1) Guardian Editorial by Jocelyn Hurndall
2) IOF kill 9 year old boy, 500 queue at Huwwara
3) The Side I See
4) Restricion of movement = restriction of freedom
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Guardian Editorial by Jocelyn Hurndall
Six months after my son was shot by Israeli troops, the British
government has yet to condemn the act
Jocelyn Hurndall
Monday October 20, 2003
The Guardian
Last Thursday, I delivered a letter to Mr Blair expressing my despair
at the Israeli government’s lack of response to our call for a full
inquiry into the death of my son, Tom. While working as a photojournalist,
Tom was shot in the head by an Israeli commander in Rafah, Gaza. He had
been walking down a calm civilian street where 20 children were playing
when snipers began shooting at them. He was carrying the children to
safety when he was shot, and was wearing a fluorescent human rights
jacket. He posed no threat. His brain is severely damaged and he will not
recover.
Read the full editorial at
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Read ISM\'s statement on the proposed military ivestigation on the
shooting of Tom Hurndall at
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IOF kill 9 year old boy and 500 queue at Huwwara checkpoint
Nablus
29 Oct 03
Aron
Tonight, once again, the Israeli occupation force came to Balatta
refugee camp in Nablus. Do they have a purpose in their deadly little
visits? Not a discernable one. They arrived driving a distance into the camp
and back out, hanging around the entrance, then driving off before
returning a few minutes later, driving past, then returning and stopping
again. We went to the entrance to find them gone but soon returned,
causing the boys to flee from the entrance where they had gathered. I
watched as live bullets sprayed the building opposite me, aimed at children
throwing stones from the roof. We left the scene when we thought they
had gone, thinking there were no injuries, but heard awhile later that a
boy had been killed, followed an hour later by an announcement over the
Mosque loud speaker that the boy who had been shot in the head tonight
had died. His name is Bahai Jaber Simele, and he was 9 years old. What
crimes had he committed?
Read the full journal report at
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The Side I See
Tulkarem
flo
28 Oct 03
I’ve come to this world as an outsider, as one
actually born to the occupiers, as one to fight, one to
learn, one to carry the truth home. It has been over
six months now since I set foot, for the second time in
my life, on this much disputed land. This land that I,
my allies and those I have come to support, call
Palestine.
And that is where the conflict begins, the verbal
attacks, the insults on my intelligence, the
regurgitation of a brainwashing that I myself was
raised under. I have seen though, am seeing, the truth
that escaped my brainwashed upbringing. The part of the
story that missed me because I was too busy being told
about all the Arab terrorists and the importance of
protecting the security of Israel, the place I was
taught to strive for, my supposed homeland. Six months
now, spent across the line from the side, that
according to my birth, I should be on. Six months of
waking almost every morning inside a cage, surrounded
by the walls, fences and gates of those from that other
side.
Read the full journal report at
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Restricion of movement = restriction of freedom
Jenin
CJ
30 Sep 03
How long to you plan when you go out on a trip? To the neighboring
city, let\'s take Chicago to Milwaukee. A day trip, right? It\'s about 100
miles - an hour and a half there and an hour and a half back. What do
you plan to take with you? I\'d plan on my wallet, my phone, and some
tunes for my car, and I could stop along the way for snacks, bathroom,
etc.
A similar trip, one that under normal circumstances would take about an
hour and a half perhaps two since the roads are windy took my
companions and me 8 hours. It also caused a lot of worry for the people who were
expecting us to arrive in Jenin. We should have planned on taking not
only our wallets and phones, but also lunch, dinner, and if only there
had been a bathroom break on the way! Between the cities of Jerusalem
and Jenin we faced FOUR checkpoints. At every single checkpoint we
waited over an hour for checking IDs.
Read the full journal report at
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Comments
Hide the following 5 comments
Infliction of death = restriction of movement
31.10.2003 01:18
1) How many people travelling from "Chicago to Milwaukee" would worry about being blown to pieces by a suicide bomber?
How many suicide bombings would it take before checkpoints were set up between Chicago and Milwaukee, one or two?
Would one suicide bombing equal one checkpoint? Or would there have to be ten or twenty for every four?
2) What would your response be if your family, through no fault of their own, were faced with the threat of suicide bombings every day?
Would you rather there were checkpoints to defend you, or would you rather there was military retaliation to kill those that run the suicide bomber industry?
3) How many dead Israeli children does it take appease a Hamas commander for the death of a Palestinian child?
I think these are fair questions, so if the poster could respond to them directly before changing the subject, that would be appreciated.
Anti-zionist but disgusted at the increasing fascism of some pro-Palestinians
go away zionist scum
31.10.2003 04:17
If your so worried about "israelis", tell them to stop supporting the mass murderer Sharon and he drenches the land with Palestinian blood, to dismantle their illegal settlements and return to the 1948 borders set out by the UN, to stop destroying the livelihood of Palestinians and to stop from their religious fanaticism which revolves around rebuilding their mythical "third temple" and being the "chosen people"....get the picture? Oh and if you so abhor suicide bombings, perhaps you'd like to donate some funds to hamas to buy apaches so that they can be carry out more precise "targeted assasinations".
razi
Well...
31.10.2003 12:04
Let me explain what I was getting at.
Every action has consequences. Settlers, invasions, shootings and apache attacks lead to suicide bombings. Suicide bombings lead to Israelis wanting checkpoints and Ariel Sharon. The checkpoints weren't there before the intifada.
As for donating money to Hamas, I'm afraid I don't have enough to make a significant donation, when 'significant' is the several billion dollars a year they recieve from Saudi Arabia et al (most of it goes into the leaders' swiss banks accounts).
How many dead Israeli children does it take appease a Hamas commander for the death of a Palestinian child?
People like razi, who see the whole situation in such simple terms, will find out - when the cycle of violence goes on and on. Neither side can win. Either the violence ends or the problem will be solved because everyone will be dead and the entire middle east will be a uninhabitable nuclear wasteland.
Anti-zionist
My two shekels
31.10.2003 12:49
But you might want to see what the IDF chief (surprisingly) makes of the current situation...
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Chris McGreal in Jerusalem
Friday October 31, 2003
The Guardian
Israel's army chief has exposed deep divisions between the military and Ariel Sharon by branding the government's hardline treatment of Palestinian civilians counter-productive and saying that the policy intensifies hatred and strengthens the "terror organisations".
Lieutenant-General Moshe Ya'alon also told Israeli journalists in an off-the-record briefing that the army was opposed to the route of the "security fence" through the West Bank. The government also contributed to the fall of the former Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, by offering only "stingy" support for his attempts to end the conflict, he said.
Gen Ya'alon had apparently hoped his anonymous criticisms would strengthen the army's voice, which has been subordinated to the views of the intelligence services in shaping policy.
But the comments were so devastating that he was swiftly revealed as the source.
The statements - which a close associate characterised to the Israeli press as warning that the country was "on the verge of a catastrophe" - will also reinforce a growing perception among the public that Mr Sharon is unable to deliver the peace with security he promised when he came to office nearly three years ago.
The criticism is made all the more searing because Gen Ya'alon is not known for being soft on the Palestinians. As deputy chief of staff, he called the latest conflict the second stage of Israel's independence war.
The general warned that the continued curfews, reoccupation of towns and severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians, combined with the economic crisis they have caused, were increasing the threat to Israel's security.
"In our tactical decisions, we are operating contrary to our strategic interest," Gen Ya'alon said. "It increases hatred for Israel and strengthens the terror organisations."
Earlier this week, army commanders in the West Bank told the military administration in the occupied territories that Palestinians had reached new depths of despair, which was fuelling a hatred for Israeli that had little to do with the propaganda so often blamed by the government.
"There is no hope, no expectations for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, nor in Bethlehem and Jericho," said Gen Ya'alon.
The commanders warned that the situation was strengthening Hamas, a view the Israeli intelligence services agreed with. But while the army sees the solution as easing most oppressive elements of occupation, the Shin Bet argues that rising support for Islamist groups is a reason to keep the clampdown in place. This is the preferred option of the defence minister and Gen Ya'alon's predecessor as army chief of staff, Shaul Mofaz.
Mr Sharon and Mr Mofaz were reportedly furious at the general's statements and initially demanded that he retract them or resign. But the political establishment apparently decided it would be better to deride Gen Ya'alon.
Anonymous sources in the prime minister's office were quoted in the Israeli press complaining that the army chief was trying to blame the politicians for the military's failures.
But army radio reported yesterday that the foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, agreed that there needs to be a substantial easing of restrictions on the Palestinian population. The deputy prime minister, Ehud Olmert, was also reported to have backed the general's view.
Gen Ya'alon also waded into one of the most contentious issues of the day by saying the army had recommended a less controversial route for the steel and concrete "security fence" through the West Bank.
He said the military had warned that the fence, which digs deep into Palestinian territory, caging some towns and villages and cutting farmers off from their land, will make the lives of some Palestinians "unbearable" and require too many soldiers to guard it.
Further questions were raised yesterday after the chairman of parliament's defence budget committee revealed that the cost of the fence could triple to £1.3bn - or 3% of the national budget - if Mr Sharon fulfils his plan for the fence to run around Jewish settlements and the length of the Jordan valley so that it encircles the bulk of the Palestinian population.
Moshe Pitt
for your information
31.10.2003 18:11
killing people is wrong. but please, the control on palestinian movement goes far and far beyond any "security protection" for israelis.
justagirl