JENIN: PALESTINIAN WATERMELONS VS ISRAELI TANKS
by Caoimhe Butterly - July 22, 2002
There is a significant measure of resistance creeping back into the people
of Jenin. They say: "We cannot live under 24 hour curfew, constantly subject
to the gunfire of the Israeli soldiers, having our homes and shops
destroyed." So, many people-old to young, women to children-have been
throwing watermelons and tomatoes at the tanks as they roll through the
streets. One young boy successfully stuffed a piece of watermelon in the
barrel of a gun on a tank. The desire to live in freedom is outweighing
their fears of death and so they resist with what they have.
One young boy told an international activist in the area: "The only thing I
want in the world is to protect my watermelon stand. Please stay with me."
Many fruit and vegetable stands have been run over by tanks in recent weeks,
taking away the very livelihood of the people who sell from them. Local
estimates say that 20% of the inhabitants of Jenin Refugee Camp, only three
months ago home to 14,000, have left the camp due to continued Israeli
military operations there.
Soldiers continue using dynamite to blow up homes in the camp at whim,
causing fear to grow and expand and forcing people to seek shelter
elsewhere. Men of all ages are continually arrested or detained, beaten,
blindfolded, and handcuffed. For most of them, this is the second time in
three months this has happened to them. Those who remain in the camp are
still trying to pick up the pieces of their homes that were willfully
destroyed by soldiers when they entered the camp nearly three weeks ago.
They went door to door, pillaging and destroying everything they came
across. At the time the soldiers entered the camp, most people were still in
the process of picking up their lives from the large invasion back in April.
They have had to start from scratch again.
Some prisoners taken in April have been allowed visits from immediate family
members. This includes some of those held in administrative detention,
meaning they have not been charged with any crime but are generally being
kept in prison for two three-month periods.
The Israeli military is still searching Jenin for two active resisters to
their presence in the West Bank but is having trouble finding them. One of
them comes from a very large family in the Jenin area. Many people,
therefore, carry the same family name. One man with this family name, but a
very, very distant relative of the wanted person, was arrested the 20th of
June 2002 and is being
given a four-month sentence because he belongs to this family.
Food trucks are often being hassled trying to enter Jenin. Some drivers have
had to spend the night in their trucks-which are not fitted with sleeper
compartments-due to the Israeli military holding them up. No reports of
people starving have surfaced but in the last three months, there has often
been a skimpy amount of food available in the city.
The presence of international activists attuned to cultural and situational
sensitivities in Jenin and the Jenin Refugee Camp has been able to slow down
"the most brutal soldiers in the West Bank" as they continue beating,
killing, injuring and arresting the people of Jenin District. Due to one or
two internationals continually standing between the Israeli soldiers and
their targets-children- soldiers have largely changed their ammunition from
live to rubber-coated steel bullets (which are still lethal at ranges under
100m). Tanks and APCs continue to fire live ammunition exclusively.
International activists follow soldiers or tanks around as they move through
the city or the camp,
trying to provide a constant presence and intervene where possible. Physical
intervention has been undertaken numerous times by them, lessening the
severity of the beatings some Palestinians have received at the hands of the
Israeli soldiers.
International activists have also been subject to beatings, verbal abuse,
and one was drug on the ground recently. One Palestinian-Canadian was
detained for several hours Friday the 12th of July with many other
Palestinian men and later released. He witnessed 18-year old Israeli
soldiers slapping a 70-year old Palestinian man in the face while in
detention.
Resistance will continue to grow in the hearts of the people of Jenin and
Jenin Refugee Camp due to the unsustainability of the living conditions
imposed on them by the Israeli military. Operation "Determined Path" is
planting seeds of hatred and despair in the hearts of Palestinian children
through the destruction of their communities, homes, and families. The first
stage of the Al-Aqsa intifadah may be over, but the next one is already
being born.
Start Date: 2002-08-15 01:00:00-04
End Date: 2002-09-14 01:00:00-04
Created By: Web Master