O
By Stuart Littlewood
No fewer than 29 members of the Samouni family, including many
of the women and children, were callously slaughtered by
Israeli troops during their assault on the Gaza Strip, known
as Operation Cast Lead, some two years ago.
For the benefit of those who have not seen the Goldstone
Report, extracts describing events in considerable detail are
included in an appendix below. After reading the report it is
no surprise that the Israeli regime has pulled out all the
stops to discredit Judge Goldstone and his colleagues for
daring to reveal the true behaviour of ‘the most moral army in
the world’.
The dispassionate way Goldstone tells it is horrific enough.
Other sources say the killing spree was actually much, much
worse… nothing less than a cold-blooded massacre.
Having assured us at the time that he “took every precaution
to check and double-check” the facts, Goldstone has been under
intense pressure to retract. In a bombshell article in the
Washington Post last month he writes: "If I had known then
what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a
different document.”
So what does he know now that he didn’t know then? Referring
to the mass killing of members of the Samouni family, it seems
the shelling “was apparently the consequence of an Israeli
commander’s erroneous interpretation of a drone image, and an
Israeli officer is under investigation”.
And what are we supposed to draw from this… that it was all a
pure accident, no war crime intended, just bad luck on the
Samounis?
Yes. Bin the report, the pro-Israel lobby tells the United
Nations.
How does that slap in the face play with the family? Showing
typical Palestinian resilience the traumatized survivors are
picking themselves up by their own bootstraps. Helped by their
friend Ken O’Keefe they are busy gearing up for the switch
Gaza must soon make from aid dependency to paying its way
through trade.
While the Gaza government announces that funds are at last
available or pledged to commence public works projects such as
housing, infrastructure and sanitation, the Samounis’ private
venture – if successful – might provide a helpful blueprint
for others in rebuilding trade links as the prison door to the
outside world is gradually forced open.
‘Social enterprise’ is One Way to Go
O’Keefe served as a US marine. Now a peace activist, he is
remembered especially for his part in resisting the Israelis’
murderous assault in international waters on the Mavi Marmara,
the lead vessel in the Free Gaza flotilla last year.
The economic strangulation of the tiny coastal enclave by
Israel’s 5-year blockade and the devastation to homes,
factories, infrastructure and livelihoods caused by the
blitzkrieg of 2008/9 (‘Operation Cast Lead’) and the daily
air-strikes ever since, not to mention US and EU sanctions,
have caused chronic suffering and despair.
As O’Keefe puts it: "Parents are not only unable to protect
their children from Israeli aggression but also incapable of
providing even the bare essentials without the aid. Children
become both witness and victim of this reality. Many begin to
lose respect for their parents, and that in turn causes
parents to suffer from diminishing self-respect and
depression." Aid has become institutionalised, he says, and
people in Gaza see it as their only means to live. Their
dignity has been stolen. Long-term aid is an insidiously
destructive weapon, destroying society from within.
At the root of all this is the blockade and the inability to
conduct trade.
In an effort to make a worthwhile contribution O’Keefe and the
family have launched a joint ‘social enterprise’ initiative
comprising Aloha Palestine CIC and the Samouni Project. Both
are EU registered non-profit companies.
Aloha Palestine is a community interest trading company, while
the Samouni Project Mission plans to provide long-term quality
education along with community services to over 200 members of
the Samouni family as well as residents of surrounding Zeitoun
in Gaza. To date the Samouni Project has planted an olive
tree
orchard,
built
a
playground,
procured
a
classroom/community centre and recruited teaching staff who
are now developing the curriculum. Textbooks, computers, art
and craft materials, school supplies, science equipment,
teaching aids and musical instruments have been collected and
are waiting in London. The next task is to deliver all this to
Gaza then provide for the running costs of teaching staff and
administration amounting to around £2400 a month.
Aloha Palestine’s function is to transport and deliver these
items so that the classroom can be completed and classes
begin.
“Doctors and engineers are picking up trash in Gaza today
because it is the only job they can find”
Aloha Palestine is assembling an international trade convoy
which plans to leave London early July arriving Gaza 3 weeks
later. Among the drivers are members of the Samouni family.
Any attempt to block it, says O’Keefe, will be seen as denying
the Samouni community and its children the education they are
entitled to.
Besides school equipment, I’m told the cargo will include
textiles and building materials, industrial machinery and
equipment geared towards economic development and the
rebuilding of Gaza. After offloading in Gaza the vehicles
will be reloaded with made-in-Palestine products for export.
"Palestinians are more than capable of standing on their own
two feet," says O’Keefe, "but our collective failure to direct
our energy at the root of the problem has relegated them to
the status of beggars. Doctors and engineers are picking up
trash in Gaza today because it is the only job they can find.
And they are the lucky ones who at least have a job.
"Samouni InterTrade Palestine (SIP) intends to confront the
problem head-on and eliminate this injustice by proactive, as
opposed to reactive, means. It is a social enterprise
collaboration. The nature of a social enterprise is to tackle
social problems within business models. Between us we have the
wisdom of Palestinian culture, the understanding of the
Western market and mindset, we are young and old, we are
Internet and social media savvy, and we have significant
backing from around the globe. Success will create jobs in
Egypt, Europe and Palestine.”
On 28 April Egypt announced an end to the Egyptian blockade.
"We shall cooperate with the post-Mubarak government so as to
ensure the economic and human rights of the people of
Palestine are finally respected.” Their objective, O’Keefe
explains, is to transport people and cargo through the Rafah
Crossing to Egypt continuously and without obstruction, as
viable trade requires.
They aim to play their part in the rebuilding of Gaza and to
see an egalitarian economy develop, turning despair eventually
into prosperity. “The stage is set for SIP’s historic mission.
The timing couldn’t be better.”
O’Keefe intends to take full advantage of the EU’s 44-member
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership which is heavily committed – so
it says – to peace, stability and shared prosperity. Israel
has benefited handsomely by being rewarded with around €25bn
euros of trade a year while maintaining its brutal blockade on
Gaza and keeping its occupation jackboot on the West Bank and
East Jerusalem. Palestine has barely had a look-in. "As an EUbased company, Aloha Palestine will demand the right to trade
with Palestine just as EU companies trade with Israel… We’ll
have top attorneys on retainer, prepared to take legal action
if necessary," says O’Keefe.
He is at pains to stress that his venture is all about ‘Safe
Trade’, defined as the commercial exchange of non-hazardous
items – in other words, trade that’s transparent and
stimulates economic growth while posing no danger to society.
"Unlike the free trade that is conducted between Israel, the
EU and the United States, there will be no trading of
weapons," he says emphatically.
– Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free
Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under
occupation.
He
contributed
PalestineChronicle.com.
this
article
to
Appendix
Noting that there was almost no indication of armed resistance
by Palestinians in the area at the time, the Goldstone Report
observes: "Among the issues of particular concern to the
Mission in Zeytoun are the killings of the Samouni family, the
mass destruction in the area…"
Here is a flavour of the Goldstone Mission’s findings:
To investigate the attacks on the houses of Ateya and Wa’el
al-Samouni, which killed 23 members of the extended alSamouni family, the Mission visited the site of the
incidents. It interviewed five members of the al-Samouni
family and several of their neighbours on site. Two members
of the extended al-Samouni family, who were eyewitnesses to
the incident, Messrs. Wa’el and Saleh al-Samouni, testified
at the public hearing in Gaza. The Mission also interviewed
PRCS [Palestinian Red Crescent Society] ambulance drivers who
went to the area on 4, 7 and 18 January 2009, and obtained
copies of PRCS records. The Mission finally reviewed material
on this incident submitted to it by TAWTHEQ [Central
Commission for Documentation and Pursuit of Israeli War
Criminals] as well as by NGOs.
The so-called al-Samouni area is part of Zeytoun, south of
Gaza City… It is inhabited by members of the extended alSamouni family, which gives its name to the area…
Graffiti left by Israeli soldiers in the house of Talal alSamouni, which were photographed by the Mission, included (a)
in Hebrew, under the Star of David: “The Jewish people are
alive” and, above a capital “T” [referring to the army
(Tsahal)], “This [the letter T] was written with blood”; (b)
on a drawing of a grave, in English and Arabic, “Arabs
1948-2008 ”; and (c) in English: “You can run but you can not
hide”, “Die you all”, “ 1 is down, 999,999 to go”, “Arabs
need to die” and “Make war not peace”.
During the morning of 4 January 2009, Israeli soldiers
entered many of the houses in al-Samouni area. One of the
first, around 5 a.m., was the house of Ateya Helmi alSamouni, a 45-year-old man… The soldiers entered Ateya alSamouni’s house by force, throwing some explosive device,
possibly a grenade. In the midst of the smoke, fire and loud
noise, Ateya al-Samouni stepped forward, his arms raised, and
declared that he was the owner of the house. The soldiers
shot him while he was still holding his ID and an Israeli
driving licence in his hands. The soldiers then opened
gunfire inside the room in which all the approximately 20
family members were gathered. Several were injured, Ahmad, a
boy of four, particularly seriously. Soldiers with night
vision equipment entered the room and closely inspected each
of those present. The soldiers then moved to the next room
and set fire to it. The smoke from that room soon started to
suffocate the family…
At about 6.30 a.m. the soldiers ordered the family to leave
the house. They had to leave Ateya’s body behind but were
carrying Ahmad, who was still breathing. The family tried to
enter the house of an uncle next door, but were not allowed
to do so by the soldiers. The soldiers told them to take the
road and leave the area, but a few metres further a different
group of soldiers stopped them and ordered the men to undress
completely. Faraj al-Samouni, who was carrying the severely
injured Ahmad, pleaded with them to be allowed to take the
injured to Gaza. The soldiers allegedly replied using abusive
language.
[Four year-old Ahmad had been shot twice in the chest.]
At the house of Saleh al-Samouni, the Israeli soldiers
knocked on the door and ordered those inside to open it. All
the persons inside the house stepped out one by one and
Saleh’s father identified each of the family members in
Hebrew for the soldiers. According to Saleh al-Samouni, they
asked to be allowed to go to Gaza City, but the soldiers
refused and instead ordered them to go to Wa’el al-Samouni’s
house across the street. The Israeli soldiers also ordered
those in other houses to move to Wa’el al-Samouni’s house. As
a result, around 100 members of the extended al-Samouni
family, the majority women and children, were assembled in
that house by noon on 4 January. There was hardly any water
and no milk for the babies. Around 5 p.m. on 4 January, one
of the women went outside to fetch firewood. There was some
flour in the house and she made bread, one piece for each of
those present.
In the morning of 5 January, around 6.30 – 7 a.m., Wa’el alSamouni, Saleh al-Samouni, Hamdi Maher al-Samouni, Muhammad
Ibrahim al-Samouni and Iyad al-Samouni, stepped outside the
house to collect firewood. Rashad Helmi al-Samouni remained
standing next to the door of the house. Saleh al-Samouni has
pointed out to the Mission that from where the Israeli
soldiers were positioned on the roofs of the houses they
could see the men clearly. Suddenly, a projectile struck next
to the five men, close to the door of Wa’el’s house and
killed Muhammad Ibrahim al-Samouni and, probably, Hamdi Maher
al-Samouni. The other men managed to retreat to the house.
Within about five minutes, two or three more projectiles had
struck the house directly. Saleh and Wa’el al-Samouni stated
at the public hearing that these were missiles launched from
Apache helicopters… Saleh al-Samouni stated that overall 21
family members were killed and 19 injured in the attack on
Wa’el al-Samouni’s house. The dead include Saleh al-Samouni’s
father, Talal Helmi al-Samouni, his mother, Rahma Muhammad
al-Samouni, and his two-year-old daughter Azza. Three of his
sons, aged five, three and less than one year (Mahmoud, Omar
and Ahmad), were injured, but survived. Of Wa’el’s immediate
family, a daughter and a son (Rezqa, 14, and Fares, 12) were
killed, while two smaller children (Abdullah and Muhammad)
were injured. The photographs of all the dead victims were
shown to the Mission… and displayed at the public hearing in
Gaza.
After the shelling of Wa’el al-Samouni’s house, most of those
inside decided to leave immediately and walk to Gaza City,
leaving behind the dead and some of the wounded. The women
waved their scarves. Soldiers, however, ordered the alSamounis to return to the house. When family members replied
that there were many injured among them, the soldiers’
reaction was, according to Saleh al-Samouni, “go back to
death”. They decided not to follow this injunction and walked
in the direction of Gaza City.
PRCS had made its first attempt to evacuate the injured from
the al-Samouni area on 4 January around 4 p.m. after
receiving a call from the family of Ateya al-Samouni. PRCS
had called ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross],
asking it to coordinate its entry into the area with the
Israeli armed forces. A PRCS ambulance from al-Quds hospital
managed to reach the al-Samouni area… Israeli soldiers on the
ground and on the roof of one of the houses directed their
guns at it and ordered it to stop. The driver and the nurse
were ordered to get out of the vehicle, raise their hands,
take off their clothes and lie on the ground. Israeli
soldiers then searched them and the vehicle for 5 to 10
minutes. Having found nothing, the soldiers ordered the
ambulance team to return to Gaza City, in spite of their
pleas to be allowed to pick up some wounded. In his statement
to the Mission, the ambulance driver recalled seeing women
and children huddling under the staircase in a house, but not
being allowed to take them with him
On 7 January, the Israeli armed forces finally authorized
ICRC and PRCS to go to the al-Samouni area during the
“temporary ceasefire” declared from 1 to 4 p.m. on that day.
Three PRCS ambulances, an ICRC car and another car used to
transport bodies drove down Salah ad-Din Street from Gaza
City until, 1.5 km north of the al-Samouni area, they found
it closed by sand mounds. ICRC tried to coordinate with the
Israeli armed forces to have the road opened, but they
refused and asked the ambulance staff to walk the remaining
1.5 km. Once in the al-Samouni neighbourhood, PRCS looked for
survivors in the houses.. in Wa’el al-Samouni’s house they
found 15 dead bodies and two seriously injured children. One
of the children had a deep wound in the shoulder, which was
infected and giving off a foul odour. The children were
dehydrated and scared of the PRCS staff member. In a house
close by, they found 11 persons in one room, including a dead
woman.
The rescue teams had only three hours for the entire
operation and the evacuees were physically weak and
emotionally very unstable… The rescuers put all the elderly
on a cart and pulled it themselves for 1.5 kilometres to the
place where they had been forced to leave the ambulances. The
dead bodies lying in the street or under the rubble, among
them women and children, as well as the dead they had found
in the houses had to be left behind. On the way back to the
cars, PRCS staff entered one house where they found a man
with two broken legs. While they were carrying the man out of
the house, the Israeli armed forces started firing at the
house… PRCS was not able to return to the area until 18
January.
On 18 January 2009, members of the al-Samouni family were
finally able to return to their neighbourhood. They found
that Wa’el al-Samouni’s house, as most other houses in the
neighbourhood and the small mosque, had been demolished. The
Israeli armed forces had destroyed the building on top of the
bodies of those who died in the attack. Pictures taken on 18
January show feet and legs sticking out from under the rubble
and sand, and rescuers pulling out the bodies of women, men
and children. A witness described to the Mission family
members taking away the corpses on horse carts, a young man
sitting in shock beside the ruins of his house and, above
all, the extremely strong smell of death.
The Mission found the foregoing witnesses to be credible and
reliable. It has no reason to doubt their testimony.
The Mission received testimony on the death of Iyad alSamouni from Muhammad Asaad al-Samouni and Fawzi Arafat, as
well as from a PRCS staff member. In the night of 3 to 4
January, Iyad al-Samouni, his wife and five children were,
together with about 40 other members of their extended family
in Asaad al-Samouni’s house, very close to the houses of
Wa’el al-Samouni and Ateya al-Samouni (the scenes of the
incidents described above). At 1 a.m. on 4 January 2009 they
heard noise on the roof. At around 5 a.m. Israeli soldiers
walked down the stairs from the roof, knocked on the door and
entered the house. They asked for Hamas fighters. The
residents replied that there were none. The soldiers then
separated women, children and the elderly from the men. The
men were forced into a separate room, blindfolded and
handcuffed with plastic handcuffs. They were allowed to go to
the toilet only after one of the men urinated on himself. The
soldiers stationed themselves in the house.
In the morning of 5 January, after the shelling of Wa’el alSamouni’s house, two of the survivors took refuge in Asaad
al-Samouni’s house… The persons assembled in Asaad alSamouni’s house walked out of the house and down al-Samouni
Street to take Salah ad-Din Street in the direction of Gaza
City. They had been instructed by the soldiers to walk
directly to Gaza City without stopping or diverting from the
direct route. The men were still handcuffed and the soldiers
had told them that they would be shot if they attempted to
remove the handcuffs. On Salah ad-Din Street, just a few
metres north of al-Samouni Street and in front of the Juha
family house, a single or several of the Israeli soldiers
positioned on the roofs of the houses opened fire. Iyad was
struck in the leg and fell to the ground. Muhammad Asaad alSamouni, who was walking immediately behind him, moved to
help him, but an Israeli soldier on a rooftop ordered him to
walk on. When he saw the red point of a laser beam on his
body and understood that an Israeli soldier had taken aim at
him, he desisted.
The Israeli soldiers also fired warning shots at Muhammad
Asaad al-Samouni’s father to prevent him from assisting Iyad
to get back on his feet. Iyad al-Samouni’s wife and children
were prevented from helping him by further warning shots.
Fawzi Arafat, who was part of another group walking from the
al-Samouni neighbourhood to Gaza, told the Mission that he
saw Iyad al-Samouni lying on the ground, his hands shackled
with white plastic handcuffs, blood pouring from the wounds
in his legs, begging for help. Fawzi Arafat stated that he
yelled at an Israeli soldier “we want to evacuate the wounded
man”. The soldier, however, pointed his gun at Iyad’s wife
and children and ordered them to move on without him. Iyad
al-Samouni’s family and relatives were forced to abandon him
and continue to walk towards Gaza City. At al-Shifa hospital
they reported his case and those of the other dead and
wounded left behind. Representatives of PRCS told them that
the Israeli armed forces were not permitting them to access
the area.
PRCS staff member told the Mission that three days later, on
8 January, PRCS was granted permission by the Israeli armed
forces through ICRC to evacuate Iyad al-Samouni. The PRCS
staff member found him on the ground in Salah ad-Din Street
in the place described by his relatives. He was still
handcuffed. He had been shot in both legs and had bled to
death.
The particular manner in which the conflict affected women
was dramatically illustrated for the Mission by the testimony
of a woman of the al-Samouni family (see chap. XI). She had
three children and was pregnant when her family and her house
came under attack. She commented on how the children were
scared and crying. She was distressed when recounting how her
10-month-old baby, whom she was carrying in her arms, was
hungry but she did not have anything to give him to eat, and
how she tried to feed him by chewing on a piece of bread, the
only food available, and giving it to him. She also managed
to get half a cup of water from an ill functioning tap. There
were other babies and older children. She and her sister
exposed themselves to danger by going out to search for food
for them. Her husband, mother and sister were killed but she
managed to survive. Her other son was wounded in the back,
and she carried both out of the house.