[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Transfer on the Move

[Alfred Kagan]

>X-Sender: bakaplan at staff.uiuc.edu
>Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 14:23:50 -0600
>To: allenne at s.psych.uiuc.edu, esty at uiuc.edu, degoldma at uiuc.edu,
>    lgoodlad at uiuc.edu, agoulet at uiuc.edu, hartnett at uiuc.edu, bakaplan at uiuc.edu,
>    skaul at uiuc.edu, loomba at uiuc.edu, ncastro at uiuc.edu, maxwell at uiuc.edu,
>    lnewcomb at uiuc.edu, rwb at uiuc.edu, cprender at uiuc.edu, mpr at uiuc.edu,
>    schehr at uiuc.edu, asutclif at uiuc.edu, mct at uiuc.edu, jawalker at uiuc.edu,
>    gdwood at uiuc.edu, wright3 at uiuc.edu, zlesser at uiuc.edu, yy47 at uiuc.edu,
>    klc at uiuc.edu, zsulliva at uiuc.edu, kensalo at uiuc.edu, hawhee at uiuc.edu,
>    pmortens at uiuc.edu, andyorta at uiuc.edu, obrien1 at uiuc.edu, aburton at uiuc.edu,
>    c-neely at uiuc.edu, madbunny1 at juno.com, anpetty at uiuc.edu, hoddeson at uiuc.edu,
>    koslof at uiuc.edu, drabin at staff.uiuc.edu, jallman at uiuc.edu, 
>droedige at uiuc.edu,
>    k-oberd at uiuc.edu, jrbarret at uiuc.edu, alario at uiuc.edu, mitten at life.uiuc.edu,
>    bunzl at uiuc.edu, jvalente at uiuc.edu, j-hay at uiuc.edu, akagan at uiuc.edu,
>    jagoe at uiuc.edu, c-cole at uiuc.edu, wkellehe at uiuc.edu, dprochas at uiuc.edu,
>    a-fields at uiuc.edu, jencart at mycidco.com, ssawhney at uiuc.edu,
>    jhansen1 at uiuc.edu, jawalker at uiuc.edu, akagan at uiuc.edu, hoxie at uiuc.edu,
>    mtodorov at uiuc.edu, andyorta at uiuc.edu, sgdavis at uiuc.edu, frizvi at uiuc.edu,
>    lruthjoh at uiuc.edu, webmaster at one-world.org, mbw at uiuc.edu, ccs at uiuc.edu,
>    pfritzsc at uiuc.edu, webber at uiuc.edu, hibbardc at uiuc.edu, sbs at uiuc.edu
>From: Brett Kaplan <bakaplan at uiuc.edu>
>Subject: Fwd: Transfer on the Move
>X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.1 required=5.0
>	tests=BALANCE_FOR_LONG_20K,DEAR_SOMEBODY,FWD_MSG,
>	      QUOTED_EMAIL_TEXT,SPAM_PHRASE_00_01,SUSPICIOUS_RECIPS
>	version=2.43
>X-Spam-Level:
>
>  >Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 09:33:07 -0600
>>To: Brett Ashley Kaplan <bakaplan at uiuc.edu>
>>From: Ania Loomba <loomba at staff.uiuc.edu>
>>Subject: Fwd: Transfer on the Move
>>X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by
>datasrv1.cso.uiuc.edu id gALFYKqA026174
>>
>>Brett--this is from my friend Avraham Oz in Israel. Can you forward
>>to the TFPJ please?
>>
>>
>>>User-Agent: Microsoft-Outlook-Express-Macintosh-Edition/5.02.2022
>>>Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 11:45:15 +0200
>>>Subject: Transfer on the Move
>>>From: Avraham Oz <avitaloz at research.haifa.ac.il>
>>>To: Avraham Oz <avitaloz at research.haifa.ac.il>
>>>
>>>Here is a report from my friend  Gadi Algazi, member of the Jewish-Arab
>>>movement TAAYUSH, telling you how Transfer (euphemism for ethnic cleansing
>>>is already with us.
>>>
>>>Best,
>>>  A. Oz
>>>
>>>Professor Avraham Oz
>>>Department of Theatre
>>>University of Haifa
>>>1111 Eshkol Tower
>>>Mount Carmel, 31905 Haifa, Israel
>>>Office Tel: +972-4-8240672
>>>Office Fax: +972-4-8249714
>>>Home Telefax: +972-3-5609627
>>>Email: avitaloz at research.haifa.ac.il
>>>
>>>Dear Friends,
>>>On October 18, 2002, after several years of systematic harassment by the
>>>settlers of Itamar, the last inhabitants left the small Palestinian village
>>>Khirbet Yanoun, south of Nablus. It thus became the first Palestinian
>>>village to be deserted in the present Intifada. This is a dangerous
>>>precedent. While the danger of organized ethnic cleansing in case of a
>>>further violent escalation (during a war with Iraq, for example) is often
>>>discussed, many in Israel, Palestine and abroad ignore the ongoing process
>>>that prepares transfer: the gradual undermining of the infrastructure of
>>>the civilian Palestinian population's lives in the occupied territories
>>>which undermines the hold of the Palestinian population on its
>>>land.  Yanoun is a clear example of this process.
>>>    Through concerted local action -- maintaining presence at Yanoun 24
>>>hours a day for two weeks, protecting the villagers from the settlers and
>>>exerting political pressure from below -- Ta'ayush activists from Israel,
>>>together with volunteers from abroad, have managed to reverse the process
>>>and help the families return to their homes. Preventing the expulsion of
>>>civil population and creating bridges of concrete solidarity across the
>>>borders was the raison d'etre of all our activity for the past two years.
>  >>However, Yanoun's existence remains fragile and the process at work has not
>  >>been stopped.
>>>    The following texts document the event. Please distribute them as widely
>>>as possible.
>>>    Yours --
>>>Gadi
>>>-----------------------
>>>The following article was published in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.
>>>-----------------------
>>>Haaretz, 15/11/2002
>>>
>>>Transfer’s real nightmare
>>>[]
>>>By Gadi Algazi and Azmi Bdeir
>>>
>>>As these words are being written, Khirbet Yanun still exists. Or maybe not:
>>>15 of the 25 families that lived in the village are still there. This is
>>>not an insignificant number: If the reader recalls, on October 18 only two
>>>old men remained there, having refused to leave even after the last
>>>families departed, holding on by their fingertips to the village despite
>>>the abuse of settlers. The others had decided to take their possessions and
>>>move to the nearby town of Akrabeh.
>>>    However, Khirbet Yanun's existence is still frail and incomplete. There
>>>is still no electricity or running water, the houses are without furniture,
>>>the presence of residents sparse, their security unassured. At the
>>>beginning of last week, volunteers from Israel and abroad - Jews and Arabs
>>>who belong to the Ta'ayush movement - were still on site, but their
>>>presence there was transitory. Come the next attack by settlers, which will
>>>happen sooner or later, Khirbet Yanun may be emptied of its residents for
>>>good.
>>>    Many Israelis who are committed to a life of peace and justice in this
>>>country are convinced, it seems, that despite all the horrors of the
>>>occupation and the violent conflict, there are still certain red lines that
>>>they will not allow Ariel Sharon and his government to cross: Transfer will
>>>not be permitted to happen. When the critical moment arrives, they will
>>>stand up and stop it.
>>>But transfer isn't necessarily a dramatic moment, a moment when people are
>>>expelled and flee their towns or villages. It is not necessarily a planned
>>>and well-organized move with buses and trucks loaded with people, such as
>>>happened in Qalqilyah in 1967. Transfer is a deeper process, a creeping
>>>process that is hidden from view. It is not captured on film, is hardly
>>>documented, and it is going on right in front of our eyes. Anyone who is
>>>waiting for a dramatic moment is liable to miss it as it happens.
>>>The main component of the process is the gradual undermining of the
>>>infrastructure of the civilian Palestinian population's lives in the
>>>territories: its continuing strangulation under closures and sieges that
>>>prevent people from getting to work or school, from receiving medical
>>>services, and from allowing the passage of water trucks and ambulances,
>>>which sends the Palestinians back to the age of donkey and cart. Taken
>>>together, these measures undermine the hold of the Palestinian population
>>>on its land.
>>>    When the water trucks don't make it to the villages, when every trip to
>>>work becomes an adventure with an unforeseeable end, when schools are
>>>closed and hospitals in the nearby urban center begin to grow further away
>>>- the local fabric of life begins to disintegrate. Some of the young
>>>people, who used to work outside the village and then return home every
>>>night, remain outside, choosing not to attempt to pass through the
>>>succession of roadblocks each morning. Families that are able to do so move
>>>to safer places, closer to their sources of income, inside the population
>>>centers.
>>>    And the number of instances are mounting up: the butcher from Jerusalem,
>>>who despairs at the attempt to cross the Qalandiyah roadblock and who has
>>>closed his shop that is situated north of it; the taxi driver who moved out
>>>of his home in northern Jerusalem to live, crowded with the rest of the
>>>family, in his parents' home in the Old City, in order to have a chance to
>>>get to work; residents of a West Bank village whose son was about to begin
>>>studies in the nearby city of Nablus, but because it is no longer so
>>>accessible even by public transit, are poised to leave their village and
>  >>move to the city. All of these cases signal how the hold of the Palestinian
>  >>population on the land is being weakened.
>>>
>>>Not an isolated case
>>>What the army's closures and sieges don't achieve, the settlers do: Every
>>>new settlement and outpost requires security, of course, and the meaning of
>>>security to settlers is eviction of Palestinians from the surrounding area,
>>>and transformation of the agricultural lands to death zones, for whoever
>>>enters them to pick olives or work the land may end up paying for the act
>>>with his life. In order for a handful of settlers to dominate almost half
>>>of the land of the occupied territories, an organized action, a conquest of
>>>the land, a tower-and-stockade thrust is required. Armed, subsidized and
>>>organized, they systematically rough up residents of the villages, very
>>>much like the paramilitary units employed by hacienda owners in Latin
>>>America to inflict a reign of terror on the peasantry. They are above the
>>>law.
>>>    The campaign against the olive harvesters was therefore an important
>>>component of the settlers' attempt to pull out from under the legs of the
>>>villagers the little that they still have. It is also intended to show them
>>>that the settlers are the real masters, that they can pick the olives of
>>>the villagers with impunity, and drive off with gunfire anyone who tries to
>>>stand in their way.
>>>    Khirbet Yanun is not an isolated case. Dozens of villages in the area of
>>>Tul Karm and Qalqilyah, Salfit and Nablus have been subjected to intense
>>>existential pressure for several months. This is not necessarily marked by
>>>dramatic incidents causing death and casualties, but by organized abuse,
>>>constant deterioration of living conditions, tightening of the
>>>stranglehold, and increased isolation from the economic, cultural and
>>>political centers of Palestinian society.
>>>    All of these long-term structural processes, which gradually undermine
>>>the population's hold on its land, are clearly expressed at Khirbet Yanun.
>>>It is a small and isolated settlement that lies only a few hundred meters
>>>from the outposts established by the settlers of Itamar. The outposts were
>>>established in the hills above Yanun in the late 1990s, under the auspices
>>>of the "peace process." Akrabeh is situated a 15-minute drive away, via a
>>>poorly maintained dirt road that is easy to block off.
>>>    Venture out at night into the streets of Yanun. The little village is
>>>dark, the landscape pastoral. But even in the village itself, residents are
>>>not alone: On the hill opposite, the settlers' watchtowers can be seen, and
>>>from the hill on the other side, the caravans and cars are visible. The
>>>lights of the patrol vehicles can be seen from far away. Here in their
>>>homeland, the people of Yanun sit surrounded, as in a sort of reserve whose
>>>days are numbered. The settlers may appear at any moment, and they do: The
>>>children hide whenever they hear the sound of their all-terrain vehicles.
>>>The residents freeze in place in the olive grove whenever the settlers
>>>appear.
>>>    This, too, is not an isolated case: If you find yourself in the southern
>>>Hebron hills along the edge of the desert, along with Palestinian residents
>>>living in their tents in Susya, here too you will find that there is no
>>>room for the local residents. Look up and you will see a star-studded sky,
>>>but all it takes is a glance around you and you will understand that you
>>>are surrounded - army vehicles patrol the road, which the Palestinians are
>>>not allowed to approach. On the other side are the settlers of Susya: Woe
>>>to anyone who gets too close to the fields adjacent to the settlement. And
>>>Susya continues to expand. An illuminated security road passes behind you,
>>>in the wadi, and if you take a look northward, you will see the lights of
>>>the nearby army base and hear the announcements crackling from the
>>>loudspeakers.
>>>    This reality conveys an unambiguous message: Residents of the reserve -
>>>you are surrounded; it would be best if you surrendered. And these are also
>>>the explicit words uttered by the settlers to the people of Khirbet Yanun
>  >>during recent attacks on the village, when they broke into homes, when they
>  >>beat Abd al-Latif Bani Jaber in front of his family: Get out of here, go to
>>>Akrabeh.
>>>Complaints lodged by Yanun residents to the police provide a documentation
>>>of the process by which their village has turned into a ghost town. The
>>>village is situated in Area C, which is under the full security and
>>>administrative responsibility of Israel, but in the opinion of local
>>>residents, there is a tacit agreement between the army and the settlers.
>>>All development in the village is blocked. Indeed, since 1992, the Israeli
>>>Civil Administration has forbidden any construction there. The fields have
>>>become unsafe. The settlers used to come down the hill and treat the
>>>village as if it were their own. Local residents quote one of the settlers
>>>from Itamar, who told them that he and he alone ruled the area. I will
>>>remain here, he said, when the police and the press have gone. According to
>>>residents, it was he who led the raids on the village.
>>>    And so, long before they burned the electrical generator in April 2002,
>>>the infrastructure of daily life was increasingly being undermined. The
>>>children of Khirbet Yanun used to go to the elementary school in Yanun
>>>a-Tahta, which is near Akrabeh. When the raids grew worse and the road
>>>became unsafe, a small school was opened in the village, less than two
>>>years ago. This school was closed when the last families left the village.
>>>The walls were closing in on the daily lives of the villagers.
>>>    The nearest high school is in Akrabeh, which has become so much more
>>>distant. So anyone who wants his children to stay in school is compelled to
>>>leave Yanun and move to the town. But even without this consideration - who
>>>is going to decide to stay in a village where settlers come and go as they
>>>please, day and night, marching on the roofs of the houses and breaking
>>>into the homes?
>>>    On Thursday, October 17, the principal of the small school in Khirbet
>>>Yanun bade farewell to his last students. The next day, the last six
>>>families left town. Two days later, the Ta'ayush volunteers arrived in
>>>order to enable residents to return to their village. Most of the residents
>>>are still there.
>>>
>>>Danger signal
>>>Khirbet Yanun sends a danger signal that should not be disregarded: Tens of
>>>thousands of people are liable to become displaced persons and refugees. In
>>>addition, Israeli "security sources" repeatedly leak reports that in time
>>>of war or escalation of the conflict, the Sharon government may try to
>>>displace many others, on an organized basis. The pain of displacement will
>>>not be soothed by time. For years to come, Israeli society will have to
>>>contend with the violent cost of this displacement, which is added to
>>>previous rounds of it.
>>>    Yanun is a warning sign not only to Israelis but also to Palestinians.
>>>The danger of transfer is tangible. In order to eliminate it, there is a
>>>need for serious work in the field and a strengthening of the local
>>>economy. First and foremost, there should be a focus on rejuvenating the
>>>social fabric and strengthening the internal solidarity within Palestinian
>>>society. Without these, a new wave of refugees is liable to be added to the
>>>old camps or join existing urban centers.
>>>    The foundation that is required for sumud (the stubborn clinging to the
>>>land, the determination to hold on in spite of the occupation) will not be
>>>found in symbolic actions, in focusing on international public opinion at
>>>the expense of dealing with the distress at home, or in armed
>>>demonstrations of power. In order to contend with the creeping process of
>>>transfer, Palestinian society must enlist its human resources in order to
>>>struggle over every meter of land and every goat. Will this effort find
>>>loyal Israeli allies in the civil struggle against dispossession?
>>>    Ta'ayush volunteers came to Khirbet Yanun for two weeks to fend for the
>>>residents, to facilitate their return home and to roust public opinion out
>>>of its state of apathy. Fifteen families have returned to their homes,
>  >>albeit hesitantly and fearfully, and their return is not complete.
>  >>   During our stay here, the army has been compelled to demonstrate its
>>>presence. But past experience teaches the residents that despite their
>>>calls for help, the maltreatment will not end. During our stay here, the
>>>Itamar settlers succeeded in swooping down on the village and severely
>>>beating two residents and four volunteers. None of the rioters was
>>>arrested. A sign of things to come.
>>>Our presence in Khirbet Yanun was temporary. It is impossible and it is
>>>wrong for the presence of Israeli citizens to be the only guarantee to
>>>ensure the continued existence of a Palestinian village. Unless people in
>>>Israel stand up to the injustice and support the people of the village,
>>>they will remain at the mercy of the settlers. When will the next attack
>>>come? Will it be after the residents leave? Will they blow up the houses of
>>>the village? Or move into the houses? And where will they stop?
>>>    The sights from three weeks ago remain with us. On the moonlit night
>>>when we arrived in Yanun, we walked through the abandoned Arab village. The
>>>residents had time to prepare themselves, to take their belongings, gather
>>>light fixtures and pull out the electrical wiring. There wasn't even the
>>>sound of a single dog barking in the village. Still, wherever you turn, you
>>>see open homes, broken-down doors, yawning black voids. And on the
>>>surrounding hillsides, the watchtowers of the settlers of Itamar. More or
>>>less, this is how the Palestinian villages looked after 1948. Fifty-odd
>>>years later, we are here again, Israelis and Palestinians, captives of a
>>>history whose bitter lessons we have forgotten.
>>>
>>>Tel Aviv & Kafr Kassem, November 2002
>>>
>>>The writers are members of the Ta'ayush -- Arab Jewish Partnership movement.
>>>
>>>For further details, see: Http://Taayush.tripod.com
>>>---------------------------------------
>>>We also include here the initial report by the New York Times
>>>correspondent, Joel Greenberg (New York Times, 21.10.2002)
>>>and by Norbert Jessen, Die Welt, 1.11.2002.
>>>
>>>Jewish Settlers' Zeal Forces Palestinians to Flee Their Town
>>>
>>>New York Times, October 21, 2002
>>>
>>>By JOEL GREENBERG
>>>
>>>KHIRBAT YANUN, West Bank, Oct. 20 - The alleys of this Palestinian hamlet
>>>were silent today, the empty stone
>>>houses locked, the small local school deserted.
>>>The last families living here left on Friday, broken by what they said was
>>>a year of steadily mounting violence by
>>>Jewish settlers living in neighboring outposts on the hills. The gunfire,
>>>stone-throwing, physical assaults and
>>>vandalism had become unbearable, they said.
>>>"This was not a life," said Kamal Sbeih, 40, a father of six, who packed up
>>>and moved with his family to the
>>>neighboring village of Aqraba. "I left against my will. It is more
>>>difficult than death, but I would go to the desert
>>>so my son can sleep safely."
>>>The evacuation of Khirbat Yanun, a village southeast of Nablus which once
>>>numbered 150 people, is the first case in
>>>memory in which harassment by Jewish settlers has emptied an entire
>>>Palestinian community. It was also an example of
>>>how militant young settlers are shaping the conflict in the West Bank after
>>>more than two years of violence between
>>>Israelis and Palestinians.
>>>The zeal of the younger generation of settlers, born and reared in
>>>conflict, was on display several miles west of
>>>here today, where about 1,000 Jewish youths fought soldiers and police
>>>officers who came to evict them from an illegal
>>>settlement outpost known as Gilad Farm - one of scores of encampments built
>>>in recent years on West Bank hills.
>>>Hurling epithets at the soldiers and urging them to refuse orders, the
>>>young protesters clung to shipping containers
>>>and barricaded themselves in sheds before they were dragged off, and the
>>>structures were demolished. Dozens of people
>>>were hurt. After the troops left the area, a few hundred youths returned to
>>>rebuild the dismantled structures.
>>>Prime Minister Ariel Sharon criticized the settlers today, saying, "There
>  >>is no issue which justifies violence against
>  >>soldiers and the security forces."
>>>Outposts similar to the one taken down today, extensions of the Jewish
>>>settlement of Itamar, flank Khirbat Yanun.
>>>The slopes below the outposts have become effectively off limits to the
>>>villagers in recent years. Settlers have
>>>opened fire to scare goat shepherds away and to distance olive pickers from
>>>hillside groves, villagers said. Two
>>>weeks ago a man from the neighboring village of Aqraba was killed when
>>>shots were fired at olive pickers on a hill
>>>nearby.
>>>Yaacov Hayman, the chairman of the local council of Itamar, said that after
>>>two years of lethal Palestinian attacks,
>>>which he said had killed 11 people from the settlement, the villagers had
>>>to keep their distance.
>>>"After everything we've been through, we're not willing to let them get
>>>near us," Mr. Hayman said. "We're not willing
>>>to take any chances."
>>>But settlers have also made violent forays into Khirbat Yanun itself,
>>>coming with increasing frequency over the
>>>past year, especially on the Jewish sabbath and holidays, villagers said.
>>>The settlers would threaten residents at
>>>gunpoint, hurl stones from rooftops, smash windows and vandalize property,
>>>according to the villagers. They
>>>described huddling in their homes with frightened children as settlers
>>>pounded on doors.
>>>Mr. Hayman said he was not aware of any such attacks.
>>>Yet the empty hamlet bore scars of violence. Windows were broken in some
>>>homes. A blackened building held the rusting
>>>remains of a generator, which residents said had been burned by settlers in
>>>April, leaving the village with no
>>>electricity. Three water tanks that had supplied the village lay empty.
>>>Residents said they had been toppled by
>>>settlers.
>>>Abdellatif Sbeih, the mayor, showed a scar on his head he said was left
>>>from the blow of a settler's rifle. He
>>>produced a sheaf of written complaints to the police going back four years,
>>>which he said had produced no results. The
>>>troubles began five years ago when the settlement outposts first went up,
>>>he said, and they have continued unabated.
>>>A police spokesman confirmed that complaints had been received, saying that
>>>settlers had been questioned but none
>>>had been prosecuted.
>>>As the violence intensified over the years, people began moving out of
>>>Khirbat Yanun. Last Friday, the last few
>>>families left.
>>>"We always hoped to God that that our complaints would help, but it was all
>>>in vain," said Yussef Sbeih, 85, the
>>>village elder.
>>>His son, Atef Sbeih, 57, who also left Friday, looked back at his shuttered
>>>home, where he said settlers had broken in
>>>four months ago.
>>>It was not easy to leave after seven generations of village life, but the
>>>welfare of the children was at stake, Kamal
>>>Sbeih said. "One of my sons would cry and hold me in fear, and I had to get
>>>up with him at night and take his hand just to go to
>>>the bathroom," he said. "No one can accept living like this."
>>>The mayor and a few other men from this abandoned village came back today,
>>>saying they had to maintain a presence
>>>here to prevent settlers from taking it over.
>>>"This our land and we can't surrender it to them under any conditions,"
>>>Mayor Sbeih said. "We hope that if the
>>>situation calms down, we'll be able to return with the children."
>>>"Inshallah," he added, "God willing."
>>>
>>>(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/21/international/middleeast/21MIDE.html?ex=1
>>>0
>>>36196695&ei=1&en=b1499b82e5d61f59)
>>>
>>>-----------------------------------
>>>
>>>http://www.welt.de/daten/2002/11/01/1101au365734.htx?search=israel&searchHIL
>>>I=1
>>>
>>>Der Kampf um die Olivenbaeume
>>>
>>>Die Welt, 1/11/2002
>>>Von Norbert Jessen
>>>
>>>Tel Aviv - "Mein Herz ist weiss, weiss. Warum wollt ihr es schwarz?
>>>Schwarz!" Mit kargem Wortschatz versucht Fadil den Gaesten aus Israel an
>>>diesem sonnigen Oktobertag klar zu machen: Wer so unter dem Druck von
>>>Gewalt leben muss wie er, der koenne eines Tages nur noch Terrorist werden.
>>>Denn gewaltsame Uebergriffe israelischer Siedler gegen palaestinensische
>  >>Bauern ueberall im Westjordanland gehoeren in diesem Jahr zum Alltag der
>  >>herbstlichen Olivenernte.
>>>    Noch am Mittwoch reiste eine ganze Busladung israelischer Schriftsteller
>>>und Intellektueller in die besetzten Gebiete, um ein Zeichen des Protestes
>>>gegen diese systematische Gewalt zu setzen. Ihr Bus kam bis Akrabe, einem
>>>Dorf in der Naehe von Chirbet Jannun. Dort halten bereits seit letzter
>>>Woche israelische Friedensaktivisten Wache. Sie waren enttaeuscht, dass die
>>>Gruppe der Beruehmtheiten sich nicht bis ins abgelegene Bergnest bemuehte.
>>>    So sahen sie auch nicht den verbrannten Generator, vor dem der alte
>>>Fadil vergangene Woche die Friedensgäste aus Israel mit seiner Rede
>>>empfing. Der Stromspender war eine Finanzspende der EU an das kleine Dorf.
>>>Erst vor fuenf Jahren floss Elektrizitaet mit diesem Motor ins Bergnest bei
>>>Nablus. Mit dem Strom konnten die Bauern auch eine Pumpe an ihrer
>>>Wasserzisterne anbringen. In den Haeusern aus rohem Stein und grobem Beton
>>>gibt es seitdem fliessendes Wasser. Sollte einmal der Bergpfad ins Dorf
>>>asphaltiert werden, waere Chirbet Jannun an die Moderne angeschlossen.
>>>    Eigentlich sind die Wochen der Olivenernte eine froehliche Zeit. Sie
>>>bringt die Familien fuer einige Tage zusammen. Auch die Angehoerigen von
>>>ausserhalb reisen an. Aber in diesem Jahr wurde in allen Teilen der
>>>besetzten Palaestinensergebiete die Ernte von den Siedlern gestoert. Ueber
>>>vier Stunden brauchte Fadil, um vom Krankenhaus im nahen Nablus ins Dorf
>>>zurueckzugelangen. An vier Strassensperren musste er sich vorbeischmuggeln.
>>>Sein juengster Sohn liegt mit Schusswunden im Krankenhaus. Der Aelteste
>>>wurde von Schuessen aus dem Hinterhalt getoetet. Das war Fadils Ernte in
>>>diesem Jahr.
>>>    "In der Nacht nach den Schuessen kamen wieder die Siedler aus der
>>>Siedlung oben auf unserem Berg. Sie rammten die Wasserspeicher oberhalb des
>>>Dorfes um", berichtet Fadil. Dann verbrannten sie auch die Pumpe. Sie
>>>badeten in der Zisterne. Danach wuschen sie auch die Hunde im Trinkwasser
>>>des Dorfes. Als sie abzogen, schwamm Kot im Wasser, nicht von den Hunden.
>>>    Strom, Wasser, dann das Leben. Da kennt jemand den baeuerlichen Alltag
>>>sehr genau. "Viele der Siedler aus Itamar wuchsen in Bauerndoerfern in
>>>Israel auf. Erst als Erwachsene nahmen sie einen religiösen Lebensstil an
>>>und zogen in die besetzten Gebiete", weiss Merav aus der Friedensgruppe,
>>>die sich um Fadil schart. Eine bunte Mischung aus Frauen, Maennern, Jung
>>>und Alt, Juden und Arabern. Sie gehoeren zu Ta'ajousch, einer Gruppe
>>>juedischer und palaestinensischer Friedensaktivisten aus Israel. Als sie
>>>vom "ersten Verlassen eines palaestinensischen Dorfes seit 1967" hoerten,
>>>siedelten sie um in die leeren Haeuser des Orts. "Chirbet Jannun darf nicht
>>>leer stehen", warnt Organisator Gadi Algasy. "Eine Vertreibung waere fuer
>>>alle Siedler ein Erfolg mit Signalwirkung."
>>>    Einige aus der Gruppe der neuen Dorfbewohner entwickelten ihr
>>>Organisationstalent als Offiziere der israelischen Armee, andere in der
>>>Kommunistischen Partei Israels. Dschamila sitzt die ganze Nacht Wache. "Ich
>>>kann nicht schlafen. Dieses Dorf erinnert mich an meine alte Heimat." Die
>>>Frau mit dem arabischen Vornamen ist eine Juedin, die vor ueber 20 Jahren
>>>aus Syrien fluechtete. Der erste Fluchtversuch scheiterte. "Ich war 14 und
>>>kam ins Gefaengnis. Seitdem hab ich keine Fingernaegel mehr." Israel ist
>>>keine Diktatur wie Assads Regime, erklaert sie am Lagerfeuer ihre Motive,
>>>aber solang es Besatzung und Siedlungen gibt, bleibt Israel nur eine
>>>Demokratie mit Anfuehrungszeichen. "Und die muessen weg. Darum bin ich
>>>hier."
>>>    Als die Sonne aufgeht, wird nicht nur die Siedlung auf dem Berg
>>>sichtbar. Drei weitere Siedlungen stehen auf den Bergen hinter dem Tal. Es
>>>sind "Ableger" der Muttersiedlung Itamar. Sie liegt ausser Sichtweite
>>>Jannuns. Aber das Dorf liegt genau in der Mitte dieser auch nach
>>>israelischem Recht illegal errichteten Orte.
>>>    Aus Sicht der Siedler behindert Jannun die weitere Ausdehnung ihrer
>>>Siedlungen. Sie stoerten die Olivenernte, wenn diese im "Sicherheitsbereich
>  >>ihrer Aussenposten" stattfindet. Als seien die palaestinensischen Bauern
>  >>schuld, wenn ihre uralten Olivenbaeume so nah an den Siedlungen stehen. Oft
>>>wurde die Ernte von den Siedlern gestohlen. Auch dafuer haben diese ihre
>>>eigene Sicht: "Der Boden ist unser. Also auch die auf ihm stehende Ernte."
>>>Selbst nachdem zwei Oberrabbiner den Olivendiebstahl als Raub brandmarkten,
>>>stoppten die Uebergriffe nicht ganz.
>>>    Am Morgen faehrt ein Militaerjeep vor. Leicht verstoert blickt der
>>>Offizier auf die Besucher, die sich als israelische Staatsbuerger
>>>entpuppen. Unbewaffnet und ohne schusssichere Weste wurde in dieser Gegend
>>>schon lange kein Israeli mehr gesichtet. "So sind sie, die Gideoniten",
>>>schuettelt er den Kopf, als er vom verbrannten Generator und den anderen
>>>Zerstoerungen hoert. Eine nicht ganz schluessige Reaktion: Gideoniten sind
>>>ein Ehrenname, den sich die Siedler gaben.
>>>    Der Offizier bespricht mit Fadil, wo heute Oliven geerntet werden
>>>koennen. Nicht am Berghang vor der Siedlung. Aber links und rechts der
>>>Strasse, wo am Wochenende die Schuesse fielen. "Ich habe nicht genug
>>>Soldaten." Gadi Algasy erklaerte ihm, dass die Ta'ajousch-Gruppe Tag und
>>>Nacht anwesend sein wird. Nicht fuer ein paar Tage, sondern solang es
>>>notwendig sein wird. Wieder schuettelt der Offizier den Kopf. Am Morgen
>>>sind 15 der 20 Familien nach Jannun zurueckgekehrt. Ob sie ueber Nacht
>>>bleiben, darueber sind sich nicht alle sicher. Aber die Ernte draengt.
>>>    Am Mittag faehrt wieder ein Jeep vor. Ein Oberstleutnant schaut sich die
>>>Schaeden an. Fruehere Beschwerden waren mit der Erklaerung abgewiesen
>>>worden, die Armee sei nur fuer die Sicherheit der illegalen Siedler, nicht
>>>fuer Polizeiaufgaben verantwortlich. Aber nicht nur der Geheimdienst ist
>>>besorgt. Die Zahl ungeklaerter Schussangriffe auf palaestinensische
>>>Passanten stieg in den letzten Monaten in die Dutzende, eine erste
>>>Untergrundzelle von Siedlern wurde ausgehoben.
>>>    Am Nachmittag findet der "Schichtwechsel" statt. Die Abloesegruppe aus
>>>Tel Aviv steigt zoegernd aus dem Minibus. Sie sind erfahrene Demonstranten.
>>>Aber diese Aufgabe ist neu: "Nachtwache, bevor es ganz dunkel wird", meint
>>>einer. Fadil bringt es auch dieses Mal auf den Punkt: "Ohne euch koennten
>>>wir hier nicht mehr sein."
>>
>Brett Kaplan, Assistant Professor
>Program in Comparative Literature
>3080 Foreign Languages Building, MC 160
>707 South Matthews Avenue
>Urbana, IL 61801
>
>Tel. (217) 333-1253
>Fax. (217) 244-4019


-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu