During January, B’Tselem documented two incidents in which Israeli soldiers entered homes at night in Kafr Qadum, a village west of the city of Nablus in the occupied territories. They threatened the residents, warning them not to participate in the weekly protests in the village. Such threats violate the villagers’ legitimate and legally recognized rights of expression, protest and demonstration, and form part of clear policy.
The demonstrations have been held in Kafr Qadum every Friday since July 2011 to protest the cutting off of the residents’ access to the road that links their village to Nablus. The local road has been made inaccessible from Kafr Qadum because it runs between the two sections of the adjacent Jewish settlement of Kedumim, which was expanded in 2003. Since their access to the road has been barred, villagers must travel by a bypass road that makes the trip to Nablus much longer, about 40 minutes instead of only 15.
A weekly demonstration in Kfar Qadum, January 2015 (Photo: Activestils)
B’Tselem’s investigation revealed that, during the nocturnal raids last month, the soldiers, wore masks and conducted themselves violently and aggressively when they entered the homes. They threatened the residents’ – including children – and shoved an elderly woman, who fell down and lost consciousness.
Nighttime raids on Palestinian homes are part of the routine oppression of occupation and are a daily occurrence throughout the West Bank. The soldiers’ aggressive conduct – which included entering homes with their faces covered, making threats, intimidating and questioning children, leaving dirt and disorder behind, and even shoving an 80-year-old woman, Shafiqa Jum’ah – is not exceptional. As in this instance, such raids are sometimes used to deter residents from expressing legitimate protest and taking part in demonstrations.
Similarly, the attempts to stop Kafr Qadum residents’ legitimate protest against cutting off their access to the road, use of which has been transferred exclusively to settlers are not new either. In December, video footage showed masked soldiers with batons seizing Muamen Shteiwi, a 7-year-old boy, during a demonstration in Kafr Qadum. The soldiers held the boy for some 10 minutes while firing at his friends. Over the years, B’Tselem has documented additional incidents involving the use of violence and threats by the military in an attempt to silence the protest in the village.
According to B’Tselem “this conduct by the military constitutes the implementation of a clear policy, known to senior military officials, that is designed to handle and silence the protests by the residents of Kafr Qadum. Such a policy is unlawful and violates the villagers’ legitimate right of protest. Therefore, it must be terminated immediately.”
Related: Full B’Tselem report with testimony of villagers from Kafr Qadum
