Israeli troops tighten grip in Gaza
Boston Globe, September 14, 2002
JERUSALEM - In the fiercest fighting this month, Israeli tanks and troops backed by helicopter gunships yesterday punched into radical enclaves on the Gaza Strip and West Bank, killing one Palestinian gunman, smashing houses beneath the steel treads of maneuvering armor, and blowing up suspected weapons factories.

Three Palestinians killed in Gaza explosion; Palestinians arrested in West Bank
Al-Bawaba, September 13, 2002
Three brothers, including a member of the Islamic Jihad movement, died and eight other Palestinians were hurt in an explosion that rocked Friday Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza, Palestinian security officials said.

U.S., PA divided on training of security officials by CIA
Ha'aretz, September 14, 2002 
A serious dispute has erupted between the United States and the Palestinian Authority on the participation of PA security staff in a course focused on battling terror due to open in Jericho next week, Israel Radio quoted Palestinian officials as saying Saturday.

PA Hails Bush Courtesy Handshake, Israeli Army Sweeps Al-Khalil
Islam Online, September 14, 2002
AL-KHALIL, West Bank, September 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Israeli army swept a Palestinian town near the West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron) Friday night, September 13, in what it claimed was a search for resistance activists ahead of the Yom Kippur Jewish holiday Sunday. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority (PA) Saturday, September 14, 2002, hailed a first ever meeting between one of their top negotiators and U.S. President George W. Bush, as U.S. officials played down the encounter as just a courtesy handshake.

Dozens arrested in Gaza raid
The Advertiser, September 14, 2002
THE Israeli army kept up the pressure on the Palestinians, shooting dead one and wounding six others in a fresh Gaza Strip raid today while arresting dozens in the Palestinian territories.

Yishai Calls for Annexation of Joseph's Tomb After Seizure of Bethlehem Site
Palestine Chronicle,  September 13, 2002
BETHLEHEM (PMC) - One day after Israel's annexation of the area of Bilal Ibn-Rabah Mosque-also known to Israelis as Rachel's Tomb- Israeli right-wing extremist Interior Minister Eli Yishai called upon his government to seize Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank City of Nablus, another holy shrine sacred to both Muslims and Jews alike.

Annan Renews Call for Early International Conference on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Palestine Chronicle,  September 13, 2002 
NEW YORK (PMC) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for an early international peace conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - an idea which the US administration proposed in May, but has since dropped.

Bush Uses Horse Trading to Buy Support for Iraq Attack
Islam Online, September 14, 2002
WASHINGTON , September 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - After struggling for months to talk other nations into supporting his military campaign on Iraq , U.S. President George W. Bush began using cards they might find easier to understand: cash, weapons, business deals and favors, a big U.S. paper reported Saturday, September 14, 2002.

Deadly Raid in Rafah - Three Brothers Killed in Gaza Blast - Bush Meets Palestinian Official for the First Time
Palestine Chronicle,  September 13, 2002 
RAFAH/TUBAS (PC) - The Israeli government expressed satisfaction regarding a speech delivered by US President George Bush on Iraq, while the Israeli army raided several towns and refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Israeli sources: Washington may dispatch envoy to mediate between Lebanon and Israel regarding water crisis
Al-Bawaba, September 13, 2002
The United States may dispatch an envoy to the Middle East to mediate between Lebanon and Israel on the pumping of water from the Wazzani River - a tributary of the Hasbani River, which flows into Israel, Israel Radio reported Saturday.

Peres: Arafat has achieved nothing for the Palestinian people
Ha'aretz, September 14, 2002
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres criticized Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and said that he has achieved nothing for the Palestinian people, Israel Radio reported Saturday. Peres was speaking at a gathering sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington on Friday.

Netanyahu: US must guarantee Israel's safety from Iraqi attack
Jerusalem Post, September 14, 2002
WASHINGTON The US has a responsibility to ensure Israelis are protected against weapons of mass destruction before it decides to launch a military offensive to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday.

U.S. Delegation Arrives In Iraq
The Guardian, September 14, 2002
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - An American delegation headed by West Virginia Rep. Nick Rahall arrived in Iraq on Saturday, with members saying they would push for peace as well as the return of U.N. weapons inspectors.

Iran refuses to recognize Israel as precondition to EU trade pact
MENA Report, September 14, 2002
 Iran will not accept any pre-conditions from the European Union (EU) to the signing of a trade and cooperation accord, stated deputy Foreign Minister Ali Ahani, following the release of an EU statement urging Iran to respect human rights, fight terrorism, reject weapons of mass destruction and recognize Israel.

Bush meets Palestinian minister; Israel says Hamas uses rockets with longer range
Al-Bawaba, September 14, 2002
U.S. President George W. Bush met with chief Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath in New York in what was Bush's first meeting as president with a Palestinian official, a spokesman for Shaath's office in Gaza said.

Neo-conservatives and pro-Israel lobby working to destabilize Middle East
Arab News, September 14, 2002
WASHINGTON, 14 September — Many in Washington have noted the emerging strong-arm tactics of the neo-conservative Christian coalition in the Bush administration working with pro-Israeli lobbies.

Palestinian family must prepare for deportation
Houston Chronicle, September 13, 2002
They pleaded with the government, took their case to the public and even asked members of Congress to pass a special law allowing them to stay.

Palestinian focuses on unity
Lynchburg News and Advance, September 14, 2002
As news of the Middle East dominates television and newspapers, many Americans are seeking to better understand the people who live halfway around the world.

Nablus: 'Get the soldiers out of my town, I want to live too'
Electronic Intifada, September 14, 2002
'I want to go to school and play with my friends. We cannot get our of our homes. We cannot buy books. We cannot play. The summer holiday is finished and we spent it all locked up in our homes under Israeli curfew', writes 10-years old Nabih, who is a seventh grade student.

Former chief of staff Mofaz: Israel should have expelled Arafat
Ha'aretz, September 14, 2002
Shaul Mofaz: 'I believe that Arafat never wanted to hold negotiations to achieve peace.'
WASHINGTON - Had Israel expelled Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat after the Dolphinarium suicide attack in June 2001, or after the Park Hotel attack in Netanya in March 2002, the situation today could have been different, former IDF chief of staff Shaul Mofaz said in his first political speech since he left the army.

This time, Israelis fear Saddam may use germ warfare attack
The Independent, September 14, 2002
This time, Israelis fear Saddam may use germ warfare attack: Leading article: Winston Churchill was right, Parliament should vote on war
The Israeli press greeted George Bush's speech to the UN unequivocally: war is coming to the Middle East again and it is a war in which Israelis expect their country to be targeted by Iraq.

Nasrallah: US Practices Terrorism, It’s Foolish Policies Will Only Harm Itself
Islam Online, September 14, 2002
BEIRUT, Sept 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Lebanese Muslim Resistance Movement, Hezbollah said Saturday that the United States practices terrorism and that it has no right to launch a war on Iraq, news agencies reported.

Mitzna files complaint over campaign fund 'sting operation'
Ha'aretz, September 14, 2002  
The campaign of Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna filed a complaint with police Friday morning claiming that a man using a false identity attempted to get the election campaign staff to break the law.

Bush speaks with Arafat aide Nabil Sha'ath at UN reception
Ha'aretz, September 14, 2002
U.S. President George W. Bush spoke to a Palestinian official for several minutes at a U.N. reception - the first such contact since Bush called for new Palestinian leadership, the official said on Friday.

Home Front: Israel is ready for an attack
Jerusalem Post, September 14, 2002
Israel is ready for a non-conventional attack from Iraq or other states, Col. Gil Shenhar, head of development and planning at the Home Front Command, said Thursday night. He was responding to allegations that Israel is unprepared for an strike using chemical or biological weapons.

IN CONTEXT: Wazzani water row the bigger picture
Jerusalem Post, September 14, 2002
In a part of the world benefitting from plentiful rainfall and a surfeit of fresh water sources, the additional amount of water Lebanon intends to draw from the Wazzani River a tributary of the Hatzbani which flows into the Jordan River above Lake Kinneret would be so minor as to barely merit comment.

The Banking Industry in Palestine is on The Verge of Collapse
Miftah, September 14, 2002
To start off, I would begin with a small briefing about the banking industry in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. There are 23 banks competing in Palestine that serve a diverse group of consumers and businesses, such as manufacturers, distributors, service firms, farmers, builders, home buyers, commercial real estate developers, and others.

Bush Speech on Iraq Counseled 'Israeli Restraint', Experts Say
Palestine Chronicle,  September 13, 2002
WASHINGTON - A leading Israeli strategic expert says President Bush's U.N. address on Iraq contained veiled warnings to Israel to 'show restraint' in its conflict with the Palestinians.

Looking for My Husband
Palestine Chronicle,  September 13, 2002 
Her name is Um Nabil Hashem. She is a soft-spoken woman in her fifties. At the time of the massacre, Um Nabil lived in Hayy ‘Irsal, Shatila camp. She now lives close to Sabra, in a gathering for displaced persons. We met her in December 2001 at one of the NGO centers in Shatila camp.

Antioch woman in Israeli limbo
San Francisco Chronicle, September 14, 2002
Her return from West Bank blocked by accident of birth: Dina Ramaha, eager to fly home to Antioch last week after counseling youths in a West Bank refugee camp, ran into the same problem encountered by other U.S. citizens of Palestinian descent trying to leave Israel.

An Eyewitness Account of a Sabra and Shatila Survivor
Palestine Chronicle,  September 13, 2002 
(PC) - The following testimony of a Sabra and Shatila massacre’s survivor was included in a 15-part series on the 1982 massacre in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. The series aired on Zen Television and Lebanon’s Future Television.

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