The lock-down started in Qalqilya, where a five-month pregnant Jewish woman was shot dead on Sunday and four other Israelis were wounded, including her husband and 14-year-old daughter, by Palestinian gunmen. Travelling along the roads into the West Bank, heavily guarded by numerous Israeli army roadblocks, is schlerotic at best, Palestinians say.

The Palestine Monitor, a non-governmental organisation, said in a statement that a pregnant Palestinian woman trying to get to hospital to give birth on Saturday delivered her own baby in the back of a taxi after a slew of roadblocks between Jenin and Nablus turned the half-hour ride into a six-hour ordeal. The Palestine Monitor added that on Sunday a Palestinian mobile medical unit was denied access three times by Israeli troops to the remote village it was trying to reach, eventually being forced to navigate dirt tracks to reach its destination.

To add to Palestinian woes, some 200,000 people are without adequate water supplies and are facing a significant health risk as water tankers also run afoul of army checkpoints, an Israeli rights group active in the Palestinian territories said. The B'Tselem rights group said in a statement that the residents of 218 West Bank villages are "unable to meet their basic needs, including basic hygiene, house cleaning and using the toilet and as a result face significant health risks." It also slammed the "extremely inequitable division of the water sources shared by Israel and the Palestinians," saying the average Israeli consumed six times as much as his Palestinian counterpart.

About 400 people, including a man trying to get to his own wedding in Jordan, have been blocked by the nearby Allenby Bridge, which spans the Jordan river, for four days after Israel closed the crossing point, members of the blockaded crowd told AFP.

[RAMALLAH - WorldTribune - 3 August 2001:] Last year, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat blasted Hizbullah as part of an Iranian plot to destabilize the regime.Today, Arafat has embraced Hizbullah as his strategic partner amid a debate within the Palestinian leadership regarding the future of the war with Israel.

Palestinian sources said Arafat has allowed Hizbullah a free hand in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority chairman has granted Hizbullah permission to open offices in major cities and hold rallies. The result is that Hizbullah has become the fastest-growing movement in the West Bank. Palestinian sources said the Lebanese-based Shi'ite group is believed to have thousands of activists and enjoys huge support among Palestinians.

"They basically can do what any other recognized Palestinian movement is allowed to do," a senior Palestinian source said. "The difference is that Hizbullah has plenty of money and enjoys tremendous popularity among ordinary Palestinians."

The leaders of Hizbullah chapters, the sources said, are former members of Arafat's Fatah movement. The chapters also include former members of the Islamic opposition Hamas movement.

The Beirut-based Hizbullah is believed to have provided weapons and explosives for attacks against Israel. But the Hizbullah in Palestinian areas has not claimed direct involvement in these attacks.

Hizbullah's prominence was seen at Wednesday's funeral of two Hamas leaders assassinated by Israel in the West Bank city of Nablus. Hizbullah marched in the procession, displaying huge banners. Scores of members were seen marching with the Hizbullah trademark, a headband with the martyr inscription.

Palestinian sources said Hizbullah has opened chapters in such cities as Bethlehem, Gaza, Hebron, Nablus and Jenin. The group is said to be particularly strong in Jenin and the northern West Bank.

Until last year, Arafat was dismissive of Lebanon. But his attitude changed when Israel withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000, a move Arafat attributed to the Hizbullah guerrilla campaign.

>From then on, the sources said, Arafat regarded Hizbullah as a model for the Palestinian struggle against Israel. He sent at least one security aide to Lebanon for training by Hizbullah, which prompted weapons shipments from Lebanon to Gaza.

Hizbullah has also been given privileges reserved for allies of Arafat. Hizbullah's Al Manar television channel has a correspondent in Gaza City. The channel, regarded as far more popular than official PA television, was allowed to broadcast live from the Nablus funeral of the assassinated Hamas leaders.

The sources said Arafat remains wary of Hizbullah and believes that the Iranian-backed movement does not share the loyalties of Palestinian opposition groups. But the PA leader has concluded that Hizbullah is too powerful with money and support for it to be opposed amid the erosion of the PA.

"The PA is hardly felt in many areas of the West Bank," a PA official said. "Instead, Palestinian movements such as Fatah, Hamas and Jihad have taken over. This is where Hizbullah has been successful."

Mid-East Realities

www.middleeast.org

Source: http://www.middleeast.org/articles/2001/8/328.htm