Home • Letters
Background • Links
What Can I Do?
Events • Cartoons
Search • Contact
About Us • Donate
E-Mail Us

Palestine Diaries

courtesy The Electronic Intifada

This webpage uses Javascript to display some content. Please enable Javascript in your browser and reload this page.

 

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.

Get Audio/Video Player
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..

Six die in Israeli Gaza camp raid BBC 12/11/2003 Six Palestinians have been killed and about 17 wounded following an Israeli incursion into a Gaza refugee camp, hospital sources say. There were fierce battles after the Israelis entered Rafah camp, in the biggest operation there in two months. The operation ended after about eight hours, with the arrest of a militant from Islamic Jihad....Palestinian doctors said that one gunman, a doctor and three civilians had been killed, and that four children were among the wounded. IOF Fresh Incursion into Rafah: Five Palestinians Killed, 18 Wounded Including Six Children International Press Center 12/11/2003 RAFAH, Palestine, December 11, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- Five Palestinians were killed and 18 were wounded including six children and two women, mostly in serious conditions, in a fresh Israeli raid on Al Salam neighborhood of Rafah City. Three houses were completely destroyed in the incursion....Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli soldiers swept in the Palestinian houses and vandalized its furniture during a raging search campaign, using the dwellers as human shields to facilitate their storming of the neighboring houses, and making holes in the walls to move from house to the other. At the same time, the D-9 military bulldozers completely knocked down three houses and razed tens of dunums of arable lands as well, the witnesses added. Earlier, the Israeli occupying forces dynamited overnight a three–storey house in Al Barazil neighborhood at the borderline between PNA controlled- areas and Egypt, south of Rafah City. Israeli Occupation Kills Seven Palestinians in Four Days Palestine Media Center 12/11/2003 IOF Demolish 4 Houses, Detain a Mother and Wife -- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) shot dead four Palestinians, including a teenager, while a detainee died due to medical negligence and two Palestinians were killed in a blast. IOF also wounded at least ten, demolished four houses and detained at least eleven including the mother and wife of two detainees. IOF shot dead three Palestinians and wounded 10 early Thursday during their invasion of al-Salam (peace) neighborhood in Rafah refugee camp in the south of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian hospital sources said. Occupation forces demolish house in Rafah Palestinian Information Center 12/11/2003 Rafah - Zionist occupation forces advanced into the Brazil suburb in the southernmost Gaza Strip city of Rafah and demolished a three-story building around midnight yesterday. Around 20 Zionist tanks escorted two tractors and armored vehicles in their advance that was coupled with intensive firing at Palestinian residential quarters. Eyewitnesses said that occupation soldiers dynamited Kamel Darwish’s house reducing it to rubbles and displacing its occupants. PA report: Zionist racist fence to annex 95% of Palestinian western basin Palestinian Information Center 12/11/2003 Ramallah - A specialized report issued by the Palestinian water authority in Ramallah today charged that the Zionist segregationist fence in the West Bank was annexing around 95% of the total water resources consumed by Palestinians from the western basin that is around 362 million cubic meters. The authority in a report published in its quarterly magazine “Sahab” said that farmers lost 36 water wells including 23 located at the fence’s construction sites and 13 near to them that were used for drinking and irrigation purposes. Occupation municipality demolishes two houses in occupied Jerusalem Palestinian Information Center 12/11/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - Zionist municipality of occupied Jerusalem yesterday demolished two Palestinian houses in south of the occupied holy city. Zionist interior ministry tractors leveled the 66 square meters house of Adnan Shahin in Ein Al-Louze – Wadi Qadoum area rendering eight people homeless in the process....Shahin said that he was surprised at dawn yesterday with the arrival of large numbers of border guards and policemen....He said that his repeated requests for building a house were turned down by the occupation municipality. Shahin said he decided to build without permit after tabling a request through a lawyer in 1999 but was also rejected. Fourth Palestinian child killed in confrontations at the apartheid wall Palestine Monitor 12/10/2003 Confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli armed forces at the site of the wall dividing the West Bank claimed the life of a fourth Palestinian child yesterday. 16 year old Faris Jimzawi from Qalandiya refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah was shot dead yesterday by Israeli soldiers while he and other young boys were trying to remove part of the fence that Israel is building around them. Doctors in Ramallah hospital said that Faris was killed by a live bullet that hit him in the eye, and that he died before he reached the hospital. The spot where Faris was killed has been the site of numerous clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians from the Qalandiya camp seeking to remove the fence to gain access to nearby towns and villages. Hamas dismisses Israeli allegations on plan to carry out attacks in US Jerusalem Times 12/11/2003 Hamas dismissed Israeli allegations on recruiting a Canadian national to assassinate a senior Israeli official in the United States. Hamas political Leader Abdel Aziz Rantissi denied the charges, insisting it was against Hamas's policy to carry out attacks outside the territories of the occupied Palestine. "They are lying. You can ask the history of Hamas, Hamas operations. Not one operation has been done by Hamas outside Palestine," Rantissi asserted. "We said it clearly: we will not target any Israeli outside the borders of the historic Palestine. It's impossible."...Akkal's lawyer Jamil Al- Qhateb told Canadian television last week that his client was kept awake for 20 days and made to sign a confession written in Hebrew, which he does not understand. Hamas denies recruiting Canadian Palestinian Information Center 12/11/2003 Gaza - The family of a Palestinian young man carrying Canadian nationality yesterday denied Zionist charges that he planned a series of attacks against targets in North America on behalf of the Hamas Movement. The Hamas Movement further denied the Zionist enemy’s allegations that Jamal Akel, 23, was recruited on visiting his home in one of the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip recently....Zakaria Akel, father of the detained youth, described Zionist accusations to his son as nonsense. He explained that Akel visited the Strip to look for a wife and to visit his relatives. Israel returns slain Lebanese Al-Jazeera 12/11/2003 Israel has returned to Lebanon the remains of two Lebanese civilians shot dead by Israeli forces who spotted them carrying hunting rifles. UN peacekeepers flew the bodies from northern Israel to the United Nations Interim Forces in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in the border town of Naqura, where a Red Cross ambulance picked them up on Wednesday. Lebanese security sources said the men were on a hunting trip near the border on Tuesday when they were shot while still inside Lebanese territory. Israel claims the two men were shot as they tried to cross the border. U.N. Retrieves Bodies of Slain Lebanese Hunters from Israel An Nahar 12/11/2003 The U.N. peacekeeping force has retrieved the bodies of two Lebanese hunters gunned down on the border by Israeli troops and delivered them to their families in the southern township of Kfar Kila for burial on Thursday. President Lahoud has asserted to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the Geneva summit of the Information Society that both hunters were shot dead inside Lebanese territory and then dragged by their killers into Israeli-held territory. IDF finds, blows up Hezbollah bombs Ha'aretz 12/11/2003 The commander of an IDF brigade deployed on the Lebanon border, Colonel Tamir, held some metal fragments in his hand, the remains of large explosives placed by Hezbollah but safely detonated by IDF sappers. The officer said the bombs had confirmed warnings the army issued this week about a possible escalation in the north. "We haven't seen such large explosives for some time," he said. "Bombs of this size are meant to destroy a patrol vehicle, even an armored one." ALO: Palestinians suffered $9.21 billion losses due to Zionist practices Palestinian Information Center 12/11/2003 Gaza - The Arab Labor Organization has said that the Palestinian economic losses since outbreak of the Aqsa intifada more than three years ago had reached 9.21 billion dollars with a daily loss of 29 million dollars. An ALO report on the negative effects of Zionist occupation on conditions in Palestine noted that the Zionist forces had re-occupied all Palestinian lands and set up more than 1,100 military roadblocks including 330 constant ones. The occupation authorities divided the West Bank into 97 areas and the Gaza Strip into 18 areas and closed border crossings to Jordan and Egypt for long periods, the report elaborated. East Jerusalem suburbs expect the worst as separation barrier erected ReliefWeb 12/10/2003 AL-AZARIYA, West Bank, Dec 10 (AFP) - Tens of thousands of West Bank Palestinians in eastern Jerusalem suburbs are awaiting disaster, as Israel continues to build a separation barrier that will cut them off from the Holy City and slice through their villages. "The wall will restrict the people's movement and will have a psychological and social impact on them. It will spawn poverty and unemployment," said Mohammed Abu Daamus, spokesman for the local council of Al-Azariya, a village of 30,000 inhabitants east of Jerusalem. Go'vt gives settlers twice what other Israelis get Ha'aretz 12/11/2003 Government allocations to residents of the settlements in 2002 were more than double those for Israelis living the Green Line - a gap of 220 percent, according to new Interior Ministry data analyzed by Peace Now. In 2002, the government transferred NIS 12.5 billion to local authorities. Six Palestinians killed in clashes with IDF troops in Gaza Ha'aretz 12/11/2003 Six Palestinians were killed and at least 15 were injured early Thursday in clashes with Israel Defense Forces troops in a Gaza refugee camp on the Egyptian border, Palestinian sources said. Three of the injured were children, one of them, 12, was in critical condition. According to military sources, three of those killed were militants. During the operation the IDF arrested wanted Islamic Jihad militant Haled Kadi, who was involved in arms smuggling and placing explosive charges. The IDF later demolished three houses in the area, including Kadi's. Report from Rafah - Hai Salam Under Invasion International Solidarity Movement 12/11/2003 As I sit and type this quick report from the ISM Office there is much gunfire coming from the Hai Salam neighborhood located along the border.There are also sporadic large explosions. The invasion began this morning at around 5:30AM.It is now 10:00and the shooting has not ended.Already we are hearing reports of three killed and fourteen injured as well as one three story house being demolished. Last night I slept in Salah-al-Din Neighborhood, also along the border, not far from Hai Salam.As thefamily and I were preparing for bed around 9:00 a huge explosion rocked the house, shaking the windows and the foundation. Israel Kills Five Palestinians In Rafah Islam Online 12/11/2003 GAZA CITY, December 11 (IslamOnline.net & news Agencies) – Five Palestinians – including a medic -were killed by Israeli occupation forces in a fresh incursion into the southern Gaza city of Gaza Thursday, December 10, with the Palestinian Authority charging the operation was aimed at "scuttling all efforts to restore calm to the region." Backed by helicopters, Israeli troops thrust into the densely-populated town, killing four Palestinians and wounding 18 others, including five children, Palestinian medical and security sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Six Palestinians killed in bloody Rafah raid Middle East Online 12/11/2003 Six Palestinians were killed Thursday by Israeli troops as they swept through the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah looking for wanted militants, Palestinian medical and security sources said. Backed by helicopters, Israeli troops thrust into the densely populated flashpoint town before dawn, prompting fierce exchanges of fire with Palestinian militants, security sources on both sides said. The army said the main target of the operation was Khaled al-Qadi, a senior leader of the hardline Islamic Jihad group in Rafah, who was arrested when the raid came to an end shortly before noon (1000 GMT). Rafah incursion toll climbs Al-Jazeera 12/11/2003 Six Palestinians are now known tohave been killed and 18 others wounded during an Israeli army incursion into Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian hospital sources have said. Medical sources in Gaza City say the latest victim was a seriously injured teenager who later died of his wounds. During the operation backed by helicopters on Thursday morning, Israeli troops encircled two houses, seeking Hamas and Islamic Jihad activists. Shots were exchanged, Palestinian security officials said. Breaking News: Child's death raises Rafah toll to 6, Settlers assault Palestinian farmers near Hebron International Press Center 12/11/2003 19:00 Medical sources in the city of Rafah declare that 17-year old Salman Al Akhras was killed by the Israeli occupying forces, raising the Rafah death toll from today's invasion to six Palestinian citizens, IPC /16:00 A Gang of armed Jewish settlers from the illegitimate Jewish settlement erected on Tal Al Twani, south of Hebron City, escorted by trained dogs heavily assault and beat several Palestinian farmers and ban them from reaching their lands and farms, IPC / 14:40 Israeli occupying forces (IOF) invade several neighborhoods in the city of Qalqilia, and arrest four Palestinian citizens after raiding several homes there. The arrested citizens were led to an undisclosed location, WAFA

Diplomacy..

Israel freezes barrier extension project Sydney Morning Herald 12/11/2003 Israel has frozen plans to extend its controversial West Bank separation barrier to the Jordan Valley following a United Nations vote. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had announced on October 24 that such an extension project was being considered and was to be submitted to the Government soon. On Monday, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of taking the issue of the barrier to the International Court of Justice for a legal opinion. Israeli army officials said on Tuesday, during a meeting of the parliamentary defence and foreign affairs committee, that no construction work would be undertaken at this time for "legal reasons". Israel warned over land seizures The Independent 12/11/2003 Five Palestinians killed in gun battle as underworld bomb kills three in Tel Aviv -- Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia today warned Israel against unilateral moves, such as seizing parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying imposed solutions would only intensify the violent conflict. "The fire will burn, the terror will grow," he said in his sternest warning yet. However, Israel's leaders appeared increasingly determined to take action if peace talks fail, while insisting they will keep parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. PLO tries challenge to Israel's UN seat Ha'aretz 12/11/2003 NEW YORK - The PLO delegation to the United Nations is planning to present an appeal against Israel's credentials as a member of the world body, sources at the UN reported yesterday. The sources said that some of the Arab states and the nonaligned nations could be expected to support the initiative....when the assembly meets next week, PLO observer Nasser al-Kidwa is apparently planning to demand that Israel's credentials be revoked, arguing that Israel is not authorized to represent the territories, but only the area within the Green Line. This is not, however, a new initiative: The Arab countries employed this tactic regularly for years, but gave up following the signing of the Oslo Accords. Israel hopes for role in Iraq deals despite snub Jerusalem Post 12/11/2003 The US decision to leave Israel off a list of 63 countries eligible to compete for Iraqi reconstruction contracts is not surprising and does not necessarily bar Israeli companies from the $18.6 billion market, a senior trade official said Wednesday...."Of course the US cannot say it wants Israel to be involved in the reconstruction," Yitzhak Kiryati, director of international projects for the Israel Export Institute, said. "That would be a political disaster." Nonetheless, he said, "the bottom line is that Israeli companies will find a way to sell to Iraq. The technology companies here are some of the best in the world, and American companies will find ways to work with them if it is in their best interest. Ultimately we will be involved." Israel working behind scenes to get Iraq contracts - Washington sources Globes 12/11/2003 Israel’s efforts are limited to subcontracting work in telephony, infrastructures, and irrigation. -- Israel assumed a long time ago, perhaps as a result of hints from the US, that it would not be included in the list of countries eligible to participate in Iraqi reconstruction tenders. Israel is now working behind the scenes with the Bush administration and the US Congress to obtain access to these projects, Washington sources told “Globes” yesterday....The sources said that Israel and the US had no interest in publicizing their discussions on this very sensitive issue....Israel is demanding, however, that it be given the opportunity to serve as a subcontractor in telephony, infrastructures, irrigation, and other projects, and as a supplier of inputs. Academics, activists and writers oppose "Geneva Accord" Electronic Intifada 12/11/2003 More than 500 academics, civil society activists, writers, and journalists signed up to a public statement "The Reality of the 'Geneva Accord'" expressing their opposition to the document that was recently signed by Israeli and Palestinian figures. The undersigned, consider this initiative as "inconsistent with the prerequisites of a just and durable peace". The petition will be presented to all US members of Congress, the European Union, the Arab League, the Palestinian Authority, major press outlets and various international organizations and figures..... Israel seeks Egypt's help restarting talks with Palestinians Ha'aretz 12/11/2003 Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom met yesterday in Geneva with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, and asked him to encourage Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia to enter into negotiations with Israel without preconditions. Mubarak told Shalom that he wants to help advance matters on the Palestinian track. However, Mubarak stressed, "I am just one hand, and your hand is needed to help create the right atmosphere." Jewish settlers warn against dismantling outposts Daily Star 12/11/2003 Arafat dismisses sharon’s talk of evacuating settlements as meaningless -- Jewish settlers warned on Wednesday against any “immoral” move to dismantle their homes as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won backing for his proposal to evacuate some West Bank settlements. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat dismissed as meaningless the Israeli premier’s hints, but a landmark meeting of Israeli and Palestinian foreign ministers in Rome raised hopes for renewed peace talks between Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei ­ if terms are right. Sharon-Quraya summit within days? Al-Jazeera 12/11/2003 The Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers could meet in the next few days to try to revive the moribund peace process. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said on Wednesday that Ariel Sharon and Ahmad Quraya would meet "if the Palestinians do not put any preconditions" on the encounter. Shalom was speaking immediately after a one-hour meeting with Egyptian President Husni Mubarak in Geneva. Olmert: plan includes dismantling many settlements Ha'aretz 12/11/2003 Israel's Deputy Prime Minister said Thursday Israel would have to dismantle "a considerable amount of settlements" under his plan for a unilateral withdrawal from some areas of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. In an interview with The Associated Press, Ehud Olmert said he would soon reveal precise details of his plans for an Israeli pullback from some areas and the annexation of others. Israel had to be prepared to take action on its own if peace talks with the Palestinians fail, something he regards as inevitable. However, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia warned Thursday that such unilateral steps would only increase the bloodshed. Lahoud Appeals for International Help to Block Settlement of Refugees in Lebanon An Nahar 12/11/2003 President Lahoud has solicited the international community's help to prevent the settlement of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, insisting that the country's ailing economy and fragile demographic balance would be severely undermined by an assimilation of up to 350,000 intruders. Lahoud capitalized on a congregation of 112 countries to the World Summit of the Information Society in Geneva to address three themes of crucial importance to Lebanon: the Palestinian guests, Middle East turmoil and concepts of imported democracy that are alien to the traditions of the region. Lahoud: Democracy, good governance cannot be imposed from outside Daily Star 12/11/2003 President makes official speech at Geneva conference -- Democracy, good governance and modernity cannot be imported or imposed from outside a country, President Emile Lahoud said on Wednesday in his official speech at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva. “They can only be the outcome of the free will of people liberated from fear, war and occupation,” he explained....Lahoud categorically rejected the settlement of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, explaining that this violated the Lebanese Constitution and the Taif Accord, which was endorsed by the United Nations and the United States. Lebanon lodges complaint with UN over killing of hunters on border Daily Star 12/11/2003 Obeid says Beirut ‘will not remain silent’ after shooting of men by israeli army -- Lebanon has lodged an official complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel for shooting two Lebanese hunters near the border village of Ghajar, Foreign Minister Jean Obeid announced on Wednesday. Mahmoud Hadi, a 23-year-old student, and Khodr Arabi, a 22-year-old mechanic, both from Kfar Kila, were shot dead in their BMW by Israeli troops on Tuesday near Ghajar, which is split between Lebanon and Israel. Israeli troops took the two bodies to Israel on the same day before UN peacekeepers brought them back to Lebanon on Wednesday. Islamic Jihad denies changing its strategy Jerusalem Times 12/11/2003 The Islamic Jihad denied Wednesday that the movement recognizes Israel and accepts a Palestinian state within the lands occupied by Israel in 1967 war. Nafez Azzam , one of the leaders of the Islamic Jihad, denied he signaled a shift in the movement’s strategy by accepting a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip areas. “I stress our refusal to legitimize the rape of Palestine under any circumstances,” Azzam said in a statement. "Palestine is our homeland and the Israelis are occupying it by force," Azzam, added referring to historical Palestine before the creation of Israel in 1948. Hamas affirms continuation of dialogue despite Cairo failure Palestinian Information Center 12/11/2003 Gaza - The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has said that the failure of the Palestinian factions to reach an agreement on a hudna or ceasefire with the Zionist enemy in their dialogue in Cairo was not the end of the road. Ismail Hanneya, one of the Hamas prominent leaders in the Gaza Strip, said that his Movement did not agree to describing the dialogue as a failure. He said that Hamas appreciated the role of Egypt in this regard and affirmed the continuation of the dialogue. FM Sha'th Addresses Donor Countries, Stresses on Israeli Obstacles before Aid International Press Center 12/11/2003 GAZA, December 11, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- The Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nabil Sha'th, said that the Israeli obstacles and the construction of the Apartheid Wall in the Palestinian territories hinders the development of the Palestinian society by the funds allocated to them by the donor countries. Minister Sha'th was addressing the participants of the annual conference of international donors to the Palestinian Authority Wednesday in Rome, WAFA news agency reported. French, Israeli FMs disagree over barrier Al-Jazeera 12/11/2003 French and Israeli Foreign Ministers, Dominique de Villepin and Silvan Shalom have expressed opposed views over Israel's "security fence" at a gala dinner given in Paris by the France-Israel Chamber of Commerce. De Villepin questioned on Wednesday whether the barrier would boost security or whether on the contrary it risked "fuelling the hatred" between Palestinians and Israelis. U.S. envoy notes `disturbing link' between anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism Ha'aretz 12/11/2003 "There is a disturbing link between phenomena of anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism, as well as anti-globalism, in Europe," declared Ambassador Edward O'Donnell, the U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues. O'Donnell, who is currently visiting Israel spoke at a press conference in Tel Aviv yesterday. The American envoy said that the three phenomena - anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism and anti-globalism - originate from the same circles in European society. Arafat: Sharon’s Actions Louder than his Words Palestine Media Center 12/11/2003 Palestinian Donors Warn Israel over Apartheid Wall -- President Yasser Arafat on Wednesday dismissed as meaningless Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s comments that he would remove some of the illegal Jewish settlements built on Palestinian territory as part of a unilateral plan for dealing with the conflict with Palestinians, saying, “it’s all a show.” “It’s all a show,” Arafat told reporters outside his battered compound in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Unresolved issues hold up Qurei-Sharon meeting Jerusalem Times 12/11/2003 Palestinian and Israeli officials met last Sunday to prepare for the meeting between Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei and Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon. The Head of Qurei's office, Hassan Abu Libdeh and Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat, met Sunday for two hours with Sharon's Chief of Staff, Dov Weisglass. The two sides agreed to meet again to coordinate the final details of the planned meeting. "It’s a preparatory meeting," Abu Libdeh said, adding "We agreed on holding another meeting in the coming days to carry on with the preparations for the meeting between the premiers." Sa’dat lashes out at PA blessing of “Switzerland document” Palestinian Information Center 12/11/2003 Jericho - Ahmed Sa’dat, the imprisoned secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has lashed out at the “Switzerland document” and its Palestinian engineers. He told the UAE daily ‘Al-Bayan’ in an interview from his prison cell in Jericho that the agreement surrendered many rights and paved the way for more serious concessions. Australia shifts to more pro-Israel line Ha'aretz 12/11/2003 Israel won a small diplomatic triumph on Tuesday, when Australia was one of the countries that voted against a United Nations resolution asking the International Court of Justice in The Hague to issue an opinion on the legality of the separation fence. In most UN votes, Israel receives backing only from the U.S. and a few small countries, but this time, both Australia and Ethiopia supported Israel's position. During a previous UN discussion of the separation fence in October, Australia chose not to take a position. Also last week, Australia opposed the continued operation of a special UN committee for Palestinians rights and abstained on four other UN votes on Palestinian issues. Israeli Foreign Minister Meets With Pope The Guardian 12/11/2003 VATICAN CITY (AP) - Israel's foreign minister told Pope John Paul II on Thursday that his government will do all it can to ensure that pilgrims have free access to holy sites during the Christmas season, the Israeli foreign ministry said. The meeting between the pope and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom was the first high-level encounter between the two sides since John Paul criticized Israel's planned security barrier last month. Israel Defiant About Barrier Palestine Monitor/Los Angeles Times 12/10/2003 The government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reacted defiantly Tuesday to a U.N. General Assembly vote asking the International Court of Justice to rule on the legality of a barrier that Israel is building around the West Bank. Meanwhile, domestic criticism of the fence mounted, with one Israeli commentator saying construction of the barrier, which cuts tens of thousands of Palestinians off from family and livelihoods, could turn Israel into a "leper state." The United States, which voted against the United Nations measure, urged Israel to reconsider the route of the barrier, which would expropriate about 14% of the West Bank, according to the U.N. Israeli and Palestinian officials show desire to engage, says senior UN envoy ReliefWeb/UN News 12/10/2003 The presence of Israeli and Palestinian officials in Rome for a donors' conference on the Middle East is the "most powerful expression yet" that both sides have a renewed desire to engage, the senior United Nations envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, said today. Speaking at a meeting of the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee, which is forming part of this week's donors' conference in Italy, Mr. Roed-Larsen, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said the optimism should not lead people to ignore the large divide between the two sides, and within them, over how to resolve the Middle East conflict. Frattini hits out at Israel's security wall at donor conference ReliefWeb 12/10/2003 ROME, Dec 10 (AFP) - Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini opened a Palestinian donor conference in Rome on Wednesday with a warning to Israel that its security fence poses a threat to reaching peace in the Middle East. Frattini told representatives from 14 countries and international organisations that "deviating from the Green Line can compromise any possibility of reaching a solution to the conflict and is causing new suffering among the population" of the Palestinian territories. The Italian minister also insisted the Palestinians refrain from terrorism. The talks are being attended by Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, and representatives of the quartet sponsoring the so-called "roadmap" peace plan: the European Union, United States, United Nations and Russia.

Human Rights..

Bulldozers in Hebron Area International Solidarity Movement 12/11/2003 The ISM Media Office has just been contacted with a report from the International Palestinian Youth League in Hebron, Palestine (West Bank, OPT): IDF bulldozers are at this time bulldozing Palestinian farmer lands in the vicinity of Kiryat Abra. The Hebron Rehabilitation Committee has initiated legal appeals to stop the process, however, this may take too much time to save any land. Local farmers have issued a call for international volunteers to come stand with them in defiance of the Israeli bulldozers. This action is needed save the agricultural capabilities and livelihoods of Palestinian farmers in the area. Prisoners committee demands exposing occupation crimes Palestinian Information Center 12/11/2003 Nablus - The Palestinian prisoners’ affairs higher committee in the West Bank city of Nablus has urged the human rights organizations and the Red Cross to expose Zionist crimes in lines of those prisoners. The committee, in a statement commenting on the martyrdom of captive Bashir Uweis in the Zionist Majjeddo jail, said that the crime affirmed occupation’s beastly practices. Study details poverty in Palestinian camps Daily Star 12/11/2003 Statistics show refugees in Jordan suffer lower income levels than national average -- AMMAN: Mohammed Mustafa was 14 years old when the 1967 Arab-Israeli war broke out. A year later, he was forced to flee with his family and ended up in the Al-Baqaa camp for Palestinian refugees, near the Jordanian capital. Since then, the camp has been his home where he subsequently got married and raised eight children, whom he supports with his small shoe repair shop....The majority of Palestinian refugees living in camps share this acceptance, a recent study conducted by researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Applied International Studies (Fafo), Yarmouk University in northern Jordanian city of Irbid, in coordination with the Department of Palestinian Affairs in Amman, showed. Malnutrition programs initiated in Gaza Jerusalem Times 12/11/2003 The Palestinian Ministry of Heath with cooperation with the Norwegian heath program started recently a project to solve the malnutrition problem in Gaza. The Ministry declared about the program during a work shop that was organized in the Martyrs health center in Al-Remal in Gaza. The director of the initial care unit inside the Ministry of Health, Dr. Abed Al-Jabar Al-Tibi, assured the importance of such step within the data given about the malnutrition problems in the Palestinian territories, especially for women and children in which there are available indicators and researches that assure the average malnutrition rates that need special concern from the Health Ministry. PCHR Director to receive the 2003 International Service Human Rights Award Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 12/11/2003 Raji Sourani, the Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, will be awarded the 2003 International Service Human Rights Award at a ceremony to be held in London on December 15 at the Houses of Parliament. Mr. Sourani was honoured to accept the award saying that, “Despite the present and historical responsibilities of the British government for the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the British government continues to ignore the ever deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip and West Bank, including Jerusalem. However, British civil society and outstanding organisations such as UNAIS give us the hope and support to continue in our quest to defend Palestinian human rights..." Commission provides a further EUR 13 million in humanitarian aid for vulnerable populations in the Middle East ReliefWeb/European Commission 12/11/2003 In response to a continuously deteriorating humanitarian situation, the European Commission has adopted a decision to provide €13 million in additional support to vulnerable populations in the Middle East. Activities will include: (i) the provision of food, water, emergency health care, and job opportunities for vulnerable Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; (ii) health care, water and sanitation services to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon; and (iii) health services for refugees from Iraq hosted in camps in Jordan and in the "no-man's land" between Jordan and Iraq. Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories 04-10 December Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 12/11/2003 2 Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces / Palestinian prisoner dies from torture and medical negligence in an Israeli prison / Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into the West Bank and Gaza Strip / 3 Israeli military incursions into the Gaza Strip, during which 8 houses in Rafah and Khan Yunis were destroyed and areas of agricultural land were razed / Houses were raided and a number of Palestinians were arrested /Construction of the “separation wall” in the West Bank continued / Israeli occupying forces established a new military post and 2 observation towers in the Gaza Strip / In violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, Israeli occupying forces transferred 12 Palestinians from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip / Indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas continued, injuring a number of Palestinian civilians /A Palestinian house in Hebron was 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 / Israeli occupying forces continued to impose a total siege on the OPTs

Economy..

Donor support for PA is waning Ha'aretz 12/11/2003 Diplomats at the Rome conference for countries donating to the Palestinian Authority warn of a significant drop in donor support for the PA. The Ad Hoc Liaison Committee conference in Rome, which officially opened yesterday, is seen as crucial to helping keep the Palestinian economy afloat and to tackling a humanitarian crisis. Second economic conference discusses future of Palestine Jerusalem Times 12/11/2003 In addressing the Second National Economic Dialogue held in Ramallah last month, Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei (Abu Ala) said the economic dialogue was taking place at the same time as national dialogue to reach a common formula for the future of the Palestinian struggle for independence was moving in full force. He expressed hope that the economic dialogue will also contribute to the unification of Palestinian efforts. Income, real estate tax collection 10.3% below original target Globes 12/11/2003 The shortfall totaled NIS 8.8 billion, but tax revenues were NIS 1 billion more than the most recent forecast. -- 2003 income and real estate tax revenues totaled only NIS 76.5 billion, NIS 8.8 billion less than the original plan, a 10.3% shortfall. Revenues were NIS 1 billion higher than the most recent forecast, following three downward revisions. This added revenue, however, was due to one-time events, not to economic developments. Ecobriefs Jerusalem Times 12/11/2003 Palestine, Norway sign $10m cooperation agreements: The Palestinian National Authority has signed six cooperation agreements with the Norwegian Government at the Ministry of Planning in Ramallah December 6 covering Norwegian-Palestinian cooperation programs for the year 2004. // OPEC Fund extends $570,000 to finance capacity building projects in West Bank: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development has approved a grant of $570,000 to help finance four capacity building projects designed to address the urgent needs of hard hit communities in the West Bank. Resources will be divided among non-profit, non-governmental organizations. Histadrut to ease work sanctions next week Globes 12/11/2003 The Histadrut fears it is losing the propaganda war against the Ministry of Finance. -- The Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) has decided to ease its work sanctions, starting next week, and will announce daily which sanctions will be eased the next day. Sanctions will probably be eased in the Land Registry, the Ministry of the Interior, tax authorities, courts, and the Israel National Employment Service. Tourism up in 2003, but revenue down Globes 12/11/2003 The number of tourist entries rose 17.4% in January-September 2003, compared with the corresponding period in 2002. -- The number of foreign tourists coming to Israel has risen this year, but foreign currency revenue from tourism has declined. The number of tourist entries rose 17.4% in January-September 2003, compared with the corresponding period in 2002, and the number of tourist overnights is up 16.2%.

People..

Explosion kills two in Tel Aviv BBC 12/11/2003 Two people are reported to have been killed by an explosion in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. At least another 12 were injured by the blast at a money-exchange office in a shopping district. According to a police officer at the scene, the attack appeared to be "criminally-motivated", and was not a terrorist attack. Tel Aviv attack might be linked to Mafia Al-Jazeera 12/11/2003 An explosion has rocked downtown Tel Aviv, killing at least three people and wounding 18 others. Police suspect the attack is linked to the Israeli underworld. It was initially feared the blast could have been a new Palestinian attack on a busy Tel Aviv street that would have shattered the longest lull in such bombings since the start of the intifada more than three years ago. But police spokesman Gil Kleiman told reporters: "Forty minutes into the investigation, we are treating it as a criminal act." Mufti bars relinquishing right of return Jerusalem Post 12/11/2003 Two weeks after he issued a fatwa (religious decree) banning Muslims from working in the construction of the security fence, the Palestinian Authority mufti of Jerusalem, Ikremah Sabri, announced that it is forbidden to give up the right of return for all refugees. In an interview with the Israeli Arab Web site arabs48.com, he said it is also forbidden for refugees to accept financial compensation in return for surrendering their right to return to their original homes inside Israel....In an implicit reference to the Geneva Accord, which has been attacked by many Palestinians because it does not guarantee the right of all refugees to return to their homes [a fantastic falsehood - Ed.], Sabri said: "No person or body is entitled to interfere with this right or relinquish it. Disabled persons achieve potential development Jerusalem Times 12/11/2003 The small project’s program that was designed for the Palestinian disabled persons to improve their abilities of self development and achievements to over come their isolation and merge themselves into the surrounding society proved to be a success. In order for the Palestinian disabled persons to get out of their self isolation to practice their natural rights in life as any other natural person to develop their self confidence and to rely on themselves to find some kind of meaning in their life. The idea to financially support the Palestinian disabled persons came through joint cooperation between the Palestinian social affairs ministry and Sheik Ben Zaied center in Nablus by making available assisting programs to establish small projects to assist the disabled persons. Hamas wins West Bank university student elections Ha'aretz 12/11/2003 RAMALLAH, West Bank - In a West Bank university election that focused on which party had killed the most Israelis, the violent Hamas swept to victory Wednesday, defeating Yasser Arafat's Fatah. The campaign at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah featured exploding models of Israeli buses and claims of prowess based on Israeli casualties. Book Review: "Reporting from Ramallah" By Tina Dybvik, Electronic Intifada 12/11/2003 The opening essay of Reporting from Ramallah: An Israeli Journalist in an Occupied Land describes a "violence of plenty" that embodies discrimination and exploitation in Palestine. The year is 1997, and the attempted suicide rate is rising. Correspondent Amira Hass attributes the increase to competition for resources between the haves and have nots, which draws a humiliating line between the 'worthy' and 'unworthy'. Film: Frontiers of Dreams and Fears Jerusalemites 12/11/2003 Directed by: Mai Masri, Length: 56 minutes -- Award-winning Palestinian filmmaker Mai Masri's most recent work traces the delicate friendship that evolves between two Palestinian girls: Mona, a resident of the economically marginalized Beirut refugee camp and Manar, an occupant of Bethlehem's Al-Dheisha camp under Israeli control. Book: The Ansar Code Jerusalemites 12/11/2003 by Ray Hanania -The fact based novel on the tragedy of Palestine and Deir Yassin -- (The alternative to the Leon Uris novel, Exodus) Follows the lives of a Palestinian and an Israel: A Palestinian who lived through the terrorism at Deir Yassin who seeks vengeance for his family; a Jew who lives through the concentration camps of the Holocaust who becomes and Israeli leader who confronts Palestinian nationalism.

International..

Arab media seeks freedom to report BBC 12/11/2003 Press freedom in the Middle East and North Africa came under scrutiny at the World Electronic Media Forum in Geneva on Wednesday. Several speakers noted that on 10 December, the anniversary of the 1948 proclamation of the International Declaration of Human Rights, Arab media were getting mixed signals from the West. After decades of being urged to accommodate opposing views, they were now being pilloried for doing just that, when those dissident voices did not please certain Western governments. Syrian minister calls for ‘enlightening’ Americans Daily Star 12/11/2003 LOS ANGELES: Buthaina Shaaban is on a tough mission in the United States seeking to win the hearts and minds of Syrian expatriates by presenting Damascus’ views on the dispute with Washington. On many stops on the tour, she tailored her remarks to suit her role as Syria’s principal government spokesperson and minister of expatriates. Egypt and Islamic Iran mend ties BBC 12/10/2003 The presidents of Egypt and Iran have held their first talks since the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks with Iran's Mohammad Khatami in Geneva, where they are attending a UN forum on information technology. The Islamic Republic severed ties with Cairo in 1980 after it granted asylum to ousted Shah Mohamed Reza Pahlavi....After the talks, Mr Mubarak told reporters: "Our relations with Iran are normal." The Case of Amer Jubran Amer Jubran Defense Committee It is now two weeks since the final hearing in the government's deportation case against Amer Jubran. Supporters will know by now that Amer--faced with the breakdown of even a minimal appearance of due process in the proceedings against him--requested 'voluntary departure.' Those of us who have known and worked with Amer as activists during his time in the US recognize that his departure will be an irreplaceable loss to the activist community. We on the Amer Jubran Defense Committee have dedicated ourselves to fighting this deportation on principle--as a fight for freedom of speech and other civil liberties, as a fight against racism and the targeting of Arab and Muslim immigrants, and as a fight against the introduction of discriminatory policies and procedures under the Department of Homeland Security that threaten all of us as precedent....A petition is available for groups who want to give their support. Rayteon markets air-to-air missiles in Gulf Middle East Newsline 12/11/2003 DUBAI [MENL] -- Raytheon has launched a drive to expand its air-to-air missile presence in the Gulf. Executives said Raytheon has been promoting the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM, to Gulf Cooperation Council states. They said several GCC states will require the AMRAAM for their new fighter-jet purchases from the United States. The United Arab Emirates has ordered 80 F-16 Block 60 aircraft in a $6.4 billion sale. Bahrain and Oman have also ordered the F-16 and Kuwait has been examining another purchase of the F/A-18 fighter-jet. Lula wraps up five-nation tour Middle East Online 12/11/2003 TRIPOLI - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva here Wednesday wound up a five-nation Middle East tour, laying the foundation for stronger economic ties with the region and drumming up support for a seat on the UN Security Council. Lula is the first Brazilian head of state to visit the region since 1870. He started his tour on December 3 in Syria, and continued on to Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Libya. "Brazil has a global ambition, which is to work on the creation of an Arab-Latin American bloc allied to Third World countries that is treated the same as the northern countries and in particular the United States," he said in a rapturously received speech to lawmakers in Lebanon. Army: No Israeli trainers at Bragg Fayetteville Observer 12/10/2003 U.S. Army Special Operations officials are denying a British newspaper report that Israeli advisers came to Fort Bragg to train special forces soldiers in counter-insurgency tactics including assassination. The Guardian, a British newspaper, reported Tuesday that the Israeli Defense Force sent urban warfare specialists to Fort Bragg to train special forces soldiers to act as ''hunter-killer" teams tasked with killing guerrilla leaders in Iraq and foreign fighters attempting to cross the Syrian border with Iraq....''This command is not conducting any combined U.S. or Israeli training at Fort Bragg," Lt. Col. Hans Bush, a spokesman for U.S. Army Special Operations, said. The U.S. Army Special Operations Command is based at Fort Bragg. It is unclear if the training occurred elsewhere.

ISM News

Best viewed with Internet Explorer 5.0+ and Real player

Return to top of page