[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Fw: [ANSWER]: EYEWITNESS RAMALLAH: A whole people imprisoned
- To: "pace peacelink" <pck-pace@peacelink.it>
- Subject: Fw: [ANSWER]: EYEWITNESS RAMALLAH: A whole people imprisoned
- From: "Nello Margiotta" <animarg@tin.it>
- Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 00:17:00 +0200
From: "A.N.S.W.E.R." <answer.general@action-mail.org>
To: <answer.general@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 (IDF) have withdrawn from the main cities in the West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 The mainstream media, however, has largely withdrawn from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
> .
>
> ------------------
> Send replies to answer@action-mail.org
>
> This is the ANSWER activist announcement
> list. Anyone can subscribe by sending
> any message to <answer.general-subscribe@action-mail.org>
> To unsubscribe <answer.general-off@action-mail.org>