‘We Are Another Gaza’: Palestinians in Shock after Israeli Raid on West Bank

 A Palestinian man inspects damaged houses following an Israeli military operation in the West Bank refugee camp of Nur Shams, Tulkarem Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP)
A Palestinian man inspects damaged houses following an Israeli military operation in the West Bank refugee camp of Nur Shams, Tulkarem Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP)
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‘We Are Another Gaza’: Palestinians in Shock after Israeli Raid on West Bank

 A Palestinian man inspects damaged houses following an Israeli military operation in the West Bank refugee camp of Nur Shams, Tulkarem Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP)
A Palestinian man inspects damaged houses following an Israeli military operation in the West Bank refugee camp of Nur Shams, Tulkarem Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP)

Palestinian residents of the Israeli-occupied West Bank expressed shock and despair Friday at the outcome of an Israeli raid on their refugee camp: bullet-riddled walls, destroyed homes and piles of concrete blocks.

"We are another Gaza, especially in the refugee camps," said Nayef Alaajmeh, a resident of the Nur Shams camp in the city of Tulkarem, as he surveyed the damage following a devastating Israeli raid on the camp that ended late on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Israeli forces launched a widespread "counter-terrorism" operation in several West Bank cities and refugee camps, including Nur Shams.

At least 19 Palestinians have been killed so far in the raids, according to the Israeli military and the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah. The majority of those killed were militants.

The Israeli military initially sent bulldozers to tear up tarmac streets, sending clouds of dust over the targeted areas.

AFP footage showed camp residents walking cautiously through streets littered with burnt tires and other debris.

Municipality workers and residents were already at work trying to salvage what they could.

Many residents compared the devastation to that in Gaza, where nearly 11 months of war have left much of the Palestinian territory destroyed.

"Today, we are just like Gaza, war or no war... (but) we are steadfast and the people of Gaza are also steadfast," said Nabil Abu Shala, another resident of Nur Shams camp.

Fuad Kanuh, who runs a shop on the ground floor of the building where he lives, said gas cylinders exploded during the raid, apparently hit by explosives.

Almost everything in the shop is now charred and blackened by soot, but that did not stop Kanuh from pulling out what he could -- an air conditioning unit and a television hanging from a wall.

The Israeli military is officially forbidden from entering West Bank cities and refugee camps, which are autonomous zones under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

- 'Pressure on resistance' -

Nur Shams has nevertheless been a regular target of Israeli raids.

Members of armed groups in the camp no longer wear face masks to conceal their identities, as they consider themselves to be "on the path to martyrdom".

They are often targeted by Israeli armored vehicles, snipers or drones.

Violence in the West Bank has soared since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7 after the Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel.

But even before that, the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, was the scene of regular violence.

In the 10 months preceding October 7, the United Nations recorded 200 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank, which at the time was the highest toll during a period of that length since it began compiling such data in 2005.

Since October 7, around 640 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, according to the UN.

Although the death toll does not compare with that in Gaza, which the health ministry there says has crossed 40,600, the West Bank is not officially at war.

Three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, as well as half a million Israeli Jews in settlements considered illegal under international law.

"The occupation forces have destroyed the infrastructure and vandalized the roads, property and cars," militant Abu Mohammed told AFP.

"They even demolished and vandalized the mosque."

In Al-Faraa refugee camp in the nearby city of Tubas, Mohammed Mansur, a member of the central committee of the communist People's Party, attended a funeral of four Palestinians killed on Wednesday during the Israeli raid.

"Here too they have carried out many massacres and bombings to put pressure on the resistance," Mansur said.

"They want the people to turn against the resistance, but that will not happen," he said, as bodies of those killed, wrapped in Palestinian flags, were laid to rest.

Before their burial, the bodies were carried through the camp in a funeral procession, with mourners walking on the streets freshly torn up by Israeli bulldozers.

As the procession advanced, young men brandishing automatic rifles fired into the air.



Iranian Documentary Shows Soleimani Touring Saddam Hussein’s Palace

Soleimani inspects a ceiling in Saddam Hussein’s palace
Soleimani inspects a ceiling in Saddam Hussein’s palace
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Iranian Documentary Shows Soleimani Touring Saddam Hussein’s Palace

Soleimani inspects a ceiling in Saddam Hussein’s palace
Soleimani inspects a ceiling in Saddam Hussein’s palace

A video showing Qassem Soleimani, the late commander of Iran’s Quds Force, exploring one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces has stirred significant controversy on social media.

The 30-second video, released by the Tasnim news agency, shows Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an Iran-backed paramilitary group in Iraq, walking through a ruined palace once owned by the former Iraqi president.

Tasnim, which is affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, said the footage, aired for the first time, is part of an Iranian documentary.

Also in the video are Ahmed al-Asadi, Iraq’s current Labor Minister, and Mohammed Sahib al-Daraji, a former Minister of Construction and Housing.

On January 3, 2020, Soleimani was killed alongside al-Muhandis in a US airstrike near Baghdad International Airport.

Years earlier, the US Treasury Department had placed Soleimani on its blacklist for his alleged “terrorist” activities in the region.

Later, an Iranian TV station (TW) released the full documentary titled “The Builder... and The Destroyer,” focusing on Qassem Soleimani and Saddam Hussein.

The video doesn’t specify when Soleimani visited Saddam’s palace, but the presence of Iraqi officials suggests it was after 2014.

The footage shows Soleimani inspecting the palace’s damage and touching a marble column, with al-Muhandis explaining the details.

The documentary also includes clips of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad shortly before the 2003 US invasion, with Iraqis discussing their inability to visit Shiite shrines under the Baath regime.

The documentary highlights the role of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in restoring Shiite shrines in Najaf and Karbala, which were damaged in 1991.

It features Iranian officials, including former Iranian ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi, who discuss the Revolutionary Guard’s efforts in expanding and developing these shrines.

The film presents these efforts as a way to enhance annual Muharram visits, which were suppressed under the Baath regime. It also describes the Revolutionary Guard's fight against ISIS as a mission to protect Shiite shrines in Iraq and Syria.

At the end of the documentary, Soleimani is seen at the Sayyida Zainab shrine in Syria, receiving a key from a soldier.

Iraqis reacted strongly to the video, with many criticizing officials for letting Soleimani enter Saddam’s palace. Bloggers pointed out that the US, which invaded Iraq, allowed Iran to gain influence there and later was responsible for Soleimani’s assassination.