supplied with food and fuel. On Saturday, Egyptian authorities found the entrances of three tunnels and confiscated a large amount of fuel about to be smuggled into the territory. Sources say there are more than 6,000 Palestinians employed in the clandestine industry, which merchants say is heavily controlled by the Hamas authorities. Strict rules are imposed on what can be brought in - weapons, drugs and people-trafficking are prohibited - and tunnel operators are taxed.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/10/20081049616279452.html

Al-Jazeera video: Gaza's underground lifelines
(4 Oct) The closure of Gaza's border crossings has created a multi-million dollar economy underneath the Palestinian territory's frontier with Egypt. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from the Gaza-Egypt border on the intricate network of tunnels that was once used for smuggling weapons and people and is now a vital route to bring in medicine, food, and fuel supplies. Hamas will not allow weapons, drugs, or people to be brought in.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/10/200810462845118890.html

Hamas spokesman: we will not nominate presidential candidate
(3 Oct) Gaza – Hamas will not nominate someone from within their ranks to oppose Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a run for the Palestinian presidency Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said Friday. A Palestinian source in Cairo had earlier reported that Hamas had decided to nominate a candidate for the Palestinian presidency to be pitted against Abbas, who is expected to run I the next elections. A date for the coming elections is supposed to be decided during the Cairo talks in October.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32298

Hamas: Fatah's crackdown in the West Bank ruins dialogue efforts
GAZA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)on Saturday accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement of not being interested in a national dialogue since it continues to arrest Hamas supporters in the West Bank. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoom said the Fatah-dominated security services in the West Bank "increased the crackdown against Hamas people, especially last month when "more than 147 Hamas members were arrested and tortured."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/04/content_10148716.htm

'PA bracing for possible Hamas takeover'
(4 Oct) As the group did in the Gaza Strip roughly one and a half years ago, Hamas may try to carry out a "hostile takeover" of the West Bank and bring down the current Fatah-led government, officials in the Palestinian Authority security forces warned in a report published by the London-based newspaper A-Sharq al-Awsat on Saturday. According to the report, the sources said that PA security forces are maintaining the highest possible readiness, and are doing their utmost to prevent such an event from happening through continued arrest and interrogation operations.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017453367&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Al-Zahar: PA will pay in West Bank like in Gaza
(4 Oct) Hamas leader quoted in London-based paper threatening Fatah-ruled Palestinian Authority following extensive operations Abbas' security forces have conducted against Hamas in the West Bank
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3605047,00.html

Al-Quds Brigades: Outlaws responsible for Friday Khan Younis death
(4 Oct) The Friday shooting of Muhammad Farhat Al-Masry in Khan Younis was perpetrated by outlaws who should be tracked and brought to justice by de facto security services, the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad announced Saturday. The group claimed the 19-year-old as a Brigades activist, and condemned his murder at the hands of unknown gunmen.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32299

Human rights organization demands inquest into de facto police conduct
(4 Oct) Gaza – The de facto [Hamas] police assault on 60-year-old Human Rights worker Ra'fat An-Najjar on Friday during family clashes in the area, is an act that should be investigated, according to the Al-Damir Association for Human Rights where Ra'fat An-Najjar sits as chair. According to An-Najjar, police officers attacked him and his family including his son Uthman, his wife and other relatives who were visiting his home on the Eid Al-Fitr holiday following Ramadan.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32306

Plastic guns blamed for dozens of 'seriously injured' children in Gaza
(2 Oct) De facto police in Gaza are asking parents not to give plastic guns to their children after dozens were taken to hospitals for injuries sustained during Eid Al-Fitr, health officials said. Hospitals say that over 150 kids were treated after being shot by the plastic bullets fired from the toy guns. Police also said that the guns "enflame quarrels," and are causing arguments between families and neighbors. Hamas also called on shop owners to stop selling the toy guns.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32282

New military group calling themselves "Hizbullah Brigades" to begin operation
(4 Oct) The group will be made up of fighters from several other resistance factions that the statement accuses of "abandoning resistance." Their stated aims are to "fight the enemies of Islam," in the interests of the Palestinian national project. "We are a new Islamic Sunni group which has nothing to do with the political process," said the statement, "but we will not contradict with public Palestinian interests."
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32309

Hebron nominated as Heritage Site by EU conference reestablishing "diplomacy of the city"
(4 Oct) The nomination in Venice is intended to precipitate a call from UNESCO to place the city and its history on the World Heritage Site list, meaning it would be a protected area, and eligible for rebuilding funds. Hebron municpal governor Khalid Al-Asali added that recognition as a heritage site would help "stop any future Israeli attacks on city residents, which have aimed principally at evicting" its local population in favor of Israeli settlers. He added that he hoped the move would help restore the life of the city to how it was before the Israeli crackdowns of 2000 after the start of the second Intifadah. [See also Fragmented Hebron taking new revitalization initiative ]
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32311

Atlas: Israel violating International Olympic Charter in targeting sportsmen
(4 Oct) Bethlehem – The Palestinian sports foundation Atlas Sport published a report on Friday detailing continued Israeli efforts to target the activities of the center, its athletes and affiliates, preventing many from arriving at competitions and even practicing their sports. The report stated that since the beginning of the second Palestinian Intifada in 2000, there have been 375 Palestinian sportsmen killed and 2000 injured at the hands of Israeli forces. Dozens of sports facilities and clubs buildings have been destroyed in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, preventing Palestinian youth from engaging in high-level or even club sports.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32302

BBC video: Sea of Galilee drought
(4 Oct) One metre's further drop in the water level and no more water can be taken from the sea - and Israel gets 50% of its water from it. Some farmers have had to stop watering fruit trees....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7652184.stm

50 million from USAID to rebuild water and sanitation facilities in Palestine
(3 Oct) A 50 million US dollar program will see the water and sanitation infrastructure of the West Bank and Gaza expanded, repaired and rehabilitated over five years. The program is set to begin in October 2008, and will first focus on providing emergency relief to Palestinians affected by last winter's drought and increasingly short supplies of water.
Major components of the project will include the installation of new pipes to carry potable water or sewage, as well as repair of water and sewer line breaks and small pumping systems.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32295

The Palestinian Kulthum Odeh (1892-1965), first woman to hold the professor title in the Arab world
(4 Oct) Many times I have been reading articles written by Israelis claiming that when Israel was established, the Jews came to a land (Palestine) where there weren't many people, or there were just a few uncivilized and nomadic groups more like Bedouins, and that it was the Jewish state that brought civilization and prosperity to Palestine. Every time I read such ridiculous comments I feel outraged. That's why I wanted to talk about the Palestinian intellectuals who happen to have created the nation with the highest percentage of educated people in the Middle East before 'Israel' even was born.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2008/10/04/iqbal-tamimi-the-palestinian-kulthum-odeh-1892-1965-the-first-woman-to-hold-the-professor-title-in-the-arab-world/

"Youth's Dreams" performed to packed hall in Gaza
(3 Oct) Written and directed by Issa Al-Alem, "Youth's Dreams" was performed by a cast and crew of Palestinians in front of a central Gaza audience at the An-Nuseirat Theatre on Thursday afternoon. The Afnan Art Performing group stepped onto a stage in front of a packed theatre hall on the third day of the Eid Al-Fitr holidays. The play looks at the lives of young people who work towards their dreams and aspirations despite the hard conditions under which they live.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32289

Summer games offered fun for Gaza's children
(3 Oct) This summer, one of DFID's key partners in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) held its second Summer Games in Gaza. A quarter of a million children in 324 locations took part in the UNRWA festivities. To the people it serves, UNRWA - the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - can make the difference not only between hope and desperation, but sometimes between life and death.
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/news/files/unrwa-summer-games.asp

Palestinian majority opposes death penalty
(3 Oct) Two-thirds of residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip reject the use of capital punishment, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion. 66.9 per cent of respondents oppose the imposition of the death penalty in their territories. The Palestinian Authority's statutes allow for capital punishment, with some differences between the Palestinian Penal Code applying in the West Bank and the one applying in Gaza.
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/palestinian_majority_opposes_death_penalty/

French committee to probe death of Palestinian child in 2000
(4 Oct) Eight years after the outbreak of the Al Aqsa Intifada and the killing of a Palestinian child in his father arms, Israel is apparently still trying to fabricate the events that led to the death of the Palestinian child who was repeatedly shot by the Israeli army while he and his father were trying to hide from the military fire. The father, Jamal Al Dorra, was seriously wounded in the attack.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57214

French FM says considering proposal to deploy int'l monitors in Palestinian territories
(4 Oct) French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Saturday that a proposal to deploy an international force in the Palestinian territories is being studied, but gave no details. While touring the West Bank town of Jenin on Saturday, Kouchner was asked about a report that France will propose the deployment of monitors or a European peacekeeping force in a future Palestinian state
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1026280.html

Palestinian Pres. Abbas to meet with Assad in Syria this month
(3 Oct) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Damascus this month to discuss efforts to reconcile his Fatah movement with Islamist Hamas rivals and peace talks with Israel, Palestinian officials said on Friday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1026251.html

Israeli Arabs mark anniversary of October 2000 riots
(4 Oct) Hundreds of people commemorated on Saturday the eighth anniversary of the October 2000 events, during which 13 Israeli Arabs were shot dead by police. The protesters waved Palestinian and black flags and carried banners bearing the portraits of the dead. Addressing the rally in the Israeli Arab city of Sakhnin, Higher Arab Monitoring Committee Chairman Shawki Khatib said that the group plans to submit to the president and the prime minister a petition, signed by some 250,000 people, to establish an independent inquiry committee, comprising international experts.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1026288.html

Israel holding talks with Spain in attempt to stop arrest warrants against senior officials
(4 Oct) Israeli sources reported on Friday that the Israeli government is holding secret talks with the Spanish government in an attempt to stop the Spanish Legal System from issuing arrest warrants against seven senior Israeli security and military officials accused of committing war crimes against the Palestinian people. 
http://www.imemc.org/article/57212

Crossing the Line speaks with Norman Finkelstein
(3 Oct) podcast - As Israel continues to colonize Palestinian land and deny the Palestinian people their right to self-determination, a world-wide boycott and divestment campaign is gathering pace. But how do supporters of the boycott movement best approach confrontation with Israel and its supporters? In the first of a series, Crossing the Line will rebroadcast a talk by noted scholar, lecturer and author Dr. Norman Finkelstein about the movement for peace and justice and what kind of solution is possible to bring an end to the conflict.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9874.shtml

Livni: the making of an Israeli "dove"
(3 Oct) With Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert forced to concentrate on his corruption charges, Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, won the ruling party Kadima's primaries and is hoping to form a new government. The Electronic Intifada contributor Gabriel Ash looks at Livni's cultivated dovish image in the context of a neo-liberal and colonial Israel.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9872.shtml

Jewish 'modesty patrols' sow fear in Israel
(4 Oct) JERUSALEM (AP) — In Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, where the rule of law sometimes takes a back seat to the rule of God, zealots are on a campaign to stamp out behavior they consider unchaste. They hurl stones at women for such "sins" as wearing a red blouse, and attack stores selling devices that can access the Internet.In recent weeks, self-styled "modesty patrols" have been accused of breaking into the apartment of a Jerusalem woman and beating her for allegedly consorting with men. The violence has already deepened the antagonism between the 600,000 haredim, or God-fearing, and the secular majority, which resents having religious rules dictated to them.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hoA3xhc9M-8OwT6b-yjxC_DzJ8fQD93JN8IO0

Israeli group is Breaking the Silence over Hebron
(4 Oct) An Israeli police commander has called them "provocateurs," "militants," and "lawbreakers." Earlier in the year the Israeli Army decided that their presence in the flashpoint city of Hebron, 30 kilometers south of Occupied Jerusalem in the Occupied West Bank, constituted a security threat and banned them from the city.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=96471

Looking for humanity - walking in Sabra and Shatilla
(2 Oct) The sergeant on the veranda called down to one of his men. "He wants to see you," the soldier said to me. Like the rest of the Nahal unit's cadre, the sergeant was a kibbutznik, a year or two older than the privates. He was not puzzled about what had happened in the camps. He was taut with anger and he wanted to speak for publication. "It's really infuriating to hear how they're trying to shake off responsibility," he said of Lt.-Gen. Eitan and defense minister Sharon. The Phalangist entry into the camps had been carried out in coordination with the IDF, said the sergeant. He himself had known from the army's radio net that they would be coming.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017439231&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Source: Lebanese army likely to strike N. Palestinian camp
BEIRUT, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- A Lebanese security source said the Lebanese army would likely launch a "massive operation" against the Palestinian refugee camp Baddawi located in northern Lebanon if security concerns were justified, local Naharnet reported Saturday. "The Lebanese army would likely carry out a massive operation against Baddawi, if investigations prove that those responsible for the recent bombing attack against the Lebanese army had taken refuge in the camp," the security source was quoted as saying on condition of anonymity. A car bomb Monday hit an army military bus in the northern city of Tripoli, killing seven people and wounding 32 others, most of the casualties were Lebanese army soldiers.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/04/content_10148232.htm

TIME Magazine: Israel fears US radar will leave it 'naked in front of America'
(3 Oct) Security sources in Israel voiced concern that a new American radar system, to be deployed in the Negev next month, will expose Israel's military secrets as it records every movement in Israel's skies, Time Magazine reported Thursday. Israeli officials also expressed concern that the installation of the radar system on Israeli soil would ignite Moscow's anger, since its range will enable the U.S. to monitor aircraft in the skies over southern Russia.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1026242.html

APN to McCain, Obama: Don't Prejudge Jerusalem Negotiations
(3 Oct) Washington, D.C – Americans for Peace Now today urged the presidential candidates to refrain from making statements that could undermine future Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on Jerusalem. It also urged Senators Obama and McCain to recognize that Jerusalem's security and stability are linked to the welfare of all of its inhabitants and to the success of any Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
http://www.peacenow.org/pr.asp?rid=&cid=5439

Robert Fisk's World: When it comes to Palestine and Israel the US simply doesn't get it
(4 Oct) Palestinians ceased to exist in the United States on Thursday night. Both Joe Biden and Sarah Palin managed to avoid the use of that poisonous word. "Palestine" and "Palestinians" – that most cancerous, slippery, dangerous concept – simply did not exist in the vice-presidential debate. The phrase "Israeli occupation" was mercifully left unused. Neither the words "Jewish colony" nor "Jewish settlement" – not even that cowardly old get-out clause of American journalism, "Jewish neighbourhood" – got a look-in. Nope. Those bold contenders of the US vice-presidency, so keen to prove their mettle when it comes to "defence", hid like rabbits from the epicentre of the Middle East earthquake: the existence of a Palestinian people. Sure, there was talk of a "two-state" solution, but it would have mystified anyone who didn't understand the region.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisks-world-when-it-comes-to-palestine-and-israel-the-us-simply-doesnt-get-it-950812.html

Newspapers get complaints for DVD ad on Muslims
(4 Oct, AP) Newspapers that carried an advertising supplement in recent weeks containing a DVD critical of radical Muslims have faced complaints from readers and questions about whether newspapers should offer a platform to everyone willing to pay for distribution. "I cannot believe that I was sent the hate-inflaming, fear-mongering video disk `Obsession' in my newspaper!" Margaret Lewis of Durham, N.C., wrote to The News & Observer. "What will you enclose next? KKK robes?"
http://forums.therandirhodesshow.com/index.php?showtopic=11651

Friday: 1 US Soldier, 1 Iraqi Killed; 2 Iraqis Wounded
=0 A Excerpt: A day after Baghdad was rocked by multiple bombings, quiet seemingly returned to the city; however, it is the prayer day so many reporters have taken the day off to worship. One U.S. soldier was killed in a roadside bombing in Amara. At least one Iraqi was killed and two others were wounded across the country.
http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=13546

Iraqi election law ratified
Iraq's three-member presidency council has approved a long-delayed provincial election law, a government official has said. The move removes the final hurdle for polls to go ahead early next year, the official who attended a meeting at which the decison was taken said on Friday.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/10/2008103122245761770.html

Analysis: Stable Iraq could influence Mideast
AP - As violence in Iraq recedes, neighboring states are pondering how to deal with an unwieldy country that could re-emerge as a key player along with Saudi Arabia and Iran in one of the world's most strategic regions.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081003/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_s_influence_analysis

Iraqi witnesses to yesterday's Eid bombings
About two dozen Iraqis celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan were killed in yesterday's suicide attacks in two predominantly Shi'ite neighborhoods. Here are a handful of witness accounts.
http://electroniciraq.net/news/war-every-day-blog/Iraqi_witnesses_to_yesterday_s_Eid_bombings-3390.shtml

Iraq to reopen bridge three years after stampede
Iraqi authorities will soon reopen a major bridge across the River Tigris in Baghdad that has been closed for over three years since a deadly stampede killed nearly 1,000 Shiite pilgrims. "The Baghdad Operations Command has decided to reopen Al-Aima Bridge in the next few days after the [Muslim holiday of] Eid al-Fitr," Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel-Karim Khalaf said Friday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=96476

Iraqi voices: "We want to have fun, even if it is once in our lifetimes"
There are more Iraqi voices in the papers today than most days--many of them witnesses to the Eid bombings or reacting to them. This one stood out. It's from the end of the New York Times roundup of the violence yesterday.
http://electroniciraq.net/news/war-every-day-blog/Iraqi_voices_We_want_to_have_fun_even_if_it_is_once_in_our_lifetimes-3391.shtml

Tehran rejects Bahrain FM's call to bring Israel in from cold
AFP - Iran rejected the Bahrain foreign minister's call for a new regional grouping which would include Israel as well as Arab states, Iran and Turkey, the official IRNA news agency reported on Friday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081003/wl_mideast_afp/mideastbahrainisraelirandiplomacy

Chomsky: "The Majority of the World Supports Iran"
In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview, Chomsky discusses the global politics of Iran's and In dia's attempts to become nuclear powers.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20937.htm