OccupationalHazard.org 10.13.02

The Occupation - 10/13/02

The intifada is becoming more popular

Danny Rubinstein - Ha'aretz

Has the intifada changed character? Where are we heading? Palestinian leaders quoted or writing in the press have been trying to answer these questions as they sum up two years of bloodshed. Nearly every report in the Palestinian press in the past few weeks has counted the losses. Thousands of dead - nearly a quarter children under the age of 17 as well as 130 women, 17 doctors and paramedics, and six journalists. Forty thousand wounded, many now handicapped for the rest of their lives. Then there's the physical damage. Some 5,000 buildings destroyed. In places like Khan Yunis, Rafah and Jenin, there are entire neighborhoods that have been razed. Aside from the homes, hundreds of shops, factories and workshops have been demolished. Farmland has been flattened. Schools, kindergartens, mosques, hotels and broadcast facilities have been destroyed. Dozen of buildings and installations that served the Palestinian security forces are gone, as well as many of the Palestinian Authority's civic institutions, not the least of which was the PA government headquarters in Ramallah, the Muqata.
The Palestinian economy is in a shambles, and the residents of the West Bank and Gaza have become a nation looking for a handout, seeking charity from states and agencies around the world. There are some half a million unemployed people in the territories, according to PA Labor Minister Ghassan al-Khatib. Some 150,000 once worked in Israel as laborers, and most, some 350,000, work in the territories but can't get to their jobs because of curfews, closures and checkpoints. The hardest hit were the 30,000 who live in proximity to the Jewish settlers of Hebron. They've been under curfew 385 days in the last two years, and many have left.
It's difficult to find actual regret about the intifada in the Palestinian press, but there is definitely a sense of change. It is not a change resulting from profound soul-searching or reassessment of reality, but a change resulting from the changes that have taken place in circumstances. The conditions in both the West Bank and Gaza have changed, so the intifada must change into a different intifada.
Mohammed Dararmeh of Nablus, one of the most prominent of Palestinian journalists, writing in Al-Ayyam, says that the intifada is now returning to its grass-roots and that trend will continue and expand. He means the military element of gunfire and even combat in the West Bank, which took place between the Israel Defense Forces and armed intifada militias, has practically disappeared. Instead, popular protest has taken its place: demonstrations, marches, rallies, and stone throwing. Now there are more pictures of kids opposite tanks, as in the first intifada, and no more organized armed attacks on checkpoints or continuous fire on neighborhoods like Gilo or settlements like Psagot on the edges of Al Bireh.
The change took place because of the IDFs reoccupation of the territory, which began about six months before Operation Defensive Shield last spring. Those IDF operations effectively eliminated the Palestinian security services and turned supervision of security over to Israeli hands. In the diplomatic lexicon, it meant changing the cities and towns of Area A (designated full Palestinian civilian and security control) to Area B, in which the PA is responsible for civilian affairs but Israel has the security control.
The Palestinians have noticed that in recent months the slogan "Let the IDF win" has disappeared from the Israeli public discourse. Why? Because the IDF did win, and reoccupied Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, and the rest of the PA's territory in the West Bank where most of the Palestinians live. The army's victory can be seen in how many of the organizers of what the Palestinians called military operations and Israel refers to as terrorism, have been killed in extra-judicial assassinations by Israel. According to Palestinian data, since the start of the intifada until the beginning of this month, 124 intifada activists were killed, including 47Hamas men, 44 Fatah activists, 19 Islamic Jihad operatives, and 14 activists from left-wing parties. Israel has accepted responsibility for most of the assassinations but not all.
Aside from the assassinations, Israel has arrested nearly 30,000 Palestinian youngsters since the start of the intifada, says the Palestinian Prisoner Association. Most, more than 20,000, were released after a few days, weeks or months of security investigations. There are some 8,000 security prisoners in Israeli jails and detention centers. The Palestinians regard them as prisoners of war, not criminal prisoners, with the Palestinian media citing Israel itself referring to the situation as a war, so Israel should treat the people it captures as prisoners of war, according to international conventions, instead of putting them on trial for terrorism.
The mass arrests, which included arrests of some 60 women and many teens, is reflected in stormy reporting in the Palestinian press about the conditions in which the Israelis are holding the prisoners. There are reports of overcrowding, a lack of medical treatment, and torture during interrogations. The parents of Palestinian youths held at Tel Mond say their sons are routinely subject to attacks by Israeli juvenile prisoners held in the same jail, including sexual assaults. In many cases, relatives of wanted men are arrested to create pressure on the suspect to turn himself in.
The mass arrests are a characteristic of the new-old intifada, as is the growing number of civilians who are wounded. Before Operation Defensive Shield, the IDF chased and beat the armed cells of the Tanzim, Al Aqsa Brigades, and organized cells of the Iz a Din al-Kassam, which often operated with help from the PA security forces. Now the army has new missions: to chase demonstrating civilians and stone-throwing children.
The change in the intifada is most felt in the West Bank, and much less so in Gaza, where the PA's security forces still operate. But the Palestinian leadership is convinced that the latest IDF operations in Khan Yunis and Rafah show that Israel is getting ready for a renewed occupation of Gaza.
While the change in the intifada was not the result of soul-searching, or a deliberate change in policy, many Palestinians nonetheless welcome the change. Fatah's leaders and their allies on the left (PADA and the Communist Peoples Party) are among those who welcome the change. Samir Masharwi of the Fatah leadership in Gaza recently spoke about how the use of weapons does not do the Palestinian cause much good, and he much prefers non-violent disobedience, which wins international support and solidarity. Many agree with him and openly say that the armed struggle of the Al-Aqsa Intifada gave the Sharon government an excuse to go on a campaign of destruction in the West Bank and Gaza. But a leader of the Gaza Hamas, Ismail Abu Shenab, differs. He believes one of the intifada's great accomplishments was actually on the military side: the destruction of five Israeli tanks by Hamas cells.
Al Quds quoted both views in its second anniversary reportage about the intifada. Indeed, many Palestinians think that the coming clashes of the intifada will be less violent and more civic in nature. During a private conversation in East Jerusalem last week, a Bir Zeit lecturer said it's no accident that calls for transfer have replaced the "Let the IDF win" slogan.
The reason is simple: Israel also senses there is a change in the intifada, that after the reoccupation of the West Bank, it has become more popular, and less violent. The Israelis know its difficult to win such a conflict. It's impossible to beat an entire people. That's why the voices of those who want to expel all the Palestinians are now being heard.
© Copyright 2002 Ha`aretz - reprinted with permission

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The intifada is becoming more popular
Danny Rubinstein - Ha'aretz





Has the intifada changed character? Where are we heading? Palestinian leaders quoted or writing in the press have been trying to answer these questions as they sum up two years of bloodshed. Nearly every report in the Palestinian press in the past few weeks has counted the losses. Thousands of dead - nearly a quarter children under the age of 17 as well as 130 women, 17 doctors and paramedics, and six journalists. Forty thousand wounded, many now handicapped for the rest of their lives. Then there's the physical damage. Some 5,000 buildings destroyed. In places like Khan Yunis, Rafah and Jenin, there are entire neighborhoods that have been razed. Aside from the homes, hundreds of shops, factories and workshops have been demolished. Farmland has been flattened. Schools, kindergartens, mosques, hotels and broadcast facilities have been destroyed. Dozen of buildings and installations that served the Palestinian security forces are gone, as well as many of the Palestinian Authority's civic institutions, not the least of which was the PA government headquarters in Ramallah, the Muqata. The Palestinian economy is in a shambles, and the residents of the West Bank and Gaza have become a nation looking for a handout, seeking charity from states and agencies around the world. There are some half a million unemployed people in the territories, according to PA Labor Minister Ghassan al-Khatib. Some 150,000 once worked in Israel as laborers, and most, some 350,000, work in the territories but can't get to their jobs because of curfews, closures and checkpoints. The hardest hit were the 30,000 who live in proximity to the Jewish settlers of Hebron. They've been under curfew 385 days in the last two years, and many have left. It's difficult to find actual regret about the intifada in the Palestinian press, but there is definitely a sense of change. It is not a change resulting from profound soul-searching or reassessment of reality, but a change resulting from the changes that have taken place in circumstances. The conditions in both the West Bank and Gaza have changed, so the intifada must change into a different intifada. Mohammed Dararmeh of Nablus, one of the most prominent of Palestinian journalists, writing in Al-Ayyam, says that the intifada is now returning to its grass-roots and that trend will continue and expand. He means the military element of gunfire and even combat in the West Bank, which took place between the Israel Defense Forces and armed intifada militias, has practically disappeared. Instead, popular protest has taken its place: demonstrations, marches, rallies, and stone throwing. Now there are more pictures of kids opposite tanks, as in the first intifada, and no more organized armed attacks on checkpoints or continuous fire on neighborhoods like Gilo or settlements like Psagot on the edges of Al Bireh. The change took place because of the IDFs reoccupation of the territory, which began about six months before Operation Defensive Shield last spring. Those IDF operations effectively eliminated the Palestinian security services and turned supervision of security over to Israeli hands. In the diplomatic lexicon, it meant changing the cities and towns of Area A (designated full Palestinian civilian and security control) to Area B, in which the PA is responsible for civilian affairs but Israel has the security control. The Palestinians have noticed that in recent months the slogan "Let the IDF win" has disappeared from the Israeli public discourse. Why? Because the IDF did win, and reoccupied Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, and the rest of the PA's territory in the West Bank where most of the Palestinians live. The army's victory can be seen in how many of the organizers of what the Palestinians called military operations and Israel refers to as terrorism, have been killed in extra-judicial assassinations by Israel. According to Palestinian data, since the start of the intifada until the beginning of this month, 124 intifada activists were killed, including 47Hamas men, 44 Fatah activists, 19 Islamic Jihad operatives, and 14 activists from left-wing parties. Israel has accepted responsibility for most of the assassinations but not all. Aside from the assassinations, Israel has arrested nearly 30,000 Palestinian youngsters since the start of the intifada, says the Palestinian Prisoner Association. Most, more than 20,000, were released after a few days, weeks or months of security investigations. There are some 8,000 security prisoners in Israeli jails and detention centers. The Palestinians regard them as prisoners of war, not criminal prisoners, with the Palestinian media citing Israel itself referring to the situation as a war, so Israel should treat the people it captures as prisoners of war, according to international conventions, instead of putting them on trial for terrorism. The mass arrests, which included arrests of some 60 women and many teens, is reflected in stormy reporting in the Palestinian press about the conditions in which the Israelis are holding the prisoners. There are reports of overcrowding, a lack of medical treatment, and torture during interrogations. The parents of Palestinian youths held at Tel Mond say their sons are routinely subject to attacks by Israeli juvenile prisoners held in the same jail, including sexual assaults. In many cases, relatives of wanted men are arrested to create pressure on the suspect to turn himself in. The mass arrests are a characteristic of the new-old intifada, as is the growing number of civilians who are wounded. Before Operation Defensive Shield, the IDF chased and beat the armed cells of the Tanzim, Al Aqsa Brigades, and organized cells of the Iz a Din al-Kassam, which often operated with help from the PA security forces. Now the army has new missions: to chase demonstrating civilians and stone-throwing children. The change in the intifada is most felt in the West Bank, and much less so in Gaza, where the PA's security forces still operate. But the Palestinian leadership is convinced that the latest IDF operations in Khan Yunis and Rafah show that Israel is getting ready for a renewed occupation of Gaza. While the change in the intifada was not the result of soul-searching, or a deliberate change in policy, many Palestinians nonetheless welcome the change. Fatah's leaders and their allies on the left (PADA and the Communist Peoples Party) are among those who welcome the change. Samir Masharwi of the Fatah leadership in Gaza recently spoke about how the use of weapons does not do the Palestinian cause much good, and he much prefers non-violent disobedience, which wins international support and solidarity. Many agree with him and openly say that the armed struggle of the Al-Aqsa Intifada gave the Sharon government an excuse to go on a campaign of destruction in the West Bank and Gaza. But a leader of the Gaza Hamas, Ismail Abu Shenab, differs. He believes one of the intifada's great accomplishments was actually on the military side: the destruction of five Israeli tanks by Hamas cells. Al Quds quoted both views in its second anniversary reportage about the intifada. Indeed, many Palestinians think that the coming clashes of the intifada will be less violent and more civic in nature. During a private conversation in East Jerusalem last week, a Bir Zeit lecturer said it's no accident that calls for transfer have replaced the "Let the IDF win" slogan. The reason is simple: Israel also senses there is a change in the intifada, that after the reoccupation of the West Bank, it has become more popular, and less violent. The Israelis know its difficult to win such a conflict. It's impossible to beat an entire people. That's why the voices of those who want to expel all the Palestinians are now being heard. © Copyright 2002 Ha`aretz - reprinted with permission
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