Tag: Nablus

Nablus: “So you’re doing this without a military order?”…“I am.”

Thursday, July 19, 2007 at 6:50 am approximately 50 Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) soldiers and border police, accompanied by a bulldozer, came to the village of Zawata, located by the West Bank city of Nablus. At 9:30 am they demolished one home despite attempts by international human rights activists at the scene to stop the demolition. Later the IOF caused severe damage to several other houses in the area. (For more information on the second part of the Israeli siege, please look at the second report.) Asad Natour, 47, his wife, Saeda, 39, and seven children are homeless now due to the egregious acts of the IOF.

“When the kids saw them do all of this—they wet their pants,” Asad told an international activist during a video interview. “First they shot at the house. After that they called on us using the megaphones. We exited. We had our hands up and went out on the street. They said take off your clothes.” The family was made to stand in the sun on the street adjacent to their home during which time they stripped completely for a full-body search even his youngest daughter Laura, who is six, was subjected to this brutal Israeli tactic of deprivation and humiliation.

“If they want to search our house, don’t take us out of our house as if we are terrorists. None of us have ever been in prison or done anything wrong to another human being, but they are not human,” Asad said. “They are used to killing. We are from Jaffa, we came to Camp No. 1 [Ein Beit Al Ma] and later we bought these 250 square meters here to build a house. But they don’t want this.”

Asad’s eldest son, Jihad, 20, was taken to a building across from his home, detained and interrogated. When the IOF was finished with their “interrogation,” they arrested him and took him away. No reason was given to his family for the arrest. “No, no one told me nothing!” said Asad. “I have never been in prison and neither has he. So there is no reason…They don’t want our young men to grow up.”

The IOF never entered the home; they never presented a military order or a permit for the destruction of the home. While demolishing first home, the IOF also demolished a neighbor’s car. In addition, when the bulldozer backed up from bulldozing Asad’s home, the back of the bulldozer hit his neighbor’s home where a month old infant was sleeping in its bed. Pieces of concrete from the wall fell on the baby and slashed its head. The baby was taken to hospital. X-rays were performed; luckily no fractures or permanent damage was sustained to the infant’s head.

“We are a people who love peace, but they don’t,” Asad said. “If they [Israel] are so democratic they would knock on the door. And we would open.” Israel’s policy of house demolitions is illegal under international law. Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention reads: “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons…is prohibited.”

Thus as an occupying force within Palestine, the IOF acts illegally and completely of their own volition. Soldiers assaulted activists attempting to view the home demolition. When asked to present documents authorizing the home destruction, soldiers admitted they had none. A soldier on the scene declared, “I understand where you’re coming from, but you’re not going to see an order.” Yet another soldier when asked, “So you’re doing this without a military order?” answered, “I am.” Furthermore, activists at the scene applied due diligence toward contacting the District Command Office (DCO). However, despite promises by the DCO representative to return calls, repeated requests went unanswered. A representative from B’tselem told an international activist over the phone that the Israeli civil authorities knew nothing about the situation on the ground.

“Whatever they want—they can do. If they want to kill—they can. The only thing they want is to destroy, they destroy the house and then that’s it—they leave,” said Asad. “And we hope that all of the people in the world can stand with the Palestinian people because we’re repressed on our own land. Most don’t have work, and have nothing to eat. And all of the Palestinian people live off of aid. That’s it.”

Assad is employed by the United Nations as a Modern Standard Arabic teacher at Camp No.1 Basic Boy’s School. To date he has not paid off the loans he took out to build his home.

According to the website of the Israel Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), 18,000 Palestinian homes were demolished in the Occupied Territories, including Occupied East Jerusalem, since 1967.

Between September 2000 the first year of the second Intifada and October 2004, approximately 50,000 Palestinians were left homeless (Human Rights Watch, Razing Rafah, October 2004).

Undoubtedly this number is much higher now.

Nablus: Misery at Checkpoints

July 12th, 2007. Nablus in the West Bank is home to approximately 250.000 people, and with its university and central location as a major commercial and educational focal point, it has also been a place which attracts workers and students from other villages and cities in the area. Nablus is surrounded by 35 villages in addition to illegal Israeli settlements such as Itamar, Berakha,and Alon Moreh, and Yitzhar.

The roads in and out of Nablus are controlled by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), and they control the thorough-fares in and out of the city, thus stopping the entry and exit of every one of the West
Bank residents approaching the city. The Checkpoints of Huwwarra leading southward, Beit Iba to the
northeast, and Badan to the east are all used as means of collective punishment. The Badan checkpoint especially, has made itself famous for the arrogance and harsh behavior with which the IOF meet the Palestinian population. Long delays, often for hours on end in excruciatingly hot temperatures, without any possibility of getting away, turning back, or finding shade.

On the 12th of July, two ISM-teams approached the checkpoints of Huwwarra and Badan to monitor the actions of the soldiers, report any violations of human rights, and assist Palestinians approaching the
checkpoints. At 7.30 the Badan checkpoint was in reality completely closed, and 10 minutes later the checkpoint suddenly opened up, thus slowly allowing Palestinian cars to go through the checkpoints manned by the IOF. The ISM-team observed and intervened when the IOF forced 4 of the Palestinian men waiting by the checkpoint to carry large boulders in order to further fortify the checkpoint, and prevent cars from approaching the soldiers from more than one lane.

The soldiers did not allow for anyone to pass the checkpoint by foot which created a lot of trouble for the people that came by foot and for workers and students that had to wait next to cars already filled with people. Women and children had to stay under the hot sun for hours and many had to wait more than 3 hours to pass. One of the Palestinian women, Huda, waited in the sun with her five children, the oldest being 9 years old and the youngest girl, an infant of 7 months. Around 08.00 am approximately 50 cars were waiting on each side of the checkpoint and many more Palestinians were standing beside the cars,
hoping to get the chance to lay out their reasons for passing to the arrogant and dazed soldiers. At around 08.30 am a bus arrived and all the men, around 20 had to get out and line up beside the bus, facing the valley below, with their backs to the road. A while later women and children were forced out as well, and all of their luggage was searched. Two of the men in the line were taken aside and had to sit down in the scorching sun. The detained men were handcuffed and blindfolded, one of them had to put his own T-shirt over his head, while the other young man was blindfolded with a piece of cloth. The plastic handcuffs that the soldiers used were very tight, and the soldiers refused to loosen up, even after complaints and requests. After fifteen minutes one of the two detainees was released and could
return to the bus. After standing outside in the heat for 40 minutes, the remaining men could get back to the bus. However one exhausted man was taken to a metal booth and was made to sit on a boulder in a very uncomfortable position.

Misery part 1

The ISM-team managed to approach the man, and had him whisper his name and ID-number so that steps could be taken to secure his identity and prevent him from “dissapearing” into the Occupation Forces administration. We also made sure to get the phone number of his parents, and put Machsom Watch and Hamoked in touch with the DCO. It was now clear that the young man would not be released within the near future. The soldiers claimed his was one of the wanted men on their list containing 167 numbers. Each number is the last four numbers in a Palestinian ID-number and everyone on that list is wanted and to be arrested.

Misery part 1

Time passed and the heat and position weakened the man and he was barely conscious at some points. The activists were allowed to give him water, but no food and absolutely not talk to him. After nearly 2 and a half hour in detention his condition was just getting worse, but the soldiers kept repeating that this was a dangerous man and not the 18 year old student that he really is, and refused to do something about the situation. When almost 4 hours had passed and the soldiers started to become disturbed by the international presence and the repeated reminders of what human rights violations they committed, the internationals had to leave in order not to escalate the violence. An hour after that, the man was taken away, still under arrest.

Nablus: IOF Treatens to Make 70 Palestinians Homeless

July 10th, 2007. At midnight the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) invaded Nablus with 75 vehicles from all different directions. They entered Balata refugee camp and the Old City of Nablus. During the night 7 men were arrested in the old city.

At 5 am, the IOF moved on to the Rafideh neighborhood with the aim of arresting 2 wanted freedom fighters in the area. Half an hour later the soldiers went into a villa, interrogated the 6 people living in the house, showing maps of the neighborhood and pictures of the wanted men, clearly knowing who they were looking for and where they could find them. At the same time they surrounded the civilian apartment complex situated next to the villa. The soldiers started to fire their guns and throw grenades and sound bombs in the street in order to wake up people sleeping in their homes. When the residents did not respond to their demands to open the door the soldiers blew up the front door.

They forced the 70 people in the house out into the street. All the men had to show IDs and then go through the humiliating act of taking off their clothes in front of everyone. After that women and men were separated and the approximately 20 men in the group were taken to the nearby villa for detention and interrogation. Since the wanted men were not among the men in this group the IOF started to place bombs around the apartment complex with the intention to blow up the whole building in case the wanted men would not turn themselves in. At this point the two wanted men and the apartment owner that hosted them exited the house. They were handcuffed, blindfolded and then brought to the villa, where they were tortured.

When the ISM team arrived at Rafidah they tried to approach the occupied buildings with no success. Shortly after that, the IOF left Rafidah with the 3 arrested men. After that the ISM activists were let into the apartment of the now arrested man. The apartment was completely torn to pieces. The soldiers had gone berserk, ripped up all the furniture, emptied drawers and closets, throwing everything on the floor including the children’s toys and school material. Basically, the soldiers wrecked everything in the family’s house.

The wife of the house owner told the ISM activists what had happen during the morning. The freedom fighters had been let in to the house earlier that night since they had asked for help and as she said; “we would never turn someone down that asks for our help. We’re doing his because one day we might be the ones in need of help and also we have to do it for our nation.”

Nablus: Planting Trees in Till

July 9th, 2007. As a part of the summer campaign 12 International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activists visited the Till village to help the local farmers reach and cultivate their land.

The fear of being shot or having their tractors confiscated has made it impossible for the farmers to reach parts of their land. In addition, thanks to an Israeli law, Palestinian land that has not been cultivated for 3 years may be confiscated by the state of Israel. At 9am in the morning the ISM activists arrived to Till where they met the local farmer Forsam and his family. Forsam has not been able to reach his land in 4 years, out of fear of being shot by the military from their outpost which is located only 200m from his land. The aim of the action was to plant 20 olive trees in 2 hours. The ISM activists task was to make sure the Palestinians could move safely to, on and from their land, which is located inside a closed military zone.

The action was a big success, 20 olive trees were planted in less then an hour and the military did not intervene. This successful action will hopefully lead to more Palestinians being able to access their land during the actions occurring on future days.