My son Anan, who is 22, woke me up at around 3:45 a.m. to tell me that Israeli soldiers were at our front door. I got up and went downstairs where I saw three soldiers already inside our home. One of the soldiers aggressively pushed my husband aside and asked him for the names of our children and my husband named them.

 

Two soldiers then took Anan to his room and the third soldier remained in the living room with us. The soldiers spoke fluent Arabic and one of them wore a mask over his face.

 

The other two soldiers searched Anan’s room without causing too much damage but they did throw all his books on the floor. Then they came downstairs and told us they wanted to arrest Anan but they did not tell us why. They also  did not give us any written documents explaining what they were doing.

 

The soldiers then blindfolded Anan and tied his hands behind his back with a plastic tie and left. We were all left with a sense of shock. All our neighbours and relatives came to our house to give us support. They told us the soldiers had entered the village in a private, unmarked car and that is why no one noticed them until they got to our house. When the soldiers left some young men from the village threw stones at them and clashes erupted.

 

Later that morning a human rights organization contacted us and told us Anan had been taken to Ofer prison and that he was going to be released soon. Anan was released the following day without charge. I was told that the military judge refused to even see Anan in court because he was arrested without any justification. When Anan was released he told me the soldiers had beaten him.

 

This is not the first time that our home has been raided. I cannot even count how many times. This year alone our house was raided three times without justification. In January the army searched the house and caused damage to our kitchen.

 

Military night raids have become part of our lives so much so that they are almost routine. I just worry about the safety of my children. I feel that it is only a matter of time before one of my children is hurt.