News - Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine / Israel

Conflict..

Israel is now demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes each week, as well as Bedouin homes in Israel's Negev Valley, in a sweeping campaign of land theft - IPC photo

Israel Kills Two Palestinians, Demolishes 18 Houses
Islam Online 12/15/2003
GAZA CITY, December 15 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Israeli occupation forces have killed two Palestinians in the small hours of Monday, December 15, claiming they were sneaking into Israel from northern Gaza Strip, and demolished 18 Palestinian houses in Khan Yunis. The two fatalities were part of a group of six Palestinians who were spotted in a closed "security zone" inside the Gaza Strip and close to the border into Israel, Israeli military sources claimed. No arms were recovered near the two bodies and of the other four was captured, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). The Israeli sources added that an inquiry had now been opened to determine if the group were "terrorists who were preparing to carry out attacks or if they were Palestinians who wanted to enter into Israel to find work".

Israeli invasion leaves 200 homeless
Al-Jazeera 12/15/2003
The Israeli occupation army in Gaza has destroyed 22 Palestinian homes in the town of Khan Yunis, leaving about 200 people homeless. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) based in Gaza area says the occupation troops entered the southern strip shortly after midnight on Monday. "Heavy military vehicles and helicopters covered by intense shelling moved into the Khan Yunis refugee camp. During the operation, Israeli forces totally demolished 18 houses and partially destroyed four others leaving around 200 people homeless," said a spokesperson for the organisation.

Five Palestinian children wounded in Zionist gunfire
Palestinian Information Center 12/15/2003
Ramallah - Five Palestinian children today sustained light wounds in confrontations with Zionist occupation forces in the village of Kufr N’ema to the west of Ramallah city. Eyewitnesses said that occupation soldiers sprayed the children, who threw stones at their position near the village’s main water tank, with teargas. Medical sources that five of the kids were rushed to hospital suffering from suffocation as a result of the intensified firing of teargas canisters.

IOF Murders a Palestinian Woman in Nablus, Wounds Five in Gaza
International Press Center 12/13/2003
NABLUS, December 13, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - The Israeli occupying forces (IOF) murdered morning today a Palestinian woman from Assera Al Shmelia of Nablus. In a cold-blooded murder,the Israeli occupying forces manning a military checkpoint close to the illegitimate Jewish settlement of “Qidumim”, opened fire at a taxi carrying Kamela Al Shouli , 20, resulting in the her instant killing. Mrs. Al Shouli is a mother of two children and a student at the college of education in Al Najah University, IPC correspondent said. The killed woman was en route to one of Ramallah hospitals to treat her infant boy, 4 months [old]....In Salfeet, a 17-year old Tamer Deyab was shot and wounded with several live bullets by the Israeli soldiers near the settlement bypass road close to Deir Estia Town, north of Salfeet. Witnesses said that an Israeli patrol unwarrantedly opened fire at Deyab and shot several bullets at his extremes. In Gaza Strip, five Palestinians were wounded in an Israeli incursion in Al Zytoun neighborhood and Juhr Al Deek area, southeast of Gaza City.

Jewish Settlers Rampage Through Hebron as IOF Invades Village
International Press Center 12/14/2003
HEBRON, Palestine, December 14, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - Gangs of armed Jewish settlers guarded by the Israeli occupying troops started attacking Palestinian vendors and wrecking their shops at a marketplace in the city of Hebron, as IOF continued its military aggression throughout the West Bank. In the city of Hebron...dozens of armed Jewish settlers arded by IOF troops started attacking in the afternoon a number of Palestinian vendors and shopkeepers in the Bab Al Zawya shopping center, wrecking and searching the shops and detaining their owners for long hours. Additionally, eyewitnesses told IPC's that the settlers from the illegitimate Jewish settlement of "Addaboya" arrived, for the second consecutive day, to the nearby area and started throwing stones and beating the unarmed Palestinian citizens passing through the streets, all under the eyes and guarded by the Israeli occupying soldiers.

IOF Kills a Palestinian near Ramallah, Wounds Three Children and a Woman in khan Younis
International Press Center 12/14/2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, December 14, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - The Israeli occupying forces (IOF) shot and killed a Palestinian citizen near the city of Ramallah, while its forces in the Gaza Strip stepped up its military aggression against the Palestinian people. Eyewitnesses told IPC reporter in Ramallah City that an Israeli undercover unit opened fire at a Palestinian citizen west of Ne'ma Village, north of Ramallah City, instantly killing him. The killed citizen was not yet identified as the occupying forces continue to detain his body....On Saturday night, IOF tanks stationed near the illegitimate Jewish settlement of "Neve Dekalim", west of Khan Younis City, opened heavy gunfire and fired tank shells at the Al Nemsawi neighborhood, wounding five Palestinian citizens, including three children and a woman, IPC correspondent reported. Palestinian security sources affirmed that more than 15 tank shells fired towards the Palestinian homes and apartment buildings, which inflicted severe damages to the houses, setting fire to several of them, such as the house of Abdel Baset Mas'oud that destroyed by fire.

Eyewitness: News from Gaza
Rafah Today 12/14/2003
Demolishing houses, killing innocent children, demolishing trees, blocking roads and torturing people, became some thing normal in Palestine because the media’s policies have changed into a trading process.. now they look at who pays more, never mind if the people str saying the truth or not.. and that is in Gaza Strip where every day many massacres occur and many people are being killed. Many children are getting killed every day, night even minute.. Israeli snipers every where shoot and do not differentiate between any one, because it’s a war which was against Palestinians but now has become against humanity in Palestine. In the last few days, Israeli Occupation soldiers shot 4 people in Hay Al Zaytoon in Gaza City, as they demolished other agriculture areas for Suioon family in Gaza City, Hay Al Zaitoon, in addition to demolishing some trees..

Eyewitness: The Invasion of Rafah
Rafah Today 12/12/2003
How should I describe that Israeli occupation? How should I describe what they did in the last attack which was only four days after what they call the Geneva accords? They are like aspirin tablets and the world took them. But the last attack on Rafah which was only three days ago, came to prove to all the world the real intention of Israel.. Yes it shows now and very clearly that Israeli government doesn’t know any language but the language of blood.. All the world participated in the last attack on Wednesday and Thursday... they participated in all the ways, if not with their money so by their silence which gives clear a agreement with what is happening to the innocent Palestinians in Rafah. More than 20 tanks were there and 3 bulldozers and another two Israeli apaches participated in invading Hay Al Salam near the cemetery.. killing everyone they see, demolishing every thing they face in the latest war machines.

Settlers begin preparations for new illegal outpost in West Bank
Palestine Monitor/Ha'aretz 12/12/2003
While the defense establishment readies itself for the evacuation of eight illegal outposts, settlers are continuing to prepare the ground for new ones: Over the past few days, the Binyamin Regional Council has been making arrangements to begin populating the Mitzpeh Granit outpost. The outpost hasn't been manned until now and was known previously as "Hilltop 468." In July 2002, under a campaign to dismantle illegal outposts, then defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer announced that Hilltop 468 would also be evacuated. In practice, however, two mobile homes, a water tank and a lookout post have remained at the site.

A Palestinian House in Nablus Turned into an Israeli "Officers Quarter"
International Press Center 12/13/2003
During the entire last week, the house of Naseef family had been a hostage in the hands of the Israeli occupying forces (IOF), who turned it into a military barracks and a watch point for its soldiers. The reason why the occupying forces chose this precise building is because of its strategic location and structure, as it is a nine-storey apartment building, with a roof inhabited by the Naseef family.

Jewish Settlers Seize 1,750 Dunums of "Termsaya" Lands
International Press Center 12/13/2003
RAMALLAH, December 13,2003 (IPC+Agencies)- Violent clashes were erupted Friday between the citizens of Termsaya town, adjacent to Rammallah city and a mob of Jewish settlers, whom seized vast swaths of the Palestinian lands, east of the town, the fenced areas were about [1750] dunums [438 acres] owned by 250 Palestinian citizens of Termsaya locals. The outrage took place when the locals headed to their farmlands and astonished with the electrified fence coiling the arable lands planted with olive almond and vine groves. The Jewish settlers opened their machine gun rifles at the dispossessed protesters.

Warlords Will Succeed Arafat, Experts Tell Sharon
Miftah 12/13/2003
Warlords will probably take control in the West Bank and Gaza Strip after Yasser Arafat departs as the Palestinian leader, Israeli security veterans say. Former heads of the Mossad intelligence agency and other security services have told the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, in a report that they believe there is no chance of reaching a peace deal while Mr Arafat is alive or for many years after he leaves the stage. "I wouldn't put my money on peace," Shmuel Bar, chairman of the study team, said. "What we will see is a lot of small areas of control and influence. Warlords with their own armed forces . . . It will be fiefdoms, Afghanisation."...Mr Bar blamed Mr Arafat's policies and the Israeli Army's isolation of Palestinian cities for a three-year-long process of "feudalisation" in which leaders backed by local militias were gaining footholds in many areas.

IDF tank commander indicted over death
Ha'aretz 12/14/2003
An indictment has been filed in the IDF Northern Command's military court against a tank commander for causing the death of an 8-year-old Palestinian boy. Details of the incident, which occurred in the Gaza Strip, have not been disclosed up to now. The boy, Mahmud Hassan al-Talalka, was killed by IDF fire in Beit Hanun, in the northern Gaza Strip, on March 1, 2002. Several months ago, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, which operates in the Gaza Strip, demanded that the IDF conduct an investigation of the boy's death.

Zionist court sentences Palestinian minor to 11 years behind bars
Palestinian Information Center 12/15/2003
Nablus - The Zionist military court has sentenced a 17 years old Palestinian to 11 years behind bars for planning an attack against a Zionist target. Family of Mustafa Al-Sakhal said that the military prosecution had asked for an 18 years imprisonment term but the court reduced it to 11.

Zionist forces arrest Palestinian youths
Palestinian Information Center 12/15/2003
Bethlehem - Zionist occupation forces have arrested a number of Palestinian youths in the village of Husan to the east of the West Bank city of Bethlehem....The Zionist occupation forces had stormed the village and launched a large-scale arrest campaign in lines of the youths.

Palestinian Farmers’ Ordeal Worsened by the Apartheid Wall in Qulqelia
International Press Center 12/15/2003
QULQELIA, December 15,2003 (IPC Exclusive)_Finalizing the second phase of construction the Apartheid Wall (widely- known as the separation barrier) by the Israeli occupation, in pursuit of seizure of the West Bank and annexing it to the “green line “that bitterly exacerbated the Palestinian citizen ordeal as cutting offthe lands of the West Bank unwaveringly continue. Qulqelia city of the West Bank is frequently liable to being bulldozed, tens of arable dunums were plundered, and 19 iron gates were erected along the apartheid wall, stretching along the villages and towns of the governorate.

Israeli Forces Fully Tears Down 18 Palestinian Houses in Khan Younis
International Press Center 12/15/2003
KHAN YOUNIS, December 15,2003, (IPC+WAFA)_The Israeli occupying forces (IOF) fully demolished today morning 18 Palestinian houses and 13 others were partially damaged in the western partition of khan Younis refugee camp, south Gaza Strip. Palestinian security services said that a contingent of 20 military convoys and D-9 caterpillar five bulldozers invaded into the aforementioned area under aerial support of warplanes “Apaches”, opening its gun fire towards the civilian houses to help the Israeli bulldozers launch its demolishing acts of the Palestinian houses that is in distance of 100 meter of Al Tufah barrier....In Qulqelia, a troop of the Israeli soldiers stormed in the city and launched house to house search in Kafar Saba outskirt, south east of the city, in which the citizen khaddar Al Houtary, 23, was arrested. He was led to undisclosed destination, WAFA News Agency reported. For the third day in row, the residents of Qulqelia are confined to their houses under a military edict of strict curfew by the Israeli occupation forces and tightened its closure on the sole road; none of residents were allowed access even the humanitarian cases, the same source added.

Two Syrian Soldiers Wounded by Israeli Mine in S. Lebanon
An Nahar 12/15/2003
Two Syrians, an army first lieutenant and a soldier, suffered serious injuries from an Israeli mine that exploded as they were trying to disable it in South Lebanon, An Nahar reported Monday. The incident occurred near the village of Soweida on Sunday. The officer, Ziad Khalaf, was rushed to hospital in Sidon. The soldier, Ahmed Khalaf, was taken to the government hospital in the market town of Nabatiyeh.

Israel unveils new weapons system
Al-Jazeera 12/15/2003
Israel has unveiled a revolutionary weapons system which enables soldiers to fire guns around corners. The "Corner Shot" provides protection to the soldier by enabling him to shoot down a street, or through a window with maximum accuracy while keeping out of the line of fire. The Israeli army - which carries out daily house-to-house searches in its crackdown on Palestinian resistance fighters - is said to be considering the use of the device.

IDF kills two would-be infiltrators, levels Gaza homes
Ha'aretz 12/15/2003
Israel Defense Forces troops shot dead two unarmed Palestinians Monday morning after they approached the security fence between the Gaza Strip and the adjacent Negev desert. Soldiers arrested a third Palestinian trying to infiltrate into Israel, and were searching for three others who crossed into Israeli territory nearby, the army said. Palestinian medical and security sources reported they had been informed by Israel to send an ambulance to pick up the two bodies.

Palestinian killed in Gaza, another near Nablus
Ha'aretz 12/14/2003
Charges to be brought against Braslev Hassidim who entered Joseph's Tomb, violating IDF orders -- Israel Defense Forces troops shot and killed a Palestinian approaching the fence surrounding an IDF outpost in the Gaza Strip yesterday. Last night, residents of Karnei Shomron were told to remain indoors due to a warning that terrorists were planning to infiltrate the West Bank settlement. A Palestinian student was killed yesterday when IDF soldiers on alert opened fire against a taxi speeding by a roadblock....Meanwhile, seven Braslev Hassidim were injured in a shooting incident near Joseph's Tomb in Nablus on Friday after they entered Area A in violation of a military order banning Israelis from Palestinian-controlled areas.

IOF Shoot Dead Palestinian Mother of Two On her Way to University
Palestine Media Center 12/14/2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed a Palestinian man early Sunday, only one day after shooting dead a mother of two in a taxi at a military roadblock and wounding several others in separate onslaughts in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Early Sunday, IOF shot and killed Riyadh Fakhri Khalifah al-Sayes in the village of Kufr Nameh, some nine miles west from the West Bank city of Ramallah, claiming the martyr was an armed Islamic Jihad member. Two other Palestinians, Raed Nassar and Amjad al-Deik, were also injured.

Diplomacy..

Chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, Dr. Saeb Erekat - IPC photo

FM: Israel will coordinate with U.S. any unilateral steps
Ha'aretz 12/16/2003
Israel will not take any unilateral steps vis-a-vis the Palestinians without coordinating them in advance with the United States, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney in talks Monday in Washington. "Israel is known for its good ties and ongoing coordination with the administration, and we will do everything in order to maintain these relations," Shalom said.

US envoy 'brokers Mid-East talks'
BBC 12/15/2003
High-level Israeli and Palestinian officials are to meet on Monday following intervention from a US envoy. A US State Department official spent the weekend trying to arrange the meeting. It is to be attended by top aides to the sides' prime ministers. But even as preparations for the talks went ahead, Israel's army shot dead two unarmed Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Military sources said the men were trying to cross a fence into Israel.

PA: Egypt to hold new truce talks with Palestinian militants
Ha'aretz 12/15/2003
Egyptian mediators planned to start a new round of negotiations with Palestinian militants on Tuesday after Cairo talks on suspending attacks against Israel collapsed last week, Palestinian sources said Monday. They said the two-day talks, to be held in Gaza City, would involve Hamas and other opposition factions....The fresh negotiations could lay the groundwork for renewed talks in Cairo, after the December 7 round broke up when Hamas rejected Egypt's proposal for a comprehensive cease-fire with Israel.

Satterfield succeeds in arranging a Palestinian- Israeli meeting
Arabic News 12/15/2003
A high ranking Palestinian official said that a meeting will be held today between Palestinian and Israeli officials, in order to discuss means of implementing the Roadmap peace plan, and prepare for the forthcoming meeting between the Palestinian prime minister Ahmad Qrei and the Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon. The meeting comes as a fruit for the efforts made by the special US envoy and under secretary of state, David Satterfield, who started a visit to the region on Friday to give a push forward to the reluctant peace negotiations, and to eliminate obstacles before convening a meeting between Qrei and Sharon.

IAEA Asks Israel Give Up Nuclear Arsenal
Islam Online 12/13/2003
VIENNA, December 13 (IslamOnline.net) – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief on Friday, December 12, asked Israel to give up its secret arsenal of nuclear weapons to head off an arms race in the Middle East, asserting that nukes would not bring the much-hoped for security to Israel. Speaking to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Mohammad ELBaradei pressed Israel to follow in the footsteps of countries that voluntarily took the initiative of destroying their nukes under IAEA supervision, citing South Africa as a classic example...."I am not happy with the status quo, because I see a lot of frustration in the Middle East due to Israel's sitting on nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons capability, while other in the Middle East are committed to the NPT," he asserted.

'Scrap nuclear arms' Israel urged
BBC 12/12/2003
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has urged Israel to surrender its alleged nuclear weapons in order to further peace in the Middle East. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei told an Israeli newspaper such weapons were not "an incentive for security". He also said Israel should sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Leftist Israeli Lawmakers Visit Outposts
The Guardian 12/15/2003
Meretz leader Yossi Sarid said the whole list of 43 evacuated outposts, which he received on Dec. 11, is ``a combination between a joke and a lie.''-- HAVAT GILAD, West Bank (AP) - Dovish lawmakers and peace activists visited unauthorized Israeli outposts on Sunday to refute claims they were demolished by the Israeli government under terms of a U.S.-backed peace plan. Among the outposts visited by lawmakers from the opposition Meretz Party was Havat Gilad - number 33 on the list of 43 outposts the Defense Ministry said were dismantled since December 2001....The settlement was alive and well Sunday, with several trailer homes occupying a dusty hilltop.

Israel: EU must shun Arafat to play role in Mideast conflict
Ha'aretz 12/15/2003
BERLIN - The European Union needs to shun Yasser Arafat and show more empathy with Israel if it wants to play an influential role in resolving Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, Israel's ambassador to Germany said on Monday. "If the Europeans are to have a chance in the Middle East, in this conflict, it will only be when the Israelis perceive that the Europeans aren't one-sided and unbalanced but try to show a certain empathy for the situation in which the Israelis find themselves," envoy Shimon Stein told Reuters.

Europeans want PA to take action over missing funds
Ha'aretz 12/15/2003
Representatives from Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland and the European Union are set to file a criminal complaint with the Palestinian Authority against Attorney Khader Shkirat, the lawyer for jailed Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti and the former head of LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment. Shkirat headed the organization during the period of the Oslo Accords and the body received a hefty amount of funding from these states....The complaint hints at a host of improprieties and suspicions of criminal wrongdoing and alleges that huge amounts of money were stolen from the organization.

High Level Israeli-Palestinian Meeting Holds To Revive Road Map
International Press Center 12/15/2003
GAZA, December, 15, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies) - A senior Palestinian official confirmed that a meeting is to hold Monday with the Israeli officials under the intervention from United States to discuss means to set into motion the US- backed "Road Map" peace blueprint. The Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP "the Palestinian- Israeli meeting brokered by the US Near East Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield will convene today" with no refrence to the palce or the Israeli officials will take part in the meeting. But the Paletsianin official confirmed " the Palestianin delegat[ion] would be headed by Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, Hassen Abu Libda, Cheif of of PNA cabinet and other officials.

Egyptian delegation to travel to Gaza
Middle East Online 12/15/2003
GAZA CITY - An Egyptian delegation is to travel to Gaza City on Tuesday for a new round of talks with Palestinian factions aimed at securing a halt to their campaign of attacks against Israel, Palestinian sources said. The delegation will be led by generals Mustafa al-Buheiri and Mohammed Ibrahim, assistants to Egyptian intelligence services chief Omar Suleiman who has been spearheading the efforts to date, the sources said Monday.

PNC members in Bethlehem denounce “Switzerland document”
Palestinian Information Center 12/15/2003
Bethlehem - Members in the Palestine national council (PLO’s parliament-in-exile) residing in the Bethlehem district have denounced the notorious “Switzerland document” for surrendering the refugees’ right of return and other vital areas of the occupied territories. The members issued a memorandum today regretting that Palestinian signatories to that document grouped officials in the Palestinian Authority and the PLO in addition to MPs, which reflected a Palestinian official approval of its articles.

U.S. Presses Israel to Establish Palestinian State in 2004
Middle East Newsline 12/15/2003
JERUSALEM [MENL] -- The United States has pressed Israel to facilitate the establishment of a Palestinian state in 2004. Israeli and U.S. diplomatic sources said the Bush administration has discussed with Israel measures to ensure an interim Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by mid-2004. The sources said the measures being proposed include a Palestinian ceasefire in the war against Israel and a military withdrawal from areas captured in the 1967 war. "The United States wants a measure of stability over the next year in the Middle East that would allow for the success of efforts in Iraq," a diplomatic source said. "This would mean unilateral Israeli measures over the next few months."

U.S. opposed to `unilateral steps'
Ha'aretz 12/14/2003
The United States has expressed its reservations to Israel's announced intentions to carry out unilateral steps vis-a-vis the Palestinians if the revival of the road map does not succeed. The message of the American administration was passed both through public statements by President George W. Bush and also in discussions with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in Washington. For its part, Israel does not intend to carry out a unilateral withdrawal from the territories, according to Dov Weisglass, director of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office. Weisglass said Friday at a conference in the Dead Sea that Israel is planning to make small alterations in its positions in order to minimize security-related friction with the Palestinians.

PM Qurei': Palestinians Only Ones to Choose Their Leadership
International Press Center 12/14/2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, December 14, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei' stated yesterday that the Palestinian people are the only ones who are able to choose their own leadership. "The Palestinian people alone can choose their leadership as they alone chose (President) Yasser Arafat to be the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)," Prime Minister Qurei' told reporters. PM Qurei's statement was in response to the US President George W. Bush's statements in which he called upon the Palestinian people to choose another leadership as to push forward the implementation of the U.S.-backed "Road Map" peace plan.

U.S. Officials to Meet Mideast Leaders
The Guardian 12/15/2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - A U.S. envoy has arranged a three-way meeting to try to break the impasse over the terms of an Israeli-Palestinian summit, negotiators said Sunday. The summit would be a first step toward resuming peace talks. Israeli-Palestinian violence continued as David Satterfield, a senior State Department official, pressed on with his mediation efforts. Palestinians fired mortars at Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, and Israeli troops killed a suspected Islamic militant in the West Bank.

Al-Assad interview to Greek TV address host of regional issues
Arabic News 12/15/2003
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to the Greek TV broadcasted yesterday in which he stressed that the whole region has been living in a situation of turbulence for the past hundred years. During that period there have been a number of wars, and these turbulences increased after the creation of Israel in 1948. The effects of these wars have been very bad; but the most dangerous developments were the effects of wrong policies.

Syrian citizens of Golan renew rejection of Israeli law
Arabic News 12/15/2003
Syrian citizens in the occupied Golan reiterated absolute rejection to extend the so-called "Israeli law" to cover the occupied Golan, renewing objection to Israel imposing "Israeli citizenship" on them, and describing the hostile practice as a plot to seize the land. In a statement on the 22nd anniversary of the ill-famed "Israeli law" on the annexation of the occupied Golan, which fell on Sunday, the Syrian citizens vowed to "continue struggle to repel the aggression," and "stick to their land and national identity until victory and liberation."

Politicians deplore US pressure on Syria
Daily Star 12/15/2003
This Act further complicates the situation in the region’ -- US President George W. Bush’s endorsement of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act over the weekend prompted Lebanese politicians to denounce the act and express their solidarity with Damascus. Politicians also called on the US administration to exert pressure on the Jewish state rather than Syria to bring peace to the Middle East. “This act further complicates the situation in the region and hinders any progress toward resolving the age-old Arab-Israeli conflict,” Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said following Bush’s endorsement.

PA wants to change its status in the UN
Jerusalem Post 12/15/2003
The Palestinian Administration is preparing a draft resolution to change its status at the United Nations, which it will present next week, reports Army Radio. According to the proposal, the PA will be recognized as the official representative of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, even though these have not been formally recognized as a state.

Russian official for M.E. just and comprehensive peace
Arabic News 12/15/2003
Former Chairman of Russian Academy for Political Sciences, Oleg Peiryskin, called Sunday for the implementation of the international resolutions stipulating the Israeli complete withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands to the line of June 4, 1967, in order to achieve just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

Human Rights..

Israeli forces demolished the building, killing one man and leaving 15 families homeless in Nablus September 5, 2003 - AFP photo

Israeli occupying forces destroy 22 Palestinian houses in Khan Yunis, leaving approximately 200 civilians homeless
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 12/15/2003
This morning, in the latest attack against Palestinian civilians and property, Israeli occupying forces destroyed 22 houses in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. Contrary to Israeli claims that the houses were uninhabited, preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR revealed that the Israeli military operation left 178 Palestinian civilians (25 families) homeless.In addition, homes belonging to 6 families (approximately 40 civilians) have become uninhabitable. According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 00:30 on Monday, 15 December 2003, Israeli occupying forces, reinforced by heavy military vehicles and helicopters and covered by intense shelling, moved into Khan Yunis refugee camp.During the operation, Israeli forces totally demolished 18 houses and 4 others partially, leaving 178 civilians (25 families) homeless.

Int'l Organizations: 21 Palestinian Children Killed by Suspicious Objects and Mines
International Press Center 12/14/2003
GAZA, December 14, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - Several international organizations caring for the children worldwide and their welfare said that 21 Palestinian children were killed during the three years of the Al Aqsa Intifada because of getting close to or playing with suspicious objects or landmines planted by the Israeli occupying forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The International Movement for Defending Children said that in this situation, the suspicious objects were defined as shells and bombs fired by the Israeli forces and did not explode, or the landmines planted by them in the ground.

PCRS: Weekly Press Release 6 - 12 Dec 2003
ReliefWeb/Palestine Red Crescent Society 12/14/2003
During this reporting period, the Israeli Army has continued to violate the First and Fourth Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by denying freedom of movement to Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulances and its medical teams, who were threatened by gunfire, humiliated and verbally abused. Delays, denial of access and arbitrary searches had a negative impact on the sick and the wounded in Nablus.

Palestinian-Israeli-International rally at Al Ram: Gush Shalom report
Palestine Monitor/Gush Shalom 12/13/2003
"Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)" wrote: "The Wall must fall, must fall, must fall!" [Dec. 13, 2003] -- Once again, the organisers underestimated the number of people who would come to participate in a protest against the monstrous Wall whichthe Sharon government seems bent on erecting. After six buses were filled up, nearly two hundred more people arrived at the rendezvous point in the commercial center of the French Hill Neighborhood. Fortunately, the big Palestinian taxis of East Jerusalem - vans capable of taking nearly twenty passengers each - were happy to come at very short notice and take upthe extra load.

Larsen: 40% of the Palestinians Suffer Food Insecurity
International Press Center 12/13/2003
GAZA, December 13, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - The UN Middle East Envoy, Terje Roed Larsen assured in a briefing before the Security Council session over the Middle East that more than 40% of the Palestinian population have plunged desperately in dire poverty and food insecurity. “Two-third of the Palestinians, nearly 60% of the Palestinian population are under the poverty line,” Larsen said. “I would like to update you on some of the key indicators. Between 2000-2002, Palestinian economic losses amounted to an estimated $5.4 billion – one year’s worth of total income for the Palestinian economy....The humanitarian crisis has forced donors to redirect funding from development to emergency relief. This in turn is often hampered by Israeli security actions, leading to increased frustration among many donors and aid agencies. "

$193m in relief needed for refugees in the West Bank and Gaza
Electronic Intifada /UNRWA 12/13/2003
Three years of curfews, closures and conflict in the West Bank and Gaza have plunged two-thirds of the population into dire poverty, increased hunger and restricted access to health and education. Today UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and the largest humanitarian agency in the region, launches an emergency appeal to the international community asking for $193 million to relieve some of the suffering in the occupied territories in 2004.

Baptist Pastor to Sharon: "Lift the closure of Bethlehem"
Come And See 12/15/2003
Alex Awad, Dean of Students at Bethlehem Bible college writes an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon:Mr. Prime Minister, I appeal to you to use your influence to lift the closure of Bethlehem. It is apparent that the noose that the IDF has created around the city is getting tighter every week. This siege-like closure of the city is suffocating the Christian community of the city rather than choking the militants and is generating untold hardships to every Christian church and organization that serves in the Bethlehem area. Over 60% of the Christians in the West Bank live in the Bethlehem area. Consequently, the majority of Palestinian Christians is harmed in one way or another as a result of the barriers, walls, razor-wire fences, army camps and checkpoints that completely circle the city....

Economy..

World Food Programme Emergency Report
ReliefWeb/World Food Programme 12/12/2003
...In fact, many towns and villages in the northern part of the West Bank have witnessed continuous incursions and curfews. Other towns and villages are facing strict closure, including internal ones....In November, WFP and implementing partners including ICRC distributed some 4903 tons of wheat flour, sugar and oil to some 254,766 beneficiaries in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through general distribution, food for work, food for training, institutional feeding and supplementary feeding activities. The food for work programme in the West Bank under EMOP 10190.1, including those activities under the Separation Wall project funded by ECHO, has continued throughout November.

Working in the West Bank
ReliefWeb/Operation Mercy 12/12/2003
Operation Mercy has started working in the Nablus area of the West Bank to help raise the standard of living for Palestinians in the areas of health, education, and living conditions in the H.E.L.P. Project (Health/Education/Living Conditions/People). This project involves providing food and medical assistance, preventative health and education workshops, micro-business tuition, English tutoring, children's summer programmes, and quality entertainment and education through a free lending library. The H.E.L.P. project encompasses both immediate humanitarian aid and long term planning intended to raise the abilities of local women in particular to support and care for themselves and their families.

Palestinian marble looks abroad
Daily Star 12/15/2003
Selling direct to foreign markets raises profits - Despite problems within Occupied Territories, local material the ‘Rolls Royce’ of stone is in high demand -- RAMALLAH: Palestine’s resilient business community has made its stone and marble industry a thriving one. It is emerging as the envy of even the best the world famous Carrara quarry in Italy, out of which Michelangelo carved out masterpieces. Today the Palestine and Italian quarries are vying neck and neck, as they compete for sophisticated world markets like the United States. It may sound strange, but the US accounts for 60 percent of Palestine’s stone and marble exports. Stranger still: those selling highly marked up Palestinian marble to the Americans are Israeli businessmen.

Interior Ministry offices to open Tuesday
Ha'aretz 12/15/2003
Interior Ministry and Population Registrar employees will open their offices on Tuesday and provide service to the public, as part of the Histadrut's policy of easing sanctions, which includes opening of striking government offices for a few hours daily. The Interior Ministry and Population Registrar will be open Tuesday between 8 A.M. and 2 P.M. The public will be able to file requests for receiving new passports and extending expired ones, as well as receive other official documents such as birth and death certificates.

Histadrut welcomes court's approval of limited strike
Ha'aretz 12/15/2003
The National Labor Court yesterday gave the Histadrut labor federation a green light to sponsor a limited strike in the public sector. The Histadrut and employer organizations expressed satisfaction with the court's ruling, formulated by a six-judge majority, with one judge (Dan Hermesh) dissenting. The ruling, by Labor Court President Steve Adler, rejected requests submitted by the Israel Manufacturers Association and the Ports Authority for a blanket no-strike order.

People..

September 3: 'Targetted Killing causes Suicide Bombing, Suicide Bombing causes Targetted Killing! Break the Bloody Cycle!' Under these slogans, 75 Gush Shalom activists held a vigil opposite the Ministry of Defence in Tel-Aviv

Palestinian poet Fadwa Tuqan dies
Al-Jazeera 12/13/2003
Fadwa Tuqan, revered among her compatriots as the "Poet of Palestine", died on Friday in her West Bank hometown of Nablus at the age of 86. She died in a local hospital where she had been in a coma for several days following a stroke. Born in 1917 to one of Nablus' influential families, Fadwa Tuqan, whose work won several international prizes, knew Palestine under British rule, the creation of the state of Israel, the occupation, and Palestinian autonomy.

Israel's 'cloud of demographics'
Christian Science Monitor 12/15/2003
A dovish politician is forcing even hawkish Israelis to consider ceding land to the growing population of Palestinians. -- JERUSALEM – Even now, nearly four months after it was first published, an article by a dovish Israeli politician continues to irritate and appall his ideological opponents. But its main point - the need for Israel to cede land - is now being voiced by more hawkish Israelis as well. Avraham Burg, a former Speaker of the Israeli parliament and a leading defender of the idea that Israel and a Palestinian state can coexist in peace, wrote in an Israeli newspaper in August that the "Jewish people did not survive for two millennia in order to pioneer new weaponry, computer-security programs, or antimissile missiles. We were supposed to be a light unto the nations. In this we have failed."

Charity knows no boundaries for Islamic group
Ha'aretz 12/14/2003
Early in October, the microwave oven at one of the children's wards at the Afula Ha'emek hospital broke down. In better days, the microwave would have been replaced the same day. But in the current days of economic hardship, the broken appliance was added to a list of other essential but not critical needs that the hospital requires. Dr. Yossi Horowitz, director of this particular children's ward, was quick to understand that he needed to look "outside" for assistance on this matter. Since more than 50 percent of the children hospitalized at the two children's wards at Ha'emek are Arab, Horowitz did not hesitate for a minute before turning to the Charity Committee of the Islamic Movement.

Intifada spurs Palestine internet boom
Electronic Intifada/Al-Jazeera 12/11/2003
The internet, with its ability to transcend borders, distance and government censorship, has become the preferred medium of information exchange for local Palestinians and foreign activists alike. One of the indirect results of the ongoing Israeli occupation has been an increase in internet connectivity and interest in computer ownership throughout Palestine. “A political situation that is most deplored is most celebrated by the IT industry in Palestine,” said Sabri Saidam, head of the Palestine chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC). Internet usage in Palestine has risen from 2% to 8% since 1999 - an increase that may be nominal by regional standards, says Saidam, but remarkable given the current situation.

Rallies held for and against Netzarim
Ha'aretz 12/15/2003
Dozens gathered outside Netzarim in the Gaza Strip on Friday afternoon, calling on the settlers to evacuate the isolated settlement unilaterally and immediately. The protesters, members of the Out of Netzarim group, have been demonstrating outside the settlement for the past seven Fridays. This time, the demonstration became violent when a group of settlers, headed by Itamar Ben Gvir, confronted the protesters. The two sides pushed each other and exchanged insults.

Deceptive Imaging, a Media Played Game, This Time by Haaretz
By Ghassan Andoni, International Middle East Media Center 12/15/2003
[Ed: This report appears to refer to a Reuters wire story. See also Yahoo! News: "Palestinians Mark 'Black Day' of SaddamCapture", http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/iraq_mideast_dc] -- In its electronic edition on Monday Decemebr 15, Haaretz published the following headline “Palestinians mark 'black day' of Saddam capture; Hamas: U.S. will pay for mistake”-- Looking into the first part of the headline, it was expected to find a report on a demonstration, a leaflet signed by a serious group, an official statement, or at least a statement by a representative of any group, movement, or organization. What was found, reviewing the details of the published news article, was the following quotation by a taxi driver allegedly Sadiq Husam, 33, “It's a black day in history," said a taxi driver in Ramallah. The article as well described Ramallah as the “West Bank seat of the Palestinian Authority.” Reading the title, one gets the impression that “Palestinians” unanimously supported Sadam Husein and marking the day of his capture as a “black day”.

Massive Hamas march in Khan Younis on anniversary
Palestinian Information Center 12/15/2003
Khan Younis - The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has organized a massive march in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis to celebrate its 16th anniversary. Thousands of citizens took part in the march hoisting Palestinian flags and green banners while chanting slogans supporting continuation of the intifada and resistance till defeat of Zionist occupation.

Archbishop to visit Middle East
BBC 12/12/2003
The Archbishop of Canterbury is to visit the Middle East next month, his office has announced. Dr Rowan Williams accepted an invitation to go to the region from the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem. The church leader is expected to travel to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories at the end of January, a spokeswoman said.

Moot court to hear arguments on killings, expulsions
Ha'aretz 12/15/2003
Some of the most burning issues in Israel today, including the expulsion of people from occupied territory, administrative detention, command responsibility, and especially targeted killings (the legality of which is now before the Supreme Court), as well as the authority of an international forum to deal with such issues, will be raised tomorrow in moot court. The court is being held as part of an international conference hosted by the Minerva Center for Human Rights, founded by the law faculties of Tel Aviv and Hebrew Universities.

International..

Invitation for Mubarak to visit Iran Khatami: there are still differences
Arabic News 12/15/2003
The Iranian President Muhammad Khatami said that there are still differences between Egypt and Iran despite the summit meeting they held in Geneva last week. This is at a time Tehran had extended two invitations for Mubarak to visit it by the beginning of 2004. Iranian official news quoted Khatami as saying on Saturday, that despite the fact that Iran and Egypt are seeking to expand the scale of bilateral relations and adopt matching view points on issues like Iraq and Palestine, yet there are still certain differences and consideration, but he did not specify the nature of these differences.

US not an enemy of Syria, says Assad
Jang Group 12/15/2003
ATHENS: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published here on Sunday he did not consider the United States an enemy despite their sharp differences. The interview appearing ahead of a visit to Greece, was given before the announcement of new US economic and diplomatic sanctions against Syria in order to force it to end alleged support for terrorism. Washington has accused Damascus of allowing armed fighters to enter Iraq, and of hosting militant groups. The Syrian leader told the Greek newspaper Kathimerini: "Syria does not consider the United States its enemy despite numerous differences.

Hariri: Dialogue, Not Sanctions, May Solve U.S.-Syria Rift
An Nahar 12/15/2003
[Lebanon's] Prime Minister Hariri has described the so-called Syria Accountability Act, which George W. Bush endorsed this weekend, as a new obstacle to Middle East peace, An Nahar reported Sunday. Hariri said in a statement that instead of introducing the bill, officially entitled the Syria Accountability and Lebanon's Sovereignty Restoration Act, the United States "should have delved into an active dialogue to resolve all pending issues" with Damascus. "Dialogue is the only course for solving all problems, no matter how complicated they might be," he said.

Needed in Mreyjeh: Christians to return to their homes
Daily Star 12/15/2003
Despite government encouragement, only 15 families have come back -- The southern Beirut suburbs of Mreyjeh, Tahwitat Al-Ghadir and Laylakeh, which come under one municipality, have experienced phenomenal demographic change and pronounced sectarian tension over the past three decades....“In 1967, when I took office for the first time, we ran a census and the population was around 15,000 in the three villages,” Matta said. Of the original population, 85 percent were Christian and 15 percent were Shiite. This began to change in the mid-1970s when mass migration from the Bekaa and the South started.

Common currency for Gulf states?
Al-Jazeera 12/14/2003
Gulf Arab finance ministers are expected to meet in Kuwait City soon to discuss progress made in the planned monetary union and in enforcing a customs union treaty. The ministers will review on Wednesday a report by the monetary union committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states which meets 15 and 16 December in Doha, said Adnan al-Khudair of Kuwait's finance ministry on Saturday, quoted by the official KUNA news agency. The report focuses on bridging the gap between GCC economic performance, working out the basic guidelines for setting up a GCC monetary union by 2005 and introducing a single GCC currency by early 2010.

Cairo conference 2003 Warns of the American–Zionist Domination
International Press Center 12/14/2003
GAZA, December14, 2003 (IPC + Agencies) - - The International Campaign Against U.S. and Zionist Occupations (ICAUZO) inaugurated Saturday the Second international Cairo Conference for two days, in the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate headquarters, under the banner of “Yes to Resistance in Iraq & Palestine, No to Capitalist Globalization and U.S. Hegemony”. More than 150 senior figures, representing 30 states worldwide as well as more than 1,000 Egyptian figures participated in the conference.

Syria calls for dialogue with US
BBC 12/13/2003
The Syrian Government has called for talks with the US, a day after President George W Bush approved a law threatening sanctions. Syria said it wanted "a frank and constructive dialogue" over the law, which could ban US exports to Syria and freeze Syria's assets in the US. The US wants Syria to restrain militants and halt alleged chemical and biological weapons programmes.Syria says the sanctions are because of its support for Arab rights.

Army shells pose cancer risk in Iraq
The Guardian 12/15/2003
Depleted uranium causing high radioactivity levels -- Depleted uranium shells used by British forces in southern Iraqi battlefields are putting civilians at risk from 'alarmingly high' levels of radioactivity. Experts are calling for the water and milk being used by locals in Basra to be monitored after analysis of biological and soil samples from battle zones found 'the highest number, highest levels and highest concentrations of radioactive source points' in the Basra suburb of Abu Khasib - the centre of the fiercest battles between UK forces and Saddam loyalists. Readings taken from destroyed Iraqi tanks in Basra reveal radiation levels 2,500 times higher than normal. In the surrounding area researchers recorded radioactivity levels 20 times higher than normal.

Arab- American relations office criticize Syria Accountability Act, approved by Bush
Arabic News 12/15/2003
The Arab-American Relations Office ( AARF ) expressed dissatisfaction and frustration over the U.S. President George W. Bush's signing of the so-called "Syria Accountability Act." The Arab community in the U.S., in a statement issued by the AARF, said the Act would encourage Israel to have a more intransigent and arrogant stance regarding international law.

Dean mounts foreign policy challenge with pledges on Israel and Korea
The Independent 12/15/2003
Howard Dean, who is leading the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, is to spell out starkly different approaches to those of President George Bush on foreign policy, including a willingness to address swiftly border issues between Palestine and Israel and enter bilateral talks with North Korea....He is expected to reveal a "kitchen cabinet" of advisers on foreign affairs, many drawn from the Clinton White House....He said he would revive the Geneva Accord that intends to resolve final border issues between Israel and Palestine before pushing further with the troubled road-map for peace in the region.

3.5 million Arabs live in the US, most of which are Christians
Come And See/World Tribune 12/15/2003
WORLD TRIBUNE.COM -- The United States could contain up to 3.5 million Arabs, but most of them have refused to cooperate with efforts by the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau identified fewer than 1.5 million Arabs three years ago. The majority of U.S. Arabs are Christians. The Arab American Institute said more than half of the number of Arabs in the United States failed to participate in the 2000 census, Middle East Newsline reported. "We believe at least 3.5 million people in America have roots in the Arab world," the institute said. "Like other ethnic, minority, and immigrant populations, Arab Americans were undercounted. Too many simply did not mail in the census forms or did not respond to the ancestry question on the long form that measures the Arab community."