Debate Panel on Israel: Norm Finkelstein & Wolf Blizer 2

Discussion on the Israeli/Palestine conflict video 2 - Notice the propaganda uttered by Wolf Blizer. Most people do not read the historical facts on this conflicts and take news leaders opinions as fact. In this video, Blizer encouraged free democratic elections in Gaza. America supported it, Baker etc...and when that happened and they did not like who was elected the conflict increased.

Four Years of the Intifada

Four Years of the Intifada
The First Victim was a 47 year old disabled man. One Day after the 4 Year mark, there has been3,342 Palestinians killed since September 28, 2000.
Susan Brannon Yesterday three Palestinians were killed in Nablus and one in Rafah and one in Khan Younis. Read the article below to see the violations of Human Rights Issues due to war. The beginning of five years of occupation. A total 4,342 Palestinians and Israelis killed. Of those 1,008 were Israeli and 3,334 Palestinian. 82% of Palestinians killed were civilians.
621 Children Killed under the age of 17 10,000 Chilren have been injured 424 Palestinians killed by assassinations 100 Women in Prison 377 Children in Prison $1 Billion dollars of damage in the infrastructure 50% of Agricultural losses 298 Schools shelled or broken, where 4 children killed No drinking water in Gaza Water consumption is 5 times more for Israelis Settler water consumption is 20 times more 703 movement restrictions 55 women forced to give birth at checkpoints with 20 loosing their children The Wall is twice as high and three times as long as the Berlin Wall 40,000 Palestinians are imprisoned inside the Wall at Qalqalia 22,000 homes have been destroyed in Rafah, Gaza For more details click here A day and the life in Palestine read below: The Palestinian Monitor reports: Israeli soldiers killed Saleh Ibrahim Balalo, a 47- year-old mentally disabled man, when he left his house during a curfew in the Jenin refugee camp. Due to his condition he was not aware that a curfew was in place. He was shot in the chest and killed instantly. This is the second day the Jenin camp has been subject to military operations in which Israelis are conducting a house-to-house search campaign. Yesterday Israeli forces invaded Jenin with 70 military vehicles, two Apache helicopters, and one surveillance aircraft. Yesterday three Palestinians were killed in Nablus. Sayel Jibara, a father of ten from the village of Salem, was driving people from Nablus to his village when he decided to bypass a checkpoint that had closed the road. Near the Alom Morei settlement, an Israeli settler in a car stopped them, ordered the driver and three passengers to exit the car, and shot the driver at close range, killing him. According to witnesses, there was no provocation or reason for the killing. Jibara is the breadwinner for his children, aged 2 to 16, three of whom have problems with their eyes, as well as his wife, father, and mother. He was killed while trying to make the money to feed his family. The two other Palestinians killed in Nablus were Ammar Abu Nafiseh, age 21, and Ahmed Nidal el-Tirawi, age 18, from the Balata refugee camp. Israeli forces invaded the camp yesterday and closed all the entrances except one southern entrance, where they stationed five Jeeps. Throughout the day, young people came to the area to throw stones at the Jeeps, and Israelis responded with live fire. Ammar was killed by one bullet to his chest and one to his leg. Ahmed was killed by one live bullet to his eye. Yesterday, a Palestinian named Masoud al-Shaher, 31 years old from Rafah, was killed when Israelis fired a missile at his car from an Apache helicopter in an attempt to assassinate Mohamad Suleyman Abu Nasireh in Abasan village in Khan Younis. Abu Nasireh survived and is in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds. In Khan Younis, Said al-Madhoun, 61 years old, was killed when Israelis from Navet Kalim settlement opened fire in a civilian area. Al-Madhoun was visiting a relative who works in an Elementary School for Boys run by the UN. According to an eye-witness, Said was shot by a live bullet to his stomach while he was standing in the yard of the school.

B'Tselem's 2004 Summary Statistics

Casualties: 
From 1 January through 27 December 2004, a total of 915 people were killed in Israel and the Occupied Territories in the intifada.

	2004
Palestinian fatalities	Total: 803, including 174 minors
Did not participate in hostilities when killed 450	Killed when participating in hostilities 334	Unknown if participated in hostilities 19
Israeli fatalities	Total: 107, including 8 minors
Civilians 67	Security forces 40

	From beginning of the intifada (29 September 2000)
Palestinian fatalities	Total: 3,174, including 617 minors
Did not participate in hostilities when killed 1,702	Killed when participating in hostilities 916	Unknown if participated in hostilities 556
Israeli fatalities	Total: 940, including 116 minors
Civilians 640	Security forces 300

In addition, five foreign nationals were killed this year.

House demolitions:

During 2004, Israel demolished 181 homes in the Occupied Territories as a means of punishment and 1,357 homes on the claim of military necessity. These demolitions left some 11,500 Palestinians homeless. Altogether Israel has demolished 4,100 homes during the Intifada. As a result at least 28,000 Palestinians have been rendered homeless

Freedom of movement:

There are 55 permanent staffed checkpoints in the West Bank:

• 17 checkpoints deep in the West Bank restrict movement between Palestinian cities;
  
  
• 27 checkpoints control movement between Israel and the West Bank (including 10 around Jerusalem), 13 of which restrict Palestinian movement within the West Bank and not only into Israel;
  
  
• 11 checkpoints are located inside the city of Hebron.
  
• In addition, there are currently 17 checkpoints in the West Bank which are occasionally staffed, and hundreds of unstaffed physical obstacles.
  

Palestinian travel is restricted or entirely prohibited on 41 sections of roads throughout the West Bank, including many of the main traffic arteries, for a total of over 700 kilometers of roadway.

Detainees:

5,794 Palestinians, including 373 minors, are currently being detained by the IDF and the Israeli Prison Services (as of December 5). 863 of these detainees are being held in administrative detention without charge or trial, and without knowing when they will be released.

A Home of Our Own

December 31, 2004

"We're Still Waiting for a Home of Our Own

A View from Syria on the Palestinian Right to Return

By FARRAH HASSEN

"We travel in the chariots of the Psalms, sleep in the tents of the prophets, and are born again in the language of Gypsies/Ours is a country of words: Talk. Talk/Let me see an end to this journey."

Mahmoud Darwish, "We Travel Like All People," from Fewer Roses, 1986 The 21st Century began as a world filled with war and refugees, words that can deaden one's emotion. Occasional newspaper stories refer to refugee camps, the plight of refugees, and obscure issues like "the right of return." I, like most young people who become gradually insensitive to suffering when the words to describe it anesthetize rather than sensitize the reader, could not picture how refugees really lived, what their "camps" looked like and what the right of return actually meant.

Then I realized my own "right to return." I visited Syria, my father's birthplace, in 2003. It took a visit to a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus to bring to my mind the agonized voice of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish-whose village of birth the Israeli Army destroyed in 1948: "we travel like everyone else, but we return to nothing" ("We Travel Like All People").

He captured the unresolved abyss of the weary-eyed, long-time inhabitants of Palestinian refugee camps scattered throughout the Middle East and their more energetic, but equally dejected offspring. I returned home to a place where generations of my family had retained the culture and traditions; indeed, it showed me that there was merit in striving to maintain a "Syrian-American" life.

It also dramatized the significance of Article 13 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the one that sanctions my freedom of movement. I admit this didn't cross my mind while I visited the ancient Roman ruins at Bosra, south of the Jordan border, or drove past the Aleppo home where my mother grew up. Then I visited the Jaramana refugee camp near Damascus, housing around 5,000 registered Palestinian refugees (of the total 500,000 that reside in Syria), mostly displaced after the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars and some one thousand who fled southern Lebanon in 1982 following the Israeli invasion. Instantly, the euphoria associated with returning to Syria to meet new relatives, savor syrupy baklava and carry on a conversation in Arabic disintegrated into shame.

Shortly after I entered one of the country's ten official camps, an elderly Palestinian woman originally from Jericho reminded me of how I took for granted what for her epitomizes the core of human patience: "we're still waiting for a home of our own." Rows of decaying "homes" slightly larger than the size of office cubicles lined the streets, juxtaposed by the newly constructed roads and oncoming traffic traversing the camp. The flurry of young children playing tag, teenage boys riding rusty bicycles down the cramped streets and the commanding shriek of babies channeled some brightness into Jaramana, a camp otherwise dominated by the grayish hues of the stone edifices and smoke emanating from the burnt trash. An aging man with deep set, expressive eyes talked to me in front of his home.

His covered wife and three children surrounded him, framed by light and dark shadows that invoked a Rembrandt portrait. "I'm from Hebron," he informed me. "I haven't seen my brothers and sisters who had to stay behind since 1948. Other members of my family have already passed away." "How do you expect me to feel?" Mohammed snapped. He paused, lit up a cigarette and then widened his eyes. "This separation makes me feel very angry and bitter." Across the street, a middle-aged woman who wore a white hijab sat on the doorsteps of her residence to take advantage of the light breeze, a rare break from the sweltering July heat that felt exaggerated at the densely populated camp and that emphasized the prevailing scent of burnt trash, cigarettes and cooking oil. Her young daughter leaned against her and seemed pacified by the piece of candy that she quietly chewed.

The mother managed to muster some optimism about being a Palestinian refugee in Syria. "Here, we live fine, but we'd be more comfortable living in our own homes," she said, alluding to the fact that Palestinians in Syria are still able to enjoy more or less the same rights as other Syrians, including attending schools and universities, competing for the same jobs and owning businesses. Jaramana's residents, however, mainly find work as street sellers or in the informal sector, as drivers, cooks and domestic workers.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which provides education, healthcare, social services and emergency aid, 1.3 million of the over 4 million registered Palestinian refugees still live in 59 recognized refugee camps across the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In an early effort to respond to the Palestinian refugee crisis following the establishment of Israel, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194 on December 11, 1948-a day after the world body approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights "as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations."

Article 11 of Resolution 194, likened by one Jaramana man as "the heart of our legal defense" despite its repeated rejection by Israel, declared that the Palestinian refugees "wishing to return to their homesshould be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property." Supplementing GA Resolution 194 and carrying the force of law, Security Council Resolution 242 of November 22, 1967 reaffirmed "the necessityfor achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem" (Article 2b), although the political will to do so on the part of Israel, the US government and other Middle East peace brokers still remains elusive. "What's the use of having international law on our side when it's not upheld by the ruling powers?" questioned one man in his early 20s, wearing a traditional Islamic white robe and matching kufi (prayer cap).

A small group of elderly men gathered around this new face of the 21st Century Palestinian refugee, some nodding in agreement and others looking wistfully at the impassioned young man whose generation would inherit their decades-long struggles for justice. "I'm just as cynical about the Roadmap peace process that your president supports. Will it allow me to return back to Palestine?" he chuckled. Certainly, the majority of refugees I met that day viewed the latest Roadmap initiative backed by the so-called Quartet (U.S., UN, EU and Russia) as an empty effort, so long as their "right to return" remained left off of the negotiating table and reduced to a "final status issue"-as obscurely phrased in the 1993-94 Oslo Accords and the stagnant Roadmap agreement.

As I departed the camp, I asked Ibrahim, a gray-haired refugee from the 1967 war selling colossal-sized watermelons, if he had a message for President Bush. "I'd like Bush to examine the Palestinians' plight without spinning lies into truths and truths into lies. We are living in pain," he implored, raising his tired-looking hands into the air in vain. Less than a year after my Jaramana visit and realization of my "right to return," President George W. Bush turned a blind eye to the refugees' own dreams of returning back to their former homes and the international laws that protected their right, not to mention longstanding US policy.

He declared in an April 14, 2004 letter to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, "a just, fair, and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel." Complicating matters for Palestinian refugees, the continued Israeli settlements built throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip in violation of the Oslo Accords and the construction of a 650 kilometer long wall-declared "contrary to international law" by the World Court in July 2004-deviating from Israel's 1967 Green Line border beg the same question that one despondent Jaramana refugee had contemplated, "in reality, would we ever return back to historic Palestine?" Indeed, upon completion of the wall itself, which Sharon has justified as a "means to assist in the war against terror," the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including around 1.5 million refugees, will live on only 12% of historic Palestine (Al Ahram, April 16, 2004). After PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat died on November 11, the Palestinian refugee issue made a brief return to the newspaper headlines.

On December 9, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and the new PLO chairman and presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas met with thousands of Palestinian refugees on a campaign-like visit to the Al-Rashidiah camp in southern Lebanon. Ahead of the January 9 Palestinian elections, Qurei reassured the crowd-who have no say in the upcoming election-that the post Arafat PLO leadership would "never abandon" their right to return, reported Agence France Presse. This rhetoric flew in the face of more serious words by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at a December 16 conference. Sharon, who has steadfastly refused to even open the right of return as an issue in the peace talks, nevertheless called 2005 "the year of a great historic opportunity" in the Middle East. Addressing the Palestinians, Sharon simply lied. "We do not want to rule over you, or to run over your lives," the 'man of peace' said as Israeli troops continue to occupy Palestine and run Palestinians' lives, such as by enforcing draconian checkpoints and according to the UN, demolishing at least 1,686 Palestinian homes in the Rafah refugee camp during the past four years.

Palestinian leaders cannot address the right of return issue by themselves. Indeed, Arafat bore responsibility for sacrificing the right of return by signing the 1993 Oslo Accords. The ink on that document speaks louder than words to the disheartened refugees at Jaramana and their counterparts. In September 2004, I again exercised my right to return to Syria. A middle-aged Palestinian man named Nabil, who worked as a driver for a well-to-do family, taught me how to use Damascus' tricky version of a public transportation system. Like the other Syrians that I met, he relied on humor to deal with the daily realities of life, which I needed while we waited on a street curb under an unforgiving sun for the white microbus (a small van) to arrive. "Does it normally take this long for the bus to arrive?" I wondered aloud, after waiting for what seemed like an eternity. "Remember, we're on Syrian time," he smiled. "The trick here is to be patient. Take it from me, I'm a Palestinian!" he joked, instantly reminding me of the Jaramana refugees that I had met a year earlier and their patient-defying wait to experience their own right to return.

Once we boarded the packed microbus, Nabil practiced the few words of English he knew to make us forget about the bumpy, stomach-churning ride through the mid-day traffic. "Welcome to Syria," he liked to declare, as the other passengers watched in amusement, followed up by "Have you questions?" When I reached my stop, I thanked Nabil for helping me become more "Syrian" in his adopted home and not willing to reconcile with the improbable, assured him that I'd show him around California if he ever visited. "Sure," he winked, "I'll take the first flight out from Palestine." Farrah Hassen, a Political Science graduate from Cal Poly Pomona University, was the associate producer of the 2004 documentary, "Syria: Between Iraq & And A Hard Place," with Saul Landau. She recently spent 2 months working for the United Nations Development Programme in Syria. She can be reached at: FHuisClos1944@aol.com 

Please Stop the Missiles

Life in Israeli settlements. First-hand report. Intifada keeps the battle going unabated No way for Israel to subdue Palestinians Please G-d: Stop the missiles! By David Wilder December 27, 2004

Where to start? Yesterday afternoon I attended a demonstration in the heart of Tel Aviv, joining hundreds of others protesting the continued bombardment of Gush Katif. In truth, we weren't protesting the attacks -- rather we were protesting the lack of reaction. The Israeli armed forces are doing nothing, absolutely nothing, to stop the Arab Kassam missile and mortar attacks on Gush Katif's 8,500 Jews.

Why? According to Gush Katif spokesman Eran Sternberg, not too long ago, Defense Minister Shaul Mufaz ordered Chief of Staff, General Moshe Ya'alon, "Don't hit back until after the palestinian elections (on Jan. 9th). In other words, the Israelis will just have to suffer for a while -- this is the cost of peace. At the demonstration I met Mrs. Debbie Rosen, ([ debihof@hofaza.org.il ] - 972-8-68408470) who is working with Eran and Dror Vanunu in the Gush Katif spokesperson's office. Interviewing her for today's show, I asked Debbie, a resident of Neve Dekalim, about the situation in Gush Katif. She told me that not too long ago, following another rocket attack against them, speaking with a senior officer in the area, she asked him why the army doesn't shoot back, in the same fashion that the Jews are attacked?

"Just like they shoot mortars at us, let's shoot mortars back at them." The officer looked at her, stunned, and replied, "What, shoot at them, just like that? It's not ethical to shoot mortars or missiles at innocent people." Debbie's response: "What about us -- aren't we innocent people too?"

The officer didn't answer -- he just looked at her and walked away. I also asked her to describe to our listeners what happens when a bomb falls on your house, or next to it. Debbie attempted, for a few minutes, to express in words the inexpressible. We parted ways, and a couple of hours I was back in Hebron. I came into the office to pull down some the pictures from the event, when my cell phone rang. It was Debbie. In a voice choked with emotion, she related to me the following account: "You asked me to describe how it feels when a mortar or a Kassam rocket hits.

Well, you just cannot imagine. Listen, tonight, while we were at the demonstration, there was a Bat-Mitzvah party for one of the girls here in Neve Dekalim. My daughter was there. The girls were outside in the yard when suddenly they saw an approaching missile. Running inside the house, well, they made it just in time. The missile exploded in the garden of that very same yard, where only seconds before, they had been playing." She added, "it's just like the boy who was playing basketball last week when a bomb exploded on the basketball court, very close to him." I sat, listening, not being able to speak. What can you say?

We decided that I'd call Debbie back in the morning and let her repeat the story again, so I could record it and play it on my weekly radio show, later today (www.israelnationalradio.com). Late last week there was a general meeting of activists from around the country, in Jerusalem. Initiated by the Yesha council, the meeting introduced the organization's new campaign to prevent the abandonment of Gush Katif and the northern Shomron.

The basic element of the program is a huge sit-down strike next to the Knesset, commencing next Tuesday. People from around the country will be asked to participate, irregardless of the rain and cold, and hopefully, the crowds will grow and grow, eventually reaching tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people. The goal: to convince the Knesset that the Israeli public will not accept expulsion of people from their homes, that the Israeli public will not accept abandonment of Eretz Yisrael to our enemies, that they -- our representatives in the Knesset, must vote against legislation called 'the pinui-pitzui(eviction-compensation) law" when it reaches the Knesset floor. MK Uri Ariel of the National Union party, speaking at the conference, claimed that the only way to stop the eviction is via the Knesset -- convincing them to vote against the law, and if necessary, bringing the issue to the people, either in the form of a national referendum, or regular elections.

According to Ariel, there is a very strong probability that Sharon will not receive his party's nomination for the premiership, and that the eviction plans will draw to a complete halt. Other ideas are springing up. I receive an email from a reader in the United States, who (rightly) claimed that the 'Wallerstein proclamation' petition (www.petitiononline.com/eretzyis/petition.html) is not enough, that action must be taken. He suggested organizing a general strike throughout Israel, either in conjunction with the Yesha council campaign, or separately.

Last night this person called me, and after some discussion, offered to try and organize such a strike. My own idea, sort of hidden within the petition, is very simple. Certainly I hope that the eviction plan will be thwarted long before Sharon attempts its implementation. However, should it come down to it, we are going to need hordes of people to stop the horror. We need thousands and thousands of people to drop what they're doing, board the planes, come over here, and do what has to be done. It's as simple as that. Simple, you ask? Simple? Work, family, etc etc -- how can we leave all and just?come over? So ask you . But I ask you -- what about Eretz Yisrael -- what comes first -- Eretz Yisrael, or work, or? etc?

Remember, we're not just talking about Gush Katif and the northern Shomron. We're talking about all of Judea and Samaria. We're talking about Hebron. We're talking about Jerusalem. We are talking about the fate of the Jewish people in Israel. So, what comes first? You tell me. Basically, what it comes down to, is that we are going to have to close down the country. Not everybody is going to be able to get to Gush Katif, or even close to Gush Katif. However, Israel isn't a one-road country -- I'm sure you understand what I mean. There are those who might recoil at such a suggestion. And to an extent I agree -- under normal circumstances. However, these are not normal circumstances.

This government, led by Ariel Sharon, is intentionally abandoning thousands of citizens, Israelis who serve in the army, citizens who pay taxes, citizens who are people, just like you and me -- to their fate, like sheep surrounded by wolves. Ariel Sharon, together with Mufaz and Ya'alon, have adopted a policy of 'live and let die' -- leave the Arabs alone, even at the price of Israeli lives. There is a difference between Arab blood and Jewish blood -- Arabs are, in the words of the above-mentioned officer, 'innocents.' The Israelis are 'settlers,' and we all know what that implies. Last night, speaking at the protest, Bentzi Liberman, secretary-general of the Yesha council said, 'if three mortars hit Tel Aviv, the army would spare no efforts. But when it comes to Gush Katif, nothing is done -- the people are abandoned.' After I had, more or less, finished writing this article, I had the second above-mentioned conversation with Debbie from Gush Katif.

As we were talking, I couldn't help but think: this morning the Israeli media is drenched with yesterday's disaster in India-Thailand. It really is an awful calamity, tens of thousands dead; hundreds of Israelis traveling in that part of the world are still missing. We hope and pray that they are all safe and well. But what I have trouble understanding is that daily, almost hourly, Israeli citizens here, in Israel, not in India, not in Thailand, but here, an hour from Tel Aviv, are facing enemy attacks, their lives are threatened and some lives are destroyed. Where is Israeli radio? -- where is Israeli television? -- where is public opinion? Fine, talk about India, but what about our back yard?

Debbie Rosen also told me about a woman whose home has come under direct enemy fire nine times. Do you have any idea what that does to a person? It has left this woman in permanent shell shock. Last night I came upon the Barat family from Kfar Darom. Hannah Barat was seriously injured during a terror attack and left paralyzed, living permanently in a wheelchair. Hannah is a very special person, and about a year ago gave birth to another child, a little boy, despite her disabilities. Her husband, Eliezer Barat, told me how, a few days ago, a rocket hit their home, destroying part of the roof. Thank G-d, no one was injured. But don't let anyone tell you that lightning doesn't strike twice. One final story. Debbie told me how her youngest son, in kindergarten, hearing thunder outside, told her, "Mommy, ask G-d to stop the mortars and missiles." The present administration can only be labeled as a 'memshelet shmad' -- a government of annihilation -- a government willing to sacrifice its own people -- and for what -- for what? For absolutely nothing. Please G-d -- stop the missiles.

Raise your voice against House Demolitions in Gaza

Raise your voice against House Demolitions in Gaza
From ICAHD (Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions)
During the Second Intifada alone, Israel has demolished more than 4,500 Palestinian homes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories . Most of these homes were not demolished during combat but rather as part of Israel 's pro-active policy of asserting its control over the Territories.
Rafah in Gaza has received special attention due to Israel 's unilateral decision to disconnect it from the border with Egypt . For this reason Israel has already demolished about 1,500 homes in this tiny but densely populated area -- an area whose inhabitants have been made refugees and left homeless by Israel time and time again-- this time leaving 15,000 persons displaced and without a home. Israel 's policy of house demolitions is an act of war against non-combatant Palestinian civilians, a fundamental violation of international law and the ethics of war. All of you reading this take coming home as a commonplace and routine act. For most Palestinians this is not the case. More than 40,000 Palestinians have lost their homes in the past four years. Some 11,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished in the Occupied Territories since 1967. Thousands of innocent families live under the constant threat of the destruction of their homes and lives. We ask you to help us in our struggle to stop the continuing policy of house demolitions and to compensate those who have already lost their homes. We ask you to contact Israeli government officials, your ministry of foreign affairs and your parliamentary or congressional representatives, asking for the immediate halt of this illegal policy and compensation for the victims. Following is a sample letter addressed to Israeli officials (addresses supplied). You can adapt it to your own political representatives. To the Minister of…. Subject: Demolition of homes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Over and over again I hear of the tragedy of the demolition of Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories . I understand that in the Second Intifada alone already 4,500 homes have been demolished, leaving over 40,000 Palestinian civilians homeless and displaced. These figures are horrific and shocking. Have these innocent people received alternative housing or have they just been thrown out of their homes? After you already demolished around 1500 houses in Rafah, I am also concerned over reports of the imminent demolition of dozens of additional Palestinian homes in the Rafah area. Rather than giving security to Israeli public, this policy is sowing seeds of hatred and revenge. This is a war against a civilian population and is a clear violation both of military war ethics and international law. I ask you to immediately implement the Fourth Geneva Convention protecting civilians in occupied territories. I demand the immediate cessation of house demolitions and compensation to the victims. Addresses: PM Ariel Sharon, rohm@pmo.gov.il ; pm@pmo.gov.il , Fax: +972-2-5664838 Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sylvan Shalom: sar@mofa.gov.il ; Fax: +972-2-5303506 Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz: sar@mod.gov.il ; Fax: 972-3-697-6990 Minister of Justice, Yosef Lapid: sar@justice.gov.il , Fax: 972-2-6285438 Israeli Committee against House Demolitions 7 Ben-Yehuda St., PO Box 2030, Jerusalem 91020, Israel Tel: 972-(0)2-624-5560 Fax: 972-(0)2-622-1530 Mobile 972-(0)546-314471 Email: info@icahd.org Web: http://www.icahd.org Map of Palestine during Camp David 2000 On Camp David : “The Camp David Hoax”

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

Palestine News Reports

Palestine News Reports
October 20, 2004 Susan Brannon
Below are links to news reports regarding Palestine.
A schoolgirl riddled with bullets. And no one is to blame The schoolgirl kept on walking toward the tower but was still several hundred metres away when two shots caught her in the leg. She dropped her bag, turned, tried to hobble away, and fell. Four or five soldiers emerged from the army post and shot at her from a distance. Palestinian witnesses and some Israeli soldiers say that the platoon commander moved in closer to put two bullets in the child's head. (This Action is clearly not Anti-Semite, looking at the silence...!) http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1332219,00.html Action Alert: Release Non-Violent Activist Ahmad Hassan Khalil Awad! Ahmad works closely with Abu Ahmad in organizing non-violent civil resistance to the Wall in Budrus and is an active member of the Committee Against the Separation Wall in the Northwest Jerusalem Region. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palsolidarity/message/1079 Palestinians challenge fence route in Hebron Hills The petition claims the fence's route will damage the residents' lives and their livelihood. The petitioners are claiming that land-seizure warrants recently issued by the government are illegal. According to Israel Radio, the petition also claims the maps attached to the warrants are unclear.http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/491865.html Internationals Beaten in Village of Al-Hatab Near Nablus Violence escalates as Israeli soldier puts gun to head of Swedish national and threatens to pull the trigger... At approximately 9:00AM, 18 internationals accompanied Palestinian farmers to their olive groves to harvest their olives near the village of Al-Hatab, East of Nablus. PalSolidarity Holocaust survivor protests wall So I did not imagine that the Israeli security force that guards Ben-Gurion Airport would abuse a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor, holding me for five hours and performing a completely unnecessary strip search of every part of my naked body. http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=14946&repository=0001_article Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes The coherence of the Palestinian health system is being destroyed. The wall will isolate 97 primary health clinics and 11 hospitals from the populations they serve. Qalqilya hospital, which primarily serves refugees, has seen a 40% fall in follow up appointments because patients cannot enter the city.http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3247.shtml Media Pro Greta Berlin Will Show Her Power Point Presentation Anywhere in U.S. “Now these same children's eyes look out in TV footage from Rafah as they witness Israeli bulldozers demolish their homes and see American-made Apache helicopters fire missiles on them. How will they ever see a better world,” Berlin asked, “when the Israeli military forces this deliberate carnage on their families?  http://www.wrmea.com/archives/Oct_2004/0410062.html PPS: Israeli Prison Services Further Humiliate Palestinian Prisoners According to testimonies gathered from several prisoners like N'aeema Nakhla (needing special care) from the West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Abeer Amro (backbone problems) from Hebron and Maha Alka'ek (mentally ill), the prison's service offer pain killers for most cases only.http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=622 IDF soldier killed in blast on Philadelphi Route in Gaza In a leaflet that was distributed, Hamas claimed responsibility for the blast that killed First Sergeant Major Moshe Elimelech, from the Engineering Corps, saying militants had attacked soldiers and civilian contractors in the area. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/491750.html Emergency Aid to Gaza! The Middle East Children's Alliance will send your contribution to purchase emergency food and medical aid for children in the Gaza Strip. https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=2236&cmid=8515:2097447 Armed wings issue joint statement over deaths of 2 Palestinians The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, armed wing of the mainstream Fatah movement, and Saraya al Quds, armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, issued a joint statement on Thursday, asserting that the Israeli army killed two militants in Gaza. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-10/21/content_2122948.htm UNRWA Gaza Field assessment of IDF Operation Days of Penitence During the operation, approximately 36,000 Palestinians in different locations, including Beit Hanoun (22,000 persons), Izbet Beit Hanoun (5,000 persons), the areas east of Sikka St. and Salah Eddin St (2,500 persons), Nada and Awda towers (2,500 persons) and parts of Jabalia camp (4,000 persons) were under siege. October 2004 has been the deadliest month so far, with 112 killed  Domino UN. Org UN: Gaza offensive left 675 homeless In its assessment of Operation Days of Penitence, which began late last month and was wrapped up over the weekend, the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) said 91 buildings, home to 143 families, had been destroyed. "Over 90 percent of those affected were refugees.  http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/palestine/?id=11644 Israeli Arabs slam policeman's promotion The families of Israeli Arabs who were killed in the October 2000 riots expressed outrage on Wednesday over the promotion of police Brigadier General Bentzi Sau, who was the commander of the Border Police in the north during the clashes. During the riots, 12 Israeli Arabs and one Palestinian were killed  click here... After talks with PM, Shas leader says no to backing pullout Shas Chairman Eli Yishai said afternoon that the ultra-Orthodox party will not back Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan when it comes to a vote in the Knesset next week, Israel Radio reported. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/491503.html Sharon removes disengagement funding from state budget bill Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided Thursday to separate funding for the disengagement plan from the 2005 state budget bill. The decision followed a request Monday by Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Haaretz Some Arab lawmakers oppose Gaza pullout Arab legislators said they struggled over their position on the evacuation of Jewish settlements in Gaza and removal of Israeli troops. But many ultimately concluded the "disengagement plan" would not bring Israeli-Palestinian peace closer.  http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17389411.htm European delegation to meet Arafat over Mideast peace process A senior Palestinian official saidon Thursday that an European ministerial delegation would meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat before holding a conference on thestalled Mideast peace process in Britain.  http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-10/21/content_2122611.htm Egyptian FM, intelligence chief to visit Israel in November The visitors will meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom to discuss the disengagement plan and security cooperation to prevent smuggling across the Egyptian border.  Haaretz Pre-army academies join call for soldiers to obey orders These recent letters come in reaction to a petition by some 60 rabbis, including heads of hesder yeshivas - which combine Torah study and army service - calling on religious soldiers to refuse to evacuate settlements.  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/491436.html Israel denies pullout will crush Palestinian economy Tel Aviv hit back at criticism on Wednesday that an Israeli pullout would cause economic isolation and an increase in poverty in the Gaza Strip. According to Israel-based experts, the pullout next year could revive the local economy if Palestinian goods and laborers can freely move in and out of the territory.  http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=9441 A message from the Arab citizens And now, out of the blue, a survey has cropped up in which more than 77 percent of those questioned said they would "support" or "definitely support" the establishment of a constitution that defines Israel as a Jewish and democratic state that ensures full equality to Arabs.  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/491475.html Noam Chomsky on the State of the Nation, Iraq and the Election The latest polls about a week ago, 17%. Now, a majority of the population thinks that we ought to equalize aid to Israel and Palestine, and we should deny aid to either one that refuses negotiations, which would entail denying it to Israel. That's the majority of the population. Those results are so unacceptable, the press won't report them.  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/21/1441204 In Gaza, Debate Over Pullout Plan Pits Settler Against Settler She has been threatened with eviction from her home, her 2-year-old son was denied entry to the settlement's pre-kindergarten, and she has been ostracized by her neighbors -- all for supporting the disengagement plan, Cohen said.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49659-2004Oct20.html Arabs in US elections Any objective attempt to explain the deterioration of Arab-American relations must include a process of sober introspection and self-criticism. Intractable underdevelopment and relentless despotism and marginalisation have systematically decimated Arab civil and cultural society over the past 50 years, destroying, in turn, the bridges of unofficial dialogue. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/713/ed.htm Sharon or disaster From the left's perspective, the matter is very simple: only Sharon can do it. If Sharon will not be able to evacuate settlements in 2005, no one can. The occupation would become a permanent state of affairs. Yet even from the right's perspective, the matter is not especially complicated: Sharon is the last defender of most of the settlements.  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/491476.html IPI Intifada Report Says Press Freedom Deteriorating: Heavy Media Casualties, Perpetrators Go Unpunished The International Press Institute (IPI) today published the IPI Intifada Report, a chronicle and statistical analysis of 562 press freedom violations during the first four years of the Palestinian Uprising. At least 478 press freedom violations were carried out by the Israeli state, including the government, the judiciary, and even the legislators.http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3245.shtml Joint Irish-Palestinian appeal for release of kidnapped aid chief Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern and his Palestinian counterpart Nabil Shaath called in a joint written statement for her release for the "sake of humanity, compassion and the people of Iraq". Ahern and Shaath said they were making the appeal in their own names and "on behalf of the Irish and Palestinian peoples".  http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=31279 James Zogby: Why I'll Vote for Kerry While President Bush has been praised for projecting a vision of a Palestinian state, every step taken by his administration has made a realization of that vision impossible. During the past four years the administration has failed to support even its own initiatives, from the ill-fated “Mitchell, Tenet, Zinni” plans to the now dead “road map.” http://ummahnews.com/story.php?sid=20041021094341737 France expels two more students for defying headscarf ban France has quietly begun expelling Muslim girls for wearing head scarves to public schools in defiance of a new law banning conspicuous religious attire. Seven girls have been forced to leave school so far this week after two more were expelled Thursday. Haaretz Britain agrees to send 850 troops into US-controlled zone in Iraq Britain agreed to an unprecedented US request to redeploy 850 crack troops to a volatile area to the west of Baghdad, freeing up US soldiers for an expected assault on the "insurgent" stronghold of Fallujah. "The government has decided that we should accept the US request for assistance,"... click here...

Gunmen Storm Gaza Govt Office, Challenge Arafat

Gunmen Storm Gaza Govt Office, Challenge Arafat
1 hour, 40 minutes ago By Shahdi al-Kashif
GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian militants briefly commandeered a government building in the Gaza Strip) on Saturday, demanding President Yasser Arafat reinstate comrades they said had been dismissed from the national security forces. The Arafat-led Palestinian Authority, which is reeling from widespread unrest at charges of corruption in its ranks, rejected as "fabrication" the charges by al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades gunmen who stormed the governorate of Khan Younis town at dawn. Hours earlier, unidentified Palestinians torched a two-storey police station in the nearby village of al-Zawaida. "We are trying to determine who took advantage of the instability in the Palestinian territories to commit this crime," Mayor Ahmed Abu Zayyid said. Al-Aqsa denied involvement. Dozens of militants barricaded in the Khan Younis office building had demanded the Palestinian president fire his nephew, Moussa Arafat, whose appointment to a top Gaza security post last week sparked armed standoffs with reformist vigilantes. By afternoon, the militants dispersed after announcing a deal under which 11 al-Aqsa men who they said had been dismissed from security jobs by Moussa Arafat would be reinstated. "The crisis is over, as we received a decision by President Yasser Arafat to stop the dismissal," the militants' leader, using the nom de guerre Abu al-Haj, told Reuters by telephone. Al-Aqsa, a disparate group of Fatah young bloods, has spearheaded a revolt that erupted in September 2000 after talks on Palestinian statehood in Israeli-occupied Gaza and the West Bank stalled. Its members have also grown vocal, and violent, in challenging the old guard's grip on Palestinian government. Moussa Arafat said no al-Aqsa members served in the security forces, nor had there been any firings. "This (Khan Younis militants' claim) is a fabrication," he said in a statement. But Moussa Arafat added that 10 security men were under investigation on suspicion of unspecified "security offences." Pointing to the al-Aqsa-Fatah link, Israel and the United States accuse Arafat of encouraging Palestinian violence. He denies it. The Palestinian president shuffled security chiefs on Monday, but did not dismiss his nephew. He has also scrambled to head off a resignation threat by Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie, who demands long-awaited reform of security forces.

Corruption with the PA

Khaled Al Haroub Al-Hayat 2004/10/12
Could the occupation be defeated in light of the corruption within the current Palestinian Leadership? Of course not. It is often said that the occupation is the reason behind the corruption of the Palestinian army, the Palestinian leadership and the entire Palestinian situation; had it not been for the occupation, there would have been no corruption. The Palestinian situation before the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) was much better than the current situation.
Today, corruption is obliterating every aspect of hope in the Palestinian dream. Corruption within the Palestinian authority varies from the embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars, to the involvement in killing witnesses, sexual rape, drug dealing, and protecting traitors. Hundreds of people are accused of stealing the Palestinian money, and many Palestinians are accused of nepotism; the Egyptian cement file is enough to topple ten governments. How could Palestinian officials maintain their positions after their hands were besmirched in supplying cement for the construction of the Israeli racist wall? All this happened, and is still happening, with the complete knowledge of the Palestinian leadership. Nevertheless, the advent allegation is always the responsibility of the Israeli occupation for the corruption within the PA. This is a total manipulation of national and political standards in order to blame all those who want to reformulate a national agenda. We are seeing today the President of the PA himself defending the corrupt, those who control the political, economic and social destiny of the Palestinians; yet, these people claim to be representing the Palestinian people. The President of the PA refuses to pass any law that would hold these corrupt people accountable in front of the law. He says that opening the corruption file is a conspiracy that aims at shifting attention from the main cause, which is the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. Wrong timing for opening this or that file is the same vindication that made the Arabs pay the price for remaining silent in the face of their regimes, as timing was never appropriate for an uprising. On the contrary, now is the time to open the Palestinian files of corruption. These files destroyed and have been destroying every Palestinian achievement in the course of the Palestinian - Israeli conflict. We would be deceiving ourselves if we shift our attention towards Israel, and claim that we should not preoccupy ourselves with marginal issues. When corruption become carcinogenic, we can no longer achieve any operational progress, because the body is weary and cannot move; either cancer is removed, or the body dies. Corruption within the PA has reached a stage where we can no longer remain silent. What is the use of the legislative council if this council cannot reveal the corruption files to the Palestinian people? There are many accusations of corruption; the easy movement of traitors means that the Israeli security apparatuses got their accurate and precise information from inside the PA. Nonetheless, Israel is not the one to be blamed because it is the apparent enemy and such a conduct is expected from the enemy. However, it was not expected that the Palestinian legislative council and the PA would disregard this aberrant corruption. It is not possible for a national program to achieve any considerable success in light of this anomalous corruption that is consuming the Palestinian veracity. Any justification for this corruption is unacceptable. This corruption within the PA has blemished the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian dream. Priority now is to clean the Palestinian house. It is required to recuperate the framework of the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian body, for we can not fight the enemy without a strong and healthy body. http://english.daralhayat.com/opinion/contributors/10-2004/Article-20041012-8d9a4e62-c0a8-01ed-0077-896f54d22a07/story.html#

Immediate Need

Immediate Need
Susan Brannon October 3, 2004 Ameen is a studious, warm 16-year-old honor student from  Sebastia, an ancient town near Nablus in the West Bank .  For family  reasons having nothing to do with Ameen himself, his present host household  cannot keep him. We dearly need to find Ameen  a new home and school as promptly and carefully as possible.
We spent last weekend with Ameen at Sanea al-Salam~Oseh  Shalom Family Peacemakers Camp. Ameen is a  total pleasure.  At first quiet, he fit beautifully into camp and  related nicely to both children and adults. After a day doing the high ropes  course, and fully participating in various outdoor and Dialogue   relationship-building activities, he could stay up into the later hours   skillfully taking on the best of the youth and adults in chess.
Ameen isn't "any" kid.  He went through a rigorous  interview and testing process to win the privilege of coming to America to  study for a year. He receives a $125 monthly  check from the State Department toward his expenses, and there is an  additional $300 stipend for incidental expenses like school ID cards,  yearbook, and toiletries.  The program provides medical insurance for  him. Having Ameen in your home would mean  expanding not only his world, but yours as well. He is responsive, ready to help, and thoughtful.  He's a  gifted student from a hard-working family.  His father is a farmer, his  mother a teacher. MORE BACKGROUND ASSE International  Student Exchange Programs is one of the largest and "oldest" student  exchange programs in the U.S.A. Last year, we received a grant from the U.S.   Department of State to help run a pioneering high school  exchange  program that brings students from countries with predominantly  Muslim  populations to spend a year with a volunteer host family and go to  high  school here in the USA . Please see the link below for more  information. U.S.   Dep't  of State -- http://exchanges.stategov/education/P4L/  Youth Exchange and Study  Program (YES)  -- http://www.assecom/new_latest/english/home.html  Needed is a caring  family out there who would love a chance to think globally and act locally,  and move beyond the stereotypes perpetuated by traditional  media. Required is a thoughtful host home that would treat Ameen as a  family member  (a bed to sleep in, room can be shared with a host  sibling of more or less  the same age, family meals and a loving  atmosphere). Ameen is insured for  medical expenses and receives pocket  money every month from the Department  of State. Aside from usual  kindnesses, host families do not have any legal  or financial  responsibility for the students! Please contact: Marilyn Leonard, ASSE  Area Representative 3676 Woodley Drive, San Jose, CA 95148-2829 Tel: 408  528-9170    Toll free: 888-267-5707 E-mail:   beaconridge@msn.com or  marilynleonard@sbcglobal.net

Sharon's Latest dilemma

Sharon's Latest dilemma
A Poem - Unknown sent to my email
October 2, 2004
Sharon 's latest dilemma: How to extricate himself  from Gaza  and still be called "Victory" ? Failing that impossible feat he would settle for "Honorable Retreat" ! If the first is an impossibility..then the latter alternative is a mockery.. Deep inside the psyche of IDF generals there is some myth called: "Bringing Palestinians to their knees..." No need to ask how it came to being? It is a fact that keeps surfacing... Given the formidable arsenal of the latest US weaponry in Israel that "illusion" becomes very tempting & urging to say the least ... Poor and starving Palestinians Have come to the conclusion  that no matter what the price will be.. Sharon & IDF will leave Gaza with their tail between their feet... No doubt this is taking heavy toll among Palestinian civilians.. Saying otherwise would be ignoring facts or putting one's head in the sand... For the Palestinians it is a historic moment to inflict defeat on Sharon & IDF... It may sound rather "suicidal" ..but military history is full of such heroic stands .. Given the "size" of the Israeli military contingent in Gaza ..not to forget the settlements...   it is always possible for Intifada brave highly motivated fighters to have a good strike...  that will defeat all attempts by Sharon at declaring the withdrawal as a "Victory".. Palestinians are now re-drafting all known military manuals.  Soon their achievements will be taught at military academies. The truth of the matter said in few words: Palestinians are fighting for their beloved fatherland Israelis are currently sending their financial assets out...

Good Ole Gaza

Good Ole Gaza
October 01, 2004 By MIFTAH
Yesterday the Gaza Strip witnessed one of the most vicious and intense Israeli military campaigns in months. For the first time in four years of Palestinian civil uprising, the Israeli army reached the heart of the over densely populated Jabalya refugee camp.
This latest Israeli incursion comes supposedly as a response or retaliation, to a Qassam rocket attack by Hamas, which killed 2 children and injured 10 in the southern Israeli town of Sderot and a scorched earth policy which is part of Israel's plan for Gaza `disengagement.' With Israel's `natural right to defend herself,' the Israeli army undertook one of its most concentrated and systematic campaigns of killing innocent Palestinian civilians while at the same time, demolishing many homes and general infrastructure in Gaza. According to news sources, since Wednesday's incursion, 42 Palestinians have been killed and 140 people injured, who are said to be in very critical condition, 57 homes have been completely demolished, and one power transmitter was destroyed in the centre of Jabalya camp as well as, the outer walls of a UN school. The primitive, homemade Qassam rockets have proven to be a great annoyance for the Israeli military, illegal Israeli settlements within Gaza, and neighboring Israeli towns and villages. Using these simple rocket attacks as a pretext, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered his Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to "Take every necessary step to stop the firing of Qassams". In immediate response, Mofaz consulted with his Chief of Staff General Moshe Ya'alon, and told the Israeli Public Radio that "the army is considering temporarily re-occupying the Palestinian territory and could mobilize reserve troops". Under this operation codenamed `days of penitence', Gaza could become the venue of a large scale campaign of killings and massacres similar to the tragedy that took place in the Jenin refugee camp two and a half years ago. Israeli troops have repeatedly entered northern Gaza in an attempt stop Qassam rockets from reaching Israeli settlements and nearby towns and villages, but have failed so far. It is unclear how this latest operation will seek to halt the Qassam rockets, and the Palestinian resistance at large. With Gaza becoming a virtual disaster zone, the Israeli Government can not seem to comprehend that its incursions in Gaza will only fuel the anger and tension among Gazans, while achieving no security goals whatsoever for Israelis. If security is not Israel's primal intention, the question arises, how Israel's miserable conduct can be justified, with respects to human rights and the complete disregard for human life. Quite simply, apart from Israel having sadistic obsessions with Gaza and its inhabitants, Israel's policies of continued and repeated war crimes in Gaza go hand in hand with PM Sharon's proposed Unilateral Disengagement Plan. This plan seeks to evacuate all settlers by 2005, while creating as much collateral damage as possible prior to handing over the territory back to Palestinians. Former Gaza Security Chief, Mohammed Dahlan, who is seen as a key player in running Gaza after an Israeli withdrawal, said in a statement that the Israeli operation "will result in a bloodbath on both sides because the Palestinian people cannot remain silent in the face of this aggression". How much more damage and killing does the Israeli army need to commit before the International community, through the mechanics of the United Nations Security Council, issues a Chapter 7 resolution which progressively pressures Israel into full compliance with legally binding resolutions, or face sanctions and eventually the threat of military action through a world alliance? The UK Foreign Minster Jack Straw described the Middle East conflict as the greatest challenge to international order and went on to say "As for Israel – the targeted killings have to end, the settlement building in the West Bank must stop as must the routing of the `security barrier' onto Palestinian land". UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also commented on the recent developments in Gaza by expressing grave concern at the escalation of violence and "especially mourns the death and injuries of children". According to Al Mezan, a Palestinian human rights organization, after four years of the Intifada, the excessive use of force by Israel has brought the death toll in Gaza to 1,621 Palestinians, 179 of whom were killed by extra-judicial assassinations. The Israeli military also targeted 5,897 homes, 221 public facilities, 67 schools, 30 places of worship and 18 NGO offices, in addition to 477 commercial businesses and 248 industrial facilities.

A UHWC APPEAL/ATTACKS IN GAZA

A UHWC APPEAL/ATTACKS IN GAZA
A letter from Mariam
Friends: The massive invasion of Gaza was undoubtedly authorized by the Bush administration since it was known well in advance and noted in the Israeli press.   It was no doubt not incidentally planned for the night of the debate, when, presumably, everyone will not be paying attention.  Please write the media tomorrow--26 Palestinians dead, tank fire into heavily populated areas.  This is a "withdrawal" for Gaza when not a stick has been removed from the settlements?--Miriam --- ***
Dear Friends, > > All of us at the Middle East Children's Alliance are again shocked and saddened by the news coming from our friends and colleagues in Gaza. We are alarmed to see the number of casualties, injuries, and homes demolished increase by the hour. > > We are sharing with you the latest appeal from the Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC), an organization that provides medical services to residents throughout the Gaza Strip. > > Here's what you can do: >  *  Make a donation for food and medical aid by clicking the link below. We will wire any money collected to the UHWC to help them continue their work. >  *  Call the Congressional switchboard (1-800-839-5276) and ask your representatives to take a stand against the invasions in Gaza and to stop US Aid to Israel. Remind them that though Israel is violating International Law and US military aid to Israel violates the US Arms Export Control Act, the US government continues to give Israel over $5 billion in aid each year. Tell them that as a tax payer, you do not approve of your money being used to violate US Law or International Law. >  *  Call the United Nations (212-963-1234) and ask them to intervene since these incursions are in violation of International Law and 80% of Gazans are refugees under the protection of UNRWA. > > Thank you, > Barbara Lubin > Founder and Executive Director > > > https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=1171&rkey=9977&rdata=1148429:-1:9454570

Four Years of the Intifada

Four Years of the Intifada
Susan Brannon The First Victim was a 47 year old disabled man. One Day after the 4 Year mark, there has been3,342 Palestinians killed since September 28, 2000.
Yesterday three Palestinians were killed in Nablus and one in Rafah and one in Khan Younis. Read the article below to see the violations of Human Rights Issues due to war. The beginning of five years of occupation. A total 4,342 Palestinians and Israelis killed. Of those 1,008 were Israeli and 3,334 Palestinian. 82% of Palestinians killed were civilians.
621 Children Killed under the age of 17 10,000 Chilren have been injured 424 Palestinians killed by assassinations 100 Women in Prison 377 Children in Prison $1 Billion dollars of damage in the infrastructure 50% of Agricultural losses 298 Schools shelled or broken, where 4 children killed No drinking water in Gaza Water consumption is 5 times more for Israelis Settler water consumption is 20 times more 703 movement restrictions 55 women forced to give birth at checkpoints with 20 loosing their children The Wall is twice as high and three times as long as the Berlin Wall 40,000 Palestinians are imprisoned inside the Wall at Qalqalia 22,000 homes have been destroyed in Rafah, Gaza For more details click here A day and the life in Palestine read below: The Palestinian Monitor reports: Israeli soldiers killed Saleh Ibrahim Balalo, a 47- year-old mentally disabled man, when he left his house during a curfew in the Jenin refugee camp. Due to his condition he was not aware that a curfew was in place. He was shot in the chest and killed instantly. This is the second day the Jenin camp has been subject to military operations in which Israelis are conducting a house-to-house search campaign. Yesterday Israeli forces invaded Jenin with 70 military vehicles, two Apache helicopters, and one surveillance aircraft. Yesterday three Palestinians were killed in Nablus. Sayel Jibara, a father of ten from the village of Salem, was driving people from Nablus to his village when he decided to bypass a checkpoint that had closed the road. Near the Alom Morei settlement, an Israeli settler in a car stopped them, ordered the driver and three passengers to exit the car, and shot the driver at close range, killing him. According to witnesses, there was no provocation or reason for the killing. Jibara is the breadwinner for his children, aged 2 to 16, three of whom have problems with their eyes, as well as his wife, father, and mother. He was killed while trying to make the money to feed his family. The two other Palestinians killed in Nablus were Ammar Abu Nafiseh, age 21, and Ahmed Nidal el-Tirawi, age 18, from the Balata refugee camp. Israeli forces invaded the camp yesterday and closed all the entrances except one southern entrance, where they stationed five Jeeps. Throughout the day, young people came to the area to throw stones at the Jeeps, and Israelis responded with live fire. Ammar was killed by one bullet to his chest and one to his leg. Ahmed was killed by one live bullet to his eye. Yesterday, a Palestinian named Masoud al-Shaher, 31 years old from Rafah, was killed when Israelis fired a missile at his car from an Apache helicopter in an attempt to assassinate Mohamad Suleyman Abu Nasireh in Abasan village in Khan Younis. Abu Nasireh survived and is in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds. In Khan Younis, Said al-Madhoun, 61 years old, was killed when Israelis from Navet Kalim settlement opened fire in a civilian area. Al-Madhoun was visiting a relative who works in an Elementary School for Boys run by the UN. According to an eye-witness, Said was shot by a live bullet to his stomach while he was standing in the yard of the school.

West Bank taxi driver by settler was unprovoked

West Bank taxi driver by settler was unprovoked
Ha'aretz, September 29, 2004 By Arnon Regular
Police sources said yesterday that the shooting of a Palestinian by a settler on Monday was an act of self-defense, but the findings of a Haaretz investigation cast serious doubt on this conclusion. Yehoshua Elitzur of Itamar killed taxi driver Sael Jabara, 46, on the access road to the settlement of Elon Moreh. Elitzur claimed that he shot in self-defense after Jabara tried to run him off the road, and police sources said yesterday that they believe him. This means that Elitzur is now suspected only of manslaughter rather than murder. But Haaretz's interviews with three of Jabara's passengers indicate that no argument or confrontation of any kind preceded the shooting. All three passengers have also been interviewed by the police.
According to the passengers, five people entered Jabara's taxi in the West Bank village of Salem at about 12:30 P.M. on Monday. The regular access road from Salem to the main road is blocked by the Beit Furik roadblock, so the taxi instead took a dirt road that funnels into the access road to Elon Moreh. According to the passengers, there are daily incidents between settlers and Palestinians on this road. Nael Mansour, 25, a clothes merchant from the Balata refugee camp near Nablus , described what happened next as follows: "We traveled a short distance to the main road, and at this stage we did not yet see anyone. We began to ascend the rise that leads to the road, and then to the left of our vehicle a few meters away from us, I saw the settler with a big rifle aimed at the window of Sael, the driver. I saw that he [the settler] was saying all kinds of things, but the windows were closed and I didn't understand what he was saying, even though I understand a little Hebrew. Sael began slowly turning right and intended to open the window, because we were afraid of him [the settler]. "Then the settler yelled `stop!' and shortly afterward he fired a single shot that hit Sael in the hand and chest. There was a lot of blood, and the car continued going right. I held onto Sael and then I hit the brakes with my foot and pulled the hand brake and the car stopped. The settler was still there, and I was afraid to leave the car. We were all afraid that he would kill us all, but Ahmed, who sat behind me, got out and began shouting at him: `What have you done? You've killed him! Call an ambulance!' "But the settler shouted something in Hebrew at him and turned toward his red car, which was parked on the other side of the road. A few seconds later, another car came toward Elon Moreh and we flagged it down to ask [the driver] to call an ambulance or evacuate Sael, but the first settler shouted various things and the driver continued driving and didn't stop. In the end, we moved Sael to the seat beside the driver and drove toward the Beit Furik roadblock. Rahma Shtayeh, a 33-year-old from Salem , described the incident as follows: "We drove on the dirt road, and had reached the main road when suddenly I heard a shot. When I looked out the window I saw the settler, and then [I saw] the blood. I started to scream like a mad woman, because I thought he was going to kill us all. The others also shouted, and then I saw the one who was sitting next to the driver hit the brakes so the car wouldn't roll. Then I saw another man in the middle seat open the door, get out and begin shouting at the settler, who turned around and left. Then the man who got out returned to the car and drove the car to the Beit Furik roadblock." Ahmed Shtayeh, 37, a shepherd from Salem, gave the following description: "The car had finished climbing the rise, and Jabara began turning left onto the road when we all saw a tall, bearded, brown-haired settler standing in the middle of the road, and behind him, a red Fiesta car. "Sael thought the settler needed help and slowed the car, and then he opened the window and was speaking to him in Hebrew when suddenly the settler aimed an M-16 rifle at him and two seconds later, he shot, while the window was still closed. The weapon had been loaded earlier, and the settler who was standing in the road fired a bullet at Sael that hit his left hand and tore it to pieces and afterward also entered the left side of his chest. He lost consciousness and we tried to treat him. I opened the door and shouted at the settler to come help and call an ambulance, but he said, in Hebrew, `God willing, he will die' and left. Another car, with another settler inside, arrived, but the first settler shouted at him to keep going and he didn't stop. In the end, we drove to the Beit Furik roadblock." Jabara's death is only the latest in a string of incidents over the last four years in which at least five Palestinian civilians have been either fatally shot or run over by settlers in this area, which includes the settlements of Elon Moreh, Itamar, Yitzhar and Har Bracha. Jabara's body has not yet been released from the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir.