Eyewitness Dispatches: A Sickening, Bloodcurdling Horror

As one Israeli commentator pointed out this week, since the beginning of this wave of Palestinian attacks in fall 2000, more Israelis have died in car accidents than by suicide bombings. Dying at the hands of someone who hates you for your citizenship (or religion) somehow feels different.

But no matter how horrific Israel's losses have been at the hands of Palestinian suicide bombers, nothing -- absolutely nothing -- excuses the cold-blooded Israeli attacks upon the civilian population of Palestine that continue as you read this. Reports from Israel suggest Ariel Sharon's government intends to wage this "campaign" until all of Palestine has been subjected to it.

The attacks doubtless seem to many Americans like just another war -- more tragic, perhaps, because "they're always fighting over there," but basically an unsolvable mess the U.S. is only tangentially related to. We're not, of course. The United States is inextricably linked -- by weapons sales, aid programs, investment, and the eyes of the world -- to whatever Israel does. And this is no "ordinary" war; it is not even a war, because with few exceptions the "enemy" is not shooting back, is not even present. And in the course of the resulting death and destruction, Israel is violating just about every known convention for how humanity has agreed to conduct itself during its most inhumane moments.

Consider these accounts from the last 48 hours:

"The Israeli air crafts have already started firing at Aida Refugees' camp ... The Israeli soldiers do not care anymore at whom their guns are pointed."

-- George Rishmawi, Bethlehem.

"More than 150 Israeli tanks invaded Bethlehem area from all directions. Heavy shooting and shelling is regular all morning long. The Israeli army is moving towards the Church of Nativity. Bethlehem is sliced into a dozen of isolated areas. Soldiers and Apaches are shooting at any moving target."

-- Ghassan, Bethlehem

"Tonight we have heard numerous reports of 30 Palestinian policemen executed in cold blood by Israeli soldiers in a building where they sought refuge on Irssal street in Ramallah. This was after five Palestinian officers were executed by being shot to the head and then had their corpses thrown on the pavement for hours on Friday. Ambulances are prevented from reaching their destinations and two hospitals have either been broken into (Arabcare) or shot at (Nazer Maternity Hospital) ... One of the employees of the Sakakini Center had the Israeli army burst into his village (Kobar) yesterday, destroy belongings and arrest his younger brother, alongside 30 other young men from the village.

"The cleaning lady of the Center lives in a house with an outhouse for toilets. For three days the Israelis have been posted by the door to her house and preventing all exit. When the eldest today sneaked out to the outhouse, the Israelis caught him and beat him. His school teacher father tried to intervene, the Israelis beat him and arrested him.

"One of the board members of our center was arrested with all the employees of the office building where he was working late Thursday night. They were all blindfolded and had their hands tied and placed in one room for 16 hours. The Israelis destroyed some office furniture and stole hard drives from computers. They all untied themselves once they realized the Israelis had gone on to bigger prey.

"My next-door neighbor's 70+-year-old father lives near Yasser Arafat's office. The Israelis broke into his home Friday, broke everything with the butts of their rifles (TV, sinks, furniture, etc.) and then stole some money.

"There are reports also of Israeli soldiers breaking into banks and change offices and jewelry stores and stealing money and jewelry ... "

-- Adila Laidi, Director, Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre, Ramallah

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