Radstats listmembers may be interested in further details of the Israeli
raid on the Palestine Bureau of Statistics, below. Its a longish message.
Dear Professor de L'Estoile
Many thanks for sending me the exchange on PCBS. The issue has been
discussed at length here and in the Israeli press. Thre is a lot of
material that is available on the PCBS web site (available via google) and
in the English version of Haaretz. Most recently Amira Haas, Haaretz
correspondent in the West Bank wrote a detailed account of what happened.
PCBS is located in the northern part of Ramallah which is currently
occupied by the Israeli army. Like many public and state offices in this
area the Israeli army has felt free to enter these buildings and take
material from them for investigation. The Israelis do not distinguish in
this regard between civilian and military installation. They regard all
establishments that are connected to the government as legitimate
'terrorist' targets. In this case they have confiscated computers,
publications, data sets, and file cabinets. They have not so far returned
any of the confiscated materials. One of their 'findings' is that PCBS is
being funded by Norwegian, Swedish, and European community funds. This
knowledge, which is available on the PCBS web site, has been publicized as
if it is the result of investigation into the seizure of this property.
PCBS is well known, since it was established few years ago, as a
respectable body of data gathering and data dissimenation. Its publications
are consulted by all academic and other researchers involved in the study
of Palestinian society. It has established strong relations with Arab and
European bureaus of statistics, and has had cordial relations with the
Israeli Bureau of Statistics. All its work is available to the public,
through its web site and its publication offices.
PCBS is a public body that does not involve itself in politics or partisan
activity. Its only encounter with the Israelis occured when it tried to
extend the Palestinian census to the Arab (occupied) sector of Jerusalem.
At that time PCBS census takers were arrested and prohibited from
conducting their survey.
I completely agree with the note sent by Prof. Baruch Kimmerling from the
Hebrew University. This is not a matter for dialogue. The facts of the
matter are fully known. The Israeli army has not made any claims that PCBS
is a security establishment, nor that they have found any material that is
'dangerous'. Furthermore they have illegally entered an area of town which
has neither attacked nor resisted the Israeli army. The only reason for the
presence of the Israeli army into northern Ramallah is that it is the road
that leads to Yaser Arafat's headquarters. And they remain there until this
moment. None of the material stolen from PCBS has been returned. And no
apologies have been made for the seizure of purely scientifc data.
Yours,
Salim Tamari
Associate Professor of Sociology
Birzeit University.
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