ISM Activists Beaten and Shot at Nablus Checkpoint

When ISM activists Maria, Margaret (Maria's mother)
> and Linus (all from Sweden) and Danish reporter Tommy
> approached the Azmut checkpoint east of Nablus they
> saw 4 Israeli soldiers holding between 40 and 50
> Palestinian men, women and children captive at the
> checkpoint. It was 1 pm. The captives were from the
> villages of Azmut, Salem and Deir Hatib and were
> trying to travel to Nablus for provisions or
> education. The activists would later learn that some
> had been held at the checkpoint since 6 am. While two
> of the soldiers guarded the prisoners the others fired
> at the villagers who were traveling to and from their
> villages in the surrounding fields.
>
> As soon as the soldiers at the checkpoint saw the
> internationals they fired live ammunition at them
> forcing them to retreat. Daunted but unconquered the
> four returned to the checkpoint by an alternative
> route and again the soldiers fired at their feet and
> over their heads. The four internationals then
> stopped where they were but when the soldiers returned
> their attention to the Palestinians they resumed their
> approach. Again the soldiers fired at them and this
> pattern of advancing and halting was repeated several
> times.
>
> Finally, the soldiers picked three men from the
> captives and sent them to the internationals to tell
> them that if they advanced any further they would
> shoot them in the legs. So they stayed were they were
> while the soldiers returned to their sport. They
> seemed to be shooting to intimidate the Palestinians
> in the fields rather than kill them but Maria did see
> one man fall to the ground.
>
> At around 2.30 pm the soldiers forced ten of the women
> return to their villages with Margaret and Linus as
> their escorts (one of the women complained that she
> was from Nablus and wanted to return but the soldiers
> forced her on). As they left the soldiers fired over
> their heads. Then two of the soldiers ran after them
> and hit one woman several times with his rifle,
> despite Margaret's attempts to protect her.
>
> "This is our country!" the woman pleaded in English as
> the soldier hit her. "We only want to go to our
> homes."
>
> "Do you really think it's right to beat a woman?"
> Linus said to the soldier.
>
> "You're not a woman so I can beat you instead!" said
> the soldier who advanced on Linus, although he
> refrained from hitting him.
>
> When Maria saw the soldiers chasing the women she ran
> after them. When one of the soldiers saw her he
> pointed his gun at her.
>
> "I want to kill you!" he said.
>
> "Do you?" she replied.
>
> "Yes!"
>
> "Go ahead then shoot me," Maria said without flinching
> so that the soldier backed down.
>
> At about 3.30 the soldiers began firing very close to
> Tommy and Maria.
>
> Tommy got angry at this and advanced on the soldiers
> shouting that he was a journalist. Maria walked
> behind him.
>
> As Tommy approached, three of the soldiers attacked
> him while the fourth began to shove Maria around
> shouting at her to "Go back!:"
>
> Then he went to join his companions in beating up
> Tommy. The commanding officer was the most vicious of
> the four soldiers and head butted Tommy with his steel
> helmet.
>
> While they assaulted Tommy, Maria gave water to some
> of the woman. (She had noticed that the soldiers had
> been treating the women worse than the men.)
>
> At around 5 pm the soldiers began to give the women
> their IDs back and force them to go on to Nablus.
> Many of the women had left young children in the
> villages and needed to go back to them and several of
> them were crying but the soldiers forced them onwards
> by shooting over their heads. The women begged Tommy
> and Maria to accompany them for their protection so
> they did so, leaving the men to mercy of the soldiers.
>
>
> They then left the road and walked through the fields
> to their villages. Tommy and Maria walked with the
> women through the dark until they arrived at the
> sewerage-filled moat that separates their villages
> from Nablus and then they returned to Nablus.
>
> Tommy is currently staying with the ISM in Nablus and
> is suffering from concussion.
>
>
> Note
>
> Azmut Checkpoint is the same checkpoint where Lasse
> and Susan were threatened two nights ago. Neither the
> US or Danish governments saw fit to protest their
> treatment to the Israeli government.
>
> I am raising this issue because I received several
> emails during and after the previous Azmut incident
> expressing not only admiration for the courage of the
> ISM activists who endured the ordeal but also the
> readers' feelings of helplessness when they read about
> such atrocities.
>
> I would like to take this opportunity to impress upon
> all our supporters that they are by no means helpless
> and that the success or failure of the ISM depends not
> only on the heroism of our activists in Palestine but
> also our supporters around the world.
>
> We are convinced that these assaults on ISM activists
> are not merely a case of military indiscipline but of
> a deliberate campaign to intimidate our activists with
> the ultimate aim of driving them from areas such as
> Nablus so as to give the army a free hand in the area.
> By refusing to protest such violence against their
> nationals the governments of the West are not only
> failing in their responsibility to protect these peace
> activists but are also serving as accomplices to
> Israel's campaign of terrorism against the indigenous
> people of Palestine.
>
> In the coming weeks America and its allies are
> expected to launch their war against Iraq. Many
> analysts believe that the Israeli's will seize the
> opportunity that the war presents to escalate its
> campaign of terror against the Palestinians with the
> aim of driving as many of them as possible from the
> Gaza Strip and the Occupied West Bank (ethnic
> cleansing).
>
> Please do not feel helpless under these circumstances.
> Please either individually or in groups lobby your
> governments to end their conspiracy of silence
> regarding Israeli violence towards their nationals so
> that people like Tommy, Maria, Margaret, Linus, Lasse
> and Susan can continue their work.
>