Nablus West Bank
The Sunday Review
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One of the most important places in Nablus, occupied is its heart. ancient Cities in The Middle East. The occupied West Bank is home to two churches, twelve mosques, and a Samaritan Synagogue in densely populated areas. city’s nickname is “Little Damascus” Because of its similarities to the Syrian capital’s architecture and arches, as well as the local accent and cuisine.
The narrow streets of Istanbul’s Ottoman-era Old City are filled with people on a regular day.
Massive Israeli Military incursion On Wednesday, three suspect militants were shot. This changed everything. The Sunday Review team visited city A day later, residents were still looking at each stranger’s eyes, but not as welcoming, but curious about their motive for visiting.
In memory of the eleven Palestinians who were killed that day, the market went on strike. Businesses were not selling their goods, but collecting bullet residues and bloodstains from the streets.
“We heard explosions and went to hide under the beds. We covered our ears with blankets,” An elderly woman, shaking her voice and with shaken hands, said that she was afraid of being identified. “I can’t even describe how shocking it was. We saw death with our own eyes. We didn’t expect to get out of this alive.”
Residents of the Old City have faced many night-time military invasions over the last year, especially since the new Lion’s Den militant group started operating there.
But this week’s invasion came at a very unexpected time of the day.
“They came around 10 a.m. We consider that rush hour in a densely populated area,” Ahmad Jibril heads the Emergency and Ambulance Department for the Palestinian Red Crescent. in Nablus. Jibril said that among the dead was a market trader aged 72 who Jibril described as “a very good man.” “was shot with 10 live bullets all over his body although he wasn’t causing any threat.”
Amid Ahmad, a paramedic working to save injured patients, claimed that it was the first time this has happened since the heights of the previous intifada in 2000 times he’s seen it. Israeli This week, the army used weapons in exactly the same way as they did last week.
“They were shooting randomly everywhere,” He said. “There was an extremely huge number of injuries. Everything was so difficult – reaching the injured, evacuating the injured, everything was difficult because the area is very narrow and was all blocked by the army that prevented us from working.”
Richard Hecht, international spokesman for Israel Defense Forces, denied this Israeli Firearms were fired by troops “randomly,” saying: “The IDF only shoots at threats.”
Maj. Nir Dinar from the IDF, another spokesman for IDF, said that he hopes it is not true that IDF forces have blocked medical personnel reaching injured patients. He also stated that he believed it to be false. “not familiar with such behavior.”
Nablus Residents say they have been undercover Israeli Military operatives were also involved in One reason that they were distrustful towards strangers was the raid.
Sahar Zalloum was coming home from bringing her husband’s breakfast to his shop in The market when she was surprised to see an unidentified man at her front door. “I heard some noises in the yard. I saw a man wearing a sheikh’s clothes sitting with a gun. He asked me to get into the house. I ran home – it was terrifying, we didn’t dare to look out from any window, snipers were on all of the rooftops.”
Zalloum, her husband, and their children were uninjured. However, not everyone was so fortunate.
Two videos from social media appear to have at least one. Israeli Near the mosque entrance, an army vehicle is surrounded by gunfire.
Sunday Review asked IDF for comment on the video but was only given a general statement in Response, in part: “The circumstances of the event in the video are under examination.”
Al Najah Hospital received the injured. in The cityElias Al-Ashqar, a nurse is located in. He was captured on video in Screaming in the Emergency Room “My father, my father” The moment Abdul-Hadi Al-Ashqar realized he was one of the dead, he was 61.
“I didn’t believe it, then I came closer,” He told The Sunday Review that he had just finished the interview. “I had one of my colleagues with me. I asked him if he sees this dead man as my father. I looked around, waiting for anyone to say that I was mistaken. But it was my father.”
Since January 1, 62 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health – the highest number at this point in A year after 2000. Israel believes that militants are responsible for many deaths. Israeli Civilians or fighting with Israeli For military forces.
But some of them – like Elias Al-Ashqar’s father Abdul-Hadi – appear simply to have been innocent bystanders.
