ISRAEL-PALESTINE
Omens of a third Intifada
Analysis by Mel Frykberg Qalandia, West Bank, May 16 (IPS) - Israel miscalculated. He thought it would keep under control the day of the Nakba (catastrophe), commemorated with three days of demonstrations that culminated in The Long March, in memory of the mass displacement of Palestinians that 63 years ago marked the birth of the Jewish state.
Those three days of mourning, marked by protests, demonstrations, marches and riots, culminating on Sunday in the Long March. Thousands of unarmed Palestinian refugees marched through the borders of Israel from the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.
In Syria, tens managed to climb the border fence and cross into the Golan Heights, annexed by Israel. The Israeli army shot and killed about 14 demonstrators in Lebanon and Syria, accusing the Lebanese forces to be responsible for the deaths of their own countrymen.
These border crossings were taken by surprise intelligence officials and security of Israel. Waiting for mass demonstrations in the occupied territories and Israel itself, thousands of riot police were put on alert in areas where anticipated extreme fighting. Few soldiers were in charge of the northern borders.
security forces prevented Egypt and Jordan Hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters from crossing into Israel. Egyptian police dispersal methods used against thousands of demonstrators in Alexandria and Cairo, protesting outside the embassy and the consulate of Israel.
Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians wounded in West Bank and Gaza. Israeli troops fired their machine guns against hundreds of unarmed Palestinians, many of them women and children, as they approached the Erez crossing in northern Gaza Strip. A Palestinian was killed and dozens seriously injured. IPS
spent Sunday at the intersection of Qalandia, in occupied East Jerusalem. During the day, ambulances with their sirens blaring were a side to side as they struggled to negotiate the passage in the streets, where some 1,000 Palestinian youths clashed with hundreds of Israeli soldiers, as well as riot police and undercover.
burning tires off a black smoke was mixed with clouds of tear gas. Dozens of Palestinians were treated for complications resulting from inhaling the gas, and some doctors were attacked while commenting on the unusual intensity of the gas.
Dozens of other Palestinians were treated for injuries they received from the bullets of rubber-coated steel, fired from close range.
Qalandia Clashes, which continued into the evening, were marked by relentless waves of young men who approached the checkpoint until gas and rubber bullets made them retreat. Challenging atmosphere was characterized by what appears to be a new unity of purpose.
One of the masked protesters paused to eat a sandwich and drink some water, told IPS that the Israelis will fight to the end.
"They want to drive to my grandparents' home in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. Perhaps we should sit idly by do not think so," he told IPS.
As I watched the fighting, Yazen, shopowner windshield, told IPS that "another Palestinian uprising (Intifada) is coming. "
In the first Intifada, Yazen spent six years in an Israeli prison. His brother is currently serving a sentence of 17 years for armed resistance to occupation.
Activists from both major parties Palestinian Fatah and Hamas (the Arabic acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement) remained steady while busloads of Palestinians from other West Bank cities and villages joined them.
The businesses located along the street turned into makeshift clinics while Palestinian medical teams treated the wounded on the floor. The merchants, who decided no work that day, allowed the protesters refuge from the bullets and gas and gave them water and tissues.
Working at home handing out potatoes and chopped onions, antidotes against tear gas as protesters went to the aid of their wounded comrades.
Although the saturation of media coverage and other international hot spots Qalandia probably ensured that Israeli forces are contained in other areas further away from the media gaze were accused of using tactics of intimidation and vindictiveness in dealing with the demonstrators. On Friday, during protests against the wall separating the West Bank Israel in the village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, a tear gas canister thrown at close range hit the head of a U.S. citizen. The fact seems to be a deliberate attack by Israeli forces.
The man was seriously injured by the blow and was taken to hospital. According to Israeli law, these high-speed vessels must be fired up, forming an arc, not less than 40 feet away, due to its lethal nature.
In recent years, several other U.S. citizens suffered brain damage and even lost an eye in the wake of similar attacks. Countless Palestinians have died or been injured in incidents identical.
An Israeli activist who broke his arm when Israeli soldiers fired at him, had to walk several kilometers on a rough terrain for medical treatment after the commanding officer of Nabi Saleh prevented ambulances were made to evacuate these the wounded.
Israeli intelligence had predicted that there would be riots on Sunday, but said in confidence that would be limited and would be beyond control.
however, seems to be wrong. Experts predict the possible outbreak of a third intifada (the first was in 1987 and the second in 2000) to September, when the Authority Palestinian submit its claim for an independent state before the United Nations Organization.
