6:00pm:
24 hours after this incident occurred, the two decomposing bodies are still
inside the house DAY 7: Eyewitness Reports as Israel Continues Invasion of Palestine....Hundreds of Internationals Maintain Presence
April 4, 2002 * Up to the minute news reports from Palestine at: www.jerusalem.indymedia.org
(All Times Local in Palestine)
BETHLEHEM
12:15pm: The Israeli Army is Attacking the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in this Moment
6:00pm: 24 hours after this incident occurred, the two decomposing bodies are still inside the house
6:00pm: Destruction and Lies at The Church of the Nativity
6:25pm: Update from Bethlehem
Midnight: Reports from UN Clinic Next to IBDA'A Social Deheishe Camp, Near Bethlehem
RAMALLAH
5:10pm: Internationals Demand Solana Delegation Come to Ramallah
8:45pm: Report from Presidential HQ...Food Aid Into Ramallah
10:30pm: Report from Arafat HQ, IDF Lies about Mass Burials
SUMMARIES
11:45pm: Medical Teams are Targeted – Civilian Population Under Attack
April 4th: An Israeli View from Arafat's Compound
EYEWITNESS REPORTS ABOUT INTERNATIONALS IN PALESTINE
3:00pm: The evacuation of Internationals from Star Hotel
4:30pm:
International Peace Delegations Refused Entry at Ben Gurion
BETHLEHEM
12:15pm: The Israeli Army is Attacking the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in this Moment
April 4, 2002, Centre for Rapprochement
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
[BETHLEHEM, 4-4-2002 AT 12:15 P.M.]
Israeli soliders continued their attack against the church of the
Nativity. I am sitting in Beit Sahour, and I can hear the sound of the bombs. The soldiers have blown up the small gate of the church
from the side of the Milk Grotto in an attempt to invade the church.
More than 150 people are inside the church in this moment, who took
refuge there. Those people have been given the right to be refugees
in the Church and Israel is violating this.
There is no kind of respect to any value in the world by Israel.
Is this "Self Defense" Mr. President Bush? Are you a Christian?
Decomposed Body of Sumaya Abed
6:00pm:
24 hours after this incident occurred, the two decomposing bodies are still
inside the house
April 4, 2002, www.jerusalem.indymedia.org
Yesterday, Tuesday, April 2, two members of the Abed family were killed inside their house by tank shelling in Bethlehem. The two are: 64-year-old Sumaya Abed and her son Khaled Abed. At the current time, 24 hours after this incident occurred, the two decomposing bodies are still inside the house as all ambulances and medical personnel, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, have been refused access by the Israeli army, despite the desperate humanitarian situation. Sumaya’s second son and 8 children remain in the house, crowded in the bathroom – the only other room in the house besides the one in which the decomposing bodies remain.
6:00pm: Destruction and Lies at The Church of the Nativity
April 4, 2002, www.jerusalem.indymedia.org
Though Israel denies it is attacking the Church of the Nativity we have received confirmation from inside the church and from witnesses in its vicinity that the IDF has recently shelled the building, shattering some of its windows. Earlier this morning it was reported that IDF snipers were firing on the church. We also have reports that the 40 to 50 priests and nuns in the church are not being held hostage, as claimed by an IDF spokesman (see CNN article below), but are remaining there in order to care for the wounded Palestinians who have been deprived of emergency medical care by the IDF.
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNN) -- Israel denied Thursday a claim that its forces had launched an attack on the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where as many as 200 Palestinians have been holed up.
Anton Salman, head of the Antonius Society of Bethlehem, who spoke to CNN from the church, said the Israeli military had blown the south door off the church.
Salman said, "they bombed the door and they destroyed part of the building. We are just now inside the church without any protection, just the protection of God and Jesus Christ." He said Israeli forces had not entered the church.
Israeli government spokesman Raanan Gissin called the assertion "baseless lies." He said Israeli forces had surrounded the church, but had not attacked it.
"Nothing has been done in the church, the Israeli army is aware of all the sensitivities of the holy place for the Christian world," said Lt. Col. Olivier Rafowicz, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces.
Rafowicz said Israeli forces were trying to negotiate the release of at least 40 or 50 priests, being held hostage inside the church. Salman denied anyone was being held hostage, saying the people inside the church were only looking for protection.
6:25pm: Update from Bethlehem
April 04, 2002,
Sami Awad,
Holy Land Trust
www.holylandtrust.org
Palestine@holylandtrust.org
The silence of the United States government and the governments of the world
to the Israeli atrocities taking place against the Palestinian civilians in the West Bank cities continues to be the green light needed for the Israeli
government to terrorize, destroy and kill the Palestinian people. When the
United Nations' Security Council passes a resolution demanding that a
country take immediate action, then every pressure is imposed on that
country to abide by this resolution (economic, political and even
militarily). When will Israel be pressured to abide with UN resolutions
recently passed --with the support of the US-- demanding Israel's immediate
withdrawal from the West Bank cities? Imagine if this resolution was passed
on a country like Iraq or Syria, what will the US be doing then? Even if
Israel was a democracy, as it claims, the world should not accept this as an
excuse to allow it to continue its undemocratic, inhumane and immoral
actions against the Palestinians. Let then every country in the world claim
"democracy" and receive international justification to terrorize and kill
its enemies in cold blood.
At 12:15 pm, local time today, the Israeli army, reported on CNN, took the
first step in its attack on one of the holiest sites to the Christian world.
Israeli grenades blew up the back door of the Church of Nativity and army
troops were reported to have begun shooting inside the church. One person,
an elderly Palestinian Christian caretaker of the Church has been reported
killed by Israeli sniper bullets and there are several reports on injuries
inside the church, some extremely serious.
Again and again we say; if this situation was happening anywhere else in the
world, the entire international community will be in an uproar and will be
doing every thing possible to put an end to this massacre and genocide.
Yes, there are individuals in the Church that have surrounded their guns to
the church leaders and have declared that they seek refuge and shelter.
There are also numerous individuals and families (civilians) who are seeking
shelter in the church. The reports from the church leaders are that the
church has granted this shelter to everyone who has put down their arms.
This is the role of the Church and its mission. No one is guilty in the eyes
of the church. No one is an enemy in the eyes of the forgiving Church. The
church is a house of comfort and peace. The individuals have refused to
surrender to the Israeli army because of fear for their lives. This is one
situation, just one simple example of how a third party is desperately
needed to resolve the standoff. If no intervention takes place then those
in the church, including the priests, will either starve or fall sick to the
point of probable death; the situation continuous to deteriorate to the
worse by the hour.
In other updates from Bethlehem, homes are being systematically stormed and
ravished one after the other in the old city of Bethlehem. This is expected
to expand into other areas of the Holy city and we expected our home to be a
near future target. We have talked to several friends who faced these
attacks as the soldiers walked in their homes. The Israeli soldiers have
destroyed furniture and house utilities such as televisions, ovens,
refrigerators, etc. They have also mixed food supplies such as sugar, salt,
rice, wheat, milk, soft drinks, and other foods with each other on the
kitchen floors so that they cannot be used, and many buildings and homes
have been completely destroyed in order to allow access for big tanks to
enter the narrow streets. These are real stories and you will know when this
happens to us.
The sad reality is that we keep wondering --with all this that is
happening-- what will it take for the rest of the world to take definitive
and direct action demanding Israel to abide by UN resolutions and stop the
genocide, will it be the death of one hundred Palestinians in one hit, five
hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or even more? What is the number in your
opinion?
Midnight: Reprots from UN Clinic Next to IBDA'A Social Deheishe Camp, Near Bethlehem
April 4, 2002, www.jerusalem.indymedia.org
These are only a couple of the incidents that the medical personnel at the UN Clinic located next to Deheishe experienced today.
- 6pm: A pregnant woman from Deheishe went to the clinic because she was having contractions. The UN medics helped her give birth, but the baby was born sick. Both the mother and the baby needed to be rushed to the hospital, but the IDF patrols told the UN clinics that the ambulance was not allowed to move. As a result, the baby died 2 hours later.
- Today, during clashes, three boys under the age of 15 were shot by Israeli Occupation Forces. One was shot in the ankle, one was shot in the wrist, and one was shot in the neck. All three are in recovery thanks to the United Nations clinic.
- Also today, one of the ambulances at the United Nations clinic was targeted by IDF soldiers, and hit with automatic gunfire. Many windows were broken out, but the vehicle can still run. There is currently an ambulance shortage in Palestine. All Palestinians are requesting medical supplies as well as unrestricted access for medical personnel to reach the injured.
April 04, 2002 1400: We have had reports from Manger Square of increased military activity in the area. There is shelling in the vicinity. The Israeli forces have been reported as banging on the door of the Nativity Church and they issued an ultimatum that this is the last chance for people to come out. We are receiving information from an observer in the area who can see troops ready to be mobilized toward Manger Square but at the moment they are not moving. Specifically there are about 50 IDF troops lining the road by the Syrian Church near Manger Square. We have also had an unconfirmed report from a reliable source that the Israeli army are attempting to break through a wall in Milk Grotto Street. Three ambulances in convoy came out of the al-Husayn Hospital in Bethlehem heading towards Manger Square. They will attempt to evacuate the wounded Palestinians, among whom is a man requiring immediate surgery. Earlier such attempts to evacuate the wounded have failed due to the IDF’s refusal to allow for evacuation of the critically wounded or humanitarian aid for the remaining besieged. International civilians in the area are attempting to arrange for humanitarian aid (medical supplies and assistance, food, water) to be allowed into Manger Square and are awaiting a response from the IDF District.
RAMALLAH
5:10pm: Internationals Demand
Solana Delegation Come to Ramallah
April 4, 2002, International Solidarity Movement
For Immediate Release
[Ramallah] – With Javier Solana due to arrive in Jerusalem this afternoon, the
34 International peace activists in President Arafat's compound, and the
hundreds on the ground in Bethlehem and Ramallah, demand that Mr. Solana and his
delegation come to Ramallah to witness the military assault on the civilian
population and to come to the Presidential compound to stop the siege on the
Palestinian people. Mr. Solana cannot, through his inaction and acceptance of
Israel's terms, allow Prime Minister Sharon and the government of Israel to
become the jail-keeper of Mr. Arafat and to continue to hold the Palestinian
people hostage.
The conditions in the compound are worsening, as the water supply is depleted,
food is in great shortage, and medicine is desperately needed. Throughout
Ramallah, now in its sixth day of 24-hour curfew, people are being held as
prisoners in their own homes by the Israeli assault.
International peace activists are prepared to meet Mr. Solana's delegation and
bring it safely into Ramallah. The only threat to his safety would be from
Israeli forces. It is imperative that the international community reject Israeli
conditions and take responsibility for the desperate humanitarian conditions in
Ramallah and all Palestinian communities.
For more information, please call:
Huwaida Arraf– 972-52-642-709 or 972-55-975-374
Adam Shapiro – 972-52-481-261
Dr. Mustafa Bargouthi – 972-59-254-218
10:30pm: Report from Arafat HQ, IDF Lies about Mass Burials
April 4, 2002, www.jerusalem.indymedia.org
April 04, 2002 2230: Nine international civilians left the Presidential compound today with two Red Crescent ambulances that had been permitted to deliver food aid but no medical. The delegates, including one man showing symptoms of a heart attack, left the compound at 5pm. They were to have been driven to the Calandia checkpoint where they were going to meet representatives from the German and French embassies and given safe passage to Jerusalem.
To this point, 10pm, no one in the compound, nor the embassies, have heard from the delegates. The Red Crescent office reports that the ambulance drivers have not checked in either. IMC Palestine has just received a post looking for these people.
Currently there are three ambulances that have been damaged by the occupation forces sitting in the courtyard of the Presidential compound. Local reports state that IDF soldiers have used the ambulances to drive into the refugee camps.
The IDF has posted yet another lie regarding the mass burials in Ramallah. IMC Palestine posted vivid pictures displaying the Occupation forces blockade of the hospital and the terrible results. People could not get to the cemetary .
8:45pm: Report from Presidential HQ...Food Aid Into Ramallah
April 4, 2002, www.jerusalem.indymedia.org
From the Presidential Compound: The situation inside the compound is extremely grave. Worryingly, the President only has one day of personal medical supplies left. There have been no medical supplies allowed in and there are still injured inside requring care.
The food supplies have also dwindled dangerously and the bottled water available has almost gone. The water supply into the compound has been cut again.
Yesterday four trucks loaded with medical and food aid made it through the Calandia checkpoint into Ramallah after the initial attack made by the IDF on one of the trucks. Today the medics and internationals will try to distribute the aid.
A personal plea from Tzaporah Ryter in Ramallah, and an update from some medical volunteers
SUMMARIES
11:45pm:
Medical Teams are Targeted – Civilian Population Under Attack
April 4, 2002, The Palestine Monitor,
A PNGO Information Clearinghouse
For more information contact Juliana at the Palestine Monitor
+972 (0)2 5834021 or +972 (0)2 5833510
palmon@upmrc.org
The Israeli army continues it reoccupation of the West Bank towns – now
Ramallah, Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Qalqiliya, Nablus, Jenin, parts of Hebron
and Tulkaram have been attacked. The attacks still continue in Jenin. The
latest attacks further exacerbate the already dreadful humanitarian crisis.
An eyewitness in Jenin, only meters from the refugee camp entrance said the
shelling began at 2am this morning when the camp was bombarded by missiles
from Israeli apache helicopters and tanks. Throughout the day Jenin has been
invaded by more than 60 tanks, indiscriminate shelling the norm; at least
seven people have been reported dead thus far. The Red Crescent hospital in
Jenin was also attacked in the bombardment, an attack in which one woman was
killed.
In Bethlehem approximately 243 people are still surrounded in the Church of
the Nativity, 45 of them priests and nuns, the rest Palestinian citizens.
Israeli soldiers have already blown up the door and people inside fear that
soon they will invade. Ambulances are still prevented from reaching the
injured. At 6:30 this morning Samir Ibrahiem Salma made his way to church as
he has done every morning for years. People told us that he was “simple”,
but a kind and harmless man; Israeli troops shot him dead. Another fatality
was the 56-year-old bell ringer – shot while ringing the church bells.
In Beit Sahour, a town adjoining Bethlehem, the municipality has been
occupied and damaged by Israeli troops.
The invasion of Tulkaram is complete. In the process Israeli tanks destroyed
four Red Crescent ambulances and two Red Cross cars that were parked outside
the Red Crescent building. All civilians are under curfew, trapped in their
homes with dwindling food supplies, no access to medical care, and little
water. The 50 children in the city orphanage are in the same dangerous
predicament, four of them who are very sick are prevented from getting to
the hospital – unfortunately this is now the norm. The mayor of Tulkaram,
Izz ad-Don As-Sharief described the dangerousness of the situation, ‘ it is
all very bad. The Israelis have broken the water pipes, and destroyed the
electricity generators that pump the water. There is no bread, no water, and
no milk for the children. The people who tried to get to the broken water
pipe which is spraying out water – the soldiers shot at them”.
Nablus has also been fully invaded with 250 tanks on the streets of the
city, 23 people are reported injured, but only seven were able to get to
hospital; as in the other Palestinian cities all civilians are prevented
from receiving medical care, with services blocked. Medical Relief has set
up six field hospitals in different areas of the city to treat those wounded
from the Israeli attacks.
Ramallah remains under complete siege – all passage in and out is barred,
the Israeli army arbitrarily detained UPMRC medical staff three times in the
course of the day. The majority of people have no access to drinking water.
According to Abdul Karim Assad, the head of the Ramallah water company, it
received permission from the Israeli authorities to repair the water pumps
destroyed by the tanks in the invasion. However the workers were harassed
by soldiers on the ground when attempting to go to the pumps – and so
returned to their homes. A second round of negotiations occurred – and again
the workers set out to repair the pump. However while they were working all
those involved were taken away – we can only assume they were imprisoned.
The Ramallah water company serves 230 thousand people. Currently, about 150
thousand people do not have water at all throughout most of Ramallah
including all hospitals, 90% of al-Bireh, four nearby villages, all of
al-Ram and parts of Beit Hanina.
Also in Ramallah, Dr. Nader Eideh the head of the Red Cross maternity
hospital reports Israeli soldiers entered the hospital and took away five
staff members – two doctors, two nurses and a technician.
Maha Dibeit, a 39-year-old seriously disabled Christian woman was last night
being fed by her mother when she choked. The ambulance was called for, and
the family tried to save her. The ambulance was stopped from reaching her,
and she died. Her body remains in the three-roomed house as the soldiers
still prevent the ambulance from removing her body – her 69 year old father
is too terrified to try to remove her, too afraid to leave the house.
According to Dr. Mustafa Barghouti “ the most important issue here is the complete and severe humanitarian crisis. All ambulances are blocked and targeted, medical care is paralyzed, and soldiers on the streets terrorize people. We don’t have water, others don’t have food.”
April 4th:
An Israeli View from Arafat's Compound
Middle East News Online:
www.middleeastwire.com
An Israeli View from Arafat's Compound
publisher: Middle East Research and Information
Project (MERIP)
By: Neta Golan and Ian Urbina
Posted: 2002-04-04
It is not Israeli actions which have surprised the
international peace observers currently holed up
within Arafat's presidential compound. It is the
inaction of the international community that most
shocks us. Inside the pock-marked building surrounded
by Israeli tanks and snipers, there is one question on
everyone's mind: how many international laws does
Israel need to break before the UN demands a full and
immediate withdrawal?
The list of violations is reaching unprecedented
levels, even for a conflict with a long history of
ugly behavior on both sides. International law
absolutely forbids the building of the settlements,
but 34 new settlements have been constructed in this
year alone. Collective punishment is illegal. But
Israel has now escalated from interrupting food
shipments to completely shutting off water to the
Palestinian city of Ramallah, endangering the lives of
120,000 people. The shelling of innocuous Palestinian
civilian structures such as power plants, schools, and
sewage facilities, is occuring at an alarming rate.
Unarmed civilians are being killed practically on a
daily basis.
There are also growing reports of Israeli troops
raiding hospitals and firing on ambulances and
journalists. These are grave breaches of international
convention. The recent experience of American
newspaper correspondent, Anthony Shadid, is hardly
uncommon. First, he was shot while in a zone under
full Israeli control. The area was quiet and there was
no crossfire in which to be caught. Shadid was wearing
the required signs on his back and front indicating
that he was with the official press as he walked away
from an interview in our building. Soon after Shadid
arrived to the hospital, Israeli troops raided it with
machine guns drawn. He was subsequently transferred
for further medical treatment, and his ambulance came
under fire by Israeli soldiers manning a checkpoint.
Israel is making a mockery of the Fourth Geneva
Convention, the founding legal document of
international human rights law, and by its tacit
acceptance, the UN is severely eroding its credibility
in the region and beyond.
Those of us inside the presidential compound need help
desperately. But not half as much as those on the
outside who are facing the full brunt of the mass
round-ups and house-to-house raids. The situation can
not deteriorate much further. Medical supplies have
run out. Food is scarce.
Pressure from abroad is essential, even when only on a
person-by-person basis. Boycotts and letter writing
work. The presence of international "human shields"
throughout the Occupied Territories has been very
important in limiting the indiscriminate nature of
Israeli military actions. But nothing short of a UN
demand for a full withdrawal to the 1967 UN recognized
borders will succeed in restoring calm and opening the
way for peace negotiations. Only then can there be
discussion of the status of Jerusalem and the
Palestinian refugees. Simply pulling the troops out of
the recently invaded regions will not suffice.
It is not just the Palestinians and foreigners within
the compound who have been calling for a full
withdrawal. Even sectors within the Israeli military
have put forward this option as the only chance for
peace and security for the Israeli people. In a formal
"Letter of Refusal" to Sharon, several hundred Israeli
soldiers, most with combat experience, advocated a
full withdrawal and have stated their unwillingness to
serve in the West Bank or Gaza Strip.
But Sharon does not want to listen. And in the
meantime we in the compound are left, not without
fear, wondering whether the international community
will allow the permanent expansion of the already
illegal occupation and the exile if not assassination
of the Palestinian leader.
---------------
Neta Golan, an Israeli, is among the 40 international
peace observers occupying Arafat's besieged office.
Ian Urbina is Associate Editor of Middle East Report,
a foreign policy magazine in Washington DC.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS ON INTERNATIONALS IN PALESTINE
3:00pm: The evacuation of Internationals from Star Hotel
April 4, 2002, by Ghassan Andoni,
International Solidarity Movement & Centre for Rapprochement
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is in the midst of its campaign
against the Israeli occupation. internationals are arriving for certain periods
of time and being replaced. a group of Americans and British ISM members were
due to leave and were stuck in star hotel in Bethlehem. they all did a wonderful
job in protesting, demonstrating, and protecting Palestinian civilians. they
were shot at randomly in a peaceful march in Beit Jala and seven of them were
injured. the group left the country because they were due to leave, currently
many others are in their way to replace them. ISM groups in Bethlehem are
currently living with Palestinian families in the refugee camps. we all salute
all the internationals who are coming and taking the huge risk to help and work
hand in hand with Palestinians in those difficult times. hundreds are calling
and are in their way. we all stand together and the movement is growing.
4:30pm:
International Peace Delegations Refused Entry at Ben Gurion
April 4, 2002, The Palestine Monitor, A PNGO Information
Clearinghouse
For more information contact Juliana at the Palestine Monitor +972 (0)2 5834021 or +972 (0)2 5833510
palmon@upmrc.org
www.palestinemonitor.org
INFORMATION BRIEF
Three international peace delegations attempting to come to Israel as part of
the Grassroots International Protection for Palestinians (GIPP), two from Italy
and one from Greece were this morning denied entry to Israel at Ben Gurion
airport.
One of the groups was immediately returned to the aeroplane and deported; the
other group protested the decision at the airport, but were assaulted by the
police, and forcibly deported.
Six of the delegates representing Italian and Greek political parties and
members of Parliament did manage to gain entry, and they will hold a press
conference today at the American Colony Hotel at 3:30 PM.
The Israeli refusal to allow these GIPP delegates into Israel, and therefore
Palestine, is a worrying step. Since the Israeli army has begun its military
assault on, and reoccupation of, the Palestinian towns and cities in the West
Bank they have made the areas “closed military zones.” They have also made it
illegal and dangerous for foreigners, whether journalists or those who live and
work in the West Bank, to remain there. This effectively gives the military
carte blanche to act as they wish – without witnesses or ‘objective’ reporting.
Dr. Barghouthi said “the refusal to allow the GIPP delegates entry needs to be
severely protested as the Israelis want to isolate completely the Palestinians,
and keep away all witnesses and those who are coming to help us while we in the
West Bank are living through a drastic humanitarian crisis”.
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