Funeral for three Palestinians killed by Israel, two houses demolished
Palestine-Israel, Military, 8/17/2002
Arabic News, August 17, 2002
While the Palestinians eulogized three persons killed by the Israeli bullets, two in Gaza and one child in Khan Younis, the Israeli army destroyed two houses in Toulkarem area. One house was in Kafer al-Rai town and belongs to the family of the Palestinian suicider Eyas Sawalha and inhabited by 12 persons, and the second house is in Anabta town and belongs to the family of the Palestinian suicider Murad Muhammad Abu Asal.

Israelis destroy houses of militants
Independent, August 17, 2002
Israeli soldiers destroyed two houses belonging to suspected West Bank militants yesterday, after soldiers killed a child and two attackers in the Gaza Strip.

Occupation Army Carries Out Arrest Campaign in Hebron, Wounds 5
Palestine Chronicle, August 17, 2002
HEBRON: The Israeli occupation army has reportedly raided the West Bank town of Hebron to enforce a suffocating curfew, which was imposed on the city after it was reoccupied by the Israeli army weeks ago.

Israelis Reinstate Hebron Curfew
Guardian, August 17, 2002
JERUSALEM (AP) - Palestinians in the divided West Bank city of Hebron chafed against the Israeli curfew reimposed Saturday while a report of an army contingency plan to expel Yasser Arafat further inflamed Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

Nelson Mandella will not attend Barghouthi's trial
Arabic News, August 17, 2002
South Africa's militant leader and ex-president Nelson Mandella said on Friday he will not attend the trial to be held for the secretary of the Fatah movement in the West Bank and member of the Palestinian Legislative council Marwan Barghouthi. But Mandella called for fair judicial measures by Israel against him.

Hamas says attacks on Israel to continue; Israel makes arrests in West Bank, Gaza Strip
Al-Bawaba, August 17, 2002
Hamas founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said Saturday that agreement between all Palestinian factions is forbidden if it calls to the acknowledgment of the State of Israel. Yassin was speaking in an interview with the Qatar-based satellite station Al-Jazeera.

Israel puts pressure on US to strike Iraq
Guardian, August 17, 2002
Israel signalled its decision yesterday to put public pressure on President George Bush to go ahead with a military attack on Iraq, even though it believes Saddam Hussein may well retaliate by striking Israel.

Israelis watch the street, not the skies
Guardian, August 17, 2002
Israel has told President Bush it will strike back if Saddam Hussein launches any kind of attack on it, according to senior government sources. The threat of direct retaliation differs sharply from its posture during the 1991 Gulf war, when Iraq fired scores of long-range Scud missiles at Tel Aviv and other cities on the coastal plain.

Report: Sharon approved in April military plan to deport Arafat by force; possible destination - Lebanon or Libya
Al-Bawaba, August 17, 2002
The Israeli army has a contingency plan to grab Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from his West Bank headquarters and fly him to exile in an Arab state, Israeli television said Friday night.

Al-Sharq al-Awsat: Jordanian lawyers to defend those accused in smuggling weapons to Palestinians
Arabic News, August 17, 2002
The Jordanian bar association has decided to form a defendant commission to defend 10 Jordanians detained after the Jordanian authorities had arrested them for having weapons they planned to smuggle to the Palestinian territories to enable the Palestinians to escalate their resistance against Israel.

Israeli court allows army to confiscate Palestinians' land
Arab News, August 17, 2002
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 17 August — Israel’s Supreme Court yesterday gave a go-ahead to the army to confiscate Palestinian agricultural land as troops blew up homes of two Palestinians in an overnight operation.

Israeli gunfire cuts short boy's school dream
Arab News, August 17, 2002
GAZA, 17 August — Five-year-old Ayman Fares could hardly wait for his first day of school but Israeli gunfire cut short the Palestinian boy’s dreams, his mother said yesterday as his flag-wrapped body headed for an early grave.

Former PLO financier flees to London via Israel
Al-Bawaba, August 17, 2002
A former financier for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) accused of embezzling funds has fled to London via Israel, a Palestinian security source said.

Former PLO finance chief al-Ghussein calls Arafat corrupt
Ha'aretz, August 17, 2002
LONDON - The Palestine Liberation Organization's former treasurer, Jaweed al-Ghussein, who with Britain's help was released from house arrest in the Palestinian Authority, accuses PA Chairman Yasser Arafat of corruption.

UK Urged to Halt Trial of Israeli Missiles
Palestine Chronicle, August 17, 2002
LONDON (IRNA): Pro-Palestinian activists are urging the British government to end its military cooperation with Israel and halt trials of Israeli missiles that are being used against civilians in the occupied territories.

Photo Essay: The Palestinians
TIME Magazine, photo essay by James Nachtwey

Palestinians outraged by reported plan to expel Arafat
Ha'aretz, August 17, 2002
Palestinian officials expressed outrage Saturday at a Channel Two Television report claiming the IDF had a contingency plan to expel Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat by force.

Israeli TV Reveals Plan to Expel Arafat by Force
Palestine Chronicle, August 17, 2002
TEL AVIV: An Israeli plan that received initial approval to expel Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was revealed by Israeli television Friday. Palestinian officials reacted with outraged Saturday to the report, while Israeli spokesmen refused to comment.

Palestinians: 5 wounded in IDF search for militants in Hebron
Ha'aretz, August 17, 2002
IDF soldiers combed the streets of the West Bank city of Hebron for Palestinian militants Saturday, rounding up at least 100 people and injuring several more with stun grenades, witnesses said.

Amnesty International Describes Bulldozing Of Palestinian Homes
When troops arrive families are often too outraged and terrified to rescue their possessions
Currently, in East Jerusalem alone, 10,000 homes, housing a third of the Palestinian population, are threatened by demolition orders." The calamity facing individuals and families whose homes have been demolished is immense. Often their homes are all they have," Amnesty International stressed.

State calls on Supreme Court to expel 3 relatives of terrorists
Ha'aretz, August 17, 2002
The State Prosecution on Friday submitted a response to the appeal against the expulsion of three Palestinians whose relatives were involved in terrorist activities against Israel.

Court allows IDF to confiscate land in order to build new road
Ha'aretz, August 17, 2002 
The High Court rejected Friday a petition filed by a Palestinian resident of the Gaza Strip, Fuad Wahidi, against the confiscation of part of his land. The Israel Defense Force wants to confiscate the land in order to construct an approach road to the nearby Netzarim settlement. Nine other Gazans, whose lands are also liable to be confiscated, added their names to the petition.

Hamas mentor: No Palestinian unity if dependent on acknowledging Israel
Jerusalem Post, August 17, 2002
Hamas spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said Saturday that agreement between all Palestinian parties is forbidden if it is dependent on the acknowledgment of the State of Israel. Yassin was speaking in an interview with the Arabic satellite station Al-Jazeera.

Army Pamphlets Threaten Palestinian Civilians
Palestine Chronicle, August 17, 2002
WEST BANK: According to Palestinian residents of the West Bank, Israeli occupation soldiers have begun distributing pamphlets threatening anyone who aids Palestinian activists. "You have to know that anyone who gives help to or cooperates with those 'terrorists' will pay a great price," the pamphlet says.

New International Red Cross Program Offers Relief for Palestinian Families
Palestine Chronicle, August 17, 2002 
GENEVA: The International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, has launched a relief program in the occupied Palestinian territories. The program is targeting 20,000 families, or about 120,000 people, in nine cities and towns.