Farmers of Kafr Qallil, Nablus, refused access to their land

July 13th and 14th a family from the village of Kafr Qallil, south of Nablus, tried to harvest almonds on their land near Huwwara checkpoint. After two days of harassment from settlers and soldiers the family was forbidden to continue the harvest indefinitely.

The family owns 49 dunums of land between Huwwara check point and the illegal settlement of Bracha. The land, which is now crossed by a settler road, has been owned by the family for many generations. Due to resent harassments from settlers and soldiers the family was accompanied by international solidarity activists.

On both days the farmers were told to leave their land by armed settlers, soldiers and Israeli police claiming random reasons. Finally, on the 14th, in spite of earlier promises of permission, the army declared the area a closed military zone. The army also informed the family that they had to prove their ownership of the land to receive permission to continue the harvest.

Haaretz: The general of onions and garlic

By Gideon Levy

To view original article, published by Haaretz on the 13th July, click here

Here is the “next thing” in the war against terror: the war against hairdressers. After Hamas took over half the Palestinian people, in no small measure because of Israel’s policies, after we tried to fight Hamas with weapons and siege, destruction and killing, mass arrests and deportations, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service have invented something new: a war on shopping malls, bakeries, schools and orphanages. First in Hebron, now in Nablus. The IDF is closing beauty salons, clothing stores and clinics, and even one dairy farm, all on the pretext that they are connected to Hamas, or the rent they pay is given to a terror organization.

These bizarre pictures of a closure order issued by the general of command, stuck on the window of a cosmetics store or a physiotherapy center, of a confiscation order stuck to a pita oven, show that the Israeli occupation has gone crazy. A few months ago I visited the charity institutions and commercial centers the IDF has begun closing in Hebron; I saw infuriatingly absurd scenes. A modern school, intended for 1,200 students, standing closed on orders of the GOC, and a library for young people about to shut.

Thus the occupation proves once again that there is no place in Palestinians’ lives that it cannot reach, and that it has no boundaries: An army that closes a school, library, bakery and boarding school; soldiers who raid a licensed commercial television station, confiscating its equipment and threatening its closure, as happened recently at the Afaq TV station in Nablus.

In Israel no voices were raised in protest, of course, either against the closing of the school or the closing of the TV station. According to the Israeli train of thought, if we close a bakery making bagels for orphans, Hamas’ power will weaken; if we throw hundreds of needy children into the streets from their boarding school, they and their relatives will become sympathetic to Israel; if we close a crowded shopping mall, its irate owners and customers will become Fatah supporters.

The Israeli occupation has not been seen for a long time in such a ludicrous and inhumane light as in these closure and confiscation operations ordered by GOC Central Command Gadi Shamni, the general of onions and garlic, to judge by the produce his soldiers confiscated from the Hebron food warehouses. Illegal, certainly immoral, but no less shortsighted, these operations broadcast a message loud and clear: The occupation has lost all moral inhibitions and any shred of wisdom. How wretched is an army that empties storerooms of food and clothing for the needy, how ridiculous that the GOC signs orders to close hairdressing salons, how pathetic is a military raid on bakeries and how cruel is an occupation that shuts down clinics on any pretext.

Hamas has entered the vacuum created in the West Bank and Gaza. Like any religious movement, it sprouted in the soil of distress and poverty. Now Israel comes along and says let’s make the poverty and distress even worse. Why? To fight Hamas. There is nothing more absurd. Tens of thousands of poor children in the West Bank have nowhere to turn to aside from the Islamic charities that Israel suspects of being linked to Hamas, although many were established long before the organization was born. Israel stopped seeing to the population’s welfare under the occupation, despite its obligation under international law, and the Palestinian Authority is also not showing any special interest in social and economic needs. Fatah has always devoted more resources to military camps, guns and official cars than to orphanages, hospital beds and dialysis machines.

This is the vacuum the Islamic Movement is filling, offering an impressive level of services. The orphanage I visited in Hebron is one of the most beautiful and well-cared for I have seen. It takes quite a bit of cruelty to threaten its closure, quite a bit of audacity to argue that doing so will serve the war on terror, and quite a bit of stupidity to think that such a measure will help. The closing of stores and malls will only land another blow on the Palestinian economy, which even now is struggling to hold up under conditions of quarantine. Has Israel learned nothing from the failure of the siege on Gaza?

Anyone who visits the charity institutions would see that not all the money flowing to these organizations is earmarked for buying suicide belts and explosives. The West Bank’s residents cannot be simultaneously imprisoned, prohibited from earning a living and offered no social-welfare assistance while we strike at those who are trying to do so, whatever their motives. If Israel wants to fight the charitable associations, it must at least offer alternative services. On whose back are we fighting terror? Widows? Orphans? It’s shameful.

Nablus Women’s centre stages protest against the Israeli army’s invasions of Nablus

On the night between July 9th and 10th, Nablus was again was invaded by the Israeli army. This time health clinics, two women’s centers, the local TV-station Afaq, the shopping mall for the second time and a mosque was attacked and school buses were stolen. In all locations computers, files and other important equipment was confiscated.

Afaq, a local TV-station of social issues, financed by commercials, has been invaded by the Israeli army two times before, but last night was arguably the worst. Between 12.30am and 5am in the morning of July 10, 2008 the army broke in to their workplace in central Nablus.When Aisa Abu Elizz and his colleges arrived in the morning they found their door welded. All electronic equipment and furniture was taken or immediately destroyed by the military. The military also left a paper which stated the order to close the TV-station for one year. The order claimed the importance of defeating terrorism and that Afaq were supporting terrorism. The plan of Afaq is now to try to make a complaint to court.

The Women’s Centre of Nablus is a social centre for women and children. The center support women economically and socially by organizing summer clubs for children, a bakery to support children with food and much more. At 12 o’clock at night to the the army entered the Women’s centre. They took five computers as well as files and books with addresses for the organizations work.No reason was given to why the centre was raided by the army. Immediately the same day after the invasion the women centre organized a protest against the invasions with a message to the Palestinian Authorities to support them against the Israeli army’s violations. A women’s centre in al-Farah camp was raided the same night.

Patient-Friend society is a polyclinic in the centre of Nablus. At 12 o clock at night the clinic was raided by the Israeli army. The army stole six computers and as many documents they could find by breaking in to cupboards. A lot of information about patients was lost during the night’s incursion. The clinic was raided before some years. Now, as then, they will try to complain to court in an attempt to get their materials back. Previous times they did not succeed in this.

In total during the night health clinics were raided, along with the TV-station, a shopping mall, a mosque and women’s committees. Also school buses were confiscated. All in all, added up with previous nights incursions the army’s violations make a hard blow against the social and economical life of Nablus.

Israeli army confiscate shopping mall in massive invasion of Nablus

On the night of July 7th, 2008, the Israeli army, numbering between 120 and 150 jeeps, entered the city of Nablus. They entered a suburban shopping mall, several charity organizations, a girl’s elementary school and adjoining medical clinic, the last of which they did not have an army order to enter.

According to the Israeli army, the owner of the mall building is a member of the political party Hamas. Their pretext for taking control of the mall is therefore his alleged ties to deemed terrorist organizations. The army intends to close the mall on the 15th of August, 2008 and convert it into a military base. Without compensation are the approximately 120 small shop owner and renters who will lose their businesses. A typical example is that of Ahmed and his four brothers’s who bought a small pizzeria for 250, 000 Dinars ten years ago and have maintained it as a family run-business in the ensuing time. “This is my whole life,” he told us. This is a particularly harsh to him because his entire extended family will be affected by the closure. The shop owners are filing a complaint to the Israeli courts but have little hope of halting the army.

Equally egregious is the armies invasion and destruction of an elementary girls school and the neighboring medical clinic. In order to enter the school, the army, in a wave of mindless violence and destruction, destroyed doors and looks, smashed windows, stole the girls computers, and even vandalized the telephone kiosk. The school has now been closed indefinitely, damaging the innocent pupil’s education and future prospects.

More distressingly for the residents of Nablus is the simultaneous criminal attack on the Islamic Medical Centre that adjoins the girl’s school. This outrageous act of brutality started with the forced entry of a ground floor door. This was the sixth and most destructive of all attacks on the charitable medical centre since 2001. The criminal act of theft was evidenced as the illegal intruders used explosives to gain access to the centre’s safe where they stole over 2,000 JD of employees pay. Over 4,000 family’s files, approximately 20,000 individual’s, were stolen – causing immense distress to doctors trying to continue treating severely sick patients with out their background information. Along with these files also stolen was the office and administration hardware with items including computer, fax machine, and photocopier. During this violent attack office furniture including desks and chairs were overturned and smashed.

An elderly doctor, Hafez Sader, who had devoted his lives work to the medical center was shaken when he described the painstaking hours and hours he and his staff had spent trying to put back the medicine in the pharmacy that had been taken out of packets, mixed, and strewn over the floor. There has been no order or reason given for such an attack on this charitable medical centre. ‘This is the language of power’ Sader stated.

PCHR: PCHR condemns IOF measures against Nablus charities

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights – Press Release

Date: 8 July 2008

To view the PCHR website click here

PCHR strongly condemns Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) for closing several charities and humanitarian organizations in Nablus over the past two days. The Centre calls upon the international community to intervene to put an end to these measures.

The Center’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 1:35 on Monday, 7 July, IOF raided the Benevolent Solidarity Association, the Islamic School for Girls, Benevolent Solidarity Club, Solidarity Mosque, and Solidarity Medical Center in Rafedia Quarter west of Nablus. IOF confiscated medical equipment and computers from the medical center. In addition, IOF issued an order closing the association for 3 years. The order was signed by the Israeli army commander in the West Bank.

At approximately 1:00 on Tuesday, 8 July, IOF raided several organizations affiliated with Hamas. IOF closed 7 organizations for 2 years. IOF claimed that these organizations were used to “finance terrorist organizations.” The organizations that were closed are: Nablus Mall (owned by the Development, Investment, and Insurance Company), Nafha Association for Prisoners’ Affairs; Federation of Islamic Trade Unions, Scientific Medical Assocaiton, Yazour Benevolent Society, Basma Association, and Graduates Cultural Forum.

PCHR’s fieldworker obtained a copy of the military order closing the Nablus Mall that was dated 6 July and signed by Gadi Aluf, Israeli army commander in the West Bank. The order states, “Based on the jurisdiction granted to me under articles 120, 84, 129 of the Defense Regulations (State of Emergency) for the year 1945 … I hereby order the confiscation of all properties of “Beit El-Mal Arab Palestinian, LTD that is also known as the Development, Investment, and Insurance Company, including the real estate known as the Nablus Commercial Center (Nablus Mall). Ownership of the property and all its equipment is directly transferred to the Israeli Defense Forces with immediate effect. The administration offices of the Nablus Commercial Center and all unrented property is closed for 2 years starting with the date of receiving this order. Any person wishing to object to t his order can submit a written complaint through the Legal Advisor for Judia and Samaria within 14 days from receiving the order.”

It is noted that the Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, signed this week an order closing 36 charities worldwide under the pretext that they are illegal for being members in the “Zakat Federation” that collects money for Hamas. The Israeli newspaper of Haaretz indicated yesterday that Israeli security forces will escalate their war on the Hamas infrastructure in the West Bank; and that the military leadership plans to close a large number of associations and charities and confiscate their property under the pretext that they are affiliated with Hamas.

PCHR strongly condemns these arbitrary measures that constitute a form of collective punishment that is banned by International Humanitarian Law. The Centre calls upon the international community to intervene and put an end to these measures, especially since the targeted organizations provide humanitarian assistance to needy Palestinian families during these times of increased poverty.