PERSONAL STATEMENT BY U.N. WORKERS IN PALESTINE by United Nations Workers 8:52pm Thu Dec 5 '02 address: Posted by Dhoud in Nablus, PALESTINE dhoud_in_palestine@yahoo.com Statement signed by UNITED NATIONS WORKERS in PALESTINE print article December 3,2002 To whom it may concern, We, the undersigned, are staff members of the United Nations, but we write in our personal capacities. All of us work in the West Bank and Gaza Strip bringing badly needed humanitarian relief to a population in distress. In the course of our duties we have witnessed much tragedy on both sides of the conflict. We have come from all over the world to work, without bias or favour, to try to alleviate some of the pain and suffering that has for too long afflicted this land. Now we find that, once again, tragedy has touched us. For us, expressions of sadness and grief are not enough. The diplomatic language of the bureaucrat will not suffice. We write to express our absolute condemnation at the senseless killing of Iain Hook in Jenin on November 22. Based on publicly available information, we condemn the Israeli army in the strongest possible terms for this wanton act against an unarmed man - a man shot in the back by a military sniper while negotiating with the Israeli army to evacuate the women, children and UN staff who were in the UN compound at the time. Our condemnation is reinforced by the knowledge that the soldiers refused to allow an ambulance called to evacuate Iain to travel the last few yards needed to reach him. Instead, UN staff here forced to seek an alternative route to rescue him. This caused a delay and made sure that the work done by a bullet was completed by the Israeli army's refusal to respect the most elementary standards of humanity. The shock of that day's events does not come in isolation. For two years, United Nations staff have been subject to escalating harassment and violence by Israel's military, so that the protection supposed to be afforded by the blue letters of the UN is being steadily eroded. UN staff - international and Palestinian alike - have been verbally abused, stripped, beaten, shot at and killed by Israeli soldiers. There has been armed interference with UN employees and vehicles, including attacks on UN ambulances and medical personnel. UNRWA schools, health clinics and offices have been hit by bombs, rockets, tank shells and gunfire even during daytime, thereby endangering the lives of staff and, in the case of schools, the lives of refugee children. Buildings occupied by UN staff have been repeatedly damaged during Israeli airforce bombing. Tragically Iain Hook was not the first person working with the UN to die at the hands of the IDF this year. In March, Kamal Hamdan was shot and killed while travelling in a clearly marked UNRWA ambulance in the West Bank.. In April, Husni Amer died in Israeli military custody in Jenin after, according to witnesses, receiving a brutal beating by the soldiers at the time of his arrest. From its silence, we presume the Israeli authorities have ignored UN requests for an investigation and report of these two incidents, and have not seen fit to take any disciplinary action against the soldiers involved. To us, this seems to confirm a pattern of utter contempt on the part of the Israeli army for the lost lives of these men, the safety of UN staff or the minimum standards imposed by international law which should protect UN staff and other humanitarian workers. The official military spokesperson's statement on the initial investigation into Iain's killing asserts that shots were fired from UNRWA's compound in the Jenin refugee camp towards Israel's forces. This contradicts eyewitness accounts of our colleagues in Jenin and the information relayed to UNRWA's Field Office by Iain just prior to his death. The most charitable characterization one can make of this statement is that it lacks any credibility. To us, it has all the makings of propaganda designed to tarnish the reputation of the UN, excuse the killing of an unarmed man and perpetuate the false charge that UNRWA shelters terrorists, in the public mind. We strongly request that any investigation carried out by the Israeli government will be independent, transparent and impartial. We strongly request that the Israeli government will bring those responsible for Iain's killing promptly to justice. Only the most lawless societies allow gunmen in uniform the impunity to kill aid workers without fear of punishment.. We are confident Israel does not wish to see its troops painted in the same colours as the militiamen who have stalked some of the world's other conflicts. As UN staff, we expect the protection of the Israeli government to enable us to undertake our humanitarian responsibilities wherever they are needed. This is not a matter of courtesy or favour, but rather an implementation of Israel's own obligations under international law and its express commitment to UNRWA to facilitate the Agency's operations in the occupied territories. Israel's often stated regret at the loss of civilian lives is not an impervious shield that can deflect all criticism. It is a shield that is, in our view, tarnished by the attempts of Israeli spokespersons to link Iain's death to wider political issues or to claim that the UN was somehow culpable for his killing. In these tragic circumstances, rather than easily uttered regrets, we expect the Israeli Government take the necessary steps to stop the harassment, beating and killing of UN staff. We expect respect and protection as United Nations employees. As international staff members, we hope and expect to return alive to our own countries and families after our work here is done. We hope and expect no less for our Palestinian colleagues so they can live and work in safety until the parties to the conflict eventually find the road to peace. Sally Airs, Australia; Naomi Ando, Japan; Ignacio Artaza Zuriarrain, Spain Alan Barnie, Australia Peter Bartu, Australia Pamela Bell, USA Susan Brannon, USA Marlise Brenner, Australia Deidre Connolly, USA Marisa Consolate Kemper, Canada Joanna Corbin, UK B. Scott Custer Jr., USA Omar Dajani, USA Calvin Dasilvio, USA Isabelle dela Cruz, Germany Marc De la Motte, Italy-France Mark Dennis, USA Ray Dolphin, Ireland Juliet Dryden, UK Teresa Fallarme, Philippine Jean-Marie Frentz, Luxembourg Christopher Gabelle, UK Jagannathan Gopalan, India Philippe Grandet, France Pentti Hakonen, Finland Roger Hearn, Australia Grigor Hovmannisyan, Armenia Thierry Kaiser, France Sima Kanaan, Jordan Elizabeth Kawambwa, Tanzania Jan Kolaas, Norway Antje Kunst, Germany Marc Lassouaoui, France Brett Lodge, Australia Ali Mahmuda, Canada Henrik Mathiesen, Norway Carlos Mazuera, Columbia Paul McCann, UK Amanda Melville, Australia Severine Meyer, France Zeina Mogarbel, Spain Merethe Nedrebo, Norway Gustav Nordstrom, Finland Patrick O'neil, Ireland Melissa Parke, Australia Joachim Paul, German Alex Pollock, UK Gerhard Pulfer, Austria Timothy Rothermel, USA Sam Rose, UK Ehab Shanti, Canada Shahwan Huda, Jordan Jean-Luc Siblot, France Guy Siri, France Elna Sondergaard, Denmark Juerg Staudenmann, Switzerland Angelo Stefanini, Italy Gretta Van Bleek, Netherlands Arjan Van Houwelingen, Netherlands Andrew Whitley, UK Hanna Wintsch, Switzerland Cecilia Wreh-McGill, USA Ros Young, UK Kirsten Zaat, Australia _______________________________________ add your comments Source file

united nation deaths by izzy weill 1:19am Sun Dec 8 '02 print comment ....while the deaths of any un people are regretable, the fact is that their palestinian clients put them in harms way. if the terrorists did not hide behind and amongst women and children there would be less innocent deaths. that is what the terrorists want innocents to die and untill they give it up there will ber no peace add your comments

United Nazis by Nadav 3:48am Sun Dec 8 '02 address: Australia print comment It's interesting how the UN workers seem to think that what they are doing in Judea and Samaria is so righteous. To the people who wrote the appalling lies on this site, I ask this: what has the UN actually done to forward the chances of peace in the region? On the Lebanese border, the UN turned a blind eye, as Hizballah terrorists kidnapped three Israeli soldiers - in direct contravention of the UN's own laws. Even Kofi Annan denied the existence of a videotape showing these atrocities being committed. In the Arab settlements where the UNRWA people work, terorrism is rampant. I do not believe for one second, that any of the UN workers there are completely blind to the terror around them. Israeli searches of many of these terror camps, including Jenin, have revealed huge caches of weapons, intended to be used against unarmed Israeli women and children. the fact that the UN workers in this camp continue to pretend that nothing of the sort is going on in these terror factories, is an insult to the intelligence of the arab observer. It is terribly regrettable when innocent civilians die as a result of the misfortune of war. However, when employees of the UN are acting as human shields for terrorists intent on killing Israelis, they cannot expect to emerge unscathed. Furthermore, where are the UN workers helping the Israelis whose lives have suffered as a result of the now 26-month old Palestinian Arab terror? Why do we not see UN workers helping Israelis who have lost fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, babies, as a result of the abhorrent crime of suicide bombing? The answer is quite simple: the United Nations is no friend of Israels. The very organization which was set up in the aftermath of the Holocaust to prevent further Nazi-like atrocities from occurring again, has become as bad as the nazis themselves. The Security Council is headed by Syria, one of the great terrorist nations on Earth. The UN continually gives biased accounts of this tragic conflict, refusing to recognize the terror that Israelis have to face daily. I think its tragic that most of the people who signed this letter come from great liberal democratic nations (including my own country, Australia), where they were given great freedoms, and yet have now chosen to support the terrorism that is prevalent in Arab settlements in Gaza, Jenin, Shchem, etc. When they see the IDF knocking down doors in pursuit of terrorists, I wonder, what else do the United Nazis expect? add your comments

United Nazis by Nadav 3:52am Sun Dec 8 '02 print comment the bit where i said 'arab observer' was actually meant to say 'average observer' add your comments

please end all killings by jim weill 3:56am Sun Dec 8 '02 print comment i don't see how it is possible that a un worker could "accidentally" be shot, when they are clearly marked as un workers and not palestinians. i also don't see why an ambulance would be denied mr hook when he was clearly in need of medical attention. heaven forbid that anyone in the world would care about helping people who have to live in a war zone that is now 35 years old and no end in sight. just because the un workers are aiding palestinians doesn't mean that they are politically sensitive to the extremists on either side of this conflict. maybe the idf will start shooting the rabbis for human rights next, since they are also aiding palestinians in the territories. add your comments

Correction by Nadav 4:11am Sun Dec 8 '02 print comment where I wrote 'arab observer', I meant to say 'average observer'. hope that clears up any misunderstanding. add your comments

Nadav, you ignorant moron by Mark 12:32am Tue Dec 10 '02 turnermtt@yahoo.com print comment Nadav, I can't believe you spent that much time spinning out such drivel. Let me ask you, when was the last time you were in the West Bank? Ian Hook's death is murder. You don't have to support the targeting of Israeli citizens to acknowledge this. He was gunned down, in the back, by a highly trained Israeli sniper. For you to condemn all non-Israelis to death as some Palestinian militants have done to Israeli civilians makes you every bit as horrible as the terrorists you abhore. And the bit about Syria controlling the UN security council, do you even know what the UN security council is? I know that news and politics in Australia are a bit disconnected from the international community, but that is the strangest and least founded thing I've read on this site. Stop this cycle of violence by condemning all the violence. Acknowledge that there is such a thing as a non-combatant civilian population. Stop being what you oppose, and for the love of god, pick up a newspaper that wasn't written by the IDF... If you want to go to war with the UN, burn the 4th geneva convention, spit on the rights of civilians, and refuse the lives of those you don't understand, it's you that wreaks of facism. Israelis of all people should know the dangers of Naziism. add your comments

coward palestiniant terrorists by beilin jr, 9:32am Mon Dec 16 '02 yosi@beilin.org.il print comment Coward Palestinian terrorists that hide in the UN facilities make it more probable to UN staff to get hurt during the fights. let us all pray that the UN workers are smart enough to help just those who need their help, rather than participate in a war against Israel. add your comments

coward palestiniant terrorists by beilin jr, 9:32am Mon Dec 16 '02 yosi@beilin.org.il print comment Coward Palestinian terrorists that hide in the UN facilities make it more probable to UN staff to get hurt during the fights. let us all pray that the UN workers are smart enough to help just those who need their help, rather than participate in a war against Israel. add your comments