On the morning of 18 December 2020, Muhammad al-Harini, 54, a father of seven from Yatta, was grazing his flock with his father, Khalil, 78, who lives in the community of Wadi a-Rahim in the South Hebron Hills, on family land adjacent to the community’s home. The land stretches over some 400 dunams.
While the two were out in the pastureland, about 20 settlers appeared, some with firearms, others with bats. They demanded the two leave the area and threatened them. One of the settlers pushed Khalil al-Harini, knocking him over. His son Muhammad called B’Tselem’s field researcher, who alerted the police. Moments later, a military vehicle, a police car and a Civil Administration officer arrived. The latter told both the landowners and the settlers they were not permitted at the site and everyone left.
The next morning, Muhammad al-Harini returned to the family land with four other relatives to plow. Having plowed about 20 dunams, they saw about 20 settlers approaching and decided to leave and return to the community to avoid a dangerous encounter.
Driving away the locals was not enough for the settlers who followed them up to a distance of about 20 meters from the community’s homes. The family blocked their path. The settlers threatened them, attacked four community residents, injuring one, a 17-year-old boy, in the ear with a stone. One settler fired several shots. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The frightened family members called B’Tselem’s researcher again. He alerted the police, which arrived a few minutes later, with a military jeep escort. The settlers then ran off.
A police officer took a statement from the boy who had been injured, and his relatives drove him to Abu al-Hassan Hospital in Yatta, where he was diagnosed with an injury to the auditory canal and ossicle.
In a testimony he gave B'Tselem field researcher Musa Abu Hashhash, Muhammad al-Harini spoke about the second settler attack on his family:
On Saturday 19 December 2020, I went to our land, which is near the houses in the community, with my brother ‘Amer, 38, and his three sons, Mahmoud, 17, ‘Ali, 20, and Saqer, 19, to plow the fields. We had plowed about 20 dunams and then saw settlers heading towards us. We didn’t want an altercation, so we went back to the family home in the community.
The settlers followed us up to the houses and stopped at a distance of about 20 meters. They started threatening us and tried to advance further. We went out and tried to block them. There were more than 20 settlers there with handguns, rifles, bats and crowbars. I saw my nephew, ‘Ali, 20, filming the incident on his phone. A settler approached him and hit him in the face with his handgun. Mahmoud, 17, tried to break them up, and the same settler hit him in the left ear with a stone he had in his other hand. Mahmoud’s ear started bleeding and he lost his balance.
My brother ‘Amer and I went over to them, and then one of the settlers kicked me in the back and another threw a stone that hit me in the arm. Another settler kicked ‘Amer in the chest and knee. We fought them for about half an hour, throwing stones at them to drive them off. One of the settlers fired about ten shots with his handgun. I called Nasser Nawaj’ah from B'Tselem and asked him to call the police, and a few minutes later some military vehicles and a police car arrived. That’s when the settlers ran off.
We went to our land. The police officers and soldiers were there, and a settler, whom we know by the name of Ya’aKov, came with another female settler. The officers spoke with them and told us to go home. Ya’aKov brought a tractor driver with him who started plowing the same plot we had plowed that morning. He was filming the tractor as it was plowing. The officers and soldiers did nothing.
Mahmoud’s ear was hurting, and after a police officer took his statement, I drove him to the Abu al-Hassan government hospital in Yatta. He was examined and x-rayed and it turned out his auditory canal and nerve had been hurt. The doctor cleaned the blood from his ear and referred him to an ear, nose and throat specialist. He has been seeing a specialist in Yatta ever since.
On Sunday, 21 December 2020, the settler Ya’aKov, came to our land in an ATV and deliberately drove over plowed fields we’d already planted in. We saw him from inside our homes, but we chose not to get into an altercation with the settlers. They are armed criminals who are backed up by the military and police which arrested none of them when they attacked us.
The settlement of Susiya was established in 1983 1.5 kilometers southeast of Wadi a-Rahim.