International Solidarity Movement Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.
by Roee Nahmias, February 20th
The Abu Aisha family in Hebron has not experienced any confrontations since the press revealed their story several weeks ago.
“Since the publicity in the press, the situation has improved. We no longer have fights and we have more mobility,” said Taiseer Abu Aisha, the head of the Palestinian family that until recently suffered daily at the hands of their neighbors in the nearby Jewish settler community of Tel-Rumeda.
The Hebron police are still investigating the incident in which Yifat Elkobi was caught on tape harassing the family. Abu Aisha’s son, nine year-old Sharif, was summoned to the police station on Wednesday in order to give his testimony of the incident.
“Me and my brothers were going to the store to buy something. She screamed at us to go back, so we did. She started yelling and cursing at us. My mother arrived and yelled at her. My sister filmed it and I spit at her,” Sharif said.
He explained that he spent about two hours testifying at the police station. “They asked me what happened and I told them everything. They wrote it down and we went home,” he said.
It was not the first time young Sharif had been to the police station. Apparently he visited the station several times following other complaints filed by his family.
Abu Aisha told Ynet that the situation used to be worse a few years ago.
“We have many windows at the front of the house, and the settlers used to throw rocks at them and break them. A few years ago the late Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat visited Hebron. We told him about the problem and he ordered our home to be shielded. Since then our windows haven’t been broken,” Abu Aisha said.
“The situation is better, thank God. I just returned from my shop in town and there are no problems,” Abu Aisha concluded.
