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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..

IDF kills Palestinian approaching fence near Netzarim Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 Israel Defense Forces troops in the Gaza Strip killed an armed Palestinian crawling toward the fence around the settlement of Netzarim on Thursday evening, Israel Radio reported. Earlier Thursday, Palestinians fired at an IDF patrol near Rafah. The troops returned fire, and there were no injuries, the radio said. In the West Bank, Palestinians fired at an Israeli car travelling near the settlement of Beit Haggai in the Hebron Hills. Several bullets hit the vehicle and damaged it, but there were no injuries....IDF troops arrested overnight Thursday eight Palestinians in the West Bank. IDF admits it lied - and not only about Nusseirat missiles; MK Sarid says he'll keep investigating Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 The meeting last night at Israel Air Force Commander Dan Halutz's office with Meretz MK Yossi Sarid was supposed to end an affair that appeared to have been blown far out of proportion in the past few days. Major General Halutz and Operations Branch Commander Major General Yisrael Ziv were supposed to provide Sarid with detailed explanations about the nature of the air force operation in the Nusseirat refugee camp on October 19, when the Palestinians said IAF missiles killed more than 12 people and wounded more than 100 and Israel said the Palestinians were lying. Zionist occupation soldiers wound child Palestinian Information Center 11/20/2003 Nablus - Zionist occupation forces last night opened indiscriminate fire at Palestinian civilians at the northern entrance to the Balata refugee camp while heading back home for Iftar (breaking the fasting of Ramadan). Eyewitnesses said that a Zionist tank and four army jeeps opened fire at the passing civilians wounding the eight years old child Ahmed Abdul Hakim Kharroub who was hospitalized in one of the nearby Nablus city hospitals. Water warfare: Gaza faces shortages Al-Jazeera 11/20/2003 Assad Abd al-Dayim is not involved in politics. He does not associate with any resistance groups. He simply wants unrestricted access to clean drinking water. However, as he would soon learn, the Israeli army has a unique definition of “rules of engagement” - one that that does not discriminate between ordinary residents like him and a military combatant. “I was stuck without a single drop of water for several days.If I tried to go to a well to obtain water, I would get shot at by Israeli soldiers. If it hadn’t been for the Red Cross, God knows what would have happened,” said Abd al-Dayim, a resident of Beit Hanun. Three Israeli Arabs convicted of assisting Islamic Jihad Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 The Haifa District Court on Thursday convicted three Israeli Arabs of conspiring to assist the enemy, after they were found guilty of contacting the Islamic Jihad militant organization in order to carry out terror attacks in Israel, Israel Radio reported. Israel Used ‘Banned Arms’ Against Palestinians: Israeli MP Islam Online 11/20/2003 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, November 20 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - An Arab Israeli lawmaker Wednesday, November 19, accused the Israeli occupation forces of using a "banned weapon" in a deadly raids in the Gaza Strip in October 20, as another left wing Meretz party deputy threatened to reveal confidential information on the deadly raids. The Israeli army admitted in a statement lying about the kind of weapons used in the Gaza attack. Occupation forces arrest seven fishermen in Gaza Palestinian Information Center 11/20/2003 Gaza - Zionist terrorism forces in continuance of their atrocious practices against Palestinian citizens last night arrested seven fishermen while fishing off the Gaza city coast. Eyewitnesses said that three Zionist gunboats fired at the Palestinian boat and arrested all those on board after towing it to the city of Asdod in the green line. PA arrests Palestinian commando Palestinian Information Center 11/20/2003 Bethlehem - Palestinian Authority’s preventive security apparatus in the West Bank city of Bethlehem has arrested Jabr Al-Akhras, a Palestinian inhabitant of the Gaza Strip, on charges of killing two Zionist soldiers near the Khader town on Tuesday. The PA had leaked the news of the arrest to Zionist media as a message to the occupation government that its apparatuses were carrying out “security commitments”. Israeli army admits lying over air raid Al-Jazeera 11/20/2003 The Israeli army has acknowledged in a rare admission of guilt that it lied over an air raid that left 12 Palestinians dead. Contrary to earlier claims that it had only used Hellfire missile in a raid at the crowded Nusseirat refugee camp in Gaza, the Israeli army on Wednesday finally admitted using far deadlier weapons in the raid on 20 October. "Perhaps due to the operation and security sensitivity before our eyes, we erred in the way in which we chose to describe the means of operation," a military spokesman said. But he still did not specify the weapon that was used. Map: Fortress Jerusalem, November 2003 Foundation for Middle East Peace November 2003 Map: Fortress Jerusalem, November 2003 - also includes Map: Separation Barrier - Ariel Settlement Bloc, November 2003 Archive report: Israel Uses chemical Weapons Against Palestinians Islam Online 4/23/2003 CAIRO, April 23 (IslamOnline) – Israel may have used chemical weapons against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a Palestinians security member said Tuesday, citing the appearance of strange infections among Palestinians. Sameeh al-Sabbagh, an officer with Unit 17, personal guard of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, told IslamOnline, “Diseases started to spread among Palestinians, doctors are confused about strange infections and swelling”.

Diplomacy..

UN Security Council Unanimously Approves the Russian Resolution International Middle East Media Center 11/20/2003 The UN Security council unanimously approved Wednesday evening the Russian resolution to formally accept the road map as a means of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Several Security Council members, including Germany and the U.K. joined Russia in submitting and endorsing the resolution. The United States, which made it clear to Israel that it would vote in favor of the Russian resolution and promised to attempt to bring some modifications, withdraw from its attempts and voted for the resolution. Israel Says Not ‘Bound’ By U.N. Resolution On Roadmap Islam Online 11/20/2003 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, November 20 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A defiant Israel vowed Thursday, November 20, to ignore a United Nations resolution endorsing the "roadmap" for peace plan, saying it would also push on with its West Bank separation barrier despite sharp criticism from U.S. President George W. Bush. "It is possible that we will hold talks with the new Palestinian government on the basis of the roadmap but … Israel does not feel that it is bound by the resolution," Israeli Trade Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying. Israel insists barrier will be built despite Bush criticism ProLog.net 11/20/2003 JERUSALEM, Nov 19 (AFP) - Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Wednesday construction of its West Bank separation barrier would continue despite criticism from US President George W. Bush that it was prejudicing final status negotiations. In a speech in London, Bush said that "Israel should ... not prejudice final negotiations with the placement of walls and fences" in reference to the barrier which at times cuts deep into Palestinian territory. But Shalom told army radio that the barrier was merely designed to prevent infiltrations onto Israeli territory by Palestinian extremists intent on carrying out attacks and that building work would continue. Israel angers the Bush administration Janes.com/Foreign Policy 11/19/2003 Ariel Sharon is surely feeling lonely these days. Tension is building between him and the Bush administration, which feels that mounting Muslim hostility toward the USA, and particularly its troubled occupation of Iraq, is being fuelled by Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Following a stinging public rebuke of his policies by Israel's top soldier, Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon, on 28 October, no less than four former directors of the Shin Bet security service, intimately involved in fighting the Palestinians, added their sharp criticism on 14 November. They warned of a catastrophe if Israel did not reach an accommodation with the Palestinians soon. Israel Defies Bush’s Criticism Of Apartheid Wall Palestine Media Center 11/20/2003 The Jewish State met US President George W. Bush’s censure of the unilateral separation wall Israel is building on occupied Palestinian land with a sharp defiant stand on Wednesday. Ehud Olmert, Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister, instantly spurned Bush’s comments saying the 450-km-long wall being built in the West Bank would remain an option for Israel even if the Middle East peace process resumed. “Israel will always have the right to take unilateral steps for separation from the Palestinians through a fence or other means,” Olmert told Israel Radio. PNA Urges Mechanisms to Implement UN Resolution 1515 Palestine Media Center 11/20/2003 Israel Says ‘Not Bound’ by Security Council’s Adoption of ‘Roadmap’ -- The Palestine National Authority (PNA) welcomed, but Israel said it is not bound by, Resolution 1515, which was endorsed by all 15 members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council on Wednesday to back the “roadmap” peace plan to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The resolution was co-sponsored by Britain, Bulgaria, Chile, China, France, Germany, Mexico and Spain as well as Russia. “We welcome this resolution and hope there will be mechanisms to implement it through reactivating the role of the Quartet” of international mediators comprising the UN, US, EU and Russia who drafted and adopted the “roadmap,” PNA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Wednesday. Truce Proposal Not ‘For Free’ : Palestinian PM Islam Online 11/20/2003 GAZA, November 20 (IslamOnline.net) – Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said on Wednesday, November 19, that a truce with Israel would not be for free, as he is trying to convince leaders of Palestinian factions into accepting a "comprehensive" ceasefire with Israel. "It will not be a unilateral truce for free, but rather a ceasefire reciprocated on certain conditions," Qorei said in brief comments to reporters during a break in the talks. He enticingly said that the agreement would "return situation back to normal" in the restive Palestinian territories, which are targeted by Israeli occupation forces in almost daily massive incursions. But delegates of the Palestinian factions seemed suspicious, saying Israel has offered no guarantees to end its aggressions so far or opt to abide by the new ceasefire. PM Qureia asks Hamas to agree to hudna Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) yesterday asked leaders from Hamas and other Palestinian groups to agree to a "unilateral cease-fire." This provisional truce, as Abu Ala conceives it, will apply to all types of attacks against Israel and it will remain in effect until formal cease-fire terms are finalized, with the help of Egyptian mediators, in talks that will begin at the end of next week. Hamas affirms no hudna discussed Palestinian Information Center 11/20/2003 Gaza - Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, political bureau member of the Hamas Movement, has described as positive the meeting yesterday between an Egyptian security delegation and a Hamas team in the Gaza Strip. He noted that the discussions covered many issues and prepared for an inter-Palestinian dialogue to be hosted by Cairo on 2nd December 2003 to debate three main topics. The meeting that went into a late hour yesterday took place in the house of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder and spiritual leader of the Movement, at the Sabra suburb in Gaza city. Bush condemns settlement policy; UN adopts road map Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 In a keynote address to Whitehall during his visit to London, U.S. President George Bush yesterday slammed Israel's settlement enterprise and the daily humiliations of the Palestinians and called for an end to construction of the separation fence. Also yesterday, Russia won a unanimous decision in the United Nations Security Council backing the road map to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli officials said they were satisfied with Bush's condemnation of contacts with "old leadership" Palestinians, whom he accused of corruption. Isolated Palestinians want Bush action, not talk Reuters 11/20/2003 BAQA AS SHARQIYA, West Bank, Nov 20 (Reuters) - For Palestinians trapped by a vast Israeli barrier, George W. Bush's rebuke of Israel for "humiliating" them had a drearily familiar ring of big talk but no hint of action. In Baqa as Sharqiya, a market centre turned overnight into a dead-end enclave by the barricade Israel is erecting inside the occupied West Bank, townsfolk said on Thursday Bush's prod at his close ally would bring them no relief. Bush urged Israel on Wednesday not to prejudice chances for peace negotiations by building "walls and fences". Militants seek guarantees as Qorei starts truce talks Daily Star 11/20/2003 Hamas ‘ready to spare civilians on both sides if the Zionist enemy’ will reciprocate -- Palestinian Premier Ahmed Qorei held a round of talks with security chiefs and leaders of the main armed factions Wednesday in a bid to institute a new truce. Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush urged Israel on Wednesday to end the “daily humiliation” of Palestinians and not to prejudice final peace talks by erecting “walls and fences.” Sources: Israel, U.S. can reach agreement on outposts Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 Israel believes it is possible to reach an understanding with the United States over a list of illegal outposts in the West Bank. The understandings will serve as a basis for discussions on the issue, sources in the prime minister's entourage said Wednesday about the U.S. criticism of the slow pace of evacuating the outposts. U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer is slated to meet with Brig. Gen. Mike Herzog, the defense minister's military secretary, in an effort to solve the problem. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades reject truce Sydney Morning Herald 11/20/2003 The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of the mainstream Palestinian movement Fatah, says it will reject any agreement for a suspension of anti-Israeli attacks. "We will not sign up to any truce agreement with the enemy which has been mentioned in the media and we have no connection whatsoever with any document calling for a truce," the group said in a statement yesterday. The radical splinter group from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah issued the statement as recently-appointed Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie arrived in the Gaza Strip for truce talks with all Palestinian factions. High Court rejects petition to open case against Dirani Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 The High Court of Justice rejected Thursday the petition of the family of missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad, which asked the court to instruct Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein and the police to open a criminal investigation against Lebanese militant Mustafa Dirani. "This is a very sad day," Israel Radio quoted Dudu Arad, Ron's brother, as saying. Ron Arad has been missing for 17 years....[AG] Rubinstein told the court before the ruling was issued that he had decided not to open a case against Dirani because it could prevent the prisoner deal from going through. Senior German lawmaker wants NATO deployed in Israel ProLog.net 11/20/2003 BERLIN, Nov 19 (AFP) - NATO troops, possibly including a German contingent, should be deployed to Israel to keep the peace in the Middle East, the chairman of the German parliament's defence committee said Wednesday. "The situation in the Middle East is so messed up that the two sides can't manage to agree on their own any more," Reinhold Robbe, a member of the ruling Social Democrats, told the online edition of the news magazine Der Spiegel. "Both sides need a perspective, a military presence." Israelis to get the message on peace proposals The Guardian 11/20/2003 Every home to be sent copy of unofficial accord denounced by Sharon as close to treason -- The architects of a groundbreaking peace initiative, denounced by Ariel Sharon as akin to treason, are distributing copies of the document to every Israeli home this week in an attempt to exploit eroding public confidence in the government and to force negotiations with the Palestinians. Three million copies of the Geneva Accord are being delivered before a ceremony in Switzerland in a fortnight at which former US presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and Nelson Mandela, have been invited to endorse the fledgling pact. Palestinian Factions to Meet in Cairo The Guardian 11/20/2003 JERUSALEM (AP) - Palestinian militant groups agreed to attend a truce conference in Cairo in 12 days, signaling willingness to halt violence in exchange for an Israeli promise to stop military operations, officials said Thursday. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon played down rare public U.S. criticism of Israel's settlement expansion and its treatment of the Palestinians.Sharon said his personal relations with President Bush are ``excellent,'' but acknowledged there are differences of opinion. In another setback for Israel, the United States voted in favor of a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Israel and the Palestinians to implement the ``road map'' peace plan. Shalom, IAEA chief discuss Iran's nukes Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 ROME - Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom met with International Atomic Energy Agency Chairman Mohammed El-Baradei yesterday in Vienna. The meeting was held in advance of an IAEA session relating to Iran's nuclear program. Shalom told the IAEA chairman that nuclear weapons in Iran's possession would pose a threat not just to Israel, but to the world at large. Shalom asked El-Baradei whether he believes Tehran has relinquished ambitions of attaining nuclear weapons. Israel accepts Ukraine's pay-off for downed plane Reuters 11/20/2003 KIEV, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Israel and Ukraine signed a formal agreement on Thursday accepting Kiev's compensation offer to families of Israeli passengers who died two years ago when a stray Ukrainian rocket shot down a civilian plane. "The sum of compensation is confidential and will not be made public," Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told reporters after signing the deal with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Yosef Lapid. Ukrainian media reported that Kiev would pay some $200,000 for each Israeli killed in the crash. Palestinian Premier Starts Cease-Fire Bid New York Times 11/19/2003 JERUSALEM, Nov. 19 — The Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, began his first major initiative since his swearing-in last week, traveling to the Gaza Strip today in a bid to persuade Palestinian factions to halt attacks against Israel. And in a rare outbreak of violence along Israel's border with Jordan, a Jordanian truck driver opened fire with an automatic rifle at a border crossing next to the Israeli resort of Eilat, on the Red Sea coast. The gunman wounded five tourists from Ecuador, one critically, before being shot dead by Israeli security forces, Israeli authorities said. PM's office: Israel to accept only U.S. involvement in road map Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office issued a statement Thursday saying that Israel would accept only United States involvement in implementing the road map. The statement came the day after the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to formally adopt the road map as a means of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A senior Israeli official on Sharon's plane said late Wednesday a "softened" version of the resolution was the one passed....Sharon's office said Thursday that it is committed to the road map, but has 14 reservations. Qurei Trying to Halt Attacks Against Israel New York Times 11/20/2003 JERUSALEM, Nov. 19 — The Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, opened his first major initiative on Wednesday since his swearing in last week, traveling to the Gaza Strip in an effort to persuade Palestinian factions to halt attacks against Israel. Mr. Qurei met with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other groups that have carried out most of the suicide bombings, shooting ambushes and other attacks against Israel over the past three years. Israel defiant of UN resolution Al-Jazeera 11/20/2003 Israel has reacted defiantly to a UN Security Council's unanimous resolution on the internationally backed "road map" for peace. Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Israeli public radio: “Israel does not feel that it is bound by the resolution." However, Olmert added it was still possible for the government to hold talks with the new Palestinian government on the basis of the road map. Despite serious lobbying and initial opposition from the US, the council voted unanimously for the Russian-backed resolution that puts a stamp of approval on a plan which envisages a Palestinian state by 2005. Reality TV Meets Mideast Diplomacy Miftah 11/20/2003 White House officials have held intense discussions with Israeli officials in recent weeks on ways to ease the plight of the Palestinians, lift roadblocks in the occupied territories and deal with other vexing issues that have created a chill in the generally warm relations between President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, U.S. officials said yesterday....U.S. officials are debating whether to deduct the costs of the fence from U.S. loan guarantees to Israel. Some officials say the United States is close to doing so, but one said yesterday that was "wishful thinking in an election year." Israelis, Palestinians must seize new chance for peace, senior UN official says United Nations News 11/19/2003 19 November – With a new Palestinian Prime Minister in place, all parties involved in peace-building between Israelis and Palestinians should recommit themselves to the process and leave behind the inaction of the past month, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today. In his assessment of developments in the Middle East, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, said new Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei would be expected "to take immediate steps to establish law and order, control violence and start operations to confront those who engage in terror." UN Security Council endorses Road Map leading towards two-State resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict Miftah/UN Security Council 11/20/2003 The Security Council this afternoon endorsed the Middle East Quartet's Road Map towards a permanent, two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. By its unanimous adoption of resolution 1515 (2003), the Council called on the parties to fulfil their obligations under the plan in cooperation with the Quartet. In its preambular section, the text also reiterated the Council's demand for an immediate cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terrorism, provocation, incitement and destruction. It emphasized that a just and lasting peace should take into account the Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese tracks, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian question.

Human Rights..

Palestinian, International and Israeli Peace Activists to March in Solidarity Against Separation International Solidarity Movement 11/20/2003 Jenin - ISM Jenin - 20 Nov 03 -- This Saturday, November 22, 2003 Palestinians coordinated by the National Anti-Apartheid Wall Committee, international peace activists with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), and Israeli peace activists with Ta’ayush will peacefully march to a gate in the Israeli “Separation Wall” in the western Jenin district to protest the ghettoization of Palestinian communities. ISM: Abducted Salfit farmer and more... International Solidarity Movement 11/19/2003 1) Israeli soldiers abduct and threaten to shoot Salfit farmer, by Chloe H. 2) Interview with a Palestinian friend, by Ben J. 3) Fatima versus the Israeli Occupation, by Ethan A. Palestinians allowed to access Al-Aqsa mosque Middle East Online 11/20/2003 For men aged over 45 or women older than 35 only -- JERUSALEM - Five thousand Palestinians will be allowed to access Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound for the last prayers of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the Israeli army announced Thursday. The compound is the third holiest site in Islam and the military measure will be effective until Friday. Zionist forces bar Palestinians from heading to Aqsa Mosque Palestinian Information Center 11/20/2003 Ramallah - Zionist occupation forces Thursday morning installed a number of barriers to the south of the West Bank city of Ramallah to bar the influx of hundreds of Palestinian Muslims from Ramallah and other West Bank areas to occupied Jerusalem. Citizens said that elements of the so-called border guards installed a roadblock to the south of the Ramallah city and barred citizens from heading to the Qalandya roadblock leading to the occupied holy city. Hundreds of unemployed Palestinians stage sit-in Palestinian Information Center 11/20/2003 Khan Younis - Hundreds of unemployed Palestinians staged a sit-in on Tuesday before the Legislative council’s building in Khan Younis asking for work opportunities. The demonstrators hoisted large posters asking for jobs as a legitimate right and asking Palestinian Authority chief Yasser Arafat to find a solution for their problem. The committee of unemployed Khan Younis district graduates organized the sit-in attended by new graduates. The committee has been organizing a campaign for the past three months demanding job opportunities for graduates. UN refugee agency adds voice to call for generous reply to humanitarian appeal United Nations News 11/20/2003 20 November – The United Nations refugee agency has added its voice to the call to the world’s wealthiest countries to give even more generously to the $3 billion Consolidated Appeal for 2004 launched by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to help 45 million people in 21 countries. Launching the leg of the appeal focusing on Angola, Sierra Leone and Tanzania, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers told a ceremony in Dublin yesterday that it sought to highlight the human suffering caused by poverty, conflict, violence, natural disasters, ignorance and disease, including HIV/AIDS. The Turkmans International Solidarity Movement 11/18/2003 Jenin - Liv - 18 Nov 03 -- Hi all, This email should be a little more sedate. Joe max and I have been spending the last few days with a family named the Turkmans. They live on the outskirts of Jenin. Originally they are from Haifa, but in 1948 they left Haifaduring the war. They eventually settled in Jenin (about 1950) and built their home in about 1953. In about 1982 Israel began building a settlement right next to their land, so there are all these little homes coming down the hill towards their home now. You can see the Israelis (mainly Russians) hanging their laundry out to dry. The settlement is also home to the main military base here, it’s where the tanks come from and the prisoners go when there is an invasion into the city. Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories 13-19 Nov. 2003 Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 11/20/2003 4 Palestinians, including a child and an elderly man, were killed by Israeli forces / The elderly man was run over by an Israeli settler / Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip / 14 houses were destroyed in Rafah / Areas of agricultural land were razed in the Gaza Strip / Houses were raided and a number of Palestinians were arrested / Construction of the “separation wall” continued in the West Bank / Indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas continued and a number of Palestinian civilians were injured / A Palestinian house in Rafah was 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 / Continued siege on the OPTs

Economy..

Israel's weapons exports skyrocket, making it friends and money San Francisco Chronicle 11/18/2003 With an arsenal ranging from the Uzi to attack drones and airborne early warning systems, Israel has quietly transformed itself into one of the world's top defense exporters. Defense News has ranked Israel as No. 3 based on 2002 contracts, and an Israeli expert told The Associated Press the country was now considered to be in the top five. Growing sales to Turkey and India, two major new markets for Israel, have driven the surge. State of Economy Index fell further 0.1% in October Globes 11/20/2003 Nevertheless, the index's fall has slowed in recent months. -- In another sign of the persistent recession, the State of the Economy Index fell a further 0.1% in October. The index has fallen 0.4% since August, the Bank of Israel reported today. Exports to US up annualized 19.5% in August-October Globes 11/20/2003 Israel's trade deficit, excluding diamonds, totaled $5.4 billion in January-October 2003. -- Exports of goods to the US rose by an annualized 19.5% and imports by 20% in August-October 2003, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday. Netanyahu threatens "non-conventional" means against monopolies Globes 11/20/2003 Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu: What we will ultimately have is more growth, more income, and more imports and exports.-- "We'll employ non-conventional weapons against employees. We're going to complete the abolishment of the monopolies whatever the cost, come what may," Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu said today at the Prime Minister's Conference on Export and International Cooperation. Sharon supports Netanyahu: Monopolies are a disaster Globes 11/20/2003 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: I want to make gestures toward the workers committees, but I won't capitulate to threats and irrelevant pressures. -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the Prime Minister's Conference on Export and International Cooperation today that essential structural changes had been made in the past three years. These changes have aroused the opposition of workers committees, led by the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel). PM: Government won't surrender to labor unions Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that the government was determined to implement structural changes in the economy and would not surrender to illogical pressure from labor unions. The prime minister was referring to sanctions and strikes launched recently by port workers and government employees in protest over the government's restructuring plans. Shekel mountain grew by NIS 3.4b in October Globes 11/20/2003 The credit crunch in worsening: total credit declined by another NIS 4 billion in October. -- The public is returning to unlinked shekel instruments, despite the interest rate cuts and shrinking interest rate gap between Israel and the US. The public deposited an additional NIS 3.4 billion in unlinked shekel instruments (the shekel mountain), which reached a total of NIS 277.4 billion, the Bank of Israel reported today. Shalom: EU delegation will settle rules of origin problem Globes 11/20/2003 Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom: Europeans understand the advantage of Israel's participation in the EEA.-- "Joining the European Economic Area is only the first step toward joining the EU, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom today. He was speaking at the Prime Minister's Conference on Export and International Cooperation. Shalom said Israel was close to completing the procedures for joining the European Economic Area (EEA), and the Europeans wanted Israeli to join....He said an EU delegation would visit Israel in two weeks to settle the [rules of origin] problem. Jerusalem Post owner Hollinger subpoenaed in U.S. Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 NEW YORK - U.S. securities regulators have sent a subpoena to newspaper group Hollinger International Inc. amid disclosures of multimillion-dollar payments to departing Chief Executive Conrad Black and other top executives, the company said Wednesday. Hollinger also said Black, who has drawn fire from shareholders about his role following the payments, is stepping down immediately - two days earlier than expected - on the advice of his counsel.

People..

Cairo storyteller keeps Arab tradition alive by defying it Daily Star 11/20/2003 Chirine al-Ansari succeeds despite objections from family, instructors, society -- CAIRO: As the story is told in the courtyard of a restored 18th-century Ottoman home in Islamic Cairo, a wandering girl, searching for something greater, ignores the admonitions of others advising her to turn around and willfully presses on and finds her Eden. Originally a tale by the Sufi poet Jilal al-Din Rumi, the story has been recast by Chirine al-Ansari, a 32-year-old Egyptian storyteller whose own life in many ways embodies the story’s moral....When storytelling last thrived in the Arab world in the 19th century, it was a male-dominated profession of low regard. It certainly wasn’t the appropriate calling for the Paris-educated daughter of the prominent director of Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency. Israelis leave their land, forced out by a battered economy and years of violence The Independent 11/20/2003 Jean Max emigrated from Britain to Israel in 1970 as a committed Zionist. Her three children were born and grew up in Israel. But since they reached adulthood, all three have left for new lives in the United States. And Ms Max, now divorced, is planning to follow them. Her American visa has arrived, she is going to Boston, where her daughter lives, to look for work. If she finds it, she is leaving Israel after 33 years. Daniel, Noa and Mohammed are most popular Israeli names Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 The most common name among Jewish newborns in Israel in 2002 was Noa. The next most popular girls' names were Shira, Maya, Adi and Yael. Among boys, the most popular name last year was Daniel, then came Itai, David, Noam and Edo. ...Among Israel's Muslim community, the most popular name among baby boys in 2002 was Mohammed. For Muslim girls, the most popular name was Aya.

International..

Follow the money: CEO salaries of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli advocacy groups and charities Electronic Intifada 11/20/2003 People in the Palestinian solidarity community regularly bemoan the fact that pro-Israeli advocacy groups are far more vocal, far more organised, and have far more political influence than their Palestinian counterparts. This is not happening as a result of some strange magic. The simple fact is that pro-Israeli advocacy groups receive far more in donations than do pro-Palestinian advocacy groups. EI's Nigel Parry visited charitynavigator.org, a public website offering financial and other information about charities, and compiled a list of what the directors and CEOs of advocacy groups on both sides of the conflict are earning. Compensation is an excellent indicator of the amount of administrative resources organisations have access to, that enables them to spread their message. By way of comparison, EI's entire annual budget for 2003 was less than any of the amounts listed below. Patriarch Again Vetoes an Extension for Lahoud An Nahar 11/20/2003 Patriarch Sfeir has again vetoed a constitutional amendment that would allow President Lahoud to remain in office beyond the expiry of his current term next November, but there were official insinuations that Syria has promised to help the president get a three-year extension. "We've spent 50 years contending the constitution is untouchable, but in recent years people had thought of amending it at every presidential election," the head of the Maronite church told a visiting delegation of Lebanon's Journalists Association at his seat in Bkirki on Wednesday. Hariri Willing to Resign if Lahoud's Extension is Eliminated An Nahar 11/20/2003 Beirut newspaper columnists had a speculation bonanza Thursday in interpreting the outcome of the Lahoud-Assad summit talks, focusing on the pros and cons of an extension for President Lahoud or the removal of Premier Hariri. If the current Beirut government proves incapable of staying on until the end of Lahoud's term next November, An Nahar's Emile Khoury suggested Hariri might be removed in exchange for a definite no extension for Lahoud. What's in a logo? For Red Cross, it's bombs, job cuts, internal strife Reuters 10/10/2003 OSLO (AlertNet) - The protective emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are under more scrutiny than ever, as today's aid workers face up to the reality that some people see them as representatives of Western intervention, and therefore a legitimate target of attack. Equal status for the red crescent alongside the cross since the 1980s has gone a long way to assuage fears in Muslim countries that the movement was involved in missionary work, but Israel's equivalent of a national Red Cross society is still not allowed to use an alternative symbol, for fear of upsetting the delicate balance. 27 dead as blasts rock Istanbul The Guardian 11/20/2003 At least 27 people were killed and more than 400 injured when two large bombs ripped through British targets in Istanbul today. One explosion damaged the British consulate, killing at least 14. Moments later, another devastated the Istanbul headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank. The simultaneous car bombings were the first such direct attacks on non-military British interests since September 11. Abullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister, said that Istanbul - in which 23 people were killed when bombs exploded at two synagogues five days ago - was now facing "organised" terrorist attacks. U.S. seen sending signal to Libya on arms, terrorism Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 LONDON - The United States is expected to send Libya a signal this week that if it allays U.S. concerns on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction Washington might lift some sanctions on Tripoli, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The officials, who asked not to be named, said Washington was expected to drop the hint by renewing a nearly 22-year-old ban on U.S. citizens travelling to Libya for a year, but with a review every 90 days. Hindus urged to curb 'Muslim threat' by having big families The Guardian 11/20/2003 A radical Hindu political party in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, which is a key ally of the country's ruling party, is encouraging Hindus to have more children because of fears of a Muslim population explosion. The militant Shiv Sena party announced that it had identified 50 Hindu couples with five or more children in the parliamentary constituency of the Indian prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. "We will honour these couples at a special function next month by conferring the title 'Awakened Hindu Family'," said the Shiv Sena's state chief, Vijay Tiwari. Couples with more than 10 children would be given gifts of gold or silver. Will Son Succeed Hosni Mubarak in Egypt? The Guardian 11/20/2003 CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Hours after Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak interrupted a nationally televised address because he was feeling ill, his son appeared before the ruling party assuring its members that the elder Mubarak was well and in control. Such public appearances by Gamal Mubarak, 40, feed speculation he is being groomed to succeed his 75-year-old father, whose illness Wednesday was described as minor. Nuclear Board Said to Rebuff Bush Over Iran New York Times 11/20/2003 VIENNA, Nov. 19 — The board of the International Atomic Energy Agency appears prepared to approve a resolution on Iran's 18 years of secret work on a nuclear program that will stop short of recommending United Nations Security Council action, a setback to President Bush, senior officials from several countries said here Wednesday. Only hours after Mr. Bush, in Britain, declared that the agency must hold Iran to its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, officials here said that the board was likely to adopt a European-sponsored resolution that was being strengthened on Wednesday to include wording that would likely "deplore" Iran's deceptions and declare that they amounted to a "breach" of its obligations. Thousands March In London Against Bush Visit Islam Online 11/20/2003 LONDON, November 20 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Demonstrators marched by the tens of thousands in central London on Thursday, November 20, in the biggest street protest against U.S. President George W. Bush's ongoing state visit to Britain. More than 5,000 police officers were on duty to patrol the demonstrators, whose march was to take them past parliament and Downing Street to Trafalgar Square and the toppling of a giant papier-mache Bush effigy, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. Colombian rebels to free two hostages; no word on Israelis Ha'aretz 11/20/2003 Colombian Marxist rebels said on Thursday they would soon free Spanish and German backpackers they kidnapped in September on Monday, but made no mention of four Israelis and an Englishman they are also holding. The latest communique made no mention of the other hostages: Briton Mark Henderson and Israelis Benny Daniel, Ido Guy, Erez Altawil and Orpaz Ohayon. But according to understandings reached between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and Catholic Church delegates, the rest of the tourists will be released in December, probably during the first week of the month. Kansas City: Protesters feel Big Brother watching InfoShop News/Kansas City Star 11/19/2003 A lot of unsavory stuff keeps happening at area peace protests. Brad Grabs arrived early at 13th and Central streets for the Sept. 4 protest near the Music Hall, where President Bush was to speak. A government security official dressed in a dark suit and tie approached Grabs. “He said, ‘Brad, I'd like to ask you to move your demonstration up a block to maybe 12th Street,' ” said Grabs, chairman of the Kansas City Iraq Task Force, which has organized area peace rallies. What astounded Grabs was he had never seen the man before, yet that security official knew Grabs' name. “I was caught off guard by that,” said Grabs, who declined to move the protest. “It was sort of eerie.” US Congress approves funds to study new generation of nukes SpaceWar 11/19/2003 The US Congress late Tuesday allocated millions of dollars for research into new types of nuclear weapons and bolstering readiness at the Nevada nuclear test site, but, bowing to critics, trimmed the administration's program. By a vote of 387-36, the House of Representatives passed a spending bill for energy and water programs that contains 7.5 million dollars to study the feasibility of the so-called Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, which one Energy Department official insisted "would enhance the nation's ability to hold hard and deeply buried targets at risk."

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