Mariam A.
Welcome to the youth of Jerusalem, Cartoon by Mahmoud Abbas, used with permission In recent weeks, young Palestinian men from the Shu'fat refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem, have been shaving their heads to mislead Israeli occupation troops searching for 23-year-old Uday Al-Tamimi, who was suspected of carrying out a shooting attack at a military checkpoint nearby the camp on October 8. In what has since become known as the “Shu'fat Operation,” the incident resulted in the killing of an Israeli woman soldier and the injury of two others, prompting a full siege by Israeli occupying forces around the camp. After the Israeli military published a description of the perpetrator as being bald, several young Palestinian men posted an online video of themselves shaving their heads at a barbershop inside the camp, without comment. Little did they know their act of peaceful resistance would spark a groundswell of grassroots support among young men both inside and outside the camp, as well as across borders, who took to shaving their heads as a non-violent resistance tactic, and in solidarity with the camp's residents. أعلنت سلطات الاحتلال الاسرائيلي أن الشاب الذي نفذ الهجوم المسلح من المسافة صفر على حاجز مخيم شعفاط السبت الماضي وأدى إلى مقتل جندية واصابة 3 جنود اسرائيليين آخرين ولازال حرا طليقا أصلع الرأس فقام كل شباب المخيم بحلاقة رؤوسهم أصلع الرأس لمزيد من تضليل الاسرائيليين #فلسطين pic.twitter.com/O5w5XGJARr — A Mansour أحمد منصور (@amansouraja) October 15, 2022 The Israeli occupation authorities announced that the young man who carried out the armed attack at the Shu'fat camp checkpoint last Saturday, killing a female soldier and injuring three other Israeli soldiers, and who is still at large, is bald. To further mislead the Israelis, all of the camp's young men shaved their heads. The tactic is reminiscent of Palestinian uprisings between 1936 and 1939, when urban Palestinians abandoned their “tarbooshes” in favour of wearing a “kufiya“ — the traditional checkered-patterned headdress typically worn by “fallaheen” (rural residents) — in an effort to deceive British colonists who were identifying Palestinian rebels originating from mostly rural areas by their kufiyas. This non-violent method of protest quickly went viral on social media, inspiring various works of art to commemorate solidarity. It also sparked demands for other acts of defiance, such as the deliberate use of Tamimi's first name, Uday, in phone conversations, WhatsApp and SMS messages in an effort to fool the Israeli surveillance machinery in their efforts to locate him. من النهر للبحر .. بدنا نحلق عالصفر#كاريكاتير أحمد قدورة #فلسطين #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/tCNByTMEsC — Ahmad Qaddura Cartoon (@qadduracartoon) October 19, 2022 From the river to the sea, we will shave our heads clean. Ahmad Qaddoura In an homage to Palestinian cartoonist Naji Ali, this artist incorporated the figure Handala – an iconic symbol of Palestinian identity and defiance. شباب فلسطينيون يحلقون رؤوسهم للتمويه على الاحتلال في بحثه عن منفذ عملية شعفاط #شعفاط #عرين_الأسود #جنين #القدس #نابلس #فلسطين #كاريكاتير pic.twitter.com/CNnvsMs1VM — Cartoonist Omar sommad (@omarsommad) October 16, 2022 Palestinians also turned to humour to cope with the grim realities of the situation. الوضع في مخيم شعفاط 😂😂😂#صفر pic.twitter.com/59lDmQKuYC — Mohammed_Nemer 𓂆🇵🇸 (@Mo__Nemer) October 17, 2022 Sadly, the realities in Palestine are far from humorous. In April 2021, Human Rights Watch published a significant report accusing Israel of committing crimes against humanity in the form of apartheid through its institutional discrimination and systematic oppression of Palestinians. Recent acts of defiance did not sit well with Israeli authorities, whose assault on all types of peaceful Palestinian protests has long been a source of concern in the human rights community. On October 8, Israeli authorities imposed a six-day lockdown on the Shu'fat camp. Home to approximately 100,000 Palestinian refugees who were forcibly uprooted in 1948 from their native homes and lands in historic Palestine for the establishment of Israel, the camp has since been cut off from the rest of Jerusalem by the Israeli separation wall, rendering it a large prison where Israel controls all points of entry and exit. Throughout the recent military lockdown, camp residents were denied the ability to leave, go to work, visit a doctor, or access basic supplies and services. In the face of this collective punishment enforced on the camp during the manhunt to capture Tamimi, camp residents launched a civil disobedience campaign. الاحتلال يحاصر 150 ألف فلسطيني بحثًا عن منفذ عملية شعفاط في “عقاب” جماعي وهوس انتقامي. الضفة تعلن الاضراب العام غدًا، وأهالي #مخيم_شعفاط يعلنون العصيان المدني مع مواجهات مستمرة.