November 24 2004

Dear Readers, I will have to stop my daily headlines for a few days. Due to new tasks coming at the time of exams, I will have to pause my daily compilation for next two weeks. Until then I would suggest you daily visit http://www.imemc.org
Best wishes,
Shadi

High Court allows construction of fence near J'lem to begin
The petition was made by residents of the Palestinian village Tzur Baher on the edge of Jerusalem where the fence is planned to cross through the center. The petitioners asked that the fence be rerouted further to the east since it would obstruct their daily life.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/505449.html


Wall's Revised Route Still Pending Sharon's Approval
Sharon is not yet decided on how the large settlement blocs in the West Bank will be fenced, and on what will be done with the enclave of four Palestinian villages - Battir, Walaja, Hussan and Nahalin. Defense officials, who prepared the revised route, left it for Sharon to decide whether to allow access to Jerusalem or to Bethlehem.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/November/week4/112404/wall%20revised%20route.htm


Anger and Tears at Israel's Apartheid Wall, A Wound Slashing Palestine to the Bone
This wall, built illegally upon Palestinian land without compensation, will be over 450 miles long, 26 feet in height above its base and nearly 500 feet wide. It has consumed more than 10 percent of Palestine's most fertile and productive agricultural land, over a quarter of a million dunums already; when the wall is completed the figure will reach a million dunums.
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/November_2004/0411010.html


Caterpillar dismisses calls to stop selling Bulldozers to Israel Army
"Caterpillar betrays its stated values when it sells bulldozers to Israel knowing that they are being used to illegally destroy Palestinian homes. Until Israel stops these practices, Caterpillar's continued sales will make the company complicit in human rights abuses" said Sarah Leah Whitson
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/November/week4/112404/cater-pillar.htm


Arrested for being a witness
International Solidarity Movement activist Hannah James was singled out and arrested by the Israeli secret police, the General Security Services (GSS) as she took part in a peaceful demonstration against the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/DesktopModules/Articles/ArticlesView.aspx?tabID=0&alias=Rainbow&lang=en-US&ItemID=640&mid=10423


Israeli officer: I was right to shoot 13-year-old child
An Israeli army officer who repeatedly shot a 13-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza dismissed a warning from another soldier that she was a child by saying he would have killed her even if she was three years old. (Hopes to be as successful as Sharon through committing crimes)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1358173,00.html


Book Review of From Oslo to Iraq and the Road Map: Essays by Edward W. Said
Among other things, Said clearly forecast how Oslo would not improve the lives of the Palestinians who suffered under Israeli occupation and who still endure daily attacks, checkpoints, roadblocks and searches by Israeli forces, supported by the U.S. government with its "two party monopoly." Said analyzes the propaganda of the Israeli lobby and America's corporate media.
http://www.lefthook.org/Reviews/Sandronsky112204.html


Israel Excludes Nonviolent Internationals Seeking to Protect Palestinians
Despite being threatened with force if she did not get on the plane, Petter asserted her right to legal process. While the Israeli judicial system considered her case, airport security held her in detention for 34 days, costing her $5,000 in unreimbursed legal fees and detention charges.
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/November_2004/0411016.html


3 Citizens Woundedand 3 Others Arrested in WB
Officials at Abu Hussein hospital mentioned that three Palestinian students wounded when Israeli soldiers wantonly fired rubber bullets and gas canisters towards schoolboys in Yatta town, south of Hebron city.
http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1883


Take action against the deportation of Ahmad Nafaa
STATELESS PALESTINIAN REFUGEE TAKEN TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD BY CANADIAN IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES: CURRENTLY DETAINED AT MONTREAL'S LAVAL DETENTION CENTER & FACING IMMEDIATE DEPORTATION
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3368.shtml


Israeli court sentences Canadian to four years
Gaza-born Jamal Akkal has maintained his innocence since his arrest more than a year ago.  He insists he was tortured into confessing, CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Jerusalem.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1101311186853_64/?hub=TopStories


Solidarity for Palestine
The 29th of November 1947 witnessed another step to implement the crime of the age, when the then United Nations General Assembly, controlled by the International Imperialist and colonialist powers was forced to approve the creation of Israel through the resolution of the partition of Palestine into two States.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2004/11/24/new22.html


Schools urged to link with Palestine pupils
Former Coventry journalist Vicky Wayman, currently working as a volunteer teacher in Palestine, would like to hear from schools willing to join her in a project. Speaking from Bethlehem, she said: "What would be nice is if a class - or youth group - would get together to write a letter, perhaps a series of questions and thoughts, and we could then do one back.
http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/tm_objectid=14907740&method=full&siteid=50003&headline=schools-urged-to-link-with-palestine-pupils-name_page.html


Israeli soldier shot wounded in central Gaza
According to the leaflet, the soldier was shot by a Palestinian sniper east of the central Gaza town of Deir el Ballah near the settlement of Kfar Darom while he was standing in an Israeli army lookout post.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/24/content_2257595.htm


Hamas militants shell southern Gaza settlement
The group said in a leaflet that its militants fired mortar shells at the settlement in eastern Khan Younis, a southern Gaza town. The group also vowed to pursue the path of resistance "till the enemy leaves our blessed lands."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/24/content_2257013.htm


Report: West Bank Students Humiliated at Israeli Checkpoints
Standing under the sun heat or the rains, detention and beating of Palestinian university students by the Israeli soldiers in Nablus, have become a part of the bitter reality the Palestinians are going through in the West Bank City of Nablus, a special report by the IPC revealed.
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=1129


Qurei doubts US would change position toward Israel
He reiterated the only side which is able to exert pressure onIsrael is "America", adding "I personally doubt that the United States would practice pressure on Israel to make it become committed to the peace process."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/24/content_2257748.htm


US renews Israel oil deal
US officials say they have renewed an agreement to supply Israel with oil in the case of a blockade. The agreement was initially signed following the controversial Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979. The deal led to Israel returning the Sinai peninsula and oilfields to Egypt.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B9ECD5DF-183A-46E2-81E4-D11595B849BD.htm


American Jews call on Condoleezza Rice to press for peace
Israel, they believe, should put an end to settlement activity, while the Palestinians should mount a genuine effort to prevent terrorism. They warn that "a crucial opportunity may be lost" if this is not done.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=505680&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Sharon cancels talks with Straw
Mr Sharon had been due to meet Mr Straw today to discuss steps to help Palestinians elect a successor to late President Yasser Arafat in January. "The prime minister is perfectly well, but he has lost his voice and the meeting (with Mr Straw) has been cancelled," the official told Reuters.
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11490877%255E1702,00.html


Foreign Secretary Visits Israel and the Occupied Territories, 24-25 November 2004
In a press conference with the Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom today the Foreign Secretary explained that the basis for his visit was the five points set out by Prime Minister Blair and President Bush in their joint statement of 12 November, namely: – support for Prime Minister Sharon's disengagement plan;...
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3799329


Observers OK'd for Palestinian Elections
Israel will allow international observers to monitor upcoming Palestinian presidential elections, fulfilling an important Palestinian demand, Israel's foreign minister said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Wednesday that Israel would not stand in the way of such missions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4635340,00.html


Hamas refuses to return to negotiations with Israel
Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) asserted on Wednesday its refusal to return to negotiations with Israel, considering that negotiations led the Palestinian people to its worst internal and political situations.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/24/content_2257027.htm


Israel bars Palestinians from using Ben-Gurion airport
"The policy on the exit of Palestinians through the Ben-Gurion International Airport is reviewed from time to time according to current security assessment and the circumstances of specific requests," the Shin Bet was quoted as saying.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/24/content_2257026.htm


Israel: Syrian offer of unconditional talks is 'nothing new'
Israel responded coolly to a Syrian offer for a resumption of peace talks Wednesday, saying that the offer, passed on by a United Nations envoy, was "nothing new."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/505786.html


Spreading color and hope in refugee camps
"We are not terrorists," says Mahmoud Halimi, a 17-year-old Palestinian refugee and a member of a newly formed Palestinian cultural club. "Our way to fight is not only through weapons, guns and bombs," he said. "We also know art, and we are talented enough to use art to make our voices heard."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=10347


Guest speaker Abunimah gives Arab view on Israel/Palestine conflict
Ali Abunimah recently compared the Israeli treatment of Palestinians to white control in apartheid South Africa and colonial American treatment of Native Americans. He said all three were aggressors who took land from indigenous people and then denied them equal rights.
http://www.midweeknews.com/local/articles/112404-abunimah.html


Blair may visit Israel to revive peace process
Downing Street responded with irritation last night, stressing that no final decision had been taken and that it would be for Number 10 rather than the Israeli government to make any announcement. Mr Blair wants to go to the Middle East as soon as possible
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1358070,00.html


Fallujah Refugees
"Doctors in Fallujah are reporting there are patients in the hospital there who were forced out by the Americans," said Mehdi Abdulla, a 33 year-old ambulance driver at a hospital in Baghdad, "Some doctors there told me they had a major operation going, but the soldiers took the doctors away and left the patient to die." He looks at the ground, then away to the distance.
http://electroniciraq.net/news/1733.shtml


Witnesses say US forces killed unarmed civilians
They said, in interviews with The Independent, that as well as deaths from bombs and artillery shells, a large number of people including children were killed by American snipers. US forces refused repeated calls for medical aid for injured civilians, they said.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=586045


Official statement Bellamy speaks out for children in Iraq
UNICEF today again expressed deep concern about the devastating impact the hostilities in Iraq is having on the overall well-being of the country’s children. “This protracted fighting and instability is wreaking havoc on Iraqi children,” UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said.
http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=2&p=7532&s2=24

November 23 2004

Israel: Caterpillar Should Suspend Bulldozer Sales
“Caterpillar betrays its stated values when it sells bulldozers to Israel knowing that they are being used to illegally destroy Palestinian homes,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Until Israel stops these practices, Caterpillar's continued sales will make the company complicit in human rights abuses.”
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/11/22/isrlpa9711.htm


World Bank: PA economic crisis due to Israeli closures
After four years of intifada, nearly 50 percent of Palestinians live below the poverty line, and 16 percent cannot afford even the basic necessities, according to a report to be published Tuesday by the World Bank.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/505196.html


IDF officer indicted for shooting 13-year-old girl
documentary show Fact broadcast Monday night the army communications tape recording of the real-time events, including videotape, in which R. is heard explicitly stating he "verified the kill." The tape showed that the soldiers at the outpost kept firing at the girl even after she had been identified by soldiers as "about 10 years old." (Child is Arab, No Criticism!)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=504926&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Analysis / Absolutely illegal
the main question is why the company commander and his soldiers fired at the girl who was 100 meters away from the outpost, was not armed, was not a danger to the soldiers inside the protected outpost, and when at least some of the soldiers knew that it was a little girl. A soldiers is explicitly heard saying "it's a little girl," and that she is "scared to death."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=504930&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Father and Son Wounded in Khan Younis
Mustafa Al Sumeiri, 42, and his 13-year-old son Yousef were shot and wounded... Eyewitnesses said Mustafa and his son were traveling in a car along with other civilians when the car came under heavy gunfire from an invading Israeli force.
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=1109


Wounded Palestinian barred from hospitalization out of the Gaza Strip
The family of Abu Rafee' said that it applied for permits to enter Israel several times, but in spite of providing the Israeli authorities with the needed medical reports and papers, the their applications were rejected. In a seperate incident, the Israeli authorities barred on Tuesday tens of Palestinian suffering from cardiac diseases, and cancer from crossing Eretz crossing
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/November/week4/112304/hospitalize.htm


Israeli army arrests 9 Palestinians in W. Bank
In another development, Israeli troops arrested a 19-years-old Palestinian after storming the house of his family in Beit Gala. The young man's father and brother were arrested several months ago, according to local residents. they destroyed the house before arresting Abu Al Nawa, who was taken to an unknown place.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/23/content_2252012.htm


Palestinian prisoners demand right to vote
"The prisoners are a part of the Palestinian people and have theright to vote and to participate at the elections," PLO's executivecommittee member Abed al Rahim Malouh, who was imprisoned two days ago, said in a statement on behalf of the prisoners.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/23/content_2252173.htm


Middle East ; Israeli troops attack Palestinian charitable societies
Late on Monday the Israeli occupation forces attacked the society’s headquarters and confiscated some of its contents. In its statement, the society described the incident as an outrageous aggression and an Israeli attempt to hamper its charitable activities.
http://www.keralanext.com/news/?id=67893


Israel bars Italian woman from joining family in West Bank
How can an Italian citizen reunite with her Palestinian spouse and two children in Ramallah? Ezia Quagliozzi and her husband, Maher Sha'abaneh, have been trying for over a month to get together.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504877.html


Powell: `New attitude' in Mideast
Israeli officials said they also were considering ways to allow Palestinians living in east Jerusalem to vote, likely by mail. They have ruled out allowing polling places in the city.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2027&ncid=2027&e=1&u=/chitribts/20041123/ts_chicagotrib/powellnewattitudeinmideast


Powell wins poll assurance from Sharon
But Mr Powell disappointed the Palestinian leadership by declining to press an array of other issues, including the continued expansion of Jewish settlements and the revival of the road map to the creation of a Palestinian state next year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1357482,00.html


Abbas: I won't give up demand for right of return of refugees
At a memorial ceremony for Arafat at the Palestinian parliament, Abbas said he would walk in the footsteps of the late Palestinian leader. "We promise you [Arafat] that our heart will not rest until we achieve the right of return for our people and end the tragic refugee issue," he said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/505214.html


PM rejects Russian proposal that Quartet advance peace talks
Sharon said the plan to disengage from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the West Bank would lead to the implementation of the Quartet's road map to peace, according to the report.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=504928&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


World Bank: Gazans should work in Israel beyond 2008
The World Bank is putting together a package of economic, security and diplomatic measures in an effort to rescue the Palestinian Authority's economy from its current crisis, Nigel Roberts, director of the bank's office in the territories, said Tuesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=504929&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Survey: Abu Mazen has support of 24 percent of Palestinians
When no candidate's name was mentioned, 34.3 percent said they would support Fatah, 11.5 percent expressed allegiance to Hamas, 12.9 percent favored an independent candidate, and 34.5 percent said they would decide on election day.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504368.html


Quartet to help PA pay for January elections
Members of the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators have agreed to help the Palestinian Authority pay for their January 9 elections to choose a new chairman, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said Tuesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504928.html


Fatah asks Fattouh to set date for legislative election
The mainstream Fatah movement on Monday asked Rawhi Fattouh, the interim chairman of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), to set a date for holding the legislative election before mid-2005, the official WAFA news agency reported.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/23/content_2248928.htm


Qurei, Abbas to meet Mubarak over peace process
"They will also discuss with Mubarak issues related to the Palestinian elections and recent Palestinian-US talks as well as ways to push forward the peace process and establish an independentPalestinian state.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/23/content_2252086.htm


Quartet: Israel Must Ease Restrictions for Elections
Members of the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators urged Israel Tuesday to ease restrictions on Palestinians ahead of January elections to choose a successor to late President Yasser Arafat.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=2&u=/nm/20041123/ts_nm/mideast_dc_44


Annan: Theres an opportunity for Mideast peace
Annan made his remarks at the international conference on Iraq which has turned its focus to the Palestinian crisis. Annan, moreover, called for the support of Iraq elections to help create a "united and peaceful country".
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=5671


Palestinians Open Voter Registration for one Extra Week
The committee said in a leaflet distributed Tuesday, that 1000 offices will be reopened in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The leaflet called the Palestinian residents to register stressing that voter registration is the way to guarantee their right to vote a prerequisite to vote and to run for election.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/November/week4/112304/registration.htm


NII report: 1.5 million were below poverty line in 2003
"Israel is becoming poorer and poorer," said NII Director General Dr. Yigal Ben Shalom during the presentation of the report. In response to the report, the treasury reiterated its stance that employment is the way out of poverty. It also denied that cuts in benefits had increased the number of people living below the poverty line.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/504927.html


Israeli demolitions undercut an ancient cultural heritage
The destruction, intentional or otherwise, of such heritage - be it in the form of buildings, monuments, houses or places of worship - undoubtedly has adverse consequences on human dignity and human rights - and in the case of Palestine - the destruction has adverse consequences on peace.
http://dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=4&article_id=10324


Labor considers proposing no-confidence motion
The Labor Party will conduct a telephone survey on Wednesday among its MKs on whether to bring a no-confidence vote against the government over the poverty report set to be issued Tuesday by the National Insurance Institute.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/504861.html


16-year-old paralyzed Bedouin boy burnt to death in Negev
A 16-year-old paralyzed boy died on Tuesday after suffering critical burns all over his body. The boy was from the unrecognized Bedouin village of al-Karwan near the town of Arad in the south
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=505255&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Income Tax Authority probing Gilad Sharon
The Income Tax Authority has begun examining various Sharon family bank accounts to probe suspicions that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's son, Gilad, evaded taxes on millions of shekels' worth of income...
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/504862.html


Back to the argument of the 1967 lines
Sharon correctly reckoned that the Green Line would return to the political picture, despite the enormous efforts to erase it. To prevent that, he equipped himself with two constraints: One was the letter from President Bush promising no return to the "armistice lines" and consideration for the "Israeli population centers" in determining the border;
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504899.html


Iraq Conference Closes With No Pullout Timetable
The international conference on Iraq closed Tuesday, November 23, after adopting a declaration in support of the country's January election, but failed short of setting a timetable for the withdrawal of the US-led occupation troops.
http://www.unobserver.com/layout4.php?id=2019&blz=1


Powell meets Syria FM on Iraqi border security
US Secretary of State Colin Powell met Tuesday with the Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara on Iraq's border security on the sidelines of an international conference on Iraq held here.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/23/content_2252847.htm

November 22 2004

Photostory: Hebrew University to displace Palestinian families
On Sunday, November 21 at 7:15AM, bulldozers and armed security guards hired by Hebrew University Properties, Ltd. arrived at the home of Al-Helou family in Jerusalem to announce that their land will be confiscated for the expansion of the university dormitories. (Nobody to condemn it, everyone is fine with such action!)
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3361.shtml


Documentary film review: "Mur" (Wall)
The documentary starts with the slow installation of concrete slabs, one by one, obliterating the view of landscapes and Palestinian villages, until there is not a chink of light remaining. The camera follows the gradual motion and stays fixed on the shot. We see Palestinians cut off from their land, and their olive groves, olives left to rot on the branch.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3357.shtml


Officer charged over 'confirmed killing' of Gaza girl, 13
"The accused stood in a similar way to before, when he shot her twice, pointed his weapon downward and shot, this time on automatic, approximately 10 bullets until he emptied his magazine," the indictment says. The officer, who has been suspended, was not identified. (not a life term, not even five life terms!)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504759.html


Arab lawmakers group calls for steps to protect Arab children
"Children are exposed to brutal bombardment in Iraq and to catastrophes in Palestine," said Nouridine Bouchkouj, the APU's secretary-general, at the opening of the first Arab lawmakers' meeting to discuss ways to protect the region's children.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=504823&contrassID=1&subContrassID=8&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Fire and Rain in Nablus: Three Reports on a Solidarity Action for Fallujah
For 10 to 15 minutes, Jabl-an-Naar (Mountain of Fire) was alight with the Arabic word "Falluja". The same message was displayed two days earlier, and repeated because of Nablus's appreciation of its success.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palsolidarity/message/1090


Palestinian militants attack Israeli targets in Gaza
In a leaflet, the group said six mortar shells were fired at theGenital settlement near the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan YounisMonday morning. It also claimed responsibility for firing five mortar shells at Tal al-Zu'rub Israeli outpost located on the borderline with Gaza and Egypt.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/22/content_2247778.htm


It can happen here
Anyone who was taken by surprise by the appalling testimonies published in Yedioth Ahronoth last Friday about the mutilation of bodies of Palestinian militants and of innocent victims, probably assumed that the Israel Defense Forces is the world's most ethical army. But the IDF is, in fact, like every other occupying force
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504403.html


Talks with UN, U.S. aim to define status of evacuated areas
Israel is seeking a "creative" formula that will diminish its responsibility vis-a-vis the Gaza Strip following its withdrawal from the area. Israeli officials have proposed creating interim stages, such as "a step toward ending the occupation," or the definition of "effective control of the area."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=504407&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


EU to send election observation mission to Palestine
The decision is a concrete expression of the EU's effort to support the development of democratic institutions and stability in the Palestinian Territories. The presence of the EOM and the reporting of its observers will help to increase transparency and build confidence in the election process.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3362.shtml


PLO to press Powell on road map
Palestinian leaders will tell Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, who is visiting the occupied territories today, that they want the Bush administration to commit itself to the creation of a Palestinian state by the end of next year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1356608,00.html


Moderate Abbas adopted as mainstream candidate to replace Arafat: minister
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat`s moderate number two Mahmud Abbas was adopted by the mainstream Fatah movement Monday as its candidate to succeed him in January polls, social affairs minister Intissar al-Wazir said.
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=34314


PNA to invite Arab League to observe presidential elections: sources
"We need all these delegations, so Israel would not interfere inthe elections," the sources said. According to the sources, the Palestinian side is seeking to guarantee international attendance at the elections as the preceding elections were participated by 60 delegations headed by former US President Jimmy Carter.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/22/content_2248301.htm


Powell hails peace opportunity ahead of Palestinian vote
"This is a moment of opportunity as we look forward to the Palestinian election," said Powell, shoulder-to-shoulder with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "Terror must be ended, violence must be ended."
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/118504/1/.html


Powell Wins Israeli Pledge on Palestinian Election
But Israel stopped short of any commitment to pull back forces in and around West Bank cities in the run-up to the vote, as the Palestinians have demanded. "We do not trust these Israeli declarations," said senior Palestine Liberation Organization official Yasser Abed Rabbo.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6886939


PFLP condemns Israeli sentencing its leader
"Sentencing Mallouh shows how the Israeli government is using anarbitrary logic and neglecting the international law and pursuing its repressive policy and using its courts to sentence the Palestinian people," said the leaflet.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/22/content_2244368.htm


Palestinian left-wing parties chose Barghouti as candidate for presidential elections
Palestinian official sources revealed Monday that the five left-wing parties have chosen Mustafa al Barghouti as their candidate for presidential elections.Al Barghouti, who has represented the stream of reformists in Palestinian mainstream Fatah movement (Xinhuanet is mixing between Mustafa Barghuti & Marwan Barghuti)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/23/content_2248609.htm


Locust swarms push Israelis and Palestinians to common battle
Swarms of locusts threatening to devastate the Palestinian West Bank region of Jericho and already destroying grass and trees at luxury hotels in southern Israel have brought the two sides into unusual cooperation against a common flying foe.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041122/sc_afp/mideast_israel_041122150755


Palestinians: Arafat poisoned
More than 80% of Palestinians believe that veteran leader Yasser Arafat died as a result of poisoning and not from natural causes, a poll published on Sunday revealed. 80.3% of respondents said "yes", with 93% saying his medical report should be made public.
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1624546,00.html


Yasser Arafat's nephew refuses to rule out poisoning
"Toxicology tests were made, and no poison known to the doctors was detected," said al-Kidwa. "We don't have proof that suggests there was poisoning. We don't have proof that there wasn't, in a definitive way," al-Kidwa said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504750.html


Sharon: 40-year-old Dimona nuclear reactor is safe
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told a Knesset committee Monday that Israel's 40-year-old nuclear reactor is safe, an Israeli lawmaker said, after charges that the facility could endanger its environs.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504825.html


Israel to collect weapons from settlers ahead of Gaza withdrawal
Israel is planning to collect weapons from Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip ahead of a planned withdrawal from the territory next year, a senior defence official revealed."We will try and do it through dialogue and cooperation with the community leaders."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1514&ncid=1312&e=1&u=/afp/20041122/wl_mideast_afp/mideast_israel_gaza_041122151523


Soccer / Racism and hooliganism tackled at TA conference
Rifat Turk, an Israeli Arab who played for the Israeli national team in the 1980s, said the problem of racism is endemic to Israeli soccer. "Today there is no game where they don't curse Arabs, even if there aren't any on the field," he said. "People yell `Death to the Arabs' like its going out of style."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504379.html


Blood from a stone? Palestinians must make the most of every drop
However, should Israel implement the wise measures mentioned above and called for by so many, the onus will be on the Palestinians to ensure such gestures do not dissipate in the wind - they must nail them down and use them to develop a stronger internal political process.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&article_id=10301&categ_id=17


For sake of democracy include diaspora in Palestinian vote
Elections are on the agenda for the Palestinians: Their interim post-Arafat leadership says it plans to hold them Jan. 9. That's good news, but as of now there are no plans to include in this important vote the millions of Palestinians living in exile outside their homeland. Shouldn't that be changed?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1122/p09s02-coop.html


We miss you, Mr. `There's-no-partner'
Where will they find a new "there's-no-partner," to whom Sharon refuses to talk? Who will rescue Bush from his road map peace plan, which promised that "a settlement negotiated between the parties" will result in a final status agreement that "will end the occupation that began in 1967"?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504388.html


The Panic
The opposition to the Presbyterian Church's decision to investigate selective divestment from companies doing business with Israel's occupation is growing. And support of them is growing. Meanwhile, Mustafa Barghouti has called for sanctions against Israel, and the Somerville, Mass. Board of Aldermen is debating divestment. It's a time that calls for clearheadedness.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3363.shtml


Anti-war group slams the BBC
"The broadcasts are simply a one dimensional justification of the assault. "There was a long cast of pro-war commentators, with no counter-balancing opinion to represent what is, according to all recent polls, the view held by 50 per cent of the British public who oppose the war in Iraq. "They did not show the results of the bombardment on the civilians living there."
http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=2&p=7484&s2=22


Up to 50,000 more US troops needed in Iraq: Senator McCain
When asked how many additional forces would have to be deployed, the maverick Republican senator answered "I would say at least 40,000 or 50,000 more," adding that it will likely also be necessary to increase the size of the army and the marine corps.
http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=2&p=7473&s2=22


U.S. assault on Falluja incites new uprisings
And, as of Nov. 17, the big news out of Iraq was that the active armed resistance had spread to Mosul, Beiji, Baquba, Ramadi, Tikrit, Iskandariya, Samarra and Baghdad, with police stations overrun and arms captured by anti-occupation fighters. In Falluja itself, after nine days of battle, U.S. forces were still calling in air strikes.
http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=2&p=7485&s2=22


Allawi's cousin freed as death toll rises
A source in Mr Allawi's office said Ghazi Allawi, 75, had been released nearly two weeks after a previously unknown Islamist group seized him, his wife and daughter-in-law in Baghdad. The women were released a week ago. The group had threatened to kill all three unless Mr Allawi's government called off the US-led assault on the rebel-held city of Fallujah.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=585381


Jackson fears Army will remain in Iraq for years
British troops will be sent to help the US in conflict zones anywhere inside Iraq, prompting fears that soldiers could be stuck in the most dangerous parts of the country fighting insurgents for years to come.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=585402

November 21, 2004

20 injured during West Wall protests
a large Israeli army force backed by tanks and jeeps moved into the area near the village of Beit Oula, west of Hebron, and began to bulldoze an area belonging to Palestinian farmers. Palestinian medics at al Ahli Hospital in Hebron said 20 Palestinians were shot and wounded by Israeli troops' gunfire, adding that many of them were shot in their chests and heads.
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041121-103818-7773r.htm


Fifteen Thousand in Rome against the Apartheid Wall and for Sanctions on Israel!
The protest against the Apartheid Wall demanded for its immediate dismantling. The 15 thousand strong demonstration was led by the Palestinian community living in Italy and co-organized by left wing parties and dozens of grassroots groups.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/808.shtml


An 800 Person Strong Demonstration against the Apartheid Wall in the Streets of Geneva!
Calling for the suspension of the Free Trade Agreement between Switzerland and Israel as well as any military collaboration between both governments, the demonstrators reminded the public and the Swiss Government of the decision issued by the International Court of Justice...
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/807.shtml


Nuclear whistleblower accuses Israel of apartheid
Vanunu, 50, said in an interview with the daily Eleftherotypia, in further defiance of a government gagging order, that he hoped the EU could "help the Palestinians to possess their own state and Israel to become a true democracy". "At the moment," he added, "There exists a Jewish apartheid. Europe must do something for Israel to become a democracy for everybody."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=4&u=/afp/20041121/wl_mideast_afp/israel_nuclear_vanunu_041121201607


Army may order officers to leave illegal outposts
A considerable number of career army officers are living in illegal outposts, including a deputy brigade commander in compulsory service. And while IDF commanders in the West Bank and civil administration officials have been aware of the situation for a long time, nothing has been done about it until now.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=504221&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Court: Deputy IDF chief must clarify comment
Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Dan Halutz will submit to the High Court in the next two weeks his response to controversial statements attributed to him when he was serving as Air Force Commander in July 2002, after a one-ton bomb was dropped on the home of Salah Shehadeh, killing 14 people.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/503576.html


Israeli troops wound three Rafah residents
Among the injured, a 14-year-old boy was critically wounded when he was sitting in his classroom at the al Barazil neighborhood near the borders. Residents said Israeli soldiers arrested three residents of al Qarara in central-southern Gaza and Israeli bulldozers razed wide areas of Palestinian-owned agricultural fields.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/21/content_2243549.htm


Israeli Troops Kill a Palestinian Citizen Near Deir Elbalah
Mohammad Khalil Shehada,20, from the Gaza Strip refugee camp of Nusairat, was shot dead by Israeli occupation troops early on Sunday morning to the south of Deir Elbalah City, middle of Gaza Strip.
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=1072


Troops kill three Fatah militants in West Bank
Sheikh was killed in the ensuing gunbattle, as were two other Palestinian men who were with him. Military sources said they too were Fatah members, though no weapons were found on their bodies.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=504306&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


UNRWA needs urgent aid of 186 million US dollars: official
In a statement, Hansen said the aid request would cover five programs, including building housing units after the Israeli army destroyed hundreds of Palestinian houses. Hansen met with representatives of several donor countries in east Jerusalem on Saturday
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/22/content_2244325.htm


Arafat widow contests right of nephew to receive medical file
Without naming Arafat's nephew Nasser al-Qidwa, who arrived in Paris earlier Sunday from Cairo to pick up his uncle's medical records, lawyers Philippe Plantade and Jean-Marie Burguburu said there were no other eligible people to receive the files than Arafat's wife.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1514&ncid=732&e=1&u=/afp/20041121/wl_mideast_afp/mideast_arafat_france


Race to succeed Arafat begins
"There will be no election unless the residents of Jerusalem can take part," he said, urging the "international community, the United States in particular, to use its influence on Israel to allow free elections to be held". Nearly 250,000 Palestinians are believed to live in the territory, which was allowed to cast postal ballots in the 1996 vote.
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=34238


Troop pullout may precede Palestinian poll
Sunday's announcement comes on the eve of a visit to the country by outgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Palestinian election officials publicly urged Israel on Saturday to redeploy troops and curtail military operations for the 9 January... "If there is a formal request we will deal with it," a senior Israeli official said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4220466F-7B9B-44E2-BF7E-E8D9A477FC1C.htm


Powell Arrives for Middle East Talks
Powell, who landed in Tel Aviv, was to meet Israeli leaders in Jerusalem and top Palestinians in the West Bank on Monday for talks on a Palestinian presidential election scheduled for Jan. 9 and a stalled peace plan known as the "road map." (Note: Road Map says nothing about Apartheid Wall)
http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=953252&tw=wn_wire_story


Powell to press Israel, Palestinians to facilitate PA vote
Arriving in Israel on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he would encourage both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take steps that will facilitate the January 9 Palestinian elections for a successor to Yasser Arafat.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/503936.html


UN envoy proposes forming international team working for Mideast peace
"This program should be based on forming a group of international representatives including Israel, the Palestinians,Arab countries and the international community to push the peace process forward," said Larsen.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/21/content_2244126.htm


Fatah to announce nomination of Abbas for PA head Sunday
Abbas' nomination seems assured because of a concern among Fatah members that presenting additional candidates will split the movement, but as election activity moves into high gear in the territories, opposition to Abbas' candidacy is surfacing.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/503935.html


Legislative elections to be held by June, 2005: Palestinian FM
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said on Saturday that the Palestinian Legislative Council elections would be held maximum by next June.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/21/content_2241646.htm


former PLC member refuses to run for presidential elections
Abdul Shafi gave a final answer Saturday night and refused to run in the elections for health reasons, said Rabah Mhana, politburo member of Popular Front for Liberating Palestine (PFLP).
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/21/content_2243350.htm


Likud election pits PM against anti-pullout plan 'rebels'
By Sunday evening, over 80 percent of registered Likud voters had cast their ballot. The high turn-out is expected to mean a victory for Sharon's candidates for the senior posts.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504220.html


Syria reasserts support to Palestinians
Syria reasserted Sunday its support to the Palestinians to restore their legitimate rights and establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, the official SANA news agency reported.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/22/content_2244295.htm


Powell on new US peace push in Middle East
"(I want) to make sure that everybody I speak to clearly understands that President (George W.) Bush is determined to move forward now that this opportunity has presented itself," he told reporters on board his plane.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=1&u=/afp/20041121/wl_mideast_afp/mideast_041121193340


Beilin: U.S. Considering Sending Back Road Map Monitors
The U.S. administration believes Israel is meeting its obligations at this point and is waiting for progress in the disengagement process, according to Beilen. Beilin expressed willingness to extend Sharon a safety net to allow him to implement disengagement.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/November/week3/112104/Beilin%20us%20considering.htm


Al-Kidwa in France for Arafat's Medical Dossier
Nasser al-Kidwa, who is also a nephew to Arafat, kept silent over when he would collect the dossier. Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat said Sunday that al-Kidwa was in Paris "on behalf of the Palestinian leadership to collect the medical files of President Arafat."
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/November/week3/112104/alkidwa%20in%20paris.htm


Who's Next? - By Uri Avnery
For four years, the mantra in Washington has been: Fighting International Terrorism. That suited Sharon fine, since he was riding on the “fight terrorism” horse anyhow. For the next four years, the new mantra in Washington may well be: Democracy for the Middle East. That will suit Abu-Mazen, who is riding the democracy horse.
http://www.amin.org/eng/uri_avnery/2004/nov20.html


No longer their pets
Feiglin and Karpel see the land of Israel as first and foremost a land of destiny - and only after that a land of refuge. In territorial disengagement, they see only a symptom of a much more serious disease: disengagement from values, faith, Jewish identity and justice.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/503972.html


Egyptian students protest against Israel's killing of policemen
Thousands of students rallied across Egypt Sunday in the third straight day of protests over Israel's accidental killing of three Egyptian policemen on the Gaza border.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/504249.html


Falluja troops told to shoot on sight
On the eve of the assault on Falluja, the US military ordered troops to shoot any male on the street between the ages of 15 and 50 if they were seen as a security threat, regardless of whether they had a weapon. "You are killers, not murderers. You are warriors not war criminals. Don't cross that line."
http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=2&p=7462&s2=21


Militant groups control 60 percent of Fallujah: witnesses
Residents of Fallujah said the southern part of Fallujah, whichis still under control of the militant groups, constitutes the larger part of the city, and US troops only control the north andsmall eastern spots in the city.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/22/content_2244288.htm


Children Pay Cost of Iraq's Chaos
Acute malnutrition among young children in Iraq has nearly doubled since the United States led an invasion of the country 20 months ago, according to surveys by the United Nations, aid agencies and the interim Iraqi government. The new figure translates to roughly 400,000 Iraqi children suffering from "wasting,"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A809-2004Nov20?language=printer

November 20, 2004

Jordan Valley residents assist Palestinians with olive harvest
Two major Israeli youth movements, Hashomer Ha'tzair and the Working and Studying Youth Movement, plan to join in the olive harvest next week and assist villagers around the West Bank, according to Israel Radio. Attacks on Palestinians by West Bank settlers have continued during the course of the harvest.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=503827&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Presbyterians Establish ‘Criteria' for Divestment
Four of the six criteria target the Israeli occupation directly, whiles the fifth identifies multinational corporations that promote or enable violence by either Palestinians or Israelis. The sixth criterion addresses the continued construction of the separation barrier between the two nations.
http://www.christianpost.com/dbase/church/1601/section/1.htm


Olive oil harvest continues to face challenges for Palestinian farmers
Each day during the olive harvesting season here in Palestine the media is full of stories of olive oil farmers and olive pickers being harassed, detained, robbed, violently attacked, critically wounded and in some cases even being shot and killed while attempting to harvest their olives on their own land.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3353.shtml


Two Palestinian boys killed by Israeli fire in West Bank
Two 15-year-old boys were shot and killed by Israeli fire for throwing stones in Nablus. According to WAFA, the incident took place in the Old City. According to medical sources, the two victims were identified as Montaser Hararah and Amer Binat.
http://www.albawaba.com/news/index.php3?sid=289234&lang=e&dir=news


Justice says Muslim holy sites are not given equal protection
Statistics tell a tale of discrimination against the Arab sector when it comes to protecting its holy places, Israel Supreme Court Justice Salim Joubran told the members of the Israel Public Law Association last weekend.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/503570.html


Fifteen years after the adoption of the CRC, Palestinian children are still denied their basic rights
although Article 2 of the Convention obliges State Parties to “respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction”, Israel has repeatedly tried to evade its responsibilities towards Palestinian children living in the occupied territories.
http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2004/nov/nov202.html


Olive Oil for Peace
Their new product – Olive Oil from the Holy Land – pays homage to Farouk's Palestinian family roots and the deep friendship possible between Jews and Arabs. Proceeds from the sale of Olive Oil from the Holy Land will go toward funding Neve Shalom/Wahat Al-Salom (Oasis of Peace), and their “School of Peace” program...
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/11/prwebxml180466.php


More than $185 million sought by UN agency to aid Palestinians in 2005
“The statistics of death, destruction and poverty in this appeal do little to convey the real suffering of the population of the occupied territory,” Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees told a meeting of donor representatives in East Jerusalem.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=12586&Cr=palestin&Cr1=


Race to succeed Arafat begins
"There will be no election unless the residents of Jerusalem can take part," he said, urging the "international community, the United States in particular, to use its influence on Israel to allow free elections to be held".
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=5&u=/afp/20041120/wl_mideast_afp/mideast_palestinian_vote_041120174447


Palestinian Presidential Contenders
Barghouti, according to polls the most popular Palestinian politician, is expected to run as an independent if Fatah nominates Abbas without holding a primary first. Barghouti seeks a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but also justifies attacks on Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza as legitimate resistance to occupation.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=6&u=/ap/20041120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/promise_of_democracy_candidates_1


Gush Shalom: Release Barghouti for elections
Yitzhak Rabin was, under the British Mandate, the leader of the prisoners in Rafah prison camp. Yitzhak Shamir was arrested as a terrorist and exiled to a prison camp in Eritrea. Menachem Begin was branded as a terrorist with a big prize on his head and blood on his hands... All three became later Prime Ministers of Israel...
http://www.fromoccupiedpalestine.org/node.php?id=1458


Palestinian factions seeking ways to form unity gov't
A restrained committee composed of representatives of all Palestinian factions has been formed in a bid to reach a compromise over the matter, the PLO chief said. Abdel Rahim said Abbas will run as the Fatah candidate in elections in strength of him being the PLO Chairman.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=503370&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Palestinians Say They Want Democracy
Palestinians say they are eager and able to build the first real democracy in the Arab world, despite the dangers lurking on the road to Jan. 9 elections. "Now it's real competition, the possibility of winning is there," said pro-democracy activist Mustafa Barghouti, a physician considering a presidential bid.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=540&e=5&u=/ap/20041120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/promise_of_democracy


Musa Arafat, Dahlan hold reconciliation meeting
Muhammad Dahlan met Friday evening with his rival Gen. Musa Arafat, commander of the National Security Forces in the Gaza Strip, for a reconciliation meeting in PLO executive committee chairman Mahmoud Abbas's (Abu Mazen) office in Gaza.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1100844584110


Palestinians start choosing candidates for chairman election
The Palestinian central election committee began on Saturday registering candidates for the January 9 elections of a Palestinian Authority chairman to replace Yasser Arafat. The candidate registration will continue until December 1
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/503926.html


U.K. to aid PA with security in Gaza in Arafat's death
The MI6 British intelligence agency and British police are setting up a state-of-the-art control center to boost security in the Gaza Strip, according to a report Saturday by the British newspaper The Telegraph.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=503534&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Qurei urges US to be committed to roadmap
He slammed US President Gorge W. Bush's statements that a new time limit for establishing an independent Palestinian state would be for another four years, saying "this is tantamount to giving Israel more time to confiscate the Palestinian lands."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/20/content_2240339.htm


U.S. Undersecretary of State to meet with PA leaders
A senior U.S. diplomat will meet PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian leaders on the eve of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to the region, an American official said Saturday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/503912.html


Bush's plan to aid Palestinians runs into opposition
But Tom DeLay, the powerful Republican leader in the House of Representatives, expressed "serious concerns" to the administration, a source close to the talks said. DeLay has been an outspoken supporter of Israel and critic of the Palestinian Authority.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=503633&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Egyptian FM delays trip to Israel
In an overnight statement published in Egyptian media Saturday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit had discussed with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom "choosing a new date" for the Nov. 24 visit, which will now be "in the first half of December."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/503908.html


Arafat widow given medical file
Earlier, a senior Palestinian said he expected Arafat's nephew, Nasser al-Kidwa, to pick up the report from the French authorities. But a lawyer for Mrs Arafat said she received the document at 1545 (1445 GMT) on Friday.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4022969.stm


Palestinians to get Arafat's medical chart
Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie said after meeting the French Consul General in Jerusalem, Regis Koetschet, that a copy of Arafat's medical records would be given to Nasser al-Kidwa, Arafat's nephew and the Palestinian representative at the United Nations.
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5353036


The Politics of Time and Dispossession
The movement towards a just peace will require the application of international law and international pressure, diplomatic pressure by the EU and the US and for Israelis and Palestinians to engage in mass non-violent resistance opposing the Occupation. The conditions for a just peace require nothing less.
http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/11543/


Arafat 'ran $1.5bn network'
It said Bawag had later financed Arafat's private jet, a Challenger 604 make worth $23m registered in Austria. Format also alleged that Arafat had control over $800m in bank accounts in Austria, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,6119,2-10-1462_1624329,00.html


Bodies of 9 Iraqi Soldiers Found in Mosul
The four other bodies were found Thursday. Three of the bodies were found by the roadside in a northeastern neighborhood of Mosul, while the fourth was discovered in the southwestern part of the city, Hastings said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=540&e=2&u=/ap/20041120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_mosul


Agreement reached to forgive 80 percent of Iraq's debts
Up to 80 percent of Iraq's 120 billion US dollars debts will bewritten off in three stages, they said. Finance ministers and chiefs of central banks of the Group of 20 major economies began meeting here on Saturday to discuss ways to solve global financial problems.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/20/content_2241111.htm


51 US soldiers killed in Fallujah
The US military says 51 US soldiers were killed in the 11-day fight in Fallujah, in Iraq. US and Iraqi forces ended bombardments against Fallujah on Friday and started a house-by-house search for remaining insurgents.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/20/content_2240022.htm


International Red Cross laments Falluja abuses
The ICRC said this week's killing of a wounded insurgent in Falluja - caught on video - and the execution of hostage Margaret Hassan were acts of "utter contempt" for human life and dignity that shocked the world. "For the parties to this conflict, complying with international humanitarian law is an obligation, not an option,"
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/10c3ce22-3a71-11d9-aa4d-00000e2511c8.html


The Horror of Fallujah
This is a strange time in Fallujah. They say the war is over, but there is no peace. Every day there is shooting, and there are still killings going on. There is very little left of the town now, everywhere there are buildings which have been destroyed. There is also a terrible smell. We know what it is - it is the smell of dead bodies.
http://www.counterpunch.com/abbas11202004.html


Iraq's hit-and-run insurgents outsmart understrength troops
The insurgent assault that destroyed part of the police force in the city of Mosul to the north last week also swept away all vestiges of government in the smaller towns of the Tigris valley to the south, forcing the US military to go in and rebuild Iraqi interim government control virtually from scratch.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/04cfb304-3a5a-11d9-aa4d-00000e2511c8.html


Polish woman hostage back home after being freed in Iraq
Her release, which sparked relief in Poland, a key US ally in the war which toppled Saddam Hussein, came just four days after British-Irish aid worker Margaret Hassan was feared to have been killed by her abductors in Iraq, triggering shock and outrage around the world.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=2&u=/afp/20041120/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_hostages_poland_041120182048

November 19, 2004

NOV9 :The wall must fall protests in UK
Seven activists were arrested and charged... They plan to use the court case to challenge the legality of trade with a company that deals in settlement goods, especially in light of the International Court of Justice Ruling which ruled that countries have an obligation not to not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the construction of the wall.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/803.shtml


A cultural protest against the wall
The wall is not only violating Palestinians' right to freedom of movement and obstructing them from their source of income, but it is also blocking their view of natural sunrise and sunset. It is blocking the hope of a bright future and a just peace. History shows that building walls rarely solves conflicts or guarantees security.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3346.shtml


Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign Fact Sheet: Apartheid in Palestine-Definition, History up to the Wall, and Tool for Mobilization
This fact sheet focuses as well on the ties between the South African Apartheid Regime and the Israeli Apartheid Regime, and emphasizes the lessons to be learned from the successful solidarity movement that supported the South African struggle against Apartheid.
http://stopthewall.org/factsheets/805.shtml


Iman al-Hams' Family Agrees To Exhumation
Israeli military prosecutors have been given permission to exhume the body of a 13-year-old girl who witnesses say was repeatedly shot by an Israeli army commander as she lay wounded on the ground in the southern Gaza Strip. The family of the girl, Iman al-Hams, agreed to the request after some consideration.
http://www.world-crisis.com/news/1098_0_1_0_M/


British Cameraman's Family killed in Gaza to Sue Israeli Government
"Death in Gaza" was completed after Miller's death and features footage showing how he was killed by an Israeli soldier. Miller was earlier this month posthumously awarded a Rory Peck award for "Death in Gaza." "We will be issuing a civil action not only for my brother's murder but also for contributory negligence to our compounded grief,"...
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/November/week3/111904/james-miller.htm


Ya'alon orders probe of claims soldiers abused bodies
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Moshe Ya'alon ordered Military Police on Friday to investigate claims that soldiers abused the bodies of dead Palestinians and took photographs with them. (No mentioning of DATE abuse took place)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=503849&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Gaza's blocked arteries
It is a public holiday in Gaza - with Eid and the period of official mourning for Yasser Arafat - so there is no better time to sample what it is like for Palestinians travelling through the Israeli-occupied strip. After a certain point, every feature of landscape has been erased - bulldozed out of existence by the Israeli army.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4021095.stm


British-Palestinian artist wins prestigious Swiss prize
In Hatoum's work, everyday items - a bed, a chair, cooking utensils - turn from innocuous objects into threatening, often razor-sharp weapons which induce in the viewer an acute sense of being under threat, both physically and mentally. The dangers of life are all around us - as she demonstrates - and useful, perfectly harmless objects can be turned into threatening instruments.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=4&article_id=10253


Palestinians: Officer killed by IDF tank fire in Gaza
A Palestinian officer was killed by Israel Defense Forces fire east of the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Friday evening, Palestinian sources reported. According to the sources, the officer was killed by tank fire. The army denied the claim
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=503376&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


Known by their Tattoos, Fast Shooting, Russian Snipers in Israel's Army
These recruits, according to the Israeli daily newspaper Ma'ariv, have been working in the Russian army and participated in attacks against the Chechnya. The snipers, known as "Foreign Birds" have been recruited to assassinate Palestinian resistance men, Ma'ariv said.
http://www.imemc.org/features/2004/november/russian-snipers.htm


From prison, a Palestinian eyes the presidency
Barghouti is the most prominent member of the rising generation of Palestinian leaders, fortysomething men who, unlike Arafat and his fellow exiles, grew up under Israeli occupation, learned Hebrew in Israeli prisons and came to admire aspects of Israeli democracy even as they resented their occupiers. Barghouti was a frequent critic of governance under Arafat.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/11/19/news/barghouti.html


Palestinian prime minister urges United States to stick to its original deadline on Palestinian statehood
The Palestinian prime minister urged the United States on Friday to stick to its original 2005 deadline for Palestinian statehood, arguing that President Bush's recent proposal to extend it by as much as four years will give Israel time to grab more land in the disputed West Bank.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/11/19/international1543EST0588.DTL


Uraiqat: Peace only if both sides cooperate
Israel must stop building settlements; free prisoners and detainees; return the situation as existed on 28 September 2000; facilitate elections in line with the 1995 accord, that is, allow participation of all Palestinians from Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; solve the refugee issue; and finally end the occupation, Uraiqat said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8095DEDC-CFEB-4CB3-A4C6-84C894AA9BBB.htm


Palestinian leaders call for unity to end chaos
"This cooperation would achieve security for residents and help enforce law, justice and discipline," the statement said. It said the factional leaders, including those from the radical movement Hamas and the Islamic Jihad (Holy War), had positively responded to the call for cooperation.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/19/content_2236878.htm


Progress Sited in PA, Factions Talks
PLO new leader Mahmoud Abbas told Palestinian TV on Thursday, signaling a breakthrough in PA dialogue with opposition groups. Abbas also said that a committee composed of representatives of all Palestinian factions is looking into a compromise that would be accepted by all.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/November/week3/111904/progress%20in%20pa%20factions.htm


Fatah suggests to merge president posts of PLO, PNA
Tayeb Abdel Rahim, member of the committee, read a statement after the meeting of the Fatah central committee held in Gaza that it was decided that the chairman of the executive committee of the PLO could also be the president of the PNA.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/18/content_2235377.htm


Qureia: We will inform Palestinians of cause of Arafat's death
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia told the Associated Press on Friday that there was no doubt that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's medical records - which French officials have refused to release publicly - would come to light.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/503466.html


'Road map' sponsors will send foreign ministers to West Bank next week
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would come to the West Bank next week, after a visit Monday by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. The Spanish and German foreign ministers are also expected in the coming weeks, Shaath said.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=10231


Letter: What is the money doing there, anyway?
In the Somerville Journal article on Nov. 11, "Should we invest in Israel?," Erin Dower quotes me as saying, "She says her relatives are bound to violent Palestine because Israel denies them passports." Israel enforces the same Apartheid policies in Palestine against the indigenous people of Palestine and it's called a "complex situation."
http://www2.townonline.com/somerville/opinion/view.bg?articleid=128195


Bush's plan to aid Palestinians runs into opposition
Under pressure from key lawmakers, the Bush administration said on Thursday it would work with Congress on plans to resume direct U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=503633&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


U.S. Presbyterians on terror alert
The threat was apparently in response to a recent vote by the PCUSA's General Assembly to divest the church's assets from certain corporations that do business in Israel, such as Caterpillar -- whose bulldozers are used to level Palestinian settlements.(Something very new)
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041117-041436-5170r.htm


On This Day 1977: Egyptian leader's Israel trip makes history
His presence in Israel breaks an Arab policy of not dealing publicly with the Jewish state created in 1948. President Sadat's overtures to Israel made him popular in the West - he and Menachim Begin were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/19/newsid_2520000/2520467.stm


Questions of chaos - By Azmi Bishara
In Palestine at present there is only one state: Israel. Democratising Israel can only mean one thing, which is to extend suffrage throughout the entire land of Palestine in the framework of a democratic secular state for all its inhabitants. But this is not what they intended. What they meant was democracy in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and freedom of expression, no less.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/717/op2.htm


Reshaping history - By Noam Chomsky
Since the issue of Palestinian national rights in a Palestinian state reached the agenda of diplomacy in the mid-1970s, "the prime obstacle to its realization", unambiguously, has been the US government, with the NYT staking a claim to be second on the list. Meanwhile the NYT refused -- the word is accurate -- to publish the fact that through the 1980s, Arafat was calling for negotiations which Israel rejected.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/717/sc42.htm


Israel's democratic dilemma
"Israel and the US can't have their cake and eat it. Democracy is democracy and the Palestinians must be allowed to choose their representatives regardless of the political views of those representatives," says Ali Jarbawi, head of the Palestinian Election Committee and professor of political science at Bir Zeit University.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/717/sc5.htm


Funeral prayers for Egypt police killed by Israeli tankfire
The prayer ceremony was held at a military hospital in El Arish, near where the police were killed on the Gaza-Egypt border on Thursday, ahead of their burial in their respective villages later in the day.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1514&ncid=1312&e=4&u=/afp/20041119/wl_mideast_afp/mideast_israel_egypt_041119131017


ICRC slams 'utter contempt' for humanity amid fierce fighting in Iraq
The International Committee of the Red Cross sharply criticized the "utter contempt" for humanity shown by all sides in Iraq amid fierce fighting between US forces and insurgents for control of the city of Fallujah.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=4&u=/afp/20041119/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_fallujah_aid_icrc_041119190947


U.S., Iraqi Troops Storm Baghdad Mosque
Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. soldiers, stormed a key Sunni Muslim mosque in Baghdad after Friday prayers, opening fire and killing at least three people, witnesses said... The raid came a day after the Iraqi government warned that Islamic clerics who incite violence will be considered as "participating in terrorism."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=540&e=1&u=/ap/20041119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq


Iraq War Topping $5.8 Billion A Month
The Pentagon is spending more than $5.8 billion a month on the war in Iraq, according to the military's top generals. That is nearly a 50 percent increase above the $4 billion-a-month benchmark the Pentagon has used to estimate the cost of the war so far.
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_cost_111804,00.html?ESRC=eb.nl


A war crime in real time - By Francis Boyle
The obliteration of Falluja continues apace. Article 6(b) of the 1945 Nuremberg Charter defines a Nuremberg War Crime in relevant part as the "wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages". According to this definitive definition, the George Bush administration's destruction of Falluja constitutes a Nazi war crime. There is nothing surprising about that.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/717/re4.htm


Last Australian aid agency in Iraq pulls out
The last remaining Australian aid agency in Iraq, World Vision, is pulling out of the country after the murders of its own head of operations and CARE Australia aid worker Margaret Hassan.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=17&u=/afp/20041119/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_australia_aid_041119064943


US angered by refusal of some in NATO to participate in Iraq mission: official
The United States is growing increasingly frustrated with the refusal of five NATO members, particularly Germany, to allow their military officers assigned to alliance bases to be deployed in Iraq, a senior US official said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=3&u=/afp/20041119/wl_mideast_afp/us_nato_iraq_041119203220