This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgj36n8e6ro
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| West Bank raid leaves destruction and determination in its wake | |
| (5 months later) | |
| Majdi was in his house at the entrance of Nur Shams refugee camp when the Israeli armoured bulldozers came. | Majdi was in his house at the entrance of Nur Shams refugee camp when the Israeli armoured bulldozers came. |
| He told his three children not to be scared as the bulldozer pushed up against their front wall, smashing through the staircase and balcony. | He told his three children not to be scared as the bulldozer pushed up against their front wall, smashing through the staircase and balcony. |
| "The bulldozer kept coming closer to the house," he said. "It lifted the rubble near those two windows above. It was trying to hit them." | "The bulldozer kept coming closer to the house," he said. "It lifted the rubble near those two windows above. It was trying to hit them." |
| Residents living near the entrances to Nur Shams often leave when they hear the Israeli army is coming. I asked Majdi why he stayed. | Residents living near the entrances to Nur Shams often leave when they hear the Israeli army is coming. I asked Majdi why he stayed. |
| "Why would I leave?" he said. | "Why would I leave?" he said. |
| "We won't leave. We are staying here. We either go back to our lands [in what is now Israel] or stay here and die. There are no other options." | "We won't leave. We are staying here. We either go back to our lands [in what is now Israel] or stay here and die. There are no other options." |
| At least four men were killed in the Tulkarm area, which includes Nur Shams, during Israel’s two-day military operation here, including at least two who were fighting Israeli forces. | At least four men were killed in the Tulkarm area, which includes Nur Shams, during Israel’s two-day military operation here, including at least two who were fighting Israeli forces. |
| "Every time one of us is killed, 10 more are born. We are crushing them, and hopefully, our children will also crush them," Majdi said. | "Every time one of us is killed, 10 more are born. We are crushing them, and hopefully, our children will also crush them," Majdi said. |
| The Israeli army says it has killed members of armed groups, made arrests and seized weapons during the major operation | The Israeli army says it has killed members of armed groups, made arrests and seized weapons during the major operation |
| Israel's army pulled out of Nur Shams camp on Friday morning, but its wider operation across the north of the occupied West Bank continues - with the aim, Israel says, of dismantling the armed groups there. | Israel's army pulled out of Nur Shams camp on Friday morning, but its wider operation across the north of the occupied West Bank continues - with the aim, Israel says, of dismantling the armed groups there. |
| One of the men killed during the operation was 69-year-old Ayed Abu Hajja, who was disabled and a long-term resident of Nur Shams. He was shot by a sniper, neighbours said, when he opened a window in his house. | One of the men killed during the operation was 69-year-old Ayed Abu Hajja, who was disabled and a long-term resident of Nur Shams. He was shot by a sniper, neighbours said, when he opened a window in his house. |
| On Friday, his body was carried through the narrow streets to his mother's home, before burial. | On Friday, his body was carried through the narrow streets to his mother's home, before burial. |
| A large crowd of young men gathered to escort his body to the cemetery - but others were there to honour someone else. | A large crowd of young men gathered to escort his body to the cemetery - but others were there to honour someone else. |
| Groups of young men filed silently past the crowd with their weapons - to a separate, symbolic burial for their leader, Mohammed Jaber - also killed during the Israeli operation in this city | Groups of young men filed silently past the crowd with their weapons - to a separate, symbolic burial for their leader, Mohammed Jaber - also killed during the Israeli operation in this city |
| The fighter and the civilian, living for years side by side in Nur Shams, remembered side by side in death. One with prayers; the other with bursts of automatic gunfire - a show of force from Tulkarm’s armed fighters, less than a day after Israel’s army withdrew. | The fighter and the civilian, living for years side by side in Nur Shams, remembered side by side in death. One with prayers; the other with bursts of automatic gunfire - a show of force from Tulkarm’s armed fighters, less than a day after Israel’s army withdrew. |
| Mourners carried the body of Ayed Abu Hajja (L) and the symbolic corpse of Mohammed Jaber (R) to the cemetery | Mourners carried the body of Ayed Abu Hajja (L) and the symbolic corpse of Mohammed Jaber (R) to the cemetery |
| Inside Nur Shams, Israel’s operation has left war-like destruction in parts of the camp: houses burned out, walls sheared off. | Inside Nur Shams, Israel’s operation has left war-like destruction in parts of the camp: houses burned out, walls sheared off. |
| Whole buildings collapsed into rubble have opened up new, sloping and precarious routes between the camp's main streets. | Whole buildings collapsed into rubble have opened up new, sloping and precarious routes between the camp's main streets. |
| A child of six or seven, dwarfed by a mountain of concrete boulders, reaches gently in to pick out a bright yellow toy walkie-talkie from the remains of his grandmother’s house. | A child of six or seven, dwarfed by a mountain of concrete boulders, reaches gently in to pick out a bright yellow toy walkie-talkie from the remains of his grandmother’s house. |
| Standing nearby is his grandmother’s next-door neighbour, Fadwa Abu Ayad, her path to the street cut off by the rubble mountain. The army also came to her house, she said. | Standing nearby is his grandmother’s next-door neighbour, Fadwa Abu Ayad, her path to the street cut off by the rubble mountain. The army also came to her house, she said. |
| Fadwa Abu Ayad (left) watched as a boy played on rubble from damaged buildings | Fadwa Abu Ayad (left) watched as a boy played on rubble from damaged buildings |
| "They told us that we have tunnels like in Gaza, and smuggle the armed groups to this house," Fadwa said. | "They told us that we have tunnels like in Gaza, and smuggle the armed groups to this house," Fadwa said. |
| I asked her if that was true. | I asked her if that was true. |
| "It's impossible," she replied. "He brought a drill and dug into the floor. All he found was a sewer hole." | "It's impossible," she replied. "He brought a drill and dug into the floor. All he found was a sewer hole." |
| Fadwa takes us through another entrance to her house, and shows us the broken floor - beneath it is a small pipe and what appears to be a sewer drain. It's too small for a person to fit through. | Fadwa takes us through another entrance to her house, and shows us the broken floor - beneath it is a small pipe and what appears to be a sewer drain. It's too small for a person to fit through. |
| "What is happening in the [West Bank] camps now is like a small version of Gaza," Fadwa said. "Ever since 7 October," she added, referring to the day of Hamas's deadly attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza. | "What is happening in the [West Bank] camps now is like a small version of Gaza," Fadwa said. "Ever since 7 October," she added, referring to the day of Hamas's deadly attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza. |
| "It feels like we’re in Gaza," said Umm Yazan | "It feels like we’re in Gaza," said Umm Yazan |
| Down another shattered street, paved with broken glass and burned pieces of rubble, I hear a voice at the window above me. It turns out to be Umm Yazan. | Down another shattered street, paved with broken glass and burned pieces of rubble, I hear a voice at the window above me. It turns out to be Umm Yazan. |
| She says the army laid wires from her home to blow up two of the houses opposite – families she has known for decades. | She says the army laid wires from her home to blow up two of the houses opposite – families she has known for decades. |
| "I have 10-year-old triplets, and they trapped us in a room,” she told me. "Then they started the explosions - five explosions in total. Imagine the walls shaking and your young children clinging to you. It feels like we’re in Gaza." | "I have 10-year-old triplets, and they trapped us in a room,” she told me. "Then they started the explosions - five explosions in total. Imagine the walls shaking and your young children clinging to you. It feels like we’re in Gaza." |
| Israel says this is a counter-terrorist operation, to dismantle Palestinian armed groups it says are funded and armed by Iran. | Israel says this is a counter-terrorist operation, to dismantle Palestinian armed groups it says are funded and armed by Iran. |
| Nur Shams is home to more than 13,000 registered Palestinian refugees | Nur Shams is home to more than 13,000 registered Palestinian refugees |
| But Umm Yazan replies that it is the army's responsibility to target fighters, and not involve families like hers. | But Umm Yazan replies that it is the army's responsibility to target fighters, and not involve families like hers. |
| "Are there fighters in my house? I have young children, my husband has an Israeli work permit. My house is a safe house." | "Are there fighters in my house? I have young children, my husband has an Israeli work permit. My house is a safe house." |
| You hear comparisons with Gaza a lot here now. | You hear comparisons with Gaza a lot here now. |
| The grinding conflict between Israel and armed Palestinian groups in the West Bank is still very different to the Gaza war, but that war has changed attitudes and tactics here - on both sides. | The grinding conflict between Israel and armed Palestinian groups in the West Bank is still very different to the Gaza war, but that war has changed attitudes and tactics here - on both sides. |
| It has changed how Israel views the threat from armed groups here - and, some say, it is also changing its response on the ground. | It has changed how Israel views the threat from armed groups here - and, some say, it is also changing its response on the ground. |