CPTnet
2 December 2011
AL-KHALIL (HEBRON): Israeli military raids houses in response to attack on
checkpoint
On the night of 28 November, a Palestinian man threw two
Molotov cocktails at the Israeli military checkpoint in Hebron’s Qitoun
neighborhood. In response, the military and border police fired tear gas,
entered houses in the neighborhood, and forced about fifty men to stand outside
in the cold for almost exactly two hours while they checked their IDs. The
military arrested one Palestinian man and detained three more after they
allowed the residents of the neighborhood to return to their homes.
At about 10:20 p.m., soldiers came back from one of the
houses with clothes that they claimed belonged to the man who threw the Molotov
cocktails.
During the incident, Palestinians passing the checkpoint
reported that soldiers were beating one of the detained men. Later on, other passersby
reported that soldiers were sitting on a man on the ground.
At around 10:40 p.m., the commander declared a closed
military zone and ordered internationals to leave the area, including three
members of Temporary International Presence in Hebron. Members of TIPH have a mandate from the
Israeli, Palestinian, and European constituent governments to observe the military. When internationals asked the commander
to show them the order, he said that he did not have to show it. The military detained three members of International
Solidarity Movement, but released them later.
Military actions that target groups of people in response to
the actions of a few are illegal according to the Geneva Conventions.
