Associazione di Amicizia Italo-Palestinese, 6 marzo 2010
Guardian.co.uk
01.03.2010
Un grave equivoco è stato messo in circolazione dalla dirigenza palestinese a Ramallah. I mezzi di informazione, le organizzazioni internazionali, i governi stranieri e i palestinesi in generale sono stati portati a credere che il fermento di attività economica nella West Bank rappresenti lo sviluppo economico che porta ad uno stato indipendente. Sul campo i fatti riducono in brandelli questo ragionamento, proprio perché Israele continua a microdirigere i frammenti economici del progettato futuro stato della Palestina verso una stagnazione sistemica.
It feels awkward to pick out one person from all those who have been killed in Lebanon, Israel and the Occupied Territories over the last few weeks, but I do want to say a few words about the death of Uri Grossman, the son of Israeli novelist David Grossman, killed while serving with an IDF tank crew in Lebanon on 12 August.
I suspect that for many people who grew up on the grotesque popular Zionism of Leon Uris - with his heroic, blond-haired, blue-eyed, European Zionists set upon by the bestial, backwards, incorrigible Arabs - it was David Grossman, and especially The Yellow Wind, his 1987 expose of life under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, that helped to snap them out of it.
Personally, the part of the book that stayed with me for years after I read it was Chapter 7 (Catch-44), in which Grossman describes an afternoon he spent observing proceedings at an IDF military court in Nablus. Virtually every Palestinian brought before the judge has already “confessed” under interrogation, so most cases consist entirely of IDF officers discussing among themselves how much jail-time the defendant will serve, while the defendant himself – unable to speak Hebrew and served by bored and incompetent military translators - uncomprehendingly awaits his fate.
But then a real trial begins. The defendant, Jafer Haj Hassan, isn't just accused of a technical violation like failing to get a permit for some everyday activity, but of being a terrorist. And as he – unlike all the others – has refused to confess, Grossman finally gets to witness an IDF court at work.
A giudicare da articoli scritti sia da Israeliani sia da Palestinesi, la prossima intifada è già nell’aria. Si prevede che stia arrivando, i beni informati sanno che sarà “popolare”, e si ritiene che essa seguirà il modello di Bil'in e Nil'in. Alcuni Palestinesi azzardano che l’inizio della ribellione avverrà a Gerusalemme, dove è palpabile l’attrito fra un primo mondo di sopraffazione ed uno afflitto dalla miseria, e dove la presenza del regime di discriminazione si avverte in modo particolarmente violento a causa della continua mescolanza dei due mondi. A Gerusalemme, al contrario che nell’enclave di Ramallah, è impossibile fingere che la situazione sia normale.
Already when driving on route 60, we saw the intimidating bulldozers riding on the side of the road on their way to another day of "putting facts on the ground" as chiefs of the Israeli government call it. As we arrived in Beit Jalla, a heart-breaking scene came into view - a huge pile of sawed trees and olive and lemon branches spread all across the yard of the house next to the wall's path. A yard it cannot really be called anymore - the grass is turned over, two children's swings were uprooted and put aside, and the only thing left standing is a brick oven, with mounds of dirt and mud all around it. 10 olive trees were cut down here already yesterday. A red X on the front floor of the house marks the path of the wall to pass here, which will seize the whole yard area and cut the only access driveway to it. It's hard to imagine how life would look like in this place in a week or two.
On the afternoon of February 25, 2010 about 300 Palestinian, Israeli, and International activists met at the Hebron municipality where they made posters, distributed t-shirts and hats, and spoke with media personnel before they began the march towards Shuhada Street in Hebron. The protesters marched in the rain waving flags, linking arms, and chanting slogans in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. The protesters remained true to their commitment to nonviolence, yet they were met by a very heavy army presence which was quick to deploy harsh crowd dispersal techniques that included a heavy amount of tear gas and stunt grenades. The tear gas canisters were fired from all directions, often coming very close to hitting people. A few elderly protesters fainted and were evacuated by ambulance. Protestors scattered and rain in all directions to avoid the tear gas, but the army appeared to be surrounding the protest and shooting from all sides. The army continually tried to push the protesters further back by creating a human wall and physically pushing the protesters who, in response, formed their own wall to withstand the pressure. Three Israelis were picked out the crowd at random, taken away by the police and detained temporarily. One international activist was arrested and then released several hours later. The clashes between the military, police, protesters, and a few notorious settlers continued for about an hour and 45 minutes until a final barrage of tear gas caused everyone to retreat.
