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A report released on August 26th said that 202 people had died in Palestine since June 28th. 44 of these people were children.
I saw the report on August 28th.
My first thought was of those killed since the report was released. One man shot dead in the streets of Ramallah as special forces poured out of a van just behind us and made their operation. 2 young men assassinated in Balata Refugee Camp the next morning. 4 members of one family in Gaza killed in the afternoon. They shot a 64year old man in Jenin.
Add 8, that makes 210. I felt a little sick at the thought of me adding up bodies like this. This is how I was raised though. Never to see anything, just to hear the numbers. 210, 410, 610.... honestly, would we react any differently? Is there a number that we would hear that would make us scream out "enough is enough!" Is there a number that would make us do something about it?
Im here now. And they arent just numbers anymore. When I saw 210 in my mind, I felt the pain of 210 families. I saw mothers crying and sisters crying, the way my mom and I cried together when my brother died. I saw children crying for the mothers and fathers they would struggle to remember. I saw a mass grave with 44 little stretchers holding 44 little bodies while their family and friends placed them under the dirt one by one. And the bodies arent prepared nicely by Kutis funeral home. Their bodies are distorted, riddled with bullet holes or shrapnel, maybe missing limbs... People will remember how they looked this way. Most even remembering the incident, having watched, having ran, having drug the body away in desperation to help. People will remember that it wasnt an accident, that someone did this to them, that someone committed this crime against everyone by stealing this life. They wont forget. They will watch this jeep roll in, and the next and the next without accountability, without anyone coming to defend them and without ever seeing justice.
I read this as I watched BBC news. 40 people died in Iraq on this day...yet the same war monger still controls our country, and people are still regurgitating the same ignorant democracy and terrorist rhetoric.
When do we get to the part where we do something?
Its Sept 8th now. The Israeli Occupation Forces carried out an incursion in Nablus last week. 22 homes were demolished. 5 houses and 17 apartments while another 6 homes were made unlivable due to structural damage. The IOF claimed they were looking for "wanteds." These supposed wanteds were said to be hiding in a particular house in Nablus and the army came early in the morning to began evacuating the houses. The family inside the target house pleaded with the soldiers to be used as human shields, and to walk through the house to look for these wanteds so that any demolition or operation could be avoided. The army denied this request. Instead the carried on with their operation for over 16 hours. They used 8 cars to barricade the street. They occupied a school and several houses to set up snipers. The IOF detained over 10 men to use as human shields. Some were used to accompany soldiers down the street. Others were made to sit on a curb as the IOF hid behind them and shot over their heads for three hours because they wanted to be able to shoot at people and into houses without Palestinians being able to fire back. 6 men were made to block the windows where snipers stood as the snipers shot from behind them. Some of the men used as human shields are: Shadi, age 23, Majdi, age 35, Tamer, age 19, Rami, age 17, Mohammad, age 21 and Walid, age 64. Israel's supreme court has banned the use of Palestinian human shields in arrest raids, saying the practice violates international law.
During the incursion the IOF shot at least 22 people and arrested 2 men (not the wanted men). Here is a list of some of the injuries.
Issam Fathi Joma'a, 27 years old, with shrapnel in his right shoulder.
Ammar Nizar Saed, 16 years old, shot in the hand.
Jaber Naser Abd-Alrahman, 16 years old, shrapnel in an unknown location.
Ayman Abed Al-kareem Al-Khayat, 17 years old, shot in left leg.
Rani Mohammad Al-akhbar, 18 years old, shot in the leg.
Mahdi Atif Shrooti, 13 years old, shot in the hip.
Abed Al-latif Tahseen Agha, 9 years old, with shrapnel in the neck.
Abed Al-aziz Khalel Jebril, 18 years old, shot with a rubber bullet in the right hand.
Fathi Mohammad, 80 years old, shot in the right leg.
Ramadan Husam Al-ajori, 13 years old, shot in the right leg.
Fadi Ahmad, 18 years old, show with a rubber bullet in the head.
Ahamd Zayad Solayman, 15 years old, shot in the back.
Sulaiman Muhammad Ukah, 15 from Askar refugee camp, was shot in the back and killed.
After shooting live ammunition and explosive grenades into the target home, the IOF began their retreat. Before they left, they lifted the 8 cars from the baracade and dropped them on a nearby house. In the end, 22 homes had been destroyed because they were in the way of the wanted house. About 100 people were made homeless by the Israeli military's actions and are now evacuated to friends' homes in surrounding neighborhoods, or forced to rent apartments around Nablus. Engineers estimate the cost in reparations to be over $550,000.
The issue of home demolitions has been discussed at length by the Israeli High Court of Justice in many cases, including Janimat V. IDF Military Commander 1997. In the discussion of this case, published by the Israeli Supreme Court in "Judgments of the Israeli Supreme Court: Fighting Terrorism within in Law", the Justices argue, "home demolitions are allowed only in light of especially serious terrorist activities, such as involvement in suicide bombings aimed at civilians… The demolitions are subject to legal principals, such as the principle of proportionality. For example, the measure may only be used if it is possible to limit it to the terrorist's home, without demolishing adjacent dwellings. (60)" In addition, the President of the Court, A. Barak states, " implemented in stages and with care in order to prevent damage to the rest of the building. If damage is caused, it will be repaired. (62)" In the case of this incursion, the homes were demolished while searching for suspects, not "in light of especially serious terrorist activities." In addition, 22 homes were demolished in their attempt to arrest, clearly violating the "principal of proportionality." According to President Barak, the homes' of the residents will be repaired, though follow through on this is unlikely.
Nizar Lubbadeh, one of the wanted men, gave himself up after the operation. He was released shortly after questioning.
Since then, the region has not been silent. 12 year old Hakim was shot in the back by an Israeli settler (about 40yrs old) while playing in a field near his home. He and his 2 friends saw 3 Israeli settlers approaching them and began to run back to the village. Hakim tripped and was shot in the lower back as he tried to get up. The bullet exited through his upper groin area. His two friends, 8 & 9yrs, carried him home. Last I heard he was still in serious condition.
3 men have been assassinated. 2 in Balata, 1 in the Old city of Nablus. The 2 in Balata, Hani and Ibraheim, were killed after exchanging gunfire with soldiers trying to enter the camp. Being outnumbered and with only 2 M-16s, they tried to escape through a building and up to the roof. As they appeared on the roof they were met with gunfire and rockets from an Israeli helicopter who had come for an operation. The man from the Old City, Fadi, was assassinated when a sniper shot him from the window of an occupied house. His friend drug his body down an alley to safety, but he was already dead. The man had a child, a wife and a baby on the way. Soldiers used to come to the house looking for the man. They would bring sweets for the 5 year old girl and ask, "Where is your daddy?" When Fadi came home the little girl would rush to tell her father that the soldiers had come, but that she didnt tell them where he was. The 5 year old girl was savy enough to protect her own father's life.
Balata was invaded 2 nights ago. The army came in with cranes and bulldozers. This time they were not looking for wanteds. They simply tore the awnings off of shops, ripped signs and light posts from the ground, crushed the wall of one shop and tore down a grape courtyard before they left.
Today was quiet. When I went out for breakfast I found the streets were all lined with the new Martyr posters. You cant escape it. While politicians and scholars are sitting around talking peace treaty this and cease fire that, people here are living as prisoners surrounded by dead people.
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