A massive force from the Israeli Police on July 2015 raided the Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Jamal and embarked on closing the residence of martyr Odai Abu Jamal, who carried out an attack on a synagogue on November 2014 in the area of Deir Yasin.
At the early hours of dawn, the force broke into the family’s residence, forced residents out after evacuating its interior and welded the house’s doors and window, rendering 6 members ( the father 54 years, the mother Fatima, the sister Marwa 29 years, Ali 23, Mutaz 19, and Mohammad 14) homeless.
The 300m2 house is reported to be composed of five rooms and was established in 1936; the house was ordered closed in Ramadan and a tent set up next to it was ordered demolished.
The brother of martyr Oudai said: “I woke up at 3:15 of a Ramadan night by a vicious knocking on the door. I tried to stand up but a soldier pointed his riffle in my face ordering me to stay in my place until the officer got in the house. My sick old father stood up and opened the door for soldiers to check the house. The officer informed us the that house will be closed soon”
He also said: “My father underwent a heart surgery; he has difficulty moving around. We helped him to go to our grandmother’s house that is next to ours. I, then, was handcuffed and moved to a police station until 9:00 in the morning”
It should be marked that clashes erupted between the area’s youth and soldiers of the occupation army; a number of guys were detained as a result.
The officer of the force told the family that they will come back to pump cement into the house as a final step to close it.
It should also be marked that the residences of martyrs Ghassan and Oudai Abu jamal were photographed by a force from the occupation army days ago. The members of both martyrs’ families were questioned by an officer at time.
The house was finally closed by pumping cement into it as the officer informed the family so that they can never use it again.
The family of martyr Ghassan Abu Jamal fears to get their residence attacked since the Israeli occupation issued demolition orders on the residences of those who carried out the attack on the synagogue.
This step is considered a collective punishment on the families of martyrs, aiming at humiliating Palestinians by demolishing or closing their houses. This brutality is all done to satisfy the arrogance of the colonial government and its right-wing parties.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
