Israeli army terrorises Beit Ummar, near Hebron

Israeli army carrying out rampage of terror, sabotage in Palestinian town

14 Feb 2008 by Khalid Amayreh

BEIT UMMAR, (PIC)-- For the third consecutive day, hundreds of Israeli occupation soldiers and agents of Israel’s chief domestic security agency, the Shin Bet, are savaging and terrorizing this small Palestinian town of 10,000 inhabitants, located just a few kilometers north of Hebron in the southern West Bank.

The occupation forces declared the town “a closed military zone” as crack soldiers moved from house to house, terrorizing civilians, beating youngsters, and vandalizing public and private property.

...“First, they ordered all males from 12 to 70 to school yards and streets in sub-zero temperature, and then heavily armed soldiers moved from house to house, beating youngsters, verbally abusing women, vandalizing property and smashing electrical appliances,” said Yousuf Abu Ayyash, an elderly resident.

So far, as many as sixty residents have been arrested and herded into large army trucks. Most of the detainees are likely to be sent to the notorious detention camp, known as Kitziot, in the Negev desert...

Israel is keeping more than 11,000 Palestinian in jails, apparently as a bargaining chip to blackmail the Palestinians into giving political and territorial concessions to the Zionist state.

...According to municipal officials, a number of residents were wounded after being beaten severely by soldiers, apparently for violating the curfew imposed on the town. Medial sources named Fakhri Nasr Ikhlayel and his son as among the people injured.

The elected mayor of the town, Farhan Alkam, has been languishing in jail, without charge or trial, ostensibly for “holding religious ideas.”

Moreover, significant parts of the water and sewage disposal system were damaged. In addition, a large number of personal computers, mobile phones and personal documents were confiscated.

...On Wednesday, an army bulldozer demolished a grocery store owned by Sabri Zamel Abu Mariya in the center of the town. No reason was given for the demolition.

...Israel has stepped up systematic persecution of Palestinians lately despite continuing peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.

On Tuesday, the Western-backed Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayadh complained that Israel was not giving his government any chance to succeed.  He said that provocative Israeli actions, including daily incursions and raids in Palestinian population centers, were undermining the government’s stature among ordinary Palestinians. 

Full report here