The Israeli army attacked the Jerusalem house of a member of Hamas released within the components exchange For the Israelis were being held hostage in Gaza, detaining one person on Saturday night and roughing up others, including a New York Times reporter who was on the scene doing interviews.
A line of soldiers forced their way into a house on the outskirts of Jerusalem, disrupting an event marking the early release of Ashraf Zughayer, a member of Hamas jailed in 2002 for leading the terrorists to the scene of their attacks. Among them was a suicide bomber who killed six civilians blowing up the bus. According to court documents, Mr. Zughayer pleaded guilty to the charges.
Mr Zughayer, 46, was released on Saturday afternoon along with 199 other prisoners.
The soldiers, who were supervised by a colonel, entered the Zughayer family compound with rifles and attacked several people, including Mr. Zughayer’s father and a Times reporter conducting interviews. The soldiers detained Mr. Zughayer’s brother and expelled the journalists, then left about an hour later.
For years, Israeli security services have discouraged and often break up family events celebrating the release of Palestinian militants, saying the gatherings incite unrest, lonize terrorists and inspire support for violence. Critics say the interventions increase Palestinian antipathy for Israel and perpetuate the cycle of violence.
Israel has been particularly assertive in suppressing celebrations for detainees released under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire. Israeli officials fear they may help boost the popularity of Hamas, which led an October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed up to 1,200 people. Dozens of Palestinians released on Saturday were sent into exile in Egypt instead of being allowed to return home, in part for this reason.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it attacked the home of the Zughayer family because it “received intelligence and videos of shootings and incitement to terrorism in the area.” The statement said the soldiers were acting to “neutralize the threat of fire” and that they had raised their weapons on “armed individuals”. An Israeli military official said the brother was detained for displaying a Hamas flag.
earlier that day shots Circulation on social media showed Mr Zughayer wearing a Hamas headscarf and was photographed in a car driving through his neighbourhood, surrounded by a group of other men carrying Hamas flags – an action which is banned in Israel.
By the time New York Times reporters arrived in the neighborhood hours later, the situation was calm. They saw Mr Zughayer briefly wearing a slim Hamas headscarf before the child ran off with it, about an hour before the raid. A second child, wearing a cape bearing the Hamas logo, left the house around the same time.
Roughly two dozen other attendees, including several young children, wore unmarked clothing and no flags were displayed. No one was armed and Mr. Zughayer’s brother did not display a Hamas flag, reporters said.
The home is owned by Mr. Zughayer’s father, Munir Zughayer, who is a well-known community organizer. Munir Zughayer liaises between the residents of an impoverished neighborhood and the Jerusalem city authorities, as well as between the families of Palestinians in prison and the Israeli prison authorities. He said he was not a member of Hamas.
After storming the family’s home around 5:30 p.m., the soldiers moved through the backyard where the gathering was taking place without stopping to assess the situation or the people inside, reporters said.
One soldier immediately used the muzzle of his loaded rifle to strike Aaron Boxerman, a Times reporter, who happened to be standing near the entrance to the yard. Before Mr. Boxerman had a chance to identify himself, the trooper hit him in the rib cage, leaving a large bruise.
A second reporter, Natan Odenheimer, then identified himself as a journalist, video recorded by The Times Shows. The same soldier tells Mr. Odenheimer that he didn’t care and uses the explosion to make his point. The trooper then again pointed the loaded rifle at Mr. Odenheimer, the video shows.
The soldiers also aimed their rifles at the other participants. The video shows the participants quickly complying with the soldiers’ orders and appearing to pose no threat. The soldiers shouted at Mr. Zughayer’s relatives; and shoved his father in the chest.
In a statement, the army said it regretted “any harm caused to journalists during operational activity” and that it did not feel it was targeting “uninvolved civilians or journalists as such”. That’s what he said investigated the incident.
A spokesman for The Times said it lodged a protest with the Israeli army before attacking Mr Boxerman.
