Fw: [ANSWER]: EYEWITNESS RAMALLAH: A whole people imprisoned

["Nello Margiotta" <animarg at tin.it>]

From: "A.N.S.W.E.R." <answer.general at action-mail.org>
To: <answer.general at action-mail.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2002 11:11 PM
Subject: [ANSWER]: EYEWITNESS RAMALLAH: A whole people imprisoned


> EYEWITNESS RAMALLAH
> Palestine: A whole people imprisoned
> -Report from Wednesday, May 22-
> 
> A fact-finding delegation dispatched to the West Bank and 
> Gaza that includes legal and public health experts and 
> human rights activists is investigating the conditions of 
> the Palestinian people living under harsh Israeli 
> occupation in the West Bank and Gaza. The delegation was 
> organized by the International A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition - - 
> Act Now to Stop War & End Racism. The delegation will 
> prepare a report describing its findings in the coming 
> weeks. Below is their initial dispatch from Ramallah.
> 
> REPORT FROM RAMALLAH, WEST BANK
> 
> *Still Under Siege*
> 
> Contrary to U.S. media reports that Israeli Defense Forces 
> (IDF) have withdrawn from the main cities in the West 
> Bank, the IDF have merely stepped back to the city 
> perimeters and have blockaded West Bank cities and 
> villages, leaving Palestinians in a continued state of 
> siege.
> 
> The mainstream media, however, has largely withdrawn from 
> the area despite the escalating harsh conditions of 
> existence and human rights violations imposed by the 
> Israeli military on Palestinian civilians through the 
> continued occupation. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has 
> reinforced its encirclement of the eight major cities of 
> the West Bank - - Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus, Jenin, 
> Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Jericho and Hebron - - which now exist 
> as isolated ghettos. Tanks rest poised on the perimeter of 
> Ramallah, apparently ready to attack on a moment?s notice.
> 
> Today, the A.N.S.W.E.R. delegation observed new evidence 
> of siege and blockade in Ramallah. New barbed wire and 
> cement block barriers have been erected around the 
> perimeter of the city, preventing the movement of 
> residents and the shipment of goods. The blockading 
> perimeter is broken by a very few number of watch towers 
> and guard posts, at which passage is arbitrarily allowed 
> or denied by the Israelis. It requires hours, or even 
> days, simply to traverse a few miles. When the delegation 
> arrived in the early morning at the Kalandia checkpoint, 
> the only entry into Ramallah from East Jerusalem, there 
> were already hundreds of Palestinians stopped in the 
> queue.
> 
> Access through and about the area for Jewish Israelis is 
> facilitated by a system of separate roads. Vehicles with 
> Israeli plates - - even large trucks - - speed through 
> checkpoints without delay or inspection.
> 
> The delegation received information and recorded testimony 
> attesting to the devastating personal and financial impact 
> that these virtual lock down conditions and Israeli 
> imposed restrictions on movement have on the Palestinian 
> people. Residents are barred from leaving their town 
> without a permit. Adult children are unable to check on 
> and assist their parents living only a few miles away. 
> 
> The complete information and testimony will be presented 
> in the delegation?s final report.
> 
> *Thousands of Innocent Detainees Held in Unconscionable 
> Conditions*
> 
> The A.N.S.W.E.R. delegation met with attorneys who had 
> minutes before just completed the first inspection of 
> conditions at Camp Ofer, the makeshift Israeli detention 
> center which holds approximately 900 Palestinian men 
> rounded up during the mass arrests conducted as part of 
> the Israeli invasion of the West Bank. This inspection 
> visit ? on May 22nd ? was the first allowed since the 
> arrests, dating back to March 29th, took place. Detention 
> Camp Ofer is located outside of Ramallah in a closed 
> military area.
> 
> The attorneys, who work with Addameer, the Palestinian 
> Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association, report 
> that conditions in the camp fail to meet minimum standards 
> for health, hygiene and comfort. The tents in which 
> prisoners are housed are severely overcrowded. During the 
> first weeks, the overcrowding was so severe that prisoners 
> had to take turns standing so that others had space in 
> which to sleep. The toilet facilities are insufficient in 
> quantity, with only 1 toilet for 100 prisoners. There is 
> virtually no medical care available, and those providing 
> the available limited care are overwhelmed by the demand 
> for their services and consequently have insufficient time 
> with each patient to conduct proper examinations. 
> Prisoners are kept in isolation, denied access to books, 
> TV, news or radios. During the evening, movement is 
> forbidden.
> 
> Food quality is poor and in insufficient quantity for 
> nutrition, but the attorneys report that there are now 
> limited cooking facilities. Previously, prisoners were 
> given frozen meat cutlets which they had to place in the 
> sun to defrost. Prisoners are literally kept in the dark - 
> - where electricity is available, the light bulbs are a 
> dim 20 watts.
> 
> *Jailed for Being Palestinian*
> 
> Over 5,000 men were rounded up in mass and individual 
> arrests as part of and since the March 29th invasion. 
> Attorneys report that many were arrested under a 
> newly-issued military order (#1500) which authorizes 
> ranking soldiers to arrest any Palestinian without charge 
> or probable cause. Under Israeli administrative detention 
> laws, Palestinians can be jailed for years without having 
> committed a criminal offense merely based on speculation 
> that they might commit a crime in the future. The Israeli 
> government presents its allegations of future misconduct 
> through secret evidence, which the detainee and his 
> counsel are not allowed to review or rebut.
> 
> Between 1,500 and 2,000 Palestinian men remain jailed from 
> the recent mass raids. The Israelis have re-opened and are 
> also now housing detainees at Ketziot Desert Prison, the 
> notorious prison in the Negev desert, at which conditions 
> are also reported to be substandard.
> 
> Addameer has issued a report, based on attorneys contact 
> with detainees, describing prison conditions and reporting 
> that Palestinian men have been physically abused during 
> their arrests and transfers, including being beat with 
> fists and clubs, kicked, verbally abused and threatened. 
> The report is available online at 
> http://www.addameer.org/press/index.html .
> 
> ---------------
> 
> The delegation includes Richard Becker, West Coast 
> Coordinator of the International Action Center and member 
> of the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition steering committee; Carl 
> Messineo, attorney and co-founder of the Partnership for 
> Civil Justice and member of the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition 
> steering committee; Sara Flounders, Co-Director of the 
> International Action Center; Dr. Hillel Cohen, doctor of 
> public health and epidemiologist and delegate of 1199 
> National Health and Human Services Employees Union.
> 
> The A.N.S.W.E.R. fact-finding delegation will give direct 
> testimony on the findings of its trip at the June 1 
> Emergency National Anti-War Conference. For more details 
> about this conference, go to 
> http://www.internationalanswer.org/news/update/050102juneconf.html 
> . This will include the presentation of photographs, 
> video, written documents and a report.
> 
> To read the May 20 report of the A.N.S.W.E.R. delegation 
> from Gaza, go to 
> http://www.internationalanswer.org/news/update/052002gazarept.html 
> .
> 
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