Tag: Nablus

Israeli forces and settlers attack demonstration in Burin, Nablus region

6th March 2009 | Burin village

Israeli Occupation Forces dispersed a peaceful demonstration in Burin, near Nablus, on Friday (March 6), firing teargas and rubber-coated steel bullets at about 100 protesters.The IOF opened fire on the marchers, who were singing, waving banners and Palestinian flags while engaged in a non-violent sit-down close to a Jewish settlement.

The protesters were demonstrating their frustration with the nearby settlement for stealing land that under international law belongs to the village. After a long walk to a piece of land near the settlement the marchers were met by about 40 heavily armed Israeli soldiers and border police, accompanied by a few heavily armed settlers.

The demonstrators sat down to sing and chant, when suddenly, without any provocation, soldiers started shooting teargas and throwing sound-bombs into the crowd, scattering them in all directions. Some minutes later the marchers managed to regroup, only to find themselves almost totally surrounded by the army and newly arrived settlers.

In an attempt to continue their peaceful protest the villagers sent one of their elders to negotiate. Despite being met with verbal threats and pointed guns, he managed to negotiate an agreement enabling the demonstration to continue for another two-and-a-half hours. He was escorted back by a group of soldiers and settlers, who lined up in front of the chanting crowd before again suddenly throwing teargas grenades and sound-bombs into their midst, scattering them for a second time.

On this occasion the soldiers kept following the villagers, repeatedly shooing at them until they had reached the outskirts of Burin. Five Palestinians were injured in the clashes.

The incident was witnessed by two international human rights activists.

Mysterious arrests in Awarta

3rd February 2009

Thursday 29th of January, about one hundred illegal Israeli settlers entered the small village Awarta close to Nablus at about 11pm. The soldiers forced the villagers not to move by stating that they would kill everyone who did so. This lasted until dawn the next day.

On Tuesday 3rd of February, between 1.45am and 3am in the morning, various groups of Israeli soldiers broke into a total of five different houses in the village of Awarta, close to Nablus. During the confrontations 3 young men were arrested without reason. Two others where demanded to go to the Israeli military camp Huwwara the following day without explanation. At around noon the same day the two were immediately arrested when entering the camp. Neither of them where told why they where arrested, nor what charges they face.

Around 1.45 am in the morning approximately 30 Israeli Israeli soldiers surrounded the house of the Qawareeq family and silently broke into the sleeping family’s home. The soldiers asked for one of the family’s’ 21 year old son, Hindawi, who at the time was sleeping in the house of his nephew. The family, frightened by the sudden wake-up from several armed foreign soldiers in their home, were not told why the soldiers wanted their son. During the time the soldiers where searching for Hindawi, they entered Hindawi’s older brother Suliman’s room, who is suffering from a serious case of cancer. While searching his room, the soldiers found and stole, the family’s 4 mobile phones, on which had the emergency numbers for the sick boy’s doctors. Suleiman asked the soldiers not to take the phone because of their importance with regard to his health issues, but the soldiers did not care. While leaving the house, the soldiers also brought the family’s computer which among other things contained crucial information with regard to Suliman’s very complex medical schedule.

About 30 minutes later, the 30 Israeli soldiers marched to Hindawi’s nephew’s home, and forcefully broke into their small house, causing severe damage to the house’s front door and window. The soldiers where shouting and screaming to scare the family upon arrival. The soldiers turned everything in the house up side down, searching inside every closet and underneath every table. They found Hindawi sleeping in the guest room, and arrested him immediately, without letting him get his winter coat or clothes. Hindawi was accidentally carrying some of Suliman’s important medical papers brought from Ramallah. During the soldiers visit in the house they also threatened the family’s 14 year old son violently.

At about 3 am in the morning, another group of Israeli soldiers silently broke into the house of the Shurrab family. The father in the house woke up because he heard some strange noises from the childrens’ bedroom. When he woke up, he saw several soldiers blocking the door of their bedroom, preventing him to enter the childrens’ room to see what was happening. The soldiers beat him in the stomach, and shouted loudly at the mother. When the parents finally managed to enter their childrens’ room, they witnessed several soldiers beating up their 4 sons in their early twenties in their bedroom. Later the soldiers started to ask about the family’s 22 year old son Samer Jafar Shurrab who is recently living and studying in Nablus. They were asking the family intricate and detailed questions about Samer. When they realized that he was not in the house, the soldiers gave the father a document, demanding Samer to go to the Huwwara camp the following day. Samer was immediately arrested upon arrival at the camp around noon the same day. The soldiers destroyed the house’s front door lock mechanism, and broke a window.

At the same time, around 3 am in the morning, an additional group of soldiers also entered the house of the family Darawsheh in the village. The father in the house woke up because of some strange sounds outside, and realized that the house was surrounded by soldiers and military jeeps. The soldiers demanded to speak to his son, Baha’ Edeen Fazi’ Darawsheh, and the soldiers and Baha’ spoke alone in the house’s kitchen for about 20 minutes. 10 minutes later, the soldiers blindfolded Baha’s eyes and put on handcuffs on his hands, taking him away. The family were not told why the soldiers arrested their son.

At around 2am in the morning about 15 soldiers broke in to the house of another family in the village. The soldiers demanded that all family members were to undress completely including the women. They refused, and all the other family members were locked in a room while the oldest brother of the house had to show the soldiers every room and open every closet. He was told that if they were to find more people than what he told them, they would kill him and the additional persons. The soldiers were looking for the family’s son Hani Suleiman Quawareeq, and when they realized that he was not in the house, the family was told to inform Hani that he had to visit the Huwwara camp the following day. Hani was arrested when he went to the camp around noon. Again his family does not know why.

Israeli forces abduct youth in Nablus area

4th February 2009

A 17 year old youth, Noaf Yasir Issa, from Salim village near Nablus was arrested Wednesday (4th February) night by Israeli occupation forces and transported to Huwarra military base where he is currently being detained. To date, his family has not been told of any charges against him. Noaf has never been previously arrested.

A neighbor told the boy’s mother that Noaf had walking on the roadway behind the family’s house and had then been seen imprisoned within a military jeep. Shortly thereafter, the Israeli military approached Noaf’s family residence and demanded to know his whereabouts, despite already having him in custody.

According to the family, about 12 soldiers entered the house and ransacked all of the rooms, opening drawers and closets and scattering their contents on the floor. Minor damage was also done to some furniture. The soldiers also confiscated a toy plastic knife from a children’s game set.

The invasion of the Issa home took place around midnight. All of the remaining nine children and their mother were confined to one room of the house while the soldiers were present. After approximately one and a half hours, the soldiers and their five or six jeeps left the premises.

Israeli military incursions into Salim happen on an almost nightly basis. During the last few weeks there have been a number of arrests of young men of the village. These assaults appear to be intended to intimidate and humiliate the local residents as well as to coerce information from the arrested parties.

Closures in Huwwara and Beita villages

At 3am on January 17th, Israeli Occupation Forces invaded the villages of Huwwara and Beita. In Huwwara, they closed off the main street and used rubble from nearby construction sites to block side streets while several jeeps took up positions at either end of the village.  While no official curfew was announced, several village residents were prevented from walking the streets.  The head of Huwwara’s municipality was also prevented from entering his home.  Nearly 12 hours later, around 3pm, the IOF withdrew from the villages having made no arrests.

The army claimed that they were punishing the villages for alleged rock throwing at settlers from the illegal Yitzhar settlement. The IOF originally threatened to maintain the closures for several days if the villages didn’t hand over those responsible for throwing rocks.

This act of collective punishment was not only damaging for residents of these two villages.  The main street in Huwwara  is part of the major road connecting Ramallah and Nablus.  By blocking this road, the IOF were  disrupting travel for hundreds of Palestinians from these cities as well.

Later that day, at approximately 4:30pm,  around 20 children from Huwwara, accompanied by a small contingent of adults, walked to the nearby Za´atara checkpoint and held a small demonstration.  For  half an hour they chanted and held signs denouncing  the mistreatment of the Palestinian people.  The demonstration ended when a dozen Israeli soldiers, accompanied by the DCO, arrived and ordered the boys to return home.

Women in Nablus take stand against ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza

Women from the Nablus Prisoners’ Association took over the main circle in the centre of the city on Saturday 3rd January to protest the Israeli slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza.

Carrying mock-corpses of killed Palestinian babies, the women chanted their support for the victims of the continuing Israeli attacks, calling “With soul and blood we stand with Gaza”.

The women called for unity in supporting Gaza:

“This is my Hamas son.
This is my PFLP son.
This is my Fatah son,
This is my son whose blood is Palestinian!”

Placards were waved as the women marched around the circle, highlighting the complicity of Arab states as they fail to manifestly support Palestine throughout the occupation and the attacks on Gaza:

“Arab leaders: Are you not embarrassed?”

Resistance to the ongoing massacre was called for as the women called for a popular intifada.

This is the third demonstration in Nablus in as many days. More than 2000 residents of Nablus took to the streets on Friday, a day which saw mass protests across the West Bank, to protest against the ongoing attacks on Gaza.

Candlelight demonstrations were also held on the night of Thursday 1st December, where Israeli flags and a coffin symbolising the Arab states were burnt.