Tag: Nablus

The village of Asira al Qibliya again came under attack by settlers from the nearby illegal, Israeli settlement of Yitzhar on Friday 16h May. Residents of the village, located 3km south of Nablus, report that at approximately 2pm on Friday, one adult Israeli settler entered the lands of the village, and began throwing stones at the houses nearest the top of Mount Salman, where the illegal settlement is located.

After fifteen minutes, he was reportedly joined by another 30 adult settlers, some armed with M16 machine guns and handguns, all throwing stones at the villagers’ houses. When approximately ten of the villagers went to confront the settlers, up to 15 Israeli military jeeps arrived and began to fire tear gas and rubber bullets at the villagers.

Residents of the village report that the Israeli soldiers stood by as the settlers threw rocks and tried to set fire to the village wheat fields – some arguing that soldiers were seen to be instructing the settlers to do so. One villager reported standing near the village electricity pylon and witnessing shots fired towards the pylon – a frequent tactic employed by the Israeli army when invading Palestinian villages. One resident was injured when a rubber bullet ricocheted off his roof and hit him in the chin.

Israeli soldiers reportedly threw tear gas into the home of Jamal Yousef Saleh Ahmad, an illegal act under Israeli law, while his wife and four children under ten years old, including a two-month old baby, were inside. Soldiers also shot holes in the family’s water-tank – the second time in two weeks. Jamal’s house regularly comes under attack from Israeli soldiers and settlers, because of its location high up on the mountain – attacks that are unhindered by the phone calls that Jamal’s wife, Nahla Machmoud, makes to the Israeli army District Coordinating Office (DCO) every time her home and family are assailed.

Residents also report that one donkey was stolen by the settlers, and has not been returned.

These attacks on the village have been occurring for the past six years, but have intensified in the past two months from monthly to weekly attacks. The settler attacks occur despite the fact that each month groups of settlers from Yitzhar walk through the village of Asira al Qibliyia to the settlement of Elon Moreh free from any kind of harassment by the local residents. As one villager expressed: “We will stay together, we will make our life together. Not to fight; not to throw anything. But they do not want this. We know they steal our land, but what can we do? We have no guns, we have nothing. We will make our life together.”

Israeli soldiers finally left the village at 7pm, but residents were afraid they would return during the night. For the past six weeks, Israeli soldiers have been regularly occupying families’ homes in the village – for four weeks as often as every night, now at least twice a week. Residents report that soldiers arrive at 1am and force all of the family members into one room (a practice illegal under Israeli law), and stay in the home until 6am. Reports of thefts by the soldiers are common. Villagers claim to often know which home will be targeted by the soldiers, as jeeps will often come during the day and park by a particular house for 30 minutes. This will be the house that is later occupied.

The setter and soldier attack prevented the village’s An Nakba demonstration from taking place, and so it was rescheduled for later in the night. With seventy percent of the 3500 villagers as refugees, the demonstration to commemorate the loss of their homes, mostly in Haifa, was very important and particularly relevant as the residents struggle to stay in Asira al Qibliya, despite the regular attacks and harassment. This connection was not lost on the villagers, as the hundred-strong demonstration marched through the dark village streets chanting “We will return to Haifa even if you kill us,” along with the chant “With our blood and our souls we will redeem you:[Mount] Salman.”

On the 7th of May 2008 at 3.30pm Hanadi Kanaan, a young woman from Nablus, was released from Telmond women’s prison after being held for 45 days for supposed security investigations.

Hanadi Kanaan, an engineering student within 1 month of graduating, communicated how she did not know why she was arrested and tells of the inhumane conditions she was kept in. She explained that when she was arrested she was held in a room just 2m by 2m, that she was given food that made her sick and how she was provided with no breaks during her 45 day imprisonment. She also described how she was continuously interrogated for 20 hours while she was in prison. The reason for Hanadi’s imprisonment for these 45 days were labeled as ‘security investigations’ and Hanadi went onto to explain that the prison is full of women in the exact same position as she was. This is just another case of how Palestinians human rights are being abused consistently and how little is done to stop this.

Later that day Nablus was host to an event to commemorate the Nakba organized by the National Committee for Nakba, the Jaffa Centre and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The event, which took place within the Jammal Abid Nasser park, entertained and audience of around 300 Nablus residents.

There were two main speakers during this event. The first, Tayseer Nassallah, the mayor of the National committee for the Nakba, spoke of national plans for the commemoration of the Nakba. These included the release of black balloons from several areas within the west bank, the coordination of all Palestinians to wear black and fly black flags in local villages, and many other ideas. The second speaker, Hamdallah Afaneh, the Palestinian cultural adviser, encouraged Palestinians to struggle against the occupation with the growth of culture and education among the people.

On Saturday 3rd of May a group of Israeli Settlers paraded and attacked local Palestinans within the small village of Assira al Qibliya. Assira al Qibliya, is situated in the Nablus governorate in the north of the West Bank and has become used to these regular settler attacks. Two Palestinians, one 15 year old and one 40 year old were hospitalised as a result of the attack.

At around 3pm in Assira al Qibliya a group of approximately 30 Israeli settlers, from the Yitzar settlement, became visible in the land close to the village. The settlers intruded on the villagers’ land, throwing stones and even starting a number of large fires within the fields. A Palestinian fire engine soon arrived at the scene, and with a group of about 20 villagers, attempted to extinguish the flames. The Israeli army showed their presence when live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas and sound bombs were all fired into the field. Witnesses say that shots were fired at the fire engine and that one firefighter was seized and beaten by soldiers before being released. At approximately 3.30pm two villagers were also seized, reportedly by both settlers and soldiers acting together, and beaten with stones and kicked repeatedly. These two residents – one a 15 year old boy and the other a 40 year old man, were then detained for a number of hours, but are now recovering in a Nablus hospital. Soldiers also reportedly fired shots at the water tanks on the roofs of the nearest two houses.

Israeli army spokespeople are reported as claiming that the fires were started by the residents and that no settlers entered the village at all – claims which are clearly proven false by the photos of the incidents taken by residents. Photos clearly show settlers starting fires on land owned by residents of the village, reported to be the Jihad and Machmoud Ali families.

When speaking to a group of local residents they said that these attacks were all too common in Assira al Qibliya. They expressed a feeling of vulnerability as they told of weekly attacks and encounters with settlers. One woman, Nahla Machmoud, whose water tank was shot by soldiers during the attacks, advised that today three settler men started to come at her while she was alone outside her house. She picked up rocks with which to defend herself, but was too scared, and dropped them before running inside and locking the door. “Today I’m very, very, very tired,” she said. “I’m very scared. My baby – we are very scared. I went into my home and locked my door and my baby is very, very scared and crying.” Nahla advised she is subject constant abuse from settlers who have attacked her home, stolen her water pump, and come in large groups to her home, shouting aggressively so that she was scared to leave. She reported that she has gone to the Israeli police, but that after showing her over 200 photos of settlers, none of whom were from her area, they declined to help any further. She recounts that Israeli police warned her, “If you do anything to the settlers who come to your home, even if you just hit them, we will put you in prison.” When Israeli settlers were beating Palestinians on Saturday, however, hitting them with rocks and kicking them repeatedly, injuring them severely, Israeli soldiers stood by and did nothing.

On Monday 28th April, the Israeli checkpoint Assira ‘Ash Shamaliya, known as checkpoint 17, was opened for the first time in four years. The checkpoint, which separates the city of Nablus from the northern village of Asira ‘ash Shamaliya and other neighbouring villages, was the first of the promised fifty checkpoints to be removed around the West Bank.

Local residents and press gathered around the closed road gate, eagerly awaiting its opening. Cars queued up to be amongst the first to pass through.

At 2:30pm two Israeli soldiers unceremoniously opened the locked gate, as jubilant Palestinians pushed against it, cheering as they did so. Drivers sounded their horns and the waiting people marched through clapping, reclaiming their road.

“People are happy the checkpoint is removed from here,” noted one local journalist, as cars streamed between the already disused checkpoint booths.

Even Israeli soldiers were taking photos of the momentous occasion, which serves as a publicity coup for the image of the Israeli government’s illegal occupation of Palestine, and works to counter the horrific child death-toll that is emerging from Gaza daily. Just that morning, four children were killed with their mother in Gaza’s Beit Hanoun as Israeli tanks shelled their house while they were eating breakfast.

Despite the fanfare surrounding the opening of the gate, the promise of greater freedom for residents of the Nablus district seems to be more image than substance. The road itself is not completely open now, it is open only from 6am until 10pm each day, after which both gates will be once again locked to all vehicles, including ambulances. When questioned about this one soldier replied “They can use the roads that they are using now.”

The road is also only open to drivers of motorised vehicles, such as cars, trucks, and motorcycles. It is prohibited to pedestrians and other forms of non-motorised transport. Indeed, within ten minutes of the opening, Israeli soldiers were harassing the celebrating populace, forcing people back into their cars, and insisting that women waiting for a lift to Assira go back to the city of Nablus and wait there. The logic for this prohibition was stated by one Israeli soldier as follows: “We want to make sure people stick to the road. This is the way we can make sure they stick to the road.”

The opening also provides a very limited increase in the freedom of movement for the people of Nablus. The road to Asira ‘ash Shamaliya serves only a few smaller villages, such as An Naqura, Sebastiya, Beit Imrin, Burqa, Yasid, Ijnisinya, Nisf Jubeil and Talouza – some of whom already utilise the already open road through Al Badan, which runs north from Nablus to Jenin. Whilst this opening will greatly improve the lives of residents in those villages – enabling them to travel to and from the city of Nablus more quickly and easily – it does nothing for the thousands of Palestinians who must travel each day through the major checkpoints of Huwarra and Beit Eba, where extensive delays and humiliations are endured daily. Indeed, it has been reported that in negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian authorities, the possibility of removing these checkpoints was completely dismissed.

Many residents are also cynical about the extent to which the road to Asira ‘ash Shamaliya will be “open”. “In half an hour they will be stopping cars and checking IDs, once the media leave,” mused one journalist.