Category: Photo Story

Destruction and siege: Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps under attack

4 January 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Tulkarm

By Diana Khwaelid

On the night of Tuesday, January 2, the Israeli occupation carried out a new incursion against the residents of the city of Tulkarm and its two refugee camps.

Tulkarm camp was turned into a place unsuitable for living, and Nur Shams camp was besieged for more than 22 hours. Dozens of military vehicles stormed Tulkarm, including D9 – D10 bulldozers and personnel carriers, and hospitals’ entrances were surrounded.

A ghost City.

Since the beginning of the Israeli incursion on Tulkarm, the city, nearby villages and the camps, have turned into a ghost area. Social life and daily activity stopped completely after the Israeli occupation forces stationed at all the entrances of the two camps.

The shops closed, including necessary activities like bakeries and pharmacies, and all sectors were at a standstill for more than 22 hours.

Tulkarm camp turned to ashes.

The Tulkarm refugee camp has turned from a lively and active camp full of joy, happiness and safety – despite the difficult life and suffering that Palestinians live in – into a destroyed gray camp, unsuitable for living. More than 10 shops and dozens of houses were destroyed; one of these houses was bombed by drones.

Wherever you look, you will see destruction, whether of Palestinian homes, streets, shops, walls of a house, a school, a playground: everything has been completely destroyed.

Life is very difficult in the camp, especially for women, children, and the elderly. The people of the camp no longer feel safe, especially after the recent incursions, and after the events of October 7, the situation in the camp and the West Bank in general has become more dangerous and worse. But despite everything, the residents of the camp remain steadfast, and said: “We will never surrender. Despite everything that the Israeli occupation does to us, we will remain on this land and we will remain in the camp even if it is completely destroyed.”

Nur Shams camp.

The Nur Shams refugee camp, northeast of Tulkarm, has turned into a closed military zone and has been besieged for more than 22 hours.

Electricity, water, internet and communication lines have been cut since the first hours of the Israeli incursion into the camp. The Israeli occupation forces raided and stormed dozens of Palestinian houses, and arrested more than 20 Palestinians men, most of whom were later released.

The main roads in the camp were also destroyed, especially in the AL-Manshiyya neighborhood. Difficult times are experienced by the residents of Nur Shams refugee camp: Palestinians are unsafe in their homes, and Israeli snipers are everywhere.

Also, Israeli reconnaissance aircraft have not left the skies of Tulkarm since the first minutes of the incursion.

The Israeli occupation forces continued to carry out incursions over incursions into more than one area of the West Bank, especially in the camps, and the fierce Israeli attacks have began more complicated since October 7.

 

Photos credit: ISM/Diana Khwaelid

Unprecedented Coordinated IOF Attacks in West Bank

28 December 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | West Bank

Early this morning, between 1:00 am and 6:00 am, Israeli Occupation Forces invaded several cities across the West Bank. Seven of the eleven Palestinian governorates in the West Bank were invaded in a coordinated attack, the largest since October 7. Clashes were documented in Jenin, Hebron, Qalqilya, and Ramallah, with reports of invasions in Tulkarem, Nablus, and Jericho. Invasion forces stormed the cities, targeting money transfer stations, stating that funds were being funneled from these major cities to Hamas. Many eyewitness reports observed soldiers breaking open safes and, according to The New Arab, stealing at least $2.8 million from these targeted locations after classifying them as having involvement with “terrorism”. 

IOF Soldiers in Ramallah steal millions (source: FajerTV)
IOF in Qadura Refugee Camp

On the ground ISM members in Ramallah report dozens of army tanks storming and patrolling the streets before direct clashes with Palestinian youth resistance in Al Manara square and in the Qadura refugee camp. Youth were preparing to resist by smashing large rocks to break them up while tanks loaded steel bullets into their assault rifles (steel bullets, as opposed to copper, are intended to be able to penetrate helmets, concrete, and other industrial materials). 

Israeli military shell casings vs Palestinian defense weapon

Palestinians fiercely resisted the military invasion for hours, throwing rocks, metal pieces and molotov cocktails at the indestructible tanks. Invasion forces responded with live fire, rubber tipped steel bullets, tear gas, sound grenades, and other explosive devices. This bombardment withstood for several hours, mostly concentrated between 2 and 5 am, resulting in one IOF soldier shot, 14 Palestinians injured, at least 4 of which were with live ammunition, and one Palestinian, named Hazim Al-Qatawi (23), shot and killed.

 

 

Along with bodily harm, this extension of the ongoing occupation has resulted in storefront destruction, shattered car windows, and the street littered with remnants of destruction.

Community cleans up after shop destroyed near Al Manara square
Cab in Al Manara

 

Tulkarm Bids Farewell to 5 Palestinians Killed in an Israeli Military Operation.

18 December 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Nour Shams refugee camp

By Diana Khwaelid 

An Israeli military operation lasted for more than 10 hours in the Nour Shams  refugee camp.

Destruction of infrastructure 

     Dozens of military vehicles stormed the city of Tulkarem on the evening of Sunday, December 16, as they targeted the Nour Shams camp east of the city. The Israeli occupation forces bulldozed the main entrance in Tulkarem and  destroyed the infrastructure using one of their D9 military vehicles, as they had  previously done with previous incursions. It also destroyed the water network and  sewage pipes and cut off electricity and the internet. 

Palestinian resistance fighters defended the camp. 

     There were strong clashes between Palestinian Resisters and Israeli occupation  soldiers, who confronted the occupation forces after they stormed the camp, for  more than 10 continuous hours. The occupation forces also bombed two houses one with drones and the other with an anti-armor missile. 

A state of fear 

     A state of fear and terror prevailed in the homes and neighborhoods of the  camp’s people, both children and women, a long and bloody night described by  the camp’s residents, following the Storming of the camp. The sound of  explosions and fire was enough to bring terror to the hearts of Palestinians. 

Obstructing the movement of medical crews and ambulances. 

     The Israeli occupation forces obstructed the movement of medical personnel,  whether the medical teams of the Red Cross or the Palestinian medical relief and  volunteer teams to move easily inside the camp to transport the injured, and the  occupation forces obstructed the movement of ambulances and arrested a 16  year-old boy from inside an ambulance on its way to the hospital.

5 Palestinians killed, dozens injured. 

     According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 5 Palestinians were killed in the  Nur Shams refugee camp, and more than 10 injuries reached the (Thabit Thabit) government hospital in the city, whether by shrapnel due to drone, or fire live  bullets . 

The five martyrs are: Walid Zahra, Asaad Zahra, Ghaith Shehadeh, Mahmoud  Jaber and Jihad Amarna.

A state of sadness and shock of loss. 

     Hundreds of Palestinians mourned the bodies of the five martyrs, and their  families took a last farewell look at them, in a state of great sadness and shock women, men, and children participated in the funeral and chanted words of  patience and patience to them and chanted patriotic words in the form of the  Camp people in the face of the occupation until the liberation of Palestine.

 

Photo credit: ISM/Diana Khwaelid

One war in Gaza and another in the West Bank

 

by Diana Khwaelid

7 December 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Tulkarem

The fire of the war between Hamas and Israel since October 7 has not only burned the civilian population of Gaza. Palestinian civilians in the West Bank have tasted their share of it, too.
On December 7, the Israeli occupation forces once again stormed the city of Tulkarem. They did so late at night, with dozens of military vehicles, including the D9 bulldozers that have been used by the Israeli army to destroy roads, streets and infrastructure in all previous incursions to Tulkarem camp, Nur Shams camp, Jenin camp and Balata camp.

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) surrounded the Thabet Thabet Government Hospital in the city and obstructed the movement of ambulances. Ambulances were stopped and inspected after they managed to reach some of the injured Palestinians.

The IOF also stormed the Tulkarem refugee camp in the city, destroying the main street of the camp. But in this latest incursion, it was the population of the Nur Shams refugee camp — located three kilometers east of Tulkarem — that suffered the heaviest damage.

The Israeli occupation forces smashed the main entrance to the Nur Shams refugee camp for the seventh time this year. Eyewitnesses said that the occupation forces used bulldozers to destroy the infrastructure and roads in camp, including the main roads in the Al-Damaj neighborhood.

Vital civilian infrastructure, such water networks and sewerage were destroyed, as roads and streets became a dangerous zone for all residents of the camp, including women and children.

The IOF did not spare schools either. The main entrance to the UNRWA school in the camp was also destroyed, while another school saw its wall partially demolished.

In the meanwhile, residents of the Tulkarem camp buried the body of the martyr father Ayman Anbar, 47-year-old, who was wounded by a live bullet shot by an Israeli soldier during the second-last raid of the camp, which took place on November 14th. Abu Lamin stayed in the intensive care unit at the Nablus specialized hospital for almost three weeks before succumbing to the wounds. He leaves behind his wife and family, including Lamis, his 8-year-old daughter.

Lamis Anbar was joined by residents of the Tulkarem camp in mourning her father’s body and saying one last goodbye.

According to the latest statistics by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of Palestinian martyrs since the beginning of this year has reached 18,019, while 55,069 Palestinians have been injured and 9,029 arrested.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of martyrs of the West Bank since October 7th has reached 274.

The city of Tulkarm has recorded 44 Palestinian martyrs since October 7th

Who is Holding Israel Accountable for its Crimes?

November 21 Tulkarm, Occupied West Bank

On Tuesday evening, the Israeli occupation forces carried out a military operation that lasted for 10 continuous hours resulting in the killing of 6 Palestinians and the destruction of the camp’s infrastructure – streets, and roads, shelling of the al-Balaawneh Diwan, and two other houses.

Occupation forces destruction of Tulkarm

While the residents of the camp were enjoying the calm on Tuesday evening around 11: 00, the residents of the city of Tulkarm, and the residents of the Tulkarm refugee camp specifically, woke up due to the news of the storming of dozens of military vehicles to the city and to the camp.  Eyewitnesses said that about 40 military vehicles, including jeeps and D9 bulldozers, stormed the Tulkarm refugee camp.

Israeli snipers were deployed everywhere, especially on the roofs of Palestinian houses inside the camp and its surroundings, as well as inside buildings under construction in the city, targeting anything that moved.

The Israeli occupation bulldozers began bulldozing the main roads in the camp as usual, destroying the infrastructure as they did in the previous incursion, and destroying the water and sewage network.

An Israeli drone also targeted the building (Diwan Al-balaawneh), a public property of the camp, and targeted those inside it.  Four Palestinians were killed who had been inside the building. Two more Palestinians were killed by Israeli snipers.

Three houses were destroyed with moderate damage, a car was burned and three other cars were damaged, belonging to two civilian residents of the camp.

Feelings of fear, tension, and despair prevailed among the residents of the camp because the Israeli occupation forces continued to storm the camp, kill Palestinians, and destroy the infrastructure, streets, and roads in the camp.

Hundreds of Palestinians participated in the funeral of the bodies of the 6 martyrs in the camp.  Their bodies were transferred to their families’ home for a final farewell look, after which their bodies were transferred to the UNRWA school to pray for them.  And because of their large number, the number of camp residents participating in the funeral alike.  The camp residents carried the bodies of the martyrs on their shoulders and chanted words expressing anger, unity and resistance to the occupation inlegitimate ways. Until they arrive at the cemetery of Denabaa.

Tulkarm residents gather for the funeral of 6 martyrs of the occupation army raid.

The Israeli occupying forces continue to commit and intensify their crimes against the Palestinian people in the West Bank, in particular in the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of martyrs of the West Bank since October 7 has reached more than 215.

Grief and fear persist for Palestinians in Tulkarm and across the occupied West Bank.