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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..

Occupation forces kill passerby near segregationist fence Palestinian Information Center 9/12/2003 Jenin - Zionist occupation soldiers Wednesday night fired and killed the 19 years old Palestinian young man Ahmed Tahaina and wounded another at the pretext that they were walking near the segregationist fence. The young man was martyred in the village of Zaboba in the Marj Bin Amer Valley where the Zionist soldiers killed him and arrested his friend who was wounded in the incident. Inhabitants of the young man’s village Seelat Al-Hartheya affirmed that the young man was a worker and had no political affiliations. Occupation troops dynamite house of detained Palestinian Palestinian Information Center 9/12/2003 Ramallah - Zionist occupation troops Thursday dynamited the house of detained Palestinian commando Mohammed Abdul Rahman Musleh, 27, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Eyewitnesses said that the terrorist troops forced Musleh’s wife and little child along with the rest of his family members out of the apartment then planted explosives in it. The blast made the apartment in the third floor not fit for use and rendered its occupants homeless. Occupation forces flatten house of wanted Hamas activist Palestinian Information Center 9/12/2003 Ramallah - Zionist occupation forces dynamited at dawn today the house of a wanted Hamas Movement activist in the town of Beitonia to the west of Ramallah. Citizens said that 15 army jeeps stormed into the town at pre-dawn today accompanied by explosive experts who planted explosives inside the two-story house owned by relatives of the wanted Qassam Brigades member, Emad Al-Sharif, 24, located near the Ein Eraik crossing. The demolition rendered ten people living in the 200 square meters house homeless. Israeli Arab shot by police in Kafr Qassem Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 Just 10 days after publication of the Or Commission report, which harshly criticized police treatment of Israeli Arabs, a violent encounter yesterday between police and residents of Kafr Qassem left one local resident, Salah Amar, 48, with moderate to serious gunshot wounds, and three other Israeli Arabs and four policemen lightly injured. The incident began around 2:30 P.M when four members of the Border Police entered the industrial zone of Kfar Qassem to search for Palestinians who entered Israel illegally. Woman wounded in Jerusalem bus blast dies, taking toll to 23 Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 Tova Lev, 37, who was critically injured in a Jerusalem suicide bombing on August 19 and has been unconscious in hospital since then, died Friday of her wounds. Her death takes the number of fatalities in bombing, aboard a bus packed with familiesreturning from the Western Wall, to 23. Over a hundred people were wounded in the blast, which was carried out by an Islamic Jihad member from Hebron. Police probed for abusing shepherd Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 The Justice Ministry's police investigation department is looking into allegations that two border policemen grossly abused a Palestinian shepherd trying to cross the West Bank fence to reach his lands on the other side. In testimony to B'Tselem humanrights monitors, and later repeated in a sworn affidavit, the man said the two policemen forced him to perform a sex act with his donkey while threatening to shoot him. He also gave a detailed account of the incident to a Haaretz reporter last week. Israeli forces arrested 11 Palestinians from the West Bank International Middle East Media Center 9/12/2003 Israeli troops arrested overnight 11 Palestinians, claimed to be resistance activists, in the various areas of the Palestinian West bank. In the northern part of the West bank, Israeli troops arrested One Palestinian, claimed to be a Fatah activists in Zabadah village near the Palestinian city of Jenin, 3 in the city of Tulkarem, and 3 in the city of Nablus. Soldiers carried out mock execution Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 During operation Defensive Shield in April 2002, IDF soldiers carried out a mock execution of a Palestinian prisoner to force his colleagues to reveal information on hidden weapons. Details of the incident recently emerged in a military tribunal trying another case of a reservist battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Geva Sagi. The incident involved three reservists from a force thathad arrested three armed Palestinian militants a few days earlier. The three Palestinians were questioned about hidden weapons and when they refused to respond, one of them was taken behind an armored vehicle. Shots were then fired in the air. The soldiers returned and asked the two Palestinians: "So, who's next?" Home demolition continues Jerusalem Times 9/11/2003 The policy of home demolition emerged with the State of Israel more than 50 years ago. Successive Israeli governments pushed the policy to the limits, using it as form of mass punishment against the Palestinian people. The illicit policy has taken many forms and been employed under various pretenses: homes used as weapons workshops, homes harboring wanted armed fighters, home owner suspected of one act or another, and, in East Jerusalem, the ever-present excuse of building without a permit. Mofaz to seek cabinet OK for final section of security fence Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz will on Sunday ask the cabinet to approve the finalized plans for the construction of the southern section of the security fence, from Elkana to south Har Hebron. The plan that Mofaz will present places Ariel, one of the largest West Bank settlements, and nearby Karnei Shomron, on the western side of the fence....Mofaz believes that the United States willeventually agree to the speeding up of construction of the fence. Police storm Temple Mount to disperse stone-throwers Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 Angry Palestinian demonstrators clashed with police after traditional midday Friday prayers at Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Dozens of Muslims threw stones at Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall. Police stormed the mosque compound and fired tear gas and stun grenades at Palestinians to disperse the demonstrators. Two men were arrested by police, on suspicion of inciting the worhshippers. They were protesting against the Israeli government's decision "in principle" Thursday evening to expel Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Zionists shoot at girls’ school, demolish 17 houses Palestinian Information Center 9/12/2003 Rafah - The number of devastated houses in the Palestinian border town of Rafah has risen to 17 houses Thursday as a result of the Zionist incursion into the city’s Yibna refugee camp at dawn. Palestinian sources said that more than 20 armored vehicles accompanied four huge tractors on their way to demolish those houses as tanks fired intensively to cover up for the advance. The sources added that severe damage was inflicted in the city’s infrastructure leading to severing electricity current and destruction of may water pipelines and telephone lines in addition to damaging streets. Jewish settlers insist on living in doubt-free zone Sala@m.co.uk/Financial Times 9/11/2003 There will be no tears shed in Kedumim if and when the ailing peace "road map" finally expires. Indeed, leaders of this Jewish settlement have been doing their bit to hasten its demise. On the last day of August, many of Kedumim's 700 families turned out to inaugurate a new neighbourhood that will add 500 homes to the existing community. Several dozen Israeli peace activists climbed up to the site, just two miles from the West Bank Palestinian city of Nablus, to protest at what they see as a violation of Israel's obligation to freeze settlement activity under the US-backed peace plan. Occupation forces arrest five citizens in Qalqilya including three women Palestinian Information Center 9/12/2003 Qalqilya - Zionist occupation forces arrested Wednesday five citizens in the West Bank city of Qalqilya including three women, citizens in the city reported. They said that the occupation forces stormed the city and besieged a number of buildings in its center at the pretext of looking for a wanted Palestinian activist who intended to carry out a martyrdom operation. Zahhar: Resistance will continue regardless of assassinations Palestinian Information Center 9/12/2003 Gaza - Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, official spokesman of the Hamas Movement in the Gaza Strip, has affirmed that resistance would continue against Zionist occupation even if all Hamas leaders were liquidated. In a special interview with the Palestinian Information Center’s correspondent one day after the failed attempt to assassinate him, Zahhar said that Hamas would persist in its resistance march even if all its leaders were assassinated. IDF sets up observation post opposite Ramallah Muqata Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 The IDF has set up an observation post across the Muqata, where Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat is situated, Palestinian sources said yesterday. The post was set up in a building where the Palestinian Authority's Culture Ministry and two television stations were situated. Also yesterday, for the first time in several weeks, the IDF carried out operations in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. [A complete falsehood - Ed.] Ya'alon had doubts on attacking Yassin Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Moshe Ya'alon had reservations last Saturday about plans to launch F-16 fighters to attack the Hamas leadership during a top-secret meeting in a Gaza residential neighborhood. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, supported by Shin Bet head Avi Dichter, made the decision to go ahead.

Diplomacy..

Despite U.S. Opposition, Israel Says It Will Remove Arafat New York Times 9/12/2003 JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli leaders shrugged off international condemnation Friday of their decision to ``remove'' Yasser Arafat whenever they choose, saying the world has no right to judge a nation facing constant suicide bombings and that the Palestinian leader should have been ousted long ago. Yasser Arafat emerged from his office for a second straight night Friday and rallied hundreds of supporters. ``To Jerusalem we are going as martyrs in the millions,'' he told the crowd. Arafat also recited a passage from the Quran. Global Condemnation of Israeli Decision to Expel President Arafat International Press Center 9/12/2003 RAMALLAH, Palestine, September 12, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - The Israeli security cabinet's decision taken in principle to expel the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat aroused a worldwide condemnation, including the United States and the European Union, who are now exerting pressure on the Israeli government to prevent actual implementation of this decision. Powell Says U.S. Opposes Expulsion of Arafat New York Times 9/12/2003 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell assured a senior Palestinian official Friday that he has weighed in with Israel to back away from a threat criticized by many governments and refrain from departing Yasser Arafat. Before boarding his Air Force jet for a meeting in Switzerland on Iraq's future, Powell also telephoned Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom to reinforce the message. It was one of several calls Shalom received. U.S. blocks cabinet move to exile Arafat Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 The United States yesterday blocked Israel from immediately expelling Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat from the territories. However, the security cabinet approved a decision in principle to "remove" Arafat, "in a manner, and at a time, of its choosing." The Americans contacted Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Wednesday night to demand that they must not expel Arafat. In return they promised to insist that new Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qureia should fulfill the PA's obligation under the road map peace plan to fight terrorism rather than making do with temporary hudnas (cease-fires).  Video: "Israel may have to think twice before going any further against the Palestinian leader" BBC 9/12/2003 Video: The BBC's Jim Fish - "Israel may have to think twice before going any further against the Palestinian leader" Hamas describes blacklist decision as anti Islam Jerusalem Times 9/11/2003 Hamas dismissed the EU decision to consider it a terrorist organization and to freeze its assets as new evidence of Western hostility towards Islam. EU foreign ministers meeting Saturday on Italy's Lake Garda reached a consensus to include the political wing of Hamas on a "terrorist" blacklist after taking a cue from US government. The group's military wing had already been blacklisted. Sha’th welcomes the American attitude to stand against Arafat’s expulsion International Middle East Media Center 9/12/2003 Nabil Sha’th, Palestinian minister of foreign affairs, welcomed the American decision to refuse expelling Arafat. He described the American position as hindering the Israeli plans. Sha’th said, “we welcome any attitude which supports us in this mad Israeli decision against the legally elected President”. European Commission to Israel: expelling Araft would be a 'terrible mistake' EurActiv.com 9/12/2003 The EU voiced "great concern" on 12 September at an Israeli decision in principle to exile Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, urging Israel to consider the consequences of any such action. Reacting to Israel's decision on 11 September to "remove" Mr Arafat "in a manner that will be determined separately", a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on 12 September that "this is precisely the moment when people should make every possible effort to avoid steps that lead to an escalation and that lead to even more tension". Israeli anger grows at Arafat BBC 9/12/2003 It is a mark of how badly things have gone in the Middle East that Yasser Arafat faces expulsion on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Oslo agreement. On 13 September, 1993, Mr Arafat shook hands with the then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn. Arafat may find himself in exile again. Or even dead. Powell calls FM Shalom to stress U.S. opposition to expelling Arafat Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell reiterated to Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom during a phone conversation Friday that the U.S. is opposed to the implementation of a decision to expel Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, Israel Radio reported. Powell also called Palestinian Minister Nabil Sha'ath to inform him that the U.S. had made clear to Israel its opposition to expelling the Palestinian leader, the report said. Outcry over Arafat exile plan BBC 9/12/2003 The international community has warned Israel against expelling Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, after Israel vowed to "remove" him from the area. The United States said expelling Mr Arafat would be unhelpful, while Russia - a co-sponsor of the roadmap peace plan - said such a move would be a "grave mistake". Israeli threat to expel Arafat denounced The Guardian 9/12/2003 The Arab League today said that Israel was declaring "war" on Middle East diplomacy by threatening to expel the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. "I personally believe this is tantamount to a declaration of war on all efforts to return to a political process between the Palestinians and the Israelis," Hisham Youssef, the spokesman for the Cairo-based league, said. Mr Youssef called on the international community, particularly the US and the UN security council, to prevent Israel from carrying out its threats and to stop the situation from deteriorating further. World leaders unite behind Arafat Al-Jazeera 9/12/2003 World leaders have united in condemnation of Israel’s move to expel the Palestinian president, Yasir Arafat, from his Ram Allah headquarters in the West Bank. The veteran leader’s supporters rallied in tens of thousands, vowing to support him despite the Israeli security cabinet's decision in principle to spirit him out of the Palestinian territories and into exile. Profile: Arafat in exile Al-Jazeera 9/12/2003 If Ariel Sharon expels Yasir Arafat, it won’t be the first time. -- More than 20 years ago, Sharon forced his long-time foe to leave Beirut. Arafat, 74, arrived in Lebanon in 1970 as a feisty guerrilla quickly climbing to power among the ranks of the Palestinian resistance, following a brutal battle in neighbouring Jordan.  Arafat relishes the limelight BBC 9/12/2003 Over a year ago, the Israelis confined him to the compound in the hope that he would become politically isolated and irrelevant. Events have proven them wrong. -- A Palestinian policeman with his Kalashnikov rifle on his lap, takes shelter from the afternoon sun in Yasser Arafat's battered compound. The heat seems to have sapped the energy of the guards, and television crews outnumber the handful of ordinary people who remain on the forecourt in front of the Palestinian leader's office. Yasser Arafat's compound was mostly destroyed last year by the Israeli army in retaliation, it claimed, for his responsibility for suicide bombings. Israel Threatens Removal of Arafat Washington Post 9/12/2003 Cabinet Approves Action, but Without Specifics; Some Say Move Could Backfire -- JERUSALEM, Sept. 11 -- Israel's security cabinet ratcheted up pressure on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat tonight, giving the Israeli security services blanket approval to "remove this obstacle." The cabinet stopped short of ordering Arafat's expulsion, however, and senior government officials said no action was imminent. Cornered: but will he end up as exiled martyr or deal maker? The Guardian 9/12/2003 Expulsion would prove a gift to the Palestinian president, critics warn Israeli hardliners -- Most of Ariel Sharon's ministers went into last night's emergency cabinet meeting, called in the wake of the suicide bombers' latest carnage, clear about who they blame and what they want to do with him. Almost all said they would have Israeli troops snatch Yasser Arafat from the Ramallah compound that has been his de facto prison for more than a year and put him on a plane to anywhere that will have him.

Human Rights..

35,000 imprisoned since Intifada began Jerusalem Times 9/11/2003 The Palestinian Association of political prisoners in Hebron issued recently its annual report, showing that the Israeli occupation forces detained 35,000 Palestinian prisoners since the beginning of the Intifada in 27 of September 2000, in addition to more than 8000 male and female political detainees who are currently still imprisoned in Israeli Jails.  Access, No Medicine: PHR-Israel's Mobile Clinic Physicians For Human Rights - Israel 9/9/2003 On Saturday, 6 September 2003, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel held two On-Site Mobile Clinics in the West Bank; one was held in the Jabel Juhar section of Hebron, in the south of the West Bank, and the other in `Asira ash-Shamaliya, near Nablus, in the north. Over 50 volunteers from PHR-Israel, together with staff, participated in the clinics and examined some some 830 patients. The prisoner Iweis suspends his hunger strike International Middle East Media Center 9/12/2003 Palestinian Prisoner Society declared that the prisoner Naser Iweis (33) from Balata camp, suspended his 23 day hunger strike. The hunger strike was commenced in protest of his seclusion in solitary confinement in Beir Al sabe prison. Issa Karake the president of the Palestinian prisoner society says: “ Iwas in addition to two other prisoners Hani Jaber from Hebrew and Muhamad Al Haj from Nablus, are in solitary confinement in Al sabe. They suspended their hunger strike as a result of their deteriorating health condition.

Economy..

Unemployment drops in second quarter 2003 Jerusalem Times 9/11/2003 The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said in a recent report on labor force in the Palestinian areas that unemployment has dropped in second quarter 2003 compared to first quarter of the same year. Number of persons who do not work but were nevertheless seeking or not seeking employment decreased from 336,000 in the first quarter 2003 to 302,000 in second quarter of the same year. This figure, nevertheless, is still almost double what it was on before the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada in late September 2000, said the PCBS.Unemployment rate was therefore 37.9% of the total labor force, based on the relaxed definition of unemployment. Palestine's Economy in Brief Jerusalem Times 9/11/2003 Tulkarm economic losses exceed $565m: Tulkarm Chamber of Commerce estimated that the total commercial, industrial, agricultural and tourism losses as a result of the continuous Israeli incursions and closures since October 19, 2002 more than $565 million.... / Emergency food aid arrives: More than 530,000 Palestinians affected by closures and curfews are expected to receive a $10 million in-kind contribution from USAIDÕs Office of Food for Peace (FFP) toward the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) Emergency Appeal (EMOP) for the Palestinian Territories, said a press release issued by USAIDÕs West Bank and Gaza program on September 2.... Oil traces found east of Kfar Sava Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 There could be reservoirs of 100 million barrels of oil at the Meged-4 well east of Kfar Sava, exploration company Givot Olam said yesterday in announcing the findings of geological studies. Givot said the analysis indicated reservoirs of oil at depths of 4,800 meters in rocks dating to the Lower Cretaceous Period (50 million years ago), and the oil-bearing layer could be 20 meters thick....Based on a recovery rate of 50-60 percent, then the value of the find would be around $1.4-$1.6 billion. Market analysts doubt it is possible to produce economically viable amounts of oil from the Meged-4 site. First half apartment sales down 34.4% Globes 9/11/2003 The increase in the number of unsold apartments continued. -- Belying various reports, the construction industry is not recovering. The supply of privately-built apartments under construction fell 16.4% in the fist half of 2003, compared with the corresponding period last year, according to a Bank of Israel analysis of Central Bureau of Statistics and Ministry of Housing and Construction figures. Banks regulator to tighten rules on household credit Globes 9/11/2003 Supervisor of Banks Yoav Lehman has begun to collect data on household credit and the banks' policies on credit allowances in their reports. -- Sources inform “Globes” that Supervisor of Banks Yoav Lehman is asking the banks for detailed information about consumer credit retail credit for households....In his most recent survey of Israeli banking, Lehman wrote, “The repayment ability of the household sector has been eroded, but this erosion has not yet been reflected in the banks’ financial statements.”

People..

Palestinian discovers new cure for diabetes and blood pressure Jerusalem Times 9/11/2003 A Palestinian researcher and professor, Awad Mansour, who lectures at the University of Science and Technology in Irbid-Amman and carries a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Telsa University at Oklahoma-USA, have succeeded recently through extensive of 9 years of researches to invent and produce a new special cure for Diabetes. Professor Awad said that what distinguishes this kind of cure led, besides lowering the blood glucose level to a minimum, to decreasing the level of suffering of other illnesses like kidney failure, high blood pressure, sexual impotence, eye sight weaknesses, besides damages to the retina and heart failures. Palestinians Take to The Streets Following Israeli Decision to Expel President Arafat International Press Center 9/11/2003 OCCUPIED TERRITORIES, September 11, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - Tens of Thousands of Palestinian citizens took to the streets of Ramallah City, heading for the presidential compound there, to express their solidarity with the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, after the Israeli security cabinet decided in principle to expel him...."You are brave people, my loved ones. Abu Ammar is staying here," Arafat told thousands of people in front of his devastated headquarters in Ramallah, using his nom de guerre as he blew kisses and flashed V-for-victory signs. The road to peace seems to stretch for generations The Guardian 9/11/2003 Guardian hosts Israeli and Palestinian journalists' discussion of hopes and fears -- At almost every break for coffee and a smoke during a two-day London conference, which ended last night, the participants, Israeli and Palestinian journalists, reached for their mobiles, anxious for the news from the Middle East....An Israeli editor reported a recent conversation with an Israeli politician: "A prominent minister said to me before I left [for the London meeting] that for 100 years there cannot be any meeting of minds between Jews and Arabs. We have to brace ourselves for a century of violence. That is not from a hawk but a dove." 18 open heart surgeries on Infants at Al Maqased Jerusalem Times 9/11/2003 The Association for the relief of the Palestinian Children with joint cooperation with Al-Maqassed Hospital and the Palestinian Ministry of Health invited an American Medical Team to assist the Palestinian people to achieve Medical aspirations for future mutual cooperation and progress, in which 18 open heart surgeries were performed lately on Palestinian infants from different ages through out different provinces in the West Bank. Shajaeia receives one-day free medical attention Jerusalem Times 9/11/2003 The Palestinian National Liberation Movement 'Fateh' organized recently a one-day free medical attention and treatment to Palestinian inhabitants at Al-Shajaeia district at the Northern Region in Gaza....Fateh movement with joint cooperation with several pharmaceutical companies succeeded to provide the Palestinians with all the required medicine, medical assistance needed for this campaign, in which more than 1300 underprivileged Palestinian families in that region were benefited from this campaign. New Medical Relief initiative Jerusalem Times 9/11/2003 Maher and the other volunteers do not hesitate to help patients cross the Surda military checkpoint, carrying those restricted to wheelchairs to the other side. Their patriotic efforts have become all the more vital since occupation authorities closed the Ramallah-Birzeit road to vehicles, including ambulances, forcing people to walk close to two kilometers to cross the checkpoint....Since the effort was launched, Maher and 30 volunteers have been carrying patients across the checkpoint, thereby sparing them the indignity of being transported in uncomfortable but expensive carts, usually used for transporting goods, amidst dust and car fumes. Scholarships for 4,000 students Jerusalem Times 9/11/2003 Fathi Nofal, president of the Student Friends Foundation in Gaza, said that the foundation has provided 4,000 scholarships since it was established, in addition to $80,000 in loans for university students and $75,000 for 180 Palestinian students abroad. Also, the foundation distributed 4,000 packages for students at the elementary and preparatory levels.

International..

UN lifts sanctions against Libya The Guardian 9/12/2003 The UN security council today voted to lift 11-year-old sanctions against Libya, in a move that could mark the beginning of the restoration of the pariah state's standing in the international community. Today's vote - witnessed by some relatives of the Lockerbie victims - has been repeatedly delayed because of French threats to veto the resolution unless Libya agreed a better deal for relatives of the 170 people who died in a 1989 French airliner bombing. Iran protests over nuclear deadline BBC 9/12/2003 The United Nations nuclear watchdog has set a 31 October deadline for Iran to prove it is not trying to develop nuclear weapons. The move triggered a walk-out by Iranian diplomats in protest - and a threat that Tehran would conduct a "deep review" of its relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Deadline for Iran to prove it is not building N-bomb programme The Guardian 9/12/2003 The United Nations will today present Iran with an ultimatum, giving it until the end of next month to prove it is not secretly building a nuclear bomb. Following days of wrangling at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN watchdog, the agency's board will this morning adopt a resolution demanding the Islamic republic stop all activities related to the enrichment of uranium. Aljazeera stands by reporter Al-Jazeera 9/12/2003 Aljazeera satellite channel is standing by its star reporter Taysir Alouni, who faces charges in Spain of links with Usama bin Ladin's al-Qaida network. "This decision is extremely regrettable but we will continue our contacts and mobilise support to obtain Taysir Alouni's freedom," spokesman Jihad Balout said in Doha on Friday. New Population Survey Retracts Intermarriage Figure Forward 9/12/2003 The long-awaited National Jewish Population Survey 2000-2001 sent shockwaves through the Jewish community this week by retracting the single most hotly debated number in American Jewish life, the 52% intermarriage rate. The figure, first published in the National Jewish Population Survey 1990, has become conventional wisdom in public discussion of Jewish life during the last decade. In their follow-up study, the sponsors admit the figure included a significant number of marriages in which neither partner was Jewish. The new study cites a 1990 intermarriage rate of 43%. Key Statistics Reported in Jewish Population Study Forward 9/12/2003 The National Jewish Population Survey 2000-2001 found an overall American Jewish population of 5.2 million, which it contrasted with the 5.5 million population figure found in the last population survey in 1990. The new survey's appendix cautioned, however, that several methodological decisions could have resulted in an undercount in the new survey, making the two population figures incomparable. The population was divided into two categories: 4.3 million "strongly connected Jews" and another 900,000 "people of Jewish background" — persons who were born Jewish and are not practicing a different religion but do not affirm their Jewish identity. Lieberman and Dean Spar Over Support for Israel Forward 9/12/2003 Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman is hammering former Vermont governor Howard Dean over remarks he made recently about the Middle East conflict. But Dean maintains that he has not retreated from the strongly pro-Israel positions he articulated early in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. The squabble produced fireworks Tuesday at a Democratic primary debate sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus, with Dean accusing Lieberman of demagoguery. CAMPAIGN EXTRA: Dean Writing Response to Critics Forward 9/11/2003 Dean Defense: Sources in the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean say he is writing a letter in response to one sent to him by 34 Democratic congressmen chastising him for saying America “ought not to take sides” in the Middle East. The September 10 letter, organized by Rep. Howard Berman of California, was signed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Robert Matsui and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer. “This is not a time to be sending mixed messages,” the Berman letter said. “On the contrary, in these difficult times we must reaffirm our unyielding commitment to Israel's survival and raise our voices against all forms of terrorism and incitement.” Fresh 'honour killing' in Jordan BBC 9/12/2003 Three brothers hacked their two sisters to death in Jordan in an "honour killing", one day after parliament rejected tougher sentences for such crime, officials are quoted as saying. The unidentified sisters, aged 20 and 27, were killed with axes in the capital Amman on Monday, according to a report in the Jordan Times newspaper. Democrat's remarks on Israel may lead Jews to cut funds Ha'aretz 9/12/2003 WASHINGTON - The recent statements about Israel by leading Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean were the last thing the Democratic Party needed. The Israel issue sparked off a public confrontation among the candidates, with Democratic congressmen joining the fray. Meanwhile, the Republicans are thrilled by the crack in their rival party's united front regarding Israel. They are also heartened by the surveys indicating the growing tendency of American Jews to vote for the Republican Party. Judge Orders D.C. to Release Report on IMF Arrests Washington Post 9/12/2003 A federal judge called upon District Mayor Anthony A. Williams and Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey yesterday to publicly admit that police wrongfully arrested as many as 400 people during demonstrations at a downtown park last year. "The mayor and the chief of police should step up to the plate and tell the citizens what they did wrong that day in Pershing Park," U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said during a hearing on four lawsuits filed by many of those caught up in the mass arrests. Internet may face another attack Al-Jazeera 9/12/2003 The US Government and computer security experts warned the Internet could face another virus scourge, similar to last month's blaster worm, after a new flaw in Microsoft’s Windows program was revealed by the company. The Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity division, in an advisory on Thursday, cautioned of “potential for significant impact on Internet operations” as a result of the weakness in the programme highlighted by Microsoft.

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