We heard the jeeps come in at 6 AM. It was early though, and we wanted to sleep. The night had been dominated by a pair of explosions, one of which was so strong that it shook the house. We hoped they'd go away. Our wish would not be fulfilled. Instead, at 6.25 AM the jeeps (two for sure) began to continuously blare their sirens and honk their horns. They would honk their horns at each other too, like a game. They did this for half-an-hour to wake the residents of the refugee camps, and attract the children. There was no other reason for this to happen.

...

Occassionally gun shots pierced the air. We had to move around the office so as to not be near the windows, in case a stray bullet entered and pierced our flesh. The children threw stones. The Palestinian medical volunteers watched on waiting to take the next victim to the hospital. The Palestinian reporters, working for major organizations like Reuters and AP, filmed images, at great risk to their lives, that will probably never reach the West. The international peace activists, also risking their lives, tried to keep the situation under control as observors. It was the usual game of this intifada.


I don't normally want to send out too many emails. However, it is important to show to people how the peace process is "actually" being implemented on the ground.

All the media of the West is focusing on the overtures of peace between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. They watch every word tout every word of peace, and it is particularly amusing to note how they talk about the Israeli military easing restrictions on the Palestinians.

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BBC News: Tuesday, 3 June, 2003, 11:41 GMT 12:41 UK

Bush 'committed to Palestinian state'

....

On Sunday Israel said it was easing travel restrictions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip - a move that could allow about 25,000 Palestinians to return to their jobs in Israel.
However Palestinians say little has changed in many areas despite Israel's claim.

Violence has continued in Gaza, where a Palestinian policeman is reported to have been shot dead by Israeli soldiers at a security outpost.

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The words of peace appear hollow, as the Israeli military appears to do the oppposite of what it actually "says it will do." Some news outlets are noting this (like the BBC), but not all. It seems that things are getting better, and the Palestinians are mistaken. They should watch the news to find out how things really are. Peace is being made and their lives are getting easier. Well, maybe they know better since they are living their lives, and the reporters aren't in the West Bank.

Since peace has been talked about seriously in Nablus, things have gotten worse. There has been death, and lots of arrests and injuries. The ability to move past the inhuman checkpoints has remained impossible to but the minority, as Nablus (called Schkem by the Israelis) remains "closed."

Balata Camp has been particularly bad. It seems that the Israelis want to make sure the people can never rest. Periodically during the day they show up with jeeps and armour in order to provoke the children. They make arrests in the night, or drive loudly through the camp at a high speed in order to wake the people out. Throughout the evening they shoot flares in the air, or fly some form of aircraft overtop, leaving the people to think that they will soon be invaded.

Take today as an example.

We heard the jeeps come in at 6 AM. It was early though, and we wanted to sleep. We hoped they'd go away. The night had been dominated by a pair of explosions, one of which was so strong that it shook the house. Our wish would not be fulfilled. Instead, at 6.25 AM the jeeps (two for sure) began to continuously blare their sirens and honk their horns. They would honk their horns at each other too, like a game. They did this for half-an-hour to wake the residents of the refugee camps, and attract the children. The wanted men there have been killed, arrested, or live elsewhere, so that there is no real reason for the military to come.

Eventually the provocations and noice paid off as the children appeared in the streets. They threw rocks. The Israeli military units teased them with sirens, sound bombs and teflon-coated bullets. It was very noisy.

After a few hours of watching, I tired of this "violent" game, and moved on to the city center. From the taxis we had to take an alternative route because of the position of the soldiers. In a humurous twist of events, the street we pulled up to had just then two Israeli jeeps heading in the same direction.

So we had to follow the two jeeps. This is definitely not something a Palestinian taxi driver is comfortable with, so he gave them a lot of space. You could see the two jeeps, in a street where the cars are normally bumper to bumper, given a wide space to manouevre. He laughed and joked about avoiding the Israeli military, only to run into them and follow them into town. They were also headed to the city center. They were going to cause trouble it seems.

From the office I had a meeting in, in the morning, we could outside see the jeeps driving around, getting the childrens' attention. They took a very central location. Much of the shops decided to close for the day. The traffic thinned, and took different directions, but people needed to get around.

Occassionally gun shots pierced the air. We had to move around the office so as to not be near the windows, in case a stray bullet entered and pierced our flesh. The children threw stones. The Palestinian medical volunteers watched on waiting to take the next victim to the hospital. The Palestinian reporters, working for major organizations like Reuters and AP, filmed images, at great risk to their lives, that will probably never reach the West. The international peace activists, also risking their lives, tried to keep the situation under control as observors. It was the usual game of this intifada.

The people are tired of the soldiers though, and only closed down the area of the city they were parked in. Eventually a tank showed up. Apparently a few homes and buildings had been occupied, with the occupants held inside. One was a house with a pregnant woman.

You have to wonder how soldiers can get themselves psyched to go out and have these battles with children. You have to wonder what is in their head, and what kind of people they are. What are they going to think about what they did in the future? How can they not in some way identify with these poor kids, who are so young and have only stones to fight the best military weaponry in the world?

In anger, in the morning, feeling useless, we decided to call up an American Public Radio contact that one of the members of a group of peace activists had (a PhD student). We suggested they try to spend time in the Refugee Camp, and see how the "peace efforts" were progressing. The reporter, Linda Gradstein, starting talking with complete disinterest and about how there are too many other important stories to follow-up on. We wondered what can be more important than the violence and provocations that are marking the beginning of the new peace process?

It's very frustrating, but imagine the decades of frustration the Palestinians have had to endure, while their story has tended to be forgotten in the West. Selective forgetfulness. Peace or no peace, it would be great if the residents of Balata, refugees from Yafa, could have a days rest.