[News] Israeli forces attempt to arrest 2-year-old Palestinian child

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Israeli forces attempt to arrest 2-year-old Palestinian child
Submitted by Linah Alsaafin on Wed, 04/04/2012 - 08:55

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/linah-alsaafin/israels-attempt-arrest-2-year-old-palestinian-child

Mo’men Shtayeh probably owns a John Cena shirt, 
the WWE wrestler who the Palestinian kids hero 
worship, their shrill voices echoing in 
neighborhood streets of Cena’s catchphrase, “You 
can’t see me!” accompanied with waving a hand in front of their faces.

Mo’men Shtayeh has seen and knows too much. There 
is a chance—nay, a probability— that due to 
witnessing the Israeli army’s brutality and 
severe oppression in his village of Kufr Qaddoum, 
Mo’men might have grown up to be a warmongering 
Islamist (or perversely, a Tea Partier).

Mo’men Shtayeh represents a threat to the 
security of the Israeli racist occupying state. 
Apparently, it is well known that due to his 
savvy nature, Mo’men has been involved in drawing 
up specialized blue prints to attack enemy bases.

So it all makes perfect sense that the most moral 
army in the world, the Israeli Defense Forces, 
the 4th strongest army, the upholders of the 
beacon of democracy and godly light, tried to 
arrest Mo’men on Monday, April 2nd.

The thing is, Mo’men is 2 and a half years old.

Murad Shtayeh, the coordinator of the popular 
resistance committee in Kufr Qaddoum and the 
father of little Mo’men, told the Electronic 
Intifada that heavily armed Israeli soldiers 
raided his house on Monday at 5:30pm. Two 
soldiers remained outside, two others went in the 
house, shouting they were going to arrest Mo’men.

“Mo’men was going inside the house,” Murad said, 
“when the soldiers suddenly took off from where 
they had been standing.They came running to the 
house like they were in a marathon, very fast and 
urgent, like a bunch of crazies.”

The soldiers claimed that Mo’men had, not a 
nuclear warhead, or a submachine gun, but the 
most dangerous item in the world- a slingshot.

“Of course Mo’men didn’t have a slingshot in his 
hands!” scoffed Murad. “And even if he did, so 
what? He’s a kid.” For crying out loud.

The soldiers were adamant that Mo’men hand over 
his slingshot (which he doesn’t own) because he 
was using it to aim at the soldiers. What’s more, 
they wanted Mo’men to hand himself over to them too.

Bashar Shtayeh, Murad’s cousin was also present 
at the scene. “The soldiers in the house drew 
their weapons and pointed them at the family,” he 
said, “threatening them that they would not leave 
unless Mo’men was handed over to them.”

An loud angry argument persisted for half an hour 
between Murad, other villagers who had come to 
see what the commotion was all about, and the 
soldiers. The soldiers then left, having cemented 
yet another moral meltdown in the occupation’s 
history. Not that they had morals in the first place.

But what of the toddler? Needless to say, Mo’men 
was terrified by the ongoings around him.

“What can I say, of course he’s affected by 
this,” Murad said. “He was very scared. He’s doing slightly better now.”

Kufr Qaddoum began its weekly popular resistance 
protests in June 2011, against the encroaching 
illegal settlement of Qedumim that is built on 
the village’s land and to open the main village 
road that leads directly to Nablus.

The Israeli oppression against Kufr Qaddoum 
doesn’t just happen on Fridays. It occurs on a daily basis.

“Obviously, they thought this stunt- whether 
carried through or not- would serve as a 
punishment for us, but the truth is that it will 
not deter us from our protests,”Murad declared.

“Every day and night we have 5 to 7 soldiers in 
the village harassing us. Sometimes they come in 
with their dogs and fetch cars and houses. 
Yesterday (Tuesday) at 9:30pm the soldiers set up 
a checkpoint on one of the inner streets of the village.”

Mo’men Shtayeh, your little 2 and a half year old 
self highlighted the absurdity, the idiocy, the 
shameful nature of the Israeli occupying army. 
May the force of John Cena be with you.




Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20120404/afc08984/attachment.htm>