A LONDON-born Irishman who travelled to the West Bank after being deeply affected by Israeli atrocities in Palestine has said he hopes setting up GAA teams and games in the West Bank will be a positive way to show Ireland stands with the Palestinian people.
Stephen Redmond told the Andersonstown News that like many people around the world he felt overwhelmed by the images of carnage which have dominated the news and added he felt compelled to go to Palestine to offer any assistance he could.
Stephen said: “I’m an Irish republican and I’ve been brought up always believing in solidarity with other oppressed and colonised people around the world, including in the Basque country and Palestine. Palestine has always been very close to my heart just because of the hardship there.
“I was watching all of the news reports for sometimes over three hours a day, particularly from Al-Jazeera because they are the most credible when reporting on Palestine and have journalists there who are Palestinians, and it just horrified me.
“I was watching a report one day about children crying for their parents and a girl covered in blood crying for her daddy and I felt an awful sorrow in me, it reminded me of the six counties and I broke down crying watching it and I just knew I had to get over there to try and do something."
WEST BANK: Stephen said life in the West Bank has ground to a halt
Stephen was born in London to parents from Cork and Carlow but spent much of his early life in Ireland.
"I grew up in Ireland and England. I have an English accent so growing up in North London in the 70s and 80s when the Blanket Protest and then the hunger strikes were going on, there was a lot of hostility towards Irish people. Often people would think I was English and make these awful comments – but they got a bit of a surprise when I replied to them!"
Getting to Palestine was an ordeal in itself and Stephen had to use a few clever tricks to convince border security he was going to visit family in Tel Aviv. Stephen was in Palestine from January 3 to 11 and explained that despite not knowing anyone there, he was able to make a number of helpful contacts that provided insightful information as to what is really going on.
“To get to Palestine I booked a flight to Tel Aviv and I was interrogated before getting on the plane and they said not to lock my bag because they would just break it open in the baggage area. I managed to bring a number of Irish flags with me for the trip.
“I had great help and support before I departed from Ken Gahan and Philomena Thompson from the Kevin Barry/Michael Fay Cumann in Carlow, who are both running to be councillors in Carlow in this year’s local elections.
“There was no way to get to Hebron directly so I had to travel to Jerusalem by bus, then to Bethlehem and into the Hebron in the West Bank that way.
"I eventually got to Hebron and I did a bit of teaching in the H1 area for the Excellence Centre. Hebron’s Old City, in the H2 area, is under direct Israeli control and I went into the ghetto underneath where the settlers live above Palestinians and there is a wire mesh overhead to act as a separation barrier. The settlers throw down their rubbish, fruit, prams, nappies etc all down on to the mesh. They pour their waste down as well on top of the heads of Palestinians at times. This is all overlooked by Israeli snipers stationed on the walls."
CHECKPOINT: Stephen secretly recorded getting pulled over at an Israeli checkpoint where his guide was threatened with a rifle by armed soldiers
“Many of the Palestinians I spoke to, especially the younger ones, were afraid to get into pictures with me because the IT capabilities of the occupation forces are so advanced that any post in that area which criticises Israel or the occupation will automatically get flagged and they will visit your homes and highly likely to be arrested and arbitrarily detained for six months under incitement to terrorism charges, which can be extended for six months at a time – similar again to internment in the six counties in the 70s. I spoke with many young people who had been sentenced to six months arbitrary detention for social media posts."
Coupled with deteriorating conditions in the West Bank, checkpoints and border crossings are now becoming all but impossible for Palestinians, as Stephen observed when the young driver of a vehicle he was in was held at gunpoint and threatened by Israeli police and soldiers.
“When I travelled to Bethlehem we were stopped at the checkpoint and I was able to record the violent actions of the checkpoint soldiers - it's illegal to record this in Israeli areas as they can arrest and detain you, so it’s not done without risk."
Stephen continued: "They took our driver out of the car, put the rifle into his back and started shouting in Hebrew which our driver couldn't speak. The whole time there were four other soldiers around the checkpoint aiming their weapons at us – it just reminded me of what I know of the North in the 1970s and after.
OCCUPATION: Stephen secretly recorded Israeli occupation forces threatening his guide at a checkpoint in the West Bank
“I also went to Ramallah where there are ongoing raids and settler attacks. The Occupation Forces while on raids are using bulldozers to plough up roads, electrical supplies and water pipes. Slowly they are destroying all forms of infrastructure and economic life for Palestinians.
“When I was there I saw that hunger was beginning to set in due to commerce breaking down and all permits for working in Tel Aviv cancelled. People there are becoming very scared and the ordinary business of life has all but gone there now."
Stephen said the result of the occupation was the destruction of all forms of infrastructure and the deterioration of civic and economic life in the West Bank. He was when visiting the birthplace of Jesus to note there was only a handful of people there compared to the hundreds of thousands who used to visit every year.
“I visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Jesus’ birthplace, and bought my mother some rosary beads. The owners told me I was the second customer they’d had since October. The entire shopping and commercial districts are empty. Usually, tourists have to wait hours and hours to enter the Church – I just walked in and there were only about six people there. That is how much life has ground to a halt in the West Bank."
BETHLEHEM: Stephen stated the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was empty with life in the West Bank grinding to a halt
Stephen said he's raising money for kits which will go towards starting teams in the Occupied Territories to give young people hope and also show solidarity with Palestine.
“What I want to do is help set up GAA clubs in Palestine. Raising this money will help set up GAA clubs there and that will create a conduit for Palestinians to see that they have friends outside their country that they are actively engaged with. I am hoping for coaches from the GAA coming to Ramallah at least once a year for Cúl Camps and competitions.”
Despite the many hardships he witnessed, Stephen said the highlight of his trip was attending a rally at Nelson Mandela Square in Ramallah in honour of South Africa after the nation took Israel to the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide.
Stephen said at the rally he was able to distribute many Irish flags and give them to organisers.
“The entire rally was being watched by the occupying forces who have been shooting at large gatherings. One of the flags went to a child right at the front. I felt so proud to be Irish then and I kept telling them that our hearts were firmly with them. It is shameful the Irish government won't join South Africa but I know that, despite the government, the Irish people are with Palestine.”
RALLY: A young Palestinian girl holds an Irish flag at a rally celebrating South Africa's case against Israel at the ICJ
“The occupation forces are doing everything they can do pick a fight with Palestinians and also disrupt every aspect of their lives.”
Stephen believes Israel is striving to up the ante in the West Bank now, in hopes that a regional war with the US and UK involved will provide cover for Israel to carry out more ethnic cleansing in the West Bank as well as Gaza.
To donate to Stephen’s fundraiser, click here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/gaa-sports-kits-funds-for-palestinian-children
