News Highlights:
- Israeli troops launched a brutal raid on Ramallah on Dec. 1 killing three Palestinians, including a 9 year old boy, and leaving 60 others homeless.
- Israel launched construction of a new settlement in East Jerusalem, that will include 550 housing units. Israeli officials deny these moves were timed to coincide with the flurry of diplomatic initiatives, including the signing of the Geneva Accords.
- 36 Palestinians killed in November, half of them minors under 18 years, including 3 less than ten years old.
- Israel in the final stages of legalizing new settlements, Deputy Defense Minister says some of the “outposts” are now towns.
- Palestinian opposition to the Geneva Accords mounts, some in Fateh say it will prejudice future negotiations on the right of return.
- Israeli analysts agree that the U.S. deduction of $289 million from $9 billion loan guarantees is insignificant, and is only the difference in interest rates on the loan.
- Palestine National Council marks Nov. 29, International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, by calling on the U.N. to impose sanctions on Israel.
- Vancouver also marked the Nov. 29 Day of Solidarity with a well-attended public event that featured Cindy and Craig Corrie, the parents of Rachel Corrie, as guest speakers (to see the speeches from the Vancouver meeting, go to: http://workingtv.com/29nov03.html
- An Israeli center, Middle East Media Research Institute, opened an office in Baghdad; a Guardian reporter says MEMRI has links with Israeli intelligence circles.
Feature:
An interview with Johanna, a Vancouver woman who is volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement in Jenin, Palestine. Johanna spoke about what she had seen, her interactions with the people there, and about an investigative report she had done on a raid in a small village where two Palestinians boys had died.
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of a report about a Jerusalem city councillor who wants to rename Gaza St., because the name reminds him of “terror and violence”. Israeli analysts explained that it is part of a trend by many Israelis to attempt to seal themselves off from anything Palestinian.