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1051. By then, night had fallen. Majdi Abd Rabbo was again handcuffed and taken back to the
house of the HS/09 family. Thirty to forty minutes later, he heard shooting and a huge explosion.
Soldiers came to tell him that they had bombed HS/08’s house and ordered him to go in again
and check on the fighters.
1052. The Israeli armed forces had floodlit the area. Majdi Abd Rabbo found both his and
HS/08’s house very badly damaged. He could not use the roof of his house to enter HS/08’s
house, as it had collapsed. He went back to the soldiers, who again made him strip, this time to
his underwear. He asked where his family was and said that he could not reach the fighters
because of the damage to the houses. He accused the soldiers of destroying his house. The
officer said that they had only hit HS/08’s house. Majdi Abd Rabbo was then handcuffed. Until
this time, he had been given no food or water, and it was very cold. After a while, his handcuffs
were removed, he was told to dress and taken back to the HS/09 family house, to the room where
he found that other people were being held. All the men and boys in this room were handcuffed
and their ankles were tied. A soldier came with some drinking glasses and smashed them at the
entrance to the room where they were being held. After smashing the glasses, he left again.
Majdi Abd Rabbo had developed a severe headache. Another detainee, who spoke Hebrew,
called a soldier to say that Majdi Abd Rabbo was sick and needed medicine. The soldier told him
to keep quiet or he would be shot. A woman tied a scarf around Majdi Abd Rabbo’s head to ease
the pain.
1053. At around 7 a.m., Majdi Abd Rabbo was taken back to the soldiers outside. He was
questioned about the number of fighters in the house. He confirmed that he had seen only three.
1054. Two young Palestinian men from the neighbourhood were brought over. A soldier gave
them a camera and told them to go into the house and take photos of the fighters. The two tried
to refuse, and were beaten and kicked. The soldier showed them how to use the camera and they
went into HS/08’s house through the damaged main entrance. About 10 minutes later, they came
back with photos of the three fighters. Two appeared to be dead, under rubble. The third was also
trapped by rubble but appeared to be alive and was still holding his firearm. A soldier showed
Majdi Abd Rabbo the photos and asked if these were the same people. He confirmed they were.
1055. A soldier took the megaphone and told the fighters that they had 15 minutes to surrender,
that the neighbourhood was under the control of the Israeli armed forces and that, if they did not
surrender, they would hit the house with an air strike.
1056. Fifteen minutes later, a soldier came with a dog, which had electronic gear attached to its
body and what looked like a camera on its head. Another soldier had a small laptop. The dog
handler sent the dog into the house. A few minutes later, shots were heard and the dog came
running out. It had been shot and subsequently died.
1057. At around 10.30 a.m. on 6 January 2009, a bulldozer arrived and started to level the
house. The bulldozer moved from east to west, demolishing everything in its way. Majdi Abd
Rabbo watched it demolish his own house and HS/08’s house. He and the two young men were
told to go back to the HS/09 house. They heard shooting.
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