Meanwhile in Palestine

Two killed in Gaza violence : Gunbattles between Fatah and Hamas fighters erupted on Monday night in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, killing two and wounding 14.

Al-Aqsa issues threat to kill Hamas chief Meshal: Fatah gunmen threatened on Tuesday to kill leaders of the governing Hamas group, escalating a power struggle marked by the worst internal Palestinian violence since the Palestinian Authority was created in 1994.

The threat of civil war in Palestine : This is the most dangerous stage in the history of the Palestinian nation’s struggle because the United States, Israel, and the European Union are making serious efforts to spark a civil war in Palestine.

Peace Now: 3,500 housing units being built in West Bank: More than 3,500 housing units are currently being built in West Bank settlements, compared to 4,144 units that were being built at the same time last year, according to Peace Now's bi-annual report. In addition, the construction of two roads - the Tekoa-Jerusalem road and the Ma'aleh Adumim-Jericho road (in the section east of Kfar Adumim) - has recently been resumed.

Peace Now: Building in illegal outposts stepped-up during war: Peace Now organization reports that building in illegal outposts in the West Bank was accelerated during the war in Lebanon. 31 outposts have seen expansion and infrastructure works and 12 outposts have even seen the construction of permanent buildings, according to Peace Now's bi-annual report. Peace Now leaders now demand the Defense Minister Amir Peretz live up to his promise to evacuate illegal outposts.

Judge: Police officers lied while testifying against left-wing activists: Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court revealed Tuesday that police officers lied while testifying against 11 left-wing activists accused of violent acts during anti-fence demonstrations in the West Bank village of Bil'in. The presiding judge viewed video footage filmed by both police officers and members of the group "Anarchists Against the Wall" that did not bear evidence of violent acts.

PCHR Condemns the Violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: PCHR's preliminary investigation indicates that in the evening of Monday, 2 October 2006, two civilians were killed and 23 were injured. Most of the injured are civilians; and the injured include 3 critical cases and 7 children. The casualties fell during clashes between Fatah members and the Interior Ministry Executive Force in the Nejma Square in Rafah.

Palestinian in-fighting provokes despair, frustration: The bloodshed marks the worst internal fighting in more than a decade, since the Palestinian Authority was founded in 1994. For ordinary Palestinians it is not only a sour reminder of how far they have to go before there is an independent state, it also comes at a time when the vast majority are marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a time of solidarity and peace.

Palestinian dies after Israeli raid on Gaza: Naji Bardawil, a 22-year-old civilian, was seriously wounded during the raid on the workshop next to his house in Khan Yunis and later died in hospital, they said. Another person in the house was also wounded in the raid.

Israel incursion in Gaza, as Rice tours ME: A Palestinian police spokesman said tank-backed Israeli troops rolled into Beit Lahya, in the north of the strip, in the early morning hours under heavy fire cover from a hovering helicopter gunship Tuesday and took up positions in the area. Similar massing of troops was reported east of Beit Hanoun, also in north Gaza, where a large number of Israeli tanks took up positions on strategic hills two days ago.

Israeli air strike wounds 2 Palestinians: witnesses: An Israeli air strike against two vehicles in Gaza on Tuesday wounded two Palestinians, Palestinian medics and witnesses said. Palestinian witnesses said the cars were set ablaze in the attack. The identities of the Palestinians wounded were unknown and it was unclear whether they were inside the vehicles at the time.

Ruling Hamas government endangers the people: Fatah official: "I think the government is no more able to keep imposing its sovereignty on the Palestinian people or serve their interests, because it moves from failure to failure and from crisis to another crisis," Ahmed Abdel Rahman told reporters. "In fact, the Hamas government is now endangering the Palestinian people,"

Rice calls for an end to fighting in PA during Middle East tour: "It looks like Mrs. Rice is adopting the old practice of divide and conquer," Haniyeh told reporters in Gaza. "She wants to weaken the states and the nations of the region." "We call on all of the Arab countries not to follow the American plans and not to adopt this policy that aimes to divide the region," Haniyeh said.

Arab League: Palestinian fighting is 'madness': "Let's leave the killing, aggression and destruction to Israel, because that's enough for the Palestinian people," said Mohamed Subaih, the Arab League's assistant secretary-general for Palestinian affairs. "This infighting is unprecedented Palestinian madness," Subaih added.

Hamas Suspends Ministries: Government spokesman Ghazi Hamad announced “The suspension of work in government institutions because of the attacks against the seat of government in the West Bank and attempts to kidnap officials.”

UNHCR deeply concerned by plight of Palestinian refugees in Iraq: Palestinians in Iraq lack protection, have serious problems obtaining identity cards, and have been the target of continuing harassment, threats, kidnapping and killings. In late September, armed men in Baghdad hand-delivered written death threats to several Palestinians. Similar threats were issued earlier this year and created widespread panic among the Palestinians, many of whom tried to flee as a result.

Poll: Fatah and Hamas would be tied if new elections are called: As one of several options, Abbas is considering calling early elections, both for president and parliament, but Tuesday's poll and other recent surveys indicate there is no guarantee voters would return Fatah to power.

Palestinian volunteer to remove unexploded Israeli Cluster bombs in Lebanon: A Lebanese TV station showed Abu Ali removing the bombs said he has successfully removed and disarmed 13,000 cluster bombs so far and is determined to remove them all. When asked about why he does not charge money for removing these bombs, Abu Ali told the TV station, “What will I do with the money if one of these bombs went off?”

The ethnic cleansing of Palestine - By Ilan Pappe: The book tries to show that in 1948, the Zionist movement waged a war against the Palestinain people in order to implement its long term plans of ethnic cleansing (whereas Israeli historians, including 'new historians', claimed that the war was waged by the Arab world against the state of Israel in order to eliminate it and it resulted in expulsions of Palestinians) . The Arab world tried to prevent this cleansing, but was too fragmented, self-centered and ineffective to stop the uprooting of half of Palestine's native population, the destruction of half of its villages and towns and the killing of thousands of its people.

The Roadmap to Nowhere: With the collapse of the political system, the army remains the body that shapes and executes Israel's policies. During the recent Israeli attack on Lebanon (not covered in the book), it became common knowledge in Israel that the military is leading the government, with Peretz, now Defense minister, often appearing on tv looking like a puppet operated by the generals surrounding him.

Rice seeks Saudi support for Abbas: She told reporters accompanying her on the flight that she plans to discuss with King Abdullah ways of assisting Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

Not quite civil war: Abbas raised this unexpected demand apparently due to his anger at Meshal's attempts to thwart the prisoner exchange deal. The exchange of Shalit for Palestinian prisoners is part of the agreement to set up a Palestinian unity government, and Abbas is determined to sabotage any exchange deal that credits Hamas with the prisoner exchange.

Unity as a lifesaver: If no dramatic change occurs, there apparently will be no chance for a Palestinian unity government to be established. Both sides - Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and his colleagues in the Fatah leadership; and Khaled Meshal, Ismail Haniyeh and the rest of the Hamas leaders - are sticking to their positions. The rift between them is only getting worse.

Israel asks Egypt to facilitate export of palm leaves ahead of Sukkot: During Sukkot, Jewish tradition requires believers to build palm leave-thatched huts. In order to supply the demand, hundreds of thousands of palm leaves are imported to Israel from neighboring countries every year. This year some 300,000 thousand palm leaves will be cut down in Israel alone and another 300,000 will be imported from Jordan, Gaza, Jericho and the northern Sinai.

PA deals blow to Dor Alon, ending fuel contract in 2007: The move constitutes a major blow to Dor Alon, which supplies the majority of the PA's fuel and all of its refined products and comprises some 40 percent of the company's revenue. Dor Alon has been the PA's primary supplier since 1994, which industry experts value at NIS 1.5 billion annually.