NATION/WORLD WHAT PALESTINIANS? WHAT RIGHTS? Palestine- a Heart- broken Land Without People Mark Twain wrote about his tour through Palestine in 1867: Palestine is a hopeless, dreary, heart-broken land, a limitless desolation...given over wholly to weeds...Nazareth is forlorn...Renowned Jerusalem has become a pauper village...The noted Sea of Galilee is deserted and its borders are a silent wilderness...Palestine is no more of this workaday world. Jews Brought Palestine to Life " While there was a continual Jewish presence since Biblical times, the modern-day return of Jews starting about 1870 found a barren neglected land. Jerusalem, with 25,000 people, a majority Jewish, was the largest town " Jews brought life to desolation. Jews settled in barren deserts and malaria infested swamps- land considered uninhabitable. They created new means of livelihood. Arabs flocked in to benefit from the Jewish developments. " After 1918, the British controlled Palestine. Their Foreign Office favored that Palestine, should be in Arab hands. The British rulers of Palestine did their utmost to keep out Jews- even driving Jewish refugee boats back into Nazi hands, while allowing Arabs to enter freely " And yet, before Israel's rebirth in 1948, for every three Jews that settled in Palestine, there were two Arabs that came for the higher wages and better living conditions. During World War II, the British brought in tens of thousands of Arab migrant workers to build military roads and bases and serve the British forces. United National "Refugee" Camps " The Arab migrant workers were among the first to leave when in 1948 seven Arab states attacked reborn Israel. They and their families ended up in UN refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Judea-Samaria (west Bank) and in Gaza. " Many Arabs from nearby lands came to those refugee camps to enjoy American and UN handouts given to anyone who claimed to be- no proof, we required- a refugee. " What was less than half a million in 1948, in just a few years grew to several million Arab "refugees"- now claims to be more than five million! Jewish People- the "Palestinians" " Before the 1960's, a "Palestinian" meant a Jew, not an Arab. In the war against the Nazis, the "Palestinians" in the Allied forces were Jews. Before 1948, the "Palestine Post" (now "Jerusalem Post"), the Palestine Electric Company, the Palestine Workers' Fund- the list goes on and on- were all Jewish. " After Israel's rebirth, Jews became known as "Israelis." Arabs then laid claim to the identity of "Palestinians"- as a people who had been living in I Sniper evidence mounts with time WASHINGTON (AP)-At a terrible cost, police are learning more about the Washington-area sniper day by day, death by death. Insights into his voice, penmanship, grammar, mood and mode of operation have flowed from his com- munications, and other evidence is mounting. Yet so far, police hunt in vain. For two weeks he was a specialist in leaving without a trace beyond a body and bullet fragments, fleeing with his lit- erally smoking gun. Police only seemed to have a vague idea about his vehicle and even that lead weakened as time went on. Now his temper and tone have been exhibited, thanks to his keen wish to be in touch with police. Authorities have a voice to analyze and track to its source, some sort of third-party phone number and, conceiv- ably, fingerprint evidence or genetic flot- sam from his letters and crime scenes. Whether his recently disclosed demand for money is a diversion or the point of the assaults that have left 10 people dead, three wounded and parents fearful that he's after their children, it provides yet another way to hunt a killer that was missing until he opened lines of communication with police. For all that, investigators emphasized yesterday that no single lead is a magic pill in this case. "Just like an illness, some things don't respond to treatment right away," said Mike Bouchard, special agent with the federal Bureau of Alco- hol, Tobacco and Firearms. Federal agents warned of attacks DETROIT (AP) -- A man being held on perjury charges told federal agents a month before the terrorist attacks that an attack on Washington, D.C. was being planned, according to an FBI report. Gussan Abraham Jarrar, a 42-year- old Jordanian man, said he tried to give a warning, but nobody would listen, Jarrar told the Detroit Free Press in an interview at the Wayne County Jail. Federal officials acknowledged in the report that Jarrar gave vague statements in August 2001 about plane bombings, but determined he had no real informa- tion and simply fabricated details of a nonexistent terrorist cell to liven up his jail stay. "If they would have given me a chance, I would have found out what was going to happen," Jarrar told the newspaper. A key element in Jarrar's defense is an Aug. 30, 2001, FBI report in which he predicted terrorists would "carry out a suicide plane bombing attack on the White House, Washington, D.C., some- time during the holiday season, 2001, possibly Thanksgiving and or Christ- mas.' Although Jarrar got the date wrong, his prediction two weeks before Sept. 11 suggests he may have known some- thing, his attorney said. "He either had knowledge or he's an amazing soothsayer," said his lawyer, Donald Ferris of Ann Arbor. He was in custody at the Macomb County Jail on a drug charge, when he was called to testify before a grand jury in Detroit on Aug. 16, 2001. He testi- fied that he and seven other Detroit- area men planned to blow up the Mackinac Bridge, the federal building in Detroit and the Cedar Point amuse- ment park in Ohio.. REFORM Continued from Page IA has a better understanding of students' concerns than other candidates. He said he would like to see the creation of a student-run store where coursepa- cks can be traded without a middle- man, more parking spots, meal plans that feature reusable tickets and electri- cal buses to replace the current ones. Mangopoulos said the United States government should avoid war with Iraq because many nations have access to nuclear weapons. "We do not need to be the policemen of the world," he said. "Iraq poses no threat to the IInited States" WASHINGTON Bush signs costly military spending bill President Bush signed into law yesterday the biggest military spending increase since Ronald Reagan's administration - a $355.5 billion package giving the wartime Pentagon "every resource, every weapon and every tool they need.: Overwhelmingly approved by Congress, the measure contains a 4.1 percent salary increase for military personnel, $7.4 billion to keep developing a ballistic missile defense system and $72 billion for new weapons. With the president contemplating war against Iraq, and U.S. troops involved in an anti-terror campaign across the globe, the law increases Pentagon spending in almost every area for the budget year that began Oct. 1 by a total of more than $34 billion, or 11 percent, over the previous year. It was the biggest increase in 20 years. "Since September 11, Americans have been reminded that the safety of many depends on the courage and skill of a few," Bush told a Rose Garden audience filled with uniformed military personnel and lawmakers from both parties. "The bill today says America is determined and resolute to not only defend our free- dom but to defend freedom around the world, that we're determined and resolute to answer the call to history and that we will defeat terror." He also signed a $10.5 billion bill financing the building and upgrading of mil- itary installations in fiscal 2003. Rebels seize Moscow theater, take hostages About 50 armed Chechen rebels seized a crowded Moscow theater last night, firing their weapons and taking hundreds in the audience hostage. Police and security forces surrounded the building amid sporadic gunfire. Moscow police spokesman Valery Gribakin said about 100 women and children had been let out of the theater. "The terrorists are demanding one thing - the end to the war in Chechnya," Gribakin said. Russian news reports said the armed men and women were laying land mines inside the theater and had explosives strapped to their bodies which they threat- ened to blow up if Russian security forces stormed the building. A woman who made her way out of the theater told a television interviewer the men wore camouflage as they took the stage, fired into the air and said: "Don't you understand what's going on? We are Chechens." News reports said the hostage-takers arrived in jeep-like vehicles just as the second act of the play was about to begin. When police and security forces sur- rounded the theater, the attackers opened fired and threw a grenade. One of the hostages, a doctor, was treating a hostage-taker who was wounded. JERUSALEM Expectations low for Mideast peace plan A U.S. envoy's peace plan calling for a provisional Palestinian state next year - and full statehood by 2005 - drew reservations from Israelis and Palestini- ans yesterday. Expectations remain low after two years of fighting and many failed diplomatic missions. The mediator, Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, is touring the region on a mission also seen as an attempt to keep a lid on Mideast ten- sions at a time when thenAmericans are seeking to build support among Arab states for a possible attack on Iraq. The U.S. plan would be implemented in three phases and closely monitored by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations. An interim Palestinian state could be established by the end of 2003. A peace agreement formally ending the Middle East conflict and creating full-fledged Palestinian statehood could be in place within three years, according to the plan. CHICAGO Clemency hearings go on amid criticism For nearly two weeks, the details of Illinois' most gruesome murders have been replayed for the public in a marathon set of clemency hearings that death penalty opponents now believe may have backfired and hurt their cause. The hearings, which are being held for nearly every inmate on Illinois' death row, were set in motion by Republican Gov. George Ryan, who suspended all executions nearly three years ago because of flaws in the criminal justice system. But the procedural flaws discussed at the hearings have been overwhelmed by the litany of bloody horrors, and the gov- ernor himself has become the target of bitter attacks by the relatives of murder victims. "The pain and passion of these families is deafening," said Larry Mar- shall, a Northwestern University law professor. WASHINGTON GOP hopes to gain majority in Congress President Bush is not on the Nov. 5 ballot, but his midterm presidency is. And so he appeals to voters in House and Senate elections for "a Congress with which I can work" - one'Ihat will deliver him deeper tax cuts and free rein to build a domestic record he can carry into his own re-election campaign. From personally recruiting candi- dates to raising more than $163 million in Republican cash, the Bush-Cheney White House has taken extraordinary steps to keep GOP control of the House - up for grabs with the swing of just seven seats -- and wrest away the Democrats' tenuous one-seat hold on the Senate. Some races, aside from affecting the balance of power, double as grudge matches. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. 0 *I After the 1967 attempt by Arabs states to annihilate Israel failed--- A bogus history was fabricated to incite hatred of Jews and to justify Israel's destruction. It says Jews stole from a Muslim "Palestine people'; their homeland "Palestine".. The Arab-Israel conflict is NOT a border dispute. What disturbs Arab leaders about the Jewish State is its very existence. Their claim of a "palestinian people", separate and distinct from an Arab people, is their subterfuge to claim all of Israel belongs to them and Jews have no right to be there! The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by stu- dents at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily's office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $105. Winter term (January through April) is $110, yearlong (September through April) is $190. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be pre- paid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. PHONE NUMBERS (All area code 734): News 76-DAILY; Arts 763-0379; Sports 647-3336; Opinion 764-0552; Circulation 764-0558; Classified advertising 764-0557; Display advertising 764-0554; Billing 764-0550. E-mail letters to the editor to letters@michigandaiiy.com. World Wide Web: www.michigandaily.com. EI STAFF Jon Schwartz, Editor in Chief NEWS Lisa Koivu, Managing Editor EDITORS: Lisa Hoffman, Elizabeth Kassab, Jacquelyn Nixon, Shannon Pettyplece STAFF: Jeremy Berkowitz, Tyler Boersen, Ted Borden, Autumn Brown, Soojung Chang, Kara DeBoer, Margaret Engoren, Rahwa Ghebre-Ab, Rob Goodspeed, Megan Hayes, Lauren Hodge, Carmen Johnson, Christopher Johnson, C. Price Jones, Shabina S. Khatri, Kylene Kiang, Emily Kraack, Tomislav Ladika, Lydia K. 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Daniel Yowel PHOTO David Katz, Editor ASSISTANT EDITOR: Danny Moloshok ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Emma Fosdick, Brendan O'Donnell, Alyssa Wood STAFF: Jason Cooper, Tony Ding, Tom Feldkamp, Patrick Jones, Kelly Lin, Sarah Paup, Frank Payne, John Pratt, Rebecca Sahn, Jonathon Triest, Ryan Weiner, Jessica Yurasek ONLINE Paul Wong, Managing Editor STAFF: Marc Allen, Soojung Chang, Chuck Goddeeris, Melanie Kebler, Timothy Najmolhoda DISPLAY SALES Anne Sause, Manager BUSINESS STAFF Jeffrey Valuck, Business Manager, SPECIAL SECTIONS MANAGER: Jessica Cordero ASSOCIATE MANAGER: Jennifer Kaczmarek STAFF: Pamela Baga, Jeffrey Braun, Lashonda Butler, Rachelle Caoagas, Belinda Chung, Joanna Eisen, Pamela Fisher, Kyungmin Kang, 0 0 0 Michigan