Tag: Urif

Urif: the struggle to study

Urif, the 21th of November

Urif is a small Palestinian village perched on the top of a hill, not far from Nablus. The view is beautiful and clear, overlooked by another scenic hill. A longtime resident tells us that before the 1980s, the locals used to go for walks and picnics in the area, but since the illegal settlers seized it, it has not been possible or safe to walk in this area. No one would dare go too close to the area because the settlers are very dangerous. “The most dangerous of all the West Bank, with those of Kyriat Arbat, in Khalil [Hebron]” says the guardian of the school we met. He adds that settlers from Kyriat Arbat come to join those of Yitzar to attack the surrounding villages on a regular basis.

In the horizon, Yitzar Settlement haunts the school playground

Established in 1983, Yitzar is home to a religious extremist community that has expanded in recent years. The arrival of young settlers has increased the attacks over the past five years. “And it gets worse from year to year,” he explains. The Israeli authorities’ dismantling of the Baladim forward post in June 2017, considered too violent and extremist even by the Israeli authorities, led to an influx of young settlers in Yitzar. However, they do nothing to prevent recurring criminal attacks against Palestinians. In Urif, the last building of the village before the colony, is the boys’ college. So here you never know if students will be able to study until 1:30 pm, the end time of their school day. Ayed Al Qot, the director of the college explains that since September, the staff has been forced to evacuate the establishment seven times. The situation is worse than last year. Behind his desk are tear gas bombs, sound bombs and rubber coated steel bullets collected from the school courtyard. He keeps them there as evidence of their painful, absurd daily life.

Sound bombs, rubber coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters. Every day, there is always an overwhelming anxiety at the thought that the settlers may arrive and throw stones at the college. In these cases, the guardian of the establishment warns the teachers, the Palestinian Ministry of Education and contacts the inhabitants of the village and the Palestinian Police (who never comes, he adds). The students return the stones at the settlers and the inhabitants come to join them to defend the school and the village. Soldiers who watch the settlers attacks from afar come to suppress the Palestinians’ response. Tear gas, sound bombs, rubber coated bullets and even live ammunition. Less than two weeks ago, fifty settlers attacked the school. Several students were shot and wounded and taken to the hospital. It’s hard to know if the shootings came from settlers or the army, says Ayed Al Qot. One thing is certain, killing people does not seem to be a problem for these settlers, and it has happened several times.

Ayed Al Qot, the director of the college in his office.

Last Monday, it was at dawn that they attacked, which resulted in the school not even be able to open. The clashes lasted more than five hours. So in the face of these constant attacks, school drop-out is high, much higher than in other villages, explains the director. And the program is hard to keep. When the school is attacked, classes are cancelled and students are sent home. During class, young boys find it hard to concentrate, paying more attention to movements from outside than from their teacher. The teaching team is therefore considering alternatives to ensure that they can follow all the lessons; give lessons in the afternoon and on weekends in the center of the village for example. She would also like support to build a security fence and install a roof over part of the playground. So many solutions being put forward, but in the face of a situation where nobody is there to protect the students and put an end to the terror policy of the young settlers, it is hard to know what can really be done to stop the attacks. Some parents surrender and decide to change the school their child attends, but this is not an option for many of the parents.

Everyday, the guard makes a tour of the college before the students arrive to be sure that no colonist has entered. When the classes begin, he places himself on the roof of the school or on the road in front of the building. Teachers regularly ask him if the settlers are on the way, constantly worried. This makes is difficult for the students to study but also for the teachers to teach affectively in such an environment.

A settler scouts a Palestinian school in Urif, to prepare an eventual attack.: That day, we see settlers at the top of the hill. The guard warns residents and the information circulates quickly. Cars go back and forth to see the evolution of the situation. A parent tells us that he leaves his job almost daily to come, as soon as he learns that settlers are in the area. Difficult to imagine the daily life of these people, immersed in endless waiting. Several hours pass, a man from the security service of the colony observes us from the hill, armed. There are silhouettes of settlers, sticks in hand, then they disappear. The wait continues. At 13:30, the school bell rings, luckily they have not been attacked today, leaving a little respite to the students, teachers and parents.

In Palestine, time seems sometimes suspended. People are constantly waiting.

They are waiting for settler attacks, without knowing when they will take place.
They are waiting for the Israeli police to demolish their houses when they are built in zone C “illegally”, because of the lack of permits issued by the Israeli authorities.
They wait at checkpoints, subject to the goodwill of Israeli soldiers to let them pass through.
They are also waiting for the release of loved ones, sometimes without knowing when they will be released.
Then of course there is always the expectation and hope that of one day their land with be liberated and free of the occupation.

Israeli soldiers attack school In Urif

12th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Urif, Occupied Palestine

At around 9:00am on Sunday 12^th January 2014, students at the boys’ school in Urif, in Nablus district, were assaulted by Israeli soldiers firing tear gas grenades within the school grounds.

Eleven soldiers from the nearby illegal settlement of Yizhar entered the grounds firing tear gas near the entrance to the school. Several boys resisted the attack by throwing stones.

Four of the soldiers then tried to enter a classroom but were prevented from doing so by a teacher.

Several hours after the attack, the soldiers remain stationed on a hillside just 200m from the school.

This is the second time in two weeks that the village of Urif has been attacked. The last attack, however, which took place on 6^th January, involved six settlers from the illegal settlement Yizhar trying to damage an electricity box attached to the town’s water reservoir. The incursion led to clashes in which Palestinian boys threw stones to repel the settlers.

For Urif the price can never be high enough

15th June 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Urif, Occupied Palestine

On Tuesday, 11^th June, Israeli forces invaded the village of Urif and arrested nine youths between the ages of eighteen and twenty-seven. This incident is believed by the villagers to be related to the ‘price-tag’ settler attacks that the village suffered on 30^th April.

At around 1am, forty foot soldiers and four jeeps coming from the nearby Yizhar settlement raided Urif and arrested the nine youths. Without giving any information, the soldiers left in the early hours of the morning, leaving the village at roughly 4am.

Israeli soldier pointing at residents of Urif with a M16 rifle charged with rubber coated steel bullets during a settler attack last January (Photo by ISM)

The town’s mayor says the incident is part of an ongoing assault on the villagers who rightfully resist settler attacks. He stated, “nobody complains when Israel violates the law like this anymore, they are too afraid of being arrested themselves”. He also believes there is a clear pattern of targeting all the young men in the area in order to create circumstances where the only people left to defend their land are older and other vulnerable people.

The incident, as mentioned earlier, is directly linked to the confrontations that erupted between Palestinian youths and settlers and Israeli armed forces after settlers from Yizhar settlement attacked the villages of Urif, Burin and Asira. These ‘price-tag’ attacks on Palestinian villagers were followed by the killing of a settler by a Palestinian at the Za’tara checkpoint on April 30^th.

Urif, located southwest of the city of Nablus, is one of several villages in proximity to the extremely hostile settlement of Yizhar and as such subject to constant harassment and violence from settlers and Israeli forces.

Settlers from Yizhar, including the head rabbi, have distributed Islamphobic literature, describing Palestinians as a “Cancer that needs to be cleansed from the land of Israel” and created pamphlets expressing support for Israeli mass murderers, most notably Baruch Goldstein, who carried out the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.

These settlers are also known for being the ideologists of the ‘price-tag’ practice, where any kind of action taken against settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories by the Israeli government is met with harsh, violent and aggressive attacks on Palestinian communities.

Residents of Qusra village on the road to recovery after attacks by settlers

22nd April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Qusra, Occupied Palestine

By Team Nablus

Helmi on 21st April - recpvering step by step — Helmi on 21st April – recovering step by step

Helmi Abdul Azeez Hassan was shot with live ammunition by a settler on 23rd February at short range and came very close to death. He spent nine days unconscious before he woke up in hospital only to be interrogated and accused of throwing stones. Two months later, he sits down with his family and international activists and is happy as he talks of his life, with his wife expecting a child. His two year old daughter, shy of strangers, runs to his legs to be embraced as tea and coffee is passed around.

Helmi’s recovery is slow but is of great relief to his family. He is housebound by his injury but still makes regular trips to the hospital with the possibility looming of another operation. Sixty six percent of his liver was removed due to the extensive damage caused by the shot. The catheters repairing the arteries to his heart will have to be replaced soon – they only last three months.

A builder by trade, Helmi arrived home from work to find that around 15 heavily armed settlers had invaded the village. A shot from one of the settlers narrowly missed his heart and would have mortally wounded him, had he not been able to receive immediate treatment. Despite this, it will be at least six or seven months before Helmi will be able to go back to work.

His mother brings in a bounty of freshly baked bread, zatar, cheese, olives and biscuits to be enjoyed by everyone in the room. Palestinian hospitality is once again displayed as the visitors are told to eat and drink more, distracted from the interview.

On waking up on a hospital bed less than two months ago to be confronted by his interrogator, who said that Helmi ‘got what he deserved,’ Helmi speaks profoundly of his experience, commenting that he was ‘injured and close to death. No one in the Israeli government condemned this action,’ – pointing out that they did not pursue those responsible, yet ‘they arrest Palestinian children for throwing stones.’

Qusra has had to deal with many violent attacks from settlers and escorting soldiers. The small village is collecting a number of inhabitants who were injured and in many cases seriously. Also present at the gathering is a school teacher who updates us about Osama Rami Hassan’s situation. Osama is a 16 year old boy who was shot in the face with a rubber-coated steel bullet narrowly missing his eye, on the same day two months previously that Helmi was shot. For some time Osama wore an eye patch before it was removed recently – he is also well on the way to recovery – ‘step by step’ says the school-teacher. Whilst his physical recovery is going well and he is unlikely to lose his sight, Osama constantly thinks of the attack and may be suffering psychologically because of it. However, his teacher says that he is strong and is doing well in school, having recently enjoyed a school trip to Qalqilia.

Another in the series of injured villagers is Ammar, a 21 year old who was shot with live ammunition in the leg on January 10th 2013. He is still using crutches but is believed to be able to make a full recovery.

Akram Taysir Daoud was attacked and beaten unconscious after being lured into an ambush when settlers called to him in Arabic on the 15th September 2012. He was beaten with sticks and rocks and left for dead, but fortunately regained consciousness after 15 minutes so he could phone his brother for help. His injuries were so severe that he lost his ability to smell or taste – this has not recovered in the seven months since the attack. Recovery from his other injuries however, has been good and now he has been able to return to work.

Settlers mainly from the Esh Kodesh and Qida illegal settlements have uprooted more than 2,400 olive trees in the last three years in repeated attacks against the land and the inhabitants from Qusra. Attacks have been coordinated acts of terror against the Palestinian population such as the joint attack on Urif and Qusra that injured Ammar. Settlers are known to travel from illegal settlements in the south to attack villages in the north as part of this campaign of violence against the Palestinian community.

Helmi is asked what his hopes are for the future as our meeting comes to an end. Straight away he responds with three points, that ‘Settlers should stop their attacks, return our lands and that we can live in peace and quiet.’

Helmi’s is still the most recent attack by settlers against the residents of Qusra and we say goodbye to him and his family, pleased to hear that ‘step by step’ the people of Qusra are recovering. They show their strength by their love for each other and their commitment just to live in ‘peace and quiet.’

There is hope and relief in the gradual recovery of those who have been injured recently. Residents are still reminded how close they have come to death and that such threat still exists for the present future. Tragedy has previously visited Qusra residents when Issam Kamel Odeh, 33, died from Israeli gunfire after settlers invaded the village in September 2011.

Arrest and abuse of ill 16-year old in Urif

21st April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Urif, Occupied Palestine

By Team Nablus

An innocent 16-year-old boy was abused and arrested on Tuesday April 16^th in Urif, despite his grandfather and uncle rushing to show documents that he is seeking medical attention for a possible cancer diagnosis. He was wrongfully accused of stone-throwing as he was leaving his uncle’s home.

Twelve soldiers had arrived in the village at around noon and were forcefully entering houses and shooting rubber-coated steel bullets down two main streets in Urif. They entered five different houses and in the fifth house, randomly attempted to take a boy in his last year of high school. His family protested and the soldiers moved on.

Stones were thrown in protest at the Israeli jeep invading the village, and the 16-year-old boy, who had been visiting his uncle and whose illness causes him to walk slowly, was taken in retribution for the stone-throwers. The boy’s hands and legs were bound, he was blindfolded and soldiers ignored his uncle and grandfather hurriedly showing medical documents about his diagnosis.

Stone-throwing resumed in protest as the jeep drove away with the ill 16-year-old. The boy reported that for every stone thrown at the jeep, he was kicked by the Israeli soldiers who were yelling at him in Hebrew. He was then taken to the Huwwara military compound, where again his uncle and grandfather followed with medical documents, trying to inform the Israeli military that there were serious concerns for the boy’s health.

The boy nonetheless spent the night in the compound and the next day was driven four hours to Salem prison, north of Jenin in the West Bank. He stated that he was put in a room full of arrested children, all between the ages of 12 and 17. He was released at around 6 pm and returned to his family in Urif.

Urif is a village in the Nablus governorate that regularly faces attacks from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar, widely considered to be one of the most radical. While solidarity activists were visiting after the arrest, settlers could be seen at the top of the mountain and were said to be disturbing a local school. In addition, a tree planting event held on Saturday, April 13 was met by six Israeli jeeps and farmers were harassed during the action.

Furthermore, in the past ten years, 7000 Palestinian minors between the ages of 12-17 have been arrested by Israeli military forces according to a February 2013 UNICEF report. The same report says that Israeli detention of children regularly violates the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child and the UN Convention Against Torture. Among these violations are that children are almost never informed of their rights, are held in isolation for days, and banned from seeing their families as required under the Geneva Conventions. Another report from April 2012 by Defense for Children International states that 75% of 12-17-year-old Palestinian detainees by Israel suffered from mistreatment during arrest, interrogation and detention, based on 311 testimonials between 2008 and 2012.