News Highlights:

• Israeli troops target village of Budrus after villagers successfully force changes in route of apartheid wall; March 20th – soldiers even remove women and children in the middle of night during a raid and photograph them.
• Israel withdraws from Tulkarem and will “avoid” entering the town;
  surrounding villages remain under Israeli control.
• March 18th – leaders of 13 Palestinian groups agree to continue the truce started at Sharm el-Sheik; meanwhile, settler violence escalates in the West Bank.
• Arab League summit opens in Algiers; Secretary-General Amr Mousa says Israel should not expect normalization without offering anything in return.
• Pre-summit negotiations had rejected a Jordanian proposal that further
  minimized conditions for normalizing ties with Israel; final resolution will
  insist Israel withdraw to 1967 borders and that a Palestinian state is
  established.
• Israeli government confirms plans to expand West Bank settlements by at least 3500 units.

Feature:

A short interview with independent American journalist, Dahr Jamail, who was
in Vancouver last weekend addressing the Stopwar.ca rally marking the second
anniversary of the war on Iraq. Dahr was in Iraq for 8 months and spoke
about what he witnessed, especially in Fallujah, and also detailed the
restrictions on and targeting of “non-embedded” journalists.

Focus on Zionism:

Focus included two items, both marking the second anniversary of the murder
of the young American peace activist Rachel Corrie by Israeli forces. The
first item was about a protest against Caterpillar, the U.S. company that
builds the D9 bulldozer that was used to kill Corrie and demolish
Palestinian homes. The second item was a poem honouring her memory.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• 5000 Palestinians demonstrate in Ramallah to protest UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s visit and UN lack of action on the apartheid wall, despite the ruling of the International Court of Justice.
• Protestors noted that a recent UN report regarded the wall as a matter of compensation and humanitarian aid and that Annan refused to visit any areas of the apartheid wall.
• March 14th, new illegal Jewish outpost settlements go up in the West Bank, as Israeli government votes to approve the Sasson report but gives no timetable or date to evacuate the outposts.
• The Sasson report said the Israeli government committed blatant violations in supporting and transferring funds to the “unauthorized” outposts Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will reportedly tell Palestinian groups meeting in Cairo that the right of return for Palestinians cannot be fully implemented.
• The family of Rachel Corrie, the American activist murdered by an Israeli bulldozer two years ago, has sued the state of Israel for damages.

Feature:

Highlights of the March 12th conference held at McMaster University, entitled Palestine Lives. The day-long conference gathered many noted and
informative speakers who addressed a crowd of 200 people. A clip of one of
the speakers in the panel on Canadian foreign policy was presented. Mostafa
Henaway, a former York University student and ISM volunteer, gave a detailed
explanation of the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement and also highlighted
the complicity of Canadian companies in maintaining Israel’s occupation.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of an article written by Alison Weir on the second anniversary of
the murder of Rachel Corrie by Israeli forces in Rafah.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Israeli undercover police beat four Palestinian boys from Beit Surik who were participating in protest against the apartheid wall.
• Jordanian foreign minister meets with Israeli officials, including Ariel Sharon, and establishes joint economic committee; Egypt and Jordan have just sent new ambassadors.
• Israeli attorney Talia Sasson to release report on Israeli outposts, saying there were “blatant violations of law” as government funded and supported the illegal outposts.

Feature:

An interview with UBC Professor of Geography Derek Gregory about his visit
to Ramallah and his analysis on the “war on terror” and Arab cities under
occupation. Prof. Gregory had just given a lecture in Vancouver the night
before, and he spoke with us about Palestine, Iraq and how the public here
are given certain negative cultural images about peoples in the rest of the
world.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of an article from the March 7th Jerusalem Post about Ontario police chiefs visiting Israel at the behest of the Canadian Jewish Congress. One deputy chief said – “Israelis are heroes”; and the Post stated that the
police chiefs felt every western country had to become “a little bit
Israeli”.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Britain put pressure on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the conference in London on March 1st, Palestinian officials were concerned about the content of the meeting.
• Israel refused to attend the conference, but had already vetoed wording in the final declaration.
• The Guardian newspaper reported that Tony Blair had assured Ariel Sharon that the conference would not discuss revival of the Road Map, but would be limited to Palestinian reform.
• Feb. 28th – a new road is being paved through Palestinian property in Hebron for the use of a six-family Jewish settlement; expropriation orders were handed out two weeks ago as “security needs orders” and the road will pass through a Muslim cemetery and archaeological sites.
• Palestinian Authority condemns recent suicide bombing in Tel Aviv; Hamas and Islamic Jihad deny any role in the operation.

Feature:

The launch of a new monthly feature, entitled Not in My Name, that will
highlight Jewish and Israeli groups that oppose the occupation. This first
segment showcased the local group, Jews for a Just Peace, with interviews
from two of their members. The two spoke about the basis of unity for the
group and how they believe that occupation is violence. They also detailed
the group’s upcoming activities and discussed philosophical and current
issues.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• For the third day running, villagers near Ramallah protest the construction of the apartheid wall on their land; blueprints for a new Israeli settlement in the area are affecting the route of the barrier.
• Israeli cabinet approves removal of Jewish settlers from Gaza; however, at the same time, they also approve final route of the separation wall in the West Bank.
• Feb. 21st – emotional reunions with released prisoners in the West Bank; however, many have mixed feelings and insist all 7600 Palestinian political prisoners must be released.
• World Council of Churches central committee encourages members to consider divestment from companies supporting Israeli occupation as a way to work for peace.
• Israeli foreign ministry claims that 10 Arab countries will establish full relations with Israel following withdrawal from Gaza.

Feature:

An interview with Pat O’Connor, an American peace activist, who recently
returned to the U.S. after being deported from Israel. Pat spoke about his
involvement with the International Solidarity Movement and his support work
in Palestine, especially around the issue of the apartheid wall. He also
detailed his arrest by Israeli authorities and his eventual deportation, all
for participating in non-violent activities.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Feb. 21st, 2005 about the deliberate contamination and destruction of a Palestinian village’s water supply.