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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..

Israeli troops destroy innocent man's home Al-Jazeera 9/22/2003 Israeli troops destroyed a Palestinian home in Hebron after a masked resistance fighter forcibly took refuge in it. Demolition followed immediately after residents were forced to evacuate the premises, leaving the Hamas resistance fighter by himself on Monday morning, Aljazeera.net can reveal. Fifteen jeeps then surrounded the building and two tanks proceeded to pound it with rockets and shells. IOF Besieges Apartment Building in Hebron and Kills One Palestinian International Press Center 9/22/2003 HEBRON, Palestine, September 22, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- Israeli occupying forces (IOF) besieged an apartment building in the city of Hebron and started shelling it, shortly before military bulldozers started demolishing it, killing a Palestinian citizen under the rubble....They dug the rubble and extracted a body, then they took it in one of their military vehicles and left," said one of the residents of the building, on condition of anonymity....Meanwhile, in the city of Khan Younis, IOF troops, stationed near the illegitimate Jewish settlement of "Neveh Dekalim", opened Monday morning heavy gunfire at apartment buildings in the Al-Nemsawi neighborhood, west of the city, inflicting damages to the civilian apartments. IOF Demolishes a House in Jerusalem, Seizes Lands in Tulkarem International Press Center 9/22/2003 EAST JERUSALEM, Palestine, September 22, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - Israeli occupying bulldozers demolished morning today a house in East Jerusalem, as means of clearing a path for constructing a colonial road. Eyewitnesses said that several Israeli bulldozers demolished the house of Rashid Za'atra, home to 12 individuals, located between the towns of Al Ezareya and Al Tour, in east Jerusalem....Meanwhile in Tulkarem, and after completing the construction of the Israeli separation barrier there, Israeli occupying forces forcibly seized 150 dunums (150,000 square meters) of lands belonging to Far'on Village and Ertah suburb near Tulkarem City. Israeli Troops Incur into Jenin and Khan Younis, Arrest Civilians International Press Center 9/21/2003 PALESTINE, September 21,2003 (IPC+WAFA)--Israeli occupation forces incurred Sunday into two Palestinian cities in West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as arrested a number of civilians in another West Bank village. In the West Bank city of Jenin, dozens of Israeli occupation tanks and armored vehicles thrust into the eastern part of the city under the cover of military helicopters....In the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, IPC correspondent said that Israeli occupation forces swept into the Qizan Alnajjar neighborhood, southeast of Khan Younis city, and that accompanying bulldozers, under heavy gun fire, began razing Palestinain-owned lands. Remote Weaponry to be Deployed at Separation Wall International Middle East Media Center 9/22/2003 An Israeli army source admitted that, as the machine guns are able to hit objects within a 1000 meters distance, there exist real chances for innocent Palestinians to be harmed by the newly deployed technology. -- According to various publications, Israeli security forces revealed that the separation wall as currently under construction would include remote control machine guns, which would automatically fire at Palestinian infiltrators who approach the wall. ArabYnet has written that the separation wall section in the Jenin area would be the first to be equipped with the advanced machine guns. According to security forces, such advanced weapons were recently tested, with a great level of success, at a section of the border fence separating the Gaza Strip from Israel. Jewish tycoons buy land near Rachel's Tomb Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 In the past year, wealthy Jews have purchased a five dunam plot, including a large house, close to Rachel's Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem. The plot of land is located in Area C, which falls under Israeli civilian and security control, andin the area defined as "the Jerusalem envelope." [in the West Bank - Ed.] The Arab sellers moved abroad. For the past few weeks, the location has been used to hold Torah classes. In the future, the Jewish entrepreneurs who acquired the property plan to establish a Jewish settlement at the site, which will then serve to create a continuum between additional properties in the area that are also owned by Jews. 700 Indian Jews settle near Al-Khalil Palestinian Information Center 9/22/2003 New Delhi - A group of 700 Indian Jews of both sexes has recently settled in a Jewish settlement near the West Bank city of Al-Khalil, according to Indian press reports yesterday. 'The Indian Express' newspaper said that the group was part of an Indian tribe believed to be one of the ten lost Jewish tribes that were driven out of the region by the Abbasid in the 8th century....He added that a rabbi assigned to locate the lost Jewish tribes in the world had tracked them. Israel Releases Nine Jewish Terrorists Involved in Killing Nine Palestinian Civilians International Press Center 9/21/2003 TEL AVIV, September 2, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies)-- Israeli occupation authorities released Sunday nine Jewish terrorists who are believed to be involved in the killing of nine Palestinian civilians including a three-month old infant, as well as planning to perpetrate other crimes against Palestinians such as shelling local schools. Druze protest again ends in violence Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Four police officers were injured yesterday and six demonstrators were arrested when a protest in Jerusalem by Druze against government plans to merge local councils in the north turned violent. Dozens of Druze descended on the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem yesterday to demonstrate against Interior Minister Avraham Poraz's decision to include six Druze local authorities in the 28 local councils slated for merger under the government's economic austerity plan. Chechnya veterans serve as IDF snipers Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 The IDF has recently begun stationing new immigrant soldiers, veterans of the Russian army's fighting in Chechnya, as snipers in the territories. The snipers have been organized into a unit known as the "immigration (aliyah) brigade." Membership in this unit, which came into being after the outbreak of the intifada, is made up mainly of relatively older immigrants, aged 40 or older, who were not eligible for reserve duty because of their age. Nevertheless, they volunteered to serve on security details in the settlements. They aimed to kill Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Last week's verdict in the case of Yarden Morag, Shlomo Dvir (Zeliger) and Ofer Gamliel, three members of a Jewish terror group called the "Bat Ayin underground," caused officials in the Shin Bet security service's Jewish division to heave a sigh of relief. For them, the conviction of the three on charges of attempted murder offset the bitter taste left by the "underground that never was" affair, an episode involving a group whose members have mostly been released from custody in recent weeks. Far-right extremist detained for connections to Jewish terror Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Extreme right-wing activist Noam Federman was arrested on Monday and sentenced to six-months of administrative detention. Federman was sentenced at the Supreme Court and transferred directly to a detention cell. Federman was officially sentenced for "security reasons," according to the order, but he was actually arrested for his suspected involvement with an extremeright-wing Jewish terrorist group operating in the territories. Hizbullah Activist Killed in Clash with Army An Nahar 9/22/2003 A Hizbullah activist has been killed and two others wounded in a clash with army troops trying to stop a brawl between the Party of God and Speaker Nabih Berri's Amal Movement in South Lebanon, the Beirut media reported on Monday. Antagonists from the two rival factions that have long been vying for supremacy within Lebanon's Shiite community clashed in fist fights and with sticks in the southern township of Jbaa over raising pictures of their leaders on Sunday, according to media accounts. Four IDF soldiers hurt in Jenin Ha'aretz 9/21/2003 Four Israel Defense Forces soldiers from the Golani brigade's infantry commando unit were wounded Friday by Palestinian gunfire in Jenin. One of the soldiers sustained moderate injuries; the others were not seriously hurt. At least four Palestinians, two of them girls, were injured in the clashes in the West Bank city. The IDF operation in Jenin enters its fourth day this morning, and army officers expect it to continue to the end of the week. BREAKING NEWS: IOF Undercover Agents Using "UN" Plates International Press Center 9/22/2003 20:55 IOF undercover units, driving UN-license plated cars, infiltrate downtown Nablus, surround a well known coffee shop there, and arrest a large number the Palestinians there. The arrested citizens were led into an undisclosed location. / 15:25 IOF closes the Salaheddin main road connecting the southern and northern parts of Gaza Strip, separating the parts completely, WAFA... Local Hamas leader killed in Hebron Middle East Online 9/22/2003 JERUSALEM - Israeli troops Monday killed a leader of the hardline Palestinian group Hamas in the West Bank city of Hebron who was wanted in connection with last month's deadly suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus, military sources said. The army bulldozed the house in which Basel Qawasmeh was holed up after he opened fire on troops trying to arrest him, the sources said. Al-Aqsa 'rivals' die after gunbattle BBC 9/22/2003 Rival members of a militant Palestinian group, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, have died after a gun battle in the West Bank town of Tulkarm, say Palestinian security officials. The officials said one gunman - apparently a local leader of the group - was killed during the battle on Saturday. The other was wounded and taken to hospital, where he was subsequently shot dead by other gunmen. The exact motive for the killings remains unclear, but the officials said they believed it involved a dispute between two rival factions over control of the group. Jerusalem section of security barrier to be completed within year: Mofaz ReliefWeb 9/22/2003 JERUSALEM, Sept 22 (AFP) - The section of a controversial West Bank security barrier which is to include occupied east Jerusalem will be completed within the next 12 months, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Monday. Report: Israel's strategic edge is at high point after Iraq war Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Israel's strategic advantage over Arab countries has reached a high point as a result of the U.S. defeat of Iraq, a report published yesterday by the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies said. Dr. Ephraim Kam, deputy head of the Tel Aviv University think tank, said at a press conference to announce the publication of the annual report that a window of opportunity has opened for Israel allowing it to revaluate security concepts in terms of military buildup, the size and components of its budget, and its weapons production priorities. Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine Sept 22, 2003 Palestine Media Center 9/22/2003 Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed a Palestinian man in Hebron, wounded 4 Palestinians, including a 12 and 8-year-old boy and girl, detained 6 more Palestinians and demolished 7 more houses since September 18 as a newborn died at an Israeli military roadblock in Bethlehem. Christian Leader’s Movement Restricted. Trial of Detained PLO E.C. Member Adjourned.

Diplomacy..

Arafat repeats truce call; Qureia: Will try to end arms 'chaos' Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Palestinian Authority Chairrman Yasser Arafat declared his commitment to reaching a total cease-fire with Israel in a letter given to envoys of the peacemaking "Quartet," Palestinian officials said Monday. Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ahmed Qureia said Monday he would try to put an end to the "chaos" of illegal weapons in the Palestinian areas, but stoppedshort of saying he would disarm militant groups. Israel Rejects Arafat's Total Truce Plan Palestine Chronicle 9/22/2003 "'Everything he says to the Quartet is based on his fear of the sword of Damocles over his head -- the fear that he will be deported ..', Gissin, a senior adviser to Ariel Sharon said." -- Palestinian President Yasser Arafat declared his intentions to reaching a total cease-fire with Israel in a letter given to envoys of the peacemaking "Quartet," Palestinian officials said Monday. His proposal letter cited important and reasonable requests, including an international observer force to help enforce U.S.-led peace moves. Israel has already rejected such a proposal, swiftly dismissing Arafat's initiative as a ploy to avoid threats made by Israel. Israel seeks US support over fence BBC 9/22/2003 A delegation of senior Israeli officials has arrived in Washington to seek approval for proposed routes for the controversial barrier that Israel is building in the West Bank. The delegation - led by Dov Weisglass, a top aide to the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon - is due to hold talks with US National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, and other US officials. U.S. to hold off on cuts to loan guarantees Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 WASHINGTON - The United States will wait for Israel to make a final decision on the exact route of the controversial West Bank security fence before deciding whether or not to deduct costs of the fence from American loan guarantees to Israel, according Israeli members of the mission to Washington headed by the prime minister's bureau chief Dov Weisglass. The U.S. has indicated that should the fence be built around the settlement of Ariel, a sum equivalent to that allocated for its constructionwould be deducted from loan guarantees to Israel. U.S. Will Back PA Economically, Won't Politically Back a Cabinet Run by Arafat International Middle East Media Center 9/22/2003 According to the Israeli Newspaper Haaretz, the head of the American delegation to oversee the implementation of the road map, John Wolf, told Palestinian officials in recent days that Washington will not support any government controlled by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and called for the new Palestinian prime minister to take direct control over PA security forces. Wolf also informed Palestinians that Washington would not be satisfied with a new truce and would only support the new cabinet if it takes steps against militant organizations. Sha’ath to Propose a Ceasefire at the Quartet Meeting International Press Center 9/22/2003 NEW YORK, September 22, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- Palestinian Foreign Minister, Nabil Sha’ath, will propose Monday a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian resistance factions in the upcoming meeting of the Quartet in New York. King Abdullah II Urges US to Revive the Peace Process International Press Center 9/21/2003 AMMAN, Jordan, September 21, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- King Abdullah II, the Jordanian Monarch, urged the US administration to take speedy actions to revive the peace process, stressing that a solution to the core issue of Palestine would mean the end of Israeli occupation and establishment of an independent Palestinain state. Speaking in several interviews with US broadcast and print media, King Abdullah warned of the dangers if the US-backed "Road Map" peace plan remained unimplemented, noting that the internationally-supported plan provides renewed hope for the Palestinians. Israel's Netanyahu cancels UAE visit Al-Jazeera 9/22/2003 Many delegates to an annual IMF and World Bank conference are relieved that Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called off a controversial visit to the Arab country. As soon as news of his cancellation flashed on screens, attendees began messaging each other. “I was expecting it and it creates some relief because the security here has been very annoying. He is a hate figure,” Ahmad Hafiz Ibrahim, a leading banker, told Reuters. Palestinian PM Complains of Weapons Chaos The Guardian 9/22/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - The incoming Palestinian prime minister complained Monday about ``chaos'' of weapons in the West Bank and Gaza but suggested that - like his predecessor - he won't use force to disarm militant groups. With Israeli-Palestinian contacts frozen, a chance to break the stalemate in their conflict came Monday from a different direction: A Palestinian source said Israel has agreed in principle to free hundreds of prisoners, possibly including a top-ranking Palestinian official, in a swap with Lebanese militants. Central Bank Probes Hamas' Assets in Lebanon An Nahar 9/22/2003 The Central Bank has ordered all Lebanese banks to disclose the existence of any accounts linked to six leaders of Hamas, whose assets the United States has ordered frozen. But the bank stopped short of ordering a freeze of any account that might exist in Lebanon, An Nahar and other newspapers reported Monday. It also requested information on any account linked to five groups, which Washington accuses of financially supporting Hamas, including the Lebanon-based Sanabil Association for Relief and Development. Hamas says shocked by Lebanese probe for assets Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 BEIRUT - Hamas said it was shocked on Monday at Lebanon's order to banks to reveal accounts of Hamas men whose assets Washington wants frozen, asking Lebanon's president to intervene on its behalf. A letter sent to bank heads in Lebanon earlier this month asked them to disclose any accounts of six Hamas activists including spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, seniorpolitical leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi and Lebanon head Usama Hamdan. Nasrallah Says Hizbullah-Israel Prisoners Swap is Imminent An Nahar 9/22/2003 Hizbullah's chieftain Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah says the German-mediated deal of a prisoners swap with Israel "is about to be carried out," codenaming it as operation "Freedom Definite." It will involve the release of 19 Lebanese prisoners, the delivery of all remaining bodies of resistance fighters plus the supply of maps showing the minefields Israel left behind in South Lebanon after the termination of its 22-year occupation, Nasrallah said. Armitage Writes Off Aoun as "Past History," Says Syria's Departure is Close An Nahar 9/22/2003 U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has written Gen. Aoun off as "past history" and asserted that Syria's departure from Lebanon was "undoubtedly close." "Come on, this is past history," Armitage said with a laugh when asked during an interview published by Al Hayat Monday about Aoun's recent appearance at Congress to demand U.S. intervention to break Syria's tutelage over Lebanon. "As for Syria's presence in Lebanon, it is receding in the south and the Bekaa and other areas Syrian troops have evacuated," Armitage went on. "The possibility that Syria should maintain troops in Lebanon is certainly coming to an end." Abdullah and Bush Discuss Mideast Crisis Arab News 9/22/2003 JEDDAH, 22 September 2003 — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, and US President George W. Bush discussed the Middle East crisis in a telephone conversation yesterday, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The SPA said the two leaders reviewed “relations between the two countries and ways of strengthening them, as well as regional and international issues, notably the crisis in the Middle East and the situation in the Palestinian territories.” Qureia talks hudna, guidelines with Palestinian factions Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) met yesterday with representatives of most of the major Palestinian factions, both to discuss the possibility of a halt to attacks on Israel and to attempt to reach a consensus on the guidelines of the new government that he is forming, Palestinian sources said. The meeting, which took place in Gaza, included representatives of Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Fence, loan undergo further discussions Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 The prime minister's bureau chief, Dov Weisglass, and Defense Ministry Director-General Amos Yaron will meet in Washington today with U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice in an effort to reach an agreement on the route of the separationfence in the vicinity of Ariel. Weisglass and Rice will also discuss the new Palestinian leadership. In advance of the meeting, Israel announced that it has granted entry permits to some 11,000 Palestinian laborers and merchants who wish to do business in Israel. Anti-Israel resolution avoided at int'l atomic energy conference Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Israel, threatening to change its traditional position in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), averted an attempt at the IAEA's annual conference spearheaded by Arab countries to pass an anti-Israel resolution. The resolution that finally passed was nearly identical to the one that has passed each year for the last 11 years: It states that the IAEA notes the demand of theArab states to conduct a debate on the issue of nuclear arms in the Middle East, but as in previous years, the debate was not held. MKs participate in new peace initiative Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Discussions began yesterday between Israelis and Palestinians on a new peace initiative sponsored by the organization One Voice. The initiative is supported by deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Michael Ratzon (Likud) and MK Matan Vilnai(Labor), as well as the brother of Yasser Arafat and the son of Palestinian peace activist Sari Nusseibeh. The two sides will hold five days of meetings at the Rockefeller estate outside of New York, at the end of which they will hammer out the 10 most central points in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Saudi Arabia contributes additional $5 million to Al-Aqsa Fund MENA Report 9/21/2003 The Saudi government has contributed five million dollars to the Al-Aqsa Fund account in support the Palestinian people. President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Ahmad Mohamed Ali said that this amount comes in response to the Beirut summit appeal to Arab countries for an additional to $150 million to support the development sectors in Palestine. UN gives Kuwait three-month deadline to step up terrorist funding controls MENA Report 9/22/2003 The United Nations (UN) has given the Kuwaiti government a 90-day deadline to respond to inquiries regarding the monitoring of charity funds in the Emirate. A UN commission specializing in terrorism described Kuwait’s financial collection monitoring policies “incoherent and not serving the purpose”, reported Arab Times. The request follows a US appeal to the Central Bank of Kuwait to freeze the accounts of Islamic resistance movement Hamas. The UN commission recommended that the Kuwaiti government enforce a tighter grip on local charity funds and to ratify clear-cut laws that restrict the collection of public donations. The Knesset comes to K Street as Israeli lawmakers visit America JTA 9/22/2003 WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (JTA) — The Hebrew muttering, the accusations, the cell phone interruptions — all within shouting distance of the Washington monument. Last week, the Knesset came to K Street. U.S. Jewish groups brought seven Knesset members to Washington to enlighten them about international and domestic priorities for American Jews. Around a small conference table in a Washington office building, the members — all male and from different parties — gestured wildly and yelled accusingly at each other. Lithuanians ask Rivlin to tone down Holocaust speeches Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Senior Lithuanian government officials are trying to pressure Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin to soften two speeches that he is due to give tomorrow, at the Lithuanian parliament and at a memorial for the Jews of Lithuania in Ponar Forest. At his speech in Ponar, Rivlin plans to say that "the Germans themselves could not kill Jews any better than the Lithuanians. Genocide was aprofitable business."  Security sources: Barghouti not part of hostage swap Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Israeli security sources said late Monday that Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, currently imprisoned in Israel, will not be part of any prisoner exchange deal with the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah. The denial was issued hours after a senior Israeli security source told Reuters that a deal involving hundreds of prisoners, mainly Palestinians, was "in the making, with the definite possibility Barghouti will be included." Arafat Renews Commitment to the Road Map International Press Center 9/22/2003 RAMALLAH, Palestine, Sep 22, 2003 (IPC+Agencies)-- Despite the impasse the peace process is currently going through, Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, renewed Sunday resolute commitment to the US -internationally backed road map peace plan, in a letter his Excellency submitted to the representatives of the Quartet Committee. Arafat’s letter briefed the Quartet (United Nations, United States, European Union, Russia) on the latest crucial developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Lebanon Remains in Discord with U.S. on What is Terrorism An Nahar 9/22/2003 Lebanon is combating money laundering and terrorism but indicated it will not bow to longstanding U.S. demands to go after groups that are considered terrorist by Washington but recognized as legitimate by Beirut. "Defining terrorism is done according to Lebanon's understanding, and this is fundamental," Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said. "It is a matter of Lebanese sovereignty to legally decide" on the issue of terrorism, he told The Associated Press.

Human Rights..

IOF Detains US Cardinal For Three Hours on Roadblock International Press Center 9/22/2003 GAZA, Palestine, September 22, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - Israeli occupying troops stationed at the Al Matahen military roadblock detained an American cardinal for three hours, as he was returning from a visit to Gaza International Airport. A delegation of several prominent Christian men of cloth, including Cardinal Bernard Law, former leader of the Archdiocese of Boston accompanied by 20 Christian figures in the United States, and escorted by Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch Of Jerusalem and Manuel Musallam, Pastor of the Latin Parish of Gaza, were on a solidarity visit to Gaza Strip, in order to see a first-hand overview of the situations of the Palestinian people there. Palestinian Women Defy Israeli Army to Visit Trapped Family in Mas’Ha International Solidarity Movement 9/19/2003 Salfeet, West Bank--Twelve Palestinian women from the Salfeet villages of Zawiya, Hares, Deir Istya and Qarawat Bani Hassan, with five international human rights activists, went today to Mas’ha to visit Munira Aa’mar, whose house is trapped between the Apartheid Wall and the Israeli settlement of Elqana. Work on the Wall in Mas’ha is only days from completion. When the fence is joined, Munira’s house will be inaccessible except through a gate which will be unlocked only three times a day for brief periods. No one will be allowed to visit her then. Palestinian prisoners in Askalan under continuous harassment Palestinian Information Center 9/22/2003 Ramallah - The legal “Qanoon” society has revealed that Zionist repression of Palestinian detainees in the Askalan prison was escalating. The statement distributed yesterday pointed out that prisoners were deprived of visiting wards and cells during the strolling time outside the cells for the past two months. Prisoners complained to lawyer of the society Fahmi Shkeirat of the prison administration’s maltreatment. Israel Continues to Jail and Torture a Palestinian Teen With Cancer International Press Center 9/21/2003 RAMALLAH, Palestine, September 21, 2003 (IPC + WAFA)-- Mohammad Al-Sinawi, 15, from the Al-Eizaria neighborhood in the Occupied East Jerusalem, who is suffering from a cancer in his lymph nodes has been arrested by the Israeli occupation forces since September 4, 2003. The Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners Affairs, in an urgent letter to international human rights organizations, said that Al-Sinawi was arrested by the Israeli soldiers under severe beating and intimidation, using specially trained police dogs. Adalah demands investigation Israel's border police shooting of a Palestinian in Kufr Qassem Electronic Intifada 9/19/2003 On 17 September 2003, Adalah sent a letter to the director of the Ministry of Justice Police Investigation Unit ("Mahash"), Attorney Herzel Shviro, demanding that Mahash conduct an investigation and recommend that the Border Police officer responsible for shooting a Palestinian citizen of Israel in Kufr Qassem be criminally indicted. The letter was prepared by Adalah Attorney Marwan Dalal. In the early afternoon on 11 September 2003, Mr. Salah Amer, was shot in the waist from close range by a Border Police officer. At the time of the shooting, Mr. Amer was attempting to convince a Border Police patrol unit to release his son and nephew from custody and to call an ambulance for them to receive medical attention. Mr. Amer saw his son, who had been badly beaten, sitting in the police car, visibly injured and handcuffed. The Border Police refused, upon which Mr. Amer was shot. Rachel Corrie’s Parent Visit Rafah International Solidarity Movement 9/21/2003 Rachel’s parents came to visit the families in the area where Rachel had died. I organized to plant olives trees with Rachel’s parents in Rafah, and I bought three olive trees and went to the ISM office and wrote the labels. The Youth Parliament Children all shared in the planting of the trees because Rachel was a member of their group, and she was an eyewitness in their court case against Sharon and his crimes. Action Alert: Bedouin Family, Jayyous Farmers Caged by the Wall International Solidarity Movement 9/22/2003 In the farming village of Jayyous in the West Bank of Palestine, the Israeli Governments' "Separation Wall" snakes about 6 km. inside the internationally recognized "Green Line", or boundary between Israel and Palestine, separating villagers from their fields and in some cases, their homes. Such is the case of the Bedouin Abu-Amar family which consists of 4 school-aged children, a shepherd, and his wife. Upon completion, the Wall is expected to extend some 650 km in length, which will confiscate or destroy over 150,000 dunams (approximately 37,000 acres) of Palestinian land. "How Much Harassment Can One Family Face?" International Solidarity Movement 9/21/2003 Outside of Jenin in an area called Kharba Ghanib, on Monday two houses were demolished by the Israeli military, leaving 35 people homeless. Now, the families of this community have been barred from farming their land. Over the last two years, over 100 dunams (25 acres) of family farmland has been taken by military force, annexed to the nearby Kadim settlement. What remains is unusable, due to harassment by Israeli soldiers and settlers, who claim the families' land is "too close to the settlement", situated nearly half a kilometer away. Zionist court extends detention of Palestinian lawmaker Palestinian Information Center 9/22/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - A Zionist military court on Monday extended the detention of Palestinian legislative council member Hussam Khader “until further notice.” The Israeli occupation authorities accuse Khader, who is also President of the Committee for the Defense of Refugee Rights of having affiliations with the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and of resisting the Israeli occupation. ISM Updates 09/20/03 International Solidarity Movement 9/20/2003 Jayyous - 20 Sep 03 - Tracie -- I am now writing to send out what occurred in the village of jayyous yesterday, September 19, 2003.at 5:00 PM, i received a phone call from one of the people in the south side of the village...there are two gates..one in the west and one in the south of jayyous..the south gate is the one that is used primarily for the Bedouin family to come in and out of the village (for school, shopping..day to day life, etc) and is sometimes also used by the farmers who have land on the south side...the gate on the south side has been considered the more "dangerous" of the two in that the soldiers and border police have fired their guns at both Palestinians and internationals at times and the soldiers come into the village almost nightly on the south side of the village to intimidate and harass the villagers who live there. Report from Gaza: "The Long Anxiety" International Solidarity Movement 9/18/2003 Gaza - Horia 12 Sep 03 -- 1) From my colleague Noah, about the closing of Abu Holi, the checkpoint that divides the Gaza Strip into north and south. It's been closed for the majority of the past week so that they can rebuild the military watchtower that was temporarily dismantled during the hudna. 2) Update on the Rafah Border and Abu Jameel's family 3) Letter and update from my friend Molly who lives in Gaza City andworks with the Gaza Community Mental Health Clinic. A Jewish believer: "I was fired because of my belief" Come And See 9/22/2003 The Preliminary Hearing for the charges of the Grace and Truth Christian Church in Rishon Litzion against the Petah Tikva municipality for wrongfully dismissing Ze’ev Bern from his employment due to his Christian faith is now scheduled for November 24th. The court will have more than one Hearing, because the municipality contests the church's claim that the dismissal was unlawful. The church has called upon Christian believers all around the world to pray for the case which they consider as a "landmark legal proceeding, set to defend the right of Israeli Christians to fair employment opportunities.

Economy..

Palestinian Authority Appeals To G7 Al-Hayat 9/21/2003 The Palestinian Authority appealed on Saturday for $1.2 billion in aid from the Group of Seven finance ministers for 2004 to prevent economic collapse, Finance Minister Salam Fayyad said. He made the appeal on the sidelines of a meeting with the G7 ministers attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meeting in Dubai. "It was an opportunity for us to again describe to them the situation on the ground now, the needs...what we are doing in terms of reforms," he told Reuters in an interview. G7 agrees to review prospects of increased financial aid for Palestinians Daily Star 9/22/2003 The Palestinian finance minister won a promise of additional financial assistance at a meeting Saturday with the Group of Seven major industrialized nations as a World Bank official urged donors to help the troubled Palestinian economy. A statement issued by the G7 after ministers met in Dubai with Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad prior to the annual conference of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the ministers agreed to “review prospects for increased financial assistance in the short term.” Middle East faces water crisis Al-Jazeera 9/21/2003 The water shortage problem is close to crisis levels in most countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, a senior World Bank official has warned. In a region where political tensions are already sky high, the warning is hugely significant. Former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali once predicted the following war in the Middle East would be “over the waters of the Nile, not politics”. Palestinian economy proves resilient in the face of conflict MENA Report 9/21/2003 Given the extraordinary circumstances in the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestinian economy has proved to be surprisingly resilient, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a recent report on the region’s performance. By early 2003, there were already signs that the downward trend had been stopped and that the economy was beginning to stabilize. Israeli wall will compound economic woes Palestine Monitor 9/21/2003 The 360 km long wall being built by Israel would add to the economic woes of millions of Palestinian people living in the occupied territory of West Bank and Gaza and could hamper the economy, which is on the path of recovery, says a report issued by the IMF. The wall, which is expected separate some 300,000 Palestinian people, would block the access to roads, water, urban markets, agricultural lands and public services. This in turn may result in a reduction of productive agricultural land and an exodus of the farming community along the wall and place a heavy and permanent burden on the economy of the West Bank. IDB launches 20-mln-dlr fund to help Palestinians hurt by Israeli barrier ReliefWeb 9/21/2003 DUBAI, Sept 21 (AFP) - The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) launched on Sunday a 20-million-dollar fund to help Palestinians adversely affected by a barrier Israel is building around the West Bank. "The human cost of erecting the fence is very high and this fence will have a destructive impact on Palestinian life because it divides their society into half," said IDB president Ahmad Mohammad Ali during a conference at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Dubai. Income gap between rich and poor widens Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Economic inequality increased in 2002, with the gross average income of the top 10 percent of Israeli households standing at 13.5 times the gross average income of the bottom 10 percent last year, according to Central Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday. In real terms, the top decile of the population had an average gross income of NIS 41,840, compared to an average gross income of NIS 3,110 for households in the bottom decile. Analysis / Argentina bound Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Shas Chairman Eli Yishai observed - and rightly so - that the data published yesterday by the Central Bureau of Statistics shows to what degree Israel is starting to resemble Argentina. He was referring to the growing gap between rich and poor, the fact that the top 10 percent of Israeli households earn 13.5 times more than the bottom 10 percent. He merely forgot to mention that the widening of this gap took place during the years when his party was part of the government. Parents, teachers call for school strikes over budget cuts Ha'aretz 9/22/2003 Parents, teachers and local officials have warned that the country's schools system will go on strike if the government does not repeal its decision to slash the education budget. The Forum of Educational Loyalists, an umbrella group which includes representatives from the teachers' unions, the Union of Local Authorities, the National Parents' Association and the heads of the education departments of the local councils, met yesterday and announced that "if the hefty cut to the Education Ministry's budget is not canceled, we will take all the necessary steps, including bringing the education system out on strike."

People..

Peace Now Starts "Street Campaign" Calling to End Sharon's Regime International Middle East Media Center 9/22/2003 Around 6000 Israeli protesters gathered Saturday night at Rabin square in Tel Aviv, marking the first step of what Peace Now described as a "street campaign" to protest the policies of Prime Minister Sharon. The demonstrators marched from Rabin Square to the defense ministry compound where speakers representing Peace Now, Meretz, and Labor called the government of Israel to quit the settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and denounced the Sharon government's policy of assassinating Palestinian activists, saying that it creates an endless cycle of violence. 30,000 backers attend Islamic Movement Northern Branch rally in Umm al-Fahm Ha'aretz 9/21/2003 Islamic Movement deputy Sheikh Kamal Khatib told 30,000 people gathered at a packed Umm al-Fahm stadium Friday evening that the Al-Aqsa mosque was "under attack." Khatib was the key speaker at the Islamic Movement-Northern Branch annual rally, aimed at restarting the public campaign against the criminal proceedings its leader, Sheikh Ra'ad Salah, and four senior members are currently facing. "All these years we've been saying that Al-Aqsa [mosque] was in danger, but Al-Aqsa is under attack. Al-Aqsa is in the process of turning into a synagogue. Al-Aqsa is not a matter for negotiation tactics nor for diplomacy. Al-Aqsa belongs - exclusively - to Muslims and to Muslims alone." Khatib said. Thousands of Israeli Peace Activists Demonstrate Against Settlements and Sharon Government International Press Center 9/21/2003 TEL AVIV, September 21, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- Israeli peace activists, most of whom belong to the "Peace Now" movement, demonstrated in the city of Tel Aviv, and started what they call "street campaign" against Sharon's government and the settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli media sources said that nearly 6,000 Israelis gathered Saturday night in Rabin Square in the city of Tel Aviv, in what the organizers said was the beginning of a "street campaign" aiming to demand dismantling the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as an end to Ariel Sharon's rightist coalition government. President Arafat's Interview with ABCNEWS Palestine Chronicle 9/22/2003 Following is President Yasser Arafat’s interview on Friday with ABCNEWS' Bob Woodruff. Arafat responded to accusations that he is not doing enough to reactivate the peace process -- Woodruff: Is it international pressure that has kept the Israelis from moving against you? I have been elected by my people under international supervision. Even President Carter was one of the observers who was supervising the election campaign. Sheikh Abdullah Shami resigns from Islamic Jihad Movement Palestinian Information Center 9/22/2003 Gaza - The Islamic Jihad Movement leadership yesterday confirmed news on resignation of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Shami from leadership of that Movement. Khader Habib, representative of the Movement at the higher follow up committee of journalists in Gaza, said after the Jihad delegation met Palestinian Authority premier-designate Ahmed Qrei that Shami tabled his resignation. He denied that the Jihad leadership had sacked him. Islamic Jihad spiritual leader in Gaza quits ranks Ha'aretz 9/21/2003 Islamic Jihad's spiritual leader in the Gaza Strip quit the organization a few weeks ago, in what appears to be a severe crisis in its ranks. Sheikh Abadallah Al-Shami, who was also the organization's spokesman, presented his resignation letter to the organization's monitoring committee dated August 2, a copy of which Palestinian security sources gave Haaretz. Book release: Live From Palestine South End Press 9/22/2003 International and Palestinian Direct Action Against the Israeli Occupation, edited by Nancy Stohlman and Laurieann Aladin. Preface by Noam Chomsky. Foreword by Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, co-founder of Grassroots International Protection for the Palestinian People -- Riveting eyewitness accounts of everyday life under occupation in Palestine form the core of this collection of essays. From confrontations in olive groves to the siege of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, these accounts give incontrovertible evidence of the power of solidarity in the face of settler violence and state terror. Two stories are intertwined in this book: that of Palestinians—calling the world's citizens to join them in nonviolent resistance to the Israeli Occupation—and that of people like Rachel Corrie who have responded by putting their lives on the line. This is the first book to give the inside story of the unprecedented International Solidarity Movement. Job training helps build healthy Palestinian society Reuters/Action by Churches Together 9/18/2003 Jerusalem, September 17,2003--Ala Kleibo recently upgraded his skills as an auto mechanic, and his customers claim he’s a whiz at keeping their cars in top shape. Yet Kleibo spends hours sitting in his shop in Bir Nabala drinking cardamom-laced coffee, his business suffering from the Israeli occupation of his West Bank town....Earlier this year, the 40-year old Palestinian mechanic participated in a three-month professional refresher course at the Lutheran World Federation’s Vocational Training Center (VTC) in Beit Hanina. Arafat Seeing Renewed Support Among Palestinians New York Times 9/22/2003 GAZA, Sept. 22 — President Bush called him a failed leader and Israel said he should be removed, maybe killed. But in the logic of occupation, such threats and epithets count as pluses. Despite months of efforts to sideline him, Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, has re-emerged to claim support among Palestinians in such far-flung places as the Firas market between the gimcrack apartment houses of Gaza City and the Palestine Coffee Shop in Ramallah on the West Bank.

International..

Israel advises US on Iraq security Al-Jazeera 9/22/2003 Seeking advice on how to police Iraq's hostile population, the US military has turned to another power with its own occupation experience ... Israel. The Jewish state's tactics in the Palestinian territories have been blasted by human rights groups and prompted dozens of UN resolutions against Israel, which have been ignored. Despite this, the US military, which lost three soldiers on Sunday in the latest attacks in an unstable Iraq, has shown interest in Israeli software that instructs soldiers on how to conduct themselves in the West Bank and Gaza, an Israeli military official has said. Foreign companies get full ownership rights in Iraq MENA Report 9/22/2003 Iraq’s interim finance minister Kamel Al-Kilani has announced a comprehensive economic reform program, allowing 100 percent foreign ownership of ventures in all sectors excluding oil. The statement was released by the US delegation to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Dubai, reported AFP. Under the reforms, foreign companies can acquire Iraqi firms and establish joint ventures with Iraqi partners. Foreign businesses can also open branches in the country.