In East Jerusalem, a general strike and a call for “civil disobedience” were launched by Palestinians on Sunday 19 Sunday. A response, they say, to the punitive measures imposed by far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Among the neighborhoods concerned: Issawiya, Jabal al-Mukaber and the Shuafat refugee camp. The latter is boiling. The residents denounce a “policy of harassment and aggression carried out by the Israeli authorities”.
With our special correspondent in the Shuafat refugee camp, Alice Froussard
At dawn, at the entrance to the Shuafat refugee camp: burning tires and barricades to prevent Israeli forces from entering. A way of protesting against what the inhabitants call ” these collective punishments “.
Bashar, 22, a young hairdresser, was born and raised in the refugee camp.
You know, it’s the same everywhere: in Nablus, in Jenin, in all of Jerusalem… The Shuafat camp is the mother of martyrs. We suffer, but we remain worthy. The Israelis, on the other hand, are becoming more and more brutal: they arrest everyone, there are incursions, recently at the checkpoint, they even asked a teenager to remove his clothes before beating him. They also hit children, women.
He specifies that here, they consider themselves the forgotten, relegated behind the wall, but within the borders of the municipality of Jerusalem: “ In the camp, we can only depend on ourselves. It is neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority that cares about our situation. Person. We don’t have a state that takes care of us, so we are never safe with what happens in the camp. »
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“They are closed because they are angry”
On the ground, the remains of sound grenades, bombs, tear gas, signs of incursions by the police or soldiers. A few burnt garbage cans are still smoking. Another resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, points to all the shops that have closed the curtain: “ That’s not people who are afraid, it’s a strike. They are closed, because they are angry, pissed off about this situation he says.
After the recent attacks in East Jerusalem, the Israeli police have only increased their presence there, notably in the Shuafat camp, which has actually been in turmoil for a week, and the attack on a teenager 13-year-old against an Israeli policeman on a bus.
Over the past week, the crackdown has involved the demolition of at least seven buildings, the arrest of 100 people, the setting up of dozens of roadblocks and checkpoints, the confiscation of money and property former and current political prisoners or the withdrawal of citizenship from the families of the attackers, among others.
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“These young people have only seen oppression”
On the spot, all the people we met said: “ The more oppression there is, the more violence there will be. »
The attack that took place at the checkpoint last week was a 13-year-old child. And what was his answer when questioned? That it’s because of what he saw on a daily basis. These young people have not lived through the intifadas, these young people have only seen the oppression, they have only seen what Israel is doing at the moment. They never saw even the hope of a state. So this is what happens: the more oppression there is, the more martyrs there are, the more demolitions there are, and the more the population will react in this way. This is what Israel is planning. In addition, in Jerusalem, before security and street management, it was the police. Now, here in Shuafat, there are also soldiers, it’s the army. And they have orders to shoot to kill.
Shadi, 40, lives in Shuafat refugee camp