The tragic accounts of the Gaza Palestinians are all very similar. They left their homes after a bomb, a mortar, or artillery round hit their houses. They raised white flags or hands over heads. Then one or more family members would be shot by Israeli soldier's gunfire.
The US Gaza Delegation (March, 2009) found Saleh sitting on a chair in the middle of the dirt road. He and his family left their home on January 4 at 11:45AM. "We had white flags," he told us.
Saleh and his family decided to evacuate their home in the village of Johr Ad-Deick.
His 13 year-old niece had been wounded by gunfire. First, Saleh's family gathered under the stairs and called the Red Cross to get care for the niece. Israeli soldiers would not allow the Red Cross to enter the area.
They walked across the field, 150 meters from Israeli tanks. They waited for orders from the invading soldiers. There were 27 children, five women, and four men. One tank began firing and the family retreated. A soldier fired into the group, hitting Saleh's mother and daughter, Majda, killing her. His mother kept walking for a while, until she too, perished.
Saleh said they could not carry the bodies of his mother and sister. His family made their way to a nearby refugee camp and called the Red Crescent to get medical aid for his niece; and to retrieve the martyred mother and daughter. The Israeli army had not reached the camp yet, so the NGO arrived quickly.
When the Israeli ceasefire began on January 18th, Saleh went back to his house to retrieve the martyred bodies. He found his mother's body near the house, buried in sand and rubble. After searching, he finally found his sister's body 500 meters from the house. Her body had been run over by a tank. This was 14 days after their deaths.
The brutality and dehumanizing treatment by Israeli soldiers of the Palestinians of Gaza is yet another chapter in the sixty-one year history of massacres, displacement, occupation, segregation and racism. Our task of moving the US taxpayers and government to action is daunting, We must work to break the blockade and allow the Gazans to rebuild. Above all, the US and Israel must talk to Hamas, stop illegal arms shipments to the Israelis, and achieve justice for all Palestinians. This is the way to end violence and insure security for Palestinians and Israelis.
Don Bryant
What will it take to get the attention of the U.S. gov't & it's citizens? When will we hold the Israeli gov't to account for it's actions? When we cut off the aid $ & military hardware? We the people must demand an end to these evil acts, an end to these crimes against humanity, committed with our tax $$. When will we demand justice, aid & assistance for the Palestinians? THe time is now.
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