Latest news with #Sebastia
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Yahoo
The boy who bled to death as an Israeli soldier ‘celebrated his shot'
Sebastia, occupied West Bank – When Israeli military vehicles approach, news of the latest incursion begins cascading through Sebastia from one person to another, and the young people run home as fast as possible. They try to get back before invading soldiers reach their street, knowing all too well the potentially grave consequences if they don't. The warning cries often originate from those walking near the vantage point of Sebastia archaeological park's scenic summit. From here, people can spot army vehicles on the roads below before they reach the town and its ancient ruins, giving people a chance to hide their young. Soon after, walking prevention warnings are often circulated on social media, and the residents of Sebastia – once a religious pilgrimage site and a tourism hotspot – have the choice of hunkering down at home or facing soldiers who no longer show any restraint. 'He celebrated killing my son' In January this year, an Israeli soldier shot dead 14-year-old Ahmed Jazar and then raised his rifle in the air triumphantly after hitting the unarmed boy in the chest, piercing his heart. Witnesses saw the soldier 'celebrating' as Ahmed slowly bled to death on the ground, his father, Rashid, aged 57, told Al Jazeera. Ahmed was mature beyond his years, his parents say, and made caring for his poverty-stricken family his vocation. He was also a talented painter and wanted to train as a decorator. He aspired to open a shop so he could make enough money to buy his family a permanent home – something better than the overcrowded rental apartment they lived in. 'They shot Ahmed and killed all his dreams, right there and then,' his mother, Wafaa, said. 'The army treats us like we're in a state of war – but we've done nothing. 'Soldiers are here every day, and no one feels their children are safe unless they are at home.' Ahmed woke up in the early afternoon on the Sunday he was killed, Wafaa and Rashid say, having stayed up late playing with his friends in the neighbourhood the night before. He liked to play football in the schoolyard, cycle near the archaeological park, and eat at the town's once-busy cafes. He came back after seeing his friends and spent some time with his family, unaware that they would be sharing their final moments. Then, as the dinner hour neared, his parents sent Ahmed out to buy bread. 'It was always a habit of his to come and go in this way,' Rashid said. 'He was very sociable … everyone loved him. 'But this time, he left and never came back.' Wafaa holds a photo of her with her murdered son. To her right are her husband Rashid Jazar and Ahmed's aunt Etizaz Azim [Al Jazeera] The Israeli soldiers' frequent raids on occupied West Bank towns prompt some children and young people into acts of defiance, like throwing stones towards the heavily armed soldiers or their armoured vehicles, or shining laser pointers at them. According to some neighbours, Ahmed and his friends did shine laser pens on the fatal January day, hiding behind a wall near a nursery as some soldiers walked towards them. His family denies Ahmed's part in this. Rashid and Wafaa said they were awaiting his return from the shops so they could eat dinner together. 'He was just a child,' Rashid said. 'The Israeli soldier knew he was a young boy – and that he was no threat to the army in any way. 'He was hundreds of metres away from them when they shot him!' The bullet-dented door and facade of the nursery, established by charity Save The Children, still stand as a reminder of what happened when Ahmed was shot dead. Speaking to Israeli newspaper Haaretz in March, a military spokesperson said: 'In the wake of the incident, an investigation was launched by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division. Naturally, we cannot elaborate on an ongoing investigation.' Palestinians, including residents of Sebastia, say they are used to what they call 'sham' investigations that usually have no result, and almost certainly no punishment for perpetrators. Rashid was contacted by the military to provide information for the investigation into Ahmed's killing, but he refused. 'They killed my son and then call me to talk about justice?' he said. Al Jazeera sent written inquiries to Israeli authorities, asking for comment on the investigation into Ahmed's shooting but no response had been received by time of publication. The Israeli army often raids cities and towns in the West Bank, but few are targeted like Sebastia, where it has stepped up attacks since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu established his far-right ultranationalist government in late 2022. Since then, the military killed Fawzi Makhalfeh, aged 19, in July 2023, and Ahmed on January 19 this year. There have been at least 25 gunshot injuries in Sebastia since Netanyahu's coalition government came to power, a handful of which involved children. A 22-year-old man from the nearby town of Attil was shot in the chest while driving through Sebastia earlier this month. Violent settlers also wreak havoc on Palestinian landowners around the town, which is dependent on agriculture and tourism, and yet more settlements, official and unofficial, are set to be built around Sebastia. Soldiers attack anyone who fights back and circulate threatening messages using residents' mobile phones. One recording, heard by Al Jazeera, by what is ostensibly an Israeli soldier, accuses townspeople of being 'involved in terrorism', and warns they will 'pay the price'. The Save The Children nursery sign, riddled with bullets [Al Jazeera] Justice Wafaa and her husband sat on either side of a memorial to their slain son in the humble living room of the rented home they can barely afford. Ahmed left behind four brothers and three sisters aged between seven and 20. Rashid used to work as a painter in Israel, but, like thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, he has been unable to go to work across the border since October 7, contributing to the family's perilous financial situation. The eldest son, Rushdi, 19, works as a carpenter intermittently, and, other than Rashid, is the only family member in employment. Ahmed had dropped out of school, they said, to help his father by doing odd jobs such as painting and olive picking to generate money for the family. Wafaa, who used to make dresses, is also unable to find work and still has five young children dependent on her care. Two of Ahmed's remaining siblings, Amir, aged six, and Adam, 11, clung on to their mother as she spoke. 'I sit by Ahmed's grave and cry for hours,' Wafaa told Al Jazeera, weeks after her son's killing. 'I cry there as much as I can, so that my children don't see me – I have to be strong for them.' Israeli soldiers stand next to a military vehicle during an Israeli raid in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on March 4, 2025 [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters] The 40-year-old was incapable of keeping eye contact, as if tears would overcome her at any moment. She held up Ahmed's blood-stained clothes, torn by bullets. After the soldiers left that day, Rashid recalled rushing to the scene and pushing his way through a crowd, only to find Ahmed collapsed in a pool of blood, metres away from where he was shot. Rashid then drove with Ahmed to An-Najah Hospital in Nablus, but his son did not survive the journey. He was pronounced dead on arrival. His mother fell unconscious after hearing of Ahmed's killing, and says she awoke feeling 'defeated', as if her life was over. She says Israel wants Sebastia residents to feel this way, so they resist no longer and leave. Rashid, with a vacant expression, said his son's killing had terrorised his family into staying indoors – and when invasions take place, they lock their doors, hide in a back room, and turn off the lights. He says similar precautions are taken by many in Sebastia, who are 'living in fear' after his son's killing sent out a chilling message to those who call the ancient town home. 'The army comes here daily – and now we fear to go out,' Wafaa added. 'Soldiers are prepared to shoot children now. 'I let my son go to the shops, but I got him back [covered] in blood.'
Al Jazeera
22-07-2025
- Al Jazeera
The boy who bled to death as an Israeli soldier ‘celebrated his shot'
Sebastia, occupied West Bank – When Israeli military vehicles approach, news of the latest incursion begins cascading through Sebastia from one person to another, and the young people run home as fast as possible. They try to get back before invading soldiers reach their street, knowing all too well the potentially grave consequences if they don't. The warning cries often originate from those walking near the vantage point of Sebastia archaeological park's scenic summit. From here, people can spot army vehicles on the roads below before they reach the town and its ancient ruins, giving people a chance to hide their young. Soon after, walking prevention warnings are often circulated on social media, and the residents of Sebastia – once a religious pilgrimage site and a tourism hotspot – have the choice of hunkering down at home or facing soldiers who no longer show any restraint. 'He celebrated killing my son' In January this year, an Israeli soldier shot dead 14-year-old Ahmed Jazar and then raised his rifle in the air triumphantly after hitting the unarmed boy in the chest, piercing his heart. Witnesses saw the soldier 'celebrating' as Ahmed slowly bled to death on the ground, his father, Rashid, aged 57, told Al Jazeera. Ahmed was mature beyond his years, his parents say, and made caring for his poverty-stricken family his vocation. He was also a talented painter and wanted to train as a decorator. He aspired to open a shop so he could make enough money to buy his family a permanent home – something better than the overcrowded rental apartment they lived in. 'They shot Ahmed and killed all his dreams, right there and then,' his mother, Wafaa, said. 'The army treats us like we're in a state of war – but we've done nothing. 'Soldiers are here every day, and no one feels their children are safe unless they are at home.' Ahmed woke up in the early afternoon on the Sunday he was killed, Wafaa and Rashid say, having stayed up late playing with his friends in the neighbourhood the night before. He liked to play football in the schoolyard, cycle near the archaeological park, and eat at the town's once-busy cafes. He came back after seeing his friends and spent some time with his family, unaware that they would be sharing their final moments. Then, as the dinner hour neared, his parents sent Ahmed out to buy bread. 'It was always a habit of his to come and go in this way,' Rashid said. 'He was very sociable … everyone loved him. 'But this time, he left and never came back.' The Israeli soldiers' frequent raids on occupied West Bank towns prompt some children and young people into acts of defiance, like throwing stones towards the heavily armed soldiers or their armoured vehicles, or shining laser pointers at them. According to some neighbours, Ahmed and his friends did shine laser pens on the fatal January day, hiding behind a wall near a nursery as some soldiers walked towards them. His family denies Ahmed's part in this. Rashid and Wafaa said they were awaiting his return from the shops so they could eat dinner together. 'He was just a child,' Rashid said. 'The Israeli soldier knew he was a young boy – and that he was no threat to the army in any way. 'He was hundreds of metres away from them when they shot him!' The bullet-dented door and facade of the nursery, established by charity Save The Children, still stand as a reminder of what happened when Ahmed was shot dead. Speaking to Israeli newspaper Haaretz in March, a military spokesperson said: 'In the wake of the incident, an investigation was launched by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division. Naturally, we cannot elaborate on an ongoing investigation.' Palestinians, including residents of Sebastia, say they are used to what they call 'sham' investigations that usually have no result, and almost certainly no punishment for perpetrators. Rashid was contacted by the military to provide information for the investigation into Ahmed's killing, but he refused. 'They killed my son and then call me to talk about justice?' he said. Al Jazeera sent written inquiries to Israeli authorities, asking for comment on the investigation into Ahmed's shooting but no response had been received by time of publication. The Israeli army often raids cities and towns in the West Bank, but few are targeted like Sebastia, where it has stepped up attacks since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu established his far-right ultranationalist government in late 2022. Since then, the military killed Fawzi Makhalfeh, aged 19, in July 2023, and Ahmed on January 19 this year. There have been at least 25 gunshot injuries in Sebastia since Netanyahu's coalition government came to power, a handful of which involved children. A 22-year-old man from the nearby town of Attil was shot in the chest while driving through Sebastia earlier this month. Violent settlers also wreak havoc on Palestinian landowners around the town, which is dependent on agriculture and tourism, and yet more settlements, official and unofficial, are set to be built around Sebastia. Soldiers attack anyone who fights back and circulate threatening messages using residents' mobile phones. One recording, heard by Al Jazeera, by what is ostensibly an Israeli soldier, accuses townspeople of being 'involved in terrorism', and warns they will 'pay the price'. Justice Wafaa and her husband sat on either side of a memorial to their slain son in the humble living room of the rented home they can barely afford. Ahmed left behind four brothers and three sisters aged between seven and 20. Rashid used to work as a painter in Israel, but, like thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, he has been unable to go to work across the border since October 7, contributing to the family's perilous financial situation. The eldest son, Rushdi, 19, works as a carpenter intermittently, and, other than Rashid, is the only family member in employment. Ahmed had dropped out of school, they said, to help his father by doing odd jobs such as painting and olive picking to generate money for the family. Wafaa, who used to make dresses, is also unable to find work and still has five young children dependent on her care. Two of Ahmed's remaining siblings, Amir, aged six, and Adam, 11, clung on to their mother as she spoke. 'I sit by Ahmed's grave and cry for hours,' Wafaa told Al Jazeera, weeks after her son's killing. 'I cry there as much as I can, so that my children don't see me – I have to be strong for them.' The 40-year-old was incapable of keeping eye contact, as if tears would overcome her at any moment. She held up Ahmed's blood-stained clothes, torn by bullets. After the soldiers left that day, Rashid recalled rushing to the scene and pushing his way through a crowd, only to find Ahmed collapsed in a pool of blood, metres away from where he was shot. Rashid then drove with Ahmed to An-Najah Hospital in Nablus, but his son did not survive the journey. He was pronounced dead on arrival. His mother fell unconscious after hearing of Ahmed's killing, and says she awoke feeling 'defeated', as if her life was over. She says Israel wants Sebastia residents to feel this way, so they resist no longer and leave. Rashid, with a vacant expression, said his son's killing had terrorised his family into staying indoors – and when invasions take place, they lock their doors, hide in a back room, and turn off the lights. He says similar precautions are taken by many in Sebastia, who are 'living in fear' after his son's killing sent out a chilling message to those who call the ancient town home. 'The army comes here daily – and now we fear to go out,' Wafaa added. 'Soldiers are prepared to shoot children now. 'I let my son go to the shops, but I got him back [covered] in blood.'
Al Jazeera
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Palestinians see plan to push them from land as Israel builds national park
Sebastia, occupied West Bank – Israel calls it an archaeological project to highlight Jewish heritage and create a new Israeli national park. Palestinians see it as further evidence of Israel's plans to annex an ancient town and erase Palestinian history in an area that tells the 5,000-year-old shared story of the peoples who have lived in this land. Far-right, pro-settler Israeli government ministers were in Sebastia on May 12 as part of a delegation to mark the looming seizure of the town's archaeological park, one of the largest and most important of 6,000 sites in the West Bank. Ultranationalist Israeli Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu, himself a resident of an illegal West Bank settlement, hailed the beginning of Israeli excavation at the site and the coming creation of 'Samaria National Park', which will focus on the area's Jewish history. Palestinians say that will come along with an attempt to paint over their ties to the land. The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities called the excavations 'preparation for Sebastia's annexation and isolation from its surroundings'. Israeli politicians refer to Sebastia as Samaria, or Shomron in Hebrew, and say it was the capital of the Biblical Kingdom of Israel nearly three millennia ago. But the archaeological site includes the ruins of a Byzantine basilica, a Roman forum and amphitheatre, and the Crusader-era Church of St John, which was rebuilt into a mosque – and is believed to be the site of the tomb of John the Baptist, known in the Quran as Prophet Yahya. Sebastia's archaeological park, once a tourism hotspot and still a pilgrimage site for Christians, is being considered for inclusion on UNESCO's world heritage list, subject to an application being finalised by Palestinian officials. Sebastia mayor Mohammed Azim and town residents have long been warning of Israel's intention to 'Judaise' Sebastia and turn it into an Israeli-only tourism site. Alarm intensified after the municipality received a land seizure order to construct an installation for 'military purposes' at the summit of an ancient hilltop in the area last July. Speaking to Al Jazeera in his office overlooking the increasingly deserted old town, Azim said a 'river of blood will flow into the village' if construction of the barracks begins. 'The military is aiming to make life unbearable for the residents here, so they eventually surrender to reality and leave – just like those who have been displaced in Jenin and Tulkarem,' Azim said, referring to the more than 40,000 Palestinians displaced by Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank this year. 'Now, soldiers enter the village daily – and with the clear intention of killing,' Azim added. 'We will resist construction – peacefully, of course. The landowners will not give up their land.' The mayor called for condemnation of intensifying military violence in the village and the targeting of children, notably the army's fatal shooting of 14-year-old Ahmad Jazar in January. For its part, the Israeli state argues that the village of Sebastia will not be affected by the archaeological work, as it lies outside the boundaries of the proposed national park. But Sebastia Archaeological Museum curator and lifelong resident, Walaa Ghazzal, says the plans are an escalation in Israel's plans to eventually expel residents and business owners and prevent Palestinians from accessing the town, its ruins, and the sprawling hills and olive fields around it. Ghazzal told Al Jazeera that 'residents are afraid of the future', especially those near the ruins. 'The situation is very dangerous,' she said. 'Soon, they will prevent us from going to the archaeological site. 'In my opinion, we have only months before we are told to leave our homes,' Ghazzal added. 'We are seeing the future in Gaza and in the camps [in the West Bank]. They are trying to erase us.' Israeli ministers and settler politicians are using rhetoric about protecting Jewish Biblical heritage to disguise their long-held desire to annex Sebastia, Azim said. Eliyahu was joined in Sebastia by Minister of Environmental Protection Idit Silman and Yossi Dagan, chairman of the Shomron Regional Council, which controls 35 illegal West Bank settlements. Silman has hailed the scheme and told Israeli media, 'historical justice is being done', accusing Palestinians of attempting to 'erase' Jewish heritage. The Israeli government has long been clear that Sebastia, which most historians agree was the capital of the Kingdom of Israel for less than 200 years, will be taken over and transformed into the centrepiece of Israeli tourism in the West Bank. In May 2023, the Israeli government approved a 30 million shekel (more than $8m) scheme to restore the park and establish a tourism centre, new access roads, and an expanded military presence. The four million shekel ($1.2m) regeneration of a disused Hijaz railway station about two miles from Sebastia, last operational in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, has also been announced. 'The archeological excavations are designed to expose the antiquities of the site and make the ancient city accessible throughout all its periods: from the beginning of the settlement in the 8th century BCE during the ancient Kingdom of Israel, through the Hellenistic city, the magnificent Roman city built by King Herod [called 'Sebastos' after Emperor Augustus], to the Byzantine period when a church was built at the site,' said the office of Israeli Minister of Heritage Eliyahu. Ghazzal said Sebastia's ruins exhibit a 'distinct local culture' in a geographic region which has 'always been known as Palestine'. She said the remains emphasise the religious and cultural importance of the town to conquering empires, and its multifaith inhabitants' peaceful coexistence for centuries. In the Palestinian submission to UNESCO, it is noted that the present town of Sebastia still preserves 'the ancient name [and] is located on the eastern part of the Roman city, indicating a strong element of cultural continuity'. But for those focused on the planned Israeli national park, it's only Jewish history that matters. Responding to a query from Al Jazeera, Eliyahu's office said that Sebastia was 'first and foremost a Jewish heritage site, where archaeological remains from the Kingdom of Israel period were found'. 'It is important to emphasise that even if we were to dig at the site to the depth of the Earth's core, not even a grain of historical evidence of ancient Palestinian settlement would be found at the site,' Eliyahu's office added. Yossi Dagan, who lives in neighbouring Shavei Shomron, has long advocated for the takeover of Sebastia and emphasises its prominence in Biblical history. He told Israeli media at the archaeological site: 'When you dig here, you touch the Bible with your own hands.' But Ghazzal said that the Israeli government's treatment of the Biblical stories in the Old Testament as historical reality is designed to relegate the claims of Palestinians to have lived on the land for thousands of years, and ignores the Palestinian people's ancient ties to their land. 'You can't base your claim to the land on religion – civilisations are about the people who develop their identity, their works and monuments – even their language,' Ghazzal said. 'Israel wants to kill the stories from our past and replace them with poison; it is a crime against our history,' Ghazzal added. 'When they demolish our monuments, remove families who keep the history alive, who will speak after that – and carry our story for the next generation?' Ahmad Kayed, a 59-year-old Sebastia villager and leading activist, told Al Jazeera the ruins will not be 'taken without a fight', and demonstrations are being instigated. He said Israel is 'planning something big' in Sebastia and referenced new iron blockades being erected on roads encircling the town. It is already extremely unsafe for Sebastia residents to visit the archaeological park because of settler attacks and near-daily military invasions, he said. But once a military barracks is established, it will be permanently off limits. 'They are working step by step to get their hands on Sebastia and keep us suffering all the time so people will leave,' Kayed said, referring to the at least 40 families that have left the town since October 7, 2023. 'We are in the second Nakba and Sebastia is under siege,' he added. 'But Sebastia is strong, we know how to face them because we have done it before.' He pointed out that residents rose up to thwart Israel's plans to take Sebastia in the late 1970s, and they did so again to halt settlers pumping sewage onto agricultural land in 2013. Two years later, residents' protests and sit-ins blocked the construction of a new access road for settlers, which Eliyahu's office justified as necessary for the 'hundreds of thousands of Israelis who will want to come, learn, and experience the Jewish heritage' of Sebastia. But Kayed admits times have changed, and violence from the military today is unlike anything he has experienced in his decades of activism. 'When we decide what to do, we will be smart, and we will demonstrate in new ways, and everyone in Sebastia will follow us,' he added. He was also gravely concerned that if excavations took place, Israelis would desecrate archaeological findings that contradicted their claim to the land, with so much still to be uncovered if Palestinian-led digs were not blocked. The municipality still hopes UNESCO will provide the village protection and add the ruins to its World Heritage list. The mayor also hopes the archaeological park will join 56 other locations on UNESCO's register of significant sites considered to be 'in danger'. Businesses near the archaeological site say they have lost more than three-quarters of their custom since October 7. Samer Sha'er, owner of a coffee shop directly next to the park and Sebastia's imposing Roman columns, said a military outpost would be devastating for businesses. 'There will be daily confrontations, constant military presence, and no sense of security,' he said. 'No one will want to come and sit here while the army is stationed nearby – neither shop owners nor visitors will be able to stay.' Once holy land coveted by prophets and conquering emperors, Sebastia has been reduced to a ghost town – haunted by the glory of its history, which has also made it a target for annexation by the ultranationalist Israeli government. Kayed looked visibly moved as he described his youth playing on the hills of the archaeological park, and a lifetime spent trying to save his home. He was evidently aggrieved that the town had not acted more quickly to unify against the creeping threat of the military barracks or eventual annexation. But it seems all those concerned, including the town's mayor, are not sure what is coming next – or when. 'This land means everything to me,' Kayed added. 'I have spent all my childhood, all my life going to the park. 'They will confiscate my land [to build the barracks]. I planted olive trees there with my mother, it is very painful to lose them, Kayed said. 'The village will never give up on the ruins – this is our history, our life. We will fight until the end.'
