Israel accused of Hebron land grab
The Guardian, December 3, 2002
The Israeli army yesterday pasted notices ordering property seizures and house demolitions the length of a street in Hebron that Ariel Sharon wants to use to link two belligerent Jewish settlements.

Family tells how Israelis buried deaf father alive
The Independent, December 3, 2002
Beside the pile of flattened concrete, all that was left of his home, Maher Salem described yesterday how his 68-year-old father was killed when the Israeli army demolished the house on top of him.

Israel expands West Bank settlements 
Alternative Information Center, December 3, 2002 
Settlers are initiating the planning and establishment of new neighborhoods in 14 settlements in the West Bank.

Israel No. 2 in West in social inequality
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002
Israel is now rated second in the Western world, after the United States, in terms of social gaps in income, property, capital, education and spending, as well as in the extent of poverty.

UN Body, EU Demand Investigation, Compensation for Food Aid Destroyed by IOF
Palestine Media Center, December 3, 2002
The UN World Food Program (WFP) and the EU slammed Israel on Monday for the weekend demolition by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) of an UNRWA warehouse containing food stocks for 40,000 destitute Palestinians, and called for an investigation and compensation for the loss of 500 tons of food aid.

UN employees send Israel protest petition
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002
A group of 64 UN workers based in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip issued a petition on Tuesday calling on Israel to stop what they said has been the harassment, beating and killing of United Nations staff.

Israel Applies ‘Nuremberg Laws’ on Non-Jews: Former Israeli Minister
Palestine Chronicle, December 2, 2002
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - A former Israeli minister of education has castigated Israel’s discriminatory laws against non-Jewish citizens, arguing that Israel was adopting “an essentially Nazi-like approach” toward the Palestinian people.

Jailed Palestinian leader wants change
Bradenton Herald, December 3, 2002
JERUSALEM - A jailed leader of the Palestinian uprising, Marwan Barghouti, issued a call Tuesday for change in the Palestinian Authority - the first time he has openly challenged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

PA accuses Israel of trying to sabotage cease-fire
Jerusalem Post, December 2, 2002   
The Palestinian Authority called upon the international quartet (US, EU, Russia, and the UN) on Monday to immediately intervene and stop the IDF raids on Palestinian areas, arguing that Israel is trying to spoil efforts to reach a cease-fire.

'Al-Qaeda' claims Kenya attacks
BBC, December 3, 2002
An Islamist web site on Monday has posted a statement purportedly from the al-Qaeda terror network, claiming responsibility for the twin attacks on Israeli targets in Kenya.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad: `Armed struggle to stay within Palestine'
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002 
The Palestinian opposition groups - Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the left-wing organizations - announced yesterday they were not interested in widening the armed struggle against Israel to include operations beyond the borders of "Palestine."

Terrorist's father sends 'message of peace' to Israeli fathers
Jerusalem Post, December 2, 2002 
The father of a senior Fatah terrorist who was killed in the Jenin refugee camp last week has called on Israelis to "open a new page with the Palestinian people and to achieve peace based on mutual respect and justice."

Four Palestinians killed; Israel destroy 15 houses in Hebron
Arabic News, December 3, 2002
The Palestinian youth ( Majd Odeh) was killed while other 20 were wounded during the Israeli forces breaking into the city of Jenin and opening fire against citizens, while the city and neighboring areas witnessed storming in operations and arresting scores of Palestinian youths, including the two officials in the Islamic Jihad movement, Muhammad Aqel and Murad Hasanin.

Suspicion of al-Qaida, Kenya Link Grows
The Guardian, December 3, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) - Evidence continues to mount that al-Qaida was behind last week's terrorist attacks in Kenya.

Tensions over Kenya attack inquiry
BBC, December 2, 2002
Signs are emerging of tensions between Israeli and Kenyan officials investigating last week's terror attacks against Israeli targets near Mombasa.

Israeli Troops Fire at Car, Woman Killed
Gainesville Sun, December 3, 2002
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Israeli troops fired on a car traveling down a West Bank road closed to Palestinians on Tuesday, killing a 95-year-old Palestinian woman, according to a Palestinian hospital official.

Barghouti calls for change in PA leadership
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002
Jailed leader of the Palestinian uprising, Marwan Barghouti, issued a call Tuesday for change in the Palestinian Authority - the first time he has openly challenged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Palestinian woman killed in West Bank; IDF arrests 12 suspects
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002
A Palestinian woman was killed by IDF gunfire Tuesday afternoon north of the West Bank town of al-Bireh, near Ramallah, Israel Radio reported.

International Press Highlights Israeli Atrocities Ahead of Eid
Islam Online, December 3, 2002 
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES, December 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Several reports on Tuesday’s, December 3, morning media highlighted the atrocities committed by the Israeli army in the occupied territories.

Wages down 6.7% in Q3, 5.2% in January-September
Globes, December 3, 2002
The average gross wage in September was only NIS 7,023, following a 6.7% decline in inflation-adjusted terms in the third quarter, compared with the second quarter, according to figures published yesterday by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Gap between rich and poor here up 23% in last decade, Knesset committee finds
Jerusalem Post, December 2, 2002 
The gap between rich and poor has widened by 23 percent in the past two decades, putting the country at the worst level of inequality in the Western world after the US, the Knesset Committee of Inquiry into Income Inequality states in its conclusions published on Monday.

Ethiopian immigrants tell of economic woes
Jerusalem Post, December 2, 2002  
Ethiopian immigrants did not need to read the Knesset Commission of Enquiry into Income Inequality report released Monday to know that they remain firmly on the bottom economic rung. They are only too aware of their financial plight.

Kenyan paper: Mombasa terrorists were Iraqi
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002
Kenyan security forces were warned four times in the past eight months of possible terror attacks in the country, and had information on the Iraqi terrorists responsible for the deadly attack in which 15 people were killed, among them three Israelis, the Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation reported Tuesday.

US chastises PLO, PA but waives sanctions
Jerusalem Post, December 3, 2002  
The Bush administration has stated forthrightly for the first time in a yet to be publicized document that the PLO and the Palestinian Authority have not been complying with obligations outlined in accords with Israel.

High walls to protect worshipers in Hebron
Jerusalem Post, December 2, 2002 
Two-meter-high walls and the widening of a road are only some of the protective methods the army plans to implement on Worshipers' Way between Kiryat Arba and the Machpela Cave, the site of the ambush on soldiers and members of the Kiryat response team last month in which 12 were killed.

WFP Urges Restraint After Gaza Warehouse Destruction
World Food for Peace, December 2, 2002
Rome, 2 December 2002 - In response to the weekend demolition of a WFP warehouse by the Israeli Defence Forces, WFP is urging the Israeli government to observe humanitarian principles and compensate the agency for its losses.

UN agency calls for compensation after Israeli forces raze Gaza warehouse
United Nations News, December 2, 2002
2 December – Following this weekend’s demolition of a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), the agency today issued a strong appeal to the Israeli Government to compensate for the losses incurred and observe humanitarian principles.

Israel Should Probe its Demolition of UN Food Warehouse in Gaza: Annan
Palestine Chronicle, December 2, 2002
NEW YORK - Reacting to the weekend destruction of a United Nations food warehouse in the Gaza Strip, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on Israel to investigate the incident.

IOF kill more Palestinians, Prepare for Hebron “Judaization”
Palestine Media Center, December 3, 2002
Amidst fears that Israel plans to oust Palestinians from Hebron and riddle it with illegal Jewish settlements, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed two Palestinians Monday and injured several others, including children.

Bush Imposes then Waives Sanction to Downgrade PLO Status
Palestine Media Center, December 3, 2002
The Bush administration has simultaneously imposed and waived a Congressionally - mandated sanction to “downgrade” the status of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in the United States.

Settler Attacks against Palestinian Harvesters a ‘Phenomenon’: B’Tselem
Palestine Media Center, December 3, 2002
According to report published Monday by the Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem, entitled, "The Performance of Law Enforcement Authorities in Responding to Settler Attacks on Olive Harvesters.", deliberate attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians during the olive harvest are “a phenomenon, which recurs on an annual basis.”

Shocked Son Describes How IOF Buried his Father Alive
Palestine Media Center, December 3, 2002
Standing beside a pile of flattened concrete, which was that was left of his demolished home, Maher Salem described to The Independent the hineous death of his 68-year-old father who was killed when Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) dynamited the house with him inside.

Iraq to make early weapons declaration
The Guardian, December 3, 2002
Iraq said today it would hand the UN security council a declaration about weapons programmes on December 7, one day ahead of the deadline.

UN inspectors go into Saddam's presidential palace
The Independent, December 3, 2002
UN weapons inspectors today made their first unannounced visit to one of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces.

'Iraq is a terrifying place to live. Fear is Saddam's method for staying in power'
The Independent, December 3, 2002
Detailed accounts of systematic torture, rape, arbitrary arrests and killings are outlined in the Foreign Office's 24-page dossier on human rights abuses in Iraq.

U.S. Facing Bigger Bill For Iraq War
Truthout, December 1, 2002
Total Cost Could Run As High as $200 Billion  -- Within a month of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the first Bush administration launched what became known as "Operation Tin Cup" -- a frenzied round of diplomacy aimed at getting U.S. allies to help pay for war with Iraq. As a result, the bill to American taxpayers for the Persian Gulf War was about $7 billion, a fraction of its cost.

Blair attacked for his 'terrifying' dossier on Saddam's brutality
The Independent, December 3, 2002
Tony Blair launched an onslaught against Saddam Hussein's human rights record yesterday in an attempt to sway public opinion in favour of military action against Iraq.

Inspectors find monitoring equipment 'missing' at Iraqi site
The Independent, December 3, 2002
The first hiccup in the UN weapons inspections in Iraq occurred yesterday when officials said that equipment and monitoring cameras had gone missing from a missile site in Baghdad.

Iraqis 'shot at Kuwaiti vessels'
BBC, December 3, 2002
The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry has said an Iraqi ship has opened fire on two Kuwaiti coastguard patrol boats, causing them to collide.

Iraqis Prepare for Eid Festivities Despite War Clouds
Islam Online, December 3, 2002
BAGHDAD, December 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Baghdadis are preparing to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, one of the main Muslim festivals of the year, convinced that a U.S. strike on the country is inevitable.

Bush: signs from Iraq 'not good'
The Guardian, December 3, 2002
President George Bush yesterday issued his most warlike message to Saddam Hussein since the resumption of arms inspections, saying "the signs are not encouraging" that the Iraqi leader is serious about averting a military conflict.

Iraqi Boat Fires at Kuwaiti Coast Guard
The Guardian, December 3, 2002
KUWAIT CITY (AP) - An Iraqi boat traded fire with two Kuwaiti coast guard vessels in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, Kuwait's Interior Ministry said.

US hawk wants Turkey in EU
The Guardian, December 3, 2002
A leading hawk in the Bush administration hailed Turkey yesterday as a democracy which could be a model for other Muslim countries - including a post-Saddam Iraq - and said the continued exclusion of the country from the European Union was "unthinkable".

U.S. Presses Turkey's Case on Europe and Cyprus Issues
New York Times, December 3, 2002
"..American officials acknowledge that the diplomacy is also an important element of Washington's effort to secure Turkey's backing for a potential military campaign against Iraq." - LONDON, Dec. 2 — The United States, in an unusually direct move into the politics of European integration, is campaigning vigorously to advance Turkey's prospects for entering the European Union and is encouraging a settlement of the long-standing Cyprus dispute.

Robert Redford urges a different kind of patriotism
The Guardian, December 3, 2002
The actor and director Robert Redford has accused President Bush of pursuing a "dangerous and self-defeating" path in the Middle East and asserted that true American patriotism lies in reducing the country's dependence on oil.

Al-Rai al-Aam: On the Iraqi opposition conference
Arabic News, December 3, 2002
The Kuwaiti daily al-Rai al-Aam has stressed quoting opposition Iraqi sources that the number of participants in the Iraqi opposition conference in London on the 10th of this month will exceed 300 persons.

Arab League puts forward list of Arab candidates for inspection team in Iraq
Arabic News, December 3, 2002
Secretary general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, has asked director of the Arab atomic energy agency, Mahmood Nasressdine, to propose a list of Arab experts to integrate into the United Nations inspection team in Iraq.

Antiwar Effort Gains Momentum
Truthout, December 2, 2002
Growing Peace Movement's Ranks Include Some Unlikely Allies -- AMHERST, Mass. -- The idea was hatched on a bright day in August, when Daphne Reed was celebrating her daughter's and granddaughter's birthdays, and the talk around the living room sofa turned to war.

American Mothers Oppose U.S. War On Iraq
Palestine Chronicle, December 2, 2002
"'I said that all mothers should automatically be against war .. It was against their nature to be violent instead of nurturing ..'" -- WASHINGTON - With anti-war campaigns going on in different spots around the world, a growing peace movement, called Mothers Against War has been gaining momentum and raises the possibility of much more dissent if U.S. bombs begin falling on Baghdad.

German liberals expel party maverick
The Guardian,  December 3, 2002
The former deputy leader of Germany's liberal Free Democratic party was expelled yesterday in a row over alleged anti-semitism.
Jürgen Möllemann is an ardent supporter of the Palestinian cause and has fiercely criticised Israel's actions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  He has also accused a prominent German Jew, Michel Friedman, of being partly responsible for the rise of anti-semitism because of his "intolerant, spiteful manner".

Hear Palestine, December 3, 2002
NEWS: Elderly Palestinian Woman Killed at Ramallah Entrance / Palestinian Youth Wounded in Israeli Military Attacks, Rafah / Palestinian Security Location Demolished in al-Qarara / Occupation Army Invades Kufer Ra'i Village, Jenin / 2 Children Wounded in Missile Attack East Gaza City / Occupation Army Invades Toubas at Dawn / Escalated Collective Punishment Measures in Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah  FEATURES: ID Brings Back Sad Memories for Jenin Refugee Camp /  Kufer Dan: Unexplainable Intentional Destruction by Occupation Army

Curfew tensions in Bethlehem
The Electronic Intifada, November 30, 2002
The problem with curfews is not just that you can't leave your house but also that you don't know how long they last.

Israeli reserve soldiers in the occupied territories received underwear produced in Beit Jala 
Alternative Information Center, December 3, 2002 
Aviv Kolber, 37, from Kibbutz Gonen, was recruited with his friends to his reserve duty following Defensive Shield Operation. Immediately following their recruitment, he tells, all the unit members received a kit of equipment including a towel, underwear, socks and other dressing items. The soldiers were at first grateful for the kit, until they found out that some of the items were purchased from a factory in Beit Jala – which angered the soldiers.

Weekly Review of the Arab Press in Israel, November 19 - December 2, 2002
Arab Association for Human Rights,  December 3, 2002
Exclusion of Arab Towns from the "Ofeq" Program / Columnists Writing about the Upcoming Arab Vote / Revoking Another Citizenship / Arab Students Live in Fear

Adalah Seeks Cancellation of Ban on Education Programs for Political Prisoners
Adalah, December 2, 2002
Yesterday, Adalah filed four prisoner's petitions to the Nazareth District Court on behalf of four political prisoners, against the Prisons Authority and the Open University of Israel. The petitions seek to cancel the decision of the Prisons Authority to prohibit political prisoners from registering for certain Open University courses, or from completing courses in which they are already registered.

Confusion over how many American Muslims there are
Arab News, December 3, 2002
WASHINGTON, 3 December 2002 — When does being a Muslim count? Are you a Muslim only if you regularly attend a mosque? This is not a theological question, but rather one researchers are using to learn how many Muslims reside in the US.

Al-Mustaqbal: Al-Qurabi warns against Israel's attempts to control the Red Sea
Arabic News, December 3, 2002
The Yemeni foreign minister Abu Baker al-Qurabi has warned against the Israeli attempt to control the Red Sea. Attempts which might lead to instability in the region and will negatively affect the trade navigation in this sea.

Maher talks with Katz tackle situation in Palestinian areas
Arabic News, December 3, 2002
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said he had talks Sunday with Israeli Knesset member Yossi Katz on the policies of the new leader of the Israeli Labour Party Amram Mitana, adding Katz conveyed a message from Mitzna to President Hosni Mubarak, in which he commended the President's peace efforts.

Egyptian rights activist gets retrial
BBC, December 3, 2002
Egypt's highest appeal court has ordered a retrial for an Egyptian-American civil rights activist, Saad Eddin Ibrahim.

Christians split over support for Israel, Palestine
Bradenton Herald, December 3, 2002
(KRT) - Plane tickets to Tel Aviv are what they have in common. But two groups of Americans who are visiting the West Bank travel a path within Christianity that diverges sharply, one toward solidarity with Israel, the other toward support for Palestinians.

Participating in a Palestinian Protest
International Solidarity Movement, December 2, 2002
Two weeks ago I found my self participating in a protest with the Palestinian village of Jayyus in the West Bank.

Ethiopian Airlines suspends flights to Israel
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Ethiopian Airlines suspended its twice weekly flights to Tel Aviv on Tuesday after Israel diverted its Sunday flight to a remote desert air base, then requested permission to visit the capital's airport for a security check.

Ministry unit wants top cop investigated
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002
The Justice Ministry has recommended that Police Commander Moshe Mizrahi, head of the Criminal Investigations Department, should face a disciplinary hearing for his handling of wiretaps used in investigations he led while serving as head of the police's International Investigations unit.

World Jewish population drops by 300,000 to 12.9 million
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002
The number of Jews in the world is declining with a net loss of 300,000 American Jews in the last decade, according to a new study following a preliminary examination of the recent census of American Jewry, according to the Jewish Agency's Institute for Jewish People Policy Planning.

Israel’s Mossad Under Fire for Prior Knowledge of Kenya Attacks
Islam Online, December 3, 2002 
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, December 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israeli intelligence came under fire again Tuesday, December 3, as it emerged that the Mossad knew of terror attacks being planned by Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network in the Kenyan city of Mombasa, a few days before Israeli tourists were targeted.

IDF combat units to draft more women - but only volunteers
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002
The Israel Defense Forces are planning a significant increase in the number of women soldiers who will serve in combat units. The IDF's manpower division and the ground force command are working on plans to this effect.

National Security Council head Halevy: 'Top Palestinians rejecting terror to save their national movement'
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002 
Ephraim Halevy, chairman of the National Security Council and the former Mossad chief, said yesterday that senior Palestinian leaders who have started to condemn acts of terror against Israel are doing so out of a genuine fear for the fate of the Palestinian national movement, which could be eradicated due to its support for terrorism.

Mubarak: We'll back Israel if it negotiates
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002 
Egypt and the entire Arab world will back Israel if it decides to undertake serious direct negotiations with the Palestinians for establishing a Palestinian state, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said yesterday.

Labor to focus on Mitzna's one-year separation pledge
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002
The Labor Party will focus its campaign for the January 28 election around newly-elected chairman Amram Mitzna's plan for separation between Israel and the Palestinians within one year of being elected.

Background: Mossad to focus on `global jihad'
Ha'aretz, December 3, 2002 
Last Friday night, some 15 hours after flying in to Mombasa, Kenya, on Israel Air Force planes, the team of Israeli investigators - comprising Mossad and Shin Bet security service officials, along with members of the Israel Police Criminal Identification Unit - went out to dinner with their American counterparts.

Iranian pollsters stand trial after survey finds support for US dialogue
Jerusalem Post, December 3, 2002 
TEHRAN, Iran - Prosecutors aired a long list of complaints at Tuesday's opening of the trial of three prominent pollsters charged with selling classified information to foreign intelligence agencies after their survey found Iranians support dialogue with the United States.

Halevy: Mega-terror has changed everything
Jerusalem Post, December 2, 2002 
Mega-terrorism and global jihad have changed the rules of the game in the balance of national and international security, said Ephraim Halevy, immediate past head of the Mossad and current chief of the National Security Council, at Monday's opening of the third annual Herzliya Conference.

Council heads say security fence would have stopped Beit She'an attack
Jerusalem Post, December 2, 2002   
In a stormy meeting of the seam line regional council heads, Beit She'an Mayor Pini Cabalo accused the government, and specifically Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, of "sacrificing human life for the primaries."

British Jews urge inquiry to examine charges EU funds terrorism
Jerusalem Post, December 2, 2002   
Britain's Jewish community is urging European parliamentarians in Brussels to support requests for a committee of inquiry into allegations that European Union aid is being used to fund Palestinian terrorism.

Saudis to control money to charities more tightly — report
Jordan Times, December 3, 2002   
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Saudi government is set to announce tight new controls on money sent to charities as it tries to broaden “anti-terrorism” cooperation with the United States, Newsweek magazine said in its Monday issue.

Jordanian PM: Solutions to Iraq, Palestine problems possible
Jordan Times, December 3, 2002   
AMMAN (Petra) — Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb on Monday said “the situations in both Palestine and Iraq are worrying but it is not impossible to find solutions to them.” 

Americans should be careful, but US embassy says recent incidents in Egypt not indicative of anti-American hostility
Jordan Times, December 3, 2002       
CAIRO (AP) — Several incidents involving Americans in Egypt, including the firing of shots at a car that tried to cut in to the US ambassador's motorcade, did not indicate “anti-American hostility,” an embassy spokesman said on Monday.

Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine
Palestine Media Center, December 3, 2002
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed a teenager in a raid on the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Tuesday. IOF also detained dozens of citizens in several raids in the West bank.

Jordan boosts trade with Arab states, Israel
Jordan Times, December 3, 2002           
AMMAN — Jordan's exports to Arab countries accounted for 29 per cent of its total exports while imports represented 25 per cent of the total purchases during the first eight months of this year compared to the same period of 2001, a government report said Monday.

Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, 21-27 November, 2002
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

Three Reagan-Era Hard-Liners Return to Help Run Bush's Foreign Policy Team
Truthout, December 1, 2002
They were key figures in the Iran-Contra scandal and U.S.-backed "dirty wars" in Central America in the 1980s. Now Otto Reich, Elliot Abrams and John Negroponte are back, helping run White House policy toward Latin America.

Photo Gallery
Bethlehem Reinvaded
Palestine Chronicle, December 2, 2002