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I live in Al-Funduq
village and I have 11 children, six of whom are younger than 15
years old. I work as a housecleaner. I clean houses in Jajulye and
in Kfar Qassem. My husband, my 19 year-old son, Saber, and my 17
year-old daughter, Hiba, suffer from mental retardation and need
supervision. I have to work because I am the only breadwinner in my
big family.
On Friday 18 June, 2004, around 15:00, I was coming home from work
Jajulye. I was walking alone on the dirt road that leads to Kfar
Habla and al Funduq. When I reached the trench south of the Jajulye
checkpoint I saw a dark green Border Police jeep. I was surprised to
see the jeep because the checkpoint in Jajluliya was removed since
construction of the separation barrier. When I got closer four
officers came out of the jeep. One of the officers approached me and
asked for my ID. The officer was tall, fair-skinned, heavy set and
bald. I gave him my ID and he said to me in Arabic: "I turned you
down twice this morning and prevented you from entering Israel, how
did you manage to get in?" I replied "I got in at the place where
the Palestinians enter." It was true. That morning the officer
turned me down twice from entering Israel. I was with a group of
women who tried to get in. But I had to get into Israel any way
possible, so eventually I went into Israel though a hole in the
separation barrier that encircles Qalqiliya, near Habla and Jajulye.
The officer started swearing me. He said to me: "You're a liar, a
slut, the daughter of a slut." I said to him "Your mother and your
sister are sluts. Are you willing to let someone curse your mother
and your sister?" The officer punched me in the face and on my
breast. At the same time another officer joined him, and hit me as
well. The second officer was Ethiopian; he was short and heavyset.
The second officer kicked my legs, so I fell on the ground. When I
fell down he stepped on me. The two other officers stood with their
back to the jeep. I was about two and a half meters away from the
jeep and the two officers stared at me and laughed while the others
swear and hit me. I tried to stand up but I could not because of the
beating.
About five minutes after they started hitting me a farmer on a
tractor drove up. I recognized his face from my work in Jaljulye. I
know he is from there but I don't know his name. He tried to
intervene but one of the officers yelled at him to leave or he would
shoot him. The farmer went away.
The officers hit and kicked me for about fifteen minutes. Then they
left me alone. I was lying on the ground and exhausted and they went
to their jeep. Before they left, the jeep drove back in my
direction, and pushed me to the side of the road where there were
dry bushes and thorns. Then the jeep left.
For about fifteen minutes I lay in one place. I couldn't move.
Several women arrived. I know them; they work in agriculture inside
Israel. When they saw me they were surprised and asked what
happened. I told them about the incident. Three of them lifted me
and supported me until we reached the area of Habla gate. Near the
gate there were several Palestinian laborers who waited to pass the
gate. One of them called the Red Crescent and ordered an ambulance.
The ambulance arrived at about 16:30 and drove me to UNRWA hospital
in Qalqiliya.
In the hospital I had a medical examination and X-rays. I was there
for two hours, and then I was transferred to Rafidiya hospital in
Nablus for treatment. After an hour and a half the doctors decided
that I was in a stable condition and was only bruised, but no bones
were broken. I went back to Al-Funduq and since than I have been
resting at home, unable to do anything.
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