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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..

Israeli Bulldozers Tear down Another 5 Houses In Rafah International Press Center 11/13/2003 RAFAH, November,13,2003 (IPC)--Israeli Occupation Forces destroyed Thursday morning five Palestinian houses in the refugee camp of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip. Three Israeli D-9 military bulldozers, backed by several armored vehicles, resumed Thursday morning the tearing down of 5 houses in bloc (O) OF Rafah refugee camp, which they partially demolished awhile ago, Palestinian security sources said....Locals said that the Israeli incursion took place under a cover of warplane while the armored vehicles were firing heavy gunfire at the civilians’ houses. Israeli Troops Kill a Palestinian; Expel a Second to Gaza International Press Center 11/13/2003 Gaza, November, 13, 2003 (IPC+WAFA)-- Israeli occupation forces killed one Palestinian in the central of the Gaza Strip. In the meantime a second Palestinian citizen was expelled by IOF from Jenin to Gaza in 24 hours. A member of the Islamic Jihad was killed by Israeli gunfire in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian hospital sources said....Bethor told Al Jazeera TV that he had no idea he was being taken to Gaza. He said he thought he was being taken to an Al Muskobyia detention center for further questioning....A massive Israeli incursion took place Thursday dawn in Batten Al Sameen, west of khan Younis, south Gaza Strip. Witnesses told IPC correspondent that a column of tanks and military jeeps advanced deep in area under indiscriminate heavy shootings and a copter cover. The Israeli troops stormed in the Palestinian houses, and vandalized the civilians’ belongings....In Rafah, three Palestinian citizens were reportedly shot wounded by the Israeli occupation forces in Yebna refugee camp of Rafah. Two Palestinian Children Die of Wounds International Press Center 11/12/2003 PALESTINE, November 12, 2003, (IPC+Agencies)-- Two Palestinian teen boys died of wounds they sustained by Israeli fire as three others were wounded, while scores of otherswere arrested in several cities of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Liath Mazen Subeih, 15, died Wednesday of his wounds he sustained last Saturday in Barqeen town of Jenin by the Israeli occupying soldiers, Palestinian medical sources confirmed....Shadi Abu Anza, 14, died Tuesday of his wounds he claimed by the Israeli gunshots in theblock “O” of Rafah, Palestinian medical source of the European hospital confirmed....In the West Bank city of Jenin, three Palestinian citizens were wounded in Al Fendouqia village, south of Jenin, by the Israeli occupation troops, WAFA reported....A contingent of the Israeli troops ravaged the civilians’ houses in Beit Sourif town of Hebron on Tuesday, IPC correspondent said.... Attacks on Palestinian Medical Relief Staff Continue Palestine Monitor/Palestinian Medical Relief Society 11/12/2003 In Ramallah today, Tareq Azmi Al Baz was the latest health professional to be prevented by the Israeli army from conducting his essential humanitarian work. Whilst on a medical mission, Israeli soldiers stopped the car at gunpoint, and forced Tareq to get out. Despite being clearly labeled as part of a medical team, the soldiers subjected Tareq to verbal and physical abuse, as well as a body search. Shooting was also involved although no severe injuries were reported. Without providing any justification for their actions, the soldiers then entered the vehicle and searched its contents. Occupation forces storm Nablus Palestinian Information Center 11/12/2003 Nablus Large numbers of Zionist terrorist forces stormed at dawn today the old quarters of the biggest West Bank city of Nablus arresting many civilians in the process. Palestinian sources said that Zionist soldiers occupied many buildings in the center of the old town, forcing their occupants out. The sources noted that the invading forces carried many detained youths to the Junaid prison at the western outskirts of the city. Zionist forces fire and wound seven Palestinians Palestinian Information Center 11/12/2003 Jenin Zionist occupation forces yesterday opened indiscriminate fire at Palestinian civilians in the Findoqumiya village to the south of the West Bank city of Jenin wounding seven of them. The invading Zionist forces were imposing a curfew on the village and breaking into houses at the pretext of searching for wanted activists. In another village, Yamon, in the same area, the Zionist forces were mobilizing more armored troops and tractors apparently to demolish civilian houses. Rafah Today Reports from Rafah - Palestine 11/11/2003 This is the situation in the Rafah Refugee Camps: after invading Yebna Camp in Rafah and demolished all it's houses, after Hai Al Salam area that was also demolished, and after Al Brazil refugee camp had been demolished, yesterday, they demolished 21 houses, and killed a child, Shadi Abu Anza - 14 years old. He was killed while trying to get out of his house when Israeli bulldozers attacked. Many others were injured in the same attack. Yes, demolishing houses has become something normal for this world.. demolishing houses means killing dreams. They are demolishing 21 newly built houses right now while the driver of the bulldozer was in his bulldozer and the people were running in the streets. It was raining heavily. News from Gaza Reports from Rafah - Palestine 11/7/2003 In less than 8 hours, the number of people who were killed increased to 4, one of whom is Mahmoud al Kiad, a 10 year old child, murdered in cold blood. There are over 11 injured people in AL Magazi Refugee Camp in the middle of Gaza Strip. Even now, people are still bleeding and TV channels are broadcasting political conferences and the new play which is called a "Road Map" ... this map that died in the heart of every Palestinian because of the Israeli violation of all the human laws. Another attack was in Khan Younes Camp and resulted in large number of injuries.. Eyewitnesses say they saw the Israeli bulldozers killing Momen Omer Al Moghari, a 20 year old, and after they killed him they passed overhis body with their tanks. Work begins on new tranche of Israeli separation barrier ReliefWeb 11/13/2003 RANTIS, West Bank, Nov 13 (AFP) - Israel has begun construction on a new tranche of its controversial separation barrier close to the heavily-populated Alkana settlement in the West Bank, an AFP journalist witnessed. Three bulldozers, guarded by armed vigilantes and soldiers, began to level the land near the Palestinian village of Rantis which lies around 30 kilometers (19 miles) to the west of the town of Ramallah. The new 7.4 kilometer section will run from Rantis, which is several hundred meters (yards) on the Palestinian side of the Green Line marking the boundary of the West Bank, southwards to the Palestinian village of Al-Midyah. Continuing Violence in Yamun International Solidarity Movement 11/12/2003 [Note: This morning’s release regarding curfew and escalating violence in Yanoun should’ve read Yamun, and was miscommunicated during the initial phone call from the site.] We just received a second call from Yamun, detailing that another boy, Ahmad Khalil Jaradat (age said to be 12-14) is on his way to a hospital in Jenin, having been shot in the ankle by Israeli soldiers. Four Israeli Arabs suspected of being recruited by Hamas Ha'aretz 11/13/2003 Security services recently arrested four Israeli Arabs on suspicion that they were recruited by Hamas to serve as the terror organization's agents, it was released for publication Thursday. The four, who live in the Galilee and were students at universities in Jordan, were allegedly recruited while on a pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. There, they allegedly were trained to take weapons apart and put them together, Army Radio reported Thursday. Israel recruited Dutch UN officers for espionage Electronic Intifada 11/12/2003 Between 1956 and 2003, Israel has recruited Dutch UN officers to spy in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. This happened during the peaks of the Dutch-Israeli friendship. In its recruitment of Dutch officers for intelligence gathering, Israel regularly used blackmail. Arthur ten Cate, a researcher affiliated with the Dutch Institute for Military History in The Hague, recently published a book "Waarnemers op heilige grond" [lit. "Observers on holy ground"], Dutch officers with UNTSO 1956-2003, in which he named two Israeli crimps and Dutch officers who were involved in intelligence gathering for Israel. Young Israeli settlers wage 'war of olives' Middle East Online 11/10/2003 Hilltop youths step up 'war of olives' against West Bank Palestinians who are harvesting only fear, hatred. -- Ibrahim picks up one of the sawed off olive branches which litter his steep hillside grove in Sawiya. "A symbol of peace," he says sarcastically, pointing to the homes of the Jewish settlers who destroyed his trees. Three days earlier, groups of armed young settlers poured down from the Eli settlement which straddles several hills on Sawiya's farmland and raided the grove, wrecking up to 200 trees with chainsaws and machetes. USA supplies Hebrew state with 102 advanced F-16A warplanes Palestinian Information Center 11/13/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Hebrew press yesterday revealed that the “Israeli” defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, who is currently visiting the USA, would fly to Texas next Friday to attend a ceremony on the occasion of receiving the first advanced F-16A warplane. The warplane would be the first delivered to Tel Aviv within a deal to sell the Zionist entity 102 warplanes of this advanced model in the course of the upcoming two years. Palestinians denounce Zionist detention of chief justice Palestinian Information Center 11/12/2003 Occupied Jerusalem- National and Islamic forces in occupied Jerusalem have issued a statement denouncing the Zionist detention of Sheikh Tayseer Al-Tamimi, chief justice of Palestinian Islamic courts, yesterday. The statement described the Zionist step as a new aggressive step falling in line with the judaization scheme of the holy city and the Aqsa Mosque in addition to posing as an infringement on the freedom of worship. The Dar Al-Fatwa and Islamic Research in Palestine also strongly condemned the arrest of the chief justice and the secretary of the Islamic Authority in Jerusalem, describing it as immoral and totally unacceptable. Israeli troops destroy five Palestinian houses in Rafah ReliefWeb 11/13/2003 GAZA, Nov 13, 2003 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Israeli troops backed by tanks and armored vehicles destroyed five Palestinian houses in the southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Rafah on Thursday, Palestinian security sources and residents said. The tanks and bulldozers entered into parts of the refugee camp on the border with Egypt before dawn and completely destroyed the five houses owned by Palestinian refugees, they said. De-miners battle on despite lack of maps Daily Star 11/13/2003 Jezzine Operation complicated by rugged terrain - South still pocked with mines 3 years after Israeli withdrawal -- Inhabitants in South Lebanon are still threatened by land mines scattered across fields and former military outposts, left behind by the Israeli occupying forces after their departure from the country. The Israeli forces’ refusal to deliver maps of mine fields to Lebanese officials has further complicated de-mining operations by increasing the risks involved. Israel destroys houses in Rafah as Fatah member deported to Gaza Al-Bawaba 11/13/2003 Israeli occupation troops destroyed Thursday morning five Palestinian houses in the refugee camp of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian security sources, three Israeli D-9 military bulldozers, backed by several armored vehicles, resumed Thursday morning the tearing down of 5 houses in bloc (O) of Rafah refugee camp, which they partially demolished awhile ago. Witnesses conveyed that two military bulldozers backed by three armored convoys moved to the area from a military post located at the border line separating Egypt and Gaza Strip deep into block.

Diplomacy..

Sharon, Qureia to meet after Italy trip next week Ha'aretz 11/13/2003 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qureia after Sharon returns from a trip to Italy next week. After the Sharon-Qureia session, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom will meet with Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath. After Qureia's government won a vote of confidence yesterday from the Palestinian Legislative Council, he delivered a programmatic inaugural address calling for an international peace conference, a cease-fire with Israel, and elections by next June. Qureia: Palestinian gov't success depends on Israel ending attacks Ha'aretz 11/13/2003 Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said the success of the newly appointed government depended on an end to Israeli attacks, as the new cabinet convened for the first time Thursday in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "The first thing that will happen is a meeting between Prime Minister Sharon and Abu Ala," Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told Army Radio on Thursday. "This is expected within 10 days, in my opinion." Israel Threatens to Strike Anew at Syria An Nahar 11/13/2003 Israel's Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has threatened from Washington that the Jewish state would mount new military strikes against Syria if Syrian-backed 'terrorist' groups wage fresh attacks on Israel from Palestinian territories or South Lebanon. "Israel will not hesitate to attack Syria anew in case of fresh anti-Israeli operations by Syrian-sponsored terrorist organizations," Mofaz told the Tel Aviv daily Yediot Ahronot after talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the Pentagon Tuesday. Israel steps up attack on UN envoy over report ReliefWeb 11/13/2003 GENEVA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Israel on Thursday stepped up its attack on a U.N. special envoy who blamed it for causing hunger amongst Palestinians, warning that it might not cooperate with future U.N. human rights probes. The envoy's report, released last month, warned the Palestinian territories were on the verge of a "humanitarian catastrophe" as a result of "extremely harsh" military measures being adopted by Israeli forces. The Israeli mission to the United Nations in Geneva said the report by Jean Ziegler, U.N. special investigator for the right to food, for the U.N. Human Rights Commission should be dismissed as "unworthy of discussion or distribution as...a U.N. document". Palestinians, Israelis Expect Peace Talks The Guardian 11/13/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - With a Palestinian political crisis resolved, Palestinian and Israeli officials said Thursday they expect their leaders to meet for peace talks - possibly within 10 days. Such a summit could help end months of deadlock over implementation of the U.S.-backed ``road map'' peace plan. Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qureia said Thursday he is ready for a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Ariel Sharon, but only if it yields results. Arafat says Israelis have right to live safely Sydney Morning Herald 11/13/2003 Palestinian President Yasser Arafat held out an olive branch to Israel yesterday, saying it had a right to live in security alongside a future Palestinian state and calling for an end to bloodshed. Launching a parliamentary debate on confirming a new Palestinian government, Mr Arafat also denounced what he called Israel's "criminal war" to crush the three-year-old uprising, dwelling on Israeli blockades, raids and expansion of Jewish settlements on occupied land in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Sources: German mediator meets Hizbullah chief to give Israel's response to prisoner deal Al-Bawaba 11/13/2003 The German mediator of the prisoner deal between Israel and Hizbullah, Ernest Orlaw is in Lebanon Thursday to brief Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah with regards to Israel's stance on the swap, sources close to the negotiations told Lebanese-based Al Mustaqbal. According to the sources, "Nasrallah is expected to inform the German mediator of his reservations from Israel's attempt to bring the negotiations back to the starting point." German Architect of Hizbullah-Israel Swap En Route for Beirut An Nahar 11/13/2003 The German architect of the prisoners swap deal between Hizbullah and Israel is due in Beirut Thursday to consult with Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah about Israel's last-minute exclusion from the exchange of the longest-held Lebanese prisoner Samir Kantar, Premier Hariri's Al Mustaqbal newspaper reported. It quoted unnamed sources close to the negotiations as saying Nasrallah "will convey to the German mediator his resentment of Israel's attempt to return the negotiations to square one as well as its threats to kidnap the Hizbullah leader in person." Families of Arad, SLA soldier call for charges against Dirani Ha'aretz 11/13/2003 The families of missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad and former South Lebanon Army soldier Mustafa Abbas on Thursday petitioned the High Court of Justice to instruct Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein to open a criminal investigation against Lebanese militant Mustafa Dirani, saying he tortured Arad and Abbas when they were captives in Lebanon. However, Dirani claimed in an affidavit he submitted to Tel Aviv District Court recently that he never tortured Arad, and that, as opposed to claims of Arad's family about Dirani's treatment of the aviator, he provided Arad with humane medical care. Israel presents its first UN resolution since 1976 Ha'aretz 11/13/2003 For the first time since 1976, the Israeli delegation to the United Nations has submitted a resolution to the UN General Assembly for its approval. The proposal, dubbed "The Situation of and Assistance to Israeli Children," was disseminated yesterday to member states on official UN stationary and will be debated at the Fourth Human Rights Convention. Geneva Accord being mass mailed to Israelis Ha'aretz 11/13/2003 A draft of the Geneva Accord will be sent next week to every household in Israel. The mass mailing will be part of a public relations campaign ahead of a formal accord-signing ceremony scheduled for December 1. Close to 2 million Hebrew language copies of the 44-page draft peace accord (including maps) will be printed; another 200,000 will be printed in Arabic, and 100,000 in Russian. Netanyahu emulates Peres Globes 11/13/2003 The Minister of Finance presented a "Continental Suez Canal" to US senators yesterday. -- Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu brought gladd tidings to Washington from Jerusalem yesterday. No, there is not yet peace with the Palestinians or even with Histadrut chairman MK Amir Perez.....Netanyahu depicted a rosy future of Israel as a global focal point for the transit of goods between East and West. The method would be a railroad crossing the Negev, a "continental Suez Canal" linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas. And if this railroad bankrupts the owners of the original Suez Canal - so be it. "We believe in competition, within Israel and between nations, and we thought the time has come to compete against the Suez Canal," said Netanyahu. Hamas condemns Muhayya bombing Palestinian Information Center 11/13/2003 Gaza - The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, today issued a press release condemning the bombing in Saudi Arabia that targeted one of the residential complexes in Riyadh a few days ago. A responsible source in the Movement said that Hamas denounced such a bombing that led to the fall of innocent civilians including women and children among others. Solana Blasts Israel's Policy of Boycotting Arafat Palestine Chronicle 11/12/2003 RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - European Union’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday sharply criticized Israel’s policy of boycotting officials who have met with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, saying it contravened the rules of diplomacy. “When you have somebody there whose main task is to go back and forth between the two sides and he is not received by one of the sides, it’s rather bizarre,” Solano told journalists in Rome where he was attending an EU troika meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Palestinians to promote Geneva Initiative Jerusalem Post 11/12/2003 Palestinian Authority officials and Fatah leaders will use the coming months to promote the Geneva Initiative among Palestinians and the international community as a basis for a future peace deal, a Palestinian official told The Jerusalem Post. Citing the US administration's need to attend to election issues, the official said, "The Americans will be too busy to get involved in pushing for the implementation of the road map, so we are using the time to promote the Geneva Initiative; the Americans are not against it." The Swiss Accords (Beilin-Abd Rabbo Agreement) : Maps and Principles MidEast Web 10/16/2003 The maps below show the division of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. Please note that these maps are not accurate. Efrat will be in Palestinian hands, and will not be retained by Israel under the agreements, and there may be other errors as well in the area of Jerusalem. A New Basis for Palestinian-Israeli Agreement MidEast Web 10/16/2003 Analysis and resources: Israeli opposition leaders led by Shahar party leader Yossi Beilin and Palestinians led by Yasser Abd-Rabbo have been busy negotiating a new draft agreement, that would supposedly replace the Oslo accords as the basis for Israeli-Palestinian peace. ...Another innovation in the document that is of great importance if true, is the declaration that it supersedes all previous UN resolutions and other agreements. This means that negotiators no longer have the option of referring to different interpretations of UN Resolution 242 regarding Israeli withdrawal, or UN resolution 194 regarding Palestinian refugees. Of course, the UN would have to agree that resolutions designating Jerusalem as an international city (eg UN General Assembly Resolution 303 ) are also null and void. Hezbollah 'held' Israeli pilot BBC 11/12/2003 The wife of an imprisoned Hezbollah leader has spoken of the time she and her husband held a missing Israeli airman in Lebanon in the 1980s. Zeinab Amin Dirani, wife of Mustafa Dirani, said Ron Arad was injured when his plane was shot down in Lebanon. She told the BBC he was treated at her home and even played with her son, who was of a similar age to his daughter.Israel seized Mr Dirani to secure Mr Arad's release, but nothing has been heard of the airman for 15 years. Retired Jordanian officers propose joint projects with “Israel” Palestinian Information Center 11/12/2003 Occupied Jerusalem A team of retired Jordanian officers has proposed an initiative for joint cooperation between their country and “Israel”, according to a Hebrew paper yesterday. ‘Yediot Ahronot’ said that the officers were participating in a Jewish conference in occupied Jerusalem on Monday. It explained that the retired army officers proposed a comprehensive plan for regional cooperation with “Israel” in the fields of agriculture and commerce. They suggested, in speeches during the conference, the establishment of a railway line linking Jordan to “Israel” in addition to the construction of joint hospitals and factories. Israeli Leader to Meet New Palestinian PM The Guardian 11/13/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Both Palestinian and Israeli leaders talked about the need for peace as Yasser Arafat swore in the Cabinet he wanted, a move that ended two months of stalemate and could revive contacts over the U.S.-backed ``road map'' peace plan.The Palestinian parliament approved Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's new Cabinet on Wednesday by a vote of 48 to 13 with five abstentions. The posts had been empty since the first premier, Mahmoud Abbas, resigned on Sept. 6. On Thursday morning, Israel's foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet Qureia, possibly within 10 days. Quraya to meet Sharon Al-Jazeera 11/13/2003 The newly-sworn in full-fledged Palestinian government of Ahmad Quraya and his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon will hold talks shortly. Sharon will hold talks with Quraya in 10 days, said Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in Jerusalem on Thursday. "This meeting between the prime minister (Sharon) and Abu Alaa (Quraya) will take place in 10 days and will follow a series of meetings between other Israeli and Palestinian ministers," Shalom said. Israel, Palestinians Ready for Meeting of PMs New York Times 11/13/2003 JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel and the Palestinians, building on the formation of a new Palestinian government, said on Thursday they were ready for talks between their leaders on reviving a U.S.-backed peace plan stalled by violence. Hopes for the battered ``roadmap'' to peace have risen slightly with President Yasser Arafat swearing in a long-awaited Palestinian cabinet on Wednesday and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie vowing to seek a cease-fire to halt a three-year-old uprising. Cabinet Approved, Arafat Calls for Peace Talks New York Times 11/13/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov. 12 — The Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat, and his prime minister called Wednesday for reconciliation with Israel and delivered strong pleas to restart the troubled Middle East peace plan in speeches to the Palestinian parliament, which approved a new government. "We do not deny the right of the Israeli people to live in security side by side with the Palestinian people also living in their own independent state," Mr. Arafat told the parliamentary session, which was held at his badly damaged compound in Ramallah. Arafat to Israel: Time to End 'Destructive War' An Nahar 11/13/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank - Yasser Arafat on Wednesday called for an end to three years of violence, saying that Israel has a right to live in peace as his legislature prepared to approve the new Palestinian Cabinet. Arafat began his speech with a scathing attack on Israel, but he said that nonetheless the violence must end. "The Israeli government says and spreads lies that we don't want peace," he said. "I want to talk here to the Israeli people to say in public and in Arabic that this is not true."

Human Rights..

UNRWA to cut relief operations in Gaza Ha'aretz 11/13/2003 NEW YORK - UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, is to drastically cut its relief activities in Gaza, despite the growing distress of the local population caused by Israeli military operations there. UNRWA has already slashed allocations to needy families in the territories, even as the Palestinians' economic plight becomes more acute, according to a document the agency distributed on Tuesday. Israeli forces implement transfer order against Palestinian from the West Bank Electronic Intifada/PCHR 11/10/2003 On Monday, 10 November 2003, Israeli occupying forces transferred Kamal Mohammed Hussein Edris, a resident of Hebron, to the Gaza Strip, implementing an Israeli High Court ruling of 4 November 2003 which approved his "assigned residence" to the Gaza Strip for a period of two years. According to information available to PCHR, Israeli occupying forces dumped Edris close to al-Shuhada’ Junction to the east of “Netzarim” settlement, south of Gaza City. He was then forced to walk north towards Gaza City. Israeli Army Attacks Peaceful Protesters at Wall! International Solidarity Movement 11/13/2003 Israeli soldiers and Border Police attacked over 300 Palestinians and 30 internationals at the “separation fence” in the Tulkarem region today, throwing teargas, percussion grenades and beating the nonviolent protesters with batons.One American, Bruce Groeneveld from Washington, has been forcefully detained and remains in custody of the Israeli Army. American activist in Palestine under arrest, facing deportation International Solidarity Movement 11/13/2003 Earlier today (Nov. 13th), during a peaceful demonstration against Israel's Apartheid Barrier in Tulkarem, American ISM activist Bruce Groenveld was arrested while attempting to protect a fellow activist from arrest.Despite the nonviolent character of the event, the Israeli soldiers responded with considerable violence, callously beating protesters, many of whom were elders. Police have fabricated the allegation that Bruce threw stones at, and attacked, an Israeli Police Officer, and he is being held at the Ariel police station. The Wall is Partially Brought Down in Jenin International Solidarity Movement 11/12/2003 After extensive planning and preparation, today the illegal Israeli Apartheid Wall was extensively damaged in the farming village of Zbooba, west of Jenin. The action was planned over the course of several weeks by Palestinian farmers separated from their lands, the Jenin ISM {International Solidarity Movement} and other concerned individuals. Participating in the successful action were 200 Palestinians, 35 Israelis and 28 West Bank ISMers. Participants departed from the Zbooba community center and marched peacefully to the Apartheid Wall {actually a fence in this region} at which time the planned direct action was initiated. Internationals and Israeli activists cut thru the large razor wire protective fence and proceeded to cut the main fence, while pulling away cut parts using grappling hooks, ropes and digging bars. Communities of Tulkarem Demonstrate Against Wall International Solidarity Movement 11/12/2003 ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Tulkarem Communities Demand Removal of Wall, End of Occupation -- On Thursday, November 13, at 12:00pm several hundred Palestinians from Women’s unions, political parties and grassroots organizations together with International Solidarity Movement volunteers will converge at the Baka Sharqia gate in the “separation fence”. Organized by the National Committee Against the Wall, this demonstration is the next step in a series of world-wide actions against Israel’s ghettoization of the West Bank. 2 children shot in 2 days, 3 houses occupied by soldiers in Yamun International Solidarity Movement 11/12/2003 The ISM media office just received word from activists in the town of Yamun -- where Israeli soldiers have imposed a curfew for the last two days -- that a 13-year-old boy was just shot in his side (by soldiers). This is the second child shot in as many days (yesterday’s was 7 years old), despite that no one in the town is shooting back.[Note: This release mentions 'Yanoun' butshould have read 'Yamun', due to miscommunication during the initial phone call from the site.] Israeli policies hurting Palestinian children, UN expert on right to food says Electronic Intifada/United Nations 11/12/2003 The United Nations expert on the right to food said today that Israel should be condemned for the effects that its policies of occupation are having on the nourishment of Palestinian children. Jean Ziegler, Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights on the right to food, has issued a report after touring the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in July. At a press briefing in New York, Mr. Ziegler said 9 per cent of Palestinian children under the age of five suffer some form of brain damage because of chronic malnutrition caused by the Israeli occupation. He said that closures, curfews and the hindrance of the movement of people and merchandise within the occupied territories meant that access to food was lacking for many Palestinians - "the main reason for this dramatic situation." Video: UN Report of Jean Ziegler, expert on right to food United Nations 11/12/2003 United Nations webcast - video press briefing New wall projections: Severe humanitarian consequences for more than 680,000 Palestinians in the West Bank Electronic Intifada/OCHA 11/12/2003 The Israeli Government approved a new plan revealing new information about the Wall's planned route in the southern West Bank on 1 October 2003. It released the map of the new Wall's planned route on 23 October. Currently, the completed wall consists of concrete walls, ditches, trenches, roads, razor wire and electronic fences and stretches for 180 km. The planned new Wall will be 687 km long. The Head of the Knesset Economics Committee estimates that it will cost $ 3.4 billion, that is, US$ 4.7 million per kilometre. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: The Right to Food - Acrobat format United Nations Commission on Human Rights 10/31/2003 Report by the Special Rapporteur, Jean Ziegler, Mission to the Occupied Palestinian Territories - Summary: The Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) are on the verge of humanitarian catastrophe, largely as the result of extremely harsh security measures imposed by the occupying Israeli forces since the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000....The Special Rapporteur expresses his deep compassion and sympathy for both Israelis and Palestinians, who are living through a horrifying tragedy, but he cannot ignore the terrible situation of malnutrition that is being created in the OPT today. Zionist entity bar Palestinians from traveling to offer Omra Palestinian Information Center 11/13/2003 Nablus- Palestinian sources said today that the Zionist authorities yesterday barred numerous Palestinian citizens from heading to Jordan en route to offer Omra (minor pilgrimage) in Saudi Arabia. The sources said that Zionist security officers at the Karama crossing barred a group of citizens including women from proceeding to Jordan. Map: Enclaves and Closed Areas between the Wall and the Green Line United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 11/8/2003 Includes preminary statistics on the Palestinian Preminary statistics on the Palestinian lands between the Wall and the lands between the Wall and the Green Line (excluding Jerusalem) [This OCHA map and accompanying statistics are based on Israeli Defence Ministry's incomplete map of the barrier and exclude consideration of the both the 'eastern fence', the Jericho barrier,and the east side of the 'enclave' barriers - see Gush Shalom, Foundation for a Middle East Peace and/or B'tselem for more complete projections -Ed.] U.N.: Israel denies Palestinians' right to food and water ReliefWeb 11/12/2003 New York (dpa) - Israel was condemned by a United Nations official Wednesday for denying access to food and water to 4 million Palestinians. "Behind the headlines of escalating violence, there is the hidden danger of escalating physical, social and psychological destruction of an ancient society," said Jean Ziegler, whose title is U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food."This tragedy is being largely ignored by world public opinion, the mass media and the international community of nations," he said in making public a study by the Centre for Economic and Social Rights. Fact sheets provided by the Swiss-based centre showed 22 per cent of Palestinian children under 5 are suffering from malnutrition and 9.3 per cent from acute malnutrition, a three- and eight-fold increase, respectively, over 2000 figures. Gaza Turned into a Prison to West bankers International Middle East Media Center 11/12/2003 Army unit transferred Monday evening the administrative detainee Mohammed Idris, 26, who had been held at Eretz military check post for the past three weeks, to the Netzarim intersection in the Gaza Strip and forced him to walk into the PA administrated areas, where he handed himself to the PA security forces. Army source said that the move came after the Supreme Court of Justice permitted the deportation of Idris. One Meal a Day for Most Palestinians Antiwar.com 11/13/2003 Most Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank are eating only one meal a day, leading to malnutrition at levels found in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new United Nations report. The area is "on the verge of humanitarian catastrophe," adds the document released Wednesday by the UN Human Rights Commission's special rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler. The report, based on a visit to the territories in July, as well as statistics accumulated over the past year by UN and US agencies, describes the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians as a "horrifying tragedy," and stresses that Israel has the right to take defensive measures to protect its citizens against attacks. But Ziegler, a recognized authority on international law and human rights from Switzerland, charges Israel with failing to uphold its legal obligation to ensure the right to food of the civilian Palestinian population. Israeli fence 'will harm one in three Palestinians' The Independent 11/12/2003 The "separation fence" Israel is building in the West Bank will have "severe humanitarian consequences" for almost 700,000 Palestinians, the UN warned yesterday. More than 274,000 will be stranded outside the wall because Israel refuses to build it along the internationally recognised Green Line. Thousands will be forced to apply for Israeli military permits to live in their own homes. But the consequences will reach further, the report warns. A further 400,000 Palestinians will be cut off from their farmland, their jobs, universities and schools. "This means that approximately 680,000 - 30 per cent of the Palestinian population in the West Bank - will be directly harmed by the wall," the UN said in a report. Army court convicts pacifist Ben Artzi for refusing to enlist Ha'aretz 11/13/2003 After nearly two years of battling to convince the army he is a pacifist, Yonatan Ben Artzi, the finance minister's nephew by marriage, was finally recognized as such by an army court. However, his conscientious objector status couldn't stop the court convicting him for refusing to obey the order to enlist as a conscript. Jaffa military court judges proposed the issue be returned to the conscientious objection committee, which in the past refused to recognize Ben Artzi as a pacifist. Palestinians sue Mofaz for legalizing outpost Ha'aretz 11/13/2003 Four Palestinians from the village of Machmas, neighboring the settlement of Michmash northeast of Jerusalem, have petitioned the High Court of Justice against Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, the Civil Administration and the IDF after Mofaz decided to grant legal status to the outpost of Neve Erez built on land that IDF authorities agree belongs to the four petitioners. Israeli High Court Approves the Transfer of Second Palestinian to the Gaza Strip Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 11/12/2003 On Wednesday morning, 12 November 2003, the Israeli High Court approved an Israeli military order to transfer a Palestinian detainee, Taha Tamadan Rateb Dwaik, a resident of Hebron, to the Gaza Strip for 2 years.Dwaik is married and a father of 4 children.Dwaik is the second detainee to have been transferred to the Gaza Strip this week (see PCHR press release, Tuesday, 11 November 2003 at www.pchrgaza.org). One Palestinian child killed and 23 houses demolished by Israeli forces in Rafah Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 11/11/2003 On Monday 10 November 2003, during a military incursion into the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip Israeli occupying forces killed one Palestinian child.During the incursion into Block O in the Rafah camp, Israeli forces also demolished 23 Palestinian houses and 5 commercial properties. Aid is not enough to tackle humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Electronic Intifada/Christian Aid 11/11/2003 Christian Aid is giving evidence today to a Parliamentary inquiry into the humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Middle East expert William Bell, an advocacy officer at Christian Aid, is due to face MPs on the International Development Committee who are investigating the effectiveness of UK government assistance to the Occupied Territories. Mr Bell will be questioned on a 14-page Christian Aid submission which has already been handed to the committee. "I have one main point I wish to emphasise," said Mr Bell. "Palestinians are facing a humanitarian crisis but that humanitarian aid assistance, although important, is not the full answer to this problem. Magistrate Court Decides Not to Dismiss the Indictment Against MK Azmi Bishara in the Political Speeches Case Adalah 11/13/2003 Yesterday, 12 November 2003, the Nazareth Magistrate Court delivered its decision on the preliminary arguments raised by Adalah on behalf of Member of Knesset (MK) Azmi Bishara to dismiss the indictment pending against him in the political speeches case. In this case, MK Bishara, the head of National Democratic Assembly political party, is charged with two counts of allegedly "supporting a terrorist organization," namely Hezbollah, based on public political speeches he made in Kardaha, Syria in June 2001 and Umm al-Fahem, Israel in June 2000 in violation of sections 4(a), 4(b) and 4(g) of the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (1948). Supreme Court Orders State to Respond to Petitions Challenging Ban on Family Unification Law Adalah 11/11/2003 At a hearing on 9 November 2003, the Supreme Court of Israel issued an order nisi compelling the state to explain why the new ban on family unification law, which prohibits the granting of any residency or citizenship status to Palestinians from the Occupied Territories who are married to Israeli citizens, should not be declared null and void. The Supreme Court also issued injunctions preventing the deportation of three Palestinian spouses married to Palestinian citizens of Israel, until the Court delivers a final judgment on the petitions. Israeli Occupying Forces Implement Transfer Order against Palestinian from the West Bank Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 11/11/2003 On Monday, 10 November 2003, Israeli occupying forces transferred Kamal Mohammed Hussein Edris, a resident of Hebron, to the Gaza Strip, implementing an Israeli High Court ruling of 4 November 2003 which approved his "assigned residence" to the Gaza Strip for a period of two years.According to information available to PCHR, Israeli occupying forces dumped Edris close to al-Shuhada’ Junction to the east of “Netzarim” settlement, south of Gaza City.He was then forced to walk north towards Gaza City. Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories 06-12 Nov. 2003 Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 11/13/2003 17 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 6 children and a woman were killed by Israeli forces / Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip / 28 houses were destroyed and 8 Palestinian civilians were killed during Israeli military incursions into Rafah / Construction of the separation wall in the West Bank continued / Indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas continued / Israeli forces used flechette shells against Palestinian civilians in Khan Younis, killing 2 / 5 Palestinian houses in the West Bank were destroyed by Israeli forces as part of the continued campaign of retaliation against the families of Palestinians accused of involvement in attacks against Israeli targets / Israeli forces unlawfully transferred a Palestinian detainee from Hebron to the Gaza Strip and issued an order to transfer another detainee / Continued siege on the OPTs

Economy..

Histadrut to increase protests next week Ha'aretz 11/13/2003 Histadrut leaders decided Thursday to increase the severity of workers` strike action starting next Monday, Army Radio reported. According to the report, one of the sanctions being considered was the disruption of imports and exports, after almost six months of relatively smooth operations at the ports. Dock workers in Haifa and Ashdod stopped working Thursday and called for an extended labor halt at protest meetings they convened with the Histadrut labor federation's approval. Finance Ministry-civil servants talks break down Globes 11/13/2003 The Civil Servants Union strike HQ team will convene today to discuss subsequent measures. -- The Civil Servants Union strike headquarters will convene today to discuss measures to be taken following the breakdown in the negotiations with Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel Hollander. The strike headquarters comprises the national union secretaries and workers committees' representatives. Last night's negotiations were supposed to end the six-week civil service labor sanctions. However, it turned out that substantial differences remained on three issues: industrial quiet, retirement benefit levels, and management fees for the pension funds. Netanyahu unveils a Red-Med rail plan in Washington Ha'aretz 11/12/2003 Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present Bush administration officials and congressmen with plans for a rail route between Eilat and the Mediterranean Sea, during meetings today and tomorrow in Washington. Netanyahu will seek foreign investors to fund the ambitious project. The "land bridge" project is currently under review at the Finance Ministry. It involves the construction of a rail line between Nahal Zin and Eilat, to allow the transport of cargo from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, providing an alternative to the Suez Canal. January-October trade deficit down 11% to $4.8b Globes 11/13/2003 Imports of goods rose 3.2% in January-October 2003. Exports of communications equipment and advanced medical and scientific equipment surged in the past three months. -- The recession is helping Israel's trade deficit. Israel's trade deficit fell 11% to $4.8 billion in January-October 2003, compared with $5.34 billion in the corresponding period in 2002, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday. Trade and services proceeds down 2.3% in January-August Globes 11/13/2003 The slump in private consumption is persisting. Trade and services proceeds fell a seasonally-adjusted 2.3% in January-August, compared with 2002, according a Central Bureau of Statistics analysis of businesses VAT reports. The decline was due to deflation and falling sales, resulting from the recession. Organized retail proceeds fell a seasonally-adjusted 3.2% in January-August, although it rose 1% in June-August, characteristic of summer. Israeli Aviation Company Opens Branch In Indonesia Islam Online 11/12/2003 KUALA LUMPUR, November 12 (IslamOnline.net) - For the first time in an Islamic country, Israel's leading aviation company opened a branch in Indonesia, in a move that was met with outrage among people of the South Asian country. “Garuda Indonesia”, the country's ailing aviation company, signed the agreement with the Bedek Aviation group in Israel, allowing the powerful Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) to penetrate the Indonesian market, experts in the aviation industry said on Wednesday, November 12. France’s Vinci withdraws from second Israeli aviation deal Al-Bawaba 11/13/2003 After the last-minute pullout of its French-owned bidding partner Worldwide Flight Services, a new group of companies headed by Israel's Dankner Investments was recently selected by the Israel Airport Authorities (IAA) to establish and operate an additional cargo terminal at the Ben Gurion International Airport....The Vinci Group appears to be committed to breaking any Israeli ties while strengthening its strong Arab connections. This last-minute withdrawal recalls a previous pullout by a Vinci subsidiary from a deal with another Israeli company in the aviation arena, SpaceLogic.

People..

Book Fair hosts signing by Mahmoud Darwish, lecture by Talal Salman Daily Star 11/13/2003 Palestinian poet distributes latest collection, As-Safir publisher comments on Arab movement’s failures -- Beirut’s 47th Arab Book Fair was marked this week by the signing session of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish’s latest collection, Don’t Apologize for What You Have Done, and a lecture by As-Safir publisher Talal Salman. Salman’s lecture on Tuesday, entitled Reading in Arabism’s Book, focused on the failure of Arab movements and leaders in achieving Arab unity and said that only the idea of an Arab identity remained. Hollywood producers invest in Jordanian animation series Al-Bawaba 11/13/2003 US-based production companies Fat Rock Entertainment and Layalina Productions have entered a five million dollar joint venture with Jordan’s Rubicon to produce a thirteen episode children’s series created to address the cultural void that exists between the US and the Arab world. Rubicon and its investment partners, along with Layalina, have joined together to contribute and raise the production budget for the project, stated a press release. The three party agreement and the financing strategy for the project was put together by Atoka International in Washington. Beirut, Berlin: Artists share visions of division Daily Star 11/13/2003 Formerly dissected and war-torn cities ­ that are still not entirely whole ­ have much in common -- In May 2002, several artists from Beirut visited Berlin to show their work at the prestigious art center and former war ruin, Tacheles. Now 10 artists from Berlin are presenting their works in Beirut in return under the umbrella title of BI-ROUT, meaning that the trip is leading from Beirut to Berlin and back again. The works of art ­ showing at the Goethe Institute, in Manara, in different artistic genres ­ are dealing with topics like identity, experience of space, the city as living place and alienation under the overall theme of divided cities. Zionist poll: One in each five settlers ponders emigration Palestinian Information Center 11/13/2003 Tel Aviv - A Zionist opinion poll recently conducted has revealed that one of each five Jewish settlers would move abroad if he guaranteed a better life in another country. The poll, published by the Hebrew daily ‘Yediot Ahronot’, was carried out by the Zionist Hanock Smith Institute at the request of the organizers of a Zionist conference held in occupied Jerusalem the day before yesterday. War-Weary Jews Establish Homeland Between Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt The Onion 11/11/2003 Satirical '1948' news story

International..

Senate Okays Sanctions Amid Fears of a U.S. Invasion of Syria An Nahar 11/13/2003 The U.S. Senate has endorsed sanctions against President Assad's regime if it fails to end its occupation of Lebanon and discontinue alleged support of terrorism. One dissenting Senator called the bill a recipe for a U.S. invasion of Syria after Iraq.The overnight vote for the 'Syria Accountability Act and Restoration of Lebanon's Sovereignty' was 89-4 with seven absentees. Senator Robert Byrd, Democrat, of West Virginia, one of the four who voted against the bill, said it could clear the way for a U.S. military action against Syr