Occupied Palestine and Israel: News and Articles
News
Arafat refugee climbdown stuns Palestinians
Al-Jazeera 6/19/2004
In what appears to be a significant departure from the erstwhile Palestinian position, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Yasir Arafat has voiced his willingness to recognise Israel as a "Jewish state." The remarks were made in an interview with the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz on Friday....PA officials contacted by Aljazeera.net refused to comment on Arafat's remarks, saying they did not think that Arafat meant what the Israeli newspaper quoted him as having said.
Israel issues tender for moat on Philadelphi route
Ha'aretz 6/18/2004
The Defense Ministry issued a tender Thursday for the digging of a ditch along the border of Israel and Egypt south of the Gaza Strip. According to the specifications, the ditch - or moat - will be four kilometers long, 15-25 meters deep and 100-120 meters wide. Senior officials said that the ditch will be dug along the Philadelphi route and will be ready before the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is completed by the end of 2005.
Arafat interview: A Jewish state? `Definitely'
Ha'aretz 6/18/2004
Arafat is ready to sign an agreement that would give Palestinians 97 per cent of the West Bank and Gaza - with the rest in a land swap, and the right of return of not all, but at least some refugees. In a free-ranging interview with Haaretz, conducted in the carefully preserved ruins of the Muqata, the PA Chairman also spoke of the historical family bonds between the two peoples. Definitely," says Yasser Arafat, waving his arm for emphasis.
Massive Arrests Among Citizens in oPt as Flare Bomb Burns a House in Gaza
International Press Center 6/18/2004
BETHLEHEM, Palestine, June 17, 2004 (IPC + WAFA)-- The Israeli occupying forces (IOF) arrested numerous citizens in separate incidents and in different parts of the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), while a flare bomb torched a house in Gaza Strip. Security sources mentioned that the Israeli forces arrested three citizens west of Bethlehem City....invaded early today the city of Nablus and surrounded the eastern cemetery area there, before arresting three citizens, one of them was wounded, and leading them to an undisclosed location...invaded the city of Tubas and launched a wide search campaign among the citizens' houses there, security sources said.
US Urged to Stop Gaza Settlers Moving to West Bank
Palestine Media Center 6/16/2004
Annan: Quartet Efforts Unsatisfactory, Larsen Warns of Deterioration -- Amid reports of a major expansion of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) assassinated a Palestinian activist Wednesday, the third to be extra-judicially killed in 48 hours, as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called the status quo in the Middle East �unacceptable,� whilst slamming efforts to implement the UN-adopted �roadmap� for peace as �deeply unsatisfactory.�
Israeli Military Intensifies Pressure on Civilian Population, Targeting Local Leadership for Assassination
International Solidarity Movement 6/17/2004
NABLUS - On Monday, Khalil Marshoud (25), the head of the Al-Aqsa Brigades in the Balata refugee camp, and Awad Abu Zeid, from the Askar refugee camp, were assassinated by an Israeli Air Force (IAF) helicopter while traveling in a car near Jacob�s Well Monastery on the outskirts of Balata. This killing is the second time in a little more than a month that the IAF has enacted its policy of extrajudicial executions - condemned by international human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch - targeting prominent local Palestinians engaged in armed resistance to Israeli occupation here in Nablus.
Israeli Closure Leaves Palestinian Economy Paralyzed
Islam Online 6/18/2004
GAZA CITY, June 18 (IslamOnline.net) - Palestinian businessmen accused Israel of attempting to paralyze the already- shattered Palestinian economy by closing the main commercial crossing into Gaza Strip. Israeli occupation forces have closed the four-kilometer Al-Muntar crossing, an economic lifeline for transporting 95 per cent of the strip�s exports and imports on a daily basis, for over three months now.
Qureia: Palestinians drafting deal on post-pullout Gaza rule
Ha'aretz 6/18/2004
JERUSALEM - The Palestinian Authority and militant groups in the Gaza Strip have begun drafting an agreement on how to run the territory jointly after an Israeli withdrawal, officials said Friday. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia confirmed that the document is being written, and said it would be completed after additional talks in Egypt. Qureia met Friday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo to discuss the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, to be completed by September 2005.
Israel, US Use Similar Torture Tactics: Report
Islam Online 6/16/2004
CAIRO , June 16 (IslamOnline.net) � The accounts of physical abuse of Iraqis by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad are similar to the Israeli army techniques in torturing Palestinian detainees, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, June 16. It cited cases of Palestinian detainees painfully tortured by their Israeli interrogators and placed in stress postures similar to those imposed on Iraqi detainees.
Report: Palestinians fire new type of rocket at Sderot
Ha'aretz 6/18/2004
Palestinians fired a new, advanced type of Qassam rocket at a residential area of Sderot early Friday morning, Israel Radio reported. The radio quoted Lachish region police commander Nissim Mor as saying the rocket attack constituted an escalation. The more sophisticated rocket, called a Nasser 3 rocket, carries more explosive material and has a longer range than the type of Qassam that Palestinians usually use in attacks, according to the report.
One Palestinian Citizen Wounded In A Mysterious Blast, IOF Represses Anti-Apartheid Wall Peaceful Actions
International Press Center 6/18/2004
HEBRON. Palestine.May17,2004. (IPC+WAFA)--- Palestinian security sources reported that one Palestinian citizen was wounded when a strange object blasted in Jabal Al-Sharif region. Hebron....Meanwhile another Israeli force surrounded and stormed into the home of the Palestinian citizen Loai Motawe,22, to the east of Hebron and arrested him. Likewise, in Al-Ram town, north of occupied Jerusalem, the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) arrested six Palestinian citizens...
Peaceful Protesters from the Village of Iskaka Met with Violence by Israeli Military
International Solidarity Movement 6/17/2004
Iskaka, Salfit]Yesterday, Thursday, June 17, 2004, 100 Palestinians from the village of Iskaka (Salfit district of the West Bank) and 30 international and Israeli activists marched to Iskaka�s agricultural land which is being bulldozed in order to build Israel�s Apartheid Wall deep within the West Bank. The peaceful protesters were met by 30 Israeli soldiers and police who used teargas, sound bombs and physical force against the marchers.
Israel Expands Settlements, Wall Unabated Amidst US Criticism
Palestine Media Center 6/17/2004
Washington has voiced its objection to Israeli plans to expand colonies in the occupied West Bank, which the roadmap stipulated should be halted, and to thrust the wall it is building on Palestinian land to its deepest point inside the occupied territory. Both plans show that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon intends to remove the settlers slated for evacuation from the Gaza Strip under his go-it-alone �disengagement� plan to the West Bank, which he plans to make a hub for Jewish colonies and even annex to Israel.
Rafah Today: IOF Violence Continues
Rafah Today 6/18/2004
Photos: A group of homeless children faced shooting by tanks while attempting to gather what remained of their damaged furniture - A Palestinian child from Rafah is hiding in a sewage system hole from the shooting from one of the tanks which was parked in Hay Al Salam area during the last incursion -- Ahmad Abu Mar'ee, 20, was shot and wounded in the foot when Israeli forces stationed near the borderline opened heavy and random gunfire at citizens and their homes in the area. Abu Mar'ee was transferred to Abu Youisf Al Najar hospital in moderate condition. Israeli gunfire also burned a house in the Tal Al Sultan quarter.
IDF suspends unit charged with death of crippled Palestinian
Ha'aretz 6/18/2004
An Israel Defense Forces unit responsible for killing a handicapped Palestinian man in the West Bank has been removed from the West Bank and stripped of all its operational tasks, in accordance with an order issued Wednesday by GOC Central Command Major General Moshe Kaplinksi. The decision was made public by the IDF on Thursday.
Arafat: Israel is Jewish; won't cite figure on refugees
Ha'aretz 6/18/2004
Yasser Arafat "definitely" understands that Israel must preserve its character as a Jewish state, the Palestinian Authority chairman told Haaretz in an interview this week. This is the first time Arafat has said he recognizes the state's Jewish character - he had previously refrained from doing so, to avoid offending Israel's Arab citizens. In the interview at his office in Ramallah on Tuesday, Arafat pointed out that the PLO had adopted the Arab Summit resolution of April 2002.
Annan Says Efforts to Implement the Road Map Unsatisfactory
International Press Center 6/17/2004
GAZA, June 17, 2004 (IPC + AFP)-- The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, said that efforts to implement the "Road Map" remained deeply unsatisfactory, calling on civil society to play a role in countering the view that there were no serious partners for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In a message delivered by Under-Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor to the International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East in Beijing, Annan said that the road back to the "Road Map" would be difficult, and that the current situation in the Palestinian territories was unacceptable.
Video: Palestinian comedians Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah at ADC 2004
Electronic Intifada 6/11/2004
At the 21st National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Washington DC, from June 10th-13th, EI's Nigel Parry shot video footage of two performances by Palestinian comedians -- Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah, who are definitely rising stars in the American comedy circuit and host their own New York-based FM radio show, Fen Majnoon ("Crazy Art") with Dean and Maysoon. Video is available in MPEG-4 format, which can be viewed using QuickTime.
Prison Tactics A Longtime Dilemma For Israel
Washington Post 6/16/2004
Nation Faced Issues Similar to Abu Ghraib -- NABLUS, West Bank -- The accounts of physical abuse of Iraqis by American guards at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad sounded achingly familiar to Anan Labadeh. The casual beatings, the humiliations, the trophy photos taken by both male and female guards were experiences he said he underwent as a Palestinian security detainee at an Israeli military camp in March of last year.
Washington post Daily: Israel Tortures Palestinian Prisoners
International Press Center 6/18/2004
GAZA, Palestine, June17,2004 (IPC+ Agencies)-- Some thousand Palestinian prisoners are being tortured in different formsby the Israeli �occupying authorities� in the Israeli prisons and concentration camps, the Washington post US Daily reported.
Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 6/17/2004
8 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were killed by Israeli forces / 4 of the victims were killed in 2 extra-judicial assassinations /Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip / 315 donums[1] of agricultural land were razed and 12 houses were demolished in the Gaza Strip / 2 houses were destroyed in Bethlehem by Israeli troops in the context of retaliatory measures against families of Palestinian activists / Israeli forces continued to shell Palestinian residential areas, injuring a number of Palestinian civilians / Construction of the �Annexation wall� in the West Bank has continued and more areas of Palestinian land were seized / Israeli occupying forces have continued to impose a total siege on the OPTs
Appeal to the Israeli High Court Requesting Halt for the Demolition of a Number of Palestinian Homes
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 6/16/2004
On Tuesday evening PCHR submitted an appeal to the Israeli High Court demanding an order be introduced to halt the demolition of a number of homes belonging to the Abu Dahrouj family in al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the south of Gaza City.At approximately 11:00, local time, on Tuesday, 15 June 2004, Israeli troops called through megaphones on Mohammed Abu Dahrouj and his brothers to leave their home.PCHR had responded by first submitting an appeal to the Israeli military legal advisor, but received no response.A subsequent appeal was lodged with the High Court of Israel.
ACT Appeal Occupied Palestinian Territories - Rafah: Emergency Assistance
ReliefWeb 6/17/2004
Action by Churches Together International - Appeal Target: US$ 185,289-- The constant demolition of homes undertaken by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have to date left thousands of Palestinians homeless, especially in Rafah. The military operation 'Rainbow' launched by the IDF in May in Gaza has brought the most intense destruction since the start of the Intifada.
Jordan Considers Ban On Iraqi Scrap Imports
Islam Online 6/16/2004
AMMAN , June 16 (IslamOnline.net) � Jordan is considering a ban on Iraqi military scrap imports amid fears that they could be contaminated. A committee of ten ministries and other government-run institutions has recommended the ban, citing health and environmental hazards of the booming scrap business....Jordanians fear that these military vehicles were shelled by depleted uranium during the US-British invasion of Iraq.
UN urges Iraq to protect Palestinians living in Baghdad
Ha'aretz 6/18/2004
GENEVA - The United Nations refugee agency urged Iraq's incoming provisional government on Friday to protect thousands of Palestinians living in Baghdad. "If they want to stay in Iraq, they should be treated decently," said Kris Janowski, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Video & Text: Suheir Hammad reading 'Beyond Words' at ADC 2004
Electronic Intifada 6/12/2004
Palestinian-American poet and political activist Suheir Hammad has published a book of poems, Born Palestinian, Born Black, and a memoir, Drops Of This Story, and is prominently featured in Listen Up! An Anthology Of Spoken Work Poetry.
Beitar soccer fan convicted for shouting `death to Arabs'
Ha'aretz 6/18/2004
Jerusalem Magistrate's Court has handed down the first-ever conviction of a soccer fan for incitement to racism, for shouting "death to Arabs" during a December 2001 match in the capital.
France refused to Call Off Meeting With Arafat
International Press Center 6/17/2004
GAZA, June 17, 2004 (IPC + Agencies)-- France has decided not to bow to the Israeli pressure to cancel themeeting of the French Foreign Affairs Minister Michel Barnier with President Yasser Arafat during his visit on the agenda to the Middle East this June.
Articles
Palestine: Perception and Reality
Electronic Intifada 6/18/2004
[edited version of a speech EI's Nigel Parry gave at the "Palestine: Perception and Reality" panel at the 21st National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington DC, on Sunday 13 June 2004.] -- I just want to thank the ADC for inviting us here this year. It's been a very good conference this year. What has been especially encouraging is seeing this younger generation of Palestinians using art to communicate realities about the conflict to non-traditional audiences.
Comedians Dean Obeidallah and Maysoon Ziyad are doing exactly the kind of thing that we are hoping to do with EI in that, if you do stuff in a non-traditional format, in a creative way, you can reach a whole bunch of people who we don't have the ears of at the moment but hope to.
I've also been impressed by the honesty and directness with which people are communicating the realities of the conflict. Last night, poet Suheir Hammad read a moving and razor sharp poem inspired by images we have seen in the last months -- Abu Ghraib and the suffering of people in Rafah.
The death of facts in the Land of Darkness
By Gideon Samet, Ha'aretz 6/18/2004
We can't be certain of anything anymore. Even guesswork has become difficult. About Sharon's plan, his son's business dealings, about the quality of the State Prosecutor's Office and the motives of Edna Arbel and Menachem Mazuz, about the real abilities of the head of Military Intelligence or those of the man who headed the research section in this sensitive institution. One can't tell if it means "yes" when the National Religious Party says "no," and even when the Labor Party answers "no" for the time being. The facts are drowning behind an asphyxiating wall of spins and suspicious, even dark, intent. Under normal conditions, which are as far removed from here as the facts themselves, such mess in the daily life of a country would result in depression and protest. For us, mess is what makes the nation go round. Why should one know, for sure, whether the Sharon family is OK, when some scandalous, ugly quarrel is available over this pressing question? Who wants to know clearly whether the Palestinians may have been willing to negotiate? It is best to stick the answer between the geysers of blood spurting from the semi-entertaining cockfight between the heads of Military Intelligence. Turmoil and scandal are a good deal for a street that does not really care to face up to the truth. The ones who first understood the passing of the facts, this national desire to feed on doubt, were Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival in the art of spin championship, Ariel Sharon. It is no coincidence that the two, both after and in spite of everything, continue to lead on all blockbuster lists of the battle for the leadership.
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