Israeli police, operating ‘against criminals’, harasses residents of Bedouin village

Border police officers in Tarabin al-Sana, May 2024

Eden Solomon reports in Haaretz on 1 June 2024:

The residents of the southern Bedouin village of Tarabin al-Sana in the Negev have been complaining about police violence, maltreatment and harassment since last Monday, when officers entered the village as part of an “operation against criminals.”

According to the residents, the police terrorize even people who are not suspected of any criminal activity, and conduct indiscriminate and unjustified intrusive inspections.

The police operation, named “Good Neighbor,” has no planned end date. Southern District Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Cohen said that it is “an ongoing, moral activity, against anyone who tries to take the law into their own hands.”

Many Tarabin al-Sana residents told Haaretz that although the police had operated in the village in the past, the current activity is much more violent.

“We are the police’s playground,” said resident Yussef al-Sana. “I’ve never felt anything like this my whole life. I respect the law. The police’s job is to search when there’s a suspect [of a felony], but what they are doing here isn’t the law but instilling terror.”

When every outing carries the risk of being detained, arrested or fined, many of the village residents say they are afraid of leaving their home due to police presence. Some of them told Haaretz that in recent days they have relinquished basic daily activities that require leaving their house, like work, prayer, shopping and medical treatments.

No classes were held in the village on Wednesday and Thursday, and one teacher told Haaretz that many children stayed home due to their parents’ wish that they would avoid encountering the police.

The police raided many houses in the village and some residents said that their property was vandalized. According to a 50-year-old woman who spoke to Haaretz on condition of anonymity out of fear for her safety, when the police searched her cousin’s house, they “opened the door without knocking and without presenting a warrant. They pushed her with their weapons and told her to stand up and not move until they finished the search. I was scared and ran away.”

The main entrance to the village was blocked from Monday to Wednesday, and all cars passing by were stopped. According to the residents, the police were looking for a reason to fine each and every driver, both for minor offenses related to vehicle maintenance, and for protesting the very search and the officers’ behavior.

In one incident, a woman received a fine of 1,000 shekels (about $270) for car safety defects and was shouted at by the officer who fined her; at a different time, a police officer sang “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The people of Israel live”) while giving a report to a driver who happened to pass by; and another resident, who was on his way to a job interview, told Haaretz that the officers forbade him to leave the village.

On Monday evening, several residents wanted to set up a tent for their cousin’s wedding, and the police dispersed them, declaring it a prohibited gathering. When they told the officers that they would leave the place once the tent was put up, they were ordered to leave immediately and said they were sprayed with tear gas when they tried to argue. Other village residents told Haaretz that they had to close their windows due to the gas.

Residents complained about tear gas on Thursday as well, adding that the police fired warning shots into the air after children threw rocks at the officers.

“I know that I’m a law-abiding person, but I have this fear of friction with the police,” told Haaretz Ayman al-Sana, a construction contractor who works in the Gaza border communities and has had to remain home.

“They are looking for us and are just waiting for the opportunity to give us fines and open cases against us,” he added.

A 13-year-old village resident suspected of throwing rocks at the police was arrested Monday. According to al-Sana, the police “slaps children with criminal charges so that they won’t have a future and won’t find a job. They want their only choice to be to steal or rob.”

Al-Sana’s 15-year-old nephew was also arrested at the beginning of the police operation, without the presence of his parents. A week earlier, his mother was shot in their home, when police officers were looking for him. The police said the officer shot at a dog which he felt posed a danger.

“All my life, I raised my children to respect the law,” says the woman who encountered police violence at her cousin’s house. “Now I suffer because of the law. Why should innocent people suffer? Instead of feeling safe when encountering the police, I’m afraid when I see them.”  According to her, she has felt increased harassment by the police toward the residents in the area since Itamar Ben-Gvir became National Security Minister. “They act out of hatred,” she said, “nothing else can explain this.”

The police said in response that they “regret that instead of welcoming the significant police activity as part of the ‘Good Neighbor’ program…the residents choose to raise false accusations such as that the police decided to close schools [in the village] – something that did not happen.”

“The police activity is focused on criminals and felons. Our activity around the school was the result of rocks that were thrown and included arrests using means to disperse demonstrations and did not include live fire… It should be noted that at no point during the activity was there an entry of police forces into either the mosque or the school… The deployed checkpoints led to the removal of more than 80 defective vehicles that endangered human life.”

This article is reproduced in its entirety