Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 16:16:05 +0100 (BST)
Hello all,
Phil and I are back in Cambridge now. Riccardo should have flown out of
Amman yesterday or today and Adam is staying on till Monday. We stayed in
Nablus until Wednesday afternoon, then made our way to Jerusalem.
Monday night few of us slept due to the continuous shelling (F16s, Apaches
and tanks) of the nearby refugee camps, Balata and Askar.
Tuesday morning 27 internationals and 6 Palestinian medics carried food
and medical supplies into Balata refugee camp by foot, as any ambulances
approaching were being shot at. Both the camps had been closed off for
thirteen days, with no food or medicine coming in. Tank damage had left
the refugees with little access to clean water. Sewage was overflowing and
waste was piling up in the narrow streets with no-one to collect it.
Doctors in Balata fear that the lack of sanitation will lead to an
epidemic spreading amongst the 22,000 inhabitants.
Attempts to reach Askar failed when several tanks pulled up in front of us
and began shooting over our heads (the snipers outside Balata had also
shot near us, but had stopped when we continued walking). The soldiers
laying siege to Askar seemed more prepared to shoot us, presumably becuase
they were conducting military operations inside the camp and blowing up
houses, so we had to turn back.
'This is not a matter of humanity, it is a matter of orders.'
As our group was walking back into Nablus, we were stopped by soldiers who
had seen us leave the city earlier on. Attempts to carry on walking were
met with shooting at the ground in front of us and a tank blocking our
path. The soldiers ordered the group to either return to Balata, or to
split into two with the internationals entering Nablus, fetching their
bags and leaving, while the Palestinians were detained by the soldiers.
The first was not an option as then we'd never make it into Nablus.
Neither was the second, as the Palestinians would have at best faced a
severe beating up for breaking the curfew. (The six Palestinians, all
medics, included two 16-year-old girls and two 17-year-old boys.)
This became a two hour stand-off, in which the soldiers became
increasingly aggressive. Our attempts to negotiate were met with the
statements above and a refusal to listen. More reinforcements were brought
up, so that we were soon surrounded by 7 tanks, 3 APCs and 2 Border Police
jeeps - we had been stopped directly between two sniper posts anyhow, so
were heavily outnumbered.
After the Border Police arrived, we were given two minutes to disappear.
When we didn't move, the 10 Border Police (who are really just heavily
armed soldiers) and some of the other soldiers charged us, flinging people
to the ground, ostensibly to grab the Palestinians. However, they didn't
hesitate to hurt the internationals trying to protect the Palestinians,
kicking people in the head and ribs, dragging them into the street,
kneeing them in the groin, grinding their heads into the ground, jumping
on anyone who pulled out a camera or phone...
The soldiers managed to drag away the four male Palestinians, who were
handcuffed and beaten on the other side of the road. However, they failed
to get the two Palestinian girls, who were buried under a pile of
internationals. With some of the internationals appearing to be quite
badly hurt, the soldiers lost some of their aggression. After another hour
of us refusing to accept their orders, they finally allowed all of us,
including the Palestinian men, enter Nablus.
Despite Israeli announcements that the Army had withfrawn from Nablus, the
tanks continued to roam around the streets on Tuesday and Wednesday,
imposing curfew, shooting at those who broke it and those who didn't,
squashing cars and shooting shells into shops.
Rafidiya Hospital, the main hospital in Nablus, has now become full with
injured or dead Palestinians over the past few days. Phil spoke to some of
these, including an 11-year-old girl who was shot by a sniper walking from
her living room to her kitchen. He also saw a pregnant mother who had been
released from arrest, before being shot twice in the back as she walked
away - she has lost use of both her arms. There are many more with similar
stories.
see you all soon
From: Mika Minio-Paluello
Subject: last mail from palestine, now back in britain
'The law is irrelevant - we can do as we want.'
Israeli soldier, shortly before ordering Border Police to attack us.