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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..

Palestinian Boy Killed in Israeli Army Raid Palestine Chronicle 9/24/2003 GAZA CITY - A 15-year-old Palestinian was killed and 11 others injured when Israeli forces stormed early Wednesday, September 24, the southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Rafah. Scores of Israeli tanks and military vehicles pushed deep into Al-Qassassin area in the refugee camp near the border with Egypt under the cover of warplanes, eyewitnesses told IslamOnline.net. Mohmmad Eisa Hemdan died in hospital of injuries he sustained from shrapnel of an Israeli tank shell, according to hospital sources. Eleven others were also injured, five seriously. Palestinian Killed, 11 Injured In Israeli Raid Islam Online 9/24/2003 GAZA CITY, September 24 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A 15-year-old Palestinian was killed and 11 others injured when Israeli forces stormed early Wednesday, September 24, the southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Rafah. Scores of Israeli tanks and military vehicles pushed deep into Al-Qassassin area in the refugee camp near the border with Egypt under the cover of warplanes, eyewitnesses told IslamOnline.net....Witnesses told IOL that Israeli tanks bulldozed flat dozens of houses in the area, noting that Palestinians stood up to the Israeli aggression with grenades and automatic rifles...Also on Tuesday, three Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire in the village of Kafr Malik , near the West Bank city of Ramallah during a Palestinian rally protesting Israel ’s demolition of the house of Salih Salama, a member of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.  Boy and teacher in hospital after Israeli soldiers open fire on elementary school Palestine Monitor 9/23/2003 14 year old Mohammed al Bouji and his teacher, Ismail Awad Mansour, are recovering in Rafah’s Youssif al Najar Hospital after being shot this morning when Israeli soldiers opened fire on the Omarea Elementary School. At approximately nine thirty this morning, during a break from classes, the students of Omarea School in Rafah began to run for cover as soldiers in a nearby military post, began an assault, firing live ammunition directly at the Omarea school buildings from a tower overlooking the school grounds. Occupation forces demolish house of activist Palestinian Information Center 9/24/2003 Ramallah - Zionist occupation troops last night demolished the house of a Palestinian activist in the village of Kufr Malek to the east of Ramallah city after failing to capture him. Zionist forces stormed the village in the afternoon and besieged the house of Saleh Bakr Hamayel in the eastern suburb of the village. The forces ordered citizens to remain in-doors and asked Hamayel, 65, and his family members to get out of the house. The occupation soldiers then fired six missiles at the house. IDF searches Qalqilyah hospital; youth killed in Rafah Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 Palestinian sources reported Wednesday that Israel Defense Forces troops entered the West Bank city of Qalqilyah and besieged the hospital, in an effort to find militants who had earlier shot at Israeli vehicles driving on the Trans-Israel Highway, just west of the city. According to the sources, the troops entered the hospital and searched all wards, including emergency rooms and operating theaters....Witnesses and Palestinian medics said the 15-year-old, who was unarmed, was killed by a tank shell that wounded 11 others, including gunmen. Occupation army soldiers besiege hundreds of worshippers in mosque Palestinian Information Center 9/24/2003 Ramallah - Palestinian sources in the town of Beitonia to the west of Ramallah city have said that Zionist occupation soldiers were besieging hundreds of worshippers in one of the town’s mosques. Citizens said that they saw Zionist soldiers arriving into the town’s center in two armored personnel carriers along with seven army patrols. They encircled the Seif Allah Mosque near the crossroad leading to the village of Ein Uraik following the evening prayers. Zionist reinforcements sent to Jenin Palestinian Information Center 9/24/2003 Jenin - Zionist occupation forces yesterday dispatched reinforcements to the West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp including additional tanks, armored vehicles, jeeps and soldiers. Eyewitnesses said that the Zionist forces were imposing a curfew on the city for the fifth day running amidst continuous firing at civilian houses. They said that the soldiers occupied more buildings in the city and the camp turning them into army barracks. Immigrant Brigades a Financial Front International Committee of the Red Cross 9/24/2003 A former Immigrant Brigade participant on Thursday rebuked a series of claims about the Brigades that have surfaced in recent news reports. The reports claim that the Israeli army is using former Russian soldiers to buttress special security needs in the West Bank. According to Reuters, the Israeli army confirmed that Israel is employing ex-Russian sharpshooters to reinforce “weak points” in West Bank security control....In contrast to these claims, a previous participant in the Brigades, Vadim, told IMEMC on Thursday that the organization is fraudulent and corrupt, lining the pockets of a Russian-Israeli entrepreneur. Israel Pursues The Detentions And Home Destruction Al-Hayat 9/24/2003 A Palestinian activist was shot dead by Israeli forces yesterday while they pursued their aggressions: demolishing houses, curettage of lands and detentions. According to Palestinian sources Marwan Ahmad Al Najjar (19) was shot dead in a military combat that lasted around 30 minutes with the Israeli soldiers, deployed around the Eli settlement north of the Gaza Strip. Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, admitted responsibility of the attacks, adding that Al Najjar was attacking an Israeli military post near the settlement....Palestinian security sources said that the Israeli army penetrated deeply in Khazaa, east of Khan Younis, sweeping away agriculture land, destroying a Palestinian security post before withdrawing from the town. South west of the city, the occupation authorities informed four families that they would demolish their houses soon. Findings provoke uproar in settlement leadership Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 The release yesterday of a special Haaretz report on the cost of Israel's settlements in the territories has caused an uproar in the settlement leadership. Israel has spent at least NIS 45 billion since 1967 on the settlements, according to the report, which will be published in full in Haaretz's Rosh Hashana supplement on Friday. In recent years, annual, non-military outlays to settlers have been NIS 2.5 billion; and annual civilian spending on each settler has topped NIS 10,000. Report: Israel spends $560 million a year on Jewish settlements in territories San Francisco Chronicle 9/24/2003 The Israeli government spends at least $560 million a year on subsidies, infrastructure and education for 220,000 Jewish settlers living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to a report Tuesday in the Israeli daily Haaretz. The figure does not include military spending in those areas. Since capturing the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, Israel has spent at least $10.1 billion on settlements, Haaretz said. Israel's Fence Mixes Security and Politics Washington Post 9/23/2003 As Scope Grows, So Does Hostility -- HABLA, West Bank -- Hussein Yousef Salman, a Palestinian schoolteacher and farmer, surveyed the massive fence that has gobbled up his land, destroyed his greenhouses, isolated his well and surrounded his town, cutting off his family from the schools, hospitals and markets in the nearby city of Qalqilyah....In Habla, the fence runs one mile into the West Bank. "It makes hatred between us and them," said Salman, 43, as he tended his remaining greenhouses on the Palestinian side of the fence. Israeli troops kill schoolboy in raid Al-Jazeera 9/24/2003 A 15-year-old Palestinian schoolboy has been killed in the latest Israeli invasion into the occupied Gaza Strip. At least 11 other people were injured, five seriously, when Israeli forces raided the Rafah refugee camp early on Wednesday. Two homes were completely destroyed, according to witnesses....The military source..said the houses that exploded had been booby-trapped and were not destroyed by the IDF, who had only returned fire after severe provocation. However, the dead youth, Muhammad Hamdan, was killed after suffering injuries caused by shrapnel from a tank shell, according to a Rafah Hospital spokesman.

Diplomacy..

UK recalls MI6 link to Palestinian militants The Guardian 9/24/2003 Britain has ordered the MI6 agent at the heart of its Middle East strategy to leave Jerusalem, claiming that it fears for his safety. Alistair Crooke provided Britain with its only direct contact with Hamas and other organisations officially shunned by the UK. But his associates say he is being forced out by the Foreign Office, which they claim is increasingly reluctant to challenge Israel's pledge to "obliterate terrorist groups". Israeli lawsuit threatens prisoner swap Al-Jazeera 9/24/2003 The family of an Israeli airman held by Hizb Allah is suing a member of the resistance group detained in Israel, sparking fears an imminent prisoner swap could collapse. Navigator Ron Arad's family is suing Mustafa Dirani for around $20 million in compensation over mistreatment allegedly suffered by Arad in detention, legal sources said Wednesday. The development was revealed as Israel appeared poised to free scores of Arab prisoners in exchange for the release of several Israelis captured by the Lebanese resistance movement, Hizb Allah. Sharon Accuses Elie Hobeika of Killing 4 Missing Iranians An Nahar 9/24/2003 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has accused former Lebanese Forces security chief Elie Hobeika of killing four Iranian diplomats at a militia checkpoint in north Lebanon as they were fleeing Beirut after Israel's 1982 invasion. Sharon also said in a newspaper interview published Wednesday that he would take any deal on a prisoner swap with Hizbullah to his Cabinet for approval and will insist on DNA testing of three bodies of Israeli soldiers that are to be handed over under a German-mediated operation. He reiterated that he would not free West Bank uprising leader Marwan Barghouti, whose lawyer has said his client was at the top of Hizbullah's list of 400 Palestinian and other Arab prisoners it seeks to free from Israeli jails. Hamas Leader Says Group Won't Disarm The Guardian 9/24/2003 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Emerging for a news conference for the first time since Israel tried to kill him, the founder of the militant group Hamas said Wednesday his group will not disarm or accept a truce with Israel. Sheik Ahmed Yassin rebuffed the incoming Palestinian prime minister and sent a defiant message to Israel, which tried to kill him Sept. 6 by bombing a Gaza City building where he presided at a meeting with Hamas leaders. Shalom: Israel won't deport Arafat immediately Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Wednesday that Israel is not planning to deport Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in the immediate future. Shalom, who was attending the UN General Assembly session in New York, told reporters that the government took the decision "in principle" to deport Arafat so he can no longer lead the armed struggle against Israel. "The decision that we took is not for immediate action," he said. Arad family sues Mustafa Dirani for NIS 100 mil. in damages Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 The family of missing airman Ron Arad filed a petition against Lebanese militant Mustafa Dirani on Monday demanding NIS 100 million in compensation from the man who held Arad for at least two years. The family is suing Dirani for damages resulting from the "shocking and inhumane" acts to which Ron Arad was subjected, including assault, wrongful imprisonment and selling him to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who took him to southern Iran where the trail ends. The family says that Dirani thus thwarted efforts to free Arad and is demanding NIS 100 million in damages. Arafat Says US Encourages Israeli ‘Crimes’ Arab News 9/24/2003 GAZA CITY, 24 September 2003 — Yasser Arafat accused Washington of encouraging Israeli “crimes” against his people yesterday as US President George W. Bush said the Palestinian people’s cause had been betrayed by their veteran leader. “The (Israeli) occupiers and the settlers are making the mistake of denying the existence of our people,” Arafat said in a telephone address to Palestinian deputies gathered in Gaza City. “Because of the arrogance of the force which is blindly supported and followed by certain powers, they are committing crimes against our people, our towns, our villages our (refugee) camps and our infrastructure,” he said in an implicit reference to the United States. Yassin says Hamas will not disarm or accept truce with Israel Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 Rebuffing the incoming Palestinian prime minister, the spiritual leader of Hamas said Wednesday that the group will not disarm, agree to a truce or join the new Palestinian government. Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, along with other Hamas leaders, has been marked for death by Israel. He survived a September 6 air strike, and has only left his home once since then. Israelis Fail to Convince U.S. Washington Post 9/24/2003 An Israeli delegation dispatched to convince the Bush administration of the wisdom behind the country's lengthening security barrier failed to obtain an agreement yesterday, U.S. and Israeli officials said. The two sides differed most significantly on the prospective route of the fence, particularly whether it would cut 13 miles into the West Bank to wall off the Israeli settlement of Ariel. In meetings yesterday, the Israeli delegation, headed by Dov Weisglass, chief of staff to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and Maj. Gen. Amos Yaron, director general of the Defense Ministry, made modest progress, said an Israeli official who reported that the two sides intended to meet again after the delegation consults with Sharon. $10M Ron Arad campaign suspended Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 An international campaign for information on missing air force navigator Ron Arad, with a $10 million reward attached has been suspended. It was to have been launched earlier this month, but was frozen at the last moment, apparently because of the possible prisoner exchange deal with Hezbollah. U.S. expert to review Israeli security fence demands Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 An American defense specialist is to come to Israel to examine security arrangements around Ben-Gurion International Airport. The expert will review Israel's contention that the separation fence should be constructed east of an area around the Beit Aryeh settlement, in order to prevent terrorists from firing shoulder-launched missiles at planes. Palestinian Rejection for Bush’s Call to Follow the Iraqi Example International Middle East Media Center 9/24/2003 Dr. Saeb Erekat, chair of the negotiation department in the PA, rejected the US President’s statement that calls the Palestinian people to follow the Iraqi example, an example that is, according to Erekat, democracy by American tanks. Addressing the UN on Monday, Bush said, "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," adding that Palestinians are being "betrayed by leaders who cling to power by feeding old hatreds and destroying the good work of others". Despite U.S. pressure Israel keeps building “Berlin Wall” Jerusalemites 9/23/2003 The United States has told the Israelis that the barrier they are building is inconsistent with US goals in the region. Israel says the barrier is designed to prevent Palestinian militants from carrying on attacks on its territory. US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice urged Israel to minimize the impact of the barrier on Palestinians and the peace process.She was speaking after talks in Washington with an Israeli delegation led by Dov Weisglass, a senior aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Audio: King Abdullah of Jordan on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict Washington Post 9/17/2003 King Abdullah, discussing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with Washington Post edtiors, said that the U.S. and Israel must do more to bolster Palestinian institutions and that nothing would be gained from Israel expelling Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Israel Denies Any Possibility To Free Barghouti Al-Hayat 9/24/2003 Israeli officials kept the details of a prisoners exchange with Hezbollah through German mediation ambiguous. They preferred not to comment on what was published in the Palestinian and Lebanese press, except for the possibility of freeing Fatah's Marwan Barghouti detained in the Israeli prisons for more than 17 months. They rushed to deny this possibility by saying that he "perpetrated crimes," at times, and that it is not legally possible since judicial procedures are not over yet, at other times. Question Marks Raised About Ongoing Onslaught to Burn Riad Salameh An Nahar 9/24/2003 The banking secrecy has not been lifted, nor have accounts been frozen, yet a mere Central Bank inquiry into the existence of accounts belonging to some Hamas officials has unleashed a political storm that points to a possible hidden agenda to edge the bank's veteran governor Riad Salameh out of his job. And as the controversy, which, as usual, politicians seized as an opportunity to upstage each other in "nationalist stands," has spread to drag the foreign and finance ministries into the fray in addition to Salameh, often tipped as a contender to the presidency after Gen. Lahoud's term expires next year. Prisoners Swap to 400, No Agreement on Barghouti International Middle East Media Center 9/24/2003 Israel has agreed to release about 400 prisoners next week as part of a prisoner exchange with the Lebanese Hizbullah, Palestinian newspapers reported Tuesday. Citing an "informed Palestinian source,” Al-Quds daily said that the German-mediated exchange should take place at the end of next week. Contrary to these reports, Israli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said yesterday, "I'm not sure that the figures are exact.”

Human Rights..

27 pilots say will refuse to operate in territories Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 A group of 27 active reserve duty pilots and retired pilots have sent a letter to Air Force Chief, Major General Dan Halutz, declaring that they refuse to participate in operations against Palestinians in the territories. In the letter, the signatories said they refused to carry out attack orders that are "illegal and immoral." "We, who have been educated to love the state of Israel, and to contribute to the Zionist endeavor, refuse to take part in air force attacks on civilian population centers," the letter says. Made in Israel? Are your tomatoes from an illegal settlement? Electronic Intifada 9/24/2003 What is the problem?: Fruits and vegatables produced in the illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are exported and marketed as 'made in Israel'. This is a violation of the trade agreement between Israel and the European Union. The agreement exempts Israeli products - but not settlement products - from import duty. We urge the EU to take immediate action to ensure that Israel plays by the rules. Only when knowing if a product comes from an Israeli settlement or is in fact 'made in Israel' is the consumer given the right to choose. What is a settlement product?: A settlement product is made by Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories. Settlement products include goods such as cherry tomatoes, avacados, fresh herbs, bell peppers, wine and flowers. The products are grown on land and irrigated with water confiscated from Palestinians. Separating Two Peoples: A View of the West Bank Barrier Washington Post 9/24/2003 Apartheid wall graphic, including a detailed map of the entire West Bank wall as currently planned. Wall collapses in Aqsa Mosque Palestinian Information Center 9/24/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - The Islamic Awkaf in occupied Jerusalem has accused the “Israeli” authorities of causing the fall down of one of the internal walls in the Aqsa Mosque. The Awkaf said that the wall, which crumbled yesterday, could have been repaired but the Zionist authorities refused to allow the Awkaf engineers to maintain it. The collapsed wall, which is located near the Islamic Museum, was considered relatively new considered to other walls of the Mosque. UN Agency Protests Against Israeli Raid on West Bank Hospital Palestine Chronicle 9/24/2003 NEW YORK - The main United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees today protested to Israel over its raid on a UN-run hospital in the West Bank town of Qalqilya, calling it a “serious breach” of international law and charging that Israeli troops made medical staff leave their patients and lie on the hospital floor. “Israeli soldiers are now searching the hospital room by room and doors have been kicked in by the troops. A number of windows have been broken,” the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said in a statement issued before the raid ended and the troops withdrew. UNRWA: Israeli operation in Qalqilya complete breach of Geneva conventions ReliefWeb 9/24/2003 GENEVA, Sept 24 (KUNA) -- The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said Wednesday that it has protested to the Israeli military at the serious breach of both the United Nations immunities and international humanitarian law taking place at its hospital in Qalqilya in the West Bank. UNRWA added in its announcement that this morning Israeli troops entered the UN-run hospital and made the medical staff leave their patients and duties and lie on the floor of the hospital. Civil Rights Activist Urges the World Not to Forget Palestinians Palestine Chronicle 9/24/2003 DUBAI - Head of Palestinian committees for health care and social security, and renowned civil rights activist Mustapha Barghouthi said here on Wednesday that the world nations should not forget the Palestinian nation and their plight under the current tough conditions. Barghouthi who was speaking at Dubai 2003 Conference as a representative of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), added, "It is surprising that the world NGOs that recently organized huge demonstrations in Mexico to protest to the globalization trend, have no plans for organizing any demonstrations during the meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Dubai. Belgium's highest court throws out case against Sharon Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 BRUSSELS, Belgium - Belgium's highest court on Wednesday threw out a war crimes complaint against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and a case against former U.S. President George Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell. The ruling by the Cour de Cassation is expected to soothe diplomatic relations with the United States and Israel, which had hit their lowest points in decades because of the court complaints. A statement released by the Israeli embassy in Brussels said that "the ruling will enable us to rehabilitate the relations between the two nations." Jewish State tries Muslim leaders Al-Jazeera 9/24/2003 A Tel Aviv court has started legal proceedings against Islamic Movement leader Shaikh Raid Salah and three other activists on charges of channelling money from Hamas charities to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Security was heavy outside the court on Tuesday as dozens of the activists’ supporters demonstrated against the case. Salah and other defendants have also been accused of contact with a foreign agent, membership in a “terrorist” organisation, money laundering and conspiracy to deliver information to the enemy. Security in Jenin, from a Jewish American perspective International Solidarity Movement 9/24/2003 Jenin - Aaron 24 Sep 03 -- ....I always thought the word ’curfew’ referred to a particular time (probably at dusk) when everybody had to be off the streets. It turns out that, over here, it means that nobody can move outside of their home for an indefinite period without a fairly serious risk of being gunned down. Serious enough, at any rate, that the adult Palestinian population is nearly invisible.

Economy..

Manufacturers warn of economic collapse Jerusalem Post 9/24/2003 "The economy will collapse in 2005 if there is no growth in 2004," Manufacturers Association head Oded Tyrah warned on Tuesday. His comments were made during a joint press conference discussing the implications of the 2004 budget held by Tyrah, Israel Export Institute head Shraga Brosch, and Organization of Electronics Manufacturers head Ami Harel. "We are situated at the last window of opportunity," said Tyrah. UNRWA pleads for emergency funds for the West Bank and Gaza ReliefWeb 9/24/2003 Amman - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) told a meeting of 27 donor and host governments today of the urgent need for funding for its emergency operations in the West Bank and Gaza. In June UNRWA issued an appeal for $103 million to fund food aid, shelter reconstruction, job creation schemes, counselling for traumatised children and other emergency humanitarian work in the occupied Palestinian territory. The international community has so far pledged just $38 million - $31 million of which was generously donated by the United States of America. Jordan to export goods from QIZ through Aqaba from November Globes 9/24/2003 "The Jordan Times": "Shipping will cost $700 less than going through the Port of Haifa." Jordanians are angered by import of foreign workers. -- "The Jordan Times" reported yesterday, "Despite ongoing success stories witnessed in the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ), investors still face challenges running their multimillion dollar operations." Economist Thurow blasts Israel's leadership Globes 9/24/2003 MIT professor of economics Lester Thurow: No other country suffering such economic decline would let the government remain. -- International economist Lester Thurow warns that while Israel is unlikely to collapse the way Argentina did, it faces a greater danger. "The USSR had a superb and mighty army combined with a terrible economic situation, and it no longer exists. This is the threat that hangs over Israel. In conclusion, a modern society cannot exist only on the basis of a mighty army," Thurow told "Globes". New foreign investments in August only $22m Globes 9/24/2003 New foreign investments were down 98.4%, compared with June. Non-financial investments totaled $111 million. -- New foreign investment in Israel declined steeply in August, mostly due to sales of securities by foreign residents, particularly on the TASE. New foreign investments totaled $22 million in August, compared with $122 million in July and $1.37 billion in June. Treasury to suggest a temporary cut in child allowances Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 The treasury plans to propose yet another cut in child allowances, together with an additional cut in most ministry budgets, in order to fill a NIS 1.1 billion hole in the 2004 budget. When it approved the budget last Tuesday, the cabinet voted to fill this hole by slashing most National Insurance Institute allowances. However, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the next day that he intended to repeal this decision, and that the treasury would propose an alternative cut at the cabinet meeting scheduled for this coming Monday. State Bank of India mulls Israeli branch Globes 9/24/2003 Bank of Israel Governor David Klein and Minister Meir Sheetrit are meeting with the IMF officials monitoring Israel’s economy. -- One of India’s leading banks, has begun the process of opening a bank in Israel, Governor of the Bank of Israel David Klein said yesterday....Klein believes the bank is interested in financing trade deals between India and Israel, which are expected to increase in the coming years. Klein declined to name the bank, but it was unofficially reported to be the State Bank of India. Bank of America closes Tel Aviv office after 2 years Globes 9/24/2003 Sources inform “Globes” that Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) has closed its Tel Aviv representative office in the Azrieli Towers, ceasing its business in Israel....Adv. Chen Livnat, a partner in the Mayer firm, confirmed the report, saying that the representative office's recent business did not justify keeping a banker in Israel. She said the Israeli office was closed as part of the bank's worldwide restructuring of its branches and representative offices. Richest 10% earn 13.5 times more than poorest Jerusalem Post 9/22/2003 The richest 10 percent of Israelis earned 13.5 times more than the poorest 10 percent in 2002, according to data released Sunday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. Households headed by salaried wage earners in the upper tenth percentile brought in a gross monthly income of NIS 41,840, while those from the lowest tenth percentile earned NIS 3,110 on average.

People..

Edward Said Hospitalized, in Grave Condition An Nahar 9/24/2003 Edward Said, the Palestinian intellectual and tireless crusader on behalf of Arab causes in the United States, has been rushed to hospital in New York, reportedly in critical condition. As Safir reported Wednesday that Said, who has been battling leukemia for many years, was in intensive care, but did not say if the latest ailment was linked to the chronic ailment. Italian premier gets ADL award, condemns anti-Semitism Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 NEW YORK - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi condemned anti-Semitism while accepting an award from a Jewish rights group Tuesday, a rebuttal to critics who said he should not have been honored because of remarks about Italy's World War II dictator Benito Mussolini. The Anti-Defamation League went ahead with its decision to honor Berlusconi with its distinguished statesman award despite condemnation by three Nobel laureates. The three said it was inappropriate to honor Berlusconi because of his saying Mussolini "never killed anyone. Book: Operation Defensive Shield: Witnesses to Israeli War Crimes Jordan Times 9/22/2003 'An account of the daily reality for Palestinians' - Operation Defensive Shield: Witnesses to Israeli War Crimes, by Muna Hamzeh and Todd May, Published by Pluto press, London, Sterling, Virginia, 2003, Pp. 199 -- “FROM THIS day on, he who does not become Palestinian in his heart will never understand his true moral identity,” wrote celebrated Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish following the massacre in Jenin refugee camp in 2002. `Operation Defensive Shield' documents the largest military offensive against Palestinian civilians since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It records what happened in the West Bank in the spring of 2002 and what it foreshadows for the future of the region. Population growth slips below 2% in 2002 as Jewish majority grows grayer Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 Israel's population at the end of 2002 was 6,631,000, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports on the eve of the Jewish New Year. The 2002 data show that the population growth rate was 1.9 percent. This, statistics bureau officials say, is close to the rate recorded in Israel during the 1980s in the years before the wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union. Greens criticize proposed project to save the Dead Sea Ha'aretz 9/24/2003 The condition of the Dead Sea has been deteriorating in recent years in the wake of its southern section turning into an area of industrial pools; the level of the northern section of the sea is dropping at a rate of around one meter each year. The fall in the level of the Dead Sea is the result of the exploitation of the water for human consumption, coupled with the operations of both Israeli and Jordanian industrial plants in the southern part of the body of water. Now, however, the Friends of the Earth has expressed concerns that for political and economic reasons unrelated to saving the Dead Sea, the World Bank will be helping to promote a project known as The Peace Conduit, which calls for the channeling of water from the Red Sea to the dying Dead Sea. Evangelicals take a step towards unity Come And See 9/24/2003 Leaders of Evangelical churches in Israel met last weekend at a retreat center in the North of Israel for a meeting, first of its kind, at which a major step was taken toward unity and establishing a convention for Evangelicals in Israel. Around 45 leaders, both pastors and laymen met at Nofi Gonen Kibbutz near Kiryat Shemona in upper Galilee for a two overnight conference to discuss and decide upon the coming steps in the process that started several months ago to unite the different denominations under an umbrella of an Evangelical convention.

International..

Patriot Act Used In 16-Year-Old Deportation Case Washington Post 9/23/2003 Administration Revives 1987 Effort -- The Bush administration has decided to pursue a 16-year-old effort to deport two Palestinian activists who as students distributed magazines and raised funds for a group the government now considers a terrorist organization, despite several court rulings that the deportations are unconstitutional because the men were not involved in terrorist activity.  The case, which has long had a high profile among Palestinian Americans, could pose a new judicial test of a controversial provision in the Patriot Act, passed in 2001. The provision prohibits supplying material support for organizations the government deems "terrorist," even without evidence of a link to specific terrorist acts.     At the time of their initial arrests in 1987, the activists, Khader Hamide and Michel Shehadeh, were allegedly affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist group that has advocated an independent Palestinian state and has been involved in various acts of terrorism.     The government alleges that Hamide and Shehadeh helped raise funds for the PFLP in the mid-1980s at California churches, a Scottish Rite temple and an auditorium owned by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and distributed magazines for the group.     Hamide and Shehadeh deny any affiliation with the PFLP and say they are being punished for speaking on behalf of the Palestinian cause. Hamide is now a coffee salesman and Shehadeh is a restaurant manager; both live with their families in California and say they have no connection to terrorism.     "I don't know any other home," Shehadeh said in a telephone interview. "This is a political case" being pursued because of bureaucratic inertia, he said. "We were never charged with doing anything ourselves."     In seeking the deportation in 1987 of Hamide, Shehadeh and six other Palestinian immigrants allegedly associated with the PFLP, the Reagan administration's Justice Department invoked a provision of the Cold War-era McCarran-Walter Act, which barred membership in communist groups. But a lawsuit filed by the so-called L.A. 8 led a federal appeals court to declare the law an unconstitutional infringement of free speech, and Congress repealed it in 1990.     The deportation cases nonetheless continued to churn through the courts because Congress's action did not affect pending disputes. Then-FBI Director William Webster conceded in 1987 that none of the eight had engaged in terrorist activity and that they would not have been arrested if they were U.S. citizens. Civil liberties groups charged that the government was wrongly excluding the immigrants from traditional protections of free speech and association.     Six of the cases were ultimately deemed minor technical violations. In January, the Bush administration was given a summer deadline for declaring whether it would still seek to invoke the McCarran Act. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that it would pursue the deportations but drew on the language of the Patriot Act.     A department spokesman yesterday declined to elaborate.     "This has always been a case of guilt by association, and nothing more," said Georgetown University Law professor David Cole, who has been their attorney for more than a decade.  ADC Renews Call on Government to Drop LA8 Case Deportations American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee 9/24/2003 The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) today renewed its call on the Bush Administration to end its15-year long campaign to deport two Palestinian permanent residents because of their alleged political views and associations. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced its intention to pursue deportations against the two men - Khader Hamide and Michel Shehadeh - under provisions of the McCarran-Walter Act that were declared unconstitutional by a district court in 1989, and repealed by Congress in 1990. Bush and Sharon off war crimes hook Al-Jazeera 9/24/2003 Lawsuits against Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon and former US president George Bush for crimes against humanity have been thrown out of court. Belgium's top court on Wednesday threw out the actions on the grounds that none of the accused held Belgium nationality at the time the lawsuits were launched. The Cour de Cassation rejected the suits for crimes against humanity filed under Belgium's so-called "universal competence" law. Islamic charity cleared of Hamas link BBC 9/24/2003 The Charity Commission has dropped an investigation into one of Britain's leading Islamic charities, following claims it was linked to Palestinian militants Hamas. The charity, known as Interpal, had its accounts frozen last month after the US government accused it of funding Palestinian terrorist activity in the West Bank. But a spokesman for the Charity Commission said Washington had provided no evidence to substantiate the claim that organisation was associated to political or militant activities. The Islamic revival in Egypt BBC 9/24/2003 The call to prayer billowing out of loudspeakers atop of Cairo's mosques five times a day has become a landmark of the city's soundscape....The magnified call to prayer, the building of mosques are all symptoms of a relentless rise of Islamist politics and general religiosity over the past three decades.      Media Watchdog Condemns US for Clearing Palestinian Journalist’s Killers Palestine Chronicle 9/24/2003 BRUSSELS - The world’s biggest journalists` organization, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Wednesday denounced the US action of clearing US soldiers of any responsibility for the killing of a journalist, as "arrogant, secretive and a denial of justice." American soldiers outside a Baghdad prison shot Mazen Dana, an award-winning Palestinian cameraman, dead last month. Journo claims proof of WMD lies News.com.au 9/23/2003 AUSTRALIAN investigative journalist John Pilger says he has evidence the war against Iraq was based on a lie that could cost George W. Bush and Tony Blair their jobs and bring Prime Minister John Howard down with them. A television report by Pilger aired on British screens overnight said US Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice confirmed in early 2001 that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had been disarmed and was no threat. Iran embarks on uranium enrichment, set to reject IAEA deadline Jordan Times 9/24/2003 TEHRAN — A top Iranian diplomat has announced the Islamic republic has started uranium enrichment experiments and may cut back its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), snubbing a UN ultimatum to the Islamic republic. “The factory at Natanz has been in operation at an experimental level for several weeks,” Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Akbar Salehi, said in an interview published by Kayhan newspaper late Monday. U.S. Muslims Mark Isra', Mi' raj With Prayers, Chants Islam Online 9/24/2003 CHICAGO, September 24 (IslamOnline.net) - Now that up to more than 14 centuries have elapsed since Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) ascension to the heavens, known in Arabic as Al-Isra' and Al-Mi'raj, the miraculous journey is still alive in the hearts and minds of Muslims in the United States, particularly in this American city in northern Illinois. Listening to Arabic chants from Sufi poetry sung by Muslims in praise of Allah and Prophet Muhammad, one would think forthrightly this was taking place at a mosque in a Muslim country. Muslim Leaders Irked By Light Sentence Of Hate Crime Islam Online 9/24/2003 Chicago, September 24 (IslamONline.net) – Leaders of the Muslim community vocalized their frustration in objection to the light sentence was issued by the 5th District of Cook County Circuit Court against a man who threw a bomb at a Chicago Muslim family last March. Eric K. Nix assaulted the Muslim family in the South Chicago neighborhood of Burbank, by throwing an explosive device which blew off the door of the their van and left a big hole in its the floor. The family escaped unscathed. The assailant had an earlier criminal record of committing hate crimes against the Muslim community, when he broke the window of a furniture store owned by an Arab a few days after 9-11 attacks. He served 30 days in prison as a result....Despite the fact that he was sentenced to 12 and half years of imprisonment, a sentence that was hailed earlier by CAIR Florida chapter, Zarzour expressed his discontent to the ruling because the terrorism laws were not applied in this case either. Muslim teacher wins headscarf fight BBC 9/24/2003 The highest court in Germany has ruled that a Muslim teacher has the right to wear a headscarf in class. But the court also ruled that new laws could be passed in German states banning the practice. Thirty-one-year-old Fereshta Ludin, who is originally from Afghanistan, was denied a job in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg in 1998 because she insisted on keeping her head covered in school. Coalition Pressuring Ruling Council To "Only" Warn Al-Jazeera And Al-Arabiya Al-Hayat 9/24/2003 The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) exerted pressure on the ruling council, which changed its decision of the previous day to close the offices of the Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya channels in Baghdad, to a warning asking the two channels "not to violate the rules and regulations organizing the media work." According to the "amended" decision, the two channels will be excluded from covering the activities and official press conferences of the ruling council and their reporters will not be allowed to enter ministries and government institutions for two weeks." Iraq Ban for Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya Arab News 9/24/2003 BAGHDAD, 24 September 2003 — Iraq’s Governing Council said yesterday it would limit the operations of two Arab satellite channels it accused of “encouraging terrorism”. The council said the temporary move against Qatar-based Al-Jazeera and Dubai-based Al-Arabiya was intended as a clear message to other channels that might stir unrest among Iraqis. But it stopped short of a threatened full ban. Guantanamo Translator Faces Spy Charges The Guardian 9/24/2003 WASHINGTON (AP) - A military probe of possible security violations at the U.S. prison camp for terrorism suspects is expanding after the arrests of two members of the military, with a third military member under investigation, Pentagon officials said Wednesday. The cases have raised concern in the Defense Department about security at the base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. ``We don't presume that the two we know about is all there is to it,'' Pace told reporters Wednesday morning. Opening annual general debate, UN GA hears call for radical change to address threats of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction ReliefWeb 9/23/2003 Secretary-General Announces Plans for High-Level Panel To Focus on Threats to Peace, Security, Other Global Challenges -- With the United Nations standing at a crossroads, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that the world body must decide whether to commit itself to radical change to deal with such global threats as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and nuclear proliferation.

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