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Washington, DC Independent Media Center

Palestine 2002 Special Coverage

Breaking News from Ramallah, Bethlehem, Palestine: IMC-Palestine

Also see: IMC Israel ~ IMC Italy ~ UK Indymedia World Page ~ electronicintifada.net ~ Alternative Information Center

June 3-4, 2002

Aein Camp Under Israeli Seige

6/03/02 AEIN CAMP

1AM: According to ANAN QADRI, "67 tanks are currently surrounding the Rafidia Hospital."

4AM: This morning, Israeli Defense Forces in tanks and armored personel carriers, invaded the Aein Camp, adjoining Nablus. 3 buses were brought in. A loudspeaker demanded that 300 Palestinian members of the community, called by name, turn themselves in, to be transported on the buses to Huwara Military Base. When no young men turned themselves in, the Israeli soldiers went house-to-house rounding up 400 Palestinian young men, onto the buses.

Mr Ali: "One man over 60 years old, was targeted for wearing a kuffiya (scarf), forced to strip naked and sit astride the barrel of a Merkava tank, and driven around the camp. When the soldiers tired of their game, they rapidly swiveled the barrel and through the man off."

5AM: Five F16s fired missles into the Aein Camp and completely destroyed it. Missile strikes have continued throughout the day. The last missiles were fired at 4 pm. At this time, ambulences are being allowed into the camp. Nearly all "Internationals" attempting entry into the camp, have been turned away and threatened with arrest.

The White House said Sharon will visit Washington on June 10 to discuss ways to end the Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Question: Why is the CIA visiting Israeli and Palestinian leaders? Comment

June 2, 2002

Nablus Incursion, Eyewitness Report

Photos of the IDF incursion into Nablus & Balata Camp May 31 - June 2, 2002. The Israel Defense Forces invaded Nablus and the adjoining Balata Camp, breaking through the walls of homes and preventing ambulances from reaching wounded and ill people. Additionally, eight internationals in Nablus and Balata have been arrested and are now in custody at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, on charges of "entering a forbidden zone." -- more

Immediate Action Needed! 8 Internationals Arrested by Israeli Defense Forces!

16 Internationals entered Nablus May 31. On the evening of June 1, only eight remained., by Brian Long

These "Internationals" were part of a humanitarian mission to observe and, as necessary, act as a human shield to protect Palestinian civilians who were in danger from Israeli forces. More. According to Gush Shalom (the Israeli Peace Bloc), the following people have been detained: Darlene Wallach (Jewish) US; William (Liam) Barry, Australia; Valery Bourreges, French citizen living in US; Mashhour Mab-Eid, Jordan; Josie Sandercock, UK; Makoto Hibino, Japan; Hrafknell Brynjarsson, Iceland; Mikael Nielsen, Denmark

Reporting the unreported - international activists in re-invaded Balata Refugee Camp

Israeli troops raid refugee camp homes "Unlike past invasions, this time the Israeli armed forces' tanks and troops met with almost no armed resistance as they swept in, placing the camp under curfew and declaring it a "closed military zone", which meant foreign journalists were barred from entering. However, a party of more than a dozen international peace activists managed to get inside."

May 8, 2002

Dispatches from Palestine

DC Indymedia reporters on the ground give live reports from Palestine: "This place keeps getting worse. I spent most of yesterday trying to get in contact with other people. I rode the bus to Jersalem with masses of Israeli soldiers. What struck me is that they looked so young. Our bus, consisting almost entirely of soldiers, could have easily been mistaken for a high school field trip if it wasn't for the huge guns everybody was carrying. Not one of them looked over 18. They behaved like rowdy, arrogant teenagers, pushing their way onto the bus. I sat next to one soldier/boy on the bus and wondered if he had ever killed anyone, if he would kill anyone, if he would care. I wonder if he would shoot and me and other activists if he saw us. Who knows, maybe we will meet again."

April 23, 2002

Int'l Solidarity Movement: Back Home From Bethlehem

Kate Soreson, recently returned from Palestine where she participated in the International Solidarity Movement, witnessed the material and emotional tole of the occupation first hand. Bethlehem, "once a beautiful ancient city, was shreded," she said. Watch the interview for Soreson's accounts of life under curfews and sniper fire, and how she dealt with her fear in a few harrowing situations.

Watch this video of Kate

April 15, 2002

Yet More Voices for Peace

[ listen ]

Pakistani Islamic Writer Compares Israeli Occupation to American 'Cowboys and Indians.' More Info on Eqbal Ahmad...

Progressive Jewish Americans Search for a Third Way and a New Direction for Israel. Also Read About One Perspective on Divestment from Israel

April 14, 2002

The camp that became a slaughterhouse

April 12, 2002

"Israel's army says 4,185 Palestinians have been detained in the operation – nearly half of them in the past two days as fighters in the key northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus, their numbers depleted in battle, ran out of ammunition and surrendered..." - Washington Post

Jenin: The Israeli army acknowledged on Friday it had killed hundreds of Palestinians earlier in the week in the Jenin refugee camp. "There were apparently hundreds of dead," the army's chief spokesman, Brigadier-General Ron Kitrey, told Army Radio. Kitrey's estimate of hundreds of dead sharply revised upwards the army's previous figure of some 100 Palestinian fighters killed in Jenin. details

George Mason Students 'Walk Out' For Palestine

April 11, 2002

FAIRFAX, VA- At 3:30 pm Thursday, April 11, hundreds of students walked out of their classes at George Mason University and joined in a peaceful demonstration and rally decrying the violent, criminal occupation of Palestinian land by the state of Israel.

"This is a demonstration for basic human rights for all people. We all want [this] for ourselves, there's no reason we shouldn't want it for everyone else." - organizer of the rally... More | Watch the Video | Broadside - GMU Newspaper

Jewish Manifesto: Sharon is Israel's Worst Enemy

"Our rule over three million Palestinian Arabs in the territories has perforce put us in a position of committing a number of moral outrages. Continued rule will necessitate not only continued denial of many basic rights to Palestinians, but will require our taking additional steps which are reprehensible, if not morally questionable." 'Refuseniks' in the Israeli Defense Forces

April 10, 2002

From the United Nations Relief & Works Agency: Catastrophic Conditions in Jenin Camp

April 9, 2002

'Anti-Globalization' Movement Transformed: World Bank to the West Bank

"Since the army's offensive in the West Bank began, hundreds of Israeli peace campaigners and foreign activists have been seeking to put themselves in its way. At great personal risk, members of the International Solidarity Movement have sought to protect civilians by making hostages of themselves. It is a display of extraordinary courage and self-sacrifice. It is also the latest incarnation of a movement which just months ago was left for dead." More / Colorado Delegations to Palestine

Dead and Wounded Wither and Rot in Nablus Mosque Bush Admin's Call For Sharon Pull Out Is A Farce: "Sharon knows how far he can go on this,'' said a Defense Department official. ''There might be a little more pressure on him publicly if he hasn't done something serious by Friday, but he has a window to get things done right now." - Boston Globe

April 8, 2002

Jenin, Palestine

More than one third of the camp houses have been destroyed...total destruction....tens of people died in this way. details... The tanks are shooting at people in the street, including those already injured and dead. Israeli forces are still banning ambulances from entering Jenin refugee camp...LAW, a Palestinan HR organization in Jerusalem and al-Jazeera, are reporting over 100 killed in the Jenin refugee camp

5:30pm: TV news says Israeli troops to withdraw from 2 Palestinian towns.

The World Protests:

April 6, 2002

Sharon Creates Another Warsaw Ghetto

The latest news from Jenin is that the Israel army is systematically bulldozing houses in the refugee camp, which is home to some 15,000 Palestinians in an area of one kilometre squared. This is happening at the same time they are dropping tear gas from helicopters on the camp. For two days the camp has resisted the Israeli invasion so now the nature of the invasion has changed - bulldozing homes with the inhabitants inside. More

CBC TV (Canada): Supressed Israeli Tape Watch This Video ~ Download (0.2 kibibytes)

April 5, 2002

4/5: Demonstration and civil disobedience calls for end to Israeli occupation and aggression in Palestine, at the State Department, by Mike Flugennock

Protest at the State DepartmentWatch This Video

Pentagon Plans 20,000 US Troops to Occupy Palestine

April 4, 2002

Calls to DC Area Public - Stop the Israeli Seige

Rally to support the Palestinian People & to oppose the Israeli seige and occupation.

Washington DC: Hundreds protest at the Israeli Embassy Initiated by Black Voices for Peace, ph: 202-250-5690.

Refuseniks - Israeli Soldiers Refusing to Serve, To Speak @ Georgetown U : A panel of Israelis & Jewish students discussing with YOU - Israel, Palestine and serving in the occupied territories Two of the panelists are reserve combat unit soldiers who have pledged not to serve in the occupied territories. Click here for more info...

Tikkun Magazine's Rabbi Michael Lerner discusses a Progressive Jewish response. 'It's Time To Put Our Bodies On the Line to Stop the Killing in the Middle East'

April 3, 2002

These are the names of the known civilians murdered by IDF today in Bethlehem, including those who died of injuries because IDF would not let ambulances travel:

  • Assad Shaheen, age 57
  • Sumaia Abda, age 60+
  • Khaled Abda (son of Sumaia Abda), age 37
  • Abed al-Khaleg Abo Umrah
  • Aza Mohammed Masalma, age 16
  • Omar Sallahat

    • IMC-Palestine Sean Riordan was interviewed live on CNN 1:54pm EST - Transcript

    The parents of Adam Shapiro, (American volunteer who is aiding Palestinians Ramallah), fled their NYC home after receiving death threats. More

    April 2, 2002

    April 1, 2002

    Local American Muslim Woman Killed by Israeli Defense Forces

    From American Muslims for Global Peace & Justice

    Suraida Saleh, the 21-year-old woman gunned down by Israeli soldiers, was an American, born in Washington, DC. The details of her death have emerged in an exclusive interview that Global Peace conducted over the telephone with Suraida’s brother and father. Both are locked inside their home in Ramallah, along with other members of their family, and have been unable for four days to retrieve Suraida’s body from the morgue to give her a proper burial. More

    Interview w/ Suraida's Father Listen To This ~ w/ Suraida's Sister Listen To This

    Adam Shapiro images from the mass burial at Ramallah Hospital Sharon Creates Another Warsaw Ghetto

    March 30, 2002

    Palestine Lives!! in Freedom Plaza

    Protest against Israeli aggression and occupation of Palestinian lands, at Freedom Plaza, Wash DC, by Mike Fluggenock

    Today 3/30 in Washington DC: Palestinian Land Day, Protest the Occupation Listen to This ~ Comments Watch Video 1 ~ Watch Video 2

    Palestinian Land Day Protest of Occupation, 3/30 Washington DC, by Nancy Shia

    Washington, D.C. - Approximately 3,000 people rallied at Freedom Plaza near the White House in Washington, D.C. this afternoon demanding a just peace for Israel and the Palestinians under the slogan "End the Occupation, End the Violence." Muslim, Christian and Jewish speakers demanded that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands end as the most important element to ending the increasingly bloody conflict, and expressed deep opposition to attacks on civilians of either side by any party. More

    The demonstration demanded that the Bush Administration implement international Law and UN Resolutions calling for an end of the Israeli Occupation and self-determination for the Palestinian people. More ~ American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee

    Sign posted on the building of the Palestinian National Authority building in Ramallah, Palestine

    From IMC Palestine, Ramallah (Law Society): Five Palestinians executed, found dead in Taiboun building in Ramallah. The bodies were found by Maher Shalabi, correspondent for Dubai TV. More ~ CNN Version

    Eyewitness Report from Al Biereh, by Sam Bahour

    March 28, 2002

    Israeli Tanks Enter Occupied Territory of Ramallah, headed toward Arafat's compound. Some Palestinians try to leave and others remain defiant.

    Hundreds of Americans and Europeans inside of Ramallah prepare to act as a human shield for the Palestinians, Jose Bove. History of Palestine/Israel from MERIP

    March 22, 2002

    Palestine Independent Media Center

    The Palestine Independent Media Center was launched on March 22nd. IMC Palestine, which is based in Jerusalem, was founded to "record and explore the current practices of the Israeli occupation and the real background to the conflict." This is the first truly free forum for the Palestine people to share their stories with the world.

    "The reality of life for the Palestinians is constantly changing and the current Intifada has made the experiences here even more dramatic. Therefore through this website we will do our best to show through humanistic, rather than just journalistic, writing the intricate picture that is our life." - Palestine Indymedia

    March 14, 2002

    Beautiful Rally at Israeli Embassy

    Today over 40 protesters and several journalists gathered at the Israeli Embassy to demand justice for Palestinians, an end to the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and an end to US support of Sharon's murderous regime. The group also called for the release of Israeli political prisoner Mordechai Vanunu. Present were individuals from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Nonviolence International, GW Students for Peace in Palestine, St. Cloud State University Newman Center, Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel, Baltimore Anti-War Network, MGJ, US Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Al-Jazeera and TomPaine.com, the Mobilization for Global Justice and others. More

    Israeli military executing a Palestinian, 3/14

    Regional Protest Against Sharon in DC 4/22:

    March 12, 2002

    From Warsaw to the West Bank

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