While George Bush talks up the prospects for peace, in reality he backs Israel's assault on Palestinians' legitimate national aspirations

In Israeli hallways yesterday, Bush was celebrated as the unwavering supporter of Israel's expansionist policies that he truly is, as he pressed ahead with a public relations campaign that began at Annapolis - talking future statehood for the Palestinians in theory, but backing occupation policies in practice - standing by as Olmert spoke of increasing settlements in illegally annexed Arab East Jerusalem. 

January 11: Shut Down Guantánamo

"I spend a lot of my time covering the West Bank and Gaza: here's what I see, and he won't."

"If he had some spare time -- and a convincing disguise -- I'd be happy to take Bush on a tour of my beat. I'll do the driving."

    Story Highlights:
    * CNN's Ben Wedeman says Bush won't see the plight of Gaza and the West Bank
    * Gaza hospital director says babies are dying due to equipment failures
    * Gazan: "Our leaders are either Israeli collaborators, asses, or mentally unstable"

THE Israeli Government has told a court that it does not want to reveal the true extent of Jewish settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories because the information would damage its image abroad, a local newspaper has reported.

The news comes on the eve of the arrival of the US President, George Bush, for a three-day state visit in which the settlement issue is likely to figure.

Last week Mr Bush said that Israeli settlement building in the West Bank was an obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has said that during the visit he would again commit Israel to removing some of the smaller and newer settlements.

The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz said the Israeli Defence Ministry, which rules the Arab territories seized by Israel in 1967, is resisting a petition from two Israeli rights groups for the publication of an official report showing the extent of settlement is greater than Israel has previously admitted.

The newspaper said that the report showed both veteran settlements and newer "outposts" had been built extensively without legal permits on land deemed as state land by the Israeli military courts and on the private property of local Palestinians.

Last week the Government asked the Israeli High Court to ban the publication of the report "for fear of harming state security and foreign relations".

One of the petitioners, Peace Now, said Israel had built 122 settlements in the West Bank with official state sanction. Another 100 newer settlements - described as outposts of older settlements following Israel's commitment not to build new settlements - were built without official sanction.

An officially-commissioned report by the lawyer Talia Sasson found in 2005 that many of these settlements were built with funding and the active assistance of various government bodies, often in contravention of Israel's law.

[Collective punishment of a civilian population is illegal under international law . . .] 

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - With winter deepening, Gazans will be forced to live without lights and electric heaters for eight hours a day because Israel has cut fuel supplies to the territory's only electric plant in half, Gaza's top energy official warned Sunday.

Israel said the purpose of the cutback was to nudge Palestinians to call on militants to stop their daily rocket attacks on southern Israel. But Gazans charged they have become the target of unfair punishment, and 10 human rights groups took that argument to the Israeli Supreme Court.

Ten human rights groups appealed to Israel's Supreme Court to stop the measure. Sari Bashi, director of Gisha, one of the groups, said in a statement that the fuel reductions ``mean longer and more frequent power outages for hospitals, water wells, and other humanitarian services, in blatant violation of international law.''