Life in Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness Stories & Photos
Facts, Sources, and Ways You Can Help
FACTS: AnnaInTheMiddleEast.com
Killed in the conflict in 2006: 31 Jewish Israelis (soldiers & civilians), 633 Palestinians (civilians only);
Since Sept 2000: 1030 Jewish Israelis, 4497 Palestinians [MEPC Oct 2007: www.mepc.org/resources/mrates.asp].
Checkpoints: Barriers manned by Israeli soldiers &/or border police used to monitor &/or prevent Palestinian movement. Most checkpoints are not on the Green Line (between Israel & the 1967 Occupied Palestinian Territories [OPT]), but mainly between Palestinian towns & villages, hindering teachers, doctors, farmers, schoolchildren, etc. Most checkpoints are closed overnight, blocking sick or pregnant villagers from getting to the hospital in emergencies.
Roadblocks: Concrete barriers or earth mounds to prevent Palestinians from using their vehicles on their roads— housing & transport within the OPT are segregated—disabling the Palestinian economy & civilian movement.
Settlements: Jewish-only colonies on internationally-recognized Palestinian land.
There are currently about 450,000 settlers living illegally on Palestinian land (250,000 in the West Bank & 200,000 in East Jerusalem). In 2005, 8,000 settlers were evacuated from Gaza, while 13,000 new settlers moved into new or expanding settlements in the West Bank & East Jerusalem [B’tselem].
International law prohibits an occupying power from transferring citizens from its own territory to the occupied territory [Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 49]. Yet Israel spends more than $400 million/year encouraging Jewish citizens & businesses to move from Israel into the OPT by offering financial benefits such as government tax breaks & real estate subsidies [Mother Jones magazine].
80% of settlers say they came primarily for economic benefits & would be willing to leave the OPT if offered compensation [Peace Now: Settlement Watch]. The remaining 20% are known as ideological settlers, many of them armed & protected with impunity even after killing Palestinians or poisoning animals & fields.
The Wall:
... will separate 34.4% of Palestinians from each other or their land, and Israel will annex approximately 15% of the West Bank, including 60-80% of the region’s most fertile land and water resources [UN OCHA].
80% of the Wall doesn’t touch the Green Line, rather it cuts into the West Bank, trapping 274,000 Palestinians between the Wall & the 1967 border, & completely surrounding 50 communities [UN OCHA].
1,000,000 Palestinian fruiting trees have been uprooted for the Wall & other expansion [MIFTAH].
Imprisonment:
More than 9,500 Palestinian political prisoners are being held in Israeli prisons; roughly 10% are administrative detainees, meaning they can be held without charge or trial, indefinitely. About 40% of adult male Palestinians in the OPT have spent time in Israeli detention [Mandela Institute for Human Rights].
Torture, brutalization, & humiliation of Palestinian prisoners are widespread & systematic [Amnesty Int’l].
Recommended: Read the 1973 UN International Convention on Apartheid. In short, “apartheid” is defined as systematic oppression, segregation, & discrimination to maintain domination by one racial group—‘demographic group,’ in Israeli parlance—over another, as through denial of basic human rights & freedoms, including the right to work, education, movement, & nationality; torture or inhuman treatment; arbitrary arrest & illegal imprisonment; & “any measures designed to divide the population along racial lines by the creation of separate reserves & ghettos,... the expropriation of landed property belonging to a racial group... or to members thereof”
Israel is the highest recipient of US foreign aid—$5 billion/year = $15 million/day! (IfAmericansKnew.org)—& the only country not held accountable for how its aid is spent, even though it has violated more UN Resolutions than Iraq, Iran, or any other country in the UN. As Americans, it is our right & responsibility to speak out against violations of human rights & international law carried out with our own tax dollars. (See back for ideas on taking action.)
LITTLE KNOWN HISTORY about the origins of the Occupation & conflict:
1870 - 7,000 Jews in Palestine (2% of population). Large-scale Zionist immigration begins in early 20th century.
1930-40s - Jews fleeing Nazis seek haven in Palestine. By 1946, land ownership is 92% Palestinian, 8% Jewish.
1947 - UN Partition Plan proposes 54% of land for a Jewish state, provided it doesn’t harm the native population.
1947-49 – Zionist forces expel 750,000 Palestinians (75% of the native population), to achieve the Jewish majority necessary for a Jewish state. Halfway through the expulsions, surrounding Arab countries invade. Israel triumphs over 78% of historic Palestine & refuses return of Palestinian refugees, who total about 6 million today.
1967 - Israel occupies all remaining Palestinian lands in Six-Day War. The Occupation has continued for 40 years.
1994 - First Palestinian suicide bomber. Palestinian resistance, mostly nonviolent, sometimes violent, continues.SOURCES of Facts and More Information:
AIC, Alternative Information Center: HYPERLINK "http://www.alternativenews.org" www.alternativenews.org
Amnesty International, International Human Rights Protection: www.amnesty.org
B’tselem, Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories: HYPERLINK "http://www.btselem.org/"www.btselem.org
Badil, Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights: www.badil.org
Breaking the Silence: Testimonies of former Israeli soldiers: www.breakingthesilence.org.il
Electronic Intifada, Leading Palestinian Portal for News and Analysis: www.electronicintifada.net
Gush Shalom, the Israeli Peace Bloc: HYPERLINK "http://www.gush-shalom.org/english"www.gush-shalom.org/english
Ha’aretz, Left-Mainstream Israeli Daily Newspaper: www.haaretz.com
ICAHD, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: HYPERLINK "http://www.icahd.org/"www.icahd.org
If Americans Knew, What Every American needs to know about Israel/Palestine: www.ifamericansknew.org
Mandela, Institute for Human Rights: www.mandela-palestine.org
MIFTAH, Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue & Democracy: www.miftah.org
Palestine Monitor, News from Palestinian Civil Society: HYPERLINK "http://www.palestinemonitor.org/"www.palestinemonitor.org
Palestine Remembered, al-Nakba 1948 : www.palestineremembered.com
Passia, Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs: HYPERLINK "http://www.passia.org" www.passia.org
Settlement Watch, a project of Peace Now: HYPERLINK "http://www.peacenow.org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=51"http://www.peacenow.org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=51
Stop the Wall, by PENGON (Palestinian Environmental NGO Network): HYPERLINK "http://www.stopthewall.org/"www.stopthewall.org
UN OCHA, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: HYPERLINK "http://www.reliefweb.int/hic-opt"www.reliefweb.int/hic-opt
Recommended reading on the history of the conflict (by Jewish & Palestinian scholars):
Tanya Reinhart, Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948, NY: Seven Stories Press, 2002.
Just about anything by Ilan Pappé, Noam Chomsky, Edward Said, or Norman Finkelstein on the subject.
SILENCE IS COMPLICITY. What can YOU do to help bring peace & justice to the people of Palestine & Israel?
Do Your Own Research – See above sources or consider going to Palestine to see for yourself. Some ideas:
Holy Land Trust (HLT): HYPERLINK "http://hlttravel.org" http://hlttravel.org (Palestinian-led tours)
Global Exchange: www.globalexchange.org/tours
Middle East Children’s Alliance: www.mecaforpeace.org/DelegationIntro.html
Birthright Unplugged: HYPERLINK "http://www.birthrightunplugged.org/" \n _blankwww.birthrightunplugged.org (Jewish American-led tours)
Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace: www.ffipp.org/delegations.html (for faculty & students)
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD): HYPERLINK "http://www.icahd.org" www.icahd.org (Israeli-led tours)
Work in Palestine - Document human rights abuses & support the nonviolent resistance movement with:
International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS) – HYPERLINK "http://www.iwps.info/"www.iwps.info
International Solidarity Movement (ISM) – HYPERLINK "http://www.palsolidarity.org/"www.palsolidarity.org
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) – HYPERLINK "http://www.cpt.org/hebron/hebron.php"www.cpt.org/hebron/hebron.php
Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR): HYPERLINK "http://www.rhr.israel.net/"www.rhr.israel.net
Get involved locally – Local Palestine advocacy groups are organizing throughout the country. Many are listed on HYPERLINK "http://www.endtheoccupation.org" www.endtheoccupation.org & HYPERLINK "http://www.unitedforpeace.org" www.unitedforpeace.org. Consider writing a letter to local press to protest US-funded atrocities &/or biased reporting (Local media are listed on www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media).
Join the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign against Israel - BDS is a nonviolent way to mobilize & put pressure on Israel in a style similar to that used against South Africa XE "South Africa" to help end apartheid there. Find companies profiting from the Occupation at InterfaithPeaceInitiative.com/ProfitingFromOccupation.htm
Learn what organizations have already divested and how your community can too: www.bds-palestine.net.
Call, write, fax, &/or visit your representatives – Demand that the US stop using American tax dollars to fund Israel’s illegal construction of the Wall, expansion and settlement of colonies, military operations, etc. Find &/or write your representatives at www.congress.org; call (202) 224-3121 to be transferred to their DC offices.
Talk to your friends and families – Do your own research, and open a dialogue with people around you about the issue. You have the power to affect others in your community—use it!
***Highly recommended: Global Exchange’s Activist Toolkits give excellent step-by-step instructions & tips for all the above actions & many others (town hall meetings, demonstrations, teach-ins, etc). Call (800) 497-1994 ext. 251 to order one ($5) or download a free copy at GlobalExchange.org/Countries/Mideast/Palestine/Toolkits.html
Anna’s Email: Anna.Baltzer@gmail.com
Anna’s Website (get more stories & photos, sign-up to receive Anna’s eyewitness accounts from Palestine, purchase her book Witness in Palestine or a DVD of the talk, invite her to present, etc): www.AnnaInTheMiddleEast.com