arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Karine is a Canadian law student doing an internship for three months with Al Haq. She sent out the following e-mail this morning.

-----------------
-----------------

"I am now in the office of Al Haq. All is good. The Israeli occupying forces came in Ramallah this morning, around 10:30-11:00 with many jeeps. They went to all the banks and blocked the streets. They have put a curfew - which is still on. I went out in the street to see and ended up in the midst of the fighting. The youth were throwing rocks and molotov - well, everything and anything they could possibly put their hands on.

The Israeli were replying with tear gas, rubber bullet and finally, live bullet (but i am not certain) - and they still are. There was also the sound of fighter jets. As from now, 15 people are injured - I am going to get reports from the hospital. I saw -from my own eyes- military jeeps back up and hit one ambulance repeatedly - I also took a report from them. I do not kow what the goal of the mission is, but I can tell you that when you work and it is a beautiful day, you do not necessarily expect more or less 50 army jeeps and shootings. I am nevertheless extremely proud of the youth who threw stones... Really, if this was Montreal and a foreign army would come in, I can assure you I would try to do something, even though it is more symbolic.

There is still shooting as I am writing, but it has quiet down. I was 3 meters away from the soldiers... I can tell you that I don't understand why they are so scared of rock, ok, it can hurt, but really, their force is much greater and they should know that coming in the middle of the day in Ramallah is PURE PPROVOCATION. By the way, the Palestinian security forces have quickly disappeared. Appearently, the strategy of the army is to come all over and divert attention from the TV crew with the stone thrower in order to go ahead and accomplish whatever mission they have to do.

It is working, I was running around and staying with the TV crew... it is safer that way as you know they do not usually get shot at. It is amazing the resistance of the young Palestinians, really, I know throwing rocks is no good, but still, it is necessary, the Israeli army, by coming in the middle of Ramallah like they are doing now is simply humiliating to the Palestinians. If anyone tells me that the PA has control over the West Bank, I can now assure you they have none! There is a curfew now, but well, it is not really serious, we expect the Israeli forces to leave soon. All this just made me realize that THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "PEACEFUL" OCCUPATION, OCCUPATION IS BY NATURE VIOLENCE, HUMILIATION, AND DESTRUCTION. And that is what this incursion is all about."

Karine just mailed me that there are 31 people injured, and that a 17 year-old boy has died. The fighting is still going on.