A-Infos (en) Palestine Occupied, Ramalla, Alt. Media, An appeal from Neta Golan [Israelian] from within the [Arafat] compound

[Gush Shalom <adam@gush-shalom.org>]

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[The following article comes from Arafat's compound and was written by Israeli  human 
shield activist Neta Golan, together with the journalist Ian Urbina. It is a most powerfull 
appeal for international intervention. We found it on http://www.palestinechronicle.com/;  
it was published yesterday by Merip (Middle East Research and Information Project).]

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An Israeli View from Arafat's Compound Saturday, April 06 2002 @ 06:51 PM GMT 
By Neta Golan and Ian Urbina 
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It is not Israeli actions which have surprised the international peace observers currently 
holed up within Arafat’s presidential compound. It is the inaction of the international 
community that most shocks us. Inside the pock-marked building surrounded by Israeli 
tanks and snipers, there is one question on everyone’s mind: how many international laws 
does Israel need to break before the UN demands a full and immediate withdrawal? 

The list of violations is reaching unprecedented levels, even for a conflict with a long 
history of ugly behavior on both sides. International law absolutely forbids the building of 
the settlements, but 34 new settlements have been constructed in this year alone. 
Collective punishment is illegal. But Israel has now escalated from interrupting food 
shipments to completely shutting off water to the Palestinian city of Ramallah, 
endangering the lives of 120,000 people. The shelling of innocuous Palestinian civilian 
structures such as power plants, schools, and sewage facilities, is occuring at an alarming 
rate. Unarmed civilians are being killed practically on a daily basis. 

There are also growing reports of Israeli troops raiding hospitals and firing on ambulances 
and journalists. These are grave breaches of international convention. The recent 
experience of American newspaper correspondent, Anthony Shadid, is hardly uncommon. 
First, he was shot while in a zone under full Israeli control. The area was quiet and there 
was no crossfire in which to be caught. Shadid was wearing the required signs on his back 
and front indicating that he was with the official press as he walked away from an interview 
in our building. Soon after Shadid arrived to the hospital, Israeli troops raided it with 
machine guns drawn. He was subsequently transferred for further medical treatment, and 
his ambulance came under fire by Israeli soldiers manning a checkpoint. 

Israel is making a mockery of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the founding legal document 
of international human rights law, and by its tacit acceptance, the UN is severely eroding 
its credibility in the region and beyond. 

Those of us inside the presidential compound need help desperately. But not half as much 
as those on the outside who are facing the full brunt of the mass round-ups and house-to-
house raids. The situation can not deteriorate much further. Medical supplies have run 
out. Food is scarce. 

Pressure from abroad is essential, even when only on a person-by-person basis. Boycotts 
and letter writing work. The presence of international "human shields" throughout the 
Occupied Territories has been very important in limiting the indiscriminate nature of Israeli 
military actions. But nothing short of a UN demand for a full withdrawal to the 1967 UN 
recognized borders will succeed in restoring calm and opening the way for peace 
negotiations. Only then can there be discussion of the status of Jerusalem and the 
Palestinian refugees. Simply pulling the troops out of the recently invaded regions will not 
suffice. 

It is not just the Palestinians and foreigners within the compound who have been calling 
for a full withdrawal. Even sectors within the Israeli military have put forward this option as 
the only chance for peace and security for the Israeli people. In a formal "Letter of Refusal" 
to Sharon, several hundred Israeli soldiers, most with combat experience, advocated a full 
withdrawal and have stated their unwillingness to serve in the West Bank or Gaza Strip. 

But Sharon does not want to listen. And in the meantime we in the compound are left, not 
without fear, wondering whether the international community will allow the permanent 
expansion of the already illegal occupation and the exile if not assasination of the 
Palestinian leader. 

Neta Golan, an Israeli, is among the 40 international peace observers occupying Arafat's 
besieged office. Ian Urbina is Associate Editor of Middle East Report, a foreign policy 
magazine in Washington DC. This article was first published by the Middle East Research 
and Information Project (MERIP) 




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