News Highlights:

• Oct. 17th – Israeli Supreme Court authorizes further construction of the illegal separation wall in Jerusalem area; construction will literally go through the backyards of Palestinian homes.
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemns operation that killed three Israelis.
• Palestinian negotiator Saab Erekat warns against Israeli suspension of coordination meetings; Mahmoud Abbas heads to U.S. as part of five-nation tour.
• Israeli lieutenant is accused of punishing a Palestinian religious leader because he made anti-Israel remarks; the imam was handcuffed and then dumped off 9 miles from his village and forced to walk back.
• Settlers set fire to olive groves near Palestinian village of Salem.
• Fateh members resign in Gaza to protest “lack of accountability” within the group.

Feature:

A live interview with Paul Burrows from Winnipeg about the second annual Palestinian film festival in that city. Paul spoke about the festival, how it began and what kind of Palestinian films they are trying to present. He also detailed the attacks on the festival by Canadian Zionists, especially the B’nai Brith, but emphasized how pubic support had been positive.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of an October 18th, 2005 article in the Guardian detailing the fast-paced construction of the separation wall near Jerusalem.

News Highlights:

• The summit between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli PM Ariel Sharon is postponed again; Palestinians say they need more than just general promises.
• Oct. 10th – Israeli army shot dead three Palestinians workers at a border crossing.
• Oct. 8th – Israeli forces arrest seven Palestinian teens near Bethlehem; meanwhile Hamas and Fateh meet to solve ongoing conflict.
• Oct. 5th – Abbas may delay Palestinian legislative elections, set for January 2006; Hamas and some Fateh members oppose the delay.

Feature:

A live interview with Professor Asad Abukhalil from San Francisco, who is invited to speak in Vancouver on Oct. 15th 2005 at the second annual fundraiser for the Palestine Center. Asad talked about the current situation in Palestine and the Arab world at large, and highlighted the futility of American policy in the region. He also criticized the role of the Arab regimes, especially Saudi Arabia, and detailed their control of the Arab media.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts from an article in today’s Haaretz explaining how Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz will ask the High Court to reconsider its ban on the army’s use of Palestinians as “human shields”, a practice the Israeli army justifies and calls an “early warning procedure”.

News Highlights:

• Defense for Children International – Palestine reports that in the five years since the intifada started, 720 Palestinian children have been killed and hundreds disabled.
• Khalid Tantawi, father of 13-year-old Udawi murdered by an Israeli sniper on Sept. 30th, will sue Israeli military.
• The results of Palestinian municipal elections show the Fateh party with 54% of the vote and Hamas with 26%; Fateh took 65 of 104 councils, Hamas 22 and other factions or independents took 15, with voter turnout at 81%.
• Oct. 3rd, Palestinian Legislative Council passes a no-confidence vote in PM Ahmed Qorei’s cabinet; the vote came several hours after clashes between Hamas and police in Gaza left 3 Palestinians dead.
• Israeli military is carrying out sound attacks against Gaza population; low-flying fighter jets are terrifying the population night and day and causing hearing problems.

Feature:

An Eyewitness Palestine was presented, that highlighted part of an article carried in The Sept. 25th, 2005 Independent newspaper, entitled The Hebron Confessions. Israeli ex-soldiers spoke about seeing Palestinian civilians being killed and their testimony to “Breaking the Silence” explained under what circumstances these killings had happened. There were also stories from the Palestinian families of the victims.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of an October 4th, 2005 article from The Guardian, called The House That Became a War Zone. The article tells of the suffering of the Bashir family in Gaza, whose home was taken over by Israeli soldiers for five years.

News Highlights:

• Sept. 25th – Israeli PM Ariel Sharon orders continuous military strikes on Gaza; a deadly explosion at a Gaza rally on Sept. 23rd killed 17 Palestinians, after which resistance groups fired rockets into Israel.
• An Israeli air strike on Sept. 25th struck a Gaza school, injuring many civilians, including a 40-day-old baby.
• A UN human rights expert says Israel’s redeployment from Gaza has allowed it to divert attention from its expansion in the West Bank.
• The Israeli military has arrested many Hamas candidates for municipal and parliamentary elections as part of its recent huge arrest campaign; this follows international rejection of Israel’s push to ban Hamas from Palestinian elections.
• Halliburton, the Texas company once headed by Dick Cheney and heavily involved in Iraq contracts, has seen its stock price triple since the beginning of the Iraq war.

Feature:

An interview with Susan Howard-Azzeh, the co-chair of the Niagara Palestinian Association in Ontario, and an anti-racist advocate. Susan was part of the public meeting held last week in Hamilton to discuss the visit of their police chief (with others from Ontario) to Israel. She explained how the meeting was disrupted by Zionists bussed in from Toronto and how the pro-Palestinian speakers were not allowed to continue. Susan also talked about her lawsuit against the St. Catherine’s Standard for slander and how it was progressing at a very slow pace, as well as Canada’s biased foreign policy in the Middle East.

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of a Sept. 23rd, 2005 BBC report about UN concerns over Palestinian women being forced to give birth at Israeli checkpoints. Since 2000, international agencies have documented more than 60 Palestinian women giving birth at checkpoints, with 36 of their babies dying.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Hamas official calls Ariel Sharon’s efforts to force Hamas out of the Palestinian legislative elections “intervention in Palestinian affairs”; Sharon also threatens to disrupt the voting in the West Bank if Hamas runs.
• Sept. 20th – George Bush is reportedly pushing for the Palestinians to declare a temporary state in Gaza.
• The Rafah border crossing will be opened for a few days to allow some Palestinians to leave Gaza, but permanent opening of Rafah still not resolved.
• Palestinian PM Ahmed Qorei says Palestinians will fight Israeli moves to link the largest West Bank settlement to occupied Jerusalem.
• Israeli state to allocate $1 million to defend senior army officers charged abroad with war crimes; the move follows the recent near-arrest of Doron Almog in Britain.
• Hunger striker Mohammad Mahjoub finally hospitalized after pressure on Canadian government authorities, who had been refusing to move him; Mohammad is jailed in Ontario under secret evidence on a “security certificate” and has been on hunger strike for 76 days.
• News Special: Last section of the news was a report by Derrick O’Keefe from Stopwar.ca about the activities being planned Sept. 23-26 in Vancouver as part of the global day of anti-war action on Sept. 24th.

Feature:

A live interview with Jeff Halper in Jerusalem, who is from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. Jeff spoke about the charges for war crimes being brought against Israeli army officers and government officials in Britain, as ICAHD is involved in filing some of the complaints. He also talked about the ongoing home demolitions and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and what consequences these will have for any future prospects of peace.

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of a September 19th, 2005 press release by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza about the new actions by Israel in building a buffer zone inside northern Gaza, on Palestinian territory.

Here is an audio file of this show: