From Occupied Palestine

The real fist in the face of the Palestinians
GIDEON LEVY
Haaretz, 28 July 2003

By all appearances, it's possible to drive from the village of Burkin to Jenin on the main road. It's a five-minute trip. But at the end of the road is an earth barrier that no car can get by. So you have to take the roundabout route, between the olive groves. The trip is prolonged to a half hour of dust, jolts and anxiety.

Apartheid wall
GIDEON LEVY
Ha'aretz, 3 May 2003

For the Israelis it is a "separation fence," for the Palestinians - an "apartheid wall." For the Israelis it is an ideal, for the Palestinians an existential threat. For most Israelis it is a magic solution to the dread of terrorism. For the Palestinians it is a profound fear. Once again, they don't understand one another, two nations who don't grasp the meaning of each other's anxieties.

Half a democracy
GIDEON LEVY
Ha'aretz, 26 January 2003

What sort of democracy is this, if exactly half the state's residents don't benefit from it? Indeed, can the term "democratic" be applied to a state in which many of the residents live under a military regime or are deprived of civil rights? Can there be democracy without equality, with a lengthy occupation and with foreign workers who have no rights? And what about the racism?

A fictious debate: There are no legal settlements
GIDEON LEVY
Ha'aretz, 14 October 2002

There is no difference between an "illegal outpost" and a "legal settlement": the question of the settlements' legality should not even be on the public agenda. The only thing that differentiates a "legal" settlement from an "illegal" outpost is a piece of paper, usually in the form of retroactive "laundering" of the outpost by the defense establishment. Yesterday's outposts are today's settlements and both are a disaster.

Reporting from Ground Zero in Gaza
GIDEON LEVY
Ha'aretz, 2 August 2002

The pilot who pressed the button and dropped the bomb; the commanding officer who gave him the order; the Shin Bet agent who reported the houses uninhabited; the engineering expert who promised limited casualties; the Air Force commander who pushed for it and the new chief of staff who supported it; the minister who gave the okay from abroad to drop a one-ton bomb on a house in the heart of a densely populated residential neighborhood in the dead of night and later claimed that he didn't realize what would ensue and boasted that Israel had already dropped 47 bombs just like that one, as if numbers could somehow sanctify the unthinkable; the minister who knew or did not know, and only said in hindsight that it was "100 percent a mistake"; and the prime minister who knew, who made the decision and gave the order, congratulating himself afterward for "one of the most successful actions" ever - none of these people will ever see what he wrought. Not one of them will ever come to the dusty Daraj neighborhood in Gaza to see the horror he caused. More than likely it does not overly concern any of them, aside from the minor "damage to our image" that was quickly shrugged off.

The last photograph
GIDEON LEVY
Ha'aretz, 26 July 2002

This is the before-death image of the photojournalist Imad Abu Zahra, who was killed two weeks ago in Jenin. The desperate bending on the ground; the hands on the leg, trying to staunch the blood; the eyes reflecting terror and helplessness; the sweat pouring down his face; the glasses lying uselessly on the chest; the jeans and the polo jersey; and, of course, the blood. The large amount of blood that was shed.

Building the terror infrastructure
GIDEON LEVY
Ha'aretz, 20 April 2002

1. Fares Smaha bought a new pair of shoes for the holiday last year. At the time, he was a fatherless 14-year-old boy. His older brother Ahmed was serving time in jail in Israel for theft; his sister had been sold into marriage to an old Bedouin in the Negev, and Fares was the breadwinner for his four younger siblings. He dreamed of throwing stones on the main road near his refugee camp, being wounded, and becoming eligible for $300 a month in compensation from what are known as the "Saddam Committees." Meanwhile, he stole Israeli cars and was able to afford new shoes for the holidays.

Danger, checkpoint ahead
GIDEON LEVY
Ha'aretz, 1 March 2002

The father and son took a few more tentative steps past the roadblock. It's hard now to know what is permitted and what is forbidden here. "Wahad, wahad" ("one by one"), roared the soldier, but the frightened little boy didn't want to let go of his father's hand. They were dressed in their new holiday clothes, with holiday gifts in their hands, a stark contrast to the surrounding filth and neglect. The father was fuming at the humiliating wait in the bitter cold. The soldier put them through their paces: Forward! Now backward! he barked at the few people waiting to cross. The stage directions of the occupation.

A crime against the innocent
GIDEON LEVY
Ha'aretz, 13 January 2002

The punitive action executed by Israel at the weekend in the Gaza Strip, and in particular the mass demolition of homes in Rafah on Thursday morning, constitute a war crime. There is no other way to describe and define the collective punishment of hundreds of innocent civilians who have been left utterly destitute.

Death isn't a dig deal anymore
A talk with Tanzim Chief Marwan Barghouti
GIDEON LEVY and MARWAN BARGHOUTI
Ha'aretz, 12 November 2001

During the night, someone had splashed some paint on one of the windows of the apartment where we were meeting, in a stone building in a quiet Ramallah suburb, and the owner of the building was upset: Maybe the Israelis had marked the house. Marwan Barghouti is convinced that the Israeli defense establishment has indeed marked him for assassination. He cites remarks made on Thursday by the deputy chief of staff branding him a terrorist, similar words from the head of Military Intelligence, Ariel Sharon's enthusiasm for assassinations, and intelligence information he claims to have indicating that a warrant has been issued for his arrest.