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Israeli forces target PCRS ambulance in Gaza

27 January 2004


At dawn, Israeli tanks and military vehicles coming from the colony of Netzarim penetrated the area of Zeitoun on the south-eastern outskirts of Gaza. Towards 7.30 a.m. an ambulance at the PRCS base in Gaza was called to the scene to provide aid for the wounded. The team of ambulance workers attempted to take care of two wounded people situated a dozen metres from armoured Israelis. But as they approached the victims, the ambulance was fired at by shots originating from the Israeli military vehicles. The shots pierced the middle of the ambulance’s windscreen. 

Humanitarian consequences of Israel's military operation in Rafah

28 January 2004


The Israeli Defence Forces have carried out a campaign of demolition and land leveling in Rafah, in the southern Gaza strip. During its three most recent incursions, between 16 and 22 January, a 31 year old Palestinian woman was killed and 8 other Palestinians were injured. Since the beginning of January, the IDF has totally or partially demolished 72 homes making 584 people homeless. The result of the house demolitions has been to create a buffer zone that stretches from Rafah passenger terminal in the east down to the Mediterranean coast. It is several kilometers in length and in places up to 200 metres deep. 

Israeli army in Hebron uses PRCS ambulance as shield

28 January 2004


A PRCS ambulance was used by Israeli soldiers as shield entering Aroub refugee camp. Israeli soldiers stopped the ambulance at the entrance of the refugee camp and initially denied it permission to continue. Israeli soldiers began searching the ambulance, and one of the soldiers threatened the crew that they would be shot if they did not follow orders. The soldier then ordered the ambulance driver to drive into the camp very slowly without turning on the siren. The driver was obliged to continue driving further into the camp when suddenly the soldiers began to fire at the direction of camp residents. 

Right of Return: Two-State solution again sells Palestinians short

George Bisharat 28 January 2004


SAN FRANCISCO - It is a tragic irony that, more than 55 years ago, one desperate people seeking sanctuary from murderous racism decimated another - and continue to oppress its scattered survivors to this day. In 1948, about 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homeland, their land and possessions taken by the new Jewish state of Israel. This included the Jerusalem home of my grandparents, Hanna and Mathilde Bisharat, which was expropriated through a process tantamount to state-sanctioned theft. George Bisharat comments. 

Israeli forces kill 8 Palestinians in Al-Zaytoun

28 January 2004


Today, Israeli forces conducted a major military incursion into Al Zaytoun, a residential district of Gaza city, killing 8 Palestinians and causing extensive damage to civilian property. Israeli forces entered from al-Shuhada junction, near Netzarim settlement, south of Gaza City, and moved approximately 1.5 km into al-Zaytoun neighborhood. Israeli forces took up position in the center of al-Zaytoun and fired live bullets and artillery shells at Palestinian civilians. 

Bush offers solution to leadership problem

28 January 2004


During secret talks between US President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, the US President offered both leaders a solution to the leadership problem. “I don’t like leaders who are not listening to me. Today, I offered them a solution. The Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting each other for too long. I presented both leaders with the tools to solve their issue.” 

Forbidden Families: Family Unification and Child Registration in East Jerusalem

27 January 2004


On 31 July 2003, the Knesset enacted the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law, 5763-2003. Today, B’Tselem and HaMoked released a report describing the implications for residents of East Jerusalem of this law, which demonstrates that Israel deliberately misstated the purpose of the law, claiming it was necessary for security reasons, in order to conceal the real basis for the legislation - demographic concerns. The law constitutes a form of discrimination with no legitimate basis. 

An open letter to the family and friends of Tom Hurndall

Miriyam Aouragh 28 January 2004


“The struggle for justice in Palestine would be stronger if Tom were still with us. Yet I believe that his selfless actions and the ultimate price he paid for believing in humanity sparked a desire to know, struggle, and act. He will live on by helping to bring about a revolution in perception and action concerning Palestine. Tom made a choice. It is people like him, Rachel, and many others who personify a new generation unwilling to blindly accept the world as it is, but who instead take risks and work together to forge new protest movements.” Activist Miriyam Aouragh remembers ISM member Tom Hurndall and his impact on a new generation of human rights activists. 

The hour before dawn

Nick Pretzlik East Jerusalem 28 January 2004


“A successful military career in Israel is a stepping-stone to success in the political arena and it is not unreasonable to suppose that ex-soldiers carry army-inspired prejudices with them when they enter the Knesset. Therein, perhaps, lies a partial explanation for the construction of the apartheid wall. Maybe the idea wouldn’t have taken root had those involved not been conditioned during their formative years in uniform, and maybe it also explains why the wider Israeli public fails to oppose the project in larger numbers.” Nick Pretzlik muses on the psychological roots of Israeli violations of Palestinian rights. 

Top Israeli historian analyzes Benny Morris's shocking interview

Baruch Kimmerling 27 January 2004


Dr. Baruch Kimmerling is George S. Wise Professor of Sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Writing for the History News Network, he says: “Benny Morris has abandoned his historian’s mantle and donned the armor of a Jewish chauvinist who wants the Land of Israel completely cleansed from Arabs. And in order to be completely lucid on this point he drew an analogy between Israel and North America: ‘Even the great American democracy could not have been created without the annihilation of the Indians. There are cases in which the overall, final good justifies harsh and cruel acts that are committed in the course of history.’ I do not know today any American historian or social scientist who agrees that the annihilation of the indigenous population of the continent was a necessary condition for the constitution of American democracy.”