News from Occupied Palestine

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Israeli forces demolish two Palestinian houses near Hebron
Ma’an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli police and military forces began to demolish
two houses in villages south of the West Bank city of Hebron on
Wednesday morning, witness said. International human rights workers
with the organization Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) said that Israeli
forces invaded the villages of Umm Navel, Khirbat Bdairat, and Umm
Al-Kher Al-Faqir on Wednesday morning and proceeded to destroy
the two buildings. Hebron Governorate Cartographer Abdul-Hadi
Hantash told Ma’an’s correspondent that the Israeli forces
demolished homes of Yasser Al-Adra from Khirbat Bdairat. The
house was built dozens of years ago, close to Israeli settlement of
Mazadot Yehuda. The other house, according to the official, belonged
to Muhammad Abu Qbaita in the village of Imneizil, and it was
demolished to make way for an Israeli road between two settlements
south of Hebron.

Israeli ground attack in N Gaza
Palestine News Network
Beit Hanoun / PNN - Israeli forces invaded on ground into the
northern Gaza Strip at dawn Wednesday, arresting seven Palestinians.
The target was the northeastern town of Beit Hanoun, already under
heavy siege. Palestinian security sources said that several military
vehicles entered this morning under a "barrage of intensive gunfire,"
and arrested a father, his sons and a number of his relatives.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades of the leftist Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine said that the resistance wing fought against an
Israeli special unit in Beit Hanoun after the invasion. At the level of
sustained artillery shelling, the Israeli forces at dawn today opened
missile fire from eastern Gaza City, exploding in open areas in the
Shajaiyeh neighborhood.

Olmert Defiant on Settlements
Al Jazeera English, MIFTAH
Ehud Olmert has said that Israel will not stop building on occupied
land in and around Jerusalem, defying US criticism and sparking
protests from Palestinians during renewed negotiations. The
Israeli prime minister said his government would continue to build
hundreds of new apartments in Har Homa in east Jerusalem.
"This includes, first and foremost, Jerusalem," he said. "We are
building in Jerusalem because everyone knows that there is no
chance the State of Israel will give up neighbourhoods like Har
Homa, as you know. It’s an inseparable part of Jerusalem.
"Palestinians, who refer to Har Homa as Jabal Abu Ghneim, see
the building there as the final piece in a wall of settlements encircling
Arab east Jerusalem, cutting it off from the rest of the occupied West
Bank. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Olmert’s comments
"cannot stand" and that the Palestinians delivered that message

McCain sounds Iran warning, backs J’lem as Israel’s capital
Barak Ravid, Ha’aretz
Senator John McCain, the Republican candidate for the U. S.
presidency, expressed concern yesterday about Iran’s support
for terror and its development of nuclear weapons. And before
his arrival in Israel yesterday, McCain said he supports Israel’s
claim to Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state. He told
reporters in Jordan: "I support Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
"Later, speaking at a meeting with President Shimon Peres in
Jerusalem, McCain said he was concerned by Iran’s negative
influence on the region - namely, the fact that it trains, finances
and otherwise assists radical groups - and that his concern had
merely been heightened by his current tour of the region. Peres
stressed that Iran is not Israel’s problem only. "The combination
of terror, nuclear capability and irresponsible leadership is a danger
to the entire world," he said.

Report: Israeli Jews increasingly anti-Arab
Avirama Golan, Ha’aretz
Israel’s Jewish community increasingly supports the delegitimization,
discrimination and even deportation of Arabs, found a report on
racism in Israel, set to be released today. The report, to be presented
at a press conference in Nazareth by Mossawa, the Advocacy Center
for Arab Citizens of Israel, states that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
has clearly impacted public opinion, and warns that ideas such as
population exchange and racial segregation are gaining ground. It also
warns that several Jewish politicians are gaining influence based on a
platform of racial hatred. Mossawa is supported by the Human Rights
Program of the European Commission and the United Nations Democracy
Foundation. The report, written by Mossawa director Jafar Farah and
others, mainly examines racism against Arabs in Israel, using criteria
taken from the anti-Semitism reports in Europe.

CPT: "Army demolishes 11 structures in Hebron"
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center
The Christian Peace Maker Teams (CPT), stationed in the southern
West Bank city of Hebron, issued a report on Wednesday revealing
that the Israeli military demolished 11 Palestinian structures in several
villages in the Hebron area. The demolishing acts took place in the
villages of Qawawis, Imneizil, Ad Deirat and Um Lasafa. Also,
residents of Al Tuwani area in Hebron are concerned that the army
would demolish a mosque which was built in 2007 after the so-called
Israeli Civil Administration Office issued an order to demolish the
mosque in November 2007. The CPT reported that on November 26, 2007,
an Israeli military jeep and a white pickup truck, belonging to the Israeli
District Coordination Office (DCO), drove into the village of at-Tuwani and
placed an order for the demolition of the village mosque. The army just
placed the order on a stone near the mosque and drove away without
talking to anyone.

Israeli bulldozer destroys one-room house near Jenin
Ma’an News Agency
Jenin – Ma’an – Israeli forces demolished a one-room house on
Wednesday in the northern West Bank village of Barta’a Ash-Sharqiyya
in southern Jenin district under the pretext that it was built without
license. Ma’an’s reporter said that eight Israeli military vehicles and a
bulldozer stormed the village at 7:30 in the morning and demolished the
50-meter hom belonging to Sabri Kabaha. The village has been cut off
from the rest of the West Bank by Israel’s separation wall. [end]

IOF troops kidnap 7 members of one family in northern Gaza
Palestinian Information Center
BEIT HANUN, (PIC)-- IOF troops on Wednesday kidnapped seven
members of a Palestinian family east of Beit Hanun city to the north
of the Gaza Strip after wreaking havoc in the family home. Eyewitnesses
reported that the soldiers advanced into eastern Beit Hanun and encircled
a house for Salah family amidst intensified firing. They added that the
soldiers arrested Assad Fahmi Salah, his three sons, and his brother
Sa’eed and his two sons. The occupation forces bulldozed large areas
of cultivated lands in the area while artillery shells slammed in fields east
of Gaza city. A Palestinian society for prisoners and ex-prisoners denounced
the IOF kidnapping of seven civilians after savagely breaking into their home.
Wa’ed society said that the kidnap fell in line with the policy of holocaust
against Gaza and the mass punishment imposed on the Strip.

ISRAEL-OPT: New campaign to promote safety of medical staff
Muhammed Ali/IRIN, IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs
RAMALLAH, 19 March 2008 (IRIN) - The International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC), the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the
Palestinian Ministry of Health launched a campaign on 17-18 March to
help protect medical staff and institutions in the occupied Palestinian
territory (OPT). The three bodies said they were concerned about the
"increasing lack of respect for medical services" in the OPT. During the
years of the `intifada’ (Palestinian uprising against Israel), which began in
September 2000, Palestinian, Israeli and international rights groups
documented cases in which the Israeli military blocked access for patients,
destroyed ambulances, entered hospitals, arrested patients and caused
harm to medical personnel.

Israeli forces seize teenager from his home in Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Bethlehem
on Wednesday morning and seized a Palestinian teenager after damaging
the furniture in his family’s house. The young man’s grandfather visited
Ma’an office in Bethlehem and explained that more than ten Israeli military
vehicles besieged the family’s house at As-Saf neighborhood. He said the
soldiers completely destroyed the family’s furniture before arresting his
grandson 17-year-old Abed Al-Hraimi. The grandfather also said that 480
NIS were missing from a bedroom that the troops destroyed. [end]

Palestinian security forces ’detain five Hamas
members’ in the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency
Nablus – Ma’an – The Palestinian security services affiliated to the
West Bank-based Palestinian Authority seized five Hamas members on
Tuesday evening, Hamas statement said. According to the statement,
one of the arrestees was the head of the municipal council of the village
of Husan village, near Bethlehem, Ali Shawasha and another member of the
municipal council Hasan Za’ul. The rest of the arrestees were from Jenin,
Jama’in and Qalqilia in the northern West Bank. [end]

Palestinian student seized at checkpoint near Nablus
Ma’an News Agency
Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli forces seized a Palestinian student at the
Huwwara military checkpoint south of the West Bank city of Nablus on
Wednesday afternoon. Witnesses said that the Israeli soldiers operating
the checkpoint detained 25-year-old Khalil Al-Atrash, a journalism student
at An-Najah National University while he was attempting to cross the
checkpoint out of Nablus. Al-Atrash is from the southern West Bank
city of Hebron. [end]

Israeli forces raid Qaffin, near Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency
Tulkarem – Ma’an – Israeli forces raided the northern West Bank town
of Qaffin in north of the West Bank city of Tulkarem, violently searching
several houses for "wanted" Palestinian activists. Eyewitnesses told our
correspondent that the Israeli troops ransacked home of Walid Sabbah and
conducted looking for his son, 18-year-old Ahmad Sabbah, an activist in the
Islamic Jihad movement. [end]

Israeli forces detain three Palestinians near Nablus
Ma’an News Agency
Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli forces seized three Palestinians from the
northern West Bank village of Sarra, west ofthe city of Nablus, at midnight
on Tuesday, local sources said. Witnesses said that several Israeli military
vehicles stormed the village and ransacked several houses before arresting
19-year-old Amin Kayid, 20-year-old Qays Abu Turab, and 19-year-old Tariq
Abu Turab. [end]

Israeli forces seize Palestinian man in Hebron
Ma’an News Agency
Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces on Wednesday morning stormed the
southern West Bank city of Hebron and detained 30-year-old Tariq
Sayyid Ahmad. Ahmad’s brother told Ma’an that an Israeli force ransacked
the family’s home and damaged its contents before arresting his brother. [end]

Israeli troops attack villages in southern
W.B and demolish at least four homes
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center
On Wednesday, Israeli troops using military bulldozers stormed
Um-Nizel, and Briet villages located to the south of Hebron city in the
southern part of the West Bank and demolished four homes. [end]

Palestinian prisoners issue message of
support for Bethlehem after Israeli attack
Ma’an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma’an Exclusive – A group of Fatah-affiliated Palestinian
prisoners have issued a message from an Israeli jail on Wednesday
expressing sorrow at the assassination by undercover Israeli forces of four
Palestinian fighters in the West Bank city of Bethlehem a week ago. The
message also called on rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to
hold negotiations aimed at uniting the Palestinian people. The prisoners
applauded the Secretary-General of Hizbullah, Hasan Nasrallah, for
offering to financially support families of the slain leaders in Bethlehem.
The four Palestinian men, one of them affiliated with the armed wing of
Fatah, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, were gunned down in their car by Israeli
special forces last Wednesday. Since the beginning of 2008, Palestinian
prisoners in Israeli jails have sent dozens of messages from their prison
cells by means of telephone calls, oral messages and swallowed "
capsules" of paper.

Chairman of the Yesha rabbinical council
forbids renting houses, employing Arabs
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International
Middle East Media Center
Israeli sources reported on Wednesday that the Chairman of the
Yeshai rabbinical council, chief Rabbi at the Keryat Arba’ Israeli
settlement in the Palestinian city of Hebron, Lior Dov, issued a religious
ruling (Halakhic) forbidding Jews from renting houses to Arabs or
employing them. Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported that Dov stated
in an interview with Eretz Israel Shelano (Our Land of Israel) that it is
totally forbidden to employ Arabs or rent houses to them as "this issue
endangers the souls". The paper will be distributed this coming Saturday
in various synagogues. He added that employing Arabs is forbidding
"not only in Yeshivas but also in hotels, factories and all other places".
Lior also backed a decision made by the administration of the Mercaz
Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem to bar the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert,
from visiting the Yeshiva after it was attacked by an Arab resident two weeks ago.

Mother of 4 stuck in London
Ali Waked, YNetNews
Gaza woman cannot return to Israel after studying in England
due to border crossing closings. She cannot enter Egypt, is illegal
in UK. A real life catch-22 -More than a year and a half ago Tagrid
Massari, a Gaza resident and mother of four, left the Strip for the United
Kingdom after receiving a scholarship to study for her Master’s degree
in English instruction. Her scholarly venture soon turned into a nightmare,
however, when she came home to find the border crossings into Gaza
had been closed. In order to come home to the Gaza Strip, Massri
must arrive inEgypt and then enter Gaza through the Rafah border
crossing. The Egyptian authorities, however, refuse to grant her the
permit to do just that. "The Egyptian Embassy in London told me that
I cannot get the necessary visa as long as the border crossing is closed,
" said Massari who remains in London in the meantime.

People of Azzun protest demolitions, blockade
Palestine Monitor, Palestine Monitor
A demonstration of over 450 people was held in the village
of Azzun last Thursday in protest at a demolition order issued by
the Israeli military against the town’s new playground and community
center. The protest was attended by scores of Azzun residents,
together with activists from the Ecumenical Accompaniment
Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), the International
Solidarity Movement (ISM), and the Fatah Youth Marching Band.
Construction of the playground and community center where the
protest was held began in 2005, after the municipality was given a
US$250,000 grant from USAID and the YMCA. But the Israeli military
issued a demolition order against the development, and in 2006
demolished the outdoor swimming pool which was being built adjacent
to the playground. Another demolition order has been issued against
the playground and community center for March 15 2008.

Mossawa Center releases
racism report detailing over 169 cases
Mossawa Center, International Middle East Media Center
The Mossawa Center released its annual racism report at a press
conference in Nazareth today, detailing 169 incidences of racism
against Arab minority of Israel, including the killings of Arab citizens. In
preparation for the report, Mossawa staff examined and detailed hundreds
of reports of racism, in particular cases against Arab citizens. The report
also deals with incidences of racism against refugees, labor immigrants
and Jewish immigrants, especially Ethiopians. "We believe that this
report is important for all citizens because racism can burn everything
that faces it," says Jafar Farah, director of the Mossawa Center.
"Furthermore, racism does not stop at Arab citizens but affects other
neglected communities. "Key figures released in the report today: -
41 Arab citizen shot dead over the past 7 years 24 Arab citizens shot
dead by Israeli policemen

Prisons Service: Underage girls treated inhumanely in custody
Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz
Underage girls held at the Russian Compound holding cells in Jerusalem
suffer inhumane and humiliating treatment, so maintains a report issued
by the Israel Prisons Service Committee of the Israel Bar. Committee
members met with five girls between the ages of 14 and 17 who had
been arrested during a right wing demonstrationin the East Jerusalem
neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber earlier this week, during which activists
tried to storm the house of a terrorist who killed eight yeshiva students
in Jerusalem two weeks ago. In the interim report, the committee wrote
that the cells in which the girls were held were filthy and unsanitary.
"The underage girls were given used military blankets exuding a bad smell,
to say the least," the report said. According to the report, three of the girls
were placed in one cell together with an adult. . .

Israeli border guards given official
instructions to shoot Palestinians in Jerusalem
Palestine News Network
Jerusalem / PNN- Israeli forces stationed at what is now the
"Jerusalem Envelope," the Wall surrounding East Jerusalem,
have received specific instructions to shoot Palestinians. This is
according to Israeli Army Radio quoted by Israeli sources Wednesday.
The "Jerusalem Envelope" refers to the Wall that the Israeli government
imposed around the capital of the future Palestinian state which divides
Palestinian neighborhoods and towns from one another and cuts off
thousands of citizens from essential services. It is part of what President
Abbas has recently referred to as the "ethnic cleansing" of Jerusalem,
something that journalists, human rights groups and pundits have been
saying for years. Prosecutors and the Legal Advisor to the Israeli
government gave official consent, allowing Israeli "border guards"
to shoot Palestinians "who rioted".

Israel orders army to use lethal fire
against Palestinians protesting illegal wall
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center
Israeli media sources reported on Wednesday that the Israeli
government has given new orders to the army, which allow troops to
use live rounds at Palestinian protesters near the illegal wall surrounding
the city of Jerusalem. The new orders allow soldiers to use lethal force,
referring to live rounds fired to kill, during protests against the illegal
Israeli wall surrounding the city, yet the new orders do not include those
actions that have the participation of Israeli and international peace activists.
Having occupied the city of Jerusalem in 1967, Israel decided in 2002 to
build a wall, encapsulating Jerusalem and Israeli settlements and annexing
them to Israel. The wall was deemed contrary to international law by the
International Court of Justice in 2004, when Israel was ordered to remove it.
Instead, Israel continues to construct the wall at the expense of privately
owned Palestinian land.

Escalating crisis in Gaza puts many children at risk
Save the Children Alliance, ReliefWeb
Westport, CT (March 10, 2008) -Save the Children has joined five
other humanitarian organizations working in Gaza in calling for renewed
efforts to end the escalating crisis that is putting thousands of children
at risk. Here is the joint statement: The six largest international aid
organizations responding to the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza
urge the international community and all parties concerned to take
immediate steps to stop the violence and alleviate the suffering of
Gaza’s 1. 5 million people. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), World
Vision, Save the Children, CARE, Oxfam, and Mercy Corps call on
Israel, The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, and Hamas in Gaza
to stop the violence, return to the negotiating table, and reestablish
full humanitarian access to Gaza. They further call on the international
donor community to ensure that the levels of humanitarian aid going into
Gaza reflect the severity of need.

Army releases Dr. Hamadan, a lecturer at Al Najah University
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center
The Nafha Society for Defending Detainees Rights and Human Rights
reported on Wednesday that the Israeli Authorities release Dr, Ghassan
Hamdan, a lecturer at Al Najah National University in the northern West
BAnk city of Nablus. Dr. Hamdan was kidnapped by the Israeli forces on
January 16, 2008 and was in solitary confinement and under interrogation
in Petah Tikva interrogation facility. His lawyer was not allowed to meet
him and Hamdan was subjected to physical and psychological pressures
during his interrogation. [end]

Israel to release a female Palestinian detainee
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center
Israeli District Court judge decided to release a Palestinian female
detainee from the northern West Bank city of Nablus after she spent
one month under interrogation without charges. The detainee, Tasneem
Al Khayyat, 21, is a student at Al Najah University in Nablus. She was
kidnapped by the army on February 18 2008 after the army broke into
her home, and was in solitary confinement in Petah Tikva and Hasharon
Israeli interrogation facilities. [end]

Rights group accuses Airport Authority of ’discrimination’
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz
Israel’s airline security faced a legal challenge Wednesday from a
civil rights group charging that its practice of ethnic profiling is racist
because it singles out Arabs for tougher treatment. At a Supreme
Court hearing, civil rights lawyers demanded an end to thepolicy,
which they say violates Israeli law. Such profiling is illegal in the
U. S. , where passengers must be singled out for security checks
on a random basis. But some terrorism experts say Israel’s
measures are effective preciselybecause they take ethnicity into
account - and warn that equality at theairport could cost lives. Israel
is considered a prime target for hijackers and other attackers because
of the Israel-Palestinian conflict and extremist Islamic rejection of the
existence of a Jewish state in the Middle East.

Popular Resistance Committees shell Israeli forces
Ma’an News Agency
Gaza – Ma’an – The military wing of the Popular Resistance
Committees, the An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades claimed
responsibility on Wednesday for launching two mortar shells at
Israeli forces east of Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
They said in a statement that the shelling was at 1:50am. In a
separate statement, the PRC’s military wing said they launched five
more mortar shells at the Israeli military post east of Jabalia in the
northern Gaza Strip in retaliation for Israeli atrocities against the
Palestinian people. [end]

Palestinian man shot dead in Khan Younis
Ma’an News Agency
Gaza – Ma’an – A Palestinian man was killed by unidentified
gunmen in the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, seemingly as a
result of a family dispute on Wednesday morning. Palestinian
medical sources named the victim as Salamah Al-Agha whose
corpse was taken to Ash-Shifa hospital in Gaza City for forensic
medical investigation. The sources said he had been shot in the
head. Immediately after the killing, members of Al-Agha family
attacked a house belonging to Kalakh family and set fire to the house.
Al-Agha was in his thirties. [end]

Jerusalem rabbi in moderate condition after Old City stabbing
Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz
Rabbi Yechezkel Greenwald of Jerusalem’s Ateret Cohanim yeshiva
was stabbed in the neck yesterday morning near Damascus Gate in
the Old City. Greenwald, 49, was taken to Hadassah University
Hospital Ein Kerem in good to moderate condition. Greenwald was
walking toward the yeshiva, located inside the Old City, when an
unknown assailant approached him and plunged a knife into his neck
and fled. According to the police investigation that followed, Greenwald
did not see his attacker’s face. After removing the knife from his neck,
Greenwald found a couple of police officers who summoned a Magen
David Adom ambulance to the scene. He was given first aid before
being evacuated to hospital. Attacker at large A large police force
searched for the attacker but he was still at large at press time last night.

UAVs to replace most manned coastal air patrols
Ran Dagoni, Washington, Globes Online
IAI’s Heron 1 will replace the IAF’s 30-year fleet of Westwind
Seascan jets. "Defense News" reports that a new fleet of Heron 1
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), made byIsrael Aerospace Industries
Ltd. (IAI) (TASE:ARSP. B1 ) will soon be deployed operationally for
coastal air patrol by the Israel Air Force (IAF). The UAVs will replace
manned air patrols, easing the burden of the flight and ground crews.
The Heron 1 is the first marine patrol UAV developed and built in Israel.
It will replace the 30-year old Westwind Seascan patrol planes currently
used for the coastal patrol mission. The Westwind Seascan is a military
version of the Westwind executive jet. "Defense News" adds that the
Heron 1 will be equipped with EL/M20222U reconnaissance and surveillance
radars made by IAI subsidiary Elta Systems Ltd.

Security forces fear double Hezbollah
revenge attack in Israel and abroad
Amos Harel and Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz
Security forces are on high alert here and at Israeli and Jewish
institutions abroad before the end of the 40-day mourning period for
Hezbollah terror chief Imad Mughniyah, who was assassinated in Damascus
last month. A full closure was imposed on the West Bank as of last night. Iran
and Hezbollah blame Israel for the February 12 assassination, and Hezbollah
has threatened revenge attacks in Israel. The mourning period ends on Sunday.
In the past, extremist Islamic organizations have launched revenge attacks at
the end of the mourning period. Israeli military officials are particularly
concerned about possible simultaneous attacks in Israel and on Israeli
diplomatic offices and Jewish institutions abroad. Security at many
Israeli diplomatic missions has been tightened in response. Security
officials say that Hezbollah wants to "reset the balance of terror vis-a-vis Israel. . .

News in Brief I
Ha’aretz
IAF strike wounds 12 Palestinians in Gaza At least 12 Palestinians
were wounded in an Israel Air Force strike on a car carrying four Islamic
Jihad militants in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday. The strike wounded
the four militants, one of whom was critically hurt. Also yesterday, Hamas
official Mousa Abu Marzuk said his organization had sent a delegation to
Yemen to receive that country’s proposal for a reconciliation between
Hamas and Fatah. The proposal calls to return the situation in Gaza to
that which existed before Hamas’ takeover of the Strip last June. Another
clause calls for PA early elections. To date, the proposal has been
accepted by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas but rejected
by Hamas. (Avi Issacharoff) Some 15,000 children from the Negev region
will be given 50- to 90-percent discounts on extracurricular activities and
courses, it was announced yesterday.

Sderot: Those who can afford it have already left
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews
Mayor of rocket-battered town estimates 3,000 of residents
"“10% to 15% - have deserted city, many others remain only ’on
paper’. Aid organizations present higher figures -up to 25% of
population - One issue Sderot’s mayor doesn’t like to talk about
is the number of residents who have left the rocket-battered
southern town. Only talking about it, Eli Moyal believes, causes
many people to leave. In difference speeches and conventions he
reiterates that the residents are strong and are not abandoning the
city, but are only "stepping out to relax In an honest talk, however,
he is forced to admit that 10% to 15% of the city’s residents -about
3,000 people -no longer live in Sderot, according to his estimates.
Aid organizations present higher figures -up to 25% of the population.
It’s not easy to obtain accurate data on the number of people who have left the city.

Palestine Today 031908
Ghassan Bannoura,
International Middle East Media Center
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB ||
Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East
Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Wednesday March 19th, 2008.
Unknown gunmen kill a Palestinian man in Gaza, while Israeli military
bulldozers demolish homes in the southern West Bank. These stories
and more coming up, stay tuned. The News Cast A Palestinian man
from the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis has been reportedly
shot dead on Wednesday by unknown assailants, medical sources
revealed. The medics added that the victim had received a bullet to
the head, leading to his instant death. Salama Al-Agha, in his thirties,
was killed for reasons relating to past family feuds between his family
and another local family, local sources alleged. Immediately following
the incident, a large number of the Al-Agha family attacked. . .

T.A. setting up tent city for refugees
Yigal Hai, Ha’aretz
African refugees living in abysmal conditions at shelters and parks
spread throughout south Tel Aviv will be moved to a new tent
compound with improved conditions, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai
announced yesterday. Tents will be set up in the wooded area
between Herzl Street and the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu
Kabir, and will house some 700 people. The municipality has made
assurances no trees will be cut when setting up the compound in this
southern part of the city. "The idea is to erect a sophisticated tent city,"
Yael Dayan, Tel Aviv deputy mayor in charge of refugee affairs, said. "
Due to government inaction, we will make the refugees’ living conditions
humane. The compound will have running water, electricity, and air
conditioning. Showers and toilets will be set up, as well as a large
kitchen facility.

New settlement construction will strangle Beit Safafa
Stop The Wall
Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign - A
spokesman from the District Committee for Planning and Housing
revealed that 2,200 additional housing units for the East Jerusalem
settlement Giv’at HaMatos had been approved two weeks ago. These
make up the first phase of the planned 4,000 housing units that will
be constructed with the aim of encircling the village of Beit Safafa with
a settlement belt. Giv’at HaMatos settlement was founded in 1991 on
land belonging to Beit Safafa and has since been moving further and
further onto village land towards the Gilo settlement and the Hebron
road. According to a report appearing on the website Arab 48, the area
where the units are to be built is one of the widest uninhabited areas
under the control of the Occupation authorities in Jerusalem. Around
40% of land is considered by the Occupation to be “state land”,. . .

Weekly Report on Israeli human rights violations in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory 13 - 18 Mar 2008
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, ReliefWeb
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks
against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT) - 4 Palestinians were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
- 12 Palestinians, including 3 children, a woman and a mentally
disabled person, were wounded by IOF in the Gaza Strip. - 3 civilians,
including 2 human rights defenders, were wounded by IOF in the West
Bank. - IOF conducted 44 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank. - IOF arrested 53 Palestinian civilians, including 3
children. - IOF raided and searched a number of cultural centers. - IOF
have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT. - IOF have isolated
the Gaza Strip from the outside world. - 3 Palestinian civilian were
arrested by IOF at military checkpoints in the West Bank.

IRAQ: Palestinian refugees renew appeal for protection
J.Wreford/UNHCR, IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs
BAGHDAD, 19 March 2008 (IRIN) - Palestinian refugees in Iraq on 19
March again appealed for protection; they said they were still living as
"fugitives" and demanded immediate help for their compatriots stranded
on the Iraq-Syria border. "Palestinian refugees are still stuck between two
fires: the fire of assassination and arrests inside Iraq, and the fire of
deteriorated living conditions for those stranded on the border," said
O. N. , a Palestinian refugee in Baghdad, who asked to be identified
only by his initials for security reasons. Although O. N. has managed
to get a fake Iraqi ID card with an Iraqi family name, he is still afraid of
being caught either by militants or government security forces as he
travels across Baghdad each day working as a taxi driver.

Syria: UNRWA opens legal advice office in Dera’a
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in, ReliefWeb
In the wake of the International Women’s Day, UNRWA opened a legal
advice office to serve Palestine refugees in Dera’a Camp. Located
within the Women’s Programme Centre and staffed by volunteer
lawyers, it will provide support and assistance to women and their families
on family issues, particularly as they relate to the law. It is hoped that
the refugees will pass on their new knowledge to relatives, neighbours and
friends and encourage others to seek legal advice when necessary. Last
year UNRWA opened a similar centre in Yarmouk, which has seen great
success and acceptance in the community. ’Sound families build a strong
society, which is the most important building block for a sound future of the
Palestinian people,’ stated Lisa Gilliam, Deputy Director of UNRWA Affairs
in Syria in support of staff and volunteers efforts.

OPT: Protection of civilians weekly
report 27 Feb - 04 Mar 2008
United Nations Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, ReliefWeb
Of note this weekGaza Strip: IDF Operation "Warm Winter"
(27 February - 4 March 2008) - 120 Palestinians, including six
women and 34 children, were killed by the IDF and 269
Palestinians, including 12 women and 63 children, were injured.
The operation came following an increase in hostilities between
the Gaza Strip and Israel. - The IAF carried out 82 air strikes. -
224 rockets and 49 mortars were fired towards Israel by Palestinian
armed groups. As a result, one Israeli man was killed and 14 others
(including 1 child) were injured. 78 additional mortars were fired at
IDF soldiers inside the Gaza Strip. - Twenty-four demonstrations and
two sit-ins were organised in various part of the Gaza Strip to protest
against the Israeli military operation. - 11 structures were demolished
and over 55 damaged.

UNIFIL marks 30th anniversary of mission in Lebanon
Graziano sheds light on peacekeepers'' efforts in South By
Mohammed, Daily Star
NAQOURA: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
celebrated the 30th anniversary of its peacekeeping mission in
South Lebanon on Wednesday at the international force’s
headquarters in the border region of Naqoura. Among those who
took part in the ceremony were UNIFIL commander General
Claudio Graziano, his outgoing deputy General J. Nohra, and the
Lebanese Armed Forces commander for the region, Brigadier Elias
Zaarab, representing LA chief General Michel Suleiman, in addition
to several international and local military and security officials. At
the beginning of the ceremony, participants observed one minute of
silence in memory of UNIFIL soldiers who were killed while
accomplishing their peacekeeping mission, before Graziano laid
two wreathes on the statue commemorating UNIFIL’s victims.
"UNIFIL has lost 270 soldiers since it arrived in Lebanon in
1978," Graziano said.

Foreign Ministry summons Swiss envoy to J’lem over Iran deal
Assaf Uni, Ha’aretz
Swiss Ambassador to Israel Walter Heffner on Wednesday was
called for a meeting in the offices of the Foreign Ministry in
Jerusalem in response to a deal signed between Switzerland
and Iran on Monday for the supply of Iranian natural gas to Europe.
General secretary of the Western Europe department of the Foreign
Ministry Rafi Barak on Wednesday criticized the visit of Swiss
Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey to Teheran, calling it an
"unfriendly gesture" to Israel. Israeli officials stated that in the
current situation, wherein the UN Security Council has passed
sanctions against Iran and the international community has
mounted concerted efforts to force the Islamic Republic to
shelve their nuclear program, it is inappropriate for countries to
pursue large scale economic contracts with Iran.

Erakat warns PA could fall apart if peace fails to break out this year
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb
Erakat warned Wednesday that failure to reach a peace deal
with Israel this year could lead to a collapse of the Palestinian
Authority. "If we fail to produce an agreement in 2008. . . we may
disappear," Erakat said. "The impact will not be limited to Israel
and the Palestinians," he warned. "Watch the region. "Israel and
the Palestinians, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, last November
relaunched the Middle East peace talks at an international
conference in the United States after a seven-year hiatus.
Although both Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have
expressed their desire to ink a deal by the end of 2008, talks have
so far made little headway. Abbas said after meeting Slovenian
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel in the Occupied West Bank town of
Ramallah that peace talks were the only option for the Palestinians.


US grants 150 million dollars to Palestinian Authority
Agence France-Presse, ReliefWeb
RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 19, 2008 (AFP) -The United States
signed an agreement on Wednesday to give 150 million dollars
(95 million euros) to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s
West Bank government. The funds are the first installment of 555
million dollars pledged at a donors’ conference in Paris late last
year intended to bolster the Palestinian Authority and underpin
recently revived peace talks. The money will go directly to the
government’s budget to help fill a massive fiscal shortfall left in the
wake of a seven-year uprising and will contribute to a plan by
Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad to reform the economy.
The agreement was signed by Fayyad, US Consul General Jake
Walles and the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID)
local mission director R David Harden in the West Bank political capital of Ramallah.

Only US Republican candidate supports
illegal Israeli take-over of Jerusalem
Palestine News Network
Ramallah / PNN -- Republican candidate for the United States
presidency, John McCain is openly supporting the Israeli
annexation and confiscation of Jerusalem as the "capital of the
Israeli state. "This is in direct contravention to the United Nations,
international law and stated agreements. He was visiting with Israeli
officials Tuesday, but this news has broken today. Yasser Abed
Rabbo, Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine
Liberation Organization, expressed his shock at the statement, which
is an even more extreme position than that taken by current US President
Bush, and issued a condemnation. Abed Rabbo said, "It is with his
support that John McCain is deciding the fate of Jerusalem and has
initiated the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem. He has put himself
in clear contradiction of international resolutions that his country was
part of. "

Merkel warned against bias towards Israel
Middle East Online
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fierce defence of Israel in a historic
speech to its parliament went down well in Germany but critics
warned her Wednesday to resist bias in the Middle East conflict
or lose leverage. Merkel pledged her unwavering support for the
Jewish state 60 years after it was founded in the aftermath of the
Nazi Holocaust, as she on Tuesday became the first German
head of government to address the Knesset. Newspaper editorials
praised Merkel’s expression of shame for the murder of six million
European Jews during World War II, and her criticism of the Hamas
movement’s rocket attacks on Israel and Iran’s threats against the
country. But they warned that Germany’s hopes to play a
constructive role in the Middle East peace process could be hobbled
by a stance seen as too pro-Israeli. "Germany must be careful
not to make (US President George W.


ANALYSIS: Merkel condemns Qassams,
but ignores Israel’s actions
Tom Segev, Ha’aretz
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier left Israel only
hours before Chancellor Angela Merkel took to the Knesset podium
Tuesday afternoon. The Germans meticulously calculated that the
entourage of ministers accompanying Merkel might make her seem
imperious, as though she were a ruler surrounded by subjects. Indeed,
there was something imperious about the inclusion of so many
ministers in Merkel’s delegation. The Germans already have held
joint government sessions with other governments, such as France and
Poland. No foreign government has held a session in Jerusalem since the
British mandate. Prior to her arrival, Merkel made an effort to call Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam
Fayyad. But her joint session with Olmert’s government was a show of
complete and unequivocal support for its policies.

Dayton meets PA security commanders in Al-Khalil
Palestinian Information Center
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Gen. Keith Dayton, the American officer in
charge of security coordination between the PA and Israeli
security apparatuses, on Tuesday discussed with commanders
of PA security commanders in Al-Khalil their efforts in implementing
security campaign in the West Bank. Palestinian sources said that
the discussions focused on security efforts made in Al-Khalil city
and its environs. Dayton’s efforts concentrate on stripping resistance
fighters of their weapons or arresting its activists especially those
affiliated with the Hamas Movement. The commander of the Israeli
civil administration in the West Bank also met with Hussein Al-Sheikh,
the minister of civil affairs in the illegitimate government of Salam Fayyad,
on Monday in the presence of 50 Palestinian employees and representatives
of the civil administration.

Lavrov begins regional tour with visit to Damascus
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star
DAMASCUS: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in
Damascus on Wednesday for talks with Syrian leaders on Middle
East peace efforts. Lavrov held talks with his Syrian counterpart,
Walid Moallem, shortly after arrival and is due to meet President
Bashar al-Assad on Thursday, Russian diplomatic sources said.
"The problems of the Middle East, particularly Lebanon and the
possibility of holding a [Middle East] peace meeting in Moscow"
focused on the Syrian-Israeli track are to be discussed, Russian
Embassy spokesman Andrei Zaitsew told AFP. Lavrov will also meet
with officials of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which rules
Gaza, in particular political supremo Khaled Meshaal who lives in Syria,
Zaitsew added. Peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians
were kickstarted last November at a US-brokered conference in Annapolis
, near Washington after a seven-year hiatus.

Hamas: Israeli plans to kill a senior
Hamas figure prior to reaching calm
Palestinian Information Center
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Lebanese Akhbar newspaper
quoted a "reliable" source in Hamas as saying that the Israeli
occupation is planning the assassination of senior Hamas officials prior
to the calm agreement which Egypt is working on in order to prompt the
Movement to beg for truce. The source told the newspaper on condition
of anonymity that serious security information received by Hamas from
a well informed source revealed that Israel is planning to liquidate a
high-ranking Hamas leader in Gaza. The source added that the information
available to the Movement also says that the Israeli occupation focuses its
eyes on four leading figures in the government and the armed wing. The
source explained that Israel procrastinates in responding positively to
the truce agreement sponsored by Egypt, which received the approval
of the movements of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, until it finds the opportunity
to carry out the assassination plot.

Hamas: Relations with Egypt strong
Palestinian Information Center
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement denied media reports that its
relations with Egypt had lately tensed and that all contacts between
the two parties were suspended. Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman
in Gaza, said in a statement to the PIC on Tuesday evening that
relations between his Movement and Egypt were "positive" and that
contacts between them were ongoing and did not stop. He described
those reports as "baseless" and only aimed at spreading rumors and
weakening the strong Hamas-Egypt relations. A media report alleged
that Hamas had frozen contacts with Cairo in protest over the Egyptian
security’s attempts to extract sensitive information about Hamas from
Palestinian detainees in Egypt in addition to the continued detention
of 36 Palestinians in "bad conditions" in Egyptian prisons. Taha
stressed that relations between Hamas and the Egyptian leadership
was based on confidence, understanding, consultation and mutual respect.

Seyam calls on Egypt to release Palestinian detainees in its jails
Palestinian Information Center
GAZA, (PIC)-- Saeed Siyam, the head of the Hamas parliamentary bloc,
called on the Egyptian leadership to intervene urgently to release
Palestinian detainees in Egyptian prisons, expressing his deep
dismay and regret at the investigations and torture practiced against
the Palestinians in these jails. In an interview with the Palestine Now
network excerpts of which were published on Wednesday, Siyam
stated that the Egyptians were told during meetings held several times
in Al-Arish city that there are Palestinian detainees being tortured in
their jails some of them are members of the Qassam Brigades, the
armed wing of Hamas, who entered Egypt similar to many others to
buy their needs. The lawmaker questioned the utility and significance
of conducting investigations against Palestinian fighters in Egyptian
jails, saying: "We do not know what is the aim behind these
investigations, which. . .

PA leadership confirms only eastern Jerusalem is red line
Palestinian Information Center
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The official Palestinian news agency
Wafa quoted at noon Tuesday Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman
for the PA leadership, as saying that only eastern Jerusalem is
considered a red line by the PA negotiator. Abu Rudeineh’s
statements bear out that the PA leadership in Ramallah is ready to
cede part of occupied Jerusalem which is the western part of the city.
The statements refute PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’s allegations that his
authority is adherent to the Palestinian constants. In another context,
the caretaker government headed by premier Ismail Haneyya stated
that the ongoing security coordination between Abbas’s security
apparatuses and the IOF troops is considered a stab in the side of the
Palestinian people and their resistance and serves the interests of the
Israeli occupation, calling for stopping this cooperation immediately
for the sake of the higher national interest.

Former PLC speaker denies smuggling charges
Ma’an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The former speaker of the Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC), Rawhi Fattouh, denied responsibility for
the attempted smuggling of 3,000 contraband cell phones in his VIP car
crossing from Jordan to the West Bank on Wednesday. "A driver who
worked with Fattouh was responsible for that immoral conduct taking
advantage of his job," a statement from Fattouh’s office said. Fattouh
also claimed that he informed the authorities about his driver’s actions,
who he says was later was arrested by the Palestinian Authority’s
security services. "While the car was passing through Al-Karama
crossing, which is under Israeli control, the Israeli authorities [distributed]
distorted news to the Israeli press aiming to use this incident to harm
Fattouh’s reputation," the statement added. Later, the coordinator of
the Israeli Civil Administration announced the cancellation of Fattouh’s
VIP status.

Did former PA chairman try to smuggle cell phones?
Ynet reporters, YNetNews
Embarassing episode at Allenby crossing: Rawhi Fattuh, advisor to
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, caught attempting to
smuggle more than 3,000 cell phones; driver takes blame -Former
Palestinian Authority Chairman Rawhi Fattuh was caught attempting
to smuggle 3,000 cell phones at the Allenby crossing on Tuesday.
Fattuh, currently an advisor toPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas,
was on his way from Jordan to the PA. The Office of coordinator of the
government activities in the territories confiscated Fattuh’s VIP pass
claiming that he had abused his privilege by trying to sneak the phones
in. Fattuh said that this driver was responsible for the embarrassing incident.
On Tuesday, Fattuh arrived to the Allenby border terminal accompanied by
his driver. He presented his VIP pass, however Tax Authority personnel
decided to search the vehicle he was traveling in.

Egypt mediating intensive talks on long-term deal for Gaza cease-fire
Amos Harel Barak Ravid and Yoav Stern, Ha’aretz
Israel and Egypt are conducting intensive negotiations in an effort
to reach a long-term cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which would include
reopening the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry’s political-security bureau,
visited Cairo yesterday for the second time in a week to meet with
senior Egyptian officials, who are mediating between Israel and
Hamas on this issue. Among others, Gilad apparently met with
Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who has been postponing
a planned visit to Israel for the past three weeks. It could be that he
will come only after a deal is finalized. In exchange for a cease-fire,
Hamas is demanding that the economic siege of Gaza be lifted.
Israel apparently opposes a full lifting of the siege, but might agree to
a partial reopening of the Rafah crossing.

Egypt more interested in a long-term
truce between Israel and Palestinians
Rami Almeghari & Agencies,
International Middle East Media Center
U. S assistant Secretary of State, David Walsh has recently told
his Israeli counterparts that Cairo is much more interested in a
long-term ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians, urging
them not to impact relations with Egypt. Walsh’s remarks came
during visits from Cairo to Tel-Aviv, in which he met with the chief
of security profile at the Israeli defense minister, Amos Gila’d. Gil’ad
was reported by Israeli media sources as having headed for Cairo for
the second time in a week for talks with his Egyptian counterpart,
intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, who postponed a visit to Israel
following Israeli deadly attacks on Gaza early in March. Egypt wants
to ensure a long-term ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians in
Gaza, upon which Israel stops attacks and lifts a nine-month-old
blockade of the coastal enclave, in return for halting the Palestinian
homemade fire attacks onto nearby Israeli areas.

Israeli military denies warship violated
Lebanese waters earlier this week
Daily Star
The Israeli military has deniedclaims by the Lebanese Armed Forces
(LAF) that one of the Jewish state’s warships violated Lebanese
territorial waters earlier this week. The denial was carried late Tuesday
evening by several Israeli Web sites, including those of the Haaretz and
Jerusalem Post newspapers. In a statement issued Tueday, the LAF
said an Israeli warship briefly entered Lebanese waters on Monday but
was intercepted by an Italian ship operating as part of the naval
component of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
"An Israeli Saar-class warship entered Lebanese territorial waters at 7:30
a. m. yesterday morning before being intercepted by the Italian Navy’s
Bettica, which is part of UNIFIL," an LAF spokesman told AFP. The
Israeli vessel traveled 5 kilometers before leaving, according to the LAF statement.

Hamas: PA’s security meetings with
Israel destructive to national unity
Palestinian Information Center
NABLUS, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement called on the PA leadership
and its unconstitutional government to stop their security meetings
with the Israeli occupation authority and their arrest campaigns against
the Palestinian resistance, describing these meetings as destructive to
the infrastructure of the national unity and social fabric. In a statement
received by the PIC on Wednesday, Hamas also strongly denounced
the ongoing meetings held between the PA security apparatuses and
Keith Dayton, the American security coordinator, the latest of which was
their meeting in Al-Khalil, southern West Bank. Hamas stated that these
meetings are aimed at eliminating the resistance especially its cadres and
fighters. Hamas underlined that PA chief Mahmoud Abbas and his
unconstitutional government failed in restoring the minimum rights of the
Palestinian people as proved by recent opinion polls. . .

Ruling Palestine I: Gaza under Hamas
International Crisis Group, ReliefWeb
Middle East Report N°73 - 19 March 2008 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
AND RECOMMENDATIONSThe policy of isolating Hamas and sanctioning
Gaza is bankrupt and, by all conceivable measures, has backfired.
Violence is rising, harming both Gazans and Israelis. Economic
conditions are ruinous, generating anger and despair. The
credibility of President Mahmoud Abbas and other pragmatists
has been further damaged. The peace process is at a standstill.
Meanwhile, Hamas’s hold on Gaza, purportedly the policy’s principal
target, has been consolidated. Various actors, apparently acknowledging
the long-term unsustainability of the status quo, are weighing options.
Worried at Hamas’s growing military arsenal, Israel is considering a
more ambitious and bloody military operation. But along with others, it
also is tiptoeing around another, wiser course that involves a mutual
ceasefire, international efforts. . .

President Abbas’ sons file suit against
Israeli Channel 1 over alleged false report
Ma’an News Agency
Ramallah – Ma’an – Two sons of Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas, Tariq and Yasser, have filed a a lawsuit in an Israeli court in
Jerusalem against Israeli broadcasting authorities, Channel 1 television,
alleging that the station aired a false report that the brothers own a
large portion of the National Palestinian cell phone company. The suit,
which also implicates the channel’s general manager and news director,
argues that the report was an act of incitement that jeopardized their
lives and property. The plaintiffs said they were not partners in the
phone company. According to Tariq and Yasser Abbas, the report
also damaged their father’s reputation by alleging that the president
applied pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to approve
the use of certain frequencies for the new company.

Visa requirement for Russian tourists to be eliminated
Irit Rosenblum, Ha’aretz
Tourism Ministry Director-General Shaul Zemach announced yesterday
during the largest tourism fair in Russia, that an accord due to be signed
today will eliminate the tourist visa requirement for Russian and Israeli
travelers. The agreement, to be signed by Russia and Israel’s tourism
ministers, will come into effect within a few months. The accord is the
fruit of the initiative and promotion of outgoing tourism minister Yitzhak
Aharonovitch and an expert ministerial team. "I am proud to be part of a
step that will help change the face of tourism in Israel and increase the
number of tourists by five million over the next few years," Aharonovitch
said. The move will create thousands of new jobs. . . It is an achievement
of great importance in narrowing income discrepancies and limiting poverty,"
he added.

Arab financial offensive on US companies concerns Analysts
YAAKOV LAPPIN, Jerusalem Post
As US shares continue to fall and the American economy reverberates
with fears that a subprime-mortgage-driven recession has begun,
affluent Gulf states are seizing the opportunity to increase their control
of financial companies and other branches of the US economy. That
development is leaving some analysts concerned over the prospect
of Arab financial prowess manifesting itself in a political agenda, with
negative consequences for Israel. "There is concern that the purchase
of strategic assets provides the owners with the ability to intervene
politically," Prof. Gerald Steinberg, chairman of the Political Science
Department at Bar-Ilan University, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
He stressed, however, that those concerns were "based on a worst-case
scenario," adding that countries such as Abu Dhabi "do not have a track
record of political intervention. "

Palestinian factions call on Hamas, Fatah to resume dialogue
Xinhua News Agency, ReliefWeb
GAZA, Mar 19, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --Palestinian national and
Islamic factions on Wednesday called on the leaders of rival Hamas
and Fatah movements to resume dialogue immediately. Leaders of
the two rival movements are present in Yemen to discuss with Yemeni
President Ali Abdullah Saleh a Yemeni initiative that calls for
reconciliation between the two sides. The Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine (PFLP), the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement and the
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said in three
separate statements they welcome the reconciliation initiative of Yemen.
"The Popular Front calls for a comprehensive dialogue not only between
Fatah and Hamas, but among all other factions. The dialogue should be
based on the national accordance and the previous understandings,"
said the PFLP.

Abu Marzouk: Hamas agrees to national dialogue
based on the Yemeni initiative
Palestinian Information Center
SANA’A, (PIC)-- Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, the deputy head of the Hamas
political bureau, announced Tuesday in Sana’a Hamas’s approval to start
national dialogue immediately based on the Yemeni initiative in its seven
points. In a press statement upon his arrival in Yemen at the head of a
Hamas delegation, Dr. Marzouk stated that the initiative stemmed from a
president who had a unitary experience and wants to address the internal
division in the Palestinian arena based on this experience. The Hamas
political leader explained that the seven-point initiative includes the statements
that the PA should be composed of an elected presidential authority, an elected
parliament and an executive power represented by a national unity government
and that all parties should respect all Palestinian authorities. Abu Marzouk
pointed out that the Yemeni initiative also stipulates that the Palestinian. . .

Hamas: No excuse for Fatah following Yemeni initiative
Palestinian Information Center
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement on Wednesday reiterated its
readiness to start dialogue with Fatah faction to end the inter-
Palestinian rift on the basis of the Yemeni initiative. Dr. Sami Abu
Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas in Gaza, said that his Movement was
ready to discuss all issues at the dialogue table, hoping that the PA
presidency would reciprocate. He said that Yemeni foreign minister
Abu Bakr Al-Kurbi’s statement that there was no difference between
Hamas and Fatah over the Yemeni initiative meant that there was no
"excuse" for Fatah to continue refusing dialogue with Hamas. The
spokesman expressed his Movement’s regret that PA chief Mahmoud
Abbas and his entourage continue to issue "disappointing" statements
that affirm their non-seriousness in dialogue. He quoted the latest such
statement for Nabil Amre, the PA chief’s advisor, that Abbas was still
insisting on his conditions for starting any dialogue with Hamas.

Leftist students protest against Lieberman’s visit to Haifa University
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center
Dozens of Arab and Israeli students of different leftist parties in Haifa
University protested against a visit conducted by Avigdor Lieberman to
the university campus on Wednesday. One Arab student was injured
after extremist right wingers attacks the protesters. Lieberman is the
head of Israel Our Home "Yisrael Betenu" extremist right wing party
in Israel, and is well known for his repeated calls for expelling the Arabs
and Palestinians from the country. The protesters attempted to bar
Lieberman from entering a lecture hall where he spoke to his supporters
about the "Middle East issue". During the visit, several Jewish students,
supporters of Lieberman, attacked the Arab and Jewish protesters and
one Arab student, identified as Rabee’ Al Zghayyar, was injured. The
Israeli police then arrived at the scene and did not conduct any arrests,
yet the policemen defended the extremist right wingers.

Lieberman: Serve your country or pay up
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews
Yisrael Beiteinu’s Avigdor Lieberman speaks before Haifa University’s
Political Science Faculty, stirs things up by speaking of mandatory
military service, allegiance, logic of transfer. Lieberman motivated by
hatred of Arabs, says MK Tibi - "Every Israeli citizen must serve his
country, either through military service or through National Service
(Sherut Leumi)," Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman told a
room full of political science students at Haifa University Wednesday.
Lieberman, who lectured before the university’s Political Science
Faculty, on "Israel’s geopolitical stand in the Middle East," went on to
tell the students that "according to a bill I just submitted, such service
will be made mandatory and anyone dodging it will either have to pay a
fine to the amount of a certain percentage of their annual income.

Palestinian Health Ministry to recall 4,000 tons of flour
Ma’an News Agency
Nablus – Ma’an – The Palestinian Authority issued an order on
Wednesday to recall 4,000 tons of flour in the West Bank city of Nablus
in the northern West Bankbecause it is unfit for human consumption,
the Palestinian Health Minister Fathi Abu Mughli told Ma’an. Abu Mughli
explained that the order was sanctioned by the Ministries of Health and
National Economy that the ruling has aroused controversy because it
belonged to a humanitarian organization which offers support to the
Palestinian people. The minister affirmed that the flour was found in
stores belonging to the Vegetable Oils Company in Nablus. The stores
had been rented by the humanitarian organization that owns the unsafe goods.

Fanatics Taking Over
Yehuda Litani, MIFTAH
Three days after the murder of the eight Mercaz Harav yeshiva students,
I traveled to the only place in Jerusalem where Jews and Arabs meet every
evening – the Abu-Leil family’s falafel stand in the French Hill neighborhood.
On Saturday nights, the commotion here is usually at its peak: Groups of
Jews and Arabs, each intermingling with its own, using its own language.
This time around I didn’t find even one Jew there. “This is the way it is
after attacks,” one of the Arab neighborhood residents told me. “The Jews
don’t come here for a few days, but later they come back, because there is
no reason not to come here because of one crazy guy. ”That very same
morning, one of the Arab merchants in the Old City told me that we were
going back to the days of the intifada. “The only Jews I saw here today were
ultra-Orthodox who were rushing to the prayer session at the Western Wall,”
he said.