2008 Presidential candidate Ralph Nader discusses the situation in the Gaza strip and challenges Senator Barack Obama's comments to AIPAC. Music: Wassaic by Atmospheric Diver.
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SelectPlusAP Top StoriesAP Top StoriesThe Associated PressHere's the latest news for Wednesday July 23: Hurricane Dolly set to make landfall; Barack Obama travels to Israel; John McCain claims Obama is wrong about Iraq; Gas prices start to dip.[Notes:ANCHOR VOICE]This is A-P NewsMinute. The outer bands of Hurricane Dolly are starting to slam into the coast of Texas. The center of the storm is expected to make landfall by mid-day. Winds top out at 85 miles per hour, but the biggest concern is the all the rain associated with the storm. Officials are worried about flooding and levees bursting. Senator Barack Obama's overseas trip brought him to Jerusalem and then the West Bank this morning. The Illinois senator laid a wreath at Israel's Holocaust Memorial -- then met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. From the Middle East, Obama will travel to Europe. Senator John McCain continues to claim Barack Obama is wrong about the Iraq war. McCain tells C-B-S the troop surge helped the Sunni revolt succeed against al-Qaida. But the Obama campaign points out that Sunni uprising started before the troop buildup. And there is finally good news at the pump. Triple 'A' reports the price for regular unleaded gas has dipped to four oh four a gallon across the country. That is down a penny from yesterday -- and nearly a dime from the all-time high.___ ___, The Associated Press with AP NewsMinute. (****END****) VOICE:---------------------------------------PRODUCER: Kevin White---------------------------------------VIDEO APPROVAL:--------------------------------------- Station: Affiliation: Location: Contact: Number: E-Mail:

A Palestinian in a mechanical digger has rammed traffic in west Jerusalem, injuring at least 10 people before being shot dead, Israeli police say.

A bus and a number of cars were hit during the incident. Some cars were crushed and one was turned on its roof.

Witnesses say an armed civilian first shot at the driver, before he was killed by border police.

Three weeks ago a Palestinian man went on a deadly rampage in a heavy vehicle in Jerusalem, killing three Israelis.

A BBC correspondent says it is thought the 2 July attacker was simply a disturbed man without political motivation - but Israelis will worry Tuesday's incident was a copycat attack and that this could now be a new tactic.

Police identified the perpetrator as 22-year-old East Jerusalem resident Ghassan Abu Tir. It is not known if he was connected to any militant group.

Gunshots

The latest attack took place in a busy part of central West Jerusalem, close to the King David Hotel where US presidential candidate Barack Obama will be arriving within hours.

As the incident was unfolding, Israeli President Shimon Peres was for the first time receiving Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at his official residence in Jerusalem, which is also nearby.

"I was going home when I saw the tractor going into a bus four or five times. All the windows of the bus exploded," said a 16-year-old Israeli at the scene.

"Then I saw the tractor going down the street pushing cars. I saw more people running and after two minutes I heard two or three gunshots," Yohanan Levine added.

A driver interviewed by Israeli TV said his car was rammed twice by the front shovel of the digger and he only just managed to swerve to avoid a third charge aimed at his head.

Photographs of the immediate aftermath show the driver's body slumped in the cab and at least eight bullet holes in the glass next to him.

Official visit

Israeli police called it a "terror attack", although there was no immediate claim of responsibility by any Palestinian militant organisation.

Police said the driver was from a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank which Israel has designated part of the enlarged Jerusalem municipality.

Mr Abbas told reporters he "condemned and rejected" the attack and said such incidents "hurt our reputation and peace in general".

It was the first time a Palestinian Authority president had visited the Israeli presidential residence, known as Beit Hanasi.

Mr Abbas was welcomed in a formal ceremony with Palestinian flags flying at the reception point. Such trappings are normally absent when Mr Abbas meets Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at his official residence.

In his remarks, Mr Peres said: "Israelis have a burning desire to reach peace with the Palestinians."

Mr Abbas has been meeting Israeli leaders regularly since attempts were made to give the peace process fresh impetus at an international conference in the United States last November.

From B'Tselem, Israeli human rights watchdog.

The Bidu-Qatanna village bloc, in Ramallah District, suffers from a severe water shortage, as do many other areas in the Occupied Territories . Mekorot, the Israeli water company, supplies only one-half of the water consumed by the 50,000 villagers of this area. To meet the rest of their water needs, the villagers have to buy water from private suppliers at a much higher price and store it in unsanitary conditions. As a result, the residents are forced to consume poor-quality water and use it in small quantities. Meanwhile, the 3,000 settlers in the nearby settlement of Har Adar receive an unlimited amount of water, which comes from the same reservoir.
http://www.btselem.org/english/Video/200709_Water_Crisis_in_ Bidu.asp

B'Tselem
http://www.btselem.org/English/index.asp