Lulua
13-02-2002, 16:53
Assalaamu alaikum ya muslimeen.
Greetings and good day to all.
Hmm...we are all sitting comfortaly behind our computer screens, perhaps the television turned on close by, or radio or tape player. Air conditioners help us to survive the heat or to keep warm in the colder climates. For those more fortunate, our bellies are full(at least to the extent that we are not starving), and we have a grand choice of what to eat or drink at any time of the day or night.
At the very least, the vast majority of us are living in a safe environment, free of the fear of our home being destroyed and bulldozed around us as we sit here at our computer screens, and we are most generally assured that our children and grandchildren are safe and sound as well, playing in our backyards, over at their friends' or the neighbor's, or perhaps at the nearest playground or school activity or community center.
All of this we most generally take for granted, without giving a second thought to those much less fortunate than us, who do not have the luxury even of defending their own homes and families.
Following is a striking reminder of that. As well, it is a striking and enlightening pointer of why it is that so many Palestinians (and their supporters around the world) have resorted to such drastic and strong measures as the acclaimed 'suicide missions', out of revenge, defense, or merely dissatisfaction and hopelessness of their situation at hand.
Please do read on, and imagine yourself or your loved ones in the place of those mentioned, and perhaps you can, for once, envision or at the very least BEGIN to understand what is running through their minds and hearts. For those who cannot imagine such, it is only logical to deduct that you are supporters of the ongoing terrorism that the state of Israel continues to wreck.
I could have posted this on various forums, the 'news and views', under 'jihad in Palestine', or as well here in 'oppression'. I chose this forum, because of the terrible oppression that the Palestinians are still forced to live and die under.
May you all begin to understand. Even in the slightest.
Lulua.
================================================== ===============
The message from the high command
By Gideon Levy
Haaretz
February 10, 2002
An 11-year-old boy was shot in the head from short range while
fleeing after he threw stones at Israeli soldiers who were posted at
the roadblock next to the refugee camp where he lives. That is the
version given by eye-witnesses. It took the boy a week to die, and
the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman stated: "In the course of
disturbances, use was made of means to disperse demonstrations
against a youth who was identified as the chief inciter- The soldier
who fired acted properly."
A 15-year-old boy threw stones at a tank that was besieging the
headquarters of a national leader. A soldier shot him in the head
from short range, killing him. The IDF Spokesman: "There was a large
throng, which included stone throwing. The force that reached the
site reacted with means to disperse demonstrations but did not
identify any casualties. Nor were any complaints made to the
coordination and liaison authorities."
A soldier in an undercover unit gave hot pursuit to a boy of about
nine who had been throwing stones, shot him from behind and killed
him. The IDF Spokesman: "A group of Palestinians this morning
attacked soldiers with stones- In the riots a Palestinian youth aged
14 was killed."
These are the stories of three of the 80 Palestinian children
younger than 15 and the 197 below the age of 18 (according to data
of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group) who have been
killed in the intifada. The first two children were brothers and
their story was told in Ha'aretz Magazine. The testimony on the
third boy was reported by the Tel Aviv weekly Ha'ir, citing a
reserve soldier who was an eye-witness to the event.
The IDF has totally shaken off any and all moral responsibility for
the killing of these children. According to the army spokesman, one
boy was a "chief inciter" (and therefore deserved to die?). No
"complaints" were received about another (and therefore there are
doubts about whether he was killed?). The third took part in "riots"
(and therefore the verdict against him, death by shooting, was
valid?).
In not one of these cases did the IDF spokesman take the trouble to
do the minimum human necessary thing - to express sorrow at the
death of the children. The only conclusion is that the IDF is not
sorry about their killing. That is the message to those who did the
killing and to the families of those who were killed. No less grave,
the IDF did not even contemplate investigating the circumstances of
the deaths.
When this is the reaction of the IDF spokesman to the killing of
children and when the IDF's juridical system doesn't lift a finger
to investigate the incidents, the message that trickles down to
every soldier is perfectly clear - killing children does not result
in any sort of investigation, so no harm will come to a soldier the
next time he shoots a child in the head, whether the child is
throwing stones or running for his life.
The wave of harsh testimonies by reserve soldiers who refuse to
serve in the territories, which has inundated almost every media
outlet recently - and is the most important achievement of this
group so far - has again brought to public attention atrocities that
are being perpetrated in the occupied territories. The fact that
these testimonies come from Israeli soldiers - and not from
"dubious" Palestinian testimonies, reports of "extreme" human rights
groups or articles by a handful of "one-sided" journalists - has
given them greater credibility.
More important, the testimonies indicate that these are no longer
exceptional events but policy with a clear, if twisted, goal - to
embitter the lives of the residents so that they will put pressure
on their leaders to fight terrorism. That is what Israel did in
Lebanon and it is displaying the same behavior in the territories.
The women in labor who are not allowed to go through the roadblocks,
the terminally ill patients in ambulances who howl in vain in
traffic jams at roadblocks, and the children who are shot - if the
IDF senior command truly wanted to, it could put a stop to events
such as these.
The soldier who a few weeks ago told Rada Zakin from the village of
Yamoun, whose wife was in labor and bleeding in the car, that he had
the right to kill them but no right to let them through the
roadblock, expressed well the terrible reality that the IDF high
command has brought into being. The days of seminar that various
units occasionally hold on the subject of "human dignity" become
effectively meaningless if the spirit underlying the orders is that
now, since we are at "war," everything is permitted.
The fact is that not everything is permitted. When the IDF wanted to
prevent immoral and illegal actions, it was able to do so. There are
two offenses that IDF soldiers have rarely committed during the
years of the occupation - sexual harassment and looting. The main
reason for this is that the IDF fought with determination against
both types of deplorable behavior. Soldiers knew that they faced
severe punishment if they engaged in looting or rape. This is not
the case with soldiers who open fire with such intolerable ease at
children, prevent the ill from passing through roadblocks or abuse
residents of the territories.
These offenses are no less grave than rape or looting, but they are
considered less grave by the IDF. If in the perception of IDF senior
officers the killing of unarmed children - an act that former Shin
Bet security service chief Ami Ayalon has called "flagrantly
illegal" - does not merit investigation, denunciation or contrition,
it is no wonder that a soldier who was manning the Kalanya roadblock
a week ago Saturday opened fire, in the midst of a conversation with
his buddies, at a group of children who were throwing stones from a
distance at which the soldiers were out of range. This time no
children were killed.
__________________________________________________ _______
Palestine Solidarity Committee
University of Texas at Austin
Web address: http://www.utexas.edu/students/palestine
E-mail: palnet@www.utexas.edu
Greetings and good day to all.
Hmm...we are all sitting comfortaly behind our computer screens, perhaps the television turned on close by, or radio or tape player. Air conditioners help us to survive the heat or to keep warm in the colder climates. For those more fortunate, our bellies are full(at least to the extent that we are not starving), and we have a grand choice of what to eat or drink at any time of the day or night.
At the very least, the vast majority of us are living in a safe environment, free of the fear of our home being destroyed and bulldozed around us as we sit here at our computer screens, and we are most generally assured that our children and grandchildren are safe and sound as well, playing in our backyards, over at their friends' or the neighbor's, or perhaps at the nearest playground or school activity or community center.
All of this we most generally take for granted, without giving a second thought to those much less fortunate than us, who do not have the luxury even of defending their own homes and families.
Following is a striking reminder of that. As well, it is a striking and enlightening pointer of why it is that so many Palestinians (and their supporters around the world) have resorted to such drastic and strong measures as the acclaimed 'suicide missions', out of revenge, defense, or merely dissatisfaction and hopelessness of their situation at hand.
Please do read on, and imagine yourself or your loved ones in the place of those mentioned, and perhaps you can, for once, envision or at the very least BEGIN to understand what is running through their minds and hearts. For those who cannot imagine such, it is only logical to deduct that you are supporters of the ongoing terrorism that the state of Israel continues to wreck.
I could have posted this on various forums, the 'news and views', under 'jihad in Palestine', or as well here in 'oppression'. I chose this forum, because of the terrible oppression that the Palestinians are still forced to live and die under.
May you all begin to understand. Even in the slightest.
Lulua.
================================================== ===============
The message from the high command
By Gideon Levy
Haaretz
February 10, 2002
An 11-year-old boy was shot in the head from short range while
fleeing after he threw stones at Israeli soldiers who were posted at
the roadblock next to the refugee camp where he lives. That is the
version given by eye-witnesses. It took the boy a week to die, and
the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman stated: "In the course of
disturbances, use was made of means to disperse demonstrations
against a youth who was identified as the chief inciter- The soldier
who fired acted properly."
A 15-year-old boy threw stones at a tank that was besieging the
headquarters of a national leader. A soldier shot him in the head
from short range, killing him. The IDF Spokesman: "There was a large
throng, which included stone throwing. The force that reached the
site reacted with means to disperse demonstrations but did not
identify any casualties. Nor were any complaints made to the
coordination and liaison authorities."
A soldier in an undercover unit gave hot pursuit to a boy of about
nine who had been throwing stones, shot him from behind and killed
him. The IDF Spokesman: "A group of Palestinians this morning
attacked soldiers with stones- In the riots a Palestinian youth aged
14 was killed."
These are the stories of three of the 80 Palestinian children
younger than 15 and the 197 below the age of 18 (according to data
of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group) who have been
killed in the intifada. The first two children were brothers and
their story was told in Ha'aretz Magazine. The testimony on the
third boy was reported by the Tel Aviv weekly Ha'ir, citing a
reserve soldier who was an eye-witness to the event.
The IDF has totally shaken off any and all moral responsibility for
the killing of these children. According to the army spokesman, one
boy was a "chief inciter" (and therefore deserved to die?). No
"complaints" were received about another (and therefore there are
doubts about whether he was killed?). The third took part in "riots"
(and therefore the verdict against him, death by shooting, was
valid?).
In not one of these cases did the IDF spokesman take the trouble to
do the minimum human necessary thing - to express sorrow at the
death of the children. The only conclusion is that the IDF is not
sorry about their killing. That is the message to those who did the
killing and to the families of those who were killed. No less grave,
the IDF did not even contemplate investigating the circumstances of
the deaths.
When this is the reaction of the IDF spokesman to the killing of
children and when the IDF's juridical system doesn't lift a finger
to investigate the incidents, the message that trickles down to
every soldier is perfectly clear - killing children does not result
in any sort of investigation, so no harm will come to a soldier the
next time he shoots a child in the head, whether the child is
throwing stones or running for his life.
The wave of harsh testimonies by reserve soldiers who refuse to
serve in the territories, which has inundated almost every media
outlet recently - and is the most important achievement of this
group so far - has again brought to public attention atrocities that
are being perpetrated in the occupied territories. The fact that
these testimonies come from Israeli soldiers - and not from
"dubious" Palestinian testimonies, reports of "extreme" human rights
groups or articles by a handful of "one-sided" journalists - has
given them greater credibility.
More important, the testimonies indicate that these are no longer
exceptional events but policy with a clear, if twisted, goal - to
embitter the lives of the residents so that they will put pressure
on their leaders to fight terrorism. That is what Israel did in
Lebanon and it is displaying the same behavior in the territories.
The women in labor who are not allowed to go through the roadblocks,
the terminally ill patients in ambulances who howl in vain in
traffic jams at roadblocks, and the children who are shot - if the
IDF senior command truly wanted to, it could put a stop to events
such as these.
The soldier who a few weeks ago told Rada Zakin from the village of
Yamoun, whose wife was in labor and bleeding in the car, that he had
the right to kill them but no right to let them through the
roadblock, expressed well the terrible reality that the IDF high
command has brought into being. The days of seminar that various
units occasionally hold on the subject of "human dignity" become
effectively meaningless if the spirit underlying the orders is that
now, since we are at "war," everything is permitted.
The fact is that not everything is permitted. When the IDF wanted to
prevent immoral and illegal actions, it was able to do so. There are
two offenses that IDF soldiers have rarely committed during the
years of the occupation - sexual harassment and looting. The main
reason for this is that the IDF fought with determination against
both types of deplorable behavior. Soldiers knew that they faced
severe punishment if they engaged in looting or rape. This is not
the case with soldiers who open fire with such intolerable ease at
children, prevent the ill from passing through roadblocks or abuse
residents of the territories.
These offenses are no less grave than rape or looting, but they are
considered less grave by the IDF. If in the perception of IDF senior
officers the killing of unarmed children - an act that former Shin
Bet security service chief Ami Ayalon has called "flagrantly
illegal" - does not merit investigation, denunciation or contrition,
it is no wonder that a soldier who was manning the Kalanya roadblock
a week ago Saturday opened fire, in the midst of a conversation with
his buddies, at a group of children who were throwing stones from a
distance at which the soldiers were out of range. This time no
children were killed.
__________________________________________________ _______
Palestine Solidarity Committee
University of Texas at Austin
Web address: http://www.utexas.edu/students/palestine
E-mail: palnet@www.utexas.edu