New Raid On Nabi Saleh

“I will work with Ahmadinejad if you don’t give him back!” Khaled’s mother, Kheetam, shouted amidst the horde of family members demanding his release.

The soldiers took him inside one of their jeeps and fended off the shouting women by shoving them and detonating sound grenades.

Israeli soldiers force villagers away from the jeep where they took Khaled

Zeinab Tamimi (middle) cries after soldiers took her husband

Soldiers drove down the road to their guard tower, and according to Khaled, “The captain said to me that I must stop the guys who throw the stones.” Cheers erupted from the village women when the soldiers released Khaled without arrest.

Khaled’s cousin, Waala, celebrates after soldiers release him from their custody

Three weeks earlier, Israeli soldiers entered the Tamimi house and left with Khaled’s 21-year-old brother, Mohammed. That time Kheetam shouted at the soldiers that she would join Hezbollah if they did not release him. They took Mohammed to a station at a nearby settlement before releasing him without charge after four hours. Such groundless harassment has become routine for the community.

While Kheetam defends her sons and worries for their safety, her husband, Attallah, is officially banned from his home village on Fridays, after being arrested three months ago. He visits relatives in other parts of the West Bank while demonstrators and soldiers exchange taunts for tear gas around Nabi Saleh.

An Israeli soldier fires tear gas into the village

Kheetam Tamimi