Israeli forces raids West Bank
'Pakistan Times' Foreign Desk
NABLUS: Israeli troops destroyed a house and arrested four Palestinians Tuesday during an incursion into a refugee camp in the northern West Bank, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said.
The Israeli army surrounded several houses in the Askar refugee camp and bulldozers demolished one after telling its occupants to evacuate, the sources said.
Clashes broke out in the camp between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen. Four Palestinians, including three brothers, were detained by the army.
A woman in her seventies died of a heart attack during the incursion, medical sources added.
http://www.pakistantimes.net/2006/08/16/top13.htm-------------------------------------
email from a friend who was in askar during the israeli invasion writes:
The air was filled with smoke. We heard sporadic gunfire and suddenly the taxi driver stopped. He looked at us as if he was ashamed of his fear. He said he could go no further.
From a distance we saw camera crews, and approached them for information about what we had already missed.
"One woman is dead," they said, "and two homes have been demolished."
<snip>
Rubber bullets kill. IOF shot an Israeli activist on Friday with a rubber bullet that went through his brain and put him in a coma. Tear gas is deadly for anyone with respiratory problems, and sound bombs send shrapnel that can pierce, cut you or burn you.
<snip>
The incursion started about 1am and lasted about 10 hours. The operation included about 20 jeeps, 3 armoured bulldozers, multiple other army vehicles mentioned above and Im not sure how many snipers. At least 4 homes were occupied, many families were forced out into the streets, and multiple cars were smashed, shot and burned. At least 8 people were injured some with live and rubber bullets. As the army left the cut off the electricity to the entire camp.
The person who died was Um Khalil. She was 70 years old and died of a heart attack that started when the IOF (Israeli occupation forces) forced their way into her home to use it as a sniper post. She was refused medical care and held hostage in the house with the rest of the family, who was forced to watch her die. When she was finally able to receive medical care, she was made to go alone and the family remained hostages. She died without them in the hospital.
All of the arrests were from the Annadi family. During the incursion, the mother, three cousins and nephew of a man named Murad were arrested and transported to an unknown location. Murad is an employee of the Palestinian Authority.
The army claims the houses were demolished b/c there were "wanteds" hiding inside. No bodies were found in the rubble.
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----------------full email---------------------------
Hello all
Yesterday I awoke to find a fellow ISMer shouting, "everyone wake up! Incursion in Askar!"
I threw on some clothes from the day before, already feeling slightly nauseous about what might be happening. We rushed to a taxi and then into Askar refugee camp. The air was filled with smoke. We heard sporadic gunfire and suddenly the taxi driver stopped. He looked at us as if he was ashamed of his fear. He said he could go no further.
From a distance we saw camera crews, and approached them for information about what we had already missed.
"One woman is dead," they said, "and two homes have been demolished."
We saw the first army jeep sitting next to the mosque. We were told they were possibly using the school as some type of base. The school sits just behind the mosque. As we approached the jeep we saw the barrel of an M16 being shoved out the window. I had my video camera in my hand, and I convinced myself that it was some type of shield as I zoomed in on the windows of the jeep. I like to see their faces...to look in their eyes maybe, for answers of some kind. They shouted at us in Hebrew, but we continued to walk, all the time hearing shots. Some near some far. Everywhere we looked we saw jeeps, all sorts...border police, hummers, APC's, some I dont know...they were in front of us, behind us, to the sides of us. I knew from my previous experience that there were snipers watching us too, but in this moment I had not seen them. I studied each window carefully, keeping my hands up and visible at all times, wondering if my camera would get me shot or save my life.
We saw medics and firemen down an alley, trying to get civilians past the jeeps. They were being refused. Medics here are not just refused, but often targeted. They are some of the bravest men that I know, placing their bodies in the line of fire, knowing that to the man behind the gun they are nothing. We stopped here for a moment and helped them to pass. We were unsure about the purpose of the operation. Someone had mentioned occupied houses, but we couldnt figure out where they were. If we knocked on every door, no one would answer anyway. We were also searching for the demolished houses. There were jeeps everywhere, still constant shooting.
I heard something in the distance towards the farthest jeep...like a chainsaw sound, and we decided to follow it.
We rounded the corner past the border police, to find something so disgusting. 4 army jeeps, two bulldozers, 2 women and a child stuck inside a house b/c the doorway had been demolished, 4 men waiting to be used as human shields, and 2 lots filled with what used to be people's possessions in what used to be people's homes. For a moment I left that place. I went back to Nov. 1st 2004 when I watched them demolish a house just down the road from where we were standing. Every feeling came back, every detail of the man's face as we watched his house fly over our heads. I wanted to curl up in a ball on the ground. I wanted to throw up or cry or just punch them all in the face until my hands broke, but I just listened to my breath. If the bulldozers were still there, maybe they were waiting to do more. If I couldnt do anything about those 3, maybe I could do something about the next one.
So we approached the detained men (The ones they had hoped to use for human shields), and of course we were met by 6 angry soldiers before we got anywhere close. They grabbed at my camera, and my instincts to curl into a ball came in handy. They pushed us with their hands and guns shouting, "This is for your safety! This is a dangerous place right now and there is a lot of shooting!" I told them to go home and stop shooting then so that everyone could be safe. Other ISMers argued with them as well. However, they heard nothing, but we managed to stand our ground, one moving forward as one was pushed back.
Then in came 2 more jeeps. A man of about 40years with a bright red face steps out shouting to the men in Hebrew and pointing towards me and my camera. They come straight for me and again I curl up. He was a captain of some sort and told the other men to let us go to the detained Palestinians and then make us all leave. One victory.
We were led through the alleys of the camp towards a group of Palestinians stuck outside their homes. We passed 6 jeeps along the way and multiple snipers. The jeeps tried to block us and pin us against the walls of the alley, but from inside a jeep all you can do is shoot, throw tear gas and the occasional sound bomb. Weapons such as rubber bullets (these are very hard, some only having the tiniest layer of rubber...making it, in my opinion, a real bullet....you can wrap a piece of paper around metal and call it what you want, but its still a bullet), sound bombs and tear gas are said by Israel to be, "nonlethal means of controlling a population." Rubber bullets kill. IOF shot an Israeli activist on Friday with a rubber bullet that went through his brain and put him in a coma. Tear gas is deadly for anyone with respiratory problems, and sound bombs send shrapnel that can pierce, cut you or burn you. I got hit with one yesterday and it felt like a baseball hit my leg. It would have been worse if I hadnt been so far away.
As we approached the group of Palestinians we saw snipers in the house next to theirs. They were shooting into the house across the alley. Soldiers from the ground were also shooting inside. We were told the house is empty b/c they arrested the 5 people inside earlier that morning, 4 boys and a mother. So if no one is inside, why are they destroying the house? We approached them to negotiate, maybe at least they would let the family wait in their home and not in the alley in their pajamas with all of the children. They allowed some of the women and kids to go inside, but strangely a few moments later came rushing down the alley towards us with guns aimed, shouting in hebrew. They grabbed the father of the family in his slippers and his pajamas and began to drag him down the alley. We latched onto him as well forcing the soldiers to release him and retreat.
We heard the bulldozers start up again and three of us went back to the site to see what was going on. Almost immediately, the captain shows up again yelling, "Ill give you 1 minute! 1 minute to get out of here or you will all be arrested!" I say to him in my calmest voice, "Sir, we are trying to get to the women and child stuck inside this house." (The house we are speaking of is next to the demolished one and behind the one they are shooting in). He says he doesnt care. I try again, still calm, "Sir please, we are not trying to interrupt your work, we are simply trying to help these people who have nothing to do with your operation. Please let us get them down and we will leave. If you are going to tear down a house, we need to get them out." As sick as it makes me to lie and speak to him like this, it works and that is what is important. He smiled and said we could get them down, but could not bring the firetruck or medics to help. He continued to tell us that they would be demolishing the house they were shooting into very soon, and then they would leave.
Unfortunately, we could not get the ladies and child out.
We went back to the group, to see how we could stop this demolition.
The group explained that soldiers were already in the house, and that it was not possible now for us to get inside. They would just push us back out the door. We also were told that the army was shooting live ammo at kids, and we knew we could help there.
There were so many jeeps and snipers...all shooting. We stood amongst the kids throwing stones, hoping the army would now at least use rubber bullets. They shot live ammo at our feet, and one sound bomb.
Then one by one they began to leave as quickly as they came. They didnt demolish the house, they didnt need to, it was trashed already and everyone who lived there was in jail.
The incursion started about 1am and lasted about 10 hours. The operation included about 20 jeeps, 3 armoured bulldozers, multiple other army vehicles mentioned above and Im not sure how many snipers. At least 4 homes were occupied, many families were forced out into the streets, and multiple cars were smashed, shot and burned. At least 8 people were injured some with live and rubber bullets. As the army left the cut off the electricity to the entire camp.
The person who died was Um Khalil. She was 70 years old and died of a heart attack that started when the IOF (Israeli occupation forces) forced their way into her home to use it as a sniper post. She was refused medical care and held hostage in the house with the rest of the family, who was forced to watch her die. When she was finally able to receive medical care, she was made to go alone and the family remained hostages. She died without them in the hospital.
All of the arrests were from the Annadi family. During the incursion, the mother, three cousins and nephew of a man named Murad were arrested and transported to an unknown location. Murad is an employee of the Palestinian Authority.
The army claims the houses were demolished b/c there were "wanteds" hiding inside. No bodies were found in the rubble.
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