Victory to the Intifada?

My first experience with the Israeli occupation was not so much a shock but a jolt as the bus slammed on its brakes at the checkpoint. Snaking its way along the horizon as far as the eye can see is the Separation Wall. Illegal under international law, the rectangular slabs of concrete punch up from the ground severing the land in two. The Palestinian side is awash with graffiti and posters of Yasser Arafat whilst bright splats of colour from paintball guns deck out the watchtowers. As a young soldier waved us through, the barrel of a machine gun could be seen to follow our retreat.

I arrived in Ramallah to meet my contact for the refugee camp, a man named Ayman Ramahi. The headmaster of the Local school, he takes me to a nearby coffee house where elders sit in dark corners smoking and talking fiercely in hushed Arabic.

The camp is called Al–Jalazone and houses refugees who fled from their homes in what is now Israel. In direct contravention of international law, Israel refuses to abide by U.N resolution 194, which states in article 11: “that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible”. The result is that Al-Jalazone has become a small shantytown, where poor quality housing is crammed together in narrow streets full of squalor. In a bitterly ironic fashion, the Israelis have constructed a settlement (again, illegal under international law) called Beit El overlooking the camp. The modern, newly built housing contrasts sharply with the conditions in which over 15,000 Palestinians live. I ask Ayman if it will be possible to visit a settlement: “Do not go anywhere near the settlements. The Israelis have erected outposts around them. Last week a 15 year old boy was walking home and ventured too close, so a soldier shot him in the head. They will not warn you, they will not stop to see if you are a foreigner, they will kill you and then release a statement saying you were armed and refuse to investigate further. This is what life is like for us.” I ask him how often the soldiers kill people: “Sometimes a person every 1-2 weeks, normally at least every few days. In the Second Intifida (Uprising) they would kill 3 or 4 people here a day.” I ask him what people here think of the suicide bombings that took place; “People do not support them, aside from killing civilians they are unhelpful and serve no purpose, they are a waste of life.” Giliad Shalit has been a prisoner of Hamas since being kidnapped 3 years ago and is frequently held up as a hero in Israel. I ask Ayman what Hamas hope to achieve by holding him: “I find it interesting how the Israelis see him as an all Israeli hero when he is French, but Hamas are demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners. Here we are subject to military law and we are frequently court marshalled with no lawyers. The Israelis hold over 15,000 people in prison without due process, and nearly 50% are under 16. Right now nearly 900 people from Al-Jalazone are in prison, nearly 100 are children.” It is not hard to substantiate his claim; nearly everyone I talk to has been imprisoned by the Israelis. I ask why he thinks the Israelis treat the Palestinians like animals. “It is not fair to say that they treat us like animals” He retorts, “Because in Israel, Animals have rights.”