First Hand Account of a British Activist in Jenin
Ewa | 05.06.2003 16:52
Yesterday morning at 3am,approximately 20 tanks and APCs, 6 hummers and 6 jeeps invaded Jenin town centre and proceeded to lay the Seabaht, Old City and Murrah areas to seige. There were clashes instantly as soldiers enterd the streets and proceeded to occupy the following homes:
The Abu Mrrur family home in the Seabaht area. 3am. The Abu Mrrur family's home has been occupied twice before. Soldiers have stayed for periods ranging approximately 2-6 days. This time approx. 8 soldiers entered, shooting, damaging windows, furniture, walls and clothing. They opened fire on wardrobes plus a hung-up and ready hired wedding dress destined for Salli Abu Mrrur's wedding today. The white satin gown as well as the under-cage were riddled with singe-rimmed holes. The soldiers beat Salli's father and refused to let them go to the toilet. The soldiers vacated their home by 7pm that day.
In Khaldi Ibin Walleed street, Murrah area: The Arrkawe House (occupied once before), the Zrebi house, the Larrabi house, the house of Sheikh Dawfeek Jarrad and house of Hassan Kallood.
In the Old City in Tal'et Forn Abu Mousa street, home to the best Bakery in town, churning out steaming stacks of bread all-day every day, curfew or no curfew, soldiers occupied the home of Mohammad Nassaar. Amni Massar, his 65-year-old mother, became extreemely distressed due to the violent entry and presence of the soldiers and had to be taken to hospital. The homes of Khalid Souke and Mohammad Kweiti were also occupied.
2 more homes (empty and derelict) were occupied in Mujahedeen street in the Old City Area.
A gutted restaurant and comercial building in the town centre, looking out onto the main square were also occupied. Soldiers took up sniper positions in all the premesis' they took and at 3am, Se'ed Hammal Fahmawi, 21, a Sarya Al Qds (Jihad Islmai) activist, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body from sniper fire (only deduced as the means of his death after some time. Fighters had not been able to identify how he had been shot. Se'ed had been alone when he was killed) in the main Old City square area. When paramedics attempted to retrieve his body, which had been lying on the road for over two hours, their ambulance was shot at by soldiers. Luckily none of the paramedics were injured.
All electricity and phonelines were forcibly downed in the Seabaht and Old City area from 3am onwards. The Baladia (local Council) reported over 10 wooden electricity pylons destroyed.
Soldiers blew up tens of shop-front and house doors, trashing their insides (not in all the shops, but the force of the explosions was enough to cause significant damage) shooting beds, wardobes, fridges, sofas, turning over furniture, shooting up clothing, kitchen cupbaords and partially demolished at least 5 homes, particularly in the Intifada Street area, in their house to house searches. Tanks reversed into the houses, crushing walls and smashing/bending in windows. Gaping holes revealing dust covered livingrooms, plus piles of rubble - once wals - littered the streets. The streets themselves, in many places, were cub-crushed and tank-ground into gravel. A truck and two cars had been meshed together from the force of their impact with charging tanks. The front part of the truck had exploded and sent flames licking into the sky after being shot with a tank shell. A friend's new car was demolished by a tank-shell. Another car, next to a school in the Murrah area which had also been charged by a tank and shot at, had been flipped up onto its side and was badly battered.
From approximately 3pm - 5.30pm, 30 people, incuding 13 children, from the Abboushi family (three homes) plus myself, were detained in one room and forbidden from leaving at gunpoint. No telephone contact was allowed and I had to fight to keep my mobiles with me, defending them at M16 cock-snapped back gunpoint and from the grabbing clutches of an IOF soldier.
At 7am, soldiers demanded, through a loudhailer, that every man aged between 15-50 leave their homes and come to the city-centre girls' school to be herded up, registered, plastic-cord-cuffed, and interrogated. The mass arrest operation saw over 70 men and youths (some as young as 14) incarcerated in the school for over 14 hours. The prisoners were all made to sit in rows, class-room like, on the floor, hands bound, in a room, watched by soldiers, before being marched up to interrogation rooms upstairs. Prisoners were treated 'well' they said, with sandwiches and water given to them by their captors. However, after I spoke to people who had been interrogated, some said they had been physically assaulted. But this did not appear to be routine. I was allowed to enter and check on their condition and give them cigarettes. Two men released at 10pm were re-arrested and beaten by soldiers as they walked back to their homes, 'for being in the street during curfew'. 5 from the 70 arrested were then taken away for further inerrogation/arbitrary detention. Walleed Jabreen, 36-years-old, from the Old City area, was arrested at 6am. He was not wanted. Soldiers stole a checkbook and two mobile phones from his brother Bader Jabreen in the process.
At 7.30pm in the evening. IOF soldiers demolished the home of Iyyad Tayseen Abu Lell, a Hamas activist, who himself was assassinated 3 months ago by soldiers near the local council offices. His home was located on the outskirts of Jenin Camp. The family were granted, unusually, over an hour to gather up their belongings and move them out. Local people tell me the house was very large. I haven't seen it myself yet.
What these reports can't convey in their factual nature and brevity due to time constaints is the utter frustration and truamatisation of people; home after home, scenes of people-picking-up-the-pieces; a 13-year-old friend of mine, sat crying his eyes out on top of piles of clothing, an upturned fridge, mattresses, just wanting his mother and gaspingly recounting how they kept asking him where the gun is? Wheres the Gun? Children wide-eyed and full of energy, unable to stop talking, children rolling around on the floor, screaming, trying to hit out at the soldiers sat blocking their exit, grown men asking soldiers if they can please leave the one bedroom they and their family have been holed up in for 6 hours, and use their own toilet.
In Khaldi Ibin Walleed street, Murrah area: The Arrkawe House (occupied once before), the Zrebi house, the Larrabi house, the house of Sheikh Dawfeek Jarrad and house of Hassan Kallood.
In the Old City in Tal'et Forn Abu Mousa street, home to the best Bakery in town, churning out steaming stacks of bread all-day every day, curfew or no curfew, soldiers occupied the home of Mohammad Nassaar. Amni Massar, his 65-year-old mother, became extreemely distressed due to the violent entry and presence of the soldiers and had to be taken to hospital. The homes of Khalid Souke and Mohammad Kweiti were also occupied.
2 more homes (empty and derelict) were occupied in Mujahedeen street in the Old City Area.
A gutted restaurant and comercial building in the town centre, looking out onto the main square were also occupied. Soldiers took up sniper positions in all the premesis' they took and at 3am, Se'ed Hammal Fahmawi, 21, a Sarya Al Qds (Jihad Islmai) activist, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body from sniper fire (only deduced as the means of his death after some time. Fighters had not been able to identify how he had been shot. Se'ed had been alone when he was killed) in the main Old City square area. When paramedics attempted to retrieve his body, which had been lying on the road for over two hours, their ambulance was shot at by soldiers. Luckily none of the paramedics were injured.
All electricity and phonelines were forcibly downed in the Seabaht and Old City area from 3am onwards. The Baladia (local Council) reported over 10 wooden electricity pylons destroyed.
Soldiers blew up tens of shop-front and house doors, trashing their insides (not in all the shops, but the force of the explosions was enough to cause significant damage) shooting beds, wardobes, fridges, sofas, turning over furniture, shooting up clothing, kitchen cupbaords and partially demolished at least 5 homes, particularly in the Intifada Street area, in their house to house searches. Tanks reversed into the houses, crushing walls and smashing/bending in windows. Gaping holes revealing dust covered livingrooms, plus piles of rubble - once wals - littered the streets. The streets themselves, in many places, were cub-crushed and tank-ground into gravel. A truck and two cars had been meshed together from the force of their impact with charging tanks. The front part of the truck had exploded and sent flames licking into the sky after being shot with a tank shell. A friend's new car was demolished by a tank-shell. Another car, next to a school in the Murrah area which had also been charged by a tank and shot at, had been flipped up onto its side and was badly battered.
From approximately 3pm - 5.30pm, 30 people, incuding 13 children, from the Abboushi family (three homes) plus myself, were detained in one room and forbidden from leaving at gunpoint. No telephone contact was allowed and I had to fight to keep my mobiles with me, defending them at M16 cock-snapped back gunpoint and from the grabbing clutches of an IOF soldier.
At 7am, soldiers demanded, through a loudhailer, that every man aged between 15-50 leave their homes and come to the city-centre girls' school to be herded up, registered, plastic-cord-cuffed, and interrogated. The mass arrest operation saw over 70 men and youths (some as young as 14) incarcerated in the school for over 14 hours. The prisoners were all made to sit in rows, class-room like, on the floor, hands bound, in a room, watched by soldiers, before being marched up to interrogation rooms upstairs. Prisoners were treated 'well' they said, with sandwiches and water given to them by their captors. However, after I spoke to people who had been interrogated, some said they had been physically assaulted. But this did not appear to be routine. I was allowed to enter and check on their condition and give them cigarettes. Two men released at 10pm were re-arrested and beaten by soldiers as they walked back to their homes, 'for being in the street during curfew'. 5 from the 70 arrested were then taken away for further inerrogation/arbitrary detention. Walleed Jabreen, 36-years-old, from the Old City area, was arrested at 6am. He was not wanted. Soldiers stole a checkbook and two mobile phones from his brother Bader Jabreen in the process.
At 7.30pm in the evening. IOF soldiers demolished the home of Iyyad Tayseen Abu Lell, a Hamas activist, who himself was assassinated 3 months ago by soldiers near the local council offices. His home was located on the outskirts of Jenin Camp. The family were granted, unusually, over an hour to gather up their belongings and move them out. Local people tell me the house was very large. I haven't seen it myself yet.
What these reports can't convey in their factual nature and brevity due to time constaints is the utter frustration and truamatisation of people; home after home, scenes of people-picking-up-the-pieces; a 13-year-old friend of mine, sat crying his eyes out on top of piles of clothing, an upturned fridge, mattresses, just wanting his mother and gaspingly recounting how they kept asking him where the gun is? Wheres the Gun? Children wide-eyed and full of energy, unable to stop talking, children rolling around on the floor, screaming, trying to hit out at the soldiers sat blocking their exit, grown men asking soldiers if they can please leave the one bedroom they and their family have been holed up in for 6 hours, and use their own toilet.
Ewa