3500 settlement units to be built in Maali Adomim, PA silent

Occupied Jerusalem- The Jewish settlement of Maali Adomim is witnessing a frantic onslaught of expansion, Palestinian and Israeli sources saidtoday. The sources said that as many 3500 settlement units were being built at the settlement which is located less than a 10 minute drive from EastJerusalem. The Israeli paper, Maariv, reported on Friday that the current expansion was part of a master plan, approved by former Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and adopted by the current Israeli premier Ehud Barak. According to the plan, as many as 7000 housing units will be constructed at Maali Adomim, apparently in advance of annexing it to GreaterJerusalem. According to Palestinian sources, the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank is assuming a faster pace than that which was during the previous Israeli government. The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, continues to reiterate the same platitudinous objections to Israeli settlement policy. Last night, the PA cabinet issued a statement calling on the international community and the sponsors of the peace process to shoulder their responsibility in protecting the peace process. The statement said, settlement expansion and the peace process wereincompatible. However, aside from that, the PA seems to be resigned to the fait accompli, especially considering its virtual powerlessness to reverse the Israeli policy to that effect.

Israeli paper: Israel, PA , Egypt and Jordan sign anti-Islamist pact

Occupied Jerusalem- The well-informed Israeli Hebrew daily, Yedeot Ahranot, reported on Friday that the Zionist regime, Jordan, Egypt and the autonomous regime of Yaser Arafat recently signed a security agreement, to combat Islamic resistance movement in the region. The Hebrew paper said the leaders of the four sides concluded a framework agreement to that effect during the last few weeks. The paper added that the United States encouraged the agreement. Yedeot Ahranot described the agreement as unprecedented, saying this was the first time Israel reaches a security pact of this type with three Arab countries combined.

According to the Israeli paper, the quadrilateral pact stipulates regular exchange of intelligence data on terrorist groups, an obvious allusion to Islamic resistance groups fighting the Zionist occupation and despotic Arab regimes.The paper also revealed that the Jordanian monarch, Abdullah II, originally suggested the idea and that PA President Yaser Arafat was most enthusiastic about it.

Jewish groups seek to seize Arab houses near Aqsa Mosque

Occupied Jerusalem- An extremist Jewish group has urged wealthy Jews from around the world to help seize a number of Arab houses in the vicinity of the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The group, known as the Temple Mount Faithful, published adds in Israeli and American press appealing to rich Jews to give financial assistance to his group to take control of several houses overlooking the Haram al Sharif compound. The groups leader, Girshon Salmon, said he hoped to be able to purchase at least one large house near the Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, which he said, would be used as Center for preparing the rebuilding to the Temple. Salmon was quoted, as saying the money would be used to pay for design works and other drawings of the Temple. He said that preparations for the rebuilding of the Temple were underway, pointing out that special masonry were being prepared for the Templesfoundation. On Friday, The Temple Mount Faithful circulated a model drawing of the Temple, which the Zionist group hopes to build at the site of al MasjidulAqsa. In the meanwhile, Muslim officials in Jerusalem warned that Muslims the world over ought to take the threats of the Temple Mount Faithfulseriously. Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, director of the Haram al Sharif, said in a newspaper interview Saturday that the Temple Mount Faithful were working in concert wit the Israeli government. He warned that if Muslims remained indifferent to Zionist designs and plots against al Masjidul Aqsa, it wouldnt be very long before they saw the Mosque demolished, an then it would bee too late.

Zionist regime bars many Palestinians from making pilgrimage to Mecca

Occupied Jerusalem- Consistent with its established policy of tormenting non-Jews, the Zionist regime bard many Palestinians of late from travelling to Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the Umra, or lesser pilgrimage, Palestinian sources said today. The sources said the Israeli occupation authorities last week barred several citizens from the town of Tulkarm from travelling to Saudi Arabia for that purpose. Among the pilgrims barred was Ashraf Rami Omar, of the village of Baqa al Sharkiyya, south west of Tulkarm.

According to the sources, scores of pilgrims were turned back from the Allenby Bridge without any explanation. According to the Oslo accords, the Zionist occupation army controls all border crossings from and to the occupied territories. Hence, no Palestinian can travel abroad without Israeli consent. Moreover, the Zionist often detain and abduct Palestinian travelers, especially those coming from area A where the PA has exclusive administrative authority.

Israel insists on having final say on who will be allowed to use safe passage

Occupied Jerusalem- Yaser Arafats Palestinian Authority and the Zionist regime are yet to reach an agreement on procedures governing the operation of the safe crossing between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources said the Israeli occupation authorities were insisting that the Israeli domestic intelligence, the Shabak, be given the final say in deciding who can and who cant use the safe passage. On Friday, PA civil affairs minister Wajih Tarifi met for several hours with Israeli army and intelligence officers in an effort to reach an agreement allowing Palestinians to travel freely via the 45 kilometer-rout between the Tarqumiya (near Hebron) and Gaza. According to Tarifi, the Israelis agreed to drop their demand of arresting objectionable Palestinians using the safe passage. However, the occupation authorities came up with new demands, including one that would make Israeli Shabak officers fully responsible for issuing magnetic cards for Palestinians wishing to travel between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The PA objected to the new Israeli demands, saying the proper name for the passage would be unsafe passage. Never the less, observers in Palestine expect the PA to budge to Israeli demands and dictates as it has always done.