[Peace-discuss] from inside Ramallah

Thu Apr 4 23:31:02 CST 2002

<html><div style='background-color:'><DIV>Just passing this along.&nbsp; Thought folks would want to see it, grisly as it is.&nbsp; Democracy Now has also been carrying reports of parking lots being converted into temporary graveyards and repeated an interview with an international observer originally broadcast live while Israeli soldiers were shooting people who had their hands in the air.&nbsp; Grim stuff.</DIV>
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<DIV>-Ricky</DIV>
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<DIV>From: Gush Shalom &lt;<A href="http://lw12fd.law12.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=F000000001&amp;a=4069cc3dd59fe5c789d0dddae904188e&amp;mailto=1&amp;to=adam@gush-shalom.org&amp;msg=MSG1017839415.17&amp;start=1352518&amp;len=16997&amp;src=&amp;type=x" target=_top>adam at gush-shalom.org</A>&gt; To: List &lt;<A href="http://lw12fd.law12.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=F000000001&amp;a=4069cc3dd59fe5c789d0dddae904188e&amp;mailto=1&amp;to=info@gush-shalom.org&amp;msg=MSG1017839415.17&amp;start=1352518&amp;len=16997&amp;src=&amp;type=x" target=_top>info at gush-shalom.org</A>&gt; Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 14:01:04 +0200 Subject: [Fwd] Appeal from Siege of Ramallah &amp; LAW report The following two messages coming from Ramallah speak for themselves. The issue of execution of prisoners mentioned fits alarmingly well with the repeated expressions from the highest level that 'this war has no territorial or other boundaries' - among others it was said by the Defence Minister during the March 29 press conference declaring the present war of re-occupation. ----- Original Message ----- From: ghaith alomari &lt;<A href="http://lw12fd.law12.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=F000000001&amp;a=4069cc3dd59fe5c789d0dddae904188e&amp;mailto=1&amp;to=galomari@hotmail.com&amp;msg=MSG1017839415.17&amp;start=1352518&amp;len=16997&amp;src=&amp;type=x" target=_top>galomari at hotmail.com</A>&gt; To: &lt;<A href="http://lw12fd.law12.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=F000000001&amp;a=4069cc3dd59fe5c789d0dddae904188e&amp;mailto=1&amp;to=galomari@hotmail.com&amp;msg=MSG1017839415.17&amp;start=1352518&amp;len=16997&amp;src=&amp;type=x" target=_top>galomari at hotmail.com</A>&gt; Sent: Saturday, March 30, 2002 4:05 PM Subject: Fwd: Appeal from Siege of Ramallah &gt; &gt;APPEAL FOR HELP FROM THE SIEGE OF RAMALLAH &gt; &gt;30 March 2002, Easter Weekend &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;We are members of the international and Palestinian &gt; &gt;community trapped in the Siege of Ramallah. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;On early Friday morning, 29 March 2002, Israeli forces &gt; &gt;re-invaded the city of Ramallah.&nbsp; The Israeli forces &gt; &gt;have occupied Ramallah completely and have established &gt; &gt;tank positions throughout the city, in all civilian &gt; &gt;areas. We can hear explosions, tank shelling and heavy &gt; &gt;caliber gunfire throughout the night and day. Israeli &gt; &gt;snipers are shooting regularly in civilian &gt; &gt;neighborhoods at times when they are not under any &gt; &gt;form of fire. As we write this, there are US-made &gt; &gt;Apache attack helicopters overhead firing on the city. &gt; &gt;Israeli bulldozers are creating permanent positions &gt; &gt;for the tanks in and around private houses. There is &gt; &gt;the constant sound of tank movements throughout &gt; &gt;residential areas. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;Israeli forces have attacked the Presidential &gt; &gt;compound, and are now holding Palestinian President &gt; &gt;Yasser Arafat hostage with no electricity, water or &gt; &gt;phone lines. Members of President Arafat's bodyguards &gt; &gt;have been killed, and others are still injured and &gt; &gt;being denied medical care. Conditions in the city are &gt; &gt;now deteriorating rapidly. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;Some of us have had experience in other sieges, in &gt; &gt;Sarajevo, Dili, and elsewhere. There is a familiar &gt; &gt;pattern of emergency rapidly developing. This is the &gt; &gt;beginning of a humanitarian crisis. Immediate &gt; &gt;intervention is required to prevent a disaster. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;No Movement Possible: Inhabitants of the city are &gt; &gt;under complete curfew. There is absolutely no freedom &gt; &gt;of movement, even for ambulances, doctors or &gt; &gt;international agencies, such as the International &gt; &gt;Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). There is no medical &gt; &gt;access. Palestine Red Crescent medical relief workers &gt; &gt;have not been permitted to provide medical services to &gt; &gt;the local population. Israeli forces are firing on &gt; &gt;anyone walking out on the streets. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;On Thursday, based on fears of an Israeli re-invasion, &gt; &gt;more than 500 inhabitants, including foreign &gt; &gt;nationals, lined up in the mud and rain at the &gt; &gt;Qalandiya checkpoint-the only exit point from the city &gt; &gt;allowed by Israel-begging Israeli soldiers to allow &gt; &gt;them to escape. In response, Israeli soldiers fired &gt; &gt;over their heads, exacerbating the panic and causing &gt; &gt;most to simply return to Ramallah. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;Israeli Forces Using Human Shields: Israeli soldiers &gt; &gt;are occupying an increasing number of private &gt; &gt;residences and detaining the residents collectively in &gt; &gt;single rooms, with little or no access to telephone &gt; &gt;lines, news coverage or even food and water. In some &gt; &gt;cases, tens of civilians (including entire families) &gt; &gt;are being held in one room. Meanwhile, Israeli &gt; &gt;occupation soldiers have taken up armed positions in &gt; &gt;the houses or apartments of these residents. Civilian &gt; &gt;detainees include foreign nationals. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;No Access to the City: The ICRC, the UN and other &gt; &gt;humanitarian agencies are unable to access the city or &gt; &gt;to access the civilian detainees and other prisoners. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;Food Resources Limited: There is no food entering &gt; &gt;Ramallah and no one is allowed to restock. There will &gt; &gt;shortly be a food and drinking water crisis. Some &gt; &gt;parts of Ramallah are already without water &gt; &gt;altogether. Israeli soldiers are also eating the food &gt; &gt;of residents while taking up positions in their &gt; &gt;houses. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;Electricity Being Cut: Large parts of Ramallah are &gt; &gt;without electricity and heat. The weather has been &gt; &gt;raining and unseasonably cold - residents have been &gt; &gt;struggling to keep warm. The lack of electricity also &gt; &gt;means that residents are without television and any &gt; &gt;news reporting of the situation outside their homes. &gt; &gt;Many residents of the city rely on cellular phones for &gt; &gt;communication and without electricity they are unable &gt; &gt;to recharge their phones. Therefore, the population is &gt; &gt;being held in isolation and there is increasing fear &gt; &gt;and confusion. Also, some telephone landlines have &gt; &gt;been cut. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;Prisoners Being Taken: Israeli forces are taking &gt; &gt;Palestinians prisoner, in the streets and in &gt; &gt;house-to-house searches. Israeli troops are calling &gt; &gt;upon all male residents between the ages of 16 and 40 &gt; &gt;in some neighborhoods to "surrender". The wounded are &gt; &gt;being treated roughly and being denied medical access. &gt; &gt;Now, their fate is unknown. There are reports of &gt; &gt;summary execution of some prisoners. The ICRC does not &gt; &gt;have access to them to ensure adherence to &gt; &gt;international law, and specifically the Geneva &gt; &gt;Conventions. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;Gratuitous Vandalism and Destruction: There are &gt; &gt;on-going spiteful acts of destruction. Most commonly, &gt; &gt;Israeli tanks are driving over and flattening cars &gt; &gt;whether on the streets or parked on pavements in front &gt; &gt;of residences. Personal property inside houses is &gt; &gt;being destroyed in house-to-house searches. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;We, the besieged people of Ramallah, appeal to all &gt; &gt;people of good conscience around the world to mobilize &gt; &gt;immediately. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;We particularly appeal to the people of Israel, in &gt; &gt;whose name these actions are being taken, for help. To &gt; &gt;keep the option of peace alive, we appeal to you to &gt; &gt;ask your Government to immediately lift the siege. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;We appeal for the safety of all individuals. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;We appeal for freedom of movement within the city and &gt; &gt;outside access to the city. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;We appeal for food, medical supplies and access to &gt; &gt;medical treatment, electricity, water, phone lines and &gt; &gt;other necessary facilities. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;We appeal for access of humanitarian agencies, &gt; &gt;including the ICRC, to all detainees, prisoners and &gt; &gt;hostages, including Palestinian President Yasser &gt; &gt;Arafat, to ensure their well-being. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;WE APPEAL FOR THE SIEGE TO BE LIFTED. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;This appeal has been made to you by Palestinians, as &gt; &gt;well as nationals of the United States, the United &gt; &gt;Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jordan and other &gt; &gt;nationalities. &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;For More Information: &gt; &gt;Due to fear of retribution, the names and contact &gt; &gt;information of those authoring this appeal have not &gt; &gt;been included. For their contact information, please &gt; &gt;contact Michael (972-52-266-208). &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;International Committee of the Red Cross: Jer. (972-2) &gt; &gt;582-8845, Tel Aviv (972-3) 524-5286 &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees &gt; &gt;(UNRWA): (972-2) 589-0401 ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sat, 30 Mar 2002 19:04:03 +0200 From:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Lawsociety" &lt;<A href="http://lw12fd.law12.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=F000000001&amp;a=4069cc3dd59fe5c789d0dddae904188e&amp;mailto=1&amp;to=law@lawsociety.org&amp;msg=MSG1017839415.17&amp;start=1352518&amp;len=16997&amp;src=&amp;type=x" target=_top>law at lawsociety.org</A>&gt; Five Palestinians executed in Ramallah 30 March 2002 This morning, five Palestinians have been found dead in Taiboun building in Ramallah. The bodies were found by Maher Shalabi, correspondent for Dubai TV. This morning at 10.30 he entered the building and discovered the bodies of Khaled Fathi Mahmoud Awad (33), Ismail Ibrahim Zaid (56), Said Hamam Abdelrahman (60), Abdelrahman Tawfiq Abdallah (58), and Omar Muhammad Musa (54). Last night, Israeli forces had surrounded the building and prevented anyone from entering. The building includes offices of several media agencies, including MBC, Dubai TV, internet provider Palestine Online, and Cairo Amman Bank. All five have been identified as officers in the Palestinian security forces. They were found in one room. All five bodies were lying next to each other. They were injured in their faces and killed by gunshots in the head. Furthermore, eyewitnesses have told LAW that it seemed that the bodies were sprayed by bullets. On the ground lay many shells of bullets. Blood was found on the walls. LAW's assessment suggests that these five officers have been executed. LAW emphasizes that extra-judicial executions constitute willful killings, which are a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and as such constitute war crimes subject to universal jurisdiction. Under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, these grave breaches constitute war crimes. Whatever policy the Israeli government chooses to implement, it must by within the limits imposed by international humanitarian and human rights law. Extra-judicial killings cannot be reconciled with the Fourth Geneva Convention, which seek to protect the lives of protected persons, and violate human rights norms that affirm the right to life and the prohibition on execution of civilians. Israel's ongoing human rights violations further illustrates the need for the immediate deployment of an international protection presence to prevent violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and to protect Palestinian protected persons within the Occupied Palestinian Territories. LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment calls for a thorough, independent, and effective international investigation into violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including war crimes, and calls for those found responsible for such actions to be tried before an international court. ____________________________ LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organization dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAW is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the Federation International des Ligues de Droits de l'Homme (FIDH) and the World Organisation Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, PO Box 20873, Jerusalem, tel. +972-2-5833530, fax. +972-2- 5833317, email: <A href="http://lw12fd.law12.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=F000000001&amp;a=4069cc3dd59fe5c789d0dddae904188e&amp;mailto=1&amp;to=law@lawsociety.org&amp;msg=MSG1017839415.17&amp;start=1352518&amp;len=16997&amp;src=&amp;type=x" target=_top>law at lawsociety.org</A>, web: <A href="http://64.4.18.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&amp;lah=12194c1dd7971c74407b28747f06f9f9&amp;lat=1017983262&amp;hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2elawsociety%2eorg" target=_blank>http://www.lawsociety.org</A> Subj:&nbsp;&nbsp; Fwd: Personal Report from Ramallah Date:&nbsp;&nbsp; 4/1/02 10:26:39 PM Eastern Standard Time From:&nbsp;&nbsp; Batikj To: SHINOM To: Justice and Peace in Israel/Palestine Group (If you do not want to continue to receive these messages, please let me know.) From: Fred Bush Truth has to be repeated. The media and the other institutions of power are so powerful that telling the truth once is not enough.&nbsp; Eqbal Ahmad, Confronting Empire.&nbsp; "Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it." â€“ Arabic Proverb Following is a report from an American in Ramallah. Imagine what happens to Palestinians. This was sent by Dr. Bill Thomson, a professor at the University of Michigan. Live Report from Ramallah, Palestine: The Israelis Took Over My House March 29, 2002 By Maha Sbitani [Maha may be reached at her home # 972-2-295-6660 her email is <A href="http://lw12fd.law12.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=F000000001&amp;a=4069cc3dd59fe5c789d0dddae904188e&amp;mailto=1&amp;to=mahacomm@aol.com&amp;msg=MSG1017839415.17&amp;start=1352518&amp;len=16997&amp;src=&amp;type=x" target=_top>mahacomm at aol.com</A>] Today at 5:00am I was awakened by what sounded like huge trunks, when I looked out the window I saw several tanks. 1/2 hr later the Israeli soldiers rang the bell - we did not answer - then I heard them coming up the steps (obviously broke in the main door). The pounded the door to the house, My husband opened the door, to find endless huge guns pointed at us. They pushed the door open and distributed themselves throughout the house and office. Over 50 heavily armed soldiers were now in the office and home (which are adjacent). We asked what they wanted and they told us to shut up and sit down. I explained that I was American they said that they did not care what I was. I insisted that they leave the house and told them as an American I protest to what they are doing. The said "this in no worse than what your country is doing in Afghanistan." I told them to use the steps and the roof if they insist on staying and to get out of the house and office. They said "shut up and sit down, we do what we want wherever we want." I got my passport out and asked for the commanding officer. The officer said that they are thinking about leaving. I asked when he said soon. They started to rip the curtains and breaking things. I asked them not to do that and gave them an ashtray to put out their cigarettes instead of the floor. One took the ashtray from me and threw it in the hallway. At that point I realized they are out of control. I went to the phone to call the American Consul. 3 soldiers attacked me one pushing one twisting my arm and the other taking the phone away from me.&nbsp; I went to the office to get my computer they kept on pushing me, poking me with the guns and telling me to get back in the house.&nbsp; I started screaming "I cannot believe you are doing this don't you realize I am American" the commanding officer asked them to leave me alone and gave permission for me to get my laptop. They started laughing and calling me Bush. As I was getting my laptop I heard a crashing noise, I ran to the house and found my husband on the floor with 3 guns pointed at him. I screamed for the commanding officer that came and pushed them away. They were everywhere and doing what they felt like doing, including urinating on the floor.&nbsp; I went to the kitchen to get coffee and found Olive oil spilled all over the place. They were just being vulgar and uncivilized, and became extremely annoyed when I complained about the barbaric behavior. The commanding officer took me in my bedroom where 4 soldiers were sitting and asked me about some buildings. I told him that most of the houses around us are full of children. One said, "Area A has no children".&nbsp; I kept on trying to make phone calls from different phones only to get more physically abused and have the phone taken away from me and immediately taking the battery out. Then I asked to go to the bathroom and had a mobile in my robe pocket. I called some officials while the soldiers broke in the bathroom and tried to take the phone. Within a 1/2 hr. they got a phone order to clear out of the house and office, leaving the places in shambles. As soon as they left I tried to talk to the Consul General, his mobile was picked up voice mail I left a message informing him of what has taken place. I also called his office and insisted that I talk to him personally. They put me on the phone with the American Citizens Services section, Ms. Victoria Coffineau (Chief of section) She told me I was one of dozens of American citizens making such complaints. The details of the disturbing phone call and response will follow soon to help other Americans in understanding what our offices abroad are about and what we actually get for our tax dollars. And how we allow ourselves to be treated by so called allies. That number of tanks is growing by the second. I have to get the message to you while I can. I will try to write later. They are trying to kill Yasser Arafat. I can see it from my window.&nbsp; God help the innocent. And help Americans in seeing the truth. Maha Sbitani A Palestinian-American living in Ramallah, next to Yasser Arafat's compound </DIV></div> <hr>MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: <a href='http://g.msn.com/1HM505401/15'>Click Here</a> </html>