Behind the Wall - Ibrahim's Pavement Café (2/4) By Rich Wiles, of Hull and Hebron

(1/4), (2/4), (3/4), (4/4).

Ibrahim was born in 1958 in the village of Darharia, a few kilometers from Al-Khalil. At the tender age of seven he was taught by his uncle how to shoot with a British weapon left over from the Mandate times: "My uncle trained both me and my cousin how to use a gun. We used to play in an area which the Jordanian military used to train. One day we found an unexploded bomb, we didn't realize it was dangerous. We were playing with it, but then it exploded! My cousin was killed instantly, right there in front of me. He was seven too, and he was my best friend. I am still too sorry about him until now."

By 1973 Ibrahim had joined the Palestinian Liberation Organisation which was a union consisting of Fateh, PFLP (Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine), Democratic movements, the Palestinian Communist Party, and other groups. Three years later he was imprisoned for the first time by the Occupation authorities. Ibrahim was in his last year at High School when this happened: "They (the IOF) arrested me for being active in the Resistance. I was distributing leaflets and Palestinian flags for the PLO. I stayed in prison for two years during which I was beaten and tortured regularly, but I never talked! I never told them anything!" Far from convincing Ibrahim to change his ways, his time in prison actually strengthened his resolve. Upon release he went straight to BirZeit University in Ramallah and found a place to study Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies. Less than a year later, in 1979, Ibrahim was again arrested and interrogated for a month. After release he returned to his studies at BirZeit.

In 1981 there was a minor Intifada in Palestine. The Occupation authorities had been attempting to install their own choices of Palestinians as Town and City Councils and refusing to deal with any elected Mayors or representatives who supported the PLO. There was political discussion about Israel giving around sixty percent of the West Bank back to the control of King Hussein of Jordan, the remainder would be considered as Israel, so they were attempting to install either Palestinian collaborators, or Palestinians loyal to King Hussein, to all representative posts to facilitate this idea. Zionist Settlers were playing their part by carrying out attacks against elected Palestinian representatives.

Basam Al-Shaka, the Mayor of Nablus, lost both his legs when Settlers placed a bomb underneath his car in June 1980. The Mayor of Ramallah, Karim Khalaf, suffered a similar fate losing one leg. Many other elected representatives also faced these kinds of attacks, some were assassinated. So Palestinians responded by staging a mainly student-led Intifada or uprising (it was from this mini Intifada and other similar uprisings that ideas were formed which eventually led to what is widely termed the 'First Intifada', which began in 1987.)

Continued .... Next Page (3/4)

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