Tel Aviv Tribune Net correspondents
Nablus- After many attempts, the Israeli occupation assassinated one of its most wanted persons in the Balata refugee camp east of Nablus, the persecuted Abdullah Abu Shalal (28 years old), a leader in the resistance “Balata Brigade,” by bombing with a remote drone, which he had previously attacked with a similar method a few weeks ago. But the operation failed.
Just before 4:00 AM yesterday, Tuesday, in a double military operation by the occupation army in the Askar and Balata camps, east of the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, the occupation targeted Abu Shalal and 4 other resistance fighters, near the entrance to the western Balata camp (Jerusalem Street intersection), and hit the vehicle they were traveling in, causing There was an explosion and a huge fire in it, then the occupation soon attacked the targeted vehicle and detained the bodies of the martyrs inside it, according to the Red Crescent ambulance, which, according to him, was able to pull out the remains of one of the martyrs.
With the first moments of the assassination, activists circulated the names of 3 martyrs, the two brothers Saif and Yazan Al-Najmi and the martyr Muhammad Qatawi, and the name of Abdullah Abu Shalal and his cousin, the martyr Mahmoud Abu Hamdan, remained in a state of ebb and flow between denial and confirmation, even though the occupation confirmed it in a piece of news it published. Assassination of a cell of 5 resistance fighters led by Abu Shalal, as it was preparing to carry out an operation against the occupation.
For more than 7 hours, Jamila Abu Shalal (Umm Raed), the mother of the martyr Abdullah, and her relatives remained in a state of anxiety and fear that her son would be one of the martyrs, then the certain news came to her that he was one of the martyrs, and she became in a miserable situation, and was thrown into the hands of her daughters, relatives, and the women who came to console her. They give her patience over the loss of her dear one.
The persecuted resistant refugee
The martyr Abdullah Saeed Ali Abu Shalal was born in Balata camp in August 1994, to a refugee family (consisting of 4 boys, 2 girls, and the parents) who were displaced from the occupied city of Jaffa in 1948. He received his basic education in the camp, while he obtained high school (tawjihi) in prisons. He was known for his perseverance and patience from a young age, so he started working at a young age to contribute alongside his mother and siblings to the household expenses, especially after his father died in 2016.
Abdullah imbibed the ideology of the resistance early, so he joined its ranks. He was arrested and thrown into the occupation prisons 3 times, for more than 6 years. After his liberation, he was placed on the ranks of the security services. His older brother Raed was also arrested twice, and spent about 8 years in the occupation prisons, while he was martyred. His middle brother, Riyad, in 2004 during the occupation’s invasion of the camp.
It was not long before Abdullah returned to the struggle again after his liberation. He joined the “Revenge and Liberation” group affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the “Fatah” movement, which was launched recently, like its counterparts in the West Bank camps. The young resistance fighter became pursued by the occupation for two years. He was targeted with 6 assassination attempts, the most notable of which was the middle of last year, when he bombed his family home with “Energa” missiles, which burned and destroyed it completely.
Last December, Abu Shalal was subjected to two assassination attempts near and inside the camp. Soldiers stormed Balata camp and his home several times, directly and through its special units. The occupation subjected his family to a harsh field investigation, detained them in an attempt to pressure Abdullah to surrender himself, and threatened to liquidate him.
A “central head” for resistance cells
In the first hours of the assassination of the martyr Abu Shalal, the Hebrew media rushed to confirm the success of killing “one of the central heads of terrorism” in the West Bank, as described by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
The newspaper said, according to what was published by the specialist on Israeli affairs, Muhammad Abu Allan, on social media, in a news source from the Israeli army and the Shin Bet General Security Service, that “the leader of the terrorist infrastructure in the Balata camp was assassinated,” and that he “leads, with financial support and Iranian directives, a cell that was preparing For resistance work in the near term, he was accompanied by his cell, which was carrying combat means, weapons, and explosive remnants.”
The occupation accuses Abu Shalal of being behind commando operations that took place last year, most notably a shooting operation in Jerusalem that led to the injury of two Israelis, in addition to his responsibility for planting an explosive device that wounded one of the occupation soldiers.
Everyone’s friend and children’s lover
Regarding her last moments with him, Jamila Abu Shalal, the martyr’s mother, said to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, who arrived at his house in the first moments of receiving news of his martyrdom from the competent authorities, “I met him yesterday evening, hurriedly and briefly, and he asked me to register for Hajj or Umrah, and he advised me, if he was martyred, to continue caring for patients.” Kidney failure in the camp, he was serving them and providing their needs.”
The mother describes her son as “very cautious,” with his composure and balanced morals, and his “humane and compassionate” attitudes toward the people of the camp, his family and the children of his brothers and sisters in particular. “He was everyone’s companion, and everyone loved and respected him, and loved the poor.”
Only the sound of women and children crying and wailing echoed between the alleys of Balata camp and its narrow streets, out of sadness and oppression for him. Intisar, the martyr’s niece, screamed at the top of her voice – to Tel Aviv Tribune Net – missing her caring and kind uncle, “My uncle died, and where are you, my uncle Abdullah,” while Looks of sadness and anger appeared on the faces of the young men who chanted for the martyrs and revenge.
Regarding his path of resistance, his mother says that she always asked him about that, and whether he would stop, out of concern for his life. His choice was determined between two things, “victory or martyrdom,” and that he did it for God and for His sake. He used to say, “Whoever works for God and is with him.” God will not waste him.”
His mother says, “Whenever a martyr rose in the camp, Nyalah would say: How good his luck is.” She points out that he rarely came home except to perform prayers, and he lived under harsh persecution conditions. “He became ill due to the extreme cold,” says his mother, who confirms that her fire She will not cool down unless she hugs his body and buries him near her.
