Recent revelations of the details of the forcible removal of a widow and her five children from their home on Hilltop 26 outside Kiryat Arba last week have shocked much of Israel. Livnat Ozeri, whose husband Netanel was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in their home while eating Sabbath dinner with their family and guests two months ago, recounted the story of what happened. She spoke on Women in Green Co-Chairperson Nadia Matar's Arutz-7 radio show.
Excerpts from Livnat's account of what happened last Sunday night:
"…I got up, managed to put on my shoes, when suddenly the door was broken in… The soldiers entered the room in which the children were sleeping, and began to conduct a search. They did not speak to me, they did not show me an order, nothing. I asked what they wanted. They did not reply…
"I decided to sit on the bed for a second in order to rest. The soldiers begin to report on their radio that 'the woman is starting to barricade herself in the stone house!' This is how they reported, though they saw me shivering all over from the cold, with my child in my arms..."
"[The police] told me that I had to enter the car immediately. I told them that I could not leave the children alone in the house. They forcibly pushed me into the police car. And then the soldiers went to bring the children from their beds... children 11 years old and younger - and there is no need to explain the trauma that a child experiences when his father has recently been murdered, and strangers take him out of his bed to a police car in the middle of the night.... Almost midnight, in the freezing Hevron cold, with my five children dressed in pajamas, without socks, without shoes, without a coat, and without a sweater. They forbade me to bring warm clothing or blankets for my children. We began to drive. I asked them where they were taking us. 'You'll know later on, we have a long drive,' they replied...."
Livnat added, "It is written in Exodus 22:21 [that one must not ill-treat a widow or orphan, that G-d will hear their cry and will punish those responsible]. When I [later] returned to the hill, I said to the soldiers and policemen there: 'I will overcome my personal pain. But what is so painful is the chillul Hashem [desecration of G-d's Name] that was committed here. Seeing that the Arab houses are still standing, while Jews destroyed houses of Jews - this is an indescribable pain…"
For further details on what happened that night, the legal status of Hilltop 26, and what can be done, see Friday's news report. Send a blank email to.
Excerpts from Livnat's account of what happened last Sunday night:
"…I got up, managed to put on my shoes, when suddenly the door was broken in… The soldiers entered the room in which the children were sleeping, and began to conduct a search. They did not speak to me, they did not show me an order, nothing. I asked what they wanted. They did not reply…
"I decided to sit on the bed for a second in order to rest. The soldiers begin to report on their radio that 'the woman is starting to barricade herself in the stone house!' This is how they reported, though they saw me shivering all over from the cold, with my child in my arms..."
"[The police] told me that I had to enter the car immediately. I told them that I could not leave the children alone in the house. They forcibly pushed me into the police car. And then the soldiers went to bring the children from their beds... children 11 years old and younger - and there is no need to explain the trauma that a child experiences when his father has recently been murdered, and strangers take him out of his bed to a police car in the middle of the night.... Almost midnight, in the freezing Hevron cold, with my five children dressed in pajamas, without socks, without shoes, without a coat, and without a sweater. They forbade me to bring warm clothing or blankets for my children. We began to drive. I asked them where they were taking us. 'You'll know later on, we have a long drive,' they replied...."
Livnat added, "It is written in Exodus 22:21 [that one must not ill-treat a widow or orphan, that G-d will hear their cry and will punish those responsible]. When I [later] returned to the hill, I said to the soldiers and policemen there: 'I will overcome my personal pain. But what is so painful is the chillul Hashem [desecration of G-d's Name] that was committed here. Seeing that the Arab houses are still standing, while Jews destroyed houses of Jews - this is an indescribable pain…"
For further details on what happened that night, the legal status of Hilltop 26, and what can be done, see Friday's news report. Send a blank email to