Words from Palestine

When I first came to Palestine with IWPS, our house was located in the village of Hares. IWPS had set up it’s house there because at the time there were numerous army incursions, arrests, and curfews and other human rights violations. Among those was the shooting of Issa Souf, who was paralyzed from the waist down and will spend the rest of his days in a wheelchair. We went to Hares to visit friends there and to get an update on the situation in the village as we had heard there were demolition orders for several homes there.

( a quick recap on the circumstances of the shooting of Issa Souf… There was an IDF incursion into the village of Hares during the first Intifada. Issa was at home with his wife, pregnant with twins, and their 18 month old son. Soldiers came to their home… Issa his his wife and child in bedroom, telling her not to worry, he would see to the demands of the soldiers. He was unarmed. For a reason unknown, they shot him in the back, resulting in the paralysis.)

We met with Issa , his lovely wife and their three children. Issa is an amazing man. He has learned various meditation practices to help him deal with both his disability and the continual abuse he and his family endure under the occupation. I would describe his manner as calm strength. He related to us the difficulties he faces due to his paralysis, and how life under occupation escalates these difficulties. When bound to a wheel chair, pressure sores are always a concern so one had to change positions on a regular basis. It is not uncommon for him to be held up at checkpoints for hours, which endangers his health and causes pressure sores. For himself, he has no fear of the military; he laughs at their shouting and machine guns. But his concern for his wife and children is grave.

He related that several weeks ago he went to the Wadi Qani valley with his family. It was a cool day and they remained in the car, just enjoying the beauty of valley. He said he felt as though he and the nature surrounding him were one. Suddenly, soldiers were surrounding their car, pointing machine guns at all of them and demanding they get out of their vehicle. For himself, he was not afraid and in his mind he was laughing at them. But his children were terrified. This is their life under Israeli Occupation. Of course he was unable to exit his car due to his paralysis. When he showed them the documents he carries that describes his paralysis, they allowed the family to remain in their car, but they made them leave the valley… a valley that belongs to the people of Palestine.

Then we discussed the current situation in Hares. There are currently 5 teenagers who have been arrested and sentenced to 3-9 months in Israeli prisons. By Israeli law their families are allowed to visit them. However, in reality only the mothers of the boys are allowed to visit. Fathers and siblings are considered “security” risks. As well, it is an arduous journey to the prison. The mothers must go through a complicated process of securing Israeli documentation for travel to the prison, and the travel must be coordinated through the Red Cross. Once at the prison, mothers can only speak to their sons via a telephone with a glass window separating them. My team mate asked Issa if the mothers visited their children despite such hardship. “Of course” he replied, “how can a mother not visit her child!”

We also asked about the demolition orders we had heard about. Issa has 9 brothers, all whom own homes in Hares. However, the names on the deeds to all the properties is that of their father. The IDF presented demolition orders on at least 3 of the houses but the orders did not specify which houses were under demolition order. The papers gave them 3 days to appeal, which they did, hiring a lawyer to fight against demolition. The lawyer was clear that they would lose if they went to court, so his strategy is simply to delay the demolitions.
Let me make very clear the heinous nature of these orders. There are 10 families whose houses may be demolished with (hopefully) a 24 hour notice. Twenty four hours to remove all the possession you are able, everything that may be precious to you. Since the order is for 3 of the houses owned in name by Issa’s father., none of the families know which of the 10 homes are included in the order. There is no way to know how long the lawyer will be able to stall the orders.

The families wait in dread, while Issa sits in his wheelchair, laughing at the military who can do no more harm to them than they have already done. He said, “ they have the law of force, and the Palestinians have the force of law.
Unfortunately the force of law will not save the homes to be demolished, nor will it release the boys being held in the Israeli prison.