Battle of Nablus

Battle of Nablus
	Part of Operation Defensive Shield
	; Israeli soldiers patrolling in Nablus.
Date	April 3–8, 2002
Location	Nablus, Palestinian Authority (West Bank)
Result	Israeli victory
Belligerents
Israel Israel Defense Forces;	Palestinian Authority Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades; Tanzim; Hamas; Islamic Jihad
Commanders and leaders
Aviv Kochavi; Shaul Mofaz; Moshe Tamir	Nasser Badawi; Nasser Awais; Ahmed Tabouk †; Husam Badran
Strength
2 regular infantry brigades; 1 reserve armored brigade	1,000+
Casualties and losses
1 killed (friendly fire)	70 killed; Hundreds captured
	8 civilians killed

The Battle of Nablus was fought from April 5 to April 8, 2002 in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian forces, as part of Operation Defensive Shield in the Second Intifada. It resulted in an Israeli victory.

Prelude

Of all the West Bank towns, the

Paratroopers Brigade and the Golani Brigade, along with a reserve armored division. A private contractor allowed the commander of the Paratroopers 890th battalion to use a construction site for training for three days.^[1] There was a near-mutiny among one reserve armored platoon, who claimed they were not properly trained for urban warfare. High ranking armor officers eventually talked them into joining the operation.^[4]

Battle

Israeli armored and infantry forces quickly occupied most of the city, with clashes taking place around

Paratroopers Brigade. The Palestinians in the Casbah were deployed in small squads, consisting of two to four men, with each squad in charge of a sector. Explosive charges were set between the alleys and shooting positions were taken.^[4] Nasser Badawi, an Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades commander, said "We are waiting for the Israelis to get out of their armored vehicles and fight us on the ground".^[2]

The Paratroopers advanced by sending several small forces at the same time to take over houses in the Casbah and confuse the Palestinian fighters. Often, the Palestinians would expose their positions to Israeli military snipers by firing at Israeli forces in another direction.[4] Palestinian commander Ahmed Tabouk was among those killed by sniper fire. On April 8, the Palestinians announced their willingness to surrender. The acceptance of the surrender was postponed by two hours, during which the Paratroopers killed more Palestinian fighters.^[3]

According to a later lecture by the Paratroopers Brigade commander, Colonel

Qalqiliyah and Tulkarm, had surrendered almost without Palestinian casualties. Mofaz argued that it was better not to leave armed men in Nablus (per Oslo Accords), who would resume their attacks on the IDF after the withdrawal.^{[citation needed}

]

Aftermath

About seventy Palestinian fighters and eight civilians were killed. At least one IDF officer was killed by friendly fire. Hundreds of Palestinians were arrested. High ranked wanted persons, such as Nasser Awais of Fatah and Husam Badran of Hamas fled east to Tubas. They were arrested a week later.^[3] The IDF also claimed to have exposed explosive labs.^[5] According to UNESCO, hundreds of buildings were affected. Sixty-four were severely damaged, seventeen of which had "particular heritage significance", including the Abd al-Hadi Palace. Four buildings were completely destroyed.^[6] The United Nations estimated the property damage at $110m.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b Harel and Isacharoff (2004), p. 251
^ ^a ^b ^c Sherwell, Philip (2002-04-06). "Helicopter raids fail to shift Palestinians in the casbah". Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
^ ^a ^b ^c Harel and Isacharoff (2004), p. 253
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Harel and Isacharoff (2004), p. 252
^ Frisch, Felix; Ali Waked; Diana Behor (2002-04-07). "Chief of Staff: 200 Palestinias killed since the start of the operation". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2008-09-25.
^ World Heritage 29 COM. UNESCO. July 2005. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
^ "UN puts West Bank damage at $300m". BBC. 2002-05-07. Retrieved 2008-10-09.