More Survivors, Bodies Found Under Rubbles in Jenin: Witnesses

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 19, 2002

More Survivors, Bodies Found Under Rubbles in Jenin: Witnesses

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Five Palestinians, including two children and a woman, were found alive on Thursday under the rubbles of their house that was destroyed by the Israeli army in the northern West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian medical sources said.

Palestinian doctors said that 10 more bodies of Palestinians who were killed during the two-week Israeli military operation in Jenin, were discovered on Wednesday under the rubbles of the destroyed houses.

Terji Larsen, United Nations Special Coordinator who visited the camp with representatives of the Red Cross, said that what he saw in Jenin is "massive destruction and the whole place looks like it was damaged by a strong earthquake."

Mohamed Abu Ghali, chief of Jenin Hospital in the town, said that staining bodies of 10 Palestinians buried under the rubbles of the destroyed houses were found by medical rescue teams.

"The Israeli army puts obstacles for moving the bodies out of the camp. Soldiers inside tanks open heavy gunfire from time to time on the houses of the camp which makes it difficult for the medical teams to work," he said.

Witnesses in the camp said that bodies of two Palestinians were torn into pieces after tanks drove over them, adding that one of them was 61 years old and the other is 35 years old. Both were residents of Jenin.

Medical sources said that at least 30 bodies were founded on Tuesday, and were taken out of the camp and buried outside, adding that five more bodies were discovered later on Tuesday evening.

Abu Ghali said that the Jenin refugee camp is "a disastrous zone" adding that Jenin turned into a ghost's area and the smell of death comes out from streets and from under the rubbles.

He did not give an exact number of how many Palestinians were killed during the toughest ever Israeli army operation against the Jenin refugee camp, adding that the number could reach 500.

He warned that if the Israeli army keeps putting obstacles for evacuating and removing all the bodies outside the camp, "deadly diseases will dominate the whole area of Jenin."

The residents who escaped from the camp during the Israeli army operations against dozens of Palestinian militants started to return back to look for their beloved and their relatives.

One of the women who were able to return back into the camp said that a sick man and his wife that were not able to run away from the camp during the shelling by tanks and helicopters were killed after their house was destroyed on their heads.

Women, children and the elderly were walking throughout the camp, entering buildings without fear of explosive devices, a fact that contradicts what the military told journalists - the army had said that journalists could not enter the camp because of explosive devices there.

Residents, whose homes were totally destroyed, roam the ruins during the day and spend the night with relatives and neighbors whose homes remain intact or were only partially ruined. It is difficult for people to leave the camp since Israeli army remains stationed nearby and occasionally enter the camp.

Mayor of Jenin, Walid Abu Mweise, said that the Israeli army tanks are still besieging the camp, adding that the Israeli soldiers are still opening fire and at night they fire flares over the camp.

He said that the residents in Jenin are suffering from a lack of food, water and medicine, and he urged the world to help the residents of Jenin end their tragedy.

Camp residents have no working telephone, water or electricity. The water pipes in the camp were damaged by Israeli tanks at the start of the invasion. Lack of water is apparent on the dry lips of the inhabitants and in their reddened eyes.

Meanwhile, Palestinian witnesses said that the Israeli army pulled out from the town of Jenin, adding, however, suddenly Israeli army tanks and troops returned back and stationed again into the town's center.

In Bethlehem, the standoff around the Church of Nativity continued for the 17th day, where Israeli army tanks surround the church and snipers who observe the yard of the Church are stationed on the tops of hotels and buildings.

A Palestinian teen who managed to escape from the Church on Wednesday was arrested by Israeli soldiers and was questioned about the conditions of the 200 people who took refuge into the Church.

"They asked me if the militants inside threaten the life of the monks and clergy men," said the boy. "The soldiers asked me when they shoot at the church, make noisy sounds and fire flare, do the militants get scared."

Palestinian sources said that Israeli army officers and Palestinian notables were scheduled to meet on Thursday to find an exit to end the crisis into the Church where at least 200 people had been besieged inside the church.

The sources in Bethlehem said that the meeting was postponed after Israel rejected a proposal to include representatives from the European Union to attend the meeting.

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