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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 suicide attack kills 20 BBC 10/4/2003 A woman suicide bomber has killed herself and at least 19 other people at a restaurant in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa. At least three children are reported to be among the dead in the attack, which left up to 50 people injured. The huge explosion wrecked Maxim restaurant, which was jointly owned by Jews and Arabs and located on the sea-front. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad has claimed the attack, saying it was carried out by a woman from the West Bank town of Jenin. Islamic Jihad claims Haifa operation Al-Jazeera 10/4/2003 At least 19 people are dead after an explosion claimed by Islamic Jihad tore through a restaurant in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Israeli police have said the blast was caused by a Palestinian human bomber. Paramedics said at least 30 people were wounded, seven of them seriously. The attacker, said to be a female, is among the dead. The blast went off in the Maxim restaurant near Haifa's beach promenade on the southern edge of the city. 3 children, baby girl, 4 Israeli Arabs among dead in attack Ha'aretz 10/4/2003 At least 19 people were killed and 45 wounded when a woman suicide bomber blew herself up in a restaurant in the northern city of Haifa at around 2:15 P.M. on Saturday. A number of children are among the dead, and six of the wounded are in serious condition. The suicide bomber was also killed in the attack. Israel Radio reported that the dead included three children, a baby girl, three members of the same family and four Israeli Arabs. Gov't sources: response to attack will be harsh Ha'aretz 10/4/2003 Government sources said Saturday that Israel would respond harshly to the suicide bomb attack in Haifa, and that the response might come as early as Saturday evening. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened a meeting of senior political and defense officials shortly after the attack, in which 18 people were killed, to discuss Israel's response. Government sources said Israel would discuss the decision by the security cabinet last month to "remove" Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Palestinian man and toddler die of injuries Al-Jazeera 10/4/2003 A Palestinian man and an 18-month-old boy died on Saturday of critical injuries sustained at the hands of the Israeli army and armed settlers, Palestinian medics said. The child was named as Abd al-Qader al-Badrasawi. He had been wounded by Israeli tank fire last Thursday in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Said Qassem, 42, died of injuries he sustained six months ago when Jewish settlers opened fire in his direction near the northern West Bank town of Jenin....Their deaths brought to 3502 the number of people killed during the three-year-old Palestinian Intifada, including 2617 Palestinians and 822 Israelis, according to a count by French news agency AFP. Anti-terror unit kills man who murdered 5 in Metzer attack Ha'aretz 10/4/2003 A special anti-terror police unit operating in the West Bank city of Tul Karm on Saturday shot dead the Fatah terrorist who murdered five people at Kibbutz Metzer in November 2002. Palestinian sources said that nine-year-old Mohammed Yusuf Amin was killed in the operation. The police unit, known by its Hebrew acronym, Yamam, opened fire on Sirhan Sirhan, 20, as he was riding in a car with two other Palestinians. Security sources said the two armed men accompanying him shot at the soldiers, and managed to escape. Zionist army arrests 16 citizens on suspicion of affiliation with Hamas Palestinian Information Center 10/4/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - A Zionist army spokesman yesterday declared that a military combing operation in north and south of the west Bank led to the arrest of 16 Palestinians on suspicion of affiliation with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad Movements. The spokesman elaborated that five citizens were arrested in Al-Khalil city including four Hamas activists and one affiliated with the Islamic Jihad. Palestinians hemmed in for Yom Kippu Al-Jazeera 10/4/2003 Palestinian residents woke up on Saturday to face the total closure of their territories for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. The Israeli army clampdown on the movement of Palestinians raised tension already high due to the continued erection of the apartheid wall and Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank. "Based on a decision by the political authorities and the assessment of the situation, a complete closure of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and the Gaza Strip will start on Friday ... through to the Yom Kippur," which ends on Monday night, Israel's army said in a statement. Israeli officer charged with killing Palestinian children during curfew Palestinian Information Center 10/4/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - In a symbolic step aimed at obfuscating unlawful killings of innocent Palestinians by Israeli troops, an Israeli officer has been charged with killing four Palestinians, including three children, in Jenin in 2002. The Israeli media reported Saturday the unnamed officer, a lieutenant in the armored crops, instructed a tank crew to fire artillery shells on a Palestinian father and his three children in the northern West Bank town. As a result, four Palestinians were killed, including three children , a boy aged 3, a girl aged 6 and another 11-year-old boy.  PA Launches Crackdown on Israeli Collaborators Middle East Newsline 10/4/2003 GAZA CITY [MENL] -- The Palestinian Authority has launched another crackdown on suspected collaborators of Israel. PA sources said security agencies have arrested dozens of suspected Israeli collaborators over the last two weeks in wake of a series of Israeli attacks on Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives. The sources said the agencies were ordered to stop what they termed the increasing cooperation by Palestinians with Israel's military and intelligence agencies. The arrests were mostly of Palestinians in Gaza City and in refugee camps in the strip, the sources said. Middle East's elusive peace BBC 10/4/2003 There has been an angry reaction from Palestinians to Israel's announcement that it is to build hundreds more homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The Palestinians point out that it violates the terms of the American-backed roadmap peace plan, which calls for a complete freeze in settlement construction. But the Israelis say they have no obligation to meet the roadmap obligations until the Palestinians get tough with their groups of militants. Jeremy Bowen, who is just back from the region, says it does not feel like a place where peace is about to take root. Suicide Blast in Northern Israel Kills 19 The Guardian 10/4/2003 HAIFA, Israel (AP) - A Palestinian woman blew herself up in a crowded seaside restaurant at lunchtime Saturday, killing 19 people including three children. It was one of the deadliest attacks in the past three years, prompting new calls for Yasser Arafat's expulsion. About 40 people were wounded in the attack on the Maxim Restaurant, co-owned by Arabs and Jews in the Mediterranean port of Haifa, an ethnically mixed and tolerant city but also a frequent target for suicide attackers - perhaps because they can easily blend in. Both Arabs and Jews were at the restaurant at the time.  Eyewitness: 'Dead children and babies' BBC 10/4/2003 Witnesses have described a scene of carnage in a Haifa restaurant after the suicide bomber struck on Saturday. One unidentified person told Israeli media of seeing "bodies, pieces of bodies... dead children and babies" at the scene in Maxim's. Among the diners injured in the packed eatery were members of local football team Maccabi Haifa, including general manager Itamar Chizik. "We were sitting with our sides toward the door of the restaurant, we didn't see who came in," he told Israeli media. Hamas march affirms continuation of resistance Palestinian Information Center 10/4/2003 Gaza - The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, yesterday organized a demonstration in the Jabaliya refugee camp in north of Gaza on the occasion of the start of the fourth year of Aqsa intifada. Thousands of Palestinians took part in the march including around 100 armed youths affiliated with the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas Movement. One of the Hamas cadres called Abu Ashraf delivered a statement advocating continuation of the intifada until ejection of occupation from Palestinian lands. Israeli Troops Kill Long-Wanted Militant The Guardian 10/4/2003 JERUSALEM (AP) - A Palestinian militant suspected in a deadly attack on Israelis was killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli commandos in the West Bank town of Tulkarem on Saturday, the army said. A 9-year-old Palestinian boy was also killed in the fighting, hospital doctors said. Israel charges that the militant, Sirhan Sirhan, 20, was the gunman who slipped into Kibbutz Metzer, an Israeli communal farm near the West Bank, and shot dead five people, including a mother and her two small children, last November.

Diplomacy..

Bush Condemns Deadly Bombing in Israel The Guardian 10/4/2003 WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush branded a bombing in Israel that killed 19 people Saturday as despicable, saying the attack was a reminder of the Palestinians' need to combat terrorism. ``I condemn unequivocally the vicious act of terrorism committed today in Haifa,'' Bush said in a written statement. ``This murderous action, aimed at families gathered to enjoy a Sabbath lunch, killed and injured dozens of men, women, and children.'' He added: ``This despicable attack underscores once again the responsibility of Palestinian authorities to fight terror, which remains the foremost obstacle to achieving the vision of two states living side by side in peace and security.'' Threat to expel Arafat grows after holiday suicide bombing The Independent 10/5/2003 Palestinian security forces were on high alert at Yasser Arafat's Muqata headquarters last night for any Israeli attempt to expel the Palestinian leader, after a horrific suicide bombing in Haifa just before Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. The bombing marked the end of a week that has left the roadmap peace plan personally backed by President George Bush in tatters. Up until the moment when the female suicide bomber pushed her way into the crowded restaurant yesterday, the Israeli authorities were quietly congratulating themselves that their threat to expel Mr Arafat, despite worldwide condemnation, appeared to have worked. Sources: Powell criticism of fence due to 'misunderstanding' Ha'aretz 10/4/2003 Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem said Saturday that recent criticism by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell over the new route of the separation fence was "unsurprising" and stemmed from a "misunderstanding" on his part. In an interview with The Washington Post published Saturday, Powell said Israel's proposal to leave large gaps in the fence around West Bank settlements would not satisfy U.S. concerns that the barrier was intruding on Palestinian land. He said that U.S. officials were having "intense discussions" on their response. Russia criticises apartheid wall Al-Jazeera 10/4/2003 Russia has called on Israel to stop the construction of its apartheid wall in Palestinian territory and halt the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. "The activity of the settlements as well as the construction of the security barrier which ends up annexing Palestinian land and isolating many inhabitants, should be suspended," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday. "The Israeli government's intention to build 565 new buildings in the occupied West Bank has met with great concern in Moscow. Officials: hostage deal will not be completed in next few days Ha'aretz 10/4/2003 A hostage deal with Hezbollah will likely not be completed in the next few days, according to top officials in Jerusalem, Israel Radio reported Saturday morning. The details of the hostage swap deal have yet to be finalized, the top officials said, adding that Israel would be willing to consider the release of Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid and Mustafa Dirani as well as Palestinian prisoners. The officials stressed, however, that no prisoners with "blood on their hands" would be released, in accordance with the government's principles. The Criteria For a Prisoner Exchange Arutz Sheva (Israel National News) 10/3/2003 IDF Chief Rabbi Brig.-Gen. Yisrael Weiss has issued a halakhic [Jewish legal] ruling regarding the criteria for an exchange of prisoners. The ruling, originally issued two weeks ago, states that terrorists who are liable to attempt murderous attacks may not be released. The ruling comes as Israeli officials meet with representatives of the Hizbullah terrorist organization to negotiate the return of the kidnapped Israeli civilian Elchanan Tenenbaum and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers. Israel Defies All: Plans to Expand Settlements, Go Ahead with Wall Draw Criticism Palestine Media Center 10/4/2003 The US expressed its “disapproval” of plans Israel is making to build more than 600 new housing units in illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank in contravention of international law and the American-sponsored “roadmap” to peace in the Middle East. One day after Israel revealed plans to build 604 new homes in the illegal colonies of Betar Illit, Ma’aleh Adumim and Ariel, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher called the plans “detrimental to the peace process” and said all settlement activity was unhelpful because it stood as an obstacle to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Sharon to assist Qrei in fighting Hamas Palestinian Information Center 10/4/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Sources close to Zionist premier Ariel Sharon have said that he decided to aid the new Palestinian Authority government of Ahmed Qrei at its earlier stage. The Hebrew sources added that such assistance would include a temporary halt to military incursions into Palestinian areas and a conditional stop to assassination of Palestinian activists. Tennenbaum: businessman, spy or criminal? Daily Star 10/4/2003 Rumors swirl around looming swap -- Who is Elhanan Tennenbaum? Since the Israeli Air Force reservist colonel was abducted by Hizbullah in October 2000, Israel has claimed he is an innocent businessman who was snatched either in Europe or the Gulf. But it is gradually emerging that there may be more to Tennenbaum than meets the eye. Hizbullah’s secretary-general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, claimed in an Oct. 15, 2000, news conference that Tennenbaum was working for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and on a trip to Brussels had made contact with the party through a Lebanese mediator. As US Suggests Cuts of Loan Guarantees, Sincerity is Doubted International Middle East Media Center 10/4/2003 State department spokesman Richard Boucher called the Israeli decision to issue tenders to build additional 600 housing units in West bank Settlements as "detrimental to the peace process" and described settlement activities as "unhelpful" because it complicates the search for peace. Hinting for possible cuts in the loan guarantees, Boucher added "The United States will have to take the new settlement activity into account when it decides how much to deduct from the total of the $9 billion loans the United States has offered to guarantee on behalf of the Israeli government."...Doubting that the Americans are serious about cuts in the loan guarantees, critics claim the softening American stance can be described as an encouragement of Israeli "expansionist plans".

Human Rights..

Israel To Keep Palestinian Youths Off Al-Aqsa In Ramadan Islam Online 10/4/2003 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, October 4 (IslamOnline.net) - Israeli occupation authorities have forced scores of Palestinian youths living in occupied Jerusalem to sign written pledge not to pray inside Al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam most sacred sites, from now and until the end of the Muslims holy fasting month of Ramadan, to be observed as of late October. The Israeli intelligence, police and so-called border guards unleashed a wide-scale detention campaign last week in the occupied Arab Eastern Jerusalem and the its outskirts, detaining a large number of Palestinians, particularly those who visit Al-Aqsa mosque on regular basis. Yet *another* lockdown, Jenin Palestine Monitor 9/28/2003 As of this morning, Jenin is, yet again, locked down tight by the Israeli army. As far as we can tell, the army isn’t actually doing anything. The tricky thing about these lockdowns is that they’re even more disruptive than their duration would indicate. That the whole town is frequently paralyzed is bad enough, but the worst part is that the timing is impossible to predict. It’s incredibly hard to carry on the regular business of life, or develop civil society, in such circumstances. Even our little ISM team has failed miserably to prepare for the upcoming Olive Harvest campaign, on which may depend the very survival of a dozen villages in the Jenin area. Zionist doctors assist security men in torture practices Palestinian Information Center 10/4/2003 Gaza - “Israeli” doctors and other medical workers were assisting Zionist security apparatuses in torturing Palestinian prisoners, men, women and juveniles, the Gaza rights and laws center said. It issued a report on conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Zionist jails noting that “Israeli” doctors contrary to their humanitarian duties were not extending professional advice or objecting to maltreatment of those prisoners. In recent events, some see turn for better in Jewish-Arab relations JTA 10/3/2003 JERUSALEM, Oct. 3 (JTA) —Those looking for milestones in the fragile relations between the Jewish state and its Arab citizens might one day point to three events that took place in recent weeks. First, after years of haggling, the Israel Land Administration decided to give a plot to an Israeli Arab to build his home in the Jewish community of Katzir, northeast of Hadera. Until now, authorities had ignored a landmark 2000 ruling by the High Court of Justice forbidding discrimination against Arab citizens in allocating state land. But the land administration’s move sets a precedent: Arab families will be able to reside in Jewish communities on an equal basis with their Jewish neighbors....It’s too early to tell whether these two developments indicate real soul-searching by Israeli officials regarding the treatment of the country’s Arab minority. Palestinian five days old behind Zionist bars Palestinian Information Center 10/4/2003 Gaza - Palestinian newborns, unlike world babies, are born in Zionist occupation jails instead of hospitals and are met with sadness rather than happiness. A few days ago on 28th September 2003 the Palestinian female detainee, Manal Ghanem, gave birth to a baby boy ‘Noor’. Noor is the fifth child born to Manal, who was arrested six months ago at the start of her pregnancy, the international press center’s correspondent in Tulkarm reported. Foundation creates hope for Palestinian children Daily Star 10/4/2003 UK delegates ­ activists and stars ­ seek ways to bring opportunity, fun to refugee camps throughout region -- BEIRUT: Ten-year-old Silvana al-Abed shares the bed she sleeps on with two of her five sisters who, along with their parents and brother, live in a tiny house in the Palestinian Bourj al-Barajneh refugee camp in southern Beirut. They have no place to play except for the wretched narrow alleyways in the overcrowded camp that has some 20,000 refugees registered at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Economy..

IAI-India disagreements may delay Phalcon deal to 2004 Globes 10/2/2003 Israel Aircraft Industries and the Indian Air Force disagree over the platform for installing AWACS electronics and who will purchase the planes. -- It is quite doubtful whether Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and the India Ministry of Defense will sign the deal this year for the delivery of three Phalcon AWACS planes to the Indian Air Force. Reports from New Delhi reveal disagreements between IAI and IAI-Elta Electronics Industries, which is supplying the electronics systems, and the Indian Ministry of Defense. Netanyahu, Peretz to meet Saturday in new bid to end strike Ha'aretz 10/4/2003 Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and chairman of the Histadrut labor federation MK Amir Peretz are scheduled to meet again on Saturday evening, after the first high-level discussions since civil servants launched strike action earlier this week ended Friday afternoon with no results. Opposition leader Shimon Peres on Saturday called on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to intervene in the negotiations.

People..

Exhibition of rare photographs opens to much fanfare at Sursock Museum Daily Star 10/4/2003 Al-Quds al-Sharif portrays Jerusalem as it appeared to French priests in late 19th and early 20th centuries Looking at Jerusalem today, it’s easy to forget about peace and tranquillity. But when French priests saw the Holy City through their cameras at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, it was a place of powerful quiet. In between the ancient stone buildings, a stream of turban-clad figures flow through narrow cobblestone streets. Brief Summary of the Memorial Service for the Late Edward Said in Ramallah Palestine Monitor 9/30/2003 The service was jointly organized by the Mubbadara (Palestinian National Initiative) with the help and attendance of members of cultural organizations, and Edward Said’ s friends and admirers. On the stage, surrounded by a sea of tinny candle lights , a female Palestinian pianist played Edward’s favorite pieces. Also installed on the stage was a huge picture of a forceful Edward speaking from a podium placed under a real olive tree (olive trees have special symbolic meaning for Palestinians: enduring, lasting resilience, eternity). 'What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum?' Al-Ahram Weekly on-line 2 - 8 October 2003 Last Monday the funeral of the distinguished Arab-American scholar and passionate proponent of the Palestinian cause, Edward Said, was held at Riverside Church in uptown New York, not far from the Columbia University campus where he had taught until the end of his life. Earlier Said's family had announced that the service would be private, open only to family members and closest friends, but in the event the church was turned into the site of a large-scale pilgrimage, with many of the innumerable mourners present having travelled thousands of miles to pay their final respects to this unique figure. Poll: Most Palestinians support Arafat and Intifada Miftah 10/3/2003 JERUSALEM - Nearly three-quarters of Palestinians support their leader Yasser Arafat, and more than half favor the continuation of the intifada and suicide attacks, according to a poll published on Wednesday. A total of 73.7 percent said they support Arafat, 32.1 percent said their support for him is moderate, and 41.6 percent reported firmly supporting him, according to results of the poll by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) based in the West Bank town of Beit Sahur. About 21 percent said they do not support the Palestinian leader, and more than five percent were undecided.      Promontory in the infinite Al-Ahram Weekly on-line 2 - 8 October 2003 Creator, mentor, historical agent of justice: in these grieving tributes by his friends and admirers, some of the most prominent figures in the Arab world and beyond, Edward Said emerges as a man who defies description. A Palestinian who never lived in Palestine, an American alienated by the new world order, a citizen of the world whose devotion to Palestine never undermined his loyalty to humanity: Said conquered the Western academy only to become the proverbial father of the Palestine to come, complementing scholarly glory with direct engagement with the turmoil at hand. Arab poets, scholars, political commentators, and the Israeli Chief Conductor for Life of the Staatskapelle Berlin, recollect their inevitably enriching encounters with Said. Palestine Palestine in Paris Jerusalem Times 10/2/2003 Following the series of more than thirty documentary films, in which the French film director Dominiques Dobousch dealt with different humanitarian issues, the director heads to Palestine to stay five months, during which time he prepares his film ''Palestine Palestine' The film was recently performed in Paris amidst positive reactions and big welcome of the critics. The film deals with the Palestinian cause from a humanitarian side and talks about the real life of the Palestinian people under daily shelling, siege and martyrdom. It also talks about the simple dreams of the people in right of living like all people in the world. Mideast Film Festival will showcase regional talent Daily Star 10/4/2003 Visiting American director: ‘I’m not interested in Europe. Here, it’s so much more exotic’ -- It’s not at all a bad job to be a film director or an actress ­ once you’ve achieved a certain amount of fame, you get invited to film festivals all around the world to show your movies or to nominate the best films as a jury member. Todd Solondz knows this. The writer-director-actor of American independent films came all the way from New York to assist the selection process of the movies shown at the inaugural Mideast Film Festival that began in Beirut this week.

International..

EXCLUSIVE: ‘US Threatened to Downgrade Qatari Ties Over Al-Jazeera’ Arab News 10/4/2003 JEDDAH, 4 October 2003 — Al-Jazeera made the decision to pull two “anti-US” cartoons from its website last month under US pressure after an article appeared in a Kuwaiti newspaper quoting a US Gulf-based diplomat as saying that Congress had proposed to George W. Bush he should put “all possible pressure” on the Qatari government to close down the satellite station, Arab News has learned. The two cartoons were pulled “without any hesitation” from both the Arabic and English language websites after a US government official complained about them, Arab News reported yesterday, making a mockery of Al-Jazeera’s reputation for fiercely safeguarding its journalistic independence against outside pressure. Opposition MPs flay draft law on Palestinian home ownership Daily Star 10/4/2003 Harb: Move ‘contravenes the right of return’ -- The draft law submitted to Parliament on Wednesday proposing to amend the real estate law in favor of giving Palestinians the right to own homes may lead to national discord, according to opposition figures.On Wednesday, 10 MPs submitted the draft, which grants people without citizenship status from a recognized country the right to own residential apartments, a move that has created controversy and would positively affect Lebanon’s 340,000 Palestinian refugee community. The current apartment ownership law of April 2001 forbids people without citizenship from a recognized country to own real estate “in order to preserve the right to return,” which is a clause of the Taif Accord. Iran 'optimistic' after nuclear talks BBC 10/4/2003 A first phase of crucial talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has ended in Tehran, with the Iranians optimistic about the outcome. Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Akbar Salehi - who is in Tehran for the talks - told the BBC that agreement and mutual understanding had been reached on a plan of action to clarify the issues of concern to the agency. The aim, he said, was to speed up co-operation, so that all the questions the IAEA is asking could be dealt with as swiftly as possible. Judiciary delays questioning of Aoun Daily Star 10/4/2003 Beirut Chief Investigating Magistrate Hatem Madi on Friday postponed until Oct. 14 the scheduled questioning of exiled former army commander General Michel Aoun on charges of degrading the state and disrupting Lebanon’s relations with a “sisterly country” ­ Syria. Aoun, currently residing in France, is also accused of instigating sectarian strife, inciting infighting in the country and assuming the title of prime minister in his testimony before a US congressional subcommittee last month in support of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act. The act could lead to further US sanctions on Syria unless it ends its “occupation” of Lebanon and alleged support of “terrorism.” Hariri dismisses resignation rumors Daily Star 10/4/2003 PM says reports ‘not even worth denying’ -- Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has dismissed reports he is about to hand in his resignation because of growing disagreements with President Emile Lahoud. Speaking to An-Nahar, Hariri said that speculation about him tendering his resignation was not true. He told the newspaper that the matter was “not even worth denying” and described reports of his resignation as “mere dreams.” Arab flags over Detroit By Dina Ezzat, Al-Ahram Weekly on-line 2 - 8 October 2003 In the first conference of its kind, Arabs and Americans together scrutinised their dysfunctional relationship. -- Had it not been for an aggressive United States foreign policy statement by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, the first US- Arab Economic Forum that opened in Detroit on Sunday evening probably would have been a deceptively rosy view of relations between the US and the Arab world. The conference that opened on Sunday evening -- after almost two years of preparations -- was launched on an optimistic note with Arabs, Americans and Arab-Americans suggesting ideas and expressing enthusiasm for a fresh start towards a better relationship transcending the mutual stereotypes and misunderstandings that proliferated in the wake of 11 September.

ISM News

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