You may ask what suspicious behaviour entails. From the reports emerging from passengers and cabin crew descriptions the men were first and foremostly Asian or Middle Eastern – in appearance. The few hysterical passengers could not tell the difference although they had the firm conviction that these were terrorists in their midst. Secondly, they were thought to have been speaking Arabic or a similar language – once again the islamophobic commentators simply did not know.

President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may be quite right about a new Middle East being born. In fact, their policies in support of the actions of their closest regional ally, Israel, have helped midwife the newborn. But it will not be exactly the baby they have longed for. For one thing, it will be neither secular nor friendly to the United States. For another, it is going to be a rough birth.

President Moshe Katsav was questioned under caution for five hours yesterday on suspicion of committing various sexual offenses - ranging from sexual harassment to rape - against A., a former employee of the President's Residence.

In 2 Weeks time Mirza Tahir Hussain is due to be executed after having served 18 years in prison for his honesty. In December 1988 Mirza travelled to Pakistan to visit family. However, this night quickly turned on its head and whilst in a taxi on his journey towards Rawalpindi the taxi driver attempted to assault him. The scuffle that ensued led to the drivers death, but Mirza who drove himself to the police station, was arrested for the driver’s murder and has been imprisoned ever since.

With its victory over Israel - a sampling of the Israeli press providing ample acknowledgement of this victory and ample evidence of the gloom into which Israel has been plunged - Hezbollah and its leader, Hasan Nasrallah, now take their place among the immortals.

A high court judge today dismissed a legal bid by a Muslim group to block the use of UK airports by American planes to supply weapons to Israel as "hopeless" and "misconceived".

Israel deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure and committed war crimes during the month-long conflict in Lebanon, according to an Amnesty International report. The report said strikes on civilian buildings and structures went beyond "collateral damage" and amounted to indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks under the Geneva conventions on the laws of war.

You're going to hear this a lot, even on the Israeli side of the story. In the constant dehumanization campaign against the Palestinian people, who have become the victims of the largest colonially racist ethnic cleansing operations of the 20th Century, the Palestinians themselves have been painted time and time again as inheritors of the Nazi master plan to destroy and massacre the Jewish people. The fact of the matter is...