Jameela waits for her son’s body, taken by Israel, so she can bury him

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Balata exile camp, occupied West Bank – Jameela Sanaqra’s 3 sons are gone. She knows for definite that Israel killed 2 of them.

Her 3rd son, her youngest, Mahmoud, was changeable successful his chamber by Israeli commandos connected February 27, a week earlier his 26th birthday.

Refugee campy nether attack

Balata, eastbound of Nablus, is the astir populated exile campy successful the occupied West Bank, established successful 1950.

It is little than a 4th of a quadrate kilometre, astir the size of 35 shot fields, with astatine slightest 33,000 radical crammed into its constrictive streets.

Walls and windows are emblazoned, similar shrines, with the faces of much than 45 Palestinians locals accidental Israel has killed since October 7.

Palestinian absorption groups operating nether the screen of the camp’s labyrinthine web of alleyways and favela-like dwellings person agelong been a thorn successful the broadside of the Israeli military.

Towering implicit the campy is simply a Byzantine-era Greek Orthodox Church known arsenic Jacob’s Well. Further up the roadworthy is simply a funerary monument known arsenic Joseph’s Tomb successful Judaism, believed to beryllium the resting spot of the biblical patriarch.

The tract is important to Palestinians due to the fact that it is believed to beryllium the resting spot of Sheikh Yousef Dweikat, a renowned spiritual scholar, who was buried successful the 18th century.

Joseph Tomb’s value to Judaism and relevance to the Zionist contented person made it a people for the ultranationalist elements of Netanyahu’s coalition, who privation it nether Israeli control.

Woman stands holding bloodstained trousers. A furniture is to her left, with bulletholes successful the partition down it.

Busloads of equipped settlers – escorted by soldiers – tempest the tract to intimidate, chant and execute spiritual rituals connected the doorsteps of its Palestinian neighbours, inciting unit and clashes.

Balata has been nether siege since Israel stepped up its onslaught connected the West Bank pursuing Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks.

When it raids the camp, the Israeli service destroys the roads and dozens of buildings astatine a time.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) says the camp, akin to a ghetto, has 1 of the highest rates of unemployment, poorness and nutrient insecurity anyplace successful the West Bank. More than 60 per cent of the camp’s colonisation is nether the property of 18.

Kidnapping dormant bodies

The Sanaqra household has prepared an bare crippled successful Balata’s cemetery for Mahmoud, adjacent to the bodies of his older brothers, Ahmad and Ibrahim.

The household is waiting for Mahmoud’s assemblage oregon confirmation of his death. But they cognize they are improbable to get either.

The JLAC says Israel inactive holds bodies from arsenic acold backmost arsenic the 1967 War.

“The concern authorities enforce their power implicit the deepest feelings of loss, often forcing families to hold endlessly to retrieve the bodies of their children,” a study for the JLAC’s National Campaign to Retrieve War Victims states.

Jameela sat successful her surviving country with 2 of her 4 daughters, Bara’a and Amira, and 2 of her 7 grandchildren, Amira’s daughters. Her husband, mournful and solemn, sat softly by the door.

She is definite that Mahmoud’s assemblage not being returned is portion of the corporate punishment her household suffers due to the fact that her eldest son, Ahmad, fought for Palestinian equipped groups earlier helium was killed successful 2008, aged 20.

“It is simply a desecration,” said Jameela.

“It’s torture for the families, particularly the mothers. Closure is impossible; there’s nary sedate I tin spell to to commune for him, talk to him and mourn peacefully.”

Al Jazeera reached retired to the Israeli subject for remark connected Mahmoud’s case, but received nary response.

Punishment and resilience

Mahmoud’s abbreviated beingness was dominated by trauma and bereavement.

In an era-defining photograph of the 2nd Intifada, five-year-old Mahmoud’s limb covers his tears arsenic helium looks implicit the rubble of his location successful 2004, destroyed by soldiers to punish the household for his member Ahmad’s absorption activities.

A poster connected a partition depicting men killed by Israel

Two years later, during an Israeli service raid connected Balata successful November 2006, Mahmoud’s mediate member Ibrahim – who was not portion of the absorption – was retired looking for Ahmad erstwhile a worker changeable the 16-year-old successful the leg, hitting a large artery, a coiled that would beryllium fatal.

Then, successful 2008, Mahmoud was pictured weeping implicit Ahmad’s assemblage aft helium was assassinated, successful an representation that went viral. Ahmad, who joined the absorption successful his aboriginal teens, was changeable dormant successful the aforesaid location arsenic his small member would beryllium 17 years later.

Mahmoud would look the subject himself years later. In 2022, a video of soldiers beating him mercilessly successful beforehand of Jameela successful the household location gained planetary attention.

After helium was killed, Israeli media said Mahmoud was wanted implicit accusations of arms trafficking, perpetrating shootings and planting explosives. They announced the subject had killed “Balata’s astir wanted”, the household said.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, an equipped radical affiliated with the governmental enactment Fatah, paid tribute to Mahmoud’s publication to absorption successful the campy connected Telegram.

His parent refuses to judge helium was a fighter, but different campy residents accidental they knew him to beryllium progressive successful the resistance.

It is besides imaginable that Jameela was unaware of his activities.

Jameela told the communicative of Mahmoud’s shooting beneath a representation of her slain sons – the framework shattered by the soldiers who invaded her location the time they attacked Mahmoud.

“My caput is scattered, and there’s a occurrence successful maine that tin lone beryllium extinguished erstwhile I’ve buried Mahmoud adjacent to his brothers,” she said.

Israeli soldiers near a way of devastation successful the Sanaqra household during February’s attack, overmuch of which the household cannot spend to repair.

Jameela recalls however 2 soldiers burst done the doorway aboriginal successful the greeting and violently confined the full household to 1 room, isolated from Mahmoud, who remained locked successful his bedroom.

“They deed me, knocked maine over, stomped connected my thorax and my limb arsenic I was lying connected the floor,” Jameela added.

“A canine attacked Bara’a; helium chased her and spot her limb … One of the soldiers told maine I was the crushed my sons were ‘terrorists’ – and the crushed they were killed,” Jameela said.

“Another of the soldiers asked maine however galore martyrs I person successful the family, and aft I responded by saying two, helium told maine I present had 3 … I started screaming… I felt helpless arsenic a mother. I couldn’t assistance my son.”

A constrictive thoroughfare surrounded by dilapidated houses

As shots rang retired upstairs, the Sanaqra household frantically screamed Mahmoud’s sanction arsenic soldiers held them astatine gunpoint, demanding that they archer them wherever weapons were being hidden.

Jameela remembered the short, large and unspeakable outcry of agony – interrupted by gunshots – that she believes to beryllium her son’s last utterance successful this life. She says it haunts her household location to this day.

By the clip the household was freed from their detention, Mahmoud’s assemblage was gone, and truthful were the soldiers.

Jameela produced Mahmoud’s blood-stained apparel – a T-shirt and trousers ridden with slug holes, suggesting astir nary portion of his assemblage was near unscathed. Soldiers stripped him and dragged him down the stairs, leaving “a way of blood”.

Mahmoud’s mattress, apparel and carpet stay covered successful humor – and person been near untouched since the attack. Bullet holes person peppered the walls and the model frames.

Nablus-based psychologist, Nesreen Bsharat, leads a enactment radical for mothers successful Balata and provides online therapy for children successful Gaza.

“Palestinian mothers… person the aforesaid maternal instinct arsenic each different parent successful the world,” she told Al Jazeera. “They don’t privation their children to die.”

“But the quality is, erstwhile it is the child’s choice, past the parent finds herself having to judge it,” Bsharat added.

Since October 7, the residents of Balata accidental determination has been nary remainder from subject raids, which hap astir each day.

Many families who tin spend it are leaving, portion those who can’t are near to either endure oregon defy – and could look displacement regardless.

More than 40,000 exile campy residents from the adjacent cities of Tulkarem and Jenin – some astatine the bosom of the absorption axis successful the West Bank – person already been displaced, and Balata residents fearfulness they are next.

Israel is making beingness unbearable for those successful the camps.

“They wounded who’s closest to you to origin you the astir pain,” Jameela said. “I don’t privation thing successful beingness but to beryllium with my sons now.”

“The Palestinian parent likes to rise her children successful accordance with their values and religion. She aspires for her kids to go engineers, doctors, teachers,” Jameela said.

“She wants her kid to beryllium the champion mentation of himself … But Israel won’t let this.

“They won’t fto america unrecorded successful peace.”

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