Welcome to the Soap Factory
News from Nablus
A can of coke.
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Hi Jane and all,
This morning it is pouring with rain and we got absolutely soaked attending the funeral of the latest people to be killed.
The Old City was full of life yesterday as people came out and shops opened for the first time in weeks but today the city is closed again and subdued. Last night the soldiers were in Balata and Askar camps supposedly looking for people and generally making a nuisance of themselves, this morning there was a tank
and two jeeps at the entrance to Balata on the Askar side. During the early hours of the morning two more people were killed in Raffidia, one of the corpses was riddled with bullets. In the same raid 8 people were arrested. These latest killings brings the total of people killed in Nablus and Balata since the 15th December to 18 with 264 injured. When we visited the hospital today the wards were full of gunshot victims mostly under the age of 18 with some people still in intensive care. Some children will be crippled for life. One boy has lost an eye and the bullet was still inside the cranium, fortunately the surgeons managed to remove it and his life has been saved.
One doctor told us the story of a 5 year old who went out to buy a coke and as he returned a passing jeep fired at him and he was hit in the head with shrapnel. He arrive at the hospital still clutching the coke. As the doctor started to treat him he burst into tears, the doctor asked does it hurt and the boy replied no but the nurse has taken my coke!
Israeli operations continue throughout the Nablus region and it is becoming
difficult to cover all areas as there are now only 5 internationals in the Nablus region; two will stay in Nablus Old City, two in Balata camp, and I will stay in Askar camp tonight.
Dave
Magic tricks.
Thursday, January 08, 2004
Hi All,
Sharon's magic trick is to present Israel as a victim in the world's media, while gaining time for his draconian strategy on the ground and claiming Israel has no partner for peace while eliminating any such partner.
Using this skillful media strategy Sharon is now daring to say out loud what he
has been working towards throughout his time in office: the consolidation of Israel's illegal seizure of 58% of land across the West Bank and Gaza Strip and with it the total subjugation of the Palestinian people.
Presenting the annexation wall together with the assassination policy and the daily humiliation and harassment of the Palestinians as "preventing terrorism" is really only an excuse for doing nothing to end the occupation. Now the Palestinians find themselves in a unique state of affairs as an occupied people held responsible for the security of their occupiers.
The situation is always presented as very difficult and new peace plans have to be continually found and invented to address the situation. But all the peace plans have one thing in common - Israel has never implemented them. There is a solution; it requires the dismantling of the settlements, withdrawal of the Israeli soldiers and civilians from the occupied territories, creating a viable Palestinian state, and finding a solution for the Palestinian refugees' right of return.
Since 1967, Israel has never given up its claim on the occupied territories and has not dismantled a single settlement, and has never ceased to take Palestinian lands by whatever means it can: the "by-pass roads," the "checkpoints," the "new settlements", the relentless persecution of the Palestinian population culminating in the "annexation wall".
Sharon says Israel will end the Occupation; we will dismantle the "unauthorized" "outposts" and even some settlements but not now. Not before "terrorism" stops, not without negotiations, and not before a final agreement is reached. Not before Arafat is gone, and not before the Road Map fails. Not before the elections in the US, and not before those in Israel, and not before the occupied Palestinians become a true Western democracy. We will end the Occupation; sure just give us a few more years.
Meanwhile torrential rain is falling here in Nablus and it is very cold, people are struggling to repair their damaged houses as the ancient walls turn to mud. The army has left the city and camps today and people are stocking up on food. Everyone believes that they will be back in what the army has called "operation stagnant water".
Last week during one of the
funerals an army jeep was stationed at a road junction. A group of press cameramen and internationals were observing it and a group of children were taking the opportunity to throw stones. All was quiet until the press left then the soldiers started shooting at the children. Fortunately no one was hurt and the children left. During this clash a hand cart appeared selling home made lemonade! This was Nasser, as well as supplying much wanted sustenance he entertained us with magic tricks, disappearing our coins and pulling them out of our clothing as we paid for our drinks! Last year Nasser would appear at similar times always smiling and in good humor trying to make a living for his family in very trying times. The Palestinians will not be defeated as long as people like Nasser continue to resist.
Dave
