On 15 March 2021, three Palestinians shepherds took their flocks out to pasture along with three dogs.
At around 2:30 P.M., four settlers approached them from the direction of the Yosef Or settlement outpost, also with three dogs in tow. The settlers attacked the shepherds and their flocks with stones.
One of the settlers fired a shot at the shepherds’ dogs, who ran away. He also threatened one of the shepherds with his gun, forcing him to gather the flock and leave the area. The settlers attacked a ewe and when one of the shepherds tried to fend them off, an armed settler wounded him lightly in the finger with a knife.
Meanwhile, the shepherd's father, who came home, reported the attack to the Israeli Civil Administration. About an hour later, a Civil Administration officer came to the spot and suggested the shepherds file a complaint at the Kiryat Arba police station. The residents and the settlers dispersed.
The following day, the shepherds went to the police station but after a futile six-hour wait, went home without filing a complaint. The next day, one of the shepherds went to the police station and managed to file a complaint.
In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad, shepherd ‘Ali Hamdan (24), a married father of two, recalled the attack by the settlers:
I was grazing my flock in a valley near Khirbet ‘Ein al-Hamrah, about a kilometer and a half south of the settlement of Pnei Hever. There were two other shepherds from my family there.
Suddenly, I saw four settlers running towards us. I know one of them as “Nathan,” who set up a farm on the southern edge of Pnei Hever. He grazes his flock among our cultivated crops. The settlers were heading towards my cousin Muhammad, who was grazing the sheep closest to the settlement. I was afraid they’d attack him. I called Muhammad and my uncle Saber and warned them. I also called my father at home and told him what was happening.
While I was talking to Muhammad, he told me the settlers were attacking his flock with stones. A few minutes later, I saw the settlers coming in my direction. Two of them stopped at a high spot, and the other two continued towards me. Meanwhile, I saw Muhammad and Saber running in my direction. My dogs ran towards the settlers’ dogs, and then the settler “Nathan” fired a shot at my dogs, who ran and hid among the sheep.
Then “Nathan” drew closer with another settler, and they started throwing stones at my flock. I yelled at them to stop. “Nathan” pulled out his gun, aimed it at me from about a meter away, and threatened to shoot. The two settlers standing on top of the hill threw stones at the flock, so I had to draw back and return home. Saber and Muhammad stayed put.
In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad, Saber Manasrah (42), a married father of six, recounted what happened after ‘Ali returned home:
After ‘Ali moved away with his flock, I saw “Nathan” and the other settler grab a ewe that was lagging behind the flock and throw her on the ground. I intervened to get her out of their hands. “Nathan” pushed me with a sharp object and injured one of my fingers. Meanwhile, ‘Ali’s father came. He called a Civil Administration officer named Husam Ma’adi and told him what happened. Then I saw the settler “Nathan” talking on the phone, and I realized he was also talking with Husam.
The settlers let the ewe go. “Nathan” stayed there with the other settler, and I stayed with Muhammad and ‘Ali’s father, and we waited for more than an hour until Husam arrived. When he got there, he tried to calm things down. When he saw my injury, he suggested I file a complaint with the Israeli police. Then we all went home.
The shepherds live about three kilometers south of Bani Na’im. The settlement of Pnei Hever was established about a kilometer away. In 2018, settlers established the Yosef Or outpost on the southern edge of the settlement.