Nablus

Nablus (Arabic نابلس (Nāblus); Hebrew שכם (Šəḫem); KJV Bible Shechem) is one of the largest Palestinian cities of about 300000 located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, about 63 kilometers north of Jerusalem. Its residents are Palestinians. Nearby are the locations of several holy sites of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. It was founded in 72 CE as a Roman city named Flavia Neapolis, about 2 kilometers east of the site of the Biblical city of Shechem, which is now known as Balata, to the east of the old section of Nablus. With the Arab conquest in 636 CE, the city was renamed Nablus, which the Crusaders rechristened "Naples." With its fortified citadel, it was a major center of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, until the older city of Nablus was obliterated in 1202 and rebuilt once again as an Arab city upon its ruins.

An earthquake in 1927 damaged many of the city's buildings, which were rebuilt but lost their previous picturesque character. The city is partially electrified and many of its narrow public lanes are paved. Many of the former traditional houses are now used as warehouses, as people have moved to housing with modern amenities on the outskirts.

Nablus is the site of An-Najah National University. the largest Palestinian university. There are three large refugee camps just outside the city, which were built for the Palestinian refugees of 1948, who have never been integrated into Palestinian life. These camps are Ein Beit el Ma, Balatah and Asquar Al Quadim and Askar Al Jadid. They have more than 30,000 inhabitants.

In the latest Palestinian intifada (2000- ) the Palestinians destroyed the local Jewish holy site traditionally reputed to be the Tomb of Joseph and have laid foundations for a mosque to occupy the site. Nearby is a well associated with Jacob?s well, now found inside a Greek Orthodox monastery. This is supposededly the well at which Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman.

Nablus is more famous in modern times for its dozens of suicide and "regular" militants sent out of Nablus into Israel. The deaths of many Israeli civilians resulted. Israel responded in March 2002 by invading the city and capturing many of its residents. Israeli incursions back into Nablus and Palestinian militancy continue as of May 2003.

Since late July 2003, Nablus has been torn apart by armed gang war, waged by Palestinian militias, local bandits, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, (a paramilitary organization linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah, which attacks the IDF, but also carries out suicide bombings of Israeli civilians). Arafat has appointed a mayor, Ghassan Shakaa, and a governor, Mahmoud Aloul, who are each at the head of armed factions. That armed war led to chaos and anarchy on the streets of Nablus. Following the assassination of his brother by the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades, Nablus' mayor, Ghassan Shakaa, published an open letter via the press - in which he calls for the Palestinian Authority to restore order in the torn city. Taysir Naserallah, a leading representative of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement in Nablus, said that the repeated Israeli invasion of the city, compounded by months of curfews and economic collapse, had brought about the chaos.

In February 2004 Shakaa filed his resignation from office, after the Palestinian Authority did nothing to stop the armed militias of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades from rampaging the city and attacking its residents. Shaaka avoided directly blaming Arafat, but hinted that the PA is the one to blame in the chaos and anarchy ravaging the city of Nablus. In his resignition letter he wrote:

"I see my city collapsing and I don't want to stand idly by and watch this collapse," Shakaa said. "My resignation is a warning bell to the Palestinian Authority and the residents of Nablus, because both of them are doing nothing for this city."

Recently, Nablus gained a negative reputation following a wave of child suicide bombers orginated in Nablus. Hussam Abdo and Abdullah Quran were the most famous, after being cought in IDF's Hawara checkpoint outside the city. A cell of Tanzim activists (which included teenagers) who sent the childern for suicide bombing missions was arrested by IDF forces.

On June 25 IDF forces killed three top terrorists in Nablus, including the heads of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Thousand participated in their funerals.