Bil'in raided 09.11.2010 By haithmkatib@gmail.com

Bil'in raided 09.11.2010 By haithmkatib@gmail.com:

"haithmkatib | November 09, 2010

Bil'in raided 09.11.2010

Today, 09.11.2010 about 3 in the morning the Israeli army entered the village of Bil'in. A number of about 50 soldiers were coming in jeep and by foot. As they arrived to the two targeted houses they ran and took positions outside, while a number of them entered the house of two brothers.

At first the soldiers were hammering on the door of one house, demanding to see 30 year Ashraf al-Khatib. It turned out they went to the wrong house. They then went to another house -- forcing one of Ahsraf's brothers to show them the way to where Ashraf lives. Soldiers then entered that and his brother's family's house, and with the same procedure they woke up the family, again asking for Ashraf al-Khatib. His brother, Haytham al-Khatib, is a journalist from the human right's group B'tselem and was of the ones woken up by the army. Though they again entered a house where their target does not live, they stayed in there for about 1,5 hour, searching all the rooms.

Haytham al-Khatib tells about his 6 year old son's reaction when he woke up and saw tens of soldiers in his house. 'He asked me to close the door, because he didn't want to see them.' Haytham himself was held back when he wanted to record the raid in his family's houses -- the soldiers simply locked him in a room for more than an hour, away from his children and wife. The children in the houses are aged from 1,5 to 8 years, and this is not the first time they have seen their homes raided at night.

However, after 1,5 hour of searching for the target in three houses, two of them where he doesn't reside, Ashraf al-Khatib was not found. Five weeks ago Ashraf was shot in his leg with live ammunition by an Israeli soldier in a demonstration in Bil'in. The bullet went through his leg, breaking the bone. Even though he was heavily injured and in major pain, the soldiers tried to arrest him. Luckily he was brought to safety and then to hospital for surgery by fellow protesters. This night the army decided to come and take him in front of his wife and 1,5 year old daughter instead.

The soldiers retreated from the targeted houses by foot, walking toward the military road that follows the illegal segregation fence in Bil'in, about 4.30 AM. The village of Bil'in has suffered from frequent night raids over the last few years, and a number of villagers have been taken for interrogation and imprisoned for their non-violent resistance to the occupation and segregation wall on Bil'in's land.



Update Nov 11, 2010
Night Raid On Bilin 10-11,11-11-2010 By haithmkatib@gmail.com:

"haithmkatib | November 10, 2010

The following is an update to a story we posted yesterday:
Today, November 10th, the village of Bi'lin was raided again. The Israeli Army entered at around 8 pm for the second time today. In the morning, at around 3.00 am, they entered the village with five jeeps and searched Ashraf al-Khatib's home. The soldiers also broke down the door of the neighbor's house, and went in. However, they were not able to find who they were looking for in either of the houses.
When people from the village arrived, the 20 soldiers pointed their guns directly in the face of the people, and acted very aggressively. They also broke down the door of al-Khatib's house when they entered.
Later, the same night, the army returned to the village, about 9 pm. Soldiers entered al-Khatib's house again, also this time failing to find him there. The soldiers then took off and left the village, for the second time that evening.
These two raids make it a total of four raids over the last three days. Ashraf al-Khatib is obviously a target these days. Earlier today, al-Khatib received a phone call from a captain in the Israeli intelligence (Shabak/Shin Bet), demanding to see him in Ofer Military Prison. It was made clear that until he shows up for interrogation the army will come to his house frequently. This is a well known tactic used by Israel, to terrorize the village and the families involved to make life unbearable for them.



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