ALI ABUNIMAH
Abunimah wrote the new article “Dangerous Dirty Tricks in Palestine,” in which he states: “Without consulting [Palestinian Authority] Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, [Palestinian President] Abbas announced that Hamas would have 10 days to accept the prisoners’ document without any changes or he would call a referendum. Hamas made clear that it views the referendum as illegal. Palestinian law makes no provision for referendums, and only the legislative council, in which Hamas has a huge majority, can amend the law.”

Abunimah continued: “There is a background to all this: Just after the January election, the New York Times reported on February 14, U.S. and Israeli officials met at the ‘highest level’ at the State Department to plot the downfall of Hamas by ‘starving’ the Palestinian Authority.”
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CHARLIE SCHEINER
JOHN M. MILLER
Violence continues in Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor). Scheiner has recently returned from there; he and Miller are with the East Timor Action Network, which said in a recent statement: “If Timor-Leste is to become the success story it has already been portrayed as, further international support is necessary. However, this support must be given in an honest spirit that supports real self-determination and empowers the Timorese people to take full charge of their own destiny.” Pentagon head Donald Rumsfeld is currently in neighboring Indonesia, which had occupied East Timor.
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167