19 apr 2003
AP Cameraman Shot and Killed by Israeli Troops
Nazeh Darwazeh 46, AP journalist
An Israeli soldier shot and killed a cameraman with Associated Press Television News who was covering a skirmish between troops and rock-throwing Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus on Saturday, witnesses said.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment but said it was looking into the shooting.
Nazeh Darwazeh, 45, was filming clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians that began early Saturday. Doctors said Darwazeh died of a bullet wound to the head.
Video footage taken by a Reuters cameraman showed young Palestinian men running up an alley toward a parked armored personnel carrier. After they threw rocks at the vehicle, troops fired shots. Witnesses said several firebombs were thrown toward the vehicle, and later footage showed a small area in the back of it on fire.
The footage then showed a man with a rifle in green combat fatigues kneeling down between the armored personnel carrier and the wall of a house at the top of the alley. Witnesses identified the man as an Israeli soldier.
The footage showed him pointing his weapon toward the journalists. Seconds later, Darwazeh was seen lying in a doorway in a pool of blood.
He and other cameramen, still photographers and reporters had been at the bottom of the alley and were wearing brightly colored vests that said "Press." It was unclear whether there was anyone behind Darwazeh at whom the soldiers might have been aiming when he was shot.
"A soldier came from under the tank and shot towards us," said Hassan Titi, a Reuters cameraman who witnessed and filmed the shooting. Another witness, Sami al Assi, a cameraman with a local TV station, said "The Israelis shot him and aimed specifically at us."
Before the shooting, there were clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in an area near the alley. Seventeen Palestinians were injured, doctors said. Nablus has been a flashpoint of recent tensions between Israeli troops and Palestinians.
Dr. Hussam Johari of the Rafidieh Hospital said Darwazeh died from a bullet wound to his head. He had been shot above the right eye as he peered into the camera viewfinder, doctors said.
Reuters photographer Abdel Rahim Quesini said there were five photographers in the group that had been filming the clashes.
Darwazeh had lived in Nablus all his life and had worked for APTN for two years. He is survived by a wife, Raeda, and by five children ranging in age from 6 months to 9 years.
Darwazeh is the 27th AP journalist to die since the founding of the news cooperative in 1848. He is the fifth AP television cameraman or producer to be killed since Associated Press created its news video service in 1994.
The conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories remains one of the world's most dangerous assignments for journalists. Three have been killed in the last year alone.
Raffaele Ciriello, an Italian free-lance photographer, was killed March 13 in Ramallah by Israeli gunfire, according to reports by journalists and witnesses. Ciriello was the first foreign journalist killed while covering the current Palestinian uprising, which began in September 2000.
Imad Abu Zahra, a Palestinian freelance photographer was killed by army gunfire July 12 in the West Bank city of Jenin, witnesses said.
Issam Tillawi, a reporter for the Voice of Palestine, died Sept. 22 in Ramallah. Tillawi, a journalist and program host for the official Palestinian Authority radio station, was shot in the head by Israeli gunfire during protests.
April 19, 2003, in Nablus, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory
AP Cameraman Shot and Killed by Israeli Troops
Nazeh Darwazeh 46, AP journalist
An Israeli soldier shot and killed a cameraman with Associated Press Television News who was covering a skirmish between troops and rock-throwing Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus on Saturday, witnesses said.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment but said it was looking into the shooting.
Nazeh Darwazeh, 45, was filming clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians that began early Saturday. Doctors said Darwazeh died of a bullet wound to the head.
Video footage taken by a Reuters cameraman showed young Palestinian men running up an alley toward a parked armored personnel carrier. After they threw rocks at the vehicle, troops fired shots. Witnesses said several firebombs were thrown toward the vehicle, and later footage showed a small area in the back of it on fire.
The footage then showed a man with a rifle in green combat fatigues kneeling down between the armored personnel carrier and the wall of a house at the top of the alley. Witnesses identified the man as an Israeli soldier.
The footage showed him pointing his weapon toward the journalists. Seconds later, Darwazeh was seen lying in a doorway in a pool of blood.
He and other cameramen, still photographers and reporters had been at the bottom of the alley and were wearing brightly colored vests that said "Press." It was unclear whether there was anyone behind Darwazeh at whom the soldiers might have been aiming when he was shot.
"A soldier came from under the tank and shot towards us," said Hassan Titi, a Reuters cameraman who witnessed and filmed the shooting. Another witness, Sami al Assi, a cameraman with a local TV station, said "The Israelis shot him and aimed specifically at us."
Before the shooting, there were clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in an area near the alley. Seventeen Palestinians were injured, doctors said. Nablus has been a flashpoint of recent tensions between Israeli troops and Palestinians.
Dr. Hussam Johari of the Rafidieh Hospital said Darwazeh died from a bullet wound to his head. He had been shot above the right eye as he peered into the camera viewfinder, doctors said.
Reuters photographer Abdel Rahim Quesini said there were five photographers in the group that had been filming the clashes.
Darwazeh had lived in Nablus all his life and had worked for APTN for two years. He is survived by a wife, Raeda, and by five children ranging in age from 6 months to 9 years.
Darwazeh is the 27th AP journalist to die since the founding of the news cooperative in 1848. He is the fifth AP television cameraman or producer to be killed since Associated Press created its news video service in 1994.
The conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories remains one of the world's most dangerous assignments for journalists. Three have been killed in the last year alone.
Raffaele Ciriello, an Italian free-lance photographer, was killed March 13 in Ramallah by Israeli gunfire, according to reports by journalists and witnesses. Ciriello was the first foreign journalist killed while covering the current Palestinian uprising, which began in September 2000.
Imad Abu Zahra, a Palestinian freelance photographer was killed by army gunfire July 12 in the West Bank city of Jenin, witnesses said.
Issam Tillawi, a reporter for the Voice of Palestine, died Sept. 22 in Ramallah. Tillawi, a journalist and program host for the official Palestinian Authority radio station, was shot in the head by Israeli gunfire during protests.
April 19, 2003, in Nablus, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory
12 juli 2002
Imad Abu Zahra 34, a Palestinian freelance photographer was killed by army gunfire
Abu Zahra, a Palestinian freelance photographer who also worked as a fixer and interpreter for foreign journalists, died after being hit by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) gunfire in the West Bank town of Jenin.
According to sources in Jenin, residents had gone into the city center on July 11 after Israeli forces lifted a curfew that had been in effect since June 21. Abu Zahra's colleague Said Dahla, a photographer for the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, told CPJ that at around 2 p.m., the sound of tanks coming toward the area led residents to flee or take cover inside nearby businesses or residences.
Together, Dahla and Abu Zahra went into the middle of Faisal Street to photograph an Israeli armored personnel carrier (APC) that had slammed into an electricity pole there. Dahla said that he and Abu Zahra were alone in the street at this point facing two Israeli tanks (near the APC), which he estimated to be about 40 meters (45 yards) in front of them.
Both men were holding cameras, according to Dahla, and Dahla wore a flak jacket clearly marked "Press." Dahla said that Abu Zahra also wore a cloth vest that identified him as a member of the press.
According to Dahla, moments after the two began taking photographs, gunfire erupted from the tanks. Dahla, who was hit in the leg with bullet shrapnel, said that he looked over and saw that Abu Zahra had been injured in his thigh and was bleeding profusely.
Dahla said that as they tried to take shelter in a nearby building, the tanks continued to fire on them. Dahla told CPJ that the two journalists remained in the building entrance, unable to get to a hospital. He estimates that more than 25 minutes passed before Abu Zahra was helped into a taxi and taken to Jenin Hospital, where he died on July 12.
According to an Israeli army spokesperson, after the APC hit the electricity pole on the afternoon of July 11, a mob attacked the personnel carrier with Molotov cocktails and rocks, and people in the crowd fired on the tanks. The spokesperson said the soldiers in the tanks responded by firing back at the source of the gunfire.
However, witnesses who were at the city center at the time told CPJ that residents did not attack the tanks until after the two journalists had been shot. Photos of the stranded APC taken by Dahla before the shooting show no signs of clashes or hostile action near the carrier. Moreover, there were no other reports of people injured by gunfire in Jenin that day.
Imad Abu Zahra 34, a Palestinian freelance photographer was killed by army gunfire
Abu Zahra, a Palestinian freelance photographer who also worked as a fixer and interpreter for foreign journalists, died after being hit by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) gunfire in the West Bank town of Jenin.
According to sources in Jenin, residents had gone into the city center on July 11 after Israeli forces lifted a curfew that had been in effect since June 21. Abu Zahra's colleague Said Dahla, a photographer for the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, told CPJ that at around 2 p.m., the sound of tanks coming toward the area led residents to flee or take cover inside nearby businesses or residences.
Together, Dahla and Abu Zahra went into the middle of Faisal Street to photograph an Israeli armored personnel carrier (APC) that had slammed into an electricity pole there. Dahla said that he and Abu Zahra were alone in the street at this point facing two Israeli tanks (near the APC), which he estimated to be about 40 meters (45 yards) in front of them.
Both men were holding cameras, according to Dahla, and Dahla wore a flak jacket clearly marked "Press." Dahla said that Abu Zahra also wore a cloth vest that identified him as a member of the press.
According to Dahla, moments after the two began taking photographs, gunfire erupted from the tanks. Dahla, who was hit in the leg with bullet shrapnel, said that he looked over and saw that Abu Zahra had been injured in his thigh and was bleeding profusely.
Dahla said that as they tried to take shelter in a nearby building, the tanks continued to fire on them. Dahla told CPJ that the two journalists remained in the building entrance, unable to get to a hospital. He estimates that more than 25 minutes passed before Abu Zahra was helped into a taxi and taken to Jenin Hospital, where he died on July 12.
According to an Israeli army spokesperson, after the APC hit the electricity pole on the afternoon of July 11, a mob attacked the personnel carrier with Molotov cocktails and rocks, and people in the crowd fired on the tanks. The spokesperson said the soldiers in the tanks responded by firing back at the source of the gunfire.
However, witnesses who were at the city center at the time told CPJ that residents did not attack the tanks until after the two journalists had been shot. Photos of the stranded APC taken by Dahla before the shooting show no signs of clashes or hostile action near the carrier. Moreover, there were no other reports of people injured by gunfire in Jenin that day.
26 juli 2002
The Last Photograph
Imad Abu Zahra after he was shot: The bullet tore the main artery in his thigh and his blood ran out. Imad died the same night
By Gideon Levy
This is the before-death image of the photojournalist Imad Abu Zahra, who was killed two weeks ago in Jenin. The desperate bending on the ground; the hands on the leg, trying to staunch the blood; the eyes reflecting terror and helplessness; the sweat pouring down his face; the glasses lying uselessly on the chest; the jeans and the polo jersey; and, of course, the blood. The large amount of blood that was shed.
The place: The entrance to what was once, in another time, the branch of Bank Leumi in the center of Jenin. This is where the dying photographer found temporary refuge from the shooting, until the soldiers stopped firing and allowed him to be pulled out. According to the IDF Spokesman, the soldiers were responding to shots fired at them. Shortly after Abu Zahra's colleague, Rafik Dahla - the brother of Said, who was working with Abu Zahra when they were shot - took the photograph, Abu Zahra died from loss of blood. As far as is known, he lay bleeding for half an hour, but because the firing continued, it was impossible to evacuate him. He was finally taken out in a private car, but by then it was too late. The bullet tore the main artery in his thigh and his blood ran out. He was a freelance photographer. A few years ago he wanted to join the Peace Now movement in Israel, establish a Jewish-Arab television station in Jenin and forge peace. He was shot holding his camera.
The camera disappeared. No one knows for sure where it is or what the last photograph he took was. Said Dahla, who was wounded in the leg, says the two of them split up the work that day in the face of the tanks: Dahla took photos and Abu Zahra followed the movement of the tank's cannon. It turns out that a professional code has developed in these confrontations between tank and photographer: If the cannon is pointed downward, at the ground, that is an order to stop; if it is raised upward, that means get out fast. An upward and downward movement is an order to raise your shirt and advance slowly. The Palestinian Information Ministry published this lexicon, which is intended for journalists and ambulance drivers during this period when tanks are roaming around the cities of the West Bank.
But the tank cannon did not budge, says Said Dahla. It didn't go up or down. He says the two of them deliberately positioned themselves in the middle of the road, about 40 meters from the tank and the armed personnel carrier, so that the armored soldiers, who see but cannot be seen, could have a clear view of them. Dahla wore a protective vest with the word "Press" emblazoned on it in large letters. He says Abu Zahra was also wearing a photographer's vest with the word "Press" on it.
Abu Zahra did not lift his gaze from the APC while Dahla took photographs. The APC smashed into an electricity pole, even though the street is far wider than the steel machine. According to the IDF Spokesman the crash was accidental, the result of a pursuit. Then, the firing started. Dahla says the soldiers shot for no reason; the IDF Spokesman says the shooting came in response to the throwing of stones and other objects and later on to a shooting in the direction of the soldiers.
Dahla has the photograph in his computer, showing the pole bending as the APC rams into it. Also in the computer is the last photograph taken of his friend Abu Zahra, as he lay bleeding. This photo was shot by Rafik, Said's younger brother, who came to the aid of the wounded men and took the photos.
There is also a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlmnr_zD71c
Abu Zahra emerges from the building where he took refuge after being shot, descends the steps of the Bank Leumi branch slowly, walks into the street and collapses, gets up, takes a step and falls down. These are the images of his last remaining strength; the blood flows relentlessly red across the sidewalk in his wake. He will somehow manage to get into the Transit that has arrived to rescue him, but there his face will begin to turn the sallow color of death. By the time he reaches the hospital, he is almost unconscious. By the time he is given six portions of blood and placed on the operating table, his soul has almost left his body. "If they had even a little humanity, they would have evacuated him to Afula," says the bereaved father. "They know the hospital in Jenin is not a real hospital, that its standard is of a clinic in a remote village. Every army needs customs, rules, a little humanity. At least to let him be evacuated and not prevent the rescue of someone who did not endanger them in any way." Abu Zahra died at midnight.
A reader of Ha'aretz, Dr. Hanna Amit-Kochavi, a translator, noted in a letter to the editor this week (in the Hebrew edition) that Abu Zahra's dream was to study Arabic-Hebrew translation at Beit Berl College in Israel. "Every few months he would phone to ask whether I had been able to get him a scholarship," Amit-Kochavi wrote. "He was skilled enough to meet the admission terms, but the tuition fees in Israel were too high, far beyond his means. I felt that for him I was a bridge to the hope of a different life, one in which he would be able to realize himself and exhaust his full potential. But now he is dead."
Curfew was imposed again on Sunday in Jenin. Nevertheless, a few people could be seen outside occasionally and even some cars, whose drivers dared to move around until the advent of the tanks, and then they fled in panic. Like human shadows, the few individuals wandered around the dusty, wrecked streets in the July heat, looking as though they had nothing more to lose, so why not go outside during curfew and risk their lives? A handful of children, a mentally disturbed youngster, a pregnant woman laboring to climb the steep street. A few fruits and vegetables, covered with blankets, are for sale in the stalls of the deserted market. Melons that have grown mushy, eggplants that have dried out, piles of rotten tomatoes. The devastation of the city is even more pronounced when its residents become prisoners in their homes.
"Liquidation, occupation, terror - nothing will stop us," someone has scrawled with a marker pen on a poster that hangs on a tree at the entrance to a handsome house in the city's eastern neighborhood - the home of Imad Abu Zahra. This was the center of the struggle in the first intifada; now the refugee camp is in the forefront. There are no posters of political organizations on the house, only of the Palestinian Journalists Association. "This is our fate and this is the fate of the entire Palestinian people, and we must cope with that fate," says the bereaved father, Subhi. "At this time, everyone in the Palestinian people - child, adult, woman, the aged - the same fate that befell Imad is liable to await them all." He is a retired English teacher who became a car insurance salesman for an Egyptian company, and he insured the cars of Jenin, which are now immobile or reduced to mangled heaps of metal. The neighbor's car, which was totally crushed by a tank, lies in front of the house. "No, the policy doesn't cover that," the insurance agent explains with a smile. "We know what we want and our neighbors know what we want. But they themselves do not know what they want."
Imad was his first-born. Not long ago he hosted a group of foreign journalists in the house and the father noticed that one of them, a woman, was sitting alone, apart from the others. She was a Jew from the United States. "She was hesitant and afraid and I reassured her: `You are in the home of a Palestinian and you are safe.' Subhi proudly shows photocopies of his late son's press cards, issued by the Palestinian Authority and by Israel's Government Press Office. The validity of the GPO card expired at the end of 1996; the Palestinian card is still valid. There is also a letter from 1998, admitting Imad to Leicester University in England to study for a second degree in mass communications - another dream that was not fulfilled. And a certificate of participation in a course on "Art as Language," given at the Arab-Jewish community of Neveh Shalom, in Israel, in 1997. And a business card: Abu Zahra, journalism, advertising, media.
He compiled a clear resume: Born, July 1967. Current address: Jaffa, Jerusalem, Ramallah. Permanent address: Jenin. E-mail address, four languages, including Hebrew at a "very good" level. Areas of interest: activity for democracy, peace and nonviolence, women's status, special activity in the organization Women, Work and Society, ability to think creatively, interpersonal skills, good photographer, excellent writing ability. N.B., Able to move freely in all the Israeli territories. How ironic that this is what he wrote in his CV a year ago. In a whisper, his father admits that one chapter in his son's life is missing from his resume: work in the kitchen of a Tel Aviv restaurant. "It was to pay for his studies," the father says almost apologetically. He himself was born in Haifa to a father who worked in an ice-making factory, and he grew up as a refugee.
A local paper that Imad and a friend of his published was shut down by order of the Palestinian Authority, which didn't like its critical spirit. The well-designed journal was called "Jenin" and had a circulation of 5,000. Here is an editorial written by Imad, entitled "Yes, Jenin" ("the city that made sacrifices and did much for the homeland but remains remote from the center of things"), and an article written by his father about the problems faced by pensioners in the city. Six issues appeared before the paper was shut down. The editor, Tahar Zbeida, was killed in the Israel Defense Forces' operation in the Jenin refugee camp three months ago. Abu Zahra's father urges, "Don't connect them. One was killed wearing an explosive belt and one holding a camera: Imad did not believe in violence." (Zbeida was in fact armed when he was killed, but he was not wearing an explosive belt.)
Here is the family album: Imad the infant, his parents smartly dressed in the suits and holiday garb of another era, just like our parents in our childhood photos. Imad riding a tricycle, Imad talking on the telephone. And a later photograph, taken against the background of a fictitious sea in a Jenin photography studio.
He took his camera everywhere. The first photographs of the destruction of the refugee camp were his. He worked as a journalist and freelance photographer and offered his work to the world. The Jerusalem Post, Al-Sinara and Kull al-Arab, bought his photos occasionally. Two weeks ago Thursday, he ventured out with his camera again.
He got up about 9 A.M. and went to his office in the city. There was no curfew that day. The tanks entered around noon and rumbled their way to the city center. Just then his friend Said Dahla, who works for Wafa (the Palestine News Agency) and for Reuters, was photographing a group of people who had been detained by the army and made to sit down on the road at the southern entrance of the city, in the direction of Nablus. As usual, Dahla called Abu Zahra to join him, but Abu Zahra's mobile phone was off. Dahla went back to the city and heard the noise of the approaching tanks; he met his friend by the city square, across the way from two tanks and the APC.
According to the bereaved father, there was an electrical short when the APC hit the electricity pole, as a result of which one of the machine guns was jostled from its place. According to the father, a young Palestinian then approached the APC and stole the weapon, and that was why the soldiers opened fire at the photographers. Dahla confirms there was such an incident, but says it happened after they were hit and that nothing happened beforehand that can explain why the soldiers opened fire at them.
The IDF Spokesman has a different version: "On July 11, an APC entered Jenin following a terrorist alert. During the pursuit the APC accidentally crashed into a pole and became stuck. Palestinians were throwing Molotov cocktails, stones and various other objects at the APC. Shots were then fired in the direction of the APC. The soldiers retaliated with persistent fire toward the source of the shooting and then fired a warning shot in the air. During the exchange of fire the entrance of an ambulance was detained. Once the firing stopped, the ambulance was allowed to enter."
Either way, the fact that the shooting continued persistently prevented the evacuation of Abu Zahra.
There is no difference between the father's version and the account given by Dahla about what happened after he and Abu Zahra were wounded: The soldiers fired constantly, preventing any possibility of their rescue. Dahla: "Imad lay on the road. When I ran to pull him out, they fired. I pulled him a meter and ran. Finally I told him to try to move by himself, on his own strength." Imad leaned on his elbow and tried to get out of the line of fire. He crawled about eight meters like that. A 14-year-old boy, who is seen to his left in the photograph, was the only one who wasn't deterred and stayed to help him. During this entire time Imad did not say a word. It took 20 minutes before they reached shelter and another 10 minutes before the car arrived. Imad then said his last words: "Take care of your leg, I will manage to get to the car by myself," he said to Dahla, and moved onto the road. Earlier, Dahla thought Imad was about to choke to death, and the boy removed his vest.
The video of her son's final hours keeps running on the television. "Enough," the bereaved mother, Hiyam, shouts from the side of the room. She breaks into tears, and Hamudi, another son, who attends the University of Cyprus (Middle Eastern studies), quickly places his head on her shoulder to comfort her. They have another son, who is studying medicine in Karachi.
The father: "The question that gives me no rest is: Who is responsible for the crime? Who is responsible for this crisis, for the tears of mothers, for the pain of the two nations? Who is responsible?" And his answer: "The leaders of both nations. Both nations should have long ago forced their leaders to put an end to the violence. How long will we go on like this, action-reaction, action-reaction - until when? Until when will this bloody game continue? This sad game. I have to ask the Israeli people that question. We are thirsty for someone who will show us a little sympathy."
The mother: "What will you say to the world? We are not terrorists. Imad was not someone who put the soldiers in the tank in danger. Why did they kill him? Only because he is a Palestinian? Is it right to kill someone only because he is a Jew? Why did they kill Imad?" Then the tears welled up again.
The Last Photograph
Imad Abu Zahra after he was shot: The bullet tore the main artery in his thigh and his blood ran out. Imad died the same night
By Gideon Levy
This is the before-death image of the photojournalist Imad Abu Zahra, who was killed two weeks ago in Jenin. The desperate bending on the ground; the hands on the leg, trying to staunch the blood; the eyes reflecting terror and helplessness; the sweat pouring down his face; the glasses lying uselessly on the chest; the jeans and the polo jersey; and, of course, the blood. The large amount of blood that was shed.
The place: The entrance to what was once, in another time, the branch of Bank Leumi in the center of Jenin. This is where the dying photographer found temporary refuge from the shooting, until the soldiers stopped firing and allowed him to be pulled out. According to the IDF Spokesman, the soldiers were responding to shots fired at them. Shortly after Abu Zahra's colleague, Rafik Dahla - the brother of Said, who was working with Abu Zahra when they were shot - took the photograph, Abu Zahra died from loss of blood. As far as is known, he lay bleeding for half an hour, but because the firing continued, it was impossible to evacuate him. He was finally taken out in a private car, but by then it was too late. The bullet tore the main artery in his thigh and his blood ran out. He was a freelance photographer. A few years ago he wanted to join the Peace Now movement in Israel, establish a Jewish-Arab television station in Jenin and forge peace. He was shot holding his camera.
The camera disappeared. No one knows for sure where it is or what the last photograph he took was. Said Dahla, who was wounded in the leg, says the two of them split up the work that day in the face of the tanks: Dahla took photos and Abu Zahra followed the movement of the tank's cannon. It turns out that a professional code has developed in these confrontations between tank and photographer: If the cannon is pointed downward, at the ground, that is an order to stop; if it is raised upward, that means get out fast. An upward and downward movement is an order to raise your shirt and advance slowly. The Palestinian Information Ministry published this lexicon, which is intended for journalists and ambulance drivers during this period when tanks are roaming around the cities of the West Bank.
But the tank cannon did not budge, says Said Dahla. It didn't go up or down. He says the two of them deliberately positioned themselves in the middle of the road, about 40 meters from the tank and the armed personnel carrier, so that the armored soldiers, who see but cannot be seen, could have a clear view of them. Dahla wore a protective vest with the word "Press" emblazoned on it in large letters. He says Abu Zahra was also wearing a photographer's vest with the word "Press" on it.
Abu Zahra did not lift his gaze from the APC while Dahla took photographs. The APC smashed into an electricity pole, even though the street is far wider than the steel machine. According to the IDF Spokesman the crash was accidental, the result of a pursuit. Then, the firing started. Dahla says the soldiers shot for no reason; the IDF Spokesman says the shooting came in response to the throwing of stones and other objects and later on to a shooting in the direction of the soldiers.
Dahla has the photograph in his computer, showing the pole bending as the APC rams into it. Also in the computer is the last photograph taken of his friend Abu Zahra, as he lay bleeding. This photo was shot by Rafik, Said's younger brother, who came to the aid of the wounded men and took the photos.
There is also a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlmnr_zD71c
Abu Zahra emerges from the building where he took refuge after being shot, descends the steps of the Bank Leumi branch slowly, walks into the street and collapses, gets up, takes a step and falls down. These are the images of his last remaining strength; the blood flows relentlessly red across the sidewalk in his wake. He will somehow manage to get into the Transit that has arrived to rescue him, but there his face will begin to turn the sallow color of death. By the time he reaches the hospital, he is almost unconscious. By the time he is given six portions of blood and placed on the operating table, his soul has almost left his body. "If they had even a little humanity, they would have evacuated him to Afula," says the bereaved father. "They know the hospital in Jenin is not a real hospital, that its standard is of a clinic in a remote village. Every army needs customs, rules, a little humanity. At least to let him be evacuated and not prevent the rescue of someone who did not endanger them in any way." Abu Zahra died at midnight.
A reader of Ha'aretz, Dr. Hanna Amit-Kochavi, a translator, noted in a letter to the editor this week (in the Hebrew edition) that Abu Zahra's dream was to study Arabic-Hebrew translation at Beit Berl College in Israel. "Every few months he would phone to ask whether I had been able to get him a scholarship," Amit-Kochavi wrote. "He was skilled enough to meet the admission terms, but the tuition fees in Israel were too high, far beyond his means. I felt that for him I was a bridge to the hope of a different life, one in which he would be able to realize himself and exhaust his full potential. But now he is dead."
Curfew was imposed again on Sunday in Jenin. Nevertheless, a few people could be seen outside occasionally and even some cars, whose drivers dared to move around until the advent of the tanks, and then they fled in panic. Like human shadows, the few individuals wandered around the dusty, wrecked streets in the July heat, looking as though they had nothing more to lose, so why not go outside during curfew and risk their lives? A handful of children, a mentally disturbed youngster, a pregnant woman laboring to climb the steep street. A few fruits and vegetables, covered with blankets, are for sale in the stalls of the deserted market. Melons that have grown mushy, eggplants that have dried out, piles of rotten tomatoes. The devastation of the city is even more pronounced when its residents become prisoners in their homes.
"Liquidation, occupation, terror - nothing will stop us," someone has scrawled with a marker pen on a poster that hangs on a tree at the entrance to a handsome house in the city's eastern neighborhood - the home of Imad Abu Zahra. This was the center of the struggle in the first intifada; now the refugee camp is in the forefront. There are no posters of political organizations on the house, only of the Palestinian Journalists Association. "This is our fate and this is the fate of the entire Palestinian people, and we must cope with that fate," says the bereaved father, Subhi. "At this time, everyone in the Palestinian people - child, adult, woman, the aged - the same fate that befell Imad is liable to await them all." He is a retired English teacher who became a car insurance salesman for an Egyptian company, and he insured the cars of Jenin, which are now immobile or reduced to mangled heaps of metal. The neighbor's car, which was totally crushed by a tank, lies in front of the house. "No, the policy doesn't cover that," the insurance agent explains with a smile. "We know what we want and our neighbors know what we want. But they themselves do not know what they want."
Imad was his first-born. Not long ago he hosted a group of foreign journalists in the house and the father noticed that one of them, a woman, was sitting alone, apart from the others. She was a Jew from the United States. "She was hesitant and afraid and I reassured her: `You are in the home of a Palestinian and you are safe.' Subhi proudly shows photocopies of his late son's press cards, issued by the Palestinian Authority and by Israel's Government Press Office. The validity of the GPO card expired at the end of 1996; the Palestinian card is still valid. There is also a letter from 1998, admitting Imad to Leicester University in England to study for a second degree in mass communications - another dream that was not fulfilled. And a certificate of participation in a course on "Art as Language," given at the Arab-Jewish community of Neveh Shalom, in Israel, in 1997. And a business card: Abu Zahra, journalism, advertising, media.
He compiled a clear resume: Born, July 1967. Current address: Jaffa, Jerusalem, Ramallah. Permanent address: Jenin. E-mail address, four languages, including Hebrew at a "very good" level. Areas of interest: activity for democracy, peace and nonviolence, women's status, special activity in the organization Women, Work and Society, ability to think creatively, interpersonal skills, good photographer, excellent writing ability. N.B., Able to move freely in all the Israeli territories. How ironic that this is what he wrote in his CV a year ago. In a whisper, his father admits that one chapter in his son's life is missing from his resume: work in the kitchen of a Tel Aviv restaurant. "It was to pay for his studies," the father says almost apologetically. He himself was born in Haifa to a father who worked in an ice-making factory, and he grew up as a refugee.
A local paper that Imad and a friend of his published was shut down by order of the Palestinian Authority, which didn't like its critical spirit. The well-designed journal was called "Jenin" and had a circulation of 5,000. Here is an editorial written by Imad, entitled "Yes, Jenin" ("the city that made sacrifices and did much for the homeland but remains remote from the center of things"), and an article written by his father about the problems faced by pensioners in the city. Six issues appeared before the paper was shut down. The editor, Tahar Zbeida, was killed in the Israel Defense Forces' operation in the Jenin refugee camp three months ago. Abu Zahra's father urges, "Don't connect them. One was killed wearing an explosive belt and one holding a camera: Imad did not believe in violence." (Zbeida was in fact armed when he was killed, but he was not wearing an explosive belt.)
Here is the family album: Imad the infant, his parents smartly dressed in the suits and holiday garb of another era, just like our parents in our childhood photos. Imad riding a tricycle, Imad talking on the telephone. And a later photograph, taken against the background of a fictitious sea in a Jenin photography studio.
He took his camera everywhere. The first photographs of the destruction of the refugee camp were his. He worked as a journalist and freelance photographer and offered his work to the world. The Jerusalem Post, Al-Sinara and Kull al-Arab, bought his photos occasionally. Two weeks ago Thursday, he ventured out with his camera again.
He got up about 9 A.M. and went to his office in the city. There was no curfew that day. The tanks entered around noon and rumbled their way to the city center. Just then his friend Said Dahla, who works for Wafa (the Palestine News Agency) and for Reuters, was photographing a group of people who had been detained by the army and made to sit down on the road at the southern entrance of the city, in the direction of Nablus. As usual, Dahla called Abu Zahra to join him, but Abu Zahra's mobile phone was off. Dahla went back to the city and heard the noise of the approaching tanks; he met his friend by the city square, across the way from two tanks and the APC.
According to the bereaved father, there was an electrical short when the APC hit the electricity pole, as a result of which one of the machine guns was jostled from its place. According to the father, a young Palestinian then approached the APC and stole the weapon, and that was why the soldiers opened fire at the photographers. Dahla confirms there was such an incident, but says it happened after they were hit and that nothing happened beforehand that can explain why the soldiers opened fire at them.
The IDF Spokesman has a different version: "On July 11, an APC entered Jenin following a terrorist alert. During the pursuit the APC accidentally crashed into a pole and became stuck. Palestinians were throwing Molotov cocktails, stones and various other objects at the APC. Shots were then fired in the direction of the APC. The soldiers retaliated with persistent fire toward the source of the shooting and then fired a warning shot in the air. During the exchange of fire the entrance of an ambulance was detained. Once the firing stopped, the ambulance was allowed to enter."
Either way, the fact that the shooting continued persistently prevented the evacuation of Abu Zahra.
There is no difference between the father's version and the account given by Dahla about what happened after he and Abu Zahra were wounded: The soldiers fired constantly, preventing any possibility of their rescue. Dahla: "Imad lay on the road. When I ran to pull him out, they fired. I pulled him a meter and ran. Finally I told him to try to move by himself, on his own strength." Imad leaned on his elbow and tried to get out of the line of fire. He crawled about eight meters like that. A 14-year-old boy, who is seen to his left in the photograph, was the only one who wasn't deterred and stayed to help him. During this entire time Imad did not say a word. It took 20 minutes before they reached shelter and another 10 minutes before the car arrived. Imad then said his last words: "Take care of your leg, I will manage to get to the car by myself," he said to Dahla, and moved onto the road. Earlier, Dahla thought Imad was about to choke to death, and the boy removed his vest.
The video of her son's final hours keeps running on the television. "Enough," the bereaved mother, Hiyam, shouts from the side of the room. She breaks into tears, and Hamudi, another son, who attends the University of Cyprus (Middle Eastern studies), quickly places his head on her shoulder to comfort her. They have another son, who is studying medicine in Karachi.
The father: "The question that gives me no rest is: Who is responsible for the crime? Who is responsible for this crisis, for the tears of mothers, for the pain of the two nations? Who is responsible?" And his answer: "The leaders of both nations. Both nations should have long ago forced their leaders to put an end to the violence. How long will we go on like this, action-reaction, action-reaction - until when? Until when will this bloody game continue? This sad game. I have to ask the Israeli people that question. We are thirsty for someone who will show us a little sympathy."
The mother: "What will you say to the world? We are not terrorists. Imad was not someone who put the soldiers in the tank in danger. Why did they kill him? Only because he is a Palestinian? Is it right to kill someone only because he is a Jew? Why did they kill Imad?" Then the tears welled up again.
25 febr 2002
IDF shoots Palestinian woman in labor while on her way to hospital
Maysoon al-Hayek, after giving birth, unclear of status of her husband
I am married to Muhammad al-Hayek, resident of Zeita-Jamma'in village. We were married about a year ago. I am nine months pregnant. Today, 25.02.02, at 2:30AM, I felt severe pain and contractions. I knew I was about to give birth at any moment. I turned to my husband and said the time had come. My husband, Muhammad, asked me: "Do you want to go to the hospital?" I said I did and preferably immediately. My husband agreed and went to tell his father that we were going to go to the hospital. His father told him that he wanted to come with us. My husband started the car, a 1984 Subaru. I prepared all the things for the newborn to take with me.
We left our house in Zeita-Jamma'in, at 2:30AM to Rafidia hospital in Nablus, which is 18 kilometers from our village. My husband, Muhammad, drove the car. His father sat in the front seat next to him, and I sat in the back. We arrived at the Israeli roadblock at the southern entrance to Nablus. 50 meters in front of the roadblock, the soldiers told us to stop. They asked my husband to get out of the car to check his papers. The soldiers asked my husband to tell us, his father and me, to get out of the car. After we got out of the car, the soldiers examined my husband's father's identification papers and then asked for mine. The soldiers searched the car thoroughly and looked through every thing that was in it, including the things for the newborn. At the end of the searches and examinations, my husband told the soldiers that we wanted to get into Nablus to get to Rafidia hospital because I was in labor. Initially, the soldiers refused to let us through, but I told them I was in severe pain and about to give birth. Then, a soldier told me to uncover my belly, to make sure I was really pregnant. I uncovered my belly because of the pain I was in and so that they would let through. The soldier let us enter Nablus, this after the searches, examinations and arguments which lasted for about an hour.
We drove about 300 meters and got to a large ditch that had been dug in the main road where we were travelling very slowly. 30 meters past the ditch, heavy gunfire was opened toward the front of the car. It lasted for about five minutes. My husband received a direct hit to the neck, and more hits to the upper body. 'Abdullah al-Hayek, my husband's father, was also hit in the upper body. I was hit by shrapnel and glass from the broken window which spread in the car. I lay down on the back seat. After the Israeli soldiers stopped shooting, the place became completely silent. I spoke to my husband, asking him to answer me. When he didn't answer me, I realized he was in a bad condition. His father couldn't speak either. I started to scream and cry. The soldiers came toward me from in-between the houses. They examined me and tried to give me first aid. They examined my husband, Muhammad, and his father and told me that they wanted to take him to hospital in Israel because his condition was severe. As for me, the soldiers called the DCO, I think, and called a Palestinian Red Crescent Ambulance for me from Nablus. The ambulance took me to Rafidia hospital in Nablus. I was completely naked, because the soldiers took my clothes off to check if and where I had been hurt. After the examination, they left me naked.
Up to this moment, Monday at 10:00AM, I still don't know what happened to my husband and his father, whom I left at the place with the soldiers. I gave natural birth to a baby girl. I named her Fida and I am still at Rafidia hospital.
Maysoon Salah Na'if al-Hayek, resident of Zeita-Jamma'in village in Nablus District, is 22 year-old. The testimony was given to 'Ali Daraghmeh at Rafidia hospital in Nablus, 25 February 2002.
IDF shoots Palestinian woman in labor while on her way to hospital
Maysoon al-Hayek, after giving birth, unclear of status of her husband
I am married to Muhammad al-Hayek, resident of Zeita-Jamma'in village. We were married about a year ago. I am nine months pregnant. Today, 25.02.02, at 2:30AM, I felt severe pain and contractions. I knew I was about to give birth at any moment. I turned to my husband and said the time had come. My husband, Muhammad, asked me: "Do you want to go to the hospital?" I said I did and preferably immediately. My husband agreed and went to tell his father that we were going to go to the hospital. His father told him that he wanted to come with us. My husband started the car, a 1984 Subaru. I prepared all the things for the newborn to take with me.
We left our house in Zeita-Jamma'in, at 2:30AM to Rafidia hospital in Nablus, which is 18 kilometers from our village. My husband, Muhammad, drove the car. His father sat in the front seat next to him, and I sat in the back. We arrived at the Israeli roadblock at the southern entrance to Nablus. 50 meters in front of the roadblock, the soldiers told us to stop. They asked my husband to get out of the car to check his papers. The soldiers asked my husband to tell us, his father and me, to get out of the car. After we got out of the car, the soldiers examined my husband's father's identification papers and then asked for mine. The soldiers searched the car thoroughly and looked through every thing that was in it, including the things for the newborn. At the end of the searches and examinations, my husband told the soldiers that we wanted to get into Nablus to get to Rafidia hospital because I was in labor. Initially, the soldiers refused to let us through, but I told them I was in severe pain and about to give birth. Then, a soldier told me to uncover my belly, to make sure I was really pregnant. I uncovered my belly because of the pain I was in and so that they would let through. The soldier let us enter Nablus, this after the searches, examinations and arguments which lasted for about an hour.
We drove about 300 meters and got to a large ditch that had been dug in the main road where we were travelling very slowly. 30 meters past the ditch, heavy gunfire was opened toward the front of the car. It lasted for about five minutes. My husband received a direct hit to the neck, and more hits to the upper body. 'Abdullah al-Hayek, my husband's father, was also hit in the upper body. I was hit by shrapnel and glass from the broken window which spread in the car. I lay down on the back seat. After the Israeli soldiers stopped shooting, the place became completely silent. I spoke to my husband, asking him to answer me. When he didn't answer me, I realized he was in a bad condition. His father couldn't speak either. I started to scream and cry. The soldiers came toward me from in-between the houses. They examined me and tried to give me first aid. They examined my husband, Muhammad, and his father and told me that they wanted to take him to hospital in Israel because his condition was severe. As for me, the soldiers called the DCO, I think, and called a Palestinian Red Crescent Ambulance for me from Nablus. The ambulance took me to Rafidia hospital in Nablus. I was completely naked, because the soldiers took my clothes off to check if and where I had been hurt. After the examination, they left me naked.
Up to this moment, Monday at 10:00AM, I still don't know what happened to my husband and his father, whom I left at the place with the soldiers. I gave natural birth to a baby girl. I named her Fida and I am still at Rafidia hospital.
Maysoon Salah Na'if al-Hayek, resident of Zeita-Jamma'in village in Nablus District, is 22 year-old. The testimony was given to 'Ali Daraghmeh at Rafidia hospital in Nablus, 25 February 2002.
20 oct 2001
Six Palestinians killed in West Bank raids
Six Palestinians were killed today as Israeli troops entered two more West Bank towns in a concerted offensive against Palestinian areas.
The dead included a woman hit by tank shell fragments and a 15-year-boy.
At about 3 am (0100 GMT) today, Israeli tanks entered the towns of Qalqilya and Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. They were met by Palestinian fire, and four Palestinians were killed in the fighting, doctors said.
In the town of Beit Jala, where Israeli troops set up positions yesterday, doctors said a 23-year-old Palestinian woman had been killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell and machine gun rounds.
The Israeli army said it knew nothing of this death but reported an exchange of fire in the area.
A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was shot by troops east of Bethlehem, doctors said, in circumstances which were not immediately clear.
Palestinian medical sources said two Palestinian police officers had been killed trying to fight off the attack on Tulkarm.
In Qalqilya, a Palestinian policeman and a man identified as a member of the militant Islamic group Hamas were killed.
Israeli troops arrested other Hamas members and two members of the Palestinian security forces.
It said its forces had cordoned off both cities and taken up "commanding areas and destroyed positions from which there has been [Palestinian] gunfire in the past".
The latest incursions followed similar raids into Palestinian-ruled Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jenin and Beit Jala in the West Bank.
A new bout of violence has begun in the wake of the assassination last week of the ultranationalist Israeli tourism minister, Rehavam Zeevi.
The radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, opposed to peace with Israel, said it had carried out the killing in reprisal for Israel's assassination of PFLP leader Abu Ali Mustafa in August.
Increasing violence in the region threatens to undermine President George Bush's efforts to retain Arab and Muslim support for his campaign against Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network.
The US state department said yesterday that the current violence threatened to "complicate the situation and should be halted". Nabil Abu Rdainah, a senior adviser to the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, said today that the Palestinian Authority was seeking an emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the reoccupation of parts of the West Bank.
"Israel is exploiting the world's preoccupation [with U.S. strikes on Afghanistan] to escalate aggression against our people," he said . Israel says warnings of further Palestinian suicide attacks motivated the attacks on West Bank towns.
"The idea is to arrest terrorists and to prevent more terrorist attacks," Israeli government spokesman Arie Mekel said. Since Zeevi's killing, Israel has demanded that the Palestinian Authority hand over those involved, outlaw groups it defines as "terrorist" and arrest militants on an Israeli most-wanted list.
The killing was the first assassination of an Israeli cabinet minister by Palestinian militants in the Jewish state's 53-year history.
At least 643 Palestinians and 177 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation began shortly after peace talks stalled.
Six Palestinians killed in West Bank raids
Six Palestinians were killed today as Israeli troops entered two more West Bank towns in a concerted offensive against Palestinian areas.
The dead included a woman hit by tank shell fragments and a 15-year-boy.
At about 3 am (0100 GMT) today, Israeli tanks entered the towns of Qalqilya and Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. They were met by Palestinian fire, and four Palestinians were killed in the fighting, doctors said.
In the town of Beit Jala, where Israeli troops set up positions yesterday, doctors said a 23-year-old Palestinian woman had been killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell and machine gun rounds.
The Israeli army said it knew nothing of this death but reported an exchange of fire in the area.
A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was shot by troops east of Bethlehem, doctors said, in circumstances which were not immediately clear.
Palestinian medical sources said two Palestinian police officers had been killed trying to fight off the attack on Tulkarm.
In Qalqilya, a Palestinian policeman and a man identified as a member of the militant Islamic group Hamas were killed.
Israeli troops arrested other Hamas members and two members of the Palestinian security forces.
It said its forces had cordoned off both cities and taken up "commanding areas and destroyed positions from which there has been [Palestinian] gunfire in the past".
The latest incursions followed similar raids into Palestinian-ruled Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jenin and Beit Jala in the West Bank.
A new bout of violence has begun in the wake of the assassination last week of the ultranationalist Israeli tourism minister, Rehavam Zeevi.
The radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, opposed to peace with Israel, said it had carried out the killing in reprisal for Israel's assassination of PFLP leader Abu Ali Mustafa in August.
Increasing violence in the region threatens to undermine President George Bush's efforts to retain Arab and Muslim support for his campaign against Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network.
The US state department said yesterday that the current violence threatened to "complicate the situation and should be halted". Nabil Abu Rdainah, a senior adviser to the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, said today that the Palestinian Authority was seeking an emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the reoccupation of parts of the West Bank.
"Israel is exploiting the world's preoccupation [with U.S. strikes on Afghanistan] to escalate aggression against our people," he said . Israel says warnings of further Palestinian suicide attacks motivated the attacks on West Bank towns.
"The idea is to arrest terrorists and to prevent more terrorist attacks," Israeli government spokesman Arie Mekel said. Since Zeevi's killing, Israel has demanded that the Palestinian Authority hand over those involved, outlaw groups it defines as "terrorist" and arrest militants on an Israeli most-wanted list.
The killing was the first assassination of an Israeli cabinet minister by Palestinian militants in the Jewish state's 53-year history.
At least 643 Palestinians and 177 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation began shortly after peace talks stalled.
9 dec 2000
10 die as violence flares on West Bank
Israeli tanks fired on a Palestinian police post, and Jewish motorists were sprayed with gunfire as one of the bloodiest days in 10 weeks of Middle East violence left 10 people dead yesterday.
Thirteen years after Palestinian anger at Israel's occupation exploded in the first intifada, the first of two days of protests to mark the 1987 uprising brought a sharp escalation in violence yesterday.
The day began and ended with drive-by shootings by Palestinian gunmen, intensifying the battle for control of the roads in the West Bank. Three Israelis were killed in two separate attacks.
Yesterday also saw Palestinians returning to the stone-throwing protests which have been waning since the first weeks of this intifada.
Seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces across the West Bank and in Jerusalem, where protesters burned tyres and stoned riot police on the Via Dolorosa, in the fiercest clashes in the holy city for two months.
In the bloodiest single incident of the day, Israeli tanks launched three shells at a Palestinian police post in the West Bank city of Jenin, killing three uniformed officers and a civilian passerby. Zuheir Manasra, the governor of Jenin, said the Israelis had opened fire without provocation on an area under the control of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said the post was in an area under Israeli control, but admitted the soldiers had fired first. "It is a place where a lot of Palestinian people opened fire on our soldiers," she said. "It was very dangerous."
Outside the Jewish settle ment of Kiryat Arba yesterday morning, gunmen sprayed a white Israeli van with bullets, killing a school teacher, before fleeing to a village under Palestinian control. The van driver died later in the day.
A second Israeli car was targeted after dark outside a Jewish settlement near Jericho, killing a soldier.
During the last four weeks, Palestinian drive-by shootings have exacted an increasingly heavy toll on Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza, and driven some Israelis from their homes in the isolated Jewish outposts.
Israeli intelligence officials warned this week that the Palestinian gunmen were perfecting their methods, turning the roads built with the intention of protecting Jewish settlers into killing zones.
Yesterday's killings increased the pressure on Israel's prime minister, Ehud Barak, to strike back against Palestinian gunmen, and extinguished hopes that a relative lull in violence could take hold.
Nearly 310 people have been killed in the uprising, which exploded with far greater savagery than the original intifada.
Those protests, which lasted until 1993, pushed Israel to enter negotiations with Mr Arafat aimed at creating a Palestinian state. But after yesterday's violence, and the prospects of reprisal attacks today as Israelis and Palestinians bury their dead, hopes of re-opening negotiations seemed all but lost.
As news of the van shooting spread yesterday morning, angry settlers roamed the streets of nearby Hebron with assault rifles, calling for revenge. Mourners from the funeral procession of the slain teacher clashed with riot police and leftwing peace activists out side Mr Barak's residence in Jerusalem.
2Inside the ramparts of Jerusalem's old city, meanwhile, afternoon prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque on the second Friday of Ramadan saw hun dreds of protesters fan out along the Via Dolorosa, breaking up chunks of rubble before hurling them at police.
As young men with their heads covered with scarves prowled the ramparts of the mosque, raising the Palestinian flag, one group broke away to attack the gates of a police station at Lion's Gate with a steel battering ram. Once inside, they set it alight, for the second time in two months.
Among the 10 who died yesterday was a teenager killed when riot police fired rubber bullets; a boy, 16, shot by Israeli troops in Bethlehem; and another Palestinian, 15, declared clinically dead in Hebron.
10 die as violence flares on West Bank
Israeli tanks fired on a Palestinian police post, and Jewish motorists were sprayed with gunfire as one of the bloodiest days in 10 weeks of Middle East violence left 10 people dead yesterday.
Thirteen years after Palestinian anger at Israel's occupation exploded in the first intifada, the first of two days of protests to mark the 1987 uprising brought a sharp escalation in violence yesterday.
The day began and ended with drive-by shootings by Palestinian gunmen, intensifying the battle for control of the roads in the West Bank. Three Israelis were killed in two separate attacks.
Yesterday also saw Palestinians returning to the stone-throwing protests which have been waning since the first weeks of this intifada.
Seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces across the West Bank and in Jerusalem, where protesters burned tyres and stoned riot police on the Via Dolorosa, in the fiercest clashes in the holy city for two months.
In the bloodiest single incident of the day, Israeli tanks launched three shells at a Palestinian police post in the West Bank city of Jenin, killing three uniformed officers and a civilian passerby. Zuheir Manasra, the governor of Jenin, said the Israelis had opened fire without provocation on an area under the control of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said the post was in an area under Israeli control, but admitted the soldiers had fired first. "It is a place where a lot of Palestinian people opened fire on our soldiers," she said. "It was very dangerous."
Outside the Jewish settle ment of Kiryat Arba yesterday morning, gunmen sprayed a white Israeli van with bullets, killing a school teacher, before fleeing to a village under Palestinian control. The van driver died later in the day.
A second Israeli car was targeted after dark outside a Jewish settlement near Jericho, killing a soldier.
During the last four weeks, Palestinian drive-by shootings have exacted an increasingly heavy toll on Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza, and driven some Israelis from their homes in the isolated Jewish outposts.
Israeli intelligence officials warned this week that the Palestinian gunmen were perfecting their methods, turning the roads built with the intention of protecting Jewish settlers into killing zones.
Yesterday's killings increased the pressure on Israel's prime minister, Ehud Barak, to strike back against Palestinian gunmen, and extinguished hopes that a relative lull in violence could take hold.
Nearly 310 people have been killed in the uprising, which exploded with far greater savagery than the original intifada.
Those protests, which lasted until 1993, pushed Israel to enter negotiations with Mr Arafat aimed at creating a Palestinian state. But after yesterday's violence, and the prospects of reprisal attacks today as Israelis and Palestinians bury their dead, hopes of re-opening negotiations seemed all but lost.
As news of the van shooting spread yesterday morning, angry settlers roamed the streets of nearby Hebron with assault rifles, calling for revenge. Mourners from the funeral procession of the slain teacher clashed with riot police and leftwing peace activists out side Mr Barak's residence in Jerusalem.
2Inside the ramparts of Jerusalem's old city, meanwhile, afternoon prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque on the second Friday of Ramadan saw hun dreds of protesters fan out along the Via Dolorosa, breaking up chunks of rubble before hurling them at police.
As young men with their heads covered with scarves prowled the ramparts of the mosque, raising the Palestinian flag, one group broke away to attack the gates of a police station at Lion's Gate with a steel battering ram. Once inside, they set it alight, for the second time in two months.
Among the 10 who died yesterday was a teenager killed when riot police fired rubber bullets; a boy, 16, shot by Israeli troops in Bethlehem; and another Palestinian, 15, declared clinically dead in Hebron.
- 27-29 juli 2000
Crowds out for Arafat, daggers out for Barak
28 aug 2000
Israeli troops killed in bungled raid
29 sept 2000
Rioting as Sharon visits Islam holy site. Dozens of people were injured
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Maria 1-2 oct 2000
West Bank death toll hits 15
2 oct 2000
Boy's death stokes up battle for Jerusalem. By nightfall, the toll from four days of rioting across the West Bank and Gaza stood at 28 dead, and more than 700 wounded
(Mohammed al-Dura 12)
Shooting to kill in the Holy Land
Press review
-A visit cannot excuse deadly violence
-Israel provoked Temple Mount riots
-A sure recipe for religious war
-Resistance is natural
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Maria 3 oct 2000
Ariel Sharon: the bloodstained past that inflames Palestinians. A provocation
World blames hawk Sharon whose visit to a holy site in Jerusalem has triggered five days of violence
After the ceasefire, whither the peace?
4 oct 2000
What hope for peace? Bullet-riddled bodies near the doorways and multiple bullet hits on the doors of the demolished houses indicated that the inhabitants had been forced to remain inside until their homes were blown up over them
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Maria 6 oct 2000
The main loser: Ehud Barak. The bloodshed, which has now claimed some 70 lives
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Maria 9-10 oct 2000
A destructive deadline. Barak claims that Israel's army has shown remarkable self-control in recent days. Barak threatens to wage war in the West Bank in defence of Jewish settlements
Yom Kippur: the sound of silence
10 oct 2000
Crisis in the Middle East: after 12 days of bloody clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians, what the papers say
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Maria 11 oct 2000
In Tiberias, Tel Aviv and Nazareth property was smashed, cars burnt, mosques attacked and vigilante mobs chanted "Death to the Arabs!" As Arab citizens fought (and died in disproportionate numbers), newspaper headlines warned of civil war.
It is Israel that is the belligerent occupant of Palestine (and not the other way around). Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles are surrounding Palestinian villages, camps and cities
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Maria 13-14 oct 2000
Israel unleashed its mighty arsenal of war on the Palestinians yesterday, bombing Yasser Arafat's Gaza headquarters in revenge for the brutal killing of up to three of its soldiers.
14 oct 2000
Television footage of Israeli attack helicopters bombing the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday prompted fierce reaction yesterday across the Muslim world, with crowds from Egypt to Afghanistan calling for a holy war to revenge their Palestinian brothers.
- 11 juli 2000
Chief surgeon must end the bloodshed
Can Clinton do a Carter at Camp David?
12 juli 2000
Big gaps on the issues - but room for hope too
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Maria 20 juli 2000
Middle East peace talks end with a glimmer of hope
Why the peace talks failed
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Maria 21-24 juli 2000
A new Jerusalem
23 juli 2000
Hope just glimmers in light of Jerusalem's golden dome
24 juli 2000
Clinton returns to Camp David talks