to the left Hosni Amireh, middle is Sohaib,on the right is Saif
Over the past two weeks midnight raids have yet again become a common occurrence in Ni’lin. Eight children, ages 12 to 17 have been arrested. In the early hours of Thursday morning around 80 Israeli soldiers and military jeeps invaded the village and broke into several houses. With them they brought a list with names of people to arrest.
The two high school students Sohaib Srour, 17, and Saif Wasas, 17, were taken from their homes. The two boys are currently completing their final year of school, called Tawjehi. In the Palestinian school system Tawjehi is the foundation of your grades and really important for the students future. Targeting students going through Tawjehi has been a common tactic for the Israeli military in the past as it catches the students at a critical point in their lives.
The soldiers returned for a second raid the same night and arrested Hosni Abdullah Amireh, 15. They also invaded the house of Hassan Daboos, the camera man for the Popular Committee of Ni’lin. The soldier made a huge mess in the house looking for Hassans younger brother as well as pictures and video material from demonstrations. However they had to leave empty handed.
According to Defence for Children International around 8.000 Palestinian children have been arrested by Israel since the year 2000. Many children who are arrested are subjected to harsh treatment and develops Post Traumatic Stress as a result of their incarceration.