Israeli Flag to Be Raised Over City Hall Wednesday May 7

Israelis fire on parents of injured British peace activist
by The Independent, UK Tuesday May 06, 2003 at 07:47 AM

It was a measure of the insanity that can take hold here." said British diplomats who were fired upon by the Israeli soldiers. The 21-year-old student, Tom Hurndall, is in a coma in an Israeli hospital after he was shot three weeks ago. He was hit by a high-velocity bullet fired by an Israeli sniper as he moved towards two frightened Palestinian children in daylight.

The parents of a British peace activist who was shot in the head by Israeli troops came under fire themselves as they travelled to the spot where their son was critically injured.

Anthony and Jocelyn Hurndall were in a British diplomatic convoy entering the town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip when Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint fired a shot, which passed narrowly over the top of their vehicles.

The incident on Saturday afternoon took place despite the Israeli Army being given notice of the journey on at least three occasions – the last minutes before the convoy arrived.

The Foreign Office said last night that an explanation had been requested from the Israeli authorities for the warning shot, which was fired as the two armoured Range Rovers entered the Abu Khouli checkpoint on the edge of Rafah at about 1pm.

Concerns were being raised yesterday over the conduct of Israeli soldiers in the south of the Gaza Strip. The incident in which the Hurndalls were fired at comes not only after their son was shot in Rafah, but after two other Westerners were killed in the city.

The Hurndalls, whose eldest son, Tom, is in a coma in an Israeli hospital after he was shot three weeks ago while trying to reach two Palestinian children, were being accompanied by Tom's youngest brother and the military and political attachés to the British embassy in Tel Aviv.

Mrs Hurndall, a schoolteacher from Tufnell Park, north London, said: "We were passing through the checkpoint very, very slowly when there was the sound of a bullet – it was like the sound of a large stone coming off the car.

"What struck me was the ludicrousness of the situation. Here we were, the parents and brother of someone who has been wounded by Israeli Defence Forces and who then fire a warning shot over our car for no apparent reason.

"It was a measure of the insanity that can take hold here." The single shot was fired from one of two watchtowers that stand above the checkpoint, causing the two British cars, identifiable by their white diplomatic plates, to come to an immediate halt.

Not until the defence attaché, Colonel Tom Fitzalan-Howard, had stepped from the car with his hands in the air to talk with the soldiers inside the tower was the convoy able to proceed.

Notice that the cars would be passing through Abu Khouli was given at least three times – in the days before the trip, just as it was setting off and 10 minutes before it arrived.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "A single warning shot was fired as our staff were crossing the checkpoint. No-one was injured but the incident has been raised with the Israeli Defence Forces."

It is understood that an Israeli Army captain at the checkpoint later told members of the convoy that the shot had been fired because the vehicles had not stopped. There was no order to do so.

The journey by the Hurndall family to Rafah, where they met peace activists from the International Solidarity Movement who had been working with Tom, was made as they launched an appeal to raise £20,000 to bring him back to Britain by air ambulance.

The 21-year-old student, who was studying photography at Manchester Metropolitan University, was hit by a high-velocity bullet fired by an Israeli sniper as he moved towards two frightened Palestinian

I just spoke with Matthew Goudou (sp?) at the Mayor's Protocol Office about the ceremony. Apparently, each country that has a embassy or consulate in San Francisco has their flag raised over city hall on their "national day." Right now that totals 74 countries.

This is not to say that we should'nt protest Israel's flag raising. I just wanted everyone to know that this happens for all countries that ''we" have a "diplomatic relationship with." I was born and raised in SF and don't remember seeing the various flags flying.

We should keep an eye open for these events in the future. They are highly political and we can use them to illustrate different issues we are engaging.

The announcement says that this will be the first time in the US that the Israeli flag flies at a city hall - but if it's such a regular activity, according to the city, then why was it termed as the 'first time?'

The person at the protocol office says it happens every year, and that it has happened for as long as Brown has been in office, and 'in various other ways' in previous administrations.

It happens for the 74 countries that have consulates in SF.

I still object, and will be there to protest. My tax money is being used to kill people of all nationalities and to oppress an entire people.

"They are highly political and we can use them to illustrate different issues we are engaging."

What this will illustrate is that you are unwilling to protest human-rights violations in Muslim and Communist countries and instead focus all your energy and attention on Israel. Mark my words, there will be no protests by you white activists when the flags of Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Syria, or China are rasied.