HEBRON, West Bank, 28 May 2005 — Israeli soldiers barged into a Palestinian home and commandeered its television room so they could watch a soccer match, an Israeli military source said yesterday after a TV report on the incident.
Footage on Israel’s Channel 10 showed broken furniture and windows in the room of the house in the West Bank city of Hebron where the television station said the troops watched Wednesday’s Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool.
The Palestinian family living in the house said the soldiers caused the damage. The military source confirmed five soldiers entered the dwelling to view the match but said they stayed only for a few minutes and did not break anything.
Nonetheless, the source said, the commander of the squad had been suspended.
“The military takes a severe view of such incidents,” the source added.
Palestinian teenager Anan Al-Zrayer said he was walking down the street when soldiers asked him if his family had a television set and a satellite dish.
“I said ‘yes,’ and told them we don’t have Israeli channels. (After they entered the house,) I gave them the remote control and they carried out a search. We were kicked into another room,” he said.
Another Hebron resident said it was not the first time that soldiers had taken over Palestinian houses to watch television.
Khigaji Al-Batch said about two weeks ago, 11 soldiers entered his home and stayed through the night.
“They are using our houses like a cinema,” Batch said.
