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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..

Israel Kills Two Palestinians, Detains Jihad Leader Islam Online 10/1/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank, October 1 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Israeli occupation forces killed Wednesday, October 1, two Palestinians in a fresh incursion into the West Bank refugee camp of Tulkarem and detained a leading Islamic Jihad member in Jenin. Mazen al-Badawi, a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, was gunned down by the Israeli army in the Tulkarem camp as he was trying to escape capture, Palestinian security sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Rabah Abu Dakka, a 24-year-old an officer in the Palestinian national security services died of head and chest injuries sustained during the same raid, in which three other Palestinians were moderately wounded. Israeli Army Reduces 25 Houses Into a Heap of Rubbles in Rafah Palestine Chronicle 10/1/2003 RAFAH, Gaza Strip -- Israeli occupying forces (IOF) invaded Rafah city and demolished 25 houses, wounding four Palestinians in the process. Palestinian security sources told IPC correspondent that five Israeli military bulldozers, backed by 15 armored vehicles invaded late last night the Yebna refugee camp, south of the border city of Rafah, and started demolishing Palestinian houses. 24 houses were completely reduced to a heap of rubbles while an additional house sustained partial damages. The wide spate of such house demolition rendered a round 40 families homeless, in the open air. The sources added that IOF soldiers opened random and heavy gunfire and tanks shells everywhere in the camp, wounding four Palestinian citizens. Live ammo fired 'due to shortage' The Mercury News 10/1/2003 ISRAELI soldiers sometimes fire live ammunition at Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip because of a shortage of non-lethal weapons, the state comptroller wrote in a report released today. The highly critical 108 page report on the Israeli military found that previous recommendations have not been implemented - like development of new kinds of non-lethal weapons and acquisition of enough rubber bullets and tear gas to give soldiers an option besides live ammunition. The report found that many of the gas masks issued to soldiers - and by extension, to civilians - were ineffective, yet a 20 year program to develop a better mask has been a failure. Israeli occupation troops terrorize villagers near Hebron Palestinian Information Center 10/1/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - The Israeli occupation army has been terrorizing Palestinian villagers at the small hamlet of Tabaka, 15 km south west of al-Khalil. Local villagers testified that Israeli soldiers stormed and desecrated the local mosque , sabotaging a loudspeaker system used by the Muezzin to call for prayer. Soldiers also reportedly smashed windows and tore religious books at the holy place. Deaf and dumb Palestinian succumbs to wounds after nine months Palestinian Information Center 10/1/2003 Nablus - A Palestinian deaf and dumb succumbed to his wounds yesterday at one of the Nablus hospitals after nine months of struggle with a lethal Zionist bullet wound that paralyzed him for the past nine months. His mother used to sit all day with him at hospital and his father remained with him all night and it was the turn of the mother when Shadi breathed his last....She said that the tragedy started when a Zionist sniper fired at her 15 years old child while he was playing with his friends, who fled the scene when they heard the sound of bullets and explosions but he could not hear a thing and was surprised at his friends for running away. A Zionist spiteful soldier fired at the little boy and a bullet penetrated the area between his ear and jaw. Jewish settlers attack Jerusalemite house Palestinian Information Center 10/1/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - A legal center concerned with affairs of Jerusalemites has condemned the Jewish racist attack against the house of Taleb Abu Hidwan at dawn yesterday. The Quds center expressed utter dismay at the fact that the Zionist police did nothing to stop the attack or punish the culprits. Abu Hidwan told the center that a group of Jewish settlers threw stones at his two-story house, damaged his property and punctured tires of cars parked in the vicinity. Occupation authorities deport Palestinian female detainee Palestine Media Center 10/1/2003 Bethlehem - The Zionist occupation authorities have decided to deport the Palestinian detainee Asmaa Abdul Razak Hamed outside the country after the so-called court of justice turned down an appeal against the deportation. The detainee’s lawyer, Jawad Bulos, said that the court turned down the appeal at the pretext that Asmaa did not acquire a residence permit and that her presence was thus “illegitimate”. IOF Murders Two Citizens in Tulkarem International Press Center 10/1/2003 TULKAREM, Palestine, October 1, 2003, (IPC)- - Israeli occupation forces shot dead Wednesday two Palestinian citizens in the West Bank city of Tulkarem. Palestinian medical sources said Mazen Mobarak, 30, and Rabah Abu Daqqa, 24, were killed Wednesday afternoon after being shot with live ammunition in Tulkarem....Israeli troops broke into Dura, stormed several houses and arrested a number of citizens. Two of the arrested ones named as Mohammed Daraweesh and Mohammed Hraibat, witnesses told WAFA. Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli occupying forces (IOF) invaded Rafah city and demolished 25 houses, wounding four Palestinians in the process. Israel arrests Islamic Jihad leader The Guardian 10/1/2003 Israeli commandos today arrested a senior leader of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in a West Bank refugee camp. Witnesses said Bassam Saadi hid beneath a parked car to avoid capture by Israeli troops, who entered the Jenin refugee camp early this morning backed by two dozen armoured vehicles and two attack helicopters. Sniffer dogs found Mr Saadi under a car parked outside a mosque, witnesses reported. Undercover troops kill Islamic Jihad man in Tul Karm Ha'aretz 10/1/2003 Undercover IDF troops killed one Islamic Jihad militant and wounded another on Wednesday when they entered the West Bank city of Tul Karm to search for suspects. The troops came under fire as they searched for suspects in the city. The dead man was suspected of making a number of explosive devices used in attacks against Israeli targets....In other Israeli military raids, troops seized 14 suspected militants near the West Bank cities of Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron, the army said. Witnesses said soldiers blew up 12 homes and a tunnel used to smuggle weapons from Egypt into the Gaza Strip. Palestinian medical officials said three people were wounded in the action. Kafr Kana suspect says confession was coerced Ha'aretz 10/1/2003 An Israeli Arab whose videotaped confession and reenactment of the July 21 murder of soldier Oleg Shaichat led to his indictment, along with that of two of his friends yesterday in Nazareth District Court, has recanted, saying he confessed under pressure from the police and Shin Bet during nearly two months in confinement since he was arrested.....Nujeidat sat separately from the other two accused yesterday in the courtroom and told reporters that "we are all innocent. I confessed because they pressured me, with threats and fear. Someone in the village informed on us, but the truth will come out and so will justice. They should look for the real killer on the outside."  No alternative found for crowd control Ha'aretz 10/1/2003 The State Comptroller examined the matter of security forces developing "less lethal weapons" for dispersing demonstrations without fatalities. The report, issued a month after the Or Commission report, completes the picture with regard to the police. It seems the defense establishment failed to develop a non-lethal weapon that would enable it to avoid the use of live fire and reduce the number of Palestinian civilian casualties. The army prefers to use the term "less lethal," since there is no certainty the munitions won't kill someone.

Diplomacy..

Israel to expand security barrier BBC 10/1/2003 The Israeli cabinet has approved the next phase of a controversial fence it is building in the West Bank to stop Palestinian suicide bombers. The new fence will not be immediately connected to the barrier built so far, as a concession to Israel's main ally, the US. However, sections will be built around several Jewish settlements in the heart of the West Bank. U.S. Not Lowering Israel Loan Guarantees Washington Post 10/1/2003 WASHINGTON - The State Department is notifying Congress it plans no immediate reductions in loan guarantees for Israel, despite settlement construction on the West Bank, the department spokesman said Tuesday. With the fiscal year ending at midnight, the department was obliged to advise Congress of its intentions. Israel is due $9 billion in loan guarantees over three years and in August issued bonds for $1.6 billion. Spokesman Richard Boucher said, however, reductions are likely at some point over the next two fiscal years and that U.S. and Israeli officials were holding talks on the amount. Boucher also did not rule out reductions because of Israel's construction of a security fence that is designed to fence out Palestinian terrorists. Prisoner swaps collapse over Arad demand Al-Jazeera 10/1/2003 Israel has suspended prisoner swap talks with Lebanon's Hizb Allah resistance group, demanding the deal should include missing Israeli navigator Ron Arad. Hizb Allah and Israel, through German mediators, were negotiating the exchange of 19 Lebanese detainees, many being held without trial or charge, with three Israeli soldiers and a suspected Mossad agent captured three years ago. An anonymous Israeli source was quoted on Wednesday as saying that a public and military uproar in Israel over any exchange that did not include air navigator Arad forced Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, to suspend the talks. Hezbollah source: Israel breaks off prisoner swap talks Ha'aretz 10/1/2003 Israel has suspended indirect talks with Lebanon's Hezbollah over a prisoner swap after Israeli opposition to any deal that did not include missing airman Ron Arad, a source close to Hezbollah said on Wednesday. The guerrilla group and Israel have been negotiating an exchange through German mediators of businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum and three IDF soldiers for about 15 Lebanese and some 400 Palestinian and other Arab detainees in Israel. Israel to extend barrier Al-Jazeera 10/1/2003 The Israeli cabinet has decided to extend its apartheid barrier in occupied West Bank to include several Jewish settlements, despite international criticism that the wall illegally annexes Palestinian land. In an effort to soothe US concerns about further impingement on Palestinian land, Israel will leave a temporary gap in the barrier near Ariel, the occupied West Bank’s second largest Jewish settlement, political sources said on Wednesday. However, the cabinet decided to build more walls around five settlements east of the barrier, including Ariel, where about 18,000 settlers live. Encouraged by US, Israeli PM Sharon Decides to 'Annex' Settlements Palestine Chronicle 10/1/2003 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Encouraged by the US State Department’s decision not to plan immediate reductions in loan guarantees for Israel and by reports of an US–Israeli deal on the Apartheid Separation Wall the Jewish state is building on occupied Palestinian land, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced on Tuesday the Wall will encompass the illegal West Bank settlements of Ariel and Kedumim despite strong US objections. Meanwhile a UN report said that building of a “separation wall” and expansion of Jewish settlements bear the hallmarks of annexation and illegal “conquest.”...US national security adviser Condeleezza Rice led the talks for the United States and reportedly dropped threats to deduct the costs of the Wall from nine billion dollars worth of loan guarantees Washington has offered Israel. There were unconfirmed reports in the media that, in exchange, Israel would not immediately act on its threat to “remove” Palestinian President Yasser Arafat from his West Bank headquarters by exile or assassination. Jordan Urges U.N. to Keep Backing Peace Plan New York Times 10/1/2003 UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 29 — Jordan urged the world today to "stay the course" behind an American-backed Middle East peace plan called the road map, which some experts say has been rendered moribund by an surge in violence. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher admitted that the approach was risky. But "another fadeaway of prospects of meaningful hope would drag us squarely in the face of a much more dangerous and complex scenario that imperils the interests and security of all players," he said.

Human Rights..

UN: Separation Wall Cuts Off 210,000 Palestinians from Their Lives International Press Center 10/1/2003 GENEVA, October 1, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- In a report prepared by the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, John Dugard, on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, the report drew piercing criticism to the separation wall (also called separation barrier) that Israel works on constructing, separating Israel from the West Bank. “The Wall does not follow the Green Line, which marks the de facto boundary between Israel and Palestine. Instead, it incorporates substantial areas of the West Bank into Israel. Over 210,000 Palestinians will be seriously affected by the Wall. Palestinians living between the Wall and the Green Line will be effectively cut off from their farmlands, workplaces, schools, health clinics and other social services.“ Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights reported. ACTION ALERT: Stop impending home demolition! International Solidarity Movement 9/30/2003 Beit Arabiya, the House of Peace Dedicated to the Memory of Rachel Corrie and Nuha Sweidan, faces immediate destruction -- On Monday the "Civil" Administration, Israel’s military government in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, issued Salim Shawamreh a summons to appear before the military court at the Ofer Detention Center. His crime: building an "illegal" home for his family on his own privately-owned land - a home that has been demolished four times before. Today, Tuesday, the Civil Administration issued an order declaring its intent to demolish the home within 48 hours. Army jeeps now stand at the site of the house to prevent activists from reaching it. Two More Israeli Pilots Refuse to Participate in Killing Palestinians International Press Center 10/1/2003 TEL AVIV, October 1, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- Two more Israeli pilots added their signatures Wednesday to the list of pilots who refused to take parts in combating flights that leads to killing Palestinians over the occupied territories. The two, ex-combat pilots, explained their signing of the petition "both despite and because of the nature of denunciations received by the pilots who signed the petition," Ha'aretzdaily reported Tuesday. Since the publication of the petition for the first time, two pilots withdrew their signatures, pressured by their commanders' threats to ground them, while four others added their names to the list of those pilots, both active and non-active reservist, refusing to participate in military flying missions that lead to killing Palestinians. Cindy & Craig Corrie Statement to the Press International Solidarity Movement 9/29/2003 PRESS STATEMENT - Given by Craig & Cindy Corrie in Jerusalem -- Our daughter Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Rafah in the Gaza Strip on March 16, 2003, while she was trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home. Since that time, as we have grieved for our daughter, we have also worked to learn more about this conflict about which she cared so deeply and in which she lost her life. To find peace for ourselves in the aftermath of Rachel’s death and for our own understanding, it was necessary for us to come to this land and walk where Rachel walked, and see what she saw.... Occupation authorities bar travel of Palestinian journalists Palestinian Information Center 10/1/2003 Nablus - "Israeli" authorities have prevented a Palestinian journalist from traveling to France to attend meetings organized by "Artists against the war" society and the friends of Nablus society. Abdul Rahman Al-Quseini, the Reuters cameraman, said that the "Israeli" authorities had blocked his travel last August for "security reasons" while he was heading for a family vacation in Jordan. UN report: “The Wall would incorporate substantial areas of the West Bank” Jerusalemites 10/1/2003 report that was presented by UN on Tuesday said that the barrier being built by Israel through the West Bank amounts to be illegal annexation of Palestinian territory must be condemned by the international community. The report said as well that then wall erected in recent months would incorporate substantial areas of the West Bank into Israel. "The evidence strongly suggests that Israel is determined to create facts on the ground amounting to de facto annexation," the report said. "Annexation of this kind, known as conquest in international law, is prohibited by the Charter of the United Nations and the Fourth Geneva Convention," it added. Mounting Support For Courageous Israeli Pilots Islam Online 10/1/2003 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, October 1 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A week after twenty seven Israeli pilots refused to take part in raids on Palestinian territories, some 200 Israeli professors and university students signed a petition Wednesday, October 1, supporting their courageous decision.

Economy..

Histadrut plans escalation Globes 10/1/2003 Histadrut Trade Union division head Shlomo Shani: I anticipate a long period of economic chaos. -- "I anticipate that the cabinet decision will cause a protracted time of economic chaos. The economy is in a great mess, due to the unprecedented crisis in trust between us and the Ministry of Finance," said Histadrut Trade Union division head Shlomo Shani. Shani claims the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) cannot accept the cabinet decision in silence, since they it is a gross violation of the agreement it signed with the Ministry of Finance in May 2003. "Yediot Ahronot": IMI to open first office in Turkey Globes 10/1/2003 Israel Military Industries chairman Arie Mizrachi: IMI views Turkey as a major potential market for its products. -- Hebrew daily “Yediot Ahronot” quotes IMI chairman Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Arie Mizrachi as saying that Israel Military Industries will open an office in Turkey in a few days. IMI is participating in the IDEF 2003 - 6th International Defense, Aerospace, and Maritime Fair that opened yesterday in Ankara, Turkey. Mizrachi said the IMI viewed Turkey as a major potential market for its products. IMI has an office in India. Foreign investment in Israel - 2.5% of GDP a year Globes 10/1/2003 The average in comparable countries was 7.5% of GDP in 1998-June 2003. -- Net foreign investment in Israel between 1998 and June 2003 totaled $17.5 billion. Half of this amount was invested in industry, high-tech, and real estate, and half was financial investment, including in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), the Bank of Israel reported today. Israelis invested $8 billion overseas in the same period. Netanyahu offers Perez: We may change cabinet decision Globes 10/1/2003 Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu made clear he is determined to carry through port restructuring. -- Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Histadrut chairman MK Amir Perez to enter into negotiations over the ports strike. Netanyahu said he was prepared to reconsider all cabinet decisions on the subject. He said if the negotiations lead to a need to revise the cabinet's decision, he would do so, under the authority granted to him on the matter. "Yediot Ahronot": Cabinet to discuss breaking ports strike Globes 10/1/2003 Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu proposes the cabinet authorize diverting Israel marine foreign trade to Egypt, Jordan. -- Hebrew daily “Yediot Ahronot” reports that Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu will propose to the cabinet today a series of measures to break the public sector strike, in particular at Israel's seaports. The sanctions at government offices are entering their third day today, and Israel's ports have been completely closed since Monday.

People..

Despair of Palestinian children BBC 10/1/2003 "I once had a nightmare that the Israeli soldiers came to school and sentenced everyone to death - the next day I didn't want to come to school," says Samr Bargouti a bright-eyed 13-year-old girl. -- ...Almost all the children at the school have direct experience of the troubles that erupted three years ago. The evidence at the Samiha Khalil is not hard to find. Two bullet holes have punctured the glass above the door of the first-floor classroom, which the teachers say is the result of shootings from the nearby Jewish settlement. Violence is a regular feature of life for the children of Ramallah. Arab and Islamic Media's Role in Intifada Highlighted at Beirut Conference Palestine Chronicle 10/1/2003 Over two hundred Arab and Islamic media officials, journalists, writers and analysts from around the world converged on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, recently for the Second Conference of Arab and Islamic media in support of the Palestinian people. The conference, hosted by Hizbullah’s Al-Manar TV covered various aspects of media coverage of the intifada in the Arab, Islamic and western media. Noted Palestinian academic advocates one state in Palestine Palestinian Information Center 10/1/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - A noted Palestinian academic based in London has urged Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs to reach a historical reconciliation by agreeing to establish a unitary democratic state for Arabs and Jews in Palestine. Ahmad Samih al Khalidi, an associate member of St. Antony’s College at Oxford University, argued that prospect of establishing a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip was increasingly unrealistic due to the ubiquitous proliferation of Jewish settlements. "Whose Land? Whose Promise?" - A book review 10/1/2003 A Palestinian Pastor who is studying for his PHD in Thelogical Studies at Trinity International University in Chicago reviews Gary Burge's book titled "Whose Land? Whose Promise? What Christians Are Not Being Told About Israel and the Palestinians". The words of Gary Burge, a professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, are as strong as the Israeli bullets, if not stronger. Unlike many evangelical Americans, Gary is well informed of the situation in Israel/Palestine. He addresses two of the toughest questions in the Middle East--whose land and whose promise?

International..

Jordan breaks ranks over Iraq Al-Jazeera 10/1/2003 Jordan has earned praise from America after becoming the first Arab state to offer direct help to US-occupied Iraq. King Abd Allah's country has pledged to train Iraqi soldiers and police, the first such promise for post-war Iraq from an Arab or Muslim state. Despite pressure and the lure of incentives all Muslim and Arab nations have so far resisted efforts to give direct help to occupied Iraq. Iran mulls nuclear inspections dilemma Al-Jazeera 10/1/2003 Iran's foreign minister has said the Islamic republic must stop the question of its nuclear programme coming before the UN Security Council. But on the other hand, he did not specify whether Iran would satisfy an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ultimatum to allow unlimited access to its sites. Observers say a collision with the Security Council seems likely. U.S. Muslim Activist Says Charges ‘Politically Motivated’ Islam Online 10/1/2003 CAIRO, October 1 (IslamOnline.net) – Prominent Muslim American activist Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi, who was detained by federal authorities for making unauthorized trips to Libya and dealing with "terrorist groups" repudiated the accusations as "politically motivated" lies, one of his lawyers said. "I phoned Amoudi after the detention, and he realized that it is a part of a politically-motivated prosecution that has nothing to do with the charges leveled against him," Ashraf Nubani told IslamOnline.net over the phone from the States.

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