You know how sometimes you're at an art gallery, and you're looking at a painting but you just can't make head or tail of it? But then you step back, and that little bit of extra distance helps you see what is going on in the picture? Well, Amos Harel of Ha'aretz hasn't worked out how that works. He puts his nose up against the canvas, and wonders puzzedly what on earth all those splashes of colour signify.
In his Ha'aretz column on 3 March, Harel commented on the series of attacks in the West Bank that claimed three Israeli lives in the previous week, and was at a loss to explain why they were happening:
For reasons not yet fully clear, terrorism seems to be reviving in the West Bank. In the past three days one Israeli has been killed and four others injured, in addition to other incidents. Does this add up to a random set of incidents or a new wave of terrorism?-- Amos Harel, A new wave of terrorism?
"For reason not yet fully clear"? Well, let's have a look at the news headlines carried by Palestine's Maan Independent News Agency on the same day that Ha'aretz ran Harel's piece, and see if there's any clue there. Oooh, look at this one - Israeli forces killed 22 Palestinians during the month of February:
[The] Monthly report of the Gaza Right and Law Center was published Saturday; the report said that the month of February witnessed the killing of 22 Palestinians and the injury of 96 others. The report said that 12 were killed in the Gaza Strip and ten others killed in the West Bank areas, and added that 38 injures in the Gaza Strip and 58 of the injures occurred in the West bank.So in the last month, Israel killed 10 Palestinians and wounded 58 others in the West Bank. Eight of the dead (including two 17-year-old stone throwers) and more than 50 of the wounded, were killed during a single sustained raid by the IDF on Balata refugee camp near Nablus. It was the largest IDF attack in the Occupied Territories since the withdrawal from Gaza, and it took place during the week before the sudden upsurge in attacks against Israelis in the West Bank. You cannot be a security correspondent at Haaretz and not know the extent of the operation that the IDF was conducting in Nablus at the end of last month. Is it really so difficult to ask whether the sudden, mystifying upsurge in attacks by Palestinians on the West Bank might have something to do with the IDF's large-scale, protracted assault in the West Bank town of Nablus the week before?
For the benefit of Amos Harel, this is what the wider picture looks like if you step back and look at the situation on the West Bank from the viewpoint of a Palestinian living there. Based on just one news agency's reporting of a single week's events, this is what it was like to live under Israeli military rule in the West Bank in the days preceding the attacks there that killed three Israelis:
21 FEB 2006
1. Israelis confiscate Bethlehem land, plan to construct Synagogue & religious school;
2. Two arrested in Tulkarem raid early Tuesday;An Israeli army jeep takes a position near the Rachel Tomb in the West Bank town of Bethlehem during the construction of a new Jewish Synagogue and religious school February 21, 2006. (MAANnews/Mohamad Sbeih)
3. Soldiers arrest two in Nablus area early Tuesday morning;
4. Israeli forces block entrance to Sarra Village west of Nablus;
5. Israeli forces arrest five in the northern West Bank;
6. Council of Public Works denounces Israeli attempts to isolate Jericho;
7. Israel destroys Palestinian home near Hebron;
8. Nablus dying after days of unending Israeli invasion;Israeli soldiers look on as a military bulldozer demolishes a Palestinian house near the West Bank city of Hebron February 21, 2006. According to the Israeli authorities, the house was demolished due to lack of permits.(REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun)
9. Israeli forces arrest 63 Palestinians from Bethlehem since beginning of month, including 21 children;Palestinian Hamas lawmaker Mona Mansour talks to Israeli soldier during a curfew at the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus Tuesday Feb. 21, 2006. The Israeli army has been hunting for militants in the camp for three days. Palestinians said they were running out of food and water, and the army allowed five Hamas lawmakers to bring residents supplies. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)
10. Israeli Ofer Military Court sentences 14 more Palestinians to prison;
11. Confrontations injure four Palestinians near Balata Tuesday evening;
12. Israeli forces destroy house behind Wall in Tulkarem area;A Palestinian youth throws a stone at an Israeli military bulldozer during clashes with Israeli troops searching for militants at the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank town of Nablus Tuesday Feb. 21, 2006. Eighteen Palestinians were wounded in clashes Tuesday with Israeli army in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus, Palestinian officials said. (REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini)
13. Two houses and a well destroyed in Hebron area Tuesday;
14. Israeli forces arrest 2 Palestinian youth in northern Bethlehem;
15. Israeli forces reinvade Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus just 8 hours after withdrawing from 4-day raid;
Palestinians react at they view the bodies of Palestinians who were killed during an Israeli army operation, at the morgue in the hospital of the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank town of Nablus Thursday Feb. 23, 2006. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
22 FEB 2006
16. Israeli forces destroy homes and barns in northwestern West Bank;
17. Israeli forces holding Palestinians for at least 3 hours at Tobas checkpoint for the seventh consecutive day;
18. Israeli forces raid Jenin area, arrest one Palestinian, impose another checkpoint;
19. Israeli forces arrest two Palestinian youth, claiming they had knives and intended to stab soldiers;
20. Israeli forces detained students and teachers from Hebron's Polytechnic College;
21. Insan Center: 7 Palestinians killed, 22 children wounded and hundreds arrested in Balata;
22. Israeli soldiers destroy inside of UNRWA Girls' School in Balata Refugee Camp;A Palestinian, who according to witnesses was throwing stones at Israeli troops, lies on the ground after being shot in the face during an Israeli army operation at the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank town of Nablus Thursday Feb. 23, 2006. Earlier, according to Palestinian officials and relatives an unarmed 19-year-old youth was shot and killed by troops in the same Balata camp. (AP Photo/ Emilio Morenatti)
23. Israelis bulldoze public park and children's playground paid for by a donation from the US government;
An Israeli bulldozer demolishes a public park and children’s playground in the West Bank city of Qalqilia February 22, 2006. (MaanImages/Khaleel Reash)
24. Israeli military court sentences Nablus brothers to prison;
25. Israeli special forces raided northern West Bank village, arrest 22 year old Palestinian;
26. Checkpoint humiliation is part of the daily routine;
27. Israeli forces invade southern West Bank, injure 15 year old Palestinian;An Israeli soldier checks ID of a Palestinian woman at the Jabara Checkpoint in the south of Tulkarem city February 22, 2006. (MaanImages/Mouid Ashqar)
23 FEB 2006
28. Israeli forces kill five Palestinians in Nablus' Balata Refugee Camp;
29. Israeli forces take 6 Palestinians from throughout the West Bank to unknown locations;The bodies of four militants from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades killed by Israeli troops at the Balata Refugee Camp in the West Bank city of Nablus February 23, 2006. (MaanImages/Rami Swidan).
30. Israeli forces attacking nonviolent demonstrators in Beit Sira Village near Ramallah;
31. Israeli special forces arrest 19 year old from Tulkarem;Demonstrators cover their ears after Israeli soldiers throw a shock-grenade during a protest against the Separation Wall in the Beit Sira village near the West Bank town of Ramallah February 23, 2006. (MaanImages/Moti Milrod)
32. Checkpoint between northern Salfit villages, Palestinians unable to move;
33. Tulkarem farmers are dumping their produce in protest of Israeli closures;
34. Israeli forces shoot Palestinian throwing stones at jeeps occupying southern West Bank Hebron City;Palestinian farmers throwing vegetables in front of the Agricultural department in the West Bank town of Tulkarem in a protest against the decline in the price they receive for their products February 23, 2006. (MaanImages/Moiud Ashqar)
35. Israeli forces bring four bulldozers and begin demolishing in Tubas area;
36. Palestinian Center for Human Rights weekly report:
Gaza (Ma'an) – The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported that Israeli forces killed five Palestinians last week, before the reinvasion of Nablus Thursday which adds five more. Israeli forces injured 42 Palestinians, 16 of them from Nablus and its Balata Refugee Camp. The report added that Israeli forces continued its raids on Gaza and conducted 31 operations in the West Bank. Israeli forces confiscated and bulldozed Palestinian lands, and prevented Palestinian goods from moving between the Gaza Strip and West Bank from the Karni Commercial Crossing, while fishing is restricted in the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli forces also closed the Sofa Crossing in the Gaza Strip, frequently preventing Palestinians from importing goods. Jerusalem remains isolated and most Palestinians are prevented from entering to pray...37. Israeli forces begin to raid 'Azoun Village and youth throw stones;
38. President Abbas: Today's Israeli invasion of Balata Camp which killed 5 Palestinians will kill chance for just peace;
Palestinian relatives of a man killed during an Israeli army operation comfort each other at the morgue of the West Bank city of Nablus, 23 February 2006. Five Palestinians were killed and six wounded by Israeli troops in the deadliest clashes in the West Bank since last month's election victory for the radical Islamists of Hamas. (AFP/Pedro Ugarte)
24 FEB 2006
39. British officials hold meeting at a Nablus checkpoint after Israeli soldiers refuse to allow them to enter;
40. Israeli prison authorities at Al Naqab renew sentence of Bethlehem teen without charge or trial;
41. Israeli forces injure 7 demonstrators at anti-Wall protest in Beit Sira Village, west of Ramallah;
A wounded international peace activist is carried by Palestinian demonstrators during a protest against the controversial Israeli barrier in the West bank village of Beit Sira February 24, 2006. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad)
42. Israeli forces arrest teenager in the eastern Qalqilia village of 'Azoun;
43. Israeli forces blocking roads to 'Azoun Village after two days of raids;
An Israeli soldier aims his rifle towards Palestinian stone throwers during clashes at the northern entrance of 'Azzoun Village near Qalqilia city against the Israeli operation in Nablus city February 24, 2006. (MaanImages/Khaleel Reash)
25 FEB 2006
44. Israeli forces invaded Jenin, besieged a home, and threw gas and sound grenades in residential neighborhoods;
45. Israeli forces injured and arrested several Palestinians in the southern West Bank during raids;
46. Israeli soldiers are humiliating Palestinians in the northeastern West Bank by forcing them to undress;
47. Farmers in Beit Ummar north of Hebron make it to their lands for the first time in four years;
48. Israeli forces killed 15 Palestinians and injured more than 70 within the past five days;Palestinian farmers and Israeli peace activists defied the Israeli Army and settlers from the Karmi Tzus settlement and went to their land to prune the olive trees near the West Bank city of Hebron February 25, 2006. (MaanImages/Mamoun Wazwaz)
49. Israeli forces arrested Sami Ahkilan during the invasion of Jericho;
26 Feb 2006
50. Israeli forces raid Jenin City and Refugee Camp;
51. Israeli forces injure 15 Palestinian citizens in Budrus Village northwest of Ramallah;
52. Mayor of Qalqilia remains imprisoned, but is now hospitalized as his heart condition took a turn for the worse;
53. Israeli forces detained 670 Palestinian workers for not having permission to be inside Israeli lines;
54. Israeli soldiers shot 2 boys trying to help girl as Israeli soldiers tried to take off her clothes;
55. Israeli forces raid Nablus once again and take a young man to an unknown location;
56. Salem Israeli military court sentences several Nablus Palestinians to terms as political prisoners;
27 Feb 2006
57. Israeli forces take 26 Palestinians from throughout the West Bank to unknown locations;
58. Checkpoint Watch photo exhibit: Palestinians being beaten while under the boots of Israeli soldiers;
An Israeli soldier holds his weapon as Palestinians wait in line to cross the Hawara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus February 27, 2006. (REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini)
59. Israeli military court in the West Bank sentences Hebron man to 5 years in prison;
60. After killing their son, Israeli forces return to inflict more harm on a family in Balata Camp;
61. Israeli forces take Hebron area man from his home to an unknown location;
62. Israeli forces took nine Palestinians from northern West Bank village to unknown locations;
63. Israeli soldiers force Palestinians to undress before handcuffing and blindfolding them;
64. Israeli military court extends sentence for elected member of government and PNN correspondent;
65. Israeli forces detain PLC members at southern West Bank checkpoint;
66. Israeli forces impose curfew on Bita Village while youth who refused to comply threw Molotov Cocktails;
67. Israeli forces brought bulldozers to demolish southern West Bank home;
68. Israeli forces uproot Palestinian olive trees, confiscate land, & allow settlers to plant olive trees on the same land;Israeli soldiers force Abu Zweid and his family from their Bani Na’im home east of Hebron February 27, 2006. (MaanImages/Mamoun Wazwaz)
69. Shiekh from Al Amal TV in Hebron still in prison without charge or trial;
28 Feb 2006
70. Israeli forces raid eastern Nablus refugee camps again, taking 8 Palestinians to unknown locations;
A detained Palestinian man is lead into an Israeli military vehicle in the Balata refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus February 28, 2006. (REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini)
71. Fears of new Israeli settlement as Wall completed around Bethlehem;
72. Israeli military court sentences one Palestinian and delays sentencing three others;Ayup Jado walks in the backyard of the Jado family house next to a section of Israel's separation barrier in the outskirts of the West Bank town of Bethlehem Feb. 26, 2006. After Israel built it's separation barrier near their house, located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the Jado family finds itself trapped between a 20-foot-tall (7 meter) concrete wall that blocks access to Bethlehem and an Israeli road to Jerusalem that is off-limits to Palestinians. The Jados say the situation claimed the life of their matriarch, Fatima, who died of a heart attack last year when trying to get to a Bethlehem hospital. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
73. Israeli military court sentences two Qalqilia officials to prison terms, one without charge or trial;
74. Palestinian medic shot in head during Balata invasion now in Israeli hospital bed in hand cuffs with feet shackled;
A wounded Palestinian paramedic is helped by a colleague during clashes at Balata refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus February 23, 2006. (REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini)
So, from a Palestinian perspective, it was a week of the usual, "routine" oppression of a foreign military occupation well into its fourth decade - confiscations, demolitions, displacements, arrests, checkpoints, armed raids, etc. And for this week in particular, you have the added bonus of a large-scale assault on Balata refugee camp that left parts of that camp locked down for much of the week, without access to food and water, and caused about 60 casualties among the Palestinian population. This might have passed generally unnoticed in the West, but it certainly wasn't unnoticed by West Bank Palestinians, and it shouldn't have been left unnoticed by Amos Harel. How can an Israeli security correspondent not mention the backdrop to the current upsurge in violence (against Israelis), but still assure his readers that there's really no clear reason for it; that there isn't an obvious and direct link between what occupation forces regularly and even routinely do to Palestinians in the West Bank and what Palestinians sporadically do to soldiers and settlers there? How deep in denial do you have to be to think that you can treat people like this without it coming back to haunt you?
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