Harassment of Palestinians at Asira al Shamalia checkpoint, Nablus
On Saturday 27 September International activists witnessed a number of Israeli soldiers and jeeps checking Palestinian vehicles at Asira al Shamalia checkpoint, creating large tailbacks at 17:30 in the run up to Ifta (the breaking of the day long fast during the Holy month of Ramadan).
Checkpoint Asira al Shamalia is the access point from Nablus city to the surrounding villages in the north and is normally an open checkpoint with a watch tower for the army to observe. Many Palestinians working in Nablus use this road to return to their villages in the North. The Israeli army has stated in public that they “are implementing a more lenient policy at checkpoints as part of the military’s effort to ease restrictions on the Palestinian population during the month of Ramadan”.
International activists passed through the checkpoint at 3pm and vehicles were passing through swiftly, however, when large queues in both directions were evident when they returned at 17:30. Witnesses report that after Ifta searches of cars and identifications ceased and vehicles were allowed to pass freely. This directly contradicts the Israeli army’s claim that checks around the West Bank have been eased during Ramadan. The use of checkpoints as a form of punishment and oppression is evident throughout the West Bank with unexplained flying checkpoints and closures common place.
On Friday 24 September, the last Friday of Ramadan, over 100 villagers from Qusin, Deir Sharaf and international activists gathered to take part in a symbolic prayer on occupied land north of Nablus city.
In 2002 Israel confiscated the land from the Abu Shusha family, owner of the quarry in the area where the waste dump is proposed. After rubbish from local settlements around Nablus where deposited on the land villagers successfully demonstrated to have the dumping cease.
In early September 2008 the Israeli military returned to the land, which is situated below illegal settlements and an Israeli industrial zone, to begin landscaping the area for a larger waste project. Village municipalities were informed that this would include not only waste from local settlements, but industrial waste and rubbish from as far away as Tel Aviv. The land is also above one of the main water reservoirs for the Nablus region supplying 40% of the water for the area.
In response to this illegal dumping and the potential ecological and health disasters for the inhabitants due to contaminated water and land, villagers and council members from Qusin and Deir Sharaf participated in a prayer demonstration on the land. A number of Palestinian officials and Palestinian Legislative Council members along with 7 internationals activists also attended the rally. Upon entrance to the site a representative from the DCO was sighted, however, fortunately the demonstration passed peacefully with no injuries or army presence.
Villagers and supporters are planning further demonstrations in the area until the illegal dumping is stopped as part of the peaceful resistance to the Israeli occupation. With the encroaching Apartheid Wall eating up much of the Palestinian lands, expanding settlements around the West Bank and violence at the hands of both settlers and the army this is yet another tragic example of the continuing Nakba inflicted upon the local Palestinian population.
Following constant violence by the residents of the illegal Yitzhar settlement and the Israeli army, which culminated on Saturday 20 September with the murder of 14 year old Suhayb Salin, the terror inflicted on the village of Asira al Qibliya has not abated. For the last 4 nights villagers have reported that at least 2 army jeeps have entered the village releasing sounds bombs between midnight and the early hours of the morning each night before leaving.
In the last month the residents of Yitzhar settlement have been inflicting a reign of terror on the local Palestinian population. Footage taken on a camera supplied by B’Teselm showed settlers and the army attacking residents of the village and vandalising their property. In a statement to the BBC the Israeli army said that they see “the wounding of civilian Palestinians as severe, and will continue to enforce law and order”. Indeed the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated the attack was “intolerable” and police would be investigating.
International activists visited the village on Friday 26 September and no Israeli police or army officials had interviewed the villagers about the events that took place during the invasion by the Yitzhar settlers.
Suhayb Salin was shot in both legs followed by multiple bullet wounds to his chest by the Israeli army. The army alleged that Suhayb was heading towards the settlement in order to throw a Molotov cocktail, however, no evidence of such a device or any weapons have so far been presented. Amir Salin the brother of Suhayb, was arrested on the evening of Monday 22 September shortly after his brothers funeral and villagers and the family are still awaiting to hear on what charges.
Much of the village’s land populated olive trees, falls near the settlement and with the harvest due to start in the next 2 weeks, collaboration between the army and the settlers to inflict violence on the Palestinian population, requires a strong international presence. The Israeli administration has only allowed 3 days for the farmers to access their lands in an area that requires at least 10 days to harvest. This leaves them open to violent and indeed fatal attacks by settlers during this economically important period for Palestinian farmers and their families, who rely heavily on the annual harvest.
Israeli soldiers opened fire on civilians at Huwarra checkpoint at 8am on Monday 22nd September.
Photo by Nadal Shtayah
The gunfire followed an alleged attempt by a Palestinian woman to pour acid on Israeli soldiers, echoing an attack that took place at the checkpoint two weeks ago. There are mixed reports as to whether any soldiers were injured in the attempt, with some eyewitnesses claiming that most of the unknown substance was thrown on the ground, some inadvertantly splashing a nearby Palestinian man.
Photo by Nasser Shtayah
The young woman reportedly ran into the crowd, who were passing through the checkpoint, and was chased by Israeli soldiers. Soldiers then opened fire on the crowd of innocent civilians, using live ammunition. Four people were reportedly injured by the gunfire, with two requiring hospitalisation.
Photo by Nasser Shtayah
One, Iyad Amer, a nurse in Nablus, is currently being treated in the Arab Special Hospital in Nablus for gunshot wounds to his foot and shoulder. Another, Mahmoud Fateh Daroushi, 18 years old, from Arwata, was passing through the checkpoint on his way to university when the woman ran past him. He was then hit in the lower back with shrapnel, as a bullet ricocheted off a nearby rock. He reports that the soldiers were firing directly into the crowd – at the ground and at waist-height, from just 4-5 metres away.
One woman was arrested – Saabil Break, an English student at An Najar university in Nablus. It is unknown at this time as to whether she is the same woman who escaped detention after the acid attack two weeks ago.
Huwarra checkpoint is one of the busiest in the West Bank, with thousands of Palestinians passing through each day. It is especially crowded in the early morning, as workers and students pour in to the city from around the region.
Israeli military spokespeople are claiming that these attacks are the result of supposed leniency being exercised by Israeli soldiers at checkpoints during the month of Ramadan. During this month, however, human rights organisations have documented beatings; regular use of arbitrary detention; and extreme and unnecessary delays resulting in queues lasting many hours. Also in this month, Naheel Abu Rideh was denied entry to Nablus through Huwarra checkpoint for many hours whilst in labour, resulting in a stillbirth of her second child.
Israeli settlers torched olive groves in two arson attacks in villages to the south of Nablus on Thursday 18th September, 2008. Approximately 300 trees belonging to the village of Sarra, and another 30 trees belonging to farmers from villages of Burin, Madema and Assira al Qibliya were burnt in what villagers are describing as a co-ordinated attack.
At approximately 10:30am settlers from the Israeli settlement Harvat Gilad reportedly set fire to the land of Sarra, according to communications between Israeli military and Palestinian fire-fighting brigades. Based in Burin, the only fire engine to service 25 villages in south Nablus was called to put out the fire by the Palestinian District Coordination Office (DCO). The firefighters were prevented from reaching the blaze by Israeli police, who detained them for over an hour while the land burnt. Finally, the firefighters were allowed through to access the blaze after contacting the Israeli DCO, the body that coordinates the Israeli military and police activities in the West Bank. While more than 300 olive trees were destroyed by the arson attack, firefighters were able to save more than 400 trees from the blaze. Israeli soldiers stood by and watched the trees burn as firefighters fought to quench the flames, although confirmed the identities of the perpetrators as Israeli settlers from nearby Harvat Gilad settlement.
Firefighters returned to Burn in time to attend the fire that was lit in the lands shared by Burin, Madema and Assira al Qibliya, but according to members of the Burin fire brigade, were advised by members of B’tselem human rights organisation who were present at the scene, that Israeli settlers had promised to shoot any Palestinians who approached the area. They also received a phone call from the Isreali DCO who prohibited them from attending. Mayor of Burin municipality, Ali Eid, reported that they called the Israeli DCO also, who advised that they would attend to the fire, but as Ali Eid claims “This was propaganda. They did nothing.” Instead it was members of the Israeli human rights group Rabbis for Human Rights who were fighting the blaze “bare-handedly for three hours” according to the Burin Mayor. Aided by the wind, which kept the fire from spreading throughout the olive groves, the human rights volunteers were finally able to extinguish the blaze, losing just 30 olive trees.
These villages have come under attacks by Israeli settlers increasingly over the past months, with regular attacks on houses, animals, crops and olive groves. As Ali Eid commented
“This {fire} is not the first time; this is the hundredth time.” He and other villagers report that Israeli settlers from the illegal Yitzhar settlement set fire to the trees in the olive groves that border the hilltop settlement with startling regularity. “Every year trees are burnt on this hill’ one villager advised. “These trees are from Roman times; they are ancient. More than 2000 years old.” Indeed, it seems that the fires occur even more regularly than this, with more than 3000 olive trees in Burin burnt just two months ago. Of these, 1000 were ancient. Poring over a satellite-view map of the villages and the illegal settlements, Ali Eid estimates that this year the upcoming olive harvest will take only half the time it should, with more than fifty percent of the trees destroyed already.
Despite the decreased harvest period, people from Burin are still extremely worried about what violence they might face when attempting to pick their olives. Just last week, when settlers from Yitzhar were rioting in Assira al Qibliya, settlers from Bracha settlement to the north-east of Burin, attacked an elderly shepherd, firing live ammunition at him. Whilst the shepherd escaped unharmed, nine of his goats and one donkey were killed in the attack.
Villagers list the most common forms of attack they experience at the hands of the settlers that surround their village: burining trees; poisoning sheep; poisoning entire areas; regular attacks on houses closest to the settlements and burning of electricity and telephone lines (which happened most recently just one month ago). Recently, however, added to this list is a series of rocket attacks from both Yitzhar and Bracha settlements. To date nine rockets have been fired on the village, though all have landed harmlessly in fields. Ali Eid presents the exploded shell of a rocket, launched from Yitzhar towards the village of Odela. Ripped apart by force of the impact, the 3mm thick steel shell bears markings English text – letters “WP” distinguishable amid the rust, suggesting the projectile was not home-made.
“Why they do this we don’t know.” says Ali Eid gravely. “This year women, girls, guys – they all make fire. Why? We don’t know.” He notes, however, that “all the time they {leaders} are talking about peace, the attacks become worse”, referring to the increase in attacks experienced by Palestinian villagers during Israeli/Palestinian peace negotiations.
To see more about ISM’s 2008 Olive Harvest click here
