Page 8 - link magazine

8 The Link Maqazine • April 2003
Palestine and Israel are the real issue in the Middle East,
not Iraq says Link reader

In January Alex Ogle, right, from Peatmoor visited Palestine with students from Sussex University. Here he observes the everyday
experiences of a society under occupation which fears for its existence whilst war with Iraq provides a diversion to the world's media.
As we walked through Tel Aviv's and Gaza, to Jordan, Lebanon and tempts to rule their lives. and public facilities de-
Ben Gurion airport a large glossy further afield. What we hear in the stroyed by Israeli tank
poster greeted our arrival to the As towns and villages were bull- media barely reflects the fire.
Holy Land: a young child gazing dozed to make way for the new, situation on the ground. Everyone we spoke to
up at the Israeli flag morphing 'peace loving and democratic' state Where Israelis are 'mur- asked what people back
into a glorious dove of peace, of Israel, the Palestinians became dered by terrorists', Pal- in Britain thought of
swooping under a blue sky. the largest single group of refu- estinians are 'left dead' what Israel is doing to
The'54' emblazoned on this im- gees in the world. after 'clashes with secu- them. We told them,
age proclaims the number of years What has changed? At best the rity forces.' sadly, not much.
since the state of Israel came into horrific massacres and systematic Presented as a conflict What could we tell the
being. 'cleansing' of those first years have between polarised reli- people back home, we
It is also the number of years slowed, yet we learnt from the gious zealots, the situa- wondered, to become
since a tidal wave of ethnic cleans- people we met of war crimes tak- tion is rarely reflected as being aware of what is happening in Pal-
ing began. In the years immedi- ing place daily, darkening the ho- between an'illegal, militant occu- estine is wrong and would stand
ately after World War II, millions rizon of the land where all reli- pier' and the 'occupied.' up in any international court as
of Palestinians were ejected from gions should live in harmony. Day to day life is completely being a gross abuse of basic hu-
their homeland, expelled to areas Over the border in Palestine, controlled by the occupation, the man rights of millions of people?
we now know as the West Bank away from Israel whose constitu- random curfews imposed on What would convince them?
tion declares its whole towns and cities force eve- That six women died last April
The apartment block across the road from where citizens must all be ryone to stay at home. Children during the brutal incursions, after
the students were starting in Gaza one religion, can't go to school, indeed Israel giving birth at army checkpoints
Christians, Mus- has imposed a law forbidding any- because the ambulance was not
lims, and a minor- one under 35 years from passing allowed through to hospital?
ity of Palestinian through check-
^ Jews live in a com- points, of which
munity united in hundreds cover
^
' their opposition the territories. This
against the crimes means thousands
and continued of children have
suppression from a now been forced to
brutal military oc- change schools or
cupation that at- give up all hope of
leaving their im-
mediate commu-
nity whilst this law
stands.
Under curfew,
How about the fact that torture
IIu'I which can last for five hours or on a medieval scale is legal in Is-
five days, adults can't go to work.
We met a baker who wakes at 4am raeli prisons, and hundreds of pris-
to bake the day's goods, often to oners are held for months on end
0 find a new curfew imposed leav- in 'administrative interrogation.'
ing him unable to sell his produce. We heard a number of stories of
After spending any time in Pal- how soldiers raped and tortured
estine, one has to respect the prisoners' wives, mothers and sis-
strength of the community under ters in front of them to make them
such terrific pressure. Their reso- confess to anything they ask.
lute good humour in the face of How about the fact that over 250
such awful circumstance is sur- children have been targetted and
prising and admirable. wilfully killed by the Israeli army
We were there on Christmas day since the start of the intifada (upris-
for Orthodox Christians in Janu- ing) two years ago?
ary. Forgetting the curfews and Daily one hears of the deaths of
the occupation for a few hours, the ordinary Palestinians in Gaza or
people of this small town, of which the occupied territories.
eighty per cent are Christian, cel- Now while the world is focused
ebrated the birth of Christ with a on Iraq, Palestinians fear mass
simple act of resistance by walk- deportations by the Israeli army.
ing up and down 'Star Street' in A final solution you might say.
Beit Sahor, just outside Bethlehem
- the route the shepherds followed
the star towards the birth of the
Messiah.
Everyone we met was deter-
mined to show that Palestine will
never die, whether it was children
making sure they went to school,
or people who walked miles and
miles across barren, rocky hills to
by-pass military road blocks to get
to work, or by rebuilding houses Martyr posters in Gaza City