Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 13274
Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2002 7:52 pm Post subject: Identity Under Siege
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http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=2002111921583959
Identity Under Siege
Tuesday, November 19 2002 @ 09:58 PM GMT
"Other tactics employed in this war aren’t so evident, among them is an assault on the Palestinian identity itself.."
By Paul de Rooij
LONDON - The Palestinian struggle -- that a people should endure such unremitting cruelty from Israel and still not give up, is a collective miracle…
Edward Said, “Disunity and factionalism”, Al Ahram 21 August 2002.
The Israeli war waged against the Palestinians has taken many forms and not all of them well known to us.
Bombings, assassinations, house demolitions, and arbitrary imprisonment are some of the concrete manifestations in this war - these are clear for all to see and understand. However, other tactics employed in this war aren’t so evident. Foremost among them is an assault on the Palestinian identity itself.
A Palestinian journalist holds a
picture taking of him by Israeli
soldiers following his arrest in
the West Bank
European colonialists learned that to keep a strangle hold on their possessions a policy of divide and rule was necessary. However, the unintended consequence of this was to engender a strong nationalism, a force that eventually doomed the colonialist enterprise. The Israelis have learned this lesson, and trying to implement measures that shield them from the errors of the past. The policies now applied in the Occupied Territories (OPT) apply the
divide and rule principle, but they attempt to quell the nationalism that accompanied this in the past. The foremost element to achieve this is to actively demolish or restrict the Palestinian identity in the OPT.
The process of connecting all the settlements in the OPT to Israel proper by building the networks of the so-called bypass roads also entailed intentionally stopping traffic and contact between neighboring towns in the OPT; contact between the West Bank and Gaza has been mostly impeded since 30/Sept/2000.
It is now very difficult for a resident of any Palestinian city to visit the nearby village. Either a circuitous path must be taken, or it is simply impossible to cross the so-called military checkpoints, in reality choke points.
Furthermore, quite a few villages have been isolated thanks to the fences and walls currently being built unilaterally by Israel.
Finally, some Palestinian villages have been isolated due to the settlement expansion activities. Consequently it is difficult for Palestinians anywhere to relate to other Palestinians elsewhere in the OPT. The Israeli instigated policy aims to fragment the Palestinian identity, and make people think of themselves exclusively as residents of Ramallah or Bethlehem.
For the past 145 days (since June 25, 02), Nablus has been under military curfew. People are only allowed out for a few hours every week, otherwise they are subjected to a lock down regime that even prevents them from sitting on a balcony or peer out of the window. Here the frame of reference of the citizens of Nablus has been further restricted to only account for the individual.
People are atomized, and start to view their problems with reference only to themselves, and it is difficult for them to appreciate that it is their entire community facing this collective punishment.
Again, the Palestinian identity is threatened, and the ensuing frame of reference stultified so that it can be manipulated more easily by the Israeli military. Nablus’ militancy singled it out for this atomization and an assault on people’s identity. From the Israel occupying forces (IOF) perspective, perhaps it is an experiment to determine how others can similarly be “broken”.
During the past few months community leaders not related to the Palestinian Authority have been rounded up and subjected to arbitrary detentions (e.g., see Arbitrary Detentions [1]). The aim of this policy is to remove leaders who provide the necessary cohesion to a society. Once the educated organizers have been imprisoned, the sense of isolation is reinforced, increasing the vulnerability of the population.
Furthermore, the actions of the Israeli occupation have targeted the middle class where most of the leadership of a society emanates. The people who can direct others or offer an interpretation of events are hounded, imprisoned or isolated.
For Palestinians the temptation to escape the communal misery must be very difficult for many to resist. It may come in the form of the advertisements by the Israeli ultra right-wing Moledet Party offering assistance for Palestinians to emigrate; the temptation to drop everything and leave must be very great (e.g. see: One way ticket [2]).
The enticements by Israeli soldiers to obtain collaborators are an added element in the psychological warfare. People will be tempted to obtain favors, food, permission to work, in exchange for betraying fellow Palestinians. Accepting to collaborate accelerates the demolition of their Palestinian identity; it is difficult to see how these people will act in the interests of their society afterwards. The suspicion that someone in their midst is giving
information to the IOF also poisons the air in the mind of other Palestinians. Either way, the Palestinian identity has come under threat by attempts to corrupt the vulnerable or criminal elements in the society.
Traveling in the West Bank and Gaza one immediately becomes aware of the importance of symbols. The IOF is very keen to plant an Israeli flag wherever it is, and it is keen to rip down Palestinian symbols. Even the colors of the Palestinian flag elicit a violent response from soldiers.
During the first intifada in July 1989, Jamal Radwan, an agricultural laborer from Gaza and a father of five, had the tattoo of the Palestinian flag on his arm cut off by an Israeli soldier. The scar runs more than half way from his shoulder to his elbow. Perhaps today the IOF isn’t so much concerned with the physical manifestation of symbols, but is more concerned with the mental national identity.
During the Israeli invasion of Beirut, Israeli soldiers plundered and destroyed the Palestinian archives and important cultural treasures. During the invasion of Ramallah earlier this year, the same thing happened, important historical archives were plundered, key databases destroyed, and the video archives of the Palestinian TV stations were damaged. The Sakakini Centre and Kasaba Theatre in Ramallah, two very important contemporary cultural
institutions, were demolished earlier this year. These attacks aim to erase the Palestinian history and culture, an important aspect of any national identity.
While Israelis belabor their past and use it for political ends, they are at the same time attempting to erase the history of the nation they occupy.
If one thinks of one’s national identity, then some buildings and their history come to mind. For the English Big Ben is extremely important; Americans similarly relate to the Statue of Liberty. For Palestinians the key symbols are the Haram Al Sharif temple (known to Israelis as Temple Mount) and the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Casbah -- the Old Town (dating from 71BC) -- and the al-Khadra Mosque
(1,000+ years old) in Nablus, all are of great importance. The latter has already been demolished in several phases this year - this is destruction of world heritage monuments. The Casbah has been blasted by very large bombs and repeatedly hit by tank fire (see Nablus info [3]).
The Church of the Nativity with a spiritual value to hundreds of millions of people was damaged earlier this year by Israeli actions. A clear threat hangs over the Haram Al Sharif temple with ever increasing calls by the erstwhile fanatic fringe of the settlers, but increasingly coming from centrist politicians to demolish the temple.
The extremist settlers aim to blow it up or undermine the structure by digging tunnels under it; some “centrist” politicians have called to cut the building in pieces, and send the crates to Saudi Arabia.
Supposedly, this temple is in the way of a planned Jewish sacred temple, and just like Palestinians have been pushed aside in most of their homeland, their monuments may soon be cast aside too. The destruction of the national identity has an architectural component.
For decades, Israelis have been attempting to erase the vestiges of the 400+ Palestinian villages and towns destroyed during the 1948 war. The towns have been bulldozed and the ruins have been built over. Where one finds a pine forest in Israel proper one will find the ruins of a Palestinian village that the Israelis are trying to hide. In recent months, many of these ruined villages have been “developed” so that Palestinians won’t be able to
claim them in an eventual peace agreement, but part of the process is to rid the country of Palestinian history and vestiges. Erasing the ruined villages is not only an attempt to rid any Palestinian claim to the land, but also another attempt to demolish their identity. The most potent symbol for Palestinians is the “key” - the claim to the homes that the Israelis stole. The key is also the principal symbol excised out of all cartoons and art by
the Israeli censor. Further demolition of the ruins has important implications for all.
Archeology has been a battleground with a long history. Israelis have always claimed monopoly in archeology, and they have prohibited Palestinians from studying this field in Israeli universities.
Israeli archeologists will usually concentrate on the old layers in the archeological excavations, to the exclusion of the more recent ones dealing with Palestinian history -- these are usually destroyed. A few years ago, Dr. Albert Glock, an American archeologist head of the Palestinian Institute of Archeology at Bir Zeit University, was excavating the recent layers near Ramallah when he was mysteriously assassinated.
Palestinians suspect that the Israelis assassinated him because digging up the recent history counters the Israeli attempts to bury the Palestinian history.
The looming threat of war against Iraq casts a dark shadow over the Palestinians. As Prof. Illan Pappe has stated, it is now a centrist political position in Israel to propose plans for “transfer” -- that obscene euphemism for the mass expulsion of Palestinians.
One can read about this in the Israeli press, listen to the Molodet Party’s proposals, or one can listen to some of the principal cabinet members in the current government; they all clamor with varying degrees of viciousness about plans to expel the Palestinian population. The only restraining factors are the international reaction to such a crime and the feasibility of expelling the population to Lebanon, Jordan, or Iraq. Graham Usher, a British
journalist, recently said that what is being envisaged by the US in the area is not simply “regime change, but region change.” [Note 4] If such seismic changes are implemented entailing the redrawing of borders in Iraq and Jordan, then Israel may see an opportunity to implement its sinister plans.
One must see the current attempts to demolish the Palestinian identity in this context. An atomized and brutalized population without any effective leadership can perhaps be terrorized to flee across the border in the event of a war.
It is unimaginable why any population should be subjected to the threat of ethnic cleansing in the 21st century.
After WWII, the world had achieved a consensus that the “might makes right” principle was unacceptable and incompatible with peace. Annexation by war, it was agreed, could not be tolerated. As such, the incessant pressure to expel the Palestinian population, to erase their history, and to demolish their identity, are incompatible with principles that have formed the basis of international law and consensus for the past 50+ years.
It is the responsibility of the so-called international community to put a stop to the war and to the Israeli campaign against Palestinians. One would hope that the UN would play a leading role, but the organization is currently compromised and manipulated by the US. One can hardly expect Kofi Annan, a venal politician, to act decisively; the Rwandan genocide occurred during his watch, and the callousness he exhibited then doesn’t portend for an
active role now. Unfortunately, up to now, the stance of most European governments has been disgraceful.
Similarly, the role of major human rights organizations with responsibility for the area has been less than honorable (see Amnesty [5]). The establishment of a war crimes tribunal holding Sharon, Mofaz, Netanyahu, Ben-Eliezer, and Peres, to account is of paramount importance, yet no action is seen for its institution. One fears the worst: that mass crimes and ethnic cleansing will occur in the area and no peep will be heard from the so-called
international community.
Paul de Rooij is an economist living in London. He can be reached at proox@hotmail.com
Note 1: www.counterpunch.org/bahour1023.html
Note 2: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2377273.stm
Note 3: www.nablus.org/invasion/press2.html. Don’t miss: www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=10291 Nothing like seeing the photos.
Note 4: Talk given in the House of Parliament, London, Nov. 14, 2002.
Note 5: www.counterpunch.org/rooij1031.html
-Palestine Chronicle (palestinechronicle.com). Redistributed via Press International News Agency (PINA).
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dangerousdna
Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 13274
Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2002 7:56 pm Post subject: Intifada Lessons Learned
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http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20021001013501615
Intifada Lessons Learned
Tuesday, October 01 2002 @ 01:35 AM GMT
“It’s not weapons alone that dictate the terms and outcomes of a battle, but also the people’s belief in the justness of their cause. And my people, the Palestinians are true believers.”
By Ramzy Baroud
If one is to pause for a moment of silence to commemorate each of those killed during the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation, one shall be left standing quietly for a very long time.
Palestinians commemorate the second anniversary of their uprising (Intifada), and the tragedy can hardly be any more heartrending. I know of families who lost several members, some collectively and others, one at a time; I know of families that have been completely wiped out; I know of a husband who lost his wife and all of his children, and of wives who lost husbands, of babies who were shot in the face, in the heart, others suffocated by teargas
and of others who were buried under the debris of their demolished homes, for days or weeks.
During the last two years, we have seen about every possible form of brutality; we’ve learned of new terminology, describing particular type of weapons. We know of Palestinians who were burned to death, of others crushed by large stones, by tanks, by their own homes. We have learned of refugees who burned in tents and of others tortured to death. We know a great deal; we have seen the images, watched them on television, read eyewitness accounts;
press releases, newspaper reports, bias or not, it doesn't matter. It simply happened, and we all know it.
Now, we know what an Apache helicopter is capable of doing. We’ve seen it at work. We now know what a Merkava tank is, and how destructive it can be. We’ve all seen it, sweeping through the West Bank and Gaza, leaving behind a trail of blood and columns of smoke. We’ve learned more about the tricks of the Israeli army, how rubber bullets can be filled with metal, enough to kill a human being, but not enough to reflect the brutality of
occupation, after all it remains a “rubber bullet“. We’ve seen how increasing the toxicity of teargas can make it poisonous, but after all, it is still called teargas, although strong enough to halt the heartbeat of a child, of an elder, of a pregnant woman.
Some have learned a bit more about Palestine and its geography. Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, Balata, Rafah, Khan Yunis, Gaza, are all cities and refugee camps in Palestine. We know that because they have all been assaulted, repeatedly, much of them destroyed and many of their sons and daughters murdered. Places like Daraj neighborhood in Gaza would have never made it to the international media, but it did, for it was there that a 1,000 pound
Israeli bomb blew up 17 Palestinians, including 10 children and wounding 170 more, just a few weeks ago.
Some became more comfortable with the sounds of Arab names: Iman, Mohamed, Mustafa, Fathi, Waddah, Ziyad, Nasser, Abdelkarim, Hani ... They all are names of Palestinians killed, just a few of a long list that will soon reach 2,000.
We’ve become more familiar with political deception and propaganda in times of war and of the influence of the media in shaping people’s perceptions. We learned that in order for Palestinians to call the killing of their people “a massacre,” they better have a good case: killing 63 Palestinians in Jenin, wounding 270, imprisoning and expelling thousands, destroying hundreds of homes, all within two weeks, can hardly meet the requirement of a
“massacre,” but Israel is free to name every suicide bombing a “massacre” if it wishes, no explanations nor UN reports are required.
We expanded our voculabulary with terminology that we’ve always known but rarely seen in action. We have seen some of the best examples of “double standards,” and how they could be used, along with US “vetoes” at the UN Security Council to protect Israel, despite the latter’s “flagrant violations of human rights,” as pointed out in the “Fourth Geneva Convention.” All of this comes at a time when Iraq is threatened with war if it
fails to carry out the same “UN resolutions” that Israel refuses to implement, for allegedly holding weapons that Israeli openly holds, for allegedly doing the things that Israeli has done out of the closet for decades, but without a word of protest from the “international community.”
We couldn’t have imagined that certain terminology could mean one thing but refer to the complete opposite: “Peace”, “Israeli Defense Forces”, “compromise”, “right to exist”, “right to defend itself,” “war on terror”, ..
On a personal note, before these trials, I couldn’t have imagined that feeling of not knowing if ones family in Palestine is alive or dead.
I couldn’t have imagined that I would pick names for my newborn from a list of names of those killed during the uprising of my people.
I couldn’t have imagined that a nation’s struggle for freedom could be so honorable, so admirable, so humbling, yet so misunderstood.
I couldn’t have imagined that my people’s fight for freedom would extend beyond the occupied territories, the Green Line, or the entire Middle East, into protesting those who finance the genocide and defend the murders, all across the world.
But I have always known and will always believe that the Palestinian’s genuine cry for freedom will echo throughout the world and will someday deliver that long sought justice. I have always known and will always believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There must be.
If standing for a moment of silence fails to convey my love for my people and my homeland in the second anniversary of a painful yet proud phase in our history, I wish that my words, even my tears will convey my message.
www.dying2live.com
Help us break the silence.Help Palestine live in peace.
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dangerousdna
Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 13274
Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2002 7:57 pm Post subject: "Stop de Bezetting", "End the Occupation"
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http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20021120222407109
"Stop de Bezetting", "End the Occupation"
Wednesday, November 20 2002 @ 10:24 PM GMT
"What has changed in the above scenario in past years, and even more so in the last two years since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising, is not the issue of defamation or of censorship .."
By Ramzy Baroud
In the recent past, pro-Palestinian views in the United States and Europe have often been shunned by the media and by pro-Israeli organizations, groups that often carry as much weight and authority as some governments. Groups advocating the cause of Palestine are often censored and defamed. They are
accused of anti-Semitism, and even of sympathizing with terrorists. "Boy,haven't I heard that enough."
What has changed in the above scenario in past years, and even more so in the last two years since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising, is not the issue of defamation or of censorship, not even intellectual slander. What has changed is that those who used to crumble and distance themselves from their pro-Palestinian views, are now growing scarce. More and more people are living up to the challenge, and Israel’s tools of intimidation are
backfiring.
It’s simple, for nothing lasts forever, not even Israel’s ability to subdue its foes by crying
“Anti-Semitism”. Former Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban, recently died after a life of struggle and tireless efforts on behalf of Israel. A famous statement of his however, died long before him. In an article for the New York Times in 1975, Eban declared, “There is no difference whatever between anti-Semitism and the denial of Israel's statehood.”
Sure, the Israeli government and its supporters around the globe are still resorting to the same outdated logic, but thanks to the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, and to the atrocities carried out by the Israeli army, more courageous individuals are coming out, strong and vagarious in support of Palestinians. One of them is Gretta Duisenberg, a respected Dutch woman, a leading human rights activist, and also the wife of one of the
most powerful men in Europe, Wim Duisenberg, the head of the European Central Bank.
Gretta Duisenberg’s expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people was hardly born out of ulterior motives, like many Hollywood “celebrities” whose regular pilgrimage to Israel seems to work well with their career ambitions. Moved, like millions around the world by the cruelty of Israeli army’s conduct in the West Bank, last April, Duisenberg purchased a Palestinian flag, a large one and proudly held it in an Amsterdam rally for
Palestine on April 13.
Duisenberg’s sympathy regarding the plight of Palestinians hardly faded by the end of the march, as she flew the flag from the window of her Amsterdam home for several weeks. “I am unhappy with the way the Netherlands and Europe have responded to what Sharon’s government has done to the Palestinians,” she was quoted by the Dutch daily newspaper De Telegraaf as saying.
There was little doubt that Duisenberg’s actions were motivated by her admiration of the Palestinian struggle, by her rejection of the human rights abuses conducted by the right-wing government in Tel Aviv, by Europe’s silence and even her own government’s indifference regarding the pressing international affair. But Duisenberg’s action was seen differently by those who could not stand for any criticism of the state of Israel.
Duisenberg was immediately accused of anti-Semitism, according to a criminal complaint lodged against her by a Jewish organization, ‘Federatief Joods Nederland”. Duisenberg was outraged by the accusations. “Nonsense,” Gretta responded to those who resorted to the typical accusation, “An anti-Semite is somebody who blames a Jew for his very being and existence. That is not what I do.”
But the “nonsense” hardly stopped there. According to the complaint, Gretta Duisenberg’s husband was strongly pressed to distance himself from his wife’s courageous stand. The Netherlands-based Jewish organization threatened that it would work along with its New York partner, the World Jewish Congress to see to it that Wim Duisenberg would be deemed a “persona non grata”, or an “undesirable” person in the United States.
The typical lobbying, the collective blackmailing and intimidation continued, but Gretta Duisenberg did what many should have done years ago, she broke the vicious cycle. She simply refused to be intimidated. To the contrary, she moved full-speed ahead in her support of the Palestinians.
Through her action group, “Stop de Bezetting” (End the Occupation), Duisenberg vowed to follow up with her commitment to Palestine, which began with adorning her home with a flag. She in fact decided to take her support all the way to the Occupied Territories. But her journey to Palestine, scheduled for November, 2002 was canceled, thanks to pressure from right wing groups who asserted that the Dutch government was paying a portion of the
expenses for a mission of “one-sided activism.”
Still unscathed by the campaign waged against her, Duisenberg declared that her visit of solidarity to the Palestinian Territories would not be hindered, independently rescheduling the visit for Jan. 5-11, 2002. According to the Associated Press, the Israeli government indicated that it would not block Duisenberg and her group from meeting with the Palestinians, while asserting that the Dutch activists were “not welcome”.
Gretta Duisenberg did not simply raise a flag, nor did she merely spark controversial headlines in the news. She is a member of a promising generation that is setting new standards, changing the rules of the game altogether. Gretta Duisenberg places her humanity above personal interests. She didn’t succumb to the pressure of her opponents, she wouldn't. One can only hope that voices like hers will no longer sing alone, and that a chorus will
continue to cry out the world over: “Stop de Bezetting”, “End the Occupation.”
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dangerousdna
Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 13274
Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2002 7:59 pm Post subject: Good Will Towards Who?
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http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20021119171801164
Good Will Towards Who?
Tuesday, November 19 2002 @ 05:18 PM GMT
By Edna Yaghi
WASHINGTON (PC) - Even before Halloween was barely over, Americans had already begun ready themselves for Thanksgiving.
Iraqi child under sanctions
Even before American turkeys grace Thanksgiving tables, Christmas decorations, candy and piped Christmas music abound at every shopping center.
It is strange that we, the American people speak of being thankful and of such noble thoughts as peace on earth and good will towards men while at the same time, we speak of a war against the Iraqi people. Also, in the Holy Land, the Palestinian people suffer horrendously and every day, the toll on the civilian population grows heavier.
Where then, is this peace and joy that we claim we promote at this special time of year? Is it that only Americans are entitled to peace on earth and good will towards themselves? Is it that the deaths of others no longer matter to us? Is it that our own holiday seasons are so commercialized that we no longer recognize exactly what we have become? And is it that the American government has become so adept at propaganda that we have stopped thinking
clearly about what is right and what is wrong? Have we become conditioned into believing that our government has the right to dictate whatever it wants to to whomever it wants to?
The Iraqi and Palestinian match girls are at our windows freezing in the falling snow and we are so busy with our own festivities and making sure that our banquet tables overflow with a surplus of bounties that we no longer see them or hear them.
Our media continues to remind us that all Palestinians are terrorists, even unborn babies. We continue to believe that children bravely clutching stones and dying for freedom against the Israeli government that we, the American taxpayers support to the tune of more than 97 billion dollars a year, are armed soldiers.
We supply the Israelis with tanks, with Apache helicopters, with F-16s, with bulldozers so that the Israeli army can attack Palestinian civilian targets by land, by sea, and by air at all hours of the day and night. Yet, we see no wrong in this. We only become enraged when a few ragged Palestinian freedom fighters dare to die for their people, for their land, for their freedom.
We don’t mind it when the Israeli army storms into Palestinian refugee camps and bulldozes homes and leaves either the occupants dead inside of the bulldozed houses or out in the cold without shelter.
We don’t care when Palestinian farmland is destroyed by Israeli tractors and olive and fruit trees overturned. We don’t mind when Palestinians are kept under 24 hour curfews and anyone who dares to put his or her foot outside their door is shot down. We don’t even wonder how these Palestinian people are able to support themselves when they are under curfews and when they are surrounded by Israeli tanks and soldiers.
We aren’t amazed when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon demands that illegal Israeli settlers who have set up their houses on Palestinian land kill Palestinians in their homes, on their way to school, or watching their flocks by night. We simply sit, complacent that we are full and it is not us who suffer.
It does not bother us that every month more than 5000 Iraqi babies die as a result of the sanctions. It is not that we really perceive Saddam Hussein as a cruel dictator, but a man who defies American dictates. We never stop to think that he is not out to harm us or our interests because we have been told that our lives are being threatened if he has weapons of mass destruction. But we don’t even wonder why it is ok for Israel to have such weapons
and also India. We fail to understand that it is not at all about weapons of mass destruction but rather how can our government topple Saddam so that Iraqi oil can begin to flow into the pockets of our own dictators such as George W. Bush and Rumsfeld.
We continue to bash Islam and Muslims in our hate wars. And everything and anything that goes wrong around the world is immediately blamed on Muslims or Islam. We don’t really stop to think that we bombed Afghanistan to near oblivion in order to kill Osama Ben Laden and yet, we are no closer to capturing this elusive man than we were before our bombs were dropped. We will only think of him as a threat to American security when the moment is
appropriate but we are not ashamed to admit that with all our technology, with all our money, with all our superior power, we still don’t even know where he is or even if he is really responsible for the 9/11 attacks, or even if he is alive or dead. And we don’t even care!
It is time we see other people around the world as human beings. It is time that we not only feel sorrow for our own pain but the pain and suffering of others. It is time that we understand what is really happening in Palestine and that at this special time of year, at a time when we speak of peace and joy on earth, Palestinian women, children and the elderly die on a daily basis. It is time that we understand that freedom and justice are not just
American commodities for American people, but the inalienable rights of all. It is time that we open our hearts and listen to our consciences.
It is time that we open our doors to those little Palestinian and Iraqi match girls whose lives are in danger. It is time that we embrace the true spirit of Christmas before it is too late.
-Palestine Chronicle (palestinechronicle.com). Redistributed via Press International News Agency (PINA).
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dangerousdna
Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 13274
Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2002 8:02 pm Post subject: IFJ Slams Israel After Police Beat Journalist in Hebron
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http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20021123155527952
"The attack involved Palestinian journalists from Reuters, al-Jazeera satellite television and US network ABC .."
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - The International Federation of Journalists said Thursday a “continuing mood of prejudice and intolerance” was reflected among Israeli security personnel in their dealings with the media.
The IFJ’s condemnation of Israeli police came after border police terrorized a group of journalists and assaulted a cameraman in the West Bank city of Hebron.
“Over the past year the antagonism towards Palestinian journalists has risen to unacceptable levels of intimidation,” said IFJ General Secretary, Aidan White, after reports that Mamoun Wazwaz, a Reuters cameraman was beaten up last Tuesday.
Border Police pledged to investigate the ‘incident’ in which three policemen attacked a group of 15 journalists in Hebron.
The attack involved Palestinian journalists from Reuters, al-Jazeera satellite television and US network ABC.
The incident was the latest of many wherein journalists have been beaten, harassed and at times shot at and killed by Israeli occupation forces since the start of the Palestinian uprising two years ago.
The Committee to Protect Foreign Journalists, a reporters’ rights watchdog, described the West Bank earlier this year as the worst place for journalists to work.
The group of Palestinian journalists said they were leaving a Reuters colleague’s house when three border police accosted them.
According to witnesses, Wazus like criminals.”
Wazwaz was taken to hospital where he was treated and later released.
The Journalists in the group, who were shoved against a wall and held at gunpoint, said the attack was unprovoked. They also said a policeman held a gun to the head of one of their colleagues, ABC cameraman Amar Jabawi, when he tried to tell the policemen they were journalists.
“This is becoming a routine feature of life for Palestinian journalists in the region,” said White, adding that “Israeli forces are understandably deeply concerned by the current crisis, but they must not express their frustration by the use of violence and intimidation against journalists”.
The IFJ is calling for a full investigation of the incident and for the border police responsible to be disciplined.
Israeli occupation forces reoccupied Hebron this week after Palestinian gunmen ambushed and killed 12 Israelis-- five border police, four soldiers and three paramilitary settler security men-- Friday night.
Earlier this year, Palestinian journalists were formally stripped of any professional recognition when Israel refused to issue them with local official press cards, Reuters reported.
“A signal has been sent that Palestinian journalists have no professional status,” said White, “As a result relations between media staff and security forces, which have never been good, are now rock bottom.”
-Palestine Media Center (http://www.palestine-pmc.com/). Redistributed via Press International News Agency (PINA).
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dangerousdna
Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 13274
Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2002 11:06 am Post subject: Eyewitness Reports Facts About Killing of UN Worker
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http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20021124204523819
Eyewitness Reports Facts About Killing of UN Worker
Sunday, November 24 2002 @ 08:45 PM GMT
“At first he shot into the air, and most of the children dispersed, running into an alley on the left side of the street. About three small children remained..”
JENIN, West Bank (PC) - Caoimhe Butterly, a UN worker was injured in the same Israeli attack that killed UN worker Iain Hook, Project Manager of UNWRA earlier this week. Butterly reported to American professor, Annie Higgins, what she has witnessed and experienced concerning the circumstances in which she and her late UN colleague were shot.
Iain Hook, killed by Israeli
troops
Caoimhe was injured while trying to protect children who were throwing stones at Israeli invasion forces, which included tanks and APC’s, from soldiers firing at the children with live ammunition. After initially heeding her calls to stop firing at the unarmed children, the soldiers again began firing at them from the safe protection of their armored vehicle.
“At first he shot into the air, and most of the children dispersed, running into an alley on the left side of the street. About three small children remained, however, and I tried physically to get them to the alley, dragging and pushing them. I looked back over my shoulder and could see the soldier in the APC pointing his gun at me from about one hundred meters. Near the entrance to the alley, I was shot in the thigh. When I fell they continued shooting in my direction. I crawled part of the way up the alley, and then some of the youngsters dragged me up the rest of the way.”
While Israeli soldiers claim they immediately sent an ambulance once they had learned about the wounded UN workers, Caoimhe’s eyewitness account reveals a completely different version of events. While the IDF claims that Iain Hook was already dead by the time the ambulance arrived, this is Caoimhe’s account, as related to Higgins:
“No ambulances were allowed into the camp, so I was carried on a makeshift stretcher to where a Red Crescent ambulance could reach me near the entrance of the camp. While I was in the Emergency Room of Jenin Hospital, Iain Hook of UNRWA was brought in. He died a few minutes later.”
The IDF claims that accusations of their blocking the access of ambulances to the camp are false, but Caoimhe’s reports reveal a completely different picture.
“We have been told that when he was shot, the Israeli Army prohibited a clearly marked UN ambulance from evacuating him and transporting him for nearly an hour, during which time he lost much blood. Finally the ambulance crew evacuated him by taking him out by the back wall that employees had broken down earlier.”
The Israeli Army Radio reported on Saturday that Iain had indeed been killed by an Israeli soldier, who claims he mistook the man’s cell phone for a hand grenade. Initially, army sources had even denied the IDF’s involvement, and claimed that the UN workers had been caught in crossfire between the IDF and the Palestinian resistance. However, Caoimhe told Higgins that the crossfire story was baseless, and that at the time they were shot, the shooting was taking place only from the Israeli side.
“Having been present in the Camp all morning, I can testify that any Palestinian fighters had stopped shooting a good two hours before either of us was wounded. When I passed the UN compound in the morning, it was surrounded by Israeli Army snipers and soldiers who were shooting erratically into the Camp. Two people were killed and six wounded. All but one were shot by tank fire outside what the Army deemed a closed military zone. I was not caught up in any kind of crossfire as the Israeli Occupation Forces are falsely stating, and I don't believe that Iain was either.”
During the last two years of the Palestinian Uprising,, Israeli forces have been criticized for firing at journalists, ambulances, paramedics, doctors and UN workers, often leading to injury and death. Tragically, the shooting of Iain Hook was no exception.
While Sharon and Netanyahu have expressed their sorrow over Hook’s death, they have also promised a full investigation into the circumstances leading to his violent end. At the same time, the UN has announced it will also be conducting its own investigation.
-Palestine Chronicle (palestinechronicle.com). Redistributed via Press International News Agency (PINA).
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dangerousdna
Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 13274
Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2002 6:09 pm Post subject: The 1 million pounds-a-mile wall that divides a town from it
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http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20021125181131245
Palestinians Ready to Resume Peace Talks with 'Israeli Peace Camp'
Monday, November 25 2002 @ 06:11 PM GMT
"'The Palestinian leadership wants to present the complete peace plan to the Israeli public before the Israeli general elections ..'"
RAMALLAH - Palestinian Minister of Culture and Information, Yasser Abed Rabbo said Sunday that the Palestine National Authority (PNA) is ready to negotiate with the 'peace camp' in Israel and resume the stalled peace talks.
Abed Rabbo added that the PNA is ready to resume the peace talks that were held and stopped less than two years ago at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Taba with the former Israeli Labor government led by Ehud Barak.
“The Palestinian leadership is ready to begin a negotiation dialogue with Israeli peace powers in order to prepare a complete peace plan and to resume Taba talks,” Abed Rabbo told reporters.
He said the Palestinian leadership wants to present the complete peace plan to the Israeli public before the Israeli general elections scheduled for January.
“The plan would be presented to see if there is a possibility to implement a real and practical peace plan and to convince the Israeli public that the road for peace is still opened,” the minister pointed out.
Earlier on Friday, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee headed by President Yasser Arafat stressed its readiness to jointly work with the Israeli peace camp to “reopen the road of hope for the sake of both Palestinian and Israeli peoples, instead of the road of occupation, aggression, and bloodshed...”
“We call for restoring negotiations with representatives of the Israeli peace movements, to put forward a detailed and comprehensive peace plan, completing what was reached at the late Taba peace conference and based on US President George W. Bush’s peace plan and the Arab peace initiative,” it stressed.
The leadership further said that such a plan should “be presented to the Israeli and Palestinian publics to begin a new process, which will open a new phase of security and comprehensive peace between the two peoples and the two states, Palestine and Israel.”
-Palestine Media Center (http://www.palestine-pmc.com/). Redistributed via Press International News Agency (PINA).
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dangerousdna
Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 13274
Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2002 6:27 pm Post subject: Israeli army sweeps into central Gaza, demolishes one house
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Israeli army sweeps into central Gaza, demolishes one house
Channel NewsAsia
26 November 2002
The Israeli army has resumed tightening its grip on Palestinian
areas, as tanks backed by helicopter gunships rolled into a town in
central Gaza on Tuesday.
Witnesses said several dozen tanks and armoured vehicles entered
Deir al-Balah, near a bloc of Jewish settlements, under cover of
darkness as helicopters hovered overhead. Israeli forces also
reportedly exchanged heavy fire with gunmen in the town's refugee
camp, and destroyed the home of a Hamas leader.
At least one Palestinian was wounded.
There was no immediate comment from the army.
The Israel army has demolished some 80 Palestinian homes since the
start of August.
Human rights bodies have slammed the policy which they say amounts
to collective punishment.
Last week, Israel sent its tanks into Bethlehem, after a suicide
bomber from the area blew up a bus in Jerusalem.
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dangerousdna
Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 13274
Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2002 7:03 pm Post subject: Israelis force Palestinian to strip naked -- witnesses
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Israelis force Palestinian to strip naked -- witnesses
The Jordan Times
26 November 2002
RAMALLAH (R) -- Three Israeli occupation soldiers forced a
Palestinian man to strip naked at gunpoint and walk like a dog in a
West Bank city under curfew, Palestinian witnesses said on Monday.
A Reuters photographer snapped Yasser Sharaf, 25, standing naked in
a cold, muddy street in Nablus on Sunday as two men were handing him
clothes to put on and two Israeli armoured vehicles were pulling
away from the scene.
Sharaf declined to comment on Monday about the incident.
Israeli military sources denied that Sharaf was forced to strip,
saying checks with soldiers involved determined that he had been
ordered only to raise his shirt to show whether he was carrying
explosives. "When he saw members of the media in the area, he
decided to undress completely," a military source told Reuters.
Witnesses including two Palestinian firemen said occupation soldiers
stopped Sharaf after spotting him walking in a street in violation
of curfew and, "pointing their rifles at him, ordered him to start
stripping."
"Yasser told them he had nothing to hide but they continued shouting
and readied their rifles to shoot," fireman Samir Al Lifdawi told
Reuters by telephone from Nablus.
"They forced Yasser to take off all his clothes including his
underwear...They ordered him to walk like a dog and then he burst
into tears," Lifdawi said.
He said he watched the incident unfold from a fire station a few
metres away. A colleague, Sultan Al Minawi, provided the same
account.
"He kept crying and was in a very stressful situation... `Many
residents, including women, watched him and he was very
embarrassed'," Minawi said.
Humiliation
Palestinian civilians have often complained of being humiliated and
abused by Israeli troops who have reoccupied
Palestinian-administered West Bank cities to combat an uprising for
freedom spearheaded by resistance activists.
The army claims strict "controls" on Palestinian residents are
necessary because activists hide among the population and wear
civilian clothing when they carry out suicide bombings.
Scenes of Palestinians rolling up their shirts to prove they are not
hiding bomb belts have become frequent since the Israeli army swept
into West Bank cities in June to punish the Palestinian people for
suicide attacks which have killed scores of Israeli civilians.
Sunday's incident in Nablus would be the first time a Palestinian
was reported to have been ordered to strip naked in a security
operation. Palestinian civilians have complained of being ordered to
strip to their underwear at roadblocks.
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dangerousdna
Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 13274
Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2002 7:05 pm Post subject: US expresses concern over civilian casualties from Israeli o
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(4) US expresses concern over civilian casualties from Israeli offensive
Channel NewsAsia
26 November 2002
Washington says it is deeply concerned by the civilian victims of
Israel's latest military operation in Palestinian territory.
A young Palestinian boy and a senior UN aid official have been
killed over the weekend as Israeli forces crackdown on Palestinian
militants. The US has urged all sides to prevent such deaths, and
has called for an investigation.
"We've been deeply concerned about recent civilians casualties
resulting from Israeli military actions," State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher said.
But Israel has forged ahead with its campaign and said its hunt for
radicals had netted 22 people in the West Bank on Monday.
The eight-year-old Palestinian boy was killed when he got caught in
a clash between Israeli troops and Palestinians throwing stones.
Israeli forces say they have no information about his death, but
they have admitted to killing UN aid worker Iain Hook.
London has demanded an inquiry into the shooting that took place at
the Jenin refugee camp.
The deaths stem from Israeli incursions meant to hunt down suicide
bombers and dismantle the Palestinian "terrorist infrastructure".
Despite the spiralling violence, the international community is
pushing ahead with efforts to restore peace in the region.
A group of foreign peace mediators are to meet in Washington on
December 20 ahead of Israeli and Palestinian elections in early
2003.
The so-called quartet of the United States, the European Union,
Russia and the United Nations is supposed to unveil a peace plan
that has been six months in the making.
But US officials have played down the prospects of reaching an
agreement on a document before the elections.
