Tag: Nablus

Palestinians mark the Nakba

AFP

14 May 2009

Thousands of Palestinians on Thursday marked the 61st anniversary of the Naqba, the “catastrophe” that sparked an exodus of hundreds of thousands of refugees after Israel was created in 1948.

Holding Palestinian flags and photos of Arab villages razed by Israeli forces six decades ago, demonstrators marched in the centre of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

“The right of return is sacred”, “No peace without the right of return”, read the banners held by the marchers.

The ceremonies took place a day early because the May 15 anniversary of the Naqba falls this year on a Friday, a day off in the mostly Muslim Palestinian territories.

The demonstration was headed by political figures and religious leaders and began at the tomb of legendary Palestinian chief Yasser Arafat at the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, today run by his successor, president Mahmud Abbas.

In the northern West Bank town of Nablus, about 2,000 people participated in a march, holding Palestinian flags tied with black ribbons as a sign of mourning.

In Aqabet Jaber refugee camp, in the oasis town of Jericho, participants unveiled a statue featuring a six-metre (20-foot) metallic key, symbolising the refugees’ attachment to the houses from which they fled or were forced out in 1948.

Around 700,000 people were exiled in this way in 1948, with the United Nations estimating that today they and their decendants number 4.6 million.

The Israeli army said in a statement that it was sealing off the occupied West Bank from midnight on Thursday until Saturday evening for the Naqba.

Nablus organizations raise awareness about the Nakba

12 May 2009

Tenweer – Palestinian Cultural Enlightenment Forum and the Women’s Union are working together to organize a campaign to boycott Israel in Nablus high schools.

By showing the movie The Exodus and the Odyssey made by Palestinian refugees Ismail Shammout and Tamam Al Akhal, Tenweer and the Women’s Union are visiting schools in Nablus to raise students’ awareness of the history of Palestine. At the same time they talk to students about how the Palestinian people can non-violently resist the Israeli occupation by boycotting Israeli goods.

They have visited 10 schools so far, and 100-200 students at each school have been able to watch The Exodus and the Odyssey. They will continue to show the film throughout the month of May. The campaign is a part of the commemoration of Al Nakba – 1948, the mass expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their cities and villages, the massacre of civilians, and the razing to the ground of hundreds of Palestinian villages.

Ismail Shammout is a famous Palestinian artist. He was one of the Palestinians who were expelled from their homeland in 1948. The Exodus and the Odyssey tells his story from the Nakba – when he and his family were uprooted from their home in the agricultural town of Lydda, and forced to flee and settle down in a refugee camp in Gaza. The films ends with the second intifada.

Five Palestinian farmers and two internationals detained while trying to work lands near Israeli military camp

30 April 2009

On the 30th of April, five farmers from the village of Asira ash-Shamaliya and two international solidarity activists were detained while trying to farm their lands close to an Israeli military camp.  Asira ash-Shamaliya is a Palestinian village north of the city of Nablus.  An Israeli military camp was built more than ten years ago on the mountain between the village and Nablus.  Lands close to the military camp belong to several Palestinian farmers, who until recently have been too afraid to access their lands due to constant army harassment.

At around 9pm, the five farmers and solidarity activists arrived at the fields with a tractor, a donkey, and a horse.  As soon as the farmers appeared, an army jeep drove up along the military road which connects the camp to nearby Checkpoint 17.  Three soldiers got out and ordered the farmers and internationals to give them their IDs.  The farmers were told to tie up their animals, as they were going to held for a long time.  The farmers and internationals were then detained along the side of the road for more than half an hour, before being ordered into a jeep.

The seven detainees were driven several kilometers away to the illegal Israeli settlement of Shavei Shomron.  The jeep stopped at the entrance to the settlement and the internationals were told that they could leave, but that the Palestinians would be detained for several more hours alongside the road.  At around 12:00pm, the farmers were given back their IDs, and the internationals and Palestinians returned to the village in a public taxi.  Before leaving, the army told the farmers that it was forbidden for them to return to their lands without permission from the DCO.  However, the DCO frequently withholds permission for Palestinians to access their lands close to Israeli settlements or military camps, which are built on stolen Palestinian land.

Azzun cut off from Palestinian infrastructure

International Women’s Peace Service

18 April 2009

The status quo of Azzun – a town with 12.000 inhabitants – is miserable and is getting worse in the distant future. Three big settlements were partly built on Azzun land so that the current city center is now circumscribed from the east, west and north western side. In addition to that there are plans for two new settler-only roads to be built. After completion of the roads Azzun will be completely isolated and surrounded by settlements and settler-only roads.

Azzun consists of approximately 9130 dunams. When the first outpost near Azzun was built, land belonging to the Palestinian Authority and to farmers of Azzun was taken. The first settlement was Qarne Shomron built in 1977 on the eastern part of Azzun. Maale Shomron was established in 1980 to the east of Azzun and Alfei Menashe took was built on the west of Azzun.

Azzun inhabitants suffer from acute water shortages. There are two big springs which supply Azzoun and Jayyus. The pipe system was constructed before 67 and now because the population has grown it has to be renewed in order to satisfy needs. To meet this demand Azzun receives water from Israeli Mekorot.

The villages An Nabi Elyas, Mahattat Tahseen Mansur and Izbat at Tabib which belong to Azzun are no longer recognized by the Israeli government. Inhabitants from these villages were forced to move to Azzun when Israel built two new roads on their land. Both of these roads are settler-only roads (55 and 531) which connect the settlement areas east and west of Azzun.

Israeli authorities are planning changes to road 55 which leads from Azzun to Nablus. This road will be enlarged to 200m and will be called 531 whilst becoming a settler-only road. In addition there are plans for the road 55 to link two big settlements and it will be accompanied by a barrier so that Azzun will be completely encircled by settlers or their roads.

The harassment towards villagers of these three Palestinian villages has already started. They are completely disfranchised paying taxes without having any rights any more. Whilst controlling their IDs soldiers are telling villagers that their villages do not exist anymore and that from now on the would belong to Azzun.

12 Palestinians injured after settler rampage in Urif village

24 April 2009

At around 5pm on Friday, the 24th of April, nearly 30 masked settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Yizhar rampaged through the Palestinian village of Urif, southwest of the city of Nablus.  The armed settlers first gathered at the boys’ high school in the village and proceeded to break doors and windows with metal sticks and farm tools.  They then moved towards the center of the village and began to beat Palestinian residents.  The settlers also shot at the water tanks on top of the roofs of residences, damaging several. Villagers soon gathered in the streets in an attempt to defend themselves.  The settlers opened fire on the villagers with live ammunition.

At this time, the Israeli military arrived and also began shooting at residents with rubber bullets, tear gas and live ammunition.  Israeli forces also prevented ambulances from entering Urif to treat the wounded, and villagers were forced to evacuate the wounded in private cars.  Most of the wounded were taken to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus.  At least 12 Palestinians were injured from weaponry used by settlers and the military. Among the injured include:

Maher Ghassan Safadi, shot in the shoulder with a live bullet

Noor Mustafa Safadi, shot in his leg with a live bullet

Ibrahim Rahdi Sabah, shot in his head with a rubber bullet

Issam Majah Safadi, shot in his hip with a live bullet

Mahmoud Abdel Rahim Safadi, shot in his foot with a live bullet

The father of one of the injured describes the routine violent behavior from Yizhar settlers:

I’m afraid from the continued settler attacks.  The settlers from Yizhar are racist and very violent.  The settlers also continue to uproot our olive trees and the army does nothing to stop them.  The world must act to secure our lands from this violent harassment.

Attacks from settlers from Yizhar on surrounding Palestinian villages is increasing.  On the 27th of April, 17-year-old Mohammad Farraj from Madama village was shot in the shoulder by a settler from Yizhar as he was working his lands.