On Thursday, 18 February 2021, Naser Ghnemat (51) was grazing his flock on farmland that lies between the villages of al-Mughayir, Kafr Malek and ‘Ein Samia. At around 2:00 P.M., Ghnemat saw two settlers riding on motorcycles towards a Palestinian quarry about a kilometer away. The quarry was closed that day due to rainy weather. A few minutes later, Ghnemat noticed smoke rising from the quarry and saw the settlers heading away from it, towards the Alon Road and a settlement outpost established about a year ago approximately 1.5 kilometers northeast of ‘Ein Samia. Within minutes, residents of Kafr Malek and quarry workers arrived on the scene and found that a truck that was parked there was on fire. They called the fire department, but by the time Palestinian firefighters arrived the truck had almost entirely burned down.
The financial damage incurred by the owners of the truck is estimated at tens of thousands of shekels.
The outpost to which the settlers headed after torching the truck was established in November 2020. The settlers who live there repeatedly attack Palestinian farmers in the area and prevent them from working their land. Area residents have repeatedly demonstrated against the establishment of the outpost. During one protest, a soldier shot and killed 15-year-old ‘Ali Abu ‘Alia from al-Mughayir while he was watching the demonstration. During another, held on 18 December 2020, a settler opened live fire at the demonstrators, and other settlers threatened them with dogs in the presence of Israeli security forces. On 7 January 2021, settlers assaulted farmers from Kafr Malek who were plowing their land. Soldiers who were there looked on, fired tear gas at the assaulted farmers and arrested one of them after a settler fired at the tractor he was driving. The farmer was held in custody for 10 days.
In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad, quarry owner Iyad Zein recounted how the settlers torched his truck:
I own a stone, gravel and sand quarry with 10 employees. On Thursday, 18 February 2021, we shut down the quarry due to stormy weather. At around 2:00 P.M., the security guard at the quarry called and told me that one of the trucks was on fire, and that he and some people from his village were trying to put it out. I rushed there and arrived at the same time as Palestinian firefighters, who put out the fire. The truck burned down almost completely and can’t be repaired.
We notified the Palestinian DCO and they asked me to file a complaint with the Palestinian police. The next day, Israeli police officers came to the quarry. They asked me to go to the Binyamin police station to file a complaint, but I don’t believe the Israeli police are interested in investigating the incident and finding the criminals. They always side with the settlers.
The estimated financial loss from the torched truck is more than 120,000 shekels. My insurance won’t cover it, because it’s considered part of the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict. I find myself defeated, like dozens or hundreds of other Palestinians who’ve had their property ruined or their rights violated by settlers, with neither law nor justice, or even compensation.