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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 Troops Kill 4 in West Bank Raid The Guardian 12/1/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Israeli troops launched a sweeping raid on this West Bank city early Monday, killing a 9-year-old boy and three Hamas gunmen and leaving 60 people homeless after blowing up their apartment building, the army and Palestinian sources said....Residents protested in the streets. Troops opened fire to disperse the crowd, killing 9-year-old Mazen Hamdan, Palestinian sources said.....Meanwhile, Israel began construction of a new neighborhood in disputed East Jerusalem, a move U.S. and Palestinian officials said was a violation of the so-called road map peace plan. Sponsors of the neighborhood said the development would include 550 housing units, a hotel and schools. Palestinian child among dead in Israeli raid Al-Jazeera 12/1/2003 The death of a nine-year-old boy has increased to four thenumber of Palestinians killed in a pre-dawn Israeli raid on the West Bank on Monday. Two of the dead are members of the Hamas resistance group, including senior official, Ghassan Abassi. The identity of the fourth Palestinian was not immediately known. Our correspondent said the boy died in hospital. He also said 30 Palestinian men, under the age of 40, were detained by occupation force during raids on homes in the cities of Ram Allah and Bira and the districts of al-Tirah, Irsaal, Ram Allah al-Tahtah and Shurfah. IOF Troops Kill Four Palestinians, Arrest Scores During Wide Campaign in Ramallah International Press Center 12/1/2003 RAMALLAH, Palestine, December 01, 2003, (IPC + Agencies) - - Israeli occupying forces (IOF) killed four Palestinians, three during a wide invasion of the city of Ramallah and nearby Al Ama'ri refugee camp. IOF launched Sunday overnight a wide campaign of arrests and house-to-house searches in some neighborhoods of Ramallah and Al Birah andconfined the residents into their houses under a strict curfew. During the search campaign, three Palestinian citizens were killed by IOF gunfire, while a fourth was wounded, according to Palestinian sources....In the Gaza Strip, A Palestinian citizen was killed in when an explosion ripped through his car in the Al Jenina neighborhood of Rafah, south of Gaza Strip....In a leaflet distributed by the Islamic Jihad movement, it confirmed that Abu Matter was the commander of Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of the movement, and said that his car explosion was perpetrated by the Israeli forces. Israel constructing new settlement in East Jerusalem Al-Bawaba 12/1/2003 A new Jewish settlement is being built in occupied East Jerusalem's Jabel Mukaber region, which will consist of 550 homes, a hotel, a school, a pre-school and a synagogue, Israel Radio reported Monday. Occupation terrorist forces demolish house of Qassam martyr Palestinian Information Center 12/1/2003 Al-Khalil - Zionist occupation troops stormed the house of Othman Badr, 74, in a pre-dawn raid today at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Al-Khalil. Hundreds of occupation forces and scores of armored vehicles encircled the four-story building at 3 am today and gave its occupants five minutes to evacuate belongings before razing the house of the father of martyr Ahmed Badr who was martyred on 9/9/2003 after Zionist soldiers besieged him and one of his colleagues in the ten-story Qawasme building that was flattened after the clash. Palestinian sources affirm arrest of Hamas leader Sheikh Fadl Hamdan Palestinian Information Center 12/1/2003 Ramallah - Palestinian sources affirmed to PIC correspondent news of the arrest of Sheikh Fadl Saleh Hamdan, 46, one of the senior Hamas Movement leaders in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The sources said that Zionist occupation forces arrested Hamdan in the house of Maher Al-Sahf’ee, 30, in the city of El-Bireh then took both of them to an unknown destination. The sources noted that Shaf’ee had been released only a month ago from Zionist Ofer military jail after spending few months there on charges of affiliation with the Hamas Movement. IOF Demolishes Four Houses in Rafah, Arrests Four Palestinians and Extends Detention Period of 140 Prisoners International Press Center 11/29/2003 RAFAH, Palestine, November 29, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - The Israeli occupying forces (IOF) demolished four houses in the city of Rafah, while arresting four Palestinian citizens in separate incidents around the Palestinian territories, as the Israeli "Negev Desert" detention camp administration extended the detention times of more than 140 Palestinian prisoners there. In the city of Rafah, IPC correspondent said that IOF backed by military D-9 bulldozers invaded the area of Al Barahma amidst heavy and indiscriminate gunfire, and tore down four Palestinian houses, as well as leveling and bulldozing nearby lands....Meanwhile, in the city of Qalqilia, IOF troops arrested a Palestinian citizen.....As well, three other citizens were also arrested by the occupying forces in the town of Termse'eya, east of Ramallah and ElBireh governorate. Eyewitnesses told IPC correspondent that IOF besieged several houses in the town and broke into it, vandalizing furniture and humiliating its residents....Additionally, IOF uprooted 200 olive trees in the area of Al Qarara, south of the Gaza Strip. IOF Shoot Dead 6 Palestinians ‘by Mistake’, Including 2 Boys Palestine Media Center 11/29/2003 Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) during the Islamic of Eid al-Fitre shot dead six Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including two nine and 15-year-old boys, and admitted they had killed the other unarmed four by mistake. An IOF sniper on Friday shot dead 35-year old Palestinian Sayed Abu Safra in northern Gaza Strip. Abu Safra was trying to prevent a mentally deranged individual from approaching the northern illegal Jewish settlement of Dugit when the IOF soldiers opened fire, Palestinian medical and security sources said....The IOF expressed "sorrow and regret" over the incident and said the soldiers involved were suspended from duty at least until the end of a military investigation. Sorrow and Regret Palestine Monitor 11/29/2003 "Sorrow and regret". These were the words expressed by the Israeli army over the shooting that left 35 year old Palestinian policeman, Sayed Abu Safra dead. Safra was shot whilst trying to prevent a man with mental disabilities from nearing the perimeter fence that surrounds the illegal Israeli settlement of Nissanit on Gaza's northern boundary with Israel, when he was shot by Israeli forces.....In another “sorrow and regret” incident, Israeli soldiers shot dead on Wednesday (11/26) three men while traveling in their car on a southern Gaza road used by illegal Israeli settlers. The soldiers believed the men to be armed, however no traces of weapons were found in the car and an investigation was ordered. Israeli Gunships Strafe Illuminated Hizbullah Border Hideouts An Nahar 12/1/2003 Forward positions of the Israeli army in the Shabaa farms machine-gunned opposite Lebanese border townships throughout the weekend as helicopter gunships strafed suspected Hizbullah hideouts in adjacent olive groves under the glare of parachute flares, the Beirut media reported on Monday. Breaking News: At Least 7 Homes Detonated in Ramallah International Press Center 12/1/2003 16:00 -- At least seven Palestinian houses have been detonated by the Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Ramallah, WAFA reported. / 15:30 --Seven Palestinian civilians, including a journalist,have been arrested by Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Ramallah, WAFA reported. Occupation forces arrest schoolteacher and her husband Palestinian Information Center 12/1/2003 Ramallah - Well informed Palestinian sources have said that the Zionist occupation forces in the West Bank city of Ramallah last night arrested a school teacher and her husband in their apartment. Sister of the lady Fidaa Al-Rumahi, 30, said that occupation forces arrested her sister and her husband Khalil Ameira, also a teacher, after midnight yesterday and took them to an unknown destination. Zionist authorities demolish house in 1948 areas Palestinian Information Center 12/1/2003 Galilee - Palestinian sources in the 1948 occupied areas said today that the Zionist authorities had demolished an Arab house in the Ailbon village in the Galilee area. Occupation forces blast ground floor of Teyra Mosque Palestinian Information Center 12/1/2003 Ramallah - Zionist occupation troops blasted the ground floor of the Teyra Mosque at dawn today in the West Bank city of Ramallah in line with its ongoing storming campaign in the city. Eyewitnesses said that the occupation forces broke into the three-story Mosque and wreaked havoc in it before exploding the ground floor where the Imam used to live. Boy killed by brother, not IDF, report says Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 A 9-year-old boy who died in Rafah last week was not killed by Israel Defense Forces fire, according to a report to the army by Palestinian security services. The boy, a resident of the Rafah refugee camp, was shot last Wednesday. His death was initially blamed on the IDF, although the army said it had no forces in the area of the shooting. One Palestinian Killed, a Boy Wounded by Israeli Troops International Press Center 11/29/2003 GAZA, November 29, 2003 (IPC + WAFA)-- A Palestinian policeman was shot dead by the Israeli occupying forces in the Bedouin Village, north of Gaza Strip on Friday and a child was wounded in a separate incident, west of Khan Younis, Palestinian medical and security sources confirmed. Palestinian medical sources of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza confirmed that Sayed Abu Safra, 35, a member of Palestinian intelligence service was shot dead Friday noon when an IOF patrol opened fire towards him and fatally shot him in the head in the Bedouin Village, north of Gaza Strip. The IOF gunfire came from the illegitimate Jewish settlement of “Dugeit” at Abu Safra, instantly killing him, even though Abu Safra has been unarmed, Palestinian security sources indicated. Israel Mulls Private Security For Settlements Islam Online 11/29/2003 GAZA CITY, November 29 (IslamOnline.net) - The Israeli army is mulling a proposal to enlist private security companies to guard illegal isolated Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, an Israeli army's magazine reported Friday, November 28. The new proposal came after an Israeli private organization gained last October rabbinical approval to train pigs to guard Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Senior Israeli army officers are discussing the new idea to spare their soldiers guarding the settlements the risk of being ambushed by Palestinian fighters, the Bamahane weekly said. Palestinians sentenced to 36 life terms for planning bombings Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 Two Palestinians convicted of masterminding a series of suicide bombings in 2002 were sentenced yesterday in an Israeli military court to 36 consecutive life terms. The sentences were meted out against Mohammed Hassan Arman and Walid Anjas for their roles in the bombings of Jerusalem's Moment Cafe, in which 11 people died; the Sheffield Club in Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv, in which 15 people died; and the cafeteria at the Hebrew University Mount Scopus campus, in which 9 people died. Hamas bombers sentenced to life BBC 11/30/2003 An Israeli military court has sentenced two Palestinians to 36 life terms each for their role in suicide bombings in which dozens of people died. The men, who belonged to the militant group Hamas, were convicted of planning two attacks in Jerusalem and one near Tel Aviv in 2002. They were also convicted of attempting to blow up a fuel dump in the city. Mohammed Hassan Arman and Walid Anjas, from the Jerusalem suburb of Silwan, said they did not regret their actions. What the war does to us The Guardian 11/29/2003 In all the argument surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we've rarely heard the voices of the conscripts, many of them teenagers, who make up the occupying army. Linda Grant spends five days with an IDF paratroop company, hearing their defiance and their misgivings. [See also, 'What the war does to us', Part II ] Israeli aggressive raid on Ramallah: Four Palestinians, including boy, shot dead, Scores arrested Al-Bawaba 12/1/2003 Israeli agents and large numbers of Israeli troops, including units of most of the military's special forces, carried out an aggressive operation in the West Bank city of Ramallah and the nearby town of al-Bireh Monday. At least four Palestinians were shot dead, including a 9-year-old boy. Occupation soldiers killed three Palestinian fighters in the course of the operation, two of them in Al-Amari refugee camp near the city, and a third in a Ramallah neighborhood, Israel Radio and Palestinian sources said. Palestinian sources said the boy was killed by Israeli fire in al-Bireh.....In the afternoon, hours before the raid ended, Israeli soldiers surrounded a four-story building in the city, telling residents to take out their belongings and leave the premises. The building was then demolished by explosives, leaving 60 people homeless, Palestinian sources said. Boy among dead in Ramallah raid BBC 12/1/2003 A nine-year-old boy is among four Palestinians killed during an Israeli raid on Ramallah in the West Bank. At least 30 suspected Palestinian militants were arrested during the large-scale incursion started at dawn. The Israeli army said it was investigating Palestinian accounts that the boy was shot in the head by soldiers during a subsequent protest. The Israeli raid came two days before Palestinian factions meet in Egypt to discuss halting attacks on Israelis. The BBC's Barbara Plett in Jerusalem says many Palestinians will see the timing as provocative. IDF kills three gunmen and 9-year-old boy in Ramallah raid Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 IDF forces mounting a major raid in Ramallah on Monday, killed three armed Palestinian militants and a 9-year-old boy, later demolishing a four-story building believed to be hiding a Hamas man on Israel's most-wanted lists. Two of the men were killed in the Amri refugee camp near the city. An explosive belt and several weapons were found near their bodies. Another armed Palestinian was killed in the Ramallah neighborhood of Umm Shrayat. Palestinian sources said the boy was killed by IDF fire in El Bireh, a town adjacent to Ramallah. Zionist regime to build more settler units in al-Qods Palestinian Information Center 12/1/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Flying in the face of the international community, the Zionist regime on Monday began building hundreds of new settler units in predominantly-Arab al-Qods (East Jerusalem). According to Israeli sources, the new settlement will be built at al-Qods’ Jabal Mukabir hilltop, and will include 550 settler units, a hotel, a school, and pre-school and a synagogue. Most of the structures will be built on land confiscated from the Palestinians. Zionist occupation authorities renew detention of Hamas leader Palestinian Information Center 12/1/2003 Nablus - Zionist occupation forces have renewed the administrative detention of Sheikh Tayseer Amran, one of the prominent Hamas Movement leaders in Nablus, for the third consecutive time. Amran’s family said that their relative received a further three months administrative detention sentence in the desert prison of Negev. IOF Invade Ramallah, Shoot Dead 3 Palestinians Palestine Media Center 12/1/2003 Israeli Occupation Troops Extra-judicially Assassinate Palestinian in Gaza -- As Palestinian and Israeli peace negotiators were set to sign in Geneva an unofficial peace plan and one day ahead of a meeting in Cairo among Palestinian factions for cease-fire talks, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) early Monday launched a large-scale invasion into the West Bank cities of Ramallah and al-Beirah, killing three Palestinians, detaining dozens others and blowing up at least one building, a day after they had extra-judicially assassinated an activist in the Gaza Strip....Also on Monday the IOF blew up a house in the West Bank city of Hebron, Palestinian witnesses said. The three-story building belonged to of Ahmed Othaman Shafik Bader, a Hamas activist extra-judicially assassinated by the IOF in September, the witnesses said. Early Monday also the IOF sealed off the northern West Bank village of Allibban and imposed curfew on its population.

Diplomacy..

Mideast Officials to Sign Symbolic Accord The Guardian 12/1/2003 GENEVA (AP) - Last-minute dissent among the Palestinians and strong opposition from Israeli leaders underscored just how difficult it will be for a symbolic peace plan to sway either side after years of conflict in the Middle East. Officials from both sides began arriving in Geneva on Monday to sign the unofficial treaty - dubbed the ``Geneva Accord'' - before a closely guarded guest list expected to include Jimmy Carter and other winners of the Nobel peace prize. Palestinian PM says security fence a bar to meeting Sharon The Guardian 12/1/2003 The Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, has said he will not meet Ariel Sharon as long as Israel continues construction of its "security" fence and wall through the West Bank. "If the Israeli government says it will continue building the wall regardless of what happens there is no need for any meetings," said Mr Qureia. "I am not saying this is a precondition, but I want serious positions ... if they have an honest desire to study these issues the meeting will take place." The Palestinian prime minister pressed the Americans to back his position at a meeting with the US special envoy to the Middle East, William Burns, in Jordan on Saturday. Assad: If peace talks succeed, Syria to have ''full, normal relations with Israel'' Al-Bawaba 12/1/2003 Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has called for Washington to use its influence to revive negotiations between his country and Israel, portraying their absence as a gaping hole in the Bush administration's strategy for the Middle East. Assad, in an interview published Monday in The New York Times, said the details of returning the Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for security guarantees to Israel were 80 percent complete a few months before he succeeded his late father as Syria's president. But the Bush administration, preoccupied by Iraq and the Palestinian issue, has shown little interest in this strand of diplomacy, the Syrian leader said. Sharon may annex part of W. Bank: report Chicago Sun-Times 11/30/2003 JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is considering dismantling Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip while simultaneously annexing blocs of West Bank settlements if peace efforts fail, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday. Sharon adviser Zalman Shoval stopped short of confirming the report, but suggested Israel would keep some areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and leave others, if it were to take unilateral steps in the absence of a peace deal. Sharon is under increasing pressure to end three years of fighting and renew long-stalled talks. Jordan talks try to revive road map The Age 12/1/2003 Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie and the US Middle East envoy William Burns have held crucial first talks in Amman, which both sides hope will resurrect the Middle East peace process. But before leaving for the talks, Mr Qurie warned that any meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would not be necessary unless Israel stopped building its West Bank separation barrier. "The barrier is destroying everything, and all effort will not be of any use if the Israelis continue to build it," Mr Qurie told reporters, although he emphasised that he was not imposing conditions on talks. Palestinians step up protests against Geneva Accord Reuters 12/1/2003 GAZA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Thousands of Palestinians protested against the launch in Geneva on Monday of a symbolic peace pact with Israel, charging that the deal waives the right of millions of refugees to return to what is now the Jewish state. "Whoever sells my right as a refugee is a traitor who must be prosecuted," an opponent of the agreement between left-wing Israeli opposition figures and Palestinian politicians shouted during a demonstration in Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza. "The Geneva Accord is a scandal," thousands of demonstrators chanted in Gaza City during a second day of protests in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday, Palestinian delegates heading for Geneva were jostled by demonstrators as they crossed from Gaza to Egypt. Arafat's support for Geneva peace blueprint sparks refugee protests The Independent 12/1/2003 Despite a crescendo of protests from Palestinian refugees, Yasser Arafat yesterday threw his weight behind an unofficial blueprint for a two-state solution, which is to be launched in Geneva today amid fanfare. Two ministers representing Mr Arafat's Fatah movement had cancelled their trip to the signing ceremony after the Palestinian leader declined to give the accords his seal of approval. But one of them, Kadoura Fares, told The Independent they would go with three other Fatah signatories. "There is a blessing and permission to travel," he said. At Mr Arafat's request, Jibril Rajoub, his national security adviser, will join the Palestinian delegation. Various Palestinian Bodies in a Gaza Conference Denounce Geneva Accord International Press Center 12/1/2003 GAZA, Palestine, December 1, 2003 (IPC)-- Various Palestinian bodies, including political factions, local NGOs, public figures and ordinary Palestinians, denounced Monday the Geneva Accordsigned by non-official Palestinian and Israeli figures in the Swiss capital of Geneva. Such denouncement came in a conference called on by the “Popular Conference for the Defense of Palestinian Right to Return’, and has been held in the Gaza city Monday morning. Participants denounced strongly the Geneva Accord and reiterated the Palestin[ian] people right of return to their homeland Palestine. Abed Rabbo's home attacked Jerusalem Post 11/27/2003 Unidentified gunmen opened fire just after midnight Friday at the home of Yasser Abed Rabbo, one of the architects of the Geneva Accord. No one was hurt. Palestinian Authority security sources said several bullets were fired at the house in al-Bireh, the twin city of Ramallah. Abed Rabbo, a former minister of information, is the head of the Palestinian team that engineered the accord together with Yossi Beilin and other Israeli left-wing activists. The attack on Abed Rabbo's home comes amid growing Palestinian opposition to the accord. Palestinians Denounce ‘Chaotic Contacts’ With Israel Islam Online 11/29/2003 NABLUS, November 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Palestinian figures, analysts and resistance factions have criticized the “flurry of meetings and contacts” that have lately been held between Palestinian and Israeli figures and the ensuing initiatives to reach a settlement for the Palestinian cause. They underlined that such meetings and contacts represent “a cover” for the violations committed by the Israeli occupation and the building of the separation fence. They also expressed what they termed “a state of Palestinian chaos” that would not serve the Palestinian people. PM Qurei' Dismisses PNA Endorsement of New Political Initiatives International Press Center 11/30/2003 RAMALLAH, Palestine, November 30, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei' denied Saturday that the Palestinian National Authority and the government had endorsed any new political initiatives. “No official Palestinian political initiative by any means,” Qurei' emphasized. PM Qurei' added that the commitment of the PNA and its government remained stick with the initiatives approved by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) central and national councils and the political platform of the PLO, referring that the ministers who took part in any political meetings are just expressing their personal attitudes not the government and any initiative represented is merely unofficial initiative and not binding by the government. Key Palestinians Won't Back Peace Accords The Guardian 11/30/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Four prominent Palestinians who negotiated a symbolic Mideast peace agreement decided not to attend a launching ceremony in Switzerland this week after Yasser Arafat refused to give written support and shots were fired at a negotiator's home, Palestinian officials said Sunday. In a meeting overnight, the Palestinian leader turned down a request by two of the officials - Qadoura Fares, a Cabinet minister, and lawmaker Mohammed Horani - to give them a letter supporting the accords, the officials said on condition of anonymity. The other two officials who refused to go to the Monday ceremony were Minister of Prisoner Affairs Hisham Abdel Razek and lawmaker Khatem Abdel Khader....In a further sign of opposition, about 200 Palestinians attacked Palestinian negotiators traveling to Geneva on Sunday for the signing ceremony. Screaming ``traitors,'' the angry Palestinians blocked the road near a crossing into Egypt and beat and kicked the Palestinian negotiators and dignitaries as they emerged from their cars. Palestinians protest Geneva Initiative Middle East Online 12/1/2003 GAZA CITY - Thousands of Palestinians staged protests in Gaza and the West Bank on Monday against the unofficial Geneva Initiative, dubbing the virtual peace plan as "treason" it was being officially unveiled in Switzerland. Some 1,500 people demonstrated against the accords in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip in a protest organised by the hardline Hamas movement, reserving much of their venom for the main Palestinian instigator of the accord, Yasser Abed Rabbo. "No to treason, no to traitors," some demonstrators chanted. Israel Rules Out Halting Apartheid Wall Miftah/Al Jazeera 12/1/2003 Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has rejected his Palestinian counterpart's demand that Israel stop building a controversial wall through the West Bank as a condition for talks. "I hereby notify you that no condition shall be accepted ... regarding the cessation of the fence, dismantling of the fence and other fabrications," Sharon was quoted as saying in the official report on Sunday's cabinet meeting. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Quraya has said that Israel must stop work on the barrier before he would meet Sharon for talks on ending three years of Israeli-Palestinian violence and reviving a US-backed peace plan. Arafat rejects Geneva, but lets officials attend launch Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 Senior Palestinian officials flip-flopped yesterday before agreeing at the last minute to attend today's launch of the Geneva Accord, an unofficial Israeli-Palestinian peace plan. The Palestinian negotiators, who had been threatened by militants, initially said that they would only attend if they received a written letter from PA Chairman Yasser Arafat stating that he and the Fatah Central Committee support the initiative. But although Arafat refused to grant the letter, they agreed to make do with a verbal statement that they were attending the ceremony with his permission, in their capacity as private citizens. Arafat Offered Verbal Permission to Allow Fatah’s Delegation to Travel to Geneva International Middle East Media Center 12/1/2003 Palestinian President Yasser Arafat ended an internal conflict around Palestinian participation in the signing ceremony of the Geneva Accords by offering a “verbal” permission to Fatah members, who took part in developing the agreement, to attend the ceremony. Arafat who stressed that participant has no official capacity and only represents them selves, and refused the request to turn the participation in the ceremony into an official representation of Fatah movement, did finally provide Fatah leaders with his personal support. Most of the active political groups expressed concerns around they way in which the accords deal with refugee rights and worries around the value of creating secret unofficial negotiations channels to deal with the core issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Palestinian groups gather in Cairo for truce talks Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 Representatives of Palestinian factions gathered in Cairo on Monday saying they were only likely to declare another cease-fire if Israel did the same. Internal divisions, however, delayed the start of talks by at least a day, Israel Radio reported. The major Palestinian factions were assembling for talks on a possible cease-fire - a key step towards reviving stalled Middle East peace moves - after a previous unilateral truce in June collapsed after two months. In Geneva: Palestinians and Israelis Sign a Model Peace Accord Amid Controversy International Press Center 12/1/2003 GENEVA, December 1, 2003 (IPC+Agencies) --As the deadline for the signing of the most disputed document in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict draws nearer, many opposing sounds echoed through both the Israeli and Palestinian societies, and while the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat welcomed the accord only to encourage the efforts of peace, the Israeli government furiously rejected it and considered it a security error.....several Fateh officials declared Sunday that they would not attend the signing ceremony, scheduled Monday in the Swiss capital city of Geneva, a thing that gave a strong push to the opponents of the accord. However, President Arafat tasked several Palestinian officials, including the national security advisor, Jibril Al Rajoub, to attend the ceremony, in a gesture of welcoming the accord. Palestinian Cairo Talks Postponed Till Thursday Islam Online 12/1/2003 CAIRO, December 1 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Talks in Cairo designed to secure a truce by the Palestinian resistance groups, which were due to take place Tuesday, December 2, have been postponed for two days for "logistic reasons", a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) revealed Monday, December 1. Speaking to IslamOnline.net by phone, Fahd Suleiman, who heads the Front's delegation to the talks, denied that differences have triggered the surprise delay. Islamic Jihad top official Mohammad al-Hindi further confirmed the news. Israeli official: Assad's call for talks is positive sign Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 Remarks by Syrian President Bashar Assad on his willingness to restart talks with Israel without any preconditions must be viewed positively, Israel Radio quoted a senior Israeli official as saying Monday. The official said Israel was always open to dialogue and that Assad's comments were to be viewed in a positive light, especially since they come after such an extended hiatus in contacts between the sides....Earlier, Israeli sources had said that Assad's remarks might be an attempt to lessen American pressure on him by making a declaration of apparent moderation. Interview With Syria's President New York Times 12/1/2003 DAMASCUS, Syria, Nov. 30 - Following are the complete remarks by President Bashar al-Assad of Syria from an interview with The New York Times on Sunday. The president's office transcribed and translated the interview, during which the president spoke in Arabic and English. The Times trimmed some text from the questions.-- Question: May be we can begin with the subject of Syrian-Israeli relations because it has been so long since we have seen any hint of motion in that area; I wonder whether you would like to see the Bush administration take the initiative to try to revive those negotiations.Answer: We don't only desire and wish but we always call, in every meeting and every speech we call on the United States to work hard for the resumption of these negotiations. We also call upon all international parties who are able to contribute to resuming the negotiations to try their best to do so, but I think the role of the United States remains of prime importance in this. Syrian Pressing for Israel Talks New York Times 12/1/2003 DAMASCUS, Syria, Nov. 30 — President Bashar al-Assad called Sunday for the United States to use its influence to revive negotiations between his country and Israel, portraying their absence as a gaping hole in the Bush administration's strategy for the Middle East. Mr. Assad, in an interview at the small stone villa that serves as his private office in the hills above Damascus, said the details of returning the Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for security guarantees to Israel were 80 percent complete a few months before he succeeded his late father as Syria's president. But the Bush administration, preoccupied by Iraq and the Palestinians, has shown little interest in this strand of diplomacy, he said. Hamas confirms participation in Cairo truce talks Al-Bawaba 12/1/2003 The Hamas movement has decided to participate in talks with other Palestinian factions in Egypt's capital city of Cairo as a "civilized" way to resolve conflicts, the group said. Moreover, it accused Israel of blocking its representatives from the occupied Palestinian territories from going to Cairo for the talks. "In an effort to consolidate dialogue among the Palestinians as a civilized way to resolve conflicts ... Hamas has decided to accept the invitation from the Egyptian leadership," a statement said on Monday. Veteran Israeli sceptical about peace BBC 12/1/2003 On the day that the "virtual" Middle East agreement was being signed in Geneva, a veteran Israeli general was pouring a large bucket of cold water over the idea that there would be peace with the Palestinians anytime soon. Reporters who crept through the London rain to the heavily guarded Israeli embassy for breakfast of coffee and cake found Major-General (retired) Amos Gilad, head of the Political-Military Bureau at the Ministry of Defence, in sceptical mood. One suspects that it is his permanent mood. One felt, too, that here was the authentic voice of the current Israeli political-military establishment, despite some rumblings of criticism...."We warned [former Israeli Prime Minister] Ehud Barak that his talks at Camp David in 2000 with Arafat would fail because Arafat insists on the right of return. We also predicted that terror would be the consequence of the failure of those talks," he said. Moderates launch Middle East plan BBC 12/1/2003 An alternative, unofficial peace plan for the Middle East is being launched in a glitzy ceremony in Geneva. Drafted by left-wing Israelis and Palestinians, the accord goes much further than the US-backed roadmap. Former US President Jimmy Carter said at the ceremony it was "unlikely that we will ever see a more promising foundation for peace". Shared Jerusalem sovereignty and the waiving of the Palestinian right of return are the key points of the plan. Video: "There's still a very long way to go" BBC 12/1/2003 The BBC's Linden Kemkaran -- "There's still a very long way to go" Carter: Israelis must choose between peace and settlements Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 GENEVA - Former United States president Jimmy Carter on Monday told Israelis, Palestinians and world leaders gathered for a ceremony to launch the Geneva Accord that for peace to descend upon the Middle East, Palestinians first had to renounce violence and Israelis had to choose between peace with its neighbors and settlements. "There remains one basic choice for the Israelis: do we want permanent peace with all our neighbors, or do we want to retain our settlements throughout the occupied territories," Carter said. "And it is of equal importance that the Palestinians renounce violence against Israeli citizens in exchange for the commitments of this Geneva initiative." Geneva Initiative Launched Amid Little Hopes Of Success Islam Online 12/1/2003 GENEVA, December 1 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The alternative Middle East peace initiative was launched Monday, December 1, at a ceremony in Geneva attended by Israeli intellectuals and prominent Palestinians but against the backdrop of louder Israeli and Palestinian protest voices. The public ceremony began with a presentation by U.S. actor Richard Dreyfuss, marking the start of the formal launch of the controversial initiativeput together in secret meetings between politicians from both sides over the past two years, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). President Arafat Advisor: Israel is Sabotaging the Peace Efforts International Press Center 12/1/2003 RAMALLAH, Palestine, December 1, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies)-- Nabil Abu Rodaina, Advisor of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, charged Israel Monday of sabotaging underway peace efforts as well as inter-Palestinian dialogue, as its forces began today a wide-scale military operation in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abu Rodaina regarded such new wave of Israeli military actions inside a Palestinain city as “ provocative anddisruptiveto underway inter-Palestinain dialogue in Cairo as well as the Geneva Accord being signed in Geneva today”. Why is Arafat silent? Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 The Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic arena is abuzz with activity. Meetings, conferences, initiatives, even documents of mutual agreement. The most important meetings of all are those between MK Omri Sharon and attorney Dov Weisglass, the most trusted associates of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and Saeb Erekat and Jibril Rajoub, who are currently considered the closest public figures to Yasser Arafat....When the identity of the Palestinian composers of the document was made public, numerous members of the Palestinian leadership let it be known that the document was largely the product of Arafat's initiative. That being the case, it was a little strange to discover the extent to which Arafat and his associates avoided showing any open and explicit support for the accord. Hamas denounces “Switzerland document” Palestinian Information Center 12/1/2003 Gaza - The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, today issued a statement, a copy of which was sent to the PIC, denouncing the so-called “Switzerland document” and demanding decisive Palestinian Authority action against signatories. The Hamas statement opined that it was no coincidence the Zionist choice of Switzerland as the venue for signing the agreement, recalling that the same country was the birthplace of the first international Zionist conference over a hundred years ago that launched the idea of establishing a homeland for Jews on the holy land of Palestine. DFLP lashes out at secret PA-Zionist contacts Palestinian Information Center 12/1/2003 Gaza - The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine has lashed out at the ongoing Palestinian Authority meetings with Zionist officials and former officials in a number of European capitals. A DFLP spokesman has said that his Front condemned such meetings because they were held in-camera away from Palestinian national institutions and people. Such meetings returned to the policy of secret channels that only entailed disasters such as the Oslo agreements, the spokesman elaborated. He said that intensification of such meetings at present would greatly harm the Palestinian national dialogue scheduled to open in Cairo tomorrow because they reneged on national consensus. IDF targets 6 illegal outposts for evacuation Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 The Israel Defense Forces Central Command decided yesterday to dismantle six illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank following a general directive from the defense minister. Military sources told Haaretz yesterday that the IDF will apparently begin dismantling some of the outposts at the end of the week. There are no settlers living in the six outposts, but one includes housing for foreign workers employed at a neighboring settlement. Sides to meet again before PMs' parley Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 Dov Weisglass, the Prime Minister's Bureau chief, and the Palestinian minister for negotiations with Israel, Saeb Erekat, held talks in Jerusalem yesterday evening to set the stage for the meeting between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia. The Israeli side called the meeting "serious" and said that the Palestinians presented no provocative demands. No date was set for themeeting, and the two sides decided to meet again this week or next week to iron out the subjects to be discussed by the two prime ministers. Palestinian Rebuffs Talks, Citing Israeli Barrier New York Times 11/30/2003 JERUSALEM, Nov. 29 — The Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, said Saturday that he saw no point to meeting his Israeli counterpart, Ariel Sharon, unless Israel halted construction on the barrier it is building in the West Bank. "If the Israeli government says it will continue building the wall regardless of what happens, then there is no need for any meeting," Mr. Qurei said after a cabinet meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "I am not saying this as a precondition, but I want serious positions."...William J. Burns, a senior American diplomat, is in the region to meet with leaders on both sides to try to revive the peace plan. Israel, Palestinians, Striving for Summit The Guardian 11/30/2003 JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel and the Palestinians pushed forward with efforts to arrange a summit between their leaders Sunday, while a U.S. envoy arrived in the region to try to revive long-stalled peace talks. Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was to meet Sunday with Dov Weisglass, the chief of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office, to lay the groundwork for a meeting between Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia. The meeting came despite a threat by Qureia not to participate in peace negotiations if Israel does not halt construction of a West Bank security barrier.....In another development, four key Palestinian negotiators of a symbolic peace agreement said they would not attend a signing ceremony in Switzerland on Monday after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat refused to give written approval for the accord. Israel's hard men 'fight for peace' The Guardian 11/30/2003 As campaigners from both sides sign their own draft treaty, Conal Urquhart meets the security chiefs who insist that Sharon is wrong -- They are Ariel Sharon's trickiest opponents - four former heads of the Israeli security service who have united to accuse the Prime Minister of pushing the Jewish state to the 'edge of an abyss'. Israel, they say, must find peace or perish. Between them, they served for 20 years at the head of Shin Bet, the nerve centre of the war on Palestinian militants, but now they have dramatically changed tack to spearhead a new movement for peace more powerful than Israel has ever seen before. Arafat Urges World Leaders to Re-launch Peace Process Palestine Media Center 11/30/2003 PM Qurei: No Need For Meeting With Sharon If Building Of Apartheid Wall Continues -- President Yasser Arafat has launched a series of appeals to world leaders to re-launch the stalled Palestinian - Israeli peace process, while Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei warned that “there is no need for any meetings," with his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon "if the Israeli government says it will continue building the Apartheid Wall” on occupied Palestinian Territory in the West Bank. In written messages, sent to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac among others, President Arafat appealed for Western leaders “to act to re-launch the peace process” that has been stalled for three years, his media adviser Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP late on Friday. Annan: Separation Wall Is a Violation to International Law International Middle East Media Center 11/29/2003 In a report to the UN General Assembly, UN Secretary-General Cofi Annan said Friday that the continued construction of the separation wall was "in violation of international law" and "could damage the longer-term prospects for peace", demanding for Israel to halt the construction of the West bank separation wall and to dismantle the sections already built. Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Nasser al-Kidwa said he would seek an emergency General Assembly meeting next week to propose a second resolution asking the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on wither the wall was legal. Background / Geneva and Samarra: Bush's Sharon problem Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 In the Looking Glass world of Middle Eastern diplomacy, with an impatient George Bush keeping close watch, it has taken all the running that Ariel Sharon can do, to keep in the same place. In fact, Bush's worsening plight in Iraq may actually be working to Sharon's advantage, inadvertently lending the prime minister a free hand in policymaking....A few weeks ago, in the course of a periodic strategic dialogue between Israeli and American officials, "there was an exchange of views and tips on how to deal with terrorism and occupation. The Israelis gave the Americans advice on such issues as how to keep the war against terrorism separate from innocent civilians. Rights group meets pope in fight against suicide bombings Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 VATICAN CITY - Representatives of the Simon Wiesenthal Center met Monday with Pope John Paul II, launching a campaign to urge the international community to treat suicide bombing as a "crime against humanity." Calling suicide bombing "the crime of the 21st century," delegation members from the Jewish human rights group said they will begin lobbying governments for a United Nations resolution so that those who plan the bombings can be brought to justice.

Human Rights..

Report on War Crimes Committed by the Israeli Army in the Jenin Region International Solidarity Movement 11/28/2003 Jenin - ISM Jenin - 28 Nov 03 -- Report on the murder of two children on Nov. 8th, 2003 in Burqeen village, shot by Israeli soldiers shortly after 12:00pm. The Israeli Army also injured 6 others in the attack. The army arrived into town just after the noon prayer was heard from the mosque. The children were all on there way home from school. At first, an armored personnel carrier (APC) drove into the centre of town and began crushing cars. Then two army jeeps followed. The soldiers exited their vehicles and right away opened fire at everyone on the street. This report is compiled by Johanna of ISM Jenin, with the testimonies ofeyewitnesses, victims and family statements of the deceased. "Completion" of the Wall around Azzun Atma Concretizing the Expulsion of Residents PENGON/Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign 11/30/2003 Some three weeks ago, the Apartheid Wall was “completed” around Azzun Atma with one military checkpoint/gate in the Wall becoming the only entrance for the village, the gate was further built with a five meter ominous sniper-tower. This gate has become a place of intensifying humiliation to all from Israeli soldiers—all residents of Azzun Atma leaving or people from Beit Amin, Mas-ha, Sanniriya, Azzawiya, and Habla who must pass by the sniper-tower into the village in order to reach their land, schools, of workplaces. The intolerable treatment, from harassing teachers and school children to holding farmers and workers at the gate for hours as well as the isolation from basic services, is causing many to painfully consider leaving their homes. Former Israeli Soldier: ''We behaved like animals, criminals, thieves'' toward Palestinians Palestine Chronicle 11/30/2003 A former Israeli soldier who served three years in the Gaza Strip has described Israeli treatment of Palestinian civilians as befitting “animals, criminals, and thieves.”Staff Sergeant Liaran Ron Furer has written a book on his experience as an Israeli soldier manning roadblocks throughout the Gaza Strip. The book, Titled “Checkpoints-Twilight Zone,” contains personal testimonies and often brash accounts of the daily harassment and humiliation inflicted by young Israeli soldiers on Palestinian civilians. Major publishers in Israel, including the famous Steimatzky bookstore chain refused to publish the book because, apparently because of its scathing criticism of Israeli army behavior. Charity faced US pressure on Gaza The Guardian 11/29/2003 New Anglo-American row revealed at Save the Children -- The US partner of the charity Save the Children UK objected to it issuing a statement demanding an immediate lifting of an Israeli blockade of Gaza, according to correspondence seen by the Guardian. Save the Children US said it was "a mistake" for the international charity's British wing to publish a condemnation of the ban on access to the occupied Palestinian territory imposed in May, without first securing its partner's approval. Disclosure of the Gaza row between the two organisations follows yesterday's revelation that Save the Children UK had been ordered by its US office in April to stop criticising military action in Iraq. The American wing was worried about jeopardising financial support from Washington and other big donors. Israeli academics fight 'racist' university test The Guardian 11/30/2003 Israeli academics are threatening to call for an international boycott of their own university heads if admission tests alleged to have curbed the number of Arab students are reintroduced. The heads of the country's five universities last week announced that they would bring back controversial psychometric testing that favours middle-class Jewish students. The boycott would include rejecting academic papers from individual heads. The psychometric assessments were dropped more than a year ago, resulting in a big increase in the admission of Arab students. A statement by university heads justifying the tests has reinforced the view that the move is racist. Arab lecturers at Israeli universities met at the weekend to decide how to respond. Court orders state to explain secrecy on prison Facility 1391 Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 The High Court of Justice on Monday ordered the state to explain within 45 days why it is refusing to release information on the secret interrogation and detention facility 1391. In September, the court instructed the Center for the Defense of the Individual to submit a revised petition that raises the question of whether the state may hold security detainees in a secret prison. Ending The Occupation Of Palestine By Israel Reuters/Church World Service 12/1/2003 The Church World Service Board of Directors, meeting in Chicago, Illinois, October 28-29, 2003, reiterates its long-standing support of security for Israel and Palestine as well as its commitment to peace with justice for all people in the Middle East. The Board of Directors has heard the plea from the Middle East Council of Churches and joins in solidarity with all the people of the Middle East. “The cry of the Palestinians is for the occupation of their land to cease, for free space and air in which to realize their own human dignity and search for political solutions, for a political entity of their own, and for a capital –Jerusalem – that can symbolize their participation in nation building, their membership in the family of nations.” Canadian journalist and ISM activist barred from Israel International Solidarity Movement 12/1/2003 SYMPATHY WITH PALESTINIANS CONSTITUTES A "SECURITY THREAT" -- A Montreal-based solidarity activist and alternative journalist was barred from entering Israel this past Saturday. Stefan Christoff, who is a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and a media activist, attempted to cross into Israel from Jordan. Border officials held Stefan for several hours, where he was interrogated and thoroughly searched before finally being barred entry. Stefan was unilaterally deemed a "security threat" to Israel; no proof or explanation was provided. Border guards threatened to remove Stefan by force if he did not return to Jordan. Medecins Du Mone Report Documents The Barriers To Health Care In The Palestinian Territories Reuters 11/26/2003 Tanks blocking the paths of ambulances, endless delays at military checkpoints, curfews, and roadblocks to hospitals - a report released by Médecins du Monde denounces the barriers to health care in the Palestinian Territories. “After more than three years of Intifada and the violence of certain military operations, the impact of the occupation and of the closure of Gaza and of the West Bank on the health of the Palestinian population is alarming,” states the report. Médecins du Monde is alerting the Israeli government and Israeli civil society to the daily obstacles the military occupation imposes upon the Palestinian population. The report calls on the Israeli Defence Forces to comply immediately with the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law. [Download a zip file of the full document] Report Submitted by Jean Ziegler, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food - Acrobat format Miftah Advance unedited version of the UN report in PDF file Legal committee appeals for release of Palestinian deaf prisoner Palestinian Information Center 12/1/2003 Jenin - The Palestinian prisoner’s committee has appealed to international legal institutions to interfere for the release of a Palestinian deaf prisoner held under Zionist administrative detention order for the past three months. The committee said that the detainee, Khaled Mohammed Mahmoud Arda, 20, an inhabitant of the Arraba village near the West Bank city of Jenin was held without any charge or trial. November 29: International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People International Press Center 11/29/2003 On this day,56 years ago, the United Nations adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine (resolution 181 "II"), thus clearly acknowledging a Jewish state on the forcibly seized lands of the Palestinian people, under the auspice and protection of the colonial powers of that time. For that, and to acknowledge the Palestinian people's right to return to his lands tolive freely, several UN member states observed this day and celebrated it with the Palestinian people, and as a response, the UN General Assembly called for the annual observance of November 29 as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (resolution 32/40 B). A friend asked me... International Solidarity Movement 11/28/2003 Jenin - BEn J - 28 Nov 03 -- Hi. Things are quiet today, the jaish {soldiers} have not returned. Today is Friday, the Islamic Sabbath, so most places are closed and not many people are out. It’s overcast and a bit chilly, sorta dreary outside. It’s a far cry from the searing heat here when I arrived in September. Apparently winters here don’t snow, but it gets chilly. A very dear long lost friend just got in touch with me by e-mail and asked what a day in my life is like here. I have no answer, and for a good reason. That reason is that as long as I’m here, ridin’ with the Palestinians in Jenin, I can have no routine or predictability about my daily life. Like them, I can’t make serious plans for tomorrow, let alone next week.

Economy..

Unemployed masses get one-day reprieve Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 Despite the ongoing civil servants' strike, theEmployment Service opened its doors for one day yesterday to register some 30,000 new unemployment claimants, who would otherwise have been unable to be collect their unemployment checks for November. However, workers refused to receive the veteran unemployed, and they will resume full sanctions today - meaning the service will be closed to all except single mothers.

People..

Public Opinion Poll on Palestinian Attitudes Towards the Palestinian Situation After the Third Anniversary of the Intifada - Acrobat format Miftah/Jerusalem Media & CommunicationCenter October 2003 Significant Opinion Results: A majority of Palestinians believes it is of Palestinian interest to renew a ceasefire; yet, the majority remained supportive of continuing negotiations along with al-Aqsa Intifada and its military operations as a suitable response during the current political situation. / Most Palestinians are split on the goals of the Intifada: establishing an independent Palestinian state based on UN-SC 242 or liberating all of historic Palestine. Also, most Palestinians are divided on whether the Intifada would achieve its goal. Haaretz poll: 31% of Israelis back Geneva Accord, 38% oppose plan Ha'aretz 12/1/2003 According to a Haaretz survey published Sunday, a day ahead of a planned launch of a public campaign endorsing the Geneva Accord, the gap between supporters and opponents of the accord is rather small, with 31 percent of those polled in favor of the Israeli-Palestininan peace-plan outline, and 38 percent against it....Some 20 percent of the respondents said they had yet to form a definite opinion on the issue, and a portion of them are likely, in the future, to join the circle of supporters. "Made in Palestine": A Stirring Art Exhibit Rocks Houston and Hits the Road Washington Report on Middle East Affairs November 2003 Jim Harithas and the curators at The Station, a contemporary arts museum in Houston, Texas took a chance when they decided to organize the first museum-quality exhibition of contemporary art of Palestine in either Europe or the Middle East. With media coverage of the region focusing primarily on Palestinian suicide attacks or Israel's campaign to assassinate Palestinian leaders or build a wall across the occupied territories, would the exhibit provoke outrage or dialogue in Houston's Jewish and Arab-American communities? Could a cultural exhibit succeed where political exchange has failed to explain Palestinian aspirations to American audiences?