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Palestine Diaries

courtesy The Electronic Intifada

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Map of Israel's planned "security fence", adapted for clarity from Gush Shalom map. Gush Shalom notes: The Israeli government did not publish full, official maps of the wall. The path of the Eastern wall was compiled by the Land Research Center and the Palestinian Hydrology Group, based on expropriation orders issued to Palestinian land owners.

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Video Archives
Audio Archives

VIDEO
BBC:
Gap Between CIA
And Bush Stories
posted 10/9/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Region As
Unsettled As It's
Ever Been
10/9/02

VIDEO
BBC:
"No compromise
here"
posted 10/8/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Another Gaza
Attack
posted 10/6/02

VIDEO
BBC:
PA's Erekat: We
Need International
Protection Now
posted 10/6/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Khalil Shikaki, CPR:
'Chances slim for
negotiation'
posted 9/28/02

PHOTOS
Islam Online:
Arafat HQ
Destroyed
posted 9/25/02

PHOTOS
Islam Online:
Nine Palestinians Killed In Gaza
posted 9/24/02

VIDEO
Konscious:
Metal of Dishonor
The Face of US
War on Iraq
posted 9/18/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Sabra & Shatila
Is Sharon A
War Criminal?
posted 9/13/02

VIDEO
CBC:
Israeli
Army Was
Embarrassed
By Release
of Video
released 3/18/02
posted 9/6/02

Video Archives

Conflict..

IOF Wounds Several Palestinians in Badras Village, Demolishes Houses in Jerusalem International Press Center 8/18/2003 RAMALLAH, Palestine, August 18, 2003 (IPC+WAFA)— Israeli occupation forces (IOF) wounded Monday a number of Palestinian civilians in Badras Village, west of Ramallah City, Palestinian medical sources said. The sources confirmed that a number of local inhabitants were wounded with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas inhalation after Israeli soldiers opened their fire on the village while imposing a curfew. Meanwhile, Israeli bulldozers destroyed at least three houses in the occupied east Jerusalem....Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli troops placed a number of military checkpoints in different parts of Jenin, signaling a tightened siege....In the West Bank city of Qalqilia, IOF placed a checkpoint at the entrance of Tholth Al-Janubi village, and searched Palestinian cars and citizens, in addition to severely beating Khalil Abdullah, a local inhabitant. IOF Wounds Six Civilians in Nablus, Arrests Two in Qalqilia, Incurs into Rafah International Press Center 8/18/2003 NABLUS, Palestine, August 18, 2003 (IPC+WAFA)-- Six Palestinian civilians, including four children were wounded Sunday as Israeli occupation forces opened fire at them in Biet Foreek village in Nablus governorate. Palestinian medical sources at Rafidia hospital in Nablus said that Abdel Qader Hanani, 20, was shot with a live bullet in the left hand, Amjad Hanani, 22, was shot in the head, Mustafa Mislaih, 14, was shot in his belly....In another incident, Israeli occupation forces IOF dynamited early Sunday a Palestinian civilian house in Nablus refugee camp of Balata....IOF only gave the said inhabitants including five international peace activists a couple of minutes to leave . Two of the peace activists were severely beaten by the Israeli soldiers and the others forced out under fire threat, eyewitnesses added. Israeli Settler Wounded by Gun Shots Near Nablus International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2003 An Israeli settler suffered light-to-moderate wounds after gun shots were fired Sunday night at her car while traveling near the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar, South of Nablus. The attack took place at around 1:30 A.M. while the woman was driving her car from the settlement of Kedumim to the settlement of Yitzhar. IOF abducts two internationals in Nablus International Solidarity Movement 8/17/2003 Action Alert 17th August, 2003 Update -- Andrew Muncie, 29, from Inverness-shire in Scotland, and Andreas Koninek, 20, from Stockholm were yesterday taken handcuffed and blindfolded out of a house in Balata refugee camp, near Nablus in the early hours of Sunday morning. The two were a part of a team of five activists working to save the house of the Abu Salim family from destruction. Eyewitness accounts relate that the soldiers threatened to kill the activists chained to the second floor of the house.  IOF Erect Outposts in Hebron, Impose Curfew on Silwad, Bureen Palestine Media Center 8/18/2003 Occupation Troops Detain 4 Activists in West Bank, to Deport Scot -- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have set up two military outposts in the southern West Bank town of Hebron, detained a senior Jihad activist in the northern town of Qalqilia, barred 11 Swedish-passport holders from leaving Gaza and will deport a Scot. The IOF outposts were set up in the neighborhoods of Abu Sneineh and Harat al-Sheikh - areas that overlook the illegally built Jewish settler enclaves in the Israeli-occupied downtown sector. Islamic Jihad Man Nabbed Ahead of Israeli Pullout  Arab News 8/18/2003 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 18 August 2003 — The Israeli Army on Saturday arrested an Islamic Jihad leader during a swoop in Qalqilya even as the Jewish state promised to withdraw its troops from four Palestinian cities. Palestinian security sources said Azem Nazzel was arrested in the swoop overnight. Islamic Jihad has vowed to avenge Israel’s killing last week of its Hebron cell commander. Palestinian officials say continued Israeli raids for wanted activists have weakened the truce. Israeli forces invade Qalqilya, detain official in al-Jihad movement Arabic News 8/18/2003 The Israeli occupation forces on Saturday evening invaded the city of Qalqilya to the north of the West Bank and detained two Palestinians. One of them is Akef Nazzal ( 28 year old) a local official in the Islamic Jihad movement. Israeli soldiers broke into several houses in the city and fire was exchanged between armed Palestinians and the soldiers but no casualties were reported. The Israeli forces pulled out from the city at dawn. Nine terror suspects arrested in W. Bank Ha'aretz 8/17/2003 Israel released 73 prisoners at the end of last week, but the army also arrested nine Palestinians terror suspects on the West Bank. Palestinians derided the prisoner releases as an empty ploy. In Hebron and Bethlehem, IDF eased restrictions on the movement of Palestinians and reopened some local institutions. House Demolition in Balata, Second Attempt, 2 Arrested International Middle East Media Center 8/17/2003 Well before the sun rose in Nablus on Sunday morning, eight Israeli army vehicles entered the Balata refugee camp on the southeast side of the city in another house demolition maneuver. The IDF has engaged in house demolitions in Nablus and the surrounding refugee camps every day for the past five days. This morning marked the second time the military attempted to take down the house of Abu Salim, father of Amjed Salim, who was gunned down earlier this year during an attack on the Sharei Tikva settlement near Qalqyliah. Occupation authorities demolish house of commando Palestinian Information Center 8/17/2003 Nablus - Zionist army forces dynamited at dawn today the house of the Palestinian martyrdom commando Amjad Abu Esleem who stormed the Jewish settlement Sha’ari Tekwa four months ago. Eyewitnesses said that an occupation army unit stormed the Balata refugee camp near Nablus at 1 am today and forced owners of the house out of the building. The soldiers dynamited the building, sheltering 12 individuals, razing it to the ground and partially damaging nearby houses. Grenade attack targets Fatah offices in Ain al-Hilweh Daily Star 8/18/2003 A grenade attack on Sunday targeted offices of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s mainstream Fatah movement in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, Palestinian sources said. There were no casualties, but the dawn blast caused minor damage at the northern entrance to the camp, where several Fatah offices lie hard by a neighborhood controlled by the group’s hard-line opponents, the sources said. Fatah militiamen went on immediate alert, firing weapons into the air for nearly 30 minutes after the explosion. BREAKING NEWS: IOF shells Khan Younis, homes bulldozed in Jerusalem International Press Center 8/18/2003 19:30— Israeli occupation forces shell heavily the western part of Khan Younis refugee camp, south of Gaza Strip, IPC correspondent said. / 13:20-- Israeli occupation military bulldozers demolished at least three Palestinian civilians’ houses in occupied Jerusalem City, IPC...more A New Israeli Plan: Cows to be Imported to Occupy Palestinian Lands Alternative Information Center/Yediot Ahronot 8/18/2003 [As translated from Yediot Ahronot] New Initiative: Cows in the Service of Zionism - The plan of the Ministry of Agriculture: thousands of cows will be imported to Israel and will "settle" in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, in the Negev and in the Golan ?Ÿ the idea: to prevent Palestinians and Bedouins from taking over the lands. -- An unusual reinforcement will soon arrive to the settlers: The Ministry of Agriculture will subsidize the imports of thousands of cows that will occupy territories in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, in the Negev in the Galilee and in the Golan. Covering a Dangerous Beat Committee to Protect Journalists 8/18/2003 Mazen Dana, a veteran Palestinian television cameraman for Reuters, was shot dead by an American soldier in Baghdad on Sunday, August 18, while filming outside the city's Abu Ghraib prison. Dana was recipient of CPJ's International Press Freedom Award in 2001. In May 2000, Dana was shot in the leg with a rubber-coated bullet while filming Palestinian youths throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers. Two months later, Jewish settlers beat him unconscious while he tried to film a conflict. The next day, an Israeli police officer slammed Dana's head in the rear door of an ambulance while he was filming the evacuation of a Palestinian youth wounded in clashes. Dana was shot again last October, in the same leg, two days in a row. From the transcript of a Nightline interview with Mr. Dana.... Remand of Jewish terror suspects extended until end of trial Ha'aretz 8/18/2003 Jerusalem District Court Judge Judith Tsur on Monday extended the remand of Jewish terror suspects Yitzhak Pas and Matityahu Shabo until the end of legal proceedings against them. The two, who are residents of Hebron, were indicted earlier this month for carrying and transporting explosives in mid-July. Pas, who until he became suspected of belonging to a Jewish terror cell was best known as the father of 10-month-old terror victim Shalhevet Pas, and Shabo, his brother-in-law, are charged with transporting four kilograms of explosive material on July 17. They were caught with the explosives while traveling in Pas' car from the West Bank toward Jerusalem. IDF: New attacks `a wagon rolling downhill' Ha'aretz 8/18/2003 The IDF is concerned by a sharp rise in terror incidents in the Gaza Strip in the past few days, and by indications that activists from Islamic organizations in the West Bank have resumed planning attacks for the near future. Islamic Jihad made three attempts over the weekend to fire Al Quds rockets (the Jihad's equivalent of the Hamas Qassam) from the northern GazaStrip toward Sderot. Some of the rockets exploded on takeoff and others fell in Palestinian terrority. Incursion and Raids in Nablus Leave Six Palestinians Wounded International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2003 Israeli forces launched several raids at Palestinian houses in various areas of Nablus on Sunday evening. The soldiers opened fire randomly in the east side of the city from the military post on Mount Al-Tour. Light flares were also seen in the sky....On the same day, six Palestinians were injured in Beit Furik east of Nablus city. Eyewitnesses said a soldier shot at a crowd after they refused to put down a Palestinian flag in the playground of the village where they were playing. Settler shot in West Bank; Israeli pullouts delayed Al-Bawaba 8/18/2003 An Israeli settler sustained light-to-moderate injuries when Palestinians fired at the car she was travelling in early Monday, near the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar, located south of Nablus. Meanwhile, the expected Israeli handover of two West Bank cities to Palestinian control suffered a setback Sunday night, when Israeli and Palestinian security officials failed to finalize details for the transfer, which was due to take place Tuesday. Israeli security officials warn Hezbollah plotting kidnappings Ha'aretz 8/17/2003 A Hezbollah operative named Ahmad Ma'aniya, acting in collaboration with Iranian Revolutionary Guards, has been plotting to kidnap an Israeli or a Jewish person abroad. A kidnapping would aim to strengthen Hezbollah's bargaining power in prisoner exchange negotiations with Israel - the organization is demanding that the majority of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel be released. IDF sets up army posts in PA-ruled Hebron Ha'aretz 8/17/2003 The Israel Defense Forces began the construction last Sunday of two permanent, squad-size fortified posts in the Hebron neighborhoods of Abu Sneina and Harat al-Sheikh (also known as Juneidi hill), which overlook the homes of Hebron's Jewishsettlers in the center of Hebron. The hills are in an area of Hebron designated by the 1998 Hebron agreement to be under Palestinian control....The IDF moved quickly to declare the areas around the posts "closed military zones" without warning the residents, who are not permitted access. Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine August 18, 2003 Palestine Media Center 8/18/2003 Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) wounded six Palestinians in the northern West Bank town of Beit Foureik. IOF also detained two Palestinians after raiding Qalqilia town. OF Raid Jaba’, Detain 2 Palestinians. IOF Demolish 3 Palestinian Houses in Occupied E. Jerusalem. IOF Raid Salfeit.

Diplomacy..

Roadblocks Block Deal on IOF Withdrawal from Palestinian Cities Palestine Media Center 8/18/2003 PNA Rejects ‘Cosmetic’ Pullouts, Security Meeting Fails to Agree on Timetable -- A Palestinian–Israeli meeting Sunday to work out the terms for the withdrawal of Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) from more reoccupied cities in the West Bank failed because of Israel’s insistence on maintaining its military roadblocks that are paralyzing the daily life of Palestinians. A spokesman for Palestinian Minister of State for Security Affairs Mohammed Dahlan said the two sides adjourned after four hours of talks and will resume negotiations Tuesday. Dahlan: Impasse over handover of cities will soon be Tues. Ha'aretz 8/18/2003 The issue of supervising wanted Palestinans, which is holding up the transfer of two West Bank cities to the Palestinian Authority, will be solved Tuesday, Palestinian Security Affairs Minister Mohammed Dahlan said Monday. "Tomorrow (Tuesday), negotiations over the Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian cities will be completed," Dahlan said. The Israel Defense Forces said negotiators would meet again soon. Dahlan's comments came after Israeli and Palestinian security officials failed to finalize terms for the transfer of two West Bank cities, which was due to take place Tuesday, during talks on Sunday night. Tehran warns Israel against strikes on Bushehr reactor Ha'aretz 8/18/2003 TEHRAN, Iran - Iran, building its first nuclear reactor and planning a second, said Israel would "pay dearly" if it attacked the nuclear installations, as it did an Iraqi facility in 1981. Hamid Reza Asefi, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, told reporters Monday that he hoped Israel, which has warned against Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program, would not resort to such an adventure." Refugee Issue to Be Solved ‘Only in Tandem With Israel’ Arab News 8/18/2003 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 18 August 2003 — The Palestinian leadership wants to solve the refugee problem only by reaching agreement with Israel, Palestinian Information Minister and government spokesman Nabil Amr said yesterday. “The ‘right of return’ issue will be solved only in agreement with Israel. We will not harm the Jewish character of the state of Israel and the solution will therefore be pragmatic,” he told Israel Army Radio.   Assad: Israel rejects Arab peace efforts Al-Bawaba 8/18/2003 Syrian President Bashar Assad accused Israel of stalling on peace efforts and renewed Damascus call for a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on U.N. resolutions and the land-for-peace principle. "Israel has responded to the Arab peace initiative with procrastination, increased aggression and refusal to comply with U.N. resolutions," Assad said at a dinner he hosted Sunday evening for visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. His remarks were carried Monday by Syria's official news agency SANA. Sha’ath Suggests Troika Peace Front with Syria, Lebanon Palestine Media Center 8/17/2003 PM Abbas to Visit Syria, Meet President Assad in September -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas planned to visit Damascus for talks with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad - possibly in September, but the date was yet to be set, the Palestine National Authority’s (PNA) Foreign Minister Nabil Sha’ath said, while at the same time suggesting a troika peace front among Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, whose land are occupied by Israel. "I spoke about a desired troika - Palestine, Lebanon and Syria - those whose lands are under (Israeli) occupation and those who should coordinate and cooperate for the liberation of their land in the search for just and lasting peace,” said Nabil Shaath. Al-Shara meets with Shaath on Arab issues Arabic News 8/18/2003 Syria's Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara received in Damascus on Saturday Palestinian foreign affairs minister Nabil Shaath and an accompanying delegation. Talks during the meeting dealt with the "latest developments in the Palestinian territories and the deceit policy that Israel is practicing towards peace in the region," official Syrian news said. Message from Arafat to the Amir of Kuwait Arabic News 8/18/2003 The Kuwaiti official news agency KUNA said that the Amir of Kuwait received a message from the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat dealing with the situation in the Palestinian territories. The agency said that the Kuwaiti cabinet held a meeting yesterday that started with briefing on the content of the message addressed to the Amir of the country from Arafat and pertains to latest developments in the occupied Palestinian territories. PM names panel to look into accepting patriarch Ha'aretz 8/18/2003 The government yesterday set up a ministerial committee to decide whether to recognize the appointment of Irineos as Greek Orthodox patriarch. The church selected Irineos two years ago but Israel has refused to recognize his appointment. About a year ago, the patriarch told Haaretz that his selection was final and he was therefore surprised by Israel's decision not to recognize him. He also denied that he identifies with the Palestinian Authority and intends to lease church lands in Jerusalem. Analysis / PA minister makes a pitch in Lebanon Ha'aretz 8/17/2003 It's not by chance that Palestinian Authority External Affairs Minister Nabil Sha'ath spoke in Lebanon about the Palestinians' right of return not only to a Palestinian state but also "to Palestinian cities in the Jewish state." Later he said, "It makes no difference if a person wants to return to Haifa or to Nablus, his return to the homeland is assured." In Lebanon, the refugee problemstill festers, almost 55 years after Israel's War of Independence, which caused the problem. US irons out wrinkles in the road map The Guardian 8/18/2003 Israel will hand control of two West Bank cities to the Palestinian Authority today after a flurry of negotiations and American pressure on both sides to prevent the collapse of the six week-old ceasefire. Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, has also agreed to let the authority's president, Yasser Arafat, leave his compound in Ramallah for the first time for more than a year, to visit the grave of his sister, who was buried in Gaza last week. Nasrallah: Hezbollah, Israel will soon negotiate prisoner swap Ha'aretz 8/18/2003 Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has said that German mediation efforts could soon lead to negotiations between Israel and his organization on a possible prisoner exchange. Meanwhile, Channel Two TV reported Monday evenng that a new German mediator was working between the two sides. In an interview to the Saudi newspaper Al Watan published Monday, Nasrallah said that the groundwork is being laid and that negotiations will soon begin. Nasrallah: Negotiations for prisoner swap with Israel to begin soon Al-Bawaba 8/18/2003 Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that there were contacts regarding a swap of prisoners between his group and Israel. Nasrallah told the Saudi Al Watan daily, in an interview published Monday, that the process has started and that negotiations would begin soon. Nasrallah said that he hoped the German government's efforts to mediate between Israel and Hizbullah to achieve the release of four Israelis held by the Lebanese resistance group would bring positive results. Mofaz: Redeployment Not A Concession Al-Hayat 8/18/2003 Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said that a redeployment of Israeli occupation troops from four Palestinian cities, expected in the next few days, is "not a concession made by Israel." During the weekly cabinet session held in occupied Jerusalem yesterday, Mofaz said that the redeployment of Israeli troops from Jericho, Qalqilya, Ramallah and Tulkarem in the West Bank "comes as part of transferring the responsibility into the (Palestinian) Authority in order for it to deal with the basic structures of terrorism," referring to the Palestinian armed resistance groups. He described the agreement with Palestinian Security Affairs Minister, Mohamad Dahlan, as "important, at a decisive moment when the peace process was about to collapse." Abbas to meet with al-Assad in Syria in September Arabic News 8/18/2003 Palestinian foreign affairs minister Nabil Shaath said that the Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas will visit Damascus in September. Shaath explained following his talks with the Syrian foreign minister Farouk al-Shara in Damascus that the Palestinian leadership wants to deepen consultation and coordination with each of Syria and Lebanon concerning the peace process in the region. Iran warns: Israel to pay ''heavy price'' if nuclear site attacked Al-Bawaba 8/18/2003 The Islamic Republic of Iran warned Israel on Monday against committing any "adventurist" military attack on its nuclear sites. "I hope the Zionist regime will not commit any adventurist act," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi said. Israel has "demonstrated that it is adventurist and does not respect any principles and, if it makes such a mistake, it will pay a very heavy price," he made clear. Talks stall on pullouts from West Bank towns as Palestinians say Israel wants to keep roadblocks Athens Banner-Herald 8/18/2003 JERUSALEM — Disagreement over roadblocks and the fate of Palestinian gunmen is holding up the transfer of West Bank towns to Palestinian control, officials said Monday. However, Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan suggested the dispute could be resolved quickly, saying he expected negotiations with the Israelis to be concluded by Tuesday. Dahlan and Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz agreed in principle on an Israeli handover of the towns of Jericho, Qalqiliya, Ramallah and Tulkarem to Palestinian control within two weeks. Israeli Handover Of Palestinian Towns Delayed Over Roadblock Dispute Al-Hayat 8/18/2003 An Israeli handover of two West Bank towns to Palestinian control has been postponed after the sides failed to agree on details of the transfer, Israeli and Palestinian defense officials said. Talks on the handover of Jericho and Qalqiliya, expected to occur Tuesday, ended inconclusively late Sunday. A spokesman for Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan said the sides would resume talks Tuesday, and the Israeli military said they would reconvene "soon." Dahlan spokesman Elias Zananiri said the Sunday meeting of senior security officials stalled over Israel's insistence that even after Palestinian security forces take over the towns, the Israeli army will retain roadblocks controlling movement in and out. Israeli, PA officials meet to coordinate handover of cities Ha'aretz 8/18/2003 Israel and the Palestinian Authority are convening a series of security meetings to coordinate the transfer of authority over the West Bank cities of Qalqilya and Jericho to the PA. Security control for both these cities will most likely be transferred to the Palestinians tomorrow morning. Last night in Jerusalem, the head of the Israel Defense Force Plans and Policy Directorate, Major General Giora Eiland, conferred with the commander of Palestinian forces in the West Bank, General Haj Ismail. Focus / The sides never agreed on `who is a terrorist' Ha'aretz 8/18/2003 Why did Israel abandon its demand that the Palestinian Authority arrest all terror suspects found in the West Bank, and confine them in prisons? Finding an agreement over the handling of terror suspects has been the key issue in an arrangement for withdrawal from West Bank cities, which was worked out last week by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and PA Security Affairs Minister Mohammed Dahlan. Israel currently awaits delivery of a detailed plan drafted by Dahlan, who promised to make the whereabouts of terror suspects subject to PA monitoring (with American supervision assistance), and to confiscate weapons from them. PLO Executive Committee Will Not Approve Any Agreement Without Full Israeli Withdrawal From Cities International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2003 The PLO Executive Committee has said it will only approve an agreement if Israel fulfils certain conditions. Yasser Abed Rabbo, Minister For Cabinet Affairs and a member of the executive committee, said after the committee's meeting on Sunday night that these include withdrawing from the Palestinian cities it has promised to withdraw from; removing roadblocks and military checkpoints; and ending the sieges on these cities. Talks for Hand Overs Failed Over Roadblocks International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2003 Palestinian and Israeli security officials, who met Sunday for four hours near Jerusalem, failed to finalize an agreement to allow the transfer of the two West Bank cities, Jericho and Qalqilyah, to Palestinian Authority security control, which was due to take place Tuesday. The Spokesman of the Palestinian Security Affairs Ministry Elias Zananiri said that the talks stalled over Israel’s insistence to retain roadblocks controlling movement in and out of the two cities. Qandil: Conflict in Iraq is ‘Sharon’s war’ Daily Star 8/18/2003 Beirut MP praises resistance in South -- Beirut MP Nasser Qandil has asserted that the war on Iraq and the occupation of its land was a preemptive action in an attempt to hinder the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon. Qandil was speaking during a seminar over the weekend at the Beaufort Club in Nabatieh, under the theme of The Arab Status Between Iraq’s Occupation and the ‘Road Map’ Plan....“This is definitely a non-American war, a non-Republican war, and a non-George Bush war, but Israel’s war, the Likud’s war and Ariel Sharon’s war,” Qandil stressed. Palestinian factions reject Israel's new redeployment plan, call for withdrawal to 1967 lines Al-Bawaba 8/17/2003 The Palestinian factions have renewed their stance towards the Iraeli government and their decision to withdraw from four Palestinian cities in the West Bank, who perceive the Israeli step as a form of ‘deception’ aimed at gaining international opinion. The various groups believe that Israel would not hesitate to make incursions again into the cities from which its army will withdraw in order to assassinate or arrest Palestinian activists. West Bank Withdrawals Postpones As Security Meeting Fails Islam Online 8/18/2003 GAZA CITY, August 18 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A planned withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from two West Bank cities was postponed late Sunday, August 17, as talks between Israeli and Palestinian security officials over the transfer of security responsibility broke down, a Palestinian official said...."Israel said they would withdraw from Qalqilya but they want to maintain the checkpoint at the entrance to the city. "We reject this completely. It goes against the agreement between Dahlan and (Israeli Defense Minister Shaul) Mofaz," he said, referring to a meeting between the two Friday when the withdrawals were agreed. Setback for West Bank talks BBC 8/18/2003 Talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have failed to set a timetable for the return to Palestinian control of two West Bank towns. After four hours of talks on Sunday, a Palestinian spokesman said there would be no withdrawal from Qalqilya and Jericho on Monday or Tuesday. However, the sides agreed to continue the talks. Israeli DM: PA to take security control of Jericho, Qalqilyah; Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike Al-Bawaba 8/17/2003 Israel's Defense Minister Saul Mofaz told Israeli ministers Sunday that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has returned to a "green light" policy for "terror attacks", Israel's Army Radio reported. In addition, the Defense Minister told the cabinet at the weekly government meeting, "If there are no other developments, Israel will transfer security control in Jericho and Qalqilyah to the Palestinian Authority on Monday." Mofaz added that Arafat has been giving his subordinates unclear, non-obligatory indications that a renewal of "terror attacks" was currently allowed.

Human Rights..

Report by the PCATI Reveals a Sharp Rise in the Torture and Ill Treatment of Palestinian Detainees in GSS Interrogation in 2003 Public Committee Against Torture in Israel - PCATI 8/18/2003 The Attorney General grants - wholesale, and with no exception – the ‘necessity defense’ approval for every single case of torture. This report is a follow-up to previous reports issued by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and is the result of a comprehensive study conducted by PCATI. The report determines that since the beginning of 2003 there has been a sharp rise in the torture, ill treatment, humiliation and incarceration in inhuman conditions of Palestinian detainees by the GSS. 'Tourture in Israel has again become routine' Ha'aretz 8/18/2003 A report released yesterday by the Public Committee Against Torture claims that the use of torture in the interrogation of Palestinian suspects has increased significantly over the past two years. Hundreds of Palestinians were subject to Shin Bet security service interrogations defined as torture, inhumane or humiliating during each of the first six months of the year, compared to dozens in September 2001, the human rights group said. Palestinian March Against the Wall in Bethlehem International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2003 Hundreds of Palestinians from the villages of El-Khas and Al-No’aman, east of Bethlehem organized a protest march against the building of the separation wall through their villages. The wall threatens their livelihood on the land and confiscates about 5,000 dunams (about 1250 acres) from their villages. 73 Female Palestinian Prisoners Still Inside Israeli Jails Islam Online 8/18/2003 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, August 18 (IslamOnline.net) – There are still 73 female Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails, including 11 girls, and none of them has been included in the release of some 350 prisoners on August 6, the Palestinian ministry of prisoners' affairs said on Sunday, August 17. "The female Palestinian prisoners in Al-Ramla prison are imprisoned under appalling conditions, while some of them are jailed without trial or a specific charge and some others are arrested as a bargaining chip on their husbands and relatives," the ministry said in a statement a copy of which was faxed to IslamOnline.net. Press Groups React Angrily To Cameraman Slaying Islam Online 8/18/2003 WASHINGTON, August 18 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Palestinian Journalist Syndicate has called Monday, August 18, for forming an international committee of journalists to sue those responsible for killing reporters. “We call upon all Arab journalists as well as international journalists to take the stand and resolutions through which U.S.-Israeli recklessness can be stopped. We call for the formation of an international committee to bring those responsible for such crimes to fair international prosecutions,” the syndicate’s communiqué stated. SIS Condemns American Killing of a Palestinian Cameraman International Press Center 8/18/2003 GAZA, Palestine, August 18, 2003, (IPC)-- State Information Service (SIS) mourned Monday Palestinian cameramen, Mazen Da’na, who was killed yesterday by the American troops in Baghdad, while assuming his job near a prison in a Baghdad suburb in Iraq. The Israeli Supreme Court approves order denying Palestinian detainee access to legal representation Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 8/18/2003 In another instance of the Israeli General Security Service (GSS) and the Israeli Supreme Court’s involvement in violations of the rights of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a request submitted by PCHR to cancel an order that has denied a Palestinian detainee access to his lawyer. PCHR is concerned that the detainee, Mohammed Rajab Mohammed Timraz, 33, from Deir al-Balah, may have been subjected to torture by the GSS interrogators. Palestinian Prisoner Gets Doctorate On “Tolerance” By Phone Islam Online 8/17/2003 NABLUS, August 17 (IslamOnline.net) – Setting a new example of stiff resistance and determination against long-standing Israeli occupation, a Palestinian detainee got his doctorate degree on tolerance from his camp discussed through his cell phone. Braving his detention, tough treatment and squalid conditions, Nasser Abdel-Gawwad Ouda, 38, presented his dissertation on “the Islamic tolerance with non-Muslims”, to three professors in the discussion room in Al-Nagah University in Nablus.

Economy..

GDP down annualized 3% in Q2 Globes 8/18/2003 Central Bureau of Statistics: Growth in January-June 2003 was an annualized 1%. -- The economy is sliding into recession again. Central Bureau of Statistics figures indicate that GDP fell 3% in the second quarter of 2003, after rising 3.8% in the first quarter. Exports to Europe down annualized 2.4% in July Globes 8/18/2003 By contrast, exports to the US and to Asia rose. Exports to Europe account for a third of total exports. -- Exports of goods to the European Union (EU) declined by an annualized 2.4% in July 2003, after remaining unchanged in June, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. Exports to the EU account for 32% of all Israeli exports. On the other hand, exports of goods to the US rose by an annualized 12.7% in May-July 2003, after dropping 6.5% in November 2002-April 2003. IAI wins IDF tender for UAVs in territories Globes 8/17/2003 The contract is worth NIS 20 million a year. Israel Aircraft Industries said the plan was for more than one year, but did not disclose its duration. -- Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) has won a tender to operate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the territories. IAI said the NIS 20 million contract was for more than one year, but did not disclose its duration....The UAVs will carry out missions above Gaza, Judea, and Samaria. Private apartment sales down annualized 36% in January-April Globes 8/17/2003 Land tax revenues declined 16.4% in January-July 2003, compared with the corresponding period last year. -- The real estate sector is not recovery yet. Sales of private apartments fell by an annualized 36% in January-April 2003, while the supply of new apartments dropped by an annualized 20.8%, according to figures from the Bank of Israel, the Central Bureau of Statistics, and the Ministry Housing and Construction. Sales of finished apartments slid 26.2% in this period, while sales of apartments under construction tumbled 37.4%. Knafo loses her allowances - and job Ha'aretz 8/18/2003 Single mothers' activist Vicki Knafo received neither her last income supplement payment from the National Insurance Institute, nor a study entitlement for her son, who is entering second grade. Knafo discovered by accident while reviewing a bank statement that these entitlements were never paid.  Consumer price index sinks 0.7%, steepest drop in last 36 years Ha'aretz 8/17/2003 The consumer price index for July, announced Friday, dropped 0.7 percent, the biggest drop in 36 years. The deflation figure took most economists by surprise, since predictions were for a rate between -0.3 and -0.6 percent.

People..

A Palestinian Cameraman Killed by US Troops in Baghdad International Press Center 8/18/2003 HEBRON, Palestine, August 18, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- The city of Hebron was completely shocked Monday , as they received the news of the death of their son, Mazen Da'ana, an award-winning cameraman working for Reuters news agency. Da'ana was killed by the US troops Sunday while filming outside Abu Gharib prison in western Baghdad. Israelis To Visit Jewish Sites In Iraq Al-Hayat 8/18/2003 A Jordanian archeologist based in Baghdad said that Israeli archeologists were planning with their colleagues in Amman to visit Al Kafl site, located close to Najaf, adding that "the Israeli archeologists intend to examine and excavate the mentioned site, which contains graves and symbols of Jewish historical characters; also its walls have Hebrew writings." This site refers to the prophet Zi el Kafl, whose name was mentioned in several verses of the Koran. Palestinians hold meeting to promote better education Daily Star 8/18/2003 Palestinian factions, popular committees, teachers, students and workers unions on Saturday highlighted the importance of education and learning as a strong weapon to face ignorance and Israel. “All the efforts to promote a better education” was the slogan of the meeting, held at Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, after the low percentage of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) students who passed the Lebanese official exams. The Tabboun: Arab Community Insider By Ray Hanania, Palestine Chronicle 8/18/2003 "'He may be 'Harvard-educated,' but intelligence doesn't seem to stand in the way of the bigotry and racism of Daniel Pipes, accused of building a career on slamming Muslims and distorting facts .." -- For the week of Monday, August 18, 2003 - Community insider column on events, personalities and facts. Posted every Monday... Israel's religious settlers BBC 8/18/2003 In the first of a series of articles examining attitudes among Israelis towards the future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, BBC News Online's Raffi Berg explores the views of ideological settlers. By the side of a path on a hillside north of Jerusalem hangs a sign offering a blunt riposte to those who harbour plans to tamper with the fate of the land. "Only the Bible is the roadmap of the Jewish people," it says in a message directed far beyond the itinerants who pass by.

International..

US Troops Shoot Dead Second Palestinian Journalist in Iraq Palestine Media Center 8/18/2003 US occupation troops in Iraq shot dead an award-winning Reuters Palestinian cameraman Mazen Da’na, 43, while he was filming on Sunday near a prison run by American soldiers on the outskirts of Baghdad, to be the second Palestinian journalist killed by American forces in the Iraqi capital city. Da’na’s death brings to 17 the number of journalists or their assistants who have died in Iraq since the US-led coalition invaded the eastern Arab country on March 20. Two others have been missing since the first days of the invasion. IFJ Calls for Iraq Probe After Journalist Shot Dead by US Troops: “Casual Disregard” for Media Safety International Federation of Journalists 8/18/2003 The International Federation of Journalists has called for an independent and open inquiry into the killing yesterday afternoon of a cameraman in Iraq by US troops, only days after the Federation accused the Pentagon of a “cynical whitewash” over a previous attack on media in which two journalists were killed. The shooting of Mazen Dana, an award-winning journalist working for the Reuters news agency, is “more tragic evidence of what appears to be casual disregard of journalists’ safety by military commanders,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “Despite the best efforts of journalists to identify themselves and to seek permission from military units to do their work they are still being fired upon.” Muzzled, say ALP's critics of Israel Sydney Morning Herald 8/19/2003 [Australia] Concern that Labor is in danger of losing votes and donations from the Jewish community appear to have driven the Opposition Leader, Simon Crean, to stop two pro-Palestinian backbenchers from speaking yesterday in a parliamentary debate on the Middle East. One of the censored backbenchers, Julia Irwin, a strong critic of the Israeli Government, last night said she was appalled that Labor policy on the Israel-Palestine conflict had been "hijacked by powerful forces" associated with the Jewish lobby. Some of Israel's best friends won't forgive a spy Ha'aretz 8/18/2003 After 18 years in jail, Jonathan Pollard's situation is bleak -- WASHINGTON - On September 2, Jonathan Pollard will have an opportunity for a few hours to leave the prison in North Carolina where he is incarcerated. He will be taken to Washington, the city where he operated and where he was captured, for a brief appearance at the federal court. For Pollard's lawyers this opportunity to appear before a judge is a real step on the very long road to changing his sentence, but after 18 years in prison many sources in Washington are doubtful if the judicial channel will yield any results. Chalabi ‘Should Be in Prison' Arab News 8/18/2003 AMMAN, 18 August 2003 — A group of 21 Jordanian parliamentarians will call on Washington to extradite Ahmad Chalabi, a key US-ally on the Iraqi Governing Council, to serve out a 22-year prison sentence for fraud, Amman press reports said yesterday. In a public motion, 21 MPs called for an extraordinary session of Parliament to discuss Chalabi’s involvement in financial irregularities and his extradition to Jordan via Interpol in order to serve his sentence. U.S. Legislators: No Link between Separation Wall and Loan Guarantees International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2003 A six-member American Congress delegation led by Sen. John McCain held talks with Israeli officials over the separation wall Israel is building in the West bank. The Republican senator told Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom that Many Congress members feel that the Wall is important for the security of Israel. McCain said “there should be no linkage of the route" to some US$9 billion in loan guarantees..." CSA Protests Against Egyptian Drama ‘Horseman Without a Saddle’ Arab News 8/18/2003 PARIS, 18 August 2003 — The French government’s broadcasting watchdog, the Conseil superieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA), says it will be calling for questioning the local representative of Egyptian satellite channel ESC to protest against “Horseman Without a Saddle,” an Egyptian-made mini-series that the CSA says is anti-Semitic. The program was broadcast last month. Syria refutes Israeli overflight claim Daily Star 8/18/2003 Residents: No sonic boom in Latakia -- BEIRUT: Western diplomats in Damascus say no evidence has emerged to support an Israeli claim that fighter jets flew a low-level supersonic run over the residence of Syrian President Bashar Assad in Latakia last week. The Israeli media said Sunday that an F-16 fighter-bomber had broken the sound barrier over Assad’s summer residence early Aug. 11 shortly after a delivering a sonic boom over Beirut. Campaign To Extradite Chalabi Heralds A Crisis between Government and Parliament Al-Hayat 8/18/2003 The Jordanian parliamentary, which is demanding the Interpol to turn in Ahmad Chalabi, head of the Iraqi National Congress, to Jordan in order to sue him once again on grounds of financial corruption points to an imminent crisis between the parliament, opposed to the ruling council in Baghdad, and the government which is seeking a legal settlement to Chalabi's case, away from pressures by the U.S., which is eager to see him play a role in future Iraq. Israel Claims 'Lost Property' In Arab Middle East Peace 8/18/2003 GAZA CITY, August 17 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – In a bid seen as trying to get a bigger slice of the grand Iraqi cake, Israel has drawn up a file on Jewish property and money allegedly left by Jewish immigrants in Arab countries, particularly Iraq. The Israeli justice ministry spokesman said that the government would ask Jews in Israel and all over the world within the few coming days to present information on their purported belongings in Iraq, the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said Saturday, August 16. Following US, Jewish criticism: UAE closes Arab League's prime think tank Al-Bawaba 8/18/2003 The UAE is closing down a think-tank that Israel and Jewish bodies accused of promoting anti-Americanism and "anti-Semitism." An official said the future of the Abu Dhabi-based Zayed International Center for Coordination and Follow-Up - named in honor of UAE President Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - will be up to its official sponsor, the Arab League. The UAE has funded and hosted the center since it opened in 1999, The Gulf News reported Monday. "We are closing down the Zayed Center and ceasing its funding," the official added.

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