Palestinian refusing to comply with Israeli officer’s instructions detained for nearly 20 hours

Palestinian refusing to comply with Israeli officer’s draconian instructions detained for nearly 20 hours Sa’ed a-Din a-Zaro (57), a father of nine, lives near the Pharmacy Checkpoint in the city center of Hebron. On Monday, 30 May 2022, he arrived at the checkpoint at around 5:30 P.M., carrying sacks of flour intended for his neighbors. A female police officer at the checkpoint refused to let him through and told him he had to cross another checkpoint, located about 800 meters away. A-Zaro refused and three female police officers came out of the checkpoint, attacked him and pinned him forcibly against a fence. One also grabbed him by the neck. Then other soldiers and Border Police officers arrived, one of whom handcuffed a-Zaro and took him inside the checkpoint. After more than two hours, the officers took a-Zaro for questioning at the police station in the settlement of Beitar Illit, where he was charged with obstructing police work. He was required to pay NIS 1,000 (~290 USD) to be released but refused to do so. The officers took him to the Etzion detention facility, where he was strip-searched and put in a holding cell. He was released without charges the following afternoon. Read more: