Al Quds editorial
NO ONE will deny that Israeli military activity and the collective punishment imposed on Palestinian citizens has caused serious damage and suffering to the Palestinian people. It has turned their lives into an unbearable hell and has deprived them of their most basic human and civil rights. This is in addition to the killing of more than one thousand, the wounding of tens of thousands and the detention of thousands more in Israeli prisons and detention centers, which now overflow with prisoners of conscience. Things are even to the point where the Israeli authorities have had to open new prisons and detention centers to accommodate the growing number of detainees.
It is also impossible to ignore the daily incursions and raids carried out by Israeli tanks and armed vehicles in Palestinian cities, villages and camps. These troops move freely while Palestinians have no protection from them or ability to confront them. The troops leave Qalqilya, Tulkarm, Bethlehem and Ramallah only to return a few hours later. During their invasions, Palestinians are killed or arrested - all according at the whim of the Israeli military and its orders.
These are all now irrefutable facts. But there is another side to this tense situation that the Israeli government would prefer to ignore or deflect Israeli public opinion away from. This aspect is that the Israeli military escalation and the Palestinian response have not only damaged Palestinians. Its negative effect has also spread to vast sectors of Israeli society, if not all of them.
Let us assume that the Israeli government is not interested in maintaining the suffering of the Palestinian people, but that this suffering is only intended to serve the aims of Israeli security and non-security interests. Even if this were true, is this government pleased by the deterioration of life inside Israel, whether regarding security, the economy or Israeli social life, as well as the growing loss of life and sense of security?
We must recognize what is already known: that both sides are living in a state of constant suffering. The continuation of this state will only lead to the systematic exhaustion of material and human potential. Therefore, there must be a way out of this terrible crisis.
The question is, are occupation and settlement worth these tremendous losses in lives, property and human values? It appears that they are. But until the Israeli government realizes that it is up against a Palestinian people determined to achieve its independence from the occupation, the cycle of violence will continue. The option of peace will erode and the dream of security and stability will diminish because of Israeli obstinacy and rigidity, which seems to have no end in sight.
Translated by Joharah Baker from Al Quds on May 28, 2002.
(c)Palestine
Report
Health experts warn of suicide attack implications
by Charmaine Seitz
PALESTINIAN SUICIDE bombings and attacks have never been more prevalent inside Israel than they are today. The phenomenon appears to be having a serious impact upon Israelis, say Palestinian and Israeli mental health workers. The long-term effects may be increased political hardening, defensiveness and a crop of major health problems.
"The central feeling is that we are imposed on by calamity, that the continuity between yesterday and today is disrupted," Professor Mooli Lahad told a conference on the "psychology of terrorism" cosponsored in Jerusalem by the Anti-Defamation League and the United States Embassy.
To explain the unsettling changes, Lahad gives the example of an Israeli school. The principal is now expected to act as a defense commander, he says. Teachers, once told to convince students to go on class trips, are now unable to do that because parents object. Should they insist, the teachers wonder? "There is a confusion of roles," Lahad explains.
In numbers, the implications on Israel of the recent Intifada are stark. Over 200 Israeli civilians have been killed within Israel's borders since the start of Palestinian-Israeli confrontations in September 2000. Compare that with the two years prior when not a single Israeli died in a bombing inside Israel.
While psychologists say that it is difficult to specifically identify the results of the current uprising on the Israeli psyche, a questionnaire distributed by Ben Gurion University reaped findings that as many as 25 percent of Israelis show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychologist Roni Berger calls this an "enormous rate," probably resulting from stress over time.
"Hopelessness is the end result," says Berger. "We are in the beginning and we see no end to it." He says that those who show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder lose their ability to rationalize the world. Berger intimated that this helps explains why Israelis see the world as overly hostile. "Europe becomes anti-Semitic. The fact that they might have their own world view is beyond us."
Berger also raises the specter of health problems for a significant portion of Israeli society. "In the long run," he explained, "if people are faced with chronic stress, the immune system begins to break down." He predicts rising rates of cancer and heart problems over time.
Palestinian clinical psychologist Shafiq Masalha says that, as a matter of mental health, the suicide bombings are "destructive."
"I believe that they evoke feelings of anxiety and anger. While some Palestinians may think that it will bring Israelis to ask for peace, in my experience, it makes them feel more distant from any Palestinian suffering." Masalha has done studies on Palestinian children's dreams and how they reflect the state of confrontation. But in this Intifada, as compared with the uprising of the eighties, he says that Israelis don't want to hear about it. "There is a blocking of empathy," he believes. He thinks the killing of Israeli civilians is to blame for this attitude.
Palestinian supporters of bombings in Israel often say they want not only to avenge Palestinian deaths, but to make Israelis feel unsafe for as long as Palestinians feel insecure. As such, the bombings are seen as the Palestinian answer to psychological warfare.
Israelis, too, see their ability to resist the attacks in those terms. Analyst Boaz Ganor told conference attendees that Israelis "are creating tremendous fear in between the attacks." He refers to the Hamas warning this year that 10 suicide bombings were on their way into Israel. "What does this mean?" Ganor asks. "In the next ten minutes? In the next ten years? And after those ten, will we have peace with Hamas?"
Notably, Berger says there is a direct correlation between the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder and the subject's ability to predict when attacks on Israelis will end. Those who know, he points out, are less likely to show signs of the disorder. He uses that data to argue that "politicians need to show that there is a light at the end of the tunnel."-Published 29/5/02 (c)Palestine Report
Prophet's Birthday
Muslims around the world marked the anniversary of the
Prophet Mohammed's birthday on May 24. On this occasion, the Waqf ministry
organized celebrations at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and called on the
world's Muslims to use this occasion as an opportunity to rescue Al Aqsa
(VOP).
Close the Prison
Arab Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi called for the closing
of Nafha Prison in the Negev, saying it violates the Fourth Geneva Convention
by transferring those under occupation outside their occupied territories.
On May 23, Tibi along with Arab Knesset members Talab Al Sane' and Abdel
Malek Dahamsheh visited the desert prison (VOP).
German Intelligence?
German foreign minister Joschka Fischer told the German
press on May 25 that members of the German intelligence apparatus are currently
in the Middle East on the mission of imposing a ceasefire between the Palestinians
and Israel. He said that the apparatus is coordinating with its counterparts
from other European Union countries and has made progress in achieving
calm between both sides (Al Quds).
More Settlements
Last week, the district committee for planning and zoning
in the Israeli housing ministry approved a new settlement on land belonging
to Beit Safafa, south of Jerusalem, on a site known as "Khirbet Tabalya."
Then new site, which is to be named Givat Hamatos, will be home to a settlement
erected on 1,000 dunams of land confiscated from Palestinian owners. In
its final stage the settlement will include 4,200 housing units and nine
major hotels along the main road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (Al Quds).
Plans for Jerusalem
Israeli chief of police in Jerusalem Mikki Levi says
he is seeking to open the Aqsa Mosque, known as the Temple Mount to Jews,
to any Jew who wants to visit. He also said that the Israeli police have
established a detailed plan to tighten security in Jerusalem, especially
along the line between Israeli municipal control and the West Bank. The
plan is based on erecting monitoring points and a 20-kilometer-long security
fence, in addition to forming five border guard regiments, to secure the
border zones (Al Quds).
Boycott Civil Administration
The National and Islamic forces organizing the Intifada
called on Palestinians to boycott the Israeli civil administration and
refuse to comply with procedures regarding the movement of people or goods
in the West Bank and Gaza. The coalition demanded that the Palestinian
Authority act firmly to prohibit dealings with the civil administration,
whether those of officials or citizens, and to punish any violator (Al
Hayat Al Jadida).
Checkpoint Death
Twenty-three-year-old Faydeh Najarjeh gave birth to a
baby boy at an Israeli army checkpoint on May 25, but her son died just
minutes after arriving at Bethlehem's French Hospital. Najarjeh, from Al
Khader village, said she was held up at the checkpoint by Israeli soldiers
that did not let her and her husband pass. By the time a Red Crescent ambulance
arrived at the scene, Najajreh had given birth but the newborn died of
complications en route to the hospital (Al Quds).
Arafat Chips
The Egyptian company "Joharah" has launched "Abu Ammar
Chips" potato chips. The company stated that some of the profits from the
new brand will go to the Palestinian people. The bag of chips, with the
Palestinian flag as a background, is to have a picture of the saluting
Palestinian president in his military garb and kuffiyeh with the words
"Abu Ammar, the hero of the struggle" and "Together we will build our promised
path." The chips come in an assortment of flavors, including cheese, ketchup
and hot pepper (Al Quds).
Eurovision Cold Shoulder
Israel has said that if the reports that certain European
broadcasters calling on viewers not to vote for Israel's entry in the Eurovision
song contest prove true, diplomatic problems could result. A report on
the Jerusalem Post website said that broadcasters from Sweden and Belgium
asked their viewers not to vote for Israel's Eurovision contestant Sarit
Hadad so that Israel would not win. One report said that Swedish broadcasters
told viewers that they had no intention of including Israel in the contest
because of "what it is doing to the Palestinians." Israeli foreign ministry
sources said that Israel would take the proper measures should the reports
prove true (Al Quds).
No More Bombings
Members of the Fateh Revolutionary Council in the Gaza
Strip called for an end to Palestinian military operations inside Israel
on May 28, saying that such operations damage the Palestinian national
struggle. The council called for the resistance to remain limited within
the occupied territories of 1967. The Fateh council also stressed that
peace and security for all states and peoples in the region cannot be achieved
except through an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of
a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital (Al Quds).
Final Preparations
Israeli security sources said on May 28 that the Israeli
military has made progress in annulling the security coordination commission
with the Palestinians, as well as the district coordination offices. Although
there has not yet been any final decision made to terminate the arrangements
made during the Oslo years, Israeli military chief commander Shaul Mofaz
said that a special team is working on the final steps for closing the
offices. Over the past few weeks, the Israeli civil administration has
assumed roles previously carried out by these offices, including the transfer
of goods and medicines to Palestinian territories (Al Quds).-Published
29/5/02 (c)Palestine Report
While Israeli troops have redeployed to the edge of the Gaza Strip and from all or part of seven West Bank cities, the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory is by no means finished. The JMCC seeks to keep a record of acts of Israeli violence (both military and civilian), and collective punishment. The following figures are for the week May 23 to 29 and were compiled from the Palestinian press and JMCC sources. They should not be considered a complete list of the ongoing Israeli violations of human rights of Palestinians.
KILLED 13 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, by Israeli occupation forces.
DEMOLISHED 3 homes in Rafah on the Egyptian border, by Israeli occupation troops.