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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..

Four killed in IDF Gaza assassination Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 Israel assassinated four Hamas operatives in Gaza last night, its second such operation in the last three days. Defense sources said the targeted killing was aimed at preventing a double suicide attack that Hamas's military wing had planned to carry out in the near future. The operation took place a few hours after Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon announced that Israel views "all Hamas personnel as targets for pinpoint preventions." Israel Incursion in Rafah, Monday Morning, Shelling the Southeastern Area of Khan Younis International Middle East Media Center 8/25/2003 Israeli forces invaded the southwestern area of Rafah city in the early hours of Monday morning. Eyewitnesses said five Israeli military vehicles moved from Rafih Yam settlement near Rafah about 200 meters towards Al-Sultan neighborhood and opened random fire in the area. Israeli Army Attacks Palestinian Hospital Killing 1 & Injuring 2 Palestine Monitor 8/23/2003 Khaled Anamroti, 26 years old, died yesterday afternoon in the West Bank city of Nablus, when Israeli troops fired into Rafidiya hospital. Hassam al-Ghuhari, director of the Rafidya hospital, confirmed that Khaled Anamroti died instantly having suffered multiple gun shot wounds. His two companions remain in critical condition in ICU, one having received shots to the chest and the other the abdomen. IOF Wounds a Little Girl in Khan Younis, Arrests Locals in Balata Refugee Camp International Press Center 8/25/2003 KHANYOUNIS, Palestine, August 25, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) shot and wounded a Palestinian girl in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, IPC correspondent said....Also, Israeli troops opened a hail of their machine guns fire, abruptly and randomly, at a number of Palestinian farmers, bending down in labor, in the ”Qizan Al Najar” area , south east of khan Younis city as, eyewitnesses said. Meanwhile, IOF stormed toady morning the neighborhood of Tal Al Sultan in Rafah City, south of Gaza Strip and opened fire at citizens' properties, damaging a number of houses and the main power transformer, causing a complete power cut -off, local sources told IPC....Also, the Israeli troops uprooted today 80 olive trees in Burin village, south of West Bank city of Nablus. IOF Seizes Palestinian Lands, Destroys Houses and Shops in West Bank International Press Center 8/24/2003 TULKAREM, Palestine, August 24, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - The Israeli occupying authorities handed over today confiscation orders today to Palestinian land owners in the town of Baqa Al Sharqeya, near the city of Tulkarem. Palestinian farmers in the town told IPC correspondent that they received orders of forcible confiscation of 300 dunums (300,000 square meters) of the town's arable lands, and converted it into a "closed military zone"....Mayor Hussein pointed out that the seized lands are all planted with fruitful olive trees, and form the sole source of income for many of the town's families, and by losing these lands, their suffering will double, and would eventually force them to leave the town, which is exactly what the occupation looks forward to. Israeli troops pull out of Nablus, impose curfew on surrounding villages ReliefWeb 8/25/2003 NABLUS, West Bank, Aug 25 (AFP) - Israeli troops pulled out of the West Bank town of Nablus early Monday but later imposed a curfew in a number of neighbouring villages, security sources and witnesses said. The group of around 100 soldiers who had entered the northern West Bank town on Thursday left in around 20 jeeps and seven tanks in a pre-dawn operation, witnesses said. But Palestinian security sources later said the Israelis had imposed a curfew by loud speaker in around seven villages around Nablus, with two or three jeeps patrolling the streets of the villages.  A Senior Palestinian Woman Dies of Israeli Fire as 28 Other Civilians Wounded by IOF International Press Center 8/24/2003 GAZA, Palestine, August 24, 2003, IPC— Sabra Hamdia, 70, of the Gaza city, died yesterday of wounds she had sustained last Thursday when the Israeli warplanes assassinated senior Hamas political leader, Ismail Abu Shanab, local Palestinian medical sources said. The sources added that Hamdiya was shot with a number of shrapnel in her body as she was walking in the street where Abu Shanab’s car was rocketed by Israeli helicopters, causing the fatal death of Abu Shanab as well as two other Palestinians and wounding several others. Israeli Soldiers Shot, Seriously Wounded a Palestinian in Khan Younis International Middle East Media Center 8/24/2003 Palestinian mediacl sources in the city of Khan Younis north of Gaza reported that Mohamad Abu Shanab, 20, was hit in the head by a high velocity bullet. Eyewitnesses said that Israeli soldiers fired Sunday morning scores of gun shots from Nevie Dikalem settlements towards residential areas in the center of Khan Younis near to the Great mosque region. Abu Shanab was seriously injured in the head and moved to Khan Younis hospital in a critical condition. Israeli Troops Use Tear gas To Impose Curfew on Hebron International Middle East Media Center 8/24/2003 Israeli troops used Sunday noon tear gas to impose a curfew on Hebron and force shopkeepers to close their stores. Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli soldiers threw dozens of tear gas bombs and fired at Palestinian residents in Bab Al Zawia area in Hebron. The same source reported that some Israeli soldiers detained few of the shopkeepers in the area, forced them to stand for hours facing the wall while other soldiers physically attacked them using the backs of their machine guns. Israeli Troops Escalate Search Campaign in The Old city Of Nablus International Middle East Media Center 8/24/2003 Israeli army intensified Sunday morning its presence and operations in the old city of Nablus. Israeli army sources reported that troops are searching for two main Palestinian resistance active cells; one affiliated with Fatah and headed by Naif Abu Sharkh, the second belongs to Hamas and headed by Mohammed Alhanbali....The head of Health relief committee in the old city of Nablus Nihad Alakhras reported that Israeli soldiers broke into the committee’s clinic in the old city after blowing up the door with explosives. As well, the head of Bourin village council reported that an Israeli army officer informed him that they will uproot 80 olive trees that belongs to the village resident Yusra Qados. Qassams land south of Ashkelon; no one hurt Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 Two Qassam-2 rockets launched from the Gaza Strip landed near Ashkelon yesterday. One landed on the Ziqim Beach south of the city shortly before it opened to bathers, narrowly missing an unmanned lifeguard station. The other landed in an open area. Military sources believe that the rockets may have been aimed at Ashkelon's large electric power station, lcoated not far from the beach. Four Arrested from Balata Refugee Camp Monday Morning, Curfew in Rifidia Neighborhood International Middle East Media Center 8/25/2003 On Monday morning, Israeli forces arrested four Palestinians from the Balata refugee camp east of Nablus city. Special Israeli Forces broke into the house where the four were gathered in the middle of the camp. They searched the home before arresting brothers Hasan and Hassan Baghit, Ra’d ‘Abu Rauash, a Fatah activist who was released from an Israeli prison three weeks ago, and a fourth man whose identity is unknown still, but is suspected to be from the ‘Abdo family in the camp. Muslims try to prevent Jews from entering Temple Mount Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 A group of Muslim worshippers on Monday morning tried to prevent Jewish visitors from entering the Temple Mount compound. The Muslims were standing at the Mugrabi Gate in order to prevent the entrance of the Jewish visitors, and a confrontation erupted between the groups. Nine Jews arrested for terrorist attacks against Palestinians Ha'aretz 8/24/2003 Nine Jewish men were arrested in the last few days on suspicion of carrying out terrorist attacks against Palestinians in recent years. One of them, Shahar Dvir-Zeliger, is also suspected of a murder attempt and weapons-related offenses, Jerusalem Magistrate's Court released for publication on Friday. For 12 years, the Shin Bet failed to expose Jewish underground groups. Video: Israel issues deck of terrorist 'playing cards', threatens more assassinations BBC 8/25/2003 Video: The BBC's Orla Guerin in Jerusalem - "Israel says it will work through the list unless the Palestinians do their own dirty work" Brother of Jewish terror group suspect fingers others arrested Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 Shahar Dvir-Zeliger, whose brother, Shlomi, is one of those charged with membership in the Bat Ayin Jewish terror cell, apparently gave the police incriminating evidence against two of their recently arrested suspects, Yitzhak Pas and Matityahu Shvu. When Shahar Dvir-Zeliger was interrogated by the police on August 14, he gave them new information about the explosive bricks that police had found in a car driven by Pas and Shvu. Pas, he said, first showed him the explosive bricks during a visit to his house in Adei Ad toward the beginning of last winter. Hamas vows to continue resistance following killing of four fighters in Gaza Strip Al-Bawaba 8/25/2003 Four Palestinians, including two Hamas activists, were killed in an Israeli missile strike on a car in Gaza City on Sunday night, according to Palestinian sources. Eight other people were injured in the strike, among them four, including a child, in moderate to serious condition. The sources said that two helicopter gunships fired at least three missiles at a Palestinian vehicle. Alleged member of Jewish underground suspected of murder Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 The Jerusalem Magistrates Court lifted a gag order Monday on details of the suspicions against Sela Tor, one of the alleged members of a Jewish terror network arrested 10 days ago. Tor is suspected of murder, illegal possession of firearms, use of hazardous substances, conspiring to commit a crime and involvement in and planning of terror attacks against Palestinians in recent years. In addition to Tor, Yisachar Peretz and Ronen Aroussi, also arrested 10 days ago, are also suspected of terror attacks against Palestinians. Hamas militants vow revenge BBC 8/25/2003 The military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas has vowed to avenge an Israeli missile strike in Gaza which killed four of its members on Sunday. "We will counterattack as soon as possible the crimes of the Zionist occupation," a statement from the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades' said. "Our response will be painful and quick."  21 of 97 witnesses in Barghouti trial hostile, court told Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 The chief prosecutor in the trial of Marwan Barghouti called yesterday on the Tel Aviv District Court to take into account statements made by Barghouti's subordinates during questioning - since most of them subsequently refused to testify against him in court. Speaking at a court hearing where the prosecution summed up its case against Barghouti, who is on trial for 26 counts of murder, attorney Devorah Chen said that 21 of the 97 witnesses in the case are considered hostile. She added that Barghouti had been documented on three separate occasions complaining that his aides had cooperated with investigators. Members of Temple Mount movements allowed to visit site Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 The police yesterday permitted a group of about 40 Jews, including several adherents of movements such as the Temple Mount Faithful, to ascend the Temple Mount and tour the site for about 90 minutes. In addition, more than 60 other Jews made "ordinary" visits to the mount yesterday. During the tour, some of the Temple Mount activists recited Psalms. However, in an effort to avoid anything the Muslim Waqf might consider provocative, they recited the Psalms quietly rather than aloud and by heart rather than from a prayer book. Hamas chief dies in Israeli helicopter attack The Independent 8/25/2003 Israeli helicopter gunships killed a Hamas commander and three of his fighters in a missile strike on Gaza City last night. Three passers-by were also wounded. Palestinian witnesses named the dead as Ahmad Ishtaiwe, 25, a senior officer in Hamas' Unit 103, which has frequently attacked Israeli tanks, and Wahid al-Hams, Ahmad Abu Hilaleh and Ahmad Abu Libdeh, all in their early twenties. The attack came three days after a similar raid that killed Ismail Abu Shanab, a senior Hamas political leader. Analysis: Fighting Arafat through Killing Hamas Leaders International Middle East Media Center 8/25/2003 There has been one steady pattern in the course of Israeli military operations since the start of the recent crisis in the Middle East. Regardless who led the Israeli Cabinet, or who stood at the head of Defense and Security, military actions and political maneuvers always targeted the Palestinian Authority in general and the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in particular. Middle East conflict shows no signs of abating Middle East Online 8/25/2003 The Middle East conflict showed no signs of abating Monday, with Israel vowing to wipe out Palestinian militant leaders and the Palestinians swearing revenge for a new air strike that left four dead. At the same time, a struggle within the Palestinian leadership for control of security services intensified with Palestinian patriarch Yasser Arafat appointing a new adviser to restructure the security apparatus....Palestinian security forces in the Gaza Strip "will no longer tolerate the firing of Qassam rockets, mortar shells or automatic weapons against Israeli targets," said a Palestinian security official.      Israel Unveils Tip of Jewish Terror Iceberg, Embedded with Settlers Palestine Media Center 8/25/2003 Vindicating Palestinian warnings against the imminent Jewish terror threat that is embedded with the illegal Israeli settlers on occupied territories in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities recently busted a Jewish “terror cell” suspected of killing nine Palestinians and of plotting and launching anti-Palestinian attacks capable of further inflaming the crisis with the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation since 1967. Since July, Israeli police and the Shin Beth internal security services have arrested nine Jewish settlers, including a reserve soldier, unmasking only the tip of the iceberg of settlers’ terrorism. Israeli Helicopters Assassinate Four Palestinians in Gaza Despite PNA Efforts International Press Center 8/25/2003 The..Israeli extrajudicial execution came just few hours after Brig. General Abdelrazeq Almajayda, head of Palestinian National Security forces, ordered his services in the Gaza Strip to prevent any law and order violations, in order to preserve Palestinian national interests. -- GAZA, Palestine, August 25, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - Israeli military helicopters killed yesterday night four Palestinians at the coastal road in Gaza City, near President’s Arafat Gaza headquarters, Palestinian security sources said. Ahmad Shtawi, Wahid Hems, Ahmad Abu Hilal and Mohammad Abu Libda, were instantly killed as they were targeted by a number of rockets fired by a helicopter, probably Apaches, sources at the local hospital of Shifa in Gaza told IPC correspondent.  Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine August 24, 2003 Palestine Media Center 8/24/2003 Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) assassinated a Palestinian activist in the northern West Bank city of Nbalus. IOF also detained several Palestinians in the West Bank and sealed off a vital road in the Gaza strip. IOF Close Gaza’s Vital Road. 16 Teens Wounded in Nablus. IOF Dynamite House in Nablus. Jewish Extremists Enter Al-Aqsa.      Video: The BBC's Stephen Cviic - "Israeli tanks are back on the streets of the West Bank" BBC 8/25/2003 Video: The BBC's Stephen Cviic - "Israeli tanks are back on the streets of the West Bank"

Diplomacy..

Focus / Abbas tries to salvage hudna Ha'aretz 8/24/2003 Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, anticipating large-scale action on the part of Hamas, spent the weekend making efforts to reinstate the recently-ended hudna. Abbas met several times with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and with Osama Al-Baz, political advisor to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and also had contacts with American and Israeliofficials. U.S. military may be needed for Israel-Palestinian stability, key Republican says San Francisco Chronicle 8/24/2003 As violence escalates in the Middle East, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee says military involvement by the United States and its NATO allies might be required to bring stability to Israel and the Palestinians. "If we're serious about having a situation of stability, a very direct action, I think, is going to be required," Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., said Sunday on CNN's "Late Edition."  U.S. Mulls Revival of Mosul-Haifa Pipeline: Report Islam Online 8/25/2003 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, August 25 (IslamOnline.net) – The U.S. Defense Department sent a telegram to the Israeli Foreign Ministry last week on the possibility of pumping oil from U.S.-occupied Iraq to Israel, reported a leading Israeli newspaper Monday, August 25....At present, Iraqi oil is being shipped via Turkey to a small Mediterranean port near the Syrian border. Ankara, which considers the transit fee it collects an important source of revenue, has warned Israel it would regard the talked-about Kirkuk-Mosul-Haifa pipeline as "a serious blow to Turkish-Israeli relations." Mofaz: PA actions aimed at alleviating American pressure Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Sunday that the Palestinians were not taking any real steps to dismantle terror infrastructure, and that their actions were taken for appearance's sake only, aimed at alleviating American pressure on the Palestinian Authority. The conclusion was reached in consultations Mofaz held with the defense establishment. IDF removes 50 settlers from outpost near Hebron Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 Police and soldiers removed about 50 settlers and a trailer from an illegal outpost near the West Bank city of Hebron early Monday and arrested five settlers there who refused to leave. During the night, settlers had moved the trailer to the area known as Worshippers Way, which would connect the main Jewish settlement in Hebron and the nearby Jewish community of Kiryat Arba. Troops used hammers to destroy it, Israel Radio reported. Hezbollah bodies handed over BBC 8/25/2003 The bodies of two Hezbollah guerrillas who died in fighting more than three years ago have been returned to Lebanon after being handed over by Israel. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah linked the move to the resumption of negotiations through German mediators aimed at a possible prisoner swap with Israel. Nasrallah: end to detainee ordeal now in sight Daily Star 8/25/2003 ‘We are closer than at any time in the past’ -- Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has said his party was closer than ever to resolving the fate of Lebanese detainees held in Israeli jails. “Today we are closer than at any time in the past to achieving a result,” he said Saturday at the opening of a hospital in Hermel. Nasrallah did not say how the issue would be resolved or whether it would include a prisoner swap with the Jewish state, but said “this file will be concluded, God willing.” Hamas leader Rantisi rules out restoring cease-fire Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 The political leader of Hamas ruled out restoring a cease-fire and dismissed Palestinian Authority plans to crack down on militants in the Gaza Strip, saying it would not dare to carry them out for fear of mass opposition. Abdel Aziz Rantisi was speakingon Sunday moments before IDF helicopter missiles killed a Hamas military wing commander and three other Hamas members in Gaza City. Hamas, Open For a New Truce, PA Demands a Halt On Israeli Operations International Middle East Media Center 8/24/2003 Israeli security source said Saturday that Palestinian security affairs minister Mohammed Dahlan informed Israel through the Americans that he has ordered his security forces to prevent the firing of Qassam Rockets from Gaza at Israel. The same source reported that Dahlan promised that “this week, he will take control of Hamas and Islamic Jihad installation I Gaza and will confiscate their weapons.” Israel, Palestinian hardliners reject new truce bid Yahoo! News 8/24/2003 Israel and Palestinian hardliners both rejected a proposal by the Palestinian leadership for a new ceasefire after the collapse of a seven-week-old truce amid a new spate of violence. Tensions were high with the radical group Hamas threatening new suicide bombings and Israeli tanks poised north of the Gaza Strip after militants hit Israel with what officers called a new, longer-range rocket. France to Israel: No evidence Hamas, Islamic Jihad are ''terror groups'' Middle East Peace 8/25/2003 France expressed objections to placing Hamas and Islamic Jihad on the European Union(EU)'s list of "terror organizations", according to an Israeli report on Monday. Israel's Yediot Aharonot website reported that diplomatic advisor to French President Jacques Chirac, Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, told the Israeli ambassador in France, Nissim Zvilli, during a weekend meeting, that there is no evidence that these two organizations are "terror groups." U.S. rejects Israeli request to join visa waiver plan Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 The United States has rejected Israel's request to join the Visa Waiver Program, which would exempt Israelis from the need to obtain visas to enter the U.S. The Bush administration has also refused to exempt Israelis from the new visa requirements thattook effect worldwide this July, meaning that Israelis must still undergo personal interviews in order to obtain a visa. They will also need to be fingerprinted once that requirement goes into effect - a move expected in the near future. Israel Worried About Attempts To "Curb Dahlan's Role" Al-Hayat 8/25/2003 After Israel officially refused a Palestinian suggestion to sign a new truce agreement which it would co-sign, a high-ranking military official announced that the occupation authorities had decided not to move into Gaza for the time being, in order to give the Palestinian Authority "a last chance" to dismantle the armed infrastructure of the Palestinian factions, echoing a similar American demand. The Israeli ambassador to Washington Daniel Ayalon insisted on the "absolute American support" to the steps decided by the Israeli government in retaliation to the "Jerusalem operation." U.S. tells Israel: Boycott of Arafat continues Ha'aretz 8/24/2003 The American administration has assured Israel that it has not changed its policy toward Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Israel requested clarifications on this matter following U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's public appeal to Arafat last week....American officials told their Israeli counterparts that Powell had made a "slip of the tongue" and that the secretary's words did not reflect a change in the U.S. attitude toward Arafat. EU unlikely to follow US curb on Hamas fundraising Financial Times 8/25/2003 The European Union intends to take no immediate action against Hamas despite a US curb on European charities raising funds for the radical Palestinian group, according to senior EU diplomats. But if terrorist attacks in Israel continue, the EU may be forced to review its policy and adopt measures similar to the US, they added. Diplomats said the issue of enforcing tougher measures against Hamas would be discussed in two weeks when EU foreign ministers meet in Italy. Palestinian charity denies links with Hamas Daily Star 8/25/2003 A Palestinian charity whose assets were ordered frozen by Washington denied on Saturday any link to the militant group Hamas and said its only aim was to help poor Palestinian refugees and orphans in Lebanon. US President George W. Bush has ordered the Treasury Department to freeze the assets of six Hamas leaders and five organizations accused of financially supporting Hamas, including the Sanabil Association for Relief and Development. “Despite our complete respect and appreciation for all the nationalist and Islamic factions and forces, the association has no relation to any Palestinian movement or organization, be it Hamas, or anyone else,” the group said in a statement faxed to Reuters. US, Israeli Voices Join Palestinian Call for Int’l Intervention Palestine Media Center 8/25/2003 Barak Says ‘Roadmap’ a ‘Dangerous Program’, Supports Sharon and Liberman -- Leading US lawmakers on Sunday publicly voiced concern over the deteriorating situation on the ground between Palestinians and Israelis, and said that military involvement by the United States and its NATO allies may be necessary, thus giving more weight to latest Palestinian outcries for immediate international intervention to save the “roadmap” peace plan. Arafat urges EU peace role BBC 8/24/2003 Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has appealed to the European Union to become more involved in the Middle East peace process. Mr Arafat spoke to both EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to urge the EU to do more to promote the US-backed roadmap peace plan, Palestinian reports say. Israel Would not Extend a Hand, Continues with Threats International Middle East Media Center 8/24/2003 Israeli sources reported that Israel refuses to be a partner to any cease-fire agreement, said that it was too early to asses the seriousness of the steps taken by PA security, asked Palestinian security affairs minister Mohammed Dahlan to “stop warming up engine and move, threaten to assassinate political leaders of Hamas, and to deport President Arafat if another attack takes place. Israel urges EU to freeze assets of Hamas funders The Independent 8/24/2003 Israel is pressing the European Union to follow Washington's example and freeze the assets of charities raising funds for Hamas, the radical Islamic movement responsible for last Tuesday's suicide bombing, which killed 20 bus passengers on their way home from prayers at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Rice: Israel must fulfill its responsibilities for peace Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Bush administration vowed on Monday to see through a U.S.-backed peace plan despite Israeli-Palestinian violence and called on Israel to meet its responsibilities to help bring about a "peaceful change." President George W. Bush "remains committed to the course that he laid out ... because it is the only course that will bring durable peaceand security," U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said of the peace plan known as the road map.           Hezbollah chief, Israeli source say progress on prisoner swap Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 BEIRUT - The chief of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement said progress was being made on an exchange of prisoners with Israel, Al Nour radio quoted Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah as saying Sunday. "I will speak a few words about the detainees... This file will be concluded, God willing," Nasrallah said, according to a Hezbollah transcript of the remarks faxed to Reuters on Sunday. Mikati says Israel still targeting Lebanon Daily Star 8/25/2003 Public Works and Transport Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday said Lebanon was still being targeted by Israel, which is exerting pressure and making accusations to disturb the domestic situation. Speaking during a lunch held by Hajj Abdullah Baba to honor him in Bekaa Safrine, in Dinnieh, Mikati accused Israel of seeking to threaten unity and create strife in the country. He urged all Lebanese to unify ranks and refrain from bickering and conflicts. EU says it will review Hamas status Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 BRUSSELS, Belgium - The EU urged Israel and the Palestinians Monday to stick to the "road map" peace plan, saying it would soon decide how to deal with the militant Palestinian group Hamas which has resumed attacks. EU foreign ministers, who willmeet in early September, have not put Hamas on its list of terrorist organizations so far - only Hamas Izzedine al-Qassam- which the EU calls a "terrorist wing" and several other radical Palestinian groups, including the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development which has been accused of channeling funds to Hamas. Israel to return bodies of two Hezbollah fighters Monday Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 Israel handed over the bodies of Ammar Hammoud and Ghassan Zaatar, two Hezbollah fighters killed in clashes with the Israel Defense Force, to representatives of the Red Cross at the Lebanese border on Monday afternoon. A security source in Jerusalem, speaking on condition of anonimity, said that in exchange for the bodies, Israel would get information on the fate of some of the Israeli soldiers and citizens believed to be held by Hezbollah. Enter NATO as Middle East peacekeeper Daily Star 8/25/2003 Stationing alliance troops between israelis, palestinians is an idea whose time has come - Despite objections from Jewish state, the idea of a multinational force grows in popularity - especially as US soldiers die in Iraq -- BEIRUT: With the cease-fire between Palestinians and Israelis lurching toward collapse and another convulsion of all-out violence, the idea of an international military force to keep the two sides apart, and even impose a settlement, is being mooted. The idea has been around for several years. The Palestinians have long sought military intervention by outside powers in the belief that internationalizing the conflict will hasten its end.

Human Rights..

80% of the Palestinian Minor Prisoners are Tortured in Israeli Jails International Press Center 8/25/2003 Al BIRAH, Palestine, August 25, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)- - Ever since the eruption of Al Aqsa Intifada on September 28, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces intensified its arrest campaign targeting the Palestinian minors (below 18 years of age). 80 % of the Palestinian children prisoners were exposed to all form of torture, a report by the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners Affairs said on Saturday. UN Envoy Condemns Israel's Extra-Judicial Assassinations Palestine Chronicle 8/25/2003 NEW YORK - The senior United Nations envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed- Larsen, today condemned Israel's extra-judicial assassination on Sunday of four Palestinians, when helicopter gun-ships fired missiles into a car in Gaza City, reportedly killing a Hamas member and three Islamic University students. Roed- Larsen, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, reiterated the world body's consistent and vocal opposition to such assassinations. Israeli Soldiers Detain 3 Palestinians, Force Them to Publicly Undress International Middle East Media Center 8/25/2003 Israeli soldiers detained three Palestinian youth on the main street in Jenin Sunday afternoon, forcing them to undress and stand naked for hours. Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli soldiers, stationed at the western entrance of Jenin, stopped a Palestinian private car and forced passengers to step out. Soldiers forced 3 of the passengers into an Israeli tank stationed at the site. Manal Deplores Not Being Able to Share Her Son’s Birthday International Press Center 8/25/2003 RAMALLAH, Palestine, August 25, 2003 (IPC+WAFA)-- “They are scattered between our and their grandfather’s family, missing badly their mom’s warmth, from which they have been deprived for months. When a number of Palestinian prisoners are released from Israeli prisons, they inquire as to why their mom has not been released?”, with these words the grandmother of Majed, 6, Nivin, 9, and Ehab,10, started her speech. A grim picture of oppression Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 Some 44 percent of the women interviewed for the report said that policemen had visited the brothels where they worked. -- "Two customers came. One chose me, took me to a room and after half an hour, his friend began to bang on the door and shout that he should come out. He got up, dressed and told me: `Come, sweetie, you're under arrest.' I thought he was joking, but below a patrol car was waiting, and they took me to the lock-up." This is the testimony that K.T. of Moldova gave in Haifa's Kishon lock-up to volunteers who came to help her. Her testimony, like that of 105 other victims of trafficking in women in this country, was included in a report released yesterday by Israeli human rights organizations, which will be discussed today in the Knesset's committee on traffic in women. ISM: Vacationing in Gaza/Nablus Incursion Ends After 4 Days/Lost for Words International Solidarity Movement 8/25/2003 1. Vacationing in the Gaza Strip -- To relax, go to the closed checkpoint on the way to Rafah beach. For extreme sports, go to Gaza City and dodge Apache missiles... 2. Nablus Incursion Ends After Four Days -- Since the Israeli army took over the Old City of Nablus and the surrounding areas late Wednesday night, the population of Nablus has had to live through four continuous days of curfew, house searches and wide scale human rights violations. The Israeli Army also invaded the nearby villages Beit Furik, where four children were injured after being shot at, and Asira, where house searches were conducted and arrests were made. Monday morning the army seems to have left the Old City. 3. Lost For Words -- With regard to the recent events here in Palestine/ Israel, I don't seem to have any appropriate words. The suicide bombing in Jerusalem and the military attack in Gaza City were both horrible acts of war that come out of Occupation, Oppression, and Fear. Barghouthi again Refuses to Recognize Israel’s Jurisdiction Palestine Chronicle 8/25/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank - Israeli prosecutors summed up charges against detained Palestinian MP Marwan Barghouthi on Sunday despite the Palestinian leader rejection to recognize Israel’s jurisdiction over him. “This is a court of the occupation,” Barghouthi told the court on Sunday. “I am an elected leader of the Palestinians and you cannot judge me.” Prosecutor Devorah Chen told the court “a defendant cannot be allowed to manipulate the court system in Israel so that it plays into his own court.” Father appeals to Red Cross to save Son from death in an Israeli jail Palestinian Information Center 8/25/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - A Palestinian father from Dura, in the southern West Bank, has appealed to the International Red Cross to make immediate efforts to save his son who has been on hunger strike for the 13th consecutive day. “My son is dying, My son is dying, I appeal, I urge the Red cross to immediately intervene to save his life,” said Muhammed Salem Dudin, referring to his son Musa, imprisoned in the notorious Beir Sheva prison in connection with the Palestinian national resistance. Israeli forces kill 4 Palestinian activists in latest extra-judicial assassination in Gaza City Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 8/25/2003 PCHR strongly condemns the latest extra-judicial assassination carried out by Israeli occupying forces in Gaza City on Sunday, 24 August 2003, which left dead 4 members of the military wing of Hamas movement, the Ezziddin al-Qassam Brigade. PCHR is deeply concerned about the persistent escalation of aggressive acts carried out by Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. PCHR is especially concerned by the Israeli government’s official adoption of the policy of extra-judicial assassinations; the only state in the world which openly commits such crimes.  PRCS Weekly Press Release for the period 16-22 August 2003 Palestine Red Crescent Society 8/23/2003 During this reporting period, the Israeli Army has continued to violate the First and Fourth Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by denying freedom of movement to Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulances and its medical teams, who were threatened by gunfire, humiliated and verbally and physically abused. Delays, denial of access and arbitrary searches had a negative impact on the sick and the wounded in Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilia and Gaza.

Economy..

Sharon wanted to sign Phalcon deal with India now Globes 8/25/2003 The business negotiations are not yet completed. India plans to buy three Phalcon AWACs planes, following US approval of the deal. -- Sources inform “Globes” that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had planned to sign the $1 billion contract to deliver Phalcon AWACS planes to India on his official visit there next month. However, the negotiations between Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), IAI-Elta Electronics Industries and India's Ministry of Defense have not yet been completed. U.S. checking possibility of pumping oil from northern Iraq to Haifa, via Jordan Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 The United States has asked Israel to check the possibility of pumping oil from Iraq to the oil refineries in Haifa. The request came in a telegram last week from a senior Pentagon official to a top Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem. The Prime Minister's Office, which views the pipeline to Haifa as a "bonus" the U.S. could give to Israel in return for its unequivocal support for the American-led campaign in Iraq, had asked the Americans for the official telegram. ''Defense News'': Defense Ministry seeking investors for military space programs Globes 8/25/2003 Commercial ventures derived from Israel's space program have been offered to Asian, European, and North American countries. -- 'Defense News'' reports that the Ministry of Defense is seeking investors to finance Israel's military space programs. Official Israeli sources said these programs rely on small inexpensive multipurpose satellites launched by fighter jets at the user's demand. Ministry of Defense officials told "Defense News" that the ministry was currently developing four satellites...      Intel Israel competes for newest chip plant Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 International computer chip giant Intel will decide in the next few weeks whether to upgrade its plant in the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Gat for the production of its next generation of nanotechnology chips. Such an upgrade could cost anywhere between $500 million and $1 billion. Klein sustains pace of cuts, slashes Sept. rate 0.5% Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 Bank of Israel Governor David Klein on Monday reduced lending rates on the central bank's sources by 0.5% when he announced monetary policy for September. The move had been expected but some pundits had feared the central bank would reduce the pace of rate cuts, which have been about 0.5% a month. New tax on foreign workers new burden for elderly, disabled Ha'aretz 8/25/2003 Some elderly and disabled Israelis will not be able to afford to continue employing nursing aides due to the 18 percent tax imposed on foreign workers, social welfare advocates argued yesterday at the Knesset. As a result, some of these elderly anddisabled people will be forced to enter institutions, thus costing the state much more than it will gain from these new tax revenues, they argued. US presses for re-opening of Iraq-Israel oil pipeline Globes 8/25/2003 Assessments are that the US is trying to channel oil from Iraq to Europe by way of friendly countries. -- US Department of Defense officials recently contacted the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and proposed the re-construction of the oil pipeline between Iraq and Israel. Through its ambassador to Israel, the US asked for a detailed reconstruction plan. Before the state of Israel was declared, an oil pipeline ran for hundreds of kilometers between Kirkuk in Iraq and Haifa Port. "Defense News": Elbit, Rafael among world's 50 fastest growing defense cos Globes 8/25/2003 Elbit Systems was ranked in 18th place and Rafael in 37th place. -- Elbit Systems (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE:ESLT) and Rafael are on the "Defense News" list of the world's 50 fastest growing defense companies. "Defense News" ranked Elbit Systems in 18th place, with $827.5 million in revenue in 2002, 17.3% growth over five years, 23.5% growth over three years, and 4% growth in 2002. Rafael was ranked in 37th place, with $760 million in revenue, 7.5% growth over five years, and 14.1% growth over three years.

People..

'Peace' orchestra makes Arab debut BBC 8/25/2003 An orchestra made up of young Israeli and Arab musicians has played its first concert in an Arab country. The West-Eastern-Divan Orchestra played a programme of Mozart and Beethoven pieces in the Moroccan capital, Rabat. The concert was conducted by the orchestra's co-founder, the Israeli conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim. Despite heavy security surrounding the event, the concert hall, in the city's Mohammed V Theatre, was full and the musicians received a standing ovation.  Avniry: The Region Close to Further Deterioration, Arafat is Key to Peace International Press Center 8/25/2003 NAZERATH, August 25, 2003 (IPC+WAFA)-- Israeli prominent peace activist, Ury Avniry, expressed Monday his fear of further deterioration of conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the shadow of Israeli intentions to keep on its assassination policy. In an interview with the official Palestine News Agency (WAFA), Avniry was quoted as saying that a new cycle of bloody confrontations is likely to break out harsher than prior to the unilateral Palestinian declaration of the Hudna, as the Israeli army has recently acted without restrains. Sufi performers take over Temple of Bacchus Daily Star 8/25/2003