Arafat,
Abbas reach agreement to end internal dispute
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser
Arafat reached an agreement Monday evening to end the recent tensions between
them, sparked by Abbas' resignation from the Central Committee of Arafat's Fatah
movement. "The disputes are over and things are all right," Abbas told reporters
after the talks ended.
PM
meets Blair after Straw rebuffs call to end Arafat ties
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
LONDON - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with his British counterpart Tony Blair
on Monday evening for talks over dinner at 10 Downing Street, during which Sharon
was expected to urge a rethink of British support for Palestinian Authority Chairman
Arafat. Earlier in the day, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told Sharon that
Britain would continue to work with Arafat, despite Sharon's contention that the
Palestinian leader should be removed from power, a British official said.
U.K.
checking data on journalist mistaken for Real IRA man
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
LONDON - British intelligence is rechecking the truth of information recently
sent to Israel about a Northern Irish bomb expert suspected to be in the West
Bank and helping Palestinian terror cells. The John Morgan arrested Saturday near
Ramallah turned out to be a journalist and pro-Palestinian peace activist, not
a member of the Real IRA.
Palestinian
Groups To End Truce If Weapons Seized
Islam Online, July 14, 2003
GAZA CITY, July 13 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Palestinian resistance
movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad threatened Sunday, July 13, to end their freeze
on anti-Israeli attacks if the Palestinian Authority attempted to confiscate their
weapons.
Palestinian
Prisoners Negotiations Reach A Stalemate
Islam Online, July 14, 2003
GAZA CITY, July 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The Palestinians sought
Monday, July 14, to break an impasse with Israel over the release of prisoners
through international interference. "The problem has reached stalemate and needs
international intervention to force Israel to change its stance," Hisham Abdelrazeq,
minister for prisoners affairs, said during a sit-in in support of the prisoners
at the International Committee of the Red Cross headquarters in Gaza.
Officers
favor freeing Hamas, Jihad prisoners
Haaretz, July 13, 2003
Senior officers increasingly agree with the need to free Hamas and Islamic Jihad
prisoners Israel holds, despite the opposition of the Shin Bet, which believes
the timing is not right to free activist prisoners from Palestinian opposition
groups.
Israeli
confiscation of Palestinian land
MIFTAH, July 14, 2003
The Palestine National Authority (PNA) would like to draw your attention to a
new Israeli confiscation of Palestinian land, this time in the southern West Bank
town of Al-Khadher. A number of Palestinian owners of agricultural land in Umm
Rukba south of Al-Khadher (No. 03/4/T) were handed a military order dated 10 July
200, and signed by the so-called Commander of IDF in Judea and Samaria Moshe Kablinsky
Olof, confiscating hundreds of dunums of the town’s land “for military
purposes,” effective the date of signing the order.
Breaking
News: IOF fires on Rafah neighborhood
International Press Center, July 14, 2003
19:10--Israeli soldiers, stationed at watching towers in Rafah, opened heavy machine
guns on Palestinian houses in the neighborhood of Tal El-Sultan, in Rafah City.
Several houses were damaged, no wounded were reported, Palestinian security sources
said.
IDF
post in Gaza attacked
Jerusalem Post, July 14, 2003
An Israel Defense Forces post in Gaza came under heavy automatic weapons fire
this morning, a military source told The Jerusalem Post. "At around 10 am this
morning, Palestinian terrorists attacked an IDF base at Gadid in southern Gaza.
The post, which is manned by elite Givati brigade troops and protects a civilian
Jewish community there, returned fire," the source said. No Israeli civilian or
security casaulities were sustained in the attack.
Palestinian
Prisoners in Israeli Jails Start a Hunger Strike
International Press Center, July 14, 2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, July 14, 2003, IPC-- Sixty Palestinian prisoners in Israeli
jail of “Hadareem” started Monday a hunger strike in protest of remanding
their unlawful detention and the ruthless measures taken by Israeli jails’
authorities against them.
ISM:
Update on hearing of 8 ISMers / ACTION ALERT
International Solidarity Movement, July 13, 2003
1) Update / Appeal / ACTION ALERT, 2) Press release: Eight peace activists threaten
Israeli security, 3) Letter from an Israeli prison cell, 4) Notes from jail
Ramallah
under closure as search continues for cabbie
Haaretz, July 15, 2003
The Israel Defense Forces placed a closure on the West Bank city of Ramallah on
Monday afternoon, Israel Radio reported, as security forces continued to scour
the area for missing Israeli taxi driver Eliyahu Gurel. Gurel, 61, has been missing
since Friday night and is believed to have been kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists,
and is likely being held by a local Fatah faction.
Jailed
Palestinians Seek Driver's Release
The Guardian, July 14, 2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - Representatives of Palestinian prisoners jailed by Israel called
for the release of an Israeli taxi driver feared kidnapped by militants, a gesture
that could help shore up fragile peace moves.
PA:
Most Palestinians live below poverty line
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
A Palestinian Authority official said yesterday that 70 per cent of Palestinian
families live below the poverty line due to what she termed oppressive measures
by the Israeli army. Palestinian Authority Social Affairs Minister Intisar al-Wazir,
better known as Umm Jihad, said the Israeli Army siege and closures had caused
deteriorating living conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Arafat
Calls Quartet to Send International Observers
International Press Center, July 14, 2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, July 13, 2003 (IPC + WAFA)- - Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat called upon the Quartet committee to move immediately to dispatch international
monitors to ensure the implementation of the “Road Map” peace plan.
Arafat's remarks came during a joint press conference with Mr. Igor Ivanov; the
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, after a meeting held earlier in Arafat's
compound.
High
Court rejects petition to remove roadblocks leading to Nablus
Jerusalem Post, July 14, 2003
The High Court of Justice Monday rejected a petition calling on the army to remove
roadblocks preventing the residents of three Palestinian villages from reaching
the regional capital of Nablus. The petitioners, the Association for Civil Rights
in Israel and Physicians for Human Rights, charged that the army had placed a
siege on the three villages with their 10,000 inhabitants.
Belgium
to revise war crimes law
EU Observer, July 13, 2003
In its first act after taking office, Belgium's re-elected centre-right government
has decided to revise its war crimes law which has landed it in so much political
hot water recently. The law, which gave Belgian courts the power to try any war
crimes case, wherever the crimes were committed, had been used in attempts to
indict the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, US President George W Bush and
UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
Report:
Israel agrees to halt forays into Lebanese skies
Al-Bawaba, July 14, 2003
The command of the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon (UNIFIL) has received
a pledge from the Israeli government to halt Israeli air force forays into Lebanese
skies as of midweek, the Beirut-based An Nahar newspaper reported Monday.
Rights
groups protest poor conditions in women's prison
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
The prisoners charge that the wardens beat them with clubs, used water cannons
and tear gas, prevented them from seeing a doctor and invaded their privacy when
they refused to return to their cells after the evening walk. -- Physicians for
Human Rights (PHR) plans to lodge complaints with the police against several jailers
involved in violent confrontations in the security wing of Neveh Tirza women's
prison last week. The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel complained to
Public Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi yesterday, charging that the security
prisoners have been denied medical care and other necessities, such as regular
changes of clothing.
Israel
resists pressure to free more prisoners
Financial Times, July 14, 2003
Israel is continuing to resist pressure for a bigger release of Palestinian prisoners,
telling the UK on Monday that its own security needs must take precedence. Ariel
Sharon, Israel's prime minister, made clear in private talks with Jack Straw,
the UK foreign secretary, that there were some prisoners it felt unable to set
free.
British
Jewry, envoy to London slam Israel's boycott of BBC
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
LONDON - A sharp disagreement has erupted in the Foreign Ministry over its policy
toward the BBC. Over the weekend, Israel's ambassador in London, Zvi Stauber and
prominent members of the British Jewish community sharply criticized the Israeli
government's decision to impose sanctions on the British broadcasting service.
Palestinian
refugees, angry at result of survey, trash pollster's office
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
Dozens of furious Palestinian refugees wrecked a local pollster's office yesterday
to stop him from releasing a survey showing that most Palestinian refugees are
not interested in returning to Israel. The refugees pelted Palestinian academic
Khalil Shikaki with eggs as they burst into his Ramallah office, overturning tables
and smashing windows, moments before he was to release the survey results.
IDF
commanders note slowdown in W. Bank operational activity
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
"The combatants are complaining," the anti-tank commander said. "For a year, we
worked almost every night; but during the whole of last week, we made only two
arrests.." -- The three commanders of the Paratroop Brigade's elite units sounded
somewhat disappointed over the weekend. "There has been a slowdown in our operational
activity," the commander of the brigade's reconnaissance unit reported to his
superiors, with the commanders of the brigade's engineering and anti-tank units
echoing his sentiments.
Pressure
grows on Israel over death of cameraman
The Guardian, July 14, 2003
The mother of James Miller, the award-winning journalist killed while working
in Israel, has urged Tony Blair to press for a formal investigation into his death
when he meets the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, today.
Dizzying
growth seen in Haredi Betar Ilit on W. Bank
Haaretz, July 13, 2003
A demographic revolution is under way in the West Bank. In about three years,
one of the two large Haredi towns in the West Bank, Betar Ilit and Modi'in Ilit,
will assume the title of "the largest Jewish city in the territories," surrendered
from the current holder, Ma'aleh Adumim....The numbers speak for themselves. In
1996, Betar Ilit comprised 5,000 people and 1,200 households. Today it has a population
of 24,000 and 4,700 households.
Prisoners
endanger their live in protest at dire conditions
Palestine Monitor, July 10, 2003
The Palestinian Prisoners society reported this week that four Palestinian prisoners,
who were being held by the Israeli authorities in the Qaddoumi detention center,
had been transferred to a prison hospital. Issa Qaraka, the head of the Prisoner’s
society, said on the 4th of July the four prisoners carried out acts that endangered
their lives, in order to protest the dire conditions in which they are kept in
the detention facility.
PNGO
calls for halting of conditional support
MIFTAH/Palestinian NGO Network, July 14, 2003
Some Donor agencies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are setting unacceptable conditions
for providing financial support to Palestinian NGOs. Such conditions include a
pledge titled ‘Certification Regarding Terrorist Financing’ that must
be signed by Palestinian NGOs prior to entering into funding agreements.
Labor
lawmakers visit Gaza Strip settlements
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
Eleven of the 19 Labor Knesset members went on a tour of the Jewish settlements
in the Gaza Strip yesterday. The Shin Bet prohibited Shimon Peres, Labor's temporary
chair, from joining the tour for security reasons. The MKs visited Neveh Dkalim,
Kfar Darom and Netzarim. "The campaign to dismantle the settlements in the Katif
bloc is not designed to delegitimize the settlers, who were sent there by Israel's
various governments, but designed against government policy," MK Amram Mitzna
said at Kfar Darom.
Mazen
demands freedom for Arafat
Jerusalem Post, July 14, 2003
The Palestinian prime minister demanded that Israel allow Yasser Arafat to move
freely, while Israel's premier urged Europe to end its contacts with Arafat and
accused him of trying to sabotage peace efforts.
Barghouti
faces more 'solitary'
BBC, July 14, 2003
An Israeli court has ordered prominent Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti to
remain in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison for a further six months.
Mr Barghouti, the West Bank head of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, is on trial
for multiple murder charges relating to shooting attacks against Israelis.
Palestinian
Leader Denounces Trial
The Guardian, July 14, 2003
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - A leader of the Palestinian uprising who is on trial for
murder accused Israel on Monday of rigging his trial and said he had no faith
that the court could reach an objective verdict. Israel has charged Marwan Barghouti,
one of the Palestinians' most popular figures, with 26 counts of murder for his
alleged role in attacks against Israelis.
Barghuti’s
Israeli Trial Resumes, Adjourns
Palestine Media Center, July 14, 2003
‘I Am Isolated, They Want to Kill Me’, Says Palestinian MP --
July 14, 2003 - Palestinian Legislative Council member Marwan Barghuti said during
his trial in Tel Aviv on Monday that Israelis were trying to kill him by keeping
him in solitary confinement. “I am isolated in a cell infested with cockroaches.
They want to kill me,” said the leader of Fatah movement in the West Bank.
Barghuti:
Israel trying to kill me
Middle East Online, July 14, 2003
West Bank Fatah leader accuses Israelis of trying to kill him by keeping him in
solitary confinement. -- TEL AVIV - Senior Palestinian official Marwan Barghuti
said Monday during his trial in Tel Aviv that the Israelis were trying to kill
him by keeping him in solitary confinement. "I am isolated in a cell infested
with cockroaches. They want to kill me," said the leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah
movement in the West Bank.
Barghouti
refuses to testify in Israeli court
Al-Bawaba, July 14, 2003
Three Israeli judges hearing the trial of the West Bank Fatah movement's secretary
general and leader of the Tanzim, Marwan Barghouti at the Tel Aviv District Court
criticized Israeli Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein on Monday for calling Barghouti
a "mass-murdering architect of terrorism" before the latter's trial had ended.
Zionist
court orders Barghouthi in solitary confinement for six more months
Palestinian Information Center, July 14, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - A Zionist court in Tel Aviv on Monday postponed the trial
of imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan el-Barghouthi for another six months. The court
ordered the Palestinian national leader to be detained in solitary confinement
in order to prevent him form coming into contacts with the outside world.
Fayyad:
A Concrete Reform Achieved Once Israeli Occupation Ends
International Press Center, July 14, 2003
ALBIEREH, Palestine, July 14, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies)-- Palestinian Finance Minister,
Salam Fayad, said Sunday that fruitful Palestinian reform efforts can be attained
just in case the Israeli occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories comes
to an end.
Arafat
Is, Will Remain Legitimate President of Palestinian People: Abbas
Palestine Media Center, July 14, 2003
July 14, 2003 - Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) reconfirmed Sunday that
Yasser Arafat is and will remain the legitimate and elected President of the Palestinian
people, and called on Israel to let him travel freely, amid an Israeli campaign
to sideline the Palestinian leader.
New
bid to heal Arafat-Abbas rift
Middle East Online, July 14, 2003
Further efforts were being made Monday to heal a damaging rift between Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat and his prime minister Mahmud Abbas Monday as Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon took his campaign to render his arch foe Arafat irrelevant
to London.
Abbas
will work to release missing driver
Jerusalem Post, July 14, 2003
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas called Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz Sunday night,
promising that he will work to release the missing Israeli taxi driver, if in
fact he was kidnapped.
Searches
fail to locate missing cab driver
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
No group claims responsibility for apparent kidnapping of Eliyahu Gurel
-- The fate of the Israeli taxi driver who disappeared from Jerusalem on Friday
remained a mystery yesterday, despite intensive searches by both Israeli and Palestinian
police.
IDF
shuts down Ramallah as searches for missing driver continue
Jerusalem Post, July 14, 2003
The IDF imposed a closure on the West Bank city of Ramallah Monday afternoon,
as searches continued for missing Israeli taxi driver, Eliahu Gurel. The Palestinian
security chief in the Gaza Strip, Tawfik Tarawi said Monday that he has set up
an operations room to coordinate searches after Gurel, Israel Radio reported.
Israeli
army imposes curfew on Ramallah
Palestinian Information Center, July 14, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - The Israeli occupation army on Monday imposed a strict curfew
on the West Bank town of Ramallah without any explanation. The curfew, a completely
repulsive and draconian measure, came despite the virtual termination of hostilities
from the Palestinian side, prompting Palestinian officials to accuse the Zionist
regime of seeking to “ignite the situation anew.”
Enshrining
Racism in Law - Proposed Nationality and Entry into Israel Law
B'tselem, July 14, 2003
The Proposed Nationality and Entry into Israel (Temporary Order) Law, 5763 –
2003, has passed its first reading in the Knesset and on Monday, 14 July, was
debated in the Knesset’s Internal Affairs and Environment Committee. The
decision was postponed to a later date. The purpose of the proposed bill is to
prevent family unification. If enacted, it will affect tens of thousand of persons,
including many children.
Hear
Palestine July 14, 2003
Hear Palestine
NEWS: Rafah: Homes Attacked with Heavy Machinegun Fire / Curfew Imposed on Ramallah
and Beit Rima / Israeli Ministry Threatens to Demolish 2 Homes in Shu'fat / Jenin:
Resident Arrested from Kufer Ra'i FEATURES: Dividing Wall Isolates
Um Al-Rihan from the Outside World / Um Al-Ajin Gate Source of Suffering for Deir
Al-Balah Residents / Al-Kafriyat Military Roadblock: Stage for Humiliation
Occupation
Chronicle Events in Palestine July 13, 2003
Palestine Media Center
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) tightened the siege imposed on more than 23 villages
and towns in the Ramallah governorate. Meanwhile, IOF wounded a Palestinian woman
in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis.
ISM:
Qalqiliya farmers will march
International Solidarity Movement, July 13, 2003
THE WALL IS THE ISSUE -- [JAYYOUS, Qalqiliya Region] On Monday, July 14, 2003
farmers of the Qalqiliya district will march from Jayyous down to the fence that
has been erected to isolate them from their land. This march is scheduled to coincide
with a visit to the region by an aide to Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmound
Abbas as a statement by the farmers that there can be no peace and no peace process
as long as this apartheid wall remains.
ISM:
Deportation hearing / Statement from ISM prisoners and more....
International Solidarity Movement, July 13, 2003
A digest or actions / reports since Friday July 11. -- 1) Internationals facing
deportation in Trial on Sunday, 2) Deported? We have done nothing wrong: Statement
from internationals in prison, 3) Another Roadblock Removal: Jenin, 4) Freedom
Summer continues
Adjusting
to 'peace' in Gaza
BBC, July 13, 2003
New times have brought new tasks for Gaza City's public employees. They're whitewashing
the walls. It's not civic pride, but part of the peace process. In the streets
around the Islamic University, as elsewhere, workers have removed graffiti glorifying
attacks on Israel.
Collecting
arms going on despite PA denials
Palestinian Information Center, July 14, 2003
Gaza - The Palestinian Authority government of Mahmoud Abbas has been trying to
deny it was collecting arms in the Gaza Strip but media and security reports affirmed
that the campaign was in full swing. The reports said that PA general security
units had started a large-scale campaign a few days ago in the Strip to collect
whatever unlicensed arms they might find at roadblocks.
Ties
top agenda as Sharon lands in UK
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
LONDON - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrived in London yesterday evening for talks
with his British counterpart, Tony Blair. Sharon will spend three days in the
British capital, where he will meet leaders of the Labour and the Conservative
parties, the heads of the local Jewish community and newspaper editors. Today,
he will meet with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, and tonight he will have a private
dinner with Blair at 10 Downing Street.
Straw
rejects Sharon request to isolate Arafat
Middle East Online, July 14, 2003
LONDON - Britain refused Monday to break off contact with Yasser Arafat, despite
attempts by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to convince London to ostracize
the veteran Palestinian leader. At a late-morning meeting in London with Sharon,
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw stressed Britain would continue to deal with
Arafat as the leader of the Palestinian Authority and when it was judged to be
"useful", a British official said.
Israel
points the finger as peace plan stumbles
Sydney Morning Herald/New York Times, July 14, 2003
Israel is trying to focus international blame on Yasser Arafat for setbacks in
the Middle East peace efforts, urging European leaders to isolate the Palestinian
leader and warning that it might eventually arrest or deport him.
Sharon
seeks stronger ties with Norway
Aftenposten (Norway), July 14, 2003
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he'll use talks this week with Norway's
premier to strengthen relations between the two countries. Sharon touched on a
wide range of issues in an exclusive interview with Oslo newspaper Aftenposten....He
admitted calling Abbas a "featherless chicken," but says he meant no offense.
Sharon:
Jerusalem will remain undivided
Norway Post, July 14, 2003
In an exclusive interview with the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon states that Jerusalem will remain undivided. According to
the peace plan for the Middle East, a Palestinian state is to be established before
2005, and the Palestinians want to make East Jerusalem the capital of the new
state.
Israeli
Prime Minister faces demonstrations during Europe visit
Al-Bawaba, July 13, 2003
Tight security measures are expected as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrives
in London Sunday night for talks with his British counterpart Tony Blair. Protests
against Sharon's visit are expected from British Muslim groups as well as British
Jews who oppose the Israeli leader's policies towards the Palestinians.
Sharon
in London: UK rejects Israeli demand to boycott Arafat
Al-Bawaba, July 14, 2003
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his foreign secretary, Jack Straw, will
call Monday the visiting Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, to take urgent
steps to protect the peace process. At a dinner in Downing Street, Blair will
urge Sharon to dismantle Israeli outposts in the West Bank, release Palestinian
prisoners from Israeli jails and halt construction of a segregation fence in the
West Bank.
Sharon
set to rebuff UK demands
The Guardian, July 14, 2003
Israeli leader to face road map pressure at No 10 dinner -- Tony Blair and the
foreign secretary, Jack Straw, will risk a bruising encounter today with the visiting
Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, by calling on him to take urgent steps to
protect the peace process.
Sharon
seeks out support
BBC, July 13, 2003
The Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, has arrived in London for talks with
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. He will then head to Norway and is expected to go
to Washington later in the month. So what does he hope to achieve?....He does
not just want a ceasefire. He wants Hamas and Islamic Jihad disarmed, their weapons
destroyed, further isolation for Yasser Arafat and for pressure on Iran to keep
out of the confrontation.
Palestinian
Cabinet Rejects Sharon’s Instigation Against President Arafat
International Press Center, July 14, 2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, July 13, 2003 (IPC+Agencies)-- Palestinian cabinet members
rejected Saturday the Israeli Prime Minister’s instigative remarks against
President Arafat, stressing that such verbal attack on Yasser Arafat would undermine
the underway peace process.
Katsav:
International troops won't help in Israel
Jerusalem Post, July 14, 2003
President Moshe Katsav said Monday that a possible deployment of international
UN-led troops in the occupied territories would not stop terrorist actions in
the area. The Israeli president called for an end of terrorist actions and said
"the peace process will die" as long as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat remains
in power.
Ivanov
due for Mideast peace talks
Daily Star, July 14, 2003
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov is due in Beirut Wednesday for an important
six-hour visit to discuss several issues, including a plan to hold a Middle East
peace conference. Ivanov is also expected to visit Syria, followed by Israel,
the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Egypt.
Israel's
economic depression overshadows terror
Jerusalem Post, July 14, 2003
Vicki Knafo walked 120 miles from the Negev desert to Jerusalem to highlight her
fight to stop the Israeli government from ending the social welfare benefits that
have sheltered Israel's poor for half a century. The trek by the 43-year-old,
single mother of three has galvanized public opinion in Israel, where a Palestinian
cease-fire is leading a war-weary population to begin focusing on the country's
economic woes.
Moms
march on Jerusalem...
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
The stream of single mothers continues to steadily flow into Jerusalem. Eleven
women left yesterday for Jerusalem: Two set out from Hazor Hagelilit in the north,
three from Sderot in the south, four from Dimona and two from Arad. Four more
plan to set out today from Ofakim while more mothers, among them immigrants from
Ethiopia and Russia are also expected to descend on the capital.
...
Dads are coming too
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
Three married men set out on foot from Dimona yesterday heading for Jerusalem
to protest the income supplement cuts implemented as part of the economic austerity
plan. The three are the first men to join the growing hordes of single mothers
already walking toward the capital from various points across the country.
Health
services suffer as Netanyahu-Naveh meeting fails
Globes, July 14, 2003
The Ministry of Finance opposes a NIS 210 million supplementary budget for the
Ministry of Health. -- The disruption of services at government hospitals spread
today after the meeting by Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister
of Health Dan Naveh failed to resolve the problem.
Netanyahu
announces NIS 250m one-parent family aid plan
Globes, July 14, 2003
Protests by single mothers and the unemployed gathered strength today. -- 20 more
single mothers and unemployed from Dimona, Ofakim, Sderot and the Galilee joined
the single mothers’ protest march from Mitzpe Ramon and Arad to Jerusalem
today. Na'amat (Movement of Working Women and Volunteers) today announced that
it was organizing a bus of single mothers from Eilat to join the protest in Jerusalem.
Another bus left Beer Sheva.
Hospital
services to be cut, starting today
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
Services in public hospitals will be gradually cut back as of today due to the
severe financial crisis in the health system. The move follows the failure of
a meeting last night between Health Minister Danny Naveh and Finance Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu that was supposed to find a solution to the problem.
EFW
awarded US defense contract to operate Hermes 450 UAV system
Globes, July 14, 2003
Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESLT) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary
EFW Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, has been awarded a contract to operate its Hermes
450 Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) system in support of the office of the Secretary
of Defense (OSD), Director of Test and Evaluation, Joint UAV Joint Test and Evaluation
(JUAV-JT&E), at NAS Fallon, Nevada.
Export
Institute: Israel unready for new US cargo security rules
Globes, July 14, 2003
Calls on Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor to prepare an national readiness
plan. -- Israel Export Institute chairman Shraga Brosh yesterday predicted that
exports to US would suffer because Israel was unprepared to meet new security
regulations for cargo. He said US customs would halt its currently policy for
the regular release of Israeli cargos.
Anticipated
June CPI: -0.5%
Globes, July 14, 2003
Inflation in the first half of 2003 was minus 0.5%, and is expected to be up to
1% in 2003. -- The economic ministries in Jerusalem predict that the June CPI
will be minus 0.5%, completing a 1.2% drop in the second quarter of 2003.
Croatian
president proposes partnership with Israel in Iraqi projects
Globes, July 14, 2003
Israel Export Institute chairman Shraga Brosh said Croatia was also offering Israel
participation in Croatian infrastructure projects. -- Israel Export Institute
chairman Shraga Brosh says that Croatian President Stjepan Mesic is proposing
that Israel companies participate in Iraqi reconstruction projects together with
Croatian companies. Brosh met with Mesic this week when he was part of a business
delegation accompanying President Moshe Katsav on his visit to Eastern Europe.
IDF
shrugs off its special relationship with kibbutzim
Haaretz, July 14, 2003
The Israel Defense Forces is limiting the information that is disclosed to the
security committee of the kibbutzim about new recruits - thus putting an end to
a practice that has been in place for decades. The committee, which helped thousands
of kibbutzniks make their way into elite units and front-line forces, is now having
serious differences with the IDF's Personnel Directorate.
UNHCR
to Register Thousands of Palestinian Refugees in Iraq
Palestine Media Center, July 13, 2003
The United Nations Refugee Agency said on Saturday it would start registering
next week over 80,000 Palestinian refugees in Iraq who have been subjected to
harassment since the fall of al-Bath’s regime, following the US- led invasion
of Iraq on April.
Egyptian
newspaper editor, serving three-year jail stint, dies at 58
Jordan Times, July 14, 2003
CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian newspaper editor serving a 3three-year jail sentence
after sparking riots with an article about a monk's sex-and-blackmail scheme died
Sunday. He was 58. Mamdouh Mahran, former editor of the weekly Al Nabaa, died
of a heart attack in a Cairo cardiology centre, his lawyer, Nabih Al Wahsh, said.
Blair
seeks new powers to attack rogue states
The Independent, July 13, 2003
Tony Blair is appealing to the heads of Western governments to agree a new world
order that would justify the war in Iraq even if Saddam Hussein's elusive weapons
of mass destruction are never found. It would also give Western powers the authority
to attack any other sovereign country whose ruler is judged to be inflicting unnecessary
suffering on his own people.
Ex-Guantanamo
Inmate To Sue Bush Administration
Islam Online, July 14, 2003
LONDON, July 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - As Human rights organizations
have raised concerns about the conditions at Guantanamo Bay and the unclear legal
status of the detainees, a Pakistani man who was released last November after
10 months of deplorable conditions is preparing to sue the U.S. administration
for $10.4 million.
ISM
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