This Is not a Revolt – This Is a War
![](http://www.a-w-i-p.com/media/blogs/articles/Articles3/Articles4/PAL_first-intifada-boy-stone-zio-jeep-f-88.jpg?mtime=1355830173)
December 2012 will mark the 25th anniversary of the first Palestinian Intifada.
A long film, whose end we cannot yet see, began with a long wait at the Gaza taxi stop in Jaffa. For an hour, not even one taxi arrived. A Gaza taxi driver who was stuck with his taxi in Jaffa was not in a hurry to take me. Even on the way he continued to hesitate: “I don’t know if I should have returned to Gaza today. We all know one thing: if Israel Radio’s Arabic service says that the situation is calm, it’s a sign that the opposite is true.” Shortly after 9:30 I got out at Bayt Hanun. I had more than an hour to wait before my meeting with the leader in the center of Gaza City.
The streets were empty of people. After a few minutes I saw three army jeeps by the side of the road, and not far from them stood more than ten soldiers who opened fire down one of the side roads. Walking on south, toward Gaza, I passed the soldiers, and suddenly I found myself in no-man’s land. From one side hundreds of demonstrators approached me, throwing Molotov cocktails, stones, and sticks. Behind me were the Israeli soldiers, who were now firing at the demonstrators.
I saw the soldiers firing the guns at their stomachs and pointed straight forward. The bullets passed by me. I heard their whistles. I had not managed to work out how to get away, when I found I was covered with blood. I felt no blow or pain. It was as if someone had poured a bottle of blood over my head. I pulled a red and white kuffiyyah out of my bag and bandaged my head with it.
Meanwhile I moved to the side of the road, away from the center of the conflict. A passing taxi picked me up and took me to Shifa Hospital in Gaza. During the whole journey, I heard bursts of fire.