David Rolstone's Letters from Palestine

Back to menu

Thursday 26th February 2004 - Going Home

Hi All,

To day I crossed the river Jordan for the second time in my life, this time heading for Amman and some resemblance of normality. Yesterday I was in Ramallah when some twenty military jeeps invaded the city at around 10am. I was at the time walking past the Cairo Amman Bank looking for a signal for my mobile phone when jeeps arrived and troops poured out, at first I thought that they were invading the British Consul but no such luck it just happened to be in the same building as the bank! In fact they stormed branches of the Arab Bank, the Palestine International Bank, and other banks in the city as well as the Cairo-Amman Bank. At the various banks they detaining employees and customers and imposing curfews on the localized areas. The army also invaded the offices of the Palestinian Medical Relief Committees pulling out the medical teams and invading surrounding residential areas.

As clashes broke out in the streets with Palestinian stone throwing children and the jeeps the army started using tear gas, rubber bullets, sound bombs and live ammunition on the children. On several occasions the jeeps also prevented Palestinian ambulances reaching the injured, first blocking their path and also ramming into a UPMRC ambulance which caused substantial damage.

During the day 17 Palestinians were wounded, 3 are now in a serious condition. One was shot with live ammunition in the head and another two suffered rubber bullet wounds, one to the head and another to the chest.

I was able to get out and meet people that I needed to see in Ramallah but could not go to Jerusalem and finish up my business there, but I did manage to finish things today before leaving.

As the ICJ court hearings on the legality of the wall in the Hague came to a close the Israel army was escalating the troubles throughout the West Bank and making preparations for building more of the wall. In East Jerusalem 60 families were told yesterday to vacate their homes.

The army threatened families in Abu Dis, Azariyah, and Swakhara saying that they would have their Israeli citizenship repealed if they did not vacate their homes. Also yesterday the Israeli authorities started to destroy olive groves in Beit Surik to expand the Wall around the North-Western region of Jerusalem. The bulldozers started uprooting olive trees around the village under the protection of the Israeli Army and the Israeli Border Police who arrested some internationals.

Also south of Ramallah in the village of Beit Seira the army fired rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs at Palestinian protestors where the community was protesting the beginning of the construction of a new section of the Wall on their land. There have been further reports also of invasions into Jenin, Tubas, Beit Jala and Irtas village.

Nablus as usual also received its share of aggression on Tuesday when more than 60 army vehicles stormed the Old City, while at the same time other troops raided the nearby villages and Balata camp arresting many people.

What ever decision the ICJ comes up with Israel is going to continue with this annexation of Palestine by force, that is unless we can raise a big enough public outcry to stop them.

All for now as I make my weary way home, Dave

Back to top