Residents accuse Israel of executions during West Bank refugee camp raid

1 week ago 9

By Kareem Fahim and Sufian Taha

May 5, 2024 — 12.05pm

Nur Shams, West Bank: When Israeli soldiers arrived astatine Mohamad Abu Sweilem’s doorway and summoned his lad during a raid connected this Palestinian exile camp, helium pleaded with the soldiers to instrumentality him instead.

He could not fathom wherefore the Israelis wanted Rajai, a 39-year-old begetter of 4 who worked astatine the household hardware store and was not a militant, helium said. The soldiers, who had been successful the campy for days, did not look to cognize who his lad was, oregon attraction much: they ne'er asked for identification, his household said. Still, they led him away.

A antheral walks among the demolition aft a much than 50-hour Israeli subject cognition successful the bluish West Bank’s Nur Shams exile camp.

Less than a infinitesimal later, Mohamed heard gunshots, and his son’s dependable crying retired successful pain, helium said. The household recovered Rajai’s assemblage hours later, aft the soldiers had withdrawn. They fishy soldiers utilized him arsenic a quality shield to face militants successful a downstairs apartment and past changeable him, a assertion the Israeli subject denies.

Residents crossed Nur Shams accused the Israeli service of utilizing brutal tactics during its raid connected militants last month. For much than 50 hours, starting April 18, radical were trapped successful their homes arsenic electricity, h2o and net to the country were chopped off. When they emerged, they recovered roads torn up, houses wrecked and bodies successful alleyways.

The incursion was the latest successful a bid of Israeli raids successful West Bank cities that person made the past fewer years the deadliest successful decades for Palestinians successful the Israeli-occupied territory, with 2024 connected gait to beryllium adjacent much lethal than 2023 was. Israel says the raids are portion of a run to weaken militant groups, similar the Tulkarm Brigade, that run successful Nur Shams: local groups that person gained spot successful caller years arsenic prospects for the extremity of Israel’s concern person dimmed and that person recovered recruits among mostly young, politically disaffected men.

This nonfiction is based connected much than a twelve interviews implicit 2 days wrong Nur Shams and by phone, arsenic good arsenic connected photos and videos provided by eyewitnesses and reviewed by Washington Post reporters.

A household subordinate uses her mobile telephone to amusement a photograph of Rajai Sweilem, 39, who was recovered lying dormant with his assemblage afloat of bullets by his home.

This campy had already weathered 2 large-scale incursions since October, and galore smaller raids, but this was the “most violent, brutal, longest” 1 yet, Rajai’s begetter said. As helium spoke connected the thoroughfare extracurricular his house, sirens sounded – a trial of alarms meant to pass of the adjacent raid. Zeinab, Rajai’s 6-year-old daughter, ran into the house, screaming successful fear.

Fourteen Palestinians were killed during the raid on Nur Shams, including astatine slightest two children, residents said. Family members said astatine slightest 3 of the victims were summarily executed oregon utilized arsenic quality shields by Israeli soldiers. The dormant included Rajai; Jihad Zandiq, a 14-year-old lad whose household said helium was surrendering to troops erstwhile helium was changeable successful the head; and Ahmed Arref, a wounded 20-year-old militant who hid successful a family’s location and was recovered dormant aft soldiers expelled the household and took implicit the house.

Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said astatine an April 23 quality league that the bureau had “received reports that respective Palestinians were unlawfully killed” and that soldiers “used unarmed Palestinians to shield their forces from onslaught and killed others successful evident extrajudicial executions”.

The Israel Defence Forces denied allegations of extrajudicial killings and utilizing civilians arsenic quality shields. It said that Palestinian militants, not Israeli soldiers, had killed Rajai and that Jihad, the 14-year-old, had attacked Israeli forces. They said they were “not aware” of the incidental involving the wounded militant.

Mustafa Nasser Zandiq, the begetter of Jihad Nyaz Naser Zandiq, 15, uses his mobile telephone to amusement a photograph of his son.

Fourteen “terrorists” were killed by Israeli forces successful close-quarters warring and 10 Israeli soldiers were wounded, the IDF said, though it did not supply grounds that each those killed were militants. The cognition appeared to people the caput of the Tulkarm Brigade, Mohammed Jaber, amended known arsenic Abu Shujaa, who survived.

More than 450 West Bank Palestinians person been killed by the Israeli subject since October 7, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Nearly 40 per cent of the fatalities were recorded successful camps specified arsenic Nur Shams, established decades agone for Palestinians who were forced from their homes oregon fled aft Israel’s founding successful 1948.

Nine Israelis, including 5 members of the information forces, person been killed successful the West Bank implicit the aforesaid period, according to OCHA.

In the onslaught connected Nur Shams, Israeli forces utilized crushed troops, bulldozers and drones to inflict “unprecedented and seemingly wanton demolition connected the campy and its infrastructure,” according to the UN quality rights office. As the militants fought the army, they fled implicit rooftops and fought from homes, residents said.

The Israelis “have been invading the camps regularly. They privation to suppress immoderate signifier of resistance,” Palestinian absorption person Mustafa Barghouti said during a sojourn to Nur Shams a fewer days aft the raid.

Over the past six months, helium said, Israeli forces “became wholly wide successful doing anything, without immoderate information of immoderate right, oregon immoderate restraint, oregon immoderate regulation”.

It is “lawlessness,” helium said. “Total lawlessness.”

‘I mislaid my life’

Rajai Abu Sweilem lived connected the 2nd level of a ample gathering owned by his family, crossed the patio from his begetter and mother. During the raid connected Nur Shams, soldiers took implicit Rajai’s apartment, his relatives said – a signifier repeated passim the camp, arsenic soldiers occupied homes, residents said.

When the soldiers came for him, Rajai was staying successful his parents’ flat with his 8-year-old son, his begetter said. A radical of militants was holed up downstairs successful a ground-floor flat that belonged to Rajai’s aunt. Roughly 30 seconds aft Rajai was taken away, Mohamad, his father, heard the archetypal gunshots and his son’s cries; past determination was much gunfire, helium said – “a lot, a lot,” and explosions.

The begetter and different relatives allege that soldiers took Rajai arsenic a quality shield to face the militants, past changeable him earlier the decisive weapon battle.

The IDF called him a “suspect who claimed to person hidden equipped terrorists successful a retention country located successful his home.” After helium “directed” the soldiers to the room, “the fishy distanced himself to debar harm, but the terrorists wrong the retention country fired astatine the forces and deed him,” Israel’s subject said.

“The forces did not instruct him to pb the way, and helium was not lasting successful beforehand of them,” the IDF said.

“Look, my lad was successful their custody,” Mohamad said. “From the infinitesimal they took him to the infinitesimal helium died, they are responsible.”

The household said Rajai’s assemblage was recovered successful a debris-filled alleyway down the house, adjacent the corpses of 3 militants who had been successful the downstairs apartment.

His assemblage was brought to the exigency country April 21, according to the infirmary report. Rajai had suffered a encephalon hemorrhage and skull fracture “caused by bullets,” arsenic good arsenic interior bleeding and shots to his thorax and abdomen.

Mohamed, who has bosom problems, said helium and his woman had leaned heavy connected their eldest child, including astatine the household store. “Anything I needed to do, helium would bash it for me,” helium said. “I mislaid my life.”

‘Don’t shoot’

The household of Jihad Zandiq, 14, said they had arrived astatine Nur Shams astir the aforesaid clip that the Israelis did connected April 18. Palestinian citizens of Israel, they unrecorded successful Tayibe, southbound of Tulkarm, and were visiting Jihad’s grandfather’s house, arsenic they did astir each weekend. Jihad had arrived astatine the campy a time earlier, his begetter said.

On April 18, Jihad told his parents helium was going to a adjacent store but did not instrumentality until the adjacent day, his begetter said. He near again April 19, the time helium was killed, ignoring his parents’ pleas not to spell out, and went to his great-uncle’s house. His household said helium was not equipped erstwhile helium left.

Haneen Zandiq, the aunt of Jihad Nyaz Naser Zandiq.The 15-year-old was changeable successful the caput by an Israeli soldier.

Israeli soldiers adjacent the great-uncle’s location called connected fighters to travel retired and surrender, according to residents and Jihad’s family. When Jihad did effort to surrender, helium was changeable successful the head, said his aunt, Haneen Zandiq, who was successful a adjacent gathering and filmed the body, which she said laic successful the thoroughfare for 16 hours. A representation she had connected her telephone appeared to amusement Jihad with a ample slug coiled successful his close eye.

“I heard him,” she said. “He was telling them helium wanted to surrender.”

Other radical who lived successful the country wherever Jihad was changeable said they heard him surrendering.

“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot,” 33-year-old Nihaya, who spoke connected the information that she beryllium identified lone by her archetypal sanction for fearfulness of reprisal, quoted him arsenic saying. But the soldiers were connected “high alert” and were firing “randomly,” she said.

Mohammed Jaber, 30, Jihad’s distant cousin, said helium “heard the service shouting ‘Hand yourselves over’ ” and instructing those surrendering to assistance their shirts. He said helium heard Jihad accidental “Don’t shoot, we are surrendering,” followed by the dependable of “heavy gunfire.”

The sidesplitting of idiosyncratic who has surrendered, adjacent a combatant, is considered a warfare transgression nether the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court.

Jihad’s father, Niyaz Nasr Zandiq, said his lad was a ninth-grader successful Tayibe who played Xbox and hoped to go an electrical engineer. He did not beryllium to the Tulkarm Brigade, which is led by Jihad’s cousin, the begetter said.

But it seemed wide the lad wanted to beryllium among the fighters, oregon astatine slightest to ticker the battle. “Father, forgive me,” helium said arsenic helium ran distant from the location April 19. And helium near down a will, which his household discovered aft helium was killed.

Calling himself a “mujahid,” a word utilized for radical who combat successful the sanction of Islam, helium wrote that helium was “on the way of liberating Palestine from the filth of this occupier, who lone knows the connection of execution and destruction.”

“Most of the children of the campy constitute wills,” his begetter said. “They spot decease from the service each day.”

Jaber, the distant cousin, said Jihad “thought it was a game, and helium could travel the young men from spot to place,” referring to the militants. He besides said Jihad did not transportation a weapon.

While Jihad was gone, his father, Niyaz, was interrogated by Israeli officers and beaten, helium recounted, showing bruises helium said helium received from being struck by a gun.

The IDF said Jihad was “a violent successful the panic infrastructure of Nur Shams and during the activity, helium threw grenades and fired astatine IDF forces. The IDF is not alert of unrecorded occurrence towards unarmed individuals.” The IDF did not respond to a question astir whether soldiers had beaten his father.

Bloodstains connected the ledge of a model successful the location wherever household members of Rajai Sweilem assertion helium was executed by Israeli soldiers and thrown into the alley outside.

Days aft the raid, humor inactive pooled successful the cramped alleyways of Nur Shams, adjacent the angiosperm pots residents usage to brighten the cracked concrete. Some apartments were torn isolated by gunfire, with slug holes connected each surface. In 1 apartment, connected a woody wardrobe, idiosyncratic had written, successful Hebrew, the connection “revenge”.

The UN humanitarian affairs bureau said an archetypal appraisal aft the raid recovered that 11 households with a full of 55 radical “were displaced erstwhile their homes were rendered uninhabitable by bulldozers oregon explosives.”

The cognition “entailed monolithic bulldozing of respective captious roadworthy sections wrong the campy and those starring to Tulkarm city, causing terrible harm to water, sewage, electricity, and telecommunication networks.”

One household was sheltering from the raid erstwhile a 20-year-old fighter, Ahmed Arref, entered the location from the roof, trailing blood. “Save me,” helium said, according to Khawla Jaber, 63, who lived successful the house.

“Cover me. Forgive me,” Jaber recalled him saying. She work him verses from the Quran arsenic helium sat successful an armchair, bleeding “like a fountain” from slug wounds successful his legs that the household tried to treat.

Israeli soldiers arrived and asked the household if Arref had a weapon. The household said helium did not. “You are responsible. If helium has thing connected him, you volition beryllium dead,” she quoted 1 of the soldiers, an Arabic speaker, arsenic saying.

The household went upstairs to the roof. A video they recorded showed the country they returned to, astir 10 to 20 minutes later: Arref, dormant connected the level of a bedroom, lying connected a bloodied carpet with what the household said were respective caller slug wounds, including 2 to the head. When reporters visited, the carpet had been removed. The tile beneath it was chipped by what the household said were the shots fired by the Israeli soldiers into the wounded man.

Arref’s father, Ghaleb Mahmoud Arref, 54, said helium was distant from the vicinity erstwhile his lad was shot. Ahmed, who had been wanted by the IDF for astir 2 years, did not walk overmuch clip astatine location – conscionable stopping by to devour from clip to time.

They had quarrelled implicit his determination to fight. “I told him to hide astir this way you are taking,” helium said. His woman was truthful disquieted astir her lad that she became ill.

Among those wounded successful the raid was a nurse, Hamza Jitawi, 21, who said helium was changeable successful the limb by an Israeli sniper arsenic helium responded to a telephone to assistance an injured man. Jitawi said helium had been wearing the reddish and achromatic vest of the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

The IDF declined to remark connected the shooting.

The slug went done his near shin and shattered his tibia. His betterment volition instrumentality a year, helium said, grimacing successful pain. During erstwhile raids, helium said, Israeli soldiers would occurrence informing shots astatine paramedics if they wanted them to enactment distant from an area.

“This time,” helium said, the shooting was “direct.”

The Washington Post

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