Sunday, the 29th of October – 15 Israeli soldiers invaded the house of the Samouh-family in Hebron. Its 22 members share three apartments in their house in Tel Rumeida, opposite the Beit Hadesa Settlement.
Claiming a search for weapons, the soldiers forced their way into the apartments. From 12.00 to 15.00 the family-members were detained outside the house, while the soldiers turned the apartments upside down, destroyed the furniture and consecrated two Korans. An estimated 2000 shekels of damage was caused and the soldiers appeared have left the house with more than when they arrived.
The Samouh-family house lies between the Tel Rumeida Settlement and the Beit Haseda Settlement. Since August, when a new unit of soldiers replaced the old one, the pressure on the family and the Palestinians in the the area has augmented, with the harassment and the violence of the Israeli occupiers increasing dramatically.
The invasion of the Samouh-house was performed with immense brutality. Two young family-members were beaten. The women were told, they would be shot. The owner of one of the apartments offered the soldiers a key to the door, but the soldiers preferred to use a sledge-hammer to open it. To check an empty house close to the Samouh-family, the Israeli soldiers used a human shield, a young man of the family, as the first to enter.
The Samouh-family called the police at 12.00 o’clock. The police arrived at 16.00, and told the family to file a complaint at the police-station the next day. Six years ago the windows in the family’s house were broken by settlers. The Samouh-family complained to the police and underwent two days of humiliation at the police-station.
The Samouh-family fear that it could happen again.