SEEING BOTH SIDES - Interview with a human rights worker in Jerusalem

On the day 11 bus passengers were killed by a suicide bomber in south Jerusalem, Bassem Eid, a Palestinian human rights worker in Jerusalem, gave his reaction to the tragedy and described what life is like for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

"It is a terrible day today. With a great terrorist act like this, you just lose more and more hope. We are very worried right now as to what kind of action the Israelis are going to take, and where that reaction is going to happen. There are some ministers who are asking for a big attack on the Gaza Strip; there are some who are asking to take Arafat out. It seems to me that Bethlehem is not facing a quiet night tonight - the suicide bomber came from Bethlehem. We are expecting some bad things to happen in the coming few hours. It seems that there are still some Palestinians who would like not only to kill Israelis, but also to put the peace and the security of the Palestinians in danger.

It is a terrible situation for both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Nobody knows exactly what will happen here from hour to hour. People are running after the news. You look in the newspapers to see which town the Israelis have attacked in the night, how many Palestinians were killed, how many Palestinians were injured, and how many houses were demolished by the Israelis. When you wake up in the morning you check which village is under curfew, which town is under exclusion, and if there is any new checkpoints imposed by the Israelis in the West Bank.

If you want to go to Nazareth for example, you may have to make 10 telephone calls to check if the road is still open, if there are any checkpoints, if Palestinians are allowed access to the town or not. You might drive 4 hours from Jerusalem to Qalqilyah, and then you will reach a checkpoint where the soldiers deny you access.

People are living in anger and frustration, and the Palestinians are suffering right now. Among Palestinians the standard of living is below zero. In the West Bank unemployment is around 43%, and in the Gaza Strip itÕs around 65%. People canÕt find jobs because the Israelis refuse to issue any work permits.

If you go to east Jerusalem, even though it is not under curfew, after 8 oÕclock there is nobody in the streets. People are scared, and the best place to be is at home. Once I asked a Palestinian in Nabulus: "What is the most difficult thing that you are facing today?" You know what he said? "Getting out of my house". Imagine that - to get out of your house is the most difficult thing in your life. How can you think about surviving? How can you earn your income? How can you manage your life, without getting out of your house?

The Israeli government hasnÕt realised yet that one of the biggest obstacles to the peace process is the settlers. Settlements in the occupied territories are like military zones. You will find a lot of soldiers and tanks inside the settlements. This makes the Palestinians fear for their lives, even from their neighbours.

If you take Hebron as an example, here you have a few Israeli families who are living in the heart of the old city, surrounded by more than 20,000 Palestinians. If a small incident happens, letÕs say a Palestinian child throws a stone at a settler - even if the stone doesnÕt touch that settler - everything turns upside-down: the military arrive and order the people to close their shops and stalls. Then they impose a curfew, and the people have to live under curfew for a few days because of that one settler.

The military in Hebron are there to protect the settlers from the Palestinians, but not the opposite. They never try to protect the Palestinians, for example, from the settlersÕ violence which has really increased this year against the Palestinians. I donÕt want any Israelis to be killed in the occupied territories. But it is not their homeland. It is sometimes difficult to understand what the settlers are doing in the occupied territories.

The international media does not play a good role in this conflict. Sometimes it is used as a tool of incitement. The international media divides into two categories, pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian, but you shouldnÕt have to be pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. You should report on the facts, and you should always take into consideration the ethics of journalism. Unfortunately, many journalists do not care about the ethics of journalism. Take the American media, for example: when a suicide bombing happens, you will see pictures on the front page. But when the Israelis kill 17 Palestinians, then it is only mentioned in brief in the New York Times. Killing should be reported as killing, never mind who the killer is. Killing is killing, and the media should always protest against the killing of anyone. The most important thing is to present the facts as they are, without politicising them.

I think the main aim of the Palestinians should be to put pressure on Israeli public opinion rather than on the international community. The Israelis believe that the Palestinian Authority is not doing enough to decrease the violence. But the whole infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority has been completely damaged by the Israelis. The Palestinian Authority has no presence: it has no police station, it has no detention centres, it has just nothing. The Israelis cannot damage something and then blame it for not working.

I am trying to be neutral all the time. I have many Israeli friends, and as we have to live together, we should be able to approach security and prosperity together. I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis both need a younger leadership. The problem is that our lives are in the hands of very old people, like Arafat and Sharon, and they will never change their mentality. These people shouldnÕt be in power in the 21st century. I think with a young leadership - men who are 30, 40, 50 years old - this conflict and these clashes might one day decrease.

Palestinians who are living in London should feel a part of this conflict, and should try to do their best to decrease the violence in the region. They should also try to take care of their own people by supporting them financially, economically, morally Ð whatever - because their people are really suffering. "

Bassem Eid has worked in Israel-Palestine as a human rights researcher for the past 14 years. He is currently Executive Director of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, a body originally set up to report on human rights abuses carried out by the Palestinian Authority. Over the past two years, however, his group has been increasingly involved with investigating reported Israeli violations against Palestinians in the occupied territories. See http://www.phrmg.org for more information.