NOVEMBER 2002

Thursday November 14, 2002

Main Headline

Israeli Forces Raid Central Gaza, Kills Three-Year-Old Toddler in Rafah

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Israeli occupation forces raided central Gaza in the early hours of Thursday and arrested four “wanted” Palestinians, a reference to suspected Palestinian fighters.

The army stormed the home of Yosef Meqdiad, an officer in the Palestinian Preventive Security Service, arresting him and three of his brothers, according to a relative Majida Meqdiad, 21.

Palestinian sources said dozens of tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles swept into the Sheikh Ijlin neighborhood.

This is the first time in many years the Israeli army goes that deep into the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli occupation army described the incursion as “a routine military activity.”

Earlier, Israeli occupation soldiers shot and killed another Palestinian child, a three-year-old toddler, in Rafah as he was playing in the veranda of his home. Hamed al Masri and his mother Asma al Masri, 31, were taken to Rafah's Al Najjar hospital where the child was pronounced dead.

The child is the third to be killed by the Israeli army in less than three days.

On Tuesday, two Palestinian children, two-year old Nafez Meshal and eight-year old Mohammad Abu al-Naja were killed also in Rafah in what was described as cold blooded murder. Meshal was shot dead in his father's arms outside their house in what witnesses said was unprovoked gunfire from a nearby Israel army watching tower. Al-Naja died of wounds he suffered last month during Israeli tank shelling into the camp which killed six Palestinians.

The Israeli government and army routinely claim that the almost daily killings is done by mistake.

Wednesday November 13, 2002

Main Headline

Nablus, Tulkarm Invaded, “Knight of Darkness” Unleashed

NABLUS, West Bank (PC) - The Israeli army escalated its military crackdown on the West Bank at dawn Wednesday. Eyewitnesses say that an estimated 150 Israeli army tanks, backed by attack helicopters took complete control of the city of Nablus.

Nablus is technically under the control of the Palestinian Authority, but a recent Israeli re-invasion of the city made the Palestinian Authority’s presence in the city virtually non-existent.

Army tanks opened random fire as they advanced into the city, eyewitnesses said. So far, the Israeli army was not faced with any Palestinian resistance.

Reports from the West Bank town indicate that Israeli shelled Palestinian areas inside the city, concentrating on Raas al-Ein, and on the Old City.

The city of Nablus remained under a tight military curfew for over one hundred days. It was only recently that the residents enjoyed a reasonable level of freedom.

Israeli media is citing top government and army officials, saying that the army’s re-invasion of Nablus is part of a giant military operation, which Israel now refers to as “knight of the darkness”.

The title of the Israeli operation seems to depict the timing of the Israeli army accurately, as Nablus was attacked under the cover of night. Also Tulkarm, a West Bank town, and its refugee camps were invaded under the cover of night, less than one day ago.

The Israeli army says that its most recent escalations in the West Bank come as an act of retaliation against the killing of five Israeli civilians at the hands of an armed Palestinian in an Israeli kibbutz, bordering the West Bank and Israel.

Also in the West Bank, the village of Bir Zeit was raided by a large number of Israeli forces. Over two-dozen Palestinians, most students from the local university were detained.

Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, where three Palestinians, including two children were buried after being killed at the hands of the Israeli army, Israeli apaches fired missiles at a residential area. Five missiles, apparently targeting a body shop set a Palestinian building ablaze in the city of Gaza. No casualties are yet reported.

Tuesday November 12, 2002

Main Headline

Fearing Arrest Over War Crimes, Israelis Avoid Overseas Travel

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - The Israeli government has ordered an urgent assessment of whether its politicians and soldiers could face arrest and trial for war crimes against the Palestinian people, while traveling abroad.

The move follows a report by the Israeli justice ministry that singled out Britain, Spain and Belgium as the most likely to prosecute Israeli officials who breach international law.

The Israeli government fears there is a growing trend towards global justice that could see Israelis effectively barred from visiting a host of states.

“We are building a map of all those countries that might give us a headache,” said Ra’anan Gissin, spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon.

The assessment was ordered after several lawyers presented the Israeli cabinet with a report commissioned in the wake of a legal action in the Belgian courts last year accusing Sharon of committing war crimes and holding him responsible for the massacres of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps during Israeli occupation of Lebanon, 20 years ago.

Last month, Scotland Yard launched an investigation of Israel’s new ‘defense’ minister, Lieutenant General Shaul Mofaz, during his short visit to Britain.

A British lawyer filed for the investigation on behalf of bereaved Palestinian families who had lost loved ones in the occupied Palestinian Territory when Mofaz held post of army chief of staff.

Moreover, Amnesty International has called on signatories to the Geneva conventions to put on trial Israeli soldiers “responsible for war crimes” as defined in the Geneva conventions, such as unlawful killings, torture and the use of Palestinians as human shields during Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) invasion of Palestinian cities and towns.

American Peace Plan, “Roadmap” Facing Fierce Obstacles

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PC) - On the second day of his diplomatic mission, David Satterfield is facing many hurdles as he attempts to sell the latest peace proposal to the Israelis and Palestinians.

With a week that started with the deaths of five Israelis, as well as curfews, house demolitions, and the killing of a two-year old Palestinian baby, the roadmap may be a tough product to sell.

The roadmap, which was drafted by the quartet of US, European Union, United Nations and Russian mediators, calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state by the end of 2003, at the end of a process involving administrative and security reform from the PA, new Palestinian elections and an Israeli withdrawal from PA territory.

Final status arrangements would conclude by the end of 2005, after negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.

While President Yasser Arafat said the Palestinians accept the proposition in principal, Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has other plans.

According to the hard-line right-wing leader, Israel’s roadmap to peace involves the expulsion of Arafat, rather than new elections.

Netanyahu further said that in the event of an American assault on Iraq, the road map would be put aside. These comments were criticized by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office as well as the Prime Minister himself.

The Palestinians aid that they will give Satterfield an official response on Friday. The Israelis said they are not yet ready to discuss issues with the US.

Sunday November 10, 2002

Main Headline

Palestinian Economy Lost $4.5 Billion since September 2000: IOF

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - The head of the economics branch of Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) activities in the Palestinian territories, Lieut, Col. Isaac Gurvich estimated the losses to the Palestinian economy since September 2000 at $4.5 billion, excluding indirect economic damages.

Damages include loss of income from employment in Israel, loss of trade in seam line towns, increased unemployment from the fall in economic activity, a fall in total exports to Israel, a decline in the Jericho casino’s revenue, lower tax collection, and damage to tourism, Gurvich was quoted by Globes online as saying.

Unemployment in the occupied territories is an estimated 336,000, including 36% of the West Bank population and 56% of the Gaza population. Poor people constitute 58% of the West Bank population and 85% of the Gaza population, poverty being defined as income of up to $2.10 per day.

Annual Palestinian per capita GDP has declined from $1,900 before the Intifadah to $1,300 at the end of 2001, and is expected to fall below $1,000 at the end of 2002.

Officially reported trade between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has fallen from NIS 10.4 billion at 2002 prices to a projected NIS 5.8 billion in 2002, a 44% decrease.

According to the forecasts, Israel will export NIS 4.69 billion of goods to the PNA in 2002 and import NIS 1.13 billion. Unreported trade (illegal and trade along the seam line) fell by an estimated NIS 2 billion.

These figures were reported at a press conference held on Tuesday by the IOF coordination command for Israeli occupation activities in Palestinian territories, attended by IOF Coordinator Maj.-Gen. Amos Gilad.

New Elections in Israel Scheduled for November 28

TEL AVIV (PC) - With new elections around the corner, the Israeli Likud party will hold a leadership election on November 28 to determine if Prime Minister Ariel Sharon or Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will lead the party in general elections in January, according to a Likud party official.

The dynamics of the Likud party are unusual, with the two men working together, yet campaigning against one another at the same time. After two years of intense violence and with high death tolls on both Israeli and Palestinian sides, the primary determining issue in the upcoming elections is said to be security and resolve to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

While several “peace parties” in Israel are promoting diplomacy and a non-violent approach to the conflict, their voices seem to be drowned out by leaders like Sharon and Netanyahu who agree with two strategies; total expulsion of the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank as well as their leader, President Yasser Arafat.

On Israeli TV last week, Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the most opportune time for Israel to expel PA President Yasser Arafat would be in the event of an American war in Iraq. With the worlds attention drawn off the Jewish State, the act would receive less attention and criticism. Both men have announced that they will no longer dialogue with Arafat, whom they claim is “no partner in the peace process.”

The Labor Party will hold its leadership elections on November 19, with current party chief Benjamin Ben-Eliezer facing two candidates, Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna and legislator Haim Ramon.

Many members of the Labor Party, as well as peace groups in Israel are calling for the removal of Ben-Eliezer, who led the Israeli army invasion of the Palestinian Jenin refugee camp in April of 2002.

Human rights groups such as Amnesty International have claimed that the Israeli army, under the supervision of Ben-Eliezer committed acts against the civilian population that constitute war crimes. Until the former Defense Minister is cleared of such allegations, many Israelis are calling for his removal from office.

While new political parties are cropping up, the major race is still within the Likud party. Recent polls conducted show that Sharon was leading the race at 48%, with Netanyahu trailing behind at 38%.

Friday November 8, 2002

Main Headline

Palestinian Refugees Face Acute Humanitarian Crisis: Head of UN Relief Agency

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Palestinian refugees are facing an acute humanitarian crisis marked by high rates of unemployment, poverty and malnutrition, the head of a major United Nations relief agency in the area said today.

"There can be no question that we are indeed living through a downward spiral," said Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). "Few places have ever undergone as steep and rapid a decline in income and living standards and as rapid an increase in mass deprivation as the Palestinian population has been experiencing for the past two years."

Unemployment has jumped to up to 80 per cent in certain parts of the occupied territories, while the level of absolute poverty had risen "disastrously," he said, with some 70 per cent of the population now living on less than $2 per person per day.

Levels of acute malnutrition have reached 25 per cent, hitting women and children the hardest.

Israeli restrictions were blocking access to employment by workers, schools by children, and clinics by doctors and patients. The vaccination rate had dropped to 85 per cent. "If it falls below that, we are running real risks of epidemics as diseases spread," warned Hansen.

Curfews and blockages of villages, towns and camps continue to affect several hundred thousand people, and some areas, such as Nablus, were under virtually continuous curfew.

Such conditions "completely strangulate the local economy and hence help this downward spiral to accelerate," said the Commissioner-General. Coping mechanisms were being exhausted. "It's a very bleak picture indeed."

In response, UNRWA was delivering emergency relief to the affected population, but this year, the Agency had received only $90 million of the $172 million it sought from donors. He noted with appreciation that the United Arab Emirates had contributed $27 million to rebuild the refugee camp in Jenin, but added that a lack of adequate funding overall had hampered aid efforts.

"I continue to appeal to the international community not to let the refugees be forgotten," he said, adding that discussions were ongoing with the Israeli authorities to enable UNRWA to have improved access to those in need of assistance.

Thursday November 7, 2002

Main Headline

American Peace Plan “Not on the Agenda”: Netanyahu

TEL AVIV (PC) - Newly appointed Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after less than a week in his new post is already causing a stir on the international scene.

The former Israeli Prime Minister is known for his hard-line, right-wing platform and was removed from his post as Prime Minister after three years in office when he failed the Knesset’s no-confidence vote.

Despite this rocky history, Netanyahu has lashed out at Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s performance in office, saying that he has been far too easy on the Palestinians. He criticized Sharon for not taking control of the escalating violence that has claimed the lives of nearly 700 Israelis and 1700 Palestinians in the past two years.

Like his rival, Ariel Sharon, Netanyahu has a very controversial, hard-line agenda, one that is strong opposition with the US agenda. The US, along with the European Union and Russia endorse an Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Territories, Palestinian Statehood and Reforms in the Authority by 2005.

In recent comments made by Netanyahu, he stated that this peace plan, granting Palestinians statehood was “not on the agenda”. In the past, Netanyahu has rallied under the banner of total expulsion the entire Palestinian population as a way to achieve peace. He also advocates the expulsion of Palestinian Authority President, Yasser Arafat, stating recently that Arafat is “no partner” in the suffocating peace process.

In an interview with Israeli TV earlier this week, the Foreign Minister entertained the idea of carrying out Arafat’s expulsion within the same time frame of an American war in Iraq, while the world’s attention is drawn away from the Jewish State.

Netanyahu will maintain the post of foreign minister until January, at which time new elections will be held.

Pope Sends Aid, Envoy to Stop Exodus of Christians

BETHLEHEM - The Vatican is undertaking several steps to stop the exodus of Christians and encourage them to remain in the region despite increased bloodshed, including sending a special envoy to the region and aid to Roman Catholic causes in the occupied Palestinian Territory.

Pope John Paul II is dispatching a special emissary to the Middle East to reduce the number of people leaving the region because of the ongoing violence, a spokesperson for the Vatican announced Wednesday.

The Vatican also announced it was giving away 400,000 USD to improve the livelihood of Christians in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Bethlehem and to persuade them to persevere in holding on to their homes and cities.

In his weekly address, the Pope called for “a reign of peace, justice and serenity that restores the original harmony of the creation” in the Holy Land.

German Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, head of the church’s charity council, Cor Unum, will deliver 400,000 USD in aid and an appeal for Christians to remain in the region during a November 7-10 visit, the Vatican announced Wednesday.

“The continuous acts of violence between Israelis and Palestinians are a persistent threat to all inhabitants of the region,” Cor Unum said in a statement.

It also highlighted that religious tourism to the region had fallen sharply in the past two years of bloodshed, particularly after the besiegement of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem by Israeli occupation forces last April.

With unemployment in Bethlehem alone hitting the roof at 80%, the Vatican said “It’s understandable why there is a desire among many to leave the country.”

Nonetheless, it stressed that, “The safekeeping of holy sites, however, would be seriously put in danger if Christians abandoned them.”

Cordes will deliver the aid via the Jerusalem patriarchate, Caritas, various Catholic communities and charities in the region, and the Franciscan order; a Christian body overlooking numerous holy Christian cites.

The special envoy will also deliver an appeal from the Pope to “encourage Christians to remain in these tortured places, like so many missionaries already are doing in heroic fashion,” the statement said.

“The support is offered to improve the condition of life and work in their lands, to be a fertile seed of humanity and peace,” the statement added.

Cordes will also inaugurate a new housing project in Bethlehem before going to the West Bank town of Jericho and Jerusalem for talks with Palestinian and Israeli officials to press for peace, AFP reported.

PA Urges Arabs to Fulfill Financial Pledges

RAMALLAH - The Palestine National Authority urged Arab states to fulfill pledges of financial aid for Palestinians plagued by a dire economic and humanitarian situation, saying only less than half of the 330 million dollars pledged has been sent.

The Palestinian delegate to the Cairo-based Arab League, Mohamed Sobeih, said he highlighted “the deterioration of the situation in the Palestinian territories,” to the pan-Arab league committee tasked with following up aid to the Palestinians.

Moreover, he said a memorandum on the financial situation of the PA was presented to the committee.

Last month, an Arab League official, quoted by AFP, voiced the same concerns, saying Arab aid to the PA for the six-month period ending September, totaled 145 millions dollars -- less than half of their 330-million-dollar commitment.

“Of the total 330 million dollar that were pledged, the PNA only received 145 million dollars,” Sobeih stressed.

The official charged that Arab states “had failed to live up to their commitments,” adopted at the Arab summit held in the Lebanese capital in March, when they pledged to provide monthly assistance of 55 million dollars for PNA, to run from April to September.

He added that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman were the only members to have disbursed in full their share of the assistance that the 22-member League agreed upon at its last summit meeting held in Beirut.

Wednesday November 6, 2002

Main Headline

There Can Be No Peace without Removal of Settlements: Ben-Eliezer

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Labor party Chairman and former ‘defense’ minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who left Ariel Sharon’s national unity government only six days ago, has said that there can be no peace without the removal of settlements, built in Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ha’aretz reported Tuesday.

Ben-Eliezer’s comments came during a Labor party press conference following Sharon’s resignation and the announcement of early Israeli elections to be held next January.

The Labor chairman, who faces a tough party primary on November 19 against two other Labor leaders, Haim Ramon and Amram Mitzna, also accused Sharon of ignoring the poorer sectors of Israeli society, by injecting more and more of the country’s money for supporting settlement activities.

“The government fell because Sharon has contempt for the poor,” Ben-Eliezer said.

“By deciding to disband the national unity government, the prime minister ended any remnant of unity that existed in Israel. How can there be unity while settlements are given priority over the unemployed?”

Former Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres also slammed his former government’s policy of promoting settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, adding that “[Labor] cannot tell the Americans we are removing settlements and then carry on building them.”

Labor Secretary-General Ophir Pines-Paz, was clearer in highlighting the settlers’ role in burying Israel’s coalition government, when he said that the turning point for the coalition’s existence was the reserved attitude of Sharon and his ministers to the dismantling of illegal settlement outposts.

According to a recent report issued by Israeli State Revenues Division of the Finance Ministry Tuesday, settlers have enjoyed tax benefits amounting to NIS 130 million during the last year alone, as part of government support to settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

According to the figures, 163,831 Israeli settlers - 157,749 in 119 West Bank settlements and 6,082 in 17 Gaza Strip settlements - lived in Occupied Palestinian Territory in 2001. (These figures do not include settlers living in occupied east Jerusalem)

The Israeli government, the report showed, offered a tax discount of 7 percent to West Bank settlers and 10 percent to those in Gaza.

These figures only deal with income tax breaks, and do not include a range of other benefits offered by other government authorities.

In some cases, teachers and medical personnel were entitled to tax benefits by virtue of their work in these communities, even if they did not live in settlements.

Netanyahu: Expel Arafat When the US Attacks Iraq

TEL AVIV (PC) - On Israel TV Tuesday, newly appointed Israeli Foreign Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that it would be strategic and feasible to expel Arafat from the Occupied Territories during the looming US invasion of Iraq.

Netanyahu, who was Israeli’s Prime Minister from 1996-1999, recently assumed the post of Israeli Foreign Minister, when former Minister Shimon Peres resigned last week.

Israeli Labor Party Ministers quit the National Unity Government last week, which was dominated by Likud, in protest of the proposed 2003 budget, which allocated an huge sum of money to fund illegal Jewish Settlements in the Occupied Territories.

The new appointment is stirring controversy and is triggering apprehension among many Israelis, as well as Palestinians. Like Ariel Sharon, Benjamin Netanyahu has a hard-line, strongly right-wing platform, which calls for not only the expulsion of the Palestinian Authority President, but for all Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories.

According to analysts, the new appointment of Netanyahu portrays a complex competition between he and Ariel Sharon, with each trying to win points with Likud voters for seemingly placing the national interest ahead of their rivalry.

While some are concerned that Netanyahu will only be consumed with the upcoming primary elections to be held in January, others are worried that his dealing with the Palestinian Uprising will be extremely violent and hard-handed, in an attempt to convince the Israelis that he can successfully “control the situation”.

The primary issue to be dealt with in the elections will be the Palestinian question. While Labor Party representatives support the establishment of a Palestinian state, the leaders of the Likud, Sharon and Netanyahu in particular, strongly advocate the expulsion of the entire population.

When speaking about the possible of expulsion of Arafat, Netanyahu said, “I think it is possible.” Arafat, on the other hand, said, “No one can deport me from my homeland.”

Militant Jewish Leader Slashes His Throat

LOS ANGELES (PC) - The chairman of the militant US-based organization, Jewish Defense League, accused of perpetrating acts of terrorism in past years is brain dead after a suicide attempt, his lawyer said yesterday.

In comments made to Reuters, the attorney of Irv Rubin said that he tried to kill himself in his jail on Monday. Rubin was investigated for his alleged plotting to bomb a mosque and the offices of an Arab-American congressman.

"He is brain dead. I don’t know if there is any indication that that can change in a positive way,” the lawyer, Bryan Altman was quoted as saying. He added,” He is on life support and his prognosis is dire.”

Rubin, 57 was held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. He was rushed to the hospital Monday after he slashed his throat using a razor blade.

William Woolsey, US Marshal’s spokesman confirmed the incident saying that the man didn’t regain consciousness even after an urgent surgery that was conducted. Rubin suffers from a severe head wound as a result of a fall, in addition to neck wounds.

Rubin, along with another Jewish militant are facing life in prison for a bomb plot that was aimed at the King Fahd Mosque in Los Angeles. They also targeted the office of Rep. Darrell Issa.

Tuesday November 5, 2002

Main Headline

Netanyahu Accepts Post of Foreign Minister, Sharon Calls for New Elections

TEL AVIV (PC) - In a press conference held Tuesday, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he will accept Sharon’s offer of the Post of Foreign Minister. Also in a very surprising announcement, Ariel Sharon accepted the conditions presented by Netanyahu to hold early elections.

The Israeli government has been facing political upheaval since Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres and Defense Minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer resigned their positions last week, in protest of the proposed 2003 Israeli budget.

The conflict arose when Ben-Eliezer protested the huge sum of US aid set aside to fund illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. These settlements are in violation of international law and have been the source of explosive tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Ben-Eliezer accused Sharon, saying that it was his responsibility for the collapse of the government, and that US $145 million should be taken from the funding of settlements to provide assistance to lower income Israeli citizens.

When explaining the change in his position, Netanyahu told journalists, “We know that we are in the toughest security situation, we know we are on the eve of war in Iraq…I told the prime minister right now that I am willing…to take the position of foreign minister.”

New Israeli elections will be held in February.

Monday November 4, 2002

Main Headline

Israel Committed War Crimes in April 2002 on Jenin: Amnesty International

LONDON (PC) - In a report issued today, Amnesty International concluded that the Israel army committed war crimes in the West Bank city of Jenin in the historic assault on the refugee camp in April, 2002. The 76 page report examines the conduct of the Israeli army during the attack which was dubbed by Israel “operation defensive shield”.

In response to the report, an Israeli army spokesman defended the army’s actions, saying, “The terrorists infrastructure was located in the heart of the innocent Palestinian population who was used by the terrorists as shields. The army operated determinedly against the infrastructure but with the necessary caution when operating in the heart of populated areas”.

Israel refuted the claim, saying that the attack was a justified response to suicide bombings, which have claimed the lives of scores of Israelis. According to the Associated Press, former Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, who in the early days of the assault, called the attack a potential “massacre”, said that the report does not carry much weight. According to Peres, “Amnesty is an organization that tries to create…a better world, but they are not a court and not judges.”

Palestinians were pleased with the report, saying that it is very important and called on the international community to work to bring an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

The man behind the operation, General Shaoul Mofaz could be charged for war crimes, according to Amnesty, and although Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is experiencing intense pressure from the left-wing parties in Israel, the Prime Minister intends to assign the General to the post of Defense Minister.

According to Amnesty’s report, the Israeli army committed acts of “unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, wanton destruction of hundreds of homes.” The report also expressed concern that the Israeli government has not taken the initiative to bring the perpetrators of these war crimes to justice.

An assault of historic proportions, the Israeli army attacked the refugee camp of Jenin, about one square kilometer in size, with more that one hundred tanks, scores of armored vehicles and hundreds of missiles, leveling entire square blocks within the camp. The hardest hit areas were residential areas, where entire buildings collapsed, burying their inhabitants alive. The two-week attack sparked an international outcry, but under heavy pressure from the Israeli government, an investigation team from the United Nations failed to travel to the camp to investigate possible war crimes.

Sharon Calls Netanyahu Irresponsible

TEL AVIV (PC) - While addressing the Likud party Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon praised and then rebuked hard-line Israeli politician Benjamin Netanyahu, a candidate for the vacant post of Foreign Minister in Sharon’s under construction government.

The post was held by Shimon Peres, until a few days ago, when Peres, along with all Labor Party ministers at Sharon’s “national unity” government resigned, in protest they say of the 2003 budget proposal introduced by Sharon to the Knesset.

Sharon wasted no time as he immediately moved to recruit new ministers, resorting mainly to ultra-orthodox religious and right-wing parties.

Sharon has already incorporated former Israeli army chief of staff, Shaoul Mofaz, currently investigated for war crimes in Europe, as the new defense minister. Now he is eyeing Netanyahu, another Israeli right-winger.

Sharon however was faced with Netanyahu’s condition that his joining the new government would largely depend on Sharon’s agreement to holding early elections.

“I praise Bibi’s (a nickname for Netanyahu) willingness in principal to accept the position,” Sharon told a gathering of Likud members Monday. “I hope Netanyahu will ultimately choose to join the current government on the basis I said at the beginning.”

“I hope Netanyahu will answer my proposal and quickly join the agreement. We are standing in fateful times and cannot tolerate delays,” Sharon added.

However, the right-wing Israeli leader insisted that “taking this nation to immediate elections would be irresponsible .. I hope everyone acts responsibly and doesn’t try to make it difficult for a stable government to function.”

Nonetheless, the pressure of early elections is mounting as Sharon is now facing a no-confidence vote in the Knesset.

The no-confidence vote initiative was introduced by the left-wing opposition. Sharon’s only hope to withstand the vote is for an ultra-nationalist opposition party, National Union-Yisrael Beitenu, to abstain.

A Bloody Day in Palestine, Seven Killed

WEST BANK/GAZA (PC) - Seven Palestinians were killed in various parts of the Occupied Territories Monday. The casualties were divided almost evenly between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Meanwhile, arrest raids and home demolitions continued.

Three Palestinians were killed in the area of Abu Safiyya, near the Martyr’s graveyard in Gaza City, Palestinian sources reported. The three civilians died when Israeli troops shelled the area, eyewitnesses reported.

Several tanks were seen roaming the area surrounding the graveyard, close to the border between Gaza and the “Green Line”. Several shells were fired and were followed by intense firing by heavy machine guns. The identity of the victims is yet to be announced, since the Israeli army has reportedly confiscated the bodies of the victims.

In Rafah, a Palestinian man was also shot dead when Israeli troops opened fire at a residential neighborhood, near the Salah al-Din gate. Rafah’s most recent victim was identified as Ahmed Othman, 26 years old, who suffered a deadly shot to the head, according to medical sources.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, two Palestinians were killed today, in al-Ain camp, a refugee camp located on the outskirts of the city of Nablus. The two men were driving in a car when the car detonated and was consumed in flames. The scene was descibed by eyewitnesses as “horrifying” and “indescribable”. Palestine Chronicle reporter says that Palestinians have no doubt that this deadly act was carried out by the Israeli’s, the latest in their spree of assassinations, which have claimed the lives of more than 200 Palestinians.

Back in Gaza, five Palestinian civilians were wounded in the southern city of Khan Yunis, when Israeli troops guarding two Jewish militant outposts opened unprovoked fire on passersby, eyewitnesses said.

In Ramallah, seven police officers were arrested in the Ramallah Hospital. Eyewitnesses said that a large number of Israeli forces raided the hospital Monday morning and detained the officers, who were providing security for the facility.

Palestinian prisoners continued their strike in various prisons across Israel, demanding humane treatment, as spelled out in the Geneva Convention. According to a recent report issued by the Red Crescent Society, more than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners are detained in Israeli Prisons, many held without charge or the right to a fair trial.

Sunday November 3, 2002

Main Headline

Netanyahu May Join Sharon’s Government

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PC)- With the ongoing uncertainty overshadowing the Israeli government this week, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that may agree with Sharon’s offer to assume the post of Foreign Minister, but Netanyahu came with conditions.

Earlier this week, ministers representing Israel’s liberal Labor Party resigned their posts in the government, over a dispute regarding the upcoming 2003 budget. The post of Foreign Minister was previously held by Shimon Peres, who is known as one of the Labor Party’s “peace doves”.

While Netanyahu and Sharon share many common strategies in regards to Israel’s domestic and foreign policy, sources said that Netanyahu claimed that Sharon’s plans for a new alternative government are “narrow”.

Netanyahu said he will accept the post of Foreign Minister if Sharon agrees to hold elections. This message was conveyed to Sharon by Netanyahu at Sharon’s residence in Jerusalem Friday.

Benjamin Netanyahu is known to be strongly right-wing, and served as Israel’s Prime Minister from 1996-1999.

Standing Ovation in Ramallah for Suleiman’s ‘Divine Intervention’

RAMALLAH - Palestinian director Elia Suleiman’s “Divine Intervention,” the winner of the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes film festival, received a standing ovation at its premier in the Palestinian occupied territory here in Ramallah Saturday night.

The crowd in the West Bank city of Ramallah got their first look at the film despite a military blockade around the city imposed when the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) reoccupied most of the West Bank in June.

“Divine Intervention” was praised at Cannes as an imaginative treatment of moments in the lives of Palestinians trying to get by while being hindered by Israeli military controls and checkpoints.

Suleiman “managed to enter our hearts, speaking a very simple language and through sarcasm and irony, he showed the stupidity of the occupation,” Palestinian writer and director Liana Bader said after the premier.

However, the film’s depiction of checkpoints left some cold.

“The rendition was too soft, it’s way worse in reality, many more cars line up for hours at military checkpoints,” said Norwegian Hanna Haaland, a worker at a local non-governmental organization.

But Suleiman, an Arab citezen of Israel and native of Nazareth, one of the locations for the film, along with Jerusalem and an unnamed West Bank checkpoint, told AFP that, “the most important thing is to hint at violence, to create an ambience.”

“I will not ever pollute my images with brutality inside the frame, even if I understand that somebody could have felt like that,” he said.

Checkpoints manned by IOF have mushroomed throughout the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the two-year Palestinian uprising and severely hamper, if not halt, the movement of goods and people.

The film will be shown in Israel later this month.

Saturday November 2, 2002

Main Headline

Mofaz Investigated By Scotland Yard for War Crimes

LONDON (PC) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s nominee for the Defense Ministry Post is accused of carrying out war crimes against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, according to one of Britain’s largest newspapers, the Guardian.

General Shaoul Mofaz, who headed the Israeli army for most of the two year Palestinian Uprising against Israeli occupation, is currently being investigated by Scotland Yard for alleged war crimes.

The mere appointment of Mofaz was seen as a blow to the peace process, and is predicted to further alienate the Israeli Labor party, known as the “peace camp” from Sharon’s government.

Recently, the French based group, Reporters without Borders made the claim that Mofaz was one of few enemies of the press world-wide for his brutality committed against journalists themselves, and for his attempts to prevent the press for gaining access to Palestinian areas under his control during times of siege.

Mofaz was on a visit to London last week, but abruptly cancelled his engagements with the director of public prosecutions in England asked the British Police to investigate war crimes allegations against him.

According to the Guardian, several Palestinian families’ lawyers presented the Director of Public Prosecutions with a dossier, outlining Mofaz’s illegal conduct in the Occupied Territories. Some of these accusations included the extra-judicial targeted assassinations of Palestinian leaders and activists.

The newspaper also sited human rights lawyer, Imran Khan, saying that General Mofaz has violated international law by allowing torture of Palestinian prisoners while in his post as Israeli Army Chief of Staff.

Peres to "Work for Peace" Despite Government Collapse

FORMENTOR, Spain (PC) - Former Israeli Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres met Friday with top Palestinian officials on the Spanish Island of Formentor. The discussions were as always, centered on the failing peace process. The talks however, may have come too little, too late.

Peres recently quit the “national unity government” that brought Israel’s right and left together in their war against the Palestinian uprising in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Peres, despite his vocal assurance that both parties need to return to the negotiation table, has often agreed with the harsh policies of Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. A key issue however, of which Peres and Sharon differed was their stances on the future role of Palestinian Authority President, Yasser Arafat.

Representing the Palestinian side in the Spain talks were top Palestinian negotiator, Sa’eb Erekat, and former PA National Security Advisor, Mohammed Dahalan. The meeting was held Friday evening, on the sidelines of a seminar at a hotel in Formentor.

Erekat had no illusions that Peres “...will not be in the government tomorrow. But we need to sit and talk about where to go from here.” Peres, who has the reputation among the international media as being an Israeli “dove” reiterated his intentions to work for peace.

“I shall not stop for a moment working for peace. In this conference, there are some Arabs and Palestinians. We shall talk to them very seriously and try to see what can be done for the future,” he told reporters.

Peres said he was uncertain whether the fall of the government coalition in his country reduced chances for peace in the Middle East. Following the collapse of the government, Sharon has ceaselessly worked to patch up a new coalition, one that consists of right wing, far-right and religious parties.

Friday November 1, 2002

Main Headline

Hard-line Politicians Line Up for Sharon’s Government

TEL AVIV (PC) - A surprising move was made by the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, who is scrambling to form a new government after the collapse of his National Unity government earlier in the week.

Ariel Sharon is reportedly holding intense consultations with former hard-line Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The goal of the consultations is to include Netanyahu in Sharon’s new government, carrying out the role of Foreign Minister.

All Labor Party ministers quit Sharon’s government, objecting to the proposed 2003 budget for the Israeli government. The Labor Party in upset over the allocation of large sums of money for Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories. All Jewish settlements are deemed illegal under international law.

The walk out of the Labor Party ministers however, made vacant several posts in the Israeli government, including the Foreign Minister and Defense Minister portfolios. Shaoul Mofaz, who is currently being investigated by Scotland Yard for alleged war crimes against Palestinians, was offered and has accepted the Defense Ministry post. Now Netanyahu, known for his notorious military campaigns against Palestinians and political hard-line tactics is being offered the Foreign Ministry post, formerly held by Shimon Peres.

To have a convincing majority in the Israeli Knesset, Sharon is striving to patch up a new government with religious and national parties as its backbone. Netanyahu however, is expected to challenge Sharon’s leadership of the right-wing Likud party in the next party elections.

Palestinian Elder Shot in Khan Yunis, Beit Reema Invaded

KHAN YUNIS, Gaza Strip (PC) - A Palestinian man is in critical condition in a Gaza hospital after being shot in the head by Israeli troops. Meanwhile, Israeli forces raided more West Bank villages today.

Hussein Abu A’weli, a Palestinian civilian in his 60’s was shot in front of his home in a neighborhood located in the town of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, medical sources said.

Eyewitnesses said that soldiers stationed in a military camp guarding an illegal Jewish settlement in the area opened fire at Palestinian homes without any provocation.

A child was also wounded in a separate incident in the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources. Twelve year old Ahmed Abu Taha, from the town of Rafah near the Egyptian border, was shot in the hand by occupation forces near Salah al-Din gate. Witnesses also claimed that the shooting was unprovoked.

In the West Bank, Israeli troops have reportedly advanced and have invaded the village of Beit Reema, in the northern West Bank. Official Palestinian media sources said that Israeli forces, accompanied by so-called “special units” raided the village and surrounded the house of Rasim Rimawi. No arrests have been reported, but sources confirm that much of the house’s furnishings were destroyed.

A similar raid was reported in the village of Hosan, near Bethlehem, where Israeli forces imposed a strict military curfew and fired sound and gas bombs toward peoples homes. Medical sources say that several civilians were brought to the local hospital for treatment from gas inhalation.

Hosan has been experiencing daily raids by the Israeli army and complete isolation from nearby villages and towns. It is unclear why Hosan has been singled out by the army to be isolated in such a fashion.