Beita / Nablus

- Less than a year ago, after participating in the popular resistance activities in Jabal Al-Urma, on the lands of his hometown of Beita, the young man Muhammad Humaidan did not stop until he became involved again in confronting the plans of the Israeli occupation to settle in Jabal Sabih in the south.

Humaidan, 23, became one of hundreds of activists in the town of Beita, south of Nablus in the West Bank, who face daily attempts by Israeli settlement groups to turn an outpost they called "Avitar" into a settlement firmly established on their lands.

From one generation to the next, the residents of the town, known for its history, are increasingly insistent in resisting settlements. They have taken it upon themselves to repel settlers from their land by force, even if they fall as a martyr after another.

With great violence, the occupation suppresses the protesters in Jabal Sabih, so that the scene of Jabal Al-Urma is not repeated, where the resistance of the people of Beita has thwarted settlement attempts above it.

Over the past month, the Israeli soldiers used live bullets, killing the young man Issa Barham, the first martyr who died defending the mountain last May, in addition to hundreds of wounded.

Humaidan says that the occupation thought that by killing and arresting it would terrify the village's youth, who had become more determined to confront, and raised the slogan "We will remove it empty" (by force) in reference to the settlement.

And he added in his speech to Al Jazeera Net, "We are proud of the resistance, and liberation is not difficult if the will is found, and if the saying changes: the Jews do what they want, in fact they are afraid of everything."

Collecting tires to be burned during the clashes in Beita, south of Nablus (Al-Jazeera)

units of resistance

On the ground, the "Betawis" are conducting a war with the enemy, dividing themselves into organized units and groups, and alternately doing so day and night, inspired by their experience of the resistance on the Gaza border.

In the town, the "tyres" unit was famous, and its mission begins in the afternoon hours and before the evening events, and works to collect tires and burn them to create a curtain of thick black smoke that covers the movement of young people and suffocates the settlers, and similarly the "incendiary balloons" unit works.

As for the "slingshot" unit (the slingshot is a hand-made tool made of rubber and ropes), its task is to throw stones at soldiers from a distance, as is the "Moltov" unit, which is responsible for preparing and throwing Molotov cocktails.

While the media unit monitors events on the ground and transmits them through various means of communication, the monitoring and follow-up unit monitors the army and settlers, moment by moment, and provides the resistance fighters with the latest information about them.

In the last confrontation, the "Unknown Soldier" unit was also famous, and it includes medical teams that provide aid to the injured.

And the logistical support unit, which provides the resistance fighters with food and drink in the mountain, and women contribute to supplying this unit with all its needs, at a time when the “challenge unit” is managing the confrontations in the field.

In recent days, the "night confusion" unit has been famous for its mastery of intimidating and disturbing settlers and soldiers, whether by setting fires around the settlement at night, or directing laser and flashlights towards it.

In the square, he visits the Almoravid sheikhs and preachers of the town, providing them with determination and urging them to persevere and defend their land.

Burning tires in the town of Beita and resisting the occupation (Al-Jazeera)

And to increase the intimidation, the confusion unit launched models of rockets "similar to the rockets of the resistance in Gaza" and wrote the names of the village's martyrs and the phrase "leave before it is too late", accompanied by loudspeakers shouting and cheering.

And the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth wrote - in its issue today, Monday - that the "continuous struggle" of the people of Beita is inspired by what the resistance is doing on the Gaza border.

After a night full of "night confusion", the Hebrew media wrote that what Hamas started on the Gaza border is now happening near the outpost of "Avitar", where the residents of Beita are protesting against its establishment, with the support of the Palestinian Authority.

And the Hebrew media quoted a local source in Beita as saying that "Israel must prepare 14,000 bullets to kill all Beita residents if it intends to control the mountain."

Young men during the stationing on Mount Al-Arma in Beita several months ago, refusing to settle on it (Al-Jazeera)

unbreakable

Beta became a model for the struggle in the West Bank, and its name was associated with the events of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan in Jerusalem and Gaza, so it became the focus of an event no less important than others.

During a tour of Al Jazeera Net, we noticed the emptiness of public cafes and gyms, as everyone was busy with struggle missions.

While the walls of the houses turned into paintings of the martyrs, and others were scrawled with slogans glorifying them and calling for them to follow in their footsteps.

Historically, the house has been resistant to occupation. Since the occupation tried in 1988 to build the first settlement in Jabal Al-Urma, east of the town, the people rose up and 3 of them were martyred and two settlers were killed, and when the ball was repeated a year and a half ago, they also confronted it and two young men were martyred.

Residents recall how former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin threatened to demolish the town “beta beta.” Indeed, he demolished about 30 homes, exiled 5 of its residents, arrested dozens, and divided it geographically into “upper and lower,” but it grew stronger and united.

The settlement of Jabal Sbeih was established in less than a month in early May, as the "first settlement" in Beita, after 5 failed attempts for more than 30 years.

The settlement threatens to cut off the continuity of the village and confiscate its lands, as it perches over 20 dunams (a dunam of one thousand square metres) and occupies the entire mountain.

Pictures of martyrs on the walls in the town of Beta (Al-Jazeera)

Martyrs' convoy

Media activist in the town, Baraa Hussein, tells Al Jazeera Net that the repression of the occupation declines the greater the media pressure.

During the escalating events since the beginning of last month, the Israeli army killed 4 residents of the town and injured about 500 citizens, most of them young men.

Feminist activist Ghada Abu Hamdan says that mothers in Beita bid their sons farewell every morning and "incite them to struggle and be steadfast in the field," and most of them participate in logistical support by providing the resistance fighters with food and drink on the mountain.