The jeep was roaming the city. Inside it, a bunch of model Israeli soldiers, they have all thequalifications of the typical Israeli occupation army requests; ruthlessness,blood-thirst and sadism.
The jeep approach Street 15 in the Rafidya area in Nablus, residential buildings and villaswere the theme of the area.
Dr. Jamal Abu Hijleh, his wife Shaden and their son Sa’ed live in a villa on Street 15. The otherthree members of the family are out of the country. Shaden and her husband were tending to thefront garden. Sa’ed was in the glassed entrance. –some people call them sunroom or glassedporch. Shaden was famous for her love to gardening and her garden was immaculate. I know thatbecause they are parents to my twin brother Nasser’s wife, Lana.
When the jeep neared, the Abu Hijleh’s did not really hide because where they were standing atthe time was protected from both sides by the front of the house and the fence. Besides, thecurfew that started on June 20 was wearing people out. No one was expected to stay locked up for112 days, and hide every time a patrol passes. Also, the curfew’s been lifted form 6 am till 6 pmsince Wednesday–except today–, people of Nablus took this as a sign to try to get back tonormal life.
The army jeep did not just pass. It stopped suddenly and opened fire at the Abu Hijleh’s for noreason. There were no provocations –as the army calls them–; no stone throwing nordemonstrations to give excuse to the soldiers to open fire, but they did. After the incident,someone said the soldiers left the street laughing.
Shaden died on the spot, two bullets hit her in the heart and neck, Dr. Jamal and Sa’ed sufferedshrapnel wounds and were rushed to hospital. The incident lasted less than ten seconds. Tenseconds that changed a whole family.
The news shocked people instantly. Shaden was a social and peaceful activist who was veryactive in peaceful demonstrations and in helping needy people in the curfew and providingthem with food and medicine relief through the many social organizations was she was a member.She helped a lot in the returning to school campaign, which practically broke the curfew fornearly two weeks. Shaden was a good citizen, now she is dead, Murdered in cold blood.
Our news desk was receiving so many calls checking if what people heard was true. I received myshare and tried to go to hospital to offer my condolences and help to the family but the curfewwas very restricted and both the hospital where the family was taken and their home weresurrounded and sieged by the army.
I felt helpless. My brother Nasser and his wife Lana were out of the country and so were Lana’stwo other brothers, Ra’ed and Rami. Nasser and Lana were in Jordan due back on Sunday. There wasno chance possible for them to cross the borders from Amman tonight. The borders and roadsleading to Nablus are controlled by the Israeli army and were banned for Palestinians atnight.
My family finally managed to get through to Nasser and gave him the burden of delivering theunbelievable, saddening and frustrating news to Lana. He said he would shut off all the mobilephones and get Lana away from TVs and radios. He will tell her in the morning; she will not be ableto stand knowing and staying away. Sa’ed said he would take care of informing his bothers Ra’edand Rami.
I finally managed to get through to Sa’ed who had previously left his mobile with friends as hewas recovering from his wounds in hospital. He said, “They attacked us in cold blood, the areawas very quite and when the jeep passed by the house, my parents were already in the frontgarden, I was behind the glass in the porch. The jeep stopped and opened fire. I felt helpless,it is devastating”
The victim this time is a mother, the last was a father, son, daughter, grandfather… etc. Theworld media would probably brush the news flash away, and so would world leaders. For them, itis becoming too common for Palestinians to be victims.
I leave you with one question, Is Israel adopting a policy of assassinating peace activists?
The world is watching, yet has done little.
Amer Abdelhadi
TMFM 97.7