Description

Israeli soldiers broke into the house of Saher Al-Sous, in Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem. Al-Sous is a board member of the Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People, the founding organization of the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC).

At around 3:30 am, Israeli troops knocked-down the door of Al-Sous' cousin with the rifle-butts terrorizing the children and their mother; the father was out of town for some business.

After realizing their mistake, they went to Saher's house and woke up all the family to hand Saher a 'warrant' for an interview with an Israeli intelligence officer they identified as “Leor”.

Al-Sous told IMEMC that he went to the appointment at the Gush Etzion military base, near Hebron, and waited for more than one hour, without being interviewed or asked any question by any officer; he finally decided to go back home.

Al-Sous is a graduate of Bethlehem University and has been involved in the Rapprochement Centre for more than 10 years, he helps promote the center's work and activities. He is currently working with the team preparing for the Shepherds Nights Festival around Christmas time.

This is not the first time the Israeli military harasses members of the board of the Rapprochement Center. Similar harassment targeted the chairman of the board, Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, who was also summoned to an interview with the Israeli intelligence officers and was not interviewed.

The Israeli military invaded the headquarters of the Rapprochement Centre in 2003, and confiscated all the computers and files from the offices an issue that caused a serious interruption to its work and activities.

The Rapprochement Centre was established in 1988 as a non-profit, nongovernmental organization that works to bridge the gap between Palestinians and peoples from all around the world, including Israel, informing the public about the reality in Palestine, and empowering the community through nonviolent direct action.

The center is a co-founding member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), and several other advocacy and nonviolent networks in Palestine.