Script.
It's a one sided battle of man versus machine. This is
Nablus on the
West bank - a scene that's become all too familiar in
the Israeli
Palestinian conflict. Palestinian youths confronting
one of the Israel
army's hated bulldozers.
Israeli soldiers call it Duby, or "teddy bear".. But
there's nothing
cuddly about these specially modified bulldozers.
At sixty four tonnes it's a machine of awesome
destructive power, the
iron fist of the israeli army.
They are not only used to destroy Palestinian houses -
which Israel
claims is justified for security reasons. They're also
used in the
construction of settlements and by pass roads , as
well as israel's
controversial security barrier. At the same time they
have been used to
uproot thousands of Palestinian olive and fruit
trees.....
The company supplying the bulldozers is Caterpillar -
one of the
world's most profitable, in the first half of this
year recording
sales
of $17.6 billion dollars. For Palestinians it's a name
that has become
synonymous with the occupation.
(SOT Michael Tirazi, spokesman for the Palestinian
Authority)
"These Caterpillar products have resulted in the
destruction of
hundreds
of Palestinian homes, the construction of 100s of
illegal settlements
in
the occupied territories and they very much symbolize
foreign
involvement in the occupation."
Anguish at the death of a friend. - .....two years
ago, Rachel Corrie,
an American peace activist, was crushed under a
bulldozer, supplied by
caterpillar, as she tried to block its path. Her death
brought to
international attention a campaign, which has been
running for 5 years.
It urges the boycott of caterpillar products.
( this bit must be flagged as "Activist Video")
Here in Britain actvists have protested outside
factories owned by
Caterpillar. They've also targetted stores, like this
one in
Manchester,
selling Caterpillar footwear, one the company's best
known products.
The Corrie family's lawyers recently launched a civil
action in the
United States, accusing the company of human rights
violations and
demanding compensation in connection with her death.
The case now
includes other plaintiffs...Caterpillar has filed a
motion to dismiss
the Corrie case.
Lawyers acting for the family say Caterpillar is
liable because the
company has been repeatedly told by human rights
groups, since the
1980s, that its vehicles are used in house
demolitions. they say the
company knowingly contravenes international law - but
has failed to
act.
(SOT, Jeff Halper, Israeli Committee against house
demolition(ICAHD))
"Israel could not sustain its occupation at all -
including the house
demolition part of it - without outside assistance. So
we began too
look
at the question of how they are demolishing homes.
they are using
caterpillar bulldozers. As we ban to investigate we
found out these are
not normal bulldozers."
Jeff Halper, an American Jew who runs the Israeli
committee against
house demolitions, discovered that bulldozers usually
used for
construction operations, had been transformed into
specially fitted,
militarized machines.
(SOT Jeff Halper)
"These are two storey tremendously powerful machines.
Really mining
equipment, specially modified for the israeli army by
caterpillar."
In a statement to Channel 4 News Caterpillar maintains
that
(Graphic - reveals and read)
Caterpillar do not modify these machines. they are
modified by
customers.
"for the past four years, activists have wrongly
included Caterpillar
in
a publicity campaign aimed at advancing their much
larger politicals
agendas....."
Caterpillar fully complies with all local, US and
international laws
and policies governing sales of our products around
the world,
including
the US Foreign Military Sales Programme.
Not a view shared by the Palestinians
(SOT Michael Tirazi, spokesman for Palestinian
Authority)
"In the United States we have a law that products
cannot be used in
violation of internaitonal law. So if caterpillar is
fully aware that
its products are being used by the Israeli government,
its customer, to
violate the 4th geneva convention to violate the
rights of palestinians
under occupation, then caterpillar is under obligation
to stop selling
those products. Unfortunately caterpillar has learnt
it prefers profits
over rights human rights."
But the Israelis say that security is the reason they
use bulldozers
(SOT Zalman Shoval, former Israeli Ambassador)
" the caterpillars are certainly used in Israel are
used to build and
construct, to build homes, and till fields or
whatever. But if they are
also used in matters which serve to defend ourselves
against the
onslaught of terrorism, which has only one aim in
mind.... to kill us -
I think that certainly neither Caterpillar or any
other company should
be made a victim of selling us their tools."
This summer Israel was for the first time happy to
emphasise the
destruction wrought by its bulldozers. And this is
what they want the
world to focus on - the demolition of homes evacuated
in the recent
withdrawl from Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West
Bank
(SOT Supt. Uri Yaalon, Israeli Police)
" government has made a decision to evacuate this
settlements and
they're turning them on the Jewish homes too. So
there is no
discrimination between the Palestinians and Jews"
Israeli human rights groups insist there is no
comparsion.
(SOT. Jeff halper, Israeli Committee against house
demolitions(ICAHD))
"It's a very different equation using caterpillars to
destroy settler
homes within a a political process, where there are no
victims,
compared
to using them as a tool of oppression in occupied
territiory, in an
illegal way against Palestinains."
For now though caterpillar refuses to stop the sale of
bulldozers to
Israel. This week the company announced that it will
significantly
increase production to meet international demands.
Ironically the
Palestinians may soon be customers themselves as they
rebuild gaza's
shattered infrastructure. They'll need all the
caterpillars they can
get. After all it takes the power of the caterpillar
to fix what a
caterpillar has destroyed."
It's a one sided battle of man versus machine. This is
Nablus on the
West bank - a scene that's become all too familiar in
the Israeli
Palestinian conflict. Palestinian youths confronting
one of the Israel
army's hated bulldozers.
Israeli soldiers call it Duby, or "teddy bear".. But
there's nothing
cuddly about these specially modified bulldozers.
At sixty four tonnes it's a machine of awesome
destructive power, the
iron fist of the israeli army.
They are not only used to destroy Palestinian houses -
which Israel
claims is justified for security reasons. They're also
used in the
construction of settlements and by pass roads , as
well as israel's
controversial security barrier. At the same time they
have been used to
uproot thousands of Palestinian olive and fruit
trees.....
The company supplying the bulldozers is Caterpillar -
one of the
world's most profitable, in the first half of this
year recording
sales
of $17.6 billion dollars. For Palestinians it's a name
that has become
synonymous with the occupation.
(SOT Michael Tirazi, spokesman for the Palestinian
Authority)
"These Caterpillar products have resulted in the
destruction of
hundreds
of Palestinian homes, the construction of 100s of
illegal settlements
in
the occupied territories and they very much symbolize
foreign
involvement in the occupation."
Anguish at the death of a friend. - .....two years
ago, Rachel Corrie,
an American peace activist, was crushed under a
bulldozer, supplied by
caterpillar, as she tried to block its path. Her death
brought to
international attention a campaign, which has been
running for 5 years.
It urges the boycott of caterpillar products.
( this bit must be flagged as "Activist Video")
Here in Britain actvists have protested outside
factories owned by
Caterpillar. They've also targetted stores, like this
one in
Manchester,
selling Caterpillar footwear, one the company's best
known products.
The Corrie family's lawyers recently launched a civil
action in the
United States, accusing the company of human rights
violations and
demanding compensation in connection with her death.
The case now
includes other plaintiffs...Caterpillar has filed a
motion to dismiss
the Corrie case.
Lawyers acting for the family say Caterpillar is
liable because the
company has been repeatedly told by human rights
groups, since the
1980s, that its vehicles are used in house
demolitions. they say the
company knowingly contravenes international law - but
has failed to
act.
(SOT, Jeff Halper, Israeli Committee against house
demolition(ICAHD))
"Israel could not sustain its occupation at all -
including the house
demolition part of it - without outside assistance. So
we began too
look
at the question of how they are demolishing homes.
they are using
caterpillar bulldozers. As we ban to investigate we
found out these are
not normal bulldozers."
Jeff Halper, an American Jew who runs the Israeli
committee against
house demolitions, discovered that bulldozers usually
used for
construction operations, had been transformed into
specially fitted,
militarized machines.
(SOT Jeff Halper)
"These are two storey tremendously powerful machines.
Really mining
equipment, specially modified for the israeli army by
caterpillar."
In a statement to Channel 4 News Caterpillar maintains
that
(Graphic - reveals and read)
Caterpillar do not modify these machines. they are
modified by
customers.
"for the past four years, activists have wrongly
included Caterpillar
in
a publicity campaign aimed at advancing their much
larger politicals
agendas....."
Caterpillar fully complies with all local, US and
international laws
and policies governing sales of our products around
the world,
including
the US Foreign Military Sales Programme.
Not a view shared by the Palestinians
(SOT Michael Tirazi, spokesman for Palestinian
Authority)
"In the United States we have a law that products
cannot be used in
violation of internaitonal law. So if caterpillar is
fully aware that
its products are being used by the Israeli government,
its customer, to
violate the 4th geneva convention to violate the
rights of palestinians
under occupation, then caterpillar is under obligation
to stop selling
those products. Unfortunately caterpillar has learnt
it prefers profits
over rights human rights."
But the Israelis say that security is the reason they
use bulldozers
(SOT Zalman Shoval, former Israeli Ambassador)
" the caterpillars are certainly used in Israel are
used to build and
construct, to build homes, and till fields or
whatever. But if they are
also used in matters which serve to defend ourselves
against the
onslaught of terrorism, which has only one aim in
mind.... to kill us -
I think that certainly neither Caterpillar or any
other company should
be made a victim of selling us their tools."
This summer Israel was for the first time happy to
emphasise the
destruction wrought by its bulldozers. And this is
what they want the
world to focus on - the demolition of homes evacuated
in the recent
withdrawl from Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West
Bank
(SOT Supt. Uri Yaalon, Israeli Police)
" government has made a decision to evacuate this
settlements and
they're turning them on the Jewish homes too. So
there is no
discrimination between the Palestinians and Jews"
Israeli human rights groups insist there is no
comparsion.
(SOT. Jeff halper, Israeli Committee against house
demolitions(ICAHD))
"It's a very different equation using caterpillars to
destroy settler
homes within a a political process, where there are no
victims,
compared
to using them as a tool of oppression in occupied
territiory, in an
illegal way against Palestinains."
For now though caterpillar refuses to stop the sale of
bulldozers to
Israel. This week the company announced that it will
significantly
increase production to meet international demands.
Ironically the
Palestinians may soon be customers themselves as they
rebuild gaza's
shattered infrastructure. They'll need all the
caterpillars they can
get. After all it takes the power of the caterpillar
to fix what a
caterpillar has destroyed."