Nablus Checkpoint Iron Gate Torn Down in Non-violent Popular Uprising
by Ceri Gibbons in Occupied Palestine
International Solidarity Movement
Friday 20th December 2002.

As reported today in mass media across the Arab world,
yesterday's anti-Iron Gate protest on Amman Street
checkpoint succeeded in dismantling the one ton gate
that has terrorised residents of Nablus refugee camps
and Amman street residents for over a week.

The Iron Gate has caused outrage in Nablus because it
effectively cuts the city in two, being the only point
of access for ambulances and vehicles between the
camps and the city.

A few days after its placement on the street a woman
was shot dead by IOF snipers and her family were
injured, as they traveled in a taxi to their homes in
the city.

Soldiers were not present on the street. The people
had opened the gate and had tried to drive through it
as snipers opened fire.

Yesterdays march and direct action was organised by a
combination of local committees and community groups
including the Union of Palestinian Medical relief
Committees (UPMRC). Medical staff were strongly
represented in the march.

The International Solidarity Movement were invited to
take part and provide protection and solidarity with
the action. Over 20 internationals from Wales,
England, Germany, America, Sweden, and Japan took
part. IOF snipers stationed on an overlooking hilltop
were unable to shoot into the crowd as they would
normally do. The 9 meter gate was unbolted and levered
off of its hinge by the crowd and then dragged acroos
the road and over a cliff to much jubiliation. One day
later the dismantled gate remains at the bottom of the
cliff where it fell.

Nablus continues to resist the illegal occupation of
its city. ISM Nablus will continue to work with local
community groups and take part in such actions
whenever they are invited to do so.