OCTOBER 2002

Monday October 21, 2002

Main Headline

Locals, Internationals Face Off with Jewish Settlers as Battle of Olive Harvest Continues

LABAN, West Bank (PINA) - A large number of Jewish settlers continued their raids of Palestinian farms, under the protection of the Israeli army in the northern West Bank, Palestinian witnesses said today.

Settlers near the eastern village of Laban attacked farmers who were harvesting their olives, beat them and stole their harvesting equipment, eyewitnesses told PINA today. An eyewitness said that several Palestinian men were beaten and abused and were dragged by Israeli troops and settlers from of their land.

Ali Khalil, Yusuf Abdallah, and Jamal Salameh are three individuals that were reportedly beaten and detained. Locals here say that the settlers have set the village olive press ablaze, in an attempt to scare Palestinian farmers, so that they leave their land.

Farmers in the village of Jayous, near Qalqilia, also in the West Bank complained that settlers are targeting their village as well. Clashes between armed militant settlers and local farmers continued for the second day, Palestinian sources say. While the settlers are accompanied by Israeli troops, Palestinians are reportedly accompanied by internationals who are there to defend the Palestinians from Israeli attacks.

The clashes yesterday were provoked by the settlers uprooting of olive trees, using bulldozers. Farmers rushed to protect their land, eyewitnesses say, when they came under a storm of Israeli bullets.

The land confiscation scheme is also reported in the village of Abu Dis, near Jerusalem. This time the confiscation was mandated by the Israeli government. Residents of Abu Dis appear determined to fight what they call an “unjust and illegal Israeli government decision.”

Sunday October 20, 2002

Main Headline

Arafat to Nobel Summit: Peace Requires more Courage than War

ROME - Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat called upon the international community on Saturday to send UN observers to the Occupied Palestinian Territory to provide protection for Palestinian civilians from the ‘systematic Israeli military aggression.’

Acting Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Dr. Nabil Sha’ath, delivered the President’s message to the participants in the third Nobel Summit, held in the Italian capital, Rome.

He further called upon the international community to exert pressure on Israel to put an end to its military attacks and to force it to apply United Nations resolutions, with the broader aim to putting an end to the Israeli occupation.

“I m sure that you are watching the daily systematic aggression against the Palestinian people… where innocent children and women are being killed in cold blood, and where an entire population is living under siege,” he said.

In his message voiced by Sha’ath, the President also reiterated the Palestinian People’s commitment to reaching peace, adding that the current Israeli government has ignored all “international resolutions and the implementation of the signed agreements.”

“We have tried and are still trying, despite all the obstacles, to save the peace process and to stop the bloodshed,” the President pointed out.

The Palestinian leader accused the Israeli government of persisting in its military aggression against the Palestinian People adding that such policy “requires an immediate and firm international intervention to save the peace process.”

“The cause of peace requires more courage than what’s needed to make wars… because peace means life and wars bring only death and devastation.” Arafat pointed out.

“That’s why reaching peace requires from all the noble people in the world to raise their voices and to call for putting an end to the Israeli aggression and for the immediate restoration of the peace process… to implement the United Nation’s resolutions, including resolutions 242, 338, 425, 194 and the recent Security Council resolution 1435.” He added.

The President concluded that the main demand of the Palestinian people is the implementation of United Nations resolutions, which would lead to the establishment of two states with Jerusalem as a capital for both “so that Jerusalem becomes a symbol of peace and coexisting between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples and for all the believers, Jews, Christian, and Muslims.”

Although a Nobel Price winner himself, President Arafat was not able to attend the summit because of the current Israeli military occupation and siege of the Palestinian Territory.

The President received a peace noble price, sharing it with Israel’s late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and now-foreign minister Shimon Peres in 1994.

The summit, organized by The Gorbachev Foundation, was attended by a number of Nobel price winners and was hosted by Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who urged Nobel laureates on Saturday to use their prominence to fight for world peace, particularly in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, President Arafat called upon the Francophone summit, held in the Lebanese capital Beirut, to condemn the “ugly Israeli crimes against the Palestinian People.”

The President also stressed that the Palestinian People, despite the Israeli aggression, are still committed to the “peace of the braves”, calling upon the international community to reach a “sufficient international mechanism to reach the long-wanted peace and to monitor and observe Israel’s respect and commitment to the international resolutions.”

Ben-Eliezer: Settlers Leading Rebellion

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PINA) - Israeli Defense Minister, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer accused Jewish settlers of leading a rebellion against the Israeli army. His comments followed a violent clash between Israeli forces and settlers that wounded 30.

Israeli forces were dispatched to evacuate the illegal settlement of Havat Gilad in the occupied West Bank when they were assaulted by angry settlers.

The settlement is one out of nearly 20 others that Ben-Eliezer and his government say are built illegally. According to the Israeli government, “illegal settlements” are those built without government permits.

However, Palestinians, supported by international law say that all Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem are illegal, built in defiance of international law, UN resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Israeli media reported that the army and police forces were met with hails of stones when they attempted to evacuate the armed settlers.

White generating Ben-Eliezer’s wrath, the settlers are also gaining increasing sympathy, specially among the country’s right-wing politicians, some of whom called on the Defense Minister to render his resignation.

But Ben-Eliezer has refused to resign, and strongly denied accusations that he gave the order, which contravenes the normal policy of preventing Jews from traveling on the Sabbath. He insisted that the army will continue its mission to evacuate “all illegal" settlements.

There are over 200,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, a number that is rapidly increasing.

Friday October 18, 2002

Main Headline

Europe Deplores Rafah Carnage

BRUSSELS - The European Union (EU) said it "strongly deplores" the incident that took place in southern Gaza Thursday where at least eight Palestinians were killed and scores wounded by Israelis.

"Our sincere condolences go to the bereaved families and we wish for speedy recovery of those injured by the attack," said a EU-Presidency announcement released Thursday night.

"The resort to violence and the excessive use of military countermeasures against it must be stopped by both sides. Schools and homes should not be exploited for violent purposes nor be targeted by the military forces," it said.

The EU Presidency, currently held by Denmark, appealed to the Israelis as well as to the Palestinians to exercise utmost restraint.

Thursday October 17, 2002

Main Headline

Eight Palestinians, Mostly Children, Women Killed in Israeli Attack

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (PC) - It was the same gruesome site - dead and wounded scattered all about an impoverished neighborhood in the Gaza Strip refugee camp of Rafah. And as always, the majority of the victims were women and children.

Palestinians however has no illusions about who is responsible. Several Israeli tanks advanced, in a somewhat routine mission in the Palestinian refugee camp, close to the border with Egypt. It was unclear whether Israeli forces were carrying out another “scare tactic” or on the look for armed Palestinian fighters.

Similar to the Israeli bombing of Rafah all last week, which resulted in the death of six Palestinians, mostly children, including a four-year-old child crushed to death when Israeli sappers detonated a nearby house, residential homes were also bombed.

Three tanks shells, Palestinian sources report, exploded inside people’s homes, causing extensive damage.

Eight bodies have already been pulled out from under the debris, and 40 wounded were taken to nearby clinics. Medical sources say that most of the victims were children and women: a four-year-old girl and a 12-year-old child, and two elderly women, were among the dead.

The killing came only one day after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held talks in Washington with US President George W. Bush, who allegedly asked Sharon to curb the alarming number of Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli forces.

Bush, analysts say is concerned that too many Palestinian deaths would harm the already battered US image in the Arab world ahead of yet a new military venture against an Arab country, Iraq.

Medical source in Rafah also informed Agency France Press (AFP) that the injured included a young girl in critical condition and a dozen people listed as seriously hurt.

The Israeli tanks fired several shells at the houses and blasted them with heavy machine-gun fire, eyewitnesses say.

But Israel allege that the attack on Rafah, similar to most of its attacks was in self-defense.

BBC’s Middle East Bureau Calls For Boycotting Sharon

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PMC) - Angered by Israeli government’s refusal to give press accreditation to its Palestinians employees, the BBC’s Middle East bureau chief Andrew Steele has asked BBC London to boycott Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office, the Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported on Thursday.

Steel also requested that Sharon’s aides should not be viewed or asked for any comments or reactions.

In an internal memorandum to BBC producers, Steele said, “The Israeli government is withholding press accreditation from Palestinians working for the BBC, as part of a long war of attrition between the Prime Minister's Bureau and the foreign media. It is difficult to find appropriate ways of retaliation without losing our journalistic objectivity.”

“Except for one thing - I would like to deprive the prime minister's spokesmen of their platform. Until we resolve this, I would appreciate it if any guest bookers would approach Foreign Ministry officials only - Gideon Meir, Arye Mekel, Mark Sofer and others - and not Ra’anan Gissin, Dori Gold etc. who work for Sharon,” he requested.

BBC management sources said Thursday the leading British news cooperation is “currently looking to resolve the issues with the Israeli government regarding the press accreditation.”

The Israeli Embassy in London said Israel regards this request with severity and that “this behavior is not surprising.”

Moreover, head of the Israeli government press office Daniel Seaman alleged that BBC editorial decisions were in the hands of the Palestine National Authority (PNA).

He claimed in an interview with the Israeli weekly magazine, Kol Ha’Ir that foreign reporters for the BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, ABC and CBS were all compelled “at the direct instruction of the Palestinian Authority” to hire Palestinian directors and producers who “determine what is broadcast.”

Steele dismissed the accusation, adding that “it's particularly insulting coming from the man who bans my Palestinian colleagues from even coming into the office because he won’t give them press cards.”

Wednesday October 16, 2002

Main Headline

Israeli Forces Terrorize Hospital Staff and Patients During Five-Hour Raid

HEBRON, West Bank (Palestine Monitor) - Israeli troops numbering about 40 terrorized staff, patients and visitors in a raid on a hospital in Yata, near Hebron, early yesterday morning.

The invasion of Nasser Hospital began at 8pm on Monday and lasted for approximately five hours – during which time the entire hospital, including the maternity and delivery wards, where one patient was in labor, were thoroughly searched at gunpoint.

Five jeeps blocked the two entrances to the hospital throughout the ordeal, preventing people from entering or exiting the hospital.

“Relatives of our patients in the visiting room were threatened and forced to face the wall, while the soldiers demanded to see our identification cards in a very aggressive and frightening manner,” said Dr. Mohammed
Mahamri, who was present during the raid.

“They started comparing the IDs with numbers on a list of people they said were ‘wanted’. They even forced many of our patients – some very ill – out of their beds at gunpoint. It was an incredibly frightening experience for us all – particularly in a place where people are supposed to feel protected and cared for.”

Article 9 (Protection of medical and religious personnel) of Part III of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), states that "Medical and religious personnel shall be respected and protected and shall be granted all available help for the performance of their duties….." and Art. 11 (Protection of medical units and transports) states that "Medical units and transports shall be respected and protected at all times and shall not be the object of attack".

Tuesday October 15, 2002

Main Headline

Carter: US "In Bed" with Israel

WASHINGTON (PMC) - Former US President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter on Monday voiced a sharp criticism of President George W. Bush’s ongoing policy in the Middle East, saying the current US administration was mistreating Palestinians while being ‘in bed’ with Israel.

“We’re in bed, you might say with the Israelis and we won’t even talk to the leaders of the Palestinians,” Carter said expressing anger at the Bush administration’s consistent attempts to sideline Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

In an interview with Sky Radio Network, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate accused Bush of doing very little to bring peace into the Middle East, especially because of Washington’s unequivocal bias towards its chief ally, Israel.

Winning the Nobel Prize was seen as a rebuke of Bush’s administration for its persistent push for a war on Iraq, threatening to drag the entire region into mayhem.

“We’re doing very little,” Carter said of Bush’s attempts to pacify the situation. “As a matter of fact, this administration has basically abandoned any real effort to bring about reconciliation between the Israelis and the Palestinians.”

Speaking on the day he received his prize, the former President stressed the US cannot be seen as a neutral mediator between Palestinians and Israelis.

“You have to be trusted by both sides…you have to deal equally with both sides, we’re not doing that,” Carter said, lamenting what he said was the end of a nearly 30-year US commitment to the Middle East peace process, AFP reported.

“I hope that eventually we will see the error of this procedure and get back into a real mediation role,” he added.

Carter, who was renowned for his peacemaking during and after his time at the White House, unleashed his harsh wordings prior to a visit by Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon to Washington, which previously criticized Israel for its persistent killing of Palestinians and the dire humanitarian situation it is inflicting in the occupied Palestinian Territory.

Sharon’s Speech "Arrogant, Shameless": PA

RAMALLAH (PMC) - The Palestine Authority (PA) condemned Israeli PM Sharon’s speech at the opening of the winter session of the Israeli Knesset as "arrogant and shameless," saying it showed that the Israeli government was not serious about achieving peace.

Ahead of his talks in Washington with US President George W. Bush on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called on the Palestinians to oust what he labeled their “government of murder.”

“To reach peace, the government of murder must be removed and replaced by a government of peace,” Sharon told the opening of the winter session of the Israeli parliament.

“This is arrogant and shameless,” Palestinian chief negotiator Sa’eb Erekat said of Sharon’s speech. “As far as the Palestinian people are concerned, they don’t need to listen to Sharon’s advice -- they need to save themselves from Sharon’s bullets and bombs,” Erekat was quoted by AP as saying.

President Yasser Arafat’s Media Advisor Nabil Abu Rudeina also was quick to condemn Sharon’s comments.

“This statement shows one more time that this government is not serious about reaching peace. If it were serious, it would implement UN Security Council resolutions and withdraw (from Palestinian Territory) and allow a return to the negotiating table,” he said.

Israeli opposition leader MK Yossi Sarid (Meretz) blasted Sharon’s government immediately after the PM’s speech.

“This government is a total failure in all areas,” Sarid declared.

Sharon left Tel Aviv early Tuesday for talks in Washington with US President Bush with his hands still stained by the blood of 28 Palestinians, overwhelmingly civilians, killed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the week preceding his departure.

The heaviest losses were sustained on Monday night when IOF were withdrawing after attacking Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. When local residents went out in the streets to assess the damage and help injured people, an Apache helicopter suddenly turned around and fired missiles into the crowds – killing at least eight instantly.

As the threat looms of a US war on Iraq, Sharon’s visit to Washington is due to feature frank exchanges Wednesday in which Bush will call on him to exercise restraint if Baghdad tries to draw Israel into the conflict.

Bush will also ask Sharon to tone down his military aggression in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Media reports indicate that Sharon is more interested in securing American guarantees that the United States will not “dictate” solutions on Israel in the post war period.

Sharon is expected as well to ask Bush to stand by Israel’s ‘right’ to respond to any deadly missile attacks should Iraq fire on the Jewish state.

Ahead of Sharon’s US visit, Israel was launching a public relations campaign, concentrating mainly on promoting the idea of a new security and non-political solution to the conflict with the Palestinian People.

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer cliamed on Sunday and Monday that he was considering an IOF pullback from the southern West Bank town of Hebron as the next step of a stalled accord whereby Israel would quit reoccupied Palestinian Territory in the West Bank, in what he dubbed the “Judea First” plan.

Israeli reoccupation of the West Bank and its military incursions into the Gaza Strip, with a mounting death toll among Palestinian civilians, have hindered an ambitious PA 100-day reform plan, the backbone of which is holding presidential and parliamentary elections next January 20.

Palestinian Leaders Call on Britain to Act Against Israel

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Palestinian leaders on Tuesday lauded remarks by British Ambassador to Israel Sherard Cowper-Coles comparing Israel's military policy against the Palestinians to the Nazi holocaust.

Cowper-Coles was quoted by the Israeli newspaper Yedeot Ahranot on Monday as saying that Israel has "reduced the West Bank and Gaza Strip into a vast concentration camp."

PA official Ahmed Abdul Rahman lauded the British envoy's "honest description" of the situation in Palestine, describing his remarks as ''accurate and courageous."

He called on Britain to act on such information and to do all it can to stop Israel's genocidal war on the defenseless Palestinians. "Concentration camps are made by Nazis or people who think and act like Nazis, It is time the world recognize the Israeli regime as it is, a Judeo-Nazi regime bent on exterminating the Palestinian people."

This week, two prominent Israeli Jewish scholars described the Israeli ‘reign of terror’ against the Palestinians as a "holocaust."

The two, Micahel Hoffman and Moshe Lieberman, compiled a book entitled "the Israeli Holocaust Against the Palestinians."

The two authors hope the book will serve as wake-up call for swift action to stop Israel's genocidal treatment of the defenseless Palestinian population. (IRNA)

British Ambassador "Proud" of His Comments

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - The British ambassador to Israel, Sherard Cowper-Coles, said he is “proud” of his comments that were published Monday in which he described the Occupied Palestinian Terotery as “the biggest detention camp in the world.”

He told Ha’aretz Monday that the comments he made that were published in the Yedioth Ahronot daily, were “exaggerated, but broadly true.”

“The territories are the largest detention camp in the world, in which 3.5 million people live,” Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot said citing him Monday.

“You have reduced the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to two vast concentration camps, you are imposing collective house arrest on hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and you are hunting down innocent people in the streets,” the ambassador told the Israeli daily.

The ambassador made his comments during a meeting with the Israeli general overseeing the administration of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Amos Gilad.

Cowper-Coles was reported criticizing Israel for continuing to build illegal settlements, for “the unnecessary humiliation and harassment” of Palestinian civilians at checkpoints, unnecessarily uprooting trees and making life difficult for the international welfare organizations.

According to Ha’aretz, his comments, which he says he does not regret, were made “in the spirit of friendship.” He said he was “very shocked” by what he has seen in the territories, “as anyone else who visited there would be.”

The Israeli paper also quoted the Ambassador as telling Israeli officials that Israeli treatment of ordinary Palestinians was “absolutely unacceptable.”

Moreover, he said Israel was acting “in violation of the Geneva convention” and accused Israeli forces of displaying “instances of a lack of professionalism” amid reports of soldiers looting property during military operations in Palestinian cities and towns.

On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres admitted that TV images of Israel’s rampage against Palestinian civilians were creating a lot of hatred for Israel in Europe.

Peres, who said Israel was being “quietly boycotted in Europe,” reportedly asked, “Why can’t we destroy all these homes in one operation?” fearing the bad publicity it accompanied.

Monday October 14, 2002

Main Headline

EU’s Patten Slams Israel for Violating UN Resolutions

CAIRO (PMC) - The European Union’s External Relations Commissioner, Chris Patten, voiced a sharp rebuke of Israel over its consistent failure to abide by UN resolutions, charging that if it had, peace would have already long been achieved in the region.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to the Egyptian capital, Patten stressed, “Israel is not complying with a number of Security Council resolutions.”

His criticism of Israel’s violation of UN resolutions came after he met with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher.

“I think it is extremely regrettable that it’s not” complying, he said. “I think if it had complied with Security Council resolutions, we might well have had peace some time ago.”

Though Patten was not specific in naming the numerous resolutions Israel has violated, the EU had previously urged Israel to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1435, stipulating the withdrawal of Israeli troops- which had besieged the Palestinian President in the compound they bombarded- from the presidential headquarters and from all Palestinian cities occupied to posts held on September 2000.

The resolution specifically demanded “the expeditious withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from Palestinian cities towards the return to the positions held prior to September 2000,” when the Palestinian uprising- Intifada- for independence sprung.

Patten’s reprimanding raised Israeli questions regarding their policy towards Palestinians as Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres said Sunday he believed Israel was being “quietly boycotted in Europe,” because of its policies and actions in the occupied Palestinian Territory, Israel Radio reported.

Peres’ comments came at the government’s weekly cabinet meeting, just days after he returned from a 24-hour trip to France, AFP relayed.

“It is not Israel’s explanations (about its policy) that are to blame -- it is what we’re doing in the field,” he said, saying explanations meant nothing in the face of footage showing Israeli actions in the territory.

His comments come prior to a visit by Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, to Washington, which has already rebuked Israel for its killing of Palestinian civilians and for the dire humanitarian situation it has inflicted in the occupied Palestinian Territory.

Meanwhile, Patten expressed hope that cooperation among the quartet of Middle East peace mediators -- the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union -- with partners like Egypt will give “us a better prospect for peace.”.

“But I’m not ludicrously optimistic. I just think it is better to try rather than not try,” he added.

Patten was scheduled to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo early Monday and later with Jordan’s King Abduallah II in Amman, officials said.

The EU commissioner’s trip is also concurrent with that of Israeli minister without portfolio Danny Naveh, who is visiting the Egyptian capital for talks with a top advisor to Mubarak.

Naveh will speak to Mubarak’s political advisor Osama al-Baz in what analysts said was an attempt to score PR points ahead of Ariel Sharon’s visit to the United States.

Palestinian Territory "Largest Prison in the World": British Ambassador

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PMC) - Britain’s ambassador to Israel, Sherard Cowper-Coles, criticized on Monday Israel’s mistreatment of the Palestinian People, describing the Occupied Palestinian Territory as the “largest prison in the world.”

The ambassador comments were presented during a meeting with the Israeli general overseeing the administration of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Amos Gilad.

“The territories are the largest detention camp in the world, in which 3.5 million people live,” Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot said citing him Monday.

The ambassador toured the territories and told Gilad he had seen “illegal (Jewish settler) outposts, new roads, needless harassment and humiliation of the civilian population at roadblocks,” the daily said.

He was also quoted as saying that Israel was acting “in violation of the Geneva convention” and accused Israeli forces of displaying “instances of a lack of professionalism” amid reports of soldiers looting property during military operations in Palestinian cities and towns.

“I understand the security difficulties and I know that the top echelon in the army is professional, but specific acts of soldiers on the ground do not conform to the Israeli interest,” he said.

A British embassy official said Cowper-Coles “was raising concerns that we have, on instructions from London.”

“The ambassador has been to the occupied territories and was shocked by what he saw there,” said the official, who asked not to be named.

London has toughened up its tone on Israel recently, with Prime Minister Tony Blair calling on October 1 for UN resolutions to apply to Israel as much as to Iraq, in a veiled demand for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government to pull back from re-occupied Palestinian-controlled areas.

Last week British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, on a visit to Cairo said, “We accept the need of Israel to ensure its security, but we do not accept a case for Israel to act disproportionately or to put at risk the lives of innocent people.”

Sunday October 13, 2002

Main Headline

Arafat Set to Announce New Cabinet within 10 Days

By Nazir Majally

RAMALLAH — Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is due to announce a new government within the next 10 days, a senior Arafat aide said yesterday.

“President Arafat has started intensive consultations with the aim of forming a new government which should take place within the next 10 days,” Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

The new Cabinet members will focus on putting an end to the Israeli occupation, on preparing for January presidential and legislative elections, as well as carrying out the reform of Palestinian institutions, he said.

Arafat met yesterday with members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), or Parliament, in the West Bank town of Ramallah to discuss the appointment of the new Cabinet, Abu Rudeina added.

The last Cabinet, announced by Arafat in June, resigned en masse on Sept. 11 to avoid a vote of no confidence by the Parliament, which said the government line-up did not go far enough in implementing promised reforms.

Arafat was then asked to form a new Cabinet by Sept. 25 but a week beforehand, his Ramallah compound was put under heavy siege for 10 days by the Israeli Army.

Following the Israeli withdrawal from Arafat’s compound, the Palestinian Parliament agreed to give Arafat an extra month, until Nov. 5, to name a new Cabinet.

In the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian youth was shot dead yesterday morning because Israeli soldiers suspected a shovel he was carrying meant he was planting explosives.

Arafat Abu Rujeila, 21, was hit in the head by machine gun fire from an Israeli tank just east of the battered town of Khan Yunis in the south of the territory.

Another Palestinian teenager, Taher Abu Haatu, 19, was also shot dead by Israeli bullets in the center of the northern West Bank town of Tulkarm yesterday, Palestinian medical sources and witnesses said. (Arab News)

IDF Blow Up Rafah Homes, Crush 4-Year Child to Death

RAFAH (PMC) - Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) backed by tanks and armored vehicles, invaded the southern Gaza city of Rafah Sunday killing two civilians, including a toddler who was crushed to death after blowing his family home, while they were trapped inside.

The child was crushed to death and 25 people were injured when Israeli troops dynamited an area in southern Gaza while the occupants were sleeping, Palestinian medical sources confirmed.

In the early morning hours Sunday Israeli armored vehicles declared a curfew on the re-occupied neighborhoods, threatening to shoot any one who disobeys the order.

Israeli bulldozers demolished a number of citizens’ homes; some were demolished while their inhabitants were still inside.

Hospital sources said the Israeli assault resulted in the killing of two Palestinian civilians, including a 4 year-old boy, identified as Tawfieq Briekah, who was killed after Israeli occupation army blew his home, while they were stuck inside. Members of the boy’s family were also injured. Some are in serious condition.

He was killed by falling masonry as Israeli soldiers dynamited a nearby house with a charge so strong it destroyed his house and the one next door in the southern border town of Rafah, they added.

Some 25 other people were injured in the blast, including the boy’s grandfather who was said to be in critical condition.

Both the elderly man and his grandson were found underneath the rubble.

Another victim, 26 year-old Ibrahim Al-Ghoutti, was killed by Israeli heavy machine gunfire, medical sources stated.

According to Palestinian security sources, IOF targeted residential neighborhoods, located west of the Rafah City, and opened fire indiscriminately at citizens’ homes and property.

They added that dozens of Israeli snipers were seen deployed on the roofs of civilian buildings and shooting at any one who was spotted in the streets.

Israeli occupation soldiers also occupied many citizens’ homes and turned them into military outposts.

Rafah, similar to most Gaza’s cities and towns, has been a daily target of Israeli military aggression, which has claimed the lives of dozens of civilians in the past week alone.

On Oct. 7, fourteen Palestinians were killed in an IOF raid on Khan Younis, a town in central Gaza Strip, mostly populated by Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war. Eleven died when a missile slammed into a large civilian crowd in front of a hospital. Palestinian officials said all the dead were civilians.

Incursions into the Palestinian-controlled areas in Gaza are also being seen as a preparation for a full Israeli military invasion of the world’s most densely populated area.

Last week, Israeli TV showed an Israeli military exercise to control an area similar to Gaza’s neighborhoods. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, his “Defense” Minister, Benjamin Ben Eliazer, as well as several Israeli military officers attended the exercise.

The exersise reflected a message, sent to the US last week, that an Israeli military invasion of Gaza “is a matter of statistics and time,” because as supposed attacks mount in the Strip - mostly against illegal Jewish settlements – “Israel will be forced to act.”

The message was delivered by a senior Israeli “defense” establishment official during recent talks with his American counterpart, Ha’aretz reported on Tuesday.

In the West Bank, a palestinian teenager was killed Saturday when IOF shot him dead, in the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem.

The victim, Taher Abu Haatu, 19, died after being hit in the chest by machine gunfire from Israeli tanks, which invaded the town in the evening, witnesses said.

Haatu was standing outside his house during the hours of curfew when Israeli tanks entered the city and began shooting into the streets, they added.

Israel’s occupation army has imposed a curfew on most West Bank cities and towns, which were re-occupied and are currently controlled by the army.

The Israeli curfew, which could persist for weeks, has sufficiently and directly affected the lives of thousands of civilians, even preventing them from getting much-needed food and medicine supplies.

Saturday October 12, 2002

Main Headline

Israel Under Fire for Its Treatment of Palestinian Children

By Catherine Cook
For Palestine Chronicle

On 2 October, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reviewed the State of Israel's report on measures taken in compliance with the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history.

At the same time, Amnesty International, one of the world's most respected human rights organizations, released a report addressing the killing of Palestinian and Israeli children. The report has received considerable attention in the media, much of it focused on the repeated killing of Palestinian children and the impunity with which Israeli military action is treated.

The Israeli army has bent over backward to deny these charges, arguing that “all IDF operations adhere to international humanitarian law, in strict compliance with the highest moral and legal standards.” In the official response of the Israeli army to the Amnesty report, its spokesperson allowed that “some civilians, including children, have been injured,” but asserted that “[i]n no case were these injuries intentional. Those hurt were either individuals involved in Palestinian terrorist activity, or civilians who were unintentionally hurt when they entered a live-fire zone.”

However, the Amnesty International report paints a very different picture. Of 21 case studies presented highlighting the circumstances of Palestinian children's deaths, at least 17 occurred in situations where absolutely no confrontation existed, resulting in the deaths of 34 Palestinian children. These findings confirm those of Palestinian child rights organizations.

Of the 125 Palestinian children killed by Israeli military forces in the first 8 ½ months of 2002, and whose cases were documented by Defence for Children International/Palestine Section, 88% were killed in situations where there was no confrontation occurring at the time of death. Over 50% were killed when the Israeli army indiscriminately opened fire or shelled civilian neighborhoods in Palestinian towns and villages.

In denying charges of impunity for child deaths, the Israeli army spokesperson and the Israeli delegation to the UN proceedings both allege that investigations have been opened into cases of Palestinian child death and injury; however, neither have released the results of those investigations, nor mentioned if punitive action was taken against soldiers.

Supporting the allegations of impunity, however, is the fact that Israel has attempted to absolve itself of any responsibility for its practices towards Palestinian children in the occupied territories, by arguing that it is not bound to apply the CRC there.

Consequently, in its report to the Committee, a report that was seven years overdue, the State of Israel failed to include any information on the status of children in the occupied territories, an issue with which the Committee expressed concern.

For over two years, the Israeli government has implemented policies that violate international human rights and humanitarian law. These policies have had a devastating impact on Palestinian civilians, an impact which has been well-documented by such renowned institutions as the World Bank, the UN Commission on Human Rights, and the US State Department.

At the same time, the Israeli government has yet to alter any of these practices, choosing instead to intensify them. No government can implement policies such as these for over two years - policies that result in the deaths of hundreds of children -- and then protest that the results are unintended and that it bears no responsibility. Thus, while the Israeli government iinsists that it does not target Palestinian children, its daily practices in the occupied territories indicate otherwise.

In its concluding recommendations, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child not only affirmed Israel's responsibility to apply the CRC in the Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel, it stressed that Israel should not be afforded special treatment vis-à-vis its obligations under international law. It is time that the international community took concrete action to support this conclusion. Until it does so, it shares responsibility for the continued deterioration of the situation on the ground.

Homesick Palestinian Boxer Wins Palestine Its First Olympic Medal

BUSAN (PMC) - For Palestinian boxer Munir Abu keshek, this year’s Asian Olympics in Busan was a historical event in all sense of the word.

The homesick heavy weight boxer, who said he cannot wait to get back home to see his newborn baby boy stressed Friday it was worth the wait after winning Palestine its first ever Asian Games medal; a bronze.

“Winning this medal will bring hope to my people,” he said after receiving the medal.

“I am very dedicated and I have been here (in Busan) to do my best for my son and for the Palestinian People. I think of my son and my people every day.”

Such is his dedication that he opted to train in Jericho in the lead-up to the games to avoid the possibility that he might run into trouble getting out of the curfew-hit northern West bank city Nablus.

“I was scared that if I went back to Nablus to see my son I couldn't get out again,” he said.

Abu Keshek passed the opening-round , which sent him straight to the semi-final.

“I was hoping for a silver but my training hasn’t been good,” he said, explaining that he trained alone in his home.

“We live in a terrible situation. For boxers there aren't any clubs. Everything has been closed. There is no-one to practice with.”

“I don't know what the future holds but I hope I can continue and train in another country and be more prepared for the next Asian Games,” he added.

Nablus, like most Palestinian cities and towns in the West Bank, have been under a strict curfew, imposed by Israeli occupation troops since their re-occupation of these areas last April.

Demolition of Palestinian Homes a War Crime: UN Expert

NEW YORK - A United Nations expert on housing and land rights strongly condemned Israel’s systematic and methodical destruction of homes and confiscation of land by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Milloon Kothari, the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of an adequate standard of living, on Tuesday told the press in New York that the international community was "duty bound" to intervene on the behalf of the Palestinian People.

"We must not lose focus of any aspect of the ongoing violence and occupation, particularly the human impact of land and water confiscation, punitive house demolition and forced evictions,” he said.

In the past 10 years, Israeli occupation authorities had demolished more than 2,200 residences, displacing some 13,000 Palestinians. At the same time, at least 155 Israeli settlements, home to more than 170,000 Israeli citizens, had been established, he added.

On Thursday IOF bulldozers razed eight houses in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on the grounds that the owners did not have a construction permit.

Four of them were in the Al-Shaabeh neighborhood, near the illegal Israeli settlement of “Qiryat Arba”. The other four were located in Hebron's Qilqis neighborhood, near the “Beit Haggai” settlement.

"We must not lose focus of any aspect of the ongoing violence and occupation, particularly the human impact of land and water confiscation, punitive house demolition and forced evictions,” Kothari said.

The expert cited recent studies describing what appeared to be a systematic consolidation of Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands as more and more Palestinian homes were demolished and Israeli settlers and settlements were created.

Kothari stressed that the demolition of homes, destroying natural resources and other collective punishments that continued unabated in occupied Palestinian areas should be considered war crimes.

The psychological effects of all this, particularly on women and children, warranted equal condemnation, he said.

Calling attention to the particular impact suffered by youngsters, he said a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) study had shown that during March and April of this year, 330,000 Palestinian children had been confined to their homes, some 500,000 had been unable to access health and social services, and nearly 600,000 children had been prevented from attending school.

"I am particularly concerned that no steps are being taken by the international community to address this situation which is seriously impacting the future generation of Palestinians living in the occupied territories,” he said. (PMC)

Friday October 11, 2002

Main Headline

Palestinian Woman Killed in Nablus, Her Husband, Son Wounded

By Amer Abdelhadi
For Palestine Chronicle

NABLUS (PC) - Israeli troops opened fire at a residential home in Nablus, killing a woman and injuring her husband and son, Palestinian sources reported.

An Israeli army jeep stopped abruptly in front of a residential building owned by the Hijleh family.

Dr. Jamal Abu Hijleh, his wife Shaden and their son Saed were sitting in their glassed veranda when the Israeli troops opened fire.

Mrs. Abu Hijleh died on the spot while her Husband Dr. Jamal and her son Saed were rushed to a nearby hospital for shrapnel wounds.

The action of the Israeli army in Nablus today was consistent with army violence of the last a few weeks.

Last week, the Israeli army raided Nablus, killing two children and injure more than thirty.

Dr. Jamal Abu Hijleh and his family are known among Nablus residents for their social works, mostly aimed at aiding poor families and providing medical services.

Lawyers in Sharon Case Seek European Parliament Support

BRUSSELS (IRNA) - Three lawyers - Chibli Mallat, Luc Walleyn and Michael Verhaeghe - trying to bring Zionist Premier Ariel Sharon to trial in Belgium for the massacres at Sabra and Shatila in 1982 have asked the European Parliament for support for an end to impunity for war crimes.

In a meeting in the EP in Brussels on Thursday, organized by the Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL), the three lawyers presented an overview of their work on the case.

The lawyers, accompanied by two Belgian Senators also active on the case, asked Members of the European Parliament to help fight impunity, by setting up committees and trying to develop legal mechanisms.

They also asked the MEPs to lobby national governments to implement similar universal jurisdiction legislation, in order to uphold and reinforce the credibility of the Belgian law.

Chibli Malla , a Lebanese lawyer, said Sabra and Shatila committees have been set up all around the world and in the US in particular. He said it would also be useful to have similar "anti-impunity" committees to lobby for the development of a legal mechanism to ensure that the perpetrators of war crimes cannot hide behind impunity.

Luc Walleyn reminded participants that the case against Sharon was not the first under the 1993 Belgian Statute, but was the first where the Court ruled that there would be no prosecution as long as the accused was not on Belgian soil.

Michael Verhaeghe gave an overview of the law and the concept of universal jurisdiction which enables such trials to take place in Belgium.

He stressed that if other EU member states implemented something similar it would help Belgium counter current criticism that it wants to act as universal judge.

Francis Wurtz, president of the GUE/NGL Group, paid tribute to the work of the lawyers and reassured them that the members of the group would do what they could to mobilize against impunity.

In June 2001, more than 20 survivors of Palestinian and Lebanese nationalities launched a lawsuit against Ariel Sharon for the crimes committed at the camps of Sabra and Shatilla in Beirut during the Israeli invasion of 1982.

Sharon was then the defense minister. The lawsuit was based on a 1993 universal jurisdiction law in Belgium. However, a Brussels court last June dropped the case against Sharon because he was not present in Belgium.

A group of Belgian senators have proposed an amendment to the law that will allow prosecution even if the accused is not present on Belgian soil.

The lawyers of the victims have taken the case to an appeals court.

Verhaeghe told IRNA that the appeals court in Brussels will hear the case only after the amendment of the law is passed by the Belgian Senate, a process that would take several months.

Mallat said that they want to widen the fight against impunity on a European level so that the issue of Sabra and Shatila finds more than just the Belgian forum.

Thursday October 10, 2002

Main Headline

Three Palestinian Children, One Teen, Killed

GAZA CITY (Palestine Monitor) - The latest in a string of Israeli invasions into civilian neighborhoods in the Gaza strip claimed more innocent lives this morning.

At 00.30, forty tanks and four helicopters invaded the Block C and the Jibna refugee camp in Rafah (southern Gaza Strip).

As the tanks advanced into the neighborhoods, Israeli troops opened heavy fire, randomly hitting homes where people were sleeping.

During the panic and chaos that arose, people tried to flee the bullets and ran into the streets, away from the tanks.

Two teenagers were killed in the raid; Thair Salah Al-Hout (12) and Ehab Fathi Al-Muhgaier (18).

According to Dr. Ali Mousa, head of the Mohammad An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, another six Palestinians were injured. He also said that the Israeli army had used extremely heavy weapons.

Palestinian police sources in Gaza said that the Israeli forces blew up three homes during the incursion, seven homes were damaged by bulldozers and one home was set on fire.

Yesterday in the same area, another two Palestinian teenagers were killed by Israeli fire.

The Israeli army was moving troops in the border area between Egypt and Rafah, setting up new military posts and fortifying the existing ones, in what is widely interpreted as preparations for a full-scale Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli soldiers opened fire on children who were throwing stoines. Mohammed Mousa Ashour (16) was killed by a heavy bullet entering his throat. Ahmed Saber Radwan (15) was shot in the thigh. No ambulance was able to reach him because of the heavy shooting. Ahmed bled to death.

Following the death of the two children and the continued shooting, heavy clashes broke out between the Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters.

Fifteen Palestinians were injured, among them many children, including 1 ½ year old Ibrahim Abu Khamash. A bullet penetrated the baby’s shoulder and exited on the other side. Five of the injured are currently in intensive care.

In the last two days, twenty-one Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip during similar raids and incursions into Palestinian neighborhoods and refugee camps. Eleven were children. All signs point to the possibility that the Israeli army will launch a full-scale invasion into the Gaza Strip.

The high number of Palestinian deaths during these short incursions has increased fear that mass-killings might occur when Israeli tanks will invade and occupy the most densely populated place on earth.

Wednesday October 9, 2002

Main Headline

Israel Army Kills 10-Year-Old Girl in Rafah

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (IAP News) - Palestinian hospital sources reported Wednesday that a 10-year-old school girl was shot dead at the Brazil Refugee camp in Rafah at the southern edge of the Gaza Strip.

According to eyewitnesses, the girl was killed while sitting in the veranda of her home.

An Israeli spokesman issued a statement, saying the army was investigating the “death of an Arab.”

Meanwhile, another Palestinian civilian, a 17-year-old boy, succumbed to his fatal injuries which he sustained in the pre-dawn massacre at Khan Younis Monday, bringing the number of victims to 16 dead.

Another 75 civilians, including many children suffering from burns and deep wounds, were still being hospitalized in Gaza hospitals with ten people listed in serious to critical condition.

On Tuesday, the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon described the atrocity as a “big success,” vowing to carry out more operations against civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Sharon dismissed international criticisms of the carnage as “hypocritical.”

Germany Condemns Israeli Military Assault on Khan Yunis

BERLIN (IRNA) - Germany here Wednesday deplored the latest Israeli military attack on the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis, killing at least 16 Palestinians.

"Germany supports the European Union resolution which condemns the latest (Israeli) assault," Foreign Ministry spokesman, Walter Lindner said at a news conference.

He expressed 'deep concern' over the loss of innocent lives.

Lindner urged Israelis and Palestinians to support the peace efforts of Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief.

Solana is in the region promoting an initiative on behalf of an international 'quartet' of Middle East peace brokers.

Tuesday October 8, 2002

Main Headline

Sharon Describes Khan Younis Massacre as "Successful Operation"

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (IAP News) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has described the pre-dawn massacre in Khan Younis where the Israeli army murdered 14 Palestinians and injured 140 others as "a very successful operation."

Sharon praised the Israeli army for carrying out "this difficult and complicated operation."

"The operation was a successful operation," Sharon told a press conference in West Jerusalem Tuesday.

"This operation was complicated, it was a difficult operation, there will be more operations in Gaza."

The Israeli President Moshe Katsav also lauded the atrocity, saying "Israel regrets the killing of Palestinian civilians, but one has got to do what one has got to do."

Nearly all those who were killed and injured in Khan younis were civilians who gathered outside a mosque to see the damaged inflicted by Israeli tanks on their neighborhood.

The mayhem occurred when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a hellfire missile right into the large crowd, causing the grisly massacre.

Monday October 7, 2002

Main Headline

Israeli Army Kills 14 Palestinians and Injures Dozens in Khan Younis

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (IAP News) - At least 14 Palestinian civilians were killed and more than eighty others injured before dawn Monday when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired missiles at civilian onlookers near a mosque in Khan Younis in the central part of the Gaza Strip.

Eyewitnesses described the scene of the killing as “gruesome massacre.”

“It is a big massacre, Israel is carrying out a real genocide against Palestinians here. When will the world intervene to stop this genocide?” Said 23 Fouad Abdul Salam.

“How many more Palestinian children will have to be slaughtered by the terrorist Sharon before the world wakes up?”

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, an apache helicopter fired at least one missile at the crowd, causing the mayhem.

“As you see, it is a slaughter house, and it is all kosher, “ said Hasan Astal, who lost two of his relatives in the carnage.

“Shame on this world where children are massacred by helicopter gunships while hypocritical politicians in London and Washington look the other way. Aren’t we human beings, too? Isn’t this terror?”

Palestinian sources said dozens of Israeli tanks overran the Amal neighborhood in Khan Younis shortly after midnight and began firing artillery shells at civilian homes.

An elderly Palestinian woman was killed and other members of her family injured.

The invading forces didn’t destroy homes as they usually do in such incursions.

However, when the tanks withdrew shortly before dawn, hundreds of Palestinians left their homes and gathered near a Mosque at the Katiba neighborhood, apparently to inspect the damage.

At this point, an Israeli helicopter fired the missile directly at the crowd, causing the mass killing.

Palestinian official Sa’eb Ureikat appealed to the international community to pressurize Israel to stop “these daily massacres.”

“They are slaughtering our people en mass, this genocide has got to stop,” said Ureikat.

Palestinian leaders are supposed to convey this message to EU envoy Chaver Solana who arrived in Palestine Sunday in an effort to revive peace talks.

Solana was due to meet with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat Monday afternoon in order to press him to accelerate the pace of Palestinian reforms.

Solana held talks on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Benyamin Ben-Eliezer but the meetings were marred by the killing of more Palestinians olive harvesters by Jewish terrorists in the northern West Bank.

The Israeli army said the killings were being investigated, but human rights groups argue that the Israeli government allows the killing to take place in order to make life for the Palestinians unbearable so that they will eventually leave their ancestral land for the Jews.

The names of those killed include:

1. Mohammed Hassan al-Astal, 15, killed by shrapnel throughout the body;
2. 'Abdullah Walid Salah, 16, killed by shrapnel throughout the body;
3. Ahmed 'Abdul Ra'ouf al-Astal, 16, killed by shrapnel throughout the body;
4. Fares 'Abdul Nasser Daoud al-Zaqzouq, 17, killed by shrapnel in the head;
5. Haitham Mousa Abu al-Naja, 27, killed by shrapnel throughout the body;
6. Ussama Mohammed 'Ali 'Aabdin, 23, killed by shrapnel throughout the body;
7. Eihab Helmi Dhib Khalaf, 22, killed by shrapnel throughout the body;
8. Ayman Mohammed Saqer, 35, killed by shrapnel throughout the body; and
9. Mohammed Mustafa Sadiq, 20, killed by shrapnel throughout the body.
10. Jamal Fathi Muhareb, 18, killed by with several live bullets in the neck and the chest.
11. Mohammed Farhan Shaloula, 23, killed with a live bullet in the back.
12. Rahima Hassan 'Ali Salama, 50, shot by Israeli soldiers in her home. Bled to death later.
13. 'Abdul Fattah 'Ali Suleiman al-Sallout, 40, was wounded in the chest by a heavy caliber bullet fired by an Israeli attack helicopter and later died.

EU Condemns Israel’s Attacks on Civilians in Khan Yunis

BRUSSELS - The European Union Monday said it "strongly regrets and condemns this morning's Israeli military attacks against a Palestinian neighborhood of Khan Yunis in Southern Gaza killing at least 10 Palestinians, including children, and causing a very large number of injured. "

"There can be no justification for military actions directed indiscriminately against civilian neighborhoods, whether Palestinian or Israeli," said a EU-Presidency statement.

Denmark holds the current EU-Presidency.

"The EU has consistently condemned the arbitrary use of extra judicial killings, which will not bring security to the Israeli people.

"Military and violent actions only serve to fuel hatred and undermine attempts by the parties and the international community to bring about reconciliation and hope for a peaceful solution to the conflict. The Presidency urges both sides to do their utmost to bring an end to violence," said the statement.

It added that the EU Presidency expresses its most sincere condolences to the bereaved families and its wishes for the recovery of those injured by the attack. (IRNA)

Statement: Sha'ath Says Khan Younis Massacre is a "Criminal Attack"

RAMALLAH - PNA acting minister of planning and international cooperation, Dr. Nabil Sha'th, condemned the massacre committed by Israeli occupation troops against Khan Younis's residents on Monday, which claimed the lives of at least 13 innocent civilians and injured dozens, as a "criminal attack".

At a press conference held at the Palestine Media Center (PMC) in Ramallah on 07 October 2002, Dr. Sha'ath started, "today's attack was a comprehensive attack against the city of Khan Younis, where Palestinian crowds were bombed while trying to find shelter from the intensive Israeli shelling."

The minister said the number victims has reached 14 according to ICRC's figures, adding that the number of wounded, according to Palestinian medical sources, has reached 150.

"We have asked the ICRC, in particular its head Mr. Jacob Kellenberger, to present to Israeli 'defense' minister Ben Eliazer, the red cross demand to immediately stop the ongoing Israeli criminal attack on Khan Younis," he pointed out.

"This dangerous escalation, whose victims were innocent civilians who escaped their homes because of the intensive shelling by Apache Gunships, is in violation to the Fourth Geneva Convention and United Nations resolution 1435, which demands Israeli withdrawal to the pre-28 September lines," he stressed.

He also pointed out to the timing of the heinous carnage.

"This a crime aimed at sabotaging any Palestinian effort to achieve a declaration of siege fire, leading to a complete Israeli withdrawal… and is aiming at the destruction of every attempt that the Palestinian People and their leadership have engaged in with the international community to reach a cease fire that would bring us back to the peace process," he added.

The minister also pointed out that "this new massacre concurrent with the continuous Israeli aggression in the West Bank."

In addition, Sha'ath said that Javier Solana, EU's Secretary-General and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, "must understand the Israeli message [sent] by attacking Gaza, just hours after he had concluded his visit there."

"This is a criminal message signaling a threat to the Europeans and all those working for the sake of peace in the world," he said

He also warned that, "this a criminal attack against the Palestinian People," can be seen as "a gradual escalation into a full onslaught on the Gaza Strip."

Arafat Signs Law Recognizing Jerusalem as Future Capital

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PMC) - Besieged in his office for two consecutive weeks, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat signed into law Saturday a bill formally declaring Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian State, announced Parliament member, Ahmad Qurei.

"President Arafat signed the 'Jerusalem The Capital' law stipulating that Jerusalem is the capital of a future independent state and the center of the legislative, judicial and executive authorities," Qurei said.

The PLC speaker said Arafat signed the 2-year-old legislation in response to a new US congressional bill ratified by American President George W. Bush last week implicitly recognizing the holy city as Israel's capital, sparking Palestinian and Arab anger.

The law came after the Palestinian President denounced the American bill as a "catastrophe," while Arab and Muslim states lashed out at the bill with vehement denunciation.

Most countries, including the United States, have held their embassies in Israel in Tel Aviv to show that the status of East Jerusalem, which was occupied in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognized internationally, is still unresolved.

Although United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 stipulate Arab east Jerusalem is occupied Palestinian territory taken over by Israel in 1967, Israel still occupies the eastern part of the city, insisting that Jerusalem remains undivided.

Noteworthy, the current American administration headed by Bush is the first to pass such an unprecedented law in history.

The Palestine Legislative Council is due to meet Sunday in a special session to discuss the new US law.

PLC legislators also plan to discuss the formation of a new cabinet and Arafat's demand for more time to do so because of the ongoing Israeli siege of his wrecked headquarters, PLC sources said.

PLC members prevented by Israeli authorities from traveling from the caged-in Gaza Strip will participate from Gaza City by videoconference.

Concerning the issue of Jerusalem, Palestinian legislators want to express their rejection of the US bill, which completely disregards and violates international law, PLC member Mohammed Hourani said.

"We object that a parliament in another part of the world can decide for us to whom Jerusalem belongs," he stressed.

Meanwhile, the EU's foreign affairs chief Javier Solana is scheduled to hold talks on Sunday with Israel's 'Defense' Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, and on Monday with President Arafat.

"We have to keep on pushing for the quartet agreements we agreed to in New York and that's what I am going to do," Solana told reporters during a meeting in Crete.

He will be pushing the "road map for peace" and initiatives developed earlier this year by the Quartet of peace mediators, comprising leaders from the EU, United Nations, US and Russia.

U.S. criticizes Israel for obstructing religious freedom

By Natan Guttman, Ha'aretz Correspondent and Agencies

The U.S. State Department's annual report on religious freedom around the world is critical of Israel because of government efforts to intervene in the election of the Greek Orthodox Church's patriarch for the Holy Land, Eireneos I, and because of budgetary discrimination against non-Jewish citizens and non-Orthodox Jewish communities.

The report, issued Sunday night, does not cite Israel for grave violations of religious freedom but it does say that the government tried to prevent Eireneos' election, by conditioning its recognition of his election on winning political concessions from the Palestinian Authority and because the authorities preferred one of his competitors for the post who had business dealings with Israelis. The report cites Israel for using budgets to discriminate against non-Jewish citizens, and against those who belong to non-Orthodox Jewish communities.

The report criticizes the PA for refusing to allow non-Muslims to visit the plaza on the Temple Mount and the mosques there.

Countries cited as being the most restrictive of freedom of religion were China, Mynamar, Cuba, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam. The State Department also criticized religious intolerance in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Afghanistan was the only country named in the report as showing improvement in the past year.

Tuesday October 1, 2002

Main Headline

LAW Condemns US Congress Moves on Jerusalem

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (LAW) - LAW today condemned the State Department Authorization Act (H.R. 1646), which recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

On September 30, US President George Bush signed the State Department Authorization Act (H.R.1646), which recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The bill (H.R. 1646) goes further than all previous bills Congress has on Jerusalem.

The bill changes the status of Jerusalem by a series of provisions, which demand that the American consulate in East Jerusalem (serving mostly Palestinians and directly answerable to the US State Department) go under the American Embassy in Tel Aviv; in effect, creating a dejure branch of the American Embassy in Jerusalem, under the direction of America's Ambassador to Israel.

The bill further demands that all US government maps and official documents identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, while also giving American citizens born in Jerusalem the right to demand that their U.S. government-issued documents, such as passports and birth certificates, identify Israel as their birthplace.

The bill also allocates $100 million in additional security funds to Israel for arms purchases.

However, today (October 1, 2002) after signing the bill, US President Bush rejected efforts to begin measures moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, with the State Department spokesperson, Richard Boucher noting, "Our view on Jerusalem is unchanged. Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be negotiated between the parties.''

US President Bush views the parts of legislation on Jerusalem, known as Section 214 as non-binding. The resolution, Bush said, ".if construed as mandatory rather than advisory, impermissibly interfere with the president's constitutional authority to formulate the position of the United States, speak for the nation in international affairs, and determine the terms on which recognition is given to foreign states."

In 1995, US Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, requiring the US Embassy move to Jerusalem by 31 May 1999. However, the bill included a national security waiver, and presidents have postponed the move every six months since the law was enacted.

The status of Jerusalem under international law and reiterated by successive UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions is clear. Jerusalem is considered corpus separatus, a separate body. Israel's rule over West Jerusalem is not recognized, while East Jerusalem, annexed to Israel in 1967, is considered Occupied Territory, subject to administration as dictated by international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention. In respect of international law, most countries keep their embassies in Tel Aviv.

LAW strongly condemns recent moves by the US Congress to unilaterally decide the fate of Jerusalem without due respect to the wishes of the occupied population, the Palestinian people, who are protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The US Congress has acted without due respect or responsibility towards international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, and without due respect, furthermore, to the United Nations Security Council.

Moreover, LAW sees the actions of the US Congress as attempting to influence and sabotage final status negotiations on Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinian people, against the interests of peace.

Numerous UN Security Council resolutions have reaffirmed the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, including Jerusalem.

Moreover, LAW condemns the blindness of the US State Department, which has signed legislation allowing for another $100 million in US tax payer money to be given to Israel as additional security funds for arms purchases. Since the beginning of this intifada two years ago, Israel has clearly engaged in gross violations of human rights, killing and maiming Palestinian civilians (protected people under the Fourth Geneva Convention), particularly children.

US law prohibits the president from providing military aid to any country "which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights." 22 U.S.C. 2304(a). As the US State Department determined in February 2001, Israel has committed and continues to commit each of the acts that the law defines as "gross violations of internationally recognized human rights," including "torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges and trial, causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, and other flagrant denials of the right to life, liberty, or the security of person." The US Arms Export Control Act, Sec. 4., notes "Defense articles and defense services shall be sold or leased by the United States Government under this Act to friendly countries solely for internal security, or legitimate self-defense."

Palestinians Reject US Congress Decision to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel's Capital

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (IAP News) - The US Congress decision to recognize Israeli-occupied Jerusalem as capital of Israel has drawn sharp reactions from Palestinians.

The bill stated that Jerusalem be identified by the State Department as Israel’s capital and that the American consulate in East Jerusalem be placed under the supervision of the American embassy in Tel Aviv.

PA official Sa’eb Ereikat described the American move as “very dangerous.”

“This is undoubtedly a very dangerous move; it undermines all efforts to revive the peace process and put it back on track.”

Ereikat called the decision, which was signed by President Bush, as flagrant violation of agreements signed by the United States.

He added that “this is the first time in history the parliament of one country determines the capital of another.”

Bush expressed some reservations about the bill, saying it didn’t reflect the view of his administration.

He said the bill would impermissibly interfere with the President’s constitutional authority to conduct the nation’s foreign affairs.

Israel occupied the eastern part of Jeruslaem in 1967 and has ever since been trying to obliterate its Arab, Islamic and Christian identities.

Jerusalem is home to the Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest shrine in Islam.

Blair Calls for ‘Even-Handed‘ Approach to Middle East Conflicts

BLACKPOOL (IRNA) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair Tuesday called for talks on the establishment of a Palestinian state to begin within the next three months.

Speaking at the annual Labour Party Conference in Blackpool, north west England, Blair said that both Iraq and the Middle East conflict must be 'applied in an even-handed way'.

"What is happening in the Middle East now is ugly and wrong -- the Palestinians living in increasingly abject conditions, humiliated and hopeless; Israeli civilians brutally murdered," he said.

He said he agreed that UN resolutions should apply as much to the Middle East as Iraq, but insisted that they applied to 'all parties' not just Israel.

"By this year's end, we must have revived final status negotiations and they must have explicitly as their aims: - an Israeli state free from terror, recognized by the Arab world and a viable Palestinian state based on the boundaries of 1967," the prime minister said.

Snipers are Back - EU Urges Complete End to Israel's Siege of Arafat

RAMALLAH (PMC) - Israel is keeping its military siege around the Ramallah presidential compound despite international condemnation from the European Union EU, Egypt, and Syria.

Speaking from inside President's offices, Arafat's advisor Nabil Abu Rudeina said Israeli troops occupied two Palestinian buildings in front of the Muqataa compound and pointed their guns out of the windows towards President Arafat's offices.

"Now the Muqataa is under guns again. This goes against the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1435," he told AFP by phone

"We ask the United States and all the international community to move immediately to stop this Israeli aggression and to push Israel to withdraw completely according to the UN Security Council resolution," he said

"Israel has withdrawn from the door -- now it must also withdraw from the window," he said

The EU on Monday denounced Israeli siege of the Presidential compound in Ramallh and called for an immediate lift of it.

"Restricting freedom of movement of the Palestinians and their leadership and destroying their infrastructure doesn't contribute to fighting terror or to solve Israel's legitimate security concerns," EU foreign ministers said at a meeting in Brussels.

"More than ever, Israelis and Palestinians must return to the negotiating table," they stressed in a statement, issued following the meeting.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana insisted on total Israeli withdrawal from the area.

"What happened yesterday is positive," Solana told reporters in Brussels after Sharon pulled his tanks and troops back from the Muqata'a, adding, "It has to continue until the withdrawal is total."

"We are going to continue working and to see how the normalization of the Muqataa can be reached ... That will allow to continue the reform process," he said.

He reiterated his support for a "road map" agreed by the international diplomatic quartet -- the EU, US, Russia and the United Nations -- which envisions the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

"I think that the road map is a good document, a good way ahead. Of course, some time has been wasted in the last days by the siege of the Muqata'a."

"But I think we have to put in place again the mechanism we had before the violent action," he concluded.

Moreover, European Union foreign ministers condemned Israel on Monday for wrecking Palestinian infrastructure, saying such destruction would not stop terror.

They said that Israel should lift all its curfews and closures in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to allow preparations for Palestinian elections early next year.

The EU said it was "profoundly concerned about ... malnutrition, real problems of unemployment, of poverty and the ever-present fear of disease."

Israel must respect international humanitarian law and allow "full, safe and unfettered access" to aid agencies and humanitarian workers seeking to help thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, the EU pointed out.

"Restricting the Palestinians' freedom of movement and their leadership, and destroying their infrastructure does not contribute to fighting terror or to solving Israel's legitimate security concerns," the EU insisted.

Britain Urges Israel to Implement All UN Resolutions

In addition, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw Monday urged Israel to implement all UN Security Council resolutions and called on both sides in the Middle East conflict to work to end the violence.

"The right of Palestinians to full, independent statehood is unarguable, indivisible and overdue. All UN Security Council resolutions must be implemented -- and both sides must now take steps to stop the violence and get talking," Straw said in a speech to the Labour conference.

"Two states, Palestine and Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security. That's our goal and we in the international community have a clear responsibility not to rest until both sides deliver it," he added.

Straw who said Israel had "every right to its security", pointed out, "But just to see the daily indignities visited on the women and children at military checkpoints in the occupied territories, is to know that the Palestinian people have suffered for too long."

In Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad demanded on Monday that UN Security Council "force Israel to implement (international) resolutions and withdraw from the land it has occupied" in the West Bank.

An Israeli pullout would "halt the deterioration and restore the climate needed for peace talks to resume on all tracks," the two leaders stressed.

Saudi Arabia Demands More US Pressure on Israel

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia yesterday urged the United States to force Israel to comply with all UN resolutions after the White House pushed the Jewish state to lift its siege of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

The weekly Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prince Abdullah also condemned Israel for rejecting and ignoring international resolutions that promote peace in the Middle East.

The meeting took note of the recent American contacts, which led to lifting of the Israeli blockade of the headquarters of the Palestinian president in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"This shows that the US is capable of putting pressure on Israel," the Cabinet said and hoped that Washington would continue its efforts until Israel has implemented all international resolutions related to establishing peace in the region.

Prince Abdullah briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

"The talks focused on the current developments in the region, especially the Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people and their leadership," Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy quoted the prince as saying.

Al-Farsy said the prince also briefed the Cabinet on his talks with Ethiopian President Grma Weleagyorges and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.