I’d crossed the West Bank from Jordan to arrive in Jerusalem two days after the second anniversary of the first Intifada. Palestinians had demonstrated in the streets and two young men had been killed by Israeli soldiers.
This day I stumbled into the riot that followed their funerals …
Soldiers
One, experienced
a mean-looking guy who’d seen fist-fights
riots and wars
He whistles, raising his baton
then barks the orders
Another man in green is nervous
terrified
see his eyes
watch his hand
–shake
finger squeezing an M16
barrel held @ 75 degrees
Warning shots
Pushing, running, shrieking
women, men
Soldiers
Stones
Now, an empty street
of discarded banners
shoes
scarves
and an abandoned coffin.
It happened fast – Israeli soldiers threatened me & my camera if I took photos. Disturbed by the experience, I returned to my guesthouse in Arab East Jerusalem; the owner listened to what I’d just seen – then told me a young-Israeli-female soldier had just been stabbed-dead in the old city.
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