On 27 April 2021, at around 11:00 P.M., Marwan Ahmad (26), a father of two from ‘Asirah al-Qibliyah, was driving on the road that connects his village with the village of ‘Urif. When he neared ‘Urif, Ahmad found boulders in the middle of the road blocking the way. He tried to turn around to drive back to his village, but five masked settlers appeared and started throwing stones at his car. They shattered the windshield, the sunroof and two headlights, and damaged the chassis, before Ahmad managed to drive away.
The settlement of Yitzhar was established about 800 meters north of this section of the road. On 18 April 2021, settlers torched the control panel of ‘Asirah al-Qibliyah’s water system, several hundred meters from the road.
B’Tselem has documented repeated attacks by settlers against residents of the villages neighboring Yitzhar, including ‘Asirah al-Qibliyah, ‘Urif, Burin, Madama and Huwarah, and acts of damage to their property by settlers.