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Palestinian Intifada Update

Using the October 11th assassination of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi as an excuse, Israel moved quickly, sending its army to occupy six Palestinian towns in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Ze'evi was killed in a hotel in occupied east Jerusalem in an operation for which the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility. The PFLP considered the killing a response to the Israeli assassination of Secretary General of the PFLP, Abu Ali Mustafa, on August 27, 2001.

As part of the occupation, Israeli forces took up positions in the village of Al-Bireh directly across from the Palestinian Ministry of Planning and International Co-operation and at the offices of the Ministry of Supplies and Ministry of Local Government. The incursion took place under the cover of intensive shelling that targeted Palestinian houses. Two members of the Palestinian security services were killed by the invading Israeli forces. In addition, the Israeli forces destroyed an electricity generating facility, cutting off electricity for most areas in Al-Bireh and Ramallah.

In Jenin, Israeli forces entered the city from the east, west, north and south. Advancing forces shelled a primary school for girls in the Al-Almania neighborhood, killing one young girl and seriously wounding another.

Over 40 Palestinians have been killed during the occupations, with Israel alleging it is engaging in pre-emptive strikes against terrorist operatives. The move has pitted the Sharon government against many of the Western governments allied with the American-led war against Afghanistan. Germany, France and Britain have all urged Israeli withdrawal and for an immediate cease fire, and Secretary of State Colin Powell has also been applying pressure to the Sharon regime. Israel has repeatedly announced that it is withdrawing from the occupied areas, only to cancel the withdrawal at the last minute.

Between September 20, 2000 and September 20, 2001, the first year of this intifada, a total of 686 Palestinians have been killed. Twenty-nine per cent of these deaths, or 196 of those killed, have been youth aged 18 or younger. Another 7 per cent, or 43 of those killed, were men or women over the age of 50. Of all the Palestinians killed by Israeli police or military in the first year of the intifada, only 5 per cent, or 35, were killed during armed clashes. Fifty-nine per cent were killed when there were no clashes happening at all, while another 36 per cent were killed in unarmed clashes.

In the same year, another 15,969 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli police or security forces, with approximately 10 per cent disabled permanently.