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News from Nablus
Tangerine Oranges.
Wednesday, January 06, 2004
Someone grabbed my hand and when I looked down a small boy was giving me a tangerine orange! This turned out to be Mohamed whose bright smile lit up my day; he then proceeded to distribute tangerines to the other internationals walking near me, it was not until he ran ahead to reach one more international that I realized that he was crippled with a very bent leg. Over the next few days of the occupation Mohamed would walk with me holding my hand as I passed his house which was very close to Qaryoun the area that was most damaged by the Israelis. He seemed not to be frightened despite buildings being blown up during the night just below his house. But I did notice that he would not go very far from his own door. He has the most wonderful personality that is expressed in his smile; I always offered him such things as apples and chocolate but he always refused them.
The army has now left the old city districts of Yasmeeneh, Qaryoun and Habaleh having destroyed the house of the Sharkh family completely. This is the same area in which a house was destroyed in April 2002 killing 8 people. So there is now a great area of rubble where once stood a number of buildings of great architectural and historical value.
Adjacent to this rubble is the 400-year-old Abdelhadi Palace that housed 75 people. The Palace was used to house women who have no place to live and no sources of income (widows, single women who do not work or have no income, and women whose main breadwinners are disabled). The Palace has been extensively damaged by explosions that have opened up large holes exposing earlier foundations and rooms that were there before the Palace was built.
In one underground room was an ancient kitchen complete with pot and large water urn which had not seen the light of day for many centuries.
One house within the palace complex had been totally wrecked as the army searched for non-existent hiding holes; they had torn down the fabric of the rooms exposing any old sealed up doors and windows, ripping down ceilings and smashing built-in furniture.
In the street outside, a very old burial vault had been blown open exposing the graves inside. Despite all this not a single militant was found in the old city during the search but many innocent people were killed.
The latest news coming in as I type this is that the army has now invaded the Raffidia district.
Throughout this occupation there have been no reporters or TV crews present except the local press, one of whom was shot. It is my guess that there has been no mention of the attacks on Nablus and Balata over the last 20 days in the UK press. This total silence from the rest of the world is allowing the Israeli government to get away with ever increasing crimes against humanity.
Nablus is a World Heritage Site and has been inhabited for more than 4,000 years. There are Roman remains dating back to the 2nd century A.D. UNESCO has a program funded by the World Bank to restore the old city. The contract was signed in 2000 but has never been implemented.
