Home • Letters
Background • Links
What Can I Do?
Events • Cartoons
Search • Contact
About Us • Donate
E-Mail Us

Palestine Diaries

courtesy The Electronic Intifada

This webpage uses Javascript to display some content. Please enable Javascript in your browser and reload this page.

 

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.

Get Audio/Video Player
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..

Three Palestinians Killed including a teen by Israeli Fire International Press Center 10/30/2003 PALESTINE, October 30, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies)--Two Palestinian men were shot dead Wednesday in separate incidents in both West Bank and Gaza Strip as a third teen boy died of wounds he sustained onOctober 20, 2003 in the Nusirat refugee camp, middle of Gaza Strip. Early Wednesday, a Palestinain youth, believed to be member of the Islamic Jihad, was reportedly gunned down by the Israeli troops, near the Karni commercial crossing, east of Gaza city, local Palestinain sources and medics said....Local [Nablus] inhabitants accounted that a contingent of Israeli forces, including armored vehicles and infantry, broke into the Balata refugee camp and blockaded one of the local houses under a barrage of heavy gun fire, killing at least one Palestinain inhabitant. Two Palestinians killed as Israel's top officer criticizes Sharon policy towards Palestinians Al-Bawaba 10/30/2003 Palestinians wounded an Israeli man and woman as they drove on a highway in the northern West Bank Wednesday, Israeli police said. The man was in serious condition following the shooting. The woman was very lightly wounded. Also in the West Bank, a 13-year-old boy was shot and killed by Israeli gunfire in the Balata refugee camp, near Nablus, while Palestinians were throwing rocks, residents said. They added the boy was a distance away from the confrontation and was not involved. Israeli troops kill suspected militant BBC 10/30/2003 Israeli soldiers have killed a Palestinian and wounded another in the Gaza Strip near the border with Israel.The Israeli army said its troops opened fire after the two Palestinians entered an area near the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, which lies just inside Israel. Palestinian security officials said the injured man had been taken to hospital and the body of the other man handed over by the Israeli military. Meanwhile, Palestinian militants shot at Jewish settlers travelling in a car near the Palestinian city of Jenin in the northern West Bank on Wednesday, injuring two people, Israeli sources said. Zionist soldiers wound 8 Palestinian civilians in unjustified shooting Palestinian Information Center 10/30/2003 Khan Younis - Zionist occupation soldiers indiscriminate and unexpected shooting at hundreds of Palestinian citizens near the Matahen roadblock north of Khan Younis in south of the Gaza Strip yesterday wounded eight civilians. Medical sources in the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said that live bullets were fired at the citizens who were hit with bullets and shrapnel as a result of the Zionist soldiers’ intensified firing. Tanks enter Jenin as settlers attacked Al-Jazeera 10/30/2003 Israeli occupation forces have been firing randomly in the West Bank city of Jenin. Sources in Jenin told Aljazeera.net that earlier today two settlers were attacked near a settlement in the village of Sabah al-Khair, close to Jenin. It is unclear who attacked the settlers and what kind of injuries they sustained during the incident. Israeli occupation forces began to fire intensively in and around Jenin later this evening. Witnesses described seeing Apache helicopters above the city. A house near Sabah al-Khair was hit by an Israeli tank, local people said the army were trying to demolish the house. The Israelis allege the house is being used as a ''weapons factory'' to assist resistance fighters in Jenin. Mideast violence continues Middle East Online 10/30/2003 JERUSALEM - As the cycle of violence continued unabated in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a row between the Israeli army and government over how to end it was growing deeper Thursday. A 12-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by Israeli troops in the Nablus refugee camp of Balata Wednesday night, Palestinian medical sources said. The soldiers opened fire when the boy threw stones at their jeep inside the camp. In further overnight unrest, the Israeli army staged a brief incursion into the already battered southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, Palestinian security sources said. Jordan valley wall delivers final blow to roadmap Jerusalem Times 10/30/2003 The Palestinian National Authority “PNA” denounced Tuesday an Israeli plan to build a barrier along the eastern side of the West Bank in the Jordan valley that would encircle Palestinians with electronic fences and concrete walls. “The wall would deliver the final blow for the US sponsored roadmap,” it warned in an issued statement. Nabil Abu Rudeina, President Yasser Arafat’s top aide, said the"Israeli decisions to continue building the wall and extend it into the Jordan Valley would deliver the final blow to the roadmap and declare total war against the Palestinian people." Life and death amid the ruins of Rafah Christian Science Monitor 10/29/2003 A sandy stretch abutting Egypt is, many say, the most violent corner of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. -- Khadra Abu Nameh, a sunken-eyed, blunt-nosed woman with a shawl wrapped around her head, stares coldly from behind gold-framed glasses. She squats a few yards from the mass of rubble and broken concrete that was once her home. Her granddaughter Fatima plays in the dirt with a piece of wire and a crushed plastic cup. Mrs. Abu Nameh makes no plea for pity. "It was a wonderful surprise," she says, when she saw what Israeli forces had done to her home, her voice stiff with sarcasm. "The same as when someone offers you a flower." As Efforts for a Truce Continue, Army and Resistance Continue with the Fight International Middle East Media Center 10/30/2003 Two settlers were injured Wednesday as their car, traveling at Kadim settlement road, came under Gunfire attack. One suffered serious wounds, the other was lightly wounded. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah, claimed responsibility for the shooting, saying that it came as a response to the continued army military operations against Palestinians. Also Wednesday, security source reported that soldiers fired gunshots at two Palestinians near the settlement of Nahal Oz in the Gaza Strip, killing one and seriously wounding the other. As well, Palestinian sources reported Wednesday that army and resistance men exchanged fire in the southern part of the West Bank city of Jenin; no injuries or damaged was reported by either side. Breaking News: IOF Seals Bethlehem Governate International Press Center 10/30/2003 13:20 -- Israeli occupying forces (IOF) completely seals off the Bethlehem governorate, preventing Palestinian citizens and goods from moving between the governorate's cities, towns and villages, WAFA. IOF Shoot Dead Three Palestinian Teenagers, Unarmed Man Palestine Media Center 10/30/2003 PM Qurei Offers Two-stage Strategy for Achieving Cease-fire with Israel -- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Wednesday shot dead two boys aged 12 and 16 in the West Bank and an armed Palestinian man in the Gaza Strip as another teenager died of wounds sustained earlier, only a day after they assassinated a Palestinian activist in Tulkarem. Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said he has a two-stage strategy for achieving a cease-fire and the IOF General Staff slammed the collective punishment policy of Israeli PM Sharon’s government against the Palestinian people. Zionist concern over Palestinian growing anti-occupation sentiments Palestinian Information Center 10/30/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Zionist occupation army command in the West Bank and Gaza Strip was increasingly pessimistic over the growing anti-occupation hostility among the Palestinian population. A Hebrew press source said that the Palestinian resistance was escalating in spite of the Zionist military campaigns. Hebrew daily ‘Ma’ariv’ on Tuesday published a report reviewing the vision of the general coordinator of Zionist occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip towards Palestinian developments.

Diplomacy..

Sharon says Israel ready for negotiations at any time Ha'aretz 10/30/2003 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared Thursday night that he was ready to negotiate with the new Palestinian prime minister at any time. Israel had previously indicated that it would not talk with the new Palestinian government led by Ahmed Qureia, as it was too closely associated with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Sharon, speaking at an economic forum in Tel Aviv, said that the absence of a top-level dialogue between the two sides was due to Palestinian reluctance. Message from Iran says Tehran seeks talks with Israel Ha'aretz 10/30/2003 Government sources are looking into a message from Iran that effectively says that Tehran wishes to open talks with Israel. Israel has asked a third party to make inquiries in Tehran and establish whether the message is serious. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom have been advised of the message, which was not delivered directly. Israel is deliberating whether the message is a sign of real change in Tehran. Qorei sees hope for progress on new cease-fire Daily Star 10/30/2003 ‘We welcome a meeting with Hamas, Islamic Jihad’ -- Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said Wednesday he has a two-stage strategy for achieving a cease-fire to end three years of Mideast violence ­ first, negotiate a truce with militant Palestinian groups, and then ask the Israelis to match it. Violence continued Wednesday. Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man and wounded another after they crossed into a restricted area around the fence that separates Gaza from Israel, military sources said. The men had no weapons, but they planted a 20 kilogram explosive device, the military said. The bomb was neutralized by the army. Move in US Congress on Jews from Arab countries Globes 10/30/2003 The Representatives behind the Sense of Congress motion also call on UNRWA to resettle Palestinian refugees. -- The Members of the House of Representatives in the US are initiating a Sense of Congress motion to recognize the distress of Jewish refugees from Arab states. A Sense of Congress motion is not binding, but could serve as an instrument for awakening public opinion in the US to the suffering of Jewish refugees, which is virtually unknown, in comparison with the suffering of Arab refugees. The initiators of the motion say the world must recognize that there are two refugee population in the Middle East - Jewish and Arab....The Sense of Congress motion will urge UNWRA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) to establish a special program to resettle Palestinian refugees, instead of prolonging their suffering in temporary camps. U.S. gradually scales down its mediating role in Israeli-Palestinian conflict NewJersey.com 10/30/2003 JERUSALEM (AP) -- Call us when you're serious about disarming militants -- that's the message Palestinians are getting from U.S. mediators who have scaled back their presence in the region. The apparent disengagement comes amid a deadlock in the U.S.-led "road map" peace plan, Washington's growing troubles in Iraq, and the distractions of the U.S. presidential election campaign. Israeli and Palestinian critics warn that reduced U.S. involvement will likely lead to more bloodshed, further harm America's image in the Arab world, and in the end bring on another round of U.S. mediation. Obeid blames flareups in South on Israel Daily Star 10/30/2003 Lebanon affirmed Wednesday that containing the situation in the South was primarily in the Israeli decision to put an end to the daily aggression of Lebanon’s sovereignty. This was stated during a meeting between Foreign Minister Jean Obeid and Staffan de Mistura, personal representative of the UN secretary-general for South Lebanon, in the wake of the recent tension in the southern border region. Still not bridging the gap Ha'aretz 10/29/2003 AMMAN - Irish Senator David Norris, who walked into the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in Amman, appeared perturbed. Norris, a member of the Irish parliament's foreign affairs committee, had just attended a lecture in the hotel for the delegation of 150 parliamentarians from Europe of which he is a member. The lecturer attacked Yasser Arafat. Norris was shocked. He declared heatedly that this was a public relations campaign and he would not allow the organizers to pull the wool over his eyes. A few hours earlier, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom sounded most satisfied. After visiting Washington Fateh officials fail to achieve major results Jerusalem Times 10/30/2003 Three Senior Fateh Officials ended up a one week visit to Washington last Friday for talks with US officials without any major result. The delegation, which included lawmakers Hatem Abdel Qader, Qadora Fares, and Member of Fateh Higher Committee Ahmad Ghaneim, had been invited by Democratic Members of Congress. The visit was "important and constructive" and aimed to get U.S support for a mutual truce with Israel, Ghaneim told The Jerusalem Times adding that he and his colleagues met with David Satterfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, Dennis Ross, a Former Middle East Envoy, and American Jewish leaders. Peres: Israel should stick to road map, not negotiate new plan Ha'aretz 10/30/2003 PARIS - Former Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres on Thursday warned against ditching a U.S.-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace road map for a recent alternate unofficial peace initiative. Peres, who resigned from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government last year and leads the opposition Labor Party, discussed the stalled peace process at a short meeting with French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday. "Since we already have a plan which is accepted by Palestinians, Israelis and the rest of the world, I wouldn't change it for something that could become controversial. Why give it up?" Peres told reporters after his talk with Chirac. US fumes over Al-Manar programming Daily Star 10/30/2003 Beirut and Damascus under pressure to intervene - Americans cry ‘anti-Semitism’ as Hizbullah’s television station prepares to run series on history of Zionism -- The United States criticized on Tuesday a television series on Hizbullah’s television on the history of Zionism and complained to the Lebanese and Syrian governments for allowing it to be aired. Al-Manar Television aired on Monday the first episode of a Syrian-made mini-drama it advertised as portraying the history of the Zionist movement. Al-Manar is airing the series, “Al-Shatat” ­ Arabic for The Diaspora ­ in daily segmentsduring the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when television audiences peak.

Human Rights..

Palestinian Family Used as Human Shields by IOF International Press Center 10/30/2003 GAZA, Palestine, October 30, 2003, (IPC)- - One of the earliest violations of international laws and the Fourth Geneva Convention committed by the Israeli occupying forces against the Palestinian people was to use them as human shields when apprehending or surrounding a Palestinian resistance activist's house. Saber Abahra, 50, of the Yamoun Town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, along with his four were forced last Friday out of their house in the early hours of dawn and were all used as human shields, according to the London based- Al-Quds Al-Arabi. Underage prisoners suffer from lack of medical attention Jerusalem Times 10/30/2003 The Palestinian Ministry of detained and released prisoners’ Affairs issued lately a report showing that the sick detained Palestinian children in the Israeli occupation prisons are living in a miserable conditions, in which they are denied necessary medical attention and necessary treatment, that might affect and endanger their lives if they are not treated on time....The Ministry clarified in its latest statistics that 41% of the detained sick children were injured as a result of torture during investigation inside the Israeli prisons and due also to the severe hard arrests and unhealthy conditions they are living in. Residents near wall to carry permits Jerusalem Times 10/30/2003 The Palestinian National Authority “PNA” decried Tuesday the Israeli army decision to force Palestinians residing near the “Israeli barrier” to obtain special permits to live in their own homes. Citing security reasons, Israel is building a barrier made of a mix of razor fence, concrete walls and trenches on the lands of the occupied West Bank, encircling hundreds of Palestinian villages. Palestinian officials said the order breached a pledge by Israel to the UN security council a fortnight ago that the barrier would not change the legal status of those who live near it, and was another step towards the annexation of tens of thousands of hectares of Palestinian land. Israeli Human Rights Groups Urge Probe of IOF's Killings Palestine Chronicle 10/30/2003 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) undercover units extra-judicially assassinated Ibrahim A’ref al-Na’neesh, 25, on Tuesday in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem and injured Ma’ath Fuad al-Habal, 17, as two Israeli human rights groups appealed to the Supreme Court to compel the IOF to investigate all incidents where Palestinian civilians are killed by the Israeli military, a spokesman for one of the groups said. Israeli undercover commandos killed an anti-Israeli-occupation activist linked to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement outside a West Bank refugee camp on Tuesday, witnesses and the IOF said....Israeli human rights groups on Tuesday appealed to the Supreme Court to compel the IOF to investigate all incidents where Palestinian civilians are killed by the occupying army, a spokesman for one of the groups said Tuesday. Palestinian village threatened with obliteration Palestinian Information Center 10/30/2003 Jenin - Zionist authorities have been systematically harassing inhabitants of the Palestinian Aqaba village in a bid to force their migration, which many of them already did leaving only a few families remaining in its township. The nearby Zionist army barracks the Tayaseer has been crippling the ordinary life of the Aqaba villagers as a result of the soldiers’ semi-daily indiscriminate firing in a training camp facing the village. The Zionist authorities recently handed villagers new 12 notifications stipulating the demolition of houses and installations in the town. Zionist army closes Palestinian school Palestinian Information Center 10/30/2003 Jenin - Zionist occupation forces have ordered the closure of a Palestinian secondary school in the mountainous West Bank village of Ya’bad at the pretext its students stoned army patrols. The serious precedence that fell in line with the Zionist policy of obstructing the Palestinian educational process meant that 482 students would be deprived of classes for a week. Open Military Police Investigations into Killings of Palestinian Civilians B'tselem 10/27/2003 Today, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and B'Tselem submitted a petition to the High Court of Justice against the Military Judge Advocate General (JAG). The organizations called on the JAG to open military investigations into all cases in which IDF soldiers kill Palestinian civilians who were not involved in combat. The petition details the circumstances surrounding the death of eight Palestinians who were killed by IDF soldiers between May 2002 and May 2003. Given that the effectiveness of such investigations decreases as time passes, the organizations called for an urgent hearing on the petition. The petition was submitted by ACRI Atty. Noa Stein, based on B'Tselem research. Palestinians riot in Israeli jail Al-Jazeera 10/30/2003 Fights broke out on Thursday between Palestinian prisoners and security guards at the Ketziot detention camp in southern Israel, Israeli army sources and a Palestinian rights organization said. According to the Bethlehem-based prisoners' club, the detainees were protesting against their harsh living conditions at Ketziot when they clashed with guards there. The organisation's head, Isa Qaraqa, managed to talk with detainees over the telephone and said teargas had been used to control the rioters. Ambulances had arrived at the scene, indicating people had been injured in the clashes, Qaraqa said. Israel destroys shipment of vitamins for disabled Palestinian children Islamic Association for Palestine 10/30/2003 Occupied Jerusalem: 30 October, 2003 (IAP News): Zionist regime authorities have destroyed a shipment of medicine, vitamins and other food supplements to disabled Palestinian children in the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip,some of whom suffer from down syndrome and malnutrition. According to officials of al-Awda hospital in Gaza, the shipment is worth tens of thousands of dollar. “The shipment was held at the airport in Tel Aviv and we were told that certain documents were needed. However when the documents were provided and every time we submitted a document, another was demanded,” said Dr. M. al Farra of the Awda hospital. “Eventually, the Israeli government destroyed the shipment of the vitamins without any explanation.” Palestinian Leader Decries Humiliating Israeli Detention Islam Online 10/30/2003 GAZA, October 30 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – With six times of frisking a day and banning the weekly prayers, the leader of Islamic Movement in the 1948-occupied Palestinian territories, known as Israeli Arab areas, complained against tough and humiliating conditions under the Israeli detention. “They turned down our request not to keep us shackled all the time, when we are moving to the clinic or the lounge for meeting our families every week,” said Raed Salah of his Jalama detention camp. Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories 23-29 Oct. 2003 Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 10/29/2003 11 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, were killed by Israeli forces / 5 of the victims were killed in extra-judicial assassinations carried out by Israeli forces / Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip / Israeli forces moved into al-Qarara village, and razed areas of agricultural land and destroyed civilian property / Further areas of agricultural land were razed in the Gaza Strip / Houses were raided and a number of Palestinians were arrested / 3 apartment buildings were destroyed in al-Zahra area, south of Gaza City / Indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas continued, particularly in Khan Yunis / A house in Hebron was destroyed by Israeli forces as part of the continued campaign of collective punishment against the families of Palestinians accused of involvement in attacks against Israeli targets / Continued siege on the OPTs: Continued Restrictions on travel at Rafah Terminal / Continued denial of access of Palestinian workers to their work places / 8 Palestinian civilians were wounded by Israeli gunfire at a military checkpoint north of Khan Younis

Economy..

More than 60% of Palestinians live under poverty line Jerusalem Times 10/30/2003 About 2.5 million Palestinians live below the poverty line and 264,000 of the Palestinian households have lost more than 50% of their usual income, according to the most recent report by Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on the impact of Israeli measures on the economic conditions of the Palestinian households. The survey was conducted during July-August 2003 and was based on a random sample of 3,996 households, of which 3,374 households completed the interview -- 2,317 in the West Bank and 1,057 in the Gaza Strip. Economy in Brief Jerusalem Times 10/30/2003 New budget submitted to cabinet / Parliament says PMA has no right to stop work of Abu Ghazaleh auditing company / Wall leaves impact on large percentage of Palestinians Foreign investment in Israeli real estate up 50% in 2003 Globes 10/30/2003 Foreigners invested $285 million in Israeli real estate in January-September 2003. -- Investments in Israeli real estate by foreigners have rise sharply this year, in line with the rapid growth in total foreign investments in Israel. NII: 18% of Israeli families living below poverty line Ha'aretz 10/30/2003 The proportion of Israeli families living below the poverty line rose to 18.1 percent of the population in 2002, including some 618,000 children, according to a report published Thursday by the National Insurance Institute. In real terms, around 1,321,000 people - some 396,000 households - were living on an amount lower than half the median national salary. According to most recent figures, the poverty line in Israel is NIS 4,463 (around $1,000) for a household of two adults and two children, and NIS 1,743 (around $370) for a single person. Israel falls to 20th place in global competitiveness ranking Globes 10/30/2003 Global Competitiveness Report 2003-2004: Israel posted one of the notable declines in the overall index. -- Israel is ranked 20th in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report 2003-2004, from 19th place in the previous report. The "Growth Competitive Index Ranking" is not final, and could be revised before the end of the year. Last year, Israel's ranking was raised from 19th to 17th place following revisions. Palestinian boycott campaign launched against Israeli products Al-Jazeera 10/30/2003 A new campaign against settlement products was launched in the last week’s Palestinian newspapers. The campaign called on Palestinians to halt the domination of Israeli goods in the Palestinian community. The call said: “No to filling our markets with settlements goods - Dear citizen, Please think a bit before you buy . . . How many workers can the Palestinian industry employ?... 2004 budget based on 4% deficit target Ha'aretz 10/30/2003 Finance Ministry Director-General Ohad Marani and Budgets Director Uri Yogev yesterday outlined the treasury's NIS 254.7 billion budget proposal for 2004. Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was conspicuous in his absence at yesterday's press conference at which the budget was discussed. Netanyahu, Peretz break from talks aimed at averting strike Ha'aretz 10/30/2003

People..

Sheikh Yassin: Spiritual figurehead BBC 10/30/2003 Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, spiritual leader of Hamas, is a frail man who can barely see. His voice is thin and quavering. Yet he wields growing power among Palestinians, long frustrated with a peace process that has failed to improve their lives. And his popularity has continued to mount. Thousands of cheering supporters turned out to watch him vow revenge for an attempt on his life in September 2003 by Israeli forces which left him injured. Born in 1938 in what was then Palestine under the British mandate, Sheikh Yassin's political views were forged at a time of humiliation and defeat for Palestinians. Legal move to end activist's life BBC 10/30/2003 Doctors will begin legal moves to switch off the life support of a British peace campaigner shot by an Israeli soldier, a friend says.Tom Hurndall, 22, was shot in the head while observing the Israeli army in April, leaving him in a permanent vegetative state. Doctors will apply to the High Court in the next few weeks, said family friend Carl Arrindell. Israel announced on Monday an investigation into the shooting. Mr Hurndall was observing and recording a peace group and the activities of the Israeli army when he was hit on 11 April. His campaign group, the International Solidarity Movement, said he was trying to protect women and children in the town of Rafah at the time. Palestinian Journalist wins World Journalism Awards Arabic Media Internet Network 10/27/2003 Walid Batrawi , a freelance Palestinian journalist won the 2003 Natali Prize: Excellence in Reporting Human Rights, Democracy and Development - one of the world's leading awards for journalists. Batrawi won the prize in the regional category of The Arab World, Iran and Israel for his article “ Media-less Reforms vs. Reform-less Media " published on-line at Arab Media Internet Network (AMIN) and in Al-Ayyam Daily. Palestinian children suffering through violence ABC Radio 10/29/2003 LINDA MOTTRAM: Yet another grim milestone has been reached in the latest, three-year-old phase of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. In violence which does not discriminate, 500 Palestinian children have now been killed. Thousands more have been wounded and psychologically damaged by the Israeli occupation. And health workers say that the unrelenting violence is breeding another generation of Palestinian fighters. In the first of a series of reports on the impact of the conflict on children, both Palestinian and Israeli, our Middle East Correspondent Mark Willacy travelled to Nablus, to meet members of one family whose lives have been shattered by the turmoil. MARK WILLACY: Arriving at the Zalum household in Nablus's old city, we're met with the usual Arab hospitality of coffee and dates. Also there to greet us is little Farah, whose name means "happiness". But this sweet, little six-year-old is a child of the uprising and a victim of its violence. Palestinian student debuts film Al-Jazeera 10/30/2003 A final year medical student from Dundee University is making her film debut at the prestigious Raindance film festival in London. Saliyha Ahsan spent two months in the Palestinian cities of Ram Allah and Nablus filming her documentary Article 17, focusing on the work of Palestinian paramedics. The title of the film refers to the fourth Geneva Convention and the universal right that all civilians have under international law to access healthcare in a conflict zone. Ahsan, a medical student, travelled to the West Bank in July 2002 to offer medical assistance to Palestinians in need and to expose the conditions that medics are forced to work in whilst under occupation. Health center inaugurated in Qalqilia Jerusalem Times 10/30/2003 The director of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR), Dr. Mohammed shtayyeh, declared recently that two projects of the health center and fresh water reservoir were accomplished for the city of Qalqilia, in which the estimated costs for the 2 projects were valued at $1000,000 that were donated from the Arab fund and the European Union (EU). Dr. Shtayyeh clarified in a press conference that the health center project in Qalqilia was implemented by PECDAR as a part of the development health services’ programs in Palestine with cooperation with the Ministry of health, the World’s Bank and funded by the Arab Fund for social and economic development in the amount of $627,000. The magic of Palestinian fairy tales Jerusalem Times 10/30/2003 The book 'Speak, Bird: a Study of Palestinian Fairy Tales,' whose tales were compiled by Ibrahim Mahawi and Sharif Canaaneh, is considered extremely important because it is a very serious effort and because everything Palestinian is subject to destruction and looting by the Israelis. This rich book, which tells the stories and documents them, is meant to preserve the Palestinian identity. Intel-Ireland invites ‘e-achiever’ to tour research facilities Jerusalem Times 10/30/2003 A 20-year-old Jerusalem resident Rana Qutteineh received a welcome surprise while she was representing Palestine at the Youth Forum of the International Telecommunications Union in Geneva. She found out that she was a finalist in the Young e-Achiever category of the Arabian Business Awards hosted during GITEX which is currently taking place in Dubai. Hamas leader talks strategies BBC 10/30/2003 For someone in Israel's gun sights, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin radiates confidence. The bearded paraplegic is the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, the largest and most militant of all the Palestinian groups fighting the Israeli occupation. Israel tried to kill him in September. But he was not in hiding when I met him. He was at home, attended by a single armed guard. I asked him about the burning topic of the day, a possible Palestinian ceasefire. Hamas has agreed to hold truce talks with the Palestinian Authority, but Sheikh Yassin said it was still waiting to hear the terms. "The issue is where the Palestinian national interest is in all of this," he said. Rana: No chance for Arab in Israeli world of modeling Al-Bawaba 10/8/2003 Dreams, apparently, don't only come true in fairytales. Two years after leaving Israel, Rana Raslan, Israel's first Arab to be crowned Miss Israel - has recently shared her personal Cinderella story with an Israeli daily...."Designer Galit Levy, (One of Israel's top designers – Albawaba) took advantage of my innocence and dressed me up in a dress with a Shield of David in it. I thought that was the symbol of the country, and that in the State of Israel – there were Arabs and Jews. "(However) that caused many problems for me. I also received threats on my life from both sides. My house turned into a cage, a fortress. Suddenly no one came. I would sit and wait for invitations, for shows, but nothing…I was good for decoration, but that didn't last"."It wasn't easy, I tried many times to 'push' her into shows, but people said – 'that Arab'", says Betty Rockaway, Raslan's agent...."When the Intifada broke out, no one wanted to hear about her. I couldn’t find her a job".

International..

Farmers oppose opening markets to Middle East Daily Star 10/30/2003 Postponement of free trade pact urged -- Local farmers requested Wednesday that the country postpone opening its borders to Arab agricultural produce in 2005, as they feel unprepared to go head to head with their larger, more confident competitors.The Higher Coordination Committee for Agricultural Syndicates and Cooperatives urged the state to reconsider honoring its agreement with the Arab Trade Organization to cancel all taxes on Arab agricultural products within the coming 14 months.“We are not ready,” said Wadah Fakhri, the president of the committee, explaining that Lebanon would be “eaten alive” by its larger and more competitive neighbors. Dollar drought irks Egyptian firms BBC 10/29/2003 A shortage of hard currency is undermining the Egyptian government's efforts to boost the country's exporting and tourism industries by allowing the pound to be devalued. There is growing frustration in the business community at how difficult it is to buy US dollars, and this has contributed to the re-emergence of an active black market in foreign currency. The government has responded to the shortage of dollars with a new law which demands all exporters hand over 75% of their foreign exchange earnings to the country's banks. The aim of the law has been to make sure the hard currency surrendered by firms is made available to the rest of the market. Malaysian Takes Swipes at U.S., Israel The Guardian 10/30/2003 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Retiring Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad took some parting swipes at the United States - this time about slavery and Christianity - and compared Europe's past ill-treatment of Jews to the way Israel treats Palestinians. Mahathir, who steps down Friday after 22 years in power, used a visit to a mosque to stoke the controversy he triggered two weeks ago by comments alleging Jewish world dominance. The remark was widely condemned and prompted a U.S. Senate vote this week to tie $1.2 million in military aid for Malaysia to a guarantee of religious freedom and tolerance for Jews. Invasion killed 'up to 15,000 Iraqis' Al-Jazeera 10/30/2003 Up to 15,000 Iraqis – around 4300 of them unarmed civilians – died during the first four weeks of the war, according to an independent US thinktank. A study by the Massachusetts-based Project on Defence Alternatives (PDA) says the available evidence shows approximately 11,000 to 15,000 Iraqis, combatants and non-combatants, were killed in the course of the US-led invasion. “Of the total number of Iraqi fatalities during the relevant period, approximately 30% (or between 3200 and 4300) were non-combatant civilians - that is, civilians who did not take up arms,” says the study released on Tuesday. PDA has not included Iraqis killed after 20 April in its review. Report links Iraq deals to Bush donations NewJersey.com 10/30/2003 WASHINGTON (AP) — Companies awarded $8 billion in contracts to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan have been major campaign donors to President Bush, and their executives have had important political and military connections, according to a study released Thursday. The study of more than 70 U.S. companies and individual contractors turned up more than $500,000 in donations to the president's 2000 campaign, more than they gave collectively to any other politician over the past dozen years. UNDP issues Arab Human Development Report United Nations Development Program 10/30/2003 Building a Knowledge Society: "AHDR 2002 challenged the Arab world to overcome three cardinal obstacles to human development posed by widening gaps in freedom, women’s empowerment and knowledge across the region. Looking at international, regional and local developments affecting Arab countries since the report was issued confirms that those challenges remain critically pertinent and may have become even graver, especially in the area of freedom. Nowhere is this more apparent than the status of Arab knowledge at the beginning of the 21st century, the theme of this second report. Muslim activist pleads not guilty to charges of dealings with Libya CNN 10/30/2003 ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- A prominent member of the American Muslim community under investigation for possible financial support to terrorist groups pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he had prohibited dealings with Libya, including accepting $340,000 in cash from the Libyan government. Abdurahman Alamoudi, 51, a naturalized American citizen and founder of the American Muslim Foundation, could face a lengthy prison sentence and revocation of his U.S. citizenship if convicted. Bush's Muslim Troubles Common Dreams 10/29/2003 Latest Photo Op Gesture Fails -- WASHINGTON - U.S. President George W. Bush's latest gesture to persuade Muslims both here and abroad that the United States is not seeking a ''clash of civilizations'' has not gone over well with its intended audience. The White House was clearly hoping its Iftaar dinner Tuesday evening, to which ambassadors from predominantly Muslim nations and individual U.S. Muslims were invited to break their Ramadan fast with the president, would send a reassuring message to the Islamic world....But a denunciation of the White House event by a number of national U.S. Muslim organizations just hours before it took place got more attention in the news media than the dinner itself, blunting whatever favorable impact Bush had hoped the gesture might make. English Translation Of Tarawih Live From Mekkah Islam Online 10/30/2003 RIYADH , October 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – In a move hailed by Muslims worldwide, particularly non-Arabic speakers, Saudi Arabia launched the first-ever live English translation of Tarawih prayer from Mekkah. The feed is being broadcast from TV studios at the Sacred Mosque via Saudi TV Channel 1 to various international satellite channels covering Ramadan prayers from Mekkah for millions of viewers around the world, said a statement by the Saudi Ministry For Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Dawa and Guidance. Chomsky: Bush may invent another 'threat' Al-Jazeera 10/30/2003 Leading linguist and commentator Noam Chomsky has said President George Bush will have to "manufacture" another threat to American security to win re-election in 2004 after US failure in occupying Iraq. Chomsky, attending a Latin American social sciences conference in the Cuban capital Havana, said that since the September 11 attacks the Bush administration had redefined US national security policy to include the use of force abroad, with or without United Nations approval. "It is a frightened country and it is easy to conjure up an imminent threat," Chomsky said at the launching of a Cuban edition of a book of interviews published by the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, when asked how Bush could get re-elected.

ISM News

Best viewed with Internet Explorer 5.0+ and Real player

Return to top of page