Dozens of soldiers, on foot and in armored jeeps, staged another nighttime raid on the village of Bil'in tonight at around 3am. The raid was staged in order to arrest 30 year old Ashraf Khatib. Khatib was shot in the leg by a sniper using the banned 0.22" caliber live ammunition during the weekly demonstration in the village five weeks ago. The bullet penetrated his leg near the shin, causing a fracture, and exited, causing an additional exit wound. At the hospital, Khatib had to undergo an operation.

Soldiers with war paint on their face during tonight's raid on Bil'in. Picture credit: Hamde Abu Rahmah

The soldiers, about 50 in number, entered the village and continued to raid two houses in their search for Khatib - taking positions around them and pounding on the doors. The houses that were initially raided belonged not to Khatib himself, but to two of his brothers. Nonetheless, a group of soldiers thoroughly searched the houses and to the dismay of the women and children in them, and without presenting a search warrant.

After ransacking the two houses inside and out, one of the brothers was ordered to take to the soldiers to Ashraf Khtib's house, where the same procedure resumed itself.

A soldier flashing his rifle-mounted light at the camera. Picture credit: Hamde Abu Rahmah

At around 4:30am, after occupying the three families' houses for nearly an hour and half at the middle of the night, the force retreated towards the Wall and left the village.

Haitham Khatib, one of Ashraf's brothers, a video-activist and volunteer with the Israeli hu,an rights organization B'Tselem said that during the raid on his house, his six year old son asked him " to close the door, because he didn’t want to see the soldiers", as he was terrified. "This is not the first time the house has been raided, but the children, aged between 1.5 to eight never get used to it", he added. During the raid Haitham himself was prevented by the soldiers from filming the raid in his own house - the soldiers simply locked him in a room for more than an hour, away from his wife and children.

Ashraf Five weeks ago Ashraf was shot in his leg with live ammunition by an Israeli soldier in a demonstration in Bil’in. The bullet went through his leg, breaking the bone. Even though he was heavily injured and in major pain, the soldiers tried to arrest him. Luckily he was brought to safety by fellow protesters and then to the hospital for surgery.

In the past two years, the village of Bil'in was subjected to dozens military nighttime raids in the attempt to suppress its residents' struggle against the theft of their lands in lands in the form of the Wall and settlement construction. 46 arrests of Bil'in residents were made by the army since, June 23rd, 2009, in connection to the village's grassroots struggle against the Wall and settlements.