By KRISTEN ESS
Friday, October 31 2003


It is the first Friday of Ramadan. Upward of 400 elderly Palestinians left their homes in Bethlehem this morning to travel the short distance to pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem. This journey to the most significant mosque in Palestine should not take longer than 20 minutes. Hours later they have still not arrived.

A UN lawyer trying to pass out of Bethlehem in a UN issue jeep looked devastated and told me, “They used live fire. This is a group of old people. They shot a man in the head and a little boy saw it. I just saw him walking, his face is covered with tears.”

Israeli soldiers closed the checkpoint leading from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. It is front-page news in the Al Quds newspaper this morning that Bethlehem is once again completely closed. Israeli Occupation Forces never offer real reasons as to why, as if there could ever be reason enough to hold people captive in their towns and homes for years. IOF only says this, as every crime committed against the Palestinian people, is for their “security.” Security is not a question if one is sitting in a fortified tank or bulldozer, flying over a refugee camp in an Apache helicopter, or holding a gun at the head of an old man wanting to pray on the first Friday of Ramadan, his grandson’s hand in his.

The Israeli soldiers at Bethlehem’s Northern Checkpoint told the people no one could pass and they must return to their homes. A half hour later, after the people had not moved, Israeli soldiers said only people with “permission” could pass. A little while later Israeli soldiers said only those over 45 years old can pass. All the while, they did not let anyone through. Some people began to pray on the ground at the checkpoint. Other elderly people began to walk forward. As a young woman with tears in her eyes described it, "The people just refused to take it anymore. They just started going."

Another eyewitness journalist describes the minutes that followed. “Many of the people just went through. Some ran, others walked. And the soldiers just lost control. They started shooting. And they shot tear gas and sound bombs. They were beating people. They beat a man's skull with a rifle butt."

IOF shot tear gas and severely beat Palestinians at the Container Checkpoint in the northeastern part of Bethlehem earlier this week. The roads leading in or out of Bethlehem, if not covered with Israeli soldiers and their jeeps and guns, have been dug up by Israeli bulldozers. All Bethlehem area residents are trapped. Many have not left the town in years.

One man is seriously injured after being beaten in the skull. Several are handcuffed in the backs of jeeps, others are being held in the field next to the checkpoint. There are no reliable estimates on how many will be taken to Israeli prisons, or if they will be released.

As I walked away from the razor wire cutting into the ground in front of the checkpoint, roughly 35 elderly people were being lined up at gunpoint to wait their turn to walk through a new device at this checkpoint. IOF have installed a metal detector placed 10 feet in the air where each person must stand alone, where he or she becomes a perfect target for Israeli sniper fire, where everyone can see the humiliating search that ensues.

Source: The Palestine Chronicle – www.palestinechronicle.com

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*** Sig will be edited -> see rule #5 regarding political/religious content
Theodore Herzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization: "Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."

PALESTINIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
PRESS RELEASE
Date: 18 October 2003
Time: 10:30 GMT

Israeli incursion into al-Salam and al-Brazil neighborhoods in Rafah leaves 4 Palestinians dead and 24 wounded

For the 5th consecutive day, Israeli occupying forces continued military operations in the al-Salam and al-Brazil neighborhoods of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli occupying forces moved into al-Salam neighborhood on Tuesday morning, 14 October 2003 and into al-Brazil neighborhood the following day.

At the time of writing, 4 Palestinians, including a woman, have been killed in the two areas, and 24 have been wounded, including 9 children. 3 brothers were among the injured, after sustaining serious wounds while attempting to evacuate an injured person, who later died.

The incursion into al-Brazil neighborhood is the third carried out by Israeli occupying forces in the area in the past week. Israeli occupying forces first moved into Rafah refugee camp on Friday morning, 10 October 2003, in an operation that resulted in widespread damage and many civilian casualties (see PCHR’s press releases of 10 and 13 October 2003).

According to information available to PCHR, after Israeli occupying forces moved into the al-Salam and al-Brazil neighborhoods, they took up positions on the roofs of a number of houses. Israeli forces detained the residents of each house in one room and conducted raids of other houses in the area, forcing the residents to vacate the buildings. Local residents told PCHR’s field worker via telephone that Israeli occupying forces have so far demolished 6 houses in al-Brazil and 3 in al-Salam. They also destroyed a foodstuff factory, an electrical shop and much of the civilian infrastructure. Israeli forces have denied access to humanitarian organizations attempting to enter the areas and in one reported case an UNRWA water truck was fired upon by Israeli forces. Ambulances have also been denied access to affected areas, preventing many of the wounded from being evacuated to hospitals. Some of the wounded have been transported to hospitals by civilian vehicles, despite the severe risks involved.

During the incursion into al-Brazil neighborhood on Thursday and Friday, 16 and 17 October 2003, a number of Palestinian resistance men clashed with Israeli occupying forces, resulting in the deaths of 2 armed Palestinians:

1. Walid Mohammed Younis ‘Abdul Wahab, 37, hit by a live bullet to the chest; and

2. Tariq Subaih Abu al-Husain, 39, hit by several live bullets to the chest and the right shoulder.

Following intense shelling on Saturday morning, 18 October, 2003, Widad Kamel al-‘Ajrami, 33, along with her husband and 2 of her brothers, found an injured member if the Palestinian resistance outside their house in al-Brazil neighborhood. Soon after, the shelling resumed, wounding the 4 Palestinians. Widad was severely injured and later died from her wounds after being evacuated to hospital. The wounded member of the Palestinian resistance was identified as Hussam ‘Omar al-Mughayar, 22. He was hit by several live bullets to the abdomen and also succumbed to his injuries.

PCHR remains deeply concerned about the ongoing attacks by Israeli occupying forces on Palestinian civilians and property. PCHR calls upon the international community to immediately intervene to stop such attacks. PCHR reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their legal obligations to ensure respect for the Convention and take effective measures to stop grave breaches of the convention perpetrated by Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

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*** Sig will be edited -> see rule #5 regarding political/religious content
Theodore Herzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization: "Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."

UPDATE
Israeli invasion of Gaza refugee camps leave 7 dead and 65 injured meanwhile strict lock down of Palestinian territories continues
October, 11th 2003


On Friday October 10th, the 6th consecutive day that Gaza has been held under complete closure, Israeli occupying forces invaded the refugee camps of Yibna and al Shouot south of Rafah. Seven Palestinians have been killed and more than 60 injured. During the invasion, Israeli military bulldozers continued the land-razing operation, started on Monday. Approximately 400 dunums of Palestinian agricultural land between Morag settlement and Sofa Crossing has been razed and many homes and buildings destroyed.

According to witnesses the Israeli invasion was particularly heavy – the Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported that at around 12 midnight, more than 80 Israeli tanks, accompanied by military bulldozers and helicopters, moved approximately 300 meters into Blocks L and J of the Rafah refugee camp randomly shelling civilian residential homes and buildings. As the Palestinians fled to the streets to avoid being crushed to death in random indiscriminate shelling attacks, Israeli forces took up positions within homes and on the roofs of tall buildings. There were also reports that Israeli forces were firing gas grenades containing a black gas believed to be adamatite – the use of which is forbidden according to international law. Medical authorities urged people to avoid the gas at all costs, as it not only causes difficulty in breathing but seriously affects the nervous system.

Seven Palestinians were reported killed during the incursion. Among them were three children, of 15, 12 and 8 years. Two of them died when Israeli missiles blew their heads from their bodies. Israeli Occupying Forces also reportedly opened fire at Palestinian medics attempting to access the wounded, including an ambulance from the Abu Yousuf Najar Hospital in Rafah. The head of the hospital said they were severely under prepared to handle the number injured. Like most medical centers in the area the hospital is severely under equipped, emergency medical supplies are lacking because of the closures. The Abu Yousef Hospital is also very small and cannot cope with the more serious casualties requiring major surgery and intensive care; these cases are usually transferred to the European hospital or Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis. Such transfers have now been made incredibly difficult due to the extensive closures. The large Israeli military presence in this area has cut off all travel between Khan Younis and Rafah, and Israeli soldiers have continued to open fire at Palestinians moving in the area. Many ambulance drivers are being forced to resort to carrying critically ill Patients over rough unpaved back roads - this under threat of Israeli army tank and machine gun fire against anyone trying to circumvent checkpoints.

The total internal and external closure of the Gaza Strip, was imposed by Israeli Occupying Forces from early morning on Sunday, 5 October. All main internal roads were closed, segregating the Gaza Strip into four isolated zones, in addition to all external access routes to Israel and Egypt. The closure and occupation is ongoing and a further four Palestinians have been injured today – one an elderly man narrowly escaped as Israeli bulldozers began demolishing his house.

According to Israeli military sources, this operation is set to continue for several days. Israel has also ordered the continuation of a wider strict lockdown preventing all Palestinians from traveling within all Palestinian territories.

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*** Sig will be edited -> see rule #5 regarding political/religious content
Theodore Herzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization: "Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."

International intervention crucial after 12 Palestinians die in a day which saw 5 successive attacks on Gaza
October 22, 2003

12 Palestinians were killed on Monday in the most devastating series of attacks against the occupied population since the beginning of the Intifada. In a continuation of the extreme Israeli policy of extrajudicial assassinations, apache helicopters knowingly fired missiles into civilian crowds in a series of five successive strikes.

The fourth and most deadly of the apache attacks came at approximately 9pm Monday evening. Having first fired two missiles at a car traveling through the busy al – Sajaiyeh neighborhood, the Israeli helicopter doubled back and fired a third missile on the crowd of civilians who had rushed to help the two dead and several injured. A further seven civilians were killed with this third missile strike. One of whom was 35 year old Zain Shahin, a doctor from a local clinic who was attempting to help in the chaos of the scene.

There is no explanation for this appalling attack on a civilian population. Israel has not only adopted an illegal policy in assassinating Palestinian militants but is executing this policy with complete carelessness. 291 Palestinians have been killed in assassination attacks since September 2000. 143 of those killed were by-standers. This figure includes at least 32 children and 25 women. These extrajudicial killings are a grave breach of the 4th Geneva Convention and as such are universally considered war crimes.

Following the recent catastrophic raids on Rafah which killed 8, and left 1,240 homeless, and now these devastatingly careless extra judicial assassination attempts, Israel has taken the level of violence to a new unprecedented intensity. Despite this, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stood before the opening assembly of the Knesset’s winter session on Monday and attempted to convince the Israeli public that there was no alternative to the Road Map. Sharon called for all hopes to be focused on this American sponsored peace initiative.

It is hard to comprehend how recent Israeli policy of inflicting terrible violence and heavy casualties upon an unarmed occupied population can be reconciled with Sharon being at all serious about a Road Map he already killed many times, or indeed peace of any kind.

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*** Sig will be edited -> see rule #5 regarding political/religious content
Theodore Herzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization: "Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."

Unprecedented destruction - 3 apartment buildings demolished in Gaza Strip, as Israel continues grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law
October 27, 2003

Three apartment buildings were demolished yesterday in the town of al - Zahra south of Gaza City. The small town, home to approximately 3000 Palestinians was invaded during Saturday evening by 30 Israeli military vehicles, including several tanks and one bulldozer. The Israeli forces then began to evacuate the residents of the entire town ordering that they vacate to the nearby Nusseirat refugee camp.

The town of al – Zahra lies close to the illegal Israeli settlement of Netzarim. Aside from its illegality and the provocation it represents to the rightful Palestinian inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, the Netzarim settlement has also commanded much controversy within the state of Israel itself. The Gaza Strip has no sentimental value in the Israeli national ethos and the continued attempts by Israel to hold on to it are difficult to understand for many Israelis. Shlomo Avineri, a political scientist at Hebrew University, called in an op-ed column on Sunday in the newspaper Yediot Ahronot for settlers to evacuate Netzarim voluntarily. "They are demanding of Israeli society to defend something that cannot be defended". The Israeli army invests enormous resources and deploys huge forces to protect the small number of fanatical settlers in the Gaza Strip whose controversial presence creates unnecessary confrontations between them, the Israeli army and the Palestinian residents.

The justification provided by the Israeli forces for demolishing the three apartment buildings of al – Zahra was that the buildings were being used by Palestinian preventative security units to carry out surveillance on the Netzarim settlement. The mayor of the town said however, that the three buildings, which cost somewhere in the region of 750,000 dollars each, were the property of two Palestinian contracting companies, al - Zhafer and al - Rebat and that none of these buildings belonged to Palestinian Preventative security or police.

The huge scale, wanton destruction of Palestinian property and livelihood for the sake of providing fifty – odd settler homes with peace of mind is typical of the balance of equality between Israel and Palestine and the value placed upon the lives of the two. Some 7,000 Israelis live illegally in the Gaza Strip, in affluent, spacious, settlements whilst over 1.3 million Palestinians live in extremely deprived conditions, many are currently homeless and in some instances are living as many as forty to a room in make shift refugee shelters.

The three buildings demolished while still under construction in al – Zhafer could have provided approximately 150 desperately needed apartments for Palestinian families. Instead their destruction only led to further damage of existing homes in the area and further decreased the quality of life of the town’s residents as the demolition left a blanket of rubble and dust all over the area.

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*** Sig will be edited -> see rule #5 regarding political/religious content
Theodore Herzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization: "Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."

quote:

Originally posted by TranceGiant

Lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i didnt saw it comming

No offence palastinian...

cheap

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*** Sig will be edited -> see rule #5 regarding political/religious content
Theodore Herzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization: "Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."

quote:

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/

quote:

PALESTINIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PRESS RELEASE

you bring here 5 posts full of text taken from pro-palestinian sites biased against israel, i'm sorry but i dont think i gonna read it all...

i can also put here 10 pages from Israeli Settlers's webnews sites to prove something...but i dont...no one does.

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Best Album Ever:
* Infected Mushroom - B.P.Empire

quote:

Originally posted by Viber Lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i didnt saw it comming No offence palastinian...

hmm, small things,small minds

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Thank you for posting information that we would otherwise not see.

Don't be discouraged by the ignorant and small-minded.

I think that Israel knows that the US is in way over its head everywhere in the world and is imploding socially and economically as we speak. When that becomes more apparent and the tide turns, Israel will be on it's own and extremely vulnerable.

IOF and US terrorist are making a last, futile stand. I will enjoy watching the US be cut down a few notches as China becomes the world superpower in the coming years.

Keep the information flowing.

www.eliodiiorio.com

EL

quote:

Originally posted by ProDiGaL hmm, small things,small minds

STFU or STFU