Several people were arrested in Al Jiftlik on Friday 30th April after at least 60 soldiers in several military vehicles entered the area.

One of those arrested, Moneer Abu aged 38, was severely beaten with rifle butts and brutally kicked in front of his wife and children. He has been arrested and the Israeli Army are refusing to state where he is being held. Jordan Valley Solidarity campaign have demanded that he has a medical examination, because of the injuries he sustained when beaten by the soldiers.

Soldiers then dug up a garden of a Palestinian home. When asked why they were doing this international observers were told it was for ‘national security’. When international researchers began to take photos they immediately covered their faces with balaclavas. These two soldiers had also been present at the eviction of the family in Al Maleh, and the army seemed to be really nervous about them being identified. The cameras that were used to take their photos were then confiscated by the Israeli police.

The events in Al Jiftlik are part of a serious increase in repression against the residents of the Jordan Valley by the occupation forces in the last few weeks – earlier this week bedouin in Al Maleh were forced to move their home by the IOF after settlers from the illegal settlement of Maskiot set up a tent close to the community while, on Thursday, an IOF jeep killed two children when it collided with a tractor.  Over the past week there has been a large concentration of Israeli troops in the valley.

Maan report of the arrests – http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=280724