gelatik
16.04.02, 00:49
Nine Family Members Buried Under The Rubble
NABLUS, West Bank, April 15 – Hour after hour, Israel’s terrorist atrocities in
the Palestinian city of Nablus come to light. Digging the rubble piled
everywhere in the destroyed streets and buildings of the camp reveals more
evidence of the Israeli army’s war crimes. Children, women and old men were
slaughtered for no reason but being Palestinians.
Nine members of Al-Shieby family were buried under the rubble of their home.
Three children, three women, and two men, one was 85 years old and the other
fifty; they were all buried when Israeli bulldozers destroyed their house on
their heads without warning.
The only surviving family member, Mahmoud Al-Shieby, told IslamOnline about the
details of the tragic death of all his family members. “To lose a family member
is a tragic and sad thing, yet you may live with it. But, to lose, in a blink
of an eye, all your family members…Your wife, children, sisters, brother, and
father…this is a disaster before which I have nothing to say, but to resort to
Almighty Allah”.
Al-Shieby goes on saying, “I was in touch with my sister Fatima (57 years old-
a teacher) till Friday, April 5, 2002. Then, I tried hard to contact her again,
but in vain. I felt suspicious, especially when I heard about a terrible attack
by the Zionist occupation forces on the old city [of Nablus], where my father,
sister, brother and family, uncle and his wife lived.
“I started asking about them everywhere, asked everyone and I was told my
family was safe at Nasser’s School with others who left their homes. Two days
later, I knew my family was not at the school. I did not know what to do, felt
so helpless. Occupation forces imposed a strict curfew, allowed no one to check
the destroyed buildings. I had to wait, on tenterhooks, till Friday, April 12,
when the curfew was lifted.
“Our house, in al-Qaraween Alley, was old and consisted of three floors. My
uncle, 80, and his crippled wife, 70, lived on the first floor. My brother, a
47-year-old bank employee, his pregnant wife, 40, and his children (9, 7, and
4) lived on the second floor. My father, 85 and my two sisters, 57 and 37,
lived on the third.
“I hoped to find them, or at least some of them, alive. With the help of some
people, we went on digging, with our bare hands, shovels or anything else. I
heard a cry for help, the hope grew inside me, and I stepped up the digging. We
found my uncle and his crippled wife under the rubble, in a very poor
condition. They were trapped under the rubble for 8 days, that’s why they did
not make it.”
Al-Shieby breathed deeply before going on, “We kept digging till we reached the
bodies of my father, two sisters, and my sister-in-law. The four of them held
hands together to form, with their bodies, a shield to protect the children…
But, they all died, yes, all of them.
Al-Shieby asserted that the Israeli occupation forces never warned the people
before bulldozing their homes on their heads. “Our home was the first to be
brought down, they [Israelis] gave no warnings. They just bulldozed it on their
heads. For 8 days, the Israeli tanks passed over the rubble, they [Israeli
forces] knew there were people under the rubble. They had maps and data about
the houses and their inhabitants before destroying them.
“If that is not a war crime, what is it then?” Al-Shieby asked through his
tears.
He tried to get hold of himself and said through his wet, yet strong eyes: “The
Israelis destroyed the old city, everything, monuments, people…even the
dreams.”
