Israel Resource Review 11th November, 2000

Contents:

Official PA Radio News
the PBC Radio, November 10


Summary and analysis

The Voice of Palestine has given relatively little coverage to the Clinton-Arafat meeting Thursday afternoon beyond a recitation of Palestinian positions. There were no descriptions of the tone of conversations or of their content-beyond what Arafat said to Clinton.

The question remains: Is this a sign that the meeting, from the Palestinian standpoint, did not go well?



Morning Headlines, 8 a.m.

  • His excellency President Yasser Arafat discusses with Presient Bill Clinton in the White House a full range of subjects regarding the peace process and the continuing Israeli aggression against our people;
  • The great champion and martyr 'Abayyat will be brought to rest in Bethlehem, the city of the Messiah, this afternoon;
  • The Palestinian Authority strongly condemns [yudeenoo] the loathsome assassination operation carried out by occupation helicopters against one of the commanders of the Fatah movement in Beit Sahur;
  • Jordan strongly condemns the Israeli escalation as unrighteous and dangerous to innocent Palestinian citizens;
  • The Minister of Cooperation estimates that the diplomatic moves of the Human Rights Commission in our country will lead to an international investigation of war crimes committed against our people;
  • Ministers from Islamic countries begin the second day of deliberation on the subject of Palestine.

11 a.m. Headlines (additional)

  • Israeli Broadcasting announced that two policemen from the occupying forces in the streets of the city were injured in an explosion in occupied Jerusalem;
  • The Qatari foreign minister announced that his country had closed its trade mission with Israel, and he criticized the United States for tilting in Israel's favor.

1 p.m. News (includes live coverage from funerals)

Headlines

  • Worshipers at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque raise the Palestinian flag atop the holy shrine of the Dome of the Rock;
  • Bethlehem accompanies the martyr Hussein 'Abbayat to final rest while Gaza pays homage to martyr Mahmoud Shuraab;
  • Confrontations renewed in Qalqilya, Jenin and Hebron;
  • President Yasser Arafat discusses with President Bill Clinton the stationing of an international force for protecting our people.

Quote of the Day

"The Cabinet Secretary of the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Hassan Abdul-Rahman, in a statement issued yesterday, said this assassination was a dangerous escalation taken by the Israeli government and its military command and a new step in the direction of state terrorism practiced by the Israeli army against our people and its strugglers, and placing the responsibility for the consequences of these actions on Israel."

From Friday Morning Headlines, 8:05 a.m.

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Official PA Radio News
the PBC Radio, November 11


Evening Headlines 6 p.m., Saturday Evening

  • Five youths became new martyrs in the confrontations with the Israeli occupation army, and more than 120 citizens were wounded;
  • 25 citizens hit by live fire in Hebron;
  • 46 citizens wounded in Jenin;
  • Masses marked a variety of memorial gatherings to honor 13 martyrs killed inside the Green Line killed by the bullets of the occupation forces during mass demonstrations supporting our people and their intifada.

The Saturday evening broadcasts did not mention the deaths of Israeli soldiers Friday or Saturday or the injury to two others involved in a gunfight with Palestinian fighters in a car near Gush Katif in Gaza. The Palestinian fighters killed in the car were identified [Muhammad Yasseen al Madhoum, 22, from Shati Refugee Camp, and Mundhir Hamzi Yasseen, 23, from Gaza City] but VOP made no mention of their weapons or that they had opened fire.

Instead, the incident was reported as "Israeli occupation forces had killed two men driving in a civilian car".

Elsewhere, on the diplomatic front, VOP has chosen to highlight the trip of Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson as well as the activities of Palestinian officials at the UN and in Europe demanding an international war crimes tribunal.

VOP opened up a new front on Saturday night with commentary that Israel was deliberately targeting reporters covering the conflict. Palestinian Broadcast chief Radwan Abu-Ayyash said in an interview that this was only a continuation of Israel's attacks on VOP radio transmitters.

VOP continues to give first priority to the battle front: graphic descriptions of injuries and Israeli "tyranny", stressing the number and identity of "martyrs", anyone killed in fighting with Israeli forces.

Throughout the broadcasts, there is background music of martial quality-with highly patriotic and Islamic sub-themes, underscoring the need for martyrdom and for re-taking Jerusalem.

There is no attempt on VOP to resurrect the idea of negotiating with Israel. The terms "peace", "cooperation" and "restraint" appear in very strict contexts.

"Peace" is only consistent with a total Israeli withdrawal from "Palestinian lands" including all settlements and Jerusalem.

"Cooperation" is never used in the Israeli context, but only with reference to other Arab parties-the Islamic Conference, Hamas, brother Arab states.

"Restraint" or "limits" are what has to be imposed on Israeli aggression, and not on any Palestinian action.


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