On Sunday, 26 February 2023, at around midday, Palestinian militants shot and killed Israeli brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, who lived in the Israeli settlement of Har Bracha, while the two were stuck in a traffic jam on a road that runs through the Palestinian town of Huwarah.
That afternoon, hundreds of settlers, escorted by soldiers, invaded several neighborhoods in the town of Huwarah, as well as the villages of Za’tara, Burin and ‘Asirah al-Qibliyah, and carried out a pogrom.
At around 9:00 PM, settlers gathered on the sides of the Al-Mu’arrajat road and began throwing stones at Palestinian travelers. Approximately 30 drivers who had been traveling on the road in both directions pulled over after they heard about the attacks. After about half an hour, the drivers decided to turn back and travel in a convoy, despite the danger. The group encountered some 15 masked settlers, armed with sticks and stones, who blocked their route. Some of the drivers abandoned their cars and fled by foot, while others confronted the settlers and attempted to defend themselves. After the settlers set fire to one car and vandalized others, the rest of the travelers fled.
The settlers attacked those who fled with stones and clubs, injuring some of them. Malek ’Ammar (35), a resident of Ramallah, was taken to Al-Istishari Hospital in Ramallah, where he was treated for two broken ribs, another rib that had cracked and a severe thigh injury. Zeid Musa (27), from the Jalazun Refugee Camp, was taken to the Palestine Medical Center in Ramallah, where he was treated for shortness of breath and bruising.
B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad collected testimonies from two of the drivers:
Malek ’Ammar (35), owner of the “Zajal” gas infrastructure installation company, spoke about the incident on 7 March 2023:
My company is located in Ramallah. On Sunday, 26 February 2023, two of our employees drove to a restaurant near Jericho to take care of some sort of malfunction. At around 9:00 P.M., they called and asked me to come help them with the work. I drove there in my car via Taybeh. When I arrived at the Dar Faza’ Junction (Zeitim Junction), I saw a military vehicle with two soldiers standing next to it. They didn’t stop me, so I continued to drive. About 500 meters or a kilometer later, I saw a man standing on the side of the road and pointing a flashlight at me. I slowed down because I thought that he may have gotten stuck and needed help. When I was about three meters away from him, he blinded me with his flashlight and I suddenly heard shouts of “fire, fire.” At first, I didn’t understand what was going on, and I didn’t realize that they were settlers. Then, all of a sudden, a large stone struck my car and shattered the front windshield without making it into the car. I immediately accelerated and got away from them.
After driving about a kilometer, I saw about 20-30 vehicles, some commercial and some privately-owned, idling on both sides of the road. I approached the drivers, who told me that they were afraid to continue driving because others had told them that there was another group of settlers lying in wait further down the road. I stood there and didn’t know what to do. After about ten minutes, we decided to drive back. We all made U-turns and drove together in a convoy.
I was at the front, driving zigzag to check if settlers were lurking on either side of the road. When we approached the Dar Faza’a Junction, a group of approximately 15 masked settlers carrying sticks and stones emerged from my left and pelted my car with stones.
I got out of my car because I was afraid the settlers would kill me. Some of the drivers continued to drive and got away from the settlers. Four or five large vehicles didn’t manage to escape; their drivers abandoned the vehicles and fled to the hills. I was left alone, with them on one side of the street and me on the other. The settlers went up the left hill, and I went up the right one. In the meantime, other cars passed through and only one, a taxi, stopped. In it were five young men from Jalazun. The driver, Zeid, and another young person joined me in the confrontation with the settlers. The other two fled to the hills.
A few moments later, another some ten settlers arrived in two cars and joined the first group. Three settlers approached me, and one of them struck my right thigh. I managed to run away from them, and then I saw the taxi that had previously been driving the young men going up in flames. I wanted to get closer to check if there were any people inside who needed help, but a settler then threw a stone that struck me on my right thigh, causing me enormous pain. I fell to the ground and couldn’t get up. Two young Palestinians whom I hadn’t seen earlier approached me, helped me get up and moved me away from the settlers. While we fled, I looked back and saw the settlers hurling stones at my car.
We saw a car where the driver was hiding inside. We approached him and told him to run away quickly before they came to kill us. We asked him to take us. We got into the car, and he began to drive toward Jericho. We didn’t encounter any other settlers on the way. I called one of my workers in Jericho using the phone of one of the young men who had fled with me because I had left my phone, identification card and the rest of my belongings in my car. I told my employee what had happened. The employees came and picked me up from the western entrance to Jericho. In the meantime, the Palestinian Civil Defense called me. They told us that they had arrived at the site of the incident, put out the fire in the torched car and took my phone and wallet from my car. We understood from them that the settlers had left the area and that the road was now safe.
One of the employees took my car and drove me to the Civilian Defense station in Taybeh, where I received my belongings. He then drove me to the Istishari Hospital. I got there at 12:30 A.M. They examined me and took X-rays. It turned out that I had two broken ribs, one cracked rib and severe injuries to my thigh. I remained there overnight for observation and the next day asked to be discharged; aside from giving me medication for my pain and swelling, they weren’t able to help me.
I was discharged but am still in pain, especially around my chest. I stayed in bed for a week. Because I wasn’t able to work, the company’s operations were disrupted.
My car was seriously damaged. The settlers broke all of the windows and mirrors, as well as damaged the body of the vehicle. It’s still in the shop and will cost upwards of NIS 10,000 (~USD 2,750) to fix. The problem is that the insurance company doesn’t recognize damage caused by settlers.
Taxi driver Zeid Musa (27) spoke about the incident on 12 March 2023:
I am a resident of the Jalazun Refugee Camp. I work as a cabdriver and financially support my parents, who are in their 70s. On Sunday, 26 February 2023, I drove from the Allenby Bridge Border Rrossing toward Ramallah with four passengers. We had put their luggage on the roof. At around 9:30 P.M., I reached the start of the uphill section of Al-Mu’arrajat Road, at which point a stone hit the left side of my car. I understood that there were settlers there. I accelerated and fled.
About a kilometer later, I saw approximately 20-30 cars parked on both sides of the road. One of the drivers, who had parked on the other side of the road, motioned for me to stop and told me to be careful because there were more settlers throwing stones at Palestinian cars further down the road. I got out of my car and spoke to another driver named Malek. We brainstormed ways to escape and decided to all drive together, one after the other.
We started driving with Malek’s car at the lead. After the Dir Faza’a Junction, over 20 masked settlers descended from the surrounding hilltops holding stones and sticks. They started hurling stones at Malek’s car, which was at the head. He got out of his car and fled.
At first, I was confused and didn’t know what to do, but then I also left my car and moved about 20 meters toward Malek. I wanted to prevent the settlers from reaching him. One of my passengers, Alaa, joined me, while the others fled to the hills. In the meantime, more settlers arrived. I’m not sure where they came from. We heard them yelling in Hebrew. We didn’t understand what they were saying.
Stones were hurled at my back, shoulder, arms and legs, but I managed to deflect them. It was complete chaos. I was worried about my car. At one point, I saw a group of settlers approaching it and starting to vandalize it. I didn’t know what to do. The taxi is my source of income, and my future depends on it.
The settlers threw a Molotov cocktail into my car and the passenger seat burst into flames. I started to yell: my car, my car is on fire. I was so heartbroken that I didn’t know what to do. I then saw a settler pour fluid on the suitcases, which were on the roof, and light them on fire. I couldn’t do anything, so Alaa and I fled to the hills.
I then saw a weak flashlight 200 to 300 meters away and a tent. I thought that they were Bedouins, and we approached them, but it then became clear that they were settlers. They started to chase us and attacked us with stones. We again fled to the hills without knowing where to go. We felt as if they were going to kill us. After 100 or 200 meters, the settlers stopped chasing us.
At that point, I wasn’t even capable of walking. I fell to the ground and had trouble breathing. I felt as if there were something pressing on my chest. Alaa tried to calm me down and turned me from one side to the other. He called a private ambulance from Taybeh, which was nearby, to evacuate me. We waited around 20 minutes and then saw a Palestinian Civil Defense vehicle that had come to put out the fire in my car.
The ambulance reached us at around 10:00 P.M. and transported me in a roundabout manner to avoid settlers. When we reached the area near the Dar Faza’a Junction, we saw a lot of settlers and military vehicles. The driver managed to pass them without trouble. He took me to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah. We got there after 11:00 P.M. They admitted me into the trauma unit, examined me and took X-rays. I had bruises on my body and shortness of breath. They gave me a nebulizer and sedatives, and at 1:00 A.M. discharged me for further treatment at home.
That’s how I became unemployed, without income and unable to support my parents. I am very worried about the outstanding debt because of the payments for the car. I have issued monthly postdated checks amounting to NIS 33,000 (~USD 9,000) and don’t even have a dime. The insurance companies don’t recognize these types of occurrences and don’t provide compensation .Considering the state of despair and frustration they drove me to, I am putting my faith in Allah, as He is the best disposer of affairs.
