Video: Young Palestinian man violently arrested, held wrongfully for 5 days because Israeli Police didn't bother to check his alibi

23 October 2015

CCTV footage shows soldiers assaulting and arresting youth wrongfully suspected of stone throwing

On 6 October 2015, while Ansar 'Asi, 25, was at work at a cleaning products company in al-Bireh, clashes between soldiers and Palestinian youth took place in the area. At a certain point, as 'Asi was standing at the entrance to the storage room, soldiers spotted him and began to violently arrest him, kicking and assaulting him with their rifles. The incident was captured on the company's security cameras. 'Asi required medical treatment and was taken to Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital on 7 October 2015.

'Asi was held in detention for two days before even being taken for interrogation at the Binyamin police station. Police interrogators there told him that three soldiers identified him as a stone thrower. In spite of his denials, the police did not bother to check his alibi claim, in spite of the existence of footage. Only following an arrest extension hearing at the Ofer military court, was the police willing to view the footage, which was brought to them on Friday, 9.10.2015. 'Asi was released unconditionally on Sunday, 11 October, after five days in wrongful detention.

B'Tselem does not know whether the soldiers who arrested 'Asi were held accountable for assaulting him and making up false charges.

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אמבולנסים ליד מתחם המגורים של המשפחה בליל האירוע. התמונה באדיבות המשפחה

A Routine Founded on Violence

Soldiers hold 21 members of Palestinian family, 7 of them minors, in storeroom, and attack and beat some of them; six spend night in hospital, one remains in custody

On Sunday, 12 December 2021, at around 1:00 A.M., soldiers knocked on the door of the apartment in which Mahmoud (57) and Nidaa (55) Salhab live with their four children in the neighborhood of Khirbet Qalqas in Hebron. When Mahmoud opened the door, about 20 soldiers came in and demanded to know the whereabouts of his son Anas (24), a student at Hebron University. They then locked Anas in his room on the ground floor of the building and led Mahmoud and three of his children to an adjacent storeroom. Soldiers surrounding the building led other family members who live in the compound to the storeroom, until they were holding 21 of them, including seven minors, in the room along with 10 soldiers guarding them. From the storeroom, the family could hear Anas shouting as the soldiers beat him in the adjacent room. When his brother Ibrahim (16) tried to protest what was happening, the soldiers attacked and beat him, too. In the ensuing argument, soldiers dragged Anas’ cousin, Osama Salhab (24), along the storeroom floor, causing his head to bang into an empty aquarium, which shattered and injured him. The soldiers called a military ambulance that took him to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. At around 2:30 A.M., the soldiers left, taking Anas with them, handcuffed and blindfolded. They drove him around for several hours until they arrived at the Etzion Detention Center at around 8:30 A.M. At the center, he was held inside a military jeep until noon. Throughout the entire time, Anas was not given food, water or access to a toilet. He was then taken into a conversation with an ISA officer, who warned him not to participate in Hamas activities marking the movement’s anniversary. The talk lasted less than an hour, after which he was released and sent home with other students who had been called in for a similar warning. After the soldiers left, five family members were taken to the 'Alia Governmental Hospital in Hebron. Three of them were diagnosed with bruises, and two were in shock. At around 5:00 A.M., they were discharged. Osama Salhab was discharged the following day, and then arrested and charged with assaulting soldiers that night. In the dead of night, dozens of soldiers entered a compound in Hebron that is home to about 30 people. They woke the occupants, held most of them in a storeroom and attacked some of them. The result: six members of the family were taken to hospital and two detained – one of them to date. This is incident is not exceptional; it is part of the intolerable routine that the Israeli apartheid regime imposes on Palestinians in the West Bank. B'Tselem field researchers Manal al-Ja'bari and Musa Abu Hashhash collected the following testimonies from members of the Salhab family, who described their nightmarish experience: In a testimony he gave on the day of the incident, one of the brothers living in the compound, Ahmad Salhab (52), a father of four, recounted: On 12 December 2021, at around 1:00 A.M., I was woken by noises and shouting coming from my brother Mahmoud's house. I quickly went outside and my son Osama followed me. We found soldiers there and they led us to a storeroom on the ground floor of Mahmoud's house. My brother Muhammad and his son Nur a-Din (23) were already there with more than 10 soldiers, including an officer. Some of the soldiers were attacking Muhammad's son Ibrahim. Meanwhile, the soldiers brought in my niece Mariam (20), who is Mahmoud’s daughter, and my nephew Salah a-Din (19), who is Muhammad's son. They also brought in my son Amjad (27). We got into an argument with the soldiers, who pushed us and ordered us to sit still on the floor while they continued attacking Ibrahim. The argument turned into a scuffle and then some soldiers jumped my son Osama, punched him, beat him with their rifle butts and kicked him. Muhammad and I tried to wrestle Osama from their hands. They pushed us. Some of them attacked Muhammad, and other soldiers continued beating Osama. They dragged him to the corner of the storeroom, where an aquarium crashed down on his head. I saw Osama lying on the floor, motionless. I saw he was severely injured and even thought he might be dead. The soldiers dragged him outside, and I followed them. Meanwhile, two Palestinian ambulances arrived, and the paramedics put Osama in one of them and gave him first aid. Before the ambulance left, the officer ordered them to transfer Osama to a military ambulance. I heard one of the soldiers say he was going to be taken to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. Osama’s head was bleeding and his face was covered in blood. After he was taken away, the soldiers led Anas to a jeep that was parked nearby and drove off with him. My back and left arm were hurting from the soldiers' beating, but I didn't need treatment. My brother Muhammad, my nephew Ibrahim and my son Amjad were taken in the two ambulances to the 'Alia Governmental Hospital in Hebron. A relative also drove my nieces Mariam and Asmaa (17), Muhammad's daughters, to the hospital because they were in shock. Everyone got back from the hospital at around 6:00 A.M. Muhammad, Amjad and Ibrahim had bruises on various parts of their bodies. In the morning, I went to the police station at Kiryat Arba after my relative, who visited Osama at Soroka Medical Center, said he had been transferred there. When I got there, an interrogator took a statement from me about what happened and only then let me see my son. Osama was sitting on a chair and couldn't move. His head was bandaged and his face was wounded. The police officers told me they were transferring him to the detention center at Etzion. In a testimony he gave on the day of the incident, Ibrahim Salhab (16), Mahmoud and Nidaa's son and Anas's brother, said: I was woken by loud banging on our door. I got up quickly and went towards the door. I saw my father open it. Several soldiers came in and asked my father about my older brother Anas. When they saw me, they led me to a storeroom on the ground floor of our house. A few minutes later, they brought my uncle Muhammad and his sons in, and later they also brought my uncle Ahmad and his sons in, as well as other members of the family. The officer ordered me to sit on the floor. I didn't do immediately as he said and asked the officer what I was supposed to sit on. Then he and about 10 other soldiers attacked me. They punched me, beat me with their rifle butts, kicked me and then knocked me down. I kept shouting and asking them to stop hitting me. I asked what I'd done to them. They just told me to shut up and kept beating me. My uncle Muhmmad tried to free me from their hands, and they pushed him and made him sit on the floor. After they stopped beating my uncle and me, the officer and the soldiers moved on to my cousin Osama and attacked him. They knocked him down and dragged him to a corner of the storeroom, and then an aquarium that was standing on a small table fell on him. Osama started bleeding. His head and face were covered in blood and he stopped moving. Everyone in the storeroom started shouting, and a scuffle broke out between my uncles and the soldiers. The soldiers dragged Osama out, and my uncle Ahmad went out after them. All the other soldiers followed him outside. Ahmad came back and told us they'd taken Osama to Soroka Medical Center in an Israeli ambulance. I was exhausted and my whole body was hurting from the beating. I saw my uncle Muhammad sitting on the floor. He couldn't get up. Then I found out the soldiers had arrested my brother Anas. Two Palestinian ambulances took me, my cousin Amjad and my uncle Muhammad to the 'Alia Governmental Hospital in Hebron. In the ER I also met my two cousins, Mariam and Asmaa, who were in shock. I was examined and x-rayed, and they found bruises all over my body. I went home and straight to bed. My brother Osama was treated at Soroka Medical Center and then transferred to the Kiryat Arba police station. From there he was transferred to the detention center at Etzion. I don't know where my brother Anas was taken. In a testimony she gave on 27 December 2021, Nisrin Salhab (12), Muhammad and Intisar's daughter, recalled: That night, I was watching a Turkish show on TV. My mother and my sister Asmaa were asleep. Suddenly, I saw flashlights shining through our windows. I went over to a window and saw a lot of soldiers around the house. I quickly woke my mother and Asmaa. My mother came out of the room and was surprised to find five soldiers holding my brothers Nur a-Din (23) and Salah a-Din (19). The soldiers led us to my uncle Mahmoud's storeroom. Some of my uncles and their children were there. Everyone was sitting on the floor, and the soldiers were pointing their weapons at them. They ordered us to sit on the floor, too, and we all sat down. I sat next to my cousin Mariam, who was crying. I saw the soldiers drag my cousin Anas to another room. I heard his voice and the voices of the soldiers, and it sounded like they were beating him. I was terrified because the soldiers were being barbaric. My cousin Ibrahim got into an argument with the soldiers and they immediately started beating him. A commotion broke out and I saw my cousin Osama yelling at the soldiers in Hebrew. I didn't understand what he was saying. One of the soldiers banged his head into Osama’s forehead and then they got into a fight. At least 10 soldiers stepped in and attacked Osama. They beat him with their rifle butts and dragged him along the floor. His head hit an old aquarium, and it crashed down onto him. Osama's head and face were covered in blood. I was screaming and crying, and shaking with fear. My father and uncles tried to defend Osama, and then the soldiers attacked them and beat them, too. Mariam, Asmaa and I screamed and cried. The soldiers took us and the rest of the women and children out of the storeroom and led us to my uncle Muhammad's house on the second floor. We could hear the shouting from there and realized the soldiers were still beating my father and my uncles. Five soldiers guarded the doorway to the apartment and wouldn’t let us leave. Asmaa was crying so hard, she could barely breathe. Mariam also kept crying, and I was crying and trembling with fear. We stayed like that until the soldiers left. From the balcony, we watched them lead Anas away in handcuffs and take Osama away in an Israeli ambulance. After the soldiers left, we went down to the storeroom and saw my father lying on the floor, shouting in pain. There was blood on the floor and on the wall. Asmaa and I sat down on the floor next to my father and cried. Two Palestinian ambulances arrived and the crew took my father and my cousins, Ibrahim and Amjad, to hospital. A relative also drove Asmaa and Mariam there in his car. Asmaa was having trouble breathing, and Mariam was screaming and couldn't stop crying. In a testimony he gave on 20 January 2022, Anas Salhab (24), Muhammad and Nidaa’s son, related: The soldiers put me in the room next to the storeroom and kept demanding I give them my phone. I told them I didn’t have one. They pushed me and hit me with their hands and rifle butts. I heard my family shouting in the storeroom, but I didn’t know what was going on there. After about an hour, they led me to a jeep outside. On the way, I saw my cousin Osama lying in the yard in front of the house and heard my uncles shouting that he needed medical treatment. I saw ambulances parked on the street. The soldiers put me in the jeep and blindfolded me. The jeep drove to the settlement of Beit Hagai. On the way, I asked for a painkiller for my headache but they didn’t give me anything, not even food or drink. Then the jeep drove somewhere else, returned to Beit Hagai and finally drove to Etzion. We got there around 8:30 or 9:00 A.M. They left me in the jeep until midday without any water or food, and I couldn’t go the bathroom. Then I was interrogated by the regional ISA coordinator, Taysir. He didn’t accuse me of anything but only warned me that I shouldn’t take part in Hamas activities. I told him the soldiers had invaded our home and attacked my family and me. He said it was a troop of inexperienced soldiers who don’t know how to behave with people. I was released less than an hour later. I waited outside Etzion until they let other students I’d seen inside go, and we traveled to Hebron together. There, each of us went home. I had bruises on my shoulder and back and I was in pain for several days.

3 February 2022

רבאח אבו אל-חומוס עם בניו, בילאל, סולטאן ומוחמד אחרי שחרורם ממעצר. צילום: עאמר עארורי, בצלם, 24.11.21

East Jerusalem

Israeli police break into apartments, beat occupants and falsely arrest them during night raid on building in East Jerusalem

On Sunday, 21 November 2021, at around 2:30 A.M., more than 20 masked police officers broke into the Abu al-Hummus family's building in the al-‘Esawiyah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The owner of the building, who lives on the ground floor, asked what they were searching for, but the officers ignored him and went up to the second floor. There, they broke into an apartment and stood in the doorway of the parents' bedroom. They asked where Muhammad Abu al-Hummus (18) lived. After being told he lived on the third floor, they left the apartment. On their way, they encountered Muhammad's brother, Bilal, and beat him before the terrified eyes of two children of tenants. When Bilal’s mother tried to wrestle him from the soldiers’ grasp, they pushed her and knocked her over. They then arrested Bilal. The officers went up to the third floor, where Muhammad lives with his brother Sultan (27) and his sister Fatmeh (20) – all children of the building owner. Again, they forced their way into the apartment, woke Muhammad, handcuffed and blindfolded him and led him out of the house. His sister Fatmeh tried to film the arrest on her phone. When officers ordered her to stop and she did not comply, they pushed her. When her two brothers – Khader, who lives on the fourth floor, and Sultan – tried to protect her, the officers attacked them and severely beat them. They were then arrested, as well. The police led the four brothers to a Border Police base. Khader was taken to hospital and subsequently released. Muhammad was taken to the Russian Compound detention facility in Jerusalem, where he was interrogated for five hours. The following day, he was again interrogated for hours on end, after which it turned out it was a case of mistaken identity. A few hours after the mistake was clarified, during which he was kept in solitary confinement, Muhammad was released. The officers took Sultan and Bilal to the police station on Salah a-Din Street, where they were questioned on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. They were then taken to court, where the judge extended their detention until 23 November 2021, at noon. The police tried to transfer them to the police station at the Russian Compound, but the doctor there refused to admit them due to their physical condition as a result of the beating. Instead, they were taken to hospital for examination. Afterwards, they were sent back to the Russian Compound, where they signed a NIS 5,000 (~1,605 UDS) bail guarantee and were given five day’s house arrest. This is another routine incident in the life of a Palestinian family in East Jerusalem: police raiding a residential building in the dead of night, waking up all the occupants including children, breaking down doors, beating family members, arresting several and then charging them with assault. The family went through hours of horror, violence and false interrogations; some lost days of work. This is how Israeli security forces run the lives of Palestinians of East Jerusalem —enjoying far-reaching powers and no accountability for their actions. B'Tselem field researcher 'Amer 'Aruri collected testimonies from members of the Abu al-Hummus family, who described the nightmare of the police raid on their homes and recounted what happened next: In his testimony, Muhammad's father, Rabah Abu al-Hummus (64), recounted: I have diabetes. Because of the illness, I had to have half of my leg amputated a year and a half ago. My wife Hanan (62) and I live on the ground floor of our four-story building. My apartment has direct access to the street. My son Bilal (29) and his family live with us. Another family rents an apartment on the floor above us. My children Sultan (27), Muhammad (18) and Fatmeh (20) live on the third floor, and my son Khader (30) lives on the fourth floor with his family. On Sunday, 21 November 2021, at around 2:30 A.M., my wife and I were home when I heard sounds outside, around the building. I opened the door and saw three masked people in olive-green military uniforms. I asked them, "What's wrong?" They ordered me to get inside. I told them it was my building and went out of my apartment to the road to see what was going on. They pushed me and tried to stop me from getting back into the building, but I managed to get in. I heard my daughter Fatmeh screaming from the apartment upstairs. I climbed the stairs with difficulty, because of my leg. When I reached the third floor, I saw more than 20 masked people in olive-green military uniforms inside the apartment. One of them was sitting on the couch writing things down. I saw my son Muhammad, handcuffed and blindfolded, with a mask on his face. The door to the apartment was ruined. Testimony of building tenant Asmaa Abu Sneineh (38), a mother of five whose house was broken into by the police: I was woken in the middle of the night by the sound of an explosion in the house. My husband woke up, too. I opened the bedroom door and saw a masked man wearing an olive-green military uniform. I asked him what he wanted, and he ordered me to stay in the room. I asked him again what he wanted. My husband also asked him what he wanted. He said he was looking for the Abu al-Hummus' house. We told him he’d got the wrong place, and he told us to show him where the Abu al-Hummus' house was. There were already more than six people inside our apartment, all masked and armed. One of them pushed my husband towards the front door, which they’d broken down. One officer told us to tell them where the Abu al-Hummus' house was. We told him that it was upstairs and then they left. Two officers stayed in the doorway. All of my sons woke up from the shouting in the stairway. The police officers saw our neighbor Bilal trying to climb the stairs to his family’s apartment on the floor above us, and attacked him. My little ones, who are 10 and 11, saw them kick Bilal and beat him, especially in the face and head. They also pushed his mother, Hanan, when she tried to get him out of their hands. I quickly took the kids inside so they wouldn't see any more. They were terrified. Then I saw the officers leading Bilal's brothers – Muhammad, Sultan and Khader – away. The whole incident lasted about half an hour. I was worried about my husband, because he has a heart condition. He had surgery a year and a half ago. He looked exhausted. It's not normal to break down someone’s front door and come in all the way to the bedroom, infringing on a family's privacy like that. What would have happened if they'd gone into the children's room?! In her testimony, Muhammad's sister Fatmeh Abu al-Hummus (20) recalled: That night, I was awake and talking with my fiancé on the phone. Suddenly, he said people were posting on social media that there were occupation forces surrounding our building. I immediately went out to the balcony and saw the occupation forces spread out in the street. I heard shouting in the stairway coming from the second floor, below us. Later, I gathered the door of their apartment had been broken down. I woke up my brother Sultan and we went over to the door, because we heard someone trying to break it down. Sultan told them he was opening up, but the man on the other side told him to stay clear. Then there was an explosion that broke down the door. About 20 masked men in military uniforms barged in. They asked Sultan for his name. Then they ordered us to sit on the couch and went over to my brother, Muhammad, who was sleeping in the living room, and asked him for his name. After he told them, they said they’d come to arrest him and led him into a room to get dressed. I tried to film Muhammad's arrest, but one of the officers yelled at me to give him the phone. Khader told me not to stop, and that filming inside our house was legal. The officer tried to grab the phone out of my hand, and then we got into a fight with him. He pushed Sultan and me towards the bathroom, and I fell into the shower. Meanwhile, my father arrived. Sultan and Khader were trying to protect me, but the officers attacked them. The officers, who were wearing gloves and knee pads made of hard material, kicked Sultan and Khader for a long time, maybe 20 minutes. Then they led them out, first Muhammad and then Sultan and Khader. In his testimony, Muhammad Abu Hummus (18), who was arrested as a suspect and released without charges, recounted: I work as a waiter in a wedding hall. That night, I came home and fell asleep on the couch, I was so exhausted. Suddenly, I woke up and saw masked people standing next to me. They asked me for my name and demanded to see my ID card. One of them asked for the names of my family and told me I was under arrest and had to go get dressed. The officers handcuffed and blindfolded me, put a mask over my mouth, and led me out of the house. On the way out, I heard shouting. I also heard my father, but there was nothing I could do. They pushed me down the stairs and I banged against the wall. Outside, they made me kneel in front of the building. One of them pushed my head down. Then they put me in a detention vehicle. My brother Khaled was already in it. I knew it was him because I heard him tell them he wanted an ambulance because he didn't feel well. The officer told him that we'd soon get to a place where he would receive treatment. They drove us to a Border Police post on Route 1. They also brought our brothers Bilal and Sultan there. They made us kneel in the yard for about 15 minutes. I could hear my brothers groaning in pain and asking for an ambulance. After about 15 minutes, they drove me to the Russian Compound detention facility. I was strip-searched and taken to a room where I was given a detainee uniform and tested for COVID. Then I was taken to a room where I was interrogated for about five hours, each time by a different interrogator. They took turns – one came in and the other went out. I was sitting on a chair with my hands tied the whole time. One of them told me that someone had testified I'd been shooting and throwing stones. I told him I work 12 hours a day and am not involved in such things. The interrogators yelled at me, banged on the table, and told me I had some nerve and that they’d teach me a lesson. After about an hour, they let me go to the bathroom. After they finished interrogating me, they let me smoke a cigarette and then they put me in a cell alone. The next day, Monday, I was interrogated again for hours on end. I was held for two days and had only three meals altogether. The first was breakfast: labaneh cheese, jam, bread and cucumber. The second was rice and beans, three pieces of pastrami and an apple. The third meal was soup, rice and a pear. During the last interrogation, on Monday, they brought in a person I didn't know. They said he was the person who’d testified against me. I asked him, "Do you even know me? What did I to do you, for you to bring me here?" He said, "I don't know you. I didn't mean you. There's another guy called Muhammad Abu Hummus, and he’s the one I testified against." When they heard that, they took me back to the solitary confinement cell. Someone opened the window in the door and said to me, "We're sorry. We arrested you by mistake." A while later, in the afternoon, somebody let me out of the cell and released me without any charges or bail. I wasn't even given a document of any kind. I haven’t gone back to work because the contractor I work for told me he's found a replacement and doesn’t have work for me at the moment. I may have lost my job. In his testimony, Muhammad's brother, Bilal Abu Hummus (29), a father of three, related: I tried to go up to the third floor, but the occupation forces stopped me. When I got to the first floor, I saw the apartment door had been broken down. Five masked officers attacked me and beat me. My mother came and tried to help me, but they pushed her and she fell. The officers dragged me outside, sat me down on the ground and tied my hands behind my back. Then they brought Muhammad, followed by Khader and Sultan. They sat them down next to me. After about five minutes, they covered my eyes and drove us away, about 10 minutes from al-‘Esawiyah. I think we got to a Border Police post on Route 1. Khader and I were shouting in pain. They took Khader to hospital and sent him home from there. Sultan and I stayed in the yard. They sat us down outside, on our knees. After about an hour, they drove us to the police station on Salah a-Din Street. They put us in a solitary confinement cell. I had a terrible headache and called for the guards. After about half an hour, I was taken to Shaare Tzedek Hospital in an ambulance, with my hands and feet still tied. At hospital, they only checked my blood pressure and didn't give me any other treatment. My hands and feet remained tied during the checkup. After about an hour and a half, they took me back to the police station. At 10:30 A.M., they took Sultan and me in for interrogation. The interrogators accused us of "assaulting an officer during the performance of his duty" and "participating in a riot." I denied everything. They interrogated us for about an hour and a half and then put us back in the cell. We stayed there for many hours, without food or drink. They only let us go to the bathroom. All that time, our hands and legs were cuffed. At 3:30 P.M., they transferred us to the Magistrates' Court in Jerusalem, where the judge extended our detention until 23 November 2021 at noon, but our lawyer filed an appeal. From the court, we were taken to the Russian Compound. It was around 8:30 P.M. The doctor there refused to admit us and demanded they take us to hospital because our bodies showed clear signs of beating. They took us to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital, where we underwent tests, X-rays and ear examinations. Our hands and feet were tied throughout. On Monday, 22 November 2021, at 11:00 A.M., Sultan and I were taken back to the Russian Compound, and from there to the police station on Salah a-Din. At the station, we were released to five days’ house arrest after signing a guarantee to pay NIS 5,000 (~1,605 UDS) in bail. My shoulders and abdomen still hurt from the beating. I can’t see or hear well, especially from my right eye and left ear. My little boys, who are two and three, were shocked when they saw me. They don’t understand why all this happened. Because of the detention and the house arrest, I lost workdays and now I’m afraid of losing my job.

27 December 2021

המהפכה שהותירו החיילים במטבח של אימאן וחיכמת שתיווי בכפר קדום. התמונה באדיבות המשפחה

A Routine Founded on Violence

Occupation routine: Soldiers invade three homes in Kafr Qadum, beat inhabitants and arrest one

On Tuesday, 1 June 2021, at around 1:30 A.M., dozens of soldiers and ISA agents invaded the Shteiwi family’s home in Kafr Qadum. They woke Bashar Shteiwi (29), who was sleeping on the balcony that night, and then the rest of the family – his mother Rashiqah (68) and his four brothers and sisters who were sleeping indoors. The soldiers separated Bashar from his family and violently interrogated him, beating him repeatedly, just moments after he had woken up. They searched the entire house and after about an hour and a half, led Bashar to the home of his cousin ‘Abdallah, who lives nearby with his mother. There, the soldiers conducted another search, throwing the family’s personal belongings on the floor. During the search, they interrogated Bashar again in the living room. About half an hour later, they led Bashar about 400 meters away to the home of his brother Hikmat (47), a father of five. Several soldiers had entered Himkat’s home earlier, and when Bashar arrived, the search and interrogation were already in progress: the family’s belongings were strewn on the floor and the living room furniture was overturned. Hikmat’s wife, Iman, and their three youngest children were being held in the parents’ bedroom. Their two other children – Tareq (17) and Malek (16) – were held, handcuffed, in separate room. Bashar was put in the room with Malek, while Tareq was beaten and interrogated. At around 4:30 A.M., the soldiers left the village, taking Bashar with them. In the morning, he was taken to the police station in the settlement of Ariel for interrogation. He was then held in custody for two weeks before being released. On 30 June 2021, soldiers returned to Kafr Qadum and arrested Bashar again, along with his brother Muhammad. Bashar was released on 9 August 2021 after being convicted, in a plea bargain, of throwing objects at people. He was sentenced to prison for a period of time already served in custody, and to an NIS 1,000 (~USD 310) fine. His brother is still in custody. Military incursions into Palestinians’ homes in the dead of night, in which soldiers wake entire families, including small children and infants, have long since become part of the routine that the occupation regime imposes in the West Bank. The troops enter bedrooms, rummage through the inhabitants’ private belongings, at times beating some of them, and leave the entire household stunned and terrified. This harmful invasion into what is supposed to be a personal, safe space is yet another example of Israel’s policy, which views Palestinians as subjects devoid of rights. Testimonies concerning the incident were given to B’Tselem field researcher Abdulkarim Sadi. In his testimony, Bashar Shteiwi (29) described what happened that night: On 1 June 2021, I was sleeping on our balcony on the second floor. At around 1:30 A.M., I woke up to find soldiers standing next to me. They kicked me and hit me. I heard a soldier say, “Here’s Bashar. Here’s Bashar.” One of the soldiers lifted me violently off the floor and pushed me indoors. He immediately started asking me if I had a weapon. I told him I didn’t, but he kept asking me where I was keeping it. I told him he could search the house and that if he found a weapon, I would take responsibility for it. A few minutes later, the soldiers took me down to an apartment on the first floor and tied my hands. It’s an empty apartment that’s meant for my brother Muhammad. The soldier or officer who interrogated me saw a walking stick there that used to belong to my late father. He took it and beat me with it, swearing at me and asking where I was hiding the weapon. Meanwhile, the other soldiers inspected the walls with special devices and searched the entire house, on both floors. After about an hour and a half, one of the soldiers told me that he was taking me to my cousin ‘Abdallah Shteiwi’s house. It’s right next door. When we got there, the soldiers sat me down in the living room and searched the whole house. After half an hour, they led me, still handcuffed, to my brother Hikmat’s house, which is 400 meters away from ours. While we were walking, the soldiers kept pushing me. When we got there, I saw there were soldiers inside. When we went inside, I saw that they were searching the living room. The kitchen utensils were strewn all over the floor and tables. I saw my nephew Tareq lying on the living room floor, handcuffed and blindfolded. The soldiers took me to my brother’s bedroom, where I saw my nephew Malek. My brother, his wife and their young children were in their daughter Shahd’s room. I tried to cheer Malek up and talk to him, but the soldiers shouted at me and ordered me to be quiet. Then another soldier came in and told me that Tareq had said I have a weapon. I told him I don’t and that I don’t need one, and then the soldiers started punching me in my upper body. After about half an hour, the ISA officer told me I was under arrest. He said I would go to prison for a year or a year and a half. The soldiers took me outside, handcuffed, and led me on foot to the settlement of Kedumim, which is about a kilometer away. At Kedumim, they blindfolded me and put me in a jeep that drove me to a military camp in Shavei Shomron. I stayed there until 11:00 A.M., and then I was transferred to the Ariel police station. A police interrogator questioned me about possessing weapons, but I told him I didn’t have any and that the soldiers had searched my house and found nothing. The interrogation ended in the afternoon, and from there I was taken into custody. I was released two weeks later, on 15 June 2021. Imtithal Shteiwi (58), the widow of Bashar’s uncle, recounted the soldiers’ incursion into her home: On Tuesday, at around 3:00 A.M., I was woken by the sound of the phone ringing. They were calling from my brother-in-law’s house to tell us that soldiers had come in and that some of them were in our shared yard. I put my headscarf on right away. I sat down in the living room with my son ‘Abdallah, and we waited for the soldiers to come in. About half an hour later, seven or eight soldiers knocked on the door. ‘Abdallah opened it and they came inside, leading my husband’s nephew, Bashar, into the living room. They demanded that ‘Abdallah hand them his ID card and then ordered us to sit in the living room. Several soldiers went into my bedroom and searched it. Meanwhile, I heard them shouting at Bashar and threatening him. They asked him about weapons and incitement materials. After half an hour, they left with Bashar. There were clothes and belongings strewn all over the bedroom floor. I immediately started tidying up and putting everything back in place. In her testimony, Bashar’s sister-in-law, Iman Shteiwi (44), described the raid on her home: That night, the whole family was sleeping at home: my husband Hikmat and I, and our five children – Tareq (17), Malek (16), Shahd (13), Mahmoud (11) and Muhammad (9). At around 2:00 A.M., I woke up in a fright. I heard shouting and hammers pounding on our front door. Hikmat told me it was soldiers. I got up right away and quickly got dressed. I ran to the children, who were awake and terrified. My husband went to open the door. He told the soldiers that he was coming and they should stop pounding on it, but they kept yelling and banging until he opened it. We all stood at the entrance and the little ones were terrified and crying. I hugged them and tried to calm them down, even though I was frightened myself. The soldiers ordered my husband and me to take the three little ones to my daughter Shahd’s bedroom, and kept Tareq and Malek with them. While we were in the room, I heard the soldiers shouting at my sons. I heard Tareq tell them: “We don’t have any incitement materials or weapons.” In his testimony, Basher’s nephew, Tareq Shteiwi (17), recalled: I stayed in the living room with the soldiers. They tied my hands behind my back and blindfolded me with a piece of cloth. Then they knocked me to the floor and stepped all over my body, including my head. They hit me and asked me if there were any weapons in the house. I told them there weren’t and that we don’t need any. One of the soldiers also asked if I take part in the weekly march in the village, and I said I don’t. They kept on stepping on me and beating me for a few minutes. Then one of the soldiers lifted me up and led me to the living room. There, a soldier threw me down on the floor, sat on my stomach and punched me in the chest, shoulders and head. He demanded that I admit we have weapons and participate in the weekly march Then the soldier who attacked me told me that they were bringing in my uncle Bashar. The soldiers shouted at him, and I heard him answering their questions and telling them that he didn’t have any kind of weapon. In her testimony, Rashiqah Shteiwi (68), Bashar and Muhammad’s mother, described her sons’ arrest later that month: On Tuesday, 29 June 2021, at around 11:00 P.M., I fell and broke my right hand. My sons ‘Aqel and Samed took me to hospital in Qalqiliyah. I was treated and we got back home at around 2:00 A.M. When we got back, ‘Aqel went to sleep at his house with his wife and kids. Samed, who lives with me, went straight to bed. At around 3:00 A.M., my daughters and I were still awake. Suddenly, we heard loud, aggressive banging on the front door. We knew it was soldiers. Hanan got up quickly and opened the door so the soldiers wouldn’t break it down. Seven or eight soldiers swarmed in and immediately woke my sons Samer and Bashar. I heard one of the soldiers demand that they hand him their phones, and heard Bashar tell the soldier that his phone had been confiscated when he was arrested at the beginning of the month and hadn’t been given back to him. The soldiers searched the entire house. The girls and I stayed in my bedroom and the soldiers took the boys to other rooms. I couldn’t see them, but I heard the soldiers yelling at them. After five or ten minutes, I heard the soldiers talking to Muhammad, who had been sleeping on the first floor that night. I heard one soldier demand that Muhammad give him his phone, and heard Muhammad reply that he doesn’t have one. The soldier brought Muhammad into the room we were in and said to him, “I’m sure you love your mother and wouldn’t want the soldiers to start rummaging through her house and destroying the furniture.” Just then, more soldiers arrived and brought Muhammad’s phone with them. One of them demanded that Muhammad unlock his phone so he could search it, but Muhammad said it was private and that the soldier should respect his privacy. The soldiers took Muhammad out of the room, and then I heard Muhammad and Bashar shouting. It sounded like the soldiers were beating them. After about an hour, the soldiers left, taking Muhammad and Bashar with them. After they left, we saw that they had torn up the upholstery of pieces of furniture and broken five wooden doors in the house.

25 August 2021