Israeli Massacres on Palestinians (2010)
The Nobel Prize of Literature Jose Saramago compares the suffering of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation as the same suffering of the jews in the Nazi boot camps.
“The repression from Israel is the worst form of Apartheid. Nobody has the faintest idea of what is going on here, even the best informed people. Everything is in pieces, the land is destroyed and nothing else may be planted. All this smells like a boot camp, like Auschwitz. The israeli have turned into NAZI JEWS” , he declared after a visit to Palestina in March, 2002.
THE ONGOING GENOCIDE ON PALESTINE | AN OVERVIEW
list of massacres is by no means exclusive
https://occupiedpalestine.
Israeli Massacres on Palestinians
OCTOBER 3, 2010 
1 COMMENT
Israeli Crimes: Details and numbers of the zionist terrorism activities
The Nobel Prize of Literature Jose Saramago compares the suffering of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation as the same suffering of the jews in the Nazi boot camps.
“The repression from Israel is the worst form of Apartheid. Nobody has the faintest idea of what is going on here, even the best informed people. Everything is in pieces, the land is destroyed and nothing else may be planted. All this smells like a boot camp, like Auschwitz. The israeli have turned into NAZI JEWS” , he declared after a visit to Palestina in March, 2002.
He is correct. Let us see why:
Although the image that Israel distributes about herself is that of an oppressed nation, it is with heavy hearts that we present these crimes that stand for themselves for the brutality of the Israeli Army and the heartlessness of its soldiers who seem to have a thirst for blood. It is for the hope that the world may see a clearer picture that we present these painful facts. It is interesting to notice that today’s media does not dwell on these crimes as they do on the Holocaust.
Although the image that Israel distributes about herself is that of an oppressed nation, it is with heavy hearts that we present these crimes that stand for themselves for the brutality of the Israeli Army and the heartlessness of its soldiers who seem to have a thirst for blood. It is for the hope that the world may see a clearer picture that we present these painful facts. It is interesting to notice that today’s media does not dwell on these crimes as they do on the Holocaust.
They are reported in the news for a week or two and then swept into the sea of oblivion. Those who attempt to revive the true history of Israel are charged of being anti-Semitic. So with the hope to keep those memories in mind we present this shameful history of Israel that seems to have found that the role of Goliath is more interesting than that of David.
Zionist terror attacks before any ‘State of Israel’ existed
During the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine against the British Mandate of Palestine the militant Zionist group the Irgun carried out sixty attacks against Arabs and British soldiers.[1]Irgun was described as a terrorist organization byThe New York Times,[2][3] the Anglo-American Committee of Enquiry,[4] prominent world figures such as Winston Churchill[5] and Jewish figures such as Hannah Arendt, Albert Einstein, and many others.[6] The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes it as “an underground organization.”[7] The New York Times at the time cited sources in an investigative piece which linked the Haganah paramilitary group to the Irgun terrorist attacks such as the King David Hotel Bombing.[8]
Irgun launched a series of attacks which lasted until the beginning of World War II. All told, Irgun attacks against Arab targets resulted in at least 250 Arab deaths during this period. Following is a list of attacks resulting in death attributed to Irgun that took place during the 1930s. The Irgun conducted at least 60 operations altogether during this period.[9][10][11]
List of Irgun attacks 1937-1948
| Date | Casualties | References |
|---|---|---|
| 1937, March | 2 Arabs killed on Bat-Yam beach. | [12] |
| 1937, Nov 14 | 10 Arabs killed by Irgun units launching attacks around Jerusalem, (“Black Sunday”) | [13][14] |
| 1938, April 12 | 2 Arabs and 2 British policemen were killed by a bomb in a train in Haifa. | [14] |
| 1938, April 17 | 1 Arab was killed by a bomb detonated in a cafe in Haifa | [14] |
| 1938, May 17 | 1 Arab policeman was killed in an attack on a bus in the Jerusalem–Hebron road. | [14] |
| 1938, May 24 | 3 Arabs were shot and killed in Haifa. | [14] |
| 1938, June 23 | 2 Arabs were killed near Tel-Aviv. | [14] |
| 1938, June 26 | 7 Arabs were killed by a bomb in Jaffa. | [14] |
| 1938, June 27 | 1 Arab was killed in the yard of a hospital in Haifa. | [14] |
| 1938, June | Unspecified number of Arabs killed by a bomb that was thrown into a crowded Arab market place in Jerusalem. | [15] |
| 1938, July 5 | 7 Arabs were killed in several shooting attacks in Tel-Aviv. | [14] |
| 1938, July 5 | 3 Arabs were killed by a bomb detonated in a bus in Jerusalem. | [14] |
| 1938, July 5 | 1 Arab was killed in another attack in Jerusalem. | [14] |
| 1938, July 6 | 18 Arabs and 5 Jews were killed by two simultaneous bombs in the Arab melon market in Haifa. More than 60 people were wounded. | [14][16][17] |
| 1938, July 8 | 4 Arabs were killed by a bomb in Jerusalem. | [14] |
| 1938, July 16 | 10 Arabs were killed by a bomb at a marketplace in Jerusalem. | [14] |
| 1938, July 25 | 43 Arabs were killed by a bomb at a marketplace in Haifa. | [14][18] |
| 1938, Aug 26 | 24 Arabs were killed by a bomb at a marketplace in Jaffa. | [14] |
| 1939, Febr 27 | 33 Arabs were killed in multiple attacks, incl. 24 by bomb in Arab market in Suk Quarter of Haifa and 4 by bomb in Arab vegetable market in Jerusalem. | [19] |
| 1939, May 29 | 5 Arabs were killed by a mine detonated at the Rex cinema in Jerusalem. | [14] |
| 1939, May 29 | 5 Arabs were shot and killed during a raid on the village of Biyar ‘Adas. | [14] |
| 1939, June 2 | 5 Arabs were killed by a bomb at the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. | [14][20] |
| 1939, June 12 | 1 British bomb expert trying to defuse the bombs killed, during a post office in Jerusalem was bombing | [14] |
| 1939, June 16 | 6 Arabs were killed in several attacks in Jerusalem. | [14] |
| 1939, June 19 | 20 Arabs were killed by explosives mounted on a donkey at a marketplace in Haifa. | [14][21] |
| 1939, June 29 | 13 Arabs were killed in several shooting attacks around Jaffa during a one-hour period. | [14][22] |
| 1939, June 30 | 1 Arab was killed at a marketplace in Jerusalem. | [14] |
| 1939, June 30 | 2 Arabs were shot and killed in Lifta. | [14] |
| 1939, July 3 | 1 Arab was killed by a bomb at a marketplace in Haifa. | [14][23] |
| 1939, July 4 | 2 Arabs were killed in two attacks in Jerusalem. | [14] |
| 1939, July 20 | 1 Arab was killed at a train station in Jaffa. | [14] |
| 1939, July 20 | 6 Arabs were killed in several attacks in Tel-Aviv. | [14] |
| 1939, July 20 | 3 Arabs were killed in Rehovot. | [14] |
| 1939, Aug27 | 2 British officers were killed by a mine in Jerusalem. | [14] |
| 1944, Sep 27 | Unknown number of casualties, around 150 Irgun members attacked four British police stations | [24] |
| 1944, Sep29 | 1 Senior British police officer of the Criminal Intelligence Department assassinated in Jerusalem. | [24] |
| 1945, Nov 1 | 5 locomotives destroyed in Lydda station. Two staff, one soldier and one policeman killed. | [25] |
| 1945, Dec 27 | 3 British policemen and 4 Basuto soldiers killed during the bombing of British CID headquarters in Jerusalem; 1 British soldier killed during attack of British army camp in north Tel Aviv | [26][27] |
| 1946, Febr 22 | Destroyed 14 aeroplanes at 5 RAF stations. | [28] |
| 1946, July 22 | 91 people were killed at King David Hotel Bombing mostly civilians, staff of the hotel or Secretariat, 41 Palestinian Arabs, 15-28 British citizens, 17 Palestinian Jews, 2 Armenians, 1 Russian, 1 Greek and 1 Egyptian. | [29][30][31] |
| 1946, Oct 30 | 2 British guards killed during Gunfire and explosion at Jerusalem Railway Station. | [32] |
| 1946, Oct 31 | Bombing of the British Embassy in Rome. Nearly half the building was destroyed and 3 people were injured. | [33] |
| 1947, Jan 12 | 4 killed in bombing of British headquarters. | [34] |
| 1947, Mar 1 | 17 British officers killed, during raid and explosion. | [35] |
| 1947, Mar 12 | 1 British soldier killed during the attack on Schneller Camp. | [35] |
| 1947, July 19 | 4 locations within Haifa are attacked, killing a British constable and injuring 12. | [36] |
| 1947, July 29 | 2 kidnapped British sergeants hanged. | [37] |
| 1947, Sep26 | 4 British policemen killed in Irgun bank robbery. | [34] |
| 1947, Sept 29 | 13 killed, 53 wounded in attack on British police station. | [34] |
| 1947, Dec 11 | 13 killed in attack on Tireh, near Haifa | [38] |
| 1947, Dec 12 | 20 killed, 5 wounded by barrel bomb at Damascus Gate. | [39] |
| 1947, Dec 13 | 6 killed, 25 wounded by bombs outside Alhambra Cinema. | [40] |
| 1947, Dec 13 | 5 killed, 47 wounded by two bombs at Damascus Gate. | [40] |
| 1947, Dec 13 | 7 killed, 10 seriously injured in attack on Yehudiya. | [40] |
| 1947, Dec 16 | 10 killed by bomb at Noga Cinema in Jaffa. | [41] |
| 1947, Dec 29 | 14 Arabs killed by bomb in Jerusalem. | [34][42] |
| 1947, Dec30 | 6 Arabs killed and, 42 injured by grenades at Haifa refinery, precipitating the Haifa Oil Refinery massacre, which lead to the Balad al-Shaykh massacre. | [43] |
| 1948, Jan 1 | 2 Arabs killed and 9 injured by shooting attack on cafe in Jaffa. | [44] |
| 1948, Jan 5 | 14 Arabs killed and 19 injured by truck bomb outside the 3-storey ‘Serrani’, Jaffa’s built Ottoman Town Hall | [45] |
| 1948, Jan 7 | 20 Arabs killed by bomb at Jaffa Gate. | [46][47] |
| 1948, Feb 10 | 7 Arabs killed near Ras el Ain after selling cows in Tel Aviv | [48] |
| 1948, Feb 18 | 12 Arabs killed and 43 wounded at a marketplace in Ramla | [49] |
| 1948, Mar 1 | 20 Britons killed and 30 wounded in the Bevingrad Officers Club bombing | [50] |
| 1948, Apr 9 | 107-120 Palestinians killed and massacred (the estimate generally accepted by scholars, instead the first announced number of 254) during and after the battle at the village of Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, by 132 Irgun and 60 Lehi fighters. | [51][52][53][54][55] |
| 1948, Apr 6 | 7 British soldiers, including Commanding Officer, killed during an arms raid on Pardes Hanna Army camp. | [56] |
(Source of overview: Wikipedia)
THE ONGOING GENOCIDE ON PALESTINE | AN OVERVIEW
The following list of massacres is by no means exclusive, but they reflect the nature of the Zionist occupation of Palestine and Lebanon and show that massacres and expulsions were not aberrations that happen in any war, but organized atrocities with only one aim, that is to have a Zionist state which is ‘goyim rein’.
The King David Massacre:
The King David Hotel explosion of July 22, 1946 (Palestine), which resulted in the deaths of 92 Britons, Arabs and Jews, and in the wounding of 58, was not just an act of “Jewish extremists,” but a premeditated massacre conducted by the Irgun in agreement with the highest Jewish political authorities in Palestine– the Jewish Agency and its head David-Ben-Gurion.According to Yitshaq Ben-Ami, a Palestinian Jew who spent 30 years in exile after the establishment of Israel investigating the crimes of the “ruthless clique heading the internal Zionist movement,”
The Irgun had conceived a plan for the King David attack early in 1946, but the green light was given only on July first. According to Dr. Sneh, the operation was personally approved by Ben-Gurion, from his self-exile in Europe. Sadeh, the operations officer of the Haganah, and Giddy Paglin, the head of the Irgun operation under Menachem Begin agreed that thirty-five minutes advance notice would give the British time enough to evacuate the wing, without enabling them to disarm the explosion.
The Jewish Agency’s motive was to destroy all evidence the British had gathered proving that the terrorist crime waves in Palestine were not merely the actions of “fringe” groups such as the Irgun and Stern Gang, but were committed in collusion with the Haganah and Palmach groups and under the direction of the highest political body of the Zionist establishment itself, namely the Jewish Agency.
That so many innocent civilian lives were lost in the King David massacre is a normal part of the pattern of the history of Zionist outrages: A criminal act is committed, allegedly by an isolated group, but actually under the direct authorization of the highest Zionist authorities, whether of the Jewish Agency
during the Palestine Mandate or of the Government of Israel thereafter.
during the Palestine Mandate or of the Government of Israel thereafter.
The following is a statement made in the House of Commons by then British Prime Minister Clement Attlee:
On July 22, 1946, one of the most dastardly and cowardly crimes in recorded history took place. We refer to the blowing up of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
On July 22, 1946, one of the most dastardly and cowardly crimes in recorded history took place. We refer to the blowing up of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
Ninety-two persons lost their lives in that stealthy attack, 45 were injured, among whom there were many high officials, junior officers and office personnel, both men and women. The King David Hotel was used as an office housing the Secretariat of the Palestine Government and British Army Headquarters. The attack was made on 22 July at about 12 o’clock noon when offices are usually in full swing. The attackers, disguised as milkmen, carried the explosives in milk containers, placed them in the basement of the Hotel and ran away.
The Chief Secretary for the Government of Palestine, Sir John Shaw, declared in a broadcast: “As head of the Secretariat, the majority of the dead and wounded were my own staff, many of whom I have known personally for eleven years. They are more than official colleagues. British, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Armenians; senior officers, police, my orderly, my chauffeur, messengers, guards, men and women– young and old– they were my friends.
“No man could wish to be served by a more industrious, loyal and honest group of ordinary decent people. Their only crime was their devoted, unselfish and impartial service to Palestine and its people. For this they have been rewarded by cold-blooded mass murder.”
Although members of the Irgun Z’vai Leumi took responsibility for this crime, yet they also made it public later that they obtained the consent and approval of the Haganah Command, and it follows, that of the Jewish Agency.
The King David Hotel massacre shocked the conscience of the civilizedworld. On July 23, Anthony Eden, leader of the British opposition Conservative
Party, posed a question in the House of Commons to Prime Minister Atlee of the Labor Party, asking “the Prime Minister whether he has any statement to make on the bomb outrage at the British Headquarters in Jerusalem.”
Party, posed a question in the House of Commons to Prime Minister Atlee of the Labor Party, asking “the Prime Minister whether he has any statement to make on the bomb outrage at the British Headquarters in Jerusalem.”
The Prime Minister responded:
“…It appears that, after exploding a small bomb in the street, presumably as a diversionary measure– this did virtually no damage– a lorry drove up to the tradesmen’s entrance of the King David Hotel and the occupants, after holding up the staff at pistol point, entered the kitchen premises carrying a number of milk cans. At some stage of the proceedings, they shot and seriously wounded a British soldier who attempted to interfere with them.All available information so far is to the effect that they were Jews. Somewhere in the basement of the hotel they planted bombs which went off shortly afterwards. They appear to have made good their escape.“Every effort is being made to identify and arrest the perpetrators of this outrage. The work of rescue in the debris, which was immediately organized, still continues. The next-of-kin of casualties are being notified by telegram as soon as accurate information is available. The House will wish to express their
profound sympathy with the relatives of the killed and with those injured in this dastardly outrage.”
MORE ABOUT THE KING DAVID MASSACRE
- Zionist terrorists bombed King David Hotel July 1946, killing 91 innocent people. – Source
- King David Bombing – Source
The Massacre at Baldat al-Shaikh:
January 30-31, 1947(Palestine) : This massacre took place following an argument which broke out between Palestinian workers and Zionists in the Haifa Petroleum Refinery, leading to the deaths of a number of Palestinians and wounding and killing approximately sixty Zionists. A large number of the Palestinian Arab workers were living in Baldat al-Shaikh and Hawasa, located in the southeast of Haifa. Consequently, the Zionists planned to take revenge on behalf of fellow Zionists who had been killed in the refinery by attacking Baldat al-Shaikh and Hawasa.
1
On the night of January 30-31, 1947, a mixed force composed of the First Battalion of Palmakh and the Carmelie brigade (estimated at approximately 150 to 200
Zionist terrorists) launched a raid against the two towns under the leadership of Hayim Afinu’am.]
On the night of January 30-31, 1947, a mixed force composed of the First Battalion of Palmakh and the Carmelie brigade (estimated at approximately 150 to 200
Zionist terrorists) launched a raid against the two towns under the leadership of Hayim Afinu’am.]
2 They focused their attack on the outskirts of Baldat al-Shaikh and Hawasa. Taking the outlying homes by surprise as their inhabitants slept, they pelted
them with hand grenades, then went inside, firing their machine guns.
them with hand grenades, then went inside, firing their machine guns.
3 The terrorist attack led to the deaths of approximately sixty citizens inside their homes, most of them women, elderly and children.
4 The attack lasted for an hour, after which the Zionists withdrew at 2:00 a.m., having attacked a large number of noncombatant homes.
5 According to a report written by the leader of the terrorist operation, “the attacking units slipped into the town and began working on the houses. And due to
the fact that gunfire was directed inside the rooms, it was not possible to avoid injuring women and children.”
the fact that gunfire was directed inside the rooms, it was not possible to avoid injuring women and children.”
6
YEHIDA MASSACRE:
13 December 1947 (Palestine) : men of the Arab village of Yehiday (near Petah Tekva, the first Zionist settlement to be established) met at the local coffee house when they saw a British Army patrol enter the village, they were reassured espeically that Jewish terrorists had murdered 12 Palestinians the previous day.
The four cars stopped in front of the cafe house and out stepped men dressed in khaki uniforms and steel helmets. However, it soon became apparent that they had not come to protect the villagers.
With machine guns they sprayed bullets into the crowd gathered in the coffee house. Some of the invaders placed bombs next to Arab homes while other disguised terrorists tossed grenades at civilians. For a while it seemed as if the villagers would be annihilated but soon a real British patrol arrived to foil the well organized killing raid. The death toll of 7 Arab civilans could have been much higher.
Earlier the same day 6 Arabs were killed and 23 wounded when home made bombs were tossed at a crowd of Arabs standing near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. In Jaffa another bomb killed six more Arabs and injured 40.
Al Khisas Massacre:
18 December 1947 (Palestine) : Two carloads of Haganah terrorists drove through the village of Khisas (on the Lebanese Syrian border) firing machine guns and throwing grenades.
10 Arab civilians were killed in the raid.
Al-Khisas had been selected for a Haganah operation that was cancelled. Leaflets distributed in the village urged the population not to engage in combat:
- “If the war will be taken to your place, it will cause massive expulsion of the villagers, with their wives and their children. Those of you who do not wish to come to such a fate, I will tell them: in this war there will be merciless killing, no compassion. If you are not participating in this war, you will not have to leave your houses and villages.”
On the night of 18–19 December 1947, the Palmach conducted a raid on al-Khisas with orders calling for “hitting adult [or the adult] males” and “killing adult [or the adult] males in the palace of the Emir Faur”, which was thought to hide a man responsible for shooting a resident of Kibbutz Ma’ayan Baruch in revenge for the shooting of an Arab a few days earlier. They blew up Faur’s house and a neighboring house, killing many occupants including women and children.According to Ben-Gurion, the raid was unauthorised. Local Jewish leaders and Arab affairs experts had tried to prevent the raid, but had been overridden by Yigal Allon. Afterwards the Political Department of the Jewish Agency criticized the attack and Yosef Sapir of the Defence Committee called for the punishment of those responsible, but no action was taken.Following the raid a large part of the residents left their homes.
The number of dead has been recorded as 10 (5 men, 1 woman and 4 children); however, the report from the Palmach commander recorded 12 dead (7 men, 1 woman and 4 children). David Ben-Gurion issued a denial that the raid had been authorised and issued a public apology, but it was later included by him in a list of successful operations. The Yishuv held a meeting on the 1–2 January to discuss the policy of reprisal operations, the outcome of which was a formulation of guidelines by the Jewish High Command for the conduct and execution of retaliatory raids.
The first wave of villagers left the al-Khisas on 11 May 1948. Others left on 25 May 1948. Another 55 villagers remained in their homes and maintained good relations with the Jewish settlements in the area, but were eventually evicted.During the night of 5–6 June 1949, the villagers were forced into trucks and transported to the village of ‘Akbara, south of Safad. Those expelled remained at ‘Akbara for 18 years until agreeing to resettlement in Wadi Hamam. On September 26, 1948, Kibbutz HaGoshrim was established on the village lands of al-Khisas. The kibbutz opened a hotel in the manor house of Emir Faour.
QAZAZA MASSACRE:
19 December 1947(Palestine) : 5 Arab children were murdered when Jewish terrorists blew up the house of the village Mukhtar. Back to top
The SEMIRAMIS HOTEL MASSACRE:
5/7/1948(Palestine): The Jewish Agency escalated their terror campaign against Palestinian Arabs.
They decided to perpetrate a wholesale massacre by bombing the Semiramis Hotel in the Katamon section of Jerusalem, in order to drive out the Palestinians from Jerusalem. The massacre of the Semiramis Hotel on January 5, 1948, was the direct responsibility of Jewish Agency leader David Ben-Gurion and Haganah leaders Moshe Sneh and Yisrael Galili. If this massacre had taken place in World War II, they would have been sentenced to death for their criminal responsibility along with the terrorists who placed the explosives.
A description of the massacre of the Semiramis Hotel from the United Nations Documents follows, as well as the Palestinian Police report on the crime sent to the Colonial Office in London:
January 5, 1948. Haganah terrorists made a most barbarous attack at one o’clock in the early morning of Monday…at the Semiramis Hotel in the Katamon section of Jerusalem, killing innocent people and wounding many. The Jewish Agency terrorist forces blasted the entrance to the hotel by a small bomb and then placed bombs in the basement of the building. As a result of the explosion the whole building collapsed with its residents. As the terrorists withdrew, they started shooting at the houses in the neighborhood. Those killed were: Subhi El-Taher, Moslem; Mary Masoud, Christian; Georgette Khoury, Christian; Abbas Awadin, Moslem; Nazira Lorenzo, Christian; Mary Lorenzo, Christian; Mohammed Saleh Ahmed, Moslem; Ashur Abed El Razik Juma, Moslem; Ismail Abed El Aziz, Moslem; Ambeer Lorenzo, Christian; Raof Lorenzo, Christian; Abu Suwan Christian family, seven members, husband, wife, and five children.
Besides those killed, 16 more were wounded, among them women and children. The following is a text of a cable by the High Commissioner for Palestine to the Colonial Office about the massacre:
Jerusalem. 0117 hours, Urban. At approximately 0117 hours, a grenade was thrown into the Semiramis Hotel, Katamon Quarter, causing superficial damage but no casualties. During the ensuing confusion, a charge was placed in the building and it exploded about one minute later, completely demolishing half the hotel. Witnesses have stated that the perpetrators arrived by way of the Upper Katamon Road in two taxis. Four persons are reported to have alighted from the first taxi, and one person, who apparently covered the main party, from the second. All were wearing European clothes…
The Massacre at Deir Yasin:
9/4/1948 (Palestine): The forces of the Zionist gangs Tsel, Irgun and Hagana, fitted out with the Zionist terrorist strategy of killing civilians in order to achieve their aspirations, began stealing into the village on the night of April 9, 1948. Their purpose was to uproot the Palestinian people from their land by coming upon the inhabitants of the village unawares, destroying their homes and burning them down on top of those inside,thereby making clear to the entire world to what depths of barbarism Zionist hadsunk. The attack began as the children were asleep in their mothers’ and fathers’arms. In the words of Menachim Begin as he described events, “the Arabs foughttenaciously in defense of their homes, their women and their children.”
Deir Yassin Massacre
The fighting proceeded from house to house, and whenever the Jews occupied a house, they would blow it up, then direct a call to the inhabitants to flee or face death. Believingthe threat, the people left in terror in hopes of saving their children and women. Butwhat should the Stern and Irgun gangs do but rush to mow down whoever fell withinrange of their weapons. Then, in a picture of barbarism the likes of which humanityhas rarely witnessed except on the part of the most depraved, the terrorists beganthrowing bombs inside the houses in order to bring them down on whoever was inside.
The orders they had received were for them to destroy every house. Behindthe explosives there marched the Stern and Irgun terrorists, who killed whoever theyfound alive. The explosions continued in the same barbaric fashion until theafternoon of April 10, 1948.7 Then they gathered together the civilians who were stillalive, stood them up beside the walls and in corners, then fired on them.
About twenty-five men were brought out of the houses, loaded onto a truck and led on a “victory tour” in the neighborhood of Judah Mahayina and Zakhroun Yousif. At theend of the tour, the men were brought to a stone quarry located between Tahawwu’atShawul and Dair Yasin, where they were shot in cold blood. Then the Etsel and Layhi“fighters” brought the women and the children who had managed to survive up to atruck and took them to the Mendelbaum Gate.
Finally, a Hagana unit came and duga mass grave in which it buried 250 Arab corpses, most of them women, children and the elderly.
A woman who survived the massacre by the name of Halima Id describes whathappened to her sister. She says, “I saw a soldier grabbing my sister, Salihaal-Halabi, who was nine months pregnant. He pointed a machine gun at her neck,then emptied its contents into her body. Then he turned into a butcher, and grabbeda knife and ripped open her stomach to take out the slaughtered child with his iniquitous Nazi knife.”10 In another location in the village, Hanna Khalil, a girl at thetime, saw a man unsheathing a large knife and ripping open the body her neighborJamila Habash from head to toe.
Then he murdered their neighbor Fathi in the sameway at the entranceway to the house.11 A 40-year-old woman named Safiyadescribes how she was come upon by a man who suddenly opened up his trousers and pounced on her. “I began screaming and wailing. But the women around me were all meeting the same fate. After that they tore off our clothes so that they could fondle our breasts and our bodies with gestures too horrible to describe.”12 Some of the soldiers cut off women’s ears in order to get at a few small earrings.13
Once news of the massacre had gotten out, a delegation from the Red Cross tried to visit the village. However, they weren’t allowed to visit the site until a day after the time they had requested. Meanwhile the Zionists tried to cover up the evidence of their crime. They gathered up as much as they could of the victims’ dismembered corpses, threw them in the village well, then closed it up. And they tried to change the landmarks in the area so that the Red Cross representative wouldn’t be able to find his way there. However, he did find his way to the well, where he found 150 maimed corpses belonging to women, children and the elderly.
And in addition to the bodies which were found in the well, scores of others had been buried in mass graves while still others remained strewn over street corners and in the ruins of houses.
Afterwards, the head of the terrorist Hagana gang which had taken part in burying thePalestinian civilians wrote saying that his group had not undertaken a military operation against armed men, the reason being that they wanted to plant fear in the Arabs’ hearts. This was the reason they chose a peaceable, unarmed village, since in this way they could spread terror among the Arabs and force them to flee.
MORE ABOUT THE DEIR YASSIN MASSACRE
- The Children of Deir Yassin – Source
- Deir Yassin Massacre – April 9, 1948 – Source
- Deir Yassin Remembered – video
NASER AL-DIN MASSACRE:
13-14 April 1948(Palestine) : a contingent of Lehi and Irgon entered this village (near Tiberias) entered the village on the night of 13 April dressed as Arab fighters. Upon their entrance to the village the people went out to greet them, the terrorists met them with fire, killing every single one of them. Only 40 people survived. All the houses of the village were raised to the ground.
ABU SHUSHA MASSACRE
Abu Shusha 1948, a living memory
This photo is of Ahmed, who’s family hosted me in Ramallah, and his mother, a survivor of the 1948 ethnic cleansing that created Israel.
Ahmed translated as we interviewed his mother today about this horrific period. She is normally an amazingly cheerful person, and greets me with energetic smiles and lots of happy welcomes (“Ahlan wa sahlan!”) whenever I enter the room. But as she described 1948, her expression changed to the one you see in this photo, and stayed that way. Ahmed, for his part, is one of the most positive, hard-working, cheerful and sweet people I have met. He is now the city director of Ramallah, the acting capitol of the West Bank. I would never have guessed that such a person spent two and a half years in an Israeli prison as a young adult, never accused of any crime except “being active.” But that’s another story…
I taped the interview and will edit it and share it sometime publicly. In short, Ahmed’s mother is from a village called Abu Shusha, which was attacked by the Haganah on, I think May 14th 1948, just before Israel announced itself as a country. The Haganah was the Zionist colonists “army” that later became the Israeli army. She described how the Haganah tried to enter the village three times but was repelled by armed resistance from the village. Finally, the village was occupied. Seventy two men were killed in a massacre, including three of her brothers, who were dragged through the streets. The village was cleared of all men, and those who were not killed fled or escaped. For a time, it was only women and children there, living under the Haganah’s control. Then, the Haganah gathered everyone together and told to leave – they were to go to the next village on foot. As the villagers left, the Haganah fired shots in the air to frighten them and make sure that they understood they could not return. When they arrived in the next village, it was already empty… the residents had fled fearing a massacre like what happened in Abu Shusha.
They continued up into the hills toward Ramallah, sleeping under the trees. Finally, her family arrived in Ramallah, where the Jordanians were in control. The family started their lives over, having lost three sons and one wounded. Since then, they have endured another 39 years of Israeli military occupation after the West Bank was conquered. Today, she lives in a nice house with her son, who is Ramallah’s city director (Ramallah was given some very limited autonomy in the mid-90s, but continues to be raided and occupied by Israel). But in spite of her relatively comfortable situation, especially compared to the refugees who still live in camps, she wants to return to her land. She says in conclusion, ” I don’t want this big house. I want to live in my home, where it’s green and there are trees. This is my wish for my children and grandchildren.”
Ahmed told me that his mother often cries when watching the news about Lebanon. I asked her what she thought of the situation, and she said that seeing the refugees reminded her of 1948, and she felt so sorry for them.
Abu Shusha is one of about 400 Palestinian villages destroyed to make way for Israel in 1948 (Palestinians Muslims and Christians were a 2/3rds majority before the war). Just as most cities in the United States are built over the ruins of a Native American settlements (which were permanent, not nomadic, by the way), most Israeli cities are built over Palestinian villages. Many of the former residents are still living in refugee camps to which they fled on foot. Many of them still have the keys to their homes and deeds to their land: they thought they would be back in days, but it’s been almost 60 years. (Source)
.
THE TANTURA MASSACRE:
May 15, 1948 (Palestine): “From testimonies and information I got from Jewish and Arab witnesses and from soldiers who were there, at least 200 people from the village of Tantura were killed by Israeli troops… “From the numbers, this is definitely one of the biggest massacres,” Teddy Katz an Israeli historian said Tantura, near Haifa in northern Palestine, had 1,500 residents at the time.
It was later demolished to make way for a parking lot for a nearby beach and the Nahsholim kibbutz, or cooperative farm. Fawzi Tanji, now 73 and a refugee at a camp in the West Bank, is from Tantura he said:
I was 21 years old then.They took a group of 10 men,lined them up against the cemetery wall and killed them.Then they brought another group, killed them, threw away the bodies and so on, Tanji said.
I was waiting for my turn to die in cold blood as I saw the men drop in front of me. Katz said other Palestinians were killed inside their homes and in other parts of the village. At one point, he said, soldiers shot at anything that moved.
BEIT DARAS MASSACRE:
21 May 1948(Palestine): after a number of failed attempts to occupy this village, the Zionists mobilized a large contingent and surrounded the village. The people of Beit Daras decided that women and children should leave. As women and children left the village they were met by the Zionist army who massacred them despite the fact that they could see they were women and children fleeing the fighting.
THE DAHMASH MOSQUE MASSACRE:
11 July 1948 (Palestine): after the Israeli 89th Commando Battalion lead by Moshe Dayan occupied Lydda, the Israelis told Arabs through loudspeakers that if they went into a certain mosque they would be safe. In retaliation for a hand grenade attack after the surrender that killed several Israeli soldiers, 80-100 Palestinians were massacred in the mosque, their bodies lay decomposing for 10 days in the mid-summer heat.
The mosque still stands abandoned today. This massacre spread fear and panic among the Arab population of Lydda and Ramle, who were then ordered to march out of these towns after they were stripped of all personal belonging by Israeli soldiers. Yetzak Rabin, Brigade Commander then says: –
There was no way of avoiding the use of force and warning shots in order to make the inhabitants march ten to fifteen miles to the point where they met up with the legion-. Most of the 60,000 inhabitants of Lyda and Ramble came to refugee camps near Ramallah, around 350 lost their lives on the way through dehydration and son stroke. Many survived by drinking their own urine. The conditions in the refugee camps were to claim more lives.
DAWAYMA MASSACRE:
On October 29 Palestine): the Israeli army brutally massacred about 100 women and children, precipitating a massive flight of people from that village on the western side of the Hebron mountains. Mr. Walid Khalidi, author of All That Remains, says that the Palestinian inhabitants at Dawayma faced one of the larger Israel massacres, though today it is among the least well-known.
The following are excerpts of a description of the massacre published in the Israeli daily ‘Al ha Mishmar, quoted in All That Remains: The children they killed by breaking their heads with sticks. There was not a house without dead…one commander ordered a sapper to put two old women in a certain house…and to blow up the house with them. The sapper refused…the commander then ordered his men to put in the old women and the evil deed was done.
One soldier boasted that he had raped a woman and then shot her… A former mukhtar (head of a village) of Dawayma interviewed in 1984 by the Israeli daily Hadashot, also quoted by Mr. Khalidi, offered another description: The people fled, and everyone they saw in the houses, they shot and killed.
They also killed people in the streets. They came and blew up my house, in the presence of eye-witnesses…the moment that the tanks came and opened fire, I left the village immediately. At about half-past ten, two tanks passed the Darawish Mosque. About 75 old people were there, who had come early for Friday prayers.
They gathered in the mosque to pray. They were all killed.
About 35 families had been hiding in caves outside Dawayma, according to the mukhtar, and when the Israeli forces discovered them they were told to come out, line up, and begin walking. “And as they started to walk, they were shot by machine guns from two sides…we sent people there that night, who collected the bodies, put them into a cistern, and buried them,” the mukhtar told the Israeli daily.
HOULA MASSACRE:
26/10/1948 (Lebanon) :Houla is located in southern Lebanon, only a few kilometers from the Israeli border. When Arab volunteers gathered to liberate Palestine from “Israeli” occupation, they established their headquarters in Houla, on hills overlooking Palestine.
The force was successful in fending off major attacks on Lebanese villages, but the fighters suddenly withdrew on October 26, 1948.” “Jewish militants attacked the town to avenge the residents’ support of Arab resistance forces.
On October 31, Jewish militants dressed in traditional Arab attire entered the border village. Residents gathered to cheer the men, thinking Arab volunteer fighters had returned. They were wrong. The militants rounded up 85 people and detained them in a number of houses, firing live ammunition at the civilians and killing all but three. That was not enough. Jewish militants blew up the houses with dead corpses inside. They confiscated property and livestock.
The three who survived the massacre, of whom one is still alive, and other town residents fled to Beirut. Following the armistice agreement between Lebanon and “Israel” in 1949, village residents returned to find their houses in rubbles and their farms burnt. Houla remains under Israeli occupation today, and has suffered the brunt of “Israeli” animosity towards Lebanon. Only 1,200 out of 12,000 people remain in the village.
The Houla massacre was one of a series of massacres committed by “Israel” against Lebanese civilians.
Salha Massacre:
1948 (Lebanon) : After forcing the population together in the mosque of the village, the occupation forces ordered then to face the wall, then started shooting them from behind until the mosque was turned into bloodbath, 105 person were mrytyred.
SHARAFAT MASSACRE:
7 Febraury 1951(Palestine): Israeli soldiers corssed the armistice line to this village (5Km from Jerusalem) and blew up the houses of the Mukhtar and his neighbors. 10 were killed (2 elderly men,raeli soldiers corssed the armistice line to this village (5Km from Jerusalem) and blew up the houses of the Mukhtar and his neighbors. 10 were killed (2 elderly men, 3 woemen and 5 children) and 8 were wounded.
The Massacre at Qibya:
14-15/10/1953 (Palestine): On the night of October 14-15, 1953 , this village was the object of a brutal “Israeli” attack which was carried out by units from the regular army as part of a pre-meditated plan and in which a variety of weapon types were used. On theevening of October 14, an Israeli military force estimated at about 600 soldiers
moved toward the village. Upon arrival, it surrounded it and cordoned it off from all ofthe other Arab villages.
moved toward the village. Upon arrival, it surrounded it and cordoned it off from all ofthe other Arab villages.
The attack began with concentrated, indiscriminate artilleryfire on the homes in the village. This continued until the main force reached theoutskirts of the village. Meanwhile, other forces headed for nearby Arab towns suchas Shuqba, Badrus and Na’lin in order to distract them and prevent any aid fromreaching the people in Qibya. They also planted mines on various roads so as toisolate the village completely.
As units of the Israeli infantry were attacking the villageresidents, units of military engineers were placing explosives around some of thehouses in the village and blowing them up with everyone in them under the protection of the infantrymen, who fired on everyone who tried to flee. These acts of brutalitycontinued until 4:00 a.m., October 15, 1953, at which time the enemy forceswithdrew to the bases from which they had begun.16
There was a particular sight thememory of which remained in the minds of all who saw it: an Arab woman sitting on apile of debris and casting a forlorn look into the sky. From beneath the rubble onecould see small legs and hands which were the remains of her six children, while thebullet-maimed body of her husband lay in the road before her.17This vicious terrorist attack resulted in the destruction of 56 houses, the villagemosque, the village school and the water tank which supplied it with water. Moreover,67 citizens lost their lives, both men and women, with many others wounded.18Terrorist Ariel Sharon, the commander of the “101” unit which undertook the terroristaggression, stated that his leaders’ orders had been clear with regard to how theresidents of the village were to be dealt with. He says, “The orders were utterly clear:Qibya was to be an example to everyone.”19 Back to top
KAFR QASEM MASSACRE:
On October 29, 1956 (Palestine): the day on which Israel launched its assault on Egypt , units of Israel Frontier guards started at 4:00 PM what they called a tour of the Triangle Villages. They told the Mukhtars (Aldermen) of those villages that the curfew from that day onwards was to start from 5:00 PM instead of the usual 6:00 PM, and that the inhabitants are requested to stay home. The Mukhtar (Alderman) protested that there were about 400 villagers working outside the village and there was not enough time to inform them of the new times. An officer assured him that they will be taken care of. Meanwhile, the officers positioned themselves at the village entrance. At about 4.55 PM, unaware of the ambush awaiting them, the innocent farmers started flocking in after a hard day of work. The Israeli soldiers started stepping out of their military trucks and ordered the villagers to line up.
Then the officer in charge screamed “REAP THEM,” and the soldiers
riddled the bodies of the Palestinian villagers with bullets in cold blood. With the massacre practically over, the soldiers moved around finishing off whoever still had a pulse in him. The government of Israel took great pains to hide the truth, but after the investigation was concluded, Ben Gurion, the Israeli Prime Minister, announced that some people in the Triangle had been injured by thefrontier guards. The press also was part of the conspiracy to cover up the incident. The Hebrew press wrote about a “mistake?” and a “misfortune” , when it mentioned the victims, and it was difficult to tell whom it meant.
riddled the bodies of the Palestinian villagers with bullets in cold blood. With the massacre practically over, the soldiers moved around finishing off whoever still had a pulse in him. The government of Israel took great pains to hide the truth, but after the investigation was concluded, Ben Gurion, the Israeli Prime Minister, announced that some people in the Triangle had been injured by thefrontier guards. The press also was part of the conspiracy to cover up the incident. The Hebrew press wrote about a “mistake?” and a “misfortune” , when it mentioned the victims, and it was difficult to tell whom it meant.
More absurd than the trial of accomplices was their light sentences. The court found Major Meilinki and Lt. Daham guilty of killing 43 people and sentenced the former to 17 years and the latter to 15 years. What was remarkable about the Israeli official attitude was that various authorities competed to lighten the killer’s sentences. Finally, the committee for the release of prisoners ordered the remission of a third of the prison sentence of all those who were convicted. In September 1960, Daham was appointed in the municipality of the city of Ramle as officer for the Arab Affairs.
Khan Yunis Massacre:
3/11/1956 (Palestine): Another massacre is committed on November 3, 1956 when the Israelis occupy the town of Khan Yunis and the adjacent refugee camp. The Israelis claim that there was resistance, but the refugees state that all resistance had ceased when the Israelis arrived and that all of the victims were unarmed civilians.
Many homes in Khan Yunis are raided at random.
Many homes in Khan Yunis are raided at random.
Corpses lie everywhere and because of the curfew no one could go out to bury them. (An UNRWA investigation later found that the Israelis at Khan Yunis and therefugee camp had murdered 275 civilians that day ). After the Israelis withdrew from Gaza under American pressure, a mass grave was unearthed at Khan Yunis in March 1957.
The grave contained the bodies
of forty Arabs who had been shot in the back of the head after their hands
had been tied.(“IMPERIAL ISRAEL”, Michael Palumbo; London; Bloomsbury Publishing; 1990 pp. 30 – 32, citing UN General Assembly: Official Record, 11th session supplement, nop.)
of forty Arabs who had been shot in the back of the head after their hands
had been tied.(“IMPERIAL ISRAEL”, Michael Palumbo; London; Bloomsbury Publishing; 1990 pp. 30 – 32, citing UN General Assembly: Official Record, 11th session supplement, nop.)
The Massacre in Gaza City:
5/4/1956 (Palestine): On the evening of Thursday, April 5, 1956, Zionist occupation forces fired 20-mm mortar artillery on the city of Gaza. The shelling was concentrated against the city center, which was teaming with civilians going about their day-to-day affairs.29
Most of the shelling was directed against Mukhtar Street, Palestine Square and nearby streets, as well as the Shuja’iyya district.30
As a result of this terrorist massacre carried out by gangs belonging to the Zionist Army against the Palestinian people, 56 people were killed and 103 were injured, the victims including men, women and children. Some of the wounded died subsequently, bringing the death toll to 60,
including 27 women, 29 men and 4 children.31
including 27 women, 29 men and 4 children.31
AL-SAMMOU’ MASSACRE:
13 November 1966(Palestine): Israeli forces raided this village, destroyed 125 houses, the village clinic and school as well as 15 houses in a neighbouring village. 18 people were killed and 54 wounded.
Aitharoun Massacre:
1975 (Lebanon) :The 1sraelis perpetrated this massacre starting with a booby-trapped bomb. Then Israeli’s detained three brothers, and killed them. They threw Their bodies on the road. 9 cicvlians were killed, 23 were wounded.
Kawnin Massacre:
15/10/1975(Lebanon): An Israeli tank deliberately ran over a car carrying 16
people, and none of them escaped death. Back to top
people, and none of them escaped death. Back to top
Hanin Massacre :
16/10/1976(Lebanon): After a two- month siege and hours of shelling, the occupation forces stormed the village and turned it into a bloodbath. 20 perosn were mrtyred. Back to top
Bint Jbeil Massacre :
21/10/1976(Lebanon):The crowded market was the target of a sudden barrage of Israeli bombs, slaughtering a lot of people. 23 were killed, 30 were wonded. Back to top
Abbasieh Massacre :
17/3/1978 (Lebanon): During the invasion of 1978, the Israeli warplanes destroyed the
mosque of the town on the heads of the women, children and the elderly who used the holy place as a shelter from the heavy Israeli shelling.80 perosn were martyred. Back to top
mosque of the town on the heads of the women, children and the elderly who used the holy place as a shelter from the heavy Israeli shelling.80 perosn were martyred. Back to top
Adloun Massacre :
17/3/1978 (Lebanon): At Adloun on march 17, two cars carrying 8 passengers came under Israeli fire while they were on their way to Beirut. One passenger only escaped death. Back to top
Saida Massacre :
4/4/1981 (Lebanon) :One of Saida’s residential areas was targeted by the Israeli artillery which resulted in killing of many civilians and damaging to many buildings.20 persons were kiled, 30 were wounded.
Fakhani Massacre :
17/7/1981 (Lebanon):A horrible massacre took place when Israeli warplanes raided a crowded residential area using the most developed weapons killing and wounding many citizens. 150 perosn were killed, 600 were wounded.
Beirut Massacre :
17/7/1981 (Lebanon)Israeli warplanes staged several raids on many parts of Beirut, Ouzai, Ramlet Al baida, fakhani, chatila and the area of the Arab University, killing many citizens. 150 person were killed, 600 were wounded
The Massacre at the Sabra and Shatila Camps:
A number of events led to the decision of an extremist terrorist group of the Lebanese kata’ib forces and forces belonging to the Zionist Army to carry out massacres against the Palestinians. From the beginning of the Zionist invasion of Lebanon, the Zionists and their agents were working toward being able to extirpate the Palestinian presence in Lebanon. This may be seen from a number of massacres of which the world heard only little, carried out by Israeli forces and militias under their command in the Palestinian camps in south Lebanon (al-Rushaidiya, ‘Ayn al-Hilu, al-Miya Miya, and others).32
This massacre was thus the outcome of a long mathematical calculation. It was carried out by groups ofLebanese forces under the leadership of Ilyas Haqiba, head of the kata’ib intelligence apparatus and with the approval of the Zionist Minister of Defense, Ariel Sharon and the Commander of the Northern District, General Amir Dawri. High-level Israeli officers had been planning for some time to enable the Lebanese forces to go into the Palestinian camps once West Beirut had been surrounded. 33
Two days before the massacre began – on the evening of September 14 – planning and coordination meetings were held between terrorist Sharon and his companion, Eitan. Plans were laid to have the kata’ib forces storm the camps, and at dawn, September 15, Israel stormed West Beirut and cordoned off the camps. A high-level meeting was held on Thursday morning, September 16, 1982 in which Israel was represented by General Amir Dawri, Supreme Commander of the Northern Forces.
The job of carrying out the operation was assigned to Eli Haqiba, a major security official in the Lebanese forces. The meeting was also attended by Fadi Afram, Commander of the Lebanese Forces.34
The job of carrying out the operation was assigned to Eli Haqiba, a major security official in the Lebanese forces. The meeting was also attended by Fadi Afram, Commander of the Lebanese Forces.34
The process of storming the camps began before sunset on Thursday, September 16,and continued for approximately 36 hours.
The Israeli Army surrounded the camps, providing the murderers with all the support, aid and facilities necessary for them to carry out their appalling crime. They supplied them with bulldozers and with the necessary pictures and maps. In addition, they set off incandescent bombs in the air in order to turn night into day so that none of the Palestinians would be able to escape death’s grip. And those who did flee – women, children and the elderly – were brought back inside the camps by Israeli soldiers to face their destiny.
At noon on Friday, the second day of the terrorist massacre, and with the approval of the Israeli Army, the kata’ib forces began receiving more ammunition, while the forces which had been in the camps were replaced by other, “fresh” forces.
On Saturday morning, September 18, 1982, the massacre had reached its peak, and thousands of Sabra and Shatila camp residents had been annihilated.
Information about the massacre began to leak out after a number of children and women fled to the Gaza Hospital in the Shatila camp, where they told doctors what was happening. News of the massacre also began to reach some foreign journalists on Friday morning, September 17.
One of the journalists who went into the camps after the massacre reports what he saw, saying, “The corpses of the Palestinians had been thrown among the rubble that remained of the Shatila camp. It was impossible to know exactly how many victims there were, but there had to be more than 1,000 dead. Some of the men who had been executed had been lined up in front of a wall, and bulldozers had beenused in an attempt to bury the bodies and cover up the aftermath of the massacre.
But the hands and feet of the victims protruded from the debris.”
Hasan Salama (57 years old), whose 80-year-old brother was killed in the massacre, says, “They came from the mountains in thirty huge trucks. At first they started killing people with knives so that they wouldn’t make any noise. Then on Friday there were snipers in the Shatila camp killing anybody who crossed the street. On Friday afternoon, armed men began going into the houses and firing on men, women and children. Then they started blowing up the houses and turning them into piles of
rubble.”40
rubble.”40
Author Amnoun Kabliyouk [p. 10] writes in his book about the tragedy of a young Palestinian girl who, like the rest of the children in the camp, faced this horrific massacre. Thirteen years old, she was the only survivor out of her entire family (her father, her mother, her grandfather and all her brothers and sisters were killed). She related to a Lebanese officer, saying, “We stayed in the shelter until really late on Thursday night, but then I decided to leave with my girl friend because we couldn’t breathe anymore. Then all of a sudden we saw people raising white flags and handkerchiefs and coming toward the kata’ib saying, ‘We’re for peace and harmony.’
And they killed them right then and there.
And they killed them right then and there.
The women were screaming, moaning and begging [for mercy]. As for me, I ran back to our house and got into the bathtub. I saw them leading our neighbors away and shooting them. I tried to stand up at the window to look outside, but one of the kata’ib fighters saw me and shot at me. So I went back to the bathtub and stayed there for five hours. When I came out, they grabbed me and threw me down with everybody else. One of them asked me if I was Palestinian, and I said yes. My nine-month-old nephew was beside me, and he was crying and screaming so much that one of the men got angry, so he shot him. I burst into tears and told him that this baby had been all the family I had left. That made him all the more angry, and he took the baby and tore him in two.”41
The massacre continued until noon on Saturday, September 18, leaving between 3,000 and 3,500 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians dead, most of them women, children and elderly people.
The massacre continued until noon on Saturday, September 18, leaving between 3,000 and 3,500 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians dead, most of them women, children and elderly people.
MORE ABOUT THE SABRA SHATILA MASSACRE
- Remember the Sabra & Shatila Massacre – Documentary
- Sabra and Shatila: The unforgettable, unforgivable, Israeli massacre against Palestinians – 1982
- Sabra & Shatila Massacre – in pictures
Jibsheet Massacre :
27/3/1984(Lebanon): The occupation forcers’ tanks and helicopters fired at a crowded people killing many civilians. 7 perosns were martyred, 10 were wounded. Back to top
Sohmor Massacre :
19/9/1984 (Lebanon): The occupation forces stormed the town with tanks, and military
vehicles and ordered the inhabitants to congregate at the town’s mosque where they fired at them. 13 martyrs, 12 wounded. Back to top
vehicles and ordered the inhabitants to congregate at the town’s mosque where they fired at them. 13 martyrs, 12 wounded. Back to top
Seer Al Garbiah Massacre :
23/3/1985 (Lebanon): The massacre took place at Al- Husseinieh building where people took shelter from the shelling of the Israeli soldiers who stormed the town with a huge number of military vehicles.7 persons were martyred. Back to top
Maaraka Massacres:
5/3/1985(Lebanon): The occupation forces planted an explosive device in the Husseinieh building of the town .It was detonated during the distribution of aid to the citizens who lost their lives. 15 perosns were killed. Back to top
Zrariah Massacre :
11/3/1985(Lebanon): Following heavy shelling the occupation forces stormed the town with about 100 vehicles and perpetrated a butchery, killing children, women and the elderly. 22 civlians were slaughtred. Back to top
Homeen Al-Tahta Massacre :
21/3/1985(Lebanon): After attacking the village with 140 army vehicles, the occupation forces ordered the inhabitants to gather at the school of the village. They then destroyed it over their heads. 20 incoent person were martyred. Back to top
Jibaa Massacre :
30/3/1985(Lebanon): A huge enemy force attacked the town and put it under siege, .When some people tried to escape the siege, the enemy soldiers fired at them, killing and wounding a lot of them. 5 perosn were killed, 5 were wounded. Back to top
Yohmor Massacre :
13/4/1985 (Lebanon): At one O’clock in the morning, an Israeli armored force entered the town using civilian cars and opened fire at the houses which resulted in the killing of 10 people, among them a family of six people. Back to top
Tiri massacre :
17/8/1986 (Lebanon): Merciless crimes against civilians increased in the town with the occupation forces cutting the hands and ears from the head. 4 perosns were killed, 79 were crippled and wounded. Back to top
Al-Naher Al-Bared Massacre (Palestinian camp):
11/12/1986(Lebanon): The Israeli warplanes raided this Palestinian refugee camp killing many of the refugees. 20 person were killed , 22 were wounded.
Ain Al-Hilweh Massacre (Palestinian Camp) :
5/9/1987 (Lebanon): The enemy jet fighters launched two raids killing 31 and wounding 41 others. The refugees were hit by a thin raid while they were evacuating
casualties, 34 more being killed.
Oyoun Qara Massacre:
20 May 1990, an Israeli soldier lined up Palestinian labors and murdered seven of them with a sub-machine gun. 13 Palesinians were killed by Israeli forces in subsequent demonstrations at the massacre.
Source: A Voice from Palestine
Abdil Rahim, Ziyad, Zayid, Sleiman, Omar, Zaky and Yousif carried their small lunch bags with a few bread loaves, a tomato and a sardine can, and said goodbye to their families in the early hours of Sunday 20.05.1990. It was very early in the morning, the sun hadn’t risen yet, and the refugee camps were engulfed in total darkness. The usually busy and noisy narrow roads and alleys were empty and quiet.
The children were still asleep and dreaming of the toy and the colouring book their fathers will bring them back from work. The young women were still asleep and dreaming of the ring and the necklace their fiancés would buy so they could finally marry. The wives sat near their sleeping children and dreamt of the meat their husbands might bring back from work so they could cook a decent meal for the family. The mothers sat in the darkness, watching their children leave to work, and prayed that they reach their working place safe, find a job for the day and get paid so they can repair the leaking roof before the next winter. As they watched them disappear in the darkness, they prayed that their children come back safe to their homes and to their families.
 |
Oyoun Qarra massacre, 6:30 am on 20.05.1990 (Newspaper photo)
|
The roads and alleys of the refugee camps were quiet and empty, except for the sounds of the marching Israeli occupation soldiers, patrolling the open-air prisons, and holding the entire Palestinian population hostage to occupation and oppression. The roads and alleys of the refugee camps were quiet and empty except for the footsteps of the workers, heading to work in the early hours of the morning, hoping to find work that day, and thinking of their children, their mothers, their wives, their fiancés and hoping to be able to bring back toys, colouring books, food, a necklace and ring and enough money to fix the roof before the next winter.
Some of the victims of Oyoun Qarra massacre (Newspaper photo)
Abdil Rahim, Ziyad, Zayid, Sleiman, Omar, Zaky and Yousif were refugees, their families expelled from their original homes and villages by Zionist terror gangs during the Nakba. Abdil Rahim, Ziyad, Zayid, Sleiman, Omar, Zaky and Yousif were made refugees by the Zionists colonists who ethnically cleansed entire Palestinian villages, demolished them and erased them off their invented Zionist map. Abdil Rahim, Ziyad, Zayid, Sleiman, Omar, Zaky and Yousif came originally from villages that once prospered and thrived. They had beautiful homes with flowers on the window sills, and had fertile lands which were green all year around. They once tended vast olive and apple fields, orange groves and vineyards.
 |
Some of the victims of Oyoun Qarra massacre (Newspaper photo)
|
The indigenous people of Palestine, the owners of the land, were forced to live exiled in their own country, were forced to live in over-crowded rooms while Zionist colonizers thrive and live in stolen Palestinian homes, on stolen Palestinian land. And as the Nakba continues, as the catastrophe of the Palestinian people continues, the suffering of the Palestinians knows no end and the injustice done to them and their families is limitless.
To feed their families, and like thousands of fellow Palestinians, Abdil Rahim, Ziyad, Zayid, Sleiman, Omar, Zaky and Yousif were forced to work like slaves for the thieves who stole their lands and homes, were forced to work for the killers who forced their families out of their homes, were forced to work for the Zionists who had made refugees out of them.
 |
| Ami Popper |
Abdil Rahim, Ziyad, Zayid, Sleiman, Omar, Zaky and Yousif were among a group of over 100 Palestinian labourers from the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip who were waiting at the Oyoun Qarra bus stop to be transported to their working place.
An Israeli occupation soldier, Ami Popper, from nearby Rishon Lezion Zionist colony approached the workers and asked them for their IDs. After making sure all the workers were Palestinians, Popper lined them up, asked them to kneel down in 3 lines, and using his M16 sub-machine gun, he opened fire, killing 7 of them and injuring others.
Zionists passed by the scene of the crime in their cars, saw the Palestinian labourers, young and old, lying on the ground, drowning in pools of blood, their lunch bags scattered around them, and drove on.
 |
Palestinian worker crying after the massacre (l).
Israeli police checking clothes of the victims (r). (Newspaper photos) |
Zionists passed by the scene of the crime in their cars, heard the Palestinian labourers moan in pain, heard them cry out for help, and drove on. When the Israeli ambulances and occupation police finally arrived to the scene of the massacre, 7 Palestinians were already dead, and instead of providing help to the severely injured, the Israeli police started beating the Palestinians workers who had survived the death machine. And as with all massacres committed by Zionists, the Israeli government rushed to declare Popper deranged. But when it was proven that he wasn’t, he was theatrically ‘tried’ and ‘charged’ with murder in 7 cases.
However, while in detention, the terrorist Popper receives “special treatment”; he was allowed to get married, had 3 children with his wife and is allowed 48-hour furloughs.
In 1997, the Israeli government reduced the prison sentences of 4 Zionist terrorists convicted of murdering Palestinians and ordered the release of a fifth Zionist terrorist. Popper’s sentence of 7 life terms was reduced to 40 years.
Abdil Rahim, Ziyad, Zayid, Sleiman, Omar, Zaky and Yousif were Palestinian labourers from the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip. Like every Palestinian labourer, they woke up every morning to a new day, full of new hopes and new strength to face and defy the occupation, the oppression, the siege, the closure and the Zionist terror. Like every Palestinian labourer, they woke up every morning, went to work because they wanted their children to have food on the table, a roof over their heads, an education and a future that is free of occupation and oppression, a future free of Zionism. And on the morning of 20.05.1990, they woke up early to go to work and buy toys, colouring books and food for their families. But on that day, on ‘Back Sunday’, Abdil Rahim, Ziyad, Zayid, Sleiman, Omar, Zaky and Yousif did not reach work.
 |
The martyrs of Oyoun Qarra massacre (Newspaper photos)
|
They were massacred by a Zionist terrorist, killed in cold blood by an Israeli occupation soldier, a member of ‘the most moral army in the world’.
They were massacred, they blood spilt, their dreams killed, their lives brutally cut short by a terrorist entity that supports and encourages and is built on terror.
On “Black Sunday”, Abdil Rahim, Ziyad, Zayid, Sleiman, Omar, Zaky and Yousif did not return to their homes with toys, colouring books, meat, rings, necklaces and a promise to repair the leaking roof.
They returned to their waiting mothers, wives, children and fiancés carried on the shoulders of their fathers, sons, brothers and comrades.
They returned to their waiting mothers, wives, children and fiancés soaking in their blood. They returned to their waiting mothers, wives, children and fiancés as bridegrooms of Palestine,
The martyrs of Oyoun Qarra massacre are:
- Abdil Rahim Mohammad Salim Baraka, 43 yrs, from Khan Younis
- Ziyad Mousa Mohammad Swe’id, 22 yrs, from Rafah
- Zayid Zeidan Abdel Hamid Al-’Mour, 33 yrs, from Khan Younis
- Sleiman Abdel Raziq Mohammad Abu ‘Anza, 22 yrs, from Khan Younis
- Omar Hamad Ahmad Dahlees, 27 yrs, from Rafah
- Zaky Mohammad Hamdan Qdeh, 35 yrs, from Khan Younis
- Yousif Ibrahim Mansour Abu Daqqa, 36 yrs, from Khan Younis
On “Black Sunday”, after news of the massacre spread, protests and confrontations erupted all over occupied Palestine. At least another 6 Palestinians were killed by Israeli occupation forces:
- Iyad Ismail Abdallah Saqir, 17 yrs from Rafah
- Shifa’ Naim Ali Al-Hummus, 23 yrs, from Rafah
- Mousa Ibrahim Abdel-Halim Hassounah, 27 yrs, from Ash-Shati’
- Ali Mahmoud Mohammad Az-Za’amrah, 21 yrs, from Halhoul
- Husam Abdel Rahman Abdallah Nazzal, 14 yrs, from Qabatia
- Wail Mohammad Ibrahim Al-Badrasawi, 22 yrs, from Ash-Shati’
PS: The photos are from newspapers clippings on the massacre which I collected and kept at the time.
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten