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
