Free Republic

The European Union rebuked Israel on Friday, condemning the Jewish state for the demolition of illegal Arab buildings and demanding Israel refrain from further demolitions. In a statement released by the local Office of the European Union Representative, the EU slammed Israel over the planned eviction of Bedouin squatters who established illegal settlements in the northern Jordan Valley in eastern Israel over the past decade. Ein al-Hilweh and Umm Jamal, home to an estimated 400 Bedouin squatters, were first established in the mid-2000s. The two illegal settlements, which have sprawled around roads and intersections, have hindered traffic in the area,...

The Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal reports that Lebanese security apparatuses and the Lebanese army have recently received reports on intentions to strike at UNIFIL in southern Lebanon.

Intelligence officials in Israel say al-Qaida is trying to establish operational cells in the Palestinian Authority, attempting to reach out to the Israeli-Arab communities in the Galilee and in the so-called ''triangle region,'' according to Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, a premium, online intelligence newsletter published by WND. According to G2 Bulletin sources in Tel Aviv, the Internal Security Service (Shin-Beth) has foiled a number of attempts by al-Qaida sympathizers to cross the border between Israel and Jordan, planning to establish cells in Nablus and Jenin. Similar attempts were made to penetrate the Gaza Strip through the underground tunnel systems coming...

. Korean arrested in Lebanon, charged with anti-U.S. plot SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM Friday, February 7, 2003 NICOSIA — A North Korean "extremist" has been arrested by authorities at the notorious Ein Hilwe Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. The Fatah movement led by Yasser Arafat has arrested two men accused of having planned attacks against U.S. and British targets in Lebanon. The plot was allegedly led by the North Korean who frequented the Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon which has been the focus of surveillance for suspected members of Al Qaida. Palestinian sources said Fatah agents also arrested a Syrian...

A member of a Muslim extremist group wanted by Lebanese authorities for theft and other charges was found dead Tuesday in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, Lebanese and Palestinian officials said. According to AP, the officials said that Yasser Sheikho, 25, a Syrian Kurd, was hit by one bullet in the head and left on a street at the center of the Ein el-Hilweh camp on the outskirts of this southern city. Bruises on his body indicated he was tortured before being killed, the officials added. Palestinian officials said Sheikho was a member of the radical al-Nour group,...