Testimonies

Bahajat Beydah, director general of Interior Ministry in Qalqiliya

We live in the western section of Jayyus, about fifty meters from the southern gate of the separation fence.

Two days ago [Friday, 13 February 2009], around noon, I was at home with my family. Suddenly, we heard pounding on the door. My wife got up to open the door, saw soldiers, and called me. When I came over, I saw lots of soldiers outside, fifteen to twenty of them. I asked, in Arabic, to speak with whoever was in charge. One of them came over to me. He was tall, fair-skinned, and had big eyes. He said the soldiers would go onto the roof of our house to see what was happening along the fence. I told him it was forbidden to enter my house, unless I or one of my sons was suspected of something. “If you intend to enter the house to shoot people, they'll shoot back and then I, my house, and my family will be harmed,” I said. And I told him it was unlawful, and that I won't let them enter, because I don't want to be harmed. We argued for about half an hour. I asked the soldier his name and he said it was Wael. In the meantime, three international activists, who heard that soldiers had come to my house, arrived.

Following the argument, the soldier said he would enter calmly or by force. The soldiers were whispering among themselves. I sat on a chair at the entrance to the house, to block their entry. Suddenly, six soldiers came over to me and pushed me to the side. They went up the steps. I tried to stop them with my body, and the activists also tried to stop the soldiers. The soldiers hit the activists with their rifle butts, injuring them and drawing blood. A Norwegian activist, Linda, was injured the worst. She was hit in the head and was later taken to hospital by ambulance. The soldiers removed the activists from the house along with me, my wife, and my daughters.

I have a heart condition, problem with my blood pressure, and diabetes. Due to the tension, I felt ill and almost fainted. My family was very worried about my condition. In the meantime, more people gathered in our yard. They all shouted, and a little while later managed to enter the house. I felt in terrible condition and couldn't move. Matters got worse and a fracas broke out between villagers and the soldiers. The soldiers went onto the roof and began to fire at people who wanted to help us. They also hurled two shock grenades into the house, and a carpet and furniture were damaged.

In the meantime, a Red Crescent ambulance arrived. The crew gave me an initial treatment and took me to hospital in Qalqiliya. I was treated and released that evening. My children and wife were in shock from what happened. We didn't do anything to the soldiers.

The soldiers also shattered the windshield of a car that I have from work, damaged our slate roof, and broke a solar-heating panel, but the worst harm was to my children, who were very frightened.

Bahajat Mustafa Hassan Beydah, 52, married with six children, is the director general of the Interior Ministry in Qalqiliya, and a resident of Jayyus in Qalqiliya District. His testimony was given to 'Abd al-Karim S'adi at the witness's house on 2 February 2009.