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2 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On 2 October in Al Khalil (Hebron), the Israeli army and police arrested 2 Palestinian children based on petty, unfounded accusations whilst allowing settlers to employ violence with complete impunity. 13 year old Khaled Abu Snaeneh and 15 year old Said Abu Aisha were arrested and detained for over 4 hours at Kiryat Arba police station.

At 2:45 soldiers came to the Abu Aisha house in Tel Rumeida to investigate a complaint made by settlers that Palestinians had stolen some boxes of expired cereal from their backyard. A group of around 30 settlers gathered around the house shouting at both the Palestinian residents and the police and army. Under pressure from the gradually increasing number of settlers surrounding the house Israeli police made the decision to arrest the two young boys, solely on the evidence of being accused by the settlers.

Ibrahim Abu Aisha explained that the boys arrested had not taken the cereal as they were working at the time the incident took place.

Several Palestinians reported that Baruch Marzel from the Tel Rumeida settlement kicked 30 year old Fawaz Abu Aisha requiring him to go to hospital. Despite the visible bruising on Fawaz’s leg and attempts to complain to the police they refused to take any action on this assault. Marzel has a history of assaulting Palestinians and was formerly a spokesperson for the Kach party before it was made illegal in Israel as a racist, terrorist organization.

After being driven to Kiryat Arba police station and detained for 4 hours, the boys were not charged but still forced to pay a fine of 200 shekels each.