Two Women from Nablus describe a House Demolition

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Ibtisam and Nihal Abu Sirriya, two women from Nablus, described in an interview the events surrounding the demolition of a home they witnessed in the city on the night and early morning of January 18th-19th.

The Israeli army came into Nablus at 9 p.m. on January 18th and surrounded the area around the house. They entered from Huwarra, Beit Iba, and Jabal al Tur. It is claimed that there were 120-130 military vehicles, including six bulldozers. Drones were flying overhead and so were Apache helicopters. Women and children were ordered to leave and taken to the school about 75 metres away. The fans were turned on in the school and it was very cold. Children were frightened and crying. People tried to leave other houses nearby but orders were screamed at them to remain where they were. Soldiers said that they were going to demolish two houses.

The women and children were kept in the school until 5 a.m. At one point the children were told to put their fingers in their ears because there was going to be a loud explosion. There was! When the women and children were released, they found nothing but ruins and water from burst pipes flowing down the street. There was no electricity.

Ibtisam and Nihal Abu Sirriya, two sisters-in-law, lived on the ground floor of a house across the street from the demolition. Three families lived in the house. Also living with the two women were Nihal’s mother, brother (Ibtisam’s husband), sister, and her husband. They are now living in a rented house – 10 people, including two small children, in three small rooms in the Old City. Their own house was very severely damaged and is now both dangerous and uninhabitable. It will be six months to a year before they can expect to return home. Funds have to be made available for reconstruction. Nothing was rescued from the house – not even clothes. The estimated total cost of repairs to all the properties is of the order of one and a half million U.S. dollars. There have been rumours about the army apologizing for the destruction of the house and that it was a mistake; no evidence has yet been found to verify this statement. If it were true, the Governor’s office would demand money from Israel.

The army said they were looking for Amjad al Hinawi and claimed that he had come to visit his sister in the house that was demolished. The sister was arrested along with 25 others. All those arrested, including a boy aged 12 –13, had their hands tied. The man’s father was made to shout through a loud-hailer, “If you are here, my son, then give yourself up,” but the wanted man was not there. The soldiers pointed guns at the man’s mother and demanded she tell them where her son was. The brother of the wanted man was beaten, his clothes torn, and he was made to lead the army to the different apartments in the house. The wanted man belonged to Hamas. Another brother had been killed by the army, which said that he was preparing to go on a suicide mission. The arrested people were still under investigation as of January 31st.

The husband of one of the witnesses belongs to Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade and has been on the wanted list for three years. They have a small baby boy who only rarely sees his father.

Another family (the Kababji family) was arrested the following night. The army returned the three following nights. The witnesses are still in fear of the army. On the night before the interview (January 30th-31st), a sound grenade was exploded in the Old City and there was shooting; the army is reported to come into the Old City every night and use the rooftops for observation. The witnesses said they had been exposed to violence many times simply because they lived near the Old City. The army has often entered their house, sometimes holding their mother (who has a heart condition) at gunpoint. “They say there is a solution now. We cannot see a solution since the army is entering the old city of Nablus every night….the army has now said there will be no extra judicial killings. I’ll believe it when I see it,” said one of the women.