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www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581817.html
Justice Dept. to indict two AIPAC staffers under U.S. Espionage Act
Ha’aretz 5/31/2005
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Justice Department is expected to file indictments against two former senior American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) staffers – Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman – and, according to sources familiar with the affair, the charges will be subsumed under the Espionage Act. A Virginia grand jury is now examining the evidence in the case, which involved receipt of classified defense information from Larry Franklin, a Pentagon official, and its transfer to the representative of a foreign country, Naor Gilon, of the Israeli embassy in Washington…Presumably, if indeed such an indictment is filed against two former top-level AIPAC staff members, then Gilon’s name will come up..
www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=5018
Five Residents Killed, Two Women Wounded in oPt
International Press Center 5/30/2005
GAZA, Palestine, May 30, 2005 (IPC+WAFA)- Five residents were killed yesterday in the occupied Palestinian territories as two women were wounded by a shrapnel of missiles hit by the Israeli occupation unmanned plane in Jabalyia refugee camp. The Israeli occupation choppers fired missiles at the Jabalyia refugee camp early Monday, wounding two women. Local sources said unmanned Israeli aircraft fired two missiles near the camp’s mosque close to the home of a Hamas leader…Sunday afternoon, a Palestinian security source reported that two residents were killed in an explosion east of Gaza, and another resident was killed in a separate explosion in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip…In the West Bank, Israeli occupation soldiers opened fire and killed Sunday a Palestinian in the West Bank Yatta town of Hebron city.
electronicintifada.net/v2/article3890.shtml
Israeli army kills more Palestinians
By Khalid Amayreh, Electronic Intifada/AlJazeera 5/29/2005
Israeli occupation soldiers have shot and killed a Palestinian man in the southern West Bank town of Hebron, hours after the killing of another Palestinian near the northern city of Jenin. Palestinian sources and witnesses said Israeli soldiers patrolling the streets of Hebron’s old town on Sunday killed Omar Mahmoud al-Ghafi Hoshiyeh, 200 metres from the Ibrahimi Mosque. Palestinian witnesses told Aljazeera.net there was a verbal confrontation between the victim and one of the Israeli occupation soldiers, after which the soldier shot him seven times. However, an Israeli army spokesman said Hoshiyeh tried to stab a soldier.
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A4D487EF-BA88-432B-B3F0-F3FDAD537BAE.htm
Israel warned after second air raid
AlJazeera 5/31/2005
Palestinians have warned Israel that a de facto truce is in jeopardy after another Israeli air raid in Gaza wounded two civilians. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said on Monday Israel should keep the truce on both sides “because the truce is in the interests of both parties to continue”. Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, said: “Israel’s escalation makes the truce empty. We affirm the right to avenge this crime and to self-defence. We ask the international community to intervene to stop this aggression.” “We think that the past experience of our people with the Israeli occupation confirms that resistance is the main language that this occupation understands,” Abu Zuhri said.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/582316.html
Israel to free Palestinian prisoners with ‘blood on their hands’
Ha’aretz 5/31/2005
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has instructed Justice Minister Tzipi Livni to prepare for the release of veteran Palestinian prisoners who have “blood on their hands.” The prisoners have been jailed since before the 1993 Oslo accords and are elderly and in poor health. Sharon informed the cabinet of this Sunday before it approved the release of 400 security prisoners, mainly those jailed for minor offenses. He will inform Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of the decision – which is in accordance with commitments made at February’s Sharm el-Sheikh summit – when they meet next week.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581447.html
Bush vows to pressure Sharon if PA works to disarm militants
Ha’aretz 5/30/2005
If the Palestinian Authority meets its security commitments under the road map, including its undertaking to disarm militants, the United States will demand that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dismantle all the illegal outposts in the West Bank immediately after the disengagement, U.S. President George W. Bush has promised PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). The U.S. administration is refraining from pressuring Sharon with regard to the settlements out of concern that such a move would politically hamper the prime minister’s efforts to implement the pullout.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/582359.html
Sharon unhappy with results of Bush-Abbas meeting
Ha’aretz 5/31/2005
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday voiced disappointment with the result of last Thursday’s meeting between President George Bush and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Washington. “The Palestinians came out feeling no pressure to fight terror, and that they don’t have to take immediate action,” Sharon told members of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee visiting Jerusalem. “The protest and objection to the disengagement in Israel is increasing, while public support for it is diminishing, because of the feeling that the terror is increasing, and that no action is being taken against it,” he said.
www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=5022
SIS: 4,032 Palestinians Killed, Including 750 Children, During Intifada
International Press Center 5/30/2005
GAZA, May 30, 2005 (IPC) – – A report made by the State Information Service (SIS) asserted that during Al Aqsa Intifada, Israeli forces killed 4,032 Palestinians, including 750 children, in addition to wounding about 45,000 others until April 30, 2005. The report, which was prepared by SIS’ Palestinian National Information Center (PNIC), revealed that among those killed, 325 fell to the Israeli extrajudicial executions, while those who died at Israeli military checkpoints due to delayed access to medical treatment reached 131 civilians. PNIC’s report indicated also that 50 civilians were killed during armed Israeli settler attacks, while 36 medical staff, 9 journalists, 817 students and 220 sport professionals were also killed during the Intifada.
www.palestinechronicle.com/story.php?sid=2005053003291480
Two Unarmed Palestinians Shot Dead
Palestine Chronicle 5/30/2005
“The four deaths raised the Palestinian death toll to more than 3,856 since the outbreak of the Intifada..” — OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – The United States was pressuring the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to disarm the anti-occupation groups as Israel was obstructing the arming of the PNA police, at the same time the armed-to-teeth Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) were shooting more Palestinians dead. IOF shot dead a Palestinian in the southern West Bank city of Hebron early Sunday, claiming he tried to launch a stabbing attack on an Israeli soldier. The victim, who has yet to be identified, was hit by eight bullets and left bleeding to death, eyewitnesses told the Palestinian official news agency WAFA.
www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/international/middleeast/29cnd-mide.
html?ex=1118030400&en=13d2ddcc7248c48a&ei=5070
Latest Israeli Prisoner Release Disappoints Palestinians
New York Times 5/29/2005
JERUSALEM, May 29 – The Israeli cabinet approved today the release of an additional 400 Palestinian prisoners, fulfilling a promise made in early February to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and sparking immediate Palestinian criticism. The Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, said in a statement that he recognized the need to support Mr. Abbas and those Palestinians in competition with Hamas, the radical Islamic faction that Israel and the United States consider a terrorist group, and to keep his promises made at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit on Feb. 8, after the death of Yasir Arafat and the election of Mr. Abbas.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/582396.html
Franklin admits he disclosed classified information in AIPAC affair
Ha’aretz 5/31/2005
WASHINGTON – Pentagon official Larry Franklin has admitted that he may have disclosed classified information to a foreign official who was not authorized to receive it. The admission appeared in an FBI affidavit submitted to a U.S. District Court last week. A Virginia grand jury is expected to indict Franklin for giving classified information to representatives of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in the coming days. The charges will replace the criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Justice Department at the beginning of the month…The official was believed to be Naor Gilon of the Israeli embassy in Washington, although his name and Israel have not been mentioned in any official legal documents.
www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/VBOL-6
CVBCP?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR
OPT: Fears grow for Mideast truce after Israeli strike in Gaza
ReliefWeb 5/30/2005
GAZA CITY, May 30 (AFP) – Two Palestinian civilians in the northern Gaza Strip were wounded late Sunday by a rocket fired from an Israeli drone pursuing Islamic Jihad militants, Palestinian security sources said. An Israeli military source said the aerial attack targeted two rocket launchers on the outskirts of Jabaliya, which two Palestinian militants were preparing to activate from a distance. Neither of the two militants were wounded in the attack, which caused a loud explosion near the sprawling Jabaliya refugee camp. “The object of the raid was to prevent rocket fire and apart from those two men, who were not hurt in the attack, no one else appeared to be in the area,” said the Israeli military source.
english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=Enews&id=2765
Bush to Abbas: Any Changes in 1949 Borders According to Palestinian-Israeli Agreement
WAFA 5/30/2005
GAZA, May 30, 2005, (WAFA)- Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nasser Al-Kidwa said that the US President George W. Bush has assured President Mahmoud Abbas that the US administration thinks that any changes in the borders of the Hudna (truce) in 1949 should be applied according to Palestinian-Israeli agreement. In a statement issued Monday, Al-Kidwa said that President Abbas discussed, with the US administration, the bilateral negotiations as well as the necessity of the US responsibility for implementing the Road Map. Al-Kidwa added that the US attitude, regarding the Hudna line, means depending on it as the borders of the two (Palestinian and Israeli) states.
www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=1&id=898
Abbas: We Take Bush‚s Public Statements as Commitments
Palestine Media Center 5/28/2005
Bush: Israel Should Not Prejudice Final Status Negotiations on Jerusalem — Canada‚s Prime Minister Paul Martin announced $9.7 million in aid for Palestinians and pledged to reactivate the peace process following a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas in Ottawa on Friday, a day after a US-Palestinian summit that Palestinian officials hailed as a “success‰ though US President George W. Bush set no dates (timelines) to his “verbal‰ promises to Abbas, who nonetheless said: “We take President Bush’s public statements as commitments.‰
www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EVIU-6CS
EKJ?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR
Israel must dismantle more West Bank settlements: Peres
ReliefWeb 5/27/2005
JERUSALEM, May 27 (AFP) – Israel must dismantle more settlements in the occupied West Bank after removing all soldiers and Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Friday. “Facts will not allow Israel to rest on its laurels after the Gaza pullout, we must evacuate other settlements,” said Peres, one day after US President George W. Bush called on Israel to dismantle illegal outposts in the West Bank. “It is inconceivable that all settlements remain,” Peres told public radio following landmark talks in Washington between Bush and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/582337.html
City to raze homes of 1,000 residents in East Jerusalem neighborhood
Ha’aretz 5/30/2005
The Jerusalem Municipality has begun proceedings to raze 88 buildings housing some 1,000 residents in the Silwan neighborhood, to “restore the area to its landscape of yore,” according to the city engineer, Uri Shetrit. The demolition, if it goes ahead, will be among the largest to take place in East Jerusalem since 1967. The Silwan houses are within a neighborhood the Palestinians call “al-Bustan” and the municipality calls “King’s Valley.” It’s located inside the wadi sloping down from the City of David, below the Old City, adjacent to the compound settled by Jews from the non-profit organization Elad…Shetrit’s letter explained that the area is “the beginnings of Jerusalem” from 5,000 years ago, and that “King’s Valley, along with the tel of David’s City, constitutes an entire archaeological entity in which all of the sites are interconnected.”
www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11409&Itemid=1
Two barracks leveled near Bethlehem
International Middle East Media Center 5/30/2005
Monday morning, Israeli soldiers leveled two barracks used for raising livestock, in the village of Batteer, west of Bethlehem. The WAFA news agency reported that soldiers, accompanied by two military bulldozers, invaded al-Shurafa area, south of Batteer, after surrounding it. The agency stated that soldiers bulldozed two barracks which belong to Jawad al-Qaisy; al-Qaisy used the barracks for raising the livestock he owns.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581678.html
IAF strike on militants wounds 3 Palestinians in Gaza Strip
Ha’aretz 5/30/2005
Four Palestinians were killed in separate incidents in the West Bank and Gaza on Sunday, three in apparent ‘work accidents’ in the Gaza Strip, and one while trying to stab IDF soldiers. — The Israel Air Force fired missiles at the Jabaliya refugee camp early Monday, where militants were preparing a mortar attack, Israeli military officials said, wounding two Palestinians. Residents said unmanned Israeli aircraft fired three missiles near the camp’s mosque, where a group of militants was gathering. The wounded were taken to a hospital in nearby Beit Lahiya, they said. Hospital officials said a man and two women, apparently bystanders, were wounded by shrapnel.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3092367,00.html
IDF strikes in Gaza
YNetNews 5/30/2005
Air Force fires three missiles at Qassam rocket-launching cell; two Palestinians sustain moderate wounds. On Sunday, three Palestinians killed in two separate incidents in Gaza after vehicle, mortar shell explode — GAZA ˆ The Air Force fired three missiles at a Qassam rocket-launching terror cell early Monday in the Jabaliya refugee camp near Gaza City. Palestinian sources reported the cell members escaped unharmed, but two passersby sustained moderate wounds. Security officials said in recent days the IDF would not hesitate to strike in the Gaza Strip every time the Palestinian Authority failed to take action against terrorists. Defense sources said Palestinian police officers have failed to take adequate action in recent days.
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B7925111-D5E6-442E-9BC2-AE49978935EE.htm
Palestinians clash with Israeli police
AlJazeera 5/30/2005
Several Palestinian protesters and an Israeli police officer have been injured during a protest against a Greek Orthodox patriarch near a Christian site in Jerusalem. The police and clergy said about 500 Palestinians approached the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to protest against Patriarch Irineos I, who has been accused in media reports of selling Greek Orthodox Church land in Jerusalem to Jews. Irineos, who denies the allegations, had been celebrating Orthodox Good Friday Mass inside the church, said Marwan Tubasi, Greek Orthodox Council chairman in the Palestinian territories.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3092731,00.html
Bedouin convicted on ‘terror’ charges
YNetNews 5/30/2005
Beer Sheva court finds Bedouin guilty of attempting to carry out attack against IDF soldiers; three others arrested in connection — BEER SHEVA – The Beer Sheva District court convicted a 26-year-old Bedouin Monday on charges of conspiring to murder IDF soldiers. He is also charged with purchasing an illegal weapon and conspiring to commit treason.Three other Bedouins from the Negev were also arrested in connection to the affair last month. A gag order was lifted following the indictment. Talal Abu-Ganaim from the Bedouin village of Lakia in the Negev purchased a Kalashnikov rifle and bullets last year, with the intent to carry out a shooting attack against IDF soldiers.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/582254.html
PA security forces uncover tunnel dug by terrorists under Gush Katif
Ha’aretz 5/31/2005
PA suspends plans to execute Palestinian collaborators / PA arrests suspect in Ramallah assassination — Palestinian Authority security forces in the Gaza Strip on Monday evening discovered a tunnel that was apparently to be used to carry out a terror attack on Gush Katif. Terrorists were likely to detonate large bombs in the tunnel, which extended from Khan Yunis to neighboring Gush Katif. It may have also been used to infiltrate terrorists into the Israeli settlement block…PA police forces in Ramallah arrested on Monday afternoon a suspect in the Sunday night assassination of former Palestinian ministerial aide Samir al-Rantisi. Al-Rantisi, who served as spokesman for former Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo, was shot as he arrived home, in full view of some of his family members.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3092760,00.html
PA discovers weapons’ smuggling tunnel
YNetNews 5/31/2005
Palestinian security forces find tunnel near city of Khan Yunis in Gaza Strip; say aimed at smuggling weapons and terrorists to carry out attacks — Palestinian security forces reported to the IDF Monday that they had discovered a tunnel leading from the city of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip towards the Gush Katif settlement bloc. The tunnel, 10 meters deep and 50 meters in length was apparently intended to facilitate terror attacks against Israeli targets, as well as smuggle explosive materials to blow up IDF posts and civilian residential areas, the sources said. Similar tunnels have facilitated weapons smuggling under the Egyptian border for years.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/582284.html
Court orders IDF to compensate Jenin family wounded in raid
Ha’aretz 5/30/2005
The Nazareth Magistrate’s Court on Monday ordered the Defense Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces to compensate a Palestinian family from Jenin whose mother was killed and two daughters seriously wounded during a raid involving Border Police forces in the West Bank city in 1992. The court said the IDF was negligent and exerted unreasonable force during the operation. The exact sum of compensation will be decided on next month. The incident took place 13 years ago when the undercover Border Police force attempted to arrest two wanted militants in Jenin.
english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=Enews&id=2764
IOF Arrests 2 Citizens
WAFA 5/30/2005
HEBRON, May 30, 2005, (WAFA)- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested two citizens, including a girl, in two separate violations in the West Bank, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said. The sources said Monday that Israeli soldiers arrested, last night, Nirman Salamin 28, near al-Fawwar Camp, south of Hebron. They added that the soldiers arrested Salamin and led her to Asqalan Prison in Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli troops swept into the neighbourhood of Swaitat, in Jenin, and arrested Abdulraziq Turkman 24, and led him to undisclosed place, witnesses said.
www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11417&Itemid=1
Female university student arrested in Hebron
International Middle East Media Center 5/30/2005
A Palestinian security source reported on Monday that Israeli soldiers arrested Sunday a female university student on a military checkpoint which was installed at the entrance of al-Fawwar refugee camp in Hebron. The Palestinian District Coordination Office reported that Nariman Ahmad al-Salameen, 28, from al-Sammoa village, was arrested and transferred to Asqalan prison. Al-Salameen is a student of the Hebron branch of Al-Quds Open University. [end]
www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11420&Itemid=1
Who killed Samir Rantisi?
International Middle East Media Center 5/30/2005
On Sunday at night a masked gunman shot dead reporter Samir Rantisi, an aid of former Palestinian information minister Yasser Abed Rabo, a leading figure in the Geneva initiative. Rantisi was shot in full view of some of his family members as he arrived to his home in Sateh Marhaba neighborhood in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Sources in Ramallah said they believe the assassination was related to opposition to the Geneva Initiative. However, Palestinian Authority police sources said they believe the background for the assassination was criminal. Sources close to Rantisi family said that the assassination was carried out to set an end to a file on corruption of some PA officials their son was preparing.
www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=1&id=899
Israel Obstructs Arming PNA Police
Palestine Media Center 5/29/2005
IOF Shoot Dead 2 Unarmed Palestinians, Man Denied Access to Hospital Dies — The United States was pressuring the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to disarm the anti-occupation groups as Israel was obstructing the arming of the PNA police, at the same time the armed-to-teeth Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) were shooting more Palestinians dead. IOF shot dead a Palestinian in the southern West Bank city of Hebron early Sunday, claiming he tried to launch a stabbing attack on an Israeli soldier. The victim, who has yet to be identified, was hit by eight bullets and left bleeding to death, eyewitnesses told the Palestinian official news agency WAFA.
english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=enews&id=2757
IOF Arrests Citizen in Hebron
WAFA 5/29/2005
HEBRON, May 29, 2005 (WAFA)- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested Saturday a citizen in the West Bank, city of Hebron, witnesses said. Local witnesses told WAFA reporter that IOF soldiers arrested Ayman Abu Hashem 23, at a newly erected checkpoint at the entrance of al-Dora town, leading him, to an unknown location. Meanwhile, IOF held an employee in the municipality of al-Khader at a flying checkpoint, confiscating his ID card, witnesses said. The employee, together with another co-worker, was held while carrying out his work in the town.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581419.html
IDF arrests would-be bomber near Nablus
Ha’aretz 5/29/2005
The discovery on Friday of an explosives belt at an Israel Defense Forces checkpoint near Nablus is believed to have foiled a suicide attack planned for the center of the country. Also in the territories over the weekend, a Hamas activist was killed in a blast presumed to have taken place while the man was preparing an explosive device. The explosives belt was found Friday afternoon at a checkpoint at the northwestern exit from Nablus. A Palestinian who approached the checkpoint aroused the suspicions of the soldiers on duty, who saw electrical wires hanging out of a bag the man was carrying. A search led to the discovery of a two-kilogram explosives belt.`
www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11393&Itemid=1
Resistance fires mortar shells at Gush Katif settlement
International Middle East Media Center 5/29/2005
An Israeli military source reported that two Qassam rockets and several homemade shells were fired at Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning; No casualties were reported. Earlier on sunday morning, Israeli soldiers the Eretz Crossing in the Gaza Strip; army claims that the resistance fired a homemade shell st the Israeli Negev town of Sderot. Also, an Israeli military source claimed that military intelligence recieved information that resistance fighters intend to carry out bombing in the crossing.
www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11389&Itemid=1
Army invades Allar, Shweika, near Tulkarem
International Middle East Media Center 5/28/2005
Saturday afternoon, Israeli soldiers invaded the village of Allar and Shweika area, north of Tulkarem and conducted military searches. The WAFA news agency reported that soldiers stopped dozens of vehicles, searched them and interrogated the youth. Also, soldiers closed zeta-Allar junction, north of Tulkarem, and surrounded Thannaba area and Tulkarem refugee camp.
www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11214&Itemid=1
PA: Hamas splitters formed Jundallah “God’s Brigades”
International Middle East Media Center 5/20/2005
A militant group named Jundallah “God’s Brigades” became first known earlier this week as it declared responsibility for an attack on an army post near the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, wounding four soldiers. According to the Jerusalem post, some Palestinian security officials believe the group is linked to Al-Qaida. “Jundallah, who are especially active in southern Gaza, consists mostly of scores of former Hamas and Islamic Jihad members,” Jerusalem post quoted a Palestinian security source saying. Group members are likely the ones who were unhappy with the current wave of moderation within the main stream Islamic movement…But, Abu Abdallah al-Khattab, who identifies himself as the spokesman for Jundallah in the Gaza Strip, on Thursday denied that his group was part of al-Qaida or any other international terror group.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3092597,00.html
The fight is over
YNetNews 5/30/2005
Yona Melina passes away decade after Jerusalem terror attack leaves him paralyzed from neck down, fighting for his life. His attorney: ‘ Yona loved the country very much. You’d expect him to turn his back on the country after the horrible attack he underwent, but he acted in the exact opposite manner’ — Yona Melina, who sustained the most severe injuries recorded during the intifada, died at the age of 38 in Shiba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer Monday after his condition took a turn for the worse during the past two weeks.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3092611,00.html
Hamas threatens suicide attacks in U.K.
YNetNews 5/30/2005
Warning follows leader’s call for attacks against U.K. targets; however, fundraising successes may dampen interest in high-profile attacks — JERUSALEM – Hamas has several cells inside the United Kingdom and is capable of attacking the country, a senior Israeli security official told World Net Daily. The official spoke in response to a sermon, broadcast live on Palestinian television earlier this month, in which a cleric associated with Hamas threatened terror attacks against Britain.Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiras, a popular Palestinian Islamic leader, said in a live sermon broadcast May 13: “We take this opportunity to hold Britain accountable and say there is revenge we can never forget…”
www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11426&Itemid=1
Four stores closed in Hebron
International Middle East Media Center 5/30/2005
Israeli closed four stores and the entrance of an old building in the old city of Hebron, after invading it. The WAFA news agency reported that soldiers closed four stored and melded their doors, in al-Sihla area, near the Abraham Abino illegal settlement outpost. Also, soldiers closed the entrance of an old Palestinian home which belongs to al-Zaatary family. The home was recently reconstructed by Hebron reconstruction Committee, but army barred the family from returning to their home.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/582328.html
Knesset limits granting of citizenship to Palestinians married to Israeli Arabs
Ha’aretz 5/30/2005
The Knesset on Monday extended by an additional three months limitations on the granting of residency and citizenship status to Palestinians who marry Israeli Arabs. The decision was approved Monday in second and third readings by a majority of 38 to nine. Two Knesset members abstained from voting on the decision. Coalition Chairman Gideon Sa’ar said “the solid majority today in the Knesset plenum testifies to the determination to maintain the security of Israel and its character as the state of the Jews.” It was decided, nevertheless, to ease the limitations in response to a ruling by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz that a complete freeze on the granting of citizenship to Palestinians would not stand up in the High Court of Justice.
electronicintifada.net/v2/article3889.shtml
Photostory: The Erez Crossing Point in Gaza
By Rima Merriman, Electronic Intifada 5/29/2005
These 10 photos were taken on 22 May 2005 and show the passage from the point of arrival at the border of Gaza to the point of entry into Gaza. A sign at the entrance to the passage says in faulty Arabic: “Continuing with violence results in the withholding of ease of access and luxury for the people.‰ The passage is similar to the design developed by Temple Grandin (an assistant professor at Colorado State University) for the routing of cattle as they are led to slaughter. The Israelis are on the scene through remote control. When a person exiting from Gaza approaches the turnstile, a disembodied voice, rough and rude, tells him or her to drop bags to the floor, to lift up clothes, turn around, etc.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/582339.html
Israel, South Africa to revive defense ties
Ha’aretz 5/31/2005
Israel and South Africa are resuming security cooperation after a hiatus of almost 15 years, with a senior delegation from the South African defense ministry due here next week for the first time since the fall of the apartheid regime. The two countries had close security relations during the apartheid years, but the ties were severed when white rule in South Africa was replaced by a democratic government. The delegation, which also includes representatives of South Africa’s defense industries, will be hosted by Defense Ministry Director General Amos Yaron. The trip will include visits to Israel’s defense industries. A spokeswoman for Israel’s Defense Ministry declined to respond when asked for comment on the visit.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4593397.stm
Jerusalem clergy appoint new head
BBC 5/30/2005
Leaders of Jerusalem’s Greek Orthodox Church have appointed a temporary substitute for its embattled patriarch. Archbishop Cornelios takes over from Patriarch Irineos, who is entangled in a row over the sale of church land in East Jerusalem to Jewish investors. Palestinians, who want to hold on to the land in case of a final peace deal with Israel, fear the land could be used to build a Jewish settlement. Patriarch Irineos has denied any wrongdoing and has refused to resign. He is the religious head of 100,000 Christians in the Holy Land, most of them Palestinian.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/582326.html
Unclear whether Israel will cooperate with new Greek Orthodox patriarch
Ha’aretz 5/31/2005
Leaders of the Greek Orthodox Church met in the Old City of Jerusalem Monday to select a temporary replacement for its embattled patriarch. Fourteen out of 17 members of the Holy Synod in Jerusalem named Archbishop Cornelios, the head of the church’s ecclesiastical court, to take the place of Irineos I until a permanent replacement is found. Cornelios also served as temporary patriarch before Irineos’ appointment nearly four years ago. It is still unclear whether Israel will decide to cooperate with Cornelios…For now, Israel says it won’t support anyone who opposes, in principle, the sale of property to Jews in East Jerusalem.
www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=15521
EuroMed takes stock of chances for cooperation
Daily Star 5/31/2005
European Union foreign ministers and their counterparts from Israel and its Arab neighbors are taking stock of the Mideast peace process and debating economic and political cooperation between Europe and the Middle East at a two-day meeting opening Monday. Rarely in the past decade has the twice-annual Euro-Mediterranean ministerial meeting opened with better prospects for peace in the region than now. The EU wants to exploit a February 8 Israeli-Palestinian truce to push an ambitious plan to boost education, trade, economic integration and human rights programs in the region as part of an overall effort to craft a Euro-Mediterranean free-trade area by 2010.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581851.html
EU meets with Israel, Arab neighbors over cooperation
Ha’aretz 5/30/2005
BRUSSELS, Belgium – European Union foreign ministers and their counterparts from Israel and its Arab neighbors take stock of the Mideast peace process and debate economic and political cooperation between Europe and the Middle East at a two-day meeting opening Monday. Rarely in the past decade has the twice-annual Euro-Mediterranean ministerial meeting opened with better prospects for peace in the region than now. The EU wants to exploit a Feb. 8 Israeli-Palestinian truce to push an ambitious plan to boost education, trade, economic integration and human rights programs in the region as part of an overall effort to craft a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area by 2010.
www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11428&Itemid=1
Joint Committee of the Deportees and Wanted affairs to meet today
International Middle East Media Center 5/30/2005
Abdul Fattah Hamayel, Palestinian chair of the committee of the Deportees and Wanted affairs said the joint Israeli-Palestinian committee is scheduled to meet Monday afternoon. Hamayel said, the Palestinians invested a serious effort to fulfill its commitments especially in Jericho and Tulkarem, the two cities Israel handed control over to the PA. “The ball is in Israel’s field now, we will what would the Israelis propose in today’s meeting,” Hamayel said, adding that the Palestinians have repeatedly said they are “ready to implement the same measures in every city Israel hands over to the Palestinian authority.”
www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11429&Itemid=1
Qalqilia Mayor among prisoners slated for release
International Middle East Media Center 5/30/2005
Palestinian sources reported that the recently elected Mayor of Qalqilia Wajeeh Qawwas is among the 400 prisoners slated to be released from Israeli jails. According to the Sharm A-Sheikh summit in February 2005, in which the Palestinians and the Israelis declared truce, Israel was supposed to hand over five Palestinian cities to the Palestinian authority and release 900 prisoners as good will gestures. Qawwas was recently elected Mayor of Qalqilia while in prison and received the highest number of votes, in the local elections held on May 5.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581650.html
Six Gulf countries call for resumption of Mideast peace talks
Ha’aretz 5/29/2005
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Six Gulf Arab states expressed support Saturday for Palestinian efforts to return to peace negotiations with Israel and for the Jewish state to return land it captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. The countries also urged governments to keep fighting terrorism. The Gulf Cooperation Council “urged the international community to effectively cooperate to finish off this destructive plague,” said GCC secretary-general, Abdulrahman al-Attiyah, after the council’s one-day consultations. The meeting here took place despite the hospitalization on Friday of Saudi King Fahd, which observers here took as a sign that Fahd’s condition was stable.
www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=4982
Erekat Says Israel Continues Dictation Policy and Avoids Negotiations
International Press Center 5/29/2005
GAZA, May 29, 2005 (IPC + Agencies) – – The chief negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat asserted that the Israeli government favored the policy of dictations over negotiations, despite the declaration of the US President during his meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas. Erekat, who was speaking in a radio interview, said that the American standing was clear and determined after the visit of President Abbas, and what was needed now would be to follow up that standpoint on the ground and have the Israeli government abide by it.
www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=15490
Abbas insists era of suicide bombers is over
Daily Star 5/30/2005
The era of suicide bombing in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be over and the culture of violence is changing in the region, said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in an interview aired on Sunday. Abbas made his comments hours after Israel’s government agreed to release 400 Palestinian prisoners and days after landmark talks with President George W. Bush, who sought to strengthen the Palestinian leader, in part, by not demanding publicly that he crack down on militants. In an interview broadcast on ABC-TV in the U.S. last night, Abbas renewed calls for Hamas to renounce violence and enter into dialogue with Fatah.
www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11430&Itemid=1
Hamas still undecided about whether to join election repeat
International Middle East Media Center 5/30/2005
Spokesman of Hamas in the Gaza Strip Sami Abu Zuhri said his movement still did not decide whether it will participate in the local elections repeat in some polling stations in the Gaza Strip. He told a press conference in Gaza, “This will be decided based on the results of the meetings that will be held with Fatah.” He slammed reports that claim that Hamas has already decided on the issue describing it as “far away from the movement’s stance.” Hamas and Fatah held a meeting Sunday night in which they discussed details of the guarantees Hamas is asking for regarding the elections.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581425.html
PA plans to recruit 5,000 security personnel soon
Ha’aretz 5/29/2005
The Palestinian Interior Ministry announced yesterday it is to recruit 5,000 security personnel in the coming weeks. The new officers will be drafted to the national security force in the Gaza Strip and to other Palestinian Authority security agencies in the West Bank. The recruits will undergo a quick 45-day training program and will be used to secure areas in the Gaza Strip to be evacuated by Israel in the framework of the disengagement plan. Their mission will be weakened because they won’t be armed, owing to Israeli restrictions on the number of weapons Palestinian security forces can carry, Palestinian Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khousa said.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581407.html
Sela to post list of land for allocation to evacuated farmers
Ha’aretz 5/29/2005
The Disengagement Administration (Sela) is to post on its Web site today the areas of land in the Negev and Galilee regions designated by the Israel Lands Administration (ILA) as available for allocation to evacuated Gush Katif farmers. The evacuated settlers would be eligible to these estates in addition to agricultural tracts they receive in compensation for farmland they leave behind in the Gaza Strip. This is being done in accordance with sections in the Evacuation Compensation Law directing the allocation of farmland from moshavim and kibbutzim in national priority regions. To date, the state has claimed “the arrangement is impracticable,” even though the law demands the compilation of such a list.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3092515,00.html
Sharon evades pullout questions
YNetNews 5/30/2005
Knesset committee members present prime minister with tough questions; Sharon replies with jokes — JERUSALEM ˆ Prime Minister Ariel Sharon chose to resort to humor as he faced tough questions from members of the Knesset State Control Committee Monday. Sharon spoke before the committee today in response to criticism expressed in the State Comptroller‚s report over preparatory work at the Prime Minister‚s Office ahead of the pullout. During the session, right-wing Knesset members presented Sharon with a series of questions regarding the upcoming settlement evacuation and the decision-making process that led to it.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581832.html
Not a minute without an attack
Ha’aretz 5/30/2005
The more stable and promising Mahmoud Abbas appears on the international stage, the more his situation in the internal Palestinian arena appears bleak. The list of problems he faces is growing so long, so fast, that one can only ask how long can he last. At the end of a trip to Washington and Canada that he and most of his colleagues in the leadership considered quite successful, he now continues on to North Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya, and from there he will return home after a brief stop in Cairo. The Palestinian street laughs that he is turning into a “flying leader” like his predecessor Yasser Arafat, who nearly all his life felt much more at home on his globetrotting travels than in his offices in Tunisia, Gaza or Ramallah.
www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11432&Itemid=1
Abbas, Sharon to meet soon to discuss disengagement
International Middle East Media Center 5/30/2005
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet soon with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem to coordinate the intended Gaza Pullout, including security arrangements following the withdrawal of Israeli troops, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Monday. If the meeting takes place, it would represent the first time the two leaders meet since the February 8 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh. “Sharon and Abbas plan to meet in a short time in Jerusalem.‰ Shalom said. “We are trying very hard to coordinate with the Palestinians in order to make sure the Gaza Strip areas Israel leaves behind do not come under the sway of Hamas‰ Shalom told reporters outside an EU-Mideast conference.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3092603,00.html
Katsav visits Germany
YNetNews 5/30/2005
President marks 40 years of diplomatic relations, will address Reichstag during three-day visit — President Moshe Katsav arrived in Germany Monday to mark 40 years of diplomatic relations during a three-day visit in which he is set to address the German parliament. Katsav was received with military honors by his German counterpart, Horst Koehler, after touching down at Berlin’s Tegel airport. The two presidents later met to discuss setting up a joint fund to intensify youth, scholarly and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/RMOI-6C
V4P4?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR
Israeli assistance steps and humanitarian measures towards the Palestinians: Following the Palestinian elections and the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit
ReliefWeb/Government of Israel 5/30/2005
Government of Israel, 26 May 2005 — A. Background:Following the Palestinian elections (January 9, 2005) and the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit (February 8, 2005), Israel has taken a series of measures with the purpose of easing the everyday life of the Palestinian population. These measures are part of a policy aimed at utilizing the “window of opportunity” that was opened after the establishment of the new Palestinian government and renewed cooperation between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel. Their implementation was possible due to the decrease in the number of terrorist attacks against Israelis and the improvement in cooperation between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Palestinian security forces.
www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/SODA-6C
V73U?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR
Prime Minister meets Palestinian Authority President Abbas
ReliefWeb/Government of Canada 5/30/2005
27 May 2005 — Prime Minister Paul Martin welcomed Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to Ottawa today for a working visit, the first since Mr. Abbas’ election as President of the PA in January 2005. It was also the first visit to Canada by the head of the PA since 2000. “President Abbas’ visit is of great importance and helped strengthen Canada’s relations with the Palestinian Authority,” said the Prime Minister. “Our discussions reflected how vital it is that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority implement their respective Roadmap obligations and accelerate efforts toward peace…”
www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=4996
Abbas Holds Talks with Moroccan King
International Press Center 5/29/2005
PALESTINE, May29, 2005(IPC+Agencies)---The President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Morocco on Saturday for talks with King Mohammed VI and other officials on his way home from visits to the United States and Canada. He flew into the southern port city of Agadir, where he was met by the Moroccan king. The two men then held talks. The President Abbas briefed the Moroccan king on the results of Abbas’s visit to the USA as well as the latest development on the occupied Palestinian territories, the efforts made to return the peace process back on the track and pressing on Israel to meet its obligations.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581420.html
Former Freedom Party official says he worked for the Mossad
Ha’aretz 5/29/2005
VIENNA – A former senior official in Austria’s Freedom Party said he worked for Israel’s spy agency while serving alongside its one-time populist leader Joerg Haider, a news magazine reported yesterday. Peter Sichrovsky, a former general secretary of the Freedom Pary, was quoted by the Austrian news magazine Profil as saying he worked with Mossad at a time when Haider was holding talks with former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and other Mideast leaders. “I cooperated with the Mossad until my resignation from politics,” he was quoted as saying. “I wanted to help Israel, and certainly did nothing wrong. I am no James Bond.”
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/582283.html
AG denies hearing for chief rabbi on possible fraud charge
Ha’aretz 5/30/2005
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Monday rejected a request by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger for a hearing ahead of any decision on whether to indict him for fraud and breach of trust. Metzger could face charges for allegedly staying with his family at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem for a minimal fee during Pesach 2004. During an investigation into the affair, police discovered that the Metzgers also allegedly received huge discounts at David Citadel during last year’s Sukkot and Shavuot holidays, and enjoyed similarly discounted stays at other hotels.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3092455,00.html
ŒWe need you more than ever‚
YNetNews 5/30/2005
Government earmarks annual USD 50 million in bid to bring Jewish youngsters to Israel; Prime Minister Sharon‚s speech during project‚s inauguration disrupted by pullout objectors — BEIT GUVRIN – Israel needs Jewish youngsters to visit the country today more than ever, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told an international group of youths in a speech Sunday. Earlier, the government decided to invest USD 50 million dollar annually in a bid to bring Jewish youngsters from across the world to visit Israel through the Jewish Agency.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3092724,00.html
Vilnai: ŒDon‚t vote for Peres‚
YNetNews 5/30/2005
Labor Party meets, okay‚s union with One Nation party; Matan Vilnai says, ‘vote for Peres is a vote to glorify the past’ — TEL AVIV – As the vote for Labor Party leadership approaches, the party committee gathered Monday in Tel Aviv to discuss the coming election, and to validate a proposal to join together with Amir Peretz‚s One Nation party. But the central issue was the coming election of a new party leader. A veritable carnival took place outside the meeting room, as supporters of acting party chairman Shimon Peres, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and government minister Matan Vilnai campaigned for their candidates…Vilnai also used the opportunity to critcize Peres.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4591639.stm
Cigar fires up Israeli minister
BBC 5/29/2005
When Israeli Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took questions on the hot issue of the day he was – quite literally – fuming. A reporter noticed smoke coming from the minister’s suit pocket as he discussed a controversial decision to replace Israel’s army chief. Mr Netanyahu had unwittingly slipped a lit cigar into his jacket as he was walking into a weekly cabinet meeting…”Can’t you smell the smoke?” the journalist asked Mr Netanyahu in a sudden switch of conversation, according to news agency Reuters. “What do you mean?” asked Mr Netanyahu. “Your cigar is on fire,” said the reporter. “The one inside your suit jacket. Minister Netanyahu, you are burning up.”
english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=enews&id=2759
PCBS: Percentage of whom expecting improvement on the establishments situation declined by 1.1% compared with 9.9% during
WAFA 5/29/2005
RAMALLAH, May 29, 2005 (WAFA)- Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said that the percentage of whom are expecting improvement on the establishments situation declined by 1.1% during April compared with 9.9% during March. In a press release issued Sunday, On the Main Findings of the Survey on the Perception of the Owners/Managers of the Industrial Establishments Towards the Economic Conditions, April 2005, PCBS revealed that the percentage of whom are expecting higher employment level declined by 33.6% compared with 43.7% for the same months.
www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=918952
Fischer: Industrial espionage affair could harm foreign investment
Globes 5/30/2005
“Investors will think twice if the investigation uncovers things I trust are not there.” — The industrial espionage affair is liable to harm foreign investment, Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer told the Knesset Finance Committee today. Fischer said the affair’s affect on foreign investment would depend on the results of the police investigation, and on the effect on Israel’s general business climate…Fischer said, however, that the problem was nothing new.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581790.html
Court remands top Israeli execs in industrial espionage affair
Ha’aretz 5/30/2005
The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court Monday remanded several people from some of Israel’s leading commercial companies and private investigators suspected of commissioning and carrying out industrial espionage against their competitors, which was carried out by planting Trojan horse software in their competitors’ computers. Uzi Mor, CEO of Mayer and his deputies Avner Kez and Or Schachar, Moriah Katriel, financial vice president of Yes as well as Yoram Cohen, CEO of Hamafil were placed under an eight-day house arrest.
english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=Enews&id=2767
JMFA: Japan Assistance to the Palestinians Amounted to $767 Million
WAFA 5/30/2005
TOKYO, May 30, 2005, (WAFA)- Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (JMFA) said that Japan’s contribution to the assistance to the Palestinian people since 1993 has amounted to about $767 million. In a summery of Japan’s assistance to the Palestinian people issued on Monday, the ministry revealed that since the outbreak of the “Intifada” in September 2000, Japan implemented almost $190 million of assistance with its emphasis on humanitarian relief. “Almost 70% of the total assistance have been channeled through the international organizations including UNDP and UNRWA”, the ministry said.
www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=919128&fid=942
British Gas to start new drilling in Gaza
Globes 5/30/2005
British Gas has signed a cooperation agreement with Atwood Oceanics to carry out the drilling. — British Gas (Israel) will start drilling the Gaza Marine 3 well at the South Noa natural gas field in August. The company hopes to complete the drilling during the fourth quarter of the year. British Gas has signed a cooperation agreement with Atwood Oceanics Inc. (NYSE:ATW) to carry out the drilling. Under the agreement, Atwood will bring in its Atwood Southern Cross rig. This rig also carried out the Gaza Marine 1 and 2 drillings, where British Gas found commercial quantities of natural gas. [end]
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/582310.html
Labor Court freezes teachers’ dismissals until June 16
Ha’aretz 5/30/2005
The dismissals of 6,000 teachers by the Education Ministry will be put on hold until June 16, judges of the National Labor Court in Jerusalem ruled Monday. The judges ordered that the dismissals themselves be put into sealed envelopes in a safe in the Education Ministry. Over the next two weeks, negotiations between the teachers’ associations and the Education Ministry will resume in an attempt to reach an agreement regarding the dismissals. Both sides are supposed to notify the court by June 5 of progress in negotiations. The court will allow them to complete their arguments until June 9, after which it will decide how the deliberations will proceed.
www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=918854&fid=942
Geocartography: Israeli housing market smaller than thought
Globes 5/30/2005
Only 65,000 units are sold annually. Purchase tax reports contain a consistent error. — “Israel’s housing market is much smaller than estimated,” says Geocartography Knowledge group head Dr. Rina Degani. “65,000 apartments are sold a year in Israel, not 100,000, the accepted figure.” Therefore, new homes account for 40% of total sales, not 25%. On the basis of this estimate, only 27,000 new homes are being sold. Degani said estimates of housing sales were based on official reports derived from purchase tax figures.
www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=15471
Greek fraud squad to probe Irineos’ offices
Daily Star 5/30/2005
Team will inspect Jerusalem patriarch’s holdings in Athens — ATHENS: The Greek Finance Ministry’s fraud squad will soon probe the Athens offices of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, a few days after Patriarch Irineos I was removed from his seat over an alleged land sale scandal, a radio station reported on Sunday. Flash Radio, quoting what it referred to as “reputable” sources, said the inspection will be carried out at the request of a clerical committee temporarily running the patriarchate’s affairs since Irineos’ removal by a pan-Orthodox synod in Istanbul on May 29.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581406.html
U.S. court asked to move Israeli testimony to end of terror trial
Ha’aretz 5/29/2005
The defense team for four Arab Americans on trial for involvement in terror attacks has asked a Florida court not to let the Israeli witnesses testify at the trial’s opening. Professor Sami al-Arian, a computer lecturer at South Florida University, and three others are facing charges of aiding Islamic Jihad, which is responsible for dozens of terror attacks against Israelis. The prosecution wants to open with testimony from several witnesses from Israel, including survivors of terror attacks, members of bereaved families and police officers.
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EFE73381-1F13-4E71-8024-5A0A63C22660.htm
Saad al-Hariri vows to stand by allies
AlJazeera 5/30/2005
Official results show Saad al-Hariri’s bloc grabbing all 19 seats of the capital Beirut in the 128-member Lebanese assembly in Sunday’s vote. Many observers expect the four-stage polls to sweep the anti-Syrian opposition to power, even though the main alliance has splintered. The elections will be held on three consecutive Sundays to fill all 128 seats in the legislature. Saad, son of slain former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri and a Sunni Muslim, plans to travel to the north and the east, where there is a sizable Sunni population, to join allies in trying to forge tickets and negotiate coalitions that could win the opposition more seats.
news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050529/wl_nm/lebanon_dc_7
Turnout low in Lebanon’s first Syria-free polls
Yahoo! News 5/29/2005
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The son of slain Rafik al-Hariri headed for an election victory in Beirut on Sunday, but voters denied him the high turnout he sought in Lebanon’s first general election in three decades with no Syrian troops in the country. Even before the vote began, nine of the city’s 19 seats had gone uncontested to nominees of Saad al-Hariri, a 35-year-old businessman thrust into politics by the Feb. 14 killing of his father, who served several terms as prime minister. Hariri called for a high turnout but the response was tepid. An Interior Ministry official said only 27 percent of eligible voters had cast ballots shortly before the polls closed at 6 p.m. (1500 GMT). Voting was especially thin in Christian areas.
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/444F5CC6-FA57-43B1-BA99-208FFCAC1DF1.htm
Egypt frees 52 opposition activists
AlJazeera 5/30/2005
Egypt’s top prosecutor has ordered the release of 52 student members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood in time for university exams, a prosecution official says. The students, arrested in a government crackdown sparked by a wave of pro-reform demonstrations, were held for more than two weeks, according to the official at the office of Prosecutor-General Maher Abd al-Wahed. It was not immediately clear if the students had been released already. On Saturday, police said 77 students from the banned opposition group were freed by the prosecutor-general for the same reason.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4592763.stm
Iraq bombers hit security forces
BBC 5/30/2005
At least 27 people have been killed in a dual suicide bomb attack in the mainly Shia town of Hilla, 95km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, officials say. Police said the bombers mingled with a crowd of policemen protesting against a decision to disband their unit. One bomber detonated his charge in the middle of the crowd, the reports said. A second blew himself up about a minute later, as people fled the first bombing. Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed the attacks via the internet. The scene of the blasts, covered in pools of blood and scattered with remains of clothes and shoes, was immediately cordoned off. “We have 27 people killed and 128 wounded,” an interior ministry source told the AFP news agency.
fairuse.1accesshost.com/news2/latimes656.html
Risk of Civil War Spreads Fear Across Nation
Los Angeles Times 5/29/2005
Many worry that strains between Sunnis and Shiites could ignite a conflict that would overwhelm U.S. troops and the government. — BAGHDAD ˜ Explosions rip through marketplaces, scattering blood and vegetables and leaving women wailing in the alleys. Bodies bob in rivers and are dug up from garbage dumps and parks. Kidnappers troll the streets, sirens howl through morning prayers and mortar rounds whistle against skylines of minarets. Iraqis awake each day to the sounds of violence. With little respite, many wonder whether strange, terrible forces are arrayed against them. They fear that weeks of sectarian and clan violence, claiming the lives of all types from imams to barefoot fishermen, are a prelude to civil war.
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6779B776-EA32-44AC-94AB-088258872169.htm
US: Arrest of Sunni leader a mistake
AlJazeera 5/30/2005
US forces in Baghdad have acknowledged they had detained Iraqi Sunni leader Muhsin Abd al-Hamid in error and said they were releasing him. “This morning coalition forces detained and interviewed Muhsen Abd al-Hamid. Following the interview it was determined that he was detained by mistake and should be released,” a statement issued by the US military said on Monday. The potentially damaging mistake took place against a backdrop of pervasive sectarian mistrust, made even worse by a double bombing earlier in the day in Hilla, a predominantly Shia city south of Baghdad, that left least 27 Iraqis dead and more than 118 wounded, according to Aljazeera.
Articles
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581423.html
Analysis / Israel completing capital’s borders with walls
By Danny Rubinstein, Ha’aretz 5/29/2005
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership were very pleased with the results of the first summit meeting between Abbas and U.S. President George Bush.
Their satisfaction derived, among other things, from one of Bush’s key statements: “Israel should not undertake any activity that contravenes road map obligations or prejudices final status negotiations with regard to Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.”
As far as Gaza is concerned, Bush’s statements were superfluous, Palestinian spokespeople said over the weekend. After all, Israel intends to withdraw from Gaza completely. As for the West Bank, Israel has for years been establishing faits accomplis that affect the final status. They have already won partial American recognition of the settlement blocs.
Bush’s statement was perhaps most important vis-a-vis Jerusalem. “The statements about Jerusalem are worthless,” said one Palestinian commentator, noting that Bush was attempting, not even seriously, to close the stable doors after the horses have fled. He meant that after building Jewish neighborhoods in and around East Jerusalem, with more than 250,000 residents today, Israel has already fixed faits accomplis in the city borders, by completing the walls and separation fences.
There is hardly a single Palestinian who does not know what is being done on the borders of East Jerusalem. In Qalandiyah in the north of the city, and at the entrance to Bethlehem in its south, large-scale construction of terminals, perhaps the biggest in the world, is in full swing. The terminals will complete the borders of the greater Jerusalem, which are already entirely lined by giant walls, fences and electronic devices. Tens of thousands of Palestinians with Israeli identity cards will be left beyond the walls. In other words, Israel has already fixed the facts on the ground in East Jerusalem.
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/77CB1374-1346-46CB-946A-BBEA259781B5.htm
Palestinian right of return is feasible
By Laila El-Haddad, AlJazeera 5/28/2005
May marked the 57th anniversary of al-Nakba (The Catastrophe), when Jews declared their state in Palestine and thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their homeland.
Today, the Palestinian refugees number over six million, comprising nearly one-third of the global refugee population.
Aljazeera.net interviewed Salman Abu-Sitta, general coordinator of the Right of Return Congress and founder of the Palestine Land Society (www.plands.org), on the issues surrounding al-Nakba and the fate of the refugees:
Abu-Sitta has worked tirelessly for the Palestinian Right of Return for several decades, and has over 50 publications to his credit.
Al-Nakba, Abu-Sitta says, was the “largest planned ethnic cleansing in modern history”.
Abu-Sitta is a refugee himself: he was nine years old when he was forced, along with the rest of his family, to flee their home in Beir al-Saba (Beersheba) in 1948.
He has documented every detail surrounding the 1948 exodus and historic Palestine. He research has shown that there is ample space in present-day Israel to accommodate all Palestinian refugees.
In this interview from his Kuwait office, Abu-Sitta reaffirmed that the Palestinian right of return is inalienable, non-negotiable, practical and feasible.
Aljazeera.net: Israeli politicians, as also some Palestinian politicians, argue that the implementation of the right of return would mean demographic suicide for Israel, that it is unrealistic and not practical.
Abu-Sitta: There is nothing in international law or in our sense of morality that says racist or ethnic exclusive considerations should overrule principles of justice…
www.palestinechronicle.com/story.php?sid=20050527081826942
Against Discouragement
By Howard Zinn, Palestine Chronicle 5/27/2005
[In 1963, historian Howard Zinn was fired from Spelman College, where he was chair of the History Department, because of his civil rights activities. This year, he was invited back to give the commencement address. Here is the text of that speech, given on May 15, 2005.]
I am deeply honored to be invited back to Spelman after forty-two years. I would like to thank the faculty and trustees who voted to invite me, and especially your president, Dr. Beverly Tatum. And it is a special privilege to be here with Diahann Carroll and Virginia Davis Floyd.
But this is your day — the students graduating today. It’s a happy day for you and your families. I know you have your own hopes for the future, so it may be a little presumptuous for me to tell you what hopes I have for you, but they are exactly the same ones that I have for my grandchildren.
My first hope is that you will not be too discouraged by the way the world looks at this moment. It is easy to be discouraged, because our nation is at war — still another war, war after war — and our government seems determined to expand its empire even if it costs the lives of tens of thousands of human beings. There is poverty in this country, and homelessness, and people without health care, and crowded classrooms, but our government, which has trillions of dollars to spend, is spending its wealth on war. There are a billion people in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East who need clean water and medicine to deal with malaria and tuberculosis and AIDS, but our government, which has thousands of nuclear weapons, is experimenting with even more deadly nuclear weapons. Yes, it is easy to be discouraged by all that.
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