International Solidarity Movement:
Reports from Talluza, near Nablus
reports from Pennie Quinton, Ridwana Jooma, Eyal Eithcowich & Ahmed
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Background: Talluza is a small village north of Nablus in the West Bank with a population of around 2,000. The village has been calm for two years following a number of house demolitions in 2002. The neighboring village of Asira, a population of around 12,000, has been suffering constant harassment from the army for over a year.
Four activists arrived in Asira from Jerusalem on December 19th and were met by two Nablus-based internationals who had been in the area a few days. Internationals based in the Nablus region were invited to Talluza a few days previously to help open the school which the army had closed and to relieve the general shut down of the village. This had been in place for a number of days, causing shortages of food and medicine in the village, as well as the closure of the school, less than two weeks before the final exams were due to start.
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Pennie's journal of time spent observing Israeli army manoeuvers in the village of Talluza somewhere near Nablus
Talluza is a small village north of Nablus in the West Bank with a population of around 2,000. The village has been calm for two years following a number of house demolitions in 2002. The neighboring village of Asira, with a population of around 12,000, has been suffering constant harassment from the army for over a year.
I have been in Talluza one week and my duties have been mainly to observe the IOF checkpoint between Al Badan and Talluza and to give occasional talks at the Talluza boys' school.
I arrived on Monday the 19th of December to Asira which is a Hamas Village so I am told. I stay one night there before moving on to Talluza the next morning.
When we arrive in Asira we are met by hordes of small children leaving school. "What's your name? What's your name?" they cry I find myself submerged in a flock of chirping infants. Two men wade in through this melee and retrieve myself and Nav. They take all of us to their home and feed us the most beautiful bread and olives, I think that this is prearranged by ISM and am surprised to find that they are just being hospitable to strangers, I could not imagine this happening in England. We leave them to meet the local ISM activists outside an internet café.
20th December 2004
When I arrived in Talluza I found the other ISM activists sitting in a stony field at the back of the school. The children had built barricades along the road outside the school to impede the passage of the army. The rest of the village totally supports this. The rebelling instincts of youth, seen as such a problem in Britain are utterly respected and necessary here to the resistance.
The army has left the village for the time being so the teachers start to clear away the stone barricades, Tom and I assist them when, I am approached by the head teacher and asked to give a talk at the school on Scottish history of all things, I agree to speak to the class at 11.00.
At around eleven I am taken by a teacher into the school to meet the older girls who attend the boys' school for special subjects not taught at the girls' school.
I think I am being taken to give the Scottish History talk, however I have been abducted by another teacher so the girls can get their conversational English practice in.
One of the young women asks me questions but the others collapse into fits of giggles. "Why are you laughing?"
I ask, laughing too because they are so infectious.
"Your clothes, your clothes are so funny" they gasp.
These chuckling girls are very beautiful and normally so elegant and serene but at the sight of my mock Russian hat and purple hippy Indian top over flared jeans topped with my Captain Birdseye navy coat, they are in hysterics. Tears of laughter fall down their cheeks as they struggle to breathe.
The girls are so friendly and they ask millions of things and then they ask me to sing a song. After this they march me off to their next class. I sit with them at the back of what appears to be a drawing class. I sketch their faces. They were so gracious and lively I was sad to leave them to return to the other internationals.
I then realized that I had been poached to speak to the girls by another teacher not the Scottish history man who was a bit peeved so I agreed to speak the next day. Off to check point watch at Al Bidan...
Check point watch at Al Bidan - an amazing excuse to sit amidst the most beautiful countryside gazing at the dramatic olive treed slopes wreathed in mist watching the changing sky.
I have positioned myself about 100 metres from the soldier's/ border police jeep parked at the bend junctioning two roads. The weather here can get very cold and because of the intensely hot summers central heating is just not a priority. The beautiful Palestinian high ceiling houses get very chilly almost colder than outside, so Tom (a young British activist) and I decide to build a camp fire. I took the idea from the people of Asira (the neighbouring village to Talluza), who make small fires in the street, and serve coffee to passers by to get the gossip as well as minding their children playing out.
We start to build the fire and then realize that neither of us have a light, it is very rare in the Middle East to find two non smokers together. I stupidly ask the soldiers for a light, they are very bored and with not much passing traffic to intimidate they rush about gathering fuel for the fire. This looks very bad as we appear to be chummy with the soldiers so T and I wander away leaving them building our fire.
Later the soldier shift changes and the new lot demand that we put out our fire, we refuse. They get very stroppy and try to prevent us gathering wood. Layla appears from out of a 'Service', the hybrid taxi buses, used here to get around. She has just returned from Jerusalem, she gathers wood in defiance of their silly impositions. The soldiers defeated by my fire tantrum, drive a bit further up the road we continue to watch them enjoying warmth of the fire, on this day they mostly wave people through the checkpoint.
That evening we have dinner at a families house which faces onto the main village street. Two army jeeps had stopped at the end of the high street just up from the mosque and were stopping shebab. I videoed them from the window of the families house they were checking ID. They patrolled the village, demanding ID cards. In at least one case, some young men were held in a jeep but later released. Activists witnessed a soldier aiming a gun at a young child and there were reports of beatings, though the activists did not arrive in time to witness these.
After this the family we were with were afraid to have internationals at their house so after the army's appearance we left their home scuttling along back streets and yards, the boys taken to one house and us to another.
The youths guiding us were very nervous so we were just handed over to the house of Hassan although we were meant to stay elsewhere I think. Hassan, a cheerful old man who studied at UCL in his younger days was so welcoming he and his wife fed us fruit and argilah.
We stayed one night then the next day it was checkpoint duty again and Scottish history
: ).
21st December
Early morning at the check point people going to and fro to school with a lot of farm traffic.
The school was open as usual so Scottish history talk was on and activists spent the early afternoon meeting with a number of villagers. Israeli activists discussed contacting other Israeli groups to deliver medical and food supplies into the village and the export of local olive oil to Israel and beyond.
Internationals promised to be present during the school exams. These begin on December 23rd and will continue for two weeks. The villagers are concerned that around 100 girls will not be allowed to pass the checkpoint between Al Badhan and Talluza to take their exams. International activists will maintain a presence at this checkpoint to attempt to ensure safe and free passage.
At around 4pm, a Border Police jeep patrolled the village and the policemen fired at least one round of live ammunition. No one was injured, but children were nearby.
In the evening, while activists were in a house overlooking the main road, they heard a loud explosion outside. It turned out to be a homemade sound bomb thrown by teenagers. A barricade was built by teenagers in the main street and set alight in order to try to block the soldiers from passing. The army had been patrolling the village from around 5pm.
When an army humvee arrived at the barricade, it attempted to drive over it and failed. Soldiers then became aggressive and banged on doors of nearby houses, presumably in order to capture the kids who built the barricade. A Border Police jeep arrived soon after. Two activists left the house with a video camera and captured the soldiers' activities on film from the roof of a nearby building. As the soldiers became more aggressive, the two decided to go outside and talk to them to try to ease the situation. In the ensuing dialog, the soldiers said that they were there because the kids had built the barricade and were burning their (the soldiers', presumably meaning the Israelis' (!)) village. One of the activists replied that the village was a home to the kids and they could do as they want in it. The soldiers replied that they are not there to talk politics. After further dialog (and some singing on the part of activists), another humvee arrived and cleared the way for all vehicles to leave. The situation then eased up and the village was quiet for the rest of the night.
Ridwana Jooma and Eyal Eithcowich Report from Talluza,
December 20-22 2004
December 20th
Two activists walked the distance from Asira to Talluza at around 5:30am. They were met on the way by an Israeli APC, as well as a number of jeeps, but were waved through to Talluza. They were joined by two others later in the day and met up with a few more activists from the Nablus region who decided to monitor the situation at the local boy’s school and wait for events to proceed. Talluza was quiet for the rest of the day; however there was one report of a bread-truck driver being beaten at an army checkpoint, though this could not be confirmed by the activists.
Both entrances to Talluza village have checkpoints near them. Activists have been stationed at both most times, and their presence has clearly eased the passage of Palestinian villagers in and out of the village, as well as enabling teachers to travel from Asira to Talluza. The teachers were prevented from reaching Talluza for a number of days, forcing the school to either close or operate under a seriously reduced schedule.
In the evening, the Israeli army patrolled the village, demanding ID cards. In at least one case, some young men were held in a jeep but later released. Activists witnessed a soldier aiming a gun at a young child and there were reports of beatings, though the activists did not arrive in time to witness these.
December 21st
The school was open as usual and activists spent the early afternoon meeting with a number of villagers. Israeli activists discussed contacting other Israeli groups to deliver medical and food supplies into the village and the export of local olive oil to Israel and beyond.
Internationals promised to be present during the school exams. These begin on December 23rd and will continue for two weeks. The villagers are concerned that around 100 girls will not be allowed to pass the checkpoint between Al Badhan and Talluza to take their exams. International activists will maintain a presence at this checkpoint to attempt to ensure safe and free passage.
At around 4pm, a Border Police jeep patrolled the village and the policemen fired at least one round of live ammunition. No one was injured, but children were nearby.
In the evening, while activists were in a house overlooking the main road, they heard a loud explosion outside. It turned out to be a homemade sound bomb thrown by teenagers. A barricade was built by teenagers in the main street and set alight in order to try to block the soldiers from passing. The army had been patrolling the village from around 5pm.
When an army humvee arrived at the barricade, it attempted to drive over it and failed. Soldiers then became aggressive and banged on doors of nearby houses, presumably in order to capture the kids who built the barricade. A Border Police jeep arrived soon after. Two activists left the house with a video camera and captured the soldiers’ activities on film from the roof of a nearby building. As the soldiers became more aggressive, the two decided to go outside and talk to them to try to ease the situation. In the ensuing dialog, the soldiers said that they were there because the kids had built the barricade and were burning their (the soldiers’, presumably meaning the Israelis’ (!)) village. One of the activists replied that the village was a home to the kids and they could do as they want in it. The soldiers replied that they are not there to talk politics. After further dialog (and some singing on the part of activists), another humvee arrived and cleared the way for all vehicles to leave. The situation then eased up and the village was quiet for the rest of the night.
December 22nd
Following some clashes between the army and Palestinian fighters in Asira, a closure was imposed on Asira. This prevented ten teachers from reaching the school in Talluza, one day before final exams. The school opened and operated on a reduced schedule. International activists spent the day attempting to contact Israeli activists to try and get them to contact the army and ask them to ease the closure in Asira so that bread and other supplies can be delivered. The pressure seemed to work, as the bread was delivered. Two international activists succeeded in getting in to the village in the afternoon, joining one more that had been there during the previous night.
Further information: activists have been talking to many Talluza villagers. There are frequent stories of difficulties in daily life. It is hard for villagers to get into Nablus, the nearest urban center (and thus the main commercial hub), to say nothing of traveling further. Economic circumstances in the village are not good, mostly due to the checkpoint and closure policy often applied in the Nablus region and the rest of the West Bank. Young men and women are harassed at checkpoints; their identity cards (an essential requirement to life under occupation) confiscated and they are denied their right to freedom of movement. Many villagers have been unable to get to their olive trees for a number of years. In this latter respect, the situation in Talluza is significantly easier than in Asira, where Jewish-only roads have been built through ancient olive groves. Palestinians are not even allowed to cross such roads. In addition, the main road leading to Nablus has been destroyed by the army and is impossible to pass by car.
December 23rd
Final exams were due to take place at 8:30am. We showed up at the school only to discover that the Al Badhan checkpoint has been closed and there is a huge tailback of cars and students attempting to get to the school.
Ahmed, 25th December 2004:
From midnight on the 25th of December until approximately 7:00 PM the home of a Palestinian family in the village of Asira ash-Shamaliya was occupied by the Israeli army. The soldiers kept nine members of the Adil Jarara family, including two young children, in one room of the house without allowing them to leave or others to enter the home. The family reports that approximately 400 NIS and gold jewelry were stolen and that their IDs were confiscated. Reasons for the occupation of the house were not given. An armed personnel carrier (APC), and at least one army Jeep drove through the village during the house occupation.
Once the situation became known, Israeli activists spent several hours contacting various Israeli human rights groups and sympathetic members of the Knesset in order to pressure the army to resolve the situation and leave the home. At 4:15 PM, international activists attempted to speak with the soldiers occupying the house in order to enter and offer food, water, medical supplies, and comfort to the traumatized family. While soldiers' movements were occasionally visible to the internationals, they ignored the internationals' requests. Another soldier, who was riding in an army Jeep and claimed to be the commander of the operation, spoke with the internationals and denied them entry. He claimed that he was assured of the family's welfare by the soldiers occupying the house and that it was possible that in a few hours the soldiers would leave. At approximately 6:00 PM, the internationals again attempted to gain access to the family by shouting to them from below the house. Again, the occupying soldiers ignored them. At 7:00 PM internationals were told by local residents that the occupying soldiers had left through the back of the house. Two of the international activists then briefly visited the family and spoke with them. It was then that the family reported the missing money, jewelry, and confiscation of their IDs, without which Palestinians may be subject to detention by Israeli forces. The family also told the internationals that the soldiers threatened them all with death should any of them answer the calls of the internationals below.
Although this may have been the first house occupation in Asira during the second intifada, occupation of homes is not an uncommon tactic of the Israeli army. Families that are subject to them suffer indefinitely at the hands of Israeli forces, with the very real possiblity that soldiers may damage their homes and steal or destroy their property. Beyond the threat to their lives and property, members of such a family may suffer from the psychological trauma long after the incident is over.
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