pictures from Tulkarem city

to view my blog posting from tulkarem:
http://occupiedlove.blogspot.com/2006/11/journals-plans-for-nablus-tulkarem.html

i have a second photo series from tulkarem that i will post at a later time. its 26 pictures of the kids of tulkarem that lived near the office were we slept. some of the pictures are even taken by these kids. i'm planning to post this series soon.

tulkarem city #1, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

tulkarem city #2, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

tulkarem city #3, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

tulkarem graffiti #1, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

social service center in blue, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

tulkarem graffiti #3, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

apartheid wall around Tulkarem, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

tulkarem graffiti #4, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

chemical factory, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

this chemical factory once was inside of Israeli territory. after some time, the Israelis complained that the plant was letting off toxic chemicals into their community, and through community pressure, the plant was closed and relocated to the Palestinian west bank, to the city of Tulkarem.

the plant is hated by the residents of Tulkarem, and has been the site of numerous protests. in response, occupation forces surrounded it with a high wall, and built watch towers along the wall to monitor and shoot from.

billboard for a martyr, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

tulkarem graffiti #5, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

this is graffiti from the Hamas movement's armed wing, the al-Qassam brigades. it uses calligraphy to shape the group's name into a machine gun.

the posters of the martyrs, tulkarem, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

tulkarem graffiti #6, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

annexed home, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

this home has been separated from Tulkarem city by the barrier shown here. the home is now on the "Israeli" side of the barrier, and the home's residents can no longer reach their friends, their community and their former lives.

the residents told us that occupation soldiers are designated to be present at the gate twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. at these times, the soldiers can unlock the gates and allow the family through.

the family reported that often times, the soldiers do not show up, leaving them stuck in their homes, or stuck in the city. there are many families like this. many families whose homes and lives have been radically altered because of the route of the apartheid wall, or in the case of this section, the apartheid fence.

new base near Taybeh #1, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

this is a construction site on the outskirts of Taybeh village, southwest of Tulkarem city. the local residents report that the new structure will likely be a military base and detention center.

new base near Taybeh #2, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

this is a construction site on the outskirts of Taybeh village, southwest of Tulkarem city. the local residents report that the new structure will likely be a military base and detention center.

military road near Taybeh village, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

this is an Israeli-only road used by the military. the road cuts through Taybeh village and is in close proximity to the new structure, thought to be a military base, being built on the outskirts of Taybah village.

pictures from Huwarra checkpoint

hijabs, hills and a watch tower, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

Huwarra checkpoint #1, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

Huwarra checkpoint #2, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

Huwarra checkpoint #3, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

Huwarra checkpoint #4, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

here you can notice that even the vehicles of the international red cross are held in the car queue of the checkpoint

Huwarra checkpoint #5, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

Huwarra checkpoint #6, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

this is the queue of cars waiting to drive south, exiting Nablus

Huwarra checkpoint #7, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

inspecting a hijab #1, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

here a female occupation soldier frisks a Palestinian woman's hijab, searching her hair and neck in plain view of male soldiers and Palestinian males waiting to cross.

inspecting a hijab #2, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

here a female occupation soldier frisks a Palestinian woman's hijab, searching her hair and neck in plain view of male soldiers and Palestinian males waiting to cross.

Huwarra checkpoint #8, originally uploaded by michaelramallah

Huwarra checkpoint #9, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

pictures from Assira al-Shamaliya

child's holy qur'an, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

in the background children are playing. they are scrambling to scatter a large pile of nuts that had been carefully swept into a pile by whoever harvested them. they were drying on the roof and the kids found them and kicked them around.

during the melee, two formations of American made, f-16 fighter jets screamed overhead on their way north to bomb Lebanon. with the planes overhead and the kids chasing one another behind, this boy at center ran for his child’s qur’an and posed. the roof is on a home we had visited to get a good look at the village of Assira Shamaliya.

we were visiting the village to speak with a local non-violent organizer about plans for the olive harvest which was to occur in two months.

Assira al-Shamaliya village #1, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

4 boys, 1 donkey, 1 bike, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

man and son #1, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

man and son #2, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

roof tops of Assira, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

Assira al-Shamaliya village #2, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

sweeping nuts, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

pictures from Anata village & ICAHD

looming in the background, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

this is the view from the yard of the ICAHD house. in the foreground is the fence used to hand clothes to dry, and in the background, the path of the apartheid wall and a newly built prison.

jerusalem is just over this hill, but for palestinians, the journey is much longer.

blog entry describing my work with ICHAD in anata:
http://occupiedlove.blogspot.com/2006/11/journals-driving-south-all-day.html

Rachel Corie Peace House, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

a mural painted on ICAHD's Rachel Corie Peace House.

the mural shows an occupation bulldozer demolishing the homes of palestinians, and the angelic spirits of Rachel Corie and a palestinian woman, both killed while resisting home demolitions.

this building has been demolished three times, and rebuilt three times by the dedicated activists of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions.

blog entry describing my work with ICHAD in anata:
http://occupiedlove.blogspot.com/2006/11/journals-driving-south-all-day.html

new & improved apartheid wall, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

here you can see the razed land marking the route of the apartheid wall. the area is first cleared, then the foundation laid, and then the wall built.

this section features a newer design of the wall. it looks more like a permanent structure, and less like a temporary military structure. the occupation has replaced the gray slabs with beige brick-style walls.

when this section of the wall is completed, villages like anata will be cut off from jerusalem. only a few yards behind this wall is the newly built prison overlooking anata village.

blog entry describing my work with ICHAD in anata
http://occupiedlove.blogspot.com/2006/11/journals-driving-south-all-day.html

a prison, a tower & Jerusalem, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

here you can see a wall created to hide the prison overlooking anata. you can also see a military watch tower that overlooks the village, and in the far background, you can see jerualem.

in relation to the other images, the prison is just to the left of this shot, and the path of the apartheid wall is just underneath this image.

blog entry describing my work with ICHAD in anata:
http://occupiedlove.blogspot.com/2006/11/journals-driving-south-all-day.html

the new prison, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

this is a close up of the newly built prison constructed to overlook the village of anata.

ICAHD in Anata village, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

blog entry describing my work with ICHAD in anata:
http://occupiedlove.blogspot.com/2006/11/journals-driving-south-all-day.html

building in the middle, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

blog entry describing my work with ICHAD in anata:
http://occupiedlove.blogspot.com/2006/11/journals-driving-south-all-day.html

3 demolished homes, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

ICHAD activists are joined by volunteers from ISM to rebuild a palestinian home that has been demolished by occupation forces.

the home is one of five in this lot that has been recently destroyed. if you look carefully, you can see that on either side of the home under construction are piles of rubble. this home is being rebuilt in between two other demolished homes, one on each side.

blog entry describing my work with ICHAD in anata:
http://occupiedlove.blogspot.com/2006/11/journals-driving-south-all-day.html

a new home in Anata, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

blog entry describing my work with ICHAD in anata:
http://occupiedlove.blogspot.com/2006/11/journals-driving-south-all-day.html

Jericho prison picture series

jericho prison untilted #1, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

on march 14, 2006, occupation forces attacked a palestinian-controlled prison in the town of jericho, in an attempt to capture several jailed palestinians, most notably, Ahmed Saadat, the secretary general of the popular front for the liberation of palatine (PFLP). occupation soldiers surrounded the building, and ordered all the prison staff and detainees inside to strip naked and exit the building to surrender. about 170 prisoners and staff stripped to their underwear and surrendered, but approximately 30 others remained inside, hiding from occupation forces. these 30 men eventually surrendered after nightfall.

before, during and after demanding that the prison surrender, the building was blasted with tank shells, at least one missile from an attack helicopter, fired at with machine guns, hit with grenades and other explosives, and finally partially demolished from outside by armored bulldozers.

prior to the incursion into the prison, the building was guarded by british soldiers, and monitored by american forces, as per an international agreement. earlier in march, british foreign secretary jack straw argued that the role of the british soldiers was in jeopardy and unsafe, though the soldiers remained in place. on march 14, the day of the attack, british guards mysteriously left their posts and exited jericho minutes before occupation forces attacked, leading many to believe that there was coordination between israel, britain and the united states.

the targets of the prison attack were six palestinian fighters, five of which, including Saadat, are accused of killing Rehavam Ze'evi, the israeli tourism minister, in 2001. the sixth wanted man, Fuad Shubaki, was involved in a plan to smuggle weapons in 2002. the purpose of the attack on jericho prison was to either kill these men, or to transfer them from palestinian to israeli custody.

during the attack on the jail, three men were killed, including one prisoner and one prison guard. additionally, dozens of palestinians were wounded in the attack which lasted over nine hours.

jericho prison untilted #2, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

jericho prison untilted #3, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

jericho prison untilted #4, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

these colors don't run, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

in one of the smaller rooms of the partially demolished jericho prison, i found this. it appears to be the outline of a palestinian flag, burned into the wall.

the entire room was burned, but the image of the flag, the symbol of a future nation, remained.

there's a hole in the wall, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

this is the backside of jericho prison. here you can see a hole in the wall, likely from a tank shell or similar projectile fired by occupation forces as they attacked the prison on march 16, 2006.

underneath the hole, the ground was warped from tank treads and the heavy tires and tracks of armored bulldozers.

bullet holes in the wall of jericho prison, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

one big hole, missing wall, many small holes, originally uploaded by michaelramallah.

this is the front of jericho prison, where you can see a large hole on the second floor, from a tank shell or a missile, as well as a great deal of machine gun fire on the taller tower. on the far left, you can see where the outer wall has been demolished and the upper floor collapsed.