Sunday, January 16, 2005

jeeps visit balata while i sit in al-quds

i just heard from some of my friends in balata that the army has been active in the camp since the moment i left. strange. i felt that the calm after the election would be disturbed by some sort of eruption; it still hasn't happened, and inshallah (god willing), it won't. but there have been minor disturbances.

apparently a few days ago a jeep entered the camp, destroyed some vegetable carts, and began provoking the shebab (young boys) to throw stones. the army is very good at this; they are actually given orders to go into the camps and provoke people. we know this is happening when they have no other orders such as making arrests, constructing a roadblock, or demolishing or occupying a home to take up sniper positions. there were no arrests, none of the above, only taunting. there is no other reason for them to enter the camps. this, i suggest, is terrorism.

the jeeps have loudspeakers, and my friends who speak arabic translate for me what they have been known to say. sometimes, when they enter to provoke the shebab into stone v. gun fights, they say things like, 'come on, you cowards, come defend your camp', or 'come throw stones, sons of whores'. nice things like this. sometimes they are more sadistic: 'come out and play, boys'. then the children get shot. the other day, when the jeeps entered to play these fun games, one little boy was shot at close range by 'rubber' bullets. (the bullets are not actually rubber; indeed, they are plastic coated metal balls. they hurt. they are known to kill.) this boy was lucky and sustained minor injuries. inshallah things are quiet now...

in shocking (ha) developments, ariel sharon apparently told the army that they had 'free reign' or a 'free hand' (it was translated differently by various media) in combatting 'terrorists' in the gaza strip. ha'aretz (israel's leading liberal daily) published an article today saying that the bombing at karni crossing, which killed around 7 israelis, was completely unprovoked, and that sharon has the right to decree such things because of the completely terroristic nature of the attack. unprovoked? how about the 7 innocent children that were blown to bits by an israeli missile while picking strawberries in their field a few days ago in gaza? and what about that military occupation? has ha'aretz forgotten about their boys in green and their daily terror? unfortunately, the media here in israel is about as irresponsible and terroristic as our corporate conglomeration at home.

on a more positive note, tomorrow i interview the lesbian palestinian woman in haifa. i am so excited to talk to her and will report back to this blog about the experience and her words...

No comments: