DayofPal-In the span of just one hour, a Palestinian family was rendered homeless. Israeli settlers, seizing a moment of absence, unlawfully occupied their residence while they were away for Ramadan Iftar dinner.
Upon their return, the family was met not only with the sight of their belongings being discarded onto the street but also with the impenetrable barrier of Israeli soldiers, who barred their entry and shielded the settlers who had already taken possession.
The family had briefly departed to share Iftar with relatives when urgent calls from neighbors alerted them to the unfolding seizure.
Rushing back, they arrived to find their home forcibly taken over. Israeli soldiers, standing guard at the entrance, dismissed their protests. “This is no longer your home,” the troops coldly declared.
According to Issa Amro, founder of Youth Against Settlements, the settlers had meticulously planned the takeover. “They waited for the family to leave, then stormed in and took over,” he explained.
The house, situated in Tel Rumeida, a district in Hebron long targeted by settler expansion efforts, had been under surveillance. Like many Palestinian homes in the area, it had become a strategic prize in the settlers’ ongoing campaign to entrench their presence under military protection.
The property belonged to Abdul Baset Tamimi and provided shelter for ten family members, including children. With no alternative refuge, they spent the night near their home, demanding justice.
They categorically denied ever selling the house, dismissing the settlers’ purported claim of purchase as a blatant falsehood.
Determined to challenge the dispossession, Ghassan Abdul Baset, the homeowner’s grandson, sought legal recourse. Accompanied by a lawyer, he filed a formal complaint at an Israeli police station.
“The person settlers claim they bought it from has no connection to the house,” he stated unequivocally. “This is fraud, and we will fight it in court.”
Tel Rumeida, a historic and embattled district of Hebron, has become a focal point of settler expropriation. In recent years, Palestinian properties have been systematically seized, often under the direct guarding of Israeli forces.
The neighborhood is now encircled by fences, patrolled by armed soldiers, and monitored by surveillance infrastructure, making daily life for Palestinian residents increasingly intolerable.
In a desperate appeal for solidarity, the Tamimi family has called upon the people of Hebron to rally in their defense. “Settlers are trying to drive us out, house by house,” their statement declared. “This must stop.”
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