Volume [5]
No. [2]
December 2008
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Volume [5]
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No. [2]
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December 2008
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Home Invasion in Beit UmmarBy Shambhu Hanuman, October 2008 |
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| The second evening after our arrival in Hebron, we were notified of a home invasion in the nearby village of Beit Ummar and asked by our local coordinator to respond. Home invasions are often described as drills for the occupation soldiers, but their purpose is the intimidation and humiliation of the local inhabitants. They are illegal according to international law. We caught a taxi to the village where we were greeted by the mayor. He was concerned about how we could approach the occupied houses in the dark without risking getting shot by the Israeli soldiers. After being served tea in the mayor’s house, we were taken to a gas station close to one of the houses that had been invaded. A contingent of Israeli activists arrived from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem and asked us if we were ready to go. As there were two houses that were occupied, our group of four took a quick vote on whether to split and send ISM people to both houses. The decision was to keep our small group together and assist the Israeli activists at one house only. As we arrived at the house, the Israeli activists were already in front, looking for the main entrance which was on the second level up the stairs. One of them knocked on the door and moments later a dim light came on in some room towards the back. The door suddenly opened and an arm reached through and yanked one of the Israeli activists through the door by his collar. He was followed by another and then we all piled in.
| A few soldiers with their faces covered with black balaclavas were attempting to wrestle the video camera away from a young Israeli activist in the corner of the foyer. Two of us jumped in and grabbed hold of the activist to shield him from the soldiers. One of the attacking soldiers went berserk and lifted his M-16, pointing the weapon at the activist’s head while screaming in Hebrew. The terrified photographer was screaming back at him It seemed that the masked gunman was about to pull the trigger. Finally the soldier calmed down and allowed us to join the other activists and the hostage family in the living room of the house. The danger was past, but I was freaked out enough that I didn’t let go of the young Israeli kid until it was obvious that the soldiers weren’t going to attack anyone again. The incident ended when the front door opened and a few somewhat elderly woman wearing red baseball caps marched into the living room. These were the dreaded representatives of the Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT). That was enough for the four Israeli soldiers. They headed for the door. The mayor arrived and gave a brief speech thanking everyone who had assisted. The Israeli activists and CPT people then departed. The other house was reported as also secured and our small group of ISM activists remained with the family for the evening. We sat up until midnight with the elderly man of the house and his wife as well as the other members of the household, three or four generations including some small children. The old man joked with us traumatized and still shaking volunteers, asking us about our families and “normal” lives as if nothing abnormal had even happened. After serving us a huge platter of food the family arranged blankets and cushions for us on the floor of a couple of rooms. We spent the night there with them as protection against another visit from the Israeli soldiers.
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