| Forgotten, it seems, is the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip caught in the shadow of that country's attack on Lebanon.
Last week Israelis abducted three Palestinian civilians during a raid of the Ramattan News Agency's office, which also serves as home to the owner's family, in the village of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. This barely made headlines.
Disproportionately, Israelis level Beirut and devastate the Palestinian Territories in response to the alleged kidnappings of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah these past two weeks.
Certainly the agency owner's wife, a Canadian citizen now living in Cairo, echoes this as she describes in an e-mail to me how the Israeli Defense Force destroyed her modern four-storey home and briefly held her husband's two nephews hostage. They then captured his three cousins – one remains missing.
"When the phone rang at 7:30 a.m., I answered knowing it couldn't be good news," writes Marisa Kemper-Ali, who as a United Nations aid worker was deported out of Israel for doing humanitarian work for the Palestinians, forcing her and her Palestinian husband Qassem and their two-year-old son Nadim to leave their Beit Hanoun home and business behind.
The voice on the line was that of her sister-in-law Azza Ali who still resides in their residence: '"The wall is being bulldozed on top of us!"'
Marisa continues, "Minutes later a tank was parked in the middle of (the) living room." She adds the IDF never checked to see if anyone was in the building at the time.
There was. In fact, the house was full, including Azza's 76-year-old mother, Hadra, and two sons Hazem, 14 and Qosai, 15 "who were taken hostage as human shields… handcuffed and blindfolded."
The boys were then forced to kneel on the floor and later told Marisa how, from under their blindfolds, they saw the soldiers shoot out into the street.
The boys were eventually released, but Hazem Al Kafarna, satellite uplink director for Ramattan, was beaten along with his two brothers Emad and Tarek, all cousins of Qassem, with the accusation that they support Hamas. Emad was then taken by the IDF. Information on his whereabouts or condition have not yet been released.
The Palestinian Journalist Bloc released a statement recently condemning the attack on the RNA crew saying they were detained to prevent coverage of the Israeli attack on the town.
It also called on the Palestinian Journalist Union to "file a lawsuit against the Israeli occupation for its targeting of Palestinian and foreign journalists," saying it is a scheme to silence journalists and prevent them from revealing the truth.
The news agency and former home to Marisa and her family was just one of about 60 houses in Beit Hanoun that were demolished by the IDF according to a report released last week by Karin Abu Zeid, the Commissioner General for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. The report also states schools attended by some 6,000 students as well as a medical clinic were partially damaged.
Marisa's words confirm some of the damage. "Pictures fed to us via satellite by the Ramattan crew that filmed the aftermath of that punishing day revealed my two-year old son's toys shattered and strewn about the room mixed with broken window frames, blood and hundreds of spent cartridges."
Marisa's parents, Carmen and Keith Kemper, who live in Calgary, stoically held back tears. "(The IDF) destroyed refrigerators, stoves, whatever they could find," Carmen said, pointing around her own spotless kitchen. "They have destroyed everything inside Marisa and Qassem's house. They have not left one tile, not one bit of glass or furniture whole – it makes you angry," she said, moistness sneaking into her eyes.
Keith added: "They exploded hand grenades inside the house – it is not habitable anymore."
Carmen and Keith are determined to get involved in an awareness campaign on the siege of Beit Hanoun and what they hail as the unfair treatment of Palestinians.
"It is high time that all these little groups amalgamate," Carmen said. "Bring in all Afghanis, Iraqis… Arabs that are interested, and make a united front, and educate many Calgarians that read the local paper and only have that twist."
In fact, support is growing. About 1,000 protesters marched through downtown Calgary on July 21 tooting horns, beating drums and chanting anti-war slogans against Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's backing of Israel's invasion of Lebanon and Gaza. The group stopped in front of government buildings at which point city police closed surrounding streets from vehicles. When traffic resumed many passers-by honked horns and cheered in encouragement.
"I'm very passionate about this," said one protester, Hayag Souani, 30. "I think what is happening is very unfair."
Also at the rally was Ismael Usamaeaid, a Muslim, who called Israelis "cousins" since both Muslims and Jews are Semites.
"Our origin forbids us to curse Christians, Jews, because… all of us here on land are the sons of God," he said.
"We are pro-West. We came to Canada because we love the West."
Fatima Elrafih, 42, agreed. "I've always been a proud Canadian, and I'd like to keep it that way. I hope (our prime minister) changes his mind, and he condemns what Israel is doing to the people whether it's in Palestine or in Lebanon."
Meanwhile Marisa's mother, Carmen, wrote a letter to Mr. Harper saying she is disappointed with the stand Canada is taking on the conflict. "Canada has always taken a balanced and neutral role in world affairs," she wrote in the letter. "(Our country) needs a leader of integrity and impartiality."
In response, she received a generic thank-you letter. And the besieged population of Gaza continues to be isolated and forgotten. |
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