For Abdul Nasir Saeed, bullets replaced the traditional cannon announcing the time to break the fast (Iftar) on 17 Ramadan last year. Now, whenever he sees Palestinian Security Forces he is haunted by the image of himself prostrate on the ground with blood flowing from his head.
On the morning of 10 May, 2020, Abdul Nasir went to his dairy farm in Jamaeen, a town to the south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. He passed through two security checkpoints: the first was set up by the Palestinian Authority when the state of emergency was declared to restrict the movement of citizens and limit the spread of Covid-19; the second was Israel’s Huwwara checkpoint, about 100 metres further ahead.
When Abdul Nasir was returning home in the afternoon to take his family to the farm for Iftar, an Israeli officer stopped him and said: “The gates will be closing shortly. Tell them [the Palestinian security officers at the other checkpoint] to open the gate,” in order to clear the traffic jam at the checkpoints before Iftar time. He went on his way after notifying the Palestinian officers.
