According to local medical sources, 38 Palestinians, including a blind teenager, have been injured by Israeli gunfire thus far, during the two-day invasion of the city of Nablus.Khaldoun Salem, 16, who is blind, was seriously injured by Israeli gunfire when soldiers shot him in front of his home.
Thirty-two-year-old Ahmad Abu Hantash was shot in the head as he walked to the mosque for Friday prayers in the west of the city.
Dr Ghassan Hamdan, director of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees, said on Friday afternoon that in the two days that Israeli forces have been inside the city, medical personnel have treated 38 people for gunshot wounds. There have been no fatalities, but some of the injuries have been quite serious.
Dr. Hamdan said, ‘This situation will have tragic consequences if it is allowed to continue. We call on the international community and human rights institutions to stop such violations and to put an end to the collective punishment that is being practiced in the city of Nablus. We also demand the immediate release of medical personnel,’
Israeli forces have prevented ambulances from reaching many of the wounded, and have stopped other ambulances at checkpoints as they attempt to bring the wounded to the hospital.
updated from:
The Israeli army attack in Nablus continues for the second consecutive day
Ameen Abu Wardeh
Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:45:40
The Israeli army attack continued on Friday morning in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. In the second consecutive day of the military attack they continued to assault medical crews obstructing them from doing their work.
In the old city of Nablus a Palestinian with special needs was injured, the army claimed that he had broken the curfew imposed by the Israeli army in the city. After they injured him the army then helped transfer him to a hospital outside of the old city.
According to reports from the residents in the old city, the army is carrying out ransacking operations in civilians’ homes based on maps in their possession. Scores of poor families who live in the old city of Nablus have appealed for Human Rights organizations to provide them with their basic needs as they were not prepared for the curfew.
Israeli sources claimed that the objective of the operation is to kidnap what Israel call ‘wanted Palestinians’ and to find weapons. They claim they have found a weapons cache containing home-made missiles and explosive devices. The also kidnapped at least six Palestinians.
The medical care committee in Nablus reported that military forces captured the head of the voluntary work department who is also a medic, they handcuffed and blindfolded him, leaving him for more than five hours in the very cold weather. They then moved the man to an unknown detention center claiming that he is a ‘wanted Palestinian’. Another two medics were also injured while they were working.
The offensive started on Thursday at dawn as Israeli troops, supported by dozens of armored vehicles and jeeps, invaded Nablus and imposed a curfew in the Old City and the surrounding neighborhoods. By Thursday midday the Israeli army had injured 33 Palestinian civilians among them four critically injured. Of the 33 Palestinians injured, 4 are children and 1 is an ambulance driver.
Translated by Nisreen Qumsieh – IMEMC News.
