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Wrom:
WOYIYZUNNYCGPKYLEJGDGVCJVTLBXFGGMEPYOQKEDOTWFAO Date: Thursday, April 25,
2002 12:55 Subject:
Tales from Jenin The REAL Story
Hi all.
I'm writing this email after having returned last night from the emergency
army call up that sweetly interrupted my life 3 weeks ago. I'm writing
this email for simple reasons, to tell you the truth about what happened
in Jenin over the last 2-3 weeks and to share some of the stories and
incidents that we had. Its pretty sad seeing and hearing the lies CNN,
BBC and all the others have been feeding the world when you have seen a
completely different picture yourself. Feel free to pass this email around
and send me any feedback or questions.
Let me just get one thing cleared, there was no massacre in Jenin, I
repeat no massacre in Jenin!!! (ill get back to this later)
My reserve battalion was stationed on the northern and eastern border of
Jenin with the purpose of ensuring the enclosure of the area during the
Defensive Shield Operation took place.
We were divided amongst a number of roadblocks and defensive positions
with the main purpose of preventing terrorists leaving Jenin to carry out
attacks inside Israel and also from escaping during the operation. We were
also responsible for monitoring the entrance of the Press and humanitarian
aid going into Jenin, and also Palestinians needing to leave Jenin for
humanitarian reasons.
I myself together with eleven other soldiers manned a small roadblock
at the northern tip of Jenin, which was one of the main thoroughfares
for traffic entering and exiting the area.
Jenin is not a big town. The refugee camp is a small part of Jenin and the
pictures repeatedly shown on TV are of a small section (10% -15%) of the
refugee camp that was destroyed. The refugee camp is where the terrorists
have mainly operated and harboured factories and storage facilities for
weapons, explosive belts etc. Many of the recent suicide bombers have
strapped themselves up in this refugee camp. What is also very fascinating
is that UNWRA (United Nations Work and Relief Agency - part of the UN) has
been responsible for the refugee camps over the last 50 years and has
allowed terrorist infrastructure to flourish under its nose.
In the fighting that took place in the refugee camp, children were used
as human shields by the terrorists. One of the brigade commanders told us
this last Saturday night that they were shot at in the small alleys of the
camp. They returned fire only to hear the cries of young children to which
they immediately stopped shooting and prayed that they had not killed any
children. They hadn't.
The armies respect and consideration for the life's of innocent civilians
is
of a high standard. For this reason, 23 of our own boys were killed in the
Jenin fighting. If we had no regard for the life's of innocent civilians,
23
sons, husbands and fathers would be at home with their families now.
They were the price we paid for the high moral and ethical standards
upheld during the fighting.
During the week of the incursion into Jenin the area was a closed military
zone. However contrary to what was reported, humanitarian aid was allowed
in and I myself personally checked many of the hundreds of trucks that
were allowed in to deliver supplies to the Palestinians. This was
carefully
coordinated with the army to ensure that innocent civilians would receive
the supplies and to minimise the risks of those entering the areas.
For a few days after the fighting had stopped, the area was closed off to
the
press. This is when the rumours of the massacre began despite the army
press giving detailed briefing sessions to the media on the situation. So
why was the area closed to the press and what did we seemingly have
something to hide? Simply, the refugee camp had been booby trapped by
the terrorists and minefields awaited those that entered. Soldiers inside
the
refugee camp told me of not being able to move 5 meters at a time without
having to diffuse another pipe bomb or mine. Many of the houses destroyed
were done so by bombs planted by the very residents of the camp. Some of
the dead bodies were also booby trapped with grenades and mines awaiting
the Israeli soldiers. (The Palestinian death toll stands at below 40 with
maybe another 20 or so buried in the rubble of which most has been cleared
up.
This was also told to us by embarrassed reporters who entered the area
eagerly awaiting to report an Israeli massacre of Palestinians only to be
disappointed to find minimal destruction.)
The media. Last Sunday while myself and my good
friend Ben were on duty at
the roadblock at the time when no press were allowed to enter Jenin, we
spotted a jeep trying to evade the roadblock through an adjacent field. We
managed to stop the jeep and discovered a group of French Journalists who
had managed to enter Jenin and were now trying to leave. We followed the
normal procedure of questioning them, checking their vehicle and
identification. This process sometimes takes a while because we have to
phone another army base who then checks the identities with the Israeli
authorities which includes the intelligence operations. Anyway, it turned
out that one of the supposed French journalists is actually a Palestinian
terrorist on Israel's wanted list. He was taken away by the police
together
with the other real French journalists. Bet you never heard about that one
on TV.
*
Last Thursday, friends of mine on duty at another outpost a few
kilometres away from me spotted two young kids walking in the middle of
the day with black backpacks on their backs. The two kids entered an
abandoned structure about 800 meters away from the outpost and left
without the bags.
The kids thought they had gone unnoticed. It was later discovered that the
bags contained weapons, explosives, an Israeli army uniform with a red
paratrooper beret. The plan was for a terrorist to pick up the loot at
night, dress up as an Israeli soldier and attack the outpost.
We had already received intelligence reports 5 days earlier warning of a
terrorist dressing up as a soldier and entering one of the outposts.
Avi, a good friend of mine studying together with me at Bar Ilan was
stationed in Nablus (Shchem) during this operation and told me the
following: They took over a house in Nablus as a stronghold in order for
the operation to clear out the terrorist infrastructure there. While in
the house, they did not use the electricity to charge their cell phones.
They
did not touch or eat any food left in the house. They made a concerted
effort not to use any furniture in the house. When they left the house a
few days ago during the pullout of Nablus, they cleaned the house and left
money on the table. I have heard this reported from soldiers that were
also in Beit Lechem, Tulkarm, Kalkilya and Jenin.
On Monday morning this week, a UN bus entered Jenin carrying a UN rescue
team from Britain. The team included doctors and other rescue personnel
who get dispatched around the world to help with rescue operations. Four
hours
later the bus returned through our roadblock and they stopped and we had a
chance to chat a little. The first thing they said is that this was the
biggest waste
of time for them and they would be catching the next flight out of Israel.
One of the doctors told us that one of the "massacred" bodies he
examined was
that of a man
that had been dead for two years.
What a shame that the Palestinians dug him up to add to the death toll. As
my friends and I packed up yesterday ready to head for home we joked at
how the whole world considers us to be monsters and how one day we might
all
be charged for war crimes. We felt good for having served our country once
again and we hope that something was achieved in this operation. What lies
ahead is still uncertain. What became so clear to me is the importance of
seeing things in the right context and perspective. If all that happened
these last 3 weeks was an Israeli incursion into the Palestinian areas,
then yes, maybe we don't look so good in the worlds eyes. But looking in
the context of the history of Israel and our longing to live peacefully
side by side with our Arab neighbours, we cannot let terror to exist and
destroy our dream. I pray and hope that new Palestinian leadership emerges
that will want to make this world a better place for its people.
Saul Kramer |