Israeli forces targeting Palestinian children in al-Khalil (Hebron)

Everyday, Palestinian families get attacked by Israeli forces in their own homes. Sometimes they bang on the door in the middle of the night, scaring children and adults, ransacking the house. On some of these raids, both during the night and in daytime, Israeli forces randomly arrest family members and take them to an unknown destination without any reason.

Last night, Israeli forces entered the Palestinian market in the Old City of al-Khalil (Hebron) and entered a Palestinian family home where they kidnapped an 8-year old girl and arrested 3 more young men. All of them were walked towards the military base in Shuhada street, but then kept behind a fence and military gate for more than 15 minutes before being released. No reason was given for the random arrest.

Small boy forced to pass Israeli forces' armored trucks
Small boy forced to pass Israeli forces’ armored trucks

Even the way to school can be a dangerous and perilous journey for children in al-Khalil (Hebron). Having to pass through sometimes multiple checkpoints to get to school, children as young as 4 years old have to pass by heavily armed Israeli soldiers. As if the ubiquitous military presence weren’t scary enough, children are subjected to bag-searches, frisking, detainment and arrests. With Israeli forces using tear gas on children on their way to school and back home after a long school-day, children also have to duck away from tear-gas grenades shot towards them and navigate past clouds of tear-gas lingering on in the alleys.

Israeli forces shooting tear gas at children on their way to school
Israeli forces shooting tear gas at children on their way to school

Arresting children under the age of 11 is illegal even under Israeli law, as it is considered to be too traumatizing and detrimental to a child’s well-being, regardless of the accusations brought forward against a child. However, Palestinian children are detained, frisked, body-searched and arrested by Israeli forces on an every-day basis. As this illegal practice does not result in any consequences for the soldiers or policemen at all, Palestinian children are constantly at risk of maltreatment, abuse and denial of their most basic human rights.

Palestinian children forced to wait at a checkpoint for soldiers to allow them to pass
Palestinian children forced to wait at a checkpoint for soldiers to allow them to pass

Nablus family home suffers brutal Israeli night raid

15th July 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Awarta, Occupied Palestine

On Sunday, July 12, at 1:30 am, a group of 40 Israeli soldiers came into the village of Awarta circling and raiding the home of 22 year old Izzat Qawariq right before the family was preparing to go to sleep.

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The wreckage left after Israeli forces raided the home.

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His cousin told ISM that the soldiers violently kicked the doors open with a gun, demanded the women and men to stay in two separate rooms, while they trashed, broke glass objects and searched through all the belongings of the house. They took both Izzat’s and his mother’s telephones, and Izzat’s medical papers for the eye treatment he was taking in St. John’s hospital of Jerusalem, as well as his permit paper to be able to travel to Jerusalem for his treatment. The soldiers kept the home under siege until 4:00 in the morning, without allowing the family to have their food according to the tradition of Ramadan.

Once the soldiers arrested Izzat, his parents were trying to persuade them to allow him to leave wearing his shoes; the soldiers reacted by hitting Izzat’s father with a gun, injuring his left wrist. His father told ISM that he decided to contain his anger in fear of worse violence and to avoid also being arrested.

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The hand and wrist of Izzat’s father.

Izzat’s family has no idea why they arrested him. He and his father would work with their truck plowing the land next to the illegal settlement of Etamar. Izzat has never been involved in a political party. The family also reported that this unit of soldiers was a new unit, called Dov Dovan, who wear special masks on their faces to scare the people.

That same night, during the same time of Izzat’s arrest, his cousin, Raef Qawariq, who currently lives with his wife in Huwara, was also arrested without charges in his home in similar violent conditions by a large group of Israeli soldiers. Raef, 27 years old, just got married two months ago and works as a designer in Ramallah, and like his cousin, has never been involved in a political party. There is no known reason as to why they were arrested. Both families called the Israeli human rights organization, HaMoked, to ask about them, but they were told to wait for them to call them back.

Awarta is a village in the district of Nablus, which suffers from Israeli soldiers night incursions on an almost daily basis.

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A dark photo of soldiers surrounding the home late at night.

Israeli forces raid yet another family’s home in Tel Rumeida

11th March 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Yesterday on the 10th of March around 1 AM in occupied Al-Khalil (Hebron), Israeli occupation forces raided the home of human rights activist Imad Abu Shamsiya and his family. The soldiers turned the house upside-down; the family watched as soldiers broke one of their cameras and stole the SD card and a hard drive. Imad Abu Shamsiya is a well known member of the Human Rights Defenders and his family has been frequently targeted by the Israeli army and settlers.

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The Abu Shamsiyeh family home – Photo by Human Rights Defenders

 

At least 25 soldiers came to the house. 10 of them went inside and woke up the 7 family members, including children and teenagers between the ages of 11 and 17. The soldiers told the family to gather all in one room, taking photos of everyone and documenting their IDs. After breaking a cupboard, searching through the computer and ransacking the house, they left after approximately 2 hours.

All family members have been attacked by settlers and either detained or arrested during the last 5 months. Yesterday, the day before the raid one of Imad’s sons, Awne, age 15, was detained for 3 hours because he refused to give up the name of one of his friends who the soldiers where looking for.

The raid on the Abu Shamsiya family is only one of the most recent in a series of home invasions Israeli forces have been conducting in Al-Khalil. The following night at 1:00 AM, soldiers raided the Abu Sneneh family’s home in Qeitun neighborhood. Around forty soldiers broke into the house in the night, forcing open every door and ransacking all the rooms, destroying some of the family’s belongings and remaining inside for three hours.

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The Abu Sneneh family’s home after Israeli soldiers invaded

 

“If you don’t open the door in 5 minutes, we will blow it up”

24th February 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine



During the night of the February 22nd, Israeli occupation forces raided two homes belonging to the Edies family, in the Al-Khalil (Hebron) neighbourhood of Tel Rumeida. At least thirty soldiers invaded the homes of Yahya Edies and Saleh Edies at around 2:30 am on Sunday morning. Mhammad Edies, one of Yahya’s sons, reported to ISM volunteers that soldiers threatened his family, telling them “if you don’t open the door in 5 minutes, we will blow it up”

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ISM volunteers watching from the window of their house in Tel Rumeida counted at least 30 soldiers exiting the houses after the raid

Israeli soldiers ordered the family of twelve, including five children between 5 months and 12 years old, to gather in one room. One of the family’s sons was unable to follow the soldiers’ orders, since he is disabled and cannot move by himself; only after some discussion was he finally allowed to stay in the room he was in. The family was forced to stay inside that room for about an hour as the soldiers ransacked the house, upending furniture, strewing things all over the floor destroying the family’s belongings.

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The Edies family’s home, the morning after the night raid – photo by Mhammad Edies
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The kitchen after Israeli soldiers ransacked it – photo by Mhammad Edies
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The soldiers upended furniture and destroyed belongings while the Palestinian family was trapped in one room – photo by Mhammad Edies

 

 

Israeli forces prevented ISM volunteers from documenting what was happening, pointing their guns and aiming lasers at them, yelling at and detaining those who attempted to leave their house to photograph the raid.

The following morning, a local a human rights activist reported that Israeli occupation forces had raided around 20 houses in Al-Khalil on that same night of the 21st to the 22nd of February alone.

 

19-year-old shot and killed by Israeli forces in Burin

3rd February 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Burin, Occupied Palestine      

On the evening of January 31, 2015, Israeli soldiers shot and killed Ahmad Ibrahim Najar, a 19-year-old Palestinian from the village of Burin (Nablus region). In the attack, Israeli forces also injured 18-year-old Mohammed Raed Asaos. Mohammed and a third man, Abdulrahman Najar, 19 years old, have been arrested by Israeli forces.

The three young men were beside the settler road outside their village of Burin when the army opened fire. Israeli soldiers were present at the road before they arrived, patrolling the area. The soldiers opened fire with live ammunition, shooting Ahmad Najar in the face and Mohammed Asaos in his side. Najar’s wounds were fatal. After the shooting, the two surviving men escaped to Burin. The village was immediately declared a closed military zone as Israeli forces raided the Burin in search of the two men, who were eventually found and arrested in their family homes. The Israeli army claims that the men were throwing Molotov cocktails at the road.

Ahmad Najar’s body was initially taken by Israeli forces, and only released to Palestinian jurisdiction later in the night. His funeral, attended by around 1000 Palestinians, was held the morning of Feburary 1st. Hundreds of women cried together, as the men of the village carried and followed Ahmad’s body from the car to his family home one last time, to the village mosque, and finally to the cemetery.

As the community mourned their loss in an immense outpouring of grief, three Israeli military helicopters circled in the skies overhead. Overwhelmed by shock and sadness at their son’s murder, Ahmad’s father and mother passed out in the arms of friends, who poured water on their pained faces to revive them.

After his funeral, trails of friends and community members walked to the road where Ahmad was shot, taking moments to commemorate his life and death. His blood still stained the white rocks of the road beside a crumpled white Israeli body bag. Not long after the streams of people started arriving at the site, three Israeli soldiers arrived and escorted the mourners away, standing at the entrance of the road to ensure no more visitors were allowed, preventing them from paying their respects at the site of Ahmad’s death.

Israeli military say the incident is currently under investigation. The Israeli army justifies shooting live ammunition at Palestinians by claiming these attacks “prevent” attacks on Israelis living in illegal settlements. However, it is evident from Ahmed’s death that the force used by Israeli authorities was disproportionate to any that could possibly be necessary to ‘’prevent’ any perceived threat or attack from occurring. Ahmed was shot directly in his face, the live bullet exiting through the back of his neck.