Headlines for 09-26-07

Palestine says Israeli shell kills four Gaza civilians


'Eight die' in Israeli Gaza raids In a separate incident, Israeli tank fire killed four Palestinians in Beit Hanoun, local medical officials said.
At least three of those killed in the reported shelling of a house in the town have been named as civilians. Witnesses said the fourth victim was a gunman.



Israeli fire wounds Gaza child The child, thought to be around 12 years old, was wounded when Israeli warplanes fired a missile against a rocket launcher in the area, the witnesses said.


Barak says Israel is 'close' to Gaza operation At least two civilians were reportedly among eight Palestinians killed in Gaza yesterday by Israeli forces as Ehud Barak, the Defence Minister, warned that a "widespread" military operation in the Strip was "getting closer".


Johnston kidnapper killed in raid One of the kidnappers of the BBC journalist Alan Johnston was killed yesterday when an Israeli missile hit the vehicle he was travelling in.


Palestinian Security forces find two home-made shells near Bethlehem Palestinian Security forces on Wednesday to located two home-made shells in the city of Beit-Jala, located in Bethlehem.


PLO veteran mourned in Gaza Strip Thousands of Gazans have attended the funeral of Haidar Abdel Shafi, who led Palestinian negotiators at the Madrid peace conference in 1991.


PLC in Gaza slams Israeli military attack against the house of a Gaza legislator


The Popular Committees Slams settler and soldier attacks against residents in Hebron and Bethlehem


Fatah officers rally in Gaza to demand pay Hundreds of security men from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement held a rally in Gaza on Wednesday to demand the government he set up in the occupied West Bank pay their salaries.


Israeli incursion into West Bank refugee camp causes destruction, fear "The effects of these military operations at such close quarters have an incalculable impact on the well-being of the young," said Christopher Gunness from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.


Militant group accuse PNA forces of curbing attacks against Israel


November conference failure will hurt Fatah: lawmaker


Palestinian experts hold Israel responsible for water shortage in the Palestinian territories Fadel Ka'wash, in charge of the Palestinian Water Authority, stated that the occupation had confiscated 85% of the Palestinian water resources , adding that" Since the beginning of the fifties until now Israel had looted the underground water and the rain water by digging aquifers and huge water networks."


Palestinians Reject Foreign Soldiers in Gaza The vast majority of people living in the Palestinian Territories would be against the entry of United Nations (UN) or Arab troops into the Gaza Strip, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion. 70.6 per cent of respondents oppose a military intervention.


Saudi urges Israel to freeze settlements, barrier Israel should freeze construction of Jewish settlements and a separation barrier in the West Bank to prove its "seriousness" ahead of a Middle East peace summit, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said Wednesday.


Palestinian cave dwellers defy creeping occupation "But the land is all we have, and if we move the Israelis will take it from us. This is what they want."


Palestinian security finds arms cache near Jerusalem


Palestinian militants complain of Israeli phone threats Palestinian militants in Gaza Strip and West Bank reported on Wednesday they have received threats of killings on their mobile telephones from Israeli intelligence.



House committee congratulates Israel on U.N. gain It also backs Israel's efforts to join the Security Council, the U.N.'s only body with powers of legal enforcement, by 2019. The resolution will now be considered by the full House.


Divided and voiceless Any progress in the Middle East must begin with building a peace among Palestinians


Iranian President: If Holocaust happened, why must Palestinians pay? In an address before students and faculty at Columbia University in New York on Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that if the Holocaust really happened, the Palestinian people mustn't be forced to pay the price.


Kadima MKs vow to thwart any withdrawal from Jerusalem Israeli Ynetnews reported on Monday that four members of the Kadima Party, the ruling political body in Israel, vowed to thwart any proposals by the Israeli Prime Minister, head of the party, Ehud Olmert, to withdraw from parts of Jerusalem as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians.


Paul not welcome at RJC event There was time only for leading candidates; and Paul's record of consistently voting against assistance to Israel and his criticisms of the pro-Israel lobby.


Merkel harsh on Iran, anti-Semitism Angela Merkel delivered a stern rebuke of Iran and promised to stay vigilant in confronting anti-Semitism.


New bill to fund Holocaust education It was co-sponsored by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who said "students, in order to spread tolerance and civility, should study the dark blemish upon mankind which is the Holocaust. Education is so important and decisive to this endeavor.?


Evangelical Split Seen Fueling Giuliani Bid "It's a win-win for him," said a longtime Jewish Republican who is supporting another GOP contender. "The more hawkish he is on Israel, the better he does with some important Evangelicals, despite his views on their other big issues. And it doesn?t hurt him with Jewish Republicans either, although it could prove to be more of a problem if he wins the nomination and then has to appeal to a wider group of Jewish voters."


Boca resident stuck in the Gaza Strip Hafez Almbasher, a Boca Raton resident with a green card, was visiting his mother, a Palestinian who lives in the Gaza Strip, back in April.


Congress Throws Covert Israeli Attack on Syria Out Into the Open Ranking minority member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ileana Ros-Lehtinen also took on the issue of the Israeli attack on Syria, which according to reports was aimed at nuclear devices that Syria received from North Korea.....According to Wexler, who is a strong backer of Israel and a member of the foreign affairs committee, congressional support for the Israeli attack is needed, since it will pose ?an obvious contrast? to the lack of action on behalf of Congress when Israel attacked an Iraqi nuclear reactor near Baghdad in 1981, effectively putting an end to the Iraqi nuclear program.


Sydney council reaches agreement over Hebron


Gov't bans Hebron settlers from winterizing controversial house


In Mideast, is plowshare mightier than sword? Bulldozers have rumbled through the valley to raze unlicensed Palestinian homes. Settlers have stolen and burned the black tubing that carries water to Palestinians' crops. Israeli soldiers have arrested Jaber four times for trying to protect his land.


Syria said ready to cede disputed area to U.N. Syria has indicated it is willing to allow the United Nations to take custody of the disputed Shebaa Farms area claimed by Lebanon but which is under Israeli occupation, a Spanish diplomat said on Wednesday.


Vandalism strikes Muslims, Jews A pro-Israel banner was slashed at the Silver Spring Jewish Center in Wheaton on Sept. 3, said Nurit Shoham, center office administrator. How is that considered a hate crime?


Children are also casualties in world's wars Those children in Palestine and Iraq and all those other "trouble spots" around the world know little, perhaps nothing, about such childhood adventures. What they do know is that big people don't get along and killing each other is a perfectly normal thing.