11th March 2009, Beit Ommar village, Hebron region: 27 youth arrested during ongoing closure of Beit Ommar village
27 residents of Beit Ommar village in the Hebron District of the southern West Bank, have been arrested by Israeli forces while the village remains under curfew with a large-scale military operation taking place.
At approximately 12am on the morning of 11 March 2009, over ten army vehicles, including personnel carriers, invaded the village, with an army bulldozer closing the most of the roads leading out of Beit Ommar.
Dozens of soldiers then began entering houses at random and arbitrarily arrested young men. One of the arrested includes an independent journalist and volunteer for B’Tselem, the Israeli human rights organization.
This recent military invasions comes at great cost for the villagers of Beit Ommar. Today, no one can go to work or school. I have seen the smashed up homes where soldiers have destroyed property and urinated. Twenty-seven boys have now been arrested, seemingly at random, and taken to an unknown location. The military harassment of Beit Ommar has become a regular occurance. – Bekah Wolf, American activist living in Beit Ommar – Palestine Solidarity Project
A curfew has been imposed since 4am, with residents prevented from leaving their homes. Several houses entered by Israeli forces have been damaged. Soldiers have been seen breaking windows and cabinets, and they have urinated in the room of at least one residence.
The army has also passed around a letter telling residents that any youth who threw stones at the army would be arrested.
This most recent invasion comes after a week of almost nightly raids on Beit Ommar. On the night of 4 March, 15-year-old Mehdi Said Abu Ayyash was shot in the head with live ammunition and he remains in a coma in serious condition.
The Israeli Occupation Forces continued their most recent assaults on the village of Jayyous, near Qalqilya, invading on the 5th and 6th of February.
On the 5th February , Israeli forces invaded at 2pm, imposing curfew on the village until 10pm.
The following day, at around 12.30pm, the army once again entered the village, this time using a bulldozer to pave the way for 6 jeeps, dozens of soldiers and border police firing tear gas and rubber bullets. They then proceeded to occupy one family home, taking up position on the roof as the village attempted to resist the invasion by throwing rocks.
The IOF also attempted to break in to another house nearby. When their attempts to break open the lock on the front gate with a rock failed, they employed the bulldozer to break it open creating much damage to the gate. Yet they then failed, after many attempts, to break down the front door, all the time threatening international Human Rights Workers (HRWs) who were filming while trying to stop them.
Israeli forces entered Jayyous in armored jeeps and bulldozers
Several jeeps accompanied by soldiers on foot then descended into the village continually firing at residents. When the international HRWs confronted the soldiers they were told that the area was a closed military zone and threatened the internationals with arrest if they stayed. Throughout this time the Israeli soldiers did not show the required paper for declaring a closed military zone.
The army pushed further through the whole village, firing tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition indiscriminately, even to the point where they seemed to be treating the invasion as a game. The soldiers moved towards a house in the centre of the village when two HRWs came into view of the house. The international HRWs were quickly fired upon from around 10 metres away, despite being clearly unarmed having even been acknowledged moments before by the soldier who shot at them.
Villagers in Jayyous protest detention of youth
The soldiers then came out of the house with a young man and were taking him towards the jeeps, when his brother who was trying to prevent his brother’s arrest was shot at close range with a rubber-coated steel bullet causing serious injury to his arm. While one international HRW headed to the area where Israeli soldiers were arresting the young man, they were fired upon, with the soldier, anxious that no film or photos were captured, obviously aiming for the head.
During the next half hour many of the residents of the village, supported by internationals, came out of their houses and argued with the soldiers demanding they release the boy and leave the village. On more than one occasion the soldiers used sound grenades, throwing them into the crowd mainly composed women and elderly men.
Attempts to release the boy were met with physical violence and the pointing of weapons in peoples faces. The Israeli military eventually made their way to the edge of the village near the south gate. They told villagers that they would stay there and if the village was quiet for 5 minutes they would release the boy, thus making it obvious that they were holding him for no other reason than for blackmail.
After another half hour, the Israeli DCO arriving and the grandfather stubbornly negotiating with them, the boy was released. During this time the army had gained access to the house they tried to break into previously and took up sniping positions on the roof. After several clashes between the village youth and the Israeli army they retreated temporarily to the south gate before once again entering the village, this time on foot with no support from jeeps.
As it got dark they once again retreated to the south gate, before spreading themselves out along the fence that runs along the edge of the village. Youths from the village attempted and were successful a couple of times in setting tires alight on the fence but the army used flares and were repeatedly shooting with automatic rifle fire. This continued for a couple of hours until at this point the village has been invaded again by many jeeps and soldiers with the whole village yet again under curfew.
On the nights of the 22nd and 23rd of January Ni’lin was invaded by the Israeli army. Dozens of jeeps, more than a hundred soldiers and a helicopter were present in the village invasion. A total of five homes were entered by the soldiers. Family members were beaten, humiliated and arrested when the army could not find who they were looking for. Two of the arrested were women. Collective punishment as witnessed in Ni’lin is forbidden under international law.
On the night of the 22nd of January at around midnight more than 70 soldiers surrounded one house and forcefully entered a house where three families are living, 11 persons in total. They were searching for one of the male family members. The soldiers acted very aggressively, scaring all the people by their brutality. They destroyed a lot of furniture, opened drawers scattering clothes and belongings. The 8 month year old son of the wanted man was taken abruptly from his bed as the soldiers forced everyone to go outside in the cold night in their pajamas, denying them the time to put on more clothes.
The young wife of the wanted man (20 years old and three months pregnant) was beaten with a stool and then dragged outside by her hair. As she was handcuffed the commander then humiliated her in front of her family and the other soldiers.
The father of the wanted man who is 55 years old, was beaten and cuffed by both his hands and feet. The soldiers stayed for about three hours before they left after kidnapping both the young wife and the father. They also stole two computers, two telephones, one car and jewelry.
Both of them were brought to Betunia prison and held captive for three days. In the last two years the soldiers have invaded their house around twenty times.
The following night on the 23rd of January, the soldiers returned to search for the wanted man again. They found him, cuffed him by his hands and feet and blindfolded him. They arrested him and took him to Ofer Prison Camp.
The same night the soldiers invaded a nearby house looking for another wanted man. The home was of a 17 year old that the soldiers believed to be his fiancé. They handcuffed, then kidnapped her and then the following morning, let her return to her family after she had been humiliated and interrogated in prison.
Three people of the seven who were arrested are still in prison.
On the second day of the Israeli massacres of Gaza, Dec. 29, several homes were invaded by the Israeli Army in the town of Madama, east of Nablus. Four men were arrested and homes were damaged in an invasion unusual in the number of arrestees taken from the town. None of the men has since been released, and none have been officially charged with a crime.
The town of Madama is located approximately 4 kilometers south of Nablus, and is subjected to almost nightly invasions – however the arrest of four men at once is a rare occurence. The town is surrounded on two sides by the aggressive Israeli settlements of Bracha and Yitzar.
At 1am on December 29, the Israeli Army invaded the town. They broke down the doors of the family of Na’im Mohammad Nassar immediately, arresting his 24-year-old son Kamal, who is currently studying in Nablus to become a nurse. Soldiers broke a window of the home, rounded up the family of nine, including a 3-month-old baby, and forced them to stay outside in the cold as the army searched the home. Soldiers grabbed the throat of Kamal’s 14-year-old brother and father, choking them as they threw them outside. The family reports still feeling afraid every evening. Kamal’s mother tried to speak with the soldiers, but was insulted and rebuffed. Soldiers shouted ‘Shut your mouth!’ to her upon being approached in any way. They said nothing about why Kamal was being taken. This same family lost a son two years ago who was very ill and who was held at Huwarra checkpoint for two hours as Israeli soldiers refused to allow him to pass through to the hospital. He died waiting to be let through.
At 1:30am, soldiers broke into the home of Omar Abd-Alkarem Nassar, and arrested his 20-year-old son Yasar. They also threatened to arrest his 13-year-old brother. 7 people were held outside of the home for 1.5 hours. When Omar Abd-Alkarem Nassar asked them “Why are you here?”, the soldiers answered “You have nothing – this is our land and we can come here whenever we want.”
The army invaded the home of the Jebir Ahman Massar family at 2am, and arrested 20-year-old Mohammad, who is also studying to be a nurse. The family was again kept outside in cold weather for 1.5 hours without toilet facilities and without being allowed to collect blankets for the children. One 2-year-old boy who was kept outside contracted a cold. Soldiers ransacked their house, dumping belongings on the floors of every room. Soldiers also asked the father, Jebir, for Mohammad’s mobile phone. When he refused to hand it over, they threatened to shoot him.
19-year-old Mohammad Zahirhseen Qut was also arrested – a student in psychology at Al-Quds Open University in Nablus. Neighbours and friends report that soldiers stole jewelery and 500 Jordanian dinars in cash from his home. Also, soldiers invaded the Yamen Cultural and Social Centre, a gathering place for youth in the community. They took the computer from the centre, as well as broke the lock on the door, and threw books and other educational materials onto the floor.
All these families are waiting for their sons to be returned and have heard nothing from them since they were taken by the Israeli military.
In the early morning of July 18th the villages of Madama and Asira al Qiblyia, south of Nablus, were invaded by the Israeli army. A total of twelve houses were invaded and the families, in many cases with small children, were brutally awoken by sound bombs exploding inside their houses. Fifteen young men were arrested without explanation. Many of their family members were physically and verbally abused and their possessions damaged.
In the village of Madama seven families had their houses invaded between 3 am and 6 am on the morning of July 18th. Soldiers broke through the front doors, damaging windows, locks and walls. The soldiers then threw sounds bombs inside the houses, in several cases dangerously close to highly explosive propane gas canisters. The families where forced to wait outside while the soldiers searched the houses. The arrestees were blind folded and beaten and many of their family members were physically abused with pushes and beatings. People also have reported that in a number of cases verbal abuse of racist and sexual nature where used by the military. Ten young men were arrested in Madama and no explanations were given to the arrestees or their families.
In Asira al Qibliya five young men were arrested during the invasion of five houses. The approach by the army was similar to the one in Madama, though somewhat less aggressive. Two men got their ID cards stolen by the soldiers without explanation or information on when they would be returned. Due to the Israeli check points all over the West bank the men who got their ID cards stolen can not go anywhere until they get them back. The army also raided and damaged the local women’s union office and a beauty salon where they stole beauty products.
The villages Madama and Asira al Qiblyia have suffered from harassments and attacks for several years by Israeli military and settlers from the close by illegal settlement of Yizhar. The military have invaded the villages many times and arrested people without cause. The settlers frequently pollutes the villages water resources, kill and steel the villagers sheep and goats, set fire to olive and almond trees, damage houses and physically attack farmers. On several occasions villagers have even been shot by live ammunition fired by the settlers. The villagers have complained to the Israeli authorities on many occasions, only to be arrested after false accusations from the settlers.
