Palestinians living in fear of raids everyday

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Nearly every day for the last nine months Israeli police have stormed into the Palestinian neighbourhood of Issawiya in east Jerusalem in a campaign they say is needed to maintain law and order.

Rights groups say that in addition to searching houses and issuing fines, they have detained hundreds of people - some as young as 10 - on suspicion of stone-throwing.

Murad Mahmoud’s 14-year-old son has been detained by Israeli police in his east Jerusalem neighborhood three times in the last two years. His 10-year-old has been interrogated by police in combat gear.

These days, he keeps all six of his children inside most of the time, fearing even worse.

“I won’t even let them go to the corner store,” he says. “I’m not just afraid they’ll be arrested, I’m afraid they’ll lose an eye or get shot in the head.”

The operations frequently ignite clashes, with local youths throwing rocks and firebombs, which police say justifies their heightened presence.

But residents and human rights groups say the raids themselves seem intended to provoke confrontations and have created an atmosphere of terror, with parents afraid to let their children play outside.

Last month, a 9-year-old boy was shot in the face by police, losing an eye in an incident authorities say they are still investigating.

It’s unclear what prompted the crackdown, but many residents feel police are making an example out of Issawiya so that Israel can cement its control over east Jerusalem, which it seized in the 1967 war and later annexed.

East Jerusalem Palestinians have Israeli residency, but few have accepted citizenship, either because they don’t recognise Israeli control or because of the long and complicated application process. That has left many feeling vulnerable.

“From May of last year until today, every day they occupy Issawiya all over again,” said

Amin Barakat, an optometrist and a member of the neighbourhood council.

Issawiya tumbles down a hillside behind Israel’s University, just a few kilometers from the city-center.

But like other Arab neighbourhoods in east Jerusalem it is overcrowded and poorly served, a legacy of decades of Israeli policies favoring areas of the city, including east Jerusalem settlements.

Under President Donald Trump’s Mideast initiative, which strongly favors Israel and was rejected by the Palestinians, Issawiya would remain part of Israel’s capital.