(Hanan Ashrawi’s daughter telling her story)

I am Palestinian - born and raised - and my Palestinian roots go back centuries. No one can change that even if they tell me that Jerusalem , my birth place, is not Palestine , even if they tell me that Palestine doesn't exist, even if they take away all my papers and deny me entry to my own home, even if they humiliate me and take away my rights. I AM PALESTINIAN.

Name: Zeina Emile Sam'an Ashrawi; Date of Birth: July 30, 1981; Ethnicity: Arab. This is what was written on my Jerusalem ID card. An ID card to a Palestinian is much more than just a piece of paper; it is my only legal documented relationship to Palestine . Born in Jerusalem , I was given a Jerusalem ID card (the blue ID), an Israeli Travel Document and a Jordanian Passport stamped Palestinian (I have no legal rights in Jordan ). I do not have an Israeli Passport, a Palestinian Passport or an American Passport.

Here is my story:

I came to the United States as a 17 year old to finish high school in Pennsylvania and went on to college and graduate school and subsequently got married and we are currently living in Northern Virginia. I have gone home every year at least once to see my parents, my family and my friends and to renew my Travel Document as I was only able to extend its validity once a year from Washington DC . My father and I would stand in line at the Israeli Ministry of Interior in Jerusalem , along with many other Palestinians, from 4:30 in the morning to try our luck at making it through the revolving metal doors of the Ministry before noon – when the Ministry closed its doors - to try and renew the Travel Document. We did that year after year. As a people living under an occupation, being faced with constant humiliation by an occupier was the norm but we did what we had to do to insure our identity was not stolen from us.

In August of 2007 I went to the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC to try and extend my travel document and get the usual "Returning Resident" VISA that the Israelis issue to Palestinians holding an Israeli Travel Document. After watching a few Americans and others being told that their visas would be ready in a couple of weeks my turn came. I walked up to the bulletproof glass window shielding the lady working behind it and under a massive picture of the Dome of the Rock and the Walls of Jerusalem that hangs on the wall in the Israeli consulate, I handed her my papers through a little slot at the bottom of the window.

"Shalom" she said with a smile. "Hi" I responded, apprehensive and scared. As soon as she saw my Travel Document her demeanor immediately changed. The smile was no longer there and there was very little small talk between us, as usual. After sifting through the paperwork I gave her she said: "where is your American Passport?" I explained to her that I did not have one and that my only Travel Document is the one she has in her hands. She was quiet for a few seconds and then said: "you don't have an American Passport?" suspicious that I was hiding information from her. "No!" I said. She was quiet for a little longer and then said: "Well, I am not sure we'll be able to extend your Travel Document." I felt the blood rushing to my head as this is my only means to get home! I asked her what she meant by that and she went on to tell me that since I had been living in the US and because I had a Green Card they would not extend my Travel Document.

After taking a deep breath to try and control my temper I explained to her that a Green Card is not a Passport and I cannot use it to travel outside the US. My voice was shaky and I was getting more and more upset (and a mini shouting match ensued) so I asked her to explain to me what I needed to do. She told me to leave my paperwork and we would see what happens.

A couple of weeks later I received a phone call from the lady telling me that she was able to extended my Travel Document but I would no longer be getting the "Returning Resident" VISA. Instead, I was given a 3 month tourist VISA. Initially I was happy to hear that the Travel Document was extended but then I realized that she said "tourist VISA". Why am I getting a tourist VISA to go home? Not wanting to argue with her about the 3 month VISA at the time so as not to jeopardize the extension of my Travel Document, I simply put that bit of information on the back burner and went on to explain to her that I wasn't going home in the next 3 months. She instructed me to come back and apply for another VISA when I did intend on going. She didn't add much and just told me that it was ready for pick-up. So I went to the Embassy and got my Travel Document and the tourist VISA that was stamped in it.

My husband, my son and I were planning on going home to Palestine this summer. So a month before we were set to leave (July 8, 2008) I went to the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC, papers in hand, to ask 2 for a VISA to go home. I, again, stood in line and watched others get VISAs to go to my home. When my turn came I walked up to the window; "Shalom" she said with a smile on her face, "Hi" I replied. I slipped the paperwork in the little slot under the bulletproof glass and waited for the usual reaction. I told her that I needed a returning resident VISA to go home. She took the paperwork and I gave her a check for the amount she requested and left the Embassy without incident.

A few days ago I got a phone call from Dina at the Israeli Embassy telling me that she needed the expiration date of my Jordanian Passport and my Green Card. I had given them all the paperwork they needed time and time again and I thought it was a good way on their part to waste time so that I didn't get my VISA in time. Regardless, I called over and over again only to get their voice mail. I left a message with the information they needed but kept called every 10 minutes hoping to speak to someone to make sure that they received the information in an effort to expedite the tedious process. I finally got a hold of someone. I told her that I wanted to make sure they received the information I left on their voice mail and that I wanted to make sure that my paperwork was in order. She said, after consulting with someone in the background (I assume it was Dina), that I needed to fax copies of both my Jordanian Passport and my Green Card and that giving them the information over the phone wasn't acceptable. So I immediately made copies and faxed them to Dina. A few hours later my cell phone rang. "Zeina?" she said. "Yes" I replied, knowing exactly who it was and immediately asked her if she received the fax I sent. She said: "ehhh, I was not looking at your file when you called earlier but your Visa was denied and your ID and Travel Document are no longer valid." "Excuse me?" I said in disbelief. "Sorry, I cannot give you a visa and your ID and Travel Document are no longer valid. This decision came from Israel not from me."

I cannot describe the feeling I got in the pit of my stomach. "Why?" I asked and Dina went on to tell me that it was because I had a Green Card. I tried to reason with Dina and to explain to her that they could not do that as this is my only means of travel home and that I wanted to see my parents, but to no avail. Dina held her ground and told me that I wouldn't be given the VISA and then said: "Let the Americans give you a Travel Document".

I have always been a strong person and not one to show weakness but at that moment I lost all control and started crying while Dina was on the other end of the line holding my only legal documents linking me to my home. I began to plead with her to try and get the VISA and not revoke my documents; "put yourself in my shoes, what would you do? You want to go see your family and someone is telling you that you can't! What would you do? Forget that you're Israeli and that I'm Palestinian and think about this for a minute!" "Sorry" she said," I know but I can't do anything, the decision came from Israel ". I tried to explain to her over and over again that I could not travel without my Travel Document and that they could not do that - knowing that they could, and they had!

This has been happening to many Palestinians who have a Jerusalem ID card. The Israeli government has been practicing and perfecting the art of ethnic cleansing since 1948 right under the nose of the world and no one has the power or the guts to do anything about it. Where else in the world does one have to beg to go to one's own home? Where else in the world does one have to give up their identity for the sole reason of living somewhere else for a period of time? Imagine if an American living in Spain for a few years wanted to go home only to be told by the American government that their American Passport was revoked and that they wouldn't be able to come back!

If I were a Jew living anywhere around the world and had no ties to the area and had never set foot there, I would have the right to go any time I wanted and get an Israeli Passport. In fact, the Israelis encourage that. I however, am not Jewish but I was born and raised there, my parents, family and friends still live there and I cannot go back! I am neither a criminal nor a threat to one of the most powerful countries in the world, yet I am alienated and expelled from my own home.

As it stands right now, I will be unable to go home - I am one of many.

So today is the third day of Eid Al Fitr that all Muslims worldwide celebrate right after the culmination of the month of Ramadan. Not sure if it’s only me, but Ramadan seems to have lost its glory. Years ago when I was a child, people’s attitudes towards both Ramadan and Eid (festival) were way different than now. Maybe I have grown up to the extent that I see in them nothing but the mere fact that few arrogant relatives come for a visit for a couple of minutes, and everyone just sucks them up.

It has been a gloomy day in deed. Being self-centered often times, I thought that my own family never enjoyed the Ramadan that other people celebrate. But the night prior to the Eid, I went for a drive to Ramallah with my uncle and three sisters, we toured around Al Manara and the mall a bit, and felt the legendary atmosphere. People were happy. That hit me; I am not accustomed to seeing them vividly preoccupied with the preparation for the big “day.”

So I came back home and wrote to all my contacts wishing them a Happy Eid and expressed my astonishment and satisfaction to see promising smiles in the crowded streets of Ramallah. But the sad part was that I knew it was merely fleeting moments and that those smiles would be wiped off soon. Not only have my fears become true, but I was blind. Yes, blind. Or may be I just chose not to see it. May be I wanted to believe that we are actually happy.

Would I miss Ramadan? NO. Not really. It has been made hell this year.

While Ramadan is believed to be the holy month during which people get closer to Allah by fasting from food and drink all day long and focus on their faith instead, I am not pretty sure this was the case with us Palestinians. It was only a drug. Ramadan numbed our pain. We could handle both the Israeli and Palestinian political, economic, and security pressure knowing that the day of salvation was approaching; the Eid. But after the three days elapsed, then what?

Now thousands of Palestinians are waiting for the next phase. It has been seven months now. Seven months, and thousands of the PA employees have not received their salaries. And two months elapsed with millions of students deprived form their right of education. I have three sisters and two brothers who do nothing but stay at home. They have not attended school from the very beginning of this term. It is both sad and frustrating that they have to “do the time” and pay a high price.

Reading the news headlines on the first days of Eid is not healthy at all. It lessens the effect of the drug, and one starts to get sober. Sounds funny in deed, but that was the case.

Few minutes ago, I surfed some of the blogs and came across few Iraqi bloggers writing on both Ramadan and Eid. If the titles did not mention “in Iraq,” I swear I could never tell the difference between Iraq and Palestine. The hunger, misery, constant killing, and lack of security are all Palestinian symptoms.

I am speechless now; I can hardly verbalize the so many conflicting thoughts. Heaven knows how things would be like next Ramadan, but I would not speculate it already. It is not time to worry about it now, other issues are on stake; food, money, and education. Until then, there are a lot of things to sort out.

Yesterday, I realized that I believe in love at first sight. Not the romantic kind, rather the sense of connecting with another human being without ever having to say a word. Indeed, the person I was so enthralled with last night was a five-month-old girl, who smiled at me and then hid her face in shyness. Those few moments of interacting with this baby lifted my spirits, but it also made me reflect in sadness about the fact that many children in this current conflict are robbed of their joy and their childhood.

I often contemplate how mature Palestinian children seem. Sure, they play the childhood games that we all played in our day, but there is wisdom in their words that is eerily sobering. Their age defines them as children, but if you have a conversation with a Palestinian child, you will realize how much awareness she has of the world around her, of suffering in the next village, in Gaza, in Lebanon. She is a child that has empathy and understands that life, by nature, is wrought with all sorts of difficulties.

A Palestinian child knows better; life is not as it is depicted in cartoons, where those who die are miraculously resurrected not once, but several times, where injuries are healed instantaneously, where death is a joke and life is a series of slapstick moments. A Palestinian child escapes into imagination, but she is never far removed from the reality of children and adults alike being indiscriminately shot outside her window, in her classroom, at the local bakery.

Who would have thought that normal things, simply walking down the street to grab a falafel sandwich, could result in your untimely death? Perhaps the Israeli army mistook the falafel stand for a bomb-making factory, or an ammunition shop? Make no mistake about it; the Israeli military have made too many “mistakes” that there is obviously a pattern there, wouldn’t you think?

A child that is robbed of the sense of security, therefore, is a child that is mature beyond her years. She knows that the bullets and the tank shells do not discriminate. Her father can shield her from the neighbor’s vicious dog, from the crazy drivers, he will hold her hand to cross the street, but he will not be able to capture a bullet in his hand like the mythological superheroes in blockbuster movies out this summer in theatres near you. He might be able to take the bullet for her though. But once gone, who will be her protective shield against the harsh reality of life that goes on in what seems the periphery of the conflict? And who will be there to share some of her joyous milestones; graduation, marriage, the birth of a child? Hers is a joy that is always overshadowed by a greater sorrow.

Is it fair that 31 Palestinian children have died in a 31-day period? A child-a-day; is that the new Israeli army mantra? Khaled was just a one-year-old, Aya was seven, Sabreen was only three. What lost potential, what lost promise – who knows what Khaled would have grown up to be? An astronaut? A veterinarian? A philosopher? What about Aya; she could have become a fashion designer, a teacher, a mother. By what right has this promise been so violently plucked and trampled upon cruelly and without a moment’s hesitation on the part of the Israeli soldier, who heartlessly unleashed a fiery rain of bullets and shells on a neighborhood as if he is in a simulated video game and those who die are fictitious and unreal? Perhaps that is what he is made to believe, otherwise, who in clear consciousness is so willing to pull the trigger and with one spray of bullets destroy life, potential and rob joy?

If you can see the smiling face of your own child, then how do you go out and unquestioningly take the life of others? If you value life, then how do you live with the burden of knowing that you have taken it so unjustifiably? Perhaps that is your perpetual punishment; the judgment of a child scorned is the harshest of them all.

WHERE: Tel Aviv District Court, Weitzmann Street at corner of Shaul Hamelech (Judge Tal)

WHEN: January 16, 2005 at 2:00 PM

On Sunday January 16 at 2:00 PM, US Jewish lesbian activist Kate Raphael Bender will go to court after five weeks in an Israeli immigration prison. Raphael Bender, a resident of San Francisco, CA, will argue that she should not be deported from Israel because her activities against the segregation wall defend international law and the Jewish people. She has no lawyer and will present her own case with the help of a translator.

Raphael Bender is petitioning against the Israeli authorities' intention to expel her from Israel for the second time in a year as a result of her work in opposition to Israel's West Bank segregation wall. She argues that her activities are consistent with positions of the world's highest legal body, the International Court of Justice, which has ruled that the construction of the wall on Palestinian land violates international law.

In her petition, Raphael Bender quotes Israeli Minister Gideon Ezra who indicated that rightwing foreigners who want to protest disengagement are to be given preferential treatment by the government over left-wing activists who come to support non-violent resistance in the Occupied Territories. Ezra stated in the Jerusalem Post: "We will not prevent them (Jews) from entering, even if we know they are coming to resist the plan. There are people who come for worse causes such as to break down the security fence and participate in ISM radical left wing activities."

Raphael Bender, who holds a legal tourist visa stated: "I am here as a Jew to promote solutions that are best for Jews and non-Jews. This policy is an undemocratic way of silencing dissent from world Jewry. Jews who are coming to block disengagement from Gaza are opposing an effort to move Israel closer to compliance with international law. In contrast, my activities support Israeli compliance with international law."

Israeli authorities claim that Raphael Bender was inside a closed military zone and that she participated in violent demonstrations there. Raphael Bender argues in her petition that Israeli military forces never announced to the demonstrators that they were in a closed military zone in Arabic or in English, as is required by law. Also, the soldiers used violence and made exaggerated claims about what happened at the demonstration. She plans to introduce videotape supporting her account of the events. She also will introduce an invitation from the Palestinian Authority for her to remain in Palestinian territory.

Raphael Bender is arguing for a legal precedent to ensure that no one should be excluded because they oppose government policy.

Israeli and international supporters of Raphael Bender will hold brief protests before the hearing at the Tel Aviv District Court.

The International Solidarity Movement upholds the legitimate right of Palestinians to resist an illegal colonial occupation. This right is enshrined in international law and applies to all peoples under foreign occupation, including Palestinians.

In the last two weeks hundreds of Palestinians, and dozens of internationals, including Israelis, have protested non-violently the destruction and theft of Palestinian lands for the construction of the Israeli Apartheid Wall found illegal by the International Court of Justice.

The response to peaceful, non-violent resistance from the Israeli army and border police has been escalating violence in the form of beatings, arrests, tear gas, bullets and concussion grenades. Numerous injuries have resulted.

The Israeli government condemns violence and simultaneously brutally oppresses any form of non-violent resistance. In addition, the Israeli legal system criminalizes non-violent resistance and is targeting internationals, and especially Israelis who join Palestinians in their peaceful demonstrations to protest the Wall.

Please call or fax the officials below and demand the brutal repression of non-violent resistance and protest stop immediately and that all arrested Palestinians, Israelis and internationals be released without charges.

If you outside of occupied Palestine or Israel, please contact your local representatives and media channels.

For more information: ISM Media Office: 972-2-277-4602 or 547-358-579

ISM Activist Beaten and Arrested While Attempting to Help Palestinian

15 Israeli Activists Arrested

Today, at 1:00PM, residents of Budrus, joined by internationals and at least 15 Israelis marched to protest the Wall and to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the second Intifada.

At approximately 3:00PM the ISM Media office received calls that a Palestinian non-violent protest organizer was badly beaten and arrested. A young woman from Germany, and ISM activist, attempted to come to his aid and was beaten and arrested by the Israeli soldiers.

In addition, at least 15 Israeli activists have been arrested. Unconfirmed reports claim several were also beaten while being arrested.

At the time of this report, eyewitness accounts have reported that the Israeli army is shooting live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas. A group of ISM activists have are attempting to reach the school. A detailed report will follow.

I visited Hebron between the dates of September 13th and 20th 2004, part of a group of 10 ISM activists which included 5 Buddhists from the UK. Tariq was our local coordinator. He is 24 years old, a student of engineering. I learnt that his father had been detained without trial by the Israeli army for the past 2.5 years, the rest of his family had emigrated to Jordan but that he was refused exit from Israel because of his father - who he is not allowed to visit.

His top two projects for us were first to help local villages resist the Israeli Apartheid Wall that was being built on their land, and second to help the situation in the Old City, now almost a ghost town because of the great number of soldiers there and the difficulty of living so close to the aggressive Israeli settlers. This report focuses on the Old City not the Wall. Topics:

Closure of Shuhadda Street to Palestinians Checkpoints and Soldiers patrols - Freedom of movement

Army closure of shops Continuous curfew for 3 years Death of the Old City market Settlers' harassment Process of colonization, extension of illegal settlements Tit-for-Tat violence Collective punishment Water rights – Economic warfare Settlers' propaganda / Media blackout

Hebron is presently unique in the West Bank because it has a substantial illegal Israeli settlement (Beit Hadassah) right in the very centre of the Old City, creating a situation where the lives of some 60,000 Palestinians are systematically disrupted by some 4,000 soldiers for the sake of some 400 settlers. It is a ludicrous situation and would almost be funny if it was not so real and the cause of so much suffering for so many people. It is also a part of a much larger process of gradual illegal invasion and colonization.

During the time we were in Hebron the situation was relatively quiet and there was little for us to do except walk about the Old City meeting people and speaking with them. Most people were very friendly as soon as we said "Salaam Al-e-Qum" and smiled, however there was clearly a lot of tension in the air and some suspicion - probably because the settlers are in the habit of walking up and down 'their' city and there is a real fear of them extending their territory.

We were staying for a night in one of the further suburbs of Hebron, and when leaving in the morning, passed a little girl who started crying violently - we learnt later that she thought we were settlers! In general though we were made very welcome indeed - very few friendly foreigners find their way to Hebron these days.

Quiet it might have been, but I should emphasize very strongly that 'quiet' does not mean 'all right'. Once or twice in the silent streets I found myself thinking "this seems all right" and had to remind myself of the facts of the matter.

•Closure of Shuhadda Street to Palestinians

Despite Hebron being a part of Palestine and not Israel, the main street of the town (Shuhadda Street) is now completely closed to Palestinians, except for the very few who live there. This means the town is effectively cut into two halves, to cross those few yards means a detour of several kilometers. The town's graveyard is on the wrong side of the road, this means local people are unable to visit their family tombs.

Shuhadda Street has become a sort of mid-Western film set - hot, dusty, and empty, with guns never very far away. The only people who walk up and down it now are the settlers, who generally carry machine guns, even the young teenagers, strange to see them toting machine guns and their Jewish kippa caps on. This is quite scary to see, even for me, who was less likely to be shot at.

We were not able to speak to any settlers although we could probably have arranged it if we had wished, being Internationals. It was clear however that there is absolutely no communication between locals and settlers. The soldiers are supposed to be there to keep the peace between the two sides but this seems to mean keeping the locals firmly to the edges and allowing the settlers to walk where they please. Certainly the Palestinians do not see the soldiers there to keep the peace, rather to dominate them.

•Checkpoints and Soldiers patrols

Behind the main street are a maze of smaller streets leading up to the Old City. These can only be reached by passing an army checkpoint continuously manned by soldiers with machine guns, making passage into the Old City a nerve-wracking affair.

Most days however, what is in a way worse than the machine guns is the arbitrariness of the soldiers: they can detain any Palestinian at any time for any or no reason, and often do, making them sit at the side of the road in the hot sun for many hours at a time.

Not surprisingly people have chosen to avoid the area, and the town's main market has moved about 1km away.

In addition to the checkpoints, in the narrow streets of the Old City there are frequent 6-man soldiers' patrols, before they enter you can hear them lifting their machine guns into firing position and cocking the trigger. No doubt they are afraid themselves but it is very intimidating to hear.

Hebron is well-known among international aid agencies, we met CPT (the Christian Peacemaker Team) and TIPH (the Temporary International Presence in Hebron) while there. TIPH's job is to monitor and report on the situation, CPT intervenes more actively if local people are being harassed.

• Army closure of shops

As well as the checkpoints and the patrols, about 200 of the Old City shops have been summarily closed by military order, and many houses have had their front doors welded closed by the army. This means that in some cases the owners can only enter and leave their homes through a window at the rear of the house, or over the rooftops.

• Continuous curfew for 3 years

In addition to the checkpoints, the patrols, and the closed shops, the Old City has suffered from a strict curfew for three of the past four years. An Israeli army curfew generally means that the soldiers have orders to shoot to kill on sight, it creates an extremely dangerous situation for any person to go anywhere at any time, even outside the official curfew hours. This includes delivery of basic supplies of food and medicine, and also the movement of children, who are as likely to be shot as adults under a curfew.

Who can blame the shopkeepers and market stallholders for moving?

Although the curfew is not presently in force, evidence of the effects of Army violence and repression is everywhere - bullet holes in shopfronts, cobwebs on the fronts of shops...

Although things were quiet, the Army has retained all its observation and sniper positions around the city - many of the most strategic buildings have camouflage netting draped over the top balcony or steel observation posts perched on the roof. We were told that in reality sniper positions are often concealed, but occupied or not, the visible ones create a constant and frightening reminder that the city is under armed occupation and that curfew can be reimposed at any time.

• Settlers harassment

In addition to the checkpoints, the patrols, the closed shops and the curfew, we heard a great many reports of vandalism and verbal abuse by the settlers.

In many cases the houses of the settlers directly overhang the streets of the Old City, and here the locals have had to fit thick metal mesh across the streets to catch the rubbish that has been thrown out of the settler's windows onto the street - and the Palestinians - below. In several cases the metal mesh was sagging due to the weight of debris above. It is of course impossible for me to say what motives the settlers may have for throwing rubbish in this way - had they wished to continue being malicious t hey could have thrown foul water, but I did not hear of this being done. Nonetheless they must have known full well that the streets below their windows were Palestinian streets. A lot of Palestinian windows were smashed, apparently by stones often thrown by settlers' children.

These all combined - together with the real violence of recent years - have made the whole of the Old City into a ghost town. The reason given by the Army is always "security", but one feels the real aim is colonization, certainly the effect is depopulation of the Old City through fear and strangulation.

These processes of displacement and harassment have not ended yet.

• Process of colonization, extension of illegal settlements

On the outskirts of Hebron is the much larger illegal Israeli settlement of Qiryat Arba. For those interested, this means 'Town of the Four', referring to the four biblical couples reported to be buried here in the Cave of Machpelah under the Ibrahami Mosque - Adam and Eve (!), Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah. This biblical fame explains a good deal of why the city has become such a battleground and focus for extremist Israeli settlers - it is the no.2 site in Palestine for both Jews and Muslims. The locals probably wish it had never been mentioned! It was a women from Qiryat Arba who in 1979 illegally occupied the old Jewish hospital of Beit Hadassah in Hebron's Old City, leading directly to its present death-like state.

• Settlers' harassment

Walking up to Qiryat Arba, and along the road which marks the border between Israeli and Palestinian areas, one sees graffiti which has been sprayed on the doors of many Palestinian homes - Stars of David and angry writing in Hebrew (which I have not yet been able to translate but will). The feeling I get is that the graffiti is saying "you're next..." and I can imagine that it is extremely intimidating to receive. It is in fact eerily similar to tactics used by the Nazis in Germany, not a happy thought.

Of course you can dismiss provocative graffiti as being 'only' spray paint, more concretely there are plans afoot for a new Israelis-only road to link Qiryat Arba with the Cave of Machpelah and one can be sure that it will not be long before it is extended a few yards further to the illegal settlement in the heart of the city. Up on the border road, there are plans to construct a new Jewish synagogue on the Muslim side immediately adjacent to Muslim homes. This is presently being blocked by the Israeli authorities - but it is probably only a matter of time until they arrange the necessary military cover - ie a new Army checkpoint or base - and it goes ahead!

Hebron has a long history with ownership moving between Jews and Muslims many times over the centuries. For this reason, since the Jews started their illegal settlements in the area there have been major propaganda efforts to justify their right to be here, an Internet search looking for 'Hebron' or 'Beit Hadassah' will quickly lead you to some of these.

They consider their occupation of Hebron to be legitimate because there were Jews living there in the past, most recently in 1929 and most anciently when Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah for his burial site sometime around 1,800 B.C! Their desire to live here would not be so bad if it was based on a desire to peacefully co-exist. Instead the settlers have gone on record as aiming to completely expel the Palestinians from Hebron or at least from its Old City. This is no idle threat as the 4,000 soldiers based here constantly remind one.

• Tit-for-Tat violence

Over the years there has been a great deal of violence in Hebron, not least in 1994 when Baruch Goldstein, a settler, entered the mosque and massacred 29 Muslims while they were at prayer, wounding a further 200. According to my guidebook, there is now a shrine to him in the adjacent illegal Israeli settlement of Qiryat Arba. The guidebook (Lonely Planet) describes him as "a popular settler hero". Not surprisingly there has been a good deal of tit-for-tat violence over the years, but with the massive army presence in town it is mostly Palestinian civilians who are injured or killed.

Palestinian suicide bombers have certainly killed settlers over the years, and this led to an Israeli Army invasion of whole district & city in 2002 - after similar invasions of Jenin, Tulkarm, etc. We were told that the Israeli Army becomes nervous if it is not able to operate inside a city. The invasion is partly a tactic to expose & kill - to 'flush out' - the most active resistance fighters.

• Collective punishment

As well as being in the Old City, we spent some time in other areas of Hebron, and it was here that it was most obvious that what is happening on Hebron's Old City is part of a much larger violent occupation of the whole country. The reality of the situation is not immediately apparent to the naked eye, you have to have things explained by a local. For instance, there are many gaps or piles of rubble between the houses. Why?

Collective punishment has been very much used by the Army, this usually takes the form of blowing up or bulldozing the family home of anyone who has been discovered to be a suicide bomber or other form of fighter. To give an example, we stayed in a house in the suburbs, next door there was an empty space with a big pile of rubble. On asking, we were told that this house was blown up by the Israeli Army some three months ago, the explosion was so violent that it blew in all the doors and windows on that side of our host's house. The family were living in a makeshift tent in one corner of the space. Across the small valley we could see a bulldozer working, we were told that was a house which had been blown up only last week. On the corner of the street was a small corrugated iron shop, the owner used to occupy a five-storey house on the site before that was blown up some years ago.

These are examples of collective punishment, which is specifically outlawed under international law and the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the punishment of innocent people who may be connected with a 'guilty' party. Israel and her Supreme Court have consistently refused to uphold the Geneva Conventions and the illegality of its collective punishment, using a variety of reasons but notably that the Occupied Palestinian Territories (ie the West Bank) never constituted a sovereign state so Israel's invasion and occupation of Palestine do not count as the invasion and occupation of another country - and so international humanitarian law does not apply!

• Water rights – Economic warfare

Besides collective punishment, there is lower-level but on-going economic warfare being waged by Israel against the Palestinians. An example of this is water - Hebron has many natural springs, but local people are not allowed to use them. Instead they have to buy water at considerable cost, often delivered by tankers, while Israel helps itself to 80% of the water in the underground aquifers for intensive agriculture and 'modern' plumbing. .

• Conclusion

We went to Hebron at Tariq's invitation, inspired by his vision of bringing life back into the Old City. He thought that our presence might give locals confidence to re-enter it in greater numbers. Maybe we had some effect, it is hard to be sure. One idea he had was to organize a daily 'boy's march' through the checkpoint (children below a certain age do not need ID) to generate momentum and confidence in entering the Old City, followed by us or others putting on a concert or other entertainment to draw in the locals.

One thing we realized while there was just how hard it is to actually DO anything faced with such overwhelming odds and where people have more-or-less got used to the wrongness of the situation. We felt very strongly Tariq's - and I am sure, thousands of others') acute frustration and yet puzzlement what to do.

ISM has now established a flat for volunteers in the centre of the Old City, as we left five others arrived, and hopefully they will build on what we have done so far. One day, Palestine will be free …

WE DEMAND AN INVESTIGATION!

ISRAELI ARMY KILL FIVE MEN EXECUTION STYLE According to medical examinations

One child dead, three more in critical condition

At 1:00am the Israeli Army attacked homes on Old Najav Street in Nablus, West of the old city. Five young men were killed and one eleven year-old girl. Medical examination evidence suggests the five men were executed.

These are war crimes.

International Solidarity activists, who are presently accompanying UPMRC medical teams in the area, interviewed the Director of Rafidia Hospital, Dr. Samir Abu Srour, where the five men and the young girl were taken.

According to Dr. Srour, four of the five men were shot in the head at close range. The bullets did not pass through their skulls and instead exploded the young men's heads, indicating that they were shot at close range.

One man had a boot print on his chest, further suggesting that he was restrained before being shot. In addition, one man had a bullet entering in his neck and exploding upwards, leaving blood stains high up on the wall. This angle and evidence strongly suggests he was shot after being detained, also at close range.

Another man had knife cuts on his arm. All five were found in close proximity of each other.

The eleven year-old girl was shot in the cheek while in her home by a soldier occupying a near-by house.

Another eleven year-old boy is in critical condition after being shot in the head with a rubber bullet at close range, dislodging part of his brain.

One thirty-five year-old, mentally challenged man, was shot in the head and a thirty-three year-old man was shot in the femur. Both are in the intensive care unit.

The number of dead is expected to rise.

THESE ARE WAR CRIMES!

According to eye-witness reports the Israeli army also occupied several homes and a church. They detained members of the church, including 13 disabled children and elderly men and women who are living in the centers belonging to the church. When the priest attempted to enter the church to check on the condition of the people, an Israeli soldier pointed his machine gun at his head and threatened to shoot him. They were forced to remain in one room without food or water until 12:00pm.