One
of my informants said that even when there is no possibility they can manufacture
any kind of weapon, the small factories might be bombed as a way to ruin
the economy of Palestine. This last claim is a common one among Palestinians
who see the Israeli incursions into their cities as a form of terrorism and
a way to destroy the infrastructure.
The night before we arrived in Gaza, the building next to our hotel had been
hit with rockets. The Israelis are obviously getting quite good at containing
the damage from their attacks since the walls of the building were still standing
and there was little damage to surrounding buildings. In front of our hotel were
a Red Cross vehicle and a number of cars that had been pretty badly shot up with
machine guns.
Mutual aggression
On the bluff overlooking the Red Crescent office building in Ramallah is an Israeli
settlement. The groups exchange sniper fire regularly. The Palestinians consider
that it is their territory being taken over by the Israelis.
In response, Palestinian freedom fighters come into the area and shoot at the
settlement. There is usually an immediate response of machine-gun fire from the
settlement. In the Red Crescent parking lot were a number of ambulances that
had windshields full of bullet holes. There were also three that had been destroyed
by Israeli tanks in a retaliatory raid.
Even if the settlers start the exchange of gunfire, the Israeli army also starts
shooting. This exchange might go on for three hours. Innocent people have been
killed in their homes. Israelis have taken most of the guns out of Ramallah,
and the checkpoints have prevented more guns from getting in. Jennifer Jordan,
a Canadian who works with Red Crescent, said, "The first year and a half
I was here, the exchange of gunfire was a daily occurrence."
At any one time, a large number of Palestinian men 15 and older are in jail,
and they rotate in and out as new arrests are made. They might be kept a few
days, a few weeks and some a few months.
While we were in Palestine, a number of soldiers were killed at an Israeli settlement
in Hebron. Although a number of Palestinians had been arrested, everyone was
waiting for Israel military retaliation that could be severe.
Getting in and out of Israel
The processing of passengers at El Al in Chicago seemed to go on forever. Each
member of our team was interviewed and our luggage checked multiple times. I
had to explain why I was carrying two cameras.
Jeff Hoelscher, a public relations specialist from the MU Medical School and
University Hospital, who had professional equipment, was investigated much more
intensely. Our frequent question during the visit, "Where’s Jeff?" was
often answered by, "He’s in holding, being checked again."
Upon leaving Israel, our luggage was not only X-rayed but also searched by hand
and with chemicals, and we were each taken into a room for a close body check.
Because of his insistence on his film being hand-checked and his general attitude,
Jeff was told by the inspector not to come back to Israel.
Although all of these precautions make El Al one of the safest airlines, the
cost in manpower and money is tremendous. The countrywide security operations
have been a drain on the economy that might not be maintainable. It was apparent
that both sides are suffering in multiple ways from the present conflict
.
