Kufr Qaddum is a village located 13 km west of Nablus and 17 km east of Qalqiliya in the West Bank. According to the last census conducted in 2006, the village’s population was 3500. Most of the agricultural output of Qaddum is olives, while the rest consists of various crops and vegetation. In 2003, the Israeli army closed the road that connects the village to the city of Nablus, claiming that Palestinian traffic poses ‘security threat’ to the nearby settlement of Kedumim. In 2011, the local popular resistance committee began to organize weekly demonstrations protesting the closure of the road. These protests have been met with sheer brutality, as the IOF has been using rubber-coated steel bullets, the “skunk” truck, tear gas, and even live ammunition. In addition, many of the village’s residents have been arrested and detained for participating in these protests. During one of frequent raids, a tear gas canister fired into a home resulted in the death of an 85 years old man from asphyxiation.
Nidal Shtieh is a freelance photojournalist, filed a civil lawsuit against the State of Israel for damages to his photography equipment and livelihood. About a year ago (12.09.2013), Shtieh was documenting an invasion of settlers to agricultural lands near Salem. The soldiers at the scene not only did nothing to help the rightful owners of…
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