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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..

Palestinian shot dead as talks mooted Al-Jazeera 11/1/2003 A Palestinian man riding a motorcycle was shot and killed in the West Bank city of Nablus. Israeli army officials said soldiers shot the man on Saturday after he refused calls to stop, ignored warning shots and fled from troops. There was no independent confirmation of the claim. Palestinians accuse Israeli soldiers of often deliberately shooting civilians and then claiming they were resistance fighters. The military said the man, Muhammad Hamad, 23, was lightly wounded in the leg. But a reporter with the Associated Press said he saw the man's body in a hospital morgue with two gunshot wounds to the chest. Israeli Troops Ban Access of Friday Worshipers to Al Aqsa Mosque , Arrest Scores Including A Cameraman International Press Center 11/1/2003 JERUSALEM, November 1, 2003, (IPC+Agencies)-- Israeli occupation authorities denied Fridayaccess of thousands of Palestinian worshipers aged between 35 and 45to theholy city of Jerusalem as they wantedto perform the first Friday prayer at the Al-Aqsa mosque in this years’ holy month of Ramadan....Meanwhile, clashes broke out between Israeli soldiers,guarding the exit of the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem and Palestinian residents who wanted to cross the checkpoint of Gilo to attend prayers in theoccupied Jerusalem, witnesses said....The Israeli occupying forces stormed Friday several cities of the West Bank and launched house to house search. In Hebron city, a contingent of Israeli troops swooped onPalestinian dwellers of Al Rephada and Tal Al Rumeida areas....Scores of the Israeli soldiers werealso rounded up Friday morning in Qulqelia city after a troop of Israeli were occupation forces, amidst heavy machinegun fire, which enflamed the situation, IPC correspondent said....In Gaza Strip..Israeli occupation troops,backed by military vehicles,advanced Friday deep about 100 meters into Al Salam neighborhood and hailed it with indiscriminate fire...troops knocked down the house of Sameer Abu Al Se’aud..tanks shelled Yebna and al Shaóuth refugee camps of Rafah, causing gross damages to scores of the Palestinian citizens’ houses there. Palestinians: Motorcyclist shot dead by IDF troops in Nablus Ha'aretz 11/1/2003 Israel Defense Forces troops shot dead a Palestinian motorcyclist Saturday at a roadblock near the Aska refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian security and medical officials said. An IDF source said soldiers shot the man in the leg after he turned his motorcycle around and tried to drive away from the spot-checkpoint near Askar refugee camp outside Nablus, ignoring shouts to stop and warning shots. Doctors at Rafadiyeh Hospital in Nablus said Mohammed Shukri Hamad, 23, was shot in the chest and died. Israel To Raze With Robot Bulldozers International Middle East Media Center 11/1/2003 JERUSALEM - The giant Caterpillar bulldozer, used by the Israeli military to destroy Palestinian homes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, now comes with a controversial new feature: remote control. Israel says its remote-control technology will lower risks to soldiers. But Palestinians fear it will lead to more frequent raids using the machines and make the three-year conflict even bloodier. The remote-controlled D-9 bulldozer and a remote-control version of the Humvee, equipped with machine guns, were developed by the Israeli army and the Technion Institute of Technology. Both machines are U.S.-made, with Israeli modifications. They are expected to go into service in the next few weeks. Israeli army detonates bomb in Palestinian house Yahoo! News 10/31/2003 HIZMA, West Bank (AFP) - Israeli soldiers detonated an explosive device in the house of a suspected Palestinian militant in the West Bank vilage of Hizma, north of Jerusalem. According to Israeli army radio, the charge was an explosives belt such as those used by suicide bombers found in the suspect's house and detonated by an army bomb squad. The explosion destroyed the ground floor of the building and seriously damaged the first floor, the witnesses said Friday. IOF Restrict Palestinian Access to Al-Aqsa Mosque Palestine Media Center 11/1/2003 Erekat Warns against Remote-controlled Caterpillar Bulldozers -- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) scuffled Friday with Palestinian Muslim worshippers making their way to Jerusalem from the West Bank for special prayers during the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, destroyed a shipment of medicine, vitamins and other food supplements to disabled Palestinian children in Gaza Strip refugee camps and was set to start using remote control to operate giant Caterpillar bulldozers used to demolish Palestinian houses. Palestinians Discuss Cabinet, Civilian Killed In West Bank Islam Online 11/1/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank, November 1 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – As the Palestinian Authority’s officials met Saturday, November 1, to discuss the make-up of Prime Minister Ahmad Qorei's new government, a Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli troops in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. According to Palestinian security and hospital sources, Mohammed Hammad, 23, was shot in the chest by an Israeli patrol as he rode his motorbike in the city's Askar refugee camp, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). Bush administration earmarks $5m for any information on murder of Americans Palestinian Information Center 11/1/2003 Gaza - The American administration has declared a five million dollars reward for any information leading to the apprehension of the killers of three American security men in the Gaza Strip last month. Palestinian sources said that luring citizens with money was an attempt to distract the attention away from the real culprit namely the Zionist intelligence, which is the main party benefiting from the incident. Israeli fence will leave 70,000 Palestinians in no-man's-land Sydney Morning Herald 11/1/2003 With the Middle East peace process in deep freeze, the Israeli Government has announced measures that further tighten its hold on Palestinian lives and territory in the occupied West Bank. In its most radical move, the Israeli Government decreed a month ago that non-Israeli citizens must apply for written permission to enter, leave, work and live in Arab areas trapped between Israel proper and Israel's new security wall. Then last weekend the Ministry of Defence published for the first time its planned route for the entire 400-odd kilometre section of fence along the western edge of the West Bank. [The UN estimates "at least 210,000" Palestinians will be left outside the barrier. Most estimates indicate 45% of the West Bank will be outside the barrier and in Israeli hands - Ed.] Israel to Raze With Robot Bulldozers Middle East Peace 10/31/2003 JERUSALEM - The giant Caterpillar bulldozer, used by the Israeli military to destroy Palestinian homes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, now comes with a controversial new feature: remote control. Israel says its remote-control technology will lower risks to soldiers. But Palestinians fear it will lead to more frequent raids using the machines and make the three-year conflict even bloodier. The remote-controlled D-9 bulldozer and a remote-control version of the Humvee, equipped with machine guns, were developed by the Israeli army and the Technion Institute of Technology...Describing a day of field trials, a Technion statement quoted an Israeli army officer as asserting the thousands of dollars invested in each machine would save lives. "Today the bulldozer drivers are exposed to great danger when they knock down buildings that have militants hiding in them," the statement quoted the officer as saying. Photos: Middle East conflict Reuters 11/1/2003 Photos from memorial event on the anniversary of the murder of late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, more.

Diplomacy..

PNA Confirms But Downplays Contacts with Israel Palestine Media Center 11/1/2003 Palestinian and Israeli official sources have confirmed that contacts exist between the two sides, but the Palestine National Authority (PNA) downplayed the contacts, saying they are not serious negotiations. “These contacts cannot be described as the beginning of negotiations,” Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei (Abu Ala) told Al-Quds daily on Saturday, adding that there can be no talk about serious negotiations before a new and enlarged Palestinian cabinet is formed. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s media adviser, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, confirmed Friday that contacts were being held between Israel and the PNA to ease restrictions on the Palestinian population, but he said that no results have been achieved in the talks so far. US demands crackdown before talks can begin The Age 11/1/2003 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he was ready to negotiate with the new Palestinian Prime Minister at any time, but US officials say the Palestinians first must dismantle terrorist organisations. Israel had previously said it would not talk with the new Palestinian Government, led by Ahmed Qurie, because its cabinet was too closely linked with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Mr Sharon, speaking on Thursday night in Tel Aviv, said the absence of top-level communication was due to Palestinian reluctance. "The reason we don't have prime ministerial level contacts stems from the fact that Palestinians have requested time to allow the designated Palestinian Prime Minister to establish himself," Mr Sharon said. "We are ready to enter negotiations at any time." Palestinians Welcome Israel Bid for Talks The Guardian 11/1/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Palestinian leaders on Saturday welcomed Israeli offers to resume peace talks but said any negotiations must come with efforts to stop violence and halt Jewish settlement building. A new round of meetings also depends in part on whether the Palestinians can complete formation of a new government in the coming days. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, who is leading an emergency government with a one-month mandate, has until Tuesday to form a full Cabinet. Palestinian leaders, Mofaz to hold talks Daily Star 11/1/2003 Announcement follows Israeli chief of staff’s public criticism for crackdown -- Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz will hold talks with Palestinian leaders next week, political sources said Friday, after his chief of staff said a harsh security clampdown on Palestinian areas was backfiring. It would be first such ministerial meeting between the two sides since Ahmed Qorei was nominated Palestinian prime minister last month and marks a more moderate Israeli stance which has raised a glimmer of hope for the troubled “road map” peace plan. Sharon seeks Russian 'road map' turnaround Al-Jazeera 11/1/2003 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to seek to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to drop his country’s efforts to turn the “road map” into a binding UN resolution. Sharon is due to arrive in Moscow on Sunday. His three-day visit comes as Russia prepares to submit a resolution to the UN Security Council making the implementation of the internationally-backed blueprint compulsory. Together with the United States, United Nations and the European Union, Russia is one of the so-called quartet of diplomatic players to back the "road map" for peace in the Middle East. Russia pushing UN resolution supporting 'road map' Ha'aretz 10/31/2003 UNITED NATIONS - Russia introduced a UN resolution on Thursday endorsing the "road map" on a Middle East peace settlement in hopes of securing a Security Council vote next week to revive the plan, despite U.S. objections about timing. Moscow, frustrated by the recent surge of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories and by the lack of peace talks, wants to breathe life back into the 'road map' that it helped design. President Arafat Asks Putin to Pressurize Israel, Russia Proposes a Bill International Press Center 11/1/2003 RAMALLAH, Palestine, November 1, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies)-- President Yasser Arafat called on Moscow yesterday to pressure the Israeli government to stop offensives against the Palestinian people, stressing the Palestinians’readiness to reach a ceasefire and return immediately to negotiations. President Arafat was reacting to the latest developments in the region including the Russian President Putin’s letter over a peace proposal. PM to visit Russia on Sunday for talks on road map, Iran Ha'aretz 11/1/2003 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wants to try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to drop his plan to turn the Quartet's road map for a performance-based peace process in the Middle East into a UN Security Council Resolution for a peace in the Middle East. Israel is vehemently opposed to the road map being moved to the Security Council because, it says, that would harm the chances for implementing it, and obstruct negotiations in the future. Wolfowitz Supports Mideast Petition Drive Yahoo! News 10/30/2003 WASHINGTON - The Pentagon (news - web sites)'s No. 2 official voiced support Thursday for an unofficial drive for a two-state solution to conflict in the Middle East, showing the administration's frustration with hard-line leaders on both sides. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz praised the petition drive by a prominent Palestinian moderate and the former head of Israel's secret service. Wolfowitz said he met last week with Israeli Adm. Ami Ayalon and Palestinian professor Sari Nusseibeh, who say they have collected 100,000 Israeli and 60,000 Palestinian signatures on their petition in just three months. Qureia says ready for peace talks; Fatah picks PLC speaker Ha'aretz 11/1/2003 Palestinian leaders Saturday welcomed Israeli offers to resume peace talks, but said any negotiations must come with efforts to stop violence and halt settlement building in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia also signaled Saturday that he was not opposed to a meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, although none was immediately forthcoming, and confirmed that there were contacts between the two sides Yassin: No new hudna without halting Zionist aggression Palestinian Information Center 11/1/2003 Gaza - Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder and spiritual leader of the Hamas Movement, has affirmed that there was no room for negotiating a new hudna (truce) without halting the Zionist aggression first. Sheikh Yassin, in an interview yesterday with Al-Jazeera TV network, denied that his Movement was under pressure to declare a new hudna. He said, “We have agreed to a hudna before but terrorist Sharon aborted it. Whenever we agree to a hudna his arrogance increases”. US slims down Mideast roadmap monitoring team as peace plan falters ReliefWeb 10/30/2003 WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (AFP) - The United States has reduced the size and cut the budget of the team it sent to the Middle East with great fanfare earlier this year to monitor the implementation of the so-called "roadmap" for Israeli-Palestinian peace, the State Department said Thursday. At the same time, spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington had not lost confidence in the roadmap but stressed that the Palestinians had to first clamp down on anti-Israeli violence for progress to be made. Gearing up for stability Al-Ahram Weekly on-line 30 October - 5 Novem Arab diplomacy is stepping up its efforts on Iraq and Palestine -- For the first time since the fall of Baghdad, the Arab League is sending a delegation to Iraq to meet with the many representatives of the different Iraqi political powers, tribes and religious groupings. The team that is likely to be composed of two diplomats of the secretariat of the Arab League will be flying to the Iraqi capital within a few weeks....Increased Arab input, both financially and politically, is also being requested on the Palestinian front. Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly on background, Palestinian sources indicated "a sense of frustration on the part of the Palestinian leadership" over the collective support, or lack thereof, demonstrated by Arab countries towards the Palestinian people in their current plight. Israeli army chief's criticism of Sharon may ease restrictions in occupied lands The Independent 11/1/2003 Moves are under way to ease restrictions for millions of Palestinians in the occupied territories. The plan was confirmed yesterday after the Israeli army's chief of staff, Moshe Ya'alon, was named as the source behind an attack on the hardline policies of Ariel Sharon's government. Mr Sharon said yesterday that he was ready for talks on the peace process with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Ahmad Qureia, "at any time". Mr Sharon's government may have been stung into action by General Ya'alon's criticisms. U.S. Says Flatly Syria Should Quit Lebanon 'Shortly' An Nahar 11/1/2003 The Bush administration says Syria will have to withdraw from Lebanon in a short time, asserting that the Damascus government "has to be taken to account and will be taken to account." "Lebanon needs at an early point in the future to be free and to have an opportunity to build a Lebanese society for the Lebanese," Bush's National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice told a news conference in New York Thursday night. NGO calls for campaign to speed up prisoner swap Daily Star 11/1/2003 Leader slams ‘silence, indifference’ on return of Arab detainees from Israel -- Lebanese and Arab governments should mount a diplomatic and media campaign to force Israel to speed up negotiations with Hizbullah over a prisoner-swap deal that involves a number of Arab and Lebanese prisoners, a Lebanese non-governmental organization said Friday. Washington offered dismantling of settlements in return for dismantling resistance Palestinian Information Center 11/1/2003 Nablus - A prominent leader in the Fatah Movement, who recently returned from a Washington visit, has revealed that the American administration had proposed dismantling Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in return for dismantling the Palestinian resistance factions. Qaddoura Fares, who is also a member in the Palestinian legislative council, told daily ‘Al-Qabas’ published yesterday that the American administration had tabled its offer during a meeting between a Fatah delegation in Washington and the assistant to the American secretary of state. EC might boycott Zionist officials Palestinian Information Center 11/1/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - The Hebrew daily ‘Yediot Ahronot’ has published on its Arabic language website yesterday that a number of European countries were discussing imposing an embargo on meetings with “Israeli” officials. The paper said that the step would retaliate to “Israeli” boycott of European officials visiting Palestinian Authority chief Yasser Arafat. It said that the Zionist foreign ministry had recently received reports to that effect. Rice: Palestinian PM must take control of security forces Ha'aretz 11/1/2003 WASHINGTON - The new Palestinian government that Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia is forming must take control of security if U.S. peace efforts in the Middle East are to advance, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said. She also said President George W. Bush was prepared to meet Qureia in the future "when conditions are right" and Palestinian security forces have been consolidated. Wolfowitz supports Ayalon-Nussiebeh peace plan Ha'aretz 11/1/2003 The United States Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz expressed his support Thursday for the "People's Voice" initiative drawn up by former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon and President of the Al-Quds University Sari Nusseibeh. The two presented Wolfowitz with the main principles of the plan during a meeting in Washington last week. Wolfowitz said that plan was very similar in nature to the road map to Middle East peace, the internationally-brokered plan envisioning a two-state solution by 2005. One Mideast State May Be Future of Israel Miami Herald 11/1/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank - Ramallah, the bustling heart of Palestinian life in the West Bank, is rapidly becoming surrounded by Israeli settlements, from the trailer homes of hilltop outposts to the cookie-cutter apartment buildings on the nearby outskirts of Jerusalem. It's a familiar picture throughout the West Bank, and as the Jewish and Palestinian populations become more entangled, the internationally backed solution of separating them into two states is looking increasingly difficult. With settlement-building continuing and peace efforts stalled, Israelis in growing numbers are worrying that a partition may soon become impossible - and some Palestinians have concluded that a single state for both peoples is in their interest.

Human Rights..

Israel still bars Muslims from al-Aqsa Al-Jazeera 10/31/2003 Israeli police and soldiers have continued to restrict worshippers access to Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound for the first Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Only married men over 45 and married women over 35 were allowed to enter the compound, the third holiest site in Islam. The number of special permits granted to Palestinian worshippers from the Gaza Strip and the rest of the West Bank was also limited to 5,000. Security versus Harassment International Middle East Media Center 11/1/2003 Soldiers at the Bethlehem-Jerusalem military check post prevented Friday morning hundreds of the residents of Bethlehem from entering Jerusalem to share in the Ramadan Friday prayer at Al-aqsa Mosque. According to local sources, soldiers repeatedly attacked the crowd, who were persistent with their demand to be allowed through and did not abide to soldiers call for them to evacuate the check post and go back home. Palestinian Refugee Agency still faces major challenges as situation in Occupied Territories worsens ReliefWeb/United Nations 10/30/2003 Commissioner-General reports to Fourth Committee -- The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) continued to face major challenges in implementing its mandate amid an ever-worsening socio-economic and humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Agency's Commissioner-General told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) this afternoon. Presenting his annual report to the Committee, Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said UNRWA had seen a mild improvement in its overall financial health, which could lead to a restoration of the quality of services that had existed before a long period of under funding. No property rights for Lebanon's refugees Al-Jazeera 10/30/2003 Abu Umar is a humble man with relatively humble ambitions. He says he does not aspire to much, just the right to own an apartment or a small store, something he can one day pass on to his children. But his seemingly modest goal may never be realised, not necessarily because of financial constraints, but because the Lebanese government deems it illegal. Abu Umar is a Palestinian refugee and amendments to a Lebanese property law in 2002 forbid the acquisition of real estate by non-Lebanese persons “who do not possess citizenship issued by a state recognised by Lebanon.” Campaign against Hanan Ashrawi Miftah 10/30/2003 Dear friends, You may not know that Hanan Ashrawi has been awarded the Sydney Peace Prize for 2003 awarded by the Sydney Peace Foundation. Hanan Ashrawi has been subject to an unprecedented campaign of vilification and disinformation by the Zionist Establishment. There is an international campaign to have Carr and the University of Sydney dissassociate itself from the award. The University has already withdrawn the use of its Great Hall for the presentation, despite it having been available for previous awards. The Premier of NSW Bob Carr is presenting the prize 6 November. He has so far resisted the pressure to withdraw....What you can do.... AFSC supports hundreds of Palestinian families left homeless Electronic Intifada/AFSC 10/29/2003 Today the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) announced that, on the recommendation of staff in Gaza, it is contributing $20,000 for humanitarian assistance to hundreds of Palestinian families left homeless by the recent actions of the Israeli Army in Gaza. AFSC will also accept donations for additional relief. This first contribution is made through AFSC's Building Homes/Building Peace Campaign initiated in 2000 after the start of the second intifada, when parts of Gaza were re-occupied by the Israeli Army. Report of Balata shooting International Solidarity Movement 10/27/2003 Nablus - Kelly B. - 27 Oct 03 -- friends, it’s been a month since my last email, and i want to send my apologies to everyone who has been sending me worried emails. life has been busier than usual lately - i spend my entire days out in villages helping with the olive harvest and my nights doing organizing and responding to nightly incursions into the camps. in the past two weeksthere has been an intense closure on the west bank making traveling, even to villages just next to nablus, extremely difficult. there has been an increase in military air traffic over the city and daily evening incursions into balata and nablus. On The Road in Palestine International Solidarity Movement 10/30/2003 Nablus - John R. - 30 Oct 03 -- ...As we ride towards the desperately impoverished Balata camp, the taxi driver treats us to a tour of this enchanting West Bank town. Here is where the Israeli Army killed a dozen Palestinian policemen last year. There is where the IDF shot down three children whose crime was to throw stones at their oppressors. He points out cars flattened by Israeli tanks but omits the hospital where the Israelis will raid with blazing gunfire to capture two wounded militants three days later. I am so exhausted that I hardly notice the fetid air of the camp. Rafah Update & Ramadan Squash Recipe International Solidarity Movement 10/31/2003 Gaza - Lora - 1 Nov 03 -- 1) Rafah Update: October 31, 2003 -- A tank stopped at the door of Abu Ahmed’s home on Ramadan’s first afternoon. It turned on its loudspeaker. "Ya’hajj!" Abu Ahmed was peering at the tank from his doorway. "Ya’hajj, b’tsom, ya’hajj?" "Are you fasting?" Enshalla, basom. Oo’into? With God’s help I fast. And you? Enshalla, insaim. With God’s help, we are fasting. The accent was Bedouin, from inside Israel. Taal, aftar maa’na. Come break your fast with us. It was almost margheb. The sky was overcast. Wein, fi’il debaba? Taalo tiftaro maana fi’il beit. B’tkhaifish. Ma’fish ishi. Where, in the tank? Come eat with us in our home. Don’t be afraid, there’s no danger here. Abu Ahmed age 64? 65? – he isn’t sure himself, as he leans on his cane, his third leg – offering safety to armed soldiers in the midst of their adolescence. Legal institution demands release of wounded captive Palestinian Information Center 11/1/2003 Ramallah - The Mandela Institution has asked the Zionist occupation authorities to release the Palestinian young man Khaled Theeb Hassan Abu Ahmed, 33, who was kidnapped from the Anglican Hospital’s intensive care unit in Nablus. Mandela expressed utmost concern in a statement issued in Ramallah yesterday over the Zionist armed forces’ abduction of that detainee who was receiving treatment from serious wounds in the Anglican Hospital.

Economy..

Laden tankers leave Israel; Netanyahu, Peretz set to meet Ha'aretz 11/1/2003 Two tankers, one holding 50 million liters of petrol, departed Israel on Saturday, after striking workers at Ashkelon port barred the unloading of the fuel in the harbor. The Histadrut labor federation, headed by Amir Peretz, announced Friday evening that Port Authorities workers were barred from unloading fuel from tankers anchored at Israeli ports. Workers are allowing tankers to anchor at the ports, but they cannot unload their fuel. Histadrut ready for "unprecedented strike" from Monday Globes 10/30/2003 Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu and Histadrut chairman MK Amir Perez will meet again tonight. -- Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu and Histadrut chairman MK Amir Perez held another round of talks this afternoon, and are due to meet again at 7 pm. Nine-month exports to Arab countries up 13% Globes 10/30/2003 Exports to Jordan rose 24%, while exports to Egypt fell 3% in January-September 2003. -- Exports to Arab countries rose 13% in January-September 2003, to $88 million, after falling in 2002. Exports to Jordan rose 24%, while exports to Egypt fell 3% in January-September, according to an Israel Export Institute analysis of trade with Arab countries. “The Economist” upgrades Israel forecast Globes 10/30/2003 The British economic weekly predicts that growth in Israel will be much higher in 2004. -- Prestigious British weekly “The Economist” today published an optimistic updated forecast for the Israeli economy. ”The Economist” predicted that growth in Israel would be much higher in 2004, led by exports. The magazine stressed that recovery in economic activity and tax revenues had begun as early as mid-2003.

People..

Dozens gather in Negev to call for evacuation of Netzarim Ha'aretz 10/31/2003 Dozens of Israelis from across the country demonstrated Friday morning in the Negev in support of the evacuation the Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim, where three Israel Defense Forces soldiers - two of them female - were killed in an attack by Palestinian gunmen exactly one week ago. The demonstrators, who gathered at the Sa'ad Junction in the desert, carried banners reading "Netzarim is not a mitzvah of the Torah" and "Netzarim residents: Look the soldiers in the eye." 1,500 to guard Rabin memorial after vandals strike at site Ha'aretz 11/1/2003 ...vandals had painted swastikas in silver spray paint on the monument and scrawled "Kahane was right" - a reference to the extreme-right Kach leader Rabbi Meir Kahane - across a banner on the stage.. -- Some 1,500 police officers, bomb disposal experts and volunteers are to guard the memorial service for slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, after the monument at the site was vandalized Friday. Thousands are expected to attend the annual event, which is set to begin at 8 P.M. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon condemned the "terrible" vandalism Friday and called Rabin's daughter, Dalia Rabin-Pelossof, to express his shock. Japan supports immunization for Palestinian children and women ReliefWeb 10/31/2003 GENEVA / JERUSALEM, 31 October 2003 - The Government of Japan has donated US 2 million to UNICEF in support of the prevention of infectious diseases for Palestinian Children and Women in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Japan's contribution will secure the rights of 400,000 Palestinian children aged 0-15 years and more than 80,000 Palestinian women of reproductive age to immunization services. Gen. Lahd Opens 'Byblos' Seaside Restaurant in Tel Aviv An Nahar 11/1/2003 The leader of a disbanded Lebanese militia that fought alongside Israel during its 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon has hung up his military uniform and opened a seaside bar-restaurant. Gen. Antoine Lahd, who fled Lebanon after Israel withdrew its forces in May 2000, was on hand Thursday to great the VIP guests who came to wish him well on his new career as a restaurateur....Lahd has been sentenced to death in absentia by a Lebanese court for collaborating with Israel during the war. Testimony of James Kunder Deputy Assistant Administrator ANE: Palestinian Education ReliefWeb/USAID 10/30/2003 Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education -- Mr. Chairman: Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development. I would like to begin by echoing the words of Deputy Assistant Secretary Satterfield: We appreciate the importance of education as a force for peace and progress in the world, and share the concern of this Subcommittee whenever the education of children is perverted to serve as a platform for violence and hatred.

International..

Israel 'biggest' threat to world peace Al-Jazeera 11/1/2003 A European Commission poll has revealed that 60 per cent of Europeans believe that Israel is a greater threat to world peace than North Korea, Iran or Afghanistan. Around 7,500 people from 15 different European countries were surveyed by the Commission. They were presented with a list of 15 countries and asked to pick which ones represented a threat to world peace. Some 59 per cent of respondents said they believed that Israel was a greater threat to world peace than North Korea and Iran. Wiesenthal Center ired by EU poll naming Israel top threat Ha'aretz 11/1/2003 LOS ANGELES - An international Jewish human rights group called for excluding the European Union from Israel-Palestinian peace talks after reports that a new poll shows many Europeans consider Israel the top threat to world peace. The Simon Wiesenthal Center said it was outraged at published reports that the 59 percent of 7,500 Europeans surveyed called Israel a larger threat to world peace than North Korea or Iran. Joint committee frets security Daily Star 11/1/2003 Syria, lebanon discuss latest regional strife -- Political arguments over the draft 2004 budget overshadowed growing concerns about the regional situation and a meeting of the Lebanese-Syrian Military Coordination Committee in Beirut to discuss continuing security cooperation between Beirut and Damascus. The committee discussed recent events affecting the two countries, including an Israeli attack on Syrian territory in recent weeks and the passing of the Syria Accountability and Restoration of Lebanese Sovereignty Act in the US House of Representatives. Damascus talks to include Iraq Al-Jazeera 11/1/2003 Syria has agreed to allow Iraq's US-installed interim leadership to take part in a meeting of the occupied nation's neighbours on Saturday. The 11th hour decision cleared the way for the participation of Washington's Arab allies. Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had all threatened to boycott the talks unless Iraq's interim foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari was given a seat. In what Arab diplomats described as a "face-saving measure" for the Syrian hosts, the seven foreign ministers were to meet briefly without Iraq before the formal gathering. Iran passes initial UN test over nuclear weapons programme The Guardian 11/1/2003 Iran appeared to have passed a stiff international test on its suspected nuclear weapons programme yesterday when the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Tehran had supplied its inspectors with a "comprehensive" record of a project that goes back 20 years. Last month the UN body, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, set Tehran an ultimatum of revealing all about its nuclear projects by yesterday or risk greater isolation and possible sanctions. Third Annual Palestine Solidarity Conference, Ohio, Nov 7-9 Electronic Intifada/Palestine Solidarity Movement 10/31/2003 The Palestine Solidarity Movement is a coalition of student and community based activist organizations that work to promote justice, human rights, liberation and self-determination for the Palestinian people. Among other things, participants of the conference will gather to network, educate and strategize ways in which to build support for an already existing divestment campaign, designed to put an end to the Israeli occupation and stop military and financial aid to Israel in all its forms. US accuses Syria of developing WMDs Middle East Online 11/1/2003 State Department officials accuse Damascus of continuing to support terror despite US pressure. -- Despite threats of US diplomatic and economic sanctions, there is little evidence that Syria has lessened its support of terror groups, top administration officials said Thursday. "While we continue to have hope for eventual improvement in Syrian attitudes, policies and actions, we see little at this time to indicate that Syrian support for terrorism is diminishing," said Cofer Black, the State Department's coordinator for counter-terrorism, at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. US charges Hezbollah TV serial of anti-semitism Middle East Online 11/1/2003 Indignation, mirth in Beirut over US efforts to muzzle TV series 'al-Shatat' that began airing on first day of Ramadan. -- BEIRUT - Lebanese officials Friday rejected US calls for them to intervene with Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah over a mini-series on Zionism airing on its television station, saying to do so would be a violation of free speech. "We will not interfere with an independent television channel," one official said, asking not to be named.

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