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August
12, 2002
Shooting at
Kites; Bulldozing Schools
The
IDF in Nablus
by Sam Messier and
Jill Dreier
This morning the military pulled out most, but
not all, of its presence from Nablus. Though still officially
under curfew, many people started coming out into the streets
and opening their shops. Internationals, including the two of
us from Colorado, purchased several bags of food to distribute
to families who were still too frightened to leave their homes
during curfew.
While purchasing bread, the internationals
witnessed two APC's pull up outside the bread shop. As the shop-owner
hurriedly closed up, the internationals shielded him and his
customers from the soldiers and escorted the remaining customers
to their nearby houses. A Molotov cocktail was thrown from an
alleyway at street level. It grazed one APC, but caused no injury
to the soldier inside. The soldier immediately began firing into
the surrounding buildings, not just where the Molotov was tossed
from but into upper floor apartments. The internationals shouted
for him to stop. After a brief stand-off, the soldiers backed
away and left.
Less than an hour later, the soldiers
returned to this area with reinforcements, more APC's and a tank.
Internationals stood on the street between the soldiers and the
Palestinian civilians, including many children on the street.
Several Palestinian boys threw rocks in the direction of the
tank and APC's. Others chanted and shouted. Some of the soldiers
got out of the vehicles and took aim with their guns as they
stood behind corners. The tank made a show of raising and lowering
its gun at us.
After about 5-10 minutes, the soldiers
advanced in their vehicles. Without the media present and being
a small number of people, the internationals decided to stand
aside and let the vehicles pass but followed them and then worked
their way between the soldiers and the Palestinian boys in a
narrow street. The situation grew very tense, and the internationals
made the decision to move into an alleyway where the soldiers
on foot wanted to move to take up position to fire their guns.
With the internationals in the alley off to the side, rocks and
live fire were exchanged. The Palestinian boys ran away after
the shooting started. After about 10-15 minutes, the soldiers
retreated. Three internationals with first-aid training went
to check to see if any Palestinians were injured, but fortunately
everyone was OK. The entire event was videotaped.
After this, the internationals participated
in several activities - including an investigation of occupied
houses and houses under threat of demolition. Internationals
also accompanied relief workers to distribute food and medicine.
Earlier in the day a Palestinian relief volunteer was arrested
from the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees center.
The reason given was that he was wearing a medallion with the
photo of a martyr around his neck.
Internationals accompanied the relief
workers all afternoon as they delivered medicine to sick children
and infant formula and some staple food supplies. Infant formula
is not available in the shops in the old city, and the only way
people can get it while under curfew is for these volunteers
to deliver it. One of out deliveries was to a house being occupied
by soldiers. We had to pass the formula through a small hole
in the wall because the door was barricaded.
During our deliveries, we were asked
to go and intervene in an arrest under progress. About two blocks
away, two Palestinian men, a taxi driver and passenger (recently
there are almost no taxis out and about), were handcuffed and
were being placed in a military vehicle. One male international
attempted to intervene but was roughly forced away by the soldiers.
Next we approached the soldiers.
They told us to stop, but we kept walking
with our hands out to our sides. They fired into the air. We
slowed down but kept walking. They then lowered a gun to aim
at us, but we continued walking. Then they started walking towards
us very fast so we stopped. When they reached us they demanded
that we leave. We calmly explained that the people at the other
end of the street had asked us to come and inquire about these
men because they were quite concerned about them. The soldiers
said that they were being arrested and taken to the detention
camp. By this point they had been placed inside the vehicle with
the door closed. We tried to get more information, but were told
that we were in no position to be asking questions of soldiers.
I disagreed of course, but as they were becoming more aggressive
and were only two internationals we left. I can only hope these
two men are OK.
Palestinians keep asking me where I'm
from. When I say the United States, they always respond with
"You are welcome". One of the relief workers told me
that she thinks the people in the United States are good people,
but they don't know the truth about what is happening in Palestine.
When they understand the truth, she says, she thinks they will
support the Palestinian people and the occupation will end.
The truth is that after two invasions
this year, the beautiful city of Nablus is littered with rubble
that was once people's homes. One school was destroyed, rebuilt,
and destroyed again since April. Mosques have been desecrated.
Young boys have been shot in the head simply for throwing stones
at tanks or for simply being outside when the army doesn't want
them to be. People cannot buy food or medicine because they can't
leave their homes, and relief workers need international escorts
to keep from being detained and arrested.
And when they get bored or just angry,
the soldiers shoot at the kites - the one beautiful symbol of
freedom left in Nablus. Every single person in the old city has
a story of a home vandalized, a family member injured, a friend
being killed. I have stopped going into homes to photograph damage
done by soldiers because it would literally consume all of our
time.
Sam Messier
and Jill Dreier, with the Colorado Campaign for Middle
East Peace are in Palestine joining hundreds of internationals
with the International Solidarity Movement in nonviolent direct
action to end Israel's illegal military occupation of Palestine.
More on their trip at: www.ccmep.org/palestine.html
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