Made it to Nablus, I am typing this report from Balata
Refugee camp.
A completely different journey from yesterday. After going to Qalanda,
I got a service going directly to Nablus. Directly is a bit of a wrong
description, in that the taxi went all over the place, through small, and
large villages, I think to avoid checkpoints. The checkpoint at which I
was stopped last time no longer existed, it had been two armoured vehicles.
Every time the Israelis set up a checkpoint, the Palestinians have to adapt,
by creating taxi points etc.
By Nablus roadblock, a derelict funfair
Finally I arrived at the dreaded Huwara checkpoint, two days earlier
there had been a demonstration of 300 people at this checkpoint, because
it is so hard to get through. The Palestinians waiting, said that they expected
to wait up to 5 hours, but as I was in a hurry I tried, successfully, to
use the fact that I was English, and met a soldier who liked England. So
one taxi ride later I am here in Balata.
Tony Richardson
Day 8 supplemental.
Date: 09 June 2003 20:34
Andy
Balata Camp is the biggest refugee camp in the West Bank, with a population
of 18,000. It is attached to the city of Nablus, which, with the camps
is about the same size as Oxford.
A roadblock cleared from an entrance to Balata camp.
First car crosses cleared access
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Another entrance to Balata camp
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The reason I am here is to work with human rights activists, trying to
limit the oppressive activities of the Israeli Army. The movement is non-violent,
and trains people in that practice.
Tonight I sleep in a martyrs house, which is a practice used to try to
stop them being knocked down by the Israelis. Most of the internationals
are going out to sit on the street, where the Israelis put a barricade
at the entrance to the camp, which the internationals knocked down, and
which they want to stop the Israelis replacing.
One of the major activities, at the moment is going to houses, which
the Israeli Army requisition. What the army does is take the top floors
of the house, make all the family move in to the ground floor, and then
refuse to allow them to leave the house, effectively using them as human
shields. So the internationals take them food, and check they are OK.
I realise that the reason I could not get through on Sunday was because
the Israelis closed the West bank, in response to the shooting of 4 soldiers
in Gaza. This action is against the Geneva Convention, which does not allow
collective punishment. But it is also strange that this is called a terrorist
act, under conditions where military defence against an occupying army
is allowed. But also when you consider that after last April the Israeli
Airforce, and army systematically set about killing members of the Palestinian
Police, to the extent that it effectively disbanded itself . None of these
killings were called terrorist acts, even though they were done by an occupying
army. It is clear that international law does not apply to Israel.
Tony Richardson
