Irish Anti-War Update

Massacre in Jenin

In last week's Independent, Justin Huggler wrote "A terrible crime has been committed by Israel in Jenin refugee camp, and the world is turning a blind eye." One week later, Jenin is still closed to journalists, but the truth about what happened there is finally beginning to trickle out. Today Huggler describes Palestinians crawling into wreckage to dig bodies out of rubble with their bare hands, wearing green surgical masks and using perfume bottles to attempt to mask the stench of rotting bodies.

Yesterday, the UN special Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen described conditions in Jenin as "horrifying beyond belief". Aid workers and rescuers have started to call this ground zero. Amnesty describes Jenin as a 'lunar landscape' and what happened in the old city of Nablus has been compared to the effects of a Richter-8 earthquake. The Red Cross has publicly said people have died because the IDF blocked ambulances. The exact death toll remains uncertain but Palestinians report at least 500 killed in Jenin alone and rumours still circulate that the Israeli Defence Forces have removed and secretly buried bodies in mass graves.

What is certain is that hundreds of homes were destroyed by sustained artillery fire that lasted eight days, with entire families buried under the rubble of their own homes and that the killing continues. Thousands of Palestinians still remain under siege in Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jenin and Nablus with food, water and medical care in short supply. Having finished off their dirty work in major Palestinian towns, the Israeli army this week moved to the Palestinian countryside, killing scores of innocent people and destroying numerous buildings, all under the auspices of 'fighting terror'.

Meanwhile the real terrorists are let off the hook. Calling Sharon a 'man of peace', Bush yesterday praised him for sticking to his timetable to pullback troops. In the same statement he warned Arafat that he will be 'held to account' if he does not work to thwart terrorism. At UN level, the 'robust' international force called for by Kofi Annan aims to put 'an international spotlight on any extremist Palestinian groups that try to undermine a cease-fire by continuing to engage in terrorism'. The force would not be organised by the UN but by a 'coalition of the willing' - no doubt once again a coalition led by terrorists Bush and Blair.

Irish media coverage of the atrocities in Palestine has been appalling. Last week, peace activist Mary Kelly was interviewed from Ramallah by David Hanly (Morning Ireland). Disgracefully he excused the IDF's blocking ambulance access to the wounded by claiming ambulances were used to transport terrorists. Kevin Myers spouts more of the same in today's Irish Times. Over 2,000 people marched in Dublin on Saturday 6th calling for justice for Palestine. The Irish Times reported only 500 on the march. We need to pull out all the stops to expose their lies and build a massive anti-war demonstration next Saturday April 27th.

What can we do?

National Anti War Demonstration Saturday April 27th