The fence is expected to cut into West Bank territory in some areas, shielding Jewish settlements built on land Israel has occupied since the 1967 Middle East war.

Sharon, speaking at a press conference separately, said members of Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network are currently in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

“We have recently received information according to which a few Al-Qaeda members have infiltrated the Gaza Strip and that others are in Lebanon, where they are collaborating closely with Hezbollah,” Sharon said.

“There is no doubt that Israel is one of Al-Qaeda’s targets but we are taking the appropriate measures to guarantee security by carrying out many arrests, which lead to more arrests,” he added.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat dismissed the accusations as “nonsense.”

Speaking about the fence, a Defense Ministry official said the new 42-km barrier would be built in northern Israel from Megiddo Junction and eastward, past the Gilboa mountains, to the town of Beit Shean.

“There was a decision in principle to continue the northern section of the fence. Now they must find the budget resources for it. The track (for the fence) has been agreed on,” said Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Sharon.

The fence has drawn criticism from both right-wing Israelis, who say it is a de facto border shutting out Jewish settlements in the West Bank from the country proper, and Palestinians, who say it is an excuse for Israel to expropriate more of their lands.

The entire $220 million fence project is expected to cover 350 km, roughly along the lines of the West Bank border before Israel captured the territory in 1967. Work on the first 110-km section began in June.

Making clear the fence could in places take over private Palestinian and Israeli-owned property, Mashiah said: “We are trying to build it on state lands to shorten the process but we can’t do so in every place.”

Meanwhile, Israel pressed on with military raids during the night. The army said it arrested 16 people in the West Bank and five in the Gaza Strip.

Tanks rolled into the southern outskirts of Gaza City where troops demolished the home of Bader Hassan, a member of the Hamas group.

The raids followed a missile strike on Wednesday in which Israeli forces killed an alleged bomb maker in Gaza City.

Sharon said on Wednesday he accepted in principle US President George W. Bush’s outline for peace and vowed to seek approval for it by his government after a Jan. 28 election his Likud party is expected to win.

Sharon said he would be open to the creation of an “interim” state only after there is “an absolute end to terror” and a new Palestinian leadership to replace President Yasser Arafat.

Such a state would cover areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip already given over to full or partial Palestinian control, but Israel would hold on to “essential security areas”.

The Palestinians want to establish a state on all of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as East Jerusalem

A definitive Palestinian state would be negotiated later, Sharon said.

But Sharon rejected the timetable in the US proposal which calls for a Palestinian state by 2005. “Implementation on the ground, not a calendar timetable, will be the determining factor,” he said.

BAGHDAD, 6 December 2002 — Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said yesterday he was ready to give UN inspectors a chance to disprove American allegations as President George W. Bush’s spokesman said US has a “solid basis” for charging Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.

In his first public comment on the UN mission, the Iraqi president said monitoring should be allowed to continue as it presented an opportunity to disprove American claims that his regime possessed weapons of mass destruction.

Bush and top US officials “would not assert as plainly and bluntly as they have that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction if it was not the truth and if they did not have a solid basis for saying it,” said Ari Fleischer.

Iraq insists that, since it has no such programs, it will merely be listing “dual use technology” that has peaceful as well as military applications. “...some might claim we didn’t give them (the inspectors) the proper chance to disprove the American allegations that Iraq produced weapons of mass destruction during the period of the inspectors’ absence,” Saddam said in remarks broadcast on Iraqi television.

“For that reason we shall provide them with such a chance, after which, if the weaklings remain weak and the cowardly remain cowards, then we shall take the stand that befits our people, principles and mission,” he told the Iraqi leadership as he congratulated them on Eid Al-Fitr.

The inspectors have reported nothing but cooperation from Iraq in their visits to 20 suspect sites since Nov. 27. So far, they have found nothing untoward.

In London, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said yesterday that an inaccurate declaration by Iraq on weapons of mass destruction this weekend under a UN deadline would not immediately trigger military action against President Saddam Hussein.

“How can we explain the discrepancy? There are two schools of thought, one is that you go with the local community, and the other is that you go with decisions called in the East,” said Ismail Kenessy, 27, accountant in Washington, D.C. “The main point is that everyone is celebrating together tomorrow (Friday).”

Kenessy said this has been a good Ramadan, “especially as sunset was early this year.” After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he decided to become politically active, and helped a local politician in Montgomery County, where Kenessy lives, with his re-election bid.

Kenessy said he was touched because the politician called him today “to specifically wish me a happy Eid.

“The 9/11 backlash aspect in America is obviously here, but in general — just like when Muslims do violent acts – bad deeds ends up getting more press than the regular Muslims who are just going about their regular lives. I think the same is true with Americans, in the sense that a regular American wishing me a happy Eid won’t get any press as compared to something controversial. But it’s so nice.”

“The DC metropolitan area is more educated, and more culturally sensitive, so there’s no problem for a Muslim like me, as perhaps for a Muslim living in a rural area.”

Kenessy said he and his wife were involved in several outreach programs organized to bring Muslims, Jews and Christians together during Ramadan.

He hopes many American Muslims will continue this post-Sept 11 outreach, as he said it helps “dispel the notion that Muslims are secretive, or don’t want to interact with others, or don’t want people to know about them.”

After Sept. 11, Kenessy says a Jewish friend gave him some good advice: “One thing you should try to get American Muslims to do, is to learn what Jews learned a long time ago, that if you are in the ghetto — a close, sheltered community, and don’t interact with others — it hurts you in the long run. Because the less people know about you, the easier it is demonize you, and to think ill of you.” He said he has taken that advice to heart.

As for Eid, Kenessy will pray and celebrate at the DC Convention Center today, “which will be good for the kids” then his family will have dinner with his parents and his sisters.

Asked what he’s looking forward to eating, he laughed and said: “I’m looking forward to having a cup of coffee in the morning.”

Freda Shamma has lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the past 18 years. She said this Ramadan has been good. “I don’t think that 9/11 had anything to do with my Ramadan, it was a easy month to pass because of the winter, and the time for eating was close to the time when everybody else ate. I really didn’t find anything difficult or problematic.” Shamma said she and her husband spent many Ramadan evenings at their local mosque. “We have the ‘taraweh’ prayers. And in the 30 days that we have this month, the entire Qu’ran is recited. We have three people in our community who have memorized it completely, and so one of them is at our mosque, and the other two are at another mosque.

“When we came to Cincinnati, the Muslim community was very small, and we had an old house that we used. We soon outgrew that, and built a very beautiful mosque on the outskirts of town.”

Shamma said that because the former mosque was close to the university, they wanted to keep the convenient location. And, in time for Ramadan this year, they completed a new building on the property. “This is the first Ramadan we’ve used the new mosque. The money was completely funded by the community, even the books.”

“There are several opinions about when you should celebrate Eid,” said Shamma.  The main opinion is that you should celebrate when the community celebrates, which is what we are going to do, we are following the advice of ISNA [The Islamic Society of North America].”

Today morning, Shamma said her family look forward to the Eid prayer in the morning. “We are part of the community of both of the mosques, and will try to attend both prayers. After the prayer at each mosque, there are breakfast snacks.

“Then, as with a lot of people in this community, many will have an open house at their home, and we’ll go from home to home to visit friends.

Farhan Syed, 27, will be celebrating his Eid in Chicago, where he has lived the past five years. A network engineer for Accencure, formerly known as Anderson Consulting, he said he is also grateful to have job.

“It’s wonderful to observe Ramadan here. I came from an area where the Muslim population wasn’t that large, but here, you can find a group of Muslims on just about every corner.”

Farhan said he attends a downtown mosque in Chicago, which encouraged everyone who works downtown to come to the mosque, pray and eat together.

He said he would celebrate Eid today, “along with the rest of the Chicago community. Farhan said he would go to various houses to meet with family and friends. “Then, in the evening, there are some big family dinners, with all the extensive families. Or sometimes, friends get together in a public hall, and share a large feast together.”

Asked if the new Homeland Security measures put a shadow on Ramadan, Farhan said it hadn’t “dampened my spirits, but do have reservations.”

He said he was afraid that if someone at the mosque is critical of the US foreign policy, “and someone is listening, I would be a little apprehensive in the sense that I would feel that I could be unnecessarily scrutinized because I’m attending that sermon. I would feel that I would be guilty by association, because I don’t necessarily have the same view as someone giving the sermon.”

Eid prayers were held at the two holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah and in mosques and open grounds throughout the country with preachers calling on the believers to stand up to their enemies and respond to the plight of fellow Muslims everywhere.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ahmar, speaker of the Yemeni Parliament, and other dignitaries offered Eid prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, while Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, joined thousands of Muslims offering Eid prayers at Imam Turki ibn Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh. Many members of the royal family, dignitaries and diplomats offered prayers at the Dira Eid Ground.

Sheikh Mohammed Al-Subail, imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, in his Eid sermon called upon Muslim leaders to confront growing challenges facing the Ummah by strengthening political and economic cooperation among Islamic states.

Addressing more than two million faithful who assembled at the Grand Mosque, Sheikh Subail expressed despair over the plight of Muslims everywhere. He reminded the believers that while they celebrated Eid, their brothers were being oppressed, displaced or expelled from their homes by forces inimical to the faith.

Sheikh Subail urged Muslim leaders to focus their attention not only on the progress of individual countries but also on the common good of the Ummah, making use of the vast human and material resources in Muslim countries.

“Establishing cooperation and integration among Muslim countries is essential for restoring our past glory and preventing injustice and aggression against fellow Muslims,” the imam said. He called upon the faithful to shun extremism and stick to Islam’s moderate teachings.

In his sermon at Imam Turki ibn Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the Kingdom’s grand mufti, urged the believers to hold firm to the teaching of the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sunnah. “More than at any time, we need to unify our ranks now and stand with our leadership against those who threaten our religion and security,” he added.

Sheikh Hussein ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, who led the prayers at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, urged the faithful to show benevolence to the poor and extend assistance to the needy. “Muslims must abide by the fundamental teachings of Islam to show the world the greatness of their religion,” he said. “Islam urges its followers to do good to everybody,” the imam said.

He also emphasized the role of women in defending Islam and bringing up new generations of Muslims.

In Jeddah Eid prayers were held at different sites. Dr. Hasan Al-Ghazali, professor of Islamic studies at the Teachers College in Jeddah, led the prayer held the Old Airport ground where several thousand worshipers had gathered.

In the Eastern Province, Governor Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd, accompanied by princes, high-ranking officials and businessmen, offered Eid prayers at the main mosque in Dammam. After the prayers, the prince received members of the public who offered him Eid greetings. Prince Muhammad in turn wished happiness and prosperity for the Ummah.

Keeping with tradition, people greeted each other across regional and national boundaries after the prayers.

During the day people remained indoors and celebrated Eid with family and streets and marketplaces were almost deserted. Most of the shops in Dammam and Alkhobar markets remained closed. However, visitors thronged shopping malls in Dammam and Alkhobar.

As evening approached, people headed to beaches and amusement centers. Half Moon Beach was the main attraction including many visitors from Bahrain and Kuwait. Many put up tents in the area.

The Rashid Mall has planned several cultural events as part of Eid celebrations. Hotels like Gulf Meridien, Dhahran International Hotel, Algosaibi Hotel, Holiday Inn and Dammam Sheraton Towers are also offering special Eid packages. Business, however, was not good for furnished apartments. Many of them reported low occupancy.

Yesterday’s festivities were preceded by an overnight rush for Eid purchases. The capital’s major shopping centers reported brisk sales, boosted in part by bargain offers and lucky draws.

Unlike the fasting days when mosques were full of worshipers and shopping centers teeming with customers, Riyadh wore a deserted look after the Eid prayers. While many expatriates had gone home on vacation at the start of the holidays, most those who stayed behind opted to remain indoors.

By afternoon however, children and parents flocked to amusement parks. Picnic spots are also attracting families wishing to spend quiet evenings during the Eid holidays.

Colorfully dressed women offered wares that varied from lengths of brightly patterned cotton to tubs of honey. Exotic perfumes and spices, redolent with eastern richness, suffused the evening air, mingling with the shouts of the vendors extolling their quality and perfection.

Mariam Dramell, from Senegal, told Arab News, “I come here every year for ten days during Eid.”

Sultan Ali, a Bangladeshi resident of Jeddah, said, “I have been living in Balad for nine months and this is the first time I have seen this many people here.”

Small oases of stillness dotted the milling crowds. Sometimes, this was where a small child might be curled up asleep, blissfully unaware of the whole proceedings, while her mother sat patiently waiting for business.

Others surrounded the immobile figures of old women, faces showing the ravages of a harsh life and with limbs distorted or missing, silently waiting for a charitable contribution from the passing public, or guarding a few plastic baubles in the hope of some trade.

Amid the richness and sadness, the light and shadow, Eid is with us again.