In Pictures

Israeli army night raids spread fear in West Bank

Night raids, a common tactic in the occupied West Bank, are used to intimidate the Palestinian community, residents say.

Israeli soldiers raid the Aida refugee camp on a recent night. Soldiers entered and searched several homes, but made no arrests. More than 60 refugees from Aida were incarcerated last summer, many of whom still remain in prison. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

15 Aug 2015

Bethlehem, occupied West Bank – “The young men nowadays do not sleep before the morning call to prayer,” says Ayed al-Azza, a father of four in Bethlehem’s Aida refugee camp. His own home has been raided at night by Israeli soldiers four times.

Night raids are a common tactic throughout the West Bank, used by the Israeli military under the pretext of security and intelligence gathering. But Palestinians maintain they are used to intimidate, coerce and collectively punish Palestinian communities who resist the Israeli occupation.

The raids are characterised by various degrees of force. Doors can be broken; adults and children alike can be awoken at gunpoint, corralled into a single room and interrogated while masked troops search the house, often destroying furniture and leaving the home in disarray.

When arrests are made, Palestinian detainees are typically blindfolded and handcuffed, and sometimes beaten in front of family members.

Raids can also be deadly, as seen in the recent cases of 18-year-old Mohammed Abu Latifa in the Qalandia Refugee Camp in Ramallah, and Falah Hammed Abu Maria, 53, in the southern West Bank village of Beit Ummar.

Israeli soldiers walk through a narrow street in the Aida camp. Aida is known throughout Bethlehem as a gathering spot for Palestinian youth to confront Israeli forces, who occupy a military base on the opposite side of the separation wall that flanks the community. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

Soldiers examine aerial maps on Bethlehem's Jerusalem-Hebron road. While Israeli forces attempt to stay hidden during incursions, youth in Aida and across the West Bank have developed Facebook groups and a communications network to monitor the presence and movement of soldiers. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

Israeli soldiers typically enter the camp through a large gate in the separation wall, allowing for direct and instant access to the refugee community. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

'I was scared to death. I was afraid for my grandchildren and that they might kill one of them in front of me. I can't take that,' said 78-year-old Ruweda al-Azza, resting with her son Ayed outside her home after Israeli forces conducted a raid there, destroying two doors and assaulting several family members. According to Ayed, 'the purpose of these night raids is to spread fear among the community'. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

Abed Abu Srour watches as Israeli soldiers use his home as a base of operations for the night. Soldiers wanted to arrest his 23-year-old son, Arafa, who opted to stay away from his home that night after Israeli forces informed his parents they wanted him 'dead or alive'. Ten days later, Arafa was shot and arrested by Israeli forces near his home. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

An Israeli soldier sits in Abed Abu Srour's home during a night raid. Asked about his work, the soldier said he was not proud of what he did. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

The family of Yaqoub Hammad, 21, sit in their home after he was arrested. Families typically gather after night raids to drink tea and decompress. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

Samar Hammad, whose 18-year-old son Mahmoud was arrested by Israeli soldiers during a night raid, said family and neighbours confronted the Israeli soldiers in the street. "I got him a shirt and came back outside and they were beating our neighbour's boys, and they took him away and I didn't even see him or have a chance to say goodbye," she said. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

Three-year-old Karem reaches for his mother's hand while an Israeli soldier stands in the doorway of the Abu Srour home.[Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

A young girl stands on the rooftop of her home in Aida refugee camp near a cinderblock smeared with feces. In an overnight raid, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas, rubber bullets and sound bombs in the area. They also punctured a water tank and defecated in the stairway leading up to the roof of this home, residents said. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

Israeli forces prepare to scale a wall in the nearby al-Azza refugee camp during a night raid. Youth are often targeted during raids for alleged stone throwing, an offence now punishable by up to 20 years in prison. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

Three-year-old Jude and 11-year-old Ruweda play on an iPad around 5:30am after soldiers entered their building to arrest their cousin, Khaled al-Azzeh, from the apartment above. The girls show signs of anxiety from the constant military presence, including speech problems, aggression and difficulty sleeping, according to their family. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]

An Israeli soldier stands alone in an alleyway in al-Azza Refugee Camp, while the rest of his unit searches a home. [Kelly Lynn/Al Jazeera]