Death in Nablus

This morning we awoke to news that the Israeli army had entered the city last night and had killed two Palestinian men, one of whom was a student at An-Najah University. Apparently, the IDF was looking for a militant from Islamic Jihad and had entered a Nablus neighborhood where they believed he was located. According to eyewitnesses we talked to, the Israeli army blew open the door to a university dorm building and then broke into the dorm itself. One person, a student at An-Najah was shot fifteen times while still laying in bed. The second person, allegedly the man the IDF was looking for, appeared to have been injured by explosives set by the IDF and may have been shot afterward.

I was able to gain access to the dorm building to take photos as soon as the Palestinian police had given me the green light after they finished their search for any unexploded ordinance. The scene inside was surreal. A large hole had been blasted through the wall into the apartment next door. Furniture and personal belongings were strewn about almost as if a tornado had gone through. In the bedroom, you could see blood that had already soaked into the mattress and spilled on to the floor.

I don’t think I quite realized what I was shooting when I was shooting it. You just go into a zone and start shooting. It really didn’t hit me until later that I had photographed a scene where, only a couple hours earlier, two men had been killed.

After photographing the building, my fellow photographer, who I call Judge, took me to Rafidia Hospital where we heard there was going to be a martyr parade through the city. Despite the morbid nature of the event, I have to admit I was quite excited for the opportunity to photograph something I had only previously seen on the news. When we arrived at the hospital, however, we learned that the bodies had been taken to Jenin, which is where one of the young men was from.

Reuters is reporting that both young men were militants. One from Islamic Jihad and one from Hamas. From what I gather, one may have, in fact, been affiliated with Islamic Jihad but it is unlikely that the other was associated with any militant group. In fact, Israel, at first, denied killing two people. It was only later that this was changed and they claimed the second person was with Hamas. Doubtful.

Anyway, here are a few photos…

Tags: Featured, idf, israel, My Photos, nablus, palestine, travel