Tuesday, May 27th, at 2.45am. All is quiet at Nayef Hashlamoun's home. He and his family - his wife and their five children, ranging in ages from 12 to 20 years in age - are fast asleep. All of a sudden the whole family wakes up, they hear noises, they hear people rattling their front gate, they hear shouting and then loud hard knocking noises at their front door. Nayef gets up, turns on the lights and opens the front door, the frightened family right behind him. Eight Israeli soldiers are standing on the porch of his house, pointing a gun at him. They tell him they want to see his ID.
Random interrogation
Then Firas, the oldest son, is taken out of the house. Firas, who is 18 years old, is not allowed to put any shoes or other extra clothing on. He is ordered to give his mobile phone number and told to turn himself in to the Israeli Intelligence office for interrogation by 9am the next morning. Firas has an exam at Hebron University at that time, so Firas' father Nayef asks the commander to postpone the appointment until the afternoon. The Israeli officer refuses, after which he leaves with his soldiers.
The morning comes and Nayef and his son Firas goes to the appointment in Kfar Etzion. Firas has his picture taken. He is also asked if he is involved in any kind of political activities. Since that is not the case, he is allowed to leave the place two hours after getting there. The University gives him the chance to do his exam two days later, but still stressed from the incident, Firas fails it.
- My house and home have always been open to people from many different countries and religions. If the Israeli authorities behave like this with us, how do they then behave to other Palestinians?, he says relieved, yet also upset.
A Second Bad Surprise
Besides being a Reuters Press Agency senior-employee, Nayef has also been involved in peace activism for more than twenty years. In 1988, he founded the Al-Watan Center in Hebron. He is still the director of this organization, which provides workshops and training in civic education, conflict resolution and non-violence. To attend seminars about non-violent action, Nayef has travelled abroad many times, especially to the United States.
This spring Nayef received a scholarship to participate in a peace building program from June 2nd to June 20th at the American University in Washington DC (USA) and also in the summer program at the Fletcher School in Boston (USA) the last week of June. His son Firas, who has been involved in non-violent peace activism since he was a young boy, was invited to join his father Nayef. Yet a second bad surprise for Nayef and his family occurred after the military raid: the Israeli military authority did not give him the permission to go to Jerusalem, where he had an appointment at the American Consulate on May 28th to get a visa.
- It is the first time ever that I am not allowed to leave the West Bank. I have travelled many times and never had any problem of this kind. The Israeli administration justify their decision with their standard answer - "security reasons", he says.
No access to Jerusalem
Nayef is 54 years old, and he never had any kind of security or criminal problems. He never went to jail, and he has worked with non-violent peace activism for over twenty years. For him, all of this is starting to sound like some bad joke. Yet it is not. Nayef and his son reapplied for the permit to visit the American Consulate in Jerusalem on June 10th. Once again their permit request was denied. So the plane left without Nayef and his son Firas to Washington DC (USA) on the 1st of June. For Firas it would have been his first time abroad.
Since 1993, the Israeli authorities have introduced a permit regime that restricts access for Palestinians who hold West Bank IDs to East Jerusalem. With the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000, a series of military checkpoints and obstacles have been set up to enforce this permit system. The construction of the Barrier has made the access even more difficult. Permits are only issued for a specific reason i.e. to work, to study, for family reunification or a certain social event. Yet according to the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the permit applications are often refused on the basis of security, without any further explanation.
What happened to Nayef Hashlamoun (and his family last week) is his personal story, yet it is far from unique. His story is one which can be heard over and over again all over Palestine.
Random interrogation
Then Firas, the oldest son, is taken out of the house. Firas, who is 18 years old, is not allowed to put any shoes or other extra clothing on. He is ordered to give his mobile phone number and told to turn himself in to the Israeli Intelligence office for interrogation by 9am the next morning. Firas has an exam at Hebron University at that time, so Firas' father Nayef asks the commander to postpone the appointment until the afternoon. The Israeli officer refuses, after which he leaves with his soldiers.
The morning comes and Nayef and his son Firas goes to the appointment in Kfar Etzion. Firas has his picture taken. He is also asked if he is involved in any kind of political activities. Since that is not the case, he is allowed to leave the place two hours after getting there. The University gives him the chance to do his exam two days later, but still stressed from the incident, Firas fails it.
- My house and home have always been open to people from many different countries and religions. If the Israeli authorities behave like this with us, how do they then behave to other Palestinians?, he says relieved, yet also upset.
A Second Bad Surprise
Besides being a Reuters Press Agency senior-employee, Nayef has also been involved in peace activism for more than twenty years. In 1988, he founded the Al-Watan Center in Hebron. He is still the director of this organization, which provides workshops and training in civic education, conflict resolution and non-violence. To attend seminars about non-violent action, Nayef has travelled abroad many times, especially to the United States.
This spring Nayef received a scholarship to participate in a peace building program from June 2nd to June 20th at the American University in Washington DC (USA) and also in the summer program at the Fletcher School in Boston (USA) the last week of June. His son Firas, who has been involved in non-violent peace activism since he was a young boy, was invited to join his father Nayef. Yet a second bad surprise for Nayef and his family occurred after the military raid: the Israeli military authority did not give him the permission to go to Jerusalem, where he had an appointment at the American Consulate on May 28th to get a visa.
- It is the first time ever that I am not allowed to leave the West Bank. I have travelled many times and never had any problem of this kind. The Israeli administration justify their decision with their standard answer - "security reasons", he says.
No access to Jerusalem
Nayef is 54 years old, and he never had any kind of security or criminal problems. He never went to jail, and he has worked with non-violent peace activism for over twenty years. For him, all of this is starting to sound like some bad joke. Yet it is not. Nayef and his son reapplied for the permit to visit the American Consulate in Jerusalem on June 10th. Once again their permit request was denied. So the plane left without Nayef and his son Firas to Washington DC (USA) on the 1st of June. For Firas it would have been his first time abroad.
Since 1993, the Israeli authorities have introduced a permit regime that restricts access for Palestinians who hold West Bank IDs to East Jerusalem. With the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000, a series of military checkpoints and obstacles have been set up to enforce this permit system. The construction of the Barrier has made the access even more difficult. Permits are only issued for a specific reason i.e. to work, to study, for family reunification or a certain social event. Yet according to the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the permit applications are often refused on the basis of security, without any further explanation.
What happened to Nayef Hashlamoun (and his family last week) is his personal story, yet it is far from unique. His story is one which can be heard over and over again all over Palestine.
This article was written by John Jamal Pellaux. Merci beaucoup, ya habibi!
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