Saleh Al-Naami gives a few examples of the viciousness of the Israeli occupation forces Although he could see the bulldozer tearing at his house, 75-year-old Youssef Al-Najjar, who is paralysed, remained in his bed, unable to take action and submitting himself to his fate. He was spending the night alone after his family had left the house, fearing that Israel would invade the area of the southern Gaza Strip where they live, in Khazaa village. As Youssef lay there, a neighbour called Sobhi risked his life to climb up to the window and push his way in. He picked up the paralysed old man and carried him out the back door, out of sight of the occupation soldiers who were protecting the bulldozer razing the three- storey building that consists of six apartments. Sobhi carried him past other buildings that were still intact until they reached an olive grove that concealed them from the soldiers. He then took the old man to nearby relatives he has stayed with since that night, placing a burden on them due to his special needs. Youssef's wheelchair was destroyed by the occupation bulldozers. Al-Ahram Weekly visited the ruins of Youssef's house and saw the remains of the wheelchair that used to help him move around independently. But no one can linger too long in the southern portion of the house, for the air is filled with the stench of a decomposing donkey corpse. Occupation soldiers razed the house right over the family donkey, killing it instantaneously. This agriculture-dependent family had used the donkey for transport between their village and the surrounding hamlets. The life story of Youssef narrates the tale of suffering that Palestinians have undergone with the Israeli occupation. Youssef's oldest son Ahmed told the Weekly that his father was paralysed as a result of an attack by occupation soldiers in late 1987, when the first Intifada broke out. His father was returning home one night after spending the evening with a friend who lived nearby when he was startled by a group of occupation soldiers in the middle of the road. They stopped him, and then beat him severely in the head and on his back and neck with batons, rifle butts and their fists. When he lost consciousness and fell to the ground, they left him, and neighbours carried him home. The next morning he was taken to hospital and doctors said that his nervous system had been damaged and that he needed to be treated abroad in order to prevent paralysis. But since the Intifada had broken out and Israel had imposed harsh restrictions on Palestinians, he couldn't be transferred abroad and his condition worsened. Finally he was taken to Egypt and then Jordan, where doctors confirmed his paralysis as untreatable. Ahmed says that in addition to his father, two of his brothers are essentially immobilised. Samir is blind and moves with great difficulty, as does Shadi. The Weekly met Shadi sitting on the rubble of their family home, his feet still bloodied from a fall during his attempt to flee. Shadi told the Weekly that despite the catastrophe that has befallen him and his family, he is intent on continuing his studies. Even if he has to study amongst the rubble of his home, he is determined to realise his dream of becoming a doctor. Shadi adds that although Israel succeeded in destroying his house and all of his family's property, it will never destroy his will to live. From the ruins of this family's home, one can view the destruction wrought to the agricultural area surrounding it. The rich orchards and fields have become a barren wasteland filled with the remains of trees torn to pieces by massive bulldozers. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have had their homes destroyed, and in many cases they can't even live in the remains of their houses due to the presence of bombs that were dropped by occupation planes but which didn't explode. Zuweid Al-Nueimat, for example, spent about a month between his wife's family and one of his siblings until he could finally return to his house in Jahar Al-Dik village, which is between Gaza City and Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, near the border with Israel. Although his house had been partly damaged, Zuweid decided to return and make use of a room or two to live in so as to put an end to his extended stay with family. But when Zuweid arrived home, he found that a huge bomb was planted in the ground just south of his house, a half-tonne bomb that had been dropped by an Israeli F-15 during the recent war on Gaza. While he was staring at this bomb, Zuweid's wife cried out to him that another bomb was planted along the eastern border of the house. They had no choice but to return to their relatives until these explosives were removed, for fear that they would go off and destroy the house. As Zuweid explained to the Weekly, if they were capable of destroying a four-storey building, imagine what they would do to Zuweid's one- storey house. Zuweid is not the only Palestinian from the countryside who hasn't been able to return home due to the explosives littering the area around their house. In the Um Al-Jamal area, which lies east of the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, farmers are unable to collect the trees destroyed by occupation bulldozers to use as firewood due to the large number of unexploded missiles and bombs in the area. Adnan Al-Rajadi, whose olive grove in the area was destroyed by occupation soldiers, told the Weekly that he hadn't been able to transport the trees on his donkey cart for fear that it would run over these bombs and set them off. By the time of writing, explosive waste left behind by the occupation forces had killed two children in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. This small number of victims is the result of the extreme care people have taken in their movement in the borderland agricultural areas. F-15 planes dropped hundreds of tonnes of explosives in these areas, under the claim that this was necessary in order to prevent resistance fighters from using them to launch missiles into Israel. Agriculture Minister in the Hamas government Mohamed Al-Agha told the Weekly that his ministry is worried about the ramifications of occupation jets bombing agricultural areas, including the effect on soil fertility. He says that agricultural work is dangerous right now due to the unexploded missiles dropped in some areas whose locations are difficult to determine due to the lack of resources. He adds that the occupation army destroyed tens of thousands of trees and most livestock farms, in addition to hundreds of wells and agricultural infrastructure. This damage was caused by occupation tanks passing through agricultural areas. Al-Agha says that initial estimates place the losses to the economic sector due to the war on Gaza at more than $100 million. Yet in addition to all of the problems resulting from bombing and destruction, the problems ensuing from the siege are ongoing and continue to cause great hardship for Palestinians in Gaza. This is not to mention the problem of limited cash flow, which is currently affecting civil servants who receive their salaries via banks. Israel has barred the transfer of funds to banks in Gaza, and as a result they are only issuing part of civil servants' salaries, despite their severe need for income. As a result, people are borrowing from each other and lowering their living standards, and women are even selling their jewellery in order to be able to provide for their families.
