UN workers killing, Cahoime's gunshot, no surprise

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday November 25, 2002 06:50 by Brian Wood - Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace marimba17 at yahoo dot com

The killing of UN co-director of operation in Jenin refugee camp, a tragic event, is no surprise. The Israeli military has shown that at the highest levels of its military apparatus, they are willing to use UN space as a base of operation and fire upon UN workers. If the Israeli military is going to be stopped from expanding their targets of international civilians and/or killing/expelling Palestinians at a faster pace, we must double our efforts sooner, rather than later.

To the people of Ireland:

Greetings to you. My name is Brian Wood. I have lived in Palestine for a year and a half, most recently in Jenin refugee Camp. There I met and worked with Cahoime Butterly for two months. She has written a strong eyewitness account both of her incident and the killing of Ian Hook. I refer you to her report, posted on Indymedia Ireland.

Surely you have heard by now of the death of one of your fellow citizens, Ian Hook. He was co-director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) program in Jenin refugee camp, Palestine. In the course of the continuous Israeli military assaults on Jenin refugee camp, and as is custom for that military, gunfire of various sizes from soldiers, tanks, and attack helicopters were let loose in every direction, hitting homes, children, schools, groceries, etc. Two bullets fired from an M-16 in the hands of an Israeli soldier struck Mr. Hook, may he rest in peace. Attempts by emergency medical services to remove his injured body from the scene were thwarted, as is custom, by Israeli soldiers. Hence, he bled to death and was pronounced dead upon arrival at Jenin Hospital some time later.

Media all over the world lightly wrote stories of Mr. Hook’s killing. Almost all say no one knows who fired the bullets. The rhetoric centers on the existence of armed clashes between Palestinians in the camp and the Israeli military and refuses to acknowledge the obvious.

Why is it obvious that Mr. Hook was killed by the Israeli military? Two preceding examples will suffice to explain.

Example 1

In the large Israeli military invasion in Jenin Refugee Camp in April, UN schools, headquarters, clinics, and storage facilities received extensive damage. The UN headquarters in the camp were used as a holding area for Palestinian detainees, and thus, served as one of the main points of operation for Israeli soldiers. As some of you may know, military operation plans are not drawn up by a few soldiers who get out of line, but by commanding officers. Hence, Israeli military officials responsible for the assault on Jenin refugee camp in April chose the UN premises from which to conduct their operation. For the purposes we are concerned with now, the point is that Israeli military officials consider UN space and buildings as acceptable facilities from which to conduct military operations. The situation in Jenin refugee camp in April is but one example of this claim.

Example 2

Personnel of the UN are not off-limits as targets for Israeli soldiers. In mid-August, when the UN was trying to remove the rubble created by Israeli military bulldozers bulldozing the heart of the camp (over 200 homes) in April, Israeli tanks, jeeps, and armored personnel carriers invaded the camp, firing wildly. According to Cahoime, whom I spoke with shortly afterwards, 63 UN employees of the UN—all wearing the traditional bright, blue vests with “UN” clearly visible in white lettering—working to remove the rubble, were fired upon from at least two sides by the invading Israelis, forcing the UN workers to flee and hide for their lives. Some ducked behind the bulldozers. After hiding, bullets continued to ricochet off the machinery, according to Cahoime, who could hear the bullets hitting the metal from her position.

It is no small factor of this occasion that no armed Palestinians were in the area of the UN workers when the Israeli military began firing at them.

Conclusion

The killing of UN co-director of operation in Jenin refugee camp, a tragic event, is no surprise. The Israeli military has shown that at the highest levels of its military apparatus, they are willing to use UN space as a base of operation and fire upon UN workers. If the Israeli military is going to be stopped from expanding their targets of international civilians and/or killing/expelling Palestinians at a faster pace, we must double our efforts sooner, rather than later.

If you wish to go to Palestine, please seek out other Irish nationals who have gone or contact the International Solidarity Movement from their website: www.palsolidarity.org. I personally appreciate the three or four Irish nationals I have met since being in Palestine and count each of them as bright moments of support. Time is running out. Will you risk yourself to assist the people of Palestine?

Warm regards,

Brian Wood