march 2005
Palestine Reports
By Amira Hass
Bitterlemons-International.org
14 February 2005
The only logical way to read the Sharm al-Sheikh summit
is in accordance with the recommendation of Ariel Sharon:
"only actions and not words--this is the only way to
attain the vision of two states". We must judge by
facts on the ground and not by the verbal promises that
were disseminated. If this lesson has not been learned
from the Oslo years with their stream of promises of
peace and prosperity for two states,
then why waste words?
The summit produced an admission of fatigue on the part
of both sides, however asymmetrical they are--fatigue
from the bloodletting. The summit itself featured an
attempt at chumminess (Sharon inviting himself to
Ramallah, joking with Abu Ala about the fence at Abu Dis,
etc.) that created the appearance of parity between two
equal antagonists who promise from herein to behave
themselves. But the moment mortar shells began falling on
the Qatif Bloc, we returned to the language of
"you'll be sorry" and the clank of tank treads.
These admonitions brought us back to the summit's real
point of departure in Israeli eyes: the Palestinians are
the aggressors; they started it. Abu Mazen rose to the
challenge. He knows that the weak Palestinian position
requires him to act like the aggressor who now regrets
his act.
Yet just because this is the impression enforced by
Israeli superiority doesn't make it right. The brutal,
violent gap between the promises of Oslo that the
"occupation was over" and the reality
experienced by the Palestinians--of ever tighter Israeli
control, direct and indirect, over their lives and their
chances to progress and develop--is what ignited the
"second intifada". If we now achieve a
temporary calm due to fatigue
on both sides without eliminating the cause--the Israeli
occupation of the entire West Bank (including East
Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip--no one can predict when
that calm will end. But it will. And so will the calm to
follow.
Sometimes the absence of a reply points to the reply.
From July 2005 the Palestinian residents of East
Jerusalem, carriers of Israeli IDs, will no longer be
permitted to enter Ramallah. That is when construction
will be completed on the wall and the Erez-type passage
at Kalandia, deep inside Palestinian territory. Only
those who obtain an entry permit (and experience teaches
us how difficult that is) will be permitted to pass. I
asked the Prime Minister's Office and the IDF whether
this doesn't contradict two developments: first,
permission for residents of East Jerusalem to vote in the
elections for the head of the Palestinian Authority, and
second, the possibility of calm and a return to final
status negotiations. I received no answer.
That silence tells us, just as the bulldozers and the
soldiers who already prevent Jerusalem Palestinians from
traveling to Ramallah tell us, that Israel is following
her plan: East Jerusalem will be separated from Ramallah,
and of course from Bethlehem. Only if those bulldozers
cease working immediately, if the soldiers immediately
stop preventing East Jerusalemites from passing through
Kalandia, will we know that the government of Israel
seeks calm; that it is prepared to cease the violence of
its arrogance and domination.
According to media reports, Israel rejected the
Palestinian demand (demand? the Palestinians can demand
something?) to remove the roadblocks put up during the
past four years. The message is clear: the party that
does not intend to cease building settlements cannot
remove roadblocks. After all, they are intended to ensure
the safety of the settlers and of ongoing settlement
expansion. Thus only if all the roadblocks and
checkpoints are removed and the West Bank roads cease to
be strictly for Jews, will we know that Israel wants
calm.
Sharon talked at the summit of "two states".
Just like the Communist Party of Israel and the Sheli
Party more than 30 years ago. But when you look at what
is happening on the ground, you realize that this is not
a matter of two states for two peoples but rather of 11
states: the state of Israel, and alongside and within it
the states of Gaza, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jericho,
Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Salfit, Nablus, and Jenin. Each of
these states is separated from the others by growing
Jewish territorial contiguity: a network of expanding
settlements, separate, highly developed and enticing
road, electricity and water infrastructure for Jews only,
military emplacements, and permanent and mobile
checkpoints.
Judging by the facts on the ground today, the biggest
compromise that Israel under Sharon will accept is in the
number of Palestinian states, e.g., seven instead of 11.
- Published 14/2/2005
bitterlemons.org
Amira Hass has been the Haaretz correspondent in the
occupied territories since 1993.
Hungry people and
grapes rotting on the vines
Art Gish
Hebron, 11 February, 2005
There is a story in the Bible of Moses sending spies into
the land of Canaan. When the spies got to Hebron,
they found bunches of grapes so big it took two people to
carry them.
I was reminded of this story as I recently visited
Palestinian grape farmers in the Beqa'a valley just east
of Hebron. I was horrified to see tons and tons of
grapes rotting on the vines. This was especially
disgusting since these Hebron grapes are the most
delicious grapes I have ever eaten.
Eighty percent of the grapes in the Beqa'a were never
harvested this past 
year. But why are those first
class, big bunches of grapes rotting on the vines?
The answer is simple. The Israeli government
prohibited those grapes from getting to the markets where
people were eager to buy those famous Hebron grapes.
In the past, those grapes were sent to Jordan, Gaza, the
northern part of the West Bank, and Israel. This
year all those markets were closed due to a political
decision by the Israeli government. The Israelis
military closed roads, imposed curfews, and prohibited
Israeli juice companies from buying Hebron grapes.
This was a great loss for the Palestinians, probably
twenty five million dollars just in the Hebron
District. In the Beqa'a Valley, between one and two
hundred thousand dollars were lost, plus all the costs of
producing those grapes in the first place. This is
economic terrorism.
grapevine terraces
Hebron
One farmer I knew in the Beqa'a shipped 20 tons of grapes
to Nablus. Because the Israeli military closed roads, the
grapes sat for four days in the hot sun. The farmer
received a little over 200 dollars for those 20 tons of
grapes: not enough to pay for the transport. My
friend died of a heart attack this past fall after this
tragedy.
All those grapes rotting on the vines are only part of
the story. Palestinians can no longer grow grapes in the
huge areas of confiscated vineyards (500 acres in the
Beqa'a alone), in the demolished vineyards, and in the
vineyards that have been killed by settlers spraying
herbicides on the grape vines.
Grapes rotting on the vines are part of a concerted
effort of the Israeli government to impoverish the
Palestinian people. Because of loss of income,
because of farmers not being able to produce food,
malnutrition rates are rising among the
Palestinians. At the same time as the international
community is increasing food assistance to the
Palestinians, the Israeli government is preventing the
Palestinians from feeding themselves.
Yesterday afternoon three settlers of Maon settlement in the West Bank verbally assaulted and
threatened Palestinian shepherds from the nearby villages
south of Hebron.
One of the shepherds reported that he was beaten by a
settler. Another Shepherd told us he was threatened.
"I know who you are and where you live and if I see
you here again I will come to your home
and kill you."
Italian volunteers of Operation Dove, a project of an
Italian Catholic Association, ran to the scene and tried
to speak with the settlers but were accused both of being
liars and of helping the Palestinians steal the land that
God has given to the Jewish people.
These events occurred on Palestinian property which is
not under military restriction.
According to the Oslo Agreements the Israeli government
has full control and this area. In the past few days,
Palestinian shepherds have been chased and threatened by
the settlers of
Maon as they grazed sheep on
their own property. These Palestinian shepherd have been
subject to such violence, including beatings, shootings,
and assaults, for many years without the intervention of
the Israeli authorities. Consequently, the
Palestinian inhabitants of this area have asked for an
international presence to reduce the level of violence in
the area.
Two weeks ago, two volunteers from Operation Dove,
including an American, were also given a death threat by
a settler from Maon settlement as they accompanied
shepherds in their fields.
In October 2004, an Italian volunteer of Operation Dove
was beaten by settlers of Maon while he accompanied
children as they walked to school. In September
2004, two American volunteers of the Christian Peacemaker
Teams were beaten and hospitalized by settlers from Maon as they accompanied
children who were walking to school.
Operation Dove - Nonviolent Peace Corps of the
Association of Pope John XXIII Community
Italian office: 0039 541 751498 operazione.colomba@apg23.org
www.operazionecolomba.org
UPDATE:Barbara Martens
February 16, 2005.
At 11:00 a.m. today while CPTer Dianna Zimmerman and an
Operation Dove (OD) team member were accompanying
shepherds on their own land above At-Tuwani, near the
Ma'on Settler Outpost, two settlers accosted them,.
One stood with his gun aimed at Zimmerman while she
engaged the other in dialogue. When the army came the
settlers left.
Shortly thereafter CPTer Sally Hunsburger, and 2 OD
members appeared over the crest of the hill from herding
in the direction of Tuba. Settlers reappeared,
noticed the video camera and attacked the 2 OD team
members. One is admitted to hospital with a head injury
from the karate chop in the head. He has short term
memory loss, and blurred vision. The injuries of the
second person seem less, and are unknown at this time.
Hunsberger, witness to the whole attack was not injured.
--------------------------------
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to
support violence reduction efforts around the
world.
***
Land grab during the conference
At the very time that
Palestinians as well as Israelis were listening to the
ceremonious speeches broadcast live from Sharm-a-Sheik,
Israeli military officers arrived at the tiny Palestinian
village of Twane in the South Hebron Hills, on the
southern edge of the West Bank.
The confiscation order they delivered, numbered 16/05/t
and signed by the commander of Israeli forces on the West
Bank, decreed that a parcel of the (far from
plentiful) Twane land would henceforward become the
property of the Israeli army, with all rights over
this land to be vested in "The Real Estate Officer
at the IDF Central Command Headquarters". This act
was justified as being "needed for military needs,
due to the special security circumstances prevailing in
the region and the need to take unavidable steps in order
to prevent terrorist attacks".
No specific details were given - the army might provide
them when the matter gets to the Supreme Court, or plead
a "need to keep the evidence secret" even
there. Adv. Shlomo Leker of Jerusalem, who represented
the people of Twane during numerous previous attempts to
expell them or confiscate their land, believes that
the order is aimed at extending the nearby Israeli settlement
of Ma'on, whose inhabitants on
numerous occasions used violence against the Palestinian
villagers. In general Adv. Leker noted that, while
everybody's attention is directed to the Gaza
Redeployment, all over the West Bank the land grab is
going on at a pace which he never experienced in his long
career of confrnting land confiscations in the courts.
When asked to comment by Yossi Gurevitz of
the Nana News website, the IDF
Spokesman answered: "Such a village does not
exist".
War Of Attrition in
the West Bank by Sarah IWPS
International Women's Peace Service: 11 February 2005
At the end of last year a young man from an agricultural
village in the West Bank was issued an order to appear
before the Shabak for an unspecified reason. He did not
go.
In the first month of 2005 the youth was passing through
a check point and was arrested. We were in the village on
the day that he was arrested and spoke to some of his
friends. They were not surprised and some spoke as if
this was to be expected, and yet we knew how upset they
actually were. They all went to visit his family in the
evening and on walking in discovered that he had
returned.
Their joy however was unmistakably mixed with fear and
the knowledge that this was not the end of the Shabak's
involvement with this family. The youth had been beaten
in the back of the jeep and had spent two hours in the
police station before being released. He had walked for
an hour towards his village before managing to hitch a
ride the rest of the way.
He had been issued with a further order to appear before
the Shabak the following week. He was determined not to
go but was also aware that if he did not go there was the
possibility that the army would come to his village and
invade his family's home, terrorizing his younger sisters
and brothers and his mother.
We had the opportunity to speak with this young man about
his experience and the very real threat many villagers
face in his situation of being forced into compliance
with the Israeli Authority. I had not realized before how
powerful a weapon this sort
of tactic would be and although we knew how delicate the
conversation would have to be, felt that this young man
would be willing to share his thoughts on his position.
"This is true for some people," he said,
"But for those who are weak.
Not weak on the outside; perhaps they are very strong and
can fight and throw stones a long way, but I mean weak on
the inside. I am not weak."
The bus interrupted our first conversation with him on
this subject but he came back to us the following day and
said: "Yesterday you asked me a question, but I want
you to understand that a man who falls before the Shabak
sells his country." And I could see how hateful this
thought was to him.
The following week this youth visited us on the day he
was to go to the Shabak. He was very quiet and I could
only imagine how afraid he actually must have been. All
day his friends awaited his return and I saw his mother
carrying her ten-month old baby around as she stoically
continued her daily chores. Many of the village mothers
greeted her and I thought how each one of them must be
suffering with her, how each one of them must daily fear
that their sons will be picked up like hers was, and will
suddenly have his name on some secret list that until the
Occupation is over will make living an ordinary life
impossible. I thought how many of them actually had sons
serving ridiculous sentences in some prison that they
could not visit and I found myself in a terrible state of
tension throughout the day.
In the late afternoon the young man returned and walked
into the room where we and his friends were passing the
time playing cards. There was such a feeling of relief as
we saw him enter and heard him quietly greeting everyone
and then he announced to us that he must return to the
Shabak next week for another interview. Then I realized
how endless this process would be. We could be relieved
that he had returned this day, and maybe again next week
and the week after that, but this was nothing, his family
would be facing the same threat for the next month and
the following month, and for years to come.
Perhaps a time would come when he would refuse to play
the Shabak's game any longer and to retain his own sense
of dignity would not go to their office. Then what would
happen? He would become a `wanted Man' and the army could
justify an invasion of his home and the arrest of him.
How often do we read the words: `army invades a village
in the West Bank and conducts military searchers of
houses known to shelter men wanted by the Israeli
Authority'? "Army Invades" means the
terrorizing of a whole village and the shooting with
rubber bullets and with live ammunition of women and
children (and Internationals) sheltering on the rooftops.
"Conducts Military Searches" means entering a
family home and ransacking it, putting bullets through
every wall and window and braking every dish and glass in
the house.
And what does "Looking for Wanted Men" mean?
How many of these men were made to be "wanted"
because they could not play the Israeli game? How many of
these were "wanted" because they had no other
way to resist the occupation than by staying true to
their Falastiin?
Two days after the youth came back to his home we
received news from a woman that we knew in the village
that her brother was taken in the middle of the night. He
was one of these wanted men. He had been `sold-out' by a
village collaborator and now his fight to free his
Falastiin was over. I had met him twice in the past and
while it is not appropriate to write much about him I was
both times struck by his composure and dignity although
he was once covered in mud and both times had spent
nights on the run. One of his brothers had been killed,
the other at 16 years bore terrible scars from shooting,
one sister was blinded by a bullet of the army. Was it a
wonder that this young man had taken arms to fight an
army that had so
tortured him?
And now as I write I know that he has spent the first 24
hrs of his imprisonment in some unidentified jail and
that he is wondering as I am which of his own country men
could have done this to him. Had they been hreatened as
our first young man had been and had they failed to
resist the pressure of so massive a force as the Israeli
Authority is? Or what other pressures and thoughts
tormented them and motivated them to turn upon their own
people?
These questions have been haunting me for the past days,
and last night with the thought of this mans
imprisonment, I could not sleep at all. Is collaboration
within the Palestinian Society so strong that it will in
the end undermine the whole process of resistance or is
it, by its very nature, a force that in the end will
fail?
At the moment I can not answer this question, as I hear
the world proclaiming the Truce and the Handshake I think
of the issues that are so vital to the Palestinian people
and that are not being addressed. Of the thousands of
prisoners that are being held and interrogated and
punished for crimes that they have not committed, of the
thousands of young men made to visit the Shabak week
after week until they are forced to comply with the
Israeli Authority or are made into `wanted men' and so
will have to live out their years on the run or in
prison, of the women and men who `disappear' and leave
their friends and relatives despondent of ever seeing
them again, and of course the building of the accursed
Wall that will make traveling in the West Bank worse than
it already is and will economically devastate an already
too poor country.
Are these really the ingredients of a viable peace? Or
even of a truce that will give the people a time to
assess their position in all this? Do the Palestinians
have one moment to think when they are faced with
checkpoint harassments and roadblocks and arrests and
invasions every single day?
The young man will return to the Shabak next week and the
week after and one day he will just not return to his
home or maybe they will forget about him. The man
arrested 24 hours ago will be tried in some closed
military court and no one will know what happens to him
and his family will be left to mourn the loss of yet
another one of its members, and the Worlds Eye will be
focused elsewhere: On big meetings and major
catastrophes, on economic politics and sporting events,
and it will continue to ignore the small and personal
tragedies that combine to make this struggle in Falastiin
so heart-braking and so immense.
