The Gaza IN: Reporting From Gush Katif
Reporting From Gaza via the phone: Gaza IN
David Marks flashed his American passport and he was in. He's been in Neve Dikalim, the largest of the settlements in Gush Katif since last week.
I spoke to him by phone Tuesday afternoon about the situation there.
"Right now, all we're doing is praying, but the atmosphere is upbeat" he said.
He said contrary to news reports, there's enough food to feed all the people there for a month.
"The army even brought more food!" David said. "It's so strange what's going on here. The army isn't into it and the police are just paid brutes."
David explained that a deal was made with the police that settlers would not be bothered until the 48 hour deadline was up Wednesday morning. By then, everyone will be packed into the synagogue waiting to be forcibly evacuated.
Protesters succeeded in holding off the police and IDF from entering Neve Dikalim until the gate was broken down this morning. Authorities are presently roaming about the town but are not bothering people.
"At one point yesterday, we all tried blocking the soldiers by praying in front of them. They didn't know what to do. They stopped their progression. We would sit down and daven and they wouldn't touch us," David said.
"During the hand out of eviction notices, a few woman soldiers were approached by some of the girls here who are very emotional about being expelled. The girls went up to the soldiers and started talking to them about the situation of the people who have lived here for so many years and the soldiers couldn't handle it. They started crying and had to walk away."
"These soldiers were trained for weeks that the people here are savages and crazy. When the IDF arrived and saw how we were singing, dancing and praying, they felt they were lied to."
"It's a really weird feeling here. The faith that these people have that this isn't going to happen is incredible. They really believe this can still be stopped with prayer and hope."
David told me that contrary to news reports, almost none of the families have left Neve Dekalim. Tuesday morning the protesters allowed in some large moving containers for 20 families who wanted to pack in the event they were forced to leave. However, the evacuation forces sent in extra containers and people got upset.
"They were trying to lower moral by making us think more people were deciding to leave," David said.
More from the Gush later -check in
-Gaza OUT
David Marks flashed his American passport and he was in. He's been in Neve Dikalim, the largest of the settlements in Gush Katif since last week.
I spoke to him by phone Tuesday afternoon about the situation there.
"Right now, all we're doing is praying, but the atmosphere is upbeat" he said.
He said contrary to news reports, there's enough food to feed all the people there for a month.
"The army even brought more food!" David said. "It's so strange what's going on here. The army isn't into it and the police are just paid brutes."
David explained that a deal was made with the police that settlers would not be bothered until the 48 hour deadline was up Wednesday morning. By then, everyone will be packed into the synagogue waiting to be forcibly evacuated.
Protesters succeeded in holding off the police and IDF from entering Neve Dikalim until the gate was broken down this morning. Authorities are presently roaming about the town but are not bothering people.
"At one point yesterday, we all tried blocking the soldiers by praying in front of them. They didn't know what to do. They stopped their progression. We would sit down and daven and they wouldn't touch us," David said.
"During the hand out of eviction notices, a few woman soldiers were approached by some of the girls here who are very emotional about being expelled. The girls went up to the soldiers and started talking to them about the situation of the people who have lived here for so many years and the soldiers couldn't handle it. They started crying and had to walk away."
"These soldiers were trained for weeks that the people here are savages and crazy. When the IDF arrived and saw how we were singing, dancing and praying, they felt they were lied to."
"It's a really weird feeling here. The faith that these people have that this isn't going to happen is incredible. They really believe this can still be stopped with prayer and hope."
David told me that contrary to news reports, almost none of the families have left Neve Dekalim. Tuesday morning the protesters allowed in some large moving containers for 20 families who wanted to pack in the event they were forced to leave. However, the evacuation forces sent in extra containers and people got upset.
"They were trying to lower moral by making us think more people were deciding to leave," David said.
More from the Gush later -check in
-Gaza OUT
posted by Amihai at Tuesday, August 16, 2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home