Conflict..

Israeli forces kill Nablus leader of Al Aqsa Brigades and injure five more Palestinians Palestine News Network 8/31/2006 In the daily invasion of Nablus, Israeli forces killed Fadi Kafisha at dawn Thursday. The 27 year old was the Nablus leader of Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed resistance wing affiliated with the Fateh party. An Al Aqsa spokesperson condemned the killing and threatened reprisal. Director of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees in Nablus, Dr. Ghassan Hamdan, told PNN that Israeli forces opened fire on paramedics attempting to transport the injured, and Kafisha’s body, to the hospital. Local sources report that Israeli special forces raided the Qaryoun neighborhood in the city center after overtaking parts of the Old City for military installations. Eyewitnesses said that the armed resistance became involved in the heart of neighborhood where Kafisha was killed. more.. 100 Palestinians from Hebron arrested during month of August Palestine News Network 8/31/2006 Official sources at the Palestinian Prisoner Society in Hebron reported Thursday that Israeli forces took nine Palestinians from the southern West Bank district to unknown locations early this morning. Today’s raids began south of Hebron City and moved northeast. South of the city Israeli forces invaded the town of Al Thaheriya and arrested five people as reported by the Prisoner Society. Two brothers and their families were hit hard this morning. Twenty-nine and 23 year old Amjad and Iyad Sharif Waredah, 24 year old Mohammad Arif Waredah, 34 year old Mahmoud Awad Waredah and 25 year old Anwar Ezzat Waredah were all residents of Al Thaheriya and are now in unknown locales. more.. Israeli forces leave Ash-Shuja''iyyah destroyed Ma''an News 8/31/2006 Gaza -- Women stand before the ruins of their houses. Children play in the ruins hoping to find anything they can use at the beginning of the school year. Others begin their day by checking up on each other now that the Israeli tanks have withdrawn from the Ash-Shuja''iyyah neighbourhood of Gaza City after six days of destruction. The Israeli military tanks have left behind a wave of death and destruction: at least 21 Palestinians were killed and more than 80 were injured. Ash-Shuja''iyyah looks like a hurricane has struck it. A Palestinian who was checking on his damaged house said, "We were woken up at 11pm to find an Israeli bulldozer in front of the door. Soldiers headed to us and tied up all the men, including my father who is an old man.... when we came back home, we discovered that everything was gone including the houses and farms. " more.. Police capture armed Palestinian seeking asylum in U.K. embassy Ha''aretz 9/1/2006 Police special forces stormed the British Embassy in Tel Aviv late on Thursday evening and captured a Palestinian man who had been holed up inside for eight hours, claiming to have a gun and demanding political asylum. No one was injured. Police said the forces seized and disarmed the man after he laid down his pistol for a second to eat food that they had given to him. After the arrest, the authorities discovered that the weapon was plastic, the police said in a statement..... Nadim Injaz, 28, a resident of Ramallah and former police informant, burst into the embassy by jumping a fence at 2:30 P. M. In a dramatic interview on live television on Thursday evening, he said that he would rather die than return to the West Bank, where he feared Palestinian militants would kill him due to what he claimed was his cooperation with Israel''s security services. more.. Palestinian woman injured by US-troops fire in Iraq International Middle East Media Center 9/1/2006 The Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, reported on Thursday that a Palestinian refugee was shot and injured by American troops fire in Iraq. The woman was shot as she was leaving her home in the Palestinian area in Al Dawra area located in the souther district of Baghdad. WAFA stated that the woman, was shot by sniper-fire and was transferred to a nearby hospital. Her Husband, Ibrahim Ahmad Al Hawwy, 45, said that she is originally from Ein Ghazal, one of the Palestinian villages that were completely destroyed by Israel in 1948, near Haifa. The attack is part of a series of attacks against Palestinian refugees in Iraq, the attacks were mainly carried by groups that started targeting the Palestinian refugees in Iraq after warning them to leave the country of face death. 661 attacks were carried against the Palestinian refugees in Iraq... more.. Army invades Annin and Jalkamos villages near Jenin and takes two prisoners International Middle East Media Center 8/31/2006 The Israeli army invaded the villages of Annin and Jalkamos near the West Bank city of Jenin on Thursday morning, and took two residents as prisoners. Eyewitnesses in the two villages said Soldiers stormed residents'' houses in both villages searched them and ransacked them before taking Harbi Yassin, 19 from Annin, and Ala Abu Jaber, 21 from Jalkamos prisoners and transfering them to unknown location. [end] more.. 72 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in August, 190 were injured, 220 were arrested Ma''an News 8/31/2006 Nablus -- Nablus - Ma''an – 52 Palestinian men were killed by the Israeli army in August 2006. 6 Palestinian women were killed. 14 Palestinian children were killed. These are just some of the findings revealed in the monthly report compiled by the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). In addition, 190 Palestinians were injured during this period, including 62 children and women, the report says. The Israeli forces arrested 220 Palestinians in August, including 10 women. 61 Palestinian houses were destroyed, 46 completely. 15 houses were taken over as military posts. More than 500 olive trees were burned down and 2293 hectares of Palestinian land were confiscated for the enlargement of the illegal Israeli settlements and the illegal separation wall. more.. Three Palestinians arrested in morning raids in the West Bank Ma''an News 8/31/2006 Jenin -- Ma''an - Israeli forces arrested three Palestinians in early morning raids in the occupied West Bank on Thursday. According to eyewitnesses, five Israeli military vehicles raided ''Anin, a village west of Jenin in the very north of the West Bank, and arrested Harbi Yassin, 20, after searching his house. Israeli troops also invaded Jalqamus, a village southeast of Jenin, and arrested Ala''a Abu Jabir, 20. Israeli troops also raided the villages of Arraba, Kafr Ra''i and Fahma southwest of Jenin and fired at residents'' houses. Eyewitnesses reported that the Israeli forces set up a number of temporary military barriers at the entrance to these three towns where they inspected passing vehicles and checked the citizens'' ID''s. more.. Faction leader killed by masked gunmen in northern Gaza Ma''an News 8/31/2006 Gaza -- Gaza - Ma''an – The head of a Palestinian faction in the Gaza Strip was killed by masked gunmen on Thursday morning, Palestinian security sources have reported. The sources said that masked gunmen assassinated Ra''ed Nahhal, the leader of the Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) in the north of the Gaza Strip early on Thursday. The sources reported that the masked men opened fire at Nahhal in the Ash Shati refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip, killing him instantly. Nakhal was reported to have been driving through the streets of Gaza City with his wife when masked gunman opened intense fire on him. The gunmen fired 15 bullets into him, killing him immediately. His wife escaped uninjured. more.. Unidentified gunmen kidnap a Palestinian citizen in Khan Younis Ma''an News 8/31/2006 Khan Younis -- Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a Palestinian citizen in the centre of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning and took him to un unknown destination. Eyewitnesses told Ma''an that a number of armed men broke into a laboratory on Al Lahham Street in the city centre amid heavy gunfire and abducted Osama Shahwan. A media source in the executive forces, the Palestinian interior ministry''s security forces, said that the armed kidnappers came from the Al Masri family. The source said that this kidnapping followed the accidental killing of one of the Al Masri family members at the hands of the executive force a few days ago. The source explained that Shahwan, the abducted man, is a relative of the commander of the executive forces in Khan Younis. more.. Al-Quds Brigades launch eight projectiles at Sderot; 4 Israelis suffer shock Ma''an News 8/31/2006 Jenin – Ma''an – The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed group of Islamic Jihad, have claimed responsibility for launching eight home-made, advanced ''Quds-3'' projectiles at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. In a statement, the Brigades said that the Israeli authorities admitted that four Israelis suffered shock and that many cars were damaged. The Brigades affirmed that the operation marks the first retaliatory attack for the assassination of its West Bank leader, Husam Jaradat, and confirmed that they will continue to retaliate for the Israel massacres committed in the eastern Gaza neighbourhood of Ash-Shuja''iyyah. [end] more.. At least 3 Qassams hit Sderot area, one structure burns Ha''aretz 8/31/2006 Palestinian gunners in the Gaza Strip fired at least three Qassam rockets into the area of the western Negev town of Sderot early Thursday. As many as five rockets may have been fired in the salvo, two of them exploding inside the town, Israel Radio reported. It said two people were treated for anxiety after the rockets landed. One of the rockets hit a shed next to a house. The shed caught fire, the report said. [end] more.. Leaflets dropped on northern Gaza blame resistance Palestine News Network 8/31/2006 The Israeli military is holding the armed Palestinian resistance responsible for Israeli attacks and closures. Eyewitnesses report that Israeli aircraft dropped tens of thousands of leaflets on the northern Gaza Strip blaming the resistance for pedestrian and commercial crossings closures, including Rafah’s southern border with Egypt. Residents said Thursday that the leaflets were printed in Arabic using inflammatory language and outrageous accusations. According to the Israeli publication members of the resistance are “terrorists,” using their communities as “hostages in their hands. ”The leaflet continued to read, “The IDF crossings are a vital and important lifeline provided to you and the IDF spared no effort to open additional crossings for the convenience of the population... " more.. Israeli police detains a Palestinian in the Jordan valley International Middle East Media Center 8/31/2006 Israeli police stationed at Tayasser checkpoint east of the West Bank city of Tubas in the Jordan valley area have taken on Palestinian as a prisoner Thursday afternoon. Eyewitnesses said Israeli police officers stopped the man searched him then handcuffed him and took him to unknown location. The reason for the arrest and the name of the arrestee remain unknown. [end] more.. Previously unknown group, the "Syrian National Resistance", threaten to kidnap Israeli soldiers Ma''an News 8/31/2006 Bethlehem -- A group calling itself the "Syrian National Resistance" have threatened to kidnap Israeli soldiers in order to exchange them with 16 Syrian citizens who the Israeli forces took prisoner in the occupied Golan Heights twenty years ago. In a statement, the previously unknown group praised the victory of the Lebanese resistance, Hezbollah, against Israel. [end] more.. West Bank mayor injured in car crash at Huwwara checkpoint Ma''an News 8/31/2006 Nablus – Ma''an -- Nablus – Ma''an - The mayor of Al Lubban, a village between Nablus and Ramallah in the northern West Bank, and two of his companions were injured during a car crash with an Israeli settler''s car at Huwwara checkpoint south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Eyewitnesses told Ma''an that Ziad Moussa, 40, was driving his car with two of his companions when a settler''s truck surprised them and crashed into them. Mr. Moussa was injured in the accident and transferred to the Arabic Hospital in Nablus. Medical sources said that his injury is "light" and his two companions were "averagely" injured. [end] more.. Pre-war Beirut wins high honor from travel magazine The Daily Star 9/1/2006 BEIRUT: To be filed away under "oh so bitterly ironic," the globetrotting lifestyle magazine Travel + Leisure has published its annual list of the world''s 10 best cities - and Beirut clocks in at number nine. The list is based on a survey of 23,000 readers who evaluate some 500,000 hotels, resorts, cruise lines, travel agencies, airlines and more for a round of specialized awards, which serve to buttress the best city awards. This is the first time Beirut has made the cut, though obviously the magazine went to print before the bombs started falling on fabulous destination number nine. The nod from Travel + Leisure comes late in the game of glossy magazines rediscovering Beirut after the end of Lebanon''s Civil War. more.. Israeli troops begin Gaza pullout AlJazeera 8/31/2006 Israeli soldiers have begun withdrawing from the outskirts of Gaza City, following a five-day operation to uncover tunnels and explosives in which 18 Palestinians were killed. The Israeli army said on Thursday that the soldiers were withdrawing from Shijaya district, which it first raided late on Saturday. Palestinian emergency officials said the Israeli soldiers killed a total of 18 Palestinians in air strikes and gun battles. The Israeli army also released footage and photos of what it described as a tunnel dug by Palestinian armed groups from Shijaya to the Karni crossing, the main cargo crossing between Gaza and Israel. The army said the tunnel, which was 13m deep and 150m long and was reinforced with wooden beams, was to be used for an attack on Israeli soldiers at the crossing. more.. Maps - West Bank separation barrier and Gaza - July 2006 ReliefWeb/Foundation for Middle East Peace 8/31/2006 * Type: Complex Emergency; Natural Disaster; Reference - Political * Keyword(s): Access; Population and Demographics* Format: PDF *, 464k -- Latest maps: Occupied Palestinian Territory: 30 Aug 2006 Compromising Palestinian Jerusalem - The Adumim Bloc (PDF, 394k) / 30 Aug 2006 West Bank separation barrier - July 2006 (PDF, 464k) / 30 Aug 2006 Metropolitan Jerusalem - August 2006 (PDF, 603k) / 30 Aug 2006 Israeli settlement in and around the old city of Jerusalem - August 2006 (PDF, 570k) / 25 Aug 2006 FMEP Israeli disengagement options - February 2005 (PDF, 289k) / Occupied Palestinian Territory: West Bank Closure - Bethlehem - Jun 2006 (PDF, 1. 42mb) / 20 Jul 2006 UNRWA area of operations - 2005 (PDF, 493k) / 14 Jul 2006 OCHA Gaza: Access & closure situation report map - Apr 2005 (PDF, 380k)... more.. Israeli forces kill nine Palestinians in eastern Gaza City Wednesday Palestine News Network 8/30/2006 In another day in the ongoing spate of attacks on the eastern Gaza City Al Shajaiyeh neighborhood, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians. Among them are three members of the armed resistance wing of Fateh, Al Aqsa Brigades, one from Saraya Al Quds, the armed resistance wing of Islamic Jihad, and another from Al Qassam Brigades, the armed resistance wing of Hamas. Israeli forces also killed four Palestinian citizens, including three children: 12 year old Hussam Al Sersawi, 14 year old Nidal Dahdouh and 15 year old Khalid Abu Suleiman; and 30 year old Iyad Al Sersawi. Since Sunday, Israeli forces have killed 20 people. Tens more people are injured as the Israeli military remains in the Al Muntar area. This morning Israeli forces fired a tank shell, killing three Palestinians.... more.. Israeli forces kill Nablus head of Al Aqsa Brigades and injure five more Palestinians Palestine News Network 8/31/2006 In the daily invasion of Nablus, Israeli forces killed Fadi Kafisha at dawn Thursday. The 27 year old was the Nablus head of Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed resistance wing affiliated with the Fateh party. An Al Aqsa spokesperson condemned the killing and threatened reprisal. Local sources report that Israeli special forces raided the Qaryoun neighborhood in the city center after overtaking parts of the Old City for military installations. Eyewitnesses said that the armed resistance became involved in the heart of neighborhood where Kafisha was killed. The Director of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees, Dr. Ghassan Hamdan, said Kafisha’s body had numerous bullet holes throughout. Israeli forces also injured five Palestinians. more.. Israeli forces withdraw from eastern Gaza City leaving behind 20 dead, 40 injured and 100s scarred Palestine News Network 8/31/2006 Israeli forces withdrew from eastern Gaza City’s Al Shajaiyeh neighborhood through the Al Muntar (Karni) Commercial Crossing Thursday. Using war planes, helicopters, tanks and snipers, Israeli forces killed 20 Palestinians, injured at least 40, and trapped hundreds inside their homes during a four day attack. Families who could not leave reported severe food shortages. However no gas could get through for cooking as the area was closed. But the most desperate for Al Shajaiyeh families, as reported by Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, was for milk for the children. Israeli soldiers forced some families to leave their homes, demolishing a few of them and using others as military installations. The assault began pre-dawn Sunday. more.. 4 Israelis beat IDF soldier, break through West Bank checkpoint Ha''aretz 8/30/2006 Four Israelis were arrested Wednesday after attacking an Israel Defense Forces soldier and breaking through a West Bank checkpoint in an effort to reach the area of the evacuated Sa-Nur settlement. The men were arrested after soldiers fired warning shots in the air. The four, ranging in age from 19-27, include two former Sa-Nur residents, reached the checkpoint and told told the soldiers that they want to visit the former settlement of Sa-Nur. Since the evacuation of the settlement as part of the disengagement plan last summer, the former settlement was designated by GOC Central Command as a closed military zone. After the troops informed the men that they could not pass the checkpoint, they got out of their cars, beat one of the soldiers, and continued driving. Only after soldiers fired in the air did the men stop. more.. Faction leader, who survived an assassination attempt last week, dies in a Jordanian hospital of his wounds Ma''an News 8/30/2006 Jenin – Gaza -- Jenin – Gaza- Ma''an – The West Bank leader of the Al Quds Brigades has died in a Jordanian hospital after five days of treatment following an Israeli assassination attempt in Jenin refugee camp last week. Hussam Jaradat, 43, was seriously injured when Israeli soldiers attempted to assassinate him in Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank. Jaradat, who is considered to be the West Bank leader of the Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, was transported to Jordan for treatment. He died of his wounds. Mahmoud As Sadi, an Islamic Jihad leader, told Ma''an that Israel created many obstacles to hinder the transfer of Jaradat to Jordan for treatment. As Sadi said that this caused delays in Jaradat''s admission to hospital. more.. Israeli forces break into two Palestinian towns near Jenin Ma''an News 8/30/2006 Jenin - Ma''an – Israeli forces broke into the office of detained Palestinian Legislative Council member (Hamas) Ibrahim Dahbor in the West Bank town of Arraba. Governmental and non-governmental institutions in Arraba, south west of Jenin, denounced the raid. The same Israeli force broke into the town of Fahma, southwest of Arraba and destroyed a printing press, machines and other equipment. [end] more.. IDF exposes tunnel near Gaza YNet News 8/30/2006 Palestinian plans to carry out "terror" attack in Karni crossing area foiled by IDF troops -- The Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet foiled a "terror" attack in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the army said Wednesday. Troops located and destroyed a tunnel in the Sajjaiyeh area of northern Gaza which was dug in the direction of the Karni crossing where "terrorists" had planned to carry out an attack. The tunnel''s pit was found in a building situated 1. 3 kilometers from the border. Troops were impressed by the width and depth of the tunnel, which was estimated to have been dug weeks ago. The army said the tunnel was dug in the direction of the Karni crossing where "terror" groups had planned to attack Israeli soldiers and civilians operating the crossing. more.. Israeli Troops Withdraw From Southeastern Lebanon An Nahar 8/30/2006 Israeli troops have withdrawn from eastern parts of south Lebanon, the United Nations peacekeeping force said on Wednesday as it began patrolling the strategic sector. The Israeli army pulled back from the regions of Bastara, Kfarshuba and Shabaa, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said, adding that it would patrol the Lebanese side of the border to verify there were no more Israeli soldiers there. Lebanese troops are to eventually take over responsibility for the area for the first time in decades, with UNIFIL acting as a go-between. On Sunday, Israeli forces still occupied nine positions in southern Lebanon, two weeks after a truce was declared between the Israelis and Hizbullah fighters, a Lebanese army spokesman said. And Israeli incursions continued under the cover of darkness, he added. more.. Disguised Israeli forces abduct a Palestinian fighter in Tulkarem Ma''an News 8/30/2006 Tulkarem -- An Israeli special force broke into Tulkarem refugee camp in the northern West Bank on Wednesday and abducted Thaer Amarah, an active member of the Al Aqsa Brigades. The leader of the Al Aqsa Brigade in Tulkarem, the main military wing of Fatah, told Ma''an, "I received a call from Amarah and we agreed to meet at a shop in the refugee camp. When I arrived in the given place, I noticed Israeli Special Forces wearing Palestinian ''keffiyehs'' on their heads stepping out of a car. I backed off when they started shooting and after that they abducted Thaer Amarah and left. During the operation, 13-year old Ayman Khalid Tanja was injured in the abdomen and Anan Mahmoud Sarhan in the neck. more.. 224 killed, 888 injured in Israel''s Summer Rains offesnive International Middle East Media Center 8/30/2006 The Palestinian Ministry of Health issued a report on Wednesday on the Israeli Summer Rains military offensis that started late June 2006, and revealed that Israeli soldiers killed 224 reisdents, including 62 children, and injured 888 reisdents. The report showed that 132 males, and 25 females were killed in addition to five reisdents who died at the Rafah Border Crossing after they were stranded there for several weeks due to the israeli complete closure and seige imposed on the Gaza Strip. 32 residents were killed by rounds of live ammunition, 86 died by missiless, 99 died after they were hit by shells fragmentations, and five died at the Rafah Border Crossing. Bodies of 74 residents were severly mutilated. Over the past three days, 25 reisdents were killed, including 16 who were killed in Al Shujaeyya neighborhoud in Gaza City. more.. Army invades Habla village near Qalqilia,takes one prisoner International Middle East Media Center 8/30/2006 Israeli troops invaded Habla village south of the West Bank city of Qalqilia and took one prisoner on Wednesday. Khalid Ramadan, 30, was taken to an unknown destination, after soldiers searched his house and confiscated his tractor, eyewitnesses reported. [end] more.. Israeli troops in northern Gaza meet continued resistance Ma''an News 8/30/2006 Gaza -- Gaza - Ma''an – Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza have attacked an Israeli military post and bulldozer in the northern Gaza Strip. The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), have claimed responsibility for launching two mortars into an Israeli military post east of Deir Al Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon. In a statement, the Brigades said that the launching operation was in response to the ongoing Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people especially in the Ash Shaja''iyyah district in the north of the Strip and the assassination of the Al Quds Brigades'' leader, Hussam Jaradat. The Brigades also confirmed that they will continue their resistance against the Israeli occupation. more.. Settlers uproot scores of olive trees in Yatta near Hebron International Middle East Media Center 8/30/2006 A group of right wing Jewish settlers from the illegal settlement of Sousa uprooted on Wednesday scores of olive trees that belong to Palestinian farmers from the nearby village of Yatta south of the West Bank city of Hebron. Local sources reported that settlers uprooted trees located near an Israeli army post just outside the village. Settlers have repeatedly targeted the residents, their property and farmlands in addition to attacking the international volunteers who comes to the area to help the people. [end] more.. Israeli forces attack Jenin refugee camp for third consecutive day Ma''an News 8/30/2006 Jenin -- Fighters from the Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, clashed with Israeli forces who invaded Jenin refugee camp on Wednesday. A source in the Brigades said that "Israeli forces reinforced with military vehicles raided the camp from all directions. Fighters from the Al Quds Brigades confronted them and hit the patrols directly". The source confirmed that the assassination of the general leader of the Al Quds Brigades in the West Bank, Hussam Jaradat, will not weaken their group, saying that the Brigades will continue to resist the Israeli occupation. Israeli forces have been attempting to penetrate the camp for three days but every time, they clash with fighters from the Al Quds Brigades. [end] more.. Army storms offices of Cultural Center in a Hebron village International Middle East Media Center 8/29/2006 Israeli troops stormed the offices of Al Anwar Cultural Center in Doura village, south of the West Bank city of Hebron, on Tuesday morning. soldiers confiscated computers, files and documents and then ransacked the office causing damage, eyewitnesses reported. The center is an educational and cultural facility and has no affiliation with any political group, members of the center administration said. [end] more.. Headlines from International Middle East Media Center International Middle East Media Center 8/30/2006 Army invades Qalqilia Army invades Tulkarem city and the nearby Zita village Army invades Tammoun village east of Tubas Army takes two prisoners from Sourif village near Hebron Army storms offices of Cultural Center in a Hebron village Army continues to attack near Sofa crossing and takes four prisoners Israeli soldier injured as anti-tank shell hit tank in Gaza Army invades Okbat Jaber refugee camp in Jericho and takes one prisoner more.. Israeli Siege Leaves Gaza Isolated and Desperate Washington Post 8/28/2006 GAZA CITY, Aug. 27 -- As the sun beat down on the city''s central market, Khitam Shahleen, 37, glumly picked through a pile of cheap pencil sharpeners, searching for something -- anything -- she could afford to buy her two sons for the start of the new school year. "We don''t have money," Shahleen said, eyes downcast beneath her head scarf. Her husband, who works as a laborer in Israel, has been trapped inside the Gaza Strip by a blockade. "We are imprisoned here," she said. The war in southern Lebanon has overshadowed Israel''s second front, a military and economic siege of the Gaza Strip that is deepening the poverty and desperation in this dense area of 1. 4 million people. More than 200 Palestinians, at least 44 of them children, have been killed in the past 8 1/2 weeks. more.. Syria: Group threatens to kidnap troops Jerusalem Post 8/30/2006 A previously unknown group threatened Wednesday to abduct Israeli soldiers to swap them for Syrian prisoners in Israel. In a statement faxed to foreign news agencies in Damascus, a group calling itself the Men of the National Syrian Resistance threatened to "take the necessary measures" to secure the release of 16 Syrians jailed in Israel. It listed the names of four men it said have been detained in Israel for 22 years. The group said the men had been charged with "resisting Israeli occupation in the Golan. ""The continuing detention of our comrades makes us exert all-out efforts to secure their release," the statement said. The group called theirs a "humanitarian and just demand. " more.. Al-Qassam Brigades launch two projectiles at invading Israeli military vehicles Ma''an News 8/30/2006 Gaza -- The Izzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has claimed responsibility on Wednesday for launching two home-made projectiles at a group of Israeli military vehicles in eastern Ash-Shuja''iyya in the northern Gaza Strip. They affirmed that the operation comes as part of a "retaliation" battle which aims to block the Israeli invasion of Ash-Shuja''iyya and to retaliate for the frequent Israeli aggressions. [end] more.. Lebanon Fears Major Layoffs, Surge in Unemployment up to 20% An Nahar 8/30/2006 War-damage to Lebanese businesses and a debilitating seven-week Israeli blockade will lead to large-scale layoffs and a spike in unemployment, analysts say. Companies laid off thousands of workers after Israeli troops launched a massive offensive in Lebanon on July 12 against Hizbullah, bosses and trade unions say. Economist Kamal Hamdan forecast that unemployment could more than double from the official level of nine percent before the fighting to as high as 20 percent in the coming months. "Lebanon could see a surge of layoffs owing to an uncertain political future and lack of agreement on reconstruction issues," he told AFP. Fellow economist Marwan Iskandar said: "In the short term, over the next six months, 50,000-55,000 people are going to lose their jobs. " more.. Lebanon to compensate residents Jerusalem Post 8/30/2006 Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said Wednesday that his government would pay US$33,000 per house to compensate residents whose homes were destroyed by Israeli attacks. Saniora said 130,000 housing units had been destroyed or damaged in more than a month of Israeli airstrikes and ground fighting with Hizbullah guerrillas, mostly in south Lebanon. He did not give a breakdown of the destroyed houses. Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah made a similar offer two weeks ago after the cease-fire went into effect, promising to help the Lebanese rebuild and pledging money for civilians to pay rent and buy furniture. Nasrallah did not say where the money would come from, but Iran historically has been the group''s primary source of finance and weapons. more.. IDF troops kill eight Palestinians in fighting in Gaza City Ha''aretz 8/30/2006 Israel Defense Forces troops killed Wednesday eight Palestinians, including a 14-year-old, in Gaza City. Two of those killed were identified as Al Aqsa Martyrs'' Brigades militants. Five of the dead were killed on Wednesday morning when IDF troops shot at a group of Palestinians who were firing anti-tank missiles at them. Two other Palestinians were killed on Wednesday afternoon: Nidal Dachduch, 14 and Iad Sarsak, 30. At least five other Palestinians were wounded in the attack, including a female youth. An eight Palestinian identified as a 31-year-old Hamas militant was killed on Wednesday afternoon in Gaza. On Wednesday morning, the IDF and the Shin Bet security services announced they had managed to prevent a terror attack at Karni crossing in Gaza. The forces dug up a 150-meter-long tunnel, which was 13 meters deep. more.. 8 Palestinians killed in Gaza Jerusalem Post 8/29/2006 Eight Palestinians were killed in clashes with IDF troops in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, military sources said. There were no IDF casualties. Two Palestinians were killed and five others, including a four-year-old boy, were wounded on Tuesday in two separate incidents in Gaza City. The IDF said the men were armed Palestinian terrorists. One Palestinian was killed in the Shajaiyeh neighborhood in Gaza City when a tank fired a shell at a group of people laying wire on the ground near IDF soldiers, apparently preparing a bomb. A second Palestinian was killed in the same area by a sniper. The army confirmed shooting the man and said he was trying to plant a bomb. Soldiers from the Shaked Battalion of the Givati Brigade have been operating in Shajaiyeh since Saturday night and have killed at least 20 Palestinians during raids. more.. Israeli forces kill two Al Aqsa members in clashes in Balata, Nablus Ma''an News 8/29/2006 Nablus – Ma''an - Two Al Aqsa Brigades'' members were killed, and a third was seriously injured, during armed clashes with Israeli forces in Balata refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Nablus early on Tuesday morning. A contingent of reinforced Israeli troops stormed that camp at 5. 30 am and clashed with Palestinian armed men in the area of the cemetery. The Israeli soldiers killed Ibrahim An Naidah, 25, and Hani Hashash, 20, and injured a third man. The men are reported to be active members of the Al Aqsa Brigades, the main military wing of Fatah. Palestinian medical sources in Rafidia Hospital in Nablus said that the killed men were shot in the head and the stomach. They said that the injured man is suffering from serious injuries in the stomach. more.. Saraya Al Quds leader survives assassination attempt and arrives at a Jordanian hospital Palestine News Network 8/30/2006 After surviving an Israeli assassination attempt in the northern West Bank, a leader of the armed resistance arrived in the Jordanian capital of Amman Tuesday night. Thirty-five year old Hussam Jaradat is the West Bank leader of Saraya Al Quds, an armed resistance wing affiliated with Islamic Jihad. Speaking on behalf of Islamic Jihad, Mahmoud Al Sa’adi said that Jaradat''s condition has continued to deteriorate since Israeli forces shot him in an assassination attempt in Jenin Refugee Camp last Wednesday. Due in part to the efforts of Palestinian medical professionals, Jaradat''s trip to Jordan was coordinated with several parties, including the International Red Cross. A Palestinian Red Crescent Ambulance brought him to the West Bank border crossing with Jordan. more.. Palestinian security forces arrest colloborator Ma''an News 8/29/2006 Bethlehem -- Bethlehem - Ma''an – Palestinian security forces have arrested a Palestinian man on charges of collaborating with the Israeli occupation authorities, an official source has revealed. In a press statement, an official source in the Palestinian preventive security forces reported that the forces arrested a Palestinian citizen in one of the northern West Bank governorates on charges of collaboration with the Israeli intelligence in 2001. The accused was transferred to a Palestinian jail in the West Bank city of Ramallah while the legal measures against him are completed in advance of his trial. According to the source, the accused citizen admitted that he submitted reports to the Israeli intelligence about the activities of members of the Palestinian resistance in addition to guiding Israeli forces... more.. Israeli infantry enters the Palestinian-controlled Old City of Hebron Ma''an News 8/29/2006 Hebron -- Israeli infantry entered the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday for the first time in years. The Israeli forces entered the old city of Hebron on foot, in clear violation of the 1997 Hebron agreement which split Hebron into Palestinian and Israeli-controlled areas and deployed the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) in order to promote stability and observe misconduct in the two areas. The Israeli army re-occupied the city in 2002 but this is the first time that foot soldiers have entered the old city of Hebron, an area under Palestinian control, since the agreement. At the time of the agreement, Israel removed their soldiers from the Palestinian-controlled districts. [end] more.. Palestinian security officer, killed by Israeli forces, given an official funeral in Ramallah Ma''an News 8/29/2006 Ramallah was at a standstill for the funeral -- The citizens of the twin West Bank cites of Ramallah and Al Bireh, and the town of Deir Ghassanah, participated on Tuesday in the funeral of Rami Ar Rabi, 24, a member of the Palestinian security forces who was killed by Israeli Special Forces in the city of Ramallah on Monday night. Ar Rabi was given an official funeral by the security forces in the governorate of Ramallah; the funeral procession began from the Ramallah hospital and, as many participants fired shots into the air, toured the streets of the city before heading towards Deir Ghassanah, the home town of Ar Rabi. A total commercial strike took place in Ramallah and Al Bireh on Tuesday for the funeral. [end] more.. Palestinians: At least 9 people hurt in IAF air strikes in Gaza Ha''aretz 8/25/2006 An Israel Air Force aircraft attacked two buildings in the Gaza Strip early Friday, wounding at least nine people, Palestinian officials said. The first air strike targeted the home of a local militant leader in the northern town of Jabaliya. Relatives of Salim Thabet, an activist of the Al Aqsa Martyrs'' Brigades in the northern town of Jabaliya, said the army told him to evacuate the home about 15 minutes before the air strike. The relatives said they were told to remain out of the area because more attacks were possible. Hospital officials said the five people in a nearby house were moderately wounded. The second air strike hit a two-story home in Gaza City, setting the structure on fire and causing heavy damage. Several nearby homes were damaged, and four people were moderately wounded, officials said. " more.. Map: Gaza Disengagement = West Bank Engagement (PDF) PLO Negotiations Affairs Department-Negotiations Support Unit 8/23/2006 Total settler population before disengagement: Approximately 400,000. After disengagement: Approximately 420,000 more.. Israeli forces kill 17 Palestinians in one week Ma''an News 8/23/2006 Gaza -- The Palestinian National Information Center has released a report detailing Israeli aggressions against Palestinians from 15 August 2006 to 21 August 2006. The report cited the Palestinian death toll for the week as 17, with 61 injured and 99 arrested. 920 human rights violations were recorded during the week documented by the report. The human rights'' violations included the Israeli forces shooting at unarmed Palestinians, invading Palestinian areas, shelling Palestinian residential buildings, sealing off Palestinian cities and villages and confiscating Palestinian land. [end] more.. Lebanon''s Development ''Annihilated'' Palestine Chronicle 8/23/2006 The overall economic losses for Lebanon from the month-long conflict totalled "at least 15 billion dollars, if not more". -- BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanon''s 15-year economic and social recovery from civil war was wiped out in the recent Israeli offensive against Hezbollah, the UN development agency has said. "The damage is such that the last 15 years of work on reconstruction and rehabilitation, following the previous problems that Lebanon experienced, are now annihilated," said Jean Fabre, a spokesman for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday. Lebanon''s relatively healthy progress towards the United Nations'' Millennium Development Goals, which cover a range of social and economic targets, "have been brought back to zero," he told journalists. "Fifteen years of work have been wiped out in a month. " more.. Israeli forces attack north and south of Gaza Strip from air and ground, causing injuries, panic, fear Palestine News Network 8/22/2006 Again Tuesday Israeli forces invaded the northern Gaza Strip, this time from the eastern border at dawn. Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses reported that some 50 Israeli military vehicles penetrated the Nahal neighborhood, east of Gaza City. According to Israeli sources, the military vehicles are stationed and on the ready at an overtaken gas station, east of Gaza City. Israeli warplanes flew overhead simultaneously opening heavy machine gun fire on houses in residential neighborhoods. An F16 warplane completely destroyed one house and damaged its neighbors. Medical sources report injuries from that moment of this morning’s attacks.... Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses confirm that Israeli bulldozers destroyed the Palestinian National Security building, in addition to many olive and citrus trees... more.. Israeli forces kill three members of the armed Palestinian resistance in the mid-Gaza Strip Palestine News Network 8/22/2006 Palestinian medical sources reported Tuesday that ambulances retrieved the bodies of three members of the Palestinian armed resistance movement affiliated with Islamic Jihad, Saraya Al Quds. The men were in the mid-eastern Gaza Strip near the Kissufim Commercial Crossing. The medical sources indicated that the deaths occurred east of Deir Al Belah City sometime around dawn this morning. An Israeli military spokesperson told Israeli Radio that Israeli soldiers occupying the eastern border between the Gaza Strip and Israeli territory opened fire on the three men who were allegedly approaching the border fence. Palestinian security sources reported the Israeli military informed them that three Palestinian bodies were lying on the ground in the area. more.. Schools to struggle with post-war trauma Ha''aretz 8/23/2006 Six-year-old Liel Gato of Haifa will be starting first grade in two weeks, after spending a summer filled with air-raid sirens. "I was very scared in the war," she says. "Once, I was at a friend''s on a high floor, a siren sounded and I began to cry and get nervous. The whole building shook. "On her birthday, Liel went with her family to the mall, and when sirens went off, they had to look for a shelter. By now, she says, she''s calmed down. Her mother, Nina, sees matters differently. "Since the war started and to this day, she does not sleep alone," she says. "Every unusual noise frightens her and she starts shaking. "During the war, Liel refused to stay alone for a minute, and when Nina would pop down to the supermarket, she would cry and plead with her to come back. more.. Lebanon may try to break blockade Jerusalem Post 8/22/2006 A Hizbullah Cabinet minister on Tuesday said the government may attempt to break the Israeli naval and air blockade of Lebanon by calling on ships and aircraft to travel to Lebanese ports without prior Israeli approval. The government has condemned the blockade, saying it violates the UN cease-fire resolution, and the foreign minister Tuesday called on the international community to force Israel to end the blockade. The Cabinet met late Monday but did not publicly challenge to the blockade, although it called the siege one of Israel''s "terrorist practices. ""Entry to Lebanon by sea and from air is a matter of sovereignty," Tarrad Hamadeh, minister of Labor said on Hizbullah television. Hamadeh, one of two Hizbullah Cabinet ministers, said the Lebanese "must have be free to enter their country at will. We cannot accept the siege and blackmail. " more.. Israeli army invades Bethlehem’s Aida Refugee Camp & force Palestinians into the narrow camp streets Palestine News Network 8/22/2006 Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses report that Israeli forces invaded Bethlehem’s Aida Refugee Camp early Tuesday. With the Israeli Wall now lining the northern edge of the camp and Rachel’s Tomb military installation to the east, Aida Camp has suffered numerous Israeli raids during the past several years. The United Nations Girls’ School is riddled with bullet holes, and children are accustomed to inhaling noxious gas and throwing stones. Today six military patrols invaded the camp after blocking its entrances to Bethlehem and neighboring Beit Jala. Israeli soldiers forces several residents from their homes after breaking in, conducted searches and tampered with personal property.... Israeli soldiers fired gas and rubber bullets at the youth and children as they threw stones with no severe injuries reported. more.. Soldiers fresh from war on Lebanon return to replace reservists occupying Nablus’ Checkpoint 17 Palestine News Network 8/22/2006 Now Palestinian citizens in the northern West Bank Nablus District must accustom themselves to navigating new restrictions at Checkpoint 17, north of the city. It is the only outlet for several northern Nablus villages. Drivers told PNN Tuesday that a new group of Israeli forces have been brought in to replace the reserve forces that occupied the area during the war against Lebanon. The new soldiers are preventing any Palestinian that does not have identification indicating that he is from one of four northern villages from using the checkpoint. Additionally, no cars are allowed through unless drivers possess particular “permission” to pass through checkpoints. Eyewitnesses said this afternoon that the soldiers at Checkpoint 17 prevented a local official from returning to Nablus City after he visited a village summer camp. more.. Israeli forces take 15 young men from the southern West Bank to unknown locations at dawn Palestine News Network 8/22/2006 Israeli forces arrested 15 Palestinians from the southern West Bank Tuesday. The raid was far-reaching from southern Bethlehem to southern Hebron. The southern Hebron village of Dura lost nine residents after a quick home raid and search. At dawn Israeli forces also stormed southwestern area villages, with four people arrested at the specific behest of Israeli intelligence. Officials at the Hebron office of the Palestinian Prisoner Society were able to report some of the names of the currently missing.... To the north of Hebron, Israeli forces conducted similar dawn raids, awaking households upon breaking open doors. Sources from the Joint Security Operations room in Hebron announced three more arrests of 21 year olds. more.. Palestinian from Jabalia refugee camp abducted Ma''an News 8/22/2006 Gaza -- Anonymous gunmen kidnapped a Palestinian man from Jabalia refugee camp in the north of Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said on Tuesday. Palestinian security forces have started searching for the kidnappers of Fayiz Abu ''Ukal based on descriptions of the three cars used in the operation as described by eyewitnesses. [end] more.. Jewish Coloniser Runs over 2 Citizens in Hebron International Middle East Media Center 8/22/2006 HEBRON, August 22, 2006 (WAFA)- A Jewish extremist coloniser on Tuesday deliberately ran over two citizens in the West Bank (WB) City of Hebron. Hebron Governmental Hospital sources said that Fayez Abu Hussein 16, and Ali Abu Hussein 15, were transferred to the hospital to receive treatement as they suffered from wounds and fractures as the Jewish extremist coloniser ran over them near Hajai Jewish colony, south of Hebron. [end] more.. Israeli forces arrest nine Palestinians Tuesday morning Ma''an News 8/22/2006 Bethlehem – Ma''an – The Israeli army announced they arrested nine Palestinians early on Tuesday morning in cities and villages across the occupied West Bank. Israeli media sources quoted the Israeli army saying that, of the nine, they arrested three ''wanted'' Palestinians, allegedly belonging to Fatah, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and another three, also allegedly Fatah members, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. [end] more.. Israeil forces raid Jericho Ma''an News 8/22/2006 Jericho -- Nearly 30 military vehicles broke into Jericho onTuesday morning. The surrounded the town and fanned out into the streets. They surrounded the government hospital and arrested two youth, both members of the Islamic Jihad movement. The Israeli forces arrested Subhi Waled Al-S''ud , 21 an Islamic Jihad activist and Naser Al ''Anati, 22 from the Palestinian National Security Forces in Jericho, and took them to an unknown location. [end] more.. Hamas-linked Brigades shoot an Israeli soldier in Gaza City Ma''an News 8/22/2006 Gaza – Ma''an – The Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, have claimed responsibility for shooting an Israeli soldier in the east of the Al -- Gaza – Ma''an – The Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, have claimed responsibility for shooting an Israeli soldier in the east of the Al-Shaja''iyyah district of Gaza City on Tuesday morning. The Brigades told Ma''an in a statement that this operation is part of "Operation Loyalty of the Free" which they say is aimed at confronting the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. [end] more.. Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades fire shells at an Israeli military post in the Gaza Strip Ma''an News 8/22/2006 Gaza - Ma''an – The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) have claimed responsibility for firing two mortar shells at an Israeli military post in the east of Al-Magazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. In a statement, they said that the operation is in retaliation for the Israeli crimes in Gaza and commemorates the fifth anniversary of the assassination of the PFLP secretary general, Abu Ali Mustafa. [end] more.. Joint group of Fatah and PFLP-affiliated Brigades launch projectiles at Nahal Oz Ma''an News 8/22/2006 Gaza -- Two Palestinian armed groups have claimed responsibility for launching three home-made projectiles at the Israeli town of Nahal ''Oz, just north of the Gaza Strip. The two groups are called Ayman Juda, a group believed to be part of the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades, and the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed group of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). In a joint statement, they said the operation was "in retaliation for the Israeli crimes in Gaza" and commemorates the fifth anniversary of the assassination of the PFLP secretary general, Abu Ali Mustafa. [end] more.. Gunmen attack a PA Officer and steal his car, two guards injured International Middle East Media Center 8/21/2006 Major Haitham Sha''ban, Palestinian security top officer was attacked by unknown gunmen who also stole his car and injured two of his bodyguards, Monday at noon. Palestinian security sources reported that the unknown gunmen ambushed Sha''ban while he was on his way to work. Palestinian police chased the gunmen and clashed with them. After a short gun fight, police officers managed to retrieve the car while the gunmen escaped unharmed, leaving behind some machineguns, a Palestinian police source reported. The two injured bodyguards were moved to a nearby hospital and suffered moderate wounds, while Sha''ban escaped the attack unharmed. [end] more.. Army closes the main Nablus road International Middle East Media Center 8/21/2006 The Israeli army troops closed the main Nablus road on Monday at noon, which connects the southern West Bank cities together. Eyewitnesses said that Israeli soldiers closed the road near the Howwara checkpoint and the Intersection of Yetshar Israeli settlement in the area. There were sounds of shouting and army movement in the area but it''s hard to know what is happening due to scores of cars and civilians forced to stop there, eyewitnesses added. Yesterday, Israeli soldiers chased and killed one Palestinian worker and injured three after shooting at their car when they were using the nearby farm road. [end] more.. IDF soldier lightly hurt by shrapnel during Gaza arrest raid Ha''aretz 8/22/2006 Also Tuesday, Palestinian medics said they found the bodies of three Palestinian men near Kissufim, another Israel-Gaza crossing. -- An Israel Defense Forces soldier was lightly wounded by shrapnel from an anti-tank missile fired during an IDF oepration in Gaza City on Tuesday morning. IDF troops, backed by helicopter gunships, tanks and armored personnel carriers, moved Tuesday into areas near Karni - the main Israel-Gaza cargo crossing, conducting house-to-house searches and arrests. The IDF said soldiers surrounded a house and exchanged fire with wanted Palestinian militants, including two Hamas members, who were inside. One of the militants was wounded and all five were arrested, the IDF said. Palestinian medics put the number of wounded at five. more.. Three Palestinians Killed in Southern Gaza as Two Houses Demolished International Press Center 8/22/2006 GAZA, Palestine, August 22, 2006 (IPC + WAFA) - - Israeli occupation forces killed three Palestinians in southern Gaza Strip, as Israeli warplanes pounded two houses in northern and southern Gaza, destroying them completely. Medical sources at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said that three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces in the town of Al Qarara, north of Khan Younis province. The sources identified the victims as Saleh Abdel Ghafoor, 26, Abdel Khaleq Al Farra, 21, and Bassam Shurrab, 20, all residents of Khan Younis. Local sources asserted that the bodies of the three citizens were found torn apart near the eastern borders of Gaza, due to being directly hit by Israeli shells. Medical sources in northern Gaza mentioned that a citizen was moderately injured when Israeli warplanes bombed a house owned by the Asaliya Family... more.. The 37th anniversary of the Israeli attempt to torch Al Aqsa mosque Ma''an News 8/22/2006 Jerusalem - Ma''an – Arabs should put more pressure on their governments to rid the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem of the occupation and confirm it as a pure Muslim property, the deputy head of the Islamic movement in Israel, Sheikh Kamal Al Khatib, said on TuesdaySheikh Al Khatib issued this call on the 37th anniversary of the Israeli criminal attempt to set fire to the Al Aqsa mosque, which is considered the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad was flown through the heavens on a fabled winged creature, called Al Buraq, from Mecca to Al Aqsa (considered to be Jerusalem) in 632 AD. Muslims are also commemorating this "Night Flight" on 22 August 2006. more.. Troops install cameras at the Gaza International Airport International Middle East Media Center 8/21/2006 Monday, Israeli troops occupying the Gaza International Airport in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, installed surveillance cameras in the airport''s high buildings, the Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, reported. Palestinian security sources told WAFA that soldiers also installed cameras aground the airport while military bulldozers uprooted residents farmlands in the area. The Rafah International Airport was closed by Israel after the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada late 2000. Israeli troops occupied the airport after shelling it in June 2006. [end] more.. Truce takes another hit as Israelis kill 3 resistance fighters The Daily Star 8/22/2006 Israeli troops in South Lebanon shot and killed three Hizbullah fighters Monday evening, as UN special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said he was optimistic that a fragile truce ending 34 days of warfare would hold. Troops spotted a group of armed fighters who looked threatening and opened fire on them, an Israeli Army spokesman said. Israel''s privately run Channel 10 television said three Hizbullah fighters were killed in the incident. Four Israeli soldiers were wounded. The reports could not be independently confirmed. But in Jerusalem, Roed-Larsen told reporters after meeting Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem: "We discussed all matters of Resolution 1701," referring to the text which laid the ground for a cessation of hostilities that took effect on August 14. more.. Lebanese Villagers Hostage to Israeli Troops Islam Online 8/21/2006 IslamOnline. net & News AgenciesAn AFP correspondent said Israeli troops were still occupying at least nine parts of Lebanon close to the border. (Reuters)BEIT LIF, Lebanon — A week after a UN-brokered truce ended a month-long onslaught and thousands of Israeli troops withdrew from south Lebanon, residents some borders villages remain hostage of Israeli soldiers. "They were hiding behind the olive groves and the trees of this hill," Zeinab Ali Merei of the tiny border village of Beit Lif old Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday, August 21. An AFP correspondent said that Israeli troops were still occupying at least nine parts of Lebanon close to the border. More than 250 Israeli troops, backed by about 30 armored vehicles, were seen at the nine positions. more.. Unexploded cluster bombs prompt fear and fury in returning refugees The Guardian 8/22/2006 Four dead as mine-clearing teams fear death toll from Israeli weapons could soar - ".. what did these children ever do to them? " -- When the guns went silent in Aitta Shaab, a war-ravaged village close to the Israeli border, three children skipped through the rubble looking for a little fun. Hurdling over lumps of crushed concrete and dodging spikes of twisted metal, Sukna, Hassan and Merwa, aged 10 to 12, paused before a curious object. Sukna picked it up. The terrifying blast flung her to the ground, thrusting metal shards into her liver. Hassan''s abdomen was cut open. Merwa was hit in the leg and arm. "We thought it was just a little ball," said Hassan with a hoarse whisper in the intensive care ward at Tyre''s Jabal Amel hospital. In the next bed Sukna, a ventilator cupped to her mouth and a tangle of tubes from her arms, said even less. more.. Israeli reserve soldiers accuse government of ''cold feet'' over conflict The Guardian 8/22/2006 Brigade signs letter calling for Lebanon inquiry · Newspaper demands general''s resignation -- A brigade of reserve soldiers angrily accused the Israeli government yesterday of fighting a war with "indecision" and "cold feet" as criticism mounted over the handling of the conflict in Lebanon. In the most outspoken acknowledgment of Israel''s failings in the war, one retiring senior army officer also admitted that the military felt "a certain sense of failure" after 34 days of combat. Brigadier Yossi Heiman, head of infantry and paratroopers, told a ceremony on Sunday: "We have sinned the sin of hubris. "Critics in the press and now in the military have rounded on the Israeli government for failing to emerge from the conflict with a clear victory over Hizbullah. more.. Medical officials: 2 wounded as IAF strikes militant''s house in Gaza Ha''aretz 8/22/2006 An Israel Air Force missile strike destroyed the home of an Islamic Jihad militant in northern Gaza late on Monday, lightly wounding two bystanders, Palestinian medical officials said. About an hour after the attack in northern Gaza, IAF aircraft struck the home of another Hamas militant in southern Gaza. The man also said he had been warned ahead of time to leave the premises. No one was injured. An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said that in both cases, the military attacked a building that militants had used to store weapons. Witnesses in the first strike said the military had notified the targeted militant, Hashem Asliya, 45, and his family to evacuate the house, located in the town of Jabalya, and that it planned to attack it in a missile strike. The army spokesman confirmed the report. more.. Israeli forces besiege house of an Al Aqsa youth in Qalqiliya Ma''an News 8/21/2006 Qalqiliya -- Israeli forces are surrounding the house of Ahmad Saqir Ibrahim Salim, 25, in the centre of ''Azzun, a village east of the West Bank city of Qalqiliya. The man is believed to be a ''wanted'' member of the Al Aqsa Brigades, the main military wing of Fatah. [end] more.. IDF soldier killed in West Bank shooting attack Ha''aretz 8/21/2006 Another four Palestinians were killed Friday -- An Israeli soldier was killed yesterday at noon by a Palestinian who opened fire at the Bekaot checkpoint in the Jordan Valley, southeast of Nablus. The soldier''s comrades from the Haredi Nahal battalion returned fire, killing the shooter, Mohammed Bani-Ouda, 22, from the village Tamoun. In other incidents in the territories, another four Palestinians were killed Friday by Israeli forces. Two of them were killed near the perimeter fence along the northern Gaza Strip: In one incident IDF soldiers fired at two Islamic Jihad operatives who approached the fence, killing Mohammed al-Mazar, 19, and wounding his companion. In the second incident a 30-year-old shepherd, Ghanem al-Khatib, was killed near the fence by IDF fire. more.. IDF tank fire wounds four members of Qassam rocket cell in Gaza Strip Ha''aretz 8/20/2006 Palestinian shot dead at checkpoint -- Israel Defense Forces tank fire wounded four members of a Qassam rocket cell near border fence separating Israel and the Gaza Strip on Sunday night. The IDF said the shell was fired at the Palestinians near the Kissufim border crossing, but not before the gunmen managed to fire two rockets at Israel. Israel on Sunday lifted the military closure it placed on the West Bank some three weeks ago. Israel is also permitting some 25,000 Palestinian laborers to enter Israel for work purposes. The closure on the Gaza Strip remains in place. The Israel Defense Forces is looking into an incident at the Hawara checkpoint in the West Bank on Sunday morning in which a Palestinian was shot dead and three others were wounded. more.. Israeli troops shoot two Hizbullah fighters The Guardian 8/21/2006 Israeli troops in southern Lebanon today shot two Hizbullah guerrillas, the Israeli army said, in the latest clash to put pressure on the fragile ceasefire. The Israeli army said the soldiers opened fire after the Hizbullah fighters approached them in a "threatening manner". The army said there were three fighters in the Hizbullah group and gave no information on the condition of the two that were shot. The clash underscored the fragility of a week-old truce that ended 34 days of fighting. Israel is keeping troops in southern Lebanon until Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers take up positions under the UN-brokered truce agreement. Yesterday, Israel warned it would continue covert raids in Lebanon, despite the ceasefire, claiming it had a right to stop Hizbullah rearming. more.. Residents of Southern village rebuild what they can, wait for help with rest The Daily Star 8/22/2006 TYRE: Its inhabitants are calling it "Hiroshima" for a reason: Siddiqine, a small Southern town located in the hills outside Qana, was heavily pounded during the Israeli offensive. Along one of its streets on a lazy afternoon, Hassan Ramez Chahine, a 36-year-old pharmacist, was sipping tea with neighbors and family in one of the few houses still standing. "The Israelis destroyed my home and my pharmacy," said Chahine, who holed up in his neighbor''s apartment during the 34-day war. The Chahines and a couple of other families have no choice now but to stay in one house and wait for their homes to be reconstructed. Most of them had to flee during the war but returned as soon as the fighting was over. Today, despite many problems with running water and lack of electricity, some of the people of Siddiqine prefer to remain in their village. more.. Qana residents get little respite from grief The Daily Star 8/22/2006 QANA: With the dust now settled and the guns having fallen silent, the Southern town of Qana and its weary residents have once again been left to their fate and the haunting memories of another Israeli massacre. This small town of 15,000 residents has seen more than its share of the ugliness of war. In fact, road signs here lead the way to the sites of both Israeli attacks for which Qana is now famous. "We are famous because Israel always gives us extra attention," said an elderly woman, fanning herself near the shrine to the first Qana massacre. That attack on a United Nations base in 1996 killed 105 civilians taking refuge under the blue and white UN flag during Operation Grapes of Wrath. more.. As Marwaheen mourns, a question lingers: why? The Daily Star 8/22/2006 SOUTH LEBANON: Israeli tank guns pointed at residents and reporters Monday were not the only signs of Israel''s continued presence in the South. Funeral preparations in the town of Marwaheen on Monday provided fresh reminders of one massacre of the month past. In one of the bloodiest incidents in the 34-day Israeli offensive against Lebanon, 26 Marwaheen civilians trying to flee the area died when they were targeted by Israeli strikes. Residents gathered in the town''s square Monday to prepare to bury the victims. As reporters continue to travel down to the area, Israeli tanks that have not yet withdrawn from Lebanon sit along roads, with all who pass coming into their line of fire. Several residents warned against the Israeli attacks. "Be careful; the Israelis do not distinguish between children, women and soldiers," a resident told The Daily Star. more.. Qana mothers bury their children By Cilina Nasser, AlJazeera 8/21/2006 Six-year-old Ali Shalhoub pointed at the wreckage of the collapsed three-storey building in the southern village of Qana where his family had sought shelter before an Israeli air strike levelled the structure three weeks ago. He was asleep and was unable to recall the impact of the bombs which hurled him into a wall, knocking him out. Covered in rubble and his face swollen, he regained consciousness to his mother''s screams as she dug helplessly into the rubble and debris for his eight-year-old brother Qassem. Hours later, rescue workers recovered his brother''s body, along with 26 other people, including 16 children. Two families, the Shalhoub and Hashem, had sought refuge in the basement of the building which later came to make world headlines. The Lebanese government called the Israeli air strike a massacre... more.. Beirut vows to compensate victims of war The Daily Star 8/21/2006 The Lebanese government announced Sunday that it would provide financial compensation to victims of Israel''s punishing offensive, one day after Qatar offered to rebuild the battered border town of Bint Jbeil. Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora also called on a donor conference in Stockholm later this month to "work hard" to help Lebanon recover. On Saturday, the official Qatari News Agency said Doha has pledged to rebuild Bint Jbeil and repair damaged public utilities, but gave no further details. Siniora issued a decree on Sunday saying that the family of each deceased victim aged over 10 years would receive LL20 million in compensation. Families of deceased victims under the age of 10 will receive LL10 million pounds, it said. Victims with permanent disabilities will be granted LL15 million. more.. MAP - Lebanon''s Devastated Infrastructure Islam Online 8/21/2006 Flash map detailing extent and locations of Israeli destruction. more.. MAP - Israel''s Unilateral Borders...What''s Left? Islam Online 8/21/2006 Flash map detailing Israeli land grabs. more.. At least five Palestinians hurt in mystery explosion in Gaza Strip Ha''aretz 8/21/2006 At least five Palestinians were wounded Monday in a mysterious explosion in the southern Gaza Strip, security officials and medics said. The group were in a former settlement in southern Gaza, apparently scrounging for scrap metal, when an explosion occurred, injuring four people, the security officials said. Medics said five people, aged three-40, were wounded in the explosion. Officials said they were investigating whether the blast was caused by unexploded ordnance, possibly an old artillery shell. [end] more.. Senior IDF officer killed, 2 wounded following Beqaa commando raid Ha''aretz 8/21/2006 Sources in Lebanon said the commandos traveled in two Lebanese vehicles and were dressed in Lebanese Army uniforms. -- A senior Israel Defense Forces officer was killed yesterday, another officer was badly wounded and a third officer was lightly wounded in a firefight with Hezbollah men in the Bekaa area of Lebanon. All three officers were from Sayeret Matkal, the General Staff''s elite special-operations unit. Hezbollah apparently sustained several casualties in the incident, which came at the end of a commando operation in the area. The IDF declined last night to confirm or deny reports that the commando force returned from Lebanon with two Hezbollah hostages, but maintained that the operation accomplished its objectives, despite the discovery of the force at the extraction stage. more.. Israel Strikes Deep in Lebanon Washington Post 8/20/2006 Premier, U. N. Chief Condemn Attack as Violation of Truce -- BEIRUT, Aug. 19 -- Helicopter-borne Israeli commandos raided a Hezbollah stronghold in the Bekaa Valley early Saturday, setting off a fierce gun battle. Lebanon called the attack a "flagrant violation" of a fragile six-day-old cease-fire and threatened to halt troop deployments in protest. Hezbollah, which battled the Israeli military for 33 days until the truce took hold Monday, said its fighters encountered the Israeli commandos in a field near the town of Boudai, about 20 miles from the Syrian border. The Israeli military, confirming the raid, said its commandos carried out the operation to interdict shipments of weapons and munitions to Hezbollah from Syria and Iran. The military said one Israeli officer was killed and two soldiers were wounded, one seriously. more.. IDF officer: Israel committed to hunting down Nasrallah Ha''aretz 8/20/2006 Israel is committed to hunting down and killing Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and will do its best to ensure that the militant group does not receive fresh weaponry from Syria and Iran, a senior Israel Defense Forces officer told The New York Times over the weekend. The newspaper quoted the unnamed officer as saying that, "There''s only one solution for him," and "This man must die. "The officer told the Times that "International commitments to exclude the Hezbollah militia from southern Lebanon and to disarm it already seem hollow," but insisted that Israel had notched up several key achievements in the month-long conflict in Lebanon. "We believe it was important to stop the war with Hezbollah understanding that we can beat them anywhere, any time, and we did that," he told the paper. more.. Security cabinet rejects uniting Lebanon border village under IDF control Ha''aretz 8/20/2006 The security cabinet on Sunday rejected a proposal to implement new security arrangements in Ghajar that would improve humanitarian conditions in the northern border village. The security cabinet asked the Israel Defense Forces to alter and resubmit its proposal. Residents of Ghajar, which is split by the Israel-Lebanon border, expressed disappointment with the decision. Over the past few years, the village has been the scene of high tension and numerous gun battles between the IDF and Hezbollah fighters. During the recent war, IDF troops took over the Lebanese side of the village. According to the defense establishment''s proposal, Israel would seek to maintain security and civil responsibility for the village''s entire territory "including the Lebanese side" without altering the border. more.. Israel bans reporting of use of "unique" weapons in Lebanon Redress Information & Analysis 7/25/2006 Israel has issued new censorship guidelines banning reporting of the "use of unique kinds of ammunition and weaponry" in Lebanon. This comes amid reports that Israel is using chemical weapons against civilians in Lebanon. Below is the text of the guidelines, sent to international and local news organizations by the chief Israeli military censor, Colonel Sima Vaknin-Gil, on 23 July. -- Subject: Military Operations in the North -- Censorship Guidelines Regarding Ground Operations.... 6. There is a special emphasis on matters regarding the activity of special forces and the use of unique kinds of ammunition and weaponry... more.. Belgian doctor: Israel using chemical weapons Expatica 7/20/2006 BRUSSELS — The Israeli military is using chemical weapons during its bombing of Lebanon, a Belgian-Lebanese professor claimed during a press conference in Brussels on Thursday. The press conference was organised by the secretary of the Tripoli archbishop, Monsignor Jean Abboud. The Belgian professor of Lebanese origin, Bachir Cham, is the head of a hospital in Lebanon. "The bodies don''t look like they normally do. After an explosion there were no traces of blood loss or subcutaneous haemorrhages [bruises]," Cham said via mobile phone direct from Beirut. "The hair and sometimes the beard and the moustache remained intact. I found no traces of the pressure wave by theexplosion. The colour of the skin was black like a shoe, but the skin was not carbonised or burnt. " more.. Israel Discovering Transformation''s Limits? Defense Industry Daily 7/20/2006 DefenseTech brings us reports that American and Israeli intelligence seriously underestimated the amount and quality of weapons Hezbollah''s state sponsors have managed to smuggle to them, including advanced anti-ship missiles and an arsenal of rockets from Iran that include weapons considered SRBMs. Intelligence is always imprecise, however, and slip-ups like this are to be expected on occasion. Recent events may have put a more serious dent, however, in some implementation doctrines around military transformation and "the Revolution in Military Affairs. " DID has talked about both transformation''s value and its limitations, as expressed in case studies and situations like the US military''s encounter at Objective Peach in 2003. more.. Palestinian farmer killed in Gaza; Friday''s death toll rises to seven Ma''an News 8/18/2006 Gaza -- Palestinian medical sources have reported that the farmer Ghanim Al-Khatib, 30, from Al-Khusa in the northern Gaza Strip has died of his wounds, sustained in an Israeli attack, raising Friday''s death toll to seven. Earlier this morning, one Palestinian fighter from the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, was killed and another was injured, while a third fled away after an armed clash with Israeli forces in the eastern Gaza Strip. In a statement, the brigades stated that Muhammad An-Nathir, 19, was killed while trying to undertake an operation, the details of which remain unrevealed. In addition, five Palestinians were killed in the West Bank on Friday morning: Three members of the Izzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, a military wing of Hamas, and two further members of the Al-Quds Brigades. more.. Report: IAF attacks Hezbollah stronghold Ha''aretz 8/19/2006 Israeli aircraft fired several rockets at a target in a Hezbollah stronghold in eastern Lebanon early on Saturday morning, a Lebanese security source said. It was not immediately clear what the Israeli aircraft were firing at in the village of Bodai. An Israeli army spokesman said the army was checking the report. Such an attack would be the first since a UN truce ended 34 days of fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. On Friday night Lebanese security sources said Israel Air Force drones and jets were crisscrossing the skies above Lebanon''s eastern Bekaa Valley near the Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek. [end] more.. Israeli forces assassinate two members of Saraya Al Quds near Bethlehem, area in mourning Palestine News Network 8/18/2006 Targeted assassinations contravene international law however that did not stop Israeli “special forces” who dressed in civilian clothes and killed 24 year old Khalid Mohammed Shlaith and 32 year old Slaman Shlaith. At around 5:00 am the undercover soldiers entered the village and were followed shortly thereafter by 15 military vehicles, with helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft circling over head. The assassination took place at dawn Friday in the town of Obaidiyeh, south east of Bethlehem. Israeli forces targeted the two men claiming that they were affi