Detainees ask rights orgs for warm blankets

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Palestinians held in Israel's Negev prison sent word last week to the Detainees Center in Gaza City, asking for the center to help them secure warm cells for the remaining winter months.

In a letter smuggled out of the prison, detainees said the tents in the desert compound were cold and drafty, and that prisoners neither had warm clothes nor heavy blankets to keep them warm.

Head of the center and former detainee Abdul Naser Farawneh said he personally receive the smuggled letter, and issued a statement of appeal.

IOF troops storm Negev prison, confiscate captives’ winter clothes

[ 24/12/2010 - 11:03 AM ]

Gaza, (PIC)-- The National Supreme Committee for supporting Palestinian captives in Israeli jails said on Thursday that the Israeli occupation troops stormed the Negev desert jail and wreaked havoc on it before confiscating coats and winter clothes of Palestinian captives there. Riyadh Al-Ashqar, the information officer of the committee, said in a statement he issued in this regard that the storming operation lasted for several hours where the jail guards backed by IOF troops assaulted the captives and confiscated their coats and dress they use for the biting winter season. The jail is located in the desert of Negev, which is known for its extreme cold climate during winter. According to Ashqar, the Israeli prison authority alleged that the captives own mobile phones and other communication devices, and that they videoed parts of the party they held in the prison to celebrate Hamas 23rd founding anniversary and distributed it to media outlets. He added that the IPA used such fabrications to transfer a number of the captives to different Israeli jails, accusing the Israeli occupation authority of deceiving the world by trying to show that Palestinian captives in Israeli jails live in luxury. "In fact, the IPA wants out of such allegations to suppress the captives further, to confiscate all the achievements they have made while in prison, to deny them their legal rights, to justify imposing fines on them, and to send them to solitary confinement", Ashqar pointed out. He urged all human right institutions to protect the captives against the "barbaric" Israeli occupation measures against them. Commenting on the matter, Palestinian lawmaker MP Salah Al-Bardaweel of the Hamas change and reform bloc described the Israeli storming of the prison as "criminal" and a form of the Israeli extortion of the Palestinian people. He also said in a statement he issued on Thursday that the practices of the Fatah militia against the Palestinian people and the political prisoners in Fatah jails in the West Bank have encouraged the Israeli occupation to escalate aggression against the Palestinian captives in Israeli occupation  jails. "It seems that they [the Israeli occupation and Fatah militia] are sharing the roles in blackmailing the Palestinian people and squeezing the Palestinian resistance", Bardaweel underlined. He also called on the Palestinian factions as well as human rights and institutions to consolidate efforts to protect the captives and to expose the Israeli crimes against them.

PA sends winter provisions to prisoners of Israel

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Prisoners Affairs sent Tuesday a shipment of warm winter clothing and blankets to the 2,200 Palestinian detainees rendered shelter-less at Israel's Negev prison in the wake of a wind-storm that knocked down the tent-homes of prisoners.

The ministry said the blankets and clothing cost 150,000 shekels ($41,713), and was being sent to the detainees after a series of reports from lawyers visiting the centers about the near freezing temperatures and inadequate resources being provided by the Israeli prison service.

In addition to the resources for detainees in the Negev, the ministry said, Gaza residents at the Ramon, Ashkilon and Beesheba prisons whose families are prohibited from making visits and bringing clothing would be handed blankets and warm sweaters from the fund.

Strong winds uproot tent housing detainees at Negev prison

[ 13/12/2010 - 11:30 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Strong winds uprooted and tore up a tent housing detainees at the Negev prison, prisoners there said, adding that other sections of tents in the prison are under threat of similar incidence. Negev adjoined nine tented sections to the prison, most of them threatened to be torn to pieces by low air pressure and lack of necessary capabilities for prisoners to protect themselves, the prisoners told the prisoners study center on Monday. Detainees complained also that their possessions have been covered in sand, and that rips in the tents will allow water to leak on them if it rains. They added that they suffer breathing difficulties and allergies from the airborne dust. Prisoner study center director Raafat Hamdouna warned of serious threats against the prisoners' lives, especially those from Gaza who have been denied the right to family visits for the past four years, as a wave of cold and rain overcasts amid deprivation of basic needs, such as clothes, shoes, and blankets. Hamdouna said the prisoner's family members, especially those deprived of visits, are deeply concerned over their loved ones having proper clothing and blankets to cover their needs as the winter sets in.

A letter From My Holding Cell

Abdallah Abu Rahmah during a demonstration in Bil'in. Picture credit: Oren Ziv/ActiveStills

Feb 17, 2010

This letter from Bil'in's Abdallah Abu Rahmah was conveyed from his prison cell by his lawyers. For information on his case and actions to take for his release see here

Dear Friends and Supporters,
It has been two months now since I was handcuffed, blindfolded and taken from my home. Today news has reached Ofer Military Prison that the apartheid wall on Bil'in's land will finally be moved and construction has begun on the new route. This will return half of the land that was stolen from our village. For those of us in Ofer , imprisoned for our protest against the wall, this victory makes the suffering of being here easier to bear. After actively resisting the theft of our land by the Israeli apartheid wall and settlements every week for five years now, we long to be standing along side our brothers and sisters to mark this victory and the fifth anniversary of our struggle.
Ofer is an Israeli military base inside the occupied territories that serves as a prison and military court. The prison is a collection of tents enclosed by razor wire and an electrical fence, each unit containing four tents, 22 prisoners per tent. Now, in winter, wind and rain comes in through cracks in the tent and we don't have sufficient blankets, clothes, and other basic necessities.
Food is a critical issue here in Ofer, there's not enough. We survive by buying ingredients from the prison canteen that we prepare in our tent. We have one small hot plate, and this is also our only source of warmth. Those whose families can put money in an account for us to buy food, do so, but many cannot afford to. The positive aspect to this is that I have learned how to cook! Tonight I madefalafel and sweets to celebrate the news about our victory. I cannot wait to get home and cook for my wife and children!
I was arrested in my slippers, and to this day my family has been unable to get permission to supply me with a pair of shoes. I was finally given my watch after repeated requests. For me this is an essential way to keep oriented; it was unbearable not being able to see the rate at which time passes. Receiving it, I felt so overjoyed, like a child getting his first watch. I can barely imagine what it will be like to have a pair of proper shoes again.
Because of our imprisonment, the military considers our families to be a security threat. It is very hard for our wives, children and extended family to visit. My friendAdeeb Abu Rahmah , also a political prisoner from Bil'in, cannot receive visits from his wife and one of his daughters. Even his mother, a woman in her eighties who is currently in bad health, is considered a security threat! He is afraid that he will not see her before she dies.
I am a teacher and before my arrest I taught at a private school in Birzeit and also owned a chicken farm. My family had to sell the farm at a loss after I was arrested. I don’t know if I will have my position at the school when I am released.Adeeb 's family of nine is left without their sole provider, as are many other families. Not being able to care for our loved ones who need us is the hardest part of being here.
It is the support that I receive from my family and friends that helps me go on. I am grateful to the Palestinian leaders who have contacted my family, the diplomats from the European Union and to the Israeli activists who have expressed their support by attending my hearings. The relationship we have built together with the activists has gone beyond the definition of colleague or friend, we are brothers and sisters in this struggle. You are an unrelenting source of inspiration and solidarity. You have stood with us during demonstrations and court hearings, and during our happiest and most painful occasions. Being in prison has shown me how many true friends I have, I am so grateful to all of you.
From the confines of my imprisonment it becomes so clear that our struggle is far bigger than justice for only Bil’in or even Palestine. We are engaged in an international fight against oppression. I know this to be true when I remember all of you from around the world who have joined the movement to stop the wall and settlements. Ordinary people enraged by the occupation have made our struggle their own, and joined us in solidarity. We will surely join together to struggle for justice in other places when Palestine is finally free.
Missing the five-year anniversary of our struggle in Bil'in will be like missing the birthday of one of my children. Lately I think a lot about my friend Bassem whose life was taken during a nonviolent demonstration last year and how much I miss him. Despite the pain of this loss, and the yearning I feel to be with my family and friends at home, I think that if this is the price we must pay for our freedom, then it is worth it, and we would be willing to pay much more.
Yours,
Abdallah Abu Rahmah
From the Ofer Military Detention Camp

Sandstorm devastates Negev prison inmates

Gaza – Ma’an – A ferocious sandstorm hit Israel's Negev desert prison this week, blasting the tent-compounds with raging winds and debris for three days, a prisoners society reported Saturday.

The story caused severe losses at the camp, destroying many of the personal possessions of Palestinian prisoners and causing harsh living conditions, particularly those sentenced to live in tents in the outdoor compounds.

The Higher Committee of the Media department in Hamas' Prisoners association said the storm disrupted daily programs at the prison, and accused Israeli prison authorities of standing idly by as the compound was hit with the storm.

Prisoners ministry calls for pressuring IOA to allow winter clothes to prisoners

GAZA, (PIC)-- The ministry of prisoners in Gaza has asked the international human rights groups to pressure the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) to allow winter clothes to prisoners from the Gaza Strip.




Riyadh Al-Ashqar, the ministry's spokesman, said in a press release on Saturday that those 760 prisoners have been deprived of family visits for more than 30 months.



The IOA only allowed winter clothes for those prisoners twice, he said, adding that the ban was doubling the suffering of those prisoners in the harsh winter weather especially in desert prisons.



The IOA does not provide clothes to those captives and compels them to secure their needs either through their relatives or at the prison's canteen, where the prices are very high, Asqar said.



He noted that the Gaza prisoners used to secure their needs of clothes through relatives of their West Bank comrades but the IOA foiled the measure by limiting quantity of clothes to the West Bank prisoners.



The ministry appealed to the UN to pressure the IOA into allowing family visits to those prisoners in order to see their relatives and to secure their needs.

Ghoul: Suffering of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails increase in winter

[ 01/11/2009 - 11:18 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian justice minister in Gaza and chairman of the legal committee in the Palestinian legislative council Mohammed Al-Ghoul has said that the suffering of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation authority (IOA) jails double in the winter season. He called on human rights groups in a statement on Saturday to pressure the IOA into securing the prisoners' needs topped by adequate covers and clothes. Ghoul underlined that many Israeli jails such as Negev, Beersheba and Nafha are built of worn out tents through which rain seeps damaging the prisoners' belongings. He charged the Israeli prisons authority with delaying any change of the worn out tents while claiming that they are still fit for use. Many prisoners complain of pains in their joints and bones because the Israeli jailors force them to strip their clothes for search amidst high humidity in the jails, the minister elaborated. He asked international organizations to protect the Palestinian prisoners from such maltreatment and the bad weather conditions. Ghoul noted that the 800 prisoners from Gaza suffer more than others because they have been deprived of family visits for the past 30 months, which led to acute shortage in clothes and bedcovers.

Prisoners official compares path of Israeli detention camps to that of Nazi concentration camps

15.08.09 - 10:08

Gaza / PNN – Abdel Nasser Ferwana is equating the path of Nazism to that of the Israelis in regards to the prison system.

Some 11,000 Palestinians are in Israeli detention and are being subjected to what the researcher in Prisoners Affairs the collective experience of the Americans and Nazis. Ferwana was addressing today the construction and management of Israeli prisons where Palestinians and Arabs are undergoing “violations and cruelty.” He talked specifically about Jelboa as a prison run on the secret detention of people afforded no rights, the way of Guantanamo.

Ferwana said Saturday that the Israeli prisons of Al Naqab (Negev), Ofar and Meggido are similar to Nazi concentration camps. He noted the “criminal mentality” being used in dealing with prisoners and “countless violations committed without borders.”

He was marking the anniversaries of the deaths of the imprisoned, including a 19 year old from the Al Shawa family and 30 year old Bassam Asamodi. They were shot by heavily armed Israeli soldiers deployed in observation towers over the tents that serve as the cells of prisoners in the desert detention camp of Al Naqab’s Ansar 3.

Ferwana noted that the Israelis began using Al Naqab’s Ansar 3 as a detention camp, in the way of the Nazis, during the first Intifada. He noted 17 March 1988 as the time that it was made to accommodate “huge numbers of citizens who were rounded up and detained by the occupying forces during the first Intifada. The notorious prison camp was closed after the Oslo agreement and the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority

It reopened during the Al Aqsa Intifada on the first of April 2002 for the same goal, Ferwana said today, “which is to absorb the large numbers of citizens who have been arrested since the start of the Al Aqsa intifada on 28 September 2000.”

Ferwana added that the prison is located in a “closed military zone” and a dangerous area adjacent to the Egyptian border south of Palestine in the Naqab (Negev) Desert. It was primarily a camp for the Israeli army and was under the administration of the army and then moved up to direct military control for the administration of prisons in March 2006, without any change in the nature and circumstances in which and the method of treatment.

Ferwana equated Naqab with Auschwitz today and described a camp over a large area divided into several sections. In each section are a number of tents, barbed wire and shrouded by a high fence. In between each section soldiers roam between, heavily armed, and often train their firearms on the prisoners.

The prisoners issue expert continued to describe tear gas, beatings with batons, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition from automatic weapons. It was during an uprising of stone and shoe throwing on the sixteenth of August 1988, that Al Shawa from Gaza City’s Al Shejaiyeh neighborhood and Asamoudi of Jenin’s Yamoun Village, were shot and killed.

In Al Naqab’s Ansar 3 the policy of medical neglect has led to more deaths, reports Ferwana. He noted a Gaza City man died 10-8-1989 as a result of medical neglect and Hussam Qur’an from Qalqilia who died 28-8-1990 as a result of torture. Ahmed Al Barakat was from Nablus’ Al Ein Refugee Camp. He died on 5-5-1992 as a result of torture.

Ayman Ibrahim Barhoum was from Rafah and died 27-1-1993 after being beaten by guards. Adel Abdul-Aziz Jawad was from Deir Al Belah in the central Gaza Strip and died on 28-7-2005 as a result of medical negligence. Jamal Hassan Abdullah Aserahin was from Beit Ula in northern Hebron and died 16-1-2007 due to medical negligence. Muhammad Safi Saida Ashqar was from Tulkarem. He died on 22-10-2007 after being shot directly in the head by guards.

Seven prisoners inside Israeli prisons and detention camps were killed by gunshot wounds, Ferwana added.

He said that the deaths of Al Shawa and Asamodi are being marked now, but more are expected as the excessive use of force and violent episodes are on the rise in the prisons and detention camps.

Prisoners' society warns of IOA systematic violence against prisoners

[ 05/08/2009 - 12:07 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The Wa'ed society for prisoners has called for urgent intervention to halt the Israeli occupation authority's (IOA) systematic violent acts against Palestinian prisoners. The society in a statement on Wednesday said that what happened in the Negev desert prison could happen any time in any other prison. Conditions of 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in IOA jails have been deteriorating rapidly on all levels, it added. The society warned that the Negev prison administration might adopt penal measures and/or collective punishment against the Palestinian detainees as a result of the fire that gutted the prison tents. Israeli prison guards stormed the prison wards following the fire wounding three prisoners a couple of days ago. The ministry of prisoners in Gaza held the IOA and the Israeli prisons authority fully responsible for lives of the prisoners following the incident in the Negev prison in which 2,300 Palestinians are languishing.

Prisoners ministry holds IOA responsible for lives of Negev detainees

[ 05/08/2009 - 09:56 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The ministry of prisoners' affairs has held the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) responsible for the lives of Palestinian prisoners in the Negev desert prison following the Israeli prison guards' assault. Riyadh Al-Ashkar, the ministry's spokesman, said in a statement on Tuesday that the prisoners had protested the guards' provocations against ward 5 then the guards stormed the ward firing gas and smoke bombs burning the entire tents in the ward and injuring three prisoners. He noted that the prison administration as usual deliberately delayed putting off the fire, refuting the prison claims that the prisoners were the ones to start the fire. The ministry had earlier warned of possible outbursts in the Israeli prisons especially in the Negev due to the Israeli prisons authority's pressures and harassment. Ashkar recalled the incident was not the first of its kind in Negev as a prisoner died and dozens wounded over 22 months ago when the prison guards used live bullets in quelling prisoners. The spokesman urged international institutions to immediately intervene and get acquainted with incarceration conditions in IOA jails.

Report: Prisoners, guard injured in jail clashes

Bethlehem – Ma’an – Three Palestinian prisoners and one Israeli warden were injured on Tuesday morning in clashes that at Israel’s Negev desert prison camp, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Center for Studies (PCS).

PCS asserted that Israeli prison service has trained special units to counter Palestinian prisoners’ protests. Amongst these units is one called Nehshon, and another called Matsada which use nonlethal weapons that can cause prisoners eyes to be plucked out, or pain lasting several days.

These units, according to the PCS, ransack prisoners’ living quarters overnight wearing masks, and even torture prisoners. They also confiscate prisoners’ property such as family letters and photo albums. It was one of these raids that sparked the clashes. No further details were given.

Israeli authorities have not commented on the report.

Three Palestinian prisoners wounded in Israeli quelling of protest

[ 04/08/2009 - 12:30 PM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Three Palestinian prisoners were wounded at dawn Tuesday during the Israeli jailors' violent quelling of protests by prisoners over tragic incarceration conditions. The Hebrew radio claimed that the prisoners set their tents on fire in the Negev desert prison which necessitated intervention on the part of prison guards. It said that three prisoners were injured and one of the jailors was hurt in the confrontations that ensued. More than 2,000 Palestinians are held captives in Negev under harsh imprisonment conditions with many of them deprived of family visits. The prisoners' center for studies warned that the Israeli prisons authority could impose penalties on the prisoners as a result such as distributing them on other prisons and wards or beat them up. It asked human rights groups and institutions concerned with prisoners' affairs to immediately intervene before further possible worsening of the situation in the prison.

Three detainees wounded in the Negev detention camp

Tuesday August 04, 2009 10:39 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian sources reported on Tuesday morning that three Palestinian detainees were wounded om Monday at night ehrn fire that broke out in section 5 at the Israeli Negev detention facility.

Negev Detention Camp - Qudsnet

Ala’ Sammar, representative of Fateh detainees at the facility said in a phone interview with the Palestinian News and Information Center (WAFA) that the fire was caused by an electric circuit in some tents causing fires to spread in the tents.

Several detainees were wounded and were moved to an Israeli military hospital.

Sammar held the Israeli authorities responsible for endangering the lives of the detainees, and added that the Israeli violations, repeated attacks against the detainees, tortutre, and medical negligence policies have claimed the lives of hundreds of detainees since 1967.

Three Palestinians injured by blaze in Israeli desert prison of Al Naqab where the cells are tents

04.08.09 - 09:20

Naqab / PNN – At dawn today three Palestinians were injured in such a way that the Israeli prison administration alerted its own media. The Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot and Israeli Channel Two both reported that three Palestinian political prisoners were injured Tuesday morning in Al Naqab Desert Prison. The situation was reported upon it seems because it involves a fire where an Israeli jailer was also injured. The details involve a fire in the tents that serve as cells in the outdoor prison of the Naqab (Negev) Desert. Some 11,000 Palestinians are being held by the Israeli administration. Among the imprisoned are children, women, the elderly and the ill.

Palestinian political prisoners struggling for basic rights during snake bite season in Al Naqab

08.06.09 - 15:28

Ramallah / PNN - Palestinians confined in Al Naqab Prison in the desert of the same name issued word that their quality of living is declining on a daily basis under detention, and is compounded by the proliferation of rats and reptiles within sections of the prison camp.

Cells in Al Naqab are made up primarily of tents with exposure to the elements a norm.

The message came through the Palestinian Prisoner Society from a man inside who managed to contact a PPS lawyer. He said that there were reptiles living with them around the clock, and that the Israeli prison management refused to address the problem. It is not a new occurrence and happens every year at this time, but has now reached the extent where it is intolerable and a threat to their lives, especially with the threat of bites from snakes found in their beds.

The prisoners of Al Naqab state that the situation with these reptiles is by far the most dangerous in Section 5 of the prison, which is the oldest section and the worst in terms of sanitation. There the toilets are dirty, damaged and invalid for use as well as an open breeding ground for insects and rodents. The situation is bordering on a health disaster, compounding the prisoner’s already tragic situation.

The Palestinian political prisoners are saying that their application for a solution needs to be met by the military, as it threatens to spread epidemics throughout the prison. The situation is allowing for tension to escalate between the management and the Palestinians, compounding other humiliations such as forcing many of them to take off their clothes on the grounds of a security inspection.

There are many cases of prisoners requiring medical attention but being held from care due to the policy of medical neglect, such as being forced to await surgery without taking into account severe pain. This policy is a great risk to their lives, such as when the management of the prison camp moves their files from one internal department to another without reason and without taking into accounts the patients illness.

PPS has written letters on behalf of Palestinian political prisoners appealing to international human rights institutions and the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene to stop the work of such serious violations. They also want the institutions to work to close the detention camp in the desert.

It is noteworthy that Al Naqab desert prison holds 2,320 people, including 600 in Administrative Detention, meaning without charge or trial. More than 150 prisoners are patients who do not receive medical care, and have to live in extremely difficult conditions such as stifling heat, because the prison administration will not allow cooling fans or even the drinking of cold water.

Israeli forces kidnap 4 Palestinian residents of Ni’lin

Posted on the ISM website on June 4th

2 June 2009

Israeli forces invaded the town of Ni’lin at 2 am on Wednesday, 2nd of June. The army forcefully entered five homes and siezed four residents, Sa’dat Ibrahim Mustafa Ameerah (19), Mahmod Abdallah Ameerah (26), Ibrahim Khalil Ad-Dik Srour (18) and Hamada Abdel Raziq Khawaja (28). All of them are suspected in taking part of the popular resistance against the Annexation Wall. The arrested were taken to Ofer Prisoner Camp, a tent prison. A fifth person the army was looking for, Hassan Nimer Khawaja (22), was not captured since he was not at home when the Israeli army came. His family was given a paper ordering Hassan and his father to come to Ofer Prison Camp on 2 June at 2pm.

More than 100 soldiers came by foot, entering the village through the fields and surrounding the homes of the five persons they were aiming to arrest. Shortly thereafter, dozens of jeeps entered the village.

Hassan Khawaja, who was given an order to come to Ofer, chose to turn himself in because of frequent harassment of his family from Israeli soldiers.

Ibrahim Srour (18) was taken from a local bakery in Ni’lin, where he had started to work 2 weeks ago. According to Ibrahim’s colleagues, about 10 soldiers entered the bakery at 2am and arrested Ibrahim. Simultaneously, soldiers entered Srour’s home and went straight upstairs to search his room for evidence in connection with the popular resistance but nothing was found.

The Israeli forces did not give a reason for the invasion of the Srour home. After the soldiers left, Ibrahim’s work colleague called his family to explain that Ibrahim had been handcuffed, blindfolded and taken to the Israeli road block at the entrance of the village. Ibrahim’s father Khalil took one of his daughters with him and went to the entrance to try to bring Ibrahim back home or give him some extra clothes since he was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

“I went to the roadblocks to bring back my son. When I came there I saw him sitting on the ground with his eyes blindfolded and his hands tied behind his back. I asked the soldiers if I could talk to him but they screamed at me to go back and at the same time I heard my son’s voice telling me to go back home. He wanted to protect me and I had to return back without him or giving him anything”

At 2am, Israeli soldiers with the commander in charge, “Captain Foad”, entered the house of Hamada Khawaja. Soldiers has previously harassed the neighbors while searching for Hamada’s house. Hamada’s entire family was woken by the soldiers, including his 2 children, ages 2 and 4 years old. According to Hamada’s brother, “Captain Foad” made jokes, asking the family who they thought he had come to take. Hamada and his brother were both taken downstairs and then Hamada was arrested and taken away. The family must now rely solely on the income of Hamada’s brother, whose family lives with Hamada.

At 2.10 am, Israeli forces knocked on the door of Mahmod Ameerah, calling his name. According to his wife, the whole family was asleep at the time. Mahmod went up to open the door and three soldiers entered the house. The soldiers remained inside Mahmod’s home, until the commander, “Captain Foad” came at 4am and arrested Mahmod. Mahmod provides the sole income for the family and is the father of 2 daughters, aged 1 and 2. Mahmod is the second son in the family that has been imprisoned on a suspicion of involvment with the popular resistance against the Wall.

Soldiers surrounded the home of Sa’dat Ameerah and entered at 2:15am. The family of ten were all put into one room except for the mother and 2 youngest children. The soldiers asked for the IDs of the 3 oldest sons. Around 3:15am, “Captain Foad” came to the home and Sa´dat was arrested, blindfolded, handcuffed and taken to a jeep.

Sadat’s father, Ibrahim, a member of the Popular Committee of Ni’lin, was also arrested during a night invasion on the 14th of August. He was imprisoned and interrogated on a daily basis until his release 16 days later. Subsequently, Ibrahim Ameerah lost his permit to work in Israel proper. Additionally, Sa’dats younger brother was arrested on the 22nd of December 2008 and released in April.

Israeli forces regularly invade Ni’lin to arrest residents believed to be active in the popular resistance against the Annexation Wall. Since the start of the construction of the Annexation Wall in May 2008, more than 70 villagers have been arrested. Six of the arrested were children under the age of 18; Mohammad Ata Mousa (14), Ibrahim Khalqel (16), Yazed Hussam Mousa (16), Majed Hisham Nafea (17), Sufyan Khawaja (17), Saeed Ibrahim Amireh (17), and Mohammed Daoud Khawaja (17). These children have had their educations interrupted and several missed a school term.

Night invasions, a tool of the Israeli occupation forces to arrest suspected participants in the resistance to the illegal Annexation Wall, are ongoing. The village of Ni’lin will lose another 2,500 dunums of land after the construction of the Wall. A village that was 57,000 dunums before 1948, Ni’lin will have only 7,500 dunums left. Residents, alongside international and Israeli solidarity activists, have participated in demonstrations against the land confiscation since May 2008.