel Aviv Dan Panorama Hotel Tuesday.
Foreigners
invest $3.1 billion in Israel since start of year
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
Since the beginning of the year, foreign investors have injected $3.1 billion
into shekel-denominated assets, according to updated calculations by Balfour Ozer,
Bank of Israel's acting manager of the foreign currency department.
Profile:
John Abizaid
BBC, July 8, 2003
General Abizaid says he loves the Arab world -- Lieutenant General John Abizaid
faces high expectations in his role as the new man in charge of US Central Command.
He is trumpeted as the man who could help sway the hearts and minds of people
in the Middle East. The grandson of Christian Lebanese immigrants, he is a fluent
Arabic speaker who professes to love the Arab world.
U.S.
Army wants to buy more Israeli Hunter drones
Haaretz, July 8, 2003
Unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Israel Military Industries were very successful
in Iraq war -- The United States army is interested in purchasing additional
Israeli-made Hunter drones, which took part in the war in Iraq. The American corporation
Northrop Grumman, the U.S. Army's main supplier of Israeli drones, has received
a request for 14 to 24 drone systems at an estimated cost of $60 to $70 million.
Iran
acts to stop anniversary student protest
The Guardian, July 8, 2003
The Iranian government is taking action to pre-empt possible unrest tonight on
the eve of the anniversary of a crackdown on student protests by banning rallies
and jamming satellite broadcasts from exiles in the US.
US
arrest of soldiers infuriates Turkey
The Guardian, July 8, 2003
Explosives find suggests Ankara wants to destabilise Kurdish Iraq -- The Turkish
army chief of staff, General Hilmi Ozkok, frustrated by the waning Turkish influence
in northern Iraq, vented his fury at the US yesterday, declaring a "crisis of
confidence" between the two countries.
Fresh
transatlantic row looms
EU Observer, July 8, 2003
The US is facing yet another diplomatic dispute with Europe. Its closest transatlantic
ally -the UK - has expressed "strong reservations" about US plans to try two of
its citizens imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay before military tribunals. The decision
to hold a military rather than a regular civilian trial with six 'al-Qaeda suspects'
was announced by the US administration last week. [Links to related stories]
MPs'
fury at secret US trials of 'terror' Britons
The Guardian, July 8, 2003
Geneva convention breached, claims minister -- Tony Blair is facing the most serious
crisis in his relations with George Bush after ministers criticised the president
for ruling that two Britons are to stand trial before a military court which can
order executions. Amid rising anger across the political spectrum, the Foreign
Office minister Chris Mullin yesterday all but accused the US of breaching the
Geneva convention as he expressed "strong reservations" about the secretive trial.
