Comments on: IDF Takes the Fight to Palestinian Girls and Cripples

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:32:28 +0000

Another great post, Richard. I hadn’t seen the AP report on the raid, but it’s a lot more detailed than other articles I’ve seen.

It’s good that you juxtaposed what’s happening in Nablus to the attack on Maria Amin in Gaza. Not to say the obvious, but Nablus is just as besieged as Gaza, and subject to almost as many attacks and incursions.

By: Miriam

Miriam — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:49:21 +0000

Thanks Richard for reporting on this. I read these reports nearly every day and am absolutely heartsick and outraged.
The trashing of the Hebron Girls’ Orphanage, the taking (stealing) of their sewing machines and expensive baking equipment and the shuttering the buildings on the campus all for the ‘crime’ of (erroneously) being supported by Hamas charity in Hebron is only one of ongoing slow cleansing –where 500 illegal settlers in the midst of 145,000 Palestinians are curfewed /shuttered inside their homes whilst the fanatics have wild noisy all night street parties outside the windows of those locked in. And all the soldiers do is stand watching, to ensure that the occupied do not open a window or go outside or to the store. But what of the orphaned girs? they have no other place to live and this would force them out and even on the street too poor to pay for rent. But as if that isn’t bad enough what about mention of the handicapped young teacher who was beaten and tied to a telephone post by fanatical settlers, nearly lynched and kicked and stomped despite his handicapped legs.
How long are we going to stand by and watch this inhumanity take place, in our names by that racist violent govt? There are too many such incidents to call it unusual. We just dont read about it in MSM like NYtimes but its is on going. When is this country going to put its foot down and remind the Israeli govt that as long as they receive our tax dollars they WILL respect the laws. Also, they WILL be inspected by IAEA considering that its Dimona plant is older than 40 yrs and is a grave risk to the people and I have read about piles of radioactive wastes being dumped near where Beduoin encampments were moved out of the Negev several years ago. The children especially are at great risk.
These are the sort of things that racists and those without conscience do,not honorable lawabiding governments.

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:34:45 +0000

@fiddler:

Yes, it certainly was meant as sarcasm. Several yrs ago I wrote a post about an IDF incursion in which they essentially robbed a Palestinian bank of several million dollars claiming the funds were used for terrorism w/o providing any proof whatsoever. The current incident is along the same lines though they’re stealing from girls & orphans in this case which, if anything, is worse.

By: fiddler

fiddler — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:04:31 +0000

In March Gideon Levy reported on the World’s Most Moral Army’s War On Charity in Hebron (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/964067.html), against tenants of the Islamic Charity Movement, also unaffiliated with Hamas, not to speak of the tenants themselves. So this is more of the same, shame on them.

Unlike you, I’m however unconvinced that the army doesn’t know what they’re doing. To me this, together with the earlier Hebron operation, seems more in the spirit of Moshe Dayan’s suggestion that the Palestinians will live like dogs, and whoever will leave, will leave – a creeping ethnic cleansing policy.

A former landlady of mine had unpaid debts with the government. So did the police or the army come and evict me? Surprise, surprise, they didn’t, they just served me notice that I now had to pay the rent to X instead of her. If my landlord (but not me) was suspected of being a terrorist, the same would probably (IANAL) happen: I’d have to pay the rent to a court-appointed trustee, while the case was pending anyway.
(But I forget: when Israel and real or imagined terrorists are involved, there’s no such thing as a pending case.)

I strongly disagree (though I hope that was sarcasm on your part) that Israel should use money they stole from Palestinian charities to fund treatment for Israels own victims, let alone start to systematically steal for that purpose. The army is responsible for Maria’s plight (and that of thousands like her) in exactly the same way as those launching Qassams for the injuries or deaths of those they hit.