The Occupation Of Jenin - Day 14

Solidarity activist, Ewa Jasiewicz, sent this report to SQUALL from Jenin on the Palestinian West Bank, two weeks into the latest Israeli occupation of the camp.

7th November 2002

The Israeli Army shot a kid in the hand yesterday and one in the leg today. They kidnapped another 2 days ago and kept him in an occupied house to 'teach' him and all Palestinian mothers a lesson about stone throwing (he'd been stoning the soldiers, the occupied house and all their armour plated bullet proof military equipment parked outside all day, as all the camp yoof do), beat him for a few hours and then released him into the 'custody' of the family already imprisoned in their own home I've been following the troops around like a right bus stop loony, honestly, yesterday they were having a massive house to house search and arrest operation in Jenin town centre - 5 tanks, 6 armoured personnel carriers (APC's), 4 police jeeps, 6 ordinary jeeps, 2 white (heads of the operation) and 2 big troop carriers. And there was me in the middle of it all, jumper and overnight bits and bobs clutched in a white plastic bag, lookin' disheveled, moseying along behind 10-strong commando squads going, "Hello! May I accompany you on your search, I don't intend to get in the way of your operations...."

I felt like such a drop in the ocean, ineffectual Loon ):

It's hot here, and dusty as hell. I got tear-gassed today, being with the Shebab on their suicidal tank and APC-chasing jaunts and rock hurling bouts. Today it was particularly fierce because of Ramadan and it was the re-enforcement of curfew after 4 hours of harried shopping and the market screaming into life and people banging down the doors of the banks. The Shebab shout tons of obscenities, taunt the soldiers, tell them to come and shoot them etc etc. It's really stressful, it's like being in a mini public order situation every day only the ammo's live. One soldier in an APC ran down a tree and scraped off the corners of a shop. It's consistent with the military program here - destroy, little by little, every day and night, shops, electricity lines, pavements, lamp-posts, telephone boxes, day-to-day civil infrastructure and scenery. I'm observing Ramadan by fasting although every morning I'm 'force-fed' liquid by whichever family I''m with, which is sweet. It's really interesting coming up to 4pm (food time is when the mosques sing out 'OOO-Oh Allah O-Akhbaaaaar' at about 5pm, sundown) and everyone is all giddy and a bit out of it cos of not eating or drinking and you'are feeling the same... everybody.

Anyway, I'm off, I have no idea about what's been going on in the world outside of Jenin.