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April 10, 2002

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The sound of four explosions came down the phone line. A woman could be heard screaming in the background: "Come and save us." This was in the middle of an interview with a Red Crescent ambulance official. He said the woman’s house had been hit by rockets fired from an Israeli helicopter. These were the voices that came out of Jenin refugee camp yesterday when it came under the heaviest attack since the Israeli army began its onslaught in the West Bank. The accounts are chilling: stories of Israeli forces using the elderly as human shields in front of their tanks, of women and children being rounded up, of homes being demolished, of bodies littering the streets.

These allegations cannot be confirmed, because of the censorship imposed by the Israeli authorities, who have refused journalists access to the camp. They are the claims made by those inside the refugee camp, speaking by mobile phone, and those who have recently fled.

We are joined now by one of the journalists, Said Gazali, who has been translating interviews with residents in the besieged Jenin refugee camp. Gazali’s press pass has been revoked by the Israeli authorities.

Guests:

• Said Gazali, Palestinian journalist who has been interviewing Jenin citizens for the London Independent
• Beth Daoud, activist with the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace and the International Solidarity Movement in Nablus

Related links:

• London Independent
• International Solidarity Movement
• Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace