On Friday 19th August, Israeli undercover forces drove into Abu Dis in a Palestinian car, dressed as civilians. Witnesses report that they got out of the car close to group of young people and began to shoot. One young man was shot in both his legs and he and four young teenagers were seized by the army. Further army forces arrived in military jeeps and the young people were taken away.
The young man who was shot is Wasim Hamdoun; he is currently under guard in an Israeli hospital and his family are not allowed to visit him. The other prisoners are under 18.
Our reports describe the on-going situation in Abu Dis under Israeli occupation. It is very tense now with increasing restrictions on Palestinians, hundreds of killings at checkpoints in the past year, new seizures of land by the Israelis and work starting on more settlement units. In Abu Dis, people are feeling very constrained and also constantly surveyed. During the past few weeks, the Israelis have regularly been flying a balloon with a camera across the town.