Thousands of Europeans protest against Israeli barrier

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Berlin, Geneva, Paris and Rome to protest against Israel's construction of a separation barrier and the situation of Palestinians on the occasion of Jerusalem Day.

In the French capital between 2,000 and 6,000 people joined a rally called by leftist and aid groups.

The demonstration was "part of an international campaign against the construction of the wall" annexing Palestinian territory, said Christian Piquet, a leading figure of the Revolutionary Communist League (LCR).

Mr Piquet estimated the number of demonstrators at 6,000, while police said 2,000 attended, among them members of Amnesty International, the Communist Party and the environmental Greens party.

"We are demonstrating so there will not be a wall between people and no people between the walls," said the spokesman for the group coordinating Palestinian committees, Rachid Abel.

A French Jewish group as well as anti-Zionist Orthodox rabbis, who argue that the existence of the state of Israel is illegal, also attended the protest.

In Berlin about 750 people, according to police estimates, most of them members of the Muslim community, also demonstrated against Israeli policies.

Veiled women carried pictures of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died on Thursday in Paris and was buried in the West Bank town of Ramallah Friday.

In Rome, several thousand people paid tribute to Mr Arafat and protested against Israel's security barrier in the West Bank.

Protesters carried banners condemning the "Wall of apartheid".

In Geneva, nearly 300 people took to the streets to protest against what they called Israel's "wall of shame" in the West Bank.

No incidents were reported.

The week, November 9-16, was chosen to coincide with celebrations marking the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989.

Iran's late Ayatollah Khomenei initiated the annual Al-Qods (Arabic for Jerusalem) Day in 1979, to be held on the last Friday of Ramadan, for more Muslims around the world to show their solidarity with the Palestinians, who seek Jerusalem as a capital for an independent Palestine.

By End The Occupation posted 15 November 04

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Conspiracy rumours abound following Arafat's death?

French Health Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy says there is no indication Yasser Arafat was poisoned, although he had no access to medical files on the death of the Palestinian leader.

Mr Arafat was flown from the West Bank to Paris on October 29 suffering from stomach pains, diarrhoea and vomiting. He died in the early hours of November 11 after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

"Nothing in the medical dossier, it seems, has shown that he was poisoned," Douste-Blazy said.

However, he stressed he had not seen the dossier itself either in his capacity as a doctor or a minister.

He says doctors at the military hospital just outside Paris had done everything they could from a medical standpoint to treat 75-year-old Arafat.

Rumours have been rife that he had been suffering from anything from cancer of the stomach to a rare blood disorder. Hamas freedom fighters say he was poisoned by Israel, a theory which Palestinians officials say doctors have ruled out. The head of the Palestinian mission in Paris, Leila Shahid, says poisoning is a possibility, although there was no evidence.

"It's quite possible that they (Israelis) poisoned him, I cannot say that medically we have proof of that," she said.

Hopes of the riddle being solved are slim. The French chief doctor who announced Mr Arafat's death is bound by privacy laws invoked by Mr Arafat's widow, which prevent details being released. Ruling out cancer or poisoning, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath says doctors had not identified the illness but "we know what it is not".

By I Give You Blood 15 November 04

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Madonna dedicates song to Russian hostage crisis: IMAGINE!

Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people, living for today...

Pop star Madonna drew massive applause from a sold-out crowd in Paris when she dedicated her version of John Lennon's peace ode Imagine to the Russian hostage crisis.

Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too. Imagine all the people, living life in peace...

Addressing the audience midway through her show last night, Madonna spoke briefly about the tragedy at a Russian school that left at least 350 dead, including pupils, teachers and mothers.

Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can. No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people, sharing all the world...

As video images of war and children were broadcast behind her on giant screens, the pop diva urged her fans at Paris' Bercy stadium to think about what happened in Russia and to think about Lennon's lyrics.

You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us and the world will live as one.

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