Why did Israeli security forces and firefighters stand by and leave the Palestinian victims to put out the fires alone? Why did they prevent Palestinian firefighters from helping? That is what state-backed settler violence looks like.
The incident took place on 15 June 2020. Six farmers from the village of Kafr Malik were working their land near the ‘Ein Samia junction when they noticed a jeep drive along the road and stop several times. Every time, one or two settlers got out and set fire to Palestinian fields. The farmers shouted at them and the settlers quickly fled towards Kochav Hashachar (a settlement established about three kilometers from ‘Ein Samia’s land in 1977).
The farmers called residents from the village and from the neighboring village of ‘Ein Samia, and dozens came to help put out the fires.
Israeli soldiers, Border Police and police officers arrived about ten minutes after the villagers. Instead of helping put out the fast-spreading flames, they stood by and watched from afar. Two Israeli firefighter crews summoned from nearby settlements did not intervene, either, despite repeated requests by the Palestinians.
A few minutes later, a Palestinian Civil Defence firetruck arrived. As the farmland lies in Area C, the Palestinian firefighters could not enter the area without Israeli permission. Yet as the Palestinian Authority has stopped its security coordination with Israel, they could not request permission. They hoped the soldiers would let them through, but the security forces stopped the firetruck and after a two-hour wait, the crew gave up and left.
The residents had to fight the fire alone with small containers of water, wet blankets and tree leaves. It took them until 6:30 P.M. to quench the flames. By then, the fire had decimated some 100 dunams of land [1 dunam = 1,000 sq. meters], about half of them cultivated fields and land used for pasture, barley crops and vicia (cattle fodder). The fire caused substantial damage to local farmers and shepherds, who now have to buy fodder for their livestock.
Diaa’ Rustum (33), a married father of three and a farmer from Kafr Malik, told B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad about the arson:
On the day of the incident, I was working as a hired hand at a za'atar (hyssop) plot. We started working at about 4:00 P.M., when I saw a white jeep with Israeli license plates stop at the ‘Ein Samia junction about 300 meters away. A man got out and crouched next to a dry field by the roadside. Just then, a Palestinian car drove out of a nearby dirt road and scared the man. He got back into the jeep and drove towards the settlement of Kochav Hashachar.
Settlers often set fire to our fields during the harvest season, but after that attempt we went back to work and kept on plowing the soil. At about 4:15 P.M., we saw a white car that looked like the same jeep driving slowly towards us, and I noticed a fire raging in the fields by the roadside behind it. We started shouting, ran over there and called the fire department. Suddenly, the jeep stopped again, about half a kilometer from the fire, and the settler got out and lit some dry weeds by the road.
He saw us shouting for help and within seconds, jumped back into the car and headed south. He stopped about half a kilometer away and lit another field, and then drove off towards the settlement. We couldn’t run after him or even film him because we were too busy putting out the fire. It spread quickly. We used everything we could lay our hands on: bits of rubber, branches and thorns.
Meanwhile, a call went out from the loudspeakers of the mosque in Kafr Malik for people to come and help put out the fire, and dozens of people showed up.
Khaled Ghneimat (42), a married father of six and farmer from Kafr Malik, spoke with B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad and described the security forces’ conduct and the damage the arson caused his family:
The military and the Israeli police showed up early on, but they didn’t do a thing. Israeli firetrucks also arrived, but their crews didn’t help at all. They were only on standby in case the fire spread towards the settlements. A Palestinian Civil Defense firetruck from the village of a-Taybeh also came, but its crew couldn’t enter the area because they couldn’t get permission. They waited a long time and finally gave up and left.
According to estimates, more than 100 dunams of land burnt down at the three sites of the torching. Most of it was wild plants we used to graze flocks. This will force us to buy large amounts of fodder for thousands of shekels.