Palestine News report 22 Oct

Palestine News report
October 22, 2004
Below are links to Palestine News Report
Headlines Oct 22, 2004 ~ Mideast crisis sorely needs outside mediation -UN Prendergast said Secretary-General Kofi Annan would soon establish a new group to register all damage caused by the constructions of Israel's barrier in the Palestinian West Bank, as requested by the General Assembly.  http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22715647.htm A Campaign to plant Olive trees near the Separation wall Tens of farmers from villages in the south of Qalqilia, in the north of the West Bank, started on Thursday morning, planting Olive trees near the Separation Wall, which separated the Palestinian villagers from their fields.  http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/October/week4/102204/Olive trees.htm Facts on the ground: The end of the two-state solution? The report draws on the experience of Christian Aid's Palestinian and Israeli partners and on first-hand accounts from the people with whom they work and looks at the progressive building of settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territories and the construction of the Separation Barrier.  Click Here... French Journalist: “The Wall is a dedication for Racism” Alan Manark, a French Journalist and the author of “ Sharon's Wall”, which was published recently in France, said that the Separation Wall which Israeli is constructing in the West Bank is a dedication for Racism, and as a means to encircle the Palestinian in isolated geographical locations.http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/October/week4/102204/french%20journalist.htm The olive war Israeli practices aim to tighten the siege and eliminate all semblance of normal life in the occupied territories. One example was seen in the images carried by the Israeli media covering what is happening to Palestinian crops, particularly the olive harvest. Israeli occupation forces are working to destroy this important crop and wholly eliminate Palestinian agriculture  http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/713/pr3.htm Palestinian Child Prisoners in Cruel, Inhuman Conditions 391 Palestinian children under 18 years are still detained in Israeli detention centers, 7% suffer diseases and denied medical care, while 77% of child prisoners arrested from their homes,the Child and Youth Department in the Ministry revealed.  http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1801 Poetry for Palestine - Rhythms of Resistance The violence of the powerful Israeli occupation army using live ammunition, tanks and helicopter gunships is equated with Palestinians protesting against the loss of their rights, lands and lives." The artists in Poetry for Palestine disolve the fabrications and deceptions with their words and passion.http://www.freespeech.org/fsitv/fscm2/contentviewer.php?content_id=720 Three killed in Khan Younis on Friday A Palestinian medical source in Khan Younis said that one woman died on Friday evening, of wounds sustained on October, 4, 2004, raising the number of Palestinians shot dead in Kahn Younis, on Friday to three residents.  http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/October/week4/102204/Khan%20Younis.htm Palestinian killed at funeral of Hamas militant Security sources and witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire at the funeral procession in Khan Yunis, killing Ahmed al-Haddad. But an Israeli army spokesman denied troops had fired at the funeral procession  http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=31458 Thousands mourn Hamas chief The funeral procession was headed by children waving the movement's huge green banners, followed by a rank of militants and armed men wearing masks, says the BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza. Behind them marched the great throng of mourners. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3945169.stm U.N.: Hundreds of Palestinians Homeless In addition, army shelling and bulldozers destroyed 19 public buildings and commercial properties, including government compounds, a mosque, two farms and three factories, among several other small shops, the report said. Sixteen buildings were damaged, including eight UNRWA schools click here... Church Responds to Congressional Criticism on Divestment I very much regret your disappointment, but in all candor, must also communicate with you that I am terribly distressed in the failure of the United States Congress to seek a peaceful resolution to this conflict that would both protect the right of Israel to live in peace with secure borders and the rights of the Palestinians to statehood and an end of the occupation of their territory.  http://www.pcusa.org/washington/divestment.htm Tensions boil as Holocaust survivor decries treatment of Palestinians On a recent trip to Israel, airport security guards informed her that based on her history as an activist she was considered a terrorist threat. She was subsequently stripped and cavity-searched. “When I stood next to that wall, I remembered what the motto of Holocaust survivors was: ‘Never again,'” she said. Epstein shook her head and continued, “We Jews are doing this.” http://daily.stanford.org/tempo?page=content&id=14971&repository=0001_article Sha'ath: PA needs a general election "Elections are the single most important act of reform because elections turn a stale democracy to a vibrant democracy," Sha'ath told reporters after talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/492321.html Palestinians shell Gaza settlements after Israelis kill leading Hamas commander Tens of thousands of angry Hamas supporters joined the funeral procession for Adnan al-Ghoul, 46, a founder and deputy chief of the Hamas military wing who was on Israel's most-wanted list since 1990. Mourners and leaders of the Islamic militant group threatened revenge attacks against Israel.  http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20041022-0744-palestine.html South African President Mbeki meets with Deputy PM Olmert Trade between the nations stands at about $500 million per year, and officials say it could double in coming years. South Africa, which hosted talks last month with members of the Likud party to try to revive negotiations to end the Middle East conflict, has slammed Israel for building a wall in the West Bank  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/492363.html Egypt proposes deploying 750 troops in Sinai If Israel agrees, the force will be deployed beginning on January 1, 2005. Egypt made the proposal to Israel during the last meeting of the special security committee on the Egyptian side of Rafah on October 5.  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/492104.html The Launching of a New International Campaign of Sanctions Against Israel The aim of this press conference is to inform the public about the latest developments in the international movement to bring sanctions against Israel in order to end its aggressive policies and bring peace to the region. There are five factors pushing us to begin this campaign: http://www.palestinemonitor.org/new_web/October_update_archive.htm#sanctions Germany and Israel restart talks on sale of submarines According to German defense sources, Germany's Defense Ministry and military support Israel's request, which would supply employment at shipyards. However, implementing the deal requires approval by the government, which is divided on the issue. Click here... Churches urged to take proactive role in Israeli-Palestinian crisis Canada, he added should promote "justice and security. Genuine peace in Israel and Palestine must be founded on justice," he said, but justice is not the final objective Justice, however, is "the key to all to which we aspire. Only justice produces peace. Only justice leads to security. Only justice opens the way to reconciliation."  http://generalsynod.anglican.ca/stories/news.php?newsItem=2004-10-21_Ateekvisit.news Palestinian official urges Israel to resume peace talks Addressing delegates to a regional Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building, Abdalla said Israel and the Palestinians needed "to return to the negotiating table and implement obligations" under the roadmap. Click Here... 'To begin the real process of healing' - By: Daoud Kuttab In both cases, the Israelis create a point of view and corresponding terminology and idioms and then circulate them locally and around the world as undisputed truth. The irony is that in both cases, what the Israelis are talking about is the land, lives and future of someone else, namely the Palestinian people and land.  http://www.amin.org/eng/daoud_kuttab/2004/oct22.html Israel rampant - By Azmi Bishara This Israeli phase will be characterised by attempts to internationalise the Congress approved boycott of Syria. The recent UN Security Council resolution on Lebanon -- which has nothing to do with the Lebanese constitution and everything to do with encircling and striking at Syria -- can only be understood as a building block in this process.http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/713/op14.htm 10 years on, Jordan-Israel peace treaty remains cold Even intellectuals like Hassan Barari, who lived three years in Israel to learn Hebrew, say they are fed up. "Every time I see the scenes of Palestinian deaths and destruction on television I feel disgust" toward the Israelis, said the researcher from the University of Jordan's Center of Strategic Studies. "http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=9496 You bet he's got a mandate In February 2004, in an interview with Haaretz, Sharon dropped the bombshell about evacuating 21 settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. He needed time, but Sharon has ripened into a leader determined to carry out a plan that he believes is imperative, given our political situation, and in keeping with what most Israelis want. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/492039.html Israeli army faces a revolt from the right "When it comes to the crunch these rabbis are saying there is a higher law than the law of state," says Yossi Alpher, former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv. "This is a very serious challenge not only to the military but to the rule of law." http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1022/p01s03-wome.htm PART 2: The US-Israel tag-team act As the US presidential election campaign is coming to a close and Iraq continues to burn, another dangerous diplomatic tussle is taking place: the United States and Israel are acting as a tag-team against the potential emergence of Iran as a nuclear power. The stakes are high in this tussle. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FJ22Ak02.html ACLU files suit over FBI questioning of Muslims In its lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco, the civil rights advocacy group said it had received reports that numerous individuals had been "interrogated" by the FBI since the summer "solely because they are Muslims or of Middle Eastern descent." Click Here... US fire killed two Fallujah girls: rescuer Villager Mahmoud Mohammed says the mother of the two girls and the driver of the car, who have both been wounded, had told him a US tank had fired at the vehicle in Naamiya, 10 km south-east of Fallujah.  http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1226253.htm Witness says CIA oversaw abuse at Abu Ghraib Witnesses in the trial of a U.S. soldier charged with abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib have told the court that the CIA sometimes directed abuse and orders were received from military command to toughen interrogations.  http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=606774§ion=news Muslim scholars arrested in Iraq The head of the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) office in Kubeisa in western Iraq was arrested along with four other members. They were on their way back from Baghdad when US forces stopped their convoy and arrested them. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/037BF7E6-B239-4C23-A6A3-6E4F21DA44CC.htm British hostage pleads London to withdraw from Iraq as violence flares Kidnapped British aid worker Margaret Hassan pleaded for London to save her life by scrapping a plan to redeploy Britain's troops in Iraq and by pulling them out, as more than a dozen people died in clashes around the country. "Please help me, please help me, these might be my last hours," ... "I will die like Mr (Kenneth) Bigley," http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=1&u=/afp/20041022/wl_mideast_afp/iraq