From: Ali Abunimah
To: morning@npr.org, nprnews@npr.org
Subject: Reporting Israel's illusory "withdrawal," ignoring the real news

November 5, 2001

Dear NPR News,

Your news bulletins this morning have been proclaiming that Israeli forces have "withdrawn" from the Palestinian town of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank "despite" a weekend attack by a Palestinian gunman in Jerusalem which killed two Israelis and injured several dozen others.

Such is precisely what the Israeli military propaganda officials would like you to report--a patient and over-generous Israel making concessions to a bunch of 'terrorists' for the sake of peace.

What they do not want you to cover, and which NPR does not appear to be covering, is the ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the occupied territories.

First, the withdrawal from Qalqilya is largely cosmetic since, as the Haaretz website reports following the withdrawal, "the town was still under blockade as Israeli troops in areas under joint Israeli-Palestinian control closely monitored vehicles leaving Qalqilyah."

Elsewhere, Haaretz reported that "Palestinian witnesses said five tanks that had been posted at the outskirts of Tulkarm since last month moved into the city on Monday, triggering off a gun battle between soldiers and gunmen in which at least one Palestinian was hurt." (13:00 05/11/2001)

Israeli occupation forces raided the Rafah refugee camp this morning in the occupied Gaza Strip. The French news agency reported that:

"A tank and two bulldozers advanced into the area and destroyed two houses, amid gunfire in which two Palestinians were hit by bullets, the sources said. The raid occurred as Israeli tanks and troops were completing a withdrawal from the Palestinian self-rule town of Qalqilya, in the northern West Bank, which they had occupied for more than two weeks." (Two Palestinians wounded in Israeli raid in Gaza Strip, AFP, 11/5/01) Al-Jazeera showed images of Israeli tanks maneouvering in the area.

Over the weekend, Israel carried out a major attack on civilian and economic facilities in the occupied Gaza Strip. Early on Sunday morning, Israeli helicopters fired air-to ground missiles, and Israeli ground forces fired ground-to-ground missiles at civilian neighborhoods in Jabalia refugee camp. The destruction in the attack of three factories and numerous small workshops cost impoverished Palestinians hundreds of thousands of dollars and put more of Gaza's already desperate people out of work. Israel claimed that the facilities had been used to build mortars but pictures showed on Al-Jazeera and reports in the press indicate that what were destroyed were simple workshops.

Mohammed Abu Warda, a local resident told the French news agency that "It was a terrible sound. My kids were scared. We heard the sound of helicopters and after that rocketing. The ground-to-ground missiles came from the direction of Beit Hanun."

Riyad Mohammed Massood, 32, the owner of a carpentry shop that was hit in the strike, said: "I was sleeping when it happened at 4:30 in the morning. I heard the bombing, but I didn't see it...I lost 9,000 dollars." (Israeli helicopters blast workshops and factories in Gaza Strip, AFP, 11/4/01)

Israel claimed this morning that three Israelis had been injured in a bomb explosion near the colony of Shaked in the occupied West Bank near the Palestinian city of Jenin, but did not say if the injured were occupation force personnel or colonists.

Since Israel reoccupied six West Bank cities beginning October 18 it has killed and extrajudicially executed about 60 Palestinians and demolished dozens of houses from Gaza to occupied east Jerusalem.

Sincerely,

Ali Abunimah
http://www.abunimah.org