What will happen to the next generation of youth if Israel continues to target and kill Palestinian children?
Youth Funeral Procession
The Palestinian people are enduring a difficult period, one that mirrors the challenges faced during the First and Second Intifadas, perhaps even more so. This struggle has only intensified since Israel launched its war of annihilation on Gaza on October 7, which continues to this day. Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland, unfit for human habitation. Meanwhile, the West Bank remains in a state of anticipation. Though the West Bank’s various cities, villages, and refugee camps have already provided dozens of martyrs, prisoners, and the wounded, Israel’s escalation of its operations threatens to turn the West Bank into yet another devastated area.
*Nablus* In the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli occupation forces launched several incursions. Within less than a week, they stormed refugee camps twice, resulting in the deaths of two Palestinians.
A Young Man Involved in the Funeral
The first martyr, Mohammed Amer, an 18-year-old from Balata Camp, was shot dead by Israeli forces on January 4 during their raid of the camp. Mohammed was the sole male in his family, leaving behind seven sisters.
Farewell to the Martyr Mohammed Amer
The second martyr, 17-year-old Moataz Al-Madani from Askar Camp, was also killed by Israeli forces on the night of January 6, during a raid in his camp. Today, the people of Askar mourned his death, chanting slogans of anger, revenge, and resistance.
Martyr Moataz Al-Madani
*Israel’s Plan to Erase the Palestinian Refugee Issue* Israel’s campaign to dismantle Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, particularly in the north, began nearly two years ago in early 2023. The campaign intensified in August 2024 under the name “Operation Summer Camps.” Israeli forces were stationed in refugee camps in Tulkarem, Nablus, Jenin, Tubas, Jericho, and Qalqilya.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed, with Tulkarem and Jenin cities witnessing the highest number of martyrs, according to the Palestinian Health Organization. Refugee camps in Nablus, including Balata and Askar, have been frequent targets of Israeli occupation forces.
Askar Camp
*Israel Opens War on the Palestinians* According to the Palestinian Health Department’s statistics, at least 94 martyrs have fallen in Nablus since the beginning of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The total number of martyrs in the West Bank has reached 838, of which 172 are children, 16 are women, and 12 are elderly. Furthermore, 179 bodies are being held by Israeli forces.
Israeli Military Vehicle
From the outset of the war in Gaza, Israel demonstrated that it makes no distinction between its targets—no one, whether young or old, male or female, is spared. This indiscriminate violence has been evident in both Gaza and the West Bank, creating a pervasive atmosphere of fear and insecurity among Palestinians. They no longer feel safe in their own homes. The ongoing state of tension, anxiety, and daily danger has become an inescapable reality for Palestinians living under occupation.
On Monday 25 November, about eighty women, mothers, sisters and wives, gathered in Nablus, in the West Bank, to demonstrate in solidarity with the nearly 100 women detained in Israeli jails, along with around 12,000 men, to demand their release and an end to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Their family members have been in Israeli jails for months or years, yet nothing has been heard from them since 7 October last year.
Women gather in Nablus in support of prisoners and against the genocide in Gaza.
“We want to live in a free country! Out with the occupation forces! They burn Gaza with phosphorus bombs, and tomorrow it’s our turn,” they chanted in one of the city’s main squares while clutching pictures of their loved ones imprisoned.
Woman holding pictures of loved one.
And again: “We will not tire; they are the occupiers and the criminals. They kill the children of Palestine, men and women rise up against this.”
“My son has been in prison for two and a half years,” says Hanan, holding a photo of a smiling young man in his 30s. She has not heard from him for more than a year. “The situation in prison is very bad now,” she says. “We don’t know anything anymore because we have no chance to communicate with them in any way. No institution, red cross or human rights association, no lawyer can reach them to tell us how they are. We are very worried about our sons.” She adds: “I hope my voice will reach the whole world, and that someone will help us.”
Women gather in Nablus in support of prisoners and against the genocide in Gaza.
There are a many, too many stories. Their families brave the risks of arrest and detention to take to the streets, sometimes weekly, to demand the release of their loved ones and demand news.
“My son Samir has been in prison for eight months in administrative detention,” says another woman, a photo of the young man in her arms. “Every time his detention period ends, they renew it for him. The Israeli administration refuses permission to the lawyer and anyone else to visit him. We only hear from him when someone is released from of the same prison.
“My son is sick, and he has no treatment. They don’t give him medicine. They don’t send people for treatment.”
Also in Tulkarem, where every Tuesday dozens of people gather outside the headquarters of the International Red Cross in the hope that their voices will be heard outside the country. A band of young boys with drums and musical instruments set the rhythm for the chants, while family members and representatives of local human rights associations pass the microphone around. “With soul and blood, we will defend our prisoners! Raise your voice for those who have sacrificed their freedom,” they shout together.
“Conditions in prisons since October 7 are completely different. The number of prisoners has more than doubled,” says Ibrahim Nemer, one of the representatives of the Palestinian Prisoners Club of Tulkarem. “There are more than 12,00 political prisoners in jails now.”
People gathering in Tulkarem in support of prisoners held in Israeli jails.
According to Addameer, leading Palestinian human rights organisation on prisoners rights, before Oct. 7 there were 5,000 political prisoners. The number of administrative detentions has also increased tremendously. There are almost 3,400 people in administrative detention, whereas before it was 1,200.
Administrative detention means that a suspect is arrested and held in jail potentially indefinitely, without being told the reasons for the arrest and without the Israeli authorities being required to present evidence against him. Thus, with no possibility of defence.
“There are no longer humane living conditions in the prisons. Everything that the prisoners’ movement had conquered has been taken away,” Ibrahim continues. “TV, books, and there are no more visits for relatives. They don’t give enough food or water … Most of the prisoners have lost dozens of pounds.”
Prisoners are forced to keep the same clothes for weeks, and despite the cold they are not given the necessary blankets. Even shampoo and soap are not provided.
“It’s torture. There is no other way to describe it.”
Ibrahim describes horrific conditions in Israeli jails over the last year. “Most of the prisoners have scabies. They used to go outside two hours a day, now no outside hours are allowed in most prisons. Obviously, this is contrary to human rights.”
A further problem is their legal status. The West Bank has been occupied by the Israeli army since 1967. This would make its detainees prisoners of war, or political prisoners. “Instead, Israel does not recognize this status, but considers them common prisoners, delinquents. If it considered them political prisoners, or prisoners of war, it would have to treat them differently in accordance with international law,” explains Ibrahim.
Tulkarem.
“The military is always invading the cells where they are detained with dogs, beating them. Many prisoners have been killed in prison, the number has increased a lot since October 7, many have died because of torture and the absence of medical care. The conditions are not conducive to life … so that prisoners are just thinking about how to survive …”
According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, at least forty prisoners have died in Israeli custody since Oct. 7. But it could be many more. At least 25 bodies have not yet been returned to their families.
“We are back to the prison-system of hundreds of years ago. We know that many people internationally are with us, but that is not enough. Because all governments are supporting Israel with weapons, money, and even soldiers. We need to put more pressure on governments to stop aid and support for Israel and free all political prisoners who are being held,” continues Ibrahim.
He has two sons in prison, and a brother. One son with a one-year sentence; one with a three-year sentence. And the brother with a 21-year prison sentence.
“We are like everyone, yani, like all Palestinian families … but the difficult conditions the prisoners are suffering make families worry about the very lives of their loved ones in prison. The problem is not only that they are detained and the time they have to wait for them to be released, but today every day we fear for their lives.”
Bodies of the martyrs who died while in Israeli jail still held by the occupation.
On Wednesday 9th October, around 5:40pm, Israeli special forces entered Nablus by car and carried out a deliberate assassination of four Palestinians who were inside a a black Skoda vehicle, in broad daylight, on Faisal Street, near a popular market. The Israeli special forces’ car was painted in Palestinian colours to pass undercover. They fired directly at the Palestinians’ car which was driving in the center of the city, and in which were five young men, one of which survived and is currently in critical condition.
The attack caused a state of horror and fear amongst the resident of the area and passersby, with people rushing to flee the scene.
One of the martyr’s loved ones in a state of distress at the funeral. @Diana Khwaelid
After shooting at the car from a distance, the Israeli special forces then got out of their car to shoot again at point blank to ensure the Palestinian’s deaths, after which they withdrew from the area. Immediately after, Palestinian medical teams and ambulances rushed to the scene as residents began to gather in front of the assassination site. Due to the intensity of the shooting, onlookers found pieces of flesh and of one of the young men’s brain. All victims were taken to the Rafidia government hospital in Nablus, where they passed away from their injuries.
Shortly thereafter, the Israeli military stormed the city and in particular took over the place where the operation had taken place. Finding that the bodies had been moved to the hospital, they left the scene again.
The funeral ceremony for the martyrs began on Thursday at 10:30 am. It started in front of the Rafidia hospital and proceeded to the martyrs roundabout in the city, where a funeral prayer was held. They then headed to the martyrs’ hometowns of Balata camp and Askar, where they grew up. Hundreds of Palestinians participated in the funeral, chanting for the liberation of Palestine.
During the funeral march, Palestinians protest against the occupation (1) @Diana Khwaelid
During the funeral march, Palestinians protest against the occupation (2) @Diana Khwaelid
Amongst the four Palestinians killed was Issam Al-Salaj, commander of the Balata camp battalion, who the citizens of the camp honoured as a martyr that had evaded the Israeli army for years.
The Women Support Center is a project of the Tanweer Cultural Center and has been active in Nablus and surrounding communities of the Northern West Bank for four years now. It serves women and children with legal, mental health, economic, educational, and recreational initiatives. Designed to encourage independence, safety, wellness, and solidarity among women, they offer trainings in media, legal rights, entrepreneurship, and vocational training, group and individual therapy, legal counsel, sponsorship for gardening cooperatives, and individualized support for ad hoc projects when needs emerge.
Since October, military and settler activity have presented serious risks and delays in regional transportation into and out of Nablus. Palestinians are often forced to wait three or more hours at checkpoints before they are allowed through (if, indeed, they are allowed at all). This presents special difficulties to women and girls, due to lack of safe places to use the restroom. In recent months, the Center installed a restroom for women awaiting checkpoint passage. They also frequently arranged Iftar deliveries so that travelers entering and exiting the city could meet their bodies’ needs, which the occupation was otherwise preventing.
Cars delayed at an IOF checkpoint outside Nablus.
Public women’s toilet built by Women Support Center for Nablus checkpoint.
Hakema Hassan, coordinator of the Gardening Cooperatives program, shared that the economic and social benefits for women who can produce food are immense. The Women Support Center distributes seeds and seedlings, and provides grant money for women to establish and sustain cooperatives. However, many women who would otherwise engage in this work do not feel comfortable leaving the cities—even to their home villages—as settler and military violence have worsened dramatically. “Our car windows have been broken many times”, reports Hassan. And at the aforementioned checkpoints, women face gendered harassment: “They ask us to dance for them…. This is forbidden.”
Other programs, such as upcoming media classes, are intended to offer women and girls tools for their activism. Other recent activist initiatives include: forums on female political prisoners under the occupation, vigils and protests for Gazans resisting genocide, and resistance against sexual violence and gender oppression.
Tanweer and the Women Support Center survive on a small budget—which has been all the more limited since the Israeli government cut off funding since the 7th of October. We invite you to help the Women Support Center and Tanweer to provide lifesaving and empowering services to the northern West Bank by donating at the PayPal account tanweer.nablus@gmail.com.
In an age of disinformation, spectacle, and erasure, remembrance is revolutionary. Palestine has a rich 20,000 year history. Amid an ongoing catastrophe in the Holy Land that rivals the nakba in 1948, people in Nablus are keepers of memory.
One such project is the The Cultural Center of the Palestinian Narrative which raises awareness about Palestinian history, including mapping what Palestine was like pre-1948, and archiving witness testimony of ethnic cleansing.
Interactive Palestinian history archive from The Cultural Center of the Palestinian Narrative
Tanweer, another cultural center in Nablus, in addition to current efforts to introduce art, joy, and more freedom into the public sphere, has chosen to uncover the ancient names of the springs in the Old City of Nablus and surrounding areas. After rediscovering the names, they create and install signs to connect the present with the past and remind people what has been and what will be. In Arabic, the word for spring also means way or path. Names of words and places, like names of people, are often repositories of ancient wisdom.
Spring sign in Nablus (photo credit: ISM)
Fitra is an Arabic word meaning “original disposition” or “innate nature”. It is common belief in Palestine and throughout the Arab and Muslim world that every person is born innocent with innate goodness, and only through social conditioning are people led to oppression and injustice. And so the inner work that must be done isn’t achieving something far removed from one’s self, but rediscovering, reconnecting with, and remembering one’s original nature.
Some of the people honored by Palestinians at the Tanweer Center include ISM activists killed while doing solidarity work (photo credit ISM)
Just as Jewish people throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East remember the horrors of their past and honor those who maintained their humanity amid the inhumanity around them, Palestinians remember the horrors of their past (and present), honor those who maintain their humanity amid the inhumanity around them, try to make a way where there is no way, and hope that the people of the world will not watch from afar their extermination, but instead, choose to remember their essential, original, buried under the rubble humanity.
