The `“Godfather of Terror`

As hundreds of thousands of Palestinians marched and chanted praising their late president Yasser Arafat, the Israeli media was preparing a flash clip which they called “The Godfather of Terror”.

Arafat is mourned by Palestinians from all movements and factions, regardless of their political support for of challenge to his policies. Israeli leadership, however, not only considers Arafat as the obstacle in the “Road to Peace,” during his lifetime, but also as “the Godfather of Terror” after his death.

A one minute flash movie, published on the Haaretz website displays photos of the Palestinian president superimposed on scenes of suicide bombings Palestinian children wired and “ready to go”.

The flash movie not only holds Arafat responsible for “massacres”, but claims he was an inspiration for the terror attacks on September 11 on the World Trade Center in the United States.

”The attacks of September 11, were no doubt inspired by Arafat’s efforts”, the flash announces.

Apparently, the authors of the flash clip forgot or overlooked the scenes of Palestinian children killed by military fire; tanks and apaches that shell the Palestinian cities and refugee camps as if it were destroying an “enemy in the battle field”.

The military operations, daily raids, shelling of homes and schools is not mentioned.

According to the Public Relations Office at Nasser Hospital, Israeli soldiers have killed more than 231 Palestinians, mostly children and women, in Khan Younis, since the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada, in September 30, 2000.

The published report revealed that of the 231, 88 children were killed, 199 under the age of 39, and 34 were residents between the ages of 40-70.

In addition, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative and chair of Health and Development Information Policy Center (HDIP), reported that 3334 Palestinians have been killed and 53,000 wounded since the beginning of the Intifada in September 28, 2000.

Dr. Barghouthi presented this report in a press conference held on Sunday, September, 26, 2004, in the Palestinian Media Center, in Al-Biereh, near Ramallah in the north of the West Bank on the fourth anniversary of Al-Aqsa Intifada.

According to statistics and data collected by the center, 82% of the Palestinian who have been killed by the army were civilians, 18.5% of them were under the age of 18.

84% (699) of the residents killed were shot dead in the head and neck, 485 sustained chest injuries, 152 in the abdomen and 1445 sustained fractions and bullets to the head and body combined. In addition, 22% where killed as a result of military shelling, 2.58% died after army barred ambulances and medical teams from reaching the wounded, 1.5% died as a result of rubber-coated bullet injuries and tear gas inhalation.

Of the 53.000 who were wounded, 10.000 of whom are children, 25.000 Palestinians sustained permanent disabilities.

The question which remains here is how the world observes these crimes, not only against a Palestinian leader, besieged in his headquarters until his death, but also against a nation that suffers the daily oppression and violence of military raids, killings and destruction.