LIVING ROOM: Israel's attacks on the occupied territories have left complete, almost surreal devastation in their wake..--read on--

'This is dangerous'
Palestinian and Arab leaders placed everything on Colin Powell's mission to the region. He delivered nothing, writes Graham Usher from Jerusalem

A shameful legacy returns
Seven years after its last inmates, from the first Intifada, were freed the Ketziot prison has been pressed back into service by Ariel Sharon. Jonathan Cook visited the notorious camp

Opinion

INTIFADA IN FOCUS

Egypt

No opposition in municipalities
As the ruling party swept local council elections last week, critics complained the overwhelming NDP gain is democracy's loss. Gamal Essam El-Din reports

Incommunicado
Four people, including an American defence attorney, have been indicted in the US for allegedly aiding Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman to pursue terrorist activities from his prison cell. Jailan Halawi reviews the case

Treaty unbound
How much of a constraint is the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty on possible government action against Israel? Soha Abdelaty investigates

A new political map?
Amira Howeidy on how the wave of Palestine-solidarity demonstrations is promoting unexpected new players in Egypt's domestic political scene

Invasion

'How deep is all this blood'
Palestinians say it was massacre. Israelis say it was combat. The world does not know; it is not being allowed to. Graham Usher reports from outside Jenin refugee camp

Tales of Jenin
After ten days of the most ferocious fighting of this Intifada, hundreds of Palestinian refugees were homeless once more. Jonathan Cook reports from Jenin

What lies beneath
Whose are the charred and shattered bodies? What lies beneath the rubble of Jenin refugee camp, the Warsaw ghetto of the West Bank? Birzeit University's Rita Giacaman and Penny Johnson provide a brief statistical profile of the devastated camp

'It's what I have to do'
Lyndon Larouche, a lone voice in the desert of American thinking on the Middle East, chats to Mohamed Hakki in Washington

Israel's enemy number one
Israel's arrest of Marwan Barghouti, a former advocate of peace and and later the driving force behind the current Palestinian Intifada, has sent shock waves through the Palestinian community and the world. Sherine Bahaa has followed his rise to prominence since his political debut in the 1996 Palestinian National elections. She talks to his wife about the circumstances of his arrest; also re-printed is an earlier interview she conducted with Barghouti himself, where he discusses the aims and effects of the uprising

Economy

Solidarity business
From an open letter to President Bush to fundraising initiatives, the Egyptian business community is staging a show of solidarity with the Palestinians

Ebeid's balance sheet
Prime Minister Atef Ebeid has laid before parliament his government's plans for getting out of recession and achieving higher growth rates. Gamal Essam El-Din reports

International

The contender's comeback
To Washington's chagrin, Venezuela's democratically-elected leader Hugo Chavez was reinstated only two days after being ousted by the army amid premature Western cheer, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Addressing the past
Post-Taliban Afghanistan's efforts at coming to grips with its conflict-ridden past continue to face enormous challenges, writes Negar Azimi

Features

Living

Sports

Travel

Wanting to kick it out
Alaa Shahine reports on Arab calls to suspend Israel's membership of international sports organisations

Half-and-half
Two losses and two unconvincing wins by Egyptian football clubs prove that round 16 of Africa's club championships is a difficult proposition, writes Abeer Anwar.