The Israeli army raided the Jerusalem house of a Hamas member launched as a part of an alternate for Israelis being held hostage in Gaza, detaining one particular person and roughing up others on Saturday night, together with a New York Occasions reporter conducting interviews on the scene.
A squad of troopers compelled its manner into the home on the outskirts of Jerusalem and disrupted an occasion marking the early launch of Ashraf Zughayer, a Hamas member imprisoned in 2002 for driving terrorists to the areas of their assaults. Amongst them was a suicide bomber who killed six civilians by blowing up a bus. In line with courtroom paperwork, Mr. Zughayer confessed to the fees.
Mr. Zughayer, 46, was launched on Saturday afternoon together with 199 different prisoners.
Overseen by a colonel, the troopers entered the Zughayer household’s constructing with their rifles raised and assaulted a number of individuals, together with Mr. Zughayer’s father and a Occasions reporter conducting interviews. The troopers detained Mr. Zughayer’s brother and expelled journalists, then left about an hour later.
For years, Israeli safety companies have discouraged and sometimes damaged up household occasions celebrating the discharge of Palestinian militants, saying that the gatherings provoke unrest, lionize terrorists and encourage assist for violence. Critics say the interventions enhance Palestinian antipathy for Israel, prolonging a cycle of violence.
Israel has been notably assertive in suppressing celebrations for detainees launched below the phrases of the cease-fire in Gaza. Israeli officers are involved that they could assist bolster the recognition of Hamas, which led the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel that killed as much as 1,200 individuals. Dozens of the Palestinians launched on Saturday had been despatched into exile in Egypt as a substitute of being allowed to return house, partly for that motive.
The Israeli army mentioned in a press release that it had raided the Zughayer household’s home as a result of it “acquired intelligence and movies of gunfire and incitement to terrorism within the space.” The assertion mentioned that the troopers had been appearing to “neutralize the specter of hearth” and that that they had raised their weapons at “armed people.” An Israeli army official mentioned the brother had been detained for displaying a Hamas flag.
Earlier that day, footage circulating on social media confirmed Mr. Zughayer carrying a Hamas scarf and being paraded in a automobile by means of his neighborhood, surrounded by a bunch of different males carrying Hamas flags — an motion that’s barred in Israel.
By the point reporters for The New York Occasions arrived within the neighborhood a number of hours later, the state of affairs was calm. They noticed Mr. Zughayer briefly carrying a slim Hamas scarf earlier than a baby ran off with it, roughly an hour earlier than the raid. A second little one who wore a cape bearing a Hamas brand left the home across the identical time.
The roughly two dozen different attendees, together with a number of babies, wore unmarked garments and there have been no flags on show. Nobody was armed, and Mr. Zughayer’s brother didn’t show a Hamas flag, the reporters mentioned.
The house is owned by Mr. Zughayer’s father, Munir Zughayer, who’s a well known neighborhood organizer. Munir Zughayer liaises between residents of the impoverished neighborhood and the Jerusalem municipal management, in addition to between the households of Palestinians in jail and the Israeli jail authorities. He mentioned that he was not a member of Hamas.
After bursting into the household’s compound round 5:30 p.m., the troopers moved by means of the yard, the place the gathering was held, with out stopping to evaluate the state of affairs or the individuals inside, the reporters mentioned.
One soldier instantly used the muzzle of his loaded rifle to strike Aaron Boxerman, a Occasions reporter who occurred to be standing near the yard entrance. Earlier than Mr. Boxerman had an opportunity to determine himself, the soldier hit him within the rib cage, leaving a big bruise.
A second Occasions reporter, Natan Odenheimer, then recognized himself as a journalist, video recorded by The Occasions exhibits. The identical soldier advised Mr. Odenheimer that he didn’t care, utilizing an expletive to underscore his level. The soldier then pointed his loaded rifle at Mr. Odenheimer once more, the video exhibits.
The troopers additionally aimed their rifles at different attendees. The video exhibits the attendees shortly complying with the troopers’ instructions and showing to pose no risk. The troopers yelled profanities at Mr. Zughayer’s family; and shoved his father within the chest.
The army mentioned in a press release that it regretted “any hurt induced to journalists throughout operational exercise,” and that it didn’t goal to focus on “uninvolved civilians, or journalists as such.” It mentioned it was investigating the incident.
A spokesperson for The Occasions mentioned it had lodged a protest with the Israeli army over the assault on Mr. Boxerman.
