Among the many things to catch my eye in recent days has been the spate of reports on the ISM web site concerning the city of Nablus and its surrounding villages and refugee camps, where the Israeli military has been quite active in recent days. But with solidarity and determination, unarmed Palestinians, internationals and Israelis have been able to make a difference.
friends and heroes; Neta Golan of the ISM and Cindy Corrie meeting for the first time in Ramallah
Nablus and Balata Refugee Camp, as seen from the lands of the village of Rujeeb
Downtown Nablus in the evening
I have written about some of my experiences in Nablus in previous diaries, mostly having to so with the terror of open occupation by the IOF, particularly in Balata refugee camp, which has seen much suffering and violence in the years of occupation; hell, the only reason Balata exists is due to the Nakba of 1948 which sent over 800,000 Palestinians out of Palestine as refugees, a status they still retain to this day (although their present numbers are estimated from 4 to 7 million, and are scattered thoughout historic Palestine, surrounding Arab countries, as well as Europe and the USA).
the occupied streets of Balata Refugee Camp, February 2006
But there were many other experiences there; picking olives with families from the surrounding villages of Rujeeb, Awarta, Beir Furik, and another whose name escapes me at the moment- oh that's right, Burin. Actually, I'll never forget Burin; I was there with some volunteers from Rabbis for Human Rights in mid December 2005, and we were helping the villagers plow land close to the settlement outpost of Bracha, a place that they had not ventured close to in 10 years due to the threat of violence from the settlers there. You could see the lack of care in the years from the state of the trees, which were unpruned and unpicked, their fruit dying on the branches, or on the ground. But, due to some legal maneuvering, not only did they return to the land (which we're talking about is on the periphery of the village, not far at all) but the IOF had to protect them against the settlers, which that day they did, although they certainly did not seem to enjoy it. Despite my worries, it seemed we did a good thing, and afterwards I left for more solidarity work elsewhere in the Nablus region.
olive picking in Rujeeb, November 2005
Unfortunately, in the night, the settlers returned and cut down over one hundred olive trees on the very land we walked that day and others nearby. And this was not uncommon, as it happened in villages everywhere, sometimes as offical 'legal' acts by the IOF, like in Bil'in, and sometimes by settlers obsessed with their own righteousness and fanatacism, like in Salim village, where the violent settlers of Elon Moreh and Itamar prey on the isolation of such villages. Many times we as internationals are able to help, if only for a short time, and other times not as much. But regardless, Palestinians still welcome our solidarity, and we could accomplish nothing without their assistance, determination, and dignity in the face of such violence.
But let's turn towards Nablus, and another action I was involved with there, dealing with the occupation of Palestinian homes. I was in a car with a fellow international activist from Sweden, another from the USA, and our Palestinian friend from Balata refugee camp, Mohammed. Along the way, aside from one near car crash, we received word via a phone call to Mohammed that there was a home occupied in Nablus and they needed our help, so off we went.
When the IOF wants to abduct or assassinate someone, or just have soldiers in densely populated areas without people there knowing it, they send them in and have them occupy a house and/or apartment, sometimes at random, sometimes not. Usually what happens is that an entire family is then crowded into one room and exist at the mercy of the soldiers, who are usually young boys with guns that have utter contempt for the people they are policing (there was an excellent film, called Private on this subject, I highly recommend it).
So we went to the home, and for the next two hours, we pleaded with the soldiers to let the people go. We did not know how many people were in there, nor how many soldiers, and the situation quickly became more and more surreal. Outside, what was once a small crowd of people that knew the Israeli military was there (when you have not heard from your family or friend for a day or two, and no one answers the door when you knock, despite the hushed sounds of people that you hear inside, you kinda figure out that something is up) soon swelled into a larger one, now eager to confront those who would arrest, kill or detain them at will.
Accompanied by a medical team, we tried to talk to the soldiers, to explain that their cover was blown, that their actions are illegal under international law, as well as to find out if anyone young or old needed medical care. But over and over, we got faceless voices telling us to go away, giving us fake names, and at one point making (very convincing) animal noises. I have to give them credit, one of them made the sound of a dog barking that sent us all into a tizzy, and I truly thought that some attack dog was either terrorizing people inside or was going to be unleashed on us! In the end, we spoke to one officer whose English did sound very American, who called himself Moshe and at different times pretended to be different people. Finally, when we made it clear we knew he was playing with us, he said something to the effect of " I am Moshe, the captain, the commander, and the dog!"
Finally, after hours of talk by the international and Palestinian activists, we were given the word; get out now, the army is coming to pick us up. So we all bolted down the stairs, people scattering, warning of what was to come, and deciding what to do next. Most Palestinians wisely got out of the immediate area, with the ambulance staying just at the periphery of what would be wise, but we decided to go just to the next block and calmly observe the evacuation, taking care to surround our friend Mohammed, who we were not going to allow them to take. The humvees and such soon appeared, lumbering down the empty street, with one backing up just to the door of the apartment complex we had left, leaving maybe a foot or two at the most of space between them. Needless to say, Nablus is not a town that IOF soldiers can casually walk down the streets of, as opposed to, say the Tel Rumeida section of Hebron which is being gradually ethnically cleansed of Palestinians by the settlers and their IOF entourage.
We watched closely in the cold, nighttime December air of Nablus, as the soldiers appeared. Heavily armed, rifles pointed out in all directions, they quickly left the complex and rushed into the humvee, throughout going through the somewhat cliche movements; you all remember the Blues Brother's movie, when the SWAT guys burst out of the back of their van, crouched and jumping all around point their guns in all directions saying 'hut' 'hut' 'hut' and all? Well, it was pretty close to that, something between kitschy and terrifying.
I say terrifying, because not only were they occasionally taking aim at us, who were just 10 or 15 yards away, but due to the other jeep, the one in front of us, 2 feet away, with at least one rifle poking out it's sight hole directly at us. After a time, having guns pointed at you becomes kind of old hat, but then again, not really, it is just an awful feeling, and this time I was not only scared and tired from the evening's events, but also sick with a seriously nasty cold and kind of overworked, to the point that before our arriving at the complex to do this action, I had told my friends that I wasn't even sure I had the physical or mental strength for it.
But then, after what seemed quite awhile, they were gone, driven off, and as far as we could tell, with no Palestinian detainees. After all that stress and fear, it was one of those great moments, when we knew that we had accomplished something, that we had put ourselves on the line and both worked in solidarity with Palestinians as well as helping them when no one else could have. We rushed up to the apartment to behold a sight that both filled out hearts with joy as well as disgust; for roughly 24 hours, somewhere between 15 to 20 people had been held captive in their home at the whim of the Israeli military forces. There was at least one baby not more than a few months old if that, as well as a few elderly family members. No one was hurt, thankfully, and aside from being hungry and freaked out, they were alright. But most of all, the glow of gratitude and warmth from them was clear as day, and I'll never forget it.
We were so overjoyed at our successful action, that we went off to the Yasmin hotel, a Nablus institution, for some tea and Nargileh to celebrate. On the way there, one of us chose that moment to tell what happened when he did the same action during his previous trip to Palestine; the IOF detained him and put a bag reeking of shit and urine over his head for a few hours until they released him, an experience so damaging that to this day his sense of smell and taste have been affected. Honestly, I was pretty glad to know that AFTER the action as opposed to before... mostly. So, then we got to the hotel, had some tea, ordered a big old water pipe, I took a puff or two... and ended up collapsing, my strength finally gone, and needing my friends to carry me to a taxi. I was truly needing a bit of time to recuperate, which after a harrowing trip to Jerusalem/Al Quds, I got, just in time for Christmas... and dancing with Vanunu!
here's the picture of the two of us again, just for fun!
This action in Nablus is one of the many experiences that I never wrote about while I was there or since, and I am sure many important details have been forgotten. Part of the challenge of seeing and portraying the situation there is the sheer ability to decide what to write about; there are so many details that tell huge stories of their own, so many historical moments to convey, so many simple words, expressions and feelings to evoke. I was just telling a friend the other day about the roasted garlic we ate while taking a break from olive picking, and I will always remember the words my friend Ghadeer said to me when I came back to her village to visit before leaving Palestine; she smiled and said "you know I cannot hug you." Just thinking of it makes me smile, she and her family were so kind to me (the more I think about it, my time there gave me a different look at US culture; she had learned much of her English by watching American movies and TV via satellite, and from their perspective, it must seem really silly just how much we hug each other all the time!).
So, another memory of Palestine unearthed, and more surely to come. But before I sign off, let's look at a similar experience in 2004 by Orla Guerin, a BBC correspondent in Israel/Palestine who does excellent work. She and her cameraman, and a local doctor were held in the apartment of a Palestinian by the IOF, and this is how they spoke to her (not knowing she knows Hebrew);
Soldiers seized our phones, confiscated our camera tape and when we tried to leave forced us back, at the barrel of a gun. Dr Hamdan stood upright, calm and polite, showing more resignation than surprise.
"Three days ago soldiers kept me like this for hours," he said. "It's happened to me about 10 times in the past few years."
As the minutes stretched into hours, he asked how long we would be kept there. "You'll be here until we kill someone," a soldier replied, in perfect English. "We're being held illegally," I said. There were ugly moments as the doctor continued to plead for his patient. "Rana is old," he said "and needs to rest. Why does she have to stay?" "Because her son blew himself up near my house," one soldier taunted, and then laughed. Rana has no children.
Later a few threats were murmured in my direction. "She'll get out of here in a body bag," one soldier said in Hebrew, assuming incorrectly, that we would not understand. "I see a gun being handed around," one shouted. Others agreed. Then a deafening noise, as the sniper fired one round, hitting someone on the street. We later learned that a 15-year-old boy had been shot, as he stood near an ambulance. Palestinians deny he was carrying a gun. He was seriously injured, but is still alive.
And finally, a rundown of recent work by the ISM in Nablus, my hat is off to all of them;
Nablus: Video of IOF Snipers Being Evicted
July 24th, 2007
After a standoff in ‘Ein Beit Al Ma’ refugee camp, Friday morning, July 20, 2007, in which six international human rights activists ... all confronted the Israeli Occupation Forces, at 11:30am several Israeli snipers were forced out of the home they had occupied since 3:00 am that morning. The internationals entered the house after the withdrawal of the snipers and found 35 civilians inside, 20 of which were children.
Several Palestinian boys approached the activists to point out Israeli snipers in a building on the hill above the camp. The Israeli soldiers had forced four families, 30 people, into a first floor room and held them hostage for over eight hours.
Occupying and using a civilian home as a military position is illegal under international and Israeli law.
Nablus: Cruel Deleuzian Approach Used by the IOF
July 21st, 2007
Explanation of the "Deleuzian" Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Strategy.
The siege on ‘Ein Beit Al Ma’ refugee camp continued until noon on Friday, July 20, 2007 when the Israeli Occupation Force completely vacated the West Bank city of Nablus. International human rights activists who had been in the camp since 9:30am discovered a system of holes the IOF had blown through the walls of the refugee camp homes.
Another woman sobbed as she told an international human rights activist that 20 or more soldiers remained in her house for two hours. "They brought sandwiches. They destroyed my home and then they ate their lunch," said she. "My children were so scared they hid under the bed in the room we were forced into." The mother was allowed to leave the room in which her children hid only to serve water to the soldiers occupying her living room.
The IOF occupied a total of nine homes all of which were connected by this system of holes in the walls and broken windows. Activist found the residents in a complete state of shock and despair thanks to the morning’s invasion.
Nablus: Activists Block Jeeps
July 21st, 2007
The invasion of ‘Ein Beit Al Ma’ refugee camp by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continued on Friday, July 20, 2007 at 10:20 am when several jeeps returned to the main street of Nablus and entered the camp. International human rights activists present created a human roadblock on the main thoroughfare of the camp to stop any other jeeps from entering the camp and continuing their siege on the camp’s inhabitants. Three internationals were shot with rubber bullets during the blockade. They were just three of the several victims of the IOF’s aggressive and excessive use of force that morning, on what could have otherwise been a quiet, peaceful and sunny Friday holiday.
For approximately 40 minutes the activists stood and sat in the road denying the IOF access to the camp from that route. During the standoff between the jeeps and the non-violent activists, several sound bombs were thrown out of the jeep’s windows, tear gas was shot up into the air, and rubber bullets and sound bombs were fired at extremely close ranges.
"They are not going through," the activists echoed to each other making it clear that they were committed to staying in the road despite the IOF’s attempts to scare them away
Nablus: Direct Targetting of Children
July 21st, 2007
Early in the morning Friday, July 20, 2007, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested three Palestinian men and injured three others during an invasion in ‘Ein Beit Al Ma’ refugee camp located in the north of the West Bank city of Nablus.
According to several men living in ‘Ein Beit Al Ma’ the IOF entered the camp, shortly past midnight, raiding more than nine homes, terrorizing the women, children, and families as well as the community at large.
After the Israeli withdrawal, two internationals left the camp for Rafidia Hospital where the three injured teenagers saught emergency medical treatment. Mohammed Salim Askr, 17, was hit in the stomach/abdomen by a rubber bullet and underwent emergency investigative laparotomy. Edres Abdul Agfro Kama, 18, was hit in his right leg by a rubber bullet. He received surgery last year on the same leg for another rubber bullet injury. This time, he received IV antibiotics and discharged himself. Ali Esa Ramadan, 12, took a rubber bullet in his left hand. He did not have a fracture and was discharged.
A Child of Bil'in village, standing in front of the illegal settlement of Mattatiyhu East, built on the stolen lands of Bil'in