Tag: Nablus - Page 23 - International Solidarity Movement

UPDATED: Two teenagers murdered at checkpoint

15th April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, ‘Anabta, Occupied Palestine

By Team Nablus

UPDATED: The fourth of the four Anabta village boys who were present at the murder of Amer Nassar, 17 and Naji al-Balbisi, 18 and the arrest of Deiyaa’ Nassar, 19 was taken by Israeli soldiers at about 4 AM on Tuesday April 9.

Fadi Abu-‘Asr, 17 was brought to the hospital in Tulkarm the night of his friends’ deaths to treat his right forearm, injured by a plastic-coated steel bullet. He was discharged from the hospital shortly after to recover at home, but is now in the custody of the Israeli soldiers. His family have no information about his location, condition, or expected trial or release.
Anabta villagers said they still do not know the whereabouts of Deiyaa’, but have been told his trial will be held on April 18.

Israeli security law allows for holding Palestinians without trial or accusation for four days (for Israelis, 24 hours) before an official must tell family about the incarceration and provide a trial at which a charge is given.

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Fadi Abu-A’sr was shot in the lower arm.

At 22:30 on 3 April Israeli soldiers opened fire with live ammunition and killed a 17 year-old boy, from the village of ‘Anabta near Enav checkpoint and east of Tulkarm. Amer Nassar was murdered with a bullet to his chest.

On hearing the shooting 3 boys from the village went to investigate and saw Amer lying on the floor with soldiers standing over him. The boys tried to reach Amer, but the soldiers would not let them approach and opened fire, injuring Fadi Abu-A’sr with a bullet to his lower arm.

The Army prevented ambulance crews access to Amer for 30 minutes, threatening to shoot anyone that attempted to help. Deiyaa’ Nasser, who attempted to get to Amer was arrested by the Israeli Army and taken to an unknown location.

The body of a Amer’s cousin, Naji Abdul-Karim Balbisi, 18, was found at first light Thursday morning near a house in the vicinity of the checkpoint. He had been hoped, last night, to be missing, still hiding in a factory. He was discovered, shot from behind in the torso, laying in a field.

The Israeli Army regularly open fire with live ammunition against unarmed protestors and the general population. Amer’s death is the latest in a string of recent murders committed by the Israeli Army, and came a day after the death of Maisara Abu Hamdiyeh as a result of neglect in Israeli prisons.

17 year old Amer Nasser was today killed by the Israeli army

Village of Sabastiya celebrates successful campaign against sewage dumping on their land

7th April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Occupied Palestine

Residents of the village Sabastiya near Nablus have confirmed that the pipe which pumps raw sewage onto their land from nearby illegal settlement Shave Shomron has been shut off. The raw sewage poisoned both olive and apricot trees belonging to the village.

The residents of Sabastiya have been demonstrating against the dumping since March this year and are now celebrating the success of their campaign. On the three occasions that the villagers demonstrated against the sewage since March they have been joined by both Israeli and international activists. The demonstrations held on Fridays consisted of villagers marching towards Shave Shomron and praying on a field nearby. The Israeli army consistently broke up the peaceful demonstrations by shooting tear gas, rubber coated steel bullets and stun grenades at the unarmed demonstrators, including medical staff and journalists.
Sabastiya is an ancient village located just 10 km north of Nablus. For over a decade, residents of the village have been suffering harassment from Israeli forces and settlers. In 2001 settlers uprooted and destroyed around 1000 olive trees, substantially damaging the land of several families. In 2006 the Israeli army put up a fence in an attempt to confiscate the land where the trees had originally been, but farmers from the village pulled it down.

Protests sparked after prisoner Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh dies in Israeli custody

3rd April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Occupied Palestine

Demonstrations have been held today in several cities across the West Bank to protest the death of prisoner Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh. A strike has also been held in Nablus, Hebron and East Jerusalem, amongst other cities.

In Nablus, over three hundred Palestinians, together with international activists, participated today in the demonstration to protest the death of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh. The demonstration was first held at Shuhada Square, where protesters were holding banners and chanting emotional songs in support of Palestinian prisoners. After an hour, the crowd marched towards Huwwara Checkpoint, passing through Balata refugee camp. As demonstrators arrived at the junction next to the checkpoint, they built several barricades along the road, where Israeli soldiers were already located.

Palestinian youths threw some stones at the jeeps and Israeli soldiers threw tear gas canisters at the crowd. Shortly after that, two jeeps drove by the road parallel to the main one where protesters were and started shooting more tear gas canisters. As demonstrators ran back to get closer to the jeeps clashes continued for several hours more.

In Hebron, clashes were particularly intense, with several demonstrators wounded as Palestinians persisted in their fight against Israeli guns with nothing but stones. The sound of tear gas canisters, stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets have become a prominent fixture of the last few days in central Hebron.

As the nation mourns, we can only hope that international action is taken to prevent the continuous maltreatment of Palestinians in Israeli cutody. The death of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh has brought up many questions about the treatment of Palestinians in Israeli jails, with the PA minister for prisoners claiming Palestine must join the International Criminal Court to stop the disrespect of prisoners rights. Abu Hamdiyeh is the 207th Palestinian to die in Israeli custody.

Protesters running away from Israeli army jeeps near Huwwara checkpoint (Photo by ISM)

The occupations toll on one family in Burqa

1st April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Burqa, Occupied Palestine

By Team Nablus

A brief visit to any family home in the occupied West Bank is sure to be a combination of warmth and tragedy as no person here has been immune to the brutality of the occupation that has dominated the lives of Palestinians for over 60 years.

Ra'ed Haj who is unable to walk, talk or hear after he was nerve gassed — Ra’ed Haj who is unable to walk, talk or hear after he was nerve gassed

In the small village of Burqa near Nablus , we visited the Haj household , where 32 year old Ra’ed has been rendered unable to speak , walk or talk after nerve gas was fired into the bathroom he was washing up in in 2002. The Israeli soldiers reached this bathroom by knocking through wall after wall of neighboring houses, which is common practice for the Israeli Occupation Forces.
Despite also suffering from a brain tumor, Ra’ed has been repeatedly denied permission to seek adequate medical facilities by the Israeli army.

His mother and father now care for him, but worry who will continue to do so in the future. Which relatives will be there to care for him in the future is unpredictable to say the least. His brother Muhammed is currently in the notorious Jalame prison after the Haj household was raided by the army at 2am. He is still awaiting charge or trial. Jalame prison is infamous for its harsh interrogations and solitary confinement in the dark. Muhammed also suffers from regualar migraines after he was shot in the head with a steel coated rubber bullet in 2005. The same illegal ammunition was fired at his friend which took out both of his eyes. In 1994 his home was also demolished to make way for the illegal Homesh settlement.

Wether a resident of Burqa has the absurd luxury of being able to reside in his family home or not, the Israeli army constantly make their presence known by raiding the village nearly every night, making wanton arrests and damaging property.

Ra'ed holds up photographs of himself before the attack — Ra’ed holds up photographs of himself before the attack

Land in village of Qusin used as garbage dump by settlers

27th March 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Qusin, Occupied Palestine

By IWPS

On Wednesday March 27 at 15:00 the village of Qusin organized a tour of a nearby quarry that is regularly used as a garbage dump. The residents of Qusin invited the Minister of the Environment, IWPS and the International Solidarity Movement to inspect the amount of Israeli trash that has accumulated in the recent weeks.

The quarry had been partially refilled with dirt and gravel covering the majority of the trash, leaving three large piles of plastic, wood and metal exposed. The effect was that of a large land fill in the middle of a mined industrial zone. The organizers of the visit explained that the toxins from the trash are seeping through the soil into the water sources of the nearby villages, endangering the local residents. Local community organizers from Qusin reported abnormally high cancer rates in the village.

Residents of Qusin have started to regularly visit and protest as a community at the dump site. Around 75 people attended the protest. The group arrived together via bus and saw a large white truck with two passengers unknown to the community parked at the site. The organizers of the event reported that these individuals were members of the Israeli security service. The individuals stayed within their vehicle throughout the event and were observed by both ISM and IWPS who both took pictures.

After a brief tour and discussion, one of the large piles of trash was set aflame. The majority of Qusin residents were exiting the dump site when Israeli military jeeps entered the area. No arrests were made.

Qusin is a small village outside of Nablus with approximately 1,941 residents. It is bordered by illegal Qedumim settlement. The village is known for its participation in prior demonstrations due to the unjust roadblocks that prevented residents from driving to Nablus from 2002 to 2009.