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Fatah Tanzim activists in Nablus attempted to use an 11-year-old boy to smuggle a bomb through an IDF roadblock on Monday, and tried to detonate the bomb when soldiers stopped him. Earlier in the day, Shin Bet agents had alerted troops in the area of plans by a bomber to leave Nablus. The men gave the boy a bag containing a seven-to-10 kilogram bomb stuffed with bolts. They promised him a large sum of money if he would carry it through the roadblock and hand it to a woman waiting on the other side. "A military policewoman lifted the bag,...

Gaza Palestine Satellite TV Channel in Arabic, official television station of the Palestinian Authority, carries on 13 March 2004 at 0958 GMT a live sermon from Zayid Bin-Sultan Mosque in Gaza. Shaykh Ibrahim Mudayris delivers the sermon, which he begins by saying that life is a continuous struggle between right and falsehood and that such a struggle exists in the territories between Palestinians and Jews. The Palestinians, he says, are defending a just cause and will triumph in the end. The imam recalls how the prophet dealt with the problem of Jewish existence before establishing the State of Islam in...

(IsraelNN.com) 2003 - The 30th government of the State of Israel convened for its first meeting 2003 - An Arad resident was stabbed at a hitchhiking post by a resident of the Arab village of Yatah. He sustained light-to-moderate injuries and transported to the Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva. 2002 - Avi Hazan, 37, of Moshav Adora, died of injuries susstained on March 2 in a suicide bombing in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood of Jerusalem, bringing the death toll to 10. 2001- 08:50- A bomb exploded opposite the central bus station in Netanya killing three and injuring over 75....

(IsraelNN.com) One person has been killed and an undetermined number wounded in shooting attack at the Erez Crossing in Gaza a short time ago. Two terrorists have been eliminated. Details to follow as they become available.

Translation from Hebrew to English by me "Israel must stop causing suffering to the ordinary Palestinian citizen" - this is how the US President, George Bush, said in a first interview to the new Arab-American Television Station, "Al Hura." To the US President's Words, in the days of Abu Mazen there was progress in the roadmap, but he was taken away from what we expected. "There were those who lowered the weight of the peace process and gave Abu Mazen a hard time in accomplishing the dream," he said. "Abu Mazen was not one of Arafat's men." Bush explained what...

In the midst of a "war against terrorism," three US government employees are murdered in a terrorist attack. The local authorities side with the terrorists, covering up facts, blocking an investigation and helping the perpetrators get away with it. Yet the US continues to give some financial aid and diplomatic support to that regime. The story of the murder of three US security men in Gaza last October 15 is typical of the bizarre events in the Middle East, events that get taken for granted. Here's the story. Let's examine some broader lessons drawn from it. On October 15, 2003,...

IDF soldiers deployed near Rafah spotted 3 suspects Thursday morning in a restricted area attempting to cross into Egypt. The soldiers opened fire and, on reaching the site, discovered three children age 7 8 and 10. One of the children, who was lightly wounded, was treated on site by medics, and the three were then handed over for questioning. IDF officials said it is not the first time that terrorist organizations use small children and youths as decoys or on reconnaissance, sending them to compile information on routes between Egypt and Rafah that can be used in the future. The...

RAMALLAH, West Bank - An armed offshoot of the mainstream Fatah movement claimed responsibility Tuesday for the killing of a Palestinian suspected of collaborating with Israel in the Ramallah region of the West Bank. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said in a statement that a group of their activists had shot dead Tahsin Arqub for “participating with Israeli special forces in the murder or capture of wanted Palestinians.” The 52-year-old’s death was confirmed by police and hospital sources in Ramallah. Witnesses said that Arqub, who worked as a taxi driver, had been abducted by a group of armed men on Monday...

IsraelNN.com) According to the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) research organization, the Palestinian Authority has lifted music from a popular Microsoft Corporation video game and incorporated it into a video inciting against Israeli soldiers. As PMW director Itamar Marcus reports, "Palestinian Authority TV has taken the music of a new popular Microsoft video game, Halo, and incorporated it into its newest hate video. According to Microsoft, Halo is being used by PATV without its permission." Marcus explains, "For many years, a mainstay of PATV has been the repeated broadcasting of hate videos for children. Dominant themes have been the portrayal of...

The family members of the Palestinian suicide bomber who carried out Thursday's attack in Jerusalem said they are proud of their son. The terrorist's father, Munir Ja'arah, described the bombing as a "heroic operation," and said the family supports his son's decision to launch the attack. "My son is a hero and we are proud of what he did," said Ja'arah, who lives in the Dehaishe refugee camp near Bethlehem. "The crimes of the Israeli occupation push young Palestinians to carry out such attacks." He was speaking as scores of Palestinians arrived at his home to "congratulate" him on the...

As part of its continuing effort to ease the acute humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Government of Japan announced January 22 its intention to extend an emergency grant aid of approximately US $6 million to UNDP's Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP). "In both times of peace and volatility, the Government and people of Japan have shown extraordinary leadership in heeding calls to support the development of the Palestinian people. As such they are a true partner for the future," said Timothy Rothermel, Special Representative of UNDP in Jerusalem. A statement released by the Japanese...

WASHINGTON – United States Secretary of State Colin Powell last week privately made clear that if Palestinian militants struck a cease-fire Washington would be better able to press Israel to take reciprocal steps under a U.S.-backed peace plan, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. The official, who asked not to be named, said Powell had not made specific promises in talks on the matter with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman last week and the official stressed that a cease-fire had to be part of a broader Palestinian push to end attacks on Israelis. Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher...

Ramallah Voice of Palestine, official radio station of the Palestinian Authority, carries at 0935 GMT 5 December 2003 a live sermon from Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Shaykh Isma'il Nawahidah delivers the sermon, which he devotes to the lesson of patience in times of affliction, as experienced by the prophets. In the second sermon, the imam says: "Here is the land of the night journey and ascension to the heavens headed by Holy Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque still witnessing sorrowful incidents represented by plundering, pillaging, shedding of innocent blood, deportation of people, and siege of towns and villages. It...

In a surprise move, the owners of all American-style restaurants in the Ramallah area announced on Sunday that they were closing down. The owners did not give an explanation for the move, but locals said it was part of a Palestinian Authority campaign to boycott American products. "People here are angry with the US because of its crimes in Iraq and its continued support for Israel," said a worker at one of the popular eateries. The owner of one of the fast-food restaurants said: "All I can say is that we don't want to sell American food in Ramallah. This...

The European Union is providing nearly US$40 million in assistance to the Palestinians for government reforms and emergency economic aid, an EU official said on Saturday. The money will be used to support small and medium-sized businesses hurt by the conflict, judicial reforms and to finance national and local elections that are to be held in 2004. Three years of fighting with Israel have devastated the Palestinian economy. Roadblocks and military travel restrictions that Israel says are needed to stop suicide bombers and other attackers have kept many Palestinians from reaching jobs. In some parts of the West Bank and...

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is meeting in Washington with the Israeli and Palestinian authors of an unofficial Middle East peace plan. The Israeli government opposed the meeting, and calls the plan harmful to Israel's interests. President Bush calls the private initiative "productive," and says the United States "appreciates people discussing peace." The initiative, known as the Geneva Accord, is the work of former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and former Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. They say the plan would complement the internationally-backed "road map" to Middle East peace. Unlike the "road map," the document unveiled Monday...

A terrorist attack of a new kind - at a crowded junior high school - was thwarted yesterday, thanks to intensive police work and intelligence gathering. The story started on Tuesday, with the receipt of intelligence warnings regarding terrorist intentions in northern Israel. The information was received thanks to the arrest of 30 terrorists throughout Judea and Samaria - specifically, several of 17 Islamic Jihad terrorists from Jenin. The warnings became more intense yesterday, pinpointing an attack north of Beit She'an in the northern Jordan Valley. Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler reports that this information proved to be untrue, but was helpful...

(IsraelNN.com) The suicide bomber and his handler apprehended yesterday before they struck the ORT Alon School in Yokneam were members of the PA National Security Force. The would-be suicide bomber is a 23-year-old Gaza resident and his handler, a 20-year-old from the Jenin district.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has asked Palestinian leaders to show support for a transitional Iraqi government that is to be installed by June, the Palestinian foreign minister said. Palestinian backing could boost the legitimacy of such a government in the eyes of the Arab world, at a time when U.S. policy in Iraq is under sharp attack. Palestinian-Iraqi ties have traditionally been close, and former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had styled himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause. The request, made in a letter from Powell to Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, marks the first time the...

Less than a week after the attack, in which 2 soldiers were killed at the Tunnel Road checkpoint, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has appointed Zuhair Mansarah as the new governor for the Bethlehem region, replacing Mohammed el-Madanni. Mansahah replaced Jibril Rajoub, as head of the Preventive Security Service in the West Bank last year after serving as governor of Jenin. Meanwhile, Shin Bet head Avi Dichter told cabinet Sunday morning that $8 million of European Union aid money – slated for Palestinian Administration aid programs – has been diverted to the PLO chairman's personal bureau for sponsoring terror activities. Health...