"We have no clothes, no food, no water, nothing remains for us" states Mohammed Hasan Mobada Ferihiat, 44, as he stands in the shattered remains of his home. Two sides of the room have been destroyed, the view over the village of Al Yamun now unimpeded save for the scaffold that is keeping the roof from crashing in on top of us. The remaining walls are scarred with blast marks, shrapnel holes and deep fissures, the floor sags ominously beneath our feet. It is 10 hours since Israeli soldiers detonated explosives in this room shaking the house to its foundations and shattering the windows in the neighbouring home; 10 hours since Mohammed's son, Ashraf was taken handcuffed from his home to an uncertain future within the Occupation detention system.
The house is full of family and other local people, here in support and solidarity. Despite the numbers it is quiet, faces showing resignation, worry or shock. Mohammed describes the events of last night in a low calm voice. He had been woken at 3am by his neighbour Abu Hassan knocking on his door. His neighbour told him that he had been ordered at gun point by Israeli soldiers to tell Mohammed that he and his family had 2 minutes to leave their house. The family quickly complied and soon 10 men, woman and children ranging in age from 6 to 44 were standing in the rain as Israeli Special Forces appeared from the darkness. Mohammed tells me that his 6 year old granddaughter was terrified by the camouflage daubed faces of the soldiers. He adds that the family had no time to dress properly pointing down to the pyjamas he still wears under his coat and the mismatching flip flops on his feet.
The soldiers handcuffed him along with his son Ashraf, 24, and took them to a waiting army jeep, refusing to give a reason for the raid and their detention. Soldiers then invaded the home ordering his son Fadi, 14, to enter the ground floor room which houses the trapdoor entrance to the family's water cistern. The soldiers screamed at the boy "You are going to die" and threw a grenade into the cistern before retreating into the corridor. The explosion rocked the house and filled the room with smoke, terrifying the boy. The water cistern has been severely damaged, the family's only water supply lost. The soldiers then moved throughout the rest of the house. As we talk Mohammed points to a dazed Fadi, saying that the soldiers dragged him up the stairs and used him as a human shield whilst searching the roof.
Mohammed says that he was released after half an hour and with the rest of his family took refuge in his neighbour's house, his son Ashraf remained in the jeep. At around 6pm the Israeli forces left the house and drove off with their prisoner. As the family prepared to return to their home an explosion shook the area. Charges left by the departing soldiers sent fire and dust bursting from their home as sections of the walls collapsed and windows were blown out. There was no warning. Mohammed is empathic "I swear, we did not know they would destroy the house".
Returning to his home, Mohammed discovered major structural damage to the house as well as the theft of money and jewellery. Although his home is for now uninhabitable Mohammed is clear that this is not his major concern. His family has been targeted in the past with the extra-judicial killing of another son Thacal outside this home in 2002* but Mohammed tells us that he cannot understand why the soldiers have taken Ashraf or attacked his home. "He was not a wanted man" he says, explaining that his son had been recently subjected to a routine identity check by an Israeli patrol and had been allowed to pass. Ashraf had also applied for permission to work within the State of Israel, hardly the act of a man on the run. Now his family have no idea where he has been taken or for how long. Mohammed stares out from his ruined house saying "the most important thing now is to know where my son is"
This household was not the only one in Al Yamun to suffer at the hands of the Israeli army last night. Five other homes were invaded and five more men arrested. I visit one of them amongst the winding alleyways close to the centre of the village. This is the house of the family of Abed Al Kader Ferhiat, home to eighteen people. Abed tells me how at 4.15am this morning he was awoken by the sounds of soldiers and jeeps outside his front door. He left the room he was sleeping in to be prepared to open the door if the soldiers decided to enter the house. However after waiting for more than 5 minutes there was no indication that soldiers intended to enter so he returned his room. A short time later the house was shaken as a large explosion shattered the steel door. Fragments of the door were sent flying through the house punching two large holes in the breeze block wall where Abed had been standing a few moments before and destroying a part of his bedroom door. The force of the blast also caused structural damage to the interior walls; I counted at least three ceiling-to-wall fractures. Israeli soldiers then invaded the house. The family was ordered outside where they waited in the rain for two hours as their home was ransacked. During the raid Abed's 11 year old son was kicked by a soldier and some jewellery stolen. The soldiers stated that they were looking for Abed's adult son who is wanted by the Occupation authorities. This is the fourth time the home has been raided in the last three years. His son is not resident in the home.
Al Yamun has been victim to the effects of numerous Israeli army invasions. The village has lost children and adults alike to the soldiers' bullets and numerous homes to their explosives. Last night six families experienced the abduction of their family members, the invasions of their homes and the destruction of their property and it seems inevitable that they will not be the last to suffer such treatment at the hands of the Occupation.
