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Palestine Diaries

courtesy The Electronic Intifada

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Map of Israel's planned "security fence", adapted for clarity from Gush Shalom map. Gush Shalom notes: The Israeli government did not publish full, official maps of the wall. The path of the Eastern wall was compiled by the Land Research Center and the Palestinian Hydrology Group, based on expropriation orders issued to Palestinian land owners.

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Video Archives
Audio Archives

VIDEO
BBC:
Gap Between CIA
And Bush Stories
posted 10/9/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Region As
Unsettled As It's
Ever Been
10/9/02

VIDEO
BBC:
"No compromise
here"
posted 10/8/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Another Gaza
Attack
posted 10/6/02

VIDEO
BBC:
PA's Erekat: We
Need International
Protection Now
posted 10/6/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Khalil Shikaki, CPR:
'Chances slim for
negotiation'
posted 9/28/02

PHOTOS
Islam Online:
Arafat HQ
Destroyed
posted 9/25/02

PHOTOS
Islam Online:
Nine Palestinians Killed In Gaza
posted 9/24/02

VIDEO
Konscious:
Metal of Dishonor
The Face of US
War on Iraq
posted 9/18/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Sabra & Shatila
Is Sharon A
War Criminal?
posted 9/13/02

VIDEO
CBC:
Israeli
Army Was
Embarrassed
By Release
of Video
released 3/18/02
posted 9/6/02

Video Archives

Conflict..

IOF Wounds Two in Nablus, Flattens At Least 11 Houses in Rafah International Press Center 10/7/2003 Nablus, Oct 7, 2003, (IPC+Agencies)-- Two Palestinians were wounded in Nablus, a wide scale of arrest campaign in Jenin, and Israeli bulldozer continued demolishing houses in Rafah. Israeli occupation forces have stormed Monday overnight Beit Foureek town, east of Nablus and gunned and wounded two Palestinian citizens, IPC said....In Rafah city of Gaza strip, Palestinian security sources said that the Israeli armored bulldozers flattened to earth 11 Palestinian houses and razed vast area of arable lands at the early hour of Tuesday dawn in Rafah city, south of Gaza strip...Meanwhile, the Israeli bulldozer escorted by the Israeli soldiers had razed tens of arable dunums of potatoes, cucumber and fruitful trees plus, the destruction of a number of green houses particularly, in the area stretching from Salah Al Din main road, east to the illegal Jewish settlement of “Morag” settlement north of Rafah city.      Lebanese child killed near Israeli border Al-Jazeera 10/7/2003 A Lebanese boy was killed when a missile slammed into a house in a south Lebanon border town near Israel. The missile hit the home of Kamil Yasin in the southern town of Hula early on Tuesday, killing the owner's grandchild, said security sources. The dead boy's eight-year-old brother was also injured. The origin of the projectile is still unclear. But witnesses said an Israeli warplane was seen hovering over the border area after it struck.  Soldier killed by Lebanon sniper Ha'aretz 10/7/2003 An Israeli soldier was killed yesterday near Metula by a sniper's bullet fired from Lebanon. No organization claimed responsibility for the incident, but IDF sources said it may have been carried out by Hezbollah in retaliation to the strike this weekend on a Syrian site, which Israel says is a terrorist training camp. Israeli Fire Hits Civilian Bus Across Lebanese Border Arab News 10/7/2003 KFAR KILA, Lebanon, 7 October 2003 — Israeli troops in the disputed area of Shebaa in southern Lebanon shelled yesterday the hills of the village of Kfar Chouba, Lebanese police said. According to police sources, shrapnel hit a civilian bus near Kfar Kila, at the Lebanese-Israeli border. There was no immediate word on injuries or damage, the sources said. About five shells are believed to have fallen on the outskirts of Kfar Chouba, at the edge of the border with Israel. “There was no justification for the Israeli shelling on the Lebanese areas because no guerrilla activity were registered,” police sources said. Gunfire Duels, Air Strikes Ignite Lebanon-Israel Border An Nahar 10/7/2003 Gunfire duels raged across the Lebanon-Israel border from sundown Monday to sunrise Tuesday, killing an Israeli soldier and a 4-year-old Lebanese boy in what the Israeli army called a "huge flare-up" for which Lebanon and Syria will be made to pay.Thousands of Jewish settlers spent the night in underground bomb shelters as staccato bursts of machine-gun fire interspersed by sporadic mortar rounds targeted the northern Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona, while Israeli helicopter gunships rocketed the Lebanese town of Kfar Kila. Israeli forces re-invade Jenin Al-Jazeera 10/7/2003 Israeli occupation troops have stormed the West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp. Soldiers invaded the city early on Tuesday, slapping a blanket curfew on the population for the third consecutive day, reported our correspondent. Occupation forces raided civilian homes, particularly near Haifa bomber Hanadi Jaradat’s house.  Israeli occupation army reinvades Jenin, terrorizes civilians Palestinian Information Center 10/7/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Israeli occupation troops, backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, invaded the northern West Bank Palestinian town of Jeinin Tuesday, terrorizing civilians and slapping a blanket curfew on the town’s 80,000 inhabitants. Eyewitnesses said troops raided civilian homes, beating up occupants and vandalizing their furniture and home appliances. Palestinian resistance elements engage Zionist unit Palestinian Information Center 10/7/2003 Ramallah - Palestinian security sources said that Palestinian resistance elements confronted at dawn today a Zionist army unit that was advancing into the center of Ramallah city. The sources said that a number of military patrols advanced at 5 am today into the city center where Palestinian armed men opened machinegun fire to check their advance shooting at the occupation soldiers in the process. BREAKING NEWS: IOF Raids Salfeet, Bethlehem Schools International Press Center 10/7/2003 12:00-- Israeli occupying force storms Kafer Al Deek town of Salfeet town and launches house to house search, Eyewitnesses said... Hizbullah Says Sharon Won't Laugh Last in War An Nahar 10/7/2003 Hizbullah said Israel's weekend attack on Syria left the region open to all options, including a fourth Arab-Israeli war, because it signaled the removal of all "redlines" that have kept the conflict between the antagonists under control since 1973. The group's deputy secretary-general, Naim Qassem, said while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "may laugh first, he will not be the one to laugh best or last" in the event of a new military conflagration. Three Israeli generations torn apart BBC 10/7/2003 In one lethal moment that transformed a relaxed beachside restaurant in Haifa into a scene of devastation, two Israeli families each lost three generations. The suicide bomb attack on Saturday, dubbed the "Slaughter of Families", which saw grandparents murdered alongside their children and grandchildren has sent shockwaves throughout Israel, a country used to violence. Mofaz approves limited reserve call-up due to terror alerts Ha'aretz 10/7/2003 Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz approved on Tuesday a limited call-up of Israel Defense Forces reserve soldiers due to a large amount of terror alerts and the urgent need to tighten security along the seam-line boundary with the West Bank. The approval is not an immediate step, and will be implemented by security officials. The call-up will involve a relatively small number of reservists, who will help prevent the unmonitored movement of Palestinians from the West Bank into Israel. Israel Threatens Syria with Further Attacks International Middle East Media Center 10/7/2003 Israel declared a state of high alert on the northern borders and warned that if Syria “fails to grasp the message conveyed, it will be a target for further attacks,” threatening serious escalation. Sergeant David Solomon, 21, was killed Monday by gunmen who opened fire at troops on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon borders, close to Metula. Arabs' Fear: A New Crisis to Add to a Troubled List New York Times 10/7/2003 BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 6 — Behind a seemingly calm facade, with Damascus toothless to respond militarily to the deepest Israeli air raid in Syria in three decades, the Arab world was reeling Monday from the idea that yet a third major conflict could erupt in the Middle East. Already, the region is traumatized by the open wound that Israeli-Palestinian clashes have become and by an American-occupied Iraq teetering on the brink of bedlam. Syria seals off air strike site BBC 10/7/2003 The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Damascus tried to visit the scene of Sunday's Israeli air attack inside Syria, but was refused entry by the Syrian authorities. The paved side road leading from the Ein Saheb village down to the narrow green valley or wadi was blocked by a lone policeman on his white motorbike. Without saying a word, he simply put up his hand making it clear that access to the wadi at the end of the road was not an option. Syrian Public Outrage Over Attack Common Dreams 10/7/2003 Many ordinary Syrians have voiced their anger over Israel's air strike near Damascus, with some calling for reprisals and others enraged by US reaction. The raid, Israel's deepest into Syria since the 1973 Middle East war, was a violent shock. One taxi driver, Mahir Awad, echoed others around him who hoped for a military response on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the war.Awad said: “I couldn't believe my ears when I heard. I wish I was there with a shotgun in my hand.” A university student, Jamal, said he hoped the government would send its own air force “to show them what Syrians can do”. Background / Israel's new dread: Spreading war to Syria Ha'aretz 10/7/2003 ...as they marked the 30th anniversary of the most emotionally devastating war in their history, Israelis emerged from the solemnYom Kippur fast with a new fear on the horizon: the prospect that the actions of their own government could drastically widen an already unbearable war....Sharon's deputy prime minister, Ehud Olmert, hinted darkly Tuesday that Israel had coordinated with its ally Washington further steps against Damascus "in spheres to which Syria would be well advised to listen." There was no longer just cause to retaliate in "proportional responses," Olmert stressed, saying that no reprisal was proportional to the murder in cold blood of 19 innocent people, including children and babies. Israel would no longer be limited in its responses, he said.

Diplomacy..

Syrian president accuses Israel of warmongering The Guardian 10/7/2003 The Syrian president, Bashar Assad, today accused the Israeli government of attempting to provoke a war when it sent fighter planes to bomb a purported terrorist camp near Damascus on Sunday. In his first comments to the media since Israeli bombers struck Syrian territory for the first time in 20 years, Mr Assad told the pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat that the attack was "an attempt by the Israeli government to extract itself from its big crisis by trying to terrorise Syria and drag it and the region into other wars". "This [Israeli] government is one of war, and war is the justification for its existence," he said. Syria Could Accept Reasonable Amendments To Avoid U.S. Veto Blocking Condemnation Al-Hayat 10/7/2003 Syria implied yesterday that it could consider "reasonable amendments" to the draft resolution adopted by the Arab Group and presented to the Security Council, in condemnation of the Israeli aggression on its territories. In parallel to worldwide condemnations, with the exception of the U.S., the tension along the Lebanese-Israeli border escalated last night as fire was exchanged with the Israeli army in the settlement of Metulla. Bush gives Israel carte blanche for ‘self-defense’ Daily Star 10/7/2003 But sharon urged to ‘avoid escalation … and higher tensions -- US President George W. Bush said Monday Israel “must not feel constrained” in defending itself from militants but that its prime minister, Ariel Sharon, should nonetheless avoid inflaming Middle East tensions. In his first public remarks about an Israeli air strike on an alleged Palestinian militant training camp deep inside Syria, Bush also said Palestinians must use “whatever means” necessary to quell anti-Israeli attacks. His statement coincided with an incident on the Lebanese-Israeli border that fueled tensions. Israeli soldiers fired automatic rifles into south Lebanon before sunset Monday, according to Lebanese and UN officials. An Israeli Army spokesman, however, denied that soldiers fired across the border. Bush: U.S. would have acted same way as Israel did in Syria Ha'aretz 10/7/2003 United States President George W. Bush on Tuesday stiffened his insistence that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has the right to defend Israel even as Sharon vowed to attack Israel's enemies anywhere it wants. Buoyed by U.S. backing, Sharon said on Tuesday Israel will hit its enemies "any place and in any way" after Israel struck what it called a terrorist camp in Syria to retaliate for a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed 19 people in Haifa on Saturday. "The decisions that he makes to defend her people are valid decisions. We would be doing the same thing," Bush told reporters when asked about Sharon's remarks. PM: Be ready for war at all times Ha'aretz 10/7/2003 One of the lessons Israel has learned from the Yom Kippur War is that the country must be prepared for war at all times, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday at the main memorial service marking the 30th anniversary of the war. "We must constantly develop and improve the decisive advantage... both in the spirit of the fighters and in the tools of war, as though the next war is around the corner," Sharon said at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem. Qureia Tries Cease-fire Path International Middle East Media Center 10/7/2003 Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia told Associated Press on Monday that he plans for a quick push to reach a truce with Israel, but that he would not put pressure on resistance groups. Qureia said, “we are ready, beginning tomorrow, to sit with Israelis to discuss reaching a comprehensive cease-fire.” Qureia hopes that a truce agreement with Israel will be able to bring Hamas and Islamic Jihad on board for negotiations. U.S. defence of Israel hurts its Iraq resolution at UN Canada.com 10/7/2003 UNITED NATIONS - The United States faced new obstacles to securing UN help in Iraq yesterday after George W. Bush, the U.S. President, refused to criticize Israel for its weekend attack inside Syria. Diplomats in the UN Security Council said Washington would now have a "much harder" time trying to get a resolution that would open the way for new contributions of cash and troops in Iraq. Syria is using its position on the Security Council to push fellow members to pass a separate resolution that would condemn Israel for the attack. Analysis: Sharon's calculation BBC 10/7/2003 Ariel Sharon's message is clear. At a memorial service held to mark the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war, Israel's prime minister said his country was ready to hit its enemies any place and any way. Senior political sources here stress that Israel is now prepared to carry out further strikes beyond its borders. When taking decisions, the Sharon administration always bears in mind two vital factors: will the Israeli public approve and will Washington object?  Israeli threats raise regional tensions Al-Jazeera 10/7/2003 Israel has vowed to strike its enemies at will amid a flare-up on its border with Lebanon after its deepest air attack into Syria since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Tuesday his country was ready to “hit its enemies any place, any way”, two days after attacking an alleged Islamic Jihad training camp near Damascus. Analysis: Discreet US warning to Syria BBC 10/7/2003 If the US administration was embarrassed by Israel's air strike on Syria, it didn't show it. George W Bush was quick to repeat his standard line that follows atrocities against Israeli civilians, complete with his customary contradictory caveat. Mr Bush said Israel had the right to defend itself and should not be constrained from doing so; at the same time, Israel should avoid escalating tension in the region....Syria is one step away from being added to the list of countries that form President Bush's axis of evil, the Washington hawks warn. Back Abdullah’s Peace Plan: Schroeder Arab News 10/7/2003 RIYADH, 7 October 2003 — German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder pledged to work with “key countries” of the Middle East to find a political solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. “We share your concern about the situation in the Middle East,” Schroeder told a press conference here yesterday at the close of a two-day visit to the Kingdom. “However, the conflict can’t be settled militarily but only through political means.” He praised Riyadh’s initiative which offered Israel full ties with the Arab world in exchange for a full withdrawal from territory occupied since1967, adding that the road map offered an appropriate framework to work out the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Cabinet Denounces Attack on Syria Arab News 10/7/2003 JEDDAH, 7 October 2003 — Saudi Arabia yesterday called for an unequivocal commitment to remove weapons of mass destruction and urged all countries to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Addressing the weekly Cabinet meeting, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd said Israel’s refusal to join the NPT posed a big threat to world security. King Fahd reiterated Riyadh’s support for international efforts to remove WMD from the Middle East region. Sharon accused of ‘exporting troubles’ Daily Star 10/7/2003 Hizbullah: Jewish state’s air raid on syria reflects intifada woes -- The Israeli raid on a reported Palestinian camp inside Syria was strongly condemned on Tuesday by several Lebanese politicians and parties who interpreted it as a departure from Israel’s traditional stance. Hizbullah described Monday’s raid as a “very serious violation that exceeded all red lines and broke the rules of the almost three-decade-old conflict.” The party stressed that the incident “pushed the entire area into the unknown and highlighted the Israeli regime’s intifada-related troubles.”  Chen Arad: Report shows recent signs of life from Ron Ara Ha'aretz 10/7/2003 Chen Arad, the brother of missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad, said at a press conference Tuesday that Israel had received signs of life from the airman within the last few years. The Arad family had called the press conference to present its reaction to the Vinograd report, a redacted version of which the High Court of Justice compelled the government to hand over to Ron Arad's brothers last week which details the airman's case over the 17 years since his capture. Qorei tries to reach ceasefire with Israel Middle East Online 10/7/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank - New Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei said Tuesday he would make the pursuit of a mutual ceasefire with Israel his government's main goal as his cabinet was due to meet here for the first time. Asked about the top priorities of his new cabinet, Qorei : "Trying to reach a mutual ceasefire with the Israeli side." And he told the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyman he was ready to start "negotiating today" with Israel as he expressed his readiness to sit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. British Jewish MP tell Palestinian leaders “Israeli behavior are an abomination” Palestinian Information Center 10/7/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Palestinian officials on Tuesday met with British Jewish Member of Parliament Gerald Kaufman in Ramallah, asking him to press British Prime Minister Tony Blair to fulfill his promise, made prior to the Anglo-American war on Iraq in Spring, to force Israel to end its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Assad Says Air Strike Will Enhance Syria The Guardian 10/7/2003 CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The Israeli air strike in Syrian territory will enhance his country's role in the Middle East, not diminish it as sought by Israel, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in remarks published Tuesday. In his first comments to the media since Israeli fighter-bombers struck Syrian territory on Sunday for the first time in 20 years, Assad told the pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat that the attack was an attempt to provoke war because Israel is led by a ``government of war'' that employs war to ``justify its existence.'' Sharon: Israel Will Strike at Enemies The Guardian 10/7/2003 JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in his first public comments since an Israeli air strike against Syria, said Tuesday that his nation would not hesitate to strike at its enemies wherever they were. Sharon's statement came two days after Israeli warplanes bombed a suspected Islamic Jihad training base outside the Syrian capital of Damascus in the first major Israeli attack on Syrian soil in three decades. That bombing was in retaliation for an Islamic Jihad suicide bombing Saturday that killed 19 people in a restaurant in Haifa.      Assad Faces First Test As Syria's Leader The Guardian 10/7/2003 DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Israel's bombing of a purported militant camp close to the Syrian capital is President Bashar Assad's first real test since he took office in 2000. His options are limited, analysts say, and so far he has chosen a diplomatic response. Assad said in comments published Tuesday that although Syria is not a superpower, ``we're not a country without cards ... We are not a state that can be ignored in the issues under discussion.'' EU Presidency statement on the situation in the Middle East ReliefWeb 10/7/2003 The Presidency of the European Union expressed her strongest concern over the upsurge of violence in the Middle East. While holding firm Israel's right to defend itself from terrorism - as underlined by the Quartet during its September 26 New York meeting - it must be recognised that, unfortunately, Israeli military action on Syrian territory makes the prospects of dialogue in the region more difficult.

Human Rights..

Manhunts in the streets of Jerusalem Ha'aretz 10/7/2003 A genuine manhunt has been underway in recent weeks in the center of the city and in the seam area between East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Border Patrol troops concentrate suspects in courtyards and empty lots, and they are interrogated, oftenaccompanied by beatings and deliberately humiliating abuse. -- "Shabah" (Shohe Bilti Huki) means illegally present, and is the term used by official Israel to describe Palestinians from the territories who move into Israel without legal permits. They are usually West Bankers, not Gazans, because the fence around Gaza prevents easy movement out. The West Bankers who make their way into Israel without permits are nearly always day laborers looking for work. The defense establishment conducts a constant manhunt for them and in the middle of last week, for example, reported that 1,200 were arrested in the Sharon area in or near the seam area, meaning the area just west of the Green Line. Israeli Occupying Forces Continue Internal and External Closure of Gaza Strip Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 10/7/2003 Israeli Occupation Forces are continuing the third day of total internal and external closure of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces have used this period to perpetrate additional violations of international humanitarian and human rights law against the Palestinian civilian population in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli Occupying Forces imposed a total internal and external closure on the Gaza Strip from early morning on Sunday, 5 October 2003. All main internal roads were closed, segregating the Gaza Strip into four isolated zones, in addition to all external access routes to Israel and Egypt... 2 Palestinians, including a child, killed in Israeli assassination attack in Tulkarm refugee camp Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 10/5/2003 PCHR strongly condemns the extra-judicial assassination carried out by Israeli occupying forces in Tulkarm in the West Bank, on Saturday, 4 October 2003. The attack left dead a member of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah, as well as a 9-year-old child. PCHR is deeply concerned about the ongoing escalation of human rights violations perpetrated by Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), particularly the policy of extra-judicial assassinations officially adopted by the Israeli government. PCHR expresses further concerns that Israeli occupying forces may escalate assassination attempts in the coming days and calls upon the international community to intervene and fulfill its obligations to prevent these actions. Regional experts continue discussions on child labour Jordan Times 10/7/2003 AMMAN — When working boys and girls are sexually assaulted, bullied by their peers and treated as social rejects, their road to recovery and social reintegration, even under the hands of professionals, is no easy task. Drawing upon the bitter realities of working children in their home countries, regional experts continued on Monday their discussions on the fate of thousands of vulnerable children labouring to survive.

Economy..

Sharon weighs back-to-work orders at ports Ha'aretz 10/7/2003 In an unprecedented step in Israeli labor relations, the government may issue emergency back-to-work orders to striking port workers and customs agents at Ben-Gurion International Airport, if the present deadlock in negotiations between labor union representatives and government officials persists. The decision, taken by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Transport Minister Avigdor Leiberman at a meeting at Sharon's ranch on Sunday, was to go into effect if representatives of the Histadrut labor federation refused to return to the negotiating table later on Sunday before the beginning of Yom Kippur, or at the conclusion of the holiday. IAF to buy more Apaches for $220m Globes 10/7/2003 Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz advisor Yitzhak Ben-Yisrael: The Apache is a waste of money. The Iraq War proved it is vulnerable and therefore of limited use. -- "Defense News" reports in its latest issue that the Israel Air Force (IAF) plans to buy more AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters for $220 million. The procurement is in addition to the Apache Longbows Israel has already ordered. Deliveries will begin in 2005. Boeing (NYSE:BA) manufactures the Apache at its Arizona plant.   French judge: Indict Leumi France on money laundering Globes 10/7/2003 The French public prosecutor may appeal the decision made by Investigating Judge Isabelle Prevost Desprez. -- French Investigating Judge Isabelle Prevost Desprez last week ordered eight French banks, including Banque Leumi France, to be indicted on serious money laundering charges. The decision follows months of investigations into alleged irregularities in connection with transactions between France and Israel....The affair was uncovered over a year ago, as part of a suspected money-laundering scheme that originated in Israel. IAI red-faced: Missiles found in New Delhi home Globes 10/7/2003 Air-to-air missiles were seized at the house of an Indian Air Force authorized transport agent. -- Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) manufactured missiles were seized in a private house in New Delhi and confiscated by the Indian Police. The missiles were part of a consignment to the Indian Air Force, and were apparently to [be] used in tests. The incident occurred on September 17. Reports from New Delhi claim the missiles arrived in India in a specially chartered plane. 72,000 fewer foreign workers in past year Globes 10/7/2003 30,600 legal and 41,000 illegal foreign workers left Israel in July 2002-August 2003. The number of legal foreign workers in construction plummeted 58%. -- The departure of foreign workers from Israel is continuing, due to stricter policies by the immigration police and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, and the continuing terrorist attacks. Knesset to debate ports reform bill Thursday Globes 10/7/2003 Minister of Transport Avigdor Lieberman: We don’t have to accept the agreement signed with the workers in 2001. -- The ports strike entered its second week today, with 50 ships waiting inside and outside the ports for handling. The dispute between the Ministry of Finance and the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) escalated today, following the breakdown in negotiations and mutual recriminations between Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu and Histradrut chairman MK Amir Perez (One Nation).

People..

What's law got to do with it? Electronic Intifada/Bassaleh News Network 10/5/2003 Following in the gender-bending footsteps of Israel's award-winning pop diva, Dana International, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will don a full Tina Turner wig, a black suede miniskirt, and fishnet stockings to perform a new twist on a 1980s hit song at next year's EuroVision contest. In the intro to a new rock video featuring Sharon in drag, the hardline PM gushes with gratitude, saying: "I'd like to dedicate this ballad to the leaders of all those states that refused to sign the Rome Treaty establishing the International Criminal Court, and to all those High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions who continue to grant the Israeli Defense Forces a free pass to smash the hell out of International Humanitarian Law in the Occupied Terroritories... A bus named `mehadrin' Ha'aretz 10/7/2003 Egged introduced a bus line in Beit Shemesh with separate seating for men and women, and the ultra-Orthodox protested with support from competing bus companies -- Recent weeks have seen a stubborn battle over this private line on the Jerusalem-Beit Shemesh route between Egged, the country's largest bus company, and the residents of the Haredi section in Ramat Beit Shemesh, who benefit from the mehadrin line. Most of them belong to the two extreme groups in the Haredi community, the Eda Haharedit and Toldot Aharon. The struggle prompted dozens of Haredis to take to the streets in violent demonstrations in September.

International..

Zionist settler joins Iraqi to promote trade The Guardian 10/7/2003 Chalabi's nephew and US lawyer turned rightwing Israeli activist offer help and advice on doing business with Baghdad -- An ultra-Zionist Israeli settler has joined forces with the nephew of the Iraqi leader Ahmad Chalabi to promote investment in Iraq. The venture - which has excellent connections with the Pentagon and the new Iraqi government - is the first joint Israeli-Iraqi business project publicly documented since the fall of Saddam Hussein. In Iraq, where there has been much unconfirmed speculation about Israeli business involvement, news of the controversial partnership is likely to fuel suspicions.  FBI 'offered money to Hamas' BBC 10/7/2003 The FBI secretly funnelled thousands of dollars to Palestinian militant group Hamas during the Clinton era in a bid to track terror funds, it has emerged. But the sting failed when the Americans' key player, Arizona businessman and Muslim convert Harry Ellen, fell out with his handlers, the Associated Press news agency reported. Admirers of Mr Ellen have accused the FBI of squandering a valuable chance to infiltrate Palestinian organisations. "If Americans Knew" advocacy group receives death threats Electronic Intifada 10/5/2003 After a 2 October 2003 debate on "How to can peace be achieved between Israelis and Palestinians," a local woman and her organization received a voice mail message saying: "Don't be in your office Monday at 2 pm. Me and my buddies, trained by the Israeli army, are going to come in and kill you." The caller went on to say, "This is no joke. We're going to kill every one of you. Close down your organization." The recipient of the threat is Alison Weir, who speaks widely on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. She is executive director of If Americans Knew, a nonprofit organization known for providing information on the Middle East. New York State bestows $20m New Year's greeting on Israel Globes 10/7/2003 The New York State Common Retirement Fund has invested in Israel bonds. -- On the eve of the Jewish New Year, New York State comptroller Alan G. Hevesi conveyed official greetings to the State of Israel, accompanied by a $20 million check. Assad Takes Neutral Stance on Lahoud-Hariri Power Struggle An Nahar 10/7/2003 President Assad of Syria has taken a neutral stance on the power struggle between Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud and Premier Rafik Hariri, saying the establishment of 'institutional' relations between the two bickering top executives would bring their quarrels to an end. In a wide-ranging interview splashed across Al Hayat's page-one Tuesday, Assad was asked about the qualifications Syria wishes to see in the new president of Lebanon after Lahoud's 6-year term expires in November of 2004. Taif stressed sovereignty, but reality has yet to match rhetoric Daily Star 10/7/2003 The fact that the terms “independence” and “sovereignty” are among the most frequently repeated in the Taif Accord is not surprising. After all, the whole raison d’etre behind the National Reconciliation Document was to put an end to what many would term “a war of the others” on Lebanese territory. “Lebanon is a sovereign, free and independent country,” reads the first sentence of the document. “Syria, which is eager for Lebanon’s security, independence and unity and for harmony among its citizens, should not permit any act that poses a threat to Lebanon’s security, independence and sovereignty,” the last sentence reads....But if the text underscored the principles of sovereignty and freedom, at least in form, reality leaves much to wish for.  Lebanon to rank among ‘very corrupt’ states Daily Star 10/7/2003 Poll results could damage investment -- Lebanon will rank as one of the “very corrupt” countries in the world and “one of the most corrupt” in the Arab region, when Transparency International releases its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) Tuesday. According to sources who have revealed the information to The Daily Star, “Lebanon will rank in the lower half of the index and even in the lower half among Arab countries." Pentagon Selling Bioweapons Tools Military.com 10/7/2003 The Pentagon could inadvertently be providing terrorists with special equipment that would enable them to make biological weapons, according to a draft report from the General Accounting Office obtained by ABCNEWS. According to the report, which is due to be released Tuesday, Congress ordered the GAO -- its investigative arm -- to set up a phony company to see how easy it would be to buy surplus lab equipment from the Pentagon. Using fake names, GAO investigators went to a Web site that sells Pentagon surplus and ordered items needed to produce bacteriological weapons, including evaporators, centrifuges, bacteriological incubators amd protective clothing. In its report, the GAO found that the "Department of Defense has not attempted to determine who is buying excess biological equipment or how these items were being used."  American Muslim Convert Stabbed, Called ‘Terrorist Pig’ Islam Online 10/7/2003 WASHINGTON, October 7 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – In a new "Islamophobic attacks" – on the rise since the 9-11 attacks, a U.S. convert wearing hijab was stabbed in Virginia by a White male teenager shouting "you terrorist pig," before running away, said the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Tuesday, October 7. Egypt frees 2,277 prisoners Jordan Times 10/7/2003 CAIRO (AFP) — Some 300 militants who had renounced violence and nearly 2,000 other inmates walked free Monday from Egyptian prisons under an amnesty marking the anniversary of the 1973 war with Israel, official sources said....With the 300 Islamists on Monday, a total of 1,000 militants have been released in the last week, including Karam Zohdi, who was imprisoned for approving and helping to plot Sadat's murder 22 years ago on Monday, police said. Meanwhile, 1,977 common criminals who had served half of their sentences were also freed Monday under the amnesty, Egypt's state-run news agency MENA said. Zionist entity informed USA with raid beforehand Palestinian Information Center 10/7/2003 Riyadh - A Saudi daily has quoted well-informed sources in Washington as saying that Tel Aviv had informed Washington of the planned raid on Syria one hour before the actual aerial attack took place. Iran May Assist With Reconstruction in Iraq Sala@m.co.uk/Los Angeles Times 10/4/2003 WASHINGTON — Despite a quarter-century of tension with Iran, the United States has reached out to the Islamic Republic for help in the postwar reconstruction of Iraq — and is getting it, according to U.S. and Iranian officials. Iran will participate in an international donors conference this month in Madrid, and may end up as one of the few aid contributors. It is already offering to provide water, electricity and technical assistance to Iraq, a top Iranian diplomat said Friday. He said his government was prepared to pledge additional aid, although probably not cash. US and Iran in secret peace talks The Observer 10/5/2003 Secret 'back-door' diplomacy involving some of the Middle East's most influential figures has led to unexpected signals of a rapprochement between America and Iran despite angry public rhetoric on both sides. Tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high, particularly over the question of Iran's nuclear programme and alleged attempts to destabilise the US occupation in Iraq, but a tentative dialogue has been established.

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