Jerusalem, June 16: The Israeli military says it is reining in a controversial practice of conducting late-night raids of Palestinian homes in the West Bank aimed at gathering information about the houses and their inhabitants. The military has in the past defended the practice, known as тАЬintelligence mapping,тАЭ as a necessary measure to counter militant groups. But human rights groups say the policy served only to intimidate civilians.
Under the practice, soldiers would rouse families in the middle of the night to document the dimensions and inhabitants of homes in the occupied territory. Rights groups said the raids, conducted in homes where no one was suspected of illegal activities, served no strategic purpose and caused deep psychological trauma.
The change in policy came half a year after Yesh Din, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, and Breaking the Silence, three Israeli activist groups, published a report on what they described as тАЬarbitrary invasionsтАЭ of private Palestinian homes. They said the practice тАЬeffectively serves as a means to oppress and intimidate the Palestinian population and increase control over it.тАЭ┬аIsrael Launches Air Strikes on Gaza Strip, First Time After Declaration of Ceasefire Last Month.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. While the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers autonomous zones within the territory, Israel retains overall control and frequently conducts military raids even in Palestinian-controlled areas.
Today, almost 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, according to official Palestinian figures, alongside nearly half a million Israeli settlers. The Palestinians seek the entire West Bank as the heartland of an independent state, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Israel says the West Bank is disputed territory whose fate should be resolved through negotiations. Most of the international community considers the West Bank occupied territory and Israeli settlements to be illegal and obstacles to peace.
In a letter to Yesh Din on Tuesday, the army said its raids тАЬwere not random operations” and were “intended for an operational-intelligence purpose.тАЭ It said there were strict guidelines for such operations тАЬin order to minimize the damage and disturbance to the residents’ quality of life.тАЭ
Nonetheless, it said the raids would be halted тАЬexcept in exceptional circumstances.тАЭ The Israeli military confirmed the policy change but did not immediately respond to requests for further comment. Yesh Din executive director Lior Amihai called the military’s decision тАЬvery significant.тАЭ
тАЬHome invasions are inherent to the apartheid regime in place in the West Bank and we will continue to expose and challenge this and other practices until human rights are respected for all,тАЭ he said.┬аIsrael-Palestine Conflict: 3,150 rockets fired from Gaza, Says Israel Army.
Breaking the Silence Executive Director Avner Gvaryahu said that it was тАЬan important outcomeтАЭ of the groups’ report, тАЬbut fundamentally this is not going to bring an end to the occupation or (end) harm to Palestinians.тАЭ
The announcement came less than a month after widespread unrest in the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and within Israeli cities during May’s 11-day war between the Israeli military and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The conflict erupted after Hamas launched rockets at Israeli cities following weeks of mounting tensions and violent clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in the contested city of Jerusalem.
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