News Highlights:
- Israeli soldiers and settlers kill 4 Palestinians within 24 hours, two of them children.
- 13-year-old Sabri Rajub shot dead in Hebron’s Old Quarter on Feb. 14th, and 15-year-old Ala Hani killed the next day by settlers in Beitunia.
- Israel may hand over Jericho soon; Israeli officials state any further withdrawals from Palestinian cities will depend on the Palestinian Authority “curtailing violence”.
- Hamas announces it agrees to ceasefire and develops mechanism with PA to discuss any violations; however, Hamas says it is free to act if Israel initiates a military offensive or resumes assassinations.
- Mahmoud Abbas quoted in NY Times on Feb. 14th as saying the war with Israel is effectively over and Ariel Sharon is now speaking a different language.
- Israel supports U.S. decision to recall its envoy to Syria following assassination of Rafik Hariri; Syrian VP pays condolences to Hariri’s family and says Israel may be behind the car bombing.
Feature:
An Eyewitness Palestine: Annexation of Palestinian Land, featuring two reports about the forced de-population by Israel of Palestinian villages close to Jerusalem. The first report was from the Palestinian Monitoring Group and detailed the situation of the village of Khallet an Numan. The second report was from the Christian Peacemaker Team and told the story of the human cost to Palestinian villagers in Walaja, under the title, No Permits for People, Houses or Land.
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of the 2004 outpost survey in the occupied territories from the Israeli Peace Now group. The conclusions were that the outposts are becoming permanent settlements, and as of the date of the report, there were 99 outposts in the West Bank.