Tag: Nablus

Today saw the second in a series of non-violent demonstrations against Huwwara checkpoint, just south of the West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinians, joined by internationals, delivered a message to the Israeli army: We have had enough of the seven years of curfew that have been imposed on Nablus.

About forty protestors arrived at the checkpoint around 11.30am carrying signs saying ‘No Movement, No Life’ and ‘Stop the Occupation’. As the demonstrators approached the barrier the Israeli army fired live ammunition into the air to attempt to move the protestors back. One Human Rights Worker was detained, and was later released after the demonstration had ended, at approximately 12.30pm.

Nablus is surrounded by a system of checkpoints controlling all movement out of the city. The checkpoints are routinely closed, and when open the queues can be incredibly long. Even during winter, or the peak of summer, people can be stranded in the elements for hours. Many people have even died at the checkpoints as a result of delays in receiving medical attention. The most recent case was Taysir Mahmoud Ibrahim Qaysi, a cancer patient who was in a car without a permit, and was not allowed through Huwwara checkpoint. He died while waiting for car with a permit to get to him.

The lack of free movement of people and goods has had a devastating effect on the local economy. Unemployment rose 45% from 1999 to 2006 and continues to rise sharply, especially in the refugee camps within Nablus.

This isolation is not unique to Nablus, but is found throughout the West Bank. The system of closures, Israeli only roads and the wall serve to split the West Bank into isolated enclaves. Traveling between the enclaves can be difficult or impossible. There are 561 closures in the West Bank, only 14 of these fall on the green line. Security cannot justify 547 closures within Palestinian territory. As with Nablus, the closures have had a massive impact on the Palestinian economy as people find it increasingly difficult to get to work: unemployment is now well above 40%. The closures collectively punish 2.5 million ordinary Palestinians for the actions of a few combatants, and serve no extra security function.

On the evening of November 26th, Israeli Special Forces and the Israeli Military invaded the Palestinian town of Zawata, in the Nablus region, arresting 14 men. At approximately 6pm a group of around seven masked gunmen entered a coffee shop in the village, pointed their guns at the men gathered there, and identified themselves as Israeli Special Forces. Within minutes, several military jeeps arrived in the village, creating a ring around the coffee shop and preventing Palestinians from entering or leaving the area. 14 men were arrested inside the shop, seemingly at random.

Five of the men inside the shop escaped arrest because the Israeli commander said they were too old. The other 14 were loaded into a military transport truck and driven to Huwwara prison. At least one man described being hit repeatedly with the butt of a rifle during a 6 hour detention period. Witnesses attest that before being arrested, none of the men were asked for their identity cards, suggesting that these me were arrested at random, and not in a targeted raid. 12 of the 14 have since been released while two, including a member of the Palestinian press, are still being held. Their whereabouts are currently still unknown.

During the course of the invasion, the Israeli military overturned all of the furniture inside the shop, smashing glasses to the floor and scattering decks of cards. All the men in the shop were tied with their hands behind their back. The owner of the coffee shop was dealt blows to the crotch and shoulder with a rifle butt while in this position. At least one medic with the Palestine Medical Relief society was prevented from reaching the coffee shop to see if anyone needed treatment. Israeli soldiers shot at him with rubber bullets as he approached them to negotiate passage.

Zawata, a town of approximately 2,000 people, is no stranger to military invasions. Soldiers enter the village almost every night. Villagers also struggle to gain access to their lands isolated by a military road that cuts through hundreds of dunums of Zawata’s land.

On Tuesday, November 20th, international Human Rights Workers (HRWs) were alerted to a military invasion in the Fara’h refugee camp, near Nablus. The military had surrounded the camp during the night and the attack began around 1 am. The army was said to have been looking for wanted men, and though they arrested around eleven people, it is unclear if they got who they wanted.

HRWs arrived around 8 am, while the military was still attacking the camp. They visited a formerly occupied house, one of five, which showed doors smashed in, furniture destroyed, belongings scattered, and a six year old child who had recieved a rifle butt to the face. The child was soon after taken to the hospital. During this time the army were continuing to drive their hummers and bulldozers quickly through the camp, shooting at both the unarmed refugees, and their vehicles. Windows of houses and cars had been shot out, as well as the electricity transistor, causing $15,000 worth of damage to the transistor and taking out the electricity to the camp.

Ambulance crews were on the scene to deal with the wounded. One man was shot in the foot, and a fifteen year old was shot in the leg, both with live ammunition. HRWs witnessed three youths shot in the leg with rubber coated steel bullets, and one shot in the head. It is still unclear how many more were taken to the hospital for treatment due to rubber coated steel bullets, and tear gas.

After the army had left HRWs met in one family’s house and spoke to people from the camp. In the house where they met, the wall had cracked open and the concrete gate outside had been smashed when an Israeli bulldozer picked up the family’s car and threw it at the house. The car is of course destroyed. The refugees talked about when the army came in the night, how people whose houses were occupied were forced to stand outside in the rain, how some of the men were forced to stand under the drainpipes during the downpour. They said the army drives through often, though they do not always attack.

Fara’h refugee camp holds around 6,000 refugees, and today school was cancelled for the children. The older students, many of whom go to Al-Najah University and had exams today, were prevented from taking them due to the invasion.

In the early hours of this morning the Israeli military invaded El-Ein refugee camp. Camp #1, as it is also known, lies just outside Nablus in the West Bank. The army entered the camp sometime around 3 a.m. and harrassed the inhabitants until nearly 7:30 in the morning.

They broke into the house of Adel Abrahem and Abed Alrhman. The house was ransacked and some furniture was destroyed. The family, including a number of children, was forced to the floor and handcuffed where they remained for the duration of the search. Sound bombs were also used, which terrified the children especially. The army also opened fire indiscriminately, shooting out of numerous windows and destroying property inside. No one was arrested nor were any weapons found.

Todays invasion comes despite the recent ‘security handover’ to from the army to PA forces, and casts doubt on the Israelis promise to withdraw from the city.