AL-KHALIL (PIC)– Israeli occupation troops backed by some 25 military vehicles raided the small village of Al-Kum 8 kilometers west of Dura in Al-Khalil district last night terrorizing civilians desecrating the local mosque and using an elderly man as a human shield.
Locals said crack Israeli soldiers stormed the village around 2:00 a.m. and started searching several homes apparently for “wanted persons” a reference to Palestinian resistance fighters.
In the process the soldiers desecrated the local mosque by entering into the holy place without taking their boots off. They also stormed four homes vandalizing and sabotaging furniture.
An elderly man in his 70s who identified himself as Abdul Jalil Muhammed Rajoub said soldiers pointed their guns at him and ordered him to walk to another home where the troops thought a wanted fighter was hiding.
“This is a clear violation of Israel’s own law. They used me as a human shield then they herded me and my entire family into my neighbor’s home” said the elderly man.
Rajoub said the occupation soldiers were extremely impolite and that at one point they stepped at a text of the Holy Quran Islam’s holy book.
During the operation which lasted until 9:30 a.m. troops fired stun grenades and also pointed their automatic rifles toward children and women according to the locals.
At least three people were arrested including Muhammed and Ibrahim Abdul Jalil Rajoub and their cousin Nedal Khalil Rajoub.
The village Mekhtar (clan chief) said the purpose of the operation was to apprehend a resistance activist.
The Israeli occupation army has stepped up the practice of using Palestinian civilians as a human shield in various parts of the West Bank.
On Friday the Israeli human rights organization B’tselem reported that Israeli occupation troops operating in Nablus last week used an 11-year-old Palestinian girl as a human shield.
Other similar cases were reported in Al-Khalil district in the past few weeks.
Normally when Israeli army spokespersons are confronted with the issue they say rather tersely that the matter was being investigated. But in most cases no further action is taken and the matter goes into oblivion.
