A Routine Founded on Violence
During May and June 2023, B’Tselem documented four separate instances in which dozens of Israeli soldiers raided the homes of extended Palestinian families in Areas H1 and H2 in the city of Hebron in the middle of the night. T, waking up members of the household, including young children. The soldiers, most of whom were masked, had dogs with them. In each building, the soldiers confined the families to one apartment, separated several relatives from the rest, and conducted body searches. In all cases, over the course of the night, the soldiers moved residents from one room to another and searched the apartments, destroying windows, doors, and other property, and throwing the contents of kitchen cabinets and closets onto the floor in the process. The soldiers beat one woman when she had trouble finding the keys to the family car, as they demanded. In all cases, soldiers stole gold jewelry and cash the families kept at home. One family filed a complaint with the police, but the stolen jewelry and money were not returned. Nighttime incursions into Palestinian homes, during which residents are woken up and confined to one room while the rest of the residence is raided have long been part of the routine enforced by the apartheid regime in the West Bank. These invasions are carried out without soldiers needing a search warrant, anytime and anywhere the military dictates, based on sweeping, arbitrary powers the military has assumed for itself. These actions, clearly intended to instill fear in the residents, have no justification. This is just one more example, among many, of what daily life looks like under the apartheid regime. In testimonies given to B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari, some of residents spoke about the invasions into their homes: ‘Aqabat Tafuh Neighborhood, 12 June 2023: Soldiers invade two apartments belonging to the extended Marish family, while nine family members are present, including three young children between the ages of three and eight. On Monday, 12 June 2023, at around 2 A.M., about twenty soldiers with an army canine broke into the residential building of the extended Marish family in ‘Aqabat Tafuh ¬¬¬– a neighborhood in Area H1 in Hebron. The soldiers entered the second-story home of Sanaa (55) and Musa (60) Marish, where they live with three of their sons, including Na’im (35), his wife, and their three children, ranging in age from three to eight. Simultaneously, another group of soldiers entered the top-floor apartment where Sanaa and Musa’s other son, Muhammad, and his family live. The family out at the time, and the soldiers broke in. They searched both apartments, destroying belongings and ransacking closets and cupboards. About eight soldiers burst into the room where Na’im and his family were sleeping, handcuffed Na’im, and led him to another room while his parents and two brothers were held in the living room. After a few minutes, the soldiers brought out Na’im’s wife and children, and led them to the living room, as well. A masked female soldier conducted a body search on Na’im’s mother and wife. The soldiers denied Musa, who has diabetes, access to the bathroom for about 30 minutes. At around 4:30 A.M., the soldiers removed Na’im’s handcuffs and left the building, at which point the family discovered that a box containing approximately 40 grams of gold jewelry had been stolen from the top floor apartment. Sanaa Marish (55), a mother of seven, spoke about the events of that night: On Monday, 12 June 2023, at around 2:00 A.M., my husband Musa (60) and I were woken up by loud knocking on the door. Musa opened the door, and about twenty male soldiers and two female soldiers with large dogs burst in. The dogs had muzzles on their mouths. I saw several more soldiers in the stairwell that leads to the floor above us, where our son, Muhammad (30) lives with his wife and their two children. My husband told them that there was no one there and offered to give them the keys, but the soldiers told him to shut up and continued up the stairs. The soldiers blocked my way to our 35-year-old son Na’im’s, room. He lives with us, along with his wife and their three children. Some of the soldiers burst into their room while they were still asleep. A few minutes later, the soldiers brought Na’im out with his hands in zip ties and took him to one of our other rooms. A few minutes later, they brought out his wife and their children Musa (8), Maryam (4), and Sarah (3). They were crying and shaking with fear. The soldiers then brought out our other two sons who live with us, Yusef (17) and Nu’man (26), to the living room and had us all sit in there. We heard the soldiers walking around the entire house as well as in Muhammad’s apartment above us. They moved furniture and broke glass. A female soldier with a dog took me and Na’im’s wife to a room, physically searched us, and then took us back to the living room. The children asked for water, and one of the soldiers fetched a bottle from the kitchen for them. My husband, who suffers from diabetes, needed to use the bathroom and could barely hold on, but the officer held him back for 25 minutes before finally allowing him to go. At around 4:30 A.M., one of the soldiers released Nai’m’s zip ties, and then, the soldiers left. They left a huge mess behind. Everything that was in the closets was scattered on the floor. In Muhammad’s apartment, they broke the lock and ransacked the closets. I contacted Muhammad’s wife and told her what had happened, and she said she had jewelry in two boxes that she had hidden in a closet, but when I checked, I found only one of them. In the second box – the one that disappeared – there were about 40 grams-worth of gold jewelry. We didn’t file a complaint with the Israeli police because we know there’s no use; they won't return what the soldiers stole. * Testimony taken on 4 July 2023. Aqbat Tafuh, 12 June 2023: Soldiers raid three apartments belonging to the extended al-Qawasmeh family while 12 of family members were present, including six young children between the ages of eight months and eight years. On Monday, 12 June 2023, at around 1:00 A.M., about 20 soldiers with a dog, burst into the al-Qawasmeh family’s five-apartment building in the Aqbat Tafuh neighborhood in Area H1 in Hebron. The soldiers entered two apartments. First, Na’imah (32) and Saleh (36) al-Qawasmeh ’s on the second floor. Present at the time were Na’imah, the couple’s three children (eight months to six years old), Saleh’s mother, Muna (62), and his two sisters, Muna (24) and Warud (26). The soldiers also entered Saleh’s parents’ apartment where his father, Jamil (64), and his grandmother, Yusra (98), were held in the living room. The soldiers took the cell phones of the four women on the top floor and then led them and the children to the same living room in the parents’ house. The soldiers also forced their way into the apartment of another sister-in-law, Manar (30), also on the second floor, and brought her and her three children – Layla (8), Ghazal (3), and Muhammad (18 months) – to the parents’ living room. At that point, the soldiers instructed Na’imah and Warud to open their apartments. They proceeded to conduct a search, ransacked their homes, and damaged belongings. The soldiers demanded Na’imah hand over the keys to her family's car, and when she had trouble finding them due to the mess they had made, they threatened to destroy the car. One soldier hit Na’imah on the back with the butt of his gun. Another soldier then led her back to the parents’ apartment, and he also hit her on the back with his weapon. At around 4:30 A.M., the soldiers left. Na’imah then discovered they had stolen 80 grams-worth of gold jewelry she had kept in a closet in her bedroom. Warud also discovered she had been robbed: The soldiers took 15,000 NIS (~3,950 USD) from her apartment. They also broke her father-in-law Jamil's cellphone. Na’imah al-Qawasmeh (32), a mother of three, recounted the events of that night: On Monday, 12 June 2023, at around 1:00 A.M., I came home from the hospital with my eight-month-old son, Tayyem. I had taken him in because he had a high fever. My husband, Saleh (36), works in Israel and wasn't home, and my sister-in-law Warud went to the hospital with us and then back to the apartment. My mother-in-law and my sister-in-law, Muna, were taking care of my other two children –Jud (8) and Sanad (6) at my home. Suddenly, I heard vehicles outside. I looked through the window and saw dozens of soldiers getting out of several military jeeps and spreading out around our building. Some of them went inside through the front entrance, which was open. I panicked and went to lock our apartment door, but a few seconds later, I heard loud knocks. I was afraid the soldiers would blow up our door, so I opened it for them. More than a dozen soldiers burst in with a huge dog that was muzzled. There were also two female soldiers. They ordered us to give them our cellphones and leave the apartment. I went to wake up Sanad and Jud, who were still sleeping in their room. When they saw the soldiers and the dog, they got very scared and clung to me. I tried to calm them down. The soldiers led us to my in-laws’ apartment on the floor below, and then they also forced their way into my sister-in-law, Manar’s, apartment, which is across from my in-laws’. They brought out Manar and her three young children who were trembling with fear. At my in-laws’, there were already about seven soldiers holding my father and my husband’s elderly grandmother in the living room. They had us all sit there, and then they ordered my father-in-law to call my brother-in-law, Ahmad. When Ahmad answered, the officer took the phone and threatened that if he didn't come home immediately, they would arrest my father-in-law. Then he hung up. Some soldiers took Warud to her apartment to open the door for them. She came back a few minutes later and said they wanted me to go and let them into my apartment too, so I went. Then two soldiers took me back to my in-laws’. We sat in the living room and heard the soldiers moving our furniture around and breaking glass. Then, the soldiers took me back to my apartment so that I could give them my husband’s car keys. The car was parked next to our building. The apartment was open, and when I entered, I was in shock from the mess they’d made. They broke flower pots and threw all our clothes on the floor. It was so messy couldn't even remember where the car keys were, and the soldiers threatened to blow up the car doors and break its windows if I didn't find them within three minutes. While I was looking, one of the soldiers counted, "One, two, three," and then, when I bent down to look in a drawer, another soldier hit me hard on the back with the butt of his rifle and ordered me to hurry. I was in a lot of pain, and I felt humiliated. I tried to explain to him that it was difficult to find anything in the mess they’d made, but he didn't understand Arabic at all. I asked to speak with a soldier who spoke Arabic, and when one such soldier arrived, I explained to him, but he told to focus and keep looking. I asked him to check if the keys were in the bag that I had taken with me when they removed us from the apartment – the bag I’d left in my in-laws’ living room. Two soldiers escorted me back there, but I didn’t find the keys in the bag. They took me back to my apartment, but I still couldn't find them. I told them I couldn't find them and begged them not to damage our car. They led me back to my in-laws’ apartment, and on the way, on the last step before the entrance, one of the soldiers hit me in the lower back again with the butt of his rifle. It hurt terribly. Afterward, they made us all sit in the living room and kept us there until around 4:30 A.M., when they left. I returned to my apartment and couldn't find my gold jewelry – about 80 grams-worth – which I had kept in a closet in the bedroom. My sister-in-law, Warud, told me the soldiers had stolen 15,000 NIS (~3,950 USD) from her apartment, which were wages for her husband’s employees. He works in Israel as a contractor. I told my father-in-law we should file a complaint with the police, but he said it wouldn't help because the Israeli police are not fair. If we complained, he pointed out, they wouldn't return our money now our jewelry, but they might revoke the work permits of his sons who work in Israel. It took me two days to organize and clean the apartment so that it would be suitable for living in again. * Testimony taken on 22 June 2023 Um Dalia neighborhood, 17 May 2023: Soldiers enter three apartments belonging to the extended al-Atrash family while twelve family members, including children between the ages of eight months and six years, were home On 17 May 2023, at around 2:00 A.M., dozens of masked soldiers with two dogs entered the extended al-Atrash family’s building in the Um Dalia neighborhood in Area H2 of Hebron. The building houses 17 family members in six apartments. About 10 soldiers forced their way into Ruba (27) and Raed (35) al-Atrash’s apartment. They were home with their three children who are between the ages of one and six. The soldiers threatened the parents at gunpoint, and then gathered the family in the living room, where they also brought Raed’s parents – Nazmi (59) and Rab’ah (56) from their apartment next door. They had forbidden them from taking any cash they had in the apartment. The soldiers also forcibly entered two other apartments, bringing their occupants to the same living room: that of Haya (26), Tamer (34), and their daughter, Dalal (1); and that of Hanaa (26), ‘Imad (29), and their daughter Alin (eight months). ‘Imad was at work. The soldiers handcuffed Nazmi, who has diabetes and denied him access to the restroom for approximately an hour-and-a-half. At one point, they transferred everyone to Nazmi and Rab’ah’s apartment. The soldiers left after holding the family members in the living room for about three hours and causing damage to their property. Upon returning to their respective apartments, the family members discovered that the soldiers had stolen approximately 200 grams of gold jewelry, around 3,000 NIS (~790 USD) in cash, and a cellphone valued at around 6,000 shekels (~1,580 USD). Some family members followed the soldiers, who were standing on the street, and demanded they return their belongings. However, an officer at the scene denied the theft and claimed the phone had been confiscated, even though its owners was given no papers to confirm this. The officer then threatened them, stating that if they did not go back inside, they would be arrested. The family members relented and returned to their homes, and the forces left the place. Rab’ah al-Atrash (56), a mother of ten, recounted what happened that night: On Wednesday, 17 May 2023, at around 2:00 A.M., I woke up to noises coming from the street. I woke up my husband Nazmi (59), and the two of us went to look out our window. We saw a group of soldiers entering our building through the front door, which was open. My husband opened our apartment door, and we saw soldiers about to blow up the lock to our son Raed’s apartment, who lives across from us with his wife and three children. When they saw my husband, they shouted and ordered him to go back inside. Then, they broke into Raed's apartment. A few minutes later, about ten masked male soldiers and two female soldiers barged into our home and ordered my husband and me to sit still in the living room. I asked if I could go get my bag from the room, because it had 3,000 NIS (~790 USD) in it, but they wouldn’t let me and told me to be silent. They were violent and aggressive. After a few minutes, the soldiers led us to Raed’s apartment, and I saw several soldiers go up to our other son, ‘Imad's, apartment on the floor above us. My husband tried to stop them and asked the officer to go up there with them, because ‘Imad’s wife was alone at home with their baby. They let him to do it and took me to Raed’s apartment and had me sit in one of the rooms there. A few minutes later, the soldiers came back with my husband, ‘Imad's wife, her baby, and our other son, Tamer, and his wife and their children, who also live above us. The children were frightened by the masked soldiers and the dogs, and they were crying. The soldiers ordered Raed to call his brother, ‘Imad, and when ‘Imad answered, the officer threatened that if he didn't come home immediately, he would arrest his father and brothers, and then he hung up. After that, some soldiers took my husband into one of the rooms and brought him back to the living room after about 20 minutes, with his hands in zip ties. They let him go to the bathroom only after he yelled and complained for half-an-hour that he couldn't hold it anymore due to his diabetes. They didn't let the children go to the bathroom. For about an hour-and-a-half, we heard the soldiers moving furniture in our apartments, and then some soldiers started escorting all of us out of Raed's apartment. Raed asked if he could go into his bedroom to get his wife's gold jewelry – about 200 grams-worth, which she kept in a locked brief case – but the soldiers refused and continued to escort the whole family to our apartment. We went into the apartment and they had us sit in the living room. The whole apartment was a mess. All our clothes were scattered on the floor. A few minutes later, the soldiers took Raed into one of the rooms, and later they brought him back to the living room. Approximately three-and-a-half hours passed between the time the soldiers entered the building and the time they left. Once they were gone, I discovered that the 3,000 NIS (~790 USD) I had kept in my bag were missing. Raed also discovered that the soldiers had stolen his wife’s gold jewelry, which she kept in a case in their apartment. I went outside with him and my husband to try to catch the soldiers who were still there. One of them asked my husband in Arabic what he wanted, so my husband told him that the soldiers had stolen our gold jewelry and cash, and Raed’s expensive cellphone. The officer claimed the phone had been confiscated and that the soldiers didn’t steal anything. He said that if we were sure of it, we should go to the police station. My husband shouted at him that we were sure and demanded he search his soldiers before they leave, but the officer ordered all of us to go back inside the building and threatened to arrest my husband and Raed if we didn't comply. We went back into the building and they left. Our apartments looked like they had been hit by an earthquake. The soldiers turned over all the furniture, tore curtains, and scattered all our clothes on the floor. They also emptied everything in the kitchen cabinets and spilled rice and other foodstuffs on the floor. It took us three days to clean up the mess. My husband didn't go to the police. There is no justice in this land. The soldiers won’t ever be held accountable for their crimes. * Testimony taken on 19 May 2023. Jabal Kurbaj neighborhood, 8 May 2023: Soldiers force their way into three apartments in a residential building belonging to one extended family, where 14 family members were present, including two children between the ages of one and five. On Monday, 8 May 2023, at around 2:00 A.M., more than 10 masked soldiers entered a residential building in the Jabal Kurbaj neighborhood in Area H2 in Hebron. They had an unmuzzled dog with them. The soldiers blew up the lock of one of the apartments and threatened the family members inside – who had just woken up from the commotion – with their firearms. They then removed a couple from another apartment and led them, along with their two children – ages one and five – to another apartment. The soldiers then forcibly entered a third apartment where another family member was, handcuffed him with zip ties, and ordered him to open two safes containing thousands of shekels in cash, as well as gold and silver jewelry. They then brought him to the apartment where his parents were being held along with his brothers and their children. Later, another family member arrived in the apartment, and the soldiers ordered him at gunpoint to sit with the rest of the family. The soldiers instructed some of the family members to check if their valuables and money were where they should be, and then told them to check again. When they did, the family members discovered some of their belongings were missing. The soldiers left the building at around 5:00 A.M., and several family members followed them outside, demanding they return the stolen items. However, the soldiers did not return anything and suggested the family file a complaint with the police. Family members say the soldiers stole more than 4,600 NIS (~1,200 USD) in cash, as well as gold and silver jewelry weighing approximately 70 grams. The soldiers also took the ID cards of two family members. The family filed a complaint with the police in Kiryat Arba the next day. One of the family members, G.F., recounted: On Monday, 8 May 2023, at around 2:00 A.M., my husband and I were woken up by banging on the door. My husband opened the door, and his mother was standing there saying that soldiers had entered the building. My husband closed the door and asked me to get up quickly and get dressed. As soon as the door closed, there was banging on the door and our children woke up and started crying. My husband was afraid the soldiers would break the door, so he opened it, and about 10 masked soldiers burst in with a large unmuzzled dog. The soldiers were very violent and shouted at my husband for having closed the door. He tried to explain to them that he just wanted to give me a chance to get dressed. The children clung to me, trembling in fear and crying at the sight of the soldiers and the dog. The soldiers led us, my husband's parents, and his brother who lives with them, to our apartment’s living room. One soldier stayed to guard us. Then they started walking around the whole house with their dog. We heard them moving furniture. After about half-an-hour, one of the soldiers called my husband’s mother into her bedroom. She followed him in there, and he asked her to take the money that was in the drawer. She took the money, and then the soldiers brought her back to the living room. After that, a female soldier who was there took my husband's mother and me back to her bedroom and conducted a body search on us. She then brought us back to the living room. Meanwhile, we continued to hear the soldiers moving and destroying furniture in the apartment. I also heard the sound of glass shattering from the apartment below us, where my husband’s other brother lives with his wife and two children. Suddenly, another of my husband's brothers, who lives in the building next door, arrived. The soldiers were surprised, threatened him at gunpoint and told him to enter. At first, he sat with us in the living room, but at some point, the soldiers took him out of the apartment. That whole time, the soldiers continued to damage our furniture. I remembered there was a box with four rings, one of which was my gold wedding ring, in the wardrobe in our bedroom. I told my husband about it, and he tried to ask the soldiers to let him go into the room to get the box, but they ordered him to stay quiet and not move. Then the soldiers brought in my husband's brother, who lives below us, handcuffed with zip ties. They left him with us in the living room, and then they went outside to the yard. A few minutes later, they came back and went into our bedroom, and I heard them knocking over the wardrobe. Then, they came back to the living room and ordered my husband to open the safe hidden behind it, where we keep money. He opened it for them, and they counted the money and returned it to the safe. Finally, at around 5:00 A.M., they left the building. One of my husband's brothers went after them to the yard and called out to the officer that his soldiers had stolen our money and his wife’s gold jewelry. My husband’s mother and another of his brothers also went outside to confront the soldiers, but the soldiers pushed them towards the entrance and told them to go and file a complaint with the police. After the soldiers left, we saw that they had broken drywall in the house, turned over the wardrobes in the bedroom, and made a mess throughout the entire place. My husband's father discovered the soldiers had stolen 2,000 NIS (~520 USD), which he had hidden behind the dresser in his bedroom. They tore apart the couches, flipped them, and ruined the curtains and chandeliers in their apartment. The soldiers also recked my husband’s brother’s apartment, who lives below us. He also found that along with about 70 grams-worth of his wife’s gold jewelry, they also stole 2,600 NIS (~680 USD) in cash that he had in the house. In the morning, my husband’s parents filed a complaint with the police in Kiryat Arba. * Testimony taken on 17 May 2023.
6 September 2023
