Local activist says visit to West Bank highlighted horrific situation

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A local activist says the things he witnessed on a trip to Palestine were horrendous.

Ardfinnan based Dean McGrath made a trip representing the South East Branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign to the West Bank, which is under military occupation.

He says he was absolutely horrified by the way the Palestinians were treated by Israeli soldiers during his trip.

McGrath told Tipp Today that, although he had prepared himself before going, he wasn’t expecting the horrors he witnessed.

“There is a checkpoint going from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. There’s one lane for Europeans and Israelis, and there’s another checkpoint if you’re Palestinian or Arab. When we were there, we were stopped in our bus, and we saw a young girl, probably 20 years of age, pulled out from a line indiscriminately by soldiers of the Israeli border force who were heavily armed with assault rifles. She was a Muslim girl, so she was wearing a head scarf. She was put spread-eagle against a wall; they kicked both heels wide; they pushed her head into the wall; they messed with the scarf on her head; and they laughed.”

He also says words used in reporting, such as “conflict,” imply they are both engaged in battle, when the reality is much different, and that the response from Palestinians is a result of occupation, not conflict.

“You create a vacuum and create a reaction in the people if you occupy a country and keep the people as 3rd and 4th class citizens. If you beat them on the streets, fire tear gas into their refugee camps, and evict them from their land, if your Israeli Finance Minister says that a particular Palestinian village should be wiped off the map, is it any wonder that Palestinians would resist? Is it any wonder that Palestinians could be radicalised? Is it any wonder that we have a state which has different laws for different people? Apartheid. Occupation. Military. It’s absolutely horrendous.”