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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..

Black Monday in Gaza International Middle East Media Center 10/21/2003 Around 10:30 P.M. Monday, army Apaches fired once more a missile at the same home that was attacked in the morning hours, recording the 5th attack on Gaza city in less than 12 hours. Medical sources reported that 10 residents were wounded in the attack. An hour earlier, Jet fighters launched an attack inside Nuseirat refugee camp, killing 9 residents and wounding more than 50 others. Army sources claimed that the attack targeted a car whose passengers fled away after two of them were killed by army fire as they attempted to infiltrate into Nahal Oz settlement. At least 12 dead, scores hurt in strikes on Gaza Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 Five separate air strikes in the Gaza Strip yesterday left at least 10 Palestinians dead, including at least four Hamas men, and dozens wounded, as first an F-16 fighter jet and then helicopter warships launched missiles at targets in the Gaza City area. Late last night, helicopters struck in the Nusseirat refugee camp, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 70, witnesses said. Missiles hit a car owned by Imad Akel, a senior member of the Hamas military wing and carrying several of his entourage. But according to witnesses, the first missile did not kill all the occupants of the car and as they escaped, more missiles struck the main street in Nusseirat, a densely populated refugee camp. In that second round, many bystanders were hit. Israeli Jetfighters Slaughter Ten Palestinians, Wound Dozens, Including Children International Press Center 10/21/2003 GAZA, Palestine, Oct 21, 2003, (IPC+Agencies)-- Israeli jetfighters raided Sunday on several parts of Gaza Strip, killing 10 Palestinians and at least one hundred were wounded several of them critically. At 9:21 PM. Israeli warplanes and helicopters pounded a Palestinian vehicle killing seven Palestinian civilians and wounded dozens, several critically, in the mid-Gaza Strip refugee camp of Nuseirat, Palestinian medical and security sources said....139 citizens, including women and children were wounded during the Israeli raid on Nusairat, Palestinian official sources said in an official statement published by Palestine News Agency (WAFA)....Shortly after, the paramedics, and citizens, have rushed to the scene of the crime to help the victims, the Israeli jetfighters once again fired one missile towards the teeming crowds of the citizens, killing seven Palestinians and wounding more than 90 civilians, witnesses told IPC. Massive IOF Invasions, Attacks on Freedom of Press in West Bank Cities International Press Center 10/21/2003 RAMALLAH, Palestine, October 21, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - Dozens of Israeli military vehicles and troops invaded evening today several major cities in the West Bank and their surrounding towns and villages, imposing tight curfews and isolating them completely. Nearly 40 military vehicles loaded with IOF troops overrun the city of the Ramallah and the nearby town of El Bireh, and imposed tight curfew on both of them. Several Palestinian citizens were stranded in some areas, unable to leave their positions, as the Israeli soldiers opened fire at any moving thing, IPC correspondent said. Meanwhile, IOF broke into several news agencies and TV channels' offices in the city, and prevented their journalists and camera crews from leaving or moving around the city. Doctor killed as he helps wounded Al-Jazeera 10/21/2003 Doctor Zain Shahin's first reaction to the Israeli air strike on Monday, near the clinic where he worked, was to rush out to treat the wounded. It cost him his life. Witnesses said the Palestinian doctor rushed to help the wounded lying around a car struck by a missile. But he himself was hit by shrapnel when a second missile slammed into a crowd of people who had also come to see who they could save. Palestinians: IDF surrounding mosque in Ramallah Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 Israel Defense Forces troops were surrounding a mosque in central Ramallah and imposed a curfew on the West Bank city, Israel Radio quoted Palestinian sources as saying Tuesday evening. Palestinian sources said that IDF jeeps and APCs entered Ramallah. It was not clear who was in the mosque and why the troops were surrounding it. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera television reported that troops were searching its offices in Ramallah. Palestinians Mourners Cry for Revenge The Guardian 10/21/2003 NUSSEIRAT REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip (AP) - The flag-wrapped bodies of seven Palestinians killed in an Israeli missile strike were carried through this shantytown Tuesday, with tens of thousands of mourners clamoring for revenge. The seven, ranging in age from 11 to 49, were bystanders who crowded around a car after it was targeted by a missile then were killed when a second and third missile hit, Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli military said it believed three of the dead were militants in the car. However, the vehicle did not take a direct hit, and witnesses said the wanted men escaped. Occupation authorities arrest 17 Palestinians in the West Bank overnight Palestinian Information Center 10/21/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Zionist occupation forces arrested lat night and at dawn today 17 Palestinians in various West Bank areas at the pretext of affiliation with resistance factions. Reliable Palestinian sources, however, said that the number of the arrested Palestinians was much bigger than that. The Zionist sources said that the army soldiers arrested three citizens in Deir Qadis village at the pretext of affiliation with the Hamas Movement. Palestinians in Rafah try to pick up life after Israeli army leaves Xinhua RAFAH, Oct 21, 2003 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Soon after the Israeli army left Al- Barazil neighborhood in Rafah two days ago, hundreds of Palestinians rushed back in an attempt to find their houses or at least what is left of them. Palestinian maintenance workers and technicians started their workday earlier than usual in order to repair the damage caused by the Israeli army to the neighborhood's infrastructure as quickly as possible. But their tasks seemed gigantic, as all water and sewage pipes, sanitation, electricity and telephone networks were destroyed or damaged. The streets of the neighborhood resembled battle fields. Rafah mayor speaks about losses Palestinian Information Center 10/21/2003 Rafah - Saeed Fathi Zu'rob, mayor of the Rafah city, has said that 271 martyrs fell in his city since eruption of the Aqsa intifada more than three years ago including more than 70 children less than 18 years old. The mayor, in a press interview with the Palestinian newspaper 'Al-Haya Al-Jadida, said that about 3,000 citizens were wounded in the same period including 120 disabled. Workers damage Byzantine archaeological site while building Jerusalem security barrier San Francisco Chronicle 10/21/2003 Israeli Defense Ministry workers damaged an ancient Christian archaeological site while building a security barrier around Jerusalem, the Antiquities Authority said Tuesday, and work was briefly halted. The Defense Ministry denied the charge. Israel's government has ordered a speedup in construction of the barrier, and the haste led to the damage, according to archaeologist Yehiel Zelinger from the Antiquities Authority....In its rush, the Defense Ministry sent workers with bulldozers into the town of Abu Dis and started work without coordinating with the Antiquities Authority, he said, and damaged an ancient Byzantine-era archaeological site containing a monastery. Israel to speed up barrier work BBC 10/20/2003 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has promised to speed up building the controversial security barrier separating Israel from Palestinian areas in the West Bank. Opening the new session of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, Mr Sharon said the fence, including the areas around Jerusalem, would be finished in a year....Fighting to make himself heard above the heckling of the MPs, Mr Sharon spoke of a breakthrough in the peace efforts in the coming months, without specifying. IDF video contradicsts claims bystanders killed in Gaza raids Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on Tuesday urged world leaders to take immediate action over Israeli helicopter gunship strikes that killed 14 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip Monday. Army Radio on Tuesday evening quoted military sources as saying that seven of the 14 Palestinians killed in the air strikes were positively identified as Hamas operatives. The other casualties were believed to be non-combatants. According to video footage provided by the IDF, the target areas of at least two of the air force raids were empty of Palestinian bystanders at the time of the missile strikes. Ramallah attackers tied to Hezbollah, security sources say Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 The Fatah-Tanzim cell that killed three soldiers near Ramallah on Sunday has close links with Hezbollah, but was also financed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, senior defense officials said yesterday. Some of the cell's senior members are currently hiding in Arafat's Muqata compound in Ramallah, the sources added. It was Hamas, not Tanzim, that formally claimed responsibility for the attack Sunday night, bolstering its claim with a video clip of four rifles that it said had been taken from the slain soldiers. Breaking News: IOF Invades Ramallah and Wounds Seven, Razes Land in E Jerusalem, Raids Beit Kahel Near Hebron International Press Center 10/21/2003 20:00 Seven Palestinian citizens wounded in the Israeli invasion of the city of Ramallah, most of which are a result of live ammunition, IPC / 18:40 Israeli occupying forces (IOF) invade the city of Ramallah and the nearby town of El Bireh, and imposes tight curfew on the city, IPC / 14:10-- Israeli Occupation bulldozers razed up 200 dunums of the Palestinian owned land of Al Sawahra Al Sharqeia in occupied east Jerusalem and uprooted approximately 500 olive trees, WAFA said. / 10:45-- A contingent of 50 Israeli Soldiers backed by ten Tanks and jeeps has invaded Beit Kahel town, North West of Hebron, besieged it before carrying out house to house search and arresting seven citizens, IPC said. Israeli forces storm Ramallah, other West Bank towns Palestinian Information Center 10/21/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Israeli occupation forces stormed the West Bank town of Ramallah Tuesday evening amid fears of a possible action against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Eyewitnesses said Israeli troops, backed by some 40 military vehicles, entered the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority around 7:00 pm local time (4 pm GMT), firing stun grenades and flares into the sky. The invading troops imposed curfew on Ramallah and its twin city, al Birah. Moreover, Zionist soldiers besieged hundreds of worshipers inside the Jamal Abdul Nasser Mosque in downtown Ramallah. Elsewhere in the West Bank, Zionist forces stormed the towns of Anabta, Kifl Malek, Ein Yabroud and other smaller villages in the northern West Bank. 12 Palestinians Killed, 70 Wounded In Israeli Raids Islam Online 10/21/2003 GAZA CITY, October 21 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Twelve Palestinians were killed and 70 wounded in five Israeli air strikes in Gaza Monday, October 20, as Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon laid the blame for what he termed “continuing violence” at the feet of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Palestinian sources said most of the victims in the raids were civilians, including women and children, although Hamas’ armed wing of Ezzedin al-Qassam lost at least two activists in the raids, said Agence France-Presse (AFP). The deadliest raid hit late Monday in Nusseirat refugee camp of the central Gaza Strip where seven Palestinians were killed and 40 wounded, 10 of them seriously, according to Palestinian security sources. Ten die in Gaza as Israel renews bombing raids The Independent 10/21/2003 At least ten Palestinians were killed and nearly 100 injured in the Gaza Strip last night during the heaviest air strikes of recent months.In a dramatic escalation of the conflict, five Israeli air raids were launched during a 12-hour period, including a missile strike on a crowded road after dark. The majority of the casualties were civilians. The Palestinian Authority immediately condemned the strikes and called for a ceasefire to stem the spiralling number of attacks. News Briefs: Arrests in Nablus, Hebron, Ramallah Invaded International Middle East Media Center 10/21/2003 Four arrested in Nablus, invasion in Balata Refugee Camp / Seven arrested in a village near Hebron / Al-Qassam Brigades claim responsibility of the Ambush near Ramallah / Israeli forces demolish three houses in Rafah / Five civilians assaulted in Nablus villages Israeli Air Force Kills 10 Palestinians in Gaza's Bloodiest Day An Nahar 10/21/2003 In the bloodiest day in the Gaza Strip in months, Israeli fighter jets and helicopter gunships pounded allegedly militant targets in five separate raids, killing 10 Palestinians and wounding about 100. Hamas and Islamic Jihad threatened revenge, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged more raids and the State Department advised U.S. citizens to defer travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. The bombing raids Monday came a day after Palestinian militants fired eight homemade rockets from Gaza into southern Israel and Palestinian gunmen ambushed an Israeli patrol in the West Bank, killing three soldiers and seriously wounding a fourth. Israeli jets kill 10 in wave of attacks on Gaza The Guardian 10/21/2003 Refugee camp hit hardest in five attacks, with 75 injured and seven killed · Israeli PM repeats vow to remove Arafat -- Israeli aircraft killed 10 people and injured nearly 100 others in five waves of air strikes in Gaza yesterday. The heaviest attacks came after nightfall, when helicopters targeted a car in the Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing seven people and wounding 75, witnesses and Palestinian officials said.

Diplomacy..

Israel condemned as Palestinians bury dead Al-Jazeera 10/21/2003 As grieving refugees in Gaza began burying their dead, one of Europe's most influential politicians condemned Israeli action in the Gaza Strip which killed 11 people. European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana appeared shocked by the brutality of the Israeli air strikes. "I am concerned at the military action in Gaza and strongly deplore that it led to several civilians being killed and many more injured. The EU fully recognises Israel's right to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks. But I urge the Israeli government to exert maximum effort to avoid civilian casualties." Sharon Says Israel Determined to Remove Arafat Washington Post 10/21/2003 JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday Israel was determined to "remove" Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, reaffirming a decision taken by his government a month ago. "This man is the biggest obstacle to peace and therefore Israel is determined to bring about his removal from the political arena," Sharon said in a policy speech at the start of the winter session of parliament. Arafat urges Quartet to end Israeli folly Al-Jazeera 10/21/2003 Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat has urged the international community to bring pressure on Israel to end the "military folly" after a series of deadly air strikes in Gaza. The Palestinian movement Hamas has vowed to avenge the deaths caused by five separate air strikes across Gaza on Monday. This latest wave of Israeli violence has deepened the gloom over the prospects of progress in the Middle East "roadmap"...."I appeal to the international community, the United Nations and the quartet to stop this military folly through which they (the Israelis) are looking to destroy our holy ground and our people," Arafat told a small group of journalists from his battered compound in Ram Allah. U.N. May Seek World Court Advice on Israel's Security Wall An Nahar 10/21/2003 Arab and non-aligned nations gave strong support to a pair of resolutions at the U.N. General Assembly that would condemn Israel's construction of a barrier that juts deep into the West Bank and call on the world court to issue an opinion on whether it is legal or illegal. The General Assembly was to meet Tuesday afternoon, possibly for a vote. The proposals _ backed by members of the Arab League, Non-Aligned Movement and Organization of the Islamic Conference _ are almost certain to pass because no country has a veto in the 191-member General Assembly and support for the Palestinians runs high. The three organizations represent more than 115 countries. One resolution would call on the International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, Netherlands, to issue an advisory opinion on whether Israel is "under legal obligation to cease its construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ... and to dismantle the existing parts." Senior UN Officials Urges Halt to Israeli Barrier Palestine Chronicle 10/21/2003 NEW YORK - A senior United Nations official has urged Israel to stop construction of a security barrier that juts into the West Bank. The official called on both sides to step back from what he called a "low point" in the Middle East. U.N. Undersecretary General Kieran Prendergast said there has been a backward movement in the Middle East, away from a settlement, and away from the negotiating table. In his monthly briefing to the Security Council, Prendergast said recent actions by both Israelis and Palestinians have weakened moderates on both sides and encouraged extremists. Solana Deplores Killing of Civilians in Gaza Palestine Chronicle 10/21/2003 BRUSSLES - Javier Solana, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, responding to questions from the press Tuesday deplored the many casualties in the Gaza Strip following Israeli raids yesterday. "I am concerned at the military action in Gaza and strongly deplore that it led to several civilians being killed and many more injured," said Solana. Arab Group and Non-aligned States Call the UN General Assembly to Condemn the Separation Wall International Press Center 10/21/2003 NEW YORK, October 21, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies)-- The Arab and non-aligned states at the United Nation General Assembly proposed Monday a draft resolution condemning the continued Israeli building of a separation wall around West Bank cities as “illegal”. The representatives of the Arab states also asked the GA to pass on a second resolution that requests the International Court of Justice in The Hague to issue an advisory opinion on whether Israel should cease construction of the barrier and to dismantle the existing parts....Dan Ghilrman, Israel’s representative at the UN, from his part, addressed the GA meeting by saying that the Palestinian side’s request regarding the separation wall, viewed by Israel as ‘security fence’, defame and jeopardize United Nations’ reputation. Arab League says Palestinians facing open war Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 CAIRO - Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said on Tuesday there was an open war against the Palestinian people and talking about peace at the moment was useless, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency reported. "There is now a clear declared state of war against the Palestinian people and it is neither suitable or useful to deceive ourselves and talk today about peace," the head of the 22-member body told reporters in Cairo. Speakers in UN GA emergency session condemn Israel's construction of 'security barrier', expansionist policies Electronic Intifada 10/20/2003 Following the Security Council's failure to act last week regarding the security barrier being built by Israel in the West Bank, the General Assembly met this afternoon, at the request of Arab nations, to consider a resolution declaring the barrier illegal. The League of Arab States had also decided to ask the 191-nation Assembly to approve a second measure seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on whether Israel is legally obligated as an occupying Power to dismantle the barrier. The Hague-based Court -- created under the United Nations Charter in 1945 -- adjudicates disputes between countries. Background/ Arafat: Dying for peace? Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 With some Israeli officials privately suggesting that Yasser Arafat must be dead and buried before any real progress toward peace can be made, senior defense, intelligence and operational officers are reportedly gearing up for the aftermath of the chairman's funeral. But if Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has drawn a cautiously optimistic link between the "removal" of Arafat and fresh chances for peace in the region, the dramatic changes forecast by army planners are anything but hopeful. In fact, if any one of a range of nightmare scenarios turns out to be true, post-Arafat Israel could be in for a surge of violence dwarfing anything it has seen in three years of relentless bloodletting. U.S. to examine security fence route near Ben-Gurion airport Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 A team of three American airport security experts are set to arrive in Israel on Wednesday to examine the plan to build the West Bank security fence along the hills overlooking the eastern side of Ben-Gurion International Airport, near the Beit Arieh settlement area. The team is being sent to check Israeli claims that running the security fence east of the Beit Arieh settlement bloc will protect passenger planes landing at Ben-Gurion airport from shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft missiles fired from the West Bank. Among other issues, the American administration will base its decision whether or not to deduct the cost of the fence's construction from the settlements on the team's findings. Sharon Attacks Gaza And Escalates Political Discourse To Remove Arafat Al-Hayat 10/21/2003 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pursued his on-the-ground and political escalation against the Palestinian people, as barely a few hours following the raids against Gaza, he announced from the Knesset that he is determined to "remove" President Yasser Arafat, describing him as the "greatest obstacle to peace," and that he will speed up the construction of the "separation wall." He also described the Roadmap as the only hope for reaching a settlement. British MPs slam apartheid wall Al-Jazeera 10/21/2003 More than 100 British members of parliament have signalled their opposition to the apartheid wall being built on occupied Palestinian land. The number of MPs from various parties who have signed a so-called Early Day Motion calling on Israel to stop building the barrier rose to 104 on Tuesday - an unusually high level of support. Most early day motions rarely attract 100 signatures and those that do are almost always on domestic issues. Lebanon Seen on Collision Course with U.S. Over Hizbullah An Nahar 10/21/2003 The United States and Lebanon are seen moving on a collision course over Hizbullah's gunpoint interception of a U.S. embassy motorcade near the command headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force in South Lebanon. The Bush administration is not convinced of Lebanon's official classification of the incident as an error resulting from lack of advance coordination by the embassy with the Beirut authorities of the course the embassy convoy would be taking, An Nahar reported on Tuesday. Samaha, Battle discuss convoy spat Daily Star 10/21/2003 'Everything will be resolved’ -- Hizbullah’s blocking of a US Embassy convoy in the South recently will be a matter of discussion between Lebanon and the United States, Information Minister Michel Samaha said on Monday. “Everything will be resolved and discussed between the Lebanese government and the US Embassy,” Samaha said after receiving US Ambassador Vincent Battle. Assad Says Mideast Peace has Never Been so Far Away An Nahar 10/21/2003 Spanish King Juan Carlos said at the end of the first day of his current visit to Syria that terrorism must be fought regardless of its causes. "No reasons or causes can justify the death of the innocent," Juan Carlos said at a dinner banquet in Damascus. "No one can stand neutral in this issue. The international community should denounce and condemn this action that threatens all our societies."...Assad expressed pessimism over achieving peace in the Middle East, criticizing Israel for building a barrier between Jerusalem and the West Bank. "We have never been as far from peace as we are today," Assad said. Palestinian Leadership Condemns Bloody Day in Gaza, Demands International Intervention International Press Center 10/21/2003 RAMALLAH, Palestine, October 21, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- The Palestinian leadership condemned yesterday the Israeli massacre in Gaza Strip, and demanded the international community for interfering to put an end to the Israeli aggression. Israeli jetfighters and combat helicopters launched five air strikes on Gaza City and Al Nusseirat refugee camp, middle of the Gaza Strip, the most violent strikes since the eruption of Al Aqsa Intifada in September 29, 2000. The raids left 12 Palestinians killed, including children, and more than a hundred others wounded. Four of the wounded were said to be in a state of clinical death...On his side, Palestinian cabinet minister and chief negotiator, Sa'eb Ereikat, told Al Jazeera TV that he contacted with the US administration and senior European officials, and demanded them to put an end to the Israeli bloody escalation in the occupied territories. Annan: International community must put pressure on parties to implement Road Map for Middle East peace ReliefWeb/United Nations 10/21/2003 Following is the message of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East..."You gather in Seville at a critical juncture. Seldom has it been more urgent to re-establish momentum towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Yet with the apparent breakdown of negotiations and an increasing spiral of violence, the trend of events is distinctly in the opposite direction..."

Human Rights..

Media watchdog slams US, Israel Electronic Intifada/Reporters Without Borders 10/20/2003 Reporters Without Borders, a top media watchdog, has accused Israel and the United States of unacceptable behaviour towards journalists in occupied Palestine and Iraq. RSF said on Monday the US had caused the deaths of five journalists in Iraq. And it said the Israeli army was guilty of injuring and threatening journalists in the West Bank and Gaza. Adalah Petitions Supreme Court to Cancel Discriminatory ILA Land Distribution Decision Adalah 10/20/2003 Yesterday, 19 October 2003, Adalah submitted a petition and a motion for an injunction to the Supreme Court of Israel on behalf the National Committee of Arab Mayors and in its own name against the Israel Lands Administration (ILA), the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Industry and Trade. The petition challenges the legality of the ILA's decision regarding the massive distribution of land in the Galilee in the north and in the Naqab (Negev) in the south. People and Politics / The Red Cross is out of emergency food funds Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 Today, for the last time, the unemployed of Ramallah will get food and basic hygiene vouchers from the Red Cross. The vouchers are worth $100 a month and will barely keep them going until the end of the year. The poor of Jericho, Qalqiliyah and Tul Karm got their last vouchers last week. In village areas, the Red Cross is handing out food packages that are also supposed to last two to three months....The World Food Organization said yesterday that its budget is enough for 230,000 of those people getting aid from the Red Cross, which leaves 70,000 people hungry. ISM: Obstruction of Olive Harvest and other reports International Solidarity Movement 10/21/2003 1) Israeli Army Continues to Obstruct Olive Harvest _ ISM Media Office2) PALESTINE: Economic and Social Dislocation _ Roy R. 3) Abnormality, Up-Close-and-Personal _ CJ Occupation authorities offer rotten food to Palestinian juvenile prisoners Miftah 10/20/2003 Nazareth - Palestinian legal sources in the 1948 occupied areas have warned that Palestinian juvenile prisoners in the Zionist Talmund prison were suffering from very bad imprisonment conditions. Lawyer Khaled Zabarqa, affiliated with the Mizan legal society, said that international human rights organizations should act to end the oppression of those juveniles. He quoted detainees as saying that they were suffering from humiliation and inappropriate detention conditions. They said that each three of them were locked up in one cell that contained only two beds. Conference Documenting IOF Latest Crimes in Rafah International Press Center 10/21/2003 RAFAH, Palestine, October 21, 2003 (IPC)-- The Governor of Rafah, Mr. Majeed Al Agha, referred to the Israeli crimes in Rafah during the incursion, highlighting the wide range of devastation caused by this heinous brutal incursion. The drainage and water systems were damaged, the thing that led to mixing sewage with drinking water. In addition, damages to the electricity grids and phone cables, along with razing vast areas of agricultural lands were added to the gross devastation caused by the Israeli incursion. Al Agha was speaking in a press conference held in the Rafah governorate building in the city of Rafah, saying that the Israeli forces have imposed tight curfews on the civilians of the governorate and have banned the access of medical staffs to the besieged places. Therefore, this led to the insufficiency of food and medication, especially for children and patients. Jewish security detainees launch hunger strike Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 Seven Jewish security detainees, suspected members of extreme right-wing terror groups, announced Tuesday that they are launching a hunger strike to protest the conditions in which they are being held. According to the prisoners, who are being held in jail several different prisons, their conditions are far worse than Palestinian security detainees being held at the same facilities.

Economy..

Histadrut drops plan to beef up strike Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 The Histadrut labor federation has decided not to beef up the civil servants' strike by calling other public-sector unions off the job for the time being. The decision comes after the Histadrut reached an agreement with the Finance Ministry yesterday to begin marathon talks aimed at trying to resolve the labor dispute. But the civil servants, who have shut down all government offices for weeks, will continue their strike today. Histadrut, Finance Ministry resume labor negotiations Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 The Histadrut earlier decided not to intensify the civil servants' strike by calling other public-sector unions off the job for the time being. The decision comes after the Histadrut reached an agreement with the Finance Ministry on Monday to begin marathon talks aimed at trying to resolve the labor dispute. --The Finance Ministry and Histadrut labor federation renewed their negotiations on Tuesday evening in an effort to head off a general strike. Trade deficit down 8.2% in January-September 2003 Globes 10/21/2003 The trend has reversed in the past four months: exports are falling, and imports are leveling off. -- Israel’s foreign trade deficit amounted to $4.36 billion in January-September 2003, compared with $4.75 billion in the corresponding period last year, an 8.2% decrease, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. Unemployment still 10.6% in August Globes 10/21/2003 Monthly average lay-offs rose 7.8% in the third quarter to 59,200. One third were due to company streamlining.-- Unemployment is not falling and the wave of lay-offs is persisting, despite rising demand for workers by the business sector in the third quarter of 2003. The Central Bureau of Statistics reported today that trend figures show that unemployment was unchanged at 10.6% in August, the same as in the preceding months. Credit crunch worsens Globes 10/21/2003 Total available unlinked shekel credit fell by NIS 2.3 billion in August to NIS 154.2 billion. -- The credit crunch is worsening. Total available unlinked shekel credit fell by 1.5%, or NIS 2.3 billion, in August to NIS 154.2 billion. Jordanian, Israeli businessmen attend trade summit Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 Over 300 businessmen from Jordan, Israel and other countries in the region are attending the first-ever conference in bilateral cooperation between Israel and Jordan. The conference, which was initiated by the Israel-Jordan Chamber of Commerce and is partly funded by the Conrad Adenauer Foundation, is being held on the border between the two countries, at the Sheikh Hussein bridge in the Jordan Valley.

People..

Palestine film in line for Oscar nomination Al-Jazeera 10/21/2003 For the first time, films from Mongolia, Palestine and Sri Lanka have qualified for consideration for nomination for next year’s best foreign film Oscar. The international haul of cinematographic offerings is the largest to be submitted for the prestigious category, beating the 2003 total of 54 movies by one. Films from Afghanistan, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, Nepal and Iran, were among those submitted for consideration by voters of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences....The Palestinian offering, Divine Intervention, by Illia Sulayman was accepted despite some earlier speculation that the Academy would not take the submission on the grounds that "Palestine is not a country". Palestinian film joins Oscar race BBC 10/21/2003 A Palestinian film has entered the Oscars race for the first time this year, along with a record 54 other entries for best foreign film. Palestine is not recognised as a nation but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to make "an exception". The academy, which runs the awards, has made the exception for several years regarding Hong Kong and Taiwan. Divine Intervention is about life under Israeli occupation. Hundreds march in Nablus against 'Geneva Accord' Jerusalem Post 10/18/2003 Hundreds of Palestinians, chanting "death to the traitors and collaborators," marched in the streets of Nablus on Friday to protest against the "Geneva Accord" reached last week in Jordan by Israeli left-wingers and Palestinian activists. The demonstration was organized by Hamas and Fatah leaders in Balatta refugee camp, on the southern outskirts of Nablus, to protest against the accord, which they said forgoes the refugees' right to return to their original homes inside Israel. Jerusalem's population fell by 67,000 in past decade; capital has 67% Jews, 33% Arabs Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 Some 164,400 people have left Jerusalem over the last decade, while only 97,300 new residents have moved into the capital, according to the data published in the latest edition of the Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem. Dr. Maya Choshen, the editor of the yearbook, told Haaretz that a relatively high proportion of those who have left are presumed to be secular, while a relatively high proportion of those moving into the city were religious. Nevertheless, she said, ultra-Orthodox Jews accounted for some 20 to 25 percent of all those who left the city from 1993 to 2002. Face to face with Arafat BBC 10/19/2003 It's one of those odd, disappointing rules of journalism - you spend years covering someone's every word and action, you confidently explain the thinking behind everything they ever do. But in spite of all this - you never actually meet them....And then I ended by asking him about his health - since there'd been so many recent rumours of heart attacks, of stomach cancer, even of mysterious poisonings. But he said nothing. Instead he kissed his hands and looked upwards. He seemed very pleased with this silent answer. Germany Attracts More Jewish Immigrants Than Israel: Report Palestine Chronicle 10/21/2003 "The report pointed out that last year’s figures did not represent a sudden surge in Jewish immigrants to Germany but rather a sharp drop in immigration to Israel .." -- BERLIN - Barely two generations after the Jewish mass murders of the Nazi regime, Germany has attracted more Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union than Israel or the United States....In 2002, Germany opened its borders to 19,262 Jewish emigrants from the former communist state, while the illegal Jewish state took in 18,878. Sesame Street airs peace propaganda The Guardian 10/21/2003 Sesame Street's Big Bird is hoping to triumph where George Bush, Tony Blair and numerous heads of state have failed, by bringing peace to the Middle East. The European commission has given the producer of the long-running children's television show a £1.75m grant to produce a series of programmes for Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories. The American storylines of Sesame Street has been shown in the Middle East for 25 years but the new Sesame Stories are the first to feature local situations. Public opinion poll: Some 85 percent of Palestinians support mutual end to violence Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 A public opinion poll conducted by Prof. Halil Shkaki of the Palestine Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah found that some 85 percent of those questioned support a mutual halt to the violence between Israelis and Palestinians and 59 percent support the measures of the Palestinian security services against those who would break a cease-fire if one should be attained. On the other hand, the poll revealed opposing trends among the Palestinian public, with 75 percent of the 1,318 people polled responding that under the present circumstances, they supported the suicide bombing at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa, and two-thirds saying that they believed that the road map is "dead." Islamic astrology is serious business Daily Star 10/21/2003 Professor explains field in lecture at German Orient Institute -- Eva Orthmann doesn’t like it when people dismiss her studies as esoteric. “Some people look at me as if I was on another planet when they hear about my research,” the 32-year-old assistant professor of Arabic and Persian at the University of Zurich says. “Others tell me their ascendant (star).” Orthmann studies astrology ­ to be precise medieval Islamic astrology ­ and last Thursday evening, she gave a lecture at the German Orient Institute in Beirut entitled Islamic Astrology Between Religious Objections and Profane Expectations. The impact of astrology must have been immense on early Islamic societies, she believes.

International..

Iran to suspend uranium enrichment programme The Guardian 10/21/2003 Iran today agreed to suspend its disputed uranium enrichment programme and sign an agreement allowing tougher UN inspections of its nuclear sites. The Reuters news agency reported that an Iranian official and a European diplomat had both told it that uranium enrichment would be suspended, but it was unclear for how long. The French, German and British foreign ministers were today visiting Tehran to attempt to defuse international tensions over Iran's nuclear programme. U.S.: Iran nuclear move positive if fully implemented Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 The United States gave a cautious welcome on Tuesday to Iran's decision to suspend its uranium enrichment program and allow nuclear inspections, saying it would be a positive step if fully implemented. U.S. officials have accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. U.S. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said of Tehran's decision in talks with the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain: "Full compliance will now be essential." McClellan is travelling in Asia with U.S. President George W. Bush, who recently stated "we will not tolerate" construction of a nuclear weapon by Iran." Charities in terror fund spotlight BBC 10/15/2003 It's never easy running a charity. Charity managers have to try to save the world on a shoestring, relying on a network of volunteers and underpaid if enthusiastic staff to ensure that as much money as possible goes to where it can do the most good. But now, just to make life even more complicated, they are increasingly coming under suspicion of financing terrorists as well. This suspicion is ratcheting up official scrutiny of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in many countries, not least the US and the UK. US, Israel accused of maltreating media personnel Jang Group 10/21/2003 PARIS: Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Monday accused Israel and the United States of unacceptable behaviour towards journalists in the occupied Palestinian territories and in Iraq. In its second annual world press freedom ranking, RSF said media freedom standards were worst in Asia, with the region providing eight of the bottom 10 ranked countries. RSF awarded the United States and Israel two separate rankings each — one for respect of press freedoms on their own territory, and one for behaviour beyond their borders. Arabs in U.S. applaud Dean pledge to send Clinton to Mideast Miftah 10/20/2003 DEARBORN, Mich. - Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean received a standing ovation from an Arab-American audience on Saturday when he attacked leading conservatives and figures from the religious right. Dean also won applause by reiterating his recent promises to send former President Bill Clinton to the Middle East as his peace broker if he is elected next year. Dean, one of seven Democratic presidential candidates to address the Arab American Institute's national leadership conference in Dearborn, pointed to an American flag and named some of the people he said it did not belong to. "It does not belong to General Boykin, or John Ashcroft, or Rush Limbaugh or Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson.." UN Arab Development Report Focuses on Closing Growing 'Knowledge Gap' Palestine Chronicle 10/21/2003 AMMAN - Arabs, coming from a knowledge-rich past, must urgently close a “growing knowledge gap” in the present by investing heavily in high-quality, analytical education, promoting open intellectual enquiry and developing an authentic Arab knowledge model, a new United Nations report says. The report is the second Arab Human Development Report (AHDR 2003), launched in Amman today, at the invitation of the Jordanian Government. It has been prepared by 40 distinguished Arab scholars, along with 30 advisers and peer reviewers, and co-sponsored by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development. Jordan: New Government Headed By Al Fayez To Be Announced Next Week Al-Hayat 10/21/2003 A high-ranking Jordanian official reported to Al-Hayat yesterday that King Abdullah II will appoint early next week the Minister of the royal Court Faisal Al Fayez to head the new government, which will be "different, in its formation and agenda, from all the previous governments in the history of the Kingdom." He confirmed that the new ministerial team is set to include new people on the political scene and adopt a different political, economic and social reform agenda. Kuwait suspends Islamic charities' fund transfers Middle East Online 10/21/2003 KUWAIT CITY - Kuwait has "temporarily" stopped Islamic charities from transferring funds overseas in a bid to regulate the operations, a senior official was quoted as saying Tuesday. "The ministry has suspended charity organizations from transferring money abroad," acting undersecretary at the ministry of social affairs and labour Mohammad al-Kundari said in statements quoted by Al-Rai al-Aam newspaper. The suspension will continue "until controls for money transfer overseas are completed," added Kundari without providing a timeframe. UK antiwar group wrecks Bush visit Al-Jazeera 10/21/2003 Antiwar activists are claiming a first round victory over attempts to stop President Bush's first state visit to the UK. They have wrecked his chances of getting all the VIP treatment which goes along with a state visit to the sovereign state. President Bush, visiting London in November for a three days, was looking forward to meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Malaysia Calls Bush 'Rude,' Mahathir Unrepentant An Nahar 10/21/2003 A senior Malaysian official called President George Bush "rude" on Tuesday for upbraiding Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad at the APEC summit for stating that Jews rule the world. But Mahathir, who retires at month's end after 22 years as leader of mainly Muslim Malaysia, was standing his ground over comments that triggered Western outrage and insisted in an interview in the Bangkok Post newspaper that the uproar "shows that (Jews) do control the world." Malaysia's unrepentant PM maintains Jews rule the world Ha'aretz 10/21/2003 BANGKOK, Thailand - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Tuesday, in response to a question from Haaretz, that he would be willing to come to Israel to explain his charges against the Jewish people, if the leadership of world Jewry would first explain why they refer to Muslims as terrorists. "I would [visit Israel] after the Jewish leadership would go the Muslim countries and explain why they call Muslims terrorists," he said. "That would be fair. Then I will go to Tel Aviv and explain why I said what I said." Egypt dates Chirac Al-Jazeera 10/21/2003 Egyptian traders have named the best and most expensive dates for this year's Ramadan after French President Jacques Chirac ...just days before the Muslim holy month of fasting and prayer, gets underway. "The Chirac date is this Ramadan's surprise," said Saad Zaki, a wholesaler in the Rod al-Faraj souk in central Cairo and principal date stocker for the capital's shops. It sells at 20 pounds ($3.2) a kilo, he said. "Arabs believe that President Chirac's policies on Iraq and the Palestinian cause are the most moderate," Zaki said on Tuesday, adding that "France opposed the United States, the world's superpower," over the Iraqi invasion. Experts Testify To Racial, Religious Profiling In U.S. Islam Online 10/21/2003 CHICAGO, October 21 (IslamOnline.net) - Modeled after a congressional hearing, activists, experts spoke Monday, October 20, of racial profiling and discrimination against minorities and people of color in the United States, mainly African, Arab and South Asian and Latino Americans. Timothy K. Lewis, former judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, presided over the hearing while a number of commissioners listened to testimonies of the unequal treatment that challenges the communities on almost daily basis. Warfare at the speed of light Oakland Tribune 10/19/2003 After sinking 40 years and billions of dollars into beam weapons, defense scientists are on the cusp of what could be a military revolution -- warfare at the speed of light. -- DOWN THIS tiled corridor, light does muscular, noisy work. Lasers dig dirt and weld metal. They pound aircraft parts into shape. In Bob Yamamoto's lab, light devours...."We've made a quantum leap here," said Randy Buff, solid-state laser program manager for the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command. "We're anxious to get out there and do something."

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