[GushShalom] Today in Tulkarem Camp - not even breaking news

[Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)]

GUSH SHALOM  pob 3322, Tel-Aviv  61033 www.gush-shalom.org

International release

Two reports about what is going on right now. The one, a description from 
ISM volunteers who join in this difficult hour the people of the Tulkarem 
Camp. The other described from the army point of view on the Ha'aretz 
website .


[] ISM report: Invasion and round-up in Tulkarem Camp
[] Ha'aretz - Three Palestinians wounded by IDF in Tul Karm 


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[] ISM report: Invasion and round-up in Tulkarem Camp

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:           	"International Solidarity Movement" 
<info at palsolidarity.org>
Date sent:      	Tue, 13 Jan 2004 01:57:42 +0200
Subject:        	[palsolidarity] Invasion and round-up in Tulkarem Camp
Send reply to:  	"Huwaida" <huwaida at palsolidarity.org>

Monday, January 12, 2004
ISRAELI ARMY OCCUPIES TULKAREM CAMP

Massive round-up of men, women and children

[Tulkarem] The Israeli Army invaded Tulkarem Refugee Camp shortly 
before 11:00 this morning. Approximately 20-30 military vehicles - APCs 
and jeeps - rolled into the camp, occupied its entirety and carried out 
operations in three 
neighborhoods in the central part of the camp – al-Hamam, al-Nadi and al-
Balawni. Four international ISM volunteers, who had received an urgent call in 
the morning, arrived in the camp at 11AM to find that soldiers had called all 
men women and children in a section of the camp to come out of their homes. 
Soldiers rounded up the residents at a local building used as a daycare, which 
they had occupied and were using for interrogation. They then separated men 
from the women and children and sent the women and children over to the 
UNWRA building, which the Israeli military had also taken over.
Shortly before 1PM soldiers loaded approximately 230 men, handcuffed and 
blindfolded in to military armored carriers and left the camp. 
The women and small children were kept in the streets in the cold and rain 
from 11AM until approximately 9PM, when they were allowed to disperse. 
However the women were prevented from reaching their homes by military 
cordons and were forced to seek other shelter.
There has been Israeli military fire and explosions throughout the day as 
soldiers conducted house to house searches. One house in the camp caught on 
fire and Israeli soldiers let the house burn for a significant period of time before 
they would allow a fire truck to approach the house. Soldiers have not only 
taken over the camp daycare and UNWRA building, but have also occupied 
civilian homes, including the home of Abu Ghassan al-Sifareeni, who lives with 
his wife, son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren.
Currently the entire camp, home to 17,000 refugees is under house arrest and 
explosions can still be heard throughout the camp as soldiers continue their 
operation. Two international ISM volunteers are staying in a house across from 
UN building, where approximately 20 women and 30 children who couldn’t get 
to their own homes are also staying.

For more information from the camp, please call:
Flo - +972-67-361-708 or +972-64-309-753 or
AbdelKarim - +972-59-836-783

END

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT 
www.palsolidarity.org 
                        ***

[] Ha'aretz - Three Palestinians wounded by IDF in Tul Karm 

Ha'aretz Update: 13/01/2004 00:07 
 
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=382145&contras
sID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y