Knesset’s
Resolution on Occupied Palestine Violates Int’l Law, Undermines ‘Roadmap’
Palestine Media Center, July 16, 2003
The Palestine National Authority (PNA) condemned the Israeli Knesset resolution
on Tuesday considering Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip “unoccupied”
territories as a “flagrant violation” of international legitimacy
and law, which undermines the “roadmap” peace plan....A Knesset plenum
session dealing with the US-sponsored “roadmap” plan passed a resolution
that the illegal Jewish settlements built on the Palestinian territories occupied
by Israel in 1967 areas are not “occupied,” not from a historical
perspective, nor from the perspective of international law or regarding agreements
and treaties signed by the State of Israel.
Jewish
Settlers Wound a Palestinian Child in Hebron, IOF Continues Arrests
International Press Center, July 16, 2003
HEBRON, Palestine, July 16, 2003, IPC-- A Palestinian child was wounded
Tuesday after being hit by a mob of armed Jewish settlers in the West Bank city
of Hebron. Palestinian medical sources, Yazan Da’ana, 12, suffered severe
bruises in the face, mostly in his right eye when a group of Jewish settlers beat
him with rifle butts and stakes.
IDF:
Cabbie's kidnappers not backed by main militant groups
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday that the Palestinians behind the kidnapping
of Israeli taxi driver Eliyahu Gurel - freed in a midnight West Bank raid - were
not backed by main Palestinian militant groups, relieving some tensions threatening
the fragile cease-fire.
Three
Palestinian Kids kidnapped by settlers
International Middle East Media Center, July 16, 2003
Three 9-10 years-old kids residents of Orief village south of Nablus were kidnapped
by armed Israeli settlers Monday and taken into Yetzhar settlement. IMEMC correspondent
visited the village, met the kids and their parents and came back with the following
report: Nidal Yosif Shehada, 10, looked very tired as he entered his home after
being held together with his friends, Mohammed Safadi 9, and Abed Shehada 11,
by settlers in the nearby Yetzhar settlement.
Abbas
says will meet with Bush in Washington on July 25
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that he is to travel to
Washington for a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on July 25, as part
of efforts to push ahead with the internationally-brokered road map for Middle
East peace. It will be Abbas' first invitation to the White House. He is also
expected to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday, following his return
from Europe.
Israel
deports N. Irish journalist mistaken for Real IRA man
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
Israel on Wednesday deported Northern Irish journalist and pro-Palestinian activist
John Morgan, four days after he was arrested near Ramallah in the mistaken belief
that he was a member of the Real IRA who had travelled to the region to train
Palestinian militants in bomb-making.
Sharon
visits Norway, seeks 'new relationship' with Europe
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
MOLDE - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Wednesday he was building a "new relationship"
with Europe as he turned the page on the failed 1993 Oslo peace accords by visiting
Norway. Hundreds of Norwegian protesters jeered Sharon, on his first trip to western
Europe in 13 months, with slogans such as "Ariel - go to Hell" after he met Norwegian
Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik on the banks of a fjord in the western port
of Molde.
Israel
demolishes a village in the Golan
Arabic News, July 15, 2003
The Israeli occupation forces in the Syrian Golan Heights have been demolishing
houses of al-Khushneyah village, described by former Syrian parliamentarian and
chairman of the Syrian detainees and prisoners in the Israeli jails, Midhat Saleh,
"as an aggression expected aimed to totally demolish the village or prepare for
adding a new Israeli settlement" to the already 40 established Israeli settlements
in the Golan.
Hearing
For ISM Prisoners Tomorrow, Sunday
International Solidarity Movement, July 16, 2003
The hearing for the eight imprisoned international peace activists has been set
for tomorrow thursday july 17th at 11:30 AM at the Tel Aviv district court, 1
Weizman St., corner of Shaul Hamelech. The eight activists began refusing food
last night in protest over the abuse of Palestinian prisoners and in solidarity
with Palestinian political prisoners hungerstriking across Israel. They were also
demanding their immediate and unconditional release as they were arrested
while non-violently protesting illegal occupation policies and violation of Palestinian
human rights.
Occupation
soldiers break the face of detainee
Palestinian Information Center, July 16, 2003
Bethlehem - Palestinian detainee Ra’fat Al-Zahgeer, 18, was suffering from
broken bones in his left shoulder, wounds in his neck and fractures in his face
as a result of occupation soldiers assault. Legal sources said that Zionist occupation
soldiers man-handled Zahgeer during his arrest and then he was left to bleed for
a few hours before being carried to the Etsion army detention center south of
Bethlehem.
Special
report on the West Bank security barrier
Electronic Intifada/UNRWA, July 15, 2003
In June 2002, the Israeli authorities began construction of the first phase of
a 350-kilometre 'security barrier' to physically separate the West Bank from Israel.
This phase - from Zbuba in the north west corner of Jenin governorate, through
the Tulkarm district, to Elkana settlement in the southern Qalqiliya governorate
- will extend some 140 kilometres in length.
Children
Cry For Freedom Of Fathers Jailed By Israel
Islam Online, July 16, 2003
GAZA CITY, July 16 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - At least 1,500 Palestinian
children took to the streets of Gaza Wednesday, July 16, to appeal for the release
of their fathers, brothers and other Palestinians in Israeli jails. The children,
in their teens and less, wearing green caps and headbands marked with the slogan,
"There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is His prophet," waved large Hamas flags,
while others carried handwritten cardboard signs in Arabic and English, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Majjedo
prisoners proceeding in hunger strike in shifts
Palestinian Information Center, July 16, 2003
Nablus - Palestinian prisoners in the Zionist occupation jail of Majjedo have
entered yesterday their fourth day of hunger strike where four wards so far took
part in the strike that proceeds in shifts, according to newly released detainees
from that jail.
Beer
Sheba prisoners on hunger strike
Palestinian Information Center, July 16, 2003
Nablus - Palestinian detainees in the Zionist occupation jail of Beer Sheba today
went on a hunger strike as a warning step to the jail administration to desist
from its repressive policy and arbitrary measures against them.
Israeli
violations of the conditions governing the implementation of “Road Map”
continue
Palestine Monitor, July 15, 2003
Hand shakes between Sharon, Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and US President George
Bush in the Jordanian Red Sea city of Aqaba signified their mutual acceptance
of the American sponsored “Road Map”. However, since this date the
Israeli response to the peace initiative has been characterized by violation after
violation of the mutually determined conditions governing the implementation of
the “Road Map”.
Hundreds
of Thousands of Palestinians Face Cut-off of Humanitarian Aid: Hansen
Palestine Media Center, July 16, 2003
July 16, 2003 - The United Nations agency in charge of helping Palestinian refugees
said that if its appeal for millions of dollars in aid was not answered immediately,
then the agency, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA,
will have to cut humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian
refugees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
IDF
hands Wolf parameters for PA security progress
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
The IDF believes there are 50,000 illegal weapons in the hands of Palestinians
in the territories, according to a document prepared by the army's planning branch
and given recently to John Wolf, the chief American monitor of the road map implementation.
The document also proposes to the Americans a series of parameters by which to
measure Palestinian progress on the road map and their fulfillment of the security
agreements reached with Israel.
Beirut
says Israel has promised to stop overflights in 2 weeks
Daily Star, July 16, 2003
But UN denies receiving any such assurances -- Foreign Ministry sources said Tuesday
that UNIFIL forces in the South told Foreign Minister Jean Obeid that Israel plans
to end overflights of Lebanese territory in about two weeks. The sources said
the Israelis said they planned to fly only on their side of the UN-demarcated
Blue Line. The sources added that some Israeli workers would perform maintenance
on the fence and that no breach was expected while the maintenance work is under
way.
PA
condemns Zionist Knesset vote on occupied territories
Palestinian Information Center, July 16, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday strongly condemned
a resolution by the Zionist Knesset considering the occupied Palestinian territories
“disputed” rather than “occupied” land. According to the
text of the resolution, passed Tuesday, the West Bank, Gaza and East Al-Quds were
referred to as “disputed lands” and settlers were called upon to seize
as much land as possible.
Israel
arrests protesters as 'security risk'
The Independent, July 16, 2003
Eight foreign nationals have been arrested in the occupied territories as Israeli
authorities clamp down on international peace activists on the ground that they
pose a "security risk"....The eight, who included two Britons, were being held
in an Israeli police station in the West Bank and were refused bail.
IDF
frees cabbie Eliyahu Gurel
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
Kidnapped taxi driver Eliyahu Gurel was freed, safe and sound, late last night
by Israel Defense Forces special forces. None of the soldiers was hurt in the
action.
Israel
Says Groups Not Behind Kidnapping
The Guardian, July 16, 2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's military confirmed Wednesday that major Palestinian
militant groups were not behind the kidnapping of a taxi driver who was freed
in a midnight commando raid. The abduction last week of Israeli Eliyahu Goral,
who was rescued late Tuesday, raised tensions as Israelis and Palestinians have
worked to maintain a fragile cease-fire declared June 29.
Israeli
forces free kidnapped taxi driver as Sharon urges Abbas to fight ''terror''
Al-Bawaba, July 16, 2003
Israeli special forces stormed into a West Bank house early Wednesday and freed
a taxi driver from his Palestinian captors, the military said. Israel TV reported
that the kidnappers were "criminals," who were trying to win favor with armed
groups and the Palestinian Authority, but no group agreed to take the Israeli
from them.
Israel
taxi driver freed
BBC, July 16, 2003
Israeli special forces have freed a taxi driver, five days after he was kidnapped.
Eliyahu Gorel, 61, disappeared on Friday and his taxi was found in an Arab district
of Jerusalem. He was released early on Wednesday in an operation involving army,
police and special forces in Beitunia, a suburb of Ramallah on the West Bank.
Israel TV said the kidnappers were Palestinian criminals who were trying to win
favour with militants - but no group agreed to take the captive.
Businessman
kidnapped by Hizbullah alive but unwell
Jerusalem Post, July 15, 2003
Army Radio said Wednesday that kidnapped businessman Elhanan Tennenbaum is alive
but in poor health. In contrast with the quick release of taxi driver Eliahu Gurel,
who was rescued in a late-night raid into the West Bank on Tuesday, Tennenbaum
has been held by the Hizbullah since his kidnapping back in October 2000.
UK-Israeli
clash on Belfast detainee
The Guardian, July 16, 2003
British and Israeli intelligence services appeared to be at odds yesterday over
the arrest of a west Belfast man suspected of training Palestinian militants.
Israeli sources suggested it was a case of mistaken identity, but Whitehall sources
told the Guardian there was no mistake over the information they supplied.
Irishman
deported from Israel
BBC, July 16, 2003
A Northern Ireland man who was held for questioning by authorities in Israel is
flying back to Belfast after being expelled. Sean O Muireagáin, 40, is expected
to arrive on a flight into London later on Wednesday according to news agency
reports.
Occupation
forces on new wave of arrests
Palestinian Information Center, July 16, 2003
Nablus - The Zionist occupation army yesterday arrested ten Palestinians in various
West Bank areas in a clear violation of the conditional truce declared by the
Palestinian factions late last month. Zionist sources said at dawn today that
army units arrested three Hamas Movement activists and a fourth affiliated with
the Islamic Jihad Movement in Al-Khalil city.
Supreme
Court to Hear Family Unification Cases Tomorrow
Adalah, July 16, 2003
Tomorrow, Thursday 17 July 2003 at 11:30 a.m., the Supreme Court of Israel will
hold hearings on petitions filed by Adalah on behalf of 14 families of Palestinian
citizens of Israel and their Palestinian spouses from the Occupied Territories.
In these cases, the petitioners’ challenge the legality of a government
decision that prohibits family unification or the granting of status in Israel
to Palestinians who are married to Israeli citizens.
Adalah
Testifies before Knesset Committee: Proposed Government Bill Imposing Severe Limitations
on Family Unification is Unconstitutional
Adalah, July 16, 2003
On 14 July 2003, Adalah provided testimony at hearings before the Knesset Internal
Affairs and Environment Committee regarding a new government bill titled, "Proposed
Nationality and Entry into Israel (Temporary Order) Law - 2003." The bill was
introduced on 4 June 2003 and passed its first reading on 18 June 2003. The purpose
of the bill is to prohibit Palestinians from the Occupied Territories from obtaining
citizenship, permanent residency, and/or temporary residency status in Israel
by marriage to an Israeli citizen ("family unification").
HRA
Calls on EU to adhere to its committment to include human rights in the economic
dialogue with Israel
Arab Association for Human Rights, July 15, 2003
...Israel signed an Association Agreement with the European Union in 2000, which
committed the two parties to greater economic and political integration and sharing
of resources. Article Two of the Association Agreement states that: "Relations
between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall
be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their
internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this
Agreement."
Tel
Aviv Attack Renews Doubts About Militants' Cease-Fire Vow
Washington Post, July 16, 2003
JERUSALEM, July 15 -- The radical al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades asserted responsibility
for a knife attack on Tel Aviv's bustling seafront promenade early today in which
a 24-year-old Israeli man was killed and two other people were injured. The incident
once again raised questions about the group's commitment to a three-month pledge
by Palestinian groups to stop attacking Israelis.
UN
Seminar on Assistance to Palestinian People holds panel on priorities for humanitarian
and economic assistance
Electronic Intifada/United Nations, July 15, 2003
A United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People this afternoon
held a panel discussion on priorities for humanitarian and economic assistance
for Palestinians with experts speaking of the need to support the Palestinian
Authority's budgetary needs, to restore essential services in the occupied territories,
to rehabilitate the physical infrastructure and agricultural land, to reduce unemployment
and poverty, to alleviate the plight of refugees through the support of UNRWA,
and to boost the recovery of the private sector.
PA's
Erekat: Terror down 99% over the last 3 weeks
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said Wednesday that Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat had personally ordered all of his security forces to aid in efforts
to rescue kidnapped Israeli cab driver Eliyahu Gurel, and that over the past three
weeks, efforts to curb terrorism had yielded a 99 percent drop in terror attacks
against Israelis.
Arafat
Meets with Suleiman, Roujob Present, Dahlan Absent
International Middle East Media Center, July 15, 2003
At the end of a meeting with the Egyptian special security envoy Omar Suleiman
Tuesday afternoon, President Arafat, addressing reporters, extended his gratitude
to the Egyptian President Husni Mubarak and his special envoy Suleiman, for their
“great and restless efforts” without which, as Arafat confirmed, the
truce agreement would not have been possible....Spectators noticed that while
the Palestinian Minister for Security Affairs Mohammed Dahlan was absent, the
ex-head of Preemptive security in the West Bank Jibril Al Roujob attended the
meeting.
Jerusalemite
captives appeal for solidarity
Palestinian Information Center, July 16, 2003
Ramallah - Palestinian Jerusalemite captives have addressed an appeal to the Palestinian
people asking for supporting their freedom demands similar to detainees from other
areas. The captives asked the Palestinian Authority government not to forget them
and to work seriously for granting priority to the question of detainees in any
future agreement.
First
Islamic woman conference rejects PA draft penal code
Palestinian Information Center, July 16, 2003
Gaza - Participants in the first Islamic conference for Palestinian women have
expressed utter dismay and rejection of articles in the new Palestinian Authority’s
draft penal code because they contradicted Islamic Sharia.
Israeli
paper speaks of systematic discrimination against Arabs in Israel
Palestinian Information Center, July 16, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - An Israeli Hebrew newspaper published a report Wednesday
showing “brazen discrimination” against the Zionist state’s
Arab minority. The report, published in the Independent Ha’aretz newspaper,
shows that the Israeli state has been projecting an ugly and shameful image and
clearly shows that discrimination exists in every sphere.
Abed
Al Razeq: “Snubs the Israeli Trial of Al Burghothi”
International Press Center, July 16, 2003
GAZA, July 16, 03,(IPC Exclusive)-- Palestinian National Authority (PNA) rejected
vehemently the trial of Mr. Marawan Al-Burghothi, Fateh’s Secretary in the
West Bank and the member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) –
by Tel Aviv central court yesterday and asked for setting Al Burghothi free right
away.
Death
of Shraidi in Palestinian camp in Lebanon
Middle East Online, July 16, 2003
AIN EL-HELWEH, Lebanon - Tension ran high Wednesday in this Palestinian refugee
camp of south Lebanon following the death of a hardline Islamic leader from wounds
inflicted two months ago in an ambush.
Hear
Palestine July 16, 2003
Hear Palestine
NEWS: Deir al-Balah: Israeli Army Destroys Main Water Pipeline / Jerusalem: Petrol
Station Demolished; Home Demolition Orders Issued / Tight Closure Measures and
Arrests in West Bank
Mubarak
invites Avigdor Lieberman to visit Egypt
Arabic News, July 15, 2003
The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot said yesterday that the Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak intends to invite Israeli ministers including Avigdor Lieberman who made
hostile statements against Cairo, to visit Egypt in order to open "a new page
in the relations with Israel."
London:
Arafat is Relevant to Attain Security
International Press Center, July 16, 2003
AMMAN, Jordan, July 16, 2003, IPC-- British State Minister of Middle East Affairs,
Baronet Elizabeth Simons stated Wednesday “President Arafat is a reliable
to achieve security on the ground and run the negotiations.” Simon’s
remark came up following a meeting with the Jordanian Foreign Affair Minister
Marawan Al Mu’sher in Amman.“
Shaath
Slams Israeli Incitement against Arafat
Palestine Media Center, July 16, 2003
‘Peace Is about Inclusion, not Exclusion’ -- Israel’s European
campaign to divert international attention away from its failure to honor its
declared commitment to the Quartet-adopted and US-sponsored “roadmap”
peace plan by calling for sidelining Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is undermining
the Middle East peace process, Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Shaath warned.
Palestinians,
Egyptians See Eye-to-Eye on ‘Roadmap’: Erakat
Palestine Media Center, July 16, 2003
July 16, 2003 - President Yasser Arafat briefed President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt
on the developments in occupied Palestinian territories after a meeting in Ramallah
Tuesday with Mubarak’s envoy Omar Sulaiman, which discussed ways of reinforcing
Palestinian–Egyptian co- ordination towards the implementation of the US-sponsored
“roadmap” peace plan.
Suleiman
here to seal Arafat-Abbas deal
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman arrived in Ramallah yesterday in an
effort to extend the three-month truce proclaimed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad two
weeks ago. Suleiman was meeting separately with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat
and Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) to discuss the extension.
Musharraf
links ties with Israel to Palestine
Dawn Group, July 16, 2003
DUBAI, July 15: President Gen Pervez Musharraf tied on Tuesday the establishment
of relations between Pakistan and Israel to a settlement to the Middle East conflict
and the creation of a Palestinian state. "The Pakistan government can only study
the question of recognising Israel if the Middle East conflict is settled and
includes the creation of a Palestinian state and the Israeli withdrawal from occupied
territories," President Musharraf said in an interview with Al-Khaleej newspaper
in the United Arab Emirates.
Israel
finds support from Britain over Iran
The Guardian, July 16, 2003
Britain is increasingly alarmed at the threats posed by Iran's nuclear programme
and conventional missiles which could reach Israel and US forces in the Middle
East. Amid fears that moderates in Tehran are losing their struggle with hardliners,
Tony Blair is understood to have told Ariel Sharon that Britain shares Israel's
concerns about Iran.
Sharon
heckled at Downing St dinner
Evening Standard, 15 July 2003
Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon was greeted by a large and noisy crowd of
pro-Palestinian demonstrators as he visited Downing Street for dinner with Tony
Blair.
Israeli
Prime Minister visits Norway amid police concerns of possible violent protests
Al-Bawaba, July 16, 2003
Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon landed in the Norwegian town of Molde
Wednesday, for talks with his Norwegian counterpart, Kjell Magne Bondevik, on
the prospects for a Middle East peace. Local police officials prepared for angry
street protests, and even had contingency plans to turn the town's prison into
a makeshift prison for anyone arrested.
Sharon,
Blair talks warm, but indecisive
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
LONDON - Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon and Tony Blair met for three hours on Monday
evening over dinner in 10 Downing Street hosted by the British leader, during
which they discussed the Middle East political process and regional issues. British
sources said after the dinner that the meeting was "very warm ... and went better
than expected."
Dore
Gold: Saudis provide most of Hamas funding
Jerusalem Post, July 15, 2003
More than 50 percent of Hamas's current funding comes from Saudi Arabia and is
increasing despite US President George W. Bush's call to the kingdom to halt aid
to Palestinian terrorist groups, Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the
UN and a researcher of terrorist financing, said Tuesday in Washington.
Curbing
reserve call-up wins support
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
Brigadier General Ariel Heiman, the head of the Israel Defense Forces' reserves,
is pushing an idea that army top brass would until recently be considered revolutionary,
if not downright heretical. He advocates a completely new model for reserve call-ups
- they should be called only for emergencies like war, and for periodic training,
but not for routine operations in the territories.
Netanyahu:
Single moms should replace foreign workers in homes
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to implement a significant increase
in the tax on the employment of foreign workers. Netanyahu is seeking to get foreign
workers out of employment positions in households in order to create job opportunities
for single mothers.
Single
moms' march is growing steadily
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
More single mothers from across the country - and at least two men - were marching
this morning toward Jerusalem from both the north and south to protest against
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's economic reforms that slashed state support
for single parents. More groups were forming last night, announcing their plans
to march to the capital to join the protest.
Taking
Stock / The mortgage monster
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
The Bank of Israel this week reported accrued defaults on mortgage payments breaking
records in June at NIS 1.6 billion. That is 23 percent more than in the same month
last year and the amount overdue has been steadily increasing since then. Today,
no less than 94 percent of the amount is defined as "seriously overdue".
Netanyahu
admits deficit will exceed 6% this year
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
The government's budget deficit will actually exceed 6 percent of gross domestic
product (GDP) this year, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted to the Knesset
Finance Committee yesterday. Even the latest budget cuts cannot help bring the
deficit below 6 percent, the finance minister said, speaking ahead of treasury
debates on the budget for 2004. The belt has to be tightened even further.
Netanyahu
said granting NIS 5.5M to single mom work plan
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
The Knesset Guard was forced to remove a several dozen single mothers from the
plenum on Wednesday, after they interrupted a debate called to discuss their plight.
The women were forcibly removed from the Knesset after shouting insults at Finance
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The women were removed despite having been invited
to a meeting with MK Inbal Gavrieli (Likud).
Unemployment
numbers for may remain high at 10.8 percent
Haaretz, July 16, 2003
The umeployment rate for May was 10.8% of the workforce, the same rate as the
two previous months, with a total of 278,000 Israelis out of work. According to
the numbers released Wednesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics, unemployment
for May is significantly higher for the same month in previous years. In May 2002,
unemployment was 10.4% of the workforce, in May 2001 it was 9.0%, and for both
May 2000 and 1999 it was 8.8%.
Food
exports to US up 33% in January-May
Globes, July 16, 2003
Food exports to the US rose 33%, to $59 million, in January-May 2003, from $44
million in the corresponding period last year, said Minister of Economic Affairs
to North America Zohar Pery yesterday. Pery estimated that fresh and processed
food exports would total $150 million in 2003. He attributed part of the increased
exports to the success of the “Fine Foods from Israel” project to
encourage the purchase of Israeli products in the US.
Klein
will lower interest rate for August by at least 0.5%
Globes, July 16, 2003
Governor of the Bank of Israel David Klein is expected to cut the interest by
0.5% for the third consecutive time, following the fall in the Consumer Price
Index and the decline in the money supply, senior economic officials in Jerusalem
predicted. Klein will set the interest rate for August on Monday, July 28.
Iran
finds giant oil field
BBC, July 14, 2003
The Middle East's importance for oil production is growing -- Iran has found
new oilfields, with total reserves as high as 38 billion barrels. Analysts say
that only a small fraction of that may be commercially worthwhile, but it is nonetheless
a very large find. This discovery serves to reinforce an important feature of
the long term outlook for oil supplies - that reserves available for future exploitation
are dominated by the Middle East and Opec, the oil producers' cartel.
Iran's
nuclear quest 'irreversible in 18 months'
The Telegraph, July 16, 2003
Iran's nuclear programme could become "irreversible" unless it is stopped within
the next 18 months, senior Israeli diplomatic sources said yesterday. Israel has
long accused Teheran of sponsoring radical Islamist groups across the region but
now its concern appears to be focusing more sharply on Iran's nuclear programme.
Resistance
erects new watchtower on border
Daily Star, July 16, 2003
Israeli alert apparently triggered by wild animals -- Hizbullah recently erected
a watchtower facing the Israeli Abbad outpost, putting soldiers, vehicles and
visitors to the outpost under the observation of the resistance. The watchtower,
made of cement, is 6 meters high and equipped with a monitoring device, radio
communications, and a register to mark down overheard remarks.
Welcome
way-station for backpackers’ trail soon to open in Shatila
Daily Star, July 16, 2003
Innovative addition to refugee camp will benefit travelers, researchers and cash-strapped
NGO alike -- In Shatila, privacy is an unheard-of luxury. Around 17,500 people
live in the infamous 54-year old camp, most of them Palestinian refugees but also
Kurds, Syrians and Lebanese from the South. Half the population is younger than
24. In the midst of this hardened environment, and at the heart of Shatila’s
maze of alleyways, stands a large, easy-to-find building that houses the Children
and Youth Center, a non-governmental organization founded six years ago by Abu
Moujahed Abbas.
Canadian
journalist 'beaten to death'
BBC, July 16, 2003
Zahra Kazemi was arrested while taking photos of Evin prison -- Iran has acknowledged
that a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist was beaten to death after her arrest outside
a prison in Tehran. Vice President Ali Abtahi said Zahra Kazemi died "of a brain
haemorrhage resulting from beatings". Ms Kazemi, 54, was detained on 23 June for
taking pictures of Tehran's Evin prison. She was later pronounced dead after falling
into a coma.
Syria
Continues Lebanon Pullout
Arab News, July 15, 2003
TRIPOLI, Lebanon, 16 July 2003 — Syrian troops quit artillery and tank positions
in northern Lebanon early yesterday, witnesses said, as Damascus gradually scales
back its military presence in its smaller neighbor. Witnesses said trucks carried
Syrian tanks and troops away from positions south of the port city of Tripoli
and toward the Syrian border, extending troop movements that began late on Monday
near the capital Beirut.
For
Jews in France, a 'Kind of Intifada'
Washington Post, July 16, 2003
Escalation in Hate Crimes Leads to Soul-Searching, New Vigilance -- PARIS -- The
phone message is one of 10 waiting for Sylvain Zenouda at the local office of
the Jewish Community Council of greater Paris: A gang of 15 North African teenagers,
some of them wielding broom handles, had invaded the grounds of a Jewish day school
on Avenue de Flandre in northeast Paris the previous evening. They punched and
kicked teachers and students, yelled epithets and set off firecrackers in the
courtyard before fleeing.
ICC
will not investigate war crimes in Iraq
Middle East Online, July 16, 2003
THE HAGUE - The International Criminal Court (ICC) will not investigate allegations
of war crimes committed by US troops in Iraq because they do not fall within its
jurisdiction, the prosecutor said Wednesday. "We have received communications
about acts allegedly perpetrated by US troops in Iraq but we are not mandated
to prosecute such acts since neither Iraq nor the United States are states party
to the court," Luis Moreno Ocampo said.
Saudi
article imagining future with elections, women's rights, religious freedoms, spurs
fury and delight
Jordan Times, July 16, 2003
JEDDAH (AP) — When Saudi columnist Hussein Shobokshi mused in print about
a future in which his daughter drives and works as a lawyer and he votes and attends
human rights conferences, he touched on many fiercely contested questions in this
conservative kingdom. The response included death threats as well as a call from
Crown Prince Abdullah, the country's reform-minded de-facto ruler. Abdullah “told
me that he liked the article, but that I shouldn't make so many people angry,”
said Shobokshi.
Anti-Muslim
incidents up 15 percent in past year
Council on American Islamic Relations, July 15, 2003
(Washington, D.C.) - A report released today by a prominent national Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group indicates that anti-Muslim incidents in the United States
increased by 15 percent over the previous year. (Numbers rose from 525 confirmed
incidents in the 2002 report to 602 in this year's study.)
Anti-Muslim
Violence Surges In U.S.: Report
Islam Online, July 16, 2003
"It is this guilt by association that has created a sense of siege in the American
Muslim community," said Nimer -- WASHINGTON, July 15 (IslamOnline.net & News
Agencies) – Anti-Muslim violence, harassment and discrimination have surged
by 15 percent in the United States over the past year in the wake of the 9/11
attacks, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a report made
public Tuesday, July 15.
Missile
Defense Strategy Not Feasible Warns American Physical Society
SpaceDaily, July 16, 2003
Intercepting missiles while their rockets are still burning would not be an effective
approach for defending the U.S. against attacks by an important type of enemy
missile. This conclusion comes from an independent study by the American Physical
Society into the scientific and technical feasibility of boost-phase defense,
focusing on potential missile threats from North Korea and Iran.
