Israeli occupation forces conducted an elaborate house search campaign on June 19th, 2008 in the neighborhoods of Shreim and Dawood south of the city of Qalqilia. The operation was conducted under the pretext of searching for Palestinians on the Israeli “Wanted List”. The operation started at 4:00 AM as occupation forces surrounded a number of Palestinian houses and closed all main and secondary roads leading to those houses and occupied rooftops of nearby houses.
Soldiers used sound bombs in the operation and loud speakers as they shouted “Sons of Umm Tawfiq: Get out.” It turned out, however, that there was nobody by the name Umm Tawifq in either neighborhoods which caused a state of confusion in the area as no one came out of their houses. About 15 minutes went by before Israeli occupation soldiers opened indiscriminate, concentrated lethal fire at a 3-story residential building owned by the heirs of Mr. Aqel Hasanien causing havoc and extensive damage and fear to the men, women and children living in the populated building.
Photo 1: Live bullets used by Israeli occupation forces during the raid
Photo 2: The effects caused by the ammunition used Israeli occupation soldiers during the raid.
The targeted building had 19 people living in it 11 of which are 16 years old or younger. The building (area = 250 m2) has sustained widespread damage as did nearby buildings and houses. When the firing stopped, occupation soldiers forced their way into the besieged building and caused massive destruction of property and furniture in all apartments in the building. Residents were beaten during the in-field interrogation while 4 computers were confiscated. Other nearby buildings faced the same treatment as occupation soldiers continued their search for the “wanted.”
Photos 3, 4 & 5: The destruction caused by the Israeli occupation forces
in the building owned by the heirs of Mr. Aqel Hasanien
Moreover, Israeli occupation forces used a bulldozer in demolishing an old house (area = 300 m2) located next to the building as well as plowed the lands atop which it was built.
Photo 6: The demolished old house.
During the operation 6 Palestinians were arrested while a number of cars parked nearby were damaged and water tanks punctured. That is in addition to the damage sustained by the residential buildings and houses due to the indiscriminate shooting and heavy use of fire power. A large number of Palestinians residing in the building and other nearby housing structures were rushed to the Qalqilia Governmental Hospital as they suffered shock and nervous breakdowns due to the ferocity and cruelty used by Israeli occupation forces during the operation.
Photo 7: Palestinian cars destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces during the raid.
The city of Qalqilia has been a frequent target for Israeli raids and searches whereas soldiers break-into shops and houses in addition to stealing its contents under the pretext of “preventing terrorist activities.” The last similar incursion took place in early June 2008 when Israeli occupation forces searched and destroyed the content of 60 houses in the city of Qalqilia in addition to the injury of 15 Palestinians with Israeli bullets as well as the damage of a number of vehicles parked in the vicinity of the area targeted for searching.
Prepared by:
The Land Research Center
LRC
