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Palestine Diaries

courtesy The Electronic Intifada

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Map of Israel's planned "security fence", adapted for clarity from Gush Shalom map. Gush Shalom notes: The Israeli government did not publish full, official maps of the wall. The path of the Eastern wall was compiled by the Land Research Center and the Palestinian Hydrology Group, based on expropriation orders issued to Palestinian land owners.

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Video Archives
Audio Archives

VIDEO
BBC:
Gap Between CIA
And Bush Stories
posted 10/9/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Region As
Unsettled As It's
Ever Been
10/9/02

VIDEO
BBC:
"No compromise
here"
posted 10/8/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Another Gaza
Attack
posted 10/6/02

VIDEO
BBC:
PA's Erekat: We
Need International
Protection Now
posted 10/6/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Khalil Shikaki, CPR:
'Chances slim for
negotiation'
posted 9/28/02

PHOTOS
Islam Online:
Arafat HQ
Destroyed
posted 9/25/02

PHOTOS
Islam Online:
Nine Palestinians Killed In Gaza
posted 9/24/02

VIDEO
Konscious:
Metal of Dishonor
The Face of US
War on Iraq
posted 9/18/02

VIDEO
BBC:
Sabra & Shatila
Is Sharon A
War Criminal?
posted 9/13/02

VIDEO
CBC:
Israeli
Army Was
Embarrassed
By Release
of Video
released 3/18/02
posted 9/6/02

Video Archives

Conflict..

Teen critically wounded from IDF gunfire in Nablus Ha'aretz 12/16/2003 Israel Defense Forces troops shot a 15-year-old boy in the head Tuesday, critically wounding him, in the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian hospital officials said. Soldiers opened fire after a group of youths began throwing rocks at them, the sources said, adding that the boy, Noor-Eddine Emran, had been on his way to visit an aunt. Four other youths, including Noor-Eddin's twin brother, were lightly wounded, they said. Breaking News: Child wounded in Balata camp dies International Press Center 12/16/2003 13:00 -- The wounded boy Noor Ahmed Ezat,15, whom has been wounded during the Israeli incursion into balata refugee camp , is now clinically dead due to a live bullet hit his head by the Israeli soldiers, Raphedia hospital sources in Nablus declared. / 12:10-- Israeli occupying forces arrest three Palestinian citizens from Beit Kahel town, west of Hebron city during an Israeli incursion into the town. Fresh IOF Invasion into Nablus and Troops Seriously Wound an Elderly Palestinian International Press Center 12/16/2003 NABLUS, Palestine, December 16, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- In a serious military escalation by the Israeli occupying forces (IOF), large forces of the Israeli occupation invaded the Balata refugee camp and several other surrounding villages, while an elderly citizen was seriously wounded in the head due to violent beating by IOF troops manning a checkpoint in Tulkarem....[the man's son] said that a verbal quarrel between his father and the occupying soldiers when they denied him access to his farmland, under the pretext of not possessing "permission" to go to this land, which is located behind the wall....Several gas suffocation cases were transferred to hospitals around the city, while a Palestinian child was critically shot in the head was transferred to the operating theatre at Rafidia hospital for urgent surgery, Palestinian medical sources confirmed....Meanwhile, IOF besieged the town of Hewwara and imposed tight curfew on it. IOF troops raided schools and forced students to leave and go back home....IOF imposed curfew last night on the town of Marda, south of the city of Salfit, and completely closed the town down. Child wounded in Israeli raid Al-Jazeera 12/16/2003 Fifty Israeli armoured vehicles, including tanks, have stormed a Palestinian refugee camp near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, even as a US envoy planned to mediate talks between the two sides in an effort to revive peace moves. There were exchanges of fire early on Tuesday, as Israeli soldiers invaded the Balata camp in the northern West Bank, backed by two helicopter gunships, said Palestinian security sources. A 12-year-old boy was seriously wounded in the head by a rubber bullet, said Palestinian medics. Israeli troops seized four multi-storey buildings on the outskirts of Balata camp and carried out a house-to-house search with dogs. Israeli troops kill 2 civilians in Gaza Strip Daily Star 12/16/2003 Israeli troops shot and killed two unarmed Palestinians early Monday when they tried to infiltrate Israel from the Gaza Strip, while Israeli police scuffled with some teenage Jewish settlers while dismantling an unauthorized outpost near the Palestinian city of Nablus. The two Palestinian 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 said. No arms were recovered near the two bodies. New weapon can fire round corners BBC 12/16/2003 A new weapons system that allows soldiers to fire guns round corners has been unveiled in Israel. The Corner Shot device can be used with any handgun and enables the user to shoot with maximum accuracy while keeping out of the line of fire. Using a camera on the gun barrel, a soldier can swivel the device to point at a target without breaking cover. The US-Israeli firm that developed the weapon says it will only be sold to official government agencies....A spokesman for the Florida-based Corner Shot Holdings said the device, which was developed and manufactured in Israel, had already been sold to 15 countries. Amos Golan, a veteran of Israeli anti-terror units who invented the Corner Shot, said customers included the US, Russia and several European armies. Israeli army raids Nablus Middle East Online 12/16/2003 NABLUS, West Bank - Fifty Israeli armoured vehicles, including tanks, moved into a Palestinian refugee camp near the West Bank town of Nablus early Tuesday, Palestinian security sources said. There were exchanges of fire at the start of the Israeli operation which was backed up by two helicopter gunships, the sources added, giving no report of casualties. But later that day, residents from the Balata camp hurled stones at the troops. A 12-year-old boy was seriously wounded in the head by a rubber bullet, Palestinian medics said. Zionist army storms Balata refugee camp Palestinian Information Center 12/16/2003 Nablus - Hundreds of Zionist soldiers backed by scores of armored vehicles stormed at dawn today the Balata refugee camp to the east of the West Bank city of Nablus. Eyewitnesses said that the incursion started at an early hour today with tanks and patrols sweeping from all directions into the camp after closing its entrances. The occupation soldiers controlled the camp’s high buildings and evacuated inhabitants. Camp sources have reported that Zionist troops were breaking into various houses especially in the market area and the vicinity of the old mosque.

Diplomacy..

Israel Rejects Truce as Mediators Return to Gaza Reuters 12/16/2003 GAZA (Reuters) - Egyptian mediators returned to Gaza for a new round of talks with Palestinian factions Tuesday, but Israel ruled out a demand from militant groups that it must also guarantee any cease-fire. Talks in Cairo collapsed earlier this month after Islamic factions sworn to Israel's destruction rejected a comprehensive cease-fire crucial to reviving a U.S.-backed peace plan. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have led a suicide-bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of Israelis over the past three years, said they wanted a guarantee that Israel would cease attacks and pull back from occupied territory. But Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told a conference on national security in the city of Herzliya: "We are not willing to be party to a truce between the Palestinian Authority and the terrorist groups." Israel's Sharon Says Gaza Settlements Could Go Reuters 12/16/2003 JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has told ministers ahead of a major policy speech that Israel must be ready to quit Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, senior political sources said on Tuesday. Sharon, for decades the champion of the settler movement, has been firming up hints that Israel will have to leave parts of Gaza and the West Bank whatever the fate of a struggling U.S.-backed plan for peace with the Palestinians. New Egyptian Mediation for New Palestinian “Hudna” With Israel International Press Center 12/16/2003 GAZA, December 16, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- Palestinian security services declared that a Palestinian delegation headed by the deputy chief of Egyptian intelligence, Major-General Muhsen Al Nu’mani, was due to arrive in Gaza Tuesday to run a new round oftalks with the Palestinian factions to strike a ceasefire treaty ”Hudna”, halting attacks on Israeli targets. The two-day talks would be convened with the participation of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other factions. The talks might clear the way to a new round of deliberations to take up the talks again in Cairo in the aftermath of the fruitless talks to strike a ceasefire deal on December 7. Arafat Barred From Christmas Celebrations The Guardian 12/16/2003 JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel on Tuesday barred Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem for a third straight year, as Egyptian mediators again pressed Palestinian militants to halt attacks. With efforts to revive peace talks at a standstill, Israeli leaders sent a mixed message to the Palestinians: Israel is ready to negotiate but will take unilateral action if peace talks fail. Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has advocated a unilateral pullout from occupied lands in recent weeks, warned the public to be ready for painful concessions. He said ``tens of thousands'' of settlers in the West Bank and Gaza would be uprooted. Sharon predicts Qureia will fall within six months Ha'aretz 12/16/2003 Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's government will collapse within six months, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon predicted yesterday. Sharon, who made the comment during consultations with his advisors on a major diplomatic speech that he plans to deliver at the Herzliya Conference on Thursday, added that the American administration shares this assessment. Sharon also criticized Qureia for "doing nothing against terrorism." Preparations for a Sharon-Qureia meeting are currently on hold, and a meeting between the premiers' bureau chiefs that was supposed to finalize arrangements for it has been indefinitely postponed. "We are busy preparing the Herzliya speech, and we don't have time this week," Sharon's bureau said. Egypian Foreign Minister to snub Arafat Ha'aretz 12/16/2003 Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher will arrive in Israel next Monday for an official visit, but will not meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, said a government source in Jerusalem Tuesday. Details of the visit were finalized in a recent meeting between Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Geneva. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and his Bosnian counterpart Mladen Ivanic are both in Israel, and are scheduled to meet Shalom and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon....Islamic Jihad leader: Only new Egyptian guarantees may lead to cease-fire. Israel assures U.S.: Nothing decided on unilateral steps Ha'aretz 12/16/2003 Under pressure from the United States to forswear unilateral measures that could compromise the administration's road map peace plan, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Tuesday that he had told U.S. officials no decision had yet been made regarding such measures, and that if any were contemplated, they would be fully coordinated with Washington....Sharon is to address the Herzlia Conference on Thursday, and the speech is likely to be closely watched for further details of unilateral measures within a larger atrategy for the territories. Higher Islamic Authority denounces Switzerland document Palestinian Information Center 12/16/2003 Occupied Jerusalem - The Higher Islamic Authority in occupied Jerusalem has issued a statement denouncing the Switzerland document and describing it as sheer capitulation. The HIA statement said that the Palestinian people and their legitimate leadership were keen on peace that preserved rights of self-determination, return and statehood with Jerusalem as the capital. The statement affirmed that the Authority based on its religious responsibilities would like to affirm that the holy Aqsa Mosque, with all its mosques, domes, yards, halls and walls surrounding its four corners were solely Islamic and no one could change that fact and whoever dared do that would be considered an apostate. Nazzal: Hamas would never agree to surrendering national rights Palestinian Information Center 12/16/2003 Beirut - Mohammed Nazzal, political bureau member of the Hamas Movement, has affirmed that his Movement was adamant on Palestinian national unity. Hamas was always among the first to respond to any invitation to attend Palestinian national dialogues out of keenness on dialogue as a civilized approach to settle differences and to bridge views, he elaborated. The Hamas official, who was speaking in a rally in Ein Al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon on 14/12/2003 on the Hamas Movement anniversary, noted that Hamas went to Cairo twice in less than a year to attend such dialogues, the first in early this year and the second a few days ago. Israel lifts barricades in occupied territories after US pressure ReliefWeb 12/16/2003 JERUSALEM, Dec 16 (AFP) - The Israeli army said Tuesday it had lifted roadblocks in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, and allotted thousands of entry permits for Palestinian workers. The relief measures, announced Tuesday, followed a meeting of Israeli, Palestinian and US officials in Jerusalem, amid US pressure for steps to implement the faltering roadmap peace plan....The measures included opening the roads around Halhul in the southern West Bank, notably the link to Hebron, allowing the reopening of dozens of shops in Hebron near a Jewish settlement, and removing a roadblock between Ramallah and Surda in the northern West Bank. Mofaz: Fence has improved security 'hundreds of percent' Jerusalem Post 12/16/2003 Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz called Tuesday for the Palestinians to meet their Road Map obligations and return to the negotiating table. "I'm calling directly on Abu Ala to support the Road Map," Mofaz said at the Herzliya Conference, "He has to fight terror and I'm calling on him from here to do so and to return to the table, and he will find us ready to talk with him as equals facing equals." On Monday, Mofaz warned that the current impression of calm is "misleading," as the security fence has made a "significant contribution" to the recent efforts to combat terror. Secretary-General urges Israelis, Palestinians to take steps to avoid impairing future negotiations ReliefWeb/UN 12/16/2003 Creative 'Track Two' Initiatives Can Promote Momentum for Peace, He Tells Meeting on Palestine Question -- Following is the text of Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan's message to the United Nations Asian Meeting on the Question of Palestine in Beijing, delivered today by Kim Hak-Su, Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific: I send my best wishes to all who have come together for this important meeting organized under the auspices of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People....It is critical for both sides at this stage to take good-faith, confidence-building steps, so as not to impair future negotiations. In this respect, the construction of the barrier is seen as counterproductive. World community must pressure Israel to cease constructing separation wall, Beijing meeting told ReliefWeb/UN 12/16/2003 Participants Discuss Illegal Israeli Policies, Actions against Palestinians -- BEIJING, 16 December - Warning that it might be too late to bring about any Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Palestinian Territories that would give the Palestinians an economically and politically sustainable land base, political analyst Helena Cobban told participants attending the first plenary session of the United Nations Meeting for Asia and the Pacific on the Question of Palestine in Beijing that it might be necessary to consider the creation of a unitary bi-national State in the whole of Israel-Palestine. UN meeting for Asia and Pacific on question of Palestine opens in Beijing ReliefWeb/UN 12/16/2003 BEIJING, 16 December - Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of China Dai Bingguotold the opening session of the United Nations Meeting for Asia and the Pacific on the Question of Palestine in Beijing this morning that it was imperative for the international community to show greater courage, wisdom and resolve in helping the two parties to get rid of disturbances, abandon violence, continue peace talks and follow the Road Map in good faith. Germany's foreign minister kicks off tour of Middle East Ha'aretz 12/16/2003 BERLIN - German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer was starting a Middle East trip yesterday that will take him to Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Fischer was to meet leaders in each country, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and - in a sign of European support - Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia. The main topic during the three-day trip will be the political situation in the region, a German foreign ministry statement said. In Israel, Fischer also was to give a speech at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. Demographic change scares Israelis into supporting peace efforts Arabic News 12/16/2003 Experts in demographics expect that the Palestinians, including the Palestinians of the territories of 1948, will be the majority in the lands dominated by Israel, situated between the Jordan river and the mediterranean by the fall of 2010. This trend in population, pushed some Israeli politicians to embark on plans to support the idea of two separate states....The former Israeli minister Yusi Belin, a prominent opposition member, expressed the fears of the Israelis from the accelerating population growth rate among the Palestinians. He said "we will, not in a long time, have to face a position similar to racism in South Africa, in which the Palestinians will ask for one voice for each voter, and then it will be the end of Zionism." Saddam capture a warning for Palestinians and Damascus: Israel Yahoo! News 12/16/2003 Israel said Saddam Hussein's capture was a lesson to Palestinians and Syria to abandon "terrorism" as Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom sought to patch up relations with the United States on a trip to Washington. "The fall of Saddam Hussein should serve as a lesson to the Palestinians as well as Syria," senior government spokesman Avi Pazner told AFP. "The Palestinians must proceed to examine their conscience and give up their support for Saddam by recognising that resorting to violence and terrorism will not bring them anything," Pazner said Monday. Israel likely to bar Arafat from Christmas mass in Bethlehem Ha'aretz 12/16/2003 Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat said Tuesday he hoped to make a Christmas visit to Bethlehem for the first time in three years, but a senior Israeli official said it was unlikely he would be allowed to do so. Also Tuesday, the mayor of Bethlehem said that the city will hold "normal" Christmas celebrations, for the first time in three years. Asked by reporters at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah whether he wanted to travel to the city of Jesus's birth for holiday festivities, Arafat replied: "I hope so. You know that I never missed this opportunity until they [Israel] imposed a siege on this compound."

Human Rights..

Court: State must explain why fence splits village Ha'aretz 12/16/2003 The High Court of Justice on Tuesday ordered the state to explain why it is building the West Bank separation fence along a route that residents of a village east of Jerusalem say will trap part of the village between the capital and the fence. In the first show-cause order the court has issued on a fence-related matter, the justices also instructed the state to consider an alternative route that would prevent some 60 residents of the West Bank village of Al-Has and 1,500 dunams of agricultural land from being cut off from the rest of the village. 5 IDF conscripts convicted for refusal to serve Ha'aretz 12/16/2003 The Jaffa military tribunal convicted five conscientious objectors Tuesday of refusing an Israel Defense Forces order. The five - Hagai Matar, Shimri Zameret, Adam Maor, Noam Bahat and Matan Kaminer - had claimed conscientious objector status on the grounds that they oppose serving in "an army of occupation." But the court ruled that their freedom to follow their conscience had to be balanced against equally important values, such as national security, which it said could be gravely impaired if the conscripts were exempted from service. Palestinian refugees long for homeland Al-Jazeera 12/16/2003 Ahmad Jizawi, a Palestinian refugee forced out of his village by Israelis in 1948, is determined not to abandon his homeland. Jizawi, nicknamed Abu Firas, unveiled a key for his lost house and said: "We will never give up our homeland regardless of understandings, accords and initiatives." He was reacting to the Geneva document, which was recently signed in Switzerland by Palestinian and Israeli politicians and intellectuals. He talked to Aljazeera.net at his modest house at the refugee camp of Baqaa, about 10km north of the capital, Amman. Camp starts 19th December 2003: Deir Ballut International Womens' Peace Service 12/15/2003 A group of Palestinian, international, and Israeli activists have chosen the village of Deir Ballut, in the Salfit Governorate, as the site for the next round of activities in opposition to Israel's continued building of Phase II of the Apartheid Wall.The camp's activities will begin on Friday, December 19.Building on the lessons of the successful Mas'ha camp, which brought enormous international attention to the political motives behind the wall, these activists will create a two-week continual presence on their land that is threatened by the building of the wall. THE WALL: Security NO, Harassment YES International Womens' Peace Service 12/14/2003 Today’s events at Mas’ha demonstrate that the supposed security fence does not ensure security. Mas’ha farmers have wanted to tend their land for the past weeks, but have been restrained from doing so because Mas’ha is now closed off by the ‘fence,’ whose gates to Mas’ha’s fields remain locked.At the request of the farmers, a group of 10 Israelis and internationals accompanied Mas’ha farmers today to gate 47 to observe events and to request the soldiers to open the gates to allow the farmers to till the soil and plant their crops.Timing is crucial.The season when the farmers can profitably plant is rapidly nearing its end. UNHCR briefing notes: Ethiopia, Palestinians in Jordan, Liberia, Iraq ReliefWeb/UNHCR 12/16/2003 This is a summary of what was said by the UNHCR spokesperson at today's Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva....While on a private trip to Jordan last week, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie spent an afternoon at the refugee camp at Ruweished, near Jordan's eastern border with Iraq that houses more than 500 refugees from Iraq, mostly Palestinians....We remain particularly concerned about the fate of 427 Palestinians in the border sites. Seventeen have travel documents issued by Egypt and Lebanon, while the majority hold Iraqi resident permits. The Palestinian Authority has said that it is willing to accept Palestinians seeking to go to the West Bank and Gaza.

Economy..

Free internet in Palestine could have negative impact on local ISPs Daily Star 12/16/2003 Service providers worry about unfair competition - In 2004, Paltel will market its new services, which are expected to increase usage, but many local businesses fear negative consequences -- RAMALLAH: The Palestinian telecommunications provider Paltel caused a stir in the Palestinian IT world last year when it announced plans to introduce a new system of direct access internet, known as “free internet.” The new system, which Paltel will officially market in the first quarter of 2004, will allow users to access the internet by dialling up a unique four-digit number and bypassing Internet Service Providers (ISPs). As a result, users will only incur the cost of the local telephone call, with charges appearing on their monthly telephone bill. Gov't to support mandatory pensions from January 2005 Globes 12/16/2003 The mandatory pension bill aims to provide comprehensive pension protection to the self-employed, non-union and low-income workers by directing savings to existing pension funds and Israel's capital market. -- Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset Finance Committee chairman MK Abraham Hirchson (Likud) today jointly presented to the Knesset a "pension for every worker bill" to be submitted for Knesset approval. Fitch revises Israel's foreign currency outlook to "Stable" Globes 12/16/2003 The agency also affirmed Israel's long-term foreign currency rating at ''A minus''. -- Fitch Ratings, the international rating agency, today revised the outlook on Israel's long-term foreign currency rating to Stable from Negative. At the same time the agency affirmed Israel's long-term foreign currency rating at 'A-' ('A minus'), its short-term foreign currency rating at 'F1' and its Long-term local currency rating at 'A'. The outlook on the long-term local currency rating remains negative. Thurow: Get ready for US aid to end Globes 12/15/2003 Economist Prof. Lester Thurow says the world’s last surviving Bolsheviks are right here in Israel. -- When Professor Lester Thurow, one of the world's most prominent economists, talks about Israel's demographic problem, he doesn't just mean the number of Arabs living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. "As soon as the number of Muslims in the US exceeds the number of Jews there," he warns, “US aid to Israel will no longer be something to be taken for granted." Twenty years is the length of time Thurow gives until aid is stopped completely...."If you really believe, however, that this war will continue for 100 years, and there is no reason to believe why it won’t...then your educational policy is completely distorted...." Nevertheless, 50 years have passed, and we’re still hanging on. ”The only reason it’s worked until now is that the US is footing a large part of the bill...." Shlomo Ziv: 40% of kibbutzim on verge of bankruptcy Globes 12/16/2003 D&B Israel rates 11.3% of all kibbutzim as very high risk. -- "40% of kibbutzim (collective settlements) in the United Kibbutz Movement are unable to pay their debts under the kibbutzim debt arrangement," says BDO Ziv Haft managing partner Shlomo Ziv. He made the comment ahead of tomorrow's annual business conference of the cooperative settlement movement in Israel. $200m balance of payments surplus in Q3 Globes 12/16/2003 The January-September 2003 surplus was $400 million, compared with $800 million in the 2002 corresponding period. -- Israel had a $200 million balance of payments surplus in the third quarter of 2003. Israel had a $400 million balance of payments surplus in January-September 2003, compared with an $800 million balance of payments deficit in the corresponding period in 2002, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. Absorption Ministry to open as part of easing of sanctions Ha'aretz 12/16/2003 Absorption Ministry bureaus across the country are to open for five hours Wednesday, as part of the Histadrut labor federation's plan to ease the burden on a strike-plagued public by opening various government agencies on a rotating basis....Also Monday, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a request by Histadrut chairman, MK Amir Peretz (One Nation), to speed up the work of the joint negotiating committees that are discussing the main points of contention. Upgraded Arrow missile test successful Globes 12/16/2003 The test was part of the joint Israel-US Arsenal Support Program Initiative program for upgrading the system. -- A successful test of the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system was held today at 7:15 AM at the Palmachim Air Force Base. The test was the 11th for the Arrow, and the sixth for its accompanying weapons system. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) conducted the test, in cooperation with the Israel Air Force. The Arrow destroyed a Black Sparrow airborne ballistic target, manufactured by Rafael (Israel Armament Development Company), and launched from an F-15 warplane. January-November tourist entries up 22.8% Globes 12/16/2003 November 2003 tourist entries were 46.4% higher than in November 2002. -- Israel's tourist industry is recovering, despite the labor sanctions and disruptions by customs and Israel Airport Authorities workers. There were 91,500 tourist entries in November 2003, 46.4% more than the 62,500 recorded in November 2002, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. Historic document By Avi Temkin, Globes 12/15/2003 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on Israel's economy is in many respects a historic document. This is the first time in many years that the IMF has praised Ministry of Finance policy and openly criticized the Bank of Israel. In the reserved language of the report, the Bank of Israel erred in its assessment of the strength of deflationary pressures in the economy and maintained a too-restrictive policy. The IMF effectively joined the domestic chorus urging Governor of the Bank of Israel David Klein to hasten the pace of interest rate cuts, out of concern that the central bank will, once again, be too conservative and over-cautious, and won't support a possible economic recovery.

People..

S. Arabia Triples Number Of Palestinian Pilgrims Islam Online 12/16/2003 GAZA CITY, December 16 (IslamOnline.net) – Saudi Arabia decided to triple the number of Palestinian pilgrims this year from 3,500 to 10,000 persons, who will be chosen through a public lot, a Palestinian official said on Tuesday, December 16. Sheikh Youssef Salama, acting Palestinian minister of endowments and religious affairs, told IslamOnline.net that the pilgrims would be fairly chosen from all Palestinian governorates. But he said those who were barred last year by Israeli occupation forces from performing the fifth pillar of Islam will be excepted from the lot. Fewer Palestinians back suicide bombings-poll Ha'aretz 12/16/2003 Palestinian public support for suicide bomb attacks in Israel has dropped to its lowest level in three years of Middle East conflict, according to a poll released on Tuesday. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's rating also declined but he remained more than twice as popular as any other public figure, the survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) found. In a report on its web site, it said 48 percent favored suicide bombings -- less than half for the first time since March 2000, six months before an uprising against Israel erupted as U.S.-brokered peace talks broke down. The Peace Cycle 2004: London-Jerusalem Bike Ride Electronic Intifada/The Peace Cycle Project 12/16/2003 The main aim of this event is to raise awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people due to the continuing Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, which is denying peace and security to all the people of the region. The ride will start in London (probably Trafalgar Square) on either 7th or 14th August 2004. It is intended that the start will coincide with a big rally for Palestine, to be organised with the support of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, The Friends of Al-Aqsa and other pro-Palestinian groups. As much media coverage as possible will be arranged at the start, with high profile supporters in attendance. Daniel Barenboim to apologize, receive Wolf Award Ha'aretz 12/16/2003 Conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim will receive Israel's prestigious Wolf Prize after expressing regret Tuesday for any harm caused by his performance in Israel of music by Hitler's favorite composer, Richard Wagner. Education Minister Limor Livnat had demanded Barenboim apologize publicly for defying an unwritten ban on performaning works by Wagner in Israel....In an interview Tuesday with Israel Radio, Barenboim said he had no regrets about playing the work, but added: "If people were really hurt, of course I regret this, because I don't want to harm anyone." Israelis, Palestinians Seek Corporate Sponsorship for Conflict Electronic Intifada/Bassaleh News Network 12/16/2003 JERUSALEM -- Hoping to reverse their sagging/non-existent economies, and realizing that the prospects for a peaceful settlement in the near future are bleak at best, the Israeli and Palestinian governing authorities have finally agreed on something -- selling the rights to aspects of the conflict to the highest corporate bidder (although who will collect and keep the profits is, of course, the subject of bitter debate). "Look, let's face it -- the hope that Oslo once presented has evaporated. We all know we are in this for the long haul. There will be no quick fixes. So, why should we let CNN, the other news channels and the military contractors take all of the profits?" declared Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu....

International..

Assad ‘not worried’ about sanctions Daily Star 12/16/2003 European Union has no plans to imitate American punishment against Syria -- Syrian President Bashar Assad said Monday he was not worried that his country could become the Washington’s next target after Iraq, despite Israeli remarks that its key Arab foe should draw lessons from the demise of Saddam Hussein’s regime. “What happens in Iraq concerns Iraq, not Syria … Syria is not Iraq,” Assad, who began a trip to Greece on Monday, said in response to a reporter’s question whether his country felt threatened since the US-led invasion and occupation of its eastern neighbor. Syrian- Greek presidents joint press conference Arabic News 12/16/2003 Greek President Konstandinos Stephanopoulos on Monday said that Athens is willing to further develop its relations with the Arab states. President Stephanopoulos told reporters in a joint press conference with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad that "Today we receive President Bashar al-Assad with warmest wishes and sincere feelings É.Greece's relations with all the Arab states are good and firm, particularly with Syria with which we are bound with our traditional relations." China's changing views of terrorism BBC 12/15/2003 China is stepping up its efforts to convince the outside world that there is a direct link between the US-led war on terror and its own fight against Muslim separatists. But many remain unconvinced by Beijing's latest claims against those accused of carrying out a series of bombings and assassinations in its biggest and most politically restive region. In the past, China revealed as little as possible about the sensitive issue of separatist violence in the huge and remote western region of Xinjiang. Apart from anything else, it was highly embarrassed by the claims of local Muslim Uighurs that they were being oppressed and overwhelmed by outsiders in their own land.

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