Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Israeli forces raided a wedding ceremony in the city of Umm al-Fahm in occupied Palestine on Saturday, assaulting guests and forcing them to lie on the ground for about 30 minutes while the family was celebrating.
Hundreds of Palestinians gathered Saturday night for a wedding in the northern city of Umm al-Fahm in the 1948-occupied Palestine.
Shortly after 10 P.M., as relatives and friends of the Affan Mahameed family were still dancing around the groom in the Ein al-Maghara neighborhood, large forces of the Israel Police and Border Police raided the area, turning the wedding into what family members described as more of a police enforcement operation than a family celebration.
Stun grenades were thrown, armed officers spread out among the guests, and most of those present were ordered to lie on the ground and not move for about half an hour with officers moving among them and searching them.
The forces eventually left after finding no weapons and making no arrests.
"I even banned fireworks at the wedding because of the noise," the groom’s father said. "I didn't want to disturb anyone."
“It was like Judgment Day. A child sees his father or mother on the ground, sees armed police officers and everyone shouting. Children wet themselves out of fear,” the father added.
The groom's uncle described the forces' arrival. "There were more than 100 police officers and troops there, with weapons and grenades. We felt like we were at war, like we were in Gaza and not at a wedding in Umm al-Fahm."
According to the groom's father, everyone present, without exception, was ordered to lie on the ground. "There were lawyers, academics, small children and elderly people there. My grandson, who is two years old, wet himself out of fear," he said.
Israel Police said in response: "The operation documented in the video was carried out following suspicion that weapons had been used during a wedding.”
The raid came a day after the arrest of a Palestinian couple because their wedding convoy allegedly disrupted traffic. Reports confirmed that Israeli police also raided two other Palestinian weddings last week.
Israeli police have committed a catalogue of violations against Palestinians in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, carrying out a discriminatory and repressive campaign involving mass arrests, unlawful use of force against peaceful protesters, and the torture and other ill-treatment of detainees, according to human rights organizations.
Following the 2022 elections, and even before Israel’s most far-right government in history was formally formed, Itamar Ben-Gvir made changes to the Police Ordinance a condition for joining the coalition. The amendment, approved by the Knesset on December 28, 2022, significantly expanded the national security minister’s authority over the police, including the power to set its policies, priorities and general guidelines, as well as broad policy concerning investigations.
Since Ben-Gvir assumed office, rights groups have documented intensified suppression of Palestinian protests, restrictions on Palestinian symbols and mass arrests over political expression, particularly during Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Source: Haaretz, Quds News Network Arabic
