Geneva Accords Signed by outcast former government officials Yossi Beilin on the Israeli side and Yasser Abed Rabbo on the Palestinian side, this agreement is not receiving much support from anyone and is expected to fade away quickly. The accords were not negotiated by people with power, but aimed to show it is possible to solve the most difficult elements of the conflict. The agreement is reported by the negotiators to be complementary to the American 'road map' for peace, which initially called for a Palestinian state in 2004, but now 2005. Sharon has publicly warned America not to support the initiative. Yasser Arafat initially gave mixed reactions.
Syria threatens Israel by offering Peace Talks It has become clear that shortly after the Israeli October attack on Damascus, Syria's president agreed to a proposal to end violence along Israel's northern border if Israel promised to stop violating Lebanon's airspace and not to attack Syrian territory. Peace talks between Israel and Syria were suspended in 2000. The ceasefire would be followed by efforts to restart negotiations. Israel did not respond to the proposal, but non-officials opposed to the idea made statement such as, "Israel can not negotiate peace on two fronts."
UN vote condemning Israel The UN General Assembly held its annual vote on 7 resolutions condemning Israel. Concerning Jerusalem, a motion passed 155-8 declaring that Israeli actions to impose laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City are "illegal and therefore null and void and have no validity whatsoever." The resolution also criticised governments that have set up diplomatic missions in Jerusalem. The eight countries that voted against were the United States, Israel, Palau, Nauru, Costa Rica, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Uganda.
UN to determine legality of Israel's "security barrier" The U.N. General Assembly voted 90-8 with 74 abstentions to support a petition to the International Criminal Court in the Hague to rule on the legality of Israel's West Bank "security barrier" -- referred to by Arabs as a wall, and Israelis as a fence. The Hague has the power to issue binding decisions, but in this case the type of advisory opinion requested by the resolution is not binding. A similar resolution passed in October with a 144-4 vote and 12 abstentions.
USA Sanctions Syria The sanctions legislation prohibits US exports to Syria of weaponry and so-called "dual-use" technology, although the bill gives Bush the power to waive the sanctions at will. It also introduces possible restrictions on US exports and business investment, a downgrading of Washington's diplomatic representation, a travel restriction on Syrian diplomats in the United States, the power to freeze Syria's assets in the United States and restrict overflight rights for Syrian aircraft inside US airspace. It also calls on Syria to end the "occupation" of Lebanon. "Today, I have signed into law HR 1828, the 'Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003." - President Bush.
Israel threatens to quit peace process In what was billed as a "major policy" address, Israeli Prime Minister Arial Sharon has threatened to disengage unilaterally from any attempts to negotiate peace and take, what he calls, "fundamental" steps to secure Israel. "This plan will only be implemented if the Palestinians drag their feet and refuse to implement the road map...We will not wait for them forever." - Ariel Sharon. Of course, on the ground it has always been Sharon who refused to implement the road map and resisted any attempts to negotiate in good faith.
Israel threatens to shoot down Egyptian planes Israel has issued a public threat to shoot down Egyptian unmaned drones they claim are spying on Israeli nuclear sites. There was no response from the Egyptian government to confirm that Egyptian UAV's are indeed flying over Israel.
Sharon orders some settlements closed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signed an order to evacuate just 4 tiny settlements, 3 of which are not even inhabited. An earlier list of 8 settlements was abandoned after fierce resistance from settlers.
Israel says it will change route of wall It seems Israel would like the world to believe it is "changing the route" of the "security barrier" in response to protests and international pressure... But in reality the changes are very minor, if any at all. They claim they are trying to make life easier for the Palestinians, but the proposed route changes are not final and simply involve openning a hole east of Qalqilyah and abandoning the planned wall around village of Baka al-Sharkiya.
Refusnik's threatened The commander of Israel's elite commando unit Sayeret said that if the 13 reservist soldiers do not withdraw their refusal to serve within Gaza or the West Bank within ten days, then he will be forced to expel them from the unit.
