30 December 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Tulkarm
A new Israeli incursion into the Nur Shams refugee camp continues an endless war of destruction after destruction.
On the night of Sunday December 30th dozens of military vehicles, including D9 bulldozers, stormed the city of Tulkarm and the Nur Shams refugee camp northeast of the city.
This invasion took place around midnight where the occupation forces surrounded the hospitals in the city, obstructing the movement of ambulances in transporting the injured Palestinians to hospitals.
The citizens taking stock of partially broken houses.
The Israeli occupation forces besieged the Nur Shams refugee camp for at least 11 continuous hours, from Sunday evening until Monday morning at 10:00 AM. During this, they destroyed infrastructure, cut off electricity, destroyed the water network and cut internet and communication lines.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Red Crescent crews dealt with several injuries on people from both the Nur Shams refugee camp and Tulkarm camp, including a serious injury to a person from Tulkarm camp after the storming of this camp, which took place simultaneously with the storming of Tulkarm city and Nur Shams camp by the Israeli Occupation Forces .
Dalal and Ahmed Khalifa, two Palestinian citizens of the camp whose house was invaded by the Occupation Forces said that the Israeli occupation forces broke into the house at about 3:00 AM.
Picture from inside Dalal Khalifa and her son Ahmed’s house following the IOF invasion.
“The occupation forces confiscated all the family’s phones and our IDs, destroyed the house, broke windows and doors, conducted an investigation inside the house, and interrogated all family members, including women.” explained Dalal.
“The Israeli occupation forces did not take into account the presence of children and women in the house, as there were 5 children and two women in the house at the time of the break-in,” she said. “One of the soldiers stole my wallet and stole some of my money, and their break-in continued for at least 5 continuous hours until they left the next morning at 7:30 am.“
78-year-old Hassan Jabari whose house was damaged, explained that “The Israeli occupation forces broke into my house in the camp, and destroyed it from the inside, destroying household furniture and breaking windows. Half of my house was demolished.”
Hassan Jabari clears rubble from his house following the IOF invasion.
“Thank God I was not at home at the time of the storming of the camp. I was at my daughter’s house in Thenaba – one of the villages next to the camp.” He added.
In the recent incursion into the camp, dozens of Palestinian homes were partially or fully destroyed both from inside and outside. The wall belonging to one of the UNRWA international institutions in the camp was destroyed.
During December, the Nur Shams refugee camp has been stormed at least 5 times.
Several Israeli military vehicles driving down the street in Tulkarem
14 November 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Tulkarem
By Diana Khwaelid
Another crime perpetrated by the Israeli occupation in the Tulkarem refugee camp. The blood of the four Palestinians who were killed about a week ago had not yet dried up before the Israeli Occupation Forces committed a new crime that claimed the lives of 7 Palestinian civilians.
On the evening of last Tuesday Nov 14th, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the city of Tulkarem. Around 10pm Israeli special forces tried to infiltrate the Tulkarem refugee camp as well but initially failed after being met with resistance by Palestinian youths.
Dozens of Israeli military vehicles including troop carriers and D9 bulldozers, stormed the city of Tulkarem and the camp, during which the IOF bulldozed the main roads connecting the camp. The Balawneh neighbourhood was especially hard hit. The IOF also destroyed and demolished the memorial symbol at the entrance to the camp which is dedicated to the two martyrs Samer Al-Shafi’I and Hamza Al-Khoshafqi.
A street in Tulkarem that has been severely damagedAnother street that has been torn up by a D9 bulldozer
7 Palestinian civilians were killed in the 13 hours the military operation lasted. 2 of them were killed by Israeli Special Forces and 4 of them were killed in the bombing of the 3 residential buildings, including one 3 storey building. Dozens of civilian cars belonging to the camp residents were also destroyed.
Two houses whose fronts have collapsed from bombingsThe aftermath of the bombing of a residential area
Electricity was cut off from the camp residents and the water network was destroyed in the first hours of the invasion. The Israeli occupation forces prevented medical staff from performing their work, refusing to let them enter the camp to transport the injured to the hospital or even provide first aid. During this, press crews were targeted with tear gas bombs.
14 continuous hours of anxiety and fear experienced by the residents of Tulkarem city and in particular the Tulkarem refugee camp.
Rubble filling the streets of Tulkarem camp where several houses where bombedSeveral residents walking down an unpaved street after the invasion
A Palestinian woman walking down a small street in Jenin
10 November 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Jenin
By Diana Khwaelid
On Thursday morning Nov. 10th 2023, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
A military operation that lasted 24 hours was carried out by the Israeli Occupation Forces in the Jenin camp with the aim of arresting some Palestinian militants. Huge military vehicles stormed the camp in the early hours of Thursday morning, around 9:30 AM.
Israeli occupation vehicles, including D9 bulldozers, bulldozed the main streets of the camp, destroyed the camp’s infrastructure, and caused very serious material and human damage.
A child leaning on destroyed pieces of furniture on a damaged street in Jenin
It is noteworthy that during the aggression on Jenin and its camp, the occupation forces detained 4,500 school and kindergarten students in their schools, until the evening hours. They fired shots at Red Crescent ambulances, which led to a paramedic being injured by a bullet in the back. They raided the emergency department at the Jenin Government Hospital, arresting the wounded Mohammed Abu Saraya from inside an ambulance, and destroyed the infrastructure of streets, water, and electricity, in addition to the Martyrs Monument.
15 Palestinians were killed in Jenin during the Storming of the camp, including the child, Mohammed Zayed, 15 years.
The Israeli occupation forces also bombed three Palestinian houses with drones. One of the houses had only women inside. In another house, 8 Palestinians were inside, five of them died and four of them are in a serious health condition.
Burnt pieces of paper and photos in the street
The funeral ceremony of the martyrs began in front of the Jenin government hospital, with a funeral attended by tens of thousands of citizens. The bodies of the martyrs were lifted on the shoulders, while the mourners toured the streets of the city and its camp to their family homes, before praying for them and their health in the mosque of the Jenin camp.
The participants in the funeral chanted slogans condemning the crimes of the occupation and the massacres committed by it in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as some calling for national unity. They also called on the international community to intervene and stand by the defenceless people who are being subjected to constant Israeli aggression, violence, executions and massacres.
A crowd of people in Jenin carrying the body of a martyr
They delivered several speeches condemning the crimes of the occupation and its continuous aggression against the people of Jenin, its camp, villages and towns of the governorate, while stressing that these massacres and terrorism will not dissuade the Palestinian people from resisting and confronting the occupation and the colonialists.
The body of a martyr being carried through the street by a group of residents.
27 October 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Jenin
By Diana Khwaelid
The Israeli occupation has not only targeted unarmed young people, children, and women in Gaza. The Israeli occupation’s crimes also continue in the West Bank, especially targeting young people and children alike.
On Friday night Oct 27th around 1.30AM, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the city of Jenin and the Jenin camp with military vehicles Jeeps and a D9 bulldozer.
Palestinian youths came out to confront the occupation forces after they learned of the Israeli occupation forces storming both the city of Jenin and the camp.
3 Palestinians were killed, including the 17-year-old Palestinian child, Jawad Turki, from the city of Jenin. An Israeli bullet pierced his chest, after which he was taken to the hospital for treatment but did not survive his injuries.
The 25-year-old Palestinian youth Acer Awaad from Jenin camp and the young man Abdullah Abu Al-Haija from al-Yamoun village, one of the villages near Jenin City, were also killed, leaving 3 martyrs in less than 12 hours.
Hundreds of Palestinians participated in the funeral of the three martyrs. Palestinians chanted expressions of anger and national unity during the funeral, and the families of the martyrs took a last farewell look before they were to be buried later in the Martyrs Cemetery in the camp.
A crowd of people walking through the street, as a part of the funeral procession.
The body of the young man, Mohammed Qabha, from the village Tora, one of the villages near the city of Jenin, was buried, after he died as a result of his injuries from about a week ago. He was injured during a sit-in for the people of Jenin which was organized a solidarity demonstration with Gaza. The martyr Muhammad Qabha was a person with special needs, as he was deaf and non-verbal.
The occupation did not stop at the killing of Palestinian-American journalist, Shirin Abu Aqleh. The Israeli occupation forces also destroyed and bulldozed the Main Street of the camp, which was the site of her murder and damaged the memorial symbol of her.
The location of the Shireen Abu Akleh memorial on the street where she was killed. The road has been torned up by D9 Caterpilla bulldozers.
The crimes of the Israeli occupation continue both in Gaza and the West Bank, and the Palestinians have no power in the face of the occupation. The situation is tense everywhere in Palestine and the occupation opens fire on Palestinian youth and children without warning.
During the 20 days since the start of the Palestinian / Israeli war on Gaza, more than 110 Palestinians, including children and young people, have been killed in cities and areas in the West Bank.
Solidarity visit to the Nur Shams camp, following the deaths of Abdulrahman Abu Daghash and Oseed Farhan Abu Ali, killed by indiscriminate Israeli Occupation Forces shooting during the raid on Sunday 24th September.
It’s hot, it’s the third day of mourning. There is a constant flow of visitors in the home of Abdulrahman Abu Daghash. Mohmen, his brother takes us upstairs to his upper-floor flat in the family house. But first we go to the roof terrace to see. Not for the view, but to see the broad smears of blood left when Abdulrahman was killed.
Blood on the roof where Abdulrahman was murdered
Mohmen tells us:
He had gone up to see what was happening, I was telling him come inside, it’s dangerous. He falls forward, I try to hold his body, I can’t do it, I have blood on my hands, maybe I was hit. No, he is the one bleeding, I call for help. My wife and his wife – seeing him lying on the roof – can’t react. Finally someone helps me, the ambulance is called. Now that we get down the ambulance is already there, they always go around during the raids. But soldiers have arrived with sound bombs, they try to prevent the ambulance from going. It finally manages to leave, but we stay barricaded in the house for another hour and a half, besieged by soldiers.
The view from the roof where Abdulrahman was killed
Mohmen told us about his relationship with his brother:
We used to work together, we were very close, I don’t know how I will cope now he is gone, his children will be like my own.
We meet Abdulrahman’s father in the mourning are set up in the courtyard. He said:
You have to tell everyone how they treat us, he had nothing to do with it, shot by a sniper who was doing target practice, couldn’t he have shot at at the shoulder? he was aiming for the eye. My son died in the hospital!
It seems the result of the murder is to bring everyone together, they will be more and more active against the occupation.
We leave the grieving family, and visit the family of another martyr. It’s very hot, it must be one o’clock, we might find a cab, but there are five of us, we don’t fit, so we keep walking, luckily we started off high up on the hill, the sniper had fired from a lower roof. So we go down and up again heading for the central square of the camp. Such destruction! The army of occupation had left a gutted building from a previous invasion, the streets torn up.
Then, on a corner between narrow alleys: the second house. There are only women here, but they accept me and T. Come on, we wipe off our sweat, in the rear room we are received by the mother and sister.
Aseed was only 21 years old, he was like all the boys here, he dreamed of being a writer, of making his mother happy, he was like everyone here, they despise death, so what kind of life is this, in one month two raids
Even on the third day of mourning there are many outbursts of weeping. After we have paid our condolences, however, food arrives, a smiling woman says she cooked. She wants us to eat with them to remember Aseed. So many tables are set up, everyone tucks in, besides yogurt and humus, there are pans with minced meat in strips seasoned in different ways.
A military bulldozer during the invasion of Nour Al-Shams
So what’s the background here? Around midnight between Saturday and Sunday, massive occupation forces attacked the Nour Al-Shams refugee camp, adjacent to Tulkarem. Dozens of vehicles, supported by three bulldozers, equipped with a kind of rear plough. These are adapted to penetrate the roads, break the asphalt and the water and electricity pipes. In Jenin, they had been caught out by the explosives hidden under the asphalt, which had severely damaged their vehicles. Now the explosives are throw them at them, but now they always enter the camps with these contraptions to destroy what they can. In Nour Al-Shams the last raid had been only 20 days earlier and they had not yet finished repairing the damage. Alarm sirens sounded immediately, the resistance fought for four hours, with barrages of fire, explosives and ambushes on the army that soon needed reinforcements.
As always, nothing is known about Israeli casualties and the damage to military vehicles. A few vehicles had to be dragged out. They severely damaged one building using rockets, it had been the home of a boy who was killed in 2001. They claim fighters were hiding there and explosives had been stockpiled; unlikely to be true because everything would have been blown up.
A destroyed house in Nur Al-Shams campDestruction in Nur Al-Shams camp
But where are we? In Tulkarem, a northern town attached to the separation wall. We are only a hundred meters above sea level, at the mouth of some valleys. Of course, there are a few settlements around here, too. So low compared to Nablus, it is much warmer and also more humid.
A. lives on a hill that divides two descending valleys, however, to get some air you have to arrive almost in the morning. From his rooftop, he points out the two refugee camps, one on each side: “Nour Al-Shams” further east, “Tulkarem” to the west attached to the city. Many workers are cross-border, but here the Israelis have also set up a dozen factories. Workers come from here, but management comes in directly from the other side.
Before visiting the martyr’s families we attended a demonstration for the prisoners, with many children.
Children at a demonstration for Palestinian prisoners in Tulkarem
The agricultural part has several greenhouses, in the past, there were also many orange trees, but the construction work on the expanding town devoured them.
