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Jenin Action Nov 9, 2003 THE WALL MUST FALL!!!!! Jenin Action Nov 10, 2003 SUCCESS!!!!!!! IOF chaos in Yamoon November 13, 2003 Thoughts on time November 14, 2003 Small favor from Jenin November 16, 2003 INterview w/ Nidal November 18, 2003 Another Boy Shot November.22,2003 Interview with a Palestinian boy November.23,2003 Interview with an Accidental ISMer November 25,2003 Who's the Terrorist?? November 27, ,2003 A friend asked me..... November 28, ,2003
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Subject: IOF chaos in Yamoon Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 08:52:50 -0700 Greetings from Jenin, i hope this finds you well. The IOF has been terrorizing a town called Yamoon about 20 kilometers from Jenin. Beginning Monday night, large amounts of IOF vehicles and troops entered the rural town and began a bloody incursion supposedly aimed at rounding up wanted men. Jenin ISM first arrived Tuesday around noon, and found a chaotic situation of roving tanks and APCs {armed personnel carriers}, jeeps and humvees shooting wildly and depositing soldiers thru-out the town into occupied houses. The operation was met with young boys throwing stones at IOF vehicles but no armed resistance that we are aware of. Many houses were occupied and we heard an uncomfirmed report that a boy was shot in the chest. i was not there there the first day, but those that were described a very intense situation that can only be described as a military invasion. The headmaster of the local school had his large house occupied by many soldiers. We returned in larger numbers early Wednesday morning and found that many, many houses had been either occupied or ransacked. Within 30 minutes of arriving i watched a 14 year old boy get shot twice by an IOF sniper. i was 40 meters behind him and saw the whole thing. we ran towards him. He fell limply and was scooped up and taken to the un-equipped medical clinic as we ran along beside. He was shot once in the forearm and once in the lower stomach, and bled heavily. An ambulance was called from Jenin and was greatly delayed at an illegal IOF checkpoint outside of Jenin. We were asked to enter the medical clinic as they waited for the ambulance. There was no medical equiptment in sight and the staff did not even have plastic gloves. When the boy was finally taken away in the ambulance, we set out to find Occupied homes, which did not take long. We made reports at 6 homes, each of which had been taken over by the IOF at gunpoint, and the residents forced to sit silently in one room, with as many as 60 people packed into a single bedroom for periods exceeding 18 hours. Each of the homes had been completely ransacked, with shelves spilled onto the floor, furniture sliced with knives, artwork destoyed, intentional structural damage ranging from tile floors dug up and smashed to the demolition of entire load bearing walls, all food stuffs in kitchens spilled out onto floor, kitchen utensils broken, framed Koranic scriptures broken and thrown to the floor and the disfacement of proudly hung photos of dead elders, patriarchs, grandparents etc, torn and destroyed window drapes and curtains, destruction of bed sheets and blankets, bullets shot into internal walls , refrigerators and stoves overturned, clothing destroyed, desks and bureaus overturned, toilets smashed, windows broken, doors kicked in, tables smashed. To be clear, these were homes that were occupied for their views/strategic location, not searched because of suspicion of harboring fighters. The maliciousnes involved was palpable and breathtaking. Several homes had had their rooftop water storage tanks sliced at the bottom, rendering them useless. I personally visted 6 formerly occupied homes yesterday, and it was horrifying. there were well over 20 in the city, conservatively speaking. There was IOF shooting thru-out the day, much of it from huge tank mounted machine guns, aimed nowhere in particular,simply spreading fear. The people of Yammon were awesome, despite the circumstances. Me and my companion had as many 60 kids showing us around, making friends, as well as several english speaking adults and young men determined to keep us safe. You know, its a sad thing that a couple of western kids with no resources or media connection are the only folks going into these places when things like this happen. What the hell can we really do? Its depressing that we are the best thing that the larger world can offer these people. On ANY given day, this is happening somewhere in Palestine, and NOBODY ever hears of it!! This is the context into which we must place the so called Israeli/Palestinian conflict. A second young boy about 9 years old was shot in the afternoon, thru his calf, the bullet hit a major artery and he was gushing blood. A Jenin ISMer wrapped a shirt around the boy's leg and ran him to safety. He was taken away in an ambulance. Is this the medical relief we can offer invaded Palestinian sufferers? a well intentioned guy from Florida, trying to live on $8 a day, wrapping a shirt around a major wound and dodging bullets? Where is the rest of the world????????? Most of us left midafternoon, feeling like we had been in great danger while accomplishing nothing. The army left Yammon around sunset, leaving great destruction and renewed bitterness and grief in its wake. i'm tired of watching little boys get shot, tired of seeing exceptionally nice people's lives and homes destroyed. i am not neutral, and none of you would be either, if you manage to come to this IOF created hell-hole called Palestine. To see such beauty and kindness being destroyed is just too much sometimes. Free, Free Palestine!! In the Trenches, Ben, Jenin, Palestine |