Naplouse – Second jour de l’invasion totale

Ma’an aujourd’hui 26/02/07

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=19854

2nd day of Nablus incursion : 1st Palestinian casualty, residents under siege in their homes, school becomes a prison

The Israeli military operation in Nablus entered its second day on Monday with its first casualty and an Israeli confirmation that it will last for many more days.

On Monday, the Israeli forces killed Anan At Tibi, 42, in his home in the Al Yasmina neighbourhood of the city, our correspondent reported. The Israeli soldiers also fired at and injured his son, 24-year-old Ashraf, who they took away to an unknown destination.

Earlier, the Israeli troops also arrested the owner and director of the local TV station ’Al Sanabel’, 43-year-old Sheikh Nayef Breik, and seized all appliances and transmission devices owned by the station.

An Najah University and the education directorate of Nablus announced the suspension of the study for the second day due to the Israeli incursion.

Israeli sources reported that the number of Palestinians arrested in Nablus since the start of the incursion has reached 30, the sources added that some of them are ’wanted’ as a threat to Israeli security. Israeli sources also reported that the Israeli troops were shot at by Palestinian resistance men on Monday but no casualties occurred.

Palestinian sources denied the reports, stating that none of the arrested men were ’wanted’.

Eyewitnesses told Ma’an that the Israeli forces are using Jamal Abdul Nasser School, in the old city, as a detention and interrogation centre. The witnesses said that dozens of Palestinians were taken to the school for interrogation ; they added that several Israeli intelligence officers are participating in the interrogation. The officers are focusing on Palestinians they consider ’wanted’ and were questioning people about members of the Al Aqsa Brigades, the main military wing of Fatah.

On Sunday, the first day of the incursion, the Israeli forces bombed a house belonging to one of the Al Aqsa Brigades leaders in the city, Bassim Abu Sariya, also known as Qazafi. The now demolished house was located in the Al Yasmina neighbourhood, which has been the focus of many of the Israeli army’s recent attacks.

Sources in the neighbourhood said that the Israeli forces bombed the house after ransacking it. They added that Abu Sariya has been ’wanted’ for the last seven years and has escaped many assassination and arrest attempts.

The witnesses also said that the Israeli forces are using many of the houses as military posts ; they confirmed that the Israeli forces occupied many of the houses in the old city, especially the neighbourhoods of Al Yasmina, Sheikh Muslim and Ad Deiry.

The Israeli military forced residents of many houses into one room and prevented them from moving or communicating with the outside world.