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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..

IOF Shoots a Teacher and a Student in Rafah, Demolishes Five Apartments in Jerusalem International Press Center 9/23/2003 RAFAH, Palestine, September 23, 2003, (IPC+Agencies)- - A Palestinian school boy and one teacher were wounded Tuesday morning when Israeli occupation soldiers opened fire at a school in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Student Mohammed Al-Boji, 13-year-old, was wounded in the right arm while teacher Ismaeel Mansour, 26, was shot and wounded in the left leg, both of them were wounded with live ammunition, Palestinian medical sources said....In the occupied East Jerusalem Israeli bulldozers destroyed five apartments owned by Palestinian families, IPC correspondent said. IOF Kills Two Palestinians, Uses UN Vehicles to Arrest Palestinian Citizens International Press Center 9/23/2003 GAZA, Palestine, September 23, 2003, (IPC)-- Israeli occupation forces killed Tuesday morning one Palestinian in the northern Gaza Strip city of Beit Lahia. Palestinian security sources said Israeli troops, stationed at the illegitimate Jewish settlement of "Dugit", near Beit Lahia, randomly opened heavy fire at Palestinian houses, killing one citizen. Shifa hospital reported Marwan Najjar, 19, was killed after being shot with live ammunition in different parts of his body....In the city of Nablus, one more Palestinian citizen died Tuesday of wounds he sustained after being shot by IOF more than one year ago....In the meantime, Israeli undercover units arrested more than 30 Palestinian citizens after storming a café in the city, IPC correspondent said. Israeli soldiers used UN and Palestinian license-plated vehicles when they stormed “Abu Rabah Café”, and arrested all its customers, witnesses told IPC’s in Nablus. Border Police demolish Ramallah home in search for militant Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 A Border Police force began to demolish on Tuesday evening a Ramallah-area house in which wanted Fatah militant Salah Khamayil was suspected of hiding out. Troops had earlier called for the suspect to surrender and exit the house, located in KafrMalek, northeast of Ramallah near the Ofra settlement. When there was no response from within the house, Border Policeopened fire with light arms and rockets. It was not clear whether or not the militant was in fact hiding in the structure....IDF to allow 35,000 Palestinians into Israel: The Israel Defense Forces and the government's coordinator of military operations in theterritories, Major General Amos Gilad, have decided on a series of steps aimed at reducing the hardships suffered by the Palestinian population in the territories. Israel kills Palestinian, U.S. Maintains Anti-Arafat Stance Islam Online 9/23/2003 GAZA CITY, September 23 (IslamOnline & New Agencies) – Maintaining its policy of assassination, Israeli troops shot dead a member of the Palestinian movement Islamic Jihad around the border with the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, September 23, as Washington insisted the new Palestinian government be free from any influence by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. An Israeli military spokesman claimed that soldiers of the Israeli army had opened fire after they "spotted a suspicious shadow." Occupation soldiers desecrate mosque Palestinian Information Center 9/23/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Large numbers of Zionist army soldiers stormed a mosque in the West Bank city of Al-Khalil at dawn today at the pretext of searching for wanted activists, according to Zionist security sources. They said that the soldiers searched the mosque thoroughly tampering with whatever they found in the process. 93% of Palestinian children fear violence Palestinian Information Center 9/23/2003 Nablus - Secretariat of the national plan for Palestinian children has declared that 93% of Palestinian children were scared of being target of assaults and were lacking sense of security. The secretariat, addressing a press conference at the Palestinian information center under the title of the children’s right to safety and stability, said that the children psychiatric health was under heavy pressure as a result of the continuous Zionist aggressions on their surroundings. The secretariat announced results of a recent study conducted in cooperation with the Swedish save the children institution and the American agency for international development on the Palestinian child’s psychiatric and social needs. Border Police Officer Forces Palestinian Resident of 'Attil to Commit Sexual Act with Donkey B'tselem September 2003 Zeita,Tulkarm District, The West Bank, June 2003 - Testimony of Nazih Salah 'Awad Damiri, age 24, single, shepherd, resident of 'Attil -- I have been a shepherd for ten years. The flock belongs to my family, and I graze it in the area between Zeita and 'Attil. We have an animal shed in the area, and I sleep in a small room inside the shed. I take them out at 6:00 A.M. and come back in the afternoon....When we reached the gate in the fence, northwest of Zeita, we saw a Border Police jeep standing on the road west of the fence....My cousin and lots of other people saw what happened to me. I have not gone to the western side of the fence since then. I am afraid that I'll come across border policemen again. Settlers 'planned to attack mosques' Al-Jazeera 9/23/2003 A plot by Jewish extremists to carry out attacks on Muslim sites - including Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque - has been foiled, Israeli media has reported. One suspect confessed the group had been planning simultaneous attacks on various mosques during Friday prayers, the Maariv daily newspaper said on Tuesday. The group apparently planned to detonate several car bombs where Muslims were congregating in order to kill as many people as possible. Settlements cost NIS 2.5B. a year in non-military outlays Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 In recent years, Israel has spent at least an extra NIS 2.5 billion annually in non-military outlays to maintain its hold on the settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, and has expended at least NIS 45 billion on the settlements since 1967, according to a Haaretz report that will appear in the Rosh Hashana supplement on Friday. Such civilian spending translates into annual surplus costs of more than NIS 10,000 per settler. Israel uses Russian snipers on West Bank The Telegraph 9/23/2003 Veterans of Russia's campaign in Chechnya are serving in the Israeli army as highly trained snipers in the West Bank and Gaza.Russian immigrants fill the ranks of a specialist sniper unit known as the Aliya (Immigration) brigade, the army confirmed yesterday following a report in the newspaper Ha'aretz. Sharpshooters with experience in Chechnya have been concealed at vulnerable points where Israel is open to infiltration from the occupied territories. Rafah Today Rafah Today 9/19/2003 Now it's 4:20 in the evening, Tuesday, two white Israeli trucks brought new tanks and bulldozers from Khan Younes City. The shelling just began five minutes ago. It was directed towards cars and citizens who were walking in the streets in Tal Al Sultan area in Rafah City, south of Gaza Strip. Sixteen tanks and 6 bulldozers just arrived right now, at 12 midnight in Block J in Rafah, the people as usual were sleeping despite of shelling, shooting, lack of water and other environmental problems. Army clashes with Hizbullah men Daily Star 9/23/2003 dead in incident that began after spat with Amal -- Lebanese troops fired at Hizbullah members in South Lebanon in the first clash in more than a decade, killing one and wounding two, according to security sources on Monday. Lebanese security officials confirmed the clash that took place on Sunday night in the village of Jbaa in Iqlim al-Touffah south of Sidon. The incident began when members of Hizbullah and Amal clashed over hanging political posters in Jbaa’s main square, a Hizbullah official said, on condition of anonymity. Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine Sept 23, 2003 Palestine Media Center 9/23/2003 Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed two Palestinians in Nablus and Gaza as a teenager died of wounds sustained earlier. IOF troops also wounded 3 Palestinians, including a 12-year-old girl in the Gaza Strip and detained 19 Palestinians in the West Bank.

Diplomacy..

Powell: PA must crack down before Israel curbs settlements Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 Secretary of State Colin Powell has said he believes that the Palestinian Authority must crack down on terrorism before Israel can respond to U.S. pressure to curb West Bank settlement construction. In an interview with the Charlie Rose Show on public television, Powell sympathized with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on the settlement question, saying it would be almost impossible for an Israeli leader to appear to be yielding to U.S. pressure. In a gaffe, Powell also called the United States a Judeo-Christian country on Monday but quickly amended that to "a country of many faiths". "No danger of guarantees cut because of fence" Globes 9/23/2003 The Israeli delegation has reached agreement with the US on most separation fence issues. -- Senior Israeli officials said today that there was no danger that the US loan guarantees to Israel would be cut because of the separation fence. The optimistic assessment followed talks in Washington between Prime Minister's Bureau director Adv. Dov Weissglas and Ministry of Defense director-general Amos Yaron and senior Bush administration officials....Ayalon: "The subject of the loan guarantees never arose in the talks, so consequently there is no reason to fear they will be cut." Bush says Palestinian cause 'betrayed by leaders' Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 In a reference to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, U.S. President George W. Bush said Tuesday in his UN address that the Palestinian cause was being "betrayed by leaders who cling to power by feeding old hatreds and destroying the good work of others." "The Palestinian people deserve their own state and they will gain that state by embracing new leaders committed to reform, to fighting terror and to building peace," Bush said, echoing remarks he has made in the past. Rice: Separation Barrier Never Corresponds to Washington’s Peace Vision International Press Center 9/23/2003 WASHINGTON, September 23, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies)-- US National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, said Monday Israeli building of the separation wall dose not correspond to the US’s two-states vision regarding two states(Israel and Palestine) living side by side in peace. Rice’s statements came in her meeting with an Israeli high-ranking delegation, visiting Washington nowadays to garner support for the building of the separation barrier, which Israel regards as a “security fence”, encountering possible Palestinian security threats. Nothing will stop Israel from building West Bank fence Middle East Online 9/23/2003 Nothing, including US cuts in loan guarantees, will stop Israel from completing a controversial barrier around the West Bank, the head of Israel's delegation to the World Bank/International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Dubai said Tuesday. "We have the intention to build the fence as fast as possible to protect ourselves, and I hope that the United States would not punish us for that," said Meir Sheetrit, minister without portfolio at the finance ministry, who arrived in Dubai on Monday with a 40-member delegation. Washington Wants Arafat Out of the Picture Palestine Chronicle 9/23/2003 WASHINGTON - The United States said late Monday that any new Palestinian government must be independent from what it called "machinations" of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat if it wanted to move toward an independent Palestinian state. The warning, delivered by Secretary of State Colin Powell, followed a massive outpouring of popular support for the embattled Palestinian leader prompted by Israeli threats earlier this month to either send him into exile or assassinate him. Probe into Hamas accounts sparks anger in Lebanon Middle East Online 9/23/2003 Lahoud asks Central bank for 'precisions' over its probe of Hamas accounts which sparked protests in Lebanon. -- A central bank probe into possible accounts held in Lebanon by the Palestinian movement Hamas triggered an avalanche of protests Tuesday at such a move against the anti-Israeli "resistance" group. The condemnation also sparked fears for Lebanon's highly-valued bank secrecy policy, as widely-respected former prime minister Salim Hoss warned against what he termed "a clear violation of the banking secrecy law." Lebanon 'cancels' order to pinpoint Hamas accounts Palestinian Information Center 9/23/2003 Beirut - Lebanese president Emil Lahoud and his premier Rafiq Al-Hariri have held urgent consultations with senior state officials over the step by the country’s central bank inquiring about accounts of Hamas leaders in local banks. Well-informed sources told Lebanese daily ‘Assafir’ that Syrian officials also expressed concern over this step. Central Bank Engulfed in Political Storm for Probing Hamas Assets An Nahar 9/23/2003 A probe into accounts belonging to Hamas officials and affiliated groups - normally a routine procedure in an all-out war on money laundering -- has sparked a major political controversy in Lebanon, with Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh in the eye of the storm. "It Is a Big Mistake or a Fatal Error," roared the Leftist Beirut Daily As Safir, which quoted an unnamed senior official as suggesting Salameh has to resign. Mofaz reports advances made in hostage exchange deal Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz confirmed on Tuesday that advances have been made in negotiations over a hostage exchange deal with Hezbollah. Nevertheless, Mofaz emphasized the inaccuracy of statements made by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah regarding the names and numbers of individuals thelatter said would be released in a deal. The defense minister also notedthat Israel does not intend to release jailed senior Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti in any prisoner exchange deal. Palestinian and Lebanese sources have said, however, that the hostage swap deal would include 400 Palestinian prisoners, includingBarghouti. Prisoner swap may be imminent Daily Star 9/23/2003 Up to 400 Arab prisoners, including 200 Palestinians, are to be released from Israeli detention in a German-brokered swap with Hizbullah, an informed Palestinian source close to the deal said Monday. Marwan Barghouti, the most senior Palestinian held by Israel, tops the list of those Hizbullah seeks to free, the source said, adding that negotiations on the names of those to be released were continuing. Hizbullah-Israeli Prisoners Swap in 2 Weeks, Excluding Barghouti An Nahar 9/23/2003 Agency reports said Tuesday the German-negotiated exchange deal between Hizbullah and Israel would involve the release within two weeks of 19 Lebanese and 400 Arab prisoners from jail in the Jewish state in return for four Israelis in Party of God bondage. But Ariel Sharon's government emphatically denied Tuesday morning that Fatah West Bank commander Marwan Barghouti would be involved in the swap deal, contending that a prisoner standing trial in Israel cannot be lawfully freed before a court verdict is handed down, state-run Radio Israel reported. Palestinians 'must follow Iraq' The Australian 9/24/2003 US President George W Bush today called for the Palestinians to follow Iraq in developing democratic institutions, saying their cause had been "betrayed" by Yasser Arafat. In addition, Bush said Arab nations had to cut off funding for Palestinian militant groups that the United States has deemed "terrorist" organisations. And, he said Israel had to act to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians to improve prospects for reaching a settlement to the long-running conflict. Arafat and Bush trade blame Al-Jazeera 9/23/2003 The United States and Palestinian presidents have traded accusations, with George Bush criticising Yasir Arafat for “betraying” his people, while the latter blamed Washington for encouraging “Israeli crimes”.     President Bush on Tuesday urged Palestinians to follow Iraq in developing democratic institutions – though critics may wonder which elected bodies he was referring to.  Israel, India finalizing plans for joint anti-terror exercise Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 Israeli and Indian special forces are finalizing plans for a joint military exercise focusing on anti-terror operations, a high-ranking official from the Indian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Indo-Asian News Service that while the exact details of the exercise are yet to be finalized, a delegation from the Indian special forces will visit Israel in the next few weeks to finalize details of the joint exercise. 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 separation fence before deciding whether or not to deduct costs of the fence from American loan guarantees to Israel, according to members of the mission to Washington, headed by the prime minister's bureau chief Dov Weisglass.      U.S. Does Not Expect Israeli Settlement Response Yet Palestine Media Center 9/23/2003 UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday he did not expect the Israeli government to respond to U.S. pressure on West Bank settlements until the Palestinian Authority cracks down on militants. In an interview with the Charlie Rose Show, Powell sympathized with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on the settlement question, saying it would be almost impossible for an Israeli leader to appear to be yielding to U.S. pressure.

Human Rights..

DCI: More Palestinian children taken into custody Electronic Intifada 9/23/2003 Despite the release of 13 child prisoners in early August as part of the 'Road Map' peace process, numerous other children were taken into custody during this time, far outnumbering the number of "concessionary" releases. Further arrests were made after peace negotiations broke down at the end of August as Israeli checkpoints were fortified and extended across the Palestinian territories and troops returned to previously vacated areas. Refugee host nations reject any reduction in UNRWA services Jordan Times 9/23/2003 Agency commissioner details plight of Palestinian refugees -- MMAN (JT) — At the conclusion of a coordination meeting here, Jordan and other Arab hosts of Palestinian refugees categorically rejected any move by UNRWA “regardless of reason” to cut down on services offered to refugees due to the organisation's financial crisis. In a statement cited by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, representatives from Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, as well as the Arab League's Palestinian Department demanded that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees resume health, educational and social services to refugees until the problem is resolved in accordance with UN resolutions.  Nu'man, East Jerusalem - Life under the Threat of Expulsion B'tselem September 2003 Nu'man has some two hundred residents, who live in twenty-five houses. The village is located on the southeastern border of the Jerusalem Municipality, a few hundred meters north of Beit Sahur, which lies adjacent to Bethlehem. For several months, the two hundred residents of the village have been living under Israel's threat to expel them from their homes....The Ministry of the interior's refusal creates an impossible situation: residents of Nu'man are classified as 'persons staying illegally' in their homes and in the village of their birth, and every contact with IDF soldiers or Border Police entails the risk of arrest or expulsion. From Nablus to Yanoun International Solidarity Movement 9/23/2003 Bethlehem - Aron 23 Sep 03 -- Yesterday I returned from the village of Yanoun, which is Southeast of Nablus. The village is split into upper and lower, separated by a 1/2 km dirt road. The total population of the village is about 97, mainly children. In the past residents of the village have fled under threats of death, so now there is a constant international presence to help protect the villagers and monitor the situation. Updates from Rafah: The Same As Hell International Solidarity Movement 9/24/2003 Gaza - Laura, Mohammed 24 Sep 03 -- 1) Rafah update by Laura - It’s been so long since I’ve written that I don’t know where to begin, how to compile the weeks into any linear or coherent story. It’s back to business as usual along the border, gunfire every night right next to and into the homes we stay in and all along the border, incursions every several days, dozens of homes demolished and half-demolished in the past two weeks, home raids in the middle of the night have become commonplace and the injured are filling the hospitals, some in critical condition. / 2) The Same as Hell. Report from my friend Mohammed who keeps a website Rafah Today www.rafah.vze.com: 10 September - It is 11:20. I just arrived right now to Rafah coming from Gaza and found the Abu Holly checkpoints closed. Hundreds of cars were waiting and the soldiers did not allow them to enter to their cities and homes. It is hard, really hard to move around. Many people were sitting in every place where there is some shade: tree, walls, and car shades. I went to the first cars, and taxies, to see why the IDF soldiers were blocking the roads. Trial begins of Islamic Movement northern branch leaders Jerusalem Post 9/23/2003 Dozens of supporters of the northern faction of the fundamenntalist Islamic Movement demonstrated outside the new Haifa district court building on Tuesday as the trial began of branch leader Sheikh Raed Salah and four other senior members. The demonstrators, perhaps fewer than had been expected, held aloft pictures of Salah and the others, including Umm el-Fahm mayor Dr. Suleiman Agbariya, and chanted their names.

Economy..

Chief statistician: Finance Ministry concealing data Globes 9/23/2003 Prof. Shlomo Yitzhaki: Few were aware of the estimated budget deficit, tax revenue shortfall. -- Central Bureau of Statistics chief statistician Prof. Shlomo Yitzhaki accused Ministry of Finance officials of concealing data and failure to provide essential information on the economy, the budget deficit, and government tax revenues. Education system to strike after holidays if cuts not rescinded Globes 9/23/2003 Teachers' representatives: Cuts will lead to firing teachers, cutting school hours, and more. -- The Histadrut Teachers Union and the Association of Secondary School Teachers, with the support of the Union of Local Authorities in Israel, are preparing a school strike after the High Holy Days. Sheetrit: Palestinians should use UAE as economic model Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 Arab countries and the Palestinians should take the United Arab Emirates as a model for economic development and prosperity, Minister Meir Sheetrit said on Tuesday. Sheetrit is part of the first official Israeli delegation to visit the UAE -- one that was initially to include Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reviled in the Arab world for his hardline policies as prime minister from 1996-1999...."I am totally surprised that in the middle of this desert, in the middle of nowhere, there is an Arab government that has succeeded in doing the unbelievable, to create so much out of such a very small place.."....The Palestinians might even manage to have more economic success than the UAE, if they would stop violence against Israel, Sheetrit said. "They have the talent. Possibly if they forgot for a while the trend of war, the trend of terror, they could achieve the same goals," he said." Dun & Bradstreet: Ceasefire collapse increases Israel’s credit risk Globes 9/23/2003 D&B International said that economic recovery depended on improving the security situation and on export growth. -- The D&B International (NYSE: DNB) credit risk index for 2003 predicts low positive growth, low inflation, a higher deficit, and more unemployment in 2003. D&B forecasts improvement in all categories in 2004. D&B said that Israel’s credit risk had worsened in August, due to the collapse of the attempted arrangement with the Palestinians, and the outbreak of violence in July-August and the beginning of September were ominous omens for the future. Netanyahu pleased by Central Bureau of Statistics 1.1% 2003 growth forecast Globes 9/23/2003 Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu called on MKs to support the government's economic plan that will be submitted to the Knesset in October. -- Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu is pleased by the Central Bureau of Statistics' optimistic growth forecast for 2003. Netanyahu expressed satisfaction that Central Bureau of Statistics' figures indicate 1.1% growth in 2003. Bonding in Dubai Globes 9/23/2003 Senior Ministry of Finance officials are exploiting the 2003 Annual Meeting of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund to meet representatives of the world's leading investment banks. The aim is to make them market makers in the Israeli bond market. If the something develops out of these talks, it will be highly significant.

People..

Knafo dismantles single-mothers' tent site, returns home Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 Vicky Knafo, who spearheaded the struggle of single mothers against government austerity cuts in their welfare payments, began dismantling the protest tent site Tuesday afternoon. Knafo said earlier Tuesday that she would leave the site she set up in the government compound in Jerusalem, in order to enter local politics, running for a council seat in her hometown of Mitzpeh Ramon in the south of Israel.  Israeli Dissident Seeks Political Refuge in Norway International Middle East Media Center 9/23/2003 Igor Zhemajlov, one of the leading figures of the anti-Zionist Slavic Union, was last week forced into political exile. The political movement was formed last year with its base in the million strong Israeli Russian community. In February an historical alliance was forged between the Slavic Union and Palestinian grass-roots under the leadership of Mustafa Barghouti, in a combined effort for a democratization of Israel/Palestine. The alliance shifted from the more accepted two-state separatist approach to the conflict, and focused on developing a civil rights movement to create one, democratic state for all citizens....“As long as we keep quiet and work everything is fine, but as soon as we try to make our voices heard we are brutally silenced." Israel in 2002: Older, less Jewish, more crowded Globes 9/23/2003 The number of Israelis born in Israel reached 3.4 million, or 63% of the country's Jewish population. -- Israel's population is aging more slowly than most developed countries, the Statistical Abstract of Israel 2003, No. 54, published today, reveals. 28% of Israel's population is under 14. 25.5% of Israel's Jewish population is children, compared with 43.2% of its non-Jewish population. Israel woos Hollywood film stars BBC 9/23/2003 Israel is trying to attract celebrities to visit the country to help raise morale among its war-weary population. The state's Los Angeles consulate praised Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who recently visited Israel. Consul-General Yuval Rotem said: "Celebrities can go as an expression of solidarity with the people." Mr Rotem said he got the idea after film director Oliver Stone spent three days with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat 16 months ago.

International..

US-backed council bars Arab media Al-Jazeera 9/23/2003 Freedom of speech campaigners have condemned US-appointed authorities in Iraq for banning television stations Aljazeera and al- Arabiya. Iraq's Governing Council said on Tuesday the stations were prohibited from covering official activities in Iraq for two weeks. It said the action was taken as a warning to broadcasters who incite anti-US violence. Egyptian lawyer sues Sharon over Egyptian deaths during occupation of Sinai Jerusalem Post 9/23/2003 An Egyptian lawyer has filed a lawsuit against Israel's prime minister, asking for billions of dollars in compensation for Egyptians he says were killed during the Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula. A copy of Mahmoud Saed's lawsuit was faxed to The Associated Press on Tuesday. Saed said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was responsible for torturing and killing more than 16,000 Egyptians captured from the 1967 war until the signing of the 1978 Camp David agreement, which fully returned the Sinai to Egypt. Pakistan, Palestinians Hit Indian, Israeli 'Terror' Yahoo! News 9/22/2003 UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Pakistan and the Palestinians upset an anti-terrorism summit on Monday, accusing India and Israel of "state terrorism" that could justify Muslims engaging in guerrilla warfare against them. "State terrorism targets people seeking freedom from foreign occupation -- as in Palestine and Kashmir (news - web sites)," Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said. "There should be no selective application of the international norms and standards against terrorism," he told a day-long conference of world leaders at a New York hotel....Musharraf's remarks were echoed by Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, who told the conference that armed struggle against Israel was justified by its use of "state terrorism" against Palestinians. Three Nobel laureates protest ADL prize to Berlusconi Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 NEW YORK - Three Nobel prize winners protested Tuesday against an award by a Jewish group to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, saying it was shocking to anyone familiar with the leader's comments. The Anti-Defamation League, a group created to fight bigotry and anti-Semitism, is giving Berlusconi its Distinguished Statesman Award at a gala dinner Tuesday. Saudi police silence activist Al-Jazeera 9/23/2003 A Saudi reformer who gave Aljazeera an exclusive interview about suppression and growing instability in the kingdom was arrested minutes later.Abd al-Aziz al-Tayyar told Aljazeera by telephone that Saudi security forces had surrounded his home just after 1am (22.15 GMT) and were preparing to storm his house. But in his last few minutes of freedom, the activist told millions of viewers how “all tribesmen are now willing to fight this government … we will protect the rights of our people some day.”      US plans to attack seven Muslim states Al-Jazeera 9/23/2003 Presidential hopeful General Wesley Clark says the White House devised a five-year plan after the 9/11 strikes to attack seven majority-Muslim countries. A former commander of NATO's forces in Europe, Clark claims he met a senior military officer in Washington in November 2001 who told him the Bush administration was planning to attack Iraq first before taking action against Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan. One more held for Guantanamo leak Al-Jazeera 9/23/2003 A US Air Force airman who served as a translator at a detention centre for Afghan war prisoners in Guantanamo Bay has been charged with espionage and aiding the enemy. The man, who was detained sometime in August at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, was identified as senior airman Ahmad I al-Halabi, a Pentagon official said on Tuesday. He was charged with espionage, aiding the enemy, failing to obey a lawful order, bank fraud, and making a false official statement. Tehran Threatens Israelis of Devastating Strike Al-Hayat 9/23/2003 Iran exhibited six 'Shahab-3' missiles that can reach Israel, while the Chief of the Iranian Air Force, General Reza Bardis delivered a strongly worded warning to Tel Aviv, warning Israel against attacking the Iranian nuclear reactors.... "Israel knows the extent of our power, and if it sets out on such an adventure, we have a ready plan which we will execute in response to any attack." Annan challenges US pre-emptive strikes Al-Jazeera 9/23/2003 UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has warned US President George Bush that his doctrine of pre-emptive military intervention poses a fundamental challenge to the world body and may lead to a global free-for-all. In a speech to be delivered shortly before Bush addresses the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Annan declared that the Iraq crisis had brought the world body to a “fork in the road”. Fear as human shield faces jail BBC 9/21/2003 Sitting in her modest two-bedroom home on the west Florida coast, Faith Fippinger begins to cry as she talks about the prospect of going to jail. This spring, the 62-year-old retired schoolteacher decided to travel to Iraq as a human shield. To many she is a humanitarian, but in the eyes of the US Government she is a criminal....For travelling to Iraq Faith Fippinger will now probably lose her house, her pension and go to jail. Four die in Saudi terror shootout BBC 9/23/2003 Three gunmen and a policeman have been killed in a shootout in Saudi Arabia in the latest clash with suspected al-Qaeda members, according to Saudi officials. The incident occurred at the residential compound of King Fahd hospital in Jizan, in the south-west corner of the country. Thai police foil Al-Qaida plot to down El Al plane Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 Thai police recently foiled an Al Qaida plot to shoot down an El Al passenger jet at Bangkok International Airport using a surface-to-air missile, Channel Two television reported Tuesday evening. According to the report, police arrested an Al Qaida operative three months ago for allegedly planning to carry out an attack on an El Al plane at the airport. Iran to scale back cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog Ha'aretz 9/23/2003 TEHRAN, Iran - Iran will scale back its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog after the IAEA set an October deadline for the country to prove that its nuclear aims are peaceful, Iran's representative to the IAEA said Monday. Librarians dispute Justice's claim on use of Patriot Act Washington Times 9/23/2003 The Justice Department's claim that the Patriot Act has never been used to search public library records came as a surprise to the American Library Association, which says it runs contrary to previous reports. "After all of the allegations and all of the conversations with officials of the Justice Department that led us to believe there was a high level of activity, we wonder what this really means," said Emily Sheketoff, the association's executive director....The Library Research Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign conducted a poll last year of more than 1,500 libraries. Sixty libraries said that federal agents had requested information on patrons under the Patriot Act, and nearly 15 percent of the librarians said they turned the information over without demanding a court order. Gulf war linked to motor neurone BBC 9/22/2003 Gulf war veterans are more likely to develop motor neurone disease, according to US studies. It adds to concerns that former servicemen may have been exposed to something during the 1991 conflict which increased their risk of illness. The studies, published in the journal Neurology, found that veterans of the war were three times more likely to develop the disease. The illness leads to progressive muscle weakness and eventually death. Case against Tommy Franks dismissed Al-Jazeera 9/23/2003 The Belgian court of appeal has thrown out a war crimes lawsuit brought under a controversial law against retired US general Tommy Franks, who commanded the US-led invasion on Iraq. The case was brought under the "universal competence" law which originally allowed Belgian courts to rule on crimes against humanity regardless of the nationality of the perpetrator or where the crimes took place.

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