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The IAC delegates issued the following statement: "Unless you are on the front lines in the West Bank and Gaza, or in the Palestinian areas in the 1948 borders of Israel, it is impossible to grasp the magnitude of the repression. What we saw was unimaginable brutality, but also a level of resistance by the entire Palestinian people who will not surrender, even in the face of overwhelming military power. The people in the United States must learn the truth about this struggle and about the role of the U.S. government, which finances Israeli terror at the tune of $15 million a day. Help us spread the word about the Palestinian reality today."
As of April 5, 2001
Over 457 Palestinians have been killed within a six-month period. Seventy-six percent were shot with live ammunition to the head and upper body.
Of the 457 people killed, 34% were under the age of 18. Tragically, 110 children have been killed.
Forty-five Palestinian students were killed on their way home from school.
Forty-one schools have been closed and unable to operate affecting over 20,000 students.
The closure imposed on the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza is the most severe since the beginning of the occupation in 1967.
There has been damage to over 2700 buildings, 770 homes (180 completely demolished), 29 mosques, 12 churches, and 44 water wells.
Over 25,000 olive and fruit trees have been uprooted, along with over 3,000 acres of land bulldozed.
Losses to the Palestinian economy through the end of January 2001 have been estimated at over 2 billion dollars.
More people today live in poverty than at any other time in the history of the occupation.
Daily losses of income have been estimated at over $12 million a day.
-Hmmmm....it seems to be a scorched land policy, designed to starve the Palestinians to submission (or death). Is this policy causing emigration from Palestine (does anyone has the data?). Unfortunately, I would say that the Palestinians have virtually no means to resist and that eventually Israel will achieve its goals. Furthermore, those 400-500 deaths are probably a small fraction of excess deaths due to deterioration of living standards.
Alexandre