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P R E S S A L E R T
PROFESSOR HISHAM AHMED FROM DEHEISHE REFUGEE CAMP
Yesterday, after the Pope left Deheishe Refugee Camp near Bethlehem,
residents
of the Camp battled with the police of the Arafat "Authority" and then
demonstrated against the ongoing occupation and the inadequate "Peace
Process."
If you are with the Press we strongly suggest you contact Professor
Hisham Ahmed,
a resident of Deheishe Camp who is quoted in today's New York Times.
Professor
Ahmed has his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California
and
now teaches at Bir Zeit University. He has been a Fulbright Scholar
and has
taught in the United States. Professor Ahmed can be reached in
Israel/Palestine
at: 052 405354. If you are calling internationally the number is 972
52 405354.
The following brief article from today's "The Straits Times"
(Singapore) describes what took place yesterday at Deheishe
Camp shortly after the Pople left:
VIOLENCE MARS POPE'S PALESTINIAN VISIT
DHEISHEH REFUGEE CAMP (West Bank) -- Residents hurled stones on Wednesday
at
security forces after Pope John Paul II left the Dheisheh camp in Palestine
on a visit there.
The melee showed dissatisfaction with Mr Yasser Arafat's leadership
and the
slow pace of peace with Israel. It marred an otherwise festive occasion
for
the Palestinians, who heard the Pope give moral weight to their statehood
claims as the world watched.
About an hour after the pope left Dheisheh, the volatility and frustration
of
life here reared its head. Witnesses said police trying to push back
curious
onlookers beat several of them with clubs. In response, an angry crowd
hurled
stones at police officers.
Refugees at Dheisheh, a shantytown of some 10,000 refugees from the
1948 war,
feel the Palestinian leadership does not invest enough resources in
the camps
and complain of nepotism and widespread corruption. They also fear
the peace
process will not address their demand to return to the homes they were
forced
to flee a half-century ago.
Following the scuffle, hundreds of camp residents gathered for a protest
march through the streets of Dheisheh. -- AP
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