Anger and pain in Nablus

By Keith Adams
BBC correspondent in Nablus

Entrance to Nablus is through an Israeli army checkpoint. There are hundreds of these in the West Bank.

Palestinians are angry at the restrictions checkpoints put on them

Tayir Nassr, a 20-year-old student at Nablus University, is one of a group of Palestinians squatting in the shade of a makeshift canopy, waiting for permission to enter the city.

He says he spends four hours a day at the checkpoint, two hours on the way in, and two hours on the way out.

I ask an obvious question: "Of course I am angry," he answers. "We are all angry!"

People say the city's spirit is being crushed.

"This closure has affected every aspect of our lives," says Ayman al-Shakaa, the man in charge of international relations for the city of Nablus.

A smartly dressed official, he studies the burning tip of his cigarette and shakes his head.

"Nablus used to be the economic capital of Palestine. Now we have almost nothing. Two-thirds of our factories have closed and unemployment is at 60%."

Nablus used to be the economic capital of Palestine. Now we have almost nothing Ayman al-Shakaa Nablus official

He says the city is under siege.

"Nablus has six hospitals used by the whole of the northern West Bank. But people cannot reach these hospitals. Ambulances are stopped at every checkpoint. Hundreds of women have delivered babies at checkpoints under the worst conditions."

Ahdman Ahdi, 50, works in Ramallah, less than 30 kilometres (18 miles) away, but the journey can take him up to four hours.

"The checkpoints are terrible. Sometimes I stay in Ramallah for days on end, just to get my work done."

Depression

The Israeli army make regular incursions into the city.

They say the Palestinian Authority has not stopped the suicide attacks, so Israel must track down the terrorists in the West Bank and Gaza.

The conflict has radicalised young Palestinians

Such operations have traumatised the people here.

Ahdman says the incursions terrify his family. But when he is away in Ramallah, he cannot protect or comfort them.

"A tank going down your street at two in the morning makes a hell of a noise," he says.

Fathy Flefel, 37, is the director of the Nablus Youth Counselling Centre.

He says there has been a massive increase in cases of depression among Palestinians.

He blames humiliation, isolation, lack of security and an erosion of the traditional family structure.

"The parents can no longer reassure their children. The father in particular cannot provide for the family, nor protect them from the occupying army. The children lose confidence and the whole family unit breaks down."

Willing martyrs

A demonstration in the city centre marks the intifada's anniversary.

Various groups gather around the square to make as much noise as possible.

It is a defiant cacophony; drums and horns mix with chants, sirens, and the sporadic cracking of assault rifles fired into the air.

There used to be just a few people willing to blow themselves up, now there's a waiting list 100 long Aid worker Ayman

The atmosphere is of an angry fiesta.

Huge banners hang from a building overlooking the square, one of them for the militant group Hamas.

Green headbands representing the group adorn many young men.

Hamas has carried out many suicide attacks on Israeli citizens.

Some of their supporters here wear white robes, burial dress, to signify their readiness to lay down their lives.

Ayman, a 34-year-old working for an aid agency, says the conflict has made the public much more radical, especially young men.

"Hamas said the peace process was nonsense, now it seems they were right. And everyone knows someone who's been killed. There used to be just a few people willing to blow themselves up, now there's a waiting list 100 long."

Sad anniversary

More than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed in the three years of intifada.

A lecturer at the university, Said Abu Hijleh, tells me of his loss.

He says his mother, Shaden Abu Hijleh, was a peace activist who believed in non-violent resistance.

"The Israeli army came along in a jeep and shot her through the window of our house.

"She was just sitting there, embroidering, and they murdered her."