A night spent fighting terror
A team of Ynet reporters accompanied a Yasam (special forces) police unit on a raid in the Palestinian village of Anata, in search of a suspect thought to be involved in terrorism. Encountering the man's wife and children showed just how complex the work of these officers in the territories is.
The Yasam (special forces) police officers from the Samaria and Judea Division who arrived at Anata village in the West Bank in the middle of the night last week almost gave up on their mission. The owner of the house they were searching didn't seem to be a suspect as first thought, their initial look through his home turned up nothing and some of them had to go back outside in order to prevent a riot from developing. But then there was a twist in the plot.
Young Yasam officers, some of them with families and most of them former army officers, go out almost every night on operations in Palestinian villages in the West Bank. "My wife is in her sixth month (of pregnancy), but she's already adjusted," says S., a fighter in the unit and a former officer with the IDF Paratroopers Brigade.
The Anata operation was considered relatively calm, but during the last part a number of weapons were seized that would likely have been used for terrorist activity.
Before we set out, the Yasam officers organize themselves in a communal area within the district police station. Each one has special equipment: a ski mask, gloves, a pistol and assault rifle, special helmets and various technological devices. They climb into armored vehicles and start to move to their destination.
"My biggest fear is one of the officers getting hit, a violent riot developing or fire coming from one of the houses, which is a very big deterrent," says the unit commander, Superintendent A.
We are at the entrance to the village and the Yasam forces get out of their vehicles. They advance towards the house they want to search. In silence, they encircle the suspect's house and keep a lookout from nearby roofs in order to avoid any unexpected opposition. They knock on the door with their weapons. According to the intelligence information they received from the Shin Bet, the house contains weapons and the homeowner is a suspect who needs to be arrested.
"Open the door," a member of the force calls out in Arabic, and then a light comes on. The officers cover those standing at the door, which opens. A man steps out of the house.
"I know you, you speak Hebrew. Tell me, do you have weapons in the house?" Superindent A. says to the suspect, who responds that there is nothing there and they can search.
"Even though I'm not sure I knew him, I said I did to intimidate him, so that he'd understand that we are following him," A. said.
This Palestinian resident of Anata seems comfortable and relaxed, inviting the Yasam officers in to search his house. Members of his family are put in the living room – three children and his wife. The children are somewhat afraid, not understanding how they are connected to the confrontation that has seeped into their house that night. One of the Yasam officers tries to lessen the tension and helps their mother gather the children.
"These are difficult moments. It's not easy to see when you're searching their house, but this is the reality and we try as much as possible to make it easy on them," says A., before assessing the situation: "I don't think there's anything here, but we'll keep looking. The house seems too elegant and so, for that matter, does the owner."
One of the team's commanders is stubborn and continues to search. Meanwhile, the drama outside the house has just begun.
"Come outside, a riot is developing," orders Superintendent A. We go out. The village is mostly quiet but shouting can be heard from some of the houses. "This is the moment in which you need to have your finger on the pulse and prevent things escalating into a riot," explains Superintendent A.
The commander who had continued with the house search announces via two-way radio that a pistol has been found and that the team is going back inside. "I saw the wife deleting pictures from her cell phone," the team commander says. "I took the phone and found a photo of the suspect with an assault rifle and a pistol.
"I asked him where they were, and he said that a Jew allowed him to be photographed with them. We continued looking and found an air pistol in one of the cupboards," the commander continues.
"You see," A. says. "I didn't think we'd find anything, but you have to persist."
An incident occurs on the way out of the house that is quite characteristic of the current wave of terror, which is being documented from almost every angle. The Yasam officers see a Palestinian man drawing the curtain in his house and looking at them. They shine their lights towards him and tell him to go back inside the house. In response he gets out his cell phone and starts filming. One of the Yasam force records the moment from his point of view. A hasbara war in Anata, and it's not certain who will win.
'The hostility can be felt everywhere'
The Yasam unit of the Samaria and Judea District police currently comprises just 71 individuals. Over the next year it supposed to grow to a unit of around 100 people. "The Yasam's mission here has changed completely," says Superintendent A. "Instead of addressing criminal affairs we are now dealing with terrorist activity, it's really a military unit.
"None of the Yasam units in other districts are carrying out operations like this," he continues.
A.'s deputy, Commander H., explains the contribution that each member of the unit makes. "Everyone is making every effort to ensure that we are the best we can be," he says. "We've become a family over the last few months."
Like his officers, A. also has a wife and kids at home. He is 50 years old, and started his time in the unit as an undercover officer before commanding a number of units in the Southern District. His took up his role in the Samaria and Judea District two years ago and is now trying to thwart further attacks in the current wave of terror.
"There's no doubt that the hostility can be felt everywhere, they're more daring, more violent and even more sophisticated. The battle is much fiercer," he says.
Superintendent A. also addresses the unit's tackling of nationalistic crimes committed by Jews. "It's getting worse; we go into certain settlements and are met with stones and bottles of paint, so it doesn't surprise me that they threw a Molotov cocktail at a house in an Arab village.
"If we don't stop it, it's going to get to the point where they will carry out attacks against us," A. warns.
