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Meanwhile, in the West Bank
By Gideon Levy
Tags: IDF, West Bank

Don't let the quiet fool you: It is imaginary. While all eyes are on Gaza, the impression has been created, under the aegis of a media turning a blind eye, that the West Bank is quiet. That's where the "good guys" are in charge, those with whom we went to Annapolis, those who will be getting the money from the donor nations, and life there is great, so it seems.

Well, that is not the case. The lives of the Palestinians in the West Bank are also intolerable, blood is being shed there too. For the Israel Defense Forces it is business as usual, with a frighteningly quick finger on the trigger. The spirit of Annapolis and the lofty words of the prime minister do not prevail there.

I have visited quite a few mourners' homes in the West Bank in recent months. They were all mourning family members who had been killed for no reason. Every week, innocent people are killed in the West Bank, and nobody talks about them. Among the dozens of Palestinians killed recently, not all were Qassam launchers or gang leaders from Gaza. If a new uprising erupts in the West Bank one day, it will originate in these mourners' homes.
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The daily routine in the West Bank is also patently inhumane. The night I spent last summer in the Jenin refugee camp brought that home to me: The IDF enters the camp every night, and even when it does not kill, it strikes great terror in the hearts of thousands of families, who are the victims of anxiety. There are few Israelis who can imagine the daily routine of West Bank residents, during the day and even more so at night. And we have not said a word about the poverty, the roadblocks and the home demolitions.

The story of the recent killings in the West Bank is not on our agenda, because so far the Palestinians there have not responded with attacks in retaliation for these deaths. But it is not certain that this quiet will continue.

Adib Salim, paralyzed on his right side, sold lupini beans. When the IDF conducted one of its raids on Nablus he dared to stick his head out. The soldiers killed him. The IDF Spokesman claimed that he threatened to shoot at the soldiers, but the paralyzed bean seller was totally incapable of doing so.

Abdel Wazir, the 71-year-old cousin of the legendary Abu Jihad, was a retired accountant. He spent a terrifying night in his home: for hours the soldiers fired next to his window, while he sat with his wife on the sofa, both of them incapacitated by fear. When the order to go outside was heard, he left his house and was immediately shot dead.

Jihad Shaar, 19, was making his way from his village, Tekua, in order to register for university. Soldiers killed him for an unexplained reason with cudgel blows and kicks, while he was waiting at the bus stop. The IDF Spokesman said that the soldiers "behaved appropriately."

Mohammed Salah was a Palestinian policeman, after years of working as a tiler in the settlements. On duty, he stopped a suspicious Palestinian commercial van, which had tried to avoid the Palestinian checkpoint in Bethlehem. Salah opened the door, suspecting that the van was carrying stolen merchandise, and the IDF undercover soldiers inside shot him to death. The IDF Spokesman claimed that he tried to shoot at the soldiers, but all the eyewitnesses have rejected this version out of hand.

Firas Kaskas went for a nature hike near Ramallah, accompanied by his brother and his brother-in-law. When they noticed a herd of gazelles running down to the wadi, they stood to watch. The soldiers who suddenly appeared shot him from afar, without warning. The IDF Spokesman claimed that the soldiers thought that he was placing an explosive device in the heart of the nature reserve.

All these people were killed by the IDF in recent weeks, for no reason. Add to them Mohammed Askar from Saida, who was shot at close range during riots at Ketziot Prison; Kamela Kabha of Bartaa, an elderly woman whose son tried to rush her to the hospital in Jenin and was delayed at the Reihan checkpoint for three hours, until she died in his arms, and other incidents of killing, and you will get the true picture of Israel's "peace efforts."

And we haven't even mentioned the construction in the settlements.
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  1.   Let the Pals speed up the peace process 09:50  |  Sam 24/12/07
  2.   Walls lead to dangerous tunnels and mad flying objects 10:00  |  Charlie 24/12/07
  3.   Yeah, don`t be fooled by the quiet in YESHA, Gideon Levy will.... 10:11  |  Genuine Tosefta 24/12/07
  4.   What herd of gazelles? Arabs had shot &eaten the a long time ago! 10:15  |  Genuine Tosefta 24/12/07
  5.   Haaretz accuses IDF of cold blooded murders.Where is The proof? 10:19  |  Pavel 24/12/07
  6.   Don`t be fooled by Gideon Levy,he lies non-stop in every sentence 10:20  |  Genuine Tosefta 24/12/07
  7.   Thank you Gideon Levy for the truth on the IDF`s vicitims 10:23  |  John 24/12/07
  8.   The ugly face of Apartheid and IDF armed robbery of land 10:42  |  Ivar 24/12/07
  9.   IDF in West Bank 10:47  |  Christopher 24/12/07
  10.   Response to Mr Gideon Levy 10:56  |  S 24/12/07
  11.   ALL QUITE IN THE WESTERN FRONT? 11:08  |  indrajaya 24/12/07
  12.   Stop gawking out the windows and look at the map 11:08  |  Natallie Durson 24/12/07
  13.   IVAR boiling frogs,incantations and slogans. 11:14  |  PETER SM 24/12/07
  14.   Where is America`s indignation, which pays for the IDF? 11:21  |  Ivar 24/12/07
  15.   GIDEON LEVY, DISHONEST, ANTI-ISRAEL, PROPAGANDA ARTIST 11:28  |  Steve Randolph 24/12/07
  16.   IVAR Ignorance is bliss.USA aid pays a FRACTION of defence budget 11:37  |  PETER SM 24/12/07
  17.   Yehuda & Shomron is the name 11:45  |  Shmuel ex TA 24/12/07
  18.   gidoen levys word about anything is worthless 11:58  |  victor hardman 24/12/07
  19.   Why do they hate us? 12:02  |  Danny 24/12/07
  20.   S #10 what kind of an argument is this/ 12:16  |  dana 24/12/07
  21.   gideon levi 12:28  |  rm 24/12/07
  22.   I have not read this article, and I have no intention of reading 12:28  |  Shai 24/12/07
  23.   Boo Hoo 12:32  |  Mark Hamil 24/12/07
  24.   My Apologies 12:38  |  Yaakov Sullivan 24/12/07
  25.   Israel is strong against the weak and defenseless 12:41  |  Danny 24/12/07
  26.   #20, "what kind of argument is this?" 12:48  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 24/12/07
  27.   " Don`t let the quiet fool you "..says Levy 12:51  |  Klaudia 24/12/07
  28.   # 3 what`s a matter (mock)genuine tosfta? 12:57  |  eric 24/12/07
  29.   IDF are cold blooded murderers 13:00  |  Marilyn 24/12/07
  30.   Believing 13:05  |  True Zionist 24/12/07
  31.   Mr. Levy... 13:07  |  Teresa-Maria (Tess) 24/12/07
  32.   Arbitrary killing is wrong! 13:28  |  AliciaYasmeen 24/12/07
  33.   Gideon Levi - Author of protocols of Elders of Zion 13:32  |  Suzanne 24/12/07
  34.   #28 erics naivety leaves me breathless 13:33  |  victor hardman 24/12/07
  35.   Shame on Haaretz 13:37  |  Lisa 24/12/07
  36.   Estoy contigo Gideon 13:40  |  Ricardo 24/12/07
  37.   The IDF war criminals work for the light unto nations. 13:41  |  Labhras 24/12/07
  38.   # 16 you`re not quite right, peter old boy... 13:41  |  eric 24/12/07
  39.   MARYLIN.You must have missed the thousands of Qassems 13:46  |  PETER SM 24/12/07
  40.   #34 VictorPaul Harrisman 13:53  |  Labhras 24/12/07
  41.   levy`s critics are mostly cretins 14:02  |  avi buzi 24/12/07
  42.   #32 Alicia Yasmeen and Lisa #35 14:03  |  Labhras 24/12/07
  43.   #38 eric re Peter down under the weight of his 14:16  |  Labhras 24/12/07
  44.   # 29 Marylin & Hamas 14:25  |  Monique 24/12/07
  45.   #22 Shai from Sha`ar Ha`amaqim 14:29  |  Labhras 24/12/07
  46.   #31 You write "many of his stories are true" What! Not all? 14:33  |  Ralph 24/12/07
  47.   #20 dana 14:42  |  Labhras 24/12/07
  48.   #42 Labhras: can Israel TRUST the Pals in order to pull out? 14:43  |  AliciaYasmeen 24/12/07
  49.   Your Believe Arabs - Do we believe You? 14:52  |  Rafi 24/12/07
  50.   My heart is with palestinians - poor people 14:55  |  ER 24/12/07
  51.   #41 Well said. Congratulations! 15:20  |  Detached 24/12/07
  52.   The Reason is Terror, Terror Support and Crime 15:22  |  B 24/12/07
  53.   "BEYOND BELIEF"!!!!! 15:25  |  Stephen. 24/12/07
  54.   #48 Alicia Yasmeen 15:33  |  Labhras 24/12/07
  55.   peter sm, you shot in all direction 15:44  |  kaled 24/12/07
  56.   Thanks, Gideon, for giving a voice to the voiceless 15:52  |  Ben Alofs 24/12/07
  57.   right wing, left wing..humane 15:53  |  Michael 24/12/07
  58.   to Gideon Levy 16:03  |  Labhras 24/12/07
  59.   Killing for No Reason 16:11  |  Yaakov Sullivan 24/12/07
  60.   dana #20 What was written before the argument dana? 16:17  |  S 24/12/07
  61.   labhras #47 - Interesting parallels 16:22  |  dana 24/12/07
  62.   To Suzanne In Paris 16:25  |  Mark B. 24/12/07
  63.   CJ Kohn on responsibility 16:30  |  Mark B. 24/12/07
  64.   #60 S re dana part one 16:40  |  Labhras 24/12/07
  65.   #60 S re dana part 2 16:41  |  Labhras 24/12/07
  66.   Dana - What mongrels know about lineage? 16:53  |  17 24/12/07
  67.   S @10 17:16  |  GABE1 24/12/07
  68.   Dana @20 17:31  |  Gabe1 24/12/07
  69.   This is the price that we pay to have a Jewish State 17:34  |  Meir Weinstein 24/12/07
  70.   #10 S Re HDI 17:37  |  Labhras 24/12/07
  71.   END THE ARAB OCCUPATION OF JUDEA & SAMARIA 17:37  |  GABE1 24/12/07
  72.   Just Wait Till Hamas Blows into Town ! Bye-Bye Quiet 17:38  |  Klaudia 24/12/07
  73.   DANA-Addendun 17:42  |