“The I.O.F. ‘weaponizes’ UNRWA.”
Another day in al–Arroub.
This report first appeared in West Bank Alerts.
21 FEBRUARY—On Tuesday of last week, 11 February, a text arrived at 5:53 a.m. (American Central Time), along with a video showing an I.O.F. raid in progress in the refugee camp of al–Arroub, located some 12 km north of Hebron. In the video, taken from the window of a home, armed soldiers are seen walking the streets below.
Thirteen hours later, more videos and texts began arriving. Another raid was in progress. It was by then early Wednesday morning—2:50 a.m. Central, 12 February—and still dark in al–Arroub.
This is a brief report on the 12 February raid. It was written by Qadir al–Thaer, an Arabic nom de plume for a new contributor to West Bank Alerts. Al–Thaer will be contributing on-the-ground reporting to this publication, as and when he is able to and as developments in al–Arroub warrant.
During the raid, Zionist forces seized a facility run by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, turning it into a detention and interrogation center. Let the full significance of this sink in—the brazen illegality and sadistic cruelty—as you read al–Thaer’s report. And let the names of those al–Thaer sends in his dispatch be known.
—C. M.
The security situation in al-Arroub refugee camp
Qadir al–Thaer
On Wednesday, 12 February, at approximately 2:00 a.m., Israeli military forces carried out a large-scale raid on al-Arroub refugee camp, located near the town of Beit Ummar in the southern West Bank. The incursion lasted until 11:00 a.m.
During the raid, a significant number of Israeli armored vehicles and foot soldiers entered the camp. The Israeli forces turned the UNRWA-run medical distribution center into a field interrogation facility. Dozens of Palestinian residents were arrested and taken there for questioning. Some detainees were later released and allowed to return home, while others remain in custody and have been transferred to Etzion Detention Center for further interrogation.
At approximately 8:00 a.m., Israeli forces called for additional reinforcement units, including bulldozers, to demolish a home located on the outskirts of the camp. The house belonged to a resident of al-Arroub.
The number of Palestinian detainees exceeded 50; the identities of 24 detainees are confirmed by name. The rest remain unidentified at the time of writing. Most detainees were released after interrogation, but four young Palestinian men remain in detention at Etzion.
Known Detainees:
Firas Zakaria al-Qeiq Aziz Habib Rashdi Jamal Nasser al-Badawi Samid Jihad Ja`ara Islam Majed Katkat Saif Salim Rashdi Moayad Jaber Abu Sal Mohammed Khaled al-Jundi Ibrahim Youssef Jawabra Rabah Bilal Fadilat Mohammed Rabah Fadilat Mohannad Jaber Abu Sal Dr. Ziyad Qanam Imad Mousa al-Titi Hajj Mohammed Mousa al-Titi Ahmed Abu Sal Ali Abu Sal Shehab Ahmed al-Titi Mahmoud Nidal Abu Ghazi Ahmed Younis Muhaysin Atta Jawabra Ahmed Ra`fat al-Titi
This report provides an overview of the unfolding situation and the impact of the military incursion on the residents of al-Arroub refugee camp. Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
Here Qadir al–Thaer’s report ends. —C.M.
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Of the fifty-four men detained the morning of 12 February, their ages ranged from early 20s to late 50s. They were blindfolded, their hands were zip-tied behind their backs, numbers were written on their foreheads. They were held and interrogated for hours. Two of the four men who were arrested are listed above: Samid Jihad Ja`ara and Saif Salim Rashdi.
Read these names and share this report. These men are ordinary Palestinian fathers, brothers, uncles, husbands. Palestinian men are routinely seized from their homes, threatened, beaten, imprisoned, and tortured—especially but not only those who live in refugee camps. Four more men were arrested this past Monday, 17 February in yet another raid on al–Arroub. One young man who was later released returned home with a broken arm.
Imagine having your arm intentionally broken by a Zionist soldier.
Al–Thaer, who joins West Bank Alerts as a new correspondent, spoke with one of the men detained the morning of the 12th. Although the man was reluctant to talk about his experience, he shared the following:
The Israeli lieutenant who’s in charge of the camp was warning people against displaying the Palestinian flag and flags related to political parties [Fatah or Hamas]. The lieutenant arrested fathers, men in their 40s and 50s. He asked them to keep peace in the camp and to prevent kids from throwing rocks at the Israeli solders when they enter the camp.
According to al–Thaer, the camp has been calm for months. The occupation forces are intentionally raising tensions by constantly raiding the camp and provoking residents.
As detainees were released, some were handed posters. These are pictured below.
The Arabic on the leaflet below says: “To the residents of al-Arroub camp, a bunch of imps are demolishing your lives and the lives of your families. They throw rocks and molotov cocktails at Israelis. The choice is yours: Ignore this terrorism and you’ll face the consequences, or, control these imps and live your life in peace.”
In fact, the I.O.F. soldiers are the real terrorists and they routinely kill children for absolutely no reason. I spoke with the head of a Muslim boys school in Hebron when I was there this past May. He told me the soldiers try to provoke the school boys into throwing rocks so they have an excuse to arrest or beat them, or worse.
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What follows are four videos from the 12 February raid. In the first you see a long line of I.O.F. armored vehicles as they enter and disperse throughout the camp.
As you view these, keep in mind that this happens on an almost daily basis in every single refugee camp throughout Palestine—58 camps in total, officially recognized by UNRWA.
The second video shows I.O.F. forces breaking into a house. Israeli soldiers frequently detonate small explosive devices to force doors open—this even as residents are in the process of opening the door for them.
In al–Fawwar camp I spoke with a young woman in her early 20s whose house is frequently raided. During one raid, soldiers demanded she open the door. As she was opening it, she told me, “They bombed the door. I couldn’t feel my arm for two weeks.”
I heard the very same thing, the very same words, from a council member in al–Mughayyir, where I have spent much time. “They yelled at me to open the door. When I went to open it, they bombed the door. The next thing I knew the door was falling in on me.”
In the following video, an I.O.F. soldier stands over a Palestinian man who is on the ground. The soldier holds him by the back of the shirt. All of this is meant for maximum fear and humiliation.
This last video shows two detainees being led to the UNRWA facility, where they were held and interrogated. All of this is in violation of international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Under the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, apartheid is defined as a crime against humanity. These videos are documentation of crimes committed by apartheid Israel—and its illegal occupying army—against the residents of al–Arroub. The people who filmed these videos risked their freedom and possibly their lives doing so.
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The following video, was taken by one of the detainees as the men were released. You can see the age range, the numbers written on some of their faces and foreheads, hands still zip-tied. The Arabic scrawled across the video says “Thaer al-Thaer.” It means “Thaer the Rebellious.”
Think about this. Think about the terror and humiliation of living—trying to work, go to school, raise children—with this degree of constant violence. When I.O.F. terrorists stop Palestinians in the streets of al–Arroub they, those stopped, are not allowed to look their Israeli tormentors in the eye.
Qadir al-Thaer related the following by audio text message earlier this week. You can listen to it below. When told to lower his eyes or he would be killed, one Palestinian man, showing incredible courage, replied, “Why should I be scared of you? Are you God?”
“No,” the Israeli replied. “I’m above God.”
Let us note this well: The extent to which Palestinians have been brutalized by Zionism is the extent to which Zionism has destroyed the hearts and minds of Israelis.
Palestinians have not lost their humanity. The same cannot be said of Zionist Israelis.
Note to readers: I am beginning to recruit contributors such as Qadir al-Thaer from West Bank communities. It is my intent to bring the reports of these correspondents to as wide an audience as possible. While I will continue to make West Bank Alerts freely available, your financial support would be greatly appreciated. And please share these reports to help build our readership. Thank you.
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What the Israeli soldier said, “I am above God”, says it all!
The last line - Zionist Israelis have lost their humanity, not Palestinians, seems exactly right.
Thank you for this report.