Issue No. 606
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3 - 9 October 2002 Issue No. 606 Region |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Nothing to celebrate
Israeli forces have partially ended their siege of Arafat's headquarters, however, attacks on Palestinians continue. Khaled Amayreh reports from Hebron
The Israeli army, which had partially lifted its 10-day siege on the almost completely destroyed headquarters of Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman, Yasser Arafat, on 28 September, has moved to reinstate the siege in a step-by-step manner.
On Tuesday, Israeli troops posted snipers on the rooftops of buildings adjacent to the devastated compound, placing Arafat and his aides in their line of fire.
The gradual re-imposition of the siege seems to signal a renewed determination, on the part of the Israeli government, to effect "a substantive change" on the PA's leadership.
Israeli Defence Minister, Binyamin Ben Eliezer, publicly acknowledged that his army had lifted the siege because of US pressure on Tuesday.
"We left the Muqata'a [compound], not because we thought we had made a mistake, but because the United States put pressure on us to leave, that's all," the minister said on Israeli public radio.
Ben Eliezer is the most senior Israeli official to admit the reason for the sudden end to the 10-day blockade of Arafat's Ramallah base on Sunday, after Israel had insisted it would only leave if wanted men inside gave themselves up.
While Israel has focused on relations with the US, over possible curbs on its military activities against the Palestinians in the run-up to a possible conflict in Iraq, daily violence raged on in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
This week, Israeli troops killed at least 12 Palestinians, including four school children, a mother of six, a middle-aged worker and three teenagers, who were taking part in peaceful demonstrations.
On 29 September, Israeli soldiers manning armoured personnel carriers patrolling the streets of Nablus, the largest town in the West Bank, opened fire indiscriminately on school children, killing at least two of them, and injuring more than 25 others.
According to eyewitnesses, the troops, using heavy machine-guns, fired on the children who were on their way to school, killing 10-year-old Rami Khalil. A large-caliber bullet hit Khalil in the head, causing a massive brain rupture. He died instantly.
Nearly five hours later, another Israeli soldier murdered a Palestinian child, 11-year-old Mahmoud Hamza Zaghlul, outside his home in the Ras El-Ein neighbourhood.
"How much longer will the world remain silent in the face of this genocide?" lamented the boy's father. "Why are they killing our children? Did Mahmoud pose any threat to the Merkava [tank]? Suppose he did hurl a stone at that huge tank, did he deserve to be executed for that?"
Local Palestinian leaders accused the Israeli army of deliberately targeting children, especially those who go to school in defiance of the Israeli-imposed curfew.
"They [the Israeli army] believe that nothing hurts Palestinians more than killing their children and destroying their homes. The occupation army has been successful on both counts," said Nablus governor, Mahmoud Alul.
More killings of Palestinian civilians were reported in the Gaza Strip. On Monday night, an Israeli tank fired several artillery shells at the Shujaiya neighbourhood, east of Gaza city, killing Salah Bahar, 50, a farmer. Earlier, another Israeli artillery shell hit the home of Subhiyya Ali Sufi, 43, in Rafah. On Monday, the mother of six children was declared brain-dead.
On 25 September, Israeli troops destroyed the home of the former mayor of Dura, Mahmoud Nammoura, as a reprisal for his two sons' involvement in an attack on an Israeli military convoy near Hebron.
"When I told him that what they were doing was illegal, the officer in charge said 'I'm the law, do you understand?'"
Infuriated by the overwhelming brutality of seeing his home reduced to rubble, Nammoura told the officer that by brutalising innocent Palestinians, Israel would only succeed in breeding more suicide bombers.
"Look, my sons didn't attack Israeli civilians, they didn't attack restaurants, they attacked armed soldiers occupying our country and repressing our people. My sons are not terrorists, they are freedom fighters. You are forcing us to become suicide bombers, we shall all become suicide bombers. I will ask all my children and grandchildren to become suicide bombers so that one day we may get rid of your Nazism."
The occupation troops didn't leave Dura after the demolition, instead taking positions on several rooftops in the small town, harassing and even terrorising townspeople.
At one point, they stormed the local mosque and hoisted the Israeli flag atop the minaret. The provocative act infuriated the people of the town.
"How would Jews feel if Nazis hoisted the Swastika atop a Jewish synagogue. We have the same feeling when we see the Israeli flag atop our holy places. Israel represents to us what the Nazis represented for the Jews," said Hasan Al- Hurub, who lives near the mosque.
The Israeli army destroyed two more homes in Hebron on 25 September, one belonging to Abdul Khaleq Natshe, a local Islamist spokesman.
The destruction of his home signalled a marked escalation of Israeli repression of Palestinians. For the first time, even the homes of political activists were being targeted for demolition.
Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians organised marches on 28 September, marking the second anniversary of the Intifada.
Speakers stressed passive resistance and non-violence as a means to avoid giving the Israeli army a pretext to murder more civilians.
However, the Israeli army seemed hell-bent on killing and terrorising Palestinian civilians irrespective of whether protests are peaceful or not. Israeli troops opened fire on the peaceful marches in Gaza, killing two young boys, one in Dir Al-Balah, the other in Rafah.
This ruthless repression is playing into the hands of hard- line elements, in particular Islamist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Indeed, it vindicates their view that Israel only understands the language of force, and is intent on butchering the Palestinians.
"If we hurl stones, they will kill us. If we stay at home, they will kill us. If we go to school, they will kill us. If we hold peaceful marches, they will kill us. If they are going to kill us anyway, then we must kill them as well," said Hamas official, Ismael Abu Shanab.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was quoted as saying that Israel would "end Palestinian terror" in a few months.
It is not clear what Sharon has in mind, but many Palestinians dread the prospect of wide-scale massacres assuming genocidal proportions, especially if and when the US launches its threatened war on Iraq.
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