July 5th, 2007. Iraq Burin, a village in the Nablus region, has been suffering from increasing harassment by the neighboring illegal colony of Brakha. Villagers, many of whom are farmers, have owned the land for generations and are being frequently threatened by armed colonists. Beatings and shootings of farmers who attempt to tend to their fields have terrorized the village, preventing them from utilizing their land and making a living. Colonists have often burned fields and cut down the farmers’ trees.
During harvest time, as the villagers labor to collect the olives for harvest, colonists descend upon the fields and steal the harvested crops under the protection of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). These illegal colonies are in violation of international laws prohibiting the occupation of land and the obstruction of the economy of an occupied people. Furthermore, the criminal behavior of the colonists are provocations of these peaceful people. The IOF consistently protects the colonists by the use of armed force against these unarmed villagers.
In response to these illegal acts, yesterday, the International Solidarity Movement planted 75 trees on land in Iraq Burin which had been subject to attacks by colonists and the IOF. Having obtained trees with the assistance of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees and the Tanweer Organization in Nablus, international activists worked in conjunction with local farmers to plant the trees. The planting finished without any disturbance by the colonists or IOF who were within view of the operation.
Starting on June 27th, 2007. Following the Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) invasion of Nablus, from late Wednesday evening until early Friday morning, in which hundreds of Israeli troops in dozens of armored vehicles and bulldozers invaded the city and the Balata refugee camp, taking over numerous buildings and homes, blocking entrances to hospitals and schools, taking over radio stations, and eventually demolishing three homes in the old city, Human Rights Workers (HRWs) inspected the old city, visiting sites of IOF-demolished homes.
Several houses in the old city were demolished using explosives. The residents of the homes were not given warning of the impending demolition, and in some cases were prevented from leaving the home. One resident, a Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) medic described climbing out the 2nd story window and hanging onto the ledge in order to escape the collapse of the floor resulting from the demolition of the adjoining house.
The father of a family whose home was demolished by explosives described how the IOF invaded the home around 5:30 pm on Thursday, collecting family members in one room and interrogating the sons on two occasions. The 2nd interrogation session took place in a bathroom, where the sons were badly beaten. Two young men of the family, ages 20 and 24, were arrested. The house was demolished shortly before midnight.
The neighboring house, sharing a wall with the demolished home, also lost a 1st story ceiling-2nd story-floor due to Israeli explosives. Additionally, the weight-bearing wall was badly damaged, further endangering inhabitants sharing this wall. The mother of the family explained they had only just finished re-building after the last invasion. She further explained that had her sons been standing a few meters further away, they would have been killed in the collapse of the floor.
In the Safadi home, 3 sons were arrested. The house was thoroughly trashed: Israeli soldiers burrowed into the kitchen floors in search of tunnels and weapons, and additionally ransacked the rooms of the home. While occupying the house, snipers were installed in windows strategically overlooking the alleys outside. The family was used as human shields while the IOF occupied the house.
The Asali household suffered similar injustices. IOF soldiers also dug into the floor, opening a well and exploding a shared-family storage room on the ground level. Soldiers occupied the home from 8 am Thursday until the IOF left Friday morning, again placing snipers in the windows. Upstairs rooms were completely ransacked. Six Palestinians were kept captive in the house, as human shields, during the entire time of occupying the home.
At 3 of Nablus’ hospitals —Al Watani, Rafidia, and Nablus Specialty Hospital—at least 2 Israeli military vehicles blocked entrances from Wednesday night until Friday morning, with soldiers preventing doctors, hospital staff and patients alike from entering, despite the urgency of doing so.
According to Al Watani hospital staff, the army shot at the hospital with machine guns on 5 different occasions. IOF additionally delayed delivery of critical supply trucks like those bringing oxygen, as well as those with supplies for dialysis machines—most patients cannot survive long periods without dialysis, and further prevented delivery of food.
The day after the army pulled out, HRWs visited the home of one Nablus old city resident who was held captive in one room of her home, along with approximately 40 other family members and neighbors, from Wednesday evening until Friday morning. In another room upstairs, approximately 50 neighbors were held, and a further 15 were kept in yet another room of the house. All were held under similar conditions. During their captivity, residents were neither given food or water, nor were they permitted to use the toilet, instead having to hold themselves or urinate in the room in which they were kept captive. Numerous elderly, children, and one pregnant woman suffered greatly under these circumstances. One elderly man was unable to take his vital medicine for nearly two days as it needed to be taken with food. Both the elderly woman and man developed severely swollen legs from remaining seated for nearly two days, needing to be carried out of the room when finally released from captivity.
While occupying the home, soldiers urinated in the rooms as well as ransacked the house. Upon eventually leaving the home, one soldier tossed a hand grenade into the 2nd story window of the house still occupied by about 100 unarmed civilians, fortunately not resulting in any deaths but nonetheless adding to the damage done by the soldiers.
This house-occupation was not an isolated instance. Numerous homes in the old city were appropriated and occupied, residents crammed into small rooms together and held without food, water, or visits to the toilet.
The army was allegedly looking for “wanted men” (resistance fighters). The action of occupying homes and holding residents captive equates to using the civilians as human shields during the military invasion, a practice which is internationally recognized as illegal.
In one instance on Thursday evening, soldiers took captive a Palestinian Medical Relief (PRM) volunteer who had been part of a group escorting civilians to their old city homes. Initially detaining the medic by asking for his ID, the soldiers further detained him by keeping the ID. Soldiers took the medic into the home they were occupying, holding him inside for over 30 minutes before he reappeared blindfolded and handcuffed at the door of the building. He was then made to squat in front of the building for approximately another 20 to 30 minutes while soldiers changed shifts. During this time, international HRW attempted to secure the medics release, citing the soldiers’ violations of international law in arresting and using the volunteer medic as a human shield. The HRWs inquiries and requests were met with refusals to release the medic and by the soldiers’ statements that they were not obligated to disclose the reasons for the medic’s detention. After numerous attempts to negotiate the medic’s release, HRWs had to leave the scene. It is unknown whether the PRM volunteer was harmed during his initial or later detention, though there is a high probability he was interrogated and beaten, as in other instances.
The targeted arrest and detention of medics is common and is a form of collective punishment for these volunteers providing essential emergency services to wounded Palestinians. Volunteer medics typically are young Palestinian men, who the IOF routinely accuse of having involvement with militant groups. When not arrested, medics and ambulances are still routinely denied access to emergency areas, denying the wounded emergency attention, a tactic which can result in the deaths of the injured. On Friday morning, one paramedic, age 23, was shot in the shoulder while on duty.
During this latest invasion of Nablus, at least 60 reported cases occurred as a direct result of the IOF army presence and actions. A further 15 routine but serious medical cases required the attention of the PRC whose movement was greatly restricted by the presence of the IOF. Injuries resulting from rubber bullet wounds numbered 48 in the span of 16 hours—these were only the injuries which were reported to and attended by the PRC. Among these cases, one 23 year old man was shot 4 times in the back and once in the chest with rubber bullets. There were also two reported cases of injury by live bullets. It is worth mentioning that these were all cases which the PRC was alerted to and do not include the injuries unreported to the PRC.
Following a brief absence during the day on Friday, the occupying army re-entered the old city Friday evening and again Saturday evening, as happens on a regular basis in the Israeli military-surrounded city of Nablus.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) is currently invading the city of Nablus again after they retreated early this morning from the old city.
IOF invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus Wednesday night after midnight, calling a curfew, demolishing road blocks, and performing house-to-house searches for resistance fighters.
Announcements over loudspeakers and local radio stations instructed Palestinians to go inside their homes and declared much of the city a closed military zone, including areas where resistance fighters are suspected to be, such as schools, banks, taxi stations, and markets.
Two military helicopters patrolled the skies over the old city and the Balata refugee camp from morning to afternoon. The old city and Balata further suffered loss of electricity as the power supply to both areas was cut.
Palestinian sources reported over 80 army vehicles, including hummers, jeeps, and heavily-armored jeeps, within the old city, not including those vehicles outside the old city. Bulldozers removed road blocks at the many road entrances to the old city, facilitating later entry of army jeeps.
Numerous houses and several buildings were occupied by the IOF and turned into military bases and lookout points, including the Soosa, Ahmed al Bizray, and Fatyr buildings. Two Nablus hospitals, Rafidia and al Watani, were surrounded and occupied by military forces, and the oxygen supply to al Watani hospital was cut.
Palestinian and international Human Rights Workers patrolled areas of the old city last night, accompanying Palestinians to their homes and engaging with soldiers to allow safe passage of the civilians.
After the day’s invasion yesterday, at least 8 Palestinian civilians were wounded by rubber bullets, with over 8 arrested. An additional 8 Israeli soldiers were injured by Palestinian explosions inside the occupied city.
While the reason given for the invasion was the search for wanted resistance fighters, the Israeli Occupation army left in its wake 3 demolished houses, destroyed by explosions, which both international humanitarian volunteers and Palestinian Medical Relief workers were prevented access to. It is yet unknown how many have been wounded or killed in these late night demolitions. The neighborhood around the demolished houses was declared a “closed military zone” and ambulances were prevented from approaching to offer aid.
In the course of accompanying Palestinian civilians back to their homes in the old city, 3 medical relief workers were arrested without cause, despite the efforts of other aid workers and international human rights workers to have them released. All three are believed to have been later released, one badly beaten by soldiers.
The day’s activities left a toll of at least 8 known wounded, 3 demolished homes, at least 3 arrested civilians, and substantial destroyed infrastructure.
On Wednesday the 27th of June 2007, at around 10pm, Palestinian fighters exploded three bombs in defense of their city, Nablus, injuring six Israeli soldiers. The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), as a response to this act of self-defense, have sieged the city. Around 100 IOF jeeps are currently in and around the Nablus area, at least eighty of them within the old city. The old city has been completely sealed off by the IOF, power has been partially cut and house to house searches have began for fighters, weapons and ammunition. Barriers to vehicle movement are being bulldozed and two helicopters have been seen over the area.
One home, owned by the Tabuk family, has already been demolished and another home, the Safadi house, was attacked by the IOF resulting in extensive property damage and the arrest of Annan Tabuk (23), Raheb Shaab and Mamoun Safadi. Five boys in all have been injured in the old city, Machmoud Rajab and Achmed Damooni sustained unknown injuries, while the three others, Walid Omar (14), Hamed Mustafar (18) and Rami Abu-Shab (14) were shot in the leg with rubber bullets.
The IOF is restricting access to the Rafidia hospital, the Watani hospital and is currently occupying the Al-Kindi school, which like many homes in the old city is being used as a military base. Areas in Nablus which are currently heavily occupied are the, Neytsmeen neighborhood, Hosalartroud neighborhood, Al-Qurrion neighborhood, Habeleh neighborhood , Balata Refugee camp and the city center. Earlier in the day the IOF prevented oxygen tanks from reaching patients at the Rafidia hospital for several hours and harassed every patient in the hospital for their identification including those suffering from kidney failure and those recovering from heart attacks.
When called and asked why the IOF was sieging the city, a representative from the District Command Office for Nablus elaborated on the situation saying, “I can’t explain you”.
At 10:30am Palestinians were joined by international human rights activists outside the Nablus Municipal building to demonstrate in commemoration of Israel’s 40 years of Occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights, and to protest against the Huwara Checkpoint. Approximately 100 activists traveled by bus to a point just outside the Huwara Checkpoint and proceeded to march towards it, chanting and protesting against the illegal army post which forces Palestinians to wait for hours to pass. The checkpoint is one of the most notorious both for it’s treatment of Palestinians and because it isolates much of the Northern section of Palestine, including Nablus, from the rest of the Occupied Territories. In a form of humiliation, Palestinians are often made to wait for hours to pass through the checkpoint which only has three points of passage, and often not all of them are open. Palestinians are often detained by Occupation Forces and Border police and face violence and intimidation from them.
The Demonstration passed without aggression by either the Border Police or Army and consequently the demonstration was able to achieve its aim of non-violent protest against the occupation and against the checkpoint. During the protest demonstrators were able to chant and approach the checkpoint and drew media attention to the hundreds of people waiting in line to pass.
Following the demonstration, protestors gathered by the road leading to the Checkpoint to plant olive trees in symbolic defiance of the 51,000 trees that have been uprooted and destroyed over the past five years in the Nablus region alone.
