Israeli occupation forces raid Bil'in home in search of documents, phone

Published yesterday (updated) 07/01/2010 15:39

Bethlehem - Ma'an -

Bil'in residents reported the entry of between 35 to 40 Israeli occupation soldiers in 6 jeeps and a troop carrier which entered the village before sunrise Thursday and surrounded the home of Ranu Ayub, detained by Israeli forces last week.

According to reports, Ayub has been kept in the West Jerusalem interrogation center without access to a lawyer or family visits. He has not been charged.

Iyad Burnat, head of Bil'in's Popular Committee in a statement following the raid, that soldiers invaded Ayub's home "on a trawling exercise, seeking documentation and Rani Ayub's mobile phone."

Israeli occupation forces shoot Hebron teen

Published yesterday (updated) 08/01/2010 00:00

Hebron – Ma’an –

Three Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli occupation soldiers at a military checkpoint north of the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday, medical officials said.

A boy named Majid Muhammad Abdul Rahman Jaradat, 16, was shot in the hand and the abdomen, medics said, and was transported to Hadassah Ein Karem hospital in Jerusalem.

A hospital spokeswoman, Karmit Orpav, said a Palestinian arrived at the hospital in an intensive care ambulance following the incident and was going into surgery for "serious" injuries. "He's on his way to the operating room now," she said.

The incident reportedly took place at a checkpoint on bypass road number 35. It was not clear what the cause of the clashes was.

An Israeli military spokesman said that Israeli occupation forces fired at three Palestinians who were rolling burning tires and throwing stones. The spokesman confirmed that one Palestinian was shot and “moderately injured.”

Israeli forces were searching the area for the other two Palestinians, he said.

Residents say soldiers attacked family

In a separate incident, a Palestinian family said they were assaulted by Israeli occupation soldiers who tried to arrest one member of the family in the village of Al-Tuwani, south of Hebron on Thursday.

Resident Jamal Al-Raba’i told Ma’an that 15 soldiers beat his relatives with rifle butts when the family tried to stop them from making the arrest while they were herding their sheep.

He said six people were injured in the incident, including five who were taken to the local hospital in the nearby town of Yatta. Mus’ab Al-Rabi’a was arrested and taken to an Israeli military detention center in Hebron, he said.

“The condition of the injured is stable with bruises on different parts of their bodies,” he said, identifying the injured as Fatima Rabi’a, Jum’a Rabi’a, Kamal Rabi’a, Majdi Rab’ia, Kamal Rabi’a, and Ramzi Rabi’a.

He added that Al-Tuwani residents face daily harassment from settlers who he said want to confiscate their land for settlement expansion.

A group of international observers with the organization Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) also reported the incident, adding that observers were also assaulted in the incident.

“At around 10:30am Palestinian shepherds were grazing their sheep on privately owned Palestinian land when they saw Israeli settlers observing them from the outpost of Havat Ma’on,” CPT said in a statement.

“A short time later an Israeli occupation army jeep came to the area. After stopping to speak with one of the settlers, three Israeli soldiers approached the shepherds and ordered them to leave the area. The shepherds explained that it was their land, but agreed to move further down into the valley.

“The soldiers followed them and grabbed at one of the shepherds, so they all tried to quickly leave the area with their sheep. A second army jeep came to the area and a further three soldiers joined in the attack escalating the violence. Soldiers hit the shepherds with their rifle butts, pushed them and while some soldiers forcibly held them to the ground others kicked them.

“Other members of the family came to the area, and the women tried to intervene, hoping to deescalate the situation. However, the women were also forcefully pushed to the ground. Internationals trying to video tape the violent attack were roughly pushed and a soldier grabbed at and broke one of the video cameras.

“Other villagers came to the area and tried to calm the situation by talking with the soldiers, but the soldiers ignored all pleas for calm and instead fired percussion grenades and tear gas into the small group of women and children gathered nearby on the hillside.”