September 30 2004

Edward Said: A Contrapuntal Reading - By Mahmoud Darwish
On wind he walks, and in wind
he knows himself. There is no ceiling for the wind,
no home for the wind. Wind is the compass
of the stranger's North.
He says: I am from there, I am from here,
but I am neither there nor here.
I have two names which meet and part...
I have two languages, but I have long forgotten
which is the language of my dreams.
I have an English language, for writing,
with yielding phrases,
and a language in which Heaven and
Jerusalem converse, with a silver cadence,
but it does not yield to my imagination.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/710/cu4.htm


Urgent Appeal from UHWC Gaza
UHWC teams call all international and human rights organizations, the Red Cross, and United Nations, and all those who are seeking just peace in the area to urgently interfere to stop this massacre against the Palestinian people. At the same time we need pressure on the Israeli government to stop its harassment of the medical teams and civilians.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3137.shtml


International Strategy Meeting in Beirut calls for “International Movement against Israeli Apartheid”
Against the Zionist onslaught of the Palestinian people through the colonization of their land, the Conference has called for a “Movement against Israeli Apartheid” as a concrete means of supporting the Palestinian struggle for Justice and Liberation with its core the call for comprehensive boycott, divestment and sanctions.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/765.shtml


The Harvard Law Professor Who Sat On An Israeli Assassination Target Review Panel
Comparing the ICJ to a Mississippi court in the 1930s, Dershowitz contends that the ICJ is a credible court for the rest of the world but not for Israel, just as the Mississippi court was a just tribunal for whites but not for blacks. This argument, in its analogical enormity, paints the ICJ as an exceptionally anti-Israel body.
http://www.counterpunch.com/khan09302004.html


Jewish Activists Disrupt Bulldozer Sales To Israel
Jewish peace activists protested Caterpillar's safety record in the Middle East when they disrupted the Caterpillar-sponsored Safety Awards earlier this morning at the MINExpo in Las Vegas, Nevada. They unrolled a banner with a photo of an armored D-9 bulldozer destroying homes that read “What do Cat dozers make possible? Death and destruction for Palestinians and Israelis.”
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0409/S00342.htm


Edward Said... farewell
Edward Said was a loving and honest person. He was passionate about learning and knowledge. He always questioned everything around him, perhaps because he believed that knowledge is a bridge that can connect people and a source of power that cannot be monopolized by the forces of oppression and tyranny.
http://www.palestinereport.org/article.php?article=61


Widescale Israeli military offensive on the Northern Gaza Strip
PCHR remains gravely concerned for the latest escalation of Israeli military operations in the occupied Palestinian Territory (OPTs), especially in the Gaza Strip, and warns of retaliatory acts against Palestinian civilians and their properties, in violation of international law and humanitarian law.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3138.shtml


Detainees abused in Al-Maskobiyya prison in Jerusalem
The two detainees told Sabah that they are repeatedly beaten, forced to strip in front of female soldiers in an attempt to break their hunger strike which they announced in protest to keeping them in solitary after the end of their interrogation period.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/September/week4/093004/Detainees_Abused.htm


31 Palestinians killed, 130 wounded in the Israeli Military Operation in Gaza Strip
A Palestinian medical source Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, said that the soldiers killed on Wednesday and Thursday 31 Palestinians in Jabalia, among them 25 residents shot dead on Thursday, and shot wounded 130 in the vast the military operation carried in the northern Gaza Strip.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/September/week4/093004/11_killed.htm


26 dead in Gaza fighting
Palestinian witnesses said the dead from the tank shell blast were all teenagers with no involvement in the heavy fighting that raged through the camp. "The explosion was so big it scattered body parts in nearby houses," a medic said.
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5249099


Gaza Hospital Is Overwhelmed With Wounded
Frantic doctors tended to patients on a blood-smeared hospital floor and operated on cafeteria tables, as medics rushed in with more wounded and mangled bodies. On one of the deadliest days in Gaza in four years — 26 Palestinians were killed and at least 131 wounded Thursday — even battle-tested medical staff were overwhelmed.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=540&e=1&u=/ap/20040930/ap_on_re_mi_ea/gaza_scene


Chapel Hill Activist To Speak At Palestinian Conference At Duke
A Chapel Hill activist who was shot in Israel last year is among the people scheduled to speak at a Palestine Solidarity Movement conference at Duke University.
http://www.wral.com/news/3773579/detail.html


Citizenship law divides, not unites families
The law denies Israeli citizenship or residency status to the spouses of Israeli citizens who are residents of the West Bank or Gaza. This of course means that only marriages between Palestinian-Israelis and Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza are affected. It does not affect marriages between Israeli citizens and other foreigners.
http://www.palestinereport.org/article.php?article=443


Five children killed in Gaza Strip battles
Hours earlier a large Israeli force sent to reoccupy the Gaza camp to prevent rocket attacks killed two Palestinian schoolboys. Another boy was shot dead by soldiers near a Jewish settlement. The police said the Hamas rocket hit a house, killing the two children - Dorit Aniso, two, and four-year-old Yuval Abebeh. (Palestinian kids both nameless & ageless)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1316057,00.html


Israeli Colonisers Wound American Pacifists and Palestinian Schoolgirl
Two American members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), and a 10-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl were wounded as Israeli armed colonizers assaulted them, in the West bank city of Hebron, witnesses said.
http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1750


Mofaz: Large-scale, prolonged Gaza operation
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz Thursday announced a "large-scale and prolonged operation," aimed at pushing Qassam rockets out of range of the hard-hit Negev town of Sderot, ordering the IDF to step up the campaign already underway in Gaza and to prepare to take over a buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/483526.html


Hamas conditions on stopping rocket attacks
The Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas announced Thursday that it is willing to stop rocket attacks at Israel if the latter stops military offensives in the territories.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/30/content_2043211.htm


Erekat condemns Israel's killing of Palestinians in Gaza
"What happened in the northern area of the Gaza Strip is a real crime with the full meaning of this word," Erekat told reporters in reaction to the Israeli military escalation.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-10/01/content_2043648.htm


No-confidence vote planned against Palestinian PM
Lawmakers angered by the Palestinian leadership's failure to make reforms plan to force a parliamentary no-confidence vote that could bring down the government appointed by Yasser Arafat.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=483408&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Vanunu tells Australian radio: Israeli nukes unjustified
"They produce a lot of atomic bombs and hydrogen bomb ... they had no reasonable justification. They should realize that ... they lost in this war of nuclear secrets and they should admit to the world they went in the wrong direction and go for real peace with the Arabs in the Middle East," he said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/483430.html


Powell says Palestinian uprising should end
"It is time to end the uprising. We want a Palestinian state. The [U.S.] president wants the establishment of a Palestinian state for the Palestinian people which exists side by side with Israel," Powell said. (but first of all make illegal Settlemets legally recognized)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/483413.html


Syria wants Israel expelled from UN over its "terrorist" policy
An official Syrian newspaper called Thursday for the country's archfoe Israel to be sanctioned over its "terrorist" policies and expelled from the United Nations. "It is high time Israel is sanctioned for its terrorist record and its odious crimes which threaten the stability of the region and international security,"
http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=29041


CAMPAIGN CONFIDENTIAL
Cameron Kerry is pledging his brother John would review the sentence of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, who received a life sentence in 1985 after pleading guilty of passing classified documents to Israel. "It does seem like [Pollard] got a disparate sentence. I'm sure a President Kerry will take a look at it,"...
http://www.forward.com/main/article.php?ref=kessler20040923145


Teachers' pests
However, Tirosh officially and openly confirmed that every appointment of an Arab educator is submitted to the Shin Bet for approval. She defended this procedure and even announced that neither she nor Education Minister Limor Livnat has any intention of working to change it.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/483006.html


Without the right of return there can be no solution
The right of return of Palestinian refugees to their place of origin is enshrined in four separate bodies of international law: humanitarian law; human rights law; the law of nationality as applied to state succession; and refugee law. Beyond these laws, which apply to all refugees in the world, the UN General Assembly specified the Palestinian case in Resolution 194...
http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/10077/


US Falluja air raid claims more lives
Four people have been killed and six more wounded after US warplanes bombed Falluja, according to a hospital in the Iraqi city. Victims of the dawn raid (0100 GMT) were rushed to Falluja's general hospital on Thursday where Dr Abd al-Hakim al-Badrani confirmed the civilian toll. the bombing killed "a father, mother and their two children"...
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8E9442BD-F5E9-481C-BB96-57FBBAFBB152.htm


Committing a war crime: Cancer cases in Iraq are increasing
While Washington expresses concern that “terrorists” could explode a “dirty bomb” containing nuclear waste on a Western city, killing hundreds of people and leaving a radioactive residue which will cause cancer for years to come, the US is dropping “dirty” depleted uranium bunker bombs on Iraq and selling 500 of these devices to Israel.
http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=2&p=5990&s2=30


Not enough troops to keep pace, study says
The military doesn't have enough people for its current pace of missions, according to an independent study commissioned by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. But Rumsfeld said he won't immediately act on the panel's recommendations.
http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-NAVYPAPER-370919.php


NATO mission in Iraq could involve 3,000 troops: Jones
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) agreed to the training mission in principle in June, but has struggled to agree on the details amid resistance notably from France. Jones, who is NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said: "in the initial paper we sent out we hypothesized that it will be no more than a brigade. that's approximately 3,000."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=3&u=/afp/20040930/wl_mideast_afp/nato_iraq_040930173805

September 29 2004

Budrus Arrests and Peace Activists Beaten
Today, at 1:00PM, residents of Budrus, joined by internationals and at least 15 Israelis marched to protest the Wall and to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the second Intifada. Palestinian Non-violent Activist, Mansour was arrested and beaten.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palsolidarity/message/1071


ISM Reports and Budrus Update
1. Reports from Budrus: update on arrests; 2. Jenin suffers largest military invasion in two years; 3. Report on demonstration in Beit Awwa, Monday; 4. Israeli activists face charges for protesting the destruction of Palestinian olive trees
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palsolidarity/message/1072


Jewish settlers 'attack' US workers
Two American Christian volunteers say they were beaten and robbed by masked Jewish settlers while escorting a group of Palestinian children to school. Kim Lamberty and Chris Brown say they were kicked, beaten with a chain and had their possessions stolen close to the Maon settlement, near Hebron.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3701036.stm


Jewish Activists Disrupt Safety Awards at MINExpo to Protest Caterpillar's Sales to Israeli Army
Jewish peace activists protested Caterpillar's safety record in the Middle East when they disrupted the Caterpillar-sponsored Safety Awards earlier this morning in Las Vegas, Nevada. They unrolled a banner with a photo of an armored D-9 bulldozer destroying homes that read "What do Cat dozers make possible? Death and destruction for Palestinians and Israelis."
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3135.shtml


Anglican Group Shocked, Troubled by Israeli Humiliation of Palestinian People
The Anglican Peace and Justice Network (APJN) called on the Israeli forces to withdraw from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and to dismantle the Apartheid Wall, expressing shock on the Israeli breaches of international boundaries and humiliation of Palestinian people.
http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1743


Witnesses: Settler's shooting of Palestinian was unprovoked
Police sources said Tuesday that the shooting of a Palestinian by a settler on Monday was an act of self-defense, but the findings of a Haaretz investigation cast serious doubt on this conclusion.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=483285&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Israel kills 6 Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank raids
Youths of 17 and 14 in a stone-throwing crowd that confronted Israeli forces were shot dead in Gaza's Jabalya refugee camp. Fifteen others, many of them students in school uniforms, were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. In a separate incident in central Gaza, Israeli troops shot dead a boy of 13 and wounded four others...
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/111392b0-1224-11d9-863e-00000e2511c8.html


Israeli Troops Kill a Resident in Jenin, Demolishes Houses in Gaza
Mahmoud Naser Bazour,19 years-old, was shot dead,  Khalil Sleet,14,  and Shoja' Abed, 15, were  injured by Israeli soldiers after  coming under the soldiers fire shot from houses' rooftops, medical sources at the Khalil Sulaiman hospital said.
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_e/ipc_e-1/e_News/news2004/2004_09/181.html

Israel launches missile attack on refugee camp in Gaza, causing casualties
An Israeli helicopter gunship fired two missiles into the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, wounding several Palestinians, witnesses said.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/30/content_2040125.htm


Palestinian Rocket Kills 2 in Israeli Town
A Palestinian rocket hit an Israeli town near the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing two people, according to Israeli media. Soon after, witnesses said an Israeli helicopter launched a strike near a Palestinian refugee camp in Gaza.
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040929_938.html


?Palestinian brigades shoot two Jewish settlers
Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility Wednesday for killing two Israeli settlers south of Gaza. The brigades said in a statement that one of its sniper groups shot two Israeli truck drivers near the settlement of Gan Or, west of Khan Yunis.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/English/Story.asp?DSNO=667839


Jihad attacks Israeli settlement in northern Gaza
"we could shell the Israeli settlements from the areas that Israelis are invading at the same time." Meanwhile, Israeli radio reported that two soldiers were lightly wounded in the shelling and were taken to Soroka hospital in Be'er Shiva for treatment.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/29/content_2038297.htm


No-confidence vote planned against Palestinian PM
Such a move would put increased pressure on Arafat, who in recent months has faced unprecedented unrest in the most serious challenge to his rule since he returned from exile a decade ago.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/483408.html


Powell says Palestinian uprising should end
"It is time to end the uprising. We want a Palestinian state. The (U.S.) president wants the establishment of a Palestinian state for the Palestinian people which exists side by side with Israel," Powell told Arab satellite television Al Jazeera.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L29388942.htm


U.N.: Most Palestinians live below poverty line
Three of every four Palestinians live in poverty and their economy still depends on donors, despite 4.5 percent economic growth last year, the United Nations said on Wednesday.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5007136.html


Mofaz: IDF will need 12 weeks to complete disengagement
The defense minister expressed concern that if the stages are not connected, those opposed to the disengagement will take advantage of the gaps and rally to make it more difficult for the evacuation to take place.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=483298&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


600,000 Palestinians registered for elections: official
Ali Jarbawi, secretary of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission said this figure represents 35 percent of the total number of the Palestinians who have the rights to register for elections in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/29/content_2039346.htm


Two alleged Mossad agents freed from New Zealand jail
The two men pleaded guilty in July to trying to obtain a New Zealand passport using the identity of a wheelchair-bound cerebral palsy victim. New Zealand suspended all high-level diplomatic contact with Israel as a result and has sought an explanation and apology. Israel is refusing to comment on the case.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/483068.html


Episcopal Church Follows Protestant Path of Israeli Divestment
After spending eight days meeting with Palestinian Christians and touring areas of the West Bank, a coalition of Anglican church leaders are prepared to recommend to the Worldwide Anglican Communion, which meets in Wales in June, that the church body divest from Israel.
http://www.jewishexponent.com/Zoom.asp?storyID=22721&szparent=586&pubID=282&Archive=


Apology still required from Israel
The cancellation of scheduled foreign ministry consultations and the requirement for Israeli officials to apply for visas to visit New Zealand will hardly be creating tremors in Tel Aviv. Nor will the suspension of the appointment of an ambassador and the rolling out of the "not welcome" mat for the Israeli President.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3595957&thesection=news&thesubsection=dialogue


General Assembly speakers canvass topics from terrorism to trade and debt relief
Farouk Assaad Kaddoumi, Head of Delegation for the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine , denounced Israel as "a war-sophisticated arms developer and dealer with no ethical or moral constraints and with no human rights concerns."
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=12067&Cr=general&Cr1=assembly


The Sword of St Michael - By Israel Shamir
"Nothing justifies violence", or "Two wrongs do not make a right" - one hears these pseudo-wisdom cracks daily. It is not true from any point of view; even from the highest moral ground: violence is justified and commanded in order to save another person's life and dignity.
http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=2&p=5930&s2=28


Weblog: Are Mainline Churches Anti-Semitic?
The IRD wrongly and dangerously equates any criticism of the government of Israel and its policies with anti-Semitism. The NCC seeks justice for all people in the Middle East. It is working for justice in the land where our Savior walked and where our Christian brothers and sisters, along with Jews and Muslims, are crying out for justice.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/139/21.0.html


It's the Occupation, Stupid!
It led to the Oslo Peace Process in 1993 and a hopeful time in Israeli-Palestinian relations until the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. The Al Aqsa Intifada, as the Second Intifada, began as a Palestinian uprising to get the peace process back on the table and to set the stage for an independent Palestinian state.
http://www.imemc.org/opinion/2004/september/am-johal-4yrs-intifada.htm


3334 Palestinian killed in the past four years 82% of them were civilians
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, chair of "Health and Development Information Policy Center" (HDIP), said that 3334 Palestinians were killed and 53,000 were wounded since the beginning of the Intifada in September, 28, 2000.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/September/week4/092904/barghouthi-4-yrs.htm


Four Years of Intifada: Statistical Overview
The Second Intifada, now entering its 5th year, has seen the world distracted by events in Iraq, enabling Israel to continue violating Palestinians' Human Rights with complete immunity. The international media remains more accessible to the Israeli side and thus allows Israel to push forward their preferred narrative.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3131.shtml


Without the right of return there can be no solution
The right of choice is a necessity for those who have, for half a century, been forced to live as aliens without basic rights in miserable camps and in states that have not always embraced them with open arms.
http://www.bitterlemons.org/issue/pal1.php


'How will Damascus respond?'
What is especially appalling about Israel's contempt for international legalities is that there has been no condemnation of the attack from any western country, and even the Arab world has remained mute. "It is because of this silence that Israel continues its aggression towards its neighbours, and forges ahead with its own plans...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1314965,00.html


Inside Track / A scary, simple equation
American Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer couldn't believe his ears. About a month ago, Kurtzer - as he later told friends - met with representatives of the settlers who are spearheading the resistance to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's evacuation plan in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, at their request.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/483008.html


Mordechai Vanunu speaks
Maybe the real fear is that my free spirit, my free belief to express my views in politics, in everything, not only nuclear secrets, I have many interesting views and I'm telling them without fear and expressing that to anyone in all the world, in all the media, and that is not good for Israel.
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2004/s1209662.htm


Captors don't want to kill me, says Bigley
The 62-year-old, who appeared to be kneeling inside a cage and was seen weeping, branded Prime Minister Tony Blair a liar on the tape, screened on Arab TV station Al-Jazeera. He was dressed in an orange jumpsuit - similar to those worn by American prisoners at Guantanamo Bay - and had a metal chain draped around his neck and both his hands and feet bound.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=567058


Blair disagrees with Annan's calling Iraq war illegal
"That's his view," Blair told BBC interviewer John Humphrys during a programme broadcast Wednesday, a day after his keynote speech to the Labour Party conference in the southern English resort of Brighton. "The war was justified legally because he (Saddam Hussein) remained in breach of UN resolutions," said Blair.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=17&u=/afp/20040929/wl_mideast_afp/britain_politics_labour_blair_annan_040929100736

September 28 2004

One Year Later: Remembering Edward Said - By Ilan Pappe
Time passes by so quickly and hence it seems as if only yesterday we were all reading those touching and insightful obituaries of the man and his philosophy. From brilliant long expositions to short but genuine eulogies, it seems that everything that could be said was candidly presented to those who knew him and the millions who have only heard of him.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3129.shtml


Jordan says Israel barrier threatens the kingdom
the barrier will interfere with the establishment of a viable independent Palestinian state and harm all aspects of Palestinian political, social and economic life. "This set of circumstances is bound to have spill-over implications into neighboring countries, especially Jordan ... The separation wall threatens the national security" of the kingdom, he said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=482557&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Israeli Activists Face Charges For Protesting the Destruction of Trees
Today Israeli activists Neta Golan and Shelley Nativ faced charges in an Israeli court in Kfar Saba for chaining themselves to olive trees that were being bulldozed by the Israeli army in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in April 2001.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/DesktopModules/Articles/ArticlesView.aspx?TabID=0&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en-US&ItemID=478&mid=10400


Palestinians use Israel-style perks to counter settlers
Palestinians, worried that the slow drain of residents from the old quarter could loosen their hold on Hebron in favour of ultra-nationalist Israelis, say they need to quickly reclaim decaying homes to stop settlers from expanding their enclaves.
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?ccode=ENG4&newscode=73679


On This Day 2000: 'Provocative' mosque visit sparks riots
The violence began after a highly controversial tour of the mosque compound early this morning by hardline Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon. Under heavy guard, Mr Sharon entered the compound with a right-wing Likud party delegation. Ariel Sharon was elected prime minister in February 2001, turned his back on the land for peace deal and re-occupied the West Bank.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/28/newsid_3687000/3687762.stm


Two Palestinians killed on intifada anniversary, CNN staffer released
Mahmud Ibzur, 16, was fatally hit in the chest during clashes between troops and stone throwers protesting the second day of a large army search and arrest operation in northern West Bank town of Jenin and its refugee camp. Earlier in Jenin, troops shot dead Saleh Bilalu, a 47-year-old mentally ill man...
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=2&u=/afp/20040928/wl_mideast_afp/mideast_040928174012


Jewish settler 'gets away' with murder
A Jewish settler who killed a Palestinian driver has been freed from police custody and placed under temporary house arrest, Israeli state-run radio has reported. His release, ordered by the Kfar Sava court on Tuesday, sheds light on the stunning leniency adopted by the Israeli justice system toward Jews involved in serious crimes against non-Jews.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5CA019C0-7C35-461D-A238-8F5C40E80D39.htm


Israeli Supreme Court Releases Soldiers Convicted of Abusing Two Palestinian Workers
The only verdict, the court has passed against the said soldiers was placement of them under home arrest for four days, despite atrocious harassment the two Palestinian workers have gone through at the hands of these soldiers two weeks ago.
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_e/ipc_e-1/e_News/news2004/2004_09/180.html


Israeli Army Invades Jenin Camp; Occupies Hospital
The army also occupied the hospital in the late morning, and arrested two employees of the hospital: a guard and a janitor, neither of whom were "wanted." They left after detroying the equipment in the operating room.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/DesktopModules/Articles/ArticlesView.aspx?TabID=0&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en-US&ItemID=475&mid=10400


Israeli police 'made men drink urine'
Grabbing the men at gunpoint two weeks ago on suspicion of illegal entry into Israeli-held territory, the border policemen took them to an abandoned building and began to beat them, according to an indictment charging them with assault and abuse.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw109638504126B253


Sick transit
Shuli Davidovich, of the Israeli embassy, misses the point (Letters, September 25). In 2002, Israel made a commitment that no ambulance should wait more than 30 minutes at a checkpoint. Another agreement, between the Red Cross and the Israeli Defence Force, says that in emergency cases Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances should be allowed to pass through checkpoints.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,10551,1314237,00.html


Qassam rockets hit Sderot, eight treated for shock
Palestinians fired at least four Qassam rockets at the Sderot area in the Negev on Tuesday, and eight people were treated for shock. One of the rockets hit a house, causing some damage, and another landed near a school.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=482940&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Palestinian PM urges tactical rethink on intifada
"This anniversary should make us all - the people, the factions and the Palestinian Authority - reconsider the past four years, where we went wrong and where we went right," Qureia told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/482958.html


Hamas intends to agree on temporary national program
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told reporters that the program will lead to establish a unified Palestinian leadership that all the Palestinian factions would join.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/28/content_2034062.htm


Gaza curbs 'hamper aid effort'
UNRWA is calling on Israel to respect the freedom of movement of its staff. The agency supplies food to almost one million people in the occupied territories - 700,000 of them in the Gaza Strip. It also runs schools and hospitals.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3697172.stm


Elite officers criticize IDF actions in territories
The officers said that they had no intention of refusing to serve, but objected to some of the army's tactics in the territories. They were particularly troubled by the widespread demolition of houses in Gaza, which they said was immoral and hurt the innocent.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=482617&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Reacting to recent deaths, Annan asks Israel to ensure Palestinian civilians' safety
"The Secretary-General and his representatives in the region have repeatedly called on the Government of Israel to respect the inviolability of UN institutions and installations, and in particular, to refrain from any activities that endanger the lives and safety of those who are lawfully on the premises, especially children,"
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=12057&Cr=middle&Cr1=east


Ed Koch: Only Bush can
The former mayor of New York and one of the most prominent American Jews, Koch is setting out to persuade the Jews of Florida that this time they should vote for George W. Bush. Even he himself, a sworn Democrat who was elected on his party's ticket for a number of public positions over decades...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/482612.html


Seeing Palestinians plain
If you somehow believe that political problems can be solved militarily then it is easy to see why peace talks have stumbled. This image has upped the ante to such a degree that it has become difficult for Palestinian politicians to make political compromises.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer&cid=1096259486780&p=1006953079865


Liberation Art of Palestine
Art in Palestine, however, is part of the liberation struggle. Samia A. Halaby in her book "Liberation Art of Palestine" puts this art in context, explains its symbols, development and historical roots, and gives important insights into one of the conflicts shaking the world today.
http://www.workers.org/ww/2004/palbook0930.php


Arabs, Israel Split on Terror Definition
"The latter two conventions define the terrorist crime, and distinguish between terrorism and the legitimate right of people lingering under foreign occupation to resist occupation in accordance with international law and the United Nations' Charter," al-Sharaa said. Western nations and Israel say there is no room for excuses...
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=540&e=12&u=/ap/20040928/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_interpreting_terrorism


PCHR: In Four-Years Old  Intifada, Israel Demolishes 4811 Palestinian Homes
Throughout  the past four years of the Palestinian uprising (Intifada), against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian cities, towns, villages and refugee camps, the Israeli occupying forces have demolished 4811 Palestinian-owned houses, 2432 of which totally , while the remaining others partially, the Gaza-based Human Rights Center reported Tuesday.
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_e/ipc_e-1/e_News/news2004/2004_09/178.html


A false quiet in Jordan
But in fact this quiet is deceptive, because the deep waters in and around Jordan are liable to sweep the Hashemite regime into an existential struggle. President Bush's ambitious plan to implant democracy in an Arab state will, in the end, also reach the palace in Amman, which today is Washington's loyal ally.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/482589.html


Arab democracy is possible, but a long-term strategy is required
"Arab Human Development Report" is frank in its criticism of the region's economic and social progress. Economic growth has been slow, approximately half of the women are illiterate, and the region is not well integrated into the world economy. Indeed, with a population of more than 300 million, Arab countries export less to the world, excluding oil and gas, than Finland.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=8776


Two British soldiers killed in Basra ambush
Two British soldiers died following an ambush on a convoy near the southern Iraqi city of Basra today, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said. They came under attack south west of the city and the pair were killed as they tried to rescue other soldiers from one of the vehicles in the convoy.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=566565


Freed Italians committed to aiding Iraqis
The two aid workers, the first Western women to be seized since the start of Iraq's hostage saga, share the same first name, the same age, the same job and the same dedication to the Iraqi people.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=592499&section=news


Arafat joins fight to save Bigley amid reports hostage is still alive
Mr Bigley told the ITV News Channel it was "fantastic news," which had been relayed to him by the representative of the Palestinian Authority in Ireland. He contrasted it with the efforts of Tony Blair, who he accused of not doing enough.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=566468


The Worse The Situation In Iraq, The Bigger The Lies That Tony Blair Tells Us -by Robert Fisk
For what happened to all those videos which members of Congress were allowed to watch in secret and which we - the public - were not permitted to see? Why have we suddenly forgotten about Abu Ghraib? Seymour Hersh, the journalist who broke the Abu Ghraib story - and one of the only journalists in America who is doing his job - has spoken publicly...
http://www.counterpunch.com/fisk09282004.html


Iraqi roads crushed by US military
"Drivers of US occupation tanks have no respect for Iraq as an entity; they trash everything on their way," says Hana Khalid, a retired Iraqi teacher. "It is a very common scene in Baghdad that a tank destroys a pavement in order to make a U-turn."
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F619BF9C-771D-4CDF-8659-F74F63C3A669.htm


US oil companies prepare for a return to Libya
US oil companies aiming to return to Libya will have the chance to express their interest in exploring for oil in the energy-rich north African country for the first time today since Ronald Reagan imposed sanctions on Libya in 1986.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/17e4874a-10ec-11d9-a73b-00000e2511c8.html

September 27 2004

In the Shadow of the Wall
Outside Akramawi's shop the wall runs right across the road. Forty feet high, it slices through the community, severing Jerusalem from the West Bank village of Abu Dis. “If you want security for your house you build the wall in your own garden not in your neighbour's,” he complains, increasingly fired up and distraught.
http://www.sundayherald.com/44962


Israel still expropriating land to expand settlements
The "state lands" designation has consistently served the governments of Israel in establishing and expanding settlements. In the late 1970s the Supreme Court forbade the expropriation of private Palestinian property for settlements.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/481828.html


Village of Budrus faces Israeli army threats after peaceful demonstration against the Wall
Tomorrow, September 28,villagers will march in commemoration of the 4th anniversary of the second Intifada and to protest the Wall. They will be joined by internationals, including Israelis.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palsolidarity/message/1069


Army Seals Budrus village
Israel confiscated wide areas of land and cut down a large number of trees in the village for the construction of the West Bank separation wall. Residents of Budrus are planning for a peaceful Anti-Wall protest on Tuesday in coordination with Israeli and International Peace activists from the International Solidarity Movement.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/September/week4/092704/budrus.htm


Survey: 45 percent of Arab families live below poverty line
Forty-five percent of Arab families in Israel are defined as poor, compared to 15 percent of families in the Jewish sector, according to statistics published on Monday by Sikui, an Israeli Arab association for social equality in Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/482460.html


Israeli Extrajudicial Executions at Large: Seven Palestinians Killed in Gaza and Nablus
Sayel Jebara, 46, was killed after Israeli settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement 'Alon Moreh' opened fire at him near the bypass colonial road. Earlier, Israeli forces extra-judicially executed two Palestinian resistance activists in the city of Nablus...
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_e/ipc_e-1/e_News/news2004/2004_09/174.html


Israeli Army conducts a wide scale invasion in Jenin
The Israel army launched a broad operation in the West Bank city of Jenin early Monday. Eyewitnesses said Israeli forces are backed with armored vehicles and Apache gun ships. Troops imposed house arrest in the city and started a house-to-house search in the center of the city and in the adjacent refugee camp.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/September/week4/092704/jenin-invasion.htm


IDF reservist gets 28 days for refusing to serve in Gaza
G.S., who immigrated to Israel 12 years ago, said following his trial Sunday that his childhood in apartheid South Africa had been very influential on his willingness to go to prison for his beliefs. "I lived in a society where one group's survival translated into injustice for others. That's the situation in Gaza and I don't want to be part of that," he said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=482341&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Israeli guard commits suicide next to West Bank barrier: police
The incident took place as the man was protecting workers building a section of the controversial barrier at Har Adar, 10 kilometres (six miles) northwest of Jerusalem, they said. "It was a probable suicide," police spokesman Gil Kleiman told AFP. "He put a gun to his head and shot himself."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=15&u=/afp/20040927/wl_mideast_afp/mideast_unrest_shooting_toll


Mayor to force Jerusalem's Arabs out
Last week, Lupolianski asked the Israeli interior ministry to allow him to convert an entire Arab neighbourhood, known as Wadi al-Juz, into a Jewish-only neighbourhood. His declared justification is that the "re-zoning of the area" would "enhance the unity of Jerusalem" and "strengthen the link between Jewish neighbourhoods".
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/32E48972-F79C-4274-9ED9-B441FCCE9425.htm


Jordan dismisses Israeli claim that Al Aqsa compound risks collapse
Jordan has dismissed Israeli claims that part of the Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem is at risk of collapse, saying experts had checked it earlier this year.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=13&u=/afp/20040927/wl_mideast_afp/mideast_jerusalem_religion_jordan_040927185658


Palestinian side dismisses Israeli warning on Aqsa Mosque
The Palestinian Islamic Waqf on Monday dismissed Israeli assertions that the Temple Mount might collapse, stressing the eastern side of the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and all its walls and ceilings are safe.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/27/content_2029751.htm


Report: construction carried out at 470 sites across territories
According to the report, 3,700 housing units are currently being built in the territories, while infrastructure work is taking place for thousands of additional units. The report stated that one new outpost, “Ma'avar Michmash” near Ramallah, was erected while 19 others had grown.
http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=11182


Israeli soldiers admit degrading acts
According to press reports, the soldiers forced the boys into an abandoned house near the roadblock. There they urinated in to a small plastic bucket, dipped the boys' identity cards in and, at gun point, forced them to retrieve the IDs with their mouths.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B094E2B5-8855-45A8-80B5-A54445C8511D.htm


10 year old schoolgirl dies in hospital after being hit by bullet in classroom
On countless occasions I have called upon the Israeli authorities to respect their obligations under the CRC and under International Humanitarian Law in general, and to stop firing on the schools, fearing that innocent schoolchildren would inevitably be killed. Now it has happened. It is a tragic and senseless death. We have all failed to protect this child. Such killings must stop.”
http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/releases/pr-2004/hqg28-04.pdf


Armed men in Gaza kidnap Israeli citizen working for CNN
Riad Abu Ali, who works as an assistant producer for CNN was snatched from his car after leaving the company's offices in Gaza City. The Palestinian Authority is in contact with the armed men in an attempt to negotiate his release.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/482510.html


Qurei condemns assassination of Hamas leader in Syria
"The fair peace is the Palestinian people's choice if Israel would stop the closures, incursions and stop building the settlements and the separating wall," Qurei said. He added if Israel continues to use security as an excuse forthe policy against the Palestinian people, it will not lead to anyresult.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/27/content_2030194.htm


PNA says ready "to halt cycle of violence"
The sources said the PNA demanded the international community to appoint international observers to supervise a complete ceasefire and to work on an immediate start of implementing the roadmap peace plan.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/27/content_2029752.htm


Syria, at UN, says Israel behind US war on Iraq
Shara accused Israel of refusing to comply with 40 Security Council resolutions and hundreds of General Assembly resolutions demanding that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian territories as a step toward a Middle East peace. Washington had used Baghdad's noncompliance with U.N. resolutions as one of its rationales for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27571024.htm


Jordan welcomes IAEA inspection
Jordan said in August it was preparing to invite UN experts from the IAEA to carry out independent surveys in the kingdom to eliminate any fear of contamination from the Dimona plant. Israel's first nuclear scientist, Mordechai Vanunu, once warned that the plant could become "a second Chernobyl".
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/27/content_2028504.htm


Number of jobless hits all-time high
The number of jobless who lined up in August at employment bureaus skyrocketed to an all-time high of 243,517 people - a 3.5 percent increase on the previous month and a near 7 percent rise since June. The figure is also 9 percent higher than August 2003.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=482014&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Syrian FM says Sharon trying to 'mislead' the world
Shara said the Middle East is suffering from an explosive situation brought about by Israel's settlement and nuclear policies, which threaten the entire region.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/482496.html


Jordan fingered over Hamas hit list
Although Hamas spokesman Usama Hamdan, who called the act "treason", did not name the country, most analysts are pointing the finger of suspicion squarely at Israel's eastern neighbour, Jordan.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/86FBF002-923A-4E4A-9DDF-B1C73184E83F.htm


Dozens hurt as clerics clash in Jerusalem church
A Greek Orthodox cleric said Franciscans had left open the door to their chapel in what was taken as a show of disrespect. Fighting then broke out at the wooden doorway dividing the Orthodox and Franciscan sections of the church, with clerics and worshippers punching each other...
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L27490150.htm


Token Arab
He maintains that films that deal with specific minority groups in Israeli society receive marketing assistance - for example in the case of "Or," (which is about a prostitute), "Ushpizin" (the ultra-Orthodox), and "Walk on Water" (gays), but films that are in Arabic, Israel's second official language, do not receive that kind of support.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/482070.html


Democracy revisited eight years on
The next elections were meant to be held four years later in 2000, and were postponed until after the full Israeli-Palestinian peace everyone was expecting. But instead of an agreement, bloodshed began and the PA, which had already announced plans for a vote, was forced to cancel it.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/482050.html


Background / The Arab who helps the Jew kill the Arab
Two days before the Sunday blast, the London-based Al-Hayat daily reported that an Arab state had supplied Israel with highly detailed intelligence on Hamas leaders living in Damascus, Beirut, Tehran and Khartoum.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=482450&displayTypeCd=1&sideCd=1&contrassID=2


Threats trail man organizing Gaza withdrawal
The plan still faces political barriers, but Sharon has received more death threats in recent months than any prime minister since Yitzhak Rabin, who was gunned down by an Israeli radical in November 1995. Up to eight members of the internal Shabak security service now guard Sharon.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2004/09/27/threats_trail_man_organizing_gaza_withdrawal/


Herzl's Nightmare
Rogers writes: "It was a triumph achieved . . . on the bones of millions of European Jews, and at the expense of Palestinian society and of Palestinian nationalism. Whatever their emotional attachment to the land they [Jews] now ruled, whatever their historical claim to it, the Jews of Israel had supplanted another people who would not forget."
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/26/1096137090518.html?oneclick=true


Israel May Not Be Able to Destroy Nukes
In February, Israel received the first of 102 American-built F-16I warplanes, the largest weapons deal in its history. Military sources say the planes were specially designed with extra fuel tanks to allow them to reach Iran. In June, it signed a $319 million deal to acquire nearly 5,000 U.S.-made smart bombs, including 500 "bunker busters"...
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=540&e=6&u=/ap/20040927/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_striking_iran


Arafat intervenes on behalf of British hostage: brother
Paul Bigley said he had been contacted by a Palestinian envoy to Ireland who had told him that Arafat had written to a Palestinian minister who lived for some years in Iraq to "do everything possible" to save Bigley.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=4&u=/afp/20040927/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_hostages_britain


Five U.S. House members were in U.S. embassy in Baghdad when rocket exploded; none was injured
''Yes, we were there'' when the blast occurred, Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., said in a telephone interview from Amman, Jordan. ''We were in the basement. And the rocket that was launched into the embassy complex was about 500 meters from where we were.''
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/270/nation/Five_U_S_House_members_were_in:.shtml

September 26 2004

After 8 Months and Resistance: New Destruction for the Apartheid Wall in Budrus
The village of Budrus is located along the Green Line and its lands have been confiscated and destroyed previously by the Occupation. The residents of Budrus know the Wall will be the third Nakba, after 1948 and 1967, forcing them into a massive prison and encircling them, ravaging the lands and trees and leaving the people of Budrus without any source of living.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/764.shtml


One out of every nine
For 10 days now, F., a 28-year-old resident of Gaza, has been trying to get to Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer for urgent chemotherapy in the oncology department. The story of what has happened to her during these 10 awful days sounds unbelievable, even to someone who has already heard horrible stories. The reality has succeeded in superseding even what the sickest imagination could invent.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/481679.html


ISM Report: Week of Planned Protests and a Poem
In the last two weeks, Beit Awwa and surrounding are villages have been the focus of non-violent resistance to the Wall. In spite of the violent response of the Israeli Army to the demonstrations, residents of Beit Awwa will protest the illegal wall that is going up on their land again tomorrow.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palsolidarity/message/1068


Israel still expropriating land to expand settlements
Since the start of 2004, some 2,200 dunams of land in the West Bank have been declared state lands. These include land in Givat Eitam in Ofrat, and land designated for use as the Border Police headquarters in Metsudat Adumim. Last year 1,700 dunams of land in the West Bank were designated state lands
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/481828.html


Girl's life ended by Israeli bullets
"She waked me up early morning, she dressed her school clothes. I combed her hair and tied a white ribbon over her head. She was so happy with her new dark blue jeans and black sandals, it was the first time she wears. She was so proud with the red badge around her neck. I gave her an apple she put it in her bag, said [good bye mum] and left home, it was the last day I talked to her,"
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3126.shtml


Authorities 'fear' collapse of section of Temple Mount
However, the Waqf said there is no danger of collapse and called the fears an Israeli plot to garner control of the various mosques in the Temple Mount compound. If the Waqf does not agree to prevent access to the concerned areas, the police would consider using officers to block access.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/481856.html


Israeli report on al-Aqsa rejected
"We invited highly professional experts from Egypt and other countries who examined everything here. And they said everything was fine." Al-Husayni said there were no cracks or other worrying signs to indicate that the structure was facing some kind of a danger.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5008BE7B-32E6-4C1F-9ABB-8932BAC371EF.htm


Unacceptable norms
Between 1978 and 1988, 52 new Jewish communities in the mitzpim format were established throughout Galilee, in the heart of a dense Arab population. Their total population is now about 20,000. underlying the project were principles of ethnic discrimination, demographic phobia, and the concept that the country's Arab citizens are not equals but constitute a threat to its existence.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/481680.html


Israel responsible of Killing a Hamas Leader in Syria
A neighbor who witnessed the blast said "He [Khalil] said good morning to us like he does every day and then walked to his car. He got into the car and then the phone rang. When he took the call we heard the explosion. We rushed towards his car and found him in pieces in the back seat."
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/September/week4/092604/syria-assassination.htm


Israeli Missile Strike in Gaza Refugee Camp
A helicopter gunship fired two missiles early Sunday into a metal workshop in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Israeli bulldozers and tanks entered the area Saturday. United Nations relief workers say the raiding party destroyed or damaged 35 homes, and left dozens of families homeless.
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=0467021E-3133-46AE-97DFB02592CB5E95


Israeli Helicopters Rocket Workshop in Khanyounis
One child was wounded while he was heading to his school, witnesses added. Medics said that Mohammed Khdeir 11, was critically wounded with shrapnel in his abdomen and thighs. Hours earlier, one woman suffered burns when Israeli troops fired star shell at her house...
http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1731


Hamas threatens to strike Israeli targets abroad
"Even though Ezzedine al-Qassam was concerned to keep the guns in the direction of Israel, and we let hundreds and thousands of Zionists move and travel in all capitals in the world, it was not us who started the struggle abroad, but Zionist enemy, and he will be responsible for what he did."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1512&ncid=1312&e=3&u=/afp/20040926/wl_afp/mideast_syria_hamas_040926140945


Hamas denies decision to strike Israel abroad, vows revenge
Hamas "reserves the complete and legitimate right to respond to this cowardly crime at a suitable time and place, and in the way that best serves the higher interests of the Palestinian people."
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/108630/1/.html


Four people suffer from shock when Qassams hit Sderot
three Qassam rockets at the western Negev town of Sderot on Sunday morning. One rocket scored a direct hit on a home, the second fell between houses in a residential area and the third rocket landed in an open area.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/481900.html


Syria blames Israel for "terrorist" killing of Hamas man
"The Israeli authorities have committed a dangerous act by assassinating Palestinian citizen Ezzeddin Sheikh Khalil, resident in Syria, in a car bombing," said an official cited by the state SANA news agency. "This terrorist operation constitutes a dangerous development for which Israel bears responsibility."
http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=28627


Arafat Receives Peace Cycle Team
President Arafat thanked the team for the burden they have indured to arrive to Palestine through crossing more than 2500 miles to promote peace in the Middle East and call for an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1732


IAEA to examine Dimona effect
"We have received a request from the Jordanian Government to assist them in monitoring the radiological situation," Mark Gwozdecky, spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Saturday. He added: "We agreed to send a fact-finding mission in the coming weeks to help them determine whether there is any radiological incident."
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8D55C51B-B4AC-473C-8215-F06E9E3F75E5.htm


France determined to fight anti-Semitism, improve Israel ties
Barnier also said he would visit Israel next month to improve bilateral relations that have often been strained over France's support for the Palestinians and continuing ties with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=481469&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Israel sends Syria tough message with Hamas strike
"The capability of Hamas to activate attacks in the West Bank and Gaza from outside will be reduced for a while," he says. "Also," he continues, "this attack inside Syria's capital shows the authorities in Damascus that it cannot be used as a hiding place. This is a blow to the prestige of the regime."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0927/p07s01-wome.html


Forbidden Roads: The Discriminatory West Bank Road Regime
Israel constructed an extensive road network in order to serve the Israeli settlements. To justify expropriating privately owned Palestinian land for these roads, Israel argued that the roads would also benefit the Palestinian population. Now these same roads are completely off-limits to Palestinians.
http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/Forbidden_Roads_2004.asp


Alleged Mossad agents imprisoned in NZ to be released
Two Mossad agents who are serving prison sentences in New Zealand are slated to be released and to return to Israel within the coming days. Elisha Cara and Uriel Kelman were jailed in July for six months after an Auckland court found them guilty of seeking to obtain a New Zealand passport through illegal means.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/481977.html


Disengagement chief: Most settlers will leave willingly
Bassy refused to reveal to reporters how many families have so far turned to Sela, the Hebrew acronym for the disengagement administration, for assistance in leaving their homes in Gaza or the northern West Bank. He did, however, say that talks are already underway with towns inside Israel over the possibility of taking in evacuees.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/481870.html


Israeli millionaire to purchase 50% of Al-Jazeera shares
Israeli businessman Haim Shiban intends to acquire 50% of shares of Qatar-based satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera. The channel has gained reputation after the September 11 attack in the US; it has become one of the world's leading channels providing coverage of the latest news of the Arab world.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/366/14319_deal.html


PRESS CONFERENCE: 4th Anniversary of the Palestinian Intifada
On the 28th September 2000 the Palestinian uprising, Intifada, broke out triggered by the provocative visit of Likud leader Ariel Sharon to the Muslim holy shrine of al Haram al Sharif but also as an expression of a more profound discontent amongst the Palestinian people following nearly a decade of failed "peace" negotiations.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/new_web/press_conference_intifada_anniversary.htm


Sharon's own map
ISRAEL'S PRIME Minister Ariel Sharon made it clear recently that his plan for a unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip is not intended as a prelude to a comprehensive peace agreement but is meant to serve as a replacement for the road map to Mideast peace backed by President Bush. Only political timorousness can explain the silence of the White House...
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2004/09/26/sharons_own_map/


Frustration, fear in Bethlehem
"It is a book that has never been written," says Sabella. "Unlike most Muslims, so many Christian Palestinians could afford to leave this situation of almost continuous conflict to search for a tolerable life. And they did.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1096150207868&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724


Ayoon wa Azan (Neo-Con Spies IV)
Would the Lawrence Franklin scandal be a new Iran-Contra? The bad guys of the new scandal are the same infamous ones of two decades ago in the previous one. Franklin and another "specialist" from Douglas Feith's office, Harold Rhode, were among the officials who established contacts with the Iranian arms dealer...
http://english.daralhayat.com/opinion/OPED/09-2004/Article-20040925-362c46c3-c0a8-01ed-002c-03ffce85c25c/story.html


Civilians die in US ground and air attack on bases in Fallujah
The US-appointed Iraqi interim government, which supports the air strikes, last week banned the Ministry of Health in Baghdad from announcing figures for civilian casualties. "There were no innocent civilians reported in the immediate area at the time of strike," said a statement from the US military.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=565788


Powell acknowledges problems in holding January elections in Iraq
Still, he said, "I think what we have to keep shooting for, and what is achievable, is to give everybody the opportunity to vote in the upcoming election, to make the election fully credible, and something that will stand the test of the international community's examination."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=3&u=/afp/20040926/wl_mideast_afp/us_iraq_vote_powell_040926140701

September 25 2004

Writing to the moment
His (Edward Said) work brings the life of the mind and high culture to the struggle for justice and recognition. This struggle is pitched against powerful forces - vested interests, embedded ideologies, racism, and those so-called intellectuals whom, quoting Gramsci, he characterised as "experts in legitimisation" - the paid scribes of power who are silent about its excesses.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1311404,00.html


Edward Said, the "Great Figure of Palestinian Intelligentsia"
Born in Jerusalem, Palestine, under British protectorate, on 1st November 1935, Edward Said followed his parents who settled once and for all in Cairo in 1947, after having lost all their property after 1948 war and the creation of Israel. His mother, until her death, never accepted to take another nationality than “Palestinian refugee”.
http://www.aps.dz/an/pageview.asp?ID=71775


Five days of struggle against Israel's West Bank Barrier
In the course of the last five days (September 19-23) the occupation forces returned to their attempt to literally cement their existence on Palestinian lands. Naturally the residents of the affected villages resisted this attempt and we are with them. Our method and our aim, which we have declared and consciously acted on for the last two years, are popular nonviolent struggle.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3117.shtml


UN Report: WB Barrier Aims at Expansion, not Security
The investigator added that Israel confiscated rich water resources from the Palestinians, that is in the two main water aquifers on the western side of the West Bank. "Rich agricultural land and water resources have been seized along the Green Line and incorporated into Israel," he said.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/September/week4/092504/un%20report.htm


2nd in September: Israeli Soldiers Shoot Schoolgirl in the Head
An 11-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl was shot and wounded today in the head by Israeli soldiers while she was at her class in the southern Gaza Strip Refugee Camp of Khanyounis, witnesses and Palestinian medical sources said.
http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1728


Despite Their Empty Stomach Battle, Palestinian Prisoners Still Suffering
Palestinian Prisoners Society(PPS) reported on Saturday that 800 Palestinian prisoners being jailed at the Israeli prison of Nafha, have been going through harsher conditions than the those prior to the latest general hunger strike spread in most Israeli jails.
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_e/ipc_e-1/e_News/news2004/2004_09/159.html


Prisoner Jailed with Broken Hand, No Medical Treatment
Mahamid said that Daraghmeh sustains fractions in his hand due to the daily torture he is subjected to at the hand of Israeli jailers, adding that he cannot move his hand and cannot stand up while search operations because of the pains he suffers.
http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1729


The Peace Cycle, a solidarity trip from London to Jerusalem
"We traveled through London, Paris, then Geneva, Roma, Athens, then to Amman. We went through Sheikh Hussein Bridge, to Nazareth, Jenin, then to Tulkarem, and today we will go to Birzeit University then to Ramallah to meet with the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat" said Ali Al-Dabbagh, one of the cyclists.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/September/week4/092504/peace-cycle.htm


Israel Launches Deadly Helicopter Strike in Gaza
Israeli forces have raided a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern Gaza strip, killing one man and bulldozing dozens of homes. Residents of the Khan Younis camp say Israeli forces fired a missile into the camp before dawn Saturday, killing a 55-year-old man.
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=7D184B9C-3F59-4CBD-9DCC8B75D8E31377


Army withdraws from Khan Younis; one resident dead, 7 wounded, 80 homes destroyed
One the other hand, a medical source at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, said that soldiers centered around Naveh Dkalim settlement, in the West of Khan Younis, fired a tank shell at the hospital directly hitting the “Physiotherapy Section” in the Hospital causing huge damages, especially in the medical equipment.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/September/week4/092504/Kh_Younis.htm


Palestinian Missile Hits Car in Gaza
A missile fired by Palestinian militants fell short of its target Saturday and blew up a car in the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, witnesses said. No injuries were reported when the missile struck the car.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4514354,00.html


British MP Almost Dead Following Detention at Israeli Checkpoint in West Bank
A British member of Parliament demanded his government to officially protest the Israeli government, as Israeli troops manning a checkpoint in the West Bank prevented him from passing through, despite having a heart attack.
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_e/ipc_e-1/e_News/news2004/2004_09/158.html


Anglican Network Urges Sanctions on Israel: Report
The call by the influential Anglican Peace and Justice Network (APJN) comes amid growing concern in Israel at rising support among churches, universities and trade unions in the west for a divestment campaign modelled on the popular boycott of apartheid South Africa
http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2004-09/24/article01.shtml


Arab local councils plan campaign over economic crisis
The heads of the Arab local authorities decided Saturday that they would launch a campaign against the economic recovery plans for the municipalities devised by the Interior Ministry, and against what they described as discrimination in favor of the Jewish local authorities.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/481634.html


Palestinian militant group blasts Qurei, urges him to quit
The group attacked Qurei in a leaflet sent to reporters on Qurei's statements in which he indicated the possibility of disbanding the group. An official source in the brigades said the group didn't come by a political decision so it would not be disbanded by a similar decision, and the government of Qurei must resign...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/25/content_2021668.htm


Israel bars entry of Palestinian security trainees to Egypt
the 45 officers had not yet left Gaza because of Israeli security measures and obstacles at the Rafah border terminal in the southern Gaza Strip. The Egyptian border police said Israel had not given any reason for the decision.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/481632.html


Syria closes offices of Palestinian groups
Syria has been under heavy pressure from the US to close down the offices of 10 Palestinian groups based in Damascus, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Popular Front-General Command (headed by Ahmed Jibril) and Fatah-The Revolution
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1096112630891


Zogby Poll: Should AIPAC be asked to register as an agent of a foreign government and lose its tax-exempt status?
By a five-to-one margin, people are much more likely to agree than disagree that AIPAC should be asked to register as an agent of a foreign government and lose its tax-exempt status. Three in five (61%) agree, including 44% who strongly agree. One in eight (12%) disagrees, and more than one in four (27%) are not sure.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3120.shtml


How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power
But now the multibillion dollar legal action for damages by two Holocaust survivors against the Bush family, and the imminent publication of three books on the subject are threatening to make Prescott Bush's business history an uncomfortable issue for his grandson, George W, as he seeks re-election.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1312540,00.html


Canadian activists protest deportation of Palestinian refugees
more than 1,000 people took the streets of downtown Montreal under the banner of "Stateless and Deported" to illustrate the growing popular support for the struggle of Palestinian refugees fighting deportation in Canada, within the context of the Palestinian solidarity movement worldwide.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3119.shtml


Lebanon space violated 3 straight days
U.N. Secretary General Representative in south Lebanon Staffan De Mistura expressed concern earlier this week about recurring Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace, which he warned would increase tensions in volatile south Lebanon. Lebanon has repeatedly complained to the United Nations about Israel's frequent violations, especially by air and sea.
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20040924-060310-1278r.htm


IAEA calls for nuclear-free Middle East
The IAEA's call for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, which was adopted by consensus, did not name Israel specifically but was clearly aimed at the Jewish state, which is believed to be the only nation in the region with atomic weapons.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=8730


Iran delivers 'strategic missile' to its armed forces
The radio said Shamkhani refused to give details about the missile for "security reasons," but said Iran was "ready to confront all regional and extra-regional threats." Saturday's report did not say whether the test and delivery was of the same new version of the Shihab-3 or an entirely different missile.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/481629.html


Hawk Missile Sales to Iran
The chief charge in the Weinberger indictment is that he, as Walsh's office puts it, "lied to Congress about his knowledge of a shipment of U.S. Hawk missiles to Iran by Israel in November 1985 in return for the release of American hostages held in Lebanon." Colin Powell swears, in effect, that Weinberger has told the truth.
http://www.totse.com/en/politics/us_military/hawk.html


"Turtles can fly" about Iraqi children wins Spanish film festival
A film about Iraqi children victims of war "Turtles can fly" directed by Iranian Bahman Ghobadi won the Concha de Oro (Golden Shell) at the prestigious San Sebastian film festival.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=11&u=/afp/20040925/wl_mideast_afp/afplifestyle_film_spain_040925185558


UN resists coalition plea for election help in Iraq
The United Nations warned on Friday that unless more countries contributed to a UN protection force in Iraq, and security improved, it would be unable to meet increasingly urgent coalition calls to send more election experts to the country.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/429d3f9c-0e65-11d9-97d3-00000e2511c8.html


More Iraqi civilians killed by U.S. forces than by insurgents, data shows
Operations by U.S. and multinational forces and Iraqi police are killing twice as many Iraqis - most of them civilians - as attacks by insurgents, according to statistics compiled by the Iraqi Health Ministry and obtained exclusively by Knight Ridder.
http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=2&p=5868&s2=25


US soldier sentenced to 25 years for murdering Iraqi national guard
"Specialist Federico Merida pled guilty to murder and making false official statements during court martial proceedings at Forward Operation Base Danger, Tikrit, Iraq (news - web sites)," it said. A military spokeswoman said the sentence had been reduced fr