Morning Edition: June 27, 2002
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JAT comments are indented and in italics.
This is a typical NPR report. It paints a picture of Palestinian suffering without giving any context for the causes of that suffering. From reports like these, one would conclude that Israel is tormenting Palestinians for the pleasure of it. The Israelis are described as striking without warning; no mention is made of Palestinian suicide murderers striking daily without warning at innocent Israeli women and children going about their everyday business.
BOB EDWARDS, host:
Palestinian Authority leaders said Yasser Arafat will run for re-election in January, despite comments from the Bush administration that the president has not and will not deal with Arafat. Hundreds of thousands of West Bank residents remain under curfew and Israeli tanks and helicopters continue to pound a Palestinian security building in Hebron.
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians are going about their daily routines, despite Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's promise of a massive military operation in the narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.
PETER KENYON reporting:
Standing at the Netzarim checkpoint in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinians have plenty of time to debate the coming elections and discuss the Israeli attack on Hebron.
KENYON:
The road from Gaza City to the Hanunis a Rafah(ph) camps opens in the morning, sometimes, and closes without warning. Yesterday, the line of cars, trucks and taxis spilled over the sides of the road into the rutted dirt fields scraped clean of vegetation by Israeli bulldozers. Those who arrived at the checkpoint before 8 AM had what locals call a normal wait--about three hours.
In Rafah, down by the border with Egypt, funerals still were going on for seven Palestinians killed in an Israeli helicopter attack earlier this week.
KENYON:
Nationalistic music blared from speakers in a large tent where mostly pro-Hamas men gathered to mourn for those killed. Three of the men were brothers--Hassam(ph), Yasser(ph) and Yusuf Wizek(ph). A surviving brother, Sayeed(ph), confirms that all three were dedicated to fighting both the Israelis and any effort by the Palestinian Authority to rein in Hamas. Sayeed says Palestinians in Gaza aren't scared by the Israeli army.
Mr. SAYEED WIZEK (Hamas Sympathizer):
(Through Translator) Actually, Sharon's supposed to be the one who should expect intense fear, because we are already waiting for him. We are people who are seeing their children, their brothers, their parents killed every day. They don't care about life anymore. They are ready to die.
In typical NRP fashion, statements by Palestinians like those above are reported as simple facts and without question or context or Israeli perspective. In truth, these comments would be accurate if made by Israelis. Like the infamous "massacre in Jenin", these statements are false.
KENYON:
But the aggressive talk is not yet being matched by preparations on the ground. The sandbag piles aren't nearly as numerous as they were during the March Israeli offensive, and stores are experiencing only the usual difficulties in getting supplies, not panic buying.
A few miles north in Hanunis, 22-year-old Mohammad(ph) shrugs when asked about Sharon's threat of a massive operation here. He says Sharon can do whatever he wants, since the Arabs have failed to come to the defense of the Palestinians, but he says he has made a few preparations.
MOHAMMAD (Gaza Strip Resident):
(Through Translator) Of course when you are responsible for a family, you have kids, the children, you should secure them, as we expect that they invade Gaza as they did into Ramallah. So I put extra food, extra cans of meat and other things, and the flour of bread.
KENYON:
But at the ever-present snarl of vehicles waiting at the Netzarim checkpoint to head back to Gaza City, this man says he doubts Sharon will send troops into the Gaza Strip.
Unidentified Man:
(Through Translator) I'm sure it will not happen, because he know that the situation in Gaza is completely different than West Bank. There is a very high percentage of population. Any invasion for Gaza will cause a lot of loss in the Israeli side. Also for threatening to assassinate the leaders of Hamas and the Jihad, this, they should know, that it will create much, much more violence than what's happening now.
KENYON:
Israeli leaders have heard these warnings before, but the latest string of suicide bombings has convinced them that military force is the best means to limit the terror attacks. Gazans expect some kind of strike here, and they have no doubt it will influence the campaigns for the upcoming Palestinian elections, most likely, they say, by boosting support for candidates from Hamas and other factions and further dimming the star of the Palestinian Authority. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.
EDWARDS:
The time is 29 minutes past the hour.
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