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 News for September 20, 2002

Israelis attack Arafat's West Bank HQ
The Guardian, September 20, 2002
Israeli troops today blew up buildings next to Yasser Arafat's West Bank compound in response for a suicide bomb attack yesterday in Tel Aviv that killed five and injured more than 50 others.

Two Palestinians killed in Gaza Strip; Israel arrests some 20 Palestinians from Arafat compound
Al-Bawaba, September 20, 2002
Israeli troops killed two Palestinians during overnight incursions into the Gaza Strip, hospital sources said. The victims were named as Ahmed Loubad, 35, and Samira Doukhdar, a 25-year-old woman. Both were killed by Israeli fire in Tufah, in the north of Gaza, the Palestinian hospital sources said, according to AFP.

Israel decides to ''isolate'' Arafat, demands extradition of wanted Palestinians
Al-Bawaba, September 19, 2002
An emergency session of the Israeli cabinet unanimously decided Thursday evening to "isolate" Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat rather than expel him, and called for the immediate handing over of 20 Palestinians wanted by Israel who are holed up in the compound.

Israeli Army Kills 2 Civilians in Deadly Gaza Raids, 1 Policeman in Arafat’s HQ
Islam Online, September 20, 2002
GAZA CITY, September 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israeli occupation forces killed two Palestinian civilians during deadly overnight incursions into the Gaza Strip, hospital sources said early Friday, September 20, as an Israeli army sharpshooter killed a Palestinian policeman inside the besieged Ramallah Headquarters of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

IDF kills 9-year-old in El Bireh
Ha'aretz, September 20, 2002
Nine-year-old Abdel Salam Sumerin was killed yesterday when Israel Defense Forces troops used live fire to disperse a crowd of school children challenging the army's attempt to impose a curfew on the El Amari refugee camp, in El Bireh.

Israel destroys most of Arafat’s HQ
MSNBC, September 20, 2002
In retaliation for suicide attack, Israel also raids Gaza Strip    
RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept. 20 —  Israel reduced to rubble most of the remaining buildings on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s West Bank compound on Friday, using powerful explosives to raze at least three structures a day after a suicide bomber struck at the heart of Tel Aviv. Arafat, holed up in one of the last standing buildings, was reportedly unhurt. Israel’s military retaliation also stretched into the Gaza Strip.

Police close E. J'lem office of Al-Quds Univ. president Nusseibeh
Ha'aretz, September 20, 2002
Jerusalem police have closed down the East Jerusalem offices of the president of Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem, Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, for the second time in three months. Nusseibeh himself is in Jordan.

Senior Hamas fugitive arrested near Jenin
Jerusalem Post, September 20, 2002
An elite IDF undercover unit on Thursday arrested senior Hamas military commander Faisal Shibana in Kabatiya, south of Jenin, security forces reported. He is suspected of involvement in numerous terrorist attacks and was on the list of 10 most-wanted fugitives "with blood on their hands."

Update: Arafat unlikely to surrender wanted Palestinians in his headquarters
Jerusalem Post, September 20, 2002
Palestinian sources say that, despite US urging, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat won't agree to surrender 20 men wanted by Israel who are holed-up in his Ramallah headquarters, reports Israel Radio.

Israelis wreck Arafat's HQ
BBC, September 20, 2002
Israeli forces besieging Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat have been blowing up buildings at his West Bank headquarters, as the number killed in the latest suicide bombing rose to six.

IDF demolishes most of Arafat's Ramallah headquarters
Ha'aretz, September 20, 2002
The IDF has demolished most of the buildings that make up the block-sized headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, leaving just two of the largest buildings intact.

Erakat Says Arafat's Life Threatened, Shaath Wants International Forces to Step in
Islam Online, September 20, 2002
CAIRO, September 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – While Palestinian Local Minister and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Friday, September 20, that Israel's military aggression is threatening the life of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath said that international force to separate Israelis and Palestinians is the only way to curb violence.

Barghouti calls for protests against Israel on two-year anniversary of Intifada
Jerusalem Post, September 20, 2002
Jailed Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti on Thursday urged Arabs and Palestinians around the world to hold a series of strikes, marches and conferences starting next week to protest Israel's occupation of Palestinian areas.

Mixed Palestinian reaction to Quartet peace plan
Ha'aretz, September 20, 2002
Palestinian officials voiced mixed reactions Wednesday to an international statement outlining the road to peace in the Middle East for the coming years.

Briton critical after bombing
The Guardian, September 20, 2002
A British student was last night fighting for his life after sustaining head injuries in the Tel Aviv bomb, it was reported last night.

Palestinians set up alternative municipal services in East J'lem
Ha'aretz, September 20, 2002
Palestinians in East Jerusalem have recently established a committee, headed by the Palestinian Authority's representative in the capital Sari Nusseibeh, to deal with day-to-day issues encountered by Arab residents of East Jerusalem, Israel Radio reported Thursday.

U.S. wants Israel not to respond to Iraqi attack
Ha'aretz, September 20, 2002
WASHINGTON - United States Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld believes that Israel must refrain from responding if it is attacked by Iraq. Speaking to the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, Rumsfeld said that he hopes that Israel will show the kind of restraint that it exhibited during the 1991 Gulf War when attacked by Iraq.

Tel Aviv bus bomb shatters hopes of truce
The Guardian, September 20, 2002
Israel sent tanks back into Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah last night and heavy machine-gun fire was heard a few hours after a Palestinian activist detonated a shrapnel-filled bomb in Tel Aviv, killing five people and wounding more than fifty others.

Tanks besiege Arafat HQ
Arab News, September 20, 2002
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 20 September — Israeli tanks besieged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s battered Muqataa compound in Ramallah yesterday hours after a Palestinian blew himself up on a Tel Aviv bus killing five and wounding 50 people. Israeli officials said the nighttime assault was intended to "isolate" Arafat and force the surrender of 20 wanted men who they said were holed up inside.

Report: Jordan, U.S. hold secret talks to let American forces to defend Israel from Iraqi missiles
Al-Bawaba, September 20, 2002
Jordan and the United States are secretly negotiating a deal to let U.S. forces use the kingdom to defend Israel from Iraqi missiles, according to Western diplomats and Jordanian officials, quoted by Newsday.

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'Yasser Arafat's forces can do almost nothing when faced with this kind of terror'
BBC, September 20, 2002

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"20 people in the compound have already turned themselves in"
BBC, September 20, 2002

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Spokesman for Yasser Arafat: "The conditions here are very difficult"
BBC, September 20, 2002

UNRWA hands 97 houses to Palestinians after being destroyed by Israel
Arabic news, September 20, 2002
The UN Relief and Work Agency UNRWA has handed over 97 new houses it had built for families in Rafah to the South of Gaza, the Israeli army had destroyed their houses during the Intifada, noting that 529 houses were destroyed or damaged in a way that can not be renovated in Gaza since the beginning of the Intifada in September 2000.

American experts arrive to investigate al-Wazzani project crisis
Arabic news, September 20, 2002
The American experts Charles Lowson started his mission in Lebanon concerning the conflict between lebanon and Israel concerning the sharing of al-Wazzani river water, according to a source close from the Lebanese government.

An Israeli company installs an electronic fence around Jerusalem
Arabic news, September 20, 2002
The Israeli company ( Beit Systems) has stated it received a deal at 5 million dollars to install a "smart" electronic fence around a part of Jerusalem.

Families of south Lebanon militia members returned from Israel
Arabic news, September 20, 2002
An Israeli military source said that several families of members of the South Lebanon Army militia on Wednesday crossed al-Naqoura point between Israel and Lebanon in order to return back to Lebanon.

Bush suffers Nazi jibe from Germans
The Guardian, September 20, 2002
Germany's justice minister heightened the tension between Washington and Berlin over possible military action in Iraq yesterday by comparing the tactics of George Bush to those of Adolf Hitler.

US Baptist group backs ousting Saddam by force
The Guardian, September 20, 2002
After months of critical comment from church leaders across the world and in the US, the Bush administration has at last won the support of one religious group for its Iraq policy.

Indian military delegation visits Israel
Arabic news, September 20, 2002
A source in Israel said that a high ranking delegation at the Indian ministry of defense, currently visiting Israel met on Wednesday with the Israeli defense minister Benyamin Ben Eliezer and will be meeting with the Israeli army chief of staff Moshe Yaloun.

U.S. to finance Israeli shelter for victims of trafficking
Ha'aretz, September 20, 2002
The United States State Department told the Justice Ministry on Thursday that it has decided to finance a shelter for women victims of human trafficking in Israel, and would be forwarding an initial payment of $200,000.

Shin Bet foils plan to poison Jerusalem hospital's water
Ha'aretz, September 20, 2002
The Shin Bet security service recently foiled a plan by some Gazan Islamic Jihad activists to poison the drinking water at one of Jerusalem's hospitals, a charge sheet filed at the Erez Junction military court reveals.

U.S., Jordan said discussing deal to let U.S. troops in Jordan
Ha'aretz, September 20, 2002
NEW YORK - Jordan and the United States are holding secret negotiations over a deal under which the U.S. would guarantee cheap oil to Jordan in exchange for Amman allowing American forces into the kingdom to help protect Israel from Iraqi missiles, Newsday reported Thursday.

U.S. Denies A Bombing Attempt on Its Embassy in Qatar
Islam Online, September 20, 2002
DOHA, September 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – The U.S. embassy in Qatar denied Thursday, September 19, reports about an unsuccessful attempt by Al-Qaeda network to bomb its headquarterd on the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Schroeder rival says he might block US bases in Germany in an Iraq war
Jordan Times, September 20, 2002   
BERLIN (AP) — Edmund Stoiber, the conservative leader opposing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in weekend elections, said Thursday he would bar US forces from using German bases for a unilateral war on Iraq.

Palestinian Sees Little Hope Now For Peace
Hartford Courant, September 18, 2002
Ashrawi Says Sharon Stands In The Way: NEW HAVEN -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's former spokeswoman said Tuesday that peace between Israelis and Palestinians was not possible with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in power.

White House cautions both sides in conflict
Jerusalem Post, September 20, 2002
WASHINGTON - The White House cautioned both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to consider the consequences of violence as a suicide bombing and Israel's forceful response broke a brief period of calm in the Mideast.

TV chief attacks 'one-sided' Palestinian documentary
The Guardian, September 20, 2002
Michael Green, chairman of Carlton Communications, has disowned a John Pilger documentary on the Palestinians, made and transmitted by his own company and condemned as one-sided by the Israeli embassy, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and Conservative Friends of Israel.

John Pilger - About 'Palestine Is Still The Issue'
Twenty-five years ago, I made a film called Palestine Is Still The Issue. It was about a nation of people - the Palestinians - forced off their land and later subjected to a military occupation by Israel. An occupation condemned by the United Nations and almost every country in the world, including Britain.

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Photo credits: Photos courtesy Ben Scribner, International Solidarity Movement