Game of Darts: Israel Style

1) A Game of Darts _ Dr. Mona Al Farra
2) 2) Neta’s interrogation _ Solidarity call from Gush Shalom

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1) We also played soccer with kids in front of tanks in Ramallah. Then, they shot tear gas and lobbed sound grenades at us; We weren’t shot, but that’s because we had an international presence and cameras with us…..

A game of darts on the football pitch 2 pm Friday Jan. 31 2003 Gaza

Islam a six year old boy from Tel El-Zaatar in Jabalia refugee camp was on his grandmother’s roof, watching the neibourghood children playing street football, on a beautiful sunny day (at least that’s how it seemed for a short while).

Tamer, aged 16 was kicking the ball to Bilal also 16, Abd El-Halim age 13 hurried up to kick the ball back, the rest of the team were busy with the game, Trying hard to have some fun in the big prison called Gaza, where all what the kids hear and experience daily are shooting and killing, army tanks, Apache helicopters and the ever present f-16 fighting falcon, incursions, checkpoints and curfews are always the order of the day. This all amounts to no food no fun, no education, no clean water and no normal life for the children of Palestine.

At 2 PM on that sunny winter afternoon an Israeli Merkava battle tank fired two shells that landed in the middle of the boys makeshift football field while they were playing. It was GAME OVER on the pitch and for some other people who were injured inside their homes.

Nine of the cheerful footballers are now lying wounded on the Al-Awda hospital beds, 3 are in critical condition. The total number of the wounded was 15, the shells fired were flechette rounds that contain thousands of small metal darts, each four centimeters in length. Having been shot from a tank, the round explodes in the air and tiny darts scatter over a 300 by 100 meter area, needless to say these rounds are illegal under international law, and so is the occupation by the way.

While visiting the kids at the Al-Awda hospital, I asked one of the boys, "does it hurt?" He answered, "only when I laugh."

Mona Elfarra Union Of Health Work Committees Gaza Palestine ========================

2)

>From Gush Shalom: Action alert, Feb.1, 2003 = == = == == == == = == = NETA - WE ARE PROUD OF YOU! Monday, Neta Golan summoned to police investigation For human shield work in Arafat's Moqata'a Gush Shalom calls upon activists to be there, 10.30

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Israeli peace activist Neta Golan is to be interrogated by police on suspicion of having participated in a human shield group that stayed in the Moqata'a (Arafat's Presidential Compound in Ramallah) during the month-long siege imposed by the Israeli army in April 2002.

The interrogation is due to take place on Monday, Feb. 3, at 11.00 AM in the Merhav Hayarkon police station on Harakevet St., Tel-Aviv.

Neta Golan - now in an advanced stage of pregnancy - intends to use her legal right to remain silent, "as some of our prominent politicians did when investigated on suspicion of corruption".

She added: "If and when charges are brought against me, I will speak fully in court. I will speak about where I was and what I did in April 2002, and also about what the army did at that time and later. I will make the occupation regime into the accused rather than the accuser."

Gush Shalom calls for a solidarity presence of peace activists from 10.30 AM on in front of the police station - with the slogan: Neta Golan, We are proud of your human shield work

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