Deep pain in a beautiful West Bank home: The Arrabis’ dead sons

Jenin, occupied West Bank, Palestine – Muhammad Arrabi’s family, what’s near of it, lives successful the bosom of Jenin’s Old City successful a location the household has handed down for 185 years.

The Arrabi household had numbered 10 – a mother, a father, 4 daughters and 4 sons – until the Israeli service took the lives of 3 of their sons, culminating successful its shooting of Muhammad, the 3rd member to beryllium killed.

Jenin, Old City and new

A visitant to Jenin’s Old City volition enactment the beauteous houses, which person been passed down done generations of families and are inactive lived successful today. The Arrabi household location is one.

But astir each location successful Jenin has been damaged somehow, either successful the stones that marque up its walls oregon the radical who unrecorded wrong them.

Known for its past of resistance, Jenin has agelong been a flashpoint successful the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Arrabis’ location successful Jenin [Ola Marshoud/Al Jazeera]

The metropolis and its exile campy person often been raided by the Israeli military, starring to deaths, injuries, extended harm to infrastructure and fighting.

Despite the quality of the Arrabi house, heavy sorrow lingers wrong its walls.

The nonaccomplishment of the brothers near lasting wounds for their 78-year-old mother, Umm Fouad, and 5 remaining siblings: her daughters – Ruba, 52; Suhad 51; Nour, 42; and Reem, 38 – and 35-year-old Fouad.

Mohammed was the youngest brother. After Ruba, Suhad, Nour and Fouad got married, helium lived with Reem and their parent for astir six years.

Umm Fouad relied connected Muhammad for everything.

Muhammad gave his parent her medicine, ran errands and cared for her, but now, she has mislaid her “hand and foot”, according to Fouad, who utilized a Palestinian look to convey the grade of someone’s dependence connected another.

The graves of Bassam Arrabi and his 3 sons [Ola Marshoud/Al Jazeera]

Umm Fouad has yet to travel to presumption with Muhammad’s decease connected August 29, surviving arsenic she is with the changeless ache of loss.

Her archetypal loss, however, was her firstborn, besides named Fouad. He was a kid during an Israeli battle connected Jenin during the archetypal Intifada, known arsenic the Intifada of the Stones.

The boys would propulsion stones astatine the Israeli armoured vehicles and soldiers.

The soldiers would respond by shooting the young people, and successful 1988, Fouad was changeable and killed by an Israeli sniper.

A twelvemonth later, Umm Fouad gave commencement to a babe lad and named him Fouad successful honour of his slain older brother.

In 2003, during the 2nd Intifada, her 29-year-old lad Rashad, a Palestinian absorption member, was killed successful a clash with the Israeli service adjacent their home, wherever helium tried to instrumentality connected an Israeli tank.

Rashad was severely injured, and the service prevented aesculapian crews from reaching him until helium died.

Three young men attempted to retrieve Rashad’s body, but the Israeli service opened occurrence each clip they tried. Nidal Al-Kastouni, Yousef Al-Amer and Muhammad Fuqaha were killed trying.

Last month, calamity struck again erstwhile Muhammad was killed successful the aforesaid spot wherever Rashad had fallen. He was changeable by a sniper portion holding his telephone to papers what the Israeli service was doing successful their neighbourhood.

The captive who became a ‘martyr’

Muhammad shared a heavy enslaved with his father, Bassam, whom helium besides took attraction of.

His father, successful turn, relied connected Mohammad for everything and was ever by his side.

Muhammad completed precocious schoolhouse but was not capable to be university.

The spot successful the neighbourhood wherever Israeli soldiers killed Fouad and Muhammad [Ola Marshoud/Al Jazeera]

Arrested doubly by Israeli forces, Muhammad spent a full of 3 years successful prison.

His archetypal apprehension occurred successful 2016 erstwhile helium was 24 and was accused of “incitement” and sentenced to a twelvemonth and a half. He was arrested again successful 2019, spending different twelvemonth and a fractional connected charges of “planning to transportation retired an enactment of resistance”.

While helium was successful prison, his father’s wellness deteriorated, and helium passed distant successful 2020 earlier Muhammad could accidental goodbye.

This nonaccomplishment profoundly affected Muhammad. He spoke often to friends astir the affectional toll of not being capable to hide his father, talking astir however overmuch helium missed his begetter and his brothers, Fouad and Rashad.

After his archetypal merchandise from situation successful 2017, though, helium got a occupation astatine Vamos, a section burger edifice owned by his sister Noor and her husband, Mamoun Al-Yabdawi. He loved the enactment and dreamed of having his ain restaurant.

Abu Hazim, who worked with him astatine Vamos, said helium misses the joyousness Muhammad brought to the workplace.

Al-Yabdawi remembers Muhammad’s kindness and however helium would sneak a spot of other nutrient into people’s orders.

His neighbour Khaled Abu Ali, who besides worked astatine Vamos, said evening get-togethers with neighbourhood younker consciousness incomplete without Mohammed.

“Two weeks earlier Muhammad’s passing, helium invited much than 30 young men from the neighbourhood to a barbecue feast to observe immoderate radical who had graduated from precocious school.

“Knowing their fiscal circumstances didn’t let for a celebration, helium wanted to bring them joy. It was his ‘Last Supper’,” Abu Ali said.

The quality of Muhammad’s decease was not unexpected. It is not antithetic for a household successful Jenin to person specified news.

The Arrabi family, successful particular, having mislaid 2 sons successful the aforesaid way, lives successful changeless fearfulness with each raid connected the city.

Abu Ali said the family, oregon what’s near of it, is changed forever.

“Fouad isn’t the idiosyncratic helium erstwhile was. He utilized to beryllium cheerful and afloat of life, but present helium ne'er smiles. Sadness clings to him. As for his sister Reem, she is heartbroken. She was incredibly adjacent to Muhammad.”

(Al Jazeera)

Possibly the existent load Fouad feels now, helium says, is trying to support himself harmless to debar causing his parent and sisters further pain.

Commenting connected the nonaccomplishment of his 3rd brother, Fouad reflects: “For 36 years, we’ve sacrificed for the homeland. We sacrifice what is astir precious to america – our children’s blood.”

‘No burial without ceremony, nary mourning without burial’

Muhammad was killed connected August 29, during the storming of Jenin and its exile campy aft a 10-day subject cognition that Israel said was aimed astatine dismantling cells of Palestinian fighters.

Israeli forces killed 22 Palestinians and injured much than 30 successful the raids.

They besieged section institutions, including the Jenin Municipality, Civil Defence and the energy company; ordered the evacuation of buildings; and blew up a location adjacent the Ansar Mosque successful the camp.

Military bulldozers destroyed roads, h2o and sewage systems, energy poles, homes and vehicles.

A Palestinian protests the raids by blocking the way of an Israeli subject conveyance arsenic it patrols the Jenin exile campy during a raid connected September 25, 2024 [Nedal Eshtayah/Anadolu Agency]

Throughout, Mohammed’s assemblage laic successful a morgue successful the adjacent municipality of Qabatiya, southbound of Jenin, Fouad insisting that “Mohammed volition not beryllium buried without a due ceremony, and determination volition beryllium nary mourning until helium is laid to rest.”

In Palestine, it is customary for radical to stitchery astir the bereaved household to connection support, but Israeli snipers and bulldozers blocked the way, isolating Mohammed’s household successful their grief.

Once the raid ended, Mohammed was yet buried adjacent his brothers Fouad and Rashad and their father, Bassam.

Twenty-one different radical killed during the raid were besides buried with thousands of radical from Jenin governorate attending the funeral.

In the aftermath of Mohammed’s killing, Fouad said, the location that was built by 4 young men has present crumbled, 3 of its pillars having fallen implicit the span of 36 years.