News Highlights:
- To mark Day of the Child, Defence for Children Int’l. – Palestine issued a statement highlighting the plight of Palestinian children under occupation.
- In 2003, 130 Palestinian children killed by Israeli troops and a further 21 killed in the first 3 months of 2004.
- Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees issues an appeal for milk for infants with special needs.
- Israeli soldiers shoot three Palestinian youths on April 5th in Gaza; they are left to bleed to death overnight because Israeli authorities will not allow ambulances to reach them.
- American Muslims for Jerusalem condemned the April 2nd Israeli paramilitary assault on the Al Aqsa Mosque.
- Mordechai Vanunu, the anti-nuclear activist, to be released from Israeli prison later this month after 18 years incarceration.
- The Guardian reports that the U.S. is hiring mercenaries from Chile to fight in Iraq; there are estimated to be thousands of such mercenaries from various countries already there.
Feature:
An interview with Khaled Barakat, a local Palestinian activist, about the over 100 Palestinian refugees facing deportation across Canada. There are 3 elderly Palestinians from the Ein el Helweh refugee camp in Lebanon, currently forced into sanctuary in a Quebec church. We then spoke with Osama, a Palestinian refugee here in Vancouver, who is also threatened with deportation. He detailed his case and the experiences he had gone through so far with Immigration officials.
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of a report from the International Solidarity Movement about the struggle of the Biddu villagers against the apartheid wall. On April 4th, the Israeli bulldozers returned accompanied by soldiers and jeeps. Despite Israeli violence, the villagers, joined by internationals and Israeli activists, prevailed and forced the military to retreat.