Critics Slam Sharon on Arafat Siege
The Guardian, September 30, 2002
JERUSALEM (AP) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came under wall-to-wall criticism at home Monday for the bungled 10-day siege of Yasser Arafat's compound, which was aborted under intense U.S. pressure.

IDF surrounds Ramallah home thought to contain wanted men
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
IDF troops have surrounded a house in Ramallah believed to contain the wanted men who fled from Yasser Arafat's compound in the city after the end of the Israeli siege on the building Sunday, Palestinian sources said Monday.

Two Palestinians killed; Arafat to resume consultations on forming new cabinet
Al-Bawaba, September 30, 2002
Israeli troops enforcing a curfew in the West Bank town of Nablus and an adjacent refugee camp killed a 13-year-old Palestinian boy and wounded 10 youngsters, most of whom were on the way to or from school, doctors and witnesses said.

Palestinians Warn of Gaza Offensive Following Closing Down of Liaison Office
Palestine Chronicle, September 29, 2002
GAZA CITY - The Israeli army yesterday closed down the office of liaison between the Israeli army and Palestinian security officers, the so-called DCO, in the northern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian security statement said.

PA: Claims of Israeli Withdrawal from HQ Fake
Palestine Chronicle, September 29, 2002
OCCUPIED RAMALLAH - Pursuant to the statement issued by the meeting of the inner Israeli cabinet, which discussed the choking siege on President Arafat's Muqata'a headquarters, a Palestinian spokesperson announced that claims of an Israeli withdrawal from the HQ were spurious.

Israeli government redeploys tanks in Ramullah, imposes curfew
Arabic News, September 30, 2002
As the Israeli tanks were repositioned, just ten meters from the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority to detain every one who comes out of it.

US forces Israel to lift siege of Arafat
The Guardian, September 30, 2002
Israel pulled its tanks and soldiers out of Yasser Arafat's West Bank headquarters yesterday, under intense American pressure to end the 11-day siege because it was undermining its attempt to win Arab and other international support for an attack on Iraq.

Israeli troops kill Palestinian boy near Nablus
Xinhuanet, September 30, 2002
GAZA, Sept. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli soldiers on Monday opened fire and killed a Palestinian boy in the refugee camp of Balata near the West Bank town of Nablus, Palestinian medical sources and witnesses said.

Aide: Arafat to Name New Cabinet
Las Vegas Sun, September 30, 2002
RAMALLAH, West Bank- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is moving quickly to name a new Cabinet and remains open to other government reforms, a key aide said Monday. Arafat himself assured that Jan. 20 elections would not be delayed.

Arafat calls for cease-fire, seeks Quartet intervention
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat yesterday called for a Palestinian cease-fire to be matched by an equivalent Israeli cease-fire. In a statement issued to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Arafat also demanded international intervention to force Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian cities.

Israel's 'most-wanted' in Arafat's HQ
ITV News, September 30, 2002
Palestinians on Israel's most-wanted list are said to have remained in Yasser Arafat's battered West Bank offices from where he emerged, beaming, yesterday after an embarrassing climbdown by the Israeli government.

Palestinian Militant Killed in Blast
Fox News, September 29, 2002
JERUSALEM — A Palestinian militant was killed in an overnight explosion at the entrance to a West Bank refugee camp, Palestinian security officials and local residents said Sunday.

Children 'bear brunt' of Mid-East conflict
BBC, September 30, 2002
The human rights organisation Amnesty International has accused both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict of targeting children.

Amnesty International Report: Israel and the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian Authority: Killing the future: Children in the line of fire
Palestine Daily, September 30, 2002

PA: Amnesty criticism on killing of children 'unfair'
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
Palestinian Minister Saeb Erekat dismissed as "unfair" Monday criticism aimed at the Palestinian Authority in an Amnesty International report condemning the numbers of child fatalities on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Two Palestinians killed, including 13-year-old
Jerusalem Post, September 30, 2002
Israeli troops enforcing a curfew in the West Bank town of Nablus and an adjacent refugee camp killed a 13-year-old Palestinian boy and wounded 25 people, some of them youngsters on the way to or from school, doctors and witnesses said.

Sharon in Moscow; aims at blocking Russian-Syrian missiles deal
Al-Bawaba, September 30, 2002 
Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrived in Moscow Sunday night for two days of talks with the Russian leadership expected to be dominated by the Iraqi crisis and Russian nuclear and technology transfers to Iran.

EU slams Israel for destroying Palestinian infrastructures
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
BRUSSELS - European Union foreign ministers Monday lambasted Israel for wrecking Palestinian infrastructure, saying such destruction would not stop terror.

Saudi Arabia to build 600 houses for Palestinians
Arab News, September 30, 2002
RIYADH, 30 September — The Kingdom has decided to build 600 houses in six Palestinian cities as a token of support to the intifada against Israeli occupation.

Sabri confers with American Congressmen
Arabic News, September 30, 2002
The Iraqi foreign minister Naji Sabri has stressed Iraq's readiness to cooperate with the UN weapons inspectors, stressing that Iraq is free from all mass destruction weapons.

Sharon: conditions not proper for military action regarding al-Wazzani river
Arabic News, September 30, 2002
The Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon stated that the current conditions are not proper to launch any military action concerning what the Lebanese government is doing on al-Wazzani river

Palestinians make plans to name new cabinet
Jerusalem Post, September 30, 2002
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is moving to quickly name a new cabinet and remains open to other government reforms, a key aide said Monday.

Israel denies that key Palestinian fugitives fled Arafat's compound
Jerusalem Post, September 30, 2002
Bowing to intense US pressure, Israel ordered its security forces to pull back from Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Mukata compound in Ramallah, bringing an end to the 10-day siege imposed by Israel on the Palestinian leader.

Sharon criticized for lifting siege on Arafat
Jerusalem Post, September 30, 2002
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came under wall-to-wall criticism Monday for the bungled 10-day siege of Yasser Arafat's compound, which was aborted under intense US pressure.

PA: Non-violence encouraged pullback
Jerusalem Post, September 30, 2002
Palestinian Authority officials and Fatah leaders said on Sunday they would try to turn the Palestinian uprising into peaceful mass protests, in an effort to convince the international community and the Israeli peace camp that Palestinians want to end the occupation, but seek to live in peace with Israel.

Abbas: I didn't plan to overthrow Arafat
Jerusalem Post, September 30, 2002
Mahmoud Abbas, the No. 2 man in the PLO, on Sunday denied reports that he had planned a coup to topple Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat while he was under siege in his Ramallah compound.

Report: PA health care deteriorating
Jerusalem Post, September 30, 2002
Security authorities have not yet found a way to expedite free passage on the West Bank of Palestinian health teams, and as a result, there are delays in the vaccinations of children, especially in remote areas, a senior Health Ministry official said Sunday.

Hizbullah again fires across border
Jerusalem Post, September 30, 2002
Hizbullah gunners fired at least three salvos of anti-aircraft shells over Western and Upper Galilee on Sunday, breaking more than a week of relative quiet along the northern border. Shrapnel fell in Israel, especially in the area of Kiryat Shmona, where a car was damaged, but there were no casualties.

Arafat triumphant after Israelis relax siege of compound
The Independent, September 30, 2002
Yasser Arafat toured the ruins of his presidential compound in triumph yesterday, after the Israeli army pulled back its tanks and soldiers and relaxed its siege.

Police uncover terror cell operating in south Hebron
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
A Palestinian terror cell operating in the Hebron area, allegedly responsible for laying explosive devices along highways and detonating them next to IDF and civilian vehicles, was uncovered by the Judea and Samaria Police a few days ago, it was revealed Monday.

Putin praises Sharon for 'difficult' decision on Arafat
Jerusalem Post, September 30, 2002
MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday praised Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's lifting of a 10-day siege on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters.

Abu Mazen said back on good terms with Arafat
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
Senior Palestinian official Abu Mazen, a longtime deputy to Yasser Arafat reportedly at odds with the Palestinian Authority chairman over recent demands that Arafat share power and renounce violence, was one of the first figures to meet and hold talks with Arafat after Israel lifted its siege of the Ramallah PA headquarters compound, Israel Radio reported Monday.

Background: Sharon, victim of his own bulldozers
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
In the continuing Greek tragedy of the Israel-Arab conflict, with Ariel Sharon the prisoner of his own preferred instrument of policy, the bulldozer, could a perceived victory by the Palestinians mean a triumph for Arab proponents of a sharp turn away from violence?

Muqata pullout hands Arafat a rare victory
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
Palestinians yesterday celebrated a rare diplomatic victory, and Israel conceded they had won as it bowed to undisguised American muscle and ended the siege of the Muqata in Ramallah. U.S. President George Bush immediately welcomed the withdrawal from Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's headquarters.

Sharon arrives in Moscow to discuss arms control and trade issues with Putin
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrived last night in Moscow for a two-day visit during which he will meet with President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and heads of the Jewish community.

UK Jews up in arms over media's Israel coverage
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
Relations between British Jews and the British media have fallen to a new low in recent weeks after three anti-Israeli documentaries were broadcast on the three leading television channels.

The villagers see the fence as a land grab
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
Nasser Kuzmar, 30, could hardly speak for fear he would burst into tears. He managed to say, in a voice of a man in mourning, that on Tuesday September 24 the bulldozers arrived.

Almost as many settlers are leaving as are arriving
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
While the settlement movement claims there has been a steady flow of new settlers into the territories, Central Bureau of Statistics figures indicate that nearly the same number of people are leaving, and most increases in the settlements come from natural growth.

Analysis: Arafat gets a reprieve until after Saddam
Ha'aretz, September 30, 2002
Morale was high yesterday in Ramallah. Many of the town's residents, including Palestinian VIPs interviewed by the international press, spoke of a Palestinian victory, which many Palestinians believe was the result of the protest demonstrations against Israel in the West Bank, Gaza, and the Arab world - and not the American pressure on Israel.

Israeli Minister Welcomes Lifting Of Arafat’s Siege, Says Striking Iraq Is Priority
Islam Online, September 30, 2002
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, September 30 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Amidst the mixed response to the Israeli army’s lifting of the 10-day siege around the West Bank offices of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Sunday, September 29, Israeli Infrastructure Minister Efi Eitam, welcomed the move, saying a U.S. strike on Iraq was top priority.

The Intifada in Numbers
Palestine Chronicle, September 29, 2002
RAMALLAH (Palestine Monitor) - Yesterday marked the second year of the current Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the repression of the Palestinian people.

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