Published today, December 17, 2009, 10:57

Ramallah - Ma’an -

 Israeli occupation forces entered the village of Ni’lin at 3am Wednesday morning, one of five villages that were raided overnight. They entered the home of the Kan'an family, beat their daughter and destroyed parts of the home.

Last week there were 16 similar raids across the West Bank.

Victims from the Ni’lin raid gave an account of what is now a regular experience.

Jamal Kin’an Amira said he was startled by the sound of stones hitting the windows of his neighbors home shortly after hearing Israeli troops enter the village early Wednesday morning.

Following the barrage, Amira said soldiers entered the, broke several pieces of furniture and screamed at people in the home next door. On the way out they damaged his car.

The house next door is that of Dawlat Kan’an, father of the young girl who filmed Israeli soldiers shooting, at point blank range, a blindfolded and bound Palestinian youth. The video showed the soldier shooting the youth in the presence of high-ranking officers. Dawlat was detained last summer following the release of the tape.

Witnesses said the Israeli occupation forces beat a young woman, Salam, the daughter of Kan’an, whose wife fainted as she watched her daughter being struck by masked soldiers. The troops remained in the Kan’an home for two hours, without informing the family why they were there.

Hearing the Israeli attack, villagers said they rushed to the Kan’an home to help defend them from the soldiers, but were kept back by what they described as an overwhelming number of troops stationed outside the home.

Salam Kan’an said the soldiers brought dogs into her house. She said she believed the soldiers were using the dogs to sniff out recording equipment and tapes. The dogs spent the majority of their time in her brother Arafat’s bedroom, she said.

The young woman said she believed soldiers were looking for the phone she recorded the shooting incident on. She noted that Israeli occupation forces demanded the original recording for investigations, but that she had refused to hand it over. Salam said an investigator offered her “lots of money” for the tape, but that she refused him as well.

Before leaving the home troops delivered an order to all family members to present themselves at the local Israeli intelligence office for questioning.