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Israeli
War Crimes In Nablus; Nine Family Members Buried Under The Rubble
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| Palestinians dig the rubble for the bodies of their family members |
By
IOL Palestine Correspondent
NABLUS,
West Bank, April 15 (IslamOnline) – Hour after hour, Israel’s
terrorist atrocities in the Palestinian city of Nablus come to light.
Digging the rubble piled everywhere in the destroyed streets and
buildings of the camp reveals more evidence of the Israeli army’s
war crimes. Children, women and old men were slaughtered for no reason
but being Palestinians.
Nine
members of Al-Shieby family were buried under the rubble of their
home. Three children, three women, and two men, one was 85 years old
and the other fifty; they were all buried when Israeli bulldozers
destroyed their house on their heads without warning.
The
only surviving family member, Mahmoud Al-Shieby, told IslamOnline
about the details of the tragic death of all his family members. “To
lose a family member is a tragic and sad thing, yet you may live with
it. But, to lose, in a blink of an eye, all your family members…Your
wife, children, sisters, brother, and father…this is a disaster
before which I have nothing to say, but to resort to Almighty
Allah”.
Al-Shieby
goes on saying, “I was in touch with my sister Fatima (57 years old-
a teacher) till Friday, April 5, 2002. Then, I tried hard to contact
her again, but in vain. I felt suspicious, especially when I heard
about a terrible attack by the Zionist occupation forces on the old
city [of Nablus], where my father, sister, brother and family, uncle
and his wife lived.
“I
started asking about them everywhere, asked everyone and I was told my
family was safe at Nasser’s School with others who left their homes.
Two days later, I knew my family was not at the school. I did not know
what to do, felt so helpless. Occupation forces imposed a strict
curfew, allowed no one to check the destroyed buildings. I had to
wait, on tenterhooks, till Friday, April 12, when the curfew was
lifted.
“Our
house, in al-Qaraween Alley, was old and consisted of three floors. My
uncle, 80, and his crippled wife, 70, lived on the first floor. My
brother, a 47-year-old bank employee, his pregnant wife, 40, and his
children (9, 7, and 4) lived on the second floor. My father, 85 and my
two sisters, 57 and 37, lived on the third.
“I
hoped to find them, or at least some of them, alive. With the help of
some people, we went on digging, with our bare hands, shovels or
anything else. I heard a cry for help, the hope grew inside me, and I
stepped up the digging. We found my uncle and his crippled wife under
the rubble, in a very poor condition. They were trapped under the
rubble for 8 days, that’s why they did not make it.”
Al-Shieby
breathed deeply before going on, “We kept digging till we reached
the bodies of my father, two sisters, and my sister-in-law. The four
of them held hands together to form, with their bodies, a shield to
protect the children…But, they all died, yes, all of them.
Al-Shieby
asserted that the Israeli occupation forces never warned the people
before bulldozing their homes on their heads. “Our home was the
first to be brought down, they [Israelis] gave no warnings. They just
bulldozed it on their heads. For 8 days, the Israeli tanks passed over
the rubble, they [Israeli forces] knew there were people under the
rubble. They had maps and data about the houses and their inhabitants
before destroying them.
“If
that is not a war crime, what is it then?” Al-Shieby asked through
his tears.
He
tried to get hold of himself and said through his wet, yet strong
eyes: “The Israelis destroyed the old city, everything, monuments,
people…even the dreams.”
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