News Highlights:
- Israeli raid into Khan Younis refugee camp leaves 12 Palestinians dead and 40 injured, with 40 homes destroyed and the electricity grid damaged.
- Palestinian presidential frontrunner Mahmoud Abbas dismisses Ariel Sharon’s Gaza plans as “nothing new”; Abbas says he will never concede the right of return.
- Israeli soldier on trial for killing British peace activist Tom Hurndall admits he was lying when he said Tom was carrying a weapon; says he was under orders to fire on unarmed people.
- British PM Tony Blair arrives for talks with Israeli and Palestinian
leaders, after trip to Iraq; January “peace conference” in Britain has
become a “reform meeting” for Palestinians as Israel will not attend. - Final section of news was two Christmas messages, one from Sabeel, the
Jerusalem ecumenical group www.sabeel.org and the second a message sent to
Paul Martin by the chairperson of the Canada Palestine Association.
Feature:
An interview with Fatima, a South African peace volunteer, with the
International Womens Peace Service. Fatima talked about her experiences in
the West Bank village of Bilin, near Ramallah, and about the arrest and
detention of another IWPS member by Israeli forces.
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of a new UN report on Bethlehem, about the effects of Israeli
policies on the spiritual, cultural and economic life of the town.