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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 army escalates offensive in West Bank: Two Palestinians shot dead Al-Bawaba 12/2/2003 Israeli troops on early Tuesday killed a member of Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank city of Jenin. In addition, occupation soldiers blew up two houses of Islamic Jihad activists in a nearby West Bank village, media reports said. It was the second West Bank raid in as many days, and came just one day after a massive raid on Ramallah. Palestinians warned that the renewed military operations could torpedo attempts by the Palestinian government to persuade factions to halt attacks on Israelis. Israel Kills A Leader Of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades Islam Online 12/2/2003 JENIN, West Bank, December 2 (IslamOnline.net) - A leader of Fatah's military wing Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades was killed earlier on Tuesday, December 2, during an incursion by Israeli troops into the West Bank town of Jenin. Amjad al-Saadi, 24, was killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli troops, who stormed the town during daylight hours, Al-Jazeera reported. Rami Debis, an eyewitness, told IslamOnline.net that the occupation troops opened their fire indiscriminately on locals and moved into a nearby Palestinian refugee camp. He said that the troops made house-to-house searches and arrested a number of Palestinian youths. IDF kills Palestinian who threw firebomb at car near Ramallah Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 Israel Defense Forces troops Tuesday evening killed a Palestinian north of Ramallah who threw a firebomb at an Israeli vehicle near the West Bank city. No passengers or soldiers were injured in the incident. Another Palestinian militant was wounded and captured, and troops were pursuing two other Palestinians who fled the scene. Palestinian residents in the area identified the dead youth as 16-year-old Mohammed Zahran and said the Palestinian who was injured and taken away was 14. Occupation forces dynamite two Palestinian houses Palestinian Information Center 12/2/2003 Jenin - Zionist military sources said that two Palestinian houses in the northern West Bank city of Jenin were razed to the ground this morning. The sources said that the two houses belonged to families of two Islamic Jihad activists. Palestinian youth wounded Palestinian Information Center 12/2/2003 Nablus - Occupation forces shot and wounded the Palestinian citizen Saher Al-Taher while on his way to his work in the West Bank city of Nablus. Eyewitnesses said that Taher, who is an inhabitant of Beit Eiba village to the west of Nablus, was hit in his thigh and was carried to the Rafidiya hospital in the city. Israel is building a new settlement Jerusalemites 12/2/2003 Israel began to build a new Jewish settlement in Jerusalem after it was approved by local authorities in recent months. The settlement would eventually consist of 500 apartments, a hotel and schools, said Yehuda Levy, one of the project's sponsors."Building of the roads and other infrastructure started on Sunday," Levy said. "We have all the permits we need from the authorities." Palestinian residents have lodged an appeal with the Israeli courts against the construction work. Israel builds settlement in al-Quds Al-Jazeera 12/2/2003 Several Palestinians have been detained for protesting against the construction of a new Jewish settlement in al-Quds (Jerusalem). The building, which began on Sunday after being quietly approved by local authorities in recent months, coincided with the arrival of US envoy William Burns, who is in the region trying to revive the so-called "road map" for peace. Bulldozers pushed ahead on Monday morning with road construction for the neighbourhood of Nof Zahave or Golden View, which will abut Jabal Mukabbir, a heavily populated Palestinian residential area close to the UN local headquarters. Third Qassam martyr’s scattered remains found Palestinian Information Center 12/2/2003 Ramallah - Palestinian medical sources revealed today that the scattered remains of a third Qassam Brigades Mujahid was found under the rubbles of a residential building destroyed by the Zionist occupation forces yesterday. A Palestinian security source said that a body was found under the debris of the Kiswani building that was destroyed by the Zionist terrorist forces yesterday. He added that an M-16 was found close to the body along with a number of hand grenades. Israeli court convicts Jewish terrorists who plotted attacks against Palestinains of ''weapons-related crimes'' Al-Bawaba 12/2/2003 Two Jewish terrorists, Yitzhak Pas of Hebron and his brother-in-law Mattitiyahu Shvu of the illegal Maon Farm settlement, caught in July en route for Jerusalem in a car carrying 40 kilograms of explosives, were convicted Tuesday of weapons-related crimes under a plea bargain. Under the plea bargain, the two men were not charged with passing the explosives to a third suspected terrorist, Shachar Dvir. The Jerusalem District Court is expected to hand down a verdict in two months. Zionist forces arrest three Palestinians in southern Gaza Palestinian Information Center 12/2/2003 Khan Younis - Zionist occupation forces last night installed a roadblock along the main Salahuddin road in southern Gaza city blocking traffic in both directions. PIC correspondent reported that the barrier was installed in the middle between Abu Hawli (south of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip) and Matahen (to the north of the southern city of Khan Younis) roadblocks. He said that traffic jams were reported along that road that is considered the main highway linking the northern areas of the Strip to its southern areas. IDF troops kill Palestinian who threw firebomb at vehicle near Ramallah Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 Israel Defense Forces troops Tuesday evening killed a Palestinian north of Ramallah who threw a firebomb at an Israeli vehicle near the West Bank city. No passengers or soldiers were injured in the incident. Another Palestinian militant was wounded and captured, and troops were pursuing two other Palestinians who fled the scene. Earlier on Tuesday, IDF soldiers killed an armed member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant group linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, as he tried to flee in the West Bank city of Jenin, the army said. Al-Aqsa Brigades leader shot dead Al-Jazeera 12/2/2003 Israeli soldiers have shot dead a Palestinian resistance leader in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Amjad al-Saadi, 28, a leader of Palestinian President Yasir Arafat's Fatah armed faction, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was killed on Tuesday, our correspondent said. He quoted witnesses as saying that the soldiers could have arrested al-Saadi, but they did not....Meanwhile Israeli forces, backed by more than 20 military vehicles, raided Jenin city and its refugee camp early on Tuesday at 3.00am (Palestine local time), closing many areas there.

Diplomacy..

Israeli PM Sharon's deputy blasts Powell over plans to meet Geneva accord officials Al-Bawaba 12/2/2003 A senior Israeli official Tuesday lashed out at US Secretary of State Colin Powell for plans to meet Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, key architects of the non-official Geneva Accord peace initiative....Powell "is making a mistake," said acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "I think that he is not being useful to the process." Powell says he has right to meet with Geneva Accord authors Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Tuesday he had a right to meet anyone with ideas on Middle East peace despite Israeli criticism it would be a mistake for him to see the authors of the non-official Geneva Accord peace initiative. "We are not stepping back in any way from our commitment to the road map (peace plan) and we hope that circumstances and conditions will permit the resumption of progress on the road map in the near future," Powell told reporters at a news conference in Tunis....Earlier Tuesday, in unusually strong language regarding its traditional ally Washington, Israel slammed Secretary of State Powell for plans to meet Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, principal architects of the Geneva Accord. Powell will meet Geneva team Friday Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 GENEVA - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's office is preparing for a meeting between him and Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Israeli and Palestinian team leaders behind the Geneva Accord, according to sources in Washington. The Geneva Accord was formally launched last night in a glittering and sometimes emotional ceremony in Switzerland emceed by Hollywood star Richard Dreyfuss. The event included a speech by Nobel Peace laureate and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who said the leaders in the region are now the obstacles to peace in the region. Palestinian Groups Discuss Cease-Fire The Guardian 12/2/2003 CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Palestinian factions began talks Tuesday with Egyptian officials aimed at achieving a cease-fire that could reopen peace talks with Israel. But militant groups had a broader goal - getting a say in negotiations to end the decades-long conflict with Israel. Factions such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which do not officially recognize Israel's existence, are laying the groundwork to be shadow negotiators, along with official delegates from the Palestinian Authority. UN to hold special session on Israeli security barrier ReliefWeb 12/2/2003 UNITED NATIONS, Dec 2 (AFP) - The United Nations General Assembly will hold a special session next week to discuss Israel's construction of a controversial West Bank security barrier, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. The half-day session was scheduled at the request of the UN's Arab Group, according to assembly spokeswoman Michele Montas. At an earlier special session on the matter, held October 21, the General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution deeming construction of such a barrier illegal under international law and calling for Israel to "stop and reverse" construction. Israel said it would press on with the building of the barrier in spite of the resolution. Arafat Hails Geneva Initiative, Stresses UN Legitimacy Palestine Media Center 12/2/2003 Accord Proves A Majority Among Palestinians And Israelis Want Peace: Abed Rabbo -- Addressing more than 700 world dignitaries attending the launch of “Geneva Initiative” on Monday, President Yasser Arafat praised the informal Palestinian Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, urged Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to show his support for the plan, but criticized the campaign “that is being launched by some against the United Nations and its resolutions in an attempt to undermine the legal and political basis” of Palestinian rights. Halt to barrier not a pre-condition of Qorei-Sharon summit: Erakat Middle East Peace 12/2/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said that demands for Israel to halt its construction of a West Bank barrier did not constitute a pre-condition for talks between prime minister Ahmed Qorei and his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon. "A halt to the construction of the apartheid wall is not a pre-condition for the meeting but is an obligation which Israel should respect," Erakat told AFP on Monday. Israel insists the "security fence" is essential to prevent attacks on its soil but the Palestinians say what they call the "apartheid wall" is an attempt to pre-empt the borders of their future state as it often cuts deep into their territory. Qorei said Saturday that his anticipated meeting with Sharon "will not be necessary" unless Israel stops building the separation barrier. Israeli Arab groups slam Geneva Accords on refugees' rights Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 Most of the Israeli Arab political movements have rejected the Geneva Accords, because it includes an agreement to waive the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Moreover, Israeli Arabs are disappointed - as they have been in the aftermath of previous diplomatic agreements - by the negligible weight their voice was given, by both sides, in the draft itself and during negotiations. But the founder of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Sheikh Abdallah Darwish, revealed yesterday that he "and a group of Muslim leaders" from Israel had participated in meetings, and that he had held dozens of meetings with Israel and Palestinian negotiators, including Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo. Palestinian militants step up campaign against `scandalous' draft peace deal Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 Thousands of Palestinians protested against the launch in Geneva yesterday, 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. Ranteesi: Switzerland document more dangerous than the Balfour Declaration Palestinian Information Center 12/2/2003 Gaza - Dr. Abdul Aziz Ranteesi, one of the prominent Hamas Movement leaders in the Gaza Strip, has opined that the so-called “Switzerland document” was more dangerous on the Palestinian people than the Balfour Declaration. He said in press statements that what they called the “Switzerland document” was a disaster befalling the Palestinian people if the people remained silent. PSL: Any agreement that does not address the right of return is null and void Palestinian Information Center 12/2/2003 Nablus - The Palestine Scholars League yesterday issued a Fatwa (edict) on the question of Palestinian refugees affirming that the right of return was a historical, religious and human right guaranteed by heavenly norms and international doctrines. The PSL explained that the right of return was inalienable and could not be cancelled regardless of the lapse of time. The League said that any agreement or treaty not fulfilling the complete and unconditional right of return for the Palestinian refugees to their homeland, homes and property was null and void. It affirmed that such agreements were not binding to the Palestinian people. Geneva threatens return of refugees, Jerusalem Middle East Online 12/2/2003 BEIRUT, Dec 2 (AFP) - The Geneva Initiative has raised peace hopes in the Middle East but the plan also threatens Arab rights over Jerusalem and the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland, Arab papers said Tuesday. Lebanon's leading An-Nahar daily, which described the Geneva Initiative unveiled Monday in Switzerland as "an agreement for new hope" in a front-page headline, said the non-binding unofficial document had a "supernatural" aspect. Organisers "may have wanted to say that the Palestinian-Israeli meeting was supernatural when they called on American actor Richard Dreyfuss, of Steven Spielberg's great 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', to chair the ceremony", said An-Nahar. U.S. religious leaders push Bush, Congress on Mideast peace Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 WASHINGTON - Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders urged the Bush administration and Congress on Tuesday to revive the peace process in the Middle East, fearing that with the U.S. election year approaching, the conflict will take a back seat to domestic issues. "The administration has put this on the back burner because of Afghanistan and because of Iraq," said Rabbi Paul Menitoff, executive vice president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Mubarak, Burns hold talks on Mideast, Iraq Middle East Online 12/2/2003 CAIRO - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks here Tuesday with US Middle East envoy William Burns about "the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and Iraq," a source close to Mubarak said. The source said Mubarak and Burns had discussed "efforts made to implement the roadmap and ways to eliminate obstacles blocking its implementation." US President George W. Bush held summits in Egypt and Jordan in June to launch the roadmap which calls for creating a Palestinian state by 2005 that will live in peace alongside Israel, but new violence has stalled the plan. Burns also briefed Mubarak about "the results of his meeting with Palestinian prime minister (Ahmed Qorei) in Jordan" on Saturday, which also focused on the conflict with Israel, the source said. Annan Announces ‘Solidarity’ With Palestinians Islam Online 12/2/2003 UNITED NATIONS, December 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said Monday, December 1, that he felt the “deepest solidarity” with continued suffering of the Palestinians, just days after he condemned Israel’s violation of international law and blowing prospects for peace in the restive region. Speaking in a speech to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People marking International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Annan complained that Israeli actions have enhanced misery and feelings of helplessness among Palestinians, Voice of America reported. Annan cited extra-judicial killings, expansion of settlements and the separation wall that cuts into Palestinian territory. “They have undermined efforts to curb violence and fueled hatred and anger towards Israel,” he continued. UN observes International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People Electronic Intifada 12/1/2003 The United Nations today observed the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People with a series of resolutions and speeches calling for a peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in remarks to the General Assembly's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, said recent peace initiatives by Palestinian and Israeli civil society leaders show a settlement can be reached to the conflict. Arafat says fence threatens to end chances for peace Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has told the United Nations on Monday that Israel was threatening to end chances for a Middle East peace by insisting on building a barrier cutting deep into West Bank land. The present barrier route has engendered broad international and Palestinian criticism, following cabinet decisions that diverted the route to encompass thousands of settlers living in West Bank settlements relatively far from the Green Line. EU to set up Mediterranean Assembly to promote peace Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 NAPLES - Trying to capitalize on cautious new moves to end Mideast hostilities, the European Union opened talks with Israel and its neighbors Tuesday with the aim of launching "a dialogue of cultures" and a parliamentary assembly to narrow the gulf between Arabs and Jews. At the two-day Euro-Mediterranean foreign ministers meeting, the European Union was also expected to promise steps to lure more private investment to countries on the Mediterranean's southern and eastern rims. Israel dubious of Syrian call to revive talks Middle East Online 12/2/2003 JERUSALEM - Israel is "rather sceptical" about the willingness of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to revive peace negotiations, Trade Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday. "We have had bitter experiences in the past with the Syrians, and President Assad in particular, so I am rather sceptical," Olmert, who is the official number two to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, told public radio. "But we must verify if this move is sincere or if its aim instead is to reduce the American pressure on the Syrians." Shalom: talks to be considered seriously if Syria renounces terror Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on Tuesday said Israel would "seriously consider" rewewing peace negotiations with Syria renounces terror, halts the supply of weapons to Hezbollah and accepts such talks without preconditions. Shalom described Syrian calls for renewed peace talks as "encouraging", but said talk was "not enough." The foreign minister was responding to a New York Times interview with Syrian President Bashar Assad published on Monday. Murphy's remarks on visit to Syria Arabic News 12/2/2003 Former U.S. Undersecretary of State for Middle East Affairs, Richard Murphy, who met President Bashar al-Assad pointed out to the importance of the interview that President al-Assad gave to the New York Times yesterday in which he explained Syria's points of views regarding many issues. In statements to press following his meeting with Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara, Murphy stressed that his talks with al-Shara dealt with the latest developments in the region, particularly in Iraq in addition to the bilateral relations between Syria and the U.S. Cairo inter Palestinian dialogue meeting postponed Arabic News 12/2/2003 The leading figure in the Islamic Jihad Movement Muhammad al-Hindi said that the inter-Palestinian dialogue which was due today in Cairo was postponed until next Thursday, giving no mention to reasons for the postponement. Al-Hindi did not rule out that during the dialogue, the participation of the two movements, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, will be discussed in the framework of the PLO, stressing that there will be no free concessions for the truce with Israel or other issues. However, several representatives for the Palestinian groups arrived in Cairo to take part in the dialogue, while the Israeli occupation forces prevented certain members of these groups from leaving the Palestinian territories for participation. Sharon's opposition boosts initiative The Guardian 12/2/2003 By one measure - the attention given to the Geneva accord by Ariel Sharon - the initiative is already a success. "I owe Sharon a lot, undoubtedly," said Yossi Beilin, the chief Israeli negotiator of the ground-breaking peace deal formally launched at a ceremony in Geneva yesterday. "What he did for us, nobody else did. He represented it as a plot against the government, but that became a joke. He could easily have dismissed it. He could have said a group of unimportant people signed an unimportant paper." Interior minister holds talks with Palestinian minister Jordan Times 12/2/2003 AMMAN (Petra) — Jordan and the Palestinian Authority on Monday discussed procedures the Kingdom is employing to facilitate the movement of Palestinians coming here across the bridges. Following a meeting with Interior Minister Samir Habashneh, Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Jamil Tarifi expressed satisfaction at the measures applied to bridge traffic, saying they have helped ease the suffering of the Palestinians. Israel warns over new peace move BBC 12/2/2003 Israel has criticised the United States for offering to meet the backers of an alternative Middle East peace plan. In a rare warning to its superpower ally, Israel's deputy prime minister said such a move would be a "mistake". Israel has categorically rejected the so-called Geneva accord, drafted by unofficial Israeli and Palestinian negotiators and launched on Monday...."I think he [Powell] is making a mistake," Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Israel radio. "I think he is not helping the process," he said, calling the proposed three-way meeting a "wrong step by a representative of the American administration". US-Israel row over Geneva accord BBC 12/2/2003 US Secretary of State Colin Powell has rebuffed Israeli criticism over his plans to meet the architects of an alternative Middle East peace accord. Mr Powell said he had a right to meet anyone with ideas on advancing peace between Israel and the Palestinians.He was responding to a rare rebuke by Israel's deputy prime minister, who said such a move would be a "mistake". The Israeli Government has rejected the Geneva plan - the Palestinian Authority has given it only lukewarm support. Unofficial Mideast Peace Plans Get Global Backing Antiwar.com 12/2/2003 If the success of the unofficial Israeli-Palestinian peace plan launched amid great fanfare in Geneva on Monday were dependent on international goodwill, it could be implemented tomorrow. With three Nobel Peace Prize laureates – including former US president Jimmy Carter – in attendance, as well as messages of support sent from leaders from around the world, including a video hookup with former South African president Nelson Mandela, the so-called "Geneva Initiative" was signed by former ministers Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo before more than 300 Israelis and Palestinians. Unyielding Israeli PM deadlocks new peace initiative Sydney Morning Herald 12/2/2003 Israel's Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, has rejected calls for a halt to Israeli settlement and fence-building in the West Bank as a precondition for a first meeting with his new Palestinian counterpart, Ahmed Qurie. The deadlock in efforts to revive Israel-Palestinian talks coincides with the launch of a new unofficial peace proposal in Geneva yesterday....Following a meeting of the Israeli cabinet, Mr Sharon issued a statement rejecting Mr Qurie's calls for Israel to halt its expansion of Jewish settlements on seized Arab lands and the erection of a 600-kilometre "security fence" inside the West Bank. Shaath stresses commitment to peace Daily Star 12/2/2003 ESCWA hosts day of solidarity with palestinian people - Despite obstacles, PA foreign minister emphasizes positive developments -- Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath expressed high hopes on Monday that talks between Palestinian factions in Cairo will yield an agreement on a truce with Israel and thus pave the way for a revival of the Middle East peace process. Speaking at UN House in Beirut on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Shaath reiterated his government’s rejection of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s policies. Powell will meet Geneva team Friday Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 GENEVA - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's office is preparing for a meeting between him and Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Israeli and Palestinian team leaders behind the Geneva Accord, according to sources in Washington. The Geneva Accord was formally launched last night in a glittering and sometimes emotional ceremony in Switzerland emceed by Hollywood star Richard Dreyfuss. Statement of the EU Presidency on initiatives by the Israeli and Palestinian civil societies ReliefWeb/EU 12/2/2003 The European Union welcomes initiatives from the Israeli and Palestinian civil societies aiming at promoting rapprochement, confidence building and the establishment of a lasting peace. The Geneva initiative by Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo confirms the willingness which exists within the two civil societies to achieve peaceful coexistence in two independent, viable and prosperous states, living side by side in security, to the benefit of all Israelis and Palestinians as well as of all countries in the region. Fears over Geneva stance on right of return Al-Jazeera 12/2/2003 Critics have lashed out at an alternative peace plan drawn up by Palestinian officials and Israeli opposition politicians saying it gives up the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Israeli political analyst Yigal Carmon accused former Israeli justice minister Yossi Beilin of “lying” to the Israeli public by saying that the Palestinians had given up the right of returnbut at the same time promising the Palestinians that they could return. “It’s a fraud…Fraud leaves you no where - it leads to more bloodshed,” he warned, adding the initial scenes of celebrations among the two sides will be replaced in a week with increased violence. 'Radical' plan for Middle East The Guardian 12/2/2003 A radical Middle East peace initiative drafted by teams of unofficial Israeli and Palestinian negotiators won significant international support yesterday as more than 300 dignitaries gathered in Geneva to promote the plan. The ceremony coincided with the launch of operations by the Israeli army in West Bank cities which left at least four dead and several injured. The actions in Ramallah and Tulkarem came despite a two-month break in suicide attacks in Israel, the longest in more than a year. The dead included three members of Hamas and a nine-year old boy.

Human Rights..

Imprisoned Fatah leader refused medical care Al-Jazeera 12/2/2003 Leading imprisoned Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouti has once again been refused access to a medical doctor by Israeli prison authorities, despite his declining health. Speaking to Aljazeera.net, Barghouti's legal representative, Khader Shkirat said the 44-year old leader of the PLO's Fatah Movement in the West Bank was suffering from back, throat and stomach problems as a result of the conditions in which he is being kept....Since his detention in April 2002, the lawyer said, Barghouti has been kept in isolation in "a dirty prison cell measuring 2m by 1.5m". Shkirat says he has asked on numerous occasions for a doctor to attend to his client, who had been suffering from a slipped disc before his detention. "But he has never ever had a medical doctor attend to him. He has asked many times." Israeli Arabs face official discrimination, poverty Middle East Online 12/2/2003 Study unveils 60% of Israeli-Arab children, 44.7% of Israeli-Arab families live below poverty line. -- JERUSALEM - Israel's Arab minority has suffered increasing official discrimination and poverty over the past two years amid the continuing Palestinian uprising, an advocacy group said in a study published Tuesday. Israeli-Arab families have much higher poverty and infant mortality rates than other Israelis, according to Mossawa, an advocacy center for Arabs and Palestinians. It said development budgets for Israeli-Arab areas were lower than other communities, while nine Israeli-Arab babies died for every 1,000 births compared with four of every thousand for the others. British chief justice praises Supreme Court here as `finest' Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 Lord Harry Woolf, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, in Israel today for a lecture at the Hebrew University, recently told the Anglo-Israel Association that Israel's Supreme Court is one of the best in the world. He said, "If you ask me which of the supreme courts in the world is the finest, I would happily say that the Israeli court was a candidate for that title." War Child Bulletin 1, 2003: DRC, OPT, Afghanistan ReliefWeb/War Child 12/2/2003 OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: War Child are continuing support to local NGOs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We have provided emergency supplies for an orphanage in Bethlehem and set up safe-play areas. Further detail on these projects is below...Safe Play Area, Ramallah / Rowda Zarit Madan Nursery School, Gaza Strip / Rowda El Nour Nursery School, Gaza Strip Israel refuses treatment to sick Barghuti Middle East Online 12/2/2003 JERUSALEM - The Palestinian accused of masterminding the intifada, Marwan Barghuti, has been refused access to a doctor by Israeli prison authorities despite declining health, campaigners for his freedom said Tuesday. The 44-year-old leader of the mainstream Fatah movement in the West Bank is suffering from back, throat and stomach problems as a result of being held in "cramped, humid and isolated conditions", according to the Campaign to Free Marwan Barghuti. "The prison administration has refused to authorise a doctor to examine and treat him despite repeated demands," the group said in a statement. Update on Israeli War on Jenin Region International Solidarity Movement 12/2/2003 Jenin - Ben J. - 2 Dec 03 -- Greetings from the occupied city of Jenin. In the early morning hours of Dec. 2, 2003, the Israeli military entered several areas of Jenin city in tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs). They shot one man dead, arrested three more and demolished two houses before withdrawing before dawn. There was heavy gunfire and tank action for several hours. There is no Israeli military presence in Jenin now that we are aware of. Martyrs International Solidarity Movement 12/2/2003 Gaza - Mark C. - 2 Dec 03 -- Dear Friends,I woke up this morning at Abu Younis’s home, where I’ve been doing home stays recently, and I realized, "It’s December 2nd, the day of the martyrs." Let me be more specific: It’s the day 23 years ago when Jean Donovan, Maura Clarke, Dorothy Kazel, and Ita Ford were raped and murdered in El Salvador. That was a particularly bloody year in El Salvador. In March 1980 Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated while he celebrated the Mass, and in the months that followed, thousands of Salvadorans were disappeared, tortured, and murdered, the victims of the death squads and a government supported throughout the carnage by the United States. (In February of that year, Romero had sent a letter to U.S. President Jimmy Carter, begging him to cease sending military aid to the Salvadoran government, as that aid would only increase the repression against the people. Carter ignored Romero’s letter)....And so I think of December 2nd with an aching heart and also a sense of amazement that out of such deaths has come so much struggle for human rights that will be a decades-long project (no quick fixes here). And today I also think of Rachel Corrie, as I have so many times these past several weeks in Rafah, where she was murdered on March 16 by an Israeli who bulldozed her as she tried to prevent a physician’s home from being demolished. Hearing in ISM Activist's Case Against the State of Israel Now Set for Dec 4 International Solidarity Movement 12/2/2003 [Beit Sahour, West Bank]Testimony in a lawsuit against the state of Israel filed by International Solidarity Movement volunteer Radhika Sainath is now scheduled to begin in a Tel Aviv courtroom on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2003. Ms. Sainath, an Indian-American activist from Newport Beach, California, is suing the state of Israel for unlawful imprisonment, negligence and breach of obligations after she was seized by Israeli soldiers in November 2002 in the olive groves of the West Bank village of Jayyous. She is seeking payment of 50,000NIS or approximately US$11,000. Report on Tom Hurndall's birthday party / Understanding Checkpoints International Solidarity Movement 12/2/2003 1) Tom Hurndall's birthday party, November 29, 2003 ISM London -- The family and friends of British ISM activist, Tom Hurndall, shot in the head by an Israeli sniper on April 11, and lying in a permanent state of coma, gathered outside the Foreign Office on Thursday evening, November 27, to celebrate Tom's 22nd birthday.He is unlikely to live for us to mark his 23rd. // 2) Understanding Checkpoints, November 30, 2003, Kelly B, Nablus -- I recently saw a cute interactive piece on the BBC website about "understanding checkpoints."They have a picture of what a checkpoint in Palestine might look like and links to the various parts of it for further explanation.You can check it out at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/w_bank_checkpoints/html/traders.stmFor many of you, it will be easy to understand the problems with this representation.For those that haven't been here or have little information on checkpoints, I want to give a better description using the BBC's model.

Economy..

Report: Demand for food aid rises by 46 percent in 2003 Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 The demand for food assistance rose by 46 percent this year, compared to a 37 percent rise last year. In the north the demand was the greatest and increased by 50 percent, compared to 42 percent in 2002, a poverty report compiled by the humanitarian organization Latet says. The group collects food contributions for some 100 non-profit organizations, which provide food for the needy at home and in soup kitchens. Its report, entitled "The face of poverty - the alternative poverty report," was published yesterday. Mid-East sides sign energy deal BBC 12/2/2003 Israeli and Palestinian ministers have signed a deal on sharing energy - the first such agreement in more than three years of fighting. The deal is part of a plan to form an electricity grid connecting power supplies around the Mediterranean. Under the terms of the deal, Israel and the Palestinians will set up a joint office, the Italian Government said. The European Union co-signed the agreement, known as the Rome Declaration, in the Italian capital. EU-Israel-Palestinian National Authority cooperation in the energy sector ReliefWeb/EU 12/2/2003 In the presence of Vice President Gianfranco Fini, Undersecretary of the Presidency of the Council Gianni Letta and Minister for Productive Activities Antonion Marzano representing the Italian Presidency, Israeli Minister for National Infrastructures Joseph I. Paritzky, President of the Energy and Natural Resources Authority of the Palestinian National Authority, Minister Azzam Shawwa, and Vice President of the European Commission Loyola De Palacio signed a declaration today at Palazzo Chigi that lays the foundation for an important three-way EU-Israel-PNA cooperation in the Energy sector. The agreement will favour the interconnection of Israeli and Palestinian electrical networks. The document, significantly entitled "Declaration of Rome", is the first agreement signed by an Israeli and a Palestinian Minister in three years, since the beginning of the second intafada in other words. Labor Court initiates nine days of strike-free negotiations Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 The National Labor Court said Tuesday that it is delaying by nine days its ruling on whether to allow the Histadrut labor federation to launch a general strike, during which time the unions cannot initiate any sanctions and the treasury will not push ahead with its disputed reforms. The Histadrut is threatening to shut down most sectors of the economy due to Knesset legislation on pension reforms, and structural changes to government offices, which the unions say will result in substantial job losses. Unions heading to court against ministry bosses Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 Public sector workers plan to file personal lawsuits against the Finance Ministry and ministry managers over the accountant general's decision to garnish part of their wages in light of the two-month-old sanctions the workers have been using to press their case against government economic measures. The suits will be filed in regional labor courts and are being prepared by Histadrut attorney Hagit Rimon and attorney Ran Kidar. Egypt demands letter of credit for gas deal Globes 12/2/2003 Infrastructures Minister Joseph Paritzky: A letter of credit will raise the cost of the deal by 3-4%. Egyptian Oil Minister Fahmi: Buy Palestinian gas, too. -- The Egyptian government has asked the Israeli government and Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) to provide a letter of credit to guarantee IEC payments to Egypt for the natural gas it is due to supply IEC over the next 15 years....Fahmi startled Paritzky by saying, "You ought to buy natural gas from the Palestinians also." British Gas and the Palestinian Authority are partners in the natural gas fields offshore from Gaza. Paritzky doubts whether Egypt wants to sell gas to Israel, and he prefers the Palestinian option, because it is more available. State raises $750m in 20-year bonds under US guarantees Globes 12/2/2003 Lehman Brothers won the issue. 20-year US Treasury bonds sold at the same time carried an interest rate of 5.16%. -- The Ministry of Finance Debt Management Unit today completed the raising of $750 million in 20-year bonds, backed by the US loan guarantees. 20-year US Treasury bonds sold at the same time carried an interest rate of 5.16%. Lockheed Martin, Elbit to pursue helicopter upgrade contracts in central Europe Globes 12/2/2003 The two companies intend to implement modernization in cooperation with the original helicopter manufacturers and local industries. -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Elbit Systems Ltd, (Nasdaq: ESLT) today announced they will jointly pursue helicopter modernization opportunities in Bulgaria as well as in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The companies are teaming to pursue recently announced plans to upgrade Bulgaria's Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopters to meet NATO standards. Sharp 13% increase in Nov consumer durables imports Globes 12/2/2003 There was a moderate 2% growth in car imports, after steeper rises in the previous two months. -- A sharp 13% increase in consumer durables imports was recorded in November 2003, compared with November of last year. However, relative to last month imports declined by 3%. There was a moderate 2% growth in car imports in November 2003, after sharp rises in the previous two months. November deficit shrinks as tax revenues rise 17% Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 The budget deficit for November was much smaller than monthly deficits in the first part of the year, at NIS 647 million, but still far higher than the government's target. The cumulative deficit for the first 11 months of 2003 now stands at NIS 21.083 billion, or 4.2 percent of gross domestic product. Under the budget law for 2003, the government deficit was not to exceed NIS 15.2 billion, or 3 percent of GDP. Ministry of Tourism: Renewed Catholic tourism to Israel Globes 12/2/2003 The Italian Bishops Council recently called on all bishops in Italy to renew pilgrimages to the Holy Land.-- The Ministry of Tourism today reported an upsurge in the flow of Catholic tourism to Israel. It was also announced that the Italian Bishops Council had recently called on all bishops in Italy to renew pilgrimages to the Holy Land on a weekly basis. The upsurge in the influx of Catholic tourism is particularly significant because these pilgrimages had almost completely stopped since September 2000....Another Catholic group currently increasing its activity in Israel is the Neo-Catechumenal Movement, with some 7,000 members expected to visit Israel by the end of 2003. The Neo-Catechumenal Movement is sympathetic to Israel and its adherents come to visit the Christian holy places in the Holy Land to pray.

People..

Palestinians step up protests against alternative peace plan Daily Star 12/2/2003 Thousands take to streets to demonstrate - Jenin branch of Fatah has threatened to execute supporters of proposal -- Thousands of Palestinians staged protests in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon 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. Some 1,500 people demonstrated against the “Geneva Initiative” in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip in a protest organized by Hamas, reserving much of their venom for the main Palestinian instigator of the accord, Yasser Abed Rabbo. Rabbis label accord engineers `traitors' Ha'aretz 12/2/2003 Labor MKs Ophir Pines-Paz and Eitan Cabel called on the attorney general to investigate a rabbinical ruling saying that those behind the Geneva Accord are traitors who should be put on trial. The ruling, issued yesterday by some 250 right-wing rabbis, branded the Israeli negotiators involved in drafting the Geneva Accord as traitors who should be shunned by the world. The ruling, released as the unofficial Geneva Accord was launched in Switzerland, drew calls for a police inquiry from leftists who see it as incitement of the kind that led to the 1995 assassination of then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Palestinian Birthmarked With Martyr Uncle's Name Islam Online 12/2/2003 BETHLEHEM, December 2 (IslamOnline.net) – In a world where miracles have become something of a rarity, thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank city of Bethlehem marveled at a newly born baby who had a large reddish birthmark on his right cheek forming the Arabic letters of his martyr uncle’s name – Ala -.The baby was born at Laylat Al-Qadr, which is revered by Muslims as the night in which the holy Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The story of the "miracle baby" was first reported Monday, December 1, by Reuters before hitting the headlines in international media outlets. Interview with a Young Palestinian Woman, Jenin International Solidarity Movement 12/2/2003 Jenin- Ben J. - 2 Dec 03 -- Hi. This interview is with my good friend’s daughter. She is a really nice person and works in the radio station near our apartment. She is a particularly sweet and intelligent person, and very interested in politics and the larger world. You would like her. The interview was frequently spattered with her questioning me about my home, what I do for a living etc.; I left that stuff out.

International..

Saudi Arabia denies report on cooperation with Israel in fight against ''terrorism'' Al-Bawaba 12/2/2003 A Saudi security source on Tuesday strongly denied a report which was carried by Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper in which it quoted a member of Likud party in the Israeli Knesset as saying that there is an arrangement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel to fight "terrorism." Mubarak, Moussa mull proposals to improve Arab League performance Arabic News 12/2/2003 Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak received Monday morning Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. In statements following the meeting, Moussa said that he presented to the President proposals on the Arab League's expected reform. He added that these proposals are being examined by the Arab League with the aim of finding a new formula for Arab action in preparation for referring them to the coming Arab summit to be held in Tunis in March. He said that the proposals include radical amendments to political, economic, trade administrative and social sectors as well as everything pertaining to Arab action. Warring Lahoud and Hariri Cross the Point of no Return An Nahar 12/2/2003 President Lahoud has waged his sharpest-ever attack in public against Premier Hariri, who hit back by ruling out any change of government before a year. The power struggle escalation provoked media fears Tuesday that the council of ministers could soon fall apart. Although Hariri's aides have denied press reports that he would boycott the dinner banquets Lahoud is due to throw at the Baabda palace for the visiting presidents of Brazil and Algeria on Thursday and Saturday, the president remained outraged by the prime minister. Jordan’s privatization draws criticism Daily Star 12/2/2003 Government misspending proceeds from program? -- AMMAN: Almost five years after its re-inception, Jordan’s privatization program is still creating controversy among economic experts and the public alike, with the government here recently signing a controversial deal to sell 26 percent, or half of its stake, in the blue chip Arab Potash Company. The government insists its privatization program, supported by the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has been yielding positive results on the financial and services fronts. But many here criticize the methodology, execution of the sell-off process and the way the privatization proceeds are being spent. Calls for higher quotas in OPEC grow louder Daily Star 12/2/2003 But Cuts likely to be on agenda at vienna talks - Cartel will have to work hard to balance conflicting aims, and issue of excess supply must be dealt with at upcoming meeting -- LONDON: Ministers of the 11-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna on Thursday will have to reconcile conflicting aims to support prices and expand output.Three members ­ Nigeria, Algeria and Libya ­ are demanding higher output quotas, yet OPEC’s 10 participating members excluding Iraq face the prospect of further collective cuts. At their upcoming meeting, oil ministers will discuss how to deal with what they see as an excess supply problem over the next few months. Iran demands to be an observer in the Arab League Arabic News 12/2/2003 The spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, Hameed Rida Asifi, said yesterday that Iran asked the Arab League to give it the status of an observer in the Arab League. U.S. Muslims Hail Scrapping Visitor Registration Program Islam Online 12/2/2003 WASHINGTON, December 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Muslims in the United States lauded the Bush administration's decision to scrap a visitor registration program that primarily targeted males from predominantly Muslim countries and drew fire from civil liberties groups. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday, December 1, invalidated rules introduced after the September 11 attacks ordering visitors from 25 Middle Eastern countries to register at intervals with U.S. authorities, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). Saudi council's powers expanded BBC 11/30/2003 Saudi Arabia's King Fahd has granted wider powers to the country's consultative council, the Shura. King Fahd issued a decree empowering the council to propose new laws without seeking his permission first. Correspondents say the move will speed up the decision-making process in the conservative Islamic kingdom. The Saudi Government has been under pressure to introduce political and economic reforms, and recently faced rare demonstrations calling for change. U.S. suspends re-registration requirement for visitors Arabic News 12/2/2003 The Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will suspend the formal requirement that visitors to the United States re-register in the National Security Entry/Exit Registration System. A press release from the Department of Homeland Security December 1 said a new system to be implemented by the end of the year will collect information and biometric identifiers from most visitors to the U.S., and record their departure. "The Department has determined that US-VISIT and other new processes being implemented will meet the national security needs that NSEERS previously fulfilled," the press release said. Following is the text of the press release... Jailed Muslim Had Made a Name in Washington Washington Post 12/2/2003 Alamoudi Won Respect as a Moderate Advocate-- It was a dinner like no other in congressional history. On a frigid night in early 1996, top government figures joined Muslim Americans in the Hart Senate Office Building for solemn prayers and a roast beef supper, the first such celebration marking the Islamic holy days of Ramadan. The guest list was impressive: Clinton administration officials, ambassadors and Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), a prominent Jewish senator. To Abdurahman Alamoudi, the charismatic Muslim leader who organized the Feb. 13, 1996, dinner, it was a landmark in his community's struggle for political recognition. Sentencing debate rages over 'Lackawanna Six' The Buffalo News 12/1/2003 They never built a bomb, never hijacked an airliner and, as far as the U.S. Justice Department can determine, never made any plans to commit an act of terrorism. But the local Yemeni-Americans known as the "Lackawanna Six" are all going to prison, in a case that has ignited much debate over the Bush administration's war against terrorism. The sentencings will begin Wednesday afternoon when Mukhtar al-Bakri appears before District Judge William M. Skretny. Under federal sentencing guidelines, al-Bakri is expected to be sent to federal prison for 10 years.

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