The Israeli army broke into the Jerusalem headquarters of a member of Hamas released as part of an exchange of Israelis held hostage to Gaza, holding a person and embracing the others on Saturday evening, including a New York Times journalist who leads Interviews on the scene.
A team of soldiers made his way into the house on the outskirts of Jerusalem and interrupted an event that marked the first release of Ashraf Zughayer, a member of Hamas, imprisoned in 2002 for pushing the terrorists in the positions of their attacks. Among them was a suicidal attacker who killed six civilians by exploding a bus. According to the court documents, Zughayer confessed the accusations.
Mr. Zughayer, 46, was released on Saturday afternoon with other 199 prisoners.
Supervised by a colonel, the soldiers entered the Zughayer family building with their rifles raised and attacked several people, including the father of Mr. Zughayer and a Times journalist who led interviews. The soldiers arrested the brother of Mr. Zughayer and expelled journalists, then they left about an hour later.
For years, Israeli security services have discouraged and often broken family events that celebrate the release of Palestinian militants, stating that the meetings cause unrest, lion terrorists and inspire support to violence. Critics say that interventions increase Palestinian antipathy for Israel, prolonging a cycle of violence.
Israel was particularly assertive in suppressing the celebrations for the prisoners issued pursuant to the ceasefire in Gaza. Israeli officials are worried that they can help strengthen Hamas’ popularity, which led on October 7, 2023, attacks Israel who killed up to 1,200 people. Dozens of Palestinians released on Saturday were sent to Egypt instead of being authorized to return home, in part for this reason.
The Israeli army declared in a declaration of having raided the Zughayer family house because “he received intelligence and videos of shots and incitements to terrorism in the area”. The declaration stated that the soldiers had acted to “neutralize the threat of fire” and that they had raised their weapons against “armed individuals”. An Israeli military official said his brother had been arrested for showing a flag of Hamas.
At the beginning of that day, the videos circulating on social media showed Mr. Zughayer who wore a Hamas scarf and was paraded in a car through his neighborhood, surrounded by a group of other men who transported Hamas flags – An action that is prohibited in Israel.
When the New York Times journalists arrived in the neighborhood several hours later, the situation was calm. They saw Mr. Zughayer briefly wear a thin Hamas scarf before a child ran away with it, about an hour before the raid. A second child who wore a cloak with a Hamas logo left the house in the same period.
The approximately two dozens of other participants, including several young children, wore no marked clothes and there were no flags on display. Nobody was armed and Mr. Zughayer’s brother did not show a flag of Hamas, the journalists said.
The house is owned by Mr. Zughayer’s father, Munir Zughayer, who is a well -known community organizer. Munir Zughayer collaborates between the residents of the depleted neighborhood and the municipal leadership of Jerusalem, as well as between the families of the Palestinians in prison and the Israeli prison authorities. He said he wasn’t a Hamas member.
After bursting in the family complex around 17:30, the soldiers moved through the courtyard, where the gathering was held, without stopping to evaluate the situation or the people inside, the journalists said.
A soldier immediately used the muzzle of the load loaded to hit Aaron Boxerman, a Times journalist who was near the entrance of the courtyard. Before Mr. Boxerman had the opportunity to identify himself, the soldier hit him in the thoracic cage, leaving a large bruise.
A second time that the reporter, Natan Odenheimer, therefore identified himself as a journalist, video recorded by the Times shows. The soldier himself told Mr. Odenheimer that he didn’t care, using an explosion to underline his point. The soldier then pointed the shotgun against Mr. Odenheimer again, shows the video.
The soldiers also aimed at their rifles to other participants. The video shows the participants who quickly respect themselves with the soldiers controls and seem not to represent a threat. The soldiers screamed vulgarity to the relatives of Mr. Zughayer; And he pushed his father to the chest.
The military declared in a declaration of being replaced “any damage caused to journalists during the operational activity” and who did not aim to affect “unpublished civilians or journalists as such”. He said He was investigating the accident.
A spokesman for the Times said he had presented a protest with the Israeli army for the assault on Mr. Boxerman.