The Palestinian village of ‘Azzun, home to some 10,000 people, lies east of the city of Qalqiliya, adjacent to Route 55 – the main road that runs between Qalqiliya and the city of Nablus. Early on in the second intifada, the Israeli military installed a n iron gate at the main entrance to the village, as it did in most West Bank villages. In recent years, the military has several times imposed collective punishment on the village by closing the gate, on the grounds that young men from the village had thrown stones and Molotov cocktails at passing cars along Route 55. In addition, military jeeps are often stationed at the entrance to ‘Azzun.
On 15 August 2018, at around 2:00 A.M., about twenty soldiers and an Israel Security Agency (ISA) official raided ten homes in the village. The troops had at least two dogs with them. They woke the inhabitants, kept some confined to rooms in their homes, threatened teenagers of the consequences should they throw stones, intimidated children and conducted violent searches. In one home, the parents awoke to find soldiers in their bedroom. In another, soldiers questioned a person about the possession of arms but left without arresting anyone.
Soldiers invading Palestinians’ homes in the dead of night, waking entire families – including small children – and ransacking their houses, has long since become part of the routine that the occupation regime imposes in the West Bank. The soldiers are not obliged to obtain or present any kind of warrant to raid these homes. They can do so whenever and wherever the military sees fit, in keeping with the broad, sweeping powers it has granted itself. These actions, which are clearly intended to intimidate and menace the population, are unjustified and are but another example of what daily Palestinian life under occupation is like.
Following is a description of several of the raids and some of the testimonies that residents gave B’Tselem field researcher Abdulkarim Sadi regarding that night’s events.
The Sweidan family’s home
At about 2:00 A.M., soldiers raided a two-story building with three apartments in the eastern neighborhood of ‘Azzun. Ilham (47) and Majdi (51) Sweidan live on the first floor; they have nine children, five of them married. In the adjacent apartment lives one of their sons, Muhammad (31), with his wife Amal and their two children. On the second floor lives another son, Ahmad (23), with his wife Dunia and their baby daughter. Wafa, Majdi’s sister, lives in a one-room apartment in another building that opens onto the shared yard. She was woken by the soldiers’ voices and woke the rest of the family. The soldiers entered Ilham and Majdi’s apartment and Muhammad’s apartment. They violently searched the premises, kept the family confined for about two hours, threatened several members of the family that they would be arrested and their home demolished and frightened everyone. They departed, leaving destruction and disorder in their wake.
Image
Mahdi Sweidan next to a wall damaged by soldiers at his home. Photo: Abdulkarim Sadi, B'Tselem, 15 August 2018
In a testimony she gave later that day, Ilham Sweidan described the raid on her home:
My sister-in-law Wafa woke us up and said soldiers were surrounding the house and about to break in. We jumped out of bed and got dressed. I had barely managed to put on my head-covering when I saw soldiers barge into our living room with two police dogs. They spread out in our apartment, which has three bedrooms, a living room and a bathroom. My son Mahdi (25) came out of his room, and the soldiers immediately went over to him, asked for his name and took him into the living room. There, they made him stand with his face to the wall and frisked him. Mahdi was very weak because he has the flu. My husband asked the soldiers to take pity on him and let him sit down because he’s sick, but they didn’t care. They ignored my husband’s plea and took Mahdi out to the yard. That made me nervous and got me worrying about Mahdi and about my other children and grandchildren.
The soldiers ordered me, my daughter Hiba (13), my son ‘Omar (6), my sister-in-law Wafa (53), my daughters-in-law Amal and Dunia and their babies – a five-month-old, 15-month-old and two-year-old – to go into one of the rooms they had finished searching. They held us in there for two hours. My grandchildren wanted to go to the bathroom and asked to eat, but the soldiers wouldn’t let them. We didn’t dare move because we were afraid of the soldiers and of the dogs roaming the house. Meanwhile, they kept my husband and three of my sons – Muhammad (31), Ahmad (23) and ‘Abd a-Rahman (16) – confined to the living room. During the search, the soldiers emptied the contents of the closets onto the floor, broke the tiles on one wall and rummaged through our things in the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. While we were in the room, I heard the soldiers order my youngest son, ‘Abd a-Rahman, to get dressed because they were going to take him with them. In the end they didn’t take him or Mahdi. After more than two hours, the soldiers left, leaving a complete mess behind them. Their behavior was barbaric and inhuman. There was no cause for them to be act so aggressively.
In a testimony he gave that day, Mahdi Sweidan (25), described the raid on his family’s home:
Image
Mahdi Sweidan. Photo: Abdulkarim Sadi, B'Tselem, 15 August 2018
After they frisked me inside the house, one of the soldiers ordered me to go down to the yard and stand facing the wall with my hands up. When I went out, I was surprised to see more soldiers. They had spread out in the yard and around the house. They frisked me again and one of the soldiers started questioning me. He asked for my personal details and started asking me whether I had any weapons in my possession. I told him I didn’t and that all I’m interested in is finding work and making a living.
The questioning in the yard lasted about fifteen minutes. Each time, a different soldier came up to me and asked me the same questions. They tried to scare me, threatening me that they’d arrest my mother, demolish our house and arrest my brothers. The soldiers shouted at me and swore at me, and one of them brought the dog real close to frighten me.
They kept me in the yard, facing the wall with my hands up, for about two hours. They also brought my little brother ‘Abd a-Rahman – he’s 16 – out to the yard so we’d think they were arresting him, to pressure us. I heard them knocking things over as they ransacked the house, and I heard my nephews crying. In the end they didn’t arrest any of my brothers, but it was a rough, wild raid. They left our homes in a total mess and destroyed things.
The home of Rashid and Khawlah Radwan
At about 3:00 A.M., about ten soldiers came with an ISA offical to the southern neighborhood of ‘Azzun. They entered the two-story home of Rashid (53) and Khawlah (38) Radwan. The Rashids have four children, three of them are currently studying abroad. The soldiers made Rashid and his son Yihya (16) sit in the living room, accused the boy of throwing stones at military jeeps and threatened him that the next time he did such a thing, he would be arrested or simply shot.
In a testimony he gave on 16 September 2018, Rashid Radwan described the raid on his home:
About ten soldiers and an ISA agent were at the door. The ISA guy asked me who was home and asked about my kids. I told him that the only ones home were me, my wife and our youngest son, Yihya , and the my other sons are at medical school abroad. Then he ordered me and my son into the living room, and the soldiers ordered my wife to go back to the bedroom and stay there. The ISA guy started accusing Yihya of throwing stones. He threatened him that he’d arrest him, or that the next time he was caught throwing stones, he’d simply be shot. Yihya answered that he’s concentrating on his studies so that he’d be able to follow in his brothers’ footsteps. But the ISA agent kept on threatening him. He said that this time the raid’s relatively calm, but that if they came again, they’d really search the house, turn it upside down, and arrest Yihya. This lasted for about half an hour, and then they left and went on to nearby houses. They didn’t search the house, but they did wake us up in the middle of the night, scare my son and harass us. I can’t understand this behavior and what they hope to achieve by scaring young kids.
The home of Isma’il and ‘Abir Radwan
Soldiers raided the home of Isma’il (41) and ‘Abir (37) Radwan, who have five children between the ages of five and nineteen, in the southern neighborhood of ‘Azzun. They did not search the house but did threaten one of the children, Walid (13), saying that he would be arrested if he threw stones at Route 55.
In a testimony he gave on 3 September 2018, Isma’il Radwan described the raid on his home:
I opened the door and saw about eight soldiers there. They all came straight inside. My wife and I woke the kids up so they wouldn’t be woken by the noise and get a fright from seeing the soldiers inside the house. The soldiers ordered me and my son Walid into a room. They put my wife and the other kids in the living room. The officer started warning Walid that he shouldn’t go with the other kids in the village and take part in their stone-throwing. He threatened him that if he’d be caught doing something against soldiers, or anywhere near Route 55, he’d be sent to prison or the soldiers would shoot him. The questioning and threats lasted about half an hour, even though Walid tried to explain to the officer that he doesn’t do that kind of thing and that the most important thing for him is to help us because he’s the eldest son. The soldiers left without searching the house. My brother, who lives next door, told us that the same thing happened in their house. The soldiers have no actual allegations against us, they just came to harass and intimidate us.
The home of the Abu Haniyehs
At about 2:00 A.M., the Abu Haniyehs woke up in a fright to find five soldiers in their bedroom. Iyad Abu Haniyeh asked the soldiers to leave the room and let him and his wife get dressed. The soldiers went out and after the couple dressed, kept them and their five children – between the ages of two and eleven – in the children’s room for about an hour and a half. After the soldiers left the house, the family learned that they had only searched the storage shed and the yard.
In a testimony he gave later that day, Iyad Abu Haniyeh described the raid on his home:
I was shocked to be woken by five soldiers while I was in bed with my wife. I didn’t understand what was happening. I opened my eyes and saw the soldiers standing over me. My wife also got frightened. She was in shock at finding soldiers in our bedroom. I started shouting at them and asking how they had gotten into our house without permission and without my opening the door. I asked them to leave the room so my wife and I could get dressed. They went out and let us get dressed.
The soldiers ordered us to sit in one of the rooms. We were in there for almost an hour, until they finished the search. During that time, I heard a stun grenade go off outside and also the firing of tear-gas. I guess people were protesting against the soldiers coming into our neighborhood.
My kids were terrified of the soldiers. My mother, Khadijah (68), was scared too. She has kidney trouble and has to go to the bathroom often. At first, the two soldiers who were standing in the doorway wouldn’t let her out, and they only agreed after I explained her medical condition. My wife was terrified and in shock. She didn’t move for more than half an hour after the soldiers left. The soldiers’ actions are harassment and abuse of my family. They’re scaring us for no reason and making the kids anxious and fearful.
On Friday, 18 August 2023, at around 11:30 P.M., cousins Mahmoud (18) and Yihya (16) a-Nawaj’ah arrived at the Meitar checkpoint. They were traveling in a car belonging to a Palestinian citizen of Israel. The two were on their way back from Israel to their home in the community of al-Jawaya, which lies southeast of the town of Yatta in the South Hebron Hills. When they reached the checkpoint, Israeli soldiers had the driver and two passengers get out of the car and conducted body searches on them. The soldiers took their bags, cellphones, and a bracelet and ring Yihya was wearing. They also took 8,000 NIS (~2,100 USD) in cash, money the cousins had earned working and were carrying in their pockets. Next, the soldiers tied the hands of the three individuals behind their backs using plastic bags, covered their eyes with plastic bags, and placed them in a military jeep. When they asked where they were being taken, the soldiers told them they were going to the Beit Yatir checkpoint (a checkpoint near the Mezadot Yehuda military base). Once they arrived at the military base, the three were taken out of the jeep and seated on the ground. Throughout the night and until the following afternoon, the three remained on the ground, handcuffed and blindfolded. Even in the intense heat of the day, the soldiers denied them water, food and access to the bathroom. When they requested to sit in a more shaded area, the soldiers refused. They were also forbidden from contacting their families or a lawyer to inform them of their whereabouts. Later, the three were taken to a room in the military base where the plastic bags around their hands were replaced with zip ties – this time, in front of them – and the bags covering their eyes were replaced with cloth blindfolds. They were interrogated in Arabic and asked for their names, ages, how they entered Israel and what they were doing there. From there, they were taken to another military facility, where fingerprints were taken from all three while they remained handcuffed and blindfolded. The soldiers then separated the driver from Mahmoud and Yihya and later released him. Mahmoud and Yihya were put in a car and sat there for about half an hour. Then, after a short drive to the Beit ‘Einun roundabout on Route 60, which sits north of Hebron, the soldiers took them out of the car and told them that they were being released. Only after the two pleaded did the soldiers remove the handcuffs and blindfolds. They returned their cellphones and Yihya’s jewelry that had been taken during the arrest. When the cousins asked the soldiers about the money that was taken from them, the soldiers claimed it had been transferred to the police and then left. Mahmoud called his father, who came to pick them up and took them home after more than twenty hours without food or drink. The next day, Mahmoud and Yihya went to the Kiryat Arba police station to demand their money back, but the police officers referred them to the Border Police camp in the settlement of Telem. Upon arriving there, they were told to come back the next day. On 31 August 2023, the two contacted HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual to file a complaint on their behalf with the police demanding their money be returned. B’Tselem field researcher Basel al-‘Adrah collected testimonies from the two cousins. Mahmoud a-Nawaj’ah (18), a resident of a-Jawaya testified: Ever since I finished school, I’ve helped support my family. In June 2023, I started working in the town of ‘Araba, inside the Green Line. I didn’t have a work permit, so I crossed in illegally. After about a month, my 16-year-old cousin Yihya a-Nawaj’ah joined me. On 18 August 2023, we decided to go home and paid a Palestinian citizen of Israel to drive us. At around 11:30 P.M., we reached the Meitar checkpoint. The guard there stopped the car and asked to see IDs. The driver showed them his ID, and I told them I didn’t have mine with me. Yihya said he didn’t have one because he’s sixteen and hasn’t gotten one yet. The guard instructed us to get out of the car and asked the driver to park it in the lot next to the checkpoint. A few soldiers made us move away from the car, and another soldier searched the vehicle with an electronic device. Meanwhile, the soldiers told me to call my parents and ask them to send my ID number or a photo. I tried calling, but no one answered. Yihya, the driver and I got taken into a room at the checkpoint, where our photos were taken, and then our faces were identified. Afterward, we were taken to a small cell, got physically searched, and everything that was on us was taken: our cellphones, our bags with all our clothes, the 5,000 NIS (~1,300 USD) I made in all the months I’d worked, and 3,000 NIS (~780 USD) Yihya had made that was on him. Then our hands were tied behind our backs with plastic bags, and we were blindfolded with plastic bags too. All three of us were put in a black military jeep. I asked where they were taking us, and one of the soldiers said: “Mezadot Yehuda.” After about a ten-minute drive, at around 12:30 A.M., we were taken out of the vehicle and sat on the ground inside a military base. I could feel cars zooming by very close to us. It was really scary, and I was very worried about what would happen, especially since no one in our family knew we’d been detained. I asked the soldiers if I could try calling someone from my family again, but they refused. When we asked for water and food, they refused that too, didn’t give us anything, and ordered us to shut up and not talk to each other, either. We asked how much longer we’d stay on the floor like that, and one of the soldiers said we had a lot more time. We were there all night. The next morning, about an hour and a half after we heard the call to dawn prayer, it got very hot. We couldn’t take the heat of the sun anymore and asked the soldiers to move us somewhere with more shade, but they refused. Around noon, it had become completely unbearable, and we asked them again and again if we could move, but they said no each time. At some point, I managed to take the plastic bag off my eyes, but within seconds, soldiers came over to put it back on and yelled at me that I wasn’t allowed to take it off. We sat on the ground handcuffed and blindfolded for 15 hours straight. Then, the soldiers brought us into a room in the base. They took the plastic off our eyes and covered them again with cloth. They also tied our hands tightly with zip ties – this time in front. They sat us down on chairs. Suddenly, someone I hadn’t seen began talking to us. He said his name was Khaled, and he asked each of us questions in mediocre Arabic. He asked for my name, my age, where I worked and how I entered Israel. He asked Yihya and the driver the same questions. After that, the soldiers put us back in the jeep, drove for about forty minutes, took us out again, and brought us into a room again, where they took our fingerprints while we were still handcuffed and blindfolded. After that, they put me and Yihya in a civilian car. I don’t know where the soldiers took the driver. We waited in the car for about half an hour before it started moving. A while later, we got dropped off and told we could go. They hadn’t taken off our blindfolds or untied our hands. They only did it after we begged them, and then we realized we were at the Beit ‘Einun roundabout. One of the soldiers gave us back our cellphones. We asked about our money, and the soldier said it was with the police, and then the soldiers left. I managed to take a photo of their license plate. That was at about 5:30 or 6:00 P.M. I called my father, and he came to pick us up. We were exhausted. Later, I called the driver, and he told me he had been released and that his friends came to pick him up, but that the soldiers confiscated his car. The next day, Yihya and I went to the police station in Kiryat Arba to get our money back, but they said our case was being dealt with in the Telem base. We went there, and they told us to come back the next day. The following morning, the Kiryat Arba police called me, and the interpreter asked me to tell him what happened, and how much money it was. I told him and said I was planning on going to Telem the next day to pick up my money. He told me they’d be in touch, but that never happened. Yihya a-Nawaj’ah (16), from Yatta, said: I was looking for work over the summer in order to have some pocket money for my last year of high school. My cousin, Mahmoud a-Nawaj’ah, got me a job where he works near ‘Araba in Israel, and I started working there on 15 July 2023. The first day of school was 20 August 2023, and I wanted some time to prepare, so we both left work on 18 August 2023. We left at around 9:30 P.M. with a Palestinian citizen of Israel who drove us for a fee, and at around 11:30 P.M., when we arrived at the Meitar checkpoint, the guard there detained us when he saw Mahmoud and I didn’t have IDs on us. The guy who was driving us showed the guard his ID, and the guard told Mahmoud and me to get out and the driver to park in the lot next to the checkpoint. The two of us got out of the car, and two soldiers led us through the lot. Then three more soldiers came, and one of them searched the car with an electronic device. The soldiers demanded to see IDs again, but we said we didn’t have them. They took the three of us to a room at the checkpoint, took our pictures in there, and then did a body search inside a small booth. They took our cellphones, and from me, they also took a bracelet and ring I was wearing, and the 3,000 NIS (~780 USD) I had made at work. They took Mahmoud’s 5,000 NIS (~1,300 USD), too. Then, the soldiers tied our hands behind our backs and blindfolded us with plastic bags. After that, the soldiers put us in a jeep and after a 10-minute ride, we were taken out and sat on the ground inside a military base. It was scary because I couldn’t see anything, and I didn’t know what the soldiers were planning. I felt cars zooming right next to me. I asked the soldiers to go to the bathroom a few times, but they didn’t let me. They also didn’t give us water or food, and they forbade us from talking to each other. Mahmoud and I asked to call our family or a lawyer, but one of the soldiers kept saying the same word every time: “forbidden.” About an hour and a half after we heard the call to dawn prayer, when the sun was already up, we asked them to move us to the shade, but they refused. Around noon, we couldn’t stand the scorching heat anymore – we had been there for 15 hours straight – but they continued to refuse our request to move to a shadier spot. At some point, they moved all three of us to a room in the base and replaced the plastic blindfold with a cloth one and the plastic bags tying our hands with zip ties; they put them in front this time. One of the soldiers tied my hands really tight, and it hurt. Then, someone who said his name was Khaled asked the three of us some questions in mediocre Arabic. He asked how old we were, where we worked, and how we entered Israel. After that, they took the three of us out of the room and put us back in the jeep. After a forty-minute ride, we were brought into another room where they took our fingerprints – even though our hands were still tied and we still had blindfolds on. They then put just Mahmoud and me in a car, and we waited for about half an hour inside it. After a short ride, the soldiers dropped us off and told us we could go, but they didn’t take off the handcuffs and blindfolds. We asked them to take them off, but one of them said they weren’t allowed. We didn’t understand why he wanted to leave us like that in the middle of the road, so we persisted until, finally, one of them untied our hands and took off our blindfolds. I felt relieved. They also gave us back our phones, and they gave me my bracelet and ring. They didn’t return the money they took from us, and when we asked for it, the soldier told us that the police had it. After that, they drove off, and Mahmoud called his father, who came to pick us up. We were so hungry and tired, and we just wanted to sleep.
On Sunday, 23 October 2022, at around 10:00 P.M., brothers Rajeh (24) and Bassem (21) a-Razem set out from their home in the Jaber neighborhood in the Hebron city center to deliver goods to the family store, which is located about 200 meters away. As they approached the Jaber checkpoint, the brothers saw several soldiers chasing youths from the neighborhood. Bassem got scared and ran back towards the house, while Rajeh kept walking towards the store. One of the soldiers suddenly approached Rajeh, pushed him, knocked him down and pressed his knee into his neck, choking him. More soldiers arrived. They handcuffed and blindfolded Rajeh and made him sit by the checkpoint. Bassem and Rajeh’s parents, who heard the commotion, rushed to the scene to rescue Rajeh, but the soldiers pushed them, swore at them and did not allow them to come near. The soldiers also attacked neighbors who came to the family’s aid, including: Ahmad Jaber (19), who was also handcuffed; his father, Minwer Jaber (48), who told the soldiers he was a member of the Palestinian security apparatus; and Minwer’s brother, Munzer Jaber (56), and his son Mu’taz (36). The soldiers also detained ‘Aref Jaber (48), who came to the spot to document the event. About half an hour later, an officer arrived at the checkpoint and released everyone except Rajeh, whom the soldiers held at the checkpoint, handcuffed and blindfolded, until 12:30 A.M. The Israeli media reported that two soldiers and an officer were suspended following the incident, which the IDF Chief of Staff described as a “a flagrant departure from IDF values.” Yet this case is no exception. It is part of the violent routine that is all too familiar to Palestinians in downtown Hebron – and throughout the West Bank. The only exception here was media exposure. Even then, how did the military choose to penalize soldiers who were documented verbally and physically assaulting Palestinians and falsely arresting one? By suspending them from operations. This is no mistake: the soldiers did not misinterpret orders and the Chief of Staff did not misunderstand the severity of the incident. It is Israel’s policy. B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari took testimonies on 25 October 2022 from some of the residents attacked: Rajeh a-Razem (24) from the a-Salaimeh neighborhood said: On 23 October 2022, at around 10:00 P.M., my father asked my brother Bassem and me to take goods to the store. Because we’re not allowed through the Jaber checkpoint by car, we have to transport goods with a small cart. We finished transporting the first batch and were taking the rest when we saw about four soldiers near the checkpoint yelling at some young guys on the street and chasing them. Bassem ran towards home, and I continued with the goods towards the checkpoint. Suddenly, one of the soldiers attacked me, knocked me down and sat on top of me, pressing his knee into my neck. He was choking me. Another soldier pointed his rifle at me. The soldiers asked me in Arabic about Bassem, who he was and why he ran away. I was afraid they’d hurt my brother, so I told them I didn’t know him, and then the soldier who was pointing his rifle at me shouted something in Hebrew that I didn’t understand. I told him I didn’t understand and he hit me, slapped me and shouted at me that I was a terrorist. The other soldier, who was still pressing his knee into my neck and choking me, also slapped me. Then, he pulled me to my feet and led me towards the checkpoint, where he tied my hands in front of me with zip ties, blindfolded me and made me sit in front of the checkpoint. Meanwhile, my parents arrived. I heard them talking to the soldiers. The soldiers were shouting at them and swearing at my mother. It sounded as if they were attacking my father, too. At some point they lifted me to my feet, dragged me a few steps and then made sit back down on the ground. I heard other people from the neighborhood shouting and it sounded like there was a struggle going on. I think the soldiers hit one of the residents, and I heard him tell them in English he was a police officer. I couldn’t see what was happening because I was blindfolded. They held me like that until about 12:30 A.M., and then they let me go and I went home. My family told me the soldiers had attacked Minwer Jaber and his family when they tried to help me. Ibtesam Jaber, a 37-year-old mother of six from the Jaber neighborhood, said: At around 10:30 P.M., my husband Minwer and I were at home. Suddenly, I heard shouting out on the street. Minwer went outside to see what was going on and our son Ahmad, who was woken by the shouting, followed him outside. I looked out the window and saw Rajeh a-Razem handcuffed and blindfolded. The soldiers had him sitting on the ground near the Jaber checkpoint. I saw his parents trying to get them to let him go, but the soldiers were pushing them and swearing at them. My husband came back inside to call the Palestinian DCO and get help for the young man. Meanwhile, I heard my son Ahmad shouting. Minwer rushed back out, barefoot. I saw three soldiers leading Ahmad to the checkpoint, hitting him as they went. They pulled the hood of his sweatshirt down over his face, tied his hands behind his back with zip ties and sat him down at the checkpoint, too. Afterwards, they pulled him and Rajeh to their feet and started dragging them, but Minwer blocked their path and asked why they were taking Ahmad, who had been asleep at home and had done nothing. One of the soldiers got angry and aggressive and said in Arabic that Ahmad was a Palestinian terrorist. The soldiers pushed my husband and ordered him to go home, but he refused to back off until they released both young men. One of the soldiers assaulted my husband and beat him. I yelled at them from the porch to let my husband and son go. One of the soldiers pointed his weapon at me, started swearing at me in Arabic and ordered me to go inside, while another soldier kept beating my husband. He pushed Minwer up against a wall, and his body and head got hit. Minwer shouted at the soldiers in English that he was a member of the security apparatus, but it didn’t help. In the meantime, my brother-in-law Munzer and his son Mu’taz came to help, but the soldiers attacked them too, handcuffed them and made them sit on the road. Ahmad Jaber (18) from the Jaber neighborhood said: I started heading downstairs to see what was going on, and before I even got to the street, three soldiers attacked me. One grabbed me by the shoulder, pulled the hood of my sweatshirt down over my face and started dragging me to the Jaber checkpoint, swearing at me and kicking me. He told me I was a Palestinian terrorist. Then he pushed me against the wall of a building. He started talking to me in Hebrew, and I didn’t understand what he wanted. Then he pulled my leg, knocked me down to the ground, trod on my legs and slammed my face into the wall. I heard my father’s voice and tried to raise my head, but the soldiers wouldn’t let me speak. They were very aggressive. The soldier punched and hit me several times on the head and kicked me. Then he tied my hands behind my back with zip ties and made me sit next to the checkpoint. A few minutes later, the soldiers pulled me and Rajeh up and led us a few steps on foot until my father blocked their way and asked why they were detaining us. The soldiers attacked my father, pushed him and ordered him to go home. He refused to back away, and then the soldiers started beating him. My mother shouted at the soldiers from the porch. One of the soldiers pointed his weapon at her and swore at her. Another soldier pushed my father against the wall, and he hit his head against it. My father shouted at the soldiers in English that he was a member of the security apparatus, but they didn’t stop. Meanwhile, my uncle Munzer and his son Mu’taz came to help, and the soldiers attacked them too. They handcuffed them and made them sit down next to the same building by the roadside. After about half an hour, an army officer arrived. He talked to us and let all of us go except Rajeh. A Palestinian ambulance arrived, and the crew gave my father first aid. He had bruises all over his body. Rajeh was only let go around 12:30 A.M. That evening, soldiers went up to our roof. They stayed there all night, making noise and disturbing our sleep.
On Monday, 5 July 2021, at around 10:30 P.M., sisters Rima and Iman a-Talhami were on their way home from the dentist. Rima (41), a mother of five, is a resident of East Jerusalem, and Iman (43), a mother of six, lives in the a-Salaimeh neighborhood in central Hebron. The two women were driving in Rima’s car, which has Israeli license plates, to Iman’s house. When they reached Checkpoint 160, which the military erected about 200 meters from Iman’s house, two Border Police officers stationed there refused to open the gate and let them through, without offering any explanation. The two women called Iman’s son Muhammad (22), to come and translate for the police officer. Yet even then, the officers refused to let them through, tried to forcibly snatch the car keys from them and hit Muhammad. Two settlers who came to the checkpoint attacked Iman, who was later taken to hospital. The officers did nothing to prevent the settlers from harming her. This incident is no exception. Hebron is laden with military checkpoints, which Palestinians depend on the goodwill of soldiers and police to cross. This violent routine is all too familiar to Palestinians in Hebron and throughout the West Bank. In a testimony she gave B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari on 8 July 2021, Rima a-Talhami recounted what happened that day: On 5 July 2021, at around 10:30 P.M., my sister Iman and I arrived at Checkpoint 160. We were on the way back to her house after going to the dentist in town. When we got to the checkpoint, I stopped at the gate and waited for them to open the gate for vehicles. Two Border Police officers were standing next to it, and one of them was talking to two Israeli girls who looked about 18. I asked the officer to open the gate so I could drive through. I showed him my Israeli ID card. He refused to open the gate. I told him that I always cross the checkpoint with my car, and he answered in Arabic mixed with Hebrew that he didn’t feel like letting me through this time. I replied that I wouldn’t move until he opened the gate. I called my nephew Muhammad and asked him to come to the checkpoint and talk to the officers because he knows Hebrew. Muhammad arrived within a few minutes and spoke with the Border Police officer, but he still wouldn’t let me through with the car. After we waited there for about half an hour, another car with a young Palestinian driver arrived and he offered to drive my car through the checkpoint. I gave him the keys and he got in the car, parked it by the roadside [on the other side of the checkpoint] and handed me the keys. The officer immediately tried to snatch the keys from my hand. I put them in my pocket and he tried to take them out, but I wouldn’t let him. I told him that if he wanted to search me, he had to get a female officer. Muhammad explained it to him in Hebrew, and then the officers attacked him. During the argument over the keys, two settlers came to the checkpoint and started filming us on a cellphone. One of them mocked me. When my sister Iman asked them not to film us, one of them attacked her and she fell down. Meanwhile, the Border Police officers detained Muhammad. The settler who attacked Iman also tried to attack Muhammad, but the officers wouldn’t let him. They led him to his car and asked both settlers to leave the area. In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari, Muhammad Nidal a-Talhami (22) described how he and his mother were attacked: After about half an hour of arguing with the soldiers, more cars drove up to the checkpoint. A young Palestinian got out of one and suggested to my mother and aunt that they get out of the car and he drive it through the checkpoint. He said the Border Police officers would let him. They agreed and got out, and he got into the car. My mother and aunt stood by the checkpoint. Meanwhile, two settlers arrived, one of them a huge man wearing shorts, and they started filming my mother and aunt on a cellphone. The young man drove the car through the checkpoint, parked it by the roadside and handed the keys to my aunt. One of the Border Police officers ran over to them and tried to snatch the keys from her hand, but she put them in her pocket. The officer tried to take the keys out of her pocket, but we objected to him touching her and ask him to call a female officer. The officers got angry, jumped me and tried to handcuff me. At that moment, I saw the huge settler push my mother, and she fell down and screamed in pain. I tried to free myself from the Border Police officers, but they overpowered me after slamming me against the checkpoint fence, kicking me and hitting me. While the officers were holding me, the settler tried to attack me. I saw one of the officers talking to him, and then the settler got in his car and drove away. My mother was still on the ground and looked unconscious. After a few minutes, an ambulance arrived and took my mother and aunt to hospital. Then the officers let me go and I went home. At around 3:00 A.M., I went to get my mother and aunt from the hospital in my aunt’s car and brought them back to our house. I later learned that the officer had demanded that my family not file a complaint against the settler in exchange for my release. I had bruises on the right side of my head, on my right arm and on other parts of my body from the beating I took from the officers while they were trying to control me.
