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Examines whether gaining more control over more territory will lead Palestinians to an independent state, following Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Challenges that the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, is facing; Suspicions of many Palestinians concerning Israel's motives; Outlook for progress; Views of Abbas' advisers and of Palestinians; Issue of security reform; Infrastructure plans.

Focuses on the reaction of Palestinian Arabs to the evacuation of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip as of August 18, 2005. Report that some Palestinians celebrated the removal of Israelis from Gaza, while others sympathized with those forcibly evicted; Comments of Palestinians on the forced evacuations; Importance of the eviction of Israeli settlers in Gaza to the Arab-Israeli peace process; Reflections of Palestinians on their own experiences of removal from homelands in Israel's history.

Focuses on the political and social effects of the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Author's view that Gazans are tenatively contemplating the unfamiliar possibility of new freedom; Suggestion that the Israeli settlements in Gaza are part of the area's landscape and that it will be hard for even the occasional visitor to imagine them gone; Reports on how various Palestinian factions, vying for credit and control, have decided to declare victory in the Israeli withdrawal. INSET: Settlement By Settlement.

Focuses on the negative impact of the peace process between Israel and Palestine. Nature of the conflict; Failure of cease-fire agreements; Efforts to intervene in the conflict.

Reports on the shooting incident involving a Palestinian gunman in Hadera, Israel. Casualties and injuries of the incident; Retaliations by the Israeli military forces; Information on the violence against Israeli civilians.

Reports on the civilians killed in the recent Palestinian militant attacks in Israel. Personal background on victim Avi Boaz; Details on the killing of Yoela Chen; Reaction of Palestinian officials to the attacks.

Reports on one possible candidate for leader of Palestine following the death of Yasir Arafat. Marwan Barghouti, who sits in an Israeli jail serving five life terms plus 40 years; Background on Barghouti, his popularity and his credentials to lead the country; Rumors about the possibility the Israelis would pardon or release him; How his politics differ from that of Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas who is thought to be the heir apparent.

Focuses on social and economic relations between Palestinians and Israelis following the death of former Prime Minister Yaser Arafat in Israel. Details on the giant barrier of concrete and electrified chain-link fencing surrounding the towns; Impact of the barrier on Palestinian-Israelis relationship; Effect of the barrier on economic and political conditions

Reports on the death of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat. Role of Arafat as a symbol of the Palestinian revolution; Statement that Arafat will be buried in Ramallah, on the West Bank; Mourning among Palestinian Arabs over the death of Arafat; Discussion of the lack of peace between Palestinians and Israelis; Report that Israelis regarded Arafat as a terrorist; Lack of a successor to take Arafat's place; Report that Rawhi Fattouh, the speaker of the parliament, will serve as acting president until elections are held; Possibility that Mahmoud Abbas and Ahmed Qurei will obtain places of leadership in Arafat's place; Statement made by Hamas that Arafat's death will strengthen Palestine's fight against Israel. INSET: Some Potential Successors.

Discusses the stance of presidential candidates Senator John Kerry and incumbent President George W. Bush on issues of foreign policy. Suggestion from politicians and policy analysts that there is a lack of clarification from either candidate about where they stand on the major issues; Feelings of Bush and Kerry on the war and Iraq; Claims from Kerry that he will find a way for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq more quickly if he is elected; How both candidates support the development of a better relationship with China while promoting internal reform; Support from Bush and Kerry for the policies of Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon regarding Israel and the Palestinians.

Presents the second of two articles about the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. How it is uncertain who will rule the Palestinians in Gaza after Israeli forces leave; Concern of many that without a plan in place, the area could be lawless or run by force; Struggle by factions to assert their rule; How Palestinian president, Yasir Arafat, has not made a statement about a government for the area; Hope of some that it could become self-ruling and a model for the rest of the country; Efforts of Muhammad Dahlan who is favored by the Israelis, Europeans and Americans to position himself for leadership; Background on Dahlan.

Reports on the contest between Islamists and secular leaders in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Dependence of the Israeli economy on foreign donors; Decrease in all forms of authority among Palestinians; Involvement of Zacaria Zubeidah and Salahaldin Mousa as the administrative leaders of Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, the militant group most feared by Israel; Impact of the conflict on Israelis in cities such as Tel Aviv and Haifa.

Reports that Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon coaxed his country on Sunday toward evacuating some settlements next year, winning approval from is right-wing coalition government to begin preparing for disengagement from the Palestinians of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Details of how Sharon forged a compromise with the far-right; Details of the agreement; Reaction of the Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei; Background on Sharon's policies on relations with the Palestinians; Details of the debate among Israeli politicians about the Gaza withdrawal.

Reports on Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate some Israeli settlements without a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Sharon's proposal that the cabinet vote on emptying just three settlements in the Gaza Strip; Support of the U.S. government on Sharon's plan.

Reports that Israel's attorney general, Menachem Mazuz has decided against indicting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on charges of accepting bribes from a real estate developer, David Appel. Sharon's announcement of his plans in putting a revised version of his disengagement plan to a vote within his government in May 2004; Indictment of Appel on bribery charges.

Reports on Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid's attack on Israeli plan to demolish Palestinian homes in Gaza. Lapid's claim that a suffering Palestinian woman reminded him of his grandmother; Israeli debate about a continuing Israeli military campaign in the Palestinian neighborhoods of the southern Gaza Strip; Remarks made by Lapid in a radio interview regarding the issue.

Comments on the Israeli army raids conducted in the Gaza Strip in May 2004. Death and damage to property caused by the raids; International reaction to the raids; Proposed withdrawal of all Israeli troops in the Palestinian occupied area.

Reports on the advancement of the Israeli Army to the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Death of seven Palestinians, mostly militants, resulting from Israeli army tank incursions; Search for Palestinian-built tunnels allegedly containing smuggled weapons; Decision of an Israeli court to convict Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti for murder in attacks that killed five Israelis.

Reports that the Israeli military has seized control of Palestinian neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip. Number of casualties caused by the Israeli raid; Claim of the Israeli defense ministry that the raid was needed to stop the smuggling of rocket-propelled grenades and other arms through tunnels from Egypt; Speculation that the Israeli strategy was to occupy Tel Sultan in the hope of drawing Palestinian militants from the neighboring Rafah refugee camp into the snipers' scopes.

Reports that Israeli armored bulldozers and helicopter gunships advanced into the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip in a military operation to root out militants and weapons smuggling tunnels. Israeli helicopter fired missiles that killed at least seven Palestinians and wounded two dozen; Raid follows the killings of 13 Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip the previous week.

Reports on the intention of Israeli officials to proceed with a plan to widen an Israeli-patrolled lane along the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt by demolishing as many as hundreds of Palestinian homes. Importance of demolitions to foil weapons smugglers and to protect soldiers in the area from Palestinian militants who use the buildings as cover; Diplomatic assurances provided by United States President George W. Bush to Israel; Estimated number of Palestinians who lost their homes.

Reports on the leftists' call for the pullout of Israeli soldiers out of the Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt. Support given in part by the lefitsts to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon; Turbulence in Israeli politics; Growth in the clamor for a Gaza withdrawal following the death of soldiers in separate attacks that destroyed two armored vehicles.

Reports on Israel's plan to widen an army-patrolled zone at the southern end of the Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt. Demolition of many Palestinian buildings; Efforts to protect Israeli soldiers who hunt for Palestinian smuggling tunnels in the area; Incidence of violence that resulted to the death of soldiers in the area.

Reports that Palestinian militants destroyed an Israeli armored vehicle in the Gaza Strip on May 12, 2004, then confronted troops who stormed after the remains of their fallen comrades. Number of casualties; Missile fired by an Israeli helicopter ay Palestinians after the attack, killing seven Palestinians; Statement issued by two militant groups, Islamic Jihad and Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, saying they had turned over Israeli body parts to the Egyptian intelligence service.

Reports that the Israeli military is conducting a house-to-house search for the remains of their comrades after Palestinian militants bombed an Israeli troop carrier in Gaza City. Assertion by the Israeli soldiers that they will not conduct negotiations; Raids conducted by Israeli armored forces to retaliate for the bombings.

Reports on the investment of Israel in West Bank settlements, according to Israeli finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Endorsement of a plan to withdraw from Gaza without a peace agreement; Opportunity to reinforce settlements in the West Bank.

Reports on the release from prison of Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear technician imprisoned for his revelations about the nuclear capacity of Israel. Statement of Vanunu on the destruction of the reactor; Policy of Israel on nuclear ambiguity.

Reports that as Palestinians massed in Gaza City to vent rage at Israel over its killing of Hamas top leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi on Saturday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon picked up crucial support on Sunday from right-wing leaders for his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip without a peace agreement. Report of statements of reluctant support for the plan made by right-wing Likud party members, including Benjamin Netanyahu and Limor Livnat; Reasons why Israel is intensifying pressure on Hamas; Details of diplomatic assurances in support of the Gaza withdrawal that U.S. President George W. Bush gave to Sharon; Analysis of recent shifts in the Likud party and in Israeli politics.

Reports on the reason for the hesitation of Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on his planned trip to Washington, D.C. Fear of Sharon concerning the diplomatic guarantees he wanted from U.S. President George W. Bush; Reaction of the Palestinian leadership from the shifts in the American policy in the Middle East; Prediction of the advisers of Sharon on the domestic support he needed to push ahead with his Gaza plan.

Reports on President George W. Bush's support of an Israeli plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Provision of diplomatic assurances that represented a victory for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon; Three commitments made by the United States, including backing for the Gaza withdrawal, recognition that Israel would hold on to parts of the West bank, and an American rejection of the right of Palestinians refugees from the 1948 to return to their lands in what is now Israel; Absence of the Palestinians in the negotiations.

Reports on the new threat of Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Yasir Arafat, Palestinian leader. Commitment of Sharon to U.S. President George W. Bush; Opposition of the Bush administration on any action harming Arafat; Effort of Sharon to secure American effort of his plans.

Reports that Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had given orders to halt development of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip in a step toward an eventual Israeli withdrawal. Remarks from Sharon concerning the matter; Account of the clash between Israeli riot police officers and Palestinians at a Jerusalem holy site; Assertion from Sharon regarding the continuation of Israel to supply Gazans with electricity and water after a withdrawal.

Focuses on the criticism against support of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on the organization of a party vote on plan to withdraw from Israeli-occupied territory by coalition partners and leaders of rightist party Likud. Number of members of the party; Rejection on the creation of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River; Retention of settlements in the West Bank.

Reports on the recommendation of the state prosecutor Edna Arbel to indict Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Anger of Sharon the recommendation; Objection of the legal experts to the disclosure of the recommendation to the Israel mass media; Demand for resignation of Sharon if indicted.

This article presents information on the growing conflict between the Hamas militants and Israeli troops. Israeli officials are optimistic that the Hamas militants would not be able to retaliate the killing of their spiritual leader Sheik Ahmad Yassin. Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank demonstrated the killing of their spiritual leader. A small protest against the killing of the Hamas leader was also reported from Kabul, Afghanistan and a larger one in Tehran, Iran where some 5,000 marchers gathered to protest.

Reports on the recommendation of Israel's state prosecutor that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon be indicted on charges of taking bribes from a real estate developer. Final decision to be made by Israel's attorney general, Menachem Mazuz; Details of the case; Indictment of the real estate developer for an attempted bribe to Sharon.

With a proposed Israeli withdrawal by Ariel Sharon, Israeli President from the Gaza Strip, each side in the Israel-Palestinian conflict wants to prove the other side evidence of its own strength. Hamas, a fundamentalist Palestinian group sees a unilateral Israeli withdrawal as a political opportunity. But in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the messages either side tries to send are usually much more convincing than its adversary. Palestinians cling to their own message, that Israel is running from Palestinian resistance.

On March 24, 2004 Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, celebrated the 52th anniversary of Israel's treaty with Egypt, a peace Sharon helped secure. Sharon, a symbol to Arabs of ruthless Israeli force, spoke with unusual eloquence of friends lost in battle, of leadership triumphing over hatred, of a dream of peace. The peace treaty left Israel still occupying Gaza. It was Sharon who mapped out and built Israeli settlements there, home now to 7,000 Jews, among 1.3 million Palestinians.

Reports that Palestinians are vowing revenge for the killing of Hamas cleric Sheik Ahmed Yassin. Death of the spiritual leader in an attack by the Israeli government; Mood at the funeral in Gaza; Protests and violence after the killing; Comments of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, whose government authorized the attack; Sharon's approach to terrorism; Reactions to the attack, including condemnation by Arab and European officials; Comparison of Sheik Yassin to Osama bin Laden by Israeli officials; Hamas' commitment to Israel's destruction.

Reports that two Palestinian suicide bombers not only killed ten Israeli in Ashdod on Sunday but their act also shut down what would have been the first meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his counterpart, Ahmed Qurei of Palestine. Description of the suicide bombing; How Israel retaliated; Belief the bombers may have come from the Gaza Strip and the implications that makes concerning the electronic security fence around Gaza designed to keep terrorists out of Israel; Responsibility for the bombing which was claimed by an offshoot of Yasir Arafat's Fatah faction; Description of the actual attack; Gaza militants who are angry following an Israeli raid into central Gaza where 14 were killed.

Reports fashionable protest of the Israeli government. Poses of fashion models from an Israeli fashion house; Reason of the protest; Analysis of the political problems between Israel and Palestine.

Reports on the suspension of the construction of one segment of Israel's West Bank barrier. Arrest of three Palestinian youths facilitating a suicidal shooting mission; Retaliation of the Palestinians for killing three Islamic Jihad militants by an Israeli missile strike; Infiltration of the suicide bomber.

Reports on the sustained nonviolent protest of Palestinians against the security barrier Israel is constructing in the West Bank. Demonstrations by Israeli leftists and villagers; Unusual nature of peaceful protest in the normally violent region; Effects of the demonstrations; Details of the demonstrations.

Reports that Israeli forces raided Arab banks in Ramallah, on the West Bank, seizing millions of dollars representing hundreds of institutional and personal accounts that Israel said were financing Palestinian terrorism. Description of the raids; Defense of the operation by the Israelis as aimed carefully at terrorist financing and in line with President George W. Bush's call for action; Reaction from the head of the Palestinian Monetary Authority, calling the raid a robbery intended to destabilize the banking system; Criticism from the State Department in Washington.

Reports on the February 22, 2004 suicide bombing in Jerusalem, a Palestine effort in retaliation for the West Bank barrier and for an Israeli raid into the Gaza Strip on February 11 that killed 15 Palestinians. Number of casualties; Background on the barrier to be constructed by Israel to block terrorist bombers.

Reports on Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's call on the American government to support his proposal for "unilateral disengagement" from the Palestinians. Sharon's assurance that the proposal will not replace the U.S. government's peace initiative; Commitment of Sharon to the U.S. road map for peace in the Middle East.

Reports on the unilateral disengagement plan from Palestinians by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Israel. Relocation of the settlers from Gaza Strip to settlements in the West Bank; Assessment of the peace initiative agreement; Expansion of the West Bank community.