كلمة المجلس.

 Open letter
To: the Israeli soldier - killer of Mohammad ad Durra
From: The children‘s municipal council of Jericho
Heroic soldier,
It is customary to start a letter with greetings, but we are not sure how we should greet you, for we might make a mistake, or not make a mistake, and you will start shooting at us, and we don‘t know if you have hands and fingers like us where blood runs in the veins, or whether you have buttons and an electronic control panel??
We tell you frankly, and after many a child admitted to seeing you in more than one form and more than once in their dreams and nightmares, to the degree that some of them are afraid that you will appear to them from the water faucet or the refrigerator, we have decided to ask you a few questions regardless of the price we might have to pay, and even if you should start to appear to us in the candy box… we don‘t want it anymore… we start by asking you
Do you have children?
Do your brothers or sisters or relatives or even friends have children as old as Mohammad ad Durra?
Have you ever bought a child a toy or doll or even a hairpin to know the meaning of happiness in a child‘s eyes?
Have you ever glanced at the groups of children flying like butterflies on their way to school starting the new school year?
Or, returning home, searching in the kitchen for something to eat after the long tiring school hours?
Have you glanced at a child whose mother has bought him a pair of new shoes or new clothes for the holidays?
Have you ever known the happiness of a child after a visit by Santa Claus?
Have you ever given a child a candy bar?
Has a child ever slept in your arms, for just a little while?
There are many questions that we wish to ask you, more than the number of bullets that you shot at Mohammad ad Durra, and who knows, maybe at other children as well.
But these questions will not be more than his cries, the cries of fear that he gave out asking for life to witness the Al fitr Feast in two months…. But Mohammad will not be there to rejoice at its arrival.
We are filled with conflicting feelings that frustrate us sometimes, and give us strength at others, but we must ask you…
What is the danger that you felt from the child Mohammad ad Durra as he was crying for life?
How did the tears of Mohammad ad Durra and his cries pose a threat to your life or to the security of the state of Israel?
Please tell us, perhaps we can understand your viewpoint and try to forgive you… Maybe Mohammad ad Durra was carrying a wooden toy gun and you feared that it would turn into a real gun in his hand, just like Prophet Moses‘ staff?
Or perhaps you feared that his cries would reach his mother and she would bring out of her fridge F15 and F16 and F18 fighter planes or Patriot missiles?
Or perhaps you feared his brother‘s kite?
Or maybe you were afraid that Mohammad ad Durra‘s tears would reach the UN Security Council or the UNCIEF and they would sharpen their tongues and pens with phrases of denunciation and condemnation?
This civilized world is crying and laughing matter… God bless the poet of Egypt who portrayed the lion "king of the jungle" ordering the death of the frog because he disturbed the serenity of the night by his singing.
Yes, soldier, you might be a lion or the king of the jungle (the jungle of guns)
But Mohammad was a giant who moved the conscience of 1.25 million Arabs and Muslims and tens of millions of good Christians and even reached the hearts of a number of Jews.
Yes, your bullets have shut the mouth of Mohammad and silenced his screams
But Mohammad‘s cries have closed thirty embassies for a country that owns the largest war arsenal.
Yes, your bullets have torn the body of Mohammad ad Durra ten meters away from you
But the tears of Mohammad destroyed a war vessel 3000 kilometers away.
You poor solider, "King of the jungle of guns", for Mohammad ad Durra has gone to sleep like a secure bird on a high tree
While you await a decision from Madeline Albright and Kofi Anan and Sharm esh Sheikh in order to sleep.
You poor soldier, with heavy weapons, Mohammad ad Durra has become a symbol for childhood and innocence
While you are haunted by childhood, so beware… and do not think lightly of childhood
We will haunt you wherever you go… and the tears of Mohammad ad Durra will visit you every day before you sleep
You will not relax, you are hunted by childhood and innocence and mercy and tenderness
We will demand to end your membership of the human race,
And the animal race will surely reject you.
Who are you…
A prophet who united the world against a people?
A Satan who united the world around your curse?
Who are you:
For Palestinians you are a murderer
For Israelis you are a lousy hired killer
For America you are a losing bet
And for Europe you are a killer wolf
For the Arabs you are a title of unity… shock… awakening… injustice… revolution… weakness… violence… humiliation… victory… defeat… and the end of this charade.
Who are you:
If you are a black day in the world of childhood… then in the world of money every American, European, and Japanese taxpayer has the right to take you to court.
The Millions that were spent for peace, were burnt by your bullets.
And the seeds of peace that were planted in Palestinian and Israeli children and were beginning to take root, were ruthlessly extracted with your hands.
What have you done to the children of Palestine after they learnt to use stones for building their homes???