“Israeli troops seized my house and then they set fire”

Nasser Faratavi holds a blackened garland of silicone flowers and singing lantern Ramadan when he picks up the burnt ruins of what was his popular party shop in tulkarma in the northern coast.

On the street, on three floors, which were luxurious apartments of his family, graffiti are scrolled on the walls – including drawings of penis in the living room and bedroom.

Dear furniture was broken or thrown out of the window, decorated, each page of the torn Quran, and it stinks the rotting residual food.

“They came and destroyed me,” says Nasser. “All this is seen as devastating because I live in this city – because I’m a Palestinian.”

On March 3, the Israeli military arrived in the property of Faratov and gave the family an hour and a half. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have taken over the building when they performed a huge operation nearby, Tulkarma’s refugee camp.

“They perceived it as an army base, and they lived in it for three and a half months, using it as a hotel, and then set it on fire,” says Nasser, still in disbelief in what happened.

Watching from afar, he says that on June 11 he saw that a fire started in his composition and the locals brought their wedding cars.

“It was very difficult for me to see my business burning. Everything I worked for is over 30,” says Nasser. His neighborhood remained a closed military zone, and he was allowed to return only earlier this month.

Asked about the state of the property, the Israeli military said the BBC that “not knowing about the arson made by his troops on the spot,” and that the complaint about the incident was “filed and considered.”

The IDF statement continued: “The destruction of civil property by soldiers is contrary to IDF. This does not comment on leaf graffiti.

Since the deadly attacks led by Hamas on Israel, on October 7, 2023, caused a fierce war in the Gaza Strip, attention was largely concentrated. But tensions also rockets on the western shore, with an increase in attacks by Israeli settlers and hostilities, which, according to Israel, were aimed at Palestinian militants.

The UN said more than 900 Palestinians were killed during this period. At the same time, more than 60 Israelites died in the Palestinians registered attacks or in armed fighting on the western shore and Israel.

During major Israeli operations, Palestinian houses are regularly used as temporary military bases and interrogation centers, with IDF referring to security.

“In order to find and dismantle the terror infrastructure in its root, IDF is sometimes required to work with houses in the area for different periods of time, depending on operating needs and field circumstances,” the Israeli army said.

It states that it acts in accordance with international humanitarian legislation and takes “measures to minimize the influence on civilians as much as possible.”

Over the last two weeks of June, during the War in Israel with Iran, the UN Humanities Service (OCHA) was recorded by Israeli soldiers who have taken over 267 Palestinian houses from several hours to several days. In the early assessment, more than 1300 people were touched upon who, according to Acha, “returned to their homes in most cases to find their property vandalized.”

The properties were also taken at the beginning of the year in three built-in, city refugee camps, Nura Shams and Tulkarma-Kali Army moved, calling them “terrmor accounts”. A total of about 40,000 residents were forced to leave camps, about 30,000 of which were unable to return.

From the balcony on the upper floor you can easily look from the house of the Nasser to the Tulkarma refugee camp. It is like a city -a gift of about 10,600 people who lived there are still moved. Israeli bulldozers have created new paths through the camp – breaking it into separate areas.

The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, the UN, believes that more than 150 houses were demolished in Tulkarma. There were more than 1400 orders for demolition in January and July throughout the West Bank.

The Arva now supports refugees in private housing in and around Tulkarch. It created a temporary health and school and started online education.

Israeli Defense Minister said the military will remain in three refugee camps at least by the end of the year.

While Nasser Faratavi returned to his house, he wonders how he will repair him if he renamed. According to him, his total losses are up to $ 700,000 (£ 520,000; 600,000 euros). It may complain about the Israeli authorities, but the past data indicates that it is very unlikely that it will receive compensation.

The Palestinian authorities, which manages the parts of the west shore and relies on foreign donors that help pay the repairs caused by Israeli military descendants. However, it is now so cash that it cannot pay a full salary to public workers.

Without the store and with the destroyed reserves, Nasser has no income and hassle that he can no longer support his son and daughter who study medicine in Egypt. He appeals to the help of international organizations.

“I am an ordinary person, a businessman,” he says. “I love peace. I never had a weapon in the house. I didn’t have problems with the Israeli army. I want peace and live in the world, but they don’t want peace.”