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Boston support group for the International Solidarity Movement

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bio & other reports by Ben and John

1) June 25, 2003
Ben's and John's delegate report
report 1 of 2

Challenging the Closures in Nablus

We are writing to you from the ISM apartment in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. The apartment is upstairs from a martyr's home, now slated for demolition. There are 11 internationals here, and they were surprised to see us arriving since Nablus had been sealed off through the day. We managed to enter through a small checkpoint where we claimed to be child psychologists visiting the hospital.

Our first evening we sat in on the ISM group's planning meeting for the next day's activities. It was decided that we would attempt to join Palestinians in a village just outside Nablus to remove one of several roadblocks. The catch was that there is a checkpoint on our side of the roadblock. One of the Palestinian coordinators had information that the checkpoint is sometimes open just before dawn, so we decided to wake up at 4am and march from Balata, through Askar refugee camp and out to the roadblock.

After a few hours "sleep" (due to the stifling heat and constant movement of tanks and jeeps through the camp) we headed out (see photo1).

It was still completely dark. Some of us had concerns about moving in the dark, even with reflective vests, as the military might still be active and we could also be
mistaken for soldiers by the Palestinian resistance. Also, we could hear military drones flying above, a possible indication that the army was still in the area. Luckily, we encountered no military vehicles, and in fact were offered tea by the lone passing motorist who pulled over to see who the hell were these yellow vested people.

After passing Askar camp, the landscape changed from semi-urban to a wasteland of random objects, burned out vehicles, and most bizarre, the remnants of a partly built amusement park, including a Ferris wheel and an actual passenger jet mounted on stilts (see photo 2). It seemed strange to see something like this, obviously built in a more hopeful time.

As we turned the bend we noticed a house on the hill that had been turned into a sniper post, it's right side covered with camouflage netting (see photo 3). We moved further down the road and, after missing it at first, saw an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) along with soldiers just ahead.

We offered them tea but they graciously declined (just kidding).

We sent two internationals ahead to negotiate. A soldier approached them and they spoke (see photo 4) for about 5 minutes. The soldier said that the internationals could come through but the Palestinians with us (three had joined us in Askar) would be refused passage. We decided that we would not travel without the Palestinians, and furthermore, the villagers would be unlikely to join us in the action with snipers in the hills who would surely start shooting at us. So this action resulted in little but some tension over a long walk in the dark. Nonetheless the mood of the group remained good as we returned, and some of us noted that it does appear that internationals still have some privilege here that may be used constructively in a different scenario.

The experience also reminded us of the apartheid system that privileges internationals and Israelis over the native people, and the continued collective punishment of the Palestinians.