[VTJP] VTJP News & Articles 02-11-05

[James Brooks]

Occupied Palestine 
and Israel: News and Articles
News 


Abbas to 
confront militant leaders The Guardian 2/11/2005Mahmoud 
Abbas is to demand today that militant leaders stop their attacks on Israelis, 
after the Palestinian president's Fatah movement declared a state of emergency 
for Palestinian security forces.Mr Abbas is to confront militant leaders in the 
Gaza Strip in a bid to curb the violence. He will tell militant leaders that 
"there is only one Palestinian Authority and one leadership, and [he] will not 
accept any measures that can subject our national project to danger," cabinet 
secretary Hassan Abu Libdeh said.Abbas 
uses prison assault to begin security reforms Ha'aretz 2/11/2005Palestinian 
Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas dismissed dozens of security officers in the 
Gaza Strip yesterday, following a raid by armed men on the main prison in Gaza. 
The dismissals included two of the three most senior security officials 
appointed by the late Yasser Arafat in mid-2004. Abbas made his decision 
following a raid by dozens of armed men on the main prison in Gaza, where the 
police headquarters are also based. The attacking gunmen used explosives to 
breach the prison's walls and then executed two inmates who had been accused of 
murdering key Fatah members. A third prisoner was kidnapped to the Al-Burej 
refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip and executed there.Gush 
Katif settlers attack Palestinians, attempt to close Al-Matahin 
checkpoint International Middle East Media Center 2/12/2005Friday evening, an 
Israeli military source reported that soldiers arrested six settlers who hurled 
stones at the Palestinian residents and attempted to close Al-Matahin 
checkpoint, in the Gaza Strip. The source stated that settlers attacked 
Palestinian cars and attempted to pinch the cars from the residents, damage 
reported. At least 30 settlers, mostly youth, heading towards the crossing to 
protest against the homemade shells fired by the resistance, soldiers allowed 
the settlers to protest and asked them to hold their protest in a �safe area� 
beside the street, but settlers rushed to the street which links Gaza with Khan 
Younis and attacked dozens of Palestinian cars. France 
probes Israeli firms on arms to Ivory Coast Ha'aretz 2/11/2005The French 
government has demanded that Israel provide information on companies selling 
arms to the Ivory Coast, where a civil war is now raging. The demand, which 
indirectly places responsibility on Israeli companies for the death of French 
soldiers on a peace-keeping mission, was apparently raised by the French 
Embassy's military attach? or a representative of its intelligence agencies in 
talks with Defense Ministry officials. [See also Defense 
Ministry halts arms sales to Ivory Coast and Arms exports from 
Israel]More on 
US Aid for Checkpoint Crossings Electronic Intifada/CNI 
2/11/2005Press Release, Council for the National Interest -- The 
modernization of checkpoints between Israel and the Palestinian Territories is 
now being ironically cast as a "humanitarian" project to be undertaken by the 
either the Israelis or the Palestinians as a way of improving the Palestinian 
quality of life and ease of communication. Needless to say, the American 
taxpayer is being asked to underwrite the cost. The new "humanitarian" approach 
to the checkpoints can be seen in the newest AIPAC action alert (February 8), in 
which Gen. Baruch Spiegel - identified in the Jerusalem Post as the "head of the 
Security Fence Team, a group appointed by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to 
administer Palestinian humanitarian needs regarding the security fence" - 
outlined how Israel is "working to ease the lives of Palestinians in the West 
Bank and Gaza."Abbas 
appoints new Gaza police chief AlJazeera 2/11/2005Palestinian 
leader Mahmud Abbas has appointed a new police chief for the Gaza Strip. The 
appointment on Friday came a day after the sacking of three security chiefs for 
failing to stop rocket and mortar attacks on Jewish settlements, a Palestinian 
official said. The deputy police chief, Mahmud Asfur, was provisionally promoted 
to the top job to replace General Saib al-Ajiz, the official said. 
The PA 
condemns �Israeli measures to silence the voices of truth 
International Solidarity 
Movement 2/9/2005Anna Nillson from Sweden and Anna Lenna Di Govani from 
Italy are the latest in a growing number ofhuman rights volunteers that Israel 
has denied entrance to as a way of preventing them from entering the West Bank 
and Gaza. The Palestinian Government issued a statement early this week 
�condemning Israeli occupation measures which aim to silence the voices of 
truth�. According to the Palestinian Minister of State, Qaddura Faris, �The 
Israeli government is trying to cover up its crimes against the Palestinian land 
and people, especially those crimes relating to the settlement project known as 
the Wall. They are doing this by following, arresting, and deporting members of 
international solidarity movements...."Palestinian refugees uncertain about Sharm el-Sheikh 
deal Daily Star 2/12/2005Camp residents say Abbas is not addressing the 
real problems - Refugees would rather immigrate than continue living in harsh 
conditions -- BEIRUT: Powerless to decide their fate or choose their own 
political leaders, Palestinians in Lebanon's refugee camps are apprehensive 
about the recent Sharm el-Sheikh agreement between the Israeli government and 
Palestinian Authority (PA). In Ain al-Hilweh, the largest refugee camp here, 
most were unwilling even to answer questions on the historic cease-fire. Abu 
Ahmed Faraj, while exhaling smoke from his narguileh (hookah), said: "Well they 
wanted a chance; let us give them one and wait and see what comes 
next."Video: 
Palestinians mourn man killed by Israeli troops BBC 2/11/2005Video clip: 
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has sacked the chief of Palestinian forces 
after militants violated a truce with Israel. Militant group Hamas said it 
launched an attack after Israeli troops killed a Palestinian man. Alan Johnston 
reports from Gaza.Victim of 
own incitement International Middle East Media Center 2/11/2005Israeli Attorney 
General Menachem Mazuz said Friday that he views harassment and violence towards 
elected officials and security personnel as a grave matter. Mazuz publicized his 
position one day after rightist hecklers verbally abused, and subsequently 
slashed tires of a car belonging to Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 
Mazuz also announced that police will be instructed to handle the matter 
quickly, forcefully, and to the full extent of the law. Opponents of 
disengagement assaulted Thursday Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 
a wedding celebration at Kfar Chabad, east of Tel Aviv.Abbas 
warns Hamas of strong response if cease-fire broken 
Ha'aretz 
2/11/2005Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas vowed to take action 
against any future Palestinian cease-fire violations after Palestinians fired 
more than 40 mortar shells at the Gush Katif settlements in the Gaza Strip 
yesterday. Abbas convened an emergency meeting of his Fatah party's central 
committee to discuss the shelling, and at the end of the meeting, the committee 
announced a "general alert and state of emergency among the Palestinian security 
services and the Fatah movement to deal with the severe security violations, the 
attempts to undermine the Palestinian Authority's deterrent capabilities, and 
the attempts to undermine its international commitmentsNetanyahu: 'A worrying deterioration Jerusalem Post 2/11/2005"I see a 
worrying deterioration," Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Friday, a 
day after he was attacked and his car tires slashed by a group of young Orthodox 
men during a friend's wedding. "Political violence against any person is immoral 
We must not let things get out of hand," Netanyahu told Channel 2 News. The Shin 
Bet, which is in charge of ministers' personal security, is to open 
investigation into out how the attackers came so close to the finance minister 
and his car without Netanyahu's personal guards stopping them.Palestinian source: � Israel agreed to cease assassinations outside PA 
areas International Middle East Media Center 2/12/2005A prominent 
Palestinian source reported Friday that Israel agreed during the Sharm Al-Sheikh 
summit, to cease assassinations against Hamas and Islamic jihad leaders, and 
other Palestinian factions. The source stated that Israel pledged to stop all of 
its operations against Palestinian leaders in Syria and Lebanon if the 
Palestinians are committed to the cease fire agreement.Palestinian AG temporarily closes the �Egyptian Cement� 
file International Middle East Media Center 2/11/2005Thursday evening, 
Palestinian Attorney General, Hussein Abu �Assy, announced in a press conference 
that he temporarily froze the �Egyptian Cement� file, which is a case against 
some Palestinian companies which imported cement from Egypt and sold it to 
Israel to be used in erecting the annexation wall. Abu �Assy said that probes 
conducted by the prosecution north of south of the country proved that there is 
no proof that any of the six charged companies are involved in this case, �the 
file will be frozen until further information is revealed�. Lawyers 
in belated battle for Gaza Jews Jerusalem Post 
2/11/2005Pocket-protectors stuffed firmly into breast pockets and ledgers at 
the ready, lawyers and actuaries are heeding the hushed calls of a settlement 
movement that seems increasingly reconciled to the reality of Israel's 
withdrawal from Gaza. With Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for unilateral 
disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank lurching forward, 
settlement leaders, including MK Zvi Hendel (National Union), can no longer 
ignore the anxiety of constituents over "the day after."Rights 
group opposes naming Diskin as Shin Bet head Ha'aretz 2/11/2005The Public 
Committee Against Torture in Israel has urged Prime Minister Ariel Sharon not to 
appoint Yuval Diskin as head of the Shin Bet security service, citing the fact 
that Diskin came up with the idea of the targeted killings. In an urgent letter 
to Sharon and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, PCATI writes that an organization 
"as important and with such dramatic powers as the Shin Bet should be headed by 
an individual who was not centrally involved in violating international and 
Israeli law." Justices 
set a precedent in damages for Palestinian International Press Center 
2/11/2005In a precedent-setting ruling yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld a 
damages claim against the state from a Palestinian man, Azam Dahar, who was 
wounded in the first intifada. Upholding Dahar's appeal, Justices Eliahu Mazza 
and Mishael Cheshin, against the minority opinion of Justice Edmond Levy, 
applied the rule of evidentiary harm. This refers to omissions or commissions on 
the part of a state authority that make it impossible for a plaintiff to obtain 
evidence that would support his claims. Until now, the rule of evidentiary harm 
had only been applied to the field of medical negligence.Israel 
names new security chief BBC 2/11/2005Israeli Prime 
Minister Ariel Sharon has chosen a veteran agent of the Shin Bet security 
service as the agency's next leader, officials say. Yuval Diskin, 49, will 
replace Avi Dichter, who is leaving the service after 29 years in May. Mr Diskin 
supports Israel's policy of "targeted killings" of Palestinian militant leaders. 
However, he is said to have close connections to senior figures in the 
Palestinian leaderships. "He's a first-class professional and the impression he 
gave me is that he supports the process of reconciliation," senior Palestinian 
security official Jibril Rajub told the AFP news agency. Citizen 
Dies of Wounds in Rafah WAFA 2/10/2005RAFAH, February 10, 
2005 (WAFA)- Citizen died Thursday of wounds he sustained yesterday when Israeli 
Occupation Forces (IOF) opened fire at him in the southern Gaza Strip City of 
Rafah, Palestinian medical sources said. Ibrahim Abu Jazar died today early 
morning, in the intensive care unit, of serious bullet wounds in the 
abdomen.Israelis 
vow action against Arab Bank AlJazeera 2/9/2005Lawyers 
representing victims of bombings in Israel at a US court have threatened further 
action against the Jordan-based Arab Bank, following the closure of its single 
American branch. The victims' group had filed a lawsuit in New York in December, 
accusing the Arab Bank of funding a "terrorist campaign of genocide" and 
demanding billions of dollars in compensation. "They can run, but they can't 
hide," said Ron Motley, lead litigation counsel to more than 700 survivors and 
family members of those killed or maimed by bombings in Israel.Settlers 
block major Gaza route Jerusalem Post 2/11/2005Dozens of 
Gush Katif residents blocked the Tancher Route in the Gaza Strip on Friday to 
Palestinian traffic to protest the mortar shell and Kassam barrage that fell on 
their settlements on Thursday. According to the settlers, Palestinians should 
not be allowed to move freely within the Gaza Strip while mortar shells and 
Kassams are falling on their settlements. The Tancher Route, a highway, connects 
northern and southern Gaza. According to IDF sources, the settlers clashed with 
Palestinian youths in the area and continued their protest despite intelligence 
that snipers intended to harm the demonstrators. Abbas 
Meets Canadian FM WAFA 2/10/2005RAMALLAH, February 
10, 2005 (WAFA)- President Mahmoud Abbas briefed today the Canadian Foreign 
Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew on the latest developments on the Palestinian 
territory as well as the results of the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit. Pettigrew, who 
is visiting Ramallah, welcomed the Palestinian-Israeli agreement to cease all 
acts of violence, describing it as a courageous step. He expressed hopes that 
the agreement would end the state of tension in the Palestinian-Israeli 
relations, affirming his country's support to the Palestinian people and the 
Palestinian National Authority. Canadian 
FM urges Hizbullah to abandon violence Daily Star 2/12/2005Plea comes as 
resistance group calls for 'burying' UN Resolution 1559 -- BEIRUT: Canadian 
Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew urged Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah to 
eschew violence amid growing hopes for a Middle East peace in the wake of this 
week's Sharm el-Sheik summit. His plea comes hard on the heels of international 
calls for the armed militants to abide by the cease-fire agreed between PA 
President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon.PCHR 
Condemns an Attack by Armed Persons at Gaza Central Prison 
Palestinian Centre for 
Human Rights 2/10/2005Calls upon the PNA to Assume Its Responsibilities to 
Ensure Respect for Human Rights -- PCHR strongly condemns an attack by a number 
of armed persons early Thursday morning against Gaza Central Prison, which left 
2 prisoners dead and a number of members of the police injured.The attackers 
also kidnapped a third prisoner to the central Gaza Strip and tortured and 
killed him. PCHR believes that such attacks reflect a determination by some 
people to undermine the rule of law and preserve the misuse of weapons and 
taking the law into their own hands. Top 
Democrat links aid to PA with contributions from Arab 
`deadbeats Ha'aretz 2/11/2005WASHINGTON - The senior Democrat on the House 
International Relations Committee said yesterday he would condition U.S. aid to 
the Palestinians on oil-rich Arab "deadbeats" making good on their own promised 
contributions. The assertion by Rep. Tom Lantos at a hearing on Middle East 
peace prospects drew swift endorsement from the leadoff witness, former 
secretary of state Henry Kissinger. "I think it is reasonable that the 
surrounding Arab states that have resources should at least match U.S. support," 
Kissinger said.News Briefs, February 11, 
2005 International Middle East Media Center 2/11/2005PFLP member arrested 
north of Ramallah/ Resistance detonates an explosive charge near a military jeep 
in Nablus Consumer 
confidence back to October 2000 level Globes 2/10/2005The "Globes" 
Consumer Confidence Index rose by 6 points in January. The public is also 
optimistic about jobs. -- This week's declaration in Sharm el-Sheikh of an end 
to the violent struggle between Israel and the Palestinians, whatever comes of 
it, conforms to the heartfelt desires of the Israeli public. The Consumer 
Confidence Index reached 89 points in January 2005 (1996=100), the same level 
before the outbreak of the intifada in September 2000. Abbas 
moves to shore up ceasefire BBC 2/11/2005Palestinian leader 
Mahmoud Abbas has arrived in Gaza for talks aimed at persuading militants to 
join his ceasefire with the Israelis. Mr Abbas is expected to meet leaders of 
militant factions on Saturday following a series of attacks on Jewish 
settlements in the Gaza Strip. They have said they are prepared to listen, but 
reserve the right to respond to Israeli attacks. Earlier, senior officials from 
both sides discussed the ceasefire. Growth 
amid poverty By Avi Temkin, Globes 2/8/2005Latest family spending figures are 
further proof of Israel's widening social gap -- If further proof of the trends 
in Israeli society in the past few years were needed, the Central Bureau of 
Statistics family spending survey has provided it. The survey gives new data on 
Israel's social gap. The fact is that 60% of Israel's population spends less 
than the national average each month. The significance of this is that sections 
of the poplulation once described as middle class, and that succeeded in 
progressing economically, have now been left behind.Abbas to 
meet political leaders Saturday International Middle East Media 
Center 2/12/2005Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas will meet on Saturday 
at night with political leaders to hold talks about cease fire, after he arrived 
in Gaza Friday ahead of meetings with Palestinian movements. The Planned meeting 
with leaders of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are part of Abbas's efforts to 
maintain cease fire agreement, he and Ariel Sharon declared in Sharm Al-Sheikh 
summit. Abbas will also discuss the outcomes of Sharm Al-Sheikh summit with the 
leaders and the plans of the P.A for the coming period. Tayyeb Abdul-Rahim, 
Abbas's aide, said that the meeting will take place Saturday night. 
China's 
Nuctech to provide Karny crossing inspection systems 
Globes 2/10/2005The $10 
million project is the first to be jointly financed by Israel and the 
Palestinian Authority. -- Sources inform �Globes� that Chinese company Nuctech 
signed a contract this week to carry out a $10 million turnkey project for two 
container inspection systems at the Karny crossing between Israel and the Gaza 
Strip. This is a joint Israel-Palestinian Authority project to solve the backlog 
of containers waiting to be scanned.Dahlan 
demands Israel to release detainees imprisoned since 1993 
International Middle East 
Media Center 2/11/2005Mohammad Dahlan, member of the Palestinian higher 
negotiation committee, told the Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper that the Palestinian 
president Mahmoud Abbas will meet with Sharon in the coming two weeks in 
Jerusalem or at Sharon�s home. The meeting will discuss the issue of the 
annexation wall, settlements, the Palestinian detainees, and reopening the 
Palestinian institutions east of Jerusalem, which were closed by Israel during 
the Intifada. Itamar 
settlers agree to remove caravan Jerusalem Post 2/11/2005Overnight 
Friday, settlers from Itamar, near Nablus in the West Bank, placed an illegal 
caravan at the nearby Gidonim outpost, reportedly in response to Prime Minister 
Ariel Sharon's refusal to authorize a referendum on his disengagement plan. 
After negotiations between the settlers and the army, the settlers agreed to 
remove the caravan on Sunday, Army Radio reported. Drugs IP: 
Israel vs. The world Globes 2/3/2005Israeli 
legislators face enormous, and conflicting, pressures as they decide on changes 
to intellectual property law. How the forces line up - part one. -- In 1998, 
Amendment 3 to the Patents Law (1967) (popularly referred to as the �Teva 
amendment�), was published. The amendment dealt in two ways with the protection 
and exclusivity period for patents, which begins on the date a patent request is 
filed and, under Section 52 of the law, continues for 20 years.... the ongoing 
struggle to shape the statutory and legal elements of the Israeli patent market 
has far reaching international, commercial, and even political features. It is 
no wonder that the Israeli legislators find themselves in the middle of a 
complicated power struggle.Likud 
pullout supporters feel the heat from within Ha'aretz 2/11/2005At the end of 
last week, as referendum supporters in the Likud Central Committee were gearing 
up to collect the 600 signatures required to convene the committee to vote on 
the matter, pressure mounted on Likud MKs to add their names to the list. One 
Likud MK who supports the pullout plan and opposes a referendum had to field 
dozens of phone calls at home, the office and in his car from individuals 
claiming to be central committee members. "I explained to them that I oppose a 
referendum and they answered: `Too bad. All the guys signed, and you know your 
position in the polls is bad. This is the end for you 
politically.'"Army 
officer: Settlers tried to run me over International Middle East Media 
Center 2/11/2005An Israel army officer said Friday that settlers attempted 
to run him down with a car overnight near the West Bank settlement of Itamar in 
the Nablus area. The officer filed a complaint with police on Friday morning. An 
investigation revealed that settlers managed to deceive soldiers and illegally 
place a caravan in a settlement outpost adjacent to Itamar. On Thursday night, 
the army officer requested an explanation from local settlers and was told they 
intended to switch an older caravan used to house soldiers securing the outpost. 
The officer agreed that the switching would take place Friday 
morning.Film 
portrays 'human face' of suicide bombers The Guardian 2/12/2005A film 
about Palestinian suicide bombers is to have its premiere at the Berlin film 
festival on Monday. Hany Abu-Assad, its Palestinian director, hoped there would 
not be protests. "The film is meant to open discussion, not tell you what you 
know," he told the Guardian. "I am giving a human face to the suicide bombers, 
but I am also critical... I was making an honest film. They are human beings. 
That is the reality." In filming last spring in Nablus on the West Bank, the 
crew often found themselves in crossfire. Six technicians and an actor abandoned 
the set. Refusenik 
officers appeal dismissals from command posts Ha'aretz 2/11/2005Five Israel 
Defense Forces reserve officers who declared their intentions to refuse to take 
part in the evacuation of settlements under the disengagement plan appealed 
yesterday to the High Court of Justice against the subsequent IDF decision to 
dismiss them from their command positions. In a letter to the Binyamin Brigade 
commander some two weeks ago, the officers said they planned to refuse to 
participate in operations related to the pullout plan.Armed men 
killed three in Gaza Prison International Middle East Media 
Center 2/11/2005Around 50 armed men forcefully entered the Gaza Central 
Prison and killed three prisoners, Palestinain security soruce reported on 
Thursday. The source described the attack as criminal and said the gunmen killed 
the three men because of a family feud. Gunmen entered the prison, known as 
Al-Saraya, killed two and napped a third who was found killed later in the 
Bureige Camp, the source said. Palestinian police managed to arrest some of the 
infiltrators.Those 
Kids Must Choke - new record label captures free improv on 
disc Daily Star 2/12/2005Experimental Beirut music scene gets chance to 
reach wider audience -- BEIRUT: "The records I want to release on this label are 
the records I want to own," says 26-year-old musician Charbel Haber with 
characteristically earnest enthusiasm. For nearly a decade, Haber has been 
singing and heavily distorting the sounds of his guitar with the experimental 
Beirut-based rock band Scrambled Eggs, a foursome that includes guitarist Marc 
Codsi, bassist Tony Aliyeh, and drummer Said Aliyeh.Christians and Druz scuffle in Mrar Come And See/Ha'aretz 2/12/2005A 
brawl broke out in the Druz village of Mrar in the western Galilee on Friday 
after some Christian Arab Israeli youths made a photomontage portraying female 
residents of the village as nude models. Many local businesses and vehicles were 
damaged in the fight. Witnesses said dozens of Druz entered a Christian 
neighborhood in the village and proceeded to bombard the residents with stun 
grenades and set cars and buildings on fire. U.S. 
using bandage invented by IDF medic Ha'aretz 2/11/2005An innovative 
new bandage, invented by an American-born Israeli combat medic adapting an 
improvised Israel Defense Forces field practice of placing a rock on a bandage 
to keep pressure on a wound, is saving the lives of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. 
Inventor Bernard Bar-Natan, who immigrated to Israel from New York City, gained 
his knowledge of wound dressing while serving in an IDF infantry 
unit.Lahoud 
accuses U.S. of using Lebanese to 'stab Syria Daily Star 2/12/2005Larsen meets 
Maronite patriarch - BEIRUT: President Emile Lahoud accused U.S. Deputy 
Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield of trying to use "the Lebanese as 
a tool to stab Syria in the back" and warning him that "this is something 
Lebanon will never do." Lahoud's strong attack follows a warning from 
Satterfield that U.S.-Syrian relations would deteriorate unless Damascus 
implemented UN Security Council Resolution 1559 fully.Jordan 
bars Kurdish refugees AlJazeera 2/12/2005The UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has voiced concern over 120 Iranian Kurds 
stranded on the Iraqi side of the border after Jordan denied them entry. The 
refugees fled in three batches over the past four weeks from a camp for Iranian 
Kurds west of Baghdad. "They have not been permitted to enter Jordan, nor to 
join another group of 660 refugees � mostly Iranian Kurds from al-Tash � who 
have been living in a camp in no-man's land between the two countries for the 
past year and a half," a UNHCR statement said on Friday. EU wants 
to help Iran build light-water research reactor Daily Star 2/12/2005Rafsanjani: 
U.S. can't stop Tehran's atomic ambitions - Crucial uranium enrichement issue 
remains unresolved as negotiations -- EU negotiators were to offer Friday to 
send a mission to help Iran obtain a nuclear light-water research reactor, in 
what would be the first concrete move toward rewarding Tehran for abandoning 
uranium enrichment, a diplomat said. Negotiators from Britain, France and 
Germany met with Iranian officials for a fourth and final day in Geneva on 
Friday to convince Tehran to dismantle a uranium enrichment program that the 
United States says is part of secret nuclear weapons development, diplomats 
said.Sectarian 
massacres shake Iraq The Guardian 2/12/2005Violence 
swept Iraq yesterday as insurgents switched the focus of their attacks from the 
security forces to Shia civilians, killing at least 12 in a bombing outside a 
mosque and gunning down nine in a Baghdad bakery. The massacres appeared 
designed to raise sectarian tension as the country prepared for the results from 
last month's election which will cement the ascendance of the Shia majority and 
the political marginalisation of the Arab Sunni minority. Arabs, 
Turkmen demonstrate in Kirkuk AlJazeera 2/11/2005Hundreds of 
Arab and Turkmen protesters took to the streets of Iraq's disputed northern oil 
city of Kirkuk, saying that last month's election had been riddled with fraud 
and demanding a re-run. "No, no to federalism! No, no to fraud!", chanted the 
demonstrators, who gathered in the city centre on Friday before heading south to 
march past the offices of the two main Kurdish parties. Kurds want Kirkuk to be 
made the capital of an enlarged autonomous region, and thousands of Kurds who 
were displaced from the city under Saddam Hussein were allowed to vote two weeks 
ago.Iraq 
trapped in a terrible vice between ruthless insurgents and unloved 
occupiers By Rory McCarthy, The Guardian 2/12/2005Rory McCarthy, the Guardian's 
Baghdad correspondent since the end of the war, leaves the city today. Here he 
gives an account of two tumultuous years and his fears for Iraq's future -- It 
was five days after Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled in Paradise Square in 
Baghdad. I stood in an aircraft hangar hundreds of miles away at US central 
command in Qatar and listened to a suited American envoy speak of the postwar 
plans for Iraq. There was a raw naivety even then. It was rushed and excited. A 
bold new political architecture that would shape the lives of millions was being 
sketched out as we watched.
Articles 

Peace 
Without Justice By Robert Fisk, ZNet 
2/11/2005    So, the Palestinians will end their occupation 
of Israel. No more will Palestinian tanks smash their way into Haifa and Tel 
Aviv. No more will Palestinian F-18s bomb Israeli population centres. No more 
will Palestinian Apache helicopters carry out "targeted killings" - ie: murders 
- of Israeli military leaders.      The Palestinians 
have promised to end all "acts of violence" against Israelis while Israel has 
promised to end all "military activity" against Palestinians. So that's it, 
then. Peace in our time.      A Martian - even a 
well-educated Martian - would have gathered that this was the message, supposing 
he dropped in on the fantasy world of Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday. The 
Palestinians had been committing "violence", the Israelis carrying out 
"innocent" operations. Palestinian "violence" or "terror and violence" - the 
latter a more popular phrase since it carried the stigma of 11 September 2001 - 
was now at an end. Mahmoud Abbas - who told a close Lebanese friend this year 
that he wore a suit and tie so that he would look "different" to Yasser Arafat - 
went along with all this. Just which people were occupying the homes of which 
other people remained a mystery.      Silver-haired and 
wisdom-burdened, Mahmoud Abbas looked the part. We had to forget that it was 
this same Abbas who wrote the Oslo Accords, who in 1,000 pages failed to use - 
even once - the word "occupation", and who talked not of Israeli "withdrawal" 
from Palestinian territory, but of "redeployment".From Aqaba to 
Sharm: Fake Peace Festivals By Tanya Reinhart, Electronic 
Intifada 2/11/2005    The Sharm El-Sheikh summit of Sharon and Abbas 
is hailed in the Western media as the opening of a new era. This is the climax 
of a wave of optimism that has been generated since the death of Arafat. In the 
last four years, the Israeli leadership singled Arafat out as the main obstacle 
for peace. Adopting the Israeli perspective, the media world believes that his 
departure would enable a renewal of the peace process. This, in the media world, 
is coupled with the faith that Israel is finally led by a man of peace. Sharon, 
who might have had some problems in the past, so the story goes, has changed his 
skin, and now he is leading Israel to painful concessions. 
     The same euphoria has been of course dominant also 
in the Israeli media, as Aluf Benn noted in Ha'aretz in December 7,: "The media 
atmosphere over the last few days has been reminiscent of the Oslo-era euphoria, 
or the early days of Ehud Barak's government... There is once again talk of 
cooperation, public embraces and peace conferences. International diplomats are 
once again viewing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an arena for diplomatic 
successes instead of a guaranteed recipe for frustration and 
failure".[1]     Judging from the optimistic language of 
the media, the new era exists not just at the level of declared plans. The 
praises for Sharon, the feeling of huge progress, would let one almost believe 
that things have actually changed on the ground - some settlements evacuated, 
the occupation almost over, cessation of Israeli violence....But the bitter 
reality is that nothing has changed.The role of the 
Palestinian women in Local Government By Abdulnasser Makky, Arabic Media 
Internet Network 2/11/2005    1. The role of the Palestinian women before PNA: 
One consequence of Israel's occupation policies was the proletarianization of 
Palestinians, as increasing numbers of both men and women were uprooted from 
their lands and livelihood and pressured to join the Israeli labor force in 
order to support their families. Many worked as poorly paid manual laborers, or 
as seasonal agricultural workers in Israeli enterprises.' Women from all sectors 
of society began to enter the education system, including higher education, in 
order to improve their chances of finding gainful employrtient. Women often took 
up jobs in the service sector, in teaching, nursing, and the like, or else 
received training in vocational skills which they could use to supplement their 
families' incomes (Sabagh, 1993).      These 
socioeconomic transformations inevitably acted back upon the women themselves. 
Increasingly, Palestinian women began to take upon themselves the task of 
defining their roles as productive members of Palestinian society under 
occupation and of developing avenues through which they would 'butte to the 
struggle against Israeli rule (Haj, 1992). Given these conditions became a 
virtual dally onslaught against their Palestinian identity, it is not surprising 
that men and women alike regarded their collective national oppression as the 
first priority. Yet because Palestinian women's traditional structural position 
was different from that of men, gendered differences in Palestinian responses to 
Israeli Occupation did eventually emerge (Kuttab, 
1993).     This politicization and mobilization occurred 
initially within the bounds of the sixty or so charitable societies that had 
been established within the West Bank before 1967. Under the Occupation, these 
societies expanded their purview from traditional welfare functions, to place 
greater emphasis on education, health and vocational 
training.MK 
Elon reaches out to evangelicals By Gil Hoffman, Jerusalem Post 
2/11/2005    Not many members of Knesset have written a book. 
Fewer still have written a book in English. And only one has written a book in 
English especially for evangelical Christians.      
National Union MK Benny Elon, who is an Orthodox rabbi, will present his new 
book, God's Covenant with Israel: Establishing Biblical Boundaries in Today's 
World, on Monday at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Anaheim, 
California.      The convention is expected to draw more 
than 6,000 Christian communicators from all over the world, who broadcast to the 
141 million Christian Americans who tune in to religious media on a regular 
basis.      A Jerusalem bus that exploded in a terrorist 
attack will be on display at the convention to encourage prayer for peace in 
Jerusalem and remind participants that terror can strike anywhere. 
     Elon, who has had ties with evangelical Christians 
for several years, is set to meet at the convention with a who's who of 
Christian evangelists and broadcasters, including Pat Robertson, Kay Arthur, and 
Janet Parshall. Elon told The Jerusalem Post that he does not believe it is odd 
that a Knesset member and a rabbi wrote a book especially for American 
Christians.     ....Elon: "Gaza was clearly part of the 
biblical land grant to Israel and God has a plan for Gaza and its inhabitants in 
the future," Elon wrote. "As the preparations for this withdrawal increase, 
please keep the inhabitants of Gaza and northern Samaria in your hearts and 
prayers. The people of the book have a responsibility to uphold and protect the 
covenant between God and Israel."The Sharm 
El-Sheikh Summit: An interview with Saleh Abdel Jawad 
Electronic 
Intifada/Palestine Report 2/11/2005    This week 
Palestine Report Online interviews Saleh Abdel Jawad, professor of political 
science at Birzeit University, on the Sharm Al Sheikh 
summit.     PR: Do we now have peace and is everything 
back on track?      Abdel Jawad: Peace? We have perhaps 
a serious ceasefire. I'm not sure if we have peace. There is an attempt. I think 
the Americans have pushed hard to arrive at a certain situation. If peace will 
come, or if a political process will go further, this is another 
story.     PR: But things appear to have moved very fast 
since President Mahmoud Abbas was elected president. Do you attribute this only 
to American pressure?     Abdel Jawad: Not, of course, 
only. Abbas is serious, he is committed to what he says, and I think the ball is 
now mainly in the Israeli court. Abbas is still obliged to do certain things on 
the Palestinian side: he has to apply the ceasefire fully and control the 
situation. The Israelis have to get to, at least, the pre-September 28, 2000 
situation. Then we can maybe move on the roadmap.More material available from 
Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel - www.vtjp.orgTo subscribe to News Links, 
please e-mail us your request: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 


  
  
    







Yahoo! Groups Sponsor


ADVERTISEMENT
<noscript><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=129816kd1/M=298184.6018725.7038619.3001176/D=groups/S=1705408780:HM/EXP=1108268808/A=2532114/R=2/SIG=12kqgvmsc/*http://clk.atdmt.com/NFX/go/yhxxxnfx0020000014nfx/direct/01/&time=1108182408293598" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="" /></a></noscript>












Yahoo! Groups Links

To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VTJP/ 
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.