Nabi Salah battle to span generations?
Spat over local spring turns into violent clashes between Palestinian protesters, security forces
Almost a year has past since the confrontation between Neveh Tzuf settlers and their Palestinian neighbors in the West Bank village of Nabi Salah erupted over usage of local spring water in the Ramallah area.
What began as a small argument soon turned into a routine brawl between the security forces and the locals, who are supported by Israeli and international left-wing activists and anarchists.
For the past few months, dozens of activists have been showing up every Friday for a protest. The difference between this situation and the one in the West Bank villages of Bilin and Ni'lin, which host weekly protests against the security fence, is that no fence exists in Nabi Salah.
On many occasions, the brawl may turn into a 'cat and mouse' game between security forces and protestors, who are able to flee the scene, causing security to enter the village homes for long hours in search of them.
This might be the reason why after a grueling few months of incisive brawls, the Nabi Salah protests have earned the dubious title of being the toughest and most violent currently taking place in the West Bank. Ynet reporters joined demonstrators on Friday to experience this first hand.
Lieutenant-Colonel Shahar Shitrit is the one in charge of dispersing these demonstrations every week, in an attempt to reduce the number of injuries. He has instructed his soldiers to prefer the use of tear gas against protesters and to try and avoid using rubber bullets.
If there is no other choice, he said, rubber bullets are put to use to ensure a direct hit of the stone throwers and as a mean to not harm those around them. Despite these honest and great attempts, the harsh reality in the field makes things more difficult.
No Shelter
11:30 am - Just before noon dozens gather at the only mosque in Nabi Salah for Friday prayers. When prayer time is over, they exit the mosque and with the support of Israeli and international activists, they begin their protest march against Border Guard and IDF forces, who have prepared themselves ahead of time for this violent ritual.
Routinely, the demonstration quickly turns into a stone throwing event, causing protesters to clash with security forces – an event which usually ends only at night. The soldiers and guards enter the villages, wandering around the streets using tear gas, and sometimes stun grenades and rubber bullets, to defend themselves against stone throwers.
Nabi Salah becomes one giant war zone, filling residents' homes, rooms and backyards with tear gas. Wandering grenades sometimes break through house windows and explode inside, making it difficult for residents to secure a sheltered area. It does not matter whether the stone thrower is masked, a three-year-old or someone who is not involved in the brawl – everyone, eventually, breaths in the tear gas.
This situation in Nabi Salah is not convenient for either side. No one in the IDF wishes to harm innocent citizens, but they have not yet found a way to fight the protestors without harming non-participating residents. On the other side, the demonstrators find it difficult to protest what they consider to be land theft in an alternative way.
The Nabi Salah residents are living between a rock and a hard place, in a reality of an ongoing war. The more things seem to get worse, the more hate they develop towards Israel and anything having to do with it.
Mahmoud Tamimi, the village mayor's uncle, said that if no peaceful agreement is reached Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will declare the dismantlement of the Palestinian National Authority, return territories to Israeli control and so pave the way to an all out resistance to the occupation. He added that if their children will suffer, so will the Israeli children.
Tamimi thinks that even though the Nabi Salah protest began due to local events, it is now a full-on Palestinian struggle against settlements and Israeli presence in the territories.
He claimed that they are not demonstrating just because of stolen lands, but because of the occupation in general. Tamimi added that Israel must return their land and go back to 1967 borders so they can establish an independent Palestinian state.
We want peace, but that only as a result of mutual respect and after we have a country of our own, Tamimi said. He criticized Israel, saying that its occupation of another people does it no good.
Children, grandchildren will continue fight
Tamimi explained that the political freeze and their difficult day to day life leave them no other choice. He said he can not raise his children as long as Israel controls every single aspect of his life, arresting his people during the night and shooting them during the day. If this is the case, he said, he would rather continue his protest.
Tamimi added that he has nothing to lose and promised that if he fails, his children and grandchildren will carry on fighting. Dismantling the settlements and returning to 1967 borders is the only way to ensure a brighter and more peaceful future for children of both sides, he said.
The villagers and anarchists assiting the demonstrators blame IDF soldiers for the violence, but the situation in the field is a lot more complicated. No mutual trust or will to negotiate exists between the two sides, and hatred abounds.
The communication between security forces and Nabi Salah residents centers around stone throwing and dispersing of tear gas, which has managed to seep into the ground and fill the air.
Last Friday was relatively quiet in the village, possibly because the presence of journalists caused the sides to avoid crossing any red lines.
Despite it all, it is hard to ignore the pictures taken of the 24-year-old village resident Raafat Bar Rufi, his head bloodied by a grenade. He was eventually evacuated to a nearby hospital in Ramallah.
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