IDF uses disguised troops in anti-fence rallies
(Video) Palestinians document members of security forces hiding behind traditional Arab headdress in Nabi Salih. 'They seek to oppress the protest at its very beginning,' villager says
The enclosed video shows members of the security forces arresting protestors in the village of Nabi Salih, near Ramallah, their faces hidden by a hat and kaffiyah (traditional Arab headdress).
The officers seen in the video squeezed through a convoy of vehicles arriving at Nabi Salih from a wedding held in the nearby village of Beit Rima. Their car was not identified as a security forces' vehicle, and the protestors spotted the police sign on the hat only after they were arrested.
Video: Bilal Tamami
"The disguised soldiers came out of the vehicle at once and began beating and arresting. They detained three people and injured two who managed to escape," said Bassam Tamimi, one of the leaders of the village's popular committee.
Tamimi told Ynet that his wife, who works as a paramedic, was also attacked. "The soldiers wouldn't let her do her job and took her bag and cell phone. They still haven't returned it."
He claimed that this was an attempt by the security forces to intimidate the protestors. "This is the third time in the past 10 months that soldiers disguised as Arabs are used against the protestors in the village. The last time was five months ago."
The village has become the center of the Palestinian popular struggle on Fridays, although its residents are not protesting against the fence but over their right to reach the lands. Tamimi believes the disguised soldiers are being used in order to oppress the protests at their very beginning.
"The IDF was here up to two weeks ago, but in the past two weeks Border Guard forces have been sent in and they are much more violent," he said. "They want to oppress the demonstration before we reach the area of the lands. The oppression is brutal and aimed at conveying a message to the Palestinians not to try to expand the phenomenon to the entire territories."
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
