ZOF attack family in Beit Safafa

Four members of the E’lieyan family were transferred to hospital and several others suffered tear-gas inhalation and bruising when Zionist border guard chased down a teen from the family outside his Beit Safafa home, witnesses said.

The youth, 14, was said to have been attacked unprovoked, and when his father rushed outside the home to prevent the assault, he said he was “surprised to see dozens of Zionist police gathered near the home.”

Among those beaten in the scuffle that ensued were a woman, 60, and Khalid Daoud E’lieyan, 40, an employee of the Italian Consulate in Jerusalem.

Responding to the news that a staff member had been attacked, the Italian Consul General and the office for Italian cooperation denounced the attack and demanded an investigation be carried out.

Khalid sustained large bruises to his neck and back, and also suffered severe tear gas inhalation as he was beaten. His brothers Yaser, 31, and Samer, 26, also suffered tear gas inhalation during the attack, witnesses said.

Samer was hospitalized when he was run over by a Zionist police car.

The mens’ mother, Jamilah E’lieyan, 60, fainted when border guards pushed her to the ground, witnesses said, and detained cousins Yaser and Yousef E’lieyan. The two were released after a few hours.

Khalid described seeing his family members beaten with police batons, and said he was shocked when they used teargas against youth and the elderly. “They had no regard for the elderly, the women or the children,” he said.

Ambulances took over an hour to arrive at the scene, and family members suspected they had been held up by the Zionist police at the edges of the East Jerusalem neighborhood.

In the hours following the event, Khalid said his family filed a complaint at the police station, which was rejected. He said he was told he would have to go to the interrogation department in order to file a complaint.

Khalid said there were Zionist police near the scene, but they “turned a blind eye to what was going on” as border guards continued to assault the family.