Abbas underwent successful heart procedure in Jordan
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas underwent on Wednesday a heart procedure in an Amman hospital in Jordan, and he is recovering well, a senior Palestinian official said on Thursday morning. Tayyeb…
West Bank settlers could be entitled a special grant
The “special committee” of the Israeli Disengagement Administration decided on Wednesday that settler families who will be evacuated from the northern West Bank settlements and choose to move to Afula…
398 detainees to be freed Thursday
The Israeli High Court rejected an appealed filed by “the Legal Center for Terror researches” against the release of 398 Palestinian detainees. The center claims that the detainees did not…
Sharon, Abbas to meet on June 21
Palestinian and Israeli sources reported on Wednesday evening that the summit between the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will be held June 21. The…
Halutz, New chief of Staff of Israeli Army
The new chief of staff of the Israeli army Dan Halutz, was sworn in Wednesday afternoon, succeeding outgoing Moshe Yaalon in a military ceremony in Jerusalem. His first statement as…
Opposition Authority Vs Disengagement Authority
Settlers of Neveh Dekalim, in the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip turned a hotel into a "Central Command for Anti-Disengagement activists," Israeli sources reported on Wednesday. A…
400 Likud Supporters declare Defection to Labor
In a strange move, hundreds of former Likud supporters attend showed up at a rally at the Labor party headquarters in Tel Aviv n Tuesday.The rally was in support of…
New military camp in Hebron
Israeli soldiers started constructing a military camp on Palestinian owned lands in Jabal Johar, east of Hebron. A local source in Hebron said that military gear, armored jeeps and vehicles,…
Refusenik youth sentenced for the third time
For the third time, a Druze refusenik youth identified as Wisam Qabalan from Beit Dajan Druze village, was imprisoned after ejecting military service. Qabalan was sentenced to seven days after…
Four injured north west of Jerusalem
Wednesday at noon, four residents were injured in Beit Sorik, north west of Jerusalem during clashes which erupted after the military bulldozers uprooted farmlands in order to construct the Separation…
El Salvador inaugurates Yasser Arafat Square
After the failure of repeated attempts by the Israeli embassy in El-Salvador to prevent the inauguration of a statue of the late Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, Israeli decided to delay…
Israeli police detained Palestinian officials in Jerusalem
Israeli police stopped and detained on Wednesday morning five Palestinian officials in while being in Jerusalem claiming they "illegally" entered Jerusalem, Palestine News Network reported. Eyewitness reports stated that the…
Settler families receive NIS 2M compensation
Israeli Disengagement Office head, Yonatan Bassi, and Finance Ministry officials disagreed over the amount of compensation to be given to settler families slated for evacuation. Officials at the Israeli Housing…
PPS: Prisoners list does not include, ill, Minors, Old and Women
Chair of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, Issa Qaraqi that the list of prisoners slated for release announced by Israelis government is unilateral and does not have any political dimension. The…
Israel may hand over Bethlehem and Qalqilia soon
Palestinian sources stated that Israel is expected to handover security control over two Palestinian cities to the Palestinian Authority.Abdul Fattah Hamayel head of the committee of the deportees and wanted…
Resident shot killed in Qalqilia
Wednesday morning, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a resident in the northern west Bank city of Qalqilia.The WAFA news agency reported that soldiers fired at a resident near al-Taiba check…
Palestinian Prisoners, the Ever Bleeding Wound
According to Human Rights Organizations, Red Cross, and Israeli jail authority reports, around 28,000 Palestinians were detained since September 2000, around 7500 of them are still held behind bars. On…
Mazuz: Anti-pullout struggle crossed red lines
Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Tuesday slammed leaders of the anti-disengagement movement in Israel, accusing them of crossing red lines in their public fight to foil the pullout from…
Wednesday’ Revote postponed
The Palestinian local elections committee decided Tuesday to put of the revote of some Palestinian local elections set for Wednesday until further notice. The committee decision followed a request made…
Israel to evacuate Palestinian neighborhoud east of Jerusalem
The Israeli authorities started to implement a plan which aims to evacuate an Arabic neighborhood, east of Jerusalem, as part of a wider plan which aims to transfer thousands of…
Settlers attacks residents, homes in Hebron
Tuesday afternoon, settlers of the Ramat Yeshai illegal settlement outpost in the center of Hebron, attacked dozens of residents and homes in the city. Raja’ Abu Aisha, a resident of…
Army invades three villages near Hebron
Tuesday afternoon, Israeli soldiers invaded the villages of Doura, Bani Neim, and Yatta, near the West Bank city of Hebron, and conducted military searches. Yousef al-Masry, a resident of Doura…
Ya’alon: a Palestinian state will lead to a future war
In an interview with Israeli newspaper Haaretz, outgoing army chief of staff Moshe Ya’alon predicted that unless Israel commits to further withdrawals after implementing the disengagement plan, another violent crisis…
British Activist arrested in Bil’in, released
Israeli authorities released the British peace activist who was arrested in Bilin protest earlier this morning after questioning her, IMEMC correspondent reported. Esther Cohen said, she was released from the…
Army bulldozes the entrance of a village near Bethlehem
Monday afternoon, Israeli soldiers bulldozed the main entrance of al-Nu’man village, east of Bethlehem in order to construct the Separation Wall section which will surround the village from all directions.…
Ghanim and Kadim settlers willing to move to Wadi A’ara
An Israeli source reported on Tuesday that settlers of Ghanim and Kadim settlements, north of the West Bank, are interested in moving to Wadi A’ara area, north of the country.…
Labor race for chairman heated
Labor Party committee gathered Monday in Tel Aviv, Okayed union with One Nation party and discussed the coming election of a new party leader. Supporters of candidates Shimon Peres, Binyamin…
Hamas to take part in PA election repeats
Hamas will motivate its voters to participate in local election re-votes in four districts in the Palestinian territories, despite the group’s official boycott, sources close to the group said Tuesday.…
Report on Palestinian Women
Download MP3 (25.8 MB – 28:10 min)As the Israeli military occupation of Palestine drags on amidst promises of ‘disengagement’, women in Palestine and around the world are bearing witness to…
Plan to demolish Jerusalem homes, a declaration of war
The Israeli Knesset will Wednesday debate an urgent motion filed by MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad) about the plan to destroy some 90 houses of Palestinian residents in Jerusalem’s Silwan quarter.…
PA security uncover tunnel under Gush Katif settlement
Palestinian Authority security forces in the Gaza Strip on Monday evening discovered a tunnel dug under the Gaza Strip settlement of Gush Katif, Palestinian and Israeli sources reported. In the…
400 Palestinian prisoners to be freed on Thursday
Israel will free 400 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday, an Israeli defense ministry source said. The release will be carried out in cooperation between the defense ministry and the Israel Prison…
Orthodox Church leaders select a temporal patriarch
Leaders of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Holy Land unanimously selected on Monday Archbishop Cornelios, the head of the church’s ecclesiastical court, as a temporary replacement for the embattled…
Abbas, Sharon to meet soon to discuss disengagement
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,…
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The good is when the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships share common interests to put an end to violence and conflict. It is when they seriously seek a fair and just…
Hamas still undecided about whether to join election repeat
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…
Qalqilia Mayor among prisoners slated for release
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…
Joint Committee of the Deportees and Wanted affairs to meet today
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…
Smile Uncle Bush stands with you
Palestinian and Israeli commentators are still busy analyzing every single word that U.S. President George Bush spelled out during his press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington last…
Report: 4032 killed, 44666 injured since September 29, 2000
The Palestinian National Information Center reported that the Israeli army killed since the beginning of the Intifada in September 29, 2000, 4032 residents, and injured 44666, excluding 8435 residents who…
Al-Kidwa: `“Gaza withdrawal does not end the occupation`
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa said that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza does not mark the end of the occupation, and that it is only a small part of the…
Who killed Samir Rantisi?
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…
Three children of Hebron sentenced to executive terms
The ‘Ofer’ Israeli military court, near Ramallah, sentenced on Sunday three children of al-Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron to consecutive terms, and imposed high fines on them. The Hebron…
EU meets with some Arab countries and Israel over cooperation
In a two-day meeting opening, European Union foreign ministers and their counterparts from Arab countries and Israel debated political and economic cooperation between Europe and the Middle East. Observer described…
Anti-pullout protestors interrupt Sharon’s Speech
Israel media sources reported that Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had to pause three times during his speech at the launch ceremony of his new Diaspora initiative on Sunday night,…
Israeli Right-wingers block highway
Sunday evening, the Israeli police reported that some 18 anti-disengagement protestors blocked traffic between Raanana and Mosrasha junction, known as the old Tel Aviv – Haifa road, and lay down…
This Week in Palestine – May Week 4
Download MP3 (9.60 MB) | Listen to Real Audio (10:32 min) This week in Palestine –a service of the International Middle East Media Center IMEMC.Org, for the week of Friday, May…
Abbas: Violence has been 90 percent down
In an interview with ABC news, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, "We have started to deal with the culture of violence, we stopped the culture of violence and the…
Two former AIPAC senior officials to be indicted under U.S. Espionage Act
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. According to sources in…
3 wounded in an air strike at a Gaza refugee camp
The Israel Air Force fired missiles at the Jabaliya refugee camp early Monday, wounding a man and two women. Army said the missile targeted a group of armed Palestinians preparing…
Three killed in two separates explosions in the Gaza Strip
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 seperate explosion in Khan Younis, south…
I want to die without handcuffs
Detainee Murad abu Sakout, appealed humanitarian organizations and the P.A ministry of detainees, to interfere for his release, after his health condition critically deteriorated in Israeli detention. Abu Sakout, from…
Soldiers kill Palestinian in Hebron
Israeli soldiers opened fire and killed Sunday a Palestinian in the West Bank city of Hebron, saying he was holding a knife and running from a distance towards soldiers in…
soldiers shot at civilian car, killing a Palestinian
Palestinian local sources in Arraba village identified the Palestinian killed near the village to be Mohammed Mustafa Amin Al-Haj, dismissing the army report that he was killed in an exchange…
U.S. to press for immediate removal of Israeli outposts if militants are disarmed
According to Israeli media sources, U.S. President George Bush told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that if the Palestinian Authority (PA) disarms Palestinian resistance groups, he would pressure Israel to dismantle…
Israeli Cabinet Okays release of 400 Palestinian prisoners
The Israeli cabinet approved Sunday the release of 400 Palestinian, representing the second dispatch of the 900 prisoners Israel promised to release during the February Sharm’s summit. Only three of…
5000 P.A policemen recruited for pullout
The Palestinian National Authority began a process of recruiting additional 5000 Palestinian policemen to ensure a smooth Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli online daily, Haaretz,…
Canada pledges $9.7M aid to P.A
Canada pledged, on Saturday, $9.7M aid to the P.A which to be used in housing projects, scholarships for Palestinian women living in Lebanon, and to improve the situation in the…
Settlers attack residents in Hebron, child injured
Saturday morning, an extremist settlers group attacked dozens of residents and homes in the West Bank city of Hebron, moderately injuring a child near the Ibrahimi mosque. A medical source…
Telmond detention for women; a new Guantanamo
Female detainees in Telmond detention for women revealed horrific stories of continuous abuse and daily humiliations conducted against them by Israeli soldiers. {mosimage}“Telmond became worse than the American prison of…
Hamas and Fatah end their dispute over elections
Hamas and the Fatah ruling party have finally ended their dispute over the results of the local elections held on May 5. The dispute was resolved through the mediation of…
Hamas fighter killed near Beit Hanoun
Iz Ed-Deen al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas reported that one of its fighters died near Beit Hanoun, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The brigades stated…
‘Walking Coffins’, the new way in Bil’in to resist the Wall
Residents of the Palestinian village of Bil’in organized an anti-wall demonstration on Friday. After the noon prayer at the village mosque, at least 300 of the villagers marched at the…
Hamas pledges not to attack Israeli troops during withdrawal
On Friday, Hamas leaders pledged for the first time that their resistance fighters will not attack withdrawing Israeli troops during the planned evacuation of the Gaza Strip. "There is no…
UN: Palestinian jobless rate reaches a dangerous peak
The United Nations labor agency said Friday that unemployment among Palestinian workers had hit a peak of 224,000 during the year 2004, indicating that approximately half the Palestinian population still…
U.S. denies changing stance on Middle East peace
The U.S. administration, in response to concerns expressed Friday by Israeli officials over pledges made to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, clarified that the United States has not changed its position…
Israel considering response to Erez bombing
An Israel army source said that army is considering a response to bombing attack near the workers gate at the Erez border crossing in the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported…
Israeli Settlers attack Palestinian homes in Hebron
Friday afternoon, a group of extremist Israeli settlers, apparently celebrating a Jewish feast day, attacked dozens of Palestinian residents and homes in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and…
British Academics end boycott, supporters vow to continue
The Association of University Teachers (AUT) voted on Thursday to end its boycott of two Israeli universities, put in place last month, a step described as a victory to the…
Olmert: `No negotiations on road map without a democratic P.A`
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel will not hold any negotiations on the Road Map if the Palestinian resistance does not stop its operations, and until the…
Army breaks into home to watch soccer match
Video footage broadcast Friday on Israeli TV showed soldiers breaking into a Palestinian home in the Hebron area and taking over the TV room in order to watch a soccer…
Eight arrested south of Ramallah
Friday morning, Israeli soldiers invaded the village of Beit Liqya, south of Ramallah, and arrested eight residents. A local source in the village reported that soldiers, supported by armored vehicles,…
Report: Four killed, 25 injured in one week
Israeli soldiers resumed their operations and invasions in the Palestinian territories killing four residents, and injuring 25 others over the last week. A report prepared and published by the Information…
Half of Neveh Dekalim favors moving to tent city
Settlers of the Neveh Dekalim in the Gush Katif settlement bloc decided that half of them will move to a tent city as means of protesting disengagement, Israeli media sources…
Army bars ambulance from crossing, patient dies
Friday at dawn, a 56 year old man died after Israeli soldiers based at a military check post near Nablus, barred a car transferring him to the National Hospital in…
13 soldiers injured, 3 seriously when truck flipped over
Friday at dawn, an Israeli military source reported that 13 soldiers were injured, 3 seriously when a military truck carrying troops flipped over near Har Dov area, along the Israeli-Lebanese…
Bush rejects Abbas call to jump to final-status talks
An Israeli official source in the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office said on Thursday that the United States President George W. Bush rejected a demand by the Palestinian President Mahmoud…
Knesset to fight Gov’t corruption
The Israeli Knesset has decided to form a parliamentary committee of inquiry into corruption cases in the government that has been increasing lately. The sponsor of the measure, the National…
Al-Kidwa to Bush: solve Palestinian Problem or forget the Mideast
In an interview to Haaretz, the Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidweh warned U.S. President George W. Bush that not resolving the Palestinian problem would endanger his plans in the Middle…
Knesset to inquiry increasing corruption in government
The Israeli Knesset voted, on wednesday, to establish a parliamentary committee to investigate cases of increase corruption in the government. The inquiry came upon a call by National Union party…
Israel prepared to discuss release of fighters who assassinated Ze’evi
Israel informed the Palestinian Authority that it is prepared to discuss the possibility of releasing the fighters who assassinated the Israeli Tourism Minister, Rehavam Ze’evi, in October 17, 2001, Fatah…
Army recommends Jenin handover before pullout
Senior Israeli military officials recommended that Israel should transfer security control over the northern West Bank city of Jenin to the Palestinian Authority before implementing disengagement, which is scheduled for…
Sources: Bush won’t pressure PA on armed groups until elections
Israeli sources said on Thursday that the U.S. administration will not push the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to disarm resistance groups until after the Palestinian parliamentary elections are over. Abbas…
Pullout opponents block Tel Aviv highway
The Israeli police reported on Wednesday at night, that pullout opponents blocked segment of Tel Aviv highway, burnt tires and managed to block major traffic. “Pullout opponents burnt tires along…
Most Gush settlers say ready for voluntary move
More than one thousand families from the Gush Katif bloc of settlements in the Gaza Strip have signed a document expressing readiness for voluntary collective evacuation to permanent homes in…
Hezbollah: `“1200 of our rockets can hit the whole north of Israel`
Leader of the Lebanon based Hezbollah party, Sheikh Hasan Nasrallah, said on Wednesday that his party owns 12000 rockets capable of hitting “every area of northern Israel”. “Every area in…
Army to call up 8,000 reservists during disengagement
Israeli sources reported on Thursday that the Army is planning to call up some 8,000 reservists during the implementation of the disengagement plan, slated for August 15 until Mid September.…
Kfar Darom settlers turn away Government Representative
Settlers of the Kfar Darom settlement in the Gaza Strip turned away the Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office Ilan Cohen as he was planning to visit the settlement for…
Report: Israeli soldiers execute wanted Palestinians
The Israeli center for Human Rights B’tselem published a report saying that the assassination of claimed wanted Palestinians are symptoms of implementing death penalty against those people. The center reported…
PA: Sharon treating implementation of prisoner-release agreement as ‘a huge concession’
Palestinian Minister of Prisoner and Ex-Prisoner Affairs, Sufian Abu Zaida, commented that Sharon is ‘trying to make the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to be released two…
Knesset approves new citizenship rules
The Knesset approved in a first reading Wednesday an amendment to the Citizenship Law meant to allow the extension of family unification restrictions. The bill allows Palestinians men over the…
Dozens detained, interrogated in Hebron
Wednesday afternoon, Israeli soldiers intensified military presence in Bab al-Zawiya area, in the center of Hebron, and interrogated dozens of residents. A local source in Hebron reported that soldiers broke…
ICAHD: Jerusalem Municipality to Demolish 88 Houses in East Jerusalem
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) reported that Jerusalem Municipality intends to demolish 88 houses in the el-Bustan area of Silwan village in East Jerusalem. The ICAHD revealed in a…
Academics, factions demand the removal of Nosseiba
Academic institutions and Palestinian factions demanded Al Quds University President Dr. Sari Nusseibeh to resign from his position after signing an agreement of cooperation with the Hebrew University. The institutions…
Religion and the issue of Jerusalem
It has often been assumed that the problem of Jerusalem is exceptionally difficult because of religious claims made upon the Holy City and its holy sites by members of the…
Zahhar: `“We informed the Egyptians on our position`
The Tuesday night meeting in the Beach Hotel in Gaza, between the Egyptian delegate and representatives of Hamas did not bring forwards any new positions except clarifying Hamas’ position on…
Istanbul’s highest Orthodox convention dismisses patriarch Irineos I
The highest Christian convention of Orthodox Patriarchs decided Tuesday to dismiss Jerusalem Patriarch Irineos I over responsibility for the latest major Jerusalem property deal with Jewish investors. 13 of the…
During pullout, Khazza’a residents not to leave home for 20 days
Palestinenet news website reported that Israeli soldiers informed residents of Khazza’a area in Khan Younis, who live near the Kissufim settlement road, to store food enough for twenty days. Apparently…
Al-Aqsa brigades denies army reports of dispatching wired youth
The al-Aqsa brigades, the military wing of Fatah, denied military reports that it dispatched two teens carrying explosives to Huwwara check post, south of the West Bank city of Nablus.…
Removal from terror lists in exchange to disarmament
According to the United Arab Emirates newspaper al-Bayan, the U.S. and the European Union have offered Hamas a deal to remove the group’s name from the list of terror organizations…