Thousands of mourners bid farewell to three Palestinian militants who were shot during their funeral procession in Nablus. (AFP/Jaafar Ashtiyeh)
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
22 December 2005
On Thursday morning, 22 December 2005, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) extra-judicially executed 3 Palestinians in Nablus. This attack was the second of its kind in less than 24 hours, as IOF extra-judicially executed a Palestinian in Jenin on Wednesday afternoon.
According to preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 03:00 on Thursday, 22 December 2005, IOF moved into Rafidya neighborhood in Nablus. They besieged a 4-storey, under-construction building. At approximately 03:45, they opened fire at the building. The IOF gunfire continued until 06:00. A Palestinian ambulance arrived at the area, but IOF did not allow the medical crew to enter the building until 08:30. The medical crew found 3 bodies and transported them to Rafidya Hospital. IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the area, claiming that 3 other militants were able to escape from the building. According to paramedics, guns were found near the victims' bodies, and two Israeli soldiers treaded onto the bodies. PCHR's field worker in Nablus reported that the three victims were hit by several live bullets to the upper part of the body. The victims were identified as:
1. Bashar 'Abdul Latif Hanani, 22, from Beit Fourik village east of Nablus, the leader of the Abu 'Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine;
2. Ahmed 'Abdul Ra'ouf Khaled al-Jayousi, 22, from Jayous village northeast of Qalqilya, a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah movement; and
3.Anas Ahmed Mahmoud al-Sheikh Hamad, 22, from Sineeria village southeast of Qalqilya, a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
Palestinians carry the bodies of three militants killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Nablus December 22, 2005. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini
PCHR strongly condemns this latest attack and:
1. Asserts that this latest escalation that includes actions and reactions is the outcome of decisions taken by the Israeli political and military establishments two week ago to wage military campaigns against Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including extra-judicial executions and arbitrary arrests.
2. Warns of the damagers posed by military operations conducted by IOF on the lives and property of Palestinian civilians.
3. Calls upon the international community to meet its responsibilities, and calls particularly upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their obligations under the Convention to ensure protection for Palestinian civilians in the OPT, and stop crimes committed by IOF.
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Israeli troops kill 3 in Nablus
Thursday 22 December 2005 7:20 AM GMT
AL-JAZEERA - Israeli troops have shot and killed three Palestinians during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, medics said.
The Israeli army said soldiers opened fire at three wanted Palestinians fleeing a building where troops had come to arrest them on Thursday, but could not confirm their condition.
Medics said the Israeli army had told Palestinian security officials that three were killed in the raid.
Aljazeera's correspondent, Walid al-Umari, reports that the men belonged to the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
The Israeli army said its troops arrested 14 suspected resistance fighters in overnight raids in the West Bank.
The detained are mostly members of Islamic Jihad, reports al-Umari. Among the detainees is a woman by the name of Ataaf Alian who was recently released from prison. She is the mother of a one-year old child.
On Wednesday, Israeli troops shot and wounded at least six stone-throwing Palestinian youths during a raid on Nablus.
In Jenin on Wednesday, Israeli troops killed the leader of the military wing of the Hamas movement in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Zayid Khalil Musa was the leader of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Aljazeera and Agencies
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AL Aqsa Brigades: “Truce had officially ended as army resumed violations”
Saed Bannoura - Friday, 23 December 2005, 10:51
IMEMC - Ahmad Abu Ras, one of the prominent leaders of the Al Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of Fateh movement, said that the Palestinian resistance sees itself unbound to the truce after the army resumed its assassination policy and escalated its military assaults.
Abu Ras, from Balata refugee camp in Nablus, said that Israel sent a clear message to the Palestinians after it invaded Jenin and Nablus, and assassinated resistance fighters there.
Also, Abu Ras rejected the calls of the Palestinian Authority to the fighters to remain committed to the truce while they are being targeted by the Israeli army, and added that all resistance factions, including Hamas’ military wing, are currently concentrating on the success of the upcoming elections.
“Recently the army invaded Nablus, and released their wild dogs to attack and bite the residents”, Abu Ras added, “One child was moderately injured after being attacked by one of these military dogs, this incident proves the criminal intentions of the Israeli soldiers”.
Abu Ras called on the Palestinians to support the resistance fighters and protect them, and vowed to target the collaborators who are tipping the Israeli security on the locations of the fighters.
Meanwhile, Ala’ Sanaqra, one of the prominent leaders of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank, denounced what he described “the official silence of the Palestinian Authority” while Israeli resumed is assassination policy and military attacks.
Sanaqra, from Balata refugee camp, said that the P.A did not make a firm position when the army assassinated three fighters in Nablus on Thursday, “while when the head of the occupation’s government [Sharon] was sick, they all rushed to wish him fast recovery”, Sanaqra added.
“We in the Al Aqsa Brigades has always been committed to the truce, and so was Al Qassam Brigades”, Sanaqra stated, “But the army received direct orders from its political leadership to resume the assassinations, strikes, and closures”.