Special Israeli police forces raided the house of 7 year-old Ali Siyam this afternoon and illegally arrested him, causing injury requiring hospitalization to both his aunt and father.
At 3 PM this afternoon, Israeli police forces raided the Alabasya neighbourhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem to arrest 7 years-old Ali Siyam from inside his parents’ house. Despite his young age, which is significantly younger than the age of legal responsibity, the boy was taken for questioning at the Russian Compound police station.
When Siyam’s father and aunt tried to protect the boy from the cops, they were violantly assaulted to a degree that required their evacuation to the Hospital. Siyam’s father, Hammouda, was beaten and maced with pepper-spray inside the house and his aunt, Amal, was struck with a rubber-coated bullet in her thigh. The two are currently at the Hadassa Har Hatzofim hospital.
On arrival to the police station, Siyam was taken in for questioning. The boy’s lawyer, Adv. Lea Tzemel, who was already present at the place was denied entry to the station and access to her client. When she proceeded to try and walk through the gate regardless, she was herself detained.
After being questioned for stone-throwing for a number of hours in the presence of his mother, the boy was eventually released from custody at 8 PM.