From Rafah, Palestine

From Rafah, Palestine

Report compiled by Mike McCurdy on 2/11/04
for consideration by the International Criminal Court.

My name is Mike McCurdy.   I am a citizen of the United States of America.   I swear that my account as written below is truthful and accurate.

     I was in Rafah, Palestine for 5 weeks, 8/1/03-9/10/03.  During my time in Rafah I stayed the majority of my nights with families living in close proximity to Israel’s wall that is being built dividing Rafah Egypt from Rafah Palestine or in close proximity to the expected pathway of the wall.  I will attempt to relate the intense difficulties and despair and the daily violations of human dignity and decency that I witnessed being caused by the building of this wall. 

     Living in a home in close proximity to Israel’s “security wall” is a place of extreme insecurity.  I spent my nights in Rafah with 3 families living through this nightmare.   The homes I stayed in were pock marked with bullet holes on the areas exposed to the wall.  People were living in only parts of their homes, trying to avoid the areas most exposed to the wall.  (This was impossible if, for instance the kitchen was a room directly exposed.)

    Concrete gun towers spaced the wall about every 100 meters.  Tanks and Bulldozers were a constant presence as they patrolled up and down the wall, in the area already cleared of homes and shops. They were a constant reminder that anyone’s home could be destroyed at any time

     During my stay it was repeatedly announced from tank loudspeakers that the area between remaining homes and the wall was off limits to all but the IDF and that anyone who entered it would be shot.  This death zone was also the back or front yard of hundreds if not thousands of families.  The fact that this area was severely off limits, seemed to have been already understood by the people of Rafah before this announcement. 

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     This order made it impossible to do an accurate survey of what damage had been and was continuing to be done.  I did not witness anyone violating this military order.  I did speak with human rights workers and reporters who would not enter this area for fear of being killed by the IDF and whose work was adversely affected.    

     Machine gun fire, often high caliber, would be issued from the towers and tanks on a regular basis.  This gunfire would come from locations up and down the wall.  Often times through the night it would be issued on an hourly or so basis with extended and repeated bursts.  To all appearances the majority of the firing, I would estimate 95%, was completely indiscriminate.  There was no return fire.  There would simply be repeated and prolonged gunfire from a single source be it a tower or a tank.  It appeared to be used as a form of psychological torture. One never knew when the bullets were going to fly through their home again.  It was not uncommon for this frequency of indiscriminate firing to continue through out the day as well. 

     It is important to realize that this gunfire often originates from less than one hundred yards from peoples homes.  The sound is often so intense that it cannot be spoken over.  Sleep is often difficult if not impossible.

     All of the homes I stayed in were targeted by Israeli gunfire during my stay.  They all were family homes with young children and babies and no weapons.  I witnessed a mother repeatedly lying down to use her body to protect her children from the gunfire.    

     I observed a large and disturbing rat population in the streets close to the wall.  I was told that this was caused by the sewage pipes that have been destroyed by demolitions and cannot be fixed due to the fact that anyone entering the area to do the repairs would be killed.  Also adding to the rat problem is the large amount of partially destroyed homes that have now been abandoned. 

     I stayed with a family, with several children, whose home had been destroyed.  They were now living in a substandard rental home that was also in close proximity to the wall.  The quality of the houses structure was such that the rats from the street were able to freely enter and exit the home. 

     I witnessed a family living in a house, now exposed to the wall.  Their home was buried in the rubble from their neighbor’s homes that had previously formed a barrier between their home and the wall.  Their home was now only accessible through a hole in the wall of their neighbor’s home, which stands on the side opposite to the wall.

     I felt many ground shaking explosions caused by the IDF burying and detonating explosives in the region of the wall.  These explosions often occurred in close proximity to homes and could be felt to shake buildings over a mile away.  I was told that these explosions cause damage to Palestinian infrastructure.  Often these explosions would occur several times a day.

     I heard testimony from families close to the wall of repeated searches of people’s homes by platoons of Israeli soldiers.   A teenage woman told me of being used as a human shield while the soldiers searched her home, (a tactic I have witnessed from the IDF in the west bank and read an IDF commander defend in Hararetz, an Israeli daily.)  The wall and its towers are used as a base of support for these military operations.  The cleared zone in its proximity is used for the movement of troops and armament in order to perform these military operations.

     I heard testimony to large quantities of citrus and olive trees, as well as other agricultural land being destroyed by the creation of the “security wall” and the zone surrounding it.  I witnessed recently destroyed agricultural green houses, olive trees, and citrus trees.  All the areas along the Egyptian border that I was able to see were completely cleared of houses and vegetation for 70-200 yards.

     All of the homes I stayed in and some that I only visited have since been destroyed by Israeli forces.  One of the families I stayed with is now living in another home, a home previously abandoned due to its exposure to the wall.  For the three children in this home, a 1 year old, a 2 year old and a 3 year old this is the only kind of life they have ever known.  A life where it is a common experience to see one’s parents dive for cover in the middle of making coffee. 

     It is worth noting that like many people in the world, Palestinians often put their entire life savings into their home.  Many families have mortgages they are trying to pay off.  Families build their homes out of concrete blocks in a style that allows for floor to be added on top of floor expanding, as each new generation needs a home.  Homes form the bedrock of family life and hence the culture.  Losing a home for many of these families, means entering a seemingly permanent state of poverty.