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Conflict..
11-year-old Israeli girl shot in West Bank terror attack
Jerusalem Post 2003-07-29
An 11-year-old Israeli girl was shot inside a car as she was traveling with her parents in the West Bank last night, a military source told The Jerusalem Post. "The terror attack took place near the Jewish settlement of Itzhar, west of Nablus at 1:30 a.m.," the source said. "She was lightly wounded in her legs and the IDF evacuated her by helicopter to Belinson hospital in Petah Tikva where she is now receiving medical treatment."
IOF Imposes Curfew on Bureen, Jewish Settlers Wound Civilians , as a Jerusalemite’s House Demolished
International Press Center 2003-07-29
PALESTINE, July 29, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies)--Israeli occupation forces (IOF) imposed Tuesday a tight curfew on the West Bank village of Bureen, south of Nablus city. Eyewitnesses said dozens of Israeli armored vehicles have been deployed in the village of Bureen, imposing a curfew using loud speakers....In the meantime, a mob of Jewish settlers wounded two Palestinian brothers in the occupied refugee camp of Sho’fat, occupied East Jerusalem, after assaulting on their work place in Telbiot area, to the south of Jerusalem....Also in Jerusalem, local Palestinian sources said the Israeli occupation authorities demolished today the second floor of a Palestinian-owned two-storey house in the Ein Fouqa neighborhood, south of the city.
Israeli Army invaded the town of Beit Fureek and arrested seven Palestinian resistance activists
International Middle East Media Center 2003-07-28
The Israeli Army invaded the town of Beit Fureek and arrested seven Palestinian resistance activists. Early Monday morning, Israeli tanks and Military Vehicles invaded the town of Beit Fureek, east of Nablus....The Mayor of Beit Foureek said to IMEMC, “There has been an increase in the number of incursions in the past few days. All the entrances to the town are blocked. There has beein no easing of restrictions in this area at all.”
Israeli Soldiers & Settlers raid the house of PLC Member Salah Ta’amari
International Middle East Media Center 2003-07-28
A large force of Israeli soldiers and settlers raided the house of Salah Ta’amari, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Bethlehem. The raid took place Sunday night. The settlers and the soldiers stayed for around one hour disturbing the contents of the house.
Israeli forces opened fire on activists and wounded five protesting Israel's apartheid wall
Electronic Intifada/ISM 2003-07-28
Today activists from the International Solidarity Movement, working with local Palestinians and Israelis succeeded in opening a small but symbolic hole in the Wall of Apartheid in the village of Anin, west of the city of Jenin. The Israeli Occupation Forces responded by opening fire with rubber bullets on members of the International Solidarity Movement who were taking part in a non-violent demonstration against the Israeli Apartheid Wall [termed the "security fence" by the Israeli authorities]. [Includes photos]
Palestinians Losing Land to the Fence
Los Angeles Times 2003-07-28
RAFAT, West Bank — The red signs appeared one morning on the barbed wire. "Mortal danger; military zone," they read. "Any person who passes or damages the fence endangers his life." And just like that, Mohammed Habbas was forbidden to reach the acres of fields and olive groves that have been in the family for as long as anyone here can remember. The people of this tiny hillside village were left behind when Israeli military walls chopped away more than half of their property, snaking all the way to the edges of houses to swallow the land — but exclude the people.
Sharon: Shaichat likely killed by Palestinians illegally in Israel
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in Washington that Palestinians illegally in Israel were likely responsible for the murder of IDF soldier Corporal Oleg Shaichat, Israel Radio reported. A senior figure involved in the murder investigation said in response to Sharon's statement that a number of possibilities are being examined in the case. He said that the scenario Sharon presented to Rice is no more certain than other possibilities now being considered by investigators.
Defense official: No information linking terrorists to soldier's death
Jerusalem Post 2003-07-29
IDF soldier Oleg Shaikhet, whose body was found Monday after missing for a week, will be laid to rest Tuesday at 5:30 P.M. at the military cemetery in Upper Nazareth, Army Radio reported. Despite statements by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz that Shaikhet was kidnapped and murdered, a senior defense official told Israel Radio Tuesday that there was no information linking the Hizbollah or Palestinian militants to the soldier's death.
U.S. Army hears about IDF tactics
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
An American military delegation recently visited Israel to hear first hand from IDF officers about army tactics in the territories. The Americans were interested how the IDF responded to guerrilla warfare that evolved in the territories because of the similarity to what they are now encountering in Iraq....In accordance with instructions from the American army, they are not visiting the territories, but they did visit a checkpoint on the Green Line for a first hand look at how a checkpoint is run.
Israeli Army replaced some Military Checkpoints with mobile ones to torture Palestinians
International Middle East Media Center 2003-07-29
The Israeli army has removed some military checkpoints from the West Bank. However, they have replaced these stationary checkpoints with mobile ones and even added some new ones. They also closed the gate of Al-Nabi Saleh for several hours as well as the road between Birzeit and Ramallah for five hours....Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers were very unpredictable and it appeared that they were provoking the residents by allowing only some people to pass every now and then, and only allowing certain models of cars to pass through after slowly and thoroughly searching them.
Occupation forces demolish 116 Palestinian houses in first half of 2003
Palestinian Information Center 2003-07-29
Gaza - Zionist occupation forces have demolished 116 Palestinian houses in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the first half of this year, according to a report published by the Palestinian human rights center. The report said that 49 houses belonged to martyrs, 33 to detainees, 29 to wanted activists and 5 to Palestinians providing shelter for wanted activists. [The report, titled “Demolishing houses for deterrence and punishing relatives”, appears to cover only those houses demolished for "political" reasons. Many other houses were demolished during the same period for "administrative" reasons. - Ed.]
The Tragedy of Hebron: Special Report
Palestine Chronicle 2003-07-28
HEBRON, West Bank (PC) - Hebron is a city simmering with tension. The presence of illegal Jewish settlers has created an atmosphere similar to the one that probably existed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, during the early 1980s. No’man Shokry Da’na, a Muslim who lives just yards from the Qiryat Arba settlement, said: “It’s not us who refuse to live in peace with them. They hurt us daily so I think they do not want to live in peace with us.” The armed settlers claim that Hebron is the first Jewish city in Israel, so they think the land is rightfully theirs.
Five International Peace Activists Wounded by IOF in Jenin
International Press Center 2003-07-28
JENIN, Palestine, July 28, 2003 (IPC+WAFA) - - Five international peace activists were wounded Monday by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in the West Bank city of Jenin. Local Palestinian sources said that five international peace activists, affiliated with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), were wounded Monday after Israeli troops shot live, rubber-coated bullets and tear gas canisters on a peaceful demonstration in Aneen Village, west of Jenin City. Some wounded activists received treatment on the spot, the sources confirmed, while two others needed hospitalization.
Five ISM activists hurt by IDF troops in fence protest
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
Five peace activists were lightly injured yesterday in clashes with the Israel Defense Forces. The activists, members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), were demonstrating with hundreds of Palestinians from Kafr Anin and dozens of Israelis in the north of Samaria against the construction of the separation fence....Five ISM activists were injured, receiving rubber bullets in their arms and legs. One was evacuated by the Palestinians to the Jenin hospital after a bullet had punctured his thigh.
Former Dutch Prime Minister regrets his defense of Israel
Electronic Intifada 2003-07-29
Former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt expressed regret of his defense of the Israeli army in front of the Dutch parliament after the massacre of Palestinian civilians in Sabra and Shatila. "At that time I couldn't believe that under the eyes of the Israeli army such atrocities could have taken place as later was revealed," Van Agt (72) told the Dutch daily newspaper Reformatorisch Dagblad on Saturday.
Qaida targets Israeli interests in E. Africa
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
Fawzal Abdullah Mohammed, a senior activist in al Qaida who is believed responsible for attacks against Israeli and American targets in Kenya and Tanzania recently arrived in east Africa and is plotting an attack with a light aircraft against an Israeli or American target, say Israeli security sources. He is on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists.
Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine July 29, 2003
Palestine Media Center 2003-07-29
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacked and wounded seven international peace activists, including an American, after opening fire at hundreds of protesters against the segregation wall in the northern West Bank. IOF also raided the house of Palestinian MP Salah al-Tamari in Bethlehem city and detained seven Palestinians in the northern West Bank.
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Diplomacy..
Bush Shuns Criticizing Sharon On Separation Wall
Islam Online 2003-07-29
WASHINGTON, July 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - With his friend "George" by his side, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared Tuesday, July 29, that Israel will continue the construction of its separation wall snaking through the West Bank. This immediately triggered an outcry among Palestinian officials who warned that Israel was continuing to place stumbling blocks to the peacemaking drive and efforts to implement the internationally-backed roadmap plan.
Bush Cautions Israel, Reaffirms Support
The Guardian 2003-07-29
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush urged Israel Tuesday to consider the consequences of its actions on the peace process. Standing next to Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he wanted to move ahead but defended Israel's building of a security fence and insisted anew that all terrorism by Palestinians must stop....Sharon said he and Bush did not discuss the path of the fence. But he said he assured Bush that Israel would construct it in a way that would limit disruption to Palestinians.... Sharon said the two presidents had agreed there would be no release of prisoners ``with blood on their hands,'' those who are likely to return to terrorism or prisoners who, when released in the past, resumed terror activities.
PM: we will build fence; Bush: PA must dismantle terror groups
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
Despite U.S. disquiet, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told a news conference Tuesday after his meeting with President George Bush that Israel would continue to build the West Bank security fence, which has become a disputed issue between the two countries. Bush, who called the fence a "sensitive" issue and said the two sides would "continue to discuss" it, demanded that the Palestinian Authority launch a "sustained, targeted" assault on terror organizations.
Solana and Abbas set to meet in France today
Jerusalem Post 2003-07-29
European Union Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana is set to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in Cannes, France, today, news agencies are reporting. The impromptu meeting was arranged hastily, as Abbas is flying home after meetings in Washington last week with US President George W. Bush and others. Abbas and Solana spoke on the phone earlier in the day, agencies reported.
Sharon to tell Bush: Fence in Ariel area still six months off
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet separately with U.S. President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney today to discuss the road map, the separation fence and the Palestinians' efforts to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, after which he will head home....Close associates of Sharon say that the substantial differences between the United States and Israel on the fence issue will not sour Bush and Sharon's good relationship.
PA Demands Release Of 361 Children In Israeli Jails
Islam Online 2003-07-29
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, July 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Minister Hisham Abdelrazeq pressed Tuesday, July 29, for the immediate release of 361 Palestinian children being held in Israeli prisons. The minors' treatment in Israeli jails was "inhuman and cruel", the minister said in a statement, asserting Palestinian "children should be a priority among those prisoners to be released," Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Hamas, Jihad: Israel has betrayed truce
Middle East Online 2003-07-29
GAZA CITY JERUSALEM - A month after they declared a suspension of anti-Israeli attacks, the hardline Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups charged Tuesday that Israel had done nothing to meet the conditions of the truce. "Israel has not acted on the conditions of the Palestinian initiative for a hudna (truce in Arabic), especially on the prisoners issue and Israel has continued its aggression," a senior Hamas official said.
Arafat: Building the “Segregation Wall” is a Crime, Israel Allocates NIS 745 Million for the Wall
International Press Center 2003-07-29
RAMMALLAH, Palestine, July 29, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - President Yasser Arafat viewed on Monday the continuity of building the West Bank “segregation wall” by the Israeli occupation forces as a crime. Questioned by a reporter in this regard, President Arafat said “all the Israeli allegations about the removal of military checkpoints are a mere public relations ploy for Sharon before his talks in Washington and so far irrelevant to the crimes perpetrated day by day against the Palestinian people.”
Sheikh Nasrallah: US Administration is sponsor of terrorism
Al-Bawaba 2003-07-28
US interests around the globe may be attacked if the United States attempts to eradicate Hizbullah, according to the leader of the Lebanese movement. In his first interview with a British newspaper for five years, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah rejected Washington’s classification of his group as a "terrorist organization," saying that the Bush Administration did not possess the moral authority to define terrorism.
In Middle East, seeds of hope
Christian Science Monitor 2003-07-29
BEIT HANOUN, GAZA STRIP – If Beit Hanoun ever regains its status as Gaza's "green town," Ahmad Zaanin's flowering lemon tree could become the stuff of Palestinian legend....While the rest of his orchard was destroyed in May by Israeli army bulldozers that gave the town a desert-like appearance, the sapling, bending but not breaking, survived the blade, he says. "This tree is blooming because it does not want to die," Zaanin says....US plans call for more than a quarter of the estimated 1,100 acres of destroyed fruit trees, as well as wrecked factories, homes, and bridges to gain a new start.
Security official: safe to say hudna will last over 3 months
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
A senior security official said Tuesday that it would be safe to go out on a limb and predict that the cease-fire (hudna) declared by Palestinian militant groups approximately one month ago would last longer than the agreed three months. According to the official, U.S. officials made it clear during Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas' recent visit to Washington that they would not give up on their demand that the Palestinians crack down and dismantle the terror organizations and their infrastructure.
Knesset demands extradition of Argentinean junta officers
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
The Knesset yesterday unanimously approved a decision demanding that Argentina extradite to Israel those Argentina colonels and generals involved in mass killings during the country's military dictatorship from 1976-1983 so that they can be put on trial. Just 19 MKs were present for the debate.
Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas to visit EU president Italy
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
ROME - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas will make his first official visit to a European Union country with a trip to Italy next month, a Palestinian representative in Rome said on Tuesday. Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, has requested an audience with Pope John Paul and plans to meet Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on the August 25-26 visit. "He will be here as a guest of Prime Minister Berlusconi, who invited him to visit," said the head of the Palestinian delegation in Rome, Nemer Hammad.
Arafat: Time Is Running Short for Implementation of ‘Roadmap’
Palestine Media Center 2003-07-29
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said time is running short for the implementation of the “roadmap,” the Israeli government is not serious about peace, not complying with the “roadmap” plan and still “escalating their military aggression against our people ... the siege around cities and towns in the West Bank and Gaza and the building of the wall around Jerusalem.”
White House lauds prisoner releases
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
The Americans yesterday welcomed Israel's decision to release more Palestinian prisoners, among them Hamas and Islamic Jihad activists. White House spokesman Scot McClellan said this would improve relations between the two sides and help the path to peace. "The president made clear his views the other day in the news conference with [Palestinian] Prime Minister [Mahmoud] Abbas, that these are issues that need to be addressed on a case-by-case basis, and no one would want anyone released that had blood on their hands. But we welcome steps like this."
Arabs condemn Israeli soldier's murder
Jerusalem Post 2003-07-29
Israeli Arab politicians on Tuesday condemned the killing of an Israeli soldier in a mixed Arab-Jewish area of the country, while Prime Minister Ariel Sharon prepared to meet President Bush in Washington to discuss how to move ahead with the "road map" peace plan.
Israel Delays Security Fence Project
Middle East Newsline 2003-07-29
JERUSALEM [MENL] -- Israel has agreed to delay plans to complete the establishment of a security fence to protect against Palestinian insurgents from the West Bank. Israeli officials said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has agreed that the government would shelve plans to erect the fence within the West Bank in an effort to encompass an enclave of Israeli communities. The officials said Sharon has decided to focus on construction of the fence along the old 1967 border.
Sharon Expected to Make Demands on Bush
The Guardian 2003-07-29
WASHINGTON (AP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is exploring with President Bush the actions Israel wants from the Palestinians to reduce the threat of terror and advance peace prospects. While Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas complained to Bush at a meeting on Friday that Israel was grabbing Palestinian land, Sharon was expected to pitch for arrests of terrorists and disarming of Palestinian extremist groups.
Abbas Praises Palestinian Factions
Al-Hayat 2003-07-29
Morocco's King Mohamad VI held talks yesterday noon at the Royal Palace of Tetouan, in the North of the country, with the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen). According to official sources, they discussed the results of the talks between Abbas and the U.S. President Bush in Washington, and examined the latest developments regarding the Palestinian file and the Roadmap.
Palestinians expect Bush to pressure on Sharon
Al-Bawaba 2003-07-29
Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Shaath said Tuesday the Palestinians expect the Bush administration to pressure Israel to make more concessions. Quoted by the Ramallah-based Al-Ayyam newspaper, Shaath said that he expects the US administration to press Israel to pull out its army from more Palestinian towns, remove military roadblocks and halt the construction of the seperation wall.
Israeli PM faces US pressure
BBC 2003-07-29
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is meeting US President George W Bush in Washington to discuss the American-backed Middle East peace plan known as the roadmap. The talks at the White House, which follow a meeting four days ago between Mr Bush and the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, are expected to focus on concerns that a month-old ceasefire agreed by Palestinian militants is under threat.
Sharon - Bush meeting; Israeli political sources talk about disagreement
International Middle East Media Center 2003-07-29
Israeli Prime minister Ariel Sharon met today with the American president, George Bush. This meeting comes after Sharon met yesterday with the national security advisor, Condoleezza Rise, and some days after the Abu Mazen – Bush meeting. Israeli political sources said that Sharon will reiterate the Israeli claim that without taking practical measures against the Palestinian militant organizations no progress will be made in the peace process.
Sharon Meets Rice, Downplays Segregation Wall
International Press Center 2003-07-29
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Met late Monday with Condoleezza Rice, US national security adviser, and discussed the Israeli stance for what the so called "security fence", separating the West Bank from Israel. Israeli premiere, as well, downplayed what he called "security fence", and argued that Israel is building this "fence" for "security reasons rather than political ones."
Khader warns of trading prisoners’ question for political rights
Palestinian Information Center 2003-07-29
Ramallah - Husam Khader, the detained Palestinian legislative council member, has stressed that the question of Palestinian detainees in occupation jails was part of the Zionist entity’s crimes against the Palestinian people. Khader, who is heading the Palestinian refugees’ rights committee in parliament, warned of attempts to trade the question of detainees for national Palestinian rights.
PA minister lashes out at Zionist decision on detainees
Palestinian Information Center 2003-07-28
Gaza - Palestinian Authority minister of prisoners’ affairs, Hisham Abdul Razek, has lashed out at the Zionist government’s decision to release 520 Palestinian detainees. He said in press statements that the Zionist decision was a mere public relations program to ensure success of Sharon’s visit to Washington. Abdul Razek said that the Zionist release of Palestinian captives was on a unilateral basis, which the PA rejected.
Israel to resume Austria ties
BBC 2003-07-29
Israel is returning an ambassador to Vienna for the first time since it broke ties with Austria when a far-right party came to power. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom announced the decision after talks in Jerusalem with his Austrian counterpart, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
Israel reestablishes full ties with Austria
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
Israel announced the full reestablishment of diplomatic ties with Austria on Tuesday, saying that it plans to return its ambassador to Vienna. The announcement came during the visit of Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner - the first high-level official visit in the three years since Israel reduced contacts with the Austria to low-level officials.
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Government..
Knesset Speaker Rivlin: I'll quit if forced to approve Palestinian state
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin says he will quit his post and politics if the cabinet decides that all coalition members must support establishing a Palestinian state. "I will not raise my hand in support of a Palestinian state and if Likud obliges all its faction members to support it I'll resign, because it goes against my deepest beliefs," Rivlin told Haaretz yesterday.
Netanyahu seeks funding for U.S. immigrant group
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli officials are trying to raise money for the year-old Nefesh B'Nefesh Jewish American charity that helps immigrants from North America. The private volunteer group has run into financial problems. The Prime Minister's Office recently appealed to Jewish Agency Chairman Sallai Meridor to help the group financially. New York sources say thegroup's leaders have prepared a $2.3 million budget but Meridor turned down the PMO's request.
Lawmakers to debate IDF reserve duty policy
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
The Knesset will devote all its debates today to various aspects of the Israel Defense Forces' reserve duty policy. Senior officers including Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon and chief reserves' officer Brigadier-General Ariel Heiman will take part in the debates....The movement for unconditional reserve duty (Baltam is the group's Hebrew acronym) will hold a protest vigil at the Knesset's entrance, protesting the ministers' legislation committee's failure to approve a number of bills initiated by MK Gilad Erdan to improve reserve soldiers' conditions.
IDF: annual reserve duty to be reduced to 16 days
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
Annual duty for IDF reserve soldiers who are not officers will be gradually reduced over a several year period to 16 days per year, IDF manpower commander Brigadier General Avi Zamir told the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee on Tuesday. The IDF's chief reserve officer, Brigadier General Ariel Heiman, said that he has recently appealed to more than 50 employers to withdraw threats to fire employees serving in the reserve forces.
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Human
Rights..
'Release minors from jail'
News24.com 2003-07-29
Jerusalem - Palestinian prisoners affairs minister Hisham Abdelrazeq said on Tuesday that 361 Palestinian children were being held in Israeli prisons and demanded their immediate release. A statement from the minister said that the minors' treatment in jails was "inhuman and cruel", adding that "children should be a priority among those prisoners to be released" and criticizing the fact some are "jailed for long periods of times... without trial".
Israel: Don’t Outlaw Family Life
Human Rights Watch 2003-07-28
New York, July 28, 2003) Israeli legislators should reject a discriminatory bill being rushed through the Knesset, Human Rights Watch said today. If passed, the bill would bar Palestinians married to Israelis from living with their spouses in Israel, affecting thousands of couples....“This bill blatantly discriminates against Israelis of Palestinian origin and their Palestinian spouses,” said Hanny Megally, executive director of the Middle East and North Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. “It’s scandalous that the Government has presented this bill – and it’s shocking that the Knesset is rushing it through.”
Sewage water threatening northern Gaza
Palestinian Information Center 2003-07-29
Gaza - Experts have warned of an environmental disaster within the few coming days as a result of the collapse of sand barriers in the sewage collection station in north of Gaza Strip. The experts said that an urgent solution was needed to avoid such a disaster and held the Zionist entity responsible over the possible drowning of nearby citizens’ houses due to its refusal to cooperate in solving the problem....A German expert said that the polluted water was threatening health of inhabitants of that area and would have serious future impacts such as spread of parasites, cancer, diarrhea and anemia in addition to chest diseases. She noted that polluted water had flooded some of the citizens’ houses and cultivated lands damaging crops and killing animals in the process.
Report: The humanitarian crisis and prospects for the roadmap to peace
Electronic Intifada/Christian Aid 2003-07-28
Since the publication of Losing Ground, Christian Aid's investigation into the extent and causes of Palestinian poverty, in January 2003, the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has deteriorated sharply. Poverty levels and unemployment are now reaching crisis proportions creating a humanitarian crisis, the levels of which Christian Aid has not seen in fifty years of work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
ISM: Updates July 28, 2003
International Solidarity Movement 2003-07-29
1) Correction / 2) Apartheid Wall breached by activists / 3) A Nation or a Prison, by Mike McCurdy -- Correction: Our earlier report stated that 30 internationals and 20 Israelis joined the villagers in Anin. More accurate numbers = over 50 internationals and 30 Israelis.
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Economy..
Palestinians Ask Donors for $416 Million in Emergency Assistance
Alternative Information Center/Daily Star 2003-07-29
Money needed to tackle unemployment, poverty -- The Palestinian Authority (PA) asked for an emergency aid package of $416 million for the next six months during a meeting here Monday with international donors, official sources said. The meeting was attended on the Palestinian side by Finance Minister Salam Fayad, Planning Minister Nabil Qassis and Economy Minister Maher al-Masri. Among the donor countries and institutions represented were the United States, European Union, United Nations, Japan as well as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Economic Models Israel: Unemployment will be 13.8% in 2004
Globes 2003-07-29
Economic Models Israel CEO Yaakov Sheinin: The budget deficit will be only 3.5% of GDP. -- “The Bank of Israel is not entitled to destroy the country. If that’s what independence means, then it should be abrogated,” Economic Models Israel CEO Yaakov Sheinin said today at a conference of senor Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor officials in Jerusalem. The conference deals with economic forecasts and estimates for 2003-2004.
Marani: Further welfare cuts likely in 2004 budget
Globes 2003-07-29
Ministry of Finance director general Ohad Marani: Substantial cuts must also be made in the 2004 defense budget. -- The Ministry of Finance is planning substantial cuts in the defense budget in the 2004 budget, Ministry of Finance director general Ohad Marani told "Globes". He declined to state the amount of the cut, but it is estimated that half the planned NIS 7-10 billion cut in the 2004 budget will be in the defense budget.
Homeless in the Homeland
Village Voice, July 23 - 29, 2003 0000-00-00
In one of the stores lining Tel Aviv's Downtown Square, a pair of Miu Miu pumps adorned with raspberry and pink paillettes are half off at 900 New Israeli Shekels (about $215). Kikar Hamedina, as the "square" is called in Hebrew, is actually a circle, the largest, most elegant roundabout in the city. It's ringed with designer boutiques both foreign and Israeli—Gucci, Gaultier, Helmut Lang—and coffee bars peddling $5 iced cappuccinos; the center is adorned with flowering shrubs and a large fountain. And a shantytown.
Astrachan: "Israel's economy showing signs of deflation"
Globes 2003-07-29
Former Merrill Lynch strategist Mike Astrachan: Taking all signs together, a clear picture emerges that isn't a 'maybe'. -- "Israel's economy is showing clear signs of a deflationary spiral," said former Merrill Lynch market strategist Mike Astrachan. He said characteristic deflationary signs were falling prices, wages, and asset values, a credit crunch, a decline in the money supply, high unemployment, and a drop in GDP per capita.
Israel pays $20m to join JSF program
Globes 2003-07-29
Israel will have observer status with access to information accumulated during development. Deliveries to Israel will begin in 2012. -- Consul for the Defense Procurement Mission at the Israel consulate in New York Chaim Adar and the US Department of Defense have signed an agreement for Israel's participation in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Israel will pay $20 million for participation rights, so far as is known the lowest amount paid by participating countries....The agreement should enable Israeli defense companies to expand their relations with Lockheed-Martin and its main partners Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), BAE Systems (LSE: BA), General Electric (NYSE:GE), and Pratt and Whitney.
Israel starts exportation of its products to Iraq
Arabic News 2003-07-29
The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot said yesterday that scores of Israeli companies started several days ago to export their products to Iraq after it had got the consent of the Israeli ministry of finance. The paper added that these companies seek trade dealings with Iraq through foreign companies and exporting through Jordan or Turkey.
State prepares to privatize Oil Refineries
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
The state is forming a new plan to separate its holdings in Oil Refineries (known in Hebrew as Bazan) from those of Israel Corp. (IC) and to privatize the company. Informed sources told Haaretz the IC, which is controlled by the Ofer family and currently holds 26 percent in Oil Refineries, has agreed in principle to the plan.
Klein: investment, consumer spending likely to fall in 2004
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
The Governor of the Bank of Israel David Klein predicted Tuesday that there would be a continuation of the decline in investment and consumer spending in 2004, as well as a further increase in unemployment. He also warned that there would be no growth in the economy.
Welfare ministry to meet with two groups of single mothers
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
Dov Goldberger, the director general of the Welfare Ministry, will meet Tuesday afternoon with two groups of single mothers in their protest camp set up outside the Prime Minister’s Office. The once-unified group of protesting mothers split Monday after harsh arguments between the sides forced the cancellation of a meeting with Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev.
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People..
Immigration down 39% to 9,200 in first half
Globes 2003-07-29
Only 9,200 people immigrated to Israel in the first half of 2003, a steep 39% drop, compared with the corresponding period last year, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. Although 5,100 immigrants came from the former Soviet Union, 56% of all immigrants, this was 40% fewer than in the first half of 2002.
Palestinian 'baby boom' may affect road to peace
Toronto Globe and Mail 2003-07-29
RAMALLAH, WEST BANK -- Three-day-old Laif lay bawling on a bed in Ramallah hospital, wedged between his mother and grandmother. Although he has no way of knowing it, he may be part of the reason Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is getting serious about the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan....Because the birthrate is higher among Palestinian Arabs than among Israeli Jews, within as little as a decade Jews could be outnumbered "between the Jordan River and the [Mediterranean] Sea."... Although it has been hard to collect statistics during the current Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule -- now three years old -- there is a consensus that the Palestinian birth rate has risen yet further. "There is a baby boom," said Saada Jabr, an obstetrician at the hospital. "No one is working. Everyone is sitting at home."
Palestinians, Israelis brought together in Wagner's shadow
Middle East Online 2003-07-29
Bayreuth is synonymous with the annual month-long summer music festival dedicated exclusively to the works of Richard Wagner (1813-1883), a vitriolic anti-semite and the favourite composer of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. But running almost parallel with the legendary festival is a smaller independent one, aimed at searching out "the stars of tomorrow" from promising young students all over the world. And this year's Young Artists' Festival, the 53rd since its inception in 1950, will bring together a group of Israeli and Palestinian musicians, painters and dancers in what the festival's organisers hope will provide "a small step" in promoting political and cultural dialogue between the two peoples.
Organs from Palestinian child help save 3 Israeli children
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
Three Israeli children Tuesday received the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys of an 11-year-old Palestinian boy from the West Bank village of Qurza. The boy was pronounced brain dead after suffering a severe head injury. The boy's mother agreed to transplant the organs on Monday night, after doctors at the Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petah Tikva, where he had been hospitalized for several days, informed her that he was brain dead.
Brother of Palestinian Prime Minister on trial in Jordan for embezzlement
Al-Bawaba 2003-07-28
The brother of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas is being tried in absentia by Jordan’s State Security Court for the forgery of documents connected to a bank embezzlement scam. Ahmad Reda Shehadeh Abbas is one of six men being prosecuted in a larger $500 million bank fraud case.
The Tabboun: Arab Community Insider
Ray Hanania, Palestine Chronicle 2003-07-28
For the week of Monday, July 28, 2003. Community insider column on events, personalities and facts. Posted every Monday.
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International..
Syria seeks FTA with Turkey, calls for regional front against US domination
Al-Bawaba 2003-07-29
Turkey’s Foreign Trade Minister Kursat Tuzmen has announced plans to establish a Free Trade Zone (FTA) with Syria, creating commerce centers along the Turkish-Syrian border. The two sides are expected to finalize a deal on double taxation prevention and mutual investment during Syrian Prime Minister Mustapha Miro's visit to Ankara on July 29-30. The call for bilateral cooperation follows a statement by Miro on July 28, that regional countries such as Turkey, Iran and Syria should fortify relations in order to defend against US efforts to restructure the Middle East.
U.S. House Majority Leader DeLay meets `last generation of terror orphans'
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, right, in a Jerusalem meeting yesterday with children orphaned by terror attacks. DeLay also met Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
Egyptian democracy advocate sues President Hosni Mubarak
Ha'aretz 2003-07-29
CAIRO, Egypt - An Egyptian democracy advocate is suing President Hosni Mubarak for violating the constitution by leaving the vice presidency vacant, suggesting it was a means to enable a smooth succession for his son. In the lawsuit filed June 19 and postponed Tuesday for hearing on Nov. 11, lawyer Essam al-Islambouli said the only reason Mubarak has not appointed a vice president is to "arrange the house from inside and to facilitate the succession of power."
Saudi FM Meets Bush Over 'Classified' 9/11 Claims
Islam Online 2003-07-29
WASHINGTON, July 29 (IslamOline.net & News Agencies) – Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal will meet Tuesday, July 29, with U.S. President George W. Bush over a congressional report allegedly linking Saudi government agents and some of the 9/11 hijackers. Prince Saud will tackle with Bush the controversial classified 28 pages of the 900-page report, which dealt with the allegations about Saudi Arabia, reported the Washington Post.
Immigrants Fear Deportation After Registration
Washington Post 2003-07-29
Number of Mideast, Muslim Men Expelled Rises Sharply -- With little public notice outside immigrant communities, the government is moving to deport the largest number of visitors from Middle Eastern and other Muslim countries in U.S. history -- more than 13,000 of the nearly 83,000 men older than 16 who complied with the registration program by various deadlines between last September and April.
Washington: Libya has not met demands to solve the Lockerbie issue
Arabic News 2003-07-29
In a sign that the efforts to resolve the problems between US and Libya have not been resolved, the US said yesterday that Libya has not fulfilled the UN demands especially accepting responsibility for the bomb which went off in the American Pan-Am plane airline over Lockerbie town in Scotland in 1998 and resulted in killing 270 persons.
Following Monday shootout, Saudi security forces look for additional nine ''terrorists''
Al-Bawaba 2003-07-29
Saudi Arabia's wanted man, Ahmad Naser Al-Dakheel was killed in Monday's shootout between a group of armed men and police forces in the town of Gadhi, in the region of Qasim, a Saudi security source was quoted Tuesday as saying by Okaz daily. Al-Dakheel was no. 13 on the list of 19 "terrorists" that Saudi officials had named on May 7th and was the mastermind of the Mecca shooting, which killed five of his associates, two police officers and resulted in the arrest of 12 men.
Pentagon to issue terrorism futures
The Guardian 2003-07-29
The Pentagon today came under fire for a novel idea to create a futures trading market to help it predict terrorist attacks and assassinations in the Middle East. The initiative, called the Policy Analysis Market (Pam), will allow traders to place money on an online market to back their hunches on, for example, a coup in Jordan or a biological attack on Israel. [PAM web site: http://www.policyanalysismarket.org/]
Pentagon Abandons Terrorism Betting Plan
The Guardian 2003-07-29
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon will abandon a plan to establish a futures market to help predict terrorist strikes, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Tuesday. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said he spoke by phone with the head of the agency overseeing the program, Tony Tether, ``and we mutually agreed that this thing should be stopped.'' Tether is the head of the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA.
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