MIDDLE EAST, 12 November (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

EGYPT: Police turn a blind eye to sexual harassment, say activists IRAQ: Aid hard to come by for increasing numbers of displaced IRAQ: Hear Our Voices – Saddam faces death, but victims' suffering continues IRAQ: Country's healthcare system rapidly deteriorating IRAQ: Sectarian violence forces mixed couples to divorce ISRAEL: Haifa residents bounce back ISRAEL: Unexploded Hezbollah rockets pose risk MIDDLE EAST: Weekly update of human rights violations in the region (3 Nov – 9 Nov 2006) occ. Palestinian terr.: Hard times for widows of violence occ. Palestinian terr.: "We just need to live" say Beit Hanoun residents occ. Palestinian terr.: Visa regime splits Palestinian families occ. Palestinian terr.: Abused women failed by system, HRW says YEMEN: Hear Our Voices: "I hate my classmates calling me a servant"

EGYPT: Police turn a blind eye to sexual harassment laws , say activists

Women's rights activists in Egypt have criticised the country's authorities for tacitly accepting the sexual harassment of women. An incident on 24 October when a mob of men openly molested women in Cairo and were not stopped or arrested has brought the issue to the fore.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56301 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=EGYPT

IRAQ: Aid hard to come by for increasing numbers of displaced

The Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration said on Sunday that sectarian violence has displaced up to 460,000 people since February, making it increasingly difficult to provide aid to them.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56259 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=IRAQ

IRAQ: Hear Our Voices – Saddam faces death, but victims' suffering continues Following the sentencing to death by hanging of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity, victims of his former government's brutality say their suffering continues.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56257 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=IRAQ

IRAQ: Country's healthcare system rapidly deteriorating

Iraq's healthcare system is continuing to deteriorate as not enough qualified staff or equipment is available, according to the Iraqi Medical Association (IMA).

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56270 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=IRAQ

IRAQ: Sectarian violence forces mixed couples to divorce

When Hiba Sami, 38, freely married her husband 18 years ago, she never thought she would one day be forced to divorce him against her own will.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56283 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=IRAQ

ISRAEL: Haifa residents bounce back

With the trauma of war still fresh in their minds, the Jewish and Arab residents of one of Israel's most mixed cities are doing their best to rebuild their lives.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56272 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=ISRAEL

ISRAEL: Unexploded Hezbollah rockets pose risk

Israeli bomb disposal units are combing the north of the country for unexploded Hezbollah rockets left over from the recent conflict in an operation that will continue for months, Israeli police say.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56255 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=ISRAEL

MIDDLE EAST: Weekly update of human rights violations in the region (3 Nov – 9 Nov 2006)

In Egypt, Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced the sentencing on 31 October of former President Anwar al-Sadat's nephew, Talaat al-Sadat, after being convicted by a military court of 'insulting the military and the Republican Guard'.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56296 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=MIDDLE_EAST

occ. Palestinian terr.: Hard times for widows of violence

Palestinian mother-of-11 Aneesa Afana was married to a fighter from the militant Islamic Jihad group until two years ago – when an Israeli missile blew him to bits.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56300 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=OPT

occ. Palestinian terr.: "We just need to live" say Beit Hanoun residents

Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun have described finding bodies dismembered by what they said was Israeli artillery fire early this morning, and added that many residents were fleeing the town for fear of further violence.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56284 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=OPT

occ. Palestinian terr.: Visa regime splits Palestinian families

A thousand West Bank Palestinians holding foreign passports have been expelled from their homes and thousands more face a similar fate after Israel tightened its visa regime, according to Palestinian campaigners.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56271 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=OPT

occ. Palestinian terr.: Abused women failed by system, HRW says

The Palestinian authorities have failed to deal with violence against women, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report out today.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56275 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=OPT

YEMEN: Hear Our Voices: "I hate my classmates calling me a servant"

Akhdam [servants in Arabic] are, as the rest of Yemen's population, Arabic-speaking Muslims but because they do not belong to any of the three main Arab tribes that make up traditional Yemeni society, they are the lowest social caste in the country.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56254 and SelectRegion=Middle_East and SelectCountry=YEMEN

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