Maher Nasser

I have a shop in which I sell household goods. I am thirty-one years old and am married to Rana Abu Baker. I just became a father of a baby girl. Our house is situated on the ' Attil-Zeita Road , in the northern section of 'Attil. The building we live in has two-stories. On the first floor are six warehouses, and the second floor has two apartments. We live in one, and my brother will be moving into the other apartment, which is not yet ready for occupation.

Last Wednesday (22 June 2005), at about 4:00 A.M., pounding on the door woke Rana and me. I got up quickly and opened the bedroom window. I looked out and saw army jeeps and soldiers on the street. One of the soldiers said: "Army. Open the door." I told my wife to get dressed and come down the stairs with me. I opened the door and saw the soldiers standing there. About fifteen soldiers came into the house and started to search the rooms. They ordered my wife and me to stand aside, and we stood in the living room. The search took about fifteen minutes.

Rana was very frightened. She was almost ready to give birth. After the search, a tall, light-complexioned soldier came over to me. He had ranks on his shoulders, but I don't know what they were. I think he was the commander of the soldiers who had come into the house. He told me that the soldiers would be using the house, and that my wife and I have to take the things we want and move out. He spoke a mixture of Arabic and Hebrew, "occupation language." I told him: "This is my house. How can you expel me out of my house?" He replied: "Take what you need and leave." I asked him to respect my house and keep my bedroom closed, because it is a new house, the carpets and furniture are new. I was afraid that the soldiers would damage things or take something.

We got our stuff together and left the house. My wife, who was about to go into labor at any moment, got everything she needed for the birth. The officer told me that they would remain in the house until Saturday [25 June]. Rana and I went to my father's house, which is about two hundred meters from my house.

On Saturday, about 2:00 P.M., I saw the soldiers removing their things from the house and leave. My wife, two of my sisters, and I went to my apartment and were shocked at the filth, the gravel ?? all over the floor, and the shutters that had been taken apart and were lying on the floor. The soldiers used the three bathrooms and did not clean them. The house was a total mess, and our clothes were strewn all over the floor. Rana was exhausted because of her pregnancy, and when she saw the house, she couldn't hold back and began to cry. She went back to my father's house and my sisters and I stayed to arrange things and clean up. We couldn't finish that day, so I went back to my parents' house to sleep.

Later that day, at 8:00 P.M., six hours after the soldiers left, my wife went into labor. I took her by my car to a-Zakat Hospital , in Tulkarm. She gave birth to our first child, a daughter, at 3:00 A.M. We called the child Rian. My sisters prepared the house, cleaned it, and even brought in somebody to clean the carpets. I brought our newborn daughter home the same day. The night passed quietly, without any problems.

The next day, Monday, I went to work. My shop is located on the main road, at the southern entrance to 'Attil, about two kilometers from my house. Around 3:00 P.M., my father-in-law called me and told me to go home. He said that two army jeeps were parked in front of my house, and that one of the soldiers had told him to call me. I rushed home. I saw the two jeeps parked by the entrance. I got out of my car and went straight to the second floor to see how my wife and daughter were. My sisters and a few other relatives who had come to congratulate my wife were there. So was my father-in-law. I was there for about ten minutes, and realized that my wife and daughter were okay. Then I heard pounding on the door of the house. I went downstairs with my father-in-law, who speaks Hebrew.

I opened the door and saw soldiers. One of them told us in Arabic to remove everybody from the house. My father-in-law tried to speak to them in Hebrew, but the soldier told him to shut up. The soldier spoke in Arabic. I told the soldier: "It's a shame what you are doing. Only two days ago the army used my house and ruined it, and for two days we have been busy cleaning up. Also, my wife gave birth yesterday, and she cannot move. And it would be bad for the infant child." The soldier replied: "We weren't in the house, and I had nothing to do with what you mentioned. What is important is that you all get out of the house." I had no choice. I went upstairs and asked my sisters and the others to leave the house. Everyone left except my wife, the infant, my sixteen-year-old niece Rana, and my wife's cousin. They remained in our bedroom.

After the guests, most of whom were women, left, the officer asked me if there were others in the house. I told him who remained. The soldier, who was of average height and had a dark-complexion and thin face, told me: "If you don't remove them from the house, I will do it." I went back upstairs and asked my wife to leave the house. I helped her down the steps and to the front door.

The soldiers had ordered the relatives, including my father-in-law, to stand by the doorway. When we got to the door, they ordered us to stand alongside them. We stood there for about an hour, during which the soldiers searched the house. After being there about half an hour, the soldier asked if I wanted to take anything from the house. I went inside to take some of my things, and things for Rana and Rian. Even though I told the officer that my wife had given birth just the day before, he ignored the fact and went about his business. We stood there, though my wife needed special care and had to rest because of the recent childbirth.

After waiting there for about an hour, the officer let us go. I went to my father's house and my wife and daughter walked to her father's house in Ya'bad. That is the situation at the present. My wife is at her father's house, and the soldiers are in my house, denying me the right to live there. I am staying at my father's house.

Maher Lutfi Nimmer Nasser, 31, is the father of a newborn daughter, a merchant, and resident of 'Attil, Tulkarm District. His testimony was given to 'Abd al-Karim a-Sa'di at his shop on 30 June 2005.