Occupied West Bank: Report #2

Birkin, a village immediately next to the one Jeff and Kathy are staying in, has just been surrounded
by Israeli Defense Force (IDF) tanks and troops. Three people from the team they have joined are
in Birkin. There are 77 families, approximately 400 people, in Birkin, that are recent refugees from
the town of Jenin. Additionally, two days ago the IDF invaded the town of Arabi and killed five people.
It has been reported in the US media that the IDF is pulling out of the areas they have thus far occupied.
From the ground, it seems obvious that this is not the case, as the IDF continues to employ a
village-by-village effort which goes unreported in mainstream media.

Last night, Jeff, Kathy, Sophia, and Brian recorded the stories of four men who had been tortured,
interrogated, and in two cases, forced to act as human shields, during the invasion and attack on Jenin.
Many are wondering if what is being referred to as the “massacre of Jenin” might have cost well over
a thousand lives.


We are reminded of the United State’s efforts to “eradicate terrorism” in Afghanistan. It would seem
that the Israelis are doing something very similar. Regarding Colin Powell’s visit to the region, Guntzel
and Kelly recall that on September 11, after the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center, Powell said,
“The people that perpetrated this barbarous act think that by killing people and destroying buildings you
can achieve a political goal. They are always wrong.”

Mr. Powell should adhere to this view now.