On Thursday night, Israeli soldiers broke into the homes of two brothers in Nabi Saleh village, near Ramallah, and warned them to not take part in the weekly protests against the Wall, land grab, and settlements. Basem and Mahmoud at-Tamimi, members of the local Committee Against the Wall and Settlement Construction, were told that the village was declared ‘closed military zone’, and any protest that takes place will be quashed, Ma’an News reported.
Nabi Salih, north of Ramallah, is bordered by an Israeli military post to the north and by the settlement of Halamish to the south. It is one of four popular villages that participate in the weekly non-violent protests against land grab, the annexation wall and settlements.
The protests, held on Fridays after the midday prayer, are usually met with excessive use of force by the army, with soldiers frequently firing rubber-coated bullets, gas bombs and rounds of live ammunition that lead to hundreds of casualties. Israeli soldiers dub the demonstrations as ‘illegal riots’ to justify the use of excessive force against non-violent protesters.
With regard to Thursday’s raid, an Israeli military spokeswoman told Maan News that she could not confirm home invasions in the village, but said she was aware of a ‘routine act’ of patrol in the area overnight.
However, residents of Nabi Saleh stated that in recent months, night invasions have become more frequent, with occasional detention of individuals known to be active in non-violent resistance.
