'Israeli forces took over my home and then they set it on fire'

Palestinian Nasser Faratawi found his West Bank home and business in ruins months after the IDF seized it.

Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListTo the Ends of The Earth EarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveThe Israeli army took over my home, used it like a hotel, then set it on fire15 hours agoShareSaveYolande KnellMiddle East correspondent, TulkarmShareSaveBBCNasser Faratawi's West Bank property was taken over by the IDF in MarchNasser Faratawi holds up a blackened garland of silicone flowers and a singed Ramadan lantern as he picks through the charred ruins of what was his popular party shop in Tulkarm in the north of the occupied West Bank.

Upstairs, on the three floors of what were his family's luxury apartments, graffiti is scrawled on the walls – including drawings of penises in a living room and his daughter's bedroom.

Expensive furniture has been broken or thrown out of the window, fancy decorations ripped out, every page of a Quran torn, and it stinks of rotten leftover food.

"They came and destroyed me," Nasser tells me. "It's all seen as destroyable because I live in this city - because I am Palestinian."

On 3 March, the Israeli military arrived at the Faratawi property and gave the family an hour and a half to leave. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took over the building while they carried out a huge operation nearby, in Tulkarm refugee camp.