By Team Nablus

Helmi on 21st April – recovering step by step

Helmi Abdul Azeez Hassan was shot with live ammunition by a settler on 23rd February at short range and came very close to death. He spent nine days unconscious before he woke up in hospital only to be interrogated and accused of throwing stones. Two months later, he sits down with his family and international activists and is happy as he talks of his life, with his wife expecting a child. His two year old daughter, shy of strangers, runs to his legs to be embraced as tea and coffee is passed around.

Helmi’s recovery is slow but is of great relief to his family. He is housebound by his injury but still makes regular trips to the hospital with the possibility looming of another operation. Sixty six percent of his liver was removed due to the extensive damage caused by the shot. The catheters repairing the arteries to his heart will have to be replaced soon – they only last three months.

A builder by trade, Helmi arrived home from work to find that around 15 heavily armed settlers had invaded the village. A shot from one of the settlers narrowly missed his heart and would have mortally wounded him, had he not been able to receive immediate treatment. Despite this, it will be at least six or seven months before Helmi will be able to go back to work.

His mother brings in a bounty of freshly baked bread, zatar, cheese, olives and biscuits to be enjoyed by everyone in the room. Palestinian hospitality is once again displayed as the visitors are told to eat and drink more, distracted from the interview.

On waking up on a hospital bed less than two months ago to be confronted by his interrogator, who said that Helmi ‘got what he deserved,’ Helmi speaks profoundly of his experience, commenting that he was ‘injured and close to death. No one in the Israeli government condemned this action,’ – pointing out that they did not pursue those responsible, yet ‘they arrest Palestinian children for throwing stones.’

Qusra has had to deal with many violent attacks from settlers and escorting soldiers. The small village is collecting a number of inhabitants who were injured and in many cases seriously. Also present at the gathering is a school teacher who updates us about Osama Rami Hassan’s situation. Osama is a 16 year old boy who was shot in the face with a rubber-coated steel bullet narrowly missing his eye, on the same day two months previously that Helmi was shot. For some time Osama wore an eye patch before it was removed recently – he is also well on the way to recovery – ‘step by step’ says the school-teacher. Whilst his physical recovery is going well and he is unlikely to lose his sight, Osama constantly thinks of the attack and may be suffering psychologically because of it. However, his teacher says that he is strong and is doing well in school, having recently enjoyed a school trip to Qalqilia.

Another in the series of injured villagers is Ammar, a 21 year old who was shot with live ammunition in the leg on January 10th 2013. He is still using crutches but is believed to be able to make a full recovery.

Akram Taysir Daoud was attacked and beaten unconscious after being lured into an ambush when settlers called to him in Arabic on the 15th September 2012. He was beaten with sticks and rocks and left for dead, but fortunately regained consciousness after 15 minutes so he could phone his brother for help. His injuries were so severe that he lost his ability to smell or taste – this has not recovered in the seven months since the attack. Recovery from his other injuries however, has been good and now he has been able to return to work.

Settlers mainly from the Esh Kodesh and Qida illegal settlements have uprooted more than 2,400 olive trees in the last three years in repeated attacks against the land and the inhabitants from Qusra. Attacks have been coordinated acts of terror against the Palestinian population such as the joint attack on Urif and Qusra that injured Ammar. Settlers are known to travel from illegal settlements in the south to attack villages in the north as part of this campaign of violence against the Palestinian community.

Helmi is asked what his hopes are for the future as our meeting comes to an end. Straight away he responds with three points, that ‘Settlers should stop their attacks, return our lands and that we can live in peace and quiet.’

Helmi’s is still the most recent attack by settlers against the residents of Qusra and we say goodbye to him and his family, pleased to hear that ‘step by step’ the people of Qusra are recovering. They show their strength by their love for each other and their commitment just to live in ‘peace and quiet.’

There is hope and relief in the gradual recovery of those who have been injured recently. Residents are still reminded how close they have come to death and that such threat still exists for the present future. Tragedy has previously visited Qusra residents when Issam Kamel Odeh, 33, died from Israeli gunfire after settlers invaded the village in September 2011.

By Team Nablus

An innocent 16-year-old boy was abused and arrested on Tuesday April 16^th in Urif, despite his grandfather and uncle rushing to show documents that he is seeking medical attention for a possible cancer diagnosis. He was wrongfully accused of stone-throwing as he was leaving his uncle’s home.

Twelve soldiers had arrived in the village at around noon and were forcefully entering houses and shooting rubber-coated steel bullets down two main streets in Urif. They entered five different houses and in the fifth house, randomly attempted to take a boy in his last year of high school. His family protested and the soldiers moved on.

Stones were thrown in protest at the Israeli jeep invading the village, and the 16-year-old boy, who had been visiting his uncle and whose illness causes him to walk slowly, was taken in retribution for the stone-throwers. The boy’s hands and legs were bound, he was blindfolded and soldiers ignored his uncle and grandfather hurriedly showing medical documents about his diagnosis.

Stone-throwing resumed in protest as the jeep drove away with the ill 16-year-old. The boy reported that for every stone thrown at the jeep, he was kicked by the Israeli soldiers who were yelling at him in Hebrew. He was then taken to the Huwwara military compound, where again his uncle and grandfather followed with medical documents, trying to inform the Israeli military that there were serious concerns for the boy’s health.

Medical documents for the arrested boy

Urif is a village in the Nablus governorate that regularly faces attacks from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar, widely considered to be one of the most radical. While solidarity activists were visiting after the arrest, settlers could be seen at the top of the mountain and were said to be disturbing a local school. In addition, a tree planting event held on Saturday, April 13 was met by six Israeli jeeps and farmers were harassed during the action.

Furthermore, in the past ten years, 7000 Palestinian minors between the ages of 12-17 have been arrested by Israeli military forces according to a February 2013 UNICEF report. The same report says that Israeli detention of children regularly violates the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child and the UN Convention Against Torture. Among these violations are that children are almost never informed of their rights, are held in isolation for days, and banned from seeing their families as required under the Geneva Conventions. Another report from April 2012 by Defense for Children International states that 75% of 12-17-year-old Palestinian detainees by Israel suffered from mistreatment during arrest, interrogation and detention, based on 311 testimonials between 2008 and 2012.

UPDATE: All of those detained today have been released and the Brit who was pepper sprayed has been let out of hospital

At around 11am this morning, a group of internationals including three volunteers from the Michigan Peace Team travelled to Urif in Nablus. They were attempting to assist in planting olive trees at the top of the village near the school, an area which has been the scene of much of the recent troubles in Urif.

Despite being nowhere near the illegal Israeli settlement, Yizhar, Israel forces have a constant presence on the hilltop.  One local resident said, “we always know when we are about to be attacked by settlers, because the army leave their position at the top of the hill“.

On arrival activists were immediately approached by the Israeli Occupation Force who were asking for internationals’ passports, the army then tried to arrest a Palestinian farmer.

The internationals tried to intervene but 6 including three from the Michigan Peace Team and 3 volunteers from the ISM were arrested. The three ISM activist currently in detention at the Ariel settlement are from America, Denmark and Finland; no Palestinians were arrested.

Two ISM volunteers were pepper sprayed which hospitalised one British volunteer.

Please stay posted for further updates.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Israeli army and illegal settlers have been, on almost daily basis for the past two months, invading and attacking the village of Urif in the West Bank. A local doctor reports that these actions have inflicted 17 miscarriages only in the month of December, numerous injuries, sleep deprivation and significant disruption to life. The attacks occur day and night. Tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets as well as live ammunition are routinely used by the army. The village has been the site of regular attacks over many years, but from early December 2012 there has been a significant increase.

A video published shows soldiers entering a silent Urif around 1 am on the 29th December. The soldiers explode sound bombs, use an air raid siren and boast through a loud-speaker “good morning Urif, get up all the village, get up” (4:15) and then repeatedly use the horn on an army vehicle (6:28). These night incursions have become a frequent occurrence in Urif and continue up till now.

Large amounts of tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets are being used against the villagers, continually inflicting a high number of casualties. A local doctor – a primary healthcare worker, reports that there have been 17 miscarriages in the past month as a direct result of this gas. The doctor describes how his wife lost her unborn child: “After the gas entered my home, my wife started to have a discharge of blood. We went to the hospital for an ultrasound scan and we saw there was no longer a heartbeat.” He gives an account of another case: “My neighbour was pregnant for 8 months but after a gas attack they also lost their baby.” In a village of barely 3000 people, this is a huge anomaly in miscarriages.

Jim, an international solidarity activist present in Urif, observed that “the gas is very strong, it has a potent effect even from a great distance and we have seen the army firing this gas directly at people’s homes. Sometimes the whole village is in a cloud of this chemical gas”. One of the villagers describes the gas further: “My face burns and I cannot breathe, it is not like the normal gas. With this gas, my sight is affected, everything is blurred and I feel dizzy”. According to other villagers, the gas also affects animals. Eight sheep have died from its inhalation, one pregnant cow miscarried and then died shortly after a still birth. The gas seems to have inflicted death to many new born puppies, too.

Settlers from Yitzhar, the nearby illegal settlement, regularly throw stones at the local school and shout abuse at children inside. Recently, the army fired tear gas into the school while the children were sitting their end of year exams. On New Year’s Day a wedding was attacked with gas and a mentally ill man was shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet, as the villagers reported to the international activists. The bullet lodged in his leg, as he was shot at such close range. On 10th January settlers were shooting live bullets, throwing stones, uprooting olive trees and attacked two houses. A similar scenario occurred in the village of Qusra, with settlers from the Esh Kodesh and Qida illegal settlements attacking at the same time when the attack in Urif was underway, thus raising the possibility that these were coordinated attacks.

Further attacks on the local population of Urif might lead to even more miscarriages and other health issues. “The army must stop immediately all attacks on the village, including the heavy usage of tear gas and night rides, and prevent all settler attacks,” international solidarity activists monitoring the area near to Nablus conclude.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As the villages around Nablus woke up to the rare scene of a snow-covered landscape, Israeli settlers violently attacked groups of youngsters playing with snow in the villages of Urif and Qusra. Two people were both hit in the leg by live bullets fired from settlers’ guns and six people were hospitalized because of rubber-coated steel bullets shot by the Israeli army.

In Urif, a group of thirty-five settlers came down the hills from the nearby Yizhar illegal settlement and attacked youth engaged in a snow-battle. One settler, who was carrying a sword, went to slash one of them but was stopped in time by the villagers. Other settlers started shooting live bullets and attacked two houses, smashing their windows. Shortly after the attack started the Israeli army also came down the hills, openly protecting the settlers from people that were gathering to defend their village. International human-rights activists that arrived in Urif saw settlers throwing stones and filmed them uprooting olive trees while the Israeli army shot tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets, preventing the activists and villagers from approaching the settlers. As the attack went on, settlers again opened fire on people from Urif and hit one young person in the leg. Five other persons were taken to hospital because of injuries sustained from rubber-coated steel bullets shot by the Israeli military.

A similar scenario occurred in the village of Qusra, with settlers from the Esh Kodesh and Qida illegal settlements attacking at the same time the attack in Urif was underway, thus raising the possibility that these were coordinated attacks. Fifteen settlers gathered on the hill overlooking Qusra and five of them, three of whom were armed with guns, went down to the village. The five settlers first headed to one of the homes on the edge of the village, previously targeted in a number of other assaults. As youth who were playing with snow went running to defend the home, settlers started shooting at them with their M-16 guns. 21-year-old Ammar was hit in the leg after the bullet passed through the mobile phone in his pocket. Settlers continued shooting at friends of Ammar who were trying to carry him away from the scene. He is currently in hospital and will have to undergo surgery because of the wound caused by the bullet.

In the meantime, dozens of Israeli soldiers started gathering on the hills, while settlers went around fields breaking olive trees. Only this morning a total of 188 olive trees were destroyed, with some of the trees having up to 20 years-worth of toil invested in them. When villagers from Qusra went to confront the settlers in the act they were met by tear-gas and rubber-coated steel bullets fired by the Israeli army positioned on top of the hills; resulting in one person being hospitalized, after a hit by a rubber-coated steel bullet in the leg.

Settlers and soldiers’ attacks are nothing new for both Urif and Qusra. Urif has been struck almost daily in the past month and a half, as settlers attacked the school and homes at the outer part of the village. This is often followed by soldiers’ incursions into the village, routinely shooting huge amounts of tear-gas in the streets and houses of Urif. Twenty women suffered miscarriages because of tear-gas inhalation in the last six weeks. Furthermore, soldiers frequently arrive at night, shouting through megaphones, throwing stun grenades and turning on their sirens, simply to deprive people of their sleep. Qusra has also been attacked four times in the past few weeks, when settlers uprooted thousands of olive trees, attacked a Red Crescent ambulance and beat up villagers. Recent offensive graffiti in Hebrew was still to be seen on the walls of the mosque there today, a year and a half after being subjected to arson.

International Solidarity Movement, Urif, Occupied Palestine – Israeli soldiers invaded the village of Urif for the fourth time in six days on Saturday 29^th December.

Urif has been attacked by settlers from the nearby illegal settlement of Yizhar on every Saturday in the past few months. Armed settlers protected by soldiers go down the hills overlooking Urif and start throwing stones at the local school as well as homes situated on the outskirts of the village.

Yesterday, instead, a group of settlers stayed on a hilltop near the village watching Israeli soldiers chasing away people that had gathered near the school to defend the village in case of the usual settlers’ attack. Israeli soldiers and Border Police went into the centre of the village at 2:30pm and stayed until 6:30pm shooting tear-gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades at people, vehicles and houses in Urif.

In one particular incident, a group of soldiers that had positioned themselves on a balcony started shooting tear-gas and rubber-coated steel bullets directly at international human rights observers standing on a roof in front of them.

In the past five weeks daily settlers’ attacks, followed by Israeli army aggression at those who go to confront the settlers, have completely disrupted life in Urif. On the nights of Monday and Wednesday soldiers, without provocation, entered the village at 1:00am and shot tear-gas and stun grenades until the early hours of the morning. On Thursday, Israeli soldiers attacked a school with tear-gas and stun grenades, sending scores of three to six year old children running down the hills of Urif, and then imposed a curfew on the village. The massive amount of tear-gas shot in the village has also led to seventeen women having a miscarriage in the past month.

Following three days of incessant attacks from Israeli soldiers and settlers on the village of Urif, south of Nablus,  around  seventy soldiers on ten military jeeps soldiers invaded the village at 9:30 this morning. They started firing tear gas on children aged three to six years that were leaving their school after having finished an exam. The whole village was put under curfew for a few hours.

International solidarity activists arrived in Urif to find scores of terrorized children running away from a school that had just been attacked with tear-gas by the Israeli military. The soldiers ordered everyone to stay off the streets and shot tear-gas directly at old women who were next to a home in the village centre. Dozens of soldiers went around the village with military jeeps, broke into homes and fired tear-gas into buildings and streets, while others positioned themselves on roof tops. One international activist was briefly handcuffed and detained by the military. In another incident an international activist was punched in the chest and in the face after having been asked for his documents by the Israeli Border Police. Soldiers started leaving the village at 1:30pm. No arrests were made.

Life in the village of Urif has been completely disrupted in the past month as settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Yizhar have been attacking the village almost daily. This is usually followed by attacks from the Israeli army against the people who go to defend their village from the settlers.  The military also carried out various incursions into the village. In past four days soldiers entered the village twice in the middle of the night and shot tear-gas and sound bombs until the early hours of the morning. The villagers of Urif also talked about a particularly toxic tear-gas that is being used. Only in the past month, 17 women from Urif have had  miscarriages from tear-gas inhalation. Although attacks from settlers were not uncommon in all of the past two decades, people in Urif told us that after the successful bid by Palestine to become UN observer member, attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers became incessant, effectively denying any semblance of normality to life in the village.

Over the past three days, the village of Urif, south of Nablus, has been under constant attack from Israeli settlers and soldiers. Soldiers invaded the village twice and numerous people sustained injuries from rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters. People in Urif said that settlers attack their village almost daily, especially now that Palestine has been granted observer member status in the UN.

Soldiers on the hills overlooking Urif

The latest attack started on Monday, 24 December at 10 am when armed settlers attacked a school in Urif with stones. When youth from the village went to defend the school and confront the settlers, the Israeli military arrived and started shooting at people. Clashes continued until late in the evening, with live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas and sound bombs fired at the people of Urif. Two non-violent international activists at the scene of the clashes shouted at the soldiers that these actions by the Israeli army and settlers were completely illegal and inhuman, at which point the army started shooting rubber-coated steel bullets directly at the activists. At sunset the army came running down the hills toward Urif and stopped at the outskirts of the village, from where they continued shooting live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear-gas into the streets of the village.

Early on Tuesday morning, the Israeli soldiers invaded the streets of Urif and started shooting sound bombs and tear gas into the empty streets of the village.

Attacks resumed on Wednesday afternoon when settlers again attacked the school with stones. The same incidents which occurred on Monday were repeated on Wednesday, except that this time soldiers invaded the village at around 5 pm and shot tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets into the middle of the village. One person was hit in the head by a rubber-coated steel bullet.

Urif has a long history of attacks by illegal Israeli settlers. Some years ago a person was shot by Jacob, the guard of the Yizhar settlement, who is notorious for attacks on Palestinians in the area. In May this year Jacob violently attacked a farmer in Urif, tied him up and shot him in the back. In the last few weeks, attacks on Urif have intensified as settlers, with the protection of Israeli soldiers, attacked the village on most days of the past month.

Tear gas in Urif

19th November 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Today, Monday 19 of November at around 4 am, a bunch of settlers from the illegal settlement of Yitzhar set a mosque in the village of Urif on fire. The door has been damaged and the prayer mats were severely burned. After a few hours Israeli soldiers reached the area causing several clashes with the inhabitants who appeared nervous due to the attack. The soldiers shot a huge amount of tear-gas and sound bombs at the residents.
The village of Urif has been attacked many times in similar ways by the illegal settlement of Yitzhar. This year, on 29th April, mask-wearing settlers invaded the village supported by Israeli soldiers who used tear-gas, sound bombs and live ammunitions. Another event happened on 26th May when armed settlers burned cultivated fields, threw stones and shot live ammunition against the Palestinian people, one of whom was injured in the abdomen.
The illegal settlement of Yitzhar is responsible of countless attacks against surrounding villages: not only Urif but also Burin and Asira al-Qabaliya suffered similar attacks.
Urif is a Palestinian town near Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, located thirteen kilometres South of Nablus. The town has a population of just under 3000 inhabitants and is overlooked by the illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar.

The front of the mosque is seen here with scorch marks near the door

The prayer mats are seen here, scorched by flames

Vincent Redheart and Anas Green are volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed)

26 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On May 26, the village of Urif, south of Nablus, was attacked by Israeli settlers from the illegal Yitzhar settlement. Extensive amounts of agricultural land belonging to Urif were burned and settlers threw stones and shot live ammunition at civilians from the village. A Palestinian man was shot with live ammunition in the abdomen and a Franco-British volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement was injured by a tear gas canister.

The attack began around 1p.m. with shooting coming from a hill east to the village, nearby to a Palestinian secondary school. After one and a half hours the settlers appeared on the opposite side of the valley and began again to fire. It was during this attack that a young Palestinian man was shot and seriously injured. Urif residents carried him down the hill towards an ambulance that took him immediately to Rafadiyah hospital in Nablus. Israeli soldiers witnessed the attack from the top of one of hills, yet did not intervene.

Israeli soldiers prevent Palestinians from putting out the fires started by Israeli settlers further up the hill - click here for more photos

Urif’s residents attempted to climb the hill to put out fires that the settlers had started. They were confronted by heavily armed Israeli soldiers who prevented them from reaching the fires. Soldiers fired live ammunition into the air and fired blanks at the crowd of unarmed civilians. They then left the area in two armoured jeeps. Other soldiers who were positioned atop the hill, continued to monitor the Palestinians who managed to climb the hill and were attempting to put out the fires.

After one hour the settlers started a new fire on another hill near the settlement. The soldiers prevented the Palestinians from climbing the hill to put out the fires, but allowed the settlers a free pass to throw stones at the young Palestinians and internationals below them on the hill.

The Israeli military then began to shoot teargas grenades from both sides of the valley, effectively trapping the Palestinians and internationals from both sides.

The Palestinians moved towards the hill where the the secondary school stands. A group of speeding Israeli army jeeps almost ran over a group of young Palestinian men and the soldiers and some settlers stood waiting for them on this hill. The Israeli military continued to shoot excessive amounts of tear gas. A Franco-British activist was injured in the leg after being struck by a tear gas canister.

Tear gas was fired at the residential area, and many households including women and children were affected.

Urif’s residents were unable to be precise as to the number of Israeli settlers that attacked the village since there were multiple attacks throughout the afternoon. A conservative estimate of 100 settlers was given.

The casualties were high. One Palestinian man is currently still in hospital after being shot by a settler in the kidney. The Franco-British volunteer shot in the leg required medical treatment and is still unable to walk without assistance. Several individuals required treatment for tear gas inhalation, including one in particular who reacted severely to the gas due to their asthma.

Illegal settlers from the Yitzhar colony were also responsible for the attack on Asira al-Qibliyah last week, wherein a Palestinian was shot in the head.

Tete is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).