July 5, 2007 Commuting to work
Dear friends and family,
This morning at about 9:30 am we received a call from our landlord that a young man from Kifl Haris (the village next to us to the east) was being detained and beaten at Zatara checkpoint, which is only about 15-20 minutes from where we live. Beth and I were out of the house in less than 3 minutes and luckily caught a service (shared taxi) right away. We arrived at the checkpoint before 10:00 am.
We had to go through the checkpoint before we got out of the service. While the soldier was checking IDs he looked up and saw me, smiled and yelled “Berkeley!” I had gone through the same checkpoint the previous day and this soldier had demanded that I get out of the service so he could question me.
“What are you doing here?”
“Visiting.”
(with a look of surprise) “Who are you visiting?”
“A former student who lives in Ramallah.” (Which was true. I was on my way to see Amjad who had first been my student in 1998 when he was 19 years old. I went to his wedding when I was here in 2005. Now he has a baby.)
“Don’t you have any Jewish friends?”
“Yes, and Arab friends.”
“Where are you from?”
“Berkeley.”
“Berkeley! You know what I don’t like about Berkeley? They hate Israel!”
“25% of the population of Berkeley is Jewish. I am Jewish.” (Notice I didn’t really respond to his statement.)
“You are Jewish! That is very good. Be careful here.”
So anyway, we got out of the service after we went through the checkpoint but we didn’t see anything unusual and we couldn’t find anyone being detained. We called the Israeli Army Humanitarian Office to ask them to inquire about the incident but we didn’t really expect them to call us back, despite the fact that they promised to do so in just 5 minutes. So I had the bright idea to ask my soldier friend who didn’t like Berkeley for information. We walked over to the booth and I said to him, “Soldier who doesn’t like where I come from, I want to ask you a question.” I asked him where the man that was detained just a short while ago was taken. He started off denying that there had been any man that was detained or any problem at all. Beth and I continued to ask questions and finally he admitted that there was a man who had gotten very upset earlier when he was not allowed through the checkpoint. His partner joined in the conversation at some point to correct something that my soldier had said. It soon became clear to us that the incident not only had happened but we were actually talking to the two soldiers who had been involved. They claimed that although a gun was never pointed at the man, he grabbed the barrel. They admitted that the man was hit but just to teach him that it was absolutely forbidden to touch a soldier’s gun. Then they said that they gave him some chocolate milk and he went home.
During the conversation my soldier explained to me that the Israeli army is the most humane in the world. It also came out that he is a paratrooper and that they are planning to “go into” (invade) Jenin next week. I can’t believe that he would actually divulge such information to us, but chances are more that 50 – 50 that they will invade somewhere next week and Jenin is definitely a likely candidate. (By the way Nablus was reinvaded two days ago but ISM had enough support so they didn’t call us to come up again.)
On our way home from Zatara we called the Kifl Haris municipality and found out the name and phone number of the man who was “hit”. We called him and arranged to take his statement. We arrived at his house at about 11:30 am. Of course we were seated with half a dozen of his family and friends and served in sequence, juice, coffee, cookies and tea.
It turns out that the man, Osama, is a Civil Engineer and he told us that he had been travelling that morning on a bus to Salfit to go to work. Soldiers stopped the bus at Zatara checkpoint and everyone was ordered off. IDs were collected and most passengers were eventually allowed back onto the bus. However Osama was told that he could not proceed on the bus and must turn back. He told us that he tried to explain to the soldiers that he travels to Salfit daily for his job and insisted that they must be making a mistake in denying him passage. He told us that one soldier poked the barrel of his gun into his belly, which he pushed away. Again the soldier pressed the barrel into his belly, and once again he moved it aside. Then the soldier started to punch and hit him while a second soldier hit him from behind on his head. Osama said that the first soldier told him to kneel, and when he refused the soldier began to kick him. Blood started to run down his head and they stopped beating him. Then they gave him water to wash the wound and also to drink. When we asked if they gave him chocolate milk he said yes. (This must be the humanitarian part.) Then he said that they told him to go home, which he did.
Osama didn’t understand why he had been turned back because he had never had a problem with the army before and does not know why he was not allowed through the checkpoint when other men from his village were. He showed us wounds on his left arm, right shin, the back of his neck and the top of his head. He also showed a shirt which was covered in blood.
Then he invited us to lunch. Of course it was delicious. It was a traditional Palestinian dish called Moqlubah (means upside down) made of rice, chick peas, silvered almonds and spices that I couldn’t even begin to guess what they were. There was also delicious roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots. And yoghurt and soup. Then another round of coffee. We finally were able to leave at about 2:30 pm. We promised Osama that a womyn from IWPS would accompany him to work on Saturday. (Friday is the Muslim Sabbath and so no one works that day.) Hopefully, nothing will happen and he will be able to go to work without a problem. Inshallah.
Love,
Wendy
This morning at about 9:30 am we received a call from our landlord that a young man from Kifl Haris (the village next to us to the east) was being detained and beaten at Zatara checkpoint, which is only about 15-20 minutes from where we live. Beth and I were out of the house in less than 3 minutes and luckily caught a service (shared taxi) right away. We arrived at the checkpoint before 10:00 am.
We had to go through the checkpoint before we got out of the service. While the soldier was checking IDs he looked up and saw me, smiled and yelled “Berkeley!” I had gone through the same checkpoint the previous day and this soldier had demanded that I get out of the service so he could question me.
“What are you doing here?”
“Visiting.”
(with a look of surprise) “Who are you visiting?”
“A former student who lives in Ramallah.” (Which was true. I was on my way to see Amjad who had first been my student in 1998 when he was 19 years old. I went to his wedding when I was here in 2005. Now he has a baby.)
“Don’t you have any Jewish friends?”
“Yes, and Arab friends.”
“Where are you from?”
“Berkeley.”
“Berkeley! You know what I don’t like about Berkeley? They hate Israel!”
“25% of the population of Berkeley is Jewish. I am Jewish.” (Notice I didn’t really respond to his statement.)
“You are Jewish! That is very good. Be careful here.”
So anyway, we got out of the service after we went through the checkpoint but we didn’t see anything unusual and we couldn’t find anyone being detained. We called the Israeli Army Humanitarian Office to ask them to inquire about the incident but we didn’t really expect them to call us back, despite the fact that they promised to do so in just 5 minutes. So I had the bright idea to ask my soldier friend who didn’t like Berkeley for information. We walked over to the booth and I said to him, “Soldier who doesn’t like where I come from, I want to ask you a question.” I asked him where the man that was detained just a short while ago was taken. He started off denying that there had been any man that was detained or any problem at all. Beth and I continued to ask questions and finally he admitted that there was a man who had gotten very upset earlier when he was not allowed through the checkpoint. His partner joined in the conversation at some point to correct something that my soldier had said. It soon became clear to us that the incident not only had happened but we were actually talking to the two soldiers who had been involved. They claimed that although a gun was never pointed at the man, he grabbed the barrel. They admitted that the man was hit but just to teach him that it was absolutely forbidden to touch a soldier’s gun. Then they said that they gave him some chocolate milk and he went home.
During the conversation my soldier explained to me that the Israeli army is the most humane in the world. It also came out that he is a paratrooper and that they are planning to “go into” (invade) Jenin next week. I can’t believe that he would actually divulge such information to us, but chances are more that 50 – 50 that they will invade somewhere next week and Jenin is definitely a likely candidate. (By the way Nablus was reinvaded two days ago but ISM had enough support so they didn’t call us to come up again.)
On our way home from Zatara we called the Kifl Haris municipality and found out the name and phone number of the man who was “hit”. We called him and arranged to take his statement. We arrived at his house at about 11:30 am. Of course we were seated with half a dozen of his family and friends and served in sequence, juice, coffee, cookies and tea.
It turns out that the man, Osama, is a Civil Engineer and he told us that he had been travelling that morning on a bus to Salfit to go to work. Soldiers stopped the bus at Zatara checkpoint and everyone was ordered off. IDs were collected and most passengers were eventually allowed back onto the bus. However Osama was told that he could not proceed on the bus and must turn back. He told us that he tried to explain to the soldiers that he travels to Salfit daily for his job and insisted that they must be making a mistake in denying him passage. He told us that one soldier poked the barrel of his gun into his belly, which he pushed away. Again the soldier pressed the barrel into his belly, and once again he moved it aside. Then the soldier started to punch and hit him while a second soldier hit him from behind on his head. Osama said that the first soldier told him to kneel, and when he refused the soldier began to kick him. Blood started to run down his head and they stopped beating him. Then they gave him water to wash the wound and also to drink. When we asked if they gave him chocolate milk he said yes. (This must be the humanitarian part.) Then he said that they told him to go home, which he did.
Osama didn’t understand why he had been turned back because he had never had a problem with the army before and does not know why he was not allowed through the checkpoint when other men from his village were. He showed us wounds on his left arm, right shin, the back of his neck and the top of his head. He also showed a shirt which was covered in blood.
Then he invited us to lunch. Of course it was delicious. It was a traditional Palestinian dish called Moqlubah (means upside down) made of rice, chick peas, silvered almonds and spices that I couldn’t even begin to guess what they were. There was also delicious roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots. And yoghurt and soup. Then another round of coffee. We finally were able to leave at about 2:30 pm. We promised Osama that a womyn from IWPS would accompany him to work on Saturday. (Friday is the Muslim Sabbath and so no one works that day.) Hopefully, nothing will happen and he will be able to go to work without a problem. Inshallah.
Love,
Wendy
July 2, 2007 The everyday sorrows of occupation
Dear friends and family,
Since I’ve been here IWPS has been working with people in the area trying to help out with various problems they are facing as a result of the occupation. Here is a short list of examples.
A farmer from Deir Istiya was hit by the car of a settler while being harassed and then beaten by soldiers. The road he was using is the one his family has been using for generations and there is no other one available to him. When we met with him and some of the other farmers who have endured the same treatment they told us that they were not interested in seeking medical expense reimbursement or even a simple apology. “What is done is done.” Their only concern was to stop the bad behavior of the soldiers and settlers.
While we were taking the report of the farmer hit by the settler car we were being served numerous rounds of tea and coffee at his home. His family and some of the other farmers were sitting with us. All of a sudden the kids started shouting and running out into the fields. They heard wild pigs and went to chase them away. These pigs are huge nuisances and very destructive to crops. Apparently the farmers think the settlers released them. They told us that years ago there was unexplained deer who roamed the fields who were also nuisances but they were easily trapped and the farmers could use their meat. When the pigs arrived mysteriously they were much more difficult to deal with. Pigs are much more difficult to trap and even if they did succeed in trapping them, Muslims are forbidden to eat pork.
We met with another man from Deir Istiya who used to work in Israel and has turned to farming to feed his family (Palestinians have been prohibited to work in Israel since 2001. This used to be a significant portion of Palestinians’ income. Now the Palestinian labor in Israel has been replaced by immigrants, mostly from Thailand). He recently built a chicken coop for 1,000 chickens. He has received a demolition order for it because he built without a permit. If he doesn’t remove it by July 21st the army will come to bulldoze it. Furthermore, they will charge him for the expense to do this. Since the occupation began in 1967 Palestinians are virtually never given permits to build anything. Not new homes, room additions or even chicken coops. And when they are given permits the permit will always specify that they are “inhabitants but not owners”. When you think about the typical large Palestinian family and how the population has grown since 1967 you can imagine the crowded conditions in which they live.
Yesterday we accompanied some shepherds from the village of Salam. There is now a Jewish by-pass road on the land that their families have used for generations to graze their goats and sheep. They are not allowed to use it and they need to cross it at least twice a day. So they are often caught and stopped by soldiers. One of them was beaten by a soldier last week when he was caught crossing. He showed us his broken finger. Because we were there they were allowed to cross. But we can’t be there every day.
We took a report today in a village that was invaded last night by the Israeli army. The army entered at approximately 3:00 am with about 5 or 6 jeeps and 40 soldiers. They shot live ammunition and sound bombs and then surrounded a house. They forced the family outside and searched the home for one of the sons. When they didn’t find him they took Samir, a 30 year old mentally ill son of the family as a human shield to go to the home of the “wanted” son. The mother begged them not to abuse him because she feared they would exacerbate his mental illness. I got the impression that his illness was something like PTSD but I can’t be sure.
Yesterday, while we were visiting one of the families in Hares, one of the womyn asked us if we could go to Tel Aviv. We were very uncomfortable but had to answer truthfully. Yes, we could. She just nodded wishfully. You may think this was a strange question but I have been asked it very often here. Another very common question is whether I can go to Jerusalem. West Bank Arabs are not allowed to go to Jerusalem, or to cross the green line (the internationally recognized Israel). This means that they cannot pray at the Holy Sanctuary (Dome of the Rock) which is the third most holy place in Islam nor can they go to the sea shore although it is less than an hour’s drive away. Both these sorrows are felt very keenly.
Love,
Wendy
Since I’ve been here IWPS has been working with people in the area trying to help out with various problems they are facing as a result of the occupation. Here is a short list of examples.
A farmer from Deir Istiya was hit by the car of a settler while being harassed and then beaten by soldiers. The road he was using is the one his family has been using for generations and there is no other one available to him. When we met with him and some of the other farmers who have endured the same treatment they told us that they were not interested in seeking medical expense reimbursement or even a simple apology. “What is done is done.” Their only concern was to stop the bad behavior of the soldiers and settlers.
While we were taking the report of the farmer hit by the settler car we were being served numerous rounds of tea and coffee at his home. His family and some of the other farmers were sitting with us. All of a sudden the kids started shouting and running out into the fields. They heard wild pigs and went to chase them away. These pigs are huge nuisances and very destructive to crops. Apparently the farmers think the settlers released them. They told us that years ago there was unexplained deer who roamed the fields who were also nuisances but they were easily trapped and the farmers could use their meat. When the pigs arrived mysteriously they were much more difficult to deal with. Pigs are much more difficult to trap and even if they did succeed in trapping them, Muslims are forbidden to eat pork.
We met with another man from Deir Istiya who used to work in Israel and has turned to farming to feed his family (Palestinians have been prohibited to work in Israel since 2001. This used to be a significant portion of Palestinians’ income. Now the Palestinian labor in Israel has been replaced by immigrants, mostly from Thailand). He recently built a chicken coop for 1,000 chickens. He has received a demolition order for it because he built without a permit. If he doesn’t remove it by July 21st the army will come to bulldoze it. Furthermore, they will charge him for the expense to do this. Since the occupation began in 1967 Palestinians are virtually never given permits to build anything. Not new homes, room additions or even chicken coops. And when they are given permits the permit will always specify that they are “inhabitants but not owners”. When you think about the typical large Palestinian family and how the population has grown since 1967 you can imagine the crowded conditions in which they live.
Yesterday we accompanied some shepherds from the village of Salam. There is now a Jewish by-pass road on the land that their families have used for generations to graze their goats and sheep. They are not allowed to use it and they need to cross it at least twice a day. So they are often caught and stopped by soldiers. One of them was beaten by a soldier last week when he was caught crossing. He showed us his broken finger. Because we were there they were allowed to cross. But we can’t be there every day.
We took a report today in a village that was invaded last night by the Israeli army. The army entered at approximately 3:00 am with about 5 or 6 jeeps and 40 soldiers. They shot live ammunition and sound bombs and then surrounded a house. They forced the family outside and searched the home for one of the sons. When they didn’t find him they took Samir, a 30 year old mentally ill son of the family as a human shield to go to the home of the “wanted” son. The mother begged them not to abuse him because she feared they would exacerbate his mental illness. I got the impression that his illness was something like PTSD but I can’t be sure.
Yesterday, while we were visiting one of the families in Hares, one of the womyn asked us if we could go to Tel Aviv. We were very uncomfortable but had to answer truthfully. Yes, we could. She just nodded wishfully. You may think this was a strange question but I have been asked it very often here. Another very common question is whether I can go to Jerusalem. West Bank Arabs are not allowed to go to Jerusalem, or to cross the green line (the internationally recognized Israel). This means that they cannot pray at the Holy Sanctuary (Dome of the Rock) which is the third most holy place in Islam nor can they go to the sea shore although it is less than an hour’s drive away. Both these sorrows are felt very keenly.
Love,
Wendy
June 30, 2007 A good-will package, invasions included
Dear friends and family,
We returned from Nablus last night. It had been invaded by the Israeli occupation forces early Thursday morning and we received a call at the house from the ISM coordinator at about noon asking us to come and help them out. Kim, one of the other IWPS womyn, and I arrived there at about 5:00 pm and found 18 other Internationals and half a dozen Palestinian coordinators of ISM organizing three teams to go out into the Old City and Balata Refugee Camp. Both areas were under curfew with houses that had been transformed into military posts.
Sami, one of the Palestinian Coordinators and a member of the Palestinian Medical Relief Services, led my team of eight Internationals through the Old City. We were looking for any families who might need medical assistance or food. We saw a few military jeeps but they didn’t seem very interested in us, much to my relief. In the past when I have participated in this kind of activity the soldiers have told us to leave because it is a closed military zone and if we don’t we will be arrested. Being arrested often means automatic deportation and banishment for at least 10 years. This is one my greatest fears. (Much greater than being hit at a demo or getting caught in crossfire.)
While out walking we saw many people on the street which surprised me since there was a curfew in effect. I remember walking through Ramallah during curfew and it was like a ghost town. But Nablus is a different story, considered to be much more militant. Even so, mostly it was just young boys and teenagers out on the streets looking for jeeps to throw stones at. There were a few men sitting outside their closed shops drinking tea. We also came across a family consisting of a father, three sons and a daughter. (I presume the mother was at home.) They father thanked us for being there and the kids smiled at us so sweetly. The smell of tear gas was suffocating and we constantly heard explosions and gunfire. We did not come across anyone who needed aid, nor did we find an occupied house to help out. (One of the other teams did help a womyn with a baby get back to her home.)
We went back to the hotel at about 9:30 pm where we were to spend the night. At about 10:30 pm one of the medics came to ask us to accompany him to a house that had just been demolished because he wanted to retrieve a body that was under the rubble. He had tried and the soldiers wouldn’t allow him to do it. He thought they might if we were there. But it was dark and we couldn’t walk since the Palestinian coordinators said that it was too dangerous. In the dark the Israelis would think we were Palestinian fighters and the Palestinian fighters would think we were Special Forces. In either case we would be shot. So the medic tried to transport us in his ambulance but just when we were piling into it an army jeep rounded the corner. A soldier got out and said he’d arrest us all, including the Palestinian medic, and so we skedaddled back inside the hotel and the medic went off by himself.
The next day the military retreated after carrying out numerous arrests and an assassination of a member of the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades. Mohammad, the lead Palestinian Coordinator said that the army could very well be back in just a few hours and he asked us to stay awhile. So we visited three of the houses that had been occupied during the invasion. The families told us that they had been either locked in a small room of their own house or forced to leave and go to a neighbor’s house. The houses were completely ransacked and damaged. The soldiers had broken down doors, thrown electrical equipment to the floor (breaking it), and had emptied closets, cupboards and drawers such that things were strewn all over. In many places the soldiers had bored holes in the floors and walls, presumably looking for weapons or tunnels. In one home the ceiling was ripped out and the wood paneling on the walls was pried off.
We also visited two hospitals that had been under siege by the military. We talked to doctors, nurses and staff who told us that they had been delayed or prevented from going to work. Even an emergency patient’s entry had been delayed. Furthermore, the hospitals had great difficulty getting in basic food supplies, such as bread, and the Israeli forces even tried to prevent oxygen and dialysis treatment equipment from being delivered. These were finally delivered but only after the hospital director intervened by a call to the Israeli District Command. We were also told that the soldiers had opened fire five times on one of the hospitals during the course of the invasion, splaying the walls of the hospital with machine gun bullets.
The military did not return that afternoon and so we finally went home to Hares at about 5:00 pm. We promised to come back if they were invaded again. Which could be tonight, tomorrow or next week. One can never know.
When we returned to Hares, our landlord (and convener of IWPS), Abu Rabia, invited us to come and talk to him. He knew that we had gone to Nablus and he wanted to explain the situation to us, as he sees it anyway. He is not only an avid supporter of Fatah, but has a relatively high position in the organization. He told us that Israel is trying to weaken Fatah so that the same exact thing that happened in Gaza will happen in the West Bank. I didn’t really understand his point exactly but I think it may have been that it is to Israel’s advantage to have chaos and internal fighting among the Palestinians.
In the meantime Olmert, during a summit convened by Mubarak in Egypt supposedly offered a number of goodwill gestures to Abbas, including the release of 250 Fatah prisoners and the release of tax money that has been withheld since Hamas came into power. I am left wondering how this invasion figures into the good will.
Love,
Wendy
We returned from Nablus last night. It had been invaded by the Israeli occupation forces early Thursday morning and we received a call at the house from the ISM coordinator at about noon asking us to come and help them out. Kim, one of the other IWPS womyn, and I arrived there at about 5:00 pm and found 18 other Internationals and half a dozen Palestinian coordinators of ISM organizing three teams to go out into the Old City and Balata Refugee Camp. Both areas were under curfew with houses that had been transformed into military posts.
Sami, one of the Palestinian Coordinators and a member of the Palestinian Medical Relief Services, led my team of eight Internationals through the Old City. We were looking for any families who might need medical assistance or food. We saw a few military jeeps but they didn’t seem very interested in us, much to my relief. In the past when I have participated in this kind of activity the soldiers have told us to leave because it is a closed military zone and if we don’t we will be arrested. Being arrested often means automatic deportation and banishment for at least 10 years. This is one my greatest fears. (Much greater than being hit at a demo or getting caught in crossfire.)
While out walking we saw many people on the street which surprised me since there was a curfew in effect. I remember walking through Ramallah during curfew and it was like a ghost town. But Nablus is a different story, considered to be much more militant. Even so, mostly it was just young boys and teenagers out on the streets looking for jeeps to throw stones at. There were a few men sitting outside their closed shops drinking tea. We also came across a family consisting of a father, three sons and a daughter. (I presume the mother was at home.) They father thanked us for being there and the kids smiled at us so sweetly. The smell of tear gas was suffocating and we constantly heard explosions and gunfire. We did not come across anyone who needed aid, nor did we find an occupied house to help out. (One of the other teams did help a womyn with a baby get back to her home.)
We went back to the hotel at about 9:30 pm where we were to spend the night. At about 10:30 pm one of the medics came to ask us to accompany him to a house that had just been demolished because he wanted to retrieve a body that was under the rubble. He had tried and the soldiers wouldn’t allow him to do it. He thought they might if we were there. But it was dark and we couldn’t walk since the Palestinian coordinators said that it was too dangerous. In the dark the Israelis would think we were Palestinian fighters and the Palestinian fighters would think we were Special Forces. In either case we would be shot. So the medic tried to transport us in his ambulance but just when we were piling into it an army jeep rounded the corner. A soldier got out and said he’d arrest us all, including the Palestinian medic, and so we skedaddled back inside the hotel and the medic went off by himself.
The next day the military retreated after carrying out numerous arrests and an assassination of a member of the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades. Mohammad, the lead Palestinian Coordinator said that the army could very well be back in just a few hours and he asked us to stay awhile. So we visited three of the houses that had been occupied during the invasion. The families told us that they had been either locked in a small room of their own house or forced to leave and go to a neighbor’s house. The houses were completely ransacked and damaged. The soldiers had broken down doors, thrown electrical equipment to the floor (breaking it), and had emptied closets, cupboards and drawers such that things were strewn all over. In many places the soldiers had bored holes in the floors and walls, presumably looking for weapons or tunnels. In one home the ceiling was ripped out and the wood paneling on the walls was pried off.
We also visited two hospitals that had been under siege by the military. We talked to doctors, nurses and staff who told us that they had been delayed or prevented from going to work. Even an emergency patient’s entry had been delayed. Furthermore, the hospitals had great difficulty getting in basic food supplies, such as bread, and the Israeli forces even tried to prevent oxygen and dialysis treatment equipment from being delivered. These were finally delivered but only after the hospital director intervened by a call to the Israeli District Command. We were also told that the soldiers had opened fire five times on one of the hospitals during the course of the invasion, splaying the walls of the hospital with machine gun bullets.
The military did not return that afternoon and so we finally went home to Hares at about 5:00 pm. We promised to come back if they were invaded again. Which could be tonight, tomorrow or next week. One can never know.
When we returned to Hares, our landlord (and convener of IWPS), Abu Rabia, invited us to come and talk to him. He knew that we had gone to Nablus and he wanted to explain the situation to us, as he sees it anyway. He is not only an avid supporter of Fatah, but has a relatively high position in the organization. He told us that Israel is trying to weaken Fatah so that the same exact thing that happened in Gaza will happen in the West Bank. I didn’t really understand his point exactly but I think it may have been that it is to Israel’s advantage to have chaos and internal fighting among the Palestinians.
In the meantime Olmert, during a summit convened by Mubarak in Egypt supposedly offered a number of goodwill gestures to Abbas, including the release of 250 Fatah prisoners and the release of tax money that has been withheld since Hamas came into power. I am left wondering how this invasion figures into the good will.
Love,
Wendy
June 28, 2007 Nablus under invasion - Sounds like an afternoon outing for IWPS
Dear friends and family,
Despite the relative calm in the immediate vicinity of Hares, the occupation is intensifying in other areas.
More than fifty military vehicles raided Jenin refugee camp late on Tuesday evening. Army confrontations ensued with resistance fighters from the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades and the Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al Quds Brigades. A Palestinian man was seriously injured and three Palestinians were arrested during the incursion.
Israeli tanks invaded the southern Gaza Strip while Israeli fighter jets bombarded Gaza City early Wednesday morning. Thirteen Palestinians have been killed.
Heavy Israeli forces invaded the city of Nablus on Wednesday night blowing up an electricity transformer, placing many hospitals under siege, turning more than 30 Palestinian homes into military bases. Additionally, dozens of Israeli military vehicles invaded Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus.
Did any of this make the newspapers in the U.S.?
This may sound trivial in the larger scope of things but this all comes at a particular bad time as high school students are being prevented from taking their final school exams. This exam, called the Tawljihi is extremely important as it will determine whether or not the student can continue to the university. The results of the Tawljihi are awaited breathlessly by the whole of Palestine and much celebrating (or mourning) occurs when they are released. (The mourning is much quieter.)
Here in the vicinity of Hares the occupation continues in la ess dramatic manner but equally devastating as the daily lives of Palestinians are constantly filled with humiliation, limitation and harassment. Since Tuesday afternoon the army has erected a roadblock at the entrance of Kifl Hares, the village just to the east of us. We are to meet with the mayor this afternoon and try to negotiate with the soldiers stationed there to remove it.
We also got a call from farmers in Deir Istiya, the village to our north. They reported serious harassment from settlers and soldiers while trying to herd their goats. (The IWPS Human Rights Report No. 328 that describes this incident will be posted on our website shortly. http://www.iwps.info/) So we also have another appointment this afternoon to go to the military encampment outside the settlement of Yaqir and negotiate a cessation of this harassment.
However, I received a call just ten minutes ago from the ISM coordinator in Nablus. He very politely told me that Nablus is under invasion (as I had mentioned at the start of this email) and he would like to invite the womyn of IWPS to come there and be with the people. He sounded like he was inviting us to tea! I am alone in the house right now, but two others will return soon, inshallah. We will probably cancel the other afternoon appointments and go to Nablus.
I’ll let you know what happens.
Love,
Wendy
P.S. OK. Now you can worry, but just the tinest tinest bit. Really.
Despite the relative calm in the immediate vicinity of Hares, the occupation is intensifying in other areas.
More than fifty military vehicles raided Jenin refugee camp late on Tuesday evening. Army confrontations ensued with resistance fighters from the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades and the Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al Quds Brigades. A Palestinian man was seriously injured and three Palestinians were arrested during the incursion.
Israeli tanks invaded the southern Gaza Strip while Israeli fighter jets bombarded Gaza City early Wednesday morning. Thirteen Palestinians have been killed.
Heavy Israeli forces invaded the city of Nablus on Wednesday night blowing up an electricity transformer, placing many hospitals under siege, turning more than 30 Palestinian homes into military bases. Additionally, dozens of Israeli military vehicles invaded Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus.
Did any of this make the newspapers in the U.S.?
This may sound trivial in the larger scope of things but this all comes at a particular bad time as high school students are being prevented from taking their final school exams. This exam, called the Tawljihi is extremely important as it will determine whether or not the student can continue to the university. The results of the Tawljihi are awaited breathlessly by the whole of Palestine and much celebrating (or mourning) occurs when they are released. (The mourning is much quieter.)
Here in the vicinity of Hares the occupation continues in la ess dramatic manner but equally devastating as the daily lives of Palestinians are constantly filled with humiliation, limitation and harassment. Since Tuesday afternoon the army has erected a roadblock at the entrance of Kifl Hares, the village just to the east of us. We are to meet with the mayor this afternoon and try to negotiate with the soldiers stationed there to remove it.
We also got a call from farmers in Deir Istiya, the village to our north. They reported serious harassment from settlers and soldiers while trying to herd their goats. (The IWPS Human Rights Report No. 328 that describes this incident will be posted on our website shortly. http://www.iwps.info/) So we also have another appointment this afternoon to go to the military encampment outside the settlement of Yaqir and negotiate a cessation of this harassment.
However, I received a call just ten minutes ago from the ISM coordinator in Nablus. He very politely told me that Nablus is under invasion (as I had mentioned at the start of this email) and he would like to invite the womyn of IWPS to come there and be with the people. He sounded like he was inviting us to tea! I am alone in the house right now, but two others will return soon, inshallah. We will probably cancel the other afternoon appointments and go to Nablus.
I’ll let you know what happens.
Love,
Wendy
P.S. OK. Now you can worry, but just the tinest tinest bit. Really.
June 27, 2007 Hamas: terror network or safety net?
Dear friends and family,
In my last message I wrote that Abbas had issued a presidential decree suspending the Palestinian law relating to NGOs and that the move was widely seen as an attempt to undercut Hamas affiliated NGOs. What I forgot to mention is that although the military wing of Hamas is what gets international attention, the majority of their work is welfare and social services administered through NGOs. In fact one of the men on the Deir Ibzi'a Cultural NGO has a full time job with a Hamas NGO that gives aid to widows and orphans.
Just thought it was important to mention this since many of you wrote to me objecting to my assessment of Hamas.
Love,
Wendy
June 26, 2007 All Quiet on the West Bank
Dear friends and family,
Last Saturday Mary and I went to Deir Ibzi'a for a short overnight trip to meet with the Austrian funders of the Cultural NGO. The meeting went very well and the funders were very pleased with how the NGO is functioning. They were especially pleased with the computer center.
On Saturday evening the board threw an elaborate party to show their appreciation for everyone who has participated in the project. They held it at a new country club of sorts in the next village called An Erik. The place was beautiful and there was a swimming pool for the children to enjoy. (Separate times for the girls and boys of course.) It was lovely. The best part was that the men of the board (the one womyn on the board only showed up for 10 minutes and then left - I'm not sure what her story is) served the meal and waited on everyone else. Including the women! I took many pictures. And of course I had to tease Deeb about it. Actually he does like to cook and will often do so in his home. (But I've never seen him clean.) And Naim, one of the others on the board has a Yugoslavian wife who works for the Ministry of Agriculture and they seem to share household responsibilities in a more equitable way than most families here. Anyway, the men explained that they were just so happy that their wives had been supportive of them, letting them be away from home for long meetings, serving the board tea and coffee when the meetings were at their houses, etc. It was a wonderful and happy day celebrating a successful project. And they have high hopes to do a lot more.
A recent development that is of concern is that Abbas has issued a presidential decree suspending the Palestinian law relating to NGOs. So now the Ministry of Interior can close or ban NGOs or demand that they change their internal procedures. The move is widely seen as an attempt to undercut Hamas affiliated NGOs. Both the Palestinian National Initiative and the Palestinian Committee on Human Rights have condemned the move as an attack on democracy and a crackdown on civil society. Of course, I am concerned about how it will affect the Deir Ibzi'a Cultural NGO. They had such a hard time getting recognition in the first place. It would be such a shame if it became a casualty of the new emergency government.
Meanwhile things at the IWPS house in Hares have been very quiet. Since Mary and I arrived last Wednesday we've mostly been doing office work and house cleaning because the situation is so calm right now. The house hasn't received any calls to come help a village being invaded by the military or marauding settlers. And travel is incredibly easy right now. I've never had such smooth riding through the check points and most of the road blocks seem to be cleared. In fact of all the time I've spent in Palestine, this is inarguably the most relaxed.
I've been told that one reason that it is so quiet right now in the West Bank is because the Fatah controlled Preventative Security Services are currently doing most of Israel's work, arresting Hamas militants. They arrested 120 in the last week. I think another reason for the quiet is that the people seem pretty beat down and hopeless. Most of the Wall has been completed (although there is still more to do around Ariel which is the large settlement only 3 km from Hares) and the nonviolent demonstrations against it didn't get them anything except tear gas, injuries and army incursions into the village at night. So there don't seem to be any nonviolent demonstrations for us to support except for the weekly Friday ones in Bil'in.
Nonetheless, the occupation continues and in the last week 5 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and a young man at a checkpoint in Hebron.
Tomorrow I will start helping IWPS on a project in conjunction with ICAHD (Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions) documenting home demolitions in the Salfit region. We are also meeting in the evening with some farmers in a neighboring village (Deir Istiya) to talk about organizing a Peace Camp. A Peace Camp is not a children's summer camp. It is a permanent encampment in the farmers' fields to prevent wall construction. There was one in the village of Mas'aa a few years ago and it didn't end too well.
Love,
Wendy
Last Saturday Mary and I went to Deir Ibzi'a for a short overnight trip to meet with the Austrian funders of the Cultural NGO. The meeting went very well and the funders were very pleased with how the NGO is functioning. They were especially pleased with the computer center.
On Saturday evening the board threw an elaborate party to show their appreciation for everyone who has participated in the project. They held it at a new country club of sorts in the next village called An Erik. The place was beautiful and there was a swimming pool for the children to enjoy. (Separate times for the girls and boys of course.) It was lovely. The best part was that the men of the board (the one womyn on the board only showed up for 10 minutes and then left - I'm not sure what her story is) served the meal and waited on everyone else. Including the women! I took many pictures. And of course I had to tease Deeb about it. Actually he does like to cook and will often do so in his home. (But I've never seen him clean.) And Naim, one of the others on the board has a Yugoslavian wife who works for the Ministry of Agriculture and they seem to share household responsibilities in a more equitable way than most families here. Anyway, the men explained that they were just so happy that their wives had been supportive of them, letting them be away from home for long meetings, serving the board tea and coffee when the meetings were at their houses, etc. It was a wonderful and happy day celebrating a successful project. And they have high hopes to do a lot more.
A recent development that is of concern is that Abbas has issued a presidential decree suspending the Palestinian law relating to NGOs. So now the Ministry of Interior can close or ban NGOs or demand that they change their internal procedures. The move is widely seen as an attempt to undercut Hamas affiliated NGOs. Both the Palestinian National Initiative and the Palestinian Committee on Human Rights have condemned the move as an attack on democracy and a crackdown on civil society. Of course, I am concerned about how it will affect the Deir Ibzi'a Cultural NGO. They had such a hard time getting recognition in the first place. It would be such a shame if it became a casualty of the new emergency government.
Meanwhile things at the IWPS house in Hares have been very quiet. Since Mary and I arrived last Wednesday we've mostly been doing office work and house cleaning because the situation is so calm right now. The house hasn't received any calls to come help a village being invaded by the military or marauding settlers. And travel is incredibly easy right now. I've never had such smooth riding through the check points and most of the road blocks seem to be cleared. In fact of all the time I've spent in Palestine, this is inarguably the most relaxed.
I've been told that one reason that it is so quiet right now in the West Bank is because the Fatah controlled Preventative Security Services are currently doing most of Israel's work, arresting Hamas militants. They arrested 120 in the last week. I think another reason for the quiet is that the people seem pretty beat down and hopeless. Most of the Wall has been completed (although there is still more to do around Ariel which is the large settlement only 3 km from Hares) and the nonviolent demonstrations against it didn't get them anything except tear gas, injuries and army incursions into the village at night. So there don't seem to be any nonviolent demonstrations for us to support except for the weekly Friday ones in Bil'in.
Nonetheless, the occupation continues and in the last week 5 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and a young man at a checkpoint in Hebron.
Tomorrow I will start helping IWPS on a project in conjunction with ICAHD (Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions) documenting home demolitions in the Salfit region. We are also meeting in the evening with some farmers in a neighboring village (Deir Istiya) to talk about organizing a Peace Camp. A Peace Camp is not a children's summer camp. It is a permanent encampment in the farmers' fields to prevent wall construction. There was one in the village of Mas'aa a few years ago and it didn't end too well.
Love,
Wendy
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