SEPTEMBER 2002

Monday September 30, 2002

Main Headline

Arafat Urges Complete Ceasefire, Full Implementation of Res. 1435

Palestine Media Center
Official Statement

OCCUPIED RAMALLAH - Following the re-deployment of Israeli occupation troops a few meters away from the Presidential headquarters in Ramallah, which was denounced by the PNA as a fake ploy by Israel to score PR points amidst roaring international condemnation, the leadership issued an official statement calling upon Israel to abide by the latest UN Resolution.

"It is incumbent upon Israel to completely implement UN Resolution 1435, which includes a complete, unconditional withdrawal [of occupation forces] from the Muqata'a and Ramallah, and a return to the posts held on 28 September, 2000." President Arafat stressed in a statement issued to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The Palestinian President also reiterated his call for a complete cease-fire, which should be matched by an equivalent, abiding Israeli cease-fire.

"It is essential that the quartet [of Middle Eat peace mediators] oversees the implementation of all articles of the latest UN Security Council Resolution, which we are always willing to meet and completely cooperate with." The statement further read.

In the statement, Arafat also demanded international intervention, most notably by the Quartet, to pressure Israel into implementing UN resolutions and withdrawing from occupied Palestinian cities and areas.

"We stress the need to move towards political negotiations to implement International resolutions, the quartet's declared policies, President George W. Bush's peace vision and the Arab Summit's decisions in Beirut."

Speaking to journalists after Isareli tanks and forces withdrew troops to a nearby street, Arafat described the Israeli occupation forces' retreat from his compound as "an act of deceit" intended to evade implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1435, which demands Israel to withdraw from occupied Palestinian territory to the September 2000 posts.

Nablus Assault Intensifies, Second Child Killed

NABLUS, West Bank (PC) - A second Palestinian child was left clinically dead after being hit by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank city of Nablus, Agency France Press and Palestinian medical sources said.

Mahmoud Zagloul, 10 was hit in the head by gunfire from Israeli tanks during an Israeli army assault on Nablus's Old City. He is clinically dead, medical sources indicated. A second child, aged 11, was critically injured by bullet wounds to the chest in the same area, they said.

Earlier, Palestinian medical sources said a Palestinian boy was shot dead by heavy machine-gun fire which hit him in the head as Israeli tanks raided a refugee camp in Nablus to re-impose a curfew.

Palestine Chronicle reporter in Nablus reported that an Israeli army tank opened fire on civilians and reporters, wounded Nasser Ishtayia, a reporter for Associated Press.

The Israeli army launched its newest military operation in Nablus starting yesterday, Sunday. An occupation army convoy of about five tanks, 8 armored vehicles, jeeps and trucks, used for mass arrests, invaded the city center of Nablus and moved directly to 'Aloul and Abu Salaha building, toward the center of the city.

Eyewitnesses and some media sources reported that the army arrested everyone in the building including women and children who were visiting doctors’ clinics. In the same building, the army seized control on Afaq TV, a private TV station and arrested its manager.

The army has reportedly began to broadcasted materials that were classified as indecent and improper. Palestinians have reported similar behavior in the past, most notability in the city of Ramallah last April, when Israeli forces broadcast pornographic movies using confiscated media outlets.

Sunday September 29, 2002

Main Headline

The Intifada in Numbers

RAMALLAH (Palestine Monitor) - Yesterday marked the second year of the current Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the repression of the Palestinian people.

During the last two years, the Israeli response to the Palestinian people’s struggle for internationally recognized right to self-determination and towards an end to the Israeli colonization of their land has grown increasingly violent and aggressive.

In September 2000, Palestinians were met by Israeli soldiers firing rubber-coated-metal bullets and live ammunition, today nearly all the West Bank towns have been fully ‘re-occupied’ by the Israeli army and have been placed under strict military-enforced curfew.

In Gaza, the population is bracing itself for an imminent reoccupation.

More than 1,914 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers, settlers or police since September 2000. Also counted among these are those who died as a direct result of the Israeli occupation, i.e. those denied access to life saving medical treatment when ambulances were stopped and turned away at checkpoints, and the unborn babies who died when their mothers could not reach hospital because of closure or curfew:

· 71 Palestinians have died after being prevented access to medial treatment, 21 of those were children, 13 were newborn babies.

· 169 have died in extra judicial assassination attacks, of these 31 were bystanders at the time and 44 were “unintended” victims killed as they were with the victim. 22 were children.

· 22.5% were aged 18 or younger, i.e one out of every five killed

· 60% were shot with live ammunition

· 85% were civilians or not involved in any violent action or attack at the time they were killed

· 17 medical personnel were killed while on duty

An estimated 41,000 Palestinians have been injured in the same period: 2,500 of those are permanently disabled, 500 of whom are children

The prolonged Israeli closure of the Occupied Territories has destroyed the Palestinian economy and lead to serious damage to infrastructure and civil society:

· 75 % of the Palestinian population live in poverty (less than US$ 2 per day) and unemployment has reached 65%.

· 30% of children under 5 years of age suffer from chronic malnutrition, 21 % from acute malnutrition

· 45% of children under 5 and 48% of women of childbearing age suffer from moderate to mild anemia

· During the first 15 months of the Intifada the occupation caused physical damage amounting to US$ 305 million. During the month long invasion in March and April 2002, the Israeli army destroyed and looted US$ 361 million worth of property

This violent and dangerous occupation regime is now being met by a popular non-violent resistance, including peaceful marches in the streets with people protesting the three-month long curfew regime, the siege and the continued killing of innocent people.

PA: Claims of Israeli Withdrawal from HQ Fake

OCCUPIED RAMALLAH - Pursuant to the statement issued by the meeting of the inner Israeli cabinet, which discussed the choking siege on President Arafat's Muqata'a headquarters, a Palestinian spokesperson announced that claims of an Israeli withdrawal from the HQ were spurious.

The Israeli occupation army redeployed its troops only a few meters away from the HQ, while soldiers still surrounded the Muqata'a and maintained their grip on the West Bank City of Ramallah, the spokesperson said.

"We declare to the international opinion, both official and public, that this statement, in frame and substance, is a propaganda bid to avoid implementing UN Resolutions and to avoid international pressure, most notably the Americans', the quartet's and all other international efforts." The statement read.

"This Israeli move does not fulfill the latest UN Resolution (No. 1435) stipulating the total withdrawal from the President's HQ and the City of Ramallah as well as the haste withdrawal from all other Palestinian cities to the positions held prior to September 2000."

The spokesperson further stressed that despite international condemnation and resolutions urging it to withdraw its troops, the Israeli government insists on maintaining its occupation of Ramallah and the rest of the Palestinian cities, as well its complete military grip on the Muqata'a, wherein no one is allowed to enter or exit, except after their approval.

"We call upon permanent members of the UN Security Council, the international community and the UN to compel Israel's government to implement UN Resolution 1435 and to stop this military occupation and stringent siege to our cities and presidential HQ."

Saturday September 28, 2002

Main Headline

Two Children Wounded in Nablus

Amer Abdelhadi
For Palestine Chronicle

NABLUS (PC) - On the second anniversary of the Palestinian uprising, Intifada, an Israeli tank had reportedly opened fire on a civilian vehicle in the West Bank, injuring two children.

Dana, 3 years and Amr, 2, were in their mother's car traveling inside the city of Nablus in an area that was reportedly quite when the Israeli army tank opened fire, “for no reason”, according to eyewitnesses.

Dana and Amr Qanadilo were rushed to the Rafidya Hospital in the city, medical sources indicated.

Meanwhile, residents of the West Bank city continued with their “civil disobedience” rallies aimed at breaking the military curfew and allowing for their children to return to school. Nablus has been under a military curfew for over three months.

Some normality has been reportedly restored in Nablus, with traffic somewhat moving once again and road shops opening for customers.

The wounding of the two children in Nablus came as no surprise since the targeting of civilians, especially children by the army has been a tragic reality in the city.

Many of Nablus residents believe that soldiers have orders to shoot and sometimes kill to maintain tension in the area and to enforce their military presence.

Dana was treated in the emergency room at the Rafidya Hospital while Amr was rushed into the operation room at the time of this report, medical sources said.

Palestinian Health Deteriorating, Says WHO Chief

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Palestinians are facing a worsening health crisis which is being compounded by Israel's border closures and curfew restrictions, the head of the United Nations health agency said Friday.

"The situation of people in the occupied Palestinian territory is deteriorating as a result of the escalation of the conflict," said Gro Harlem Brundtland, director-general of the World Health Organization.

"Explicit restrictions on population movements...hinder the delivery of health care services," Brundtland said.

Brundtland has reported a general decline in health conditions in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

"We are concerned that the communities in the occupied Palestinian territory have been in considerable distress and will continue to suffer ill-health as long as hostilities continue -- even if their plight is less 'in the public eye'," Brundtland said.

She noted that delays at Israeli military checkpoints prevented the proper cold storage of vaccines, and cited UN figures showing the number of women attending postnatal clinics had dropped by 52 percent. Palestinians living in rural areas were often unable to reach hospital, she said.

She said the Palestinians' food supply had been disrupted, with severe shortages of high-protein food like fish, chicken and dairy products causing price rises.

Palestinian official sources estimate that 66.5 percent of the population currently lives on less than $2 a day, she added.

The WHO's annual assembly voted in May to ask the director-general to visit the occupied Palestinian territories and compile a report.

"I have not been given the opportunity to pay a visit in the context of (the) resolution," Brundtland said. The report was compiled form existing data and information from WHO and UN field staff as well as non-governmental organizations.

According to the report, vaccination campaigns have been disrupted. Palestinian officials also said there was a "dramatic impact of the lack of movement on immunization coverage with mid-term and long-term health implications."

Recent aid agency surveys also showed that "the nutritional status of women and children is being compromised," with almost half of under five year-olds and young women of child-bearing age suffering from anaemia, as well as evidence of child malnutrition, the report added

Still births, especially in the Jenin and Hebron areas had increased by 58 percent, according to UN data.

Access to medical care was also severely disrupted. A hospital in Nablus reported that it was no longer seeing half of its outpatients.

There was still grave concern at the lack of water supply and sanitation in some places, although the outlook for relief supplies, food and shelter was improving, Brundtland noted.

Brundtland cited several recent studies which said undernourishment was on the increase.

A survey by USAID showed almost half of children under 5 and women of childbearing age were anemic. Nine percent of children were suffering from wasting and 13 percent were stunted.

Children also were particularly at risk from drinking water polluted after pipelines and the sewage network was destroyed in several areas. Curfews and checkpoints hampered efforts by Palestinian workers to repair pipelines and clean the water supply, she said Israel criticized the report as "one-sided."

"A report based on a one-sided resolution adopted in May 2002 ... which gained the support of only 48 of 191 voting members of WHO, is unacceptable to us," Israel's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Yaakov Levy, said.

"Israel is committed to working for the well-being of the Palestinian population in the territories in close cooperation with humanitarian agencies and the WHO, and will continue to do so," he added.

WHO spokeswoman Melinda Henry told The Associated Press Brundtland "has been and will continue to be in active discussion with Israeli authorities."

Brundtland's report was released ahead of a WHO regional meeting for the Middle East in Cairo, Egypt, next week. (Palestine Media Center)

Urgent Warning from Israeli Academics: The Israeli Government May Be Contemplating Crimes Against Humanity

We, members of Israeli academe, are horrified by US buildup of aggression towards Iraq and by the Israeli political leadership's enthusiastic support for it.

We are deeply worried by indications that the "fog of war" could be exploited by the Israeli government to commit further crimes against the Palestinian people, up to full-fledged ethnic cleansing.

The Israeli ruling coalition includes parties that promote "transfer" of the Palestinian population as a solution to what they call "the demographic problem". Politicians are regularly quoted in the media as suggesting forcible expulsion, most recently MKs Michael Kleiner and Benny Elon, as reported on Yediot Ahronot website on September 19, 2002.

In a recent interview in Ha'aretz, Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon described the Palestinians as a "cancerous manifestation" and equated the military actions in the Occupied Territories with "chemotherapy", suggesting that more radical "treatment" may be necessary. Prime Minister Sharon has backed this "assessment of reality". Escalating racist demagoguery concerning the Palestinian citizens of Israel may indicate the scope of the crimes that are possibly being contemplated.

We call upon the International Community to pay close attention to events that unfold within Israel and in the Occupied Territories, to make it absolutely clear that crimes against humanity will not be tolerated, and to take concrete measures to prevent such crimes from taking place.

Signatories, as of the 23 Sept 2002, morning:

Prof. Zach Adam, Rehovot
Prof. Colman Altman, Haifa
Dr. Janina Altman, Haifa
Tammy Amiel-Houser, Tel Aviv
Chaya Amir, Tel Aviv
Dr. Shmuel Amir, Tel Aviv
Prof. Daniel Amit, Jerusalem/Rome
Yali Amit, Chicago
Dr. Meir Amor, Montreal, Canada
Dr. Yonathan (Jon) Anson, Beer Sheva
Prof. Shalom Baer, Jerusalem
Dan Bar-On, Beer Sheva
Dr. Avner Ben-Amos, Tel Aviv
Prof. Matania Ben-Artzi, Jerusalem
Prof. Linda Ben-Zvi, Tel Aviv
Avi Berg, Tel Aviv
Dr. Louise Bethlehem, Hod Hasharon
Prof. Anat Bilezki, Tel Aviv
Uri Bitan, Haifa
Prof. Daniel Boyarin, Berkeley
Prof. Victoria Buch, Jerusalem
Smadar Carmon, Toronto
Dr. Nicole Cohen-Addad, Tel Aviv
Dr. Uri Davis, Sakhnin
Athena Elizabeth DeRasmo, Haifa
Prof. Aharon Eviatar, Tel Aviv
Dr. Ovadia Ezra. Tel Aviv
Prof. Emmanuel Farjoun, Jerusalem
Pnina Firestone, Jerusalem
Elizabeth Freund, Jerusalem
Gadi Geiger, Cambridge, MA, USA
Dr. Amira Gelblum, Tel Aviv
Prof. Rachel Giora, Tel Aviv
Dr. Anat Goldrat-First, Netanya
Dr. Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni, Tel Aviv
Dr. Neve Gordon, Beer Sheva
Dr. Yerah Gover, New York
Prof. Charles W. Greenbaum, Jerusalem
Dr. Lev Grinberg, Beer Sheva
Ran HaCohen, Tel Aviv
Prof. Uri Hadar, Tel Aviv
Prof. Galit Hasan-Rokem, Jerusalem
Dr. Sara Helman, Beer Sheva
Prof. Hanna Herzog, Tel Aviv
Prof. Ze'ev Herzog, Tel Aviv
Prof. Hannan Hever, Jerusalem
Dr. Tikva Honig-Parnass, Jerusalem
Shirly Houser, Tel Aviv
Tal Itzhaki, Haifa
Prof. Eva Jablonka, Tel Aviv
Andrea Jacobs, Austin, Texas
Dr. Devorah Kalekin-Fishman, Haifa
Aya Kaniuk, Jerusalem
Prof. Jacob Katriel, Haifa
Prof. Tamar Katriel, Haifa
Prof. Baruch Kimmerling, Jerusalem
Dr. Haggai Kupermintz, Boulder, Colorado
Dr. Ron Kuzar, Haifa
Dr. Ariela Lazar, Evanston
Prof. Micah Leshem, Haifa
Erez Levkovitz, Jerusalem
Prof. Rene Levy, Lausanne
Dr. Orly Lubin, Tel Aviv
Dr. Ruchama Marton, Tel Aviv
Dr. Anat Matar, Tel Aviv
Prof. Paul Mendes-Flohr, Jerusalem
Rabbi Jeremy Milgrom, Jerusalem
Menucha Moravitz, Ramat-Gan
Regev Nathansohn, Tel Aviv
Prof. Avraham Oz, Haifa
Dr. Ilan Pappe, Haifa
Gabriel Piterberg, UCLA
Shakhar Rahav, Berkeley
Dr. Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin, Beer Sheva
Prof. Zvi Razi, Tel Aviv
Prof. Tanya Reinhart, Tel Aviv
Prof. Fanny-Michaela Reisin, Berlin
Prof. Freddie Rokem, Tel Aviv
Prof. Henry Rosenfeld, Haifa
Dr. Maya Rosenfeld, Jerusalem
Ouzi Rotem, Philadelphia
Dr. Hannah Safran, Haifa
Tami Sarfatti, UCLA
Dr. Nita Schechet, Jerusalem
Hillel Schocken, Tel Aviv
Ruben Seroussi, Tel Aviv
Dr. Erella Shadmi,Beit Berl
Prof. Nomi Shir, Beer Sheva
Dr. Miriam Shlesinger, Tel Aviv
Aharon Shabtai, Tel Aviv
Orly Soker, Sapir-Jerusalem
Nurit Steinfeld, Jerusalem
Roman Vater, Tel Aviv
Dr. Roy Wagner, Tel-Aviv
Dr. Michael Yogev, Haifa
Kim Yuval, Tel Aviv
Prof. Moshe Zimmermann, Jerusalem

Friday September 27, 2002

Main Headline

Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Baby Girl with Teargas

HEBRON (LAW) - Yesterday morning, Thursday, September 26, Israeli forces killed Gharam Mana, who was 14 months old. She died after exposure to tear gas, while being with her grandmother in Bab al-Zawiyya in Hebron. Since September 2000, Israeli forces have killed 346 Palestinian children.

According to information documented by LAW, at around 10 am, Gharam Mana's grandmother carried the baby in the Bab al-Zawiya. Israeli forces, preventing Palestinians from breaking the Israeli imposed curfew in Hebron, shot live ammunition and after large quantities of tear gas were shot at Palestinians in the area. Gharam Mana' was exposed to tear gas and was brought to the local Palestinian government hospital. Soon after her arrival at the hospital, Gharam died.

Exposure to tear gas at close range, especially CS gas, can cause serious respiratory damage and death, especially to infants, the elderly, the sick and particularly those suffering from respiratory ailments. Exposure to tear gas is also suspected of causing miscarriages and intra-uterine fetal death.

Israeli forces regularly discharge tear gas not only to quell demonstrations, but also as a means of punishment and harassment. When used improperly, tear gas is a lethal form of ammunition; hence practices such as throwing it into enclosed spaces or aiming it directly at individuals clearly violate the international principles of necessity and proportionality concerning law enforcement conduct.

Israeli forces located at Bab al-Zawiyya were not in any way threatened by Gharam Mana' presence. The excessive use of tear gas on civilians, including children and the elderly is clearly an excessive and unlawful use of force, constituting a willful disregard for human life.

LAW believes that such unlawful use of lethal force against civilians by Israeli Occupation forces reveals a cynical and contemptuous disregard for human life. More than a flagrant violation of international law, it constitutes a policy of lawless disregard for the most fundamental human rights, the right to life.

Moreover, in relation to curfews imposed on Palestinians, placing them under collective house arrest violates international humanitarian law. Collective punishment is prohibited by international law.

UNRWA Chief Says 'Miracle' Palestinian Society Still Standing

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PMC) - The budget deficit of a United Nations agency looking after Palestinian refugees fell by 33 percent to $16.7 million, the lowest in years, the head of the agency said.

The UNRWA commissioner general for Palestinian refugees Peter Hansen said Wednesday it was a "major miracle" that Palestinian society had not collapsed as the Intifadah- uprising for independence- enters its third year.

Hansen told reporters the UN General Assembly has approved a budget of $301.8 million for the UNRWA, but that donors have so far provided only $276.9 million

Peter Hansen also told a news conference in Amman that the UN Relief and Works Agency was facing a 16.7 million US dollar budget deficit, and accused Israel's "security regime" in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip of hampering its efforts.

"Over the past two years there has been a steady decline in the conditions of the Palestinians," Hansen said on the heels of a two-day meeting of donor countries in the Jordanian capital.

"For two years many observers have said that the Palestinian society was at the breaking point. Where else could people live with 60 percent unemployment, 60 percent poverty rate without seeing society literally break down," he said.

"I think it is a major miracle that the Palestinians have had the coping mechanisms, that they have been able to get through this crisis so far without an explosion or without an implosion," Hansen added.

He appealed to the international community and donor countries to keep the flow of funds to UNRWA to enable the agency to care for 3.9 million Palestinian refugees in the occupied territory as well as Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

"How long can you go on expecting society to break down? There must be limits somewhere," Hansen stressed, saying donor countries had a responsibility to bear.

"I just hope that the international community will make it certain that we do not approach these limits ... because an explosion or an implosion in the area would be extremely destabilizing throughout the region," he warned.

According to Hansen UNRWA has spend more than 2.5 million dollars "of what should be a purely humanitarian budget" in additional port and storage charges of humanitarian goods and equipment over the past two years.

He blamed this on Israel's clampdown on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the numerous search and security roadblocks the Israeli army deploys in the occupied territory.

In addition, he said, precious funds have been diverted from purely humanitarian goals to the reconstruction of UNRWA buildings damaged during military operations.

"UNRWA has diverted from its humanitarian budget of $2.5 million to pay for storage charges because of the security regime imposed by the Israelis," he said.

Hansen also deplored the fact that UNRWA was only able to secure half of the total 117 million dollars in emergency funds it appealed for at the start of the year.

"So we run a real risk that we will have to cancel food distributions and stop emergency employment programs and other activities if we do not get more pledges and more money in emergency funds," he said.

Meanwhile the United States, the Netherlands and Switzerland announced new contributions to UNRWA of 9.25 million dollars, 2.5 million dollars and one million dollars respectively.

UNRWA has since 1950 provided health care, education and other relief services to the refugees, who live in camps scattered across the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Thursday September 26, 2002

Main Headline

Occupation Forces Kill 14-Month-Old Palestinian Baby

HEBRON - A 14-month-old Palestinian baby was killed Thursday, after suffocating by tear gas fired by Israeli occupation soldiers, medical sources and eyewitnesses said.

As occupation forces re-imposed a curfew in a crowded Palestinian market place in Hebron, they threw stun grenades and tear gas canisters amongst shoppers.

The infant, Gharam Mana'a, was in the market with her grandmother when the tear gas was fired, witnesses said. The grandmother carried the baby, wrapped in blankets, to an ambulance, AP reported.

Sources at Alia Government Hospital said the baby girl had suffocated from toxic gas and arrived dead at the hospital's infant section.

Dr. Mohammed Asinat said the girl appeared to have succumbed to tear gas and had sustained a bruise in the head from a flying canister.

Shoppers said they were surprised when occupation troops re-imposed the curfew suddenly. Manaa's grandmother was injured in the chest, while eight others sustained different wounds.

Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources and eyewitness reports said at least 30 Israeli tanks and two armored bulldozers raided the northern Gaza Strip Thursday.

Troops ordered residents to evacuate a building apparently about to be demolished and the bulldozers began tearing up agricultural land near Beit Hanoun, adjacent to the Erez border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, wires relayed.

In another incident, Ghaleb abu-Jbara was shot by occupation forces north of occupied Tulkarem, and was left to bleed for hours before he died.

Eyewitnesses said Israeli soldiers denied ambulances access to the 27-year-old man, who was drilled with gun shots. (Palestine Media Center)

Israelis in Stalemate Crisis over Arafat Siege

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PMC) - Amid mounting internal and international pressure, the Israeli government is trying to break the stalemate of its siege of President Yasser Arafat's HQ in Ramallah by trying to renew talks with Palestine National authority (PNA) instead of ending the siege itself, in compliance with the UN Security Council resolution adopted on Tuesday.

The PNA turned down an Israeli proposal for a meeting Wednesday to discuss a way out of the stalemate, saying that first Israel must allow representatives of the Quartet to enter the besieged Ramallah compound to meet with Arafat.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Wednesday that the PNA had cancelled a joint meeting with the Israeli side.

Erekat made his comments after Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told a gathering of foreign ambassadors in occupied East Jerusalem that the meeting had taken place Wednesday afternoon.

The Palestinian cabinet minister said Israel had refused to allow the Quartet of Middle East peace brokers and European Union envoy Miguel Moratinos to meet with Arafat in the Muqat'a' and discuss the situation with him.

"We have tried to get the members of the Quartet (US, EU, Russia, and UN) to meet with President Arafat, but Israel has so far refused, requesting that we (the head of the Israeli Army planning branch and Erekat) meet instead," he told The Jerusalem Post.

"In view of the new UN Security Council resolution, we demanded that the Quartet meet with President Arafat to discuss implementation of Resolution 1435," Erekat stressed.

In light of this, Erekat said, the Palestinians refused to meet with Israeli officials, and the Quartet representatives met only with Erekat.

On Tuesday, the PNA turned down an Israeli request for a meeting, saying they could not hold a session on a day when they were burying nine casualties from an Israeli military aggression in Gaza.

Israeli sources told Ha'aretz that another effort would be made Thursday to meet with Erekat to discuss the stalemate. These sources confirmed they are asking the Palestinians for a list of all the people besieged with Arafat in Ramallah.

Palestinian Minister for Planning and International Cooperation, Nabil Sha'ath said Wednesday the Palestinians are ready to engage in talks over an overall solution to improve the security situation, so that Israel and the PNA can resume negotiations.

But Sha'ath said the PNA would not back down on its refusal to turn over any of the men inside Arafat's Ramallah compound.

"We will never agree to hand over the wanted men or a list of names of those inside the compound," he said. "If this is the subject, we prefer not to talk."

Sha'ath said the PNA had decided to accept UN Security Council Resolution 1435 entirely, including the parts that call for fighting terror and bringing suspects to justice.

"But that needs time," he added. Israel he argued must give the PNA a chance to start to take actions to prevent attacks.

The PNA wants to avoid an escalation, which could lead to a major Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip. "We do not want to give the Israelis a pretext for invading Gaza," Sha'ath said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told foreign diplomats Wednesday that Israel cannot yet implement UN resolution 1435.

Peres said that Israel wanted to create a situation conducive to "the end of the stand-off at the Muqata as soon as possible," but was unable to withdraw its troops from Ramallah because of alleged continued fear of terror attacks.

Envoys from several countries, including the United States and United Kingdom, sharply criticized Israel's measures in Ramallah and asked Peres pointed questions, The Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday.

"How do Israel's operations in Ramallah aid the Quartet's efforts at Palestinian reform?" US Ambassador Dan Kurtzer asked, reiterating criticism of Israel expressed by US President George W. Bush on Tuesday and Secretary of State Colin Powell to Sharon on Sunday.

"What connection is there between the Tel Aviv attack and Arafat's compound?" asked British Ambassador Sherard Cowper-Coles, who noted that Israeli army actions complicate a pending attack on Iraq.

The Canadian ambassador questioned how the Palestinians could advance security measures if the Israeli army was destroying the Palestinians' security infrastructure, while the Danish ambassador asked if the method used by the army would bring more security to the citizens of Israel.

Peres responded that the PNA has not met any of Israel's demands to stop so-called "terror", hand over alleged "terrorists", and stop incitement, and Israel cannot allow its security situation to remain chaotic. He said Israel's 'operations' highlight to the world that the PNA has not made security reforms.

Israel's Labor Party ministers on Wednesday criticized the ongoing siege in light of the American reaction of mounting criticism.

Speaking to Ha'aretz off the record, ministers said the Israeli army should end the 'operation'. One minister said that the 'operation' should have been against the Hamas, and that the government - meaning the prime minister - chose to act against an easy target, Arafat.

Another said that the operation had completely backfired, since Arafat was not isolated and in fact the world's interest in him had been piqued, strengthening his position.

Israeli military sources meanwhile said Wednesday that Israeli occupation officers warned the government at sessions that preceded the siege that the move had little chance of success if the intention was to make Arafat leave the occupied territory without it appearing he was forced out by Israel.

"Nobody thought he'd come out with his hands up," said one source to Ha'aretz Thursday.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Office said Wednesday there was no "crisis" with the US, but there was a difference of opinion.

Peres as well denied reports of an argument between Israel and the Bush administration over the blockade.

"There is no dispute," a plainly angered Peres told Israel Radio. "There are two different [governmental] systems. Sometimes there are contradictions between these two systems, but this is not a dispute."

Peres spoke after summoning corps of foreign ambassadors to discuss Israeli policy regarding the siege and the Iraqi issue.

"We want to end this [Muqata] affair without bloodshed, but also without granting [the Palestinians] a free prize," the radio quoted Peres as saying.

But government sources admitted that already last week, in the first hours of the 'operation' against the Muqat'aa, there were signals from the US that it was displeased with the move, Ha'aretz said.

They said Sharon and 'Defense' Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer argued that the world would be indifferent to the move.

Peres was to meet with Sharon Thursday to discuss their disagreement over the continuing 'operations' in Ramallah.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Peres has told confidants in recent days that he does not believe that besieging Arafat will succeed in helping "curb terror". The foreign minister favors targeting Hamas.

"It's hard to explain why after several weeks of [relative] quiet, and the start of Palestinian reforms, why embarking on this operation now helps the fight against terrorism," a source close to Peres said.

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and 'Defense' Committee will meet in a special session Thursday to discuss the standoff in Ramallah.

Sarid Reveals Report Exposing Settler Breaches in Hebron

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Israel's opposition leader, Yossi Sarid, revealed Wednesday the contents of a report put together by Israeli security apparatus, which exposed legal breaches illegal settlers have carried out in the occupied West Bank City of Hebron, crammed with illegal settlement outposts.

The Arabic version of the Israeli Daily, Yedioth Ahronot, relayed that security bodies refused to publish this report or even have it examined by the Israeli parliament's (Knesset) own Foreign Affairs and Security Committee.

The comments from the leader of the Meretz party came as Israeli army radio said he had accused 'Defense' Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer of covering up the report that exposes the lawlessness of Hebron's settlers entitled 'Law violations of Jews in Hebron'.

The report includes facts implicating settlers for burning Palestinian stores and torturing Palestinian civilians, as well as attacking Israeli police and security personnel.

The report, shows that "every time a Jew is killed in Hebron, we notice a sharp rise in legal infringements, reaching their peak in two incidents; the first being when the child Shalhevet Pas died and after the killing if Hazi Mo'lem and David Kohen." MK Sarid corroborated.

Moreover, the report highlights the way in which settlers infiltrate areas belonging to Palestinian civilians and annex them by force.

"The [settler] leaders pinpoint and announce the targeted area…then the youths empty it from its contents and burn it."

In a press conference held in Tel Aviv specifically regarding this matter, Sarid stressed, "Chaos prevails Hebron… there is no law and order there."

Sarid also reiterated his call for the dismantling of the illegal settlements built in Hebron saying Jewish settlers in Hebron are, "the ugliest stain on the Zionist enterprise," which combines "fanaticism, lunacy and hooliganism."

"This report has not seen the light before, because the security apparatus had refused to show it even to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee. Since it does not contain any classified issues and it was not highlighted as 'confidential', I see that it is my duty to reveal it to the public." Sarid emphasized.

"Hebron City has become a zoo, wherein its people are caged-in so that a few Jews can cause mayhem, as we had witnessed yesterday." He added.

Abu Samir Sharbaty is one of many Palestinians who are persistently harassed and assaulted by settlers living illegally in Hebron. Yedioth Ahronot pinpoints that the aim of harassing Abu Samir is to force him to leave his home so that the illegal settlement outpost adjacent to his house can have more land for expansion.

The information gathered by security officials shows that settlers persistently throw stones and bricks at Abu Samir's family home, and have in the past damaged water pipes supplying drinking water to the house. The report further illustrates settlers throwing eggs at army officers as well as bombarding them with verbal abuse and harassment.

In its concluding paragraphs, under the recommendations section, the report said, "the State of Israel looks very bad in everything pertaining to the rule of law in Hebron.What is needed is implementation of the law in the present situation to serve future visions, in an effective manner."

The disclosing of the report comes one day after Jewish settlers inaugurated another illegal settlement outpost at the heart of the West Bank, amidst festivities attended by Israeli legislators, Israel's daily newspaper Ha'aretz reported.

The 'Defense' Ministry, which is responsible for settlement activity, initially said it was unaware of a new settlement. Later, the ministry said 'Rehalim' was defined as an educational institute four years ago and that in this framework construction was permitted. "Rehalim was never defined a settlement and there is no intention to approve it as such," the statement said.

However, Nati Yisraeli, a spokesman for the illegal Rehalim settlers, brushed off the ministry statement as "the official excuse." The daily relayed.

"In reality, families live here," Yisraeli said. He said settlers transformed a hilltop outpost near the northern West Bank city of Nablus into an illegal settlement called "Rehalim" composed of 14 homes with small backyards and red-tiled roofs. In all, nearly 100 people, live in Rehalim, which also has some mobile homes.

Israel's Deputy Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra attended the ceremony and praised the settlers for their determination. "We won't move from here," he said.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Sa'eb Erekat condemned the establishment of Rehalim, saying the PNA would protest the act in letters to the United States and Europe.

"This is just adding fuel to the fire... settlements to the Palestinians is a grand threat to their existence and to their aspirations," Erekat said.

"This is an act that we condemn and we hold the Israelis fully responsible for the consequences," he added.

Settlers have continued to annex Arab land without much interference from the government, an expert on settlements for the Israeli group Peace Now, Dror Etkes said.

"This micro process of illegally setting up outposts happens every day in many places- 55 in the past year alone," Ha'aretz quoted Etkes as saying.

"The settlers are doing everything they can in order to prevent the possibility that at some time Israel will be able to withdraw from the heart of the West Bank and to allow the Palestinians to form some government," Etkes added.

Eighty people live in Rehalim, most in trailers. They are protected by a small, sandbagged army outpost with machine guns, mortar launchers and reserve soldiers who scan the hills through binoculars and nightvision scopes, Ha'aretz said.

Meanwhile, two members of Israeli Parliament, Meretz MK Zehava Gal-On and Labor MK Tzali Reshef, demanded Thursday that the government prevent settlers from entering Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus, which was de facto annexed by Israel some two weeks ago.

Israel Radio quoted Reshef as saying that 'Defense' Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer was giving in to right-wing extremists demanding they be allowed to pray at the tomb and that this was fueling the conflict with the Palestinians. (Palestine Media Center)

Wednesday September 25, 2002

Main Headline

Barghouthi: Peaceful Popular Mass Résistance Taking Over Again

Palestine Media Center

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, president of the Palestinian Medical Relief Committees and the Director of the Health, Development, Information and Policy Institute (HDIP), pointed out that after two years of Intifada "the popular mass resistance, non-violence peace resistance, and massive resistance are taking over again."

In a press conference held at the Palestine Media Center (PMC) in Ramallah today, 25 September, Dr. Barghouthi stated, "What we are seeing on the ground is a formation of a strategy from the grassroots in the direction of sustaining a popular nature of the Intifada bringing it back to the same image that prevailed during the first Intifada, which is exactly the same image that Israel was trying to avoid."

"What is happening now on the ground in the last week is affirming that the expansion of occupation has lead to the [increase in the number] of people participating in the resistance against the occupation, in the most massive manner," Dr. Barghouthi pointed out.

Dr. Barghouthi further warned that Israel "has canceled and eliminated all existence agreements… it has eliminated the Oslo agreement in practice by declaration of Mr. Sharon."

The Intifada, Dr. Barghouthi said, has achieved a number of successes, in spite of the great suffering of the Palestinian People.

"First of all, it has proven that there is no military solution to this conflict and that Israel has no power of suppressing the Palestinian struggle by military means," he stated.

"It proved that the expansion of occupation is no solution and is practically brings us back to 1988… the biggest strategic change that happened after two years of Intifada is that we are back to same old image- a struggle between an occupied people and an occupation force- and this is a huge failure of the Israeli policy and the Israeli government," he added.

The director of the HDIP also presented updated figures showing the suffering of the Palestinian civilian populations during the past two years, which witnessed Israeli aggression against them.

Finally, Dr, Barghouthi warned that the Israeli government is aiming to achieve four strategic agendas, which are: reoccupation of the Palestinian cities and towns, widening of Israeli illegal settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, destruction of the social base of the Palestinian community, and the establishment of an unprecedented apartheid system in West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

International Justice for Sabra and Chatila victims: Amnesty

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE

As the world marks the 20th anniversary of the massacres in the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps in Beirut in September 1982, and on the eve of a hearing on the case before the Belgian Court of Cassation, Amnesty International today reiterates that the Belgian criminal justice system has jurisdiction under international law to conduct a criminal investigation into the killings.

"After over 20 years of suffering, the survivors and relatives of victims of the massacres have a right to know the truth and to see those responsible brought to justice for crimes under international law," Amnesty International said.

"Allowing the Belgian criminal justice system to conduct such an investigation as an agent of the international community is the least the world can offer to the survivors and relatives of victims of the massacre as they commemorate the 20th anniversary of these atrocities," the organization added.

Amnesty International hopes that the Belgian Court of Cassation will review the previous ruling by a Belgian court which led to the suspension of the criminal investigation into the killings of at least 900 Palestinian civilians in Sabra and Chatila. The investigation had been ordered by a Belgian investigating magistrate.

Should the Court of Cassation fail to allow such an investigation to resume, Amnesty International will be calling for a reform of the law. Belgian law should continue to allow courts to investigate persons suspected of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide regardless of where they are, and to seek their extradition to Belgium for trial based on universal jurisdiction.

Background

The hearing in Belgian Court of Cassation will take place on 26 September 2002. On 18 June 2001, 23 survivors of the 1982 killings in the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps filed a complaint alleging that Ariel Sharon, then Minister of Defence and now Prime Minister of Israel, Amos Yaron, then Brigadier General commanding Israeli forces, and other Israeli military officials and members of the Phalange (Lebanese Christian militia), are responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in connection with these killings.

In July 2001, Belgian juge d'instruction (investigating magistrate), Patrick Collignon, opened a criminal investigation into the 1982 killings. After an intervention by a lawyer acting on behalf of Israel, the investigating magistrate suspended the investigation on 7 September 2001. Following a hearing on 15 May 2002 about whether a Belgian prosecutor may resume the suspended criminal investigation of the 1982 killings by the Phalange as well as allegations that the Phalange had carried out large-scale "disappearances" with the knowledge of or under the supervision of Israeli forces after the killings, the Indictment Chamber of the Court of Appeal effectively stopped the investigation of the case by Belgian prosecutors.

Tuesday September 24, 2002

Main Headline

Israeli Army Attacks Gaza: Nine Killed, Fifty Wounded

Palestine Chronicle Correspondent

GAZA CITY (PC) - At least nine Palestinians were killed and fifty others were wounded in an Israeli army attack on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources and media reported.

The bloody raid took place in the Zietoon and al-Shija’ia neighborhoods, east of Gaza City. Some of those killed were identified as Yassin Nassar (53), Jabber Harazim (21), and Mahmud Kishku (20). From the fifty wounded, four are in critical condition, Qatar based Al-Jazeera reported, citing Palestinian sources.

Twenty Israeli tanks, accompanied by two bulldozers raided neighborhoods east of the city of Gaza. Several  Apache helicopters shelled the Palestinian neighborhoods throughout the Israeli raid.

Soldier Killed Boy in Cold Blood, Say British Volunteers

Jonathan Steele

A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was deliberately shot dead by an Israeli soldier without any provocation, say two British human rights volunteers who witnessed the incident.

An Israeli army spokesman confirmed last night that an inquiry had been launched.

"I was with three other international volunteers in a street in Nablus on Sunday with Baha Albahsh, who often tags along with us," said one of the witnesses, who gave his first name as Al. "There had been some stone-throwing at tanks and armoured personnel carriers which enforce the curfew. It happens frequently and our practice is to stand at the side to observe. We always make sure the Israelis see us, and we don't stand with the kids as it can encourage them."

He said the incident appeared to be over and people had dispersed when an armoured personnel carrier stopped nearby. "I heard a single shot, and Baha was lying on the ground, his eyes glazed and blood starting to come out of his mouth. It was clear he had no chance. An ambulance came within two minutes and he died in it. A high-velocity bullet had destroyed his left lung."

Al, who declined to give his surname because of the problems he says volunteers face at the airport when they leave Israel, has been working in Nablus for about six weeks.

"This is the worst thing I've seen in my time here. Actually, it's the worst thing I've seen in my life. There was no way Baha could have been a threat to a soldier 120 yards away with a flak jacket and a helmet and sitting in an APC. He had nothing in his hands and even if he'd had a stone he could not have thrown it effectively from that distance. I went back today and measured the distance exactly. The shot was not a ricochet. As far as I'm concerned, these people are child-killers, whether or not they were aiming at the boy. There was no reason to shoot."

Another of the four volunteers, Ewa Jasiewics, 24, from London, said: "An armoured personnel carrier came and stopped on the left of the street. A soldier popped up from inside. I saw him with his rifle and he aimed at some kids on the street. There was no stone-throwing or shooting going on at the time."

She said that in a month spent with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip she had often seen soldiers train gunsights on people without further incident. "This time was different. This soldier fired. It wasn't accidental. The soldiers decided to kill him."

An Israeli spokesman said that the army was trying to establish what happened: "The first assessment was that an army patrol saw a child lighting a firebomb which then set him on fire. But until we can have better information I cannot comment."

A doctor at Rafidia hospital in Nablus said the teenager was killed by a bullet which entered through the shoulder and penetrated his chest.

Nablus suffered the worst destruction of any West Bank city during the Israeli army's re-occupation this spring, and it has been under almost constant curfew since June 21: children are unable to attend school and shops are shut.

The International Solidarity Movement brings volunteers to live and work among Palestinians to try to act as a restraint on Israeli forces - even providing a human shield for Palestinians. Volunteers are often detained and deported.

Israeli Groups Support Sabra, Shatila Survivors

By Robert Fisk

BEIRUT - In an astonishing letter to the Palestinian survivors of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila camps massacre, nine Israeli women’s peace groups have told Palestinians in Beirut that they support their efforts to indict the hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for the "war crimes" committed against them almost exactly 20 years ago.

The women’s letter, which was sent via the United States, has amazed the Lebanese lawyer representing the survivors of the massacre, for which Sharon was held "personally responsible" by an Israeli inquiry.

"It is a wonderful gesture," Chibli Mallat said last night. "It is a wonderful message to receive in these very dangerous and violent times." The letter, from the "Coalition of Women for A Just Peace in Israel", speaks movingly of the suffering of the Palestinians in 1982.

"Our hearts ache to recall the terrible massacre that took place in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps twenty years ago, which Israeli leaders allowed to take place," it says. "We condemn the brutal murderers of your loved ones and we condemn the leaders who must be held accountable for these war crimes, Ariel Sharon above all."

A Belgian court ruled earlier this year that it could not indict Sharon for the killings but more than 20 survivors of the massacre, whose lawyers include Mallat, are now appealing this decision. Up to 1,700 Palestinians were butchered in the massacre which was carried out by Lebanese militiamen allied to the Israelis. Israeli troops surrounded the camps as the killings took place but were told by their commanders not to interfere.

Sharon was Israeli minister of defense at the time and was forced to resign after the Israeli Kahan commission condemned him and several senior Israeli officers for not preventing the slaughter. The women’s letter recalls how the Palestinians were forced to flee their homes in 1948. "We join you in mourning for those who were killed and maimed (in 1982) and we condemn those who are responsible", it says.

"We hope that you will accept the sincerity of our words and allow us to stand in solidarity with you as we strive to build peace with justice between Israel and Palestine." Muhammad Abu Rudeina, who as a seven-year-old boy saw his father and other relatives murdered 20 years ago, described the Israeli women’s letter as a "moving act" which would greatly encourage other Palestinian survivors who are seeking justice for the deaths of their loved ones.

Mallat said it was the first gesture of solidarity to the camp survivors from Israelis, 20 years after a lone Israeli, Emile Grunzweig, was killed by a hand grenade thrown into a crowd of protesters in Tel Aviv. "We regard Grunzweig as an Israeli who died for Sabra and Shatila," Mallat said. "Now at last, we seem to have got support from Israelis about the terrible crimes against humanity which occurred in Beirut two decades ago."

Civil, Non-Violent Disobedience Campaign Launched in Defiance of Israeli-Imposed Curfews

RAMALLAH (Palestine Monitor) - A major campaign to end the curfew imposed by the Israeli military on the Palestinian people was launched today, amid fears that a reoccupation of Gaza is imminent.

“The Palestinian people have had enough of living under curfew, of this constant denial of their basic human rights -- and are now committed to acting in defiance of these illegal restrictions imposed on them by the Israeli military,” said Dr Mustafa Barghouti, President of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC), speaking at a demonstration in central Ramallah.

The campaign was launched as the Palestinian National Initiative and other political forces called for a complete defiance of the curfew by Palestinian society. Mass peaceful civil protests are expected to take place in all Palestinian areas. Already this week, there have been at least five peaceful demonstrations, including West Bank-wide protests; smaller, local protests and demonstrations organized by international peace activists. Today, students in Ramallah demanded their right to an education by peacefully attending school in defiance of the Israeli curfew.

“There is a limit to how much occupation, violation and provocation the Palestinian people can take – and we have now reached that limit,” said Barghouti. “We are beginning to see acts of defiance – both big and small – of a people trying to reclaim their human rights in the face of Israeli repression. We call on the international community to support the Palestinian people in their time of need and to demand an immediate cessation of Israeli violence in all its forms.”

Since 21 June, most Palestinian towns have been under curfew for 24 hours a day, with Palestinians forced to live under virtual house arrest – unable to access work, medical care, education, and other basic services. The Israeli military has violated the basic rights to freedom of movement and to life, believing that the curfews authorize them to shoot anyone on the streets – leaving many Palestinians, including children, dead or injured.

Full Text of UN Security Council Resolution No. 1435

UNITED NATIONS - The full text of Resolution 1435 on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adopted unanimously by the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council early Tuesday, with the United States abstaining, is as follows:

"The Security Council,

Reaffirming its resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002), 1402 (2002) and 1403 (2002), as well as the statements of its President, of April 10, 2002 and July 18, 2002,

Reiterating its grave concern at the tragic and violent events that have taken place since September 2000 and the continuous deterioration of the situation,

Condemning all terrorist attacks against any civilians, including the terrorist bombings in a Palestinian school in Hebron on September 17, 2002, and in Israel on September 18 and 19, 2002,

Gravely concerned at the reoccupation of the headquarters of the President of the Palestinian Authority in the City of Ramallah that took place on September 19, 2002, and demanding its immediate end,

Alarmed at the reoccupation of Palestinian cities as well as the severe restrictions imposed on the freedom of movement of persons and goods, and gravely concerned at the humanitarian crisis being faced by the Palestinian people,

Reiterating the need for respect in all circumstances of international humanitarian law, including the fourth Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war of August 12, 1949,

1- Reiterates its demand for the complete cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction;

2- Demands that Israel immediately cease measures in and around Ramallah, including the destruction of Palestinian civilian and security infrastructure;

3. Demands also the expeditious withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from Palestinian cities towards the return to the positions held prior to September 2000;

4- Calls on the Palestinian Authority to meet its expressed commitment to ensure that those responsible for terrorist acts are brought to justice;

5- Expresses its full support for the efforts of the Quartet and calls upon the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and all States in the region to cooperate with these efforts and recognizes in this context the continuing importance of the initiative endorsed at the Arab League Beirut Summit.

6- Decides to remain seized of the matter."

Monday September 23, 2002

Main Headline

PMC: 'Leadership Reiterates Call For Ceasing Attacks on Civilians'

Palestine Media Center-PMC

The Palestinian Leadership issued a statement of support to the Palestinian People on Saturday, after the courage and faith they showed yesterday, when thousands of them took to the streets in defiance of the lethal Israeli tanks and gunships, to express support to their imprisoned leader and to the say NO to the humiliating and murderous occupation.

"We turn to our people, to our Arab nation, in these harsh circumstances, where our strife to end the Israeli occupation of our land and our ambition to gain freedom and independence in our state, Palestine- with Jerusalem as its capital- are being threatened." The statement first read.

The leadership reiterated the need to cease all attacks against civilians, be they Israelis or Palestinians, and called upon its people to stop any attacks on civilians in Israel, since Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, "uses these attacks as pretexts to harm our people and to raise the Israeli and international public opinion [against our strife for independence]."

Moreover, President Yasser Arafat stressed in the statement that the Palestinians have reached out to Israelis and their government for a historical peace, which he and the late Is'hak Rabin initiated amongst leaders at the White House.

"However, peace is one thing and surrender is another," President Arafat stressed, adding, "We are ready for peace but not capitulation. Israel's might will not coerce us into giving up on our people, our holy Jerusalem or on one grain of soil of our land and homeland, Palestine."

Turning back to the failure of the Camp David negotiations, the statement said that no real chances were present for finding a just solution for both sides involved in the conflict, since "the superficial, hasty handling of permanent status issues and insistence on controlling our holy cites and borders, are responsible for the collapse of the Camp David negotiations."

In its statement, the leadership also addressed the Palestinian People, saying that Israel's policy of siege and murder is inherent in its refusal of the peace agreements based on a two-state solution. "Israel insists on occupation, on escalating its aggression and siege and on refusing to abide by international resolutions…those who ask that Iraq abide by Security Council resolutions consider Israel to be above the law and international legitimacy…Israel has refused to 28 such resolutions and this is what the official spokesman of the Vatican lucidly announced yesterday."

Arab League Calls on UN to Halt Israel Siege of Arafat HQ

Greg LaMotte

CAIRO - Arab states are demanding the United Nations pressure Israel to end its five-day siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters. The demand follows an Arab League emergency meeting in Cairo.

A document approved by the 22-member Arab League, calls for the United Nations and Secretary General Kofi Annan to step in immediately to stop the Israeli action.

The Arab League also asked the U.N. Security Council to compel Israel to withdraw its troops from the Palestinian leadership compound in Ramallah. The Arab League said the Israeli siege in the occupied territories amounts to a plot by Israel to destroy the Palestinian national authority and put an end to the peace process.

The emergency meeting follows intensive contacts with Western capitals, including Washington, by Arab League members.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Sunday only the United States could exert enough pressure on Israel to end the siege that began Thursday. Egyptian President Mubarak sent a message to President Bush asking for immediate intervention. (voa)

Sharon's Policy Backfires as Palestinians Rally Around Besieged Leader

GAZA STRIP/WEST BANK - Palestinians at home and in exile have continued their rally around their besieged leader Yasser Arafat in what observers described as a national referendum renewing confidence in his leadership.

At home, five Palestinian civilians have been shot dead so far and dozens injured by the Israeli Occupation Forces' (IOF) gunfire, while challenging the curfews imposed by IOF on Palestinian Territory in angry demonstrations to protest the siege of their leader.

Thousands of people on Sunday staged rallies in the Gaza Strip, Hebron, Tubas, Salfit and Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

Calling Arafat a "symbol of peace and freedom," hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in Bethlehem, holding up picture posters of Arafat, wearing his trademark black and white nationalist headscarf.

"We are all under siege," they shouted.

In Tubas, northeast of Nablus, where residents are under tight curfew, thousands of Palestinians poured on to the streets in support of Arafat, calling him by his nom de guerre.

"Go, go, Abu Ammar. We're behind you until liberation," they shouted, carrying a banner saying, "The siege increases our determination to continue the struggle."

In the Gaza Strip, tens of thousands of Palestinians marched in Gaza City and refugee camps in support of the besieged leader, wires reported.

Palestinian acting Labor Minister Ghassan al-Khatib said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's siege had backfired.

"We believe that Sharon started a very mistaken process when he surrounded the compound. His policy, which tried to weaken President Arafat, is backfiring," Khatib told Reuters.

"It is strengthening Arafat, it is giving public sympathy and public credibility to President Arafat."

The IOF on Sunday cut off the electricity, water and telephone lines to Arafat's office, where he has been besieged for three days, a Palestinian official said.

"The Israeli army on Sunday cut off the water, electricity and phone lines to the Palestinian President," the official told AFP.

According to besieged Palestinian security sources, an Israeli excavator was only centimeters (inches) away from the area where Arafat was enduring his third day of siege, in increasingly precarious conditions.

"We have no water, no phone lines and no air-conditioning. Only part of the building still has electricity," another official inside the threatened office told AFP over a mobile phone.

"It's very hot and close in here. It/'s starting to smell quite bad," the official said, referring to the lack of water since Friday morning causing clogging in the toilets and bathrooms.

The IOF claimed late Sunday that army excavators halted their demolishing of what has remained of Arafat's headquarters, a report that has been confirmed so far, neither by Palestinian nor by independent sources.

Meanwhile, four Israeli Knesset MPs on Sunday were barred by IOF from visiting Arafat, Israeli public radio reported.

Arab Israeli MPs Ahmad Tibi, Abdel Malik Dahamshe, Mohammad Barakeh, and Israeli MP Tamar Gozansky were stopped from heading to Ramallah by IOF soldiers at the Qalandya checkpoint en route between occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank town, the radio said.

The Higher Follow-up Committee of Palestinian masses inside the "Green Line" warned Sunday against harming Arafat.

The committee condemned the Israeli "bloody" assault against the Palestinian leadership and people, and said in a statement Sunday that Arab Israelis are "deeply concerned" over the Israeli military operation.

It called on Arab political movements and Israeli peace forces to launch a campaign to stop the "crazy and bloody" offensive against the Palestinian leadership, confirming that, "Arab masses inside the green line will not stand tight-handed and silent," Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

In Lebanon, thousands of Palestinian refugees marched Sunday in support of Arafat.

In the Borj el-Shemaly camp, 83 kilometers (52 miles) south of Beirut, some 10,000 people, including 100 armed militants, marched carrying Palestinian flags and chanting slogans denouncing Arab silence, AFP reported on Sunday.

An official from Fatah movement called on the "Arab peoples to demonstrate to support Palestine and its president".

In the Ain Helweh camp near Sidon nearly 7,000 people took to the streets, burning Israeli flags, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

At Fatah offices in Ain Helweh, demonstrators gathered to listen to nationalistic songs from loudspeakers, holding up portraits of Arafat.

Fatah chief in Lebanon Khaled Aref addressed them calling on the "Arab peoples to demonstrate their support to Arafat and to continue the Intifada" against Israel.

In Tunis, Faruq Kaddumi, exiled political bureau head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), called Sunday for the United Nations to take urgent action to stop Israel's siege of President Arafat.

Kaddumi urged the "international community and the United Nations to intervene urgently to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and put an end to the siege of president Yasser Arafat," according to a statement issued by his office in Tunis.

Kaddumi said international forces should be sent to protect the Palestinians from the Israel army, which was continuing to "destroy infrastructure and demolish houses and trees to set up settlements."

"Arafat's morale is very high. He told me we are a people of giants who never surrender," said Khaled al-Fahum, a former speaker of PLO's Palestine National Council (parliament), after a telephone conversation with the Palestinian President from Damascus. (Palestine Media Center)

Sunday September 22, 2002

Main Headline

Palestinians Take to the Streets, Vow to Protect Arafat - Four Killed, 40 Wounded

Palestine Chronicle Correspondent

RAMALLAH/GAZA (PC) - Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in solidarity with the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Arafat, along with 250 officers and officials are besieged in the only building in the Presidential headquarters that is still standing.

The Israeli army’s call on Arafat and his men to surrender or they’ll be blown up, sent waves of shock and panic among Palestinians, mainly in the town of Ramallah.

Thousands of men and women took to the streets vowing to protect their president, Qatar-based Al Jazeera television reported. More people, led by scores of fighters also took to the streets of the Gaza Strip.

News reports from various parts of the West Bank and Gaza indicate that the marches which turned violent once confronted by Israeli army tanks and armored vehicles, chanted for Arafat, freedom and national unity.

“We’ll fight for our freedom, we’ll fight for our freedom,” a Palestinian elder chanted in a march in the town of Rafah.

Israeli troops scrambled to halt the marches, especially in areas neighboring Arafat’s headquarters.

Israeli army troops opened fire at protesters in various parts of the West Bank, killing two in Ramallah, one in the refugee camp of Balata and a fourth in Qabatia, news reports and medical sources said.

According to medical sources in the West Bank, over 40 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire, some seriously.

Israeli forces is reportedly calling on the President and Palestinians inside the building to leave, otherwise the building will be blown up with them inside.

The Israeli radio reported that the Israeli army has in fact destroyed the Governors building adjacent to the Palestinian President office in the Ramallah compound.

The Israeli army attacked and besieged Arafat’s headquarters following a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that killed six. The Israeli army and government claim that 20 “wanted” Palestinians are held along with Arafat in the building. The Jerusalem Post increased the number of those “wanted” to 50.

Journalists around the building say that Israeli army snipers were positioned very close to Arafat’s office. The building, which some say could collapse at any moment is reportedly booby trapped.

Arafat, who called on Palestinians to halt their attacks inside Israel has refused to surrender to the Israeli army, according to Israeli radio.

Saturday September 21, 2002

Main Headline

Israeli Army Threatens to Blow Up Arafat’s Office - International Community Delivers Mild Response

Palestine Chronicle Correspondent

RAMALLAH (PC) - Israeli troops besieging and destroying the Palestinian Presidential headquarters in Ramallah are calling on Palestinians to give themselves up before a huge explosion takes place. Meanwhile, mild condemnation of the Israeli attacks on Arafat were reported.

There are nearly 200 Palestinians, mainly officers and officials holed up along with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat inside the only building of the compound that is still standing. Almost every other building in the once huge compound was either bulldozed, bombed or detonated by the Israeli army in the last two days.

Israeli forces is reportedly calling on the Presidents and Palestinians inside the building to leave, otherwise the building will be blown up with them inside.

The Israeli radio reported that the Israeli army has in fact begun to destroy the Governors building adjacent to the Palestinian President office in the Ramallah compound.

The Israeli army attacked and besieged Arafat’s headquarters following a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that killed six. The Israeli army and government claim that 20 “wanted” Palestinians are held along with Arafat in the building. The Jerusalem Post increased the number of those “wanted” to 50.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera television, citing journalists around the building, said that Israeli army snipers were positioned very close to Arafat’s office. It also stated that the building, which some say could collapse at any moment is booby trapped.

Arafat, who called on Palestinians to halt their attacks inside Israel has reportedly refused to surrender to the Israeli army, according to Israeli radio.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, thousands of school kids, violated the Israeli military curfew in Nablus, which has extended for 91 days and tried to reach their schools. Scores of teachers walked along with the students who were confronted by Israeli tanks and armored vehicles. News reports say that many students were able to reach the schools.

In Gaza, 37 Palestinians were detained, Palestinian sources said. The arrests took place at a military checkpoint near a militant compound known as Gush Qatif. Meanwhile, Israeli army bulldozers, accompanied by armored vehicles raided the Deir al-Balah area in the Gaza Strip, destroying orchards and agriculture land.

Several homes in Qalqilia and Qabatia in the West Bank were also demolished, Palestinian media reported. The homes belong to the families of Palestinians accused by Israel of attacking Israeli targets.

Back in Arafat’s headquarters, Palestinian former finance minister Salam Fayad said that Israeli army “bulldozers never cease to operate, they are clearing up the whole lot around us, except for the building where we are."

Fayad, quoted by Agency France Press said that food and water were still available "for now, but we don't know how long it will last".

"We believe we may have been struck by at least one tank shell yesterday," he added.

In Israel, Israeli cabinet secretary Gideon Saar refused to answer a question on Israeli radio regarding Israel’s future goal of attacking Arafat’s offices.

"We don't discuss operational options and the way in which our aims will be achieved," Saar told public radio, adding, "The army knows very well what it has to do and it will receive instructions from the political leadership as necessary.”

Meanwhile, reactions to Israel’s assault came somewhat late and mild. France’s statement was considering the strongest, in which it said that Israel’s assault on Arafat’s offices is "alarming".

The French foreign ministry called on Israel "to do nothing that would harm the physical security of the President of the Palestinian Authority and the ministers around him."

A foreign minister statement also read: "The military operation underway against the office of the President of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah is unacceptable.. France asks that it be halted immediately."

And while London said that such escalation will not lead to peace, a top European Union official said that the “Israel's legitimate security concerns will only be assured through cooperation and dialogue.”

"I spoke to the Israeli leaders to convey my greatest concerns about the situation and particularly the siege of the Palestinian leadership," European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in a statement.

"This will not contribute to the end of terrorism, nor to the efforts undertaken in order to consolidate a serious reform of the Palestinian Authority, and to work for a peaceful settlement of the conflict," he said.

"The Palestinian leaders have to do their outmost in order to combat terrorism, and Israel's legitimate security concerns will only be assured through cooperation and dialogue," he added.

Meanwhile, AFP reported that Washington “delivered only the mildest of rebukes to its Israeli ally for its new onslaught against the Palestinian leader, whose ouster they both want to see.”

Israeli Troops Raze Most of the Presidential Compound in Ramallah: Release

RAMALLAH (LAW) - Israeli troops continue military siege on the presidential compound in Ramallah for the third day. Most of the buildings surrounding headquarter have been destroyed and roads leading to them bulldozed.

According to LAW's information, the Israeli military operation began at 18:00 Thursday, September 19, 2002. A number of tanks, armored personnel carriers, bulldozers, military jeeps, and gunships raided the compound.

On Friday morning, September 20, 2002, Israeli troops blew up buildings surrounding the compound. The troops opened fire on the presidential guards wounding 26-year-old Mohammad Hamouda in the head; the troops prevented ambulances from evacuating the wounded who bled to death.

Israeli troops also blew up the national security forces' building and the intelligence service offices in the compound and a walkway connecting the presidential office with the conference rooms. The troops also fired a tank shell destroying the stairway of the presidential office and shattered its windows.

Israeli bulldozers destroyed the food storage facilities of the compound and the Ramallah governor's office.

Europe condemns siege of Arafat headquarters

LONDON, Sept. 21 - Europe on Saturday stepped up its condemnation of Israel's three-day-old siege of Yasser Arafat, with France demanding an immediate end to what it described as an 'appalling'' situation.

''The military operations under way against the offices of the president of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah are unacceptable.
 

France demands that they cease immediately,'' the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
''We again appeal to the Israeli authorities, with whom we spoke overnight, to do nothing that could physically harm the president of the Palestinian Authority and the officials that surround him,'' it said.
 

The European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he had spoken to Israeli leaders ''to convey my greatest concerns about the situation and particularly the siege of the Palestinian leadership.''

''I deplore the recent escalation of violence...Israel's legitimate security concerns will only be assured through cooperation and dialogue,'' Solana said in a statement issued in Brussels.
 

The European Union criticised Israel on Friday for the renewed siege of Arafat's West Bank compound,saying it was ''counter-productive.''

UN Security Council to Discuss Arafat Siege Adjourns Until Monday

NEW YORK - The UN Security Council met briefly on Friday to discuss a Palestinian request for an emergency meeting concerning the siege of President Yasser Arafat's headquarters, and was later adjourned until Monday.

"The council will carry responsibility if Israel commits another criminal act" over the weekend, the Palestinian observer to the UN, Nasser Al-Kidwa, told reporters.

Al-Kidwa had earlier circulated a draft resolution demanding that Israel immediately end its siege of Arafat's compound in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. He said there was not enough support yet among the 15 council members to have the resolution adopted, AFP reported.

"The council has scheduled a public meeting for 10:00 am (1400 GMT) on Monday," a UN spokeswoman announced after the council ended 50 minutes of consultations behind closed doors.

Al-Kidwa had asked the council in a letter "to take immediate measures to bring an end to the extremely dangerous situation in and around the headquarters compound."

Israel was acting "in defiance of international law, international humanitarian law and Security Council resolutions," he stressed.

The draft resolution also demanded that Israeli forces withdraw to positions they held prior to September 2000, which marked the start of the Intifada- the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.

The governments of two permanent council members, Russia and France, on Friday issued statements in their capitals protesting Israel's decision to re-impose the blockade of Arafat's compound.

The Bulgarian ambassador to the UN, Stefan Tafrov, chairs the Council.

Israeli Army Continues to Kill Palestinian Civilians

RAMALLAH (The Palestine Monitor) - The Ramallah headquarters of the Palestinian Authority continued to come under sustained Israeli attack overnight and this morning.

The destruction wrought upon the compound is so complete that according to eyewitnesses, only one or two buildings remain standing, and the fear currently is that these buildings have been severely damaged structurally, and may collapse.

However, this assault is just one of many that the Israeli army has perpetrated overnight.

Three houses were demolished – two in Qalqiliya and one in Qabatiya near Jenin. According to the mayor of Qabatiya, Qasem Al-Awneh, nine tanks, a bulldozer and several jeeps entered the town at 3AM, gave the family in the house 15 minutes to evacuate and then proceeded to tear it down.

The story was repeated in Qalqiliya when several tanks, jeeps and APCs entered the city, and pulled down two houses. One of the houses destroyed was only rented by the family of a Palestinian the Israelis claim is wanted.

In Gaza a 17-year-old, Haitham Said Nattat was killed instantly when shrapnel severed his head from his body, shrapnel which was the result of the indiscriminate Israeli tank fired at the houses of the Rafah refugee camp. 15 people were injured, seven of those children.

Also in Rafah, Abdullah Al-Aghalbly, 14 years old, was killed while walking outside – shot with live ammunition in his chest.

Israeli soldiers also killed Palestinians on Thursday evening, when the drama in the Ramallah headquarters was unfolding. Ahmed Lubad, a 36-year-old mentally disabled man from the At-Tufah neighborhood in Gaza city was shot walking in the area. He died instantly when bullets hit his chest and face. Samira Ad-Dehdar, 25, was cowering in her bedroom of her house also in At-Tuffah neighbourhood when a bullet, one of the hundreds of Israeli bullets fired randomly in the civilian area, hit her in the neck.

Furthermore, the paralyzing curfew that was in place before the events of Thursday remains in place. In Nablus the curfew has been imposed for 91 days, lifted for a mere 89 hours. In Jenin the 91 days 24 hour curfew has been lifted for 434 hours; since the school term began three weeks ago children in Jenin and Nablus have been unable to attend school.

Saturday September 7, 2002

Main Headline

Israeli Forces Attack Palestinian Health Facilities in Nablus

HEBRON - Israeli occupation forces have taken control of the Palestinian health department in Nablus, the largest town in the West Bank.

Palestinian health officials said on Saturday Israeli troops blew up the doors of the health department building and opened fire on health personnel.

According to Munzer al Sharif, the Palestinian deputy-minister of health, Israeli occupation soldiers detonated explosive charges at the building housing the department, causing extensive damage.

Al Sharif also accused the Israeli troops of preventing ambulances from moving within Nablus and in some case seizing ambulances for up to 10 hours without any reason.

Nablus has been under a strict curfew for the past 88 days and inhabitants are forced to remain indoors virtually round-the-clock.

In several instances, when some inhabitants sought to leave their homes to buy food or medicine, they were shot dead by Israeli snipers posted on rooftops.

On Friday, Zionist Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israeli troops would remain in the West Bank for the foreseeable future.

He said Israel was no longer bound by all the agreements, including the Oslo accords, which the Zionist regime had signed with the Palestinian Authority. (irna)

Friday September 6, 2002

Main Headline

UN Urges Israel to Relieve Palestinian Humanitarian Crisis

NEW YORK (PMC) - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's personal humanitarian envoy, Catherine Bertini, urged Israel to live up to its commitments to minimize the impact of the security measures its occupation forces are imposing on Palestinian civilians.

In a report to members of the Security Council, Bertini said, "a serious and mounting humanitarian crisis is occurring in the West Bank and Gaza," AFP reported Wednesday.

The humanitarian crisis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will quickly "spiral out of control" unless Israel significantly eases the closure of Palestinian-controlled areas, Bertini said.

"Conversely, every step that can be taken to allow the free flow of people, goods and services will have a multiplying impact on the well-being of the Palestinian people, and will help the humanitarian crisis to dissipate rapidly," said Catherine Bertini in her report.

"The closures and curfews have severely inhibited the movement of people, goods and services within the West Bank and Gaza, and between the West Bank and Gaza and Israel, Egypt and Jordan," she said. "As a result, the Palestinian economy has by and large collapsed."

"The cumulative effects of decreased access to income and basic goods and services over the past 23 months have transformed an economic crisis into a humanitarian crisis," she said.

Bertini added that during an eight-day visit to the region last month, she obtained "several commitments from Israeli authorities to address some of the most immediate constraints."

These included a commitment not to hold ambulances at checkpoints for more than 30 minutes, and "to ensure the regular and uninterrupted delivery of water to cities and villages."

Israel had previously committed itself to improving the overall situation at checkpoints, to deploy more experienced army personnel and to implement a 12-mile fishing zone off the Gaza coast, she said.

"Implementation of these five measures will save lives, provide a measure of relief and represent a glimmer of hope on an otherwise bleak horizon," she said.

"Their timely implementation was critical," she added.

Evidence for the crisis lay in "rising levels of malnutrition among children, high levels of poverty and unemployment, deteriorating health conditions" and the increasing inability of Palestinians to make survival strategies work, Bertini said.

The report was based on a visit she made to Israel and the Palestinian territories between August 12 and 19 and on interviews she had with top officials from both sides.

Israel should lift restrictions on the movement of goods and people so as to allow farming and trade to resume, she said. In particular, she said it should take immediate steps to allow farmers to harvest olives and market olive oil.

The report noted that the olive harvest was a major source of income for the rural population and said it was at risk of being lost if conditions did not change before October.

She said more than 100,000 jobs had been lost as the result of tighter border controls, a sharp cut in work permits for Palestinians in Israel, and "the almost complete cessation of productive activities in the West Bank and Gaza."

Many Palestinian families had seen their incomes dry up, but prices had not gone down, Bertini said. A growing number of families had cut down their food consumption, and 22.5 percent of children now suffered from chronic or acute malnutrition, she said. Anaemia had been found in 19.7 percent of children.

An estimated 1.5 million Palestinians out of a total population of 3.3 million now receive direct food aid, more than five times as many as two years ago, she said.

Half the population had had to borrow money to buy food, and about 17 percent had had to sell assets to do so, she went on.

The report also called on Israel to "ensure access by all people in need of medical services and the free flow of all aid workers, supplies and services, including medical supplies."

Bertini, a former head of the United Nations World Food Program, was appointed as Annan's envoy on August 7.

The crisis was "inextricably linked" to measures taken by Israel in response to suicide attacks on military and civilian targets, Bertini said.

O'brien Condemns Killing of Civilians, Calls For Political Solution

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - British Minister of Middle East Mike O'brien criticized on Thursday the killing of Palestinian civilians, calling for a resumption of political talks between Palestinians and Israelis.

"No Israelis have been killed by Palestinian attacks inside Israel for over four weeks now… it is tragic that at the same time violence is continuing in the Occupied Territories, with heavy loss of [Palestinian] life, particularly of children," he pointed out in a statement issued by the British Consulate-General, in Occupied East Jerusalem.

O'brien said that there is an opportunity for Israel and the PA to "rebuild trust and return to the negotiating table."

The British Foreign Office Minister, who urged the PA to accelerate its security reforms, called upon Israel to "support [Palestinian] efforts and take steps to demonstrate its commitment to peace, particularly by making it possible for Palestinians resume their ordinary lives."

"Only a political solution is likely to bring a permanent end to the terrible losses and suffering on both sides," he stressed. (pmc)

Thursday September 5, 2002

Main Headline

Annan Accuses Israel of Violating International Law

NEW YORK: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan accused Israel on Wednesday of violating international law by expelling two Palestinians from the West Bank to Gaza and deplored Palestinian deaths in recent Israeli military actions and reminded Israel of its duty under international law to protect civilians.

"The secretary-general is ... gravely concerned about the Israel Supreme Court's decisions authorizing the transfer of two relatives of a Palestinian accused of organizing attacks against Israel," U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said in a statement.

Annan's statement was issued shortly after the brother and sister of Ali Adjuri, who was a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and slain by the Israeli occupation forces, deported to Gaza City aboard an Israeli army tank on Wednesday.

"Such transfers are strictly prohibited by international humanitarian law and could have very serious political and security implications," he said.

"While the secretary-general has consistently condemned suicide bombings and upheld Israel's right to defend itself, he wishes to stress that self-defense cannot justify measures that amount to collective punishments," Eckhard said.

Annan also reminded Israel of its duty under international law to protect civilians.

Noting that the victims included several children, Eckhard said Annan "wishes to remind the government of Israel of its obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians."

"The secretary general strongly deplores the acts of violence in the occupied Palestinian territory," Eckhard said.

"It is particularly distressing that these incidents have occurred during a period of relative calm and while efforts are made to implement a security agreement and to strengthen international assistance to a peaceful settlement."

The statement noted that Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer had ordered an inquiry into the deaths and said Annan "hopes that those responsible for these acts will be held accountable."

Israel Rejects European Peace Plan

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (IAP)-The Israeli government rejected a peace plan prepared by the European Union and presented to Israeli and Palestinian leaders by visiting Danish Foreign Minister Pier Muller.

The EU plan calls for establishing a tentative Palestinian state without recognized borders to be followed by intensive negotiations that would lead to full Palestinian statehood in three years.

Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, described the plan as “unacceptable to Israel in its present form.”

Sharon has repeatedly expressed his opposition to Israeli army withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the dismantling of Jewish-only settlements on these territories.

Israeli foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who met with the Danish official on Thursday, also voiced opposition to the plan, saying it has a little chance of success.

The Israeli apartheid regime, has always rejected to carry out UN resolutions calling for full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories.

Moreover, Israel further flew in the face of the international community by continuing to build Jewish-only settlements on occupied Palestinian land, thus making any a genuine reconciliation with the Palestinians increasingly difficult if not impossible.

Palestine Media Center: Arafat Says PA Accepts EU Peace Plan in Principle

RAMALLAH (PMC): President Yasser Arafat told visiting Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller Wednesday that Palestine National Authority (PNA) accepted in principle the European Union (EU) plan for peace in the Middle East.

"We accept it in principle and we will provide you with a detailed response later," Arafat said at a joint news conference held in Ramallah with Moeller, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU.

"It is a very important initiative and we will study it very carefully. There is great need to move forward fast and save the peace process, not only for the sake of the Palestinians, but also for the sake of the Israelis and all the nations in the region," said President Arafat.

"These are very important options," he said.

Moeller was the first senior western official to visit President Arafat in his battered West Bank headquarters in more than two months, besieged by the Israeli occupation forces since 3 December 2001.

"This is a very important visit in such difficult times for us," Arafat told reporters.

Addressing the visiting Danish Foreign Minister, President Arafat said: "We thank you for your efforts to rescue the peace process" and renewed the commitment of Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian people to this process.

President Arafat appealed to the Quartet, comprising the UN, the EU, the U.S. and Russia, to move quickly to rescue the peace process, wishing them success at their upcoming meeting.

The President said he hoped to get a chance to take part in Quartet meetings if he was allowed to address the United Nations in the name of Palestine.

The President described the deportation of two citizens from the West Bank to Gaza Strip on Wednesday by the Israeli occupation forces as "a crime against humanity, violating all human and international laws," adding, "this crime is a continuation of (Israeli) escalation."

Earlier in the day the president received the Danish Foreign Minister, accompanied by the EU Middle East peace envoy Miquel Moratinous.

The President said their visit would undoubtedly push the peace process forward, adding that he briefed them on the difficult conditions in which the Palestinian people live in under the Israeli continuing siege and military escalation.

Wednesday September 4, 2002

Israel Demolished Six Homes in Zeif, 50 Palestinians Homeless

HEBRON (LAW): Israeli forces demolished six Palestinian homes in the Zeif area, south of Hebron, rendering 50 Palestinians, including 26 children, homeless.

At around 9 am on Monday morning, Israeli forces with armored personnel carriers, two excavators and D9 bulldozers broke into the Zeif area, south of Hebron, and the demolished the six homes, under the pretext of 'illegal construction'.

The demolished homes belong to Musa Shatat, 250m2, 2 story building, hosting 21 residents; Muhammad Shatat, 120m2 and a 80m2 basement, hosting five residents; Isma'il Shatat, 120m2 and a 80m2 basement, hosting 5 residents; Ra'ed Abu Rajab, 80m2, hosting seven residents; Ibrahim Jabareen, 90m2, hosting 5 members; and Ali Jabareen, 60m2, hosting seven residents.

Additionally, Israeli forces destroyed a water well. Eyewitness, including the Zeif village council chair, Muhamamd Shatat, stated to LAW that the demolition campaign lasted until 4.30 pm.

The owners of the homes were not allowed to save any private belongings. Israel does not allow Palestinians to build on their own land, while Israeli settlement expansion continues. While the homes are demolished under the Israeli pretext of 'illegal construction',

Israel does not provide any permission for Palestinians to build. LAW believes that this is a clear form of apartheid. Destruction of property in occupied territories is forbidden under article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. It constitutes collective punishment, which explicitly prohibited by article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

It further constitutes extra-judicial punishment and arbitrary interference in home and property. Despite the clear illegality of this punitive measure, Israeli occupation authorities have resorted to it throughout the occupation, and have indeed stepped up home demolitions during the second Intifada.

The form of apartheid Israel applies against Palestinians fulfils all elements of the crime of apartheid as defined under the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (1976), which expressly states that the crime of apartheid 'shall include similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination as practiced in southern Africa' (art.2).

LAW condemns these flagrant violations of human rights and calls on the international community to condemn racial segregation and apartheid and undertake to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. LAW urges the international community to take effective measures to dismantle Israel's apartheid system.

Israel's High Court Allows Deportation

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (LAW): Israel's High Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that the Israeli army is allowed to, what it calls, 'relocate' two relatives of Palestinian suspects from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.

The court ruled that Kifah Ajuri (28) and his sister Intisar Ajuri (34) are allowed to be expelled from Askar refugee camp to the Gaza Strip for two years.

However, the expanded nine-judge panel did not allow the deportation of Abdel Nasser Asida from Tel village.

Israel's High Court did not give a green light for mass transfers or deportations. Israel's court ruled that the Israeli army has to prove that those to be 'relocated' have 'advance knowledge or were involved in plotting attacks'.

Intisar Ajuri was arrested on June 4, 2002 and was held without charge or trial under administrative detention. Kifah Ajuri and Abdel Nasser Asida were arrested on July 18 along with 20 other relatives of suspects.

That same day, Israeli occupation demolished the Ajuri family home in Askar refugee camp and the home of the Asida family in the village of Tel, near Nablus.

On August 1, the Commander of the Israeli army in the West Bank issued an amendment to the Military Order 378, which provides for the forcible transfer of Palestinians from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, and ordered the forcible transfer of Kifah 'Ajuri and 'Abd al-Nasr Asida to the Gaza Strip.

On August 4, he issued the same order for the forcible transfer of Intisar Ajuri. According to the orders, the three will have to remain in the Gaza Strip for two years.

The Fourth Geneva Convention is unambiguous and not subject to misinterpretation on the issue of deportation.

Under Article 49, 'individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive'. This prohibition is absolute and allows of no exceptions.

In addition to this, the Fourth Geneva Convention defines deportation as a 'grave breach' of the Convention, which are equivalent to war crimes.

Indeed, deportation is declared a 'war crime' and a 'crime against humanity' in the 1945 Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal, which is accepted by Israel as declaratory of customary international law and as such binding on Israel. In LAW's view, therefore, the deportation of Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip cannot be justified under international law under any circumstances whatsoever, and Israel is guilty of a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention when it does deport Palestinians.

South African Citizen Launches Suit Against Shimon Peres

During my work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, I witnessed and was terrorised by the repeated shelling and bombardment, of civilian areas during day time and during night time by the Israeli occupation army

Statement to the Press

JOHANNESBURG: On Tuesday 3 September 2002, I, Ms Sasha Evans, have instituted action against Mr. Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister of the State of Israel, through the High Court of South Africa (Witwatersrand Local Division) for payment of the sum of SA RIO 135 000,000 and, as Mr. Pares is neither a citizen nor a national of the Republic of South Africa, I formally called on him to furnish security for the said amount plus costs of the action by 19h00 on 3 September 2002, failing which a warrant for his arrest and detention will be applied for pending him furnishing said security.

The action was taken on the grounds that in the period September 1997 to December 2001 I was resident and employed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, during which time I was severely traumatised as a direct result of witnessing the uncivilized, illegal, violent, brutal, forceful and inhuman actions of the Israeli occupation army which, inter alia, took the form of illegal, forceful and unlawful demolition of homes and businesses: arbitrary arrest and detention for indeterminate periods, torture and physical violence in detention with withholding of water; collective punishment imposed on myself and entire communities of my fellow Palestinians coupled with blockades, curfews, denial of access to medical/hospital treatment; denial of the right to freedom of movement, return and association: refusal of access to places of employment and worship; closure of places of learning; and denial of other human rights, including: shelling from fighter jets, tanks and helicopter gunships of civilian areas including schools, hospitals and especially refugee camps, and illegally withholding revenues legally due to the Palestinian Authority, thereby preventing the said Authority from providing the basic services required in Palestine, including the areas where I resided.

In addition while resident in Ramallah and during my work in the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, I witnessed and was terrorised by the repeated shelling and bombardment, of civilian areas during day time and during night time by the Israeli occupation army. Furthermore, commuting daily between Ramallah and Jerusalem I witnessed, first hand, attacks by servants/agents of Mr. Shimon Peres, the State of Israel and the government of Israel shooting indiscriminately at unarmed civilians of all ages, firing teargas canisters, stun grenades and live ammunition from their position on hilltops, killing or maiming unarmed children and youths suspected of throwing stones at Israeli soldiers from below; and endangering the lives of Palestinian motorists and passers, including myself and my companions.

The witnessing by myself of the brutality and violence perpetrated by the agents and servants of Mr. Shimon Peres, the State of Israel caused and still causes me severe anguish, trauma and stress, which represent the basis of my above action.

I wish to point out that I have instituted this action not on my own behalf but in order to empower the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Palestinians and non-Palestinians who are being continually to such and very much worse brutality and trauma at the hands of the Israeli occupation army, directed by Mr. Shimon Peres, the State of Israel and the government of Israel to follow my initiative with a view to taking similar actions in this country and worldwide.

I regard myself to be particularly priveleged to bring this action against Mr. Shimon Peres, representing an apartheid State of Israel, in South Africa, the country of my current residence, where the legal and other structures of the particularly brutal and cruel apartheid regime, were successfully dismantled and replaced with a democratic constitution to protect the rights of all inhabitants on equal footing, with the hope that my people, the people of Palestine, will be similarly liberated.

I further wish to point out that if I and when I succeed with my action, I will donate all my payments due to me to the appropriate Palestinian charities, in a small attempt to help ease the suffering of a dispossessed, severely oppressed and occupied Palestinian people.

30 of 49 Palestinians Killed in August Were Civilians

By Amira Hass
Ha’aretz, via Arab News

Between Aug. 1 and Monday night, 49 Palestinians were killed by Israel. Over this period there have been regular reports of the Israeli Defense Forces firing in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Around 180 were injured, with at least 65 of them sustaining wounds from live fire (including shrapnel from shells and missiles).

Thirty of those killed were unarmed civilians. Another two Palestinians, both in their 70s, died of injuries sustained in July. Among those killed during the month were seven children aged 15 and younger (including two girls under the age of 10), and two women from the Gaza Strip — one aged 50, the other 86. Ten of the Palestinians killed were wanted men, with eyewitnesses reporting that two of them were killed after surrendering to IDF troops.

One of the wanted men was killed when the house in which he was hiding was demolished, and another seven were killed in the framework of Israeli assassination operations. Nine civilians who were in the vicinity of such operations were also killed. In gunfire exchanges with IDF troops, two armed Palestinians were killed. Seven Palestinians were killed by the IDF on their way to carrying out a terror strike in the Gaza Strip. The figures above are based on reports from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and date compiled by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

Most of the civilians were killed in their homes or fields during the course of IDF operations in the various Palestinian cities and towns, sometimes shortly after nearby gunfire exchanges. Five of the seven children killed were residents of the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Isma Ahmed, 9, was killed on Aug. 1 in the home of her aunt in Karara, Gaza. That day, IDF troops were carrying out operations in the area of Karara (north of Khan Younis and opposite the Netzer Hazani settlement).

A 55-year-old man was injured by gunfire in the afternoon, and in the evening, the shooting from a position close to the settlement was renewed. Isma Ahmed and her mother were visiting relatives and began fleeing on hearing the shooting. Isma was hit in the back.

Iman Marasiv, 12, was injured during an IDF assault in the area of Dir Al-Balah on Aug. 7. He died of his injuries on Aug. 10. Mohammed Sa’adeh, 19, noticed members of an IDF undercover unit getting out of a Palestinian truck on Aug. 7, in Tulkarm. He shouted out warnings to passers-by and was shot in the shoulder. The soldiers then shot at Ziyad Da’as, a wanted man, who sustained head injuries. Palestinian eyewitnesses said the soldiers had prevented ambulances from approaching the scene and that Sa’adeh had bled to death.

On Aug. 15, gunfire directed at the western neighborhood of Khan Younis from IDF positions in the Katif Bloc of settlements killed Aiman Fares, 6, who was playing alongside his home. His grandfather and a number of neighbors who rushed to his assistance were injured in the incident. Aiman Zuarub, 15, was on his family’s plot southwest of Khan Younis on the morning of Aug. 20. An hour earlier, at a position further north, an IDF soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper. IDF forces opened fire in the entire area. Zuarub and others who were in the agricultural area began fleeing. Zuarub hid behind a tree, but was shot and killed.

On Aug. 29, an IDF force was demolishing structures east of Rafah, close to the border with Egypt. Abed Ali Hadi Al-Hameida, 14, was watching from a short way off as the IDF demolished a number of stores. He was killed by gunfire from the IDF force. On Aug. 2, Fatma Abu Zaher, 85, was sleeping in her courtyard in Wadi a-Salka, a village south of Dir Al-Balah. Suddenly, gunfire was directed at the courtyard, seriously injuring the woman. Her son managed to drag her indoors, when a voice in Hebrew called out to him: “Where’s the terrorist you have hidden?” After it emerged who had been wounded, a military ambulance was rushed to the scene, but Abu Zaher died of her injuries.

On Aug. 28, Mohammed Barakeh, a 24-year-old resident of Dir Al-Balah, was throwing stones at soldiers at a checkpoint in the Katif Bloc. He was shot and killed. That same day, Mohammed Amuri, 33, was killed in his home in the Jenin refugee camp. He was taking a shower at the time.

Amnesty International: Forcible Transfers of Palestinians 'a War Crime'

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PMC): Forcible transfer of Palestinians to Gaza Strip constitutes "a war crime" and "a grave violation of one of the most basic principles of international human rights law," Amnesty International said in a press release late Tuesday.

"The unlawful forcible transfer of protected persons constitutes a war crime under both the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Under the Rome Statute such violations may also constitute crimes against humanity," said Amnesty International.

Israeli High Court of Justice issued on Tuesday a ruling allowing the forcible transfer of two Palestinians from their hometown of Nablus to the Gaza Strip on the grounds that they allegedly assisted their brother to commit attacks against Israelis.

The two Palestinians, Intisar and Kifah 'Ajuri, have been in detention since 4 June and 18 July, respectively, but have never been charged and no proceedings have been initiated to bring them to trial. The Israeli government claims that it cannot try them because this would expose the source of the evidence against them.

Tuesday's "ruling effectively allows for a grave violation of one of the most basic principles of international human rights law - notably the right of any accused to a fair trial and to challenge any evidence used against them," Amnesty International said.

"Anyone suspected of a recognizably criminal offence should be promptly charged and brought to trial. Otherwise, they should be released," the organization added.

Forcible transfer involves movement against a person's will within national frontiers. Deportation involves movement against a person's will across national frontiers. Amnesty International's opposition to the forcible transfer of the two above-named and any other individuals is based on the following international standards, Amnesty said in its press release:

The Fourth Geneva Convention, which:

- Defines "unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person" as a grave breach of the Convention and therefore a war crime. (Article 147).

- Prohibits "collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation" as well as "reprisals against protected persons and their property." (Article 33)

- Stipulates that: "Individuals or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons form occupied territories to the territory of the Occupyin