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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..

IOF Wounds a Woman in Kahn Younis and Israeli Soldiers Assault Demonstrators in East Jerusalem International Press Center 12/4/2003 KHAN YOUNIS, Palestine, December 4, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- At least one Palestinian woman has been wounded Thursday morning after Israeli occupying forces (IOF) opened heavy fire at the Al Satar Algharby neighborhood in the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, IPC correspondent said....Yesterday, IOFwounded a Palestinian civilian and arrested six peace activists in the occupied East Jerusalem. Saleh Zahaika and six other international peace activists were moderately wounded after being beaten severely by Israeli soldiers, in the Jabal Almokabber neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem....Meanwhile, IOF arrested 10 Palestinian citizens from the West Bank city of Jenin along with three others, including a woman, from the West Bank city of Nablus after having stormed the said Palestinian cities, using dozens of armored vehicles and military jeeps, local sources said...Earlier, IOF invaded the city of Qalqilia under the cover of darkness, and arrested seven Palestinian citizens, including two brothers, IPC's reported. Occupation authorities confiscate Palestinian tractors to block constructions Palestinian Information Center 12/4/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Jerusalemites have revealed that the Zionist occupation authorities had adopted new methods to bar Palestinian construction in the occupied holy city of Jerusalem. Contractors building houses for Jerusalemites said that Zionist police and border guards were confiscating their tractors and vehicles carrying cement blend used for construction. They said that Zionist security men seized scores of tractors used to level the lands and dig foundations in a number of suburbs in occupied Jerusalem then carried them to Qalandia airport. Zionist occupation soldiers desecrate mosque for second time Palestinian Information Center 12/4/2003 Ramallah - Palestinian sources yesterday said that Zionist occupation forces had desecrated the Takwa Mosque in Teyra suburb to the west of Ramallah city. They said that soldiers stormed the mosque and arrested brother of the Imam, who was also arrested last Sunday in a similar raid into the holy shrine. The sources explained that an army unit besieged the mosque and forced the young man Mohammed Mu’ala, brother of the Imam Sheikh Ashraf Mu’ala, to accompany them into the three-story mosque. Threat of Apartheid Wall continues Jerusalem Times 12/4/2003 Israeli teams have recently started survey works to build the apartheid wall near Shufat Refugee Camp, north-east of Jerusalem in the are called as "the easter gate". Residents fo the camp, Dahyat Salaam and Anata village confirmed that Israseli teams, escorted by border police units, have been working for about a week on surveying the area of Ras Shihada, south of the camp, along the camp's northern boundaries with Pizgat Ze'ev settlement....Meanwhile, the Israeli occupational forces proceeded with the implementation of the second phase of the apartheid wall in the Jenin district, which is concentrated in the eastern area of it. Israel’s Apartheid Wall in Tulkarem Ransacks Palestinian Antiquities Miftah 12/3/2003 The apartheid wall being constructed by Israel along the West Bank brought far reaching risks and calamity on life of the Palestinians, as it had expropriated 150,000 dunums of their lands, and impacted their carved antiquities. Dozens of the archeological sites in the West Bank have been bitterly affected as the wall took parts of some of these sites which embody the ancient times of the Palestinian people, particularly in Tulkarem city, north of the West Bank. IPC correspondent said that the apartheid wall , had seized more than 40,000 dunums, including archeological sites, of the wealthiest agricultural lands that the citizens mainly rely on to earn their living. Occupation authorities export cancerous fish to PA areas Palestinian Information Center 12/4/2003 Ramallah - Zionist occupation authorities have tried to export contaminated fish consignments to the West Bank and Gaza Strip but the concerned Palestinian authorities blocked the shipments. The Palestinian Authority’s ministry of national economy issued a statement declaring that all crossings into the PA areas were closed before “Israeli” shipments of fresh fish as of 25/11/2003 because they were polluted with chemical materials that could cause cancer as announced by the Zionist health ministry. Impact of the separation wall on the Qalqiliya, Tulkarm and Jenin districts Jerusalem Times 12/4/2003 Qalqiliya: The governorate of Qalqiliya comprises 32 villages with approximately 90,000 Palestinians. There are also 19 Israeli settlements with an estimated population of 50,000. The route of the barrier is such that six settlements will lie to its west – in effect annexed to Israel – resulting in large tracts of Palestinian land and water resources isolated, with some Palestinian communities in isolated enclaves.... / Tulkarm: The inclusion of Salit settlement (pop. 400) west of the barrier will result in villages in the southern Tulkarm district losing large tracts of land. In Kfar Jamal, (pop. 2,500) 7,000 of the village’s 14,000 dunums will be isolated between the Barrier and the Green Line. The situation is the same in the smaller villages of Kfar Sur (pop. 1,500) and Ras (pop. 500) which will lose 50 and 75 percent of their farming land respectively.... Agriculture sector harmed most by Israeli aggression says minister Jerusalem Times 12/4/2003 Minister of Agriculture Rafiq Al-Natsheh said that direct and indirect losses in the agriculture sector since the beginning of the Intifada total $1.22 billion, adding that the Israeli Government is determined to destroy the Palestinian infrastructure of all economic sectors, beginning with agriculture. The Dividing Wall: Natsheh said that Israeli occupation forces have targeted land and crops and prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching their land. He added that Israeli authorities have confiscated more than 39,250 acres of agricultural land for the benefit of the Dividing Wall. Land accessible by farmers was also harmed because the farmers could not market their produce. Report: Israel expanding West Bank settlement in violation of ''Road Map'' plan Al-Bawaba 12/4/2003 The Peace Now movement claimed that the Israel Lands Administration (ILA) published Thursday morning a tender for 13 plots for self-construction in the West Bank settlement of Ariel. According to the movement, by this measure, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon continues to violate on a daily basis his country's commitment to the so-called "Road Map" plan, which calls for putting an absolute stop to the construction activities in settlements. Israel admits slowdown in settlement removal Al-Jazeera 12/4/2003 An Israeli defence official has admitted that the army has slowed down the pace of dismantling Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim made the acknowledgement on Thursday in an interview with public radio.Boim said dismantling settlements, illegal under international law, had been made “difficult” because the Palestinian Authority had not cracked down on resistance groups. Protesters clash with police at disputed site in East Jerusalem Daily Star 12/4/2003 Bulldozers had sought to pave way for Jewish neighborhood in Arab village of Jabal Mukaber -- Ariel Sharon’s hard-line Israeli government fumed Wednesday over US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s plans to host the authors of the Geneva Initiative, but Washington appeared unshaken by the rare rebuke from its Middle East ally. Meanwhile, Palestinian protesters scuffled with Israeli riot police as a bulldozer attempted to push ahead with construction of a Jewish neighborhood in an area of East Jerusalem claimed by both sides....After intervention by a legislator from the dovish Meretz party, police backed off, the bulldozer moved to another site and the demonstrators went away. Ramallah residents reflect on 2 years of siege Daily Star 12/4/2003 Inhabitants recall night army moved against Arafat - Terror amid shelling, rocketing gave way to cold sleepless nights, isolation and ongoing fear under continuing occupation -- RAMALLAH: On the evening of Dec. 3, 2001, Israeli military forces launched their first offensive against Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. The operation consisted of firing missiles on the airport used for his helicopters to land and destroying a guest house, which also served as a prayer site. Since that night, Arafat has been under siege. On March 29, 2002 the Israeli Army intensified its offensive by sending tanks to surround Arafat’s headquarters, known as the Muqataa, and destroying parts of the 50-year old building. Security forces foil two suicide bombings Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 An attempt to carry out simultaneous suicide bombings in a Yokne'am school and the city of Beit She'an are among several terror attacks foiled in the past two days by Israeli security forces. Early on Tuesday, elite Israel Defense Forces troops, working in cooperation with the Shin Bet Security Service, nabbed a man in the West Bank city of Jenin who intended to carry out a suicide bombing in Beit She'an, which is located in the Jordan Valley. Israeli Soldiers Used As Decoy For Palestinian Fighters Islam Online 12/4/2003 GAZA, December 4 (IslamOnline.net) – Israeli soldiers serving in special units operating inside the occupied Palestinian territories have accused the army command of using them as mobile decoys to discover Palestinian resistance fighters. Soldiers knew they were being deployed to sniff out saboteurs [resistance fighters] but had no idea the army would use them as easy-to-hit targets with no helmets, bullet-proof vests or protection, the Israeli Maarev newspaper reported Wednesday, December 3, quoting furious Israeli soldiers. News Briefs: Army Invades Nablus, Arrests three Palestinians International Middle East Media Center 12/4/2003 Israeli forces arrested earlier this morning three Palestinians including a girl in Nablus . The army besieged a neighborhood in the south of Nablus and shot towards some houses before they arrested Fatima Fayez Mohammad. During the arrest, the army forced the people in the building, including children, to stand in the rain for more than three hours. As of press time, the army gave no details about the reasons behind the arrest. Lebanon pumping water headed for Lake Kinneret Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 Lebanon is pumping thousands of cubic meters a day from the Wazzani springs instead of letting the water flow to Lake Kinneret, say officials in the Water Commission. The pumps are capable of pumping up to 8 million cubic meters a year, the equivalent of five centimeters in the level of the Kinneret. But water experts say it is difficult to estimate how much water is actually being pumped, and apparently it is less than half that amount. Zionist army: Palestinian resistance plans downing chopper Palestinian Information Center 12/4/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Zionist senior security sources have expressed concern that the Palestinian resistance factions were planning qualitative operations against “Israeli” forces especially in the Gaza Strip. The army sources feared that Palestinians might attempt the downing of a military chopper similar to what happened in Iraq or strike “Israeli” strategic targets before signing a hudna. Inhabitants prevent PA police from arresting Hamas activists Palestinian Information Center 12/3/2003 Ramallah - A number of Palestinian Authority policemen attempted today to arrest two Hamas Movement activists in the West Bank city of Ramallah who were mourning the death of the Qassam Brigades Mujahid Sheikh Hasanein Rumane. Eyewitnesses said that a PA patrol intercepted the car of the Hamas activists while inviting the people via loudspeakers to participate in the funeral of the Qassam martyr....The eyewitnesses noted that people present on the scene expressed utter dismay over the police measure and prevented the policemen from arresting the Hamas elements. Building starts in territories still growing despite security situation Globes 12/4/2003 There were 1,284 new residential building starts in the territories in January-September 2003. -- New residential building starts in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip are still increasing, despite the security situation. There were 1,284 new residential building starts in the territories in January-September 2003, 5% more than in the corresponding period in 2002. New residential building starts in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip amounted to 5.8% of all new residential building starts in Israel in this period.

Diplomacy..

Egyptian FM Maher: chances 'good' for success of truce talks Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 Palestinians on Thursday opened formal talks in Cairo aimed at forging a cease-fire they hope will induce Israel to halt its attacks on militants, paving the way for resuming peace negotiations. Delegates to the talks say they are weighing two proposals: one is a partial cease-fire halting strikes on civilians inside Israel's territory, and the other a broader truce that would require more significant concessions by Israel - but which the Palestinians believe could be more tempting to the Israelis. Palestinian Groups Meet to Discuss Truce The Guardian 12/4/2003 CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Palestinians opened formal talks Thursday aimed at forging a cease-fire they hope will induce Israel to halt its attacks on militants and Palestinian civilian areas and lead to renewed peace negotiations. Delegates to the talks said they were weighing two proposals: a partial cease-fire halting strikes on civilians inside Israel, and a broader truce - stopping attacks on soldiers and settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that would require more significant Israeli concessions. Arafat expulsion spectre raised again Al-Jazeera 12/4/2003 Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat will be expelled from his Ram Allah headquarters if Israel is struck by a "mega-attack", Israeli Interior Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi has warned. The hawkish Likud minister issued his warning on Thursday to the veteran leader after Israeli military sources said on Wednesday that an attack on a school in Israel had been foiled. "Had the attack we foiled yesterday taken place, it is obvious that Arafat would no longer be in the region, in the Middle East," Hanegbi told military radio. Mid-East talks in US take shape BBC 12/4/2003 The authors of an unofficial Middle East peace plan have begun lobbying for support in Washington. Two ex-ministers - one Israeli and one Palestinian - will meet US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday. But a scheduled meeting with Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has reportedly been cancelled. And a meeting with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was refused, which analysts say suggests the US is not keen to overtly back the plan. No NATO presence in Mideast, says chief Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 Brussels - NATO will not serve as an international buffer force between Israel and the future Palestinian state, and Israel is not a candidate to join the international military alliance, NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson told reporters yesterday. He said he does not expect to see NATO in any role in the Middle East peace process and that NATO's relations with Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the four Maghreb countries will be upgraded, but will remain far from membership status. Dogma undermined pre-Iraq thinking, says expert Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 The demands inside the U.S. and Britain for investigations into the intelligence failure on the eve of the war in Iraq "forgets there was a third senior partner to the assessment [that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and the ability to deliver them] - and that third partner was Israel," says a new report from the Jaffe Center for Strategic Studies, written by Brig. Gen. (res.) Shlomo Brum, a former deputy commander of the IDF Planning Branch. "Israeli intelligence was a full partner to the picture presented by U.S. and British intelligence about Iraq's non-conventional capabilities ... [and] the failures in the war in Iraq point to inherent failures and weaknesses of Israeli intelligence and decision makers...." Israeli General Derides Findings on Iraq New York Times 12/4/2003 JERUSALEM (AP) -- A former Israeli intelligence officer charged Thursday that Israeli agencies produced a flawed picture of Iraqi weapons capabilities on the eve of the Iraq war and contributed substantially to the mistaken assessments of their counterparts in the United States and Britain. The comments of reserve Brig. Gen. Shlomo Brom represented an unusual criticism of the Israeli intelligence community, long regarded as one of the world's best. Prior to his retirement in 1998, Brom served in Israeli military intelligence for 25 years, and acted as the deputy chief of planning for the Israeli army...``Israeli intelligence was a full partner with the U.S. and Britain in developing a false picture of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction capability,'' Brom said. General Assembly adopts texts on Palestine, Middle East, International Year of Family, global threats, cultural property ReliefWeb/UN 12/3/2003 Convinced that achieving a final and peaceful settlement to the question of Palestine - the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict - was imperative to comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East, the General Assembly this morning adopted a series of resolutions reaffirming international commitment to the Road Map peace plan and to the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. The six texts relating to the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East were all adopted by recorded votes. UN General Assembly Adopts 5 Pro-Palestine Resolutions Palestine Media Center 12/4/2003 The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted five resolutions to demonstrate its belief that a final, peaceful settlement to the Question of Palestine is essential to ensuring there is lasting peace in the Middle East. A resolution on the peaceful settlement of the Question of Palestine was passed with 160 States in favor, six against, and five abstentions. The text welcomed the Security Council’s vision of a two-State solution and reaffirmed the international community’s commitment to the so-called “Roadmap” peace process. Syrian president reportedly has agreed to a proposal to end violence with Israel in Lebanon NewJersey.com 12/4/2003 JERUSALEM (AP) -- Syria's president has agreed to a proposal to halt violence along Israel's northern border if Israel promises to end flights over Lebanon and not attack its territory, a senior Western diplomat told the Associated Press. A cease-fire would be followed by efforts to renew peace talks between Israel and Syria which were suspended in 2000. Israel did not respond to the proposal, which was contained in a document written in October by a Western mediator, the senior diplomat involved in the effort told AP on Wednesday. AP Confirms Lebanon-Syria-Israel Peace Plan An Nahar 12/4/2003 The Associated Press Thursday expedited on an Israeli press report about a new peace plan involving Lebanon, Syria and Israel, confirming that President Assad has approved it but that Israel has not responded, yet. The AP quoted a senior Western diplomat as saying in Jerusalem that Assad agreed to a proposal to halt violence along Israel's northern border if Israel pledged to end flights over Lebanon and abstain from attacking Syrian territory anew. Once the no-belligerency moratorium takes hold, efforts will be initiated to renew peace talks between Israel and Syria, which were suspended in 2000, the unnamed diplomat said on Wednesday. Israel says Syria involved in ''terror'' attacks as Assad slams Israel as source of turmoil Al-Bawaba 12/4/2003 Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim on Thursday blasted the Syrian leadership and accused it of involvement in a failed attack by a Palestinian group on a school in northern Israel. Israeli officials claimed the bombing attack was thwarted on Wednesday and the would-be bomber was arrested. “I’m saying that the terror organizations in general and the cell of the Islamic Jihad in Jenin in the case (of the school attack) are controlled by Syria,” Boim told Israel Radio. “The money is Iranian, and the training is from Hizbullah - this is the chain of terror that has Syria at its center.” De Villepin: EU to Submit Apartheid Wall Issue to International Court International Press Center 12/4/2003 GAZA, December 4, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- The French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, revealed yesterday that the European Union is debating the possibility to submit the issue of the controversial Apartheid Wall being built by Israel around West Bank cities, to the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands. De Villepin was speaking in the aftermath of a meeting with the Mediterranean European Partnership member states in the Italian city of Naples on November 29. “The European countries are discussing the issue along with the possibility to launch a new European peace initiative under the auspices of United Nations. However, they are examining the way to do that,” he said. Bush: Geneva Accord could be 'productive' to peace process Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 In his first direct public comments on the Geneva Accord, U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday gave a guarded reaction to the unofficial peace plan. "I think it's productive as long as they [the architects of the plan] adhere to the principles I have just outlined," the president told reporters after meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah. "And that is we must fight off terror, that there must be security, and there must be the emergence of a Palestinian state that is democratic and free." Optimistic Qureia heads to Cairo for truce talks Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 An optimistic-sounding Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Ahmed Qureia, headed to Cairo on Thursday to join Egyptian-brokered truce talks, saying "In Cairo I hope we will succeed to reach a kind of mutual cease-fire with Israel." "I think discussions between all the Palestinian groups are going well ... I am optimistic, " Qureia told reporters at his West Bank home. Israel Riled As Geneva 'Pact' Gains Supporters Forward 12/4/2003 Battle Shapes Up Over U.S. Groups -- WASHINGTON — As tensions grew between Israel and America this week over the Bush administration's support for the Geneva Understandings, backers of the informal peace plan appear to be winning over some American Jewish groups, threatening to split a key pillar of Jerusalem's support base in the United States. In one dramatic sign of a looming rift, leaders of the country's largest synagogue movements banded together this week in a broad coalition of Jewish, Christian and Muslim groups calling on President Bush to step up his administration's diplomatic efforts in the Middle East. Safya: London secret talks boosted Zionist positions Palestinian Information Center 12/4/2003 London - Afif Safya, Palestinian Authority’s general commissioner in London, has expressed dismay at the secret talks held in the British capital recently between PA and “Israeli” officials. Safya in a message to the PA chief Yasser Arafat said that the negotiations held at the invitation of the “Friends of Israel” bloc within the British Labor party had boosted the Zionist positions in the country at a time when the Britons were increasingly understanding Palestinian suffering as a result of Zionist practices. Bush Says His Blueprint Best for Mideast New York Times 12/4/2003 WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush gave a guarded reaction Thursday to an unofficial peace plan for the Middle East, saying the new initiative should follow his blueprint for fighting terrorism and establishing a Palestinian state that is democratic and free. ``We appreciate people discussing peace. We just want to make sure that all the principles to peace are clear,'' Bush told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II. Shalom fights PA plan to bring security fence issue to Internatinal Court of Justice Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom yesterday lobbied hard at the Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Naples against Palestinian attempts to bring the issue of the separation fence to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. This proposal to put the fence on trial will be brought up at the United Nationals General Assembly meeting next Monday. The U.S. opposes the proposal, and Shalom yesterday tried to convince European states to reject attempts to bring the separation fence dispute to the Hague. Arafat: Quartet, Arabs Support Inter-Palestinian Dialogue in Cairo Palestine Media Center 12/4/2003 13 Factions Discussing an Egyptian Proposal for a Two-stage Ceasefire -- President Yasser Arafat said Wednesday that the Quartet of EU, US, Russia and UN as well as Egypt, Jordan and other Arab states support the Egyptian initiative for inter-Palestinian national dialogue that is due to kick off in Cairo Thursday, adding that this initiative is in harmony with the Arab peace initiative that was adopted by the last Arab summit meeting in Beirut. Erikat : We don’t need Israeli gestures, their occupation army must leave our towns Palestinian Information Center 12/4/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Palestinian Authority official Saeb Erikat said Thursday any prospective meeting between PA premier Ahmed Qreia’ and Zionist Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would be meaningless and fruitless unless the Zionist regime agreed to withdraw its occupation army from Palestinian population centers. “We don’t want ‘gestures’ and ‘handouts’ from Israel. If any meeting between Qreia’ and Sharon is to succeed, Israel must remove its forces from our cities, remove all these ramparts and roadblocks and stop harassing and persecuting the Palestinian people,” Erikat told reporters in Ramallah. Israel-U.S. Tension Rising Over Symbolic Accord Wired 12/4/2003 JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urged Washington on Thursday not to meddle in Israeli politics in the latest show of displeasure over planned U.S. talks with authors of a symbolic Middle East peace pact. The rare public row between Israel and its chief ally continued to smolder as Palestinian factions opened negotiations in Cairo aimed at reaching an agreement on a truce considered crucial to reviving U.S.-backed peace moves. Secretary of State Colin Powell was due to meet in Washington on Friday with Israeli and Palestinian architects of the Geneva Accord, an unofficial plan Sharon has rejected as capitulation to a Palestinian uprising. Israel suggests Palestinian cease-fire will be rewarded NewJersey.com 12/4/2003 JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel will scale back its military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip if the Palestinians pledge to halt attacks on Israel, a senior defense official said Thursday, as Palestinian militant groups gathered in Egypt for talks. Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim's comments, which came a day after Israel said it had thwarted a suicide bomb attack on a school, were the clearest statement yet that Israel would respond favorably to a cease-fire offer. Geneva architects to meet Wolfowitz Al-Jazeera 12/4/2003 The co-authors of a symbolic Palestinian-Israeli peace accord are scheduled to meet US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz in Washington, a move likely to deepen a spat between the United States and its ally Israel. Uri Zaki, a spokesman for former Israeli justice minister Yossi Beilin, one of the pact's authors, confirmed on Wednesday the scheduled meetings to include Beilin and former Palestinian information minister Yasir Abd Rabbu. Obeid warns of Palestinian ‘time bomb’ Daily Star 12/4/2003 Minister slams proposal to settle refugees in host countries -- NAPLES, Italy: Foreign Minister Jean Obeid, addressing the Euro-Mediterranean foreign ministers meeting here Wednesday, warned that resettling Palestinian refugees in their host countries constituted a “time bomb” that would threaten to undermine peace in the region “at all times.” Obeid told participants that while they were gathering under the aim of partnership, dialogue and development, “the process of peace and stability in the Middle East is facing a real impasse due to Israeli intransigence.” Bush warns Israel to tread carefully The Independent 12/4/2003 The United States has privately told Israel of three "red lines" it must not cross in its dealing with the Palestinians and the wider Middle East, according to the Israeli press. According to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, the three red lines are: not to harm the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat; not to "shock the region"; and not to create "facts on the ground" that could jeopardise the Palestinian state promised in the US-backed "road-map" for peace. If the reports are true, much less is being asked of Israel than in June, when the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and his then Palestinian counterpart, Abu Mazen, agreed to the road-map. Powell confirms meeting set for Friday with Geneva Accord authors Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 BRUSSELS - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Thursday he would meet the authors of a private Middle East peace plan on Friday despite Israeli misgivings. "I will be meeting with them tomorrow," Powell told a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, referring to the authors of the Geneva Accord, an unofficial peace plan that Israel has rejected as a capitulation to the Palestinian uprising. UN blasts Israeli occupation Al-Jazeera 12/4/2003 The UN General Assembly has passed two resolutions rejecting Israeli claims to Jerusalem and calling on Tel Aviv to return the Golan Heights to Syria. The world body voted 155-8 to adopt a resolution that declared Israeli moves to impose laws, jurisdiction and administration on Jerusalem as illegal and with “no validity whatsoever”. Apart from the United States, the only countries to support Israel in voting against the Jerusalem resolution were Palau, Uganda, Nauru, Costa Rica, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands....A second resolution on “The Syrian Golan” was adopted with a 104-5 vote, with 61 abstentions, condemning Israel for its continued occupation of the hills separating the two countries. Palestinians: Hudna prospects good, but it can't really last Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 Palestinian leaders say the chances are good that delegates from Palestinian organizations meeting today in Cairo will agree to a new hudna (cease-fire) - but it probably won't last. Palestinian Authority officials say Hamas and Islamic Jihad figures have recently indicated a desire to calm events in the territories, and that there has been a drop in terror attacks....The first stage of the cease-fire can last just a few weeks, Palestinians say. A truce cannot continue if no progress is noted after a few weeks in a number of other areas. They mean Palestinian demands for altered Israeli policy with respect to the separation fence, settlement construction, and a number of other issues. Authors defend Geneva Accord as `workable' Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 WASHINGTON - The co-authors of the Geneva Accord yesterday defended the plan as a workable solution to "untouchable" issues that was intended to advance, not undermine, the stalled U.S.-backed "road map." "This plan with all its detailed formulas represents the only solution," said former Palestinian minister Yasser Abed Rabbo, who called the controversial plan a "pragmatic, possible solution" that balances Israeli and Palestinian interests. Co-author Yossi Beilin said: "We want to save the road map, not compete with the road map." EU Warns Israel "Must not Invade" Palestinian Territory Palestine Media Center 12/4/2003 Abed Rabbo Urges World to Replace Israeli Plan for Apartheid Wall by a Peace Plan -- The European Union delivered a stern warning to Israel, declaring that the Apartheid Wall the Jewish state is building on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank "must not invade" Palestinian territory, as the member of the PLO executive committee Yasser Abed Rabbo urged the international community, including the United States, “to stop the plan for the wall, to replace it by a plan for peace." Arafat: Sharon won't move without US pressure Middle East Online 12/4/2003 Veteran Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has said that his arch enemy Ariel Sharon will not move an inch towards implementing the "roadmap" plan for peace without international pressure, especially from the United States. As he began a third year of confinement at the hands of the Israeli army in his West Bank headquarters, Arafat also revealed he had been in contact with the principal Palestinian architect of the unofficial Geneva Initiative peace plan, Yasser Abed Rabbo, throughout the two years of negotiations. 13 Jordanian parties and PNC members denounce “Switzerland document” Palestinian Information Center 12/3/2003 Amman - The Jordanian opposition parties decided to organize a rally on 11th December 2003 on the anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s resolution 194 passed in 1948 stipulating the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes. Secretary general of the opposition party, Dr. Tarek Kayyali, has said that organizing the rally was meant to retaliate to the so-called “Switzerland document” that yielded the Palestinian refugees’ right of return. Video: "Palestinian officials have voiced only lukewarm support [for unofficial plan]" BBC 12/4/2003 The BBC's Richard Forrest - "Palestinian officials have voiced only lukewarm support [for the unofficial peace plan]"

Human Rights..

THE PAIN MERCHANTS: Security equipment and its use in torture and other ill-treatment - Full report Amnesty International 12/2/2003 1. INTRODUCTION: "It's possible to use anything for torture", says a US manufacturer of electro-shock riot shields, "but it's a little easier to use our devices." (1)..."An Israeli General Security Service agent, 'Jerry', giving testimony before a military court in the matter of Palestinian detainee Sa'id Zo'arub, spoke about a method he described as 'tightening the handcuffs to the smallest possible circumference on the detainee's wrist'. He told defence attorney Leah Tsemel the objective was 'to obtain vital information'." (43)...The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), which exercise a policing function in the Occupied Territories, and the Israeli police, use rubber bullets that are rubber in name only. They consist of a substantial metal core covered with a very thin layer of rubber.(64) The Israeli High Court approves the transfer of 12 Palestinian detainees from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 12/4/2003 On Thursday morning, 4 December 2003, the Israeli High Court approved the transfer of 12 Palestinian detainees from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip. PCHR believes that this is simply a further example of the High Court’s cooperation with the Israeli military and political establishments to provide legal coverage of illegal actions carried out against Palestinian civilians.According to one of PCHR’s lawyers, the High Court issued a decision on Thursday morning approving an Israeli military order to transfer the 12 detainees. The case of a 13th detainee, Mustafa ‘Aabed from Nablus, was not considered by the court, indicating that he is still under interrogation....PCHR expresses deep concern at the escalation of the illegal transfer of Palestinians carried out by the Israeli occupation forces. Jerusalem's Arabs are herded `like cattle' at Interior Ministry Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 The lines and crush at the entrance to the Interior Ministry offices in East Jerusalem have earned an endless number of descriptions in the Israeli and foreign media over the years. Masses of Arabs, residents of East Jerusalem, gather there from late at night to win entry into the building the following morning. The offices open at 8 A.M. every day, and there are days on which one can see people gathering in line outside the building from 7:30 P.M. the evening before. ISM Activist Arrested by Undercover Immigration Police After Hearing International Solidarity Movement 12/4/2003 International Solidarity Movement volunteer Radhika Sainath, from Newport Beach, California, was this evening followed and formally detained by Israeli Immigration Police. Ms. Sainath is in the process of suing the state of Israel for unlawful imprisonment, negligence, and breach of obligations after she was seized by Israeli soldiers in November 2002. Represented in her case against the state of Israel by Counsel Shamai Leibovitz, Ms. Sainath is seeking payment of 50,000NIS or approximately US $11,000....As Ms. Sainath was loaded into the van, police were overheard telling her she was being formally detained for illegal entry; however, Ms. Sainath is currently in Israel with a valid Tourist Visa. Wife of Barguthi warns of his deteriorating health condition Palestinian Information Center 12/4/2003 Nablus - Fadwa Al-Barguthi, wife of the detained Palestinian MP Marwan Al-Barguthi, yesterday warned of her husband’s deteriorating health condition. Barguthi told Quds Press that her husband was suffering from several diseases and that he told his lawyer recently that the prison administration refused to allow his doctor to call on him. The Zionist prison administration further refused to allow any other doctor to call on Marwan, the wife said, noting that jailers only offered him sedatives. New report illustrates deteriorating economic conditions of Arab citizens in Israel Al-Bawaba 12/4/2003 Arab community leaders in Israel are warning of "catastrophe" and an "explosion due to a loss of faith in the legitimate political system." The warning comes amid figures published earlier this week, ahead of the approval of the 2004 state budget, which show the extent of the plight of the Arab community. A report by the Mossawa Center, (the Advocacy Center for Arab Palestinian Citizens of Israel), recently presented to the Israeli parliament and media, bring forth official figures which clearly demonstrate the growing plight of the Arab community in Israel. For instance, the Bedouins of the Negev, located in southern Israel, is at the bottom of every civilian area of life, including infant mortality rates which are on a par with the Third World (17 out of every 1,000 births). Clashes at site of new J'lem neighborhood Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 Dozens of Peace Now members and other peace activists clashed with the police yesterday at Jabel Mukaber, a village in East Jerusalem, in a demonstration against the construction of a new Jewish neighborhood in the village. The protestors tried to block bulldozers and prevent them from uprooting olive trees belonging to the villagers and damaging land the contractor did not have permits to work on. They confronted police troops, who used teargas and stun grenades to disperse them. Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories 20 Nov.- 03 Dec. 2003 Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 12/4/2003 12 Palestinians, including 4 children, were killed by Israeli forces / Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into the West Bank and Gaza Strip / 4 Palestinians, including a child, were killed and 3 buildings were destroyed during an Israeli military incursion into Ramallah and al-Bireh / 4 houses were destroyed in Rafah / Agricultural land were razed in the Gaza Strip / Houses were raided and a number of Palestinians were arrested / 8 Palestinian houses were destroyed by Israeli forces as part of the continuing campaign of retaliation against the families of Palestinians accused of involvement in attacks against Israeli targets / Indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas continued and a number of Palestinian civilians were injured / Construction of the “separation wall” in the West Bank continued / Israeli occupation forces continued to impose a total siege on the OPTs and restrict the movement of Palestinian civilians

Economy..

Palestine Economy in Brief Jerusalem Times 12/4/2003 Arab Bank acquires Atlas Investment Group: Jordan’s Arab Bank has signed an agreement to acquire Atlas Investment Group. The acquisition is expected to generate notable incremental earnings from the cross-selling opportunities that will be created. / More than 30% of Gazans believe water is bad: A new survey conducted by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics on the home environment in 2003 found out that 30.2% of residents in the Gaza Strip believe their home water supply is bad compared to 81.7% in the West Bank who believe the water is good. Bethlehem starts downcast countdown to Christmas Come And See 11/30/2003 BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Nov 30 (Reuters) - There was little more sign of conflict in Bethlehem on Sunday than a toddler toting a plastic rifle in the Nativity Church. But the countdown to Christmas got off to a subdued start more than three years into a Palestinian uprising that has brought misery and decline to the West Bank city revered as the birthplace of Jesus. "Here in Bethlehem the intifada is over," said 23-year-old trinket seller George Hussain. "Everyone is tired. We're just hoping that this year will be better than last, but there are still no tourists." Nineteen donor countries pledge $72 million for activities of UNRWA in 2004 ReliefWeb/UN 12/4/2003 Nineteen donor countries pledged $72 million for the 2004 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) at this morning's meeting of the General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary Contributions. Opening the meeting, General Assembly Vice-President Roman Kirn (Slovenia) said UNRWA had continued to face difficulties in the occupied Palestinian territory, where strife, curfews and closures had led to virtual economic collapse. Material and emotional resources had worn thin; two of three Palestinians had plunged into poverty, and many had fallen into destitution. Netanyahu, Peretz to meet in bid to end strikes; delays, doughnuts at Ben-Gurion Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Histadrut Chairman MK Amir Peretz will meet tomorrow in Jerusalem in an attempt to defuse work disputes that have caused protracted strike actions. Discussions between Histadrut and Finance Ministry work teams will resume today. Participants will try to resolve disagreements about changes in pension rights that are incorporated in legislation sponsored by the government. Restraining orders issued to 100 customs employees Ha'aretz 12/4/2003 The customs director on Thursday issued restraining orders to 100 customs employees stationed at the border crossings with Egypt and Jordan. Similar orders were not issued, however, to striking customs workers at the sea and air ports who renewed their sanctions Thursday. At Ben-Gurion International Airport, customs workers were on a deliberate go-slow, inspecting the luggage of each and every incoming passenger, causing long lines and delays. Israel Wins Approval for U.S. Military Trucks Middle East Newsline 12/4/2003 WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Israel has won approval for the sale of U.S. military trucks. The Bush administration has approved an Israeli request for 256 military trucks in a $65 million deal. The trucks will come in a range of configurations. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency has notified Congress of a proposal to sell Israel 256 military trucks from American Truck Co. The agency said in a statement that they consist of 6x6 High Mobility Medium Tactical [HMMT] trucks without cranes, 49 ATC 6x6 High Mobility Medium Tactical [HMMT] trucks with cranes, 10 ATC 6x6 HMMT driver training trucks. American Truck is based in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. "Yediot Ahronot": IMI, Urdan offer to buy Merkava production line Globes 12/4/2003 Cancellation of the Merkava tank program, currently managed by the IDF, could cost thousands of jobs. -- Hebrew daily “Yediot Ahronot” reports that Israel Military Industries and Urdan Industries (TASE:URDN) have proposed to the Ministry of Defense to jointly buy the Merkava tank production line. The IDF currently operates the production line and most of its employees are civilian workers for the IDF. Defense budget cuts led to proposals to cancel the Merkava project, which would have caused the direct loss of 500 jobs.

People..

UN House conference remembers Said Daily Star 12/4/2003 Session looks at academic’s contribution to Palestinian cause - Sister of activist asks: ‘What was it about Edward that made him such a threat to Israelis and their friends in the US?’ -- The Palestinian cause was justified and was defended most effectively when one relied on the truth, according to speakers at the UN House in Beirut on Tuesday evening. The panel discussion, entitled Edward Said and the Question of Palestine: Criticism and Solidarity, was chaired by Tarif Khalidi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the American University of Beirut, and included as speakers writer Jean Said Makdisi, member of the Palestine National Council Shafiq al-Hout and editor in chief at Al-Adab Magazine Samah Idriss. Thousands of students organize rally against “Switzerland document” Palestinian Information Center 12/4/2003 Gaza - Thousands of students affiliated with the Islamic bloc in the Open Quds University – Gaza branch yesterday declared rejection of the so-called “Switzerland document” that surrendered the Palestinian refugees’ right of return. The outraged students described the document as high treason for betraying the Jihad of the Palestinian people and conceding national, legitimate rights. Amir Abul Omarein delivered a statement on behalf of the Hamas Movement instead of Ismail Haneyya, the renowned Hamas leader, who could not attend the rally due to security reasons after Zionist choppers started hovering over the area. The Palestinians Celebrate Eid on their Own Way Jerusalem Times 12/4/2003 The tough Israeli measures can never prevent a Muslim Palestinian from celebrating Eid el-Fiter feast, one of the two main feasts for Muslims, on their own way although the Israeli forces tried to kill the smile in the faces of the Palestinian children with escalating shelling of houses and killing people. Spirit of Jonah:"We are all Brothers" was the play with which the Jerusalemite children tried to mark the feast during a ceremony, organized by the Arab Woman Welfare Society. The play, which was aimed at confirming that all people are equal, was followed with a narration to the story of Prophet Jonah and his miracle with the whale.... Palestinian children hurl tomatoes at Geneva signatories Palestinian Information Center 12/3/2003 Rafah - Palestinian angry demonstrators hurled rotten eggs and tomatoes at members of the delegation returning from Geneva after signing the so-called “Switzerland document” that surrendered the Palestinian refugees’ right of return. Well informed sources and eyewitnesses reported that the events started with a demonstration organized by members of the Palestinian children parliament accompanied by scores of angry civilians some of whom were armed at the Rafah crossing. Archaeologists find evidence of earlier inhabitation at ancient Yanouh Daily Star 12/4/2003 Findings suggest Mount Lebanon site was settled before 8th century -- For all the Lebanese that have heard of the ancient site of Yanouh in Mount Lebanon there an equal amount that haven’t. But Pierre Louis Gatier speaking at a lecture on the site at the Convent of the Franciscaines in Badaro is determined to change that. The enthusiastic Gatier, who is responsible for the archaeological mission of Yanouh and the upper valley of Nahr Ibrahim, is the Director of Research at the CNRS and the Maison de l’Orient in Lyon, France. Jericho cable cars take tourists on voyage through history Daily Star 12/4/2003 Telepherique has been registered by Guinness World Records -- JERICHO: The five-minute trip by Telepherique from Tel Jericho, the site of the oldest and lowest-lying city in the world, to the Mount of Temptation, where according to the Bible Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan, takes visitors through centuries of history dated back to 8000 BC. Certified as “the world’s longest cable car operating beneath sea level” by Guinness World Records, the project was inaugurated in 1999 as part of the Sultan Tourist Center to promote local and international tourism in Palestine. Traveling over Jericho’s oasis and banana fields, tourists not only feel the historical importance of the city but also get a spectacular view of the Jordan Valley before reaching the top station where the Temptation Monastery (Deir Qruntul) is carved into the mountain. Israel's first Eskimo soldier BBC 12/4/2003 The Israeli army has inducted into its ranks one of the most unique recruits in its history - an Eskimo girl from Alaska. Eighteen-year-old Eva Ben Sira is training to become a squad commander in the Negev desert - a far cry from the frozen wastes of her homeland. Eva was born to a Yupik Eskimo mother and a Cherokee American father before being adopted by an Israeli couple. Her twin brother, Jimmy, will become the army's second serving Eskimo, when he joins the force next year....Eva and Jimmy were brought to Israel (they learned to speak Hebrew in three months), converted to Judaism and integrated into Israeli society among the Orthodox community of Nir Etzion, a village near Haifa. Senior Rabbi: Put The New Testament On Fire Come And See 12/4/2003 The Rabbi of Safad and son of Israel's former Chief Rabbi orders his flock to burn copies of the New Testament, even if it includes the Torah (The Old Testment) together with it. "Books need to be burned inside the house in front of their children, so they will learn what is supposed to be the fate of this book". Rabbi Shaul Elyahu, a candidate to the highest clerical post in Israel (that of chief Rabbi) and the son of Israel’s ex-chief Rabbi Mordechai Elyaho who is currently serving in Safad, in north Israel, advices his followers to burn any copy of the New Testament that they put a hand at it – and to set fire also to the Old Testament if it is attached to it. Rabbi Elyahu issued this Rabbinical order on request of a member of his flock who received a copy of the Gospel from some Christian missionaries.

International..

Iraq to Demand $3 Billion It Says Syria Holds Reuters 12/3/2003 BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is preparing to demand repatriation of $3 billion of cash assets held in Syrian state banks under deals struck with the government of Saddam Hussein, Iraq's finance minister said on Wednesday. In Damascus, an official Syrian source said the figure was not accurate, saying it amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars, not billions. The move by the U.S.-installed Iraqi government will put Syria under more financial pressure after the United States imposed sanctions on the country for backing the Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah and a number of Palestinian groups. "All of the money belongs to Iraq. An Iraqi delegation will travel in the next few weeks to Damascus," Kamel al-Gilani, finance minister in Iraq's U.S.-backed provisional government, told journalists. Led by Hamade, WTO negotiating team leaves for Geneva round Daily Star 12/4/2003 Prospects for success good, members say ahead of second session -- The team negotiating Lebanon’s entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has left for Geneva to attend the second round of talks this week that will set into motion real negotiations over liberalizing the agricultural, industrial and service sectors. Economy and Trade Minister and chief WTO negotiator Marwan Hamade is leading the delegation for three days of talks that began Wednesday and will focus on Lebanon’s offer on agricultural tariffs and industrial tariffs. Cairo art show gives refugee children sense of belonging Daily Star 12/4/2003 Course at gallery offers kids chance to express themselves in a country where they are often marginalized or ignored -- CAIRO: The annex of the Townhouse art gallery, in downtown Cairo, is a vast, bare, sky-lit space that usually hosts live music, performance art, or installations. But on Sunday, Nov. 23, the space is filled with the noise of about 100 children having a really good time. The Townhouse is hosting a workshop/exhibition featuring the artwork of children from Cairo’s sizable Sudanese and Sub-Saharan African refugee community. But the bright landscapes on the walls present a sharp contrast to the difficult daily lives most of these children lead. As one fifteen-year-old here says: “It’s a hard life.” Saudi authorities break up seven terrorist cells Middle East Online 12/4/2003 RIYADH - Saudi authorities have broken up seven terrorist cells that form the backbone of a terror network in the kingdom, with barely two cells remaining, the Arabic Al-Hayat newspaper reported Thursday. A senior Saudi security source told the pan-Arab Saudi-owned daily that the seven cells were broken up in recent months with "only a small number (of terrorists) remaining, accounting for less than two cells." Leaked report shows rise in anti-semitism The Guardian 12/4/2003 A rise in anti-semitism across Europe in the past three years is recorded in a controversial European Union report leaked this week. The World Jewish Congress made the report public after alleging that the EU was suppressing it because the findings were embarrassing. Elan Steinberg, a WJC spokesman, accused the union of refusing to deal with the issue of anti-semitism among European Muslims, whom the report blames for many of the attacks on Jews. The EU said the report, dated February this year, was not published because it was insubstantial in its current state and lacking sufficient evidence. It would be published next year after it had been reworked. Error delays Guantanamo hearing BBC 12/4/2003 The case against a US chaplain accused of mishandling classified material at Guantanamo Bay has been delayed. Army Captain James Yee - or Yousef Yee - is charged with security violations at the US camp for terror suspects where he served as a Muslim chaplain. This week's hearing was postponed after classified material was accidentally sent to his lawyer. Candidates' Representatives Discuss Jewish Vote, Middle East Forward 12/4/2003 Representatives for seven of the nine Democratic presidential candidates squared off this week on issues of importance to the Jewish community, ranging from health care and abortion to Israel and the war on terrorism. The "Democratic Presidential Insider Roundtable," sponsored by the New York chapter of the National Jewish Democratic Council, was held on Tuesday evening at the Makor/Steinhardt Center Lecture Hall in Manhattan, and was moderated by the For