1- Letter to the Israeli defence Minster - Gary Anderson -
2- Mass demolition in Hebron & Shooting at prisoners in K'tziot - Gosh
Shalom - 3-Neta Golan to be intregated by the Israeli police today - ISM
Media Office - 4-ISRAEL FEARS BEING EXPOSED - intresting point of view -
5- A game of darts on the football pitch - Muna Alfarah -
1-
Letter to the Israeli defence Minster
Attn.: Defence Minister, Mr.Shaol Mofaz
Mr. Mofaz:
I have received many communications regarding large escalations of
destruction in Hebron in recent days. It appears that the IDF attacks
are taking advantage of the media's focus on the tragic losses of
American and Israeli lives in the space shuttle disaster, as well as the
Iraq War issues.
I must protest your use of this period of inattention to launch even
more brutal assaults on
Palestinian homes and businesses in Hebron, and for the increased
brutalization of Palestinian detainees at Ketziot Prison in the Negev.
The world cannot "look the other way" forever.
Sincerely,
Gary Anderson
Lakewood, Colorado, USA.
=====================================================================2-
Mass demolition in Hebron & Shooting at prisoners in K'tziot
The military authorities seem to have made cynical use of an
"opportunity" to escalate the attack upon the Palestinians - while the
media are concentrating, to the virtual exclusion of anything else, upon
the space shuttle disaster, among whose victims is Ilan Ramon, the first
Israeli astronaut. Israeli radio did mention that 22 houses were being
demolished in Hebron; due to the total curfew it is difficult to find
out exactly but our contacts in Hebron itself have strong indications
that the large-scale demolition is actually ruining more homes. The
destruction seems to be especially in areas close to settler enclaves,
which the settlers have long coveted for further expansion.
Also about K'tziot, veteran human rights lawyer Tamar Peleg tells us that
the scale seems far larger than the "20 Palestinians hurt in prison
clashes" reported on the Ha'aretz website. A detainee managed to phone
friends outside and tell of at least seventy of detainees wounded by
heavy doses of tear gas and the shooting of "rubber bullets" (i.e.
rubber-covered metal bullets, which already proved to be lethal at close
range). Before being cut off, the detainee gave the names of fellow
detainees which he knew to be among the wounded and which he asked to
pass on: Muhammad Udeh, Sam Abu Tull, Amer Abu Halil, Islam Ja'idi, Abed
Faridy. At the time of writing, the confrontation at Ktziot camp seems to
be still going on. It is not clear how it started.
The K'tziot Prison Camp deep in the Negev Desert (known by Palestinians
as Ansar-2 or the Naqueb Prison) was originally opened during the first
intifada. It was closed down by Rabin in the heyday of the Oslo peace
process, and reopened by Sharon April 2002, during "Operation Defensive
Shield" (the invasion and reoccuption of the West Bank cities -
accompanied by mass detentions). Since then the camp had been constantly
expanding, to accomodate the increasing numbers of Palestinians detained
by the Israeli forces - altogether about ten thousand of whom more than a
thousand as "Administrative Detainee" - without trial.
The use made of the shuttle disaster bodes ill for what may happen in the
Palestinian territories when all the world's attention is drawn by
Bush's attack upon Iraq.
Protest letters to Defence Minister Mofaz
Fax: +972-3-6962757 / +972-3-6916940 / +972-3-6917915
email <sar@mod.gov.il> + copy to the Israeli embassy or consulate in your
own environment ( see: http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0czk0
)
============================================================================3-Neta
Golan to be intregated by the Israeli police today
Today at 11 am, Neta Golan Bilha, peace activist and co-founder of the
International Solidarity Movement will be interrogated by Israeli police
in Tel Aviv about her activities in relation to the Muqata incident last
year when ISM activists penetrated the Israeli blockae of Yasser Arafat's
headquarters (the Muqata) to bring food and medicine to those inside.
Neta is a Jew with Israeli citizenship. She is eight months pregnant and
very upset because her husband, who is Palestinian will not be able to
accompany her to Tel Aviv.
Recently, the Israeli right have been calling for a crackdown on
"fifth-columnists" such as Neta and several Israelis have been
imprisoned for refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories. It is
possible that, with the election behind them, these politicians believe
the time is right to make their move.
If you are in Tel Aviv at 11am and wish to show your support for Neta by
going to the police station please phone Adam Keller (Gush Shalom
spokesperson) on (03) 556 5804.
=================Michael
ISM Media Coordinator
Beit Sahour
Occupied Palestine
Phone: +972-2-2774602
Cell: +972-67-628439
web: http://www.palsolidarity.org
=============================================================================4-ISRAEL
FEARS BEING EXPOSED
Israel is not like a powerful central dictatorship that does not care
what anyone else thinks. Israel is like the British rule of India,
Apartheid South Africa, and America during the days of segregation. It
has to convince its supporters it is a democracy, even though it clearly
is not. Israel is horrified that its supporters one day will see through
the lie it is based on.
Israel is not afraid of terrorism. Israel widely publicizes terrorist
acts against it. Americans and Jews are taught that Israel is a
democracy that is waging a war against bloodthirsty terrorists.
Israel is scared of Americans and Jews realizing that it is really a
tyrannical country. It is photos of Israeli soldiers beating up people
in peaceful protests that are horrifying to Israel and its supporters.
That is why Israel’s supporters panicked when pictures appeared in the
American media of Israeli soldiers strong-arming peaceful Palestinian
protestors during the first Intifada but have barely noticed the
Palestinian bystanders that have been murdered in Israel’s
assassinations. That is why the Israeli politicians cried in public when
Baruch Goldstein massacred people in a mosque but merely said it was
slightly ‘unwise’ to blow up an entire city block with children on it
that also had one member of Hamas. And that is also why Ariel Sharon is
now ethnically cleansing West Bank Palestinians more blatantly than
Israel was already doing before.
ISRAEL FEARS GIVING PALESTINIANS THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Israel doesn’t fear squabbling over land either. It has the weapons and
the power to do it. It fears giving Palestinians the right to vote in a
single unified democracy. When Israel’s supporters are asked about this,
they try to get around it by talking about population statistics,
birthrates, and complexities because they cannot answer it.
PALESTINIANS MUST EXPOSE ISRAELI APARTHEID AND DEMAND THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Palestinians can break the chains that bind them. They should use massive
civil disobedience to expose the brutality of the Israeli apartheid
state and to make the demand for democracy.
Israel can thwart demonstrations by provoking Palestinian demonstrators
into physically resisting back. But Palestinian demonstrations will be
unstoppable if the demonstrators do not physically resist at all even if
attacked. Israel cannot attack perfectly peaceful demonstrators without
showing the rest of the world how truly undemocratic it really is. That
is what Israel is really horrified of. This is the crucial aspect of
nonviolent resistance. And this is what will totally overwhelm Israel
and its supporters.
The Palestinians should also base their resistance on a crystal clear
goal. They should seek the right to vote in a single unified democracy.
And they should not stop this movement until they get it, even if it
requires major worldwide hunger strikes. This will give their protests
the direction they need in order to succeed. And this is the key issue
that they need in order to actually overcome Israeli Apartheid.
HOW NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE WORKS
Nonviolent resistance is an extremely active, confrontational form of
resistance that was used by Martin Luther King and Gandhi to
successfully resist other similar Apartheid regimes. Basically, the
protestors recognize that the regime has to lie to its supporters and
tell its supporters it is a democracy. So the protestors refuse to
cooperate with the regime’s oppressive restrictions. This forces the
regime to either shut each restriction down or else show its brutality
to the world by attacking the protestors. The protestors do not strike
back or show any anger because their goal is to expose the regime.
The regime seeks to conceal itself so it tries to blame the protestors,
tries to stir them up into punching back, publicizes any violent acts
that anyone even remotely related to the protestors' side does, and
hides its own violence for as long as it can. So the protestors must
patiently persist for a long period until it is finally publicized. The
public also needs to be unified because the regime will try to focus on
the violent acts of anyone it can find in order to shift attention away
from its own brutality. Finally key leaders of the protests, or even the
protestors themselves, may engage in hunger strikes to shove the other
side into making important concessions.
PALESTINIANS CAN EXPOSE ISRAELI APARTHEID
Nonviolent resistance works when demonstrators focus on specific concrete
issues, each for at least a minimum of one month at a time, and in
numbers of people large enough to be visible. Demonstrators should
unceasingly focus on one issue right after another in order to overwhelm
the regime.
One month the Palestinians can focus on building permits. The next month
they can focus on checkpoints. ID cards. Restricted roads. Restricted
water. Restricted land use. The Palestinians should not stop until they
are given the full, unhindered right to vote.
The demonstrators can use marches, sit-ins, strikes, boycotts, mass
meetings and hunger strikes. And supporters of all backgrounds from
around the world should join them.
Each group of demonstrators should consist of people that have already
been trained in this
form of resistance, that have already promised not to retaliate in any
way if attacked, and
that have been screened for this in actual rehearsals. Supporters that
believe they are not
capable of restraining themselves if attacked should still be used in
other logistical functions,
such as in communication and transportation. Experienced demonstrators
should act as marshals that direct the protests as peacefully as
possible.
This is an active form of resistance. The term ‘Nonviolent Resistance’
tells us what it avoids using. The term ‘Disciplined Noncompliant
Exposing Resistance’ can tell the Palestinians what it actually does
use.
PALESTINIANS MUST DEMAND DEMOCRACY
The Palestinians should emphasize they want the democratic right to vote
in one united country without formalized rivalries. They should even
name their movement after democracy. And if asked why they should merely
respond, 'Because I am a Man. I am a Woman. I deserve to be treated like
a human being. And I believe all issues should be dealt with through a
democratic process.' That's it.
This would put Israel and America on the defensive because they must
convince themselves that Israel is the democracy and everyone else is a
terrorist. Their goal is to conceal and complicate. Your goal is to
expose and clarify.
THE PEACE PROCESS MUST DEMAND DEMOCRACY
The peace process failed because Israel tried to substitute land division
for actual democracy. It could keep creating policies to oppress one
group without its consent. The peace process focused on land when it
should have focused on everyone’s dignity. The peace process failed
because our leaders did not have the courage to take the stances needed
in order to truly solve this conflict.
This is a conflict over rivalry, not land. If I see the ocean as a
precious resource that will aid us all, then I will fish in it as
productively as possible. I will not blame you for the fish I have not
caught yet. But if I believe that I will only benefit from using the sea
if you do not, then I will try to expand my use and restrict yours at
all costs no matter how absurd this gets.
The same is true of land. That is why Israel limits Palestinian building
permits while it subsidizes settlements it cannot afford. That is why
Israel says it is desperate for more Jewish immigrants while Palestinian
refugees live in grim impoverished camps right next door in Lebanon. And
that is why about one million Palestinians are packed like sardines into
a tiny cage called the Gaza Strip while the actual lands where many of
them came from are sparsely populated. (Alman Abu Sitta, ‘The
Implementation of the Right to Return’)
Israel’s Law of Return gives automatic citizenship to any Jew from around
the world as soon as he arrives but does not apply to Palestinian
refugees. Israel currently imports foreign labor.
A ‘two state solution’ formalizes the rivalry that has torn the people
apart. A single democracy replaces it with common citizenship. It views
justice in terms of each citizen’s humanity rather than superficial
prejudiced categories. It deals with the roots of the problem, not with
mere superficial geographical boundaries.
ISRAEL HAS ABUSED THE LAW
Israel has used the law to hide and legitimize the oppression of one
group by another. It says that Palestinians merely ‘Do not have permits’
when it bulldozes their shops and homes. This shifts the focus from each
oppressive act’s actual goals and onto technical details.
It is no different than a doctor that covers up the patient’s gun shot
wounds rather than treats him. Israel does this to maintain the lie that
it is civilized even though it really is not. It is legal malpractice on
a massive scale. And we all have a duty to expose and resist malpractice
when it is present.
Law is designed to aid the functioning of all citizens, not to oppress
certain ones. Anyone that supports Israel’s apartheid policies has shown
an utmost contemptible disrespect for Law. Anyone that demands that a
real democracy be setup, where all citizens may take part in forming the
laws that shall govern them, has shown the highest respect for Law.
ISLAM MUST RISE TO THIS CHALLENGE
Martin Luther King and Gandhi viewed nonviolent resistance as part of
vital spiritual struggles. The Palestinians may show the Islamic World
how to use nonviolent resistance to expose how the West hypocritically
oppresses other people while calling itself civilized. And Islam can
perfect nonviolent resistance and bring it to new heights that the world
has never seen before.
PALESTINIANS MUST RISE TO THIS CHALLENGE
Palestinians are extremely upset over Israel’s apartheid policies and
ethnic cleansing. Palestinians need to channel that anger into massive
strategies that will work. This may happen naturally once this strategy
shows signs of success.
The Palestinians face overwhelming conditions right now. But I believe
that they will be able to regroup in the near future and will be capable
of using this strategy on a large scale.
CONSCIENTIOUS JEWS MUST RISE TO THIS CHALLENGE
Palestinians and Jews should unite in replacing this apartheid state with
a real democracy. Their futures are intertwined and democracy builds
bridges. Israeli Apartheid lives off of division, conflict and fear.
That is why Israel has made the world far more dangerous for the Jewish
people and has greatly fueled anti-Semitism.
No conscientious Jew should remain silent. Jewish people should join
Palestinian demonstrations
just as white Americans joined black Civil Rights demonstrations. You
will come out as the heroes
in history. And those that staunchly supported this unjust discriminatory
regime will come out as the villains.
Justice is a human issue, not an arbitrary category. If you do not
believe this, please read Martin
Luther King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ repeatedly. One cannot
support the rights of some
people while one conveniently ignores the rights of others.
============================================================================5-
A game of darts on the football pitch
Gaza @ 2 pm Friday Jan. 31 2003
Islam a six year old boy from Tel El-Zaatar in Jabalia refugee camp was
on his grandmother's roof, watching the neibourghood children playing
street football, on a beautiful sunny day (at least that's how it seemed
for a short while).
Tamer, aged 16 was kicking the ball to bilal also 16, Abd El-Halim age 13
hurried up to kick the ball back, the rest of the team were busy with
the game, Trying hard to have some fun in the big prison called Gaza,
where all what the kids hear and experience daily are shooting and
killing, army tanks, Apache helicopters and the ever present f-16
fighting falcon, incursions, checkpoints and curfews are always the
order of the day. This all amounts to no food no fun, no education, no
clean water and no normal life for the children of Palestine.
At 2 PM on that sunny winter afternoon an Israeli Merkava battle tank
fired two shells that landed in the middle of the boys makeshift
football field while they were playing. It was GAME OVER on the pitch
and for some other people who were injured inside their homes.
Nine of the cheerful footballers are now lying wounded on the Al-Awda
hospital beds, 3 are in critical condition. The total number of the
wounded was 15, the shells fired were flechette rounds that contain
thousands of small metal darts, each four centimeters in length. Having
been shot from a tank, the round explodes in the air and tiny darts
scatter over a 300 by 100 meter area, needless to say these rounds are
illegal under international law, and so is the occupation by the way.
While visiting the kids at the Al-Awda hospital, I asked one of the boys
does it hurt? He answered only when I laugh.
Mona Elfarra
Union Of Health Work Committees
Gaza - Palestine
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