Yedioth Ahronoth

Alfei Menashe and Matan’s success was a catastrophe for Kalkilya. The city became an island surrounded by fences on four sides, cut off from the villagers that bring it goods and do their shopping and depend on it for civil services. But, as Uzi Dayan says, “The fence isn’t supposed to make everybody happy. There was no choice.” Meron Rappaport reports in Yedioth Ahronoth.

Something strange has been happening in recent months to the separation fence. What began thanks to a campaign of the Israeli Left and Center under Barak-style slogans of “we are here, they are there,” it has become the baby of the Sharon government. The same Sharon who during the unity government opposed building the fence and was dragged into it almost against his will, on any given day has 500 bulldozers at work, paving and building one of the largest projects in the history of the country, perhaps the largest. Meron Rappaport reports in Yedioth Ahronoth.

“Every few months, a ‘peace plan’ is pulled out of the drawers of the White House and keeps the public discourse busy for a few weeks. Although this ritual has a fixed pattern and predetermined end, it is curious that many in Israel are still tempted to believe that this time it is different. The Road Map announces that this time “the destination is a final and comprehensive settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict by 2005”. To check if it offers anything concrete in this direction, it is necessary to first get clear regarding what the conflict is about.” Israeli academic Tanya Reinhart writes in Yediot Aharonot.

While fears that Israel might use the war in Iraq as a cover to forcefully relocate Palestinians in the “seam line” area of the northern West Bank have not been realized, the Israeli army is rehearsing for such a “transfer.” Furthermore, Israel is escalating efforts to rob Palestinians of their lands in the occupied territories. Tanya Reinhart reports in Yediot Aharonot.

It appears that all the Lilliputians managed to do so far is to delay the giant for a few months. But these months were crucial. Today the Lilliputians are no longer tiny people. It started with thousands of small organizations, scattered around the globe and communicating over the Internet - organizations which are connected by a shared sense that if things go on like this, the human race will destroy itself. Tanya Reinhart writes in Yediot Aharonot.

This interview was first published in Yediot Aharonot, Israel’s most widely circulated tabloid paper, on 31 May 2002. It is an eyewitness testimony concerning what happened in Jenin, as told by a member of the Israeli military who was proud of his actions. Shortly after publication, the unit to which the man belongs received from the army command received an official citation for outstanding service. Courtesy of Gush Shalom.

To the extent that the recent military acts in the territories are debated in Israel at all, the debate almost solely revolves around the question whether or not it is possible to end the Palestinian terror this way. The Palestinians, as human beings, simply do not exist. Tanya Reinhart writes in Yediot Aharonot.

Did the Income Tax Authority in Israel decide to harass hundreds of foreign media personnel in Israel for their coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? The following report from Yediot Ahranot’s Arabic website looks at recent developments.

In contrast to the spirit of blood and revenge which is now dominating the Israeli public discourse, there has been for years a wide consensus in the Israeli society that peace with the Palestinians requires withdrawal from the occupied territories and evacuation of settlements.