They familiarized IslamOnline.net about the barbaric treatment Palestinian elderly, women and children received at the hands of Israeli soldiers.

“I went to a family where the father and 3 of his children were deaf. The soldiers have been there for a day and a half, and broke and damaged everything in the house.

“The most important thing is that they took the hearing aids of the father and the children and crushed them with their boots. Also they broke into a cabinet where they stole all the savings (in cash and gold) of the whole family.

“I got shot at several times when I was witnessing the Shabab defending themselves with stones against the occupiers, and finally in the afternoon when I was in the clinic of Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees, the soldiers threatened to blow up some walls in order to enter the clinic,” Paul recalled.

“We want to be sure that in every place in Palestine, someone is there to observe what happens under the dangerous conditions of war in Iraq,” the two peace activists underlined.

“I visited dozens of houses that were occupied in the Old City today, especially in the Yasmia quarter, and what I saw was more than disgusting.

“There is no legitimacy to destroy children's bedrooms, to explode bombs inside houses, to destroy even the toys of the children,” Mike charged.

“What about taking the hearing aid from deaf children, and crushing it with their boots? What about not just turning everything up-side-down, but destroying even frames of the beds, mirrors in bathrooms? What about spraying walls with Stars of David, or with writing in Hebrew letters, saying "This is our house"? Mike pressed.

As the Israeli tanks and tractors went non-stop with demolishing houses, the Palestinian people are chilled to the bone in such frosty weather conditions at that time of the year, the remarked.

Mike says families are in a dire need for many blankets and sometimes there are not enough heaters.

The latest Israeli incursions into the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, he said, added insult to injury and left scores of people exposed to merciless elements.

World Attention Riveted On Iraq

The Iraq crisis and the possible U.S.-led invasion, no doubt, are the talk of the entire world.

Quite often we hear names like “Saddam”, “Bush”, “Blair”, “Blix” and of course a “Looming war.”

That is why Paul and Mike have decided to do everything in their power to keep the world informed of what is going on in occupied Palestine.

“As for the war with Iraq, of course, there is concern for the people in Iraq, but many people don't understand what can happen in Palestine while the world is watching Iraq.

“Sharon needs the conflict in order to avoid talking about peace, and in order to continue his policy of ethnic cleansing,” said the pacifists

“Actually many writers in Israel itself talk about ‘population transfer.’ And Sharon talks about finishing the job that was begun in 1948,” warned Paul.

Paul answered that the problem of Palestine will be solved in Washington, and not in Palestine or Israel, adding that the problem is fuelled by American money and arms.

“So if the problem will be solved in the U.S. why are you in Palestine?” Asked one friend.

“It's because my voice in the U.S. is louder if I speak from Palestine,” came the reply.

“If you want to help, the most powerful thing that you can do is to come here and witness and resist and report.

“But if you want to find other ways, you can help by spreading the word. You can donate money to the ISM or any organization,” Paul asserted.

They stressed that if Iraq war took place and things get worse in the occupied Palestinian territories, their tactics would by doing less resistance and more reporting.

“So that the world would know what is happening. But in any case we will be here,” said Paul.

“I want to emphasize that many of our friends will come back if the situation here is turning much worse. In the end it's an individual decision whether to stay here or to go back home. For sure I will not follow any order by any government to leave,” challenging Mike averred.

“I think many of us feel and know that our presence here is much more needed in case of increased violence, and I am sure that this will motivate the work of many of our friends,” he added.

“No Guarantee For Our Safety”

“Of course when there is a bombing or other incident, life becomes more dangerous for Palestinians, and it makes our job more difficult.

“I had several situations like the one today, and usually you can see how the behaviour of the soldiers, for example at the check points, changes abruptly after bombings.

“That means for us that we have to be more prepared for any situation that might occur and that we have to be more careful in the next hours, or like today, in the night. But still there is no guarantee for our safety,” said Mike.

World’s Fourth Military Terrified

Asked on how active are the resistance movements in Nablus and in other occupied Palestinian cities, Paul said “the forth most powerful military in the world” appears to be terrified that a few brave fighters with pistols and plastic explosives in their hands constitute a mortal danger to the existence of Israel.

Paul and Mike also said that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon does not want to turn violence off in the region, noting that he was keen on provoking a reaction from the Palestinian resistance by launching incursions into Palestinian self-rule areas and assassinating prominent Palestinian figures.

“Why? What is the purpose? Sharon needs the conflict in order to avoid talking about peace, and in order to continue his policy of ethnic cleansing.

“It is ridiculous to say the Israelis are in danger from the Palestinians. It is the defenceless Palestinians who are in danger of being eliminated from the land on which they lived for more than a thousand years,” said Paul.