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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..

News Briefs: IOF demolishes Rafah's “Al-Tawhid” Mosque, Palestinian prisoner denied treatment International Middle East Media Center 12/19/2003 The administration at Majeddo detention camp refuses to provide treatment to a sick detainee: In a procedure which is repeated very often in many detention camps against the detainees, the administration at Majeddo detention camp refused to transfer Mohammad Jaradat to a hospital when his health condition deteriorated after being medically neglected, currently his condition is getting worse and needs immediate medical attention. / Troops invade Rafah and demolish a Mosque: The Military supported by four tanks and three military bulldozers attacked Al-Barahma neighborhood under heavy fire coverage on the Palestinian-Egyptian border south Rafah and demolished a Mosque in that area. Sources mentioned that the army fired Tank bombs towards “Al-Tawhid” Mosque then the Military Bulldozers demolished it completely. Thousands Expected to Arrive in Migron Israel National News 12/18/2003 With leading rabbis of the religious-Zionist public presiding, hundreds of people rallied in Migron last night to declare that they will make sure to stop any plans to uproot a Jewish community anywhere in Israel. The rabbis promised that they would arrive with thousands of their students to block any attempt to destroy the flourishing "outpost" of 43 families.... "Thousands of people arriving here can stop the expulsion," he said. "It depends only on us." Palestinians open fire at a civilian convoy and an IDF post Jerusalem Post 12/19/2003 Palestinians opened fire at a civilian convoy leaving Netzarim in the Gaza Strip Friday. Earlier, an IDF post in the area was fired at [?]. No casualties were reported in either event. Palestinian sources report that IDF forces, backed by helicopters and tanks, are operating in Nablus and the adjacent Balata refugee camp for the third day in a row. IDF to probe razing of sheikh's tomb Ha'aretz 12/19/2003 The Israel Defense Forces' Military Police unit is investigating the demolition of the tomb of a sheikh in the north of the Gaza Strip. The probe is focusing on who in the IDF gave the order to demolish the tomb, a holy Muslim site, and thus to desecrate it. The incident took place a few months ago near the Dugit settlement, where the IDF was engaged in extensive operations to destroy Palestinian agricultural plots and homes. AP: Mideast Death Toll Dramatically Down Newsday 12/19/2003 JERUSALEM -- The death toll in the third year of Israeli-Palestinian violence fell to about half the previous year's, mainly due to fewer Palestinian attacks and Israeli military strikes, according to an Associated Press count. Suicide bombings also dropped by about half. Violence continues to claim lives, children and teens remain among the most vulnerable, and the reasons for the drop are disputed. Palestinians said it's because of hopes over the past year for an end to the violence, while Israeli analysts cited the construction of a massive fence complex in the West Bank and other security measures that have severely disrupted Palestinian daily life. Tranquil hilltop that has become focus of struggle The Guardian 12/19/2003 Migron's hilltop pioneers expect to be the first on the prime minister's symbolic hitlist -- The tents and flags are up and there is a purposeful atmosphere. It could almost be the preparations for the end of season party at a holiday camp, but here in Migron the settlers are preparing for a fight. It appears to have been decided in Israel that this outpost will be dismantled and its 43 families evacuated, to demonstrate that the government will honour its commitment to the road map to peace, and particularly its undertakings to President George Bush. Worshippers Indicted After Entering Palestinian Areas Forward 12/19/2003 JERUSALEM — In a move intended to deter Israelis from entering Palestinian-controlled areas, Israeli state prosecutors have filed charges against a group of Bratslav chasidim who illegally went to pray at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus last week — and were attacked by Palestinian gunmen as they left the site. Eight of the 16 Jews who entered Nablus were indicted this week in Petach Tikvah Magistrates Court for violating a military ban on entering autonomous areas under Palestinian Authority control...."We told them that 'you are going into an area that will cause terror attacks, and cause us to risk our lives to save you,'" said police spokesman Gil Kleiman. "So we weren't going to cut them any slack when it came to being arrested, saying, 'Oh, you've been through a terror attack, go home, we'll forgive you.' No forgiveness." Israel's army phases out country's iconic Uzi submachine gun USA Today 12/18/2003 JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's military is phasing out the legendary Uzi submachine gun, calling it antiquated and replacing it with more sophisticated, electronics-outfitted weaponry, an army spokesman said Wednesday. But the Uzi, a national icon and the country's most famous contribution to the arms industry, will still be produced and exported, to the presumable delight of drug dealers, gang members, Secret Service agents and Hollywood action stars alike.

Diplomacy..

U.S. Warns Israel on Imposing Solution The Guardian 12/19/2003 HERZLIYA, Israel (AP) - The United States warned Israel against imposing a solution if peace efforts remain stalled, and the Palestinians called Ariel Sharon's ultimatum unacceptable. Jewish West Bank settlers, also reacting swiftly to the plan Sharon unveiled Thursday, said the prime minister's idea of moving some settlements was an illusion....``We would oppose any unilateral steps that block the road toward negotiations under the road map,'' White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. ``The United States believes that a settlement must be negotiated and we would oppose any effort - any Israeli effort - to impose a settlement.'' Senior U.S. official: Sharon speech 'a very positive development' Ha'aretz 12/19/2003 A senior American administration official said Friday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's speech at the Herzliya security conference, in which the prime minister unveiled his plan for 'disengagement' from the Palestinians, was a "very positive development" that could restart the peace process. The official, speaking on condition of anonimity, said Sharon's speech indicated Israel's renewed commitment to the road map and to evacuating outposts and some settlements, and added that he disagreed with accusations by Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia that Sharon was threatening the Palestinians by raising the possibility of unilateral moves. Palestinians scorn 'these dangerous words' The Guardian 12/19/2003 Palestinians responded with a mixture of dismay and fury to Ariel Sharon's speech, which some said betrayed his desire to bypass the road map, isolate the Palestinians behind fences, and grab more than half of the West Bank. The Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, said he was "disappointed" that Mr Sharon was "threatening" the Palestinians, and added that if he picked up peace talks then a settlement could come "sooner than expected". "These are ultimately dangerous words, and this type of talk is simply not acceptable," he said. EU thwarts PLO's anti-Israel move in UN Ha'aretz 12/19/2003 The European Union countries have foiled a PLO initiative to challenge Israel's credentials at the UN, specifically Israel's right to represent the territories. Early this week the PLO delegation to the UN distributed a draft resolution that said: "The PLO representative in the UN is the representative of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem."....EU representatives met with PLO Ambassador Nasser al-Kidwa, telling him that exploiting the routine votes on country credentials crossed "a red line." Sharon unveils `disengagement plan' Ha'aretz 12/19/2003 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office has stepped up efforts to arrange a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, sources in the Prime Minister's Office said last night after Sharon delivered a much anticipated speech announcing his "disengagement plan" from the Palestinians. Sharon said he would begin implementing the plan in a few months if it became evident the Palestinian Authority was not undertaking its commitments in the road map and that some elements in the plan - which he dubbed a security, not a political, measure - could begin even sooner....He also said Israel would "greatly accelerate" the construction of the separation fence and said the disengagement plan includes creating economic benefits for the Palestinians, "in coordination with Jordan and Egypt." Sharon under heavy fire for separation plan MSNBC 12/19/2003 U.S., Israeli left and right, Palestinians, blast ultimatum -- JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon drew fire from Israel’s main U.S. ally and all sides in the Middle East on Friday for a pledge to sever Israelis from Palestinians within months if peace talks fail. The plan would deny Palestinians land they want for a state and keep them behind a controversial barrier through the West Bank, but also involve shifting Jewish settlers away from Palestinian population centers to shorten security lines. The United States, Palestinians and Israeli doves condemned the threat of breaking with the U.S.-backed “road map” for reciprocal measures leading to a Palestinian state by 2005. Palestinians urge roadmap execution Middle East Online 12/19/2003 Palestinians had little other choice Friday than to call on the international community to speed up implementation of the peace roadmap after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon threatened unilateral measures if the peace process continued to stall. "We must intensify our efforts with the quartet to come up with timetable for the roadmap," said Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat...."We want the roadmap to be implemented the way it was adopted by the UN Security Council, and the quartet must devise a mechanism to oversee its implementation," said Erakat. Sharon Says Israel Might Use Wall to Create Palestinian Border New York Times 12/19/2003 JERUSALEM, Dec. 18 — Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, said in a major policy address today that if the current peace efforts fail to bring progress within months, Israel will begin severing links with the Palestinians by pulling out of some settlements and establishing a new "security line."...Mr. Sharon also declined to define the security line, though much of it would likely be along the barrier that Israel is building in the West Bank. "The security line will not be the final border of the state of Israel," the prime minister said. "But until the implementation of the road map, that is where" the military will be deployed. Peres says he doesn't believe Sharon will implement new plan Ha'aretz 12/19/2003 Labor Chairman Shimon Peres on Friday criticized Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "disengagement plan" as an attempt to delay making the decisions needed to achieve peace, Israel Radio reported. In a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Israel, Peres slammed Sharon's plan, which the prime minister unveiled Thursday at the Herzliya Conference. Peres criticized the plan as giving no timeline nor specifying which settlements would be evacuated. Quartet to meet on Middle East conflict next month ReliefWeb 12/19/2003 New York (dpa) - The four parties responsible for the so-called ``roadmap,'' the peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, will hold a meeting in January, a European Union official said Friday in New York. Javier Solana, secretary-general for the Council of the E.U., said the meeting, with the date and venue still unspecified, will make another push to advance the roadmap. ``Events have taken place in the Middle East,'' Solana told reporters following a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. EU's Solana warns Israel against 'unilateral' solutions Ha'aretz 12/19/2003 BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union on Friday welcomed some aspects of Prime Minister's Ariel Sharon's latest statement on Middle East peace, but warned "unilateral" moves would not help end the conflict. "There is no unilateral solution to this conflict. Any statements pointing in that direction will certainly not help to move the process forward," said Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief. Text of Prime Minister's Speech at the Herzliya Conference Ha'aretz 12/19/2003 Full text of Sharon's speech Sharon ready to sacrifice some Jewish outposts The Guardian 12/19/2003 ....Mr Sharon said the Palestinians would come off worse if Israeli pursued unilateral action than if they negotiated an agreement.The plan makes Israel's border the "security fence" which has taken big chunks out of the Palestinian West Bank. Mr Sharon said this would not be the final border, but the danger is that it may become so. By closing down the outlying and vulnerable settlements Mr Sharon will concentrate Israeli army resources on the biggest settlements, making it harder to remove them in the future. Obeid stresses right of return Daily Star 12/19/2003 Minister: Palestinians must not be resettled in host countries -- [Lebanon's] Foreign Minister Jean Obeid called Thursday for increased support for the Palestinian right of return in order to dismiss all plans for resettling Palestinian refugees in their present host countries. Speaking to reporters after conferring with the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) politburo chief, Farouk Qaddoumi, the minister said “slogans opposing the resettlement plans without supporting the Palestinian right of return lead to inter-Palestinian fighting.” Lebanon's Sovereignty, Democracy 'at the Core of Bush's Mideast Policy' An Nahar 12/19/2003 Walid Maalouf, a Lebanese-American diplomat serving at Washington's U.N. mission, says Lebanon's "democracy and sovereignty" are at the heart of George W. Bush's administration, adding that Syria is wrong if it believed it could compromise on the issue. A White House appointee, Maalouf has come under fire for a recent altercation with Syria's envoy, Faysal Mikdad, over the Syria Accountability and Lebanon's Sovereignty Restoration Act, which President Bush signed this month. Unilateral Israeli Moves Rejected By U.S. Islam Online 12/19/2003 WASHINGTON, December 19 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Washington Thursday, December 18, warned Israel that it would oppose any unilateral Israeli move towards a Middle East settlement that falls outside the U.S.-backed road map for peace. The Palestinians also dismissed Israeli “threats”, branding them unacceptable. The warning and rejection came after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a speech he would implement his own “unilateral measures” if the Palestinians did not meet their road map commitments in the coming months, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). China vows to promote peace in the Mideast Ha'aretz 12/19/2003 China's fundamental stance on the Middle East is to promote peace and dialogue to achieve comprehensive peace of the region, Chinese President Hu Jintao told visiting President Moshe Katsav yesterday. During a meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Hu said the Israeli-Palestinian issue had been left unsettled for over half a century, and brought disaster to all nations and their peoples in the region including Israel. Envoy Under Fire for Discussing Terror Suspect's Trial Forward 12/19/2003 OTTAWA — The Israeli ambassador to Canada came under fire last week after publicly disclosing that a Hamas official had allegedly tried to recruit a Canadian citizen of Palestinian origin to assist in terrorist attacks in North America. The Canadian Foreign Ministry called in Israeli Ambassador Chaim Divon to protest comments he made about Israel's arrest of Jamal Akkal, a 23-year-old Canadian from Windsor, Ontario. Canadian authorities said such comments could undermine Akkal's chance for a fair trial....Following Divon's initial announcement concerning the case, a spokesman for the Canadian Foreign Ministry, Raymond Doiron, was quoted saying that the Israeli envoy would be "reprimanded" for publicly airing allegations against a Canadian citizen whose case was still before a court. Maher confers with Israeli opposition member Arabic News 12/19/2003 The secretary general of the Israeli Labor party Ofeir Benis said, after talks he had held with the Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Maher, that the evacuation of main Jewish settlements in Gaza should take place in the context of "unilateral measures" in the interest of the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Benis said that if the Roadmap peace plan fails, there is the possibility of thinking of taking unilateral measures, especially in Gaza. Sharon slammed for 'unilateral' threat Al-Jazeera 12/19/2003 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has earned widespread criticism for his threat to impose a deal on the Palestinians. Washington has opposed his planned unilateral moves, Jewish settlers in the occupied territories have accused him of betrayal and Palestinians reject his "threatening" language. The United States "would oppose any unilateral steps that block the road towards negotiations under the road map that leads to the two state vision," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan on Friday. U.S. Warns Israel Against Steps That Harm Peace Plan New York Times 12/19/2003 WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 — The Bush administration, responding coolly to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's announcement of a possible "disengagement plan" in the West Bank, warned Israel on Thursday against taking unilateral steps that effectively abandoned the American-sponsored peace plan, called the road map, which would establish a Palestinian state....Behind the speech, some administration officials said, was a tacit agreement between Mr. Sharon's aides — particularly Dov Weisglass, his chief of staff — and top aides to Mr. Bush that the new Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, is proving to be a disappointment....The senior administration official said Thursday night, however, that Mr. Sharon had made enough conciliatory gestures in his speech to warrant a renewed attempt to get Mr. Qurei back to the negotiating table. Mid-East press on Sharon speech BBC 12/19/2003 Press review: While the Arab press was unimpressed by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's ultimatum to the Palestinians to make progress on peace talks or face a unilateral separation of territories, several Israeli commentators noted that he had made a significant political shift. Analysis / Arik still beats Sharon Ha'aretz 12/19/2003 If life were a movie - Harry Potter, for example - and it was possible with a magic wand to turn Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's words into immediate reality, the political system in Israel would be experiencing a major shock right now. Evacuating Gaza of its Jews and moving dozens of isolated settlements in the West Bank, as implied by Sharon in last night's Herzliya speech, would once and for all have disengaged the Likud from its ideology, and caused an internal split between it and the right, and the establishment of a secular government with Likud, Labor and Shinui. It would have been the Big Bang everyone's been talking about for so long.

Human Rights..

Israel muzzles Palestinian journalists Al-Jazeera 12/19/2003 The international press organisation “Reporters Sans Frontiers” (RSF) recently lambasted Israel for abusing and harassing Palestinian and foreign journalists covering the Intifada against Israeli occupation. The Paris-based group did recognise that Israel generally respected “the local (Jewish) media freedom of expression”, but criticised Israel for violating the international covenant on civil and political rights, including press freedom, especially in the occupied territories. World Court to Hear on Israeli Wall in Feb Reuters 12/19/2003 AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The World Court said on Friday it would hold hearings in February on the legal consequences of the building of the controversial barrier by Israel in the West Bank. Earlier this month, the U.N. General Assembly voted for a Palestinian-initiated resolution to ask The Hague-based International Court of Justice -- also known as the World Court -- whether Israel was legally obliged to tear down the barrier it was constructing in the Palestinian territory. Netanyahu: Israeli Arabs - a demographic problem; ACRI Protests Association for Civil Rights in Israel 12/18/2003 ACRI conveyed an urgent protest to the Finance Minster, Mr. Binyamin Netanyahu, in response to his speech (as reported in the Israeli media) this morning, 17.12.03, at the Herzliya conference, in which he referred to the Israeli Arab population as a “demographic problem”. ACRI Director, Rachel Benziman, sent a letter to the minister to strongly protest his reference to a fifth of Israel’s citizens as no more than a “demographic problem”.

Economy..

Public, businesses flock to stock market Ha'aretz 12/19/2003 The drop in interest rates and the stock market's take-off in 2003 have led to a huge number of new bond issues and stock sales. In total NIS 9.3 billion have been raised in the markets since the beginning of the year. The rising tide in the stock market, in addition to the sharp drop in bond yields that followed the bull market, have combined with the bank credit crunch and the decrease in government bond issue, to bring about a real flowering of corporate fund-raising. Italy and Israel Here on Earth Israel National News 12/19/2003 Israeli and Italian national manufacturers and international business associations signed two complementary industrial, scientific and technological cooperation agreements this week. The signatories to one agreement were the Israel Manufacturers Association and the Italian Manufacturers Association, and the signatories to the other were the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute and the SIMEST fund, established by the Italian government to assist Italian companies in business cooperation with non-EU countries. Another giant step Globes 12/18/2003 Spacecom CEO David Pollack hopes the Amos 2 satellite will finally take off as scheduled. -- It's a bit like going into labor, but before giving birth. Nine months after its original launching date, Amos 2, the second Israeli telecommunications satellite, is still on the ground, hoping for a launch on December 27 from Baikonur, the renowned former Soviet imperial launching pad in Kazakhstan. No one, however, is really sure that the date is final.

People..

Over and out Al-Ahram Weekly on-line 18 - 24 December 200 Like everyone else Israelis and Palestinians were enthralled by the images of Saddam Hussein's capture, but for different reasons -- "One picture is stronger than a thousand missiles," wrote Israeli analyst, Ben Caspit, in Maariv on Monday morning. He was referring to the photograph that by then had been beamed across every network throughout the globe: the fallen Saddam -- hunted, haggard and bowing to his captors like a lamb in a pen. "Less a symbol," remarked another Israeli commentator, "more a shadow"....Among Palestinians the gamut of emotions was almost exactly opposite. Some took to the streets in Nablus and Gaza to salute their long-lost champion and nemesis of their enemies. But most felt a confused mix of shame and betrayal. "Many Palestinians preferred to die under the rubble of their homes than surrender to the Israeli army. Saddam has proved that he is the biggest coward on earth," said Anwar Shtayeh, a Hamas supporter in Hebron. Pilgrims rely on local generosity to facilitate marathon walk Daily Star 12/19/2003 Richard Bois and Mehdi Alioui plan to trek 8,000 kilometers around the region -- Emile Issa, 19, a law student at Universite Saint Joseph, doesn’t usually stop for strangers, but when he saw two men with what seemed very heavy backpacks with the emblem of a scallop on one of them ­ the symbol of pilgrims ­ he was curious to find out who they were and what they were doing in Beirut....Bois, a Christian, and Alioui, a Muslim, are on a trip they call Ensemble, or Together. “Our tour has been called a tour for peace,” says Bois. “But we are walking together for peace, together for ecology, together for however people will interpret it.” Palestinian comic manages to find humor at Israeli checkpoints Daily Star 12/19/2003 Mohammed Faqih says making people laugh at roadblocks eases tension -- NABLUS: Mohammed Faqih is in trouble. His oldest son Ayman is about to start college and he doesn’t know where to get the money to pay for his son’s studies. His dilemma is a common one among Palestinians in the West Bank, where poverty is rampant and the economy in ruins. But unlike most Palestinians, Faqih, 41, plans to use laughter to make his fortune. Faqih is a comic impersonator, and while there is little official work for a comedian in the Occupied Territories, there are plenty of opportunities for performing at venues where audiences are guaranteed to be captive: checkpoints. Reality TV program has positive effect on Israeli society Daily Star 12/19/2003 Show’s Arab winner promotes peace -- LONDON: Reality TV isn’t often trumpeted for its positive effects on society, but that’s exactly what has happened following the victory by Israeli-Arab Firas Khoury in Israeli TV show Project Y. Khoury has since become an important media celebrity in Israel, helping bridge the divide between the Arab and Jewish communities there. This week he published a personal seasonal message of goodwill, wishing the public of the region, “of all communities and sectors, Jewish and Arab, rich and poor, young and old, a year of peace, tranquillity and success. Let us learn to love one another, and forgive those who would hate us.” Palestinians and Israelis sceptical of Sharon plan Financial Times 12/19/2003 RAFAAT/MIGRON, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's words are giving an added sense of chill to the driving rain at the West Bank village of Rafaat. Not far up the road at the Jewish outpost of Migron, settlers also feared Sharon's threat to impose separation if a U.S.-backed peace plan fails -- uprooting some settlements but hardening Israel's hold on areas Palestinians want for a state. For very different reasons, Israelis and Palestinians alike were sceptical that Sharon's plan would end decades of troubles over the land they contest. Thousands of Palestinians mark Hamas' 16th birthday Hindustan Times 12/19/2003 Braving torrential rain, thousands of sympathisers of the hardline Palestinian Islamic group Hamas took to the streets in Gaza City on Friday to mark the group's 16th birthday. Waving Hamas' trademark green flags and other Palestinian flags, the marchers converged on the town centre just after midday prayer, among them several masked men wearing military fatigues and carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles. Others bore five black coffins on their shoulders, upon which were written the names of numerous failed Israeli-Palestinian agreements. Bringing worlds together: a Palestinian celebration at the British Museum Daily Star 12/16/2003 Daylong event features storytellers, musicians, artists ­ and a lot of laughter -- LONDON: The question of cultural and historical legacy has long been a hotly debated issue in the Middle East, tied up so intrinsically with the region’s territorial disputes. Given that, it is significant that the British Museum saw fit to hold its own day of activities structured around events with a Palestinian theme, including music performances, storytelling and art workshops. At a time when the essential Palestinian identity is at risk of being negated, the decision is a timely and brave one, granting a people with a proud past the opportunity to show their best to the world.

International..

Freeh Links Iran To Khobar Bombing Washington Post 12/19/2003 Former FBI director Louis Freeh testified yesterday that he believed there was "overwhelming evidence" that senior Iranian government officials financed and directed the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. Freeh testified as a key witness on behalf of the families of 12 Americans killed in the bombing, who are suing the government of Iran. The former director took particular interest in the investigation into the bombing, traveling to Saudi Arabia soon after the June 25, 1996, explosion. US sanctions on Syria draw closer as Europe embraces Damascus Daily Star 12/19/2003 Timing of EU association deal is political, economic boost - Syria Accountability Act has further polarized ties with United States ­ and muddied the waters in the process -- ATHENS: When Syrian President Bashar Assad finally signs on the dotted line of an association agreement with the European Union early next year, he will be acting out the last scene in five years of often tortuous negotiations between Damascus and Brussels. With US and Israeli pressure on Syria mounting recently ­ including an Israeli air strike against a suburb of Damascus in October and last week’s rejection of peace negotiations over the occupied Golan Heights ­ the development could represent a boost for the country’s president in confronting an apparently belligerent Bush administration. British Foreign office highlights relations with Syria Arabic News 12/19/2003 British Foreign Ministry Spokesman described on Thursday the relation between Britain and Syria as good and based on a serious and constructive dialogue. In a brief interview with SANA in London, the spokesman said that President Bashar al-Assad has adopted a reform program and the British government is observing the steps of this program referring to the imminent the Syrian - European Partnership agreement. US criticizes lack of religious freedom in Middle East Daily Star 12/19/2003 Report cites Saudi Arabia and Iran as worst offenders -- The United States on Thursday assailed Iran and Saudi Arabia as the worst offenders of religious freedom rights in the Middle East, but also criticized its key Middle East ally, Israel, for intolerance toward religious groups. Iran and Saudi Arabia ­ along with pre-war Iraq ­ were listed in the State Department’s annual report on international religious freedom as nations in which there is “state hostility toward minority or non-approved religions.” War on Terrorism's Legal Tack Is Rejected Washington Post 12/19/2003 In ordering the Bush administration to charge al Qaeda suspect Jose Padilla, declare him a material witness or set him free within 30 days, a New York federal appeals court has directly challenged the administration's legal approach to the war on terrorism -- and intensified the clash between the executive and judicial branches, which will ultimately have to be settled at the Supreme Court, legal analysts said yesterday. The administration's assertion of authority to declare a U.S. citizen within the United States an enemy combatant, and to hold him or her indefinitely and incommunicado, has always been the most controversial of its legal claims, attracting criticism from across the ideological spectrum. Detainee to Get Hearing Washington Post 12/19/2003 9th Circuit Ruling Could Lead to Court Dates for Others at Guantanamo Bay -- In the first ruling of its kind, a federal appeals court yesterday decided that a detainee at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba should be granted a court hearing in the United States inquiring into his detention, and raised the possibility that all the 660 or so prisoners there could likewise be given court dates in this country. But legal observers said that the 2 to 1 decision by a three-judge panel in San Francisco almost certainly will become moot after it is inevitably folded into a pending U.S. Supreme Court case that is expected to take up similar issues sometime in the spring. Prosecution Challenged In Islamic Charity Case Washington Post 12/19/2003 Judge Questions Numerous Allegations -- The government's effort to stiffen the sentence of the first person convicted in a broad probe of Islamic charities in Northern Virginia ran into tough questions yesterday from a federal judge. Soliman S. Biheiri was convicted in October in U.S. District Court in Alexandria on immigration charges that usually would result in less than six months in prison. Because prosecutors contend that he did business with people designated as terrorists by the U.S. government, including a leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, they are trying to persuade a judge to impose a term of 10 years. But that judge, T.S. Ellis III, called the government's argument "nonsense" at one point during a hearing yesterday and said the connection between Biheiri's fraudulent efforts to obtain U.S. citizenship and his alleged terrorist ties required the judge to make an "inference" that is not clear. US Arab Population Doubled Over Past 20 Years Arab American Institute 12/5/2003 The Arab population in the United States has nearly doubled in the past two decades, according to the Census Bureau's first report on the group. Experts cited liberalized US immigration laws and unrest in the Middle East that led many people to come to America. The bureau counted nearly 1.2 million Arabs in the United States in 2000, compared with 860,000 in 1990 and 610,000 in 1980. About 60 percent trace their ancestry to three countries: Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. The census report stops at 2000, so there are no data to measure the impact of the attacks of September 11, 2001. But tighter immigration procedures imposed after then have reduced the flow of Arabs to the US. Congress To Aid Lakewood Yeshiva Forward 12/19/2003 Congress is set to allocate $500,000 to Beth Medrash Govoha, known as the Lakewood yeshiva, for the establishment of a "Holocaust library." The grant was included in the 2004 Omnibus Appropriation Conference Agreement that is expected to be signed by President Bush later this month. According to congressional staffers, New Jersey's two senators, Democrats Jon Corzine and Frank Lautenberg, inserted the money into the bill after being lobbied by Rabbi Aharon Kotler, brother of the yeshiva's foremost religious leader, Rabbi Aryeh Malkiel Kotler. The allocation comes as attention is focusing on a book written by Rabbi Saadya Grama, a graduate of the yeshiva, arguing that gentiles are "completely evil" and Jews constitute a separate, genetically superior species. Canadians Pick Jewish Activist As Top Lawman Forward 12/19/2003 MONTREAL — Irwin Cotler, the outspokenly pro-Israel legal scholar sometimes known as Canada's Alan Dershowitz, has been promoted from a backbench member of Parliament to the high-profile posts of justice minister and attorney-general in the new Cabinet announced last week by Paul Martin, Canada's new prime minister. Guantanamo a 'Black Hole,' Says 1st Civilian to Visit Macon Daily 12/17/2003 NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where suspected Taliban soldiers are being held, is a "physical and moral black hole," the first civilian lawyer allowed to meet a client there said on Wednesday. Australian lawyer Stephen Kenny, who last week visited detainee David Hicks of Adelaide, Australia, said at a news briefing in New York that Hicks was in "reasonable spirits" but "quite depressed about his conditions." Hicks, 28, and hundreds of other detainees were arrested in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11 attacks by the al Qaeda network of Islamic militants headquartered there. Coalition of American groups tries to shut off source of funding for Israeli extremists Daily Star 12/17/2003 California Casino owner has funnelled millions of dollars to fund radical settlement movements -- WASHINGTON: A small group of Californians is trying hard to contribute to the Bush administration’s “war on terrorism” by shutting down an important source of financing for religious extremism in the Middle East. No, the effort is not directed against Arab funding of radicalterrorist groups linked to Al-Qaeda. In this case, the target is Jewish extremism in Israel and the Occupied Territories, and the source is a gambling casino located in Hawaiian Gardens, a small, impoverished, predominantly Latino town in greater Los Angeles. U.S. lawmakers urge Iraq relations with Israel Anchorage Daily News 12/18/2003 WASHINGTON (December 17, 2:34 p.m. AST) - The Bush administration should try to ensure that the next Iraqi government has diplomatic relations with Israel, two U.S. lawmakers said Wednesday while visiting the Jewish state. "Will Iraq turn out to be pro-American and anti-Israel? We need to make sure it is not," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., a member of the Republican leadership. Kyl and Rep. Jane Harman of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, spoke in a telephone interview. Iraq is to establish a provisional government next year as it moves toward drafting a constitution and holding elections in 2005. Kyl said the United States must approach the issue of Iraq's relationship with Israel as "a matter of finesse," persuading Iraq that support for Israel is in its own interest. CAMPAIGN CONFIDENTIAL Forward 12/19/2003 Richard the Lionhearted: With President Bush having just waived the Jerusalem Embassy Act, Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri is challenging the president to move America's embassy to Israel's capital... / Blasting Baker: The campaign of retired general Wesley Clark is pointing out that the candidate opposed President Bush's appointment of James Baker III as the administration's special envoy dealing with Iraq debt. An earlier statement the campaign sent to the Forward noted only that Clark opposed Massachusetts Senator John Kerry's suggestion about sending Baker as an envoy to create Israeli-Palestinian peace. But it seems that was not the general's final word.... / Slapping Soros: The chairman of President Bush's re-election bid, Marc Racicot, is using "billionaire liberal" George Soros as the target for a "grassroots" effort to strike back at what Racicot is calling "the smears and invective" of the Democratic candidates....The solicitation also selectively quotes former Vermont governor Howard Dean, Gephardt and Lieberman to illustrate what Republicans have labeled as political "hate speech"... Bush's Internationalist Push Has Dems Grasping for Policy Forward 12/19/2003 The capture of Saddam Hussein is pointing up one of the great ironies facing Democrats when they mull their party's foreign policy: President Bush has stolen it. Bush's prosecution of the Iraq war — like his "No Child Left Behind" educational program and his Medicare prescription drug plan — seeks to beat Democrats by joining them on what was formerly their exclusive turf. By promoting democracy abroad and stealing the Democrats' signature theme — progressive internationalism — Bush has left the Democrats with scant room to formulate an alternative foreign policy, analysts say. American academic criticizes US policy in Middle East Daily Star 12/19/2003 Ann Lesch says bush’s approach is ‘dangerous’ - Critic says Washington has abandoned consistency -- US policy in the Middle East has changed tremendously since the end of the Cold War, with consecutive administrations gradually moving toward increased unilateralism, a visiting American academic said Wednesday. Lesch, a professor of political science at Villanova University, made the comments during a lecture at the Lebanese American University. She said US foreign policy entered a whole new level when President George W. Bush ­ especially after Sept. 11 ­ introduced a “moral right” for the US to do whatever is in its interest to do, irrespective of the international community.

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