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Merrick

2148 posts

Re: Palestinian report 20

Apr 11, 2002, 20:54

Thu, 11 Apr 2002 17:06:47

hey all,

a tense day in bethlehem today. the idf have been carting off truckloads of young palestinian men towards jerusalem, which is worrying; previously they were being detained in beit jala but apparently a jail in the negev desert has been re-opened so we are concerned that they are being taken there.

the idf were also doing house-to-house searches around manger square today. they used a young man as a human shield as they went round houses breaking down doors. they had previously hit him in the stomach with a rifle butt until he puked and beat him when he then sat unsufficiently still. the idf were being guided round by a man in a black hood, believed to be a palestinian collaborator. the director of a peace centre whose house was searched was threatened with shooting if guns were found on the premises. his american wife has been told by the israelis that she will never be allowed to return if she goes back home to the states with her first 2 children, both US-born.

there was also another surveillance balloon over the church of the nativity again, and again it was shot down.

there has been a fair amount of shooting and shelling around the city today, and the whiff of tear gas this evening from an as yet unidentified source. a group of internationals were not allowed into deheishe camp today, which is the direction from which the young men were being taken in confinement. when they are shipped like that they are put in standing trucks like cattle and can be kept that way for hours. so that's worrying. a couple of journos were pretty obviously shot directly at when trying to head in the direction of the nativity church this afternoon. there are also reports, which we have been trying to confirm, that the souk (market) inthe old city of bethlehem has been mined. this is of particular concern to us at the moment because a group of internationals are planning to try and get humanitarian aid up there tomorrow. we'll probably just get fired at again, but there you go...once the old city ceases to be under permanent curfew, there is also of course the probability that mines would cause considerable loss of life.

a group of internationals have also been prevented from entering jenin. it has also emerged that the bbc crew that got into jenin were actually escorted in by the idf and had a military presence with them at all times. israeli groups like tayush are trying to organise a demonstration there tomorrow; they won't get in, and they'll get beaten and tear-gassed, but it's good to see really militant activity from israeli groups. it has also been reported that the idf have been digging large pits - mass graves? - in the area of the refugee camp and around the city.

in nablus, ambulance crews have been stripped and detained and then made to carry the wounded into the hospital by hand instead of taking them in by ambulance. the wounded have also been made to wait in ambulances while this happens, or themselves stripped and searched.

and to get the AR folk on side - the idf use local cats for target practice.

take care, all.

sarah xxx

In reply to:
Re: Palestinian report 19 (Merrick)

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Re: Palestinian report 21 (Merrick)

Topic Outline:

Palestinian report – Merrick, Mar 29, 2002, 14:42


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