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Azzopardi talks of ‘feeling of death scenario’ at Ramallah

By Kurt Sansone

Having met and interviewed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat just a week ago, Xarabank presenter Joe (Peppi) Azzopardi is well aware of the implications as events in the Middle East escalate to even more sinister levels.

Asked to describe the atmosphere inside Arafat’s compound, which has been under siege for quite some time, Mr Azzopardi said that the frame of mind of the people surrounding the Palestinian leader is hard to understand but symptomatic of the prevalent frustration among the people.

"Every Palestinian we spoke to told us that he is ready to die for a Palestinian state and the security forces around Arafat are no different. They know that their hour will arrive and that it is just a matter of time. They are not scared as we would imagine them to be despite being surrounded by Israeli tanks and soldiers."

The Palestinian leader is currently holed up in his compound in Ramallah with no food, water and electricity surrounded by Israeli tanks and soldiers in a dramatic escalation of events, which saw the United Nations security council, backed by the United States, call on Israel to withdraw from Palestinian controlled territory.

The Israeli invasion of Arafat’s headquarters started on Good Friday in response to a suicide bomb attack in a Jerusalem supermarket, which came days after another suicide attack in a Jerusalem hotel.

Experiencing death in the familyMr Azzopardi, who interviewed Arafat in his Ramallah compound, said that from the images he saw on TV the Israeli soldiers are literally a wall away from the Palestinian leader’s office on the second floor of the compound.

He added that he had expected a more heavily guarded compound. "The impression that I got, at least from the areas they took us through, was that the Palestinians are not well enough armed to stave off an Israeli attack."

Describing the Palestinian psyche, Mr Azzopardi remarked that almost every Palestinian family has experienced the death of at least one relative and the economic situation and ensuing poverty only adds to their desperation.

"I can never justify the suicide bombings or martyr operations as they are called, but having been there I can understand the reasons that lead perfectly normal Palestinians to go and blow themselves up in Israel. It is very difficult for us to understand their mentality especially when mothers say that their children died as martyrs for Palestine. But these people have no hope left," Mr Azzopardi explained, while pointing out that the most recent suicide bomber was a 26-year-old woman named Wafaq, who was a volunteer with the Red Crescent.

The Xarabank presenter recalled the visits he made to the refugee camps in Ramallah and Bethlehem. "We met people who had their houses bombed by Israeli soldiers and who are now living in crammed quarters riddled by bullets."

Mr Azzopardi told MaltaToday that the situation is very tense for the Israeli soldiers, who have a heightened sense of security almost bordering on paranoia. "The Israeli soldiers are very tense and scared, and would shoot at anything suspicious. The suicide operations have conditioned them and they give no second chance. We saw them shoot at Palestinians with no warning at the checkpoints."

Mr Azzopardi recalled an incident, which involved the cameraman forming part of the three-man team from Malta. "At the Ramallah checkpoint Andrew forgot something in the van that had just dropped us off. He turned round in the direction of the van and almost immediately the Israeli soldiers fired shots in the air and pointed their machine guns toward us. It would have only taken another abrupt movement for them to simply shoot at us. We were scared to death, but for the Palestinians this is a daily occurrence."

And the frustration can also be felt among Israelis. Mr Azzopardi confirmed that none of the Israeli nationals approached by the Xarabank team wanted to give an interview about the political situation.

"They did not want to talk about politics and it was extremely hard for us to get the comments of the Jewish bus driver injured in a suicide attack on his bus. The feeling among Israelis is that the political situation is leading nowhere and things are only getting worse with the suicide bombers targeting civilians."

Meanwhile, reacting to the escalating violence in the Middle East the Maltese government yesterday expressed its deep preoccupation at the latest developments.

In a statement, the Maltese government said that it could see no justification in the offensive on Yasser Arafat’s headquarters by Israeli forces while reiterating that Arafat is the legitimate leader of the Palestinian authority.

The government also urged the Israeli government to heed the UNsecurity council’s call to withdraw troops from Palestinian cities.