Tag: Nablus

Nablus Region: Palestinian Farmers Protest Massive Settler Vandalism

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From on Friday Dec. 23 untill Sunday 25 , villagers in Salem and Burin, in the Nablus region, will attempt to replant trees and tend their land near the settlements of Elon Moreh and Bracha and the Har Bracha outpost. The farmers will be joined by Israeli and international activists.

“We haven’t been here for five years,” said one of the farmers from Burin on Thursday, Dec. 15th, as they were taking a break from the plowing of their lands next to Har Brakha. “What do you mean?” another asked. “I haven’t been here since 1989.” “The last time I was here was with my grandfather” a third commented. But on this day, the villagers, accompanied by Israeli activists with Rabbis for Human Rights and ISM internationals, the people of Burin were able to plow their land and tend to their land and trees in peace, despite the attempt of a settler to stop the day’s work.

But on Friday the 16th, 140 trees in that very area were cut down, and on the 19th of December another 100 trees of Burin village were cut down by the settlers of Bracha. This is just one of many acts of property destruction, land theft, and violence committed by the Nablus area settlers who are able to act with impunity and without any significant response by the Israeli military, police or justice system for their actions.

On Friday Dec. 23 and Saturday Dec. 24, villagers in Salem, to the east of Nablus, will attempt to replant trees and tend their land near the settlement of Elon Moreh, joined by Israeli and international activists. All the farmers’ fruit trees in the area that the villagers will attempt to work in are gone, victim to settler attacks on Nov. 27, when 200 trees were cut down, and in October, when settlers burned 50 acres and destroyed more than 300 trees, according to the Israeli daily Yediot Aharanot. There have been ten such attacks in the past two years. Salem villagers have difficulties accessing 2,500 dunums of their land due to settler violence, and Israeli authorities have failed to provide adequate protection.

Where to meet in Burin: Sunday 8:30 AM by the Council building.

Where to meet in Salem: Friday and Saturday at 8:30 AM by the Council building

For more information call:
Mohammed Ayash 054-6218759 or 0522-223374
ISM media office 02-2971824
Arik Ascherman (Rabbis for HR) 050-5607034
The head of Burin village (Arabic only)052-2458857

Israeli Military Attacks Civilian Houses in Nablus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

This morning, international Human Rights Observers based in the Nablus area witnessed the direct aftermath of what the Israeli military is calling an “arrest operation” – a path of destruction and houses destroyed by gunfire and grenades. To the Palestinians of the Al Maskew and Al Shabir neighborhoods of Nablus, it seemed more like collective punishment for sheltering the fleeing Hamas fighter. Contrary to media reports from the Israeli military, the people of the neighbourhood claimed that the dead fighter did not live in the houses that were attacked by the military.

According to eyewitnesses, at approximately 12:30 last night the Israeli Occupational Forces approached the Al Maskew and Al Shabir neighborhoods of Nablus, which are located close to the Askar refugee camp. A Hamas fighter, Amjad Hanawi had entered the area and was being pursed by the Israeli military. The IOF remained in the neighborhoods until 6 AM and Hanawi was killed at approximately 5:00 AM. There was extensive property damage to 3 apartment buildings, both the interior and the surrounding yards.

At 11:30 this morning, nine Human Rights Observers visited the homes and the families to determine the extent of the damage and get eyewitness accounts. According to them, the Israeli military entered the homes and forced everyone to leave during the night. The men at this time were naked and not allowed to put on clothes, whereas the women were forced to undress while they were outside. The military were attacking from two nearby houses, to the east and west of the buildings. This was clear from the large holes left from grenades shot from M-16 rifles into the apartments, which were at either an upwards or downwards angle, but level with the apartments. There was also damage from explosions which left a wide spray of damage, much like a grenade or fragmentation explosive of some type. Bullet holes were everywhere and all the windows were smashed. According to the families, the Israelis had emptied the homes and continued to fire explosive devices into them, causing extensive property damage in a form of collective punishment. According to eyewitnesses, this all occurred after the wanted man had been killed.

The wanted man had been shot by the Israeli military while jumping over a wall outside the buildings, after which a bulldozer approached and buried him beneath the wall. While doing this the bulldozer did extensive property damage to the surrounding houses.

The ISM condemns this blatant violation of International Law and human rights. The practice of targeted assassination is condemned by the international community, as is the principle of collective punishment.

Boy Shot Dead by IOF in Nablus

Ayer, 8 de noviembre de 2005, hacia las 5 de la tarde. Recibimos una llamada de teléfono que nos dice que hay movimientos militares en las montañas del norte de Nablus. Parece que hay dos hombres heridos y uno desaparecido. Venimos todos al apartamento de ISM a coger linternas y otras cosas útiles, como cámaras, y desde allí cogemos taxis para ir a la zona montañosa donde se están produciendo los movimientos. Una vez allí, se nos comunica que los dos hombres heridos están ya en el hospital y que el desaparecido podría estar herido.

Nos bajamos de los taxis y encontramos el lugar en silencio, sin movimientos, sin vehículos, no parece que hubiese nadie por la zona. Continuamos subiendo por un atajo, siempre subiendo, subiendo, y continuamente llamamos el nombre del hombre, “Mohamed!” y “Internacionales!” o “Médicos internacionales!”. Decidimos que no es buena idea usar luces que podrían atraer la atención de soldados, porque no estamos seguros de que no vaya a haber soldados aún escondidos por la zona. La luna nos ilumina el camino.

Cuando llegamos al final de la carretera decidimos separarnos en dos grupos; uno seguirá subiendo por el camino y el otro bajará por la ladera, por donde hay vegetación donde podría estar el hombre escondido. Yo me voy con el grupo que sigue hacia arriba y al cabo de unos minutos, se nos une un hombre. Es el tío del hombre – en realidad el hombre es un chico de 14 años. Se une a la búsqueda y después de doblar un recodo y subir unos cien metros más, uno del grupo ve a alguien, tumbado. Algunos hombre, incluido el tío, identifican al chico y gritan y lloran. Alguien dice “miradle el pulso” pero alguien replica “está bien muerto”. Al levantarle, su cabeza cuelga y sangra en abundancia. Uno le lleva en brazo y otro llama al otro grupo; las ambulancias están ya esperando abajo en el punto donde no pueden avanzar más por culpa de una barrera formada con piedras.

Algunos de nosotros entonces volvemos a la montaña porque se nos dice que podría haber otro hombre escondido en la zona, puede que herido. Después de unos quince minutos se nos dice que efectivamente, está herido y ya en el hospital. El nombre del chico es Mohammed Abusalha y tiene catorce años. El funeral será mañana aquí en Nablus a las 10 de la mañana.

Boy Shot Dead by IOF in Nablus

On the 8th of November 2005, at around 5pm. We received a phone call telling us that there were some reports of military movements up the northern mountains of Nablus. We were told there was two injured men, and one missing. We all came to the ISM apartment to get torches and necessary things like cameras, and from there we took taxis to the mountainous areas where the movements had been happening. Once there, we learned that the two injured men had been taken to hospital and that the missing man could be injured.

We left in the taxis and found the place in quietness, no movement, no vehicles, no one seemed to be around. We continued up through a short cut, always up, up, and we kept calling the man’s name, “Mohammed!” and “Internationals!” or “International medics!” We decide it is not a good idea to use lights that could attract soldiers’ attention, as we are not sure if they are still around or not. The moon light illuminated our path.

When we got to the end of the road we decided to split into two groups; one would continue on the way up following the path and the other was to go down the hill, where there was some vegetation and he could have been hiding in. I go with the group that goes up and after a few minutes, a man joins us from the dark. He is the missing man’s uncle – it turns out that the man is in fact a boy of 14. The uncle joins us in the search and after a bend in the path and another 100 metres or so, one of the group sees someone else. A few men, including the uncle, identify the boy and start shouting and crying. Someone says, “check his pulse” but some one else replies, “he is dead”. As they lift him, his head is hanging and still heavily bleeding. One takes him down and another phones the other group; the ambulances are already waiting there at the point where they can not advance any more because of a road block made of rocks.

Some of us then go back to the mountain because we have learnt that there could be another man hiding in the area, maybe also injured. After about fifteen minutes we learn that he is injured and already in hospital.

The name of the fourteen years old boy was Mohammed Abusalah. The funeral was in Nablus at 10am to morning after.

Israeli Soldiers, Police and Settlers Block Olive Harvest In Yanoun, Nablus Region

by two ISM activists in Nablus

Our experience of the harvest started in Yanoun village, Nablus region at 7am on the 26th of October. We accompanied two old Palestinian women in a field just down the hill from the Itamar settlement.

Half an hour after we started, a settler came and tried to get rid of us. He was very aggressive and called the army as well as a settler friend.

When the soldiers came they told us to go away too. During the discussion, a second settler came and shouted at us. He also tried to steal a bag of the Palestinian’s olives.

At this point, a lot more people arrived: more soldiers, policemen, border police, some kind of civil co-ordinators and two more settlers armed with an M16 rifle and a camera.

The heated discussions went back and forth – no one was quite sure who was allowed to be in which places. The Israeli group Rabbis For Human Rights arrived and joined in the debate. A small group of Palestinians quietly returned to picking olives while the soldiers and police were distracted.

Permission from the DCO did not arrive and we decided with the two Palestinian women to try again the next day.

The next day, we returned to the same field to make sure that the Palestinians there were not picking alone. Again, we found the police, the army and the Border Police. In the same place, a settler was also stealing olives, picking them for himself. The police stopped him and said to us that we could not be here today and that they would arrest anyone that tried to harvest for the whole day. They left together with the settler, perhaps to drink coffee together in the settlement.

We continued the harvest in other Yanoun fields.